The Third Ten

by Jacqueline Druga

  “You don’t need to have a battle to win a war,” Frank said. “I mean, I enjoy a good battle with gunfire and shit as much as the next guy, but it has to be for a good reason.”

  “You don’t think this is?” Tigger asked.

  “No. I made it partially into that camp. I just picked up a different vibe.”

  “So you didn’t see anything that could prove your point.”

  “Nope. The only good visual vantage point we have is from the roof of a bank and that doesn’t let us see much.”

  “You really feel strongly about this?”

  “Yeah, I do. If I could get in there, I know I could prove it. Unfortunately I can’t fucking just walk in and not be seen.” After, he said that he saw the smug look on Tigger’s face. “What?”

  “I’m forty inches tall, Frank. Forty-one when I wear boots. You may not be able to go in the unnoticed, but I sure as hell can.”

  Frank’s eyes winded. “You would do that?”

  “Frank, you’re not unreasonable … well, not when it comes to this stuff. You have your head together with this war thing. I trust you. So you if you feel it and need help, I’ll help you.”

  “Yes!” Frank clenched his fist.

  “Do you have a plan?”

  “No. But give me ten minutes and I will,” Frank said. “Let’s go, do you need me to carry you or help you down.”

  “Um … no.” Tigger climbed down. “After you.”

  Frank made his way to the door and held it open for Tigger. “Hey, Tig. Thanks.”

  “Just promise me I’m not gonna get caught and hit with that weird flesh melting shit they plan on dropping.”

  “More than likely not, I can’t say a hundred percent though. It could happen.”

  “Eh, good enough for me.” Tigger walked out.

  Frank, in a better mood, followed.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  When Hal stepped into the communications room, his father and George were already there. He walked over to the coffee pot and poured a cup. “Morning,” Hal said.

  “Morning, Hal,” Joe replied. “I have you over here on radio with Johnny.” Joe patted the seat in front of the control panel.

  Hal sat down.

  “Hopefully,” Joe pointed to the map. “That bright spot of light too close to use will be dark in an hour.” He nodded at George.

  George lifted the phone, dialed and then placed it on Speaker.

  “This is Johnny,” he answered.

  “Hey, Johnny, it’s George, where are you at?”

  “At the air field now, loading the plane with the ami.”

  “Just be careful with that stuff,” George told him.

  “Hey, John,” Joe said. “Let me know when you’re ready to roll.”

  “Okay, it should take about fifteen minutes to get in position.”

  “You have the maps and your target?” Joe asked.

  “I do.”

  “You’ll drop two and get the hell out of there. Stay in the vicinity and you can meet the cleanup crew there. Then I’ll come out.”

  “Roger that, Pap.”

  “Good boy.” Joe disconnected the call and looked at Hal. “What’s wrong?”

  “Well … I realize that you have replaced Frank with me on this. But has anyone heard from him or seen him at all?” Hal asked. “I mean … where is Frank?”

  <><><><>

  Tim Doyle came from the Society side and defected to Beginnings when they were still enemies. He had as much experience in the military pre-plague as Frank, so it only made sense that Frank went to him as part of his plan.

  Actually he had less than twelve hours, the plan took a little more than ten minutes to think of an implementation took most of their time.

  To get everything ready and in position left them vulnerable and staring at a ticking clock.

  “Anything yet?” Tim asked through the radio to Frank. “We’re ready to go. Either in or out.”

  “Hold off, I have nothing, yet. Maintain position,” Frank replied.

  “Roger that.”

  Frank looked at Chaka who stood with him outside the town. He lifted the radio again. “Jess, come in.”

  “Yeah, Frank.”

  “What’s happening?”

  “Business as usual. They’re just moseying about town. I haven’t seen anything yet that would be a game changer. Over.”

  “Keep me posted.”

  “Will do. Out.”

  Frank shook his head. “Tig. Tig come in.”

  Sounding out of breath, Tigger answered the call. “Yeah, Frank.”

  “Are you alright?”

  “I’m just running a lot. This place is bigger than it looks. Lots of buildings. They have people everywhere. I have to dart in and out. Hide. Run. And don’t ask me if I know anything. I don’t. I just got in this place an hour ago.”

  “We’re running out of time.”

  “I just need a little more.”

  “Roger, that. Keep looking.” Frank lowered the radio.

  “How much time do you need to pull them men out and to a safe distance?” Chaka asked.

  “Doyle’s men, fifteen minutes. Jess and Tig twenty.”

  “You’re cutting it close.”

  “I know.”

  “Frank, if things do not go as planned, it is okay to be wrong. It really is.”

  “I know. And with each minute that goes by,” Frank said, “I’m starting to believe that myself.”

  <><><><>

  “Johnny, what’s going on?” Joe asked.

  “Ran into a snag, Pap, but I’m ready to roll. Firing up the engines now. Figure T minus twenty minutes to target.”

  “Good boy.” Joe looked at Hal. “Our target still stable?”

  “Still not moving. Sitting ducks.”

  Joe grumbled.

  “Joe!” Danny Hoi rushed into the communication room. “We have a problem.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  Danny caught his breath. “I just talked to Jimmy. He arrived at Doyle camp to get them prepared for cleanup and sweep. They’re there already.”

  “What?” Joe asked in shock. “Who are you talking about?”

  Hal stood. “What do you mean they’re there?”

  “According to Lancing, Frank was there last night. At Doyle Camp. Gathered Doyle and about two hundred men to go to that town. He has Chaka, Jess and Tigger, too. They’re there, Joe in the middle of it.”

  “Son of a bitch. Hal, get him on the radio.”

  George spoke up. “If he doesn’t get out of there, we’ll lose them all.”

  “Frank are you there, come in,” Hal radioed. “Frank. Frank. I repeat come in. If you can hear me, please answer.”

  “Yeah I’m here.” Frank’s voice came over the speaker.

  “Frank?” Hal asked “Where are you.”

  Silence.

  “Frank?”

  “I’m about a hundred miles south of the twenty-four hundred town.”

  Hal’s head dropped. “Frank, you need to get out of there.”

  “Hal, I can’t. Not yet.”

  “Goddamn it, Frank!” Joe blasted. “What the hell were you thinking?”

  “Dad, listen. I have the place locked and surrounded. I figured we move ground troops in, get the civilians out and then engage if need be. We probably won’t need to engage, these people are not ready for battle.”

  “Frank, you son of a bitch. We know whose there with you. Did it occur to you to let us know your whereabouts? Did it occur to you that Johnny could have left earlier than planned? Without knowing you’re there, we could have taken you all out with them.”

  “You don’t change your plans, I was confident.”

  “In what! You disobeyed a direct order.”

  “In my defense,” Frank said. “You never gave an order about this town at all.”

  “You self-righteous bastard!” Joe screamed. “This is the most blatant display of insubordination I have ever seen. Ever. You go ther
e, without informing anyone. You go there with an imminent airdrop. You put your life, Jess, Tigger, Chaka, Doyle and two hundred other men’s lives in jeopardy all so you could try to prove a point. All of you could have been killed. All of you! I am done. You talk about me not thinking clearly, my judgement clouded? When you get back to Beginnings you will surrender your position as head of security. Is that clear?”

  “Clear.”

  “Now pull those people out. I will delay Johnny, five minutes. Five minutes only. Radio when you are in the clear. Now get out. Over.”

  “Out,” said Frank.

  Static.

  Hal looked up.

  “Delay Johnny five minutes,” Joe ordered, then shook his head. “I can’t believe he did this.”

  Frank lowered the radio and glanced at Chaka. “Did you hear?”

  “You were on the radio, so yes, I did,” Chaka replied. “What are you going to do?”

  “Well, since I have some free time, I’ll probably go fishing, maybe work on my next book.”

  “That’s not what I meant. I mean about now.”

  “The only thing I can do,” Frank lifted the radio. “Doyle come in.”

  “Yeah, Frank.”

  “Hey, times up. Pull back. Get your men to a safe distance and wait for the order to go in.”

  “You sure.”

  “Positive, I’ll meet up with you in fifteen. Just make it fast.”

  “Got it.”

  Frank depressed the button on the radio. “Jess.”

  Before Jess could respond, Tigger’s voice cut through. “Frank. Frank. You there?” There was an urgency to his voice.

  “Yeah, Tig. What’s up?”

  “Frank. Oh my God. You’re were right,” Tigger said. “Oh my God. I found your proof.”

  “T minus four minutes,” Johnny’s voice carried over the speaker. “I see the target in my sight.”

  “Dad,” Hal spoke up. “You cannot let him drop. Not yet. We haven’t gotten confirmation that Frank is clear.”

  “He has to be clear. I gave extra time,” Joe said. “He’s just being hardheaded.”

  “No. I’m telling you.” Hal pressed the radio button. “Johnny, do not drop.”

  “Hal!” Joe blasted. “What the hell are you doing?”

  Hal ignored him. “Johnny hold off. Your father is in that town.”

  “What?” Johnny replied. “Are we sure?”

  “Yes,” Hal said.

  “No.” Joe retorted. “I told him to pull out. He’s out.”

  “We don’t know,” Hal said. “Johnny we don’t know.”

  “Proceed,” Joe said.

  “Uncle Hal?” Johnny questioned.

  “Joe,” George stepped forward. “It’s not going to hurt to confirm Frank’s whereabouts.”

  “You too?” Joe asked with edge. “Both of you.” He pointed to Hal and George. “This was the plan.”

  “What are you going to do?” Hal asked. “Relieve me too, get Jimmy. You’ll be out of sons pretty soon.”

  Joe bit his lip and stepped with rage to Hal.

  “Dad, come in,” Frank’s voice rang out. “Abort. You need to abort.”

  Hal moved to the radio quickly. “Frank, where are you?”

  “I’m center town.”

  Hal cringed and grabbed the other radio. “Johnny abort. He’s still there. Abort.”

  “Frank.” Joe called him. “What the hell are you doing? I told you to get out.”

  “Dad, you can not drop,” Frank said. “I’m here. I’m in. It’s not what we thought. There aren’t just civilians, there are women and children. They had them hid. Hundreds, Dad, hundreds. Families. The reason the twenty-four hundred wasn’t mentioned in the Great War history is because they weren’t part of the Great War, they were part of Beginnings.”

  Joe didn’t move, he didn’t respond.

  George spoke up, “We’ll stand down, Frank. Give us a few minutes. We’ll be back in touch.”

  “Oh my God,” Joe spoke dazed.

  Hal slowly stood. “Dad.”

  Joe shook his head. “He was right. He was right all along. Hundreds, Hal?” He looked at him. “Hundreds? I gave the order.”

  “Dad …”

  “And I almost let Johnny drop. I almost killed him. He wasn’t just right about that town. He was right about everything. I didn’t tell people about his feelings, his thoughts, and the civilians because I didn’t trust him. I let my personal feelings get in the way.”

  “You did,” Hal said. “You did. You’re human. It almost was a very costly mistake. Costly all the way around. Dad …” Hal lowered his voice and spoke with compassion. “I love you. But I think … And I say this with the utmost respect, but I think now is not the time for you to be making decisions.”

  Joe glanced up at him.

  “I think it’s best, for you, for the community, until you heal, you should step down as leader.”

  Joe didn’t verbally reply, he nodded, gripped Hal’s shoulder for a second, and then slowly walked out.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  What the hell was going on in Beginnings? Dean wondered. When he dropped the kids off at school, the entire town was in prayer hoping for a successful elimination of an enemy camp. Frank was nowhere to be found. And with the snap of a finger, Hal was making a public announcement that they had to abort the attack and more information would come. To Dean, it was just a lot more added background stress that he didn’t need.

  Maybe it was his imagination, but it just seemed like everything was in disarray since Robbie passed away. He didn’t realize how much impact one person’s passing could have on so many.

  He spent most of the morning, into the afternoon in the cryo lab. He had gone to storage where he moved items from his old home in search of a box of memorabilia that belonged to his father.

  The next step in all the craziness was to plan a time trip to get a slew of antibiotics to try and treat the bacteria.

  He just had to figure out where and when.

  There was so much in his father’s box. Every item he lifted, he did so with care and remembrance, embracing a memory that came with each item.

  He lifted his head to the sound of the buzz of the cryo door.

  “Dean,” Ellen called out.

  “Oh, hey, El, look …” He held up a book of matched. “From Vegas. I forgot how often my father went there.”

  “Dean, we have a problem. We need you up top.”

  “What’s going on?” Dean asked.

  “It’s happening. Lars was right. The viewing was a breeding ground.”

  “How many?”

  “Blue called, and also Jordan …”

  “El,” Dean cut her off. “How many?”

  “Between the towns,” Ellen said. “We have sixty-three showing symptoms of early bacterial infection.”

  Dean blinked long. “Which means if Lars is right, we have three days to get the antibiotics or we could lose them all.”

  Three days.

  It wasn’t much time.

  Fortunately, at least in Beginnings, time was something that could control.

  <><><><>

  It was a whirlwind of mayhem and the hours just passed by. Hal made his recorded speech, and hurried as best as he could to get out to Frank. He grew tired of the constant radio calls from his brother asking where he was.

  Danny and Henry worked immediately on expanding the range of the phones. Pinging things from one satellite to another and to a tower. Actually, Hal didn’t know how it worked but was grateful his phone rang when he was close to the town.

  “Just checking.” Danny said. “Where are you?”

  “About ten miles away,” Hal replied. “Not far from Twenty-four hundred.”

  “We are so gonna have to give it a new name,” Danny said. “Can I?”

  “Yes, Danny be my guest.”

  No sooner did Hal set down the phone it rang again. He lifted it. “Yes, Danny?”

  “Hey, Hal,” It
was Jimmy.

  “I’m sorry, I assumed it was Danny.”

  “Are you at the town?”

  “No, I had to stop at Bowman first. I should have been there a while ago. What’s up?”

  “We have a problem,” Jimmy said. “A big one.”

  “If it’s about the infection, I already …”

  “No,” Jimmy said. “It’s something else.”

  Hal listened and the phone nearly dropped from his hand.

  <><><><>

  It was an odd vibe, Frank had to admit it, the way everyone in General Liu’s office just stood in a frozen, frightened manner. Frank was upbeat, excited, everything was starting to click. The things he heard when he was in that town were making sense.

  When Lou mentioned the exiled, he was referring to this that left with their own agenda back in Canada. Little tidbits of information that could have been taken as a plot to take Beginnings were actually talk of joining Beginnings.

  His instinct was right.

  Frank’s finger moved across the map. “This is valuable information, Lou. Very valuable.” He then lifted a bowl. “And the fucking rice is unbelievable. I can’t tell you the last time I had real rice other than that instant shit we ran out of two years ago. You guys really stocked up. Great sauce. What is it?”

  General Liu didn’t answer. He just stared.

  Frank snapped his finger, then realized the general was locked in a stare of Chaka. “Oh, he is tough to take in at first, ugly, but he’s a great guy. Gave us these.” Frank pointed to the translator. “Great huh? No language barrier.”

  General Liu nodded.

  “Ugly?” Chaka asked. “I am considered very handsome in my time.”

  “You all look alike.”

  “You are a racist,” Chaka said.

  “Oh, stop.” Frank waved out his hand. “Anyhow…”

  “Frank,” Hal called out.

  Frank turned, set down the bowl and looked at his watch. “Fuck Hal, took you long enough.”

  “I know,” Hal said as he stepped in. “I had things to take care of in town.”

  “It was like six hours ago you said you were coming,” Frank said. “You made it for dinner. They’re serving Chinese again. It’s fucking awesome.”