"Where are all the cars?" one of them asks.
"Oh my God," one of them calls out. The woman stands up from her seat causing panic among those who see and hear her.
People also start to see the flashing red and blue lights—the police! The bus slows to a stop, ten feet away are a half dozen police cars. The door of the bus opens and the bus attendant exits. Stormtroopers—police clad in black body-armored uniforms—are exiting their police cars and approaching.
The bus attendant has his ID ready as two storm troopers reach him and stop.
"Hello, sir. Where might this bus be going?"
"We're taking a sight-seeing tour to see the Outlands and surrounding area."
"You're taking them into Trog-land?"
"No, of course not. Just to take a peek beyond the perimeter."
"You're going to have to return to your transport, turn around, and go back the way you came. A new directive has gone into effect. You need a special pass to leave the city."
"This is the Outlands."
"Which is now under the jurisdiction of the city."
"When did this take effect?"
"This week, which is why we're giving you a courtesy warning rather than a ticket or performing an arrest."
"Okay. Then thanks for that."
"Wait!" another stormtrooper yells, running to them.
Unknown Location, Wastelands
5:00 a.m., 26 October 2096
A giant hangar rises from the ground, revealing the entrance. Dozens of civilian soldiers all wearing some type of cowboy hat and dressed in uniforms of all black, navy, deep crimson red, and browns enter the giant hangar. Jewish Order members have Star of Davids on their hats or on the center of their chest. Catholics all wear a collar around their necks. Protestants have crosses on their hats or on the center of their chest. Mormons have double cross symbols on their sleeves. Shinto members wear deep crimson uniforms with the cursive crosses across the chest of their uniform and the ancient Japanese-style cowboy hats of the historical shogun. In the center, the Cowboy Rabbi (Yonah) leads them in as he pulls on his leather gloves tight. His shiny pistols in their double holsters are intermittently visible as his long coat flaps open as he moves.
Outlands, San Diego
6:55 a.m., 26 October 2096
"We didn't know anything about this new law," the bus attendant says to three stormtrooper police. "We'll turn the bus around and drive back."
A policeman is listening to his ear-set and holds up his hand, index finger pointed in the air, gesturing the attendant to wait. The policeman says to the voice from his ear-set. "Yes, understood." The indicator light on the side of his helmet disconnects. "Sir, we're going to have to ask for all your passengers to disembark and form a single line in front of the bus."
"Why? We're not doing anything. We're on a sight-seeing trip."
"Please comply with our instructions, sir. More police are on the way."
"Are we being arrested?"
"You will all be taken in for questioning."
The attendant shakes his head. "Why are you doing this? This new law was never publicly announced."
"Ignorance of the law is not a defense for not following it, sir."
"If you don't comply, we will have to arrest you and everyone else, and seize the bus and all the possessions on it," another trooper says.
The attendant is visibly upset but says nothing and walks back to the bus.
Then another trooper talks into his ear-set. "We believe we have a whole bus load of them. Multiple positives from surveillance. Yes, sir, multiple units are already en route."
Several drones appear in the sky and take up positions above the snake-bus.
The attendant gets on the bus and reluctantly grabs the microphone wand from his driver compartment. The front passengers notice a globe drone descend and watch him through the open door.
The entire bus is in a panic, people standing from their seats, looking out the windows at the arriving police cars and more drones in the sky.
"What's happening?" someone asks.
"I apologize everyone, but we're going to have to get off the bus and line up in front."
"Why?" a man asks.
"They claim there is a new law that no one can leave the tek-city without city permission."
"I want to talk to someone in authority," a male passenger calls out. "We're citizens. We have rights!" The man moves from his seat and begins walking to the front of the bus. His wife and son try to restrain him. "No. They will continue to do this until we stand up to them."
"Please, sir, let's not cause problems," the attendant says.
"You were supposed to guarantee our safety." The man points at him. "My family is on this bus."
The attendant blocks his way out of the bus. "Do not do anything. This isn't about you or your family. This is about everyone on this bus. Everyone, please, let's calmly get off. Everything will be fine. Trust me."
In moments, everyone is lined up outside the bus as troopers board to search it while others watch the passengers.
The attendant's ear-set rings. He walks to the lead stormtrooper. "This call is for you."
"Who is it?"
"Our lawyer."
He smiles. "Have them call 911."
"You cannot detain us like this."
"Actually, we can. Get back into line, sir, or we will have to handcuff you."
"You really need to take this call."
"Are you refusing to comply, sir?"
The attendant touches his ear-set. "They won't take the call, Mr. Elliott." He listens. "They're threatening me with restraint." He disconnects the call and goes back to his spot in the line.
The lead trooper's ear-set begins to ring. He looks at his two fellow officers. "Answer," he says.
"Hello," a voice says.
"Who is this?" the stormtrooper asks.
"This is Elliott Finegold, officer," the voice says. "You are to release these civilians immediately."
"How did you get this number? Use of a law enforcement channel by unauthorized person is illegal."
"I'm trying to be civil. Is this how you want to proceed?"
"We don't need your permission."
"We will not allow you to take our people."
"Is that so?"
The line disconnects. The lead trooper gives a signal to his men and they draw their weapons. "Arrest all of them," he says.
"Look!" A stormtrooper points to the sky.
A tracer missile arcs down to them. As they run one way to the bus for cover, the bus attendant gives the signal and the passengers run en masse in the opposite direction farther into the Outlands. The troopers dive for cover as the mini missile crashes near them, but there is no explosion.
The troopers get to their feet.
"They're getting away," one of them says. "Should we engage?"
"No, forget them. I'm ordering a retreat until military back-up can get here."
"But we've been ordered to arrest them, not let them get away."
"A bunch of families with children won't get very far."
"I once saw a seven-year-old terrorist blow a soldiers brains out."
"I guess we know who's aiming for a promotion."
The trooper is offended. "How do you know this wasn't part of their plot to attack us?"
"They didn't know we'd be here."
"What's wrong with you? They fired missiles at us! They were ready for us."
"All the more reason to withdraw until reinforcements arrive!"
"We don't need back-up to capture a bunch of Jew-Christians. And they can't drop missiles on us if we have them in gun-sight or have them, period. We're supposed to be the elite police. There was a time when police were able to capture and kill criminals without any drone support or advanced body armor or reinforcements. It was done all the time. Tek makes some people soft. Do you need the little machines to hold it for you when you go to the bathroom?"
"Get out of my face."
The man gestures and he leads six of the troopers—two of them in heavy robot suits—after the fleeing passengers, leaving the rest of the stormtrooper force behind.
The passengers run through the wooded area. Ahead, they see a man approaching wearing black with a long flapping coat, leather gloves on his hands, and shiny pistols in double holsters.
"Keep going," he yells, directing them to run past him. "Get over the ridge. The rescue transports are waiting."
"But our things," a woman yells. "My family's things. I have heirlooms that barely survived the Holocaust." She stops running and looks back to the snake-bus behind her.
"Hey, Lot's wife!" Yohan yells.
The Biblical reference makes the woman look at him.
"People are more important than things."
She stops herself and continues running with the rest of the passengers.
Everyone passes him and disappear over the hill. The chasing stormtroopers quickly approach.
"Stop there!" one yells. "Put your hands in the air!"
"Go back where you came from," Yonah says, angrily. "They're unarmed families!"
"I will shoot you dead if your hands are not in the air."
The Cowboy Rabbi draws his guns and fires so fast that none of the troopers can react. Six men shot in the forehead—four collapse to the ground and the two troopers in robot suits fall back with a large thud.
"I gave you your chance not to be a Nazi."
Three mortars land and blanket the entire area around the bus not with explosions, but opaque smoke. The stormtroopers, their transports, and the bus are engulfed. Drones arrive, but are instantly all shot from the sky by multiple high-powered rounds—a few explode, most just crash to the ground.
A dozen hovercraft appear, firing laser tracer rounds into the smoke. More mortar rounds arc over the sky-craft from multiple locations crashing into the center of the smoke with the concussion rounds exploding in increasing intensity. The firing stops as the hovercraft land. Different drones fly out from the top of the craft and blow the remaining smoke away to reveal stormtrooper bodies lying everywhere unconscious and their vehicles destroyed. The snake-bus is untouched. Cowboy Coalition members, with weapons drawn, race into the scene.
"What do you want done?" Lariat asks. His face is masked with black opaque goggles.
The Cowboy Rabbi surveys the scene, his face also masked with goggles. "I'm tempted to make an example of them."
"It could be something simple, but still makes the point," Runningstar says.
"I'm tempted, but I've never been one to kick someone when they're already down and unconscious. Defeats the purpose."
"Their weapons and comms?" Lariat asks.
"Leave them. Nothing they have is better than our tek. We have what we want. Leave the incendiaries and let's go."
In moments, every Cowboy is back on their hovercraft and in the air. The bombs explode reducing the remnants of the destroyed police vehicles to burning liquefied metal. The three rear sky-craft launch a volley of missiles as the entire air convoy jets forward faster than sound.
A swarm of globe drones approach the Outlands' scene. The missiles strike and the explosions send every drone crashing to the ground.
Inside the lead hovercraft, Cowboy Coalition members cheer.
"In, touchdown, total destruction, rescue, and back up in the air, gone in less than five minutes!" says one member.
"Four minutes, thirty-six seconds!" corrects another.
Yohan is in the corner of the command room by himself with a comm-phone to his ear for semi-privacy. "The stormtroopers were waiting for them," he says. "They tried to make it look like it was a random stop, but they were waiting."
The hover transports fly across the Wastelands. The passengers are all clustered around the nearest window watching everything as the craft sets down.
"Everyone, please exit as quickly as possible," one of the new drivers commands, appearing from the cockpit. "Hurry!"
They jump out of multiple exits and their shoes touch the hot, barren soil. There is nothing anywhere around them as far as they can see. The five drivers join them and can see the unease in the passenger's faces.
One of the driver's points. "There!"
Four separate roto-planes appear and glide to them. The sky-ships engage their rotors to hover and then set down 15 feet away from the crowd. People exit and quickly move to them.
"Hello," a woman holds up her tablet. "Jewish Order."
"Christian Order," another says.
"Everyone, the initial bus was recovered," a driver calls out. "Your belongings will be waiting for you at your destination."
"Catholic Order, here."
"All for the Gnostic Order, here."
There are smiles, some muffled cheers, as the crowds break into smaller groups to follow their designees back to one of the roto-jets.
One of the men stops and walks back to the five drivers.
"Yes, sir?" one of them asks.
"The stormtroopers knew we were there."
"Sir, don't worry about those things. Get on your plane and enjoy the flight. You'll be at your new home soon."
"But—"
"Sir," says another driver. "We know what you know. And more. Don't worry yourself about it. The Continuum will take care of it. We'll never allow anything to jeopardize Faith World."
One of the drivers points to the roto-jets. "They will fly off and leave you here."
The man's neck whips around and he runs. The man is pulled onto his craft and the doors close. The roto-jets start to rise into the air.
"I bet you it was him," says another driver.
"We know no such thing. He could become one of your neighbors, for all you know.
"I'll move then. Until I know they're all cleared. Where do you think the government has all their spies? With the Exiles or with these?"
"Everyone must get the benefit of the doubt. Stop trying to spoil a beautiful day. Now how about our new Cowboy Coalition?"
"All my kids want to be Cowboys."
"Kids? Forget the kids. I want to be a Cowboy."
"I thought you wanted to join the Jewish Wolf-Pack or the Shinto so you'd get a samurai sword."
"I want to do all of it."
Murabba Presidential Palace, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
4:46 p.m., 26 October 2096
A sheik angrily recites the reports. "They are saying that this Igor's bomb, as they are calling it, was a religious plot to destabilize the region. They are trying to spread lies that the Supreme Caliphate was behind it. Lies, all of it!"
The Emperor calmly says, "The greatest mass murderers of the last century and this one were godless atheist infidels, but they continue to lie about Islam."
"Emperor, I implore you not to join with the infidels in their Sphere Program. It is nothing but a plot against the Caliphate."
"I have no intention of doing so. But we can create our own."
Zhongnanhai Presidential Palace, Beijing, China
7:02 p.m., 26 October 2096
The Deputy says, "He was killed by a remote-detonated car bomb."
"He was in charge of finding all the ring leaders of the Underground Church, correct?" President Wen asks.
"Yes, President, it must have been them."
"Or someone who wants us to think it was them. Maybe it was you?"
The man smiles. "President, I would never. I never allow my own ambitions to supersede the State."
"I want the perpetrators."
"We will find them, President. We always do."
The White House, America
10:01 p.m., 26 October 2096
"We're getting conflicting reports that the Brazilian president and his family fled the country or were imprisoned. There are other conflicting stories that they escaped to Australia or were killed. We haven't been able to confirm if the entire military command staff
was executed. We have been able to confirm that the country's former communications secretary appointed himself the new president. A man by the name of Khan."
The president sits quietly as the staffers debrief him. He is weary from an endless day of briefings and meetings.
"No one saw this coming, sir," says another staffer. "His forces are expelling all diplomats from the county, but they are also burning our American embassy and seizing all American holdings."
President looks at Homeland and his senior advisors
"Sir, it's coming over the news feed," says another. "The new Brazilian president has declared Brazil the fourth global superpower and is threatening all of the Spanish Americas."
"And there is news in Mexico, sir."
President T. Wilson waits for it.
"The Mexican president lost his election. The new president might be—"
"A Jew-Christian."
"We're not sure, sir. He could be simply a sympathizer. But don't worry. He won, but a strong anti-religious, secular bloc opposed him. They're protesting in the streets now saying his election is illegal."
"Please leave us for a moment," the president says.
The men rise from their seats and exit the Oval Office leaving the Homeland Director and the two senior advisors behind. The door closes.
"Is there more?" he asks Homeland.
The Director of Homeland Defense and Intelligence Agency has dark eyes and short blonde hair angled into her chin.
"This new Brazilian president has also severed ties with Canada," she answers.
"He knows," a senior advisor says.
"He can't possibly know," the other says.
"We also believe he's organizing his own secret summit with the CHINs and the Caliphate. We haven't been contacted," Homeland adds.
The president leans back in his chair. The anger simmers within.
"We've lost our entire North American buffer zone on the northern and southern borders in a day. Decades of painstaking work gone—in an instant." The president stands and stares out the bay window. "We must assume they know. Clear my calendar of everything and get Garrison in here. We're officially abandoning the Buffer Zone and moving forward with the back-up contingency."
Pure Conspiracy (The After Eden Series): The Genesis of World War III Page 17
