Sifters

by Shane Scollins

  Dia felt a little bit of excitement. It was getting close. She was going to get her chance to jump into the fire and save her brother.

  Patkris looked at Dia and tilted her head. “What’s that key?”

  Dia looked down at her chest where the brass key lay. “Oh, it’s a key. I don’t know.”

  Patkris moved closed and took hold of the key. “I’ve seen this key before, or at least one like it. It’s a unique cut. See that center cut design?”

  Dia examined it. “I guess so, hadn’t really thought about it yet.”

  “What’s it for?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Why do you carry it?”

  Dia shrugged. “It was given to me. It belonged to my father.”

  “And you don’t know what it’s for?”

  “No clue.”

  “Oh my, that kind of mystery around my neck would have me running circles to try and solve it.”

  Dia stuffed the key back into her tank top. “I guess, just haven’t had time to think it through.”

  Patkris pursed his lips. “Let me see that again.”

  Dia pulled the chain until the key swung out. She watched Patkris as he studied the key so intently. His brown eyes searched so hard she felt like he was going to melt it with intensity.

  Finally, after a long minute, Patkris leaned back. “I know where I’ve seen these locks.”

  Dia leaned forward. “Where?”

  “At the old ice rink in Morristown.”

  “The ice rink?”

  “Yeah, after the electricity crapped out, they were using the rinks for those storage pods, and they moved a ton of them in there to secure them.”

  “Who’re they?”

  “Government? I’m not sure. I just know I’ve run across them. Those locks are very distinct.”

  Chloe offered, “Yeah, but those pods could be anywhere. That’s the point of them.”

  “True,” Patkris agreed. “But at least she knows where to start looking.”

  Dia looked down at the key.

  Chapter 33

  Arlon McQuaid fed page after page of files into the shredder. With the death of Mayor Schumer, he was in trouble. He could not take the chance that the new mayor was going to play ball right away. He would eventually, but it would take a while, and the Steering Committee would not wait.

  He didn’t have much time to clean up the mess and save Cortech’s reputation with the public. If they were linked to the mayor, they would lose backing within the political structure. It was okay to control the elections as long as the public didn’t really know about it.

  There was a knock on the door. “Enter.” He didn’t look up; he knew who it was. “What’s the latest word, Frank?”

  “No luck on Washburn, but I’ve got feelers out all over the city.”

  Arlon looked up. “Do we have any idea who he’s working with?”

  “None.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “He’s smart. He keeps his friends close—”

  “And his enemies closer?”

  Frank laughed. “No, he just kills them quickly.”

  Arlon felt the bulge rise up in his throat. The worry on his face must have been evident because Frank said, “Don’t worry, sir, we’ll get him before he gets you.”

  “I’m not so confident.”

  “I’m confident.”

  “I’m sure the mayor was too.”

  “There’s no evidence he killed the mayor. We can only speculate.”

  “C’mon, Frank, we both know it.”

  “Maybe so, but that’s in the past.”

  Arlon looked up. “He’s a dangerous man.”

  Frank raised a fist. “So am I. You’re paying me well, and I’m the best in the business. I have planned and executed over thirty special ops missions in twenty different countries. I don’t fail. And I know Washburn. We both learned the game from the same playbook.”

  Arlon nodded. Frank was much better at setting him at ease than Tallon ever was. Tallon was always so closed off and clandestine. That caused him a lot of uneasiness. He eventually got used to things just being taken care of. But it was never without consternation over the situations.

  Arlon took a deep breath. “Very well, Frank. Tallon doesn’t even matter right now. He has no proof of anything. He’s just on a mission of revenge. I trust that you’re taking care of what we discussed yesterday?”

  “Plans are in motion. But it’s a large operation, and we will need a couple days to complete it.”

  “I understand. Have you started moving them?”

  “Yes, we’ve moved Halverson, Roosevelt, Ridgewood, and Bay Bright.”

  “So all you have left are Westerberg and Temple?”

  “Actually there was a complication at Temple, and we lost all the subjects.”

  Arlon shot him a look. “What? How?”

  “One of the doctors grew a conscience bigger than his bank account. We had to take care of his mess.”

  Arlon sighed. “Well, Temple was the smallest one anyway. There were only fifty kids there. Didn’t any survive?”

  “There was no point. He purposely exposed them all to the live specimens.”

  “That’s too bad. I trust Westerberg will go off as planned?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good, that’s the elite crop.”

  “Me and my A-team are handling it personally. The boat will be at the port in twenty hours.”

  “And you’re sure this is the best way to handle it?”

  “Yes sir, it’s clean.”

  “Sinking a boat is a costly endeavor.”

  “It’ll be worth every penny. It’s seamless and efficient, and it will keep your hands clean. It’s the best way to dispose of the evidence, send anyone off the track, and be sure no one knows anything.”

  Arlon brushed off a small piece of paper debris that had clung to his arm. “Let me know where we are step-by-step.”

  Frank nodded and left the room.

  * * *

  Tallon pressed the gun to Hendrick’s head. “You have two choices. You either tell me what I need to know, or I kill you.”

  Hendrick sniffed, reeling in some of the blood and snot that ran from his busted nose. “I don’t know anything.”

  Tallon knew he was lying. Hendrick Addison was Arlon’s little lapdog who constantly snuck around the bowels of Cortech, creeping like a snake under the feet of everyone. It took Tallon and Jocelyn a full day to finally get him at the other end of a gun.

  Tallon reached down, grabbed his shirt collar, and yanked him to his feet. “Get up.”

  Hendrick futilely resisted. “Screw you!”

  “I know you know what’s going on.” Tallon wrapped his fingers around his throat. “I’m going to give you one last chance.”

  “Or what,” he spat, “you’re going to kill me? You’ve used that one already. It ain’t gonna work.”

  Tallon released him and stepped back. “Fine. I won’t kill you. I’m done with you.”

  Hendrick looked at him through narrowed eyes. “What is this?”

  “I don’t care anymore. Do what you want. I’m over this. Right now, Arlon is covering his ass. Do you think he’s not going to throw you under the bus? Think about it—he’s been using you all along, just like he used me. We both did his bidding, in different ways, but to the same end.”

  Hendrick wiped his mouth. “You don’t know the half of it.”

  “Why don’t you tell me? One way or the other, Arlon is going down. You can tell me what I want to know, and maybe save some innocent lives, or you can keep playing the fool.” Tallon walked across the dingy hotel room and sat on the chair by the window. Hendrick wouldn’t run. Even if he tried, Jocelyn was waiting outside the door.

  Hendrick buttoned his black suit jacket. “It’s you who’s playing the fool, friend. You’re so far out of your league it’s not funny. The undiagnosed kids aren’t what you think. You keep on thinking what you think, and Arlo
n gets his way.”

  “You don’t know what I think.”

  “I know what you’re guessing.”

  “Now’s your chance, set me straight.”

  “Do you really want to know? Because I don’t think you do.”

  “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know.”

  Hendrick straightened his tie and nodded. “Fine, you want the ugly, here it is. They’re soldiers.”

  Tallon looked at him. “Soldiers for what?”

  “You have no idea the can of worms you’ve opened up. Did you think killing the mayor stopped this? Do you think killing me, or Arlon, is going to stop this? You don’t know the half of it. This train has no brakes. Cortech is not the only dog in this fight.”

  Tallon turned his palms to the ceiling. “Enlighten me.”

  Hendrick stepped closer to him and demonstratively pointed to the floor. “This is about war.”

  Tallon studied his face. “War? War on who?”

  “The Sifters. And if this little effort is thwarted, there will be another, and another, until they get what they want.”

  “What—who wants? Why?”

  “I think you know who. Why?” Hendrick laughed. “They want the country back, but they don’t want the scum in it. They never wanted them. This whole thing, this whole seven cities thing was just their way of reducing the population after the chaos died down. It was the start of the cleansing. This, my friend, is mass gentrification with social circumventing of due process.”

  “They want to kill them all?”

  “You got it, my muscled friend.”

  “They can’t—”

  “Yes, they can. And they will.”

  “But what’s the game? How are they planning on doing it?”

  “The kids, they’re the game. They’re being trained, brainwashed to kill like all soldiers. The only difference is that they will be brainwashed more effectively than any other soldier in history.”

  “But why kids? Why not just recruit soldiers?”

  Hendrick shrugged. “The kids, they have no links to the outside. They’re too young. Guys like you, like us, we remember the world as it was. We know people out there. We might have emotional ties to the people trudging through the wastelands. The kids, all they know is this world. They don’t want the Sifters taking it away. And those schools are teaching them all kinds of bad things about the evil Sifters.”

  “What’s the link to the pathogen?”

  “It was created just for this purpose. It’s a time bomb, released upon death. Once bodily functions cease, the toxin is released from the blood into a deadly gaseous form.”

  Tallon looked up. “They’ll continue to kill even after they’re dead.”

  “They’re going to drop them outside the annex, heavily armed and tell them to start cleaning. Their orders are to kill anything that moves out there. They’re brainwashed so well, to them every Sifter is a disease carrying psychopath, trying to destroy their way of life. With the pathogen in their systems, even after they die, they will keep killing. Anyone within eight feet of that body will contract a deadly and unstoppable virus that they will spread to anyone they come into contact with. It’s nasty, visceral, and kills within three days. And the only antidote will reside within the walls of the cities.”

  “They’re human dirty-bombs.”

  Hendrick folded his hands in front of his belly. “It’s brilliantly diabolical.”

  “But what about the workers who come and go? Some people have sector cards and will carry the pathogen back in.”

  “That program is about to come to an end in about fifteen days. Only residents are going to be allowed in, no exceptions. There’s a news story about to be released telling the tale of a dangerous virus outside the annex, no warning, just a lock down. No work passes, nothing. There will be no one in or out ever again until after the war. No supplies, no exchanges.”

  “What about supplies from the farms?”

  “They will be government controlled in transport. It’s already started. Every outside facility has been cleaned, and new modular walls are going up. It’s been going on for months now. The biggest farms have doubled in size to include air transport. Supplies will be flown in and out for now.”

  Tallon scratched his head. “Increasing the size of the annex will stop most of that transfer anyway.”

  “You’re right. Most of the people who come in and out are the ones living close to the annex. The illegal traffickers won’t matter. Cortech has the drug trade cornered now. Those people will be the first to die.”

  “And this is the American government, or what’s left of it, doing this?” He pulled himself to his feet.

  Hendrick turned his palms up. “What can I say? The corruption is staggering.”

  “I don’t think corruption is the right word.”

  “Call it whatever you want. You’re naive to think you can stop it. You can’t. This is just one small effort. This little rat-pack of kids is the tip of the iceberg. You shut down the mayor and another one will pop up.”

  Tallon nodded. “I appreciate your concern.”

  “Tallon, you were an invaluable asset. Just come back to our side of things and maybe we can work this out together. You don’t care about these Sifters. They’re scumbags, they’re killers. It wasn’t with my blessing that you were replaced. I don’t trust Frank. I trust you.”

  Tallon smiled. “You probably shouldn’t trust Frank, but you definitely shouldn’t trust me.” Tallon pulled his gun and shot Hendrick in the head.

  Chapter 34

  Tallon studied the schematics and marked all the guard stations and patrol paths with a screen tap. It was all easy enough to deal with. He’d planned way more complicated missions.

  Jocelyn entered the room. “Hey, I just got word on the boat. It’s coming in at Baldwin Inlet.”

  Tallon nodded. “What do you think?”

  She turned up one side of her mouth. “I think we hit the buildings first. If they’re already moved, then we hit the boat.”

  “I’d have to disagree.” Tallon stood to face her. “If we waste time on the buildings, and they’ve already left, then we’ve lost precious moments.”

  “But if we get them at the building, we can control things more. We have to take into account that some of these kids might be infected already and need the antidote.”

  “I agree on that point. But logic is telling me that they won’t move the sick and contagious ones.”

  Jocelyn tilted her head back and closed her eyes. “I hadn’t considered that.” She met Tallon’s eyes. “They’ll kill them right there.”

  “If they’re not dead already.”

  “Then we definitely have to hit the buildings first, Tallon. I can’t in good conscience let kids die if we have a chance to save them. I’m sorry, we just can’t.”

  Tallon ran his hand over his mouth and rubbed his chin in thought. “Okay, but we need to plan for all contingencies.”

  Chloe entered the room with Dia in tow. “When’re we leaving?”

  Tallon glared at his sister. “You’re not going anywhere.”

  “Of course I’m going.”

  “No, you’re not. You’re not well enough.”

  “Bullshit! I’m ready,” Chloe insisted. “And you’re nuts if you think I’m sitting on the sidelines here. I’ve invested in this fight more than you have.”

  Tallon firmed his lips. “Chloe, you were on your deathbed a few days ago. There’s no way I’m letting anything happen to you.”

  “Those assholes are the ones who put me in that bed, and I want payback.”

  “Payback is my job, not yours.”

  “No way.” She moved closer to him. “It’s our job. You need me, and you know it.”

  “If I may,” Dia interrupted. “She’s fine, Tallon. I’ve been keeping an eye on her, and aside from a little soreness from getting beat up, she’s fine. Ebo agreed she’d be fine, and I know you trust her medical opinion.”


  Tallon eyed them both. He knew Chloe was physically fine, but he was still worried about her. He promised to protect her, and leading her into a firefight wasn’t the best way to do that.

  “Tallon,” Dia said, “you and I are running point anyway. Chloe and Jocelyn can work in cover positions. Their risk would be minimal.”

  “No risk is minimal,” Tallon insisted. “They’ll be in just as much danger.”

  Chloe touched his arm. “Tallon, I know you want to protect me. But I want this. I’ve been working toward this for a long time, and I want to see it through. I know as much about that operation as anyone, and you can’t do it without me. It’s that simple.”

  Tallon looked to the ceiling. The crumbling popcorn finish didn’t ease his mind. But there was no way he was talking them out of this. “Okay, fine. Chloe, you keep your head up, and if it gets too hot, retreat. Don’t play hero, just run back home.”

  Chloe nodded. “I will. I want to help, but I’m not suicidal.”

  Jocelyn clapped her palms together. “We should get moving as soon as that sun sets.”

  * * *

  Dia adjusted the bulletproof vest and checked to make sure the pistol at her side was secure in the holster. She said a little prayer, hoping her father could see her now, hoping he’d be proud. Maybe some part of him was right by her side, ready to save Raiden.

  Chloe edged around the corner of the building and scurried through the pyramid of light that shone from the fixture over the doorway. She looked over to Dia and nodded as she got down on one knee to pick the lock.

  Dia put her rifle on her shoulder and scanned the darkness of the empty parking lot side-to-side while Chloe worked. This was not exactly the plan at first, but on the way over here things changed. Tallon felt it was best if she and he split up and each went into different parts of the building.

  The door clicked and opened as Chloe got the lock. Dia backed into the building and closed the door. She reached up and touched her earpiece, making sure it was still in place. It was so small she felt like it was falling out all the time, but it didn’t seem to be.