by Rusty Ellis
Adam stepped from the trees first and turned to smile at Megan. He continued to lead her toward the cabin.
As she took the first step up the porch, Adam turned and said, “Welcome to the Holy Garden.”
The term, coming straight from Adam’s mouth, at the point of entering the Holy Garden, slapped Megan across the face. She was there. She was at the Holy Garden. She had been chosen. He had decided to bring her back with him to the Holy Garden.
Adam. The Holy Garden. The painful reality struck her. She’d been so consumed with Haley and Anna that she hadn’t considered the results of her success to make it the cabin—the Garden.
The Garden. Adam. He expects me to be Eve!
29
The hike to the spot Phillips’ pointed out would have been easy if James didn’t mind being seen. But ‘as the crow flies’ didn’t apply here. James called the Operator and notified him he would be crossing the sensors about halfway down the property line on the north side.
James took an extreme westerly route to get up and around to the back of the person’s location. This included staying west of a clearing with a house on it, intending to slip quietly around the clearing and keeping from alerting the old man living in the house.
When Popov hired James, he was warned about the old guy living just north of the HLC. Apparently the old man had made a fuss over the sensors being installed along their property lines. The man had spent plenty of time sitting and watching the installers do their work, ensuring they weren’t encroaching on his side. The result was Viktor having the installers set the sensors back 20-feet to make sure they weren’t reading any activity on the old guy’s property, to avoid any ongoing feuds or litigation attention.
James had never met the man, but he had seen him clearly through a pair of binoculars occasionally. Mainly, reciprocating the old man’s curiosity.
James circumvented the clearing and dropped down from the north to the spot where the person had been spotted. James hoped the person was still focused on the Garden, allowing him to sneak up closer, opposite the person’s general direction of interest.
James pulled his field binoculars from a leg pouch and twisted the little wheel in the middle to clear up the optic’s picture. He crouched down and propped his elbow on his knee to steady the image. He was within about 30 yards and noticed the outline of a man sitting on the ground in the trees. The man had a backpack next to him on the ground with a coat draped over the top of it.
James moved a few yards to his right to get a little more of a side angle of the guy. As he did, he noticed the man’s thick beard resting on his chest. James could see a tripod propped between the man’s legs with a big spotting scope mounted on top and pointing directly at the Garden.
The man was leaning back against a tree and would occasionally lean forward to peek through the scope.
When the man leaned forward for another look, James crept a few more yards to the side and a few yards closer. He crouched down in the brush and leveled the binoculars on the man again and nudged the wheel a little more.
He watched as the man leaned back and then looked his way. James froze, not knowing if the man saw or heard him. As he watched, the man reached into his backpack and grabbed a handful of something and tossed it in his mouth.
James looked closely at the man through the binoculars and smiled. He was eating popcorn. It was the man from the house and he was eating popcorn, like this was some kind of early morning matinee. The man’s presence seemed amusing and harmless.
James would report back to Popov that it was the old man in the house and he just looked bored and needed some excitement and had settled on the Garden. James began to lower the binoculars when he noticed the old man reaching for something else near his backpack. He decided to raise his binoculars and take one last peek at what the old guy was up to.
James watched as the old man raised up a rifle and propped it on his knee. He pointed the gun toward the Garden and looked long and hard through the scope.
In the span of 10-seconds, the old man had changed from a point of amusement to a threat.
30
The polo guy at the front gate slowly stood from his chair and stepped from the wooden shed to Chase’s truck.
“Harper?” the man asked.
Chase nodded.
“You’re supposed to have some paperwork with you.”
Chase grabbed the DD-214 and a copy of his driver’s license from the seat next to him and presented it out the window. The man took the papers and gave them a quick once-over. He handed them back to Chase and pointed to a turnout in the trees, just on the other side of the gate.
The man walked back to the shack and hit the button to raise the gate and waited for Chase to pull through and park to the side.
“Operator this is Gate One.”
“Go ahead Gate One.”
“Let James know Harper is here and waiting.”
Before the Operator could answer, another voice came on the line.
“Operator.”
“Go ahead.”
“This is Martin. I’ve got the package at Gate One.”
“Roger that, Martin. Gate One, do you copy?”
“Roger that, Operator.”
The man at the gate called over to Chase to let him know someone was on their way.
A couple minutes later a side-by-side ATV pulled down the road and flipped around beside Chase’s truck.
When the dust settled, the driver called out, “Hey Army.”
Chase recognized the man as the first polo from the bar, “Hey Marine.”
The man laughed as Chase climbed into the ATV. Chase sat down, his paperwork in his hand.
“Any firearms?”
“Nope. I figured you guys wouldn’t appreciate it,” Chase said.
“Doesn’t bother me. But the head honcho isn’t too keen on extra guns around the Community.”
“You mean James?”
“No, the head-head-honcho. The spiritual leader himself, Adam.”
Chase raised an eyebrow at the irony of the name, the first man on earth.
“So no firearms at all, anywhere?” Chase asked.
“None. Except for Popov. He carries.”
“Popov?”
“Adams is the head-head-honcho. Popov is the head-honcho.”
“He some kind of priest or something?” Chase asked.
The Marine let out a howl, “Hardly. He’s the Head of Security. More importantly, he’s the gun-toting bodyguard to Adam.”
“I get it. Do what I say, not what I do, a gun for me, none for you.”
The Marine laughed again, “It ain’t perfect, but it’s how it’s run around here. Like I said, the pay’s worth it.”
The man put the ATV in gear and started down the dirt road. He took a hard left and followed the road traveling directly north.
“So you go by Marine?”
“Nah, it’s Martin. Aaron Martin.”
Chase shook his hand and then tried to absorb the surroundings as they sped along the road. In a short three minutes he learned the chain of command and how the polo shirts felt about the head-head-honcho. They didn’t buy into the preaching, but they were perfectly willing to cash the checks.
Martin slowed after about a half-mile or so and followed the road as it turned to the right and ended abruptly in a parking lot of a dark-wooded cabin. Martin turned off the ATV and climbed from his seat.
“End of the line. Well, at least this line.” Martin pointed at the building, “HQ.”
Martin started up the steps to the front door and Chase followed. Martin pushed through the door and stepped to the side for Chase to enter. Chase stepped in and waited for his eyes to adjust from the brightness to the dim of the room.
“Shut the door,” the voice directly ahead ordered.
Chase pushed the door shut until her heard the latch lock. His eyes began to clear up and he could see a desk directly in front of him, about eight feet long, covered in radio equipmen
t, a telephone, and paper pads. The window air conditioning unit hummed in the background and forced a trickle of cold air into the room.
Sitting at the desk in front of him was another military looking man. But this polo shirt looked younger, possibly in his early 20s. His baby face didn’t look like it was quite used to a razor yet.
“Paperwork,” the man held out his hand over the radio equipment in front of him.
Chase handed the man-boy the paperwork. The kid’s hand looked twice the size of his own. Chase watched as he ran a finger down the DD-214 and then glanced at the copy of Chase’s driver license.
“Montana?” the boy asked.
“Excuse me?” Chase responded.
The boy looked frustrated and set the papers on the desk in front of him and tried again.
“Are you from Montana?”
“Yes, I’m from Montana.”
“Ever lived anywhere else?” the boy focused on the empty space on the page where he was taking notes.
“Not really, just different spots overseas mostly, all in the military.”
The boy grabbed Chase’s DD-214 and scanned a finger over the locations on the form.
“Social?”
“I try to be, but people are really a pain sometimes,” Chase answered.
The boy wasn’t amused, but the comment received a snicker from Martin.
“Your Social Security Number,” the boy reiterated. He had one finger on the number on the form, waiting to verify Chase’s response.
The boy verified the number and then turned to Martin, “That’s it.”
“Thanks, Decker,” Martin said and stepped back out the door.
Chase followed Martin onto the porch and stepped up beside him.
“No sense of humor,” Chase commented.
“The kid has something wrong with his pituitary or something. He’s okay, though. He’s the Operator and the Human Resources guy.”
“Got it. What’s next?”
“We have to wait for James. He’s tied up with a special assignment for a few minutes. He said to wait here and he’d get back with us when he’s done.”
“A special assignment?”
Martin shrugged, “Don’t know, don’t care. He gets called on a lot. He’s Popov’s right-hand man.”
“Popov? The guy Russian?” Chase asked.
“Yeah. He’s got the accent and everything. People talk, not sure what’s true or not. He’s pretty hard-nosed. I believe he was in the Russian military. One reason we’re all here. He prefers the military chain of authority and attitude. He walks and talks it and expects us to do the same on grounds.”
“What about this Adam guy?” Chase asked.
Martin dropped his voice, “He’s kind of got that mountain man meets religion sort of thing about him. Hard to describe. If you saw him off-grounds you would think he was just some back-woodser in town to get his groceries and go back off-grid.”
“So what’s the appeal? How’s he getting them to follow him?”
“You know the story, you can look it up under any cult page on Wikipedia,” Martin answered. “You know, he gets them to sip the Kool-aid and pretty soon their chugging the stuff.”
“So that’s what keeps them here? The Kool-aid?”
“Has to be. Nothing else around here would keep me from being able to eat a fast food burger once in a while.”
“You ever talk to the guy?” Chase asked.
“You kidding me? You have to go through Popov to even say boo to the guy. Although I don’t really have an interest in meeting him. As long as the checks clear the bank I’m content to stay in a long-distance relationship with the guy.”
Go through Popov.
Chase needed to get to know a little more about Popov. Adam… not so much. He sounded like your run-of-the-mill off-balance religious leader. There were always people looking for someone, or something, to follow. No matter how absurd it sounded with a clear head. Get them to sip the Kool-aid and eventually they’ll join in on the guzzling contest.
He needed to find Megan and Haley. Chase didn’t need to meet Adam. He had the feeling he would end up going through Popov, somehow.
31
“James to Popov.”
“Go ahead,” Viktor answered.
“Headed back to HLC. What’s your twenty?”
“Near the Garden. Meet you at the Garden trailhead.”
“Roger that,” James said. “Operator.”
“Operator here, go ahead.”
“One coming across perimeter northeast,” James said.
“Roger that, one coming across northeast.”
The radio went silent. Viktor had just finished safely tucking the twelve back into the Garden. Adam’s release of one of the twelve was always cause for a slight uptick in alert for him and any present staff. The girl had heard Adam give the order to give her the best spot at the Enlightenment Circle, only to be told she would be left behind as the twelve—with a new twelfth member—were being escorted back to the Garden.
Adam had left the circle first, with Megan King in tow. The twelve then ceremoniously stood and followed. His security detail book ended the group. As the group filed by, Viktor stopped the outcast member and told her Adam had, “… asked her to stay with the Community and help the other members in their eternal progression. Adam is so proud of you and feels that your progression has grown beyond the bounds of the Garden and it would be unfair of him to keep you to himself when you have so much to give back.”
The conversation usually struck a chord of disbelief and a moment of mental struggle. A backhanded compliment, being left behind because you’re so awesome. Like a teacher saying you’re being held back to help the other kids that are slow.
The girl stood staring at Viktor. His job done, he didn’t need to stay and coddle her. He instead turned and caught up with the tail end of his security behind the eleven of twelve.
Viktor tapped the last guard on the shoulder as he reached him, “Go back and keep a loose surveillance on her. Make sure she doesn’t follow us. Only report back if she heads this way or if she goes into loner mode.”
“Roger,” the man said and headed back toward the circle.
Viktor watched as the guard at the front of the line reached the front door and opened it for the girls to enter the Garden. Viktor stayed back at the trailhead and waited for James. The guard shut the door and made eye contact with Viktor and waited for a nod to be excused back to his normal patrol. Viktor nodded at the man and looked through the window on the porch.
He could see the girls settling in, a couple moving toward the kitchen, a few taking up spots on the couch, the rest standing and chatting excitedly.
A rustle of bushes to his left gave away James’ arrival.
“We may have a problem,” James started.
“May?”
“Remember the old guy just north of here?” James pointed in the general direction of the man’s residence. “The one asking so many questions about the sensor install?”
Viktor nodded and waited for James to continue.
“It was him back in the trees. He was watching the Garden with a spotting scope.”
“Doesn’t sound like a problem. As long as he stays on his side and we stay on ours.”
“That’s what I thought. After verifying who he was, I was about to leave when I saw him raise up a rifle and point it toward the Garden.”
“Pointed a rifle?” Viktor said out loud, trying to make sense of the old man’s behavior.
“He raised up a rifle and looked through the scope at the Garden. It looked like an old thirty-thirty saddle rifle. The scope looked about as old as the gun. No way he could pinpoint anything at the Garden through the scope at that distance.”
The news troubled Viktor, but he was pleased with James’ assessment of the situation. One reason he considered James his right-hand man. James removed the emotion from the situation and broke it down into descriptive and factual parts.
“
There’s no bad-blood between us or recent run-ins to justify his actions,” Viktor said.
“None.”
“Threat level?” Viktor asked.
“Low. Yes, he pointed a rifle toward the Garden. But given his choice of weapon, he’d have to get pretty close to actually engage anyone at the Garden with it. By the time he got close enough, the sensors would give fair warning for a response. He knows about the sensors, which is actually a positive. He knows not to venture too close to the perimeter.”
Again, Viktor was pleased with James’ breakdown of the threat possibility.
“Recommendation?” Viktor asked.
“Nothing beyond awareness. He’s far enough out and mostly acting curious. He’s broken no laws and crossed no legal boundaries to warrant any action or intervention. I’d suggest we just add him to the hot sheet for staff to be aware of his presence and current behavior. Also, have the Operator keep a close eye on the border sensors over the next week.”
“Head back to HQ and work up the hot sheet for staff, brief the Operator and have him pass it on when getting off shift, then contact your team and update them on the situation since they won’t see the hot sheet until the end of shift.”
“Roger that,” James turned to leave and then stopped. He turned back and asked, “What about my special assignment?”
Viktor laughed, “Adam just made her number twelve.” He nodded toward the Garden. “She’s my special project now.”
32
Chase and Martin sat on the steps in front of HQ and waited for James to arrive. Chase tried to casually take in as much of the layout as he could without alerting Martin. If Martin noticed, Chase could chalk it up to learning the layout to get ready to go to work, but he didn’t want to chance the conversation going awry when he didn’t need to.
Chase spotted James first as he stepped from the dense line of trees and bushes just to his left. He stood and Martin quickly jumped followed.
