“Finish with the preparations and then gather everyone to watch,” he told the men who went back outside to do his bidding. “Eddie, what is going on here?”
“I brought us some new friends,” Eddie said.
“And why are our new friends not following standard protocol upon entering the Complex?”
“Ah, Jacob, you don’t have to worry about these guys,” Eddie said. “They’re down with the plan here. Jackson’s real good with cars, spent some time on the inside for it.”
Jacob’s eyes narrowed. “If you got caught, how good can you be?”
“I didn’t get caught,” Jackson replied. “Got ratted out when one of the crew got his ass caught and turned on us. I kept my mouth shut and did my time.”
“I see. Well, I have to admire a loyal man. So where did you come from?”
“West Virginia originally, but Chicago more recently. That’s where we all met.”
“And now you’re here.”
“We heard word that shit wasn’t so bad up here,” Banks said, “So we’ve been heading north, hoping to find some place where it was clear.”
“And now you’ve decided to join us?”
“Eddie said that a man can earn his place here, is that true?” Banks asked.
“It is, provided you follow the rules,” Jacob replied. “There is no stealing here, no hoarding. Everything here is part of a communal pot. You work to earn your share of the pot.”
“Sounds fine by me,” Banks replied, wrapping an arm around Mendez’s waist and pulling her into him. “We’re in.”
Jacob nodded, his eyes lingering on the embrace before he turned to Jackson and Claudia. “And you two?”
Claudia threaded her arm through Jackson’s and cuddled up to his side. He frowned down at her but all she did was bat her eyelashes at him and give him a coy smile. “I like it here, baby. Can we stay?”
“Alright,” he replied, playing along. It was a smart move. He’d seen the way Eddie had been looking at Claudia the girls. It would be better for everyone to think they were taken. “We can try it out.”
Jacob smiled. “Well, that’s good to hear. You’ve caught us during a very busy day but I think it may be a positive. It will do all of you good to see how serious we are about our rules. Eddie, why don’t you take them outside with the others. The reckoning is about to begin.”
“No problem, boss,” Eddie replied. “Come on, we’ll get ourselves a good spot.”
Jackson hesitated as Eddie waved them outside. He wanted try and get more info out of Jacob but he was already walking away, followed by two large men with big guns.
It was probably for the best. Asking questions might make them suspicious. They had to be smart about this, stand back and observe until they could find the right moment to make their move.
Jackson followed Eddie and the others back outside. People were starting to gather around the lobby entrance.
“Forget these guys,” Eddie said, leading them on a path through the crowd. “We can get front row seats to the real show.”
Eddie directed them towards the flatbed trailer that held a bunch of water cisterns. He pointed up at the metal arch that had been welded to the edge of the trailer.
“Jacob likes to make a show out of the reckonings,” Eddie said with a grin. “Let the people know the consequences of breaking the rules.”
“What the hell is a reckoning?” Mendez asked.
“It’s how we deal with people who kill us,” Eddie replied. “Public execution, Old West style. Hang ‘em high!”
Eddie let out a whoop and Jackson’s blood ran cold. He should have known. The cocksucker and his bitch that Marsh mentioned. It was too much of coincidence.
A cheer went up from the gathered crowd and Jackson whipped around. The crowd parted and Jackson felt like he was going to vomit.
Standing behind Jacob were Veronica and Travis, both of them bloodied and bruised, nooses tied around their necks.
Subject File #742
Subject: I should have come up with a better plan. Maybe things would have been different if I had thought of something better.
Administrator: It was a risk but you had to take it. I don’t think any of us could have come up with a better plan.
Subject: Maybe, maybe not. I know I’ll never stop wondering what if.
“As far as ideas go, it’s not the greatest.”
Malcolm had to admit Sam had a point. “Well, it’s the best we have right now. Any suggestions for improvement?”
Sam sighed and then shook his head.
“Let’s do this then.”
Malcolm waited for Nas and Sam to get into place. Sam wasn’t wrong in criticising the plan. It really wasn’t the greatest. It completely depended on Jacob still being upstairs handling whatever was happening. Malcolm hadn’t gotten the signal yet that he was back down here listing in, so if they were going to make a move, it had to happen now.
When Sam and Nas were in position, Malcolm pounded on the door.
“Clay! I need help in here!”
Nas slammed the chair and screamed. “He’s got me!”
“Come on, we need help!” Malcolm pounded on the door again and then he heard the sound of the key in the lock. He nodded at the others and put himself in the middle of the doorway, blocking Clay’s view when he pulled the door open.
“Shit, man, get in here!” Malcolm yelled, setting Clay enough off balance that he didn’t realize Malcolm had grabbed hold of his rifle. Malcolm held onto it as he pivoted, yanking Clay into the room, where Nas hit him with the chair.
It was enough to knock the wind out of him and Malcolm disarmed him, bringing the rifle around to crack him in the skull.
He dropped like dead weight, crumpling into a heap on the ground. Sam was quick to pull the ring of keys from the door as Nas righted the chair and helped Malcolm pull the unconscious man into it.
“Alright, I admit I was wrong about the plan,” Sam said, peeking out into the hallway. “We’re clear.”
“One on one they are easy to take down,” Malcolm said. “We’ll see if our luck holds when we get upstairs.”
Malcolm stripped the Glock and taser that were holstered on Clay’s hip as Nas cuffed his arms to the chair. Malcolm took off Clay’s boot and sock, rolling the white cotton into a ball and shoving it in his mouth and used the shoestring from his boot to secure it there. Malcolm wasn’t sure how hard he’d hit the guy but if he did wake up, this would keep him quiet.
“You can get us to the armory from here?”
“It’s up in the laundry room, the staircase opens up right by the entrance,” Sam said. “There’s only ever one guard on duty there. He’s not really even a guard. He just keeps inventory, hands out the high powered shit to the scavenge groups.”
“You know his name?”
“Yeah, it’s Brett.”
“He a quick shot?”
“No, he likes the job since he sits most of the day.”
They moved up the stairs quickly, pausing at the door to make sure the hall on the main floor was clear. Sure enough there was a man sitting in a lawn chair, a grey comb over doing nothing to hide his bald head. His chin was resting on his chest, the grey moustache shaking with his snores. It couldn’t be any more perfect.
“Wait here for my signal.”
Malcolm pushed open the door and strode up the hall purposefully.
“You Brett?” The guard jumped awake, his hand shooting to his chest instead of holster on his hip. It actually could get more perfect. “Jacob needs to talk to you right now.”
Brett frowned at him, his big moustache drooping at the corners. “Who the hell are--”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Malcolm hit him with the taser. Electricity crackled as the guard spasmed and collapsed in the chair. Malcolm disarmed him and grabbed the key ring off his belt before gesturing for Sam and Nas to join him.
He handed Sam the ring of keys, letting him pick out the one for the armory. When
they got the door open, they dragged Brett inside, leaving his lawn chair outside. If anybody walked by, they’d assume he’d taken a bathroom break.
With the door closed behind them and their prisoner trussed up and gagged, Malcolm finally took a proper survey of the armory. The washing machines and dryers had been moved to one side of the room, the rest of the walls lined with a mishmash of shelving units and cabinets that must have been taken from the apartments.
It hadn’t just been furniture they had been busy moving. The shelves and cabinets were stocked with a literal arsenal. Malcolm had thought their own stockpile on the island was impressive but this place looked like they had cleared out a military base.
There were dozens and dozens of guns, from fully automatics to revolvers. There were RPGs and even a crate full of grenades. They were armed to the teeth. The sight of the arsenal made Malcolm realize they needed to get the hell out of here. If they fucked up now they were all dead.
“Found our bags,” Nas said, holding up the familiar packs. “The meds are still here but the MREs and water we brought with us are gone.”
“Doesn’t matter, as long as the antibiotics are there,” Malcolm said. “Let’s arm ourselves and grab extra for the others.”
Malcolm scanned the rifles, looking for his own with its familiar green strap but he couldn’t find it. Damn it, he really liked that gun. At least there were some decent replacements.
The M-4 he took actually felt more comfortable in his hands than the rifle. He was tempted to take the .50 cal rifle but the thing was too bulky to carry in close combat so he settled for loading up on flashbangs and grenades from the crates. You couldn’t complain about something that made a nice big boom.
“The generator room is at the end of this hallway,” Sam said. “If we light it up, it’ll be a big enough distraction to let us get over to the other building.”
“What if they leave some men on the walls?” Malcolm asked. “That’s a long run across that courtyard.”
“We won’t go through the courtyard. The underground parking lot connects both buildings.”
“Well alright then.” Malcolm was impressed by the man. Despite his injuries, he was focused and ready to fight. He wouldn’t be a burden on them.
Sam opened the armory door but then quickly pulled back, pushing the door closed but keeping the lock from clicking. Malcolm heard the voices in the hallway and he held his breath.
“He say what this is about?”
“Nope but I saw them setting up. Looks like we’ve got a reckoning.”
“Been a lot of those lately.”
“Been a lot of bullshit lately. Those assholes were tight with Sam. They voted against Jacob and probably helped Sam get out. They deserve what happened to them.”
“True that.”
The voices drifted away and Sam nodded the all clear and they sprinted down the hallway to the generator room. This one was locked as well but Sam used Brett’s keys to get them inside. Two large diesel powered generators stood in the centre of the room and metal fuel drums lined the wall.
“They’ve been doing some serious hoarding here,” Nas said.
“Yeah, we wanted to have enough to get us through winter,” Sam said, regret in his voice.
It was easy for Malcolm and Nas to hate these people but they had once been Sam’s people. He’d survived the worst of the apocalypse with them and then they turned on him. It had to hurt.
“Now I don’t care if every last one of them freezes to death.”
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t hurting that much.
Sam grabbed the wrench that was hanging from a hook on the wall and went to work unscrewing the caps on the drums. Malcolm moved over to the barred window in the corner, careful to keep himself hidden while he looked out. It gave him a good view of the parking lot and the entrance to the other building.
There were people gathered around the entrance, far enough away that Malcolm felt comfortable moving closer to the window to see what had drawn their attention.
He remembered the conversation they’d overheard in the hallway. “Sam, what is a reckoning? Those two guys were talking about it before.”
“No idea,” Sam replied as he twisted the cap off the last drum. “That must have started after I left. Nas, tear up that rag from your pack, we can use it to make wicks.”
Malcolm knew he should help but he kept his eyes on the crowd outside. Something wasn’t sitting right with him.
A cheer went up from the crowd and they parted as Jacob walked through them followed by two familiar faces. Travis was practically holding Veronica up as she limped along, the crowd’s cheers turning into boos and angry jeers. They were far enough away that it took Malcolm a few moments to realize that both of them had nooses around their necks, the lengths of rope trailing behind them like macabre tails. Well, the question of what a reckoning was, was answered.
“We gotta get moving now!
Subject File #750
Administrator: While her fear of being alone may be her biggest weakness, it also drove her to never give up on finding her siblings. That drive may be her greatest strength.
Veronica wanted to scream at the people that surrounded her. Beg them for help or demand to know what was wrong with them. Even just curse them all to burn in hell, but it took everything in her just to stay on her feet.
As it was, Travis was holding up most of her weight. He had helped her pull his shirt on to cover herself but it was now stuck to her back, the drying blood pulling at the wounds with every step. Sweat soaked her entire body as she fought not to pass out from the pain.
Maybe it was would be better if she did pass out. She wouldn’t know what was happening to her and she wouldn’t even know it when it was over.
Except she wanted to look the men doing this in the eyes.
A large trailer loomed ahead of them and the whole thing started to spin as her feet stumbled. Even if her hands hadn’t been bound behind her, she wouldn’t have had the energy to lift her arms to break her fall. Luckily, Travis caught her and she moaned as her new scabs tore open and blood began to trickle down her back again. The world went grey and began to spin wildly as strong arms seized her and she realized she was being carried now.
She was set on her feet again and she felt a hand keeping her upright as the noose around her neck was tightened until it became taut. She forced her eyes open, the world fuzzy as it took time for her to focus. She was up on the trailer, facing the courtyard and the sea of men that were staring up at her, vicious smiles on their faces.
Her knees went loose and she began to fall but the noose bit into her neck. It was enough of a shock to lock her knees in place and the noose relaxed enough for her to suck in a breath. She looked back and saw Marsh tying the tail end of the noose to the metal bar over her head. He gave her an evil grin and yanked on the rope again.
“You ready to hang, bitch?”
She looked down at the toes of her boots on the edge of the trailer and the five foot drop to the ground. It didn’t seem that high for a fall but with short noose around her neck it meant certain death.
Except it wouldn’t be a quick death. The fall wasn’t high enough to snap their necks and have it over with immediately. They would suffer before they died.
She wanted to fight it. An angry voice inside raged at her to do something to stop it. Punch, kick, bite, claw, anything to save herself, but her body was too worn out.
Besides, what would fighting do? It would just cause her more pain and put off the inevitable. There was nothing she could do to save herself.
“Veronica?” She turned to look at Travis next to her. “I’m sorry.”
“No apologies,” she choked out.
He didn’t need to apologize to her. She had put him in this situation and he’d done more to fight than her.
When they had taken them from the cell, Travis had tried to fight. He’d landed a couple good hits before he’d been tased and it was all over. His defiance had earne
d him two more shots with the taser and another kick to his already injured ribs.
And she had just laid there on the ground, doing nothing except sobbing and pleading with them to stop.
She was beyond useless now. Maybe this would be better. Even if Malcolm and Nas were still alive, she could barely walk. If they tried to escape from here, she would only slow them down.
Her thoughts went to Jackson and the girls, to Quinton and Claudia, and all the people that she was going to leave behind. She just hoped Jackson and the others had got the medicine back to the island. The people she loved would be okay and that was something she had to hold onto now.
For the first time in a long time, her thoughts went to God. She wasn’t a big believer but in that moment she found herself praying to Him.
Please take care of them. Please let them live long and happy lives. Please let them forgive me for failing.
She was so lost in her prayers, it took her a moment to realize that there was a commotion near the far end of the trailer. It was only when she heard Jacob yell out that she focused on the raised voices.
“Get them over here!”
She had to be hallucinating. Her injuries had finally gotten to her, or maybe it was being this close to death, but her brain had finally snapped.
Jackson was being frog-walked towards the trailer, fighting his captor every step of the way.
“Let ‘em go!” Jackson cried out and the man holding him gave him a kick in the back of his knee, causing Jackson to drop and cry out in pain.
“Wait,” Jacob called out, holding up a hand. “Where are the rest of his group?”
“Right here,” someone called out. Veronica gasped when Claudia, Mendez and Banks were dragged up behind Jackson, all of them struggling with their captors.
Maybe it wasn’t a hallucination. They’d been found.
Except the thought that the other group had found them didn’t bring her any relief.
What about the meds? They were supposed to be the backup plan to make sure Hannah got her medicine. If they were here, how could Hannah be okay? They weren’t going to get out of this and if neither group came back, the kids would die.
The Complex (The Omega Protocol Chronicles Book 3) Page 40
