by Wilson Harp
Five hours later, the bus pulled in at the terminal in Manhattan and Kyle fiddled with his backpack and made it seem like he had problems getting himself situated. He wanted to be one of the last ones off the bus, so he could spot anyone scanning for him. He took a quick look around and didn’t see anything to be nervous about. Most likely, he had made it to New York without Wu, or any of his men’s, knowledge.
Kyle walked a couple of blocks to clear his head. He didn’t know what he should do or where he should go. He pulled his tablet out again and pulled up the live reports from the now calm compound.
There were ambulances on the scene and NYPD was swarming the buildings. One newscaster talked about a fierce firefight involving General Kitch. He said there were reports that the General had been wounded in the exchange and was being transported to Saint Luke’s by the NYPD. Mayor DiGrasso had demanded the United Nations and Earth Force disarm and disengage. He had called upon the Governor of New York to activate the National Guard if either group continued hostile actions.
Kyle stepped to the curb and waved down a cab.
“Where to?”
“Saint Luke’s, please.”
The cab driver reached up to punch in his ticket.
“Wait, drop me off at the Lincoln Center.”
“Sure, no problem,” said the cabbie.
Kyle felt paranoid, but he also knew coincidences were dangerous if you weren’t just imagining them. He didn’t really think Wu’s people would be tracking the GPS data from the city cab drivers, but he didn’t want to take the chance.
The trip across town was typical. Kyle looked at the grey clouds above the towering buildings. Overcast was good. Overcast meant no live satellite feeds of the hospital entrances. He knew there would be cameras searching for him. Most people on Earth didn’t know Earth Forces had a satellite which could read high concentrations of mosar. It was something the Security Council had been very interested in getting since the Iltia’cor invasion. Mostly they wanted to know how many Pelod were living among the human population.
The cab stopped and Kyle paid the fare in cash. The hospital was four blocks away. The news crews, more than the police and their vehicles, announced there was a big story here.
Kyle slung his backpack over shoulder and walked calmly to the hospital.
“Sir, do you have any identification?” a young police officer asked.
Kyle pulled his wallet out from his jacket pocket, flipped it open to show his driver’s license, and handed it to the policeman.
“Sam Butler?” the officer asked. “You’re from Virginia?”
“Yes,” said Kyle as he openly looked around at all of the police activity.
“May I ask why you are coming to the hospital today?”
Kyle turned back to the officer. “Oh. My daughter went into labor. She’s two weeks early. They called and told me her water broke, so I drove straight up here. I had to park several blocks away. What’s going on?”
“Sorry for the trouble, but we have a situation here.”
“Can I go up and see my daughter?”
“Yeah, go in the first set of doors and head straight for the elevator. Take it up to four,” the policeman said as he handed Kyle his wallet back.
“Thank you,” Kyle said with a smile.
The policeman rolled his eyes. “Just get moving, grandpa.”
Kyle wove his way through the crowds to the main door. Two policemen flanked the entryway, but Kyle just nodded at them as he went in. If his own men had been this lax in security, he would have chewed them out, but he was glad he wasn’t challenged again before he reached the elevator.
He pressed the button to go up and looked around. Policemen were standing in small groups or by themselves as the hospital staff went about their jobs. Patients clung tightly to the waiting rooms. No one was just ambling about.
The door to the elevator opened and two nurses came out. They were chatting about some TV show. Kyle had hoped they would have dropped a hint to him about what floor the wounded from the Earth Forces compound were being treated.
He stepped in and looked at the elevator buttons and smiled. Floor six had a lock and required a key to access. That had to be the quarantine floor and where they would keep any security risks when not in surgery. He pressed the button to the top floor and went to work.
Kyle slung his backpack down as the doors closed and unzipped the side pocket. He pulled out a small cylindrical device and held it in his mouth. He then removed a large brown and purple robe from the main section of the backpack and slipped it on. He made sure he had the robe on correctly and then pressed the small device against the key hole. He pressed a button on the back of the device and gave it a sharp turn. The button for the locked floor popped out and Kyle pressed it.
He dropped the alien device back into the backpack and waited for the door to open.
Kyle looked down at the backpack in his hand. He dare not leave it on the elevator and yet it would be more impressive if he wasn’t carrying it. He didn’t have time to come up with a good plan before the elevator stopped and the door opened. There was tight security. Several policemen looked warily at a group of men in black tactical gear. All of the men carried weapons openly.
When the elevator opened, several from both groups looked at the sound. Kyle assumed they hadn’t received notice someone was coming up.
“Gentlemen,” Kyle said as he stepped off the elevator. He handed his backpack to the closest policeman as he walked by.
“Show me where General Kitch is being treated,” he said as he turned to the men in the tactical gear.
The policemen behind Kyle fidgeted and the U.N. security forces glanced at each other.
“Ambassador Martin?” someone asked from beyond a door.
Kyle turned to the voice and saw a very pale faced man named Valos step out. He was one of Wu’s toadies and was probably the lowest ranking U.N. official Wu would trust to handle the wounded General.
“Where is she, Valos?”
“I didn’t know you were in New York.”
“I didn’t see fit to tell you. Where is the General?”
“She’s down the hall,” the frightened man said. “I’ll take you to her.”
Kyle motioned for Valos to lead.
“I’m sure Chancellor Wu will want to speak with you,” Valos said as they made their way down the hallway. Policemen and soldiers loitered around several doorways keeping an eye on the wounded taken from the compound. And each other.
“That’s convenient, because I want to speak with him,” Kyle said. “Why aren’t there any Earth Force soldiers here to guard the General and the other wounded?”
Valos hesitated. “She’s in that room,” he said. “Let the Ambassador through.”
The two U.N. soldiers stepped aside as they eyed Kyle. He could tell they were nervous. No one had expected him to be at the hospital. He could only imagine frantic calls to Wu’s office were made the moment the elevator door opened.
Kyle stepped into the room and saw a nurse sitting by Kitch’s bed. His old friend and confidant lay under a mass of tubes and bandages.
“How is she?” Kyle asked as he slowly walked in.
“She’s still not completely stable,” the nurse said. She recognized Kyle more from his robe, he was sure, than by the worried expression he knew he wore.
“Is she awake?”
“She drifts in and out. We have her on some strong pain meds.”
Kyle walked over and picked up her chart. He had seen hundreds of these in his life. Most of them had shown indications of gunshot wounds and fragmentation from explosions.
“Lung hit, but no other organs seriously damaged,” Kyle said softly.
“One fragment was lodged in a vertebrae, but the surgeon was able to pick it clean,” the nurse said.
“Kyle?” Kitch whispered. “Why are you here?”
Kyle motioned for the nurse to give him some privacy.
“Well, you got yoursel
f all shot up, Diane.”
She tried to smile. Her face was puffy and swollen. A large knot had formed on the side of her head and the bruise had already turned purple and black.
“Take it easy, Diane. I am going to go confront Wu.”
“No, Kyle. Don’t. He’s too dangerous. I didn’t think he would do this.”
“None of us thought he would go this far.”
“My men saved my life,” she said. “They fought his troops off long enough. The fight lasted long enough. Otherwise they would have killed me.”
“Did you know beforehand?”
“Know what?”
“That the U.N. Security Council removed you from your position?”
Kitch shook her head. “No. That’s how he’ll justify it.”
Kyle nodded. “He will say you resisted being removed from office.”
“My guardian angel wasn’t with me.”
“Maybe it was his day off.”
“Maybe. But he needs to take care of you if you insist on meeting with Wu.”
Kyle smiled. “Wu seems capable of anything, but I don’t think he’ll try to kill me or arrest me in public. And I don’t intend to meet him anywhere but in public.”
“Be careful, Kyle.”
Kitch closed her eyes and fell back asleep.
Kyle stared at her broken body for a few minutes. He had seen men and women in worse conditions back on their feet in just months. He was sure Kitch would recover faster than anyone could imagine. He would have felt sorry for Wu when she did, but Wu would deserve every measure of pain he was about to endure.
He motioned for the nurse to come back to the General’s bedside.
“Thank you, keep a close eye on her. We still need her.”
“I will, Ambassador. She’s one of my personal heroes.”
Kyle smiled and nodded. “Mine too.”
He left her room prepared to go meet the Earth Chancellor.
Chapter 12
“Ambassador,” Valos said as Kyle walked toward the elevator. “Chancellor Wu has sent a message. He wants to see you in his office to discuss today’s tragic events.”
“I’m sure he does, Valos. But I’m not going to his office. I’m going to get a hotdog.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Kyle as he stopped, turned and stepped in close to Wu’s sycophant. “I said I was going to get a hotdog. There’s a vendor in Central Park on the south side of the Pool. Wu can meet me there if he wants. I’ll even buy him lunch.”
“I don’t think he’ll be happy.”
“I don’t care,” said Kyle. He turned and walked toward the elevator. The policeman who had taken Kyle’s backpack when he arrived handed it to him.
“Come with me, officer,” said Kyle. “I need your assistance for a bit.”
The officer followed Kyle onto the elevator when the door opened. He still held the backpack awkwardly.
“Uhm, sir,” he said as the door shut and Kyle pressed the button for the ground floor. “Where are we going?”
“We’re going to take a squad car over to the U.N., wait for a few minutes, and then head to Central Park.”
“Okay, sir. But, why me?”
“What?”
“Why did you choose me?”
“Because you were available and you held my bag.”
The officer grew quiet.
“What did you think when I handed my backpack to you?” Kyle asked.
“I wasn’t sure what to think.”
“Why didn’t you put it down?”
“Because I figured you didn’t want to forget it on the way out.”
“There you go,” said Kyle. “You believed I was going to get out of there alive and you knew I’d need my backpack. You showed trust in me and you earned trust from me.”
“What’s going on, sir?”
“I’m not sure—what’s your name?”
“Stephen Causer. Patrolman Stephen Causer, sir.”
“Well, Stephen, I’m not exactly sure what is going on. But we’ll find out in a little bit.”
The door opened to the lobby and Kyle was met by a large soldier wearing an Earth Forces uniform.
“Ambassador,” Salazar said. “Were you able to see her?”
“I was, Ramon. She’ll recover. Have the Governor send the National Guard here. I want both Earth Forces and U.N. forces away from this hospital,” Kyle said as he headed for the exit.
“I can’t do that,” Salazar said. “I was relieved of command.”
Kyle stopped and turned back to the Spaniard. “When?”
“General Mueller relieved me just a few minutes ago.”
Kyle’s jaw clenched. Wu had been clever in keeping his choice for commander a secret. Mueller was a great man to do what you wanted, but Kyle always felt he lacked long-term vision and personal compassion. Two things Kyle always looked for when judging leadership.
Mueller would do exactly as he was told, and do it very well. He would not see the end result until it was too late, however.
“Where’s Kiskaliski?” Kyle asked.
“Don’t know. He was supposed to have been at the briefing this morning with General Kitch. I hit traffic and was running late. I don’t know where K-Man is. He may have been in the building when the attack took place.”
Kyle somehow had his doubts, but he wasn’t sure why.
“Find him and see if he has been relieved of duty. I’m sure Mueller will remove anyone who has worked directly under Kitch or myself.”
“Do you think he will remove Kiskaliski? He’s the best director of Special Operations since, well, since you, sir.”
Kyle had heard whispers K-man was the best ever, but he appreciated Salazar lying.
“Just find him and have him track me down. I know he can trace my phone. I’ll be in Manhattan all day and I need to speak with him, face to face.”
“I’ll try to find him,” Salazar said.
Kyle left the hospital with Causer in tow. They found a squad car near the edge of the perimeter and took it. With Kyle in his distinctive robes, no questions were asked.
“I’m going to have a good story back at the precinct,” Causer said as they pulled away.
“Driving the Ambassador around?” Kyle asked. He smiled at the situation. He was a celebrity in many ways. He had steadfastly refused interviews or to make appearances other than before the U.N. He had requested, and up until this point been indulged, to not allow his speeches to be televised or recorded. He wasn’t particularly shy, but he felt his words and not his delivery were more important. He wanted his speeches to be read like an essay. He had considered just sending his addresses to the Security Council as written responses, but A’nacal was strongly against that idea.
“My mom will be excited as well,” Causer said. “She is a big fan of yours.”
“She’s read my speeches?” Kyle asked.
Causer shrugged. “I doubt it. She just fell in love with you from the movie.”
Kyle grimaced. A year after the Iltia’cor war ended, there was a poorly produced, and yet surprisingly popular, made for television movie about his exploits during the war. Almost every scene in the movie was complete fabrication.
Everything but the scene of him rescuing his sister from the Otina base. That part had been true. And Kyle was asked about it constantly. It was the biggest reason he didn’t give interviews or speak in public.
Fifteen minutes later, they parked about two blocks from the U.N. headquarters.
“What’re we doing here, sir?” Causer asked.
“I want to see how the Chancellor will go to the park,” Kyle said. He pulled a small pair of binoculars out of his backpack and looked at the entry way to the parking garage. There was no extra security and a car was waved in. He looked up to the roof and saw a helicopter on the pad.
“He’ll be going by private car and with no air support,” Kyle said.
“What does that mean?”
“It me
ans I may need to borrow your sidearm, Causer. Let’s head to the park.”
Causer started the patrol car and pulled into traffic.
“Are you serious about the sidearm?” he asked. “Do you really think the Chancellor might threaten you?”
“He might. I would rather be armed than not. Would that be a problem for you?”
Causer didn’t speak.
“It’s okay, I understand. You’re responsible for the sidearm. If anything were to happen, you’d be held responsible.”
“We should call for back up now,” Causer said. “SWAT can be on location in twenty minutes.”
“No, I want to see what Chancellor Wu has to say without him knowing the police are listening and watching.”
“How would he know?”
“Trust me, I had to use false IDs, alternate transportation, and a little disguise work to reach the hospital. Wu’s intelligence system is vast and deep. I’m sure he knows every move in the NYPD.”
“I’ll go with you, then. No sense in not having some backup.”
Kyle nodded at the young officer. “Sounds good, Causer. He’ll try to make us wait, so we have plenty of time. I’m sure they’ll be looking for us to park close, and they know we’re in a patrol car, so park three or four blocks away and we’ll walk in.”
Causer found a spot on a side street and they walked toward the park. Several people took pictures of the man dressed as the Ambassador, but Kyle doubted anyone thought the real Ambassador would be walking around Midtown with all of the news from this morning. Even with his robes and the news, the vast majority of people just ignored him and went about their day.
Kyle thought back to the first time he had been in Central Park. He couldn’t get over the size of the lush, green paradise dropped right into one of the biggest and busiest cities in the world. He knew Wu would have a hard time pinpointing where he would be and that might give him the advantage over the Chancellor.
They walked into the park and Kyle turned to the Pool. He knew there was a hotdog vendor on the south side of the lake, and that was where he wanted to meet with Wu. He hoped there might be several witnesses nearby which would dissuade Wu from doing anything rash. But Kyle wasn’t sure. There was something wrong, and he knew it. Something was making Wu behave in an arrogant and reckless manner.
