by Roberts, EM
“I don’t know what that could possibly be. I own four pairs of jeans, and three t-shirts now. That’s the extent of my belongings.”
“Come on, let’s not play this game. I didn’t get where I am without learning a few things and pressuring a few people,” Adams smiled a shark’s hungry smile.
“What game? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“A certain Mr. Smith gave me some information before he died. He referred to Yucca Mountain. Ah, I bet you thought you were the only one—that’s what they tell you poor leaders to make you feel better.”
Parker understood now. Adams wanted control of the future. This wasn’t about building American back to its former glory. It was about Adams being in control of the country. That would be okay with Parker, but he knew the kind of man Adams was. The only reason Adams had been appointed to the Joint Chiefs of Staff was the result of blackmail.
“Yucca Mountain is the home of the Nuclear Waste Repository, or something like that, isn’t it? Why are you so fascinated in that?” Parker played it off.
“Don’t push me, Parker. You know exactly what’s under that Mountain. You know all about the HSF, and Mr. Smith told me only you can access it,” Adams charged angrily, standing and moving in front of Parker. He was clenching and unclenching his hands in a sign of frustration.
“HSF?”
“Humanity Survival Facility. Maybe, it’s time I get serious with you,” Adams stated menacingly.
“I thought you were already serious with me,” Parker joked, his stomach contracting at what he imagined may come next.
“Don’t you want the people who are left to have access to electricity, food, and other items they can use to rebuild their lives? What kind of former President are you? Maybe, I’ll take this to the survivors and see what they say. Captain Spignelli…” Adams called out.
A man in his forties walked into the room and saluted.
“Take Parker here and put him in with his friend, Miss Johnson while I make plans for him.” Adams ordered.
“But, sir. He’s the President.” Spignelli balked.
“This is the second time you’ve questioned my decisions. There won’t be a third. I’ll relieve you of command,” Adams ordered, his face flushing with anger.
“Yes, sir.”
Spignelli walked Parker into one of the storefront buildings. He lifted a makeshift barricade from one of the doors. Spignelli ordered Parker to enter the room. Upon his entrance, he noted two other prisoners, Ella and a young man who looked extremely ill.
“Parker, my God, are you okay? I just saw my father, and he said they’re treating you like a prisoner,” Ella grabbed Parker and hugged him, surprising him with her display of affection.
“Yes, I’m fine, but I don’t think I will be for long. I’ve officially been relieved of my former title, and I’m being remanded into custody until I give up some information to Adams. I think he’ll torture me to get it.” Parker explained, walking over and sitting cross legged on the floor.
“Oh, yeah, this is Jax. I don’t know if you recognize him or not, but he said he’s met you before when he played a gig at the White House,” Ella motioned to the young man huddled miserably in the corner.
“Certainly,” Parker replied, remembering the young man. He hadn’t looked as frail and ill a couple of years ago when they’d met.
“Detoxing man, so be prepared for me to spew my guts,” the young man mumbled his head on his knees.
“Well, anyway, it’s good to see you again,” Parker politely responding. He thought the man replied “likewise” but he couldn’t be sure.
“What kind of information does Adams think you have?” Ella questioned, bringing Parker’s attention back to her.
“I suppose I can tell you now because it’ll probably become public knowledge soon,” Parker motioned for Ella to sit beside him.
“I have coordinates and a code that is supposed to be for a survival facility in Nevada. I wasn’t sure it was even real. I thought it might just be a joke or something. However, I’m guessing it’s real since Adams seems to know about it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Is that where you were headed when you met Izzy?” Ella questioned.
“Yes, it was. I got sidetracked. I was going to bring it up soon and see if you guys wanted to go with me.”
“I don’t understand. What is in this facility?” Ella asked.
“I don’t even know, but Adams seemed to think it has its own power grid and that it will jumpstart humanity.” Parker sighed and leaned his head back against the wall.
Ella was silent for a moment. “If it were someone else, I would say give them the code, but I think Adams isn’t the leader these people think he is. I think he just wants the power, and he doesn’t care whether people live or die.”
“I don’t think that. I know it. I know him, and I know some of the things he’s done. We covered up some of his actions from Iraq and Afghanistan. Who knows what he did in the Gulf War? He had information on most of the politicians in Washington. No one was safe. It didn’t matter if a person was Democrat or Republican, Adams knew no political party when it came to blackmail.”
“Did he have anything on you?” Ella asked curiously.
“Not me, but he had something on the Vice President, so I went along with the request to have him stay on staff.”
“So, they let your father see you?” Parker asked, switching subjects.
“Yes, Dan, I mean Captain Spignelli and I served in the army before together. He allowed my father in for a few minutes while you were being questioned.
“What did you tell him?’
“I told him to take Roe and Carly back to the farm. If he stays here, then Adams will use him against me. He already told me if I don’t stay, he’ll burn the farm down. I believe him. I just have to figure out a way to get out of here.” Ella explained.
“You and me both. I have to tell you something though.” Parker explained to Ella where he hid the coordinates and codes for the facility. He made her promise him to go there eventually.
“I memorized them, but in case I don’t make it, I want you to know where it is because I know you’ll do the right thing.”
“Don’t talk that way, Parker. You’ll make it.”
Parker wasn’t so sure he’d make it. This was especially evident a few hours later when one of Adam’s officers returned and escorted him, Ella, and Jax outside to face a crowd of men and women, most in military garb.
“Officers, men, and women, I bring before you former President Parker Wallace, a man who not only allowed his country to be bombed by the United Nations, but who is preventing you from valuable survival shelter,” Lt. General Adams announced to the crowd.
Parker heard some boos and curses from the crowd. It wasn’t anything he wasn’t familiar with from his time as president.
“Mr. Wallace has the codes and coordinates to a Survival Center big enough to hold a thousand or more survivors and he’s been keeping it to himself. How should we deal with this? I bring it to you, the people. What do you want to do with someone so selfish?” Adams asked the angry crowd.
Make him tell! Kill him! Bastard! Asshole! Traitor! Make him tell! Make him tell! Make him tell! The crowd picked up the chant. There would be no relief from that sector, Parker thought. But, then again he hadn’t expected it. He didn’t blame these people. They’d been given a raw deal, and he was public enemy number one.
Hands grabbed him and took him to a different room. His arms were wrenched behind him and bound with zip ties, the plastic digging into his skin.. His feet were done the same. A burly officer entered the room with Adams.
“Sir?” the officer questioned.
“Rough him up,” Adams ordered, a smirk on his face.
“Gladly, sir,” the man replied with pleasure, striking quickly and hitting Parker in the mouth, causing his lip to burst like a ripe melon, blood flying everywhere. He was pretty sure the man had loosened a tooth.
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“The code?”
Silence.
Another fist came flying, this time catching Parker under the eye. For a moment, Parker saw stars. The man could pack a punch, and it hurt like hell, but he was stronger than two punches.
Three more punches cam in rapid succession, breaking a couple of his ribs and robbing him of his breath. He could hold out, he knew he could. The beating continued for several more minutes until Parker could hardly hold his head. The pain was intense; it hurt to breathe, but he wouldn’t give in. He couldn’t.
“More.”
The last two punches caught Parker in the side of the head, and mercifully he lost consciousness.
Chapter 9: The Great Escape
Izzy sat quietly behind the crate. Just inside the tent, an interesting conversation was taking place.
“Well, he’s unconscious now. I’ll have my man have another go at him when he comes to. It does me a world of good to see the high and mighty Parker Wallace bloody and bruised,” a man’s voice reverberated through the tent. Izzy thought it belonged to Adams. Poor Parker, Izzy thought.
“Yes, sir. I’ll see you in the morning,” another man responded.
Izzy remained where she was. She had plans. She’d flagged down Roe and Theo as they were making their way back to the farm. The three had sat down and come up with a plan. It wasn’t really a smart plan, but Theo thought it might work.
She’d watched earlier as the crowd had called for Parker’s blood. She knew which building he was in. Since he was under guard, she’d have to figure out something there. It was the building next to the one housing Ella, so they’d have to get both of them in one go.
It was a quarter of midnight when the Lt. Genera’s light went out in his tent. Izzy stealthily made her way out of the shopping center and across the road. The military didn’t have enough men to patrol every street in Kingsport, and since Izzy was small and thin, she was adept at hiding from the patrols.
She was puffing by the time she came up to Roe’s Jeep. She whistled just as Theo had requested to let him know it was she and not an enemy. The old man seemed to be itching to get into a fight. She was surprised because that wasn’t like Theo.
“Okay, so Parker is being kept in a room in a separate building from Ella, but they’re side by side. So, it we can get in there, we can get them both at the same time. Are you sure you want to do this?” Izzy asked. She was worried about the old man. She was afraid this would be too much for him. As tough as he was, he was over seventy years old.
“Girl, I’m sure or I wouldn’t be here,” he replied testily.
“Okay, so we’re ready? It’s going to be just the two of us?” She asked.
“Yeah, I found Roe a car, and she took Carly to Pete’s bar. I told her not to go to the farm. Hopefully, she’ll be all right. She knows how ta shoot a gun, and she knows not ta stop. I trust her.”
“Okay, let’s go then,” the two of them quietly made their way across the road, pausing as a group of soldiers drove by spotlighting the area. The two slid into a drainage ditch until the envoy passed by.
They made their way into the shopping center. It was a little tough for Theo because he wasn’t as agile as Ella, and she had to help him climb the fence that was barricading the lot. He was huffing and puffing by the time they reached the lot.
They were finally within a hundred feet of Ella’s jail.
“So, I’m going to go in with my gun when the explosion happens, right?” Izzy reminded Theo.
“Yeah, I’ll meet you on the other side of the road.”
“You sure you can get back over that fence,” Izzy asked.
“Over it, under it, I’ll be there. You got guns for Ella and Parker?”
“Yeah.”
Izzy watched the old man sneak away under the cover of darkness. Who drove around with dynamite on his person, anyway? Theo Johnson did, apparently. He’d stuck some in Roe’s vehicle. Just in case, he told Izzy. Just in case.
She stood where she was for a few minutes when suddenly the night lit up and fire came roaring from not only the helicopter but also a Jeep beside the aircraft. That wily old man, Izzy thought as she ran into the building where Ella was being held.
The guard was walking toward the door as Izzy burst through.
“What the hell?” he cried as Izzy cracked his head with the butt of her gun. Theo’s instructions were specific. Do not kill anyone unless absolutely possible.
She ran to the door and lifted the barricade.
“Ella…come on, hurry?” she instructed.
Ella appeared in the doorway, a thin young man behind her.
“Izzy what’s happening?” she asked.
“No time. We’re leaving,” she said, tossing Ella the AK47 she’d just retrieved from the guard, and the young man a handgun. If he’d been held prisoner, then chances were he’d want to leave.
“Okay, what’s the plan?” Ella asked following Izzy to the door. Izzy estimated it’d been about a minute since the blast. They needed to hurry.
“We save Parker. He’s next door. They’ll be busy seeing to the explosion,” Izzy exclaimed running to the door and peering out. Good, everyone was running the opposite direction. Their plan seemed to be working.
She, Ella, and the other prisoner ran next door. There was no guard. No doubt, he’d gone running to the explosion.
The two opened the door, and Izzy was sickened by Parker’s appearance.
“Parker, wake up. Come on.” She stated as she sawed through the zip ties on his wrists and feet.
Parker groaned and looked at Izzy, blinking a couple of times.
“Can you stand? Parker, you have to help us.” Izzy and Ella helped Parker stand. He managed somehow in his condition.
The three along with the other man made their way outside. They could hear the shouts and orders coming from the fire. Men and women were trying to move other vehicles out of the way.
“We’ve got to get across the road. Your dads waiting for us. I don’t know how we’ll get Parker over the fence.”
The group made their way down to the fence line without being detected. They hid behind cars in the parking lot and ran sporadically. She thought she heard someone yell the Lt.’s name. Izzy was amazed at how easy it had been. Her adrenaline was pumping, and she had more strength in that moment than she’d ever had.
When they got to the fence, Izzy laughed. There was a hole in the fence and an abandoned set of wire cutters. Where had the old man gotten hold of those, she wondered?
When they crossed the road, she heaved a sigh of relief. Theo was waiting with the Jeep. They all piled in, and Theo headed out into the darkness.
Chapter 10: An Epiphany
Jax sat in the front seat and glanced from the corner of his eye at the driver. The man was elderly, and Jax surmised he was probably pushing eighty. He was wearing bib overalls, an orange ball cap, and work boots, but he seemed fit for his age. Jax determined that Theo Johnson was pretty spry and feisty for an old man, having pulled off a rescue from under the nose of the illustrious Lt. General Adams.
Jax pretty much had no other option but to join this ragtag group of survivors. He knew how Adams felt about him, and he couldn’t see himself living the rigid life of the military. So, he’d pretty much tagged along, and none of the others had objected. He was now one of them, if he wanted to be. What was surprising was that he wanted to be.
This last week had been the worst week of his life. He’d alternated between puking and shitting all week, his body expelling the toxins from its system while at the same time craving more. Even now, he could feel the ache in his gut for a fix. It was something he knew he would have for the rest of his life. But, he’d made it. Oh, he knew it wasn’t that big of a deal. He’d made it one week without drugs. What was surprising was that he wanted to make it another week…and another…
“So, Jax, where you coming from?” Theo asked, taking a curve on two wheels, causing Jax to grab the “oh shit” bar and han
g on.
“Well, I was doing a concert in St. Louis when this all happened. We were making our way across to the ocean, when the army stopped us. Originally, I’m from Minnesota, though,” Jax replied, holding on for dear life.
“I was there once. St. Paul. Nice town.”
“Yeah.”
“So, son, ya look a little pale,” Theo commented glancing sideways.
Jax really wished the man would keep his eyes on the road. “Yeah, I’ll be honest. I’ve been detoxing from drugs. I’m an addict.” Jax decided to confess. Ella already knew, and he was sure it wouldn’t be too long before everyone else knew. Not that he thought Ella was a blabbermouth; it was just kind of hard to keep that kind of thing a secret.
“Gotta be tough. I wasn’t always a Christian. I was an alcoholic when I was younger. I don’t talk much about it, but I know it never goes away. Ya just gotta rely on friends. Those kids back there are alright. They’ll take care of ya.” The old man smiled at Jax.
Jax couldn’t help but wonder how these people were so positive and caring of each other. He’d never really had that. As a child, he knew his mother and father loved him, but it was not a close kind of love. He could see that connection with Ella and her father. He could even see it with Parker and Izzy. And, he’d only known them the sum total of an hour.
He wanted it. So very badly. He wanted to be clean; he wanted to be loved. Maybe with this people, he would have a chance at that.
Chapter 11: All Good Things Must End
Ella turned on the flashlight and looked at the atlas. She knew which way she would go if she were going to Yucca Mountain. She traced an alternate route, one she hoped Lt. General Adams wouldn’t take. As her father sped along the highway, Ella planned and knew she’d have to say goodbye to people she loved.
“Parker, we don’t have much time. I know you’re in pain, but we need to talk.” She spoke into the soft glow of the Jeep’s interior.
