Legion

by Robert Swartwood

  “How?” she whispered.

  Her father frowned. “How?”

  “How can you be associated with these monsters?”

  Her father opened his mouth but said nothing. He appeared to be at a loss. He even looked toward Ashley’s mother for help, but the woman was still crying, clearly no help at all. It didn’t matter anyway, because at that moment, the doorbell rang.

  fifty-five

  Zach immediately reached for his gun.

  Hogan waved him off. He said, “Mr. Walker, does anyone on the island know you’re here?”

  The old man thought about it for a moment. “I don’t believe so. But we have several neighbors who live here year round. They may have noticed our car out front and came to say hello.”

  “Have any of your neighbors been known to do this in the past?”

  Before the old man could answer, the girl said, “Christ, I’ll answer the door,” and started toward the hallway.

  Zach stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

  She glared up at him. “Move.”

  He didn’t even bother shaking his head. “Ma’am, maybe you should have a seat.”

  Her jaw clenched. “This is my house, and I’ll answer the goddamned door if I want to.”

  The old man said, “Ashley, please, sit down.”

  She didn’t move.

  Hogan said, “Ashley? I know you don’t want to believe it, but we’re not here to hurt you. In fact, we’re here to protect you and your family. So if you could sit down until we get this all sorted out, that would be great.”

  Still Ashley didn’t move.

  The doorbell rang again.

  Hogan released a breath. “Zach, check and see who it is.”

  “That’s not necessary,” the old man said. He started to stand from the couch. “I can get it.”

  The doorbell rang again.

  “Sir,” Hogan said, “it’s best if one of us checks it out first. Zach?”

  Zach broke his staring contest with the girl. He turned away and started down the hallway. He could see a figure out on the porch. It appeared to be one person, but that didn’t mean there couldn’t potentially be others hiding nearby. Then again, maybe it was a neighbor who simply wanted to stop by and say hello.

  He withdrew his gun and held it at his side as he approached the door. The light was on in the hallway. There was no light on outside. It was dark enough outside which put Zach at a disadvantage. It would be best if the hallway had no light but the porch did, so he could peek out the window and see who was there before opening the door.

  The doorbell rang a fourth time.

  There were two switches beside the door. Zach tried the one, but it extinguished the hallway light. He turned it back on, flipped the second switch. The light outside came on. He peeked through a slit in the curtain and immediately turned his head and shouted, “Hogan, come here!” and then realized that was a mistake, as he no doubt warned the man on the other side of the door.

  Fuck it. He could hear Hogan hurrying down the hallway but he couldn’t wait any longer. He tore open the door and there stood Eli, looking a little worse for wear, smiling back at him.

  “Hi,” he said, his voice chipper, “I’m selling magazine subscriptions. Would you be interested in purchasing one?”

  Zach aimed his gun right at Eli’s face.

  “Well,” Eli said, “a simple ‘no thanks’ would suffice.”

  Hogan hurried up behind him and then stopped dead. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

  Eli asked, “Would you be interested in buying a magazine subscription?”

  Hogan said, “Get him inside and search him.”

  Keeping the gun leveled at Eli’s face, Zach grabbed the older man and pulled him into the house. Hogan then covered Eli with his own weapon as Zach patted him down.

  “He’s clean.”

  Hogan said, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  “I’m sorry”—Eli looked back and forth at them, frowning—“do I know either of you two gentlemen?”

  Zach asked, “What should we do with him?”

  “I’m not sure,” Hogan said.

  And that’s when, back in the living room, someone screamed.

  fifty-six

  At first it doesn’t look like the plan is going to work. Only one of the men leaves the living room. The other one stays with Ashley and her parents. He isn’t holding a gun, though it’s clear he has one. If what Eli said is true—and so far all the evidence points in that direction—then Ashley’s parents are very well connected, so connected, in fact, that men who are trying to kill us treat them like royalty.

  So I’m not surprised the man here doesn’t treat Ashley poorly when she refuses to sit back down. He asks nicely. When she doesn’t comply, he asks nicely again. Then, finally, the other one calls for him and he leaves Ashley and her parents alone in the living room. Ashley turns back to her parents, her face burning red. Then she looks up and sees me as I step closer to the patio door. She might not notice it’s me at first, and it looks like she’s ready to do something—call out, maybe—so I press my face as close to the glass as I can with a finger to my lips.

  Inside, Ashley’s father asks her a question. She blinks and asks him to repeat what he just said. He does. She shakes her head and hurries forward, past her parents on the couch, to the patio door. She turns the deadbolt and opens it. Saves me the trouble of having to break glass.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Before I can respond, her mother screams.

  It’s more of a startled scream than anything else, but it’s enough to set things in motion.

  “I’m here to rescue you,” I say, and hand her a gas mask.

  “What’s this for?”

  “Just put it on.”

  “Ashley,” her father shouts, “get away from him!”

  Footsteps stampede down the hallway toward us.

  Ashley’s mother screams again.

  Her father once more shouts at her to get away.

  Ashley still hasn’t taken the gas mask, and for a moment I realize this entire plan has fallen apart. The whole purpose—well, okay, half of the purpose—is saving Ashley. But what if she doesn’t want to be saved? According to Eli, because of who her parents are, Ashley will get a free pass. Her life will stop being in danger. She’ll be allowed to return to her old life, no questions asked. Sure, there will be questions, no doubt about it, but she’ll manage to make things work and by this time next year it will be like none of this ever happened.

  The two men are almost to the living room. They’re not moving as fast because they’re dragging Eli with them. Eli is doing the best he can to put up a fight, but it’s not much. Time is running out.

  “Come on,” I urge Ashley, and show her the tear gas canister in my other hand.

  She takes the gas mask and places it on her face.

  Her mother screams again.

  Her father shouts again.

  The two men enter the living room and raise their guns.

  I pull the pin on the canister and toss it. At once there’s a flash and a white cloud begins to spread. Ashley starts toward the patio door but I push her back into the living room, securing a gas mask over my own face. One of the men lets off a round in our direction. Glass shatters. Ashley’s mother tries to scream again, but it turns into a fit of coughing.

  The gas becomes thick fast. I take Ashley’s hand and lead her into the kitchen, then down the hallway. I’m aware of Ashley’s parents coughing behind us. I’m aware of a couple more shots going off.

  We reach the front door, where just seconds ago Eli was standing. I tear it open and push Ashley through. I don’t bother closing it. I now have a gun in hand and raise it toward the hallway, keeping it aimed as we start down the steps in case one of the men appears.

  Ashley tears off her gas mask. She’s breathing heavily. “Now what?”

  Taking off my own gas mask, I say, “Now we run. The car’s down the r
oad.”

  “Where’s Eli?”

  I shake my head.

  “We can’t just leave him.”

  “That’s what he wants. It’s part of the plan.”

  “What plan?”

  “I’ll explain later. But first, how pissed off are you at your parents?”

  “Pretty pissed. Why?”

  I hold up a detonator. “Eli and I set some charges around the house earlier. It’s not going to kill anybody, but it’s going to bring the property value down and should, hopefully, give us some time.”

  Ashley barely even gives it a second’s thought. She hold out her hand, says, “Let me,” and when I place the detonator in her palm, she immediately uses her thumb to squeeze the plunger.

  fifty-seven

  Zach didn’t mind tear gas. It wasn’t his favorite thing in the world, of course, but it was far from being his most hated. Like Hogan, he had been trained well. He was always ready for the worst he might encounter. He was accustomed to the burning in his eyes and the back of his throat, and he was prepared when John Smith tossed the tear gas canister. So was Hogan. That was how they managed to get Eli and the Walkers out of the house as quickly as possible.

  While Eli was certainly important to their mission, the Walkers were even more important; after all, they were members of the Inner Circle. Hogan was the one who led them out the patio door and down the patio steps. Both of them fell to their knees in the grass, coughing and gagging.

  Zach dragged Eli out and threw him aside. He wasn’t worried that Eli would run off. Even if he did, he wouldn’t get far.

  “Breathe,” Hogan was telling the Walkers. “Take deep breaths.”

  He turned toward Zach and was about to speak when one of the trees in the backyard exploded. A second later another tree exploded, followed by a third. The charges had been set near the bases of the trees. For a moment nothing happened, and then they began to fall forward, right toward the house, their branches and leaves shaking in anticipation, until they crashed onto the roof and into the side of the house.

  Luckily, they were far enough from the closest tree that no harm came their way. Still, Mrs. Walker screamed and Mr. Walker shouted. Eli, still on the ground, tried to crawl away, and Zach stepped over and kicked him once in the ribs.

  “Shit,” Zach said to Hogan, reaching for his phone. “That’s going to draw attention.”

  He dialed Tyson, and when the tech answered, he said, “You’re going to need to divert all emergency calls on the island for the next several minutes.”

  “What happened?”

  “Eli and his kid set charges on the trees around the house. They just went off.”

  “Eli and his kid?” There was both incredibility and excitement in Tyson’s voice.

  “Yeah, that sort of threw us, too. Unfortunately, the Walker girl and John Smith have taken off. But it’s not like they’re going to get far. It’s an island, for Christ’s sake. We have anybody across the water who can wait for them at the ferry?”

  A slight pause as Tyson checked the database. Finally he said, “No, but I can get someone there in twenty minutes.”

  “Do it. Also any marinas nearby should be monitored.”

  “We don’t have the extra people for that.”

  “Make it happen. I want them found.”

  “Are the Walkers okay?”

  “They’re fine. Just a little sick from the tear gas.”

  “Tear gas?”

  “We’ll be headed to the airport in the next minute. Make sure the jet’s ready for us.”

  “I’m on it,” Tyson said, and clicked off.

  Zach slipped the phone back in his pocket. He noticed Eli was trying to crawl away again, and again Zach kicked him in the ribs. He leaned down, grabbed a fistful of Eli’s hair, and yanked him to his feet.

  “What are you up to?”

  Eli said nothing.

  “How did you find this place?”

  “I told you,” Eli said, his voice screwed up in pain, “I’m selling magazine subscriptions.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Hogan called. He was helping the Walkers to their feet. “We’ll get our answers later.”

  “What about the other two?”

  “They can’t leave the island without us knowing. We’ll get them.”

  They started toward the front of the house, smoke and dust thick in the air, Hogan helping Mrs. Walker as she sobbed, “Our home—our beautiful, lovely home.”

  fifty-eight

  “The lighter, huh?” Ashley laughs, shaking her head. “And all this time I thought smoking would eventually get me killed, not save my life.”

  We’re parked behind a restaurant. It’s been fifteen minutes since we made our escape. I had expected to pass some police cars, even a fire truck or two, but there was nothing, just normal sporadic traffic.

  A beat of silence passes, and Ashley says, “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Saving my life. I didn’t think I’d ever see you guys again.”

  “The way Eli explained it to me, you were probably better off playing along with your parents.”

  She shudders. “I don’t even want to think about it. But, well, I do feel kind of guilty.”

  “About what?”

  “Having those trees fall on the house. I understand the need to do it, but I ... I wanted it to be worse. I wanted the whole thing to go up in flames.” She frowns. “Why didn’t we blow up the cars, too?”

  “Remember, we just wanted enough time to get away. We didn’t want to leave them without a vehicle, for Eli’s sake.”

  “Right,” she says, nodding, then gives me a curious look. “Have you accepted it yet?”

  “What?”

  “The truth of where you came from.”

  “I’m still working through it, I guess.”

  “I keep thinking about it. Had they told me I was adopted, that would be one thing. I could deal with that. It wouldn’t be a big thing. But to find out that I ...” She shakes her head again. “They really do love me, though.”

  “You want to go back?”

  “What? Hell no. Not after everything I now know about these people. And my parents, somehow being part of all this ...”

  She shudders again.

  The back door of the restaurant opens and a guy comes out, carrying two garbage bags. He takes the bags to the dumpster, throws them in, then pauses to light himself a cigarette.

  Ashley says, “I’m sorry about Eli.”

  “I told you, leaving him is part of the plan.”

  “You really think it’s going to work?”

  “He said there would be surrogates there. Women pregnant with babies just like us.”

  “But ...”

  “How can I trust him? Yeah, he’s lied to me too many times. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive him for a lot of things, but I do know the one thing he wants above all else is to stop Matheson.”

  “But these people,” Ashley says, “they’re too well trained. You and I won’t be able to stop them.”

  “Like I told you, we won’t.”

  “Because that’s not part of the plan.”

  I nod. “That’s right.”

  The guy ditches his cigarette and heads back inside. He barely even glances our way. There are a dozen cars parked back here, probably all belonging to employees.

  “The main thing right now,” I say, “is getting off this island. The problem is, we can’t take the ferry.”

  “Right. So, what, we swim?”

  She says it with a smile in her voice, trying to ease the tension, but I only shrug.

  “If we have to.”

  There’s another beat of silence, and then Ashley speaks again.

  “I think I have an idea.”

  “What’s that?”

  “There’s this guy I know who still lives on the island. Or at least he did the last time I checked. We went out a few times years back before he got married and had kids. If I tell
him I need to use his boat, I’m sure he’ll let us take it. In fact, he might even offer to drive it.”

  I pull Eli’s phone from my pocket. “You don’t have the number memorized, do you?”

  “No, but if that thing has Internet, a quick search will bring it up.”

  I go to hand her the phone when headlights splash the vehicles to our left. A car is coming this way around the restaurant. A police cruiser, actually, two cops inside. In another second their headlights will be aimed right at us.

  “Shit.”

  I go to turn on the car—why, I’m not quite sure—but before I can, Ashley leans forward. She touches my face and tilts it toward her, and the next thing I know her lips are on mine. Automatically my eyes close and I’m lost in the moment, and it’s right then the police cruiser’s headlights hit us. They pause a little too long.

  Ashley breaks the kiss and stares out the window, holding up her hand to shield her eyes from the light.

  The police cruiser doesn’t move for another moment, and I’m certain that these cops are not cops at all, but members of the legion, just like that cop back in Hoboken. They’ve been instructed to look for us, and now they’ve found us and are either going to kill us or take us away.

  I try to remember how many bullets are left in the gun, whether they will be enough to give us a fighting chance, but then the cruiser continues forward, completing its sweep of the parking lot. We can just make out the two cops inside smiling and shaking their heads at having stumbled across our amorous display.

  When it’s clear the cops aren’t going to make another sweep, Ashley sits back in her seat. “Sorry about that.”

  “No need to apologize.”

  “It just ... it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  “You don’t hear me complaining.”

  She smiles at me, and then, just as quickly, the smile fades. “You don’t even know me.”

  I’m not sure what to say to this, so I don’t say anything.

  “So why ... why try to save me?”

  “You’re a good person.”