The Freezer (Genesis Endeavor Book 1)

by David Kersten

  Theodore snorted at that and said, “I highly doubt that you have half the regard for the lives of New Hope’s citizens that we do. Now what is it you came down here to tell us?” Jack struggled to keep his temper under control.

  Marcus intervened and said, “Please Theodore, let’s let Jack speak his piece. The way I see it, today’s events were not his fault. We have been attacked by Mutes many times in the past, usually when scavenging for resources.” He signaled for Jack to go on.

  “As I was saying, there was a group of Mutes in the forest firing rockets at us, so we had the pilot drop us off and fly up to a higher altitude to keep an eye on us and to keep the aircraft safe. We-” Theodore interrupted again.

  “That aircraft was perfectly capable of taking care of a single target on the ground, why did you risk those soldiers by engaging the Mutes on the ground? This is exactly the reason that we can’t trust someone from before the war to lead our men in battle. They think like people with no regard for human life! Marcus, I think we need to put an end to this before more of our people are killed.” Jack stood up, but before he could say anything, Marcus intervened again.

  “Theodore! You are out of line! Jack is not here to be judged for his actions, he is here to tell us something! Now, I suggest you quit interrupting him so that he can finish. We can discuss your discontent at a later time!” Theodore leaned back in his seat, nodded once to Marcus, and proceeded to stare daggers at Jack.

  Jack suspected Theodore had an ulterior motive for his outbursts, but what that might be, he hadn’t the foggiest clue. He was on his guard now though, and chose his words very carefully. “Theodore, I understand your reluctance to allow someone new to your community to lead an operation of this magnitude, but I can assure you that I am the right man for this job. In answer to your, uh, question, the reason we didn’t fire blindly on the source of the attack was because we had no way of knowing whether they had captured any or all members of the salvage crew. The last thing I wanted was for them to die from friendly fire.”

  He glanced at Marcus to see his reaction, and observed a hint of a smile directed at Theodore. The picture was becoming more and more clear. Marcus and Theodore were in some sort of power struggle, and Jack was the current tool of choice. Exactly whose tool, he had yet to figure out, but it was clear that Marcus would benefit from his success and Theodore from his failures.

  Jack waited to see if Theodore would comment. After a moment of silence, Jack continued, “We managed to sneak up on the Mutes that attacked us, and I overheard an argument between two of them. It seems they have allied themselves with the Cali, at least on a limited basis, and are hunting for people from New Hope to capture and trade to Cali in exchange for supplies and weapons.” Before he could form his next sentence, a sudden realization hit him, and he took a long drink of water to buy a few moments to think. Tanner had said something about being told where to expect the New Hope scavengers. How could Cali possibly know where the New Hope scavengers would be working? He frantically ran the possibilities through his head. They could track the aircraft with their satellite, but could the Mutes have had time to set up an ambush on that short of notice? Doubtful. Cali had to have known where the scavengers would be before they left New Hope, and Jack was very much aware that it could have come from this room just as easily as from someone else in the community.

  He decided it was best not to mention that part of the conversation. He had to figure out who he could trust first. Putting down the water and clearing his throat, he continued, “The two Mutes were arguing about working with the Cali, and it seemed neither wanted anything to do with them. They were about to head back to the factory site to set up another ambush when we attacked. Unfortunately once the battle started, their aggression made it impossible to take a live captive.”

  There was silence in the room for at least a minute, then Marcus said, “Thank you, Jack. Once again you have proven very valuable to New Hope. This information will save lives. I think you are doing a fantastic job. Now if you will excuse us, it seems we have some decisions to make regarding Cali.”

  Jack would have liked to stay, but it was obvious these men didn’t think he should be privy to the inner politics of New Hope, or to the diplomatic relationships with the other communities.

  On the way out, his mind was working at a breakneck pace. Was the whole council responsible for the attack on the scavenging group, or just one member? Was it even a member of the council? From what Jack had seen so far, the people of New Hope were pretty much allowed to do their jobs without much oversight from the council. This new development made his job much more difficult. If the Calis had inside information on the upcoming operation... Jack didn’t want to think about it. He needed to talk to someone he could trust. Two people came to mind, one was in a forest somewhere in Idaho being chased by Mutes, and the other was probably still in bed.

  * * *

  On his way to Chuck’s apartment, Jack mentally reviewed the time he had spent with the man. He realized he didn’t really know him that well. Aside from the battle in Montana, they had not spent any real time together. It was difficult to truly judge the character of someone with whom you have shared a life and death experience. Your inclination is to trust them, but that can cloud your judgment.

  By the time he reached the front door of the apartment, Jack had to make a decision. Fuck it, I trust him. He knocked on the door.

  After a few moments, the door slid open, and Chuck was standing there in a robe, a bottle of beer in his hand. “Afternoon, Mad Dawg. Come on in.” He turned without waiting to see if Jack was following and walked to the kitchen. Pulling another bottle from the refrigerator, he said, “Have a seat, you want a beer?” Once again, without waiting for a response, he put the bottle on the table in front of Jack and sat down opposite him.

  “How’re you feeling, Chuck?” Jack wanted to ease his way into the conversation.

  “Jack, you didn’t come here to find out about my condition. I heard about your little adventure today. By the way, good job. Those Mutes are some tough bastards to fight. It’s impressive that you took out fourteen of them without a casualty.”

  Jack just nodded to acknowledge the compliment. “If Heather makes it, then I will pat myself on the back, not before. Besides, there are still four people out there fighting for their lives.”

  Chuck grinned, “Actually, I just got word Heather will pull through. Gonna take at least a week for her to heal though. She had twenty three broken bones and was bleeding internally in seven places. It’s a miracle she survived the trip back. That’s one more person here who owes their life to you.” Jack studied his eyes, not detecting anything but honesty. He was convinced that Chuck could indeed be trusted.

  “That’s good to hear, thank you. You are right though, I didn’t come here to ask about your health. Uh, not that I’m not concerned, of course.” They both smiled. “Look, I have to ask you some questions, and I need real answers, answers that people like Teague or Marcus can’t give me.”

  Chuck leaned back in his chair. He held Jack’s eyes for a few moments then, as if deciding something, he leaned forward and said, “Let’s take a walk. I’ve been cooped up here all day and I need some exercise.” He got up and went to the bedroom.

  Jack picked up the beer and cracked it open. He took a long pull, and felt the alcohol burn its way down his throat. Chuck was back in less than a minute, now dressed in the same scrubs that Jack usually wore when he was here at New Hope. Of course, that was because he didn’t have any other clothes.

  Chuck picked up his half-finished beer and headed to the door. Jack followed, a little confused. As soon as the door closed, Chuck said softly, “You never know who might be listening in. I don’t have any reason to suspect that anyone watches my room, but I do know for fact that there are cameras installed everywhere. I get the impression that you want to ask questions that are for my ears only.” It was a statement, not a question, and Jack didn’t answer. He wasn’t sur
e exactly where Chuck was leading him, but when they exited the elevator on the first floor, he thought he might know.

  * * *

  The two man flyer gracefully left the flight deck and Chuck expertly piloted it in a steep ascent until they were above the clouds. He hadn’t spoken since they walked out of his room, and Jack was content to wait. After almost ten minutes of flight, Chuck pushed the aircraft to a steep nosedive and when they were about a thousand feet off the ground, he smoothly arced their trajectory to be parallel with the ground. They decelerated until almost at a standstill, and finally Chuck set the flier down, barely kicking up any dust. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was beginning to cast long shadows across the rocky landscape. The air was warm, around seventy degrees, and there was a slight breeze blowing. They left their datapads in the flier and walked about a hundred feet away. Finally, Chuck sat down on a large boulder.

  “It’s beautiful out here, isn’t it?”

  Jack looked around and took in the surroundings. He registered that it was indeed an incredible landscape, but with all the things on his mind, he just didn’t have room to appreciate it. He simply nodded.

  Chuck smiled and said, “I can pretty well guarantee that anything you have to say will not be overheard out here.”

  Jack had been turning the questions over in his head for the last twenty minutes, and decided exactly what he wanted to ask. “Do you trust Marcus?”

  It was a simple question, but Chuck pondered it before answering. “When it comes to the future of New Hope and the safety of the people, I do.” He didn’t elaborate.

  Jack nodded. “How about Theodore?” Chuck smiled. Jack figured that Chuck would have seen the power struggle going on between the two men.

  “Theodore is ambitious. I don’t really know his story, but I get the impression from him that he figures he should be the leader here. Not only that, he seems to be very much in favor of joining with other communities. I have only met with the man a half dozen times, and he always seemed to be looking out for the community. The thing is, all the members of the council came from a different time than me or you. Back then, human life wasn’t worth what it was in our time, or even today for that matter. I would like to believe that the entire council values each and every life above all, but frankly I think they simply don’t view life the same way we do.”

  “What do you mean by that exactly?”

  “Take the cloning for example. To them, cloning a person and transferring their memories is truly resurrecting the person. But I suspect you and I both look at it a little differently.” This was true, but right now wasn’t the time to ponder the philosophical, moral, or religious side of cloning. Chuck didn’t wait for an answer, “Bottom line, they all think they value life the way we do, but when it comes down to it, they have assigned a value to each and every life in New Hope, and they have a long list of things that hold more value.”

  This might seem like semantics, particularly when thinking about how in war, each soldier was an expendable tool, and leaders like Jack had sacrificed those tools to win battles, weighing the value of each soldier’s life against the value of the overall mission. But that was during war time, and those were soldiers. Their job was to put themselves in mortal danger to help the leaders accomplish their goals. You can’t look at your civilians the same way.

  “I believe Marcus is sincere in his desires to keep our population safe. Theodore, I think... well, I think he would allow some people to die if it meant a stronger future for the community. Caleb and William are followers. They have ambitions and goals for New Hope, but if their perceived leader said that some people had to die in order for New Hope to live, they would probably agree.”

  “Is there anyone outside the council that you see as a threat to New Hope?”

  This question seemed to surprise Chuck, and he didn’t answer right away. “There are always a few assholes in any group of people. I could certainly point out a handful in New Hope. Some of the locals are envious of the reborn, and there have been some issues in the past few years. When you look at the situation the locals have grown up in, it is difficult to think that any of them have any intentions other than rebuilding humanity. I’m no psychologist, but I can see that the introduction of the reborn into their world could really shake them up. I don’t have any particular person in mind as a threat, but I guess I can see the potential for it.”

  This insight was very much along the lines Jack had been thinking. “Chuck, I think someone in New Hope is a traitor. I don’t have any proof and I certainly can’t point the finger at anyone, but I don’t see any alternative.”

  Chuck looked at him quizzically. “I think you need to tell me what’s going on. What exactly happened today?”

  Jack nodded. “Sorry to be so cryptic. Those Mutes we ambushed? Well, I overheard an argument between two of them before we attacked. They talked about working for Cali, trying to capture some of the New Hope members for them.” He paused to gauge Chuck’s reaction.

  “That doesn’t particularly surprise me. Judging by the pilot we captured yesterday, it seems Cali is really hot to find out what we have been doing in Montana. They are a resource rich community, and they would easily stoop so low as to paying the Mutes for a New Hope captive to interrogate.”

  “Yeah, it’s depressing, but I got the same impression. While delivering this information to the council earlier, I remembered a much more disturbing part of the argument though. They let on that their leader had been told where our salvage group would be this morning.” Jack let that sink in.

  Chuck’s reaction was quick. “I was wondering how they were taken off guard like that! The pilot would have scouted the area before landing and would have been able to spot a full Mute camp within ten or fifteen miles of the landing site. The best Cali could have done was watch where our crew landed with their satellite and relayed that info to a nearby group of Mutes. There is no way those Mutes had time to get an ambush together if they were notified in that amount of time. Mother Fucker!” There was silence for a moment as both men stewed over the thought of a traitor in New Hope. “Are you implying that you did not relay this information to the council?”

  Jack shook his head. “No, I realized before saying it that any member, or all of them, could be the party responsible.” He shrugged. “I can’t put it together. I see the power struggle between Marcus and Theodore. They are using me and this operation against each other. If I succeed, I think it strengthens Marcus’ power as leader. If I fail, Theodore can use that against Marcus, saying that if he were fit to rule he never would have chosen me to lead the men on such an important mission. The problem is, I don’t see how either of them would benefit from losing valuable people and equipment, or how letting Cali know our secrets would help anyone but Cali.”

  Chuck looked at Jack and said, “If the Mutes did indeed get advance information on one of our scouting parties, then there is no question someone from New Hope is working with Cali. Until we figure out who it is, we have to keep this information to ourselves.”

  “That’s why I came to you with this, Chuck. I don’t know who I can trust besides you and...” He couldn’t think about Wendy without envisioning her being hunted by Mutes.

  “Jack, try not to worry about her. She’s as tough as they come, and if anyone can make it out of there alive, it’s her.” His words were comforting, but not very encouraging. He felt a need to get back to base and ask for an update. He knew that they would contact him on his pad if there were any major developments, but like nearly everything else around him, instant communication was something new and he still needed to speak face to face with someone that could tell him where things stood.

  They headed back to New Hope. The sun was really low now, pretty much crushing any hope of Wendy being rescued tonight. Despite the warm afternoon, he shivered when he thought of her being in a mountain forest at night, hunted by Mutes.

  Chapter 31

  Wendy was cold. The sun was almost dow
n, and the temperature had dropped to about forty degrees Fahrenheit. They had climbed almost five hundred more feet in elevation as they moved deeper into the mountains. Her under suit acted as a good insulator, but it had been a while since she spent any time in the elements, and her body was not used to it. Her knee was feeling better, and she could put some weight on it now. Her hand ached, but the swelling had already gone down a little. Instead of black and blue, it was turning an ugly color of red and brown.

  They had chosen a small clearing to make camp, and Anton was setting up perimeter sensors and some explosive traps. They would take turns keeping watch, but there would be no need to have a patrol walking the perimeter. They had not heard or seen any sign of pursuit in the last three hours, but they also had not been able to contact any rescue team either. Wendy hoped the rescue team had not been ambushed like they had. It was bad enough they had lost a medium transport and one of their crew. The thought of more lives lost in attempt to save her and the others was unbearable.

  Her thoughts turned to Jack. His new status as leader of the large operation would not allow him to come looking for her, and if she was right, that would be his first instinct. Of course, for all she knew, he was enjoying a nice quiet evening with Cat. Depression was added to the fear, pain, and cold she already felt.

  Anton materialized out of the trees in front of her. It worried her how well the forest covered up the sound of someone approaching. Sleep would not come easily, despite her exhaustion. “Traps are all set and a perimeter alarm is armed. If anything bigger than a raccoon gets within fifty yards of us, we will know it. I will take first watch.”

  Wendy protested, but Anton would have nothing to do with it. She needed the rest, and there was no argument. After eating some food from the packs, the two other men turned in for the night. Wendy stayed up for a little while, not quite ready to start trying to chase sleep, and still feeling guilty that Anton was taking the first shift after such a long day’s hike. She tried to make some small talk with him.