Teague shook his head and said, “It’s a risk. If you are going to do it, it has to be volunteers, and you have to make sure everyone knows they are volunteering. Make it as public as you can. If it fails again and you ordered them to go, you can bet that Theodore will be our next leader, and after Marcus’ speech this morning, the council will be a thing of the past. Just be cautious and keep yourself from accountability on this one, Jack.”
Chuck snorted. “Doc, if I didn’t know better, I would say you’re a pussy.”
Teague said, “Fuck you, Chuck,” but he was smiling. One day, Jack would have to find out the story behind these two.
Chuck put his hand on Jack’s shoulder and said, “I’ll go. I like Thomas, and if there’s a chance he is still alive, I would like to bring him back here, preferably with a bulldozer in the hold as well.”
“You sure? I figured you would want to stick to the easier missions for a few days, like heading to Idaho to look into those farmers.”
“You need someone you can trust implicitly for this, both that it will get done and that nobody will double cross you. I’m going.” Jack nodded, the man was right.
“Hey Jack, I think we can do this.” Scott had stood up and was looking over at Jack.
He stood up and said, “How long will it take?”
“The track is the hardest part, but Bruce has some ideas there and we should be able to get the parts cast. The rest is pretty straightforward, so if you don’t care what it looks like, we can have it built and ready to go in two days.”
“Okay, why don’t you all get started on this. I’m working on another angle, just in case that doesn’t work out.” He dismissed everyone but Tiny, Chuck, and Teague. Wendy stayed back too, which was fine with him.
“Listen, I don’t want to use Red and his crew again. They may be perfectly innocent, but I have too many doubts. Teague, see what you can find out about him. Wendy, call your buddy Bart and ask exactly what time his clan received the message from Cali about the ambush, maybe if we do a little detective work we can find out if Red was the one that made the call to Cali.”
“I’ll do that right away, but I overheard you talking about another shot at S.C. I will fly it if you need a pilot.” Jack didn’t like that idea at all.
Teague said, “That would be a great idea, Jack. If she volunteers-”
“And it goes bad, people will sympathize with me and not blame me for losing more people? Sorry, Teague, but I’m not going to allow someone I care about to go on this mission only to protect my political reputation.”
“What, you don’t care about me?” Chuck pretended offense, but cracked a smile before Jack could say anything.
Wendy wasn’t so amused. “Jack, just because you’re stuck here running the show, doesn’t mean I can’t go put myself at risk. You know as well as I do that you would be the first to volunteer if you could. I appreciate you worrying about me, but I’m a big girl, and a pretty damn good pilot. I can take care of myself.”
She was right, and Jack knew it. He shook his head in resignation. “Okay, listen, let’s get together all the people with soldiering experience and ask for volunteers. You two can volunteer at that time. Get however many people you need, but remember you will hopefully be hauling back seven extra people and some heavy machinery.”
“Tiny, if you see Red, just tell him to come find me. In the meantime, track down Anton and have him put together a new crew for your part of the project, and then make sure everyone is ready. If everything goes as planned, we need to be ready to go.” He thanked everyone and dismissed them.
* * *
The meeting went over well. About thirty people showed up, and after explaining they had reason to believe Thomas could still be alive, they called for volunteers to go back in. It only took minutes for Chuck to choose five for his team. Of the thirty people there, all but four men volunteered.
“We still need a computer expert. The best one we had was on Thomas’ team.” Chuck was reviewing a checklist. He intended to go right away, and told his team to get prepared.
“I’ll find you one. Good luck on this mission, Chuck, and don’t let anything happen to Wendy.”
“Shit, I was hoping she would be the one watching my back.” Chuck was smiling and Jack couldn’t help but smile along with him. He was right, she could take care of herself.
* * *
Jack ate some lunch then spent some time checking the cold rooms. He was amazed at the amount of work that had been done in such a short time. In fact, thinking about the whole operation, he was more confident that it would be possible to build a new home for New Hope in the time frame they figured was necessary. That got him thinking about Marcus and Teague, and the reasons they had brought him back. He could buy the idea of bringing him back to oversee construction of a new home. He doubted, however, that Marcus could gather, based on the records at hand, his ability to lead. Marcus is a politician, after all, and politicians are masters of spinning the facts. Every politician he ever knew was quick to take any positive situation and make it look like they had been the mastermind behind it, even if they had no hand in it whatsoever.
Whatever brought him here was ultimately irrelevant. The fact was, he was here, and the people who had worked together to bring him back were in need of someone to lead them through the next few years. Part of him doubted he could do a better job than someone who had done it for almost two centuries, but another part of him understood exactly what Marcus had been talking about.
This line of thinking led him to think about his diary. He hadn’t had much time to read since that first morning in the aircraft. So many things had been going on in his present, he’d forgotten about his desire to learn the past. He made a mental note to spend some time learning about his past – and for that matter, the history of the last few hundred years – when this was all over.
He checked his datapad. It was almost one in the afternoon. So much had happened already today that he felt it should already be time for bed. There were still a couple hours before Chuck headed out for S.C. He decided he needed to have another talk with Marcus.
* * *
He found Marcus in his private chambers. Soft music was playing in the background and the lighting was set low. Marcus was seated on a comfortable looking couch, sipping a glass of wine, the open bottle and an extra glass sitting on the table in front of him. “You look relaxed.”
“I have been waiting for a good reason to open this bottle of wine for forty years. I figured today marks a pretty major change in my life. Please join me. Would you like a glass?” He was already pouring.
Jack sat down on the seat opposite of him after taking the glass. He swirled the dark wine in the cup, inhaled the aroma, and took a sip. The wine was quite excellent. He didn’t consider himself an aficionado or anything, but he had once traveled with his old boss, Phil, to the Napa Valley in California and learned how to appreciate wine. Of course, given the food he had been eating lately, the wine could be horrible and still taste good to him. “It’s good.”
“Perhaps the only redeeming value of the Cali. They know how to make a good wine. They make a white wine in a community up near the old Canadian border, it’s not too bad, but nothing like this.”
“I had some of that with Wendy a few nights ago. She cooked me a fantastic meal.”
Marcus smiled. “You are a fortunate man, Jack. Wendy is a good woman. She had a chip on her shoulder for a long time, but when you came along, she changed. You do that to people, you know? Some people are born with it, that ability to make the people around them want to do things for you, to please you. Some call it charisma, but it’s something more.” Marcus thought about his own words for a moment then shrugged. “Perhaps I have been around for too long, pondering the mysteries of the universe. Did Teague ever tell you that I was a scientist?”
Jack nodded. “He said you and the others were scientists, and that gave you special standing in the EoS.”
“True, but that�
��s not why I did it. I have always had the desire to discover things, to find the real meaning behind them. You know what I have learned in the last two hundred years?” Jack looked up from his wine and motioned for him to continue. “I have learned that the more you think you have figured out, the more you will be surprised when you find out you are wrong.”
“Hell, I could have told you that.” Both men laughed. “I could say the same thing about you, truth be told. The more I learn about you, the more I have to question my ability to judge a person. I went into that meeting this morning expecting to watch you fight with Theodore for your status here, and instead you put all your eggs in my basket. I don’t get it.”
“Jack, my little speech this morning was from the heart. When I saw that you possess that certain something that attracts people to follow you, I knew you would be the next leader of this community. I figured it would take a few more years, but like I said – a surprise at every turn. Theodore is not a bad person, really. He is just too willing to sacrifice others for his own goals. We were all like that, once. Teague too. Don’t ever forget that. We may have learned to be more civilized and value human life, but unlike you, given the choice between saving the life of someone like Theodore and saving a load of iron ore, I would have to consciously choose.”
Chuck had said pretty much the same thing about all the founding members of New Hope, but hearing it from Marcus himself somehow made it more important. In Jack’s time, someone who places the value of human life in the same class as the value of an object would probably be considered a sociopath. The repercussions of an entire community, nation, or civilization being governed by people like this were just too frightening to consider. Marcus was correct, if anyone born of this era ruled New Hope as it grew over the next fifty years, it would most likely suffer the same fate as the EoS. This didn’t make him more comfortable with the idea of being the leader of these people, but at least he had a better understanding of what was at stake. “Thank you for taking the time to explain it to me, Marcus. You have given me some insight that I was lacking.”
Marcus finished his glass of wine and put the cork back in the bottle. He leaned back and said, “So, you probably didn’t come here to talk about politics or philosophy. What can I do for you?”
“I’m sending another group into Saber Cusp, but we are short someone to disable the ground defenses. I was hoping you could provide the name of someone who would be capable, then give them a couple sets of codes to get the system disabled.”
“I can do you one better. I will have someone ready to go in,” he looked at a clock on the wall, “two hours.”
Jack wasn’t surprised that he knew the exact start time of the mission. Teague might have let him know, or maybe he just was eavesdropping on the meetings. Once again, there was doubt in his mind about taking his job. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be so in touch with the community.
Jack finished his wine in silence. The alcohol was just enough to make him feel warm inside, but with the soft music playing and the comfortable chair, he felt like he might drift off to sleep. As tempting as it was, he had work to do.
Standing up, he put the wine glass on the table and said, “Thank you for the wine, and the conversation. I don’t think I can go through all this without you to advise and support me. I appreciate it.”
“Jack, you might be surprised what you can accomplish on your own, given the right set of circumstances.” Jack just nodded and left.
* * *
“I don’t suppose anything I say will convince you to not go on this mission?” Jack figured one last attempt to keep Wendy out of harm’s way was in order.
“Nope. As long as everything goes okay, I should be back in a few hours. Perhaps we can have a late dinner tonight?” She kissed him on the lips, not waiting for a response.
Chuck walked over and said, “About time to go, why don’t you go do the pre-flight, Wendy.” Wendy nodded and without another word, went to do her job. Jack watched her get into the cockpit of the large transport, hoping it wasn’t the last time he would see her. “Don’t worry, Jack. I promise we will be back, with or without your bulldozer.”
“Come on Chuck, even you can’t promise that. Just be safe. If things get bad, get the hell out of there and come home.” Despite his feelings about his friends risking their lives on this mission, he felt confident that things would go well.
“Since we are just about to leave, can I ask if you found us a computer expert?”
“Marcus said he would have someone here.” The rail car arrived just as he was saying it. “This must be him now.” They walked over to meet whoever Marcus had sent.
Marcus stepped off the car, wearing full armor and carrying a rifle. “What the hell is this!” Jack exclaimed. “You can’t go with them, Marcus!”
“Relax, Jack. There is nobody better to disable the defense systems than the man who helped design the system that runs it. Besides, I have some unfinished business in Saber Cusp, and it’s time I take care of it.”
“Dammit! If something happens to you-”
“Then you will just have to suck it up and do it yourself. I took the liberty of leaving you some information you might find useful. Check your messages after we leave, but don’t wait too long, there is some stuff in there you can use right away.” The look he gave Jack was dead serious. He turned to Chuck. “Ready to go, boss?”
Chuck laughed. “Whatever you say, sir. Let’s move out!” He shouted the last command and the team started climbing into the rear of the aircraft. The engines started winding up, and Jack lost the opportunity to try to talk Marcus out of going. He threw his hands up in frustration. Defeated, he walked to the command center and sat down in a chair next to Chin.
Chin looked at him and said, “If you’re gonna sit here and feel sorry for yourself, go find somewhere else to do it.”
Jack looked at him in surprise and anger, but when he saw the man’s grin, he laughed. “Just do your damn job, Chin. Make sure they come back too. I hold you responsible.” Chin just left the grin on his face as he punched the button to open the huge door.
* * *
Theodore was sitting at his desk in his private quarters when the door chimed. He went to the door and was surprised to see Red standing there. “What the hell do you want?”
“We need ta talk, it’s urgent.” Theodore was in a foul mood after the way the meeting had gone this morning. He was confident he could win the election, but it would be close. As much as he disliked Red, he could still use the man’s services, and since every vote would count, the men loyal to him were important too.
He left the door open and headed back to his office. Red followed and sat down in a chair opposite him. “Is it safe ta talk in heah?”
“As long as Marcus isn’t watching. Nobody else knows the system well enough to get around my own countermeasures.”
Red grinned. “Marcus ain watchin right now.”
“How can you possibly know that? And drop that damn backwoods accent, you know how much I despise it! Is Marcus holding a rally or something for his new pet?” He was so sick of hearing “Jack this” and “Jack that” that he didn’t even want to say his name. He needed to get his anger under control if he was going to make this all work.
“I happen to have just learned that, five minutes ago, Marcus joined a team heading to Saber Cusp to try to finish the mission we sabotaged last night.” There was the smug grin again. Theodore wanted to smack that grin right off his face, but the news was interesting. “Wanna know who else is on the mission?”
There was no way Jack would have gone himself, not even he was that stupid. “Who?”
“Chuck and Wendy.” Now it was Theodore’s turn to smile. This was just the opening he needed. If he could eliminate those three people all at once, Jack wouldn’t have a chance. It was too late to stop the election, even if Marcus met an untimely death, but without Marcus to back Jack up, this election would be a cakewalk. Add the death of the two closest peop
le to Jack, and the distraction would seal it for him.
“Okay, listen close. You need to contact Joshua. Tell him our deal is a go if he can do one thing. He needs to send a full complement of armed aircraft to Saber Cusp right away. If he hurries, they can catch the transport leaving. Tell him the only acceptable outcome is total destruction of the aircraft and everyone on board.”
Red didn’t move. “What’s the problem, go! It’s going to take Cali almost four hours to get aircraft there.” Still Red didn’t get up and run. He just sat there with that damn smug grin on his face. This insolent little prick wants something more.
“Head of security isn’t good enough. I want more. I want New Hope.”
“Out of the question.” Surely he knows he is going too far.
“Then make the call yourself. You can do it from right there.” Red sat back in his chair and waited. The risk was too high and he knew it. If wind of this got out and it got back to the people, they would send him packing, if they didn’t string him up first. At least if Red got caught he could play it off and get rid of the kid before anyone made the connection back to him.
“Fine. It won’t be right away though. I will have to get the people used to the idea that I will be spending too much time in Cali working on the council, and perhaps then I can convince them they need a Governor.” Red didn’t even wait around to gloat. He got up and left. Theodore sat back in the chair.
If he can pull this off, the prize is his. He started running through his mind all the things he will try to accomplish once he is on the council in Cali. The wealth he will bring their community will give him great status, putting him second only to Joshua. It might take a hundred years, but he will one day have his job too. He didn’t even give a thought to the election, in his mind he had already won.
The Freezer (Genesis Endeavor Book 1) Page 41
