Julie’s eyebrows rose. Charlie grinned before ducking his head to shovel food into his mouth.
A loud gasp followed by the clatter of a tray on the floor made everyone turn toward the sound. A young woman stood above her dropped tray with a hand over her face. She stared at a man who stepped out of line. It was as though a married couple was seeing each other for the first time in years. The raw emotions in the woman’s face tugged at Collin’s heart.
Julie’s hand covered part of his and squeezed. He glanced at her and saw her eyes swimming.
“Gloria?” the man asked.
She nodded with tears streaming down her face. “Troy!” she breathed as though not believing her eyes.
He set the tray back on the lunch counter and strode toward her.
She rushed forward to meet him, and they embraced like two lovers in a romance film.
“No contact,” a guard shouted, striding toward the two.
The moment shattered. Both of them looked at the guard with shock.
“Step back,” the guard shouted again. He removed his baton, flicking his wrist to extend the weapon, and pointed it at the man. The sound of the weapon snapping open was intimidating, similar to racking a shell in a pump shotgun.
“Step away from the woman,” the guard commanded Troy.
He extracted himself from Gloria’s hug and turned to face the guard, shielding her with his body. “This is my wife.”
“No physical contact, Drone. Get back in line.”
Two guards approached behind Troy. Gloria heard them and let out a shriek.
A man strode in at the cafeteria’s entrance. He had an air of confidence around him. Collin thought he’d the spotted him on stage with Hopper and Denard but couldn’t be sure. He was always in the background.
“Mr. Blaine, these two were making contact,” the guard said after snapping to attention. “And –”
“Quiet.” Blaine rushed forward, his face growing red as he glared at the unruly scene. He stopped next to the guard and spun on the man. “Did you punish them?”
“N-n-no, sir.” He shook his head. “Not yet.”
Blaine made an annoyed sound and turned his attention on the couple. They watched the exchange with concern in their eyes.
Collin slipped his hand from Julie’s, his body tensed to leap up.
Blaine raised his wrist and pressed a button his control device. The woman peered around from behind the man, confused. The man smirked at Blaine.
Collin also smirked. Julie’s switch had worked.
Blaine glanced at the guard, his face red and his eyes darting around the room. “Get them!” He jabbed a finger at the smirking man.
Two guards grabbed the woman while the one beside Blaine lunged forward for the man. Troy was having none of it. He dodged the guard’s strike and connected with a vicious haymaker that sent the guard stumbling back into Blaine.
“Now is as good a time as any,” Charlie said, standing.
Collin leaped to his feet.
Their movement must have set off some survival instinct within the others because the room erupted in chaos. The guards didn’t normally carry guns but they had batons which they used to cruel effect; arm bones snapped, heads were cracked, and ribs were fractured. Without many weapons, it was a numbers game. In the end, the angry prisoners overwhelmed the small detachment of guards.
“We need his badge,” Charlie said.
Collin pushed forward through the crowd after disabling a guard himself. Charlie and Julie followed him. When Collin reached Blaine, the light had already left his eyes. Without hesitation, he snatched the ID badge from Blaine’s chest pocket and handed it over to Charlie.
“Signal your people,” Collin said to Charlie. “Now’s our chance.”
The room suddenly fell quiet. Collin and the others looked around frantically, fearing they’d been discovered. Thankfully, the coast was clear. Everyone was looking to them.
“Time for a speech?” Charlie flashed his eyebrows. It sounded more like a suggestion.
Collin climbed atop a table and looked around at everyone. He recognized the realization dawning on each of their faces. Some were surprised or horrified at what happened. Other looked like they wanted more of a fight. A few were just plain scared.
“My friends and fellow Americans,” Collin started. “My name is Collin War, and I’m thrilled to announce that, thanks to my friends, we are no longer under the influence of the controlling medication. We all have implants, but they no longer work. We have deactivated them. HAGS can no longer kill or control you with the implants. If you want to hold onto your freedom, then I ask you to join us and fight.”
Hands went to the back of their heads, exploring the feel of the device. Looks of horror crossed many faces.
“There’s too much to explain now. We’ll have time for that later. For now, we have to destroy HAGS. We have already formulated plans to secure the children and dismantle the company. Don’t worry, your children will be safe.” Collin patted the air with his hands to calm the parents. “You may remember that HAGS is the company that caused the fever. They are our enemy! General Hopper and Dr. Denard have lied about the Elevation. People don’t go to California. The company harvests the bodies of the winners for organs. HAGS is a house of horrors. No longer.” Collin slammed a fist into his palm, shaking his head. “We deserve both justice and freedom.”
He met their eyes, his voice building in confidence and passion. The truth of his words resonated with his people. “We are prisoners no more. Now we rise up and take back our God given rights to freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Just as our founding fathers couldn’t do it alone, neither can we.” He gestured at Julie and Charlie. “We all need each other. Will you stand with me against the cruel tyranny of HAGS?”
The lunchroom virtually shook with the resounding cheer. Fists pumped in the air and hands reached up to high five Collin. He pointed at the main doors and shouted, “Follow me!”
Collin climbed down, grabbed Julie’s hand, and pulled her behind him. Charlie followed in their wake as the crowd parted to let them through and then fell in line behind him.
Guards responding to the disturbance in the lunchroom came around the corner and froze at the sight of the angry prisoners. Collin growled and charged them, leading his army into war as if he was Washington crossing the Potomac. “Freedom!”
Collin and the crowd swarmed the guards like angry bees.
A minute later, Charlie grabbed Collin’s arm. He held a small transmitter that would detonate the bombs Charlie’s agents had placed. “Step two is ready, sir.”
Collin eyed the tiny rectangular device that would set off so much devastation. “Do it.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
The floor trembled and bucked beneath Hopper’s feet just as he emerged from the elevator. He jumped forward, fearing the elevator was about to fall, and braced himself against the wall. When he was certain the building wouldn’t collapse, he stormed into the command center. The lights flickered and died while shouts and screams of horror and surprise filled the air. Several smaller aftershock blasts added to the chaos.
“What the hell is going on?” General Hopper shouted.
The usual glow of the command center screens was gone. They were now black, devoid of all information. A few heads peeked up from underneath desks, surveying the damage. The entire building apparently lacked electricity.
No one answered the general.
“Why aren’t the generators on? Where the fuck is my secondary power?” Hopper roared at his weak and frightened command staff. “Get up and get to work.”
He’d been called to the command center because of a serious disturbance in the cafeteria. Now this shit. Hopper slammed his fist on a desk. “Someone tell me what the fuck is going on.”
“Sir, we uh,” a woman spoke up tentatively. “There have been riots in the cafeteria and out at the rail station.”
Hopper’s chest was heaving with fury. He sto
od with his hands on his waist, fuming at the news.
A tall skinny man stood up, smoothed his shirt, and said, “Yesterday evening we received a broken report from the refinery. I worked most of the night cleaning up the audio. It was hard to make out what they said, but I’d say it’s clear they were under attack.”
“Anything else?” Hopper asked, clenching his jaw.
“After hearing about the refinery this morning, I contacted Delta sector,” the first woman said. “They weren’t able to respond.”
“Why the fuck not?” Hopper demanded.
The woman tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and looked at the floor. She licked her lips and glanced at him. “They had an accident and more than half the town burned down. Mitch says they’ve been tied up getting it under control.”
“Who the hell is Mitch?”
“He was the second in command at Delta but had to take over after the commander died,” she replied.
“For fuck’s sake.”
“Should I call him again?” she asked.
He shook his head and took a deep breath.
“Did we dispatch anyone to the refinery?” Hopper rubbed his forehead. The problems there on campus would be simple enough to put down. His predecessor had mandated the implants for this exact situation. Delta was going to pay a heavy price if the refinery was down.
“Well, we waited to hear –”
“DISPATCH A FUCKING SECURITY TEAM NOW!” General Hopper screamed at the woman. His face was alight with fury, and spittle flew from his mouth. The incompetence of the command center staff was staggering. Why hadn’t any of these fools alerted him earlier?
Christ, give me real soldiers, he thought.
Hopper’s chest felt like it would explode. He spun and kicked a desk, which sent papers flying through the air. A cubicle partition became his next victim when he punched a hole through it. That just pissed him off more. Hopper yanked his arm free, grabbed the partition, ripped it from the adjoining pieces and hurled it against the wall.
Turning back to the staff, he pointed at a man cowering by his desk. “You, set us to code red. Then get the generators up and running. These aren’t decorations.” He gestured at the monitors and TV screens that typically showed everything happening at critical security junctures. He turned to the woman frozen in place by his outburst. “Get the fucking team dispatched and tell them to use all means necessary to secure the refinery.”
He turned to the tall man. “You, dispatch a team to Delta. Have them use any means necessary to bring Mitch to me. That dumb shit has a lot to answer for.”
The man’s eyebrows rose briefly but he nodded. All of them jumped to their tasks.
Hopper ran a hand through his hair thinking through his options. This couldn’t be random. Three separate incidents like this meant they were under attack. Walking over to the window, he could see smoke wafting out of the two flanking towers. Even more smoke rose from below him as well.
“Get these god dammed fires out too!”
An analyst approached him cautiously with his daily reports. The young man held out the folder.
General Hopper snatched them from him and reviewed his personnel numbers. There were forty-five guards in the main tower, another forty in the barracks, twenty on perimeter and train depot security. A mere one hundred and five guards to secure a population that outnumbered them nearly ten to one.
“Sir, power’s coming back online,” the woman said.
Hopper nodded and watched as the lights came back followed a moment later by the computer monitors and TVs. The air hummed with electricity, and Hopper felt the stress ease.
At the back of the office, a door burst open and Dr. Denard burst into the command center gasping for breath. Sweat trickled down his bright red face. He held up a finger and bent over with hands on his knees.
“I don’t have time right now, Doctor,” Hopper said, annoyed at the very sight of the man.
“Sir, look.” An analyst pointed at the TV monitor.
Hopper’s stomach dropped like a roller coaster. The few internal security feeds they had back online revealed absolute chaos. The drones were making use of bladed weapons. How the hell did they get weapons? The drones had a crude and motley assortment swords and small knives. He glared at the scene unfolding on screen as the drones hacked down the guards. They were quickly taking over large swaths of his corporate campus.
Denard gasped as he watched a guard lose an arm with a single slash. The guard spun with his severed limb spurting blood with each pulse of his racing heart.
Between deep breaths, Denard said, “Looks like you got the news.”
“Use the damn implants to bring them back in line.” Hopper glared at Denard. The color had drained from the man’s face. His stricken expression nearly made Hopper laugh.
“You think we didn’t try that?” Denard snapped. “I just finished in the treatment room. Someone switched the medication out. We refilled the drones with saline solution.”
“Subdue them and redo your job.”
“Even if we gave them the proper medication today, it takes three days for it to take full effect.” Denard put a hand on his forehead as he watched the monitors.
“Still no response from Delta, sir,” a tech called out.
“What happened to Delta?” Denard asked.
“Go do your job, Doctor,” Hopper snapped again. “I’ll do mine.”
“I can tell.”
“What?” Hopper rounded on Denard, his face red and creased with a vicious scowl.
“Nothing.” Denard backed up a few steps. “I’ll get right on it.”
Denard turned and started to leave.
“Wait.”
Denard groaned but did as he was told. He glanced over his shoulder. “Yes, General?”
“Deploy Edison.”
A devilish grin spread on the doctor’s face. Hopper wanted to bash that face in, but he dispatched the man to do his dirty work.
“Yes, sir,” Denard said before disappearing down the stairwell.
“Can you patch me through the speakers campus wide?” Hopper asked one of the techs.
“Give me a minute to adjust the system, but yes we can, sir.”
When the work was done, one of the techs handed Hopper a radio handset. He cleared his throat and keyed the handset.
“This is General Hopper. All security personnel prepare for audio assault protocol. All drones should be secured and placed in their dorms. Anyone who resists will pay the ultimate price.”
Hopper waited a minute. He had no idea how long Denard would need to activate his weapon. He repeated the message again, just to make everyone heard it.
Before he finished the second announcement, Denard activated Edison. Drones collapsed, clutching their ears. Unprepared guards also crumpled to the ground. Most were okay, and they watched as they began to zip tie each of the drones.
Hopper let out a huge breath. A small round of applause went around the room. It was like the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders.
The main TV monitor switched views. A man stood staring into the camera. He wore a suit and had a stern expression. The man stood surrounded by four others in business casual, wearing dark sunglasses and earpieces. Hopper’s heart leaped into his throat, and he gulped hard to put it back in place. It was a two-way signal so the man could see him, too.
“Chancellor Montague,” General Hopper said, clearing his throat. The timing couldn’t be worse for Joshua Montague, leader of the Republic of California, to call in. “So nice to see you.”
“General Hopper,” the man said in obvious disgust as though it pained him to say the name. “Do you know where I am?”
“No, sir.” Hopper didn’t like the tone of Montague’s voice.
“I am in your security office. My men had to hustle me into this tiny, insufficient room because the situation here has,” he paused, “deteriorated.”
“My apologies sir, but I assure you we have things under con
trol.”
“Oh really? If this is what you call ‘under control’ I may have to reconsider our arrangement,” Montague snapped. “Consider yourself on thin ice.”
“I assure you this won’t happen again.” Hopper clenched his jaw. “It hasn’t happened before, and I apologize it did so on the day you arrived. We had no idea you were coming.”
“Not knowing is the point of a surprise inspection.” Montague glared hard at the camera.
“The entire facility will be secured and locked down in an hour or two. I have a great team, sir.” Hopper nodded.
“First, Goshen goes to hell. Now my sources are telling me you’ve lost the refinery, Delta, Echo, and now this?” Montague clasped his hands behind his back and leaned toward the camera on his end. Montague’s face loomed large on Hopper’s screen. “One might be forgiven for thinking this is your first trip around the block.”
Hopper gasped at the insult. His face contorted as he barely contained his anger.
“Get your shit together, General.” Montague straightened and gave a placating smile. “Or I will find someone else to do your job.”
“Yes, sir,” Hopper barely managed to say. It felt as though the wind had been knocked out of his lungs.
“Now, I’m leaving this disappointing shit hole and heading back to Sacramento.”
“Please sir, allow me to lead a team to escort you to your convoy.”
“Don’t bother, General.” Montague nodded at someone off screen and the signal cut out.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
General Hopper stood on stage in the assembly hall with the huge screens on behind him. It showed the Republic of California flag flapping in the wind just like it always did. He looked out at the cuffed drones.
Edison had worked like a charm. Hopper would have to get the eggheads to make more of those. Although the tide of the battle turned in their favor, they’d suffered major losses that would be difficult to report to Montague.
Hopper gritted his teeth. That arrogant prick didn’t deserve his title. Hopper had done more for the country and the cause of the new republic than a limp-wrist politician like Montague could imagine.
Fighting for War: The Collin War Chronicles Book Three Page 17
