Nightfall

by Peter Hoole

  “How does this help? We already knew they existed? Just the mere fact that computers were being stolen was enough of an insight,” James grumbled.

  “Agreed. But what we can now do is compare the pictures we have, to those we got from the plane. In the brief window we had, we were able to pick up these five images.”

  William retrieved a picture file revealing a shot of the hangar in Seattle. In the picture were Caleb, Darcy, Dunleavy, Jacob and Casey.

  “Are you saying these are the same people? Are these the people who have been after us?”

  “I think so, sir. As you can see, there’s our old friend Dunleavy. And Jacob.”

  “Jacob? The agent?”

  “Yes, sir. As we discussed, he’s riding along with them, waiting for his opportunity to act. But it seems he may have turned against us.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “The fact that the others are still alive.”

  “I knew he would betray us, as soon as he got the chance.”

  “He did prove useful for a time.” William paused. “But, now his fate will be shared with his new comrades.”

  James nodded in affirmation, happy with William’s assessment.

  “What of the others? I see Ms. Chamberlain. The other men. Who are they?

  “Now, I’ve done an image search on them, and there is nothing.”

  James looked bemused. “What do you mean nothing?” he asked.

  “I mean, sir, it is as though they don’t exist. There is nothing from the military, Homeland Security, FBI, Pentagon, Mi6, Mossad… or any other agency we have someone in. There is no trace of them. They’re ghosts.”

  “What about this one?” James asked, referring to a sixth figure.

  “Not sure, sir. They didn’t even raise their head while they made their way toward the back. I figured they were the one who accessed the camera control and switched it off?”

  “On purpose?”

  “Hard to say, sir. It would take some pretty amazing luck to accidently find the panel that controls the manual override.”

  James looked at the image in front of him, happy with William’s work. Unfortunately, it was only partially complete. “Have you had the serum yet?” James asked William.

  “Yes sir. About an hour ago.”

  “Feeling okay? I know I was a bit groggy after I received mine.”

  William was feeling the aftermath of the serum. “I’ll be fine sir. I just need to focus on something.”

  “Very well. I need your help, now more than ever, William.”

  William was encouraged by the statement. The fact that he was contributing to the plan was reward enough, but to have James ask him again for personal assistance was a big step towards where William wanted to be. “Anything for the cause, sir,” he replied, hardly able to contain his pride.

  James got up from his chair. “I’m not sure what you know. God knows, this kind of thing could easily find its way down the grapevine,” James said as he walked around the desk.

  “Not sure what you’re referring to, sir,” William replied.

  “What do you know about the events out of Berlin?”

  William lifted an eyebrow. “Nothing, sir.”

  “Good. What I’m about to tell you is of the utmost secrecy. Even more so than the less… attractive parts of Phase Three.”

  William knew what that meant. He’d been aware of the details of Phase Three for some time. At first, he had been taken aback by the prospect of such a huge loss of life, but in the end, he’d come to believe it was the right decision. William had always suspected that the world was travelling a path that could only be disastrous in the long term, and it needed to be stopped. “I understand, sir.”

  James began to tell William about Isaac’s apparent betrayal, and the harsh nature with which John had dealt with the situation.

  William took it all in. He wasn’t surprised that someone would betray them. Someone he considered weak. “It’s for the best, sir. I think we need to weed out those who may come up against us. Better that it happens now, rather than during or after Phase Three. You need people around you who you can trust completely.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” James said with a smile, “and the fact that you can see a positive is why I’ve always kept a close eye on you, William.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “I am also a man who sees the positives in any situation. While the traitor did give away our position to Dunleavy and his people, he also made the mistake of giving us their position. From where they were when we lost them, compared to where they were when the traitor contacted them, we’ve been able to identify where they are going.”

  William looked at his leader, glad they could find their targets. “And, where is that sir?” William asked.

  “William. Prepare for company. We’re going to have some guests.”

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  “Wakey up, Lieutenant,” Caleb said to his team member.

  The time had come for a changeover, much to Darcy’s relief. For the majority of the time, Caleb and Darcy had painstakingly searched the Kites system for more information regarding their enemy.

  Unfortunately, most of the information was unavailable, requiring something referred to as Endeavour Access Only. There was no indication as to what that even meant. Although it had revealed something very important to Caleb, and he was able to verify some of the things Isaac had referred to earlier.

  To Caleb, it confirmed that the Colonials had a very strict hierarchy, and that those at the top knew a lot more than they were willing to share with the people who followed them. This gave Caleb an idea on how to attack them, and how he could expose them.

  He’d walked towards the end of the cargo bay, and approached the pods on the side of the area. Two of the pods had been opened. Upon closer inspection, each pod revealed a sleeping area. The available room was akin to that on a submarine for the enlisted. While it wasn’t spacious, a person could easily get a few hours’ sleep. Or even two people could, as Murphy and Casey had apparently elected to share a pod.

  “Yes, sir, just five more minutes”, Murphy muttered; clearly not ready to get up.

  “Up and at ‘em Marine,” ordered Caleb.

  “C’mon Dad, just five more minutes. I don’t wanna go to school today,” Casey joked.

  Caleb walked away, knowing they would be up by the time he returned.

  Darcy was standing at the third pod, opening the door. She was exhausted, and understandably so. It had been nearly a day and a half since they had last slept. Even Caleb was feeling the pressure.

  Dunleavy was in the adjacent pod. Before Caleb reached him, he saw two legs swinging over the side. “What did you find out?” he asked, his voice raspy.

  “Not much,” Caleb replied. “We’ve found out some thing’s that will help us out, but not much about the Colonials. All that stuff is buried pretty deep.”

  Dunleavy exited his pod, his clothes dishevelled. “Let’s see if we have better luck, Captain,” said Murphy as she appeared from her pod, yawning.

  “My thoughts exactly,” replied Caleb.

  Without missing a beat, his team headed up to the cockpit, ready to take over.

  “Anything in particular, sir?” Murphy asked from the top of the stairs.

  “Find out what you can. Anything at all will help at this stage,” he said, the acoustics of the cargo bay proving useful to carry his voice.

  Stepping into the pod Darcy had reserved, he turned and shouted up to the cockpit. “Oh… and one more thing, Murph.”

  “What’s that, sir?” she shouted back.

  “Try not to let us fall out of the sky today.”

  “No promises, sir,” she retorted.

  Jacob moved towards the pod Dunleavy had just exited.

  As he was about to enter, Caleb caught his gaze. Caleb still didn’t trust him, and he was hoping that the earlier conversation they’d had was still ringing in his ears.

&nbs
p; “Don’t you worry your pretty little head, Captain.” Jacob said, “I’m too fucking tired to hurt anyone.” He entered the pod, and shut the door.

  “Casey…” Caleb yelled from the bay.

  “Sir?” Casey replied as he stood at the entry to the cockpit.

  “Keep an eye down here.” Caleb ordered, wanting an extra layer of protection from Jacob.

  “Read my mind sir.” Casey replied.

  Caleb entered the pod, and Darcy stood to one side. Better he get in first, considering they will be facing out into the cargo bay.

  It was a cosy fit, his large frame barely able to move. It was the first item in the seemingly vast list of technological marvels of the Colonials that he’d been less-than-impressed with.

  On the other hand, at least they thought to make the pods. In a normal cargo plane, it was somewhat difficult to get any kind of effective sleep. It was a case of sleep where you sat. Combined with the bumpy ride, the pod looked very appealing.

  Caleb turned in the pod, giving Darcy room to get in. Turning his frame was hard work, and he got wedged in.

  “Shall we use the car, babe?” she suggested with a knowing smile.

  Caleb felt a bit foolish for not thinking of it himself. While not purpose built, the ‘Bat would be easier for them to share.

  As he rolled back over and shunted out of the pod, Darcy had already opened the door of the SUV. After a short examination, she found a switch.

  As indicated, the chairs lowered in the back section, allowing plenty of room for both of them to lie down. She got in the car, and moved over to the far side. Caleb, adjusting for the strain it took exiting to pod, moved in alongside her.

  Darcy was lying facing the right side of the car, her legs curled into the foetal position. Caleb moved behind her, his body moulding to hers. He put his right arm under her, and she elevated her body to allow him to do so. He wrapped his left arm around her, and embraced her.

  Despite it all, Darcy finally felt safe. When Caleb wrapped his arms around her, she let out a soft moan, remembering how nice and content her life had been only two days ago.

  Still, she couldn’t completely forget where they were, and how worried she was. She couldn’t help but think of the hundreds, potentially thousands, of people who had lost their lives.

  “Caleb,” she asked over her shoulder. “Tell me we’re going to be okay.”

  Caleb held his partner tightly. He shared her emotions. He too was feeling the loss of so many people. He was especially burdened, as it was the first time all day that he’d been able to lie quietly, and think about the events which had led them to this point.

  “Of course we are, babe,” he replied. “I’ve been in trickier situations than this.”

  Darcy knew he was lying, but appreciated what he was trying to do.

  “Time to go to sleep,” Caleb continued, “Something tells me we’ve got a big day ahead of us.”

  “I love you,” she said, a quiver of emotion in her voice.

  “I love you, too.”

  Darcy closed her eyes, fatigue finally catching up to her.

  Caleb was left alone with his thoughts. The events of the day kept repeating through his mind. The main thing which bothered him was the events at the airport. The whole time they’d been with Matthew, Caleb had been convinced that Matthew was not a threat.

  Never in Caleb’s career had he been so blind-sided. He’d felt sympathy for Matthew. He’d felt sorry for the young man. He thought he was just a kid who had made some bad choices.

  In the past, Caleb had met several undesirable people. From members of the Taliban, to Somali gangsters, to Nazi sympathisers in London, Caleb had seen his fair share.

  Every once in a while, he would need to take prisoners. They would range from those who were zealots, people committed to their cause, to those who were only there for fear of death. Over time, Caleb figured he had learned the difference between the people. He also felt he knew how to detect when people were deceiving him.

  Matthew had proved an enigma. Caleb had thought he had worked him out, and in a bizarre way, even trusted him not to betray them. He cursed himself for how arrogant he’d been.

  His overconfidence had contributed to the plane being brought down. It had caused the deaths of so many people.

  The more he thought on it, one thing became painfully obvious – the Colonials were unlike any enemy he’d encountered before. Lying there with Darcy, Caleb made a vow to himself. The vow was a simple one, but he would need it in order to continue his mission. He vowed to make good on his failure. He vowed to make them pay for what they’d done.

  The vow brought a quiet serenity to Caleb. He now had an emotive purpose to stop the Colonials. The serenity combined with his fatigue, and Caleb drifted off to sleep, Darcy tucked tightly in his arms.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  William had grown frustrated with his task. After more than five hours of searching, he couldn’t find anything.

  After his conversation with James, William had contacted the Minot colony. Fearing that Pierre had been killed, William no longer knew who Robert’s Head of Security was, and William respected the chain of authority and spoke to the leader.

  To save time, William had asked Robert for his help. Robert had freely offered it. Now that Caleb and his colleagues were heading to Zone One, Robert was in a much more amenable mood. William had one simple request. He wanted to find out as much as they could about Darcy Chamberlain.

  It was that information that William was now waiting. He paced the room, trying to push his mind to think of an alternate solution, another path down which he could walk to retrieve information. He checked his watch. By his reckoning, they didn’t have much time. He knew Dunleavy, Darcy and their companions were on the way.

  The colony was little more than a series of tunnels and rooms. If Dunleavy and his team got past the town above, the numbers of the Colonial troops would be nullified by the closed space. As protected as they were, William still felt as though there was work to be done. He currently knew little, if anything, about the people Dunleavy and Darcy were with. The less he knew, the harder they would be to anticipate.

  As he continued to pace the room, his phone rang. Pierre’s code flashed on the screen.

  “Pierre?” he snapped when he answered the phone.

  “Afraid not,” said a husky female voice. “Pierre didn’t make it.”

  “What happened?” William asked.

  “He was killed. At the reporter’s apartment. An asset in LA relayed the information when she flew in.”

  “What? How?” William asked.

  Pierre was his equal in almost every way. He had never seen anyone fight so well, with such tactical knowledge. The only person who had ever beaten Pierre in hand-to-hand combat was William, and even that had been a struggle.

  “Our best guess? He was taken out by the one of Dunleavy’s people. Your man was in the apartment, too.”

  “My man? You mean Leon?” William asked.

  “Yeah. He was dead, too.”

  William grew more concerned. He’d trained Leon himself. Despite the fact that Leon lacked the upbringing needed to endear him to the colony, he was a substantial fighter. He could hold his own with the best of William’s men. He’d had confidence that he could take on any outsiders.

  Now he’d been proven wrong, and his nerves increased. “Okay then.” William paused, calming himself. “What do the LA police know?”

  “They dusted for prints, but couldn’t find anything. The guy – he’s a ghost. It’s like he’s one of ours,” the woman replied.

  William saw the irony. The same tactics they’d been using for years were the same tactics that might prove problematic. “I guess our friend Dunleavy has been training them, based on what he learned from us.”

  “Agreed,” the female voice replied. “Anyway, I have some news for you.”

  “Good news?” William asked.

  “It’s news. You can view it how you l
ike.”

  William liked the woman on the other end of the phone. She sounded a practical, no-nonsense type of person. He could see why Robert had handed Pierre’s duties to her. “What is it?” he asked.

  “I have an identity of your mystery man. The one we suspect killed Pierre, and is responsible for the near miss in Seattle.”

  Williams’s eyes lit up. “That’s great,” he said, barely able to hide his enthusiasm.

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself, William. I said we have a name. When we did a search on him, it was as if he didn’t exist. Much like the work he’s carried out so far.”

  “How did you get the information, then?”

  “The old-fashioned way. We paid Ms. Chamberlain’s editor a visit. His name is—” the woman paused, referring to her notes, “Freeman. Marcus Freeman. Anyway, he told us many details about Ms. Chamberlain. And about the reporter who got into the Zone One colony.”

  “Paul Jenkins?” asked William.

  “That’s right. We also found out about Ms. Chamberlain, particularly her private life. Seems she is involved with a Marine Captain - a man by the name of Caleb Jackson. The name sound familiar?”

  “Not at all. What information could you find on him? Was the editor more helpful?”

  “Unfortunately, Mr. Freeman was unable to deal with the stress of our agent’s questions. Apparently his pain threshold was quite low...”

  “So, all we have is his name.”

  “And the fact that he’s involved with Ms. Chamberlain. I told you it was news.”

  William was silent for a moment or two. Almost immediately, he’d started to form a plan. William knew Caleb was a Marine, who had been trained in the same way as the Colonial troops. Fighting him could prove more problematic than it was worth.

  However, Darcy had not been trained in such a way. She was the key. If Jackson’s men were proving a problem, she might be the key to bringing them down.

  “I think we can work with that. Well done.” William stopped. He didn’t even know the woman’s name. “What should I call you?”

  “My name is fine. Catherine.”

  “Well, Catherine. Thank you for your help.”