Probe

by Douglas E Roff

  “Money. That’s about it. They don’t have any. The Human has found and drained all of their accounts. So, they have the E-5 virus and the A+ and A- serums, but they can’t do anything with them. They don’t have the money to put their plans into action. No production. And the Human says he knows where all their Labs are except one. Plus, he has a few other items he’s not sharing as yet which he says could strike a big blow to the Black Shirts. He says he’s got more.”

  “Not feeling like sharing? Why not?”

  “Until he knows where we are, he’s keeping it quiet. I’d do the same. He’s wondering whether the humans will have to fight a one front or two front war. Smart.”

  “Can we align with them? Will they trust us?”

  “I think it’s what they want. No war, dispose of the Black Shirts quietly, bring us out into the open.”

  “And you?”

  “He may be right. But we’re a long way from there. He’s asked for a meet. Just you and me. He’s willing to release our families afterwards. But he told me that our wives and kids don’t want to come home just yet. Except Jason.”

  “They are safer hidden away so, long as they’re being treated well. If Saldana goes ape shit, she’ll kill our families just to show the Collective she can. Any news on that front?”

  “Yes. The Human gave me five minutes with my wife. She said she and the kids are being treated well and the humans have been very accommodating. She also said the news that the Human mentioned is game changing, and that we should accept the offer to parlay. But we have to get past tomorrow and the call. What are your thoughts there?”

  “Round up the conspirators and anyone who might be a sympathizer. Have three separate calls, each more detailed. The local and regional councils get the basics. The Tracker, Captains and military get more. The dynamite stuff is saved for the Great Council, and Council of Elders. Even then we should decide what to give them. Might be best to meet the humans first, then decide what is best.”

  “What else?”

  “Freeze all Gens bank accounts everywhere, and make the councils go through us. If the Black Shirts get the funds they need, none of this will matter.”

  ***

  Paulo and Demitri Asinamayov sat in the new state of the art communications room at their compound in North Carolina. Paulo had decided to have one call with all three groups of leadership, so he wouldn’t have to waste time serially repeating himself. Questions about the content of the call were likely to be common to all three groups. When the content designed for the regional and local councils was fully described, and discussed, that group would dismissed. A second round of additional information and discussion would then take place that was germane to the Tracker, Captain and military leadership councils. These councils would then be excused, and the final presentation would be made to the Council of Elders, and the Great Council. Paulo would caution all councils not to extrapolate either problems or solutions or take any action on their own.

  As the conference call began there was only one question on the minds of all in attendance: why were so, many individuals rounded up and detained?

  “I have very reliable evidence that many employed at head office in Princeton, and more than a hand full of scientists in our American research Labs, were active members of, or sympathizers with, the Black Shirt Movement, and specifically Saldana Ri. We have done an exhaustive, and detailed analysis of all lines of communication to reach this conclusion. In addition, these very people failed to show up for work at their Labs on the day the Labs were destroyed. We have traced the communications warning them of the potential retaliation to the Black Shirts.

  “In addition, we have proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that the incident in London that triggered the reprisal by the Human was orchestrated by Saldana Ri, with the help of the Hanley brothers, and a few other Gens in senior positions in Princeton. The Black Shirts have been systematically embezzling funds from us with the help of Charles Hanley and covering it up through allocations to non-existent projects that would’ve been difficult to audit.”

  Paulo then went on to update the Councils on the progress of the research undertaken by the Black Shirts at various of their Labs in America.

  After Paulo dismissed the local and regional councils, he spoke with the Tracker, Captain and military councils to inform them of his next steps. Their part was to round up the rogue Black Shirts wherever they could find them and detain them. He sent them lists of names, warning them that this wasn’t a witch hunt, and detention was all that was required at this point. Paulo also provided them with the lists of missing Lab employees with the promise that he would soon be able to determine their whereabouts. He asked that they establish strict security protocols.

  Finally, Paulo spoke to the Council of Elders and the Great Council. During that call he provided more detail about the treachery of Calista Gold and the rogue scientists and leadership that had disappeared after the incident in London. Those that were not dead, Paulo told them, could and would be presumed to be in league with the Black Shirts. He went into great detail about the status and progress the Black Shirts had made with both the Serum project and the E-5 virus. He told them he had also discovered the existence of the Black Shirt Labs but had not pinpointed their locations as yet.

  “I would like to tell you that it was our own folks that found all this evidence and reported it to me. Such, however, wasn’t the case. This information and more that I will detail to you has come from the Human.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “I don’t know other than to say most all of the information checks out as extremely accurate. I can only surmise that the Human’s tech team is far superior to ours and, in that, I guess I’m not at all surprised. The Black Shirts have been operating a parallel organization, stealing our sources of funds, and recruiting our top scientists and leaders. We, I should say I, have failed in just about every task to keep us secret and safe. My failure is colossal.”

  There was dead silence on the phone.

  “That’s all in the past now, Paulo. What do you propose for the future? What do we do now?”

  “First, it’s essential that we freeze all funds held by any Gens individual or organization worldwide. The only barrier between the Black Shirts, and Armageddon is funding. If they get it, we’re likely to be hunted to extinction by the humans in retaliation for what Saldana might do.

  “We need to be clear with all Gens inside the Collective and out that funding the Black Shirts is a capital offense. This is not political expression, this is existential. All banking activity to be monitored, and all bank accounts immediately disclosed and funds frozen.”

  “The Collective will fight this intrusion. It’s going too far,” said an Elder.

  “Then they’ll have made a statement, and still be dead.”

  “This cannot be what we must do to survive.”

  Paulo paused, then, moving on said, “I think it’s simple to state, and very difficult to swallow and do. But, if we are to survive, we must align our interests with the Human. In light of recent intelligence, we need to do so, quickly and try to regain an upper hand. Then Enzo and I will meet with the Human, who presently holds my family.”

  “Enzo?”

  “Yes. I banished my brother to keep up the façade of his disgrace. The Human has exonerated him with iron clad proof. I will send that information to you now. Simply stated, we need a new strategy for dealing with the Human, and with mankind in general. They seem uncommitted to war or further retribution, and fully committed to coexistence. I have no idea what’s possible with them or even if it is in our best interests. But what I do know is their capability to find, and destroy us is exceptional, and they want to eradicate the Black Shirt Movement, and disarm the threat of war.”

  “How can you be sure? Maybe they want to align with us first to take out the Black Shirts then come after us.”

  “Maybe. But we need a dialogue with them first; then w
e can decide that issue. Besides, it’s now clear that the Black Shirts have aligned themselves with Cardinal Bellinelli at the Vatican. They are colluding to gin up this war. We need to find and destroy them and regain control of our communications. Right now, we have lost our propaganda edge, and the only information reaching the Gens Collective comes directly from Saldana Ri. We need to find her quick and silence her. Permanently.”

  He paused.

  “Then we need to find Bellinelli, who has gone to ground, and find out whether his collusion with the Black Shirts is Vatican policy or his own betrayal of the Church. I am dispatching Trackers to find him and calling the Vatican police to see what they know. Any questions?”

  Silence. There were none.

  “Good, then Enzo and I will meet with the Human and report back. I will accept their offer of assistance, at least until we understand their motivations and agenda better.”

  One of the Elders said, “Paulo?”

  “Yes?”

  “I hope you know what you are doing.”

  “I wish I could say I did, but I don’t. This just seems the safest path at the moment.”

  Chapter 40

  Patrick Murphy O’Brien arrived at the facility north of San Francisco in the deep woods very near nothing. It had been an old-World War II bunker facility, storing munitions, and weapons in anticipation of a potential Japanese attack on the west coast that never came. Through an underground catacomb of tunnels connecting bunker space to bunker space, there was sufficient room for several thousand inhabitants to be housed comfortably. It had taken some time, but the rework of the existing facilities had been easier to accomplish due to the fact that the federal government chose to maintain the facility in tip top shape for God only knows what reason. Then in the late ‘90’s, under the Clinton military base closures program, it was sold off.

  There had only been one bidder, a small high-tech company out of Chicago run by an ex-army colonel who bought it for reasons even he didn’t remember. When he died in 2010 the estate sold the company to a young computer engineer, who worked for the colonel, at a bargain price. When the new owner sold the firm two years later, the property in Northern California was spun off to its then sole shareholder, who promptly dropped it inside a shell corporation with Panamanian ownership. For a single day, less actually, it was held in the name of Saldana Ri.

  The new corporation was called Camisa Negra International, Ltd.

  This was one of the few mistakes Saldana Ri made in her planning on the way to power. She couldn’t possibly have known what her error was. At the time, neither she nor her company nor the property in California would have meant anything to anybody.

  By 2016, that had all changed.

  ***

  Saldana Ri had ordered Patrick Murphy O’Brien to rendezvous with her, and her senior team at the California facility. PMO had been assiduously working his way through the never-ending lists and tasks that Saldana assigned to him. Commensurate with his promotion came a new set of responsibilities along with a staff to assist him. PMO was undeniably a psychopath, if indeed that term was sufficient to describe his pathology, but he also possessed heretofore undiscovered organizational skills that surprised Saldana, but surprised PMO even more.

  The key to his success wasn’t PMO alone; much credit went to his chief lieutenant, a Gens warrior from the wilds of Russia. Katarina Petrova hailed from a small village on the eastern slopes of the Urals from a fairly remote region into which even the FSB dared not set foot. She had been sent to school some distance from her home on the orders of the Gens regional council in order to infiltrate the security services.

  She was tough, even in human form, and her pathology didn’t vary a great deal from that of her new boss. The FSB had no use for her particular brand of insanity, so she was sent off to Moscow, and then made her way via forged documents to the West. Eventually, she came to the US, and blended into the American way of life, spending most of her time in natural state at one or the other of the US or Canadian Preserves.

  The Regional Councils where she lived pronounced her unfit for human form, so one day she just left, looking for the mythical Black Shirts, a Movement more suited to her tastes and proclivities. As her reputation for skill, and cruelty became common knowledge, so did PMO’s interest in locating her.

  For either of them, it would be difficult to describe their first encounter as anything akin to “love at first sight”, but whatever it was, it was instant, chemical and intense. If it could be called love, PMO had now had his first full brush with real sexual attraction. Saldana Ri was kept fully informed of the circumstances of their relationship by one of her spies; she found she felt something akin to the human emotion of jealousy. She didn’t like her “pure” plaything being satisfied by any other Gens female in any form. Neither had he asked for permission to bond or mate with this creature. Saldana had been clear about her requirements; now Saldana wanted to meet the female and decide what to do with her.

  Saldana was curious about the insane Gens warrior who had fallen in love with an insane human monster. Gens female coupling with humans wasn’t unknown, but it was rare. Saldana would’ve thought this coupling near impossible.

  PMO walked into the large office Saldana occupied several stories below ground in a new section of the old military base. He was on time, punctual, and was prepared to discuss the progress he had made on the many assigned tasks. It was all good news. He hoped to introduce his new lieutenant, not as his mate, but as a valuable member of his team. She had become indispensable to him, traveled everywhere he went, and was never far from his side. They shared a bed; a new world of pleasure he had never known was suddenly thrown open to him, and she never failed to satisfy even his most deviant demands. Indeed, she wouldn’t have thought of him in a purely sexual way; what he wanted was what she wanted, so there wasn’t even a hair width of separation in the minds of these two miscreants.

  “Mistress, I have come as you ordered, and am prepared to give you a detailed summary on the progress of the tasks you have entrusted to me. I await your instructions.”

  Saldana looked at her pet, thinking now that she would have to tread carefully with him. The most recent reports had provided details on the blossoming relationship between the lovebirds, and caution was urged in dealing with him on that subject matter. They had not mated; permission from Gens leadership was required for Gen to mate, however, and PMO would now have to get that permission from Saldana Ri.

  She decided to appear supportive and invite the couple to dinner with her senior leadership. She was curious about the Russian, and some level of mistrust was ever present in her mind. Saldana’s people were from the wilds of Mongolia, and the Russian domination of that part of the Far East during the communist era was fresh in her mind. It had trickled down to the Gens leadership in the region, something the Far East wasn’t happy with. What had human politics to do with the Gens?

  It was a human weakness and wholly inappropriate for a Gens leader; no matter, Saldana Ri, and her Clan viscerally detested the Russian Clans. They took on the arrogance and airs of their ethnic Russian humans and looked down on the Mongolian Clans. The Mongolian Gens Clans had once ridden with the Golden Horde which had conquered most of the known world, and that included Russia. Who were the Russian pigs to lord over a Mongolian?

  She would test this female’s obedience to her new Mistress. That would likewise test the resolve of her Irish pet. This would be an interesting dinner that would tell her much.

  “Have a seat, Patrick, and tell me about this savage Russian wench you have plucked from one of the lesser Preserves. I am all ears.”

  “She is Russian, organized and loyal to the Movement. She’s cruel, and uncaring about human prey and is more than willing to participate in any experiments to assist in the Great Cull when the time comes. She is eager to serve. I hope you will permit her the honor of meeting you one day.”

  “Does she know her place? Is she obe
dient to your will, and therefore to mine?”

  “She is. Without question, Mistress. She has never failed me, nor has she ever done anything outside the bounds of my instructions to her. She will obey you as she would me; that is with utter subservience to your will.”

  “In all things? As do you?”

  “Yes Mistress, in all things. Her life she gladly pledges to you; your will is her pleasure to obey.”

  “Have you had need to discipline her?”

  “Once Mistress. Very early on before she understood our dominance ranking. It was more of a mistake than a willful breach of order. She has never needed discipline since.”

  “And you’re sure that signifies submission, not a devious, and deceitful mind?”

  “She is submissive in all matters to her superiors, whether me or my superiors. I personally vouch for her.”

  “With your life, as she comes close to the seat of power? I take no risk letting her near?”

  “On my life, on pain of death, I do so swear.”

  “Bring your lieutenant to dinner this evening with our senior leadership. I must meet the female that has stolen your heart and mind. My Council will want to meet and assess her too.”

  “As you command.”

  “Now, tell me about this new plan of yours, and why we should care about the Human, and his pack. I see no reason or need to care about him, and his machinations. How can finding them help us?”

  “Let me explain.”

  Chapter 41

  PMO continued, “Presently we are close to perfecting our two main projects. We have organized the rebellion from within and it would take only a signal from you for our loyal military units to coalesce into a fighting unit as you have constructed them. In addition, we are winning the propaganda wars. The leadership of the Collective has lost access to the mains channels of communication globally in the Dark Web. What news the Collective gets, it gets from us.