Saving America

by Saxon Andrew

  “She told me that her husband has the Prime Minister’s ear and he could persuade the Prime Minister to start purchasing electronic products from companies they own or our competitors. However, I see how important it is for me to take command of my ship and I’ll do it as soon as I go back.”

  Her father shouted, “YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING!!” Maranda stared at her father and saw his fear. “You need to transfer from your current assignment!”

  “You know I tried that but was told I’d be demoted and my career would suffer from it,” Maranda replied.

  “DO IT ANYWAY!!”

  Maranda glanced at her mother and saw her holding her stomach, “Please tell me you’ve done nothing to make that happen!”

  “No, I stopped and waited until I could discuss this with you,” Maranda answered. She saw her parents breathe a sigh of relief. She suddenly realized that they cared nothing about her career. She was nothing more than a tool to increase their wealth and they’d toss her aside if she didn’t fulfill their demands. The rest of breakfast was done in silence and Maranda was fine with that.

  When she finished eating and stood up her father quickly asked, “When are you going back?”

  “I have to report back this afternoon. I’m ordered to attend a meeting in the morning.”

  Her father nodded and waved her away. After she left the dining room, he looked at his wife, “We must do something about this!”

  “What can we do?”

  “I’m contacting Al.”

  “Are you sure about this? If he’s traced back to us…”

  “That won’t happen! It must be done.”

  Maranda’s mother lifted a communicator from her purse, “I’ll make the call with the unregistered frequency, so it can’t be traced back to us.” She paused and added, “You know Maranda might be caught up in what follows.”

  “Make the call!”

  • • •

  Maranda went to the garden behind the mansion and sat down on a bench. She looked around and remembered that it was here she would escape her parents as a little girl. It was beautiful and the birds singing their morning songs calmed her. Many of them weren’t from Earth but they all had a song to sing. She thought about the confrontation with her parents and saw herself in them. If she hadn’t been around the Henricks…well…she probably wouldn’t have noticed anything different. But, she did. She saw how much the Henricks and Dunhans loved each other. She clearly saw her parents exhibited none of the traits between them. Both of them were driven by greed and that was what kept them together. She wondered why they ever decided to have a child. It didn’t take long for her to figure out that they had a child to further their greed. They decided that she would enter the Academy before she was born. Taffy shook her head and realized that they were probably disappointed she was not born a male. She looked at the back of the mansion and took in the structure. A huge portion of the mansion was taken up by the servant’s quarters. The actual living space was less than a third of the room Taffy and Grady lived in.

  She reflected on all the competitors she had removed during her years at the academy. Four of them had been expelled for cheating during exams. She used a special device developed by her father to send subject matter to their calculators and mentioned to the instructors that she saw them referring to their calculators’ numerous times during the exams. She had the others removed by getting her father to cause major issues with their families causing them to withdraw. She lowered her head and felt sick. She was a tool…and nothing more. And she was a tool fashioned to be just like her parents. Taffy was right about her. Maranda paused and then had a thought. If Taffy saw her for who she was…why did she say she was a fan of hers? And why did she say the service needed people like her? It didn’t make sense.

  She stood up and went to her room. She repacked the bag that Lola unpacked and walked out of the mansion. She didn’t tell her parents goodbye, they didn’t expect it and she couldn’t bear doing it. She was out of the front entrance before a servant could take her bag and she quickly ran down the steps to the transport. Benjamin rushed down the steps and asked, “Is everything all right, Miss Maranda?”

  Maranda turned to him before entering the transport and asked, “Why have you stayed here all these years, Ben?” Ben stared at Maranda’s expression and she repeated, “WHY?”

  “Someone must look out for the other servants, Miss Maranda. When your father fires one of them, I reassign them to other duties. Your father has never noticed me doing it.”

  Maranda reached forward and hugged Benjamin, “Thank you for all you’ve done for me.” She released him, entered the transport, and lifted it. Benjamin watched her leave and smiled. There was at least one member of the Meadow’s family that had become something special.

  • • •

  Maranda arrived at the roof of the Spring Hill Foods building and landed the transport. She got out, shut it down, and walked toward the elevator. It opened, and she realized she wasn’t ready to confront Taffy. She said, “Please take me down to street level.” The skyscraper was huge but the trip to the first floor only took a few seconds. She stepped out and walked out of the building. She walked a short distance, sat down on a bench, and looked at the civilian transports passing the giant building. She shook her head and stared at the sidewalk for a few minutes. She finally looked up and watched traffic again. There was a break in the traffic and she saw a large black civilian mini-hauler move into a parking space directly across from the building’s entrance. The windows were darkly tinted, but the driver’s window was open. She stared at the transport and waited until traffic cleared. She saw the driver and her heart went into her throat… AL!” She stood up and forced herself to walk casually back to the entrance. She kept her face turned to the building and walked through the front automatic doors. She stopped inside and saw that Al hadn’t noticed her. Her father was incredibly ruthless, but this was far beyond anything he had ever done. She walked quickly to the elevator and stopped. The door opened, and she said, “Take me to the Henricks’ residence.”

  “No one is allowed to go there,” The computer replied. Maranda knew her father had the frequency of her communicator and he had probably given it to Al to assist him in tracking Taffy and Grady’s whereabouts.

  She looked up and said, “I have to believe that you are a very smart computer. You must know that Taffy authorized you to allow me to enter the building.”

  “She did but she did not authorize you to enter their quarters from a lower level.”

  “I must speak to her immediately and I can’t use my communicator to contact her! Please, take me to their quarters!”

  There was a long pause and the computer stated, “Your stress level is quite high. Does this involve the safety of the Henricks?”

  “YES!”

  The computer announced, “Protocol overridden.” The elevator door closed, and it quickly moved up.

  Maranda arrived at the top level and exited the door. Standing in front of her was a huge robot holing a blaster, “Please remain where you are.”

  Maranda raised her arms and a few moments later, Taffy came running up, “BOB, WHAT’S GOING ON?”

  “The elevator overrode its protocols to bring this passenger here. I’m required to confront the passenger when that happens.”

  Taffy turned to Maranda, “Why didn’t you just contact me on your communicator?” Taffy saw Maranda’s expression and she said, “What’s going on?” Maranda’s tears started, and Taffy took her in her arms. She held her tightly as Maranda was racked with sobs.

  Chapter Eight

  Grady stared at Maranda and heard Taffy ask, “So, these men parked in front of our building are here to take a shot at Grady and me?”

  “They aren’t alone, Taffy.”

  “Who are they, Maranda?” Grady asked.

  Maranda lowered her eyes, “They’re a team of assassins used by my father to remove anyone that represents a danger to him. It’s my fault they’re here
.”

  “Why is that?” Taffy asked.

  “Because my father demanded I do what was necessary to take command of the Brer Rabbit. I told him that I didn’t do it because it would pose a threat to his business empire. I told him that you would stop the government from buying his products if I sabotaged the mission. I never expected him to do anything like this, but I underestimated his greed and avarice.”

  “What do you mean they’re not alone?” Grady asked.

  “The transport on the street is just one of those being used, Grady. I’m certain they have several transports flying close to this building looking for you to step out on the roof.”

  Grady turned around and activated the terminal on the desk in front of him. “Computer, have you detected any transports flying courses that keep them close to our building?”

  “There are three transports that meet the criteria. When one moves away, another is always close,” the computer answered.

  Maranda was surprised by the computer and Grady said, “Show me those three transports.” A view of the air space above the building appeared and the view zoomed in to a large black transport. The monitor divided, and two other transports appeared that were circling around and moving back toward the building.

  “What are we going to do about this, Grady?”

  Grady turned to Taffy, “Shooting them down without clear evidence they represent a danger wouldn’t be the best thing.”

  “So, what do we do?”

  Grady shrugged, “Well, we have the rest of this afternoon to take action and I do believe that you need to work your magic with the stock market.”

  Taffy’s head tilted, as Maranda asked, “What are you going to do?”

  “Remove the cause of this, Maranda,” Grady replied.

  “I don’t want my parents harmed!”

  “Are you talking about financially or physically?” Grady asked.

  Maranda stared at Grady and sighed, “Physically.”

  Grady turned to Taffy, “Can you do this?”

  “Let me take a look at their holdings and see if they’re worth it. I’ll let you know in an hour.” Grady nodded and pressed a button, “Major, I need your assistance.”

  “What do you need, Colonel?” Grady told him and the major agreed to help him. Rory and Abby were watching the proceedings and Rory said, “I’ll take care of the transport on the street.”

  “I don’t want them killed, Rory!” Grady paused and added, “At least not yet.”

  “You know how delicate I can be, Grady.”

  “That’s why I’m telling you, Rory!”

  “All right! All right! I’ll collect them for questioning.”

  Maranda shook her head, “Be careful, he’s really dangerous.”

  Rory shrugged and left the room. Grady said over his shoulder, “Rory!” Rory turned around, “Time it for four this afternoon!” Rory nodded, turned around, and headed toward his quarters with Abby.

  • • •

  Allen Durban stared at the entrance to the giant skyscraper and took a deep breath. Jekins said next to him, “Just how long do you intend to stay here?”

  Al snapped back, “AS LONG AS IT TAKES!” Jekins flinched and Al said in a milder tone, “There are only two ways out of this building; the roof and this entrance. We’ve got them both covered and our job is to make sure they don’t get away through that entrance.”

  Al leaned back in the driver’s seat. This was always the worst part of the kill. The long wait for the target to appear. But he had learned how to deal with it and he kept his eyes focused on the front entrance. Jekins nudged him and pointed ahead of the transport, “Looks like we have company.”

  Al looked ahead of the transport and saw a small scooter moving down the long row of parked vehicles. It was a long way off, but Al quickly saw that a woman was on the scooter. She would get off, check the parking meters next to the parked transports, and issue citations for those that had violated the time restrictions. Jekins turned to Al, “Does this pose a problem?”

  “Nahhhh. This parking place is not a metered space and we can remain here as long as we want.”

  Al turned back to the entrance and thirty minutes later Jenkins said, “Boss, that officer is a real looker!”

  Al turned and saw Jekins was right. What was a woman like that doing writing traffic citations on a hot day like this? He saw her wipe her brow with a small towel as she got off the scooter and read another meter. He knew he should keep his eyes on the front entrance, but he kept glancing between the officer and the entrance. She finally arrived at the transport in front of them and Al shook his head. She was incredibly beautiful. The officer looked at the meter and put the citation book in her back pocket. She moved away from the transport and stopped by Al’s open window. She smiled and said, “It’s a hot day to keep your window open.”

  Al smiled back at her, “I like fresh air.”

  The woman took off her helmet and looked up at the sky. She closed her eyes and then looked back at Al, “That’s why I like this job. I love the outdoors and fresh air. Well, have a great day.”

  “You too,” Al replied just before the woman pulled a gas grenade out of her helmet and tossed it through the open window. She moved quickly away from the transport as Al reached for his blaster. The grenade was set for one second detonation and the transport was instantly filled with a yellow gas. Al had his hand on the blaster but collapsed unconscious before he could pull it.

  The woman stopped her scooter at the rear of the transport as an ambulance came screaming in and parked next to it. The technicians exited the ambulance and Abby said to the driver, “The gas has dissipated and it’s safe to take them out.”

  A passerby on the sidewalk asked loudly, “WHAT’S GOING ON?”

  Abby turned to him and answered, “It appears to be heat exhaustion. Please move on!”

  The grenade went off exactly one minute before four o’clock. At four o’clock, every transporter above the streets had their radios and transmitters overridden by Traffic Control, “ALL TRANSPORTS AND COMMERCIAL VEHICLES WITHIN TWO MILES OF THE GOVERNMENT BUILDING WILL IMMEDIATELY MOVE OUTSIDE A TWO-MILE RADIUS AROUND THE BUILDING. WE ARE SENDING NEW ROUTING INSTRUCTIONS AND YOU WILL FOLLOW THEM IMMDIATELY. VIOLATERS WILL BE ARRESTED!!”

  • • •

  The driver of the black transport closest to the roof of the Spring Hill Foods building turned down the volume of his transports communicator and snarled, “Contact Al and see what he wants done about this!”

  The man sitting next to him shook his head, “The power of Traffic Control’s broadcast is overwhelming my communicator. I can’t get anything out or receive anything.”

  “Contact one of the other transports!”

  “It’s impossible to contact anything close to these buildings!”

  The driver saw a military transport start moving toward him and he immediately turned the transport away. Wasn’t this a real fubar!

  • • •

  Abby watched the three men loaded on stretchers and moved into the ambulance. She searched the driver’s pockets and took out the remote to the transport. She raised the windows and locked the doors. One of the technicians walked around to her with a serious expression, “Colonel, they have some real high-powered ordinance in there! They’re military grade and the missiles are state of the art.”

  Abby nodded, “You know where to take them?”

  The Tech nodded and entered the ambulance. It lifted and flew away with its sirens screaming. Abby looked at the crowd that had gathered and shouted, “They’re going to be ok! Now please go about your business!” Abby got on the scooter and continued down the row of parked transports issuing citations. Several men stayed and gawked at her, but they eventually left.

  • • •

  The ambulance flew around the Spring Hill building, made a radical turn where it couldn’t be seen from the street, and landed on the roof, where a section had flashing lights surrounding a large square. The ambul
ance landed on it and was immediately lowered into the roof. Twenty minutes later, it rose out of the roof and slowly flew away.

  • • •

  Al felt something, and he suddenly saw light enter his vision. He couldn’t lift his head, but he saw a hand remove a hypodermic from his bare left arm. He heard a voice say, “The effects of the gas will disappear quickly.” He lifted his head a moment later and saw a man sitting in a chair in front of him with his arms and legs crossed. He focused on the man and a moment later recognized him as one of the targets he was paid to remove. He tried to lift his arms but discovered he was incapable of moving any of his limbs. Al had been restrained numerous times in the past but none of those instances came close to the restraints holding him now. The only thing he could move was his head. He heard whimpering to his left and he turned to see Jekins and Baker were also restrained to chairs. He turned back to the man sitting in front of him and saw him smile slightly. “First things first.” The man held up a communicator and Al saw that it was his. “You will order the three transports that have been flying around my building to leave and not return.”

  Al’s eyes narrowed, “I don’t know anything about three transports. What are you talking about?”

  Grady stared at the big man and said, “Are you in position?”

  A woman’s voice replied, “We’re moving in now. Waiting on your order, Grady.”

  Grady turned to Al and he leaned back in his chair, “I am going to blast those three transports into gas if you don’t tell them to leave, Mr. Dunbar.” Al flinched when he heard his name; this man knew who he was.

  • • •

  The driver of one of the transports saw the military ship moving in behind him and he yelled to one of the other transports, “ARE YOU SEEING THIS?!”

  “YES, GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!”

  The three black transports turned and flew away from the center of the city at their fastest speed. Suddenly, Al heard the man’s communicator announce, “They’re leaving at high speed, Grady. Do you want us to fire on them?”

  Grady stared at Al for a long moment and replied, “No. Move into orbit and track them to where they go. Contact the Special Forces units and vector them in. Tell Captain Akins to try and take them without a fire fight. They’re carrying some heavy weapons in those transports.”