by T A Williams
“I do not know who that is.”
“She is the next in line for President. She is the one that was attempting to give orders, only to have your General Wallace and your President Johnson trying to usurp command out from under her,” Thomas said coldly.
Ben stepped forward between the men. “Please, everyone calm down.” Ben turned to Locke. “When Fort Stevens was still operating Sylvia Carter was the acting President. Since then she has either been killed or is MIA. They just want to clear up who is in command.”
“President Johnson is,” Locke said, not taking his eyes off Banner. “If Carter was alive and the next in command then she would be the one giving the orders, but she is not.”
Ben turned to Banner and Thomas, but the men were not moved.
“Forgive us for wanting confirmation,” Thomas said.
Locke paused for a moment and then turned and walked over to one of his men. The soldier pulled out his pack radio and called into Command.
“Thomas, I need you to calm down,” Ben said. “Tensions are high and I don’t want anyone doing anything stupid.”
“They’re pretenders,” Banner said softly. “You didn’t see or hear what we did. This isn’t a miscommunication or a missing person. They seized control of the government.”
After a few moments Locke walked over with the radio and handed it to Banner. The man took it reluctantly.
“This is General Wallace, and who am I speaking with?” Wallace’s voice spat out from the radio.
“This is Sergeant Banner Perez.”
“I understand there seems to some confusion, Sergeant? Am I to understand there is some uncertainty in the chain of command?”
Banner glanced up at Locke and then back to the radio. “What is the status of Sylvia Carter, sir?”
“Carter was killed during the Western invasion of the United States. The acting President of the United States is President Johnson. Do you understand?” The anger in Wallace’s voice was evident.
“Yes sir.”
“Now I want you to give the location of the enemy base to Locke.”
“Understood, sir. I would still like a formal inquiry into the status of Sylvia Carter’s whereabouts…sir.”
The radio was silent for a moment. “Locke, we need to discuss the details of your extraction.”
“Getting somewhere private, sir,” Locke said as he walked away with the radio.
When Locke was out of earshot Thomas turned to Banner. “I don’t trust him.”
“What other options do we have?” Banner asked.
“Give them time,” Ben said, glancing at Locke. “This will get cleared up. For now just relax, we made it.”
They all shook hands and Ben went inside to check on Ty. The man was asleep on a cot in one of the rooms. His leg was bandaged and the color had returned to his cheeks. One of the medics came over to check on him. He saw Ben and smiled.
“Don’t worry, he’ll survive,” the medic said.
“That’s what I’m worried about,” Ben said with a smirk.
Ben heard some rustling outside that soon turned into shouting.
“The hell is going on out there?” The medic asked.
Ben ran outside and saw Locke’s soldiers with their guns pulled and pointing toward the same men he had just fought with. As he approached, one of the soldiers turned and pointed his rifle right at Ben.
“Gun down,” Locke said, approaching. “He’s one of us.”
The soldier dropped his aim and turned toward the others.
“What are you talking about? They are all one of us,” Ben said.
Locke shook his head. “That’ll be determined in due time. For now they are under arrest.”
Ben saw Banner and Thomas standing tall with the guns aimed directly at them.
“Locke, I don’t-”
“These orders come directly from President Johnson,” Locke said, raising his voice. “Do you understand?”
Ben stopped where he was and looked around. “Yes sir.”
Ally
The settlement reminded her of the farm. When she thought of California she thought of big cities and for the most part her experience had justified that, but their settlement was located in the middle of prime farmland. There was no debris to clean up, only open fields and rolling hills. The military had taken an existing town and simply built onto it. Dena and Adam picked out an old two-story house that was in only slightly better condition than their last place. Adam’s eyes twinkled as he went over all the things he wanted to fix up and do with the house. From Ally’s window on the second floor she could see the Courthouse that served as the new White House in the distance.
Ally walked down the dusty streets and watched as people went about picking a place to live and unpacking. For the most part the people were all smiles and a feeling of hope was evident in the air. One of the little girls Ally had helped save looked out of a nearby window and waved at her. Ally waved back. She heard the sound of approaching vehicles and watched as a convoy of military vehicles with a large, dark SUV rolled down the road toward her. The convoy stopped in the middle of the street and the soldiers jumped out, securing a perimeter by pushing everyone back but her. President Carter stepped out of the SUV and waved at the people standing around watching as she made her way to Ally.
“I have a meet-and-greet here shortly but I wasn’t about to head to that before saying hi,” she said.
“Hey,” Ally said warmly.
“I understand there was a little security concern at your old safe zone?”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
Carter laughed. “So I hear. Have you thought at all about my proposal of helping you find your old home?”
“I have, and no thank you.”
Carter frowned for a moment. “Are you sure?”
Ally looked back toward her new house and saw Adam, Dena and Coby standing there watching her. The rundown house behind them was nothing more than a building and there was a good chance that was all it would ever be to her, but the people who lived in it were much more. “There is nothing for me back there, but there is plenty for me here.”
Carter followed her gaze and her smile returned. “Fair enough. You know I’m only a short drive from here, right?”
Ally nodded.
“I also offered Dena a job helping to keep our military men in decent clothing, so I expect for you to come with her from time to time, understand?”
“Understand.”
“We have a long road ahead of us, Ally, but as long as we have people like you on our side I think we’re going to get through.”
Ally gave the President a hug and then the woman got back into the SUV and drove down the street toward the makeshift town hall. Ally walked back to Adam and Dena and stood beside them. Adam laid his hand on her shoulder and they looked out at their new home. Ally didn’t know what tomorrow would bring but for the moment she was ok with just enjoying today.
Alec
The next day the meeting went by quickly. The only person on the Council who voted not to send Sturgeon a warning was Trevor. Alec had to admit he was hesitant but he didn’t see what other option they had. They agreed to allow Noah and his men to show up with a large force to let them know they meant business, but that was the extent of it.
Trevor and Alec left on horseback to share the news with Whitford, and for the majority of the trip, Trevor didn’t say a word.
“What other option did you think we had?” Alec asked.
“Not any good ones,” Trevor said quietly. “But I don’t think a man like Dante will respond well to a threat.”
“He hasn’t responded well when we’ve tried to be peaceful.”
“It’s just a slippery slope,” Trevor said.
“Noah means well,” Alec said, then his thoughts turned to Landon. “We have to watch his number two though.”
Trevor nodded.
They made their way to Centralia and before Alec got off his horse he knew
something was off. One of the members of Whitford’s militia walked up them.
“Whitford isn’t here.”
“Where is he?” Alec asked.
“He went with Noah’s people to give Dante a warning.”
Trevor and Alec shared a glance.
“He just decided without waiting for us?” Trevor asked.
“They attacked our land and hurt one of our people,” the man said quickly.
“When did they leave?” Alec asked.
“About twenty minutes ago.”
“We need to use one of your trucks, now,” Alec said.
The man paused for a second. “Uh, I don’t think Whitford-”
“I didn’t ask what Whitford would have wanted,” Alec snapped. “We have just as much of a stake in this as you all do. The least you can give us is a chance to make sure things don’t get out of hand.”
The man didn’t move but another member of the militia, a man Alec recognized as being there from the beginning, approached and handed Alec keys.
“Be careful,” the man said.
They tore down the deserted road in silence, both stewing. Whitford had always been headstrong but he didn’t have the right to make the decision without them. The tension between their two towns had grown and it was all on Whitford as far as Alec was concerned.
“Alec,” Trevor said suddenly.
Alec returned to reality and caught the tendrils of black smoke rising up in the distance.
“Dammit,” he said under his breath.
The black smoke grew the closer they got and soon Alec could hear screams and crying in the distance. He drove faster. They screeched down the winding road leading to Sturgeon until they saw dozens of vehicles lined up outside of Sturgeon and a man with an assault rifle stepped out from behind one and pointed it right at Alec. He slammed on his brakes and stopped the truck. Two other men came from the sides and pointed guns at Alec and Trevor while screaming at them to exit the vehicle.
“I’m from New Hope,” Alec said as he exited the vehicle with his hands up.
One of the men looked him up and down and gestured to the other. “Bring him to Landon.”
“What is happening here?” Trevor asked.
“Shut up and walk,” the man yelled.
They were escorted down the street toward the town. The smell of smoke burned Alec’s nostrils and the sound of screams still floated through the air, then came the bodies. At first there were just a couple, men lying on the ground with pools of blood surrounding them. Then Alec saw a woman and then a small child, both lying dead on the ground.
“What is this?” Landon said as he appeared before them.
“What the hell did you do?” Alec growled. The anger surged through him and the world began to wobble around the edges of his vision.
“Disposed of a threat,” Landon said causally.
“Where is Whitford?” Trevor asked.
Landon glanced to the side and Alec saw the man on his knees, his head bloodied and looking down at the ground. Another of Noah’s soldiers stood behind him, watching. Alec ignored his escort and moved as quickly as he could to the man.
“Whitford, are you ok?”
Whitford looked up; tears filled his eyes. “They didn’t even give them a chance. They just started shooting at them.”
“Who did?” Trevor asked.
“Landon’s men. They just opened fire.”
Alec stood up and turned to Landon. The man stood in front of him just watching, a blank expression on his face.
“You were supposed to give them a warning, not massacre them.”
“They didn’t give us a choice.”
“Bullshit,” Alec screamed as he walked forward. “This was your intention all along.”
Landon pulled out his sidearm but left it at his side. “You knew it was going to come to this.”
A lady came screaming out of a burning building and one of the soldiers aimed his rifle and opened fire. Her head slammed back, knocking her off her feet, where she lay on the ground, not moving. Trevor let out a guttural scream and charged the soldier who had fired. The man watching over Whitford slammed the butt of his rifle into Trevor’s head as he passed and the man crumpled to the ground. Alec started to move forward when one of the men pointed his gun in his direction.
“I want to talk to Noah now,” Alec said.
“What? You going to tell on me?” Landon said, smirking.
“He is going to know that none of this was necessary.”
“Then why don’t I just end you all right here?” Landon asked. “Save myself the trouble.”
“You won’t be able to convince Noah that with all your weapons and men you weren’t able to protect the three of us from this weak group. He won’t buy it for a minute,” Alec said.
Landon shook his head and put his sidearm back in the holster. “Put them in the jeep. I’ll take them to Noah. Make sure this is finished.”
“This stops; don’t you hurt another person,” Alec yelled.
“I don’t take orders from you,” Landon said as he pushed him forward.
They picked up Trevor and Whitford and threw them in the back of one of the jeeps and Alec climbed in with them. Trevor was out and Whitford was still dazed from the blow to his head so he just sat there staring out at nothing. Landon drove the Jeep while his man in the passenger seat sat there with his gun on Alec. Landon would do everything he could to lie and convince Noah that this was necessary, but Alec wasn’t going to let him get away with it. Noah may have known Landon for much longer than he had known Alec, but that would work in Alec’s favor. Noah knew how Landon was and he had to know what the man was capable of. Noah would believe Alec; he had to.
Alec
By the time they had arrived at Noah’s headquarters Whitford’s head had cleared but Trevor was still unconscious. Whitford looked to Alec and the man seemed defeated.
“They killed them…they just…killed them.”
Alec wanted to scream at the man that it was his fault but he couldn’t. This would have happened regardless. He had been on his way to tell Whitford they agreed that Sturgeon needed to be sent a warning and he was sure that Landon had made up his mind long ago that he was going to do more than that.
“Don’t worry, Noah will know the truth.”
They pulled into the building and Landon grabbed Alec and dragged him out of the car.
“They stay here,” Landon said to the soldier. “This one wants to talk to Noah. I’ll take him.”
Landon pulled him up to this feet and pushed him forward. As they walked through the building the guards all watched them walk past. The friendly looks that Alec had gotten in the past were gone; now they watched him with suspicion. As the men came out of the surrounding rooms Alec realized this building house over a hundred men.
Alec came to the large double doors of Noah’s office and pushed through them quickly. Noah was sitting behind his desk looking at something when he saw Alec, and a look of concern flashed on his face. He stood up and began to come around his desk.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
Alec turned on Landon. “He killed them! He didn’t give them a warning; he just opened fire and killed everyone there.”
Landon didn’t flinch; in fact, he didn’t say anything for a few moments. Finally he turned his attention away from Alec and to Noah. “He wanted to talk to you.”
Alec had expected him to lie but that was all the man said. He then turned around and walked out of the office. Alec turned to Noah, who was standing in front of his desk just watching Landon leave.
“You have to believe me,” Alec pleaded. “Sturgeon didn’t attack, Landon did. Whitford is out in the truck right now. He was there and saw everything.”
Noah nodded his head slowly. “Please Alec, calm down and take a seat.”
“Calm down? Landon just killed dozens of innocent people. He betrayed you.”
“He didn’t betray me Alec, he was following my orders
.”
Alec’s blood turned cold and the world shifted violently around him. “What…what do you mean?”
Noah leaned up against his desk. “Alec, you know as well as I do that Dante wouldn’t have listened to the warning. If anything it would have spurred him on to attack again. This had to be done.”
Alec stumbled back a few steps as the world jolted around him. He closed his eyes to gather his bearings but before he knew it the ground came rushing up and he fell onto his back. Noah grabbed him off the floor and led him to the couch.
“Ideally you all would have thought we didn’t have a choice. We would have told you that Dante had opened fire and our only option was to open fire on them. I had hoped to keep the burden of knowing from you, but nothing ever goes according to plan.” Noah walked over and poured himself a glass of scotch. He took a quick sip then sat down on the couch across from Alec.
“You gave the order to murder them?”
“I gave the order to protect your people and my interests,” Noah said. “You of all people should understand that. Trevor told me about the man who killed one of your friends a few years back. He told me about how you initially tried to banish him but eventually ended up taking him out back and putting a bullet in his head.”
“That was nothing like this,” Alec said. “That was a single man, a single guilty man; this was a town full of women and children.”
“A town full of people who followed a man who refused to trade or listen to anyone outside of himself. If they were guilt-free they would have overthrown the man and we wouldn’t be in this position.” Noah sat his glass down. “I’m not trying to convince you this was right Alec, but you know it had to be done.”
“It didn’t,” Alec argued.
“This world isn’t going to be put back together with good intentions. It is going to take blood and tears to restore order. It is going to force us to sacrifice pieces of ourselves for the greater good of all.”
“I don’t want to live in a world that is built on the deaths of innocents,” Alec said. “A war may have ended up being necessary with Sturgeon but you didn’t even give them a chance.”
