Exodus

by Michael R. Watson

  They watched as the man got the attention of the other men, all who turned to look up at them.

  “Governor,” called Damon, “come over to the window. Let them see you.”

  “No thanks. I don’t want to get shot,” explained Davis.

  “I doubt if a bullet’s coming through that window,” said Damon. “Come on over,” he urged. “Let them know you’re alright. They’re here to rescue you. Why would they shoot?”

  Damon continued to watch the detail of men below, seeing them come together where they could all see the window. Governor Davis, unable to contain his curiosity, edged over to the window and took a quick peek below.

  “Now that you have their attention, how are you going to warn them?” asked Davis.

  ***

  Ryder was standing behind the partially open freight door, watching the detail through the crack between the hinges.

  “What can you see?” asked Gant, still keeping an eye on Darby.

  “A four-man detail has gathered under the governor’s window. They’re making hand signals of some sort.”

  “Good. I hope they stay out there,” said Gant.

  “What are you talking about?” asked Darby sarcastically. “We outnumber them. Why don’t we just take them out?”

  “Maybe we can get out of this without anyone getting hurt,” said Gant.

  “That doesn’t sound like the Master Gant I’ve heard so much about,” said Darby.

  “There’s a lot about me you don’t know.”

  ***

  Damon pointed in the direction of the entrance door and formed a cross with his arms while shaking his head. He even went as far as dragging a finger across his neck to indicate death. He still wasn’t sure he was getting through to them. One of the men, appearing to be the leader, held up both hands, palms toward them. Damon understood he wanted them to stay put. That wouldn’t be a problem. The detail began to move in unison single file toward the entrance. They hadn’t understood.

  Damon grabbed a broken leg from the chair and began to beat it against the window. He looked to see if he’d gotten their attention. Relieved, he saw they had stopped again. Damon motioned for them to come back. He could tell they were confused, talking among themselves.

  “Get me some tape!” shouted Damon, directed to either Peck or the governor, whoever could get it to him first.

  Peck grabbed a transparent tape dispenser from the governor’s desk and brought it to him. Damon looked at him like he was an idiot. “I need masking tape or duct tape, something they can see from down there.”

  Peck just stood there, not sure where to find either one.

  “There’s an office supply closet in the hall. It’s marked,” said Davis. “There may be some in there.”

  Peck muscled the governor’s desk out of the way and opened the door. Peering down the hallway, seeing no one, he made a dash for the office supply closet, checking each door as he went. Damon redirected his attention to the men below. They had moved back under the window. He motioned again for them to stay put. He could tell they were getting antsy, and he understood why. They were out in the open, and vulnerable. Just minutes earlier someone had been shooting at them.

  Peck ran back into the office. “I couldn’t find the tape you wanted, but maybe these will help.” He handed Damon a stack of sticky note pads.

  Damon stared at them, at first angry, but then a smile slowly appeared across his face as he realized how he could use them. He looked at Davis and received a nod of approval. “Good job,” Damon told Peck. “These will work fine.”

  He stepped to the window and began to peel and stick as fast as he could. The governor watched in amazement as Damon spelled out “TRAP” in large, bold letters.

  Davis nodded his approval. “Good thinking.”

  Damon looked down at the detail of men as they stared at the window. It seemed to take them a second to read and understand the warning, then the leader nodded that he understood by raising his thumb.

  ***

  “Do you still see them?” John whispered to Ryder.

  “No,” he whispered back, “but if they try to come inside, they’ll have to come through either these doors or the ones over there at the main entrance.”

  “Then why don’t we just lock the doors and back away?” John asked.

  “It won’t stop them if they’ve brought explosives,” said Gant.

  It was then that they heard the shuffle of running footsteps across the concrete freight dock outside the door. Gant motioned for John to step back and seeing heads sticking out from the doorways down the hall, also motioned for them to get back.

  Suddenly, a gas canister popped through the partially opened doors, spewing out a dense and toxic cloud of tear gas. Immediately, those nearest the door rushed toward the foyer, coughing, their throats and eyes already burning.

  John saw Gant grab the canister and toss it back out the door. John backed down the steps to the lower level, expecting the detail of men to storm through the doors at any second. But, then the room began to clear. He saw Gant standing near the main entrance door. It was wide open and a breeze was dissipating the gas.

  The intent had been to come and free Ryder and his brother and to get out as quickly as possible. Things had changed, but they still hoped to avoid any kind of confrontation. But, here they were on the verge of that very thing happening, and it would be a miracle if they came out of it unscathed. If Darby just hadn’t fired that first shot, there may have been a chance of a peaceful outcome. After all, there was no reason to fight. Assuming these men from the helicopter had come with the sole purpose of rescuing Governor Davis, they could have him. No problem. No argument. Take him and whoever was with him. And good riddance.

  “Put your weapons down and come out!” a voice demanded from outside the doors.

  John remained motionless on the landing to the lower level, rubbing his eyes and fighting the urge to cough. Only silence came from the foyer. The others, up and down the hallway, had probably taken up refuge behind the office doors. The smoke was quickly dissipating in the entry and he could now see that Ryder and Darby were near Gant, their shirts pulled up to cover their mouths and noses.

  The detail of men outside couldn’t possibly know how many of them were just inside the doors. If they knew how badly they were outnumbered, they wouldn’t be so anxious to enter.

  John edged his way back up the stairs, somewhat surprised that neither Gant nor Ryder had tried to talk to them yet. Standing at the edge of the foyer, John couldn’t see the others, still behind closed doors. He came up behind Gant and peered outside. The men were nowhere to be seen.

  “Where are they?” John whispered.

  “We know you’re in there!” a voice called out. “No one has to get hurt. Just send out Governor Davis!”

  “Answer your question?” Gant answered John.

  John moved in front of Gant. “He’s barricaded himself inside his office,” he blurted out. “But you’re welcome to him.”

  Gant rested his hand on John’s shoulder. He turned around to see Gant smiling back at him and nodding.

  “Come on in!” shouted Gant. “He’s all yours.”

  “I don’t think so. Why don’t you let him pass?”

  “We’d be glad to, but I don’t think he trusts us,” shouted Gant.

  The leader of the detail, Blake, was a patient man, and intelligent. As head of Grayson’s security detail, he had no specific rank, but everyone working for the chief governor knew he’d been given the authority to make decisions on the governor’s behalf. The two had been good friends before the quakes. Charles Grayson trusted him completely.

  “I don’t want to be unreasonable,” said Blake. “Why don’t you take a few minutes and explain the situation to him?”

  Gant looked at John and shrugged. “I don’t think he’ll go for it,” John said, “but we can try, I suppose.”

  Gant agreed. “I’ll do it. He knows me.” He took a step, but John caught
him by the arm.

  “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, considering your recent history with him. He may not want to listen. Perhaps I should give it a try.”

  He thought about it and smiled. “You may be right. Be my guest.” He motioned for John to go in front of him.

  Darby quickly stepped past both of them. “I’ll get him out!”

  Gant took one huge step and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. Darby tried to pull free without success.

  “Perhaps later,” said Gant calmly. “After John has given it a shot.”

  “I don’t take orders from you!” shouted Darby, continuing to try to pull free. “If they want him so bad, why don’t we take him and use him as a hostage. It can’t be that hard to break into his office.”

  Gant and John looked at each other. Darby made a good point. If they needed Davis to get out of this and he was uncooperative, taking him forcibly could be necessary. But, if John could talk Davis out without bloodshed, it would probably lead to the best outcome for everyone involved.

  Ryder had been listening quietly. He had gotten the gist of what Darby had said. “I agree with John trying first.” Darby looked at him with disbelief. They had been the best of friends for years and he didn’t appreciate his lack of support.

  Every time John was around Ryder, he came to see more and more of his father in him, from his level-headed temperament to his ability to use reason to think things through. And like Samuel, he preferred not to use violence. But that was where the similarities ended. If necessary, Ryder wasn’t opposed to meeting violence with violence.

  “Do you want to come with me?” John asked Darby as a consolation, already knowing the answer. Gant and Ryder looked at him with surprise.

  “No!” said Darby, turning and walking back to the entry.

  “I’ll go with you,” volunteered Ryder. “Don’t worry about him, he’ll get over it.”

  John nodded and they walked over to and started up the staircase leading to the third floor and the governor’s office. The first floor office doors were open and the Raiders were mingling in the hallway.

  Ryder turned to his men, “Stay here until we come back.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll all be here waiting for both of you,” assured Gant.

  Taking the steps side by side, “They’re not going to come out, are they?” asked Ryder, referring to Davis and the others.

  “Would you?” John asked.

  “Then, what are we doing?”

  “Stalling. It’ll be dark before long. Maybe that’ll open up a few more options. Otherwise I’m afraid we’ll be stuck in a stalemate.”

  The stairs ran along the inside wall of the building, small windows to the outside, with sunlight lighting the way. Ryder glanced out each window as they passed, looking for the detail of men outside. He spotted them gathered along the fence, out of sight from the front entrance. It appeared they were watching them as they ascended.

  ***

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Grayson was getting impatient waiting at the helicopter. He had the pilot shut down the engine to conserve fuel. He took out his radio. “Come in, Blake.” There was silence. He called again and waited. Something must have happened. From where they had landed, the trees blocked his view of the compound. Not being able to see or know what was happening was making him more on edge the longer he waited.

  “Blake!” he shouted once again.

  “Go ahead, Charles,” answered Blake.

  Grayson let out a sigh of relief. “What’s taking so long? Did you reach Governor Davis?”

  “We’ve run into a little bit of trouble. We have an unknown number of men resisting our entrance into the building.”

  “Are you going to be able to get the governor out?”

  “We’re working on it right now.”

  “I don’t want anyone hurt if you can help it. Do you need my help?”

  “No. Stay where you are. You’re safer there.”

  ***

  Gant closed the entry doors and locked them. He didn’t want any more surprises from those outside.

  “Dad!” said Aaron in a loud whisper, waving his dad over to where he and Adam were standing off by themselves.

  “Why don’t we go out the way we came in?” asked Adam.

  “That’s good thinking boys, but we should only use it as a last resort in case we have to escape in a hurry. I’d rather go out the front gate and take those wagonloads of goods with us.”

  Darby had been close enough to overhear their conversation. Curious, and very interested, he joined Gant and his sons. “How did you get inside? I’m guessing it wasn’t through the main gate.”

  “You bet it wasn’t,” exclaimed Adam eagerly, proud of their secret.

  Gant looked at Adam and gave him a slight shake of his head. It was a look he and his brother had seen before, and they both knew what it meant. Adam had already said too much. Gant turned to face Darby. “There is another entrance, but I’d rather not use it unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

  “But what if we don’t use it to escape,” whispered Darby. “What if we use it to go out and come up behind these guys?”

  “That’s a possibility,” admitted Gant, “but if John and Ryder are successful, we won’t need to use it. So, for now, we’re going to wait and see.”

  “Fine!” shouted Darby angrily, storming off. “Let me know when you get some guts.”

  From the brief time Gant had been around Darby, he’d seen his tendency to become a hothead whenever Ryder wasn’t around to temper his emotions.

  “You’ll be the first to know,” said Gant.

  ***

  Ryder and John reached the third floor without incident. The first set of double doors led directly to the administrative offices of the governor. Hesitating at the top of the stairs, they cautiously checked the corridor for surprises. They didn’t see any guards. If any had stayed behind, they would most likely be hidden along the corridor in those offices.

  Hopefully, only the doors stood between them and the governor and whoever was with him. They took up positions on each side of the doors. With a nod from John, Ryder tried his door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked.

  “Do we know whether he’s even still in here?” John whispered.

  “How could he have gotten out?”

  “Maybe there’s another secret passage in this place.”

  “Let’s go find out,” said Ryder.

  They each grabbed a door handle and swung them open, trying to be ready for anything. Ryder looked in the first office, seeing a dead guard, face up. It looked as though he had been shot at close range.

  “Did one of our people do this?” John asked.

  “I don’t see how,” replied Ryder.

  “Then who?”

  “Let’s go check the governor’s office,” suggested Ryder.

  They checked each office along the hallway. With the lights off in every office and the doors wide open, the floor had an eerie, quiet, and empty feeling. At the end of the hallway was the corner office, Governor Davis’ office according to the placard on the door. Ryder had already been there twice recently. Light could be seen shining from under the door. From the side, Ryder slowly tried the doorknob, turning it slowly, finding it locked. Standing back he pounded three times on the door with the side of his fist.

  ***

  Surprised, Governor Davis abruptly sat up in his chair, looking questioningly at Damon. “They’re here!” he said excitedly. “Quick! Open the door!”

  Peck moved toward the door.

  “Not so fast,” warned Damon, motioning for him to stay back.

  He moved to the door. There were three more knocks. “Who is it?” Damon asked.

  Ryder recognized Damon’s voice. “It’s Ryder. I’m sure you remember me.”

  The governor looked confused and worried. Peck had said the prisoners were gone. Was he there for revenge?

  “I remember. I thought you’d be long gone by now. What
do you want?” asked Damon.

  “We’d like to talk to Governor Davis. I assume he’s in there with you.”

  “He can hear you. Say what you need to say.”

  Ryder looked at John who motioned for him to go ahead.

  “Governor, we’re going to let you and anyone with you walk out of here and no one will try to stop you. There’s a detail of men waiting outside to escort you away.”

  There was silence from inside the office.

  “It’s a trick,” whispered Davis, keeping his voice low enough for only Damon and Peck to hear.

  Damon took a moment to think. The governor shook his head. “I’ll think we’ll have to pass. Now, if you could let them come up here and escort us out, that may be acceptable.”

  “It’s okay by me,” John told Ryder, “but we’ll need to discuss it with the others. The sooner we get rid of them the better.”

  “We’ll be back,” Ryder told Damon.

  ***

  Governor Grayson had waited as long as he could, ignoring Blake’s advice to stay put. Soon, the sun would be going down and he’d like to collect the governor and get out of there before that happened. He instructed the pilot, Murphy, to stay with the helicopter. Murphy tried to reason with him unsuccessfully.

  “Here. You may need this then,” said Murphy as he handed him his pistol.

  Reluctantly, Grayson took it and started toward the compound. Perhaps there was something he could do to speed things up. Between him and the prison perimeter fence was a grove of trees. He cautiously moved from tree to tree. At the edge of the trees he could see the compound clearly and his security force behind a concrete barrier between the gate and the entrance to the building.