by Patten, Sean
It wasn’t long before we reached the location Steve had specified, right near the lake. From where we stood Lake Mead was spread out before us, the water rippling gently underneath the sliver of moon above. Down further west were the military stations, the sign for Camp Esperanza looming large.
Something about it put me ill at ease. And more than that, there was no one there.
“What now?” asked Kelly. “I don’t see any kind of meeting.”
I looked around, as if there might be a group of people standing around that I hadn’t noticed before.
“Hey!”
A low, sharp voice cut through the late-night air. Kelly and I both turned in the direction of it and were greeted with the sight of a figure off about two dozen feet, behind several stacks of unpacked steel scaffolding. Even in the darkness I could see that it was Steve.
“There you are!” he said, still speaking in his hushed tone. “Come on—get over here!”
Kelly and I shared a look before hurrying over to where Steve stood. He gestured in a “come here” motion as we ran, as if we were coming inside shelter from a storm.
“Come on,” he said. “You know how these military guys are—they like to start right on the fucking dot.”
Military guys. That answered one question.
We formed up with Steve and continued down along the construction equipment, the area around us having the feel of a partially built warehouse.
“What is this, Steve?” I asked. “What’s going on?”
“I could explain,” he said. “But Mason can do a better job of that than I can. Just trust me.”
Mason. That name sounded familiar.
We continued on, and Kelly glanced over at me with a look that seemed to ask if this was such a good idea.
I had no idea how to answer. Obviously, I trusted my brother. But I couldn’t say the same for whoever he was leading us to.
After a short time, we came across a medium-sized shed, one that looked like a maintenance building for the Lake Mead grounds, and Steve stopped walking and turned to face us.
“Listen,” he said. “I’m vouching for you guys here. It’s all military and they don’t trust anyone who’s not in the service. So just sit and listen. You say anything, do anything that gives them pause and…let’s just say it wouldn’t be good.”
Kelly and I shared another look.
“What is this, Steve?” I asked.
He appeared conflicted for a moment before speaking.
“Just come in,” he said. “Mason will explain everything.”
With that, Steve stepped up to the door and gave it a knock, his fist rapping at a rhythm that seemed coded.
“Password?” spoke a muffled voice from inside.
“Fidelio,” said Steve.
There was silence, followed by the clank of a heavy lock unfastening. And then the door opened slowly, revealing darkness.
Steve turned back to us.
“Come on.”
I was taken by the feeling that I was about to pass a point of no return, that stepping through that door would be a decision I wouldn’t be able to undo.
But I had to. I’d come this far for my brother, and I wasn’t about to turn around so close to having him back.
He held the door open as Kelly and I stepped through.
Eyes locked onto the two of us as we entered. Seated in rows of folding chairs were several dozen military men and women, all of them in uniform. A quick scan revealed that some were ranked soldiers, and some were wearing the same unadorned uniforms as Steve, suggesting they were either new “recruits” or retired soldiers. Several battery-powered lamps had been placed here and there, casting the space in an eerie glow.
And at the front was a stocky but strong-looking man with short, reddish hair and a hard expression on his face, a long scar carved up the length of his neck.
It was Lieutenant Mason, the man I’d seen in General Lambert’s tent. His steely eyes locked onto me and Kelly, making me feel like I’d been busted for something I didn’t even know I’d done.
“Powell,” growled Mason. “You’re late.”
“Sorry, Lieutenant,” said Steve. “My brother must’ve gotten lost.”
Mason said nothing, instead moving his eyes back and forth between me and Kelly.
“This is them?” he asked. “Your brother and his wife?”
Steve looked ready to speak on my behalf, but I decided that was my duty.
“Justin Powell,” I said.
“Kelly Powell,” she said, not missing a beat with the lie, or the half-truth, or whatever it was about our marriage.
Mason took a slow draw of air through his nose, his hands clasped behind his back.
“And you’re vouching for them both?” he asked Steve.
“They’re family,” he said. “I’d trust them with my life.”
Mason nodded slowly.
“Have a seat, then,” he said. “We’re already running late.”
The eyes of the room still on me, the three of us hurried to the nearest open three seats and sat down.
I glanced around the place, noting that many of the men and women there were of high rank. Whatever sort of conspiracy was going down, it involved a worrying number of the brass. And, of course, General Lambert was nowhere to be found.
Mason, his hands still clasped behind his back, turned on his boots and began slowly pacing back and forth in front of those assembled. His footfalls echoed through the space until he finally spoke.
“I want to hear some reports from you all,” he said. “Tell me how the situation is in your branch of Esperanza.”
He stopped and faced the crowd. It was clear that he wasn’t going to wait for people to raise their hands.
One soldier, a skinny young man with short blond hair and the rank of private first class, stood up.
“PFC Meyer,” he said. “Sector R. Last night a gang of a dozen refugees stormed nearby tents, raiding and stealing whatever supplies they could before retreating to the wastelands.”
The wastelands—it was a term I’d heard some of the men on the work site use to refer to the ever-growing area outside of the camp proper.
“By the time they’d gone,” Meyer went on. “Five were injured, two of them stabbed to death in their sleep and left to die in the dirt.”
Mason nodded, and Meyer sat back down.
“What else?” asked Mason.
Another soldier stood up, this one a petite, slender woman, her brown hair tied back into a simple ponytail.
“Specialist McDonnell,” she said. “Sector Winston. Me and my squad took one of the UTVs out on a recon op in the wastelands. Five minutes out and we found our first dead body, a teenage girl who looked dead of starvation. We only managed a half klick out before the unsanitary conditions forced us to return.”
“Unsanitary conditions,” said Mason. “Tell us what you mean.”
“Men and women and children living in filth. Tents cordoned off with sloppy biohazard symbols spray-painted on the front. Ditches dug and filled with human waste. Between the death and the lack of supplies, it’s a disaster waiting to happen.”
Mason nodded.
“One more,” he said.
Another soldier stood up, this one young and dark-skinned with a shaved-bald head.
“Private Washington,” he said. “Sector Delta-Nine. My CO got a tip on some potential gang activity in the first ring of the wastelands. We moved out this morning, using what little info we had to figure out what was going on. We found a gang, all right. And they were guarding one tent in particular. They opened fire as soon as they saw us, and after a brief exchange they’d been neutralized. We checked out the tent and…”
Mason stared at him hard.
“What was inside, soldier?”
Washington took a steeling breath and went on.
“Women,” he said. “Over a dozen young women crammed into that tent, dirty and scared out of their minds. Once we’d gotten them to ca
lm down, we’d found that they’d been kidnapped from refugee families and…traded out for food and supplies.”
Sounds of disgust sounded up from the room. Mason raised his hand to silence them, his eyes still on Washington.
“We took care of them and did our best to find their families. But from what they told us they were only the tip of the iceberg.”
Mason nodded and Washington sat back down. The lieutenant regarded the room, letting silence hang in the air.
“I’m sure that if I asked all of you I’d hear more and more stories just like these,” he said. “But I don’t need to. You all know as well as I do that the situation in Esperanza is deteriorating by the day. Resources are stretched thin and we don’t have nearly enough soldiers to go around. And General Lambert refuses to even hear any suggestion regarding closing the gates to further refugees.
“At first, I hoped I could talk some sense in to the general. Like all of you, I respect the chain of command and know that the military is one of the few sources of order we have right now. But the more I’ve spoken to Lambert, the more I’ve come to realize that while he may make a fine peacetime commander, he is not fit for the role in such difficult times.”
My stomach tightened. Was he really going to suggest what I thought he was going to?
“And that’s why it’s time for Lambert’s leadership in Esperanza to come to an end. And it happens tomorrow.”
Chapter 15
“Holy shit,” said Kelly softly, low enough that only I could hear it. “Is he—”
Steve silenced her with a sharp “shh.” She quieted, knowing as well as I did that this wasn’t the time or place to be expressing such opinions.
Mason went on.
“You all are here because I trust you,” he said. “And more than that, you’re willing to do whatever it takes to bring order to Esperanza. If Lambert remains in control for even another day, we risk the situation here passing the point of no return. If we aren’t more judicious about what little resources we have, we will soon be dealing with hundreds of thousands of hungry, desperate civilians who are going to do whatever it takes to ensure the survival of their loved ones. And can you blame them?”
More silence, and the lieutenant went on.
“Estimates are showing that the population of Esperanza and the wastelands will pass two hundred thousand in the next few days. At that point we’ll be so outnumbered that even if we were willing to take control, we simply wouldn’t have the manpower with which to do it. Which is why we need to strike now.”
Strike. I didn’t like that phrasing.
I turned to Steve, but saw that his attention was fixed forward, as if totally under Mason’s spell.
“Now,” said Mason. “Now is the time for us to do what needs to be done, to do our duty as soldiers of the greatest military the world has ever seen. You all have your orders, you know where you need to be when this goes down. And I expect nothing but the finest from you all. Dismissed.”
And that was that. The plan, the purpose of the meeting, was a coup. And one that was scheduled for tomorrow.
I didn’t know what to say. Neither did Kelly, apparently, who sat with the same dumbfounded expression on her face.
The soldiers talked in hushed tones as they filed out, Mason staying up front with his arms spread out over a nearby table as he looked over what appeared to be hand-drawn maps of the camp. As soon as Kelly and I stood up, however, his attention snapped over to us. Our lack of uniforms made us stick out like sore thumbs, but I was sure he’d be able to tell we weren’t service members just by the way we carried ourselves.
“Powell,” he barked. “Come here.”
Steve glanced over to us to make sure we’d heard, as if were possible to ignore Mason’s booming voice. Together, the three of made our way across the meeting space, Powell standing up as we approached.
“So,” he said, looking me and Kelly up and down. “This is the family.”
“You can trust them, Lieutenant,” said Steve. “No doubt in my mind.”
“You’ve given your word already, Powell—that’s good enough for me.”
He turned his attention to me again.
“Besides,” he said. “Lambert seems to think you’re worthy of special responsibilities.”
Steve appeared confused.
“You know him already, sir?” he asked.
“We’ve met,” I said.
“Only briefly,” said Mason. “But long enough to see what it is that Lambert saw in you. There could be a place for you here, Justin. However, part of me wonders whether or not you’re having misgivings about what you’ve heard tonight.”
“A coup,” I said. “Doesn’t get more drastic than that. Are you sure about all this?”
Steve’s eyes widened for a moment, like he was shocked I’d question Mason so directly.
Mason continued to regard me with a stern glare, one that made it clear he wanted me to have no question as to who was above who on the totem pole.
“It’s not a decision I’m taking lightly,” he said.
He reached forward and tapped the lanyard hanging over my chest, tapping me just hard enough to unsteady me on my feet.
“You’re part of Lambert’s hand-picked crew,” he said. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you about how desperate things are getting around the camp.”
Then he turned his attention to Kelly.
“And you,” he said. “I recognize you from the medical stations. Can you look me in the eyes and tell me that things can keep going as they have been? What do you think our medical infrastructure is going to look like with a hundred thousand more people desperate for care? Do you think you’ll be able to handle that?”
Kelly said nothing, and I could sense that she agreed.
“This is drastic, yes,” Mason said. “But you know it’s the right thing to do. Lambert’s too soft for a situation like this. Right now, we need a man in charge who isn’t afraid to make difficult decisions.”
“What kind of decisions?” I asked.
“Stopping the intake of refugees, for one,” he said. “And figuring out how to deal with the ones we have.”
“And what makes you think you’ll do a better job of that?” I said.
Mason’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked to Steve.
“Powell,” he said. “Don’t tell me that your brother’s less on board than you suggested. I’d hate to have someone here who doesn’t share our enthusiasm to do the right thing.”
“He is,” Steve quickly said. “Justin’s just the type who likes to be informed.”
“Sounds a little like out-of-line questioning to me,” said Mason.
I was far from convinced. But at the same time I didn’t want my brother getting into any hot water on my account. I could only imagine what an obviously ruthless man like Mason would do with anyone he suspected of disloyalty.
“No,” I said. “Was just curious to hear what you had in mind. I don’t take my commitments lightly.”
Mason’s expression softened slightly. But only slightly.
“Good to hear,” he said. “Then I can trust the Powell brothers will be part of the operation tomorrow?”
“Of course,” I said without hesitation.
He nodded.
“And this might not be the proper place for a civilian woman,” he said to Kelly. “But you come and we’ll be sure to find a place for you.”
I could only imagine how much internal bristling Kelly was doing at that little sexist stab. But like me, she knew better than to sound off with her true opinions.
“We’ll see you all bright and early,” he said. “A new day is dawning. And you all around going to be there to see it happen.”
Steve widened his eyes in an expression that signaled it was past time to leave. Together, the three of us left the shed and were soon back in the cool evening air. Most of the other soldiers had gone by that point, leaving us nearly alone.
“Come on,” said Steve,
a tinge of frustration in his voice.
Kelly and I shared a look as Steve led us away from the shed. Soon we were walking along a fence that bordered the lakefront and separated the maintenance area from the rest of the camp. Silence hung over us, and I could feel the tension in the air.
“What the hell was that?” Steve asked finally. “You have any idea what kind of position you put me in back there?”
I stopped, Kelly and Steve doing the same.
“Are you serious?” I shot back. “You bring me into a meeting about a coup and you, what, expected me to just smile and nod and go along with it?”
Steve pursed his lips for a moment.
“Mason’s not the kind of man to take questioning like that lightly, bro. I’m barely in his circle of trust, and I was half-expecting him to put us all in the brig for what you pulled.”
“And that makes Mason the kind of man that needs to be in charge?” I asked. “Steve, he sounds like a fucking tyrant in the making. God knows what it’s going to be like if he’s actually handed some real power.”
Kelly stepped back, apparently sensing this was a brother-to-brother situation.
“Whatever happens, it’ll be a hell of a lot better than what’s going on right now,” Steve said. “Because this—” He swept his hands towards the rows and rows of tents. “This can’t last, and you know it. Lambert’s a good guy, I get it. But Mason’s right. He doesn’t have the stomach to do what needs to be done.”
“That’s easy to say,” I said. “But who the hell knows what’s actually going to happen once Mason’s in charge? Could be a hell of a lot worse.”
Steve’s expression turned hard.
“I…I think I get it,” he said.
“What?” I asked. “What the hell are you talking about?”
He reached forward and took the lanyard into his hand.
“This,” he said, tapping the front with his thumb before tossing at back at my chest. “I know what this means.”
“And what’s that?” I asked.
“It means you’re one of Lambert’s golden boys,” he said. “I’ve heard the spiel he gives to you guys, giving you more responsibility and making you feel like you’re some important part of the team.”
