The man who’d questioned him stood perfectly still for a moment, almost as though he was weighing his options. He glanced off in the short distance where he could see buildings and a road built accessing them. “If I decide I’m not staying here?”
“Then you leave. After you allow yourself to be examined so that we can be relatively self-assured that you’re not a threat to yourself or anyone else. Like I said, we have no idea what exactly you or anyone else has been through. But, ultimately, you are no longer anyone’s property. You’re free.”
“No fucking doctor is injecting me with anything, or strapping me down for any fucking reason!”
The General realized then that these men had been mistreated by medical personnel. “All we need to do is check your vital statistics. Make sure your heart isn’t under any stress, check your eyesight, things that are not invasive. No one is going to strap you down or force you to take any treatment you don’t want. It’s merely to insure you’re healthy after everything you have survived. After a few days of down time and speaking with our psychologist, you’re free to go if all checks out,” the General answered.
The male watched him suspiciously before allowing his eyes to travel over the buildings up ahead. “What is all this?” he asked.
“Safe place to sleep, food, medical treatment. Even have a gym and game room,” the General answered. “At some point soon we’d like you to agree to a debriefing as well.”
“For what?” the male demanded.
“There are others out there like you. We want to free them all.”
The male nodded slowly. He glanced back at his males on either side and behind him.
A couple of them nodded. The others gave no indication they’d heard anything at all, they just stood waiting to see what happened next.
“We’ll stay,” the male finally answered.
“These side-by-sides will take you to where you wish to be first. We suggest medical, but you don’t have to do that right away if you’d like to get something to eat or get cleaned up first,” the General said.
“Anybody hurt?” the male demanded of his squad.
“No,” they all answered.
“Food,” he said. “Then clean comfortable beds.”
“Right this way, gentlemen,” General Ferriday said, waving toward the side-by-sides. Three males got into the first side-by-side, two in another and they drove away, leaving the woman standing there with the team that had rescued her. As the side-by-side with the last two drove away, one of them saluted the General and shouted a ‘Thank you’.
The General smiled and saluted him back, before turning to the woman that his team was just bringing forward to him.
“Miss, I will be honest with you. We are ill prepared to care for you. We didn’t expect women to be involved in this. We only thought we were going after our missing military men. But, we are working to add a female to our medical staff and expect her to be here before the end of the day. After realizing the conditions we found these men and yourself in, we’re in the process of trying to hire psychologists for counseling of any type that may be needed. I honestly didn’t expect it to be this bad. We’re hoping to hire a female psychologist as well. If you’d be so kind as to be patient with us for a day more, our shortcomings should be addressed. In the meantime, these men will escort you to medical. They’ll get you any medical care you require, get you some food, allow you to rest in a private space and we have men to stand guard to ensure you won’t be disturbed. By this evening we should have someone for you to talk to if you want to. Then we’ll sit down and plan your return home. If you feel up to it, we’d like to find out how you came to be there so that we can stop this from happening to anyone else, and find a way to save the other women who are still out there, if that’s acceptable. I assure you, no one will in any way harm you, or even approach you without your permission for that matter. You will be assigned guards if you so choose if you decide to move about the compound so that you can feel safe.”
The woman nodded. She didn’t raise her eyes to meet the General’s, just nodded and allowed herself to be taken to the next waiting side-by-side.
The General stood there, finding it hard to wrap his head around what they’d uncovered. He knew it reeked of the military, or at least some type of militaristic organization, but just how far up it went, he had no idea. But he had no doubt he’d follow it until he found it, then he’d blow it out of the water in any way necessary. These men deserved an answer. They deserved compensation. And he also was of the mind that they deserved retribution of some type.
His cell phone rang and he picked it up. “Yes?”
“General Ferriday?”
“Speaking!” he said into the phone forcefully.
“This is Parkins. My wife said she’ll be more than happy to come help, sir.”
“Excellent. Hold one minute.” General Ferriday walked over to the helicopter pilot who was just climbing out of his chopper. “We need you to make a domestic pick up. Do you need rest time first?”
“No, sir. I’m good to go. All I did was sit and wait for the team to radio me in for pickup.”
“Very well,” he said. “You get your flight checks, and refueling out of the way. I’ll have Roscoe make arrangements and get you a flight plan.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be waiting to hear from Roscoe, sir.”
The General put his phone to his ear. “Standby, Parkins. I’ll have Roscoe phone you for details so he can plan the pickup. Then you can let your wife know when and where.”
“Yes, sir,” Parkins answered.
Chapter 17
General Ferriday and Roscoe sat at the wooden picnic table, that some of his men had dragged out to the landing pads to make awaiting the arrivals a little more comfortable. He’d been at it all day long. There were two more teams due to arrive today, which meant four more helicopters, then all would be safe and accounted for until their next rescue mission. That’s what these missions were — rescue. Trying to locate and free the men who’d been lost in the crossfire of red tape and discipline and duty.
After the second rescue team of the day arrived with the males and the woman they’d saved, he had no doubt the government was somehow behind this. The little bits and pieces some of the rescued men were willing to share as they were checked in had left no doubt. Hopefully it would not involve the military directly, because if it did, it would tear a piece out of his heart to have to bring it all to light, but he would if he had to. These men deserved at least that.
He heard the telltale whompwhompwhompwhomp of the helicopter blades as the next team approached the ranch. “There’s another team coming in,” Roscoe said, standing. “Should be no more than a minute or two and we’ll be able to put eyes on them as they come in for a landing.” General Ferriday stood and walked over to the place the walkway intersected with the small area the picnic table sat on. The cement walkway led from the helicopter pads to the small compound he’d had built for any of the rescues that needed it. Even the rescuers themselves were welcome to stay on if they had no place else to be.
As a pair of helicopters came into view far off on the horizon, General Ferriday stood there with Roscoe beside him. General Ferriday had his hand in his pocket, flipping a small coin worn smooth from constant handling, over and over in his hand. He took a deep breath and let it out. He’d waited all day for these last two teams. First, to make sure all were present and accounted for and safe as they’d been sent out. Second, to see if the man he believed was Maddox Larsen was among them.
~~~~~
One watched out of the glass doors of the helicopter as they approached a wide expanse of what looked like private property. Inside that property he saw a small compound of sorts made up of multiple buildings. There were people moving around down there, and he counted ten other helicopters on the ground.
He turned and waved his hand to get one of the men’s attention. “What is this place?” he demanded. “What’s down there?”
The man glanced through the glass and out over the ranch and compound. “It’s Alliance Ranch. General Ferriday runs Alliance. He sent us out after you, and sent six other teams after other groups of men who were being held just like you were. The compound is for you and your men, the other groups, or anyone of us who’ve committed to Alliance to live in if we want to.”
One looked out of the window again as they started their descent. “Just like that…” he commented suspiciously.
“Yes, just like that. You’ll see, there’s no ulterior motive here,” the man added.
One felt eyes watching him and looked up to see who it was.
Three was watching him, waiting to catch his eyes.
They shared a look that spoke volumes… what the hell was going on, were they just walking into a worse situation, why would anyone care enough about males they didn’t even know to go to all the trouble and expense?
Three lifted a hand and rubbed it over the place on his throat the metal band used to sit on.
“Anything’s better than it was,” Four said, watching them trying to silently discuss their concern over where they were headed.
“Agreed,” Five said.
A grunt was all they got from Two.
Some minutes later the helicopter was on the ground, and the security team that escorted them opened the doors and jumped to the ground, waiting to assist them if they needed any help at all getting out.
They needed no help. One left the helicopter first, his feet landing heavily and surefooted on the pad they’d landed on. He took a couple of steps away from the helicopter and waited while his males joined him. He lifted his chin into the air and inhaled the clean, fresh air. It was hot outside and the humidity was hanging heavy in the air, but it didn’t matter. His instincts told him this was a good thing. This place was a good place to be. One walked around the front of the helicopter with his males on his left and right and behind him. He spotted an older man who was clearly waiting to greet them.
One started toward him.
The man watched him, and it seemed he was struggling to control his emotions as he began to smile shakily.
“Maddox! Maddox, it is you! I knew it was you when I saw those photos,” the old man said excitedly.
One looked behind himself to see if any one of the males escorting them was answering to the name Maddox. Didn’t seem to be anyone answering, so he shrugged it off and continued walking toward the man. One came to a stop when he was close enough to speak to the man, but still suitably far enough away to not give him or any of those flanking him the upper hand.
“Maddox, welcome. Welcome. I promised your dad I’d watch over you. When you disappeared I was devastated — blamed myself for not keeping my promise as well as I should have. But now that I’ve found you, I’ll make it up to you.”
One stood there watching the old man babble to someone named Maddox. He glanced left and right, then back at the man. One realized the man was speaking to him. He pulled his brows down over his eyes in confusion as he pointed to himself. “One,” he said firmly.
The old man looked at One as though he knew him. He shook his head. “No, your name is Maddox. Maddox Larsen, Lieutenant Maddox Larsen.”
One raised a single eyebrow. He pointed at Santiago, “Three,” then he pointed at Tex, “Two,” then Conley, “Five,” then Phelps, “Four.” He took one more step toward the man calling him a name he didn’t know, then he poked his own chest. “One,” he insisted, firmly.
The man just stood there watching One, trying to make sense of it. He started to speak again, then thought better of it. He nodded, realizing Maddox had no recognition of his own name or of who he was. He launched into the standard welcome he’d been rattling off all day while he waited for Maddox to arrive.
“Welcome, One. I'm General Ferriday. You’ll find all you need in this compound. Once you decompress we’d like to debrief you, see if you can remember anything at all of how you came to be in this situation. You're free here. Relax, eat, play, do whatever you need to do to find yourself again. If there’s something you need that’s not here, just let me know and I’ll get it. This place is funded and run by a group called the Alliance. These men who freed you, and myself — are all former military. We are now the Alliance. This is Roscoe. He’s agreed to be on the inside, running the business end from here. He’ll be your go between for anything you need from the outside world. Even once you’ve chosen to rejoin it, we’ll still be here, and you will always have access to us and any benefit we can offer. You’ll have to go through debriefing and you’ll need to be evaluated while you decompress before you can even consider rejoining the outside world. We’d be honored to have you here as long as you want to stay, even after you’ve been cleared to leave.
In fact, though it’s their first day, some of the other teams that came in earlier spoke of possibly wanting to join our cause to be sure that all men like yourselves are brought home and given a chance to get back to their lives and families. If you want to join us to free others like yourselves, you’re welcome to. Though of course, once you’ve been through processing and you’re cleared to leave us, you can strike out on your own if you choose. Your lives are your own now.”
“My female,” One growled, looking at Roscoe.
“Who is your female?” Roscoe asked.
“Nina,” he said simply, crossing his arms as he looked back and forth between the General and Roscoe.
“I’m not aware of a female named Nina being brought in today, but not all of them are speaking much so she may not have identified herself. We have a female nurse, she’s actually a physician’s assistant who arrived about an hour ago. She’s working with the women we’ve found with the various groups of men. A female psychologist who particularly works with abused women should be here within the next day or two and will be available to all of them if they would like counseling. Perhaps they’ll speak to her, or to the physician’s assistant and give their names. If there’s a Nina we’ll let you know. But at this time, you’re not allowed access to any of the women even if she’s here.”
The second helicopter carrying Acker, the rest of his team, and the women that had been held with Maddox’s squad was just coming in for a landing.
General Ferriday looked over toward it, realizing one of these women was most likely the female Maddox spoke of. “Oh, here you are. These are the women held with you. But, like I said, unless a woman wants to interact with you, she’s completely off limits. They’ve been traumatized. You were there, you can understand without me having to explain it.”
One turned around and glanced over his shoulder as the two rewards that were routinely offered to his males were carried from the helicopter and rushed past him and his men as three other males kept guard around them with their weapons drawn. Then he faced the General again. “Rewards,” he growled. Other than that neither he nor his men seemed particularly interested in the women they’d been held with.
“They are not rewards, they are women,” Roscoe answered.
“They were rewards!” One insisted. He didn’t see the problem. They did their jobs, they were given rewards. Rewards that he didn’t even take part in because they weren’t his female. But he still kept his males in line and made sure none of the females were harmed.
General Ferriday watched Maddox, who now introduced himself as One, as he tried to understand the problem the women had endured. Maddox honestly didn’t see it. “You really don’t see a problem do you?” General Ferriday asked.
“No problem. We performed. We were rewarded. My males are controlled. No rewards were harmed. Not a single one of them.” One said, taking a step closer to General Ferriday, seemingly offended that they’d think he or his males would harm a female. He put emphasis on the words ‘Not a single one’, as though it was something to be proud of.
“You have no idea do you?” General Ferriday asked. “Are you aware these women were stolen off the street? They didn’t volunteer to be there with you.”<
br />
General Ferriday watched as One’s head shifted back almost as though he’d been slapped, and his brows locked down over his eyes again. He stared at General Ferriday, then his gaze shifted and he watched the men who’d just freed him rushing the two females that had been their rewards toward a building at the end of the compound.
“They were kidnapped. They were assaulted. They were not there of their own free will,” the General said.
One stood where he was, thinking about what the General had explained to him, thinking of all the times his men had been rewarded with the females. Hurting females was not what he and his males did. They took out anyone they were directed to take out, but never a female or a child. Thankfully, that had only ever come up once. After they’d eliminated all the men, they’d grabbed the female and her baby and left her in a small village they’d passed on the way in to hit their target. Their orders had been no survivors, but they couldn’t kill her, so they relocated her and her screaming, squalling infant, and just never said a word to anyone, not even to each other, to this day.
“We’ll fix this. I’ll find mine, then we’ll fix this,” One said.
“This can’t be fixed, Maddox,” General Ferriday said.
“I am One!” One shouted, pounding on his own chest.
The General stopped speaking and watched the young man standing in front of him. He knew this man was Maddox Larsen, but Maddox Larsen didn’t know it. There were far more broken souls here than just the women they’d brought in. The women at least seemed to have their memories intact, they knew who they were. But honestly, General Ferriday wasn’t sure at this point if that was a blessing or a curse.
“Fine. This can’t be fixed, One. This is going to take time and treatment to get over. Just like for you and your men, it’s not going to be fixed overnight. That’s why you’re here. That’s why I built this compound, to give you all a place to be while you dig your way out of the shit you were forced into,” General Ferriday said passionately.
Beginnings Page 14
