Mother of All the Gods

by R. P. Wolff

  She called Bruce, who answered on the second ring.

  “Hello, Secretary Wade here.”

  “Bruce, this is your Mother. Are you alone?”

  “Yes, Madam President. What can I do for you?”

  “Why didn’t you run a DNA sample on me to see if there were any matches?”

  “I did.”

  “Oh.” This news disappointed Zelda. “Well, what did it show?”

  “There were no matches. Whoever are your biological parents, weren’t criminals, or at least if they were, no authorities entered their DNA into a database.”

  “What about those other sites like Ancestry.com? Did you check those?”

  After a long pause, Bruce said, “No, I didn’t want to expose you on those websites.”

  Zelda knew it was a lie. He never thought about the other non-governmental sites. “Well, couldn’t you have just used a fake identity instead of my real identity?”

  “I guess so, but I’d rather not take a chance.”

  “Well, take a chance but don’t expose me. Come on, Secretary Wade, I expect more out of you than this. You encountered one little obstacle, and then you drop it. Get it done.”

  “Yes, Madam President. Right away.”

  ◆◆◆

  Right after her call ended with Bruce, her phone rang showing that it was Colin.

  “Madam President, I have some potentially exciting news for you.”

  “Oh yes, what?”

  “Our spy ring might have landed something substantial.”

  “It’s about time. What have you discovered?”

  “Well, first, you were right. There appears to be an organized resistance.”

  Zelda gritted her teeth. Although she had suspected as much, the actual news worried her.

  Colin continued, “We found out that the resistance contacted former Governor Lance Hampton. Someone slipped him a note while he was driving the local rail line in Dallas called the Dart. He was supposed to meet up with a person at a specific post on a specific stop.”

  “Oh yeah, what happened?” Zelda loved that this involved Governor Hampton. This gave her a good reason to kill him.

  “He got spooked and didn’t meet up with the person. We think someone tipped him off.”

  “What about your spy? Is he or she reliable?”

  “Yes, but we questioned him anyway. We roughed him up a little bit, but we think he was telling the truth. One day Hampton tells him about the note, and the very next day Hampton acts as if there was never a note and said that he was only kidding. We were going to snatch the former Governor and the person meeting with him, but they never took the bait.”

  “Hmm, so what were you planning on doing?”

  “Well, that’s why I’m calling you. I wanted to get your advice on how to handle this.”

  “What are our options?” Zelda asked.

  “Well, we could bring in Hampton, rough him up a bit, and get him to reveal who tipped him off. Or, we could let him continue his daily routine, keep close tabs on him, and hope they try to contact him again. So to summarize, either we torture him to confess who tipped him off and then torture that person, or keep the con going. The only problem with keeping the con going is that he appears to be on to our spy, so we would have to modify the plan.”

  Zelda had heard enough. The answer was simple. “No need to modify the plan. Bring him in but don’t torture him. Just try to get him to give up his contact willingly. Then, when he doesn’t give us what we want, call me. I’m in Dallas and will stay here for a while. I’ll have a little talk with Mr. Hampton.”

  “Madam President, I don’t think that is a safe situation for you to be in.”

  “Don’t worry, Colin, as you know, I can handle myself. But now that you mention it, you need to fly over here tonight and take charge of bringing him in.”

  He hesitated. “Okay, Madam President. I’ll leave right away on a military flight, and we’ll bring in Hampton for questioning and let you know when we have him.”

  Zelda ended the call and smiled. She looked forward to unleashing her pain on Hampton. She wanted to see him squirm and scream. Then, she might even fuck him.

  Chapter 24

  Lance went on his normal bus route, worrying that one of the Mater guards was going to arrest him at any time. Pete had been curt with Lance the previous evening and again this morning. He seemed pissed at Lance. Lance was sure now that Pete was a Mater spy. How could Lance have been so stupid to trust this guy? Who else was a spy that he dealt with while in prison?

  Lance thought back on everything he told Pete. Fortunately, Pete didn’t know about the Mater guard who was helping Lance, but he had told Pete that there was a note and, more importantly, that there was indeed a resistance.

  After completing his morning bus route, he finally made it to the rail line to continue his long day of driving the train back and forth to the same destinations. Again, he felt like the Mater guards were going to arrest him when he got to the station, but there was nothing out of the normal when he arrived. He opened the leading rail car and made his way to the conductor room. There was no one on the train yet, but there would certainly be passengers arriving shortly. The other door opened, and it was the same guard who warned him the day before.

  The guard walked towards him, and whispered as he walked by, “There’s a note under the mat.”

  That was all he said and quickly walked past Lance and entered the next car.

  Lance sighed. Another note?

  He entered his booth, closed the door, and peered into the car. Two passengers had entered and sat down in the few moments after the guard whispered the message to him. He made sure no one was staring at him, bent down, and found the note. Again, he peered back into the cabin, and it appeared to be safe, so he opened the note, which read:

  Destroy this note as soon as you read it.

  Maters are going to arrest you today at the West End station. They will interrogate you to find out what you know about the resistance, and they will want to know who tipped you off and gave you the first note.

  If you are interested in helping us and yourself, get off at the Farmers Branch station. Run through the apartments on your left, and there will be a car waiting for you. Don’t speak to anyone in the car until they disable your Freedom Chip.

  I will pretend that I’m chasing you, but I will lead the other guard, who is on duty with me, to a different path.

  Lance read the note again. His heart was racing. He needed to decide soon because the Farmers Branch station was the third stop.

  He tore the note into tiny pieces and put half of it one pocket and the other half in the other pocket. Lance sighed again. What was he going to do? Should he trust the guard who he never met? Who knew, maybe he was a spy as well just trying to trap Lance.

  But what if it was real and the guard was legit? Then the Maters would interrogate him and maybe send him back to prison. But if they caught him trying to escape, the consequences would be even more severe. They might even execute him.

  Even if the guard was legit and there was a car waiting for him, the chances of him escaping were minimal at best. Wouldn’t the Maters just trace the car and hunt him down?

  Neither of his two options were good. Either get interrogated or get caught escaping. However, at least there was hope with the escape plan even though it could be a trap. Hell, maybe the guard had made up the whole thing and there wasn’t going to be an interrogation and no car for him to take. No, upon reflection, he didn’t think that was the case. Why would they set up a trap like that? They would just arrest him instead of going through all that.

  But importantly, what would they do to Becca. If Lance escaped, would they torture his Becca? He sighed thinking about that horrible thought. Yes, they would torture her, so he couldn’t escape, he figured. But if he didn’t escape and they interrogated him, they might still torture her. Either way he and his daughter were at risk.

  He shook his head. He hated his sit
uation. Perhaps if he escaped, he might be able to work with the resistance to get his daughter free, but the odds of that happening were slim. The prison she was at was heavily fortified.

  Time had flown by because the Farmers Branch station was his next stop. He only had about five more minutes to make up his mind. He had to pick his poison: either try to escape and risk his life and his daughter’s life or get interrogated and risk his and his daughter’s life.

  He made up his mind. He would try to escape. At least, with the escape option, he might be able to free himself, his daughter, and wife. He suddenly felt guilty for not thinking of his wife in his earlier deliberations. He had given up hope of ever seeing his wife again. She was probably stuck in New York. At least with his daughter, he was sure she was still at Harmon.

  He peered into the cabin. By now, the cabin was half full. He could just imagine the reaction of the passengers when he darted out of the train. Hopefully, none of them would chase after him.

  He breathed in and exhaled hard. His hands shook. It was almost time.

  ◆◆◆

  Austin Foster squatted down in the back seat of the black, GMC SUV as the vehicle came to a stop by the apartments adjacent to the Farmers Branch train station. They had arrived two minutes early from the designated time. Austin peeked out the window. He saw a few people, through the opening between the apartments, standing on the platform on the opposite side, the side that Governor Lance Hampton, the father of his true love, Becca, was to arrive.

  Hector Gonzalez was the driver and the person who had rescued him in the woods by Grapevine lake. Hector was an ex-con, a convicted murderer at that, but a highly respected Establishment lieutenant. People forgave Hector for the murder because it was borderline self-defense from a rival gang member. That was the story that Hector told. However, Austin suspected that the real reason was that Hector was a tough guy, and they needed guys like Hector to fight the Maters.

  Austin impressed the Establishment, and he quickly earned himself the rank of sergeant. It had been a little over a month since Austin had escaped from the horrible Harmon prison. The resistance, called the Establishment, fascinated him. They were well organized. They referred to themselves as the Establishment because they wanted freedom from religion—not freedom of religion as the Maters argued. The Maters always made themselves out as the victim to other religions who were purportedly infringing on the Mater’s freedom of religion. The term “establishment” came from the old first amendment, before it was repealed, which said that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” People used to refer to this as the “establishment clause,” so the resistance thought that would be a good name to call themselves. Plus, the word “establishment” had a sound of credibility as if they were the true government—not the Maters.

  “It’s almost times, man,” Hector whispered to Austin. “Are you ready?”

  “Yes,” Austin responded.

  ◆◆◆

  Lance trembled as the train came to a slow stop. He only had a few minutes before the train was supposed to leave for the next stop. He had to move quickly. In the distance he saw an upcoming train. This was perfect. He would run out with just enough time for him to cross the tracks. By that time, the upcoming train would block whoever would be chasing him.

  Unfortunately, he couldn’t just exit from his conductor room. He had to open his conductor room door, walk to the nearest sliding doors, and exit with the other passengers. He peeked into the cab, and he could barely see the guard that had warned him before. He was way back towards to farthest point from Lance.

  Lance exhaled, did the sign of the cross, opened his door, and quickly walked towards the exit. He didn’t want to run to attract any further attention.

  “I’ll be right back,” he told the passengers.

  The other train was approaching and beeping its horn as usual when it came to a stop at a station. It was closer than he anticipated. He had to hurry to avoid the train hitting him. He jumped down to the tracks and stumbled. The train was only about thirty yards away. He quickly sprang back up on his feet and darted to the other side.

  Now the train was beeping louder and more frantically than usual. The conductor obviously saw him.

  From behind him, someone shouted, “Stop him!”

  The guards from his train were now aware of his escape.

  He instantly climbed up the other side of the tracks and was on the other platform. The train just missed him by about ten agonizing feet. People on the ramp were staring at him in disbelief.

  He breathed erratically as he searched for the escape route. He saw the apartments and a sidewalk that stretched between them. That must be it, so he sprinted down the sidewalk. It was about a block to the end. He didn’t hear any guards behind him. His move of jumping in front of the upcoming train must have worked because it gave him a much-needed delay, but they would be coming soon.

  He hoped that someone was at the end of the apartments. He continued his sprint. He had never run faster in his life. As he was near the end, he heard a guard blowing a whistle in the distance. They were coming.

  He finally reached the end which was a side street. He looked to his left and saw nothing and then to his right. There was a young kid waving for him as the kid held the back door of a SUV open.

  The kid whispered, “Over here, hurry.”

  Lance had to trust him and darted to the SUV. He jumped in with the kid following. The kid quickly shut the door, and the driver of the SUV sped down the street in the opposite direction of the opening.

  “Give me your hand, quickly,” the kid said. “I have to remove your Freedom Chip.”

  Lance held out his hand. The kid pulled out a special tool and within seconds extracted the chip. He opened the window and threw it out onto the street. Amazingly, it didn’t hurt too bad. The kid bandaged the wound.

  Lance gasped for air as his sprint had worn him out.

  “Oh my God, thank you so much, guys,” Lance said.

  The driver said, “Shhh, don’t say anything until we get you to a safe place.”

  Lance stayed silent trying to catch his breath.

  The driver zigzagged through various side streets. Lance could hear sirens nearby. The Maters were after him. Lance wondered how long they could drive without the Maters discovering them. They would certainly torture him and his brave comrades.

  Just as the sirens were multiplying, the driver pulled into an alley, and into an open three-car garage door on the first house from the alley. As soon as the car entered the garage, the garage door started closing. A young woman, from the house, held a license plate and headed toward the rear of vehicle probably going to change the license plate.

  The driver, who was Hispanic and probably in his late twenties, frantically led Lance through the house to a bedroom. The driver peeked out through the blinds to see if anyone followed them. Nothing. They could barely hear the sirens now.

  The driver panted, “I think we’re in the clear, but we have to keep an eye on things.”

  Lance kept panting himself. “Who are you guys?” Lance gasped.

  The driver and the kid briefly looked at each, and the driver finally nodded to the kid.

  The kid said, “Governor, I’m Austin Foster. I went to school with Becca. Don’t you recognize me?”

  Lance studied the kid and suddenly recognized him. “Yes, I know you. Of course, I know you. You went to school with her since kindergarten. I didn’t recognize you because you are so much bigger now and your voice has changed. You are a man.”

  “Thank you,” Austin replied and smiled. “I want to get your daughter out of the Harmon prison.”

  “You were in there with her?”

  “Yes, we both tried to escape about a year ago, but they caught us.”

  “Oh yeah, I remember that. That was you?”

  “Yes, I’m sorry, Governor, for putting your daughter in danger.”

  Lance couldn’t get mad at a kid who jus
t helped him escape. He felt no anger towards him.

  Lance replied, “No, that’s okay, you were only trying to help. Is she okay?”

  “Not really. It’s miserable there. I miss her. I love her, and I’m going to marry her.” Austin jerked and pleaded, “I mean if I have your permission.”

  Lance chuckled and said, “This is too much to process. Ten minutes ago, I was conductor on a train and now I’m hiding in a house with two wonderful, brave men. I’m just amazed that I escaped. It seems insurmountable to get my daughter out of the fortress that they have her in.”

  “Well, I escaped,” Austin said.

  “How did you do that?”

  The driver closed the blind and said, “Hey, let’s be quiet for now. Governor, we have a lot to tell you, but let’s get you some real clothes and then we’ll update you on the Establishment.”

  “Establishment?”

  “Come on, like I said, will update you in a little while.”

  “What’s your name?” Lance asked the driver.

  The driver hesitated, “I’m Hector.” Hector peeked around as if Maters were in the house, and whispered, “Governor, we need to get ready for war. Are you ready?”

  Chapter 25

  Zelda breathed heavily after having incredible sex with two of her Security Service agents at the same time. Afterwards, she dismissed them and ordered them to guard the outside of the Highland Park mansion where she temporarily stayed. They joined four other agents. The house, the previous home of an oil and gas tycoon that was a filthy infidel, was about twelve thousand square feet with an endless number of rooms.

  Her phone rang, and it was Colin. She sighed. Finally, she could get some revenge on the former Governor and extract information on the resistance. She needed to take swift action and stop the resistance before it could begin.

  Zelda answered the phone, “President Mater.”