Lennox Corporation: Book 1 in the Savior Series

by Mark Browning

  CHAPTER 18

  Meeting of the Minds

  Iheaded over to the primary entrance to greet Captain Chip and his men. It was apparent he had a lot on his mind. I hoped to ease this as quickly as possible. The first words out of his mouth were, “I expected you to be dead. Then Lennox Corp pulls out of the slums, and I hear it’s because the Special Commander has disappeared. Not too long after, a messenger delivers a note from said dead man. If I’m doing the math right, you must be the one responsible for the Special Commander’s disappearance.” I assured him that everything will make more sense after I get everyone together. He was in a hurry to return to his slums as he felt they were in some kind of danger. He had only come because he was in disbelief that I was alive and looking to overthrow Lennox Corp. A lot had happened, and a lot had changed since the last interaction I had with him so I understood his concern. I showed him over to Tammy’s and when we got there, Laura sat waiting for us. Tammy had cleared out the bar and the guest rooms. She did one last sweep and locked the entire place down. I stood at the end of the table surrounded by Laura, Tammy, Captain Chip and the men Captain Chip had brought along. I suggested I begin with my plan and its applications, and then I would open up the floor for questions, or further suggestions. To start the meeting, Laura and I went back over our plan to navigate the jungle, traverse the cliff and boat out to the barge where we would enter the ship from underneath. The only detail I left out being my knowledge of the Nano-tech and the farm. I didn’t need anyone panicked because the other side has enhanced capabilities. The Nano-tech would give those troops an advantage; it will destroy them. The Nano-tech wasn’t in me. It was me and the patrols couldn’t account for that no matter how many shots they received. I turned to Tammy, “It would honor me if you led the attack on S.C. 3. You will lead the people to begin the attack as soon as you hear the explosion of the barge. I trust you to understand that we will free the people enslaved by the city and eliminate the ones controlling it. Also, it will be very important having you in charge to gauge when about a third of the fighters from here in S.C.3 can march on to S.C. 1 to back up Captain Chip and myself. Captain Chip’s people will lock down the high-rise where the board members are housed. Once we blow those doors, it will be a fight to the top floor and the boardroom. We will need all the able body fighters we can get before we breach.” Tammy accepted her role to lead the people of S.C.3 with pride.

  Next, I needed to go over the part of the plan that involved Captain Chip. So much had transpired since we last met. I told him the barge was real, and we had a plan to blow it up, giving us an opportunity to take all three cities and overthrow Lennox Corp. I knew he would want to know how we intended to destroy the barge and how we got so much information about its location. So I shared with him, I was the one that forced the cities into lockdown, as he had expected. I told him about how I had snuck into the city and had taken the Special Commander hostage forcing the information out of him through interrogation. I said, “I will need you and your men to take S.C. 1, forcing a lockdown and trapping the Lennox Corp board members in the corporate headquarters building. If you can hold there for 3 days while awaiting mine and Laura’s return, we will bring our forces with us and blow the security doors and storm the building, ultimately executing the board members.” I then expressed how I needed his technician to set up an encrypted network to use for private communication. I concluded, “I will also need two sturdy guys, preferably from your personal security, to help us get the boat and the supplies to the cliff.” After I finished laying it all out I gave captain Chip the floor. I figured he would have several questions and possibly a few objections.

  He started off in a defiant tone, “None of this will work and you are asking me to sacrifice my people. You still haven’t told me how you are still alive or why you suddenly care about taking down Lennox Corp. You only care about the credits. If you are still alive and those kids from Cloud 9 are dead, that means you sold them out when things got too thick. I trusted you to step up.” He stated bitterly, “You tell me how you survived without selling out those kids and if I believe you, you will have my support.” I still didn’t feel comfortable sharing information about Nano-tech with him. I looked around conscious of the support that came with both Laura and Tammy in the room. I needed a story, minus the Nano-tech and I hoped Laura and Tammy would follow my lead. One day I wanted to tell Captain Chip the truth about Nano-tech, but the image of being able to extend your life or gaining superior power had a way of corrupting people and blurring their vision. I needed everyone clear headed and focusing on the removal of Lennox Corp. And so I began, “I was in the bunker and the entire thing was a trap. The Special Commander had been one step ahead of me the entire time while we were trying to access the hard drive. I assumed I was manipulating the Special Commander but actually, he was manipulating me.” I explained to him every slow motion second I could recall of the time in the bunker. Now it was time to color outside the lines, because we always base the best lies in truth. I continued, “By a freak bit of luck, I survived. Two metal beams had collapsed, bending into each other creating a shelter for holding back the majority of the rubble and fire. When I came to, I remember enduring a desperate climb through the rubble. It seems Laura found me unable to walk and barely alive about 50 feet from the explosion site, laying near a dumpster where she was looking for scrap metal. Laura and Tammy were listening intently shaking their heads in agreement. She took me to Tammy where they hid me out in her cutaway basement where she stores the liquor.” I told him that once I was healthy enough, I headed out into the Wasteland and came up with the plan for entering the city and killing the Special Commander. “Once in the city, I followed the commander, captured him and brought him out via the outflow pipes.” He now had enough information. He must decide if he’s on board or not. Reality is, he really doesn’t have a choice. The war is coming whether or not he helps us. Our way would be the only way we came out on top. I wrapped our talk up by saying, “I will give you some time to consider what I’ve said. I respect you and we need you but only if you want to be here.” Laura and Tammy had once again proven their loyalty and their friendship by bearing silent witness to the story I told Captain Chip. While Captain Chip sat inside deciding about his involvement, I called the people together to make an announcement. The time had come to tell everyone, in one week from today Lennox Corp would no longer rule our world.

  The people gathered as they had before, once again expecting a speech. There appeared no fear in their eyes for what I was proposing here today. I was observing sheer determination and belief; determination to take back their lives and the belief in me to help them do so. I would not disappoint them. I would not let them down. Lennox Corp had its time. Now is the time of the People. I stood up in front of everyone and let my passion guide the speech. “One week from today you will look at the person beside you right now and they will not be the same person you see today. They will be someone that none of us imagined we could ever be. They will be a human being, free from the tyranny of corporate rule. They will be an independent thinker, ready to shape the future world in their own image of freedom. As you look at them notice them looking at you with the same level of admiration. You know why, because you too will be that human being. This isn’t just a fight; this is a movement. A victory against Lennox Corp isn’t simply a new life, it’s a new world. Now, I want all of you to remember who you are and why you are fighting because Lennox Corp is not going to roll over. What they don’t recognize is there is nothing they can do to stop us because they created us. Every time they deprived us of water all they did was make us stronger. Every time they rationed our food, they made us stronger. Every time they pushed us down and worked us to the bone in the mines we just got stronger. That is what they couldn’t see coming. They built our strength and now our movement is a juggernaut that will not stop.” After an eruption of cheers, I followed the speech by sharing the leaders of the groups. “These are your Leaders with the city
attack plan. One week from now you will receive an order from Tammy to attack S.C. 3. Their defenses will be down. You are to eliminate security personnel that pose a threat. Please try not to harm the cities citizens. Lennox Corp enslaved them just as they enslaved you. After securing the city, Tammy will delegate a third of you to rendezvous with myself and hopefully Captain Chip to assist in the overthrow of S.C. 1.” Before I another word left my lips, Captain Chip popped out from within the crowd. He announced. “I listened to your speech, and I contemplated the tragedy that unfolded with you and Cloud9, and I trust you and give you my full support. I just hope everyone here knows and fully understands what we are about to do. We will suffer heavy casualties no matter how perfect the plan. And those that survive will have to live knowing the many that we lost.” I completely understood his position. If he only knew how many casualties I was expecting and what I had to do on that barge it would disgust him. To be honest, it disgusted me. But no matter how many times I weigh the options, the conclusion came out the same. The only acceptable outcome would be the removal of Lennox Corp and, even more importantly, Nano-tech. I thanked him for his support and went back over all the plans with him again. By the time we had finished, he seemed comfortable with the plan and believed we had about as good of a chance of success as you might expect with so many moving parts. Tammy put him and his men up for the night. Captain Chip and his men were headed straight back to S.C. 1 slums in the morning to prepare the people and get his technicians to work on our encrypted network. He introduced me to the two men that would accompany Laura and me to the barge. Both were big, burly guys with broad shoulders. The first man he introduced me to was Tim, a very stern man who specialized in knives and hand to hand combat. The next man was Riker, a former Lennox Corp security agent cast out for exposing a smuggling scam being run by a few of his fellow agents. Lennox Corp had put him through all levels of their training, making him proficient in all weaponry. Here was another ex-citizen and employee of Lennox Corp that did not realize their vitamin injections contained Nano-tech. They likely enhanced him to some level, and he didn’t even notice it. Everything had come together, the plan of attack, the leaders I had chosen, and the people of the slums. I would finish making preparations here and soon follow Captain Chip to S.C. 1. He would need two days to get things set up on his end. With the meeting of the minds done, it was time to act.

  CHAPTER 19

  The Jungle

  Laura and I spent the next couple of days loading all of our supplies and preparing the convoy. At the pace we would move with a convoy this size it should take us 4 days to reach the slums of S.C. 1, where we would link up with Tim and Riker and head for the coast. The coast was approximately 2 days from S.C. 1 if we drove straight through the night. Our forces would stage at the edge of the jungle awaiting our signal; the explosion of the barge. The cliff where we wanted to drop the boat in the water, would be about another 2.5 mile hike up. Only about 1.5 miles of it was trail after that we would lug a boat down a path cleared by a machete. Not a simple task, but still better than taking the risk of alerting the forces guarding the barge. If they were to see us coming, they would lock the barge down, and no plan would get us inside. The travel to the slums of S.C. 1 went like a breeze. With everything turned upside down, the Wasteland seemed like a ghost town. I met up with Captain Chip and he again warned me of the consequences if we failed, and I quickly reminded him we must succeed. Shortly after talking with the captain, Tim and Riker made their way to the convoy. I thanked them again and explained to them the importance of their roles. Everyone seemed eager to get started, so we decided to push on through the night. We could camp once we reached the coastal jungle.

  Traffic, pedestrian or vehicle, did not frequent the road to the coast. It was a harsh and unforgiving place protected by a fierce, thick jungle. No one was sure just how many creatures, let alone what nature of creatures, inhabited the jungle. No one who journeyed to the coast ever returned. Now that we were aware of what Lennox Corp was hiding out here, we surmised not only dangerous animals have been at work, so have the Lennox patrols. I have never even been to the edge of the jungle. The coast never interested me. Crossing through miles of hostile jungle to lay eyes on an enormous body of water didn’t sound like an enjoyable time to me. Soon I would find out why so many sacrificed their lives to catch a glimpse of the ocean. The convoy pushed hard, and we made the jungle in 36 hours. We built a base camp about 2 miles from the edge of the jungle. This would be the staging area for the force that would take the cliffs and remove the security force from the beach. The four of us going into the jungle would continue on the path until we hit the deviation point where we would have to create our own path. The main path was a Lennox Corp supply route and heavily patrolled as you got closer to the beach, according to the Special Commander. Unfortunately we had no other choice. It would have taken far too long to cut an entire new path. The part we had to cut was already too much as far as I was concerned. It was time for Smith to show off his new enhancement. I sat him down, looked him in the eye, pointed out the path and said “Clear the path boy, no surprises. I want a threat free trip to the deviation point.” He immediately darted off down the path. A level of security came with Smith out ahead of us clearing the way. You could traverse the path, but it still presented many obstacles while carrying a boat and supplies. It didn’t take us 20 minutes to stumble upon some of Smith’s handy work. He killed a 4 man patrol and dragged them off the path into the woods. My confidence continued to grow. We will cut through this jungle, launch this boat and destroy that barge. We made it to the deviation point with no incidents thanks to Smith’s excellent work. We put the boat down and Riker and Laura sat on watch while Tim and I began cutting our path to the coastal cliffs. The boat didn’t need to be moved until we cleared the entire path. It was easier to defend your position if you weren’t dropping a boat in the middle of the small path you just created. Plus, clearing the path first allowed us to check the area around the path for predators. As we cut through the foliage, I marveled at the jungle habitat. Luscious deep greens with beautiful flowers everywhere. I had seen nothing like it except in books from the Old World. This was truly amazing. If this all works out as planned, I want to return and explore this vast jungle for treasures. For now I couldn’t let my mind wander too much, the more I focused, the faster this path would get cut. After about two hours, Tim returned to the edge of the path and traded places with Riker. Tim had not said a word to me during the entire process. Riker however wouldn’t shut up. He immediately had questions. “How are you not tired yet?” he asked in an Alpha male kind of way. I just laughed and responded. “It’s mind over matter.” He didn’t like that answer. He then began asking me why I needed two guys from Captain Chip when I was the glorious leader. “Don’t you have anybody you can trust?” he said. I responded, “Yes I do. She is sitting at the edge of this path we are cutting, keeping watch.” He then came back again, “Oh I see, just you and the misses. I get it.” This was getting old fast, and I didn’t have time for small talk. I cut this conversation off short. “Let’s just cut the path,” I stated with authority in my voice. He sarcastically replied, “You are the boss.” I might have hurt his feelings or pissed him off, but at least the work advanced in silence.

  We continued cutting until we heard a rustling off in the bushes to the right about 20 yards into the jungle and moving fast right at us. I heard a distinct snorting noise, and I immediately knew it was a pack of wild boars pushing us to assert dominance over their territory; we didn’t belong. From their flank, I saw another shape moving through the thick jungle heading straight for the lead boar. Then a loud aggressive tussle ensued between the pack of boars and the mystery animal. Riker and I stayed ready, weapons in hand. After the commotion settled, a large silhouette came jogging out of the jungle holding something in its mouth. As it got closer a smile covered my face. It was Smith carrying the head of one of the wild boars. He brought it to me placing it right at my feet.
I thanked him and rewarded him with a strip of salted beef. I told him, “Go back to work boy.” He immediately ran off, disappearing into the thick jungle. Riker and I got back to work. He said, “That is the most badass dog I have ever seen.” Riker and I finally agreed about something. By my estimation we had cut only about a half mile of jungle in 8 hours of non-stop work. At this pace, we still had another 8 hours of clearing left to do. Riker left after a few hours, and Laura returned in his place. I had not taken a break except to eat some strips of salted beef. Once Laura joined the effort, things moved a little faster. Her effort level was much higher than either Tim or Riker’s had been. We had about two or three more solid hours at the current pace and we would lay eyes on the ocean. Laura and I talked about what we would do after we destroyed Lennox Corp. I told her what I had learned about the other corporations and there being an immense world out there past the Wasteland. She seemed as interested as I did in exploring the world beyond what we had always known. As we continued talking, a future beyond Lennox Corp emerged. I stopped for a moment and looked back at Laura, “If we survive this and we're successful in taking down Lennox Corp, would you be interested in joining Smith and me in exploring the world beyond here?” Before she answered, I could already see it written on her face that the answer was yes, but I didn’t let on. I let her answer for herself. And with an elevated level of energy, given the situation, she responded, ”Yes and anything after yes!” I grinned and said, “That’s fine, we take this world on together as we move forward.” It overjoyed me. I truly believed that with Smith and Laura by my side, anything was possible. As we fantasized about our future adventures, the work continued to fly by and before we knew it, the sun came pouring through the vegetation, signaling that we were close to the edge. We slowed our clearing process to be more methodical. We didn’t want to fall off the edge of the cliff because we were in a hurry. After a few minutes of precise clearing the edge presented itself and to be honest the view out over the ocean was the most inspiring thing I had ever seen. I immediately regretted the ignorant point of view I had taken on the ocean for the entirety of my life. I was clearly uneducated on the situation. Laura and I stood there silent, staring out into the open ocean way past the cliff walls of the cove, the turquoise waves drifting endlessly into the horizon.