Chapter Nine
~/*\~ Cherry ~/*\~
Cherry had only planned to stay at Mikel’s place until morning. Once the sun came up, they’d figure out a way to find the Brothers. She had been praying for help doing that, right up until she fell asleep.
She woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of Jamel’s teeth chattering, and she put her blanket over him, wondering how he could possibly be that cold when she was uncomfortably warm under a blanket with him. She fell back asleep as he mumbled thanks.
She woke up again an hour later to the sound of him throwing up violently. What now?
She ran to the bathroom, which was somehow more disgusting than the rest of the apartment put together, and found a trembling Jamel retching. Unsure of what else to do, she went and got him water from the kitchen. There wasn’t a clean glass in the place, but Jamel was in no condition to care.
“Are you sick?” She asked timidly once he settled, gulping at the water she brought.
Jamel shook his head. “I told you I was trying to avoid going cold turkey.”
She understood immediately. He was in withdrawal. The thought sent a thrill of horror through her.
He read her face. “I know. I picked a hell of time for it.” His hands were shaking so badly he couldn’t hold the glass steady, and she caught it out of his hands immediately.
“How long?” She asked.
“Since my last fix?”
“How long until you’re… mobile again?”
“Days.” He rasped. “I’ve done it before. I know the routine.” He looked up at her blearily. “I’m sorry, babe. I’m really sorry.”
She stared hard at him for a long time, before she went and got him more water. “Stay hydrated.” She told him. “I’m going back to bed.”
He nodded, grateful not to have her watching when he was like this.
She went back to the bed, and tried to think. She’d helped him once, when his cycle of addiction began. He needed nursing, more than anything else. When it got bad, she’d have to watch him; to make sure he didn’t leave. Right now his body was screaming, punishing him as it searched for chemicals that weren’t there anymore. Once his body accepted that, it would start making those chemicals itself. But that would take time…
Time. She thought worriedly. How long can we stay here? How can I find my father with him in this state? How long does the world have?
Such thoughts stressed her out, and she started praying again. Jehovah God, what do I do? Is this Your way of keeping me away from the brothers? Does this mean you’ve rejected me? Is this a test, to see if I deserve Your mercy?
The uncertainty chased her into sleep.
~/*\~
She found him the next morning, stretched out on the floor near the bathroom. He was trembling, sweating profusely.
With a sigh, she ignored the growling in her stomach and sat beside him, sliding down the wall to sit crosslegged by his head. “You got to this stage a lot faster than I thought you would.”
“I’ve b-been on the edge of it for days.” He admitted. “I couldn’t even take a little dose when I was with you.”
“And then you gave the last of it to Mikel, in exchange for a hiding place.”
“I wish I hadn’t.” Jamel confessed. “He didn’t search me. I could have kept half, and…” Tears were rolling down his face. “...and not feel like this now.”
Cherry sighed and got to work, bringing her blanket from the bed, refilling his water glass, and soaking a cloth to cool him down.
They didn’t bother moving him to the bed, or the couch. He was beyond caring about laying on the floor. She tended to him for a few minutes, before he caught her hand. “You have to leave me here. Go. Find your father. Find the other brothers. Wait it out with them.”
“I can’t leave you like this.” She told him helplessly, though part of her agreed with him. She’d been thinking about it for half the night.
“You can’t stay.” He told her, limbs shaking so bad he was making thumping sounds against the floor. “We don’t know how long the world will last, and I can’t imagine this is the sort of place you could wait for the Second Coming.”
He started retching then, dry heaving beside her. She held his hand tightly, riding it out with him.
What would Jesus do? She wondered idly. The thought made her roll her eyes. He’d lay a hand on Jamel and heal him to full health immediately. Then he’d snap his fingers and conjure a feast from nothing.
What would your father do? She wondered. He’d call an ambulance. But if I do that, we might as well turn ourselves in to get shot right now.
She sent her memories back to the Bible Stories she’d heard as a child. Stories of people putting their faith in God under all sorts of circumstances. Stories of people protecting their brothers, standing proud and faithful against fearful odds.
Would Noah have let Jamel into the Ark in this state? Or would he call it ‘justice’ for our sins? She wondered. She shook her head. Jesus chose unpopular followers all the time. Isn’t being a junkie the modern day equivalent of being a leper?
“I can almost hear you thinking it.” Jamel moaned. “You’re thinking that the world could have hours left, and in this state, I’ve pretty much declared what side I’m on.” His voice was raspy, and she brought the cup to his dry lips. He guzzled at it greedily, but looked softly at her when it was empty. “Go. Leave me here. Find the people who are gonna be saved, and stay with them.”
And despite herself, Cherry felt her resolve suddenly settle. “I’m not leaving you.” She said firmly. “This is as good a place as any. God can save people who are tossed in a lion’s pit. If God’s not going to save me, it doesn’t matter where I am.” She went and refilled the glass. “Besides, where do I go? I got no vehicle, I got no resources, I have no idea where in the City my father is. Every street is filled with signed Renouncements in every window, so it’s not like I can knock on a door and ask for help. Anyone who helps me now is getting arrested for it, and they all know it. My face is on their Fugitive list.” She spread her hands wide. “We haven’t eaten since yesterday morning. The power keeps going on and off. I don’t even have a Bible. I used the one on my phone, and it was locked out before you even found me.”
“Mikel has one.” Jamel croaked.
She gave him a rough grin, and got up to collect Mikel’s Bible from the bedside table drawer. She opened the cover and turned it to show him. The inside of the holy book was hollowed out, the hiding place filled with empty syringes.
“He woulda kept the pages.” Jamel insisted, shaking. “I know he rolls his own smokes. He used the paper because Bible pages are thinner. Told me he saw it in a movie once.”
Cherry gave him a slow blink, and then started searching the apartment again. She found the Bible pages eventually. A third of them were missing, obviously used already; and the rest were stained with something that looked like old tobacco leaves. But they’d been sliced neatly, making the edges of the hiding place in the cover clean. She brought the pages back to Jamel’s side. “So. We’re waiting out the end of the world in a drug dealer’s abandoned rathole. We’re both starving, one of us detoxing, hanging our hopes for survival on the torn pages of a King James Bible, rescued from their fate as a stack of cigarette papers.”
“Seems on b-b-brand for me.” He said, teeth chattering. “But the real prayers aren’t made at conventions or churches. They’re said beside hospital beds by desperate loved ones, or under bridges by homeless people freezing to death. They’re said on boats as the storms rage, and in prison cells as the world turns away.”
She took that in, amazed at what he came out with sometimes. “Or in places like this, as The Day draws near?”
“Read me some?” He said pitifully.
She squeezed his shaking fingers with one hand, and drew out a page with the other. “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet…”
~/*\~
“...God said: ‘Because he has affection for me, I will rescue him. I will protect him because he knows my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in distress. I will rescue him and glorify him. I will satisfy him with long life, And I will cause him to see my acts of salvation’.” Eldon finished the Psalm under his breath. It was one of his favorites. He’d been reciting it as a mantra while he drove, as though it would protect him.
He’d finished his deliveries. The food supply that the brothers had was drying up. It was all in Jehovah’s hands now.
Including my daughter, wherever she is. He thought, sliding into a prayer. “Jehovah God, please. I have transportation. I have a place to go. Please, help me find my daughter. I don’t know where she is, but if anyone can bring her back to me, it’s You.” He licked his lips, trying to think of more to say. “Jehovah God, she must be so scared right now. When she was a girl, I told her stories about deliverance from a fiery furnace, or a lion’s pit, or a prison cell. You can rescue Your servants from anywhere. But she’s deathly afraid she’s not really ‘one of Your people’, and You’re the only one who can truly convince her otherwise.” He kept praying quietly as he turned the next corner. “But I’m her father, and there’s nobody who will-”
He slammed on the brakes as he saw the checkpoint in front of him. That wasn’t there this morning!
A Coalition car came out of a driveway and parked itself directly across the road behind him. The trap was flawless. Were they after me, or anyone who came around this corner?
A soldier twice his size came sauntering up to the door, with one hand resting on his gun. “Step out of the vehicle.”
~/*\~
“...recieving reports that Stage Four is being slowed down by the constant gridlock. In related news, armed escorts have been ordered for trucks carrying food to supermarkets. Instances of panic buying in some regions have forced the Coalition to take over distribution. Lines are forming, but so far, the troops are keeping on top of any threats of violence. Confidential sources say the lines won’t be a problem much longer, as stockpiles are running out…”
~/*\~
Gail came into the room, to find Eldon handcuffed to the table. He looked… serene. That was a new one for people in interrogation. “So. Turns out we were right: There was nowhere to run to.”
“Truly, it’s been a merry chase.” Eldon drawled. “Where is Cherry?”
“A question my supervising officer asked when he arrived to take her away in handcuffs.” Gail admitted. “But you’re a pretty good consolation prize.”
Eldon smiled. “You don’t have her.”
“No, but there’s nowhere for her to go, either.” Cherry said plainly. “She’s been added to our fugitive list, which means her name and picture is being displayed everywhere for a thousand miles. Just like all the other people with nowhere to run. Every branch of law enforcement has access to the list; and free rein to do whatever they want in collecting people. There’s a bounty up too. Dead or alive. Some people are making a pretty good income rounding people up. There’s no service to anyone who isn’t registered as having signed the Renouncement, so the only way anyone gets a meal is by turning themselves in…”
“I don’t mean to tell you your business, but you’re telling me a lot.” Eldon told her.
“I’m impressing upon you the fact that your daughter doesn’t have a future, unless she cooperates. Neither do you.” Gail summed up. “I haven’t asked you to sign the Renouncement yet, because I know your answer will be ‘no’. At that point, you are no longer my case. I’m keeping you here, because I’m still hoping to save Cherry.”
“Funny.” Eldon said darkly. “She stayed in your shared apartment so long because she was trying to save you.”
“And now she’s the one who needs saving.” Gail returned.
“Except she’s not here, and you are.” Eldon remarked, sounding a lot calmer and more casual than a prisoner should. “So, it’s on me to say what she would, if she was in this chair: What do you think, about what’s going on? You can see the news, and I know my daughter talked to you. Has your position changed since you last spoke to her?”
“The last time I spoke to her, I was pointing my gun at her.” Gail said archly.
Eldon was unflappable. “This has been going for a while now. I’ve heard stories of my brothers getting into danger. As you’ve pointed out, there are no consequences for people who just want the money. I’ve seen the recordings.”
Gail said nothing.
“Did you pull the trigger?” Eldon asked seriously. “Because from what I hear, you wouldn’t be the first to try. Did your gun misfire? How many times?”
And Gail had no answer. There was a knock at the one-way glass, and she jumped up, heading out.
“It’s still not too late for you, Gail.” Eldon called after her.
She slammed the door shut, unsettled.
~/*\~
Roderick was waiting for her in the observation room, standing at the glass with Colin.
“You let him take control of the conversation.” Colin told her coldly. “You’re the predator in that room.”
“He’s a zealot. It's hard to wear them down.” Roderick waved that off. “Besides, we don’t need to negotiate anything. Having him here means we can splash his face all over the news. If Cherry sees it, maybe she’ll contact you.”
“Why would she do that?” Colin demanded. “They have to know we aren’t exactly trading anyone away once we’ve got’em.”
“He was willing to risk it.” Gail jerked her thumb towards Eldon, visible in the next room. “We know they make deliveries to their own people. His car was empty of all goods and material. He wasn’t running, or making a delivery. He was just… driving around. Given the way things are, the only reason to do that is if you’re looking for something. His first question was about his daughter; so I think we can guess what he was looking for.”
Colin flexed his knuckles eagerly. “Send me in. I bet I can get him to talk. If he doesn’t have his daughter, he at least knows where to find a few others.”
Gail scowled. “Do you not get what’s going on outside? Half the city is looking for someone to riot against, and the other half is willing to eat them. These people aren’t our top priority right now!”
“As it happens, you’re both wrong.” Roderick said over them. “The financial crash is a temporary problem. When the FRA is concluded, all the resources of the Coalition go to rebuilding. Our orders from ‘on high’ say to put everything we have into finishing Stage Five. It’s been marked a higher priority than keeping order in the streets.”
“Good.” Colin said eagerly, at the same time that Gail said: “That’s insane.”
“You want a cell right next to him?” Colin snarled at her. “Because the uniform doesn’t protect collaborators. He thinks it was divine intervention that let your roommate get away. It’d be easier to believe it was you being soft on your friend.”
Gail felt her fists bunch, when Roderick got between them. “Colin, go get yourself some coffee.”
“We’re out.” The other man said automatically.
“Then get some tea.”
“We’re out of that too.”
“Then go boil some water, and calm the hell down.” Roderick told him firmly. As Colin scowled and headed out of the room, Roderick turned back to Gail. “It’s still your case; at least on the paperwork. If we want to take the gloves off, it’s your call.”
“Was he telling the truth?” Gail demanded as soon as they were alone. “About the weapons misfire? Have our people been taking shots at Illegals and… I don’t know? Missing? A lot?”
“There’s some video on social media.” Roderick shrugged. “Less than you’d think, since shutting down the comm-network is SOP when we’re making a raid. But Command hasn’t issued any advisories. And even if there was video, it’s easy to fake. And even if it was real, you gotta remember that a lot of our troops are locals that signed up for the ration cards. They’re not exactly ‘battle-hardened’ warriors. Bullets are small. It’s easy to miss.”
“I thought the Coalition was made up of trained soldiers from every nation.”
“It is, but deployment is a whole other question. As you, quite correctly, pointed out; the world is coming apart at the seams. We’re busy holding it together.”
Gail blinked. “You said that Command declared Stage Five the only priority right now.”
“Not the world. We’re holding the Coalition together.” Roderick confided. “Our people are part of the world too.”
There was a knock on the door, and Colin stuck his head back in. “You should probably see this.” He said, but the heat was gone from his temper. “It’s your case, after all.”
~/*\~
Eldon and Mikel didn’t know each other, as they were marched past each other. Eldon to the holding cells, and Mikel to the interrogation room.
Gail was waiting as Mikel was handcuffed to the table between them. She immediately took a photo of his face with her Coalition Device, and in seconds, she had his file. “Says here you were one of our first arrests, when the Coalition set up in this area. You’ve got a long history of selling illegal substances to people in this town.” She gave him a look. “What makes someone like you draw the attention of authority?”
“I wanna make a deal.” Mikel said. “I get immunity, or whatever you call it. I walk.”
“You really think you can swing that?” Gail scoffed.
“I know where to find two names on your Most Wanted list.” Mikel offered. “I told it to the other guy, and he told me it was your case.”
Gail felt her face turn to stone as she tapped at her tablet, bringing up the list. Mikel scanned it, and stopped the scroll of pictures when he got to one face in particular.
It was Cherry.
Gail felt her shoulders drop, just a little. She’d been half-hoping that her friend was out of the city completely. As embarrassing as it was, to tell her superiors that Cherry had escaped, they had bigger issues to deal with.
“I want immunity.” Mikel said again.
~/*\~
“So.” Colin said as Gail walked into the observation room. “Are you going to give it to him?”
“Do you know why this guy is on our system as a Drug Dealer? Because that’s what he is.” Gail growled, eyes on Roderick as she made her case. “I was at the meeting when Jamel, currently on our ‘Most Wanted List’ as a holdout, turned this guy in. Cherry’s ex-boyfriend was so desperate to try and stay clean this time that he turned his dealer in to us. How is he back on the streets already?”
“We had to make room for all the holdouts and illegals being brought in.” Roderick excused. “Justice is… working more swiftly, now that the Coalition isn’t subject to the usual rules.”
“The directive from Command says that Holdouts are worth far more than local criminals.” Colin told her. “This guy isn’t ambitious enough to be seriously dangerous. With everything else going on, he doesn’t have time to deal. Or any product, either. We’ve already wiped out all the drug kitchens in town.”
“Colin-” Roderick began to say.
“Go get some coffee.” Colin said it with him, and he turned to leave the room.
“He’s not wrong.” Roderick said, once they were alone again. “We’ve nabbed this guy twice in two months. He’s not exactly Al Capone, you know? The rulebook says to give him the deal.”
“The rulebook is as new to the Coalition as I am.” Gail sighed. “I feel like we’ve been doing this for ten minutes, and a whole lifetime; but…” She pointed through the glass. “Guys like him were the reason I put on this uniform. Men who were making lives harder without breaking any laws? They were bad, but at least the law didn’t try so hard to give drug dealers any wriggle room. I wanted to stop this kind of crime.”
Roderick didn’t hesitate. He grew his gun, spun it around his finger like a cowboy, and held it out to her, handle first. “The rules about Due Process don’t apply to us. You think that guy needs to be gone from the world, there’s nothing to stop you.”
And Gail found herself thinking about it. She’d been in gunfights before. But a straight up execution was something new. Something she’d never done before. Something far more cold and detached.
So what? A little voice said in her mind. This guy’s a parasite on the world. End him. He deserves it.
“It’s your call.” Roderick said plainly. “It’s still your case. If this Bum wants to be added to that file, then what happens to him is your call. You can check his info, but what you give him in return is up to you.”
“So are the consequences.” She commented.
“You’re Coalition. There are no consequences for you.” Roderick said plainly. “No court in the world has jurisdiction. And I don’t know if you’ve heard, but God doesn’t get a say. Right and Wrong are up to us now.” He wiggled the gun he was offering her. “So? What’s the move, soldier?”
Gail tried to feel the same thrill of power that she felt the first time she’d drawn a weapon. It wasn’t there this time. There was nothing but a hollow feeling. She could remember the strength she felt, but now…
“Give him the deal.” She heard herself say. “I have to go make an arrest.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “And I’ll take a team with me. Y’know, in case my gun misfires, or something.”
There was something in her voice that Roderick couldn’t identify, so he didn’t call her on it, but he could tell there was something different percolating in her mind.
~/*\~ Iyara ~/*\~
The whole assembly of Israel’s Army was coming into view along the main roads. They marched, unchallenged, towards Jericho.
Farzin had run the length of the wall, calling the Guard to arms.
Rahab went to the window and tied the red cord from her front door to the window-frame, tossing it out to be visible to anyone passing below. Arjun let her do it, standing at the window, looking out over the oncoming Army.
Sasah was hiding under a table, using it as a shelter. “Get away from the window!” She called harshly. “If they have archers, you’re a target!”
Vihaan and Bodhir sat with Iyara between them, trying to calm themselves, and her. The sound of marching was loud enough as they came closer in full battle formation. As they got closer, they could hear commanders calling the March.
Iyara wriggled free of her brothers and went to the opposite side of the house peering out at the City. Everyone was fleeing the streets. Everyone had a weapon. The only people left visible were the soldiers. Some of them were already pointing their spears at the Gates, waiting for the invasion to come battering its way in. Others were congregated around the Priests, getting the final blessings for the war.
Outside, they could hear horns blowing. The horns weren’t from Jericho.
This is it. Iyara thought.
“This is it!” Arjun shouted as the army reached attack range.
Everyone tensed, waiting for battle to begin. They could hear the soldiers on the wall, shouting orders, warning them to watch for incoming arrows, or ladders to scale the wall…
Iyara held her breath, waiting for the sounds of violence to start. And then she waited. And waited, until she had to gasp for air. The anticipation is the worst part…
The marching wasn’t getting any closer. But it was still clearly audible. The horns never stopped blowing. Arjun peeked around the window again. “They’re not charging. They’re marching, just out of range…”
“They’re not heading for the Gates?” Rahab blinked. “Do they plan to knock a section of wall down somewhere?”
“I don’t see any battering rams, or anything else. Just the soldiers. In fact, I don’t think they have ladders, either.” Arjun reported. “They’re not planning to take the walls.”
“Get away from the window!” Sasah hissed, still hiding under the table.
~/*\~
It lasted for more than an hour. The attacking army marched in full formation around the outside of the city… and then the horns stopped blowing. Everyone tensed again… and then the marching started to fade into the distance.
“They’re… They’re leaving?” Rahab blurted. “I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I.” Arjun admitted. “Perhaps it was a show of force? Something to intimidate us?”
“We were intimidated before they ever got here, father.” Vihaan shook his head. “And it can’t be to get a look at the defences. They already had their spies inside. If they’re going to attack, why start out by showing us their formations, their weapons, their numbers… They brought an army, made sure everyone saw it, and then they left. Why?”
“I have a better question. Why didn’t the City Guard do anything?” Iyara demanded. “They’ve got archers, at least. Israel is walking away, with their backs to us. Now would be the time.”
Sasah glared hard at Rahab, and the red cord; still hanging out the window. “What if they changed their mind?” She demanded. “What if they’ve decided to spare Jericho? What if they looked at our walls and decided it wasn’t worth the losses they’d take?”
Rahab didn’t answer her mother. Bodhir did it for her. “In that event… Rahab’s collusion with the Invaders will come out sooner or later.”
“And that means we’re all dead.” Sasah spat at Rahab. “Because of you.”
~/*\~ Cherry ~/*\~
“I’m hungry.” Jamel said for the fourth time in an hour.
“So am I.” Cherry said, too tired to be annoyed. Neither of them had eaten during Jamel’s detox. Her head had been spinning from low blood sugar. Her hands were starting to shake. Whenever she stood up, the room swam a bit. Jehovah God, we’re not going to make it without food. Please, God…
Somewhere around day two, Cherry started to wonder if this was her answer. Her father, and the meetings she’d gone back to all assured her that Jehovah’s followers would be protected during this turbulent time. My servants will eat, and you will… something. She tried to remember the verse. Except we’re starving right now. Servants of Jah are meant to be safe and protected during this time, and I’m here; starving to death next to my Ex; who’s so shaky from withdrawals that he probably doesn't know his own name, let alone God’s.
This is my answer, isn’t it? She prayed. I asked to be forgiven, and brought into Your house, and this is Your answer. I’m starving to death, surrounded by the consequences of my actions…
There was the crack of breaking glass. Cherry lifted her head, trying to see what it was. There was the sound of something dropping, as though falling off a shelf.
BAM!
There was a concussive slam of noise and light so powerful that it only lasted an instant before she went blind and deaf. She felt the light hit her face like a freight train, and then nothing at all. She was sure there was more, but her brain refused to work. She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear; and her thoughts were too scrambled to understand what was happening beyond the pain she suddenly felt through her limbs.
Am I dead? She wondered in her delirium. Is this it? Divine punishment?
But eventually her thoughts started to make sense of the shapes her body was being forced into as the handcuffs went around her wrists.
We’re caught.
~/*\~
Cherry and Jamel were still mostly-blind as they were dragged out into the street, towards the Prison Van. They couldn’t see Gail there, holding the doors open for them.
Gail didn’t say anything as the two of them were loaded into the back of the Van. She didn’t say anything as she stepped up to the cab, and sat beside Colin, in the driver’s seat. When they were driving back to Headquarters, Colin finally broke the silence. “I owe you an apology. For getting in your face after the riot.”
“Adrenaline. Neither of us were at our best when people were trying to shoot us.” Gail agreed.
Colin nodded. “For what it’s worth, I didn’t know. About you and the Commander. It’s really impressive that you went out in the firing line with the rest of us. Not everyone in your position would have done that. I give you credit for earning your stripes the hard way.”
Gail nodded absently, when her brain caught up. “Wait. What?” She blinked. “What do you mean, ‘not everyone in my position’?”
“Sorry. I put that carelessly.” Colin shook his head, trying to word it tactfully. “I wasn’t aware of… how things stood. With the Commander and you.”
Gail blinked slowly, feeling like she was waking up from a long sleep. “H-He’s been training me. I’m still fairly green. I only joined-”
“Everyone’s Green. The Coalition is brand new. You joined up the same night I did. Me, and about forty others you’ll find in Headquarters. Roderick’s been half a step behind you more than all the rest of us put together.”
She hadn’t thought about it, but now that he’d pointed it out, it was obvious. Roderick had always made time for her. More than the others. “Well… I guess that’s true, but-”
Colin shook his head. “It’s okay. It’s none of my business. Most Commanders have a favorite. Especially in training.”
Gail almost smirked, oddly amused at the idea. “Never been a Teacher’s Pet before.” She licked her lips. “But even so, that doesn’t mean we have to treat each other differently.”
“You telling me that if we actually started throwing punches back there, Roderick would treat us both the same?”
The smile fell off Gail’s face instantly. “No, I guess not. I’m sorry for that, but I don’t control Roderick.”
“I get it.” Colin said simply. “Not my business.”
It was the second time he said that, and Gail suddenly understood. “Oh. That’s what you meant.” She sighed, slumping into her seat. “The Commander and I aren’t like that.”
“It’s none of my b-”
“We’re not.” She insisted. “He’s never even made a move.” Colin said nothing more, and Gail sank into herself further. “Does everyone think that?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I’m just saying, I don’t want any trouble with you.” Colin clarified. “You’ve been the first one to volunteer for a lot of the tough assignments. It’s pretty clear you want to make a career out of this. Of course making friends with superior officers is part of that. It’s like that in every hierarchy.”
Gail said nothing on the drive. I wanted to change things. I wanted to matter. I wanted…
Aloud she asked the other question that had been on her mind. “What happens at Camp 101?”
Colin wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Don’t worry about it.”
~/*\~
The Van arrived at Headquarters soon after. Coalition vehicles were the only ones not pulled over by the checkpoints. Gail was halfway out of her seat before Colin had pulled them to a complete halt. She was marching for the door, as Roderick came out; calling ahead to her team. “Leave them in the Van. We can process them there!”
“Fine.” Gail said. “Can I talk to you privately for a moment?”
Roderick didn’t even get a chance to answer before she marched inside, heading for his office. When he caught up, she closed the door, knowing she was giving the rest of the staff more to gossip about. Gail took a breath. “Are you giving me special treatment? Because everyone else outside that door seems to think so. And I would like to know if it’s the obvious reason.”
“You want to know if I’m grooming you.” Roderick nodded, and she knew he’d been expecting this question at some point.
“I hate that I have to even think about it. But-” She hesitated. “Well, not to brag, but I know how I look. I have to be aware of it. On some level, I’m always on guard, all the time. Most women are. So the ‘What if’ is always there. And I know you’re giving me more attention than everyone else who signed up that night.”
“You’re right. I am.” Roderick said plainly. “I have made something of a project out of you, Soldier. I saw potential. And you’ve done an excellent job. You needed to be pushed here and there, but really, what you needed was the chance. The chance to make the world better. The chance to change the evils that you saw. And when given the chance, you did great.”
Gail felt herself standing straighter, just hearing this speech.
“And if I was able to give you that… opportunity, then you don’t have to feel like you owe me anything… Cammie Smith.”
Gail felt her ‘other name’ hit her like a kick in the stomach. He knows. Of course he does. You’ve seen the files that they had on everyone. Why shouldn’t they have that much information on their own people too? Unless… “Don’t tell me you’re a subscriber?”
“No, but it’s in your background check.” Roderick told her. “We have a wide array of sources we can access. If you’re worried about embarrassment, for yourself, or for us, then you can relax. You’d hardly be the only one to support yourself that way during or after the lockdowns. Before the Coalition, millions of desperate people had to turn to crime to survive. But now… there’s no reason anyone needs to know, is there?”
He is making a move, or at least planning to. She realized. If he was complimenting me on leaving that part of my life behind, he never would have mentioned the name, or used words like ‘owe me anything’ and ‘nobody needs to know’.
“You can trust me, Gail.” Roderick continued, voice going lower and more personal. “I’ve always had your back, haven’t I?”
“You have.” She said quietly.
“And I always will.” Roderick stepped closer, bent his head to speak quietly to her. She couldn’t bring herself to move back as he came a lot closer. “Be discreet with this information: The reason I told your people to leave the Holdouts in the Van? We’re pulling back from this area. This Headquarters was always meant to be temporary, just until the FRA is finished. But the… the Troubles are now so widespread that we can’t secure this area.”
Gail was trying to keep track of which conversation she was having. “What does that mean?”
“It means we’re withdrawing. Getting Reinforcements, and drawing a secure zone. Once the FRA is done, we’ll be able to push back out and restore order to the whole world.” Roderick nodded. “It’s going to be rough in the short term, though. We might have to toughen our skins a bit more; at least for a while. But I’m just highly ranked enough that I’ll always have three square meals a day. So if you’re ever worried, you know you can always count on me, right? We’d have to be discreet; but that shouldn’t be too hard.”
Gail felt her skin tingling, like she’d just been given an electric shock. “Yes sir.” She promised, forcing her face and voice to be even. “And… thank you.”
Roderick nodded, pleased at how it had gone. “Get a final copy of the Most Wanted List, and run off some copies before we shut down the admin wing. We’re farming the Stage Five hunt out to anyone who wants to round up the bounties in our absence. And there’ll be plenty of targets to hit, even after we’ve closed down this base.”
Gail had already pulled up the list. “From what I’m seeing, it’s practically a door-to-door search.”
“Less doors than you think.” Roderick admitted, reaching into this desk and pulling out another, more powerful sidearm, swapping it with the one in his holster. “Everyone who’s not on that list has the Renouncement on display in their homes. It’s not like the Holdouts are hiding themselves well. Everyone knows where they are.”
And yet, they’re the only ones who haven’t been shut down yet.
“What really happens at Camp 101?” Gail asked.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“No.” She told him firmly. “If I’m going to be considered the Teacher’s Pet anyway, then I wanna know what’s going on.”
He regarded her for a long moment. “Well then.” He finally decided. “Why don’t you go yourself and find out? You and Colin can take the prisoners to Camp 101. They’re still your prisoners, after all.”
~/*\~
Eldon was taken out of his cell, but they didn’t bother to cover his head this time, pushing him along, his handcuffs biting into his wrists behind him a little as they marched him out of the building.
Eldon didn’t say anything. Not to them. He’d been praying silently without ceasing since his arrest.
They dragged him out of the building, and tossed him into the back of a dark Prison Van. “Dad!” A familiar voice half-shrieked before his eyes adjusted.
“Wha-? Cherry!?” He called back, feeling someone pressing against his shoulder. It was his daughter, giving him the closest thing to a hug she could, with her hands cuffed to the van behind her. Jamel was right beside her, looking like he’d been through a torture chamber.
His eyes adjusted, and he saw Cherry properly. She looked exhausted and filthy, and her bloodshot eyes were still watering from something. But she was alive, and if she was in the prison van with him, it meant she hadn’t surrendered; which made this the happiest moment of Eldon’s life.
At least, so far.
~/*\~
~/*\~~/*\~~/*\~
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