A New World 10 - Storm (4 page)

“So, he’s active duty, then?” Lynn queries further.

“As far as I know, yes. I don’t know how he got here, but he was when I last saw him.”

Lynn nods. “What did you need?”

“I came to tell you that the security station is manned and we’ve managed to get the cameras Captain Walker messed with back up and running,” the man reports.

“Very well,” Lynn nods.

The man turns to leave, but looks over his shoulder and gives a small wave to his friend. “Later, man.”

Well, that’s at least a positive sign
, I think, watching the exchange.

It may not change things much and it all depends on whether they were complicit or not. As I mentioned to Lynn earlier, Nahmer was good at keeping secrets, but soldiers are good at ferreting them out. It’s hard to believe that they don’t have an inkling of what was happening here. I guess it’s time to figure that out.

“Who’s in charge here?” I call out over the group.

Heads that hadn’t risen to look at Lynn and me do so at my shout. They all turn and look across the others in an apparent search for who is in charge, or perhaps to see who is left. I notice one of the men seated near the front look down the line. He winces, perhaps from looking at how their numbers have dwindled, or perhaps from seeing who among them is missing…maybe some that were his friends. I certainly understand that expression and I’m sure that I would be wearing the same if the situation were reversed. Everyone has lost someone…friends and family.

“I guess that would be me,” the man finally states with a half-raised hand.

“And you are?” I ask.

“Sergeant Montore,” he answers.

“Come with me,” I state.

He grimaces as he rises and I note several scratches of varying depths with streaks of dried blood across one side of his face. Lynn, Sergeant Montore, and I walk away from the group to talk privately.

“Okay, I’ll come right to the point. What are you doing here? What was your mission?” I ask, staring directly at him, briefly noticing how much he looks like Drescoll.

“We are, or were, the security force for this installation,” Montore answers.

“Do you know what this facility was used for?”

He stands and looks me in the eye, saying nothing.

“Oh, come on. Surely you know what has happened in the world. Those kinds of secrets are long past. We already know what happened here. I’m trying to ascertain what you know,” I state.

He pauses. “Well, it is a command and control facility for what remained of the government and was meant to oversee the reconstruction of it. If I may be so bold, sir?” he says, noticing the bars on my collar, “You’re obviously military, or were. What are you doing attacking a government installation?”

“Do you know what the overseers of this facility were up to?” I ask, ignoring his question.

“You mean besides providing a centralized command and control function?”

“Yes, besides that,” I say, my impatience growing. I feel that we’re beating around the bush, or maybe he really doesn’t know what was going on.

He searches my face, attempting to penetrate my meaning.

“Is there anything other than that? You’ve seen the control center so you know that’s the case…sir,” he adds as an afterthought.

Either he is holding out, which is entirely likely, or he really doesn’t know.

“Let’s go at this from another angle. What if I told you that the people running this facility orchestrated the downfall?” I say, looking closely for any indication that he knows something; some betrayal of his expression.

He gives a small snort and scoffs.

“Do I look like I’m joking around, sergeant!?”

Lynn, sensing my rising irritation, lightly puts a hand on my arm. It’s not really that I’m frustrated with the man standing in front of me; it’s the whole situation. The sergeant didn’t give a single hint of recognition that I had discovered a secret he was supposed to be keeping. Either he’s really good at concealing his subconscious reactions, or he just flat doesn’t know.

Turning to Lynn, I ask, “Would you please go get Harold and have him bring the files pertaining to the vaccine.”

Lynn hesitates. “You good, Jack?” she queries.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just tired and frustrated,” I reply.

She leaves, giving a quick backward glance. I turn to Montore who absentmindedly runs his hand along the injuries on his cheek. I’m not sure what is going through his mind. Perhaps he’s wondering if I’m for real, but what he’s about to find out may shatter his world. It’s going to be a lot for him to take. I know it was for me.

“I want to believe what you say, sergeant,” I say. “I truly do.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, sir. I can’t believe that what you are alluding to is true.”

“Just wait, then. If you truly don’t know, then I’ll warn you to prepare yourself for what you’re about to learn.”

Lynn returns with Harold in tow, carrying a few folders under one arm. I introduce Montore to Harold, providing a little of his background.

“Harold, would you give Sergeant Montore here a brief rundown of what happened, from the beginning? And I mean it. Keep it brief, but include the details,” I state.

“Sure, Jack,” he says, pausing to collect his thoughts.

He then tells the story of what we discovered, pulling papers from the files to reinforce his statements. Lynn throws in the occasional detail, such as the assassination attempt and our own losses. We also cover the loss of Greg’s team by one of their companies and their subsequent destruction at our hands. Montore listens to the tale with a look of increasing amazement as the story unfolds. I study his expressions from the side, out of his line of sight, searching closely for any sign that he is hiding his involvement with the people that ran the facility. I see nothing. The only thing I note is a frown when Lynn mentions the destruction of the company.

Several times, Montore asks to see a sheet that Harold refers to in support of the story. The conversation pauses as he reads through it, handing it back to Harold without a word. Even though I said to keep it brief, there is so much to tell that it takes some time to finish. Harold, almost out of breath, finally brings his report to a close. In the aftermath, there is a pregnant silence. A chill surrounds the four of us that can’t be wholly attributed to being within the underground facility.

“Damn…seriously?” Montore says, staring at the group of folders in Harold's grasp. “That’s, well, that’s really fucked up. Excuse my language, sir. We were so close to…all of this, and knew nothing.”

“One last question, sergeant. Are you all current military?” I ask.

He looks me in the eye, his expression still stunned. “Yes, sir. I mean, except for the civilian technicians, we were all assigned here.”

His statement and the way he is taking the news convince me that he’s being honest. The fact that one of our own team members knows one of the other soldiers also adds weight.

“Harold, would you mind giving the story again, this time to the whole group? That is, if you have any wind left?” I ask.

Harold readjusts his folders and nods. The four of us walk back to the group sitting on the floor. Standing in front of them, Montore shouts over their heads.

“Listen up. What you are about to hear is going to be hard to believe, but you need to pay attention. Keep your questions to yourselves and we’ll have an answer session at the end.”

He nods to Harold, who begins retelling the story. At the end, they all stare, stunned beyond compare that they could have been a part of what they just heard. They are so shocked that none of them ask any questions. Though there are over three hundred people gathered, there is not a sound to be heard. I’m sure they are even holding their breath, each and every one. I pull Montore aside with Lynn.

“Okay, here’s the deal. I honestly don’t know what to do with you. I’ve at least eliminated one of my choices. We appear to be on the same side, regardless of what circumstances might have been. However, we did exchange fire with loss of life. There are some who are going to hold some resentment over losing friends and comrades…including you,” I say.

“Sir, if you don’t mind my asking, what choice did you eliminate?”

I just stare at him, letting the silence provide his answer.

“I see,” he continues. “I understand and am glad that possibility isn’t on the table anymore.
I'm not going to pretend that I'm not sad at losing friends and part of my squad. But, after hearing what we were protecting, I get why you did what you did, sir. I have to admit that it’s not a very good feeling suddenly finding out that you’re the bad guy, or at least running ops for them. We're supposed to be the good guys. It's a pretty fucked up situation any way you look at it. Having said that, I'm comfortable with whatever you decide. Unless that still means a bullet to the head. I don’t think I’d like that decision much. The guys may be upset now at losing friends, but I feel the more upsetting factor is learning what was going on under our noses. They'll also be okay with whatever you decide.”

“Then let’s talk trust factor. How well do you know these soldiers? What will they do?” I ask.

“I can’t speak for everyone, but I trust the remaining squad leaders, and I know that the men and women will follow their lead,” he replies.

“Very well, Sergeant. Thank you. If you’ll wait for us by your men, I’d like a word with Sergeant Connell.”

Watching him walk away, I feel my exhaustion creeping back.

“Well, what do you think?” I ask Lynn once we’re alone.

“I believe he’s telling the truth. I don’t think they knew what was going on here,” she answers.

"How far do you think we can trust them?”

“That’s a different story. They’re soldiers and more than likely stunned beyond belief. However, we did just engage them, and killed or wounded friends of theirs. And don’t forget we wiped out a whole company from the air. While they may understand, they’re still going to be upset and some may carry residual resentment. Now, that may be directed at those who ran this place. But, as they won’t be able to focus that toward them, some of it could come back to us. I don’t know.”

“That’s my feeling as well. We just don’t know. It sure would be a boon to us if we could incorporate them into our group, but I’m not sure we can take the chance. We’re hanging on by our fingernails as it is and we don’t need any distractions that could arise from it. I’m thinking we keep Montore and those he definitely trusts with us. That’s a risk, but we could use some help. We contact the others who are holding out and disperse the troops among them. Not enough at any given place to overcome them, but enough to help,” I say.

“I think that’s the best solution, and it feels right. These were just soldiers doing their job,” she states.

I turn sharply toward her.

“Now, before you go getting your panties in a bunch, you know there’s a difference between being complicit in an operation, knowing the facts, and being misled into something,” she forestalls.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I just hate hearing that used as an excuse.”

“I know, Jack. I know.”

I wave Montore back to us.

“Here’s the problem I’m having, sergeant. If we were to fold you into our group, you’d outnumber us. Although I hate to say it, I have to maintain the integrity of our group,” I state.

“I understand,” he responds, but I can see the tension build around his eyes.

I outline the current state of affairs as we know them, including the rules we maintain and would expect them to abide by.

“We’ll be incorporating some of you into our group. Sergeant Connell here is the First Sergeant and you will report to her. Any sign of trouble will have dire consequences, until trust can be established on both sides,” I brief.

As close as we are to the brink of extinction, and need every survivor, we can’t afford trouble.

Continuing, I state, “There are other groups of survivors scattered across the western part of what used to be the United States. We’ve been in contact with some of them and we’re contemplating dispersing some of your men to those camps, provided the camp leaders agree to take you. We’ll be in continual contact with them and the same rules apply. Everyone has to agree to these stipulations.”

“I don’t think you’ll have any problems with that, sir. Or with any of us.”

“We’re not going to arm you until we see to the disbursement, and in your case, not until we return to the compound. Until then, we’ll keep you together and under guard. It’s not anything personal.”

“I understand, sir. What about the civilians?”

“We’ll decide what to do with them when we decide what to do with the facility. For now, they will stay with you.”

Montore nods his understanding.

“Okay, brief your men and see to your injuries. We have a couple of medics who can help,” I say.

With that, Montore heads back to the gathered soldiers to brief them. I feel a little better about arriving at a decision, believing it to be the correct one, but I’m still a little wary about incorporating a group we were fighting just a few hours ago. Still, I don’t get the impression that the sergeant is hiding anything. Judging from the reaction of the soldiers, it seems they were unaware of what they were protecting. That kind of collusion would require everyone to get together and get their stories straight. Although they could have had a contingency story in case of capture, someone would have given it away from their reaction, and I was watching closely.