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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Captain Jackson Butler was standing in the grand library of the world's richest man.  His orders had been to take over Beck Estates and set up a fortified army base that would serve as the command center for the Rocky Mountain and Pacific states.  The country was falling apart fast, and the Unified National Guard had to regroup and consolidate its forces if they had any hopes of stopping an all-out civil war.  Jackson had given his reports to his commanding officer, Colonel Rutherford.  In them, Jackson had detailed his retreat from Denver and the grave injuries to his XO.  When Colonel Rutherford read that Captain Butler ended up at the front gate of Howard Beck’s estate, he actually vid-conned the captain, certain that it was a joke. In later reports, Captain Butler gave the details of the guesthouse, which was a mansion in itself by any practical standards.  Colonel Rutherford dispatched troops to Captain Butler's command.  The original plans were to first gather enough forces to retake Denver, and then the Joint Chiefs had other plans for Beck Estates.  Once Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Portland fell to angry mobs, it was clear that drastic measures had to be taken to prevent the country from descending into chaos.  Beck Estates was the perfect staging area.  The Joint Chiefs were already having plans drawn for an airstrip to be built on Howard's thousand-acre estate.  In a year's time, the home of the world's richest man would be well on its way to becoming a full blown army base.

Jackson was certain he had built a solid friendship with Howard and that he could convince him to go along with the plan.  Jackson planned on telling Howard a little bit at a time. Once he got comfortable with the first tidbit of information, Butler would slowly break more and more bad news to the man until eventually he would be helpless to do anything at all.  His bright idea was stopped cold.  Howard was standing in front of him having a tantrum like a toddler.  Howard kicked over a table and sent papers and books flying across the room.  Jackson was standing in probably the largest library he had seen in his life.  He remembered the large public libraries from his youth.  There were still a few left in some of the larger cities.  Since most people could fit the Library of Congress on their smartphone, paper books were becoming quite rare.  The last paperback book had been printed in 2022, to be replaced with digital copies only.  The books that Howard had sent flying across the room looked to be very old, and given the man's vast wealth, were probably very valuable.

"Get the hell out of my house! NOW!!!"

 
For the love of God, Howard, why are you making this so difficult?  I have my orders. Surely you know what is at stake.  You insist on doing this the hard way, don't you?  I can tell I'm going to have to make this official
.  Captain Butler had memorized the decree signed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"Howard Beck, by order of the president of the United States, I hereby seize your property, and you will be confined to your suite under armed guard."

Jackson knew this statement would only enrage the old man further.   He suddenly recalled an article he had read about Howard Beck some years ago.  The man has Asperger's Syndrome, which accounted for his driven genius, but it also explained why Howard had come completely unhinged.  People with Asperger’s don’t take change well, especially when it pertains to the place they consider to be their home, a place where they fell safe and in control.

"I'd like to see you try, you stupid grunt!  Old Man!! Lock down the estate! Deny everyone but me access to your systems and deploy security measures immed..."

  When Howard gave the lock down command, the room dimmed and bright lights flashed and flickered in front of the windows.  A shimmering curtain appeared in front of each window, clearly some kind of force field.  A loud alarm wailed throughout the mansion.  Captain Butler immediately forgot about his friendship with the man - his mission was all that mattered.  The fate of countless millions was resting on the occupation of Beck Estates.  He had no choice.  He drew his sidearm faster than a gunslinger, aimed at Howard's head and pulled the trigger.

  A thousandth of a second before the firing pin struck the round, he was knocked off his feet by a force that came from out of nowhere.  He had no doubt that Hal had somehow intervened.  From his prone position, Butler looked over at Top. First Sergeant Bankhead had drawn his sidearm as well; however, the gray-haired NCO quickly suffered the same fate as Butler. Top landed with a thud behind him and groaned. 

Captain Butler blinked his eyes several times and let the shock wear off. "Top!  You alright?"

"Roger that, sir.  What in the blazes was that?  Where's Howard?"

Both men got to their feet; Howard was nowhere to be found.  First Sergeant Bankhead walked over to the double doors of the library.

"Sir, we're locked in."

Captain Butler knew Hal was watching them.  First Sergeant Bankhead nodded in understanding and walked back over to the middle of the room where they had previously been laying.  Both men moved towards their weapons. As First Sergeant Bankhead reached down for his weapon, a puff of air sounded, and Top was sent flying backwards. For a second time, he found himself flat on his back.

"Son of a bitch!" the old man growled as he looked up at the ceiling. 

Captain Butler looked up.  "Hal!  Listen to me!  You have to stop this, now!  Will you please just hear me out?"

  Silence.

"Hal, I know you can hear me, so just listen!  Please!  This is very important.  Millions of lives depend on what we do here today!"

  Silence.

"Hal, please!  Let me talk to Howard and try to explain this.  I know he’s furious with me, and I'm not going to deny that I tried to kill him.  That was the last thing I wanted to do!  Howard is my friend! I know that if I could just have the chance to talk with him I could make him understand."

Silence.

First Sergeant Bankhead looked at his CO.  "Captain, I think it's safe to say that Howard is somewhere watching us right now."

Captain Butler nodded in agreement.  "Howard, please! I can't tell you how sorry I am that things got so out of control.  I couldn't allow you to lock this place down. Howard, a lot of very, very powerful people have big plans for this place.  Stopping us will accomplish nothing.  Keeping us prisoner in this library will only make things worse for you. If you cooperate with us, I promise no one will ever know what happened here today. If you keep us prisoner in here, you will be tried for treason and executed. Think about it. You are, without a doubt, the smartest person I have ever met.  You know I'm right."

Silence.

"Jackson, we have to get out of here.” Top said, “Colonel Rutherford is expecting a status report from you in twenty-five minutes.  In thirty minutes I'm supposed to be meeting with First Sergeant Moore and his platoon sergeants.  If we don't show up, we got maybe ten minutes at best before they start looking for us."

"You hear that, Howard?  Whatever you're gonna do, you got about a half hour to figure it out!!  The clock's ticking!"

Silence.

"What are your orders, sir?"

"We wait.  We give Howard a few minutes and after that we figure out our next move."  Captain Butler's eyes quickly shot around the room.

First Sergeant Bankhead nodded in understanding. “You think he'll let us out?" 

"I honestly don't know.  I'm betting he's having a lot of fun right now, aren't you, Howard?  He's probably just waiting to see what we’ll do when his time is up."

"He's got a minute and some change."

"Top, you remember what I told you after that little girl died at our checkpoint?"

"Sir?"

Captain Butler raised his eyebrows hoping that the man sitting across from him would get the hint.

"Ready when you are, Captain."

"What's it going to be, Howard?  Time's up!  Shit or get off the pot!"

Silence.

Both men wandered over to the table Howard had toppled and began picking up the books that were scattered across the floor.

"You know, Howard, it’s a real shame that you would treat such amazing books like this."  He picked up a worn, leather bound book. 
His Last Bow: A Reminiscence of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
.  Wow!  This must be worth a small fortune.  Real shame you tore the dust cover when you had your little temper tantrum.  You reminded me of my toddler. He acts like that when his brother takes his toys away from him.  Is that it, Howard?  You don't want to share your toys with us?"

First Sergeant Bankhead laughed.  "Yeah!  I thought he was gonna start crying like a baby.  I'm not surprised he ran off like that."

Silence.

The two men locked eyes for a brief second and then flipped the table into the air, sending it flying towards the middle of the room.  The table landed on its side and slid across the hardwood floor, stopping exactly where they had planned.  Before the last book hit the floor, the two men each grabbed a chair and ran towards their pistols.  They could hear puffs of air sending rubber bullets towards them.  A bullet hit First Sergeant Bankhead in the lower back, causing him to collapse onto his commanding officer.  The human shield was all Captain Butler needed. Grabbing both pistols, he aimed one at the computer console on the wall, firing three shots as the console sparked and died.  At the same time, with his other hand, he fired at the red, glowing circle on the wall directly in front of him. 

"Top, you still with me?"

First Sergeant Bankhead rolled over onto the floor and screamed, "FUCK YOU, HOWARD!"

"I'll take that as a yes.  You’re one tough bastard. How many hits you take since we walked in this room?"

"Four.  I'm gonna choke that old geezer when I get my hands on him."

They were both on their backs behind the table.  "Sir, is it safe to get up?"

"I believe so."

They stood up and scanned the room.  "How in the hell did you manage that?  How did you know?"

"You ever see
2001: A Space Odyssey
?"

"Can't say that I have.  What's that got to do with anything?"

"Famous sci-fi movie.  The computer is named the HAL-9000.  They're flying in a spaceship to investigate an alien object in space.  The computer goes crazy and tries to kill the crew.  Howard named his computer after it.  In the movie, the computer can see all over the ship through a glowing red fish eye lens.  That same red lens is in every room in this house, at least the rooms I've been in.  I gambled on that being how Hal can see and hear everything.  I shot it out and for good measure destroyed the computer console just to be safe."

"Best shooting I've ever seen, Captain.  Looks like your gamble paid off."

  "I'm just as surprised as you are, Top.  I'm just glad you caught on to my plan."

After the little girl died at the checkpoint, Captain Butler knew it wouldn't be long before riots broke out.  When he saw that the video had gone viral, he prepared for the worst.  In a vid-con, he told his lieutenants that if the mobs started to crowd the checkpoints, they would need a distraction to draw the crowds away.  When the mob turned to see what was going on, they would hit them with tear gas.  All he needed was for Top to help him provide a distraction.

"So what's the plan now, sir?"

"I have no idea. I spent everything on the stunt we just pulled.  All I wanted was for Hal to stop monitoring our every move so we could come up with a plan.  I had hoped that the force fields in front of the windows would drop, but we aren't that lucky. I have no idea how they operate. Certainly not going to touch it and find out.  We need to figure it out before we proceed."

"Sir, I've had my ass torn apart by rubber bullets."

Captain Butler smiled.  "Top, you’ve done more than enough.  I was thinking about the other occupant of this room."

Top laughed.  "Howard's cat?"

"Let's find her."

 ********** 

Howard Beck was laughing hysterically in the secure sub-basement of the residence. 

"Sir, I hardly think this is funny."

"Relax, Old Man!  You should know they're never going to catch your cat!"

"Sir, they better not hurt my sweet little Nala."

Nala was about the meanest cat Howard had ever seen in his life.  Meredith was the only person she would respond to; after she died, Nala warmed up to Hal for some reason.  Howard was more than amused that his A.I. had grown fond of an animal.  The love affair reminded him of Koko the gorilla and her pet kitten.

Captain Butler and First Sergeant Bankhead were throwing books at the cat.  Nala was on top of a high bookshelf, hissing at the two soldiers.  Howard laughed heartily as the two men tried to wrangle the mean, old cat.  He was certain they would eventually throw in the towel, but they appeared dedicated to the task at hand.

"Sir, please put a stop to this."

"You're no fun Hal!  OK, fine.  You win."

Howard was absolutely thrilled that he was finally able to test his security system.  The two soldiers were the perfect test subjects. 

Howard clicked a button and began to speak to the men for the first time since he departed the room.