Dominatus (12 page)

“I told you, Mac, it’s out of my hands at this point.  They’re using what you did yesterday…there’s nothing I can do.”

“Carol, there’s always something you can do.  You can do the right thing.  Taking me in, going after Dominatus, that ain’t it.”

August Hess took a step forward, pointing to Mac as he did so.

“Might I offer us a suggestion?  Mr. Walker, you hand that gun of yours over to one of the other two compliance officers there, and then you and me, we see if I can force you to come with us.  I’ve been cooped up a long time without a proper assignment.  Just not enough people putting up a fight these days, so I’m open to kicking the shit out of you right now Mr. Walker, if that sounds acceptable.  I watched the footage of how you disarmed Officer Denny yesterday.  You still have some quick hands, Mr. Walker.  Let’s see if the rest of you is still as quick.  How about it?”

Carol turned to Hess and then to Officer Chu.

“That’s not how we do things, Hess.  Stanley, you’re not going to allow that kind of thing, are you?  We follow orders.  We follow the law.  We don’t negotiate by offering some kind of fighting match.”

Officer Chu glanced at Mac, then over to Hess, thinking the situation over.  Hess in turn responded to Carol’s words.

“I’ll remind both of you, this situation is my call – not yours.  As soon as a weapon was fired at us, that’s my department.  You’re compliance.  I’m a version of enforcement, right?  So, I’ll decide how this situation resolves itself.  Mr. Walker has already stated he won’t go willingly with you to the holding facility.  I’m giving him an option.  Instead of him drawing his weapon, possibly shooting one of you, I’m simply suggesting he hand over his weapon and him and me, we see whose left standing.  If it’s him, he gets a little more time.  If it’s me, you’re dragging his carcass back to Fairbanks where it belongs.”

Carol Denny’s dispute of Hess’s suggestion persisted.

“No weapon was fired at us.  A weapon was fired.  If he wanted to shoot one of us he could have.  It seems far more likely Keith simply fired it into the air to get our attention.  So, there was no assault.  Therefore, this isn’t your call to make Hess.”

“You’ve grown far too fond of these people, Officer Denny.  It was just a few minutes ago that man lying on the ground there had a gun pointed to my head.  You already manage to forget about that?”

“No Hess, what I remember is you walking over to him and placing yourself directly in front of the weapon.  You created that situation.  And now, you’re attempting to create another situation allowing you to do harm to Mac…to Mr. Walker.  I won’t allow that.  There’s no need for it.”

Both Carol and Hess turned to Officer Chu, who appeared increasingly uncomfortable at having to make a decision.  Nearly a minute passed before Chu once again addressed Mac.

“Mr. Walker, will you hand over your firearm and agree to be transported to Fairbanks with Officer Denny?”

“I will hand you my gun, under protest, but I will not be leaving Dominatus.  You have no right to require me to do so.”

Chu shook his head, his charge gun still pointed at Mac.

“Yes we do Mr. Walker, under the Compliance Laws of the New United Nations as approved by the Great Consulate.”

“I don’t comply with the fucking compliance laws the New United Nations…none of that globalist bullshit.  I serve the United States of America.  I follow those laws, and that Constitution.”

August Hess laughed loudly.

“Oh Jesus, you people and your oh-so-persistent failure to recognize reality!  The New United Nations, that IS reality!  The United States?  Get with the times, Mr. Walker.  That world, your so called Constitution – is long dead!  Now hand over your weapon.”

Mac turned to Hess, his voice a barely audible whisper.

“I accept your offer.  Me and you.  Whether I win or lose, you leave everyone else alone.  Is that right?”

Hess spread his arms wide, the wide toothy grin again spreading across his face.

“You have my word, Mr. Walker.  Just you will be taken, per our orders.   I’ll even let that bag of shit I already dropped to the ground stay here.  If he’s still alive he can go back to whatever pathetic pretend existence this place gives him.”

Mac slowly removed his handgun from its holster and gave it over to Carol, who continued his protest of the proposed combat between Mac and Hess.

“For God’s sake, Mac, he’s got at least twenty years on you!  The man…he’s a fucking killer.  You don’t know what you’re up against.  Please, don’t do this, Mac.  I can contact Anchorage, Seattle, get this situation assigned another review.”

Mac looked down at Carol and smiled, resting a hand on the compliance officer’s shoulder and squeezing it gently.

“You’re a good man, Carol, despite your choice to work for this government. I’m sorry for how I treated you yesterday.  You didn’t deserve that.   If I don’t come out of this thing alright, please do your best to watch after these people, and get them the hell out of here if you need to.  Don’t let it go down like Grant County.  Can you promise me that?”

Carol’s shoulders slumped, realizing he was be unable to prevent Mac from accepting Hess’s offer.

“Yeah, Mac, I’ll do everything I can.  You have my word.”

Mackenzie Walker rose to his full height and turned to face Officer Hess, his eyes flashing like an approaching storm. 

“Son, you might get the better of me today, but it’s gonna cost you.”

August Hess noted the look in Mac’s eyes, the smile quickly falling from his face.

IX.

Mac and Hess clashed in a blur of motion.  Mac’s right palm slammed into Hess’s chin as his left arm blocked an attempted blow from the special operations officer.   Hess’s head snapped back, but almost as quickly he managed to plunge his elbow into Mac’s chest, causing the much older man to stumble backwards, gasping for breath, his face contorted in agony.  Hess followed Mac’s backward motion, delivering a devastating chop into the space between his shoulder and neck.  The blow left Mac propped up by his left elbow on the ground, his breathing now coming in gasps.

August Hess intended no mercy for the seventy-three year old former Navy SEAL, his right foot crunching into the side of Mac’s head, bouncing the right side of his face against the cold hard-frosted earth of Dominatus.

Amazingly Mac retained not only consciousness, but the ability to swing a foot around and dig the heel of his boot into the back of Hess’s right leg, causing him to stumble downward momentarily.  That moment was all Mac needed to grab both sides of Hess’s jacket by the collar and pull it over his head – a move common to the then long-banned sport of hockey.  Mac somehow managed to rise swiftly to his feet in one smooth and continuous motion, his right knee crunching into the forehead of August Hess as he did so.  The younger man fell backward, a groan escaping his now almost completely concealed face.

Mac stepped away from the motionless Hess, his body bent over, both hands braced atop his knees, the sound of his breathing even more labored than it was just seconds before.  I rushed to Mac’s side, placing my arm around his chest for support. 

Mac wrapped his left arm around my shoulder and whispered into my ear.

“Don’t let me fall down…I need to walk away from this.  If I fall, I might not get back up.”

Hess began to stir as Officer Chu leaned over him asking if he was ok.  Carol Denny kept looking from Hess to Mac, his expression betraying the shock and amazement of what he had just seen – Mac Walker had defeated August Hess in a physical confrontation.

“Sonofabitch Mac…”

Mac managed to give Carol a pained smile before turning to Compliance Officer Chu.

“Ok then, I’ll be walking back inside and you all go back to wherever the hell you came from, and get back to me whenever.  That was the deal.  Take my gun, leave a copy of the compliance complaints…and go.”

Stanley Chu held a hand up, indicating he wanted Mac to stay put.

“I didn’t agree to any such thing, Mr. Walker, and you are now guilty of personally assaulting an officer of the New United Nations.  That is a very serious offense and not something that I, as a compliance officer, can simply allow to go unpunished.  I’m sorry, Mr. Walker, but Special Operations Officer Hess did not have the authority to make any agreement with you.”

Like Hess, Keith was also stirring, attempting to sit up.  Ironically, both men displayed a walnut sized lump in almost the exact same location on their foreheads. 

Carol Denny interjected on Mac’s behalf.

“That’s bullshit, Stanley! Hess made the offer.  Mac accepted the offer.  I’m not saying it was right, but that’s how it went down.  You and I both know Special Operations operatives are given a hell of a lot of personal interpretation in how to handle these situations.  It is my recommendation, once again…it is my recommendation we write up the situation report, submit it to the director in Anchorage for review, and await further instruction.”

Office Chu stepped toward Carol, his face flushed in anger.

“You are dangerously close to being cited for insubordination Officer Denny.  I am the ranking compliance officer here, and I say Mr. Walker will be coming with us today.  Either willingly and under his own power, or otherwise.”

Keith had fully regained his feet, and though he appeared less than fully aware of his surroundings, managed to raise his middle finger to Officer Chu.

“Fuck you, Chu.”

I glanced behind me as the sound of quickly approaching snow machines could be heard – though how many was too difficult to tell as the sound repeatedly echoed around us.

Mac smiled and whispered again.

“Here comes the cavalry.”

August Hess was now also back on his feet, though his body swayed noticeably.  It appeared he was in even worse shape than Keith.

The first snow machine came into view, followed by at least ten more behind it.  As they neared a hundred yards to our position, they broke formation, with two going on either side.  Within a few more seconds they had surrounded us. I recognized the massive figure of Bear on one of the machines, and the much smaller form of Dublin on another.  Dublin’s machine continued to slowly make its way toward us, and I noticed she was carrying a passenger.

The Old Man removed himself from the snow machine slowly, Dublin’s hand providing support.  His body, though covered in multiple layers of clothing, still appeared incredibly frail.  Not surprising, of course, for one in their ninety-seventh year of life.

His feet shuffled upon the ground, his eyes watching each of his own steps closely likely out of fear of falling.  Dublin glared across at the government officials, while maintaining steady support for her grandfather as he crept his way beside Mac to face the three New United Nations officers.  When his voice broke the silence, its strength and clarity once again surprised me.

“So!  Tell me, Officer Denny, how is it you are here…with two unannounced guests, no less?”

Carol shifted uncomfortable, glancing over at Officer Chu before responding to the Old Man.

“Mr. Meyer, I assure you sir…I am simply following orders.  I was informed of this visitation just this morning and directed not to communicate to anyone else about it.  I do apologize for…for the intrusion sir.”

“And who then, is responsible for this action, Officer Denny?”

“That would be Anchorage, Mr. Meyer, uh, Officer Stanley Chu here is…he is the ranking compliance officer here today, from the Anchorage office.”

The Old Man peered at Officer Chu, his eyes looking the man up and down.

“Welcome to Dominatus, Officer Chu.  My name is Alexander Meyer.  I assume you are quite aware of who I am?”

Officer Chu nodded his head in greeting, giving an abbreviated smile as he did so.

“Yes Mr. Meyer, I am well aware of who you are.  We are engaged in the business of the New United Nations Mr. Meyer – on orders of the Compliance Director for the Anchorage office.”

“Ah…I see.  Who then is this gentleman to your right?  He looks…rather worse for wear at the moment.”

Officer Chu tipped his head in the direction of Hess.

“That is Special Operations Officer August Hess.  His presence was requested by the director for today’s engagement.”

“Is that what this is, an “engagement”, Officer Chu?  It sounds almost…pleasant.  Tell me then, can you confirm whether or not the A.N.R.C was notified of this engagement, as you call it?  They, like you, have an office in Fairbanks, as well you know.  And as you also should know, I am sure you do of course…that my property, Dominatus, borders recognized Alaskan native lands, yes?  And any police action against this land would most likely require the approval or at the very least the notification, to our neighboring Alaskan native authorities.  Would you not agree, Officer Chu?”

Chu looked to Carol Denny, who in turn nodded his agreement of the Old Man’s statement.

“I believe he’s right, Stanley.  Did you notify the Native Regional Corp. Office before signing off on this?”

Though still clearly feeling the effects of his efforts against Mac, August Hess interjected.

“What the fuck do native Alaskans have to do with us?  We represent the New United Nations. We don’t answer to local government or state government, or to some Alaskan natives group.  WE are the authority.  WE only answer to ourselves.  And why the hell are you listening to this…this…”