The Apocalypse Script (47 page)

Disparthian had strongly
recommended that any radios and electronics not immediately needed
be kept in the cave in one of the armored rooms to preserve them
against the anticipated Electromagnetic Pulses, pointing out that
all equipment in the command center would be put permanently out of
commission once the EMP hit. Ben had agreed, and further directed
that all electronics of value in the hotel be moved to the cave and
similarly protected. Televisions were of dubious value but
computers would still be needed, as would far simpler items, such
microwave ovens and even stereos.

The new king also ordered that a
team of Disparthian’s choosing be assigned to record and timestamp,
in journals, events as they unfolded.
Paper
journals. Ben planned to
compare what was observed to what the scripts called for and check
for any discrepancies. If asked why he was doing this, he wouldn’t
have been able to provide an answer, but his instincts were that at
some point in the future the analysis would be of value. He would
at least have a written record for posterity of the events that
occurred the day humanity was pushed into the abyss.

After inspecting a map of the
local area, Ben and the Peth had identified the best locations for
roadblocks, bunkers, and observation towers. Knowing they would
probably not be operational after the EMP attacks, all cars, vans,
and small trucks were being placed at strategic points on the roads
leading to Steepleguard. The vehicles would not fully block the
roads but would force anyone approaching the hotel to zigzag
between them in full view of distant observation points. The
semi-trailers would be used by sentries to eat, sleep, and store
weapons and ammunition at in remote locations. One had been sent to
the park where Ben had picnicked with Lilian and Fiela just days
ago. The overlook was an ideal position for an observation
post.

Once a vehicle was put in place, a
record was made of what kind of fuel it used and how much remained
in its tank. Some of the fuel would work in the high-tech, EMP
shielded generators that partially powered Steepleguard and the
remainder might be needed for other purposes. Having an accurate
record of available resources would, thought Ben, be vital in the
months ahead.

“
Anax,” said Disparthian,
returning to the command center after a prolonged absence, “the
praetors of Moros and Nizrok have arrived.”

Ben was sitting in a folding chair
that faced the door, smoking a cigar. Disparthian’s men had found a
box of them in the car with Nizrok’s corpse earlier that morning.
Both Nizrok’s and Moro’s bodies were lying on steel shelves in the
cave’s small mortuary. The smokes were unmarked but they were
maduros and had the taste and pull of really good Cuban cigars. The
new king had cut down on his cigar habit over the past year but the
end of civilization seemed a worthy excuse to light one
up.

“
You’ve shown them the corpses and
explained the situation?” he asked.

“
Yes, and five of the praetors
acknowledge my authority as Supreme Lord of Peth-Allati. They have
already issued orders that all their troops immediately embark for
Steepleguard.”

“
How many will make
it?”

Disparthian shook his head.
“Perhaps half will make it here before the collapse. Some are at
very remote locations. There is no script for this movement and
international tensions are high. There is talk of war around the
globe and many areas are quarantined because of Cage’s disease. All
but the largest airports are closed.”

“
So five legions are committed,
but only half will make it here. That’s twenty-five hundred
soldiers, if we’re lucky. Yours are on the way?”

“
Yes, Anax. They will be here
before nightfall. I had to delay their movement as long as
possible, to avoid raising Moros’s suspicions, but each started
their journey yesterday afternoon, and more importantly, their
movements were scripted, so there will be no obstacles.”

The researcher considered this.
“That gives us seventy-five hundred men. We’re going to have to
find a place to house them.”

“
I already have scouts exploring
options, Anax.”

“
Good,” said Ben, though he was
also worried about feeding the new arrivals. He’d have to do the
math later and see how long the cave’s rations would last with that
many mouths to feed. He said, “What about the other five praetors,
the ones who will not commit?”

“
They demand to communicate with
their kingdoms for orders.”

“
Well, that’s no good. I doubt the
other Houses will give up their armies voluntarily.”

Nodding, Disparthian said, “If you permit it, Anax,
I will release them.”

“
Do you think that’s smart? If
they aren’t our friends, I have to assume they are our enemies. Or
will be.”

“
Perhaps, but they are not being
unreasonable. I do not wish to condemn them for their masters’ sins
against us. They are praetors, Anax. I know many of them and they
are good and honorable men and women. That they would seek their
regents’ guidance before joining a rogue kingdom is
understandable.”

Ben laughed. “A rogue kingdom. Is
that what we are?”

“
For now.”

Ben drew on the cigar and watched
the smoke dance as he exhaled. “Detain them until three o’clock and
then have them taken back to Denver. That will give them four hours
to contact their Families. That won’t be enough time for them to
act against us, will it?”

The Peth shook his head. “No. It
will take longer than that for the Families to decide what to do,
and even if they issued orders for the praetors to summon their
legions and march on Steepleguard, it would be impossible,
logistically, for them to get here before the collapse. The Peth
are spread across the globe. In theory, those in North and South
America might make it here, eventually, but not as an organized
army, and by then I think it more likely than not that they would
join us instead of fighting us.”

“
Good. Where are these courts,
anyway? I mean, where are the kings and queens actually seated?
Where do the scribes do their work?”

“
They move frequently, Anax. The
world is their kingdom, after all. But most recently, Moros’s
Family held court in Morocco and Nizrok’s in Warsaw,
Poland.”

“
Yours?”

Disparthian gave him a curious
look. “Here, Anax. My king and queen are seated
here
.”

Ben took a moment to step out onto
the high balcony that floated on the edge of the turret. He
breathed in the fresh mountain air and marveled that for the first
time in almost a week the skies were a pure, crystal blue. It
seemed wrong that it should be so, given what would happen later
that day, but he reminded himself that weather was a local event
and while the skies had cleared over the Rockies the storms
Steepleguard had endured were now hitting the Midwest.

As he admired the mountains and
meditated on what needed to be done, Lilian appeared next to him.
She was wearing a white mink jacket over a dress that appeared to
have been spun from gold. There was a bandage on her lower jaw, the
flesh around it a dull purple.

“
Good morning, Mutu,” she said,
rising on her toes to kiss his cheek. “You appear to be making good
progress.”

“
Yeah, I think we’ll be ready by
this evening.” He lifted her chin. “So, you’re minus a
tooth?”

She nodded. “It wasn’t a challenge
for the dentist. It practically jumped out of my mouth. He said
everything else looks fine. It was, at least, a back
tooth.”

“
You’re feeling okay,
then?”

“
Yes. I’m very well.” Looking into
the command center, she said, “I will have dinner sent to you and
your team.”

“
You don’t plan
to be here? I thought that you would want to witness…you
know.
The end
.”

“
No. I want to focus on the
future. I will leave this to you and Diz.”

Diz.
That
was what Lilian called Disparthian, Ben had learned. He wondered
whether the man’s other acquaintances called him that or whether it
was a more intimate nickname, mindful of the fact that Disparthian
had come to Lilian’s aid the evening before. How old was their
alliance, exactly, and was it merely strategic?

“
What do you have planned?” he
asked.

“
Do not think me evil,” she
answered, “but I think I shall arrange for some music in the
ballroom.”

“
Music? Tonight?”

“
Tonight, yes. I’m sure you think
it is ghoulish, but it will give the residents of Steepleguard
something to do other than stew on what is going on in the outside
world. Remember, they did not plan the approaching cataclysm. They
have friends and family who will die in the days to come. They have
lost their homes and live here as guests. You have busied yourself
here and so will not have noticed that the mood is quite somber
below. The children sense this melancholy and are growing
afraid.”

Ben hadn’t thought of that. The
fact was that among Steepleguard’s four hundred or so residents
there were at least a hundred children of various ages already
traumatized by the attack on the hotel. The fetches, too - he had
given up on calling them servants, since no one else did - were in
shock.

Earlier that morning Ben had told
the Ardoon workers who had come to Steepleguard for the reception
that the roads to and from the hotel were blocked by National Guard
troops pending an investigation of the previous night’s attack,
which he hinted were the actions of a drug cartel. No one could
leave Steepleguard unless given special permission to do so by the
Governor.

He took the lie a step further by
claiming he had worked out a deal with said Governor to fly any
immediate family from Denver or nearby cities to Steepleguard, free
of charge, to wait out the investigation, assuring all the stranded
workers that they would be compensated for lost wages.

It was a fiction that would not
hold up to close scrutiny but it was the best he could do on such
short notice. He wanted to save as many of the workers and their
families as possible from what was coming and toward that end he
was gratified to learn that many of them had accepted his offer.
Even now, a helicopter was landing on the helipad with two
additional families aboard. Eight had arrived since sunrise.
Tonight, if any of the workers demanded to be returned home, he
would grudgingly accommodate them.

He had also dispatched a team of
four Peth to Denver to collect a small group of friends and
associates and their families. He had called each of them
personally and offered a variety of enticements, to include money,
fame, and some more sordid things he wasn’t proud of. Most seemed
reluctant to travel to Steepleguard on such short notice. It might
be able to recover them after the collapse, of course, but doing so
would be far more difficult.

Tomorrow, Steepleguard would be locked down.

“
You’re right,” he said. “Better
that we give them something else to focus on. What about
Fiela?”

Lilian grunted. “She keeps trying
to get out of bed. She claims she feels no pain and accuses the
physicians of drugging her for unspecified but nefarious purposes.
She has made veiled threats against them and they are,
understandably, nervous. A scalpel is unaccounted for.”

Ben snorted a laugh. “I’ll go talk
to her.”

“
Thank you, Mutu. She is demanding
to come here to the command center but the doctors say that the
stress of this day’s events would be too much for her. They will,
however, allow her to attend my performance tonight on condition
that she remains seated in a wheelchair.”

“
Even that’s incredible. Last
night she was fighting for her life!”

“
Peth are incredibly resilient,
physically. Fiela more so than any other. She once dragged herself
five miles to a safe house in some Eastern European country only to
fall dead right at the doorstep. There was hardly any blood left in
her, according to the medic who attended her.”

Ben grimaced. “What
happened?”

“
Both her legs were broken, one in
two places, and she’d been stabbed in the stomach. I don’t recall
all the details but it had something to do with a fight on top of a
building that became a fight at the bottom of a building. Her
opponent did not fare as well.”

“
Good Lord!”

“
Yes, but she was revived and
walking again in three weeks.”

The man looked at her disbelievingly. “That’s not
possible, Lilian.”

“
Fiela’s a
very
special
girl,” the woman said, looking at him earnestly. It appeared
she might say something else but she instead turned to face the
mountains.

Ben listened to the wind gently ruffling the leaves
of the trees around them and the sound of the birds and said,
“Ridley is gone, but his script continues to run, doesn’t it?”

“
What do you mean?”

“
I mean there was a bloody
shootout here last night and dozens of Ardoon spectators with
phones but we haven’t had a single visitor. No police, no
distraught family members, and no news helicopters. It’s like last
night didn’t even happen.”