Through the Killing Glass (11 page)

That made Alice
straighten. ‘Do you think the Biters can be cured?’

‘I’m not sure,
but looking at their behavior closely, I can say that they are more than just
brutes. Yes, there must be some brain damage, but at the very least if we can
curb their aggressive instincts, it would make co-existance much easier.’

Alice
remembered what she had heard from Danish about what has happening in the
American Deadland.

‘Have people
always reacted with so much hatred to those different from them?’

Before Edwards
could reply they saw the helicopter come back for a landing. Vince had been
like an excited child when he saw the prospect of flying again, and he and
Satish had taken off in the captured helicopter for a quick reconaissance
flight. As the helicopter landed, and Satish slipped out and ran toward them.

‘Alice, Arun
doesn’t know how big a mistake he made by having our recon teams pull back. We
barely flew out a hundred kilomteres and I could see more than a dozen Red
Guard APCs on the roads. This is the first time in months they’ve come out in
such numbers..’

Vince was soon
with them as well. His eyes danced with excitement.

‘I thought I
would never be able to fly again. When I was up there, it felt like I could
once again make a difference, that I could once again be worth something.’

Satish slapped
him on the shoulder, and Alice could tell that the earlier frostiness between
the men had gone. Though she was still young, she knew that there was little
that bonded two people more than being in combat together.

‘Alice, the Red
Guards will slowly but surely start taking control over the outlying areas. If
they do, you know how easy it will be for them to form a chokehold over
Wonderland. Thousands died so we could have this freedom, and now we risk
losing all that to petty politics.’

At that,
Edwards scoffed. ‘It’s an old truth. In any war, the soldiers and common people
bleed, and the politicians rule over the rubble that remains.’

A few minutes
later, Satish came running to Alice.

‘It’s Danish on
the radio. He says that Arun and his so-called Cabinet have voted and they want
us to return. He says that Arun wants to talk to us and has a proposal he wants
to put before us.’

Alice exhaled
deeply in relief.

‘Thank
whichever god anyone still cares to believe in that Arun has some sense after
all. Let’s get back to Wonderland. Once we get the doctor and Vince in front of
them they will have to believe our story about the Biters being sent in by the
Red Guards.’

Satish was not
so easily reassured. ‘Alice, I don’t trust Arun one bit. This could just be a
trap. For all you know, he’s calling us back to arrest us and put us up in
front of some court where he acts as judge, jury and executioner. I want to
call my remaining recon boys in so they can go with us.’

Vince tapped
Alice on the shoulder. ‘We will ride in at a place and time of our choosing.
And if there’s trouble, we can always fly away.’

Within an hour
they were joined by eight of Satish’s men who were still patrolling the
Deadland and the captured helicopter took off, its destination the old airport
on the outskirts of Wonderland.

***

Alice noted
with some disappointment that the old airport did not have any guards posted
near it. The runway was still functional and with stealthy helicopters like
these, the Red Guards could have landed a few hundred men there without Arun
and his politician friends even knowing about it.

When their
helicopter landed, Satish ordered his men to fan out and guard the entry points
to the airport. The Red Guards had made extensive use of the airport to fly out
labor for camps in the Mainland and to fly in supplies for their forces in the
Deadland, so the defensive bunkers near the main gate were still there. When
Alice checked, the gun turrets the Red Guards had abandoned after the airbase
had been overrun by Alice and her forces still worked. When Satish was
satisfied that they were in a defensible position, he got on the radio to
Danish.

‘Looking Glass,
this is White Rook. I have the White Queen with me and we’ve flown in to pay a
little visit to Humpty Dumpty.’

The mention of
‘flying in’ gave a surprised edge to Danish’s voice, but he sent a jeep to come
meet them, Arjun at the wheel. He ran towards Alice, relief apparent on his
face.

‘Thank God you
guys are all okay. I was so worried about you being out there without much
back-up. Danish filled me in on the battle but what really is going on?’

When Alice and
Satish had debriefed him, they saw that Arjun looked quite worried.

‘I don’t know
whether Arun and his friends will want to believe that the Red Guards were
behind the Biter attacks. He wants to sign a treaty with them.’

Alice was
dumbfounded.

‘After all
we’ve been through, does he really believe that we can make peace with the
Central Committee?’

Arjun came
close to her so that the Americans would not hear him.

‘Alice, are you
sure you want to take Vince and the doctor in to meet Arun?’

‘Of course,
Arjun! He may not believe me but they have just escaped from the Reds and both of
saw the battle against the Biters the Red Guards flew in. They’re our best
chance of convincing Arun that what we’re saying is the truth.’

Less than an
hour later, Arun arrived at the airport for the meeting. He wore a bemused
expression on his arrival at the defenses they had set up.

‘Alice, surely
you do not think I will try and attack all of you on my own?’

Satish cut in,
‘Given how much trust you have shown in us and the fact that there has already
been an attempt on Alice’s life, we thought we’d prefer to meet on our terms.’

Arun looked at
Satish with a trace of irritation – and then he was all business again, his
smile back.

‘Come on. Let’s
meet inside. I have much news to share with you.’

‘Yes, Prime
Minister.’

If Arun was
irked at Satish’s sarcasm, he didn’t let it show.

Inside, Vince
and Edwards related their stories to Arun. When they had finished, Arun looked
straight at Alice.

‘I have heard
all you had to say. Now, for the sake of Wonderland, hear me out. The Central
Committee has proposed a treaty.’

Alice cut him
off. ‘How can we even think of a treaty with them after all we’ve been
through?’

‘There was a
time for war and warriors, and people like you and Satish did more than anyone
could have asked of you in serving our people. Now it is a time for peace and
for statesmen, and I know more of that world than you do. No enemy or ally is
permanent, but only our interests are. If Wonderland is to survive, we must
learn to adapt and forget past enmities.’

‘What do you
have in mind?’

Arun held up a tablet
that had a message from the Central Committee. Someone called Commissar Hu had
signed it. Alice scanned it, the disbelief in her voice clear when she spoke.

‘Arun, how can
we take their demands seriously? They ask us to stop aggressive actions in the
Deadland when they are the ones attacking and provoking us. They ask us to stop
all contact with the Biters when you know how much we owe the Biters in our war
against the Red Guards. They ask us to open trade routes when you know that
means that they will take what they have always wanted: labor to work their
camps and farms to feed the Mainland. What do we get in return?’

‘Legitimacy.
Alice, let’s face it; the world is in ruins and the only nation still standing
is the Chinese mainland. They would recognize us as another nation, and commit
to a ceasefire. We would get access to their technology; our people would stop
scavenging for food and bare necessities. We could once again start afresh as
civilized people.’

‘Does having
the comforts of so-called civilized living ever make up for the loss of
freedom?’

Arun was now
almost pleading with her. ‘Alice, stop thinking in absolutes. You were born
after The Rising, but before that nations fought great wars and then worked
together driven by pragmatism. We can do the same.’

Alice stared.
There was nothing she could say to convince him.

‘My father used
to say that our willingness to defend compromises with tyrants as pragmatism is
what has led to our ruin time and again. We cannot compromise with the Central
Committee.’

Arun sighed. He
took the tablet back and said, ‘I was trying to convince you because there are
still people in Wonderland who look up to you, and I know how much you have
sacrificed for the people here, but I am not asking for your permission. I am
the elected Prime Minister of Wonderland and I have already agreed to the terms
the Commissar wanted.’

‘Did you even
listen to what Vince and the doctor had to say? Those attacks that killed our
children were carried out by Biters created by the Reds.’

‘Yes, the
attacks were committed by Biters, but there is no evidence that the Red Guards
sent them, and as for your last battle, there is no proof of what you say other
than your own testimony – and we both know you have a vested interest in making
your precious Biters appear clean.’

‘So why did you
want us to come here? What do you want of me now?’

‘You have a
clear choice. Stay with us in Wonderland and abide by the new rules and I’ll
ensure that people don’t pin any blame on you for the Biter attacks. If not,
you will be evicted from Wonderland and I’ll ensure that the Central Committee
knows that Wonderland has nothing to do with you and your actions.’

Alice could
feel Satish reaching for his gun, but she placed a hand on his arm. So it had
finally come to this. After all she had done and sacrificed, she was to be sold
out in a political compromise. Part of her told her to fight the decision, but
she knew that even if she managed to convince some of the people in Wonderland,
more than enough of its residents would side with Arun. The only thing worse
than a false peace with the Central Committee would be open civil war in
Wonderland.

Satish pulled
her aside.

‘Alice, you
cannot seriously be considering what he says.’

When Alice spoke,
she could not look at him. ‘If we go on our own, what will the handful of us
achieve in the Deadland? We cannot free those who want to be enslaved. Our best
bet is to be in Wonderland so that when the time comes, we can at least be of
use here.’

Satish was
furious– but deep down, he knew Alice was right.

***

Back at the
Ladakh airbase, Chen could see the smirk of satisfaction on Hu’s face as he
listened to the barrage of complaints from Li.

‘Comrade
Commissar, send me out again. This time I will smash that White Queen and her
forces! How can we make peace with those terrorists?’

‘Comrade Li,
not every war is to be won with brute force alone.’

But that only
made Li grow more agitated, so Hu stepped closer with a conciliatory wave of
his arms.

‘Comrade, your
raids served their first purpose. The people of Wonderland have a new leader,
one we can work with. They no longer simmer in open resentment of us under the
banner of the Yellow Witch. There will be once again a time when you and your
troops take to the battleground. For now we will open a new front in this war.’

‘What do you
mean, Comrade Commissar?’

Hu looked at
Chen with a broad smile.

‘Comrade
General, our next battle will be one based on lessons we ourselves learnt well
in our history. We will smother them with our kindness, and in that dependence
will be born the seeds of our ultimate triumph over these savages.’

***

Even compared
to when the Red Guards had captured her, Alice had never felt so imprisoned. At
least then her status as a prisoner was clear and she knew that, given half a
chance, she would try and fight her way to freedom. Now she was bound by
invisible straps. Instead of physical chains her shackles lay in the fact that
she was helpless and powerless to help those she most cared about. She knew
that the only way she could still help the people of Wonderland was to be one
of them, not an outlaw in the Deadland. So she stayed in her room and watched
as Wonderland changed around her.

The first sign
of what was to come was Danish radioing her to tell her that the Central
Committee had issued a message aimed at not just the citizens of its Mainland
but also the people of Wonderland. The message said that after much conflict
and bloodshed caused by terrorists and counter-revolutionaries, the
democratically elected government of Wonderland had reached out to establish
peaceful relations with the Mainland. The Central Committee welcomed this move,
as it believed that the last two remaining bastions of human civilization
needed to work together and forget past misunderstandings. It apologized for
the violence that had been caused by terrorist leaders and renegade Zeus
officers and pledged to bring about a new era of prosperity for the people of
Wonderland. It went on to claim that the government of Wonderland had pledged
to not give refuge to Biters.

To Arun’s
credit, he had not tried to defend all that the statement had said, but in the
Council building where this had been discussed he had said that the Central
Committee was catering to its own domestic audience. Looking at him addressing
the large crowd and seeing how they seemed to lap up what he said, Alice learnt
an important lesson: people got the leaders they deserved simply because people
tended to follow those who projected their own fears and aspirations.

That afternoon,
she had an unexpected visitor in the form of Arun.