New America 02 - Resistance (2 page)

Richard had been gone on
the three-week tour to ascertain the battle readiness of the PSA’s army.  The UAE had left them alone for the past few months.  They had their hands full with The Silent Warriors, a stealth regiment of Muslim warriors the Great Empire of Iran had sent to infiltrate America prior to the Collapse of 2027.  The Silent Warriors were comprised of small terrorist cells that had no communication with each other.  Their mission was simple: to wreak as much havoc on the American people as possible.  The Great Empire of Iran had unleashed the final, crippling blow that guaranteed the Collapse of 2027.  Iran called the event “The Star of Allah.”  A nuclear warhead was detonated high in the atmosphere over the Eastern Seaboard.  The resulting electromagnetic pulse destroyed every electronic circuit from the East Coast all the way to the Mississippi Valley.  The UAE, along with the American people, refused to adopt the name given by Iran and instead referred to the event as “The Pulse.”  It was the perfect cover for the Silent Warriors as they came out of hiding and attacked the nation with unrelenting force.  Reconstruction efforts, under the supervision of Regional Governor Jackson Butler, had a difficult time restoring the infrastructure of The Pulse Zone.  Governor Butler was able to make gradual progress, taking two steps forward and one step back to deal with The Silent Warriors.  Richard was thankful for the diversion; it gave the Pacific Army time to prepare a critical blow against the UAE. The final hurdle was convincing Howard that the idea was a sound one.

The elevator came to a stop on the command level
, and Richard made his way down the corridor to his quarters.

“Hal, inform the president that I’m going to take a moment to settle into my quarters and I will be with him shortly.”

“Very good, sir.  General, I have some news to share with you.  Would you like to hear it now or wait until after your meeting with the president?”

“Depends. G
ood news or bad?”

“Very good news, sir.”

“By all means, go right ahead.  I just need to change clothes and freshen up.”

“Yes, sir.  Per your request, I have been monitoring all channels of communication within my grasp for any reports on the slave trade.”

“Haven’t heard anything in months. What’ve you got?”

“Well, sir, the UAE has turned a blind eye to the slave trade
in the past, as you know.”

“Of course, they have much more important things to do than stop
human trafficking.”  Richard gritted his teeth in anger.

“This morning, the UAE rel
eased a directive to all eight regional governors to investigate and apprehend any group or individuals believed to be involved in the sale or transfer of slaves.”

“Why the sudden interest?”

“Sir, it seems that Regional Governor Weygandt lost two grandchildren to slave traders.  The children wandered off from a local park, and a nearby resident witnessed their kidnapping.  Governor Weygandt deployed his forces and rescued the children a few hours later.  The slave traders were brutally tortured, and their corpses were hung from a bridge to serve as a warning.”

“Well, at least now we’ll be getting decent intelligence on the slave trade.  Hal, I
want every single detail sent to my tablet for review.  If you come across any credible information about Chrissy, I want you to notify me immediately.”

“Of course, sir.”

Richard had spent much of his children’s lives behind bars.  Eight years prior, the ex-Navy SEAL had walked into the church nursery to pick up his children, only to find the caregiver masturbating as a group of innocent children, sans clothing, played in front of him.  Richard brutally murdered the old man in front of his own son.  While he was in county lockup awaiting trial, Richard discovered that his ex-wife had become a drug addict and was putting his children’s lives at risk.  He escaped from prison in an attempt to rescue them.  During his time as a fugitive, Richard was responsible for the accidental death of a hiker.  He was sentenced to twenty-five years at a supermax prison for his crimes. 

During the C
ollapse of 2027, Richard was able to escape yet again and make his way to Denver to collect his children.  He located his son, but the joyful reunion was short-lived when he discovered that his daughter, Christina, had been sold to a man for the cost of a tank of gas. Richard had no leads as to her whereabouts.  With nearly half the country plunged into darkness thanks to The Pulse, finding her became next to impossible.  The Unified American Empire restricted travel with various roadblocks and checkpoints, so Richard wouldn’t make it far unless he knew the right people and what they would find valuable as a bribe.  His best course of action was to use the resources at Beck Castle to find credible information that might lead him to his missing daughter. 

Richard had spent most of his life harboring distrust and disdain for his fellow man.  During his time
with the Navy SEALs, he traveled the world and saw firsthand the level of depravity to which mankind could sink.  Richard was not naïve enough to think America could avoid the descent to third-world-country status after the collapse; he was, however, shocked by the rapidity of its decline. In eighteen months’ time, the slave trade was a booming industry.  Men, women, and children of all races were captured by slave traders and forced into manual labor to rebuild the broken areas of The Pulse Zone.  The UAE gladly turned a blind eye to the slave trade; by employing slaves, the brutal crime lords were actually accomplishing the reconstruction they had difficulty doing themselves. It was rumored that the regional governors were secretly hiring the slave traders.  Richard wholeheartedly believed the buzz because the UAE made no attempt to squash it.  Now that the grandchildren of one of the regional governors had been captured by the slave traders, the matter suddenly had monumental importance.  It was just the break Richard had been waiting for.

With a quick shower and fresh clothing boosting his spirits, Richard
exited his quarters and made his way to the command center.  He was looking forward to seeing his son but didn’t want to pull him out of school.  “Hal, what time does my son go to lunch?”

“Eleven thirty, sir.”

“When he breaks for lunch, have him return to our quarters.”

“Of course, sir.”

Richard stopped outside the command center and waited for Hal to announce his arrival.  Howard did not stand up to greet him as he entered; he didn’t even take his eyes from the screen before him.

“Hal tell you the good news?”

“Yes, Mr. President.”  Richard was accustomed to Howard’s lack of social graces.  He’d given up trying to shake the man’s hand since he seldom returned the gesture.

“Richa
rd, what have I said about the ‘Mr. President’ nonsense?”

“
I wasn’t aware you’d resigned.” Richard smirked, enjoying the friendly banter.

“I haven’t resigned!  I just hate all the fancy protocol!”

“It was a joke, Howard.”

“Not a very good one.”

“I’ll try harder next time.”  Richard enjoyed giving the president a hard time.  He had become very fond of the man in the last eighteen months.  Howard Beck was the most brilliant man he’d ever known.  He could expound upon any number of things, and it would immediately go so far above Richard’s head that the man might as well have been speaking Greek.  Richard loved to aim subtle sarcasm and humor at Howard and watch the genius struggle to comprehend it; it wasn’t the same, but it was fun to turn the tables on him.

“Richard, before you tell me what’s on your mind, I want to talk to you about something.”

“Sure.”

“Max thinks I’m just being paranoid, but I have concerns about the security of Beck
Castle.”

“You are paranoid, Howard, but t
hat’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

“I’m growing concerned that security is becoming too lax down here.  We have far too many civilians living here.  If I had my way, we’d empty out this place of all non-essential personnel.”

“Howard, you can’t run the PSA by yourself.  The entire staff down here is dedicated to keeping our country together.  You can’t ask them to live here full time without their families.  The refugees we took in after the collapse have nowhere to go; we can’t just evict them.”

“You sound like my son.”

“Well, he’s right, you know.  What exactly are you afraid of?  Everyone granted access to Beck Castle undergoes extensive security checks.”

“That’s all well and good, Richard, but what happens if a Silent Warrior or a UAE spy manages to get down here?
  We’ll lose everything.  All our accomplishments will be for nothing.”

“Howard
, the only thing we can do is continue to be fiercely vigilant in our screening process.”

Howard gave
up and changed the subject.  “You have any plans for this coming Monday?”

“I’m sure I do.”

“Want to come to Seattle with me?”

“Not particularly. W
hy?”

“Senator Wilson is having a banquet or some nonsense.”

“You mean you’re actually going?  I’m shocked.  Don’t recall you ever going to any social function.”

“I h
aven’t, but my son won’t stop badgering me about it.  He keeps insisting that I’m an inspiration or a symbol of something.  I don’t really understand the point.  I figure if I go to one he’ll leave me alone for a while.”

“He’s right, you know.  The people want to see their president.”

“Will you come with me?”

“Have you asked Max?”

“Not yet, but I want at least one of you to go with me.”

“If he doesn’t want
to go, I guess I’m your man.  Is Max here?  I’d like to talk to both of you.”

“I’m not sure.  Hal?”

“Director Harris is in his office, sir.  Would you like me to summon him?”

“Please.”

“Very good, sir.”

***

Maxwell Harris sat at the
cramped kitchen table next to his wife, Elizabeth, sipping his lukewarm coffee as she breast-fed their four-month-old son, Thomas.  Max was studying the holographic read-out projected above his tablet and making plans for the day.

“Busy day?” asked Elizabeth.

“Very.”

“How’s your leg?”

“Same.”

Elizabeth leaned forward and put her hand on her husband’s.  “What’s wrong?”

Max’s smile was perfunctory, betrayed by the exhaustion in his eyes. “Nothing, sorry.  Didn’t sleep very well last night.”

“Don’t know what you’re complaining about, silly.  I’m the one that got up with your son three times.”

“I know you did, Momma.  I’m just feeling cooped up living underground.  I’d like to get some fresh air and see the sun for a change.”

“Y
ou’re the one in charge of security; no one can stop you if you choose to break your own rules.”

“Gotta set the example, but it’s still hard
.  We can’t have people coming and going as they please; we gotta keep the location of this place a secret.”

“I know. S
o what’s the plan for today?”

“I have a few reports to follow up on.  I got an anonymous tip that Janet Smith is being beaten by her husband.  She has a black eye and made up some story at
the infirmary about tripping over some misplaced furniture.”

“Anonymous?  How is that possible with Hal watching our every move?”

“It’s not.  The first thing I did was have Hal play back the security footage in the hallway in front of my office.  Turns out Janet’s neighbor slid a note under my door.”

“What are you gonna
do?”

“It’s no different from when we were cops in Texas.  Can’t do much if Janet doesn’t press charges.  She’ll more than likely side with her husband out of fear and continue with the lie.”

“I know you better than that, Maxwell.  You’re not going to just drop this.”

“I’ll
tell Mr. Scumbag that his landlord will boot his ass up to the surface if he doesn’t get his act together. That’ll get his heart right real quick.”

“You can also tell him that if I so much as see one scratch on Janet, he’ll have to deal with me.”

“Well, my dear, you are the muscle in our gang.”  Max shot her a mischievous grin.

“I don’t know about that.  You can whoop some serious ass with that cane.  Maybe we can
get one with a sword inside of it.”

“Cute.  What’re your plans for the day?”

“Debbie is going to hang out here today.  When little man here goes down for his nap, Howard wants me to review the security protocols for an emergency evacuation.”

“Really?  Why?  Is he concerned about something and not telling us?”

“I don’t think so.  You know how Howard is. He wants a contingency plan for everything.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Richard’s due back today. That should make for some excitement.”

Max smiled
.  “Totally forgot about that.”