The Alpha Chronicles (35 page)

Nick caught the guard’s unconscious body as it fell, pulling the man into a fireman’s carry and scurrying off, blood for his victim’s face dripping on the sidewalk with every step.

Deke pulled away from his optic and ordered, “Two down. Let’s get moving.” Simultaneously, the
nine contractors rose from their positions and began moving toward the courthouse. Nick’s removal of the two sentries exposed one whole side of the structure for their approach. Like a chair with four legs, remove one support, and the seat will fall over - Fort Stockdale’s security had just lost a leg. 

“Could you guys slow down just a little,” complained Terri, desperately trying to keep up with the squad. “I’m going on six months pregnant back here.”

Grinning, Deke waved the rest of his team forward and then hung back to escort the lady. Doing her best to keep up, Terri was winded by the time they arrived at the corner. Panting, she whispered, “No one mentioned marathon running. Wait until I complain to my travel agent. This was not in the brochure.”

Deke rolled his eyes and whispered back, “You’ve been hanging around your husband too long.”

Deke’s team of contractors split up. Two of the men rushed to join Nick, the big man busy assembling the rifle and chest rig stashed inside his hobo suitcase. Three members split right, their mission to subdue the sentries stationed on the east side of their target. The remaining operators made for the north, their task to secure that side of the courthouse square.

Deke, keeping his solemn word to Bishop, stayed back to protect Terri.

Fort Stockdale’s enforcers were no match for Deke’s contractors. The skills, aggression, and experience of the assaulters overwhelmed the remaining security without a single shot fired - but that had been the plan all along.

DA Gibson finished her morning routine with a flurry, having burned the first two slices of homemade pita bread she was warming. In addition to being disgusted with wasting the food, she was feeling the first touches of a winter cold in her sinuses.

Rising from her desk, she opened her door and surveyed the weather – a cloudy day for a change.

“Hello.”

While the sound of a female voice startled her, focusing on the scene outside her office made her heart truly race. Instead of the expected group of enforcers, a dozen armed strangers stood with weapons
.

The first question that flashed through her mind was, “Where are my people?” The answer be
came obvious when her attention was drawn by a low moan. Her focus zeroed on a man lying on the ground nearby, his face a bloody mess. The rest of her security detail was all there as well, on their knees with their hands behind their heads. A pile of weapons was stacked a few yards away.

“You must be the boss lady around here,” said the woman standing at the front of the strangers.

Pat straightened, her chest expanding with air. “I am. I am District Attorney Patricia Gibson, acting mayor of Fort Stockdale. Why have you attacked my men and my city?”

Terri smiled, crossing her arms. “I don’t think you’re in much of a position to be asking questions, District Attorney Patricia Gibson. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe this town is yours any longer.”

Taking a step closer to the other woman, Terri’s voice became low and mean. “You don’t have much longer to live, madam. If it were up to me, I would’ve shot you on sight. But, lucky for you, I gave my word that I would at least give you the chance to be heard. That’s probably more of a courtesy than you extended to those people we saw crucified on the way into town.”

“We didn’t crucify anyone. Those people were already dead. The town was being overwhelmed by refuges from the interstate
, and we hung those bodies up there to deter strangers.”

Terri shook her head in disgust. “And why, pray tell, do you brand the bodies of small children?”

“We don’t have a jail, jailers or any way to separate criminals from the general population. There’s no database of felons… no way to protect the honest citizens of Fort Stockdale from the predators. If you are caught stealing, you are branded. If you are caught stealing again, or worse, you’re exiled into the desert. It’s the only justice system we could come up with, given the circumstances.”

“I’ve seen small girls branded by your
system of justice.
Only a ruthless, heartless person would mutilate a child like that.”

It was Pat’s turn to get aggressive. “You’re damn
ed right I’m ruthless and heartless. What other choice do I have? We lost half the town in the first three months due to starvation and diseases. Citizens were stealing from each other, strangers were invading our town and taking food from elderly residents. Friends of mine were murdered for a slice of bread and a hunk of moldy meat. I’d like to know how you or anyone else could have saved the people we did without being ruthless and heartless.”

“And the slave labor camps? How do you explain that Miss Gibson? I’ve interviewed numerous people who toiled at hard labor for nothing more than starvation rations. What convenient excuse do you have
for that?”

Pat’s smile was genuine, “Before I answer that, where di
d you interview these ‘slaves?’”

“In Alpha. They are showing up in significant numbers – seeking freedom and a better life.”

“And how did they get there? Do they claim to have escaped? Did they sneak off in the middle of the night? I’m not a very good slave master if I’m letting my property run free. No one is forced to stay in those camps. The inhabitants can leave anytime they want. They receive the same rations of food as everyone else, which isn’t much, but it is all we have.”

Terri paused her interrogation
, the conversation not going the direction she had anticipated. While she was considering the woman’s answers, Deke spoke up from behind her. “Miss Terri, we’re drawing a lot of attention.”

Looking around, Terri could see several people had gathered nearby, the thr
ong appeared to be comprised of ordinary folks that just discovered a celebrity in their town square. She started to step toward the crowd, her instincts wanting to hear what they had to say, but she paused and looked at the DA, trying to judge her reaction.

“Go on,” motioned the woman on trial. “Go on
, and talk to them. Talk to as many as you want. If I’m the horrible monster you make me out to be, they’ll tell you.”

“Come with me,” answered Terri.

The two women made for the crowd, their first stop an elderly couple. Smiling, DA Gibson said, “Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, did we get that leak fixed?”

The wife took Gibson’s hand warmly, patting it with affection. “Yes, and thank you Pat for sending those men over.”

Mr. Reynolds looked over Pat’s shoulder at the armed men, and then suspiciously at Terri. “Is everything all right, Pat?”

Terri extended her hand, “My name is Terri, and I brought these men with me from Alpha. We heard that things weren’t going very well here
, and we thought we might be able to help.”

“Why are the enforcers on their knees?”

“We thought they might be part of the problem,” Terri said honestly.

The old man nodded, finally understanding. “They
get a little rough now and then. I’ve watched them out my window. If they do, I let Pat know, and she tones them down. The world’s a dangerous place now, Terri. Sometimes it takes rough men to keep peace and order.”

Terri and Pat spent the next 15 minutes talking to random strangers in the crowd. After several interviews, Terri motioned for the DA to walk with her.

“I’ve made a horrible mistake,” admitted Terri. “I let rumors, incomplete information, and circumstances cloud my judgment. Please accept my apology.”

Pat nodded, relaxing just a bit. “Apology accepted.”

Terri turned to Deke and said, “Let DA Gibson’s men go. Give them their weapons back.”

Deke started to question the wisdom of Terri’s instructions, but shrugged his shoulders and nodded to his men.

“Terri, tell me about Alpha. I’ve heard rumors and stories myself, but haven’t really believed any of it.”

The two women continued their stroll, exchanging information and becoming fast friends. An hour later, they returned to the courthouse, smiling and laughing together. Deke couldn’t believe his eyes, but was in fact relieved that there wasn’t going to be any
large-scale confrontation.

Lou and his team approached the
substation on foot, their pickup trucks parked behind a slight rise a few hundred yards away.

It had been easy to follow
the high-voltage power lines to the small, concrete-block building – just as Mr. Cameron Lewis had predicted. They had scouted the area with binoculars for 15 minutes, and not seeing any sign of people, were advancing carefully toward the structure.

Watching the LBO team deploy and surround the station, Cameron’s words echoed in
Lou’s head. “If we cut off the electricity, Alpha won’t be such an attractive place. We can then approach their leaders with our gasoline and get a better exchange rate of food for our fuel. If we can reroute the power here to Midland Station, it’s a double bonus for us.”

An LBO engineer stood next to Lou, the man clearly nervous about their mission. “What if they start shooting at us?” the man asked, wiping the swe
at from his brow.

“Don’t
worry, I brought 25 of my best men. There’s more than enough of us to handle the locals. We’ve heard from stragglers that there’s only about 15 guys with guns in the whole town.”

“Sure seems like a bigger place than that,” responded the engineer.

“We’ll be fine. You just do your job when we get that building secured – leave the security to me.”

Right on cue
, one of Lou’s lieutenants signaled the coast was clear.

It took two of Lou’s men working a long crowbar to open the steel door. Once the portal was clear, the engineer entered the building and began to study the equipment inside.

Terri was still engaged with Pat, the two women discussing everything from health care to gardens. The ambassador, realizing the meeting was going to last a while, stuck her head outside and said, “Deke, you and the guys can tour the town or just hang out if you feel like it, we are going to be a while.”

Deke nodded, his response interrupted by shouting from across the
street. All eyes turned to see a man wearing a suit and carrying a Bible come running into the square, yelling for one of the enforcers.