The Victor Project (23 page)

     “You’re pretty proud of yourself this time aren’t you,” asked Ben.

     “Yes I am.  I wish we didn’t have to cover this up so the message would be loud and clear.  Don’t fuck with us,” said Sherman.

     “What about the disk that this man William took from Frank?” asked Ben.

     “Our man didn’t find it.  He did a thorough search, by the book.  It wasn’t there,” said Sherman.

     “Can’t OUR MEN do any fucking thing right?” asked Ben.

     “God damn it Ben, the disk is the size of my finger.  The guy could have had it hidden up his ass for all we know.  You knew the chances of finding that thing were close to zero,” said Sherman.

     “What about the one in his office?” asked Ben.

     “I got it this morning.  Thank God the stupid ass confessed to where it was hidden on tape.  We would have had a hell of a time finding it,” said Sherman.

     “Did you look at it?” asked Ben.

     “Yea, it’s got some bad shit on it.  Whoever created it has or had access to the real deal.  There were three files in total.  The third file on the disk was password protected.  It listed the names of the evacuees.  It was my file,” said Sherman.

     “Yours?  How did you know it was yours?” asked Ben.

     “The file name matched one I had created.  And I just had a hunch.  It took my password,” said Sherman.

     “Now the question is, who’s got that other disk?” asked Ben.

     “A good guess is that the man in the photos they referred to as Grunt has it,” answered Sherman.

     “To be safe..”

     “We’re on it,” Sherman interrupted.  “But we don’t know anything about this guy.  It’s like he came out of nowhere.  Like one day he’s some message boy and now he’s a player,” said Sherman.

     << >>

     The quiet whistle Rick heard as he walked toward the parking garage elevator wasn’t enough to break him from his concentration on Val.  He desperately wanted to see her face again, but not just to help her faction with their cause.  Over the last few days, he had found that he missed her deeply.  He wanted this thing to be over once and for all, so that they could start anew, no matter where they lived.  A part of him wanted to talk her out of the alliance with William and what he stood for.  He just wanted to talk her into living a normal life.

     The second whistle was somewhat louder and the distinct sound was from that of a human being and not something a machine had produced.  Pausing near one of the concrete supports, he stared in the direction of which he thought the noise had come.  In the darkness, stooping near one of the parked vehicles was a man, but it was impossible to recognize his face in the dim light.  At that moment, the greatest impulse that came over him was to run.

     “Will you get over here?” the familiar voice said.

     “Who are you?” asked Rick from the safety of the concrete column.

     “Shut up and get over here.  It’s me, Grunt,” said the voice.

     Rick hurried over to the dark corner.  As he grew closer, he could see the tortured face of Grunt.

     “Get in the car,” said Grunt.

     Grunt hadn’t shaven in days and his hair was a mess.  Given his appearance he could have easily passed as an escaped mental patient.  His frantic gestures and movements supported the fact even more.

     “Where the hell were you going?” asked Grunt.

     “To see Val,” answered Rick.

     “She’s not there.  I don’t know where she’s at,” said Grunt.

     “How do you know she’s not in her apartment?” asked Rick.

     “I picked the lock,” said Grunt holding up some device.

     “Then where is she?’ asked Rick.

     “I don’t know.  I called her work number from a public phone at least ten times this afternoon, no one answered,” replied Grunt.

     “Why are you hiding out here?” asked Rick.

     “I’m not sure.  It’s only five-thirty so my best plan was to sit here overnight and wait.  I think they are watching her apartment.  It’s most likely bugged.  There’s a good chance they saw you come in also,” said Grunt.

     “I don’t understand.  You mean the government is watching?” asked Rick.

     “William is dead Rick,” said Grunt.

     “How?” asked Rick.

     “The news said he surprised a burglar.  I don’t believe it.  And I don’t think Valarie believed it either,” said Grunt.

     “You can’t be sure of that,” said Rick.

     “I’m sure.  That little jamming gizmo he carried?  Frank’s device filtered it and I think one of these CIA or FBI pukes have had the same device for a while.  So they overhear us getting close and bamm they strike,” said Grunt.

     “So you’re saying I’m in danger also?” asked Rick.

     “You met with William and Frank at the warehouse a few nights ago right?” asked Grunt.

     “Yea,” answered Rick.

     “The night that Frank listened in?” Grunt continued.

     “Yes, but..,” replied Rick.

     “There are no buts.  Your voice will be on their tapes as clear as mine and your picture will be as crisp and pure as William’s.  You’re in danger all right,” interrupted Grunt.

     “Wait, Frank didn’t meet me this morning,” said Rick.

     “What?” asked Grunt.

     “Frank, he always meets me when I arrive in the zone.  This morning he wasn’t there,” said Rick.

     “So this time his nose got stuck up in the boss’s ass,” said Grunt.

     “No, he has been there every single time I’ve arrived, for years.  He meets all of us, I think.  I can’t remember the last time he didn’t.  Something must be wrong,” said Rick.

     “Do you own a gun?” asked Grunt.

     “No,” answered Rick.

     “I’ll get you one, but first..,”

     “I don’t want a gun,” Rick interrupted.

     “Would you rather be dead?” asked Grunt.

     “No.  How in the hell can you get a gun anyway?  Only the cops have guns,” asked Rick.

     “Don’t kid yourself.  We’re not all tree-hugging pussies,” said Grunt.

     “What I need is a plan.  We need to at least find Val,” said Rick.

     “What I was going to say a minute ago was that I don’t think they saw me enter.  And that’s probably why I’m sitting here talking to you and not attracting flies in the back of a trunk.  That makes this a pretty safe place for me and driving this car out that exit doesn’t appeal to me right now,” said Grunt.

     “But you have to leave at some point.  We’ve got to get in touch with her,” said Rick.

     “We have an emergency signal we use when we need to meet,” said Grunt.

     “I hope it’s not something like shooting off a flare,” said Rick.

     “I’m finding it hard to laugh at this moment,” said Grunt.

     “Sorry, continue,” said Rick.

     “I have a word that I can leave on her voicemail.  The CIA won’t know what to make of it and to her it means to meet me at the emergency spot,” said Grunt.

     “What’s the word?” asked Rick.

     “Val’s a history buff you know,” said Grunt.

     “Yea she mentioned it,” said Rick.

     “She loved, I mean loves the old western books.  Well, she picked the words Dodge City,” said Grunt.

     “Not bad,” said Rick.

     “Where’s the place?” asked Rick.

     “Not here.  Someone could be listening you know.  I shouldn’t have even said the word,” said Grunt.

     “OK, let’s figure a way out of here,” Rick whispered.

     “When we get out of here, I’ll wait for Val at the emergency spot.  You do your thing like normal and hopefully they won’t catch on,” said Grunt.

     Next Grunt pulled out a piece of paper and pen and began to right a note.

    
Downtown, on fifteenth and Blake.  Cheaters.  Nine o’clock tomorrow night.
   

.

CHAPTER 14

     The house was so empty and quiet when Val made her way downstairs.  Kerry and her husband must have been taking a few extra hours to sleep in.  It was already after nine o’clock.  Val sat down on the couch and stared out the window overlooking the back yard of the house.  She had fallen asleep immediately after her head hit the pillow the night before and hadn’t had any time to think through her next move, past finding a place to hide outside the city.

    She hadn’t seen her friend Kerry in over two years, so the two had kept busy reminiscing for a few hours prior to finally calling it a night.  Val simply told her that the reason for the imposition was that she needed to get away from some problems and that was all.  From the time she had left the office until arriving at Kerry’s doorstep, her mind had been entirely focused on the mission of finding refuge along with the thoughts of possibly never seeing Rick alive again.  Now in the quiet of the morning, she suddenly felt lost.  For all she knew everyone close to her was dead.  At the very least they might have gone so deep into hiding that she wouldn’t find them for years.

     She knew that there would be a great risk in any attempt to make contact with Grunt or William, if either of the two were still alive.  To take that risk there had to be a strong purpose.  That purpose was the virus that would eventually destroy even the safety she was feeling at this moment.  The noise of the front door opening made her leap upward from the couch.

     “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.  Did you sleep well?” asked Kerry.

     “Just fine thanks,” replied Val.  “I thought you were asleep.”

     “I always try to go for a morning walk on the weekends.  Tim would rather sleep in.  As tired as you looked last night I figured the same for you,” she replied.

     “You were right about that,” said Val.

     “What would you like for breakfast?” said Kerry as she walked into the kitchen.

     “You don’t have to go to any trouble for me.  I’ll just make myself some toast,” replied Val.

     Kerry returned to the doorway of the kitchen as not to yell and wake her husband.

     “Nonsense.  I love to cook breakfast.  Tim never eats it, so I end up cooking for my self, which I hate.  This morning it’s scrambled eggs and French toast, non of it low fat,” joked Kerry.

     “Let me help you,” said Val as she rose from the couch.

     “Sit and read the e-paper.  Let me have my fun in here,” said Kerry.

     Val returned to her seat and commanded Rupert to bring up yesterday’s news.  The last few hundred years of the slimming population and isolation of cultures had dwindled the world section to about four screens.  Economies had become independent long ago and cold war conscience had ceased when the simple struggle to survive became the highest of priorities.  Being that as it may, there wasn’t any news of interest from the other continents.  They just didn’t seem to exist.

     What she wanted to see this morning was the local section, particularly any accounts concerning Frank’s death.  In the lower right hand portion of the third screen she came across the tag line CVD EMPLOYEE FOUND DEAD.  The report said that a man named Frank W. Belker had apparently been shot by an unknown assailant over an unpaid gambling debt.  His wife had declined to comment.  At least she was still alive, Val thought to herself.  The e-paper listed no other deaths from the day before, but she hadn’t seen Grunt or William since Wednesday.  And she hadn’t been keeping up with the local news over that time.

     “Rupert, yesterday’s online newspaper,” said Val.

     Again a series of screens flashed.

     “Newspaper of Friday,” said the computer.

     “Search for the word William,” asked Val.

      “Hey Honey,” came a voice from the stairs startling Val once again.

     “Oh
, sorry.  I thought you were Kerry,” said Tim.

     “That’s all right.  I was just looking something up.  Kerry’s cooking us breakfast,” said Val.

     “I’m in here Tim,” said Kerry from the kitchen.

     “I’ll see you in a minute,” Tim said to Val.

     Refocusing onto the screen brought her face to face with the headlines Man Killed by Startled Burglar.  The article said that local police theorized that William Patton had returned home late in the evening and stumbled upon the burglar.  His body was found late Friday by a neighbor.  There were no leads as of yet.

     Val sat breathless as she continued to focus on the headline.  A noise from the kitchen broke her trance.

     “Rupert off,” she commanded.

     “Computer off,” it replied.

     Val felt the tears begin and fought to hold them in.  William was one of the most caring and compassionate men she had ever met and now the government had murdered him with no more thought than cleaning up spilled coffee.  The man had never once preached for violence nor would he have ever hurt anyone for his cause.  Val gritted her teeth and did her best to turn her sorrow into anger.  For the moment, she couldn’t let Kerry and Tim know what had happened for fear of getting them involved.  The tears would have to be shed later.

<< >>

     “What the hell you doing at work?” asked Ben.

     “Why are you standing in my doorway?” replied
Sherman.

     “My job is to make sure certain personnel make that shuttle.  You’re one of them.   I knew you would be in here,” said Ben.

     “I have to erase a few more files.  I assume that you’ve done the same,” said Sherman.

     “Of course
, but I don’t think it’s going to matter.  Everyone in this zone will be dead in about thirty more days.  I just received confirmation that the virus has hit Zone 6.  We’ve jammed the satellites so that the news can’t reach the other zones, but that won’t last long.  One way or another they’ll find out.  That’s why we need to get out of here and fast,” said Ben.

     “Like I said before
, I thought we’d be the first they would hit,” said Sherman.

     “So did I.  What I didn’t plan on was those bastards hitting the
U.S. this soon,” said Ben.

     “This report says we’ve lost William’s partners, Valarie DeDory and the man they called Grunt.  By now they’ve probably figured out we’ve taken care of their bosses.  No telling where they are hiding,” said
Sherman.

     “Like I said before, you cut the head off and the body dies.  They’ll come out of hiding to draw their last breath,” said Ben.

<< >>

      The sixth Brandon Transport of the day had docked less than one hour ago.  John had positioned himself in the docking bay hours prior, after hearing the news that people were arriving.  Over the past two hours, he had witnessed five transports unload their cargo.  Each transport had dropped off approximately one-hundred and fifty humans along with minimal luggage.  Almost all the newcomers that had passed through the station to this point had kept quietly to themselves.  John guessed they had been instructed to do so.  What few people spoke had spoke in the English language and void of accent.  Judging by that alone,
not one European had docked up to this point.

     The expressions of the voyagers John had witnessed weren’t ones of joy from the opportunity to live in a space station.  Their faces manifested the emotions of despair and sadness.  It became obvious after the third shuttle unloaded that something unholy was occurring down on earth, something ugly.

     He had made up his mind between the fifth and six docking that he would select one of the transport passengers from the group and innocently ask a few questions.  Most likely they would take him for someone who has knowledge of the whole affair, all he needed was a little attitude.  After being helped through the air-lock between the transport and C-Orbit, each person was hurriedly whisked passed him and into the corridor like cattle to a slaughter.  If he saw the right prospect he would have to act quickly.  After three quarters of the shuttle had unloaded, a woman in her mid forties made eye contact him and that was all he needed.

     “Miss, can I ask you a couple of questions?” asked John.

     “Sure,” she said as she continued moving with the crowd.

     “Can you step to the side for a moment?  I would like to get a status from you,” John continued.

     “A status?” she asked.

     “Yes, we need a perspective from our guests.  How bad is it from the zone you came from?” asked John.

     “My zone is fine.  I believe it is Zone 6 that has contracted the virus,” said the woman.

     “What would you say is the overall morale on earth?” asked John.

     “I’m not sure.  It’s not like everyone knows.  It’s not on the news.  Unless you guys released it.  Did you?” asked the woman.

     “No, I guess I was speaking more for the people waiting to arrive,” said John trying to cover his tracks.     “My last account from earth was that there was no cure.  Is that still true?”

     “Of course.  That’s why we’re being evacuated.  The government couldn’t fight this one,” she continued.

     “Did you encounter anyone from the European zones prior to leaving earth?” asked John.

     “No, we didn’t get our call to leave until a few days ago.  You know I even brushed up on my French, but from what I understand I wasted my time.” answered the woman.

     “Thank you for your time miss and enjoy your stay,” said John.

     Speaking to the woman was risky, but it definitely paid off.  So it was a virus after all that was pushing everyone up here, a virus that had no cure.  Whatever it was, it must have been more deadly than any other to scare the government into loading this space station with people.  From what the woman had mentioned, he could only ascertain that the French zones had been completely wiped out and since he hadn’t seen any Europeans, it was possible that all of Europe was dead.  And now it had struck the United States.

     While the interview with the woman had answered a few questions, it sparked may others.  How long were the survivors expected to remain on board C-Orbit?  How was the virus spreading between the zones?  How did it spread across an ocean?  Was it airborne?  The zones were supposed to be fool-proof against all diseases, but maybe not so full-proof, maybe they couldn’t protect against airborne viruses.

     As more people passed through the docking station, John was tempted to grab another prospect, especially after the success of the first probe.  But after a thinking it over, he realized that he knew just about everything there was to know.  Answers to his other questions would simply be erroneous details and would only spark another maze of questions.  Everyone on earth was dying from a virus for which the government had no cure, that was it pure and simple.  And he was one of the unlucky survivors.

     John remembered the communication he had sent to Rick a few days ago.  At the time he didn’t know much, but now with what he knew, he could worn his friend of the danger that was coming, if he was still alive.  At first he thought about sneaking onto the transport and sending another message, but surmised that at this point in time no one probably cared what information he traded with earth.  As soon as he could fight through the line of people he would return to his room and send Rick another message.

<< >>

     It had been a few years since Rick had been to a single’s bar and he wasn’t looking forward to any nostalgia trips at his age.  Five minutes past nine o’clock, the cab pulled into the parking lot and stopped at the front door.  Rick had done his best to stay vigilant of anyone tailing him.  So far he had spotted no one.

     The music coming from inside the place seemed to be vibrating the concrete beneath his feet.  By the noise and the crowd, Rick guessed that this was the place of all places to be on a Saturday night.  How he and Grunt were possibly going to carry on a conversation with all the racket in the background was beyond him.

     Above the building the word CHEATERS in neon lights illuminated the entire city block.  There was already a short line of patrons waiting to enter and as Rick drew closer he could hear the sound of giggling and laughter.  It was the sound of people that were at least ten years younger than he and at this moment having ten times more fun.  Embarrassingly, the doorman had checked the IDs of everyone that passed before him, but simply gave an odd look to Rick as he entered.

     It was easy to spot the mature Grunt sitting amongst the young patrons.  He stuck out of the crowd like a Leper at a beauty pageant.  Joining him at the table would only make it worse. 

     “Why did you pick this place?” asked Rick as he sat down.

     “The noise,” answered Grunt.

     “I don’t get it,” said Rick.

     “There’s not a microphone made that can pick up our conversation through this crap.  Besides, this place has some fine women in it.  That’s yours,” said Grunt pointing toward the other beer on the table.

     “Thanks,” said Rick.

     “Did you see anyone following you?” asked Grunt.