A Sacred Storm (48 page)

“We can, and we will,” said Mackenzie. “Have you not listened to a word that's been said General? This is no longer just about the United States.”

Only three people kept their hands down: Perry, General Johnson and Trent Arthur from the NSA.

“Well that settles it then,” said Mackenzie.

Perry would not give up. “But you can't do this, Mr President! It's totally unconstitutional!”

“General!” Mackenzie ordered. “Please be quiet! The decision has been made. You may not like it, and I certainly understand your reasons, but if you had been taken off your feet by an unseen force then you might think quite differently. I've been on the receiving end of it, so I know. There is no weapon on earth that can match the power I'm talking about. You saw it yourself with the bullet being stopped. We either pacify this power or we die, it's as simple as that.”

Stratton felt a huge wave of benign energy pass through his body.

“This is all very well,” said Vittori. “But what are we going to do about Christiano? He has more power at his disposal than any country. There is no telling what he might do if left to his own counsel.”

“Well, what do you suggest?” asked Mackenzie. “The way I see it there's not much we can do. He doesn't seem to want to listen to reason and we can't use force against him, so where does that leave us?”

“We cannot do nothing,” said Vittori. “He is becoming deranged, and the people of the world are hanging on his every word.”

“I suppose we could always tell them the truth,” said Stratton. “I know it probably won't do any good after that bullet stunt, but we can try. I think the truth is about all we have left to give. Calling off military attacks is just the start, this whole thing needs to be blown wide open. Soldiers can be controlled by orders, but you can't control the population. People around the world are angry and fearful, and they need to be calmed. We've had enough lies and it's time to be open. You and the other leaders need to tell them exactly what's happened, and let them know that the only way forward is a peaceful way. It may take a while to filter down through to everybody, but if nothing's done then a military stand-down won't be worth a bean, the citizens of the world will have wiped themselves out. I believe that's what's already happening in Europe and parts of Asia. And Britain's totally out of control isn't it?” He looked to the Prime Minister for conformation.

“Yes,” said Ayres. “It appears so. We seem to have lost control somewhere along the way.”

“I wonder why,” grunted Stella.

“But it's not just us,” said Ayres defensively. “Like Stratton said, it's all over Europe and Asia. The whole world's divided. I'm not sure how feasible it is to reach everybody with words of calm.”

“Fuck feasibility,” said Stratton. “It's got to be done. And you're going to be the first to act. You've helped get everybody into this bloody mess, and now you're going to help get us out of it.”

“I'm not sure it's entirely my fault.”

“No-one said it was, but you've played a major part. And now you're going to play a major part in reversing the flow. The first thing you're going to do is stop the military from killing any more civilians – I've seen the reports and it's looking dangerously like carnage over there. So pick up the phone and call them off.”

“Who do you think—” Ayres started. His sentence tailed off though when he felt Mackenzie's glare. “Okay, okay. I'll do it.” He reached for a phone and dialled London.

“But what about Christiano?” said Vittori. “We have still not come up with a solution for him. What will happen to him? What will happen to the Church?”

“Quite frankly,” said Mackenzie, “I don't really care what happens to the Church. You've led the world a merry dance for nearly two millennia now, and I think it's about time you were put out to grass. You and the Muslims have caused all this with your lies. I think the world will be a lot better off without either of you.”

“But where will people go for spiritual guidance?”

“I don't know,” said Mackenzie. “But at the moment that's the least of our concerns. If we don't have anybody left to guide then it won't matter. As far as Christiano's concerned I don't know. We'll have to do something about him, but it's really not my area of expertise.” He looked over to Stratton for help.

Stratton shook his head. “I really don't know what to do about him. All I can do is go to Rome and try to reason with him again. I've got to be honest though – I think he's too far gone to listen to anyone. Although his girlfriend might be a useful ally.”

“Okay then,” said Mackenzie. “That's sorted. You go to Rome and do whatever you can to contain the situation. Let me know if there's anything you need. In the meantime we're going to have to get busy communicating with the rest of the world.” He picked up his telephone and began to dial. “Gentlemen, it's time to start saving the human race.”

Paul Smith jumped into the back of the Jeep and lit a cigarette. The order to withdraw had come not a moment too soon. Fortunately they had been so reluctant to carry out their duty that no shots had been fired before the retreat. He wondered whether he would have been able to do it anyway. He'd spent his short adult life obeying orders and it had become second nature to do as he was told, but the slaughter of your own people was a different matter. It would have taken a heart and mind of steel to carry out that particular command, and he was no longer sure that he possessed either.

He pulled out his flask and took a large mouthful of brandy, and then handed it to Graham, who accepted gratefully.

“Cheers, mate. I really thought that was it back there. I felt sick to be honest.”

“You're not the only one, mate. I was a couple of seconds away from puking myself. Thank God they pulled us out of there, that's all I can say. I wonder what's happened to make them do it?”

“Fucked if I know,” said Graham. “Whatever it is it's probably political. They wouldn't be doing it unless there was something in it for them.”

“You're too cynical, mate. Maybe they decided killing their own people just wasn't right.”

“Maybe. But when you've been in the army this long you get to be cynical. I'm surprised you're still so naïve.”

“Not naïve,” said Paul. “I've just got faith in human nature.”

“Still?” laughed Graham. “After all we've seen? You must be fucking mad, mate!”

“Maybe I am. But without it what have I got left? You've got to hang on to something, Graham, otherwise you may as well be dead. We're soldiers, we're not robots.”

“But that's exactly what we are mate – robots. We're not paid to think or to have faith in humanity. We're paid to do a job – a fucking horrible job – but just a job. If we started thinking for ourselves then there wouldn't be an army.”

“And maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing,” said Paul.

“Oh, for fuck's sake. Don't start getting conchie on me now, buddy.”

The Jeep pulled up at the Horton Hospital, and they got out and reported back to their commanding officer. After a short debriefing they went to the tented canteen to get some dinner.

“I can't believe that,” said Graham. “A total military stand-down. What the hell's going on? What the hell are they thinking?”

Paul dipped a dry piece of bread into his stew. “Perhaps they've suddenly seen sense,” he said. “Maybe they've learnt that war doesn't solve anything.”

“What's wrong with you man? I thought you were a fucking soldier.”

“I am, but I'm a soldier who's had enough. I've been in this fucking army for five years and I've never once questioned anything. I've killed people without a second thought, and all for what?”

“To protect those that can't protect themselves,” said Graham. “We've done what we had to do to restore law and order where it's been lost. We haven't killed without reason, and you know it.”

Paul sighed and finished a mouthful of stew. “Maybe you're right. But it doesn't make me feel any better. Christ, I don't know what's wrong with me.”

“Lack of sleep, mate, I reckon. Go and grab yourself a couple of hours and you'll be fine.”

Paul mopped up his gravy with the last of the bread and drained his mug of tea. He looked up to see a young woman approaching the table trying to catch his eye. He recognized her as the girl he'd met earlier in smokers' corner.

“Hi,” she said. “Sorry to bother you, but we met this morning, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember. I didn't catch your name though.”

“It's Jenna.”

“Well, I'm Paul, and this is Graham.”

Graham said hello and gave Paul a sideways glance indicating that his mate was ‘in there'.

“Is it alright if I sit down?” she asked. “I just wanted to find out what's going on in the town. Nobody wants to tell us anything.”

Paul gestured for her to sit down on the bench next to him. Graham gave him a sly wink.

“Sorry to be a bother,” she said.

“It's no problem,” said Paul.

“So,” said Jenna. “Is it true that the military are standing down? We've just seen the Prime Minister and President Mackenzie say so on TV.”

“Yeah, it's true,” said Paul. “Well, we've been asked to withdraw anyway. I don't know anything about the Americans. It seems you know more than us about it.”

“Only what I saw on the news report. The President made quite a long statement actually. I can't remember all of the details, but the basic gist was that he had evidence that the Catholic Messiah and the Mahdi were both fakes, and that the people of the world needed to take a step back and calm down before we destroy ourselves. He said that with immediate effect all US forces were standing down, and any planned missile strikes were now aborted. He said that the USA had taken these steps to lead the way for a peaceful solution to our current troubles.”

“He's fucking mad!” said Graham. “The rag 'eads will be all over them like rash. They'll bomb the fuck out of them!” He shook his head. “And we're part of this fucking lunacy as well are we?”

“I guess so,” said Jenna. “The Prime Minister backed up everything Mackenzie said. And seeing as you've been recalled it must be true.”

“I thought it was only a temporary measure,” said Graham. “And just a domestic one. I didn't realize we were opening ourselves up to attack from abroad as well. This is fucking insane!”

“Is it?” said Jenna. “Somebody's got to back down haven't they? Or everyone will die. I think this is the best thing that our politicians have ever done.”

“Gah!” Graham spat. “That's a typical fucking civilian comment! You don't know what those fuckers are capable of. I tell you something – if you lay down your weapons in front of that lot they'll shoot you down like fucking ducks at a fairground. I've done my tours of Afghanistan and Iraq, love. I know exactly what they're like.” He shook his head and sneered disparagingly.

Jenna bowed her head slightly. “I'm sorry,” she said. “I really didn't mean to offend you. I know you guys have done amazing things out there, and I think you're terrifically brave. I just want to see an end to it all.”

Paul put a hand on her shoulder. “It's alright,” he said. “We all want to see an end to it all. We're just a bit tense at the moment.” He looked to his colleague for an apology.

“Yeah,” said Graham. “We're all a bit on edge, love. Sorry, I didn't mean to get on at you.”

“Anyway,” said Paul. “You wanted to know what was going on in the town. Well, I can tell you it's not pretty. There's two major battlegrounds – one in Grimsbury and one up Bretch Hill – and it's carnage in both. We don't know the exact numbers, but we reckon there's at least a hundred dead so far. And you can see how many serious injuries we've had up here already. There just aren't enough medical staff to cope anymore. We're going to go back in soon to try and get some more of the injured out. We're hoping that it dies down a bit before then.”

“Is that likely?” she asked.

“Probably not. But they've got to tire themselves out sometime haven't they?”

Jenna got up to leave. “Well, thanks for letting me know,” she said. “I'd better get some food and get back to the tent. My boyfriend will be getting hungry and wondering what's keeping me. Good luck!”

“Boyfriend eh?” said Graham, when she'd gone. “That's a bit of a shit isn't it mate? I thought you were well in there.”

Paul laughed. “That's what you always say, mate. Come on, let's go and have a smoke.”

They stood outside in the dimness away from the tents and lit their cigarettes. Paul leant against a wall and looked up to the still, gathering sky through a large, perfectly formed smoke ring he'd just blown. There was no rain as yet, but the closeness in the air suggested it wouldn't be long coming. And there was something else, something he couldn't explain, something that prickled the back of his neck. He swallowed nervously and suddenly wondered if he or the world would ever see another dawn.

Air Force One began its steady descent towards Rome. Stratton stared out into the blackness and tried to close his mind to the raging pain inside. The President had made a positive step, but it was still only one good gesture in an ocean of ill-feeling. Whether the rest of the world would follow his lead was firmly in the balance. But at least there was hope, and that would remain until all else was lost.

In the chair next to him Pat Cronin was waking from a brief doze. He opened his eyes and stretched and yawned. “Are we nearly there yet?” he asked.

“I think we've just started to descend,” said Stratton. “I guess we're about half an hour away. How was your sleep?”