Fight for Power (31 page)

I did a mental double-take. Here I was hiding in a room in the dark, peering through one-way glass, trying to figure out where I should shoot somebody. Maybe the bigger question was,
Could
I shoot him if he resisted? Did I have what it took to shoot a man?

“I'm going to crash soon. You never bring me down here for small talk, so what's happening?” Brett asked.

“I wanted to offer my congratulations,” Herb said.

“Congratulations?”

“Yes.” Herb paused. “I know what you did.”

Brett didn't answer. At least not at first. “I've done lots of things, so just what are you congratulating me on?”

Herb laughed. “Didn't you think I'd find out eventually? I knew it was all more than coincidence.”

Brett remained silent. That smug expression of his stayed in place. If Herb was trying to rattle him it wasn't working.

“First the apartment building. Setting the fire was a brilliant and daring move.”

The apartment building—Brett had set the fire? Wait, did Herb know that or was he just making a guess?

“Do your team members even know about that?” Herb asked.

Brett smiled. “Only two of them.”

“That might even be two too many, because this has to be kept quiet. You knew that nobody, especially the committee members, would understand.”

“Don't worry, my men are loyal … and afraid of me. Nobody would ever dare say a word,” Brett said with a smile. “I have to admit that I was starting to wonder about you.”

“Me?”

“You're on the committee, and it was starting to sound like you agreed with everything they wanted to do or not do.”

“It was important for them to believe it, and I must have been believable if I managed to even fool you,” Herb said.

“I figured you were probably just playing a game with them, but I wasn't certain.”

“You and me, we're two of a kind,” Herb said.

Brett sat up straighter in his seat. He looked like he was bursting with pride.

“We both know you have to do what needs to be done. That's all you were doing out there, what needs to be done,” Herb said.

“I picked up the hints,” Brett said. “I listened to what you said about that apartment building holding high ground on us.”

“And then the need to remove those tent people,” Herb added.

“It had to be done, so I did it. But that time my whole team was part of it.”

“Of course it had to be done, for the safety of the community,” Herb said.

“Doesn't it bother you to have to pretend to take orders from idiots like that captain and the judge?”

“They don't understand,” Herb said.

“They don't understand anything that's going on out there, but even if they did they wouldn't have the guts to do what's needed.”

“You have to understand that they're all working with a handicap,” Herb said.

“Lots of handicaps!” Brett exclaimed.

“You're right,” Herb said. “They have morals, a conscience, a belief in the sanctity of human life. They are laboring under the restraints of basic human values, while you, on the other hand, are both a plastic action hero and a
true
sociopath.”

“Yeah, I am an action hero and…” The sentence trailed off as he realized what he'd been called. Even Brett knew that being called a sociopath was not a compliment.

“I guess it takes a sociopath to know a sociopath. You're no different from me,” Brett said.

“I
was
no different from you when I was your age, except maybe I was worse, did more damage, took more lives,” Herb said.

“Don't count on that. You have no idea just how many lives I've taken.”

“Spoken like a true sociopath, proud of your death count.” Herb paused. “It's over. The committee knows.”

“How do they know?” Brett demanded. His smiley-guy routine had slipped away completely.

“I told them what I found out from Jack.”

“He talked?”

“He made a deathbed confession.”

“But I thought he was getting better.”

“He is, but he was easily fooled into believing he was dying,” Herb explained.

“He's an idiot. I should have taken care of him out there instead of bringing him back. I let my emotions get in the way.”

“Most sociopaths don't have emotions. Is poor Brett trying to become a real boy, like Pinocchio?” Herb asked.

Brett looked confused by the comment. “So what happens now?”

“You're going to be disarmed, arrested, tried, and punished,” Herb said.

“Tried by those idiots on the committee?”

“The only reason you're alive this minute is because of the members of the committee, because they believe in decency, justice, and fair play. If I were actually running the show I would have simply put a bullet in your head the minute you walked in.”

“That's what I would have done,” Brett said. “We're really two of a kind, and you know it.”

“No we're not. I did terrible things because I was given an order to follow, and even then I felt remorse and regret. You have done terrible things for pleasure. You have enjoyed it.”

Inexplicably, Brett smiled again. “I still might enjoy it. Do you really think my team is going to let this happen?”

“As of right now your team has already been arrested. There's nobody to help you.”

If Brett was shocked by this, he didn't show it.

“And it looks like there's nobody to help you, Herb. It's just me and you,” Brett said.

“It certainly looks like that.”

Why hadn't Herb mentioned that we had two rifles trained on Brett? I looked down the sight of the barrel, right into Brett's chest. I heard Todd's breathing quicken.

“Disarming me might be harder than you think. Other than you reaching for that gun and shooting me, what's to stop me from shooting you between the eyes?” Brett asked. “Do you really think you can beat me to the draw? I'm fast and you're old.”

“I would imagine there's only one way to find out if you're faster than I am. Please, go ahead and try.”

“You really don't expect me to just give up, do you?” Brett asked.

“Not really. I thought I'd give you a chance to go out in a blaze of glory, a chance to get away. And even if you didn't, wouldn't it be better to die that way than live like a caged rat?”

Why was he saying any of this? Was he goading Brett into doing something?

“So it's going to come down to me and you, right here, right now. Either I kill you or you kill me, and…” His expression changed again. He had doubt and fear on his face. “You'd like me to go for my gun, wouldn't you?”

Herb didn't answer.

“You set this game up. Your house, your time, your plan. You always have a backup plan. You taught me that. This isn't just me and you, is it?”

“I never said it was,” Herb said.

“You want me to draw my weapon, don't you?” Brett asked. “That's why you wanted to meet me down here, away from outside eyes, so nobody would see me get cut down.”

Herb remained silent.

“That way you can say to the committee that you had no choice but to shoot me.”

Was that the reason? Was that what he was doing?

Brett looked all around. “Is it going to come from behind? How many weapons are trained on me right now? It can't be many, because you would want no witnesses … or only witnesses you can trust.” He laughed. “So it must be your friend Adam.”

A shiver went up my spine.

“Come on out, Adam, and face me like a man. No, wait, you aren't a man, you're just a boy.” He turned directly to Herb. “Do you really think he has what it takes to shoot somebody down? Do you think he'll fire at me if I go for my gun? Are you really willing to bet your life on him?”

“I have bet my life on Adam before, and I would do it again. I know he'll do the right thing,” Herb said.

“And is the right thing murdering me?” Brett asked. “Because that's what it would be. Or is that part of your plan, too? You used me to do the things that needed to be done, you aimed me like a weapon, and now that I'm a liability you'll terminate me. Now you'll give Adam a taste for blood, you'll make him into a murderer, your next killer who'll do the dirty work so you can keep your hands clean.”

Brett was trying to get into my head, hoping that my trigger finger wouldn't function. I didn't know if I could
kill
him, but I knew I could
shoot
him.

“Can you hear all of this, Adam? Now you know what he's doing. Can you still do it? Can you murder a man in cold blood, cut him down like a dog?”

“Adam wouldn't be the one to shoot you,” Herb said. “That would be me.”

“Not likely. Either Adam kills me or I kill you. You have no chance of getting to that gun before I can draw.”

“Not that gun,” Herb said. “But certainly this one.” Slowly raising his right hand from beneath the desk, Herb produced another pistol—a big one. It was aimed directly at Brett. Herb would have shot him dead before Brett could have possibly pulled out his weapon—before I could have reacted.

“There's special ammunition in this one,” Herb said. “It will go through my desk and your body armor as if it were cutting through butter. Five bullets in the blink of an eye. You'd be dead before you even knew what hit you. The way those people in the tents were dead before they knew what had hit them. The difference is that they didn't deserve to die.
You
do.”

I could see sweat dripping off Brett's nose.

“So I'll ask you again. Wouldn't it be better to go down in a blaze of bullets than live as a prisoner?”

He was still taunting Brett, daring him to go for his gun even though he had no chance.

Slowly Brett started to raise his hands. “Adam!” he yelled out. “You can see I'm surrendering. If he shoots me you have to tell your mother, tell the judge that he murdered me. Then he's got to be punished as a murderer or you're all just a bunch of hypocrites.”

Brett got up slowly, his hands well above his head. “I'm giving up. You didn't expect that, did you?” he said to Herb.

“Actually I did. Cowards and bullies seldom fight when they think they might lose. Now, with the little finger and thumb of your left hand, I want you to remove your pistol and place it on my desk,” Herb said.

Brett did as he was told.

“Adam and Todd, I would like you, one at a time, to come out here while the other has his weapon aimed squarely at Brett's chest.”

“I'll go first,” I said to Todd. I withdrew the rifle and got up. My legs were numb and shaking, and I was bathed in sweat. I pushed open the door and my eyes reacted to the light.

“So it wasn't just one of them. Even you didn't trust Adam. How does it feel not to be trusted, kid?” Brett asked.

“A lot better than standing there with my hands in the air and three guns pointed at me.”

“So do you really think you could pull the trigger?” he asked me.

“Shut up or you'll find out right now.”

“Big talk from the little man. If it was me and I had the chance, I'd blow you away. You and your mother, your brother and sister, and that little girlfriend of yours … Of course I'd have a little fun with her before I—”

“Another word and I shoot you,” Herb said, “and you know
I'd
do it.”

Brett shut up.

“Adam, you know I trust you, but I also like to have as many backup plans and guns as I might need. And speaking of backup guns”—he gestured to Brett with his pistol—“I'm going to need all of yours. I want you to unbuckle your pants and let them drop to the floor.”

“What?” Brett asked.

“I know you're carrying at least one backup piece, probably a second, and I know you like to have that knife with you. Strip down.”

Brett didn't move.

“Do it now or I'll pop one in your knee and you'll be in so much pain that you'll beg me to finish you off.” Herb aimed the gun right at Brett's right leg.

Brett undid the buckle and the pants fell down. There was a knife strapped to one leg and a pistol to the other.

“Now the shirt. And please feel free to do something that gives me an excuse to fire,” Herb said.

Slowly Brett took off the body armor and then removed his jacket. I could see bulges under the shirt. He had at least one more gun. He unbuttoned the shirt, and as it opened it revealed a third pistol in a holster and a hand grenade taped in place.

“Adam, I want you to remove both of those. Todd, keep the gun aimed at his chest and don't hesitate to shoot if he does anything.”

“Don't worry about me. I'm not as good a person as Adam. Me, I could kill him and not lose sleep tonight,” Todd replied.

“More big words,” Brett said.

“Just go for the gun,” Todd said. “
Please
go for the gun.”

In response Brett raised his hands even higher. Carefully I pulled the gun out of the holster and then removed the grenade, making sure that the tape didn't catch the pin.

“Now your boxers—drop them to the ground and step out of them,” Herb ordered.

“What sort of weapon do you think I'm carrying in there?” Brett asked.

“Take them off or I shoot them off,” Herb said.

Brett started to take them down.

“Left hand only,” Herb said. “Keep the right hand on the top of your head.”

Awkwardly Brett complied.

“He's got a gun taped to his butt!” Todd exclaimed.

I reached over and removed that gun as well. Herb tossed me a pair of handcuffs. “Hands behind your back.”

“Can't I get dressed first?”

“You're not getting dressed. You leave like this so anybody who's out there can see what you are once we strip away the weapons and the body armor. You're just a scared little kid, a bully, and now, well, you're nothing.”