Fight for Power (7 page)

“I dropped Herb off and then took to the air again to provide cover.”

“So you're the pilot of that plane, right?” he asked.

“It's my ultralight.”

“I've seen you up in the air, right over our base.”

“I've flown over it a few times.”

“I was there. I got a shot off, but obviously I missed or we wouldn't be having this conversation. I guess you being in the air makes it all seem cleaner. From up there you don't see the faces of the victims.”

“I've seen the faces of victims. I was there in the neighborhood that you attacked. I'm never going to forget what happened to our friends at Olde Burnham.”

“And you're telling me you don't do anything different?”

“We don't. We're just trying to stay alive,” I said.

“That's all we were doing, trying to stay alive.”

“No it isn't. We mean no harm to anybody who doesn't try to harm us. We lived in peace with that neighborhood you destroyed, with all those people. We believe that working together we all have a better chance of surviving and—”

I stopped midsentence as the door opened and a woman appeared. She stood without saying anything, her eyes wild, her hair all askew, her clothing dirty. For a second I thought she was holding a portable drill or something in her hand and then I realized what it was. A pistol.

“I've come to kill you,” she said.

 

5

I was frozen to my seat, but my mind started to race. Almost involuntarily my hand started to creep toward my gun, holstered at my side. I stopped myself. I couldn't possibly draw and fire before she did.

“I've been waiting for this,” she said. Her voice was calm, but her eyes remained wild. Slowly she pulled up the gun and aimed it at Quinn. I leaned farther back in the chair.

“You, get away,” she said, gesturing for me to get out of the line of fire. “I don't mean you any harm. It's him I came to kill.”

I stumbled to my feet and staggered a few feet toward a far corner, putting distance between me and him—and her.

“I've come to kill the man who killed my family.”

“Look, lady, I didn't kill anybody,” Quinn pleaded. For somebody who said he wasn't afraid to die, he looked terrified.

“Maybe it wasn't you, but you were one of them!” Her voice was still calm. She looked almost peaceful. “Get out,” she said to me. “Go.”

I took a half step and then stopped. If I left, Quinn was dead. “I'm sorry, I don't know you,” I said to the woman. “Do you know me?”

She nodded. “You're the son of the police chief; you fly that little plane. You're Adam.”

“That's me … I'm sorry, I don't know your name.”

“That isn't important.”

“Sure it is.”

She hesitated. “Paula.”

I extended my hand to shake. “Hey, Paula, I'm pleased to meet you—”

“Don't come any closer, Adam,” she ordered.

I drew back my hand. “Take it easy, Paula.”

“I don't want to hurt you,” she said. “I
really
don't want to hurt you.”

“I appreciate that.”

“You have to leave,” she said.

Again she gave me the chance to walk away.

“He took everything. My husband and my children. And now I'm going to take all that he has left, his life.”

“I was there at Olde Burnham,” I said. “If it was my family, I'd want to do the same thing. I understand.” I paused. “But I can't just leave. I can't let you do it.”

“You think he deserves to live?” Suddenly her voice wasn't so calm, and for an instant she turned my way and the pistol was aimed at me. I felt a rush of panic and I had to fight to keep that fear from overwhelming me. She turned the gun back on Quinn.

“It's not for me to decide if he should live,” I said. “Or for you either.”

I stepped back into her line of fire. Behind me I heard the prisoner breathe in sharply. What was I doing?

“You'd risk your life to protect him?” Paula demanded.

I shook my head. “I'd risk my life for you, Paula. If you kill him, how would you live with yourself?”

“I wasn't planning on living. Do you think there's only one bullet in this gun?”

That should have been obvious to me. She wasn't leaving this room alive either. That was all part of the plan.

“Look, like I said, if I were you, I'd be feeling the same thing. Maybe it would be me standing there with a gun,” I said. “I'd just hope that somebody was here to talk me out of it. If I'd lost everybody in my family like that I'd want to die, but I know that's not what they'd want. It's not what your family would want. You're all that's left. What do you think they'd want you to do?”

Her lower lip started to quiver.

“You need to honor them by living,” I said.

“I don't want to live,” she said, her voice practically a whisper. She started to cry.

“You have to keep going … for them. Besides, if you did kill this man you'd be no better than him, no better than his kind. We're better …
you're
better.”

She lowered the pistol and started sobbing. As she dissolved, I rushed forward, taking the gun and holding her, stopping her from falling to the floor. At that same instant, Herb and Stewart rushed into the room, along with another guard. Stewart and the guard took Paula and led her from the room. Herb took the gun, and I felt my legs get rubbery and weak. I practically collapsed into the chair.

“That should never have happened,” Herb said. “Adam, I'm so sorry.”

“It's okay,” I mumbled.

Quinn gasped. “That kid saved my life!” He turned directly to me, staring me in the eyes. “Why did you do that?”

I shook my head. “I couldn't let her kill you.”

“If it was me, I would have walked away,” he said.

“I doubt that, Quinn.”

“I still don't believe it,” he said. “You risked your life to save mine.”

“It's not a big deal,” I mumbled. The blood was still pulsing through me so strongly that I could hear my heart beating in my ears.

“You probably should have left,” Herb said. “You shouldn't have risked your life for him.”

“It's good that he did,” Quinn said. “Give me those plans. I'm going to tell you what you need to know.”

“Really?” I asked.

“I owe you that much.”

Herb took the plans from the table and handed him a pen. “Just mark them in, label them. I want the doctor to look at Adam.”

“I'm fine.”

“No you're not. You're as white as a ghost. Come on.”

He offered me a hand and I gladly took it. As he helped me to my feet, my legs were still shaking. All of me was shaking. We started to walk away.

“Adam!” Quinn called out. “I won't forget what you did, no matter what happens to me.”

I nodded. “I don't think I'm going to forget today either.”

Herb helped me out of the room. The woman—Paula—was on a bed off to the side. A nurse and Dr. Morgan were at her side, and as I watched they gave her a needle, probably something to calm her down. Herb led me over to a chair and sat me down.

“First off, I want you to know that you were in no danger,” Herb said.

“No danger?”

“Her gun wasn't loaded.” He held up her pistol and opened the breech to reveal that it was empty.

“How did you know?”

“Because I gave the gun to her.”

“You what?” I demanded.

“I gave it to her. I gave her the gun.”

“But, but, why? I don't understand.”

“I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you. I knew that the prisoner wasn't willingly going to give us information, so I left to figure out what to do. And that's when I ran into her. I gave her the gun—I made sure it was empty and that she didn't have any other weapons—and I aimed her toward Quinn.”

“It wasn't real?”

“It was real. To her and to him and to you.”

“But why didn't you tell me what you were doing?”

“It all just happened. There wasn't time or the opportunity to explain it to you.”

I felt myself filling with anger. “There was time. All you had to do was come back in, for just a minute, pull me out, tell me what you were doing. You could have done that.”

“I couldn't risk it. I had to trick him.”

“You tricked
me
.”

“I had to have you react as if it were real.”

“How would you know what I was going to do? I could have wet myself, run out, left her to kill him … or at least try to kill him. I could have pulled my gun and shot her. Did you even think of that?” I demanded.

“I thought of all of those things. It was a risk we had to take. Besides, you didn't do any of those things,” he said.

“But I
could
have.”

“No,” he said. “You couldn't have. It isn't in you to just walk away. It isn't in you to try to shoot her. I know that. You did exactly what I expected you'd do.”

“That doesn't change the fact that you lied to me.”

“I didn't lie to you. I just didn't tell you right then, but I did tell you as soon as I could. I didn't have to do that,” he said. “I could have kept it from you even now, but I didn't.”

I got to my feet. The anger had stopped the shaking. My hands curled into fists, and I realized that I wanted to take a swing at Herb. But I couldn't do that either.

“You used me. You used her too,” I said, gesturing to Paula. She was on the bed, silent, knocked out by whatever they had given her.

“I did, and that might be the best thing that could have happened to her. It might give her a little peace. And for you, I'm sorry, but I had to do it. If it makes you feel any better, it worked. Quinn is going to give us information that's going to save lives—well, at least the lives of our people.”

I guess that's what mattered. I'd been tricked and my body was still surging with adrenaline, but I had to convince myself that was a small price to pay.

“If you want to take a swing at me, that's okay,” Herb said. “I understand.” He gestured to my balled-up hands.

“I don't want to punch you. Well, that's not the truth. I'm not
going
to punch you.” Slowly, deliberately, I unclenched my fists.

“I just hope this doesn't mean you'll trust me any less in the future,” Herb said. “Because you know I trust you even more now.”

“What are you talking about?” I demanded.

“Because of what you did. You put your life on the line for
that
man. It just makes me realize what you'd be willing to do for the people of this neighborhood. With you this isn't just about empty words. You mean what you say; you believe in doing the right thing. That means a lot to me. Maybe more than I can express.”

“Thanks. I guess that helps—” Then I had another thought. “You could just be playing me again right now, couldn't you?”

He gave a sad smile. “I could be, but I'm not.” He paused. “At least I don't think I am. I've played so many games in my life that sometimes I'm not even sure anymore. What I am sure about is that we need people like me to help us survive. We also need people like you to help build something that matters once we do survive.”

“I think we each need to be part of both. Don't sell yourself short,” I said. “I know in the end you'll not just do what needs to be done, but you'll do the right thing.”

“I know I'll do what needs to be done,” Herb said. “I just hope the right thing doesn't get in the way.”

I wasn't sure if I believed him or not. I didn't seem to know much for sure, but what I did know was that I needed to get away, and there was only one place—and one person—I wanted to be with. I'd find Lori. I didn't even know if I'd tell her what just happened, but being with her, sitting beside her, would make it all feel better.

 

6

Herb was beside me in the ultralight. We were cruising at slightly less than one hundred and twenty feet. Being up in the air, waiting for dawn to come, was eerie. As eerie as the fact that we were on our way to launch the attack. After not sleeping at all last night I needed to get my mind focused on what we were doing. I kept drifting back to yesterday and the way we'd fooled Quinn—the way Herb had tricked me. Knowing it was necessary and being okay with it were two different things. There was no room for my thoughts about that. I needed to keep us in the air and on target and on time. Our arrival had to be timed precisely.

Flying in the dark was new and unnerving. Last night, Lori and I had sat on her porch, holding hands and talking—while each of us wore a pair of night-vision goggles. I was trying to get used to them because I was told I'd be wearing them in this flight. How romantic, looking at my girlfriend in shades of green, a shadowy figure. Usually, looking deeply into her eyes meant something very different.

From the first time I'd laid eyes on her I knew how beautiful Lori was. Through school I'd learned that she was smart. Now over the past months I'd learned that she was smart in a whole different way. She understood what was going on, calmed me down, helped me understand. And behind those beautiful eyes she was strong, the sort of person I wanted beside me if things ever did go from bad to worse. But now I had other things to think about.

I could see just enough to make out landmarks below, and I was basically following a bright ribbon of road, using it for direction and the altimeter on my control panel to keep us at the right height.

We were heading for the compound, which was about thirty miles away. Ahead of us were over 240 of our people, evenly divided into four attack parties, aboard a number of trucks and cars. Each group was equipped with rifles, pistols, and an RPG launcher. Each group had departed at sundown the previous day, taking a different route, and had spent the night moving forward, getting in position, almost within sight of the compound but still away from where they could be seen by sentries on the walls or fences.