Heckel Casey (24 page)

A bright flash outside cracked a large branch off a nearby tree, causing her to regain her composure. She watched the blue orbs slowly retreat into her upturned hands. Her entire body felt like it had just been reborn; she hugged herself relishing the warm, invigorated feeling.

For dinner, Madeline was joined by several of her generals. They all stood up as she entered the long dining room.

"Good evening, gentlemen," she said as her assistant pulled her seat out, afterwards excusing himself to check on the status of dinner.

The men responded cordially and sat back down. Conversations were lively and centered mostly on the buildup of Madeline's army. A young man halfway down the table asked, "Miss Madeline, when will the battle take place?"

She admired the individual's boldness and stared at him with a contemplative expression.
How much should I confide in these…peons?

The room went silent.

"What is your name?"

Sweat beaded on the young man's forehead. His hand shook as he grabbed for a glass of water. After swallowing a mouthful of water, he nearly spilled the glass. "Alan," he replied, his voice quivering.

"Well, Alan, that's an excellent question. One I'm sure that is on everyone's mind," she said, glowering at everyone seated at the table. "However, the answer is rather difficult to come up with. We are dealing with a very cunning individual. Our Mr. Casey possesses a—" Something suddenly took her speech away; she couldn't move. Madeline wondered what was happening to her.

Then she heard a voice in her head.
You fool. Say nothing further. Do not show any weakness.

After a few minutes of absolute silence, Madeline regained her voice. The first words she uttered were, "The battle will end the reign of Heckel and his followers. We will crush them."

The room erupted with applause and excitement. Men pounded the table. Madeline continued her cheerleading manner, spouting sound bytes that were guaranteed to incite the simple-minded generals. She was getting so energized that the power inside her began to emerge, much like it did when she was watching the storm earlier. Madeline stood up and the blue energy orbs slowly emerged from each of her hands. The room went silent again; this time the men looked at Madeline with awe and almost worship. She spotted Alan, his hand shaking as he attempted to take another drink of water. His hand stopped in midair.

Oh, the power. It is addictive. Just look at them suspended in fear, awe and reverence,
she thought, looking at each man around the table. Unexpectedly, the door to the kitchen opened and her assistant came out. Without thinking, Madeline threw one of the blue orbs at the wall next to his head. Sparks, smoke and shattered wood flew outwards. Her assistant fell to the ground, covered his head and curled up into the fetal position.

"Oops," she said sheepishly. "My bad."

Everyone in the room started laughing. Her assistant stood up and announced "Dinner is being served." Waiters began streaming into the room.

The rest of the dinner went without incident.

Later that evening, a messenger reported that Jackson and Bobby had been welcomed into the Heckel camp.

"Once the annoying little bug Heckel is squashed, my army will decimate his faithful puny followers and evil will cover the earth. Our day to rule will soon be upon us," Madeline muttered looking out at the continuing storm. A deafening crack of thunder made her smile.

The next morning Madeline sent for the messenger who had brought the news of her little moles out in Arizona. She was sitting outside finishing up breakfast when he arrived.

"You sent for me, Miss Madeline?"

"Yes, have a seat."

As the young man sat across from her, Madeline noticed one of the waiters enter. "May I clear the table, Miss Madeline?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," she answered, brushing the crumbs off her napkin. He walked behind her and with blinding speed, grabbed her neck and twisted violently. Nothing happened. He tried again, nothing. Now he attempted to strangle Madeline as his grip tightened. The young man sitting across from her was stunned and did nothing to intervene. Slowly, Madeline stood up. She could feel the power…no, HER power inside seethe and come to life. The waiter let go of her neck and backed up in disbelief.

"You pathetic little worm," Madeline said, turning to confront the would-be assassin. Her long silky black hair billowed as if being teased by the wind. "I'll give you an A for effort, but I guess you'll have to go tell your precious Heckel that his attempt to assassinate me was futile."

"I was sent by no one. I acted alone. Someone needs to stop you," he said defiantly as he backed away.

"Well, my dear friend, it certainly won't be you," she said as the blue orb in one hand spun faster.

The hopeful assassin twisted around and jumped off the porch. He raced across the back lawn.

"I've been wanting a little target practice," Madeline muttered. "Watch this," she said to the young man still cowering at the table.

Like a pitcher in a bull pen warming up for the big game, she hurled one of the blue orbs at the running scared assassin. The orb hit the ground slightly behind the man, knocking him to his knees. Quickly, he got up and started running toward the fence. Another ball of energy appeared in her hand. She took careful aim and pitched the orb. It slammed directly into the attacker's back as he approached the fence. The blue orb bore through the man leaving a hole the size of a small watermelon, disintegrating his internal organs and cauterizing his flesh around the gaping hole. Slowly, he turned around. His body hadn't yet realized it was missing a few organs.

"Fall over. You're dead," Madeline yelled. She looked over at the man at the table. A small puddle of urine appeared under his chair. "So, what do you think? Am I ready for the big leagues?"

He smiled nervously, nodding his head up and down vigorously. "Yes, Miss Madeline, most definitely."

Looking back out at her assassin wannabe, she saw that he had finally fallen over. "Now's the time to generate two balls of...death. Catchy…I like that." She threw them at the body on the ground.

Instantly, the remains burst into flames. The incineration left a pile of gray ashes.

Lifting her hand, she brushed the air in front of her. Seconds later, a small dust devil appeared above his ashes, dispersing them into the air. "All cleaned up," she said proudly, sitting back down at the table. "Now, where were we?"

The messenger sat in silence, staring at Madeline. She grinned devilishly at him. She so loved inflicting abject fear into men—a great way to start the day.

"Umm…you…a…sent for me?" the young man mumbled haltingly.

"Ah, yes. What was your name again?" she asked, putting her hand on his to ease the tension.

His hand was trembling and felt as if it had just been taken out of the freezer. "Roger, ma'am."

"Well, Roger, I want you to be my eyes and ears out in Arizona. What you see and what you hear out there will transmit directly to me. Can you do that for me?" she asked, rubbing his hand.

"Umm…I…well…"

Madeline stood up and walked behind Roger. Rubbing his shoulders, she leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Those who are loyal to me will know untold riches."

"Yes, ma'am. I would be honored," he said sheepishly.

"Excellent," she said, taking her fingers and pushing them forcefully into his eye sockets. A burst of blue lightning transmitted into his eyes. He screamed. Seconds later, she placed her hands over his ears and the same burst of energy flowed into the side of his head.

When the process was complete, Madeline set Roger's head gingerly down onto the table. "You'll feel better in a while, I promise," she whispered into his ear.

Slamming her fist down on the table and breaking a large chunk of the oak wood off the edge immediately caught everyone's attention.

"I want to know one thing. Did he act alone or are there others?" Madeline looked at each man for an answer. Finally, one elderly man stood up and with his head tilted down answered, "No, Miss Madeline, there was no plot from within. This assassin was a force of one. There was no connection that we have discovered to lead us to believe otherwise. There has been a thorough investigation. Just one lone crackpot."

"Thank you. You may be seated," she said calmly and completely placated.

"How many men do we have with us now?" Madeline asked.

"After the loss in Albuquerque, the last count we have is around four to five thousand," one of the generals said holding a leather-bound notebook.

"I want more!"

"Miss Madeline, from our Intel we speculate that Heckel has maybe three hundred."

"I don't care what he has. I want my army to be victorious. More men will assure this. Make it happen. I don't care how you get men in my army. Just do it. Promise them they can have anything they desire."

"Miss Madeline?" a voice from the far end of the table asked timidly. "Will you be leading us?"

Simultaneously, all the men turned their heads to stare at the individual.

Like the Cheshire cat, Madeline beamed from ear to ear. "Oh, you can absolutely bet on it. I wouldn't miss watching this for anything. This will be the crowning achievement on my journey for a new world order. I will lead you all to a triumphant and victorious outcome. Our enemies will be vanquished."

The entire room stood up and applauded. Inside her head, she heard someone with an old man's voice say one word.

Excellent.

Chapter 21

Several days had passed since Jackson and Bobby joined Heckel's group. Everyone seemed to enjoy their company and they fit in well, helping with the daily chores, hunting and cooking. Bobby especially charmed Vonnie, who practically adopted him. Oh, there was one who was not so accepting, Jerky. She bristled every time Jackson was around.

"She's doing it again," Sela whispered as she came out of the tent.

"I see her," I said as I blew on the remaining embers from the previous night's campfire.

"Any thoughts?" Sela said, standing up in front of the tent.

"Hmm, not sure," I replied as I calmly placed more kindling on the embers. The smoke increased and curled around my head. Flame slowly emerged.

"I make fire," I declared using my best caveman voice.

"Seriously, Heckel. Her behavior is..."

"I know what you're saying. She's been a trustworthy warning system and guard cat. I'm not sure how to react to it either. Maybe she just doesn't like him or something."

Sela crossed her arms, rolled her eyes, and sighed heavily. "Hmm, if that were only the case, but in reality Jerky loves everyone."

"Except Mr. Steele. Look, I'm thinking we just be a little extra cautious and keep our guard up. Look out there," I said, waving my arm out across the huge field of tents and tarps. "There are close to three hundred people camped in that field that we have to trust. It all gets down to trust. Something that over the last couple of decades or so was lost among people. Virtues like loyalty, trust—"

"And faith," Sela chimed in.

"Yes, faith. Faith and a belief in—"

"Good morning," Jack said, walking up behind us. "How are you both this fine morning?"

"Faith in our fellow man," Sela whispered as she turned around. "We're great," she said with a huge smile. "We were just having a discussion and…um…thinking about stuff."

"Well, speaking of thinking, everyone's wondering when we are leaving."

"Sounds like the group is rested and ready to head out. I guess tomorrow would be good," I said.

"Do you want to meet with everyone? The ABQ folks haven't heard you speak yet," Jack suggested.

"They haven't missed anything," I mumbled.

"That's not true. They need to hear confidence and assurance from their leader," Sela said. "And don't wince at that word leader."

I smiled with a slightly reddened face and nodded my head slowly. "You're right as usual," I muttered. Jack flashed me a grin.

"Let's get together tonight about seven. You still have that bullhorn?" I asked Jack.

"Yup. I'll have it with me."

"There it is," I said.

Jack excused himself to start telling everyone about the evening's meeting. He waved and yelled, "Have a good day."

"So is the plan to split once we hit California a good idea? I mean…" Sela asked as she gathered up the breakfast dishes to take to the stream for washing.

"Yes, the council and I thrashed this plan over and over. The ABQ group has some really good thinkers in it as well as a few old-school military types. I feel confident that the plan we've come up with is solid."

Sela set her dishes down, wrapped her arms around my neck and looked me in the eyes. "That's the assurance I'm talking about." The kiss that followed made my head swim.

"Can I order a kiss like that before my speech?" I asked sheepishly.

"I think that can be arranged—that is, if you help me with the dishes."