The Dragons of Men (The Sons of Liberty Book 2) (57 page)

“So I take it I only need to press this little blue button and you’ll be like the others in the rooms before this one?” Alan said. Derrick’s eyes went wide and he shook his head violently, terror overwhelming his face. “Good. Now you’re going to keep your mouth shut and only speak when I ask a question or I’m going to press this button and leave you to rot in your anguish, you sick bastard. We clear?” Derrick nodded and Marc slowly pulled his hand away. “Good.” Alan reached up and touched a hidden earpiece. “Lev, where are you man?” Alan paused for five seconds before cursing under his breath. “Copy.”

“Wait,” Jack said. “Leila, is she—”

“She’s fine,” Alan said as Lev ran in with two sets of clothes. “Everyone’s fine, but we have to move fast.”

“The feed’s looped and we have twelve minutes till they come back down,” Lev said as he ducked into the room, greeting Adam and Jack with a nod as he tossed them clothes very similar to the uniforms they wore. None of them had firearms, though they each held a knife at the ready. The clothing they tossed him matched that of every Recruit Adam had met during his eleven days, though he paused as he located the tiny hole in the black uniform—a red ring above his heart. He shuddered, thinking of the dead man that had likely worn those clothes minutes ago, before tugging the heavy shirt overhead and covering the hole with a black vest Marc gave him.

“So what happened in Memphis?” Jack asked as he dressed.

“When you guys went tumbling over the bridge, we made a run for the other side of the river with the hopes of following whoever took you,” Alan replied. “We had to fight our way through the second blockade, but there were only a few of them and they didn’t stand a chance. Still, by the time we made it across the bridge, we had no idea where the boat had taken you.”

“I managed to get Gene in contact with the Texans fortifying South Little Rock and we made our way to them,” Lev said. “We were about to head further into Texas, but we found out about the prisoners they have up here a few days ago. We didn’t want to leave, knowing you three might be here. Texas said they wouldn’t allow their men to be risked on a foolhardy rescue mission, but that didn’t stop us from volunteering. When Lev finally hacked into their surveillance system yesterday morning and located you two, Gene led an emergency exfiltration to save you.”

“What about Edward?” Adam asked. “He was—”

“Edward’s fine,” Alan said. “Despite their standing orders to refrain from assisting us, a few of the Texans snuck away with Gene. They located Edward in the living quarters above and are sneaking him back to the extraction point.”

“Why’d you come?” Adam asked, turning to Marc. “I wouldn’t think you’d be moving much yet.”

Marc pulled back a long piece of black cloth that encircled his forearm and powered on a digital screen. He swiped around the screen before clicking once and showing it to Adam.

Wouldn’t miss it for the world…maybe for a glass of French wine and a buttery croissant.

Adam shook his head and laughed as he stepped over and shook Marc’s hand.

“Glad to see you got your voice back,” Adam said.

“It’s an old smartphone from the days before the nVision craze,” Lev said, glancing back out into the dimly lit hallway. “He can type out text if he needs to, but he’s been plugging in premade responses for the past few days for faster communication. Granted, they have Marc’s usual sense of mockery in them.”

“I’d be disappointed if they didn’t,” Adam replied, buckling his belt as he eyed Derrick. The man looked terrified, like a hen that had just realized it was cornered in a hollow with foxes. “What about him?”

“He’s coming with us,” Alan said as he slowly approached Derrick. “Near as we can tell from Lev’s surveillance, he’s got some authority in the camp, possibly enough to help us walk out of here with no questions asked.” Alan raised the silver cylinder, his thumb hovering over the glowing blue button. “I think Derrick’s going to help us, because if he doesn’t, I’m going to press this button. In fact, if he says anything or does anything that might make me unhappy—perhaps something I might suspect to be a code word—I’ll turn this thing on and throw it away. Do we understand each other?”

“Yes,” Derrick replied quickly. “I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll cross the river with you and tell you everything I know about our defenses.”

“Damn straight you will,” Alan said.

“Eight minutes,” Lev said, looking up from his watch. “We’ve got to hurry. Lev also hacked Derrick’s personal drone in the other room, looping its feed and programing it to stay put. They don’t send their surveillance drones down here because of the close quarters, but there will be hundreds of them just as soon as we’re above ground. If we’re going to make it out, we can’t let them have the time they need to get curious.”

“Agreed,” Alan said, turning back to Derrick. “You’re going to lead us out of here and you’re going to make sure to mislead anyone who asks about us. You’re going to tell them we arrived with this morning’s shipment of drugs. You’re then going to walk with us east on Riverfront Drive and over to the old pallet factory on Brother Paul Drive.”

“But there’s nothing down that way,” Derrick replied.

“Nothing but our guys waiting for us,” Alan said with a grin.

“How will you cross the river?” Derrick asked.

“Quickly and out of sight,” Alan said before turning to Adam and the others. “Stay quiet and remember—you’re a Patriarch until we’re out of here. Try to act like it. Derrick…lead the way.”

They followed Derrick as the man did his best to mask his nervousness. Derrick drew a handkerchief from his belt and dabbed at his forehead as they began down the hallway. Alan grabbed Derrick by the shoulder as they approached a door, causing him to jump.

“Here,” Alan said, motioning to the door to his left. Derrick nodded and opened the door, but Alan quickly reached out and pulled it shut. “I meant lock it!” Before he closed the door, Adam’s eyes darted inside, catching a glimpse of the three naked men who lay motionless on the floor. He now knew where they had acquired his uniform.

Derrick’s face went pale and he nodded his head, drawing his keys and locking the door from the outside. He paused before turning to the side and emptying his stomach.

“Get with it,” Alan said, raising the silver cylinder.

“I’m trying!” Derrick said, wiping his chin. “Forgive me, but those were friends of mine.”

“And forgive me,” Alan growled as he approached. “But we had to walk around with you assholes in the middle of the night and watch as you forced twelve people into fighting to the death.”

“It’s not what you—”

“Don’t even dare try to justify what you did,” Alan growled.

“We were following orders,” Derrick said. “They’re getting everyone ready to go either south or north and—”

North….

Adam started as the word seemed to echo through the dim hallway. He looked around at the others, checking to see if they showed any signs of hearing something as well. Everyone simply stared at Derrick as he tried to explain himself out of torment. The voice sounded just like it had in Memphis, DC, and Chicago, but it had always been specific. Now, it was simply one word and Adam had no idea what lay north of Little Rock.

“…you might never want to,” Alan was saying, “but that doesn’t make you innocent. That makes you—”

“What’s north of here?” Adam asked quickly, stepping forward. “You said they were moving everyone either north or south.”

Derrick paused before nodding his head. “What about it?”

“What are they moving them for?” Adam asked, stepping in closer. “What’s north?”

“An outpost,” Derrick said. “A place called Fort Harding.”

“What’s there?” Adam asked.

“It’s just an outpost, but it’s fortified and has some armor,” Derrick replied. “If they join up with Texas it will give them an angle to hit us from behind. We were getting all Recruits ready to either attack north and take the outpost or charge south and strike the Texans across the river.”

“What do you mean Recruits?” Alan asked as he stepped up next to Adam.

Derrick’s eyes darted back and forth between Adam and Jack before shifting over to Alan, glancing down at the cylinder in his hand.

“That’s what they’ve been doing,” Derrick replied. “The Patriarchs have been using that synthetic drug to activate extreme pain in order to force people to do what they normally wouldn’t. We ran out a few weeks ago and had to resort to other methods of control. It wasn’t until this morning that they received the new shipment.”

“I thought you weren’t going to inject the man who left the room alive?” Adam asked.

Derrick looked back and forth between Adam and Jack, fear filling his eyes. “What do you want me to say? We didn’t know if we were actually going to get more before we attacked. We needed you ready, with or without the drug. We had been keeping everyone alive for subjugation, but two weeks ago, Rendell said we needed to cultivate madness without the drug.”

“And who’s Rendell?” Lev asked.

“He’s the madman running this operation,” Derrick replied. “He’s a Patriarch, not a Recruit. He’s been with them for years and does whatever the men down south command. Please, they turned me two months ago. I never wanted to do this but no one can resist that drug once it’s flowing through your veins. They activate it the first day you’re turned. We all know what awaits our disobedience. At least one out of every two were able to avoid it these past two weeks. The lucky ones are those who die by the hammer or knife or whatever we leave them. The rest of us…we’re the ones left alive with no soul. We’re all dead, our bodies just haven’t caught up yet.”

Adam and the others stared back at Derrick silently. Adam felt pity for Derrick, the man who had tortured him to the point of nearly murdering a friend to end the pain. Adam wanted to believe differently, but he couldn’t help but wonder if he would have been able to do anything differently.

“You’re not dead,” Adam finally replied. “There’s still hope. Help get us out of here and we’ll make sure it stays that way. We’ll do what we can to free you of whatever is in your blood.”

Derrick nodded back and took a deep breath as he slowly led them all toward the exit. As they approached the steel door, the latch creaked and began to turn. Everyone immediately tensed, but Alan quickly turned around and hushed them. As the door opened, Alan shoved Derrick forward with one hand as he hid the silver cylinder in a cargo pocket.

Three men talked quietly on the other side of the door as it opened, their laughter echoing through the hallway behind them. As their eyes found Adam and the others, their laughter cut off. The man at the front—a burly brute with a shaved head and gray stubble lining his jaw—cleared his throat.

“Both of them?” the man asked, glancing from Adam and Jack to Derrick.

“Yeah, they’re the last,” Derrick said, glancing over at Adam with a convincing calmness. “Rendell said we can’t wait any longer. He said we’re moving out soon and that we need every man we have. More fodder for the cannons.”

“About damn time,” the burly man replied. “I say let the new Recruits earn their keep or die trying.”

“Damn straight,” Derrick said, turning around to face the others. “You boys ready to go?”

Adam nodded his head quietly, his face emotionless.

They walked past the steel door and began to make their way through the dimly lit tunnels, winding their way upward once they reached a stairwell. They ascended the stairs and stepped out, the sound of people growing louder. Adam hadn’t realized until that moment how quiet his isolation had been. The sound of civilization was almost as unnerving as the days of silence had been. He had not been able to remotely guess where they were and was quite surprised to gaze through the last pair of open doors at the innards of a large baseball stadium. They stepped out into the main hall and paused as the burly man halted to talk with Derrick.

Alan hovered close to Derrick, watching his every move. As Derrick and the burly man spoke, Adam glanced to his right. A loud bustling rose from the inner stadium, though he couldn’t see past the glare from the sun that beat at his eyes. He stepped toward a passageway that cut from the main hall to the stadium, shielding his eyes as he moved forward. As his eyes adjusted to the light, his mouth dropped and Adam gaped at what he saw.

The inner field was packed with people, cots, cooking pots, and containers of slop. Both men and women walked about aimlessly, their faces void of emotion as they ate. Derrick had been right. Those below were dead men and women walking, ready to be set free from a life that had enslaved them.

Adam leaned up against the concrete wall beside him, fighting back tears as his heart broke for those below him. He believed his failure to stop Lukas Chambers the reason they suffered. He wanted to help them, but had no idea what to do.

I’m just one man,
he thought as he glanced up, his eyes finding a lone drone that hovered five feet above. A year ago, the mass of people below had been free Americans, living life by their own accord. Now, they were carted together, guarded like cattle, and fed from community troughs before their hour of slaughter. If Adam could survive and fight to free them, it would be a fight worth waging.

North….

Adam’s eyes went wide as the word echoed again. Though he didn’t believe the words were actually audible, it was so prominent that he couldn’t help but hear it in his soul.