CH39
Jack was looking at William H. Bracken hanging from the rafters of a long since abandoned and forgotten building in the Vermont countryside. Technically he was hanging from his wrists with some serious pressure on his thumbs, all caused by his own weight.
They had all the information they needed, however, they had also come to the realization that since he was just months from being elected president, the entirety of the federal law enforcement agencies were out there looking for him. What he had done might possibly be overlooked and he'd be elected anyway. None of them wanted to know just how many people had to die to keep his secrets after that.
They had great fear that the FBI would be turned into his personal version of the Gestapo even if they didn't see it that way. He was the president after all. Still there would be a few that would fight back. With the millions from Mason and his drug sales he/they could afford to hire outside mercenaries to do the really dirty work and then do what they could to cover it up.
Mike had even questioned if it would plunge the United States into another civil war as the country ripped itself apart. And what would their enemies do when they watched that happen?
Jack's satellite phone started ringing which took him out of his head. "Yes," he answered brusquely. "How's asshole? Jackass is secure and waiting for his lesson," Mike told him. "Still unconscious. I'll start his lessons as soon as he wakes," he told him. "She's pissed at you. Doesn't believe this is necessary. The other four aren't far behind her if they even are," Mike advised him. "I know but if we're going to do this and somehow are found, they need to stay out of this. This lands on our heads only. You still okay with this?" Jack needed to know if his friend was still willing to finish this or did they release them and let them wander around till they were found? "Like you have to ask. ...Let's get this over with, mine's waking up." Mike hung up. Jack was glad he had such a good friend. He felt bad for leaving Rita, Jim, Johanna, Kevin, and Javi out of this part. They had each done so much to get them to this part.
They had more than enough information on both of them now after five long years to get them convicted and end up on death row. Only problem was they couldn't get them into Texas or any other state that actually executed the people they had on death row. What worried all of them were the politics of this. One party would do all they could to get each of them hung while the other party would likely try and get their boy in the president's office regardless of how he got there.
If Mason was awake then Jack needed Bracken awake so he tossed a glass of water in his face. "Wakey-wakey." He gave Bracken's cheeks a light slap. "What, ...who are you?" Bracken blearily looked at Jack and then looked up since his hands were felt like they were literally on fire. "What's going on? Do you have any idea who I am?" Bracken was important and he knew it. "Yes, Senator, I'm well aware of who you are. You're a murdering bastard who's killing his way to the presidency and I'm afraid that just can't be allowed," he informed Bracken.
"You're mistaken; I've killed no one and I can prove it." Bracken knew his hands were technically clean since he hadn't actually killed anyone. "No, you haven't," Jack admitted. "But tell me, do the names Coonan, Hamilton, Maddox, Perez, or Button mean anything to you?" Jack countered. Bracken knew each and every name he mentioned and he also knew what each of them had done and who he had ordered them to kill. "Never heard of them. Should I know them?" Bracken replied and immediately screamed a blood-curdling howl of pain. Pain the like of which Bracken had never known or ever heard of.
Jack released the button and let Bracken's body relax. "Let me explain how this is going to go. You're a killer. I know who you've ordered killed and who actually died at your behest. The only good thing I can say about that is that your men actually missed killing two of them. Not that your men didn't die trying." He pressed the button again and watched and listened to Bracken scream like he had never screamed before in his life.
He released the button and let Bracken sag. "Some of them died slowly under torture all in an effort to give you information on what they knew and who they had talked to. They died in pain, just like you're going to do," he informed him coldly and pressed the button that resulted in yet another scream of overwhelming pain.
He took his finger off the button and let Bracken's body relax again. "The pain you're feeling is an electrical charge straight into your central nervous system. The power source is battery powered and attached to a wireless control. If I wanted to I could press the button from the comfort of my living room sofa while watching TV or maybe a good movie. I'm told The Return of the King and Matrix Reloaded are out now for purchase. You should be flattered that I'd rather watch you scream instead of watching a good movie." He depressed the button again and watched and listened to Bracken shriek.
He saw Bracken's body slump. "Not to worry Senator, there's no one within miles and if someone does find us, the place is surrounded by claymores with remote detonation. Plus there's a bomb directly under your feet. More than enough to blow you to pieces," he told him and pressed the button. He let Bracken's body crumple in on itself. "Don't bother worrying Senator. You're going to be a mental vegetable long before this actually kills you," he said and pressed the button.
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"You're thinking awfully loud over there," Jim remarked as the two of them sat in their living room on the ground floor. The safe command and control room at the top of the stairs was still in place, they just didn't really need it anymore or so they thought. "What they're doing is wrong, Jim, and you know it." Jo really didn't like what Jack and Mike were doing. They should be letting the system either inject them or let them rot in prison for the rest of their lives. "Like we can do anything about it. We have no idea where they have taken them. Even Rita doesn't know," Jim argued. "Doesn't make it right." Jo continued to fume over this.
An alarm startled them and had them turning on the TV, watching as two carloads of men stopped and started getting out. They left the TV on and raced up the stairs. They opened the hidden door, then opened the steel door behind it, and closed both of them behind them.
Johanna sat down and willed her heart to slow down. "We don't have either of them or even know where they are," Johanna said. "But they don't know that," Jim countered. He turned on the internal power and started up all of the monitors that were in the room. Together they watched the men break down their front door and enter with silenced weapons held up as they cleared the room and went to the back of their house while a different group went up the stairs and entered each bedroom. They checked every closet and every bathroom.
One of them pulled out a radio. "They're not in here," he reported. "They're in there; look again," came the reply. "They've been watching us." Jo was shocked. Jim picked up their landline and made a call. "We've got six in our house and at least one or more outside who've been watching. If they have eyes on us..." Jim was interrupted. "They have eyes on us," Kevin answered grimly and hung up.
Kevin gathered up all of his weapons. "What are you doing Kev?" Jenny asked him as she watched him pick up two vests. "Put this on, we're leaving," he told her. She took the vest but did nothing with it. "I don't understand, go where?" She didn't know everything he did, just that it involved him using weapons to protect her and others.
"Please, if you value your life and the life of our baby, we have to go now!" He looked outside and didn't like what he saw. "We have to go, they're here. Put that on as we go." He opened the front door, guided her down the hall and down the back stairs. Then they got off on one level below and walked down the hall where he used a key to open another apartment door. Once inside Jenny finally put on her vest while Kevin checked the windows, opened the one on the back fire escape, and sent her out first. Once outside and down on the ground he helped her move quickly as he cut down alleys and into shops and out the back door. Time after time they repeated the steps till he was satisfied and pulled out his satellite phone.
"You two okay?" was the first thing he heard from Javi. "Barely, what about you two?" Kevin replied. "I'm about to steal a car. Meet us at emergency point charlie?" Javi told him and asked if he could make it. "We'll be there," he assured Javi as he spotted just the right car to borrow and get them there.
Jim made another call. "We've got six in our house and at least one outside. They know we're here," he advised her. "Kevin and Javi?" Rita questioned. "They should be fine." Jim didn't know for a fact but those two were more prepared to move than they were. "Move carefully and quietly to the space below you. Take everything you can with you and sit tight. I'm coming." Rita hung up.
"She told us to go downstairs." He moved a chair, slid a panel in the floor to one side, and then put in the correct combination. Jim put his poor old back into it to lift the safe door open. The lights inside automatically turned on. Johanna was the first one down while he handed her water, food, and flashlights. He was next. He closed the safe door behind him, locked it in place, and slid the two bolts into place in case they did find it and figured out the combination. Next he pulled a single wire that released a spring which allowed the door in the floor to slide close with a soft thud. Then a bookcase filled with stuff fell over on top of all that.
"Now we wait." Jim sat down, pulled his wife in close, and wrapped an arm around her. "Maybe Katie's better off wherever she is," Johanna offered sadly and got a hug from her husband. "If she was dead we would feel it. I'm not giving up yet." He kissed her cheek. "I wish we knew something more, anything would help." She rested her head on his shoulder and tried to listen to the men that were in their house.
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"Send them in," the Director told his receptionist and he got up to meet them half way so that they could sit comfortably. "JD, Casey, good to see you. Please have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?" he inquired. They answered at the same time, "Just water for me thanks," and, "Same here." The Director opened his refrigerator and handed each a bottle of water. "No gas if I remember correctly." He took one for himself.
"Please sit. I have a pad for each of you." He motioned to the small pads next to them. "I take it you have something to show us?" JD asked. "The Castle clan have found something. A lot of things actually," he admitted and was happy about his decision to send them.
"Another A.I. missile?" Casey queried and picked up his pad to start reading as did JD. "Not this time. I trust you are responding to what they found?" He was hoping they didn't just ignore the Castles. "Of course, someone made that missile. To think someone would build an A.I. missile and let it attack anyone it chose. Our research group, however, is drooling at the possibilities. Not that we would do the same, of course, but we could develop one and give it a specific target. A standoff weapon if you will."
"They found a planet? Already?" JD hustled to read and catch up. "A good-sized planet at that. Where are they now?" Casey asked. "They reported it and moved on according to a follow-up message," the Director replied. "I may have misjudged your Castle family. You may have chosen wisely," JD admitted.
"Interesting, a single city that's also a dirty city. Why just the one?" Casey questioned. "Take a look at the pictures and scans that they sent with it," the Director offered as an answer. "Kind of a bit of a mishmash, not really well thought out. A colony of someone's perhaps?" Casey suggested. "No clean power sources, not sure I like the location. I'd prefer it to be somewhere else," JD mentioned.
"How soon can you build a colony ship, put a presence on it, and get started farming?" the Director questioned. They both thought for a moment about what was under construction at the moment. "Our orbital base is almost done with the first cruiser that has the new drive. She'll start testing in about three months. This works out and it'll revolutionize space travel. The next three will be two months apart. We should have an operational wing in about nine months. After the first one is done we can easily switch over to build your colony ship. Say, two years to build it, test it, outfit it, and man it. It will be the old drive meaning it will take time for it to get there," JD responded.
"I'd like to get us there sooner so we can stake a claim to the system should anyone show up and try and take it before we get there," Casey mentioned. "We could split off elements of the ninth fleet today and get them in transit tomorrow," JD suggested. "I'll leave what you decide to send to secure this planet to you two, though I agree the sooner we get there the better," the Director said.
"When will you hear from your Castle group next?" JD inquired. "Not for another four months at best. We sent them out into an area that's really sparsely populated with systems. Even more sparse and farther out than we are or even Earth is located," the Director told them.
"One of my better pilots with possibly the smartest person on this planet and an alien. You took a risk, even if it appears to be working out." He did have to hand it to the Director. "We'll get the orders out and the ships will leave in twelve hours," Casey advised him and stood to leave followed by JD.
An hour later and eight ships had their orders and were soon loading all the supplies they would need to last for a few years without resupply. One battleship, one cruiser, and six destroyers broke orbit a few hours later and entered FTL headed for a planet that had one dirty colonial city on it. It would take them a few months but it was considered enough to keep the system until a colony ship and its support ships would show up. Plus not all of the planet was radioactive, just one little piece of it. The crew didn't have to stay onboard ship the entire time they were there.
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Kate woke with a start and smacked her head on the Plexiglas top. "Ouch!" She tried to reach an hand to her head and found it was blocked by the same top. "Oh yeah, medical pod." She tried to get her mind to start working. "Diagnosis of occupant?" she inquired and watched the glass light up and show her. "No more concussion, no more broken ankle, and no more broken leg." She relaxed and closed her eyes. Then she opened them and kept reading. "Not dehydrated and no other injuries." That was all she cared about. "Open please," she called out and found herself looking at the ceiling of the shuttle while she was practically lying on the floor. She climbed out and let the pod slide back into place. Next she pressed a button and watched Rick's pod slide out while the Plexiglas remained closed. "Analysis of occupant?" she asked and began reading.
"No more concussion, punctured lung repaired, gash on abdomen repaired, still working on both legs." Kate let herself bend forward till her forehead rested on the glass. "Still alive," she whispered. "Another twenty-four hours." She lifted her head to read the rest.
"Don't go anywhere babe, I have to go check on Alexis." She smiled, kissed the glass, and let the pod slide back in under the bed. Opening the door she found the sun had just started to come up and HAL was right where she left him. The area was a mess so she climbed into him and walked back to what was left of Medical.
Along the way she looked at what was left of their ship. Almost all of Engineering was gone, not just damaged. She meant gone as in there was nothing to see except a big gaping hole. Even the two wings on that side were gone.
As she approached Medical she could tell that the medical computer was likely damaged beyond repair. She used HAL to climb up and enter Medical before getting out of him. The medical generators were obviously still online so they at least had some power. Likely her generator was also still working which meant they could make parts, entire generators, and even the skin of the ship. It would take them years, but so long as the bridge and the main computer were operational, the ship just might still fly and get them home.
"Yeah, and I'll be old and gray by then." She chuckled at herself. She finally reached Alexis's medical pod and found Vincent hovering nearby. "The walk-in coolers and freezers are operational," Vincent told her. "Well done Vincent!" Kate stepped past Alexis's pod and gave his metal body a quick kiss.
"See if you can contact AMEE and have her report here," Kate asked him as she knelt down next to Alexis's pod. "Yes, Kate," Vincent responded and flew off. She didn't really want to know. Alexis was in such bad shape when she had found her. She stroked the glass and looked in and saw her lying on her back with her eyes closed. Alexis looked peaceful. "Diagnose occupant," she called and forced herself to read.
"Concussion repaired, three broken ribs still, punctured lung repaired, crushed pelvis still broken, both legs still crushed as well as both feet. ...Oh, my sweet girl." She bent over and rested her head on the glass and cried yet again. "Estimate time to total repair?" she inquired. "OH, GOD!" She collapsed backward and just rested. "Power, we need power." That thought got Kate up off the floor. She went to a panel to pull up the power of the generators and started doing a diagnosis.
"Functioning at 22% at present based on the current load. Maximum power available is 99.6%, that's good. Storage is at 87% capacity so it'll last for months. If I can tap into the main storage in what's left of Engineering, I can stretch that into years and still have my generator as a backup and the skin of the ship when the sun's out. We have food at least, we just need water," she said to herself.
"Okay, things are bad but they could be worse, ...I guess," she murmured and then watched as AMEE climbed inside with Vincent hovering next to her. "AMEE! Let's see what you've got. Maybe we crashed on Xerxes and can get some help from our friends." She was hoping anyway.
Kate went in search of a pad so she could connect it to AMEE. "Let's see what you've seen shall we?" She crossed her fingers and began searching AMEE's memory. "What the hell is that!?" She kept searching for a clearer picture. Finally she got a better look at it though not a clear one. It was big, really big. "Five maybe six stories tall with a neck that's another four or five stories tall? And look at the size of those legs!" she said and then saw that AMEE had finally got a clear picture.
"OH, god. You have got to be shitting me!" She let the pad fall against her legs. She racked her brain to get the name of it and tilted her head as if that would actually help.
"Brachiosaurus."