Chapter 42


"They're organized, Mike, much more than you'd imagine." Tom said as he joined Mike on the flight deck. He could see Mike's attention was flickering between Kate who was getting freed from her side of the Helo as they were speaking by the flight crew.

"Our country's been without a leader for months now. It was only a matter of time before somebody like Ramsey to come along and try to take power." Mike remarked as he'd been there to witness their 'president' being manhandled off the helo and to the wardroom via a less frequented route so as not to have the whole ship gawking.

"He's got something." Tom said referring to Ramsey more than Michener as Sean had been setting it up for Michener to head the chapter of immunes in America. "These people believe what he's selling." Tom told Mike convincing their worst fears as it was only a matter of time before Ramsey turned the survivors of this virus against the Nathan James.

"Well, our commander in chief didn't seem too happy to be with us" Mike remarked with a wry smile.

"Well, that's something we're gonna have to change." Tom told him as they walked into the ship.

Tom knew Mike wanted to looked to Kate but right now they had to get ahead with their current problem of their president being aligned with the enemy. It was not going to stay a secret for long that Michener was on the ship but they needed to be able to give the ship a commander in chief who backed them.

"Won't be easy if he really is one of them." Mike remarked as he looked away with his face scrunched up in annoyance. Tom felt it too as they just couldn't catch a break. If anything they kept sinking deeper and deeper into their mess which only extended the mission out.

"This country needs a leader almost as much as it needs the cure. Ramsey was gonna use the president to win the hearts and minds of America and that's exactly what we're gonna do." Tom said as they walked past the helo bay where Rachel's lab was. The door was opened and he caught a glimpse of her sitting in her chair looking pale as Tex was talking to her. He squashed the urge to deviate from his course and go to her as he wanted to wrap her in his arms and shelter her from further pain. But he kept walking as he couldn't be that person for her right now.

"Yeah, I hate to say it but I think I was sick the day they were teaching us how to deprogram cult members" Mike joked sardonically bringing Tom back to their present problem which was more important than Tom's personal issues with himself.

"We got no choice. We need him. You had to have some experience with this in your old days in the force like what you did with Quincy" Tom said, Mike snorted as he fought to remind Tom that he hadn't been a cop in some small town where cults tended proliferate. His experience leaned towards a more pragmatic approach that in his opinion tended to not always work on people who had strong convictions or belief in their leader. He looked at their so called president and pegged him as a victim and he tended to leave the subtly of mind games to garner information from victims to people who had a softer touch.

"I can try but no promises" Mike told him.

"He'll be in the wardroom for now" Tom said, Mike nodded taking the subtle dismissal and left Tom to gather his wits and the information he needed to brief their president.


"The Department of Housing and Urban Development is a relic from another time, and that the State should be charged with their own infrastructure Footage from the White House files and the Federal Government no longer need have a role-"

"My apologies for interrupting you" Michener said as he was sitting at a table in front of senate review. He had his hands clasped together in front of him as he looked forward to his peers. His body language showed he was listening and taking in their words.

"But since I already know what you're going to say, let me just cut to the heart of the matter. It is a sadly misunderstood idea that we have somehow graduated from our obligations of developing this country's infrastructure. We are 27th in homelessness, 36th in people living below the poverty line" Michener said.

"He's got strength." Jeter said, Mike had to agree the man had a certain gravitas that made him imbue him with a silent strength and confidence that made you want to believe that he was capable of greater things.

But in Mike's mind it didn't gel with the man who was pacing in their wardroom. The man on the screen while his character was strong he looked visibly ill, in fact all the past footage he had watched showed the man had not been in perfect health as he looked gaunt in the face, incredibly pale with red rimmed eyes like he was in need of a week's worth of rest but right now in their wardroom; he looked healthy as the rest of them. It didn't add up.

"-19th in urban technological sophistication. Now, I, for one, am not satisfied with that. Are you?" Michener asked, Tom reached forward and turned off the video as he'd watched enough to see exactly why Sean had found this man and why he could be an exceptional leader given the chance.

"He looks a lot healthier now than he did back then" Mike remarked.

"Could mean anything, I haven't had a chance to dig up his personnel file from the hard drives yet" Tom said as he wasn't sure why Mike was bringing it to their attention. He looked to Jeter and asked the question that had been gnawing at him for the past half an hour since they'd been on the ship.

"How much does the crew know?" Tom asked Jeter as the man was more privvy to the crew and their thoughts than Mike or Tom. It was helpful when they needed a temperature check and right now it was important they knew how fragile this situation truly was.

"They know we've got the President. Some of them know he didn't quite come willingly." Jeter said in a grave manner that said they would all have to tread lightly or this would blow up in their faces.

"And that he was with the immunes?" Tom asked.

"No." Jeter said with a shake of his head. The only saving grace they had at the moment was sometime to fix the president's allegiances before the crew became suspicious.

"We'll have to turn him quickly to avoid that question." Tom said with a confidence he didn't feel.

"Yeah, well, in my mind, if he doesn't walk out of that room committed to our cause by sunrise tomorrow, we'll never convince our crew he's worthy of being followed." Mike said pointing out the obvious as they were now at another critical juncture because if they didn't have a Commander in Chief on their side it would be near impossible to recover the crew's morale and keep their commitment to the mission if they felt they were fighting for a battle already lost.

"This is about more than just the crew. The country needs a leader." Tom told him.

"Yeah. And if the first 200 people who come in contact with him think he's tainted, it's not gonna work." Mike said forever the pessimist and realist rolled into one. But Tom knew he was right. Mike moved away from the group and left the room as it was now his tone to test the waters with their new leader.


Mike stood outside the door of the wardroom for a moment deciding what was the best course of action in how to approach the man inside the room. Michener thought he was a prisoner and in some ways he was given they couldn't let his mistrust infect the crew. He rolled his shoulders back and opened the door. He stepped into the room and placed the laptop on the table.

Burk stepped forward and stood to attention. "He doesn't want to eat, sir." Burk informed him. Mike looked to Michener who was bouncing back and forth on his feet looking completely unsure of himself.

"Get it wrapped up for later." Mike told him, as he picked up the plate of food and handed it to Burk. He looked Burk over noting the blood stained t-shirt and the man's exhaustion. "Why don't you have green relieve you? Go get yourself cleaned up." Mike added.

"Aye, sir." Burk said taking the plate and leaving the room. Mike waited for the door to close and turned his attention squarely to Michener. Sizing up the man trying to see if there was anything left of the one he saw in the videos he'd watched for the past hour to get a feel for him.

"Commander Mike Slattery. I'm the Executive Officer of this ship." Mike informed him, in a professional manner as he rounded the table to Michener and held out his hand.

"I want to speak to the Captain." Michener demanded of him, Mike dropped his hand to his hip. The fact the man refused to shake his hand did not bode well.

"Well, he's presently indisposed. He wanted us to get acquainted till he gets here." Mike said, he gestured for Michener to sit down but the man stood his ground.

"You are aware that kidnapping the President of the United States is a federal offense, punishable by death?" Michener asked him, Mike gave him a wry smile given he wondered if the man thought he was stupid.

"The Captain was under the impression he was rescuing you." Mike told him.

"At gunpoint, against my will?" Michener asked incredulously, he shook his head in disbelief and gave a harsh chuckle.

"Sir, I don't think you realize who the Ramseys are or what their goal is" Mike said taking a different tactic. He knew he couldn't befriend the man but he would make him listen.

"You don't need to tell me anything." Michener assured him.

"No, sir, I don't. Unless you want to be fully informed." Mike said, he looked at Michener seeing the distinct lack of interest. He continued on as he opened the laptop on the table "I'd like to show you something, if I may, this is from August." Mike told him, he opened the laptop and brought up a video. It was of the last official contact they had with the White house bunker.

"I think you'll remember the Speaker of the house. She was second in succession to the President then. These were her orders to us." Mike told him, he hit the enter key and the video played. Michener turned his back to Mike and the laptop, like he could just pretend the whole situation wasn't happening. Mike couldn't help but feel slighted by the man's want to be ignorant.

After it finished, Mike gave the man a moment to let the old president's words sink in and a chance for Mike to read Michener's responses. Which was hard to do given the man's back was to him but he knew the man recognised the old speaker of the house. He knew the man had hear the message even if he wouldn't look at the screen.

"We came home. Found things not quite as hospitable as we'd hoped. No infrastructure No government, no orders. So we went to the White House, and we were able to get our hands on many of the Presidential files and directives." Mike told him, he moved to the keyboard of the laptop changing the video.

"This is the secretary of the Navy. I understand you knew him pretty." Mike said at which Michener did turn around to watch.

"U.S. Navy is currently on a mission to find the materials for a vaccine to combat the pandemic. If you're viewing this video, you are part of the new network of facilities in the United States and certain foreign countries, which were chosen to produce and distribute the vaccine. You'll be able to communicate with the civilian command with each other. Hopefully, you'll then start producing and distributing the vaccine, and we can get to the task of rebuilding our great nation. Godspeed." the secretary of the Navy said from his position behind the desk.

Michener watched it all, it was hard to ignore a friend's last words. Mike tapped the a couple of keys closing the video player down.
"We have the cure, sir." Mike said as he pulled out a vial of said cure and placed it on the table "We were able to produce it right here on this ship. Guess you wouldn't have any need for it yourself. The rest of the world, the ones who aren't lucky enough to be naturally immune." he said somewhat scathingly as he couldn't help but feel anger towards anyone who was willing to kill innocent people to get a bigger slice of the pie.

"We were late to the game due to getting tangled up in Baltimore and it's politics. By the time we knew of the labs... well it was too late." Mike drawled. He pulled up a new video one that Anna had passed his way when she had managed to partially repair one of the damaged servers. It was a video file only he and Anna had seen, he wasn't sure it worth sharing with Rachel but he was going to leave that to Tom's discretion.

"This is a recording made by one of our scientists. He was trying to get a message through to our scientist. He had been a member of that network at one of the labs" Mike said as he clicked play.

"Rachel" Dr Hunter's face filled the screen. He looked scared for his life as he spoke in a hushed tone.
"Oh, God, I pray this gets to you. Listen. He killed the others-" Dr Hunter dropped his head down into his hand for a moment. Completely overcome by his emotions. "all my work, Rachel" he said as he looked up; he looked completely crushed by defeat.

"But it's important..." The man stuttered as crashing sound spooked him "It's important that you know I didn't mean to help him-" He stopped as the sound of gun fire and heavy boots hitting floor sounded. Muffled voices sounded in the background and then Dr Hunter's face turned to sheer panic as he realised he was running out of time.

"I'm sending you the data now. I hope you can repair what I've –"

"Hey! down here!" a voice said in the background getting closer. Dr Hunter typed furiously on the keyboard in front of him.

"God. I hope you can forgive me, Rachel" Dr Hunter said to the screen as a man Mike didn't recognise yanked the Doctor away from the computer. He had a feeling it was Kevin McDowell or at least that's who Anna identified him to be came onto the screen and pushed Dr Hunter to his knees.

"Where is the research?" The man with a thick Irish accent demanded, his gun pointed at Dr Hunter's head.

"Please I don't have it, just go. I won't tell anyone you were here" Dr Hunter pleaded.

"Why are you wasting time? I already have everything we need. He's useless" Neils said, his voice carrying through the speakers even though he wasn't on the screen.

"He's one of us" Another man argued.

"Yes, but he's not like me. He's old and his knowledge is redundant given I'm here. Look at him, he's immune but he'll never convert" Neils told. Kevin Mc Dowell.

Mike looked up to the security camera in the corner of the room knowing Tom and the others in the room hadn't seen or heard this video before. Two gunshots sounded and Mike looked to see Michener's shock. Mike looked to the screen to watch Dr Hunter's body drop to the floor. Mike reached over and turned the video off as Michener didn't need to see the rest.

"You might recognize that Irish accent. Those were Sean Ramsey's people. They gained access to our secret network, the location of all our labs, and they blew them up with their long-range missiles. Destroyed our limited infrastructure, murdered our scientists All because they believe that they are the inheritors of the earth. That's why Captain Chandler rescued you from the Ramseys. I can only assume you knew nothing about this. I mean, if you did…" Mike paused for effect letting in sink in for a effect as Michener understood it would be bad.

He needed Michener to realise the seriousness of his position as president. That if he condoned such actions against his country's best interests. He could tell by the shocked yet conflicted expression on the man's face. Michener had turned away from him again with his hand covering his mouth. Mike was glad the man was not trying to excuse anyone's actions. He took his silence to mean he was absorbing the information. At least for now.

Mike continued on and pulled out two thumb drives. It was the last of the information he had to share with Michener at least for now.

"This is a comprehensive look at Dr. Scott's protocols, experiments, and trials. Complete Captain's logs, combat center records, satellite images of all the labs that show the results of the Ramseys' assault on our labs. A comprehensive map and run down of the sects running their own agendas in regards to this virus. Who's allied with who, information you've probably missed out on given how limited communications and intelligence gathering is on the ground" He added as he placed two thumb drives on table

"It's not easy to listen to or to learn where you fit in with all of it, but I think you'll find it informative. I'll let the Captain know that you've been briefed." Mike said walking out of the room.


"Hey, what's wrong?" Kate asked knowing it was the wrong question to ask but felt like she needed to know given she walked into Rachel's lab area to find it a mess and Rachel very close to looking like a mad woman as her hair was a mess and she wouldn't stop moving around the place.

"Neils has managed to weaponise the virus by putting into a liquid suspension that can turn it to mist. It is now aerosolized" Rachel said before she turned her back to them and went back into the main lab area to continue her work. She couldn't believe this was happening. She felt sick to her stomach knowing that Neils had turned a child's toy into a weapon.

"I-" Kate started but shut her mouth as Anna had thrown a piece of plastic at her head and gave her a pointed look to keep her mouth shut. They both knew Kate was going to argue that the virus was spread by aspirated saliva from an infected person to the next victim but it wasn't going to help Rachel.

"He took my mentor's work and twisted it for his purposes" Rachel said out loud, she wanted to drop to the floor and cry but anger fuelled her to keep moving forward. "Work that was supposed to save people, what kind of monster purposefully sets out to murder children?" Rachel asked rhetorically.

Kate winced from her own physical aches than Rachel's outburst as she slowly lowered herself into a chair at the table where Anna was sitting. All the while Rachel continued to vent her spleen. Not caring who listened as she continued to work on Neil's liquid trying to break it down to it's basic building blocks in the hopes of adapting it to her cure. The only issue was that her cure wasn't infectious like the virus.

"You should be back in the infirmary" Kate said in a low voice with a frown as it was definitely over the hour she promised to Rios that Anna would be gone.

"With that guy she's been fuming over for the past hour? No thanks" Anna said in a low voice as they continued to watch Rachel but the woman had fallen silent as she went back to her work.

"At least lay down" Kate said to her, worried for Rachel as it was a lot of stress for anyone to lose their mentor and have their work used not to save people but kill them at a faster rate.

"Says the pot to the kettle" Anna said to Kate who wore a wry smile.

"Yeah, I know but I still got paperwork and a debrief to sit through" Kate told her.

"She's crashing again" Anna remarked as she tilted her head in the direction of Rachel.

"I know" Kate said she pushed up out of the chair and walked into the lab area inside the tent where Rachel was sitting with her head in her hands.

"He figured it out before me" Rachel said not lifting her head. She felt ashamed at being petulant and sore about being beaten; like it was all a game when it wasn't. She hated her ego for being so bruised. She hated it all and yet she had to wait for her equipment to even give her a direction to begin her search.

"He had help" Kate told her in a plain tone like there was nothing to argue.

"Help, I don't have" Rachel said hating how lonely and completely hopeless that made her feel.

"Look, you don't have to finish this tonight. Let's go to the mess and have some dinner" Kate told her.

"Food isn't going to help me" Rachel informed her in a curt tone.

"Maybe not but I'm starved and I can think of at least two other people in this room who are in need of food. So come on, let's go eat" Kate said with an amused smile. Rachel knew she was referring to her pregnancy and knew as much as she wasn't in the mood for food; it was no longer about her. At least when it came to eating properly and looking after herself.

"Fine" Rachel said reluctantly accepting Kate's invitation as she couldn't do anything in the lab but feel sorry for herself.


"Coffee?" Tom offered when he walked into the wardroom. He'd come from the security room watching Michener. The man was completely entrenched in his beliefs as one of the immune. But it didn't help that he had love letters from Sean Ramsey in video form reminding Michener what a special guy he was for the cause. How he was 'chosen' for this mission to rebuild America.

"I'm just fine. Thanks." Michener said sarcastically as he was pissed.

"You wanted to talk." Tom said in a curt manner acting like this was just another day and Michener had been in their presence the entire time as the man he should of been. The leader, Tom and his crew needed.

"Sending your X.O. in here first that some kind of game?" Michener asked in an accusatory manner.

"I was in the combat center, monitoring Sean Ramsey's sub." Tom informed him which was a complete lie. He moved to the coffee machine and poured himself a cup. He took a brief sip of the drink before he turned his attention to Michener who was sitting at the table radiating anger and frustration.

"Well, I imagine they'll be coming from me." Michener told him in a light tone but Tom knew better than to think the man was on their side. He still believed the Nathan James was his enemy.

"Then what they're gonna blow us out of the water if we don't release you?" Tom asked him.

"Something like that." Michener said smugly as he truly believed he wouldn't left behind by Sean. Tom was already waiting for his comeuppance on that score.

"So, they're in the habit of using their missiles?" Tom asked idly.

"You're talking about the labs." Michener stated.

"The labs, our scientists –" Tom started to share the long list of things and people that Sean Ramsey and his cohorts had destroyed as he wanted some recognition for the loss but Michener cut him off.

"Your X.O. tried to sell me on that." Michener scoffed.

"You think we manufactured that video?" Tom asked him.

"You went to great lengths to bring me on this ship. Doctoring a video would not be particularly difficult." Michener said.

"According to Sean, you're the chosen, right? I would think a ship carrying the cure, labs trying to manufacture that cure, well that would be the greatest threat possible to him." Tom said, he watched as Michener's jaw rose in defiance and anger flared in his eyes.

"We are strong because of our strength. We don't need to destroy anyone else." Michener told him, Tom pushed his anger down as he knew Michener had blatantly ignored the information they had provided. The truth they had needed him to see.

"So, you believe we have the cure?" He asked Michener just for his own curiosity.

"I believe you think you do." Michener said, Tom quirked his lips at the words the man had chosen.

"And you've seen our instructions from the President, the Secretary of the Navy?" Tom asked him.

"I've seen them. They're from months ago. They're obsolete." Michener told him in a patronising manner, Tom made a scoffing noise as he wanted to shake some sense into the man. That and to shout at him for belittling his and his crew's effort these past months.

"Well, that leaves me in a bit of a bind. We have standing orders from the previous administration Orders that are consistent with national protocols And then we have you, the new President, issuing orders that don't seem to be in the national interest at all." Tom told him in a matter of fact tone but he felt the anger bubbling within him.

"The national interest is saving what's left of this country. Sean Ramsey and our movement give the country the best chance at that." Michener said, Tom felt sick to his stomach to see the man so deeply believe that Sean Ramsey was going to save America.

"Convince me. Tell me how it all happened How you came to this point, why you're so sure of what you believe. Come on, Mr. President. You want off this ship, you're gonna have to convince me." Tom told him, he didn't want to understand and he didn't need to be convinced but he needed to find some weakness in Michener's blind devotion to Ramsey so as to rip it apart.


"So have you figured it out?" Lt Green asked Rachel as he came up to her table. Rachel immediately cringed as she knew what he was asking.

"Yes, it's a girl" Kate told him as she, Rachel, Ravit and Lt Foster looked to him. They had been sharing dinner and what Rachel felt was a lovely conversation as it was casual and light. The bonus was no talk about the virus; that was until Lt Green decided to show up.

"What's a girl?" Green asked confused as it wasn't the answer he was expecting.

"Yours and Lt Foster's love child" Kate said as she lifted up the ultrasound picture Lt Foster had placed on the table to show them.

"We're looking at the visuals and Rachel says it's a boy." Kate said turning the picture back to her face and squinting at the photo "But I say what ever that tiny thing is; has to be air bubble. I got bag of malt teasers riding on Lt Foster's fantastic genes kicking your degenerate ones to the curb" Kate added, Rachel bit back a smile while the other women chuckled at Kate's assessment that was scientifically impossible.

"Excuse me?" Green said folding his arms looking mildly annoyed at his genes being described as 'degenerate'.

"Sure, you're excused and don't let the mess door hit you on the way out" Kate told him with a wide smile which left Green even more confused as once again Kate purposefully misinterpreted his meaning yet again.

He narrowed his eyes at Kate completely distracted from his main purpose he wondered if it was worth staying around to talk. Obviously he decided not to as he threw his hands up in surrender and walked away without so much as a goodbye.

"You're so mean" Foster said with a chuckle as she took her ultrasound photo back from Kate.

"He shouldn't be asking stupid questions like that in the mess hall" Kate grumbled as she looked to Rachel who was relieved for Kate to put herself on the line and become unpopular for her own sanity.


Tom had tried to have a conversation with Michener. He tried to understand the man's side of what happened in America when the Nathan James had gone to the Arctic. But all he heard were lies cleverly woven into truths. What Tom couldn't figure out was; were the lies something Michener told himself or were they just a fiction that Sean had feed him.

Michener spoke about the outbreak and the loss of his family. But what happened after that, the walking around for weeks trying to get infected and die just didn't sit right with him. How the man became entrenched in the ethos of the immunes so passionately as he was. Tom knew what it was like to believe in something bigger than himself. He'd lost Darien and that loss only made him want to hold onto the world they used to share not pick up with some radical cult.

"-They showed me how the movement began in Europe That from the ashes, they were once again building a civilization. And I realized, if I'm the surviving member of the Cabinet, if I'm the President, I can be a part of making it happen here because one thing was clear Sean Ramsey may not be what we asked for. But he was what was given to us and his vision is what's saving the world." Michener told him with strong conviction. It made him sound exactly like Granderson, so wrapped in the story that they were ignoring the reality.

"And what exactly is his vision? Immunes remain together, united. Create a new line of the human race, strong enough to withstand any plague. A master race?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, well, that's a pretty antiquated view of it." Michener said.

"That's what it is." Tom stated strongly as he was so sick of being preached to about who was 'better' than the next person just because they were intelligent or in this case had the luck of genetics.

"I know it sounds cutthroat, but there's a deep logic to it." Michener said defensively as he rose from his chair to try to gain the higher ground if only physically as he was losing it morally.

"And that is? Non-immunes will eventually bring down the rest of you if you co-mingle, if you procreate? How many of you are even left on this planet? How spread out are you?" Tom demanded.

"We have to protect ourselves." Michener told him as he walked a couple steps away from Tom. Tom could tell the man was trying to calculate his next answers and Tom's reaction.

"From what? The virus is killing all the non immunes. What do you have to protect yourselves from?" Tom asked giving Michener the metaphorical rope to hang himself with.

"From you! and others like you" Michener exploded in anger.

"People like me" Tom said in a questioning tone. Michener glared at him.

"Yes, you and others like Mrs Granderson are undermining our attempts to rebuild this nation" Michener told him, Tom's eyes went wide in shock as he couldn't believe he was being lumped in with Granderson.

"I am part of group of people strong enough to survive. That's Darwin. That's the Law of the Jungle. That's biblical-"

"It's bull shit, it's a fluke of genetics. It has nothing to do with God" Tom said scathingly as anger filled him. He despised the use of religion as an excuse to murder and maim people. To him it was about showing kindness and supporting one another.

"Oh and you get to be pious because you have the cure? How long do you think it will last before the virus mutates again?" Michener demanded.

"The virus is stabilized." Tom told him as he knew Michener was trying to tear him down but it wouldn't work.

"Who do you think you're talking to? I had access to the top government scientists. I saw the virus mutate five, six times a month." Michener argued.

"That was August. It's stabilized now." Tom assured him.

"Says who?" Michener asked in a patronising manner.

"Says our scientist." Tom told him.

"Dr Scott? Most people think she's a quack." Michener scoffed.

"She is not a quack." Tom said in a quiet and authorative tone as he wanted deck the man for insulting Rachel.

"Well Sean's scientists say something different." Michener said in a petty manner.

"I'm sure they have. I assume you're referring to Neils Sorenson who is down in our infirmary because he's the one who weaponised the virus and killed billions of people by just breathing. Or are you talking about the scientists who were spies in Amy Granderson's camp?" Tom said, he lied about Sean Ramsey having spies in Granderson's camp but it was plausible given they still hadn't figured out how the immunes knew about the labs or why they had the bounty on Kate and Anna's heads.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Our scientists tested our blood nothing else. They learnt we have certain antibodies, proteins, coagulates that make us –"

"Plausible deniability won't wash with the victims that escaped. Would you like to meet one of them? She can tell you how the scientists working for Sean Ramsey performed a live Vivisection on her among other distasteful experimentations in the name of 'science'. You should see the scars. You should see the track marks from drugs they pumped into her just to keep her docile. So they could study why she was immune and what made her so special to survive" Tom told him, he felt slightly vindicated as Michener paled at information.

"Lies" Michener muttered as he refused to believe it.

"If it's a lie then why are they have they put a bounty on their heads? If they aren't important then why hunt them down?" Tom asked.

"It's another sect not the immunes. We aren't hunting anyone" Michener told him. "We're rebuilding our civilisation. We are here to carry the torch for humanity"

"You're currently helping burn what's left of our civilisation down"

"You don't understand it at all. We're protecting what's left which is a responsibility that we don't take it lightly." Michener said and Tom sat back in his chair as Michener was back to spewing words that Tom knew weren't his but Sean's manifesto for the immunes.

"And if I were to let you go, send you back to the Ramseys, what would your game plan be then?" Tom asked as they were back to square one yet again.

"You already heard I'm going to New Orleans." Michener said dismissivly.

"I did hear that. What I don't know is why."

"After Katrina, the government swore we'd never let it happen again. It has the largest pumping station on the planet, plus a 2-mile wall that can seal off the channel, plus huge stores of food, medicine, an independent hydroelectric grid, lots of boats. It's best place to start rebuilding the country." Michener explained.

"How do you know Sean won't go to New Orleans without you?" Tom asked him deciding to bluff the man in the hopes of garnering information from him. Tom already felt he'd lost the battle in trying to get Michener on their side so now it was down to pumping him for information. At least until Tom figured out a new angle to try and convince Michener they had the same goals.

"He wouldn't" Michener said shaking his head.

"How do you know?" Tom asked.

"Because we've been planning this for months. He came to America for me." Michener told him.

"For months? How? How'd you communicate?" Tom asked even though he already knew the answer.

"You don't really think I'm gonna tell you that?" Michener asked with a wry smile.

"I'm not against you, Mr President. I'm just trying to figure out how all of this evolved." Tom said.

"American immunes need an American to lead them. That's how." Michener said, regurgitating Sean Ramsey's words at him yet again. Tom felt like he was talking to a puppet than a man when Michener did that.

"That's what he tells you, isn't it?" Tom asked.

"That's right. It's true."

"Well, then, maybe you can tell me why our sonar operators are picking up Ramsey's sub heading west to New Orleans as we speak." Tom said in a more serious manner as it was a complete lie. They hadn't had any sonar contacts since the brush by hours ago.

"That's not-That's impossible." Michener said more to himself as he tried to figure out what was going on in his head. As Tom's bluff was working at confusing the man.

"When Sean knows we're hiding behind this island. Why is that impossible, Mr President?" Tom pushed.

"That's not what I said." Michener rebuked.

"I think it was. Why is it impossible?" Tom pushed yet again for an answer.

"You think you can manipulate me" Michener accused him.

"I'm just trying to talk to you, sir." Tom said throwing his hands up in surrender. Michener gave an indignant snort and rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure even prisoners on this ship have a right to their own quarters." Michener said idly as he folded his arms essentially bringing their conversation to an end.

"You're not a prisoner." Tom said disappointed in the man for being so completely brain washed and himself for hoping that he might of put a slight chink in the man's armour. If anything Tom felt like he had strengthened Sean's hold on him.

"Well, then I can go now?" Michener demanded.