Bass and Charlie: The Journey
Chapter 1: The Tower
June 2029
Sebastian, 'Bass', Monroe, President and Commanding General of the Monroe Republic, sat under a large oak, head hanging between his knees, trying to understand what had happened over the last 24 hrs. Hell, the last seven years. How had everything turned to such shit. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Where had we gone wrong… God...I made a mess of things. If Rachel had just cooperated with us...)
Then he remembered the day that Randall Flynn showed up in a car. He had been feeling especially depressed. Rachel had escaped with Miles, and he had just received a report of a resurgence of rebel activity. The Republic lost two squads.
(The son of a bitch showed up driving a car! An Oldsmobile, no less...)
Shortly after Miles' escape with Rachel and Danny, Bass was visited by Randall Flynn, a sketchy man who showed up at Independence Hall in an Oldsmobile. Monroe had obtained limited power, enough to power several helicopters.
Flynn requested an audience with Monroe. He showed him the car and the device that allowed it to have power. Then Flynn offered power to him if he would pledge allegiance to the Patriots. As a show of faith, Flynn gave Monroe several of the special pendants that controlled the power and the amplifiers to use them. The first thing he did was power up his helicopters.
Bass had already been obsessed with getting power for the Republic. Now, all he had to do was get Flynn to this place called "The Tower". The Tower, Flynn explained, was a top-secret Department of Defense installation located in Colorado Springs that could restore and control the power. It was called the Tower because it was twelve stories, but twelve stories underground.
(God...I was so far gone... I should have seen Flynn for what he was...trouble. Nothing but trouble. He was a sleazy weasel... but power!.. It was all too easy. Too easy, dumb shit. But what if... power for the militia but also for hospitals, factories, refrigeration...)
After Miles left Bass and the Republic, he escaped to Chicago, hoping to stay anonymous. As Stu Redman, he started a bar in the old Grand Hotel. Things were going as well as could be expected until one day when a young, feisty blond showed up looking for her uncle, Miles Matheson.
Shot by Monroe's militia, Ben Matheson lies in the road, dying. With his last breath, he told his daughter Charlie to find her Uncle Miles and that he was supposed to be in Chicago. The next day she left to find her uncle.
Several weeks later, Charlie arrived in Chicago with her traveling companions, a portly man and Ben Matheson's best friend, Aaron Pitman, and Maggie Foster, a British Doctor and Charlie's stepmom. Aaron was a computer genius before the blackout. He was like an uncle to Charlie and her brother.
Charlie and gang arrived at the Grand Hotel and went into the bar.
"Excuse me," she said to the man behind the bar. "I'm looking for Miles Matheson," Charlie announced. "Do you know him?"
"Haven't seen him around, kid," was Miles' response. "Why do you want him?"
"He's my uncle. I need to find him. If you see him, would you tell him that his brother is dead? Shot by militia."
This took him back. He turned back to his still, then turned back around to face her. "Ben is dead?"
"Yeah, and they took my brother Danny. I need to get him back."
Miles thought for a moment, then said for her to follow him. Aaron and Maggie started to follow as well. "No, only her."
Aaron started to protest. "It's ok, Aaron," She said before being led up a grand stairway to Miles' suite of rooms. "Sit," he says to her while pouring himself a drink. (The last time I saw Charlie, she had been just five years old… her birthday party. Bass and I were home on leave. Jesus Christ…Ben, dead!)
"Charlie, what are you doing here?"
"Militia took Danny. Before he died, my father told me to come here and find you. That you could help get Danny back."
"How old are you now? Last time I saw you, you were five and dressed up like a princess."
"I'm twenty-two. Please, Uncle Miles. You've got to get Danny back." Charlie was persistent.
When it looked like Miles wasn't going to help, Charlie got up to leave. "I thought that family would mean something to you. Obviously, Dad and I were wrong. I'll find him myself." Charlie said as she walked out.
Miles was reluctant to take on rescuing Danny, especially as it meant returning to Philidelphia and Bass. (God Damn It! I'm going to regret this.)
"Charlie, wait. Let me grab my crap, and we'll go. Do you know where they might have taken Danny?"
"Captain Neville said that he was bringing him to Monroe."
"That's just great…."
They made it to Philly, and both Danny and Rachel, Charlie's estranged mother, were rescued. Rachel had gone to Philadelphia, leaving her family behind, ten years earlier in search of Miles, her one-time lover. Miles was convinced that she and Ben had something to do with the blackout and tried to get Rachel to bring back the power. When Rachel refused to help provide the Republic with power, Miles became frustrated and held her prisoner, hoping to gain her cooperation. When Miles left the Republic, he left Rachel behind as well. Monroe continued to hold her hostage.
Before the blackout, Rachel and Ben Matheson were scientists working for the DOD. They had developed microscopic computers the size of a virus called nanites. The DOD wanted to weaponize them and released multiple billions of these machines into the atmosphere, causing all power to go out, never to come back. The nanites had two programmed objectives, absorb electricity and replicate. The DOD had commissioned their project to be used as a weapon against enemies of the United States and their allies. Instead, a subversive group used the technology to cause a worldwide blackout sending the world back to the nineteenth century. The plan was they would be the controlling force. Once released, the nanites were everywhere- in the air and in everybody's bodies.
Escaping Philidelphia, Miles and his group joined the rebels fighting against the Monroe Republic.
Sadly, during an attack on a Rebel bash by Monroe's newly powered helicopters, Danny was killed when he fired a rocket launcher at one of the attacking gunships.
Through spies, Miles learned that Bass had been contacted by Randal Flynn and that they would be going to The Tower to completely turn the power back on. Flynn told Monroe that if he could get him to The Tower, he could turn the lights back on. When Rachel heard about Flynn working with Monroe, she explained to Miles about Flynn and the DOD. Rachel told him that they had to stop him or get there first. She was convinced that much power in Monroe's hands could be devastating.
Miles managed to steal one of Monroe's power-equipped choppers. Having piloting a helicopter while in the Marines, Miles took off for Colorado Springs and the DOD's secret installation with Rachel, Charlie, and Aaron. As they crossed into Colorado, the fuel ran out, forcing Miles to land.
Hiking to the nearest settlement, Miles negotiated for a wagon and a two-horse team. Even with the delay, they somehow reached Colorado Springs before Monroe.
To get inside The Tower, they needed to open the blast doors. Rachel punched in the complicated code; the doors slid open. Once inside, she accessed another panel that closed and sealed the huge doors. Now inside, Rachel hurried them to the twelfth level and the control room.
Monroe arrived just fifteen minutes behind the Matheson's with Randall Flynn in tow and accompanied by a company of his militia. Flynn was assistant director of the DOD and the administrator of Rachel and Ben Matheson's of the nanite program, also had the access code for the blast doors.
Rachel worked with Aaron in the control room, rewriting the nanite code to reverse their programming and return the power. Miles had been watching the surveillance monitors when he spotted Monroe, Flynn, and a squad of militia walking down the main corridor.
"Rachel, Monroe's here. Keep working. Charlie, stay with your mother while I take care of this."
"What're you going to do?" Charlie asked.
"I'm going to have to kill my best friend," Miles said with resolve.
Rachel's lips twitched in a grin while Charlie looked troubled. Rachel hated Monroe. She blamed him for Ben and Danny's death. She hated him for keeping her prisoner, even though it was Miles who had kept her in a cell. Monroe had moved her to a comfortable suite in Independence Hall, but she was still a prisoner.
While accompanying Flynn through the Tower, Monroe became separated from Flynn when he ran into Miles. They hadn't seen each other since Miles pointed a gun at him in the middle of the night while he was in his bed. They looked at each other...Bass told Miles that he was forgiven and asked him to come back, to join him once again. Miles' response was to draw his sword. They fought. Miles gained the upper hand when Bass lost his sword. Monroe barely escaped by stumbling through a passageway that came to a dead end. There was a door, and he crashed through. Amazingly the door opened into a room with an underground river coursing through it. ( What the hell?) Diving into the rapidly flowing river, the strong current swept him out of the Tower and away from Miles.
Miles ran into the room only seconds behind him, only to find that he was gone. He stood stunned at what he was seeing before returning to the control room.
Monroe had brought Randall Flynn into the Tower believing that he would be bringing back the power when in fact, Flynn had a very different agenda. Flynn was secretly working with a group calling itself the Patriots. The very same group that orchestrated the blackout. The Patriot's plan from the beginning was to take control of what was once the United States. Following the blackout, the leaders escaped to Cuba to wait out the chaos that was guaranteed. Then, they would sweep in and claim to be the one legitimate government. Their spies kept them informed about the formation of the different nation-states that had sprung up. Mainly the Georgia Federation, The Monroe Republic, and the Republic of Texas. To finish what they started, they needed to destroy the Monroe Republic and the Georgia Federation giving them control of the eastern United States. Their spies reported that Monroe was becoming unstable and that that would be an excellent place to start.
Being familiar with the Tower, Flynn quickly made his way to the control room. While Monroe and Miles were battling each other, Aaron and Rachel accessed one of the supercomputers. Aaron adjusted his code for the nanites, and the power suddenly came back.
Flynn accessed the missile launch control room. The Tower was not only the center for control of the nanites but also the launch control for the United States nuclear missiles. As Miles rushed back into the control room, he saw Flynn slip into the launch room and seal the door. The room is breach-proof with bulletproof glass. They all watched, horrified as Flynn stood in front of the ballistic missile's control panel. Then with a sick smile, he slammed his hand down on the firing button, releasing four ICBM missiles, two heading for Philidelphia and two to Atlanta. As if that weren't bad enough, the Matheson's watched in horror as Flynn took out his pistol and fired a shot into his head while declaring himself a "Patriot."
Aaron frantically tried to reverse what he had done and cut the power to hopefully interrupt the missiles' guidance system. Miles manically counted down as the missiles reached their targets. Aaron didn't make it. Flynn had succeeded in wiping out the two cities and poisoning hundreds of miles of the countryside surrounding them.
Monroe had left with a small squad of militia and Flynn to go into the Tower leaving Major Tom Neville in charge of the camp. Neville had been waiting for just this opportunity. With Monroe distracted, Tom was now free to set his plan in motion, a coup, removing Monroe and placing himself as head of the Monroe Republic. Now to be known as just the Republic.
Neville gathered the officers together and gave a great speech detailing how Monroe was no longer fit to serve as President and General of the Republic. How Monroe was obsessed and paranoid, making rash decisions putting them all at risk. And of course, how he was the obvious choice to succeed him. Neville's first order... find and capture Sebastion Monroe.
While Flynn was destroying two cities and killing countless thousands of people and himself, Monroe was stumbling out of the river and totally ignorant about what Flynn had done. Sitting on the riverbank rocks, he was gathering his strength when shots were fired at him from the hill above. Diving for cover, he headed for the trees. While running through the woods, he was hit on the head from behind, dragged back to the Malita camp, and brought before Neville.
"Well, General...Nice of you to join us. I have to tell you, there's been a change in management."
"What the hell are you talking about, Neville. You are so dead," Monroe snarled. "Knew I should've gotten rid of you."
Laughing, "like you're in a position to be making threats. You're done, General, finished." Neville laughed. "Tie him to the pole. I want a guard outside," he ordered.
"Neville, why not just kill me now and be done with it."
"Oh, no. Unlike you, we are going to do things civilized. There will be a trial, and then I will kill you. Firing squad, I think. How will it feel to have your own militia fill you with holes," Neville gave his most slimy grin.
Neville didn't have the access codes to The Tower, and he wanted to stop the power from being brought back. He ordered that the heavy doors at the entrance be blown open using the explosives that Monroe had brought with them for just that reason should it be necessary. Dynamite and C4 were piled in front of the doors. When the explosives blew, a large crater was left under the door, just big enough for a man to crawl through, allowing the door to be opened from the inside.
While Neville was occupied with the Tower doors, a young militiaman wasn't happy with what he was seeing. He had had a run-in with Major Neville in the past and knew him to be a liar and an opportunist. Besides, he liked the General. While Neville was busy at The Tower, the young soldier approached Monroe's guard.
"I've been sent to replace you; you're needed in the Tower."
At first, the guard looked skeptical but anxious to see what was in there, and then not wanting to get on Neville's bad side, hustled away. As soon as the guard was well away, the young private slipped into the tent. When he entered, Monroe's head snapped up. He didn't say anything.
"General, Sir, I'm going to get you out of here." Then he moved quickly to the pole and cut Monroe's restraint.
"Thank you, Son, now you need to get out of here. If they even suspect you were involved, you'll be dead."
"Yes, Sir. I can't stay with Major Neville anyway."
The private cut a slit in the back wall of the tent, and they both slipped through.
"Let me have the knife," Monroe ordered.
Monroe went straight for the supply tent. Silently slipping up to the soldier guarding the tent, quickly drawing the knife across his throat and dragged him into the tent.
"Kit yourself out kid and take off. It will be a while before it's noticed that you're missing. Me, on the other hand, they will be right on my ass. Thanks for getting me out of here. Now you get gone."
"You're sure, Sir? I could help."
"It's an order, Private, go!"
The young militiaman grabbed what he needed and slipped out but not before thanking his General once again.
Monroe armed himself with swords, knives, Glock, and ammo. Then he spotted the crate of grenades and smiled. (This will be fun. Let's see how the asshat likes walking back to Philly.) Monroe cut a slice through the rear of the tent. Before escaping into the nearby woods, he managed to grab one of the soldier's packs. Then he staying to the tree line, he approached the open field where they had landed the four helicopters. After taking out the perimeter guards, he lobbed a grenade into each of the choppers and ran. As he ran from the camp, the choppers blew, and he laughed maniacally. ( Wish I could see his face, the douche.) With the Militia turned against him, The Monroe Republic was finished; he almost felt relieved.
Monroe reached the top of a high hill. Then while standing in the middle of a meadow, trying to get his bearings, the sky turned violent, with lighting bolts crashing down all around him. (What the fuck!... Jesus!) He ran for cover. It was over a quick as it started.
Sure that Neville would be looking for him, Monroe traveled at night, avoided roads and populated areas. He tore the Republic's emblems from his clothes and coat and hoped to become anonymous. A week into his escape, while sitting next to his small fire, he kept thinking about how quickly everything turned to shit. He was depressed and despondent. Bass was staring at the tattoo on his forearm. The symbol of the Monroe Republic, the symbol of his brotherhood with Miles. He stuck his knife into the hot coals and then burned it unrecognizable. The pain was excruciating. Having camped by a small river, he plunged his arm into the cool water. In the morning, he took a strip of cloth and wrapped his wrist.
It had been two weeks since The Tower, the rations from the soldier's pack had run out, and he was hungry. As luck would have it, he happened upon a small farm. As he watched and waited, a man came out of the house and went off into one of the fields, followed by a young woman who took a horse and wagon presumably into town. The coast clear, Bass ran to the clothesline and snagged a pair of pants and a tee-shirt hoping that they would fit. Grabbing an empty feed sack, he went into the hen house, killed a chicken, and snatched some eggs. Checking on the farmer once more, he could see that he was working out in the field. The vegetable garden was next. In less than ten minutes, he had what he needed, and he retreated into the woods. There would be chicken in his pot tonight.
Three weeks after his escape, Bass was almost unrecognizable. Always clean-shaven, his beard was growing out, his hair unkempt and as dirty as the rest of him.
After another week of empty road, he came upon a small settlement. The old road sign proclaimed it to be Altona. Pre-blackout population just over two-thousand. He wondered what it would be now.
Bass stationed himself on the roof of a shed that was just outside the town and watched, looking for any signs of Militia activity. A couple of hours later, he ventured in, hoping for a warm meal, a bath, and a bed. As President and before everything went to shit, he always kept a pouch of diamonds in his pocket, and he was thanking himself now. Not wanting to advertise what he had, he took a dozen and a half, put them in his pocket. He took the pouch, placed it in a sock, and buried it in his pack.
Wandering into the local bar, Bass was met with several stares; he avoided eye contact. He was a mess. He smelled and hoped that he couldn't be recognized. (a good chance that being this far out from the Republic, my face wouldn't be known anyway) he thought. At least he hoped that would be the case.
Walking up to the bar, the bartender scowled and gave him the once over.
"Whiskey," Bass ordered. The bartender placed the glass down in front of him, and Bass grunted his thanks.
"We rarely get travelers here, and forgive me, but you're looking a bit...well… sketchy. What's your story?" the bartender asked. Bass looked up from his drink, raising only his eyes, then he looked back down. "I'm trying to catch up with my family... My brother. I reached his place near Boulder only to find out that he had moved on. Oklahoma, I was told."
"Huh. You're walking to Okee?"
"Didn't start out that way. Lost my horse when it spooked."
"Ah-huh."
"Listen," Bass starts, "I've been walking for days. Is there somewhere I can get a bed, bath, and a meal?"
Looking Bass over, the man behind the bar decided that his story was plausible. "Just down the street and around the corner, the Smiths have a boarding house. I'm sure they have a room. Like I said, not too many visitors. They have a dining room too. You might want to clean up first."
Bass grunted, "Thanks." Paying for his drink, keeping his eyes to himself, not looking at anyone else in the bar, he leaves in search of the boarding house.
As he makes his way down the street, he passes several market stands. He buys some staples: coffee, oats, jerky, and some apples and salt.
The Smiths boarding house looked like it was once a large residence, a "McMansion". Whitewashed with what was once black shutters and a large porch that went across the front of the house. The house has 6 bedrooms, four with attached baths, a large dining room, and what was once a living room with a large stone fireplace. As he walked through the door, a bell jangled. Shortly an older woman of about sixty and slight build came out to the small desk sitting in the spacious entry.
"May I help you?" giving Bass the once over.
"G'day Ma'am. I'm hoping to get a room for the night." He gave her his best charming smile.
"I don't just take in anybody, have to be careful, ya know? Where ya from?"
"Bassett…Colorado. I'm looking for my brother's family. Heard that they were heading towards Okee."
"You're planning on walking to Oklahoma?"
"Wasn't planning on it. My horse spooked and took off, been walking for over a week. I don't have enough diamonds to get another one," sticking to his story about his horse. I could use a room and hopefully a bath."
She considered this for a moment, "Alright … that's three diamonds for the night. Will you be wanting to stay longer?"
"No, Ma'am. Have a lot of ground to cover. Hopefully, they'll be waiting for me in Oklahoma City."
"Alright. Top of the stairs second door down the hallway on the right. I'll have Sam bring up some hot water. This was once a residence, so that room as a bath attached."
"That's great; thank you. After I clean up, I could use a meal. Any suggestions as to where I could go?"
"I'll be serving a diner at dusk if you want to eat here. That's an extra diamond."
Smiling again, he hands her another diamond then climbs the stairs in search of his room.
The room was spacious with a queen-size bed and a bath attached. Bass set his pack down and looked out the window when there was a knock on his door. A boy of about sixteen was standing there with two five-gallon pails of hot water along with a young girl carrying a pitcher of fresh water that she set on the table near the window along with two glasses.
"I'll just dump these in the tub for you," the boy said. When he was finished, Bass tipped him a diamond, closed, and secured the door. He poured himself a glass of water that was refreshingly cool, then stripped for his bath. Sinking into the water, he moaned and came close to falling asleep. He scrubbed himself clean using the provided washcloth and soap, a rare treat. Bath finished, he gathered his clothes, washed them in the tub, and hung them over the shower rod to dry. Seeing his reflection in the mirror, he vowed to get some scissors and trim his beard before he started to look like a mountain man. Stretching out on the bed, he went to sleep.
Being a Marine, Bass always had an internal alarm clock. He woke feeling refreshed and noticed that the sun was low and almost touching the horizon. His stomach growling, he dug his spare set of clothes, courtesy of the farmer's clothesline, out of his pack and dressed for dinner.
There were only two other diners when he went into the dining room, a couple sharing a table near the window. He took a table that allowed him to face the door with his back to the wall. Dinner was a mystery meat stew that was really pretty good with fresh bread and an amazing cobbler for dessert. ( I used to eat like this all the time…) Dinner finished; Bass made his way to the bar in the hopes of getting a bottle to help him sleep and keep the nightmares away.
The morning sun was barely showing in the eastern sky when Bass made his way out of bed. After gathering his clean clothes and packing them away, he grabbed the bar of soap and a towel and added them to his pack. Dressed he, hefted his pack and headed out after leaving two diamonds in the bath for the towel and soap.
He watched his back for a tail as he headed Northeast out of town with no destination in mind.