Madam's Organ, Basement - October 27, 2012
Thex watched the Destroyers enter the club's VIP area through the side door. A wall of video provided him with 36 different views throughout the building. He recognized the Liberator at once, and thought he knew the others from Adams's files. Soon after, Thex noticed Idek in a plush, dark-green leather chair near the door. Idek was a fierce elite under Adams who questioned the new Drudge regime. He definitely wasn't supposed to be in the VIP area tonight. Thex dashed upstairs.
"He is our tormentor, not a liberator!" Idek was yelling in his native tongue.
"He is here at the request of Overseer Thex himself," one of Kihta's accomplices snapped.
Thex turned the corner into the lounge and saw Idek reaching for his warp pistol.
"IDEK!" Thex bellowed. Idek's hand dropped. "These humans are the cause of our freedom. You know as well as I that life with Adams was complicated-for everyone," Thex said. He looked sternly at the rest of the VIP room. They all stared, dumbfounded. "It is my expectation that these people-Destroyers-will be our greatest allies in the coming months, and anyone-" he paused for effect. "Anyone who jeopardizes this friendship is no friend of the Drudge. Are we clear, Idek?"
Idek nodded, his gaze fixed firmly on the floor.
"Wonderful. Now, Destroyers, follow me please."
The basement was outfitted as one of Adams's many underground D.C. bunkers. It was circular. About a quarter of the wall was devoted to a large super computer set up to tap the city's many surveillance cameras. Another section was devoted to books. A single cot offered meager sleeping accommodations. There were no weapons; Adams never expected a firefight so deep in his own territory. In the middle was a rectangular wooden table. The Destroyers sat along one of the long sides, and Thex, Kihta, and Djukor sat opposite them.
"Earth is in grave danger. Prometheus has summoned Tiamat," the one he thought was Kennedy explained. "With your help, we might be able to stop the Annunaki from destroying humanity," Kennedy said.
"It might not be your home planet-" the Liberator started.
"It is our home planet as well as yours," Thex interrupted. "We Drudge were all created here. Enslaved here. The Drudge want to defend their home too."
"The Annunaki will not spare you after Tiamat comes," said another Destroyer, the one he knew as Lincoln. "Terribly racist creatures, Annunaki."
Thex knew that Adams was part of the Annunaki-powerful aliens that had cast ten of their own into exile on Earth. Prometheus was also one of them, making the Drudge half-Annunaki.
"We don't expect them to spare us," Djukor said.
"What is it that you want in return for your allegiance, then?" Griffiths asked.
"We want the Destroyers to ensure our independence. We want our own city," Kihta responded.
"We want D.C.," Thex said. He could see the Destroyers mulling over the arrangement.
"If we do this," the Liberator said slowly, "Your army will be under our command?"
"Without question," Thex said. He looked up through the thin bulletproof windows at the very top of the basement bunker, across the floor of the club. Drones were tightly packed, throbbing along with the music. They moved almost in unison, acting as a sort of amplifier for the bass hits. Mites crawled along walls and onto the catwalks above. It was a good thing Drudge don't sweat, Thex thought.
"You have yourself a deal," Kennedy said. Thex shook hands with the Liberator, then with Kennedy, Lincoln, and Griffiths. Kihta and Djukor followed suit.
"Tell me, Destroyers, do you have plans for stopping Tiamat?" Thex asked.
"Nothing that we're sure will work," Griffiths said. "Say, have the Drudge ever been in the water?"