Asterion, page 14
The truck enters Fort Pershing and drives straight into a hanger. Everyone dismounts the vehicle and General Foxx is waiting for their arrival. “Get them in a secure room. Asterion, you come with me.” Asterion follows him with a sneer on his face showing his contempt for human orders.
In the General’s office, Foxx looks at Asterion. “Burnsom has given you all the latitude you need to do your job, but you are on my base and illegal acts will not be tolerated.”
“If I have all the latitude, then what I do is none of your concern.”
Foxx responds sternly, “Don’t try me. If you can’t observe the rules, then I’ll put you on the next transport to Washington.”
Asterion stares down at Foxx. “Are we done here?”
“Yes, close the door on your way out.”
Asterion goes to his room and calls Burnsom. “I want those two for myself.”
“The military has rules that we have to abide by while we are there. I’ll be there tonight. We’ll talk then.”
Taylor and Christine sit in the room wondering how they might get away. They hear the click of a key turning and Burnsom strolls in with a smile. “I’m sorry to hear about all the trouble you two have been having. I acted to secure your safety as soon as I heard.”
Taylor looks at Christine with a skeptical face and turns to Burnsom. “That is awfully nice of you.”
“Not a problem. Not a problem at all, I think we may have gotten off to a bad start. You two have a lot to contribute to society. However, we will have to keep a close eye on you.”
Christine asks, “What choice do we have?”
Burnsom laughs. “I don’t believe I offered any choice, other than work for me or I turn you over to Asterion.”
Taylor responds, “So it’s prison work or death. I thought we had outlived our usefulness to you.”
Burnsom shoots back, “Don’t get smart. We can use you, but you are not irreplaceable by any means. I will control this country no matter what it takes or who has to be convinced to obey me.”
Taylor responds, “Convinced. That’s just a euphemism for execution.”
Burnsom huffs, “Call it what you want. I have been getting away with it for a long time. I have the power and with Asterion and the legions of creatures, I will be unstoppable.”
Christine asks, “How long do we have to think about the offer?”
“Twenty-four hours, not a minute longer.” Burnsom spins around and leaves slamming the door behind him.”
Asterion is waiting on the other side of the door. Burnsom looks up. “I doubt that they will agree to help us. Unless you hear from me before the next twenty-four hours are up, facilitate their escape without them knowing you are behind it and track them down in some rural area. Make sure you are away from prying eyes and make sure their bodies are never found.”
Asterion snickers, “If they are of some use, consider this. I make sure they escape and acquire Christine away from the base. Taylor will have no choice but to aid us.”
Burnsom smiles, “Good plan. He will save us a few months on development. Trent is having some trouble with the success rate of the new beasts. Several aborted tried for each viable creature is not fast enough.”
“Leave it to me, but I want them when you are finished.”
“Okay, but be careful, don’t let your emotions and desire for revenge cloud your judgment.”
“No problem, I know my time will come. Like many farm animals, they will meet their end when their usefulness is over.”
Burnsom, walking away, stops and turns slightly. “Make sure that is what happens.” Burnsom continues down the hall leaving Asterion alone.
Taylor looks at Christine. “Well, we have twenty-three and a half hours to figure this out.”
Christine shakes her head. “We can’t help him destroy this country any more than he apparently has already done. We may have to die for our faith and our country.”
“Well, faith will always be there, but the country, I just don’t know if it can survive an army of these creatures. However, I’m not quite ready to lie down and die.”
Christine asks, “What do you have in mind?”
“I’m thinking. I’m thinking.” He sits on the end of the cot and takes a deep breath.
CHAPTER 22 - ESCAPE AND EVASION
Christine looks out of the barred window at the dark base. Islands of light dot the distance. Taylor paces the floor trying to think of a way out of their situation. Just then, an explosion rips through the power station and the base descends into darkness. Only the emergency lights give some faint illumination. They look at each other wondering if this is their only opportunity. The chaos would allow them to go unnoticed.
Just then, a series of taps come from the window bars. Christine looks at Taylor with a curious look. Taylor rushes to the window and begins tapping on the window. A series of taps comes from the bars and Taylor turns to Christine. ”Get back, hide your face,” as he grabs her and runs towards the interior wall.
Christine asks, “What is that?”
“Morse code.”
They hear the bars rip from the wall and the window disappears. A familiar voice commands, “This way.”
Christine asks, “Milar?”
Taylor tells her, “When I heard IDF signals in Morse, I knew it’s a friendly. Now we know what happened to her.”
“Get out here now,” she barks out, “Get in these uniforms. We have to go!”
Throwing on the uniforms they hop into an ambulance and Milar drives off with them in the back. “Stay in the back. One of you pour some blood on the other and puts an oxygen mask on them. Act like you’re attending to them.”
Taylor gets on the gurney and Christine pours blood randomly over him and rips his uniform at those spots. Taylor puts on a mask. Screaming to the front gate, a guard stops them. The guard glances into the back and sees enough. He waves them on and they drive into the night.
Milar shouts out “Get out of the uniforms. We are switching vehicles in a bit.”
Taylor says, “Thanks for getting us out of there.”
“Don’t thank me. Your old friends in Israel demanded I do something. I have my own problems. I was on the run when Burnsom sicced his goons on me. As soon as we get to the Gulf, you are on your own.”
Christine smiles, “Good, we’re on our way to South Central.”
“I’m headed out to sea.”
Taylor asks, “Israeli sub waiting for you?”
“Yes. I was here to find out about your project and eliminate you before you succeeded.”
Taylor with a stunned look asks, “Wow, you were going to kill me?”
“Only if you were responsible for what Burnsom is creating. You are not responsible for the outcome. You are not the threat. It turns out Trent is the real threat. They caught me as I was trailing him. You have to get to the province. You understand this monster best and the world needs you. Burnsom is drunk with power and no good can come from his desires.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve done all I can here. I have to return so that we can prepare for what is in store for us.”
They pull into an alley and screech to a halt. Shutting off all the lights, they climb into a car and race off.
Back at the base Asterion sees that they have escaped. Looking around for clues Trent races in and shouts, “Milar is gone.”
Asterion slowly rises up as he turns toward Trent. Trent’s knees go weak wondering what is next. Asterion silhouetted by the emergency light blows out a deep breath of aggravation at their escape. The mist fills the air. “I told you she is of no use. You should have had her eliminated, but you are weak. If you can’t grow a backbone, you will be of no use to us.”
Trent stuttered, “You, you need me for the creatures and stuff.”
Asterion smiles, “That is the only thing keeping you alive and continued breakthroughs equals continued usefulness and life. Understood?”
Trent with eyes wide open responds, “Understood.”
Asterion strides past Trent and finds Caldwell. “Get me a detail. I have to go after them.”
“No, The General has ordered that you stay here and stay out of sight. We will reacquire the escapees.”
Asterion angrily storms out of the office. He contacts Burnsom who tells him “We have our own security detail that will pick you up, so sit tight. They are not military. They answer directly to me and they will do what you want. The only restriction I place on you is this, you must keep it quiet. They will alert me if there is a risk. Do you understand?”
Asterion snarls, “Yes, I understand fully.” He is growing impatient with taking orders from humans. He lies on his bed and waits.
In the car, the three of them nervously drive away from the lights of the city. Christine realizes, “We have no way of letting them know we are okay. We have to go back to Barry’s place. It is the only way to establish communication again.”
Taylor looks at Milar. “She’s right.”
Milar glances out of the corner of her eye. “It has to be a short stop.”
“Okay,” as he looks over at Christine nodding her head in agreement.
They pull up the driveway and see the charred remains of Barry’s house in the headlights. Shocked, they sit there wondering what their next move is going to be. A light flashes a signal from the trees. Milar looks at Taylor and Christine, “They are saying, name.”
Taylor tells her, “Say my name.”
Milar flashes the lights and they wait. A figure appears from behind, approaches the passenger side of the vehicle, and shines a light at the occupants. Then he shines the light to show them his face. It’s Barry. They jump out and greet him.
Christine laments, “We’re sorry this has cost you your home.”
Barry reassures her, “At least it did not cost us our lives. We can always start over. However, we are willing to give it all for this cause if we must.”
Taylor asks, “Where is your family?”
“They are at my sister’s house. We’ll go there for the night.”
Chance comes out of the woods with the signal light, they all get into the vehicle, and Barry guides them to the home of his sister. Getting out of the car, Barry smiles, “I bet y’all are hungry.”
Christine replies, “Starved.”
Taylor and Milar are nodding in agreement. Entering they are greeted by Mary and Barry’s sister, Beth. Milar is impressed with the warm hugs and hospitality. The days of carefree existence are a faded memory of long ago.
Mary inquires, “Milar, you don’t seem to be from around here.”
Milar responds, “No ma’am, I’m from Israel.”
Barry says, “We have a Jewish family in town.”
Mary asks, “Maybe you know them dear.”
Milar smiles, “I don’t think so.”
Mary responds, “Too bad.”
Milar looks at Taylor and Christine, “You people really don’t have a world view of things do you.”
Taylor and Christine laugh. Christine responds, “It’s a big country. Most people don’t ever have to deal with someone from a different country.”
Milar smiles, “Well, they are really nice. No one seems to be a stranger to them. Reminds me of growing up, when the old folks were still alive.”
Taylor ruminates, “You see, deep down it’s about what’s really important. Family, friends and sharing each other’s company. That’s what makes us alike.”
Milar replies, “Nice platitudes, but the world is not cooperating is it.”
Christine interjects, “No, but that’s what we are working for now.”
Milar responds, “Well, if there are a lot more like them, there is a chance.”
Taylor comments, “With God, it’s not chance.”
Milar shrugs, “I really don’t know about that. There is so much evil in the world.”
Beth comes out of the kitchen. “Oh dear, I prepared pork for supper. I’ll fix you something that’s not forbidden.”
Milar reassures her. “Don’t worry, I don’t practice my faith. Pork is fine.”
Milar looking back at Taylor and Christine with a smile, “They really do care about making you feel at home don’t they.” They laugh and share a moment of peace in a tumultuous time.
The call to supper comes and they assemble around the table. The whole family and the three share a meal. Barry mentions, “I got in contact with Phillips. We can’t get any kind of communication device to you. Here are your instructions.” He hands them a paper with directions, maps and their next contact. “You will be assisted once you head west after getting to the Gulf. You will make contact at the designated spot and he will help you get to the border.”
Taylor asks, “Thanks, how can we ever repay you?”
“Succeed. That’s all I ask. Otherwise it’s all in vain.”
Christine responds, “We will, even if it costs us everything.”
After supper, the three say their goodbyes and with a prayer from the group, they leave into the night. All talked out they drive in silence for a while. Milar breaks the silence, “We in Israel see your situation from the outside. There are many, even some associated with the military that don’t have the resolve that you and the others have. You have a good chance of making them back down. They really don’t want a conflict. However, if the creatures are ready, they will do the fighting for them. That is their purpose. Whatever takes place must happen soon rather than later.”
Taylor replies, “Thanks, I did not have enough pressure on me yet.”
Christine rubs his shoulder and laughs, “You need to share that yoke.”
Taylor smiles, “Oh yea, Christine has that weight also.”
Christine, puzzled responds, “Really, are you or we going it alone?”
Taylor laughs and realizes, “Oh, it’s hard sometimes to remember the Lord is with you when you only look at situations with your eyes.”
Milar smiles at them and sighs; their faith reminds her of her youth, before she became cynical.
A plain, unmarked panel box truck arrives at the gate of Fort Pershing. The guard stops them and examines their papers. He says, “I’ll have to authenticate this, wait here.”
Impatiently, the occupants idle at the gate while the guard is on the phone. The guard returns, “General Foxx is coming to the gate personally. Pull over into the waiting area.”
Without a word, the truck pulls over into the holding lot. After about a half-hour, Foxx arrives, ushers the men into the guard shack, and closes the door after them. He looks them over, examines their ID’s and credentials and says, “Even though Burnsom sent you here, each of you must obey the rules of the base. There will be no tolerance for disobedience. You will follow my vehicle to the designated door and we will turn Asterion over to you. However, any actions taken by Asterion that are illegal will be on your heads.”
Agent Sam Griggs, the leader of the group nods in acknowledgment. “We are capable of keeping him in line until we reach the research center.”
“Good, we understand each other.”
Foxx gets in his staff car and orders his driver to go to the designated door. The panel truck follows close by and backs up to the door at the instructions of the guards posted at the exit. They open the door and Asterion exits, looks around for a second and enters the back of the truck. Griggs’ men close the door and return to the vehicle. Foxx waves them off and they exit the main gate of the base.
Griggs enters the back of the truck. “I’m Griggs. Burnsom sent me personally to assist you. These are my hand picked team members. We have been briefed on you mission and prepared to assist you in the reacquisition of the targets. We know how to get in and out of places quickly and with little detection. You must do the same when we are not in direct contact, capisce?”
Asterion, unfamiliar with the vernacular looks curiously at Griggs. Griggs responds, “You’re not familiar with slang and such. I thought you might not so I brought a list of popular slang and definitions. Oh, capisce means do you understand?”
“Yes, that has been made clear to me on several occasions. I’ll do what I need to do under cover of darkness and away from the public.”
Griggs smiles, “Good. We have spotters keeping an eye on your targets. They were briefly in the town where you captured them before for several hours, but they did not remain long. We think they are still heading in a southerly direction”
Asterion interrupts, “I say we get ahold of those who helped them and I’ll interrogate them.”
“That is a negative. Too many eyes to see what’s going on and they are well known in their community. We cannot act with any assurance of anonymity.”
Asterion reacts with anger, “How is this different from the military expedition with Foxx’s soldiers?”
Griggs calms Asterion down. “The difference is we are not bound by military code, but we are bound by the dictates of Burnsom. If you cause a riot or trigger the South Central Province into acting, then we won’t be able to protect you against a significant force. The timing is not right.”
This angers Asterion. He is growing more frustrated with Burnsom, but he must bide his time. He smiles at Griggs, “I’m just anxious to get this done and start training my legions.”
“That’s okay. We’ll get you in position soon enough. A motivated soldier is always anxious for action. Your bed folds down here and food is stored in these cabinets. I’ll leave you to rest and I’ll let you know when we get new intel.” Griggs leaves him alone and returns to the front of the vehicle.
Asterion envisions the day when his legion will help him overthrow Burnsom. “The perfect leader,” he mouths under his breath with a smirk. He takes advantage of the trip to rest.
The three arrive at the outskirts of a medium size city. With no safe house, they find a rural hunting trail where they can hide and rest for a while. Taylor looks around, “I’ll catch first watch.” He gets no complaints and he tries to see into the darkness and listen for danger. Milar and Christine each take a few hours on watch and before dawn.
