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Episode
173
“Forfeit the game,
“Where are you?”
I’m
still back home. I’m in one of the knight’s apartment.
“They
trusted you with a key?”
No.
“Good
man, Errol.”
Where
are you, Aaron?
“I’m
in the fortress. They don’t know that my laptop has a wireless Internet
connection. That’s why my connection’s so slow, though. And I may get
cut off.”
What’s
the plan, boss?
“The
plan? There is no plan. Jericho’s going to go through with his insane
little scheme to launch an offensive against the US government and the
military. What that little scheme is, I’m not sure, but I know he’s
going to implement it as soon as the fortress is fully operational.”
Great.
“Errol,
listen to me. Please tell me the knights are planning a pre-emptive
strike.”
They
are. Any details, I’m afraid they didn’t tell me.
“Goes
with the territory of being a defector.”
So
I’m learning. But all the knights of this city are gone. They left
earlier tonight. Or last night, technically.
“Why
are you in a knight’s home again?”
There’s
no computer at the hotel and Ian’s getting on my nerves.
“Yeah,
he does that. How many knights are coming?”
I
have no idea. I know that there are six here, plus that weird, cynical
former knight guy. After that, I don’t know.
“I
need to know what kind of artillery they’re going to bring to bear
against the fortress. You know as well as Ido, this place is designed
against direct assaults. Most ordinances, I think, are going to fall
really short of even leaving a scratch.”
Great.
“It
gets better. The Hand is crawling all over this place. They probably
out-number Investigator’s Clan and Miracle Worker’s Clan members two
to one.”
Double
great.
“Errol,
I don’t know how much longer this is going to keep going, but if the
knights can’t stop Jericho by the time the fortress is on-line, get out
of the city. Get to our retreat, or one of the fallback points that the
Investigator’s Clan set up. But get away from anywhere civilized and
don’t come out until the war’s over.”
War?
“Errol,
the Brotherhood isn’t going to stop until the UN is destroyed. In order
to do that, they’re going to have to take on America. And do you think
the Illuminati is going to sit aside and watch as their strongest
plaything gets toasted?”
I
guess not.
“And
besides, after talking to Jericho, do you think this is the only fortress
we’ve got?
I
think that’s the scariest thought I’ve heard all day.
“You
ain’t kidding. So. The knights.”
What
about them?
“Are
they coming or not?”
I
think so.
“You
think?”
What
do you want me to say, Aaron? They’re not here. Last thing I heard, they
were going out there.
“Did
you tell them where it is?”
They
said they already knew.
“Did
they?”
How
was I supposed to know?
“You’re
in the Investigator’s Clan. It’s your job, your life, to know stuff
like this. Did you sleep through that part of orientation?”
My
orientation was a drink at a bar and Alexander asking me if I wanted a
really cool job. At the time, I thought I was going to be working around a
whole bunch of really neat computers with lots of flickering lights and
stuff.
“You
always did like flashing lights. You’re as bad as a damn ferret.”
Aaron,
seriously. What are we going to do?
“Honestly?”
Honestly.
“I
have no idea. It’s out of our hands. We just get to sit back and hope
for the best. One way or another, I think our time has past.”
“What time is it?” Armand asked, blinking sleepily as he leaned
on the pillar in the airport baggage claim.
“Our
time or Boulder standard?” Roland asked, holding up his right hand as he
checked his digital watch. “It’s about 3 am at home. Its only one
here.”
“Man.”
Armand said, shrugging. “Seems later than that.”
“Get
used to it.” Ledger said grimly, the only one of the three seeming
unbothered by the late hour. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
“Don’t
worry, Ledger.” Roland said assuringly along with a yawn. “As soon as
they start shooting at him, he’ll wake right up.”
“I have a reservation for Edgar Blain.” The eldest knight said,
holding out his driver’s license and credit card.
“Yes
sir.” The man behind the car rental counter said. He looked behind the
desk, then looked at Edgar. “I wish I could go out there with you.” He
said honestly, with a low voice to the empty rental office. Edgar looked
up, the sleep disappearing instantly from his eyes. “I wish I could
go.” The man repeated, smiling a quick, sincere smile as he put together
an envelope with keys.
“Go
where?” Edgar asked. The man smiled and looked down at his black suit.
He unbuttoned his formal shirt, revealing the red t-shirt underneath.
“Ah.” Edgar said.
“I’ve
never been much of a fighter, even for a knight.” The man said
embarrassedly.
“Are
you a historian?” Edgar asked, getting a nod.
“Yeah.
I can’t even throw a good punch, but my sword work’s not bad. It’s
just, I’d be a liability and, besides, somebody had to loan you guys the
cars without asking too many questions or remembering too much.”
“Thank
you for that, too.” Edgar nodded, accepting the keys and the rental
slip. “Don’t worry. If you’re a historian, just keep your eyes
open.” Edgar said, nodding his head. “The memory of this event is just
as important as any other facet.”
“Yeah,
that’s what my team kept telling me.” The man said, smiling with shaky
faith.
“Your
team?” Edgar asked. “So, other knights did arrive?” The elder knight
asked.
The
man only smiled.
Edgar pulled up in front of the terminal as Roland, Ledger, and
Armand stepped out. The large, nondescript black van rolled open, with
Morgan and Sydney in the back. Without a word, the three knights tossed
the bags into the back and climbed in.
“We’re
off and rolling.” Everett called from the passenger’s seat.
“Anybody
see any black and red yet?” Roland yelled over the boisterous engine of
the van. “I want to make sure this ain’t seven on three thousand.”
“I
didn’t see any.” Armand offered.
“If
it is, are you gonna back out?” Ledger asked, next to Sydney as the five
crouched down in the seatless back.
“No,
but it will change how much trash I talk before hand.” Roland grinned.
He looked up at the rearview mirror, grinning. “This one’s gonna go
down in the history books.”
“Yeah.”
Morgan agreed. He looked away, covering his mouth. “As suicide.” He
muttered. |