He paused for a second, closed his eyes, then continued on.
Joe didn’t look back as he pulled from the school, drove through town or through the road block. He’d figure out later what to do with those tomatoes in the back of his truck, obviously, they were tainted. The highway was empty, he didn’t see a single car or military vehicle. He supposed eventually he would.
He kept going, never once looking in his rearview mirror, never once dwelling on what happened back home. He couldn’t. Joe had to focus forward, move ahead and find his nephew, Toby.
Toby was all he had left in the godforsaken world.
That was his mission, his cause. Joe would get there, he’d find him, even if it was the last thing he ever did.
There was a moment after Joe left, when Mary Lou briefly gave a second thought to what she was about to do. She had led a good life. She thought about God and how He would view her actions. When she told Joe she didn’t know if she could live with what had happened, she wasn’t referring to the slaughter of the soldiers, that she could live with. It was the loss of everyone she knew, the loss of her freedom, her homeland. A part of her, in a sense, felt responsible for the sick people who had been gassed, her karma. They had already poisoned the soldiers; the ricin was working its way through their systems when they gassed the sick camps.
Mary Lou had never felt so much rage as she did when she received Sergeant Edmunds’ call. She raced into town and joined the others in ‘picking off’ those soldiers who were not poisoned. The first enemy soldier Mary Lou saw was scared, she saw it in his eyes, and then she saw the red of rage as she lunged for him. He wasn’t ready but she was. She repeatedly stabbed him mercilessly. She did it for her friends, her neighbors who were defenseless when they died.
Just like that soldier Mary Lou killed. He was one of three that she personally murdered.
She could live with that if she had to, but she didn’t want to.
The war was far from over, but her part was done. She was ready to see her husband. Continuing what she was doing when Joe walked in, Mary Lou whispered a short prayer asking for forgiveness, put the gun to her head, and fired.
San Antonio, TX
It was dark, hot, and the air was humid. General Liu had been stripped of his uniform shirt, jacket, and awards, left only in a T-shirt and pants. No shoes. He was placed in a basement room of a hotel. No windows, no light, only a few glow sticks.
No one came to talk to him, he was given no water or food.
He thought of his life. The service he had given his country, his daughters who were grown and in school, studying to be doctors.
The bright spot to it all was that he would see his loving wife who left him and the earth far too soon. He hoped that when word reached his daughters that they wouldn’t be affected by the shame he caused them. He prayed that they knew him well enough to know their father didn’t betray his country, he was doing what was right for the world.
His final moments on earth weren’t filled with regrets, but loving memories of those he held dear.
When the door opened he knew it was morning… it was time.
They secured his hands behind his back before they took him from the room. His eyes had time to adjust as they led him down a lit hall to an even brighter hotel lobby.
He was taken out a back door through the kitchen to a small secluded courtyard.
The sun beat down hard and the heat was extreme. They walked him to the center of the area. Fen waited before a line of five soldiers. One of which was Sergeant Huang.
General Liu looked at them all before being placed in position.
Fen dismissed her agents, then walked to General Liu. She spoke to him in a low voice, almost taunting. “You can only say so much before you are silenced for good. Now you stand before executioners of your peers.”
“Only someone with a blackened heart would do such a thing to loyal men.”
She laughed. “Loyal. They jumped at this chance. They know of your behavior as of late. How you want to help the Americans.”
“We are here for the country, that includes the people. If we are to live among them one day, we cannot do so if the sins of our actions forever taint their perception of us.”
“You failed to draw a line,” Fen said. “Quite a shame you will not see the victory of your country.”
General Liu shifted his eyes to her. “Neither will you.”
“Any last requests, General?”
“Tell my daughters I love them.”
“Very well.”
“I suppose you will enjoy watching this,” General Liu said.
“I will not be watching. I don’t want the perception that this is personal.”
“But it is.”
She merely raised her eyebrows, then stepped back. “Would you like a blindfold, a covering?”
“No. I will go with my eyes open and standing tall.”
“Very well.” She walked away. “Sergeant Huang, once I am gone, you may do so. But do so quickly.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
General Liu tried not to look at her but caught her in his peripheral vision as she walked from the secluded area.
“Ready,” Sergeant Huang called out.
Hands behind his back, General Liu stood straight.
“Aim.”
He lifted his chin proudly, taking a deep breath. He would not leave this world scared, but rather he would do his best to be brave.
A split second before he hollered, “‘Fire,” Sergeant Huang stepped from the ranks of the line, pivoted his body and on his call, gunned down the four other soldiers.
General Liu was waiting for the bullets, but what he witnessed, shocked him so much, he dropped to the ground to his knees.
Huang lifted one of the rifles from a dead soldier, slung it over his shoulder and raced to General Liu.
“Sergeant Huang. You…”
Huang pulled out a knife and reached behind General Liu for his bound hands. “I have help with an escape plan. We’ll go through the catering room, back to the basement. I need you to hurry.” He cut the binding on General Liu’s wrist.
“What you did, Sergeant Huang…”
Suddenly, he spoke perfect English, and Liu understood him. “My name is Tommy Cho.” He helped General Liu to his feet as he spoke fast. “I am a First Sergeant in the United States Marine Corp. I am a plant. I think you’re a good man. Come with me.” He pulled on his arm. “Please”—he looked at him squarely in the eyes—“don’t make me regret this decision.”
Without any choice, and grateful for saving him, General Liu went with the young man.
Caldwell, OH
Troy was almost there. Seventeen miles out from the town of Caldwell. His team raring and ready to go, he received a message on the secure line.
“Abort.”
Troy had been in the service long enough to know that no mission is simply aborted with one word and no verification. He looked down to the military phone and replied. “Verification.”
A second later came the response, “Lenny Kravitz.”
“Password.”
“AFZ1965REAGAN.”
“Damn it,” Troy nearly slammed the phone. He took a second and sent another message. “Why?”
“Compromised. We’re out of sync. Caldwell will be next wave.”
He bit his lip and shook his head. “Pull over,” he told the driver.
Another ‘blip’ and Troy looked down to the message.
“Before base. Stop. Hit high ground. Look up.”
Troy crinkled his brow at the mysterious message. The truck had stopped, and Troy stepped out. They were already on backroads. He began to look around.