“We offer you an opportunity, but you must remain silent except to answer our questions. Any further interjections, and this gathering is over. Do you understand?”
“What ga—” He stopped. “Yes, I understand.”
“You are angry at the Peaks, yes?”
“Yes.”
“How angry?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Would you be willing to injure a Peak to protect someone you care for?”
“The Peaks are armed. I don’t have weapons.”
“Nevertheless, if you had the capability, would you injure one of them?”
“If I could, yes.”
“Would you kill one of them? Now think before you answer. Killing is not a casual act.”
“Would I kill to protect someone? I think I could.”
“You think?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been in that situation.”
“Very well. Assume you had been at Jeanette’s farm when the Peaks attacked. If killing them was the only way to protect her, and you had been able to kill them, would you have done so?”
Darius’s face tightened. “Absolutely.”
“Good. Now let me ask you this. If you knew they were going to attack Jeanette, but they hadn’t reached the farm, could you have killed them to stop them? Remember, they haven’t done anything to her yet.”
“But they would have. And yes, I could have killed them to stop them.”
A voice came from behind him. “How can we believe you? Saying you would kill them and doing it are different things.”
Darius swung around. “You are the resistance, aren’t you? I’ve heard of you. Give me a chance. I know I could attack them to save someone else.”
Another voice said, “But what if they weren’t a threat to anyone else? What if they were just going about their business? Could you attack them in that case?”
“Their business? Isn’t that what they do? Beat people up? Rape women? Just because they’re not doing any of that right now doesn’t mean they won’t.”
“So may I assume you would be willing to attack Peaks for no other reason than they’re Peaks?”
“I’ve watched the Peaks. I’m disgusted by them. They’re not human. Yes, I would attack them just because they’re there.”
Another figure asked, “Why do you hate them? Is it because of their attack on your friend?”
“No. I hated them before that. What they did just made things worse.”
“You did not answer my question. Why do you hate them?”
“I hate them because of their brutality. I know they have to collect the taxes. Uncle Rolf explained that to me. And I know that maybe they have to use force to stop the looting gangs. But most people in the village just want to get on with their lives. They aren’t a threat. Jeanette and her family weren’t a threat. They didn’t have to do what they did. What they always do.”
“Nobody else in the village seems to hate the Peaks, at least not as much as you do. Why do you think that is?”
“Everybody else is afraid of them. Afraid of what they’ll do. I guess it’s dangerous to hate them or at least say so. Most people are staying quiet.”
“Except you. Why is that?”
“I don’t know. I don’t care. Maybe that’s just the way I am. Maybe that’s just the way you are. You are the resistance. Why aren’t you staying quiet?”
The robed figure who had started the questioning said, “You are right. We are the resistance. We form the local council. We are always alert for people who might help us in any way. Obviously, we need to be clandestine. You will never know who we are, but we have people in the community who support us and who will train you should you agree. Do you agree?”
Darius took a deep breath. Everyone knew of the resistance, but it was secretive. Joining it was not easy. Now he was being given a chance. “Yes. I agree.”
HIS FIRST ATTACKS had been as part of a team. They would receive notice of a future Peak patrol, and they would lay a trap. In the middle of a road, they would dig a trench deep enough to envelop a rover. They would fill the bottom of it with dried fragments of wood, moss, and dead leaves and cover it with branches and dirt, sturdy enough to walk on, rutted enough to make the road look normal. They would wait in the bushes until a rover trundled toward it, a Peak scanning the horizon with binoculars, another manning an immobilizer mounted on top.
When the rover hit the trap, it would fall through, smashing into the trench. Darius and the other resistance fighters would toss in torches that would ignite the dried moss and wood. With a volley of flaming arrows, they would shower any Peaks who tried to climb out of the pit. Satisfaction came on those occasions when the rover exploded, showering the area with debris.
After about a year of attacks, Darius was once again summoned to a meeting of the resistance council.
In the circle, one of the robed figures said, “You have proven your worth to the resistance. We applaud you. We would like to increase your level of engagement.”
“What does that mean?”
“Attacking the Peaks on patrol is useful. It makes them more fearful of what they will encounter. As you have learned, one of our goals is to instill fear. We are about to amplify that fear. We are moving to a new type of attack, one that will take place in the cities where, for now, they feel safe.”
“Cities? You mean like Calgary?”
“Yes. That is where the local detachment is based. But attacking them there is much riskier. The chances of being captured are higher, the chances of failure greater.”
“So why do it?”
“Because the rewards are also greater. We want to make the Peaks feel unsafe even in their barracks, even while they eat or sleep. We want to take the attack to them.”
“You want me to do this?”
“You and a few others we believe are capable. Understand, there is no compulsion here. There is great risk, and we don’t want to force anyone into it. But the opportunity exists. If you are willing, we would like you to take it on.”
“Will these be random attacks?”
“Randomness does create uncertainty, which creates fear. But we intend to strike when they are most vulnerable. When they’re planning an offensive. When senior officers are visiting. When they have new recruits who haven’t learned to fear us and whose cockiness makes them careless.”
“But how do we know when any of these are happening?”
There was a hesitation before one of the figures said, “We receive information from a source we know as the Coordinator.”
“Who is that?”
“We don’t know. And we don’t want to know. His information has been accurate. That is good enough for us.”
“Is that how we know when a Peak patrol will be coming so we can lay the trap?”
“Yes. The Coordinator gives us this information. Darius, we have asked if you are willing to help us take the attack to the Peaks. Do you need time to think about it?”
“No. I’m ready. Just tell me where and when to go.”
12
ANGER AND SABOTAGE
Two years had passed since Baxter started this job. Two years without having to pay rent had been a boost to his bank balance. When nobody discovered he was living in the storage room, he brought in bread and cold cuts. He considered getting a hotplate and maybe a coffee maker, but he didn’t want the aroma of kitchen comfort to betray his presence. He doubted Whatford would take kindly to his squatting in the office.
The only thing he missed was television. He’d never been hooked. His viewing was mostly restricted to the news and commentary programs, but even those were denied to him in this sub-basement. Nor could he log on to the streaming channels. Access to anything other than official government sites was blocked. So he had to be content with the newspapers he could scrounge from a recycle bin. And what he read disturbed him.