The Freedom Brigades.
“You bastards will never get the codes out of me!”
Several of the militiamen grinned in sadistic delight. One toyed with his bayonet. With all her focus on her prisoner, Sophie didn’t see the others.
“We don’t need them. We aren’t going to use the nukes. It’s just a deterrent, a bargaining chip against Washington. Unlike you, we aren’t insane.”
Salazar buried her face in her hands.
The crazy girl looked like she believed that.
Chapter 8
“Beg your pardon, Supreme Group Leader, but what am I still doing here? I thought I’d get to take terminal leave once Salazar was secure. I think I’ve done enough. Time to bury my father and…”
Sophie locked her jaw. She didn’t really have anything after that. What does a 20-year-old Freedom fighter do when the fight’s over? Go back to fucking college? Even if she could put it all behind her, wasn’t there a bounty on her own head?
“… Move on with my life. Somewhere.”
Dietrich smiled down on the girl, trying to keep his eyes above her chest. The naïve young thing believed she could just resign, even after everything she’d seen.
“Well, it’s a volunteer force. God knows you’ve earned the right to leave, but why do you want to abandon us? Right when we’re so close to freedom. After everything you’ve sacrificed, don’t you deserve to see this mess through? The troops could use your leadership.”
Sophie followed his outstretched arm. This neglected desert complex buzzed with activity. Must be at least a thousand Freedom Brigade members rushing around.
“Sophie, my offer still stands. I’ll make you my deputy. My second in command. Full operational control of your own army.”
Dietrich pushed his luck and placed his hand on the small of her back. Any other woman in the world, and he wouldn’t have hesitated sliding lower. Problem was, he liked his body intact too much to push harder with this sweet, but vicious gal. Of course, the hunt itself was half the fun…
“This is the cream of the crop out here. A thousand of our most diehard members, all at your command.” He didn’t mention that, after the targeted federal assassination campaign and drying up of funding, these were the only militia fighters still alive and responding to orders.
Sophie bristled at his touch and shook her head. “No can do, Dietrich. I’ve been killing for more than a year now. All for what? Has anything gotten better? We’ve just given that madman in Washington license to tear this country apart even further. Nothing personal, but I’m done with the whole social justice thing. You all can take it from here. Good luck.”
Dietrich grabbed her shoulder as she turned to leave. “Wait… you don’t know what’s really going on.”
It was a huge break of security protocol, but better than having to shoot her pretty ass.
“Washington is going to launch a nuclear first strike in the next hour.”
Sophie froze in her tracks. She spun around, poker face on.
“Bullshit. They’re winning the war. Wasn’t that the whole point of this coup? To negotiate a real peace treaty that didn’t involve unconditional surrender. Why would they nuke us now?”
Dietrich pulled her to the edge of the crowded parking lot. The delay gave him time to whip up some story.
“We have certain high-level assets in Washington. They’re all telling us the same thing: the president is freaking out that Salazar isn’t in charge. He thinks the country is plunging into anarchy. You remember those nukes you saved at the start of the war?”
“So? I thought they were inoperable?”
“Oh, it took forever to bypass the permissive action links. The rebels basically had to take them apart and rebuild each warhead from the ground up, but the URA managed to get a few operational.”
He feigned sadness. “It was a deterrent that no one took seriously, but now it’s our only chance at survival. We have to take out DC before the president and his henchmen take out most of California.”
Sophie rubbed her temples. “Jesus Christ. How did we let things get so far out of hand? Wait a minute, how can we hit them anyway? The Feds control all the ICBM’s and we don’t have an air force any longer. There’s no time to sneak a nuke into DC in the trunk of a car. What’s the point?”
Dietrich took the opportunity to squeeze her shoulder and held Sophie closer. “Well, that’s another little secret. Come with me.”
She rode in silence as he drove her over to a towering temporary structure, standing alone at the far corner of the complex. Up close, the skyscraper was nothing more than a canvas shell over scaffolding. After they passed through a dozen guards and three ID checks, they stepped through the door.
“Holy shit!”
Dietrich came up behind her, handsy as ever. “That’s right. We’ve modified one of the Atlas space launch rockets we seized at Vandenberg to serve as a crude ballistic missile. It’s not as accurate as a Minuteman, but a 300-kiloton nuke gives plenty of room for error. We’re lucky to have kept it secret for so long.”
One of the technicians nearby blared a horn. “Forty-five minutes until launch!”
Even as he spoke, tiny explosive bolts popped. The canvas sides fell away. Several mobile cranes snagged the bare framework and just dragged it out of the way.
Sophie’s eyes bulged. The giant rocket and flimsy launch tower stood exposed to the desert sky. Dietrich stiffened and dropped his hand from Sophie’s hip. A well-dressed civilian marched up to them. The only sponsor Sophie ever met beamed at her.
“Outstanding work, Ms. Kampbell. This wouldn’t have been possible without you. Your nation owes you a debt of gratitude.”
Sophie reeled in confusion. “What do I have to do with any of this? I merely stopped Salazar from betraying us. Isn’t it kind of moot anyway? None of that’s going to matter once we start flinging nukes at one another.”
“No, you misunderstand. There won’t be any retaliation. Once we hit DC and carve out the heart of tyranny, they’ll be chaos in the federal command. We step in, parade Salazar in front of the cameras and execute her for her ‘crimes against humanity.’ After our benevolent coup, we can reunite the country under new, reasonable leadership.” She didn’t mention who those new leaders would be, but it was pretty clear from her breathless tone and faraway look that the banker had them already in her pocket.
“We’re going to lie to the whole country?”
The banker scowled. “Oh come now. You of all people can’t afford to be so naïve. How much blood is on your hands? How many have you killed in the pursuit of peace? You’re telling me you wouldn’t prefer massaging the truth than to go on fighting?”
Out the corner of her eye, she noticed Dietrich watching her like a hawk. His hand drifted too close to his sidearm. “Whether you agree with the bigger plan or not isn’t the question. Politics isn’t important right now. If we don’t hit them first, they’ll kill millions of us. Are you onboard?”
Sophie took a long breath. He had a point. It felt dirty, but it was a simple numbers game. Kill a few hundred thousand of them to save a few million of her own people. Besides, killing had always been necessary. What did the tools matter?
“Fine. How can I help?”
The banker nodded and wandered off to handle more important business. Dietrich beamed. “First things first. We need airtight security around here. I want you to take over that. I’ll be in the bunker with our sponsor and Salazar. After the strike, we’ll put your talents to use. There might be some hotspots that need pacification.” Sophie didn’t notice his lecherous grin.