“Fair enough,” he says with a curt nod. “Perhaps this will put your mind at ease a little…”
He pulls out his phone, dials a number seemingly from memory, and puts it on speakerphone as it rings. He places it on the edge of Clara’s bed, so it’s in the middle of the three of us. He smiles at us both as the person he’s calling finally picks up.
“Yes?” says the voice on the other end of the phone.
“Sir,” he says. “It’s Robert Clark, GlobaTech Industries. I’m sorry to disturb you at this hour, but I have you on speaker with Adrian Hell and Clara Fox. We spoke of the situation in Heaven’s Valley yesterday.”
“Ah, Bob, good to hear from you,” says the voice, in a distinctive Texan drawl. It then speaks slightly louder, to address the room.
“Adrian… Clara… This is Ryan Schultz. I’m the Secretary of Defense for the United States.”
19
Holy shit!
I mean, I know it’s obvious this whole situation is bad, but it’s hard to believe I’ve managed to get myself wrapped up in something that’s on the White House’s radar.
Schultz continues. “Adrian, I’ll make no secret that I dislike what the rumors say you do for a living, son. But I cannot deny you’re a resourceful sonofabitch. Your actions so far in Heaven’s Valley have been impressive and of significant value, and you’ve done your country a great service.”
“Well, Mr. Secretary,” I say. “I didn’t do it for my country. Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for no other reason than to stay alive. But I appreciate you calling and thanking me — that means a lot. I just did what anyone else would have, I guess.”
“Well, whatever your motivation, your contributions have proved invaluable to our efforts,’ says Schultz. ‘But if you ain’t doin’ it for your country, you need to help us now as a service to your fellow man. I need you to hand what paperwork you have relating to that there Uranium mine over to Bob Clark. GlobaTech are one of our biggest independent contractors and we trust them implicitly in this matter.”
“With respect, sir, how can you trust an organization that funded an underground militia and attempted to supply them with nuclear material?”
“That was a deal brokered by a clandestine group of individuals operating independently within a larger company. Those people have ceased all activities on the project, and management of the resources has been given to Bob Clark. Bob here is one of us, do you understand?”
“I do.”
“Good man. I read your file, Adrian. You were a helluva soldier. You’re wasting your life as a hired gun. And if we could actually prove you’d done half the shit I’ve heard rumor of, I’d personally make sure they gave you the chair, and I’d throw the damn switch myself!”
“Well, while I appreciate the sentiment, sir, I am who I am. What I do or do not do is my own business. This country trained me to be the best and that’s exactly what I am.”
“That’s as maybe, but you’re still a goddamn killer. I don’t condone it, goddammit. But this once, I’m willing to overlook it.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
“Now, obviously, it should go without saying that the details of what’s happening down there are classified at the highest level. I would hate to think there’s any risk of information getting out about such things.”
“You have my word, Mr. Schultz — the moment I’m outta this city, the whole thing will be completely forgotten.”
“We appreciate your co-operation on the matter, son.”
Clark picks up the phone and takes it off speaker. He has a quick, one-sided conversation, during which he agreed a lot, and then he hangs up.
“So, shall we?”
I look at Clara, who nods and smiles. I let out a heavy sigh and hand him the paperwork.
“Screw me over and I’ll hunt you down,” I say to him.
He takes the deeds and smiles. “I expect nothing less,” he replies. “But you have nothing to worry about. We’re on the same side and want the same thing. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get these over to our Legal department. Thank you again, Adrian.”
“Don’t mention it,” I say.
He turns and leaves the room, closing the door gently behind him. I stand and start pacing the room, running everything through my head.
Am I right to trust GlobaTech after everything they’ve done? Maybe not… but my gut’s telling me I’m right to trust Robert Clark, regardless of whether or not the Secretary of Defense vouched for him.
But now what? I can’t just leave, can I? I know I’ve got no chance taking on Ketranovich and Dark Rain on my own, I admit that. But I still feel responsible, and consequently obligated, to finish what I’ve inadvertently started. There’s no doubt Dark Rain are out to kill me. And Pellaggio is definitely going to want my head on a spike after everything that’s happened… I’m not convinced it’s as simple as just picking up my bag and taking the first Greyhound out of here. Ketranovich might be as good as dead if GlobaTech and their private army are after them, but Pellaggio won’t let me walk away. He’ll keep coming until I decide to stop him.
I look over at Clara, who’s lying comfortably now. I can see her fighting to stay awake. What about her? Dark Rain is after her too. I’m assuming she still has the money I took from Jackson. I just have to convince her to use it and get out of town. I don’t want her to go through anything else — she’s suffered enough already. If she lies low until GlobaTech finish dealing with Dark Rain, she can then start a new life somewhere else.
I know that sounds a little hypocritical — we’re both in exactly the same situation. I’m contemplating how I can fix things by staying when anyone in their right mind would be telling me to cut and run, yet here I am thinking of how to get Clara to leave because it’s stupid staying…
Maybe it’s a male pride thing. With all due respect to her, I’m sure she’ll understand to an extent. But I also know she’ll think like me — she’ll want to see this thing through 'til the end.
“So, what’s the plan, Adrian?” she asks. “I can see you thinking.”
I figure I’ll go down the chivalrous route first.
“Once you heal up, you should get out of town,” I reply. “Use that money I gave you and start a new life. Between me and GlobaTech, I promise I’ll stop Dark Rain.”
Clara laughs. “You macho asshole! I’m not going anywhere and you knew that before you even opened your mouth and fed me that bullshit line.”
I smile and hold my hands up. “You got me.”
“So, seriously, what’s the plan? Me and you — we’re in this ‘til the end, no matter what, right?”
I’ll admit I find the sentiment touching. I think I’m getting soft in my old age…
“Well, forgetting that we’re top of Dark Rain’s hit list for the moment, we still need to find this scientist. Once Ketranovich finds out that GlobaTech have turned their backs on him, and realizes he’s lost any chance of access to the Uranium mine, that scientist is as good as dead.”
“Agreed. But where do we start?”
“You said you knew a few places Dark Rain could use to house them, right?”
“Yeah, but I don’t know for sure if they’re in use.”
“It’s okay — right now, that’s all we’ve got to go on and it’s worth a shot.”
I pick up a pen and some paper from Clara’s bedside table and take down the address details as she reels them off. Then I take out my phone and call Josh, putting him on speakerphone.
“Hey Boss,” he says in his trademark cheery voice. “Still alive then?”
“Just about,” I reply. “Josh, you’re on speaker and Clara’s here. We’re in her hospital room.”