Chapter 2
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The aircraft carrying Myles took a circuitous route to its next destination,
with a refueling stop at one small airport, followed by a flight to another
small airport that just happened to be within a short drive of Freehold Mike
Charlie. Another nondescript car was waiting. Myles had modified his disguise
during the flight, and now looked like a young businessman in a dark suit,
albeit with rather long hair. From a distance the hair would look real, and
the sunglasses further helped hide his identity. The guards had no problem
identifying him, however, as he passed through the main entrance of the
Freehold. Of course, he also had the identity token and the current password,
and a fingerprint scan completed the entry process.
Mike Charlie had grown considerably in the twenty-one years since it was
founded. The small 160-acre farm had been expanded to several times is
original size, as over 1600 acres of adjoining properties had been added. The
fact that Mike Charlie was quite wealthy made it possible to make the nearby
landowners offers too lucrative to refuse. And one of the reasons Mike Charlie
was wealthy was that Myles and a number of other men had the millions to fund
it.
Sir Walter was another one of those men, and he was waiting for Myles and his
comrades-in-arms to arrive. He watched from a window on the top floor of the
converted grain silo, one of many collected from local farms and reassembled
into a forest of round towers near the center of the community. Most of the
buildings were inexpensive all-metal construction, with extensive use of
materials recycled from demolished buildings. The overall effect was that of a
rather low-cost operation, and it was. Money wasn't wasted on appearance or
luxury. Of course, only insiders knew about the extensive system of
underground chambers and tunnels connecting them, and many other secrets of the
Freehold.
Myles stopped at a desk in the reception area. A serious-looking young lady,
wearing an outfit that resembled a military uniform, greeted him. "Have the
others arrived?" Myles asked.
"Not yet, Myles", she replied. "Both of them should be here within a few
minutes. Shall I inform Sir Walter of your arrival?"
"I'm sure he knows", said Myles. "I'm pretty sure he was watching from
upstairs"
"You're probably right". She smiled slightly, looked at her computer screen.
"It looks like we have an arrival", and after a brief pause. "Yes, Glen just
passed through the gate"
"I'll wait here" said Myles. He wanted a cigar, but didn't smoke indoors,
except in his private quarters at home, and then usually on the balcony outside
his bedroom, or the courtyard. He fingered the small pouch in the pocket of
his suit jacket, turned to look out the door. A car was entering the parking
area, and stopped near the entrance. Glenn Miller exited and approached the
door. Like Myles, he was slightly disguised, just enough to throw off the
casual observer. He entered and greeted Myles and the receptionist.
"Scott should be just behind me" he said. "Want to wait and go up together?"
"Yeah" Myles replied.
"Good idea", said Glenn. He didn't add that he found being alone with Sir
Walter unnerving. Perhaps it was the generational difference, but likely it
was more. And of course he wouldn't say it here. The young woman at the desk
was absolutely trustworthy in terms of loyalty and reliability, else she would
not be there. But sharing personal opinions in the presence of others wasn't
wise. After a few minutes another car arrived and delivered Scott Summers.
They crossed the lobby to the elevator and selected the fourth floor.
Sir Walter greeted them in the foyer of his office. He had no secretary or
other assistant. Unusual, but then he was an unusual man. Myles thought he
seemed younger every time he saw him. Over two decades ago, when they first
met, he seemed an older man, probably mid-sixties, not in very good shape and
walking with a cane, and not very well at that. He was slimmer now, and use
the cane very little. His carriage was that of a much younger man, and while
his face did not look younger it also did not show the twenty additional years.
On the short side, about five seven, Myles figured, nearly bald. The little
remaining hair was grey and cut short. There had been a beard at times, but
not lately. His eyes were a warm, dark green. He smiled readily, but his
expression betrayed more weariness than his body ever did.
The hand-clasping greeting prevalent in society at large had been dispensed
with at the outset of the the establishment of the Freeholds. A modest bow
replaced it among members, usually little more than a slight inclination of the
head, particularly among equals or near equals. Sir Walter did so as he
approached, and the three reciprocated. With a sweeping gesture of his right
hand he ushered them into the office and bade them be seated, while he assumed
his own seat. The desk was not large, and did not impose much of a
psychological barrier to guests.
"Gentlemen", he said, "as someone once said, the die has been cast. While we
hope our motives are more pure than those of Caesar, the gravity of our actions
is certainly no less than his. There is no way they will let this pass."
"To comment on your performance would be unpleasant for all of us. While you
performed your missions flawlessly, no sane person wants to kill their fellow
human beings. The fact that they thoroughly deserved it and that the world is
a better place without them in no way lessens the burden we carry.
"While there is no way to connect these acts to us, they will not bother with
investigation and proof. They haven't bothered to do that for a long time, and
justice has no meaning to them. Which is why we are here.
"All we can do is be prepared. I thank you, and all our comrades thank you,
even though most of them have no idea who you are. We will keep you updated as
events progress. That is all I have for now. Again, thank you. Be safe."
As the three rose to go, Sir Walter added "Myles, I need just a moment with you
before you go."
Myles waited as the others left, then turned to Sir Walter.
"Just two things" said Sir Walter. "There is some news about Atlantis. Just
some increased seismic activity, not notable enough for the news, outside of
scientific specialties. However, it seems to be in line with our projections.
"And, you should probably get home quickly. Sarah is waiting for you, and sent
a message by your security chief that she needs to see you."
"Thanks, Sir Walter" said Myles. Good news, bad news, he thought as he left
the office. Whatever it was, calling Sarah wasn't a good idea. Very likely
their conversations would be monitored at some point, if they weren't already,
and Sarah didn't have a black phone. Or even know what one was. He didn't
like thinking about it, but she was going to learn some unpleasant things
before much more time passed.
A car was waiting at the entrance, and before long was back at the airport,
boarding the plane for the flight home. As he travelled the convoluted course
back home, he wondered what could be wrong. Sarah lived a relatively carefree
and uneventful life - what could have happened to have her return so soon?
He had no idea why he was so tense - Sarah's problem was likely nothing more
than a fight with a girlfriend or one of her lovers. She wasn't especially
fragile, but she was sensitive and could be hurt by the careless acts of others
much more easily than she would admit.
Retrieving the minivan at the point where his journey had begun, he made his
way home. It had been less than forty-eight hours since the assassinations -
it was unlikely he was the object of interest so soon. The half hour drive to
his estate seemed to take hours, but finally he arrived at the main gate.
There were no visible guards, but he knew he was observed as he drove through.
Then, finally, he was at the house. The garage door opened and he drove in,
the door immediately closing behind him.
Frank greeted him as he exited the van. "Sarah's inside" he said. "She has a
friend with her, you've met her a time or two."
"Thanks, Frank" Myles replied. "It looks like you've got it turned up a notch"
"Just a feeling", replied Frank. "I suppose Sarah coming back unexpectedly, and
not alone, probably stepped it up a bit."
"Good work" said Myles. "We're probably going to be a little more vigilant for
a while." He went into the house and headed for his quarters.
As he expected, Sarah was in one of the guest quarters. She had occasionally
brought a friend to visit - but never brought one into his living area. Frank
had said she had been here before - he wondered on the way up who she was.
The television was on, but Sarah was paying no attention to it. Neither was
the young woman leaning against her, seemingly asleep. Sarah was holding one
of her hands, and did not speak as she looked up at her brother.
Tanya, he remembered. She was a couple of years younger than Sarah, and the
seemed to be very close. As Frank had observed, she had accompanied Sarah on a
previous visit or two. Two, he thought. The first had been probably a year
and a half or so ago, the other probably five or six months. Sarah had brought
several of her girlfriends by, always when she was just visiting for a short
time, never when staying overnight. Usually they were going on a trip and
Sarah wanted to see him before leaving.
Tanya was a smaller girl, a couple of inches shorter than Sarah and slimmer.
Silky, jet black hair, shoulder length. Dark green eyes, a very beautiful
young lady. Both she and Sarah were dressed casually, jeans, T-shirts and
sneakers. Tanya's shirt was more like a baseball shirt, with white with
shortened dark green sleeves.
Sarah gently disengaged herself, laying Tanya down on the couch. She was
evidently more than asleep, Myles thought. She stirred only slightly and never
appeared to awaken. Sarah stood up and crossed the room - Myles realized he
had stopped just after entering - and embraced him. Not the lover's embrace he
was accustomed to, but one seeking comfort and assurance.
"She's medicated", Sarah said. "Let's go outside."
The four guest suites were identical in layout, the two suites on each side of
the hall being mirror images. Myles and Sarah walked to the suite directly
opposite and sat down facing each other at a small table.
"She'll sleep for a while" said Sarah. "One of my friends is a physician's
assistant and has quite a bit of experience and access to useful things."
"Medications?" asked Myles.
"Yes", replied Sarah. "He's worked in mental health environments a lot, so he
knows how to handle - what did he say? - low-level emergencies. Essentially,
hysterics caused by emotional trauma. At least in this case."
"What sort of trauma?" Myles asked.
"Her brother has disappeared." said Sarah. "At first we had no idea what
happened, but some of his neighbors said they saw him leaving his apartment
this morning, just after midnight, with four men. He seemed to be handcuffed,
and they said it looked an awful lot like he was being arrested."
"No resistance?" asked Myles. "Not an abduction? Although that would be about
as distressing."
"I suppose it could have been," said Sarah. "But the setup looked rather
official, like undercover police. They said he walked to a car, two of the men
in front and two behind. Actually, there were two cars. One of the men got in
one, and Rob got into the back seat of the other, with the other three men.
There weren't any police markings, but they said it look like a police
operation of some sort."
Myles had been informed of operations of that sort. A midnight arrest with
unmarked cars and no uniforms on the police. The people being arrested were
generally not seen again. It hadn't happened on a large scale, yet. But the
intelligence operations of the freeholds were aware of them. But what could
Tanya's brother have done to get himself, disappeared, as they called it?
"Tell me about Tanya, her family" said Myles.
"Her parents moved to Arizona a few years ago." said Sarah. "They were quite
well off and retired early. Tanya goes out to visit them a couple of times a
year, and so do her sister and brother. Well, one of her brothers - the one
who lived in Springdale. The other one moved to some sort of commune about the
time their parents moved. She doesn't talk like she hear from him much, or at
all.
"Anyway, Tanya works at a bank in Springdale. Her parents send them all money,
they have a lot, apparently, and give them annual cash gifts up to the
non-taxable limit, however much that is. So she does all right, can afford to
party a lot, have a nice car, things like that. She's just a nice, sweet, and
rather uncomplicated person.
"Kinda like me, I guess." Sarah smiled, but it wasn't her usual smile, looking
almost forced. Myles stared into his sister's clear blue eyes, there wasn't
the slightest hint of redness, or signs of stress on her face, yet he sensed
that she was at a level of introspection he had never seen before.
"So what are their ages?" he asked.
"The oldest is the brother who went to the commune. Travis. He's probably
mid-to-late thirties. Tanya doesn't talk about him enough for me to know.
Tyler is next. The one they took away. He's thirty-four, I believe. Tanya is
next, she's my age. And she has a younger sister, Tara. She's twenty-seven."
Sara paused.
"What is it?" asked Myles, sensing confusion.
"You haven't asked why I brought Tanya." Sarah replied. "And I probably forgot
to tell you."
"Presumably because of her mental state." said Myles. "I'm not sure how I can
help, though.
"No," said Sarah. "I felt like I needed to hide her somewhere. You see, this
morning, she got a couple of calls, from friends who didn't know what happened
with Tyler. They said that some people were asking about her, where she lived,
where she worked. They were suspicious and pretended ignorance - said they
gave off some really bad vibes. They seemed kind of like some sort of law
enforcement, but didn't identify themselves that way."
Myles was silent, Sarah sat quietly, waiting. She knew her brother wasn't
impulsive, and was analyzing what she had told him.
"You don't happen know where this commune is, do you? The one Travis went to."
asked Myles.
"I believe it's in Oklahoma," Sarah replied. "I don't know exactly where."
Oklahoma was a big place with a small population. Even larger that South
Kansas, with only slightly more people. A lot of open spaces, with over a
quarter of the small population concentrated in the Oklahoma City area. More
interesting was the fact that there were several small freeholds in the state.
Myles knew about four small ones, with memberships ranging from about three to
five hundred. The one large one was almost as big as Mike Charlie, with well
over two thousand members. It was also quite wealthy, having been funded by
several heirs to large fortunes, mostly from the oil business. Myles wondered,
could Travis have joined one of these freeholds?
"Do you know anything about this commune?" asked Myles.
"Not really," said Sarah. Tanya seemed to think it had something to do with
political dissidence. Tyler was into politics, too. He was involved in some
organizations that held rallies, sued the government, and things like that.
Would that have something to do with it?"
"Possibly." said Myles. "You must be tired too. Why don't we get some sleep,
and tomorrow I'll call some people. Tanya is safe here. I'm not on anyone's
radar at this point, and we have good security. Frank and Scott do more that
just open doors, you know." He smiled, hoping to lighten Sarah's mood. But if
the tentacles of the state were this close to home, that was not a good thing.
"Did you and Tanya bring what you need to stay a while?" he asked.
"A few days", replied Sarah.
"Good." said Myles. "Let's see if Tanya is awake, and you can clean up before
bed. Are you hungry?"
"Not especially" said Sarah. "I've been to tense to think about anything so
normal. I'll bring some stuff to the guest suite we're staying in, in case we
wake up hungry." She looked at Myles, smiled with a little more enthusiasm
than before. "I should probably stay with her tonight."
"Of course," said Myles. "Let's see how our guest is doing."
Tanya was still asleep, but awakened to Sarah's voice and a light touch. She
sat up, rubbed her eyes. "That wasn't just a bad dream, was it?" she asked.
"Unfortunately, no" said Sarah. "But you're safe here, and Myles is going to
see what he can find out tomorrow."
Tanya smiled weakly. "Thanks," she said. She hugged Sarah, like a child
seeking comfort from a parent. Sarah held her for a minute or so, then said
"Let's get a shower and ready for bed. Unless you're hungry."
"Hungry?" asked Tanya. "You know, I don't remember that last time I ate
anything, but I couldn't possibly right now."
"If you're all right, I'll leave you alone now" said Myles. "Just call if you
need anything."
Sarah hugged her brother again, gave him a light kiss on one cheek, and he turned
to go.
"Tomorrow, indeed," he thought. "I've got to get on this right away." He
exited the guest suite and headed back to his own apartments.