Sullivan Saga 1: Sullivan's War (22 page)

14

FRANK ALLEN, NOW personal security guard for Benjamin and Kate Alexander, tapped the console beside the door of the Alexander’s penthouse. On the screen appeared the image of a delivery man. Allen couldn’t see the man’s face due to his cap.

“Please hold,” said Allen, depressing the talk button on the console. He walked down the hallway and knocked on the door of Alexander’s study.

“Come,” said a voice within.

Allen opened the door. “Mr. Alexander, there’s a delivery man here. Are you expecting a package?”

Alexander got up from his desk and stepped toward the door. “Yes. It’s a present for Kate.”

Allen put his hand out to stop Alexander’s progress. “I’ll get it for you, sir.”

Allen returned to the door and glanced at the screen again. The delivery man was now looking up at the camera. Allen didn’t recognize the face, so he cautiously unlocked and cracked open the door with one hand, keeping his other hand on his gun.

“Please sign here,” said the delivery man, holding out a tablet. Allen signed and took the package. He shut and locked the door then went back down the hallway. He stopped before reaching Alexander’s study and turned into his own makeshift office. He pulled a device out of his desk and scanned the package with it. The scanner didn’t detect any trace of explosives, poisons, or other dangerous substances.

Allen took the package to Alexander. “Is this what you were expecting?”

Alexander looked at the label. “Yes.” He took a small knife from his desk drawer and sliced open the box. He withdrew a box wrapped heavily in bubble wrap. He unfolded the padding, opened the smaller box and withdrew a glass sculpture of a bird.

“Would you look at that?” said Alexander.

“It’s a bird, sir?”

“Yes. Kate collects them. These were made in Finland on Earth, oh, some five hundred years ago. Not terribly rare, but she likes them.”

Allen heard the doorbell chime again. “Excuse me, sir.” He made his way back to the front of the penthouse and tapped on the screen. The deliveryman had returned.

“Yes?” said Allen.

“Your signature didn’t register, sir. Could I have you re-sign?”

Allen opened the door. The face smiling beneath the cap wasn’t the deliveryman. It was Harvey. Allen tried to slam the door shut but Harvey had his arm and shoulder through. The bounty hunter grunted as the door closed on him but managed to push with all his strength and send Allen toppling to the floor.

Allen reached for his gun, but Harvey was already pulling a weapon of his own. He fired and Allen felt a jolt of electricity course through his body. He tried to stay conscious through the pain, but it was too much for him. He turned onto his side, vomited, then fainted.

HARVEY KICKED ALLEN roughly in the ribs. The man was out. He made his way down the hallway and pushed open the door to Alexander’s study. Alexander stood upon seeing Harvey.

“What the hell are you doing here? Where’s Allen?”

“He’s taking a nap. The better question is, where’s Sullivan?”

“He’s gone to Faris.”

Harvey took up his electroshock weapon, turned it down to its minimum setting and fired it at Alexander. The older man yelled out in pain and fell back into his chair. The glass bird flew from his hand and shattered as it hit the desk. Alexander sat clutching his chest where the beam of electricity had struck him.

“That’s level one, Mr. Alexander. I’m turning it up to two. Where’s Sullivan?”

Alexander winced as he leaned forward. “He’s on Faris.”

Harvey fired again. Alexander let out a cry of pain, fell back again and then slid off the chair and to the floor. “I’m turning it up to level three now, Mr. Alexander,” Harvey said. He stepped around the desk and looked down at the older man. The smile playing about Harvey’s lips faded. He leaned down and put his finger against Alexander’s jugular. There was no pulse.

Harvey cursed under his breath. He stood and turned toward the door. Kate Alexander was standing just beyond, terror in her eyes. Harvey raised his weapon, fired at her once and stepped over her as she writhed on the floor in pain.

WHEN FRANK ALLEN woke up, he was in a hospital bed. It was only a matter of minutes before he had attracted the attention of a nurse and learned the details of Harvey’s attack. Benjamin Alexander was dead. Kate Alexander was alive and recovering in the next room.

Allen closed his eyes. What could make Harvey do such a thing? How could he sacrifice his career, his freedom, to go after Sullivan with such a vengeance? What had Sullivan done during their first encounter?

A wave of realization swept over him. What had he given up his career with the Bureau for? It was revenge, plain and simple. Allen had resigned and gone to Damaris to find and kill Orion Zednik. Was revenge motivating Harvey?

Allen lifted himself up from the bed. He grimaced as pain shot through his torso. He pulled back the front of his hospital gown and examined the nasty bruise just above his stomach. Above that was a bandaged burn mark where the bolt of electricity had struck him. He forced himself to move in spite of the pain and put first one foot on the cold floor, then the other. He scanned the room and noticed a closet. He opened the door and found his clothes hanging inside.

Allen had dressed and was tying his shoes when the nurse came back into the room.

“Mr. Allen, you shouldn’t be up yet.”

“I’m fine.”

“Please, get back in bed.”

Allen shrugged her hand off his shoulder and stood. “I said I’m fine.”

He walked past the nurse and out into the corridor. The door to the next room was open. Inside, he could see Kate lying in bed with her eyes closed.

“Kate,” he said, knocking lightly on the door.

She stirred and looked toward him.

“Can I come in?”

She nodded. Allen stepped up to the side of the bed and took her hand in his.

“I’m so sorry, Kate. I’m sorry I didn’t do my job.”

She shook her head. “No, Frank. It’s not your fault.”

“I’ll find him, Kate. I’ll find Harvey and….”

“No,” Kate said. “I need Rick. You need Rick, too, if you’re going after Harvey.”

“You want me to go to Faris?”

“Yes. Take one of my father’s experimental ships.”

Allen clenched his jaw. “Kate, you know why I can’t do that. I made a promise….”

She began to weep softly.

Allen looked around the room. He bit his lip. “All right. I’ll go get Rick. But before I do, I’m going to hand-pick some men from your father’s security team to watch over you.”

Kate reached over to the side table and picked up a sheet of paper. “I had this typed and printed. I’ve signed it at the bottom. My father’s lawyer was in this morning, and he signed as a witness.”

Allen read over the document. “This gives me full authority to act on behalf of your father’s estate.”

“My estate now. You have access to the ships, to men, to any resources you’ll need.”

Allen folded the paper and put it in his pocket. “I’ll get to it immediately.”

A throat cleared behind him. Allen turned around and caught sight of the nurse, who stood looking on with a stern visage.

“I’m just leaving,” he said. He turned back to Kate, leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek. “Take care, kiddo. I’ll be back with Rick as soon as possible.”

Kate smiled up at him. A single tear ran down her cheek as he departed.

IV:
ALLIANCES

15

GENERAL THOMAS GEARY smiled as men and women in uniforms and suits filed into the conference room in Fort Hendricks, Edaline’s primary military installation on the outskirts of its capital, Agrona. He shook the hands of the people who took seats on either side of him and waited for the gathered officials from Edaline’s military and government to sit before speaking.

“I want to thank you all for joining me today. You’ve no doubt read the security briefs from the past few weeks and can guess why I’ve called this meeting.” He picked up a remote from the table and pressed a button. The 3-D projector in the center of the table lit up. Geary pressed another button, and the image of Richard Sullivan, late of the Edaline special forces, rose from the table.

“You all know who this is,” said Geary. “Richard Sullivan went AWOL almost three years ago, assassinated several members of our parliament then traveled to Earth where he assassinated two assemblymen. Word has reached us that he then showed up on Abilene. We believe his ultimate goal is to meet up with the rebels on Faris and help them organize an attack on Edaline. Make no mistake: if anyone can succeed at this, it is this man.”

Prime Minister Susan Dean cleared her throat. “General Geary, we are well aware of these facts and have taken the necessary security precautions.”

“Yes, Madame Prime Minister, but I do not believe that is enough.”

“What do you recommend, then?” asked Dean.

“I believe that we should make a preemptive strike on the rebels on Faris.”

A tone of disapproval erupted from the room. Dean quieted her colleagues before speaking. “If we make an attack on another sovereign planet, we will have the Stellar Assembly to answer to. Even if they don’t respond militarily, Edaline will be cut off. No ships will be allowed to travel between Edaline and any SA planet. We will stagnate.”

Geary nodded. “I know the possible repercussions. But you have to understand that we cannot allow a terrorist group to make plans against us without responding. However, I do have a solution. Obviously, a full-scale military assault on Faris is not ideal. But our spies have found out that Faris has given the rebels the use of an old mining complex on the northeastern continent of the planet.” He pressed the button, and a map of Faris replaced Sullivan’s image. As he continued speaking, the map zoomed in on the mining complex at the edge of a rocky mountain range. “As of eight months ago, there were an estimated four thousand people living at this complex. They are all traitors to Edaline, all people who have left their home world and now seek to overthrow Edaline’s rightful government.”

A murmur rose from the room.

“And how do you plan on attacking this complex without conducting a full-scale assault?” asked Dean.

“Covert operations, ma’am. If we can get a special forces team on the planet, we can severely cripple the rebels’ operation with a few well-placed explosive devices.” Several of the buildings on the map of the compound were illuminated in red. “This is what we believe to be the main operations building here. This is the entrance to one of the old mine shafts where we believe the rebels are stockpiling munitions. A series of detonations at the landing port will take out the few ships they have available to them.”

“And what’s that fourth target?” asked Dean.

“That is the largest residential structure at the mining complex.”

“You mean where they live. Where their families sleep.”

Geary straightened. “Madame Prime Minister, there will, of course, be collateral damage.” He cleared his throat. “However, this operation will save many more lives in the long run, and, if our team is successful, there will be nothing to trace it back to Edaline.”

“But everyone will know it was us,” said Dean.

“Perhaps that’s true. But you know how the SA works, Madame Prime Minister. They don’t do anything without being certain. They’ll have their suspicions, but an investigation will find evidence lacking to link the explosions to Edaline. They’ll drop the issue. Besides, Faris isn’t an Assembly planet, so they won’t spend too many resources on it.”

“I still don’t understand why we need to strike preemptively,” said Dean. “If they attack, they won’t be any match for our defenses.”

“You’re quite correct. But there is another consideration.”

“What is that?”

“The people of Edaline have been… restless, as of late. As you are well aware, the military is not required to inform the government of every operation that we conduct, but I think, in this case, you should be privy to certain information.”

Geary pressed the button on the remote and a bar graph was projected into the air in front of them. “These are the number of dissidents that have been captured or killed, by year. This particular chart goes back twelve years to the rebellion. You can see that after the rebellion was put down, the numbers decreased. Until seven years ago. They began increasing due to the Sergeant Riley incident and there was a big jump after Sullivan killed our ministers. They’ve been going up every month ever since.”

Dean studied the graph. “This ends with last year. How many dissidents have the military captured or killed this year?”

Geary displayed another chart. “Here is this year, by month. Once news of Sullivan’s actions on Earth made their way here, we began hearing a lot of chatter about a second rebellion. As you can see, last month alone we captured or killed over two hundred dissidents.”

Dean nodded. “And if the rebels on Faris do attack, even unsuccessfully, it might rally support for their cause.”

“Precisely, ma’am.”

Dean rested her chin on her hands. “If we do this, it has to be absolutely untraceable.”

Geary smiled. “A four-man team will travel to Faris in a private freighter. All the paperwork—flight plans, cargo manifests—will be in order. Once on the ground, they will contact the rebels at the mining complex and say they wish to join the cause.”

Dean sighed. “I suppose there’s no other way?”

“No, ma’am.”

“All right, then. Even though it isn’t required, I give my approval to this operation. If word about it gets out, the people should know it was sanctioned by the government as well as the military.”

Geary smiled. “Thank you, Madame Prime Minister. You’ll be pleased to know, then, that the team is already en route to Faris.”

Dean raised her eyebrows. “So you didn’t really care about my approval at all, did you General?”

Geary smiled. “As you said yourself, ma’am, your approval was not required.” He clicked off the holographic display and brought the lights back up. “But by granting your approval, you’ve shown yourself to be a strong and decisive leader. The people will reward you for this.”