His next assignment for her was a mission onshore. Before departing, he asked Archer if the teleporter could be modified for travel to the moon. Archer wasn't given a reason, but then again, he never was.
Where Roger and Val were going wasn't disclosed until they were already in the air. Val was dressed more professionally than he was accustomed to seeing. She was also less chatty. Besides what she disclosed the night she got back, she spoke very little of her life in the future. Whether she was ashamed or because none of it was relevant to their goals she never said, and Roger never pressed her for more information than she offered.
“I assume this is a secret mission?” she asked, tying her hair back.
“We're going to meet the Cabal,” he answered her very plainly.
“Are you going to tell me why?”
“Of course. It was always Jennifer's vision for the factions to be one day brought together, to put aside their petty differences and pool their resources. Although I'm nearly certain of the answer, we're going to offer the Cabal a place in our future.”
“How many will be there?”
“I've asked all of them to attend – about four or five. If any of them come, it will be just the leaders. We never bring security.”
“You're awfully trusting,” she said.
“It's never been a problem before. I do have an ace up my sleeve, however.” He reached up his sleeve, removed a wrist teleporter, and threw it to Val. “We could just as easily use these to get there, but I don't want to reveal too much tech. If something goes wrong – assuming it might, given the subject matter – we can escape quickly.”
“What would you like me to do?”
“To be frank, the Cabal has become more and more like a gentleman's club. Few of the leaders trust women, which I've always found to be odd, given our founder's gender. Still, I feel that having a woman present may do one of two things: remind them of our original goal – unity – or reveal what's in their hearts. If they scoff at you, then I'll know they've come too far and I will sleep better tonight having left them behind.”
“I'm glad my genitals can once again serve a useful purpose,” she laughed, and for the first time since she returned.
“Funny how versatile they can be, isn't it?” he laughed along.
“So where are we going?”
“Cleveland.”
Val tried to hide her surprise as she imagined something more out of a James Bond movie – perhaps the French Riviera, at least going by Roger's description.
“Are you shocked?”
“It just seems like the place where the fate of humanity is discussed
would be a little more...dramatic.
”
“Then you're going to be
really
surprised when you see the hotel!”
Less than an hour later, Val saw what Roger meant. The movies clearly affected her perceptions a lot more than she realized because instead of a secure bunker to hold a discreet summit, Roger led her to the conference room at a Holiday Inn. A couple of cardboard tables were set up in the middle with about a half dozen folding chairs surrounding it. Waiting for them at the table were the heads of the other organizations.
“Sorry to keep all of you waiting,” Roger said with a smile.
None of the other men returned the smile, although their collective glance shifted to Val as she entered behind Roger. Roger walked in without a care in the world; after all, it was he with the solution all of them so desperately wanted for themselves.
“Roger, do you mind explaining why you called us here?” one of the men demanded.
“Certainly, Dave,” he replied. “I called all of you here to...bury the hatchet, as they say.”
The men chuckled at the idea. Another of the men put out a cigarette and shook his head. “It's too late for all that.”
“Is it? Look, I know we've all had disagreements since my wife died...”
“You took New World right from under me!” Dave shouted.
“I'm not here for this, Dave,” he answered. “The fact remains that all of us have been chasing the same thing, just from different directions.” Roger finally sat down at the table. Val followed.
“Now,” Roger continued, “since my wife's death, we've all been searching for the ultimate solution. Dave, your men have done a fine job of hiring militias. But did destroying the capitol bring the end you sought? All of you need to ask yourselves the same question.”
The men sat motionless.
“I'm here for one reason, gentlemen. We started this mess together, and I think it only appropriate we end it as one.”
The men exchanged looks, some intrigued, while others skeptical. “What exactly are you suggesting?” a man called Vincent asked.
“I'm offering you all a home for reconstruction. We've come into a possession of a weapon that was built as the ultimate deterrent for nuclear war.” Val knew his words to be untrue but sat expressionless. “Essentially, it will eliminate all life on earth with the flick of a switch. Those left are the ones who will be able to claim the earth for the righteous.”
“No such weapon exists,” Dave said dismissively.
“No, not yet,” Roger said. “That's the other part of our plan. Without giving away too much, I believe I've given you all enough information to consider my offer on its merit.”
“And what's to become of us?” Vincent asked. “Will we be forced to answer to you?”
Roger shook his head. “These politics will soon be a part of the past. Such pointless bickering has gotten us nowhere, Vinnie. My offer stands. You all know how to reach me. Val?”
He nodded to Val as they stood up and turned to leave. As they
approached the door, Dave cleared his throat.
“You're not going anywhere without us,” he said with menace in his eyes.
Roger nodded, understanding the threat. “I truly hope you're right. I look forward to hearing from all of you. But time is shorter than ever.”
They left the room quickly and proceeded directly to the car waiting outside. They got in but there was no response from the driver. Roger got out, walked around to the driver's side, and saw the driver – dead. Without panicking, he gestured for Val to get out.
“What's wrong?” she asked.
“We're taking the short cut; forget the plane. Let's go.”
A dozen men with the Cabal stormed out of the hotel with guns drawn on the car. The dead driver was inside, but Val and Roger were gone.
“Did that go as well as you hoped?” Val said, laughing aboard the top of the rig.
“It did, actually. No matter, they need to make up their minds. It looks like a few of them already have by the looks of that driver.”
Val stopped laughing to catch her breath. “These things can't be tracked, can they?”
“Not unless Archer's got a factory in Taiwan making these things for retail. No, they can't be tracked.”
Roger and Val left the bridge of the rig and retired to their separate quarters. He stayed up half the night, hoping for a positive response from the Cabal. No one called.
Chapter 6
Val lied still in her bed, staring up at the ceiling and wondering if anyone from the Cabal had made contact with Roger yet. Although disappointed by outward appearances, she knew that Roger was the real deal and that meetings of their kind were always low-key affairs. If she didn't know better, she would have thought the men in that room were there to sell each other Amway. Still, as she lied there, she wondered why Roger made the gesture at all – especially since he knew their answer in advance. Maybe he still cared for the men he used to call friends; maybe he was just fulfilling his wife's request. In either case, she jumped a little when she heard a knock at the door at 4:00 A.M.
Val jumped up from bed and rushed to the door, neglecting to cover her nakedness. It was Roger.
“Did you hear anything?” she asked.
He held up his phone: the message was just a string of digits – the coordinates to their base. “We have to move.”
“Let me get dressed.” A moment later she appeared, ready to follow Roger anywhere. “Where are we going?”
“I don't know how they found us, but I can promise they are coming, if they haven't sold us out to the government first. I just met with Archer and he is rigging the entire base to teleport. We still have a few hours before we're ready.”
“What do you need from me?” she asked.
“I need you to decide where we go. I will program the coordinates myself in Archer's device; you and I will be the only ones who know. You're the
only one I can trust. Especially if we have a saboteur on board.
”
“Do they know we're just an oil drilling platform sitting somewhere in the Pacific?”
“Yes, and they'll know where to look.”
“I have an idea!” she whispered. “Meet me on the deck in five minutes!” Val took off down the corridor without saying another word.