Beyond Armageddon: Book 03 - Parallels (44 page)

            Trevor shook his head and ordered, "I want you here in Operations. I can trust you. This is the nerve center. Hold this place and we've got Thebes by the balls. Anyone starts causing trouble, shoot them. This is no time for debate."

Nina nodded and did her best to suppress an enthusiastic smile.

            Trevor threw his attention at the two Generals. "I don’t want any problems with Goss but I don’t know him. I’m just saying, I’ll need to take a familiar face with me."

            "And a couple squads from Third L," Nina added.

            Gronard said, "I’ll go. Max and I go way back. I’ll talk to him first."

            "That’s good," Stone agreed. "After we get Goss in line we’ll start broadcasting the news across the city. Until then, everything is in lock down. All traffic off the streets. I sent Third Legion troops to man the key check points and secure armories."

            "You’re expecting problems?" Snowe asked.

            "No," Trevor shook his head. "As far as I can tell, everyone in this city has been a bunch of sheep for the last couple years. They may not know who I am, but they’ll take to a new leader easy enough. It’s the Generals and the veterans I’m worried about. But we’ll get them under control quick. Okay then," he pointed to Gronard. "You’re with me. Let’s get this done."

            Snowe touched Gronard's arm and said, "Goss knows who this man is, he received a full briefing before Major Forest jumped universes. Still, he might cause a problem if he's not happy about what happened here. Don't hesitate to put him down
fast
if necessary, understand?"

            The idea of shooting a fellow General did not appear to sit well with Gronard, but he nodded his head in agreement nonetheless.

            Trevor gave Nina one last look before leaving the room; a look that said
don’t let me down.
She could not help but offer a big, earnest grin. Snowe saw the grin, too.

            Trevor and Gronard left the chamber and workers dragged away the last of the body bags, leaving Director Jakob Snowe and Major Nina Forest alone in the room. They said nothing for several moments as they listened to the sound of Trevor and his entourage exiting the Operations Center. To their surprise, the techs and workers in the Ops Center did not break into chatter as soon as Trevor left. On the contrary, they appeared more focused on their work than ever before.

            When certain no ears listened, her eyes narrowed and she said, "You killed his friend, didn’t you?"

            "What makes you say that?"

            "Shit, you did. The Committee wouldn’t have the balls for that. I mean, they were probably going to send him another dozen memos before doing anything."

"Yes, that’s right. That’s about all they were going to do."

            "So you killed Johnny. Why?"

            "Why?" Snowe brushed dust from the destroyed committee chamber off his gray tunic then motioned around the room at the results of Trevor's tirade. "This is why."

"I had everything under control. You didn’t need to do that."

"Yes I did and you know it. Did you think you were going to get him to lead a coup just by shaking your ass? Wow, you think a man like that only thinks with his dick?"

Nina bit her lip but could not find a counter-argument.

            "Relax, Major. You got him most of the way there. You should be proud. He’s starting to remind me of our old Emperor. But to slaughter The Committee? No…he is…he
was
too honorable of a guy for that. Not in his nature. At best he might have arrested them. And where would that have gotten us? Think The Committee was going to go to a jail cell quietly? Think they would have still kept the secret? I'm surprised they played along as far as they did. No, they would have started talking. Think he would want to rule in Thebes then?"

            The diminutive Director casually strolled to the shattered remains of The Committee's platform. It no longer stood so tall.

            He went on, "But revenge, now there is a motive any man can follow. There’s a motive that can send a man into a rage, and rage is what we got. Damn, from how you described it, he looked a lot like our old Trevor for a few minutes there, didn’t he?"

            Nina walked to him and, through clenched teeth, said, "If he finds out? If he turns on us?"

            Snowe shrugged half heartedly and told her, "That really doesn't matter too much. What is important, Major, is that you remember the terms of our arrangement. If he somehow manages to find a way back to his universe, you have to stop him, even if that means putting a bullet through his head. Do you think you could do that?"

            She averted her eyes. Snowe smiled to himself and said, "Everything comes with a price, Major. For all this, our price tag was simple: Stone never goes home. Face it; even with him here our chances of surviving are long if not for the deal I brokered. Now we'll be getting help. Probably best if you don't mention that to him, by the way."

            Nina huffed then turned to walk away.

            Snowe thought of something and as he spoke he watched her response carefully.

"I know, if he does find out, maybe you can just shake your ass a little more for him."

He slapped the Major’s rear end. In an instant
—less—
the Director found the sharp end of a blade pressing against his throat. She looked at him through the eyes of a murderess.

"You ever…
ever
touch me like that again I’ll slit your throat."

            Snowe grinned and said, "Yes, you could put a bullet through his head, couldn't you? Maybe if our new Trevor gets out of line then he can have a little battlefield accident, too."

She sheathed her blade.

            "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"We never did an autopsy on our fearless leader’s body, I didn’t let them. Some were concerned that you were the only witness. They wanted to know if his knife wound was from the front, or the back. I convinced them that Nina Forest would never kill Trevor Stone."

            She hovered in front of him as if caught by a hypnotist’s eye.

            "They agreed because everyone knew how much you loved Trevor. Why, we could all see it. You did everything he wanted.
Everything.
Like a pet trained to do tricks. All you asked for was the approval of your master.
"

            Snowe leaned closer. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Tell me, what finally pushed you over the edge? When did you have enough of his sadistic games? You put up with it for a long time, but then you just snapped, didn’t you? One day you found yourself alone with him, with a knife in your hand, and maybe the part of you that still had some pride left decided to kill him."

            She stumbled for words but could provide no answer.

            Snowe continued, "Problem is, with Trevor gone, what did you have? Where were your friends, Major? Oh yes--
what friends?
You were always the outcast, always the shy one. Until Trevor took a liking to you. Why, he just molded you exactly how he wanted, didn’t he?"

"I…I mean he…Trevor loved me. He loved me…"

            "Sure he did. That’s why he shared you. How many dinner parties did Trevor throw only to serve you as the main course? How many home made movies did you star in? See that’s the thing, Major. I can’t understand why you wanted Trevor back. After the way he used you, the things he made you do. Why would you want him back?"

"This was your idea," she shot.

            "No, it wasn’t my idea. I just found out how to do it. I just made the arrangements. But you, you jumped across universes to bring him back. You risked your life and you’re the one who has spent the last few weeks confusing the Hell out of him…turning him…"

            "Stop it."

            "…turning him into our Trevor.
Your
Trevor. Doing the things for him that your old master made you do. I’ll give you credit, you were right, he does have some of our Emperor in him. You just had to find it. Do you have a list of your old games? Are checking them off one by one? Still, what is it you’re hoping? You know this won’t last forever. I'm surprised he hasn't found out already, just one slip, just someone we haven't talked to first."

            She said, "We just have to control access and brief those around him. It's worked so far. Nothing to it."

            "Really? Maybe that will work here in Thebes, but what about when he gets out there, looking for survivors? He's convinced he can find more people. Face it, Major, sooner or later he’s going to find out what you’ve done. I don’t think he’s going to like you, or us, then. Maybe you’re hoping he likes playing with you so much that he won’t mind the truth. I wouldn't count on it, Major. A man like that, well, he doesn't like being lied to. Not like this."

She growled but her words carried no weight. "I did what I did for our people. We have a chance again. He can give us that chance. You’ve seen what he’s done already."

Snowe said, "Oh, he's done some good, that's true, and just getting him here means we're going to receive a little outside assistance. That's enough to make it worth it. But remember, if he turns on us we have to hold up our end of the bargain. He doesn't go home, Major."

She said, "You're hoping for that, aren't you? He's done your dirty work and knocked off The Committee. If he turns on us, then maybe you take over now that they're out of the way. You think the people will follow you? They love him for a reason."

"The people will get used to one person in charge again. Eventually they won’t care who that one person is as long that person keeps them alive. Trevor has made a lot of friends but I still have enough friends, friends who were with me the last time and new friends, out there."

She grunted and walked for the exit.

Director Snowe offered one last observation for her consideration. She stopped in her tracks as he spoke, but did not turn to face him.

"You know, I never thought your plan was going to work. The way you explained it, capturing the Trevor Stone of the other Earth depended on him racing to the front lines to save
his
Nina Forest."

"Yeah, that's right."

"Major…Nina…if you had disappeared here, our Trevor never would have gone running after you. He would have just found himself a new play thing."

---

            Across Thebes that day harsh words were exchanged and guns drawn, but no more violence. Trevor’s disposal of The Committee came so brutal and fast that it shocked any opposition into silence.

            With the coming of night, the change in the human city became visible for miles. Trevor turned on the lights and opened the shutters.         Spotlights defied the heavens, street lights turned dark thoroughfares into bright boulevards.

Thebes
lived again.

"Whattaya lookin' at? You're all a bunch of fucking assholes. You know why? 'Cause you don't have the guts to be what you wanna be. You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your fucking fingers, and say that's the bad guy. So, what dat make you? Good? You're not good; you just know how to hide. Howda lie. Me, I don't have that problem. Me, I always tell the truth--even when I lie. So say goodnight to the bad guy. Come on; the last time you gonna see a bad guy like this, let me tell ya. Come on, make way for the bad guy. There's a bad guy comin' through; you better get outta his way!"

--the character of Tony Montana in
Scarface

Despite a few grumbles here and there, Trevor Stone controlled Thebes. He spent two weeks consolidating that control, relying on Director Snowe and Nina to spot potential problems before any disgruntled elements could organize opposition.

The weather helped. Eight inches of icy snow fell on the city and surrounding countryside, creating a sense of isolation and making control over power and food distribution an even stronger tool at his disposal. Any attitudes that required adjusting found their heat cut off and meal credits suspended.

As his grip solidified, he considered the big picture; a picture that involved dealing with the Chaktaw in a more permanent fashion and, eventually, turning his attention to the Geryons. Although Major Forest insisted otherwise, Trevor felt certain he could find more survivors out in the wasteland, or perhaps in alien slave pens.

He vowed to find out one way or another and planned a spring offensive, a move that would require training and preparation.

Much to his delight, Director Snowe and Major Forest saw to the details, leaving Trevor free to concentrate on grand plans. In that sense, he found this new throne far more pleasant than the old. Here, Trevor did not concern himself with supplies, logistics, industry, health care, or any god damn Senates. He faced no challenges from wannabe politicians and the people followed his orders as obediently as the K9s of his home world.