The Freezer (Genesis Endeavor Book 1) (42 page)

“You need someone you can trust implicitly for this, both
that it will get done and that nobody will double cross you. I’m going.” Jack
nodded, the man was right.

“Hey Jack, I think we can do this.” Scott had stood up and
was looking over at Jack.

He stood up and said, “How long will it take?”

“The track is the hardest part, but Bruce has some ideas
there and we should be able to get the parts cast. The rest is pretty
straightforward, so if you don’t care what it looks like, we can have it built
and ready to go in two days.”

“Okay, why don’t you all get started on this. I’m working on
another angle, just in case that doesn’t work out.” He dismissed everyone but
Tiny, Chuck, and Teague. Wendy stayed back too, which was fine with him.

“Listen, I don’t want to use Red and his crew again. They
may be perfectly innocent, but I have too many doubts. Teague, see what you can
find out about him. Wendy, call your buddy Bart and ask exactly what time his
clan received the message from Cali about the ambush, maybe if we do a little
detective work we can find out if Red was the one that made the call to Cali.”

“I’ll do that right away, but I overheard you talking about
another shot at S.C. I will fly it if you need a pilot.” Jack didn’t like that idea
at all.

Teague said, “That would be a great idea, Jack. If she
volunteers-”

“And it goes bad, people will sympathize with me and not
blame me for losing more people? Sorry, Teague, but I’m not going to allow
someone I care about to go on this mission only to protect my political
reputation.”

“What, you don’t care about me?” Chuck pretended offense,
but cracked a smile before Jack could say anything.

Wendy wasn’t so amused. “Jack, just because you’re stuck
here running the show, doesn’t mean I can’t go put myself at risk. You know as
well as I do that you would be the first to volunteer if you could. I
appreciate you worrying about me, but I’m a big girl, and a pretty damn good
pilot. I can take care of myself.”

She was right, and Jack knew it. He shook his head in
resignation. “Okay, listen, let’s get together all the people with soldiering
experience and ask for volunteers. You two can volunteer at that time. Get
however many people you need, but remember you will hopefully be hauling back
seven extra people and some heavy machinery.”

“Tiny, if you see Red, just tell him to come find me. In the
meantime, track down Anton and have him put together a new crew for your part
of the project, and then make sure everyone is ready. If everything goes as
planned, we need to be ready to go.” He thanked everyone and dismissed them.

* * *

The meeting went over well. About thirty people showed up,
and after explaining they had reason to believe Thomas could still be alive,
they called for volunteers to go back in. It only took minutes for Chuck to
choose five for his team. Of the thirty people there, all but four men
volunteered.

“We still need a computer expert. The best one we had was on
Thomas’ team.” Chuck was reviewing a checklist. He intended to go right away, and
told his team to get prepared.

“I’ll find you one. Good luck on this mission, Chuck, and
don’t let anything happen to Wendy.”

“Shit, I was hoping she would be the one watching my back.” Chuck
was smiling and Jack couldn’t help but smile along with him. He was right, she
could take care of herself.

* * *

Jack ate some lunch then spent some time checking the cold
rooms. He was amazed at the amount of work that had been done in such a short
time. In fact, thinking about the whole operation, he was more confident that
it would be possible to build a new home for New Hope in the time frame they
figured was necessary. That got him thinking about Marcus and Teague, and the
reasons they had brought him back. He could buy the idea of bringing him back
to oversee construction of a new home. He doubted, however, that Marcus could
gather, based on the records at hand, his ability to lead. Marcus is a
politician, after all, and politicians are masters of spinning the facts. Every
politician he ever knew was quick to take any positive situation and make it
look like they had been the mastermind behind it, even if they had no hand in
it whatsoever.

Whatever brought him here was ultimately irrelevant. The
fact was, he was here, and the people who had worked together to bring him back
were in need of someone to lead them through the next few years. Part of him
doubted he could do a better job than someone who had done it for almost two centuries,
but another part of him understood exactly what Marcus had been talking about.

This line of thinking led him to think about his diary. He
hadn’t had much time to read since that first morning in the aircraft. So many
things had been going on in his present, he’d forgotten about his desire to
learn the past. He made a mental note to spend some time learning about his
past – and for that matter, the history of the last few hundred years – when
this was all over.

He checked his datapad. It was almost one in the afternoon. So
much had happened already today that he felt it should already be time for bed.
There were still a couple hours before Chuck headed out for S.C. He decided he
needed to have another talk with Marcus.

* * *

He found Marcus in his private chambers. Soft music was
playing in the background and the lighting was set low. Marcus was seated on a
comfortable looking couch, sipping a glass of wine, the open bottle and an
extra glass sitting on the table in front of him. “You look relaxed.”

“I have been waiting for a good reason to open this bottle
of wine for forty years. I figured today marks a pretty major change in my
life. Please join me. Would you like a glass?” He was already pouring.

Jack sat down on the seat opposite of him after taking the
glass. He swirled the dark wine in the cup, inhaled the aroma, and took a sip. The
wine was quite excellent. He didn’t consider himself an aficionado or anything,
but he had once traveled with his old boss, Phil, to the Napa Valley in
California and learned how to appreciate wine. Of course, given the food he had
been eating lately, the wine could be horrible and still taste good to him. “It’s
good.”

“Perhaps the only redeeming value of the Cali. They know how
to make a good wine. They make a white wine in a community up near the old
Canadian border, it’s not too bad, but nothing like this.”

“I had some of that with Wendy a few nights ago. She cooked
me a fantastic meal.”

Marcus smiled. “You are a fortunate man, Jack. Wendy is a
good woman. She had a chip on her shoulder for a long time, but when you came
along, she changed. You do that to people, you know? Some people are born with
it, that ability to make the people around them want to do things for you, to
please you. Some call it charisma, but it’s something more.” Marcus thought
about his own words for a moment then shrugged. “Perhaps I have been around for
too long, pondering the mysteries of the universe. Did Teague ever tell you
that I was a scientist?”

Jack nodded. “He said you and the others were scientists,
and that gave you special standing in the EoS.”

“True, but that’s not why I did it. I have always had the
desire to discover things, to find the real meaning behind them. You know what
I have learned in the last two hundred years?” Jack looked up from his wine and
motioned for him to continue. “I have learned that the more you think you have
figured out, the more you will be surprised when you find out you are wrong.”

“Hell, I could have told you that.” Both men laughed. “I
could say the same thing about you, truth be told. The more I learn about you,
the more I have to question my ability to judge a person. I went into that
meeting this morning expecting to watch you fight with Theodore for your status
here, and instead you put all your eggs in my basket. I don’t get it.”

“Jack, my little speech this morning was from the heart. When
I saw that you possess that certain something that attracts people to follow
you, I knew you would be the next leader of this community. I figured it would
take a few more years, but like I said – a surprise at every turn. Theodore is
not a bad person, really. He is just too willing to sacrifice others for his
own goals. We were all like that, once. Teague too. Don’t ever forget that. We
may have learned to be more civilized and value human life, but unlike you,
given the choice between saving the life of someone like Theodore and saving a
load of iron ore, I would have to consciously choose.”

Chuck had said pretty much the same thing about all the
founding members of New Hope, but hearing it from Marcus himself somehow made
it more important. In Jack’s time, someone who places the value of human life
in the same class as the value of an object would probably be considered a
sociopath. The repercussions of an entire community, nation, or civilization
being governed by people like this were just too frightening to consider. Marcus
was correct, if anyone born of this era ruled New Hope as it grew over the next
fifty years, it would most likely suffer the same fate as the EoS. This didn’t
make him more comfortable with the idea of being the leader of these people,
but at least he had a better understanding of what was at stake. “Thank you for
taking the time to explain it to me, Marcus. You have given me some insight
that I was lacking.”

Marcus finished his glass of wine and put the cork back in
the bottle. He leaned back and said, “So, you probably didn’t come here to talk
about politics or philosophy. What can I do for you?”

“I’m sending another group into Saber Cusp, but we are short
someone to disable the ground defenses. I was hoping you could provide the name
of someone who would be capable, then give them a couple sets of codes to get
the system disabled.”

“I can do you one better. I will have someone ready to go
in,” he looked at a clock on the wall, “two hours.”

Jack wasn’t surprised that he knew the exact start time of
the mission. Teague might have let him know, or maybe he just was eavesdropping
on the meetings. Once again, there was doubt in his mind about taking his job. He
wasn’t sure he wanted to be so in touch with the community.

Jack finished his wine in silence. The alcohol was just
enough to make him feel warm inside, but with the soft music playing and the
comfortable chair, he felt like he might drift off to sleep. As tempting as it
was, he had work to do.

Standing up, he put the wine glass on the table and said,
“Thank you for the wine, and the conversation. I don’t think I can go through
all this without you to advise and support me. I appreciate it.”

“Jack, you might be surprised what you can accomplish on
your own, given the right set of circumstances.” Jack just nodded and left.

* * *

“I don’t suppose anything I say will convince you to not go
on this mission?” Jack figured one last attempt to keep Wendy out of harm’s way
was in order.

“Nope. As long as everything goes okay, I should be back in
a few hours. Perhaps we can have a late dinner tonight?” She kissed him on the
lips, not waiting for a response.

Chuck walked over and said, “About time to go, why don’t you
go do the pre-flight, Wendy.” Wendy nodded and without another word, went to do
her job. Jack watched her get into the cockpit of the large transport, hoping
it wasn’t the last time he would see her. “Don’t worry, Jack. I promise we will
be back, with or without your bulldozer.”

“Come on Chuck, even you can’t promise that. Just be safe. If
things get bad, get the hell out of there and come home.” Despite his feelings
about his friends risking their lives on this mission, he felt confident that
things would go well.

“Since we are just about to leave, can I ask if you found us
a computer expert?”

“Marcus said he would have someone here.” The rail car
arrived just as he was saying it. “This must be him now.” They walked over to
meet whoever Marcus had sent.

Marcus stepped off the car, wearing full armor and carrying
a rifle. “What the hell is this!” Jack exclaimed. “You can’t go with them,
Marcus!”

“Relax, Jack. There is nobody better to disable the defense
systems than the man who helped design the system that runs it. Besides, I have
some unfinished business in Saber Cusp, and it’s time I take care of it.”

“Dammit! If something happens to you-”

“Then you will just have to suck it up and do it yourself. I
took the liberty of leaving you some information you might find useful. Check
your messages after we leave, but don’t wait too long, there is some stuff in
there you can use right away.” The look he gave Jack was dead serious. He
turned to Chuck. “Ready to go, boss?”

Chuck laughed. “Whatever you say, sir. Let’s move out!” He
shouted the last command and the team started climbing into the rear of the
aircraft. The engines started winding up, and Jack lost the opportunity to try
to talk Marcus out of going. He threw his hands up in frustration. Defeated, he
walked to the command center and sat down in a chair next to Chin.

Chin looked at him and said, “If you’re gonna sit here and
feel sorry for yourself, go find somewhere else to do it.”

Jack looked at him in surprise and anger, but when he saw
the man’s grin, he laughed. “Just do your damn job, Chin. Make sure they come back
too. I hold you responsible.” Chin just left the grin on his face as he punched
the button to open the huge door.

* * *

Theodore was sitting at his desk in his private quarters
when the door chimed. He went to the door and was surprised to see Red standing
there. “What the hell do you want?”

“We need ta talk, it’s urgent.” Theodore was in a foul mood
after the way the meeting had gone this morning. He was confident he could win
the election, but it would be close. As much as he disliked Red, he could still
use the man’s services, and since every vote would count, the men loyal to him
were important too.