She Bleeds for Us: The Galactic Consortium 3

Chapter 58

After the initial rush of breaking through the border, the drive south through Sierra Leone was starting to turn uneventful. They drove through patchy areas of savanna and with thickets of trees that were growing denser and more forest like as they went south. The road was deserted. It lulled Jake into his usually driving reverie.

Well, it had started to get uneventful. He slowed as he spied something in the road ahead of them. His fear started to grow as they approached and the roadblock came into view. Obviously news of their actions had been passed down. This roadblock had been hastily set up, with two tanks parked in a V shape to block the road and more lined up on either side behind it, ready to pursue if they tried to go around.

"We can roll over them," Abioya said, his mouth tight. "This truck is big enough."

"Maybe," Åse said slowly, "Maybe."

Jake agreed with Åse. It would be quite a feat even for Brown Bessy to get over a tank without tipping over.

The line came alive and Chatura was there. "Go around, out run them" was his opinion. Jake wasn't so sure about that either. Consortium civil service trucks were huge, not built for speed. And while he had to no fear of bullets he wasn't so sure they could handle tank shells.

Initisha was in the third vehicle and had what, in the short time they had to make a plan, the only reasonable one. "Tell them to fuck off." He said.

"And then?"

"The rest of us go around. Break formation. They'll catch one or two but not all of us. Enough will get through."

Jake agreed it was a good plan with one small flaw. His truck would be one of those caught for sure. For himself, he'd make that sacrifice. But what about Åse and Abioya?

He pulled the truck to a stop. "I'll got talk to them," he decided. "The rest of you monitor the situation and when you see your chance, take it." He turned to Åse and Abioya. "Lock the door behind me. Don't let them in. You can stay in here for days if need be. If you get a chance to flee, do so."

Abioya nodded, his face serious.

"What and not get a chance to get arrested doing what's right?" Åse joked.

"This is serious," Abioya scolded her. "Those aren't European cops out there, they are military. What they might do, especially to a woman..."

Åse nodded, "I know, I'm sorry. I'm just scared for Jake."

"Ah don't worry about me," Jake said. He felt better knowing she was afraid too. And saying that made him feel a little braver about what he was about to do. "I can take care of myself."

"You got your force field?" Abioya asked. "We'll try to rescue in the confusion if we can."

There wasn't time to say more. Jake checked his force field and then climbed out of the cab. He took his time climbing down to the ground, mostly to give him time to master his own nerves.

He faced off against a military captain in front of the truck. The man was thin and dark skinned. His stance was easy, a man used to authority. He stared hard at Jake before speaking in surprisingly good English. "You can't come this way. You know that right?"

Jake tried to imagine what Initisha or the quarter master would say to that. "Our mission doesn't end at your borders. We are here to help the people of Sierra Leona."

"Bullshit!" The man spat out. "You've been respecting our borders for weeks. Why change now? What's really going on?"

"Who says we've..." Jake started and broke off, not wanting to admit. "The protests. It's clear the people don't want people like you in power."

"Protests have been going on for weeks, too." The man comment.

"It doesn't matter. We're going south now. That's all you need to know. We got to find..." Jake broke off again. He was terrible at this. He'd damn near given up the game twice in less than thirty seconds.

The captain stalked up to him, staring intently. "Not respecting our borders... Who you gotta find? Tell me!"

Jake stared at the captain, unsure what to say.

What the captain said next left him dumbfounded. "Is it Gabby? You telling me they got Gabby?"

Unsure, Jake gave the smallest of nods.

"Damn it! I told that kid to be careful." He turned to his second in command. "How many times I told him that?"

"He's good though," the man protested. "Damn good, I got to admitted. Snuck up on me a time or two, just as a joke. The boy's clever that way."

"Still you know what this means?" The captain went on. "The whole things blown now."

The second in command gave a small nod to a nearby soldier. The soldier turned to his comrades, about four in total. The first toppled suddenly, stunned. The man held up his hands to calm the others, speaking fast and slow.

The captain had turned away from Jake and was searching one of his pockets. Unsure what was going on, Jake followed him.

The captain had a consortium slate and was contacted someone on it. A holographic projected a large desk, an older man in military uniform with many medals on it. He was clearly important, a general or something but Jake didn't know anything about ranks or hierarchy in Sierra Leone.

"Covers been blown, contact down," the captain said without preamble. "It's time to make the decision, General."

The general sighed, a long resigned sigh. "I was about to contact you anyway. I just got the order." He held up a sheet of paper. "For a nation wide crackdown."

"And?" The captain prompted.

"It's my redline anyway," the general said. "I won't do it. I told Burundi himself. Swore to ruin my career, have me on trial for treason, but I was firm. So I guess, treason it is. Your consortium friends?"

"Don't fear. They are itching to intervene, just like this damn civil servant here."

"This could turn bloody," the general warned.

"I know. A quick coup has a better chance of avoiding too much blood shed. And the consortium has proven that they can contain and prevent the worst bloodshed better than anyone else. What do you say?"

"I'm contacting media," the general said, "and I've been in contact with some pro democracy activists in several cities. I'll declare my support. I know a couple of other generals that will likely come around. Enough to give us legitimacy to talk to the Consortium, set up some kind of interim government."

Jake's brain was just barely catching up with events as the captain shut down the slate. "Gabby was your contact?"

"The kids a natural, but he's no professional," the captain said. "I told Devaki that. But damn the kid's a talker. What could we do? We let him through, made sure he got from the border to Freetown."

"Report," the captain said to one of his men.

The man saluted, a chest fist bump like in the consortium rather than an earth style salute. "We got a few loyalist under control. Most of the men are eager to sign up for the revolution. You want to talk to them."

The captain nodded. He strode forward. Quite a number of soldiers had gathered, looking uncertain.

"So here's how it is men," the captain said. He'd switch to Krio and Jake was unnerved by the double sounds of his translator collar translating to English and the man's word, which sounded so similar. "Burundi has declared full martial law and ordered a crackdown. General Suyu refused. You'll got to make a choice. Those who don't have the stomach for what's about to happen can turn in your arms and go your own way. But I'm planning to take my crew and whoever wants to join us and make for the capital with these fine folks. What do you say?"

There was a chorus of agreement and Jake knew it was true, the men wanted change.

"Well, let's get going, we've got a boy to save," the captain said, clapping him on the shoulder and leading him towards the men. "But first let's get our marching order set."