The search team finished breakfast together and while the colonists crowded around to see them off, Jill, after checking the engineer vehicles, gave Sergeant Baume the nod. To cheers of the crowd's encouragement, his LAV led the Hummers slowly out of the square. Carefully avoiding the more daring of the younger boys, the LAV and Hummers of the investigation and engineer teams, crawled slowly to the gap in the wire, over the creek and powered up the hill into the forest.
The track to Sierra One was by now fairly well defined, at least as far as the bridgework over the American River, they had adopted the local name for the river, and the team made good time. Kai's bridge, now finished simplified the crossing, as the river level, though dropping, was still over the causeway from the rain almost a week ago. Charlie was contemplating calling for a comfort stop when Sergeant Baume reported over the radio that they were passing the location where Major Kawalski had been wounded. Attracting Jill's attention, Charlie signalled that she wanted to take a look at the site. Jill spoke into her microphone and the lead LAV veered back into the tree line and halted in a defensive position, the other vehicles followed suit.
Jill advised Charlie and her team to remain in the vehicle until the area had been cleared by Sergeant Baume's team. When, after a torturously long time, the all clear was given, Charlie eased herself from the Hummer and with a desperate wave to her men, made a bee-line to the nearest clump of bushes. A much relieved Charlie emerged a few minutes later to find Jill and the others in her team, standing around one of the larger trees discussing a small scar in its bark. She joined the group just as Sergeant Baume informed them that this was where William Wainwright was killed and where Joe had been wounded. To Charlie, it appeared to be a peaceful place, a small undisturbed, shady clearing in the forest, it was incongruous that only a short while ago, it was a place of violence and death.
"Oh well," she thought to herself, "That always seems to be the way." Charlie took a quick look around the site and after getting a description of the fight from a couple of the participants, she checked with Jill and climbed back into the Hummer.
Sergeant Baume ordered "Mount up."
Resuming their mission and after another tricky crossing of the Border River, it was a straight run through to Sierra One. Before the final approach, the vehicles propped in a hull-down position on the last ridge overlooking the Sanctuary, while Private Aarth piloted the drone in a reconnaissance of Sierra One and the surrounding area. The rest of the team took the opportunity to grab a quick meal and to brew a hot drink. When Private Aarth declared the site to be clear, the vehicles backed down from the ridge, navigated around the hill and powered across the wide grassland to the compound gates.
At the Sanctuary and again Sergeant Baume was pressed into reliving the battle, pointing out the main features of the battlefield and defence positions. Although the Clans had purged the area of all sign of the Unworthy, the scars of the battle, the craters and burnt areas caused by claymores mines and grenades were still visible on the ground.
Jill and the Sergeant agreed that as there were still a couple of hours daylight left, they would press on and harbour closer to Fort Jones. Ensuring the preparations for night routine had been completed, the mission departed Sierra One, heading along the road to Fort Jones. Charlie, suppressing mixed feelings of guilt at spending so much of her adult life pursuing the Company responsible for building the Sanctuaries, had really been looking forward to finally seeing the first Sanctuary. It didn't disappoint and in spite of the guilt, she decided that all in all, her first excursion outside the confines of Sierra Two was so far almost fun.
With about an hour of daylight left, Sergeant Baume identified a potentially suitable area to harbour for the night, an elevated wooded area about a mile to the South of the road. As the mission, so far, had not encountered clansmen, Jill decided it was a good idea to prop before entering the populated areas. The convoy swung away from the road after by-passing the chosen site by about a mile, the Sergeant led the convoy in a loop back to enter the harbour site from the South. Anyone following their vehicle tracks from the road would pass across the front of the harbour, giving the team ample warning of their approach.
As daylight faded, the radars were deployed and sentries were posted. With the recent battle at Sierra One and the betrayal at Fort Jones still fresh on their minds, the alert level was high and extra sentries were deployed. With the recent battle still pertinent to their situation, the soldiers had been issued with what would, in normal circumstances, be called excessive ammunition. As their teams settled into their night routine, Charlie and Jill radioed the day's reports to HQ and hit the sack.
The night passed without incident and after the morning stand-to and breakfast, the Engineer team under Sergeant Angela Wills departed towards the sites identified for the communications towers. The investigation team's LAV and Hummer moved back onto the road to Fort Jones.
"Shit about to get real then?," Charlie called through to Jill.
Jill turned to Charlie and explained, "We will have no communications with HQ until Angela activates the first relay tower. She thinks that we should be okay by dark though."
The team soon found themselves passing through an inhabited farming landscape. The first isolated farmsteads with their protective log-walled stockades and agricultural plots soon gave way to small settlements protected by more substantial fortifications and larger cultivated fields, as well as a scattering of rough un-fenced farm houses. As they passed, the citizens stopped what they were doing and stared after the vehicles. The soldiers waved cheerfully at the silently watching people and occasionally even received a tentative wave in return, most often from the children who ran after them.
Road traffic became more common as they drew closer to Fort Jones and Sergeant Baume led the vehicles off-road to drive slowly along the verge to avoid startling the horses or the locals. It was mid-morning when the walls of Fort Jones came into view, and Jill halted the vehicles a hundred yards from the gate. They waited on high alert for a sign from the gatehouse, but for all intents and purposes, they might not have even been there, for no recognition of their arrival eventuated.
After waiting for a half hour, Jill declared "That is long enough", and directed Privates McTavish and Zoloff to tool up. She gave Sergeant Baume orders for the vehicles to follow behind them but to keep back thirty yards. In what Jill hoped was an impressive display of confidence and loosely veiled threat, she and the two combat equipped giants strode toward the gate. The town guard must have missed the veiled bit, because, as the soldiers approached the gate, the six sentries bolted from the guardhouse and ran at full sprint down the road toward the town centre, leaving the gate unmanned.
"What the fuck?" Jill exclaimed, "Now what?"
"We mount up and drive to the town hall," growled Alex.
"I think we should give it another thirty minutes, to see what is what. Keep your eyes out for trouble though," Jill replied.
Jill waved the vehicles up and positioned them on either side of the road just inside the gate. There was now a build up of people outside the town, obviously not certain if it was safe to enter past the American vehicles.
Jill asked Charlie and her team to facilitate the civilian traffic, "Seeing as directing traffic is what policemen do."
"Bitch! Agents not police," Charlie laughed, "Come on team, let's show this grunt what directing traffic is all about."
The investigators spread out and called the waiting citizens in, one at a time. After quickly asking each their business and before allowing them to continue on to the town, they cheerfully told them to not worry as the soldiers of the Returned had come in peace. The waiting crowd had all but been cleared through the gate when a call from Jill brought the investigators back to the vehicles. A squad of Clan military approached along the main road with Geo at the head. Charlie suggested, that since she had a good relationship with Geo, she should go ahead to meet him. On getting the nod, Charlie strode out to meet the Clansman, greeting him with a smile and extended hand.
Geo exclaimed, "Charlie, I had not expected you, I admit I was a little worried when my guards reported giants at the gate. I should have known it was Ivan and Alex," he laughed. Geo drew Charlie into a tight embrace, releasing her, he turned and ordered his gate sentries back on duty and dismissed the rest. Geo, looking small beside Charlie was reacquainted with Jill and greeted as an old friend by those of Joe's men he had fought beside at the battle of Sierra One.
Charlie advised Geo of their mission and formally requested his and the Clan's assistance. Geo, with equal formality, informed her that as Carl of Clan Statish and acting President of the Council of Clans, he would decree that the citizens offer the investigation all possible assistance. Dropping the formality he then announced Charlie and Jill must first have dinner with him and Koplic, if he could find him and the girls. Jill raised an eyebrow in question but Charlie told her he meant Laurent and Lynch.
Charlie accepted on behalf of the team, then advised, "Geo, you know that our team will be carrying their weapons with them, at all times, and you need to understand that this is not negotiable?"
"I do understand and as you can see, I also carry my American sword everywhere, " he answered.
Hitching a ride on the front of the LAV for the short trip to the Council building, Geo waved to the curious and shouted at those tardy in getting out of the way. Jill decided that the vehicles didn't need watching, as once locked, the Clans wouldn't have the technology to access anything important. Geo also delegated one of the Council's sentries to keep the curious citizens at bay. Waiting for the runner to locate Koplic and Lynch, the soldiers settled around the large table in the Council meeting room, the scene of the betrayal, as Laurent and a couple of junior Officers served beer.
"Oh God, it has been so long," sighed Charlie.
"I thought you would like that," Laurent said.
"Hendrik, this is not to be included in tonight's report, Mary would kill us all for a good beer," Jill ordered.
Charlie asked if there had been any further sign of his father and Joe. In reply, Geo informed her that he had sent scouts out but no-one had seen them at all and because of the rain, there had been no tracks to follow.
"It has been over a week, do you really think you can find them with your American technology?" Geo asked.
"Everyone leaves a trail, not just in the mud, but also in their life, yes I think we have a good chance," Charlie answered. The discussion was interrupted by the arrival of Koplic and Lynch, soon after the greetings were over Laurent announced their meal was ready in the Officer's Mess.
The Americans followed Geo to the Mess in the Officers Wing of the Council building where a basic but ample roast beef with vegetables served with gravy and beer waited. Jill pulled Laurent aside to request that no more beer be served and suggested water when wine was offered instead. The meal proved a good starting point for the investigation. Geo had seated Charlie between himself and Koplic, Jill next to Laurent while the rest of the soldiers with Agents Kent and Hartley, chose their own positions.
Charlie sat through Geo's welcome speech with interest, not for what was said, that was predictable, but how it was said. She concluded he was genuinely upset by the betrayal and really wished to assist. With that question answered in her mind, she tucked into the roast dinner with the appetite of the pregnant. Her companions no doubt also remembering the betrayal were initially more wary of the meal.
After dinner, Charlie followed Geo to the President's office, there, one-on-one, she asked him to recount the events as he saw them on the day of the betrayal. She could see that he was struggling with familial loyalty, but it was obvious he was hurt and confused and could not understand why his father murdered Koplic's father and the other Carls. He was also shamed that his brother was complicit in his father's treachery. From Geo's description, it appeared more than possible to Charlie that the attack was a pre-meditated part of some larger plan. What that plan was, or what part Joe's kidnapping played, she could not guess at this stage.
Charlie requested her agents be given access to Keem's office and anywhere else he might have had private space, such as his quarters.
"My father maintained his old cell in the Military Wing, just down the hall from here, but he stayed in the Presidential quarters in the other wing whenever he was in Fort Jones. I have been using the President's Office for the last week, but as far as I know, no-one has been in either of his rooms," Geo reported.
As Koplic had organised alternate accommodation for the few Clan Officers staying in the Military wing, the Council building was deserted except for Charlie's investigation team and Jill's soldiers. Jill posted sentries to guard each of Keem's rooms for the night while the off-duty soldiers and investigators, not wanting to be dispersed around the building, bunked in the Council meeting room. The soldiers quickly settled into their night routine, while Charlie and her agents finalised their plan of action for the next day before retiring.
Morning routine for Charlie, took far too long, impatient as she was to get started. She had chosen to search Keem's military wing cell herself as it was likely to be small and easily searched. She assigned her two agents to search the Presidential quarters. Both of them, but Nic Hartley in particular, were probably the best crime scene analysts she had known and she thought that if there was to be any useful information it would come from there.
Taking her coffee with her, she thanked Private Aarth for guarding the door and using the key Geo had given her, stepped inside. It was as dark inside as she expected. The room was not large, containing a bed along the wall under a window, a wardrobe against the back wall, a night stand next to the bed, two chairs, a sheep skin floor mat and a painting of a farm on the wall. The only window to the room was covered by light-coloured linen curtains and when pushed back, revealed the window shuttered and locked from the inside. She opened the shutters to let in the predawn light, enabling her turn her torch off. Sitting on the bed, facing away from the window and in the slow brightening, Charlie tried to get the feel of the room. It was a room to be stayed in, not lived in.
Looking around, she started with the night stand where, on the top rested a nicely polished bone comb and a pencil. It had one drawer and in the drawer were a number of blank sheets of coarse paper, an eraser, a small knife, an ink pen and a sealed bottle of ink. Charlie carefully laid the contents on the bed and removed the drawer. There was nothing in, under or behind the base of the stand, nor was there anything attached to the bottom of the drawer. She replaced the drawer and inspecting each of the items, returned them to the drawer. The paper was new and unmarked, she held each page up to the window but there were no impressions of writing from pages above either.
"One down and nothing, " Charlie said to herself.
Pulling the bed away from the wall, she methodically stripped it, inspecting and shaking out the linen sheets and rough spun woollen blankets, before folding them and placing them on the floor. A careful inspection of the wool-stuffed mattress and the bed frame also revealed nothing. Charlie reassembled the bed and placed the folded covers neatly on the mattress, not feeling domesticated enough to remake it. An inspection of the two chairs revealed a small double edged dagger clipped under one of them.
"Not a trusting soul then," Charlie thought, "Keem is careful, interesting that he would make make such an extreme move then. Why?"
A careful search of the wardrobe only revealed that Keem didn't like to throw out old clothes, there being a number of differently sized uniforms of indeterminate ages and a pair of old dry and cracked boots. Charlie pushed the robe away from the wall but there was nothing, she rolled up the floor mat and getting down on all fours, minutely studied the floor for hidden compartments, nothing.
"One hidden knife, not much here," she said out loud.
Dragging one of the chairs back against the wall, she sat to watch the early sunlight creep across the painting on the wall as she thought through her search, what had she missed? "Well there could be a safe hidden behind the painting, like in the movies," she mused.
She carefully studied the painting. It was of a farm homestead from an elevated viewpoint, it showed the two story homestead with large verandas, out sheds and a large barn and a pole fenced horse paddock with free ranging cattle and chickens. Charlie admired the photographic accuracy of the view, it was a tribute to the skill of the artist. Checking the artist's signature, it was just signed Keem. That was a surprise, Keem a talented artist!
In her mind, Charlie was beginning to develop a profile of a complex, careful and intelligent man. Whatever he was up to, it would be thought out and planned not just some random act, yes Keem was a dangerous man. Charlie reached up to lift the painting down and received another surprise, it was very heavy. She called Private Aarth in to help her and together they laid the painting face down on the bed. There was nothing interesting in the wall behind the painting but the back of the picture frame was covered by a sheet of leather. Using the small dagger, Charlie prized the leather sheet from the back of the frame and was surprised to find it was actually the case of a satchel containing a large number of gold coins.
"Now here is a man with a Plan B," Charlie said to Private Aarth as she handed him the satchel, "We are finished in here, take these up to the Meeting Room and give them to Sergeant Baum to guard, I'm going around to the Presidents quarters."
Unlike her careful search of the military wing cell, the Presidential quarters were a mess, the agents had methodically worked their way through the room, dumping the contents of the cupboards on the floor as they went. By contrast, any interesting items they had found were stacked neatly on the table in the dining room. When Charlie entered, Agents Hartley and Kent were standing before a large safe, hidden in a wall closet. The safe door was secured by a large lever padlocked to a concealed lug and the agents were discussing how best to open it.
"The building is all wood, if we try oxying it we could burn the Council building down," Agent Kent said.
"Same if we blow it, and that lock is too robust to pick with any tools I have," Agent Hartley agreed.
Charlie interrupted their deliberations. "You did ask Geo if he has a key to it I presume? On receiving an affirmative, she continued, "Have you asked Hendrik if his team has anything in the vehicles you might be able open it with?"
Agent Hartley returned the Meeting Room while Agent Kent briefed Charlie on what they had discovered so far. On the table were some crumpled paper pages recovered from the bin. One of the pages held a list of names and Geo had confirmed some of those on the list had been involved in the betrayal. With that, it was to be assumed that the others on the list were also involved. It seemed that Keem was definitely not the trusting type as on the table were two more daggers similar to the one Charlie had found, one recovered from under Keem's desk and the other from under the dining table. Nothing had been recovered from behind any of the wall coverings or paintings and there were no hidden compartments.
They were still trying to piece together Keem's intentions when Agent Hartley returned lugging a bucket of water, followed by Alex Zoloff swinging a huge power cutter. "Hendrik Baume sends this big fucker with his compliments, and he said we could use the cutting tool too," Agent Hartley reported with a straight face.
Clearing any flammable material from around the safe, Hartley doused the floor with water and let Alex loose with the cutting wheel. Though the lock was very robust, it was made of cast iron and no match for a power tool designed to cut steel, within a couple of minutes it was gone and the door swung open. Inside the safe they discovered another large quantity of gold coins as well as three bound volumes, and it was the books that Charlie was interested in. While Geo counted and secured the gold, Charlie and her agents poured over the books. They were basic ledgers, two seemed to be concerned with council and city business, which was confirmed by Geo, but Geo could not identify the nature of the third ledger.
Charlie needing solitude to study the ledger, directed her agents to now search the President's Office, but this time to leave it as they found it, shooing them out she closed the door behind them. The totals were easy to work out, the current balance after all listed credits and payments was very close to the value of gold in the safe. Charlie was also able to identify the transaction she believed was related to the gold from behind the painting, by value. Over the past five years, there had been half yearly transactions of thirty-five gold coins deducted to an entity named in the ledger as Magnus via Metal-Jack. Each of the transactions had been marked as completed, except for the last one and the painting had held exactly thirty five coins. Focusing on the credits, it showed fifty entities all paying in one gold coin each every six months, this was beginning to look like a classic shake down protection racket.
Was Keem just running some sort of protection racket? Why didn't he take the last payment with him when he fled after the betrayal? "Questions, questions but no answers yet," she thought. Damn!" she said out loud.
Charlie needed to identify the entities making the payments, she picked up the ledger and made her way to the President's Office. Geo was not there but her agents were just re-stacking the bookshelf behind Geo's desk, all in all the room was still in one piece. Agent Kent informed her that Geo was with Koplic and the soldiers in the Meeting room.
Leaving them to it Charlie returned to the meeting room. She interrupted the war stories and asked both Geo and Koplic to take a look at the ledger. Charlie explained her thoughts on the protection scam and asked if they knew any of the identities. Neither knew of anyone called Magnus or Metal-Jack and also couldn't identify any of the payers from the names in the book.
"What would the President of the Council be able to threaten people or businesses with, without it becoming known around the traps?" Charlie asked. She continued, "Has anyone noticed a rush of visitors to Keem's office around payment time?"
"He could have used the warriors from the other list to do the collecting and to keep the identity of the payers secret from each other," suggested Koplic.
"Perhaps," said Charlie. "Geo, does your father have an office at the family homestead?" she asked.
On receiving an affirmative, Charlie notified Jill that they needed to raid the Statish ancestral homestead. She asked if Geo and Koplic would accompany them, a request they readily accepted as it meant another ride in the American's vehicles and for Geo a visit home. First thing in the morning the two vehicles departed North along a well formed road, Geo and Koplic riding happily on the back of the LAV. For the next hour and a half the vehicles traveled through some of the prettiest farmland Charlie had ever seen, every new turn or valley just presented another version of the painting on Keem Statish's wall, it was hypnotic. How could bad things be going on here?
Sergeant Baume reported that the homestead was just ahead over the next rise. As they crested the hill, Charlie gasped in amazement, there laid out in the valley was Keem's painting, this must have been the exact spot he had painted it from. There was one discordant note however, the one thing that the artist had omitted from his painting, was the impressive log stockade surrounding the large white homestead. Charlie wondered at the significance of this, as the vehicles rolled down the hill to Geo's ancestral home.
Jill halted the vehicles just out of bow range from the homestead and let Geo accompanied by Koplic, facilitate their entrance. They disappeared through a small door in the closed gates, then after a short wait, the main gates were pushed open and Geo waved the vehicles down. As the vehicles could not fit under the gate crossbeam, Sergeant Baum sited them on either side of the gate, facing out and posted sentries in each.
The homestead was guarded by a full ten man section of professional Clan Bento military, but as is the habit of professional military everywhere, it wasn't long before a friendly but watchful camaraderie developed between the two groups. The Clan Bento section seemed completely open and loyal to Geo, however the Americans remained fully alert, armoured and armed, mindful that it was renegade soldiers from this same military unit who killed the General and kidnapped their Major.
Escorted again by Privates McTavish and Zoloff, Charlie and the two agents followed Geo up to the house. The large wooden, two story building with a landing running the length of the ground floor and a verandah running the length of the second floor reminded Charlie of the hotels depicted in old western movies. She suppressed a giggle as she envisioned bat wing doors and bar fights. She didn't know what to expect inside but certainly wasn't expecting the level of sophisticated luxury that was. The decor could have been taken straight from a grand old southern mansion just prior to the Civil War, right down to the carpeted steps and polished banister of the master staircase rising up against the eastern wall of the entrance hall.
Standing in a row waiting for them were Geo's family and the household staff. In the front of the line was a stylishly dressed middle aged lady who could only be Geo's mother. Not needing to frighten the family straight up, Charlie motioned for the two big men to prop outside the door. She stepped forward with Geo as he made the introductions. His mother Rielle, he kissed her forehead, a young teenage boy he introduced as his brother Pieter and a sad pregnant girl as his sister Louisa. There were more introductions, the cook and his staff, the yard supervisor and her staff while a number of miscellaneous children of varying ages peeked from behind the legs of their respective parents.
The atmosphere was tense, so Charlie tried to ease the situation by asking Louisa how long she had to go before her baby was born. She was startled by the response, Louisa let out a loud sob and ran for the staircase, leaving Charlie distressed. Turning to Geo, she asked, "Did I say something wrong? I didn't mean to upset her. Is she alright?"
Geo looked at his mother, she nodded so he turned back to Charlie.
"Her husband, Dusser is with my father, he has been declared a traitor and will be exiled when they are captured," he replied sadly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Will she be ok?" Charlie asked.
"We won't let anything happen to her or her baby, and when she gets over Dusser, she will have a lot of suiters, so we are not concerned," he answered.
Rielle waved the staff back to work then invited Geo, Charlie and the two agents into the lounge room. It was clear Rielle was worried about the American's intentions. After waving everyone to be seated she told them that she understood why they were there and apologised for her husband's actions, expressing a hope that they find their colleague unharmed. She explained that she had no idea Keem was preparing to commit such a horrible crime. He hadn't said anything to her, however as they hadn't been close for a number of years he probably wouldn't have anyway.
She further explained that Keem had always favoured Seph even though he was younger than Geo because Seph was more like him, where Geo was like her. On the rare occasions he was home, Keem would lock himself in his study for hours, only emerging to send members of his bodyguard away to deliver messages or to take his easel up the hill to paint.
Charlie asked about his paintings, she waved at those mounted around the room. Rielle explained that painting was Keem's only form of relaxation and he loved to paint views of their homestead. Charlie asked why none of the paintings showed the fortifications.
"Oh, Keem hated being locked behind walls. He often vowed to find a way to do away with them and live freely like our ancestors. I couldn't imagine how he would do that other than by killing every single Unworthy and I think that would be beyond even him," Reille said.
"Would you mind if my men searched Keem's study for anything that might tell us why he did what he did and where he may have gone? Also could I possibly talk to Louisa?" Charlie asked. "I'm sure Geo wouldn't mind assisting my men," she added quickly seeing uncertainty in Reille's expression.
Geo answered for his mother and led the two agents across the hall to Keem's study. Charlie followed Reille upstairs to Louisa's suite. Reille knocked and a composed but still red faced Louisa opened and invited them in. Charlie explained that even though the Returned might be larger than the Clans people, they were still people and not evil giants and certainly not an enemy. All Charlie wanted was to find the kidnapped father of her unborn child, she then pulled her tunic tight against her stomach so Louisa could see that Charlie was indeed pregnant.
"How did Dusser like being one of the Carl's body guard?" Charlie asked.
Louisa explained haltingly that Dusser admired her father, and often said that the Carl was going to make big changes real soon. Dusser loved going on secret missions for his father-in-law, he believed that he was valued and on his way to being promoted into the Carl's inner circle. He would go away for days at a time and wouldn't tell her what he was doing, just that it was a mission for the Carl. Once he was away for two weeks and admitted to her that he had gone to Trader Town to deliver a heavy package.
"Did he say what was in the package?" Charlie asked.
"No, just that it was heavy for its size, maybe metal," Louisa replied.
"Trader Town, what is that and where is it?" Charlie asked.
Rielle explained that Trader Town was a town in the neutral land between the lands of the Unworthy and the Beloved Clans. It was a place where the merchants from the Unworthy lands traded metal scavenged from the old American cities for goods and food produced by the Clans. It was a place where both nations kept a truce, enforced by the trader community. It was in the best interests of both to keep the trade lines open.
"Ok, interesting, but where is this Trader Town located?" Charlie asked again.
"I believe it is somewhere a week's ride South of Fort Jones, only traders go there, then only accompanied by professional guards, it is a very dangerous place if you don't have protection," Reille replied.
They were interrupted by a call from below."Charlie, you will want to see this!" Agent Kent called up the stairs.
Charlie excused herself, thanking Louisa, while telling her she needed to take it easy and to think of her unborn child in this difficult time, then hastened down stairs to Keem's study. On the table was the contents of the office safe. Next to the, by now expected, bag of gold coins was another bound ledger lying open.
Charlie picked up the ledger. It was different to the others, this one seemed to be more of an address book, the first few pages consisted of a list of individual names and Clan allegiances. Against each of the names listed was the codename found in the Council ledgers.
"We also found this in the bin," Agent Hartley said, holding out a crumpled sheet of paper.
The paper was a half written letter, written with ink and badly blotted. It was addressed to Alan at Jack's, Trader Town, thanking him for his introduction to Magnus and hoped he would continue to facilitate... The letter ended there in the large ink blot.
"We reckon he blotted it and had to write a new letter," Agent Hartley said.
"No shit Sherlock!" Charlie responded half heartedly, "I guess we now have to find this Alan at Trader Town."
After restoring the study, but retaining the ledger, Charlie bid farewell to Reille, politely declining an invitation to stay for the evening meal. While waiting for Geo to make his farewells to his family, Charlie, Jill and Sergeant Baume discussed Trader Town with Koplic.
Koplic explained how he had once visited Trader Town as an escort to one of his Clan's trading missions. A rambling, dangerous place, no-one moved around there alone without an escort with fights between traders regularly breaking out over seemingly unimportant arguments. The town consisted of a number of fortified compounds owned by the merchants, where goods from the Clans could be traded for metals and other artefacts scavenged from the ruins of the American cities to the South of the Unworthy lands. Asked what he knew of the Unworthy lands, Koplic replied that no-one knew anything of those lands and no-one from the Clans had ever travelled there, or if they had no-one had ever returned to tell.
When Geo returned to the vehicles, Jill asked if he could supply a guide to take them to Trader Town. Geo stated that he would guide them himself, but he would not venture into the Unworthy lands, nor would he allow any Clan citizens to do so. It was a two day drive to Trader Town and before they departed, Geo needed to return to Fort Jones to see to some Council business. Back at Fort Jones, Jill submitted her nightly report to HQ by phone, the new communications tower had certainly made a difference.
They again enjoyed a late meal in the Military mess and spent the night in the Council meeting rooms while Geo went about his business. Early next day the vehicles departed Fort Jones for the long drive South. Initially they proceeded along a busy well defined road but after a few hours, the farms became more spread out and less prosperous looking. Eventually they stopped passing farms at all and the road deteriorated into numerous, roughly worn wheel tracks separated by grass strips. It was obvious the road followed some ancient highway as they traversed many a deep cutting with wide sloping embankments and crossed rough but robust timber and stone bridges while travelling through the hills.
As the afternoon faded, Koplic estimated that they had travelled about three-quarters of the way. Not wanting to harbour too close to their destination, Jill ordered the vehicles well off the road into a temporary hide, to eat and prepare for night harbour. While the teams performed their night routine, Geo and Koplic, who by now understood the Americans' night time tactical routine, advised Jill and Sergeant Baume of a safe location for their night time harbour.
The night passed without incident, if a heavy, early morning shower of rain wasn't counted, and the vehicles were rolling again before the sun broke the horizon. Just after mid-morning, they eased over a rise and a couple of miles ahead of them, sprawling around the shores of a lake, was Trader Town. The leading LAV halted and Jill's Hummer pulled alongside.
Jill climbed down from the Hummer and looking back up at Geo, asked. "Would that be Trinity Lake then?"
"I don't know, we only know it as Trader Lake," he replied, "Apparently it used to be an American dam but the dam wall collapsed hundreds of years ago and now it is just a small lake."
Sergeant Baume re-sited the vehicles further around the hill and out of sight of the road but still overlooking the town. They studied the town through the LAV's scope while Private Aarth sent the drone high over the town to recce the street layout. The copter revealed there was no street plan, just a number of stockaded compounds, randomly surrounding one short main street lined each side by a number of rambling single-story buildings. Jill asked Koplic if he could tell them anything about the town from the drone images on the screen. Koplic was vague on the details of his visit, it was to one of the outer compounds, but he did report that all the compounds have large signs above their gates with the owner's names. To the jeering of everyone else, he also revealed the main street held mostly hotels, brothels and the Traders' Post Office.
"Mahmoud, would you be able to get the drone to scan the compound signs without getting too low?" Jill asked.
"Like this sir?" he asked. The view on the screen at first receded then the view swivelled and zoomed, then refocused on one of the compounds' gates, 'Burney Trading Company'.
"Ok, there are only about another twenty or so to go, we are looking for a name like Metal Jack, or Trader Jack or anything Jack related, get it?" Jill directed.
"Ok Sir," Private Aarth replied.
"Wrong response, but let me know what you find," Jill told him.
Jill suggested 'out' and Charlie, feeling a little stifled and crowded in the closed space, agreed. Once in the fresh air, Charlie asked Jill if she had heard right, there was a Post Office in the town.
"Hey Geo! What is a Traders' Post Office?" Charlie called out.
Geo joined them and explained that the traders have established Post Offices in major locations like Fort Jones and Trader town where they house homing pigeons. Traders can pay to take some with them and use them to carry messages either to the next Post Office or back to their base Post Office. The Post Office then delivers the message to the person it was intended for. If they don't use the pigeons, they leave them at the next town's Post Office swapping them for pigeons for the next town. People other than traders can also use a Post Office to send messages to another town, but it is expensive so most don't. They just write letters and have a trader deliver them to a Post Office when they get there. The Post Offices will eventually deliver the letters to the recipients, but certainly do it faster if there is a payment attached.
"Why didn't we know about this?" a shocked Charlie asked.
"Probably because it didn't come up and we didn't ask," Jill observed dryly.
They were interrupted by a call from Private Aarth. As they leant in the back door to the LAV, he reported that the compound was called 'Metal Jack's' and it was located at the far side of town fronting onto the road to the Unworthy territory. Geo advised Jill and Sergeant Baume that even as Clan President, he had absolutely no authority at Trader Town.
Jill looked around the group, Charlie, Geo, Koplic and Sergeant Baume. "Seems we have to make a decision, knock on the door and ask politely to speak to this Jack or Alan, or drive straight through the door and demand to speak to him," Jill said.
"Or," added Sergeant Baume, "We wait until things go quiet later tonight and send in a team. These guys here are Joe's Special Ops team, the best, and besides we have a couple of gas grenades left, surely at least one will work."
"If you take these vehicles into town, they will be attacked on sight, then a war will break out between the Traders for possession of them. Also, it would not be a good idea for hairy giants in strange clothing to be seen in town. If you do go in, you will need to stay discrete." Koplic added.
Turning back into the LAV, Sergeant Baume tasked Private Aarth with getting as much intel on the stockade as he could, specifically looking for a back way that did not face the road and to also scope for an approach and exit route. As they watched the town, a number of wagons, with a mounted escort of half a dozen armed men, exited from one of the closer stockades and headed North toward Clan lands. Sergeant Baume quickly assessed his vehicles exposure and directed they retreat a few vehicle lengths back down the slope, that done they could only hope they weren't seen. He called Private Aarth to reassign the drone to watch the wagons until they were well out of sight. While assisting Corporal DeMarco make a mud map of the town, Sergeant Baume was called by Private Aarth from within the LAV.
"You should see this Sarge," Private Aarth said as he rewound and zoomed the footage on the screen.
The recording tracked the traders' wagons passing the location their vehicles had left the road, the muddy ground clearly revealing the vehicle tracks veering on to the verge and disappearing around the back of a low hill. The wagons passed the site without showing any interest, as did all but one of the escorts. Reigning in his horse, the rear escort sat giving the LAV tracks more attention than was comfortable for the watching soldiers. He dismounted and the watchers noted that he was tall for an Unworthy or Clan, certainly not as tall as one of the Americans, but noticeably taller than average. The man squatted at the tracks for a while then followed them with his eyes, turning back toward the town he seemed to look directly toward the hill hiding the vehicles. Responding to a call from one of the other escorts, he waved, re-mounted his horse and trotted after the wagons, momentarily looking back towards the vehicles' hiding place as he rode.
"Shit! what was that about?" Private Aarth asked.
"I don't know, but resume the recon, I'll brief the boss, we need to keep our eyes open," Sergeant Baume told him.
When Sergeant Baume recounted to Jill and the others what had just happened, he mentioned that the escort seemed tall for a local, unnecessarily pointing out that they hadn't encountered any taller people so far. Koplic butted in to inform them that there were some taller Unworthy and that the Traders favoured them as guards for their wagons. He also reported that those taller Unworthy must come from a distant part of the Unworthy lands because they spoke with a different accent to the normal Unworthy. Jill had a moment of hope.
"Do they sound like us?" she asked.
"Oh no, nothing like you. The only one I've spoken to sounded sort of nasty, just like you would expect from the worst of the Unworthy," Koplic replied.
"Oh," Jill responded disappointed.
After weighing up their options, Jill agreed with the Sergeant and Koplic then tasked the Sergeant with readying the assault team to raid the Trader compound. Private Aarth had identified a small gate in the stockade wall at the back of the compound, however to reach it the team would have to pass down a narrow walkway between two other compounds. Sergeant Baume would lead the incursion, the team was to include all of the soldiers, leaving only the investigators, Jill and the drivers. Charlie desperately wanted to be part of the raid, however both Jill and the Sergeant overruled her so Agent Kent was included. The incursion team spent the afternoon preparing and studying scenarios around Corporal DeMarco's mud map. Before dark, they relocated the vehicles as close as they could to the South side of the town while still staying out of sight.
For Charlie, the wait was excruciating, for the soldiers it was just another wait and they took advantage by rechecking each other's gear and eating. At last as the noise wafting up from the town died down and the lamps started to go out, Sergeant Baume gave the word and the vehicles rolled slowly and silently forward guided by their night vision equipment. They halted at the chosen point, behind a small clump of low bushes about three hundred yards from the closest compound wall. After communications and night vision goggles were re-checked and last minute tests for noisy equipment, the seven-man team faded silently into the dark.
Charlie followed the raid through her headset. The transit to Metal Jack's stockade was incident free, the two stockades they passed didn't seem occupied or guarded and Jack's rear gate wasn't even locked. The building Private Aarth had identified as barracks or living quarters was neutralised successfully by valium grenade and the dozen occupants bound and gagged. The main building in the centre of the compound was a large brick construction with attached warehouse, the windows were barred and the sturdy wooden rear door was locked. The team located the two guards patrolling the elevated platform around the stockade wall who needed to be neutralised before the main building could be breached. After a short but agonising wait, the radio reported the sentries were contained and the main building had been entered.
Almost immediately, Agent Kent reported that Joe's boots, cane and broken phone had been recovered from a display case in the front office. There was a shout followed by sounds of a scuffle and some loud thumps, then Corporal DeMarco reported that they had captured a man and woman from an accommodation suite at the rear of the building. The building was now declared secured. Apart from sounds of searching and the occasional grunt or curse, the next thirty minutes was uneventful. At last Sergeant Baume declared it time to go, and directed his team to bring the intelligence, and the prisoners.
As the team prepared to exit the compound, it became apparent why the back gate had been left unlocked. A group of loud drunks kicked the gate open and stumbled through. Their laughter died at the unexpected sight of huge black clad intruders in their compound. While both groups froze in surprise, the special forces training of Joe's best, kicked in first with both Privates Cuttler and McTavish opening up with their silenced weapons, taking down four of the party before they had a chance to draw their swords. Of the four remaining, one dashed back out the gate and sprinted towards the main street shouting the alarm. The remaining three drew weapons and charged at the Americans. It was a short action, one was killed and two taken down by taser.
On hearing the action start, Jill fired the vehicles up and began moving in to the exit point. As the raiding party now burdened by four prisoners retreated past the compounds, lanterns were beginning to light around the town and the shouting was getting closer. Jill ordered the drivers to by-pass the planned extraction point, taking the vehicles right to the edge of town. The raiding party, now abandoning any attempt at stealth, jogged out from between the Trader stockades as the vehicles skidded to a halt before them. Two prisoners were dumped unceremoniously in the back of each vehicle and with all raiders accounted for, Jill directed they retrace their tracks back into the hills. After assurances that the vehicles had enough charge for at least another three hours or so driving, Jill decided to retreat to their previous night's harbour, reasoning that it would be almost a full day's ride for any pursuers following their tracks.
Once secure in their harbour, sentries and radar deployed, Charlie was now able to observe the prisoners. The four of them were sitting on the ground with their hands zip-tied behind them. The man from the main building and his female partner were dressed in fine spun wool pyjamas while the other two were dressed in dirty linen and leather work dress. The two workers looked in poor condition, young, in their late teens or early twenties, while the more refined couple appeared to be a well preserved fifty-ish, products of privilege that Charlie hadn't expected outside the Clan lands.
They all sat seemingly ignored, silently observing the giant Americans going about their tactical night time routine. Charlie decided to start with the now sober, hired help and with the assistance of her go-to giants Alex and Phil, separated one of them from the others taking him to the other side of the harbour and out of sight of his companions.
Charlie, prepared for this to be a long night, split her team. Charlie, herself would interrogate the prisoners while Agent Kent covertly monitored any conversations between the prisoners. Agent Hartley was tasked with studying the large amount of documentation they had recovered from the Trader's office.
Charlie began by begging Privates McTavish and Zoloff not to eat this prisoner, even she thought that by moonlight the two combat soldiers looked fearsome in their black uniforms, she could only hope the prisoner fell for her melodramatics.
The ploy worked even better than Charlie could have hoped, the cries for mercy from the prisoner carried across to the other prisoners breaking their stubborn silence. After assuring the prisoner that as long as he was useful to her he wouldn't be eaten, and to be useful he had to talk, he talked. He was named Dirk and like the others in the barracks, was retained as a labourer and guard by Jack the Trader. Yes the other man and woman they had captured was Alan and his wife. Yes a week ago some Clan soldiers stayed in the compound and they had a tall prisoner with them. The Clan soldiers only stayed overnight and left the next day going South. He did think that was odd as Clan, especially soldiers, didn't ever venture into the Southern lands.
When Charlie determined she was not going to get any more from him, Phil tased him unconscious, gagged him and dumped him out of sight. Repeating the interrogation with the other worker, Charlie gained almost identical information, except he added that the Clan soldiers were taking the prisoner to Magnus. Further questioning revealed that Magnus was now the Supreme Leader of the South and during the last ten years he and his army had united all the Southern counties to form the Southern Empire. Phil bagged and tagged him as well.
Charlie next separated Alan and his wife. Phil dragged the wife away, her screams and cries played across Alan's face. Charlie sat in front of Alan, just watching, then as the screams suddenly cut off, his expression turned to one of terror and despair.
"What do you think might be happening to your wife now?" Charlie asked, "Whatever you think it is, it could always be a lot worse. Of course you could make sure she stays safe by cooperating and talking to me."
"Who are you? Why did you kill my men and capture me? What do you want?" Alan demanded.
"Simple, we want our colleague back and we want to know what Magnus is up to, and you are going to tell us, or..." Charlie left the threat hang.
Alan, having no stomach for whatever was threatened, readily answered Charlie's questions. For years, he had acted as go-between for the Clan President and the Southern Empire's Supreme Leader, Magnus. His trading missions would convey payments from Keem Statish to Magnus every month and carry sealed messages back and forth between them. He denied knowing what the payments were for, or what the sealed messages contained, Keem paid him well for the service. When asked about the recent visit, Alan revealed that something must have changed, Keem said he was going to go directly to see Magnus so there would be no need to send the last message. When pressed, Alan revealed that the message would have been still on his desk.
Alan also informed Charlie that, as payment for the night's accommodation, Keem had presented him with some souvenirs from their prisoner. He saw the prisoner, he was like one of the tall people, but different, Keem had told him that the prisoner was an American, Alan hadn't believed him then but does now. He did say the prisoner appeared to be well. He told Charlie that they had been ordered to kill anyone who came to town asking about Keem or the American. Alerted by a call from Agent Hartley, Charlie left Alan to Agent Kent and headed to the LAV.
Agent Hartley was sitting in the middle of a pile of paperwork holding up a sheet of paper. This is the letter Keem didn't need sent on. You had better read it and Geo will need to see it as well. Charlie took the paper, quickly scanning the content.
"Fuck! This is not good," she exclaimed, "This letter is a request to Magnus to raid Sierra Two. Also I bet the list of exempt places listed here will coincide with the payments in the ledger. You're right Geo needs to see this."
Geo was shocked, his own father, the President of the Council of Clans was working with their enemy to organise raids on some Clan settlements and was taking money to provide protection to certain other settlements. It didn't make sense. Charlie suggested Keem might have some plan to have the Clan lands taken over by the Supreme Leader as part of the Southern Empire.
"He would only do that if he was the Supreme Leader," Geo said, "Maybe he does have a plan to become the Supreme Leader, and if he does, it will now involve your weapons," he warned.
"Shit, we need to get this information to HQ, ASAP!" Jill responded. "Do we have HF coms from here?" she asked.
Summoning her driver, Private Lister, Jill returned with her to the Hummer. A short while later, she found Charlie and Sergeant Baume discussing the situation with Geo and Koplic. The two Clansmen were keen to return to Fort Jones, fearing a war was coming Geo needed time to prepare the army. Koplic observed that he wasn't sure how much of the army would be loyal, if Keem had been planning this for a while, he may have already gathered support from some of the other Clans' military.
"Whatever! I have the list of names, Keem's treachery must be exposed to the Council and the people, I expect in the face of public outrage, any conspirators will back down." Geo said, "But we will have to move fast."
Jill reported that they had passed the intelligence on to Sierra One HQ and now were waiting on further orders. With only a couple of hours of darkness left, she advised they all get as much rest as possible before they pulled out. It would not be possible to enter Unworthy territory or as they now knew it, The Southern Empire, with such a small team so they would need to return to Jones Town. Before retiring, Charlie reunited Alan with his wife, who revealed that she had been enjoying a hot meal and tasted coffee for the first time, under the watchful eye of Private Lister who was a really nice person.
Charlie advised them, "You will remain restrained for the rest of the night, but will be released on the road in the morning. I suspect your rescue party will be close by then, if not, there are always trade caravans heading South. Don't try anything, because you are being watched."
It was difficult waking and Charlie, aching all over, vowed to never again try to sleep in the passenger seat of a Hummer. The vehicles were soon making their way back down to the road, slowly, as their batteries were low and the sun was still too low to provide much useful charging. They released their prisoners on a small hill with a couple of shade trees and a good view of the road in both directions. As an afterthought, Sergeant Baume tossed a couple of MREs and a bladder of water at them.
"If nothing else, figuring out what to do with the MREs will keep them occupied for a couple of hours while they wait," he observed.
The vehicles continued North, slowly at first but faster as the batteries recharged in the morning sun. On sighting Fort Jones in the distance, Jill received orders from HQ to return to Sierra Two ASAP. Halting outside the council building, within minutes the vehicles were surrounded by concerned citizens, word of their new leader's visit to Trader Town in the American's vehicles having leaked.
Climbing back to the top of the LAV, Geo informed the people gathered there, of everything that they had discovered. When he revealed there were still some among the Clans who were also part of the conspiracy the crowd began calling for names and demanding banishment. Geo raised his hands to call for quiet, then vowed that the Clan lands would never be conquered by any Unworthy, and he now counted his father and brother as Unworthy, he then advised them to prepare for war. The shock of that announcement stunned the crowd, Geo took advantage of the silence to tell the gathered people to spread the news and to be ready to respond to their Clan's call.
"Well I probably wouldn't have been so up front about the war," observed Jill, "That was guaranteed to scare the horses and start a run on the markets,"
Geo responded, "They needed the shock, the people in general but the townsfolk in particular, have not been taking the recent Unworthy raids seriously, it has been easier to blame the military. Now they can be afraid and the threat will at least be taken seriously. You should go now, I have a lot of names to investigate and an Army to prepare."
At that, Geo strode up the steps to the council building without looking back. Koplic gave them a wave and followed after Geo. Jill was about to give the word to move out when Koplic came running out of the building waving a sheet of paper and calling them to wait. Jill opened her Hummer door and leant out.
"This was waiting for you, it is a message from the Trader's Post Office." Koplic blurted out, "Your Major Joe is safe, he escaped!"