The Apostates Read online

  “Alright, Inquisitor. If you were to lead an assault on their position what would you need to make the operation successful?” Kate asked anxiously.

  “In due time, Minister. First we must observe and gather intelligence. Head Ranger Frank will oversee the recon ops. Once he reports to my satisfaction I will get back to you on material and personnel estimates. Does this sound fair?” Rodrigo was stern. He finished buttoning up his shirt and threw on his decorated uniform jacket. “I need to wait for my informant to contact us with an update as well,” he added.

  “Fair enough, Rodrigo. But, remember, we need these Apostates taken down before the B.A.G. Our citizens must be focused on the festival and not living in fear of terrorists. It needs to be L.O.V.E. who brings them down, not my brother,” Kate insisted.

  “Yes, Ms. Schrubb, it’s all in my timetable,” Rodrigo concluded. He was now fully dressed and picked up his lion head cane.

  “Very well, Rodrigo. I leave the matter in your capable hands,” she disconnected.

  Rodrigo looked at the lion head on his cane. Under the chin of the head on the knob was a trigger. He checked it meticulously. Rodrigo sat in his workstation. He called up old satellite photos of the Great Lake region on his retinal H.U.D. He poured over the old, low definition, black and white images and newer Internet age photos. Rodrigo noticed numerous old towns that had since been abandoned. He further noticed old naval bases and currently inhabited cities and towns. His eye was drawn to a pre-war oil refinery. From what he could tell of the photos it was a sprawling complex with many structures that would be perfect to conceal men and material. He pondered this find; this could very well be where the Apostates were holed up.

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  Rodrigo grew tired of pouring of aerial and satellite photos of the region. He got to thinking about the early days of his organization and the start of his career. Rodrigo was in a mood that was as close to sentimentality as possible for a man like himself. He opened up some official archives to reminisce about “the good old days”. The archives were very revisionist as would be expected of a totalitarian Regime. To a man deeply indoctrinated in Regime dogma, the archives spoke the truth. He opened files pertaining to the Law that was responsible for the creation of L.O.V.E.

  The Law of Virtue Enforcement Act was devised as a response to subversive activity against the government, to keep it’s citizenry righteous and to dismantle the anti-war factions that sprang up in opposition to an ongoing war against countless Islamic militant groups that had been raging since the early years of the previous century. The L.O.V.E. Act outlined government and clergy criteria for a citizen to be declared Virtuous. If the people followed the criteria; they were given special status in society and could be considered for government and clerical posts. If they did not meet the criteria; they were branded an Apostate and were open for persecution, and criminal charges. The criteria excluded from the Virtuous drug addicts, drug pushers, pornographers, alcoholics, pedophiles, rapists, adulterers, pagans, Muslims, abortionists, and other undesirables. If an individual was not declared Virtuous by the state their life was effectively over. The implementation of the law enforcement had been a major problem. The first few years of the law saw no enforcement. The Regime feared a credibility backlash and wanted it to be feared by the populace. The Regime turned to street thug tactics. They paid vigilante groups to patrol the public and look for those not declared Virtuous. The vigilantes’ only mandate was to apprehend offenders, but there was no oversight. More often than not offenders would wind up being tortured or killed.

  These vigilante groups terrorized the country, and the Regime recognized the effectiveness of the tactics, so in time the Regime officiated the vigilantes. The name of the organization was taken from the law that they enforced. For the next eighty years, L.O.V.E. performed the duties of a secret police service. After years of success in their mission, the Ministry of State Security increased the budget of L.O.V.E. The need for a special operatives wing was deemed necessary for more sophisticated operations against black market cartels and organized crime. L.O.V.E. created the Rangers, or ‘Lovers’ to the population at large. ‘Lovers’ were highly trained and dangerous operatives. The Regime used the Rangers to dismantle several criminal enterprises over the years. In time, resistance groups dedicated to undermining Regime rule sprang up around the country. The paradox was that as the Regime was tightening control and creating new security measures, their strength and influence were waning. The Regime was still very powerful, but the cracks in the facade had formed and were now visible.

  The Regime, in time, ended the wars that were bleeding their coffers dry. They pulled the armed forces out from overseas and brought them home. The official word had been that because of technological advances they were able to bring human soldiers home but continue offensives with air strikes and Special Forces. For a time, this was the truth. Operations continued and they utilized ‘Lovers’ overseas for raids and massacres of Regime enemies, but it was not on the scale of previous conflicts. The Regime was close to bankrupt. The Schrubb administration viewed isolationism and closing of its society as a way to keep foreign influence out and its citizenry Virtuous. The Regime fortified its borders. First fences were built, then, came border forts. ‘Lovers’ manned the fortresses.

  ‘Lovers’ were also responsible for carrying out false flag attacks. Attacks that were staged by the government but blamed on Regime enemies as to justify new policies that would not have been accepted previously in the name of state security. Ironically, the first of these attacks was the catalyst for cementing Schrubb’s power and led to the creation of his Regime.

  Inquisitor Rodrigo had risen through the ranks of the Rangers. He had no social life to speak of. When colleagues planned social gathering he would always decline to go on an extended bike ride or to the shooting range. His discipline throughout his career had been impeccable. His superiors had no complaints and he always followed orders and completed missions, but the one peculiarity was when he was assigned a solitary mission such as an assassination. Rodrigo would always find his target, but he would dispatch them with exceptional brutality; often doing the deed by hand and up close. They were all overkills. Superior officers found it curious but they viewed him as a vital asset to L.O.V.E., so this tendency continued unabated. Rodrigo was able to keep total composure in life or death situations. Where most men would have broken or given up, Rodrigo was devoid of emotion.

  After rising through the ranks of L.O.V.E., Rodrigo eventually attained the position of Inquisitor. Rodrigo did not tolerate disobedience, so he purged the ranks of L.O.V.E. and filled the organization with his lackeys. With the purge behind him he relaxed, and subordinates carried out their work. Rodrigo then developed more of a rapport with the Minister of State Security, Kate Schrubb now that he had spare time. She would throw more resources his way and he acted as her spymaster within the government. He used the organization to bug most Regime buildings and monitored the [Virtue-net] for any intelligence she could use. Kate was mostly interested in trying to undermine her brother Keir, Minister of Defense. Rodrigo would be an integral part of Kate’s strategy to win the sibling rivalry.

  It was rumored that Rodrigo even kept tabs on Kate. The Schrubbs had become complacent relying too much on the Church and Reverend Wilhelm to maintain control. Rodrigo secretly found the Schrubbs weak and petty. And the Reverend? Aside from spiritual influence he didn’t hold any real power. Rodrigo knew that L.O.V.E. held the keys to the kingdom. But, what was the point in a coup or official recognition when you could pull the strings from the shadows?

  Rodrigo had taken notice of a new addition to the Rangers who had an exceptional service record. The Ranger, who was named Evan, was a flawless marksman; he held the record for the longest sniper kill in Ranger history. He preferred to operate alone and he always completed mission objectives. Evan reminded Rodrigo of himself in the early days of his career. He was a true asset to the organization. Being too perfect
made you enemies in a group like L.O.V.E. Rodrigo’s loyalists began to surveil Evan in an effort to look for his dirt.

  Evan had been a secretive operative like Rodrigo had been in times past. He didn’t fraternize with comrades; he had no connections or family. He seemed to have risen from out of nowhere. The truth was Evan had grown up in the slums of Santa Cruz an orphan. It was the truth that he had no family. However, Evan harbored other secrets, dangerous secrets. It was late one night after a mission that Evan was tailed to the old slums in Santa Cruz. He would come to this place to conceal his secret, the secret that would mark him as an Apostate, and as a Ranger, get him killed. The agents tailed him to his rendezvous. The remote drone they flew was able to document proof of banned homosexual activity. It was the evidence they needed to bring Evan down. They had brought the compromising images to the attention of Inquisitor Rodrigo, who valued Evan’s talents and was very regretful he was losing a skilled Ranger. Rodrigo was not a tolerant man of perverse sexual practices. He gave the blessing to mark Evan for disposal; an Apostate.

  When the colluding Rangers received the go-ahead from Rodrigo they had been delighted and began planning Evan’s fate forthwith. The Rangers would bring Evan out on a joint mission, put him in a dangerous situation, and make their move while he was distracted. The Rangers plotted the mission, they would raid a ‘Database’ processing lab in the slums of Old Santa Cruz, where Evan hailed from. They sent the details to Evan and being the upstanding Ranger he had agreed to the mission without question.

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  Inquisitor Rodrigo pulled up the official report from the fiasco of a mission, to sabotage Evan, and started reading it. The detachment of Rangers moved into position on the edge of the slums. There were hovels made from old garage doors and scrap metal, dilapidated structures held up by ropes slung around tree branches and light poles, and cinder block and mud brick structures. The streets were pockmarked with potholes and some were not paved at all. There was a marked contrast between the disorderly chaos of the slums and the sleek, Santa Cruz downtown skyline. A pack of mangy dogs ran by and were spooked by the approaching Rangers, one growled and the rest scurried off.

  The Rangers moved up the street with their weapons drawn moving in a tactical single file, Evan was on point. They were approaching the old school, which was being used to house the ‘Base’ lab. They entered the schoolyard through a hole that had been cut through the chain-link fence. A rusted, broken swing set greeted them on the playground. The Rangers moved toward the gym building, which was the lab location. The Rangers surrounded the building and prepared to commence the raid. The signal was given and Evan kicked in the door and other Rangers breached from other entrances. There were two individuals present manning video transfer machines and nano-printers which were printing the synthetic molecules that would be encoded with the data feeds and triggered the release of endorphins when injected in the body. The drug lab techs were taken by surprise. Evan and another Ranger gunned down one tech, the other tech lunged for cover and pulled a gun and began firing erratically. Evan moved to engage the other tech, when he felt a round pierce his torso, another round hit his shoulder blade. The Rangers had turned on him. A stray bullet hit the equipment and some chemicals ignited sending shrapnel into a Ranger. Evan, wounded, trained his weapon on another Ranger and sent two rounds through his cranium. Another Ranger attempted to skewer Evan with a bayonet, so he pivoted and sent another several rounds whizzing through the man’s heart. The fire spread and an explosion ripped through the far side of the gym; all the Rangers went down...Evan vanished. The surviving Rangers would go looking for Evan’s body, but all they would find was a trail of blood and a dead end.

  Rodrigo wondered what ever happened to that Ranger, Evan. He could have died, but something deeper told Rodrigo that they would cross paths again.

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  Rodrigo took a sip of his ‘top shelf’ cognac, leaning back on his workstation chair within the armored vehicle. He went over the ambush scene at the rail depot from earlier that day.

  “Those shots from that ridge, they were made from a mile away. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner. They never found his body.” Rodrigo was fitting the pieces together over cognac and a cigar.

  “It’s starting to make sense if the Apostates have Evan among their ranks. If there are others like him, that’s the reason why we can’t find them.” Rodrigo concluded.

  Rodrigo thought about L.O.V.E.s next moves in the West. He figured he would hand over operations to the Head Ranger. Frank would continue the search and when he located the Apostates Frank would contact the Inquisitor at which point he would fly back West and take part in the final assault. Rodrigo pinged the Head Ranger via the [Virtue-net] and summoned him to his armored vehicle. He refilled his glass with cognac and filled an additional glass for the Head Ranger. There was a knock on the outside of the armored vehicle. Rodrigo sent a signal for the hydraulic ramp to lower. Frank walked in.

  “Quite nice digs, Inquisitor. To what do I owe the honor? Frank asked as he eyed the furniture arrangement in the living quarters.

  “Frank, make yourself comfortable. Here, have some cognac,” Rodrigo insisted.

  “Thank you, sir. I’ve been so long in the field I can’t tell you the last time I’ve had fine liqueur!” Frank said excitedly. Frank was a tall man and had to hunch over to avoid the low overhead of the vehicle. Frank was pushing fifty and had been around the proverbial block in the Rangers. He had silver hair and a matching goatee. Frank had become one of the Head Rangers because he had taken part in every major engagement of the last thirty years. Pure merit. If Rodrigo had to come up with a list of the top three most dangerous Rangers ever he would have put himself in the top spot, Evan at number two, and Frank would take the third spot.

  “Frank, I invited you here because tomorrow I must leave this place and head back east for Regime business. However, this operation is far from over. In fact it is only picking up. We are close, very close to finding the Apostate’s hiding hole,” Rodrigo was half smiling at the thought of uncovering the Apostate’s base. He sipped his cognac.

  “Sir. That is great news. Those bastards need to pay for what they did here today,” Frank exclaimed, leaning back on his chair.

  “Yes, yes, well, I’m handing the reins of the operation over to you because you are my most capable Ranger. You will be receiving government reinforcements once you uncover the base. They will be military regulars, not L.O.V.E, but you will be the senior commander,” Rodrigo explained.

  “Sir, you know I am itching to take the degenerate pieces of shit apart,” Frank blurted.

  “Okay, I like enthusiasm. That’s great. But, it won’t be enough. I need to tell you a story about a Ranger; someone who once served under me. He was one of the finest Rangers on the field, the best damn shot in the outfit. He was also a skilled tracker, and a formidable hand-to-hand fighter. In fact, I was grooming him for the position you serve in today. But, there was a problem, a fatal flaw. This Ranger had an affinity for fornicating with his own sex. Now, in this organization that means death, as you know, so that’s what I sentenced him to. The only problem was when I sent four other Rangers to dispatch him; he killed two and wounded another. Now it was confirmed that he had been shot, twice, but they never recovered a body. So, this Ranger could very well be dead...but most likely he is here, killing more of my Rangers and fraternizing with the Apostates. If he is with their group as my instincts tell me, that would mean that they are a dangerous foe,” Rodrigo tried to emphasize the danger.

  “Sir, I had no idea. I will stay extra vigilant,” Frank reassured.

  “That’s good to hear Frank. I can’t stress how important it is for my directives to be followed. If you locate them you contact me and do not engage. Because, Frank, I’ll be blunt. I like you but if you disobey on this. I will come back here and kill you as brutally as I beat those two fuck-ups out in the yard,” Rodrigo leaned forward to emphasize his s
eriousness, then leaned back, stretched and took a sip of cognac.

  Frank sat silent for a moment and moved his gaze around anywhere but Rodrigo’s eyes. He set his glass down and stood up, with head held low, “Not to worry Rodrigo. I get the message.”

  “Good! Now leave me. I need to get some shut eye.”

  “Yes sir,” Frank replied and walked down the hydraulic ramp, and stepped onto the dirt, visibly shaken.

  Rodrigo thought that he had sufficiently made his point to Frank. He was tired of his underlings trying to steal the glory of taking down the Apostates. But, in truth Rodrigo didn’t give a shit about the group as a whole. He figured that Evan was the best they had to offer, and if he were killed they would fall apart like children without parental guidance. None of his subordinates would steal the honor of taking Evan that was reserved for him. Rodrigo needed closure. His mind wandered to thinking about the mole the resistance had planted within the Regime. Weeding out this inconvenience, that was his top priority now. He wondered who it could be. Whoever it was it had to be someone with resources; money, connections, or both. Could it be a Schrubb betraying the father to destabilize his Regime, then, carry out a coup? He wouldn’t put it passed Keir. Maybe it was his friend, the industrialist? Rodrigo knew for a fact it wasn’t the Reverend, after all he knew all the Reverend’s secrets. Rodrigo decided he better go to work on this problem, right after he got some sleep.

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  THE SHIP OF PRESIDENTS

  Private Alexander Burke was jarred awake to the sound of the morning klaxon blaring out. He groaned, pushed the covers away, and then, jumped off the top bunk to reach his footlocker. Sailors all around him were scrambling like ants to get themselves presentable and fit for their duties. Men double-timed it in every direction, throwing on clothes, thrusting feet into shoes and then bursting through their quarter’s hatchway, emerging from the bowels of the ship like said ants from the colony. They moved to their posts to relieve the skeletal, night crew. Sailors hurried to the engine room, to the bridge, to the weather deck, and to the gun batteries. The battleship had been steaming all night up the Southern East Coast of the United States of America. Their route had taken them from Long Beach, California, down through the Panama Canal, through Caribbean waters and finally backs to U.S. waterways.