NORAD Black Site Sierra 7, CO
Tabby followed David from the big hole, the thing he called his superweapon, to another interior chamber in the rocky bunker. When she walked into the large room, she immediately became embarrassed by her tight-fitting attire. There were lots of young men standing around a raised platform in the middle of a gymnasium. She skidded to a stop before going in. “What is this place?”
David didn’t stop. “Speech time. Then I’ll show you how I deal with those who refuse to follow our rules.”
She gathered her chestnut brown hair, so the long locks were once again evenly draped over her chest. It seemed ridiculous to the extreme, and she was thankful to have the skirt, but Mom always taught her about modesty. If she had to suffer the torture of walking into such a room, she would do it on her own terms. She jogged to catch up, hating how David was her guide, but not sure where else to go.
The white-haired man went up a few steps and indicated she should join him on the platform. He picked up a microphone and tapped it to be sure it was on. “Men. Thank you for gathering on such short notice, but I’m positive you will want to be a part of this.” He motioned her over. “This is my new friend…”
You wish.
“Tabitha Breeze. Tabitha has come to us from the old America. She’s the last of them, but I hope to make her one of us in no time. However, while I have you men here, I want to share a milestone we’re about to reach.”
The audience stared at David as if he was a preacher and they were sinners in his flock. She could maybe see a slight appeal to the man, minus the eyes, but not the over-the-top adoration she saw on the faces of the young men in the audience. Ironically, she thought, none of them were openly looking at her. The whole affair made no sense.
“When all our pieces are in position in the European strike zone, we can eliminate the next largest threat to our mission. Currently, the nations of the European Union are too busy trying to expel the remaining Americans, so they’ve not had any thoughts of coming here to stop us. Once they’re gone, it’s on to the Russians, the Chinese, and the rest of them.” He lifted his hands, which caused the men to clap and chant.
“Free America! Free America! Free the world!”
She got a better look at them. They wore black jumpsuits, like many of the others, but they had three white stripes down the sides of their chests, and white stripes on the cuffs of their sleeves. Looking at them again, she found a passing resemblance to priests, though they couldn’t be religious.
David lowered his hands and the applause ceased.
“My fellow members of the Reboot Legion, this invasion would not have been possible without your dedication, hard work, and allegiance to the law. My new friend here—” He gestured and turned to face her, which seemingly gave the onlookers the green light to gawk at her outfit. She fought the urge to blush; the young men were not anyone she could cede an inch to. They were her natural enemies. “—has come to get a better understanding of our code of justice. Lucky for her, it’s fairly simple.”
He cleared his throat and spoke louder. “What is the penalty for rape?”
“Death,” they replied as one.
It made her uncomfortable he would lead with that particular crime, but it was strangely comforting to hear what awaited anyone who tried.
“And what is the penalty for doing drugs?”
“Death,” they repeated.
While death seemed appropriate for rape, she had some trouble getting behind the same penalty for doing drugs. It wasn’t due to any fondness for them, but she knew friends and family who’d tried them here or there. Mom even admitted to smoking some of the wacky tobacco when she was in college.
“And what is the penalty for stealing food?”
“Death.”
The list went on and on. She almost told David she got the picture, but she preferred to stay off his radar. Maybe the death penalty was reserved for young women who interrupted him at meetings.
“And finally, what is the penalty for murder?”
She almost chanted with them. “Death!”
“That’s right,” David agreed. “Let it begin,” he added, cryptically motioning toward someone she couldn’t see.
On stage, a black curtain pulled back at both ends, revealing a giant cube. Tabby noticed a line of men stood quietly next to it, as if it was a well-trafficked port-o-let. It was impossible to know who they were; they all wore black hoods.
“My friends, the first and last thing on the agenda for this meeting is the sentencing of our traitor. This man—”
The hood of the first person in the line was ripped off. She recognized him as the crazy guy from the jail. The sooty-skinned, black-eyed, beat-up man searching for his friend Poppy. It seemed poetic the rude prisoner would be so reviled by David.
“—is responsible for the death of six legionnaires in Folsom, California. We are a new nation built on total adherence to laws. The law for murder such as what he committed says he must be put to death. But, as you know, I abhor violence—”
Tabby couldn’t stop the laugh from bubbling up from her belly. If she found it ironic they’d taken a crazy guy and lined him against the wall to die, it was absolutely hilarious David would say what he did. She snorted noisily as she tried to temper the laugh.
David’s eyes turned to fireballs of hatred for half a second. She’d pissed him off in front of his little friends. Nine times out of ten, she’d tell him to stuff it, but all the talk about murder made her reconsider. She bowed her head in pretend penitence.
He took a long moment, probably considering what to do with her. Eventually,
