Intervention | NaNoWriMo 2018

Chapter 30

Lincoln and Marie sat in silence as the dust settled around them, the sound of the rumbling engine the only noise breaking apart the silence. The six armored vehicles in front of them remained immobile, their weapons trained directly at them. Yet, there was no movement in sight.

"What do we do?" Marie whispered.

"Maybe we can get through this," Lincoln said and nodded to the barricade. He looked at each vehicle for any sign of weakness or a gap that he could fit their vehicle through. There was enough space between each vehicle that they could easily fit through but it didn't take a genius to conclude that it was unlikely they would make it that far if they tried. In addition to each weapon currently pointed directly at them, heavy machine guns on top of each vehicle were aimed directly at them, each manned by a pair of soldiers. He knew they were flexible enough to spray them with fire regardless of the path they took.

"I hate to say it," he continued, "But I don't think we're going anywhere."

Marie looked at him with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. "You mean..." she started and pointed towards the vehicles.

Lincoln nodded and gripped the steering wheel harder. He could feel sweat form on his forehead and his heart had decided that the inside of his chest could use another pounding. It wasn't until a speaker from one of the armored vehicles came alive that he realized he had been holding his breath.
"You have ten seconds to step out of the vehicle or we will open fire," a firm voice broadcast. Lincoln and Marie looked at each other for a fraction of a second. He nodded in silence and they opened their doors at the same time, then stepped out.
"Walk forward twenty steps," the voice commanded. They obeyed and left the relative safety of their vehicle behind them. "On your knees, hands in the air," the voice continued.
Once on their knees, a dozen soldiers emerged from the armored vehicle and approached them with their weapons raised. Lincoln and Marie were both surrounded and handcuffed, then pulled to their feet.
"We finally meet," a voice from beyond the ring of soldiers announced as two soldiers stepped aside to allow a uniformed man with thinning white hair into the ring. Lincoln immediate recognized him.
"Hastings," he muttered and shook his head.
Hastings grinned and performed an exaggerated bow. "The one and only." The grin disappeared from his face as he took a step closer to Lincoln and grabbed his shirt in an iron grip. "You thought you could make a run for it, huh?" Hastings said, his face mere inches from Lincoln's. "I admit, it was a good effort. You had us running around there for a bit." He let go of Lincoln and pushed him backwards. "Of course, your efforts were destined to fail. Did you really think you'd be able to get away from me, to shirk your responsibility towards your people? Hm?"

"That's exactly what I'm doing," Lincoln countered, immediately regretting even opening his mouth. Arguing with someone like Hastings was unlikely to be a productive conversation. He had already made up his mind. Besides, he would follow orders regardless.
Hastings laughed. "That's exactly what you're doing? Ha! Tell me, Lincoln, how is it that this little escapade of yours has anything to do with responsibility."
"You wouldn't understand."
"There's is nothing to understand," Hastings said slowly, enunciating every word. "One thing I know for sure. You're time on the run is over. It's time to face the consequences of your disobedience."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Marie shouted. "You take orders, you have no clue what actually is going on around you." Lincoln, eyebrows raised, turned and looked at Marie. Hastings stepped closer to Marie and opened his mouth to say something when Marie spit in his face. Hastings froze, his eyes still on Marie, then slapped her across the face before Marie had a chance to react. She let out a shriek and fell to the ground, her hands around her face. Hastings straightened up and wiped his face with his sleeve.
"If it wasn't for directive from above, I'd have you shot right now," he growled. "We're done here. Pack'em up." Hastings turned and walked out of the circle of men and back towards one of the armored vehicles. Two men picked Marie up and pushed her towards one of the vehicles. Two strong hands pulled Lincoln along behind her.
They were unceremoniously loaded into the rear of one of the armored vehicles, their handcuffs shackled to a chain and an armed guard took a seat across from them, his eyes on them at all times. Lincoln could hear engines come alive around them and shortly thereafter, they started moving. As best as Lincoln could tell, a few other members of the barricade left the group before their vehicle did which likely meant they were traveling in single file. Not that it mattered. They were stuck anyway and Lincoln didn't see a way out of their predicament anytime soon.
It wasn't long before the increasing temperature inside the vehicle began to take its toll. Lincoln felt his eyelids droop and Marie made herself comfortable against his shoulder and promptly fell asleep, a barely audible snore rising from the vicinity of her mouth. He couldn't help but smile. A glance at the guard across from them revealed a pair of alert eyes, unaffected by the bouncing ride and the heat. Before long, Lincoln gave up fighting against the sleep that desperately wanted to envelope him and allowed himself to drift into an uneasy sleep where masked men with flamethrowers chased him around ruins of a city he didn't recognize.
He was relieved of his nightmares when their transport came to a halt. The guard across from them was still in the same position as before, finger by the trigger, weapon ready. Marie slowly came to as Lincoln yawned and tried to stretch, his back and neck aching from sitting in an uncomfortable position for too long.
"Where are we?" Marie said with a grunt as she stretched her arms upwards.
"No idea," Lincoln said.
"Be quiet," the guard barked, his trigger finger twitching.
They remained quiet until the back doors opened and a rush of fresh air filled the compartment. The guard across from them jumped out and took a position on the right side of the opening, his eyes on them at all times. Behind the vehicle, a set of double doors had been opened that led into a building. Lincoln didn't recognize it but he figured it was their final destination.
Colonel Hastings turned a corner in the hallway inside the building and approached the vehicle with outstretched arms and smirk on his face. "Welcome to you new home, my friends," he said and laughed. "I trust your ride wasn't too uncomfortable? Please, follow me, I will take you to your quarters," he continued with a bow and an exaggerated gesture towards the building entrance. The soldiers around the vehicle snickered but otherwise maintained composure as the prisoners exited the armored vehicle and walked towards the doors of the building.
Lincoln craned his neck as they shuffled towards the building. He couldn't see much because of the roof that covered the entrance area to the building. The walls stretched as far as he could see on either side of the door, curving slightly out of sight. A few windows were visible on each side of the door but otherwise, the walls were bare, as were the ground immediately next to the building. No sign of grass or other vegetation, just compacted dirt that didn't appear to have been disturbed in a long time. Where are we?
"Less gawking, more walking," a voice behind Lincoln said with a laugh and then planted a palm in his back and pushed him towards the door. The doors were shut behind them and they walked straight into a corridor that led further into the building. It branched of to the left almost immediately after they passed through the door and Lincoln noticed another set of secured doors further up ahead.
"What is this place?" he asked.
There was no response, just another shove from behind towards the door. Lincoln's brain was working overtime trying to find some other way out of their predicament but as they approached the double-doors, he knew they were running out of options. The doors opened automatically, as if they sense their approach or someone knew they were coming. A small camera dome in the corner next to the door told Lincoln everything he needed to know. Someone was watching and they were paying attention.
The doors slammed closed behind them and they found themselves in front of an elevator. Hastings pressed the button and then locked his eyes on them as they waited in silence. Lincoln wanted to ask a million questions but he had a feeling Hastings wasn't in the mood for answering any of them.
The elevator ride was uneventful. Lincoln noted that they descended six floors into the ground. With no labels, he could only guess what was kept so far below the ground and whatever their destination six floor down was, it was unlikely to be good. His fears were confirmed when the elevator doors opened and another set of heavily armed guards greeted them.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Hastings announced louder than necessary, "Meet your hosts. They will take you to your cells. If you would, please follow them as directed." He paused as Lincoln and Marie exited. "No funny business," Hastings growled.
"Where are we?" Lincoln asked over his shoulder as one of the guards grabbed his arm.
Hastings laughed. "Oh, my apologies, I'm being a terrible host. Welcome to transfer station Zebra, your gateway to orbit. You're on your way home, my friend." Hastings spit the last words with disgust, then closed the elevator doors.
"What does he mean by the gateway to orbit? Does it mean what I think it means?" Marie asked tentatively as the guards led them away.
"No talking," the guard snapped and yanked her forward.
They stopped outside a steel door, one of many that lined both sides of the corridor. "In here," the other guard barked and pushed Lincoln inside. Marie followed on her own accord. The guards removed their restraints and exited the cell, then slammed the door shut. As their footsteps receded, Lincoln and Marie heard the audible click of the door lock engaging. They were trapped.

~~~

Their escape cut off, Lincoln and Marie seemingly go from cell to cell. Now, in the hand of Hastings, what do you think is next?