The 5

Chapter Seven: Police State

WARNING:

THIS BOOK CONTAINS EXTREME VIOLENCE, GORE, SEXUAL CONTENT, DRUG ABUSE, AND LANGUAGE. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

"First it was Riley. Then Matteo, CJ, and Ella, all killed by Devin. Christopher, Jasmine, Nick, and Max slaughtered by the cultists. And now Leah, killed by Eden soldiers. I can't handle any more death. I can't lose anyone else." Kiefer said. He was sitting in Tyson's office, in the chair in front of Tyson's desk. It was the first time in a long time that Kiefer and Tyson had had a real conversation. "You didn't lose Emily. She's still here. She'll come around." Tyson told him. "I don't know... I fucked up so badly. I don't think she'll ever forgive me." Kiefer said. Tyson didn't really know what to say because Kiefer was probably right. Especially after how he had handled the breakup. Tyson had only heard his side of the story but he knew his brother well. Whatever happened must have been ten times worse than how Kiefer had described it. "God, I feel like I have to schedule a meeting just to talk to my own brother now. You're always so busy." Kiefer said, changing the subject. "Running a city is hard work. I don't have much down time anymore." Tyson agreed. "Still, it would be nice to see you more often." Kiefer added. "I wasn't under the impression that you wanted to see me." Tyson said skeptically. Kiefer hesitated a little. "I just- I don't know. You're my brother, of course I want to see you. But... fuck, ever since that day in the gulag it's like you've wanted nothing to do with me." He said. Tyson's calm expression hardened. "You got me sent into a death match against one of my closest friends. I know you were doing what you thought was right, but it took a while for me to forgive you for that." Tyson told him. "I don't need your forgiveness. You've always been the lucky one. It doesn't matter what I do, you always win and I always lose." Kiefer said gloomily. "This is exactly why Emily left you." Tyson said coldly, looking down at the papers on his desk. "What?" Kiefer seemed shocked. "This. You're fucking self pity bullshit. It's honestly just embarrassing to listen to." Tyson said meanly. He realized by Kiefer's sad expression that he had been to harsh. He was about to apologize but suddenly there was a bang coming from the streets below.

Tyson and Sasha stood side by side in Green's bedroom, looking down at the dead man on their floor. Blood pooled around his head, half of which was blown off, leaving nothing but bright red flesh, dangling muscle tendons, and shattered pieces of bone sticking out. Sasha was cradling Green in her arms, shushing him softly and swaying him back and forth as he continued to cry. "I saw him creeping around your yard. I'm sorry I let him get that close to the crib but I wanted to know what he was doing before I just shot him on sight." Naona explained. "It's okay. Thank you for protecting him." Tyson said gratefully. "So this man, he was from Eden?" Sasha asked. "I would assume so." Naona confirmed. Something was nagging at Tyson. This wasn't just a soldier. There was something off about this guy.

"I thought our city probably had a few spies in it. Phil would be a moron not to have any." Clayton told Tyson. He was sitting in his office as Tyson sat in the chair that used to belong to Clayton. It gave Clayton a surge of jealousy and resentment. "Of course, I never actually expected the spies to do anything to blow their cover. I always thought they'd just report back to Eden with any new information." He added. "Spies in our city... I hadn't even thought of that. Why don't we have any spies in Eden?" Tyson asked, contemplating what to do. "We do." Clayton said casually. "What?! We do?! Why didn't I know that? I'm the president!" Tyson said in surprise. "Oh yeah, those spies report directly to me, I payed them double their wage." Clayton explained. "What the fuck is wrong with you? This would be very valuable information for me to have!" Tyson scolded him angrily. "Meh, I didn't figure you were the spying type. I always saw you as more of a guns blazing, full speed ahead kind of guy." Clayton joked. Tyson was not amused. "Hiding something like this from your leader could be considered an act of treason. I could arrest you for this." He said, sounding less intimidating than he had intended. "Yeah, you could. But you're not going to. Your poker face needs some work." Clayton responded. Tyson wanted to say "Tell that to Cameron" but that would be a bad idea. Cameron's autopsy had recently been completed by The New Society's doctors, and just as Tyson had expected, they found mercury in his blood stream and blamed it on the toxic fumes from the mines he was overseeing. He was now buried in the city's cemetery, with a much bigger grave than average, which Tyson didn't like but the soldiers had insisted on it. "Look, I know what it's like to be in your shoes. You're under a lot of stress right now. We may be going to war and the citizens are looking to you for answers." Clayton said, sitting with his legs crossed, a smug expression on his face. "Just say whatever it is you want to say, Clayton." Tyson said irritably. "Well, if you really want to know..." Clayton began as if he wasn't planning on saying this the whole time "I think your best course of action would be to attack Eden head on, when they least expect it. Infiltrate their city and take them down before they have a chance to prepare." Tyson raised an eyebrow skeptically. "We'd be going in blind." Tyson said. "Well it just so happens that I have the blueprints of Eden's layout. We'd be able to devise a battle plan, make an exact route of how we would attack. They'd never see it coming." Clayton explained. Tyson considered this for a moment. "How did you get the blueprints?" He asked. "I never told you this because I didn't think it would be necessary information to have, but Romero and I go back quite a ways. See, originally, we were founding a city together. But we had many disagreements on how to run it... and then... when he did what he did, we parted ways. But I always kept a map of his part of the city, just in case." Clayton told him. Tyson's head was racing. This actually wasn't a bad idea. But he knew what was coming. "What do you want in exchange for the blueprints?" He asked. "I want my city back." Clayton responded. And there it was. Exactly what Tyson was expecting. "You think a city is worth a fucking map? What kind of a bribe is that?" Tyson scoffed. "Don't think of it as a bribe, think of it more as a barter. You don't need to run the city, you just need the militia. Which is why I would appoint you as my number one general, Cameron's old position. You'd have full control of the military. You would devise the attack on Eden and control the security of The New Society. Besides, if this whole plan backfired, it would be me the people blame. Not you. They already hate me. I'd be a perfect scapegoat." Clayton told him. Tyson stared down at his desk. He didn't know what to do. "How do I know you'll keep your word? You could just have me executed once the war ends." Tyson said, trying to talk himself out of this. "No I couldn't. Because the soldiers would be following your orders, not mine." Clayton explained. Tyson exhaled slowly. "Fine. You can have the city." Tyson said finally. Clayton smiled his famous smile. He knew he had won.