Do No Evil (Aeon Trilogy Book 2)

Chapter 11

William Johnson, formerly Lieutenant Colonel Johnson in the United States Joint Special Operations Command, now Brigadier Johnson of the Provisional Separatist Defense Forces, caught himself staring off into space again.

It wasn't the first time he had become distracted since his defection. He shook his head and looked back at the personnel roster he was supposed to be organizing. He was sitting in the makeshift office he'd moved into just two days ago after arriving at the chaotically growing Separatist capital in the outskirts of San Antonio. It was late at night, and he was falling behind in his work schedule. He rubbed his temples with his palms.

His holophone buzzed and he stirred himself and hit the answer key. Before him he saw the image of Reverend Cruz. He could see strain in her face.

"How are you finding your new surroundings, Willy?"

He sat up straighter. "Fine, ma'am. It's good to see you active again."

She pressed her lips together tightly. "I have spent enough time mourning. It's time to look to the future again. And to do that, I must make some difficult decisions."

"How can I help you, Reverend?"

"How long will it take you to reach my apartment? I want to discuss something in private."

"It's a half mile, Reverend. I'll bike over in a couple of minutes."

Seven minutes later, after pedaling for a few minutes and then getting past two cordons of bodyguards, Willy was standing in front of Cruz' desk in a small study within her apartment.

As Willy looked at Reverend Cruz, he realized that beneath her calm exterior, she was exhausted. She had almost shrunken into her seat, as if she wished she were not there.

His eyes were drawn to a painting behind her. It showed an old bearded man, collapsed in exhaustion on a stone outcropping and barely strong enough to sit upright. Two younger men held his arms aloft, as armies fought a terrible battle around them. The expression of fatigue on the older man's face, and the way his frail body's posture had collapsed, looked exactly like Cruz looked now.

Willy's study of the painting was interrupted by Cruz' voice. "Tell me, Willy, do you ever question your choice to join this cause?"

Willy paused several seconds before responding. "I have no regrets about turning my back on the Federal government. The oath I took was to protect the Constitution, not the government. And the government did nothing as the Aeons grew into the greatest threat the nation has faced in a century."

He paused to check Cruz' reaction. Her expression was open, thoughtful. So he continued. "I had a duty to oppose such a government. All enemies, foreign and domestic, my oath had specified."

"So what will you do if it comes to war?"

This wasn't a topic Willy liked to ponder. "I hope it doesn't come to that. I hope we can join together with the good politicians and officials who remain in a bloodless revolution that replaces the corrupt Washington establishment with a reformed system. We can write a revised Constitution that preserves the ideals of the nation's founders while fixing the mistakes they made in setting their checks and balances."

Cruz was looking at him skeptically.

He continued. "This will require you and the President to overcome your mutual distrust, to ignore the clamor for war, and to work for peace. Reverend, this is the only way the American people can weather the coming crisis. That is the only way we can defeat Laura Mayer's Aeons."

"You speak of the remaining good politicians and officials. Are there any? Many in my movement would have me believe otherwise."

"There are still plenty of good people left, Reverend. General Jaeger, for one. He was the first to see the threat represented by the Aeons, and he risked his career to set up a program to oppose them."