Deep Black Road: The Head of the Snake

Chapter 53

"My lord," said the man in the simple black uniform to the Right Hand-who, in addition to the standard uniform, wore a black cap-"all the retraining centres in the jurisdiction of the Hegemony have been found empty, and the trainees gone. We were not in time." He bowed. "I humbly apologize."

"Accepted. Contact all states in the African Union to see if any centres have not yet been attacked."

"Yes, my lord."

"If any are found, you know what you must do."

"Yes, my lord. At once." He put his right hand out, palm forward, and then snatched it back into a fist-the salute of the Hand of God.

#

"Huh," said Ricky as he and Leila flew over Mauritania, "there sure aren't a lot of camps around here."

"That's because, like in the Far East, other religions have been more popular on this continent," replied Philip from where he and Suzanne were, in Egypt. "We've got a couple of camps left here, and you've still got Algeria and Tunisia. Let's meet up at that camp near Tripoli in Libya."

#

Bennett Harrington selected a name on his virtual screen, and said, "Hey Jeff," to his head of research when he appeared.

"Hi, Bennett," Jeff responded. "What's up?"

"I've got a personal project I want you to handle for me."

"Okay, no problem. Fill me in."

"Find a way to track down my daughter, Suzanne."

"That's the robot with her memories, right?"

"Right. Dr. Sheppard, who built her, has no idea how to do it; and the CDA's been looking for her and her friends for months now, with no luck. See if you can do better."

"An interesting challenge," said Jeff. "I'll get right on it."

#

"The camp's just ahead," Philip radioed to Suzanne as they approached Tripoli.

"Hey, look," she answered. "What's that?"

Philip zoomed his vision. "A military convoy; and it looks like it's headed towards our target. Tell Ricky the enemy's finally caught up with us."

"Okay," Suzanne said. "It took them long enough. What are we going to do about it?"

"Go black, then stop it and check it out. Follow me." He went into a dive as he overrode the robot drivers below; and the vehicles settled to a halt as he and Suzanne landed in front of them.

A tall man in black stepped out of the lead vehicle, and said in Arabic-which Philip had downloaded in Egypt-"You must be the robots we were told to expect. We are prepared to deal with you."

He waved his hand; and the vehicle behind him opened up, clam-shell-like, revealing ...

"A ray gun!" Suzanne said.

"I see it!" Ricky said to her; and a sudden swoosh overhead made all the people in the convoy glance up.

"Now!" Philip said, and he and Suzanne sprayed the vehicles at the front with sparks.

Ricky and Leila, who had just flown over, turned back sharply and did the same to the rear vehicles.

"Thanks, and nice timing," said Philip as they landed beside him.

"That was too close," Suzanne said as they started walking towards the vehicles. "Who are these guys anyway? I don't recognize the uniform."

"The Hand of God," Philip answered as he took a closer look at the plasma gun. "The emperor's secret police, which means they're taking us very seriously."

"What do you mean?" asked Leila.

"The secret police are their best. They only send them out to do what the regular military can't."

Ricky looked towards the retraining camp. "I suppose the guards over there'll be all ready for us now."

"Yup," said Philip, and picked up one of the unconscious soldiers in the gun vehicle. "Here, help me clear these guys out of here."

Gathering up a young woman, Ricky asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Destroy this thing."

Once the soldiers were removed, Philip directed the vehicle to go a safe distance away from the convoy and destroy the gun.

"Now," he said, "let's tackle the camp head on, since they already know we're coming."

As they descended towards the courtyard, however, they saw a crowd of people gathered there.

"Pull up!" Philip said. "And follow me!"

They gathered in front of the gate to the sound of guns fired into the air and taunts from the other side.

"What's up?" said Suzanne.

"The cowards are using the Followers as human shields." Philip turned to Ricky. "How many guards are in there?"

Ricky connected with the Sentinel and said, "Thirty-two, and they're all out in the yard. And there's no sign of a plasma gun."

"Okay, good. This is going to be a pain, but we have to take them out one at a time."

"You better count me out," said Leila. "Baby needs to feed. Sorry."

"That's okay. It's got to be done. Ricky, can you give us the exact locations of the guards?"

"Sure."

"Then back we go!"

The three of them leaped over the gate; and gunfire erupted again.

Ricky, who had landed, radioed, "Fly! Take them out from above with the sparks, before they end up killing the Followers!"

"But we'll get some of the Followers ourselves!" radioed Suzanne.

"Can't be helped," responded Philip.

Shortly after, they landed again; and Suzanne said to one of the women who hadn't been hit by their sparks, "I'm sorry, but we couldn't help it."

The woman nodded. "I know. The enemy is heartless. What shall we do now?"

Ricky said, "I suppose we can fly all of you into Tripoli; but these guys ..." He indicated the unconscious Followers. "... won't be able to do anything for a couple of hours."

"Hold on," said Philip. "After we reprogram the vehicles outside, they can take them. There should be enough room if they squeeze a little; and it'll be a lot quicker."

The woman stood erect. "We will do that; and then we will die."

"Huh?" said Ricky.

She smiled gently. "My friend, there is little love for the Anointed One or his Followers in this land. When we enter Tripoli and begin to proclaim Jesus to the people, they will kill us; but our blood, united with his, will heal our land; so do not mourn for us."

"I get it. God's revenge."

She nodded. "Just so."

Suzanne said to Ricky over their connection, "Why aren't they going to live their trust in God like all the others did?"

"I don't know. Maybe that's what they see God asking them to do."

#

Half an hour later, as the repurposed vehicles headed down the dusty road, Leila said, "What about these guys?" indicating the numerous soldiers of the Hand that they had removed from those vehicles, who were starting to come to.

"When they're ready," Philip said, "they can call their friends. We don't owe them anything."

"You know," said Suzanne, "I can't help feeling a little sorry for those Followers. I mean, they're going to their deaths!"

"Yeah," Ricky said, "but remember-just being alive is a fatal condition. At least they get to choose to go out in a way that means something."

"I suppose. I hope my death means as much."

"Me too. Now, let's go home."