Crashland – Chapter 8

They stood there for a second, him and Kurzweil. Both men seemed to be waiting for the other to talk, or something else to break the silence. It was the kind of strained stillness where they were both thinking the same thing. They knew what needed to be said, but neither particularly wanted to.

In time, Kurzweil stood up. He gave one last look to Holden, then Jacobs. He snorted, then turned to leave. In those few gestures, the two of them had experienced an entire conversation.

Okay, been given a clock, Jacobs thought. By the time he returned, Kurzweil expected him to have an answer, one way or another. If their guest wasn’t going to keep, then the same rules applied as before. They would have to move on, just the four of them…

Jacobs checked the various pockets on his vest. He found what he was looking for over his right breast and pulled it free. He still had some from their trip to the East, the label said Zhong Nan Hai. He took the one that stood out between his lips and pulled it clear. A quick search of his other pockets located the torch. He popped it on and lit the Hai’s end.

He took several puffs to steady his nerves. He was reminded momentarily of the time they had all been in that commune outside of Lagos, chasing down the suspected members of the Krakh Nachala cell. That was the last time he had been given a clock, asked to get answers from an unwilling suspect. He remembered how well that one had gone as well. After hours of “questioning”, both chose to take the easy way out and had bit down on their dentants. Within seconds, their bodies became saturated with incendus and turned into piles of unidentifiable ash.

That outcome was one he would like not to repeat ever again. But the mistake there was clear. He had taken the pressure he was under and transferred it to his subject. Though he suspected Holden wasn’t carrying any dentums or other suicide implants, the basic outcome would be same. Push too hard, too fast, and the subject would break and be useless.

Walking over to Holden, he placed the smoldering Hais between his lips and sat down beside him. Prying it loose to take another puff, he held the pack in front of Holden face and offered him one. A sob was all Holden could manage for a reply.

“Don’t smoke huh? Yeah, not too long ago, it’d cost you an arm and a leg in fines just to light up one of these.” He looked up at the roof and waved his hand around vaguely. “Guessing enforcement isn’t much of a concern now though, is it? Hell, the only law left up there is ‘don’t get killed’. Everything else is… pretty pointless.”

Holden sputtered but didn’t reply. He couldn’t tell if he was getting through to him just yet. Their last interaction had buried him under several layers of distress. Finding his way through them was going to be tough. Perhaps a little moderation of his earlier, direct approach was in order.

“I think I owe you an apology,” he said. “It was my hope to be honest with you. To let you know what was really going on. I never meant to deprive you of hope. Whatever else you planned to do up there, finding your wife and family is a noble goal.”

Holden sniffled, but he was sure he detected some trace of movement from his yes. He looked closer…

“I’m also sorry if I put you on your guard. Truth is, we also know who you really are, William Holden.” That got a reaction, a slight cock of the head as Holden stiffened. “Don’t worry, we’re not planning on hurting you, sir. We wanted to know who you were  because… we need your help. And if you help us, maybe we can help you.”

A few more sniffles, then a muffled word. “How?”

Jacobs took another long haul of the cigarette and tossed it. The small flame disappeared, tiny embers breaking loose as it tumbled across the platform and into the dark.

“Well, even if we can’t expect any help from our old friends in the middle of town, there have still got to be emergency services operating in other districts. New York, Jersey, DC, Boston…  Where did you say she was last?”

Holden sniffled and answered promptly. “Albany.”

Jacobs nodded. Not quite on their route, but odds were good the chaos was more confined up that way. It would take several days travelling by foot. One look at the dead train down the length of the tunnel was all the confirmation he needed to know that the mag tubes were officially out of operation.

“That’s a bit of good luck there, sir. Once this is over, we can head up that way, reconnoiter and look for them. Given its size, it’ll be harder for people to get lost in that district. Hell, there might even be some kind of services going on up there.”

“You think so?” said Holden hopefully. Jacobs nodded ambivalently.

“No guarantees, but odds of emergency personnel getting mobbed drop substantially once you step outside of these here areas. I can remember back in the days of my defense training, everyone always said how volatile these places would be in the event of an attack, so many people crammed so close together.”

He looked over at Holden, saw him starting at him now. The look in his eyes was reassuring, like some measure of hope was growing there. He was glad for that, and for the fact that he didn’t have to lie to give it to him. Like he said, no guarantees, but the odds were better. It was all anyone could count on at this point.

The expression quickly changed to one of confusion. “Who are you, anyway?”

Jacobs smiled. Yes, he hadn’t exactly been sparing on all the hints. First there was the medkit he’d used to patch him up, then he had managed to let that bit about his training slip. Since they already knew his identity and were asking for his help, perhaps it was time he divulge the small matter of who they were.

“Before we get into that, I need to know… can you help us, William? A man in your position was on intimate terms with the world as we knew it. Pretty soon, that technical expertise is going to come in pretty handy if we want to rebuild. You might say we were pretty fortunate to have found you. In the first place we were just planning on punishing the people who did this.” He waved upwards again, once more indicating the crashed lands that lay above. All the rubble, all the dead machinery and lost people…

“But when we found you, we realized the stakes had gotten that much higher. In a way, you helped us to see to tomorrow, what needed to be done once we’d settled up with those responsible.”

Holden looked to be processing all that, but eventually gave up and shook his head. Yes, he was still dealing with some rather heavy emotions, and all of Jacobs cryptic words were probably not helping.

“Who… what… what are you –”

Jacobs chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. “Maybe I should just show you. You probably wouldn’t believe me otherwise. You feel up for a short walk?”

Jacobs was already on his feet and extending his hand. Holden looked down at his stomach and shook his head.

“I know, it’s against doc’s orders, but I promise it’ll be worth it. Plus we can’t really move him right now. He’d never forgive us.”

Holden frowned again. It would be a pain, for sure. But he had demanded answers. A little walk seemed like a small sacrifice to pay for a clear answer instead of all the mysterious hints this strange man was offering.

“Fine,” he said, taking Jacobs hand and pulling.

“Easy there,” Jacobs replied, moving in closer and using his other hand to pull him up. The entire process was agonizing and Holden didn’t feel too steady once he was up, but Jacobs was there to lend a stable shoulder. Step by step, they began making their way down the opposite end of the corridor, away from the exit and the only source lights, into the dark…