Chapter 47: Diogo

"Commander!"
I turn my gaze from the chaos surrounding the fallen section of wall toward an officer striding quickly toward me. I've been supervising the wall cleanup and rebuild. We have to work quickly since a hole in the wall will attract predators into the city. The noise of the explosion itself has already drawn several curious Primitives, pulling them from wherever they were hiding out. I have men on the other side of the wall, taking them out as they approach.
"What is it?" I ask impatiently, flicking my eyes back to the mess in front of us. Cars, concrete slabs and twisted metal beams from buildings have been flung in every direction from where they were hurled away from the wall. It'll take months to rebuild to the height and strength that it was. But work must begin immediately. We don't have a minute to spare in the protection of our Sanctuary.
"Garrett has been found dead."
I freeze the officer with my gaze. "Where?" I demand in a sharp voice, hesitating before I ask, "And was my wife with him?"
The man shifts uncomfortably but meets my gaze head on. "He was found in sector one, several blocks away from the Tower, at Hastings and Veranda. Your wife is missing."
"I want her found," I bark without hesitation. "Close all checkpoints and grab anyone that even looks remotely like the Desert Wren. Have someone on my place in case she shows up."
"Already done," he says. "Anything else, Commander?" he asks.
"Get Jorje Cruz to supervise the rebuild and security," I snap, turning on my heel and striding away from the wall. Though I know the officer will do as I say, I still speak into my radio, "Jorje, you're needed on the wall. Now."
I leapt into my vehicle and tear away from the site of the wall destruction. As I drive, I bring the radio back up to my lips. "Stryker."
"Here." His reply is immediate.
"Taran is missing, I need you to have your men watching the wall. Orders are to detain, not shoot on sight." I'd given the brutal order after the wall attack, to discourage any citizens from using the weakness in the wall to their advantage. Now it occurs to me that Taran might be doing exactly that. Using the explosion to escort illegals into the city. It's exactly something she would do.
Ten minutes later, as I kneel next to the body of her security guard, I realize that no matter how passionate Taran is for the rebel cause, she would never do this. He was shot in the throat by someone trying to get to Taran. They might've even created the wall explosion as distraction in order to grab her during the chaos. I'm content in the knowledge that Garrett gave his life trying to protect her. I know my man. I know all my men. They'd follow my orders until the end.
I stand and leave the corpse of a good man; someone who gave his life to protect my wife.
Worry gnaws at my gut. I can't help but think that Taran's with Gunther. The one and only conversation I'd had with him doesn't give me confidence that he'd treat her well if she resists his efforts to reintegrate her into the rebellion. She's well-loved by the lower class, a symbol of hope and unity. He would've realized since her disappearance that he needs her. There's little doubt in my mind that he's the one who has her now.
I don't entertain the possibility that she might've gone willingly, because that would mean that she knew about the plot to bring down the wall and she kept it from me. I can't have that on my mind as I search for her. The need to ferret out any that have betrayed our city and kill them is strong. I don't know what I'll do if my wife is caught up in this rebel plot.
The thought of her delicate body standing bravely on a dais about to be hung or beheaded isn't something I can contemplate. Yet, if the Desert Wren is part of this sabotage, she'll have to be punished, along with her fellow rebels. The city residents will demand their heads, including hers.
"Commander," the radio crackles with Jorje's voice on my personal frequency.
"Speak," I growl into the radio.
"As per orders, we're sweeping up all known rebels and illegals."
"Good, start the interrogations immediately. I want to know what happened today." I pause, thinking, and then say, "I want an immediate curfew, get these fucking people off the streets. We can't move around properly while they're out here.
"Yes, Commander. Consider it done."
Seconds after we finish the call, sirens go off around the city emitting three sharp bursts, falling silent for a few beats and then sounding again. This goes on for a minute before silence reigns once more. Panicked voices sound as people rush home, fearful of being caught after curfew and arrested. Everyone knows the sound of the curfew siren. We trained them well.
Jorje always does his job to the best of his ability, following my orders to the letter. He's the best for a reason. As much as he's able to love and show compassion for his wife, he's one evil son-of-a-bitch in the interrogation room. If any of his detainees have information on Taran, or the explosion, we'll know by the end of the day.
After giving instructions to the police on what to do with Garrett's body, I head back toward my jeep. Just as I'm climbing in my radio goes off again, this time with Stryker's voice. "Commander, I need you on the wall. Eastern guard tower."
"On my way."
With the streets clear of people, I'm able to make it to the Eastern checkpoint in minutes. I park my jeep at the base of the wall and jump out. One of the regular guards strides toward me, meeting me halfway to the lift.
"He's at the top, waiting for you."
I nod sharply and get into the lift without a word. He pushes the buzzer, which tells the top guard the elevator is on its way. I wait impatiently, gripping the edge of the cage as I'm transported up at a painfully slow pace. Smoke from the explosion is beginning to settle across the city, only the Western wall still holds dust in the air surrounding the demolition site. From this height I'm able to see the extent of the damage.
Rage rushes through me once more and I grit my teeth to keep my cool. Anger won't bring my city back into order. It won't bring my wife home safely. And it won't allow me to dispense well deserved justice. The way I'm feeling, if I get my hands on the people responsible for this mess, I will murder them with my bare hands. And I don't want to - they deserve a much more prolonged drawn out death.
"Commander." Stryker greets me as I reach the top, holding the cage door open.
I don't speak, just follow him to the stairs taking us the rest of the way up to the guard tower. I swing up through the trap door and into the hut, stepping to the side to give Stryker room to follow. We stand on each side of the built-in machine gun, staring out across the desert. We're so high up, I have a clear view right to the base of the Tucson and Catalina mountain ranges. Without speaking he turns to me and hands me a set of binoculars then points into the distance toward the closer Tucson range.
I hold them up to my face, focusing them. It takes me a minute to see what he's pointing out, but I finally catch the movement. A few miles from the base of the wall a couple are running at top speed toward the foothills. Once more I adjust the binoculars, taking a closer look at the people. I can't make out much more than a tallish person wearing a hat and a much smaller person by his side, her bright auburn hair streaming in the sunlight like a beacon. Hair the exact same shade as Taran's.
"Check the base of the Tucson range," Stryker directs me.
I lift the binoculars and point them straight at the foothills. It takes some scanning before I see what his eagle eyes have already picked out. A dust cloud left behind from a vehicle, or likely more than one given the size of the cloud, disappearing into an outcrop of rocks at the base of the foothills.
"Not sure if they climbed the wall, but the people running toward those rocks definitely came from the city. Too much chaos after the explosion for us to monitor everything and everyone."
"The explosion was a distraction," I growl. "To get Taran safely out of the city."
"She ain't safe out there," he says.
He's right. I sweep the binoculars across the landscape. Primitives are everywhere, running toward the site of the explosion, their faces twisted in manic glee as they head toward the sound of humans. They're skin and clothes hang off them in tatters. For the moment, there are no massive hordes, no groups larger than ten. My people have done a good job of culling any that get too near the city, but that explosion will have echoed through the mountains surrounding our Sanctuary, bringing all the Primitives out in the open, making it incredibly dangerous for any humans outside the city.
"Motherfucker," I snarl tightening my grip, watching helplessly as several Primitives change direction and head straight for Taran and her companion. The Primitives are several miles off, but closing in, moving much faster than her.
"You won't have time to get to ‘er before they do. I doubt whoever's in the car will even make it out of the foothills before the zombies take them out. Better hope those men know how to take on a horde attack, because she's a sitting duck out there."
I throw the binoculars toward Stryker and hurl myself down the ladder, yelling up at him, "Get me a clear path through the city gates. I want them open and ready. I want you on my tail with backup. Get someone else up here."
"Commander," he snaps and reaches for his radio as I descend out of sight.
As I take the agonizingly slow lift back down to the ground I'm forced to contemplate the idea that there was one thing I didn't see in the binoculars. Taran wasn't resisting. She was running full-tilt across the desert, the willing companion of a man I have no doubt is her ex-husband. I'm forced to consider the idea that she may be complicit in the bombing of the Western wall and the death of her guard.
Unable to hold in my frustration any longer, I slam my fist against the cage wall, rocking the lift as it lowers back into a city on the brink of destruction.