Part 12: Jericho - Part 10

19th of February 2078 - New Bern, Jake, and Robert:

By using one of the few working cars in town, it took them a few hours to get to New Bern, but as they got to the borders of the town, they were met with a roadblock. As they got to the roadblock and rolled down their windows, one of the guards there asked, “Proof of residence.”

“Sorry, we’re not from here.” Jake informed the guard.

“Sorry, you’re gonna need to turn this car around, proceed back the way you came.” the guard informed Jake.

“I’m here to see my brother. His name is Eric Green.” Jake told the man.

“You’re not hearing me, sir. No one’s allowed in.” the guard told him.

“No, you’re not hearing me. I’ve come here to see him, to make sure that he’s alright.” Jake informed the guard, not backing down from this. “He came here as part of the deal that Constantino made with Jericho.”

But as he said this though, the guard signalled the other guards to surround the car. Jake didn’t seem to notice this, as when he began to say, “Now, get me-” but Robert stopped him by saying, “Hey, hey, hey, Jake.”

Upon this warning, Jake pulled his gun out and put it on his lap, the tip of the gun against the door. Ready to shoot should he be forced to. “We don’t want to fight, I just wanna talk to Phil Constantino and make sure my brother is okay.”

“Get out of the car.” said the guard as he pointed his shotgun at Jake.

“Hell no.” said Jake, not wanting to give up his protection.

“Put your hands on the dashboard.” the guard yelled at them, here he got his gun ready to fire if he had to, “Show me your hands.”

That’s when a deputy came along and said, “That’s Johnston Green’s son. Let them through. I’ll escort them in to see Sheriff Constantino.” This was Deputy Perkins, a close friend of Phil Constantino.

With that the guard called out to his men, “Okay, let them though.” and so, they began to move the cars that were blocking the word so that Jake could drive through. With that, the deputy led them into town, where they saw that it was a lot worse than it was in Jericho. Kids were out and about in thick clothing, begging for food and drink, and their town all looked as if it was attacked, and it had guards all over the place. Jake had to wonder though, why would these kids be out in the cold when Kaidan sent heating crystals to keep many of the families warm during this time of the long winter? It didn’t make sense. Sure, they might be low on food, but the kids should be inside, in the warmth, and have the adults do the begging and hunting for food and water. He had to wonder what was going on here. But he knew if he wanted to see his brother, Jake couldn’t go bull-headed and start making problems because he didn’t like what he was seeing.

“What the hell happened here?” asked Robert, as they wanted for Phil Constantino. They were forced to wait outside in the cold.

“If I had to guess, Ravenwood.” Jake said thoughtfully. That’s when Constantino came out of the town hall, upon Constantino coming to them, Jake said a bit hostilely, “My brother’s missing.” He was worried for his brother and had a feeling that Constantino was behind it. But even if he wasn’t, Constantino meant to protect him and the others, so if something happened to his brother, part of the blame goes with Constantino.

“I know.” admitted Constantino “I’ve got patrols out looking for him.”

“So, no leads?” asked Robert.

“No,” Constantino said simply, “I’m sorry, I wish there was more that I could do.”

“You’re the sheriff and the mayor.” Jake scoffed at the thought that he couldn’t do more, “You can do more.” He knew that if the roles were revised, Kaidan would do much more to find New Bern’s missing people.

“I’m trying Jake, really I am.” Constantino informed the other man, “You’re sure that Eric even wants to be found?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Jake, “He has a new-born daughter at home.”

“I know that,” said Constantino, “but the rumours that I heard was that he was having a hard time with things. I don’t know what, but I was informed that he was thinking of staying or at least going to another town.”

That didn’t sound like Eric, sure he had a lot on his friend, but he wouldn’t leave his daughter behind, even if he was having a hard time picking who he wanted to be with. “I don’t know about these rumours you’re talking about, but I believe he’ll be fine once he returns home and be with his daughter.”

“You know what? Let’s face the facts.” stated Deputy Perkins, “He might have been attacked. Could be lying in a ditch somewhere.”

“What did you say?” Jake asked as he lunged at the deputy,

“Take it easy.” this came from Constantino, “Jake, Jake, Jake.” and this came from Robert, both of them were pulling Jake back, away from the deputy.

“The fact is, the folks around here aren’t too fond of Jericho these days.” explained Constantino, as they worked away from the deputy. “That’s why I sent the workers home, when your brother went missing, I got worried about their safety.”

“Why?” asked Robert, wondering why Constantino would be worried about those from Jericho.

“There have been a lot of rumours flying around about your town.” explained Constantino.

“What are people saying?” asked Robert.

“They’re mad that Jericho didn’t warn us about Ravenwood.” explained Constantino, “They think you’re gonna renege on your part of the deal.”

“You would be wrong,” Jake told Constantino, “once Kaidan learned about the risk of Ravenwood, he aired it over the radio, to warn people about them. But with the radiation missing up the radio waves, Kaidan knew that not everyone would hear this because of that, but he did it anyway, hoping enough people would hear it so that it gets around.”

“I understand this, but we’ve had it rough here, okay?” explained Constantino, “They’re just looking for someone to blame.”

“Where was Eric last seen?” asked Robert.

“At the factory at the end of his shift a few days ago.” Deputy Perkins informed them. “Look, we’re just trying to help. What is it that you want that we’re not already giving?”

“I wanna talk to Heather Lisinski.” Jake told them, already knowing that she too had disappeared, but he wanted to see what they would do. Would they tell him and Robert the truth, or would they try to cover it up?

“Hmm, she should be at the factory,” explained the deputy, “she wanted to stay here to make sure that the windmills were done properly before she headed home. I’ll go and have a look.”

“And whilst he is doing that, I show you around.” explained Constantino.

Both Jake and Robert give a look before agreeing to do this, knowing that something was wrong and they are trying to cover it all up. But the problem was, what were they trying to cover up and were Eric and Heather dead or not. For now, all they could do was continue the ruse and pretend they didn’t know everything. So whilst Perkins went to the factory, Constantino showed them around.

o0OoO0o

20th of February 2078 - New Bern:

Unfortunately, things went downhill from there. When they got to the factory, Heather’s friend Ted told them that they left that morning, he said that Heather had to make Eric go home. So, giving them his car, the two left that day and so should be on their way home. Then before Jake or Robert could ask more about it, they had to leave, as there were a few machines that were on fire. So Constantino had Deputy Perkins lead the two out of town seeing how they have no reason to be there now.

On the way out, Jake informed Robert that Ted slipped him a note, saying he wanted to meet Jake at his home in the trailer park, so that they could talk, and that he should come alone. So instead of returning to Jericho and letting Kaidan know what was going on, they meet up with Ted, so that they could have more information to give to the commander.

But as they sneak into the trailer park, they found that Deputy Perkins was keeping an eye on Ted, realizing that something was up with the man. It would seem that Deputy Perkins forced Ted to lie about seeing Heather and Eric, as the truth was that Ted hadn’t seen them for a few days. Seeing that someone seemed to know something, Robert used his skills from the CIA to get the information from Deputy Perkins.

Deputy Perkins informed them that the machines weren’t on but overheated thanks to Heather and Eric sabotaging the machines and ran away, something that Jake couldn’t understand, seeing how they needed the machines for the windmills to be made. After some threats, when asked what really was in the factory that they would sabotage it, the deputy said he didn’t know, but Constantino did.

So, to find out what Heather and Eric were risking their lives to sabotage, Robert suggested that they should find out so they could report it. Something that Jake agreed with. So, after telling Ted to hide somewhere that only they knew about, Robert handcuffed Perkins to some pipes and then he and Jake went to the factory.

What they found shocked them, it would seem as if they had plans for Jericho, they had a map where they sliced the areas out for certain people. It would seem as if Deputy Perkins knew more than he was letting on, as he had one of the biggest parts of the town. Wondering what New Bern knew that they didn’t, they decided to search the factory even more. In doing so, they found that New Bern had created a munitions factory and that they were creating mortar rounds.

Now, Robert wanted to return to town and warn everyone, as he knew that this town was getting ready for war with their town. Jake on the other hand, wanted to stop it here and now and find his brother. But in his rush to stop things, he got caught by the Spectres that were guarding the area. He was placed in a cell where he found his brother.

Eric explained that he saw the map and thought it strange, and when he talked to Heather about his suspicions about New Bern. But Heather didn’t believe that her old hometown would do such a thing, but that changed when she snuck into the factory and found the mortar rounds. When Jake asked if Heather was dead, Eric admitted she wasn’t, but she wished that she was. As some of the female prisoners were used for fun by some of the guards, seeing how there’s no law to stop them from doing so, Constantino didn’t stop it as he wanted to keep his men happy. So, it was better that it happens to the prisoners from outside the town than using the females from the town. All these prisoners were kept in another room, away from the men.

Jake would have liked nothing more but to go on the rampage, he had feelings for Heather and hated to think that Heather had gone through this. But he knew he was outnumbered and if he did, even with his abilities, he would be out for the count in no time. For now, he had to bide his time and when the time was right, deal with as many as he could before making their escape.

For the next few hours, the three of them sat there, wondering what was going to happen next. Then as night arrives, Deputy Perkins came along and takes them out of the cells and leads them outside, where they meet up with Heather. Heather was glad to see Jake there. But couldn’t do much, with being held back. They listened as Constantino blamed them for what happened to the town, and that with the townspeople’s help, he’ll make sure that it’ll never happen again. That’s when those from Jericho knew that Constantino was doing his best to create a war between the two towns so that he could take over their town.

If Jake had to guess, this was something that Constantino wanted for a while, seeing how they had land to grow food, and a settler to protect them from the cold. It’s more than likely that Constantino made a story up to the town where he told everyone that Jericho wasn’t willing to help them, to give them settler, so instead, they should take it by force. If he was going so far to blame them for this, there must be a few who are unwilling to go to war with Jericho. So, he had been looking for a reason to do so, and now he had one. Now it was only a matter of time before it happens.

After this, all three were taken to the cells in the town hall, this time, Heather stayed with them. She hugged Jake, not letting him go after what she had been through for the last two days. Jake vowed to himself that should he ever find out and meet the people who had fun with Heather, as she told him that they called it, then there’ll be a few less people in this world.

Then for the next hour, Constantino integrated Jake trying to find out who Jake’s friend was and where he was, but Jake wasn’t going to tell them that. For one, he didn’t know himself, but more than likely was trying to find a way to save his sorry ass, if not, than on his way back to Jericho to get back up. Jake warned Constantino that it would get back to Jericho that he was making bombs, there was no way to stop it, and when it does, Kaidan would deal with him. But Constantino didn’t seem all that bothered about it, thinking that having Spectres in his town and helping him, he would be fine.

As the three waited to see what Constantino had planned next for them, a familiar face was brought into the cell. It was a female who came to Jericho pretending to be a soldier. Jake learned that her name was Maggie Mullen and that after Jericho took their tanks from them, the group she was in slowly broke up as they couldn’t keep up with the con and so broke up over time. The few people who were with her came to this town a few weeks ago, but they were turned away. But needing somewhere warm to stay for a while, they snuck into the town. But they were caught and put into these cells.

Heather didn’t trust Maggie, as she didn’t see her in the other rooms where women from outside the town were kept, instead, she was able to stay in the normal cells. The only women who were able to stay in these cells were those who weren’t that good looking or had some sort of illness. From the rumours that she heard about people disappearing after being fed some news about them, it was down to one person, but no one knew for sure who.

But now seeing Maggie and her looks, Heather suspected she was down to her that these people disappeared. Having a dark look, realizing that she might have been caught and had to choose between lying or telling the truth. After some thought, she knew that she had only one option, telling the truth and hoping they’ll help her out of it. So, she explained that yes she did inform Constantino on certain people, but this was to prevent the guards from using her like a toy like they did with Heather and the other women. If it meant others had to disappear so that she wasn’t used as a toy, she was fine with that.

She told them that since the world ended, she was all about surviving by any means possible, even if it meant to stick by those stronger than her, or if she could be of use to others like giving Constantino information to keep herself safe, so be it. Heather didn’t like this, but if she didn’t have people like Jake, his parents and those close to her, she feared she might have become the same way.

But when Maggie suggested that they should tell her who Jake’s friend was, she could tell Constantino this and in turn get herself free and in turn she could help free them. As she explained it, she was looking for something big that would allow her to escape this place, as she feared that with how she was getting less and less information, she would become one of the guards’ toys. So, she wanted to escape before this happened.

But Heather stopped Jake from saying anything, as they couldn’t trust her, all they knew, she could be lying about this. Right now, Jake agreed with Heather, they couldn’t risk sharing information to anyone. But that idea didn’t last, as both Jake and Eric were being tortured. Not only for information about who Jake was with and where he could be, but to gain information about their town, what defences they have and what weapons that they had.

Neither of them talked, but the problem was Eric, he was rough as it was, having very little food and drink. So he was hurt even more and Jake wasn’t sure how much more he could take. When morning came and Eric was taken away where Jake heard his brother screaming, he realized that he had no other option but to trust Maggie, by telling her about Robert and where he might be. As if she could get to him, with her help, Robert could get them out of here. That’s as long as she didn’t betray them, but he didn’t have a lot of options, he needed to get his brother and Heather out of here fast. So all he could do was hope he wasn’t making a mistake.

Maggie returned a few hours later as Eric and Jake were in the interview room with Constantino and Deputy Perkins, where they were threatening Eric and Jake’s lives, to get answers about if they had other spies in town. Jake couldn’t believe that Constantino would think this, or maybe he didn’t, but was making it so that the others did so that he could give the town a reason to hate Jericho.

At the same time, Heather learned that Maggie turned on her group pretty fast when they first got caught. The con-woman admitted that this was true, but she only did so because they had turned on her. That they tried to make her into their personal toy, like the guards did here with some of the women here. So to prevent that and do what she had to, to survive, she turned them in and help Constantino. Not like that worked out as she hoped, so once again, she had to do what it takes to survive.

Not long after these things happened, there was a huge explosion. For Jake and Eric, this made it so that Constantino ordered Deputy Perkins to take them elsewhere, somewhere safe until he learned what was going on. But once outside, Robert came along and started to shoot the guards, allowing Eric and Jake the chance to escape. Thanks to this, a gun showdown began, bullets were flying around. Thankfully for Jake, he turned his body into a golden metal that protected from most of the bullets, but he hid as too many could kill him.

As the gun fight raged on, Heather and Maggie came out of the town hall. Seeing this, Jake ran over to them as Maggie called out to warn him. Thankfully, Jake’s golden armour protected both himself and Heather and Maggie, that’s when a yellow pickup truck, where Jake saw his father and Kaidan. They gave him and the other cover, so that they could get to the truck. Once in the truck, they drove off as fast as possible as Robert went elsewhere.

o0OoO0o

20th of February 2078 - Jericho - earlier that morning:

Kaidan was in the mayor’s office in the underground settlement, where he, Johnston Green, Anna May and Alice were having a meeting with Russell. “So, Russell, you wanted to talk to me?”

“You have got to let me go back to New Bern and tell them that you support this salt mine deal?” Russell explained. The deal he was talking about was with Dale Turner and Skylar Stevens, as Skylar earned 51% of the salt mine because her parents more than likely died in New York because of the Great War. It would seem that Constantino was after more than they agreed upon. Seeing how Kaidan wasn’t willing to listen to this, he went on to say, “Listen Commander, we need to work together whilst we still can.” seeing the looks of worry, that he was threatening them, he went on to explain. “Listen, things in New Bern are bad. When they learn that we’re being held hostage.”

“What are you saying Russell?” asked Johnston, worried about Eric. He didn’t know about Jake going there to get Eric.

“You’ve got people there.” Russell warned them, “You should bring them home.”

“Eric.” Johnston told Kaidan, “Eric’s still there.”

“I know that Johnston,” the commander told the former mayor, “yesterday, when we learned he hadn’t returned, I sent Jake and Robert to get him and return him home.”

“Johnston, you need to know something.” Russell informed the older man, “Eric hasn’t been seen for a few days.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” Johnston asked the new mayor.

“I wanted them to gather information about what’s going on before we made any movement.” explained Kaidan, “I sent Jake and Robert there to get Eric, but if they weren’t able to, then they were meant to gather information so we can make a plan to save them. I didn’t want to enter the town without knowing everything. The problem is that they haven’t contacted him yet.”