Chapter .49
“It was you all along, wasn’t it?” Paxton demanded. A new kind of fury entered his consciousness now.
“Of course it was.” Roberson replied. He walked behind his desk and pulled the large leather chair back.
“How could we be so foolish?”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Roberson replied. He took a seat in his chair. “We are just extremely proficient in what we do.”
Paxton let out another laugh as Roberson grinned back at him. The Consul looked up and dismissed the Agent. They exchanged salutes and he exited the office. Roberson spun his chair around and marveled at his beautiful city. The crowd of citizens below started to form in front of the building with more coming from off in the distance. Roberson smiled once more.
“Ah,” Roberson said as he spun his chair back to face Paxton. “Our guests are finally arriving.”
“Guests?”
“You are scheduled for public execution tonight. Those citizens down there that you’ve been terrorizing will be very pleased with the fine work we’ve done in capturing you. They cannot wait for you to answer for your crimes.”
Paxton looked up, pale faced. “My crimes? What about your crimes?”
“I’m…sorry, what crimes have I committed?”
“Genetic mutation…the deaths of God knows how many innocent women.”
Roberson stared directly into Paxton’s eyes. “To my recollection, nobody is innocent.”
“The hell is that supposed to mean?”
“All humans have their own sins, passed down to them from the generation before.”
Paxton grit his teeth. “Cut the shit. Why are you poisoning the water supply?”
“You’ve already spoken with Danny, I believe?”
“Yes.”
Roberson sighed. “Then he’s already explained it to you.”
“What’s your role in all this?”
“I’m the true…Consul of this city, if that’s what you want to call me. Williamson? That old fool is just another one of my pawns. He does exactly what I tell him to do.”
Paxton looked at Roberson’s smug face. He saw nothing but pure evil. He cursed himself for allowing the bastard in front of him to use his men for so long. It was all just one big game. Roberson created The Committee to trick Paxton and his team into doing the USR’s dirty work for them. Everything that he and his crew had done…it was all for nothing. Was this truly Paxton’s fate? In seeking liberty, before and after the USR, he was nothing but a pawn.
“The Committee…all lies…” Paxton mumbled. “We thought that you were going to take control once we’d won.”
Roberson chuckled. “Once you’d won? Not even close, my friend.”
“But…why?”
“You Americans…you had your freedom and look what you did with yourselves. Child pornography, murders, funding wars on false pretenses, corporate greed...killing yourselves with fast food, alcohol, and tobacco. We had to take back our rightful seats of power…before you animals destroyed everything.”
“So, you decided to take control over the individual?”
“Exactly.” Roberson said as he clapped his hands together. “Look at how low our crime rates are right now. Smoking related deaths? Non-existent now. Same goes for citizens being killed by drunken drivers. No more children being used. Hehe…no more terrorism…except for you.”
Paxton clinched his fists until his knuckles were white. “You’ve been using us all along, to tighten your grip on the population.”
“You…are wise beyond your years. But, you are not the only ones.”
“Huh?”
“When we told you and Robert about our plan…that we had Committees all across the nation, that was not a lie. We do have Committees everywhere, and they all are aiding resistance fighters, like yourself, in order to spread the fear and to remind people of why the US of A was so evil in the first place.”
Paxton clinched his fists. “Danny told me that you all eliminated all the resistance fighters and just used us for the media attention.”
“He was correct when he told you that. The real threat, the real resistance fighters all in this region have been eliminated. As well as across the nation. Every major city has a group of American loving terrorists that we, the USR, support to further our reach of control.”
“What about the individual?” Paxton demanded.
“What about it?”
“You can’t just take away someone’s freedoms…their liberties. And all for what?”
“Freedoms?!” Roberson said. It was his turn to get angry as he slammed his fist against the top of his desk. “Liberties?! The individual’s only goal is to pursue his own interests. No matter how filthy and decrepit. He will follow his pursuits until he dies. He cares nothing for the wellbeing of others. Now, we tell you what to do, what to believe. And, in that process, we save you. Don’t you see?”
“That’s bullshit.”
“Bullshit? Do you want me to explain what bullshit really is to you?”
“Give it a try.”
“You and that rag tag group of rebels that we set up for you. You were so easy to manipulate, John. Your blind patriotism and hatred for the evil USR clouded your thinking. You allowed your own beliefs, your own morals, to be swept aside in pursuit of your vendetta.”
“Everything I did,” Paxton said, his breathing heavy. “Was so that others could enjoy a way of life that I once did. A way of life that my father and grandfather died for. It doesn’t matter to me what it takes to it done.”
Roberson sprang up in his chair. “That way of thinking is exactly why we are needed.”
“I’ll tell you a little bullshit of my own.”
“What’s that?”
“How many women do you think are going to die over your little experiment with the water supply?” Paxton demanded.
“That is all beside the point.”
“How’s that?”
“A little collateral damage,” Roberson replied. “Even we can agree that it’s needed at times.”
“Well,” Paxton said. He looked away and worked on the handcuffs again. “It looks like your little experiment took a set back tonight.”
Roberson smirked. “You haven’t learned anything, have you?”
“What?”
“Do you really think, after all I just told you, that I would allow you to destroy our product unless I wanted you to?”
Paxton said nothing. Just keep him talking, he thought. Roberson was so self-righteous that he wouldn’t be smart enough to know when someone was playing dumb with him. Buy yourself some time…to get these Goddamn handcuffs undone. His brain scrambled for any trick he might have learned in the past about getting out of handcuffs. Once he got free, he would rush the bastard. Sure, the coward would trip an alarm. But, those Agents outside wouldn’t be fast enough to prevent the snap of their leaders neck by Paxton’s hands. Just keep focused…
“The hell are you talking about?” Paxton demanded.
“It is true that you’ve destroyed some of our drugs. But those were obsolete. We were going to throw them out anyway. Those men, they were to kill all of your comrades, bring you in alive, if possible. If all else failed, you and your friends would have committed another act of terrorism. Looks like we’re going to get the best of both worlds tonight, though.”
“You are so full of shit,” Paxton said.
“Am I? How many of my men have you killed…tortured, even?”
“That’s different. They are the enemy…you are the enemy to all those people outside, even if they are too blind to see it. What I do is called war. What you do is just plain, cold blooded murder.”
“We are at war at all times, Mr. Paxton. At war with ourselves, culture, human nature.”
Paxton looked straight down again, nothing but anger and frustration consumed him. He could not stand to listen to Roberson any longer. He co
uldn’t stand to listen to his justifications for the murder of innocents. And, at the same time, he grew tired of the Consul trying to point the finger at him and his team as being the true bad guys. He spit on the floor.
“What about storming people’s homes? Killing innocent women and children?”
“We had to root out the resistance.” Roberson replied.
“Ha. You knew it was us all along. You knew all along they weren’t involved and you still went through with it.”
“And, you can thank yourself for that. Your very existence made all of that possible. If you had only listened to me. I warned you time and time again in my Chamber to lay low. You forced my hand, John.”
“You expected me to just sit back and watch the USR, you, tear this city apart…I couldn’t live with myself if I did. I can’t just sit on my hands and watch it all burn.”
“You see,” Roberson said. He pointed his index finger. “That is exactly what I’ve been trying to explain to you. I pressed the right buttons, because I knew which ones to press.”
“How about this button?” Paxton asked.
The metal handcuffs crashed to the floor. Roberson shot up from his chair in shock. Paxton, ignoring the pain and fatigue, summoned something deep within. His heart pounded in anticipation as he pulled himself on top of the desk. The Consul pushed a red button beside his chair. He back pedaled to the wall. Paxton moved in fast. He gripped Roberson by the neck and squeezed. The old veteran found enjoyment in watching the most vile human being alive take his last breath. The neck snapped. The office doors flung open as Agents converged on him.
Paxton closed his eyes.