Black Dawn

Chapters 1-5
Chapters 6-10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Held at gunpoint, Adam is walking the long walk to the cavern where Derek is expecting him. He knows he's walking to a death trap unarmed and unprepared. His brother didn't drag him into this to have a family reunion. Adam is aware that under normal circumstances he could attempt something and escape the gunpoint, but the weapon is aimed at him by an elite sniper. Actual fear of death has long since left Adam, its been years since he's felt fear for his life. But he fears he won't be able to stop Derek from doing what he's about to do.

At the same time Adam is almost anxious to finally watch his brother dead in the eye.

With "dead" hopefully not being the operative word.

Maria being safe and on her way out of this makes Adam a bit more calm. No matter what happens, Adam trusts that she's smart enough to keep herself safe. Adam also trusts Bruce to know what to do.

They finally arrive at a huge door, with Mona inserting a code at a keypad next to it.

The door opens slowly, and Adam gets a look at what's inside.

What is appearing in front of him is a big cavern with structures running up the walls and connecting to a giant sized hatch on the roof. Directly below the hatch is an almost equal sized missile, resting on a platform some few feets above the ground. Next to the missile is what looks like the launching mechanisms. Cutting edge technology.

Adam has no time to pay attention to any of it, since what gains his attention exclusively is the man standing on the platform with his back turned to Adam.

Adam stares for what seems like hours at the back of the man he recognizes as his brother. Of course was aware of this, but actually seeing Derek, after so long, standing there leaves Adam with a complicated set of emotions running through his mind.

Adam's moment of bewilderment and disorientation is quickly interrupted by Mona's voice from behind him.

"I brought him to you, D."

Derek turns around and the two brothers finally lock eyes. Derek is at the other end of the cavern, several dozens of feet away, but they stare straight at each other. No words are spoken.

Derek very slowly and methodically starts making his way down from the platform, towards Adam.

Adam tries to remain calm, and his ability to do so is usually superb, much higher than that of an average human, but this is a rare instance where he can clearly feel his heart race and palms sweat. Other than Maria being in danger, Adam can't remember the last time he felt anything like it.

Derek moves closer, and as he takes more steps, he reaches to his gun, pointing it directly at Adam's forehead, before finally stopping a few feet away from him, with the gun ready to be unloaded. After a moment of silence, Derek wants to be left alone with his brother.

"Mona. Leave us."

Mona is not sure if this is smart.

"D, are you sure about this?"

"Yes. Me and Adam are going to have a little family time. Me and him."

Mona somewhat reluctantly walks away, leaving Derek alone with Adam.

Derek is measuring up Adam from head to toe, finding it equally as hard to believe he's seeing his brother as Adam is.

"Long time no see, brother."

"Well, you won. Here I am. So, now what? You're just gonna kill me?"

"In time, brother dear. In time."

"But I'm not the only reason. Why are you doing this, Derek? What happened to you?"

"What happened to me? What happened to you? You used to stand for something. Then you turned your back on yourself, and everything you stood for."

"I never stood for murder."

"Ha! What is it that you've been doing here? Hm?"

Adam doesn't come up with an instant reply, and Derek continues.

"It didn't have to be this way, you know. You could have been a part of this."

"A part of what?"

"A revolution. True freedom. The likes of which this country has not seen at any time during our existence."

"Stop being overly dramatic and get to the point. Why are you doing this? That missile. It carries the nerve agent, right? Launching it in the middle of Washington would be enough to contaminate the entire state. You're not doing this for sport."

"No. No, this is not a sport. Do you think it was a coincidence that our mutual friend Lloyd Heenan suffered a heart attack the moment he uttered the word of a man, Simon Silverman?"

Adam knows it was no coincidence, Maria was right all along.

"Ever heard that name, Adam? I bet you haven't. Not many have. Even I had never heard of the name before until today. But I had been searching for him for a long time. A very long time, Adam."

"Who is Silverman?"

"It's not so much who he is. It's who he works for."

"The Order, right?"

"Yes."

"What are they?"

"The Order are the truth behind this country. The very 'democracy' that runs this country - goes through them. They make the decisions, they run the show. The president, politicians, bureaucrats. The media. All just mere puppets for the Order to play with."

"Sounds like a cliché from a bad novel."

"You know why that is, by the way? Do you know why that is such a ridiculous cliché? A trope from a novel, or a movie. Because it was chosen to be so. By them. The oldest trick in the book."

"And they're doing this how, exactly?"

"With what the call - the PWS."

"PWS?"

"The Post War System."

"The Post War.. System?"

"The story of your enslavement, brother dear. It's the most advanced form of slavery there is. See, when the Post War era was declared, it wasn't the culmination of genuine efforts to bring in world peace. It was, in fact, the culmination of The Order's life's work, starting in the early 1900s, we're not really sure when, exactly. The latest phase of their plan starting some 21 years ago."*

"Let me guess. 9/11."

"Exactly. By inserting it into people's mind that security is more important than freedom, people became willing to give up their rights in exchange for security. That was the beginning of the Post War - and the Post War System."

"What? A giant computer that runs the world?"

"No, not a single computer. A distributed database, all over the country, that contains tools to supervise and manipulate digital information. News sites, social media algorithms, commercials. Memes. Social conduct. All manufactured and fed to the people, creating whatever narrative The Order sees fit. Remember the Internet Safety Act from a few years back?"

"Yeah."

"A clever ploy to forever change how the internet works. And the people ate it all up. You latch security and nationalistic jargon onto anything and the people will eat it all up."

"So, you're after them? Like a true patriot?"

"I'm after their leaders. The six members of the Supreme Guild. And Silverman is finally the key I've been looking for. The Order has no central base, but their influence is all over Washington. The EMP bomb is not nearly enough to take down the whole of PWS, but it will paralyze them enough, as well as the crooks in Washington. They know this, and my wish was for them to send one of their men here to kill me, and have him lead me to them. But alas, that never happened. However, after Heenan spilled the beans, I have what I need to move forward."

"Why the nerve gas? You're looking to slaughter thousands, if not millions of innocent people. They have nothing to do with this."

"Oh, but that far from the truth, brother dear! You know as well as I do that no one is innocent. Why do you think The Order has all this power? Why, Adam? Because the people grant them that. Willing slaves, only because they're too lazy to even realize what's going on. Besides, the people are what The Order needs, most of all."

"So, you're doing this wield your sword? To show your might? Just to make them afraid in order to get them to show themselves?"

"That's right!"

"You're insane."

"Am I? It's a small price to pay for freedom."

"I find it ironic."

"Find what ironic?"

"That despite all this, you're talking about acceptable loss just like a rotten bureaucrat. You're no better than they are, there's never such a thing as acceptable loss, not ever!"

"The people have chosen everything they have coming to them, Adam! Every last one of them who take part in the charade every four years, every last one of them. They've given this country up for an imaginary vote that they can masturbate themselves to sleep with every night. They deserve everything they get, Adam. Everything! I will start a revolution. Free from The Order, free from masters, free from oppression. And speaking of acceptable loss, ever wondered why you were, in fact, acceptable loss five years ago?"

"Hm?"

"That's right. The government you sacrificed everything for turned on you, after the kill order was put on you - by them. And you know why? You were becoming.. too independent. Most importantly, the legend of the rebellious and heroic Adam Black was becoming too much for them to keep on leash. They can control digital information, but the spoken word is still something they don't have. Our last remnant of freedom. So, you needed to be taken care of. And with you no longer around, it was easy to manipulate the narrative to paint you as a war criminal."

All this became personal for Adam, since if what Derek is saying is true, The Order stole his entire life from him, sending him to exile. Derek is not through yet, however.

"And you're not the first member of our family that they did this to."

"You mean..?"

"Yes. Simon Silverman killed our father. He was never a traitor to this country. Just like you weren't. And just like you, the Legend of the great AJ Black, the first man in history to receive codename Black, was becoming too dangerous."

Adam can sympathize with Derek's motives, but he has gone way too far off the deep end, and has to be stopped. The amount of information he has had to take in is too much to process, and the news about their father goes way over his head. Instead, he attempts to make Derek nervous, to create a tweak in his armor.

"I hate to inform you, but I fear your revolution has been a failure. Kev and Maria are on their way out of here, and Kev has the data drive you seemed to be keen to protect. Whatever is on that drive was probably important to all this. Too bad it's on its way to Bruce right now."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that."

"What's supposed to mean?"

"You didn't find it suspicious at all that instead of just killing Kev when we captured him, we tortured him?"

Adam gets nervous.

"I don't torture for sport, Adam. I wanted information. Information about Silverman."

"Why would Kev know anything about that?"

"Don't be a fool, Adam. Kev got his orders directly from him. And you left Maria alone with him. She's not alive anymore, Adam."

The information hits Adam like a stab right in the heart. Derek's right. He's right, and Adam knows it. He was stupid to trust Maria to Kevin. If Maria is dead, it's all Adam's fault, and there's no way he could live with himself.

Derek prepares the pull the trigger.

"It's true that you caused a set back on my plans by handing the data drive to Kev. It contains vital information about the members of the Supreme Guild, as well as other things I need, but - I'll find a way. Now it's time for you to die, brother."