"Improper action. Mixed blood. Oh, we are lost." He coughed again, and the dripping fluid was tainted with blood. "Did the wise ones at Tulum have any idea what the proper action would be?"
Balaam nodded, and his breathing increased with the anticipation of the telling. Without warning, Chelte's head fell to the side. The momentum pulled his entire body onto the floor. Balaam leaned over and put his head on the old man's chest, his tears stinging his eyes. He heard no heartbeat.
He could no longer hold the pain and fatigue at bay, and his body sagged on top of Chelte. He might have stayed there for a long time, might even have been content to give up and die as the scavengers feasted outside. But he could not forget Chelte's command to return to the villages.
He lifted his head and stared at the shadows cast by the dim light of the torches. He rushed towards the hallway, banging his head on the cobbled stone wall. He could now see the outside light, but instead of calming him, it felt harsh and alien. He burst into the courtyard, his retinas burning from the shock. He knew he needed to leave, but he couldn't bring himself to take another step. He sagged to his knees. Before he slipped into unconsciousness, he had one final thought. Illumination was far more terrifying than darkness ever had been.
*
December 12, 2012: Washington D.C.
"OK, Madame President, I have hidden nuclear devices in several U.S. cities. Now we're going to play a little guessing game. You pick a city. If it doesn't have a nuke, you lose a city that does. For each minute you delay, you lose a member of Congress."
President Susan Richards, the first woman to hold that most distinguished office, stared into the cold brown eyes of her captor. She responded with the combination of directness and humor that had helped propel her to a role as Speaker of the House and then the Presidency.
"Do I get to choose which member?"
The words were barely out of her mouth when the blow landed, blood rushing to her left cheek and ear. She shook her head in pain, but kept her expression neutral. "You'd do well to consider the ramifications of beating the leader of the free world."
At this, his brown eyes sparkled with amusement. His laugh was the low growl of a predator, throaty and sustained. "My dear lady. I have kidnapped you from the protection of the tightest security on the planet. As we speak, the legislative branch of the American government is watching, powerless to stop me. Can you possibly imagine that I'm concerned by a bruise or two on that lovely face? By the way, my compliments to your plastic surgeon."
The video images, which news organizations around the world had now picked up, switched to a room that most Americans would have recognized: senators and representatives in the House Chamber, awaiting the arrival of the President of the United States to address a joint session of Congress. This spectacle, however, was unlike any the building had seen in the two centuries since the British had abandoned their last attempt at wresting back control of the colonies.
The gathered notables had just witnessed a captured president slapped in the face. The huge monitors spread throughout the room were a recent addition, and despite some grumbling about tradition at the time of their installation, all the Members now focused on them. House Speaker Reynolds Winthrop IV banged the gavel as if it was an extension of his arm, but nothing could subdue the outrage and panic at seeing this attack on the very bedrock of the Republic.
The video switched back to the man standing next to the President. He grinned and faced the camera that had carried the improbable scene to the horrified legislators, long dark locks flowing behind him. "Ladies and Gentleman, please settle down."
The mayhem in the Capitol building continued unabated, his words having little effect. Panic and anger had taken center stage. Then the huge speakers under the screen registered the sound of a firing gun, and all eyes turned to it.
"I trust I have your attention." The man now held a gun pointed at the President's head. "As it happens, I'm using blanks. But rest assured, what I'm about to unleash on your nation will be real. For those of you who favor smaller government, you're in luck. Very soon, there will be one fewer federal employee. And please, no one try to leave the building. You don't want to miss what comes next."
"Just in case you think the Secret Service will save your president, consider this. I've had her in my custody for over an hour and this is the first you've heard of it. I do believe they focused too much on the 'secret' part of their name while scrambling to do damage control."
The screens flickered for a few seconds, and the room once again erupted with a cacophony of shouts. The senior senator from Florida stepped to one of the microphones, his voice shaking. "This is unacceptable! Are we going to just sit here and take this? Get the head of the Secret Service in the room and–"
His remaining words were drowned out as two Representatives followed his lead and moved to other microphones in the room.