WEBVTT - Chapter Seventeen 0:00:02.160 --> 0:00:08.320 Chapter seventeen, Roland. Roland smelled the execution before it started. 0:00:08.760 --> 0:00:11.040 There'd been a lot of strong smells in downtown Plano 0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:14.440 when he arrived. Gunpowder and sour, fierce wet, the acrid 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:17.320 stink of anxiety, and the warm, wet odors of grief 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:20.920 and confusion. He'd smelled the stale reek of military rations, 0:00:21.000 --> 0:00:24.160 the sharp pang of anemia, and the boiling hot testosterone 0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:27.080 that wafted off the martyrs like a jet stream. But 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:29.880 a half hour into his time downtown, something else had 0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:33.440 drifted over the packed masses of refugees and pilgrims and militiamen. 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:36.000 It was hard to define. A bit of tension, a 0:00:36.000 --> 0:00:39.320 bit of anticipation. The odor was faint enough to suggest 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:42.920 something unconscious, a collective emotion, the aggregate scent of a 0:00:42.920 --> 0:00:45.760 crowd of people who weren't consciously aware of how they felt. 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:50.080 There was no neurotransmitter, no pheromone he could identify in particular. 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:53.239 This scent was more elusive. He was only able to 0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:56.520 lock it down through the memory fragments that triggered col 0:00:56.560 --> 0:00:59.000 gray sky, a biting chill in the air. Hundreds of 0:00:59.000 --> 0:01:02.720 men and women bundled, clustered around barrel fires, everyone talking, 0:01:02.800 --> 0:01:05.720 excitement in their voices, Anxiety on the air mingled with 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:09.200 the gun oil in anticipation something was about to happen. 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:13.200 A few seconds later, the scent of anxious anticipation started 0:01:13.240 --> 0:01:16.240 to rise. Roland heard the deep bouncing thrumb of heavy 0:01:16.319 --> 0:01:19.280 rubber wheels on pavement. His hind brain tied the sound 0:01:19.319 --> 0:01:23.200 to a particular species of obsolete armored personnel carrier originally 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:27.400 manufactured in Bulgaria. After following its route for several seconds, 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:29.840 his hind brain guessed the APC was bound for the 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:33.360 main square. Roland spent the next few minutes jockeying for 0:01:33.400 --> 0:01:36.160 a good position close to the gallows. He wasn't sure 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:38.600 that's where the convoy was headed. It seemed like a 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:41.119 good guess, though, and he was quickly proven right. When 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:43.240 the APC pulled up to a stop just a hundred 0:01:43.240 --> 0:01:46.120 feet away. The crowd stopped and gawked as the heavy 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:49.280 doors slid open. Soldiers in full body armor stepped out, 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:51.960 dragging six men and women and honest to God, manacles 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:55.400 and chains out into the dying light. The captives were 0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:57.840 all l stf. Roland didn't even have to make an 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:00.680 educated guess on that one. The in the kingdom had 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:03.560 made sure to dress them in their tattered and bloodstained uniforms. 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:07.480 They were all of them emaciated and broken looking. The 0:02:07.520 --> 0:02:10.640 evidence of torture was so clear that Roland's enhanced eyes 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:15.320 weren't even necessary. The captives had broken, bleeding fingernails, black eyes, 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:17.799 painful limps, and feet that looked like they could barely 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:20.760 stand to touch the ground. One of the martyrs, a 0:02:20.840 --> 0:02:23.600 tall man wearing a red beret instead of a combat helmet, 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:26.040 strode ahead of the group. He had a voice hamp 0:02:26.040 --> 0:02:27.920 in one hand. He raised the other up in the 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:30.440 air in a prayerful gesture that was matched by most 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:34.440 of the crowd. Brothers and sisters. The martyr's voice boomed, today, 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:37.040 the Lord and his loyal soldiers have delivered unto you. 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:40.560 Are blessing it. The crowd tightened around Roland. He could 0:02:40.600 --> 0:02:43.280 see here feel as people rushed out from the cafes 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:46.120 and shops to watch. The fear and excitement was so 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:48.880 thick in the air. Roland was sure even unmodified humans 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:52.160 could have sensed it. Here. We have six prisoners from 0:02:52.160 --> 0:02:55.480 the s DF, The martyr began. These men and women 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:58.160 were all captured in the last week. Rather than accept 0:02:58.240 --> 0:03:02.440 their defeat, they chose to fight insurgents against the heavenly Kingdom. 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:05.400 God and his martyrs are merciful, but these sinners have 0:03:05.560 --> 0:03:08.320 spat on that mercy. Now it is our privilege to 0:03:08.400 --> 0:03:11.840 execute upon them the judgment written this honor. Have all 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:16.160 his saints praise he the Lord. A ragged cheer went 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:18.919 up from the crowd. Many of the assembled sounded less 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:21.760 than enthusiastic, at least to Roland's ears, but there were 0:03:21.760 --> 0:03:24.480 still dozens and dozens of voices full of reckless hate. 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:27.600 The prisoners marched forward with their escort, ever nearer to 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:31.080 the gallows. Roland's ear tingled, and he sensed Manny's presence 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:33.760 out in the street. Now the kids smelled afraid. With 0:03:33.840 --> 0:03:38.120 a faint, fading tinge of phrmonal arousal, Roland backed away 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:40.360 and escaped the main press of the crowd. In a 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:42.360 few seconds he was behind Manny, and he put a 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:44.880 hand on the fixer's back. The young man jumped and 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:48.240 then shot rolland a furious look the hell. Manny caught 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:50.600 himself and instead pointed up to the line of doomed 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:53.960 men and women. Oh I know that. Hey, a girl 0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:56.320 ran up to them. She smelled scared too, but the 0:03:56.360 --> 0:03:59.000 scent was much deeper on her, sunken into her skin. 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:02.000 She'd been scared for quite some time. She seemed to 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:05.920 know Manny, and he definitely knew her Sasha. Manny said, 0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:08.800 I'm sorry, I just needed to. He paused, shook his head, 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:11.720 and then put a hand on Roland's shoulder. This is 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:15.240 my comrade, Martyr Aaron. We fled here together once the 0:04:15.360 --> 0:04:19.760 SDF retreated from Farmer's branch. Aaron, This is Sasha. It's 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:22.280 good to meet you, Martyr Aaron, she said, and flashed 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:25.440 him an anxious smile. I'm so glad God's grace has 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:28.680 brought us all together. Oh yeah, Roland said, in his 0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:31.600 most convincing voice. God so so good. I'm really just 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:35.440 he gestured towards the gallows. I'm a psych to see this. 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:40.080 Oh look crossed over, her face discussed mixed with building anxiety. 0:04:40.440 --> 0:04:42.120 She was dressed to play the part of the good 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:44.680 Christian woman, her hair done up in a tasteful bun, 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:47.360 her face unadorned by makeup, her sleeves long, and her 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:50.599 clothing baggy. But her scent didn't lie, It suggested she 0:04:50.680 --> 0:04:53.440 was pretty far from all in on this whole heavenly 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:58.360 Kingdom thing. You're not excited to see God's justice, Roland asked. 0:04:59.120 --> 0:05:02.240 The young woman frowned and shook her head. I understand 0:05:02.279 --> 0:05:05.240 the necessity of such brute, of such extreme measures, but 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:08.240 I don't have to like it, Manny, do you? She 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:10.760 started to ask Manny something, but the young man broke 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:14.520 off from their little group and darted forward towards the gallows. Oh, 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:18.720 Sasha finished in surprise. I'll er I'll go check on him. 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:22.280 Roland said, it's a probably best if you wait here. Huh. 0:05:22.520 --> 0:05:25.840 She looked confused, but she nodded. Roland followed behind Manny 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:27.839 and caught up to him about four people deep into 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:30.800 the growing crowd around the scaffold. The fixer's eyes were 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:33.320 locked on one of the SDF prisoners, a middle aged 0:05:33.320 --> 0:05:35.440 man with a prominent black mustache and a look of 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:38.719 courageous resignation in his brown eyes. He stood in the 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:41.000 middle of the gallows, calm as a stone in the ocean, 0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:43.320 while one of the martyrs fitted a noose around his neck. 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:48.279 Manny Roland said, that's Mr Browne. Manny said, someone you 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:52.240 know then Manny swallowed and nodded his head. Tears threatened 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:55.039 at the corners of his watery eyes. Roland felt like 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:56.840 it would probably be a good idea to get the 0:05:56.880 --> 0:05:59.520 kid away from the gallows before he did something stupid. 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:02.360 Roland's hind brain helpfully informed him that there were only 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:05.200 around sixty armed men in the whole square, but he 0:06:05.240 --> 0:06:07.400 also knew there were one hundred and eighty three armed 0:06:07.440 --> 0:06:09.920 men within a mile of their current position. If ship 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:13.080 started now, it wouldn't end for a while. Roland put 0:06:13.080 --> 0:06:16.120 a hand on Manny's shoulder. We have to do something, 0:06:16.320 --> 0:06:19.600 Manny said, What do you want me to do? Roland asked, 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:21.880 Rush up there, beat that red braid fucking I get 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:23.520 with his own side arm and then cock punched the 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:28.240 rest of him into submission. You can beat them, Manny said, yeah. 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:30.720 Roland nodded. But if I do, that's the end of 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:33.400 the mission and probably the end of those hostages. I 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:35.920 can't save your buddy, and you probably even that girl 0:06:35.960 --> 0:06:38.200 if she wants to come. But the Kingdom's going to 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:41.719 assume some monster man from rolland fucked just terrorism them. 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:44.120 They'll bury those captives too deep for us to find, 0:06:44.360 --> 0:06:46.520 and then Austin's as fucked as a blind pussy in 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:49.159 a dick forest. A man in the crowd turned and 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:53.400 stared at Roland volume. Man volume. Roland guessed he'd heard 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:55.919 just the tail end of his last sentence. The word 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:58.719 pussy had probably piqued his ears. Before the man could 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:01.080 say anything, Roland point it towards the gallows and let 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:04.839 out aloud whoop, followed by a Praise God, Praise God. 0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:08.520 The inadvertent eavesdropper started cheering along with him and turned 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:11.960 back to the impending execution. Roland turned back to Manny. 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:14.840 The boy was quiet, his face controlled, but fat tears 0:07:14.960 --> 0:07:17.880 ran down his cheeks, and his shoulders shook with silent sobs. 0:07:18.240 --> 0:07:20.920 Roland directed him back away from the worst of the crowd. 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:24.920 Mr Perone baked the cake for my twelfth birthday. Manny whispered. 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:27.320 He showed us Monty Python. He dropped us off at 0:07:27.400 --> 0:07:31.080 soccer practice. Manny had started to babble. He smelled on 0:07:31.120 --> 0:07:34.280 the edge of an outright panic attack. Roland's hindbrains started 0:07:34.280 --> 0:07:37.840 to identify potential improvised weaponry options among the crowd. He 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:40.440 settled on a small, thick set man. He's got a 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:43.760 real denscranium, good weight distribution. He'll make a great club. 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:46.640 Roland shook himself out of it. Then he tried to 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:49.440 shake Manny out of it by literally shaking him by 0:07:49.480 --> 0:07:52.920 the shoulders. Hey, listen, you're friend up there. It's gonna 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:54.880 die or a lot of other people are going to die. 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:57.640 Those are the two options. I know it sucks, I 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:00.320 know it's ship, but we cannot fix this. If you 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:02.880 stay calm, though, we can fix something worse. Do you 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:07.760 understand me. Mannie's eyes came unglazed, The flow of tears slowed, 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:11.160 then stopped. It was an impressive feet of willpower. Most 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:13.720 people didn't have that kind of control over their emotions. 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:16.320 Roland had to guess Mannie's work as a fixer had 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:18.280 at least prepared him to function in the middle of 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:22.000 a waking nightmare. Okay, the kid said, but I have 0:08:22.160 --> 0:08:25.280 to watch. Roland wanted to argue, but one look at 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:28.360 Mannie's eyes made it clear that arguing wouldn't do any good, 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:31.360 so instead, he stood there next to Mannie and kept 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:33.679 his hand on the boy's shoulder until the terrible thing 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:36.760 was done. It was as ghastly as these things always were. 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:39.720 Most of the crowd cheered every snap neck, every jerk 0:08:39.720 --> 0:08:43.280 of a dying soldier's legs. Shock Waves of memory racked 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:46.040 Roland's mind at the sight. He felt warm spring air 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:48.560 blow across his cold chest. He saw a small sea 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:51.079 of familiar strangers, men and women he'd known once upon 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:53.560 a bloodier day. He felt a big gun kick in 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:56.080 his hands. He felt a warm splash of blood across 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:58.640 his chest and face. He heard the heavy final thump 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:01.479 of a tiny body heading the round. He saw Topaz, 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:04.200 She looked ill. He saw schoolfucker Mike with a hand 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:07.440 on her shoulder. He heard Jim's voice, make sure the 0:09:07.520 --> 0:09:11.120 camera's catch this next one. Jim cried, We've got an 0:09:11.120 --> 0:09:14.640 honest to God Shaney with us today. Back in the present, 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:18.680 Roland watched as Manny's friends turn came around. Manny swallowed, 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:21.440 his face went pale. Tears streamed down the boy's face, 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:23.880 and Roland felt a sudden, peculiar urge to bury him 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:26.560 in a hug. He did not do that, though. Roland 0:09:26.559 --> 0:09:28.880 just stood still with a firm hand on Manny's shoulder 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:31.439 while they tightened the noose around mister Perrone's neck and 0:09:31.520 --> 0:09:34.520 dropped him down to hang until he was dead, dead dead. 0:09:35.559 --> 0:09:37.719 Roland was proud of how straight Manny stood, how the 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:40.040 boy held back from sobbing, and how once the sad 0:09:40.040 --> 0:09:42.959 spectacle was over, Manny turned back around and headed towards 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:46.040 the Christian girl, Sasha. She still stood where they had 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:48.880 left her. Roland could tell she'd been crying too, although 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:51.480 she'd taken some pains to describe it. She was hard 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:53.320 to get a read on that one. She struck him 0:09:53.320 --> 0:09:55.240 as one of the faithful, but she didn't strike him 0:09:55.240 --> 0:09:57.760 as a nut. Maybe she'd just gotten suckered into this 0:09:57.840 --> 0:10:00.960 awful place. Roland could surely understand in that. He was 0:10:01.000 --> 0:10:05.320 pretty sure he'd been suckered into dumber things. Praise God, 0:10:05.600 --> 0:10:10.520 she said, with hesitation. Praise God, Manny responded. Roland didn't 0:10:10.520 --> 0:10:12.800 say much. She gave him a look, but not an 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:16.840 angry one. That was she locked eyes with Manny. Roland 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:18.960 was pretty sure she'd blocked the rest of the world out. 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:21.400 She must have seen the signs of his tears too. 0:10:21.679 --> 0:10:24.560 She coughed a little and continued, that was awful. I 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:28.559 know it's necessary, but I'll never stop hating that. It's 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:31.800 a good thing to hate, Manny said, and then look, 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:35.200 we have to get back to base. Curfuse coming up soon. 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:38.960 But if you want to hide from those undesirables tomorrow, 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:42.640 I'll be waiting outside the cafe. They kept talking, but 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:45.400 what they said was beyond Roland's interest. He was busy 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:48.080 listening as the prison convoy drove off. Now that he 0:10:48.120 --> 0:10:51.040 knew the sound of the prisoner transport a PC urally 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:54.040 tracing it back to its origin point was child's play. 0:10:54.440 --> 0:10:57.559 Aaron Manny's voice jerked his attention back to the conversation 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:00.880 happening in front of him. We should probably go, Manny said. 0:11:01.240 --> 0:11:06.520 The busses will leave soon. Oh ship, surely, surely right, right, 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:10.040 surely right, we should go. Roland smiled at Sasha. It 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:13.000 was lovely to meet you. Good evening. He put a 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:15.320 hand on Manny's shoulder, and together they headed off to 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:20.240 the buses. Manny only stopped twice to cry. Manny didn't 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:22.560 say much the rest of the night. Roland was proud 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:24.880 of him for holding back his tears during the bus ride, 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:27.120 and they walked to the barracks. The kid broke down 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:28.840 as soon as he got into bed, of course, but 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:31.280 he kept his sobs silent, and Roland was pretty sure 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:33.880 none of the other recruits noticed. It helped that they 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:36.640 were all exhausted. At the end of the day, Roland 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:39.480 puked up, then popped a handful of ambient and percocets 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:41.320 and washed them down with a tall glass of the 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:44.199 beer he'd brewed in his own guts. He offered Manny some, 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:46.840 but the boy declined, so Roland had a second glass, 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:49.360 and then a third. It wasn't enough to get him wasted, 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:51.640 but the cocktail of drugs did a tolerable job of 0:11:51.720 --> 0:11:54.800 leading him into unconsciousness. He drifted off to sleep an 0:11:54.840 --> 0:11:56.520 hour or so after the rest of the men of 0:11:56.559 --> 0:12:06.880 the barracks. The next day was more army style bullshit, 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:09.679 bush ups and windsprints in a big dumb obstacle course. 0:12:09.920 --> 0:12:12.320 Roland had to be real careful to act challenged. As 0:12:12.360 --> 0:12:15.160 the day went on. He instructed his body to elevate 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:17.880 his blood pressure and temperature, to flush his face red 0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:19.800 with blood, and to send enough sweat from his pores 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:23.120 to make a passable imitation of exertion. It was tedious 0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:24.679 and he hated it, but the first half of the 0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:27.440 day went by pretty fast. Then it was time for 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:30.360 a close quarters firefight drill. The men were given actual 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:34.000 rifles sans ammunition, and divided up into assault teams. They 0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:36.880 spent the next five hours taking turns defending or attacking 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:39.200 different rooms in an old apartment complex that had been 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:41.719 commandeered by the Heavenly Kingdom. There was a lot of 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:44.320 shouting from instructors who sure as ship wanted the recruits 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:46.840 to think they knew more about urban warfare than they did. 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:49.920 At the end of one particularly long set of door 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:51.959 breach and drills, one of the instructors dropped to his 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:54.520 knees and started chanting in tongues. He seemed to be 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:57.360 celebrating that one of his slowest squads had finally nailed 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:00.440 a textbook entry. Roland wasn't sure what the to make 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:02.400 of it. The man almost smelled that he was having 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:06.160 a schizophrenic break. The heavy wash of neurotransmitters wafting off 0:13:06.200 --> 0:13:08.600 him made it clear this wasn't just some gesture for show. 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:12.960 He seemed legitimately overcome with joy. Other soldiers and even 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:15.720 a couple of instructors started kneeling around him. They were 0:13:15.720 --> 0:13:19.240 all chanting in some strange language. The first instructor kept 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:23.800 repeating what sounded like hom noshkalashka, hom noshkalashka. Roland's heidenbrain 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:26.400 knew a lot of languages, but this sounded like nonsense 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:29.000 to him. He noticed the speech patterns of each chanting 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:32.160 man were pretty consistent with American English. The actual words 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:34.800 were gibberish, though, and many grabbed him by the shoulder 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:37.640 and pushed gently down. Roland took the hint and then 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:40.200 took a knee. The kids started to chant in a 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:44.720 low voice, letish kila, josepha tinchala. It was more gibberish, 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:47.439 but Roland followed suit. He started to spend out nonsense 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:49.000 of his own, in a tone low enough that it 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:52.560 didn't rise above the din of chanting maniacs. Manny's strategy, 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:55.560 he realized, was to make big, exaggerated mouth motions without 0:13:55.600 --> 0:13:58.199 actually speaking at a high volume. It made him look 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:01.400 right without drawing any attention. The whole weird scene went 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:04.199 on for a little over two minutes. Eventually, the instructor 0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:06.839 stopped chanting and lay on his back, sweaty and spent. 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:09.280 The other soldiers seemed to have ended their fits in 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:11.920 the same way. Roland could tell from their heart rates 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:13.800 and body temperature that about half of the men had 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:16.520 been faking it, just like he and Manny. The humid 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:19.160 stink of guilt was heavy in the air. Roland's heart 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:21.720 went out for them. It must be agony to believe 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:24.600 so hard and something so dumb that you'd castigate yourself 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:27.600 for not buying into it enough. After that, they filed 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:30.240 into the mess hall. They said their prayers ate their dinners, 0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:32.640 and then queued up for the buses down town. The 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:35.160 ride was uneventful. In the instant their feet hit the square, 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:37.880 Manny went off to find Sasha. Roland shook his head 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:40.760 in appreciation for the all consuming power of human desire, 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:43.200 and then bounded off to check out the presumed location 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:45.800 of the jail. It was about a three mile jog. 0:14:46.000 --> 0:14:48.080 At full speed, Roland could have cleared the distance in 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:50.240 a few minutes, but a low profile was the name 0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:52.360 of the game. He stuck to a fast walk and 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:54.400 kept to the shadows and alleys as best he could. 0:14:54.760 --> 0:14:57.120 Plano hadn't been a very dense city before the martyrs 0:14:57.120 --> 0:14:58.840 had taken over, so there were a lot of times 0:14:58.840 --> 0:15:00.960 where he was basically out. He opened he had to 0:15:00.960 --> 0:15:03.240 trust that his uniform in the general state of chaos 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:06.160 and the newly founded Kingdom would obscure him. This was 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:08.320 the first look he'd gotten of the Kingdom. On foot, 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:11.280 Roland decided he didn't care much for it. There was 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:13.400 a great deal of foot and vehicle traffic, but most 0:15:13.480 --> 0:15:15.920 of the people seemed to be either soldiers or refugees 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:19.320 without anywhere else to go. He passed two checkpoints where 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:22.360 twitchy looking martyrs performed data scans on decks and personal 0:15:22.400 --> 0:15:25.560 hard drives. He even saw one soldier sorting through paperback 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:28.600 books in the trunk of some poor fox car. Roland 0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:31.440 noticed several white vans with black crosses painted on the side. 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:34.800 They cruised the streets, clearly on patrol for something. He 0:15:34.880 --> 0:15:37.280 watched one stop in front of a family of refugees, 0:15:37.320 --> 0:15:40.240 heavy with backpacks and carrying intake papers in their hands. 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:43.560 Men in white jumpsuits with gold cross badges piled out 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:46.960 and surrounded the family. Roland concealed himself behind a dumpster 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:49.320 and watched as the patriarch of the family handed them 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:52.600 his papers and spoke in a frantic, animated tone. One 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:54.480 of the men pointed at his daughter, who wore a 0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:56.960 stained T shirt and a ragged pair of denim shorts. 0:15:57.280 --> 0:15:59.600 They were baggy and hardly stylish, but the men in 0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:02.720 the jump suits seemed furious. They pointed and shouted. The 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:04.280 man put his hands in the air and tried to 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:06.680 say something, but one of the jump suited men smashed 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:10.520 his head with a cane. Cold rage bubbled up inside Roland. 0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:14.040 Fuck this place, he simmered to himself, Fuck these jinkiest 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:17.880 throwback fundamentalists and their fascist bullshit. He wanted to charge 0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:19.920 out from behind the dumpster and tear into these low 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:22.680 rent his bomb motherfucker's. He wanted to shove those thick 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:25.000 wooden rods so far up their asses they'd be shipping 0:16:25.000 --> 0:16:29.200 splinters for weeks. The mission, he reminded himself, the fucking mission, 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:31.880 And so he watched as the men in white beat 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:34.160 the old guy. He watched as they pulled the poor 0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:36.760 bastard's daughter into a van and forced a hideous gray 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:39.600 woolen dress over her head. It didn't fit, and it 0:16:39.640 --> 0:16:41.560 looked liable to give her heat stroke in the late 0:16:41.560 --> 0:16:45.080 Texas summer. She didn't fight them, though. Roland moved on 0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:47.920 reluctantly and found what his hind brains suspected was the 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:50.680 old jail. The a PCs he'd seen last night were 0:16:50.680 --> 0:16:53.880 parked out front. The compound was guarded and busy. Roland 0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:57.960 counted fourteen guards just outside. Mind you, there were human guards, 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:00.920 no powered armor, no heavy artillery, nothing at hand that 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:03.480 could do much more than tickle him. They wouldn't present 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:05.359 a danger, but they would cause a hell of a 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:07.720 lot of noise if he attempted a daylight prison break. 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:10.920 He scrambled up onto a half collapsed condo building that 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:13.959 had been abandoned after a heavy mortar shell gutted the inside. 0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:16.240 It provided a good view of the jail. For the 0:17:16.280 --> 0:17:19.520 next hour, Roland just watched. His hindbrain mapped the pattern 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:22.199 of the guard rotations and noted the security protocols they 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:25.080 followed when each new vehicle arrived. He took a lot 0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:28.119 of deep breaths and gradually pulled enough sense from inside 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:30.080 the jail to have a decent idea of how many 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:33.080 people were in there. He'd never smelled Marigold or the 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:36.240 other rolling fuck negotiators before, but his nose picked up 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:40.000 on three people with a handful of aftermarket modifications. Most 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:42.080 of the martyrs he'd met had been limited to civilian 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:45.080 grade healing sweets and sensory upgrades. It was a safe 0:17:45.119 --> 0:17:47.880 bet that these were their targets. Then, and you've got 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:51.120 the message. Put down the phone. Roland wasn't sure where 0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:53.560 or when he'd heard that aphorism, but it came into 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:55.920 his head, and a moment later he realized the sun 0:17:55.960 --> 0:17:58.800 was pretty low in the sky. It'd be bus time soon. 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:01.480 He headed back through the eyeshadows and across the cracked 0:18:01.480 --> 0:18:04.080 and bullet scarred boulevards until he was able to merge 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:06.840 back into the evening crowd at the square. Manny and 0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:09.040 the Christian girl had moved on from the cafe by 0:18:09.080 --> 0:18:11.199 that point. He actually ran into them in front of 0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:13.399 some building with a sign that identified it as the 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:17.280 House of Miriam. They were saying weird, chaste, religiously goodbyes, 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:21.119 Oh hello Aaron. Sasha smiled when she saw him. Manny 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:24.520 turned around and flashed him a weary smile too. Roland 0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:26.359 could see pain in the kid's eyes, but it was 0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:28.920 at least cut with a bit of arousal. He decided 0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:31.760 that was a good thing. Ever since Oscar's death, Manny 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:35.280 had been writing the line between function and complete emotional collapse. 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:38.600 He decided to encourage the fixer's weird little friendship with 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:42.280 the Christian girl. Hey, Roland said, how is the guffy? 0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:44.600 Smelled like it was mostly chickory and food die when 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:46.560 I walked by earlier. But maybe they sold you all 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:50.560 the good stuff they did not, Manny said, you must 0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:53.400 be blessed with an exceptional nose, Sasha said, and gave 0:18:53.480 --> 0:18:55.879 him an odd look. Then she asked, what did you 0:18:55.920 --> 0:19:00.159 get up to? I had checked out the farmer's market, Roland, 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:03.560 I'll tell you what, some uh, some good freaking cucumbers 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:07.200 up in there. That's where I was cucumbers. Sasha's odd 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:09.480 look deepened. Manny brought a hand up to the bridge 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:12.320 of his nose and needed his brow and frustration. We 0:19:12.359 --> 0:19:16.560 should head back to the buses. I'll I'll see you tomorrow, Sasha. Yeah, yes, 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:20.200 of course, Sasha replied with a genuine smile. If this 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:22.320 was a sane world, Rowland thought the two of them 0:19:22.320 --> 0:19:24.480 would have had a real date by now. But this 0:19:24.560 --> 0:19:27.640 was the Heavenly Kingdom. They were surrounded by extremist militants, 0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:30.840 and Sasha probably wasn't even allowed to look at condoms. Also, 0:19:31.040 --> 0:19:34.359 she's one of those militants, Roland reminded, himself. He let 0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:36.480 the kids say their goodbyes and then walked back to 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:39.800 the bus with Manny. The kids seemed unsettled. I feel 0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:42.520 like I'm making a real dumb decision, he said, what 0:19:43.040 --> 0:19:46.680 Rowland asked, talking with that girl? Manny shrugged. She's told 0:19:46.680 --> 0:19:49.080 me all she knows about those prisoners already. But we're 0:19:49.080 --> 0:19:51.080