THE OMEGA TRIBE
(Book II)
By H. Paul Guerra
EXCERPT
HE GLANCED AT HIS wrist computer, the digital
readout displaying 14:40 Mountain Standard Time. His sunglasses obscured the little light that
came from the bar next to the small stage.
This was in Jason’s Brewery, and it was just the “hole in the wall”
James Steinberg had expected it would be.
It was perfect for a meeting place, small, inconspicuous, dark, and
nestled amongst a row of larger buildings.
Its only advertisement was a red neon sign displaying Jason’s in cursive writing and a simple open sign on the entrance door’s
window. It was a place where familiar
locals congregated for a beer and a game of pool or darts, one of the very few
and vanishing establishments of its kind.
Alcohol was still allowed in Unsowesta, but
coming across establishments willing to purchase the very expensive license to
sell it to the public was seemingly getting more difficult by the day. This was one place that didn’t scan biochips
since the owner knew all his customers by their first name. To James, it seemed like a place for mainly
Leftovers and a few daring Ujeens coming to escape
the bitter realities of life and mass mind control. It certainly was not fancy, but a safe haven
for those who looked like they would gladly mastermind a revolt against the
increasingly suffocating totalitarian regime of Kernswood. James was taking a liking to these places,
the kind that attracted rugged ordinary people willing to sooth their troubled
minds with a beer or two. And, being
located in an underground like location of one of
When she came back
out, the Elvis impersonator suddenly caught their attention as he began singing
and swinging his hips to a version of the ancient Heartbreak Hotel song. Would this city ever lose its craze for this
still famous artist, dead for more than sixty years? Despite the oppressive government of Unsowesta and the censorship that grew like a ravaging
cancer throughout the country, too many in Vegas would make sure the memory of
Elvis Presley would never fade into oblivion.
When his short gig
was done and his hips were parked, the Elvis look alike lowered his thick
rimmed frames and stared their direction.
James let out a brief chuckle, accidentally spitting out some beer from
his full mouth catching Amber’s attention.
The big black hair, thick sideburns and studded white outfit was too
much, so humorous that it made him cough out the remainder of the beer in his
mouth. Amber, not looking too
entertained sat beside him wondering if he was intoxicated with comedy, alcohol
or both. “My Lord,
and this is only his first?” In her
mind, this was no time to relax, no time to party even if it was for just a few
minutes. “Stein!” she called.
“I’m sorry Amber,
but this guy is hilarious,” he said as he laughed and wiped his sweaty brow and
the brew from his mouth with his bare hand.
“Oh
my Lord! This is no time for nonsense!”
He wiped his face
with a paper napkin, raised his bald head and turned his eyes to her, a smirk
painted on his face. “Will you relax a
little? I hope you don’t mind, but I
just have to savour some of life’s little victories. You should try it, or you will soon discover
that life is indeed too short and too many of you young people will have passed
into old age having taken life too seriously.”
“There will be a
time and a place for this. But, now is
not the…”
“Okay, Amber,” he
said, this time with a serious voice.
“Look, I’m not drunk and I’m not letting my guard down. I’m glad you are with me on this since I
don’t think we could have gotten the
“Just
my point! How do we know they got out and are still
alive?”
He took her hand
and gripped them gently but firmly, the faint smell of beer in his breath
hitting her face. “We don’t Amber. We don’t know for sure if they got out alive
or not. I haven’t been able to contact
them, and they haven’t contacted me.”
Amber sighed in disgust as the Elvis look
alike gestured to the couple with his head to walk to the corner of the small
bar to the entrance to the backstage.
“Look, he’s signalling us,” James said.
James shot a brief
gaze back to her, removing his sunglasses and giving her a concerned look. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you or not take
you seriously. You’re right. Now that I think of it, we have little time
to waste. And with George and Joanne’s
situation still a mystery to us, we need to keep our game faces on.” He gazed down at the scratched wooden floor
looking a little embarrassed. “I’m
sorry,” he said with a softer voice.
She wasted no time
embracing him, feeling a little ashamed and wondering if she should heed some
of his advice and lighten up a little.
James shot a glance back at the Elvis look alike who gestured him again
to move to the backstage entrance. “We
got to get going. Mr. Motor Hips is
calling us,” he said after downing the last of his beer.
James stood from
the bar stool and walked to the dimly lit backstage entrance. Amber put her half full beer mug down on the
bar and followed. They walked through
the narrow hallway lit by a single ceiling light bulb that led to a small
wooden door, the Elvis look alike peering at the
hallway entrance looking behind them to make sure they weren’t being followed. As Amber and James passed through the doorway
entrance, the impersonator shut the door, took off his thick lenses and
instantly spoke with his natural voice.
“Come with me to my van. We’re
waiting outside. We don’t have much
time.”
James politely
asked, “Who are you, and what about your gig?”
“Gig? Are you
listening to me boy? I said we have
little time. Now, let’s get moving
before some cleric cop shows up. Even
though they rarely show up here, it’s a chance I’m not willing to take.”
“You still haven’t
told me who you are,” James said, his voice more gruff.
“We better listen to them,” she said, some
concern in her voice.
James turned to
her, his mouth halfway open, his head shaking, his eyes looking a little
worried. “He hasn’t told us…” He turned to the impersonator, his voice
lowered. “…who he is.”
“I don’t have to
tell you who I am if I don’t want to.
And, believe me, the less you know about me, the better. Being that you don’t seem to trust me, let me
show you the door back outside. I’ll be
sure to let Zeke know you aren’t interested in being given a new life outside Unsowesta,” the impersonator sarcastically remarked.
“Zeke?” James asked in surprise. “Look, all I am asking for is…”
“What Navy Seal,
my name, rank, and serial number?”
James threw up his
hands, closed his eyes and shook his head as if surrendering to this actor’s
demands. “Alright,
alright, alright!” He opened his
eyes and looked directly at the impersonator.
“I’m sorry. I know you are just
trying to help.”
“Come with me now
if you ever want to see a day outside this country in this life,” the
impersonator remarked with a low rumbling tone of voice.
“I’m curious…”
Amber elbowed
James and shook her head, her eyes wide open with
surprise. “Stein. I think we need to show a little more
cooperation here.”
“Curious about
what?” the impersonator asked as he turned his back.
“Why haven’t you
made a run for the border? Why haven’t
you made your escape?”
The Elvis look
alike turned and gave him a coy stare.
“My time is coming, Seal. In the
meantime, I’m focused on getting both of you out of here. Right now, it’s my job. Now for the last time, let’s get a move on,
shall we?”
The couple went
silent, followed the entertainer to the back lot and quickly took a seat in the
back of the tour van. Zeke quickly
exited the establishment’s back door and took the passenger seat. He shot the couple a quick look before
resuming his scan of the area. Their
eyes lit up, seeing that their friend was alive and well. “Point Beta as we agreed, and I arranged to
get you out of here in style,” Zeke said with a rather egotistical voice.
“We are still not
out of here yet, but I deeply appreciate all you and Elvis are doing,” James
whispered.
“It will be cool,”
Zeke responded as Amber reached over and hugged him. Zeke made the hug brief by putting his thick
hands on her shoulders and gesturing her with his head to take her seat. He hurriedly spoke, “There’ll be time for
that later. Meantime, you two need to
stay very low. Elvis and I are going to
get you to the Heartbreak Hotel Café near the California-Mexico border in
James interrupted,
“What about Organ Pipe Underground?”
“It’s been
blown. Once Joanne and George got
across…”
“They made it
across?” James excitedly asked.
“Yes, just got
called that they made it. But, the
underground there is now compromised.
The insiders were discovered and two of them got their heads split in
two by one of their boss’s high powered shots.
And to think, he only needed one round at more than 400 yards to do the
job.”
“Two men get their
heads shot off with one round? That’s an
impossible shot even for the world’s best sniper,” James said incredulously.
“Surprised
to hear that from a Seal. Now, we will take this route instead. As it stands, there is a huge manhunt for you
two. No disrespect Amber,” Zeke said as
he scanned the area around him.
“What?” Amber
fearfully asked, dread now covering her face.
“The border is
saturated with clerics. As best as I see
it, once Elvis starts his gig, we will sneak out in another get away vehicle
and take an off road trip to a border house and cross through another hidden
underground tunnel.”
“Whose place?” she
asked.
“Don’t ask,” Zeke
abruptly answered back. “It’s another
rogue border cleric’s guesthouse. That’s
all you need to know right now. I don’t
know details.
“Now, I’ll be
following behind and get you two out once we’ve arrived. You two need to empty your bladders, because
we’re going to take our time getting to Heartbreak Hotel Café and not risking
getting caught by an unnecessary stop.
The way I see it, any delay is just that, a delay in getting you two
closer to freedom. Now, let’s all of us
hit the restroom, and then let’s hit the road.”
“Wouldn’t it be
best to wait till nightfall?” James asked.
“To empty our
bladders, hit the road, or both?”
“To bolt,” James
said.
Zeke impatiently
spoke. “And risk arousing suspicion if
Elvis here misses his gig? Besides, they
figure that a Navy Seal will probably lay low during the day and move under the
cover of darkness the night affords.
That’s when they will be out looking for you, not that we can’t be just
as careful during the day. The way I see
it, those after you figure you’ve been up all night and have found someplace to
lay your tired heads down for a while.
Believe me, I’ve also been up all night just like you two, being very
careful on my way over here to Beta just in case someone caught on to the fact
that I had a hand in getting the Gamma Ray up in the air and helping George and
Joanne to escape. We’re tired and our
tempers are bound to flare a little.
But, we’ve got to keep moving.”
As much as he hated to admit it, and as tired as his body felt, he knew Zeke was right. Amber also had spoken volumes of truth earlier. This was certainly no time to relax and let a casual attitude get them into trouble. They needed to outsmart, outwit, outthink their pursuers. Boldness alone would only get them caught, or worse, get them killed. Feeling a little humiliated, James wasted no time gesturing Amber to get out of the van and do as they were told. Everyone including the Elvis look alike hurried to the restrooms, took care of business, and hurried back out to the van.