Alliance

Chapter Sixty-One

Back in the hotel room, I sat at the table beside Ben with the communicator prompted up on the table between us.

On the screen stood both of our Dad's with the three leaders of the military behind them in the conference room. Ben explained when I arrived that King Roth had flown from York to Chicago the moment he heard about the change of plans, leaving Anthony to watch over the Capital.

Blair already showed them the files and I gave them my personal accounts of what I saw and heard. The planes, the bombs, the pilots, everything. The three men were very quiet when I finished.

"They have more than we do," General Cox said to the king. "We cannot battle them from the air. We don't have aircraft or bombs compared to theirs."

"Number of bombs don't win wars," Ranger Allen said, turning from the screen to pace the room.

"But they do make a dent in our population if they fall off a plane," countered Cox.

Roth rubbed at his beard, his eyes hazed over as he thought. Dad and Admiral Welch stood to the side, watching the king and two other men. Cox was itching to say more whereas Allen was about to explode behind them as he paced.

"What will happen if we allow them to visit?" the king asked quietly. Allen stopped pacing, he turned to the king. Shock froze on his face.

Roth looked at Cox, waiting for an answer.

"If we allow them to visit, to discuss taking the wall down, the people will not be happy. The citizens of York will not be happy with the idea of having them in the city."

What he could have said, was the Elites were scared of the rebels. They would want Wastelanders in the city. Everyone, besides the Elite, did not give a rat's ass about the Wall. Back home, we didn't care if the Wall was up or down. But the rebels had attacked the Elites. To the Elites, the rebels were dangerous.

That was why the military draft was created in the first place. People weren't signing up for the military because we had lost the meaning of the war.

The Elites, on the other hand, they signed up to join the military before they were drafted. So that they could have the honor of saying they had joined the military. Ben was one of those people who signed up. But he was a special case. He was the second son of the King. Him being in the military was written in the stars.

"But," Cox went on, "if we do not allow them to visit, they will no doubt fire at us and in doing so, amplifying this war to a level we do not want to see."

Allen stepped forward, "But what happens when we cannot reach a decision? What if the draft was not signed? Will they still attack us because we said no to the treaty?"

Roth turned to Ben and I. "It looks we have a lot to discuss. We will give you an answer and directions in the morning."

Ben nodded. "Good luck."

A small smile touched Roth's face before the screen went dark.

"Just when I thought this couldn't get worse." I stood up, stretching my arms above my head.

"Never think that," Ben said, he ran a hand through his hair, "Because it can always get worse."

In the small area between the sofa and the table, I continued to stretch out my legs and back. "If you had the choice would you let them in?"

Ben leaned back in his chair. His eyes on the table. "I would hear them out. The Wasteland doesn't have much to offer and it is a dangerous place. But we have enough resources in the United Regions. Space, water, food."