She Bleeds for Us: The Galactic Consortium 3

Chapter 40

The two remaining bags were tucked underneath Abioya's bunk forgotten for the last two days as Jake and his crew drove their route across the Sahara desert.

The desert seemed more desolate than ever, though that had to be Jake's mind playing tricks on him. It had always been desolate out here.

But the news was filled with Consortium and UN peacekeeping activity to the north. Libya, a failed state for much Jake's life was now on its way to being the latest Consortium collective.

Protestors and activists around Africa had a new idea, one that scared many of those in power. A newly unified continent, a patchwork of collectives and nation-states with open borders, free trade and all, most importantly, patterned after the Consortium. Nations would retain their civil independence but cooperate on larger issues.

"Cooperate?" one critic scoffed in an interview on the base news. "The Consortium will dictate is more like."

"Dictate that you stop oppressing your own people," the woman on his left replied, a representative from one of the many "she bleeds for us" protests that had cropped up.

Jake couldn't help but agree with the woman. But at the same time how would he feel if someone suggested America join the Consortium outright, surrender it's military, it's freedom?

The Consortium insisted it wanted no such thing. "Governments must treat it's citizens fairly, that is all. So long as citizens choose a government, we will not interfere with their democratically elected leaders."

There were just two small problems. Many of the governments didn't treat their citizens fairly and there were questions if their leaders were fairly elected.

A group of Consortium hoppers, small ships used on the surface and in low orbit, shot overhead, heading north. They interrupted Jake's reverie. He glanced at the map on the dashboard of their truck. "Almost through," he said, mostly to himself.

Abioya made a grunt, half asleep in the copilot's chair. "What?" he asked.

"Sorry, just we are almost through Niger." There was no way to tell besides the map. The desert stretched on, endlessly. They had two stops coming up, one official and one not so much. At the border with Algeria, they would turn south. Other than this, there would be little change in the scenery until they passed Bamako base on the final leg of their route, on towards Guinea.

"Good, I'll be glad to be heading south," Abioya said. He looked the map over closely. "And we are getting close to the next drop."

Jake nodded. Abioya went to unload the second pack.

He pulled the truck to a stop at a collection of square, mudbrick buildings in the middle of nowhere. "It used to be a military base," Abioya said as they climbed out. "A small one anyway. Guarding the border with Libya."

Back when that border mattered, Jake filled in his mind. Looking into the first abandoned building, Jake was startled to see an American flag sticker on one wall. America had a military presence out here?

In his final year of high school, he'd toyed with the idea of joining the military. It was about the only job offering.

His mom had talked him out of it. She was worried he'd end up in some far-flung place like this or fighting in Afghanistan. Now it seemed like this base had been abandoned ages ago and this was all ancient history, not a couple of years ago.

In the next building, they found a small group of men waiting for them. Their leader was a white man with a gray beard. He spoke English in a heavy French accent. "Dr. Dubois, Doctors without Borders," he said by way of introduction. "My own network hasn't been able to get us supplies for weeks. But a source says they could get us Consortium supplies."

Abioya nodded and set the bag on an old desk in front of the doctor.

"Just medical stuff," another of the men said, derisively. He shifted his stance and Jake noticed the Ak-47 slung across his front. Fear spiked through Jake.

Abioya must have seen it, too. "We are just the drop guys."

"My mission is humanitarian," the doctor said to his companion. Something in the way he emphasized my told Jake volumes about the other men's mission. The doctor had the top of the bag open and was in the process of pulling items out to inspect them when he paused.

Jake paused, too and then he heard it, the low thrum of a helicopter.

The doctor quickly shoved the first item back into the pack. "You need to go now." He said to Jake and Abioya. "Thanks." He added as he hefted the bag.

Jake and Abioya hurried back to their truck. They had just started lurching forward on the road when a helicopter gunship came over the horizon, heading over their position. "Did they see us parked?" he asked Abioya.

Abioya shrugged.

Jake hoped the doctor and his people had made their own escape.

Their next stop was a new, official base. It was mostly UN peacekeepers, but there was a Consortium hopper that was parked nearby. They pulled in and a couple of workers came out to help unload the supplies. A soldier was with them.

"You guys have any trouble?" the soldier asked as Jake approached them.

His heart racing again, Jake shook his head no, hoping his nerves weren't showing on his face. "No, why?"

"A helicopter came out of the north not long ago. Thought maybe there was some action this far south."

"I'm not sure I'm cut out for this," Jake admitted as they pulled away from the base.

"I understand," Abioya said. "I agree, that was close. I didn't want to get us into danger. Maybe we should tell Devaki no next time."

Jake nodded. "Yeah, maybe. What about the last package?"

"We should deliver it, at least," Abioya said.

Jake nodded his agreement. But then, I'm done being a smuggler.