Jolyon Hallows - The Collapse

“Has this been working?”

Tim smiled. “Working? We have shut down all oil and gas exports from Canada, we’ve cut the flow of forest products by thirty percent, and we’ve been able to generate disease scares that have closed the border to cattle, pigs, and poultry. It’s been a long struggle, but we can see the day we shut down the resource industries in Canada for good.”

“What then?”

The chairman said, “Then we target other countries. We’re already setting up in Australia and New Zealand.”

“How about here?”

“That will come. One country at a time.”

Ellen Sangster and Ross Candale faced Baxter. She said, “What do you have in mind?”

“Right now, I’m stuck in the middle of this violence. People being executed, tortured. And I’m part of the system doing it. I can’t stand the thought of that.”

“But you’ve had an idea.”

“Yes. I’ve been preoccupied with fighting back. After all, I’m on the inside. I’m in an ideal place to disrupt their operations. Sabotage their missions. But I’m just one man. By myself, I can’t do anything that might be effective. But in that meeting, I realized you can.”

“You’re on Jerry’s side?”

“Not exactly, but I need some help to figure out why not and what to do instead.” He took a deep breath. “This is going to sound crazy, and I’d love to join you here, but it hit me that I might be more useful where I am.”

“How?”

“I’m the backroom techie who fixes computer glitches. To do that, I have access to every program, every file, every database the NPF uses. I know when people are added to the subversives list. I know when they’re slated to be taken to an interrogation centre. These are the people who would be most valuable to us. I’d love to be able to get to them before the Peaks do.”

Sangster said, “Get to them? To do what?”

“Why, to come here or perhaps to some other community if this one gets too big.”

“Whoa. You’re talking about a network of towns like this one?”

“Why not? Look, I haven’t begun to figure out the details, and there are so many holes in what I do have that it seems ridiculous even to call it a plan. But I know where I’d like to take it.”

Candale said, “You’re talking about being the inside guy steering subversives to us? That’s risky. In fact, it’s suicidal.”

“You could be right.” His face hardened. “But when I came here, every step was a struggle. It felt as if I was giving up.”

“As if you were abandoning the country?”

“Not just the country. I felt as if I was abandoning my values. As if I was giving up on freedom. On justice. I know that sounds like a cliché, but to me, it’s real. Those values are real. If you and this town will join me, I’ll return to Ottawa just as if nothing had happened. And I’ll do my best to sabotage the NPF from the inside. I can’t sit back and wait for things to happen. This country is worth the fight.”

Sangster said, “Todd, are you sure?”

“Sure? The only thing I’m sure of is that I want to get rid of this scourge. Until now, it’s been nothing more than an urge. But if you guys and your friends here are willing to help, we can make it happen.”

She nodded. “Well, every good fight needs a plan. Let’s get to work.”

BAXTER, CANDALE, AND Sangster sat opposite Jerry and Alan, mugs of coffee substitute on a table. Jerry sipped his drink. “This stuff is going to take some getting used to.”

Alan nodded. “Starbucks doesn’t have anything to fear.”

“Just as well. I don’t like Starbucks.”

Sangster said, “Is there anything you two agree on?”

Alan said, “Can’t think of anything.”

Jerry said, “I agree.”

Both men laughed. Jerry looked at Baxter. “Okay, what have you come up with, whatever your name is?”

“My name? Ivan Kryss.”

“Yeah, and I’m Bambi.” He pointed at Candale and Sangster. “Alan and I noticed that you both hesitate when you use this guy’s name. That tells us he’s using an alias, or you don’t know him as well as you say. Which is it?”

Baxter said, “You’re right. Ivan Kryss isn’t my real name, but I’m not going to tell you what it is. I have too much to lose. I won’t risk revealing it to people I don’t know, no matter how highly recommended they are. If you can’t live with that, this meeting is over. Otherwise, let’s get busy and do some work. What’s it to be?”

Jerry shrugged. “Tell us what you have in mind.”

Candale said, “I’ll explain what Ivan has proposed. It’s risky, especially for him, but if it works, it will allow us to fight back against the government and the Peaks while reducing our exposure. Jerry, I know you want to fight the Peaks, but if there was a way to do so without confronting them directly, would that satisfy you?”

“Fighting them without fighting them? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“During the Second World War, there was an active resistance in Nazi-occupied Europe. There were some confrontations with the Nazis, but most of their activities didn’t involve battles. The resistance gathered intelligence data, smuggled escaped soldiers out, issued propaganda, and provided safe houses for allied agents. In other words, it fought the Nazis without engaging them. And it was effective. Without it, victory would have been a lot harder to achieve.”

Jerry frowned. “You’re talking about supporting the people who are doing the actual fighting?”

“Exactly.”

“Okay, who are those people? During the war, they were the allied troops. There are no allied troops here. There’s nobody fighting the Peaks. Nobody to support. Are we just supposed to sit back and wait for someone else to do the work?”

Candale said, “You’re wrong. There’s an emerging resistance all across the country. It’s not organized into a cohesive force, and it may never be. But it’s building, and it’s starting to take the fight to the Peaks.”

“Is that your opinion, or do you have evidence to back you up?”

Baxter said, “I have evidence. In the last two weeks alone, a car blew up in Montreal just as a Peak transport passed by. It killed four Peaks. In Moncton, three armed men burst into Peak headquarters with automatic rifles and killed seven Peaks. A remote-controlled truck drove through a barricade at a Peak training camp in Sarnia and blew up killing fourteen Peaks, including two officers. Just before I came here, I learned of an attack in Regina that killed four Peaks and another in St. John’s that took out three more. There is a growing and active resistance out there.”

“How come we never heard about this? We may be isolated here, but at least for now we have satellite Internet coverage. Believe me, if this was on the news, we’d know about it.”

“It wasn’t on the news. The media were ordered not to report it under the threat of punishment under the Insurrection Control Act.”

“So how do you know about it?”

Candale said, “Hold on. Let’s set some guidelines. Any questions about Ivan, where he works, what he does, or how he knows the things he does are off limits. He won’t answer them, so it’s a waste of time to ask. How does he know about these attacks? Because he’s in the right place. That’s all you need to know.”

Jerry said, “In that case, there’s no point in continuing. Look, I need something more than your assurances that everything is okay. Kryss here doesn’t want to be put at risk. I get it. But neither do I. So, Kryss, tell us how you know about these attacks, or this meeting is over.”

Candale said, “Fine. The meeting is over. We do this on our terms or not at all, and one of our terms is that Ivan’s role is secret from everyone except Ellen and me.” He stood up. “Let’s go, guys.”