Maverick Battalion Part XLIII: The Plot Twist, Part 4

Asher didn't eat for two days after Maverick Battalion returned from the ill-fated jailbreak. He hardly left his office, in fact, except to get a drink or use the restroom once in a while. The first day he locked the door, and though it was open the second day, nobody wished to disturb him as he sat with his head laid on the desk, not moving but obviously not sleeping either. Brandon sent most of the other Battalioneers home, with the exception of Nathan, and instructed them to lay low until Asher gave orders. Whitney and Charlotte were flown in from Georgia, and Ernie suspended his own Battalion on the eve of a big strike so he could drive down. Zeke was tied up with Army business and couldn't get an emergency leave without blowing Asher's cover. Brandon called a trusted doctor friend of Asher's and asked her to come embalm the body of the woman they'd brought back with them, and Cole and Tanner buried her behind Stage Frieght in a casket Tanner and Sam had hastily built when they heard the news, as the rest were driving home.
The Cypher Battalion Captains arrived in the evening of Asher's second day of fasting, and while Charlotte hesitated like the rest to say anything to Asher, Whitney wasted no time in hearing the known details from Brandon and rushing to Asher's office to see him. Brandon and John followed her, but waited and listened from outside the door. They could hear Asher mumbling something, but it was barely loud enough to hear, let alone understand on the first hearing. But he repeated it, as if convincing himself of the truth, and eventually Brandon picked it out.
"He's saying 'Beth is dead,'" Brandon informed John, after they'd retreated down the hallway a stretch. The name didn't ring a bell with him... it was certainly not someone Asher had ever talked about, at least in front of Brandon.
John couldn't recall if he knew who this Beth was either. "Do you still have the prisoner lists from the jailbreak?" he questioned, knowing that with a last name he could probably find out who she was with a little time and a computer.
Brandon shook his head. "No, we destroyed them." They'd been shredded, burnt, and dumped in separate trash cans the morning the Battalion had reached Stage Freight, in the stretch of paranoia Asher had suffered before locking himself away in the office.
Shortly, Whitney emerged from Asher's office and approached John and Brandon. "He said to get the others," she relayed. "He wants to tell us all something."
John gathered the small group of Asher's closest friends from the front lounge, and they made a solemn procession towards the back of the building. By the time they got there, Asher had already set up the conference table and was pacing back and forth at the head of it, his hands clasped behind his back. The small group took their seats without a word and waited as patiently as they ever would for their leader to speak.
And speak he finally did. His voice was weak, as voices often are after one has cried for a long time. "Thanks for being here, guys," he began shakily. "You don't know how much it means to me. I guess... I should tell you what exactly is going on here..."
Charlotte began to wonder if he'd slept at all in the past two days. He didn't seem himself.
"Our jailbreak in Streator Saturday was an overall success," he stated, obviously trying to organize his speech somewhat. "However, a short string of coincidences occurred which caused the mission to turn sour rather quickly. The first of these events was the return of power to the complex, which was allowed by an equipment failure in one of our sniper rifles. We were unable to sedate one guard, who managed to reactivate the generators that Philip had disabled. The entry team, minus myself, was trapped in the North wing office after the lights came on and the prison security was able to see them."
Kelsi was about to cry just watching him. Even after trying to recover for two days, he looked broken.
"This occurred while I was attempting to exit the building with our final primary target," he continued, strained. "Under the circumstances, I knew that I had to hurry to try to help out the entry team, and proceeded on to that end. I was delayed by a commotion behind me, obviously involving a loose guard and my target. I returned to find her engaged in a threatening manner by the guard, who I then attempted to disarm, but failed."
Ernie knew that Asher was only speaking formally to keep his mind off what had happened.
"The primary attempted to disable the guard with a taser I had given her, and I assume that he mistook it to be a deadly weapon. He blocked her attack and shot her with a single burst. She died instantly from the wounds. I fired one shot into the back of the guard's head and he also died instantly. After confirming that the primary was in fact beyond help, I proceeded to the North wing, where I killed the three guards attempting to break into the office, thus freeing the entry team. We then extracted from the prison, recovering the body of our final primary on the way, and returned here after dumping our operation vehicle. That was the conclusion of the operation."
Whitney left the room. Asher had told her the next part already, and once was enough to hear it.
"The name of the woman who was killed..." Asher struggled to finish. Nathan got up and left. "Her name was Beth... McMullin. She was my wife."
Charlotte gasped. Conversations with Asher from years before flooded her mind, and she was heartbroken. Ernie leaned back in his chair and stared at the table in grief; he'd guessed the name before it was said.
Asher pressed on with his story, if only to satisfy his comrades' curiosity. "Beth and I met when I was fourteen and became good friends. I also became good friends with her family, including Nathan, her brother. From the day I met her I felt as though God had meant for us to meet. I spent a great deal of time with her, and quickly grew to love her dearly. As I was coming up on college, we were set to be married, but the relationship fell apart that spring. I dated a couple of young ladies in college, but neither of those worked out either. Amber was still in high school, and we broke up about a month after I left for college. While in school I met Rebecca, but she was killed in a car wreck the spring of 2007, during my second semester."
"Also that spring, my parents hit rough times financially and we were unable to pay for me to attend college after that semester. Under the circumstances of being single and out of school, I fulfilled a promise I had made to myself and joined the Marines. During my required four years of service, I kept in touch with Beth, and the old feeling that we were meant to be together began to return. As soon as my four years were up I married Beth, but remained in the military in lieu of other job options."
"During the first year of our marriage, the Homeland Security reforms were passed, and we could immediately see the effects on the nation and the economy. Beth frequently submitted articles to our local newspapers criticizing the new laws. One year and eight months after our wedding, Beth was arrested on trumped-up treason charges. There was also a warrant out for my arrest, but I managed to evade the police for four months, staying with different family members and friends, until this spring when Cole called me for help."
Asher just stopped there. By now Whitney had come back in. Nathan was still gone. Philip made the obvious next statement:
"That's when you came back to Amarillo."
Asher nodded. "I wanted to change things. I wanted to undo what many thought couldn't be undone. I wanted... to get my loved ones back, and to help my friends get theirs back. But so far we've only freed a bunch of strangers and lost my wife.
Ernie read too much into those sentences and began to get a little bit angry. "So what," he said, sitting forward again, "you're just going to give up? Why aren't these other people good enough to save?"
"I'm not giving up." Asher defended, unenthusiastically. "But I need you all to understand, I have nothing to lose now. I am waging a blood war now, and I will either win or die trying. It won't be easy, and it certainly won't be safe. Now you have to choose whether or not you're willing to risk everything to stick with it."
Ernie was the first to stand up. "I'm in. And Blaise said that if this happened, he would fight too."
Tanner was next. "I've got a girl to save too."
Cole jumped up, seeing that it was his turn. "My family is in the balance too."
John and Philip looked at each other, then stood as well. "We're with you."
"I guess I am too," Sam said, raising his hand. "I want to change things."
Kelsi raised her hand. "I can't fight," she stated.
"I wouldn't let you anyway," Asher replied. "Just help how you can." He turned to Charlotte and Whitney. "Please, you too," he requested. Charlotte nodded slowly; Whitney said she'd think about it.
Brandon was the only one left. He sat opposite Asher with his hands on his knees and locked eyes with him. He took a long time to reply, and when he finally did, it was deliberate and measured.
"I don't know, Asher. Maybe I'll take my insurance money and reopen the store..." He straightened his glasses. "I don't know what I have to lose, but I don't know that I want to give it up just yet."
Asher wasn't fazed. "Do what you have to," he allowed. "Thanks for coming this far with me. I couldn't have done much without you."
With that, Asher dismissed the group. Brandon and Whitney left the room immediately. Kelsi, Charlotte, Sam, John, and Phil hung around a little longer, but drifted off before too long. Only Ernie remained.
"Are we going to plan anything else?" he asked, apparently eager to start taking revenge. Asher declined. It was too soon for him. He told Ernie that he needed some time first, and then Ernie too made his exit.
Out of sight of the group, Asher nearly broke down again. This time not from fear or grief as before, but from anger. He made a vow, standing in the room that at one time had been his chemistry class: From that day on, he would show no mercy to anyone who stood against him.