The End of the Beginning
Chapter 8: We Now Have a Chance

The winding dirt road that led to his cabin was unplowed. The approaching vehicle, looking like a cross between a HUMVEE and some kind of electric dune buggy, was silent except for its tires crunching over rocks and snow. LED light racks adorned its top. It had room for only three people, with its rear end being composed of a truck bed that contained tools on racks and in zipped-up packs. A roll cage protected its hoodless cab, side doors, windshield and all. A rack containing more gear extended out over its bed from the cab.

William had never seen such a vehicle before. It was mostly white with some dark blue symbols and its wheels were airless in design, having a honeycomb interior structure. It parked in front of his porch and the engine turned off. William slipped his rifle behind the wooden chair he was in and wiped his eyes. He adjusted his posture to a more proper position and cleared his throat.

Two men emerged from the vehicle and began walking towards him. They could have almost been twins, being of similar builds and dressed the same. They wore athletic-looking white and blue jackets with similar looking pants with what looked to be white reflective patches. Their jackets had many pockets on them and a seal by the shoulder area that William thought looked familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. Both men also wore aviator sunglasses and white gloves with gray fingertips and reflective palms. William could only tell them apart by their hair color. One had brown hair, the other auburn. William took out an E-cigarette and turned it on. Nicotine vapors clouded around his face and then quickly disappeared. The tip of the machine glowed a dim red.

As the two men approached, the brunette man took out a tablet that looked to be made out of glass with protective edges. They stopped a few feet from his porch steps. The man with the tablet took off his sunglasses and stared at the reluctant captain, studying him, looking back and forth between him and the glass tablet. He showed it to his friend. William just continued to puff his E-cigarette, staring right back at him.

Finally, after a tense silence, the man with the auburn hair spoke. “Smoking one of those things will kill you one day you know,” he said tersely.

“They’re supposed to be better than the real things,” replied William.

“Maybe, but it would be a shame to kill yourself using those, don’t you think, Captain? I mean you’ve made it this far. South Korea. Katrina...You’ve been around the block.”

William raised an eyebrow. “Who are you?” he asked, looking closely at the two men. Their clothing and vehicle were high tech. They were most likely from somewhere important, somewhere with an agenda.

The brunette man spoke first. “My name is Roger Wood.”

The second man followed. “Andrew Douglas.”

The man called Roger fixed him with an intense gaze. “Are you Captain William Emerson?”

“Depends on what you have to say,” William said, leaning back against his house.

“Answer the damn question,” Andrew spat, taking a step forward. “We spent a long time looking for you.”

Roger put his arm up in front of Andrew and looked back at William. “Are you Captain William Emerson?” he repeated calmly.

“Yes,” William relented.

“We have finally found the world’s lost hero then,” he said with a sarcastic lilt. “As Andrew here said, you’ve been a little hard to replace. More people than you think have been looking for you for quite some time. After you returned from Korea, you dropped off the map. Why?” “Why?” William retorted, annoyed. Roger looked at him expectantly. He sighed and replied, “The world got too loud for me. It never just listened and stopped for a moment. I wanted some quiet. Here, you can listen and just enjoy.” “Is that really why?” Roger asked, knowingly.

William looked up at him, waiting for him to continue. “Your commanding officers called you a brilliant rescuer. The media called you the Hope Giver. I’ve read almost all of your reports. You’re credited with saving over 350 lives throughout your short tour. Very impressive. You were good. You always seemed to be overcompensating for something though; you could be reckless and put your team at risk on your missions. ‘Arrogant in the face of duty,’ is how General Rose phrased it, I believe. You lost people on that final mission, Captain, and now you can’t live with yourself, is that it? You couldn’t face another loss?” He waited but William did not answer.

“No matter,” he said, breaking the silence. “We’re not here to dwell on the past but to talk about the future. We work for the…” Roger stopped himself and then said, “We work for the United Nations. We’re here to talk to you about joining a new UN organization where your skills would be especially beneficial.” “What organization?” William asked.

Roger took off his sunglasses and began to clean them on his jacket. “Captain,” he said, raising his sunglasses towards the light to check them, “things have changed since the war. The world is ready for something great, something that will make a difference.” He put his sunglasses back on and leaned against the porch. “A mutual friend of ours has spoken very highly of you, both to me and to some people that really matter. Andrew and I have been asked to come here and offer you a position with the organization. For security concerns, I can’t discuss the position with you in detail unless you decide to take it. Our plane leaves tomorrow from the airport at Rainbow Lake, o-eight hundred hours sharp. If you decide to come be prepared to never come back here. All of your needs will be taken care of where we’re going.” “And what if I decide not to go? Am I being drafted here? Is this a military operation? Because I vowed to never return to service.”

“No, it is a totally voluntary, civilian-based organization. Captain, trust me, accepting our offer will be worth it. I was told that you joined the Air Force to save people and make a difference. Well, coming with us will be the biggest step toward making a difference you’ve ever made in your life. And remember this, hiding in these woods won’t change what happened. The world may still be loud out there, but we now have the chance to make it listen.” Roger and Andrew turned and started walking back towards their vehicle. “O-eight hundred tomorrow, Captain,” Roger called over his shoulder.

“Wait!” William cried out as they began opening the doors of their vehicle. “Who is the mutual friend of ours you were talking about?”

Roger turned back, leaning slightly against the car door. He fished something out of his pocket, and gave William an inviting smile. “I guess you’ll just have to come and replace out,” he said, throwing to William what looked to be a tiny gold wafer. William caught it and turned it over in his palm. It was a pin.

William watched as Roger and Andrew got in the vehicle and drove back down the road, leaving him standing alone in his driveway, with more and more questions forming by the second.