Mac used the PA system on the ship to announce periodically throughout the day that the citizens could show their willingness to surrender by hanging a white cloth out their window. By nightfall, most of the city was bathed in white. This was not surprising; most would be civilians. All of the military were hiding inside the mountain. Mac took the ship out of the harbour so that they would be safe if the Alaskan military came out of their fortress. She had learned about surprise sorties when she was five.
Once again, the mountain was hit by a large object at 2:30 the morning of the 16th. It was Friday. Will had predicted that The Citadel would surrender today.
# # # # # # # #
At 10:30 that morning, with the carrier back in Anchorage harbour, Mac placed a call to SCAT. Since the carrier was part of The Citadel's communication network, she was able to make it into a giant conference call. Everybody within the Alaskan military heard it; everyone in Anchorage close to the ship heard it as well.
"SCAT, I'd advise you to surrender. All of the city will be surrendering. I'm trying to avoid more deaths."
"Mac, we're inside an impenetrable fortress. Even if you were to gain entry, every tunnel you'll take will have booby traps and hidden weapon placements; the interior is a maze – you'll never find us. Meanwhile we will know where you are at all times. A push of a button and the tunnel you're walking in will become a death trap. We will never surrender."
"SCAT, you've mistaken the purpose of our bombing. We're not trying to get into your fortress. We're bombing the mountain to stop you from getting out."
Silence.
"SCAT, you haven't seen the outside of Flattop Mountain recently. I have left your personnel in the radar stations alive so that they can tell you what they see. Our next attack is going to bring the entire mountainside down over the one and only exit that you have from your fortress. You'll be alive but imprisoned underground until your food and water run out. We don't care how you choose to die SCAT, or how the other supreme beings in your military decide to die. But we believe the men you have coerced for generations to serve in your sick dream of world domination might care. Every soldier in your fortress can hear this final warning."
"White flag for surrender. Do it before nightfall. Disable all weapons. Do not hide anyone within your group to attack us when we accept your surrender. At 9 p.m. tonight, if you haven't surrendered, we're burying that single exit from your fortress under a thousand tons of rock. Civilians of Anchorage: Get far away from that fortress today. We can't control how far that mountainside is going to slide. We'll start accepting surrenders at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning at the airport."
# # # # # # # #
"That should do it," Mac said to Izzy. It was more than two hours after the final warning and a steady stream of men had walked out of the mountain. A number of military men with various braid and ribbons on their uniforms were also out of the mountain, but they had been carried out on wooden stretchers. Men had stacked the stretchers in front of the mountain and had made their way to the airport. People were already there, picking out places to sit, and presumably to sleep.
"That's everybody," a big-chested man shouted at the ship. "Nobody is left inside. We took care of the entire military hierarchy. Hope you burn them," and he pointed at the bodies. Then he too headed out to the airport.
"Guess you get to keep the last submarine, Will," Mac said.
"Good. I was hoping to put it to a different use than bombing a mountain."
Mac raised an eyebrow at Izzy and she shrugged that she didn't know.
"Wolf and TG said that the subs were easy to steer."
"Yah. We started them way high, positioned them bow down, and by the time that they reached top speed, nothing was going to stop them. Heavy weight. Long fall. Huge amount of energy that was going to be released when it crashed into the mountain. Stupid people, those supreme beings giving themselves only one exit."
"So you're off?" Mac turned to Izzy.
"Yeah. Will and I aren't able to screen any of the people surrendering. Granny, Yolanda, and Winnie will do that. Yollie is coming up if she can. The regular citizens can stay where they are. We'll give ownership of the city back to them after they elect a town council. Wizard wants to look at the people who have skills that might be useful outside of the military. He may ask some of them if they want to move to Alberta. Hank is going to take anyone who can't be trusted to some secure place. Not sure where yet. Depends on the numbers. Are you and Wolf off today?"
"Honeymoon."
"Enjoy."
"We plan to."
"See you soon." Izzy and Will moved to a spot on the carrier where they couldn't be seen from the city and flickered out of sight. Back home to the compound.
# # # # # # # #
"Will, do you have everything you need?" Izzy asked at the side of the copter.
"Yah Izzy, we can go. You sure you know how to pilot a big Saskatchewan copter?"
"Mathias gave me instructions."
A minute later, the monster copter was rising in the air when something in the cockpit exploded. The copter burst into flame and crashed into the old pioneer home beneath it. Nobody was in the compound at the time to witness what had happened. Within half an hour, the copter and house were charred and twisted wreckage.
In a lab deep underground in Edmonton, an evil gnome knew what had happened. "Boom," he said. Then he dropped the helicopter's transponder control and waved his arms in the air. "Beep beep," he sniggered.
Back to the Table of Contents
Chapter 42
My readers will have known that this ending was coming. Everybody knows that Will and Izzy died on the afternoon of Friday, November 16, 2083 when Zzyk's bomb exploded their copter above the old pioneer house. I suspect that you may be reading my book to see if I can shed additional light on what happened.
The answer to that is, No I can't. You'll already know that I took most of the information for my books from Will and Izzy's two journals. My sources outside of those journals were quite limited.
I can tell you that when both of Izzy and Will's brain-plugs went off line, Hank took charge immediately. The Wilizy who were in Anchorage and couldn't be spared stayed there. The others left immediately for the compound. Yollie, Stu, and Liset were coming to the compound from a different direction and arrived first. Yollie immediately turned around taking Liset with her so that she wouldn't remember the day. She was in touch with Hank in time for him to keep the other youngsters away from the crash scene. The people readers in Anchorage – Yolanda, Granny and Winnie – tried to keep going after the word spread but couldn't. The citizens didn't notice or care that they had another day on the tarmac at the airport. Lucas, Theo, Mathias, and Reese kept them all from straying but were ignorant as to why they had been left in charge.
The men cleaned up the compound as quickly as they could. Water to cool the wreckage and filament pallets to clear it away. Hank dumped these in a spot that he would never reveal. They made no attempt to keep any body parts, what few remained. They did find, and examine, the brain-plugs. Definitely Will and Izzy's.
For the next week, the family remained in shock. A concerted effort was made to settle the Anchorage situation. They discovered only a few malcontents, so most of the people at the airport were simply sent back to their houses. They told the Alaskans that they should establish a form of government and Stu would travel up to Anchorage periodically to help them with that process. In February of 2084, the Wilizy formally handed over the land and the town to the city government. A plaque honouring that day can still be found at the airport where the ceremony took place. What remained of the fortress entrance was cemented over.
Most of the Alaskans who attracted Wizard's interest agreed to relocate in time. They would stay in Anchorage until Wizard was ready for them. I will give you more details about them in coming books.
The Wilizy quickly made the two deaths public. I'm sure all my readers will know what was said. The WZBN took
pains to remove any faint hopes. People had thought Will and Izzy had been assassinated before; the WZBN assured their viewer that there would be no sudden revival. They did tell the viewers that Will and Izzy had died in a war against an overwhelming force that was intent on enslaving all of Alberta's citizens and forcing them through brain-bands to serve in an army intent on taking over western Canada first, but eventually the world. They also announced that, in the process of winning that war, Will and Izzy had helped to destroy the IOF's baby making gestational units. From now on, Alberta's babies would all be different and the women would be able to have babies. Also, Zzyk was no longer ruling the IOF. His replacement was committed to working with the Wilizy to bring more freedom to Albertans along with a thriving economy.
The faint hope that Will and Izzy's deaths were a massive hoax was finally put to rest when the Wilizy erected their new office building on the site of the old pioneer home. For this, the Wilizy brought in the Aboriginal Nation's entire border patrol who had wanted to honour them in some way. Using lumber from Clearwater, they quickly erected the new building and even finished the interior.
That multi-storied building is still there, although the site has been abandoned for many years. Part of the main floor remained as it used to be; a community hall for the Wilizy family complete with what appeared to be a replica or cousin of the old piano that had been present in the original pioneer building. The roof was unusual. It contained a titanium shield with a giant W and Y on it – both in emerald green. An emerald-coloured stone was placed between the letters, but it actually was a laser port that could destroy any large falling object. TG had taken notice of that vulnerability and had ensured that it couldn't happen to them. TG also added new technology to the compound's defenses periodically, but the basics of the security fence remained what Will had devised.
I was saying that the construction of the Wilizy office building put an end to any false hope. That's because two of the cornerstones to that building were special. Both blocks were covered in titanium. On one was etched R.I.P. Will Wilizy, 2066-2083. The other said R.I.P. Izzy Wilizy, 2066-2083. This information, coming as it did from people who were not associated with the Wilizy, left no doubt in the larger population's collective mind that they truly were dead. The Will and Izzy mania gradually faded away after that.
It must have taken every bit of self-restraint that Hank and Yolanda had to collect Zzyk from his lab without killing him on the spot. There is no record of what Zzyk said when he saw them at his lab door. We do know what he said afterwards. Mostly guttural grunts.
Hank and Yolanda put Zzyk on tour through Alberta. Zzyk sat in a comfortable chair. He had a carefully planned schedule in which he could meet Albertan citizens who wanted to greet him and express appreciation for what Zzyk had done to them personally, or to their family, or to their ancestors, or to the province as a whole. Zzyk also had the distinct pleasure of wearing one of his brain-bands, and his greeters were given the distinct pleasure of expressing their feelings by pushing the button of the brain-band controller connected to Zzyk's new jewelry. To ensure that Zzyk's health allowed him to meet as many of his citizens as possible, the length and intensity of their welcome were controlled. Zzyk made it through the entire tour and died shortly afterwards. He was buried in a remote area of the province that has never been revealed.
Back to the Table of Contents
Chapter 43
While all my readers will know what happened on November 17, 2083, you won't be aware of what happened inside the Wilizy compound more than ten months after Will and Izzy had died. It's now the early afternoon of September 1, 2084 and the Wilizy are preparing to celebrate the second anniversary of Assassination Day.
Reese and Yolanda were in the kitchen of the community hall preparing food for their Assassination Day party and the arrival of their guests. Yolanda was doing the preparing part; Reese was conducting the taste tests.
"Mom," Reese said. "I miss Izzy."
"We all do," Yolanda replied.
"Why did she have to die?"
"We explained that to you, Reese."
"I know. Zzyk's bomb inside the copter. Not being able to lead a proper life with people prying into whatever she was doing. But couldn't she have hidden here?"
"No, Reese. She had to disappear so that people would forget her."
"Melissa is exactly the same person as Izzy, right?"
"Sort of. You'll notice a bit of a change."
"And William is the same person as Will too?"
"Yes. But we have to keep all of that secret."
"Can I wear Winnie's space helmet when they're here?"
"You better put it on soon. They're one minute away."
# # # # # # # #
Melissa and her mom were in the kitchen of the community hall, having found a quiet time to catch up. Most of the Wilizy were gathered around the piano and Mac was taking requests. Turns out that the piano wasn't a replica after all. The Wilizy had moved the entire contents of the pioneer house out of the pioneer building and into Will and Izzy's house before the Alaska operation began.
Melissa was sitting in a straight-back chair – the only way she could sit down and get out of a chair these days. Mac was also pregnant, but her due date was in mid-October. Melissa's was September 23, which was very close now. She and her mom were talking about the first time that William and Melissa had flown in the Wilizy's submarine.
"After Zzyk exploded the bomb in the monster copter, we released the tether that we had used to lift it over the community hall. He had no idea that we weren't in it. Then we flew to Stanford where William could work on the sub. We both wanted to have a viewing port in the sub so that we could see where we were going. So, like I said, we stayed a couple of weeks. I relaxed on the grass most of the time."
"Then William announced that the sub was ready. I put on some sexy clothes that I had bought in California and William had some nice clothes too. We flew into the atmosphere and kept going. Subs are very heavy but it was an easy flight. He had placed a lot of pinky ring batteries onto the filaments."
We had plenty of oxygen tanks, but the sub was built to not let anything like water leak in, or air leak out, so we didn't worry too much about that. William took me out into space and we only stopped when we could see the whole planet. We stared at it for a while and he said some romantic things to me, and I said some romantic things to him, and we made some promises. Then we tried to have sex for the first time. That wasn't so romantic because we were weightless. We ended up laughing so hard that we couldn't stop. Sex was impossible! We cuddled and celebrated our marriage without any stress on the first time. Worked out well.
"You're OK not being involved in the daily Wilizy business?"
"Sure. I get to have children and these two are just the start. Yollie & TG, and Wolf & Mac live on either side of us and we're all going to share in parenting the children. William, TG and Wolf are working on a super secret project, which you know that I can't explain. But they're always home by dinnertime and we eat together as a big family. We all get along and William is really happy because he's doing something important. We're still going to be Wilizy Warriors and William will continue to invent things for the family. I still can be a strategist if the Wilizy ever needs me, and Mac can be the battle commander too. But right now, she's a wife and mother first. We'll visit the compound more often now that curiosity seekers aren't hanging around. Plus you can visit us. We're not very far away by supersonic flight."
"Yollie is still keeping the Yollie name?"
"Yah. She and TG will be trying to make another baby soon. I think she's doing it because I'm having two at once. Yo-Yo is eight months old now and is recognizing words. You'll have five grandchildren before the end of the year."
"Is it true that your twins were conceived in the submarine?"
"Sort of. William and TG know a lot about genetics now, which is why they were able to change all of Ingrid's baby making equipment. All the IOF's baby
girls born this last June 30 will be fertile in about twelve years. Rick knew that, so when dad went to him and argued that he should keep the gestational units operating for a while but not very much longer, he didn't argue too hard. You know all that. But what we kept secret from you and dad was that William wanted to do some special gestational work for our two babies. So I went to the genetics lab in January for a short time. Afterwards William and I immediately went into space in the submarine and he did what he was supposed to do. Then we came home fast."
"Why fast?"
"Space radiation. It's out there and William doesn't know if he's blocking it all. We didn't go very far into space, made the babies, and came home. The sub has a reputation as a result. Whenever one of us books the submarine for a weekend, the other two couples tease them a lot."
"Why so many trips?"
"It's very romantic in the sub looking at the earth from a distance while you're spinning weightless. Very, very romantic, Mom. You and Dad can see for yourself how romantic it is when you come down to help me with the births. William and I found out how to have weightless sex. I can tell you if you're interested."
"Melissa! I'd never discuss..."
"Got'cha."
"Obnoxious human watermelon."
"I'm kind of scared about that, actually."
"Scared of what?"
"Being such a watermelon and then what comes afterwards."
"You'll be fine. Every woman gets nervous about that. We'll help you. Doc is coming with Granny, of course. Patella can give you some advice too on multiple births."
"Patella?"
"She had a litter in June. Two males and one female. We kept the female. Winnie named her Scapula and said that she'd be like Patella. We returned the males to the Yukon wild."
"Why there?"
"That's where the sire was. Patella met him when we were fighting the Alaskans in November, made a date with him for when she came into heat, and the rest is history."
"Really?"
"No, but that's Winnie's story and she's sticking to it. Being the matchmaker that she's become, I think Winnie was the one who made the date. However Patella definitely wanted to leave the compound when she came into heat in April."