Free The Apostates by Lars Teeney Page A

key is missing,” Rodrigo
said matter of factually, “Please take me to him.”
    “Sir!” Head Ranger Frank clicked his
heels.
    They traveled down to the central rail
yard. The commander of the unit and his lieutenant were being interrogated by a
couple of Rangers. The two were perched on an old picnic bench and the
interrogators hovered over them like predatory birds. Rodrigo, decked out in
his spandex cycling outfit, slowly swaggered over to the scene. The commander
looked up at Inquisitor Rodrigo as he approached. He had a look of dread on his
face.
    “Commander, I am glad to see you well,”
Rodrigo said.
    “Thank—Thank you sir. I am
fortunate,” the commander said hesitantly.
    “Yes! Very fortunate. A true blessing.”
The sarcasm in Rodrigo’s voice was apparent now. “It was very fortunate that
the majority of your unit was away,” Rodrigo prodded.
    “I am glad that we were not wiped out,
Inquisitor,” the commander said nervously.
    Rodrigo paced back and forth in front of the commander. He glanced to the south, appearing to be contemplating a matter. Rodrigo unlatched his cycling helmet from under his chin, and removed it, leaving it dangling from his right hand by his side. He turned and faced the commander.
    “Commander, what was the nature of your
excursion?” Rodrigo asked.
    The commander glanced at the Inquisitor,
then at the Head Ranger nervously. He was visibly shaken. “We were scouting the
surrounding area for signs of the Apostates, sir,” he answered.
    “Lieutenant, can you confirm this as the
objective?” Rodrigo pressed.
    “No sir, I can’t. We went to get some “R
and R” at a neighboring town’s brothel,” the lieutenant was truthful in his
answer.
    The commander looked down and muttered a
profanity under his breath.
    “Interesting. Commander, do you have any
clue as to where your unit’s encryption key is located?” Rodrigo looked tense
as he asked the question. The bike helmet swayed in the breeze.
    “Well, uh...sir, I believe I left it in
the desk drawer in the office I use—”
    “Yes you did! Unsecured. You left your
post with most of your force. Only leaving a skeleton crew to secure your base of
operations. You went on an “R and R” excursion without permission, and you
allowed your encryption key to be taken by the opposition, potentially
compromising our most secure organizational information,” Rodrigo was furious
for a split second, then the poker face took over.
    “What really hurts my feelings...is that you lied to me,” Rodrigo finished his sentence then raised his arm, wound up the helmet with a few rotations and brought the bike helmet down on the top of the commander’s head. The sound of molded plastic on skull rang out. Rodrigo rotated his body and landed another backhand swing with the helmet square on the commander’s nose. The crumbling of cartilage was heard. He landed further successive blows, cracking skull and splitting flesh. In those few moments, he had the look of a demon possessed. The plastic of the helmet cracked and jagged pieces of plastic caught skin and tore flesh away from the face of the commander. No one dared intervene. When Rodrigo was finished the commander was unrecognizable and he was out a bike helmet.
    Rodrigo composed himself, then, turned to face the lieutenant, who was wide-eyed with fear, but had kept calm throughout the beating. Rodrigo stood over him, gazing down and rubbing the bit of stubble on his chin.
    “Thank you for your candor, lieutenant. I
appreciate honesty in my officers. It is a commendable trait. That is what this
organization runs on; honesty and loyalty,” Rodrigo confessed.
    “Th-Thank you sir. I try—” He was
interrupted.
    “But, you served under an ineffectual
officer and must pay the price,” Rodrigo delighted.
    He bent up his leg toward his torso and snatched off a clip-in bike shoe from his right foot. He held it from the toe section with the cleats facing outward. Rodrigo drew his