THE MASTERMIND
817 Words
Victor's words hung in the air like smoke.
"Someone else. Someone worse."
Elliot tightened his grip on the man's throat. "Who?"
"I don't know his real name. He calls himself the Shepherd."
"The Shepherd?"
"He leads the movement. The militias. The attacks. He's the one giving the orders."
"Where is he?"
"No one knows. He communicates through encrypted messages. Never shows his face."
Elliot released him. Victor slumped to the floor.
"You're lying."
"I wish I was."
Frank pulled Elliot aside.
"He's telling the truth. I've heard rumors about the Shepherd for months. No one knows who he is."
"Then we find out."
"How?"
Adam spoke through the earpiece. "I've been tracking the militia's communications. The Shepherd's messages are encrypted with a code I've never seen."
"Can you break it?"
"Maybe. But it will take time."
"We don't have time."
The attacks continued through the night.
Explosions in the cities. Gunfire at copy shelters. People dying.
Elliot listened to the reports, his heart heavy.
"How many?" he asked.
Adam's voice was grim. "Over a hundred dead. Thousands wounded."
"Copies?"
"Mostly. Some humans who were helping copies."
Elliot's hands curled into fists. "We need to stop this."
"How? We don't know where the next attack will be."
"Then we protect the copies we have. Bring them here."
"There are thousands of copies, Elliot. We can't bring them all here."
"Then we bring as many as we can."
The evacuation began at dawn.
Vans fanned out across the country, picking up copies from shelters, from cities, from hiding.
Elliot coordinated from the command center, his eyes on the map.
"Adam, where's the next attack?"
"I don't know. The Shepherd's communications have gone silent."
"That means he's planning something big."
"I know."
The attack came at noon.
Not at a shelter. Not at a city.
At the cave.
Elliot felt the explosion through his feet. The ground shook. Dust fell from the ceiling.
"Mortars," Frank shouted. "From the ridge."
"Who?"
"The Shepherd."
The copies gathered in the main cavern.
Fear was thick in the air. Children cried. Adults whispered.
Elliot stood at the front. "We're under attack. The Shepherd has found us. But we're not going to run."
David spoke. "What are we going to do?"
"We're going to fight. And we're going to win."
Frank led a team to the ridge.
Elliot followed, his rifle raised. The sun was bright, casting long shadows across the rocks.
"There," Frank said, pointing to a cluster of figures on the mountain.
Elliot raised his scope. Armed men. Dozens of them.
"The Shepherd's people."
"They found us."
"Then we make them regret it."
The battle was brutal.
Elliot fired until his rifle clicked empty. Frank covered him while he reloaded. Marcus held the left flank.
"How many?" Elliot shouted.
"Too many," Frank replied.
"We need reinforcements."
"Adam, send everyone."
"On their way."
David's team arrived first.
Then Maria's. Then Lily's.
The militia was pushed back.
"Keep firing," Elliot shouted.
The militia broke.
They ran.
The Shepherd's people retreated into the mountains.
Elliot stood on the ridge, watching them go.
Frank walked up beside him. "They'll be back."
"I know."
"We need to find the Shepherd. Cut off the head."
"Adam, where's his headquarters?"
"I don't know. But I'm working on it."
The days that followed were tense.
Elliot moved the copies deeper into the caves. Sentries were posted at every entrance. Patrols swept the canyon every hour.
Daphne found him in the command center, staring at the map.
"You're not sleeping," she said.
"I can't."
"The children are scared. They need you."
"I need to protect them."
"By burning yourself out?"
Elliot was silent.
Daphne took his hand. "You're not alone. Let us help."
The breakthrough came on the third day.
Adam cracked the Shepherd's encryption. "His headquarters is in an old military bunker. About three hundred miles from here."
"How many people?"
"Dozens. Maybe more."
Elliot studied the map. "We hit him fast. Hard. Before he knows we're coming."
The mission took two days to plan.
Elliot led the team. Frank covered the rear. Marcus handled security.
The bunker was hidden in a forest, surrounded by trees.
Elliot lay on the ridge, watching through his scope.
"Guards at every entrance," Frank said. "At least thirty."
"We go in at night."
The attack began at midnight.
Elliot's team moved through the darkness, silent, deadly.
Guards fell. Doors opened.
The Shepherd was in the main room, surrounded by his lieutenants.
Elliot kicked the door open. "Nobody move."
The Shepherd turned.
He was young—maybe thirty. Dark hair. Cold eyes. He wore a black uniform, no insignia.
"You're Elliot Reed," the Shepherd said.
"And you're the Shepherd."
"A name they gave me. Not one I chose."
Elliot raised his rifle. "Call off the attacks."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because they're not listening to me anymore."
"Then who?"
The Shepherd smiled. "Someone else. Someone worse."
- Writer
