Critical Dawn by Colin F. Barnes, Darren Wearmouth

“He’s waiting by the paddocks.”
    “Thanks. Come with me,” Gregor said.
    Augustus walked past a large table surrounded by the helmeted surveyors and acknowledged them with a raised hand. A couple nodded their helmets, clicking excitedly.
    The small delegation arrived at the bank of monitors. Vlad swiveled in his chair.
    After good results in Russia, Gregor was promoted to North America as the Operation switched during a seasonal change. He took key members of his former gang, or at least the most subservient. Marek, Alex, Igor, and Vlad had all joined him on the shuttle over the Atlantic.
    “Vlad, take Mr. Augustus though events as you saw them.”
    The small, greasy-haired man pushed his glasses toward his face with his index finger. “During the removal of a resource, due to reaching the age of mental deterioration, the harvester took some external damage. The onboard team couldn’t manage to switch to back-up or control the situation, so I ordered them to the rear for our guard to deal with. After this, we lost all contact. A report is due from the patrol at any moment.”
    Augustus leaned forward. “Is this the same as the other two times?”
    Vlad glanced at Gregor.
    “Look at me, not him. I’m the one asking the question,” Augustus said.
    “Very similar, apart from the resource switch, but—”
    Augustus turned to Gregor. “It seems you haven’t managed to get a grip of the local situation. Are you capable of handling it?”
    “I was going to report to you today, Mr. Augustus,” Gregor said. “We suspect one of our team with collusion. I’m going to personally deal with it.”
    “Is this true, Alex?” Augustus said.
    “Ye… Ye…” Alex said.
    “Stop stuttering, woman. Is this true?”
    Alex nodded.
    “I’m not sure I believe you. But execute him anyway. Put his body to good use.”
    “We’ve got him waiting by the paddocks. Would you like to see it?” Gregor said.
    “That’s your business. I’m going to spend the day talking to the croatoans. I want to get a good feel about local progress. You better get focused on sorting things out. If another harvester goes offline, you go offline. Do you understand?”
    “Of course, Mr. Augustus,” Gregor said as he imagined strangling him.
    “Meet me back here in three hours. We’ll talk once we know more.”
    Gregor left the building with Alex. They cut between the two warehouses and headed toward the farm. Igor waved as they approached. He stood by the eight-foot electric fence that surrounded eight separate paddocks, each forty square acres.
    Humans clustered together in the paddocks like flocks of sheep, dressed in dirty white sheets. Most under the makeshift shelters, some sitting around, eating from silver trays.
    “You wanted to see me, Gregor?” Igor said.
    Gregor approached and held his arms out. “Brother Igor, we’ve had another harvester sabotaged. Can you believe it?”
    “It’s the little wasp. I know it. That piece of shit,” Igor said and spat on the ground.
    “Augustus’s pissed. He came down straight away,” Alex said.
    “I saw the shuttle. What did he say?”
    “That we need to sort things out,” Gregor said. “Have you been speaking to anyone about the harvesters?”
    Igor shook his head. “They’re not part of my job. Are you suggesting I’ve been giving their intended paths away? I’m not the one who got caught with my pants down. You need to speak with Marek.”
    “Are you telling me what to do?” Gregor said. Igor stood motionless, mouth hanging open. “Do I have to ask you twice?”
    “No. You can trust me implicitly to do what’s best for the team.”
    That was Gregor’s main concern. What Igor thought was best for the team probably involved him being boss. The individual problems were mounting, but at least he had license to execute the Russian if needed.

Chapter Eleven
    Ben squinted at the sudden flash of light.
    The place smelled fresh and unfamiliar, a scent rooted in nature and in