by Tom Hunter
Mochni’s eyes shot high into his forehead with a look of utter confusion. “Carry…on?” he asked, savoring the new words.
“It means to keep going no matter what. Even if you are…sad…or mad…or frustrated…whatever.”
Mochni cleared his throat and Robbie glanced up at him once more.
“What is it?” This had all been too much. He was moving away from the devil-may-care YouTube star into bona fide adulthood, and this was not a pleasant realization.
“You. You and Thomas…and the others. Are you -?” he shook his head. “Will you bleed…will you be bleed brothers and help me to…to save my people?” the boy asked, his eyes searching earnestly for response. “If there…if I still have…people. Survivors.”
“Don’t be silly – ” Robbie began and Mochni tensed. Robbie held up a hand and smiled, “Sorry, I didn’t mean I – we – wouldn’t. I meant only…that we already are. We are your brothers and Abby and Alexia must be like sisters to you. Or rather, Abby may be like an older relation. Alexia probably feels like a sister; a kinship with you and your family and your people.” He stopped as Mochni’s head moved from side to side.
Thinking he’d upset the Woidnuk, Robbie added hastily, “I’m sorry about what’s happened to your family and your home. But, Thomas and Abby, Alexia, Pediah, and me…we’re all here for you.” He moved closer to Mochni and extended a hand. “We are…friends.” A hand twice as large as his enveloped him.
“Friends,” Mochni repeated and he pumped Robbie’s hand in solidarity and relief. “Friends and all – everyone is like family. But, Robbie, I ask you to be as bleed brother. We share – “He couldn’t think of the word and so lay his hand over his heart, then over Robbie’s.
“I understand, Mochni. Yes, we share…loss. Abby, too. Deep loss,” Robbie offered a wan smile. “I am…honored, bleed brother.”
Seven
“I come back to camp,” Mochni whispered. “Oh, Ped-i-ah!” Robbie turned to see the man with the Shaggy hair and Scooby-Doo smile approach.
“Hello!” Pediah called. “I have news!”
“What is it?” Robbie asked.
“Thomas and Alexia have found something. We’ve been summoned to Alexia’s tent.”
The team filed into Alexia’s tent. First Abby, then Robbie, then Pediah, who was forced to bend his head slightly in the smaller confines of this tent, and finally, Mochni, who contorted nearly double to fit inside. Packed with so many bodies, it got hot quickly.
“We’re ready, Thom. Whenever you are,” Alexia remarked as she swiped at the laptop’s trackpad to scroll through their images. All eyes turned toward him as he cleared his throat and ran his fingers first through his neatly trimmed beard, then through his not-so-well kempt dark hair. Alexia’s eyes remained on the screen trying to make sure her and Thomas were in sync.
“So, Eknom’s Folly is currently in Noah’s hands,” Thomas began. “And judging by the quake frequencies, the idiot is…practicing.” Thomas frowned and fought the urge to roll his eyes.
“Does he know what his…practicing does to them?” someone asked.
Thomas barely registered the question, then when it sunk in, said slowly, “I don’t know. I just…don’t…know.” He shook his head at the thought and raised his palms upward in resignation. He put a hand over his eyes and squeezed his temples. Then, added, “Either he knows and doesn’t care or he really doesn’t know.”
He stood behind Alexia as her fingers flew across the keyboard. The AR screen in front of them sparked to life and presented their findings. “The point is that his idiocy has lured the Kisgar into some terrible frenzy wreaking who knows what kind of havoc on the Woid- ” She stopped and glanced toward Mochni, a combination of guilt and worry plaguing her expression. “I’m sorry, Mochni. I know this must be terribly hard on you to hear and see this.” Alexia dropped her head back to work and stared fixedly at the keys. Her face was flushed with embarrassment. The thought of how Mochni must be dealing with their team tête-à-têtes hadn’t crossed her mind until just then.
The young Woidnuk, not quite understanding everything because they still spoke just a little too fast, grinned and shrugged. This was also his way to stay low-key, if possible. He opened his mouth to say something and was interrupted by Thomas.
“Mochni, I imagine your people are very, very scared. They may be hiding. But, if we find them, do you think they would help or will they do nothing until the drum is returned?”
“Drum,” the boy replied solemnly. In the briefest instant, the team saw the leader to come. His voice was a balance between command and disapproval. They’d heard the same tone once before, at the seat of Lt. Whipkey.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Thomas pursed his lips and wished for the millionth time he could have known then what he knew now. “I understand the principle behind it, but sometimes you’ve got to consider the greater consequences,” Thomas explained.
Thomas ignored the surprised looks and the thoughts he suspected were behind them. He turned to Mochni, a last-ditch effort, he imagined, but he asked anyway. “Maybe you could talk to them?”
Mochni looked at Robbie, with fear written all over his face.
Robbie nodded encouragingly. “Go ahead, Mochni. You’re not alone. But, it’s you they know. It is you they trust and you are who they will follow. You’re their leader.”
Each “you” cut into Mochni’s carefully constructed world. He just had to hold tight to the emotions which so efficiently fueled his rage. And from time to time, he could hear his father as he were in the room with him: “And what then, Mochni, my son? What will you do when we are avenged, the Kisgar are returned to their place, and the drum is once more safely hidden? How will your emotions guide you then? You must find the balance and be the leader you were born to be.”
His father’s voice faded from his mind, and a lump rose in his throat. Mochni swallowed, raised his head, squared his shoulders, and nodded his agreement.
He cleared his throat and tried again. From somewhere deep within him, Mochni’s voice found its power. “Yes, I will speak to them,” he answered firmly.
“Good. Thank you, Mochni.” Thomas turned back to the others. “Well, that’s one thing taken care of.” He considered how to break the next bit of information to his team and decided levity might be the answer. He crooked his elbow and thrust his index finger into the air and declared dramatically, “But wait, there’s more…!” he presented as if on a television infomercial.
A chorus of sighs answered him.
Pediah took the bait. “What is it?” he asked in a tired voice.
“Noah’s current location is unknown.”
“We know that already. So is Ramon’s, remember?” huffed Robbie.
Thomas shot him a look to back off, and continued. “But our theory,” he explained as he looked to Alexia. “Our theory,” he repeated, slightly louder, to get her attention. Her fingers flew uninterrupted for a few more seconds, then she looked up and nodded.
With a slight smile, she exclaimed, “Oh! Why didn’t you just say, ‘Alexia has a theory she wants to share’ or something?” and swatted Thomas with the back of her hand. The tension, balanced as precariously as a house of cards, broke as the group smiled. The only thing they couldn’t seem to shake was the rumbling of the earth beneath their feet.
“Well, go on, then,” Thomas encouraged. Alexia made a few more adjustments and the image stayed static so she could rise and address the room. She looked at each team member in turn and when she came to Mochni, her brow furrowed. There was something wrong.
“Am I the only one to think of this? Could someone please get Mochni a chair? If he has to contort himself anymore, he might get stuck that way!”
Thomas raced to grab the boy a chair. Mochni landed with a terrific “thwack”, almost breaking the chair. He said a soft thank you to Alexia for thinking of it.
“Okay, now that’s settled, I can get on with it,” Alexia continued. “We all kno
w Ramon is a mercenary. A gun for hire. It’s his job to know where Noah is at all times, to protect him.” She said the last through gritted teeth, and just as quickly regained her composure. “If we can find Ramon before he leaves for his next job, then it’s more than likely we’ll find Noah as well and be able to retrieve the drum,” Alexia finished with a satisfied smile.
“Sounds great, Alexia,” Robbie said. “But just how do you propose to find Ramon, or whoever can point us in the right direction?”
“Oh, that’s the easy part, Robbie. Thanks for playing. Er, asking.” She picked up something small from her work table and smoothed a hand over its plastic cover. A small compact case about the size of a cellphone case lay in her palm. Her thumb toggled a switch and the case sprouted legs and a rotating top. She held it up clamped between her thumb and middle finger. “This little guy has a friend. Thanks to drone surveillance, we’ve been able to do some scouting and have found what looks to be an abandoned airfield in the desert.” As she spoke, she kept her eye on the screens in front of her and from time to time would glance at Thomas to ensure he saw what she saw.
It was he who picked up the thread. “We think Ramon’s men are hiding somewhere in the vicinity. From what we’ve been able to gather from the drone data, it looks like they’re in or near a hidden airbase this side of the border. The heat signatures and the movement imply they’ll soon be on the move again and my – our – ” he glanced back toward Alexia, “guess is that he’s returning to his own military base in Mexico.” Thomas Knight sucked in a deep breath. “And I’m afraid that if he manages to get airborne and into Mexico…then all bets are off and he’s in the wind. We’ll have lost him, with no hope of finding Noah before it’s too late.”
He looked at each of them in turn. “The idea is this. We’re hoping to infiltrate their airfield, capture Ramon, and question him about Noah’s whereabouts. Once we have what we need, we’ll turn Ramon and his goons over to the authorities. From there, we can put our plans into motion to reclaim the drum from Noah.” Thomas Knight’s hands had curled into fists as he spoke and he placed them on his hips. It kept his voice steady as he spoke.
He let the silence hang between them as his words sank in. They’d all been together long enough, he knew, that everyone would have some idea of their role and the dangers involved.
No one spoke as the plan came together in their minds, each one walking through how things could unfold in the upcoming raid. To a man and woman, they were battle hardened and ready. But, a shadow of foreboding hung like a cloud.
It was Robbie who broke the silence.
He clapped once, and it sounded as though a balloon had burst. “I’m in! It’ll be cool to work with the Park Rangers to infiltrate an air base. Very James Bond!” Abby glanced at him sideways and he held up a hand. “Okay, okay. Very Indiana Jones, then,” Robbie corrected.
“I hate to burst your bubble, Robbie. But, for stage one of the plan, we’re on our own,” Thomas remarked wryly.
Robbie stopped mid-clap, and his jaw dropped. “Come again?” He’d been sure the plan would have involved every authority figure they could muster to bring down Noah Ashbridge.
“I know. I know. Not ideal.” Thomas frowned and rubbed his temples.
“Ya think?” Robbie was flabbergasted. “So, you want to go in blind and alone?”
In the same breath, Abby and Pediah exclaimed, “Are you crazy?”
Thomas held up a hand and motioned for everyone to be silent. “I am not a complete fool,” he began. “Let me explain.”
“That’s a good idea,” Alexia muttered.
“We’re taking a page from Noah’s own playbook and tweaking it to suit our needs. Think about it. Noah has shown an exceptional ability to infiltrate us with his own people. In fact, it’s his preferred M.O. to get his information from spies working in and among local agencies.”
The others began to nod their understanding. Thomas continued without stopping and asked the question everyone had been asking themselves, but no one had voiced. “How else do you suppose he always happens to be in the right place at the right time? No one is that lucky.”
Whispers of “that’s true” and “good point” filled the space as the team considered what they’d heard so far.
Thomas went on. “Pediah, remember how we thought Ramon was just a good guy to have on that first expedition? He was a good worker, quiet, carried most of the load, kept to himself. He was the perfect – ” Thomas stopped short and muttered just loud enough for all to hear, “shoulda let him drop,” he spat.
Then, in an imitation of Noah’s sardonic smile, he added, “And we had no idea he was one of Noah’s!” He paused to catch his breath and let his anger evaporate before he went on. His eyes gained intensity.
“Let’s not forget Miss Welker’s role in helping Noah to lay a path of destruction before and after us. Howard.” Thomas began to tick off each point on the pads of his fingers. “Our little adventure with Miss Welker in the tunnels below ground. Her sneaking into our camp while we were away and twisting that poor Matthews guy into helping her.” He held up four fingers. “I could go on.” Thomas paused and said softly, “But I see you all get my point.”
Pediah nodded, then the others followed suit as Thomas laid out the reasons for their distractions and delays.
“Good, now that we understand the problem…” his voice trailed off and he turned toward Robbie. “Robbie, here’s why we can’t bring the Rangers in just yet.” Thomas paused and took a sip of water from the canteen slung across his shoulders.
“If we bring this to the Rangers first, and if Noah just happens to have someone on their payroll, which is more than likely, then he’ll know what we’re up to. See?”
A few mumbles of agreement greeted him and Thomas spoke again. “Right. We have no time to amass a large-scale assault on their compound, wherever it may be. Therefore, a smaller team may have a better shot of approaching and exiting unseen.”
“I see your point, Thomas. And I understand the reasoning behind it. But I’ve got to say…” Abby looked around the room at the others. “I think I speak for everyone here. Have you gone completely bonkers?”
Thomas opened his mouth to answer, amid the smirks of the others, when Alexia stood up. “Listen, when he told me this insane plan, I thought he had lost his marbles, too. Gone ‘round the friggin’ pike as a friend of mine used to say.” She drew in a breath and exhaled slowly. “Let’s think about it, guys. On some level it makes sense, don’t you think?” she asked, her eyes pleading for them to understand. Then she smiled a wicked smile and added, “Also, we have one thing Noah doesn’t know about…”
She watched the others fight to contain the confusion on their faces, and picked up one of her drones, in its form as a plastic cube. “We have drones to provide surveillance of the area and I have a particular plan in mind that I think will work for us to infiltrate him for once.” She set her mouth in a firm line and bobbed her head sharply. Then she set the device down. “But, it’ll take each one of us to pull this off.”
Their fear had intensified with the ever-recurring tremors undulating beneath their feet, a constant reminder of the type of battle they truly faced. The team gathered close as Alexia began to explain part two of the plan.
Eight
From the inside of an old air hangar in an abandoned airfield, a pink and purple-hued sun cast its light deep into the building’s dusty recesses through large windows near the roof. In any other place or time, the light might have given the people inside a sense of calm. But it did little to dissipate the tensions permeating the air. Ramon swiped his ear with his shoulder in an odd and unfamiliar tic. Something felt wrong, and he hated not being able to determine what it was.
The clank, clatter, and thud of boxes and crates being loaded onto trucks and hover vehicles echoed and bounced against metal walls. Ramon raised a hand to shield his eyes, and surveyed the activity. They’d had to act fast and had disguised the trucks which norm
ally bore his mercenary band’s symbol proudly. But, with the heat on from the authorities, he’d thought it best to go as deep under cover as they could so they could more easily spirit themselves across the border and into a safer haven. They’d stop in Mexico, he’d explained to his team, and from there, perhaps all the way back to his home in Brazil. He had safehouses scattered across Central and South America. They could regroup and find a new Noah Ashbridge to work for. The thought of someone who could afford to pay them was all motivation the group needed.
They’d tip their hand when the time was right, but as confident as he was in his decisions, Ramon could not shake the cold finger of foreboding crawling up his spine. “Someone walking over my grave,” he growled to a soldier who happened to notice his shiver.
The soldier narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to one side, but at Ramon’s deadly stare, he swallowed and moved on to his place in the assembly line of loading the hover vehicles.
The air was thick with tension. The men’s restlessness was compounded by the gentle flutter of the earth shifting beneath their feet. A distant echo of rumbling to mark its truth. Ramon made his way past the trucks and other vehicles toward the prop plane he’d stored there. On his way, he called two of his men over. Without a word, they stopped what they were doing and followed him to the old plane that was their workhorse.
Ramon smiled as he ran a hand around the smooth metal and over the slight bumps of rivets that were not quite flush. Then he drew down the steps and took a quick peek inside to make sure all was in order. With a quick word to the soldiers he’d commandeered as guards, Ramon left as he laughed softly to himself and thought what a great purchase he’d made. His baby was perfect for transporting him and his troops, while Ashbridge and Knight lumbered their way along in ground-based vehicles.
The buzz of a radio stopped him. He stood beside a member of his mercenary band to listen. The message was from his base in Mexico. Things were not going as planned.
