“So, the plane—?” Mercy prompted Barnes.
“Yeah, well, Dimitri said it’s a good one, a Beechcraft King Air, I think he said. Seats eleven people. He seemed pretty excited. It’ll need refuelling but we found a fuel dump near the hangars, so it’s all good—”
“Thank heavens for the National Guard,” Mercy said.
“Yeah, well, I wonder where those poor guys are now,” Rose said.
“Wherever. Well… they’re not here now and we are, so I guess that’s all that matters,” Mercy said, her voice flat.
Rose caught Mercy’s eye.
I know Rose—
“So, Barnes, if things work out with the plane will you come with us to California?” Rose asked.
Shit Rose, right in there, no filter as usual—
Barnes coughed, “I’ve been thinking about that. There’s logistics and planning to do. Dimitri says the plane’s range is a tad over two thousand miles. We worked out it’s about two thousand, six hundred miles to Naval Base Ventura—”
“So, we’d be about five or six hundred miles short of our destination,” Rose said.
Mercy closed her eyes, “Would that place us somewhere near the Grand Canyon then?”
“Your geography’s not bad. You’re not far off,” Barnes replied. “Flagstaff, Arizona would be nearer the mark. We’d put down somewhere around there. We may find fuel for the plane… or not, in which case we’d have to find alternative transport to the naval base—”
Mercy smiled, “Flagstaff… Arizona? Hey Barnes, I might get to see the Grand Canyon yet… and you might get your road trip on Route 66—”
Barnes laughed, “Dream on girl, I doubt we’ll find Harleys. Knowing our luck we’ll just find some old beat up pick-up truck—”
“Hey, let’s not be negative, I’m a glass-half-full kind of girl,” Mercy replied, enjoying the banter.
That’s not strictly true, but the thought of going to California… of maybe getting rid of this NSA parasite inside me. The same for Rose and the others. Dare I hope for a normal life after that? With Flynn? Huh… what is “normal” anyway? The old normal sure didn’t work out well did it? There’ll just have to be a new normal—
“I’m hungry,” Rose said. “Wanna check the army kitchen back in the passenger terminal for food?”
“Yeah, let’s go Rose,” Mercy stood up, glad for something to do. “We’ll get a bite to eat. Barnes you’ll make your call once the phone is charged then we’ll get back to the horses. We should probably stay the night at the farm we spotted before the river. We can always come back here tomorrow. Wanna come and look for some food Barnes?”
Barnes looked distracted, “What? Oh, no thanks… I’m good. I’ll stay here with the phone. I’m just thinking about… options.”
“OK, no worries, we’ll bring something back for you if we find anything,” Mercy replied.
Mercy, Annalise and Rose left the control room. They took their time, giving the car park and its chained tropes a wide berth. They searched the passenger terminal and found several crates of MRE ration packs behind the kitchen area. They ate in silence at one of the dining tables in the passenger hall.
Finally, Mercy threw down her empty MRE, “Christ. Is it just me? It’s like waiting for a baby to be born or—”
“Like waiting for the results of an exam at school or something,” Annalise said, “not that I was much good at that stuff—”
“Come on, let’s get back to Barnes. I want to be there when he makes the call,” Mercy said, standing up.
“Yeah, he would’ve radioed us if he’d had any news, wouldn’t he?” Rose said. “I’ll bring him some of these.” She scooped up a handful of MREs.
They made their way back to the air traffic control room and found Barnes at a window. He had peeled back a few of the body bags from the windows and was staring across the airport apron to the hangars. The satellite phone was in his hand. Its battery light was glowing green.
Mercy glanced at Rose.
Barnes turned to them as they approached, “How did you get on?”
“Good,” Rose replied, “I got these for you.” She handed Barnes the MREs, glancing at the labels, “Beef teriyaki and… meatloaf with gravy—”
Barnes took the MREs then looked out the window again. Dimitri and Flynn were walking across the tarmac towards them. Barnes turned back to Mercy, Rose and Annalise, “I just got off the horn with Constantine. She’s alive. Her aerial recon spotted the alphas and mechs in DC. She made the call to use a tactical nuke. It was a five kiloton warhead, the smallest one. It saved lives in the end. They wiped out central DC—”
Mercy stood still, processing Barnes’s words.
There was a lengthy pause before Barnes continued, “I gave Constantine our sitrep and told her about the Naval Base transmission—”
Mercy clenched her hands and held her breath.
“Constantine knows about Naval Base Ventura County. She had tried to get their support in her fight against the NSA but they declined. Turns out they had their own issues to deal with. Anyhow, Constantine wants us to follow through. She wants us to make the trip to California and be her… envoy. She wants to forge an alliance with the west coast… to start to reclaim what’s left of the country. She’s going to contact the naval base and tell them that we’re coming. She’ll call me back in twenty four hours with more details.”
Mercy looked at Rose and Annalise.
Barnes flinched, “Shit, I’ve made it sound like an order. It’s not an order. Constantine stressed it was voluntary, she sends her thanks and gratitude for all that you’ve done, the sacrifices you’ve made. She’s deeply indebted to you all, she says you’re welcome to join her, if you wish. You’re due some down time—”
Down time? No way, tomorrow we could all be dead—
Mercy raised her hand, “Shut up Barnes, let’s just enjoy the moment. We’re going to California. Am I right Rose? Annalise?”
Rose threw her arms around Mercy, “Damn right girl. We’re going to California.”
Annalise smiled, “It’s about time I caught up with Big Bear and sank a few cold ones—”
Mercy hugged Rose then turned to Barnes, “We’re going to California Barnes, aren’t we?”
Barnes stared at Mercy and Rose for a few seconds. He stood and held a hand up, “We’re going to California. Of course we are—”
Rose returned the high five, “Surf’s up, I’ve always wanted to learn how to ride them Pacific waves.”
Mercy took a deep breath.
Hell yeah. I’m going to get rid of this NSA parasite inside me. I’m going to get my life back. We’re going west, west is always best—
(To be continued…)
About the Author
Fergal F. Nally is an outdoors lover often to be found amongst it all in the Scottish Highlands. His passions are hillwalking, music, and reading great stories. He lives in Edinburgh. Hard Mercy—The Survival Chronicles VII is his thirteenth novel.
The Survival Chronicles (Book 7): Hard Mercy Page 25
