Minus America (Book 3): Rebel Cause

by Isherwood, E. E.

  Emily powered off without being told.

  When it became silent, they heard the whine of an airplane prop.

  He didn’t need a radar to tell him it was getting closer.

  Emily’s expression was as panicked as his insides.

  “Should we jump?” she asked.

  Ted imagined Hellfire missiles with their names on them. There was no point staying in the boat if they were found, and the continued approach of the drone made it seem almost a certainty. He silently grabbed his rifle and the backpack, prompting her to grab an AR, too.

  “After you,” he said with all the calm he had left.

  They both leapt over the sides.

  On the way down, he noticed the name of the boat written on the back: Happy Hooker.

  Everything really is a joke with her.

  Chicago, IL

  Tabby’s heart stopped cold for at least ten seconds, or it seemed like it as she stood on the steps looking down at her fallen friend. Audrey and Peter had come down the last flight just as Donovan was shot. They stood behind, leaning on her, as if they were also shocked beyond their capacity to think.

  “We…have to go back up,” she finally choked out.

  The kids didn’t move.

  “Go!” Tabby spun around and pushed, but she almost couldn’t get up the next step. Her leg muscles were burned to ash from the endless descent, so going the other direction was torture.

  Audrey cried out in pain, obviously suffering the same effects. Peter reacted by pulling on the bannister with one arm, while keeping a hold on his girlfriend with the other. Together, they went up the stairs at the speed of a death march.

  The robot didn’t get a direct look at Tabby, but its computer brain would almost certainly figure out where she was. She fumbled with her shotgun as she followed the kids, sure it was going to be put to hard use in mere moments. “When you get to the next level, go through the door. We’ve got to find another stairwell.”

  The death of Donovan scared her to the bones, but it also gave her clarity for what had to be done to keep the others from meeting the same fate. They might climb back up to the top of the tower and delay their doom, but it was an ending already written. To stay alive, they needed to get out of the building in any way possible before more of those robots showed up.

  Tabby fell through the fire door a few seconds after the kids. The three of them hunched over while they walked, desperate to catch their breath and rest their spent muscles. However, none of them stopped completely.

  Audrey was openly weeping. Peter was probably crying too, but she couldn’t catch up to him. He practically dragged the girl, always ahead of Tabby.

  They jogged down a long hallway with a lone window at the far end. Each side was lined with glass doors to office space in the high-rise building. Those offices often had light coming through, too. They had the bare minimum to see where they needed to go.

  “There! The exit sign. Go through, then down!” Tabby pointed, though the kids were ahead of her and wouldn’t see it.

  Was the robot behind them? Was she about to be shot in the back? If so, she wanted to at least make sure the kids got out.

  “Run!” she yelled.

  Peter slammed into the doorway and held it open as Audrey stumbled through and started down the stairs. He shot a worried glance at Tabby, then seemed to think about running down the stairwell too, but he stayed and held the door. “Come on!”

  Tabby tasted the salt of tears. They were a combination of grief and pain, caused by the loss of Donovan and the intense efforts of the morning. She scurried through the door, grunting like a cave girl. Every footfall caused raging pain.

  She gave the appearance of having a plan. “Go down, then out. Fast!”

  Peter ran ahead and quickly caught Audrey. They only had to go down two flights to reach the main level, so it only took moments. Peter put his face on the glass window of the fire door to see what was out in the lobby. Tabby came up next to him, using the wall to hold herself up.

  “What do you see?” she gasped.

  “More of those things. It’s like a patrol. They’re walking all over the lobby. I see three. No, four. Probably more.”

  Up wasn’t an option, so she looked at the stairwell heading down. If there were parking levels under the building, it might be another way out.

  “We’re not going through the lobby,” she droned. “We’d never make it.” If her legs were fresh, she might have been able to run into the lobby and escape, but she couldn’t chance it in the condition she was in. She stifled her own groans and went down some more steps. “Follow me.”

  The next two levels were repeats of the lobby. Each time they came to a door, they checked to see if the way was clear. It was almost total blackness in the garage levels, but the robots were there. They each had illuminated strips along their flanks, giving them away.

  They went down another level, but it was the bottom.

  “It says mechanical room,” Peter got out despite his panting.

  “Go through,” she advised. The door didn’t have a window, so there was no way to see what was in there, but she figured it didn’t matter. They’d either be caught now or caught later. If they could skip the death climb up the 103 floors, so much the better.

  Peter and Audrey went through, leaving her to wonder for a second if she should have gone first. Did she put the kids in danger?

  She laughed. Yeah, only now did I expose them to risk.

  The mechanical room turned out to be more like the entire floor. Numerous pipes, vents, and water tanks filled the space. The emergency lights gave them enough to see where they were going, but it was creepy, like being in the bottom of a ghost cruise liner.

  “How do we get out of here?” Audrey complained.

  “I don’t know,” Tabby replied, aware again of how it fell on her to get them to safety. “I’m working on it.” Despite the power being shut off, the level wasn’t silent. Pipes creaked and knocked, and sounds came from inside the ductwork as if the robot horses were walking inside them. “Skyscraper movies always have a connection between office buildings and the city sewer system. We just have to find it.”

  Peter didn’t seem impressed. “That’s your plan? How many skyscraper movies have you seen?”

  “Shut up!” Audrey snapped at him. “She’s doing her best.”

  Peter was already holding Audrey’s hand, but he pulled her closer. “I was kidding. I’m scared of dying like Donny. I’m going to crap my pants if I don’t laugh at how crazy this is.”

  Audrey sobbed once but managed to speak. “First of all, eww. That’s gross. Second of all, I’m trying to hold it together, too.”

  “We all are,” Tabby added. Her tummy bounced around inside her like it was on springs. “Let’s find a sewer lid. I’m sure there’s one here.” For the next several minutes, they picked through the pipes and tubes from near the door, along the wall, and to the next corner. The sounds continued to suggest activity in the water pipes and the air ducts, but Tabby kept up the search.

  “This is it!” A large metal grate had been built into the concrete floor. It wasn’t the sewer lid she’d been expecting, but the smell inside indicated what was down there. She was able to lift it with Peter’s help.

  “After you,” he insisted.

  This time, she had to lead. Tabby climbed down a narrow ladder, using the dim emergency lights as her guide. Her legs were still on fire, though the new range of motion seemed to make the pain lighten up. She made it down about twenty feet but froze when she put her foot in water. At first, she thought it was disgusting sewage, like a scene out of Peter’s overflowing toilet of imagination, but it seemed to be mostly clear. “It’s rainwater, I think.”

  She descended a few more feet until she hit bottom. “It’s only up to my waist.”

  The kids took their time coming down, which gave her a few moments to herself. The erratic clanging of the mechanical room was gone. It was almost perfectly silent, save
for the occasional lapping of water against her legs.

  Tabby still had the little aquatic flashlight strapped to her arm—a relic of her escape from the mine. She tapped it on to give herself a little light, but the small beam was swallowed by the oppressive darkness in both directions.

  Must I always end up in dank caverns?

  CHAPTER 4

  USS John F. Kennedy, south of New York City

  Kyla hung around Meechum enough to start feeling like she was at least an honorary Marine. The other woman never sat still; she was always checking weapons, cleaning equipment, or talking with her peers about the serious and the inane. They loved to joke with each other during the downtime, and sometimes even during battle. However, as she and Meechum ran across the deck of the carrier to the waiting helicopter, no one was screwing around.

  “Why are we running?” she asked Meechum on the sly.

  Most of Carthager’s squad was with them. Eight or nine Marines appeared loaded to the gills on their way to their flight. She was proud to be a part of the team going to bring back her uncle, but it didn’t feel right. It seemed rushed.

  The rotors above the dull gray machine were already spinning, speaking to the efficiency of the Marines. Meechum ran close to her. “It’s like I said, we can’t trust anyone on the ship. We’re going to borrow the Seahawk, you know?”

  She fell a step behind the other woman, recalling something that had happened to her mom not long before the end. A man called on the phone saying he was with the cable company and wanted to talk about her bill. After some back and forth, the man explained that Mom’s checks over the last six months had all bounced, and she would need to send a new one, for the full amount, to a PO Box. She was prepared to write a check, but she’d mentioned it to Uncle Ted before she got it to the mailbox. He immediately saw it for the scam it was.

  Was she missing the obvious here on the ship?

  What if the Marines were the bad guys? They could whisk her away and then use her as a bargaining chip to get to Uncle Ted and the VP. She replayed her time with Meechum, trying to explain how she could have gone through New York City if she was the enemy. None of it added up…

  Still, Kyla was wary when they reached the helicopter. She almost skidded to a halt when a familiar man appeared in the cargo door. Captain Van Nuys waved pleasantly.

  “Oh, shit,” she said with surprise, though under her breath.

  “Good morning, Marines. I’m glad you could make it. We’re going ashore.” The captain waved to four men already strapped into the compartment. “I could use your help, but there’s only room for two. I’ll take you and you.” He pointed to Meechum and Kyla.

  Carthager got up to the edge. “Sir! Respectfully, I’m the commanding—”

  “Thank you, son. I know. That’s why I need you here watching over my boat.”

  Meechum shared a look with Carthager. Her squad leader offered an almost imperceptible nod before stepping back.

  The door gunner was a new addition since the day before. The man hugged a giant machine gun at the edge of the cargo bay, presenting a threatening image. Kyla considered turning around and running from the sudden change in plans, but there was nowhere to go. The captain could order her onto the helicopter, even if she didn’t want to go. Therefore, it seemed logical to play along.

  As she got inside, Van Nuys pointed to her rifle. “You won’t need that in here. I’ll take it for you. Keep it safe.” His lips formed a smile, but his eyes only conveyed a dead-serious order.

  She handed it over without complaint. She’d only had it for about ten minutes—another assist from Meechum. The captain could do whatever he wanted with his team, including making them surrender weapons. However, Kyla carefully observed how he didn’t take the rifle from Meechum.

  “You’ll get this back when we land,” he shouted above the growing rotor wash.

  She wondered if that would be true.

  Is everyone a bad guy in hiding?

  Long Island, NY

  Ted and Emily treaded water as the buzz of a propeller got closer. The thick tree line made it hard to see until it was almost directly overhead. For a few tense seconds, he expected bombs to fall through the trees, but when the Predator was in the clear, he caught sight of both Hellfire missiles still secure under the wings.

  “It’s going for the lighthouse,” Emily said, using her finger to indicate the route.

  A few seconds after she’d said it, the drone drifted into a turn toward the lighthouse to the east of them. It went right, over the trees and out of view.

  “Shit,” Ted breathed out, “maybe it was a programmed turn. This is the end of the land mass. Maybe that one is searching between here and New York City. The lighthouse would be a convenient waypoint for a turn.”

  They slogged to shore, staying under the trees. The black yacht looked expensive and out of place parked on the glassy surface of the inland pond.

  “I didn’t even need a bath,” Emily said with surprisingly good spirits. She’d managed to keep her head above water, sparing her hair. Ted knew from experience how women hated to get their hair wet for no reason.

  “Me either,” he agreed, remembering the nice hot shower from last night.

  As they walked up the bank, he was pleased he’d managed to keep his prized AR-15 dry. Emily didn’t have the same upper body strength, so hers got a little wet. She looked at him sheepishly.

  “It’ll dry out,” he said, sensing the question on her face.

  “Phew. I’d hate to ruin one of your babies.”

  He laughed as he walked into the woods, tugging at the sopping wet straps of his pack.

  “Are we still going? Aren’t you worried about that plane?” she asked in quick order.

  He shrugged. “It didn’t circle around up there, so it probably didn’t see us, or the boat. If they see it now, no one can possibly know where we’re headed. Not based on the radio broadcast.”

  “Unless someone knows where Kyla went on her field trip.” She tore off her long-sleeve shirt and tossed it on the edge of the boat to dry out. It left her wearing the black tank top, which was as casual as he’d ever seen her. She also pulled out a stretchy headband to keep the hair out of her eyes.

  Ted shook his head. “Don’t worry about that. I barely remembered where it was. Our secret is safe. Let’s hit it.”

  They walked in the woods for fifteen minutes. They still had an hour to reach the lighthouse and look over where they’d be meeting. It couldn’t hurt to check it out, on the off chance it was being used for some unknown reason by the enemy. It seemed unlikely, but his military training wouldn’t allow him to take anything for granted. His “uncle card” also needed punching. If he failed to look out for Kyla before and during their secret meeting, he’d never live it down.

  Ted used his rifle butt to punch through a thick bundle of vines. “This is like being in the jungle.”

  She huffed while clearing some small branches with her arm. “I wouldn’t know. The closest I’ve been to the tropics is Florida.”

  “Well, that’s close. I spent some time there myself. The jungle is a lot like Florida, only hotter, wetter, and deadlier.”

  “Sounds wonderful,” she said sarcastically.

  He almost fell through some brush onto a two-lane blacktop road. Once he straightened up, he saw their destination. “We’re here.”

  The lighthouse didn’t seem as tall as he expected. It was made of brick, about fifty feet high, and all white except a thick line around its middle, which was painted maroon. The black walkway and windows sat at the top, though the light wasn’t switched on in daytime.

  “We’ve got about an hour to get in there and search for trouble.” There were a few cars in the parking lot, but they were most likely from before the attack. All the spots at the front were empty, suggesting no one was inside. If the assholes in charge had come, he expected they would park in the handicapped and first row spots.

  “I’ll follow you, Major,” Emily
replied. “Don’t forget where we came from. If we need to escape, we’ve got to get back to the Happy Hooker.”

  He stopped. “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask you about the name…”

  It made her smile. “It means happy fisherman, not what you’re thinking.”

  Ted smiled with her. “Oh, no, I had no other ideas in my head.”

  The moment of mirth felt good, but with the sight of the lighthouse ahead, he was already plotting his course back to the boat. Kyla’s life could depend on his ability to get her there.

  Nothing was funny about the danger they might face…

  Amarillo, TX

  Brent had never spent such a sleepless night. Even during his missions in the rice fields of Vietnam he’d managed to catch a little shuteye. Now, with a new purpose in his life, he’d spent the night going over the prison’s defenses, planning for where attacks might come from and drawing up lists about where he needed to go the next day. In the light of a new morning, he yawned his jaw sore.

  He’d drawn up a duty roster and called everyone together to let them know how the day would go. After sharing it, he waited for the inevitable complaints from the ex-convicts. Surprisingly, none came. They all got in their vehicles and followed him out of the prison.

  They were exes because he’d preemptively commuted all their sentences. They were smalltime criminals, at best, so he was confident he could talk to a judge in the far future and make it legal. His immediate concern was that they continued to stick with him, and not run for the hills. After rescuing Trish, he thought they’d go their own way, but they didn’t. A little extra incentive couldn’t hurt.

  Trish rode with him. The other five men spread out in three different pickup trucks, giving his convoy a total of four vehicles. As they drove toward the city, she seemed anxious to not let the conversation lapse. After talking for several minutes about the incident in her trailer the day before, she looked ahead.

  “You know where you’re going?” she asked. The young woman now carried a shotgun and a regulation Glock 22, like the other men. She told him she wasn’t going to get caught flatfooted and unarmed ever again.