Minus America | Book 5 | Hostile Shores

by Isherwood, E. E.

  Hostile Shores

  Minus America

  Book 5

  E.E. Isherwood

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  Copyright © 2020 by E.E. Isherwood

  All rights reserved.

  ASIN: B086SDWJSB

  Cover Illustration by Covers by Christian

  Editing services provided by Mia at LKJ Books

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  CHAPTER 1

  Cheyenne Mountain, CO

  Ted MacInnis was ready for a break. He’d spent the day driving for his life across the eastern grasslands of Colorado, then he’d barely avoided a thunderstorm of Hellfire missiles launched from drones, and he’d topped it all off by surviving the impacts of five nuclear-tipped missiles shot at him. Fortunately, since he and Emily were now locked inside Cheyenne Mountain to keep them safe from radiation, there wasn’t much else to do besides rest.

  “So…I just wanted to revisit what happened a few minutes ago,” he began.

  They sat next to each other against one of the solid rock walls. The emergency lights bathed them in shades of red. She appeared as dirty and tired as him, though she wore it much better. Exhaustion was probably a condition she, the politician, was well-versed in surviving. Still, her eyes twinkled with mirth and admiration, as if he’d teed up a joke for which only she knew the punchline. “You mean where you got on one knee and proposed to me?”

  He squinted, desperate to see if she was serious. “Well, actually, you asked me.” It was true, she was the one who’d suggested it as the missiles struck the outer wall of the mountain bunker, but he’d jumped in with both feet to make a formal proposal. In his heart, he had no doubt he’d fallen for her, but he was wary of strong, confident women in high-tension situations. Romance borne in battle seemed to be his downfall. He fell for his ex-wife, Priscilla, during an Air Force mission out of the Balkans ten years ago. He’d dated women in the secret service, FBI, and US Customs. Now he’d gone to the tippy top of the dating pool. Even with all his usual confidence and bravado when dealing with the opposite sex, he had a hard time believing the de facto president of the United States had been the one to proposition him.

  “So I did,” she said in a happy voice.

  “And you meant it?” he asked, probing for any doubt.

  She reached over and grabbed his cheek, clearly lining herself up to kiss him and extinguish those embers of doubt, but her eyes darted to a distraction down the hallway. Instead of meeting his lips, she playfully slapped him, then hopped to her feet. “How can I help you, sir?” she asked.

  When they’d come into the bunker, he and Emily had walked into a congregation of Central and South American dignitaries, military officials, and scores of soldiers protecting them. As the man came out of the darkness, Ted recognized the plump figure. He was a caricature of a Central American tinpot dictator, complete with oversized medals on his sweaty uniform jacket and a colorful red ribbon wrapped around his neckline.

  “Ah, yes. I would like to know what’s going on here. I’m General Manuel Phillippe Mendoza from El Salvador. I was told to meet David’s people here in this bunker to receive the deed to the land I would recover from the old Estados Unidos.”

  Emily glanced at him, signaling he should get up and address the situation. They both still wore the black uniforms of the enemy, and they were the only ones around, which made them the sole representatives for David’s forces. Ted assumed the men and women from south of the border were supposed to be killed, along with him and the other Americans left inside, but he wasn’t yet ready to admit it. All those people carried weapons, meaning he was outnumbered by a hundred to one.

  “Hi, I’m Major Ted, um, Sockdrawer,” he pronounced it sock-draw-yay, as if he was French. “I’m as shocked as you at what took place here—”

  The ground rumbled under their feet, causing the three of them to look around in near-panic. Was part of the mountain collapsing? Was the front door going to hold?

  He tried to continue as if the disturbance was no big deal. “And I’m double-shocked at how we’ve all been treated. Give me and my associate here a chance to reestablish contact with our superiors. I promise, we’ll get you and your men some answers.”

  The general puffed out his chest. “I should hope so. It was a long drive to get here. If I’m to be granted the entire state of Missouri, I’d at least expect to have a nice bed to sleep in. Perhaps some female companionship…” He trailed off, eying Emily.

  Ted’s instinct was to punch the sweaty man in the jaw, but, as so many times in the past week, he had to pretend he was someone else. Someone who would commiserate with such perversion. “Yes, my colleague and I will do our best to secure you what you need.” He grabbed Emily’s hand. “Come on, let’s find a radio.”

  “She can stay with me,” General Mendoza suggested.

  Ted spoke over his shoulder. “She’s the radio operator. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you.”

  Once out of earshot, and in a dark section of tunnel, he dragged Emily into a dark nook. He briefly made sure she could see his face, and what he intended to do, then he pulled her close and kissed her with passion and urgency as if they were being timed. Too soon, he pulled up for a breath. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next ten minutes, much less the rest of my life, but I’ve never wanted more to spend whatever time I have with someone as wonderful as you. Will you, Emily Williams, marry me for real?”

  Inches from his face, he could only see a hint of the tear rolling down her cheek.

  “Yes,” she gushed, “but I do have one condition.”

  “Anything,” he replied, holding onto her hips.

  “As your commander-in-chief, I’m ordering you to make sure we live longer than the next ten minutes. I think I’d like a long life to get to know all of your flaws.”

  He was taken aback.

  She gently slapped him on the cheek again. “I’m kidding. You have no flaws. You’re perfect.”

  They both knew that was a lie, but he loved the idea of trying to prove her right.

  Ted took a deep breath, looking down the hallway toward the people who’d escaped from David. “Well, we’re not going to get anywhere with a group of military invaders and drug lords. I guess we should go re-introduce ourselves to those kids and the weird guy with his pet bird.”

  “After you, Major,” Emily remarked seriously.

  She pinched his butt as he started walking.

  “Hey!” he complained, trying not to laugh.

  She held up her hands. “Last time, I promise.”

  He didn’t believe her for a second.

  Cheyenne Mountain, CO

  Tabby saw the couple walking toward them before any of the others. The man and woman were outfitted in Legion uniforms, one of whom claimed to be the President of the United States. They’d separated for a short time, giving her a chance to talk to Peter and Audrey about whether the woman could be president, but neither of them had ever heard of her. She didn’t want to ask any of the prisoners who’d arrived with her from David’s base. It would make her look like she didn’t know what she was doing.

  She took a step toward the couple, but almost tripped on the man with the bird, Dwight. The guy had fallen asleep as soon as they’d arrived, as if the trip in the white light had zapped
him of energy. Her mind was still reeling, but as she’d done so many times the last several days, she had to take care of business before taking care of herself. Tabby went around the sleeper and headed for the walkers.

  “Hi,” she said preemptively.

  “Hello,” the man replied. “We’ve had a brief talk with one of the generals in the front of this base, and it didn’t go well. They think we’re with the bad guys.”

  “Are you?” she asked with skepticism. “I’ve met more than a few people the last several days who have ruined me on trust.”

  After a furtive glance down the hallway, the man spoke quietly to her. “My real name is Major Ted MacInnis. I’m an officer in the Air Force. I was a pilot on Air Force Two, which is how I know this woman.” He gestured to the pretty brunette standing next to him. “When the attack happened, she was the Vice President of the United States. Now, with the president dead, she’s taken over the role.”

  Tabby was unsure if she could trust them, but it was curious a pair of enemy agents wouldn’t know President Tanager was actually being held hostage at the bottom of the ten-mile pit in the other NORAD bunker. Still, she intended to hang onto that bit of information and only reveal it when she was sure—

  “Hey, did you tell them you saw the prez at the bottom of the superweapon?” Peter wondered aloud as he and Audrey walked up. “There’s no way she could be president.”

  Tabby’s shoulders slumped.

  Ted smiled at her in a way suggesting he shared her pain, but he also seemed interested in her story. “You really saw him? I would have said that was impossible because I have this.” The guy pulled a huge coin out of his pocket. “It’s the presidential challenge coin. I was told it came from the empty pants of Tanager himself.”

  Tabby made the conscious choice to trust the strangers. Her instinct to hold back on revealing Tanager had probably been correct, but Peter’s blunder had laid everyone’s cards on the table in one pop. It seemed unlikely they’d be prepared with such an elaborate ruse, including the coin. “When I met Tanager, he said he was made to strip down and leave his clothes. They put him into an emergency escape bubble…I can’t remember what he called it. All I know is he survived and then was taken prisoner by the Legion people.”

  The woman, Emily, asked her to describe the man she’d met, confirming little details along the way. After a brief comparison, she seemed to accept Tabby’s story.

  “Well, I guess that means I’m not really the president, after all,” Emily confided to her partner.

  Ted glanced around. “We don’t know what’s going on out there. If Tanager is really a prisoner, it means he’s no longer able to discharge his duties as the leader of the nation. You’re here, Emily. Alive. With the resistance.”

  Tabby took note of the fact the couple held hands. Their droopy eyes and wind-blown hair made her wonder what journey they’d taken to get inside the bunker. What bond must have been formed along the way? For a moment, she thought of Victor and how he died trying to save her. Tabby wasn’t one to ever need a boyfriend, but clasping hands with someone she cared about would have really hit the spot right then.

  The man’s voice pulled her back to the conversation. “Will you and your friends be able to help us? I can’t tell you what we’re going to do, but we can’t let this bunker be controlled by the warlords down the hall. Do you…have weapons?”

  Ted gave her a quick once-over, perhaps realizing that his question was pretty stupid, at least in her case. Her form-hugging blue jumpsuit left no doubt she wasn’t carrying a gun. Even a slip of paper would create a mark in her outfit. He stumbled for words. “I mean, do any of the others?”

  She shared a wry smile with Emily at the man’s discomfort. “We were all prisoners of David. He let us go, I guess expecting us to die when the nukes hit. I believe we’re more thankful to be alive than planning a fight. Do you think those soldiers knew they’d be bombed as well? Aren’t we all in the same boat?”

  Ted cast her an appraising look. “I haven’t told them because they think Emily and I are their contacts here. They drove up from Mexico and the nations to the south, thinking they would be rewarded with American land, but it’s pretty clear they were supposed to die in the explosion, same as us.”

  “A double-cross,” Peter said excitedly.

  Emily nodded, but also shushed him. “Please don’t tell anyone else. We have to think of a way to turn this to our advantage.”

  Ted stifled a yawn, which immediately made Tabby yawn in return.

  “You kids tired?” Ted asked kindly.

  She shrugged, figuring out Dwight had been onto something. “I’ve been tired since I led these two out of a mine in Bonne Terre, Missouri.”

  “This gal saved our bacon,” Audrey said with pride, putting her arm around Tabby’s shoulders. Her ill-fitting white jumpsuit had an orange stripe down the side, like most of the others. It contrasted with Tabby’s blue.

  “Yep, and she’s kept us alive ever since,” Peter added, also putting his arm over her shoulder from the other side.

  Emily stepped forward. “Well, it sounds like you three have been through some challenges. I’m afraid we’re going to have to ask you to go through one more. We’ve got to get out of here. Major MacInnis and I need to stop David from destroying the rest of the world with his superweapon.”

  Tabby had much to consider. Was there a way out of the bunker? Could they make their way back to the place with the doomsday weapon? The strange room with the ten-mile pit she’d seen with her own eyes. Did she even want to go there?

  The president seemed to read her mind, at least on the most pressing issue. Emily pointed to an underground office building. “Before we do anything, we need to get some sleep. Mind if we catch some zees in there while we watch each other’s backs?”

  Tabby exhaled with relief. It was best to nap before saving the world.

  “It would be our honor, Madame President.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Hoover Dam, NV

  Kyla woke up with a headache that seemed to be rooted in the deepest recesses of her skull. The harsh artificial light of the room almost made her pass out with new waves of brilliant, white-hot agony. However, after managing to get her eyes opened enough to see where she was, the attractive man looking down at her almost made the pain go away.

  “I think I died, went to Heaven, and got signed up for the take-home-an-angel subscription package. You’re…neato,” she said with wonderment.

  The man’s brown eyes gazed upon her with what she took as an equal amount of affection, at least until he opened his mouth. “I’m sorry, ma’am, this isn’t Heaven. We’re in Nevada. And I appreciate the angel comment, but all my past girlfriends would tell you I’m more of a devil, actually.”

  Kyla sank ten feet into her pillow.

  Pillow? Nevada? Did I really say what I just said?

  She blinked away the embarrassment. “I was in Colorado…with Meechum…looking for my uncle…the nuke!” She tried to sit up and was rewarded with a pain so sharp, she could have cut through hardened steel with it. “Oh my.”

  When she opened her eyes next, the angel had become a soldier. A handsome guy, yeah, but the same terrestrial human male she’d met with Avery’s men. Whatever had become of her after jumping in the creek, she’d ended up with him.

  “What’s the last thing you remember?” said the guy with ‘Lambert’ sewed onto his name badge.

  “We drove down the mountain in the van. I warned my uncle on the phone. Then we saw the nuclear missiles go over our head. Meechum got me to stop next to a creek, then we jumped in before the blast hit.” In her mind’s eye, she saw most of it as if the highlights were etched into her memory, while the details were blotted out by her still-throbbing brain.

  “You two almost drowned in there. We were lucky we were already following you down the mountain with one of our drones. It helped us locate you when we were able to confirm there was no radiation in your area.”

&nb
sp; She was crestfallen. “So, we jumped in the water for nothing?”

  He laughed a little. “Not for nothing. There was still a shockwave. Lots of debris shot out from the impact zone. Based on how we found you on the shore, you were struck by some of it.” Without touching her, he drew attention to the bandage wrapped around her head.

  “Oh.” It suddenly made sense.

  “And your friend was worse off than you,” Lambert said as if impressed either of them were still alive.

  “Meechum? Is she here?” She fought off the tears of pain and sat up on her elbows to look around the room. She wasn’t in a hospital ward as she might have thought at first, but she was on a small, clean bed.

  “She was,” he replied. “We patched her up sure enough, but as soon as the stitches were in, she insisted on taking a sentry shift. The boss tried to tell her no…”

  “But it didn’t work,” Kyla laughed.

  “Nope,” Lambert replied, standing up.

  “Am I free to go?” She wasn’t going to do nothing while Meechum showed her up. She threw her legs over the side and sat up, doing her best to ignore the whistles and pops interfering with her thought process.

  “Of course. I’d take it slow at first, but you should be fine in no time.”

  “Am I still bleeding? Can I take this off?” She didn’t want a big honking bandage wrapped around her forehead.

  “No, it was only a bump. We wrapped you as a precaution.” Lambert didn’t seem excited to help her remove it, but thankfully, he did as she requested.

  Once she had the wrapping removed, she felt the welt on the side of her head. “Ouch,” she said reflexively.

  “Yeah, it’s going to be tender.”

  “I can take it,” she deadpanned, pretending she was a Marine, like her friend. “I have to get to my uncle. You guys were watching it all unfold. Did my uncle get into the NORAD base? Is he all right?”

  The man’s eyes did not broadcast good news.