by H. L. Wegley
But where was the F-15? Would the fighter now strafe the runway while they sat on it, helpless?
More likely he would blow them away with a laser-guided bomb … in about thirty seconds.
Chapter 9
How could Benjamin already be asking for an evacuation plan? They had just walked four long, hot miles from the landing strip to get to Jeff’s house in O’Brien. Julia stared at Benjamin across the living room where the seven sat in a semicircle. “Why are you asking us that question? We just got here.”
Benjamin leaned down from his chair and flipped open the case at his feet containing the tools of his trade. “We've got this automatic, a hand gun, and a couple of NODS.” He lifted what appeared to be binoculars from the case.
“And we have my M4,” Steve said.
They were ignoring her. Once again, treating her as if Julia Weiss wasn’t a contributing member of this group. That was going to stop … now. “Benjamin, you didn't answer my question. Why do we need an evacuation plan? Does someone know something I don't?”
Julia scanned each face in the room. Their blank expressions spoke for them. No one was going to answer. She looked at Benjamin, again. “Well?”
Steve took her hand. “Julia, we lost the fighter in the thunderstorm, but that was only about twenty miles northwest of here. When the pilot files his report, Hannan's going to know our approximate location.”
At least Steve acknowledged that she existed.
“There’s more.” Jeff sat up on the couch. “The county put our tax records online a couple of years ago. If Hannan checks, one quick search and he has my address.”
Heat rose on the back of her neck at the thought of being forced to run again so soon. “Then will someone please tell me why we decided to come here?”
Brock raised his eyebrows. “Do you prefer RPG's delivered by Hamas? Maybe you'd feel differently if they had Julia Weiss written on them instead of Brock Daniels.”
Brock’s words cut into her heart like a scalpel, exposing her selfishness. How could she be that way? “I'm sorry, Brock. Keeping you and KC alive is the most important thing. I just get so frustrated with Hannan...” Her eyes blurred with unshed tears.
Steve draped an arm over her shoulders. “Me too, Julia. Were all frustrated.”
Allie sat, legs crossed, her top leg swinging like an old fashioned metronome set for presto. “And my parents live about ten miles from here. Put that together with Jeff owning a house here and...”
“I'm sorry, everybody.” Julia slumped in her chair. “I guess we do need a plan.”
Would there ever be an end to all the running and hiding? If Hannan's men found them tonight, it might end … in one big, violent bloodbath. Julia shivered at the long buried, horrifying memories that thought resurrected.
A light flashed in the periphery of her vision. Benjamin's satellite phone.
He pulled it from its case and walked away from the group to the far side of Jeff's living room near the big picture window looking out to the mountains.
Benjamin spoke too softly to hear his words. But his body language spoke volumes—gaze boring into the carpeted floor, jaws clenching between his spoken words.
After Benjamin slipped his phone back into its case, he had the attention of everyone in the room.
“Well…” Brock cleared his throat. “What did Katz have to say?”
Benjamin's shrug was almost imperceptible, but that spoke volumes, too. If selfless Benjamin was trying to shrug off bad news, it probably meant danger for this young IDF Special Forces soldier.
“Just some instructions for me.” Benjamin's smile looked forced, certainly not the warm, friendly smile he usually displayed.
What was he not telling them?
“Come on, Benjamin,” Brock said. “If it's bad news, we can take it. Heaven knows, we've had enough of that to deal with over the past three days.”
KC nudged Brock. “It hasn't all been bad, sweetheart.” She gave him her coy smile.
Brock's head turned her way and he seemed to melt.
If two people were ever created for each other, it would be Brock and KC. Would Julia live long enough for someone to love her like Brock loved KC? Could anyone ever really love someone like her … when they weren’t in a plane about to crash?
Where had that come from? Regardless, the wake of the questions seemed to carry her heart away to the most distant place on the planet, leaving it isolated, alone in the freezing cold of an Arctic night. The thought of dying in such a state brought tears to her eyes.
Why were her emotions all over the place today? Was it the airplane incident where death seemed so certain?
Benjamin sighed and returned to his chair. “Major Katz said we need to decide where we’re going and how we’re going to get there. He suggested going deeper into red territory. He also said we need an emergency evacuation plan in case Hannan's men manage to surprise us here.” He looked at Jeff. “This is your home turf. Got any ideas?”
Jeff nodded. “They'll try to approach from the trees across the road … from the front of the house. The pastureland behind us doesn't provide any cover. We’d spot them 300 yards away.”
Benjamin leaned over and put the NODs back in the case. “Any plan we come up with has to include two things.”
Julia sat up in her chair waiting for more unpleasant news.
“For transportation, we need a vehicle that seats seven. And if they surprise us before we leave, we’ll need to split up, a three-way split. When it’s safe, we’ll all rendezvous with the vehicle.” Benjamin raised his eyebrows and scanned his audience.
“Split up?” Julia shook her head at the suggestion. “I don’t understand. Aren’t we stronger when we’re together?”
Benjamin met her gaze. “If we split, they have to split. Our odds are better that way.” He scanned the semicircle of people. “I suggest we decide right now who goes with whom, what our roles will be, and where we will rendezvous.” He paused. “Jeff, you know this area. What do you suggest?”
Jeff sighed and glanced at Allie. “When Allie and I made our getaway from here—”
“What?” Benjamin turned toward Jeff. “You've done this before?”
“Yeah. Almost five years ago, Allie and I ran from drug cartel thugs. It's a long story. But one thing I learned is that the diciest part is getting away from the house. They nearly killed us while we drove away in my truck.”
“Don't worry.” Benjamin set his jaw and gave Jeff a look that bordered on scary. “I'll make sure you get away, safely.”
Brock swiveled in his chair toward Benjamin. “Planning to be our dog soldier, Benjamin?”
KC gave Brock her you're-crazy look. It was the first time Julia had ever seen it directed toward him. “Talk sense, Brock. Dog soldier?”
Brock chuckled. “From an old movie, Last of the Dog Men. One of my favorites. The Comanches’ rear guards were called Dog Men. They were the elite warriors, and theirs was often a suicide mission. Benjamin, we don't want you to die so we can live.”
“Yeah,” Jeff said. Without you, we're toast anyway.”
“Wait a minute,” Steve looked at the faces around him, then focused on Benjamin. “Craig sent me with this crew to protect you guys, too. I'll stay behind.”
Steve’s words knifed into Julia’s heart. She drew a sharp breath, surprised that the thought of Steve being in danger had evoked such fierce emotions.
Benjamin relaxed, settling into his chair. “No, Steve. I will. And I’ll be fine if we plan this well.” He paused. “Brock and KC make a good team. They'll go together. Jeff and Allie need to get us a vehicle. They know people here. They'll go together. Steve will take care of Julia. Jeff, how would you recommend I escape from here during a firefight?”
Benjamin’s words, take care of Julia, said it all. They viewed her as a little girl, a weak person who couldn’t protect herself.
Couldn’t or wouldn’t?
She chose to ignore her unsettling question.
Making a vow never to kill another human being certainly complicated living in the dangerous world where she found herself. But this was an issue she wasn’t wrong about. Anyone who’d seen what she saw would make that same vow.
Jeff stared across the room as if the answer to Benjamin's question about escaping was written on the wall. “There is a way out of here, but Allie and I had my truck parked in the garage. I had backed it in.”
Benjamin nodded to Jeff. “Here’s what I need. If I can disappear for a few seconds, while they’re firing, then pop up in a place they don't expect me, I know a tactic that will get me out of here and will probably take out several of their men in the process.”
Jeff stood. “Be right back.” He walked to the hallway, opened the basement door, and clomped down the stairs.
“The cellar off the basement,” Allie said. “That's where Jeff hid me.”
A loud groaning sound came from the basement, then a crack and the sound of boards falling on the floor.
In a few seconds, Jeff emerged from the doorway in the hall. “I’d boarded up the old cellar, but it's unboarded now. If you go into the cellar, there's a trap door by the ladder at the far end. It opens outside, behind the garage.”
“No one in front of the house can see me leave.” Benjamin said. “That works. Now, Jeff, we need places where Brock and KC and Steve and Julia can hide for up to twenty-four hours after we split up. I can make sure you escape safely from the area near the house but, after that … you need to be well hidden.”
“Aren't you forgetting Allie and me?” Jeff said.
“I thought you'd probably know where to get a vehicle. I was planning to meet you there after I leave the house.”
“Yeah. We can go to the church. I'll call Pastor McMillan. The church van probably isn't being used these days due to the martial law and curfews. If I explain what’s happening, I’m sure he’ll let us borrow it.”
“Good. How far is it to the church?”
“Not quite two miles.”
Benjamin nodded. “Give me the directions and I'll meet you there after the shooting stops. Now, what about the other two couples?”
“I’ve got an idea, Benjamin,” Steve said. If you can send Brock and KC to a safe spot close by, a place where you can pick them up quickly, I can make sure Hannan’s bloodhounds follow me. That will keep the rest of you safe, especially if Benjamin takes out any that try to follow you three. So—”
“Hold that thought,” Jeff said. Let’s get Brock and KC to a safe place where I can pick them up.” Jeff pointed out the living room window. A large hay field lay in the foreground, but the hay had been infiltrated with weeds, now scorched brown from the hot summer sun. “See that old irrigation ditch? It’s been dry for two or three years, so Brock and KC can follow it across the fields. If it’s dark and they stay low, attackers will never see them. Beyond the field, a short distance into the trees, there’s a logging road. Go north on it, about a half mile, to the paved road. Wait there.”
Jeff paused. “After Benjamin joins Allie and me at the church, we'll circle to the northeast of town and pick up Brock and KC. That keeps us away from whatever you’re doing south of here, Steve.”
Benjamin gave Steve a corner-of-the-eye look. Now, tell us how you are going to be our … Dog Soldier, is it?”
“First, let me tell you where you’ll be going, Steve.” Jeff pointed out the living room window to the southeast. “See the nearest ridge?”
Steve studied the area for a moment. “How far is that ridge? About four miles?”
“I used to run the old logging roads up there for training,” Jeff said. “It’s four miles.”
“Rugged terrain. I can lose them.” Steve grinned. “Evasion is my specialty. And I’ll be taking them farther from you, Allie, Brock and KC. I’ll bait them as I leave, get several of them to follow me. It’ll be easier for you to slip away toward town and get the van.”
Benjamin shook his head. “Are you forgetting that Julia nearly died of Ebola six weeks ago? She—”
“I can elude Hannan’s men and handle Julia.”
“Handle me?” Julia’s face grew hot. “What am I? A sack of potatoes that you throw over your shoulder?” Once again, they viewed her as nothing but dead weight to this group and she’d had enough.
Steve looked down at the floor.
Julia tried every other face in the room, but no one would make eye contact with her. She could do this without slowing Steve down. But the other six faces didn’t look convinced. “I’m not helpless, you know. This cast won’t slow me down, and I still hold the record for 100 meters at my high school.”
Steve’s head snapped up. He scanned her bare legs from her shorts down to her ankles, slowly … very slowly.
Her anger evaporated and Julia stifled a giggle.
Steve’s eyes held the same disbelief as those of her track coach when Julia first told him she was a sprinter.
But her coach hadn’t smiled like Steve was doing. “Just the right amount of muscle in all the right places.”
“No, Steve. The right kind of muscle. My coach said I have fast-twitch muscles, about the same percentage as the male sprinters, so I—would you all please stop staring at my legs.”
“Yes, Mr. Daniels. Stop staring.” KC slapped Brock’s leg.
“But, Kace, I—”
KC’s hand clamped on Brock’s chin and turned his face toward her. “Whatever it is, Brock, don’t say it.”
Brock heaved a long sigh. “Yes, Mrs. Daniels.”
Steve cleared his throat and slid his chair closer to Julia. “Back to the subject at hand.” He hooked her arm with his. “Julia can sprint the irrigation ditch to the trees, while I become the bait. When I clear the house and reach the trees, we run hard toward that first ridge. What then?”
“Use your evasion tactics and try to lose them before they reach the first ridge,” Jeff said. “On top of the ridge you’ll cross Greyback Road. If you’ve lost them, follow it northward until you reach a four-way intersection with a sign marked Takilma. It’s an easy, downhill jog. We’ll pick you up there.”
When Jeff paused, Steve looked at Julia and raised his eyebrows.
“I’ll be fine, Steve.”
Steve dipped his head then focused on Jeff. “And if we don’t lose them at the first ridge?”
“Then you have to continue on to the next mountain, Bolan Peak. It’s rugged, steep terrain with rock outcroppings and a lot of trees and brush in between the rocks.”
That might tax Julia to her limits. Regardless of the bravado she had tried to project, she doubted that she was back to full strength after Ebola ravaged her body six weeks earlier. And she couldn’t endanger Steve by slowing him down. But the dense vegetation Jeff described might hide them while she rested.
“How far to the peak and what kind of elevation rise are we talking?” Steve asked.
Jeff heaved a sigh. “Five more miles and a twenty-five-hundred-foot climb from the base of the peak to the top. Maybe you shouldn’t—”
“Jeff?” Julia waited for him to look at her. “You said there were a lot of trees and bushes. Steve and I can find places to hide while we rest. I can do this, even if we have to climb the peak.”
Jeff nodded, but his eyes didn’t reflect the affirmation. “There’s a lookout tower on top of the peak that provides shelter and visibility of this entire area. There’s drinking water a short way down the back of the peak, and an outhouse near the lookout.”
“An outhouse?” Steve’s eyebrows pinched hard. “How long do Julia and I have to wait there? Where are we going to rendezvous?”
“I’ve got your sat phone number, so I can text you once we’re in the clear. Then I can give you a better idea.” Jeff paused. “But, if you two have to go all the way to the peak, it’s going to be a while before we pick you up, because we’ll have to circle around to Happy Camp and come in from the California side. You shouldn’t leave the lookout until I give you the all clear. Tha
t means you and Julia might have to stay twenty-four hours at the lookout.”
Benjamin reached for the bag at his feet. “I’ll give you one of my NODs so you can follow their movements in the dark. If you don’t lose them, at least they won’t be able to sneak up on you.”
“Thanks, Benjamin. With your nighttime optical device, I think Julia and I are good to go.”
Brock’s foot had been tapping out a snappy rhythm on the floor since the discussion about Steve’s and Julia’s role began. “Jeff … can’t we just cut to the chase here? You know, leave now, before Hannan’s people can get here?”
Allie looked at Jeff. “Yes, mi amor. Let’s leave now. Just sitting here doing nothing is—”
“We can’t, Allie. We’ll never make it to Eastern Oregon if anyone sees me leaving here driving that van,” Jeff said.
Benjamin dropped the NOD into Steve’s hands. “Jeff is right. As much as I hate waiting, we’ve got to leave under cover of darkness. When does it get dark here this time of year?” He looked at Jeff.
“About 9:45 p.m. The safest thing to do is leave then.”
“Okay. As soon as gets dark, we split and leave,” Benjamin said. “I’ll stay behind until you’re all clear, then meet Jeff and Allie at the church.”
“After Benjamin meets Allie and me at the church, we'll circle to the northeast to pick up Brock and KC, then continue on to get Julia and Steve. If you’re not there in an hour, we’ll know you’ve been forced all the way to Bolan Peak. In that case, it’s goodbye O’Brien. We’ll hit I-5 at Grants Pass and head for the California border.”
Steve’s arm tightened around Julia when Jeff mentioned California. “Jeff, California is a blue state. Will you be safe on I-5?”
Jeff grinned. “It doesn’t turn blue until you drop down from the Siskiyous into the Central Valley, somewhere south of Redding. We’ll be okay. We won’t be going south of Weed, even when we head for Eastern Oregon. And we should be able to coordinate the timing by texting you before you and Julia leave the Bolan Peak lookout.”
Jeff leaned over and placed a hand on Steve's shoulder. “That lookout on Bolan Peak was where Allie and I spent our honeymoon.”
