“Did you sleep this whole time?”
“Yeah, you been in here the entire morning?” Following me into the command center, he wrapped his arm around me and kissed my cheek.
“Can you believe I made it six hours?”
“Almost as much as I believe I slept that long. I must’ve needed the rest. Anything new?” He leaned down and pulled up a satellite display.
“Nope.”
The radio behind me emitted a strange beep. Realizing it to be an emergency-communication signal, I turned up the volume.
“This has got to be the amnesty day announcement.” Turner locked his hands behind his head.
“02 MARCH 2070.” The voice started. “UNITED NORTH STATES OFFICIAL BULLETIN. THIS MORNING, IN THE SPIRIT OF UNITY, COMMANDER BUTLER ANNOUNCED TWO AMNESTY DAYS TO BE HELD THE TENTH AND ELEVENTH OF MARCH 2070. ANY PERSONS WISHING TO ENTER THE BORDERS WILL BE WELCOMED WITH NO IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED. PERSONS PRESENTING A FEVER WILL BE QUARANTINED AND RECEIVE APPROPRIATE MEDICAL TREATMENT. A FULL LIST OF BORDER CROSSINGS CAN BE FOUND ON THE UNS GOVERNMENT WEBSITE AT WWW.UNS.GOV. AS NEWSPAPERS HAVE REPORTED, COMMANDER BUTLER APPROVED PROTESTOR LICENSES FOR TWO GROUPS, PVCS AND KEEP UNS SAFE FIRST, TO PEACEFULLY PROTEST THIRTEEN MARCH 2070.”
Once the official bulletin ended, the reporter continued to describe the missions of both the PVCS and Keep UNS Safe First, noting that Commander Butler planned to ramp up production of the cure to distribute worldwide once it became feasible. The PVCS, he noted, believed our scientists should share technology for formulating the cure with other countries, making it possible for them to produce it themselves. The Keep UNS Safe First group sided with Cmdr. Butler, citing concerns of re-engineering an even more lethal virus by enemy factions.
As the official bulletin started to replay, I flicked the switch on the radio, killing the sound. “Enemy factions, meaning Zhou. He doesn’t have any proof of that, or he would have taken it to the other countries already.”
“That is what you got out of that message?” Turner shook his head.
I pressed my palm to my forehead. “I know. It just makes me so mad. Two amnesty days are good. And we’ll be able to take advantage of them being distracted at the entry points.”
“I don’t think—” Turner started.
River followed by the rest of the leadership team filed in. With everyone engaged in different conversations, I couldn’t follow any of them, so I reclaimed my post in front of the monitors. The radio, which connected us to the group traveling to Utah, buzzed, and I fit my fingers in my mouth and let out a long whistle.
“Dang, girl.” Sadie covered her ears.
“It’s the Utah group.” I handed River the radio.
The soldier on the other end asked if we’d heard the bulletin, and River confirmed we had. Then they scheduled a satellite call to confirm the border-crossing plans when the Utah team arrived outside Salt Lake City. River handed the radio back to me and asked for everyone’s attention. Debating all the options, we arrived at consensus to keep the prior plan for the lead team. Our group would cross the border in secret the night before the protests and make our way to the capitol, staging our mission on protest day, or T minus thirty days till D-Day, as I’d come to think of it.
I wondered if the protest date held any significance. I typed March thirteenth in the search bar. Finding nothing, I keyed in Zhou’s deadline of April twelfth, noting the first US colonists landed on the Pacific coast at Cape Disappointment, Washington in 1811, and a Russian cosmonaut became the first person to orbit the earth in 1961.
“What are you doing?” Turner batted my hands from the keys and started typing. “You can’t just search the internet. How long have you been doing that?”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. It was the first time. Momentary lapse. I thought maybe, never mind, it doesn’t matter.” I backed from the device.
“How long were you on there?”
“Less than thirty seconds, I swear.”
“Jewel, are you crazy?” His fingers raced over the keyboard, typing in commands faster than I would have imagined possible.
The others crowded around, and I stood frozen. What was I thinking? I’d gotten too comfortable using the device, forgotten the security protocols.
“Turner, talk to me. Were we breached? Pinged? Flagged, anything?” River ran his hand through his hair.
“I don’t think so, but we’ll have to reroute all our links just to be sure.”
“I’m so sorry.” Leaning on the table, I bit my tongue to fight the tears threatening to form. How could I have been so stupid?
Turner’s eyes bore into mine, lines on his forehead evident. Holding his gaze, water pooled in my eyes. The wrinkles around his eyes relaxed, and he placed a hand atop mine. “It’s okay. We look clean. They were due to be rerouted in a couple of hours anyway.”
I slid my hand from under his. “I’m going to take a PT break.”
“Sounds like a good idea.” River clapped his hands together. “Amelie, Sadie, and find the new people. Don’t let them off easy either, Jewel.”
“No, sir,” I called as I exited the command tunnel.
The sun felt good on my face, and I forced myself to run through warm-up drills. We started jogging, and jumping logs and brush felt natural, unlike scanning the computer screens. Still, I couldn’t shake my self-loathing. Tears streamed down my face, and I fought wiping it from my cheeks. Was I only good for running and hunting?
“You’ve got to slow down. You’re going to kill us.” Sadie’s words came out between breaths.
I tapped on my watch, realizing we’d run the first mile in under eight minutes. Slowing my pace, I forced myself to focus on the ground, the trees and sky. Even with the mid-day heat, I took them on the long loop, adding two miles to our normal training course. We’d be running cross-country the last twenty-five miles to the border crossing and another five to meet our vehicle. Six hours of running with the growing heat and humidity would not be fun unless we were in tip-top shape, well rested and well fed.
Slowing as we neared the base clearing, we made a wide circle around the restaurant and gift shop buildings. As we stretched, I told them to make sure and get a good meal and to meet me at the cave entrance at 1800 for another run.
“I think you need a mental health day.” Sadie trailed me to the pond.
I burst out laughing. Reaching the bank, I doubled over, realizing I couldn’t stop laughing. Tears sprung from my eyes between giggling fits. “We have our own spa right here.”
Beside me, Amelie shed her shoes. “Our own custom-made mud bath.”
“Complete with those mini fish that eat the dead skin right off your feet.” I pushed Amelie into the water.
“And leaches that suck away toxins.” She tugged my arm, pulling me in after her.
I splashed her, and she raked her hand over the surface, covering me with a wave of water.
“Oh, it’s on now.” I lunged at her, causing both of us to fall neck deep into the water.
Kicking, I swam to the middle. I took a deep breath and dove underneath, submersing myself in the cold pond. Kicking to the surface and treading water, I smoothed my hair back.
“You’re going to catch cold or freeze to death,” Sadie called from the bank.
Teeth chattering, Amelie spun to face her. “Nooo, we’re not.”
This sent me into another round of giggles, but I followed her to the shore. Sliding on shoes, we carried our packs back to base. Sadie led us to the cookers, and we sat beside the grills, taking advantage of their heat. When she left to get dry clothes, Amelie pointed to my face and I dug in my bag to find my makeup. Scrubbing the smeared black from my face, I made fresh stripes across my cheeks. Sadie returned with fresh outfits and combed our hair as we warmed up.
It reminded me of our sleepovers when we were little. With one hand, I took Sadie’s hand, and with the other, I latched onto Amelie’s. “We’re going to get through this together. Only a few days more a
nd this whole thing will be over. Sadie, you can go back to Daniel, and Amelie, you can find your mom and go to Port Orford.”
“We’ll all be able to go back home.” Amelie squeezed my hand.
“That’s right, because we’ve got a team of trained, committed soldiers, who know this is the right thing to do. Our plan is solid, and we’re ready.”
“Are you saying this for us or yourself?” Sadie’s eyes bore into mine.
“I needed to say it out loud, make it real.”
Amelie laid her hands on my shoulders and ran them down my arms. “You had a bad moment. I can’t believe I’m the one saying this to you. You know what you’ve been through, what we’ve been through, and we’ve always come out the other side. Whatever happens, we will again.”
“Hey, soldiers.” Sadie stood. “Remember that, you are soldiers. Whatever you were before, you’re soldiers now. We have all the tools, know how to do our jobs, and have trained our muscles to perform, and that’s what we’re going to do, carry out the mission.”
“Ooh rah.” Pumping my fist into the air, I jumped up.
Amelie copied me. It felt a little cheesy, but maybe that’s what we needed, to acknowledge and purge the fear, remember our purpose, our strength.
“What next, fearless leader?” Sadie winked at me.
“Me?”
“River said not to take it easy on us.”
“Grab a snack, a one-hour nap, and then we’ll do another five before the evening meal. Tell the others.” I grabbed my pack and slid it on my back.
We kept under the trees, ringing the meadow to the cave entrance. I chewed on my jerky. Armed with my better state of mind, I wound through the tunnels to my bunk.
The space was empty save for Turner, and I leaned over and wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. “Everything okay?”
“You’d know if it wasn’t. Over your pity party?”
“I wasn’t having a pity party.”
He kissed my arm. “No tears or bouts of uncontrollable laughter? Splashing wars?”
“How did you hear about that?”
“There are no secrets here.”
“Well, let’s hope there are at least two.” I pressed my lips to his temple. “Sorry and thank you.”
After the West Virginia then Kentucky crews headed east, Amelie and I hiked to the tree stands. Nutrition ranked as high importance. We needed enough fuel for top physical and mental performance. It served us well that the Kentucky and Virginia crews knew the plants, as they picked and dried berries to supplement our jerky. The fruit would provide us with quick sugar. Returning from our hunt with a doe, the night led into the dawn.
With extra days to train we spent them working out and performing drills. Running, I remembered my dance conditioning, how we’d work up to our longer practices before our recitals. A twenty-five-mile jog at a sustained pace of five miles per hour through forest was the goal. If we ran twenty-five miles two days out and recovery runs the day after, we’d be at peak physical condition for the coup.
Thinking about the mission as a performance helped me keep emotion out of it. Yes, I had personal reasons for wanting Butler out of command. He had my sister and mother, and he knew how important I was to the science behind the cure. But I needed to separate that from my job, or I’d make mistakes. Errors would be hazardous not only to me and the plan but also to the team, the lives of people who committed to our cause. As my feet pounded the dirt below me, everything fell into place in my mind. Focus, speed, accuracy. I would use all the tools at my disposal and play my part to perfection.
Noodles, noodles I want noodles when I get home. I almost laughed, thinking I was part of a crew who would be leading a country. Had we even contemplated that transition? It was too much to think about. I couldn’t figure out everything. Oust Butler, find Nave and Mom, get the formula and transfer it to the WHO, that was the mission.
I started my day, day T minus thirty-three days, at 0400. Rounding to the mess hall, I found Turner and lowered myself to the cave floor beside him.
“Any word from Utah?”
“They’re right on schedule. Things look good for the other teams too. By this time tomorrow, everyone will be across the border.”
“Ooh rah.” I stuffed some dried berries in my mouth and stood. “See ya on the flip.”
“You’re in a good mood.”
“It’s the half-time stretch. We’re almost there.” I started towards command to meet up with my team.
“Do you know anything about sports?” I heard Turner call behind me.
In between tactical and weapons refreshers, River let me lead the physical training sessions. After a light evening meal, we ran our twenty-five miles loop.
River doubled over as we approached the clearing. “Are you trying to kill us? We’re expending too much energy. We’re not going to have anything left for T minus thirty-one.”
“We will. This is how I trained for dance. You do your hardest workout two days before the show, then you rest and recharge the day before. Your muscles will be stronger for it. Get in some protein tonight, and tomorrow we’ll take two slow short jogs to keep our muscles loose and stock up on carbs.”
“I’ll give you time for one easy run tomorrow.” River wagged his finger at me.
“Fine. We’ll do a mid-day run at 1200.” I huffed off. My motivation lay more in making sure Sadie could handle the run than anything. When it came to physical conditioning, she was the weakest link.
I wished I could retreat to my deer stand, but I was due in the command room in half an hour. I snagged Amelie and Sadie, and we washed in the pond and changed our clothes before heading to the meeting. River had us go over the plan time, and time again, brainstorming resolutions for various alternate scenarios. These sessions drained me more than the runs, and I fell fast asleep as soon as I lay down on my sleeping bag.
My alarm sounded at 0500 of day T minus thirty-two days. Rising, I traipsed to the command room to get an update. Seeing it packed, I scrunched in behind the crowd. Voices came over the radio, and listening, I realized it was the Utah team. They would start for the nearest border crossing in a matter of hours. The others seemed to accept their ruse of giving up a coup attempt in favor of taking advantage of amnesty day and going a peaceful protest route. I let out a breath as they ended the com. If everything progressed as planned, we wouldn’t have contact with them until the day of the operation.
River reported that the Kentucky and West Virginia teams were also positioned to approach the border crossings at sunup. They’d hit no snags in rejoining their prior comrades. I stared at the cave ceiling. Stalactites tens of feet long hung from the rock above. How long had it taken for them to form? Hundreds of thousands of years, perhaps. They would persist when all of us were long gone. They made their mark, and this would be mine. The time had finally come. I would stand up for what I believed to be right, change the horrid ethical breach my uncle committed. "So many things were out of my control, but this I could change."
As River updated our team, I committed every bit of information to memory, pictured the route, visualized the building, and positions of our teams. My thoughts jumped to Nave, and I prayed she’d be inside the capitol building with Owen.
After a mock combat session, we made our way to command for an update. The West Virginia team crossed the Marietta, Ohio checkpoint, the Kentucky group the Louisville gate, and Utah the Wyoming border, without incident. The news reported crowds at each border station, and footage showed long lines of people passing through the gates single file. Guards watching the crowds held guns, and every once in a while, someone would be stopped and asked a question. If they carried weapons, the guards motioned for them to step aside and show paperwork but allowed them to enter with proper weapon registration.
We expected this. Our contacts inside the UNS had supplies, trucks, weapons, and safety gear waiting for us in Ohio, Indiana, and Wyoming. My team, the command team, would be the only grou
p to cross carrying weapons. Daniel, Sadie’s husband, would meet us with two vehicles just inside the border. If none of those contacts were compromised. If they weren’t detected. My list of ifs could stretch from here to China, I could build a bridge with them and walk the cure there myself. If I had it.
At noon we began our five-mile jog. Running a ten-minute pace, I tried not to think, to instead focus on my feet, breathing, and muscles, but the worries seeped in. Each one I replaced with an affirmation of our training, planning, and tech work. We had all the pieces we needed. This would work.
Winding back to the compound, we learned the final team met their contact and were heading for Des Moines. The pieces were falling into place as planned, and the group gathered for a strategy session. Next, we checked our gear and stacked it near the exit. We performed mock drills with the tech team serving as enemy soldiers, practicing various scenarios over and over. As the sun set, we used our night-vision goggles to train for a night raid. Heading into the cavern for the evening meal, we quizzed each other on the layout of the capitol building, preferred entry points, number of guards at various locations, all based on intel from the prior coup attempt and satellite data. River reviewed routes and exit strategies until he called for first curfew. We planned to sleep in rolling shifts, so each person got eight hours.
I longed to see Turner, to have just five minutes alone with him, but he bunked with the tech team.
In our quarters, Amelie lay facing me. “I can’t believe this is actually happening.”
“Are you scared?”
“A bit, but after what happened to our friends, I can’t let that man lead our country one more day.”
“We can have a real service for them when all this is over.”
“That would be nice.”
She closed her eyes, and I watched her fall asleep, thinking again of our sleepovers, riding bikes around the base, late nights spent talking about hair styles, friends, and boys. I was glad we were together, happy I knew she was as safe as could be. Next, I visualized our route to Des Moines, the grid of streets, the capitol building, our entry point, where Nave and Mom might be, pictured walking into Cmdr. Butler’s office and escorting him to a holding cell, announcing to the world that the UNS would release the formula for the vaccine and cure, that Troy and I were exonerated, and life returning to a version of normal.
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