“I have some old dirt bikes you can use,” the man in the back said. “I’m sure they still work. No electronics in them bad boys.”
“No, we stick to horses and bicycles for now. Motorcycles will only put a drain on the town’s fuel supply and we can’t afford that. Not when we don’t know if we’ll ever see another tanker truck. No, we need to start conserving everything. And I mean everything,” the Mayor said with conviction.
Bunker didn’t agree entirely. “With all due respect, Mr. Mayor, it wouldn’t hurt to make sure those rides are still in working order, just in case we need them down the road.”
“Good point,” Buckley answered after a short pause. “Until our teams report back, we should make contingency plans for everything.”
The Sheriff flipped the atlas pages showing the state of Colorado. “If we are being invaded, then they’ll have a lot of troops and equipment to move. I’m guessing they’ll want to stick to the interstates.”
Bunker was surprised the Sheriff came up with the idea so quickly. “Yes, interstates would offer the most efficient travel and the best sightlines. Whoever we’re up against won’t want to get bogged down on back roads or in mountain passes. Too much chance of an ambush.”
Apollo’s index finger traveled up the paper and found Clearwater, tracing across the roads as he spoke. “We should send the North Team up Interstate 25, toward Denver.”
“What about possible radiation?” Daisy asked.
“If Mr. Bunker is correct, there won’t be any.”
“That’s a pretty big if,” she said, locking eyes with Bunker. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Bunker answered before Apollo spoke next.
“It’s a risk our teams are gonna have to take. We only have one Geiger counter, and the town needs it.”
“Agreed,” the Mayor said. “This is strictly a volunteer mission. We make sure everyone knows the risks and what’s at stake before we let them accept any assignment. What about the other directions?”
Apollo changed the location of his finger on the map. “The West Team should take highway 50 up to I-70. South Team will take I-25 to Santa Fe and if needed, head down to Albuquerque. East Team should take 50 east to 385 and then up to I-70. That’ll give us eyes on all the major roadways in the area. If there’s an invasion rolling in, we’ll know about it soon enough.”
“How are the teams going to report back? The radios aren’t working,” Daisy asked.
“Other than smoke signals, I’m open to suggestions,” Apollo answered.
Daisy let out a short laugh before her face turned serious again. “Earlier, when I was out at Frank Tuttle’s place to borrow the Geiger, I noticed he had Faraday cages around all kinds of stuff—even his pigeon house and chicken coop. Though I’m not sure why.”
“Because he’s nuts,” the woman in the back snapped. “You can’t trust anything that man says. He’s insane.”
“You were saying?” the Mayor asked Daisy after rolling his eyes.
The deputy let out a thin smile. “His pole barn was crammed full of all kinds of supplies and gear, so I gotta believe he has some communications gear hidden away somewhere. If he does, then it’s probably stored inside one of the cages—”
“—and still working,” Apollo said, completing her sentence.
“Then you need to go back out there,” the Mayor said. “ASAP.”
“I figured as much,” she answered. “But he’s not going to let it go for nothing.”
“What do you mean?” the Mayor asked.
“I had to pay him three bucks for the Geiger.”
“He wants money?”
“Yeah. Otherwise, he’s not going to part with any of it. He’s been stockpiling for years and thinks the end of the world is coming. That’s why he got off the grid in the first place.”
“But this is a town emergency. Didn’t you explain it to him?”
“Yes, I did, sir. But he doesn’t care about us. Only himself. Besides, legally, we can’t just make him give up his possessions, right?”
“The hell we can’t,” the Mayor snapped, before shooting a sharp look at the Sheriff.
Apollo shook his head. “Legally, I don’t think so. He’s done nothing wrong, sir. Word has it he’s dug in deep and well-armed. I don’t think showing up in force and making demands will go over well.”
Daisy nodded. “He’s wound pretty tight after living out there all alone. Without Helen around to keep him balanced, I’m afraid he’s a ticking time bomb. Speaking of which, he might even have the place wired with explosives. Wouldn’t put it past him.”
“She’s right,” Apollo said. “It’s best if we keep the channels open with diplomacy.”
“You mean pay him. With money we can’t afford,” the Mayor said.
“And put up with his idiosyncrasies,” Apollo added.
Mayor Buckley threw up his hands and huffed, then paced the room a few times before speaking again. “Fine. We buy what we need from the man. I’ll authorize a cash withdrawal from the town treasury. But let me be perfectly clear about one thing. If he resists, then we take what we need. We’re not going to play games with this man.”
“I think that’ll work,” Apollo said.
The Mayor put a hand on Bunker’s back. “Since you seem to have the most tactical training around here, I’d like you to head out to Tuttle’s place with Daisy.”
“As backup?” she asked the Mayor.
“For a full assessment. Grab whatever you think we can use. Just don’t overpay.”
“You got it, sir,” she said.
“Can the town count on your help, Mr. Bunker?” the Mayor asked.
“Sure, whatever you need,” Bunker said, wondering if he should use the chance to disappear. He’d have his own horse and it wouldn’t take much to give the deputy the slip.
Daisy’s eyes lit up. “I only saw a small portion of his inventory, but it looked like he has a little bit of everything. There’s no telling what we’ll find once we start digging around.”
Bunker appreciated the Mayor’s trust in him, but he didn’t want to head out with Daisy until after he got something important off his chest. He wasn’t sure how’d they react, but he needed to come clean about it.
He caught Apollo’s attention with his eyes, then whispered, “Before I go, Sheriff, can I speak to you and the Mayor somewhere in private? There’s one more thing we need to discuss.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Bunker waited until Buckley and Apollo were inside the Sheriff’s private office before he shut the door. The rest of the group was still outside in the work area, huddled around the hand-crank radio, chatting away.
“Okay, what is it?” the Mayor asked. “We’re a little pressed for time here, Mr. Bunker.”
“Well, sir, there’s something I think the two of you should know. But before I tell you what it is, let me say that I’m pretty sure you’re not going to like what I have to say. In fact, it’ll probably change your view of me completely. So I ask that you please don’t judge until you hear me out.”
“Come on, man. Out with it.”
Bunker took a deep breath and swallowed hard. Every fiber in his being was screaming at him to keep his mouth shut, but something else was pushing him forward. He had to get the words out while he had the chance.
“After the jet barely missed us, I went to the front of the train to see what was going on. I ran into the Amtrak conductor and his engineer, who were standing out front. We started talking about the plane crash and trying to figure out what happened, when one of them said he used to work at Area 51—”
“Seriously? Area 51? That’s what this is about?” the Mayor snapped, throwing his hands up in disgust.
“No wonder you didn’t want to say anything in front of the others,” the Sheriff said, looking frustrated. “Dreamland?”
“Yeah, I know it’s a little out there, but I still think you need to hear what these men had to say. I didn’t want to bring this up with
the civilians around, because I know they’d start to question their leadership if they heard the words Area 51. And that wouldn’t do anyone any good. May I continue, sir?”
“Fine. You got two minutes. Make it quick,” Buckley said. “But so help me God, if this has anything to do with Little Green Men—”
“No sir, it doesn’t. It has to do with the secret airline that Area 51 uses for staff and equipment. It’s called Janet Airlines. Have you heard of it?”
Apollo nodded. “Yeah, everyone around here knows about it. Groom Lake is due west from here. They fly into Colorado Springs all the time.”
“To meet with the brass at NORAD,” Bunker said, wanting to show he was on the same page as the two leaders of Clearwater.
“That’s the rumor. But what does Janet Airlines have to do what’s happening outside?” the Sheriff asked, pointing at the office door.
“The commercial plane that crashed was all white and had no markings on it.”
“All white?”
“Yes, even the windows were painted white. Apparently it was from Area 51.”
Buckley looked stunned. So did Apollo. Neither of them said anything.
“The Amtrak engineer wondered if the EMP was targeting the Area 51 flight specifically, possibly to stop top secret technology from being delivered to NORAD. Now, I know what you’re thinking. I thought the same thing at first. But after the Morse code message and the coordinates we’ve just decoded, I’m not so sure. Maybe the engineer wasn’t some conspiracy theory nut after all. Maybe he was on to something.”
Buckley nodded, but still didn’t answer.
Bunker looked at Apollo, wanting to gauge the Sheriff’s interest as he laid out the rest of his argument. “At this point, you have to ask yourself, what are the odds of a top secret flight being overhead and on its way to NORAD at the exact same time an EMP hits? And then there’s the apparent cyber attack that blinded our defense systems so our military couldn’t track the inbound missile and stop it. Assuming, of course, that’s what delivered the EMP.”
“I see your point,” the Sheriff said. “It does all seem a little suspicious.”
The Mayor paced to the far wall and back, running his hands through his hair several times. “So let me extrapolate a bit here . . . what you’re suggesting is that top secret technology was being delivered to various bases around the country when the EMP strike was launched. Apparently, to stop the Area 51 deliveries before they could be deployed.”
“Yes sir. It does seem to support the facts we know so far,” Bunker answered.
“To what end?”
“I have no idea, Mr. Mayor. But if the engineer was right, whatever tech was being delivered to NORAD was important enough for a foreign adversary to stop. And, by doing so, expose their new technology.”
The room was quiet for a full minute before the Mayor spoke to Bunker. “What’s your gut tell you about the engineer’s claim that he used to work at Area 51?”
“Seemed credible. He knew a lot of details about the base and the type of aircraft they usually fly. In fact, he mentioned that the downed plane was a much newer model. Apparently, Groom Lake upgraded its fleet recently.”
Buckley sighed. “Then we could be caught in the middle of something much bigger than any of us realizes.”
“Which is why I wanted to speak to you in private. I know this is all just a guess, but we can’t ignore everything we’ve learned so far. But it sure seems connected somehow. Almost like Clearwater is near ground zero.”
“If so, then this is not simply a prelude to an invasion by Russia or China,” Apollo said. “This is part of some master plan.”
“Okay then, let’s assume some of these theories are correct,” the Mayor said, raising his eyebrows. “What does it mean for us? Does it change what we have to do to defend ourselves and ride this out?”
Bunker shook his head, taking a moment to choose his words carefully. “No sir. It doesn’t. At least not yet. But the two of you need to factor in the possibility of Area 51’s involvement. It may change what you have to do, depending on what you learn after the reconnaissance teams are sent out.”
“Agreed,” Buckley said, looking focused and determined. “One thing we know for sure, whoever is behind this has the burning desire to see our country fall.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“I’ll catch up to you in a minute,” Bunker told Deputy Daisy, turning and walking across the town square to talk with Stephanie King.
“What’s going on with the radio signal? Is everything okay?” Stephanie asked when he arrived.
“That’s what I want to talk to you about. Something’s come up.”
Jeffrey stood silently next to her, his tiny hands wrapped around the top of Bunker’s duffle bag. The kid was smiling and nodding with pride, making Bunker think Stephanie had put him in charge of the oversized pack.
Stephanie leaned to the left and looked past Bunker, her eyes thinning into a long stare. “Let me guess: it’s got something to do with her, doesn’t it?”
Bunker turned and followed Stephanie’s gaze, finding it trained on Daisy, who was looking back at him.
Daisy’s head dropped immediately. She began fidgeting with something along the far side of the duty belt wrapped around her waist.
Stephanie scoffed. “I get that some men are attracted to the whole chick in a uniform thing, but I just don’t understand what my ex-husband ever saw in her. I mean, seriously. Look at her. She obviously eats a lot of carbs.”
Bunker didn’t agree. Daisy was in excellent shape, though not as ultra-thin and voluptuous as Stephanie. The two women were polar opposites in every respect, but he didn’t want to get in the middle of their apparent history.
He decided to redirect the focus of the conversation. “The Mayor asked me to help retrieve some items from a homestead outside town,” Bunker said before locking eyes with Jeffrey. “So it looks like you’ll need to watch my pack a little while longer. Can you do that for me, sport?”
“Uh-huh. It’s really not that heavy,” Jeffrey said, pulling the straps up and over his shoulder. The kid grunted as he lifted it off the grass. “See, I can carry it.”
Stephanie worked the wraps free from her son and put the bag on the ground with a thud. The fire in her eyes was apparent when she looked up at Bunker. “Asked you to help? Why? He barely knows you. Why can’t someone else do it? Why does it have to be you?”
Bunker shrugged. “Apparently he trusts me, thanks in part to you putting in a good word for me.”
“I doubt my recommendation had anything to do with it. It’s more like he trusts you because you brought the kids back safe and sound. Like the Pied Piper, except without the flute.”
When Bunker’s mind conjured up a vision of the legendary character wearing his long robe and floppy hat, he couldn’t hold back a short chuckle. “He wants me to evaluate some of the items we need. Tactically speaking.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t tell him about your past.”
“You know I’d never do that. I just helped them decode the transmission and then we tossed around some ideas.”
“What did it say, exactly? The transmission, I mean.”
He hesitated, wondering if he should release the information. The Mayor didn’t deem the Morse code signal or their discussions classified, so he figured it was safe to tell her. Some of it, at least. Not all. He was pressed for time and Stephanie was already on edge, so he decided to keep some of the aspects a secret. He didn’t need her causing a scene.
“It contained a series of GPS coordinates that correspond to cities across the US. It’s possible Clearwater wasn’t the only town affected by what happened today.”
She stood there, silent, with her eyes blinking.
He’d expected her to connect the dots about what the GPS coordinates meant, so when she didn’t react, he decided to continue. “The Mayor’s planning to send out teams to see what’s going on out there and report back. We need more information.”
“Are you part of those teams?”
“I haven’t decided. Right now, I’m gonna go do a little recon and see if I can score some items to help the Sheriff and his staff.”
Stephanie leaned to the side again, sending a nasty look across the square. “You and Daisy? Together? That’s why she’s waiting for you, right?”
“Yes. The Sheriff doesn’t want her to go alone.”
“I thought you said the Mayor was sending you out there, not the Sheriff.”
“He is. Both of them are. Like I said, we tossed around some ideas after I decoded the radio signal. I’m to go with her and see if we can locate some communication gear that works. If we’re successful, it’ll help the scout teams report back on what they learn out there. Communications are going to be key moving forward.”
She bit her lower lip and nodded slowly. “Whose place are you going to?”
“A guy by the name of Frank Tuttle.”
“That nut job? What could he possibly have?”
“Apparently, he’s been stocking up for the end of the world. Daisy went out there earlier and got a look at some of his inventory. We think there’s a lot more we can use.”
Stephanie pointed at the front door to the clinic. “What about Megan? She should be getting released soon. Don’t you want to see how she’s doing?”
“Yeah, of course I do. But I need to go do this. It’s in everyone’s best interest, including you and Jeffrey.”
“Sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”
“Look, I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’ll come find you and Jeffrey. Just let the Sheriff’s office know where you are.”
She folded her arms and stood with more weight on one leg than the other. He couldn’t tell if she was pissed or finally coming around to his way of thinking. Either way, he needed to get moving.
He put his hand on Jeffrey’s head. “When I return, I wanna hear all about how you did with those cute little redheads.”
Jeffrey’s face turned a deep shade of red, then he grinned. “Okay. But hurry back.”
Bunker (A Post-Apocalyptic Techno Thriller Book 2) Page 3
