Cassidy gave instructions to Phillip, who left to get a team assembled and on the move. As Kyle recovered, Bennet picked his brain for any more information he had. He told Bennet about the match that Cassidy and Erika had and how it had healed the wounds of the past. It concerned Bennet even more, knowing that Erika was already injured before she was captured.
He left in a fury to go tell Dexter and his men. They would head out to rescue them tonight. Leaving the building, he was startled by the noise of jets flying by high in the sky. They were moving from west to east. The jets required a lot of fuel and there had to be a good reason to have them in the air. Bennet doubted that Colonel Henderson, the leader of FEMA, would waste fuel to take out refugees in an inhospitable area that was in peril of destruction anyway. They’re moving them before the next quake comes, Bennet thought.
“What did she say?” Dexter wondered as Bennet approached.
“Sir,” Bennet replied, noting the young man was growing away from his training.
“What?” Dexter didn’t understand.
“What did she say, sir?” Bennet repeated.
Dexter caught his point and replied, “What did she say, sir?”
“Your parents have been taken to a large estate north of here. They’re being held by the Federal Forces,” Bennet informed him.
“What! Oh man, we were so close. When are we headed out…” Dexter asked adding the “sir” as Bennet scowled at him.
“Tonight, there’s a team heading there now. We’re going to get some chow and head out after them. They can relay intel as we travel. The guy they were traveling with, Kyle, says he has their gear. Let’s get their thermal cloaks before we go,” Bennet instructed him.
“Got it,” Dexter replied, heading off to find Kyle.
Bennet left with Smith and Jensen to fill their bellies. It had been an arduous trip out to New Mexico, and now the night would be a long one as well.
When they finished their meal, Bennet sent Jensen out to procure silencers for their nine-millimeter pistols. The silencers wouldn’t muffle the flash, but at least they would have a quieter fall-back weapon if all else failed.
Dexter returned. He had the cloaks and grabbed some food for himself and Trucker.
The sun was setting in the west as they headed north, constantly receiving intel from the scout group as they drove. Vince and Erika were still onsite, judging from the increased security. It was decided that they were being kept in a barn on the far end of the property. To avoid detection, Bennet drove around on a back road and parked the jeep a good distance from the estate.
He and Dexter would walk to the estate with the extra cloak. Trucker could not hide from the thermal cameras and had to wait as backup with Smith and Jensen. He softly whined as Dexter left with Bennet.
They approached the fence and quietly snipped a hole big enough for them to enter through. They quickly moved from cover to cover avoiding the Federal Guards.
They approached the back of the barn. Bennet slipped up behind the guard, swiftly snapping the man’s neck. Dexter slowly crept inside, making sure it was all clear. There was a guard approaching and Dexter slid a knife out of its sheath. He threw it from the concealment of his dark corner. The knife flew silently though the air but spun one too many times. The handle struck the man hard in his forehead. Then it bounced and in stuck in his foot.
“Ow, what the…” the man started to say as he was mobbed by Bennet. A knife slammed down the front of his throat, silencing his curiosity.
Bennet scowled at Dexter and Dexter shrugged back at him. Dex collected his knife from the man’s foot as he dragged the guy into the shadowed corner with the other guard Bennet had killed. Creeping along the stalls, trying to stay low, they peeked into each one until they saw Erika’s body. They watched carefully to see if she was still breathing. Her chest slowly went up and down. They exhaled deeply with relief. Bennet waited, watching her, while Dexter continued down the row looking for Vince.
Bennet watched Dexter signal with his hands he had found Vince in a stall further down the line. Bennet indicated for Dexter to put the cloak on him and bring him back. Then he slowly and quietly tried to open the stall, but the metal creaked horribly. The noise woke Erika and she cowered in the corner with her ears covered. Bennet couldn’t see her face but there was blood on her shirt.
“Erika, it’s okay,” Bennet told her. “I’ve come to get you.”
“Sergeant Bennet?” Erika said in a daze. When she had first met him, he was a sergeant and she often called him sergeant affectionately. “Is that really you?’
“Yes, Erika, it’s me,” he replied gently.
“No, it’s a dream,” she yelled back.
“Shhhhh, Erika. I’ve come to get you out of here,” he tried to explain softly.
“I don’t want to go with you. You lied to me,” she yelled, stumbling about.
“Shut up, Erika. You’ll alert the guards,” he commanded sternly.
But she didn’t stop. The fuzz in her brain was thick and she was having a hard time gripping reality. Bennet couldn’t risk her alerting the guards and launched across the stall. Holding his hand over her mouth, he was kicked repeatedly by her flailing legs.
“Damn, woman, even rescuing you is a challenge,” Bennet cursed under his breath.
She became exhausted from her efforts and slowly relaxed his massive arms. He tucked her into the cloak that he wore and met Dexter in the hallway. Dexter’s cloaked father rested over his shoulder. As they were leaving a guard approached down the hall. Bennet shot him twice with the silenced pistol, but it was heard, and the alarm was raised. They hustled out the back of the barn and moved Vince and Erika as fast as they could across the yard. The thermal cloaks shadowed them in the darkness until one soldier shouted, “look for their feet.”
Shots rang out through the night as they zigzagged their way toward the exit in the fence. The Federal Force’s soldiers advanced but were suddenly dropping from Militia sniper fire and had to fall back to cover to avoid the barrage.
Dexter pulled his father through the hole with Bennet’s help, and then Bennet carried Erika through. Smith and Jensen provided cover fire as they approached and sped away in a cloud of dust.
The Federal Force soldiers gave chase, but Bennet’s jeep was being covered by the Militia scout truck that sported a fifty-caliber machine gun. The Federal vehicles were left smoking on the side of the road.
Chapter 26
As dawn approached 1st Sgt Bennet triumphantly drove his truck back into Albuquerque. Eli was at a barricade they had erected.
“You had these men hustling last night,” Bennet commented as he rolled down his window.
“How are they doing?” Eli asked, indicating Vince and Erika.
“They’re sleeping in the back,” Bennet answered. “Feds gave them a nasty cocktail.”
“Only way I could imagine anyone keeping that woman down,” Eli commented, chuckling.
“You’re right about that,” Bennet replied.
He left Eli and rolled the truck into town. Parking in front of the Militia housing building, he saw Kyle waiting on the stairs. The man hadn’t even had a shower yet. His dedication surprised Bennet.
“Did you bring them home, 1st Sgt?” Kyle asked, hopping to his feet.
“We sure did, Kyle,” Bennet responded positively. “They’re a little out of sorts but they’ll sleep it off.”
Dexter jumped out of the back of the truck with a huge smile on his face. Trucker bounced behind him, sharing in the young man’s delight. Smith couldn’t help but laugh at the two of them.
The men worked together to carry the couple into the Militia infirmary building. Kyle had reserved two beds for the incoming couple.
Dexter, Smith, and Jensen headed over to the main housing building. They found a few available cots scattered throughout the sleeping bodies and Dexter chose one. The young man was exhausted. Weeks of worrying about his family had left him drained and now that he knew ev
eryone was safe, he slept with his dog curled up next to him. Smith and Jensen followed suit after relaxing a bit with some of the Militia soldiers who were rising to start guard duty.
“1st Sgt Bennet.” Eli caught his attention. “Do you have a moment?”
“Sure,” Bennet responded, walking away from the doctor who was tending to Erika.
“I’m worried about the hell fire this might bring down on us,” Eli commented honestly. “Cassidy was going to send the electromagnetic gun we captured earlier over to Dallas to hold the city, but now she is rethinking that. We never intended to attract this much attention this far north. Did you see the jets fly over yesterday?” Eli asked.
“Yes, sir, I did,” Bennet replied.
“Even if they were just moving planes, you know they would have been surveying as they went. Now, attracting this attention with Vince and Erika. They’ll know we’re staging here.”
“The radio chatter probably gave your location away a while ago,” Bennet commented. “Even without the fly-by.”
“Yeah but now they know for sure Vince and Erika are here. After the last Federal Governing Board meeting, I’m sure the feds are itching to make spectacles of them,” Eli suggested.
“You want them out of here?” Bennet assumed.
“I do. Don’t get me wrong: after the southwestern gate battle, they earned my respect. They are able-bodied fighters, and that woman works like magic on the morale of the soldiers, but…” Eli countered his own argument.
“But you’d love for the chatter to start indicating they are somewhere else,” Bennet suggested.
You got it.” Eli smiled. “What about you, sir? We could really use someone with your command experience.”
“I go with them,” Bennet announced sharply, to the dismay of Eli. “Don’t worry, Eli. The Lieutenant General is sending Major General Chan Lee your way with a thousand Mercenary soldiers. I wouldn’t worry about Dallas too much either. Colonel Chuck Stone was stationed there and should be back in command of the Mercenary Army there by now. From what I understand the feds were caught off guard by the Militia and didn’t have time to strip the Fort Worth base like they did the ones here.”
Eli’s thick brow line unfurrowed from its concerned position.
“Well, sir, that’s some of the best news I’ve heard all day,” Eli announced.
“And the day is still young,” Bennet responded as jovially as he knew how.
He headed back into the building, thinking he would try to get some rest himself. The room was bustling with injured soldiers and attending nurses and doctors. Bennet knew he couldn’t sleep with all the activity going on. He chose a chair and set it up by Erika’s bed. He stared at her, lost in thought. She slept peacefully. Her left eye was slightly swollen. Under that she had eight stitches that were still fresh and had started to bleed a little again. Her long brown hair was dirty and stretched across the pillow.
He though back to the day he had met her. A little spitfire that had organized a rebellion at the refugee camp after the infertilization law had been put in place. She had never seen his face. A black hood had smothered her as she sat in a metal box in the Las Vegas detention center. The heat in the building alone had caused him to sweat profusely as he bantered her over and over, day after day, about fitting into the new system. He thought he could break her quickly and move on to the next rebel not falling into line. Not Erika Moore, it had taken a week to get her to crack enough to be allowed out of the box and get placed into a metal cell. He continued the barrage to the hooded figure, confident he could extinguish her fire. She had smoldered it enough to tell him what he wanted to hear, and she was slowly allowed back into the refugee general population.
Years later, her family group had remained obstinate and they were never adopted by landowners. Mathew Tweed, the manager of the Las Vegas refugee center, saw them as a drain on resources. However, her family group’s list of applicable skills was very impressive, and they were chosen to form a Rescue Squad. Concerned about Erika Moore’s past record, her team had been put under his command for training. He was sure he would break her then, but he never did. He tried to get her to follow orders, but she was always questioning, analyzing, and outperforming what he expected of her.
She was going to lead the team, so Bennet had extra time to mold her every afternoon. He thought back to a day in the rain. He remembered the relentless shower as it poured down and soaked them to the bone. Erika’s hands were raw as he had her hit a heavy bag over and over. He was trying to get her to change her technique. It was a safer method of punching, but he was really just trying to break her and get her to do as she was told without question.
He chuckled as he remembered her hitting the bag so hard that it flew back and took him off his feet. He landed hard in the mud and was not happy. The truth came out that day. Trying to break her, he had broken himself. He told her it had been him talking to her in the box. He told her how difficult it was to follow the outrageous orders the feds were issuing. That’s when it had started. He knew he could change things from the inside. It would mean changing loyalties that he had cherished for a lifetime, but he couldn’t support this system any longer.
He slowly infiltrated the resistance movement and was put in touch with Cassidy’s father. Bennet was to stay put and relay tactical information to them. The day Erika’s squad left he knew they would be headed to the town that Cassidy and her father were in. They had done their best to remove any evidence of the resistance movement, but Cassidy and her father didn’t get out of town fast enough. They had hidden in the shelter.
Bennet had no idea the outcome of that day would end up like it did. Cassidy had arrived in chains and her father was dead. To make matters worse, Erika’s team didn’t arrive home as scheduled. He had gone himself to find them. Their sergeant had been badly injured, but they kept him alive and were fending off a ragtag crew of marauders when he arrived with superior fire power and quickly dispatched the attackers.
He fell asleep in the chair, watching Erika breathe and reflecting on the past. Only God knew where the future would take them, but he would be there to protect her and her family.
Chapter 27
Erika slowly awoke. Her head was throbbing. Panic overtook her as she remembered being held captive and had no recollection of the room she was in.
“Calm down, cupcake. You’re safe,” Bennet told her, watching her stir and try to get her bearings.
“Where are we?” Erika asked groggily. She was momentarily comforted by his presence, forgetting the grudge she was holding.
“In Albuquerque at the Militia base,” he answered her softly. He watched her holding her head in pain.
“You okay, cupcake?” he asked, rising to check her over.
“I’m fine,” she snapped, pushing him away. The action stung the injury on her arm and she winced painfully.
“Just calm down. Let me look at that,” he insisted, grabbing her arm and turning it over.
She was too fuzzy and weak to stop his massive hand from controlling her. The wound had festered with infection from overuse and dirt.
“I’ll get the doc over here,” he told her.
“I’m fine,” she told him, rolling over.
She relaxed a little when she saw Vince sleeping in the bed next to her.
“Okay, Erika,” he relented. “I’m glad to see you back among the living,” he told her, gently touching her leg as he left to go find the doctor.
She fell back asleep, staring at Vince breathing deeply next to her. When she reopened her eyes, Vince was gone. Her head was much clearer, and she fought the panic of waking up in a strange place with the remembrance of the conversation with Bennet. Where is he, she wondered, rolling over.
“Hello again, cupcake,” Bennet said to her.
“You’re still here?” she commented, with a heavy sigh, rolling her eyes.
“Of course I am. You can’t get rid of me that easy,” he teased her.
“Tell me
about it,” she jested back.
“There’s the spitfire I know,” Bennet smiled, sensing that the drugs were wearing off and she was returning to herself.
“The doc’s here to check you out,” Bennet told her.
“I told you, I’m fine,” Erika insisted.
“Let’s just have a look anyway, sport,” a man said in a German accent.
Erika recognized his voice from her past and quickly turned to look at him. She winced in pain but recognized his face.
“Stan?” she asked.
“In the flesh,” he replied.
“Oh my gosh, what happened to you?” she wondered. “They didn’t take you to the camp with us.”
“No, they didn’t. I was shipped east to help with the injured, sick, and dying. I’ve followed your legendary escapades quite closely, though.”
“Obviously, you two know each other,” Bennet commented, feeling left out of the loop.
“Stan patched me up after my encounter with Doug. We left California together. The feds separated us on the way to Vegas and I never knew what happened to him,” Erika explained.
“I’ve been doing okay,” he admitted. “Luckily, my skills have been in high demand. Speaking of, let’s check that arm and that wound on your face.”
She waited patiently as he looked in her eyes and gently touched the gash on her cheek. Then she extended her arm for him to examine it. Stan confirmed that an infection was starting to grow. He washed it with antiseptic and applied an antimicrobial cream over the top.
“That should do for now. I’ll authorize a bottle of antibiotics to stop any more infection from spreading,” Stan assured her.
“Stan, it’s so good to see you again,” Erika repeated. “Reminds me of old times. Do you have a family?”
“I married a lovely woman, Isabel,” he said happily. “But you know the law, Erika.” He looked down at the floor for a moment. “I’m too old for children anyhow.”
“Yeah, they’re just a pain in the butt,” she said loudly as Dexter approached with Vince.
The Changing Earth Series (Book 4): Battle for the South Page 14
