As he sat there praying for Haley to get Butch over the side, he noticed a distinct tilt. One of the pontoons must have taken a lot of hits. Or his epoxy seals had broken.
There was now no question Butch was going to get in the water.
Susan’s Grace was sinking.
Chapter 18
Somewhere in Central Wyoming
After Cal made sure there were no major threats at the site of the train attack, he gave the all clear for several more vehicles to leave the highway and come out onto the plains near the tracks. Logan and Shawn both became animated when a big red SUV pulled up.
“It’s my mother,” Logan said to Grace on the sly.
“Is it a good or bad thing?” she asked with equal confidentiality.
“This time, it’s good. I would have gotten in trouble if she’d been the one there when I got back from Billings with you. Now, it’ll be my dad who’s in the hot seat.” The boy snickered.
Several women climbed out of the SUV. They were all dressed in jeans, colorful long-sleeved shirts, and had their hair braided and in headbands. At first glance, they were dressed to work on a farm. Which, as she thought about it, made sense for where they were.
“Logan?” a woman called out.
The boy walked over to her. Instead of taking him in a hug, as Grace expected, the woman grabbed both his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “What has your father gotten you into? He said to bring everyone I could, so I did. But I didn’t expect you to be involved with this.” She pointed to the burning boxcar a short way down the tracks.
“Ka-hay, Mother. Hello. Don’t worry. Dad has been keeping me safe.”
Grace knew it was an exaggeration beyond comprehension. No mother would want to hear her son and husband had been shot at multiple times over the past several days. She wondered how much Logan’s father had told her.
“I’ll be the judge of that.” She tried to let her boy go, but he held on.
“Wait. How did you find us here?”
The woman was very pretty, even in the low light. She was tall, like her son, and carried herself with poise. However, when Logan asked the question, her shoulders slumped in the same motherly way her own mom’s had when asked a silly question.
“The entire state saw your fancy light shows. The CB chatter about it has been nonstop. The real question you should be asking is who doesn’t know you’re here.” She finally separated herself from Logan and walked the short way to her husband.
“And what’s your story?” she asked without preamble. “Why are you taking my son into a war?”
Shawn Runs Hard held up his hands in mock surrender. “I can explain everything. I promise. I—”
“You’ve been hurt,” his wife added, softening her tone. “Are you all right?” She closed the last few feet and hugged him.
“It’s only a little leg wound. I’ll be fine.”
They separated enough to see each other’s faces. She touched his cheek. “I brought the cavalry, as you requested.”
Shawn smiled at her, then seemed to notice Grace gawking. He alternated between her and his wife. “Grace, this is my wife, Tyressa Runs Hard.”
The woman seemed to look over Grace’s park ranger outfit, noting Asher wore the same style. “Nice to meet you. You two are government officials?”
“Well, yes,” she agreed.
“Can’t you get us any help? Why is it my husband had to call my people halfway across the state of Wyoming, when you could call the governor, or the president?”
She chuckled. “It doesn’t really work that way. I haven’t even been in touch with my immediate supervisor back in Yellowstone. I don’t know if any of them are alive.”
Tyressa thought it over, then relented. “I like to be the other half of Mr. Runs Hard’s brain. I’m sure he’s probably asked you the same question.”
Grace was caught off guard. “I can’t remember…”
The woman laughed it off. “I’m not trying to fly a bird in your tent. I only want to know what’s been shared between you, so I don’t waste your time. My husband said there are many threats out in the wild, including the mining company who tried to come onto our lands.”
She nodded. “Right. We’re running from them. We’re also, uh, considering chasing them. We’re heading for their dig site to try to secure the wealth for your people.”
“My people?” she said with surprise, turning her gaze back to her husband. “This is about money? You endangered my boy for nothing more important than money?”
Grace felt a little sorry for the man as he became embroiled in explaining what he’d been doing the past several days. She moved closer to Asher and his sister, intent on letting the Crow woman interrogate her men.
To her surprise, a glimmer of morning appeared on the eastern horizon.
There was finally a new day with some hope. Assuming Shawn Runs Hard could get them to stay, they now had an entire tribe in their corner. There would, at the very least, be safety in numbers.
She was part of a pack.
Kansas City, MO
Haley was already in the water, treading to stay next to the pontoons and hiding from the lights and shooters at the asteroid fragment. Left with no choice, Butch put on his bravest face and threw himself over the edge of Susan’s Grace. After a brief but intensely uncoordinated arm thrashing, Butch let himself settle into Haley’s grip. “Just kick your feet, okay?” she said calmly.
“I’ll try,” he replied, spitting out water.
The boat was listing to the right, making it harder to climb out the left side. Ezra secured the guns, and his backpack, but he ditched all the hard-earned treasure they’d gotten from Bass Pro. He lamented they hadn’t even been able to properly use the expensive camp tents before losing them.
He slipped into the water, not far behind Butch.
“Paddle!” he insisted.
The current was relaxed on the lake, but it was flowing a little. They used the boat to shield them from the workers, which required them to swim faster before the boat got too far away. Thankfully, most of the shooting had stopped, probably because it was clear the boat was out of commission. He absently noted to himself the men weren’t killing them for sport…
Don’t jinx it.
Ahead, Haley had helped Butch shift, so he was on his back. She held him under the shoulders, in the classic pose of a lifeguard rescuing a lost swimmer. It was touching to see her take such good care of his friend.
They were ashore in minutes. As he clambered onto the rocks, he experienced a flashback to doing the same thing on that first night at Kentucky Lake. He’d left Susan in the water to go rescue his guns from the fire eating away his house. As he pulled off those same two guns, he realized they, not his boat, were the last two links to the love of his life. He set them gently on the rocks, then helped Butch come ashore.
“Do you know how to swim now?” he joked to the big guy.
Butch could have been a wet cat for how miserable he appeared. “I had a great teacher. She talked me through it. However, I’d just as soon never do that again.”
“Aww,” Haley complained in a mocking voice, “I thought we connected out in the water.”
Butch froze. “No, I didn’t mean—”
“Relax,” she chided, “I’m only playing with you. You didn’t freak out. There’s nothing more important when helping a swimmer.” She leaned over and used her hands to wring out her long hair. “I did four summers at the local pool. I’ve seen it all.”
“I bet,” Ezra replied.
“Let’s get farther inland,” Butch added, slipping a little on the wet rocks.
They walked up a gentle hill for a few minutes before finding a place to catch their breath. A line of skyscrapers stood at the top, as if they’d once stood vigil over the flowing Missouri River. Now, they looked out over the black lake.
“What do you say we go up there?” Ezra pointed to the first building. It was about twenty stories tall and appeared to be mis
sing most of the glass along its face. The light of the dig site behind them reflected off its few remaining windowpanes.
They’d gone to the third floor before Ezra declared they’d climbed high enough. He pushed through the fire door of the stairwell, taking them into a vacant office space. “I was hoping to see my boat before it went under. I’m sure it’s gone.”
“Lead on,” Butch said, holding the door for him and Haley.
He sat next to an open window, careful not to fall out. When he searched for his boat, it was nowhere to be seen.
“It must have floated away,” he commented, wondering if it was really going to sink after all.
From their vantage point at the edge of the lake and thirty feet up, they had a commanding view. The half-submerged rock seemed to be a hive of activity relative to the rest of the city. The spotlights on the cranes and on the towboats hovering near the rock were dialed up to eleven. Giant hydraulic jackhammers cracked into the rock from their spots on flat-bottomed boats. The split ore fell into open-topped barges moored up against the round island.
“They’ve got their model of efficiency going.” Ezra admired how the company set things up, though he was seriously considering using his new position to fire rounds on them. The rest of the city was cast in total darkness, as if the power had been knocked out. There would be no way for them to see where he was. But firing from such a distance would only antagonize them for no good reason. The smart play was to focus on their own issues. “Let’s rest here until sunrise,” he suggested.
“That won’t be long,” Butch replied, sounding more like himself.
Ezra didn’t mind. “I don’t know about you guys, but I need a few minutes of rest. This has been one of the craziest nights of my life, and I’m including the one where an asteroid shockwave blew my boat onto dry land.”
The youngsters understood what he wanted.
Ezra curled up in a corner, silently saying goodbye to his beloved boat. It felt as if one more piece of his life had died, and he needed time to process the loss. He couldn’t tell if it was moments or minutes later, but the first ray of sunshine soon appeared in the window. Even grieving needed to be cut short in the new reality.
Denver, CO
Petteri watched the sun come up from the tenth floor of his temporary headquarters in Denver. He pined for the warm tropical safety on Isla Soccoro. Armed shooters would have a hard time reaching the island, then they’d have to deal with his Mexican navy commandos working as guards. Still, he was glad Mr. Aarons came through for him.
The situation outside wasn’t to his satisfaction, however. When the light of the new day reached into the canyons of Lodo, he’d expected to see his dig site running at full tilt. At the moment, there were no trucks loading ore. Several piles had been placed next to the rock, ready to go, but the dump trucks were gone.
He picked up the phone and dialed his dig supervisor.
“Hello? Cassens, here.”
“Cassens? This is Tikkanen. I’m looking at your operation from up here. Where the hell are my trucks?”
The man cleared his throat. “We’ve been trying to get them back all night. Some of them were commandeered on the outskirts of the city. It scared off most of our drivers. Uh, but not all of them. Small groups have made it through. They have armed men riding with them.”
Petteri wasn’t surprised by the news. He’d asked his men to perform miracles in a city about to crush them. The guns had come out on the streets, giving his people some extra breathing room. But the noose was tightening around him. The mayor had even sent her hit squad after him. Maybe she wanted to put a stop to his men shooting up the town from their dump trucks.
He chuckled at how everything spun round and round in their little battlespace.
“Sir? Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Yes,” he said curtly. “Tell your dump truck drivers to get one more load if they can. Let them know they can split half of what they carry with anyone willing to protect it through enemy territory.”
“Wow,” Cassens let out.
“Indeed. Now listen. For everyone else, I want them heading to the dig site south of Yellowstone.” He glanced at the paperwork on his desk. It showed the nearest train route, which was about fifty miles south of the fallen piece. “We’re going to bring in hopper cars and consume every ounce of ore before anyone else gets to it.”
“We’re giving up on this one?” Cassens lamented.
“No, of course not,” he exaggerated. Fear would spread like a disease among those remaining on the streets if they knew his true intentions. “We’re going to do the same thing here in Denver. The train tracks are a few blocks over. We’re going to set up a short relay with the dump trucks left in our possession. I need you to give me the time to set it up.”
“Ah, very good, sir. I’ll make sure my guys know about it.”
He hung up the phone, wondering if he really could pull it off. It had been an idle boast designed to drag things out with his men, but the train line wasn’t far from the rock on the street. If he could pull it off, it could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The threats presented by the city were numerous, but the new day presented new opportunities for building his company’s wealth.
Petteri got his secretary on the phone. “Get me the heads of the three largest rail companies. I’ve got an offer they won’t want to pass up.” He’d already had TKM swoop up all the contract freight cars for a thousand miles, but he needed more than those machines. He needed the manpower.
“I’m not done with Denver just yet,” he said to the window.
Chapter 19
Rawlins, WY
Tyressa was a strong-willed woman who seemed to carry sway over her wounded husband. She ordered him into her brother’s truck, along with her son, who fought hard to stay with Grace and the train. In the end, the matriarch won all the arguments and the two men drove away while under her watchful eyes.
The Crow caravan planned to travel ahead on the interstate, while she, Asher, and Misha continued to shadow the train engine. The decision to keep possession of the engine was part of their plan to draw Nerio into a trap. It was also pivotal to bringing back ore for the Crow nation. Robert assured them they could pick up new hopper cars in the towns ahead, and he’d been right. They’d made it to the little town of Rawlins, Wyoming, where a train yard contained hundreds of them.
Grace had parked near a Walmart while waiting for the engine to arrive. The coating of dust from the black snow and rain covered many of the cars and most of the buildings. They hadn’t seen it as much in Cheyenne and Denver; those cities were too far east of the fires and debris thrown into the skies above Yellowstone. It signaled they were getting closer the source. “Want anything from the Supercenter?” she joked with Asher.
“Does Supercenter sell rounds for my big-ass gun?” Misha asked from the back seat.
She and Asher shared a confused look.
“I have no idea,” she finally said.
“They sell guns, I know that,” Asher added.
“We should stop and get some more,” the Russian countered.
Asher laughed. “How many guns do you need?”
“In Russia, I would say all of them. All guns. Here, in America, I also want all of them. Can never have too many guns.”
It was Grace’s turn to chuckle. “You’d fit right in on my street back home in Kentucky.” She also turned serious. “But no, we can’t go shopping. We have to watch Robert bring the engine through town. That’s our job right now.”
Misha almost sounded pouty. “Fine.”
After a period of silence, Asher spoke up. “How about Logan’s mom? Talk about a scary mother. She’s like the First Lady of the Crow Nation. It’s got to be a trip.”
“I liked her,” Grace said. “I can see why she and Shawn found each other. They’re both cut from the same cloth.”
Misha became interested. “What does this mean? How are they cut?”
She sn
orted. “No, it means they’re the same in how they act. They shared the same life experiences.” Before she knew it was happening, she dwelled for a bit on her own family. Her parents each had their strengths and weakness, though Mom seemed to have more issues than Dad. She was the worrier. Dad was the doer. No one would have ever said they were cut from the same cloth.
“You all right?” Asher said, tapping her elbow.
She snapped to attention. “The train is coming.”
Everyone watched as the orange engine arrived at the train yard. Robert went the quarter of a mile to the opposite end before stopping. She put the truck in gear, then drove off the highway and into the railyard. There were no fences or trees, and most of the land was flat, making such maneuvers possible. Trees and houses of the town lined the sides of the long switching yard, but there were few people around.
Grace parked the truck on a service road next to the yard. The three of them gathered their rifles, she and Asher put on their hats, and then they walked together over several empty sets of tracks until they reached Robert. He was messing with a switch to get a junction to change.
“Do they let you do that?” she asked, looking around the train yard.
“Sure,” Robert replied. “These remote yards don’t have the manpower to micromanage everyone. They assume we engineers know what we’re doing.” He looked around with concern, as if maybe he didn’t believe what he was saying.
They watched as Robert got the tracks changed, moved his engine in reverse, then linked up with a row of about ten coal hoppers. The man was obviously an expert at what he did.
A horn signaled the arrival of another train from the east.
“We have company,” Robert called out from his position behind the engine.
“Do you need any help?” she asked. They remained next to the switching boxes at the track junction, but she had no clue what anything did.
“No, I’m good. We’ll be up and rolling by the time the traffic goes by.”
Impact Series Box Set | Books 1-6 Page 95
