by Angela White
Daryl opened his mouth to make a different suggestion and Angela swung, punching him in the mouth hard enough to make him stumble and almost fall.
“I’m sorry, Daryl. I am, but so help me if I hear one word about abandoning these people to save myself, I will shoot you dead.”
The top Eagle clamped his lips shut. She never bluffed.
Angela slowly went back to helping collect the food.
Those who witnessed the ugly moment took some of it with them and wished even more that Adrian were leading them again.
3
“I can’t believe she sent us out alone,” Conner said, holding the bushes for Jennifer to pass.
None of the other team members spoke. They were scared and not in the mood to talk. Conner was excited and it was annoying.
Jennifer and Becky stayed together, with Conner in the front and Charlie in the rear. The guns in their holsters felt surreal. Even the stunted, abnormal ground was harsher than they were used to. Their roles were just as unreal, though all of them had agreed without hesitation. It wasn’t something they had ever thought they’d be sent out to do.
“This is the place,” Conner stated, holding up his map. “She said to split up when we reach the bridge.”
Charlie and Becky took the path to the right, while Conner went to the left. Jennifer hesitated, torn. She didn’t know Conner.
A hand pulled on her shoulder and Jennifer flinched, swinging.
Conner landed on his ass next to her.
Charlie and Becky laughed and for an instant, the bubble around them became visible. Peace settled over the kids as they remembered they could protect themselves now.
Then reality returned and the two inexperienced teams headed down the mountain in silence.
Behind them, two trained teams also came down the same paths and then split up to watch out for the teenagers. The adult teams would split off on their own runs later, but for the beginning of their trek at least, the kids were safer than they thought.
4
“Ladies, I’d like to have your attention for a moment.”
Chatter in the van stopped as Kyle cleared his throat. “Each of you has an envelope. Inside is a sheet of paper and another envelope. When I tell you, open it and read the contents of the paper only. Look at the time and date before opening the second set of instructions. Anyone who opens the wrong one, even by accident, will get left right here.”
Only doubting him a little, the females waited impatiently for permission.
“Open part one.”
Tearing sounds filled the van, and then an awkward tension.
Kyle brought them to a halt to put the van in park. He tore opened his own instructions before looking at the passengers. “Mine says to tell you that I have the same message.”
“What message?” Heather asked, confused. “My paper is blank.”
Every head turned toward the former accountant, expressions shocked, angry.
Kyle filled her in. “Our papers say: One person has no instructions. Ask her why she betrayed us.”
Heather gasped, face flooding with fear.
Tonya grabbed the woman’s arms so that Tracy could take the weapons from her belt.
“Start talking!” Crista ordered, gun ready. “I’ll kill you.”
Heather held up a hand. “Please, wait.”
As Tracy and Tonya stepped back, Crista looked to Kyle for guidance.
Sensing this might be the only distracted moment she would get unbound, Heather swiftly pulled a secondary gun from her boot.
She snatched the first person she could reach and held the hostage in front of her. “Drive or I’ll shoot her!”
Kyle shook his head, hands out of sight and moving, body set to react. “Don’t make me do this. Face a trial.”
Heather laughed harshly. “And let those idiots who…”
Kyle spun around and fired over the seat, one quick round.
The bullet slammed into Heather’s shoulder, knocking her backward to free Tonya.
Before Heather could do more than cry out, Tonya flipped around and began punching the woman in her bloody shoulder.
Kyle calmly got the van rolling as the other women hurried over to subdue their traitor.
5
“You all right here?”
Peggy shoved hair out of her face and hefted the babbling baby higher onto her hip. “No. Only part A is done. Here’s part B: The drafts need to be sealed in the kid’s area, the entrance gets closed one hour after sunset, and yes, that means you’re staying here.”
She handed Doug an envelope before he could argue and walked away while he was reading, passing the baby to one of the other den mothers. She knew what his instructions were. He wouldn’t like it, but he was needed.
“Did you do this?!” he demanded, drawing attention.
“No.”
“Who did this?!” Doug roared.
Peggy rounded on him, furious. “You did, ya big lug! And you had the nerve to lecture me!”
Doug suspected the knowledge she had, but his pride wouldn’t let it go.
“Why?” he insisted.
“You’re sick! You lied!”
Peggy entered the bathing area and got busy giving orders to the lingering males who were eyeing the kids as if they were hungry jackals. “Set those buffalos more evenly, hang a thicker curtain, put down the adhesive mats…” Peggy made a sharp gesture. “Write!”
Doug fumbled his notebook and pen into hand as she repeated the current list, then kept going.
“After the mats, get guards in every area. Make sure only happy, loyal men are on shift tonight.”
“I know how to set up security, woman!” Doug snapped, face red.
“Then why do you have to write it down like a rookie?” Peggy grinned sarcastically.
Doug paused, mouth moving with thoughts he couldn’t voice.
She made that sharp gesture again. “Get moving, man!”
Doug stomped off, muttering.
Peggy quickly went to the rear of the cave. She stopped to consult her notebook, but when everyone was out of sight or not paying attention, she ducked behind a pile of boulders that appeared to be a dead end. She lifted a rough grey curtain and went under it before she was spotted.
The sentry she bumped into in the darkness put a steadying hand on her arm. “Careful there, sexy.”
Peggy snorted, but didn’t snap at the man. They were all tense and using whatever outlet they could find.
“Is everything ready?”
Tommy nodded. He loved being in the loop. As a member of Jeff’s team, he always was. “Right on schedule.”
“And the C4?”
“In place. When you call it, I’ll demolish it.”
6
“It needs to be deeper.”
Troy frowned, leaning on his shovel. “Don’t understand what we’re doing anyway.”
Zack sank his own spade into the pile of loose dirt to wipe at his neck with a bandana. “Following orders.”
Troy waved at the envelope sticking from Zack’s shirt pocket. “None of this makes any sense.”
“What do you mean none of it?” Zack asked, controlling his tone. Since being named fifth in command, he was learning to control himself in many ways. This was one of those moments, where he acted cool even though he was furious that so many people couldn’t follow orders even when it mattered.
“Dig this, dump that, shoot here. None of it makes any sense is what I’m sayin’.”
“You opened all of them?”
“Well, sure.” Troy grinned. “Got curious.”
Zack blew out a resigned breath. Another one. Great. “Curiosity killed the cat, ya know?”
Troy snorted, starting to realize he was in trouble. “I’m a man. Takes more than that to kill me.”
“I can do it with two sentences.”
“Those envelopes,” Troy sputtered. “I didn’t tell anyone what was in ‘em.”
Zack motioned to the guard o
n the detail, not responding.
Troy knew what was coming next. He tossed the shovel into the hole they’d been digging. “Don’t do this. You need me. I didn’t tell anyone!”
Kevin, the team leader of their current guards, glared at Troy. He knew what the problem was without being told. “Did you break boss’s orders?”
Troy’s face and protests fell as Zack jerked a thumb. “Here are the two sentences: You are off this mission and out of the Eagles, per Angela’s punishment. Pack up and head out.”
Troy stormed away from the half-dug hole without fighting. Once those words were said, they couldn’t be taken back.
Kevin waved one of his team over to take the angry man’s place, still glad Angela had given him this chore. He couldn’t stand another day of static on the radio and watching Cynthia prepare for war. Angela had known he needed a break of some kind and put him on this low security guard detail. “We’ll round him up at closing time tonight,” Kevin repeated what he’d been told to say.
Zack watched Troy huff through the working people and women, hoping for someone to get in his way. No one was dumb enough to.
“He won’t go to camp.”
Kevin wasn’t sure on that. Angela had made it clear that any Eagle who opened their envelope early would be below camp members in rank, but Troy had a woman in Safe Haven.
Zack was thinking about that too. “She refuses to settle down, keeps screwing around. He won’t go back to camp without an intervention.”
“I’ll let the boss know,” Kevin stated, already drawing on his new mental ability to do so. This was one of those times where the things Angela was teaching them came in handy. He’d been honoring his vow to work hard at it.
“She said bring him in tonight, willing or not.”
Zack understood Kevin’s reluctance, but only nodded. Letting their unhappy shooters join the enemy wasn’t something they could allow and Zack wouldn’t, not even for a pal. That was the problem with secrecy done openly. Many people simply weren’t trustworthy on their own, even to follow simple directions. As a result, curiosity was rearranging their ranks again. Zack thought it was for the best. The camps around theirs held people who were better for those positions and failure to follow orders was going to put them there. The funniest thing was that Zack didn’t think Angela had manipulated it or looked into the future to determine cause and effect on this one. Fate was at work here. Zack took his comfort from that.
7
“Four hours are up,” Kenn called reluctantly. He’d seen that Adrian wasn’t going to do it.
Marc stretched and yawned before consulting his map. “Location?”
“Right where she said to be.”
“Good. I used one of the cabins up here. We’ll spend the night.”
Neither man argued. The tension in the truck, even with Marc sleeping, had been thick. They were curious as to why he was calling it a day so early, but neither Kenn nor Adrian asked. If he wanted them to rest, they were fine with that.
Marc didn’t let out a laugh at their thoughts, but his grin let them know they were wrong. They didn’t realize how badly until they stepped into the over-decorated hunting cabin and found stack after stack of boxes and equipment. Most of the labels were military, but one pile along the wall said made in China. Another was marked for aid distribution, and yet another claimed to be fragile computer parts.
In the far corner, an Indian with a single braid and no feathers was sitting against the wall with two guns aimed at them. A decaying Christmas tree with fading packages sat to his right.
Kenn and Adrian waited for Marc, but let their eyes do the walking.
Marc pulled the truck to the rear of the building, where Grendin and Natoli covered it with netted camo tarps that blended perfectly with the dead and dying trees. He entered the cabin through the rear door, nodding at the rookie on duty.
The Indian holstered his guns and left through the rear door.
“Junit and his father will keep watch.”
Adrian moved toward the nearest box to read the instruction sheet taped to the top.
Kenn did the same with the box from China.
Marc went to the table where a small stack of envelopes and papers were laid out and weighed down with rocks and heavy knickknacks. “Meeting in ten minutes. Try to find the box she had them label with a big biohazard symbol.”
Frowning, Adrian began searching in the front, while Kenn searched the rear.
“When you find it, leave it there. We just need to keep track of that hot potato for now.”
“Over here,” Kenn called, motioning to a crate under a shelf. It was thick and wrapped in multiple layers of plastic.
“Good. These top sheets are arranged according to danger level. Not sure why, but I’d imagine we’ll find out as we go.” Marc shuffled through the stack of papers, heart clenching at the script. He missed Angie.
“So do I,” Adrian ground out. “Stop thinking about her.”
Marc glared angrily. He sometimes forgot that Adrian had many of the same gifts that he did. It was natural that the blond would be monitoring his thoughts, but Marc didn’t like it. “Let’s get started.”
Other men entered the cabin and came to the table, dangerous men.
Kenn and Adrian kept their protests to themselves as Natoli and Atolius also joined them.
Junit closed the door after they came in, AR now in hand as he stood watch outside.
Marc handed each of them a single sheet of paper. “When you get that done, come grab the next one. She has five levels to this plan and all of them are deadly. As you can see, the outer ring starts with complete chaos. She isn’t giving them any merciful hits.”
“Good,” Natoli stated coldly. “They don’t deserve any.”
“Those are American’s we’re about to wipe out,” Kenn shot back. “Show some respect!”
Sebastian grinned, puffing on his cigar to get it lit. “Touchy soldier boy, eh?”
“Yeah,” Marc snickered. “We’re definitely that. Maybe I need to set some rules of conduct. First, shut up. Listen to the boss. Second, shut up.”
Instant waves of anger and challenge filled the room.
“Better,” Marc approved. “As I was saying, the first rings are bad. The second ring is a jungle of detcord and mines. From there, it gets ugly.”
“What are me and my boys doing?” Sebastian asked. Half of the Mexican army, under Sebastian, had fought alongside the Ghost while coming over 40.
“Same as the rest of this team. We’re handing out supplies, escorting people around, keeping lines of communication open.”
Now all of them were scowling.
“Sounds like rookie work,” Kenn commented.
“Supposed to,” Marc answered cryptically. “As soon as the first sheet is finished, come to me for the next. We work in three man teams.”
Kenn was almost foaming with eagerness to rip it apart. “There’s no way six men can supply an entire battlefield.”
“Nope,” Marc agreed. “But those plans are above your pay grade.”
Kenn snapped his mouth shut, glowering instead.
“At dawn, the Safe Haven group will head out,” Marc resumed. “We’ll make it back here around dusk and then Natoli’s group will go. We’ll alternate shifts like that to cover all the areas in our zone twice a day. During those times, we will pick up and deliver supplies, messages, give advice and help, and anything else that’s needed.”
Now that they were getting solid details, Adrian and Kenn began fitting them into their own ideas of what Angela might have planned.
“First runs are crates A-D. No other letters. Get on it.”
The men finished going over the small bits Marc was able (willing) to tell them, planning the best routes to the camps on the map he laid out. Seeing how many there were again threw into doubt being able to reach them all, but this time, Kenn waited to see what the plan was.
Marc handed out a second sheet of paper. “That’s the all
otted supplies for each location on the inner ring. Do not go over that.”
“Ten thousand rounds of ammunition, two week’s food and water, three hundred assorted handguns, one hundred machetes.” Kenn looked around at the room, the boxes. “We don’t have all that.”
“This is one of seven stockpiles that we have in this area,” Marc answered. “As we empty each one, we’ll move to the next.”
“Ahead of incoming,” Adrian guessed.
Marc shrugged. “That’s what I assume, but we’ll find out together.”
“She sounds like a gem, this woman of yours,” Sebastian commented. “I am most anxious to meet my brother’s obsession in the flesh.”
Three cold glares swung his way.
The Mexican blanched, held up a consoling hand.
Two of those heads dropped, accepting. The third glared at him for a moment longer.
When Marc finally looked down at the next stack of papers, Sebastian was relieved in a way that he didn’t feel the need to question. Marc was the boss and that was that.
“We’re using standard Eagle code until they jam us up,” Marc answered Adrian’s question before it rolled out.
“Then field phones?” Adrian asked.
“Yes. She already has the lines run.”
“When do we fall back to our camps?” Natoli wanted to know. “We have people to care for.”
“When she gives the call,” Adrian answered, reading the single sheet on future plans that Marc was allowing them to view. “She’ll be contacting all of us at different times, getting updates.”
Natoli guessed from those words that Angela was also gifted, and felt better about a female in charge. Marc was one man who Natoli wouldn’t ever want to cross. It was a comfort that the war was in the hands of someone who was like their Ghost.
“She’s not like him!” Adrian growled. “He’s like us!”
Marc’s laughter was more salt in Adrian’s wounds and the blond stood up. “Are we done?”
“For now,” Marc responded, still chuckling. “You can have first shift, up high.”
Adrian left without slamming the door like he wanted to.
