by Angela White
Zack wiped pungent sweat from his face. “All set on the packages. We’re adding the ribbons.”
Kevin grinned tiredly. “You guys are doing good work. Four sites in one day should be a record.”
“With Kenn out there somewhere doing the same?” Zack snorted. “Bet he has in twice as much.”
Kevin shrugged, still chuckling. “Kenn’s no one here now. You know that, Zackie.”
Zack growled, pretending to be upset about the name, but the truth was that he adored being accepted enough for someone to do that. He had good friends here. Zackie loves Safe Haven, he thought, smiling a little. “Come on. Let’s get to camp.”
“Heads up!”
All of them looked to the guard, who was perched on the edge of a nearby cliff to have a clear vantage point. He was motioning frantically.
Zack didn’t need to decipher it to know what was happening. “Get them out of here!”
Kevin shouted orders, helping to grab loose parts and pieces as an exodus of the area began. Kevin was glad their clothes were black eagle gear and blended perfectly with the gray, white, and black landscape around them, but didn’t relax as he lingered to translate the message from their spotter. His voice said as much as his words. “Forty soldiers. Five minutes!”
Zack hurried his group as quick as he could, casting anxious glances at the single access road that came into this area. They would have a few seconds of viewing the enemy before the soldiers would be able to see them through binoculars. If they cut it that close, their vehicles might also be heard.
Zack scanned. He saw fresh mounds that had been dug recently and groaned. There was no way anyone would believe this area was untouched.
Zack spotted a shed and a small garage on the edge of the property and ran to them, hoping for a tool they hadn’t thought to bring along.
Two shiny rakes gleamed as soon as he opened the door.
Kevin joined him in scouring the area. They started at one side and zigzagged furiously, darting around workers and ducking equipment being removed.
“How long?” Zack called, tossing debris around like the wind would have.
“Any second now,” Kevin called, throwing his rake into the last truck. “We’ve got it. Let’s go!”
Zack grabbed a hand to be pulled into the truck bed and he crouched, sweeping the area as they sped away.
“Stop!”
Zack jumped out and snapped a long branch to run back and erase their tire tracks.
He dove back into the truck bed as the sound of engines swelled. Their driver eased on the gas to get them out of sight.
A minute later, they were also out of hearing distance, but none of them celebrated. The soldiers were coming for Safe Haven now. All the groups like themselves were in danger.
“We’ll tell her,” Kevin offered, also worried.
Zack nodded, but didn’t respond. Angela had known it would be like this. That was why she had guards and spotters on the groups, to give them time to get out of the way, but Zack didn’t think all of her groups would be so lucky. His had cut it close, a minute from ruining everything and they were one of the more organized, trained teams out here. It wouldn’t go as well for the others if they were surprised this way.
“We’re far enough,” Kevin said, motioning for the driver to stop. He waved at two of their companions. “Get word to Angela. I can’t send a message with the enemy so close.”
One of the men, a faster, quieter Eagle, climbed from the truck and vanished.
“Go find out if they camp there. We’ll be a few miles ahead.”
Another man slipped into the trees and headed back the way they’d come.
Kevin tapped the driver on the shoulder to get them rolling again, wondering where Cynthia was.
5
“We’re here.”
The sun was high in the sky by the time Marc’s group made it back to the cabin they were using. Leaving Charlie and Becky behind hadn’t sat well with Marc. He’d lingered until they were almost behind schedule. Only a sharp remark from Kenn had gotten them going.
Tonya was waiting at the cabin door. She and Kendle had put in a long morning and then split up for different sleeping sites, as per ordered. Now, it was time to go meet her partner in crime again. “I’m leaving.”
Junit and Natoli, her escorts for a short while, stepped around her as she lingered. Tonya was hoping that Kenn would come in for a quick goodbye.
Kenn surprised them all. “Just go.”
Tonya did, frowning. Kenn wanted her to go back to Safe Haven, to resign her post.
“If I have to give Charlie a break, you have to do the same for her,” Marc warned. “Go catch up to her, idiot.”
Kenn huffed and stomped into the cabin. “I’ll be sleeping.”
“Not until we sort out what came in while we were gone,” Marc corrected as he went inside to a new, large pile of taped crates and boxes.
Kenn got his notebook out and the two men settled into it, anxious to be finished.
Adrian lingered outside with the guards as they switched shifts.
“Any messages come in with the new gear?”
Natoli nodded. “Yes. Our spies say all the soldiers are on the move.”
“Good,” Adrian stated, lighting a smoke. “Right where we wanted them to be?”
“So far, yes.”
Adrian let the Indians work as he sat on the steps of the cabin. Marc and Kenn talking through the open door about the gear was a soft babble and his mind went where it wanted.
Angie!
Monitoring harder now than before he’d found out Charlie’s job, Marc caught the plea for attention and quietly stood up.
Kenn, who had been on the receiving end of that look many times, ducked to be out of the crossfire.
Angie! Adrian called pitifully.
Marc picked up the nearest object and threw it.
The half a cup of coffee cracked into Adrian’s head, shattering into dozens of pieces.
Adrian slumped to the damp ground.
Kenn regarded Marc with resignation. “You really are gonna to try to kill us aren’t you?”
“Try?” Marc snorted.
Kenn dragged Adrian to the cot he’d woken up on, not happy with the irony.
6
“They didn’t like leaving us here.”
“I know.”
Both teens were dressed in warm gear and were well fed on rations, but the feeling of being in over their heads was still bigger than anything else.
“Why did she send me out here?” Becky asked suddenly. “I know you know the truth.”
Charlie didn’t think it would hurt to tell her. “She knows you’re not as recovered as you pretend to be. She says Seth knows better too, but he wants to believe it, so he accepts the act.”
Becky had paled and didn’t respond right away. Hearing her deepest secret spoken aloud so bluntly was a bit surprising.
“Sorry about that,” Charlie stated. “You want the rest?”
“Yes.”
“She said you need to have justice and to be the one to hand it out. She also said you might go too far into the dark side and that I need to keep an ear on your mind.”
Becky wanted to deny that she might become a problem in the future, but Charlie didn’t let her.
“We know better, Becky. It’s not something to be ashamed of, only a feeling you have to battle.”
Becky understood then. Angela knew she was suicidal. “She’s giving me a way out that everyone can live with!”
“Please, don’t take it,” Charlie begged. “We love you.”
Becky burst into tears.
Charlie left her alone, hoping she would get some more of the poison out of her system. His mom said Becky wouldn’t do it when it came down to it, but after spending only a day with her, listening to the awful voices in her mind, Charlie wasn’t so sure. Becky had a well of pain inside that was deeper than anything Charlie had ever felt. It would take a lot to keep her from drowning in there.
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Becky curled up in her bag and tried to get herself under control so that she could sleep. She shoved the rest from her thoughts to find herself drifting off almost immediately. Pretending to be happy was tiring.
Charlie watched her for a moment and then spent some time contacting his mom to deliver an update on all that had happened. When he was finished, he also sent a quick message to his dad, not wanting Marc to be angry with him.
Worried is not angry, Marc sent back. Get some sleep.
Charlie did that as the dawn came, waking Becky to stand watch. It had been a long night and there were more of them to come.
7
“Hello in the camp. I’m here on orders.”
Seth’s call brought a shadow from a ledge above them, who pointed toward their feet.
Before he could move, a hand shot up and grabbed Seth’s ankle. “Hey!”
The men burst out laughing as Cynthia sat up, hands out like a zombie.
Seth sat a large kit by her shallow grave, impressed and horrified. “That’s pretty good.”
“Thanks. Tell the boss it’s ready to go out here.”
“I will. You need anything?”
Cynthia shook her head, not opening the bag. “No. You?”
Seth hesitated. “Yeah. Do you know where she is?”
“Yes. You’ll be with her if you stick to your envelopes.”
It was as if Angela was scolding him. Seth let out a curse before stomping down the ravine. He had two more stops after this one, and then they were breaking for the night. Would Becky’s camp be one of those stops? He hoped so. There was no way he would sleep tonight without knowing where she was. All he would be able to imagine was her lying under leaves and dirt somewhere, as Cynthia had been.
Cynthia waited until the team was out of sight before opening her delivery. In it was gear too heavy for her to carry this far. It would be left when she had to run. By then, the weapon would either be out of ammunition or destroyed in the fight.
Cynthia quickly set up the portable grenade launcher in the spot she’d already cleared, reciting the steps mentally. Once she pulled the tall blind over it and untied the tree branch that she had secured, the handheld, gas plug operated, semi-automatic, revolving action M32 was invisible. She’d only used one a couple of times during her more recent training, but this part of her job wasn’t hard. Aim, fire, reload. It was the dying part that might be rough.
Feeling better than she had when she’d dug this hole, Cynthia carefully recovered herself. If she’d fooled Seth’s team, the soldiers would go for it too. This was the main road into Safe Haven, the most direct path. They were sure the troops would be thickest here. Angela had surprises all along this street, like Marc had suggested during the one female team meeting he’d been asked to join. He hadn’t liked giving them those deadly answers, but he had delivered a number of ways for females to be lethal. Angela was using all of them.
Cynthia’s post was isolated. It would take the soldiers a bit to reach her and the reporter wasn’t happy about being alone on the mountains. She also wasn’t terrified of it anymore. Angela’s orders had mentioned Eagles in the area if she had to have help, and it was a comfort to know that was true, but she was also heavily armed. Even the howling of the wind through the branches didn’t cause panic as it might have before. She’d faced many fears since coming to Safe Haven.
As she closed her lids, Cynthia hoped Kevin was in a better place than she was. Angela had him on protection detail for someone. Cynthia had recognized the gear he’d been packing from a checklist. She didn’t know over who or where. She assumed she had a shadow, but didn’t let herself think Angela would have put them together. It would have been risking one of them getting distracted and Angela wouldn’t do that. It was why Seth and Becky couldn’t start out together.
Faced with too much time to think, Cynthia tried to make herself go to sleep instead. If she thought about what she was doing, about the life she carried and the future she’d almost had, she might not be able to do this.
8
“Hold up.”
Seth’s team stopped only a few minutes after leaving Cynthia, going still and quiet. Voices came to them.
“I heard something.”
“One of ours.”
“You sure?”
Seth recognized the voices and cleared his throat. “Good thing we’re friendly.”
Zack and his men appeared through the trees.
The two teams greeted each other, glad to know they weren’t out here wandering the dim wilderness alone.
“What’s next?” Zack asked.
Seth opened his next envelope. “Someone will meet us here and they have the next step. We’re supposed to sit tight.”
“I’m here.”
They peered up to discover Tracy straddling a thick tree branch above them. She tossed Seth a wrinkled envelope.
Seth read it angrily. “You’re kidding, right?” He shoved it into Zack’s waiting hand. “I won’t do it.”
“Then get to camp and be reassigned,” Tracy told him coldly. “Boss’s words.”
Seth grit his teeth as the other men complained.
“No way.”
“Is she nuts?”
“We don’t do that. We’re Eagles!”
Tracy was already tired of hearing it. She dropped from the tree and opened her long coat to reveal an outfit a hooker might have worn. The fighting ceased.
Tracy smoothed the wrinkles from the dress and brushed at her wild hair. “It’ll work, right?”
“Yeah, it’ll work.” Seth, now disgusted with himself as well as Angela, shoved by her. “Let’s go.”
The sight of Tracy standing there looking like she was about to film a porno flick was almost more than he could take. Was Becky out here somewhere doing the same thing?
“Does Charlie know?” Seth asked suddenly.
Tracy nodded, increasing her pace to account for their long strides. “Yes. The teenagers were the only group Angela didn’t have to hide things from. She said it was a relief.”
Shamed, the men fell silent.
The group walked to the first location on their list. They were now a roving patrol on the western side of Lookout Mountain. Their instructions were to eliminate anyone who came toward Safe Haven and to use Tracy as their bait for ambushes and traps. While it was devious, it was also hard, and none of the men were sure they could do it. As a result, they were a somber group that traveled through the thickets of pine and stacks of nature-forged stone without speaking to Tracy or each other.
9
By the time Kyle made it to his last stop for the night, he was nodding off behind the wheel again.
Marc recognized it and waved Adrian into the driver’s seat.
Kyle collapsed gratefully on a hindmost bench.
“You okay?” Marc asked, moving aside for the next load of supplies to be brought onboard. They were all deliveries for tomorrow. They’d be stopping at so many camps that only a van or truck would hold it all.
“Well, Brady,” Kyle forced out after a yawn. “I’ll tell you something, if you don’t get pissed.”
Marc already knew, but held up a hand. “Word of honor.”
Kyle opened bleary eyes and locked onto Marc’s grinning face. “That woman of yours is a real bitch. You know that? A real, honest-to-god, ball-busting bitch!”
The other men laughed and agreed, but Kyle shook his head in wonder. “I didn’t know how hard she is to please. I thought you were a lucky bastard every night.”
“He is!” Adrian slammed the plastic-wrapped crate down and left the filthy van.
Marc’s laugh followed him into the cold night air.
“Can’t you get off him?” Kenn snarled, able to feel Adrian’s pain.
Marc stopped smiling, becoming the cold, distant leader that Kenn had loathed serving.
“No. He earned this every time he put his hands on her, kissed her against her will. And you earned it because you made sure they
had time alone for him to do it.”
Kenn, frustrated, stuck his middle finger up.
Marc’s surprised laughter rolled into the night.
Adrian grit his teeth. Those were his bonding moments that Marc was stealing, his men and women to command. The rage began to grow hotter inside Adrian. He hadn’t wanted to be attracted to Angela. He hadn’t planned all of it, despite what Marc thought. The feelings were real. He’d tried to fight them.
“Too damn strong,” he muttered, loading the stack of empty pallets into the small shed behind this tiny campsite. “And she feels it too. Not all my fault.”
They were on the move a couple minutes later and quickly caught up to Tonya, who had orders to walk down the middle of this rocky, bumpy road. All the men assumed she would be met by someone, but there was no way to tell if it would be theirs or the enemy.
During their argument, Tonya had been forced to tell Kenn her role and show her weapons. He hadn’t been able to argue the plan on merits, only his emotions. She’d refused to return to Safe Haven. As a result, Kenn had stopped talking to her. Marc thought Tonya getting a dose of the old Kenn was a good idea. He had little doubt that the redhead would reevaluate her relationship while walking through the darkness, but Kenn wasn’t smart enough to know that’s how a woman worked.
Tonya didn’t raise a hand as the van went by her. Instead of being scared or unhappy with her role, she was extremely grateful to Angela for the chance to prove herself. When it was done, if they survived, Kenn wouldn’t be allowed to treat her like anything except an equal and that was all she wanted. If he still whined and acted like a child about it, she would tell him how it was and he could take it or leave it. After thinking about it, she’d realized Angela was right. Her baby was Kenn’s way in with the camp and the Eagles, but Tonya wasn’t going to let him use their child’s coattails any more than she would use his now. That was the behavior of the old Tonya. She didn’t intend to be that ugly creature ever again.
10
“That’s our ride.”
The large group was happy to hear those words. They’d been walking all day and had only reached their pickup spot a few minutes ago.
