Adrian's Eagles: Book Four (Life After War)

by White, Angela

  Kenn stored both of those and waited. Once the redhead got rolling, she made connections fast.

  “Hilda said the new women, the nuns, all think Angela’s in charge! Can you imagine?”

  “Yes,” Kenn stated sarcastically, beefy hands clenching. “Yes, I can.”

  Tonya winced, patting his hand. “The men won’t stand for it, you know that. They don’t want any woman in the Eagles, no matter how good she shoots.”

  “But they will, once he lets her show what she can do.”

  “You think he’ll take that risk?”

  “I know it. He’s already planning the steps in which to reveal it so the sheep will accept it, too.”

  Tonya gasped. “Tell the camp? They’d kill her!”

  “Not if they love her first,” Kenn answered reluctantly, facing his own demons with the words. “If she gets them to like her, helps them like he has, they’ll accept it. Especially if they find out she might have… saved him tonight. Heroes are what they live for now.”

  “And they have that in Adrian,” she realized, voice horrified. “But they don’t have the female equivalent.”

  Kenn’s tone was bitter, thinking of the warning that had gotten the cutting crew out of sight. The stories were currently flying through the levels. “They didn’t.”

  Tonya suggested something she knew he was capable of. “Then you need to make them aware of the fact that she’s a female, weak. If she flunks out in her first days, it’ll be a long time until they’ll let another woman try.”

  “I have some things planned.”

  Tonya grinned. “Are they bad? Tell me!”

  Chapter Nine

  April 13th, 2013

  SD National Grasslands

  1

  “I think I understand now.”

  Adrian looked at the teenager over the engine they were filling with fluids. “Understand what?”

  Charlie motioned to a pair of shepherd pups that Matt was walking by on short leads. “Why my job matters.”

  “Tell me.”

  “Because they’re a… warning, an alarm.” The boy’s voice lowered. “You knew from the dogs that someone had messed with the water.”

  “And?”

  “They’re a tool. Without knowing how to handle them, you wouldn’t have known when they were acting different and we might have lost people.”

  Adrian was pleased and a bit surprised the teenager had gotten it right. “Very good. Now, I have an important question. Do you trust me?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “And if I asked you to… do things? Things the rest of them can’t?”

  Charlie’s face betrayed his youth, but his tone was even enough. “I’d say yes, with conditions.”

  “So, you don’t trust me.”

  “I don’t trust them! If they ever found out…”

  Adrian shrugged lightly. “I’m not asking yet, but your awareness made the question necessary.”

  Charlie was relieved. “I’m loyal too. If my mom hadn’t… made it here, I’d be your Seer.”

  Watching shadows not made by his army move behind the dead corn, Adrian pushed their conversation into the direction he needed. “You’ve got her courage, and your dad’s. It takes a lot of guts to stay someplace you’re not wanted.”

  Charlie recovered quickly from the knowledge that Adrian knew about Marc, shrugging. “She wants him. He won’t leave with an invitation like that hanging.”

  Adrian’s sigh was resigned. “Yes, she does. What about you?”

  The teenager tensed and Dog moved from his place in the dim sun to heel at Charlie’s ankle. “I don’t even know him.”

  There was silence for a minute and then Adrian put a hand on the boy’s arm. “Maybe you should correct that. He got her here alive and made her stronger. We both owe him a large debt.”

  Adrian turned away, heading for the next stop on his rounds – Angela’s first training set in public. “Let me know. I’ll arrange some down time.”

  “Ready?”

  Angela nodded at Daryl’s lowly spoken question. It was her first official session with them as a team and Angela could feel their tension threatening to ignite her own bubbling emotions. Today’s workout would be overseen by Kenn, against the schedule Adrian had planned for her. The others didn’t know yet that her Marine had switched shifts.

  The men walking through the dim light of dawn around her felt her pause instinctively as Kenn came into sight. Determined to succeed, Angela steeled herself, and moved forward.

  “He’s not on til tomorrow,” Chris stated angrily.

  “He knows I’m off then. He switched with Jeff or Lee, not sure which.”

  “I’ll find out,” Kyle threatened.

  Angela shrugged, flashing a hard smile. “Don’t do that. I’ll earn my place here with him as well. He can’t see me as anything else yet. When I can match him in the cage, then that will change.”

  There was a thoughtful silence instead of the immediate protest she would have gotten from any of the other levels. Kyle looked at his team, seeing his own thoughts mirrored on their faces. More than just the appreciation for her good reflexes and aim, they had seen her give Adrian exactly what he wanted. Being able to get the Nuns to join them was something that had taken their Leader’s coming depression and turned it into happiness. For that, these nine men were now firmly in her corner. “We’ll help you with it.”

  Grateful, Angela gave them all a quick glance, sharing her goal. “I hate how this feels. I want to never be afraid of him again.”

  There were immediate offers for personal, private training and she accepted each one gracefully. She didn’t see Adrian watching her subtle manipulations, but she felt those observant eyes following their progress. She also knew when he realized who would be the training guard today and understood he had a hard time making himself turn away instead of interrupting. Adrian had to play fair, but Kenn didn’t and he wouldn’t.

  “Course is set. Rookie goes first.”

  Kenn’s gloating call had Angela waving Kyle’s protest back. “I have to be the one to do this.” Trembling lightly, she stepped to the front of the line and started her first run as an Eagle in Adrian’s army.

  “Ugg!”

  Losing her grip on the slick cord, Angela hit the jagged-edged rocks under the rope with a second surprised grunt, but managed to keep from the groan, or even tears, that her Marine had been hoping for at the pain. She picked herself up, not bothering to wipe at the layer of the dust she was coated in.

  Required to repeat it until she got through it, the Eagles in line around her also swallowed their unhappiness, knowing special treatment would not get her accepted with the other levels who were currently training in the field next to them. Or at least they had been, until she’d stepped to the front of the line. Now, even the instructors were watching Angela’s first attempts.

  “Go.”

  Kenn’s voice was a hard smirk and Angela knelt down instead of starting the run again. She’d fallen twice from the slick ropes she was supposed to swing on, and she wasn’t about to hit those rocks a third time. She ignored the stares and mutters of the small crowd of camp-goers who had lined up near the far side of the tape to watch, shoving large handfuls of the dusty earth into both her jacket pockets. When she stood up, her team was grinning and Kenn’s face had tightened, both recognizing that she’d found a solution on her own.

  Angela used her dirt-coated hands to get a better grip on the greased ropes and while it wasn’t easy to dip her hands into her pockets between swings, she was able to finish the course on her third attempt.

  “Pass.”

  It was given grudgingly, but it couldn’t be taken back, and it counted. The Level Six men watched Angela move toward Kenn with a swagger as she hit her feet, and each of them tensed to come to her aide if it was needed.

  Sure of how far Kenn could be pushed in public, Angela took her time dumping the dirt out of her pockets onto the ground at his boots. As she did
it, her eyes burned into his. When her pockets were empty, she gave him a hard grin, ignoring the blood trickling down the back of her leg from one of the falls.

  “You can’t make me quit. If you waste your time trying, you’ll lose everything you’ve built. I’ll see to it.”

  She spun away before his anger could get out of control and Kyle’s Eagles laughed at his furious face, impressed yet again.

  2

  “Lovely.”

  Sam swallowed a second groan as she reread her schedule. Babysitting? She didn’t even like kids. That she knew of, Sam amended. She hadn’t been around many and they intimidated her a little. What was she supposed to do with them?

  Determined not to whine, she got a mug of tea from the crowded Mess and headed for the children’s area. Still feeling awkward, Sam only gave a short nod or smile to those who called greetings.

  When she saw which team of Eagles was waiting at the campers, she tripped, sloshing steaming liquid over her injured hand. “Damn it!”

  Jeremy turned to frown at whoever was cursing so close to the kid’s area, but exchanged the reprimand for a smile of welcome instead. He had personally asked Adrian to assign the blonde woman here today. One of Adrian’s simplest tools to test new people was to put them around the elderly or the kids. It never failed to reveal their true nature.

  “We’re waiting on a few others and then we’ll head out.”

  A bit surprised the guard was talking to her - she’d thought they were strictly protection - Sam moved closer. “Where to?”

  “It’s field trip day. This time, we’re hitting the town.”

  Confused, but not wanting to seem clueless, she waited patiently and was glad of Jeremy lingering by her when Neil came through the shadows a minute later. As soon as he spotted them, there were instant questions lurking in those beautiful green eyes, hard ones she didn’t want to answer.

  “There they are.”

  Sam turned at Jeremy’s words and braced herself for a long shift. Walking next to Anne and Peggy, Cynthia was asking Little Becky’s mom things she didn’t want to reveal, Sam assumed, seeing the redhead’s face tighten. Didn’t the reporter realize she was trying to pry information from a convert? Even if Peggy knew something about Adrian, she wouldn’t tell.

  “Hey, Neil.”

  “Ms. Kelly.”

  “Peggy.”

  Neil flushed at the tone. It said, when you marry my daughter, you’ll call me mom. He flicked a fast glance toward Samantha. Did she know? The camper door opened as she stared back and the excited voices of young children drew their attention away from the sparks.

  “All right everyone. Each chaperone will be responsible for two children. The kids get to pick.”

  Sam sighed resignedly, eyeing the sticky-faced offspring with trepidation. Some days were hell.

  It took a while for Anne and Peggy to get the kids settled with their chaperones and Sam tried to not make eye contact with the man waiting as patiently near the camper door. She envied Neil’s coolness in the face of battle.

  Sam smiled uneasily when a girl with short brown spikes pointed her way. The child appeared to be about 8 and was sporting a signature-covered cast on her wrist. Next to her was another girl of about the same age. This one was so thin that Sam’s heart clenched. Both girls moved her way with giggles.

  Each one wanted her hand and Sam reluctantly surrendered her tea to let them hold onto her. Sticky and warm, she waited restlessly with them as everyone got set, trying not to get caught staring at Neil. She’d been happy to see the Trooper refuse Little Becky, but the idea that he was willing had to have come from somewhere.

  “What’s your name?” The kids were waiting, thin girl’s face hopeful, and the Storm Tracker put her thoughts away.

  “Sam.”

  They both giggled. “That’s a boy’s name!”

  Not offended, she grinned back at short-spikes girl. “I’ve heard that.”

  “Why do you have a boy’s name?”

  “Is it a shortner?”

  Confused by the garbled word, Sam shrugged. “My mom wanted a girl, Samantha. My dad wanted a boy, Sam. This way, they both got their wish.”

  They laughed harder. “That’s silly.”

  Sam nodded, thinking until they made it here, there probably hadn’t been much for them to smile about. She saw Neil get chosen by two very energetic boys who seemed to be the same age group as her charges. The kids were bouncing, excited, and she realized field trip day must be something rarely done. The rest of the time, Adrian probably kept them isolated for their safety, and these moments out of the camper area were special.

  The lives of these kids had been turned around too, and Sam felt the need to give them a good day if she could. They were War orphans and the bond she suddenly felt was something she wouldn’t tell anyone about, but it was there just the same. She’d lost her roots too, along with everything else she had leaned on for stability, sanity. Her grip tightened a bit. They deserved a fun day and she would be proud to give it to them.

  “Everyone ready?”

  There was a loud cheer. “Yeah!”

  “All right, a quick reminder to the chaperones about the wild dog sightings. Keep your kids close,” Peggy warned. “Okay, our first stop is… Safe Haven’s secret hideout!”

  This cheer was twice as loud and Sam let the girls lead her through the sprawling camp of slowly waking refugees. They were right behind Peggy and her group of five tweens and Sam didn’t envy the redheaded woman her sulky 12 year-old charges as she listened to them complain about someone’s snoring.

  The line moved slowly across the camp, drawing attention from those already up. Everyone waved. Kids roaming the streets before the War were a sight to be frowned upon or ignored for their poverty. Here, children were rare and welcome, no matter their condition.

  “Must be Field Trip day,” Seth joked, stopping in front of the group as they came to the large training tent. “Unless you guys snuck out again?”

  There were snorts and giggles all around.

  “We didn’t escape,” one of Peggy’s girls retorted sharply, tossing a dark braid over her shoulder. “And you know it. So come on and let us in!”

  Samantha was surprised at the rudeness, but saw that the guard, and Neil, had smiled.

  “But I don’t know for sure,” Seth protested. “Bad guys can look like anyone, right?”

  The younger kids tensed at their own mental horrors, faces tightening in fear, and the girl’s voice was grave. “Yes. Even like you and Adrian.”

  “Exactly and that’s why I have to ask every time anyone comes through.”

  “Kids can’t be bad guys.” This came from another of Peggy’s group, and again, Sam was glad of the two calmly listening kids holding her hands.

  “Yes, they can.”

  Neil’s hard voice snapped Sam’s head to him.

  “They don’t always know because grownups are sneaky. Sometimes they ask kids to do things that are wrong.”

  “And do you banish them, too?” one of his little boys asked, clinging to his arm, and Neil shook his head.

  “Never. It’s not a kid’s fault when a grownup makes them do bad things.”

  “The grownup should be punished,” the braid swinging girl exclaimed brutally, telling Sam she’d been hurt. “Not us!”

  “Yes. If a grownup tries to get you to do things you think are bad, say you will and then come tell Adrian,” Seth instructed.

  Listening as closely as the kids, Sam realized this was a training session, too.

  The guard checked his watch and did a fast sweep of the camp, while pretending to be confused. “I wonder where he is this time.”

  The kids all let out another loud cheer, startling Sam, and she watched warily as they all began darting around. Hide-n-seek?

  “There he is!” ponytail girl screamed, pointing up and the kids clustered around the trunk of the tree Adrian was sitting in.

  “What’s the password?” Adrian barked
at them, making Sam jump.

  “We love America!” they responded together.

  Adrian snapped a salute. ”You may enter!”

  He jumped down and was immediately smothered with little bodies hugging, tackling, and wrestling him to the ground.

  Sam was surprised Adrian would take the time for this and amazed that he was so popular with the kids. It spoke of his inner person being as good as the one they saw daily.

  When she started to move closer, worried about the little girl with the broken wrist, Neil caught her eye. “He’s got them.”

  And he did. From tickling back and chasing, to a quick hug and smile, it was clear the kids adored Safe Haven’s Leader.

  “How are you?”

  Sam was aware of more than one set of ears listening for her answer.

  “Adjusting.” She raised a brow, unable to resist even though she had serious doubts about his sense of humor. “Did he get all the mud off his jacket?”

  Neil’s face went red. “I was afraid to ask.”

  Sam chuckled. “I’m sure he’s had worse,” she commented, watching Adrian start a game of tag.

  “You two ready for some coffee?” Peggy called, tone friendly enough.

  “No, thanks.”

  Sam moved to get a cup, needed the caffeine rush to fully wake (that or danger), and she was careful to throw out the air that she wasn’t to be messed with. Sam saw the woman’s eyes cool. Good. If she decided she wanted the uptight Trooper, Peggy and her spunky daughter wouldn’t get in the way.

  “Thanks.”

  Sam hung around her for a moment as she sipped the strong brew, waiting to see if there might be a threat, but there was only a series of cool looks exchanged. Because the mother wanted to keep the peace? Becky didn’t care about the rules. Why would her parent? From all appearances, Peggy wanted Neil to be her son-in-law, even though her daughter was only a 15 year-old kid.

  Some mother, Sam thought, moving back toward Adrian and the happily running orphans. To her mind, Becky was a baby compared to Neil. Did that mean she was attracted to another man with mental problems? Maybe that was the only kind she could feel ali…