“Okay kids, line up,”
Peggy’s voice echoed firmly and all the dusty children flew her way after promises of a visit from Adrian.
“Get with your chaperone and you can go on in.”
Sam’s two girls clutched her hands eagerly, almost dragging her forward. “Come on!”
Laughing, Samantha moved faster into the area she’d noticed and wondered about. Hilda had said it was where Adrian taught his army to be true men and she stepped inside almost as eagerly as the kids.
Instead of the adult setup that would have to normally be used, the long tent was filled with half-sized equipment. Kid-sized, she corrected herself, letting the little girls lead her to the circular obstacle course in the middle.
“We hafta warm up.”
Sam surrendered the second hot drink in an hour and began helping the girl with the cast remove her shoes and socks.
Thinking she might have to learn their names soon, Sam paced them as they walked the low beam, rolled under empty boxes, and jumped over gaps in the mat. She kept a close eye on the girl in the cast and finally had to call out, “Hey you!” when she leaned too far over the beam. “Be careful…what’s your name?”
The girl hopped down with a grin, cast bumping against the hard wood. “Tracy. That’s Leeann.” She turned to point at the thin girl. “The rest of them are…” The recital went on for a while and Sam tried to keep up and still watch out for Leeann.
“Your turn!”
Sam blinked. Turn? Surely it wouldn’t hold… She watched Peggy heft herself onto the first beam and move across smartly before rolling under the boxes in an awkward shove that sent cardboard flying.
The kids giggled hard and Sam moved to the beam with Tracy now ready to do the paralleling.
“Whenever you’re ready,” the little girl called, holding up her casted wrist and Sam grimaced. They knew to take her place. How cute… and terrible that it was necessary. Sighing, she moved steadily along the wood, trying not to wince at a lance of pain in her old injury, that keeping it straight was causing. If Peggy could do it, so could she.
“You want me to do what?”
Cynthia’s voice drew Sam’s eye as she rolled over the mat. She had mostly forgotten about the reporter and stood up to see a boy with a bandage on his hand hopping up and down in protest.
“Run course!” he ordered and Cynthia shook her head. “Not me.”
“I can’t if’n you don’t!” the child shouted, but the reporter only denied him again.
“Sorry, kid.”
Sam smiled down at her girls. “Wanna run the course with him? You’ll have to show me how.”
“Yeah!”
They dragged her toward Cynthia, and Sam snagged the boy’s uninjured hand. “Come on.”
The child’s face lit up and Cynthia stuttered her thanks, embarrassed.
“Uh-huh.”
Sam didn’t offer more, but her tone said shame on you! and Neil felt his respect for her go up. The Storm Tracker was okay.
Serving as an extra pair of eyes, Anne watched the kids play in happiness. John had been right to bring them here. Anne noticed Adrian in the flap and wondered if he knew how lonely he seemed, watching his orphans frolic without him. She didn’t see much of him most days. She was either helping John or helping these kids, but soon, she would have to ask him for something. When they’d first come, there hadn’t been any reason to tell the Leader here about the cancer. Now, that had changed. One of Adrian’s chain of command had abilities that might push her husband’s illness into remission and there wasn’t anything Anne wouldn’t offer in return.
3
Kyle moved toward the center table with casual steps, sure what he was about to do would be hated by the sullen Marine on Adrian’s right as much as the morning’s start had been. After embarrassing Kenn on the course, she’d taken a rookie record from Seth and stolen Daniel’s high score on a training game. A busy two hours that had allowed some of the other level men to see how determined she was to succeed.
Steeling his nerves (it amazed him that he still felt any hesitation at all considering the missions he and his Eagles had completed since the War) Kyle stepped over to Angela’s side of the crowded center table.
“Hey, Kyle. Did you come for coffee?”
“‘Cause this ain’t it!”
Those at the table laughed at the well-used joke and the tanned Eagle grinned back, eyes full of warning Adrian took note of.
“Me and the boys are headin’ out. I thought I’d see if the rookie wants to come along.”
Silence fell over the table and those around them, and then over the entire Mess.
“Great idea.” Adrian turned to the blushing female across from him. “Feel like being out of camp for a while?”
Angela could feel his pleasure and Kenn’s fury. It hadn’t been planned. “Sure, when?”
Wanting to be sure those listening understood he now supported this, Kyle took control back. “Is fifteen minutes enough time for you to get ready?”
Angela snorted, standing up. “I’ll be ready in five like everyone else.”
The pair moved toward the tent area, ignoring the shocked camp around them. There had been rumors and stories, but no actual confirmation. It was true. She’d been accepted as an Eagle, a woman who had only been in camp for two weeks.
Silence reigned in the Mess and it took Neil’s full control to play his part convincingly. He and Kyle had worked it out only a little while ago. “Never seen a woman shoot that well. She hits 90% of all targets in Level Three. That’s the same level as Zack.”
Adrian played his own role happily, voice perfectly in awe. “A few more like that and we’d have enough shooters in camp to keep any bad guys off our asses.”
“It takes guts to join the Eagles. You think there are more women here like that?”
Adrian let his blue gaze sweep the openly listening people, making pointed contact with a few. “Yes, but they’ll come out when it’s their time.” Adrian went back to his lunch and the camp did the same, muttering and whispering. One of those he’d looked at was only 15!
Adrian gave Neil a subtle nod of approval and then moved them onto camp business. “All right, the day’s schedules are out. We’ll need to …”
“He’s very pleased with you.”
Kyle acknowledged the pride he felt at Angela’s words. “Then I’m doing it right.”
“Thank you. I know it’s for him, but thank you anyway.”
The Mobster raised a bushy brow. “It is for you, too, though. If you didn’t deserve the chance, he wouldn’t be giving it.” His team was currently loading the Excursion that he preferred to travel in because of the huge cargo area. Kyle made a motion to Billy, who relayed it to the others.
Assuming he had told them how long until he’d be there, Angela quickened her step. “I can meet you if you need to go.”
Kyle shook his head, sweeping the area. “My team is your shadow today.”
Realizing what that meant, Angela was grinning as she ducked into the small tent that never failed to remind her of her lost time with Brady. “Two minutes.”
Only half of that had gone by when she emerged from the tent in the rookie gear that had been lying near her tent flap this morning and unknowingly made them the center of attention again.
Angela belted her sweater over the uniform, hair high and tight under her cap, and slung the single bag over her shoulder, still smiling. No secret guard. They would be outside the camp and away from prying eyes for a few hours. Finally!
Not needing to see her face to know she was as eager as any of his team usually was to escape camp for a while, Kyle followed her to the vet area with a light step. It was going to be a good day.
“One minute.” Angela ducked into the animal tent to see her son and the vet in the middle of feeding the ever-growing zoo. She stayed near the flap, out of their way. “I’ll be with Kyle and his team today. Have Mitch call if you need me.”
Unlike after the War, when she’d been weakened by the loss of the baby, she could talk to him over any distance now and Charlie was glad she was still being cautious about their gifts, like before. It didn’t occur to him that she was providing cover, like an Eagle would have.
“Okay. Be careful.”
Angela tried not to frown. “I will, mom.”
The teenager snickered and after a quick nod at the unfriendly vet, she joined Kyle.
“I’m all set.”
Kyle glanced at his watch as he got them moving toward the waiting truck. Less than four minutes, including walk time. It was impressive for the team, but for a female? It was slightly unnerving and they moved across the camp in silence.
Kyle halted near the bumper and the men gathering around him gave her polite nods, but no words of welcome.
“Let’s do the usual check. Weapons?”
Each of the nine men started going over their guns and Angela did the same, feeling awkward despite her fingers doing mostly what she wanted them to. They were securing other weapons too - guns in boots and knives on belts - and Angela did a quick check to make sure her wrist blade was fastened securely. She had picked it up a few days ago, from one of the baskets Marc had sorted. He’d been the one to put it in there, she was sure of it. His scent was still on it, even now.
“Communication?”
Each man strapped a stocked tool belt around their hips, securing it to their right pocket, and Angela barely had time to wonder if she should ask for one, before it was being held out to her.
She recognized the simple walkie-talkie setup she was given to hang on the belt, and she quickly flipped through the dials to channel 77 before powering it up. The set crackled to life, blaring static and she flipped the filter switch, and then adjusted the volume.
Very glad she didn’t have to wait for them to show her, or worse, have to suffer through the jolt from the short-wave communications system, Angela didn’t notice the silence. “Did he give you the headsets yet? Those are great. They automatically catch the spark and adjust.”
The quiet was thick and long, and she glanced up to see the Eagles sharing scowls. “Did I do something wrong already?”
Kyle glared toward the Mess. “Not you.”
“He didn’t tell you to go to channel 77 first so there’s no shock?”
There was only the feel of their anger and she snorted when she picked it from their thoughts. “Not on purpose. He didn’t want to say he forgot because he likes testing it out on the rookies.”
She shrugged. “That’s the Kenny I know.”
The Eagles were muttering and casting dark looks toward the man still sitting stiffly on Adrian’s right. Kyle went on, but his voice wasn’t quite calm anymore. “Gear?”
They were comparing their bags to the sheets of paper from their pockets now, and Angela was ready for Kyle this time, going to him instead of the other way around. She did her check fast and was embarrassed at all the items she didn’t have.
“I’m short a canteen.”
“I need a battery pack.”
Angela steeled her nerves and followed their lead. “I need a complete kit.”
Kyle handed her one. Not sure if her own items were off-limits, Angela settled for the three things she used the most and then tossed her bag through the open window of her blazer.
“All right. Who’s the sucker on drive detail?”
“Rookie.”
“Rookie.”
“Rookie drives.”
Angela flushed. “Okay.”
Daryl tossed her the keys and she was very aware of the camp watching her get into the driver’s seat of Kyle’s vehicle. The black Ford Excursion was long, with three rows of seats and she had to move hers all the way up to reach the pedals.
Angela strapped herself in, waiting for Daryl to climb in beside her. “Why is the driver a sucker?”
The Eagle exchanged glances with the others getting in, voice amused. “‘Cause Kyle likes to go where no man has gone before.”
Understanding her road skills were about to be tested, Angela grinned. She loved driving.
Kyle paused at the back door, eyes going to the center table and he caught Adrian’s nod. It said to do his job and the Mobster gave a firm nod in response. He would.
Lingering near the showers, Marc watched them roll out of camp with a bit of worry and only a little of the nagging urge to follow that had fallen over him during the airport rescue. This time he knew where she was and what Kyle had planned, and while Marc was glad to know it had already been scouted, he couldn’t stop the curtness in his tone as the day progressed and they didn’t return.
4
Still high on her successes, Angela kept her foot on the brake, letting the Eagles see the huge hill they were about to roll down. She got set, grinning as she listened to them. They were only a few miles from camp, but the feeling of being out with an Eagle team was worlds apart from the training tent.
“You sure, man?”
“Awful steep sides.”
“See her face? Recognize that?” the team leader gently reminded them. “We were all rookies once, too.”
Daryl’s mind flashed back to his own excitement of the first trip out of camp. “Those were the days. Rollin’ through no-man’s land while Adrian shot at us. Fun times.”
Angela’s grin widened as she picked up the dusty image, loving the idea that in time, she too, might be trained that way. “You guys ready, or what?”
Kyle tightened his belt and confidently put his hands behind his head. Inside, his gut was a churning ball of nerves. “Set.”
The others followed his lead, starting to get excited, and Angela got them moving with a bubble of happiness in her chest. She had their trust through saving Adrian from being bitten and she was an Eagle to them, if only for this minute.
Malevolent eyes followed the single vehicle down the steep grade. If Dean followed them, he would be in plain sight. If he went in on foot, he wouldn’t be able to keep up.
The black man growled in frustration. They were being too careful, which meant they wouldn’t come back this way to meet up with the camp, so even an ambush was out. The man pounded his fist on the wheel and the jeep shook in response. She would pay!
Dean slowly backed up, locking his anger away so he could think. If he couldn’t get to her outside the camp, then inside was the answer. He would take a line from Cesar and move in under the cover of the next storm. He would have to test their wire before then.
“I’m comin’ for you, baby!” Dean crooned, resisting the urge to spin out and kick up telltale dust. He would lay low for as long as it took.
Angela hit the brakes halfway down the hill, no longer hearing the men who yelled for her to go faster. The feeling of menace was consuming and she closed her eyes in concentration.
It would have been natural for the men with her to assume Angela had seen the next incline and frozen in fear, but Kyle’s team had been there for Brady’s miracle and each of them immediately swept for the danger.
“Are things 5-by?”
Angela shook her head at Daryl’s question. “He’s heading for camp, testing the perimeter, searching for a way in.”
“Who is?”
Drawing her courage, Angela grabbed Daryl’s hard wrist, making him jump.
“Sorry,” she muttered, face flushing as the Eagle stiffened in surprise. “The radio isn’t an option. He can’t know that I know.”
She released his hand a moment later. “I told Adrian. He’s tightening things.”
Angela opened her eyes… the morning’s feeling of victory returning. It was okay to go ahead, Adrian had it covered. Without warning them, she hit the gas and the full level of Eagles bounced, shouted, and slid to the bottom of the dirt and weed-dotted grade that had once been the most challenging ATV trail in the state.
“We’ll use these trips out of camp to get you caught up,” Kyle told her as they watched the other Eagles check out the lightly wooded area,
verify their perimeter alarms hadn’t been broken, and set up a quick guard.
“So the camp doesn’t know how much work I need?”
“Also the actual training. Most people wouldn’t understand, but you do, and that’s why we’ve set it up this way.
She smiled. “I appreciate the rearranging.”
“It’s all Adrian. He’s handling your schedule personally.”
“He has a lot of dreams,” she stated.
Kyle’s curious expression said that he, too, was eager to see if she could fulfill some of them.
“Let’s make this happen. You ready?”
She flashed a grin he had to steel himself against. “You know it.”
“Good. Take in as much as you can and we’ll cover it all again in the next lesson.”
Angela followed nervously, a bit self-conscious, but determined not to be run out by her own fears.
“Rookie lessons, gentlemen, and I hope you remember them.”
There was a laughing round of groans and good-natured complaints as they began settling in the grass at Kyle’s feet.
“You’ll sit on my left, the learning place, until you know the lesson, then you’ll join the team. Right now, you are a rookie. A place with us has to be earned.”
Angela quickly sat down, hoping her face wasn’t as red as it felt.
“From the very first day, Eagles. We’ll start on the right flank.”
Daryl stood up and his words carried an instant ring of magic.
“Eagles are men and women who care about the future of their country… so much, that they are willing to sacrifice their own lives for the greater good. Because of that, Eagles are unafraid of getting involved and can easily tell wrong from right.
“Eagles are not thieves. Some of them may have been in the past, but no longer. An Eagle can now be trusted with a life, the only possession which has any true value.
“Eagles have hope and suspicion in equal amounts. They believe in the truth when it’s called for, and silence when it’s not. An Eagle helps, plans, searches, and defends without being asked and no payment will ever be taken. They are strong and loyal defenders of those around them.
Adrian's Eagles: Book Four (Life After War) Page 24
