“Why are we so happy?” he asked.
“Because we have our own lives here. We don’t have to answer to the alpha,” Shonna replied.
“Is that such a bad thing?”
Shonna looked at the floor. Her shoulders sagged. “No,” she whispered. “I love having Char as an alpha. We’ve never had it so good. Look at us, celebrating what she gave us, because we don’t have to go home.”
“It’s our responsibility to do her proud. Ten years? We can do that standing on our heads. So, my little engineer, what do we want this place to look like in ten years so Char and Terry don’t think we’ve been slacking off?”
Manhattan
“We have a fucking house. There was no fucking way we were leaving,” Butch told the comm device.
“Butch. You seem to have returned to your city roots, the appropriate level of belligerence. Next time I see you, I’ll have to beat your ass, just because,” Char replied smoothly.
Butch didn’t answer. She looked at the device, knowing very well that she didn’t want a beat-down from the alpha.
“Shit,” she mumbled.
“Ten years. Think you can manage?” Char asked.
“We’ll be fine. You know that we already feel right at home. We have a nice gig here and most importantly, if any bad guys come sniffing around, the steel mill and the population around it will draw them like moths to a flame.”
“I think you’re right. Don’t hesitate to call us if you see or hear anything. Hell, even if you just get bored. We’re only a phone call away!” Char ended on a high note.
“Will do, Char, and thanks for sending us home. We’ll be here when you guys are flying again,” Butch added with a certain finality.
Char felt like she wasn’t going to hear from Butch or Skippy again, like they’d moved away for good.
San Francisco
“You’ve made my day!” Sue replied. She couldn’t see the crushing blow her words dealt to the alpha. “Ten years should be enough time to set up the successors and grow this town like you can’t believe. I see it all as long as we keep urging them forward. Trade is already picking up and, Char, the sky is the limit here. We heard that the Japanese are sending a dirigible as they establish regular air service between there and here.”
“That is amazing and I’m glad you’ll be at the front end of it,” Char replied.
“We have so much to do, but with the treasury, we have money to negotiate contracts and have work done. It adds significant levels to the complexity. It’s a real challenge, and I like it.”
Working with Billy Spires had its ups and downs, but it never challenged Sue’s abilities as a project manager. San Francisco did. Events moved at the speed of motorized commerce and a burgeoning population.
She’d found that the Forsaken had been holding San Francisco back to keep its growth manageable while constantly culling the herd, as she learned they’d been doing. Unleashed, their growth was a given.
Including building the ranks of the FDG.
“You should move the FDG to San Francisco?” Sue ventured, making it sound like a question.
“It’s something to think about, but it’s not going to happen any time soon. Stay in touch.”
Sue leaned back in her chair, hands laced behind her head. Timmons was on the other side of town working on a junction to expand the power grid. A new generator had arrived from Japan and was getting set up. Tying it into the grid was a touchy process when many analog systems remained in place. Timmons replaced them as he could, but there were still far more in place than he wanted.
He had his crews working long hours to build a full diagram of the system, a master copy from which he could use to identify system shortcomings and shore them up before there were any catastrophic power losses. The city was dependent on electricity.
It was the place Terry wanted to get North Chicago to, but that was still a ways off. Every time they refueled the Mini Cooper, they took the system down, providing power to limited sectors on reduced hours by using the backup generator on the base.
North Chicago had much work to do before something like power was a constant. Not so in San Francisco. They were already there. With North Chicago’s engineers in San Francisco and Cancun, it would fall to Ted to do it all.
Timmons hoped it didn’t crush his fellow Werewolf. Ted didn’t handle demands upon him like normal people. He wouldn’t tell someone that he needed help. The more he had heaped upon him, the less he reached out until he completely withdrew into his shell to a place where he could be all alone.
Sue cared for him more than anyone else, and she knew what it would do to him. Her joy faded as she thought of Ted, the lone Werewolf, with his wolf pack and Felicity.
Aboard the Heywood, crossing the Gulf of Mexico
Terry was trying to teach Archie how the GPS worked, but without paper maps, the man was lost. Terry spent more time than he wanted inputting the coordinates for anywhere they would want to go. Then he erased half of them and made Archie input the data.
He then did the best he could drawing a map on the inside bulkhead of the captain’s cabin. If nothing else, he wanted to make sure that Archie could get the crew back to Cancun. From there, he could figure out where to go fishing.
They would also need a couple more crew, but if not New Orleans, then Cancun where they knew people. Three could sail the two-masted sailboat, but they couldn’t sail and fish. Doing both was best to maximize the catch.
The crew was experienced and could sail, unlike when Terry had to teach the crews out of North Chicago. Many had never been on the water before, but they learned. Over time, they even ventured where they could no longer see the shore.
Those were still rare. Captain Anne saw no benefit in taking a boat where there were no fish to be caught. Terry wanted Anne to take a boat around the entirety of the lake, find where there were other settlements and maybe even find someone to trade with.
Terry started to laugh. Char looked at him as he came up from below decks.
“What?”
“Free trade! I keep pushing it like that Free Trader Braden, like it’s my personal mission in life to restore trade to humanity. If only we had a cat!” Terry exclaimed.
“Aren’t you in a good mood,” she said, still sullen over her conversations with the pack.
“I see you’re not, and I know why. I heard you talking with the others. None of them seemed put out at the prospect of not returning to North Chicago for ten years.”
Char nodded slightly, looking down at her feet.
“Remember the annual conversation we have regarding me and not being able to control everything?” Terry said as a reminder.
“It’s different with the pack. As the alpha, I need to be there for them. Werewolves are different,” Char explained.
“It sounds exactly like how I feel. No matter what, I always feel like I should have done more to help.” Terry drew Char to him and hugged her. “When you first came to New Boulder, you spent a couple years with us before the pack showed up. You were fine then.”
“I wasn’t the alpha back then. I was doing the alpha’s bidding, you know, getting in bed with the enemy,” she chided with a half-smile, before continuing in a softer voice. “After Marcus died, I knew that I was the alpha, but I didn’t say anything. Maybe it is the same, but different, because we can reach out and touch them anytime we want. They can call. We’ll move mountains to get to them if they need us.”
“Maybe the problem is that you know they won’t need us because they are well-trained. They are blending in to their communities and will be there should anything go down. They are in pairs so they can keep training. That will probably be the hardest thing to ensure. Outside of that, we’re on our own. What do you say we go back to Cancun for now and then cruise to New Orleans later? I think we will have lots of time to kill.”
With her head against Terry’s chest, Char listened closely.
“There’s no hurry then,” she replied. “Mayb
e we can ask Ramses to bring his team, along with Cory, Lacy, and enough horses where we won’t have to walk all the way back.”
“I like that idea. They can talk to us while they’re on their way and we’ll whip on over in the Heywood.” Terry and Char both nodded and separated. She went forward and he moved aft, taking the wheel from Archie.
“Change of plan!” TH bellowed. The deckhands faced him. “We’re going to Cancun, but at some point in a month or two, we’ll need to be dropped off in New Orleans. What do you say we do some fishing and see how rich we can make this boat?”
Archie smirked, but the others grinned. Terry waved Archie close. “We’ll make sure we get you the best crew possible from your home port. I’d much rather do that than snag strangers from a strange land.”
Archie thought for a moment and then nodded. “Makes sense, boss.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
North Chicago
Kiwi scratched her chin. Ayashe and Camilla were relaxing on a day off at their mother’s ranch. Their brothers were managing the day to day affairs while Geronimo was hunting buffalo, having left with James a week prior on their way through Minnesota to the northern prairies where the great animals could be found.
“Terry Henry Walton wants what?” Kiwi asked, wondering why the colonel hadn’t called her directly.
“Ride to New Orleans along the Mississippi River,” Ayashe said for the second time.
“In this heat?” Kiwi was incredulous. “Has all that boating melted his brain?”
Kiwi held out her hand.
Ayashe looked at it and shrugged.
“Radio,” Kiwi said.
“Oh.” Ayashe handed hers over. “Where’s yours?”
It was Kiwi’s turn to shrug. She tapped the buttons and held the comm device to her ear.
“Terry Henry Walton! Have you lost your mind?” Kiwi startled her daughters.
“I’m sure that I don’t know what you mean,” Terry replied pleasantly.
“If I’m going to take horses south, I’m doing it when it’s cooler out. Four months and then we’ll leave. We’ll pick you up at Christmas. Maybe.” Kiwi smiled at her daughters as silence filled the space.
She waited. Terry waited. Kiwi waited some more.
She caved first. “Last offer. We leave in three and a half months.”
“I guess that will have to do, but you don’t need to come,” Terry suggested.
“You need me to keep Metaguas from causing trouble, and it is best that I come along. We’ll have extra horses for all the good things that you’ll be bringing from your adventures.”
Terry paused before answering. “Okay.” He knew when a battle was lost. “Of course, horse master. Can I talk with Ayashe for a moment, please?”
Kiwi handed the comm device over. “He’s probably going to tell you that you are responsible for keeping me safe. Just tell him sure and let him get back to sunbathing.”
“I heard that,” Terry said.
“Corporal Ayashe here, sir.”
“I think there’s nothing left to say besides your mother’s right,” Terry told her.
“If I had a full magazine for every time I heard that one…” Ayashe couldn’t finish it.
“Out here.” And Terry signed off.
The women looked at each other. Kiwi rose from her chair and walked to the kitchen. Her swagger was unmistakable. She looked over her shoulder at her daughters. “Been at this a long time.”
“Hey!” Ayashe realized. “If I have to watch out for you, then I get to come along, join Ramses’s squad for the trip.”
“And me?” Camilla asked.
Ayashe shook her head.
“Of course, dear,” Kiwi said from the kitchen.
Cancun
Char called the pack daily, then weekly, and finally monthly. She took limited solace in being near Shonna and Merrit, but even they were too busy fitting in, carving their own niche in the new world.
Terry took it all in stride. He touched noses with Boris and Lacy weekly, to check the training schedules, but didn’t do anything beyond that. It was time to train, run exercises, get creative. Mark was helping in North Chicago. Sue and Timmons provided additional support in San Francisco.
The Heywood went to sea and fished until they were packed, returning to Cancun as the most successful boat in the harbor.
Terry’s competitive side was fulfilled. He never minded fishing, but it was the boating he loved. The crew made a good team and the search for replacement crew was stalled. Archie, Louie, and Jose were dragging their feet.
They liked the status quo.
When fall turned toward winter, Terry refused to take the boat out until the new crew members were brought on board.
Archie nodded reluctantly. “Go get ‘em, boys,” he said.
Louie and Jose jumped to the dock and jogged away. Terry and Char stood with their arms crossed, waiting for a revelation that they assumed they wouldn’t like.
Three young women walked eagerly down the dock with Louie and Jose, both giving a double thumbs up. Char immediately looked to TH to see his reaction.
Terry’s eyes slowly rolled back in his head as he tipped his face skyward. “God help us,” he whispered. With his eyes still closed, he returned their thumbs up sign.
“Prepare to cast off!” Terry yelled, refusing to look at the new crewmembers. Char joined him at the wheel.
He couldn’t look at her either.
“One of you new people, get in the crow’s nest!” Terry snapped.
“I’ll do it, boss,” Louie replied.
“NO!” Terry glared at the man. “My first day on board, that’s where you goofy bastards made me go. Now suck it up and send one of them to the top!”
The men grimaced. The women looked unafraid.
“Lila!” one of them called and jumped for the rope. She caught it and climbed slowly upward. Terry’s eyebrows went up as he watched her roll over the top and into the small crow’s nest.
“That’s how you do it, you candy asses!” Terry yelled, suddenly in a better mood. “Names?”
“Janet!” one called as she watched Jose unwrap the rope from the dock cleat. He handed it to her and she started to wrap it. He stopped her and showed her again. She got it right on the second try. He made her do it quickly three more times.
“Judith!” the last of the three called, taking a break from unfurling the sail. She seemed familiar with the rigging.
“Archie,” Terry said softly, crooking a finger at the soon-to-be captain of the Heywood. “Explain.”
Archie approached and stopped, holding his fisherman’s hat in his hand. “We saw how happy you two were. We thought couples would do better at sea, keep us honest.”
“These three are your girlfriends?” Archie nodded vigorously. “Prepare to cast off. Let’s go catch some fish.”
“Hey, Lila!” Terry yelled. With big eyes, she peeked over the top of the crow’s nest. “Come on down. We don’t need anyone up there. The Heywood knows the way out and probably could sail itself.”
Lila slowly extricated herself from the small space of the crow’s nest and carefully crawled down the rope, beaming when her feet touched the deck.
“Heywood. That might not be the best name,” Terry said, looking at Char.
“You think?” She had never been a fan of the name, but let Terry have his way. “What’s the new name going to be?”
She stood with her arms crossed and tapped her foot.
“That’s easy. New captain’s prerogative.” Terry started yelling the commands and soon the sails billowed with the stiff breeze. The sailboat skipped across the wave tops as it cleared the harbor and entered the open sea.
Terry pointed the bow south, heading toward a shelf where they’d had good luck before. It was a short run. He didn’t want to abuse the newcomers by keeping them out too long. They needed to get used to the sun and sea, make sure they drank plenty of water, did the things that made the cruise more pleasan
t, less difficult. A job, but a fun job.
The male crew were coddling their girlfriends too much, showing off too much, and Terry needed to set things straight.
“STOP!” he roared, earning him the focused attention from seven sets of eyeballs.
“Men down below. You’ve lost your privilege to work this boat. Go on, now. Get down there!” Terry stared at them until they surrendered, going below with their tails between their legs. Char thought it was heavy-handed, but necessary. “Give me full sail!”
Char jumped to the deck and pointed the three new crew in the right direction. Judith was salty and knew what to do. Janice understood the orders, but needed practice to be able to do it without thinking. Lila knew nothing, but was willing to learn. Together they rolled out the sails, tightening them and loosening them as Terry directed based on tacks and riding close to the wind.
Back and forth they traveled as they hugged the coastline. Terry recognized his spot without need of the GPS, but called below to be sure. “Archie, give me a reading on the fish finder!”
“On it, boss!” came the muffled cry. “Right there! Too far, turn us around and then bring her to a halt, four or five boat-lengths.”
“Coming about. You better get up here. We have fish to catch!” The three men stormed through the hatch, ducking to avoid getting clocked by the boom as it swung through the wind. The women beamed as they managed the turn. The wind snapped the sail taut, but they quickly trimmed it after the surge of speed.
They loosened the lines to let the sail go slack across the wind. The boat slowed and the men handed a set of rods with baited hooks to the women, breaking out three more for themselves, which left Terry and Char with nothing. They watched from the aftdeck where the fruits of the fish finder were soon delivered.
Fish after fish came aboard. Thirty minutes and the crew was panting from their efforts.
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