“You do? What changed your mind?” Austin asked.
“I did. God did,” Tonya answered, propping herself up on a shoulder. “If we have the opportunity, we’ll try to help you make your plan work.”
“We prayed on it, Austin, and after giving it to God, we listened to our hearts. We are against violence, but we are all for helping our fellow man. We have the tools—most of them, anyway. We have to try and help our brothers and sisters. If we can save lives, even if it costs us our own, we’re ready for it,” Gretchen said.
Austin looked over to Amanda, who was still lying down but had her eyes open. With Gretchen and Tonya on board, Austin was convinced that the rest would follow suit. They did all share the same God. Maybe Wendell would disagree, but so what if he did?
Austin blew out a loud breath. “Great! Sarah thought she was getting somewhere last night—let’s see if she did.”
He’d been thinking about what the soldier had said continuously since they’d gotten back, and he couldn’t shake the idea that if they didn’t stop this madness before that date, it would be too late for them, for the U.S.—possibly the world.
The doctor sat up, and he could see her taking a minute to shake herself awake. Then, she looked around. “What’s the verdict?” she asked. “Are you all cutting and running for Oregon?”
Austin grinned despite himself, trading a look with Amanda before he looked back to the doctor. “No. You have to find those locations for us so we can move against the NWO. Any chance—”
He didn’t get a chance to finish.
“I narrowed it down to three locations. That’s as good as we’re going to get if we want to have time to make it work.”
Austin’s heart stopped for a moment. “You mean it? You found what we need?”
She didn’t even bother responding—apparently, his pushing her had put a fire under her that had resolved into an all new resolve. “We need to move now, before they figure out that we’ve figured out the codes; I don’t think they’ll be able to tell that I’ve been searching through data on this laptop or that I know what I do, but I don’t want to wait and find out.”
Austin nodded, moving over to stand closer even as the rest of the group gathered up, only Wendell hanging back. “Okay, what do we do? Where do we go?” he asked.
Sarah’s lips pursed, and then she began explaining. “There are three locations where the computer centers might be located. There could be others, but after reading a lot of the information Callum included, I believe they’re in southern Idaho and that these are our best bets. All of them are within a few hundred miles of where we are.”
“So, we leave today, and start with the closest location first,” Austin said, no further thought needed. “One by one, and then on to Cheyenne.” Because, very simply, it was time to move. Waiting only gave the NWO more time to dig in. Every day they waited was a day the U.S. government could be working to restore the power. If they turned on the lights, so to speak, the NWO would fire their missiles and undo everything that had been done. If that happened, it would likely be the last attempt to restore order for a long time. The country would be bound in darkness until the NWO decided when it was time to turn on the lights, and then, if it happened, the country would most certainly be at their mercy.
He looked over at Ennis, and could see his brother still wasn’t totally on board. His eyes drifted over to Wendell next, who looked downright murderous—clearly not happy to see his plan to separate Ennis from the others failing. That alone gave Austin a great deal of satisfaction and renewed energy.
“That alone won’t work,” Sarah replied, bringing his focus straight back to her. “Not one by one.”
“Excuse me?” Amanda asked from behind him.
“We need to get to these locations fast. Are you listening to yourself? Thinking of distance? We can’t get to all three fast enough, assuming we won’t get lucky to strike gold on our first try, and then get all the way back to Cheyenne to launch the missiles. It makes more sense to divide and conquer,” she announced.
“What? But we have to stay together!” Malachi spoke up.
Austin wasn’t exactly fond of the idea, either, but he understood the woman’s reasoning now that he thought about. They needed to move fast with this countdown in play, and with that distance…. It would take days, possibly a week, to reach the location of the first potential center, and then another week or possibly longer to backtrack and head in the opposite direction, even assuming they got lucky on the first center having what they needed.
“I think we need to consider the idea of splitting up,” Austin said, his heart already sinking at the thought. Because he knew what made sense, again—him and Amanda leading separate groups.
“How are we going to divide?” Ennis asked.
Sarah cleared her throat. “We’ll need three groups. One heading to each computer center.”
Austin grimaced. Two groups stretched them, but three groups seemed extremely risky. In his mind, though, he was already putting Savannah with him. That was what mattered most. As much as he wanted Amanda to be with him, as well, it didn’t make sense. She was a strong leader and would be able to help keep a group alive. They’d find each other again after everything was through.
“Two groups,” Amanda said. “Three groups is setting us up to fail, and by fail, I mean be killed.”
Austin looked at her. “What?”
“I understand the urgency to find the center, but three groups is too risky. Are four people expected to go up against an army of soldiers?” she asked.
Austin looked to Sarah. She didn’t look happy to have her idea argued against, but couldn’t seem to bring herself to disagree.
“I’m with Amanda on this,” Ennis said.
That was a rarity. Ennis and Wendell were always on the other side of anything when it came to Amanda. Amanda’s eyes met his. She was waiting for him to back her up.
“She’s right,” Austin conceded quietly.
Malachi was sitting on the ground next to his mom, his eyes roaming the group. “Where’s Savannah?” he asked.
Austin glanced around, only now realizing she hadn’t come back from her bathroom break. He got to his feet and moved through the circle the group had created for the conversation. “Savannah!” he called out, looking behind the lean-to. “Savannah!” he shouted again, cupping his hands around his mouth as he stared into the trees.
Malachi was beside him a moment later. “Was she here earlier?” he asked, his voice full of dread.
Austin looked down at the teen, remembering he’d assumed his daughter must have gone just into the trees to be by herself—just as she’d done so often lately. He hadn’t even considered… “I haven’t seen her.”
Malachi groaned. “She took off.”
Austin froze, staring at the boy beside him. “What do you mean she took off?” he asked, dread washing over him.
Malachi was shaking his head, his hands fisted by his sides. “I should have known something was wrong. She came back too easy last night. I should have known she would do this!”
Austin took a deep breath. “Do what? What do you mean she came back too easy?”
“Last night, the horse thing with Charlie really upset her. I found her, yeah, but she wouldn’t come back with me at first. I told her I was going to stay with her. Then, she suddenly changed her mind and said she’d come back. Like she’d never walked off.”
Austin knew his daughter; he knew the turmoil she’d been in after Nash’s death. He should have been keeping a better eye on her. His eyes kept looking towards the tree line, and suddenly he realized… there was only one horse. “Where’s Raven?”
Amanda came up beside them, and the look in her eyes was enough to tell him what had happened. “She took off on Raven,” he whispered. “Sometime during the night.”
“I’ll go look for her,” Malachi said. “I can catch up with her if I take Charlie, and I’m the best of us at tracking. It’ll be okay.”
<
br /> Austin turned and looked behind him, seeing the group talking amongst themselves. “This changes everything.” He looked back to Malachi and nodded. “Pack up some supplies. You’ll go out in one direction on Charlie and I’ll go in the other. We’ll find her.”
He moved back, staying just outside the circle of people, and caught his brother’s eyes, using his head to gesture for Ennis to join him. Ennis got up and walked over immediately. “What’s going on?”
“Savannah’s gone,” Austin said, the words feeling like daggers in his gut. “Possibly on Raven.”
Ennis’s mouth dropped open. “Gone? Gone where?”
Austin shook his head. “I don’t know. I think she might have run away in the middle of the night.”
Ennis’s eyes widened, and then he reached out and gripped his brother’s shoulder. “We’ll split up and start looking for her,” Ennis said immediately.
“What about the mission?” Wendell asked, joining them.
Austin glared at him. “My daughter is missing. I don’t care about the mission.”
Wendell scoffed. “I thought our whole lives depended on the mission. Aren’t we supposed to be saving the world?”
“Not when my daughter is missing!” he shouted, and silence descended around them, even the birds stopped chirping.
“Missing!” Tonya repeated belatedly.
Austin realized everyone was looking at them. There was no point in trying to keep it a secret. “She’s not here. I suspect she ran off at some point last night. Possibly on horseback.”
“Who was on watch?” Amanda asked.
Austin shook his head, not wanting to point fingers and cause tension. “It doesn’t matter—she was sleeping behind the lean-to and easily could have snuck off.” His daughter was headstrong. And she was smart enough to have used the lean-to to hide her escape, as well as quiet enough to do it without anyone noticing.
“It doesn’t matter. I have to find her,” Austin announced.
“The mission. You can’t abandon the mission!” Sarah said, practically panicking. “You said we’d stop the NWO and I’ve worked nonstop to make it possible. Don’t you dare give up because of a teenager’s temper tantrum!”
Austin glared at her. “I can’t abandon my daughter. She comes first!”
“I’ll find her and bring her back. We’ll catch up with you,” Malachi said, stepping in front of him. “I can do it. I know how to think like her, Austin. I’m the only one she’s going to talk to, too, and you know it. She feels horrible about Nash, still, and the thing with Charlie yesterday was just the icing on the cake,” Malachi said. “You need to let me do this while you focus on taking down the NWO—that can’t wait,” the boy pressed, holding his gaze.
He stepped back, away from the group, fighting the urge to either sob or scream. When he spoke, it was as much to himself as anyone. “I’ve tried talking to her. I’ve tried giving her space and time to grieve,” Austin said, knowing it was no defense for his ignorance of how hard she’d been taking everything. He’d known she was upset, but to run away…
“I’ll go. I can find her. I can track her,” Malachi insisted.
“Austin. Let Malachi go, and we stick with the plan,” Ennis said.
Austin stared at him with horror. “You can’t be serious! I’m not leaving her behind!”
“I can do it, Austin. I promise you I can do this. I’ll find her and bring her back,” Malachi said again, putting up a hand to stop his mother from cutting in.
“We need you to lead one of the teams,” Ennis said.
Austin glared at him, wondering what he could be thinking. “You can lead the team. You’re the one who was just making a big play to be the leader—so, lead. I’ll catch up to you once I find my daughter,” Austin argued.
Amanda stepped in beside Malachi, catching his eye. “I think Ennis makes a good point. Austin, you are the one who pushed for this. Malachi is a capable young man. He can take Charlie. He’s better on horseback than you are and can make better time,” she said. “Plus, he’s been the only one of us to have any real luck with tracking, and his eyesight will allow him to do it from horseback. He’s the smart choice here.”
“Okay, but so what if he is?” Austin answered. “That doesn’t mean I can just walk away from this clearing. I should be here looking for her. Malachi can help me.”
“Austin, think about this,” Amanda begged, stepping in closer and lowering her voice. “If she sees you, she might not even want to come back. What’ll you do, drag her back to the group? Malachi is right; he’s the better choice to get her to return. She’ll listen to him.” Amanda’s voice had gotten softer as she spoke, as if she knew she were telling him hard truths.
In front of her, Austin cringed. It killed him that she was right. The idea of leaving Savannah tore him up; torn between saving his daughter or saving the world for his daughter. He looked at Malachi again, and then thought back to the journey to get Sarah, and the way Malachi had helped his daughter cross the country to get to Ennis’s house. It had been Savannah who’d directed them, but Malachi who’d made sure that his whole group didn’t abandon her. He’d not once stopped looking after her, and the trip to get Sarah had more than proven the teen was strong and capable. He’d shown how capable he was several times since then, in fact.
“Malachi, are you sure you can do this?” Austin asked quietly. “And I mean absolutely, one-hundred percent positive?”
Malachi held his gaze, and then looked over to his mom before facing Austin again. “I can do this. I can find her.” Tonya let out a sob, and Malachi looked over to her. “Mom, I’ll be fine. You know it. I need to go now, though,” he said, meeting Austin’s eyes. “Every minute we stand here arguing, it’s another minute she’s getting farther away.”
Austin gulped down the lump in his throat. “Tonya, I understand if you don’t want him to go. If the roles were reversed, I wouldn’t want my kid leaving alone, either. Don’t feel pressured to do something you’re not comfortable with. If you say he doesn’t go, he doesn’t go.”
Tonya looked like she was in pain, but she only threw her arms around her son and squeezed him tight. “Don’t you dare do anything that will get you hurt or worse! You better come right back to me, got it?” she asked, tears in her eyes.
Malachi nodded, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I got it, Mom. I don’t want to get hurt, either. I’ll be back with you in no time.”
Amanda stepped in then, putting her hand on Austin’s shoulder. “It’s settled then. Let’s get Charlie ready to go. We need to give Malachi all the extra food and water we’ve collected so he can focus on finding Savannah and not have to scavenge. With any luck, he’ll bring most of it back to us,” Amanda said. “Meanwhile, let’s figure out where he needs to meet up with us.”
Austin nodded, sick to his stomach as he thought about leaving. He felt like the worst father in the world. He knew he should be putting his daughter first, but he also knew that the mission was ultimately putting her first. He was doing it all for her. He was doing it because he wanted her to have a bright future.
Sarah stood by anxiously, and he knew this was her cue. He could see she was just waiting for permission to set the plan in motion.
“What’s the plan, Dr. Bastani?” he asked, forcing himself to switch gears and focus on the end game. He had to focus on something while Malachi got ready.
“We need one group to head to Blackfoot, Idaho. That’s the first possible location of the computer center,” she explained.
“We’re probably somewhere close to the southwest corner of Wyoming,” he guesstimated. “How far are we from Blackfoot?”
“I’d guess it’s approximately two hundred miles, or just under. That’s why we need to move.”
Austin winced. “We can move at twenty to thirty miles a day if we push hard. It’s going to take us at least a week to get there. Do we have that kind of time?”
“Assuming the date on the messenger is correct, we
have about twenty-five days to do this. So, we don’t stop for anything. We push ourselves until our feet are blistered,” she said vehemently.
Austin grimaced, not looking forward to that or to walking two hundred miles. He hoped his leg was up for it. “The other group? Where do we send them?” he asked.
Sarah had her answer ready, at least. “I think we have the first group search Blackfoot, then move on to Twin Falls, Idaho, and if there’s no luck there, on to Boise. These are somewhat close together, so one group can go for all three and deal with whichever one works out, wherever they find the computer center. The missile silos are much farther away. As much as I want to find the computer center first and put our focus there, it makes more sense to have someone at the missile silo, ready to activate the codes. There should be military personnel there to help with the activation itself as long as everything else is in place. Someone with military background might make things go more smoothly,” Sarah added, looking pointedly at Amanda.
Austin nodded. “Where are the missiles?”
At this, Sarah looked down at her feet. “Warren Air Force base.”
“Where’s that?” Tonya asked.
Amanda’s face twisted. “About four hundred miles east, near Cheyenne.”
Austin exchanged a look with the vet. It had been their original plan to try and get to the base. If only they could have known then what they knew now.
“Okay, so we’re up for a long walk,” Amanda muttered. “But it should be me headed that way. I’m former Air Force and have a little more working knowledge on how things work on the base, and maybe my background will hold sway with whoever’s there if there’s still U.S. military installed. We thought there would be then, and I haven’t changed my mind. And even if there aren’t… well, I can’t say I’ve ever launched a real missile, but I do know my way around computers.”
Austin agreed with the logic in play here, but hated the idea of sending her out on such a long journey, especially when he’d be heading in the opposite direction. He turned to Malachi, seeing that the kid was fidgeting, shifting from one foot to the other as he waited to get going.
Small Town EMP (Book 3): Survive The Conflict Page 10
