by Gary Paulsen
“Here’s our location.” Jake pointed to a spot on the map. “The CCR doesn’t know we’re here yet. They never fly over because there’s nothing out here in this desolate area they want. We’re still careful, though—just in case.”
“Is that why you wear those light-colored ponchos?” Cody asked.
“Right. They blend in with the sand.” Jake pulled up the other chair. “This”—he pointed to a dark barbed line on the map—“is the Turbo Track. The CCR has been using it to transport supplies to outposts and camps in the desert.”
“I’ve heard of it. When I was in the prison camp most of our supplies came off that train.”
“So far the CCR has only used the Turbo for minor things like supplying the prison camps, so none of the U.S. resistance groups have bothered with it. But now we’ve received word that in two weeks’ time a large shipment of raw trilithium is coming through.”
“Whew.” Cody’s eyebrows went up. “The CCR must be building a few more nukes.”
“They’ve taken over a nuclear laboratory in New Mexico. The shipment will be sent there on the Turbo.”
“Okay, so what’s the problem?” Cody shrugged. “Tell Colonel Wyman and the army to come over and take out the train.”
“The problem is that we already sent this information to the higher-ups last month. But the first date we had was false. We took a squad out to stop the shipment and the CCR was waiting for us. The information was planted. They wanted to see what we would throw at them before they sent the real shipment.” The creases in Jake’s forehead deepened. “We lost most of the company. Those kids outside lost their parents on an empty run.”
“I don’t get it,” Cody said, frowning. “Won’t the army send you more troops for something this serious? Heck, they could do a hit-and-run in a chopper and put a stop to it.”
“The word from headquarters is they don’t have enough men to spare for something they’re not absolutely sure of.”
“Are you sure?” Cody asked thoughtfully.
“My source is the best there is—me. I can’t tell you how I know. I just do.”
“Do you have a plan?”
Jake sighed. “Not really. The kids are great but they don’t know anything about fighting. Landers and I were going to have to use them anyway, at least as backup. I felt we had no other choice—that is, until now.”
Cody ignored the last part of Jake’s statement. “What did you have in mind?”
“The Turbo stops here to fuel up.” Jake pointed to a black square on the map. “That’s where we hit them the last time. But now we know they’ll be ready for us. So Landers came up with the idea of waiting until they were on the way out of the fuel depot to attack. The train will be moving but not too fast.”
“Good idea.” Cody nodded. “Then you can target just the cars you want.” He stood up and studied the map. “Right about here”—he tapped the map—“you could unhook a few of the cars and let the end of the train go. If there were any troops on them, they’d be stranded in the desert.”
“Hmmm.” Landers rubbed his chin. “Not a bad suggestion.”
“The Smiths are our drivers,” Jake cut in. “We were planning on having them meet us here, outside Tingley, where we’ll offload and then bring the stuff back to camp until headquarters tells us what to do with it.”
Cody walked around the table and studied the map. “I could be wrong, Major. But I think you and I might be able to work something out. According to this map the Turbo can be rerouted to another track that comes pretty close to the place I was headed anyway. If G Company is willing to alter its plans a little, I just might be able to help you guys out.”
CHAPTER 5
“All right, G Company, listen up.” Jake clapped his hands and the young people gathered around him. “Cody has agreed to lend us some of his weapons and explosives along with his expertise so that we can go ahead with our mission as scheduled. For the next week and a half he will be helping Captain Landers and myself with your training. You will obey his orders just the way you would mine. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” they barked in unison.
“Okay, Cody.” Jake winked at him. “You’re on.”
Cody blew air through his teeth and stepped forward. “I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on everything but thanks to some good friends of mine I do know how to use these guns and how to fight a little. We don’t have a lot of time so I’m going to concentrate on what I think will help us the most. Everybody line up facing me.” Cody started them on hand-to-hand combat.
Jake and Landers backed out of the way. “That kid is a natural-born leader,” Jake whispered.
“We’ll see,” Landers replied skeptically.
“No. Not like that, Davey. You’re small, so you can’t try to take them with strength. You have to come in mean and hit ’em where it counts. Try it again.”
Jake smiled. “He’s already got them thinking they can pull this off. That’s more than we did.”
“They’re just kids, Jake. How are they going to take on grown men? I’ve never liked the idea of using them. You and I should do it alone.”
“We’d never get it done, Doug. You know that. Look what happened the last time.”
Cody gave Trisha a hand up off the ground where he’d thrown her. “Rule number one. If you’re going to attack somebody, do it like you mean it or stay home. These guys won’t be playing around. I spent eighteen months with them and I know. Good intentions don’t count. They’ll kill you just the same. Now come at me again.”
CHAPTER 6
Cody gave Mike a big piece of scrap meat the Smiths had saved for him and Mike sat up and begged for more.
“I know what a big hog you are, so I brought you this.” Cody took out of his shirt a biscuit dripping with fresh honey, wrapped in paper. “Here, try this. The bees worked overtime.”
Davey and Patch stopped playing checkers and watched Cody play and wrestle with Mike. “Where’d you get him?” Davey asked. “He’s a great dog.”
“He belonged to a friend of mine who got himself killed. After that Mike sort of adopted me.”
“Is it true what the others are saying about you?” Patch asked. “That you’re the White Fox?”
“Where did you hear that?” Cody reached down and stroked Mike’s head.
“From Matt, mainly. He says he saw a flyer on you when he and his dad left their home in East Texas and came west to join G Company. He says there’s a big reward on you. Is it true?”
“Why? You thinking about collecting it?”
Patch made a face. “Heck no. I was just wondering. You know, what it was like to be in one of those camps for so long.”
“Why don’t you squirts leave him alone?” Trisha moved down the aisle. “He probably doesn’t want to talk about it.”
Cody smiled up at her. “I was kinda rough on you today. Are you okay?”
Trisha’s green eyes flashed. She flipped her long red braid behind her back. “I can take it. Don’t worry about me.”
“I wasn’t worried. I was just asking.”
Nick, Matt and Slick tramped through the door. Nick moaned and fell on his bed, resting his sand-covered head on a makeshift pillow. “Wake me up when the war’s over.”
Matt’s freckled face slipped into a frown. He took off his poncho. “Technically that might take years. Considering the advantage the CCR has at this point, you could be an old man by the time—”
“Give it a rest, buzz brain.” Slick threw a boot at him. “Nick didn’t mean it like that. He was just whining.”
“Whining?” Nick sat up on his elbows. “If I wasn’t dog tired I’d show you who’s whining.”
“Anytime, pretty boy.”
Cody watched them without saying anything. It was obvious that these guys were good friends. He felt a twinge of jealousy. He’d never had any friends his own age. Luther, Franklin and even Rico had all been older and they’d made him feel as if he were older too. Well, there was Rachel. He g
uessed Rachel was a friend. Or something.
A voice broke into his thoughts. “Isn’t that right, slave driver?”
“What?” Cody blinked. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”
Trisha folded her arms. “I was telling these idiots that you probably had a killer day planned for us tomorrow and they better quit goofing and get some sleep.”
“Uh, right. We’ve still got a lot of ground to cover before we try to take that train.”
Nick moaned. “Why me?”
“If I recall,” Matt explained, “you volunteered for this mission because you wanted to take your father’s place. The major didn’t really choose you at all. He only …”
Slick groaned and turned out the light.
CHAPTER 7
“You’re doing a lot better, Nick. If that sandbag had been alive before you started shooting, it’d be dead now.” Cody looked down the row. Patch was having trouble loading a small submachine gun.
“I think it’s jammed, Cody.”
“Be careful where you point that thing.” Cody moved over to him. “Let me take a look.”
“I’ll do that.” Landers walked briskly toward the line. “The major wants to see you in his quarters.”
Cody nodded and trotted across the grounds to Jake’s tent. The flap was open, so he put his head through. “You wanted to see me?”
“Yeah. There are a couple of last-minute details we need to go over. Come on in.”
“What’s up?” Cody ducked inside.
“I’ve just received word that the CCR is worried. They’re beefing up defenses on the Turbo. They’ve called in a security advisor. Some clown named Gollgath. Ever heard of him?”
Cody’s jaws tightened. “I’ve heard of him. He’s a very dangerous man. And he’s smart. He’ll have all the angles figured.”
“Should we call it off?”
A picture of the dead soldiers at the warehouse flooded into Cody’s mind. His lips twisted with bitterness. “No, Major. This is one mission we better do everything we can to accomplish. Gollgath is an animal with rabies. Crazy mean.”
“Watch yourself, Cody. Don’t let emotions cloud your judgment.”
“Is there anything else?”
“Yes …” Jake hesitated. “There is. Landers has been against involving the kids in this thing from the start. He’s asked me to at least consider letting Patch and Davey stay with the Smiths. What do you think?”
Cody rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s a tough call. If they get hurt, you’ll feel responsible. On the other hand, everybody out on those grounds thinks of this mission as a way to avenge their parents’ deaths. I’m not sure it would be fair for you to take that away from them.”
“So you’d let them go?”
“I didn’t say that. I said it wouldn’t be fair to take away what might be their only chance to get back at the CCR. If I were in charge, I think I’d make it clear to everyone that the Smiths are getting up there in years and that their part of the mission, securing the shipment, is the most important. After we take it, it has to be protected by someone who knows what they’re doing. If it isn’t, we might as well have left it on the train.”
“You know,” Jake said with a laugh, “you have a gift for coming up with solutions. When this is all over I think I’ll put you in for a promotion.”
“You forget,” Cody said dryly, “I’m not in the army.”
“That’s a matter of opinion, soldier.” Jake turned back to his work. “A matter of opinion.”
CHAPTER 8
“Think this’ll work?” Slick threw a shovelful of dirt out of the trench he and Cody were digging.
“It better.” Cody leaned on the handle of his shovel. He could barely see the roof of the train depot. “Gollgath will figure the army will definitely try something. Our advantage is that he doesn’t know when, how or where. When the Turbo stops at the depot tomorrow, he’ll have troops out scouring the area looking for any sign of a problem.”
Matt and Nick set the last of Cody’s supplies by the ditch. “What’s in this black bag?” Nick asked.
“That’s a surprise package I put together for Gollgath.” Cody started shoveling again. “Are Trisha and Landers through covering the tracks the Smiths made getting us here?”
Matt shook his head. “They’re not back yet. But don’t worry. Landers is a perfectionist. The CCR won’t be able to tell a bug crossed the road when he’s through.”
“Okay, you and Nick better start tearing these crates apart to make the covers for our trenches. When Jake gets back from scouting out the depot he’ll expect us to have things about finished out here.”
“Here he comes now,” Matt said, squinting. “He sure can run for an old man.”
Cody whipped around. Jake was low and running at full steam. “Something’s wrong,” Cody said, jumping out of the trench and grabbing his submachine gun.
“We got … problems, boys.” Jake gasped for breath. “A … CCR patrol found Landers and Trisha. Landers is dead. They took Trisha.… They’re at the depot now. My guess is … they’ll take her to that prison camp Cody told us about for questioning.”
Nick shouldered his gun. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go get her.”
“Not so fast.” Jake took a swig of water from his canteen. “If we go blasting in there now our chances of stopping the train tomorrow are zero.”
Nick exploded. “Are you saying we’re just going to leave her?”
“We don’t have any choice.” Jake wiped the sweat off his forehead. “If they find out we’re here, it’s all over.”
“Jake’s right, Nick,” Slick said softly. “Trisha’s tough. She can hold out till after we take the train.”
Cody held his tongue. He knew firsthand what Sidoron did to prisoners who refused to talk. The thought of Trisha in his hands made Cody cringe. They would probably never see her alive again. He swallowed hard. “Jake’s calling the shots. We better get back to work or we won’t be ready when the Turbo comes through.”
CHAPTER 9
Cody coughed. He felt as if he’d been sealed in his own coffin. Jake had waited until the last minute before the Turbo was due to order them into the board- and sand-covered trenches. Jake had checked to make sure they’d left no telltale signs before he crawled into his own space.
There was nothing to do now but wait. It was impossible to get comfortable. The trenches weren’t very big and their bodies were draped with guns and grenades.
Cody’s area was particularly small because he’d insisted on bringing a few extra items—like the black bag.
He resisted the urge to enlarge his airhole and tried to take slow shallow breaths.
From somewhere nearby he could hear voices speaking in the Republic language. He’d been right when he had predicted Gollgath would deploy CCR scouts to check out the area.
The sound of boots crunching on the crusty sand made Cody freeze. Someone was walking around above them.
A loud horn blasted from the depot and he heard running footsteps. The soldiers were leaving, hurrying back to board the train.
Jake pushed up on the planks covering his part of the trench until he could see the terrain in front of him. The area appeared to be clear. The Turbo blew its whistle again and started inching down the track toward them.
“Okay, boys,” Jake mumbled, “time for a little train ride.”
All the lumber came off and G Company scrambled out of the trenches into the sunlight.
Following Jake’s lead, the four boys pulled the hoods of their ponchos up and wormed across the sand on their stomachs until they were lying close to the tracks.
The Turbo was picking up speed. The engine passed and then several of the cars.
Jake waited until all that was left were the four flatcars on the end. He sprang to his feet and broke into a run. “Let’s go. It’s now or never.”
The five of them charged the train, grabbing anything they could find to hang on to. Jake and Slick landed on t
he second flatcar and immediately assumed a prone position in case the CCR happened to spot them.
Cody and Nick hit the third car. Nick did a belly-flop and lay there for a few moments with the wind knocked out of him.
Matt was having trouble. He ran alongside the third car but couldn’t quite overtake it. The fourth car was getting away from him too. He made a wild grab for the short ladder at the very end.
He caught it. The train jerked him a few steps, almost breaking his hold. He jumped, barely landing on the bottom step.
Jake was already on his feet, moving down the row of cars. He didn’t look back. Each person had a job to do and his was to take over the engine.
Matt’s was to unhook the coupling on the passenger cars so that they could leave most of the troops behind them, and then to climb on top as a lookout.
Slick was supposed to find the radio room and put the communications officer out of commission so that the soldiers couldn’t contact help. And Cody and Nick had to locate the special shipment and persuade Gollgath and his guards to hand it over.
One by one they climbed up the ladder to the roof of the first passenger car, moving carefully across the top and down the other side.
Near the front of the second troop car Jake held up his hand. He gestured toward something below him.
A soldier had stepped out of the car to smoke a cigarette.
Jake slipped his knife out of his boot, grabbed hold of a vent pipe and swung down. In seconds they saw his hand motioning for them to continue. Cody noticed a smear of dark red blood on the railing as they passed. He moved on quickly.
Jake and Slick kept moving toward the front of the train. Matt had already dropped off at the last troop car. Nick and Cody were kneeling on the top of one of the freight cars.
Nick pointed down and Cody shrugged. He had no way of knowing for sure which of the two freight cars held the trilithium and its armed guard.
He waited the three minutes Jake had said to give him before taking off his shoulder the laser gun he’d stolen from the warehouse. He adjusted the ray to a fine line and fired. The thick steel in the top of the car melted like butter, creating an opening the size of a manhole cover.
