Claire had taken charge of the dining hall in North Chicago and with Mrs. Grimes and Margie Rose, they made meals a stable event for everyone from the community. In the post-apocalyptic world, eating was not a given. Char was touched, because Claire, as nice a person as one would ever meet, finally got her restaurant.
Char walked around the table to hug the old woman. She had always wanted a restaurant and the name seemed a fitting tribute. Words weren’t needed.
Cory stood on the floor, using the chair to balance. She pushed off and tottered, but caught herself and staggered a few steps to the next chair. The proud parents watched in shock. The three grandmotherly types cheered.
The communicator in Terry’s pocket beeped. He pulled it with a sigh and answered.
“Akio-sama,” was all he could manage to say while Char was on a knee next to their daughter helping the baby to dance.
“Good morning, Anjin-san. I hope all is well.” Akio waited politely.
“Very much so, Akio-sama. Cordelia just took her first steps and we have the power on.” Terry smiled at the baby and wiggled his fingers at her.
“Congratulations! That is a big first step in parents’ lives. Nothing is safe now,” Akio deadpanned. Terry chuckled.
“Indeed. Do you have new information?” Terry asked.
“Yes. I’ve pushed it to your pad. Turn it on and let it update, then you’ll see. Tomorrow night will be optimal for a reconnaissance of New York City with a new moon and clear skies,” Akio answered.
Terry’s mind raced ahead to the infiltration, the security of his people, the chaos of the group they left without their leader. Char watched his face go vacant as the mission consumed him.
She picked up their daughter, committed to putting balance in Terry’s life. She sauntered to his side, where he stared at a spot on the wall. Akio signed off and Terry absentmindedly put the communication device into his pocket.
Char held the baby so she could paw at her father’s face.
“Hey!” His surprise lasted only an instant as it shocked him from his reverie.
“Time for that other stuff later. Our daughter walks now and you are going to play with her.” Char smiled and caressed Terry’s neck as he took the baby and hugged her to him. “It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, TH,” Char told him.
He looked at her—this time, his eyes sparkling. Char had given him a second chance at life, and it all started because Margie Rose had given him something to drink.
He took the baby to Margie Rose. “Say hi to Grandma!” he coaxed Cory, but she only gurgled. The old woman took the baby and bounced her as the proud parents looked on. Terry put his hand on Margie Rose’s shoulder. “Is it what you expected it to be?”
“Spoiling my grandchild? Every bit.” She smiled, looking too gaunt for someone who worked in the kitchen all day, but she had the grandmotherly glow.
“Just so you know,” Char said to Claire, “Auburn has been holding hands with Kimber.”
The old lady nodded knowingly as Terry winced.
***
Anne guided the sailboat through the area they fished on the first day. She didn’t want to get too adventurous her first time driving the boat solo. The crew had been the same for all seven days and they were learning as she learned.
Her first order of business was to clean the boat better after the fish were offloaded. When she showed up with her husband before all the others, she was disgusted by the smell and the shabby look of her boat. She and Alex got to work, but knew they needed better cleaning supplies. They did the best they could, but she resolved to talk with the mayor to see what was available.
The departure from the harbor was flawless. It helped that theirs was the only boat and there was plenty of room.
They sailed straight into the lake to clear the shallows and then turned north where they’d found good fishing grounds. To the south, the shallows contained too many obstructions.
Anne determined to map the coastline as a record of her journeys, to memorialize the best fishing grounds for when they had a fleet of sailing ships. She stood tall behind the wheel and let the wind blow against her face. She tacked for a slow leg into the wind, then turned downwind.
She trimmed the sail tightly, tipping the boat a little as the sailboat angled across the wind as it surged ahead. Anne loved running fast. It was the thrill of sailing. As they approached the shore, she sighed, loosened the sail, and made ready for the last tack that would take them through the fishing area.
“Prepare the net,” she called out and the fishermen stood ready. They powered through, picking up speed as they went to catch and hold the most fish. When they pulled the net aboard, they found the biggest haul they’d made to date.
Anne could not have been happier. She considered it a good omen of her first trip as the captain. They made three more passes to fill the boat with fish, then she headed slowly back into the lake to give the men time to clean the fish.
She took her turn gutting them, too. No job was beneath the captain, Terry had told her.
Some were quicker than others, but it took a while to clean their haul, dumping the refuse overboard as they went.
“What’s that?” Alex called, pointing toward the eastern horizon.
Anne squinted, blocking the late morning sun with her hand.
“It’s another ship.” She wondered only briefly about what to do. She didn’t maintain Terry’s paranoia. She saw all strangers as potential friends, making her decision easy.
“Make ready for maximum speed!” she called, moving behind the wheel and adjusting their heading. “Helm’s a lee!”
They tacked across the wind, the sail refilling as the wind snapped it tight. She maintained that heading.
“No sails,” Anne said unnecessarily as she talked with herself. “She looks to be powered and running, so she’s not a derelict floating free in the lake.”
They tacked again and picked up speed on a heading directly for the other ship. Within moments, it changed course and accelerated into the wind.
Anne continued the chase, but when she looked back, the shoreline was lost in haze. “Bring her about,” Anne ordered. “Time to head home. I’m sure people will find this little tidbit interesting, and after we offload the catch, we’re cleaning this boat, gentlemen!”
Her order was met with groans, but she didn’t care about that. Anne wondered why the other boat would run from them, a sailboat with a minimal crew. What were the strangers afraid of?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Terry had the platoon sitting on the ground, Mark and Char at his side. The oldsters from the motor pool were there. Eldie and the native volunteers had been fully integrated and were mixed in with the others.
Terry wanted the Weres to sit with the platoon, something he had pushed hard for, but there were too many issues for that to happen.
Gene sat to the side with Bogdan between him and Blackie. Aaron sat at the other end of that squad, but he had three kids piled on him.
Sue was far to the side of the group with Clyde and his adopted pack of dogs. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Timmons was at her side, resting his hand easily on her arm as she leaned into him.
Ted was in the back, looking impatient. At least his wolf pack hadn’t joined them.
Adams, Merrit, and Shonna were in the middle of the platoon, mixing with the humans as Char had wanted.
As usual, Kiwi was there, too. Terry was okay with that as she was the link between the old and the new. Why shouldn’t spouses know what was going on, officially, from the horse’s mouth?
Sometimes secrets had to be kept, but then there was the rest of the time.
“We need to organize a tactical team to go back to New York City and recon how they’re doing. Our goal was to save the humans so they could thrive. Are they, or did we create a shitstorm for them from which they can’t dig themselves out?” Terry waited.
“Volunteers,” he said and every human hand shot up. Finally, Gen
e thrust his mitt in the air. None of the Werewolves volunteered.
“Lieutenant. We’ll be traveling heavy, but we need to be quiet. I’d like Gene and Corporal Heitz, too. Find me five more volunteers and don’t include yourself. I need you to prepare for our next op, which will require the entire platoon.”
Mark saluted, and Terry and Char walked away. Terry headed for Aaron and the kids. When he turned around, he saw that Char was in Sue’s face.
“What is going on here?” she demanded.
“What?” Sue replied innocently. Char glared at Timmons’s hand on Sue’s arm, then at him. He refused to meet her gaze.
“Fine,” Sue started. “Not that it’s any of your business, but Ted and I have formally dissolved our relationship. I’ve moved in with Timmons.”
“How is that not my business? I am your alpha, and what kind of turmoil are you two idiots putting Ted through?” Char clenched her fists and jutted her chin as she leaned toward Sue and Timmons.
“Ted suggested it. The last time we, well, you know, was before the fall, Char!” Sue emphasized her last point by almost yelling it. “Sorry, but nothing was going to change. Ted told me he had too many projects here and that I was a distraction. He wouldn’t say it, but as soon as I told him I was moving out, he kissed me and went back to scribbling his damn calculations. He didn’t even help me pack.”
“How much did you have to pack?” Char asked.
“That’s not the point. He was Ted until I left, and I doubt he even saw me go.” A tear trailed down her cheek.
“You treat her right or I’ll take more than your hand, do you understand me?” Char growled.
Timmons looked solemn. “I wish I had met Sue before she and Ted became a couple. We have a lot of time to make up for,” Timmons said as he softly caressed her shoulder.
“And for fuck’s sake, would you two get some sleep. Take a break from the honeymoon,” Char cautioned.
Sue looked surprised. “It’s not us. It’s those goddamned dogs! Clyde and his fucking non-housebroken pack.”
Char felt vindicated and that karma had paid a visit.
“Just wait until the puppies come.” Char sneered as she walked away.
***
The nine-man tac team waited for the pod on the old parade deck in front of the mayor’s office. It had become a park and a playground. It was a place for any and all the town’s people to gather.
It was also centrally located and clear of vertical obstructions for pod landings and takeoffs.
Eight of the nine wore flak jackets and helmets. Gene never fought in human form, changing into a Werebear as soon as bullets started flying.
Corporal Heitz carried a small toolkit, in case they needed his mechanical expertise. Winning the hearts and minds of a conquered population usually meant providing something that they had a problem providing for themselves.
Sergeant James was there, as was Eldie. The native was graceful when he moved and the fact that the lieutenant and sergeant had picked him meant that they saw him for his abilities alone. No more natives, whites, blacks, women, or men. They were all FDG warriors.
Just like Terry wanted it.
Charlie was there and Jim, along with someone that Terry hadn’t spent much time with, a private called Bennie. He was dark-skinned and quiet. The lieutenant said he was the best with the rifle out of the whole platoon. Terry wondered how he’d missed the young man’s rise to marksmanship excellence, but accepted the lieutenant’s recommendations.
They all carried the M4s with grenade launchers, except for Gene. He carried extra ammo cans filled with loaded magazines. They traveled heavy, just in case. There were still hundreds of humans in that area who might be looking for retribution against those who took away their lord and master.
And that was what the reconnaissance, what they called a recce mission, was all about.
The pod appeared as a black dot in the northwestern sky and approached without a sound, settling to the ground effortlessly. The ramp opened and the tac team ran on board. As the ramp was closing, the pod lifted off, having been on the ground less than ten seconds.
***
With the addition of constant power, dinners were getting better since they could be planned ahead. Claire’s vision was a sit-down restaurant. They weren’t anywhere near that, but eventually, they would. She committed to unique meals for special occasions, like birthday parties for the children.
They lacked sugar, but with the promise of sugar beets from the Wisconsin farmers, she had high hopes for cookies and cakes.
Her first duty was as a mother, and she wanted to reward her children for how they had become an integral part of the New Boulder community. Her oldest boys had been instrumental in bringing the herd of cattle to North Chicago. They remained with the herd to the west of town.
It would be a while before they could regularly butcher cattle, but Alabama, Clemson, and Eli’s kids were doing everything they could to help build the herd. The latest addition was the stud bull that arrived with the elephant. Next breeding season, he would be in high demand as they introduced him to the heifers, those who had not yet had calves but were of age.
The mayor kept track of everything, because it was all a valuable resource for the community. There would be a time when they could trade, reintroduce capitalism, but that time lay somewhere in the future. They still had barely enough resources for the people.
The fishing fleet that consisted of one sailboat had been a good investment in time. Each day’s haul was enough to fill the plates of the people, and when Ted got his way, the bottomless pits of his wolf pack. But they had to fish every day. No one could take a day off. Not yet.
Billy and Felicity watched the pod go as they were returning from the diner.
“Another day, another TH adventure,” Felicity drawled casually.
Aaron waved at Billy and Felicity as he sat, bouncing Cory on his leg while talking with a group of five children.
“You know that he was a teacher before the fall? Taught English in China and when he came back to the States, he taught reading and writing, or something like that,” Billy said as he watched the small class.
Billy had been with New Boulder before and after the WWDE and this was the first time he’d seen what looked like formal schooling. They had selected a building to use, but hadn’t gotten to the teachers or a curriculum yet. They’d only agreed a few days earlier that a school was one of the top five priorities, but only because of the others.
Billy’s experience with school hadn’t been a good one. He was indifferent to the education it provided, but he found himself alone in that camp. Felicity wanted better for their daughter. She wanted better for all the children.
As civilization returned, she’d be able to live more in the manner that she wanted.
“Let’s go for a drive, Billy dear,” she pleaded. Who was he to deny her when they’d waited so long to be able to do such things on a whim?
They turned away from Aaron’s class, walking casually in the direction of the motor pool, when they were intercepted by Anne and Alex.
“I forgot to tell you yesterday that we saw another boat on the lake,” Anne told them.
“There are lots of dead boats on the lake, unless you’re talking about one we might be able to recover. Our fishing fleet is kind of slim at present,” Billy joked.
Anne was not joking, but she was unconcerned.
“It was plenty alive. We tried to sail to it, but it turned and drove away. It wasn’t a sailboat, but powered somehow.”
Billy was all ears, forgetting that he and Felicity had been on their way to take a drive.
“You forgot?” Billy spluttered. “Terry and Char are gone. I need to talk with Mark. Somebody knows we’re here and we have to be ready if they come.”
Billy didn’t wait, he rushed off without asking Anne any more questions.
“I forgot because it didn’t seem like a big deal. It ran away when six fishermen in a sailboat approac
hed, so how dangerous could it really be? Men! I swear.” Anne shook her head and Alex held up his hands in surrender.
“Glad I’m not one of them,” he replied.
***
“The plan is that we land in the planted fields northeast of our last engagement. We’ll land once they’ve headed home for the day. We’ll disembark and deploy as three sub-teams. Gene and I will be one. The major, Privates Eldie and Jim, will be another. Sergeant James, you lead the last group.”
They already knew their roles, but Terry started with the basics first.
“Standard load out, but this mission is stealth. It would be best if they didn’t know we were there. We will land under cover of darkness and infiltrate their compound here, here, and here,” Terry said, pointing to the diagram and picture displayed on his screen.
“Sergeant, you and your group will set up an observation post, an OP, in this location, but it also needs to be a blocking position in case the other two teams need to conduct a tactical retrograde,” Terry explained.
“You mean run away, right?” Gene asked in his Russian accent.
Terry nodded slightly. “Something like that, but be ready to cover us, just in case. Your primary mission is observation. If the shooting starts, then your mission will change, but not until then. If you are compromised, look for a non-combat solution to disengage. We can’t have you getting captured, but we can’t have you killing the humans at a cyclic rate of speed, either. Figure it out and do what’s best. If you do get caught, know that we’ll come for you. We will remain in place until recovery tomorrow at this same time.”
They’d been through it enough times that no one had any questions. They split up the ammunition and other supplies, each team carrying a can of extra ammunition on top of the load they already carried in their pockets and backpacks.
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