Through the front of the tent, Kaspar entered with two cups of steaming coffee in his hands. He looked shocked to see Harvey here. The sight of the leader, looking so concerned while talking to Krys, caused him to have chill bumps. Harvey stood and shared a salute with Krys. The leader didn’t say anything to Kaspar as he walked out. Kaspar took a seat at the stool and handed over a cup of coffee to Krys. She took it and slowly sipped at the steaming hot liquid.
“What was that about?” Kaspar asked as he blew on his coffee before taking a sip.
“It was about the next mission. I was told not to say anything about it.”
Kaspar raised his right eyebrow. “Really?”
Krys smirked back. “Yeah. He told me not to tell you that I’m being asked to sit this next mission out.”
Kaspar’s heart sank and all the playful little emotions on his face disappeared. In their place was an ice cold stare. His mind raced as to what would happen next. Why would they ask her not to tag along on this one? Even with her worsening condition, she was one of the best and most valuable assets Harvey had at his disposal. It could’ve had something to do with the added reinforcements that Sanders character brought along with him. There was only one way to find out and he was too afraid to ask.
As he studied her, he didn’t notice anything different physically. There were no more lesions around her neck. If there were any new ones, they weren’t large enough to really notice. Her voice sounded weak, but that was nothing different, either. It had to be the added guns, Kaspar figured.
“What do you think?” Kaspar asked.
“You know I’m not going to sit this one out. Not when we’re this close.” Krys replied.
“So, tell him to kiss your ass.”
“It’s not that simple.”
Oh, Christ. Kaspar thought. Here we go.
“Huh?”
“The security at this place is no picnic.”
“Of course not. Especially if they’ve got in there what we think is there.”
Krys tried to raise herself up from the bed but was too weak. Kaspar moved in and placed his hand on her head. He could feel her getting colder. The weather was getting colder, too, the further northwest they moved. The cold weather did nothing to help her get comfortable. They were told that they would have another day’s drive before they were close to the target. It would be another long day in the armored vehicle for her. Those bumps in the road didn’t allow her to sleep, which was what she needed more than anything else.
“We’ve got to park the vehicles about ten miles from the compound where we won’t be seen. Then, we’ve got to hike the rest of the way.” Krys informed.
“Shit.” Kaspar replied.
“Tell me about it. That’s a rough hike even for a healthy person.”
Kaspar looked her straight in the eye. “You can’t make that hike.”
“What?”
“You heard me. It’s not only ten miles of walking, with all of your equipment, but we’re going to be in the mountains. The cold, not to mention any obstacles we might run into. You’d be dead before we even got there in your condition.”
Krys frowned. “Everyone keeps saying that ‘in your condition’ bullshit. I know that I can do it. Nothing’s ever stopped me before.”
“You’ve got to pick your battles, Krys. You know deep down you couldn’t make it that far out in the cold.”
“I’m sure as hell going to give it a try.”
Kaspar sighed. “Try to get up out of bed.”
“What?”
“Give it a try.”
The sight of the woman he loved being so sick that she wasn’t able to get out of bed almost brought tears to Kaspar’s eyes. He watched her struggle until he couldn’t stand it any longer. He repeated over and over that it was okay to stop trying. Krys simply kept pushing until she was seated upright.
“You see, I’ve got this.” she said.
Kaspar ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her cheek. Krys moved her head over and rested the cheek on his forehead. Her body trembled as she began to weep. With the sound of the crying, Kaspar wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Whispers in her ear that everything was going to be okay didn’t stop the expressions of sadness from pouring out. Kaspar knew how embarrassed Krys was right now. With her strong will and cocky attitude, the scene that just now unfolded must’ve felt like the lowest point in her existence.
“We’ll get this cure,” Kaspar said. “I’m going to personally inject it into you. I’m going to save you.”
“I hope you do, really, I do.” Krys replied.
“In order for me to do that, you need to stay alive. You’ve got to sit this one out, baby.”
“Okay,” Krys said. The words were almost too hard to say. “I’ll sit this one out.”
“You will?”
“Yes, I will. Don’t make me say it again or I’ll puke.”
Kaspar let go of her and stared straight in her eyes. There were still a few tears running down her cheek. With his fingers, he brushed them away. She managed to smile at him and, although it was hard given the circumstances, Kaspar smiled back.
“Your ass better make it, though. I’m not going to sit back and you not make it.”
“I’ll make it. You know me.”
.29
The mission brief went well enough Harvey thought as he sat down in his tent. Of course, Sanders took complete control over the mission brief from Harvey and didn’t even allow the man to speak the entire time. The act had gotten old. This was his team and his operation. Now, Sanders was acting like it was he who discovered this compound and that Sanders, not Harvey, asked for the help. It was complete bullshit.
Over to his side was another cup of coffee. With his fingers gripped on the warm Styrofoam, he brought the steaming liquid to his lips. After he let the hot liquid run down his throat, he reached over for his pack of cigarettes. Just as he was lighting up, Buck walked into the tent. The kid didn’t say anything. He simply walked into his father’s tent and rested himself on the bed.
Buck reached into his pocket for a tennis ball and began to throw it in the air. Harvey was familiar with the game that his son played right now. During the wars he fought in, there was a lot of time to sit around in your tent and await your next order. Harvey began to throw a tennis ball in the air with the object being to get as close to the top without actually hitting it. A smile crept on his lips while he watched his son playing it just like he did.
“What do you think about the mission?” Harvey asked.
Buck’s eyes remained on the top as he continued the game. “Sounds good. No bombs this time. No chance for me to screw something up.”
Harvey sighed. “You’re never going to get over this if you keep on beating yourself up.”
“I know that, but I can’t stop thinking about it. Would he still be alive if I hadn’t been on that mission? Is it really my fault? I can’t bring myself to answer any of those questions.”
“War, and life for that matter, is full of unanswered questions. All we can do as men and women is try to learn from the past.”
“Yeah, well, I’m still hurt by what happened, okay.”
“Nobody said you couldn’t feel any kind of emotion towards it. But, let that emotion make you stronger, not bring you down.”
“Whatever.”
Buck continued to play his game while Harvey looked down at the ground taken aback by his son’s blatant disrespect. There was a voice in the back of his head telling him to kick the little bastard out. Instead, he just sat there, staring at the ground wondering how he could get it through his son’s thick head that death on the battlefield was inevitable. It almost felt like Buck did this kind of crap on purpose. When he finally looked up, Buck was just lying there, the tennis ball rested on his chest.
“You ever think about mom?” Buck asked with his eyes still straight up.
Harvey’s face turned ice cold. “Where’s this coming from?”
“I’m just asking if you ever think about her.”
“Of course I think about her. She was the love of my life. The best parts of my life were with her.”
“I see,” Buck said.
After another moment of silence, Harvey spoke up. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I’m sure you didn’t. I’m going to go somewhere by myself and think.”
“Son, let’s talk about this.”
Buck had already gotten up from the cot. When he heard his father’s voice, he stopped dead in his tracks. He didn’t turn his body around to face his father. Instead, he merely turned his head and gave him half his face.
“Come on back in.” Harvey pleaded.
“There’s nothing to say.” Buck said before he walked out.
Harvey gripped his cup of coffee and threw it to the ground. Words were never a strong suit for him. It seemed like he said things that could easily be twisted around to mean something completely different from what he intended. Buck knew this, of course, so when the little shit got angry or frustrated, he pulled a stunt like he just did. Now, Harvey was the bad guy once again while his son got to walk around and play the victim.
The rebel leader was ready to get up and grab another cup of Joe when Sanders walked into the tent, unannounced. Harvey felt like the luckiest man on the face of the planet. Just when he needed a pick me up, there stood the one person that he wanted to see. Sanders gave an expression that asked permission to walk in without actually saying those words. Harvey nodded and stood from his stool. Sanders walked in and sat down on the stool while Harvey moved over to his cot.
“What’s going on with that little puke?” Sanders wondered.
“Father and son bullshit. You need to talk to me, Roy?”
“I sure as hell didn’t come here to sit on your comfortable stool. Why don’t you get us both a cup?”
Harvey held back what he wanted to say and instead went over to his coffee pot and poured out two cups. Sanders was a lot like himself when it came to coffee. Both wanted theirs to be straight up black. No sugar or cream to ruin one of God’s greatest gifts. As he handed over the cup to Sanders, he felt a sense of shame once again. Not only did Sanders take over this operation, he was now giving orders in Harvey’s own tent. Regret for asking for his help began to cloud the old Marine’s thoughts. The regrets were always overruled by the realization that this operation would not be successful without Sanders’s guns and his strategic thinking.
“What’s up?” Harvey finally asked.
Sanders took a sip from the cup. “Just wanted to get your thoughts on the briefing.”
“Your delivery was impeccable.”
Sanders put on a scowl. “I don’t give two rat’s asses about how I delivered it. I’m a soldier, not some faggot public speaker. What did you think about the mission plan?”
“I think you’ve got it all figured out, Roy. What else do you want from me?”
“So, you don’t have any thoughts, any suggestions, nothing?”
“I just don’t know about that hike. We’ll be worn to hell before we even reach the compound. The weather conditions won’t be favorable, either.”
“Those little pussies you’ve got under your command better cowboy the fuck up. I know my men can make it.”
Harvey’s face turned a beet red. “My men are brave and they’ve been through a lot together. Don’t you ever disrespect them like that again, you get me?”
Sanders remained undeterred by the threat and gave Harvey a smirk. “What are you going to do about it? I’ve already taken over this mission with little resistance from you.”
“You really want to make this about you and me? We don’t have time. I don’t have the energy to waste on these petty little arguments. I needed your help and I’m humble enough to admit that you’re a better strategist than me. I just don’t feel comfortable with that hike.”
Sanders thought on that for a moment then took another sip. “You still thinking about that girl? Did you talk to her, yet?”
“Yes. She doesn’t like being asked to sit out a mission.”
“She’ll get over it. Once we get that cure in her, she’ll be right as rain, killing the bad guys again. Is she why you don’t like the hike?”
Harvey laughed to relieve the tension he felt. “I don’t like the hike because I don’t fucking like it.”
“Let’s move onto something else, then.”
“What?” Harvey demanded.
“That boy, Ryan I think, he’s totally got it out for that woman. Do you trust him on this?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know what I mean. Is he going to jeopardize this Op trying to be a hero for that woman?”
Harvey hadn’t thought about this before. If they got the cure and there was very little of it, and they had to conserve it, he knew that Kaspar would give his life if needed to make sure that Krys got a dose. Still, there was an entire compound full of the stuff. It had to be assumed that that building was only there to produce it. Harvey considered that outcome to be a very remote possibility. But, it was still a possibility.
“I trust him,” Harvey said after thinking the details through in his head. “If anything, I think he’ll fight harder.”
“What if something goes wrong? Like we were sent on a wild goose chase and there’s nothing there?”
“He’ll be fine. You worry about your own men, Roy. I’ve got mine under control.”
“Control? That sounds like something you struggle with.”
“This conversation is over. You can see your way out.”
Sanders was again defiant. He gave Harvey another smirk before he stood from his chair and walked out. There was something mumbled under his breath as he left the tent. Harvey didn’t pay any attention to it.
The rocky relationship was only getting rockier.
.30
Reed’s back was still sore from another grueling day at the factory. Having just showered and changed in the locker room, he was putting on his street clothes when X tapped him on the shoulder. Reed looked up at him unsure of what the loose cannon would do next. All the reformed gangbanger did was make a simple hand gesture with his thumb by his ear telling Reed to meet him outside once he was ready. The leader understood and he finished getting ready. The closer he got to the back door, the faster his heart rate rose.
The cool air outside felt good as it brushed against his skin when he first walked out. Work in the factory was not only hard labor, but it seemed that the USR didn’t deem the factory workers worthy of the credits it would take to air condition the place. Reed looked around for X but couldn’t find him right away. After a few short moments, he heard a whisper sound to his right. He turned the corner of the factory and found his friend motioning with his hand to come closer. While Reed wore a light jacket and jeans for the cooler weather, his comrade simply wore a sleeveless vest made of leather to go with the worn out jeans on his legs. Reed approached, preparing his mind mentally for the worst.
“What’s up, X?” Reed asked in a low tone.
“Heard you talked to the enemy today.” X replied.
“You heard that, huh?”
“Let’s get the fuck out of here, amigo.”
The two began to walk with a brisk pace down the deserted sidewalk and streets around the factory. Because of the grueling nature and hours with their work, everyone who worked in the factory was exempt from the USR’s mandated curfew. All they had to do was show their credentials and they were given a free pass. Tonight, they were kept several hours later than what they normally worked. That tipped off Reed, and he’s sure X and the others, that someone was onto them. They couldn’t meet for their card games after work if they were in the factory until midnight. Reed didn’t mind the extra work, but he knew there were certain others in the crew who would be upset about it. It seemed that they were going to X now and not him, which pissed off Reed to a certain degree.
Without warning, X grabbed at
Reed near the chest, his strong hands gripped his jacket as Reed was shoved into the brick wall behind him. Reed’s breathing quickened as he looked into the eyes of a man not afraid to kill. X let the tension build by not saying anything at first. In the process, he quietly dared his leader to say anything to him without permission.
X pressed Reed further into the wall. “What are you doing talking with an Agent, bro?”
Reed talked through his heavy breathing. “He came to the factory. I was called down to talk to him. I wasn’t going to say ‘no’.”
“Was it the same pig who crashed our party the other night?”
“Yes, but listen…”
X moved his face closer to Reed’s. “Listen to what? I think you’re sleeping with the enemy, homes.”
Reed fought through the stench in X’s breath as his mind raced. “Look, he’s disillusioned, his wife…”
“I don’t give a shit about his wife. What I do care about are my homeboys that you’re putting in danger. I should kill you right now.”
X reached into his jacket pocket and reached for his old switchblade. With a push of the switch, the clean, shiny blade popped up through the handle. The sight of the weapon caused Reed’s heart rate and breathing to escalate to the point where he thought he would pass out. The words “wait, wait” didn’t come from his mouth as his vocal cords failed to respond. X held the blade close to Reed’s eyes.
“You know how many people I’ve killed?” X demanded.
Reed shook his head.
“More people than you can imagine. Now, I want to know why you’re talking to the enemy.”
“Just…let me breath for a second.”
X let loose of his one-time friend. Reed’s sore back slid down the brick behind him. When his feet touched the ground again, he bent over and grabbed at his knees. The fatigue from the workday was still clouding his mind, now he had to deal with X’s bullshit. Their whole operation to this point was built on trust. Now, there was some dissention within the group thanks to this Agent who wanted to play both sides. Reed feigned catching his breath so his mind could work. How could he explain this to X? He tried to reverse the situation and think how he would react if X was the one that seemed to flirt with the enemy.
Patriots & Tyrants (Rebels & Lies Trilogy Book 2) Page 13
