“You have to learn the basics first.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because if you don’t learn the stances correctly, you will get hurt.”
“Have you ever gotten hurt doing karate?”
Jeff seemed to consider this. “Yes. A couple of times during practice or competitions.”
“So you know the stances, but you’ve still hurt yourself?”
I chuckled. Ashley had inherited her father’s impressive negotiation skills. Jeff stared at the sky, probably hoping lighting would strike him and he’d get out of training the girl. Arguments with Ashley had on occasion caused me to do the same thing. I felt sorry enough for him to step out from my hiding spot and intervene.
Ashley saw me, and frowned. She relaxed her stance, putting both hands on her narrow hips. “You’re not supposed to find me until I have some awesome kick-butt moves to show you, but Jeff won’t teach me any.”
“I heard.” I said. “The killjoy sounds like he’s trying to keep you from doing irreparable damage to your body. What a jerk! How dare he be concerned about your safety!”
Ashley rolled her eyes at me and crossed her arms. “Figures you’d be on his side.”
“The side of you not getting hurt? Yep. I will always be on that side.” I messed up her hair, and then smiled at Jeff.
Jeff smiled back, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the relief in his bright blue eyes. My laughter may have also been a touch sadistic, because if Jeff thought I was here to relieve him, he had another think coming. The mission Boom had saddled me with included nagging, whining, and being a general nuisance until Jeff agreed to pull on his big boy pants and accept the promotion Boom offered.
“Hey, stranger,” I said, sidling up to Jeff.
“Stranger?” he asked, eying me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“There’s only so many people in this camp, yet I haven’t seen much of you in the past couple of days. Barely remembered what you look like. Have you been avoiding me?”
He crossed his arms. “Nope. Boom’s been keeping me busy. He’s put me through all sorts of tests to gauge my combat readiness.”
“Ah-ha. That explains how Ash found out about your karate skills.” I eyed her. “Have you been stalking Jeff?”
Red crept up her cheeks. “No! Everyone was watching. He looked super cool.”
“I bet. How did you do on the rest of the tests?” I asked him.
Jeff shrugged. “All right, I guess.”
“Just alright, huh? Is that why Boom wants to promote you to corporal?”
Now came Jeff’s turn to blush. The color in his cheeks seemed to restore his youth. He looked at the ground like a child who couldn’t take a compliment rather than a twenty-year-old killing machine. “The captain told you about that?”
“Corporal?” Ashley asked. “You made corporal? That’s awesome! Right? Isn’t that awesome?”
She looked at me with arched eyebrows.“Why isn’t he smiling? That is good, right?”
“Yep,” I replied. “Jeff is just being modest, but Boom was pretty darn impressed with our new corporal here. I’d tell you what he said, but he used a bunch of military terms that went way over my head. I did catch the phrase ‘Expert Marksman,’ though. Apparently Jeff can dot the ‘i’ of a Pepsi can from really far away. Like miles away.”
Jeff rolled his eyes. “Not miles. It wasn’t that far.”
“That is so cool!” Ashley said, ignoring his protest. “Next, you can teach me how to shoot!”
Jeff winced, but the girl didn’t seem to notice. He sat on a box beside his tent and selected a rifle from the cache. Running an oil rag down the barrel of the gun, he seemed to drift off into his own little world.
Surprised by his peculiar behavior, I whined, “Come on, Jeff. You have to be at least a little excited about this promotion.”
He didn’t take his eyes off the rifle he cleaned. “It’s not a big deal. Just another stripe on the arm.”
He gently placed the rifle on top of a separate box and selected a pistol from the cache. After turning it over a couple times, he ran the rag over it.
“Not a big deal? At my old job whenever someone got promoted we’d all go out to lunch at this little Italian restaurant named Mancini’s. They had the best ravioli, but their tiramisu…” My stomach growled. “See, even thinking about Mancini’s tiramisu is making my tummy talk, and I just ate.”
“Speaking of which—” I tugged at Jeff’s arm. “They turned the last of the venison into a pretty decent stew. Come on, Ash and I will buy you lunch. It’s not ravioli and tiramisu, but it will have to do.”
“No can do.” Jeff shook me off and returned to cleaning the pistol. “I’m about to pull security, my slacker friend. You’ll have to eat without me.”
“Slacker? Look, Ash, the corporal is already turning up his nose at us lowly civilians.” I jokingly narrowed my eyes at Jeff. “But no, you don’t get out of a celebration meal that easily, mister. When I talked to Boom, he said you can start a little late today, so come on. Time’s a wastin’.”
Jeff’s frown deepened. “Rain check?” he asked.
Turning away from the stubborn man, I pulled Ashley aside. “Hey, kiddo, will you please go save us a couple of seats in the main tent?” I asked.
“I know you’re just trying to get rid of me so you can adult talk with Jeff,” she replied.
No use denying it. “And that’s why I love you.” I smiled and patted her on the head. “You’re observant and intelligent. Now scram so I can whip him into shape without embarrassing him in front of you.”
“Fine. Just be nice. Don’t make him cry or anything.”
I glanced at Jeff who wouldn’t return my gaze. Focusing back on Ashley, I shrugged. “I can’t make any promises.”
Ashley giggled. She gave me a quick squeeze around the waist, then scampered off toward the main tent.
“Man, I love that kid,” I said, watching her go. “But thank God there’s only one of her.”
“Hey!” Ashley stopped and turned to give me an indignant look. “I heard that!”
I shrugged. “Oops?”
She rolled her eyes, turned, and then continued on her way.
Once she stepped out of earshot, I returned to the problem at hand. “Okay, bucko, you need to tell me what’s really going on here.”
“Nothing.” Jeff set the pistol next to the clean rifle and reached into the cache again.
I picked up the pistol and examined it, trying to look threatening. “So help me, Jeff Thompson, I will shoot you with your own gun if you don’t tell me what’s going on. Right this minute. I mean it.”
He waved me off with a hand without bothering to look worried.
Since my bluff had been called, I placed the pistol back on the box and squatted down so I was at eye level with him while he sat. “Please tell me.”
“To be honest, I don’t feel much like celebrating,” he finally admitted. “You don’t understand. It’s like I’m stuck in this river and I’ve been fighting the current my whole life. Now I’ve found this side stream, but it doesn’t matter. It’s the same damn current.”
I glimpsed the torment hiding behind his eyes. My heart broke, and I reached out and touched his knee. He looked away.
As the son of a Progression major, Jeff had been groomed for military life since birth, but he never chose it. After high school, he had somehow managed to escape his father’s grip and enrolled in a liberal arts college with the dream of becoming a substance abuse counselor. Then the economy tanked, and his unloving father collected him from school and forced him into the Progression, which he promptly ditched. I’d met Jeff while he was on the road, running from his overbearing alcoholic father.
Jeff could have gone into hiding. He was capable and could survive on his own. He’d even had the perfect opportunity to escape while his soul-sucking sister Gina spun lies and lured Connor into her web. But instead of pursuing his own safety, Jeff chose to stay a
nd keep an eye on Ashley and me. Then he threw himself in harm’s way by rescuing me from his father’s grasp. I’d be dead—or worse—if it wasn’t for Jeff.
“Talk to me,” I pleaded.
Jeff leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs. He laced his fingers and fidgeted with his thumbs, still not looking at me. “My dad wasn’t always the way he is now. When I was little, he was different. Happier. Then my mom got sick and he started drinking and talking about strengthening genetics and weeding out weak genes. When she died, he… well, you’ve seen what he turned into.”
I shuddered. Monster, psychopath. I’d spent less than five conscious minutes with Major Thompson and would have nightmares for the rest of my life. It was disturbing to know he hadn’t always been that way.
“Whoa, wait a minute.” I held my hand up as a light bulb went off in my head. “That’s what this is really about, isn’t it? You saw your dad change and you’re afraid that the same will happen to you.”
Jeff neither confirmed nor denied the accusation. Instead, he stared at his hands.
I was an idiot for not seeing it sooner. “Jeff, using your skills to defend and protect people doesn’t turn you into a monster. Something must have snapped inside your father and he took it way beyond defending and protecting.”
“Yeah, but if that happened to him, who’s to say it can’t happen to me too?”
“Me! I say it can’t.”
“How could you possibly know that?” he asked.
“Because I’m your friend and I will hold you accountable. I will remind you of who you are so you don’t forget.”
He pushed himself up from the box and stood directly in front of me, hands clenched into fists at his sides. His eyes were almost level with mine, and I saw desperation and fear when I looked into them.
“Promise me, Libby. Promise me that you’ll never let me turn into my father.”
II put my hands on his shoulders. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know that a friend loves at all times. You’re my friend, Jeff. I’ll be here for you no matter what. And if you do start to slip, you better believe that I’ll slap the heck out of you.”
He cracked a smile.
“Don’t think I won’t. You might be able to shoot a soda can from ten miles away, but I can backhand you before you can blink. Now come on, Ashley’s waiting for us.”
He shook his head, chuckling. “It definitely wasn’t ten miles away.”
“Whatever. Are you coming or not?”
I could tell he wanted to argue, but he didn’t. “Yeah, I’ll come. Just let me put away these guns and—”
A shrill whistle cut through the forest, interrupting him. We paused, waiting to hear another that would reassure us that the coast was clear and Connor’s team had returned safe and sound.
Instead, gunfire shattered the morning.
CHAPTER SIX
Connor
CONNOR OPENED THE back door of the farmhouse and peered out. A bullet whizzed by his cheek, so close it felt like a kiss. The shot had come from the southeast side of the house and embedded itself into the siding less than a foot away from Connor’s face. He leaned back and watched the trees directly in front of him. Soseki, Teran, and Stein returned fire on the shooters Connor couldn’t see.
“Soseki, do you have a visual?” Connor shouted.
More shots were fired, and then Soseki shouted back, “Three enemy plus one down, your nine o’clock, forty-five meters.”
Connor scrutinized the twenty feet of open, deadly ground between the house and the relative safety of the tree line. Smoke continued to fill the inside of the farmhouse, but it wasn’t intense enough to push Connor and Magee into the line of enemy fire. As if anticipating that result, the Progression gunfire intensified, tearing into the house’s siding. Connor slid to the floor, pulling Braden down with him. Magee went prone and watched outside.
Connor felt blind and useless lying face down while his team fought for their lives. He peeked out the bottom corner of the door and looked to the left. Another Progression soldier fell. They hid behind the side of the house, popping out to take shots at the door. Across the clearing, the rest of Connor’s team drifted toward the soldiers, firing as they went. Soon the Progression kids would have nowhere to hide. He just had to wait until his men were in position.
The air grew thick with metallic smoke. Braden coughed.
“Get ready to move,” Connor said. Then he pushed himself off the floor and hunched over. He ran out the door and paused on the small, partially-demolished wooden back porch, pressing his back against the side of the house. He hopped over the porch railing and regained his position against the wall. Then he gestured for Magee and Braden to follow him.
Magee stood and pulled the kid up with him. Tugging Braden behind him, the medic followed Connor over the side of the porch and took cover.
Connor motioned for the two to stay put before sprinting toward the Progression soldiers, his M4 aimed and waiting for the first sign of movement. Within seconds, a head popped out from behind the house and Connor fired. The body flew back and fell to the ground.
Connor kept moving. He turned the corner and leveled his weapon, expecting to find the last soldier. Instead, four young bodies lay crumpled on the ground before him. He checked each for vitals and shook his head. They were gone, and it was past time for his team to be gone as well.
Weapon in hand, Connor kept scanning the area for more enemies as he motioned for Magee to bring Braden. Soseki and the rest of the team covered them from the other side of the clearing as they ran across. Reunited, the team slipped back into the safety of the trees.
“Any wounded?” Magee asked.
“Nope. Even managed to keep the girl alive,” Teran replied, pulling on Kylee’s arm.
She stepped out from behind him and hugged her brother. “You okay?”
Braden nodded and returned the gesture.
“I hate to break up the reunion, but we gotta run,” Connor said. “You two, keep up. If you don’t, we’re going to have to shoot you.”
Braden and Kylee nodded.
Connor led his men into a fast jog, stretching out his legs to eat up the miles. As he raced over the uneven forest floor, the pounding of feet behind him served as the only indication that he didn’t run alone. His mind ran almost as quickly as his feet, wondering what they’d find back at the camp. Dread crept into his brain, wrapping its tentacles around his thoughts and twisting them into dark nightmares. Images of flames and death flashed, creating his own personal horror flick until he could almost smell smoke and death. Connor forced more speed into his strides.
Desperate to banish the dark thoughts, his mind drifted back to the moments before he’d left camp.
“But he’s really good!” Ashley shouted.
She had slipped into Connor’s tent and was bouncing on his sleeping bag. Fibers danced through the air, playing in the early morning sunlight of the small, army-issued tent. The day was already warming, intensifying the musty smell of soldiers and soiled clothing. The stuffed bear wedged under Ashley’s arm was missing an eye and had a bandage across one arm. Ashley and Liberty both referred to the teddy bear as “Frog,” but neither would tell Connor why. He wrote it off as another inside joke the two shared.
Ignoring her pleading tone, he finished lacing up his boots, and then turned toward Ashley. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to spend so much time with him. He could be dangerous.”
Ashley’s jaw jutted out. “Jeff’s a great guy. Boom says without Jeff, Liberty would probably be dead.”
Connor felt the proverbial knife slide into his gut and turn. Although happy Liberty was safe, he hated owing her safety to Jeff. Too many unanswered questions around the rescue made the whole situation suspect. Furthermore, sometimes he wished he could duct tape Boom’s mouth shut.
“Boom doesn’t know that for sure.” He forced his expression back to neutrality and smiled at Ashley.
“Why don�
��t you like Jeff?” she asked without missing a beat.
“It’s not that I don’t like him,” Connor paused, waiting for a stroke of genius to equip him with a suitable response to give his twelve-year-old daughter. Despite being raised by a psychotic father, Jeff appeared to be a decent human being and a valuable soldier. He was an expert marksman and a black belt, but he followed Liberty around like a puppy after a squeaky toy. “I don’t know him, so I don’t trust him.”
“We’ll stay in the camp. How dangerous can it be?” she pressed.
“Has he asked to train you?”
“Not exactly.” She smiled. “But I kind of asked him, just in case you were okay with it.”
Connor sighed.
“Please? It will keep me busy and I’ll learn how to defend myself. You should be all over this idea.”
Knowing she’d never give up, Connor relented. “Fine. You can start after breakfast.”
Ashley squealed in delight. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She pounced on him and wrapped around his chest, squeezing him tight. “You’re the best.”
Connor patted her back. “Yeah, yeah, I’m pretty terrific.”
Ashley laughed.
The memory blurred as the sounds of battle grew.
They neared the camp. Connor glanced back and counted his men. Everyone had kept up, even the kids.
The sun sat in the middle of the sky. The combination of heat and exertion drenched his hair and fatigues in sweat. Connor pressed on, invigorated by the crescendo of battle. It wiped away his weariness and renewed his strength.
With weapons in hand, Connor’s crew sprinted the last quarter mile, slowing right before they reached camp. They circled around and came in from the northeast side, just shy of the mountain. Connor shouted the running password before they came into view. Gunfire boomed to the south, but he knew whoever controlled the northeast machine gun would hear him.
Someone shouted back, clearing Connor and his team. They ran in and slid behind the machine gun. Ducking, they split up and sought cover behind the numerous evergreens as they added their fire to the platoon’s.
Liberty's Hope (Perseverance Book 2) Page 4
