“We’ve got company at three o’clock,” said Mike, ducking down.
A quick look through binoculars had Sergio smiling.
“It’s my boss. No worries.”
“Mike looked closer and saw Ronna sitting up front, as he had before back in Texas, where he first realized he was not a former barista and somehow linked to the Military.
Ronna had eyes on the two, as well, and told his driver to stop when he reached them. He wasn’t worried about someone on his side firing shots; they only did so when he gave the command.
“Sergio, you are still alive, I see! And you, Mike, you look almost good as new—well, at least better than the last time I saw you, back at camp.”
“Yes, sir,” he replied.
“I’m sorry about your girlfriend, Mike. It’s hard to find a partner, especially now—am I right? Anyway,” he continued…“well, I’m just sorry about it, is all. I hear you may be considering joining our team. Is that right?”
“You know a lot about me, sir, but I don’t know how,” Mike responded respectfully.
“Little birdies tell me all kinds of things. I guess I won’t need to be checking in on Baker,” he added, pointing to the flames still burning the now completely leveled two-story farmhouse. “How did he take the branding?”
“Not so good, sir,” replied Sergio, “but it made the second part easier for him, I’m sure.”
* * * *
“I’m going to see what these people want to do, now that their coward leader is out of play,” said Ronna. “Three shots, one after another in the air if you need us, Sergio, and check back in with me tonight. Now I’m kind of wishing you hadn’t burned down the only house in the area.”
“Yes, sir. Sorry about that,” he said, with an almost-straight face.
“Ah, what are another few nights on the ground anyway?” said Ronna casually. “Now go help your friends.”
* * * *
With that, Sergio and Mike headed straight up the back of the Rimrock, towards the Ranch.
“We’re on cleanup, Mike. Know what that means?”
“Yep, there’s no such thing as a wounded bad guy.”
“Exactly right,” replied Sergio, pulling out his 40-caliber pistol as Mike pulled his nine.
“It’s easy to tell what side the wounded are on,” said Mike. “Our guys help each other back home, and these guys,” pointing with his pistol before quieting the man’s agonizing screams with one shot…“well, these guys could care less who they bring home.”
They both looked back down the mountain towards what was now Ronna’s camp, spotting a dozen or so men hobbling back—all walking alone, spread out, and not even talking with each other.
“They just don’t care at all about their fellowman,” replied Sergio, shooting another and stopping briefly to write it down in his little book.
“Is Baker in that book?” asked Mike, not seeing him write anything after the house burned.
“Oh, not yet, but by tonight he will have a whole page, maybe even two, dedicated to him alone. These guys up here...” he said, pausing to shoot another as he and Mike both took cover from the man’s single shot.
“I was saying that,” after taking his own shot, hitting the mark, “these guys up here are harder to remember. I mean, they all start to run together after a while, so I have to get them in the book right away. I’m a stickler for accuracy and getting the facts right.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” said Mike. “I’m working on it myself.”
“It’s the only way we win as a country,” added Sergio. “We have to be crystal clear on what we need to do and how to pull it off. Baker was just one man, and I get that your friends are here, but this skirmish isn’t about them, or even us. It comes down to the Colonel defeating the others, and today we did just that.”
“I guess I feel like an 18-year-old kid, stepping on the bow of a warship for the first time, headed who knows where but certainly vowing to extinguish the enemy wherever they may hide,” said Mike.
“Yes, that’s precisely where we are headed after this. I need to meet with Ronna later today, and probably the Colonel as well. I’m guessing it’s mostly about you, and if they’re on board like I think they are, we will be headed out soon.”
“Say my good-byes is what you’re saying, right?” asked Mike.
“That’s it, and I’m guessing you will never be back.”
* * * * * * *
Chapter Twenty-one
The West
Loveland, Colorado
Sarah and the new doctors were overwhelmed with casualties from both Saddle Ranch and The West. Baker’s granddaughter and Max jumped right in to help with the steady line of victims outside, as well as in the lobby.
Injuries ranged from serious gunshot wounds to deep lacerations, a few twisted ankles, two broken arms, and some traumatized children with unidentifiable illnesses.
The plan was to mark them on the forehead with a number from 1-4, with 4 signifying a right-now intervention, but there ended up being less than she expected. It was easier just to take a quick look at each person as they came through the front door.
“Thank you, Lord—and you too, Colonel,” she whispered to herself. “I was expecting a lot more,” she added, as a little worry crept in that she hadn’t heard from Mac.
“He’s busy, I’m sure,” said another doctor. Sarah was never one for showing her emotions on her face, but she must have today, she thought.
“Back to work,” she said aloud and took the next patient.
Samuel came by the hospital an hour later after a follow-up with his old friend, the Colonel.
“Is it over?” asked Sarah, wondering why she hadn’t asked anyone before now. The hospital was, in fact, the only structure with occupants behind the front line, not underground.
“It’s over, sweetie,” he said, kissing her on the forehead, “and I checked up on Mac for you. He’s fine,” he blurted out quickly, hoping to calm any anxiety she had. “I hear he’s as busy as you thought.”
“I’ll bet,” she replied, with a smile only a smitten woman would know. “If he doesn’t ask to marry me soon, I’m going to do it,” she stated deviously.
“Oh, I don’t think it will be that long at all,” said Samuel, giving her a wink and disappearing out the front door to check on the rest of his group. He hadn’t told her yet that Mac made an unexpected visit to his house with John a few days back. Mac asked for his blessing and hadn’t felt more nervous since the first time he talked with Samuel about his daughter.
“At least I have a track record of taking good care of her so far,” he told Cory, who was becoming his confidant now that Jimmy was gone.
“You got this,” Cory replied. “Who else is a better fit? Nobody, that’s who! I’ll bet she’s been waiting for a while now for you to do it. Every week in this New-World is like a year in the old one, so it’s like you’ve been dating her for what, four or five years now, and haven’t popped the question?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just needed to hear it from somebody else, is all.”
“How about you?”
“How about me what?” asked Cory, avoiding the question he knew was coming.
“You know we still have a lot of single women around, but who knows for how long?”
“Yeah, I know. Cameron keeps telling me the same thing.”
* * * * * * *
Chapter Twenty-two
Saddle Ranch
Loveland, Colorado
Mac helped me get my friend Jake into the back of his farm truck.
“Don’t drive up to the front,” I told him, or maybe asked.
“I’ve been there, and I’m sorry you lost him,” he said. “You have someone to talk to before they see him, right?”
“Yes, that’s right,” I replied.
He parked the truck behind the apartments, and we covered Jake’s body with a tarp. People heard the news that it was over and poured out of the basement, like ant
s whose mound had been compromised.
Walking straight ahead, I passed my family with a quick “I’ll be back soon.”
I didn’t know how I would tell Nancy that her husband, best friend from childhood, and father of her only son, wasn’t coming home tonight.
Thoughts flooded my mind, with panic in my gut, as one after another exited the basement that wasn’t her. Would I just say, “I’m so sorry” to start, or “We did everything we could,” or “There was a bad accident,” but it wasn’t that at all. He was killed defending his family and new home; that was it. There was no accident, no misstep or false information. He was dead, and I bore witness.
Had she already left? came the next wave of panic. What if someone else tells her befo...?
She came out slowly, holding little Danny’s hand. His face was looking better, and it seemed ironic, or maybe just a tragic coincidence, that both the person who caused his injury and the person who saved him were both dead in less than a week. I opened my mouth, hoping to just get it out one way or another but couldn’t think of the words, any words, for that matter. I wanted to say I did everything I could; I wished it were me instead. I didn’t have a chance to.
She walked towards me, as tears streamed down both of our faces.
“I know,” she whispered in my ear. “I know you did.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” I said over and over, realizing she was the one embracing me.
“We talked about this, he and I,” she said, not letting go of me. “We always knew it could happen.” She caught a passing Anna and asked if she could watch little Danny for a bit.
“Of course,” came her reply.
As we walked down the road, she said only four words. “Bring me to him.”
We walked the short way back to Mac’s truck, and she lifted the tarp on her own. I hung back as she spoke with him for easily 15 minutes.
Nancy returned to me, stating she and her son needed to be in Boulder with her family, and they would leave right after the funeral.
“Wait. No, wait just a minute,” I pleaded. “How will you get there, and what if they are not fine?”
“They are there. I know because we talked about something like this happening.”
“As to the how, I guess we will walk.”
“Not with me around,” I told her. “Jake told me right before he...well, right before it happened, that you were all going back to Boulder. I vowed to make it happen safely. If that’s what you still want, I’ll figure out how to make it happen, but you will not be walking after all you have done for our group and my kids and Ringo. No, we will get you there safe, I promise.”
“That’s a promise?” she asked.
“Yes, it is. I don’t have any idea of your loss, but your husband was my best friend in this New-World, however short it was, and I won’t rest until you and your son are safely united with your family—if I have to take you myself.”
“We appreciate that more than you can know,” she responded. “As for my husband, I need to take him home to his family. He needs to rest on our property where Danny can talk to him whenever he needs to.”
“I understand,” I told her, not knowing how we would get it done but believing we would.
* * * *
When I got back to my family, Joy already knew. The news was sad, of course, and I would mourn for some time after. But this night, we spoke about his life—or at least the short time we knew him.
“Do you remember when all of you showed up at the house that first night?” asked Joy.
“Sure, I brought home three adults and two kids, all strangers, and you said, “Welcome!” and made beds for everyone. That was right before he and I knocked off the Market Street grocery store and met up with Lonnie and Mike. Then Lonnie led us to Vlad and his gun store, making the rest of this trip possible. It’s crazy how a few days of complete chaos could turn into brand new lives for us all. Most of us, I mean...” I trailed off, thinking of Jake again. “Jake was as tough as they come, a family man and someone who genuinely cared for people. He even won Mike over after getting off to a rough start, and that’s hard to do, if not impossible, I’m sure,” I added. “I was hoping to spend more time with him.”
I told her how it happened—everything I could think of, just as I had explained to Nancy nearly an hour ago now.
* * * *
Mac had extra security tonight all across the Valley. The Colonel promised to stop by tomorrow and update everyone on the victory and the fire burning at this point below the town of Estes Park, only 20 miles away, as the crow flies. All told, the Ranch lost four men and The West two, with several more still in The West hospital. Services would be the following day.
After dark, I got together with Lonnie, Vlad and Steve. Steve had been shot in the hand but looked in good spirits after being released from The West hospital.
“That doctor down there sure is a looker,” remarked Steve. “I might have to shoot myself in the other hand, just to get to see her again!”
“You must be referring to Dr. Melton, and that’s as far as you want to take this; she is spoken for,” I warned, having been caught up on all the Ranch happenings from my mom when we first arrived.
We missed Mike, who was unaccounted for so far, but none of us thinking he was hurt or worse.
* * * *
Mike called a meeting with a few of us late the next afternoon. Lonnie, Vlad and I all listened as he told us he probably would be leaving for good, pending a meeting later today. He couldn’t tell us much but only that he would likely be working with the Government on Sergio’s high-security missions. I had a lot of questions but didn’t ask even one. This was the best-case scenario for everyone. Mike was an orange in a bowl full of apples, and we all knew it.
“Mike, you helped us get across the country, stayed to complete the journey, and even helped secure the Valley,” I said. “All without the benefit of possibly living out your days in peace, like the rest of us.”
But I knew, as we all did, he hadn’t gotten the short end of the stick. He was doing what he was born to do. An angel maybe…not a good one but not all bad either—more of a scorekeeper picking bad apples out of the bunch. He told us of things to come. Missions of hope for our country to move forward and someday reclaim our presence on the global stage. I both envied and pitied him for his adventure to come, missing out on family and friends. I pictured him picking up our leaders and gently setting them on new soil to slowly build our country back, one brick at a time.
* * * *
Sergio met with Ronna and had a not-so-surprise visit by the Colonel.
Ronna and his boss had quite varying tales of their interactions with Mike, but both agreed he was one of a kind and would fit right in with a Sergio crew.
“You two leave in the morning,” said Ronna, getting a nod out of the Colonel. “We need you on the coast before things really get out of hand.”
* * * *
Joy, Nancy, myself and a few others said good-bye to Mike. My boys each told him a story of how he had helped them. Hendrix started with what he could remember about being lost in the Texas desert and cooling off in the river before the gunfire that scared the bad men off. Hudson and Jax recounted their abduction and subsequent rescue, thanking him for bringing them back to their family. I thanked him for being a key player getting us home and saving all three of our boys.
“Come back and visit every once in a while,” I suggested.
Mike spent the next hour with his son. Not that it mattered if it had been a month or six years—they were father and son and had a bond that would never be broken. He told Javi good-bye and assured his son that he would see him again.
* * * *
I wasn’t on security this night but knew I would be soon. Exhausted, I normally would have fallen to sleep easily, but Jake was in my head. From the very beginning, my friend from that first day in my Chiropractic office ended up saving my life while sacrificing his. He didn’t have less to lose than me;
he just did it without thinking. I vowed to get his Nancy and Danny home to their family.
I tasked Steve with getting hold of my old friend, David, on Raton Pass the following morning.
After nearly two hours I was on the line, hearing of bear attacks and getting the story about the Mayor’s race in code. By the end, I understood the Sheriff’s girlfriend killed him, and she was working with the town Judge again. The same one that had been arrested earlier and banished from town, never to return!
Families First: A Post-Apocalyptic Next-World Series Volume 6 Battle Grounds Page 19
