Nomad Omnibus 02: A Kurtherian Gambit Series (A Terry Henry Walton Chronicles Omnibus)

by Craig Martelle

  “John always told people that you don’t mess with his cousin. He wasn’t talking about me, because nobody messed with me, as a cousin by marriage. You see, my husband was a bit older than me.” The old lady stopped as she teared up. She wiped her nose on a napkin before continuing.

  “My man didn’t survive the fall. He died protecting me. That is a Grimes trait. Selfless men doing what they have to for their family. No, John was talking about Cheryl Lynn, who needed his help. Her husband was bad news, but she had wonderful children.” Mrs. Grimes looked into the distance, reliving those memories from long ago.

  “John used to say that everyone was his friend until he pulled out a grenade. Then, they’d all disappear. He thought it was funny, but I can’t imagine what he’d be doing with grenades. One day, he left with Bethany Anne and never came back. That one had a temper, she did, but only if you deserved it. She took care of my cousin, took care of Cheryl Lynn. I hope she’s still taking care of John. He’d be old now.” The old woman drifted off. She tried to grip her cup of tea, but her hand failed her, so she left the mug on the table.

  Margie Rose leaned close and with one skeletal hand, wrapped in skin peppered with age spots, she patted the other, even thinner wrist. Mrs. Grimes seemed to be skin wrapped tightly over bones, with little muscle remaining. She’d always been thin, but the twilight of her life left her with little except her memories and those she would call friend.

  Ayashe wasn’t sure what to say. “I hope we all do Bethany Anne proud,” she finally offered. “She’ll be back, and we need to have the world in good order. There is so much work left to do, and it starts with getting the colonel back. I’m not sure what the Force would do without him. We can’t look ourselves in the mirror thinking we left him behind.”

  Ayashe was only repeating what she’d heard the others say. Only Terry and Akio had ever met the legend that was Bethany Anne. Ayashe had no idea who she was or where she’d gone. The FDG had faith, because the colonel had faith.

  Margie Rose’s eyes glistened as she thought about the day she met Terry Henry. He needed a drink of water, and she gave it to him. His kindness was never in doubt. She remembered the years with Terry and Char living under her roof, in separate rooms and then together, inseparable ever since.

  And they always treated her well.

  “You find him, and you bring him home. I don’t want to live in a world without Terry Henry Walton,” she said selfishly. Her hand shook as she finished her tea. The first members of the Force delivered their trays to the scullery and hurried out. The current crew washing dishes was only on for the day, and then it would rotate to a different group. Everyone served their time in the diner. Thousands ate three meals a day in there every single day.

  The diner was a respite from the outside world where hard work was the order of the day.

  For the FDG, it was a break from making war. Margie Rose’s lip curled at the thought of someone coming into their town and seizing TH. “Go now, dear, and you kill those bastards who had anything to do with this. Bring Terry home to us.”

  “I will, Margie Rose. Good day to you, and you too, Mrs. Grimes. I need to go. We’ll do everything we can to make them pay,” Ayashe promised.

  Terry’s Prison

  “Look at you, player!” Terry called to a Forsaken he hadn’t seen before. “Darkening my doorway at this late hour.”

  Terry had no idea what hour it was, which meant the Forsaken knew that he didn’t know. The awareness ruined what TH was going for. “So what brings you to my neck of the woods, Mr. Sucky McSuckface?”

  The Forsaken cocked an eyebrow. “Terry Henry, shame on you. Such violent thoughts raging through your mind,” the young-looking man said.

  “Why do you all have to be such twits? Well-spoken twits, mind you, but twits nonetheless.” Terry worked his shoulders and flexed his stomach muscles as he prepared to tighten them to lessen the impact of the inevitable blows that the creature would deliver.

  “If you were nicer, someone we could work with, we’d probably let you go,” the Forsaken said smoothly, letting the words roll off his tongue as if trying to sell Terry a new product.

  “When monkeys fly out of my ass!” Terry blurted. He let his mind drift to Lake Michigan and sailing, completely submersing himself in the wind and the sea as he tried to block the Forsaken’s mind.

  The Vampire edged closer. Terry closed his eyes, hearing the snap of the sail and thumping of small waves against the hull. He adjusted the tiller, trimming closer to the wind.

  The impact surprised him as the Forsaken drove a fist into his mid-section. Terry jumped upward, pulling on his chains as he wrapped his legs around his tormentor.

  The Forsaken’s eyes shot wide in fear. Terry drove his forehead into the bridge of the creature’s nose again and again. Terry’s stomach muscles protested as he kept his enemy tightly in his grip.

  The colonel leaned as far sideways as he could manage, trying to knock the Forsaken off its feet. He turned the other way, and the creature lost his balance. Terry flipped him onto his head, then stomped on his neck.

  The Forsaken was able to roll out of TH’s reach.

  Terry kicked furiously, trying to hook one of the creature’s legs and drag him back within reach. Terry pulled on his chains, straining against them as he stretched his body. Nothing gave. He leaned back and relaxed, letting his complaining shoulder settle.

  Kirkus appeared in the doorway.

  “Another sacrifice for your entertainment?” Terry said between heavy breaths.

  “Not quite. His job was to soften you up a little, but that can wait. I see you are making no progress on the eyebolts. Keep at it, TH. I’m sure you’ll succeed if you just give it enough of your attention and strength,” Kirkus laughed. He grabbed the creature on the floor and pulled him roughly to his feet.

  Kirkus pushed the other into the hallway, shut off the light, and closed the door.

  Terry blinked in the near absolute darkness. “Twit,” he said with a grin as his stomach muscles protested the endless pummeling.

  CHAPTER NINE

  North Chicago

  Timmons pulled Sue aside. He hugged her fiercely as he shook his head. He hadn’t found out anything about TH. No one had seen or heard a thing. The lack of information was as frustrating to him as it was to Char.

  He continued to hold Sue tightly until she gently pushed him away.

  “What gives?” she asked. They’d been together for a while. She loved it when he was affectionate, but usually, she knew why.

  “I thought about how I’d feel if something happened to you, if someone took you, and no one saw anything. I’d want to kill someone, but the enemy wouldn’t be there. I see the frustration on Char’s face. I’d lose my mind,” Timmons whispered.

  “We went through that years ago, and you moved mountains for me,” Sue purred.

  “It wasn’t quite all that.” He let the words drift away as his mind took him to their incursion into Toronto. He blinked rapidly to fight off the tears.

  She looked at him as his eyes glistened.

  “This has been the best twenty-five years of my life,” he whispered.

  ***

  Gunny Lacy searched for her husband, trying not to look frantic while doing it.

  No one had seen James. Someone needed to stay home with the children, and they flipped for it because neither wanted to leave the Force. Lacy won the toss, and she remained with the FDG.

  Terry Henry Walton and Charumati had gone out of their way to help James to transition. He’d gotten depressed, but Aaron stepped up to help, and soon James was incorporated into the fledgling school system.

  He taught the kids survival courses and enjoyed that greatly. It brought him out of his funk. And then they had two more kids.

  Lacy was getting ready to pack it in and join James in retirement by moving north. Terry and Char told incredible stories about their time in Canada.

  “One last run,” Lacy told Mark as she join
ed him in front of the mayor’s building. She shook her head.

  “James?”

  “Yup. Can’t find him,” she answered.

  “We’ll be home in time for dinner. He won’t even know that you’ve gone,” Mark suggested.

  “He’ll know. That’s why we need to pack it in, Mark. I’m tired of leaving, but I believe in what we’re doing. I mean, fanatically believe. Where would the world be without us saving the people so they can grow without being someone’s servant?”

  Mark shrugged. “The FDG needs to do this. It needs to grow and be the stabilizing force for the whole planet. That’s a tall order for one hundred people. We need thousands, and we need to be stationed all over the world so we can more rapidly respond. Maybe we move the FDG headquarters to Japan where Akio maintains his command post.”

  “Sounds like you’ve been thinking a lot about it,” Lacy said, looking at the captain.

  “I sit alone in the armory an awful lot.” Mark didn’t expound on that. He was too old to start a family, but he wasn’t too old to find someone to spend his later years with.

  He’d always been kind to Mayra, and she reciprocated. He wondered if he could retire and join her in the diner.

  “This one’s different, isn’t it, Mark?” Lacy asked, not using Mark’s rank as she would have in front of others from the Force.

  “What kind of enemy are we facing who can walk in here and take someone like the colonel? Sure, he killed a few of them, but fuck! And now they have him in their house. What the hell does that look like? Yeah, this one is way different. This could be the strongest enemy we’ve ever faced,” Mark said in a low voice, looking around to make sure no one could hear him.

  “And combined, we’re the strongest they will have ever faced. We will erase their existence, make no mistake about that,” Lacy promised.

  Japan

  Akio looked anxiously at the screen. Eve was sifting through the entire planet’s worth of data. At least the timeframe was constrained to a smaller period.

  Eve had found something, but she was having trouble tracking it because it looked and acted like a pod. Despite their boxy shape, they were naturally stealthy because they weren’t based on human technology.

  Yuko was interested in how Akio was holding up. Recent demands on him had been great, and although Akio would never show strain, she didn’t want it to eat at him or affect his well-ordered mind.

  The data ran across the screen in rivers, crystallizing when it saw a pattern and then moved on when it turned out to be nothing.

  Two hours later and Akio was still waiting.

  “I cannot wait any longer, Eve. You stay here and keep at it. Find me that pod. I’ll take all three pods and go to North Chicago. May the winds of fortune carry you home.” Akio bowed deeply to Yuko, who returned his gesture. He jogged to the pod, and moments later, the three took off, soundlessly racing skyward.

  Akio instructed the pods to accelerate at their maximum rate. He was pressed tightly into his seat as the g-forces reached extreme levels. Akio grunted with his effort to fight the pressure. Soon enough, he was weightless as the ship transitioned through the edge of the atmosphere before starting its descent. Then Akio was pressed into his seat for another five minutes of spleen-crushing acceleration, followed by getting thrown forward for several minutes of chest-pounding deceleration.

  One hour after taking off from Japan, Akio landed in North Chicago. He recovered from the effects of the g-forces almost instantly. He straightened the pistols set on his black uniform. He looked paramilitary, as he always did, ready to blend in with the dark recesses of any terrain.

  His face was grim as the ramp lowered, and he stepped onto the grass of Mayor’s Park.

  North Chicago

  Char was first to see the pods approach.

  “About fucking time,” she said to herself. Cory pursed her lips, having nothing to say, waiting for Akio to tell them where they were going.

  Timmons had his arm wrapped around Sue’s slender waist as they watched and waited.

  Gene grumbled and rocked impatiently. Aaron stood close to him. The two had become fast friends over the years as the two who were both outsiders and insiders.

  Ted held his wolf pack back. He wanted them to go but knew there wouldn’t be room. He liked having his pack with them. They were the closest thing he had to a family.

  The other Weres stood patiently. They’d been ready to go and were willing to wait a few more minutes. They knew what was on the other end. Battles with Forsaken meant pain. Someone always got hurt.

  Clovis broke free and ran to the pod where the ramp was lowering and barked furiously while his tail wagged out of control.

  The oldsters fired up the jeep and revved the engine, preparing to drive the vehicle into the pod. They’d taken one of the jeeps on an earlier mission, so they knew it would fit.

  Kiwi arrived as the pods were descending and found her husband, where he showed that his knee was healed. She nodded tersely, having just found out about the colonel. She assumed that she’d be going, too. She demanded to go, but wasn’t sure who to talk with.

  With the company of warriors from the FDG, half the town, and only three pods, someone would have to stay behind.

  Char looked at the determined faces surrounding her. She knew that Terry Henry was well-respected in North Chicago, but the highest honor one can pay is to risk their life for another. None of the people there were concerned about the danger. They knew that something had to be done.

  And they all wanted a part of doing it.

  Akio walked from the pod wearing his usual expression. He dipped his head in recognition of the large number of people in the welcoming party. He expected no less for Terry Henry Walton, but he was at a loss as to how they were going to accommodate all the volunteers.

  The big coonhound pup came close, barking and dipping into play pose, prancing and barking some more. Akio sent a sense of calm to the dog. Clovis relaxed and joined Akio at his side, where the shorter man could easily scratch behind the dog’s ears.

  He waved for Char to join him. Since Cory wasn’t going to leave her mother’s side, she came too. Char held up a hand to prevent a mob from approaching.

  “Charumati-san. Cordelia-san.” Akio bowed thirty degrees to the two women. They bowed in return. “Before you ask, we have not located him yet. Please, follow me.”

  Without a word, they walked onto the shuttle. He stood before a computer screen that was linked through satellites to the system that Eve was operating. The EI was focusing on the eastern half of what used to be the United States.

  A voice came over the pod’s sound system. “I think we have them,” Eve said with a tinge of excitement.

  They watched as Eve zoomed in on open fields off the southern end of Lake Michigan. A small shadow appeared, and after refocusing, the unmistakable shape of a pod filled the screen.

  “Where did a Forsaken get a pod?” Char asked.

  “That, I can’t be sure of, but I think it was the pod that the Sacred Clan stole many, many years ago,” Akio replied. “Eve. Can you track it?”

  “Of course, Akio-san, now that I know what to look for, where to look for it, and when to look. I will piece it together frame by frame. It’s flying low, so I suspect it did not go very much farther,” Eve said before going silent.

  The image remained on the screen while the EI worked her behind- the-scenes magic.

  “I think we need to saddle up,” Cory suggested. Char nodded and the two left the aircraft.

  Char waved the leadership to her. The Were folk came without question. Mark brought the lieutenant, the company gunny, and the platoon sergeants. Blevin climbed out of the jeep and hurried to join the others. Gerry and Kiwi helped the old man and were the final ones to join the mix.

  “You all know what will and won’t fit. I’d love to take everyone, but they all can’t go. The tac team goes, without a doubt. We are going up against Forsaken. How many? I have no idea. What kind of st
ronghold? No idea. How many human minions? No idea. You get the picture. Opinions, people,” Char demanded. She gritted her teeth and pounded her fist into her hand. Every second was one more second that Terry Henry was captive.

  She found the waiting unbearable.

  “Then it’s important that we go, bring the jeep with the ma deuce, grenades, and rocket launchers,” Blevin suggested helpfully. “Just in case.”

  “More gear means fewer people,” Char replied.

  Mark shuffled his feet and shook his head. “We’ve gone up against Forsaken before. Only you guys have a real chance against them.” Mark nodded toward the pack. “We’ll handle the cannon fodder. We’ll bring two platoons, and that should give us enough room. I think we’ll need the jeep, assuming we don’t have to land in the boonies somewhere. Are they coming?”

  Everyone looked at Ted’s wolf pack. He raised his eyebrows as he looked to Char for confirmation.

  “Not this time, Ted. Sorry,” Char apologized.

  Cory put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. He didn’t usually like people touching his person, but he always welcomed Cordelia. Her touch brought him peace.

  “They’ll be fine staying here,” Ted said firmly.

  Char looked at the coonhound. “Don’t even,” Cory stated preemptively. Char rolled her eyes.

  “Load the jeep, First Sergeant Blevin. Lacy and you two--” Char pointed to Gerry and Kiwi. “--go with them and ride in that pod. You all spread out.”

  The Weres nodded.

  Timmons and Sue headed toward the second pod. Gene and Aaron remained with Char and Cory. Adams and Merrit joined the group manhandling the jeep into the third pod, which they called number three.

  Shonna and Ted walked toward the second pod, joining Timmons and Sue.

  The look on the faces of those who couldn’t go ranged from anger to soul-crushing despair. Mark didn’t budge. He sent the two platoons to fill in the spaces on the pods. He put the platoons that would remain behind on watch.