Fall of Houston Series | Book 5 | No Man's Land

by Payne, T. L.

  Crawling to his left, Will peered around the rock. “I’ll be damned.”

  Lugnut, Dustin, Jaxon, Fisher, and Ryan were standing on top of the cliff overlooking them and firing down upon the enemy at an angle to miss him and Jason. They were picking the enemy off with precision like they were shooting fish in a barrel. Will rose to a crouch and searched for his own target. Spotting a combatant attempting to reach the cover of a brush pile, Will aimed, squeezed the trigger, and watched him drop face first in the dirt.

  “Will,” Rank called behind him. “Let’s go.”

  Will ran in a crouch to the cover of an old oak tree and pressed his shoulder against it. He fired at the nearest enemy soldier and moved downhill toward Stephens, Rank, and Aims.

  Rank was picking off the enemy that had Jason pinned down as Jason ran downhill toward Will. When Will and Jason finally reached Stephens and Aims, Rank pointed toward the wet weather creek. “Get your wife back to the vehicles and get the hell out of here.”

  “We can’t leave you guys,” Stephens said.

  “We’ll see you back in Little Rock after we take care of these asshats,” Rank said.

  “But, Rank,” Stephens stammered.

  “Aims, get her back to the Humvee,” Rank said, ignoring Stephens’ pleas.

  Will, Jason, Stephens, and Aims caught up with Walker and Isabella where the dry creek bed passed by a field. They stopped at the edge of the clearing. “How much farther is it?” Isabella asked. Perspiration poured down her face, dripping down her brow and stinging her eyes. She wiped it with the back of her hand but all that did was smear it around her face.

  Walker pulled his handkerchief from his back pocket and handed it to her. “About two more miles,” he said.

  “Do you think you can make it?” Stephens asked her.

  Isabella puffed out her cheeks and exhaled. “I can make it.”

  “Maybe we should carry her,” Jason said.

  “I said I can make it.”

  “You sure?” Jason asked.

  She nodded, but Will wasn’t at all sure she could. Her face was flushed and it was becoming increasingly harder for her to lift her feet up to avoid tripping on rocks, fallen tree branches, and brambles. As the sound of the gunfire faded behind them, Will felt less pressure to move quickly. Slowing down would make it easier on all of them.

  Will grabbed Isabella’s right hand and placed it around his neck. He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side. He wiped a stray strand of hair from her forehead and kissed the top of her head. “Ready?” he asked. Isabella nodded, and they began moving again.

  It took them over an hour to walk the several miles back to their vehicles. Will could no longer hear the gunfire. That concerned him. It could mean the enemy was on the way and could catch up with them at any moment. When he spotted a bright red gothic arched barn in the distance. Will finally recognized where he was and he picked up his pace.

  “Not much farther,” he whispered to Isabella. “We’re almost there.”

  She looked up and attempted a smile but it looked more like a grimace. He knew he was pushing her too hard, but they were so close to making it now. They had to stay ahead of the enemy.

  Jason was the first to spot the vehicles. Will came into the clearing behind the barn and exhaled a sigh of relief. They’d made it. They’d somehow survived and made their way back to the Humvees. In three hours they’d be back to the safety of the base at Little Rock and Isabella would be able to get proper medical care for her wounds. Will imagined them relaxing with Cayden, Savanah, and the kids back at the shelter in Texarkana as Isabella healed…if he weren’t in jail for going AWOL.

  Stephens seemed to find a new burst of energy and stepped ahead of Will and Isabella. She threw a hand in the air as if she were greeting someone. “Hey there. Glad to see you made it.”

  “Who is she talking to?” Will asked.

  Will and Isabella rounded the back of the barn and Will stopped in his tracks. Rank, Lugnut, Ryan, Dustin, and Jaxon were leaning against their Humvee. Fisher was seated in the driver’s seat.

  “How?” he asked.

  “Let’s just get loaded up and back to base. We can tell war stories around the table in the chow hall tonight,” Rank said.

  Will held his hand out to Lugnut. “I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done.”

  “It’s what we do. Besides, I couldn’t let my brother here get himself in trouble,” Lugnut said, wrapping a massive bicep around Rank’s head. Rank shoved him away and then gave him a fist bump. “Thanks, brother,” Rank said.

  Lugnut, Ryan, Dustin, and Jaxon did some more fist bumping, high-fiving with the others as Stephens approached them. “I need to get back and brief the President about Region Five’s increased activity in this area. It’s far more extensive than we’d known,” she said.

  “I’d be interested in any intel you could provide us. I don’t like having them playing in our backyards without us knowing. It’s unsettling,” Lugnut said.

  Stephens gave Rank a questioning look. “Maybe they should ride back with us,” he said.

  “I’m not sure General Waltrip will appreciate that, especially since I involved them in our unsanctioned mission.”

  “They’re your best source of intel on what Dempsey is doing in Missouri." He dropped his rucksack to the ground. "You want to know what they’re up to before they reach Little Rock?”

  Stephen pursed her lips and turned to Lugnut. “You got a couple of hours to spare?”

  Rank held open the door for Stephens. She kissed him on the cheek as she bent to climb into the Humvee. Will sensed something more than friendship between them. He was happy for her. It was tough to be alone in times like these. He couldn’t even imagine how lonely he would be without Isabella. He squeezed her tight and led her toward their Humvee. Aims opened the rear door and held his hand out to Isabella. “Thank you so much for coming to rescue me,” she said as she lowered herself onto the seat.

  “My pleasure,” Aims said.

  Will ran around and climbed in on the opposite side as Walker got behind the wheel. Specialist Fisher was sitting in the turret. She leaned down inside and fist bumped Isabella. “I told you they’d come, Fontenot.”

  Walker started the engine and pulled back onto the roadway.

  “I love you, Fisher,” Isabella shouted above the engine noise.

  “I love you, too, Fontenot.”

  Thirty-Five

  Stephens

  Little Rock Military Base

  Little Rock, Arkansas

  July 30th

  Event + Ten Months

  Two weeks had passed since the mission to secure the gold was completed, and much had occurred during that time. They’d rescued Isabella and Specialist Fisher. After nearly daily meetings between herself, Lugnut, Rank, Aims, and General Waltrip, she had briefed the president and his cabinet about the build-up of Region Five forces in Missouri. General Waltrip had sent a recovery company to northeastern Arkansas and Missouri to locate and bring back their fallen soldiers. Part of the recovery company’s mission was to track and report on Region Five activities in the area and establish a secure forward area of operations. The US Army was finally focusing on Dempsey and his army. And all of the non-commissioned officers in Sharp’s unit had been issued satellite phones, a sign of the times that indicated to every one that civilization and order in the country seemed to be on the upturn toward a new state of normal.

  Despite General Waltrip’s displeasure with her involvement in the unauthorized mission to rescue Isabella and Fisher, Stephens was allowed to be on the task force charged with planning their forward push against Dempsey and his army. As soon as the weapons and equipment arrived from Brazil, they would enact a massive offensive to liberate Region Five from his control, and free up enough resources to care for survivors and get the nation back on its feet.

  Stephens pulled open the door to the dining facility and came face to face with Rank. He stepp
ed back, smiled, and gestured for her to enter. “You’ve had breakfast already?” she asked.

  “Yep. I could use a second cup of coffee though. If you’re buying.”

  She smiled and pointed to a table in the corner near the back of the room where they could talk in private.

  As Stephens leaned in to share some information she’d learned about Dempsey’s activities, Rank took her hand in his then pulled it free and looked around to see if anyone had noticed. She placed her hands in her lap and continued. Stephens was intent on telling Rank about the increased build-up of Region Five military equipment in St. Louis, but Rank reached under the table and took her hand.

  “Are you listening? He’s planning something—something big.”

  “I heard you,” Rank said, caressing her hand. “And you have a plan to stop him, right?”

  “I do.” A big grin spread across her face. “And you’re going to stick around and help me.”

  “I’ll have to check my schedule.” Rank pulled a small notepad from a side pocket of his tactical pants and flipped it open. “Let’s see. Tomorrow I’ll be helping Will and Isabella move.” He looked up from the notepad. “How about next week?”

  “How’s the compound looking?” Stephens asked. She hadn’t had a chance to go over there since Will had received permission to settle his family there. She’d been surprised how easy it had been to convince Sharp to overlook Will, Jason, and Walker’s AWOL status, and to push for authorization of the Williams Junction as a safe zone.

  Sharp had his own issues to deal with, having been compromised by Dempsey’s spy, Simone Perez. Military Intelligence was still investigating the extent of the breach, who else she’d managed to successfully compromise, and how much total damage had actually been done, the extent of which might never fully be known—if Brad Smith didn’t regain consciousness. According to Aims, another of her former “marks”, she was a talented spy. They had to proceed on the assumption that Perez, and therefore Dempsey, knew everything Smith knew.

  Protocols were changed and information sharing protocols were reconfigured to prevent similar incidents in the future. In many ways, this made Stephens’ job much more difficult as she no longer received all the information she needed from each source. But she didn’t need to know about operations on the west coast, or the efforts down south to secure the gulf, which were the major areas of information reclassification emphasis she encountered. Those weren’t her focus, anyway. Stephens had her sights on Dempsey. As long as she stayed in the loop on what he was up to, she was good to go.

  “They have a pretty good set up there at Williams Junction. Aims and I rode out there last week and gave them some help with physical security and met some members of the group from Lake Sylvia. Will’s cousins, Tank and Troy, they know their stuff. I think, together, they’ll be able to make that area fairly secure,” Rank opined.

  Will’s cousins, Tank, and Troy had brought Stephens invaluable information regarding the inner workings of Dempsey’s forced labor camps and how he coerced residents to inform on one another. The whole system reminded Stephens of how the Chinese operated, including the so-called reeducation camps discussed as “Vocational Re-Training” facilities. She wondered if Dempsey was the one in control or were the Chinese?She had another big mission coming up for Tank and Troy, but she wasn’t yet ready to divulge it to Rank. He might feel obligated to share it with Will and she doubted he and the rest of his family would be keen to have their folks disappear for months again so soon.

  Stephens’ mind began to drift as Rank described the Williams Junction compound and the abundance of game and fish in the area. Her thoughts were on St. Louis and what Dempsey was up to there. She had assets reporting that they had better control of the ports in the region and were moving barges up river. She needed to get someone inside to find out what he was planning, and then convince General Waltrip to allocate military resources to help stop him.

  “I may make a trip up to Branson in the next few weeks,” Rank said.

  That caught Stephens’ attention, and pulled her from her thoughts.

  “Branson? Why?” Was there something going on in that area she wasn’t aware of?

  “Lugnut and some folks from Texas County will be in the area looking for building supplies—windmill parts. I said I’d come up and visit.”

  A knot formed in her stomach. Rank obviously missed his friends back home. There hadn’t been much for him to do there in Little Rock like he had imagined there would be. He was bored most of the time. Why General Waltrip was waiting so long to assign him to a unit, Stephens didn’t understand. She feared they risked losing him if Waltrip didn’t put him to work soon.

  “Say hi for me. They’re great guys.”

  “You want to come along? We could stay at Big Cedar Lodge,” Rank said, giving her a wink. “We could stop by and check on Isabella on the way back.”

  It was tempting. She could use some rest and relaxation, and spending time with Rank at Table Rock Lake would be lovely, but could she afford to take time off? Dempsey sure wasn’t on vacation.

  “Come on, Stephens. You gotta live a little too.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I’ll think about it and let you know.”

  And she was thinking about it. She was extremely attracted to Rank. Who wasn’t? She’d always found it hard to resist his tall, dark handsomeness.

  What are you doing, Stephens? This is the wrong time to start a new relationship.

  Thirty-Six

  Will

  Hopeville Community Compound

  Williams Junction, Arkansas

  August 5th

  Event + Eleven Months

  Will wrapped his arm around Isabella’s waist and helped her inside their two bedroom cabin tucked back in the woods. After all they’d been through, escaping to the forest sounded like heaven to him. He’d been pleasantly surprised when Isabella had agreed to leave the comforts of civilization in Texarkana and move away from the refugee center. They’d left behind electricity, as limited as it was, a stable food supply, and the safety of the military there. Normally, he’d say they were crazy for even considering such a thing, but starting a new community in the interior of Arkansas where they could live a somewhat normal life had become more important to them. Besides, they weren’t that far from the military base in Little Rock where help and security would always be available if they could get to it in an emergency.

  Due to her injuries, Isabella wouldn’t be returning to active duty any time soon. Will’s leave would be up in a week, and he was anxious to get their community up and running before he was called back to base. Colonel Sharp should be back from the Port of Houston after escorting the gold shipment to the Brazilian government’s ship soon. Word was out that the US Army would be reinstituting a regular permanent change of station policy for soldiers soon. If this really happened, Will and Isabella could be sent somewhere far from home—married couples could even be sent to different places if the Army deemed it necessary. He wanted to be as sure as possible that his family and friends were in the best position possible to not only survive, but thrive in Williams Junction.

  “Dad! Come see!” Cayden yelled from the doorway.

  Will glanced down at Isabella.

  “Go on. I’m not going anywhere,” Isabella said as she plucked a paperback novel from the bedside table.

  “He probably saw a deer or a raccoon,” Will said, pulling on his trousers.

  “Dad!” Cayden called again.

  “He’s so happy to have you back.”

  “Have us back,” Will said, pecking her on the cheek. “On my way, Cayden.”

  Will looked back at Isabella as he exited the bedroom. He studied her for a moment. He’d almost lost her out there. They’d barely made it back to Cayden. They had so much to be thankful for, and none of it was lost on Will. Two things he had learned were to never take anything for granted, and to notice and appreciate the little things. Watching his beautiful wife reading a book in the
past would be such a small thing, but in this new world, it was a luxury, and a sign that—for the moment— everything was okay.

  Will stepped outside and stopped next to the horse and wagon Jason and the others had taken into town in their search for supplies. His mouth dropped open. “Where in the world did you find that?”

  “In the meadow down by a creek just out of Perryville. He was just lying there sleeping. I waited to see if his momma would return before I put the rope on him,” Cayden said, pulling on the rope tied around the small brown calf’s neck.

  Will stroked the mane of the horse pulling the wagon. He’d never expected to find farm animals. They were going to need a livestock trailer.

  “Where’s Jason? We need to do a search for that calf’s mother. If we can get a milk cow, that’s a game changer for our community.”

  “Can we keep him, then?” Cayden asked, as he slung his rifle over his shoulder and trotted toward Savanah’s cabin.

  “Of course!”

  Will wasn’t sure how they’d feed him if they couldn’t find his mother, however. One of the two goats Jason had found a couple of days back looked pregnant, but who knew how long it would be before she delivered and could provide milk. Would she even produce enough for a calf and her kid or kids? He doubted it. A few minutes later, half the community had gathered around the young calf.

  “This is no coincidence, Will. First the two goats and now a calf. There’s a farmer somewhere missing his livestock,” Savanah said.

  “Maybe. We should search the area again and see if we can find out where they’re coming from,” Will said.

  “We’ve already cleared everything within a two mile radius of town. We didn’t find anything alive on any of the farms,” Jason said.