“You two have known each other how long?”
“Since we were seven or eight. So what’s that, fifty plus years?”
“Is this what I’m marrying into?”
“’Fraid so, sweetie. Every family has a crazy uncle, right?”
Dallas took this as his cue to start singing, “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-A-Dee-A…”
“Oh, Lord. He can’t stay in the cabin.”
The three approached and found a fire burning in the drum and Scott on top of Katherine. The two love birds were gently making out on the ground.
Josh cleared his throat and declared, “You guys lose something down there?”
His daughter screamed at being startled and quickly thrust her boyfriend off of her. The young man, ever fearful of her father, immediately rose to his feet and ran into the barn.
Dallas just started raucously laughing. “Look at ‘em go!”
It took a few minutes of cajoling from Katherine, coupled with a promise from Josh not to kill him, but Scott eventually came out of hiding.
As he exited, Sam said, “Scott, I’m no engineer, but I think you need to hook this up to the manifold.”
“Correct,” he replied as walked past her father with his eyes on the dirt. “I haven’t hooked it up yet because I wanted the moisture to burn off. Once that step is done, I’ll shut it down, let it cool just enough, and then connect it to the engine. We can test it and see where we are though.”
Josh couldn’t resist. He wasn’t above messing with fearful suitors. “Interesting way to spend your down time, son.”
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry about that. When we finish up here, I would like to speak with you regarding a private matter.”
Katherine and Sam shared a knowing smile while he simply nodded his acceptance.
“So how are you going to test it,” Dallas asked.
“With this,” he replied and picked up a propane torch.
In an attempt to extend an olive branch, Scott held it out toward Josh and said, “Mr. Simmons, would you care to do the honors?”
“It’s your rig. You light it,” he answered as he took several pronounced steps backwards.
The young man pressed the igniter button and positioned it in front of the pipe. After a few seconds the white cloud dissipated so Scott removed the flame. The plume was replaced with waves of heat.
Katherine leapt on him and squealed, “It’s works!”
The two twirled around while the other three ran their hands over the heat vapor.
“Well I’ll be,” Dallas declared. “Kid’s pretty good.”
Josh walked over and held out his hand to the man.
“Very nicely done, Scott. You’ve successfully built a functioning gasifier.” As they shook, the father asked, “Now, what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Yes, sir. If you’ll follow me to my workshop… Dallas, Sam, you’re welcome to come as well.”
Knowing what was coming, Sam turned to Katherine and said, “Sweetie, can you go in and start making lunch. We’ll be along in a few minutes.”
“Sure,” she replied.
“Oh, and send James out here too.”
“Will do.”
Scott busied himself by looking for chairs and placing the ones he found around a table he had fabricated from an old door and a sheet of plywood.
As James entered, he asked, “What’s up?”
“Good, you’re here. Please have a seat.”
Across the table sat the three men most responsible for the raising of Katherine and her sister. Seated with them was the woman that was to become her step mother. Scott couldn’t decide if he would stand or sit so he alternated between both. Unfortunately, he was having trouble finding his words.
James leaned over and whispered to his friend, “What’s he so antsy about.”
Josh shrugged. “Beats me.”
Just as he was about to speak, Brent walked in the barn.
“Is it true?” he barked.
“Is what true,” Josh replied. “He hasn’t said anything yet.”
“Are you seriously going to ask for his blessing and not include me? Who do you think made the man sitting in front of you? I’m every bit as responsible for their rearing as these two!”
“Blessing?” Dallas asked. “Ah man, you’re so screwed Tink. I’m outta here,” he declared and started to stand.
“Stop!” Scott declared forcefully. “Sit back down… please.”
He then turned to Brent and said, “General, it was an incorrect assumption on my part. I apologize.” He then grabbed the chair he had been using intermittently and concluded, “Please, have a seat.”
Sam just sat there quietly with a smirk on her face. The young man noticed it and it put him at peace.
“Yes, I’ve asked to meet with you to tell you that Katherine and I have fallen in love. She and I have many shared and complementary interests and skills. Given the times we live in, we feel it is important to profess our love and devote ourselves to one another in front of God and family. So yes, I would very much like to ask her to marry me. However, I am unwilling to do so without the blessing of the people who shaped every fiber of her being.”
Silence permeated the barn. Samantha was quietly trying to hold back her tears. She wanted to jump up and hug him. Those were some of the most beautiful and articulate words professing someone’s love as she had ever heard.
After a few tense moments, Brent offered, “Josh, if I may, I’d like to administer the test and continue the tradition.”
He had a vague recollection of the General telling him about this during their days in the Corps. If it was what he remembered, it would be just as good as asking Scott twenty questions about his plans and prospects. Therefore, Josh motioned with his hand to proceed.
Brent reached over to James’ belt and unsnapped the survival knife. He quickly withdrew it and thrust the blade into the table. When he removed his hand, the implement swayed back and forth tauntingly.
The General cleared his throat and the memory of the fear he felt as a young man in Scott’s place and said, “Using only your wits, and what is within reach, solve the equation.”
Scott looked at the assembled in a state of bewilderment. After a few moments, he flashed a crooked little smile and picked up three lose pieces of drawing paper. One by one, he used the razor sharp blade of the knife, which was still embedded in the makeshift tabletop, to trim each piece down. Over the course of the next ten minutes, the young man folded, cut, and constructed.
When he was done, he placed an elaborate origami swan on the table. Josh actually chuckled as he rose and said,
“You have my blessing.”
Chapter 16
Heather stole quick glances at the little solar powered device Hoplite had given her while she boiled water for tea over a small fire. When’s he gonna call and check up on me, she thought as she waited to steep the bag.
When she originally volunteered to be a forward observer (FO), Josh immediately forbade it. It wasn’t until she had been exhaustively trained by Hoplite, and could demonstrate those skills, did he relent. Unseen by her father and grandfather’s watchful eye, the pair were growing close. The relationship was being built on respect, words of encouragement, and the occasional caressing hand.
Before anyone was allowed to become a coastwatcher though, they were trained extensively in the art of concealment. This training wasn’t limited to just camouflage. It also included a solid knowledge base on minimizing ones visual footprint. Things like smoke from a fire could get you killed. The smell was easily masked due to the abundance of wood burning fires littering the area, and the nation.
She knew her father’s unmistakable hand was at work. Heather was placed in one of the better camouflaged structures near the military crest of a wooded hill within sight of Logan. From her position, she could see movement throughout the intersection of routes 33 and 93. A moving car was a rare sight and an immediate target, but foot, bike, and horse tr
affic was increasing in the area.
Originally, the structure she currently inhabited was intended to watch over the town and the crossroads. However, when gangs out of Columbus burned the town to the ground, her father had the engineers reposition it further from the charred ruins so the observer could watch the quarter mile stretch of road where the roads ran parallel. Her closest back-up was Hoplite, almost six miles away.
The tiny hut only measured eight by eight and had a slightly sloped roof to shed water and snowmelt. Its dirt floor was covered with large chunks of slate that was abundant in the foothills of the Appalachians. The inch thick tiling aided in the retention of any heat put off by the small fires that were permitted. A raised platform was erected by the FO training graduates and allowed the occupant to sleep off of the hard ground. Any gaps in the structure had been plugged with mud during the harsh winter months. Heather was glad to see that previous coastwatchers had left some books and magazines behind for her to read to ward off the boredom.
The morning sun had finally crested the ridgeline to the east and was burning off the last of the fog and dew when her radio crackled to life.
“You up, ‘Sunshine’?”
Giddy at her first communication with Carlos, so greedily snatched the device off of the rack. Play it cool. Calm down.
“Yeah, I’m up. Been up for a couple hours. You sleep in or something?” she said nonchalantly.
“Yeah, right. I’ve been getting up at 5:00 AM since I don’t know when. My body’s so accustomed to it that I don’t even need an alarm anymore. You see anything up there so far?” he asked.
“Plenty of wildlife, but not much else. Being a coastwatcher is – ,” she started to say when she heard something that sounded like a gunshot. “Hold on. I think I just heard a rifle go off.”
“Probably some locals out looking for breakfast,” Hoplite responded. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”
Off to the west, the long forgotten distinctive sound of tire noise began to grow. Then she saw it. A small mud brown economy sized vehicle crested the hilltop and was headed toward the remnants of the town. As it decelerated, the engine backfired again.
“Crap. It wasn’t a gunshot. It was a backfire. I’ve got a car.”
“Details,” the man ordered.
She gave him the description as she observed the driver pull off the side of the road. The man exited and relieved himself in the middle of the highway.
“Great, he’s taking a leak.”
A few tense moments passed in silence while Heather continued to perform her sentry duty.
“No other passengers that I –,” she added to her intel. “Wait… Damn it! He just pulled a radio out of the car. He’s callin’ in. I think he’s a scout! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! What do I do, Carlos?” she said hurriedly.
“Calm down, hun. Continue to watch and observe. He can’t see you, okay? If you have a fire going, go ahead and put it out.”
In a panic, Heather wheeled around and grabbed her cup of tea and threw it on the flames. The small hut immediately started filling with the billowing smoke. Oh no! What have I done!
She communicated her mistake to Hoplite who calmly told her to continue to observe. When the driver caught sight of the telltale sign in his peripheral vision, he retrieved a pair of binoculars from the passenger seat and scanned the hillside.
“He’s looking right at me!” she decreed in a panicked whisper.
Off in the distance two more cars cleared the crest of the hill. “Crap!” she declared. “His friends are coming down into the town.”
“Damn it!” Hoplite barked into the radio. Thinking quickly he said, “Is there anything left of the fire?” he asked hurriedly.
Heather stole a glance at what was in the small pit and saw a few embers still burning.
“I’ve got enough to relight it, why?” she questioned.
“Stoke it and then torch it all! While that’s building, I want you to take a few shots at the guy and the other cars when they arrive. In between, while they are ducking for cover, stuff your go-bag with as much food and water as you can carry! Start heading east toward me! Stay on the south side of the river! Make them traverse it to get to you!”
“Carlos, I’m scared. What have I done!”
“It’s gonna be okay, Heather. Do exactly what I say and get out of there! Meet me at the second off ramp southwest of your position! I’m on my way!”
“How will I find you?”
* * *
Captain Carlos ‘Hoplite’ Rayna may have been the CO of a Special Operations unit, but if he was anything, he was in shape. All of the men that formerly occupied these unique ranks were, for better or worse, chiseled specimens. Endless training and meager food supplies while on deployment prevented excess body weight. The constant PT, mission rehearsal, and deployments allowed the units to perform almost herculean tasks by comparison.
Given his years of field experience, less than sixty seconds had transpired before he, his weapon, and his barely unpacked gear were out the door. As he began his plodding march, he managed to change the channel on his Baofang two-way handheld HAM to the designated emergency frequency.
“Briar Patch, this is ‘Charlie Whiskey Three’. Come in over,” Hoplite said over the radio as he settled into his rhythmic pace.
“Channel clear,” Brent stated in return so no one broke into the conversation. “What have you got Charlie Whiskey Three?”
Damn it, Carlos thought. Why did it have to be her grandfather manning the comm room? Of all the days.
“Charlie Whiskey Two was spotted,” he replied breathing heavily under the weight of his pack. “I am en route to rendezvous and will be in possession of precious cargo within sixty minutes… mark,” he concluded and then set the timer on his wristwatch.
Brent grabbed the stop watch lying next to the radio and pressed the start button. As he placed it back on the table, he glanced at the duty log for the coastwatchers. The Charlie Whisky Two hut was currently being manned by… Heather.
With broken voice, the retired General replied solemnly, “Sixty minutes mark, copy.” Before he sat the mic down, Brent added, “Bring my granddaughter home, son.”
“Roger that, sir,” Hoplite answered and changed channels back to try and reach the woman that had enchanted his dreams since the day he’d met her.
There was no reply.
* * *
“I gotta tell ya, Josh. I don’t know where you managed to scrounge up these solar panels, but I’m sure glad you did. They take their time, but they do the job,” Mayor Cranston proclaimed as he sat down behind the large desk.
“You’d be surprised how many of these things were put up by the DOT and railroads. We just collected and repurposed them,” Josh replied.
On the table lay one of the five devices that Bryan managed to piece together from cannibalized parts of formerly innocuous electronics gear. The other four had been distributed to the mayors of Nelsonville to the north, Wellston toward the south, Athens to the east, and South Bloomingville to the west.
“Okay, so when we delivered these, we also provided them with instructions on what channels to monitor. So turn that dial to the frequency labeled ‘ALL’ and we can communicate to each of the other four town halls,” Josh instructed as he directed the Mayor’s attention to the tuning knob and accompanying cheat sheet.
“If you only need to reach one town, use the individual frequencies we listed.”
“Well that seems easy enough,” the Mayor proclaimed.
“Now, when you want to speak, just depress this button. To listen, simply let go.”
“Press to talk, got it. What’s this other number?”
Before he could answer, Cranston interrupted and said, “My word, what is that?”
Josh looked out the window to a group of locals looking over the gasifier motorcycle on Main Street.
“That is my future son-in-law and daughter showing off their latest invention.”
“Really? Well c
ongratulations! He sure is a creative one.”
“That he is. Katherine seems to be very happy,” he replied and then lost himself in a moment of reflection.
He stopped himself from dwelling on his mistakes as a father and continued. “As I was saying, this extra frequency, that’s the coastwatcher channel. You can listen to it if you want, but we have strict rules on its use. Ninety-nine percent of the time you aren’t going to hear a thing. It’s only used to call in a report or an emergency. Only the OP can initiate a call on that channel. So no idle chit-chat, understand?”
“Got it,” he said as he turned the dial to see if there was anything happening on the channel.
As the static dissipated, the pair heard, ‘Go ahead Charlie Whiskey Three’.
“Hey, what’s this?” Cranston asked.
“Shhh,” Josh answered tersely in reply.
‘Need to amend ETA. Charlie Whiskey Two is headed toward me through rough country. Reduce by twenty. Over.’
‘Roger that. ETA is now in twelve minutes. Channel open.’
Josh abruptly took control of the radio and immediately changed the frequency so he could speak only with the comm room.
“Briar Patch, come in Briar Patch!”
The scanner quickly grabbed on to the transmission and locked in the signal.
“This is Briar Patch. Identify.”
“El Jefe!”
“We’ve been looking all over for you! Where are you?” Brent asked in a rush tone.
“Mayor’s office. Explain the chatter I just heard on the coastwatcher frequency,” he replied in clipped response.
“Charlie Whiskey Two was spotted and is on the run, hostiles in pursuit. Charlie Whiskey Three is en route to intercede.”
Josh glanced up. His mind was moving at a hundred miles per hour. Then it hit him. “I’m on my way.”
In less than thirty seconds he was breaching the front doors of the Town Hall.
“Katherine!” he bellowed as he exited.
His daughter wheeled around not knowing what was going on. She hadn’t heard that intense of a sound from her father in, well, in a really long time.
By the Dawn's Early Light Page 20