by Logan Jacobs
“But none of that matters,” Becka snapped. “We’ve been here too long already, and I need to get to my mum.”
“We all have families we’d like to see,” Walston replied. “And you can continue on your way soon enough. In fact, this task I have for you is on the road north, which is why I thought you’d agree to do it.”
“Oh, that would be good,” Hae-won said quickly.
“I’m putting together a package,” Walston said. “DNA samples we’ve taken of some of the dinosaurs we’ve killed, reports we’ve compiled on the dinosaurs and any sightings of the portals, that sort of thing. But the internet connection isn’t always that reliable, and obviously we need to deliver the samples.”
“Where to?” I asked.
“RAF Scampton, just outside of Lincoln,” Walston said.
“That sounds easy enough,” I replied.
“I’ll send you with a letter of introduction,” Walston added. “And I’ll email the base commander to alert him to your arrival. All you’ll need to do is hand over the package, and then you can continue toward Yorkshire.”
“When would we leave?” Becka asked suspiciously.
“Another day or two,” Walston replied.
“A day or two?” Becka protested. “No, that’s too long.”
I was still amazed at her defiance, given how willing she had been to take the extra time in Coates and Whittlesey, but it seemed to be more about being told what to do by Walston then any real need the blonde Brit had to see her mother. I glanced at Hae-won, but the blue-eyed Korean looked as puzzled as I felt.
“Why don’t you ask your mother?” Walston suggested. “I’m sure she would be proud to know that you were helping your country.”
“And how do you propose I do that?” the blonde demanded. “Cell service isn’t that reliable, and the last time I did get through, I had just enough time to tell her I was heading home. That was it. Certainly not enough time to get all sentimental about doing my part.”
“Tell you what,” the army man said. “I’ll let you speak to your mother using the network we have here. It’s certainly more reliable than the commercial service right now, and if your mother thinks it’s a good idea, you’ll stay here the extra two days and then carry the package to Scampton.”
Becka so wanted to protest. I could read it in every line of her body and the angry yet hopeful look on her face. But the need to speak to her mother was overwhelming, and I also knew that she had seen her out. If her mother wanted her to come home right away, we could leave today and never have to bother about Scampton.
“Fine,” Becka agreed.
“We’ve set up a communications block,” Walston said as he stood up. “Had to convert some of the conference space, but I don’t think anyone will miss it.”
The three of us stood up as well and followed Walston from the office. We walked back toward the front lobby and across the tiled floor to a different set of doors. This led to a room filled with computers, including a couple that looked like they had been around since the 1960’s. Monitors were lined up along several rows of tables and were mounted on the walls. There were lots of beeping and flashing numbers, and none of it made much sense to me. I spotted a pair of the engineers we’d rescued from Coates, their heads bent over one of the monitors while a soldier lingered nearby. No one paid any attention to our arrival, or our departure as we passed through another door and stepped into a short hallway.
There was a pair of bathrooms along one side, and a conference room with glass walls on the other side. Walston hadn’t exaggerated when he said they had converted the conference room. It was jammed with electronic equipment, and I wondered how they had even been able to haul all of it onto the property. There were three soldiers in the room, two women and an older man. They all wore headphones and flicked switches, and again, I had no idea what they were doing.
“Sir,” the man said when Walston opened the door.
“We need to make a phone call,” Walston replied.
The three soldiers didn’t even blink, just waited patiently for more information.
“The number,” Walston said to Becka.
“Here,” Becka said as she scrolled through the contacts on her phone.
The blonde pulled up the info for her mother and handed the phone to the man. He typed in the number into a computer console, and after flicking a few more switches, he handed a headset to Becka.
“It’s ringing,” he said. “Put the set on. There’s a microphone there you can use.”
Becka nodded as she slipped the clunky set over her ears. She listened to the phone ringing on the other end, and then her face lit up with joy.
“Mum!” Becka cried out. “It really is you!... What? Oh, yeah, I’ve borrowed a phone. Got to recharge mine…. We left Cambridge, we’re in Peterborough…. I know that was days ago, but it’s taking longer…. We’re fine, no one’s been hurt. Mum, listen. I have something very important to ask you. There’s this chap here who wants us to help…. Just let me finish. He’s an army chap, and he wants us to take this package to Lincoln, but we’d have to stay here a couple more days, so we’d be delayed even longer… Well, yes, he’s a real soldier…. But see, we wouldn’t make it to Yorkshire until next week or so… Yes, well, I know but… I don’t know, he says it’s important…. I don’t think he wants…. Fine.”
Becka pulled the headset off and handed it to Walston with a scowl.
“Hello,” Walston said when he had the set settled onto his own head. “Ah, yes, and a good day to you…. I am. I’m a brigadier, actually…. Well, they’ve already helped quite a bit, and I thought, since they were heading north any way…. Ah, well, thank you.”
Walston removed the head set with a smug look and returned it to Becka. The blonde accepted it reluctantly, took a deep breath, and greeted her mother again.
“I’m back,” Becka said quietly. “But mum… Yes, alright, I know we’re all supposed to do our duty… No, it’s not that hard. We’ll pass by on our way…. Yes, just a few extra days… But what about you? Are you okay… Yes, alright, then.”
“So, I guess we’re going to Scampton,” Becka said as she removed the headset and handed it back to the soldier.
“Then we can rest up and recover from our trip to Coates,” Hae-won suggested.
“I’ll have some cots set up for you,” Walston replied. “In the meantime, you can head over to the mess tent and enjoy some tea. I understand someone found some Smarties during a patrol recently. You should grab a box before they’re all gone. Oh, and turn over the key for your car, please. I can’t have it blocking the area in front of the offices.”
Walston was trying hard not to gloat, but he looked so darn happy that we were staying at least until the package was ready. Becka, on the other hand, looked like she’d just lost her first pet, and she moved slowly toward the door without even looking at me and Hae-won.
“Maybe I should hold onto the key,” I said. “I can move the car for you.”
“We have a precise place for everything,” Walston said as he held out his hand. “I won’t have you mucking it up.”
“How can you have a precise place for a car you didn’t even know you were going to have?” I asked.
“The keys,” Walston insisted. “If you really want the car that badly, I’ll return them when you’re ready to leave. But for now, I’d rather have my men in charge of the vehicles.”
The girls were standing in the door, and though Hae-won looked curious about the demand, Becka shrugged it off and folded her arms across her chest rig. I liked the idea of having the keys for at least one car, just in case Walston reneged on his agreement to return the bikes, but they weren’t necessary. We could always hotwire whatever we needed, and so I finally handed over the key.
Walston walked us back to the lobby, then he left us in the care of the same bored looking young woman who had been manning the front desk the first time we arrived. She heaved a sigh and stared at us, obviously unhappy th
at her me-time had been interrupted.
“Ah, well,” I stuttered.
“We’ll go to the food tent,” Hae-won said. “For tea and Smarties. What are Smarties?”
“Candy,” I said. “Like little round sugary things. Sort of like Sweetarts, but smaller and in different flavors.”
“What are you talking about?” Becka snorted. “Don’t listen to him. They’re chocolate inside.”
“Smarties?” I asked. “There’s no chocolate in Smarties.”
“In the UK, they have chocolate inside,” the soldier said in a bored voice. “I’ve seen the candies he’s talking about. But I think they only sell those in the U.S.”
“Oooh, I like chocolate with my tea,” Hae-won declared. “So let’s go have some tea and figure out what to do with the rest of the day.”
“Yes, fine,” Becka sighed. “Since we’re stuck here for another day or two, we might as well.”
I wasn’t sure what to say that would cheer up my blonde companion, but Hae-won wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her outside. The bored soldier looked at me to see if I had any more requests, but I simply smiled at her and then followed the girls back outside.
“I was really surprised is all,” I heard Becka say. “Wouldn’t you tell your only child to hurry home?”
“But it is different for you English,” Hae-won said. “They put duty to country first. In Korea, family comes first, though, but at the expense of individual needs.”
“Bloody duty,” Becka muttered.
“At least you were able to talk to her again,” I said. “And she knows you’re still okay. Just think how happy and proud she’ll be when we do arrive.”
“That’s true,” Becka replied. “She’s probably over at the pub right now telling everyone that will listen that I’m working for the government now doing important work.”
“And we are,” Hae-won assured her.
“She’s so close,” Becka sighed. “We could be there in no time.”
“If we didn’t have to stop and kill any dinosaurs,” I said. “Or if we don’t run out of gas. Or if we don’t run into any more locals who decide to set up their own kingdoms. Or--”
“Yes, alright,” Becka protested. “I get it. But I know you understand how I feel.”
“Sure,” I said. “We miss our parents and families as well, but I’m not sure I’d want to go back to the USA, if he offered.”
“You don’t miss your family?” Becka asked.
“Yeah, I do,” I admitted, “but you both are my women,” I said as I smiled at my beautiful girlfriends. “I’m not leaving either of you.”
“I want to be with both of you,” Hae-won said. “I’ve been having much more fun here than back home. I don’t want to see my family again.”
Becka and I stared at the Korean for a moment, and I couldn’t tell if the blue-eyed girl of many talents was telling the truth or not. Becka looked puzzled as well, but Hae-won only grinned and posed with her rifle.
“I am a warrior woman here,” Hae-won declared.
“That you are,” I agreed. “But you must miss your family sometimes.”
“Maybe my youngest brother,” Hae-won conceded. “He and I always had fun together.”
“See?” I said. “Even warrior women miss their families.”
“Yeah,” Becka said. “I guess I should stop complaining. But it just sets my teeth on edge, the way he just assumes we’ll do whatever is needed.”
“Why does he get you so worked up?” I asked.
Becka shrugged and stopped by a collection of pipes and gauges. We were close to the mess tent, and I could hear children’s voices calling to each other from inside. I suspected all of the chocolate was probably gone by that point, but I was happy to let the kids have my share.
“My dad served,” she said. “And then he abandoned us. All because his duty was so important to him. I haven’t trusted anyone in a uniform since.”
“So when Walston tried to change the deal--” I began.
“It just ticked me off,” Becka replied. “It’s what they always do. Change the rules halfway through so you never win.”
“We will hold him to this,” Hae-won asserted. “We will take the package, and we will deliver it to Lincoln, and then we are done.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” Becka said. “He’s got us here for another two days, or for however long it takes him to put that package together. I guarantee he’ll find something else for us to do.”
“Let’s just stay on his good side for now,” I said. “Once we’re back on the bikes, we can set our own path again.”
Becka didn’t look convinced, but she nodded, as did the Korean. We stood there for a few more moments while Becka gathered herself, and as we turned our feet toward the mess tent once again, a loud thump-thump-thump rocked the compound.
The three of us looked up automatically, even though we’d seen plenty of helicopters while we were holed up in the campus museum. I felt myself clench as I prepared to run away from whatever bomb they were about to drop, and then I reminded myself that the army wasn’t about to blow up its own camp or the power station.
The noisy machine hovered into view for a moment amid a cloud of dust and then moved slowly toward the far end of the plant, past the pipe covered building and the empty field behind it. The engines gradually quieted, and then I spotted a jeep speeding off in the direction of the field.
“Wonder who that is,” Hae-won remarked.
“Our next bloody assignment, I’ll wager,” Becka muttered.
The two girls continued on to the mess tent while I stood for a moment and waited to see if the jeep would return. It had to be someone or something important for a helicopter to get drafted into use. Even Walston was having to send his important samples and reports by civilian motorcycle. But the jeep didn’t reappear, and Hae-won called to me from the flap. I waited another moment, but the mystery of the helicopter would have to wait until Walston was ready to reveal who or what had just arrived. I felt a shiver go down my spine, and I knew then that Becka’s comment had been right.
The British military was going to need us to save their asses again.
Chapter 13
The mess tent was full, and I noticed that many of the soldiers were spending time with the children and the pets we’d rescued. It felt a bit like Christmas Eve, with the children running around and shouting while the adults mingled and hugged old friends they hadn’t seen in a while. It felt happy, even if we were standing on bare planks under a tent that had rapidly become stuffy as more people crowded in.
“Maybe we should come back later,” Becka suggested. “I think I might have a heatstroke if we stay in here.”
“Why don’t we walk around the grounds,” I suggested. “Take a look at what the army has set up. Maybe see if we can figure out where the bikes might be stored.”
“I like that plan better,” Hae-won agreed.
We backed out of the tent, and I found myself sucking in a deep breath once we were back outside. I hadn’t noticed how much the mess tent had started to smell until we were back outside in the clean air. Between sweaty adults and burnt curry, the mess was definitely going to need a good airing out before the next meal.
We started to wander slowly among the tents as we chatted, though we were each making our own mental maps of what was in each area. We found the medical station, and we stopped to say hi to Corporal Terry. He looked good and could even sit up on his own, and he happily informed us that Corporal Grant was already back on duty, though he wasn’t exactly sure where his fellow ex-prisoner was at the moment.
We were near the end of the army’s additions and closing in on the mystery building with all the pipes when one of the engineers we’d rescued from Coates waved at us from behind some of the equipment, checked for other people, and then ran over to us before we could leave. He was my height, though years in front of a computer had left him with a noticeable slouch. He was pasty white, and he had pale
blue eyes that floated around in a chubby-cheeked face with a double chin, all of it contained under a bright orange hardhat that managed to wash out his skin tone even more.
“I was hoping I would run into you,” he said breathlessly as he stopped in front of us.
“Have you just been lurking back here hoping we would walk by?” Becka asked.
“No,” I choked out as he tried to catch his breath. “I’m supposed to… be conducting… purity tests.”
“Oh, okay,” I said.
We waited for the engineer to catch his breath, and when he sounded less winded, he stuck out his hand, which I accepted. It was a limp handshake, and slightly damp, and I tried not to wipe my hands off on my pants afterwards.
“I’m Eugene Hepplewaite,” he said. “And I wanted to thank you for pulling us out of Coates.”
“We’re just glad everyone made it,” I said. “A couple of close moments, but you’re all still here.”
Hepplewaite nodded and looked around again. He confirmed we were still alone and inched closer.
“I saw that you brought those other families here,” he whispered.
“We didn’t really have a choice,” I said. “They broke away from the convoy, as I’m sure you know.”
“Well, yes,” he said. “But you could have insisted that the family members stay in their homes. I’m sure Walston would have done that.”
“Probably,” Becka agreed.
“The thing is, my family is close by as well,” he continued. “Even closer than the ones you brought in. But it wasn’t on the way back from Whittlesey, so I could hardly ask everyone to peel off and head for my house, especially when they were missing their own families. Well, Celia is. But they were all in Brighton for the holidays and are still there, as far as we know. George doesn’t have any family, except a sister in Nottingham, and they’re not especially close.”
“But you have a family?” Hae-won asked.