Most of the men now faced the exit door.
The young new leader kept speaking. “But this was no accident. Nuclear missiles don’t just happen to fall on a heavily-fortified bunker like this one. We made it into this place mere minutes before the US military tried to wipe America’s NORAD off the map.” He hung his glasses from the neck of his white polo shirt. “Now, I know what you’re thinking: they were trying to kill you and me. The crème of the forgotten nations south of America’s border.”
Men nodded. Some banged on the backs of their compadres. Ted drifted closer toward the hallway out of there.
“But it would be a big mistake. That fiction, that lie, is what we were supposed to think. It’s what men like him wanted you to believe.”
Ted froze when Rando’s attention went to him.
“Me?” Ted replied sheepishly.
“Come here, please,” Rando suggested, in a much too-friendly way.
The hallway was so close. If he ran… But he’d never make it. Worse, he’d instantly put his people at odds with the entire contingent of Banana Boys. It would be a hundred-to-one odds for Emily. So, trying not to sweat through his shirt, he walked toward Rando.
The man waited for him to arrive, and then put his arm around Ted as if they were old buddies. “The Legion,” Rando said in a thick Hispanic accent, almost ignoring the letter g. “This man is with the Legion. The group we signed up with.”
Rando took a long, hard look at Ted. He didn’t turn to meet his eyes, for fear he’d get into a battle of wills with the oily drug lord. If it was the two of them in a dark alley, he’d be happy to take him on. There, in the spacious cavern, with all those guns close by, it would be suicide. Instead, he smiled dumbly at the men in the crowd. Finally, after seemingly giving him a sunburn from the hard stare, Rando looked away.
“But he is not our enemy.”
Ted let out the breath he’d been holding.
“This man—” Rando slapped him on the chest with his free hand. “—is our new savior!”
A smattering of applause came out of the gathered crowd.
“Yes, this man would have died with you, my brothers, if he had not come inside this bunker and shut the outer blast door. He instructed us to get inside, take cover, close the inner door, too.”
Now the men were clapping more vigorously to honor Ted. It didn’t make him feel proud for saving them, though he allowed himself to pretend to be happy. He did, after all, save Emily and his new friends, too.
“But this man is the key. If he had not shown up to save us, I never would have figured out what this was all about.”
Ted gulped in another breath and held it. Rando was unpredictable.
After a dramatic pause, the man continued. “We were meant to die here. The doors were open for us to come inside. There was no one here guarding the gate. No one inside to greet us properly. David, in his infinite wisdom, decided great men like us, were as disposable as this man—” He motioned for Ted to give up his name.
“Ted Sock-draw-yay,” he said quietly, using the same name he’d given Mendoza.
“Theodore!” Rando belted out.
More cheers.
“And I don’t know about you, but when I’m double-crossed, I feel obligated—no, compelled—to pay back the compliment. This man, Theodore, is with us. He was betrayed, too. We’re going to use him to get out of this tin can, go find David in his cushy Lamar, Colorado, headquarters, and then…” Rando removed his arm from Ted’s shoulder, then rubbed the palms of his hands together as if grinding rocks into a fine powder. “We kill him.”
Everyone broke into applause. To keep up his fictional character, Ted did the same, but he remained vigilant. General Mendoza had been shot in the back of the head. It was done to capture power, but it also served as a warning to the others. Rando wasn’t a powerful drug kingpin because he taught kindergarten. He was a master killer.
Cheyenne Mountain Tunnels, CO
“This all looks familiar,” Audrey said, sounding worried.
“How so?” Tabby asked.
Peter chuffed with laughter. “Come on, Tabby. Don’t you see it? We’re back in a dank tunnel. It’s like you planned for us to be here with you.”
“Well, be glad I didn’t make you go down to the bottom of the last bunker. I found tunnels ten miles deep. That’s where David’s superweapon is located, in case I didn’t mention it.”
“You did, several times,” Audrey replied. It was true, they’d talked about their adventures from when they were separated by David’s guards. For Tabby, she was ecstatic to learn they were still alive, so she was excited to share what she’d done. She’d been shown around by David, met the trapped president, and was almost paired up with a handsome pioneer boy. By contrast, Peter and Audrey had spent most of their time in the jail cells, or being threatened with the white light, so it didn’t exactly make for a compelling story time.
She stopped in her tracks. Did she call Victor handsome?
“What is it?” Peter asked from a few paces behind.
Tabby noticed the wall was wet. Without thinking, she reached out to feel the water play over her hand. However, the instant she touched it, she recoiled. “It’s hot!”
Everyone moved away from the wall.
“Seriously?” Audrey asked. “How can it be hot?”
Tabby diligently wiped a palm on her jeans. She’d never experienced warm water seeping through the cracks at Bonne Terre. It was always colder than the surrounding rock, as if it had come from a refrigerator. For it to be hot…
“Nuke water,” Peter declared.
She and Audrey looked at him.
“Yeah,” he continued. “The nuke went off close by. It probably superheated the underground water table between us and the outside. Maybe it superheated the liquid, like those geysers at Yellowstone Park.”
Tabby’s eyes sprung open in surprise at what he’d said.
“What?” Peter replied to her shocked demeanor. “I do pay attention in school on occasion. I thought science was pretty cool.”
Audrey playfully punched him in the side, impressed.
“Well, I just hope it wasn’t radioactive.” She wiped her hand again, realizing how futile it probably was. “If it is, though, I think we’re all in trouble. This entire hallway is wet.” Ahead, the floor was damp, too.
No one seemed anxious to continue.
“Should we keep going?” she finally asked.
No one replied for thirty seconds, but Audrey finally spoke up. “Can I just say something? If this tunnel goes down into a lake, I’m not going in this time. Whatever happens to us, be it starving, or having a roof cave in, I’m not dying by swimming in an underground lake. I’ve done it one time in my life, and I think I deserve one of those challenge coin thingies to commemorate it. I’ll never do it again.”
Tabby looked ahead. The floor did seem to slope down. It was entirely possible there could be more water in that direction. However, the tunnel had been created for something. It was smaller than the rest of the complex, and the dim lights were a bit creepy, but she still had hope it might take her toward an exit. If so, the three of them would be the heroes again. They could save lives.
And, if the water was radioactive, it was even more reason to press on and get it over with. It meant the very walls of their fortress were in danger of killing the survivors.
She took a few steps forward. “Come on. I promise we’re not going to go swimming.”
Peter and Audrey followed.
She hoped not to make a liar of herself.
CHAPTER 6
Hoover Dam, NV
“I’m sorry, I’m not calling my CO to tell him a civilian needs to have a chat.” Avery was less friendly than he’d been a moment ago.
Kyla wasn’t backing down. “This civilian saved your precious facility, remember? This civilian has had contact with Emily Williams, your new commanding officer. This civilian has actually taken the fight to the enemy server, uh, base.
” As a programmer, she was familiar with server farms, but she couldn’t get the words out. The need to explain such obvious things to the colonel made her face get hot with anger. “I only need a couple of minutes of his time. Please.”
“Why don’t we talk about it, then—” he started to say.
“No! We don’t have time for bullshit. I need—"
Avery spun around in his chair again, leaving her to face his backside.
She was tempted to grab the man’s shoulder and spin him once more. It was a proactive approach Meechum would probably take to get what she wanted. However, even Meechum had respect for the chain of command. Maybe she would counsel her to find a different approach.
Kyla keyed up the microphone again. “Uncle Ted. Come in. Please. I need to know you’re alive.” She waited a suitable time, then repeated her message.
After about ten more minutes, she took a break.
Avery had turned to face her.
“What?” she said with more snark than she’d intended.
The colonel sighed. “I’m making a scheduled report to headquarters in five minutes. I’m willing to mention you are here. If my commander wants to speak to you, that will be up to him.”
“But—”
Avery’s hand shot up to stop her. “It’s the best I can do.”
She took it. “Thank you.”
The next ten minutes were torture as Kyla listened to the minutia of two men talking about ammo, fuel, and food for the team defending the Hoover Dam. Then they went into the grid coordinates and strength of the Blackout force heading their way. They spoke lots of words she didn’t understand, and she came to wonder if it was coded messaging or if the military had a lingo that was a language all its own. She lost interest until Avery mentioned her name.
“Kyla Justice is one of the survivors who escaped the effects of the weapon. She was based in the lower decks of the John F. Kennedy. She has volunteered to share her knowledge of how to survive the effects of the weapon.”
“Negative, Team Yankee, we already know most of the effects are canceled by approximately thirty inches of metal, or ten yards of solid rock. We’ve had unmanned drones reporting data since the event.”
Kyla saw her opportunity slip away. She yelled, hoping the general would hear her. “Is there another way into NORAD?”
Avery smiled sympathetically. “I have to key the microphone.”
“Just ask him. Please!” Now she was tempted to pull a Meechum and physically assault the man to get what she wanted, but success seemed an unlikely outcome. Even worse, she’d probably end up in jail for doing it.
The colonel was a reasonable man, she had to admit. He’d done as he’d promised and asked if his CO was interested in speaking with her. Maybe she was the one who was acting crazy.
“Please,” she repeated, much calmer.
Avery turned to the mic. “Sir, before I sign off, is there any way to find out if the NORAD complex under Cheyenne Mountain has an emergency exit? We, ah, might be able to monitor that area in case there are friendly survivors.”
The line was silent for ten or fifteen seconds.
“We’ll get back to you,” the voice on the radio replied.
Kyla was willing to wait on the line for the answer, but Avery quickly wrapped up the call and tabled the microphone. When he looked at her, the image on his face conveyed that he’d done his best, but Kyla had also pushed her luck.
There was only one thing she could do.
Wait.
Cheyenne Mountain, CO
Ted walked away from Rando and his posse feeling like a hero. Not only because he’d survived a nuclear blast and went ten rounds with Rando’s life-or-death speech, but also because he’d protected those he cared about. When he walked back toward the underground office building and caught sight of Emily, he broke into a run.
“What happened?” she blurted. “We heard gunshots.”
One of the white-clad prisoners held Ted’s rifle but offered it up as soon as he arrived. The man who held it nodded and said his name was Jacob.
“Thanks, Jacob,” he said, returning his focus immediately to Emily. “You aren’t going to believe this, but the whole convoy of bad guys from down south came to the conclusion David brought them here to kill them. They want, more than anything else, to get out of here, hunt him down, and get their revenge.”
Emily seemed surprised. “It’s exactly what you said. Did you convince them to think your way?” She smiled, as if proud of his skills at playing the part of the bad guys.
“I wish I could say it was all me, but I actually thought they were going to kill me for being with David. A man called Rando shot that fat general, then took over. All I did was nod my head in agreement with whatever he said. It was an odd feeling being at the mercy of a madman.”
“What about us?” Jacob asked sensibly.
Ted looked at the ex-prisoners, but noticed the young girl dressed in blue wasn’t around. He figured she was one of those still inside the offices rather than out in the small lobby.
“I told them we were all David’s workers, but we’d happily join their crusade to kill the man who betrayed us.”
Jacob nodded thoughtfully. “That’s my exact story, you know.”
“Seriously?” he replied.
“Yep. I was an organizer out in San Francisco. I brought the men out of the shipping containers. Got them dressed. Fed. Put them on motorbikes. And so forth. But I made the mistake of letting some of you Americans into my outfit. For that, David sent me to die with you.”
Ted eyed him warily. “Are you going to be a problem?”
Jacob raised his arms in mock surrender. “I just gave you the rifle back. As I said, many of you are pretending David betrayed you. In my case, it really happened.”
Ted didn’t trust him, but the cave was filled to the brim with strangers he didn’t trust. The only people he felt safe around were the teens, and they were nowhere to be seen. Oddly, the guy with the bird on his shoulder wasn’t visible, either. He was someone who always stood out in a crowd.
Back on task, Ted tried to rally his troops by leaning purposefully against the rock. “Look, we’re literally against the wall here. We have the trust of those men for now, but if we don’t make something happen, this giant cavern is going to shrink for us. The men from the convoy brought some of their own food, but most of it was still in their trucks, which are somewhere between the inner and outer doors. We have to come up with a plan.”
“Get the hell out of here,” Emily said dryly.
“Exactly,” Ted continued. “To do that, we either need to find the exit ourselves, find some military manual which reveals all the secrets of this place, or we need to get in touch with someone on the outside to come dig us out.”
“No one will dig inside a nuclear waste pile,” Jacob said dejectedly.
“If we could get a hold of a person in an overseas military base, I’m sure we could find people who know a thing or two about this mountain. There are probably thousands of men and women with elevated clearance who spent time inside this place. Know where the skeletons are kept.” She laughed, obviously trying to keep people from freaking out.
He snapped his fingers. “And they’ll know a thing or two about the other base in Lamar.”
“So, all we have to do is find the radio room. How hard can it be?” Emily turned to the three long office buildings. “It has to be in one of those, right?”
Ted split his attention between the offices and the hallway back toward the front. He still didn’t trust Rando not to come barreling down the tunnel and take them all prisoner, but it wasn’t happening at that moment. The passage was clear.
“Fine. Spread out, guys. Find us a radio and maybe we can still survive this.”
Emily grabbed his hand, suggesting in her unspoken way that she had her doubts.
Cheyenne Mountain Tunnels, CO
He’d followed Blue Girl and her two friends when they’d tried to sneak out of the
offices. At first, he was curious to see where they went, figuring they might lead him to a supply of food. It wasn’t unusual to find the stashes of other homeless people. Sometimes there were good things among the granola bars and bottled waters. Things like booze.
The bird squawked on his shoulder, as if reading his mind.
“No, I don’t need booze anymore. Not today, at least. But, come on, you know it would hit the spot if someone were to shove it at us.” He let that sink in for a moment, wondering whether it was true. He’d never felt as alert and awake, dare he say alive, as when he’d emerged from David’s cube of white light. But since he’d woken up in the new day, he’d had his doubts if any of it was real. A bit of the shine was gone. And he found the old craving for liquor was still lurking in the deep crevices of his mind.
Dwight was thrilled to find the water pouring out of the walls. It wasn’t the good stuff, but he was thirsty from sweating his grapes off in the hot tunnel. He stuck his face under one of the rivulets pouring from the ceiling and took a deep pull. He gulped water down for a ten count. His bird, unwilling to sit in the stream, flew down to the ground to wait him out.
“Oh yeah, Kool-Aid!” he declared, thinking of the TV commercial from his childhood.
Dwight was tempted to remove his clothes and take an impromptu shower, as he had no recollection of the last time he’d cleaned up. The water even had a little warmth too it, which he figured would have been a billion times better than the cold punches of hydrant water which used to pass for showers back on San Francisco’s streets.
The kids kept him moving. Once they’d gone down the long, red-lit tunnel, his passive desire to cash in on what they found morphed into real concern that they’d get themselves in trouble. Poppy insisted he follow them to make sure they stayed safe.
“But I can share in whatever they find,” he whispered to her.
A bird’s chirp seemed to come from behind him, but when he turned, there was nothing there. Poppy waddled toward him on the ground at his side. He squatted down and pointed to his shoulder, surprised as ever she jumped right on.
Minus America | Book 5 | Hostile Shores Page 4