by Hunt, Jack
He was playing Russian roulette with their lives but remaining on there would have meant certain death. Before they hit the cold water, the last thing he heard was her shriek shattered by a hellish explosion.
Gunnar could tell why the Mississippi River was nicknamed the Big Muddy as it was darker than dark beneath the water. He immediately felt the pull of the strong current, twisting and turning his body while he kept a firm grip on Zhang. The current might have saved them by pulling them away from the collapsing carnage and yet at the same time, it had the potential to drown them.
Every attempt to go up only led to them being dragged farther under.
Unable to hold his breath any longer, he gulped water, as did Zhang.
Instinctively, she thrashed, her will to survive taking over. One moment they were battling darkness and the junk of the Mississippi River, the next forced up as a wave created by the bridge spread wide. They breached the surface together just in time to witness piles of steel disappearing below the water.
Choking and gasping for air they continued being swept downriver, out of control until the water seemed to settle.
“Get off me!” she yelled, twisting and slapping at his wrist.
“You want to drown?”
“Get off.”
He released her and she shoved herself away, swimming hard for the shoreline on the Illinois side. Gunnar trod water for a moment or two before following. Wading out of the river, soaked to the bone, dripping water, Zhang staggered, taking a few steps before collapsing in exhaustion. Several more explosions lit up the night sky as Gunnar clambered out and joined her a few feet away. Zhang was on her knees, coughing hard, spitting water. The glow of the blaze reflected off the wet rocks and boulders around them. They squinted into the flames as what was left of the bridge sank.
“Are you okay?” he asked, genuinely concerned.
Expecting to receive a backlash of hate, he was surprised when all she did was look at him. Breathing hard he climbed to his feet and surveyed the surroundings to gauge where he was. The current had taken them a short way down, not too far. He could just make out the white grain tower, hundreds of yards away.
“Why?” Zhang asked, dropping her chin.
Gunnar turned toward her, running a hand down his arm to squeeze out the water.
“Why what?”
“Why did you risk your life after all I’ve done to you and the resistance?”
He stared back with a deadpan expression. “Because you’re still my daughter, and I’m still your father. That will never change.” He held his gaze for a moment before stumbling over rocks and up onto the sandy embankment. He hadn’t gotten but a few yards when he heard the sound of a gun racking. Gunnar cast a glance over his shoulder to see Zhang pointing her handgun at him. He stopped moving. “Do what you have to do. I’m done fighting with you,” he said as he turned away and took a few more steps The gun erupted, once, twice, four times. He looked back and saw her holding it in the air, her arm trembling, her face twisting in pain as the dam that held in her emotions broke.
Zhang dropped back to her knees, tears rolling down her cheeks. Gunnar stood there for a second longer before making his way over and crouching beside her. He hesitantly placed a hand on her back but that only made her wail louder. Gunnar nodded, glancing over at what was left of the bridge as Zhang pressed into his body, hugging him tightly, unloading all the pain she’d been carrying.
He said nothing as he ran a hand through her hair.
“I’m sorry,” she tearfully said. “I’m sorry.”
“So am I.”
After remaining there for an unknown number of minutes, eventually, Zhang pulled herself together and rose. “Did you come with others?”
“Follow me.”
As they strolled back through the woods, Zhang was curious to know how he’d managed to escape the Death Dealers, and what had become of Santiago and his crew.
He updated her.
In exchange, Gunnar learned a lot in the ten minutes or so it took them to return to the grain plant. Some of what she shared confirmed his belief that communication between towns was limited and with the power down, most, if not all communication was done over shortwave radio or in person. This offered both advantages and disadvantages. It meant that not everyone was in the know about Santiago’s demise or his escape or the advancement of offshore troops. It was the reason why many of the American people had bought into the lies of the PLA. If it hadn’t been for the broadcasts by Liberty Radio, the lies of the enemy would have been the only voice they’d heard.
The fact was, barring certain towns, there had been a shift toward Chicago, a calling of troops back to the Windy City and the surrounding states. That’s why more towns like Hannibal were forming. It wasn’t because they had taken a stand and overcome unfair odds. On the contrary, groups were waking up to the plan that Gunnar had told Miles about. It was becoming more and more obvious with each passing day. It was hard not to notice the withdrawal of troops from small towns and cities.
And yet what the American people didn’t realize was the PLA were acting in a way much like a tsunami, pulling back, building strength, getting all their ducks in a row before they unleashed a final wave of destruction that would spread out to the remaining states of the Midwest.
As the two of them strolled up the road and came into view of the group, who appeared to be in a heated conversation, a few of them noticed, turned to the others and before long all eyes were on them.
Slowly but surely the crowd parted and Arianna caught sight of them.
Bursting into tears, she sprinted toward them, stopping a few feet away, unsure, the same way he’d been. Fortunately, Zhang made the first move and opened her arms and embraced Arianna. Looking over her shoulder, she stared at Gunnar in surprise and mouthed the words thank you.
He gave a nod, his gaze shifting to the faces of the group. “Where’s Miles?” he asked Snow as he approached. He pointed off toward the tree line. “Last I saw, he went that way.”
“Get these people into the woodland. The PLA will be here soon and we can’t be seen in the open. It will raise too many questions.” Snow nodded and raised his voice, instructing, and leading the people.
Arianna lifted a finger. “Gunnar.”
“I’ll be right back,” he said to Arianna.
He took off jogging and waded his way through heavy brush. It was dark but once inside the woodland he could make out the silhouette of Miles standing by the river’s edge. Even as he approached he didn’t turn.
“I’m sure I trained you better than this,” Gunnar said.
Miles turned, first looking confused, then a smile spread.
“Now don’t you go crying on me,” he said as Miles hurried over full of questions.
“How the? What the…? But I…”
“I’m like a cat with nine lives, Miles. Though I get a strange feeling I don’t have many left.” They both chuckled and Gunnar grabbed a hold of him and gave him a manly pat on the back. They cleared their throats and stepped back from each other.
“And Zhang?”
“With the group,” Gunnar said. “Come on, we need to leave.”
Upon returning to the group, who were hidden inside the woodland at the back of the grain plant, they found them huddled together in deep discussion. “Here they are,” Snow said, breaking away from them. “You need to hear this.”
“What is it?”
Zhang stepped forward. “Your group told me that a team has gone into Chicago to extract the first lady.” She paused. “They’re walking into a trap.”
“What?” Miles asked. “No, we got intel directly from Darius.”
“He works for the PLA. The first lady is dead. I saw her body with my own eyes.”
Miles looked at Gunnar. “That bastard! That’s why he survived Branson. He never did tell us how he got out. He led Palmer and the rest of those guys to their deaths. He knew Maddox would send in more to find and extract him. That’s why A
rlo requested an army. They were hoping to draw in more of the resistance.”
Gunnar turned to Snow, tapping his hand against his leg. “So we just need to get in contact with John Murphy, update him, tell them to pull out.”
“It’s too late,” Snow replied. “By now they’re already there. Murphy went with them.”
Gunnar shifted from one foot to the next, placing a hand on his head and running it to the back of his neck to work out the tension. “If it’s not one thing it’s another. Shit.”
“We could go and help,” a few from the group said.
“And risk us all dying? No,” Gunnar replied.
That’s when Zhang turned to Miles. “Gunnar said August is your half-brother? That right?”
It was odd to look at the woman who had tried to kill him back in Camdenton. He nodded. “Well, he’s there too. In Chicago. He’s assisting General Yong.”
Miles felt a sinking feeling in his gut. If his father hadn’t said anything he wouldn’t have cared, especially after seeing August execute Scarlett in front of him, but now this was different, he was blood, even if he had been deceived by Mayor Jefferies.
20
The situation was dire. All of them knew that the air force was on standby waiting for news of the attack. Once it was received, they would take advantage of the opportunity and blitz Chicago in a hail of bombs. Although they could tell them to hold off while they tried to get the others out, the chances of that happening were slim. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. The longer they held off, the greater the chance that the PLA in Chicago would be alerted and escape before the U.S. hit back. Timing was everything. The commander and generals were gathered together in one place. There hadn’t been an ambush of this magnitude since the war broke out.
The group was divided. Alexander, a spokesman for Murphy, the same one who had said he was going to detonate the bridge with or without Gunnar on there, was itching to make the call. This was the moment the resistance had been waiting for. The annihilation of top officials. Striking a blow like this would be akin to taking the head off the snake. With no generals left, and the commander taken out, the enemy’s troops would be like sheep without a shepherd. The herd mentality relied on leadership. Without the governing factor that had made them effective, the rest would crumble.
“This is no different than the situation we were in twenty minutes ago,” Alexander said. “Murphy would have us make the call.”
They could argue but they knew he was right.
“The longer we delay, the higher chance the PLA and Russian troops have of pulling out.”
“But will they?” Miles asked. “Just as we have worked this hard to get where we are, so have they.”
Alexander continued, “The troops might remain but the generals will disperse. No, our military has to know about this so they can strike while the iron is hot. Besides, we are a four-hour drive from Chicago, and that’s if we don’t stop or run into trouble and you can be damn sure they have checkpoints on every road into the city.” He addressed the rest of them. “I want Murphy to survive just as much as you do but if he was in our position now, he would make the call. If we don’t, the PLA will. I wouldn’t be surprised if they already have which means the window is closing the longer we hash this out.”
Miles’ train of thought was going a million miles a minute.
“The intel we received about the train, and our air force striking Chicago, that came from POTUS, right?”
Alexander nodded.
“Give me a minute and then you can make the call.”
“Hurry up,” Alexander replied as Miles broke away from the group, needing some space to think. Gunnar walked over and joined him by a collection of boulders covered in moss. He looked out into the darkness, staring at the reflection of the moon shimmering on the surface of the river.
“What are you thinking?” Gunnar asked.
“That he’s right. They’ll level that city.”
Miles let out a heavy sigh.
“What is it?”
“Before I knew my father was alive, I knew what it felt like to have no family. To know someone was to blame for their deaths only compounded my grief.”
Gunnar knew who he was speaking about as he replied, “He killed Scarlett.”
“And you killed Demar. We are all guilty in some way of lashing out whether it be justified or not. In his shoes, I might have done the same. I have to see him.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s my brother.”
“Half.”
“We share the same mother, that’s enough for me.”
“Miles. Do you understand what you are suggesting?”
“I figure we have a few hours before the air force make it there.”
“And how do you expect to get from here to there? You heard him. We are four hours away.”
“The same way our forces will.”
“By air? But we are miles from the resistance, and by the time they get here—”
“There’s aircraft not far from here,” Mile said, cutting him off. “I saw a helicopter come in for a landing while we were waiting.”
“And you have your pilot’s license?”
“No, but Jensen does. We are already in Illinois. By ground, it’s four hours, by helicopter we can be there in less than two.”
He stared back at him in disbelief. “It’s suicide. Even if you made it there in time, you would have less than an hour, tops, to get in, find them and get out. They won’t hold off for you.”
“That’s where Zhang comes into it.”
Gunnar raised a hand. “No. No. No! I didn’t just go to all that trouble to have you put her life in danger again.”
“I wasn’t suggesting taking her with me. She knows where August is in Chicago.”
“And the resistance?” Gunnar asked.
Miles sighed. “Look, once we are within range, we will alert them. Jensen will drop me in and I’ll go alone. No one else needs to be endangered.”
“Well that’s very noble of you, Miles, but I think you are overlooking one big factor.” Gunnar looked back through the trees and blew out his cheeks. “As much as I want to believe her apology was heartfelt. You are suggesting that we trust her?”
“Yes. If she wanted to give us up, Gunnar, she would have done it by now.”
He shook his head and gritted his teeth. “It’s too risky.”
“As was your decision to head onto that bridge for Zhang. I know she’s your daughter but not by blood, and yet that didn’t stop you. August is my brother. Half. Full. Even if he wasn’t blood. I grew up with that kid. He deserves to know the truth, that Morgan lied. That his father wasn’t murdered by me.”
Gunnar scoffed. “So you’re going to tell him that I killed him?”
“No.”
“Then how’s that truth?”
“It’s not a lie. The only ones who know you killed him are you and me, and unless you plan on telling him, as far as I’m concerned, Demar couldn’t live with the guilt of being involved in the death of my mother and so he killed himself.”
“Can you live with that?”
“I don’t need to. You do,” he said, putting it back to him as ultimately it was Gunnar who took Demar’s life. If anyone had to decide to tell August it was him. As far as Miles was concerned, Demar had taken his own life and Morgan believed that but had skewed the truth to make it look like Miles had killed him. Some secrets needed to remain that way. “Besides, you told me when you were drugged up. Delirious. You said a lot of crazy stuff. Who’s to say what you told me was true?”
Gunnar smiled. “Miles. It was.”
He shrugged. “What is true and what a person believes is true can be worlds apart.”
Gunnar chewed it over, picking pieces of moss off the boulder and flicking them.
“And the call to the military?”
“They still believe the first lady is there. We simply hold off telling them the truth until I’m in.
”
“You can’t do that, Miles.”
“We were going to before Zhang told us. Nothing’s changed. It will buy us some time to get in.”
“And if the PLA here alert Chicago first?”
“Well, that’s war, right. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don’t.”
Gunnar stared back, still chewing it over. “I can’t go with you. With Zhang and Arianna. I just…”
“It’s all right. I understand,” Miles replied, he placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Just do me one favor?”
“Anything.”
“Keep Lucius with you.”
Gunnar laughed.
Through the trees, Alexander hollered to them. “Are we done here?”
Miles looked at Gunnar. “Well? Are we?”
The hard part was getting Alexander to agree. He still got to make that call, it just wouldn’t happen until Miles and Jensen were in the sky. That’s where the rest of them came in. Armed, and fired up to deliver another blow to the remaining PLA soldiers in Niota, they would provide cover as Miles and Jensen made a beeline for the farmland on the northwest side of Niota. From the shadows of the woodland close to the bridge, the group divided, ten going south, the next ten heading west to provide cover as Miles broke out of the tree line, and the other twenty would hold off attacks from the town.
“If you’re not in the air in ten minutes, I’m placing the call,” Alexander said.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Miles replied, patting him on the back. He gave a nod to the group of ten, shouldered his rifle, and moved out, releasing a rapid three-round burst. The suddenness of their attack caught the soldiers off guard, none of them had their rifles up and so they were quickly cut down with ease.
Although initially yielding success, their gunfire drew the attention of more soldiers farther south. That’s where the second group came into play, unleashing hell upon them as Miles and Jensen made their way across the road. They crossed the railway tracks and used cutters to get through a chain-link fence before continuing, sprinting across a field with their group of ten.