Mike and I looked at the map, showing the exact location of David’s property.
“No, fellas. It wasn’t Vlad, before you ask. Things have changed, but we’re still the United States Military. If I want to find someone, I will.”
My mind was numb with the realization that they knew where we were all along.
“Now, about Ronna,” continued the Colonel. “I believe you’ve earned an explanation of sorts,” he said, looking at Mike.
“Ronna and I go way back, all the way to Nam. For the past ten years he has led an agency that essentially does not exist and has answered to only a handful of people, including me. He was placed out in the grasslands alone, without weapons of any kind, as a test to see if he could amass a following after that day, posing as the ‘coffee guy,’ as you say.
“As for the helicopter incident, there are men that need dropping, but he’s not one of them.”
“So, it was your guys who showed up in his defense at Capulin?” I asked, already knowing.
“Are you working with the Baker guy?” I continued, hoping I wasn’t pushing my luck.
“Yes, we helped Ronna out a bit at Capulin. And nope, that guy Baker is an idiot. I’m sure you heard he calls himself a Colonel.”
“We did hear that and doubted it from the start,” I told him.
“One more question, gentlemen,” the Colonel continued.
I had ten more ready to fire but kept my mouth shut.
“Why is Baker still around if he’s causing trouble?” asked Mike, “and how did you know where our camp was?”
The Colonel smiled. “That’s two questions!
“To the first one, he has friends in high places somehow. But they are getting tired of his actions, so his days may be numbered. For now, he and my guy will work together, I guess.
“Sunset’s at 6:45, gentlemen. We’ve got 5:55 right now,” said the Colonel, looking at his watch.
“Do you boys want to stay here tonight?” he asked, waiting for us to come up with three valid excuses. “Let’s get some supper, and we will drop you guys off on my way back to base,” he added, walking out of the tent toward the mess hall.
Vlad was joking around with the Colonel, creating a distraction as I spoke to Mike.
“What does he mean, drop us off?” I asked. “It’s not like he’s going to Uber us home.”
“And we have the truck,” replied Mike, shrugging his shoulders. “I think we need to follow along, since I don’t see we have many choices in the matter.”
Supper was better than lunch, and it was interesting to see how the men learned to pile the plate high, melding various dishes together without spilling over the edge.
“Now that’s an art,” Mike said to me, pointing to the tallest plate with mixed dishes of pasta, burgers, French fries, salad and desert.
“Well, it’s all going to end up in the same place,” I replied, laughing.
Vlad and I were both on crutches, but he was making me look bad. I guessed he had been getting around like this for a bit longer.
It was odd seeing his missing leg, and I had a conscious flashback of the deer coming over the truck, flailing its legs like some kind of cartoon.
I guessed that in the old-world he would have probably kept his leg. Now I wondered if something minor only a few weeks ago, like a simple cut or contusion, could become life-threatening.
I chewed something hard while biting into my lasagna and felt a shooting pain in an upper left tooth.
“Ow,” I said out loud, putting my hand up to my mouth. Something pointed was on my tongue and I opened my mouth, dropping my old silver filling onto the table below.
“I’m guessing you would like to get that looked at while you’re here,” said the Colonel. I nodded my head yes, forgetting all about the food in front of me.
At the Colonel’s command, a guard led me back to the Medical tents. The pain was sharp and increased with each breath. Led to an open dental-type chair in the very back of the tent hospital, the guard left me waiting.
“What do we have here?” asked a soft voice. “I’m Dr. Porter, and the Colonel has asked me to take a look at your tooth.”
The pain was intense, and I had a flashback to the movie with Tom Hanks stranded alone on a remote island, with that soccer ball he called Wilson. There was a scene when Hank’s character has an abscessed tooth, and his only recourse was to knock it out with the blade of an ice skate.
“What kind of doctor are you?” I asked.
“Let me take a look,” she said, not answering my question. “Oh, that’s bad,” she continued, shining a bright light into my face.
“Aren’t you supposed to keep that information to yourself?” I asked, only kind of joking.
“Are you paying me for this service?” she asked.
“Point taken,” I responded. “Can you fix it?”
“Oh no,” she replied. “That tooth has to come out.”
“Of course it does,” I replied shortly, wondering what else could happen today.
“You’re lucky this didn’t happen out in the bush,” she said.
“I’m sorry,” I told her. “You’re right. It’s just that the timing sucks, and I was hoping to get home tonight.”
“You will,” she said, with a wink.
“How’s that?” I asked, nearly slurring my words.
“The Colonel and I are kind of a thing,” she whispered. “And I happen to know that since your friend won the fight and gave my man the chance to spar in front of his men, he will get you all home safe.”
“But it’s already almost dark,” I told her.
“Birds fly in the dark,” she replied, smiling.
“Let’s get you numbed,” she said, giving me several injections around the tooth. I relaxed as the medication kicked in, numbing the entire side of my face and nearly taking away my pain.
“No laughing gas?” I asked.
“No, not this time. Hang tight,” she told me, returning a few minutes later with a pliers-type tool. I felt the twisting and heard periodontal ligament around the tooth snap as pressure was slowly increased.
As a teenager, I had my wisdom teeth extracted but I was completely sedated, waking up only after the procedure. I remember them putting an IV in my arm and injecting a cold liquid into my veins, asking me to count down from 100. I remember thinking about starting to count when I went under.
Cracking and crunching, thrusting the tooth side-to-side, she took it with one final pull. “Got it,” she said proudly, holding up the bloodied, misshapen tooth. “I’ll pack you with some gauze and that should do for now. Do you have someone that can check on this daily for the next week or two?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, trying not to drool out of the corner of my mouth. Five minutes later, I was headed back to the mess hall with no more appetite.
The clock read 7:12, and it was going to be dark in another hour. Two guys with crutches headed across the potentially hostile country in the dark, I thought.
“Maybe we should stay just one night,” I told Mike. “It’s going to be hell getting back in the dark.”
“No worries, boys. I have to get back to Denver, and I already told you we could drop you off on the way,” said the Colonel, overhearing me.
“With all due respect, Colonel, even if you could chopper us home, we can’t just leave the truck,” said Mike.
“You boys ever heard of a Boeing CH-47 Chinook?”
“No, sir,” we replied.
“It just so happens to be a twin-engine tandem rotary helicopter that can carry 30-50 troops and a total of 26,000 pounds. I’m pretty sure we can drop you boys and your little truck off at your place on my way back to Denver.”
“Can we get just a minute, Colonel?” I asked, sounding funny even to myself with my face still half numb.
“Sure. Let me know when you’re ready,” replied the Colonel.
Talking quietly with Vlad and Mike, we discussed our options. Mike was fine with driving home i
n the dark, but Vlad and I considered the free ride.
“They already know where we are at, and it can’t hurt to have a US Colonel as a friend,” I said. “Plus, I think he likes Vlad more than most of his men here.”
“It’s going to be crazy landing a military helicopter in our camp,” pointed out Mike.
“That’s true,” I agreed. “But besides you, I can’t think of anyone in our camp that would consider taking on a fight with one.”
Mike smiled and replied, “I was ready back when we first met the Colonel, but I see your point. It’s been a long day anyway, and I want to see my girl and little boy,” he continued, yawning.
“Thank you for your invitation, Colonel,” said Vlad. “We would be happy to be your guests on such a flight.”
“That’s good to hear, since they are getting ready to load your truck as we speak,” added the Colonel.
“Let’s go, let’s go,” ordered the soldiers, loading us into the gigantic helicopter, already filled with at least 20 soldiers.
“We’ve got four civilians and the Colonel,” called a pilot over the radio.
The helicopter lifted slowly, hovering for nearly five minutes near the ground.
“We’re good to go,” called one of the pilots over the radio.
“Why all the troops?” I asked the Colonel.
“We have multiple stops,” he replied, “but yours is first. I want to talk to your group for just a few minutes,” he continued, not asking permission.
“Sure,” I replied. “I’m sure they are still awake.”
“If not, a big-ass helicopter and a dead man walking, at least on crutches, should do the trick!” added an excited Vlad.
My concerns about the helicopter seeing clearly at night were calmed by the multiple spotlights lighting up the land below.
“Aren’t you concerned about being a target up here?” Mike asked the Colonel.
“No, not really. Nobody has the balls to fire first on a machine like this,” replied the Colonel.
I wasn’t sure of the approach we would take, but as the crow flies it put us right over the group on the opposite side of the river. Slowing, I could see movement below out of the side window.
“That’s the…” said Mike, pointing down to their tents. “Wait until they see us landing in this thing on our side of the river!”
Less than a minute later, the movement below was from our group. “Nice and easy, guys,” I said quietly, wishing I had thought to try the radio sooner.
It was too late now, with Lonnie out front but recognizing his truck being slowly lowered to the ground.
“Nobody gets off,” called the Colonel to the soldiers onboard, “except for you, Doctor,” he said, smiling at his girlfriend who had pulled my tooth.
As the ramp was lowered, Mike made sure Vlad and I got off safely. Walking around on crutches was one thing, but exiting a helicopter with a ramp was a whole other ballgame. Everyone was waiting with wide eyes, never expecting this.
The Colonel tasked two of his men with unloading the promised coolers of food.
The crowd quieted, and for the second time our group met one of the top ten most powerful men in this country. The Colonel and his girlfriend exited with us and met most of our group with a handshake.
The kids were mesmerized by the biggest machine, flying or not, they had ever seen, and right then Hudson wanted to be a pilot when he grew up.
A small group of us, including me, Mike, Vlad, David, Lonnie and Jake met privately with the Colonel and his lady friend. Joy, Nancy and Sheila attended as well.
“Officially,” the Colonel started, “you all are afforded protection by the United States Military only in our designated FEMA camps. Unofficially, I like you folks. Vlad is still the same smartass we met when you were all out on the road, but I’ve come to appreciate his humor.
“Mike, you remind me of my younger days, and I think we are a lot alike.” Well, not exactly, I thought. “And Lance, it takes some stones to take a road trip so soon after being shot.
“As for the rest of you, there are people coming your way, as I’m sure you already know. One leader works for me, and the other does not.
“Once again, I cannot offer you complete protection outside of our official camps, but I will also not stand by idly if you are under attack. I will meet for a few minutes with your radio operators and instruct them on how to reach me, should the need arise…and only under dire circumstances.
“Except you, Vlad. Get in touch with me every now and then so we can shoot the shit.” Handing Vlad a brown paper bag, he walked to meet the radio operators.
Vlad laughed, opening the crumpled bag, revealing one unopened 750ml bottle of Beluga Gold Line Vodka. There was a card on it, reading “Happy Birthday, Colonel” and signed “Vladimir Putin / October 25, 2013.”
“Mr. Putin has good taste, no?” said Vlad, inspecting the bottle.
Twenty minutes later, the massive helicopter lifted into the air, flying high above the tree line, headed north.
* * * * * * *
Chapter Seventeen
Raton Pass, New Mexico
Vlad told stories of his time at the camp, having to be occasionally reminded about not cussing in front of the children.
“Where’s your leg?” asked Hudson.
“Hudson,” I told him. “Let’s not...”
“Oh, it’s OK,” replied Vlad. “The leg is no more,” he added, flapping the bottom half of his right pant leg.
“Yes, I see. But where is it?” Hudson asked again.
“All right, Hud,” as I sometimes called him. “That’s enough questions for now.”
“Actually,” replied Vlad, “it’s a valid question, and I don’t know what happened to it. Maybe it’s in my pocket?” pretending to check his front pockets. “No, it’s not there.”
“What about in your back pocket?” asked Jax.
“Not there either,” joked Vlad.
“I’ll need to take a look at your leg in the morning,” chimed in Nancy. “And it’s time for bed, Danny,” she added.
I could tell Vlad was concerned about little Danny’s appearance, since he hadn’t seen him in a while.
The rest of us had already seen him with his facial bandages off. His wounds from the grass fire were healing well, but it was obvious to all that he would never look the same.
Only recently could Hudson sleep on his back, even for a few minutes, I thought, and Danny’s burns were pretty severe, requiring him to sleep that way every night.
David and Jake got Vlad over to Beatrice’s house to sleep on Mel’s old couch until they could find something more suitable.
“It’s good to be back,” Vlad told them. “Did you know that Mike won my freedom in a boxing match?”
“I look forward to hearing all about it tomorrow,” said David. “Welcome home, Vlad!”
* * * *
My leg was killing me, and I opted for one pill before bed, not believing how long of a day it had been.
“There was a boxing match, a few actually, and a tornado, and I even got my tooth pulled,” I told our boys.
“Oh, stop it, Lance,” said Joy. “You have only been gone for one day.”
“Mike won Vlad’s freedom by beating the reigning light heavyweight champion in four rounds by knockout. You had a bad storm here around 3 p.m. today, right?” She nodded her head yes. “And here’s where my tooth used to be,” I said, holding my mouth open and shining my flashlight on it.
“You are serious!” she said. “That’s one heck of a day!”
“Yes, it was. Plus, a free ride on the coolest helicopter I’ve ever seen—and right over the heads of the group across the river!”
The whole day felt like it had been a week long. “I’m just glad to be home,” I added, quickly falling asleep.
* * * *
The morning was bustling, with the children wanting to look into the coolers from the camp. Those in our group remembered fondly the last time Mike and
I showed up with stocked FEMA coolers. This time the food was not neatly packed and labeled as last time, but it was cold, on ice, and there was a lot of it.
“How were swim lessons yesterday?” I asked my boys.
“We didn’t get to do it since you and Uncle Mike were gone,” said Hendrix.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about the “Uncle Mike” reference, getting a look from Joy, but left it alone for now.
Next World Series (Vol. 3): Families First [Second Wind] Page 19