by Robert Boren
She shook her head. “What did you think I was doing out there?”
“Sorry. Sure, I’ll go for a walk.”
“There’s a nice gazebo on the far side. We can be alone there.”
“Expecting this to get heated?” Ted asked. “I won’t be mad, no matter what you tell me. You know that, I hope.”
“If I thought you’d get mad, I wouldn’t take you off someplace where we can’t be heard, now, would I?”
He sighed. “Sorry.”
“Quit saying sorry. Let’s go.”
They got up and left the coach, Ted closing the door as quietly as he could.
They walked into the crisp night air. Half the coaches were dark now as people were retiring for the night.
“Peaceful out here,” Ted said.
“It is,” Haley said, looking over at him in the darkness. “Do you trust Ivan?”
Ted chuckled. “Yes, I trust him, and I hope Jules is right about him.”
“What’d Jules say?”
“That the war has changed his focus, and that he might be done as a mob boss,” Ted said. “I suspect that he can’t be done being a mob boss, even if he wants to be, but we’ll see. He’s connected to a lot of people who might want him unable to talk.”
“Has he murdered people?”
“Personally? I doubt it, but I don’t know for sure. He was in Special Forces, so he can be physically dangerous. You know he’s not really Russian, right?”
“Well, he has no accent,” she said.
“Yes he does. He has a Southern California accent. He grew up in Torrance.”
“That’s really true? Somebody was saying that a while back, but I didn’t believe it.”
“Yeah, it’s true,” Ted said. “Frankly, I think he’s worked with governments as much as against them over the past ten years.”
“Which governments? Russia?”
Ted laughed. “He was part of the Russian government after the USSR broke up. The mob did there what they wanted to do in Cuba, before Castro upset the apple cart.”
“Until they got a strong dictator, anyway,” Haley said.
“Yep. He went to the EU mainly to mess with the globalists.”
“He was still running organized crime, though, wasn’t he?”
“Had to bring in money somehow,” Ted said. “We parted ways at that time.”
“But you’re with him again now,” Haley said. “There’s the gazebo.”
“Yeah, I’m with him again now. He kinda tricked me into it, but truth be told, this is a fight I want to be in. How could I not?”
They entered the gazebo, which was dimly lit with moonlight. There were lounges and chairs in there, and a bench-seat swing. Haley sat in the swing and patted the spot next to her. Ted shot her a worried glance and sat next to her.
“I know what you are,” she said.
He stared at her blankly for a moment.
“You’re a patriot,” she said.
“I don’t think I agree, but thanks.”
“Why wouldn’t you agree?”
“I’m not selfless,” he said.
She smiled at him, her blue eyes locked with his, framed by her blond hair. “Do you think George Washington was selfless? Or Jefferson? Or Franklin?”
“I’m not like them,” Ted said. “I’m part of the resistance. That’s all.”
“So were they, but enough of this. That’s not why I brought you out here.”
Ted took a deep breath. “I know. Enough with the small talk.”
“That wasn’t small talk,” she said. “You still look afraid.”
“Of course.”
“I understand,” she said. “You think you’re going to lose me. That’s not going to happen, so settle down. All right?”
“All right, I’ll try.”
“I’ve been attracted to you since the day we met,” Haley said, watching for his reaction. “I’ve kept you at arm’s length on purpose, and it’s been hard for me.”
“Because you didn’t know how I felt?”
She laughed. “I know you’re interested. Known for a while now. I was hoping it would just simmer until this mess is over. You and I both know that’s not going to work anymore.”
“We can go back to how it was, for now,” Ted said.
“No, we can’t. The cat’s out of the bag now. There’s no putting it back. I should’ve expected one of us to slip.”
“You’re sounding like you feel the way I do,” Ted said, staring at her face.
She laughed. “Hell, I’m as much in love with you as you are with me.”
“What?”
“Don’t be shocked. Who do I spend all my waking hours with?”
“So, you wanted me to make a move all this time?” Ted asked.
“No, like I said, I was hoping it would simmer until this mess is over.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m a coward,” she said. “I knew that when we got started, it would become the most important part of our world. Make plans and the devil laughs.”
Ted shook his head. “We were both separately in the same place, weren’t we?”
“So it would appear.”
“Why can’t we just put the cat back in the bag for a while, and be friends?”
“You broke the ice,” she said. “There’s no going back. Not that I want to now. That would’ve only worked if we both would have preserved it.”
“Then you’re upset with me?”
“Upset? No, that’s not the right word,” she said. “I was hoping our timing would be different, but truth be told, I couldn’t have held back much longer anyway. One of us was going to do it. Turned out to be you, but it could’ve just as easily been me.”
“You’re awful calm about this,” Ted said.
“No I’m not. I’m going crazy inside. Both of us are like that, you know. We’ll have to work on that if this is going to last.”
“You’ll be with me? You want that too?”
“Yes, but we need to work a few things out,” she said. “And you have to keep your mouth shut about some things. Do you promise?”
“Yes,” he said, brow furrowed. “Is this gonna be something bad?”
“I don’t want to be pregnant,” she said. “Not during this mess. Later, maybe, but not now. We have to use birth control. You gonna be okay with that?”
“I have no problem with that at all,” Ted said. “It’s too dangerous to be pregnant right now. Surprised we haven’t had problems already.”
“What makes you think we haven’t?”
“Uh oh,” Ted said. “That look on your face scares me a little bit.”
“Some of us got pregnant during captivity,” she whispered. “I was one of them.”
“Oh no,” Ted said. “I’m so sorry. You’re not pregnant now, though. You’d be showing.”
“Remember Audrey?”
“The doctor,” Ted said. “Losing her was really bad.”
“She was able to hook us up with something.”
“When?” Ted asked.
“At the Volvo dealership. We got a delivery that none of you noticed. It was risky. Didn’t work with all of us.”
“I thought those pills were only effective for seventy-two hours afterwards,” Ted said.
“You know more than most men. It can be up to five days, but it doesn’t always work.”
“How did you know you were pregnant? It was so early.”
“I know when I ovulate, and I know the feeling when it takes,” she said, looking down.
“That’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Ted said.
“I know, but it still hurts. It worked with all but one of us.”
“Who?” Ted asked. “Never mind, that question was out of line.”
“It was Lily,” she said, tears filling her eyes.
“Oh,” Ted said, looking at her. “Oh God.”
“Yeah. Don’t tell anybody. I mean it.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t. I promise.”
“We’ll have to get something soon,” she said. “Pills make me blow up like a balloon, and women in my family have a hard time with IUDs. You know what that leaves.”
“No problem. Wonder what the other couples are using?”
She laughed. “Some aren’t using anything. There are a couple who are already pregnant.”
“Are they gonna take care of it?”
“They want it,” Haley said. “Won’t make much difference for six months or so. Assuming the stress doesn’t cause them to miscarry.”
“This conflict will still be going for six months, at least.”
“I know, I’ve seen the icons on the maps. Rooting these creeps out is gonna be a big deal. If I thought it were only six months, I wouldn’t worry.”
He looked at her face, passion rising fast. “You’d want to?”
“Yes,” she said, her breath coming a little quicker.
“Wow,” Ted said, moving closer to her. “You’re getting worked up.” He slipped his arms around her, but she leaned away.
“Wait, we’re not done talking yet.”
He froze. “Sorry. Go ahead.”
“When I commit, I do it intensely. Think you can handle that?”
“Yes,” Ted said.
“You don’t want to know what I mean by that?”
“We understand each other,” Ted said.
“What do you think I mean?”
“You mate for life,” Ted said. “I demand the same thing.”
“Oh, yes,” she said, pulling him close. They kissed, long and deep, both trembling. They broke it, and she stood up.
“Want to go back?” Ted asked.
“We could, but don’t you want to make out for a while?”
“Oh yeah,” he said, getting up.
“No, sit,” she said, unbuttoning her blouse.
“We don’t have anything,” he whispered.
“It’ll be okay for a couple days,” she said, a twinkle in her eye as she shrugged out of her top, her white bra showing in the moonlight. “You like so far?”
Ted couldn’t even speak, and then his phone buzzed, startling him.
She froze. “What’s wrong?”
“Hopefully this is just a text,” he said, fishing the phone out of his pocket. “Crap. It’s the short-range app. Enemy fighters coming in from the north. Half a mile away and closing fast.”
“Oh no,” she said. “They’ve found us.”
“I left my gun in the rig. We’re gonna have to run back.”
“Let’s go,” Haley said, buttoning her blouse. They sprinted towards the row of battle wagons, some already going into siege mode, some starting their engines.
{3}
Santa Cruz
T yler, James, and Ryan were on horseback, with Garrett and thirty of his men. They were on their way to intercept the four RFID hits they saw coming south from Barrett Lake, riding through the desert with its low ridges and dry river beds. Nobody had been able to raise Ed, so they assumed he was being held by Black Crow.
“You guys did a good job breaking these horses,” Garrett said.
“Thanks,” Ryan said. “They’re barely even winded.”
“Seriously,” James said. He glanced over at Tyler, who was looking at his phone screen as he rode, struggling to keep the horse under control. “You want us to stop for a sec, chief?”
“Chief?” Tyler asked, looking up. “I just saw what we thought we’d see. They’ve started back towards the north.”
“How fast?” Garrett asked, his horse snorting as he slowed to get next to Tyler.
“The same speed as before,” Tyler said. “I think they’re on foot, but they’re moving quickly. We’re a few miles behind them.”
“Wonder how close we have to be for them to hear us?” James asked.
“We’ll want to slow down when we get within half a mile or so,” Garrett said. “We’ll still be moving faster than they are.”
“That’s easy,” James said. “The short-range app should buzz us at that distance.”
“Roughly,” Garrett said. “Wonder if the hills make any difference in range?”
“Good question,” Tyler said. “This is peer to peer. Might be line-of-sight. Maybe I should go by the long-range app to keep track of how close we really are, just in case.”
“If it were flat, we’d be seen,” Ryan said.
“True that,” Garrett said. “Remember they might be up high enough to see us once we get close. They could be in the hills.”
“And we’re taller, since we’re on horseback,” James said.
They continued at a good clip, keeping their thoughts to themselves for a while, the tension and anticipation rising.
“Wonder how far along the battle wagons are?” Ryan asked.
“They’ll beat most of my guys to Descanso,” Garrett said. “They’re gonna stop outside of town and wait.”
“Good idea,” Ryan said. “Those battle wagons aren’t indestructible, and they can get overrun.”
“Yep,” Garrett said. “You’ve been watching the Williams place too, right?”
Tyler nodded. “No enemy hits anywhere near there so far. I see some movement from Julian down to Descanso, though.”
“How much movement?” Ryan asked.
“Several hundred fighters,” Tyler said. “I already sent a text to Sam and Ji-Ho.”
“You don’t look worried about that,” James said, looking at Garrett.
Garrett chuckled. “We’ve got two thousand men riding there, and there were only three hundred enemy fighters there to begin with. If we see a couple thousand men going there, I’d be worried.”
“They don’t have that many men anywhere near here,” Tyler said. “Glad we kicked the UN out of this region. They don’t have chips.”
“You sure they’re all gone?” James asked.
“Pretty sure,” Tyler said.
Garrett had an uneasy look. “Hope that’s the case. Sam told me that they’re all up north, trying to salvage martial law in that part of the state.”
They rode silently for another hour or so, the sun beating down on them, their horses getting tired.
“There’s a stream up ahead,” Tyler said.
“Yeah,” Garrett said. “Let’s water the horses there. How close are the enemy fighters now?”
Tyler looked at his phone. “Just under a mile. We shouldn’t break for too long. Quick rest and drink, and then we need to get moving.”
They made it to the stream and dismounted, bringing the horses close to the water. Garrett pulled out his phone and sent a text, then read his screen, shielding it from the sun with his hat.
“Our main forces are making good time to Descanso,” he said. “And the five hundred-man group is already at Barrett Lake Road. They’re waiting for us to take the four and rescue Ed. Our scout has seen the enemy forces. They’re dug in. Good thing we sent them with some mortars.”
“I just got a reply from Sam,” Tyler said. “They’re on Japatul Road, just south of I-8. They’re looking for a place to park until the cavalry arrives.”
“When do your men get there, Garrett?” James asked.
“It’ll be a few hours. Wish we had enough horse trailers to move them all there.”
“Are all of them on horseback?” James asked.
“No, we’ve got about four hundred in vehicles,” Garrett said. “They’re with the battle wagons. Not enough to do the job.”
“We should get going,” Tyler said. “The horses have drunk all they’re going to.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Garrett said. The group mounted up and rode forward, Tyler riding one handed, phone in his free hand. When his phone buzzed, he held up his hand and slowed down. Garrett nodded, his own phone buzzing.
“This is pretty accurate, according to what I see on the long-range app,” Tyler whispered. They rode slowly, heading up to a ridge.
“Stop,” Tyler whispered. “Best snipers, follow me.”
Garret
t nodded, sending a couple of his thirty men forward with long rifles, joining them himself. Tyler, Ryan, and James led them to the ridge. They snuck up to the edge and looked over.
“Dammit,” Tyler whispered. “There’s Black Crow and four Islamists, but Ed’s not with them.”
“Shit, they probably killed him already,” James said.
“Or something else happened to him,” one of Garrett’s men whispered. “He was blasting around in the back country on that hovercraft. He might have crashed it.”
“You’re right,” Tyler said. “Let’s take these guys out. One shot each.”
“You don’t want to question Black Crow?” James asked.
“Shoot him in the leg,” Tyler said. “We’ll see if we can get some info out of him before we gut him.”
James’s eyes opened wider as he looked at Tyler.
“What?” Tyler asked.
“That’s harsh, man.”
“He’s responsible for deaths of our people,” Tyler said. “He might have been the reason we got ambushed in Julian. You ever consider that?”
“He’s right, James,” Ryan whispered, aiming his rifle. “C’mon, we’ve got a job to do. I’ve got Black Crow. I’ll wound him. Kill the others.”
The men aimed carefully, Tyler watching. “On my mark.”
They held their breaths.
“Now,” Tyler said. Five shots rang out almost in unison, all the men slumping to the ground. Black Crow screamed in pain, clutching his right shoulder.
“Why’d you shoot him there?” Garrett’s man asked.
“He’s right handed,” Ryan said. “He won’t be able to shoot.”
“Yeah, but he can run,” James said, nodding towards him as he got up and started running. Ryan fired again, hitting him in the left thigh, bringing him to the ground.
“We’d better get down there quick, before he goes into shock or bleeds out,” Tyler said.
“Yeah,” Garrett said. They ran back to their horses, and then thirty-five men rode over the ridge and down to the enemy bodies. Tyler, James, and Ryan rushed over to Black Crow, who was barely conscious. Tyler frisked him for weapons, pulling a small auto pistol out of his pocket and tossing it away.
“He’s clean,” Tyler said. He turned Black Crow onto his back. “Where’s Silver Wolf?”
Black Crow grinned at him through the pain, his thin features and pockmarked skin shining with sweat. “Wouldn’t you like to know, you wannabe paleface.”