“Call as much as you want. I don’t mind.”
Ezra dialed Grace’s number, and it rang again before going to voicemail. He took a deep breath and steeled himself for the beep.
“Hi Grace. I’m so sorry for calling back like this, but there’s more you should know. Because of the world we live in, and all this business with meteorites, I’m not sure when I’ll get a chance to talk to you again.” He paused for a long time before committing. “Your mother died last night, Gracie. She died saving the life of a little girl before the house was hit with a shockwave. I’m sorrier than I can possibly convey over a phone…”
He choked up, unshed tears making him pause again.
“Anyway, don’t let this news get you down. Your mother died a hero. I’m certain she passed that trait to you. Be a hero, Grace. Be a hero so you can survive long enough for me to get out there and give you a hug in person. I have to go. I love you more than I’ll ever be able to tell you. Bye for now.”
The bikers arrived in camp as he hung up Colby’s phone. After taking it back, Colby invited everyone to gather around an open-air canopy. On the walk over, Butch gave him a manly pat on the back.
“You did the right thing, E-Z. She needed to know about her mother.”
“I wanted to tell her face-to-face, but—”
Butch cut him off. “But we can’t pass on opportunities this big. You’re lucky you made contact with her at all.”
He knew it was true, but the pain of Susan’s death was raw, as was the notion of thinking about Grace listening to his message. She’d be heartbroken and she’d have no one to comfort her.
Colby waved him and Butch in. “We’re getting an official broadcast on the shortwave.”
The Jeepers were well-prepared. They had a small shortwave radio set up on a picnic table. It was linked to a giant whip antenna attached to the leg of the tent canopy. The broadcast came in clear.
“This is Petteri Tikkanen, of Tikkanen Kinetic Mining. We have been authorized by the Department of Homeland Security to supplement emergency services to all affected areas now hearing this transmission. We have trucks of every size heading to you at this moment, each packed with food, clean water, and supplies designed to keep you safe during this period of disruption. Concurrently, the United States government will also be sending in National Guard units to keep all of you safe.”
The people gathered around the table spoke as one, thinking it was over, then shut up when the man continued. “Listen to this channel for how to locate the nearest Federal Emergency Management Agency Safe Towns, or FEMASTs. These safe towns are designated to help you identify where to find security. In these troubled times, nothing is more important than your safety. Until we speak again, I’m Petteri Tikkanen.”
Bedlam erupted around the table again. People wanted to leave, stay, and hunt down the man who’d spoken. Ezra realized the speech had changed the dynamics of the small tribe of Jeepers he’d found himself a part of.
Colby quieted everyone down. “Guys, this is good news. It means someone out there is in charge, with the ability to help us. That said, it doesn’t change much here on the ground. I still want to send the ladies home on the dirt bikes.”
A brunette woman closed ranks with Colby, leading Ezra to speculate she was going to complain about not wanting to leave. She was dressed in a white one-piece jumpsuit, though it was covered front and back with mud. The only parts of her body free of dirt were her face and hair; it had been protected by her helmet. “Just tell me who’s going, dear, and I’ll get them there.”
Colby smiled at the woman. “That’s my girl. When you get home, send Jack and the boys back here with some food, okay?”
“I will,” she replied.
“And you’ll have two helpers.” Colby pointed to him and Butch. “These boys are going your way. They’re going to watch over you with their rifles until you get home. Then, they’ll head off to Yellowstone.”
Ezra waved at the woman but glanced over to Colby. “We can’t carry our bicycles with us. Do you think we could borrow a couple when we get to your home?”
“Yeah, sure. Hell, if you’re in the market, I could sell you a couple of old touring motorcycles. Val will put you in touch with my dad. She’ll make sure he gives you a good deal.”
He didn’t have much to his name, but he did have his wallet. All he needed was an ATM to withdraw some funds. Having a legitimate means of transportation, versus the rental car he’d originally envisioned, would give them a lot more flexibility. Motorcycles had already proved useful in getting around all the downed trees. Who knew how bad the roads were out there?
Ezra held out his hand to shake Colby’s in front of his people. He was about to hitch his wagon to their cause, and he wanted them all to know he intended to make good on his promise. “We’ll protect your riders until we get them safely home.”
Colby took his hand. “You guys are doing us a solid. I hope you get to where you’re going.”
“So do we,” Ezra replied.
Isla Socorro, Mexico
Petteri drove to the airport after his speech. His words were being broadcast to radio stations across America, as well as on television, cable, and on shortwave frequencies designed to reach every last person in the disaster zone. At the same time, he already had his mining crews on the roads or in helicopters, searching out the largest intact pieces of the asteroid. Dorothy was working on the satellite imagery, trying to locate the optimal location from above.
The PR goodwill was designed to give his people cover to go in and poke around.
Dorothy and Howard waited for him on the back ramp of the waiting transport plane. The company trucks and gear were already loaded in the cargo hold, which put him in a great mood as he exited his ride.
“Hello to you both,” he remarked as he walked over to them. “Howard, what did you do with the two cleanup teams sent to assist Misha? I’d like to divert them to crash sites, if possible. I’ll need some, uh, local talent, on scene to ensure the TKM flag flies tall on those pieces.”
United States law was very clear about ownership rules of meteorites, at least up until the previous session of Congress. His lawyers and lobbyists had spent considerable time and money creating the ability to waive the permitting process for collection of asteroid remains. Since he intended to crash rocks onto the moon’s surface, he needed to be sure there would be no legal claims on his treasure. The bill eventually laid out the case that any asteroid brought to Earth’s system under the power of man-made propulsion would forever belong to the owner of those engines. It did not specifically say it had to crash to the moon; he’d considered opening factories in high orbit around Earth, too. His lawyers assured him the language of the bill favored his right to mine the asteroid pieces no matter where they ended up, including on the surface of the Earth itself. Sending his teams to each location was his way of enforcing those legal claims.
“I was going to send one team to meet and pick up Misha, but I can pull the other out immediately. I only need to know where to send them.”
He glanced over to Dorothy, somewhat impressed at her transformation. When he met her in Texas, she was dressed like a bag lady, in a pleated black skirt with a frumpy crisscross-patterned top. Now, her black hair was up in a bun, she’d put on some makeup, and her stylish black business suit was more befitting of someone on his payroll. “What do you think, Dorothy?”
“There is still too much smoke over the big impact zones to say for sure. I think we’ll have better luck with the teams who can visually inspect those locations for high-value ores.” She fidgeted with her fingers as she held her hands together at her waist.
“I pay you a lot of money, Ms. Eversmith. Can you give me your best guess? This plane has to go somewhere, you understand?”
She looked up and swallowed hard. “I’ve been seeing the most at the impact crater in the city of Denver. The city itself is toast, which is the cause of most of the fires there, but we’ve had a few brief gl
impses below the dust and debris in the air. There’s definitely a big piece.”
“Intact?” he asked with hope in his voice.
“Yes, sir. I think it is mostly intact.”
It would be far easier to stake his claim on a big piece, rather than a lot of little ones across a wide area. She’d given him some fantastic news.
Petteri golf-clapped. “I congratulate both of you. None of this was planned, but you have both executed what you could. It should be enough to get the rest of our people to these sites and begin the rescues.”
“You’re helping the people?” Dorothy asked with surprise.
She’d learn.
“Of course, my dear. We have the resources to help, and so we’ll help. However, thanks to your keen observations, we’ll also be close by the asteroid chunks for when the time comes to clean them up. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being ready for each step in this process, do you?”
She shook her head. “No problems here. I only want to make sure I get paid. If what I’m seeing on the satellite images are any indication, it’s going to be Mad Max out there sooner rather than later.”
“It’s bad?” he asked seriously.
“Yep. They’ll be ecstatic to see your TKM relief trucks. I promise you that.”
He chuckled. I’m sure they will.
Chapter 13
Beartooth Pass, WY
When Grace got back in the truck, her entire body shivered for about thirty seconds. The heater was on full blast, and the fans in the dashboard whined loud with effort as she held her hands to the vents. Asher didn’t say anything while she recovered, which was unusual. She slowly scooted sideways to see his face; he was staring at her.
“What?” she asked.
“Was it Misha?” he replied quietly.
“What do you mean?” It was a stupid response, and she knew it, but the shock of chatting casually with the killer was still fresh.
“Even in the black snow, I saw you talking to someone in the back of Tessa’s truck. She and the old man got out and left you with whomever it was. The fact you haven’t said anything about it makes me think I’m right.”
She sighed, knowing she had to fess up. “Yeah, it was him. I really wanted that jerk to be dead. Too bad we don’t always get what we want. He’s alive and kicking over there. To add to the fun, he took the police gun from my belt. Now he’s got at least two pistols and my bear spray.”
“Did he threaten Tessa? Is that how he got them out?”
Grace glanced back over to Tessa’s truck; a zap of lightning lit it up for a moment. She and Chester were back inside, and Misha remained in the back. The two rangers had no idea what she’d talked about with the hitman, nor did they know he was a threat of the highest order. Since she was cooperative and gave over her phone, she prayed he’d have no reason to hurt anyone.
“I made them leave,” she deadpanned, “so there wouldn’t be any bloodshed.”
“I see. So, what do we do now? I still have my shooter.” He slapped the gun on his hip.
“Yeah, whatever you do, don’t go over there, or he’ll figure out a way to snatch yours, too. Luckily, I still have the one I took from him; it’s stuffed behind my back. We’ll use firepower if we have to, but he’s badly injured and almost seemed reasonable when I talked to him. It was as if he’s thinking about letting us go.”
“You don’t really believe that, do you? He’s probably waiting for you to get him off the mountain with everyone else. Then…” Asher clapped once. “Bang!”
She continued to stare into the bleak darkness of the snowstorm. Tessa’s truck wasn’t more than fifty feet away, but its two headlights were barely visible. “For now, yes. I’m sure I’ll feel different when we’re down and safe. All we—”
Someone knocked on the driver’s door, scaring her out of her seat.
“Sorry!” a man shouted. He was wrapped in a heavy winter coat, making it hard to see his face. As he stepped back, she figured out he was the older man she’d talked to in Gardner Canyon. “I saw you sitting here in your wrecked truck and thought you could use some warm clothes. My wife wants you to have hers until we get down below.” He held up a light-blue coat.
“And you can have my son’s,” he added, holding out a second coat so Asher could see it.
She wanted to say no, but there was nothing in the professional guidebook for park rangers which forbade accepting acts of kindness. The reality couldn’t be ignored or toughed out; her body was numb from the freezing wind and cold. “Only until we get down,” she reassured him, still holding on to a sliver of professional restraint.
“Take them,” the man insisted. “They’re yours for helping us survive this.”
“Thank you, truly,” she said, teeth chattering. “As you can tell from our condition in here, we both desperately need them.”
A minute later, finally dressed for the weather, her entire outlook changed. Where before she saw the convoy highlighted by an assassin and darkness, it was now peopled with decent folks and charity. The man showed up out of nowhere to provide a helping hand. It was her turn to do the same.
But only after reveling in the gift she’d been handed. Grace snuggled against the fake fur lining the hood. “I could fall asleep in this thing, it’s so warm and comfortable.”
“Me too,” Asher agreed. Despite the nice coat, he continued to warm his hands on the heater vents.
She watched the wipers work the slush from side to side, knowing visibility was only going to get worse if they didn’t push on. “We’re out of here.”
Grace put the truck in gear and drove back to the road. Other cars in the parking lot started moving to keep up with her. After a brief wave to Tessa, who remained parked in the sweeper position at the end of the line, she turned right.
Ahead, a chalkboard-black wall of snow greeted her once on the move. The terrain went slightly downhill and, from what she remembered, the pass was a flat, open field of rocks. It also had steep drop-offs a hundred yards on each side of the roadway. That was why she drove about two miles per hour for the first couple of minutes.
“This is weird,” she said, desperately trying to see beyond the windshield. “The road splits in two. I don’t remember this.” She tapped the brakes, but the truck continued on its gliding path toward the left fork.
“Wait a second!” she cried, mashing the brakes to the floor, finding the same result.
Asher held on to the dashboard as the truck continued sliding in slow motion.
“I’ve got to get out of these ruts.” She was already in four-wheel drive, so Grace turned the wheel and gave it gas, rather than braking. Her heart raced as fast as the RPMs of the engine; somewhere down the slippery slope there was a thousand-foot cliff.
Grace gripped the wheel and contained her panic as she tried to drive out of the snowy path created by previous drivers. Each second was a lifetime as she goosed the engine and brakes in sequence. It seemed hopeless as the down-sliding continued, then the truck suddenly turned sideways and hopped free. Once outside the lines, she managed to use the brakes and stop the truck.
“I can’t believe that just happened.” She kept her foot on the pedal, as if releasing it would send them over the edge.
Asher looked ahead, then glanced back. “Oh, crap. We’re not the only ones in trouble.”
Grace turned to see the headlights of several other vehicles sliding in the darkness. It was as if someone had made sure the road emptied onto a snow-covered ice-skating rink, then tilted it only enough to keep the cars in motion. Some spun out left and right, safely outside of the tire ruts, but one glided right past the back end of her Suburban.
“Holy cow!” she blurted, hopping out of the truck.
The four-door car slid at almost a comical speed, no faster than a brisk walk. Grace was tempted to run after it, but there was nothing she could have done to stop the heavy object. The driver let off the brakes, then the vehicle continued deeper into the darkness for about ten
seconds before tilting forward and vanishing.
She looked up the hill, afraid more were going to slide the same way. Members of the convoy littered the gentle hillside, and most vehicles were safely stopped. Two or three continued directly down the ruts in the middle, as if the drivers had stumbled into the slipperiest part.
“God help us,” she pleaded.
Land Between the Lakes, KY
There were four dirt bikes, but also four women who wanted to cross the bridge on the southern part of the lake. Ezra and Butch were given their own bikes, the two extra ladies choosing to ride behind their friends. It left two seats open, which he offered to anyone left in camp, but no one took him up on it. It made more sense when they slapped five-gallon fuel cans on the seats; they’d need them to cover the full distance to Murray. While he was shuffling his backpack and rifle over his shoulders, one of the men came up on the sly. “Don’t let anything happen to my wife, ya hear?”
Ezra stuck out his hand. “I’m Ezra. This is Butch. We’ll do everything in our power to keep all the women safe and get them home. I promise you.”
“I’m Scott. I don’t like armed strangers who come out of nowhere, but Colby and the ladies trust you, so I guess I’ll have to as well.” He stepped closer, though he didn’t shake with Ezra. “But you should know, I’ll never stop hunting you down if you hurt them with those rifles, instead of defending them like you promised.”
Butch held up his hands. “Whoa, dude, we aren’t going to hurt anyone. We have an easy ride to Murray. Colby said we could buy used motorcycles when we get there. We would be idiots to mess up such a good thing.”
Scott looked taken aback. “The world is full of idiots. I’m just making sure you ain’t two of them.”
“We aren’t,” Ezra assured him, still with his hand out.
Scott looked him up and down, then relented. After a brief handshake, the man went over to his lady friend sitting at the handlebars of another dirt bike.
Impact Series Box Set | Books 1-6 Page 30