“I think you’re clear to take them,” a man said from behind.
He turned to see the first person they met when they came into St. Charles. It was the guy with the button-down shirt and cargo shorts. He even had on his red baseball hat. Looking at him closely, he realized it was the same man who’d been standing and shooting from behind the tree.
“You?” he said, a little put out. “Thanks for the help, but aren’t you the one who turned us in? We lost these rifles because of you.”
“The two of you walked out of the woods armed to the teeth. My job is to act as a sheep dog for our families camped here in our city park. If I would have known you were the type of men who protect young ladies, police officers, and runaway puppies, I never would have called the cops in the first place. I’m sorry.”
“Why are we clear to take them?” he went on, feeling marginally better about how things had gone down.
“I guess it doesn’t hurt to tell you. I’m actually an undercover officer. Word went out on the radio. St. Charles is no longer working with TKM’s security division. Homeland Security says we have to, but after what we saw at Bass Pro today, we can’t have these guys anywhere near our town. Under their advice, the first day after the meteorite struck Illinois, we put out guidance to local stores to stop them from selling firearms. It turned out they only wanted to take the weapons for themselves. They’re nothing but bad news. Given recent events, I’m sure the police force is going to need some additional manpower. Maybe you and your friend want to stick around?”
It would have been a welcome job if he didn’t have a thousand miles to go on his journey to Grace. He turned to Butch. “You interested in staying here and doing some police work?”
Butch acted like he didn’t hear him.
“Hey, anyone in there?”
The big guy finally looked his way. “What? Sorry, E-Z. My head is still trying to wrap itself around what happened here. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
He laughed. “No one has, I’m sure. I can’t believe how loud you were when you wanted to stop Liam. It looked like the running dog hit an invisible brick wall.”
Butch chuckled, too. “Yeah, I guess I couldn’t have lived with myself if I’d let her dog get shot.”
Ezra turned reflective. “You like her, don’t you?”
Butch answered his earlier question. “A police officer? I guess that would be all right, at least for a while. Are you going to stay here then?”
“No, I can’t stop. I was asking if you wanted to hop off Susan’s Grace in this town. You could become a Saint Charles-ite.” Ezra shifted uneasily. “Saint Charlatan?” He looked at the undercover officer. “What do you call yourselves?”
“I always call us Saint Charles-ians. Not sure there’s a legal term.”
Ezra nodded to the man, then looked back to his buddy. Butch was still glued to Haley up near the front of the cruiser. “You could stay and watch over her.”
Butch then looked into the trunk. “Those are the rifles we used out on the river. I’d much rather have one with a scope, you know? I could have hit that sniper before he got off a second shot. We’ll need them when we get back out on the water.”
“So…you don’t want to be a cop?” he asked, sensing Butch wasn’t quite in the same conversation.
“Not today, no.”
The uniformed officers came over and confirmed what the undercover guy had claimed. The town of St. Charles would no longer confiscate firearms, nor would it cooperate with anyone who tried.
He unslung his rifle and handed it to an officer. “We won’t need these. We took them from Bass Pro when the TKM men shot at other citizens. Since we didn’t pay for them, I’d like to return mine.”
The officer smiled. “Are you sure you guys don’t want to join the force? We’d even let you keep these.”
“Sorry,” Ezra said as Butch handed over his free rifle and picked up Ezra’s AR. “We’ve got prior commitments.”
They passed Haley, noting how she hung her head on the door frame of the car. The man inside had succumbed to his injuries. Butch appeared ready to put his arm on her back, but she spoke without looking at them. “I’ll catch up to you at your boat. Don’t leave without letting me say goodbye.”
An hour later, at Susan’s Grace, they’d unloaded all their new equipment from the backpacks, including the epoxy for sealing the easy-to-reach bullet holes in the pontoons. A few were left with duct tape coverings only because they were underwater. If he ever managed to get the boat on dry land again, he’d be ready with the easy fix. The other critical item was the canopy tent, which went over the seating and driving area. For the first time since his boat had tipped over, he could protect himself from the sun’s rays.
The river itself had calmed down in the time they’d been away. It wasn’t chock-full of trash and debris anymore, though pieces of junk still floated here and there.
It was dinnertime before Haley showed up at the shoreline.
“I almost missed you guys,” she said, walking closer. She’d changed back into a stretchy pants and top combo that appeared more workout-friendly. Liam was on a new leash, and Victoria was inside a crate she carried. She also wore the little red backpack over one shoulder.
“You look like you’re going on a trip,” Ezra said nonchalantly.
“Thanks for giving me some time. Yesterday, I would have said I’d be happy to never see Xander again. That was my state of mind the past few weeks since our insane breakup. But actually seeing him covered with blood…was difficult.”
“You don’t have to—” Ezra started to say.
She cut in. “I brought you some dinner. It’s the last of my fruit, plus some nuts and super-lean bison burgers. I was hoping you’d take me with you, wherever you’re going.”
“You don’t have to come with us. We’re going to Denver, in fact, to meet my daughter. It’s way too far to take you…”
She patted Liam. “Denver? Yeah, maybe it’s far, but me and the fur babies can make it. Besides, TKM knows I was involved in the shootout. They’ll probably send someone to my house as soon as the police force lets its guard down.”
He looked at Butch, expecting him to already have a space cleared out for the health fanatic. However, the young man only looked over to the woman with a pained expression. As the seconds ticked off, Ezra figured out what was spinning his wheels.
“Haley, you seem like one tough young lady, but it’s going to be extremely dangerous, especially for your little friends. We weren’t joking before. We really were nearly killed by pirates two days ago.”
“We also crashed through a dam,” Butch added, clearly torn between pulling her in or pushing her away.
Haley set the cat crate down. “I know I don’t look like much, but when I’m not protecting these two, I consider myself a capable woman. You teach me how to shoot my shiny new rifle, and I’ll pull my weight in everything else, including pet care. Liam barks when he sees a threat, so that’s a bonus. Plus, it can’t hurt to have three people defending your boat, as opposed to two. What do you do when one of you has to use the bathroom? Or sleep?”
Butch pulled off his hat and wiped his forehead. “I guess I wouldn’t mind if we had one more.”
Haley didn’t wait for Ezra’s approval. She grabbed the crate and did a running jump onto the flat front deck of the pontoon boat. Victoria was placed gently next to the open seat, and she dropped a backpack close by. When she saw both of them looking at it, she answered the question in their eyes. “The pack has food, kitty litter and a travel box. Cats are notoriously bad travel companions. I wasn’t going to mention it until I was on the boat.” She launched into an it’s-all-right smile.
“Welcome aboard,” he said, still unsure if it was a good idea. He was going to turn the bobber key and start the motor, but he found himself curious about what the girl had said earlier in the day. “I have to know. Why did you call him milk jug when we first met?”
The chairs were o
n swivels, which were appropriate when fishing, or when talking to other passengers. She turned hers sideways, toward him and Butch. She only looked at the cowboy. “It was something stupid I never should have spoken out loud. Basically, I said it because when I first saw you walk across my backyard, I thought you were a tall, cool glass of milk. I guess there was part of me that wanted the whole container. The whole jug of milk.” She smiled sheepishly at Butch. Her teeth appeared brilliant white against her tanned face. “But I didn’t want to explain myself back then ’cause I didn’t want you to think I was buttering you up just to take me to the store.”
She paused for a second. “Plus, if I’m being honest, I was hoping to lead you along, so my ex-boyfriend would get jealous and want to get back together.”
“Seriously?” Butch asked, his lower jaw almost crashing into his lap.
Haley’s laugh was high-pitched and wild, like he’d walked obliviously into her trap. She finally pulled her eyes away from Butch and turned to Ezra. “Oh man, this is too easy. I’m going to have fun with him, aren’t I?”
He laughed good-naturedly at Butch’s expense, who was also smiling. “Yeah, Jebediah Jesse Butcher is a great guy. I couldn’t survive without him. At the same time, we could always use some more laughter on this tub. Welcome to Susan’s Grace.”
Black
The Impact Series Book 5
Chapter 1
Sidney, NE
Grace startled herself awake. The train had been rumbling along the tracks since their escape from Denver, and the diesel engine’s whine put her to sleep not long after the sun went down. Now, in the front seat of her park service Chevy Suburban, she saw sunlight. “We’re out of Denver?”
Asher sat next to her, tapping on his expensive watch-phone. “Yep. We’ve been out of Denver for a long time. We’re in Nebraska. Nothing but flat fields and high grass.” Unlike the boring stretches of eastern Wyoming, Nebraska wasn’t as flat. There was a slight imperfection to the land, as if the horizon were ten feet higher or lower than their current position.
Shawn’s deep voice spoke from the rear seat. “I live on the plains, and even I don’t recognize where we are.”
Grace looked to the seats behind her. Shawn Runs Hard sat next to his boy. Diedre, Asher’s sister, sat against the far door, directly behind Asher. Her shoulder had bled through one of the blue security shirts they’d borrowed. The seat was stained. Twisting, she also saw bloodstains on the seat under Shawn’s leg.
“You two doing all right? We need to find a doctor.”
“I’ll be fine,” the big Crow man announced proudly.
Diedre was less enthusiastic, but she flashed a thumbs-up sign.
When they’d escaped Petteri’s security forces the night before, they’d done it on a train piloted by a group of men who’d been repairing the engine. As a kindness, they’d placed Grace’s truck on a flatbed car with a crane, so she would have it at their destination. She and the others had spent the overnight hours in the truck, which sat alone, secured to the flatbed. It was the last car on the train. A single green boxcar was linked between it and the diesel engine.
They’d arrived somewhere; the final lurch of the stop was what must have awakened her.
“It looks like we’re at another repair yard,” she said. Six parallel rows of tracks led into several hangars, almost identical to the one where they’d started their journey. Hundreds of train cars, mostly coal hoppers, waited on the tracks.
Beyond the buildings and tracks, there was nothing but wild grasses and squares of farmland with grass-like crops, which made it seem like Grace and her friends were on a tiny metal island in the middle of a green sea.
“We could ask that guy.” Asher pointed to Robert, the older Hispanic man in the grease-covered jumpsuit who was responsible for their escape. He stood about a hundred yards away, talking to several of his peers in front of a covered shed with more trains inside.
“I’m on it,” Grace said, opening her door. She had to carefully step outside while avoiding the edge of the train car. Once the door was shut, she sat on the wooden frame, then lowered herself down. When she walked toward the front of the three-car train, she saw Asher doing the same thing on the other side.
He smiled at her through the gap behind the engine.
When they met in front of the big orange machine, they closed ranks. “Fancy meeting you here,” she said, glad he was with her.
“What can I say? I’m trying to be a good partner.” Unlike her, he’d grabbed his rifle; it was slung over his shoulder.
“Well, after yesterday—” Behind the building, miles away, motion in the air caught her attention. A helicopter traveled the sky, not far off the ground, reminding her of a crop duster fertilizing the fields. “—I’d say you’re a great partner.” Together, they’d traveled hundreds of miles across multiple devastated states and made it all the way to Petteri himself.
“Thanks,” he beamed, before continuing. “I managed to get a signal before we left Denver. I told my folks we weren’t coming to the house and they should get somewhere safe outside the city. Petteri’s goons can’t get to me through them. They promised they would leave as soon as we hung up…”
“You don’t sound so sure,” she replied.
He stopped and held her from walking ahead. “My parents are stubborn.”
She tried to lighten the mood. “Now I know where you get it.”
Asher smiled at her. “I think they got the message. They said the radio has nothing but news about how TKM was shooting people downtown. I think that put the fear of God in them.”
Grace pulled out her phone, but it showed zero signal. Not surprising given their remote location. “I wanted to text my dad last night, but he doesn’t have a phone. I was going to try to contact the last number he called me from to see if they’d heard anything from him, but it never connected. I’d do it now, but you know…we’re off the grid.”
He perked up. “I’ve been thinking about that. Why don’t you change your voicemail message? Tell your dad we’re heading east, and he shouldn’t go to my parents’ house. When he finally gets to a phone, he’ll dial your number and hear your plans when he goes to leave a message.”
“It’s pretty brilliant, but I don’t have a signal,” she said, hopeful and disappointed at the same time.
“No problem. When it links back up, your voice message will automatically update. This way you don’t have to worry about it, for now.”
She was already tapping on her phone. “Dad, if you get this message, I’m heading east on a train. Please don’t go to Denver. TKM is trying to hurt us. They’ll try to hurt you if you show up.” She paused, thinking how to end it. “If you hear this, please tell me you’re all right. And tell me where you are. We need a new place to meet. For now, I love you.”
Grace almost hung up, but added one of her trademark claps, putting the game back in Dad’s court. Only then did she feel all right hanging up.
“You going to be okay?” Asher prodded, putting his hand on hers as she held the phone.
“It was a great idea, Ash. Let’s figure out where we are, and maybe I can update my message when we have a better place picked out to meet my dad.”
He withdrew his hand. “Sounds good.”
They walked next to a long line of oily, black coal cars.
Robert caught sight of them arriving. “Hey, you two.” He left his worker friends and met them next to one of the train tracks. “I’m glad you’re awake.”
She waved him off. “Where are we?”
The greasy man ran his fingers through his hair, then scrubbed his forehead with his sleeve. It appeared as if he’d already been hard at work. “We’re at the Sidney Progress repair yard. It’s kind of a sister shop to the one I work at in Denver. I’ve ferried cars up here for years. This is where they fix them up.”
“You went somewhere you were familiar with,” she said, knowing the feeling.
Robert nodded. “Bingo. Go with what yo
u know. With all the shooting back in Denver, I’m glad to be out here in the wide-open country. However, I didn’t expect all this action. There must be a thousand broken cars here. A dozen engines are waiting to take them after the boys fix ’em.”
“What’s it all mean?” she asked, taking notice of how many cars were being serviced inside the machine shop.
“Every hopper car in America is being drawn into TKM’s asteroid dig sites, apparently. Mostly it is TKM doing the drawing, but other companies are trying to cash in by leasing their cars at ten times the market price of freight. It’s driven up the value of these busted cars…” He pointed all around them.
The whumping action of the helicopter rotors carried in on the air. Grace tried to ignore it for a few seconds, but it was unmistakably approaching their position. She pointed behind Robert. “I don’t suppose you also repair helicopters? It looks like they’re coming right for us.”
The older man turned. “Ah, a MH-60 Blackhawk. Like from the movies. If I had to guess, I’d say the military was doing a sweep of the area. I wonder what they want?”
Grace had other ideas. She tugged at Asher’s hand. “Let’s move.”
Near Columbia, MO
“After getting everything we needed to survive out in the wilderness, how the hell did we miss the most important thing?” Ezra asked as he, Butch, and Haley stirred in the early morning mist on the river.
“Coffee?” Butch replied.
“A protein shake?” Haley added, cuddling her puggle in her arms.
“No. Sleeping bags and pillows. Either of them would have made sleeping in the boat a lot less like the torture I endured last night.”
Haley sat up, stretching. “Eh, it wasn’t too bad. I guess I’m a little sore. I had this pack as a pillow.”
Impact Series Box Set | Books 1-6 Page 81