by Robert Boren
“General Hogan has been captured by the enemy,” Jason said. “We found out about that this morning.”
Stanton leaned against the hood of the truck, tears forming in his eyes.
“Shit, you know him, don’t you?” Kyle asked.
“We served together,” Stanton said. “We saved each other’s lives. Where is he being held?”
“Jason, are you sure we should be saying so much?” Don asked.
Jason turned to him and nodded yes.
“Well?” Stanton asked.
“Nelson’s team said they think he’s being held at Schriever Air Force Base.”
“That’s in Colorado,” Stanton said. “Are there people working to free him?”
“Yes,” Jason said. “His group got chased into Colorado from Utah very recently.”
“Cutting off the flow of enemy fighters and supplies will help General Hogan,” Stanton said, thinking out loud.
“Stanton, don’t get us into trouble,” White Eagle said. “They’ll destroy us if we break the agreement. Remember what Saladin said.”
“Saladin is an evil man,” Stanton said, “but don’t worry. I won’t do anything until we’ve talked to the council.”
“They’ll do whatever you suggest,” White Eagle said.
“That may be true,” Stanton said. “What of it? Do you wish to challenge my leadership?”
“No sir,” White Eagle said.
“We’re going back to the reservation,” Stanton said. “We will talk again.”
Jason nodded and shook hands with Stanton, who gave one last look to the others, then got behind the wheel. The pickup trucks drove away quickly.
“Wow,” Don said. “Wasn’t expecting that.”
“Me neither,” Junior said. “What do we do now?”
“Let’s get everybody settled and meet in the clubhouse,” Jason said. “How about an hour from now?”
“That should be enough time to get everybody hooked up,” Kelly said. “C’mon, Junior.”
They walked off, Dirk and Chance following. Don and Curt stood next to Jason and Kyle, watching them leave.
“This puts a new wrinkle on things,” Jason said.
“Do we tell them about the apps?” Don asked.
“No way,” Curt said. “Until we know them a little better.”
“You don’t trust them?” Kyle asked. “Stanton was visibly shaken when he heard about General Hogan.”
“Might have been an act,” Curt said. “Those guys have to walk a tightrope. They’ve got this deal going. If they welsh, it might be the end of their tribe.”
“The Islamists will kill them eventually anyway,” Jason said.
“Eventually is the important part of that statement,” Don said. “They might betray us just to make that eventually be out a year or two.”
“You’re saying that they might tell the Islamists where we are?” Kyle asked. “As a gesture of good faith?”
“It’s possible,” Don said. “Hope not.”
“Don’t get too worried about it yet,” Curt said. “Wonder if they have to go down this road to get to the enemy base?”
“Nope,” Don said, looking at his phone. “Their reservation is south of us, and so is Alamogordo.”
“You still seeing hits in Alamogordo?” Kyle asked.
“No, just east of there,” Don said, “between the town and the Holloman Air Force Base. Along Highway 70.”
“So, if Islamists go to the reservation, we’ll see them,” Jason said. “If the tribe goes to see the Islamists at their base, we won’t know about it.”
“Hell, guys, if those folks are gonna betray us, they’re probably doing it over the phone right now,” Don said. “We need to watch carefully for Islamists coming in this direction.”
“If that tribe has four thousand warriors and they work for the Islamists, we’re already in deep shit,” Curt said.
“I don’t think we are,” Jason said. “I think the tribe is gonna help us.”
“What makes you think that, pencil neck?” Curt asked.
“I don’t know,” Jason said. “Gut feelings, I guess.”
“I’m going back to my rig to get her hooked up,” Don said.
“Want to get back to your new wifey, huh?” Curt quipped. “Traitor.”
Don chuckled as they walked back, Kyle and Jason hanging back to talk to the tank drivers.
“Think we’re gonna hit that base tonight?” Don asked.
“We need way more info before we make a plan to do that,” Curt said.
“We can see the bad guys with the apps, right?”
“That’s true,” Curt said. “We know how many bad guys are around. We could also see reinforcements coming.”
“As long as they’re in places where there’s LTE coverage.”
Amanda and Sydney rushed up to greet them as they got back to their spaces.
“Well?” Sydney asked.
“Indian tribe from the reservation,” Don said.
“Who’s side are they on?”
Curt laughed. “That’s the real question.”
“Are there a lot of them?” Amanda asked.
“Four thousand warriors,” Curt said.
“Shit,” Amanda said. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“I like it a lot, as long as they’re on our side,” Don said. “The jury is still out on that. Probably will be for a few hours at least.”
“Why?” Sydney asked.
“The leader that was here is going to discuss the issue with their council,” Don said.
“So we have no idea what they’re going to do,” Amanda said. “They could crush us with four-thousand warriors.”
“Jason’s gut is telling him that they’ll come down on our side,” Don said.
“That and a quarter will get you a cup of Java,” Curt said.
“You’ve known Jason for a long time,” Amanda said. “How often is he right?”
Curt thought about it for a moment. “You know, he’s pretty much always right. Doesn’t mean we should relax, though.”
“Where are they?” Sydney asked.
“Jason and Kyle?” Don asked. “They went to talk to the tank commanders.”
“Can we go relax inside for a little while?” Sydney asked.
“Relax a while?” Amanda asked, smiling.
“Shut up,” Sydney said.
“Yeah, we got at least an hour before the meeting starts,” Don said.
“Good,” Sydney said, taking Don’s arm. They walked to their trailer as Amanda grinned at Curt.
Don opened the door and held it for Sydney. A rush of cool air came out at them.
“Good, you ran the air conditioner,” Don said as he followed her inside.
“Shut the door,” she said. “We’re losing it fast. It runs a little noisy.”
They sat on the couch together as the air conditioner rumbled to life.
“See, told you,” Sydney said, leaning against him.
“It’s not that hot in here,” Don said. “If the noise is bothering you, we can do without it.”
She giggled, then pulled off her top. “I want the noise to drown us out, silly.”
“Oh, now I get it,” Don said, pulling her in for a kiss as his hands went to her bra, undoing the hooks. He pulled it off, admiring her beauty.
“Let’s go in the bedroom,” she whispered. They got up, undressing in a hurry as they went, landing on the bed naked and trembling, devouring each other, their passion hitting a fever pitch.
“Don’t wait,” Sydney said. “Take me now. We’ve waited long enough.”
He took her right then and there, gently, but his restraint was gone in seconds. They made love frantically, the noisy air conditioner drowning out their groans.
“Oh, honey,” Sydney cried, completely out of control now, wanting to be bonded to him forever, pushing back hard as he peaked, both of them crying out. Then they were done, coming down, still in each other’s arms.
“Wow,” Don
said. “We’ve obviously been saving that up.”
“Think we were too loud?” she asked, looking at him, brow furrowed.
He chuckled. “No, not unless somebody was right outside our window, and even then that damn air conditioner probably drowned us out. The trailer might have moved a little bit.”
“I put the jacks down while you were gone,” she said softly.
“Oh, so you were planning this, were you?”
“Do you have any idea how hard it was not to let you have me before?” she asked. “I needed you so badly.”
“Good,” Don said. “Wasn’t easy for me either.”
“You didn’t make it seem like you were struggling,” she said, searching his eyes.
“I didn’t want to blow it with you,” he said, caressing her cheek.
“We still have some time,” she said.
“I know. I’m ready.”
She moaned as he pulled her over on top of himself, kissing her deeply.
Chapter 8 – House Call
Doctor Schultz came out of the bedroom, looking relieved. He was a tall, thin man with a close-cropped beard and salt-and-pepper hair.
“He’s gonna make it?” Hendrix asked. Ramsey was too scared to say anything.
“He didn’t have a heart attack,” Dr. Schultz said, “but he had a whale of a panic attack, and he fainted because of it. I’ve given him some Ativan. He’s going to be a tad drowsy, but he’ll be okay. He’s sleeping now.”
“What caused it?” Hendrix asked. “Does he have any underlying heart issues?”
“No,” the doctor said. “It’s not cardio vascular. This is probably a dumb question, but did he just come under intense stress?”
“We just found out that a close associate got captured by the enemy,” Ramsey said.
“He’s beyond an associate,” Hendrix said. “He’s a dear friend too.”
“Well, that might do it,” Dr. Schultz said, “along with all the other crap that’s been going on. I notice that everybody got moved out of the Capitol building.”
“How’d you know that?” Ramsey asked.
“I’ve got a lot of patients among the legislature, and I come to their offices for them when it’s a busy time.”
“What, you make house calls?” Hendrix asked, grinning. “Didn’t think that was done anymore.”
“So I take it some folks called you to cancel their appointments,” Ramsey said.
“Yep,” Dr. Schultz said. Hendrix shot Ramsey a glance, which the doctor saw. “Don’t worry, gents, you don’t have to tell me anything, and I’ll keep my mouth shut about this.”
“We’d prefer if you stuck around for a while,” Ramsey said. “Is that gonna be okay?”
He sighed. “I figured as much. Sure, no problem. Is there someplace here I can sleep?”
“Any of those bedrooms in the back that doesn’t show signs of being used,” Hendrix said. “We can sleep quite a few people in a pinch.”
“We have plenty of supplies down here, too,” Ramsey said.
“I can call out to my receptionist and have her move appointments, I hope.”
“Sure,” Ramsey said. “Just don’t mention anything about this location or Governor Nelson. Understand? That’s crucial.”
“You want the bad guys to think that he’s still in the Capitol bunker,” Schultz said. “Something about to happen there?”
“No comment,” Ramsey said. “You need to keep your mouth shut about people not being at the capitol. Understand?”
“Yes,” he said. “No problem at all.”
“Are you hungry, Doctor?” Maria asked as she walked in.
“I could eat,” he said. “Lead the way.”
She led him to the kitchen.
“Thank God,” Hendrix said, sitting down on one of the chairs near the console. Ramsey sat next to him.
“If we lose the old man, we’re in deep shit,” he said.
“That’s an understatement.”
Maria came back over from the kitchen. “He’s having a snack. How’s Governor Nelson?”
“Panic attack,” Hendrix said.
“Oh,” she said. “That’s understandable. Glad the doctor is going to stay.”
“What were you doing out here, anyway?” Hendrix asked.
“Wallis and Gallagher want to have another meeting,” she said. “I held them off for a while. Do we wait for Governor Nelson to get up, or should we meet without him? I didn’t tell them he was having trouble.”
“Check with them on that,” Hendrix said. “I don’t want to wake him up right away.”
“Might not even be able to,” Ramsey said. “Ativan is pretty strong stuff.”
“You want me to tell them that he had a panic attack?” Maria asked, worried look on her face.
Ramsey and Hendrix looked at each other, then Hendrix looked at Maria. “Get them on. We’ll tell them what happened.”
“Okay,” Maria said. She logged onto the console and made the connection as Ramsey and Hendrix dragged two chairs close.
“That was quick,” Wallis said. “Gallagher will be here in a second.”
“Okay,” Hendrix said.
Dr. Schultz came out of the kitchen. “Something going on?”
“Meeting,” Maria said. “You don’t have to attend. You can watch the TV in the living room if you’d like.”
“Sure, no problem,” he said, turning and leaving the console room.
“This is kind of a pain,” Ramsey whispered.
“I know,” Hendrix said, “but I’m glad he’s sticking around for at least a little while.”
Gallagher’s face joined Wallis’s on the screen.
“Where’s Nelson?” he asked.
“The Governor just had a panic attack,” Hendrix said. “We have Dr. Schultz here. He’s given Nelson some medication. He’ll be sleeping for a little while.”
“Oh, crap,” Wallis said. “I was afraid of that. The stress is getting to him.”
“Yes,” Ramsey said. “Probably the news about General Hogan.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that didn’t sit well,” Gallagher said. “They’ve been friends for years.”
“Beyond that, Hogan is extremely important to our cause,” Hendrix said. “The Governor is carrying the weight of this war on his shoulders.
“What did you want to chat about?” Ramsey asked.
“General Hogan’s son sent us a message,” Gallagher said.
“About his dad?” Hendrix asked.
“No, it was about something they’re seeing on the apps. We have pretty large build-ups of enemy fighters in three locations.”
“What are they?” Ramsey asked.
“Matamoros, Mexico, just across the river from Brownsville is the first and the largest.”
“That’s not very strategic,” Ramsey said.
“The others are around Big Bend National Park, and around Juarez.”
“Shit, they’re trying to keep us busy again,” Ramsey said. “It’s okay for us to act on these?”
“Apparently. Hogan passed a message to one of his folks before he got snatched,” Gallagher said. “He was going to tell us about it. His son thinks it’s okay for us to act, but he suggested we fly drones in those areas, and make sure the enemy notices. They want us to attack to keep us busy, so we won’t be able to hit their supply lines.”
“Using the drones is a good idea,” Hendrix said. “Can we do that?”
“Hell yes, we can do that,” Wallis said. “How long do you expect Nelson to be out of sorts?”
“Not sure,” Hendrix said. “We could start the drone surveillance right now, can’t we?”
“I’d feel better if the Governor knew about it,” Wallis said. “In order to do this, we’ll be pulling drones from other areas which he thought were a priority.”
“Oh,” Hendrix said. “Good point.”
“My people will be in Brownsville soon,” Wallis said.
“DPS patrol boaters?” Ramsey asked.
“Isn’t that kind of risky, putting civilians in those boats?” Hendrix asked.
Gallagher laughed. “Civilians have been saving our bacon over and over, and besides that, several of those folks have spent time in the service.”
“I like it,” Ramsey said.
“Okay, I’ll get my guys on the horn and give the order,” Wallis said.
“You can’t order civilians to serve on the boats, can you?” Hendrix asked.
Wallis chuckled. “You misunderstand. I’m going to order my folks to offer them the job.”
“Oh,” Hendrix said. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Wallis said. “Keep on questioning things like that. Really. We’re public servants, and we need to remember that. Especially in times like this.”
“That’s right,” Ramsey said.
“Hear anything about the Fort Stockton group?” Wallis asked.
“They’re in Ruidoso,” Ramsey said. “They were visited by the Mescalero Tribe, from the reservation just south of there.”
“Really?” Gallagher asked.
“I’ve got my guys investigating the tribe,” Ramsey said.
“Why?” Wallis asked.
“They’ve got four thousand warriors, and they’ve got a non-aggression pact with the Islamists at Holloman AFB,” Ramsey said.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Wallis said.
“Neither do I,” Ramsey said.
“Let us know as soon as you find something out about that,” Wallis said. “I’ll make sure the drones check out their reservation and the surrounding area.”
“Make sure you tread lightly until we know they’re a problem,” Gallagher said. “Fly the drones high and be discreet.”
“Understand,” Wallis said. “Are we done? I should call Jefferson about the DPS Patrol boaters.”
“I think so,” Hendrix said. “Anybody else have anything?”
Nobody said a word, so Maria ended the call.
Chapter 9 - Recruits
Lita was still driving the truck, Richardson sitting in the passenger seat, texting.
“Who is that?” she asked.
“Jefferson.”
“Trouble?” Lita shot him a worried glance.