Running Toward Home

by M B Panichi

  Morgan scanned the sky. Even standing, she was short enough to remain hidden behind the tall grass. After a while she sat down with her pad, taking remote control of the camera and setting it to do a three-sixty degree scan.

  Shaine watched Morgan, her face serious as she watched the images on the pad in her lap. It felt incredibly natural to have Morgan at her side. She realized in that moment she completely trusted Morgan to have her back. When she worked for Mann-Maru she’d preferred to work alone. As a commando, she’d always been part of a team. Morgan felt like a partner. She didn’t have the training, but she had good instincts.

  “There’s another van coming in,” Morgan murmured, stopping the camera and zooming it in. Shaine glanced at her pad to see Toby and Chelsea climbing out of an air van with several others who appeared to be about their same age.

  “Leave the camera there, and I’ll take it, if you can watch the sky?”

  Morgan nodded. She put her pad in her pocket, scooping up a pair of binoculars as she stood, turning a slow three-sixty.

  “Helijet, Shaine, way out. Three o’clock.”

  Shaine focused the camera on the black spot and zoomed it in. “Police,” she said. “Glad they’re going to be in the air.”

  Morgan nodded and continued her scanning without comment.

  Shaine said, “Here comes another van.” She watched a second vehicle float up the road and stop at the entry to the drive. Another group of seven protesters piled out with signs and exuberant energy for the cause.

  “There’s another helijet, too. About seven o’clock. Not sure if it’s incoming.”

  Shaine shifted the camera. The police HJ was still to their right and looked to be just hovering and watching. The second helijet was off in the distance and didn’t appear to be coming any closer. Shaine zeroed in on it and decided it looked like a local farmer’s crop duster. She frowned. “Keep an eye on that second one, make sure it stays out there.”

  “Sure.”

  Three local media vans floated up the road. They pulled in and started setting up cameras pointed toward the gates. Two police squad cars arrived shortly after. Four officers got out, watchful but not getting involved with either the press or the protesters. The protesters marched in a long narrow oval in front of the gates.

  Shaine focused the camera on the road leading to the power plant’s entrance. A group of dark vehicles came over the rise from town, headed in their direction, creating a growing puff of dust against the bright blue sky. She glanced at her chron. Thirteen forty-five hours. Right on time. It had to be the GGS people and the city officials.

  Well, that should liven things up, she thought.

  She grabbed her binoculars and followed Morgan’s line of sight. The two HJs hadn’t moved from their general area or distance. Also encouraging. Hopefully she and Morgan were just out here on a lark.

  The four city vehicles hovered into the driveway, whipping up the dusty ground. The protesters increased the volume of their chanting and held their signs higher. Shaine could hear the fervent tones of their mantra. Media cameras and reporters shifted closer to cover the action, and the police moved in.

  The city vehicles disgorged their passengers—four men and a woman in expensive-looking business suits, four city officials, and two maintenance engineers wearing yellow jumpsuits.

  The protesters shouted, “Don’t risk our future! Keep the doors shut!”

  The city officials strode toward the gate. A group of protesters, including Toby and Chelsea, broke off and rushed to link arms and sit in front of the gates. As the GGS group approached the gates, heated words were exchanged with the marching protesters. One of the GGS people gestured to the police.

  The police didn’t rush to their aid, but did start to talk to the group blocking the gate. Shaine watched as two of the officers started pulling the protesters away from the gates, handcuffing them and dragging them by the armpits toward the big police hover-van. The protesters didn’t fight the removal, but didn’t help, either.

  Shaine observed until they took her nephew and his girlfriend away, then shifted her focus. One of the city people undid the cable and locks holding the gates shut. The two engineers pushed the heavy, barred gates into openings in the gate walls. The protesters yelled louder but didn’t interfere as the GGS group followed the engineers and city officials through the open gate and down the overgrown path toward the administration building some fifty meters further in.

  Four officers took up positions at the gate. The police van drove off with the arrested protesters a few minutes later.

  Morgan said, “Toby’s going to be in a crapload of trouble when he has to make that phone call home.”

  Shaine snickered. “Yup.”

  Morgan grimaced. “My dad kicked my ass the first time it happened to me.”

  “Didn’t seem to have helped much, huh?” Shaine teased.

  “Smart-ass.”

  “Yup.”

  Morgan chuckled, then sobered. “What are they gonna do in there, anyway? Nothing’s online. There isn’t even any power.”

  Shaine scanned the fields around them. “I think it’s a political move. Just a show of intentions, make it seem like things are heating up.”

  They watched silently for a while.

  Morgan said, “I think that other HJ is coming closer.”

  “Hmmmmm. Think you’re right.” Shaine tracked the flyer. It seemed to be slowly easing closer as it ran what appeared to be crop dusting patterns, as though it were a new pilot practicing. She turned back to the power plant, but there was no change there. She glanced at her chron. They’d only been inside for about ten minutes. She figured they’d kill at least an hour wandering around in the facility, though she had no idea what they could be looking at.

  The place was empty. Any working tech had been gutted decades ago. There was no power. Probably just rats and cockroaches. She remembered from her youth that the outbuildings they’d gotten into were empty, gutted shells.

  She settled in to wait. At least Toby and Chelsea were out of the trouble zone, even if there was going to be hell to pay for getting arrested. The movement around the media vans had quieted as everyone waited for the people to come out of the admin building. There were no additional vehicles around, and Shaine didn’t see anyone in the area that looked out of place. She was a bit surprised that they hadn’t taken any press into the buildings with them, then decided they probably didn’t want to publicize the fact that the place was trashed.

  “Shaine,” Morgan said quietly.

  Shaine turned to face the fields to the east. Sure enough, the smaller HJ had changed its patterns and was heading toward the power plant. Shaine hefted the compact machine gun and flicked off the safety. Focused on the HJ, she sighted it through the scope. “Where’s the police HJ?”

  Morgan scanned behind them. “Still back there. Hasn’t come in yet.”

  “Let me know what they’re doing.” Shaine remained focused on the incoming HJ.

  A few seconds later, Morgan reported, “Police HJ incoming, seven o’clock.”

  The smaller HJ put on a burst of speed toward the gates. Staying high in the air, it did a flyby, raining laser fire across the driveway in front of the gate. The HJ was too high to do a lot of damage, but the effect was phenomenal. Protesters and media people scattered in an eruption of screams and chaos.

  Shaine sighted through the scope as the fast-moving helijet flew over the gates, firing steadily. The police HJ came in from the rear of the site.

  Morgan squeaked, “Fuck!” and pulled Shaine to the ground as a mini-missile from the police jet whistled over their heads. A second missile hit the smaller HJ and it veered away, spewing smoke from its tail. Shaine looked up after a few beats. The police helijet was following the intruder. She glanced over toward the power plant gates. There were police yelling orders, trying to assess the damage. Shaine looked at Morgan. “You okay?”

  “I’m good. You?”

  “Let’s get th
e hell out of here.”

  “Lead the way, baby, I’m right behind you.”

  They grabbed their gear and packed it quickly into Shaine’s equipment bag. Crouching low and staying under cover as much as they could, they ran through the fields. She hoped everyone would be too preoccupied to notice her and Morgan running through the field.

  * * *

  Shaine and Morgan raced the air bikes toward the farmhouse and pulled into the driveway. Shaine made a point of slewing sideways as she braked, showering Morgan with a wash of dust and gravel. Morgan came to a more sedate stop and flipped Shaine off with a gloved hand as she slung her leg over the bike and climbed off.

  Shaine laughed, sliding off her own vehicle. She pulled off her gloves and helmet, running her fingers back through her hair. She nodded toward a nondescript air car parked nearer to the house. “Think Grey’s here,” she commented.

  Morgan nodded and removed her own gloves and helmet. “On the back porch with your mom.”

  “And she brought Mia.” Shaine grinned and waved a hand in greeting to Grey, her wife Mia and Jeannette. She unhooked her equipment bag from the back of her bike and shouldered it, and she and Morgan crossed the driveway toward the house.

  Grey Tannis sprawled on the porch swing, all long legs and muscle, her silvery hair shining in the sunlight. She wore cargo pants and a tank top, her lightweight work boots propped up on the porch railing. The woman beside her was petite but muscular, of partly Asian descent, with shoulder-length light brown hair pulled into a tail. She leaned comfortably against her counterpart.

  “Hey, all,” Shaine greeted them.

  Grey raised a half-full glass of iced tea. “Afternoon.”

  Jeannette gave Shaine and Morgan a once-over from her perch on the edge of a high-backed rocker. “How did it go?” she asked.

  Shaine made a so-so motion, waggling her hand. “You have the news on?” she asked.

  Jeannette shook her head. “Should we?”

  Morgan and Shaine both nodded. Shaine said, “Probably.”

  Jeannette frowned at them and stood up. “Let’s go in then, and see what’s on the news.” She led the way through the back door.

  Grey raised a pale brow. “Always exciting around you, isn’t it, Wendt?”

  Shaine shrugged and smiled at Grey’s companion. “Mia, it’s good to see you again.”

  Mia Tannis smiled, almond-shaped dark eyes lighting. “You too, Shaine.” She gave Shaine a hug then stepped back.

  Shaine said, “This is my partner, Morgan Rahn. Morgan, this is Grey’s wife Mia. We go way back, so just ignore the fact that they think I’m an idiot.”

  Morgan grinned, taking Mia’s proffered hand in a firm grip. “Hey.”

  Shaine gestured toward the door. “Let’s go see what they’re saying about the latest protest fiasco,” she suggested.

  What the reporters were saying wasn’t as important as the footage they were showing as the four women joined Jeannette in the kitchen. They watched a clear shot of the protesters, including Toby and Chelsea, being dragged away from the gate in handcuffs.

  Jeannette turned an accusing glare on her daughter. “Arrested? Shaine, you were supposed to keep them out of trouble!”

  Shaine sighed. “We were hiding in the field a ways away, keeping an eye on things. There wasn’t anything we could do to prevent that. Besides, Toby’s just gonna call it a feather in his liberal hat.”

  Jeannette glowered at her. “Leese is going to have a fit.”

  “And Toby and Chelsea are going to have learned a lesson. Besides, at least it got them out of there before the shooting started.”

  “WHAT?”

  Grey and Mia also looked at Shaine, who pointed at the small vid screen suspended from the bottom of the kitchen cupboard. “I think that’s what’s on now.”

  Jeannette turned up the volume as a shaking video showed a helijet swooping down over the driveway. Laser fire strafed across the crumbling tarmac, throwing up clots of dirt and gravel. The announcer’s voice said, “Fortunately there were only minor injuries sustained in the chaos. The helijet was shot down by the police and crashed in a field about a kilometer away. Investigators are currently on the scene, trying to determine who was behind this new attack.”

  Jeannette turned away from the screen and sat down heavily on a stool at the breakfast bar, shaking her head. “This is all just a bit much,” she said quietly.

  Morgan laid a hand on her shoulder and simply nodded.

  Mia said, “At least none of the protesters were badly hurt.”

  Grey looked at Shaine. “Can you back that vid up? I want to see it again.”

  Shaine nodded and grabbed the remote off the counter, rewinding the vid. When she got to where the helijet came into view, Grey said, “Stop there. Run it slow.”

  Shaine did so, and they studied the unfolding images. Shaine observed, “The line of fire is at least four meters out in front of the people by the gates.”

  Grey nodded. “They weren’t planning on killing anyone.”

  “First protest was like that, too. Limited casualties when it could easily have been a bloodbath.”

  Morgan asked, “Why even bother?”

  Shaine shrugged. “No idea.” And, honestly, I don’t give a crap, as long as it all stops after we blow the damned place up.

  Jeannette stood. “I’d better head over to Leese’s to keep her from killing her son.”

  Shaine said, “If she needs help with cash for bail, tell her to call me.”

  Jeannette nodded shortly. “You girls have a good afternoon,” she said, and strode quickly from the room.

  The four women looked at each other. Shaine sighed heavily. “Well. Guess we have some planning to do, huh?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Morgan crouched in the brush outside the fence at the back of the former nuclear site. They had returned to where they’d already made a cut in the fence. The darkness was nearly complete. Heavy clouds blocked out the moon and stars. In the dimness, Morgan could barely make out the features of the women beside her. All of them were dressed in black and wore black face paint.

  Grey looked at each member of the group as she spoke. “Last-minute questions?” she asked.

  Shaine shook her head, shifting her heavy pack more evenly on her shoulders. “We’re good.”

  Grey nodded. “Okay. You have the blueprints on your pads. Use the micro GPS to put the charges where they’re indicated, and how we showed you. If you run into anything, we have the radios.”

  Shaine agreed. “Back here in three hours. Stay cool, stay low, and we have this covered.”

  Grey held the fence open where it was cut. Shaine and Morgan scooted through first, followed by Mia, and finally Grey. They picked their way across the broken, overgrown tarmac at a fast jog. The lack of moonlight increased the density of the shadows. A steady breeze blew warm, damp air from the south. The high grass and spindly trees swayed and rustled around them.

  They split up when they reached the first of the three cooling towers. Shaine and Morgan hung back while Grey and Mia continued toward the containment facility. Morgan followed Shaine as they circled around the thirty-story cement tower. Shaine crouched and slid the backpack off, pulling it around in front of her. Morgan knelt beside her and opened her own pack. She removed a winch-and-cable pistol and released the grapnel’s claw.

  Morgan wore a full climbing rig, black cargo pants with plenty of pockets and a tool pouch around her waist. Shaine passed her a set of explosives, which she pocketed.

  “You know what to do, right?”

  Morgan nodded. “Sure. No issues.” Her comp pad contained a 3D rendering of the tower with all the explosives placements marked. The micro GPS built into the blueprint display would tell her when she reached each point. It was relatively foolproof. The self-mounting explosives would bore into the surface. All she had to do was place and activate them.

  Shaine grinned at her. “Good.”

  Morgan passe
d Shaine the winch gun, and the taller woman backed away from the tower and aimed for the top of the tower structure. The grapnel-ended line shot upward into the night. They heard the muffled crump of the claws digging into the surface, lodging solidly into the cement. Shaine pulled on the thin line, checking to make sure it was secure. She returned to Morgan’s side, handing her the gun, setting the line lock.

  “Remember, this button to reel up, this one down.”

  Morgan nodded and clipped the butt of the pistol to the front of her climbing rig. She was the smaller and lighter of the two, so she took the option to do the rappelling while Shaine covered her. Truthfully, she was much happier to be doing something, rather than being the lookout, and she’d told Shaine the same.

  “Okay, here I go.” She tapped on the miniature comp pad attached to her forearm to bring it to life, then closed her hands around the winch controls. A touch of her finger and the winch gun started reeling her slowly upward. When her feet left the ground she shifted, leaning back into the climbing rig the way Shaine and Grey had taught her, walking the wall with her feet, letting the winch do the work.

  The cement smelled damp and musty. The surface was rough and weather-worn and felt almost sandy under her boots. She climbed slowly through the gloom. Above her, she could see the deep crack in the tower’s outer shell. Her feet slipped a couple times as she climbed. Each time, her heart skittered, fear pulsing through her until she realized the cord would hold her, even when she ended up face-first against the cement.

  She let the winch pull her until the comp pad beeped quietly. She stopped the winch, settling her stance as solidly as she could, and wrangled the first of the charges out of her pocket. She took a quick look at the wrist comp to double-check the placement and grabbed at the edge of the crack, pulling herself over a half-meter. She tapped the winch’s up button for just a second, until she could get a foothold inside the meter-deep crack. She lodged the explosive into the back of the crack and tapped the raised button. The device bored into the surface with a slight vibration. When it stopped, she set the arming mechanism. It blinked red three times before going out.