by E A Chance
“I’ll do everything in my power to make that happen. You sound tired. Close your eyes for a few minutes. I’ll see to Coop. Let me get the blanket.”
Riley lifted her head and waited for Dashay to spread the blanket over a patch of thick grass. She crawled to it and curled up in a protective ball. “Wake me when Kip gets here,” she said, then drifted into sweet oblivion.
Riley woke with a start to the sound of a bird squawking above her head. She sat up and brushed the leaves matted in her hair. Coop was curled in the fetal position on the blanket next to her, breathing deep and steady. Adrian was stretched out in the wheelchair, and Dashay was slumped against a tree, dead asleep. She was supposed to be standing guard. Riley checked the time and was shocked to see it was three in the morning. Jace and Kip hadn’t come.
Riley made a flash assessment of their situation. Coop was barely hanging on, too weak to walk more than a few feet. They had little food or other supplies, even water. Their escape was doomed before it had begun. She only had one course of action. She had to liberate Biscuit.
After pulling on her boots and lacing them in a silent rush, she switched on her penlight and hurried back up the path toward the park. She hugged the tree line, then wove her way through deserted streets. She paused at the gate leading into the fields behind the stables on the edge of town. Her courage wavered as she gazed across the tall grass stretching to the buildings beyond.
Here I go off half-cocked again. Without a plan, as usual, she thought. Zach would have been so disappointed. He had pounded it in so many times that the most crucial part of any mission or adventure was a well-ordered plan. But there hadn’t been time to plan. Craig and Kearns were on their heels, and they’d get nowhere without Biscuit. He was a vital part of that plan. “Sorry, Zach,” she said, as she climbed over the gate. “Having a plan didn’t save you in Afghanistan, so you aren’t here to help me. I’m doing the best I can. Deal with it.”
Her heart pounded as she stole across the moonlit field, afraid someone would spot her in the open, but there was no other way to reach the backdoor to the stables. She made it without incident and was relieved to find the door unlocked. She rolled it open and tiptoed to Biscuit’s stall, careful not to wake the stable hand sleeping in his quarters next to the office. As she neared Biscuit’s stall, he raised his head and neighed in welcome. Riley moved to him as quickly as she could to quiet him, but he only got louder.
“Hush, you bloody horse,” she whispered, as she went to open the stall door. Her heart sank when she saw it was bolted shut with a heavy padlock. No way she could free Biscuit without the key. She scratched Biscuit’s ear. “I’ll be right back. Stay quiet and you’ll get a treat.”
As if understanding, he nodded his head twice. Riley crept across the concrete floor, past the stable hand’s closed door to the office, hoping that wasn’t locked, too. She mouthed a thank you when she found the door wasn’t even closed. A bank of keys hung on the wall behind the desk. What’s the point of locks? she thought as she started snagging keys from their hooks. She carried them back to Biscuit and began jiggling them in the locks to find the right one. On the ninth try, she heard a click, and the lock fell open.
“Almost home free, old friend,” she whispered.
He gave a soft nicker, which reminded her she needed to find him a treat before leaving. As she rolled the door open, she spotted his tack hanging on the back wall. Another stroke of luck. She had him bridled and saddled minutes later, then took the reins to lead him to the field. She cringed with the echo of each hoof step on the hard floor. When they were yards from freedom, she heard a door bang open behind her. She turned to find the stable hand staring at her openmouthed in his boxers.
“Are you stealing that horse?” he cried as she climbed into the saddle.
“I can’t steal something I own,” she said with her back to him. “Biscuit’s my horse. The Librarian didn’t take him from me. He’s just allowing me to stable him here.”
He ran to the door and spread his arms to block her from leaving. “Prove it.”
Riley nudged Biscuit forward until they were inches from him. “Ask him yourself.”
“It’s three in the morning. Why are you going for a ride in the middle of the night?”
“Insomnia. I’m taking my horse, so get out of my way, or I’ll run you down.”
“You wouldn’t.”
Riley snapped the reins and shouted, “Go, Biscuit.”
The horse was so surprised that he took off at a run and headed straight for the man. The stable hand dove out of the way just in time, but got up immediately and ran out into the field after them.
Riley looked back as Biscuit tore across the field to see the stable hand standing in the tall grass, shaking his fist.
“You’re crazy, lady. The Librarian’s going to hear about this.”
I’m sure he will, she thought as she urged Biscuit onward, not letting him slow until they were out of sight of the field.
She patted his neck and gave him a scratch behind the ear. “Such a good boy. I owe you a big treat for that.” She directed him toward the path and hardly dared breathe until she reached the camp. She dismounted and shook Dashay to wake her.
Dashay straightened and rubbed her face. “Kip already came and left? I didn’t hear a thing. Some security guard I’d make.”
“It’s five, Dashay. Kip never showed.”
Dashay’s eyes narrowed. “Then how’d Biscuit get here?”
Riley picked up Jace’s backpack and tied it to the saddle. “I’ll explain on the way.”
“On the way where? Tell me what’s going on right now, girl.”
Coop and Adrian heard her, and both said, “What time is it?” in unison.
“Five,” Riley said, “Coop, we’re in trouble. We’ve got to get moving.”
Coop used the tree to get to his feet. As he shuffled towards them, Adrian jumped out of the wheelchair and helped Coop into it. “Where’s the cart?” Coop asked.
“Gone. This is all we have. Think you can ride Biscuit?”
“Before I answer that, tell us what’s going on.”
Riley sighed and crossed her arms. “We don’t have time for this, but I woke at three and saw that Kip and Jace never showed. You three were dead asleep, so I went back into town and got Biscuit. Now can we go?”
Coop tried to lift himself up but was too weak and fell back onto the seat. “You did what, Riley Cooper?”
“It’s done. Answer me. Can you ride that horse?”
“I can if Adrian and Dashay boost me up. You’re going to ride with me.”
She picked up the blanket and shook the debris off, then rolled it up and shoved it in a saddlebag. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Dashay put her hands on Riley’s shoulders to stop her from rushing around. “Go where, Riley? Kip was supposed to draw us a map.”
“Hang on,” Adrian said, then hurried to a nearby tree and came back holding up a backpack. “I had just enough time to pack my belongings before coming out here. I still have our US map, and the compass is finally working. I’ll chart a course to the nearest safe place to hide out until Coop is stronger.”
“Great. Do that,” Riley said. “We need to be as far away as we can get by dawn.”
Adrian opened the map and spread it over Coop’s lap. The two of them poured over it while Riley and Dashay packed their pitiful bit of gear. When they were ready, Riley helped Dashay and Adrian push Coop up onto Biscuit’s back, then climbed up behind him.
“That’s going to get old,” Dashay said, rubbing her shoulder.
“Hopefully, you won’t have to do it for long,” Coop said. “Another few days and I’ll be running circles around you.”
“Right,” Riley said, though she knew he was weeks away from even being able to walk. “Adrian, lead the way.”
Adrian ignored her and started wrapping his belt around the wheelchair handles.
Dashay watched him for a few seconds. “What are you do
ing?”
“Why abandon a perfectly functional wheelchair? We might need this.”
“Leave it,” Riley snapped, imagining Craig getting closer to them by the second.
Adrian unstrapped his belt in a huff and started walking up the path away from Madisonville. Riley flinched at every flutter of a bird or chatter of a squirrel they passed, fearing it was Craig’s people or Kearns’ on their tails. Being on constant alert was sapping her energy, but she wouldn’t be able to relax until she was sure they’d escaped.
They’d been in more dire circumstances since the CME nightmare began, but their current situation came close. She stood by her decision to move on, knowing it wouldn’t be long before the entire town had discovered they were gone. She ran through scenarios of what could have happened to Kip and Jace, but none of them ended well. She prayed their new friends wouldn’t pay too high a price for coming to their rescue and forced herself to accept that she would never know their fate.
Yeager wanted to bark at the driver to go faster, but he loathed appearing to be anything but dispassionate and in control of any situation. He forced himself to take a few deep breaths and relax into the seat. They’d gotten a late start leaving the compound because the vehicle needed a maintenance check and tune up before launching off. Yeager would have preferred to leave earlier, but he wanted to ensure his vehicle was up to snuff since repairs mid-trip would be next to impossible.
He turned to Logan Black, riding in the back seat and serving as their navigator to Madisonville. “How much farther?” Yeager asked, clipping his words.
Logan sat forward and checked their location through the window. “Thirty minutes if the road’s clear. It should be since the rain has stopped.”
“Looks safe enough to speed up,” Yeager told the driver. Thirty minutes felt like an eternity. He’d have to keep his mind occupied to make the time pass faster. He sat back and mulled over his options once he had Daybreak in custody.
He was much farther from Philly than he’d expected to be when he captured his target. He’d considered handing him over to the military to let them get him back to Kearns, but that could mean leaving a significant asset in the hands of morons. Personnel he’d come across who’d been in the military before the CME were competent enough, but the new recruits were worthless from what he’s seen. It wasn’t their fault, but the result of poor leadership and lack of proper training.
He could return Daybreak to Kearns himself, but he didn’t relish the idea of backtracking to Philly. He enjoyed being out in the open despite the scarcity of resources. It was enticing to imagine just disappearing into the wilderness, staking a piece of land for himself, and staying off the grid for the rest of his days.
He’d always gotten along well with others because he knew how to please people and do what was necessary to be accepted into any group, but he preferred to be on his own. Even in the military, he’d carved out time alone. His wife and children had softened this drive in him, but it had never gone away completely and had returned with a vengeance after the death of his family.
The third option was the least desirable, but perhaps the most practical. He could take care of Kearns’ Daybreak problem for her permanently. He’d been in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan and had taken lives before, but these were foreign enemies, who were trying to kill him. There were clear rules of engagement. It would be a totally different matter to kill American civilians. He had no clear-cut orders but these were unprecedented times. If the threat was truly legitimate, he might rationalize eliminating these targets. At this point in his life, the moral code that he had lived by seemed to dissolve in his own despair. For now, that was the option of last resort, and he was resigned to the fact that he’d have to escort Daybreak and his companions to Kearns himself.
They passed a road sign showing Madisonville was five miles ahead. He was almost to his goal. “Take us to this Librarian as soon as we get into town,” he told the boy. “If he’s on top of what goes on in town, as you say, he’ll know where to find these people.”
“I’ll take you to him,” Logan said, “but I two of them at the hospital. They can tell you where to find the other two.”
“Just take me to the Librarian.”
The boy shrugged. “Whatever. Have you decided if you’ll take me with you after you find this guy?”
“I’ll decide once the mission is complete. If you’ve led me on a goose chase, I won’t have any use for you.”
“I haven’t,” Logan said, looking him directly in the eye. It was a trait Yeager admired.
The driver pulled up to a laughably incompetent barricade guarded by a couple of teenagers.
The girl approached the driver, and he lowered his window. She held a clipboard and pencil. “Name and reason for wanting to enter Madisonville,” she said without taking her eyes off the clipboard.
The drive stared at her without answering.
Logan lowered his window and stuck his head out. “Hey, Kendra.”
Her eyes widened when she recognized him. “How’d you end up with these people?”
“Long story. They’re here to see the Librarian. I’ll vouch for them.”
Kendra waved for her companion to move the barricade. “I’ll take your word for it. You better not get me in trouble.”
“No worries,” he said as they drove through the checkpoint.
If that was how they were protecting the town, Yeager wasn’t concerned about dealing with this person who called himself the Librarian. What a ridiculous title, he thought.
Logan directed the driver to the library, and Yeager’s heart beat faster when they arrived two minutes later. The driver pulled up to the curb. The other vehicle transporting his team stopped behind them. Yeager jumped out of the Jeep and signaled for his team to stay put, then he strode toward the library entrance.
Logan caught up and stepped in his path to stop him. “Let me go first. His guards will let us in if they see me.”
Yeager gestured for him to go ahead but followed close on his heels. Logan waved and winked at a girl shelving books. She rolled her eyes at him, then went back to work. He led them down a short hallway and stopped in front of a closed door, guarded by two mountainous men. That’s more like it, Yeager thought.
“The Librarian is expecting me,” Logan said.
One of the guards glanced at Yeager, who held his gaze, then said, “He’s in an emergency meeting. You’ll have to wait.”
“I don’t think you want to keep this guy waiting. What’s so important about this meeting?”
“None of your business. I’ll tell the boss you’re here but wait over there in those chairs.”
“Why? You’ve never stopped me from seeing the Librarian before.”
“It’s fine, Logan,” Yeager said. “These men are just doing their job and following orders. The Librarian must have a good reason for not wanting to be disturbed. We’ll wait in the chairs.”
“Whatever,” Logan said as he followed Yeager. “The Librarian won’t be happy when he finds out his bruisers wouldn’t let us in.”
Yeager quietly lowered himself into a chair, though he was incensed at being delayed by this backwoods upstart. Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long. The guard they’d spoken with stepped out of the office and waved them over. He held the door for them as they stepped inside.
Yeager sauntered into the office and employed great restraint to stop from bursting out laughing at the sight of the scrawny young man in a superhero T-shirt standing behind the desk. He was the last thing Yeager had expected, and he wondered how this punk had kept the townsfolk in line.
There were two other men and a woman with him. They looked like typical small town residents, though the woman was roughly the same age as the Librarian and attractive in a natural country-girl way.
The Librarian sank into his chair and said, “Logan, who is this?”
Yeager stepped closer to the desk and extended his hand before Logan could answer. The Librarian ga
ve his hand a half-hearted shake. “My name is Colonel Yeager. I’m here on a mission of utmost importance on behalf of President Kearns. I’m looking for four fugitives.”
The librarian held up a hand to stop him and shuffled through a mess of papers on his desk. He pulled out the wanted posters and spread them on top of the other papers.
“Are these the ones you’re trailing?”
Yeager was surprised but pleased to see the posters had made it to Madisonville. “Yes. Logan tells me they’re here.”
“Were here, Colonel. They stole a horse and escaped in the middle of the night. I have my best trackers searching for them.”
Yeager did his best to conceal his devastation at the news, but the Librarian’s look told him he wasn’t fooled. “Your best trackers? I hope they’re more skilled than those two at the checkpoint.”
“Far more skilled. Trust me. Those two who allowed these people into my town in the first place will be replaced within the hour. We’ve stepped up security and are questioning any refugees wanting to enter.”
Yeager eyed him for a moment, then said, “My team will take over the search. Set up an operations center where I can work. Everyone answers to me from this moment forward. Tell me what I need to know.”
“Our best lead is the two people who I thought were my friends that helped the fugitives escape. They’re her brother and nephew, actually,” the Librarian said, pointing to the pretty country girl. “She’s my girlfriend.”
Yeager raised an eyebrow and said, “Ouch.”
The woman shook her head sadly. “I was totally clueless about what Jace and Kip were doing.” She wrapped the Librarian’s hand in both of hers. “We were having dinner while my own family was betraying us.”
Yeager didn’t buy her act for a second, recognizing the ploy to distract the Librarian while her family helped the others escape. The Librarian, however, ate up every word. Yeager caught her eye, and she held his gaze for a moment before looking away with the color rising in her cheeks.
“Would it be possible for us to talk alone?” he asked.