After the War: Military Dystopian Thriller (Friends of my Enemy Book 2)

by Autumn M. Birt

  The race out of the warren of tumbled stone and collapsed buildings took the last of his bullets. If he hadn’t seen the slave camps two days before, Jared might have thought about surrendering. Probably not, though. If the troops fighting him were FLF, and if they found out he was the Captain of the Guard ... well, death was probably a better option for him and Europe.

  Behind him, the sky lit up in a fireball. Jared jerked to a halt.

  “Shit. Kieren! Lieutenant O’Dell respond!” he ordered into the comm.

  There was nothing. Not even static. The battery had finally died.

  “Is she?” Hammil asked.

  “I have no idea. Keep going to the rally coordinates she gave us. Now!” Jared ordered and pushed him forward.

  Whatever exploded slowed down the enemy soldiers behind them. Whether that was because they were gutting the wreckage of a dactyl or because Kieren found a way to throw off the pursuit were equally possible. The way this mission was going, Jared was more afraid of the first worry being true than having hope any of them would survive.

  Even with the respite, Jared was dodging bullets as he slid down an eroded gully. Branches snapped under his feet, tripping him so that his descent became more of a seated maneuver, which didn’t feel good. Scratched, bruised, but still alive, Jared hit more level ground and kept running. He made it to the rally point from memory of the terrain and direction. Without his comm, he was blind and deaf.

  Jared had also lost sight of the other Guard. For a nauseating moment when he arrived at the clearing by a stream that marked the rally point, he was alone and uncertain if he was lost or if he were the only one left. Out of the brush west of him stumbled Hammil, clutching his gut. Seeing Jared’s gun leveled at him, Hammil halted, sinking to his knees when he recognized Jared. Jared thought it was from relief until he saw the blood dribbling between Hammil’s fingers.

  “Ah shit,” Jared swore, tossing down his gun to help ease Hammil to the ground.

  “You might need that if they catch up,” Hammil rasped.

  “Nah, I’m out of bullets,” Jared replied, pulling open Hammil’s coat. It wasn’t good. Blood soaked his shirt, at least Jared hoped the torn and bumpy sodden mess was clothing. “Just hold on till Kieren gets here. We need the med kit on the dactyl.”

  “Don’t think it’s coming,” Hammil said.

  Kneeling next to him, Jared rocked back on his heels. He hadn’t thought he had so much frustration left in him. He was tired of killing and watching his soldiers die. He’d never been good at impossible situations.

  Amy raced into the opening next. Seeing Jared leaning over Hammil put a hitch in her step before she swiveled around and dropped into a covering position, gun at ready.

  “Captain, you really should wipe off some of that mud. I barely recognized you,” she said over her shoulder.

  “Did you see what exploded? Or where Sasha and Taylor got to?”

  “Negative on Sasha. Taylor and I split to make tracking us harder. He should be coming around from the east. I think Kieren blew an armored vehicle that was coming up behind.”

  Jared was grateful for the news and that they hadn’t been trapped in the ruin when more forces arrived. Amy glanced at Hammil, but before she could ask anything wind whipped through the clearing. The whirling hum of a dactyl’s engine drowned out the crack of gunfire as the nose of the plane edged over the scrawny treetops surrounding the rally point.

  As the dactyl settled into the swirling dust, Amy joined Jared and helped hoist a gasping Hammil to his feet. The three of them ran for the back of the dactyl as the hatch dropped open.

  “Is anyone else coming?” Gabriella yelled from the front as the realization this was not Kieren’s dactyl, really his dactyl hit Jared. There wasn’t a place to sit as the cramped rear compartment held its full six soldiers.

  “Officers Sasha Rataouski and Taylor Banks are still out there,” Jared answered as he helped rest Hammil on the narrow floor. Soldiers tucked their feet while Amy and another soldier pulled out the medical kit. With lack of space and unneeded to help treat Hammil, Jared joined Gabriella in the cockpit.

  “You look like shit, Captain,” Gabriella said as he dropped into the chair next to her.

  “Feel it too, Lieutenant Faronelli. Seeing anything of Sasha and Taylor? Who else came over for the rescue?”

  “Nothing on Rataouski and Banks yet. The computer is still sorting out who is enemy and who might be ours. Lieutenant Assad is helping out Lieutenant O’Dell. Her dactyl took a hit from a surface to air, but she is still flying though with a bit of a limp. They are keeping the route to the rally point that O’Dell gave us clear.”

  Jared nodded at the information. “Fly low towards the ruins so we can run a wider scan for Rataouski and Banks,” he ordered.

  As the hatch closed and the dactyl lifted, he hesitated. There was a quick solution to at least checking on Rataouski and Banks, but ever since Kiev he hated checking life stats. Every soldier in the Guard was monitored, yet everyone disliked the cold finality of checking a computer for a life reading. But he needed to know if it was worth risking more soldiers. Jared typed in the code, hoping his instincts were wrong, and then sitting back in his seat when the flatlines appeared. Now he was tired.

  “Scan for dead bodies,” he told Gabriella hoarsely.

  She glanced at the monitor, her jaw flexing as she realized what screen he’d brought up. “Yes, sir.”

  They found both bodies quickly after that, the unknown enemy soldiers going over the contents of their packs. Gabriella chased them off with the lasers. The quarters in back were tight with Hammil, Amy, and two bodies, but Sasha and Taylor had been good soldiers, European soldiers. He would take them home to the land they served.

  Gabriella glanced in the back at the packed conditions before turning to Jared. “Shall we help Lieutenant O’Dell and Assad fight off the enemy, sir?”

  “No. Pull back to the coast. There is a low rocky plateau to our southwest. Head there. Tell Assad and O’Dell to follow. We need to determine how badly damaged her dactyl is and rearrange soldiers.”

  It was a quiet half hour flight to the spot Jared had chosen. For his part, he kept biting back ideas and questions. Gabriella was not Arinna. She was a good Lieutenant, but the thoughts running through his head were not the sort you shared with someone you were trying to inspire confidence in. He was relieved to see that two more dactyls were en route from home, crossing the ocean at a furious clip. But the best news was that one was Arinna’s.

  Arinna was over two hours out, which gave him a little time to redeem himself on a mission that had gone so wrong. He ordered Kieren’s dactyl analyzed and assessed. He needed to know if it would make it home. Hammil was left in the back compartment of Gabriella’s dactyl and made as comfortable as possible. Best case scenario would be that Kieren could take Hammil home along with Sasha and Taylor’s bodies.

  He pushed aside the worst ideas rising from the blackest parts of his mind and distracted himself with something useful. “Have the computers on all three dactyls scan the area for transmission. I want to be able to tell the Lady Grey something about who we were just fighting when she gets here,” he ordered Lieutenants Farrak Assad and Gabriella Faronelli. Then he went to wipe off some of the red mud coating him.

  By the time he was clean after thoroughly muddying a small stream running off the hillside where the three dactyls perched, transmissions were coming in. Jared made sure Arinna and the second dactyl would have a place to land, that the soldiers had food and erected a few shelters, that the perimeter was being watched, and then he finally sat down to listen in.

  The sun had set by the time the two dactyls arrived and set down. He’d relayed the coordinates of their location and updates on the progress they’d made with transmissions. Arinna had acknowledged receipt but not said anything. That made him nervous. But when the two birds landed and spilled additional soldiers, he understood. Arinna had flown with an officer in the co-pilot’s chair j
ust to bring along one more fighter and hadn’t been alone for a conversation. He should have thought of that possibility.

  The new soldiers were directed on who to relieve and where to stow supplies. Jared waited until Arinna appeared in the back hatch. She looked around the camp, falling into darkness now, before nodding to Jared that he should come on board.

  She remained silent until the door separating the cockpit from the back slid shut. “What happened?” she asked.

  Her demeanor was somber and unreadable. Without knowing his footing and after the day with its losses, Jared hesitated to be anything less than direct.

  “We’ve seen camps the last few days. They look like slave labor camps with farms, fields, sparse quarters, warehouses, and roads linking them. Yesterday we found what looked like a normal town: houses, businesses, and industry. I ordered Kieren to keep watch in the dactyl with Finn as backup, and I went in with Hammil and Amy. Taylor and Sasha stayed on the outskirts with our guns.”

  “You walked into an unknown town thinking they wouldn’t notice three people with European accents who suddenly appeared and asked questions?” Arinna asked.

  “Amy speaks Spanish and Portuguese. I’m not a fool,” Jared snapped. “We ran recon first and scanned for anything that appeared military. It was similar to how we found those half dozen folks who wanted to come with us. They were hiding from something, so when we said no, they took off before we got anything useful from them.

  “I have no idea where the chaps with guns came from today,” Jared continued. “We were talking to a guy selling fruit and yes, he was looking at us like we’d come from Mars, and the next minute someone down the street was shooting at us.”

  Arinna held his gaze before looking away without saying anything. It was moments like this when their odd relationship really revealed itself. Jared would never have spoken to a superior like that. Even though he considered Arinna his commander, she wasn’t. They treated each other most often as equals until it came to field command. Then he listened to her.

  “You have no idea who they are?” she asked.

  “No. The communications we’ve been monitoring sound like they don’t have a clue who we are either. But they are working on it,” Jared said, feeling nervous about that. “They’ve requested assistance from another base and were told to send a report about everything that happened today.”

  “Where?”

  “North,” Jared answered.

  “How far north?” Arinna asked, frowning. “We’re already at the edge of the Mexican desert. Above that is the wasteland of the States.”

  “I swear he said Texas,” Jared replied.

  Arinna’s stare held the same unnerved state he felt, which gave him a bit of relief. And a touch of boldness. “I’m sorry about this. Sasha and Taylor’s deaths are my fault. Dammit, I’d say fire me, demote me, anything ... and I wish you would. At the very least scream at me. Please.”

  Arinna snorted faintly. “You know I can’t get rid of you. And I don’t want to. This whole fight wouldn’t work if it weren’t for both of us. And you’ve beat yourself up far worse than anything I can think to say to you at the moment. I’ll reserve the right to harangue you later if I think of something truly fitting.”

  The slight humor in her tone lifted the weight from him far more than he felt he deserved. “What do you want to do? Go back and destroy the town? Find and attack their base?”

  “No. You were smart to pull back. We are too far from home and support to fight an unknown and unevaluated enemy. But we should find their base ... and see if we can track this communication north. We’ll split up the dactyls in the morning. One can escort Kieren back home. We can have Gabrielle and Farrak spend a day or so doing recon here while you and I head north.”

  “You and I ... this isn’t going to interrupt your dating schedule, is it?” Jared asked.

  To Jared’s surprise, Arinna winced. A flash of sorrow flooded her eyes before fading. “No,” she said after a moment. “That is ... done. Byran is going to meet his wife and, hopefully, go home with her. And without the excuse to help his friend, I doubt I’ll be hearing anything more from the Earl of Kesmere, who I’m sure is very much relieved about that.”

  “What happened?”

  Arinna shook her head. “Later. Today has been long enough. For both of us, I think. I’m glad to be back in the field with you ... though I wish it hadn’t started like this. I realize that the last few weeks my attention has been too split. You aren’t to blame for today, Jared. I am. I shouldn’t have let you come across the Atlantic without better recon or backup. This was crazy. I was stupid. I’m sorry.” Arinna’s blue eyes held a liquid line against her lashes.

  “Ah shit, don’t look at me like that or I’ll have to ask you to a ball or something.”

  Arinna spat laughter, making Jared grin. “Damn, I missed you. Come on, let’s see if Kieren is ready to limp home,” she said.

  Chapter 18

  THE EARL OF KESMERE

  NEW ALLIANCES

  Kesmere felt empty without Byran.

  The feeling wasn’t uncommon after his friend left, or even Danielle though her absence faded quickly. But this time the loneliness was acute, a stormy presence that marched down the hallways beside him in the place of his friend. When he found himself barely listening to a fellow guest at an afternoon party as he scanned the crowd, he realized it wasn’t just Byran’s presence that he was missing. That surprised him.

  Arinna’s expression, when she told him to find Byran in Kesmere’s garden, had shown that her feelings for Byran were just as deep as Byran’s for her. But she had walked away. Byran wouldn’t tell him why or anything of the conversation that had left Byran empty compared to his usual tempests of emotion. Byran remained quiet and sullen until his departure the next day, promising to tell Derrick more later when he felt ready to speak of it. Now they both had stories to tell. One of these days, they would have actually to sit down together. Probably with a lot of beer.

  As two weeks passed with increasingly frequent social events, Derrick could only imagine Arinna was avoiding him as much as he was trying to avoid Corianne. Only Arinna was being more successful. He saw nothing of the Lady Grey as two weeks slipped into three. No word came from Byran either. Derrick was left missing his friend and fretting with no one to talk to. Because the worst problem was that the twin absences of Byran and Arinna inflamed the small rumors into a tempest. Derrick was sure, mostly, that Byran and Arinna were not together. But that tiny doubt left him unable to deny earnestly what was being whispered. So he said nothing and hoped the gossip would fade, or that one of them would reappear.

  Merrifield held an outdoor party every June to showcase his garden, which could have filled a botanic park while putting it to shame with his creativity. Derrick went as much because it was expected as because he was bored. Looking across a planted square of ground phlox that resembled a quilt made of flowers, his gaze fell on Arinna. Despite an initial flood of relief, Derrick took his time walking around the intricate garden before he approached her, waiting until she stood alone with her gaze on the thick of Merrifield’s guests.

  “You’ve been away,” he said. “And wherever it was, you were in the sun quite a bit to get that tanned.”

  Arinna gave a quiet laugh though he noticed her blush as she turned away after a quick glance. “Would you believe a luxurious seaside retreat?” she asked.

  “Yes. But not from you,” he told her. Her eyes shone with laughter. “Would you walk with me, please? I’ve been wondering how you were.”

  Arinna hesitated but placed her hand on his offered arm. Derrick strolled at a leisurely pace through the sprawling lines of flowers and hedges. “Have you heard from him?” Arinna asked after a moment.

  “No. Have you?”

  “Me?” she asked surprised. “No. I only just returned, and there was nothing from him at Rhiol. But I’m not surprised. I did not think he would want to talk to me again after how I left things.” A
rinna paused and glanced at Derrick. “And he did not tell you?”

  “No, and I have a feeling you are not going to as well,” Derrick replied.

  Arinna shook her head, glancing away. She took a deep breath before speaking again. “He chose Isabella a long time ago, chooses her every time he goes home. I just don’t think he realizes it. It will take some time, but he will be fine.”

  “And you?”

  “I’m too busy to be anything but ... busy,” Arinna said with a half laugh.

  “Ah yes, your seaside retreat. Here I thought you’d been helping Captain Vries on his mission.”

  “You know I can’t confirm that,” she said to him.

  Derrick went to answer, but his gaze crossed Corianne’s where she stood a few hedges away. She smiled and waved. Derrick nodded before guiding Arinna on a sharp left to turn their backs to her. Arinna’s hand shook on his arm as she held back her laughter.

  “How have you been, my lord earl?” Arinna asked when she could control her chuckling.

  “Lonely, actually,” he replied.

  “Really? And with such a potential enthusiastic companion nearby,” she teased.

  “I do not need to sport rumors either, my lady.”

  Derrick regretted the words as soon as he spoke them. But it was too late. Arinna’s laughter died. She slipped her hand from his arm and walked ahead without him, pausing to gaze at a sculpture covered in myriads of lichens and mosses.

  “I did not mean insult,” he said, joining her.

  “You do not need to apologize to me, my lord earl. There had been little companionable conversation between us before Byran arrived. And only a scant bit of meaningful words then. Do not trouble yourself with me,” Arinna finished as she turned to depart. His decision to leave the Guard rose again in his mind. He could let the connection he had now, one that Byran had accidentally given him, walk away or he could make a different choice this time.