by Chogan Swan
Jordan held up a hand. “Wait. What is the Nii Federation? And why does their ambassador only have one name?”
“Well, that’s the other big news. I know Kaitlin told you about Ayleana. Tiana is her branch sister, and she has more names than that, but really. Tiana seems to be name enough while she’s on Earth. Her name among her family when growing up was Riniana Tiana, but the whole naming thing is pretty complex for nii society.”
“So how are we to get across the border?” said Kaitlin.
“We should be able to coordinate that through the embassy. The problem won’t be on the Mexican side. It will be all the refugees on the way there.”
Daniels took another biscuit from the covered basket. “Because of the number of refugees trying to leave the US, Mexico has closed the border to everyone from the US side except for Latin American expats and their families and those in the US who have been working against Deep State agendas—groups like the SimSociety Turbo Foundation and their supporters who now need asylum.”
Jordan laughed. “So the Great Unfinished Wall benefits Mexico now, and the US paid for it. If it weren’t for Kaitlin heading into that mess, I’d be laughing till dinnertime.”
“Why quit at dinnertime?” Kaitlin said, arching an eyebrow.
“Because then I’d be eating. Thank you very much for the straight line.”
Kaitlin grinned.
A tap at the door announced Bernard, who stuck his head in a moment later. “The cowcatcher is on. Looks like we’re ready to go.”
Jordan sighed and stood up, offering Kaitlin his elbow. “May I escort you one more time, Sheriff?”
Kaitlin took his arm. “Always, Jordan.”
Jordan put his hand on top of hers and together they walked out the door and down the hall to the main entrance. When they stepped outside, the whole ranch and Kaitlin’s Wet Gulch family were all standing beneath a huge banner made from a white paint tarp. The banner urged everyone to SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF.
Drew, who’d been waiting for them on the porch, stepped up. “That is my absolute favorite movie in the world.”
Kaitlin turned to him, wrinkling her forehead.
“Don’t ask!” said Daniels, holding up a hand. “Really, just don’t.”
Kaitlin shrugged then turned, waved to the cheering group, mimed polishing her badge then let Jordan lead her down the steps. Her friends and family swirled around, hugging her, laughing and crying. Jordan gave her a final squeeze and a kiss on the head before launching her into the maelstrom.
The SUV—now decorated with a steel plate painted with fierce eyes and teeth—pulled into the circular drive, hauling a small trailer loaded with a fuel drum.
Kaitlin touched or hugged everyone she could reach before climbing into the side door. Bernard followed her and closed the door behind them. Kaitlin took a deep breath and let it out.
“Well,” Bernard said. “I don’t know what school was like for you Kaitlin, but I bet you’d get voted homecoming queen in this town any day of the week.
Daniels started the engine and pulled the SUV out of the driveway. He rolled down his window, and—as a mounted escort trotted behind them—he let out a rebel yell as they paraded to the highway.
“Geez, Daniels, What was that?” Drew said, grinning.
“Just blending in with the local environment. It’s what they teach you in the Rangers.” He honked the horn as he pulled onto the pavement and accelerated down the road.
End of Part II
Part III
Chapter 26 — New glasses
Kaitlin adjusted the heads-up, tactical-display glasses, tugging the strap tight to keep them from slipping down her nose. They’d only been traveling about thirty minutes, since leaving the ranch, and Daniels had walked her through how to use the glasses—while Drew drove the SUV, and Bernard reclined in the second row passenger seat, trying to sleep.
Kaitlin had practiced the basic functions and read the operations manual. Now she was ready to start serious training.
The glasses hooked into the SUV’s sensor suite. Daniels—bent over the main display screen on the front passenger side—was running the primary local threat assessment. Kaitlin’s job was to augment the sensor suite with her eyes while using the voice command capacity to flag and identify threats. While training, she would learn how the sensor suite evaluated environmental anomalies and add what she saw before the computer did for the program to check and monitor—in case it missed something.
It was a contest—she decided. Though, without 360-degree vision, she probably had no chance of winning.
She tightened the strap of her armored helmet and lifted herself with the handrail that circled the observation bubble, a clear bulletproof dome protruding above the roof. Her head and shoulders fit into the bubble with plenty of room, but she held tightly to the rail to keep from bouncing around when they hit a bump. The arrangement wouldn’t comply with seatbelt laws, but it was a combat vehicle, there had to be trade-offs.
Daniels wanted her to focus on the way ahead. Kaitlin agreed; avoiding trouble was always better. A tap at her temple brought the glasses online, and an overlay of an amber grid of nine boxes became superimposed on her field of vision.
Pine trees lined the road ahead, and the Assessment Algorithm—the AA Daniels called it—flickered with gray shadows as it analyzed the objects in her field of view, highlighting them with a light green when it deemed them harmless. Objects continued to flow from gray to green as they cruised at sedate speeds between sixty and eighty KPH—a rate that optimized fuel consumption and the efficiency of the part of the AA that Kaitlin didn’t have on her display—the ground radar mine detection module.
“Fade gray and green, point five,” Kaitlin said, cutting the highlights in half to remove some visual clutter. The road continued to weave through the trees.
“Six F,” she snapped, spotting a deer moving toward the road from her right. Gray appeared more thickly in the right grid and turned yellow around the outline of the deer. Drew slowed, making sure the deer didn’t decide to step into the road.
“Good catch,” Daniels said. “The AA needs more practice in wilderness surroundings.”
After passing the deer, Drew resumed speed, and things continued as before. Kaitlin kept at it, becoming more and more comfortable with the interface. Occasionally, she took sips of water from the bite tube of the hydration pack as the day wore on and Bernard snored quietly. She was glad he was finally getting some sleep. She didn’t think he’d even dozed off since Bernice had.... Kaitlin took a deep breath and let it go.
A short time before noon, Daniels took over the driving again, and Drew moved to the display.
As they came around a tight curve. Kaitlin spotted a downed tree in the road. “Five E,” she yelled.
Daniels braked. Kaitlin scanned the sides of the road, looking for anything that might point to an ambush.
Deja vu all over again.
She whipped her head around and saw another tree starting to topple behind them. “Ambush behind us,” she yelled.
Daniels stomped on the accelerator and jammed his thumb onto a button on the steering wheel. The trailer disconnected from the SUV, and their tires screeched as all four wheels churned and the SUV shot forward.
Kaitlin ducked out of the bubble, but held onto the handrail like grim death and braced a foot against the bottom of the gearshift divider. When the SUV swerved right to go off-road, she switched her foot to the sidewall. Gunshots sounded outside, and impacts like a pounding hammer walked across the back of the SUV. Something thumped on the front of the SUV, a soft sound followed by a rapid vertical blip as though they’d hit a speed bump.
Kaitlin let go of the railing and let herself fall to her back, holding her arms and legs out to brace on the walls and the seats. The nose of the SUV dipped then shot up as they veered left. The motor roared and all the bumping stopped. A floating feeling grabbed her stomach.
Shit!
Whump.
/> Kaitlin’s head and back bounced on the floor as the SUV shocks protested. The floor tilted below her and Kaitlin had the insane view of the ground rushing past through the right side windows.
He’s driving on two wheels. We are going to die.
“OhMyGod, OhMyGod,” Drew chanted.
From where she sprawled on the floor, she could see Daniels as he wrenched the wheel to the right. The left side of the SUV dropped and bounced. They slewed ahead, and another thump on the front of the SUV was followed by a clatter on the roof. Something caromed off the observation bubble.
A body.
Daniels laughed, a triumphant angry sound, and the motor whined as they accelerated.
“Oh, yes, please come after us,” Daniels snarled.
“Dear God,” Drew whispered. “They are.”
“Kaitlin, can you shoot the bullpup that’s racked behind me?” Daniels called.
“I can try,” she heard her voice say, pulling herself up.
“Good, get it and crawl into the seat behind me, put the back of the seat down and use it as a brace for the barrel. Drew will hold your legs steady. Tell me when you’re ready and I will open the back door on your side from here. Aim for the driver’s side about four inches up on the window. If you can see the driver, just aim for the sternum. Remember, it’s a large caliber subsonic .458 SOCOM round, but the recoil will be light with the shock-absorbing stock. The round will peel off four petals that will take out the windshield and the core will punch through.”
“Got it,” she said. Now she was glad she’d insisted Drew walk her through all the firearms yesterday.
She pushed the back of the seat all the way down and pulled the rifle from its rack. Instead of kneeling, she wrapped her legs around the seat and squeezed it between her thighs. “Hold on to my hips,” she said, glancing to Drew then turning back to the rifle. She felt his hands find her hipbones then clamp down, anchoring her to the seat.
Kaitlin chambered the first round and focused the scope through the rear window until the driver snapped into view. The ride was smoother with the trailer gone. It would be easier to lock in on her target.
The digital readout inside the scope gave her the range...
One hundred meters
“Ready,” she said.
The door latch clunked and the sound of their tires on the highway filled the van as the door swung out. Kaitlin took a second, getting the feel of the motion of the pickup truck behind them then willed herself to stillness.
The rifle coughed through its suppressor and pushed into her shoulder. The windshield exploded, and the truck following them careened off the road and into the ditch.
Servomotors whirred as the rear door closed. Drew took his hands from her hips, and she sat up.
Rule 8
Kaitlin pushed the safety and opened the ammo container that was in the batter’s box then switched out the magazine with a full one and racked the bullpup again. She replaced the round in the old magazine then located the casing that had ejected and tossed it into the case of reload materials.
Will they be able to reload these rounds? Seems like pretty fancy technology.
“AA image replay confirms a fatal shot,” Drew said.
Kaitlin took a deep breath. She’d known that, but hadn’t had time to process it. Still straddling the seat and facing backwards, she lowered her head onto the backrest and breathed in and out for a few moments.
Her body count stood at five now, more if any of the passengers had died.
They were attacking. It was justified.
She wiped her eyes and turned around.
“It had to be done, Kaitlin,” Daniels said.
“That was clear,” Kaitlin said.
“You saved all our lives, spotting that ambush so fast.”
“I have no idea how you drove out of that trap,” she said. “But I’m pretty sure that was what saved us.”
“You’re lucky you don’t know,” Drew said, voice shaky. “I’ll have nightmares for months playing that back in my head.”
“Bernard?” said Kaitlin reaching over to shake him. “Are you okay?”
“What? What’s all the ruckus?” Bernard demanded. “Are we there yet?”
Kaitlin looked at him in disbelief.
“I was dreaming about in-flight turbulence in an AC-47 Spooky,” Bernard said, rubbing his face with his forearm.
Daniels let out a gust of laughter as he rolled his shoulders, releasing tension. “And I thought it was Drew who could sleep through anything.” He glanced in the rear view mirror at Kaitlin. “Are you ready to go back into the bubble, Sheriff K?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Time to get back on the horse.”
Chapter 27 — Storming
Drew scratched his chin. “It must be because of all these wide open spaces,” he said. “It makes people less paranoid that someone’s going to invade from across a river.”
Daniels made a raspberry sound with his lips. “It could also be because it’s easier for us to avoid major river crossings in this part of Texas. When we crossed the Colorado, there was nothing nor nobody around.” He shook his head. “We were also lucky Goldthwaite hadn’t gone crazy, unlike some of the other places we’ve been.”
“Yeah, lucky for that and for not putting all our diesel fuel in the trailer we jettisoned back there.”
“We’ll be in El Dorado soon if our luck holds, and Amber said we have contacts that will have fuel ready for us there,” Daniels said.
Since the ambush near Athens, Kaitlin had less to do in the bubble. The trees were no longer so thick and close to the road. The further south and west they traveled, the more long-distance visibility improved. She continued checking anomalies, but nothing came of it. It was the right kind of boredom for her. Once in a while, she saw groups of armed people in the distance, but all of those had been minding their own business.
They met their contacts, two ex-military men, on the outskirts of El Dorado. It only took a few minutes to fill the tank and store the reserve fuel.
Daniels knew the men who’d brought the fuel and he introduced them to Kaitlin, Drew and Bernard. Kaitlin shook hands with them, but she was focused on her inner furniture, and didn’t feel like networking when they had obviously dismissed her from their minds. Besides that, nobody was watching their back trail.
She caught Bernard’s eye and nodded toward the rear of the van then followed her own nod.
While she watched the horizon to the north, she stretched her legs, exercising to work out the stiffness from the ride.
Kaitlin was in the middle of pivoting her hips as she changed from a deep front-split to a straddle-split. She liked having one foot elevated because it let her dip her hips lower, so she’d rested her left foot on the bumper while the other was on the pavement. Her hands touched the ground as she pressed her shoulders down to meet her wrists.
When Drew came trotting around the corner from the driver’s side of the SUV, he tripped over her leg, almost planting his face on the pavement.
He must have had his eyes on the horizon.
“Were you looking for me?” she said, turning to stare into his eyes from a few centimeters distance.
“Ow!” He untangled his feet from her leg and scrambled to his knees. “What are you, a human tripwire?”
Kaitlin pressed up on her hands, took her foot off the bumper and brought her knees up between her arms to raise herself to her feet. She reached down to offer him an assist.
“Did you hurt yourself? You should probably scan the ground more often, especially when you come around a blind corner.”
Drew took her hand. “Daniels sent me to look for you. You’re not supposed to leave visual range.”
“I was three meters away, keeping an eye on our back path.” She nodded to the road behind the van. “Nobody else was bothering, and I’ve learned not to leave a high profile when in enemy territory.”
Drew groaned as he stood. “The AA was monitoring the rear.”
Kaitlin snorted. “Yeah, well I think we’ve established the AA isn’t fully reliable,” she said, leaning against the van.
Drew shrugged. “I’m just following orders.”
“Following orders is good, but that doesn’t mean you should turn your brain off, Drew.”
“What the fuck is going on back here?” Daniels said, coming around the corner from the passenger side with his two friends flanking him.
“I found her,” Drew said.
Kaitlin chuckled.
“What were you doing back here, Kaitlin?” Daniels said.
“I was exercising initiative by keeping an eye on the north side of our position,” Kaitlin said, nodding toward the highway and sweeping her hand in a semi-circle from southwest to northeast. She looked him in the eye. “Just like Bernard is watching the other side right now.”
“The AA is still turned on.”
“I feel I should say that my assessment of the AA over the last four hours finds it lacking. It failed to identify half of the potential threats today, until I pointed it at them, and failed completely on the worst threats we encountered.” Kaitlin stopped herself from pointing out the results of that failure. He was in front of his friends. It wouldn’t help to challenge him.
“Feisty little thing, isn’t she?” said the man directly behind Daniels. He was about two inches above her own five feet ten, and his body-type was caught somewhere between beefy and chunky. Daniels had introduced him as Bennie.
Kaitlin turned to glare at him. “You are interrupting a conversation that has nothing to do with you, asshole. Shut it.”
She turned back to Daniels. “Shall we table this conversation until we can talk privately?”