Trackers (Book 1)

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

  Raven was sitting on the tailgate of a red pickup truck next to Nathan. Sandra wasn’t sure what to think when she saw the two men fiddling with a radio. She had expected to see her brother in handcuffs.

  Creek trotted over and nudged up against her leg. He let out a whine and then sat on his haunches.

  “Sis!” Raven shouted when he saw her. He jumped onto the pavement and strode over. Nathan carefully set the radio down and then limped over.

  As she walked over to meet them, she noticed the shape covered in a bloody blanket on the bed of the truck. She moved in front of Allie to block her view.

  “What happened? Who is that?” she asked.

  “Stay calm,” Colton said. “Your brother was attacked at his place. One of the men didn’t make it.”

  “Attacked by who? And why?”

  “Redford’s goons,” Raven said. “Don’t worry, they didn’t hurt Allie.”

  Anger boiled up inside of Sandra, warring with the relief she felt at having her daughter back. If Raven had needed money so badly, why didn’t he ask her or get a loan from the bank like a normal person? No, he had to get in deep with a loan shark and put her little girl in danger.

  She would have yelled at her brother, but she didn’t want to scare Allie any more than she was already.

  “We’re just here to drop Allie off,” Colton said, looking nervously at her. Sandra hoped she looked as furious as she felt. “Sorry for the trouble, ma’am, but I need your brother’s help.”

  Sandra regarded Colton with a scowl. “Help? I figured you’d be taking him off to jail again. Maybe he deserves it.”

  Colton looked around, seemingly checking to see who else was in earshot, and then stepped closer to Sandra to whisper, “Someone murdered Bill Catcher sometime this morning or last night. I think it’s the same person that killed Melissa. I need your brother and Creek to help me find him.”

  Sandra wasn’t ready to be friendly or forgiving. “Don’t let him get you shot,” she said.

  Colton nodded as if this was good advice. “Yes, ma’am. Is there someone else who can watch your daughter while you’re at work? If not, my wife could—”

  “That won’t be necessary,” Sandra said. “I’d rather keep her with me.”

  Colton nodded, smiled warmly at Allie, and then made his way back to the vehicles. He gestured for Nathan and Raven to join him.

  “This man needs medical attention,” Sandra said as Nathan started to walk away. “Come here, Major, let me take a look at you.”

  The handsome pilot actually blushed. “I’ll be fine, Ms. Spears.”

  She gave him her best nurse’s glare. “You’re going to permanently damage yourself if you keep running around with my fool brother.”

  “I heard that,” Raven said. “I swear, I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “You never do anything wrong, Raven,” Sandra said with a sigh. “You never take responsibility for anything either. What if those men had hurt Allie, or Creek?”

  Raven stuck his hands in his pockets, and his eyes flitted to the ground. He wore the same wounded look that Sandra remembered from their childhood after their dad would yell at him. Her heart hurt at the sight, but her brother was going to have to grow up sooner than later.

  She joined the men by the trucks as Colton gave them orders. Nathan would take Jake’s battered truck and see if he could get the ham radio working. Colton and Jake would transfer the corpse to the morgue in Raven’s Jeep, drop off their prisoner at the jail, and then head out to the high school, where Colton would address the people of Estes Park at a community meeting.

  He pointed at Raven. “What do you need?”

  “Well, since you’re borrowing my Jeep, I could use a million bucks, a couple cases of top shelf whiskey, and a couple of supermodels.” Raven glanced up at Prospect Mountain. “And how about a helicopter?”

  Colton flared his nostrils, clearly not amused.

  “I’m just kidding, Chief,” Raven said. “I just need Creek, my crossbow, and a ride up to Prospect. I’ll try to pick up the trail at Bill Catcher’s place.”

  “I’ll send an officer with you,” Colton said.

  Raven shook his head and looked at Sandra. “I’m better off on my own. Don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

  The dig was aimed at her, but she wasn’t going to apologize for her earlier words. Raven had promised he would protect them, and instead he had gotten her daughter mixed up in a gun fight that ended with at least one man dead.

  “Suit yourself,” Colton replied. “Let’s move out.”

  Raven hesitated and then put his arms around Allie. “I’m sorry, Agaliga,” he said.

  “Sunshine,” Sandra said after a snort. Her brother always was the charmer. He pulled away from Allie and reached out for Sandra. The knuckles of his hand looked even more swollen, and a bruise was coming up on his cheek. She clicked her tongue, remembering all the times she’d held makeshift ice packs against his bruised face while they were growing up. Their dad had thrown a lot of punches in that house.

  “I’m sorry,” Raven said again, turning to her. “Seriously. I’m really sorry, Sis. I promise I’m going to change. I’ll be a better man.”

  Sandra wrapped her arms around her brother as her anger at last thawed. “You’re still the best man in my life. Be careful, okay?”

  -15-

  Nathan drove the Chevy up Trail Ridge Road, following a map Chief Colton had drawn him. He hoped that the higher elevation would help him get a clear signal. The old pickup was having a hell of a time with the climb, rattling and shaking. Going from an F-16 Viper to this old clunker was one hell of a change. He wasn’t used to seeing the snow-kissed mountains and evergreen forests from the ground, either. Was this what his sister had felt like when she gave up her wings for a seat in Congress?

  The long, winding road provided him plenty of time to think. He realized how lucky he’d been to run into Sandra in the woods. Her face appeared in his mind’s eye with her proud, high cheekbones and dark eyes full of compassion and fire. Although they looked nothing alike, something about her reminded him of his sister.

  It didn’t seem likely that he’d see Charlize again, at least not in this life. His poor nephew was almost certainly an orphan now. Ty was the bravest kid he’d ever known, but he was still just a kid, and Nathan wished more than anything that he’d ignored orders and gone on to the Easterseals camp.

  At least he had finally found a radio. The battery-powered analog shortwave radio was his best shot at reaching the outside world. He just hoped it worked. So far the damn thing wasn’t getting a signal. His plan was to rig up the antennae he had borrowed from the police station. The highest point of Trail Ridge Road was just over twelve thousand feet. If it still didn’t work there, then he was shit out of luck.

  Then again, if there was fallout from the high-altitude nuclear blast, they were all out of luck. He didn’t know much about how fallout was spread—something to do with the winds. If they blew east, then Estes Park might be okay, but he wasn’t sure about Empire. The small city was much closer to the blast zone.

  The truck chugged along, and he had to weave around several abandoned vehicles. The drivers were long gone. He didn’t envy them the long trek they must have made into town.

  As the road looped around the peaks, Nathan looked out over the valley below. His heart stuttered when he saw the black pockmark on the sheer face of a nearby mountain. Below, the burned skeletons of pine trees poked out of the ground. Nathan couldn’t see the debris from his wingman’s wreckage from this vantage, and part of him didn’t want to.

  He pressed down harder on the gas pedal. The truck jolted forward, the chassis protesting with a shriek. Ahead, the road cut through a narrow pass in the mountains. On the other side, snow carpeted everything from the treetops to the pavement.

  “Almost there,” he said, patting the wheel.

  The road curved past a large open meadow with drifts of snow. A herd of elk raced away from
the sound of the truck. In the distance, a storm was moving in. Dark, bulging clouds rolled over the mountains. Lightning flashed in their swell.

  Nathan parked the truck on the side of the road and looked for a place to set up. After a quick scan, he picked the slope to the east. He would make the easy trek across the snow and rig the antennae up there.

  Lugging his bag over his shoulders, he limped across the road and into the snow. He was still wearing his rumpled, dirty flight suit, topped with an Estes Park Police Department sweatshirt. He’d never cared much about his appearance, but this was bad even for him. He made a mental note to find some clothes when he returned to town.

  The snow was only shin-deep at first, but it quickly got deeper as he made his way across the meadow. By the time he reached the top of the slope, it was halfway up his legs. His ankle throbbed in the cold, and he wished he’d taken Sandra up on her offer to rewrap it.

  A gust of wind bit into his side, nearly throwing him off balance. The cold crept through his layers. He raised his cupped hands to his mouth and blew in them before setting up the radio. The sharp peaks of the Rocky Mountains lined the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, but the storm clouds were growing in size and strength.

  Nathan bent down and unloaded his gear. He spent the next few minutes attaching the antennae. When he had finished, he set the radio on a rock and pulled the receiver. Then he dialed to all the even numbers to listen for chatter. There wasn’t much, and what he did hear wasn’t helpful. Just a lot of panicked-sounding civilians asking for information or begging for help.

  “CQ, CQ. This is Sierra Tango Foxtrot Niner in Iowa City, Iowa. We’ve got refugees streaming in from I-80 with signs of radiation poisoning. Is anyone out there? We need help. FEMA, the military, anybody. Someone, please answer!”

  He decided to search for a clean frequency instead and see if there was someone out there from Colorado that would respond to him. After he found one, he checked to make sure it was open. Since he didn’t have a ham call sign, he used his rank. "CQ, CQ, Major Sardetti, US Air Force, CQ, CQ. Is this an open frequency? This is Major Nathan Sardetti calling CQ and listening.”

  He waited a few minutes but didn’t hear any chatter. He continued his call. “CQ, CQ this is Major Nathan Sardetti, United States Air Force. My Viper was shot down over Estes Park, Colorado. Anyone out there?”

  “That’s affirmative, this is Whiskey Foxtrot Zero Zero Niner. Located at Colorado Springs. Sorry about your Viper, Major. Glad you made it out.”

  The wind howled, and he covered the receiver to protect it from the gust.

  “Lots of floor noise,” said the other operator. “I hope you’re not outside, Major. There’s fallout heading your way.”

  Nathan’s eyes darted to the bulging storm clouds on the horizon. “Come again, Whiskey Foxtrot Zero Zero Niner?”

  “Fallout heading your way, Major. I’m holed up at Cheyenne Mountain. We’re tracing the fallout patterns, and I’ve been tasked with relaying that information over analog.”

  Not a civilian after all, Nathan thought. Before he could ask any questions, the operator continued. “That storm moving in could potentially produce radioactive rain.”

  Nathan allowed himself a breath and tried his best to remain calm. “Wouldn’t the storm clean the fallout from the air?”

  “Correct, Major, but it will also bring it down on your town. All of you need to stay indoors for at least a couple of days just to be safe, and even after that the radiation might be too high to leave shelter if it’s as bad as we’re predicting.”

  Nathan pulled the mic away from his mouth and looked out over the valley. Colton was down there somewhere preparing to talk to a high school gym full of civilians, all of them unaware of the threat barreling down on them.

  “How long do we have?”

  “Two and a half, maybe three hours.”

  “Is Empire, Colorado, in that fallout pattern?”

  “Afraid so, Major. They have been for the past few hours.”

  Nathan’s bottom lip quivered. He held the mic away, hesitated, then brought it back to his lips. “Whiskey Foxtrot Zero Zero Niner. I need you to do me a favor. Two actually.”

  “Why don’t you call me Jeff, sir? Senior Airman Jeff Main at your service.”

  “I have to get back to town to warn everyone, but please see if you can contact anyone listening in Empire and warn them. Tell them there are kids and staff at the Easterseals camp that need help. I also need you to reach Senator Charlize Montgomery in D.C. She’s my sister.”

  “Sir, that’s not going to be easy.” There was a pause, and then the airman continued, “Washington was pretty much flattened in the second wave of the attack. I’m sorry.”

  Nathan fell to his knees in the snow, his body giving out as all hope faded. Charlize was really gone. He missed the next several messages from the Senior Airman.

  A beeping sound drew his attention back to the present. He glanced at the radio, but the noise wasn’t coming from the device. The Geiger counter in his bag was chirping as the needle ticked higher toward the red zone.

  Nathan pushed the radio’s receiver back to his mouth. “I have to get back to town. I’ll transmit again as soon as I can.”

  “Copy that, Major. Good luck.”

  Nathan stuffed the radio back in his bag and hurried back to the truck, his eyes on the growing storm. One thing was certain: They were going to need more than luck to survive this.

  Two hours after throwing Theo in jail, Colton stood in the high school gymnasium, staring at the purple Bobcats flag hanging from the wall. Over a thousand people had shown up, despite having to walk there. The natural light coming in from the open doors was hardly enough to illuminate the entire gym.

  Looking out over the crowd, he saw people of all ages ranging from a baby clutched against her mother’s chest to an elderly woman hanging on the arm of her son. There were plenty of faces he didn’t recognize in the dim lighting, probably tourists who were stranded here. If the worst came to pass and the power grid was never restored, those strangers would probably become permanent residents of his town.

  No matter where he looked, everyone had the same fearful gaze. What he said next would need to reassure these people enough to prevent them from panicking, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie to their faces, either. The burden of his position began to sink in as he walked toward the platform to face the crowd.

  Sergeant Aragon and Mayor Andrews’ entire staff were standing on the platform. Kelly and Risa were up there with them. Colton smiled at his wife and then nodded at the Mayor. She had convinced him that whatever was said today needed to come from him.

  The chatter in the room died down as he stepped up to the podium, but some conversations continued. He stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled, a trick he’d learned in the National Guard from his commanding officer. It took several more seconds before the room was silent.

  Over sporadic coughing, Colton could hear the wind howling outside the gym’s open doors. The sound seemed fitting for what he was about to say.

  “We are at war,” he said in a commanding voice. “Today, we stand together in the aftermath of a devastating attack. North Korea set off a series of nuclear weapons in the skies above the United States, triggering an electromagnetic pulse that knocked out our power grid and crippled our electronic devices.”

  The gasps, shouts, and voices that followed didn’t surprise Colton. He could feel Gail glaring at him, and he didn’t blame her. He wasn’t following the narrative they had discussed, but part of being a leader was knowing when to improvise.

  “Many of you remember the 2013 floods. This is much, much worse. Estes Park is a small but proud community. We will be one of the last cities in Colorado to receive aid, if help is even available. You deserve to know what we face in the coming days, weeks, and months. It may sound like this is the end of the world, but I assure you, if we stand together as one, we will get through this. Our isolation isn’t a bad thin
g. We have plenty of clean water up here, and we can hunt, fish, and forage when our food supplies run out. But...”

  It wasn’t the best time to pause, but his words trailed off when Colton saw Rex and Lilly Stone standing near the front, holding on to each other.

  Don coughed into his hand, a subtle message to get on with it. Colton grabbed the sides of the podium and leaned forward.

  “But we need to follow some basic rules or else there will be chaos in our streets. Anyone who breaks the peace will answer to me.”

  “What are you going to do about the murder of that little girl, Chief?” someone shouted.

  “I heard Bill Catcher was murdered too!” yelled another man.

  Colton held up his hand. “As many of you have obviously heard, we have had two homicides in the past twenty-four hours, but I promise you that I will find the person or people responsible.”

  He could still feel Rex staring at him, and he didn’t avoid the grieving father’s gaze. Colton held it for several seconds before continuing.

  “Make no mistake. We are at war, and life is going to dramatically change. That’s why we need to stick together and help one another.”

  Several shouts rang out through the room, and Colton heard more than one person crying. Terrified faces stared back at him. Families clustered together. Children were sobbing, and some parents seemed too shocked to comfort them.

  The burden of Colton’s duty to protect these people was nearly overwhelming, but instead of slouching, he stiffened and looked to the American flag hanging from the northern wall, a symbol of freedom and justice that he had fought and bled for. It gave him the strength he needed to finish his address.

  “I know you’re all scared,” Colton said. “I’m scared too, but we’re Americans. We have overcome great adversity in our history. We have come together to fight for our independence, we healed after a devastating Civil War. We united after Nine-Eleven, and we must remain united now.”

  The room quieted.

  “We have survived attacks in the past, and we will survive this.”