by John J. Rust
“It must have a thickened hide, probably to withstand the pressure and cold in the deeper parts of the ocean. That would make it practically bulletproof.”
“Which means our tranq darts might be the only thing we have that can take it down.”
“Gotcha. We won’t take any unnecessary chances.”
Rastun had another thought. “Is the Coast Guard sending any cutters after the monster?”
“I don’t know. I’m sure they are. I can check.”
“Do it, and get one of them to shadow you. Most cutters carry heavy machine guns and twenty-five millimeter cannons. I doubt the monster can survive that kind of firepower if the tranquilizers don’t work.”
“Will do, Jack.”
Ten minutes later, the police chief arrived. Rastun gave him his statement.
“You are one very lucky man, Mister Rastun,” the chief said when he finished.
“I won’t argue with you there. By the way, any word on how many people were injured?”
“Last I heard, there were twenty injuries, mainly cuts, bruises and sprains. Nothing life-threatening.”
“Thank God for that.”
“Yeah, it could have been a lot worse,” said the chief. “Thank you for what you did, Mister Rastun. You probably saved a lot of lives tonight.”
“Just doing my job.”
The cops cut him loose. He walked away from the boardwalk and found Karen across the street talking to another officer, probably giving her statement, too. When she finished, Rastun headed over to her.
“Jack.” She hugged him. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. You?”
She looked up at him and nodded. Rastun felt a slight shiver go through her. With the danger past, she was likely dwelling on how close she came to dying.
That thought made him hug her tighter.
“Where’s Ashlee?”
“She’s with the police. They’re trying to find her parents.”
“Good.” Rastun told her that the rest of the FUBI expedition had already set out to try and find the Point Pleasant Monster.
“So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?” asked Karen.
Before Rastun could answer, his cell phone rang. It was Colonel Lipeli.
“Doctor Ehrenberg called and told us what happened. Are you and Miss Thatcher all right?”
“We’re fine, sir. Not so much as a scratch.”
“Good to hear. I’m with Director Lynch right now. We also have Roland Parker and Nathan Hipper with us.”
Rastun knew about Roland Parker, the billionaire philanthropist who played a huge part in setting up the FUBI. As for the other man…
“Who’s Nathan Hipper?”
“Our liaison with the Department of Agriculture.”
Rastun stifled a groan. The FUBI also received funding from the Department of Agriculture. Since that was federal money, it came with strings attached. One of those strings had to be Hipper.
Lynch asked for a report on the Point Pleasant Monster attack. Rastun put the phone on speaker so Karen could participate as well. They were explaining how they found and rescued Ashlee when Hipper interrupted.
“You actually took that kid with you? What if her parents file kidnapping charges? What if they sue the FUBI for endangering their daughter?”
“What were we supposed to do?” Karen blurted. “Leave her there to get eaten?”
When Hipper didn’t respond, they continued, running down their flight through the amusement stall and the monster’s attack on the pizza parlor.
“My God, we could be talking tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.” Hipper’s voice went up an octave. “The owners of those businesses could blame us for it. We have to be mindful of lawsuits.”
Rastun clenched his jaw, pushing down his rising anger for this damn bureaucrat. “I was trying to be mindful of staying alive.”
When Rastun told them about his makeshift torch and the motorhome getting wrecked, Hipper completely lost it.
“Now you’re actually vandalizing someone’s property! Oh my God, we are going to get sued over this. Couldn’t you have just waited for the cops to show up instead of playing action hero?”
“Yeah, we could have just sat and waited for the cops. But you know what would have happened if we had done that?”
“What?”
“You’d have two less people on the payroll, jackass!”
“No need for insults, Jack,” said Lipeli.
Actually, Rastun felt there was a need to insult Hipper. The man was a typical bureaucrat. No imagination, no initiative, afraid to make a tough decision because he might get in trouble if it went wrong.
The kind of guy whose sole purpose in life was to be a pain in the ass to people in the field.
Rastun kept those thoughts to himself and answered Lipeli with a, “Yes, sir.”
“It sounds like you and Miss Thatcher were very lucky tonight,” said Parker.
“Sometimes it pays to be lucky rather than good.”
“True, but if you run into that monster again, I wouldn’t count on your luck holding out.”
“I agree, sir.”
“Colonel,” Parker said to Lipeli. “Do we have better weapons that can kill the Point Pleasant Monster if that becomes our only option?”
“The FUBI doesn’t, but I do know someone who does.”
“Then get in touch with him tonight,” ordered Lynch. “I don’t care if you have to wake him up. The sooner we get those weapons to our people, the better I’ll feel, and I think the better they’ll feel.”
“I’ll get right on that,” replied Lipeli. “Just sit tight, Captain. Help’s on the way.”
“Much appreciated, sir.”
When the call ended, Rastun and Karen headed back to the beach to retrieve their shoes.
“So what now?” asked Karen as they walked toward Vargo’s parking lot. “Bold Fortune’s out to sea. Who knows when they’ll be back?”
“Not much we can do. We might as well find a hotel and crash for the night.”
“We should also stop somewhere and get some fresh clothes.” Karen stared at his bare torso. “Um, I guess you could use a new shirt.” She sounded uncertain, like she’d rather have him walk around shirtless.
As they neared Rastun’s car, a female voice called out, “Excuse me. Excuse me.”
Rastun saw a short woman with curled brown hair hurrying up to them. His eyes widened when he noticed Ashlee beside her, hand-in-hand.
“Are you Jack Rastun and Karen Thatcher?”
“We are,” he answered. “I take it you’re Ashlee’s mother.”
“I am. We got separated when everyone started running from that monster. I tried to go back for her, but I couldn’t get through the crowd. The police told me what you did and I… I had to find you, and…”
Ashlee’s mother threw herself at Rastun and gave him a crushing hug. “Thank you.” Her voice cracked. “Thank you so much. You saved my baby’s life.”
“You’re welcome.”
She then hugged Karen. “There’s no way I can repay you for this.”
“You don’t have to. We just did what we had to do.”
Karen bent down to hug Ashlee before she and her mother left.
“I wish that Hipper guy could have seen this,” said Karen. “That doesn’t look like a mother who’s going to press charges against us.”
Rastun snorted. “Hipper doesn’t know shit.”
***
They drove to a Wal-Mart a few miles away. When they entered, one of the employees, a pudgy, middle-aged woman with brown hair, walked up to Rastun.
“I’m sorry, sir, but you have to wear a shirt to enter the store.”
“Ma’am, I’m well aware of the rule and respect it, but I’m asking you to cut me some slack. We had our first date tonight and it almost ended with us being eaten by the Point Pleasant Monster.”
The woman gave him an unsure look. “Um…uh, I think I should cal
l my manager.”
She walked away. Rastun and Karen had to wait a few minutes before she returned.
“My manager said a monster really did attack the boardwalk. He saw it on the news. He said you can come in, so long as the first thing you buy is a shirt.”
“That’s my plan.”
Rastun and Karen went their separate ways, with him heading for the men’s department. He passed a couple of teenage girls who gave him admiring looks. A white-haired woman who had to be in her seventies gave him a big smile.
Even one guy gave him a big smile.
He snatched a plain green polo shirt from the rack and went to the nearest checkout counter to pay for it. He quickly put it on and continued shopping, picking up socks, underwear, a pair of pants, another shirt and some toiletries. Karen met up with him and they paid for their things and left.
A mile down the road they found a Super 8 motel. Rastun got a room on the second floor. Karen’s room was two doors down from him. First thing he did was strip off his clothes and take a nice, long shower. Once he dried himself off, he turned on the TV. The local stations, FOX News and CNN all ran live coverage of the Point Pleasant Monster attack. Were his parents watching the news? Did any of the broadcasts mention his and Karen’s involvement?
I guess I should call them.
Rastun did. All he said was that he and Karen had been chased by the monster and they got away. He saw no reason to mention all their close calls and his hand-to-claw combat. That would just make Mom freak out.
She freaked out anyway.
“Is it possible you could find a job where you’re not likely to get killed?”
“People might have died if I wasn’t here.” Karen might have died. A stab of fear went through him at that thought.
“Then will you please be careful. I spent too much time worrying about you when you were in Iraq and Afghanistan. I shouldn’t have to worry about you eighty miles from our house.”
Mom did calm down, a little, by the time they said their good-byes. Rastun just hit the END button when he realized his mother hadn’t asked him a single question about Karen. He figured she would want to know about a new woman in his life, especially considering how bad things ended between him and Marie.
She was probably more concerned about me getting eaten than my love life.
He stood in the middle of the room, thinking about the monster charging Karen. One minute they were lying on the sand, kissing. The next she could have been…
What if…
Rastun did not want to finish that thought.
He pocketed his cell phone, left his room and walked the short distance to Karen’s room. He knocked.
Karen opened the door, wearing a t-shirt and shorts. She carried a towel in one hand and her hair was damp. She probably just finished taking a shower herself.
“Hey, Jack.” Karen stepped aside to invite him in.
“Hey.”
“What’s up?”
“I just wanted to see how you’re doing.”
“I’m fine.” She looked away from him and rubbed the towel over her wet hair.
“You sure?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” Karen snapped, then crossed the room. She stopped in front of the mirror over the bathroom sink, clutching her towel. She shivered.
Rastun had seen this from soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. He’d even gone through it himself. During firefights, they dodged bullets and RPGs. There was no time to be scared. Training kicked in. They reacted to the threat and neutralized it. Hours later, when all was quiet, it sank in just how close they came to dying. If they had waited a second longer to duck, a bullet would have taken off their head. If they hadn’t moved from one piece of cover to another, a mortar round would have landed right on top of them. It was a sobering and scary experience for him and many other soldiers.
Rastun put a hand on her shoulder. “There’s no shame in being scared.”
Karen spun around. Her face scrunched in anger, as though she’d been offended by his words. She then bit her lip and looked down.
“You don’t think I was scared back there?” he said. “You don’t think I was scared when I was in Iraq and Afghanistan? Anyone who says they’re not scared in situations like that is lying or they’re a fool. You’re not a liar or a fool.”
Karen moved away from him. She stopped at the foot of the bed and wiped her cheek with the towel.
Rastun walked up behind her, placing both hands on her shoulders.
“When that monster was coming at me,” said Karen. “I thought about Emily. She’s only ten. Her father…her father’s useless. The thought of not watching her grow up, of never being there for her again…” A sob escaped her throat.
“Well, you are going to be there for her. You made it out alive. That’s what matters.”
She turned to face him, again using the towel to wipe her eyes. “I wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for you. I never had anyone risk their life to save mine.”
“You saved my ass, too, when you came out with that fire extinguisher. A lot of people would have frozen up. You didn’t. You kept your head and you kept that little girl safe. You did good back there.”
“Thank you.” Karen dropped her towel, wrapped her arms around Rastun and kissed him. She put a hand on his cheek. “You really are one of the good guys.”
“I try to be.”
They kissed again, more intense. Karen grabbed the back of Rastun’s shirt and pulled it up and over his head. He yanked off her t-shirt. They fell onto the bed.
FOURTEEN
“GEDDOWN!”
A monstrous roar swept over the street as dozens of rifles and machines guns opened up. Bullets cracked through the air.
Captain Jack Rastun looked toward the Humvees. Some of the hostages were already in the boxy vehicles, others crouched next to them. Many of them screamed.
Flame burst from the window of a nearby building. Rastun glanced at the Humvee behind him. Sergeant First Class Wendell Hewitt knelt by the hood, smoke coming from the grenade launcher under his M-4 carbine.
“Everyone mount up!” Rastun radioed the others and climbed onboard the Light Strike Vehicle. “Time to get the hell out of Dodge.”
He got into the cage of the dune buggy-like vehicle and grabbed the handles of the .50 caliber. A man in olive drab fatigues appeared in the doorway of a nearby building, clutching an AK-47. Rastun mashed the fire button. The huge machine gun chugged. Chunks of wood exploded around the doorframe. The gunman spun and fell. The LSV’s driver, Branch, raked another window with his M240 light machine gun.
A bright orange contrail streaked toward them.
“RPG!” Rastun yelled.
A sharp fluttering sound passed by him. Seconds later, an explosion tore open the building where they’d just freed the State Department delegation.
“Everyone okay?”
A chorus of “yeahs” came through his headset. Rastun leaned forward. “Branch, gun—”
Something moved to his right. An overweight woman ran by, screaming frantically.
“Ma’am! Get back here!”
Rastun slid out of the LSV’s cage. A muscular black man in desert fatigues raced by him.
“Ma’am!” shouted Sergeant Jim Tate. “Come back!”
Rastun’s feet hit the ground when the woman went into spasms. Moments later she stumbled and fell. Tate spun into the wall and collapsed.
“Tate!”
His eyes swept the rooftop. He spotted a machine gunner on a rampart. Rastun ran toward Tate and the woman, firing his M-4. The gunner tumbled off the roof.
“Tate! Tate!” Rastun dropped next to the unmoving Ranger. His stomach clenched when he saw blood pouring out of Tate's throat and head.
He crawled to the woman, who lay face down. He grabbed her shoulder, turned her over…
…and stared into the face of Karen Thatcher.
Blaring music drowned out the roar of gunfire.
***
Rastun’s eyes
snapped open. He was tangled in twisted and sweat-soaked sheets.
Just a dream.
He shut his eyes, trying to push the images of Western Sahara from his mind. How many times had he suffered through that nightmare? And Karen? Why had she been part of that dream?
The music continued. It was “The Trooper” by Iron Maiden.
Rastun reached down to the floor and pulled the cell phone from his pants pocket. He checked the display as Karen groaned and pushed herself up on her elbows.
It read RANDY E.
“Mornin’, Doc.”
“Jack, how are you?”
“Fine. You guys have any luck out there?”
“The only luck we had was no luck. We searched all night and couldn’t find a trace of the monster.”
“Damn,” Rastun muttered as Karen curled up beside him.
“Damn is right. We’re on our way back to the marina. I have a meeting with the mayor and police chief at nine. They’re having a teleconference with the mayors of the surrounding towns and the Coast Guard. Looks like they’re going to recommend closing the beaches.”
“After what happened last night I don’t see where they have any choice. You need me there?”
“Nah, I can handle it,” said Ehrenberg. “Captain Keller and his crew will be refueling and restocking Bold Fortune while I’m gone. I want us back out to sea around noon.”
Rastun glanced down at Karen, who rested her hand on his chest and rubbed her leg against his.
Fine by me.
“All right, Doc. Karen and I will see you then.”
Rastun plopped his cell phone on the nightstand and ran his fingers down Karen’s back. She grinned and kissed his chin.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Mornin’.” He kissed Karen.
“So was that Randy?” she asked.
“Yup.”
“Sounds like they didn’t find the monster.”
Rastun told her about his conversation with Ehrenberg, including how Bold Fortune wasn’t scheduled to get underway until noon.
Karen looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand. “It’s almost seven. Looks like we’ve got a few hours to ourselves. That is, if you’re not too worn out.”