Trackers Omnibus [Books 1-4]

by Smith, Nicholas Sansbury

  “You heard what they’ve been saying over the radio,” Nathan said. “This is the only way.”

  Raven looked back at the windshield. “I think I’d rather take my chances with raiders than fire. At least you can fight back against men.”

  Nathan reached for the door handle and opened the door before Raven could stop him. He was sick of arguing. For the past few hours they had bickered back and forth about continuing through the mountains and which routes to take.

  “What are you doing?” Raven shouted. He grabbed at Nathan’s uninjured arm, but Nathan yanked it away.

  “Listen, Raven, I came out here to find my nephew. If it means I have to walk through those flames, then I will.”

  Raven slowly pulled his hand back and put it on the steering wheel.

  “Jesus,” he muttered, staring at the flickering glow. “I get it man, I do. I’d go through hell and back for Sandra and Allie. But this shit is crazy.”

  “The entire world has gone crazy, brother.”

  Raven tapped the wheel. “I know, believe me. But driving down this road is suicide. Our tires will freaking catch fire!”

  Nathan pulled out his binoculars and scoped the valley. The flames had consumed half of the terrain, leaving behind a path of destruction. The fire was now engulfing the forest on the western and eastern sides of the highway. The jagged bluffs at the other end of the valley served as a natural barrier that seemed to be holding the fire from moving into the next ravine.

  He felt like he was on a roller coaster that was about to rocket through an oven. It was hard to imagine a situation where they would come out the other side unscathed.

  Nathan zoomed in on the path, stopping on a bridge crossing a stream about a quarter mile from the bottom of the hill. Steam rose off the banks from the heated water.

  The trees on the other side had been reduced to piles of embers, and several charred vehicles simmered on the asphalt just beyond the bridge. He centered the binoculars on the softened, deflated tires of a pickup truck. Raven was right; if they blew one of the Jeep tires, they were toast. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t a way forward.

  Nathan looked at the stream snaking through the smoldering landscape one more time.

  “I have an idea,” he said, lowering his binoculars and closing the door. “I think we can get through if we keep to the right side of the road.”

  Raven pulled out his binoculars with one hand and brought them to his visor. He quickly lowered them. “I can’t see shit with these.”

  “Try the night vision goggles,” Nathan said.

  Raven placed them over his helmet and raked them back and forth.

  “Still can’t see a way through, Major,” he said a moment later.

  “Just trust me. If we take a dip in that stream first, we have a shot of making it across the road.”

  “What if there’s another fire on the other side of this valley?”

  “Then we get in that water and wait it out. Our gas masks will protect us from the smoke as long as there is enough oxygen.”

  “Yeah, but not the heat,” Raven said. “These filters remove the particles, but it doesn’t cool the air. Our lungs will burn.”

  A sudden explosion flashed on the highway beyond the bridge. The gas tank of a pickup truck had burst into flames.

  “That could be us in a few minutes,” Raven said.

  Nathan felt his heart catch in his chest. This was a risk, a really big one, but it was the only way forward. If they turned around, they would lose hours. It was a treacherous, slow path back to the turnoff, which would take them through territory that had fallen into anarchy.

  “Please,” Nathan said. “This isn’t for me. Ty is just ten years old.”

  Raven let out a long sigh, tapped the steering wheel, and then shifted into gear.

  “All right, sweet girl, time to show Major Sardetti what you got,” he said to the Jeep.

  He pushed down on the gas. Nathan fastened his seatbelt and watched the flames flickering across his vision. The headlights cut through the smoke drifting across the road at the bottom of the hill, capturing a graveyard of burned-out vehicles.

  Flakes of ash and soot slowly coated the windshield. Raven turned on the wipers and sprayed the glass, but all it did was spread the ash into a streaky paste. Raven was leaning from side to side to see around the obscured view.

  Just ahead, Nathan saw something lying in the middle of the road. “Don’t hit that!”

  “Shit, shit, shit,” Raven cried. He tried to correct their trajectory, but that sent the Jeep on a crash course for another bulky object half-covered in ash.

  “Watch out!” Nathan reached for the steering wheel, but it was too late.

  The tires thumped over it with a sickening crack and squish.

  “Oh God,” Raven moaned. “That was a dead body, wasn’t it?”

  Nathan didn’t respond. He grabbed the handle grip on the ceiling as the shocks jolted up and down again. Raven pushed down on the brakes, sliding across the road straight for a burning tree.

  “We can’t stop or we’re going to catch on fire!” Nathan yelled. “Go left, go left!”

  “Were those bodies?” Raven asked again. “Did I just run over bodies?”

  “Yes, and there’s another one at three o’clock!”

  Raven turned left and fiddled with the windshield wipers, but that made things worse. The heat was rising inside the Jeep, making it harder to breath. Sweat beaded across his face.

  “Ten o’clock!” he yelled.

  Raven maneuvered past the corpse and swerved around a motorcycle lying on its side.

  “Twelve o’clock!” Nathan shouted.

  They came up on two charred vehicles framing the middle of the road. Raven squeezed through the gap, losing the passenger mirror in the process. He cursed, but kept the vehicle steady.

  Nathan focused on the blaze. From this vantage point, the wall of fire looked larger than it had from the top of the hill. They weren’t even in the thick of things yet, and the vehicle was already taking a beating. Even worse, the rising heat was almost unbearable inside the suit. He felt like he was slowly being cooked alive.

  “Hold on,” Raven said. He slowed and pulled onto the shoulder where there was a gap in the guardrail large enough to let a vehicle through. Rocks crunched under the tires as he drove toward the edge of the bank beside the stream.

  Another body lay curled up at the water’s edge below, a last and desperate attempt to survive the flames. Nathan looked away from the charred corpse and held on to his seat, preparing for the jarring descent. Nathan’s bones rattled along with the chassis.

  Raven steered around a boulder and pulled down the slope. The bloodied cow guard scraped against a rock before hitting the water. He drove out into the flow of mountain run-off. Normally the water was icy cold, but not tonight. Steam rose off the water where it lapped against the banks.

  “My poor baby,” Raven said, gritting his teeth.

  He powered through the weak current, the water coming up over the tires. Nathan wasn’t sure it would make much of a difference now that he could see the flames in the distance.

  “You ready for this?” Raven said. He pulled up the other side of the bank and veered back onto the road, tires squealing over the pavement. The wipers finally cleared the windshield, providing a clear view of the fire eating the forest along the road.

  Nathan gripped the handle tighter. Sheets of sweat poured down his face, stinging his skin. It felt like he was breathing inside a sauna.

  “Punch it,” Nathan said. It was the same thing he had said to his old wingman and best friend, 1st Lieutenant Mark Blake, a hundred times. He didn’t know Raven well—and to be honest, he hadn’t made much of an effort—but Nathan was suddenly glad to have a wingman again.

  Raven pushed the pedal to the floor, the engine groaning in response.

  “Come on, baby,” he said.

  Nathan leaned against the door to look at the front right tire.r />
  “How’s it looking?” Raven asked.

  “Good… I think.”

  They swerved around a State Trooper’s cruiser and sped between a pickup truck and cargo van, losing the driver’s side mirror this time.

  “Dammit,” he cursed. “I’m so sorry, girl.”

  “Slow and steady, Raven.”

  Despite Nathan’s warning, the speedometer continued to climb past fifty miles an hour. The inferno blazed like a tidal wave of fire. Nathan stared into it, determined. There was no turning back now.

  Smoke seeped into the vehicle through the vents, squeezing past the towels they had covered them with. It swirled in the cabin, filling it with a black haze. The temperature continued to rise, too, and Nathan resisted the urge to take off his helmet and wipe his forehead.

  This was it. They were almost to the flames.

  Another pair of corpses smoldered on the asphalt just ahead. Raven twisted the wheel with calculated precision. Nathan tried to relax, but every muscle in his body was taut. He eyed the speedometer again. Sixty miles an hour.

  The headlights cut through the smoke and hit a curve in the road ahead. Burning logs covered the path. Raven cut the gas and turned sharply, but there was nowhere to go but through the fire.

  “Hold on!” he shouted.

  The tires squealed. Fire licked the passenger side window, and Nathan reared back, gripping the seat with his broken arm. The Jeep tipped slightly, but then steadied out.

  Nathan loosened his grip, pain setting in as Raven picked up speed again on the next stretch. Where there had once been a forest, there was now a cemetery of blackened timber and charcoaled boulders. Raven kept to the right side of the road, as far from the flames as possible.

  Nathan twisted to see the terrain they had just passed through. The charcoaled cars, smoldering bodies on the ash covered road, and the flattened trees along the steaming river didn’t seem real. He’d never seen anything like this.

  He turned back to face the windshield as Raven drove up into the safety of the cliffs. It was hard to tell where the smoke ended and the night sky began. Both men were breathing heavily from the adrenaline rush and the heat. Nathan blinked away the sweat around his eyes and focused on the orange flicker rising over the gray rocks.

  He already knew what it was before they’d reached the crest of the road. Raven brought the vehicle to a stop. He shut the Jeep off and stepped out onto the hot pavement with Nathan.

  They grabbed their rifles and stared out over what looked like the epicenter of a nuclear warhead strike. He imagined this was how D.C. had appeared after the ground detonation.

  “My God,” Nathan muttered. He took a step forward, his boots crunching over debris scattered over the road.

  “Winds are changing,” Raven said.

  “And keeping the smoke away from us for now.”

  “Yeah, but look at the way we came.”

  The shifting winds were spreading the fire behind them. They were trapped on a hilltop between two burning valleys. But at least the air wasn’t as hot up here. He brought up his rifle and zoomed in on the bridge below. A burning Humvee blocked the road just in front of it.

  Nathan backpedaled, his boots crunching over metal. He bent down and picked up a bullet casing, realization setting in. “Looks like someone ambushed that Humvee from up here.”

  Raven eyed the casing and then looked back down at the bridge. “You think those were Lieutenant Dupree’s men?”

  “I’d bet money on it,” Nathan finally said.

  “Come on, we better get back to the Jeep,” Raven said.

  They climbed inside and kept their rifles at the ready while the smoke rose off the fires all around them. It was hot, like sitting in a sauna. Nathan’s clothes were soaked beneath his suit, but as long as the smoke and fires didn’t shift, they would be safe up here for a while.

  “You think anyone’s still out here?” he asked.

  “No way they could have survived the flames or the smoke.” Raven squirmed in his seat. “Guess we’re going to have to wait it out up here.”

  “The fires won’t spread over the rocks, right?” Nathan asked, suddenly unsure.

  Raven shrugged and closed his eyes. “You better hope so, Major. This was your bright idea.”

  “You’re going to sleep, just like that?” Nathan asked.

  He shrugged again. “We both need rest. I have a feeling tomorrow’s going to be a big day if we survive the night. You should try—”

  A bloody hand slapped the passenger window and Raven let out a high-pitched scream. Nathan scooted back from the door.

  “What the hell?” he muttered, staring at the blood streaks on the window.

  Raven fumbled for his gun and Nathan grabbed the door handle. He pushed it open, throwing the person outside backward.

  Nathan grabbed his rifle and aimed the muzzle at a soldier in a CBRN suit. He was doubled over, gripping his stomach.

  “Help me,” he said. “Please…”

  Nathan lowered his rifle and got out of the truck. He approached the soldier carefully.

  “What happened to you?” Nathan asked.

  The man coughed and pointed toward the bridge. “We were ambushed down there.”

  Nathan glanced over his shoulder at Raven. He stood with his AR-15 aimed at the bluffs overhead, already hunting for threats.

  A distant crack made Nathan flinch. The boom of thunder followed.

  Nathan held up a hand toward the man. “What’s your name?”

  “Jeff,” he said, his teeth chattering. “Jeff Dupree.”

  Raven and Nathan exchanged an incredulous look.

  “Lieutenant Dupree,” Nathan said. “I’m Major Nathan Sardetti… Charlize Montgomery’s brother.”

  Dupree looked up, squinting behind his visor as if he was trying to see into the sun. He tried to talk, but blood bubbled out of his mouth.

  Nathan took another step closer. “Let’s get back to the Jeep so we can take a look at that wound.”

  Dupree allowed Nathan to help him back to the truck, grunting as they moved. Raven opened the back gate and helped Dupree sit down.

  Nathan held in a breath when he saw the wounds. The lieutenant had taken a round to the side and another through his hand. It was remarkable he was still alive, but he’d lost a lot of blood.

  “Lieutenant,” Nathan said. “I know you’re in a lot of pain, but I need to know about the men that shot you. I think they have my nephew.”

  Dupree winced and looked Nathan in the eye, lips quivering. “I’m sorry, Major,” he choked and bent over, gripping his stomach. “We tried. I promise we tried.”

  “I’m sure you did,” Nathan said. “I appreciate it more than you know. If there’s anything you can tell me…”

  The lieutenant coughed again, and dark blood seeped from between his fingers.

  “Shit,” said Raven.

  Nathan waited for Dupree to regain his composure. The lieutenant licked his bloody lips, closed his eyes, and drew in a breath before opening his eyes again.

  “The Sons of Liberty have Falcon,” he said, his voice little more than a rasp.

  “Who the hell are the Sons of Liberty?” Raven asked, looking from Dupree to Nathan. “And what’s Falcon?”

  Dupree reached up and gripped Nathan’s hand. “Fenix,” he said from between gritted teeth. “He called himself General Fenix. The Aryan bastards took Falcon to the Castle.”

  — 11 —

  Colton was up early enough to watch the sun rise above the Rockies the day after the barbecue. Streaks of purple and yellow climbed above the highest jagged peak. To the south, smoke continued to fill the sky.

  Mornings were his time, a peaceful hour to reflect on the day before and the day ahead. At least, they used to be. The cough of a diesel engine shattered the calm not long after Colton wandered outside. Lindsey Plymouth pulled into the driveway.

  He held up a hand, motioning for her to wait, and then slipped back inside his house. Kelly a
nd Risa were sitting down to eat a breakfast of bread and jam. Kelly pointed to a paper bag on the table.

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “Lunch,” she said. “Don’t forget to eat today.”

  Colton grinned, grabbed the bag, and kissed his wife and daughter goodbye. They followed him to the front door to watch him leave like they had virtually every morning before the attack.

  “Mornin’, Chief,” Lindsey said. She waved at Kelly and Risa from the truck.

  Despite the events of the day before, Lindsey didn’t look too rattled. She smiled as he hopped into the passenger seat.

  “Do you have good news or bad news for me this morning, Detective?”

  Lindsey swiped her hair from her freckled forehead and looked in the rearview mirror as she backed out. “Little of both, Chief. I’ve already got a good list of people that qualify to be deputies. Got an Army Ranger and a guy that served two tours in Iraq as an MP.”

  Colton checked his bagged lunch. A tuna salad sandwich. Same thing he used to eat almost every day in Bond Park with Jake in the spring and summer, chatting about sports and fishing. It still hadn’t quite hit Colton that he’d never have lunch with Jake again.

  “What’s the bad news?” he asked.

  Lindsey started down the winding roads back into town. “Had another break-in. This time two men were spotted. I’ve already interviewed the clerk who thinks they’re from the Harmony Foundation Treatment Center at the edge of the park.”

  “More addicts?” Colton said. “Jesus. I knew that place could end up being a liability. I want someone to head over there to see which residents have checked out or left.”

  “I’m already on it, sir.”

  “That it?” he asked hopefully.

  “We’re hearing reports of raiders over the new radio. Robberies, violence, and…a rape, sir.”

  Colton blinked. He had prepared himself for this, but hearing the word was a powerful reminder of how dangerous the world was becoming.

  “You were right, Lindsey.”

  She tilted her head. “About what, sir?”

  “Needing more deputies. I’m also going to run something by Mayor Andrews this morning. I’ve been thinking we should put spotters throughout the valley, now that we’re going to have more bodies to help.”