Her first instinct was to say no, but the waking heart told her he’d hit his mark. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Adrian hid a grin at her stubborn refusal to show interest in anything. She’s definitely a female, he thought. Now, where did he put that pry bar?
“I’d also like to have you oversee the new garden.”
That had her full attention. How had he known she liked to play in the dirt as a hobby? “Sounds fine.”
“Good. I’ll set it up.”
Yeah, I’ll bet you will, Sam thought. She trusted him, but that genius could as easily be used for evil. If he ever became corrupt, it would be the same old shit starting up again.
Bright light winked at them from the rear of the convoy, drawing her attention. She would bet some of that old world pettiness was being planned in the last truck. What she wouldn’t give to be a fly in Kenn’s ugly green bronco.
“You want me to start a fight or something?” Zack’s voice was low even though he and Kenn were the only ones in the truck. “Maybe plant something dangerous next time to get him thrown out?”
Kenn snickered as he flipped on the heat. I’ve gotten soft during my time here, he thought. On missions, he never used to notice the cold. “Sure, and while you’re at it, slap her a few times, right in front of Adrian.”
The truck driver snickered meanly, loving the idea after having her pull a gun on him, and the two men let that roll around for a minute, enjoying the images.
With most of the top Eagles in the Qz for a full day, Kenn and Zack were busy and in charge, the way they both preferred it. Sometime after they made camp, Angie and the others would be out and then the issues would start again, but without Kyle, Neil, and Seth, few of the lower level men had the balls to stand up to them. As a result, Kenn and Zack had been able to work on plans of their own.
“You got her driving schedule all sorted out?”
“It’s in the glove box, along with yours and mine for the next two weeks. Keep her busy,” Kenn ordered, seeing Lee, one of Zack’s men, glaring toward Angela’s blazer. Good, the trucker had them in line, at least, unlike his sons.
Zack got the sheets of paper out. “No problem. Someone needs to shovel the dog shit and dig the new latrine holes.”
The Marine chuckled, knowing Adrian wouldn’t let it happen, but wishing it just the same. “You talk to your boys yet? Make it clear Charlie’s off limits in this?”
Zack shrugged. “If the wolf isn’t with him, I can’t make any promises. Your boy pissed mine off and they hold a grudge.”
Kenn wasn’t as worried about it as he had been before Charlie knocked Zack’s eldest boy down. “Yeah, getting your ass kicked by someone younger and smaller will do that.”
Zack frowned, but didn’t answer and Kenn moved on, confident he’d made his point.
“You have the surprise waiting for Brady?”
“All tucked into his bedroll, even as we speak.”
“Good. It won’t drive him out, but it’ll keep him unhappy.”
Zack let his mouth fly. “Hard to get laid when you’re busy being punished. He’ll have to leave her alone for a while once we set him up to attack you.”
It was only the truth of their plan, but to hear it spoken so openly made Kenn wince at how wrong it sounded. He moved them on to the next item quickly.
“And his pet?”
This time, Zack scowled. “No takers. None of my team will do it, even for more privileges or a rank jump.”
“Damn. Keep working on it.”
“I could…”
“No, you can’t. I, and anyone around me, need to have an alibi. Make it seem like an accident. Adrian will know if we kill the wolf.”
All of these important conversations came to a grinding halt when the convoy reached Rapid Valley. The refugees stared in horror at what remained of the buried tourist town.
A recent slide had sent waves of the debris-laden glop straight through most of the small neighborhood. The mud was across the streets in thick layers that Safe Haven had little hope of driving through. In the near distance, the small town peered out at them from mud-slicked hills and garbage-covered valleys that used to be rooftops and windows.
“Convoy halt. Kenn, find us a turn-around.”
“Copy.”
“He should keep going. Back is a bad idea.” Angela’s words were low, not expecting Neil to believe her and she tensed, waiting.
“It’ll take us hours to clear the road,” Neil stated, frowning when Kyle immediately took the maps from the bag at his feet. “We’ll lose a lot of time.”
“Better time than lives,” Kyle stated, thinking about the Slavers who were slowly catching up to them.
Neil turned to frown at him. “If there’s a problem here.”
Angela didn’t want to wait for them to argue it out and alert Adrian, but she didn’t want Kenn or Brady to hear a mental call either. She watched the door open on Adrian’s rig, knowing what would do it quicker. “He’s not safe here. None of us are.”
“And what do you suggest?” Neil demanded, terrified of the next thing Adrian would ask of him where she was concerned. To get Adrian’s vote for the Eagles, each man had to pass a private lesson that Neil taught and he had no idea how he’d be able to do it for her test. “Don’t go back, can’t go forward.”
“Go Around.”
“Around.”
She and Kyle spoke at the same time and the Trooper let out an annoyed sigh, picking up the mic.
“Three to base.”
They watched Adrian ducked back into the truck and Angela closed her eyes, trying to estimate where it would happen. “Faster would be good, guys.”
“Go ahead.”
“We’d like to suggest going around instead.”
There was silence for a minute as Adrian considered what that meant. Around was venturing off the beaten path to the south and into the Dakota wilderness. No way of knowing what waited to be found.
“We do know what’s behind us, though,” he muttered, ignoring Sam for the moment. “Death.”
Adrian keyed the mic. “Agreed. Five minute stop, full guard and then we’re back on the road.”
“You have a lot of faith in them,” Sam stated.
Adrian didn’t tell her that the message was probably from Angela. “Yes, I do.”
“And if they’re wrong?”
Adrian looked at her with a teacher’s patient eyes. “Sometimes they are. It’s part of learning how things work now. Without risks, it means nothing.”
“And it creates bonds that draw these people closer to you and what you want.”
“What I need, Sam. Only what I need to keep them alive and free.”
Her gaze went over the mud-covered town. “Will you do any searching for survivors?”
Adrian shook his head, thinking Angela would have mentioned it if she felt any life still here. “No. If there’s anyone left, they’ll hear us and follow. We can’t stay out in the open and wait for the next slide.”
Adrian nodded to Daryl as he went by the truck on his first sweep, but his words were for Sam. “You should probably go ride with Hilda and the others now. It might get rough up here.”
Disappointed, her shoulders slumped. Her time being useful to him was over until the storm came.
“Samantha?”
She looked back as she opened the door and her breath caught at his smile.
“Why don’t you sit with us for Mess?”
“I’d love to.” Flustered by her response, she quickly left.
Adrian waited until Sam was out of hearing distance before closing his eyes, concentrating. On his line, they would only hear each other. He would teach Angela to do the same. “Which way is it coming from?”
“Northeast. Something’s happening there. Not sure what.”
Her answer was quick and Adrian could feel her impatience with the stop. “The Slavers?”
“Maybe. There’s a clear sense of danger.”
Adri
an swept the people getting out of the cars now that the Eagles had given the okay. “There’s always plenty of that. Watch your six.”
“You know it.”
Minutes after Adrian directed the convoy south, she had him stopping them again.
“It’s coming. Hold on here.”
Adrian didn’t answer. Like the rest of the refugees, he was staring in surprise out his windows at the huge herd of deer crossing the valley below them. At least a thousand of the grass-loving creatures were slowly venturing through the area and most of the camp watched happily, lifting younger children to see.
“Well, she said big,” Adrian murmured. There wasn’t a sense of danger yet, but if she’d been right about one, she was right about the other as well. He keyed the mic.
“No shooting. If they stampede, we’ll lose half our vehicles and people will get hurt. Let them go by. We’ll wait.”
It was something that would have raised brows in the old world, giving wild animals the right of way, but Adrian had no wish to draw more fire from nature than they were already under just for being alive. They could roll through with the trucks first, shooting and crushing until the others scattered in the opposite direction, or they could wait fifteen minutes for the herd to go by. It was clearly moving south and would be past them shortly.
That thought made him uneasy. It was spring. Shouldn’t they be headed north? Yes, unless something was bad there, too. And what would make so many deer band together? Herds were never more than a few hundred at most. This looked like every deer in the state was migrating southward and had joined up along the way.
“Like us,” He muttered, picking up the map as Daryl went by again. How far south could they go? Did they have to…
“Four to base. There’s something moving in from the north. Sounds… big.”
Every head craned that way; hands reaching for guns and Adrian stepped onto the foot rail of his truck for a better view. She’d tell him if they needed to move, right? Unable to take the chance, he questioned. “Should we roll, do you think?”
It was very unlike him, to ask openly over the radio, and each Eagle listening knew it had something to do with Angela.
“Negative, Boss. We’re 5-by right here.”
North of Rapid Valley, a dam had burst, sending shocks into the ground that rushed out ahead of the debris wall. Already blocked with garbage blown there by the War, the riverbed overflowed and a huge mud wave was sent into the valley below. The slide thundered down the hillside like a rocket, cutting down full-grown trees and tearing houses away from their foundations in its fury. As it got close to the convoy, the sounds grew louder, hungrier.
The deer in the valley below heard the rumbling, heads tilting up in fear, noses scenting the rank air and then the entire herd stampeded… right toward Safe Haven.
An instant behind their panicked reaction, the wall of muddy water poured into the valley without mercy. The running herbivores had nowhere to go. The front of the stampede disappeared under its brown weight in seconds and more liquid death crashed down the hills. It cut off any hope the animals had for retreat and half the chaotic herd vanished as the hillside ran brown.
“Stand your ground!” Adrian ordered, heart squeezing painfully as the roaring sound magnified until his ears hurt. If she was wrong, the entire camp would be lost.
“What’s he doing?” Neil demanded, horrified that Adrian would risk them all this way.
“His job,” Angela stated coldly. The blazer rattled harshly around them. “Saving their lives.”
“And you’re sure?”
Angela didn’t respond over the roar of the debris barreling toward them. She’d already given her answer to the man who mattered.
Two hundred yards from the stunned convoy, the mud found the path of the valley and began to turn away from them.
Adrian rested his head against the seat, waiting for the pain to fade from his arm and chest. These risks he took were never assumed lightly and he wasn’t sure how many more like that his heart would take.
The flow of mud down the hill dissipated quickly after the first huge wall, leaving the refugee camp untouched and the herd decimated. The difference had been one ‘go around’ and one ‘hold on here’ – roughly half a mile. She’d known he planned to head them north for a pickup from the mental map.
Adrian’s voice belied the chaos of his thoughts. “Let’s get ready folks. Check your lists. We leave in five.”
All around him, people began moving quicker than usual and Adrian allowed himself a brief second of weakness. How many more of those would he face and win before these people were safe? With each one, the odds against survival went up.
Neil, scared of what came next and still upset over being corrected publicly, couldn’t stop his mouth from opening. “Guess you think this proves you were right, but all it shows is how close to death you put Adrian.”
Angela sucked in a wounded breath as Kyle turned to stare at the Trooper. “I don’t see it that way. At least here, we had a chance to turn uphill and get away. If we’d been on 34 still, we’d all be gone.” The Mobster backed her up.
Pissed, Angela leaned over to pull her iPod from the glove box. “It’s not my fault you were slacking off Neil. Try doing your job next time and you won’t feel this way.” She traded the driver’s seat for the gusting wind before he could snap back.
Neil stared after her for a moment before unhooking his seat belt. “Guess I’ll drive.”
He got out and found himself alone in the blazer when he slid into the driver’s seat, Kyle also leaving him to his bitterness.
Parked nearby, Marc rolled the window down and was surprised when Angela opened his door and immediately ducked behind the seats to climb in back with Dog and Jeremy.
“You don’t mind an extra passenger, do you?”
Marc ignored the curiously watching camp members. “Not at all.”
“You can have front.” Seth offered and she shook her head, tone unreadable.
“I’d rather be right here.” She stated, putting her earbuds in. “If I’m riding in the back, I’m welcome.”
Adrian saw it all in his mirror, not doubting the Trooper had said something stupid and he waited for all of them to get settled before keying the mic.
“Count-off as we go. Eagle One, here.”
6
They made camp at the top of the highest hill Adrian could find, trees and wind-blown greenness their evening view. The only signs of a world gone by were three huge crosses in the far distance, made to capture the light of the day to make them glow at night. Much dimmer than before the sky had been blanketed with grit, they were still a shining beacon that had people tripping as they stared.
Angela moved from the truck, yawning tiredly as Kyle fell in on her right. In time, the crosses would burn or fall like everything else and she had no trouble ignoring the unusual view.
“He didn’t mean it.”
She shrugged, not really wanting to talk about Neil’s meanness. “The first of many I’ll have to put up with to be one of you.”
“You’ll never be one of us!”
Kenn’s voice at the edge of the tape drew attention. He flushed as men turned to stare at him, but didn’t back down. “You’re a female. There’s no place in his army for you.”
“That’s not true.” Kyle’s voice was angry, keeping Marc, who was behind them, from answering. “And get back on the right side of the camp before I tell him you broke quarantine.”
“That’s what he wants,” Angela muttered, stepping around them all. “Doesn’t understand he’d be getting himself thrown in quarantine and we’ll be out in a couple hours.”
She moved into the cold shadows, not sure who her guard was, but feeling them on her heels. “Later, Marine, we’ll talk.”
Kenn watched her go, ignoring the hard glares from the Eagles. He knew Angela was responsible for the convoy avoiding the mudslide and he couldn’t help being grateful that she’d saved them, but the anger o
f her actions afterward wouldn’t leave him alone. She’d broken the driving schedule to ride with Brady. She would pay for that, and he’d figured out a way to do it without ever hitting her directly. Kenn lingered around the Qz as Zack got things squared away, needing to be close by when Marc found his surprise.
Angela spotted Charlie on the other side of the tape, glad to see the wolf now by his side. Kenn was in a strange mood and she would feel better knowing her son had protection. Dog and Charlie were together more often than not now and she gave them both a warm smile as she stopped a few feet away.
“Hey, boy. You okay?”
His eyes were wider than usual. “You did it, right? Made him stop?”
“Nope.”
Charlie stared at the lie. “But I know you had him turn us around.”
Angela sighed, not sure how much of this side of their gifts he was ready for. “Can we talk about it later? I need to help John get us tested and cleared.”
“You’ll be out tonight?”
“I should be. We only have a few results coming back and two tests left to do.”
“Yours and John’s?”
“Very good.”
Distracted, Charlie’s face lightened at her praise and he turned toward the larger, well-lit camp. “See ya later.”
“Yes, you will.”
“I love it that you taught him that.” Marc’s tone was full of emotion as he moved slowly by. “I haven’t thanked you for not turning him against me. You could have.”
She kept her voice low. “Not me. I secretly hoped you’d get to be his dad some day.” She smiled softly. “Still do.”
Marc returned her emotion. ”Me too.”
Eagles walking by broke the moment and her warmth faded. “We’ll be out tonight. John about has us all cleared.”
He wanted to ask her what Neil had said, but knew it was better not to make the anger fresh again. “Great. You need anything?”
Angela swallowed her first response (yeah, you!) and turned toward the medical tent. “I’ll be fine after I get some sleep and calm down.”
Marc laughed lightly at the joke, but wasn’t fooled. She’d gotten her feelings hurt and it would only get worse if she really meant to tryout for the Eagles. Some of these men were dead set against it.
Adrian's Eagles: Book Four (Life After War) Page 7