Nomad's Force

by Craig Martelle

  “Mission,” she growled to get herself back on track. The cacophony pressed in on her and she started to breathe more quickly. “Come!” she yelled, setting a course and powering her way through the crowd. The warriors followed until she ducked into an alley free of people.

  The noise was less, too.

  “Fucking people!” Mack grunted as he bent over with his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath.

  “No shit. I’d rather be up to my ears in Forsaken than go back out there,” Dylan added. He was tall, dark-skinned, and fresh-faced. He was young and wiry with a keen mind, ready to learn. Kimber never worried about him, except that he had no worldliness. His limited experience didn’t help him see the broad range of options someone with more maturity would see.

  And it appeared that he didn’t like crowds of strangers. “What about you?” she asked.

  The fourth member of the team was Tony, a recruit from San Francisco. He seemed unfazed by the noise and lack of personal space in the shops area.

  “Tony. You lead. Find us a shop where I can sell my boots, get us some sandals, and maybe a little breakfast, too,” Kim said with a weak smile. She felt like she’d done an hour of hand-to-hand training.

  “You look like crap,” Tony noted as he glanced from face to face. “How about if I go alone, find the shop, and then come back for you?”

  Kim stood straight up and exhaled, long and slowly. “Don’t be gone long,” she cautioned the young man.

  “You might want to check your pockets, too. Crowds like that? You might have an adventurous spirit removing your personal items from you.”

  Mack felt his pockets and then started slapping around his belt. “Motherfucker! They got my knife!”

  “Mine, too,” Kimber said. It had been a gift from her father. She was crushed.

  “I have my knife,” Dylan said in a low voice with his eyes closed. “But they got my comm.”

  Kimber wanted to scream. “Let’s go!’ she snarled, but Tony blocked their way.

  “They’re long gone, and there’s jack all you can do about it. Fuck! I should have warned you. I didn’t even think you’d never seen this shit before. Everything in your front pockets and keep your hands on your stuff.” Tony stood there, continuing to block the alley with his body.

  Kimber took a deep breath and leaned against the wall with her hand resting where her knife used to be. “We’ll be here when you get back.”

  At least their pistols were tucked way, exactly where they needed to remain. Kimber was in a murderous rage because she felt violated, like she had lost something important to her, and mostly, for feeling like she failed her father.

  The mission had been a total goat rope. People were dead and gear was missing. Maybe they deserved to be shit on by the monkeys.

  Guantanamo Bay

  “Tell us where to look, Ted. This place is freaking huge, and we have nine people.” Kae felt the pain of the admission.

  His team was one warrior short.

  “Look at the original map,” Ted said as he pointed. “These are storage bunkers. Find these two roads and you will find what might be eighteen different bunkers. I believe these are what Terry wants you to confirm.”

  “That’s more like it,” Kae replied.

  He left the pod and returned to his squad. “We need to go this way,” Kae told them, pointing to the south. They’d been facing northwest toward the remains of the largest section of the old naval base.

  “We’ll come back here when we’re done. I’ll take point. Keep your eyes open. We’re looking for an old road that meanders east-west through the hills, leading to the different bunkers. All things being equal, hopefully we’ll find some of them still sealed. Weapons tight, people.”

  The corporal led the way out, after studiously avoiding looking at Camilla. He wondered if things would ever be normal between them. Being busy on a mission was the best way he could think of to get past it.

  They only had to go fifty yards before they found the road. In the darkness, the pavement had looked different. Kae looked up the road to the west. The pod was parked on it with the ramp opening into a jungle clearing.

  “I’ll be damned,” Kae exclaimed, shaking his head. He pointed to the east in the direction they were going. “Camilla, take four and follow that branch to the right. It should take you to the beach, but I think there are one or two side roads. Take those and see if there are any bunkers. I thought I saw a few that way.”

  She nodded tersely. “Aye, aye, Corporal,” she confirmed and then pointed to the three warriors closest to her. He waited for them to lead the way out.

  “We have farther to travel,” he told the remaining four as he walked away, picking up the pace once Camilla and her group turned.

  Kae turned left at a fork in the road. “The prison was down that way,” he said as much to himself as the others. “They wouldn’t store anything worth having.”

  Kaeden didn’t want to see the prison at all, seeing it as a testament to how bad humanity was to each other in the before time.

  A quarter mile later, after checking the ruins of an odd building on the side of the road, they came across the first bunker of the eleven they would find on that road.

  It looked as if a walkway had been cut through a single mound. In the middle was a door that led to the larger side. The rusty door was secured with a massive lock, also heavily rusted.

  “Why is it like this?’ one of the warriors asked as he looked at the wall facing the door.

  “My father explained it to me. They used to have bombs and guns that lobbed explosive shells. These types of bunkers kept those types of attacks from being successful.” Kae took his rifle and hammered on the old lock with the butt.

  The lock shattered and fell away. Kae worked the hasp free and tried to rotate the handle. It was rusted in place. His trusty rifle pounded the handle down and together, then two of them pulled the door open.

  The air inside was dusty. The darkness within was nearly complete. “Get your flashlights,” he said as he went inside. The bunker was stacked floor to ceiling with boxes. He looked closely and saw they were all labeled with “Meals Ready to Eat.”

  “Hot damn!” he said. “Looks like we got us a food stash!”

  Kae used his knife to open a case and slid off the outer shell. A beam of light moved across the boxes. A second beam rested on the brown plastic bag that the corporal held in his hand.

  “You’re going to eat fifty-year old food, boss?” one warrior asked.

  “I’ll check to make sure it’s safe for the rest of you.” He held the bag before a light. “It says Beef Taco.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I guess we’ll find out,” Kae answered and slit the pouch open. He looked through to find the beef taco filling, plain tortillas, cheese-filled pepperoni, Applesauce, drink packets, peanut butter, jelly, a heat pack, and a pack of accessories. He looked at the long-handled spoon.

  “I don’t know what any of this stuff is beside the jelly. Let’s start with that.” Kae cut the top off the packet and watched the jelly start to squish out. He caught the first with a dirty finger. He licked it off, then squeezed the rest of the packet into his mouth.

  “Jelly’s good. I’m thinking beef taco is the main course, so let’s try that next.” Kae sliced the top and looked inside. “Interesting.”

  He didn’t say it like it was a good thing.

  He used the spoon to dig in, then wolfed it down. He opened the tortillas next and tried them. “Mayra makes something like these.”

  “Can we try?”

  “Not yet. Give me a little time to make sure they’re okay.” Kae ate the rest of the tortillas and then opened the peanut butter, squeezing that into his mouth. He smacked as he ate it, closing his eyes and making orgasmic sounds, making the other four warriors feel more and more uncomfortable. Someone’s stomach growled. One went outside.

  He finished and poured the drink powder into his flask, shaking it vigor
ously before trying it.

  “My god, these are righteous! Mayra does pretty well, but look at this! Food in a bag and so tasty. Let’s check the next bunker. We’ll stop back here on the way out. You’ll get to try these in a little bit.”

  The five men split the remaining eleven bags between them. Most of the names meant nothing to them, although the chili created an argument. Kae took that one away from his men to stop the disagreement. He liked Mayra’s chili, but expected this would be different. He didn’t want his people to be too disappointed.

  The door to the bunker across the road stood open and the inside was empty. They continued up the road, finding that six of the last nine bunkers were secure. They shot the locks off three of them, while three broke apart with a single stroke with the rifle butt.

  Weapons, gear, and ammunition filled them, untouched since before the WWDE.

  “I like a crate of new rifles as much as the next guy, but the fact that they’re here like this bugs the hell out of me. What the fuck happened where they weren’t able to arm themselves? And they left food behind? Holy shit!” one of the warriors exclaimed as he backed out of the last bunker.

  “I’m with you,” Kae agreed. “Let me call the colonel.”

  Sailing around Cuba’s eastern coast

  “Kaeden! Great to hear from you,” Terry said warmly and then listened carefully as his son reported what they’d found.

  “Seven of eleven bunkers intact! That is great news. What did you say? You ate an MRE? How was it?” Terry asked, mortified by the thought.

  “I liked the beef taco stuff, but the tortillas were dry and just there.”

  “That’s because you’re supposed to put the beef stuff on the tortillas. I apologize for raising you wrong that you’ve never experienced the majesty of a well-made taco,” Terry said solemnly.

  Char punched him in the shoulder.

  “I would give my left nut for more peanut butter!” Kae blurted.

  “Your mother is listening,” Terry said, biting his lip to keep from laughing and earning himself a second punch in the arm.

  “He got that from you!” Char said accusingly, frowning.

  “Camilla has a team looking at a few other bunkers. I’ll report what she finds as soon as I have it. We’ve hit the jackpot here, Dad.”

  “Sounds like it, Kae. Keep up the good work. Colonel, out.” Terry signed off.

  “I’m glad he found it. That’s something to take the edge off the loss,” Char offered.

  “It’s tough, but he’s resilient. I know what he’s made of, and he’ll come through. Sounds like he’s already well on his way.” Terry looked at the ocean ahead. They were tacking across the wind. He’d change heading once more and then turn south-southeast. The boat would sail into Guantanamo Bay tomorrow, if they were able to maintain their speed.

  “You can’t be serious?” Char asked out of the blue.

  “Serious about what?” Terry replied, wondering where that question had come from. He still wasn’t sure that Char couldn’t read his mind, even after all the time they’d spent together. He never seemed to know what she was thinking, which put him at a distinct disadvantage in the husband-wife battle of wits.

  “You can’t wait to try some of those MREs,” she said coldly.

  He threw up his hands. “But I have some killer recipes!”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Kingston Town

  Kimber breathed a huge sigh of relief when Tony reappeared. She was getting ready to go after him.

  “That’s your idea of quick?” she fired at him.

  “This place is huge, and it’s crowded out there! I found what we’re looking for,” he said and waved for them to follow. “Keep your hands on your shit.”

  None of the warriors needed the extra words of caution. They had death grips on what remained in their pockets.

  Tony worked his way expertly through the crowd, weaving and dodging like he was born to the life. Kim gritted her teeth as she suffered in silence. The other two kept their heads up and tried to look over the crowd.

  Through the crowd, down a cross road, up another street, and into an alley. When they arrived, Kim was amazed that Tony ever found it and that he was able to get back to them when he did.

  He held the door for her to lead the way. The shopkeeper sat in a chair that looked too small for his bulk. Kimber wondered what kind of damage an exploding chair would do. She shook off the thought as she hopped on one leg and removed a boot. She took off the other and handed them to the big man.

  “How much for these?”

  “How much you want?” he asked as he looked the boots over with a critical eye. He jabbed a fingernail into the leather to see how tough it was and tried not to smile at the result.

  “That’s not how it works,” Kim replied and then waited.

  “Twenty dollars,” the man replied quickly.

  Tony tapped Kim on the shoulder as he moved in front of her. “Bullshit!” he declared. “We want forty dollars and four pairs of sandals.”

  The shopkeeper raised one eyebrow. The two continued to haggle and in the end, Tony was able to get forty dollars and four pairs of sandals for Kimber’s boots.

  “The larger sizes would be in great demand.” The shopkeeper held out forty more dollars and waved them like a fan.

  “A tempting offer, but we couldn’t possibly go below one hundred dollars per pair,” Tony replied smoothly.

  The man stuffed the money back into a pocket. “You’ll be back,” he said simply and shrugged.

  “Maybe. It’s been a pleasure.” Kim ushered the three warriors out the door. They were carrying boots in their hands, which meant they didn’t have their hands on their pockets.

  “Alley,” Kim told them. They dodged into the nearest alley, which wasn’t empty of people but there were fewer. They moved their pocket things into their boots and then marched back into the street.

  “Follow me,” she said, sure that she wanted to get a good look at the port facility, but she also wanted to get some of the sweet bread to eat on the way.

  The crowds had thinned immensely since the breakfast crowd had flooded through.

  The food stands happened to be on the way. She strode briskly past a number of stands before diving into line at the one she had selected when they passed by earlier. The warriors stood by her, looking conspicuous as they tried to blend in.

  “Grab a table,” she told them, when one cleared nearby. The three men moved to it and sat as one, cradling their boots in the laps. She pursed her lips, rolled her eyes, and shook her head.

  When it was her turn, she had no idea what to order. “What do you recommend?” she asked the heavily sweating man. She didn’t want to think about what he dripped into.

  “Our best bread, man. It be right stylin’,” he replied. She held up four fingers. He reached into an oven with his bare hands and brought out four small loaves of bread. He put them on a piece of paper on the counter and sprinkled them generously with something white.

  “That be five dollars.”

  She handed over the money and retrieved the loaves.

  At the table, they dug in quickly. Hot bread, fresh from the oven, with a sweet powder on top. “Heaven,” she mumbled past a huge mouthful.

  Guantanamo Bay

  Kaeden’s comm device buzzed, and he answered it. Camilla reported officially what she had found. Seven bunkers with only one secured. It contained weaponry of a type that she didn’t recognize. Kaeden had been to Cheyenne Mountain and seen the vast array of munitions the military had before the WWDE.

  He assumed that he’d recognize it, but his father was on his way. No one knew weaponry better than him.

  “Meet us at the first bunker that we ran across. The main road, stay left of the fork and follow it another quarter of a mile. We have food and it’s time to feast,” he told her.

  “Roger, out,” she replied coldly. Kaeden stuffed the device angrily into his pocket, then realized that the others were wa
tching him.

  “What?” he asked. They shook their heads. Kaeden tried to divert their attention. “We’ll need a full report on the quality of the individual meals. I’ll trade the chili entrée for your peanut butter.”

  “Not fucking likely,” one of them responded.

  Another coughed into his hand, disguising “fuck off” as he continued to hack. The others joined him, coughing in chorus.

  Kaeden and his group walked down the middle of the road on their way back to the first bunker where Camilla and her group were already waiting.

  “Meals Ready to Eat. And it looks like one box has been savaged,” she said accusingly.

  “It has, but I ate one just in case there was something wrong with them. I’d survive it, but that’s not a concern. I have deemed them fit for human consumption.” Kae took a magnanimous bow.

  “Why don’t you all dig in, while I show the corporal what we found,” Camilla suggested.

  “No arguments here!” one said, joined by the others as they hurried into the bunker. Kae froze in place.

  Camilla waved for him to follow.

  “Wait,” Kae started to say, but Camilla held her finger to her lips and nodded toward the road. She started to jog. Kae joined her.

  They didn’t speak until they turned on the side road that she had taken the others down. She stopped and held out a hand.

  “Let me talk, please,” she pleaded. Kae nodded and stood stiffly with his hands at his side. “I apologize to you, Kaeden. I was taken by the moment, but that’s no excuse. I look up to you, in ways you can’t understand. I did before you went to Japan.”

  Kaeden didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but that wasn’t it.

  “I just wanted to say sorry, and that it won’t happen again. I hope you can forgive me, but if you think you need to move me to a different squad, I understand. I hope you don’t recommend that I get kicked out of the Force. My breach of self-discipline was inexcusable. All I can do is apologize.”