by Angela White
The trees and weeds prevented the soldiers from viewing them. Tonya put them behind the supports when the soldiers opened fire angrily.
Kendle jerked awake, filling with alarm when she realized where they were.
Tonya gave her a rough shake. “Get out of here once we’re gone. Find Kenny and tell him what happened.”
Kendle protested, but Tonya dove back under the water and went toward the opening.
“I’m coming out!” she shouted during a lag in the yelling and gunfire that had faded to grunts of angry men.
Tonya shivered a she stepped from the water, short dress clinging to her in ways that she knew could be trouble as the soldiers stopped muttering. The silence spoke too much.
She held up her hands and felt their eyes follow the movement. “Got somewhere I can get these wet things off?”
Kendle listened to Tonya help herself be captured, almost leading the now horny men. The castaway shuddered at the thought of what the red head might have to endure.
“I’ll get her out,” Kendle muttered, forcing herself to swim through the nasty water to get free. She would follow them and wait for the right moment to do damage. She could use one of the teams Angela had out roaming, that was for sure.
Kendle remembered her envelope was due to be opened and pried the wet baggie from her pocket with nearly numb fingers. Maybe she was supposed to meet up with someone who could help.
Kendle snarled in anger when she read it, tossing the paper into the water, where it was quickly destroyed. She’d just been ordered to save Tonya if anything went wrong during her infiltration.
“It was intentional. That bitch!”
Chapter Sixteen
Not Everyone Can
1
“Get the women inside!” Neil ordered, shoving Bridget in front of him. The two teams had almost been surrounded near the creek and barely managed to get ahead of their pursuers. They only had a minute or so and then the soldiers would be on them again.
Bridget and Tracy were placed in the rear of the cave and the females didn’t argue. Being hunted by soldiers with years of training was terrifying.
Neil and Jeremy stayed at the entrance, both doing a headcount as their team and Seth’s rushed in. All noise stopped as they waited for the soldiers with fingers near triggers and hearts pounding. There was no way the Army men would ignore this cave. They would expect their prey to be inside.
“We kill them all,” Jeff stated, standing in front of the women. “It’s them or us.”
“How?” Neil asked. “They’ll burn us out if we open fire.”
There was more silence, then the sound of running men came to them, along with shouts of excitement.
“We know you’re in there!”
“Come out now with your hands up!”
They were trapped.
“Use me.” Pushing the fear aside, Tracy stepped forward. “That’s my job, right? Distraction and decoy.”
Neil wanted to say no, but a plan popped into his mind before he could. Once there, it was too good, too simple, not to use.
“You saw them?” Jeremy questioned.
Rusty, who excelled at scouting, nodded. “Yep. They met up with that other group. Makes twenty.”’
“Dead even, if we count the girls,” Neil stated darkly.
“Count them for what?” Jeff asked, but everyone was forced to go quiet as the soldiers gathered outside the cave entrance.
“Clear that hole!” a soldier called.
Neil’s lips drew into a thin line as he waved Tracy forward and whispered in her ear. He slid behind her and made sure Jeremy was in place before giving her the gesture to go ahead.
Tracy unbuttoned her top two buttons and slowly went to the entrance. “Who’s out there?”
“It’s a woman!”
“Watch out. You know the stories.”
“Come out with your hands up!”
Tracy leaned against the cave wall, shading her eyes with her hands. “Ya’ll are way out of government territory.”
“Get down here!”
“Got time to stay?” Tracy invited. “Girl’s gotta make a livin’, even in these times.”
The soldiers were willing, except for their Captain.
That man scowled heavily. “Out of the way. We’re searching that hole.”
Tracy stepped to the side. “Make yourself a drink, if you like. I’ve got whiskey.”
The soldier’s guns began to lower at the convincing act, along with their levels of alertness.
“You have real whiskey?” That had gotten even the Captain’s attention. “Not rotgut?”
“I’ve been collecting it.” Tonya laughed invitingly. “You boys got anything to trade?”
The Captain waved two men forward as Tracy faded back into the throng of Eagles waiting with their knives out.
Even in the dimness, the two men would have noticed the threat immediately, but Tracy bent over to pick up her rifle, making sure the view was good. They were still staring at her ass when Neil and Jeremy slit their throats.
Bridget forced herself to giggle so that she didn’t scream.
“Bronx? Klevier?” the captain called from outside.
Tracy returned to the entrance, smiling. “They want to stay with me. Just an hour?”
The Captain’s face reddened. He stomped toward her. “Get out here!”
He stormed by Tracy, pushing her from his path.
Neil took him out with a vicious swipe that sent blood over his hands and feet.
Feeling like she was about to vomit, Tracy went to the entrance one last time. “He changed his mind! Come on in!”
The remaining seven men knew something was wrong, but not what. The first two were allowed to get all the way inside and view the group of waiting men before the ambush was triggered. It gave those in the rear time to be in place for the attack, but allowed those front men to react. A close-quarters fight exploded.
Bridget ran out of the cave as guns fired and men screamed in agony. At this moment, she had no idea what she was doing here.
The sounds didn’t last long.
Bridget was relieved to see all of her people emerge from the cave, but when Neil asked her if she was okay, she burst into tears.
Tracy, who had done her share of shooting and sported a minor trim along one ear, stayed with the celebrating men. Bridget couldn’t fight. She couldn’t handle fighting. The noises of fighting freaked her out. She should have been sent with Safe Haven’s weaker members, but she’d begged Angela daily to be given a full assignment like the rest of the female fighters. She would have been better off in the den than out here in the wild. Tracy didn’t say so. She didn’t need to. Everyone knew, including Bridget. She would never be on Angela’s team now.
2
“Hey, Doug! Got a minute?”
Doug was glad to be of real use to anyone and waited outside the gate for Kip, the rookie team XO to catch up. Doug was finishing his rounds and enjoying the time away from Peggy. Whenever she laid eyes on him, she gave him something to do, as if she was keeping him busy.
“Hey, did you rearrange Angela’s pecking order for the camps?”
“I made a note to ask if maybe Marc made an adjustment,” Doug answered.
“You saw them?” Kip asked, voice still rough and sore. The dozen men in the camp next to Safe Haven’s den weren’t familiar, but Angela’s plan had insisted on that very thing.
“I think we should check it out.”
“I’ll get a few Eagles and meet you there,” Doug answered calmly. He was sure it was simply an oversight on someone’s part.
Kip headed for Dexter, their messenger for the day.
“Go tell the boss we’ve got something hinky here. Not sure what, but it feels wrong.”
“You got it. Hey, take something for that cold, all right? You sound harsh.”
Kip forced a nod and kept going. His throat still hurt.
Dexter hurried off on the small bike that had been re
fueled as soon as he’d arrived this morning from Angela’s camp.
Kip went over his training as he walked toward the strangers. He was a smart kid with a bright future waiting as he stepped into the strange camp.
“Hi. Who–”
The bullet entered Kip’s forehead and he fell over, dead before he hit the ground.
The infiltrator who killed him, Sherman, cried out in admiration of his own skill as the rest of his rugged companions ran by, firing at the sentries.
Doug stared at the advancing strangers in shock. He’d been put here as make-work. Angela hadn’t been able to count on him in a fight.
But they were under attack!
Peggy appeared at his hip. “Get inside!” she shouted. “Get inside!”
She jerked on Doug’s arm. “Get our people inside!”
Doug realized she was calmer than he was and it snapped him back into awareness. He spun toward the shocked Eagles with him as he drew his gun. “Get them inside! Take care of our people!”
Peggy spent another minute watching the fight between the strangers and the Shadow Warriors, judging the time. She saw the other Indian camps rushing their way to surround the men and then ran inside the cave, pushing through the panicking people. “Get to the back!” she yelled, pushing her way though. “In here!”
Peggy jerked the curtain down and forced them into the narrow opening, glad the detained people had been relocated a few hours ago. She didn’t want to have to explain that right now.
“How many?” she snapped at the two guards who’d joined their team only last night.
The two tall Indians were struggling to keep up with the count as they waited for the thickest part of the crowd to get by them before answering.
“One hundred fifty-seven.”
Another group of camp people stumbled through and they updated the numbers. “Seventy-two… five…eight-one.”
The men kept a running count and Peggy took in a deeper breath when they reached two hundred. The rest were not in this camp.
Peggy climbed atop the crates that had been placed by the doorway for this purpose, listening to the fighting outside the cave as the camps around them arrived. “I have a message from Angela.”
Tommy, whose sole purpose was the defense of this camp, nodded to Ray.
Ray leaned down and uncovered the edge of the detcord as the crowd slowly quieted.
“Angela left an envelope,” Peggy explained, holding it up. She had it memorized. “Angela said there’s going to be a big boom. After it’s over, then men chasing us will be dead and we can get out through the bottom tunnel.”
Peggy saw Ray lighting a fuse and hurried to deliver the rest of the note over the worried mutters. “Go into the tunnel. When you reach the bottom of the stairs, stay by the waterfall.”
“Here they come!” someone shouted from the other side of the entranceway.
The herd began moving.
Peggy allowed Doug to take her arm and shelter her against the wall with his big body. He hadn’t known what the plan was until he’d seen the detcord and then he’d understood too much.
Peggy waited for the blast with her lids shut and a smile on her face. So this is what her man felt like. Nice!
The C-4 detonated exactly like Kenn and Marc had told Angela it would. The open side of the cliff disintegrated into a volcanic rupture that blasted Donner’s team into bits and scattered them with the ashes. It also collapsed the mountain face and started a minor landslide that wiped out another of Donner’s small teams and an Indian camp trying to join in the fight instead of holding their positions as they’d been instructed.
3
Angela heard Dexter’s frantic call–he’d been chosen because he was in the group of people who could both send and receive the mental communications–and then the field phone provided the sounds of explosions and screams.
Angela left the crowded command tent and went outside, groping through the tears. She leaned against the first frame she found and let the agony flow. She’d killed again.
Adrian slowly reached out and placed his hand over her clenched fist. “I’m sorry.”
“I wish I hadn’t been the One,” Angela moaned in misery.
Adrian sent a wave of strengthening comfort, but didn’t say anything. People dying on your watch was an inner horror that liked to surface at the worst possible times.
“Damn you for it.” Angela became aware of his touch and jerked her hand away. She straightened up to glare down at him. “And damn me too, right?”
“Yes. You can’t ever go back now.”
“Then I’ll win. Anything else means they’ve died in vain.”
Adrian stared back, always impressed with her quick recoveries, but not sure she would make it to the end. He needed to do something.
Angela caught the thought and left the area immediately. The guilt was crushing. She wanted his comfort, but if she took it, her plan would fail. She would make it until the end and beyond.
Adrian sighed, leaning against the wall of his wooden cell. He was aware of guards glowering at him, making threatening gestures, but he also felt their concern and their confusion. They couldn’t understand why he’d betrayed them or even how. Those were the men and women he would keep close when the final days came, if Angela let him stay. If she lost and surrendered to Donner, then Adrian would be darted and shipped off to the bunker before he could even try to negotiate.
Adrian’s mind went to what would happen if Angela won, but he stopped himself from exploring it. That was her call now, not his, but common sense said he didn’t have an after. Marc would never allow that.
4
“Is everyone okay?”
“If you’re hurt, shout!”
“Shout so we can find you!”
The calls echoed through the pitch-black cave as Doug hurried to get his flashlight on, hoping they’d fared better than all the moans and groans implied.
Peggy, still smashed between him and the wall, didn’t move.
Doug stepped back carefully, trying not to trip over anyone and Peggy slid to the hard floor without saying a word.
Doug’s fear was tangible as he began to scream for their medic.
In the chaos, Ray and Dale managed to get glow sticks passed out and start guiding people further into the cave. “Keep following the tunnel!”
There was little trouble getting the camp members to move, but those who were wounded or knocked out had to be helped. They’d been lucky the attack had come right before dinner, when most of the camp had been inside the front cave, but they’d also been protected by a plan that had foreseen the attack coming and given them an escape.
“I want an update!” Doug bellowed as the medic examined Peggy.
“Three serious shrapnel wounds, no dead in here,” Ray called, coughing from the dust still shifting down.
“Get them all to the next spot and open your orders,” Doug commanded, now helping their medic lift Peggy to her feet. The smelling salts had brought her around.
“Just pressure change,” the medic stated, going to help with the others that the doctor was working on.
Peggy leaned heavily on Doug, disoriented, as he led her through the darkness.
“Someone go tell the boss what happened,” Tommy called out, not sure where his team was.
No one answered.
Tommy stopped, looking toward the collapsed wall, where there was no noise or movement. As soon as there was time, he and a few of the men would climb around and search for any survivors.
Outside the cave-in was a large pile of rocks and debris that blocked the entrance. Bodies of the enemy lay scattered under this wreckage, but not all of the invaders had been killed, though Tommy’s team had.
Limping into the trees, Sherman held the bleeding wound on his arm and tried to get out of sight of the surrounding camps that were rushing to the area. He could hear the shouting.
Sherman dug his hand under torn cloth and grunted as he ripped a piece of his
own gun from his thigh. Blood gushed down his leg and he fell, trying to swallow his moans.
The hurting mercenary used his shirt to bind his leg as tightly as he could and then pushed onto his feet to begin the walk of shame down the mountain. He could go to Donner to report his failure and the deaths of his team or he could walk north until he hit Canada. Ugly things had happened to the rest of them there, but Sherman had been happy with the all-female council. They’d put him up in a nice place, fed him, fucked him, resupplied him, and then Donner had come through in the night and slaughtered everyone. The Butcher.
He’d blamed it on a neighboring house that was in contention for control. They’d eliminated both groups of would-be leaders, which had enabled the US government to send men to ‘help’ the surviving council get themselves back on their feet. Sherman was suddenly filled with fresh hatred. He turned west as the blood poured from his leg. He wasn’t finished here yet.
5
Tonya waited until she had her dry change of clothes before making the switch. She kept herself covered as much as she could. They’d put her in the rear of the jeep with two men who tugged on her wet clothes. They had failed to check her pockets and she was grateful the orders that had insisted she fill them with basic gear.
Tonya slid into the pants first and jerked them up, then let go of her wet clothes to arrange the shirt.
Impatient, the two men clawed at her shirt, ripping it free.
Tonya ignored their hands as she drew on the warm sweater and pried it down between their groping fingers. She didn’t act coy or pretend she was willing, but she also didn’t cry assault. She wasn’t sure which way she would have to play this yet.
Two jeeps behind hers stayed close and the yelling, cheering of those men would have drawn attention if not for the explosions they kept hearing. Somewhere, battles were taking place and Tonya was suddenly glad she wasn’t a part of that. Though she might be raped tonight when this group stopped, they weren’t crazy, just horny, lonely men who hadn’t been with a woman since the war. If she played it right, she might even be able to set up a ‘protection equals good sex’ type of deal with one or two of them. Before Safe Haven, that’s exactly what she would have done with any group that had come through Vegas, what she’d tried to establish with Kenn at first. Now, she had a child to protect and a future to save.