Island Refuge EMP Box Set | Books 1-3

by Hamilton, Grace

The young merc rushed back through the kitchen to the front hall. As soon as Tucker stepped through the door, he smelled smoke. He looked for the source. On his left, there was a kind of lobby at the end of the hall. One of the roof beams had come down in the explosion, hitting the mantle above the fireplace and knocking it onto the hearth. On his right, the hall led to some kind of bar or small club room, and it was filled with smoke. As Burgers approached this room, two other soldiers appeared—Guido and the big bearded Eritrean who went by the name Qetali.

  “There’s a fire, sir,” Guido said, pointing as if Tucker couldn’t see the smoke.

  “How did it start?” he replied.

  At first, none of them answered. Finally, Tucker reached out and grabbed Guido by the shirt, pulling him in close.

  “How did it start?” he asked again, this time through clenched teeth.

  “We’d lit a little oil lamp, sir,” Guido said. He was one of the smaller mercenaries. “When the explosion buckled the floor, the lamp fell on some bar rags or something.”

  “Put it out,” Tucker said, shoving him against the nearest wall.

  The three men turned and rushed away. Tucker walked to the door and saw flames on the bar, licking up the wall beside the back door. He saw the blackened shell of the lamp still lying on the ground. They hadn’t even bothered to pick it up. His men began beating at the flames with towels and rags. Futile. Stupid.

  “There has to be a fire extinguisher around here,” Tucker shouted. “Find it!”

  Just then, he spotted the empty wine bottle on the near end of the bar. It was the breaking point. He’d contained his emotions by sheer force of will, as he usually did, but his whole body was shaking with it now. Reaching out, he snatched up the bottle and flung it at Burgers who was still fighting the flames. The young mercenary wasn’t ready for it, and the bottle hit him in the forehead. It broke, pieces flying in all directions.

  “If you scum ruin this mission, you’ll never make it off this island alive,” Tucker shouted. “Mark my words, I want blood!”

  Spence was huddled over the bank of video screens when Elna stepped into the surveillance room. At first, she started to sit down in the chair next to him, but it made her back and shoulders hurt too much. Instead, she leaned against the back of the chair. Malin stood in the door. The others had been taken into the makeshift clinic room, where Dr. Ruzka was treating their wounds.

  After the explosion, everyone in the bunker had rushed to the central room, and most of them were still there. Daniel and Chloe were currently trying to calm poor Sniffy, but the dog was not having it. The explosion had finally tipped him over the edge, and he was back to his furious barking self.

  “I just wanted you to see this,” Spence said, pointing at the screen on the lower left corner. “We can see through the window here, and the mercenaries are frantic.”

  Elna gazed at the screen. It was one of the more alarming hidden cameras, the one that gave a view of the back of the guesthouse, including the back door and the windows into the tasting room. Through a window, she saw smoke gathering near the ceiling. But Spence tapped his finger in a corner of the screen, and she noticed people moving through another window. Mercenaries in black clothing. One of them appeared to be clutching his face, as another man—a much larger man—advanced on him, the neck of a broken wine bottle in his hand.

  “We’re pretty sure this guy is in charge,” Spence said, pointing at the larger guy. “He’s not happy. Beating the crap out of his men.”

  “Good,” Elna said, but her heart sank. The tasting room was on fire. Would the whole building burn up?

  As she thought it, she felt a hand on her back. She looked up to see Malin. He gave her a sad smile.

  “Home is about who you’re with,” he said, as if reading her mind. “Not about a place. At least we made it out of there without more casualties.”

  “Yeah,” she replied. He was right, of course, but she couldn’t help feeling the loss. And she couldn’t help wanting revenge against the men who had invaded her home.

  28

  Those who were able gathered around a table in the central room. They retrieved some of the folding card tables from the game room and laid down the dirty, damaged bunker map. Among the Marines, Spence, Golf, Prig, Mac, and Cat were present. Among the islanders, Elna, Malin, Raymond, and Norman were present. Selene and Pop were being treated for wounds. Miriam, Danny, and Chloe were in the corner with Sniffy, and the poor Dulleses were huddled together on a bunk at the far end of the barracks room.

  Elna had trouble finding a comfortable position to sit in, but she didn’t want to make a big deal out of her injuries. Nothing appeared to be broken, and there were pressing matters at hand. She wouldn’t miss out. However, as Prig spread out the map on the table, she couldn’t help leaning over and resting her head in her hands.

  “Your skull still ringing from the explosion?” Malin said, leaning in close to whisper in her ear.

  “Absolutely,” she replied. “I feel like my brains got scrambled. But…” She sat up and swept her hair back behind her ears. “I’ll be fine.”

  Prig tapped the back corridor on the map. “Well, it’s a shame about Fish, but he was reliable to the end, guys. We got that passageway down. The mercenaries won’t be coming at us from that direction. That’s the good news.”

  “I always thought Fish was indestructible,” Spence said. He had a tiny scrap of paper caught between his first and middle finger, and Elna realized it was the last piece of his last Mentos package. The guy just couldn’t let go, could he? “It sucks, man. I didn’t think we’d lose so many people on this mission.”

  “We’ll shed a tear later,” Prig said. “The enemy is still out there. We trapped a few in the collapsed hall—Elna here says four. If we’re lucky, they got buried. But that leaves the rest of them up in the guesthouse, and their commander is on an unholy rampage. We seriously pissed the guy off.”

  “Good,” Cat said. Because of her hip, she was sitting at an odd angle on her chair. “Pissed off people make dumb decisions.”

  “Not always,” Prig replied. “Sometimes it makes people more focused and determined. Anyway, that’s beside the point. The mercenaries now know for sure that someone is hiding on the island. I don’t know if they will be able to dig through the collapsed passage, or if they’ll come looking for the other entrance, but they know for sure we’re here. These guys are highly paid mercenaries, okay? They are well-armed, and they’ll look for a way in, no matter what it takes.”

  “Who are they?” Elna asked. “Who paid them?”

  Prig was staring at the map and said nothing. The other Marines around the table averted their gazes as well.

  “Don’t we at least deserve to know who paid these people to shoot at us?” Elna asked.

  Prig sniffed loudly. “The people who paid them are the same people who sent the missiles.”

  “North Korea,” Malin said.

  Prig shook his head. “No, that’s where the missiles were located, but North Korea doesn’t have the funding, manpower, or technology for something this big.”

  “China, then?” Elna replied. “The Chinese government.”

  Prig seemed to be tracing a path on the map, but perhaps he was just buying time. “I won’t say you’re right, Ms. Pasqualee. That way, I haven’t shared classified information. Draw your own conclusion. But these guys are straight-up mercenaries. They fight for whoever pays them, and right now, they’re fighting us.”

  “Got it,” Elna said. “What’s the status on your communication system? Can you activate the missiles or what?”

  “Spence, why don’t you fill us in?” Prig said.

  Spence leaned over the table and circled a spot on the map around the lighthouse. “Comms are up and running, but there’s one huge problem. Right here.”

  “The lighthouse?” Elna asked.

  “The transmitter inside the lighthouse,” Spence replied.

  “The transmitter for your comm equipm
ent is hidden in the lighthouse?” Elna replied. She couldn’t even get irritated about it now. The whole island was falling apart anyway. All of the violations of her privacy didn’t much matter at this point.

  “Yeah, that’s why the stairs up into the lighthouse are blocked,” Spence said. “They blocked them years ago, but they did it in a way that was meant to make it look accidental. I mean, if you just build a mysterious wall, people are going to wonder what’s behind it, right? But if you tumble a bunch of big rocks at the base of the stairs, they’ll think it’s falling apart and unsafe.”

  “Well, I have to hand it to them,” Elna said. “That is exactly the effect it had on us.”

  “The transmitter has been replaced a few times over the years,” Spence said, “so it should be good, but we’re not getting a strong enough signal. I don’t know why. It’s working, but it’s too weak. Maybe it’s an effect of the EMP. Whatever the case, we’ll need to set a repeater somewhere else to boost the signal before we can access the weapon system.”

  “We have the tech, right?” Prig said. “Let’s just climb up into the lighthouse and set it up there.”

  “Location might be part of the problem,” Spence said. “I think we need to place the repeater higher than the lighthouse. Ideally, as high as possible. What’s the highest point on the island?” He turned to Elna.

  “The peak of the hill in the center,” she said. “Just north of the winery. It’s open ground, rocky, steep but not impassable.”

  Spence shrugged at Prig, as if to say, “Sorry for the bad news.” Prig gnawed on his lower lip, studying the map, and occasionally nodding at himself.

  “If we don’t get the transmitter working, all of this was for nothing,” he said. “This is how we defend the mainland. It has to be done. Archer, Fish, they gave their lives for this.” He glanced at Elna. “The loss of your house, your property, your sense of safety—it was all for nothing if we don’t get the transmitter working.”

  “Yeah, I get that,” Elna said, resting her head in her hands again. Too much pain and discomfort—physical, mental, emotional—she was getting restless, but she wouldn’t let the mission fail. If this was what it took, then so be it. “Clearly, Malin and I aren’t Marines. Our brief gun battle with the mercs was maybe the most pathetic gun battle ever. We unloaded into the cellar, and I’m not sure we hit anyone. The light was disorienting, and it was just a crazy moment.”

  “Even if we didn’t hit them,” Malin said, “we gave them a heck of a scare, at least.”

  “Not enough to stop them from chasing us down into the corridor,” Elna said. “It was Fish who took care of them, not us. My point is, we should do our part, but we won’t survive in a fight with these mercenaries. We have to leave that to the Marines. However…” She gathered her courage for a moment. “I’m willing to set the repeater on the peak, if you guys will draw the attention of the mercenaries away from me.”

  “I wasn’t going to ask, but I was considering it,” Prig said. “We can’t afford to let the mercenaries know what we’re doing. If we draw them into a fight, you civilians can sneak around and set up the repeater without them noticing. Don’t go alone, Elna. Take someone with you.”

  “I’m going, of course,” Malin said. “We’ve made it through plenty of wild adventures together. Why stop now?”

  Prig sat down in his seat and folded his hands on the tabletop. He seemed deep in thought. Finally, he said, “Okay, here’s what I recommend. Spence and Mac, you guys are going to draw the mercenaries down to the west side of the island. Play a little game of tag, if you follow me. Try to take them out, if you can, but more importantly, keep their attention away from the center of the island.”

  Spence and Mac glanced at each other then nodded at Prig.

  “Golf and I are going to stay here and man the comm system,” Prig continued. “As soon as that transmitter is up, we’ll know it. Cat, you stick close to the bunker door. If the mercenaries find it, guard it with everything you’ve got. Any able-bodied civilian is welcome to help.”

  “Count me in,” Raymond Cabello said from the door of the clinic room.

  “Great,” Prig said. “Let’s get that man a gun.”

  Norman had been quiet through all of this, but he leaned forward now and tapped a place on the map just outside the bunker door. “What if we set up boobytraps for them in the area outside the bunker door? They’ll be so busy worrying about the Marines shooting at them, they might not expect it.”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Prig said. “Work with Mac here. See if you can’t come up with a plan. Okay, folks, we know who is doing what. The doctor will keep an eye on our injured. Let’s put the children, the elderly, and any others who can’t fight in the barracks room and shut that door. This is it.” He grabbed the edge of the map and folded it over. “We can’t afford to fail. This is about more than the island. This is about the future of our country. I can’t stress that enough. Elna and Malin, your only goal is to get that repeater set up and working. Avoid fighting. Let us draw the attention of the enemy.”

  Elna gave him an awkward salute, though she knew her style was way off. Still, he seemed amused by this, smiling and shaking his head as he rolled up the map.

  The device they gave her was essentially a black box bolted into a metal frame. A thick, rubberized antenna was plugged into a socket on the end, and a battery was fastened to the bottom of the frame. Though it was only maybe eight inches across, it was heavy as hell. Spence wrapped it in a towel and placed it in a backpack, but when Elna started to put it on her back, Malin grabbed the straps.

  “Let me carry it,” he said, gently taking the backpack out of her hands. “You’re in pain. I don’t want you to put any more strain on your back.”

  “Is it that noticeable?” Elna asked.

  “Yeah, you can barely sit still for more than a few seconds,” he replied, putting the straps over his shoulders. “Don’t you think you should let the doctor take a look at you? Maybe you should stay here and let me complete the mission by myself.”

  “Absolutely not,” Elna replied. “I’m going. I know this island better than anyone. I can get us to the hilltop safely. Anyway, what’s the doc going to do for me? I wrenched my back and shoulders. She doesn’t have an X-ray machine to tell me if anything is broken, so all she can do is drug me and make me lie down. There’ll be time for that later.”

  Malin gave her a hug. She received it warmly, though it made her back twinge a bit.

  The various teams had gathered with their gear around the front door of the bunker. Spence and Mac were going to engage the enemies in a firefight to draw their attention away from the hilltop, and they stood together, looking tough and ready for battle, with guns in hand. Norman, Raymond, and Selene had volunteered to set up traps around the lighthouse and bunker door—anything to delay the mercenaries if they happened to get close. Elna didn’t know what they had in mind, but Norman was lugging a big sack that jangled heavily when he moved. Cat was going to guard the door, with Norman and the others joining her once the traps were set. As for Elna and Malin, they each had a Beretta M9, though Elna hoped they wouldn’t need to use them. Chloe and Daniel were dashing about along the side of the room, chasing a frantic Sniffy. The dog seemed to be looking for a place to hide.

  Prig approached Elna and handed her one of the small two-way radios. “The second you get that repeater working, let me know. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Elna replied, slipping the radio into the side pocket of the backpack on Malin’s back.

  Prig then moved to the front of the room and turned to face the teams, his impressive arms crossed over his chest, biceps straining his sleeves. He seemed to be silently analyzing the teams, and possibly the plans, and by the slight scowl on his face, Elna didn’t think he was entirely satisfied.

  “Okay, well, this is what we’re doing then,” he said finally. “I hate to involve the civilians like this, but under the circumstance we have to work with what we’ve got.
Elna and Malin, a whole heck of a lot is riding on you two. I really, really hope to God we can trust you guys to get this done.”

  “I know this island like the back of my hand,” Elna said.

  “Except you didn’t know about the bunker, cameras, transmitter, tunnels, and so forth,” Spence said, with a wink.

  “Well…fair enough,” she said, “but then again, I had no reason to suspect that my little island was a strategic location. We’re just a family vineyard off the coast.”

  Prig waved a hand dismissively at Spence. “We’re not looking for hidden cameras, okay? We’re looking to boost the signal on our transmitter. All you have to do, Elna, is get it to the highest possible location on the island and switch the device on. That’s it. We’ll take care of the rest from there. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Elna said.

  Prig then turned to address Norman. “As for you guys, don’t linger out there too long. We don’t need to boobytrap the whole island.”

  “Got it,” Norman said, with a nod.

  Little Chloe finally caught Sniffy and scooped the dog up in her arms, carrying her over to the group gathered in front of the door, as if she thought they were going too. The little girl ran up to Elna then and lifted the dog, as if to show him off.

  “I think Sniffy wants to go on a mission too,” she said. “Look. He’s too excited.”

  Elna was pretty sure it was the first time the kid had spoken to her. She bent down and petted the little dog. The Bichon Frise licked her hand and whimpered.

  “Well, I think Sniffy better stay here and keep an eye on the bunker,” Elna replied. “You’ll be safe down here.”

  “Yeah, Sniffy is the best watchdog,” Chloe said. Her little, round face was dusty. Had the poor kid been playing in the game room when the roof came down? She’d been through so much. Elna just wanted to hug her.

  “You and Sniffy make a great team,” Elna said.

  Chloe set the dog down, and immediately Sniffy began dashing about again. Chloe and Daniel both laughed and resumed chasing him around the room. Despite his health problems, Daniel had come alive since meeting Chloe.