“I see,” Frank nodded his head and looked at the hay on the floor for a second. He decided to try a new tact. “Can you do something for me?”
“Sure…”
“Tomorrow night, I want you to tell a story to the children about your father.” Jordan seemed confused for a second, Frank persisted. “Try to be truthful, but if you feel like making a few things up, that’s fine.”
“But honor your father with a story about his life.” Frank concluded.
“I will,” Jordan could feel the gravity of the idea. It was good.
Frank began to rise. It was a process that seemed to take more time with each passing year. It might soon happen where he would just sit around all day, he had taken to reading in the last few years but still the idea of immobility frightened him. He stretched for a second while Jordan stared out into the night, composing his story perhaps?
“I don’t trust them.” Jordan finally spoke, he turned to Frank and added: “I don’t trust that Captain.”
“Neither do I, the Captain isn’t too bad,” Frank answered honestly. “But we both know we are one poor harvest away from starving.”
“We have a lot of new mouths to feed, Jordan.” Frank cemented his argument with the obvious.
“It just doesn’t feel right,” Jordan continued on his train of thought. Perhaps this was part of venting his loss. “We are doing just fine with our ways.”
“Yes, but they have things we need.” Frank offered a new look at the situation. “They need us. We can keep a handle on this because they need us.”
“What happens when they don’t need us?” Jordan asked the elephant in the room question.
“That will be years from now,” Frank observed, he grew silent for a second before offering up his next observation. “You know, sometimes our ways are not the right ways.”
“How?” Good, Jordan was curious.
“Sometimes we have made mistakes in the past.” Frank offered the idea with a wave of his hand.
“Like when?” Jordan leaned back. His eyes became hungry for conversation.
“When those people we don’t trust first came to our shores.” Frank offered the idea lightly. “All of what we have been through, all that is going on…..”
“We have a second chance, now. We need to get it right this time.”
*
It occurred to Maggie how calming the night sky was. It was always there, implacable. It offered solace to the worst of days. It guided travelers through the centuries and was even a trusted confidant to the most personal of thoughts. A warm memory coursed through her of Brett making love to her under the stars in a park in Galveston. When they were curled up under a blanket under moonlight in Baltimore, Brett would single out a few points of light here and there that he had learned over time. Maggie didn’t pay too much attention back then. She was just listening to the masculine timber of his voice. The touch of an accent he had picked up. It sounded so……honest. Yeah, that was the right word for Brett. God, there were moments she missed him so much.
If you’re alive, I hope you are happy. Her eyes felt dreamy, God, you so deserve to be after me.
The engine droned on through the night with headlights showing the way. Occasional scarecrow figures appeared in the highway and then a gentle crump marked their passing against the bumper. Roe was cautiously moving along at about 60 kilometers an hour. A safe speed in case they encountered wreckage or massive packs. The motor purred along, most of the instrument panels were set on very low night display so that Roe could maintain his night vision. Gurpreet was in the passenger seat, he was quietly humming a song that Maggie could not decipher from the back seat. It felt like the calm after the storm.
Had they gotten it all right? Of course not, you could hang yourself in all the loose wires that were left behind. The friendly fire incident was still a black hole in her heart. She could still see Jordan’s eyes. They burned like a low fire, God the pain he must be in. Jordan felt like a debt owed that was already way overdue. You took his father away from him. She felt her insides begin to turn dark. Maggie tried to roll with the punch and remembered there was nothing she could have done.
Still, there he is. There they are. Nothing can beat bad luck. When it happens, it happens. Maggie sighed and remembered, that’s easy for you to say right now. She looked up at the stars. They seemed to reserve judgment for the time being. If the transport had not been left behind, Maggie would probably be sitting on top of the tractor trailer, unraveling her thoughts in the solitude. The elder Frank seemed to appreciate it. It would be a great refuge in times of trouble for the children.
The children! Something stirred inside of Maggie. It was an itch as old as nature and time. She could feel an overwhelming urge to turn the truck around and be among them for just awhile. The eyes of wonder, the sense of longing, it pulled at her insides. My god, they were something. She made a mental note to order the supplies staff to inquire about vaccinations and baby food. Now that it was out in the open, Maggie found it occupying her thoughts more and more. You’ve come a long way in just over five years. You………children?
The wild girl who watched drag racing on the 400, got into fights with bullies and picked up a cowboy named Brett Symons in a honky tonk seemed to give her a nod from the past. She will always be a part of me, Maggie reminded herself. The girl in her rear view mirror of life got silent thanks from the woman in the present.
She pulled the blanket up to her face. It was in need of a wash but that didn’t matter right now. The stars shone down with the light of the purest, blue silver. Nothing up there had changed. It was something to hold on to. A cloud passed in front of a few stars. It was there and gone like a night bird in front of the starlight.
No……………
The cloud was moving quickly through the darkened sky. It was fat at one end and thin around the end. It began to turn like a shark in the water searching for prey. There was a motion above the body, a whirling of wind among the star shine. It turned slowly to face them.
“……copter” Maggie felt herself go cold. The emotion rose in her chest and choked her throat. Attack vector, Fuck, Fuck! FUCK! FUCK! She rolled and tried to find anything that would provide cover. The last thing Maggie saw were glowing flashes from drum like appendages on either side of the helicopters body.
The windshield, steel cage of the cabin and bodies in front of her were obliterated in a hailstorm of metal and destruction. There was a sudden explosion and her stomach bounced inside her body as the truck became airborne. Her ears shut down, silence replaced chaos. Maggie could not tell if her eyes were open or closed, she reached out for anything to steady her fall and found nothing but void. A darkened realm opened up in front of her and she was consumed in it. Maggie could hear her heartbeat as she fell through a vast, black universe. It was the only sound. There was no light. Everything dissipated in a flash.
“We got her!” Shadowman heard the triumphant cry through the speaker of his blackberry. He felt an adrenalin rush. That feeling a fighting animal gets when they buy a little more time of life. This news would bring them back. Yes, we were back on schedule now.
“Ding dong, the bitch is dead.” The ground commander who had tried to destroy the convoy chimed in. “Way to go, brother.”
“I think this calls for some commendations.” Shadowman offered the bait to maintain their loyalty. It would only be a few more months now. “I will be sending out the paperwork for distinguished service medals for both of you….”
“Captains Terry and David Jay…….your father Otto has been avenged….”
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5 Years After (Book 2.5): Smoke & Mirrors Page 30