by Robert Boren
“How do you think they’ll find the place, then?” Frank asked.
“There are only a handful of lodges up here,” Hank said. “They’ll find out where they are in town.”
“Okay, I think going into the boonies is a good idea,” Frank said. “As soon as we get the location we’ll be coming up there. We’ll contact you when we do.”
“We won’t be in cell range,” Hank said.
“Think you can give us GPS coordinates?” Ted asked. “You could put them in the drop box.”
“Yeah,” Hank said. “Been there before. It’s recorded on my GPS unit.”
“Perfect,” Ted said. “I’ll call you back in a few minutes.”
“What if they hear?” Sarah asked.
“Once you’re connected to the drop box they won’t,” Ted said. “That’s the beauty of it.”
“Okay,” Hank said. “I’ll wait for the call. We’ll be ready to leave within the hour.”
“Be careful,” Jane said. “See you soon.”
“Bye, sweet pea,” Frank said.
The call ended. The group looked at each other.
“I’ll go get them back on the phone,” Ted said, leaving the coach.
“This scares the daylights out of me,” Jane said.
“I know, honey,” Frank said.
“So I guess we’re going to Montana instead of Boise,” Malcolm said.
“Any chance Daan’s men will still expect us in Boise?” Agent Williams asked.
“Don’t care,” Frank said. “My daughter is more important to me than trying to catch these guys flat-footed. Besides, we got our people out yesterday, remember?”
“He’s right,” Malcolm said. “I say we high-tail it to their location in Montana. Pick them up and take them back to Kansas with us.”
“I like that idea,” Jane said.
Dobie poked his head into the coach. “Something going on? I see Ted wandering around talking on his phone.”
“Yeah, Dobie,” Malcolm said. “Why don’t you bring Gabe in here, and we’ll chat.”
“Okay,” Dobie said. “I’ll put my dogs away and grab him.” He left.
“You really think they have satellite access?” Jane asked.
“Probably,” Frank said. “Maybe General Hogan can find out what they’ve got and ruin it for them.”
“They’re listening in on phones, that’s for sure,” Agent Williams said. “Not good.”
“Our phones?” Jane asked.
“Doubtful,” Agent Williams said. “If they were, they would have foiled our rescue yesterday.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” Frank said. “Our team used the secure web meeting system we used at Capitol Reef. That’s not hackable. Doesn’t mean they couldn’t be listening in on our normal cell phones. It’s possible nobody mentioned enough details about that operation over the phone on an open transmission.”
“Yeah,” Malcolm said. “We should be very careful what we say, at least until we figure this out.”
“Let’s warn General Hogan,” Frank said. “We’ve got a huge operation coming.”
“Seriously,” Ted said.
“What’s up, guys?” Gabe asked as he came in with Dobie.
“We’ve got to change our destination,” Malcolm said. “Daan’s folks found out that Sarah and Hank fled to Montana.”
“Dammit,” Gabe said. “They know where?”
“Not exactly,” Frank said.
“We know where?” Dobie asked.
“That’s what Ted is working on,” Frank said. “It’s pretty obvious that Daan’s people are listening in to their phone conversations, so Ted’s setting them up to send their location via George’s secure drop box.”
“Oh,” Dobie said. “Good. So we’re going north instead of west.”
“Yeah,” Frank said.
Ted came in. “Okay, got it. They’re by a little town called Jardine.”
“I know where that is,” Malcolm said.
“Yeah, me too,” Gabe said. “North of Yellowstone. That’s pretty damn rugged country.”
“Sure is,” Malcolm said. “Fun place for Jeeps.”
“How many hours away is that?” Agent Williams asked.
“I’m checking my map app now,” Jane said, looking at her phone. “Not bad. Northeast on I-15 to Idaho Falls, then up Route 20, Route 287, and Route 89. We’ll pass through the northwest corner of Yellowstone. It’s a little over four hours from here.”
“That’s not bad at all,” Malcolm said. “How quickly can we leave?”
“Five minutes here,” Frank said.
“Yeah, no more than ten for me,” Dobie said.
“Good, let’s blow this joint,” Frank said. “Eat on the way.”
***
It was noon at the RV Park in Kansas. The away team had returned at four in the morning, so they were just starting to get up. Jasmine and Rosie were making their way to the clubhouse. Jeb was at his rig, getting everything turned on again, placing chairs under his awning, and greeting friends as they came by.
“Damn, Jeb, you’re looking pretty good,” Charlie said, walking up with Kurt and the Sheriff.
“I’m doing fine,” Jeb said. “Even got a few shots off on the way out of dodge last night.”
“Heard they tortured you,” the Sheriff said.
“Ah, hell, they thought they’d mess with that ugly leg wound of mine,” he said, chuckling. “Hardly have any feeling left there, but I made it look like I was beside myself with pain. Idiots.”
“Well, I’m really glad to see you back,” Charlie said. “You know what’s happened here since you’ve been gone?”
“I see a lot more coaches,” Jeb said.
“Yeah, that’s Clint’s folks,” Charlie said. “They were another of General Walker’s groups. Bigger than ours, but without the genius factor.”
“No Frank, eh? Jerry told me about those guys. Had a dust-up with the UN before Rosie and I got snatched.”
“Yep, that’s them,” Kurt said. “Good people.”
“Where is Frank?” Jeb asked. “I don’t see his rig. Don’t see Dobie’s or Malcolm’s either.”
“Frank and Jane are on their way to Boise with Dobie, Gabe, Malcolm Davis, Ted Crowley, and an FBI agent.”
“FBI Agent?” Jeb asked. “He know about the dungeon?”
“Yeah,” the Sheriff said. “By the way, Nighthawk is dead. No need to worry about that nonsense anymore.”
“Really? We kill him?” Jeb asked.
“No, it was some other old RV’ers,” Kurt said, laughing. “Long story. We’ll fill you in, but there’s more important stuff to tell you.”
“Uh oh,” Jeb said.
“It’s not bad, but it’ll take some getting used to,” Charlie said.
“Okay, what is it?”
“We made an alliance with the militia,” Charlie said.
“What! Why?”
“We had a battle with them behind the park,” the Sheriff said. “They sent a team in to take out our cell tower and internet line again.”
“Again?” Jeb asked. “I only knew about once.”
“They did it twice,” Charlie said. “Anyway, we killed all but two of them. Had a chat with the survivors in the dungeon. Found out they’re against the Islamists and the UN. They’ve been hitting the UN wherever they see them. They’ve also been doing things to mess with the Islamists, while pretending to be on their side.”
“Geez,” Jeb said. “A lot has happened since I’ve been out of circulation.”
“Yeah,” Charlie said. “We staged a fake battle with them here yesterday, right before Ned’s team went in to get you guys. A long-range diversion.”
“That where that mess in back came from?” Jeb asked. “Looks like a chopper went down.”
“Yeah, Field Marshal Hopper asked Daan Mertins to send in air support. We wanted them to see the battle and report back before we blasted them.”
“That what happened to the front office a
nd the pool house?”
“Not exactly,” the Sheriff said. “We blew up the pool house and the old hulk of General Hogan’s chopper with some of that dynamite Gabe brought along from his park. One of the choppers hit the front office. That’s the only worrisome thing that happened yesterday.”
“What was worrisome about it?” Jeb said. “If they had to hit something that was the best building to lose.”
“We had nerve gas mortar rounds in there,” Kurt said.
“Shit. They blow them up?” Jeb asked.
“No, we figured we’d better get them the hell out of there before the fake battle happened, so we wrapped them and buried them about half a mile from the park,” Kurt said.
“Oh, I think I get it,” Jeb said. “You’re wondering if they knew it was there. You’re thinking maybe we have a spy in our midst.”
“You’re still sharp for an old coot,” Charlie said, chuckling.
“Yeah, right back at ya,” Jeb said, laughing. “God, I missed you guys.”
“Same here,” Charlie said.
“Any of those militia guys still here?” Jeb asked.
“Nah, they cleared out early this morning,” Charlie said. “Guess where there base is.”
“No clue,” Jeb said.
“Gabe’s park,” Charlie said.
Jeb cracked up. “He know?”
“Yeah, he knows. Found out in our conference call a few days ago.”
“How’d he take it?”
“Really well,” Charlie said. “Why wouldn’t he? His place didn’t get blown up like we thought. The militia also promised to give it back to him in good shape when the war is over.”
“Well, you just never know how things are gonna turn out,” Jeb said.
“You had any coffee yet?” the Sheriff asked. “There’s still some left in the clubhouse.”
“No,” Jeb said. “Rosie already went over there with Jasmine. I’m ready for some. Want to go over?”
“Yeah,” Charlie said. “I know Hilda wants to see you.”
“Likewise,” he said. The men headed there.
***
Ned walked towards Clara’s rig, his heart pounding. Why was he nervous all of a sudden? All he could think about was seeing her, and now he wanted to run the other way. He was just about to turn around when the door flew open, and Clara came towards him in a run. The look on her face made him melt. She leaped onto him, arms around his neck, legs around his middle, hugging him while she sobbed, her head resting on his chest. Then she moved her head back and looked into his eyes.
“I was so worried,” she said, a smile breaking through. She kissed him softly. He returned it, trembling.
“I couldn’t get you out of my mind,” Ned said, letting her feet touch the ground again, but keeping his arms around her waist.
She looked up at him with a shy smile. “I know, I’ve been beside myself the whole time. Thanks so much for calling me when it was over.”
“I had to hear your voice,” he said. He bent down and kissed her again, longer this time, their passion building together.
“Walk with me,” she said.
“Okay.” Ned took her hand and they wandered towards the front of the park.
“What are your plans, long term?” Clara asked him, looking ahead as they walked.
“Finish the final battle, and then re-start my life,” he said.
“The big battle. I’ve started to hear things. Some of the men were talking about it last night. It scares me.”
“It won’t be as bad as you think,” Ned said.
“I hope so,” she said, still looking ahead of them. “How do you want to re-start your life?”
“How do you think?” he asked, looking down at her. “You’re scared to talk about this.”
“Why do you say that?” Clara asked.
“Because you aren’t looking at me,” he said.
“Oh,” she said, looking up at him with glassy eyes. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he said. “What are your plans when this is over?”
“You haven’t answered my question yet,” she said, back to looking straight ahead.
“Look at me,” he said. They stopped walking and she looked up at him.
“Don’t worry, it’s all right if you don’t…”
“Stop,” he said. “I want to spend my life with you, if you’ll have me.”
“How can you be so sure? We’ve only just met.”
“I can’t explain it, but I know how I feel,” he said. “I want you to be mine. Do you feel that way? Even a little bit?”
“Yes,” she whispered, eyes locked on his. “It’s all I can think about, but I don’t want to push you into it.”
He pulled her into his arms and they kissed, more passionately than before.
“So what now?” he asked afterward. “Can we start courting?”
“Courting?” she asked, smiling. “Yeah, I like the sound of that, as long as it’s not a long courtship.”
“It’ll be whatever length you want it to be,” he said. “We have a dinner date tonight, remember?”
She laughed. “Well, I guess I’ll have to cook you something in my rig, since there aren’t much in the way of eateries around here.”
“What about the town?” he asked.
“Let’s not go there,” she said. “I don’t feel safe out in the world yet.”
“Okay,” Ned said. “Sure you want to have me in your place alone?”
She chuckled. “Yeah. I’m not sure I’ll let you leave.”
He looked at her with an embarrassed smile.
“No pressure,” she said. “Want to go to the clubhouse? I hear there’s still some coffee left.”
“Sure, then you can meet my brother,” he said. “Let’s go.”
***
“When happy hour?” Rosie asked as people filtered into the clubhouse.
“Some of us still have a hangover from last night,” Jake said, leaning on a table, arm around Frankie.
“What? Nobody drink with me?” Rosie asked.
“I’m there, Rosie,” Charlie said.
“Yeah, me too,” Kurt said, laughing.
“Better not leave us out either,” Earl said, walking over with Jackson. “It’s so good to see you, Rosie.”
“I glad to see you also,” she said. “Glad to be home.”
Ned and Clara walked in, making their way to the group. Jeb saw him and his face lit up.
“Ned, you’re up! How you doing?”
“I’m great,” Ned said. “How are you? Couldn’t believe you were so quick out there after all you’d been through.”
“I wasn’t as messed up as I made them believe,” Jeb said.
“You still have way to go, old man,” Rosie said, smiling at him. “So don’t hurt self.”
“Who’s the pretty girl?” Dick asked, walking to Ned and Clara.
“This is Clara,” Ned said, arm around her shoulder. “Clara, that’s my brother Dick.”
“So nice to meet you,” Clara said.
“Likewise,” he said. “You with Clint’s group?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Well, it’s great to see somebody finally catch Ned’s eye,” Dick said. “He needs to be settling down sometime.”
“Speak for yourself, old man,” Ned said, laughing. “I may settle, but not down.”
“Hey, anybody know what happened to my bow?” Jeb asked. “I stashed it in the bushes before I got shot.”
“Don’t worry, Jerry has it in our rig,” Jasmine said.
“Yeah, I got it,” Jerry said walking up. “Safe and sound.”
“Good,” Jeb said. “Thanks! Judging by how many rigs we have here, it’s time to start some hunting.”
“Thinking the same thing,” Kurt said. “Glad you’re back to hunt with.”
Suddenly there was giggling and two kids running through the room.
Jeb’s eyes got big. “We’ve got kids here now?”
“That
’s Derek and Jamie,” Hilda said, smiling. “Those are Vicki’s kids.”
“Any others?” Jeb asked.
“Two teenagers,” Hilda said, “but they’re almost grown up. They’re 17 and 18, and pretty sweet on each other.”
“Josh is my son,” Clara said. “He’s 18. Britney is Frankie’s daughter. She’ll be 18 very soon.”
“I suspect they’ll be getting hitched,” Frankie said.
“You’re okay with that?” Hilda asked.
“Sure,” Frankie said.
“Seems so young,” Hilda said.
“Not young in time like this,” Rosie said. “I married when very young, during war. You grow up faster in war.”
“Well, war does have a way of changing things,” Hilda said. “Lord knows I had no plans to marry this old reprobate.”
“Hey, be nice,” Charlie said, putting his arm around her shoulder.
General Hogan walked in with his son and George.
“Jeb, how are you?” he asked.
“Fit as a fiddle and ready for battle, General,” Jeb said, shaking his hand.
“You stop that,” Rosie said. “You heal more first.”
“You look a little nervous, General,” Jerry said. “What’s going on?”
“Daan Mertin’s men found out that Frank and Jane’s daughter fled to Montana,” he said. “Our team is racing there as we speak.”
“Dammit,” Charlie said.
“Don’t worry, they’ll get the drop on those creeps,” George said. “Remember who’s with them.”
“Yeah, you don’t want to be pissing off Malcolm,” Kurt said. “Or Dobie’s dogs, for that matter.”
“Wish I was there with them,” said a man in the back. The group turned to see John Harper’s smiling face.
Jeb smiled at him. “Good Lord, man, where did you get those two beasts? I couldn’t believe the look those UN guys got on their faces when they saw them charging.”
“Yeah, you got that right,” Ned said.
General Hogan’s phone rang. He answered it, putting his hand over his open ear. He smiled, and then put his phone in his pocket.
“Our team just arrived at the town, and they’re getting into the Jeep now to go get Sarah and Hank.”
“Good,” Charlie said.
“Jerry and Jasmine, would you mind getting a web meeting set up, and helping us monitor the satellite feed? We’ve got the GPS coordinates for the target area.”