by Robert Boren
“I love my life more, General,” Kurt said.
“Me too,” Charlie said. “When do we tell everybody? And where do we send the non-fighters?”
“We’ll work that out tomorrow,” General Hogan said.
***
Clara was beside herself, Ned on top of her, the two intertwined in passion. Then it was over, and Ned rolled off, laying on his back, looking at the ceiling, hand reaching for hers.
“Wow,” Ned said.
“Better than happy hour?” Clara asked.
“Oh, just a little. I think we forgot about dinner.”
“So it would appear. Don’t worry, it’s thawed by now. I’ll heat it up in a few minutes.” She sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes, then turning to him as he watched her.
“I can’t believe how lucky I am,” he said.
“I know,” she said. “Everything is so much more intense in this world.”
“Have you been with anybody since this started?”
“No.”
“How come? You were with a larger group. Surely there was somebody you could get along with.”
“Oh, a few tried,” she said. “I wasn’t interested. I don’t know why. They were all nice enough.” She got out of bed, threw on a robe, and walked into the kitchen, wincing a little bit.
“Something wrong?” Ned asked, throwing on his shorts.
“I’m a little sore,” she said, looking at him.
“Oh,” he said. “Yeah, me too, but happy.”
Clara took the container of stew out of the microwave. “It’s more than thawed – already half cooked. It’ll be ready in about five minutes. Want a beer?”
“Sure.”
“Help yourself. They’re in the door of the fridge. Open me one too, okay?”
Ned nodded, getting the cans out and opening them.
The microwave hummed as she joined him at the dinette. They sipped their beers.
“So what now?” Clara asked. “You gonna leave and rejoin the battle?”
“I don’t know,” Ned said. “My phone buzzed a couple of times. I probably should check it.” He got up and fetched it from the bedroom.
“Hmmm, a text from Wedgie, and a voice message from George,” Ned said as he sat back down.
“What’s on the text message?” Clara asked.
“Wedgie said they moved all of our Humvees into the barn. Wonder what’s up with this?”
“There room for all of them?” Clara asked.
“They moved a tow truck and some other stuff out of the way, according to the message. He says they want to keep the Humvees out of sight. Aerial surveillance. Something’s up.”
“Uh oh. What about the voice message?”
“Let’s put it on speaker,” he said.
“I don’t mind if you play it back privately.”
“I mind,” he said. “This is weird. I don’t want to hide anything from you. Ever.” He set the phone on the table, clicked the playback button, and put it on speaker.
“Hey, Ned. Guess you’re otherwise occupied, you lucky devil. I just wanted to let you know that we moved the Humvees into the barn to keep them out of sight from the air. Something big just broke. We need to chat in the morning. Have fun with Clara.”
“Wow, word travels fast around here,” he said sheepishly. “I haven’t even mentioned your name to him yet.”
“Frankie or Jake,” Clara said, shrugging. “Or maybe Vicki, but she’s not usually that way.”
“I kinda like it.”
“Well, let’s eat, and then hit the sack. Sounds like we’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”
“Not sure I’ll be able to fall asleep right away,” Ned said.
“You won’t,” she said, walking over to the microwave. “I’ll make sure of that.”
***
Heidi and George sat at the bar, drinking and chatting with Rosie, Jeb, Jackson, Earl, Terry, and Trish. Charlie, Kurt, and the Sheriff came over, and Rosie set them up with drinks. Mary and Hilda saw them and came over too.
“Now don’t you get too plastered,” Hilda said to Charlie.
“Don’t worry, tomorrow is going to be a mad house,” Charlie said. “Just a couple, and then it’s off to bed for me.”
“Same here, honey,” Kurt said, pulling Mary to his side.
“Should I be worried?” Mary asked, searching his face.
“Yes, but it’ll be okay,” Kurt said. “Trust me.”
“Better give me a drink too, Rosie,” Mary said. “And give one to Hilda.”
“Mary!”
“Trust me, Hilda,” she said. “I’ve seen this look before. This is the calm before the storm.”
Hilda sighed. “Okay, Rosie, I’ll take some bourbon.”
“Come right up,” Rosie said, starting to slur.
“I’ll have another too, now that our friends are here,” Jeb said
“How much pain med you have today?” Rosie asked
“Only one, this morning,” Jeb said.
“That’s not enough, is it?” Mary asked.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Jeb said. “Really.”
Rosie looked at George. “How you like Weng Weng. That three.”
“Just what the doctor ordered,” George said. He looked at Heidi, his hand touching hers, a loving expression on his face.
“You’re such a sentimental drunk,” Heidi said, kissing him on the cheek.
“How can you be so sober?”
“I only drank one of those things,” she said. “And it was a while ago.”
“Well, have another,” George said. “Rosie, set her up.”
“You want, Heidi?” Rosie asked.
She sighed. “Oh, I guess so.”
“Come right up,” Rosie said.
“We’re heading off to bed,” Frankie said, walking up with Jake. “See you all in the morning.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Trish said, then covered her mouth. Everybody looked at her and laughed while she turned beet red.
Jake smiled at her, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Be careful getting up the stairs sweetie. You look a little pie-eyed.”
“I love you, dad,” she said. He kissed her cheek and then followed Frankie out.
“Those two are so lucky,” Hilda said.
“I know the feeling,” Charlie said, putting his arm around her.
“Oh, stop it, you old fool, or you’ll have me crying.”
“I know the feeling too,” Jeb said. “But Rosie won’t cry.”
“No, I cry enough lately. Now happy.”
The group chatted and laughed for a while longer, but they were all getting tired. Jerry and Jasmine walked up.
“Where are they?” Charlie asked.
“They just stopped at an RV Park in Lander, Wyoming,” Jasmine said. “Bedding down for the night.”
“Wow, that trip’s over five hours,” the Sheriff said. “They hauled ass.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty good time,” Jackson said. “How far is Lander from here?”
“About eight hours,” Earl said, looking at his phone. “They’ll be here tomorrow night if all goes well.”
“Maybe we ought to tell them to go elsewhere,” Charlie said. Kurt, the Sheriff, and George all glanced at him.
“What?” Earl asked.
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow, and we can let them know in plenty of time,” the Sheriff said.
“We in trouble again?” Jackson asked.
“We’ve got another battle coming, but you guys already knew that,” George slurred. “Get a good sleep tonight, and we’ll talk in the morning.”
“Yeah,” Charlie said. “Time to call it a night.”
Everybody was getting ready to leave. George and Heidi got up and headed for the stairs, walking into the chill of the evening.
“That was a nice night,” Heidi said. “Do I need to be scared?”
“No,” George said. “What were you crying about earlier? Was that lady giving you a hard time?”
“Frankie? No, George, she helped me to see something.”
“Oh, really? What? I’ve heard she thinks she’s psychic.”
“She is,” Heidi said. “No joke.”
“Explain?”
“Let’s talk about it when we’re sober,” she said. “I need you tonight. Think you’re up to it?”
“Is that a trick question?” George grinned at her, then almost stumbled over a rock. They looked at each other and laughed.
“Maybe I need to wait until morning,” she said, looking at him. They stopped, and he pulled her into his arms.
“There’s that look,” George said. “I don’t see it as often as the early days, but it’s still there sometimes.”
“I’m ready,” she said softly.
“Ready?” he asked, studying her face.
She put her fingers to his lips. “Tomorrow, with a clear head, okay?”
“Okay.” They walked hand in hand back to their rig.
Chapter 18 – Sacrifice
Frank heard Dobie outside with his dogs, in the dim light of dawn. Lucy crawled out from under the covers and poked her head out, licking Frank’s chin. What time is it? He looked at his phone. 5:45 am. He sat up, calculating the time left on their trip. Get on the road by 6:30.
“You awake already, honey?” Jane asked, groggy.
“Yeah, heard Dobie with his dogs. Think you can be ready for us to clear out by 6:30?”
“I don’t see why not,” she said, sitting up. “What time does that get us home?”
“About 3:00, give or take.”
“Good,” she said. “I’ll get dressed and wake the kids.”
She threw on her clothes and went outside to the salon. Hank and Sarah were on the sofa bed.
Hank woke up. “Good morning.”
“Good morning, Hank,” Jane said, smiling. “How was sleeping on that thing? It’s the first time anybody’s used it.”
“Not bad,” he said.
Sarah stirred, then sat up. “Hi mom. We getting up already?”
“If we can get on the road by 6:30, we’ll be home by about 3:00,” Jane said.
“Good,” Sarah said. “I’ll get up.”
Frank walked out of the bedroom, followed by Lucy. “I’ll take her out.”
“Okay, I’ll get coffee started,” Jane said.
Frank walked outside, following Lucy down the steps. Dobie was just getting back.
“What time we leaving?”
“I think we should be on the road by 6:30,” Frank said.
“Good, I’ll wake Gabe up.”
“I’m already awake,” Gabe said, poking his head out the door. “Saw Malcolm moving around in his rig, too.”
“Good,” Frank said. “Be back in a few minutes.” He walked off with Lucy.
Malcolm came down the steps of his rig. “We getting ready to split?”
“Can you be ready by 6:30?”
“Yeah,” Malcolm said. “Glad we’re leaving early.”
“You and me both,” Dobie said.
“You want to get back to that pretty young thing at home,” Gabe said.
“Can’t deny that, I guess,” Dobie said.
Ted and Agent Williams came out of the coach with cups of coffee. “Took the liberty,” Ted said. He handed a cup to Malcolm.
“Great, thanks,” Malcolm said. “You guys want some?”
“Got some brewing in my coach now,” Dobie said. “But thanks.”
Frank walked back up. “Excellent, everybody’s up.”
“Maybe we can leave before 6:30,” Dobie said.
“I don’t see why not,” Frank said. “If we eat on the road.”
“Hey, honey, ready for coffee?” Jane asked Frank as he came in.
“Yeah,” he said. “Wow, got that bed closed up already?”
“Yeah, dad,” Sarah said. “It’s easy. Pretty comfy too.”
“The others seem to think they’ll be ready to go before 6:30.”
“All we have to do is pull the jacks, unplug the electrical, and bring in the slides,” Jane said.
“Then I say let’s hit it,” Hank said, coming out of the bathroom.
***
George woke up to a pounding head. It was going to be warm for fall. The sun was hitting hard, with no breeze to move the air around. He looked over at Heidi, laying on her stomach, her naked back graceful and smooth, hair spilled over her shoulders. She stirred when George turned on his side towards her.
“Hey, you,” she said, turning to him, smiling.
“You feel okay?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I’ve got a hang over,” George said. “What the hell were those things last night?”
“Some Philippine drink called a Weng Weng,” Heidi said. “Rosie loves to give those to un-suspecting victims.”
“I’m surprised you don’t have a headache.”
“I only had two, and they were several hours apart,” Heidi said. “You chugged three of them right before bed.”
“Didn’t seem to slow me down last night.”
“You always have to embarrass me after sessions like that,” she said, face turning red.
“Sorry, but you were out of your mind last night. What was that about? You wouldn’t tell me.”
“It was the talk I had with Frankie.”
“Oh, that’s right, you were crying,” George said. “Why?”
“Jill.”
“Jill? What about her?”
“Frankie told me what happened to her.”
“How could she know that?”
Heidi studied his eyes. “She really is psychic. She told me things about myself that nobody else knows.”
“Okay. I’m not saying I believe it, but go on. What about Jill?”
“Frankie said Jill was killed on the day she left the compound.”
“Sailor Boy?”
“No, he didn’t know. It was Joseph.”
“It makes sense to you?” George asked, wiping her tears away.
“Now that I know, it makes perfect sense. Sailor Boy didn’t want to punish her. To him, she was Walt’s girlfriend, and she didn’t try to bring harm to him like the other one.”
“Sadie.”
“Yeah. After they abused me and brought me back to the cell, Jill went nuts and ran herself into the wall a bunch of times. Sailor Boy sent in the doctor. He said she’d die if she didn’t get to a hospital. Sailor Boy ordered Joseph to take her to an emergency room.”
“And he killed her instead,” George said. “Okay, I can see that. Joseph worshipped Sailor Boy. Jill was a threat.”
Heidi nodded in agreement.
“That’s going to get you past your problems?”
“No. What happened to Jill makes me sad,” she said.
“What, then?”
“Frankie helped me understand myself, what I did back then, and what you think.”
“She told you what I think?”
“She told me what has been right in front of me all along,” Heidi said.
“What?”
“That you’ll never leave me, even if you know every detail of what happened.”
“She’s right about that. I already know more than you think.”
“I know,” Heidi said. “It’s not important anymore. I’m past it.”
“What does that mean for us?”
“It means I’m yours. Completely. Forever. I won’t hold back. Not ever again.”
George got teary eyed. “You’ll be my wife?”
“Yes,” she said. “If you want children, we’ll probably have to see a specialist, though.”
“Why do you say that? Not that it’s a problem – I think we’re a little old to be starting a family.”
“You have a pretty good idea what happened to me at that compound. A lot of unprotected sex. No birth control. I never got pregnant. I probably can’t without help.”
“Oh,” he said. “That. I don’t care, sweetie. Really. Let’s just make each ot
her happy, okay?”
“We can have Jake marry us if you want. I’m ready.” She paused. “No, I’m anxious.”
“I’ll have a chat with him. Can we wait until Malcolm is back? I want him to be my best man.”
“Of course,” she said. They embraced and kissed.
***
General Hogan came up the stairs into the kitchen. Charlie and Hilda were starting the coffee.
“Good morning, General,” Charlie said.
“Good morning to you two. Sleep well?”
“Yeah,” Charlie said.
“I had a hangover from just one drink,” Hilda said. “I’m such a lightweight.”
Charlie patted her on the back. “What time do you want to meet with the folks, general?”
“We’d probably better do it sooner rather than later. I just heard that our away team has already left. They’ll get here by about three. We should talk about re-routing them to someplace else so their coaches are out of harm’s way.”
“I was thinking about something last night,” Charlie said.
“What’s that?” General Hogan asked.
“The mole. What if they tip off the enemy?”
“I’ve already given that some thought,” General Hogan said. “Not sure what to do about it yet.”
“Isn’t it possible that they didn’t know what was in that front building?” Hilda asked. “From the air, it might be hard to tell what the best targets are, and the front building does adjoin the clubhouse by that breezeway. Might have looked like one big building from up there.”
“That’s a good point,” General Hogan said. “Didn’t think about that.”
Kurt, the Sheriff, Jackson, and Earl walked into the kitchen.
“That coffee I smell?” Jackson asked.
“Yep,” Hilda said. “Be another five minutes or so.”
Clint came in with his boys and John Harper. “Heard we got a meeting this morning. Sorry I wasn’t around last night. I was beat.”
“Why don’t I fill you in on the gist now, before the meeting?” General Hogan asked.
“Okay,” Clint said.
“Let’s go downstairs. Jackson and Earl, you want to hear? You missed out last night.”
“Sure,” Earl said.
The men went down the stairs.
“What do you think? Half an hour?” Charlie asked.
“Yeah,” the Sheriff said. “Let’s got get the word out. The coffee ought to be done by the time we’re back.”