“I know. I was just going to clean it off.”
Lucas made for the stable, where he rinsed the worst of the blood away and, when he couldn’t feel any more crust beneath his hairline, seated his hat back in place and retrieved Tango, who was skittish from all the explosions. He settled the horse and saddled up with the stable boy’s help, and then rode past three industrial piers and the access way to the Megler Bridge before being stopped by a patrol, the men clearly on edge. He explained that he was tracking some suspects in the explosion, and they let him pass once they’d radioed Hayden and gotten his okay.
Lucas rode along the southern edge of town, scanning the water with his night vision scope, and drew a sharp intake of breath when he spotted a sail to the south, at the mouth of the river. He followed the shoreline with the scope and spied the bridge the woman had told him about, its base enshrouded in fog.
His watch told him it would be daybreak in about an hour, and any advantage he had under cover of darkness would be eliminated by the rising sun. He urged Tango to a trot and pointed the stallion toward the southern gate. Once through, he rode to the highway that traced the shore and crossed the river the tent city used for water, his eyes on the bridge now a little over a mile away.
The base of the sky was glowing salmon along the eastern hills by the time he arrived at the bridge, and he stopped at one end and studied the river through the scope. The two sailboats had been beached on the far shore and appeared abandoned. Their masts cocked at ninety-degree angles, the boats leaned on their sides, keels half out of the water. Lucas prodded Tango and the stallion walked across the bridge. They fought their way through brush along the river until reaching the boats, where Lucas dismounted and studied the muddy area.
Clear evidence of the passage of Chinese feet stretched toward the forested hills to the west, and he led Tango by the reins as he followed the tracks, grateful for the mushy soil that made his job easier. The sky was a pale gray by the time he came to the end of the trail, which terminated at an iron barrier across an entry point framed in cement near the top of a hill. A rusting sign warned that he was on Federal Property owned by the Department of Defense. Lucas examined the grating and spotted an industrial lock – nothing he could easily get through. He eyed the tracks, which led directly to the barrier, and scouted around the area for evidence of alternative entry points. Thirty yards away, he found what appeared to be a vent shaft with a grate over it that he might be able to get through, but he hesitated, remembering the IED that had killed so many of the town’s fighters. If the Chinese had been behind that, which now seemed reasonable – although for what reason he couldn’t fathom – they might have booby-trapped their ultimate stronghold below ground.
His headache grew worse as he led Tango along the bottom of the rise, wondering if this were one of the many underground bases the military had been rumored to have built for coastal defense during the Cold War. It would make sense, given its location on a hill with a clear view to the sea and nothing but a national park nearby, so no real traffic. He looked for more potential entry areas but didn’t find any, and decided that he needed some help if he was going to go in after the Chinese – nothing good could come from walking into the unknown without backup.
The return trip was less unpleasant, but for the entire trek Lucas couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. He had to fight to keep from driving Tango to a gallop, in his imagination the crosshairs of a sniper’s rifle centering on his back. He attributed the anxiety to fatigue and the blow to the head, and resolved to find Hayden or the mayor and fill them in on the night’s events so they could decide how they wanted to handle things. In the end, it was their problem; although Lucas knew that if the Chinese were associated with the forces that wanted Elliot and his group destroyed, it was everyone’s issue, not just Astoria’s. Whatever he’d fallen into, it was much bigger than the vaccine and the murder of a doctor. And Lucas would get to the bottom of it.
One way or another.
Chapter 43
Lucas found himself back at the hospital, where Sylvia looked like she’d aged ten years. He hadn’t wanted to run into Rosemary and break the news of Alex’s demise, but he wanted to see whether Joel was still alive, and figured it would be one of the logical points Hayden would surface. Sylvia eyed him with obvious anxiety as he entered the lobby, which was still crammed with wounded, and she shook her head before he could ask.
“He’d lost too much blood. I’m sorry, Lucas.”
Lucas smiled sadly. “Not surprised. I’m sure you did everything you could.”
“There wasn’t much to do. We’re in over our heads.”
“Where’s Rosemary?”
“She’ll be back in a few hours. She went home to get some rest. Why?”
“Just used to seeing her. Ruby still improving?”
“That’s the only bright spot. She is. I’d say she can leave in another day or so. The infection’s almost gone, and the wound is healing well. There’s no reason for her to be stuck here if she keeps taking her pills.”
“That’s great news.”
Sylvia frowned. “What happened to your head?”
“I hit it.”
She pointed to a metal stool. “Sit down. Let me have a look.”
“I’m fine.”
“Humor me.”
He removed his hat and she did a cursory inspection, muttering to herself as she probed the knot. “You need stitches. Fortunately, that’s one thing I can do in my sleep. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
“No arguing with you?”
“You’re on my turf. It’s not smart to annoy the help.”
She returned with forceps, a pair of scissors, and some monofilament, and went to work. Lucas ignored the pain, and she was done in a few minutes. “Six stitches. What did you hit it on?”
“I think it was a branch.”
“Nice bump, too. You feeling dizzy? Any vision problems?”
“Never better,” he lied, and stood. “Now let me look in on Ruby. Oh, you seen Hayden today?”
“No, but one of the guys has a two-way and can call him. You want him to?”
“Yes. I’d appreciate it if you’d have him come over here ASAP.”
“Will do.”
Ruby was sitting up in bed when Lucas entered her room, and regarded him without expression as he neared.
“You have dried blood in your ear,” she said.
Lucas brushed at it absently. “Good morning. Sleep well?”
“If you find a chorus of screaming men restful, this is your kind of place.”
“There was a big battle yesterday. The white hats won.”
“Not all of them.”
“True. How you feeling?”
“Way better. Almost human.”
Lucas tried a smile, and then his face grew serious. “Sylvia tell you about Joel?”
“No. What?”
He broke the news about the torture and the fight with Grant. By the time he’d finished, her eyes were wide. “We have to get word to Elliot.”
“I know. But nobody’s got a radio, so we’re going to have to ride till we find one. That could take a while.”
“But…I don’t understand. Why would Grant be working with the Chinese? To what end? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“He had to be Illuminati, Ruby. So a better question is, why is the Illuminati working with them?”
Her expression darkened. “Nothing good for us, I’m sure.”
“That’s where I keep going with it, too.”
Sylvia stuck her head through the door. “Hayden’s on his way. He should be here in a few minutes.”
“Perfect. Be right there.” Lucas turned back to Ruby. “She says you’ll be well enough to leave by tomorrow. You think you’ll be able to ride?”
“As long as I don’t do anything stupid with this arm, I don’t see why not. All I have to do is keep from falling out of the saddle. Even I should be able to manage that.”
“We can take
a couple more days if you need them.”
She shook her head. “We have to find a radio. I’ll live.”
“The only good news is that we don’t know for sure that Joel told Grant the truth.”
“I wouldn’t bet on that, Lucas. No way did he hold out. No chance at all.”
“I know. But we don’t actually know.”
“I do.” She took a deep breath. “So what now?”
“Figure I need to see what the Chinese are up to. They obviously planned on holing up in whatever that is. If I find out why, maybe the rest will fall into place.”
“You look like crap, Lucas.”
“I’ve been worse,” he said, and slipped his hat back on his head. “Gotta go. Hurry up and get well.”
Hayden was tying his horse to the post beside Tango when Lucas exited the hospital. Lucas approached him and gave him a terse rundown.
When Lucas was done, Hayden looked at him like he was mad. “Wait. Alex is dead, and Grant shot him? Why?”
“Grant was working for the bad guys. We caught him with a radio. How long had he been in town?”
“A radio?” Hayden hesitated. “He showed up…maybe four months ago.”
Lucas sighed. “He was a spy. He was working with the Chinese.”
“I don’t understand.”
“They blew up the ammo depot and took off. I followed them.”
Hayden frowned. “Where are they now?”
“Across the river. Over by the Lewis and Clark park.”
“Out in the open?”
“No. Looks like some kind of abandoned military installation.”
“Do they know you know?”
Lucas shook his head. “Nope. But I don’t want to go in alone. Wanted to see if you could round up some help.”
Hayden sighed in frustration. “Right now that’s going to be tough. Our fighters have been working double shifts, and half of them are either out cold or wounded. If we can wait till later, maybe…”
“They blew up the ammo dump, Hayden. Ask yourself why.”
“A distraction, obviously.”
“Why not just slip away during the night with no fanfare?”
Hayden had no logical response. Lucas filled in the blank. “Because they wanted to eliminate the town’s ability to defend itself. That would also explain why they planted an IED to take out some of your best men. It all fits.”
“But why? We’re just a little town in the middle of nowhere.”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Lucas adjusted his hat. “Let’s head out to the base. If you’re the only one on deck, you’re drafted.”
“I don’t mind going, but it would be better if we waited until we could find some more men, wouldn’t it?”
“We have no idea what they’re up to, Sheriff. They could be planning to blow up the whole town as we speak. Or poison the water table. Or any number of things. It’s you and me. Mount up and let’s get this over with.”
Hayden didn’t look happy, but he nodded and climbed into the saddle. Lucas did the same, and they rode south to the gate.
When they passed the guards and entered the tent city, Ray was standing by the wire, talking to another youth with long hair and a scraggly beard. Lucas waved to him and slowed. Ray took a few hesitant steps toward him and eyed Hayden suspiciously.
“What’s up?” Ray asked in greeting. “Saw you riding out this morning.”
“Yeah. I spotted a couple of boats headed up the river, and followed them.” He paused. “They blew up the ammo depot.”
“How do you know?” Ray asked.
“Because I do. One of them was your China connection, Lee. You have any idea why the Chinese would all bug out after blowing up the armory?”
“None at all. That’s crazy.”
“Know anything about a military installation next to the national park over yonder?”
“Military installation?” Ray repeated. “You mean the old base?”
“That’s it.”
“I’ve been inside a few times. Not much to see.”
“What were you doing there?” Hayden asked.
“Scrounging stuff. You know.”
“You mean stealing,” Hayden snapped. “Looting.”
“It’s abandoned. It’s there for the taking. What’s the harm?” Ray countered.
Lucas steered the discussion back on track. “How’d you get inside?”
“There are some ventilator ducts. I pried one open. But the place has a really bad vibe. I only went in twice and couldn’t wait to get out.”
“You think you could show me how to get in?”
“Sure. But why?” Realization dawned on his face. “They’re in there?”
“That’s the way it looks. Only one way to know for sure.”
“Let me get my rifle.”
“We’re kind of short on time. You got a horse?”
Ray shook his head. “Not nearby.”
“Climb up behind me,” Lucas said. “Tango can handle two for that distance.”
“You really want to do this?” Ray asked.
Lucas exhaled noisily. “Not really. What I want is to sleep for two days and then ride away and never see any of this again. But that isn’t going to stop whatever’s happening, and it sure as hell isn’t going to make up for what they’ve done. So we’re going in, and if we’re lucky, we’ll get the jump on them and find out what this is all about.”
Ray regarded him with a puzzled expression. “Just the three of us against, what, thirty? You’re serious?”
Lucas held out his hand to help the young man up. “Dead serious. Now let’s get moving.”
Chapter 44
Hayden had a word with the guards at the gate, and one of the men volunteered to join them. Lucas sized him up, unimpressed with his doughy features and slow movements, but Hayden assured him that he was a decent fighter – whatever that meant in the sheriff’s mind. Lucas had been singularly unimpressed with the lawman so far, and nothing he’d seen this morning had changed his assessment.
“This is Mark,” Hayden said. “A good man.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Mark said. “I’ll get my horse and be back in a snap.”
“You got any military background?” Lucas asked.
“Nope. Self-taught. But plenty of experience since the collapse.”
Lucas said nothing, but made a mental note that he was now going into an unknown, volatile situation against a large force of hostiles with a kid, a bumbling wannabe cop, and a rank amateur. If it could get any worse, he didn’t see how. Then again, his alternative was to try it alone, and even Lucas couldn’t delude himself that one against thirty wasn’t suicide.
Mark returned riding a skinny horse with patches of discolored hide on its flanks, and held his AR-15 aloft with a goofy grin on his face. “Let’s get ’em. Booyah!”
Lucas didn’t reply, merely snapping the reins and directing Tango toward the highway. The denizens of the tent city watched them pass without expression through a haze of wood smoke from morning cooking fires so thick it made Lucas’s eyes burn. Ray bounced along behind him and called out as they neared the road, “What do you think’s going on with the Chinese?”
“Based on how they destroyed the ammo stocks, nothing good.”
“But what do they gain by doing that? I don’t get it.”
“Other than creating havoc, I don’t know.”
They crossed the bridge, and Lucas indicated the beached boats. Hayden frowned. “You searched them?”
A nod from Lucas. “Empty.”
He led the procession down the embankment to the river and picked up the trail that led into the hills. They rode slowly, Lucas taking extra care in case the Chinese had thought to station guards since he’d tracked them, but didn’t see anything unusual. He was particularly concerned about tripwires, since that seemed to be how the IED had been rigged, but the trail was clear.
When they arrived at the iron barrier, Ray dropped from Tango and approac
hed it. “Yeah, this is it. But you can’t get in this way.”
“They did,” Hayden countered. “The tracks end here.”
Lucas gestured to the lock. “They had a key,” he said in a low voice. “You can see someone’s maintained it – no rust, and it’s been oiled. They’ve been planning this all along.” He glanced at Ray. “You said you have a way in?”
“Up the hill. We’ll need to leave the horses here. It’s a trail a goat would have a hard time with.” He tilted his head at the rope coiled neatly around Lucas’s saddle horn. “You’re going to need that to get down the shaft.”
They dismounted, tied the horses to trees well away from the entrance, and followed Ray toward the summit. Near the top they paused; the Pacific Ocean was spread out like a slate mirror before them, the sea breeze icy against their skin. Ray indicated a concrete casing almost entirely covered in brush. “That’s it. Part of it was rusted away, and I was able to break off the section that locked.”
Hayden stepped forward. “Show us.”
Ray pried the heavy steel grid up on groaning hinges. They looked down a dark, four-foot-square shaft. “I tied my line to the support bar there and rappelled down.”
“What’s at the end of the shaft?”
“It drops about three stories, and then there’s a junction. That feeds down to a hallway and a series of rooms. Not much in there I could fit up the shaft by myself, though, mostly just the kind of useless stuff you find in other abandoned places. Desks, chairs, that kind of thing.”
“You didn’t explore more?”
“I told you. The place gives me the heebie-jeebies. You’ll see what I mean. It’s freaky, especially if you’re down there alone.”
Lucas uncoiled his rope and knotted it to the housing, then dropped it into the shaft. The end hit bottom, and he slung his M4 over one shoulder. “All right, Ray. Thanks for showing us how to get in. Wait down with the horses. Hopefully we’ll be back later on. If not, take them back to Astoria at dusk and we’ll walk it.”
“I’m not going with you?”
“No. If you haven’t been in the other parts, there’s no point. We’ll handle it from here.”
The Day After Never - Insurrection (Book 5) Page 22