"And all this time no one ever saw or heard anything from the authorities?" asked Ted. "County cops?"
Maggie sighed. I called Sheriff McAdams to report the strangers. He said he’d send Undersheriff Dixon to check it out, but we never heard anything else and the sheriff disappeared a little later…”
"State police? Not even the feds?"
Maggie sighed and moved back to the table, sitting down gingerly. "No. This isn't a big town and other than the fort, hardly anybody comes through here except during the color season."
"The color season?" asked Brin.
Maggie smiled, but it was sad and never reached her eyes. "The fall colors, dear. Most of our tourism happens between September and November. All the southerners come up to see the leaves on the trees." She pulled her coat tighter around her chest. "Other than that, we're mostly left alone."
"It sounds nice…" Lucy offered in a small voice.
Maggie nodded. "It is, child, it is. Or it was…" She looked down at her wrinkled hands on the tabletop and closed her eyes.
Erik turned to face the window once more, his hands clenching and relaxing. "We don't know anything. We've got to find out what's going on."
"Agreed," said Ted. "But we've got to do it on our terms. Rushing off into the woods to go see what happened—that's what got these folks into trouble."
Maggie nodded. "Your friend is right, Erik. We were all so excited to see strangers from the outside we didn't ever stop to think there could be danger."
"Why?" asked Brin.
"We figured they had news from the outside—they obviously weren't from around here. They didn't really talk. I knew something was wrong—we all did—we were just so starved for human contact…"
As Maggie's eyes teared up Brin reached across the table. The older woman's shoulders shook and her head bowed lower, the massive gray braid falling into her lap.
"It's okay," Brin said soothingly. "Everybody makes mistakes," she added, her eyes locked on Erik's.
Erik walked back to the table and yanked back his chair with more force than he had planned. He sat heavily and sighed. "I got it—these guys are hard cases—they walked through and people in town didn't pay attention to the clues. They weren't ready when the bad guys came back." Erik leaned around Maggie to look at Ted. "But we aren't them. They won't catch us off guard."
Ted sighed and stood up, his knees cracking. "Erik, I've taught you a lot since everything went to sh—" he glanced at Lindsay. "Since everything collapsed, but you're still no soldier. Listen to me when I say this—overconfidence in our own abilities is just as dangerous as running off against these guys without a plan. We have to come up with—”
Erik slammed his hands down on the table and stood, glaring at Ted. "We don't have time!" He pointed out the window. "My parents are out there—there's a lot of people out there in trouble! People I grew up around, friends!"
"We don't know that," Ted said in a calm voice.
"Oh come on!" Erik spun away from the table. "After everything we've seen on the way up here, you don't honestly think those guys who came through town—and it was only guys, right Maggie? You didn't see any women or children with them?"
Maggie shook her head. "Only men. Most of them seemed to be on the younger side, but there were a few old-timers."
"See?" Erik said gesturing at Maggie. "Nothing but a bunch of men come straggling through town. They had the look of predators. I think it's a gang—what more evidence do we need? They came back through and captured a bunch of people and hauled them away to do God knows what with them, then killed almost everybody left! We're dealing with a bunch of…"
"A bunch of what?" Ted said, his voice calm as still water. "Are they terrorists? Are they foreign nationals? Special forces from the United Nations down in New York? Escaped convicts? Gang members? Did they come through the first time unarmed? Was it all just a recon mission so they could come back with weapons?"
"There was an awful lot of shooting when they came back…" Maggie muttered.
Ted never took his eyes off Erik's. "So they came through town unarmed, returned with weapons, took a lot of prisoners, and killed a bunch of civilians. We don't know much about these guys, but we do know that we should proceed with caution."
"I have to know…" Erik said, his voice tight. He couldn't shake the paralyzing thoughts of what the strangers might have done to his parents.
Erik closed his eyes, forcing dark thoughts from his head. His rational side knew Ted was right—they had to slow down, they had to plan, and they had to be methodical. But his heart felt a pull stronger than gravity, threatening to rocket him from the room.
I could be there in 15 minutes if I ran…
"I know what you're thinking," Ted said quietly.
Erik looked at his friend.
"I can see it in your eyes. It's what I’d want to do. You want to charge off on your own and find out what's going on." Ted put a hand on Erik's shoulder. "Listen to me, Erik. That is not how we do things. Remember? We're a team," Ted said and turned and waved a hand at the rest of the group. "All of us. We're in this together. It's not just you against the world."
Erik clenched his fists at his side. "It's the waiting…the last time I waited…" His eyes darted to Brin. "I can't do that again. I won't."
"No one's asking you to wait forever—but we've only been here an hour. We need time to rest. I need to look at a map."
Maggie looked up from the table suddenly. "A map? We've got tons of maps. The one place they didn't touch was the little tourist shop a few doors down. It's full of maps."
"You got topographical maps?"
"Topographical…" Maggie began. "I don't know. We've got lots of tourist maps. Maps of the Fort, maps of the state parks around here, maps of the lake…"
Ted shook his head. "How about maps for hikers?"
Maggie nodded her head. "Oh sure, we've probably got lots of those too." She turned to look at Brin. "We get a good number of hikers through here. They love going up and down the hills—”
"Can you get me some of those? Maybe a map of the Fort, the town, and a hiker's map?"
Maggie got to her feet. "Of course. You all stay here, I'll be right back. Won't take me a minute." She walked to the door and pulled it open. "You know what? How about I bring us some food and drink, too?"
"Oh Maggie, we don't want to impose, we have our own—” Brin began.
"Don't worry about it, when those—whoever they were—came through town last time, they were more interested in people than supplies. They took a lot of stuff from the obvious places where people would normally stockpile everything. The grocery store and gas stations, mostly. They didn't think to search too many of our homes and businesses. We have enough food for the few people left in town… I'll be right back"
After the door shut behind Maggie, Erik moved away from Ted and stared out the window again. Movement caught his eye down the road to the north.
"Look, here's what I'm suggesting," Ted began. "Let's rest up, get a few hours of sleep, get some food and water. Sometime before sunset we'll get up and take the maps Maggie's gonna give us. We can do a little recon tonight."
"We?" asked Brin.
"Well, me," Ted said.
Erik shook his head. "No way—I know this town like the back of my hand. I used to run these hills when I was a kid. I can get us to the fort from here with my eyes closed. Even if you could study the maps, you won't know the shortcuts and little ravines that let get you under fences like I do."
"Well, we can't both go—”
"Daddy, please don't go away again!" cried Teddy. The towhead toddler ran up to Ted and wrapped his arms around the marine's leg. Ted looked up at Erik "That's besides the point—I'm the only one here with actual training and—”
"You're also the only one here with children," Erik said, carefully making sure his eyes didn't find Brin's. "And besides, with your training if something happens while I'm out there, everyone else will be safer with you here
than me."
"Erik—” started Brin.
"I've seen how you handled yourself with a sword Erik. They'll be fine with you."
"I don't have a sword," muttered Erik. "I haven't been…"
Ted stepped up next to Erik. He lowered his voice. "I know. You haven't yet been able to pull the trigger lately."
"You know?" Erik asked.
The marine nodded. "I may not have said anything, but that doesn't mean I didn't see anything. It's fine, Erik, don't worry about it."
"Yeah, but I'm useless—I can't even…" He turned and looked at Brin. "She killed Stepanovich." Saying it out loud felt like he'd just confessed to murder. A weight disappeared off his chest.
Ted turned and appraised Brin with an arched eyebrow. "Really?"
Brin looked down at the table. "I…he…" When she looked up, her eyes were filled with tears and her fists clenched. "I was just so mad."
“You killed someone?” whispered Lucy, her eyes round.
Ted nodded. "She isn’t the first woman to kill a bad guy and she won't be the last."
"Yeah, but I—” Erik began. He stopped and closed his mouth. He shook his head and looked out the window again.
The movement that had caught his eyes earlier now materialized into two men strolling down the street carrying shotguns. They had the same general scruffy appearance as the first two scouts that went by earlier, but these two were different.
One was black and one was white. Erik kept his eyes locked on them. "It doesn't matter. I don't…I won't be as useful as you. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I don't want to put everybody else's lives at risk. Again."
Before he could say anything further Brin raced to him and wrapped her arms around him. "I don't want you to change. I don't want you to be someone who could take a life without thinking about it." She turned her head and muffled, "No offense."
Ted laughed. "None taken. I'm a marine—killing bad guys is what we do." He shrugged. "It's in our DNA."
"But it's not in yours," Brin said, squeezing Erik even harder. The strength in her arms lifted Erik's heart.
"But I did…back at the Freehold. I killed…I saw their eyes, I felt the sword as it went…"
"Sssh," Brin said, eyes on the kids. "You don't need to talk about it."
Erik closed his eyes. She was right. Not in front of the kids. They had lived through enough of a nightmare so far, he didn't need to describe his own.
"Leaving all that aside, I still think you're the better man to be here."
Ted sighed. "And why is that?"
Erik jerked his chin toward the window. "Because whatever I find out there, more of it is bound to come back. Like those two coming down the street."
Ted leaned around Erik and his eyes narrowed as he found the targets. "Looks like we got company."
"Maggie's out there!" Brin gasped as she saw the two rough-looking men for the first time.
Erik looked at Ted. The marine's expression hardened. "Brin, take the kids and find an interior room on this floor. Start pushing furniture or whatever you can to block the door. Stay there until we come back."
"Ted, I—”
"Stow it Erik. I'm only going to say this once: you need to take your fears and worries and box them up—wrap them in chains and stuff them into a little corner of your soul. Bury it—you understand me?" He poked Erik on the chest.
"Now is not the time for self-doubt. Those guys out there are armed—they're looking for trouble. They're looking for us. If they catch Maggie out there walking back with food and supplies there's going to be hell to pay and it'll be our fault. It's up to us to change this." He put his hands on his hips. "You want to find your parents?"
"Of course," Erik said sullenly.
"You want to help this town?"
“You know I do—”
"Then man up." He stared into Erik’s eyes. "You with me?"
Erik glanced out the window the men as the men grew closer.
Ted grabbed Erik's shoulder and pushed him against the wall. He got right up in his face. "You listen to me—you are perfectly capable of defending yourself and your family."
Erik's eyes darted to Brin.
"Eyes on me!" Ted barked in his drill instructor's voice. "I know you think things are rough and you think you don't have it in you to be a killer—but I've seen you do it. You do have it in you. It takes a special kind of man to compartmentalize those feelings and still carry on. That's the only way our families are going to survive. You're going out there to fight for your family—for Brin. For my family. Because right now you and I are the only things that are going to stop those guys out there from walking in here and taking everything we have left." He took a breath. "You get me?"
Erik thought back to the Freehold when the escaped convicts had attacked Susan and Brin. The old heat coursed through his veins again. Just remembering how his sword had flashed in the sunlight…Erik narrowed his eyes.
Ted took a step back and smiled. "I guess you do have it in you. For a second there, you looked like Erik the Red again.”
Chapter 66
Prisoner of War
STAPLETON CLIMBED DOWN OUT of his command Stryker and adjusted the pistol belt on his hip. He stared in disbelief. The makeshift prison camp set up by his scouts defied logic. Before him stretched what was left of Malcolm's rebellion. At last count, 3,513 men, women, and children sat in the dirt and grass alongside the interstate, just three miles from the Florida border. The ones closest to the road had their hands on their heads but looked more relieved than worried.
My God, they look awful. Half-starved, exhausted, completely spent—Stapleton smiled. The rebellion was over. He couldn't believe the reports and had promptly ordered his command vehicle straight to the front of the column. He had to see it with his own eyes.
A captain snapped a salute when he spotted Stapleton. He tucked a clipboard under his arm and adjusted the M4 slung over his shoulder so the weapon hung from his back.
"Whats' the sit rep, captain?"
"General—this here's what's left of the rebel army. If you can believe it."
"I almost didn't, son. Do we have Malcolm?"
The captain nodded. "Indeed, we do, sir. Other side of my vehicle, up there," the young officer said, pointing. "Third one on the left. I have him under guard. He willingly surrendered and asked to speak to you, sir."
"Had any trouble from anyone?"
"Negative, sir. In fact, most of them have been thanking us."
Stapleton shook his head. "Well, make sure we get them some food and water. See to the processing and make sure anyone that needs medical attention gets it."
"Roger that, sir."
Stapleton moved on up the column to the captain's Stryker and waved off the guards. A handsome, well-built man with his head in his hands sat by the open rear hatch. He looked up at Stapleton's approach and slowly got to his feet.
"Hello, General Stapleton."
Stapleton stood there for a moment, staring into the coal-dark eyes that watched him warily. "So. You're the infamous Malcolm." He put his hands on his hips and clamped down on the unlit cigar in his mouth. "I take it this is your unconditional surrender?"
Without hesitation, the young man nodded. "Yes, sir."
The general looked at one of the guards and grunted. "Just like that?"
"Just like that." Malcolm sighed. "It's over. When one is betrayed and abandoned by those thought to be allies, one must look to saving lives, not taking them. Everything I did was for my people. I would not willingly slaughter them now. I surrender." He swallowed.
"Please, whatever you do—protect my people. I will submit to whatever judgment you deem necessary, but don't let them—"
"Who?" asked Stapleton. "Who betrayed you?"
"The Russians," hissed Malcolm.
"Russians?" asked Stapleton, one eyebrow almost touching his helmet. "They're down in Orlando—what the hell are you talking about?"
"A large group of them confronted us on
the other side of the border. I was assured by President Jones I would not have a difficult time defeating them. They were rumored to be running out of supplies and men. But the force that destroyed my army was massive and well supplied."
Stapleton turned and looked at one of the guards. "We've heard the same thing from just about all the prisoners, sir.”
"Pardon me," Stapleton said to Malcolm as he stepped inside the Stryker. He grabbed the comm link and keyed the mic. "Lighthouse, Command Actual. We have eyes in the sky?"
The radio warbled as it broke squelch. "Roger that, Actual. Providing air cover for detachments bringing in prisoners."
"What birds?" Stapleton asked, hoping to hear a helicopter.
"Drone. We're critical on avi-fuel until we reach JNAS."
"Retask it," Stapleton said, chewing the cigar. "I want to see as far south as you can."
"Wait one, Actual."
"Standing by." Stapleton tapped his fingers on the console as he waited. He cursed himself for pushing so hard, so fast. He'd stretched his column out nearly 100 miles and the fuel trucks were barely keeping pace.
President Jones be damned—Stapleton never trusted the news that he'd given Florida to the Rebels in exchange for fighting the Russians. He'd assumed from the get go the Rebels were in cahoots with those commie bastards all along. Why else flee south so fast? Surely Malcolm wasn't so stupid as to think he could knock off a professional army with a bunch of protesters and gangs?
"Contact! Actual, I'm seeing multiple armored-up vehicles about four miles south of the border. They're holding position but heat signatures are giving me at least a dozen foot mobiles ranging out north. Wait…there's some interference."
"Lighthouse, what's going on?"
"We lost the feed, Actual. Trying to reestablish a link to the drone." A momentary pause and then the commander of Stapleton's air wing returned to the line. "I'm sorry, Actual, I think they spotted the drone and shut it down with a remote jamming array. It's gone. It’s a good bet they know we’re here, now."
"God damn it!" Stapleton cursed, slamming the radio back in its receiver. He took a moment to compose himself, then picked up the receiver again. "All units this net, this is Command Actual. Russian ground forces have been spotted just south of the Florida border. I want all units to make best possible speed south. Prepare for general engagement. Out."
Dux Bellorum (Future History of America Book 3) Page 40