Fall of Houston Series | Book 2 | No Other Choice

by Payne, T. L.

  “Is it enough? To prevent an invasion?” Isabella asked.

  “I believe so.”

  She didn’t sound all that convincing.

  “But we still have planes, ships, and tanks, right?”

  “Some. The US military has been working to harden its equipment for decades, but technology changes rapidly, and so much of our military equipment is electronic. No one knew what would and would not operate after an EMP. We have some assets. The Humvees start and run but a lot of the gadgets used for navigation and communications are dead. It’s things like that. As far as planes, the ones on the ground here are inoperable.”

  Isabella’s hand came up to cover her mouth. She knew they were screwed without planes. The United States had won wars due to its air superiority.

  “We have planes on aircraft carriers and around the world that won’t have been impacted by the EMP. They’ll return to the US.”

  “And the ships?”

  “Of course.”

  She relaxed a little, knowing that they wouldn’t be left on their own to fight off foreign enemies.

  “We just have to do what we can until they all get here. In order to do that, I need the information that Kim was carrying.”

  “But Betley gave you the thumb drive.”

  “There had to have been a second one. The one he gave us only contained corporate plans for another chemical plant in Pasadena. We believe that the man Kim Yang was working with had a list of his contacts and potential targets. If we can find it, we can stop them. So you can see how important this is,” Stephens said.

  Isabella’s legs were bouncing up and down uncontrollably now. She pushed her hair back from her sweaty face and tightened her ponytail. She absolutely did not want to go back down memory lane, but there was so much at stake, how could she not. Not just for Will and Cayden, but possibly for the country. Could she live with herself if she refused just because she was scared? She dabbed sweat from her eyes and stood. “When do we leave?”

  Seventeen

  Will

  Day Six

  An hour after learning of Stephens’ proposal, Will and Isabella sat in a government vehicle in the flooded parking lot of the convenience store where the whole mess began. Isabella stared at her burned-out car, now half underwater.

  Retracing their steps was going to be much more complicated than Will had thought. To bring them out there told Will that Houston was in deeper trouble than he’d thought, and the likelihood of a ground war was that much more likely. With all that was going on, why else take the risk. A thumb drive, it could be anywhere. But none of that made sense to Will. Why would Kim hide it if she took it to use as leverage to get Betley to keep her safe?

  Will was greatly relieved that they’d insisted Cayden remain behind with Betley but he did find it suspicious that they hadn’t brought Betley along as he’d been there for the ordeal at the storage facility.

  Lieutenant Sharp looked straight ahead, his hands still gripping the steering wheel of the older SUV. Will wondered how many more old vehicles like that the military had around. Had they known they would be the only ones operable? Or had they acquired them after the EMP?

  Stephens turned in her seat to face them. “Was there a moment when Kim Yang was out of your sight before you all got into your Jeep?”

  “I can’t say,” Will said. “So much was happening. Isabella was injured, and I was attempting to give her first aid. We were just learning that the grid was down and that the phones and cars weren’t working. We were all in shock.”

  “What about you, Isabella?”

  “No. Kim stayed by our side the whole time here at the gas station.”

  “Did she speak to anyone besides the two of you?”

  “No. She seemed very nervous. I remember that. She kept watching over her shoulder like she expected someone to jump her at any minute.” Isabella turned to Will. “Now we know why she was so jumpy.”

  “She never went inside the store or went to help any of the other injured drivers?” Stephens asked.

  “No,” Isabella said.

  “All right. Which way did you go from here?”

  Will tried his best to recall the route they’d taken before the carjacker stole his Jeep, but the names of streets failed him.

  “We had to zigzag a lot due to stalled traffic and people in the roadway. But we never stopped except for when the Jeep was stolen.”

  “And that was where?”

  “Take that next right, I have to show you.”

  Sharp weaved through the parking lot, heading for the intersection. Will spotted movement down the street. Someone stepped between cars—a man. There was something in his hands.

  “Watch out!” Will yelled.

  Sharp spotted the man and yelled, “RPG!” He stomped on the gas, bumped the car in front of them, and did his best to accelerate toward the freeway underpass where they’d be shielded from the blast. Will grabbed Isabella and shoved her toward the footwell, covering her head and upper body with his own just before the concussive rumble of the explosion hit as the rocket-propelled grenade slammed into the vehicle two cars back, sending a ball of smoke into the air and metal fragments raining down on their SUV.

  “Oh, my God. Oh, my God,” Isabella repeated as Sharp sped away from the scene.

  He made a sharp left turn at the next intersection and accelerated. Will turned in his seat and looked out the back glass. They hadn’t been followed. Sharp turned right at the following street and slowed. Water was coming in at the bottom of the SUV’s door. The flooding was too deep in that spot. Will was afraid they’d kill the engine and be stranded on foot again.

  “Who the hell was that back there?” Isabella asked.

  “Are we close?” Stephens asked, ignoring her question.

  “Who was shooting at us?” Isabella barked.

  “We need to stay focused. Where did you get out of the Jeep?”

  “How did the insurgents know we would be at that gas station today?” Will demanded. There was much more to the story than they’d been told. He and Isabella were out there, risking their lives, and had been kept in the dark. What were they keeping from them?

  “Can we just keep on task so we can find what we’re looking for and get back to the base?” Stephens asked.

  “We didn’t sign on to get killed out here. I’ve got a kid. I can’t leave him an orphan for some wild goose chase.”

  “There might be someone on the inside working with the Chinese,” Sharp said, looking at Will in the rear-view mirror.

  Will’s mouth fell open. That changed everything. Cayden could be in danger back at the base. If they knew that Will was helping to uncover their identity, they could go after his son to stop him.

  “Take me back to the base,” Will demanded.

  “I can’t do that,” Stephens said. “We have to complete the mission. Stop whining and concentrate.” She adjusted herself where she was twisted around in her seat. The veins in her forehead protruded. Will thought she was about to fly into the back seat to attack him. Where did your Jeep get stolen?” she asked through clenched teeth.

  “Two blocks over,” Isabella said. She pointed south.

  Stephens turned and faced the front, scanning the street and side roads. No doubt looking for more men with RPGs.

  As they approached the side road where Will’s Jeep had been carjacked, Isabella reached over and took Will’s hand. More bodies were lodged up against cars in the intersection. That might have been them if Kim hadn’t taken them to see Betley. Why had these people not sought shelter inside one of the skyrises that hadn’t burned? It had been hours before the flooding began. They’d had time.

  Stephens glanced over at the tragic sight and quickly turned away.

  “They must have been afraid the rest of the buildings would burn,” Will whispered. He hated to think about their last moments and how frightened they must have been when the storm hit downtown.

  “Where did you go after you exited the ve
hicle?” Stephens said, sadness lacing her voice.

  Isabella pointed to the road to their left, and Sharp turned in that direction.

  “Was there any time that Kim was out of your sight as you walked?”

  “No. I was holding her arm. She’d hit her head in the crash, and she was unsteady on her feet,” Isabella said.

  “What about you, Will? Did you have eyes on her the whole time?”

  Will thought back. “I walked ahead of them most of the time. The streets were crowded. We had to weave back and forth across the street to get around people.”

  “You didn’t stop and rest at any point?” Sharp asked. His tone conveyed more of an accusation than a question.

  “Our first stop was at Fahima’s,” Isabella said. Her eyes brightened, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. “We can find her and bring her with us to the base,” she whispered.

  Will nodded, though if Fahima had survived and they could find her, Will doubted that she’d agree to leave with them.

  He smiled. “Yeah. That’s great.”

  Will instructed Sharp on how to get to the alley where they’d first met Fahima while Isabella recounted how she’d been attacked out of nowhere by a naked woman.

  “Fahima came to my aid. She knew the woman.”

  “So you didn’t have eyes on Kim during this period,” Stephens asked.

  “Um… no.”

  “What about you, Will?”

  “I lost sight of Isabella and Kim for a few seconds. When I ran into the alley, Kim was trying to get the woman off Isabella, so I don’t think she had time to stash anything.”

  “Where was the duffle while she was fighting with the naked woman?” Stephens asked.

  “Slung over her back. She never let it out of her sight,” Will said.

  Stephens nodded and scanned the alley.

  “Where did you go after you were rescued from the crazy woman?” Stephens asked.

  Isabella pointed down the blind alley to her left. “To Fahima’s.”

  “Okay. Let’s go,” Stephens said, opening her car door.

  Eighteen

  Will

  Day Six

  Sharp went first with his rifle raised as they entered the blind alley leading to the mechanical room that Fahima called home. Will was relieved that the water only came to mid-calf near the door. As they approached the door, Sharp stepped to one side and tried the knob. It was locked.

  Will stepped up and knocked. “Fahima. It’s Will and Isabella. We’ve come to check on you.”

  No answer.

  Isabella’s smile faded. She stepped in front of Will and pounded on the door. “Fahima. Fahima. It’s Isabella. Please open the door. I need to know that you’re all right.”

  Sharp stepped back and spoke into the radio microphone attached to his tactical vest. “Hollingsworth, find me another way into this building.”

  Isabella continued knocking on the door and calling Fahima’s name as the soldiers escorting them went around the building searching for an alternate way in. A few minutes later, Sharp’s radio crackled, “We’re in. You can make entry through the double doors on the north side. The first floor is clear.”

  “Let’s move that way,” Stephens said.

  As they made their way around to the front of the building, Will scanned the balcony overhead. The bicycles were still there. It was hard to imagine that they were now more valuable than a car since most vehicles were now as useless as a pile of scrap metal.

  At the front of the building, they waited for the all-clear so they could enter. Isabella chewed her thumbnail and tapped her foot on the sidewalk out in front of the building. “She’s probably in one of the apartments. She wouldn’t have stayed in the flooded basement,” Will said, trying to reassure her.

  “I know. You’re right. She’s smart and stronger than all of us.”

  “It’ll be good to see her again,” Will said.

  “All clear, Lieutenant,” a soldier called from the open doorway.

  “All right. We’re going to make our way down to the door you say you entered and walk through every step Kim took,” Stephens said.

  There were six inches of water in the entryway of the apartment building. The brown line on the wall indicated that the water had been much higher. A soldier led them past the stairs for the upper floors to a door leading to the basement. Will and Isabella walked Stephens and Sharp through their movements in the building. The soldiers fanned out and searched every nook and crevice, looking for anything Kim might have hidden there.

  “You’re sure Kim didn’t enter any apartment without you?” Stephens asked.

  “I don’t think so.” Will strained to recall that day. It was difficult. His mind wanted to forget. “No. She didn’t. We stayed together after we left the area by the loading bay.”

  As they made their way up the steps toward the roof, soldiers escorted the few remaining residents downstairs. Isabella scanned each face. She was looking for Fahima.

  “I didn’t come up to the roof with them. I can’t help you. I never left the mechanical room. I want to find my friend. She’s still here somewhere. I want to go down and see if she’s among those the soldiers have rounded up,” Isabella said.

  “Not an option,” Sharp said.

  Isabella huffed and spun around on the stairs. “I wasn’t asking permission.”

  Sharp reached to grab her, but Stephens stopped him. “Baker, escort Ms. D’Angelo down to the first floor.”

  Will wasn’t comfortable splitting up. It was apparent, though, that Isabella was determined, and Stephens wasn’t going to let Will follow her. All he could do was hurry them along with searching the roof so they could get the hell out of there.

  “I’ll meet you down there, Isabella,” Will called to her.

  “I’ll find her,” she replied.

  There wasn’t much to search on the roof. Stephens looked disappointed.

  “Stephens, what makes you think that Kim would hide something along our trek to the storage facility? That just doesn’t make any sense. She needed that information to trade with Betley.”

  “That’s what he said but we can’t rule anything out.”

  “I heard her tell him that she’d provided the information, and now he had to fulfill his end,” Will said.

  “But Betley couldn’t verify what was on the flash drive. She knew that. She could say anything.”

  “But why would she hold back?”

  “For leverage with the Chinese mafia if they captured her,” Sharp said.

  “They didn’t want to capture her. They wanted her dead. They tried numerous times.”

  “Didn’t she try to use the flash drive as a bargaining chip when they captured her at the storage facility?” Stephens asked.

  That was true. Will had forgotten that fact.

  “And you’ve searched all the lockers at the storage facility? I just can’t imagine that she’d stash something that important so far away.”

  “We searched every inch.”

  Will stared at the western sky. He was beginning to believe they were out there on a wild goose chase. There never was a second flash drive. Kim likely never had a list of insurgents and their targets. How stupid of them to put that type of information on something that could be so easily stolen and then not lock it up more safely.

  “All right, let’s get Isabella and continue on the path you took to the next stop,” Stephens said.

  Isabella was standing in the corner with her back to Will. When he called her name, she turned with a huge grin across her face. “I found her, Will.”

  Fahima stepped into view. “Fahima. It’s so good to see you,” Will said, walking over to her. She hugged him and kissed his cheek.

  “It’s good to see you too. How is your son?” Fahima said.

  “He’s well. Are you doing okay? Did you find a safe place to stay?” Will asked.

  “Yes, I did. Those sweet children over there invited me into their apartment. Th
ey’re great kids.”

  “We have to go,” Stephens said, walking toward the busted door.

  Isabella spun around and rushed toward Stephens and Sharp. “We have to take her with us.”

  “Not an option,” Sharp said, glancing back at the other residents. “FEMA and the Red Cross will be along shortly.”

  Will knew Sharp had lied to avoid a panic, but it was cruel not to tell them that help wasn’t coming. They needed to know so they could do what they had to in order to survive.

  “No. Fahima needs to come with us.” Isabella grabbed Stephens’ arm. “You know she won’t make it out here. We have to help her.”

  “What do you think we can do for her?” Stephens whispered. “We are under attack from insurgents. We aren’t equipped for refugees. She’s better off here.” Isabella started to protest, but Will slid his arm around her waist and moved her away from Stephens. “She’s right. The military is a target. She is safer here—at least for now.”

  “She can come with us,” Isabella said. She wiped tears from her cheeks.

  That’s when Will noticed. Her face was flushed. He reached out and placed the back of his hand on Isabella’s forehead. The topical medication wasn’t working. Her wound was infected, and she was burning up with fever. He reached for her injured arm. She pulled away. “She has to come with us, Will.”

  “Let me see your arm, Isabella,” Will insisted.

  She held out her arm. “Fine.”

  “What’s the problem?” Stephens asked.

  “She’s burning up. Her arm is infected,” Will said, peeling back the bandage.

  Sharp stepped over, took a look at Isabella’s wound, and motioned for one of the soldiers.

  “Hollingsworth is a medic. He’s going to take you to the Humvee and get that cleaned up.”

  “No!” Isabella said, yanking her arm away. “I’m not going anywhere without Fahima.”

  “Now, now, child. You go with them and take care of that nasty wound. You can’t mess around with stuff now,” Fahima said, stroking Isabella’s hair.