“So how do you want to do this?” Bill asked.
Lucas shifted and stared at the fire. “I can head in with a few faces they won’t recognize. Nose around a bit.”
“How many you figure we’ll need?” Sam asked.
“Small group. Don’t want to attract attention.”
“Nobody will recognize me with this beard,” Sam said. “I know my way around. I look pretty different than the last time we were here.”
“Only need one more, then.”
“I’ll go!” Ray said. “My leg’s healed.”
“Sorry. You were with us when we broke Sam’s group out. Can’t take the chance. You got anyone, Bill?”
“Sure. Haley knows how to use a gun about as well as anyone, and he’s been to Salem a bunch of times…before.”
“We don’t want to have to use any.”
“You never know. Or if you want, I can tag along.”
Lucas nodded. “That might be best. Don’t know much about Haley’s judgment. No offense.”
“None taken.”
“What are you thinking?” Art asked.
“Let’s find a bar. Should be a few open, don’t you think?” Lucas said, standing. He brushed off his pants and adjusted his hat. “Shouldn’t need much other than our horses.”
“Probably not,” Sam said.
They covered the distance to Salem in half an hour and only saw a few people on the way. Once in the city center, they made their way to the area where the bars had been, and tied their horses at a watering trough at a place across the square from the one they’d frequented on their last trip. Laughter and a harmonica drifted from the front door, where a pair of bikers watched them approach.
“Gotta park your guns with us,” one of them said.
Lucas nodded. “How late’s it open?”
“Till the last drunk passes out.”
They handed over their weapons and pushed through the door. The half-full interior reeked of stale beer and sweat. A few bikers sat at tables scattered around the room, but the patrons were mostly travelers like Lucas – not surprising, given that the locals had little to their names.
Bill ordered a round of the locally brewed beer, and a skinny woman in her forties brought them bottles. Her face was lined and hardened, as though whittled from driftwood washed up by a winter storm. Lucas paid with several bullets and gave her one as a tip, which obviously caught her by surprise.
“Thanks, handsome,” she croaked in a voice scarred by time, alcohol, and more than a few hits from the meth pipe.
Lucas toasted the others and used the opportunity to look around the bar. It was too dangerous to try to strike up conversations with any of the bikers, and after finishing their beers, they decided the bartender didn’t look like he would be particularly helpful.
The waitress returned and asked them if they wanted another round, and Lucas gave her a smile. “No, we’re hitting the road. But I got a question for you.”
One of her eyebrows twitched. “I get off at around two.”
“Good to know, but we’re riding out.”
“Then…what?”
He indicated the bikers. “Where do they call home? We want to steer clear of them if we decide to spend the night here.”
“I wouldn’t ride at night if I were you. That’s a good way to get bushwhacked,” she warned.
“There’s another round in it for you if you can tell me.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Aw, hell, sweetheart, it ain’t that hard. Everybody knows they took over the university after the blowup.” She paused and lowered her voice. “They got beat up something fierce a few weeks back. Took the love out of them.”
Lucas slid a 9mm round to her and nodded. “Then that’s where we don’t want to be.”
“Damn straight. Meaner than snakes, every one of them,” she whispered, and pocketed the bullet with a wink. “Name’s Pearl. You change your mind about riding out, I’ll be around later. I got nothin’ special to do.”
They retrieved their weapons from the bikers, who looked bored and angry, and mounted their horses.
“You know where the university is?” Lucas whispered to Sam.
He nodded. “It’s about six blocks east of here, over by the capitol building.”
“Lead the way.”
They rode three blocks, and Sam slowed and dropped from his horse in front of a burned-out, abandoned building. Lucas and Bill did the same, and they walked their rides into the interior and lashed them to a pipe.
They made the rest of the way on foot and, when they reached the edge of the campus, stopped across the street in the gloom. Sam pointed to the barbed-wire fence encircling the grounds. “See that? Two men. Looks like a patrol.” He drew a long breath. “Didn’t used to have a fence around it. They must be nervous. Looks like a lot of work went into that.”
Time passed, and the pair continued along the fence, walking slowly. Lucas remained motionless as he watched them disappear, and Bill started to say something when Lucas cut him off and indicated another patrol coming from the opposite direction.
When it had moved on, Lucas shook his head. “Seems like they’re on alert, doesn’t it?”
Sam nodded. “Probably paranoid after we stole their horses.”
“Or they’re afraid you’ll come back and finish the job,” Lucas observed. “There’s got to be a way in besides the entry points.”
Sam grinned in the darkness. “Funny you mention that. There’s a creek that runs through the campus. Mill Stream. We might be able to use that to get on the grounds.”
Lucas grunted. “Show me.”
They crept along the main road’s gridlocked cars and stopped at a stream that ran beneath a pedestrian walkway. Lucas eyed it. “This goes all the way through the campus?”
Sam nodded. “That’s right. I remember it well from my misspent youth.”
“Be hell to get a big force through that culvert,” Bill observed. “Maybe if we had all night.”
Laughter drifted on the breeze from the university buildings, and Lucas’s nose twitched at the smell of marijuana smoke. They pulled back into the shadows, and four bikers sauntered toward the creek, passing a joint around. Lucas froze and watched them smoke, and when they left, he leaned into Sam and whispered, “You say it runs through the campus. Where’s the other end of it let out?”
“East.”
“Too much action around here for my liking. Let’s give that a look.”
Chapter 18
Rocky Mountains, Colorado
Duke rode alongside Ellen, with the sisters bringing up the rear. They’d made good time the first day, and by nightfall had found a clearing in the foothills that was perfect to make camp. Duke didn’t want to risk a fire, so they’d pitched tents, and Ellen had joined him in his, snuggling with him for warmth. That had progressed to kissing, and before long Duke’s interest in her had been unmistakable.
She broke off their embrace, breathing heavily. “I’m sorry, Duke. I…I want to. I do. But not like this.”
“I understand,” he said, his voice tight.
“It’s just…I’ve never been with a man. I swore I wouldn’t till I got married.”
Duke absorbed that. “Never?”
“Remember the church? That’s who ran things, so I wasn’t the only one. We were all pretty strict about that. Everyone believed that the collapse was God taking vengeance on sinners, and nobody wanted to tempt fate.”
“What about the son?”
She frowned. “He didn’t have to follow the rules.”
“How does that make any sense?”
“It doesn’t. It was the hypocrisy of it, everyone pretending they didn’t know what he was up to, that got to us.”
“I can see why.”
She stared at him in the darkness and kissed him again. “Is that a…is it a problem?”
“Not at all. I mean, I just… It’s been a long time since I’ve been around a woman for any length of time, so I’m not great at
explaining things.” He paused. “But it isn’t a problem. I guess I’m just surprised. I kinda figured most did whatever they felt like nowadays…”
“If they’re living like animals, maybe. That’s not how I want to live.”
“No argument.”
“Is everyone married at this town we’re going to?”
“I don’t know. I mean, for those it’s important to, I imagine so.”
“I don’t want our children to grow up without morals, Duke. That isn’t how I was raised. I learned right from wrong young.”
“Our children?”
Ellen took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I know that’s presumptuous. Sometimes my words get ahead of me. It’s just that I thought… I felt… Well, I know what I’m looking for, and it seemed over the past few days that maybe you were looking for the same thing.”
Duke pulled her close. “Don’t hear me arguing.” He cradled her in his arms until her breathing slowed and she fell asleep, and he lay in the darkness with eyes wide, trying to make sense out of the good fortune that had dropped in his lap. A gorgeous, smart woman wanted him – no, not just wanted him, but wanted to have a family with him. His heart swelled at the thought, and as he drifted off, a smile spread across his face and stayed there most of the night.
The following day was harder than the first, all uphill, through gorges and along fire roads long fallen into disrepair. Several times the horses slipped at the edges of ravines, and Duke slowed their pace to one that would ensure they made it in one piece.
Dusk was darkening the sky by the time they made it to the valley, where a host of new log cabins had been erected and the air was sweet with the smell of pine-fueled cooking fires.
Ellen pulled her horse closer to Duke and murmured to him, “What’s the name of this place? It looks like it hasn’t been here long.”
Duke beamed at her. “Doesn’t have an official name, but the locals call it Shangri-La.”
Ellen took in the sight. “Like heaven.”
“Close to it as it gets around here.”
Elliot and Michael, his second-in-command, greeted them as they rode toward the geothermal plant.
“Glad to see you made it, Duke,” Elliot said. “And these must be the young ladies you mentioned?” he asked, smiling at the sisters and Ellen.
They dismounted, and Duke made introductions. Elliot invited them to dine with him at a rough-hewn plank table by a large fire pit. The carcass of a deer was roasting in the flames, and bowls were set out with squash and mushrooms. “Don’t worry,” he advised. “They aren’t poisonous.”
“I’m going to do the rounds, Elliot. Pleased to meet you ladies,” Michael said, tipping his hat.
Residents passed by and introduced themselves as they ate, and as they were finishing up, Sierra arrived with Eve and Tim. Duke invited them to sit, and Sierra did while Eve played with Tim near the fire.
“How old are they?” Ellen asked her.
“Five and ten.”
“They’re adorable. You must be very proud. What are their names?”
“Tim, short for Timothy, and that’s Eve.”
“Eve. What a beautiful name. Is it common here?”
Sierra shrugged. “Not really. She’s the only Eve I’ve ever met, actually. I just liked the name.”
Duke regaled Elliot and Sierra with the story of the rescue from the scavengers, and then the sisters shared stories from the road. Ellen finished it off by telling Elliot about the church and all the good people who were in its thrall, and he shook his head in disapproval.
“It’s sad when folks put all their faith in an authority to see them to safety. I’ve always said I’m eager to hire my replacement if anyone’s stupid enough to want the job.”
Duke laughed. “Don’t let Elliot fool you. He’s a tyrant.”
The fire burned low, and Elliot pulled Duke aside while Sierra showed the women to a newly built cabin for the night. “They seem nice enough. Glad you were able to bring them to us. Now we just need a hundred more like them and we’ll be in business.”
“Well, I might be hanging around here more often, so I can help out with anything you’re too shorthanded to do.”
“Really! What about the trading post?”
“If Ellen and I wind up getting hitched, I’ll probably split my time or something.”
Elliot couldn’t hide his surprise. “Hitched? Why…congratulations. But…that’s rather sudden, isn’t it?”
“She seems willing to have me. I figure I’d better do it before she comes to her senses.”
“Hmm. Far be it for me to comment on affairs of the heart. I hope it works out for you. From what little I’ve seen of her, she seems absolutely lovely.”
“She is. She’s a keeper.”
Elliot watched Duke walk toward the cabin, his bushy white eyebrows a solid line, and eventually shook his head in bemusement and looked up at the moon. “Life’s constant surprises,” he whispered, and then walked over to the fire to stamp out the last of the embers before doddering off to sleep.
Chapter 19
Salem, Oregon
Sam crept through the ruins of a large building on the east side of the campus a hundred yards from the university, where Mill Stream snaked its way beneath a major thoroughfare before entering the grounds. It had taken twenty minutes to make their way to the area without being seen, and the air was getting colder with each passing moment. Smoke drifted over the city from all the wood fires burning to keep the denizens warm, creating a heavy pall that irritated the men’s throats and invited coughing that would give them away.
They reached the creek and paused, eyeing the opening beneath the road through which it flowed. The interior was pitch black but wide enough to simultaneously accommodate the passage of multiple gunmen, so far better than the access point on the west side of the campus. Lucas switched on his NV scope and scanned the space. The scope blinked a low-battery warning, and he cursed his failure to remember to charge the spares.
“What do you think?” Sam asked.
“Should work,” Lucas said. “Assuming we can get five hundred men through downtown without being seen.”
“We can come in from the east,” Sam said. “That part of town’s been abandoned by all but a few scavengers. It’s too difficult to defend from raiders, so everybody’s concentrated nearer the city center.”
Lucas glanced at Bill. “What about you?”
“We should take a hard look at what’s in there and how fast we can get a decent number of fighters through.”
Lucas nodded. “Agreed.”
They moved toward the overpass and entered the covered opening, walking largely blind, with a foot and a half of water swirling around their legs. Sam took point and inched along. The span was about twenty feet wide by ten high and stank of urine and decay. They were nearly to the campus side when his ankle snagged something, and he froze.
“Don’t move,” he warned.
“What is it?” Bill asked.
“Tripwire.”
Lucas took a deep breath. “If it’s connected to a grenade, we’re history. Bill, back off,” he said. “Sam, once we’re clear, run after us.”
Bill was already in motion when Lucas bolted back the way they’d come. He called to Sam as he neared the opening, and Sam tore after him, his boots splashing noisily through the water.
A blast tore through the tunnel, and Lucas and Sam threw themselves into the water. Flame and shrapnel blew past them, and then they were back on their feet and running hard, their ears ringing from the detonation. Voices yelled from the campus, and an assault rifle opened up from the overpass. Water fountained around them as they reached the east side, and Sam grunted and went down.
Lucas went back for him and pulled him to his feet.
“You hit?” he demanded.
“No. Slipped on a rock.”
Bill was waiting on the bank as they reached the shore, Sam limping from a twisted ankle, and more gunfire erupted from the oth
er side of the tunnel. Bill returned fire, loosing a dozen rounds at the shooter, and then spun and took off, not waiting to see whether he’d slowed their pursuers. Lucas helped Sam along and, when the shooting from the campus side resumed, released him and turned with his M4 in hand.
“Go with Bill. I’ll cover you.”
Sam hastened after Bill, and Lucas fired two three-round bursts down the creek, hoping it would give the bikers second thoughts about following. He wished he had a grenade to toss beneath the overpass, but it would have been hard to explain to the bouncers at the bar, so they’d stuck with the arms normal trail jockeys would carry.
More shooting answered his volleys, but the gunmen were firing blind. He spotted a few figures on the far side of the overpass in his scope and squeezed off a final burst, and then sprinted toward the ruined building. Someone yelled orders from beneath the overpass as he reached the walls.
Bill and Sam were waiting inside what was left of the structure.
“So much for surprise,” Bill said.
“Either of you hurt?” Lucas asked.
“Just my ankle. But it’s not broken.”
“Can you run?”
“If it’s a choice between that or being shot, you bet.”
Several guns chattered from the creek, and bullets whined off the building’s walls.
“Bill, help Sam,” Lucas said. “Head into the abandoned neighborhood. I’ll hold them off as long as I can.”
“You sure?”
More shooting from the stream cut him off. “Move,” Lucas ordered.
Sam leaned on Bill for support, and they trotted through the building to a collapsed section at the far end where the night sky was visible. Lucas studied the bikers again for a while and waited until he could make one out in the water. He switched to single fire, and the gun bucked against his shoulder. The man went down with a splash, and instantly four muzzle flashes lit his NV scope, telling him what he was up against.
The building provided good cover, but four against one was still bad odds. If Sam hadn’t been injured, he would have emptied his magazine at the bikers and taken off like a scared rabbit, but he needed to buy Bill and Sam some time, which meant a gun battle where a single lucky shot or ricochet could take him down.
The Day After Never (Book 7): Havoc Page 9