by Bobby Akart
“Well, jeez, Ryan. I don’t know where to start.”
“Me neither,” he said, gently scruffing his fingers along the underside of Chubby’s mush. The pup, completely unaware of what was going on, twisted and turned her head so that Ryan could hit every spot. “The problem you and I face is what to do next.”
Blair grimaced and nodded. The two were on the same page, as always. “I feel terrible for Hannah, and we need to find her, but Alpha’s reminding me that we have families of dead loved ones to visit really struck a chord.”
“I know. I feel responsible for these people. Sure, they’re grown adults and they made their choices to come here. By the same token, I know they looked to us for protection. I mean, in a way, didn’t I kinda promise them that?”
“Sort of, but not really,” replied Blair, who sat a little taller on the sofa so she could face Ryan. “They all knew the risks and, if it becomes an issue, I’ll be glad to remind them that their alternative is to be out there.” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder.
“Okay, we’ll do the best we can to console them. But here’s the thing. We don’t know what’s coming next. This whole drone message-delivery thing could be a trick. You know, to draw us outside the walls and leave our security weakened in the process. We have all the residents to consider, not just the Cortlands.”
“I agree, but Cort and Meredith won’t see it that way,” added Blair. “If we can get Hannah’s location out of Frankie and if we can come up with a viable plan to rescue her, then we have to decide how much of our security manpower we assign to the task.”
“That’s a lot of ifs,” said Ryan, shaking his head. “I can feel where they’re coming from. If one of our girls got hurt or killed, I’d be madder than a hornet. Nothing could stop me from going after the people responsible.”
“Okay, but would you expect everyone to join in, regardless of how dangerous it was?”
Ryan’s shoulders visibly slumped with the realization that not everyone would join the hunt. “I guess not.”
“Neither should the Cortlands,” said Blair. She tried to lift the mood. “I’m not saying that we won’t try. That little girl was adorable, and she was also helping us defend the Haven. That makes her a soldier, in my opinion. We don’t leave anybody behind, you know?”
“Yeah, I agree.”
Blair continued. “That said, we can’t send the entire cavalry and leave the fort unprotected.”
Ryan sighed and lifted himself off the sofa. He walked toward the fireplace and mindlessly adjusted picture frames that held photos of Blair and the girls. There were images of Christmas celebrations as well as one of the entire family sitting on the front porch of Haven House. He smiled at the fond memories and reminded himself as to how lucky they were. He turned to Blair.
“We’ve got to do what we can, but we need more information. If Frankie dies, we’ve got nothing. Heck, he could lie or try to escape before he talks.”
“I’ll torture him myself,” interrupted Blair.
“I have no doubt,” said Ryan with a chuckle. He thought for a moment and then made a suggestion. “We’ve got an asset who could help. Maybe X-Ray can access some kind of cameras or satellite or something? Anything that can keep us from relying on Frankie waking up and telling the truth.”
Blair threw her hands up. “How do we know we can trust that little weasel? After I had him locked up in the toolshed out back, he’ll say anything to get loose.”
Ryan shrugged. “For now, he’s all we’ve got. Do you wanna give it a try or not?”
“Here’s the thing, he isn’t doing us any good tied to the hitching post in the shed,” she replied. “We have to decide what to do with him anyway. If I stand over him and watch him work, I can learn a little about the computer equipment he has. If we kick him out or execute him, we’ll still have his stuff.”
“I vote we try to use him.”
Blair stood and adjusted her clothes. “Yeah, might as well, but you and I’ve got some families to see. This has been a rough day, but it’s nothing like what they’ve gone through.”
Chapter 6
Haven House
The Haven
Ryan and Blair had not dealt with the type of loss that the families of the Haven were experiencing who had lost their husbands and fathers in the raid by Chepe. They were keenly aware that tragic death and loss was a fact of military life, whether the nation was at war or not. However, the contribution of the Haven’s residents toward the security of all who resided there was far from military enlistment, but their job was similar, nonetheless.
Without having experienced the violent death of a loved one, it was difficult for the Smarts to express their condolences. Naturally, Ryan tried to offer hope and even tried to find the words to fix their grief. Some were open to his sympathy; others were bitter and closed off. They certainly weren’t ready to embrace hopeful statements about the future.
By the time they reached the third family, Blair realized that it was best to simply say “I’m sorry for the loss of your husband.” This enabled her to get on a personal level with the grieving family.
Above all, the Smarts offered words of reassurance. The families of the fallen warriors who defended the Haven were now part of the Smarts’ family, and all of the others who resided there. Their loss had become the community’s loss. The loved ones were promised that everyone would be there for them if needed.
Tears were shed and hugs were exchanged as the harsh realities of life in the apocalypse hit home. It wasn’t about some fantasy of playing soldier with your buddies or rummaging around your neighbors’ homes looking for stuff you could use. A post-apocalyptic world was about real people and whether they lived or died.
It was against that backdrop that Blair and Ryan went directly to the toolshed where Echo was keeping a watchful eye on X-Ray. The Smarts couldn’t return the dead heroes to their families, but they could find a way to return a frightened little girl to her distressed parents.
“Hey, Ryan and Blair,” greeted Echo after the Smarts exited the Ranger. The solemn looks on their faces spoke volumes. Echo was a man who understood sacrifice because he’d lost the life of a daughter during her service as a law enforcement officer. The Echols had been visited by a police notification team, a moment in their lives that had left an indelible mark on Echo. He walked up to them both and gave them a genuine, heartfelt hug. “Are you guys okay?”
Blair smiled and nodded. “That was one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life. But, honestly, Echo, after our last visit, looking at that wife and her two young kids, I just got angry. I’m furious that this happened to us. I realized that we have a huge responsibility to all of these people. And now we have a chance to save one of our own if we can just find her.”
“How can I help?” asked Echo.
“First off,” Ryan started to answer. He pointed toward the toolshed. “Has he said anything?”
“No, not really,” replied Echo. “He’s not aware of everything that’s happened. Remember, he was locked up just as everything went south. He peed himself because a few stray rounds stitched holes along the back of the shed. I got him some pants and helped him change. That’s about it.”
“You went to his place?” asked Blair.
“Yeah. It looks like a Radio Shack in there. He barely has a place to sleep with all of that computer crap.”
Ryan wandered toward the shed, turning his back to Echo. “Did it look like he was trying to pack up? You know, like he planned on leaving.”
Echo shook his head. “No, not at all. In fact, all of his monitors were still turned on. He has spiral notebooks lying open on several folding tables. It just looked like a messy office space for six secretaries, but of course, it’s just him.”
Blair motioned for Ryan to come closer. She began to whisper, “I have an idea.”
“What’s that?” asked Ryan.
“Let’s play good cop, bad cop,” she replied. “We’ll work as a team and brea
k him down.”
Ryan chuckled. “Let me guess, you wanna be the bad cop.”
“No, not this time. Although, if my plan doesn’t work, then I’ll turn into the worst kind of cop Eugene O’Reilly ever imagined. You’re the bad cop this go-around.”
“Me? I don’t know …” Ryan’s voice trailed off with uncertainty.
Blair eased closer to him and looked up into his eyes. “This will work. I want you to go in there like you’ve lost your damn mind. He has to fear for his life. Do you understand me?”
“I am pissed off and I’d love to take it out on somebody,” said Ryan. “The guy who snatched Hannah is whom I had in mind, though.”
Blair patted her husband on the chest. “I think X-Ray can help us find Hannah and whoever’s behind all of this. You go in there and pound the crap out of him emotionally. Hell, slug him if you have to.”
“I can pull his long hair,” interjected Ryan.
“Hubs, you can kick him between the legs for all I care. Just scare the crap out of him and I’ll come to his rescue.”
Ryan nodded. “He’ll be just as afraid of you.”
“Good, and he should be. I’ll take him back to his cabin and put him to work. But know this, my hand will be resting on my pistol grip the whole time. I’ll put him down like a dog if he screws up.”
Ryan took a deep breath and conjured up the visions of the grieving families and the anger he felt when he thought of wrapping his hands around the throats of the people responsible for their husbands’ deaths. He suddenly turned and stormed away from Echo and Blair.
Playing his role, Echo shouted after him, “Ryan, wait! You can’t do that to him! Doesn’t he have the right to a trial or—”
“Hell no!” Ryan shouted, cutting off Echo’s question. Simultaneously, he kicked open the old wooden door, slinging it open until it slammed against the wall and nearly off the rusty hinges.
Light filled the darkened space, illuminating X-Ray hugging a round support pole in the middle of the shed, his hands tied together with two sets of zip-tie cuffs.
“Wait. Ryan, what’s the matter?” asked X-Ray, fear in his eyes.
Ryan stormed toward him, reached down and removed his Morakniv blade from its sheath. He raised it high over his head and plunged it toward the much shorter X-Ray, barely missing the man’s ear as the tip of the knife embedded in the wood post.
“Oh my god!” X-Ray shouted as he slid down the pole to avoid Ryan’s attempt to skewer his skull. “What? Why are you doing this? Help! Echo!”
“Shut up!” Ryan screamed in X-Ray’s face so loud that spittle flew out of his mouth and drenched the man’s cheeks. He wrestled with the knife to extract it from the post. Ryan’s anger had caused it to go more than an inch in the wood.
“Ryan, please. Please. Don’t kill me!” X-Ray twisted back and forth in an effort to put the pole between him and Ryan. This only served to give Ryan another method of intimidation.
He grabbed X-Ray’s longish hair and slammed his head against the pole. He reached around the pole with his right hand and pushed the blade up against X-Ray’s throat.
Ryan’s voice was low, guttural, animalistic. He was no longer acting or playing a part. “I’m gonna watch you bleed out. This is for the people who died today. And the little girl they stole from us! This is all on you, pal!”
“No! No! I didn’t know, um. Come on, Ryan. I can—arrrgggh!”
X-Ray screamed in agony as Ryan got a little too close to his throat with the knife, breaking the skin just below the Adam’s apple. Ryan’s grip on the knife loosened somewhat as X-Ray began to sob and beg for his life.
“Puhleeze, Ryan. I can fix this. Help!”
Blair rushed into the toolshed, leaving Echo outside to prevent anyone from responding to X-Ray’s pleas for help. “Ryan! Ryan, stop! Don’t do this!”
“Why shouldn’t I gut him?” he shouted back to her. “This guy, this piece of crap, got three of our people killed. And now Hannah has been kidnapped. What do you think they’re gonna do to that poor little girl?”
Ryan jerked X-Ray’s head back against the post with a thud. He then jerked it to the side, exposing the prisoner’s carotid artery. Back in control of his emotions, he sneered as he brought the knife up against X-Ray’s neck once again. X-Ray tried to crane his neck to pull away, but Ryan’s grip was too strong.
“I understand that,” Blair said in a calming voice. She circled around to face X-Ray, which was when she saw the steady trickle of blood emanating from the wound in his neck. Her eyes grew wide in surprise before she continued. “We need to have a trial. We’re not barbarians here.”
“Those guys who killed our people didn’t offer up a trial first. That’s BS. What about Hannah? Do you think they’re giving her a trial? What are they gonna do—?”
“Hannah? They took Hannah?” X-Ray repeated the question.
Ryan made eye contact with Blair. The two understood each other completely without uttering a word or twitching an eye. It was time for Blair to take over.
Good cop, for now.
“Yes, Eugene, the men who attacked us killed three, wounded several others, and kidnapped Hannah. That darling little girl was practically yanked from the arms of her mother and whisked away.”
“All because of me,” mumbled X-Ray. In that moment, he took full responsibility for what had happened at the Haven that day. He realized his seemingly innocent response to a text had had dire consequences for the Cortland family. Tears began to flow down his cheeks, mixing with the blood that now covered his sweatshirt. “Please let me help you find her. I can. I promise.”
He was broken.
Chapter 7
X-Ray’s Cabin
The Haven
It was dark when Blair escorted X-Ray back into his cabin at gunpoint. Two guards were assigned to the perimeter along the riverfront, so Blair was confident she could call for backup if X-Ray tried to make a move. She didn’t trust him and assumed he had weapons stashed throughout his living space. While he changed out of his bloody clothes, she didn’t turn her head to provide the young man some privacy. Instead, in an act of intimidation, she watched him carefully, pointing her sidearm at his chest as he undressed.
“Eugene,” began Blair, who no longer considered the young man a part of the Haven and therefore refused to recognize his nickname of X-Ray regardless of who had given it to him. “Do not mistake my kindness for weakness. Are we clear?”
“Yes, I understand,” he replied, holding his hands in the air as he made his way into his living room.
“Seriously, I will shoot you. In fact, I want to.”
“Please don’t. I promise you. I want to make this right, even if it means I’m expelled from the Haven. I owe it to those people who died. I owe it to the Cortlands and Hannah, whom I genuinely like.”
“I’m sure you do,” said Blair with a hint of snark. She motioned with the barrel of her gun for X-Ray to sit down at the computer and get to work.
He pulled the small office chair out from under the folding table he used as a desk. He nervously wiped the sweat off his palms. He took a deep breath and studied his monitors that displayed various screensavers. One home screen showed a painting of George Washington in a skiff, crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776.
“Nice touch,” said Blair, complimenting X-Ray for his choice.
X-Ray spoke calmly as he prepared his workspace. “It was a masterful attack, one that surprised the drunken Hessians. The biggest mistake an adversary can make is to let their guard down.”
Blair couldn’t resist. “Like we did with you?”
X-Ray closed his eyes and shook his head. “Fair enough,” he replied. He then turned in his chair and asked, “May I address something that you said at the dining table when we spoke?”
“Might as well,” replied Blair.
“You obviously have a knack for internet research, which explains how you came across some of my alternate social media handles. I wa
nt you to know that it’s not what you think.”
Blair laughed. “Well, Eugene, what should I think? You have an alter ego that likes to troll the web, engaging in chat rooms with high school girls. Let me get right to it. Are you a pedophile?”
This riled X-Ray, who set his jaw and sat taller in his chair. “No, I am not, obviously.”
“Doesn’t seem so obvious to me,” Blair shot back.
“I’m not, Blair, and you know it. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have let me within a hundred miles of this place.”
Blair sniggered. “Just because I couldn’t prove it to be true doesn’t mean I can’t have my suspicions.”
“You are aware, of course, that was several years ago. At the time, I was nineteen.”
“Twenty,” interrupted Blair.
“Fine, for a while, I was twenty,” said X-Ray defensively. “I was immature for my age and couldn’t relate to college girls. I was only comfortable interacting with younger women.”
“They were teenagers! High schoolers, for Pete’s sake.”
“True, and they were only a few years younger than me. Think about it. How much older is Ryan than you?”
“Fourteen—” Blair began to respond before catching herself. This conversation was irrelevant to the task at hand. “There’s a huge difference. We were both adults when we met. You were trolling for kids.”
“Teens, and they were just a few years younger than me.”
“Jeez, Eugene, who cares. I don’t, or you wouldn’t be here, like you said. What I do care about is finding Hannah. Now, get on the stick or you’ll be of no use to us. Comprende?”
He nodded and swung around to his keyboard. He banged away, deftly switching from window to window on his multiple monitors. At one point, he stopped, flexed his fingers and exhaled.
“Good. I’m not locked out.”
Blair looked over his shoulder and saw the official seal of the National Security Agency. “You’re on the NSA website?”