A New World [7] Takedown (33 page)

I take in a deep breath, not realizing that I was holding it. The others in the group all stare at me, questioning, as I had abruptly stopped talking in mid-sentence and began staring at the walls.

“Lynn’s alive and I know where she is,” I state, still not believing it myself.

“How do you know that?” Drescoll asks, incredulous.

“I just saw her,” I answer.

“What do you mean ‘saw’? You mean you sensed the night runners who took her?” Frank asks.

“Yes and no,” I respond. “It was an image of her and it was sent directly to me. I can’t explain it really. It wasn’t like it was broadcast but sent directly.”

“What does that mean?” Frank asks.

“I have no idea. But, I know where she is…or may be.”

“So, we go get her,” Drescoll states. “We could use the Spectre and verify with thermals. We can use it to take them out as they come out.”

“Hold up a moment. We can certainly use it to verify the building…but think about it. What has happened in the past when we’ve used the Spectre on large packs?”

The group looks at each other questioningly.

“They moved. We can’t afford for that to happen here.”

“Okay. Then we verify where she is and then we go get her,” Drescoll restates.

“There may not be a ‘let’s’ to it,” I reply.

“What do you mean by that?” Drescoll says, an ounce of irritation edging into his voice.

“I mean, that if there are as many as the videos showed, the teams won’t stand a chance inside. However, let’s not jump to anything until we have more info. I’ll take the Spectre out in the morning and see what we come up with,” I respond.

Knowing that Lynn is alive and possibly where she is, I feel a little better. The sensations of excitement and fear bubble inside me in a chaotic mix. Mostly, I feel impatient. I want to be off right now and begin searching – to head straight into the teeth of those that may be holding her. It has to be from the night runners that took her as there is no way I could receive such a message from Lynn herself.

The exhilaration bounds among the group knowing that she is alive, or, better put, my belief that she is and that I know where she may be. I say ‘may’ because it was just an image and not an actual confirmation. That was going to be the hardest part – finding her. A certain anxiety takes hold because she may be ‘captured’ and perhaps surrounded by thousands of night runners. I may know where she is, but getting her out will be a different story altogether. It may prove impossible.

“What’s the plan for the next few days with regards to activities?” I ask.

I hate even uttering those words, but there’s nothing I can do at the moment about Lynn until we have more information.

“The plan is to continue with the towers and clear the rubble. We’ve felled a fair number of the trees around the outer wall. We’ll begin cutting those up into firewood and storing it in cargo containers. Before winter sets in, I’d like to put wood stoves in the interior to take some of the load off our electrical needs. The plan for the housing is to incorporate wood stoves for heating into those as well,” Bannerman states.

“We also need to clear the taller grass away from the walls. I’m not sure of the impact on the walls if we burn it, but that would be the easier solution,” I say.

“We’ll run a test on a section of it,” Bannerman replies. “If there isn’t any detriment to the walls, we’ll move forward with that idea.”

“I know you’ve been busy, but have you had any luck researching bio-fuels?” I ask.

“We’ll have to make a foray into one of the libraries we’ve kept intact once we can spare any teams. I’ll plan that once we start on the housing.”

“Okay. Anyone else have anything?”

“What about sending one or two more teams out with another Stryker to meet up with Greg?” Horace asks.

I find myself half turning to Lynn to see if we have teams to spare for that, but catch myself.

“Let’s see what we find out tomorrow. We may or may not need the teams to get Lynn,” I state. “Anything else?”

No one responds so the meeting breaks up. I pull Bannerman and Frank aside to take a look at the housing plans. The others head off for their dinner or to find their cots. We pull open plans and begin to go over them. The exhaustion of only getting a little shuteye for the last day and a half is taking its toll, both in my thinking and ability to focus. Stress and lack of sleep are making it next to impossible to think logically or follow a line of thought. Before long, I call a halt.

“I’m sorry, gentlemen. I know I said I wanted to go over these, but I’m finding I can’t keep my eyes open a moment longer,” I say.

“Of course, Jack, I completely understand,” Frank says with Bannerman nodding in agreement.

I stroll wearily back to my room, stopping at Robert’s place. Knocking softly on the partition, Michelle pulls the blanket serving as a door to the side.

“He’s asleep, Jack,” she says.

“How is he?” I ask.

“He’s exhausted from running around. But, other than that, he’s fine,” she says with a touch of coldness in her voice.

I can’t say I really blame her. I could do a whole lot of apologizing – trying to get her to understand the need to gain experiences and tools to survive – but I’ve never been very good at that. Instead, I say lamely, “Let me know if anything changes.”

“You’ll be the first to know, Jack,” she says and closes the doorway.

With a sigh, I turn and head toward my own room. Lying on the cot, I look over at Lynn’s empty one. Sorrow flows through me. I feel lost without her. Part of the grief stems from knowing she is possibly spending another night inside a night runner lair and I’m lying safe and dry in comfort.

“I’ll get you out, Lynn,” I say softly as the first salty tears fall to my pillow.

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Even with the turmoil of emotions running through my system, sleep eventually takes hold and I fall into a deep slumber, awakened only by the sounds of others as they move about the premises – shouts from below as crews get ready to move out, laughter occasionally floating above the rising din, boots stepping across the hard floor. I come abruptly awake wanting to get out and find Lynn. Quickly scrambling out of my sleeping bag, I join the ruckus outside.

Robert and Michelle are gathered at the upper railing engaged in a quiet conversation. I see Bri sitting with the rest of Red Team finishing off their breakfast. Not wanting to disturb Robert and Michelle, I wander toward the dining area and Red Team. Gonzalez is apparently telling a tale that has the rapt attention of the others. As I near them, they all break out in a fit of laughter. I smile as it’s good to see Bri accepted as one of them. I’m still not overly comfortable with her being on a team to begin with, but it’s good to see her fitting in.

“Good morning, sir,” McCafferty says.

She is the first to see me nearing. I know that is meant as the greeting it’s intended to be, but it is also serves as a warning to the others that rank is around. It’s a much better way of doing it rather than the elbow nudging or quick whispers I’ve seen. It doesn’t mean they were talking about me or anything bad, it’s just instinct.

“Good morning,” I reply. “I hate to break up the merriment but we’re leaving for the Spectre in thirty minutes.”

“We’re ready when you are, sir,” Gonzalez replies.

I nod and pass Robert and Michelle on my way downstairs.

“Good morning, Robert…Michelle.”

“Morning, Dad.”

“Good morning, Jack,” Michelle responds, smiling.

She sounds more cheery about my presence than she did last night. I guess her worry about Robert has been lessened.

“Feeling okay?” I ask Robert.

“Yeah, Dad. Just fine.”

“We’re leaving to take the Spectre up in about thirty. I’ll meet you outside when you’re ready.”

“See you there.”

I find Frank and Bannerman to let them know we’ll be leaving. They nod before turning back to other tasks. I walk out into the chilly morning, dawning bright and clear. Vehicles of all types fill the parking lot with their idling and revving engines. Standing there, I almost feel like a fifth wheel. The place really does seem to run itself. Drescoll, Frank, and Bannerman have done a great job keeping things together. Of course, it’s really been them all along as I’ve been off and about for the most part.

“Jack?” I hear a voice say tentatively behind me.

Turning, I see Julie standing just a few feet behind me. I tense not knowing what is coming. We haven’t really talked much since she was rescued. It’s not that we dislike each other, it’s just that we really don’t have much to talk about and I’ve been gone for a considerable period of time. I’m mostly surprised to hear her say anything. Julie rubs her arms to ward off the chill, glancing momentarily at the team member standing a few feet away – the one assigned to stay close to her.

“Robert told me what you said…and what you did. I just wanted to say…thanks.”

“I only did what was right. There were others involved as well,” I reply, still not really knowing what to say.

“Well, regardless, thank you. And I never did say thanks for getting us out of that camp, so thanks for that as well.”

“It was nothing, but you’re welcome,” I say.

I have never really been comfortable with people thanking or complimenting me and I tend to shrug it off. I know that may be offensive to others but it’s just my discomfort. Julie nods and turns to walk away, pausing momentarily to glance back over her shoulder.

“And, for what’s it’s worth, I’m sorry about Lynn,” she says and continues back inside.

Well if that doesn’t beat all
, I think watching her head back with her guard in tow.

The funny thing is, I expected a whole lot more drama with having two exes under the same roof, but that hasn’t materialized, much to my relief. It could be, once again, that I’m gone a bit, which I’m sure they don’t mind in the least, and that I haven’t really engaged them in much conversation.

Vehicles depart from the compound, some gears grinding as they fade toward the gate. My patience is wearing thin and I turn back to see what is keeping Red Team when they emerge from the entrance chuckling. Gonzalez and McCafferty both ruffle Bri’s head to which she grins sheepishly.

“Not to worry, we’re here, sir,” Gonzalez says.

“Good, I thought you had decided to create a replica of the Sistine Chapel,” I respond.

“We finished that fifteen minutes ago,” Gonzalez replies with a grin.

“Good grief. Just load up.”

We take two Humvees north along a route we could now probably blindly negotiate. It doesn’t take long to ready the AC-130, and we are soon lifting off into the crisp morning. The impatience and anger I felt previously has dissipated now that I’m actually taking some action. I’m still not exactly sure what building Lynn may be in, but I have the spot pinpointed in my mind. I’ll fly to where it is and we’ll see what we are dealing with.

Robert is in the command module ready to start the video. I plan on making a few passes to take visual and thermal images, however, I want to limit the time spent over the target. Even though I know deep down the images of Lynn were sent for the reason of locating her, limiting our exposure, and thus alerting those inside are just instinctual.

With Craig in the right seat and Bri doing her job as the flight engineer, I level us off at a low altitude and proceed south toward Olympia. The terrain below is so much different than the other parts of the country. Here, the green foliage remains due to the amount of moisture. Sure, some of the fields are brown as they always are in the summer, but the evergreens make up a large part of the area.

We pass directly over Cabela’s as I fly directly toward the location in my mind. Vehicles across the interstate are busy clearing the remains of the rubble. Trees lie jumbled where they are felled around the outer walls, looking like a large game of ‘pick up sticks’ is in progress. Several folks in the parking lot look up at our passage, some of them waving. I rock my wings in response, quickly leaving the sanctuary behind.

Burned out neighborhoods give way to more trees and buildings as we proceed toward the city center. The once thriving downtown passes underneath and we fly over the ridge overlooking it. Pressing onward, we are soon over the Capital Mall with its empty lots surrounding it. Zooming past it, we are almost out of the city proper when I feel us nearing the spot indicated by the image that was sent. We pass directly over the location and I bank us to get a better idea of what we may be dealing with. In the turn, I look out my window and see a hospital gradually come into view.

It’s situated on the very outskirts of the city but I recognize it for what it is – The Capital Medical Center. It’s one of the larger hospitals in the area. Its tan brick walls and dark windows, which make up a large part of the facility, stretch upward for four stories. Another large section to the north is only single story. While not even close to as big as Madigan Hospital, it still covers a lot of area. It’s another of those buildings that would take a battalion to take if it is indeed infested with night runners.