Adrian's Eagles: Book Four (Life After War) (3 page)

 
Adrian glanced at the empty tables being packed up. The big ants crawling along their camp-line was something he stored for later. It would go into the notebook. The mutations didn’t usually get this close. "I'd like one of you to stay with her at all times, out of sight."

"We already worked out a rough schedule for the next two days, Boss. There are four of us. Brady we naturally included after today, but Seth wouldn't back off."

Adrian was glad the camp was loading up without any obvious signs of being scared, but he didn’t care for the way a few of the Eagles were staring at Angela. None of this would be easy. "He's like her in some ways, I think, running on a level closer. Maybe he'll catch something we miss. Make sure the lower levels understand to stress that it was a random attack. Some men saw her alone with the kids and thought they were helpless."

"I'm sorry for it."

Adrian met Kyle’s eye with none of the coldness the Mobster had expected to see.

"I don't hold it against you. We will make mistakes. Hopefully, no more like this one. High level security meeting an hour after the camp’s settled for the night. I want all team leaders present and bring Brady along. We have to start on some defenses."

 
Kyle kept his voice low. "She'd search for you, Boss."

Adrian didn't pretend not to understand. When he’d told the Mobster he trusted him completely, he hadn’t lied. "These people can't find out too fast or we'll lose them all, including her. It is code Raven. You have a better idea what that means now?"

“She’s
gonna
be one of us.” Kyle was unable to stifle the note of awe in his tone. "She was great. Fell right into it like you thought she would, Boss. You'll get the full in my report tonight." Meaning all the details the college kids wouldn’t have noticed.

Relieved to hear it had gone well, Adrian met Kyle’s eye, thinking of the Arkansas dreams that had haunted him last night. "She'll see your loyalty, too. She'll need it."

 
Kyle didn't really doubt, he'd seen her in action, but questioning was his nature now, especially after discovering Kenn’s lies and abusive nature. "We can trust her like we do you? She won't use it to her advantage?"

"Of course she will, but survival is all she cares about. She's almost accepted this as her home, her new family. For the first time in her life, she's valued. She’ll protect that security, this camp, by any means we allow and I intend to give her few limits. She'll do what she was meant to. Help us keep our America alive."

Adrian's voice lowered. "And Kyle, she's on the edge right now with all these new tensions and people. She's a little unsure and that may make her slightly dangerous. Don't be the one to insist on the changes if you can help it. Brady's the only one who can stand that heat."

"You keep up that fake smile, your face might crack in half."

Kenn turned from glaring at the little Mess, to see Tonya leaning in Adrian's open door, big tits almost spilling from her low-cut red dress. Didn’t she have any other clothes?

"What do you want?"

His curt tone sent a mean smile across her pretty lips. "I thought you could use some... company now that your woman's gone and joined Adrian's super-troopers."

Kenn’s unshaven face set into hard lines. "She got lucky and found some people. So what? She's not an Eagle."

"Then why was she at the center table? Well, maybe we were low on seats. I do wonder why she was the one to check-in for the recon team, though. Bet they were all too busy. But why is she wearing a vest? Hmm... I can't answer that one."

Kenn made his voice sound normal despite the dread in his gut. He'd heard rumors, but he hadn't talked to anyone yet. Obviously, Tonya had.

"Adrian covers that."

Tonya laughed cruelly, hawk-like profile turned toward Adrian’s rig. "Yes, he does and you're on the outside now. She's already done more for his dreams than you and it’s only been a week."

"What the hell are you running your mouth about?" Kenn snapped.

Very aware of his abusive notions, Tonya took the smirk out of her tone, but smiled slyly. "I'm talking about lots of things. You didn't tell Adrian that she's... different, or that her Wolfman was your commanding officer before the War. You didn't tell him about your heavy hands either, but it's more than all that now. She's left you for Adrian."

Kenn was getting hotter as she talked, mind slamming the awful truth into place.

Tonya didn't stop. She needed him as pissed as he could get for her plan to work. It would take guts to eliminate Adrian. "She'll be the first female Eagle, the one that draws the others in, and he'll give Marc your place to keep her here."

Kenn snorted, not quite successful blocking the tremor from his voice this time. "And where does she rank? If she's so important, what's her place?"

"She doesn't have one." Tonya softened her tone, taking pity. He may have broad shoulders and a strong back, but this would be a hard blow. "Your woman's what the voters used to call an Independent. She'll be above the chain of command, an advisor of sorts… though in time, she might not even answer to him."

"How do you know all this?" Kenn snarled and Tonya smiled, showing an edge of shrewdness that the rest of the camp, including Adrian, would have been shocked to see.

"I don't. I'm the dumb-ass, remember?" She turned away. "The dumb-ass who doesn't play his 'nice people' games, and yet, still gets to stay and be looked after."

"You're wrong!” he shouted, drawing attention, and Tonya turned back to deliver a scornful tone that said they had all underestimated her.

"How many times have you heard him say he could use a little magic, Kenny? Now, he's got it. You and the Eagles are nothing compared to that."

She left him with those unsettling thoughts. When Adrian stepped into his seat a few minutes later, the tension was thick, unavoidable. Adrian didn't try.

"I'm offering them both a place in my Army. They'll be below you in the chain of command, above everyone else."

"You're only giving it to him because of her." Kenn's protest was low, rare.

"He's one of us. If you didn't know them from before, you'd be impressed. He threw himself between strangers and death,” Adrian pointed out, trying to avoid the Angela part, but Kenn knew without being told.

"Would he have done it if she hadn't been in danger?"

"Does it matter? He saved lives, not just hers. He helped complete a mission and eliminated a possible future threat, something you, yourself, are adamant about. If you didn't know them, you'd see it too,” Adrian repeated.

Kenn let the truth slide out. "But… I do know them and I can see why you want her, but he's only here to... It's an insult to me and should be to you, too. He's using your dreams to stay close to her."

Adrian gave the upset man a knowing look. "Like you did when you first got here?"

Kenn didn't deny it, though he flushed, and Adrian laid it out. "You can't keep them from getting close, Marine. Any fool can see it's much too late for that. As to the dream, how or why we join up doesn't matter."

Adrian sighed at the silence. "Hardly anyone here has a good past, but we all came to believe. Unless you still don't?"

Kenn snorted. "No, I like living on the edge all the time. Of course I believe. It’s our future, our duty to try."

"Angela and Brady are a part of that future and I need you to work with them, with me."

Kenn wanted it badly at that moment, wanted his true place back more than anything else. The desire to be everything that this man needed hadn’t vanished with Angela’s appearance.

"Always, you know that. I'll handle it. The sheep come first, right?"

Haunted pain flashed in Adrian’s eyes. "Yes. Above all else and I do mean all. You're not the only one making sacrifices.” He picked up the mic, held it out. “Start the count-off. I want the Borderlands before our next three day break.”

3

The caravan made camp in the middle of 34, out of sight of Sturgis, SD, as the light began to fade. With only a darkened skyline to cast distant shadows, it was another of those rare places that Adrian found for them to make camp. The only signs of the War were the ones he couldn’t hide, like the black mold growing up weakening trunks and the bodies of mauled pigs. The Eagles would get them out of sight shortly and people would avoid the trees here. Adapting had become a normal part of everyday life for the refugees of 2012.

The center fire and cans quickly pushed back the falling blackness as the perimeter was taped and secured. A full team of rested guards took up watch over their new surroundings, along with a dozen camp members, and the entire area became a flurry of activity in the sharp wind. Men moved things from trucks, women and kids ran for bathrooms, and dogs yapped excitedly, knowing it was almost time to be fed. Safe Haven was full of noise and movement, but it was also organized, like a well-rehearsed play. They'd done it many times.

Angela stepped out of the blazer Neil and Kyle had already flown from almost before it was stopped, and found Seth waiting casually nearby.

"Guess you're the first wave?"

The redhead threw a charming smile, freckles standing out in the dim dusk’s emerald light. "Yes ma'am."

Angie snorted at his tone and slung her duffle bag over one shoulder. "All right then, Sir Eagle, here's my plan. First, I need a shower. After that, I'd like to be fed, smoked, and then sleep for a week. That work?"

Seth's lips twitched and he gave her half a graceful wave. “After you.”

Kenn had point during setup, which meant continuous rounds of helping and supervising until everything was in its place. He did it with his usual thoroughness, but all the while, Tonya's words echoed in his mind.

“Joined Adrian's super-troopers... In time, she may not even answer to him.”

Kenn wanted to go to the Quarantine zone, but by the time camp was up and running, it was time for Mess at the boss's center table, something he tried to never miss. Adrian had asked detailed questions of the dirty steel workers he'd invited to eat with them and Kenn had only stored the knowledge that they were doing quiet work for the blond, instead of digging into it like he normally would have. He wanted to get free long enough to check out what was going on with Angela.

Had she really used her power in front of the Eagles? What would it mean to him if she had? Would he defend her against the camp? Help them drive her out? Unsure, Kenn suffered through the meal, huge smile plastered to his face as the tales spread. He had to stop her from going any further. If they were both in Adrian’s army, he was beaten. He'd seen the bond the men had. Add that to the spark already between them, and there was no way he would be able to keep her and Brady apart.

4

“So the movie party is a distraction, right?"

Kyle nodded, a bit surprised to have a woman be so quick on the pick-up. He also wasn’t happy to be the one telling her the changes she needed to make and he’d waited until she ate, hoping she'd be more receptive to their plans.

"It makes them feel safe and gives us time to work without having to answer their questions."

 
Not responding, Angela inhaled and then put the blunt back into circulation. It was one of many making its way around the companionably crowded little Mess.

"There are some things we need you to do, like changing your clothes."

"Excuse me?"

"Until we put more miles between us and them, we're requesting that you dress like the Eagles so you'll be harder to pick out. Get changed ASAP, please.” He revealed a black duffle bag and set it on the table, thinking they would all miss the sight of her bare skin under those thin tank tops.

Angela studied the tanned man intently, not taking pity on his tired, red eyes. "You would, huh? ASAP?"

"Yes. With your hair up, from a distance, you’ll look like one of us."

Angela opened her mouth to protest, but closed it when Marc slid onto the bench next to Kyle. Dog lay down at his feet protectively.

"That's nothing. Wait for it." Marc teased.

When her eyes narrowed, Kyle heard Adrian's words again.
“Brady’s the only one who can stand that heat.”

"What else?"

"We want you to stay out of sight until John clears you. We're putting up one big tent. You'll be in it with us."

 
Thunder filled her face and Angela drew in another soothing breath. "You mean during the day, right? At night, I'll sleep in my own
Qz
tent."

 
Mindful of the warning he'd received, Kyle gave control to Marc, who shook his head.

"No, Angie. You can't even have an area partitioned off because any sniper worth his salt will know you're there. We'll all be in bedrolls and keep our vests on."

Marc cut her protest off, voice firm. "It's only for a couple days and then you can go on like before. We need time to put some things into place."

"What things?"

 
Kyle jumped in, not wanting the Wolfman to get burned too badly. "Bullet-proof canopies over the areas you use and later, a 3-plate-thick steel roof for the entire camp."