Hidden Flames (25 page)

“I expect a thank you out of all your mouths once the rest of our team arrives,” Ernie interjected, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief. Prue realized that the situation was serious and that the conversation they were having even more so because their decisions affected everyone depending on them, but she had to forcefully stop the smile that tried to form. Tank was definitely a character and he deserved to receive some type of special recognition for creating such an incredible safe haven. “Don’t think I don’t know about the moaning and groaning you did when I asked you to help with the bunker and all the facilities inside.”

“That was Van and Berke.” Owen was quick to answer, but Prue could feel the slight shaking of his body, indicating he was smothering a laugh of his own. Whether Ernie had intended to lighten the mood or not, he’d succeeded. “Seriously, Truman reminds me of some of those NSA agents we used to work with overseas—dangerous, shifty, and unpredictable.”

“Did Mav tell you that Truman saved his life?” Ernie played with his mustache, sending Owen a sideways look that spoke volumes. “He’s been an asset thus far. Until he proves otherwise, he stays if he wants.”

Prue
really
liked Ernie. She looked over her shoulder and caught Owen’s raised eyebrow, almost daring her to say something. She wasn’t used to someone talking to him in such a manner. The office had suddenly taken on a military station hierarchy where Ernie was in his role as Tank Commander and the other men were his junior Marines. It was an interesting turnabout, considering that Owen was in charge of practically everything in his life.

“I’m glad you’re here, because someone has to help me keep him in line.” Mav leaned forward and took a hold of Henley’s right hand that she was using to lean against the desk before flashing Ernie a smile. “Mabel’s been sneaking him extra blueberry muffins from the kitchen. I think it’s time he actually took a bite.”

Prue had heard some minor details about this crush that Ernie and Mabel had going on, but the eruption had taken place before Ernie had a chance to actually court her properly. Prue really enjoyed the references to the older days when men actually courted women, brought them flowers, and held doors for them. She’d never considered herself old-fashioned, especially being so independent, but it was cute to watch and listen.

“You’re one to talk, junior. You just worry about keeping Henley happy,” Ernie griped, unclipping a radio that had been attached to his belt. He pointed it at Mav and then at Owen. “You two get squared away on the security gaps we have. I’ll take a perimeter tour and inspect the posts we have in place. Let’s make sure we are well guarded. Before we get back together tonight I want your evaluations on our situation and recommendations to improve our position.”

Ernie stood and left the office, confident his orders would be carried out. Prue was taking a liking to him more and more. The sound of the door clicking was soft, but it somehow still signified the respect that the older man expected. Henley lifted Mav’s hand and kissed it before sliding off of the desk and taking the vacated chair.

“You have to admit, those are really good blueberry muffins,” Henley said, wiggling her eyebrows. She placed one of her boots on the desk and laced her fingers together over her buttoned down brown shirt. “Speaking of food, Prue has some great ideas regarding how to plant seed after the ash is done falling. We guessed a month or two, so we should start scrounging around to obtain what she needs now and start working on it.”

“And Rosa?” Mav asked, looking Prue’s way for her opinion. She’d gotten away with keeping quiet while she listened to what everyone had to say. She liked it that way because she was able to learn a little about everyone while keeping her own cards close to her chest. Owen ran a hand up her arm, causing the soft fabric to warm up. It also reminded her that she really needed to change clothes after having ridden so many hours this morning. Another question from Mav brought her attention around. “What do you think she’d like to do to contribute?”

“I’m not sure,” Prue answered defensively, inwardly cringing at the way her words had come out. “She’s with Missy. You can ask her yourself when she comes back inside.”

Mav and Henley exchanged glances, causing Prue to tense up, wondering why they thought that would be an issue. Missy had appeared confident and no one else had shown worry over the fact that the two women had left the lodge. A headache was starting to form from too much information to take at one time and yet too little as well.

“Is there a problem?” Prue stepped away from Owen before he could stop her, every intention to go and seek out Rosa before something happened to her. “I’ll go find her.”

“No, Prue,” Henley said in reassurance, even shaking her head and holding her hand up. “There’s not a problem at all. Missy likes to keep to herself, that’s all. We’re glad to see that she’s helping out and showing Rosa around. She’ll be safe with Missy, who knows what areas are safe and those that aren’t. You’ll meet everyone sooner or later.”

Owen moved from his place by the window and stood next to Prue, gently placing his hand on her lower back. She inhaled deeply, doing her best to even out her accelerated heart rate. She didn’t like being the one in the dark as to who all these people were, who to trust, and who to steer clear of. That meant getting to know them on some level and she knew just where to start.

“Well, then, there’s no time like the present,” Prue said, adjusting her cap and ignoring Owen’s all too knowing gaze. It was bound to be a long day and she’d never been that good at remembering names. She’d focus on the ones she didn’t like and slowly weed through the handful that would be left. “Let’s start with the man who can get me the tools I need to start work. I’d like to get a look at that machine shop. That shit isn’t going to build itself.”

O
wen followed at
a distance as Henley took the lead and showed Prue around the property. It was disappointing that she hadn’t seen how beautiful the land could be when touched by the gorgeous sun’s rays or the seductive moonlight. There was something very special about this place in the past and he knew the day had come and gone to be able to share that with her.

Ten rustic cabins were positioned around the main fishing lodge, with a flowing river at the bottom of the valley, a fast moving creek on the west side tumbling down the slope to the river, and a serene lake farther up the incline toward the valley’s crest in a mountain clearing. It gave the appearance of a tightknit community and that’s what it became when he and the guys came to stay with Ernie. To the east was the old silver mine that had gone under so many years ago. There had been little working infrastructure left to salvage once Tank had purchased the property, but he’d had other ideas for it anyway.

“We can definitely use this area to plant seed, especially with the available water being so close,” Prue said through her mask as she pointed to the large passel of land that was currently covered in a thin layer of ash. All four of them were wearing gasmasks since they were walking so far away from the lodge, the wide mountain clearing at the top of the valley leaving them more exposed. She finally stopped walking and turned to address Mav, who’d gone on to explain the hard work that Tank had put into this place. “This is quite a set up Ernie has.”

“A lot of people think that Tank bought this land due to the fishing lodge and the business model he’d put into place, but he’d been talking about a sanctuary long before his retirement,” Mav replied, pointing to the large body of water just beyond a natural boulder dam. “The mine, the native mountain spring water, and the natural gas provides this place with everything it needs to be self-sustaining. He was able to secure the mineral rights under this land with a chunk of money he’d received from an inheritance after selling his family’s lumber mill business.”

Henley motioned that they should continue walking, guiding them back down the valley to the entrance of the old mine. The entry was directly east of the lodge’s compound across the wide valley between the two mountains. There wasn’t a space inside the converted silver mine that Owen wasn’t aware of, and Prue’s brown eyes shone with amazement when they came upon the security door. It was a high strength steel alloy with a cypher-lock keypad. There were only a handful of people with the code, but he would ensure that Prue had the digits memorized before the night was over.

“And he turned the old mine into a bunker. Genius.” Prue was the first one to step through the entry and into a well-lit cavern. The air was fresh and the environmental systems would kick in before the temperature fell below a comfortable level. They all removed their masks and Owen wasn’t surprised when Prue pulled her cap from out of her backpack that she’d brought with her. She positioned it over her hair as her gaze bounced off of everything as if she were watching a pinball machine. He took her backpack from her and then set their stuff down in the security office located in the wooden building that was located to the left, knowing they would be residing inside the bunker instead of his usual cabin. “Tunnels? This isn’t a bunker—this is a like a mini city.”

“Ahead, past the fright elevator and down some tunnels to the right are additional barrack buildings with rooms where the team will have their billeting. The generators are down the first tunnel to your left along with Ernie’s workshop. On that side of the mine are other tunnels branching off the main shaft directly ahead with another security building housing video surveillance of the entire facility, a medical area with a separate clinic, and our environment air processing plant,” Mav explained, pointing at the two corridors leading out of the main entrance. There was a massive barn to the right of them, but Mav placed his hand on Henley’s lower back and walked down the passageway that was straight ahead. Owen wasn’t that shocked to see the intimacy between the two, although it was a bit odd after so many years of watching them swat at each other. The two had gone round in circles for years, doing their best to ignore the palpable attraction between them. It had become a standing joke that neither of them would bend, but hell…the end of the world and all that had an effect on the way people viewed things. “We have a heavy freight elevator, as well as these golf carts that have equipment racks positioned on the back to transport anything that’s too substantial to carry around each level or between them.”

“Look at all of these rooms and corridors,” Prue said in astonishment, running her hand over the rough-hewn limestone walls. “Where do they all lead?”

“The one to your right leads to a mechanical room, an elevator, stairs leading to the lower levels, the brig, security billeting, and armory.” Mav turned down the right tunnel and took another right leading them past the brig, not stopping until he came upon a passage leading off to the right and a small barracks building built inside a thirty foot wide chamber with a twenty-five foot high ceiling. The wooden structure took up almost the entire area, leaving only enough room to skirt around the place on the sides for maintenance. Three steps led up to an entrance into a small foyer and four doors lettered A to D. Each of the rooms were ten by fifteen feet and contained a queen-sized bed, two wall lockers, a sink, toilet, and a shower. “This is the barracks where you and Owen will bed down. We’ll put Rosa in one of the other rooms until the rest of the team arrives and then we’ll move her into the single women’s barracks one level down where some of the other townsfolk are staying who contribute by running some of the other facilities here. She can help with that unless she has another skill that would benefit the camp.”

“Prue and I will only need one room,” Owen said, declaring up front that he and Prue would be sharing a bed. There wasn’t a need to keep that information from anyone and he met Prue’s gaze when she peered up at him from underneath the bill of her cap. Her brown eyes sparkled with mischief, which was the last thing he’d expected to see. He slowly smiled at her indication that she was becoming more and more comfortable with his friends. Now that he was at ease leaving Prue alone, he got down to business. “Mav, why don’t you show me the outposts and the rest of the perimeter while we still have enough light to collect the information that Ernie wants.”

Owen’s comment reminded everyone that the ash cloud blocked the sunshine, limiting the available daylight hours they had to work with. Mav agreed and said that he’d meet him up front in fifteen minutes, wanting to check in with the radio watch who was monitoring the HF radios. Henley walked out with him, asking Prue to meet her up front so that she could finally meet Gage Dorian to go over what items he might still have in his garage in town. After that, they could tour the rest of the bunker and get her a chance to finally see the machine shop.

“You doing okay?” Owen said, pulling Prue into his arms and holding her tight. It had been weighing on his mind that she might pull back from him in the midst of all of these strange surroundings, but she surprised him. He lifted her cap and really looked at her, needing reassurance that she would be okay on her own. “It’s a lot to take in, but these are good people and I trust them. This place is amazing.”