Project Terminus (20 page)

Heather was aghast. “But, Nina, we’ll run the risk of losing people.”

“That’s true, but do you really think we can go up against trained soldiers without anyone getting a scratch? Combat experience will serve us well somewhere down the line. And the medical people might get a chance to put their knowledge to practical use.”

The next day, Cougar told Nina, “We’ve located a small group of four men, two women, and two kids. Holed up in a small house in the mountains, eight miles away. Maybe ex-military because they had an OP, and changed the watch every six hours. It’s not much, Nina, but it’s all I could find. They’ll put up a fight, but they’ll actually be easy to take down. It’s not going to be much of a challenge, so we won’t gain a lot of combat experience. How many men do you want to take?”

“I don’t want you or your guys involved in this. You just watch. Have Horst pick twenty of his best people for the assault. I’m going too. I want to see them in action.”

Cougar led Nina, Heather, and Horst to a position on the mountain that provided a decent view of the house and the surrounding area. They watched as the assault force moved into position. As the sun was peeking over the horizon, the team sniper shot the man in the OP and the assault force rushed the house. They were twenty feet from the front door when a volley from the far side of the house took three of them out. When they reached the door, the assault force burst into the room. When it was over, The Light lost a total of seven men KIA, and ten more were seriously wounded. The survival group body count totaled fifteen, including four kids.

“How the hell did you make that kind of miscount, Cougar? That’s a fifty percent error.”

“I swear to you, Nina, there were only eight people here yesterday. The others were either in another area, or were a different group that was visiting.”

Fuming, she said, “Okay, there’s nothing we can do about it now. Search the house, button it up, and let’s get back.”

“Do you still think we’re ready to take on Special Ops troops, Heather?”

“No, you were right, Nina. You’re always right.”

Debriefing Cougar and Horst later that afternoon, Nina wanted to know what the mindset of the assault team was. Horst told her they were sky-high and couldn’t wait to see more action.

Nina was always a voracious reader, and after leaving Robbinsville, she visited every library along the way and read every book she could get her hands on regarding combat tactics, shooting, guerilla warfare, and the like. The day after the practice assault and nine months after they’d left Robbinsville, Nina was engrossed in her latest read,
The Anarchist’s Cookbook
.

Heather came into the room and in a whiney voice asked, “Why do you spend so much time reading about combat when Horst has already taught our people what they need to know?”

“Because I don’t know that he’s teaching them what they need to know. He’s teaching them what he wants them to know. There might be a difference. Besides, when his time is over, someone has to be able to pick up the ball and run with it. That’s—”

The bedroom door slammed against the wall and an excited Horst stormed into the room.

“What the hell are you doing, Horst? Do you want to get shot?”

Horst was bouncing up and down and grinning ear to ear like a fool. “Sorry, Nina. I’ve got it. I’ve got the C4. Not only C4, but I have detonators, det-cord, pressure switches, the works.”

Nina was on her feet in a second. “Show me.”

******

Horst had worked wonders with their military capability. In less than a year, they were a reasonable approximation of an average army company. They had three snipers who could hit a pie plate at 400 yards, and four of them knew how to make pipe bombs. Cougar’s six-man scout team was good. In fact, they were very good. They were masters of concealment and every one of them could track almost as well as Cougar. One of them was also the best sniper in the family. In addition, Horst taught everyone how to use a sword, and each member of The Light carried one as a close quarter’s weapon.

The day after Horst found the C4, The Light left Asheville with sixty-five males and fifty-five females, plus Nina, Heather, Cougar, Horst, and Olivia. Of the sixty-five male members, twenty-six were originals, with tats and filed teeth. Thirty-nine of them looked normal. There were nine females with tats and filed teeth, and forty-six looked like any young female anywhere.

Nina was ready for her revenge.

Chapter Seventeen

First Blood

“I thought we were going back to Robbinsville, Nina.”

“The enemy isn’t in Robbinsville, Heather. They’re somewhere near Robbinsville. We have an approximate location of their camp, but that’s all it is. An approximation. I don’t intend to spend time and resources trying to find their damned camp. Even if we located it, we couldn’t mount a successful assault. I’ve told you before—and you better let it sink in—these guys are
not
fools. They’re professional soldiers. God only knows what kind of weaponry and capabilities they have. There is
no
way we’re going up against two hundred fifty Special Ops troops.”

“Then what are we going to do? Why are we heading into Tennessee? I wish you’d explain shit to me instead of keeping me in the dark all the time.”

“I don’t explain everything to you because it’s the way I do things. You trust me. I know you do. When I’m ready, I’ll let you in on the plan. Just know that every problem doesn’t have an instant solution. Sometimes the answer comes in bits and pieces. And I never do anything without thinking through every imaginable contingency. So be patient, my love. I’m not intentionally keeping
anything
from you. When the plan is complete, you’ll know.”

That night in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Nina and her captains met for a war council. Heather, Olivia, Cougar, and Horst looked at her expectantly as she began. “Before I tell you what we’re going to do, I want you to know that in the end, not only will we have our revenge, but we will rule this entire area. Horst, I think you’ll agree that our troops are not capable of going up against Special Ops soldiers.”

Horst nodded his agreement. “We’d be hamburger.”

“We don’t know where their encampment is, but we do know where the ORNL is. It’s obvious the FPS guys teamed up with the special operations guys outside of Robbinsville. The logical next step would be to unite in a facility like the ORNL instead of a camp in the woods. They’re probably thinking it will be the centerpiece for their new society, so it follows they’ll allow access to survivors needing assistance. And it will most likely be unrestricted. It’s also doubtful they think there are capable enemies about and/or they think they can handle any that do show up. Horst, I need an intelligent and reliable male and female to go to the ORNL. I want them to gather as much information as they can. They need to find out about their security, how many people are living there, and just generally check things out. I also want them to find out everything they can about the Special Ops guys without being obvious. They have to be subtle. Do we have two people who can do that?”

“Yes, we do. I know just the couple.”

“Good. Go get them.”

Horst returned with Jason, twenty-four, and Willow, nineteen.

While Nina did not ban traditional couples, she discouraged the practice since she believed their loyalties could easily be displaced from her to the significant other. She subtly encouraged the female members of The Light to have sex with as many different male members as possible.

Jason and Willow entered the room and nervously stood before their queen.

Nina looked them over and saw an ordinary, normal looking young man and woman. Nothing about either one was memorable.

Perfect
. Nina began the meeting. “Hi, Jason. Hi, Willow. Sit down, please. Heather, get them some water, would you? Thank you.”

Jason and Willow woodenly lowered themselves into adjacent wicker chairs. Sitting on the bed facing them, Nina leaned forward and in a low, conspiratorial voice said, “We’re almost ready to strike the enemy. But before we do, we need information. You two are going on the most important mission we have ever undertaken. You’re going inside the ORNL and gather that info. You were selected because of your intelligence and loyalties. You will go as a young couple that survived the apocalypse and just recently learned the ORNL was a safe area. You should have no problem getting in. I want you to gather as much Intel as you can. I need the layout and location of buildings, routines, schedules, and personnel. Especially security. Anything you think will be useful to us. You have to be subtle about it, of course.”

The young couple nodded in compliance, but remained silent.

“You have four days to complete your mission. Horst will meet you at the University of Tennessee football stadium, which is twenty-five miles distant, one week from tomorrow morning. Any questions?”

They both shook their heads, no.

Willow said, “You can count on us, Nina.”

Jason was smiling and nodding enthusiastically.

Nina thought,
So she’s in charge. Good.

She rose and hugged Jason, then kissed Willow and briefly fondled her breast. Smiling, she put her arms around each and said, “You are my family. I know I can count on you. Horst will show you the maps and give you the particulars.”

Jason and Willow left, and Horst looked at Nina expectantly. Nina rolled her eyes and dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

Alone together, Heather asked, “Nina, are you going to explain the plan to me, or not?”

“I’m still putting the pieces together. I can’t finalize anything until I have the information I need to complete the picture. But I want you to do something for me. Actually, it’s for us. I want you to go to the ORNL by yourself. As a single, helpless little female survivor, you’ll be able to obtain ten times the information Willow and Jason will get. I don’t want them to know you’ll be there, so you’ll have to change your appearance. You can leave the day after they do.”

******

Knoxville was like a city one might see in an old apocalypse movie. Nothing was alive. Not even a rat. Nature long ago started to reclaim what was rightfully hers, and weeds and shrubs made significant inroads into the realm of man. Burned out buildings, cars, and debris scattered haphazardly up and down the streets stood as stark reminders to the violence that gripped the area not so long ago. Walking down the dead, silent streets of the city center, it was impossible not to notice the skeletal remains bearing silent witness to the lethality of the bug.

Nina and Horst were scouting the town for future reference.

“Damn,” muttered Horst. “Bet it really sucked being here when the shit went down.”

“I would have thought you’d be used to death and destruction by now, Horst,” replied Nina.

“No, it’s not that. Just saying, that’s all. Don’t you ever take a trip down memory lane?”

“No, Horst, I don’t. Not ever. I like the present ten thousand times more than I
ever
liked the past. But that’s irrelevant. We aren’t going to find any food here. You’re going to have to send out several food patrols. I want to stay where we are until they get back from the ORNL. And I don’t want to eat any of the horses. We have a hundred mouths to feed, so get going.”

Three days later, Nina lay on her back on a patch of newly greened grass behind the hotel where her family resided. Hands behind her head, she gazed past the rows of long vacant and decaying middle class homes lining the adjacent streets, to the distant Knoxville skyline. Listening to the birds sing their songs, she stared up at the cloudless blue April sky and thought about the future. Sometime tomorrow when the infiltrators returned from the ORNL, she could start the final preparations to take down the SPECOPS guys. Excitement surged through her. She was also excited to see Heather. Not that Olivia came up short in any area. Nina liked her a lot, but no one compared to Heather. It occurred to her she’d never felt anything for anyone in her entire life. Not even a little bit. Not for her step-parents, step brothers and sisters, or ex-lovers. They were all just…there.

Do I care about Cougar? No. Would I miss him if he were gone? No, but I’d miss his effectiveness and his reliability. Is that the same thing as caring? What do I actually feel for Olivia? Do I really care about her? Yes, in a weird way I do. Will I miss her when she’s dead? I’ll miss the sex. But my life will go on without Olivia in it. Heather is different. Do I love her? No, it’s not love. It’s something else. Something more complicated.
She thought about it for another half hour, but in the end was unable to put a label on her feelings. She only knew she was excited about seeing her tomorrow.

That night Nina was distracted. Even after gratifying sex with Olivia who was now spooned against her, she couldn’t sleep. She kept thinking about seeing Heather and was annoyed that she couldn’t stop the flow of thoughts.

She awoke early the next morning and sent Olivia on a meaningless mission so she could be alone, and paced in her room until it was time for Horst to go the stadium to meet Willow and Jason.

Horst returned at three o’clock and brought Willow and Jason to Nina for debriefing. The amount of information they accumulated was jaw dropping and Nina was dumbfounded by the amount of progress that had been made at the ORNL since the takedown of the troopers in Robbinsville nine months ago. She smiled, thanked them, gave them a hug, and told them they did a great job. She also told them the mission was top secret with only her immediate staff and themselves having the knowledge.

By the time she finished the debriefing it was nearly dark, and long shadows inched their way into the remaining daylight. Arriving at Neyland Stadium, Nina tethered Hades and sat impatiently in the shadows. Waiting.

Nina saw the small figure approaching a hundred yards away. Smiling, she started running toward her. After a few steps, she stopped.
Get a grip,
she thought.
I don’t dare let her know how I feel. At least not right now. Maybe never.

Heather jumped down from the saddle and they embraced. Nina kept her elation at seeing her lover under wraps by keeping their hello brief. They rode to the makeshift stable at the camp and brushed and fed the horses while Heather filled her in on what she’d learned.

Long after Heather and Olivia were asleep later that night, Nina lay awake thinking. When she’d asked Heather how she managed to obtain so much detailed information about the Special Ops guys, Heather smiled at her and said, “It’s like you said, Nina, guys are easy.” That bothered her. She didn’t know why, but it did. She wondered if it was jealousy, then thought that wasn’t possible because she’d have to care more than she was willing to admit. Angry for wasting time thinking about it, she turned over and tried to sleep.

*****

Calling her main people her staff was a by-product of the voluminous amount of military information she’d consumed over the past nine months. She met with them over breakfast and imparted the information they needed to know. She told them about the name change from ORNL to Fort Hope, the population of around 4,000 people, and the three out-lying villages that were a part of what they called Olympia with a population of nearly 1,000. The perimeter of Fort Hope was completely fenced in and there were eight manned watchtowers and one manned gate. Newcomers to Fort Hope were questioned briefly and issued a breast tag allowing them to come and go as they pleased. There was no information on the exact location of the Special Ops soldiers, but they apparently called their camp Fort Terminus, and their commander, an ex-Navy Seal Captain named Coltrane was also in charge of Fort Hope.

“The bastard is also the governor of the outlying villages. He’ll get his soon, but here’s what’s important. They don’t search anyone coming or going, and that includes saddlebags and backpacks or anything else you might be carrying. Getting in and out of Fort Hope will be a snap. So let’s hope—no pun intended—that the good citizens enjoy their peace and tranquility, because it’s about to come to a crashing fucking halt.

“Horst, select six people to check out the three villages and report back no later than the day after tomorrow. You know the type of information we need. See that they get it.”

She withheld the info Heather gave her about the Special Ops guys and their families visiting Fort Hope frequently, and Coltrane—who Nina was positive was the bastard responsible for murdering her people—coming to Fort Hope every other week. That meant they probably used the same route when traveling between the two forts, and she wanted to sleep on what to do with that information before sharing it. She might not be able to assault them in their lair, but she could damned well plan a little surprise party for them somewhere along the way.

She started humming the old Roy Rogers “Happy Trails” song as Olivia and Heather accompanied her back to their suite of rooms.

Olivia said, “That’s a catchy little tune, Nina. What is that?”

She smiled and said, “Oh, just something that popped into my mind. It’s an end of life song.”

The next morning she explained to Cougar and Horst about Coltrane’s weekly trips   between Fort Hope and Fort Terminus. She told Cougar to send three two-man teams to watch the road they traveled and document the number of people traveling the route and the times they traveled, if they’re using an advance scout, and anything else they found interesting.

The six man team returned the following day after completing their recon of the outlying villages. The level of security at all three was even less than Fort Hope’s. Anyone could enter and leave at any time, and no badges were necessary. Nina called another staff meeting.

“We’re almost ready,” she said. “As soon as Cougar’s scouts report back, we’re going to bring a world of hurt down on those assholes. Horst, can you make an IED?”