The Raid (3 page)

“I can’t comply with that request,” said Jocelyn.

“What? And why not?” asked Wynd.

“Because she is standing behind you at the moment and has heard the entire conversation,” said Jocelyn smartly.

Wynd immediately turned around and there was Savannah standing with tears in her eyes.  Wynd jumped up and rushed over to her.  She put her arms around her and held her.

“Don’t you worry Savvy.  They can’t get in here to get you. Remember what Marcus told us before.  This Force Canopy can withstand a nuclear blast so they aren’t getting in here,” said Wynd. “Jocelyn, could you put Marcus on?”

Immediately the picture on the screen changed from the drone to the inside of the MAV.  Marcus and Kim were in the front seats and two slim boys were in the back.

“What’s up Wynd?” asked Marcus.

“Jocelyn just located that band of Jackals that was holding Savvy prisoner.  They are about fifty miles northeast of here coming into Chattanooga from the north,” she said. “Savannah’s upset.”

Marcus immediately sat up straight.  His demeanor changed from relaxed to stern.

“Savannah, sweetheart, don’t you worry about this.  They can’t get you and as soon as I’m back, I’ll deal with these snakes and make sure that they never come looking for you again,” said Marcus sternly.

Wynd asked, “What are you going to do?”

“I’ve been rolling this around my head for some time now.  I’ve been afraid something like this might eventually happen.  I think I’ve got an idea that will work.  If that doesn’t work, I’ll hit them with a few of those Dragonfire missiles that Jocelyn said were still operational.  …and if that doesn’t work… we’ll nuk’em off the planet.  We were planning on going after David, but we will have to put that off for now.  This is more needful, besides Jocelyn has just told me that David has been moved.  As soon as he reaches his destination, we will start on a plan for his extraction.  Right now, you just reassure everyone that we will be fine.  We are about two hours out and we will talk more when we get there,” said Marcus. 

As soon as Marcus was finished, the screen went back to showing the drone.  It was circling the convoy from a distance so that it wouldn’t be spotted.  Wynd and Savvy went over and sat back down on the couch. 

“Jocelyn maintain tracking of this group and let me know if anything unusual happens plus why don’t you switch to the external view of the MAV so we can watch where Marcus is travelling,” said Wynd.

The picture changed to view the MAV travelling down an overgrown leaf covered road.  The leaves were falling like rain and the different colors were astounding.  Wynd loved the fall. 

She turned to Savannah and asked, “Are you going to be okay?”

Savvy hesitated but finally agreed that she would be fine. 

“Look!” exclaimed Wynd.

On the screen, the MAV slowed and stopped.  A small herd of deer shot across the road in front of it.  There were about eight adult does bounding across the huge screen.  A split second later a large T-rex crashed through the trees and across the road after them.  The MAV waited a couple more minutes and then proceeded on down the road.

Savannah shivered and said, “Those things are horrible.  Poor deer.  I hope they make it safely away.”

“They had a good lead on him so I think they probably made it,” said Wynd. “Let’s go and let Virginia know how soon Marcus, Kim and our new guests will be here.”

Chapter 7

After the T-rex, the next hour was calm and uneventful as they travelled.  Kim looked back at the boys and they were sound asleep. 

She turned to Marcus and said, “They are worn out.  All that excitement, plus I bet they haven’t slept very well in weeks.”

“Probably not,” said Marcus.  “You know I was just joking with them about taking them back to their place and dropping them off.  I could tell they were in a bad way. I just wanted to see their reactions.  We can’t be too careful.  I realize that it’s the right thing to help people but we do have to be on guard.  We let the wrong people into our little setup and they could destroy us.”

“I know,” said Kim, “but I could tell by their looks and by their actions that they were everything I thought they were.  Basically, they were two little scared teenage boys that were on the brink of dying.  I’m glad we could help them.”

“I’m glad we could too,” he said smiling. 

“Anyway, Marcus why do you think these men want Savvy so bad?” asked Kim.  “I really haven’t had a chance to talk to her about it yet.  I know her dad was in the military but I haven’t had a chance to really talk to her one-on-one.” he said.

“I just wish they would leave everyone alone,” said Kim.

“I do too, but it’s not happening. They are becoming more and more of a threat,” said Marcus.

After a few minutes, Marcus said, “Jocelyn, I think I have a plan for the Jackals but I want to make sure you can get the necessary supplies.”

“Whadda ya’ need big daddy?” came Jocelyn’s reply.  Kim started laughing.

Marcus couldn’t help but laugh a little himself as he asked, “You watching old movies again Joce?”

“Affirmative, your excellence.  I watched and indexed over a thousand movies last night,” she said.

“Find any that you particularly like or were they all boring?” asked Marcus.

“I find myself drawn to the movies with artificial intelligence,” said Jocelyn.

“Well, we will have to discuss those sometime.  Just don’t be cozying up to those ‘Terminator’ movies too much.  I don’t want you deciding to take over what’s left of the world,” laughed Marcus.

“Will do, boss.  What supplies did you need?” asked Jocelyn.

“Joce, with your new access to these bases, are there any vehicles like the MAV that you can control?” he asked.

“Yes, Marcus.  With my access I have well over five hundred vehicles that I can control now. You looking for a new ride, boss?” she asked.

Marcus smiled and said, “No.  But I do need you to commandeer five vehicles for me and bring them to ‘Haven’.  How about three SUV’s and two military transports?”

“Any particular thing you are looking for boss?” asked Jocelyn.

“Just any that are in good enough shape to take some punishment and make sure that at least three of them are armed in some way that we can use,” he said. “Also, if possible, try to find one that looks like the MAV as close as possible.”

“I have five selected…” she started but Marcus interrupted. 

“Make sure they are not followed in any way.  You may have to make them meet at a designated point and then follow them in to ‘Haven’ with a drone.  Traveling at night may be your best choice,” said Marcus.

“I have the five headed to a designated point as we speak.  Is there anything else boss?” she asked.

“Nope… well maybe…  You know I lost one of my motorcycles in Cherokee, North Carolina so I only have one.  Any chance of getting me another one or maybe a couple of UTVs for everyone else?” he asked.

“It’s your lucky day boss.  One of the bases has a truck with two of the motorcycles on it and I will send it your way.  The UTVs may take a bit longer but I’m working on them,” she said.

Kim looked over and him and asked, “What do you have in mind?”

“I’m thinking about running a draw up the middle,” he said and smiled.

Kim rolled her eyes and said, “You still comparing everything to football?”

“I can’t help it.  You know how dad loved football and apparently I got a big dose of that too.  I sure do miss it.”

“How much longer do we have Jocelyn?” asked Kim.

“E.T.A. is in twenty-three minutes,” said Jocelyn.

“Joce, is David still on the move?” asked Marcus.

“I would assume.  I don’t have any way to track him at the moment.  There are no drones in the area and they haven’t gone past any active cameras,” she said. “I’ll let you know as soon as I have a fix on him.”

“Thanks Jocelyn,” said Marcus. 

Chapter 8

They arrived at Haven and everyone came out to greet them.  One at a time Marcus brought everyone around and introduced them to Connor and Luke.  Marcus could see the relief in the boys eyes when they realized they weren’t alone anymore.  Marcus could only guess that deep down the boys still hadn’t trusted them fully. All the people greeting them eased their misgivings.

Then, something happened that shocked everyone.  While Marcus was introducing Connor and Luke, Wynd walked up from the house holding Twig’s hand.  As the boys finished shaking hands with Johnnie and Ronnie, they turned to Wynd and Twig. Connor almost fell backwards.  He righted himself and dropped to his knees in front of Twig.  Marcus could see the total shock on his face.  Connor was speechless for what seemed like an hour.  In reality it was only a few seconds.  He just kept staring at her shaking his head. No one said anything until Twig spoke up.

“Hi, Con Con,” she said smiling from ear to ear and acting bashful.

Wynd was shocked.  She immediately looked down at Twig and said, “What did you say?”

Twig smiled, pointed, and said, “That’s Con Con.” 

Connor was still speechless and not saying anything.  Marcus stepped over to Twig and knelt down. 

“Do you know Connor?” he asked.

Twig gave an emphatic nod then brought her hand to her mouth and giggled.  Marcus turned to Connor and said, “Connor, do you know this girl?”

Connor nodded his head up and down.  Marcus could see the tears well up in his eyes and start running down his face.  He stuck his arms out and Twig ran into them.  He squeezed her tight and the tears poured off his face.  Marcus looked over to Wynd and she shrugged her shoulders totally baffled.

Finally Connor regained his composure enough to speak. 

“This is my sister.  Her name is Madison.  It’s been almost a year and a half since I saw her last.  We looked for her for weeks.  I thought that a t-rex had gotten her or maybe the same guys that attacked us,” he said.

Connor brought a rough picture out of his pocket and handed it to Wynd.   She was shocked.  The picture was of Connor, Twig, and their family.  It looked to have been taken a couple of years ago.  Curious about the picture, Wynd asked about how they got it.  Connor said someone where they were staying had a working camera and printer. 

“Con Con, no scary t-wex got me,” she said.  “I wunned away an he cudn’t get me.”

“Twig, is Madison your name?” asked Wynd. 

“Maddie is my name but I like Twig betta,” she said smiling again. 

Everyone was in shock and totally thrilled that the two had found each other again.  Connor couldn’t contain himself.  He laughed, cried, and played with Twig for over twenty minutes.  After they were finished playing and getting reacquainted, Kim took the boys and Twig on a tour of the compound and the rest started working on setting them up some cots in the basement.  These would have to do until Marcus was able to set them up something more permanent.  After they finished their tour, everyone sat down and ate supper.  Once again, Virginia outdid herself.  The meal was wonderful.

After supper Marcus and Kim sat down with Wynd and watched the footage the drone had recorded. Rom and the twins took the boys upstairs and showed them their video games.  After dark, Marcus decided to send the drone out again and had it keep a safe distance from the Jackals so he could get a better look at their camp and what kind of weapons they had.  He watched and studied the Jackals camp for about an hour. After he finished, Kim and Wynd came in and they discussed his strategy.  After going into the details with them, they all decided that, while it was risky, it would work.  They made a decision to put the plan in motion tomorrow. 

The five vehicles Marcus requested drove into the compound around midnight.  Early the next morning Marcus ate and then checked them out.  Jocelyn brought in five excellent vehicles and one was almost identical to the MAV.  He made sure that the three that were armed were loaded up and ready for action.  Wynd had been watching the Jackals on the screen and came outside to report to Marcus that they were on the move searching again and headed this way.  She also let him know that they had reinforcements arrive in the middle of the night and that their numbers were almost double.  They were in the southern Tiftonia area.  Marcus went over and kissed Wynd goodbye.  Then Marcus and Kim got in the MAV and took off.  The Jocelyn-controlled little convoy turned and followed the MAV out of the compound. 

Chapter 9

On the way off the mountain, Marcus asked Jocelyn if she could hack into the control units of the vehicles that the Jackals were driving.  Jocelyn said she could. 

“I want you to hack into their control units and broadcast this message to them.  ‘I would like to meet with the leader of your group and discuss terms of surrender.’  Give them the coordinates for the parking lot at the shopping center in Tiftonia and instruct them that I will only talk to one person.  If I see anyone else, I won’t stay and there will be a major fight,” said Marcus.

Marcus finalized his plans with Jocelyn and Kim.  They stopped a few miles before they got to Tiftonia.  Kim got out of the MAV and took a sniper rifle and a big silencer from the back.  She attached the silencer and got back in the MAV. Marcus left the MAV and got into one of the SUVs.  Kim took the MAV and went on ahead.  Marcus led out and the other four vehicles followed him.  Besides the cars that had been abandoned at the outbreak, Marcus could tell that he was the only one there.  Marcus sent the other four vehicles to the far exit of the parking lot.  He took his SUV and parked directly in the middle of the parking lot.  He got out of the SUV and leaned against the front and waited.  Still going over the plan in his head, he still felt that this was risky. Although he thought it was risky, Marcus still thought that it was a good plan and had a great chance of working.   

Marcus smiled when he saw the lone military jeep pull into the parking lot.  He knew that the leader couldn’t resist.  As the jeep made its way across the lot, Marcus was careful to make sure that he kept the SUV between him and the buildings.  He knew that the leader wouldn’t willingly meet him face to face without some assurances that he was covered.