Bug Out! Atlantic Book 8, page 11
“Yes,” Pat said.
“You’re wanting to take them on before they can attack Boston?” Salvatore asked.
“If possible we must,” Pat said. “If we can’t make that, then it’s New York.”
Salvatore thought about it for a moment. “It must be Boston. I too will make some inquiries.”
“Good, then I’ll let you get to that, and break this idea to the rest of my team. They’re outside looking at the fortifications of the Apache base.”
“Sounds good,” Craig said. He took the phone off speaker, putting it to his ear as he walked away. “I love you so, sweetheart.”
“Oh Craig, I know. This won’t go on too much longer, I promise. I miss you too, more than you know.”
“Okay, then I’ll let you go. Be careful.”
“You too. I love you.”
Craig ended the call, wiping the tears from his eyes as he walked back to the others.
{ 9 }
Poconos
D aan left the meeting, going into the hallway of the high-rise building, looking out the window at the San Francisco skyline. They don’t get it. He walked down the hall, turning into his temporary office, going to the comm unit, logging in with his fingerprints and retina scan. There were two messages. He opened the first, from the Northern California intel lead, his eyes getting wide.
Ivan the Butcher has been located in a San Francisco building, exact address and related data to arrive on the other channel. The likelihood that there are resistance fighters on the San Francisco team is high, so do not disclose this data. We are working on an assault plan and will contact you soon for discussion and approval.
Daan sent back a message telling his team to proceed, but to keep him informed. Then he opened the second message, from EU High Command.
Our sources have told us that two Ohio-class submarines are on their way to Bremerhaven, to attack the EU Navy base at that location. Please warn the forces in the North Atlantic theater.
“Dammit,” Daan said. “Just what we need.” He acknowledged the message, and placed a call to Captain Schroeder. It took a couple minutes for Schroeder to pick up.
“Daan, how are you?”
“Let’s just say it’s been an interesting morning. I got a rather disturbing message from EU High Command. You need to know about it.”
“I’m listening, Daan.”
“There are two Ohio class subs headed for Bremerhaven.” There was a long pause on the line.
“Not surprising,” Captain Schroeder said. “They’re trying to apply personal pressure. This tells me there are enemy operatives in our ranks.”
“What makes you think that?” Daan asked.
“Bremerhaven is not the best base for the US Navy to attack. There are two other bases that have more strategic value. They are going after Bremerhaven to discourage us from using the new weapon in Boston. Over half of the ships in my task force are based at Bremerhaven. That includes my ship, and my family is located there. Enemy operatives have leaked this story to EU High Command, hoping that our task force will back off.”
“Oh,” Daan said. “That might be true, I suppose. If the Bremerhaven attack does happen, there is much at stake. We’re already seeing high levels of citizen resistance in the EU after the Halifax operation.”
“Use your head, Daan. If US Navy ships attack that base with cruise missiles and kill a lot of civilians, do you think the citizens will still push us to stop our mission?”
Daan was silent for a moment, his breathing audible on the line.
“Have I angered you, Daan?”
“I don’t like your lack of respect, but I’ll set that aside for the moment. You may be a brilliant navy tactician, but your assessment of the citizen reaction to an attack on Bremerhaven is extremely simplistic. Yes, some people will be outraged by civilian loss of life near that base, but those people are on our side already. Citizens against this war will point to the attack as even more reason to stop, and the number of citizens who are against us will grow quickly. I formally order that you halt your progress towards Boston immediately. I will convince the EU High Command to rethink this mission. Good day.”
The call ended, Captain Schroeder slamming his fist onto the table. He fumed for a moment, then went out to the bridge.
“Something wrong, Captain?” Zander asked.
“We’re going to hold in this spot for now. Spread the word to the other ships in the task force please.”
“What happened?”
“Our leadership is losing their nerve.” He left the bridge, as Zander gave the orders.
***
Lance drove into the garage of his home in the Poconos, near Lake Wallenpaupack. The large house sat on twenty-seven acres, owned on paper by the CEO of a subsidiary three levels away from his main company. He got out of his Tesla, turning on the lights in his six-car garage, hitting the garage door, which clattered down. There was a battery charger on his workbench. He plugged it into the power strip above the back of the workbench, then pulled it towards a Jeep Grand Cherokee, opening the hood, attaching the charger. Then he returned to the Tesla, pushed charging port on the display, and watched as the car shut itself down.
“Good night, baby.”
He went into the house, shutting down the burglar alarm system, a female voice saying ‘the system is now disarmed.’
How long has it been? Lance chuckled. “Before the war started. Gonna need some food.” He walked into the enormous kitchen, checking the fridge, which held nothing but a few condiment bottles and a couple sixpacks of beer. Then he remembered the deep freeze in the garage, going out there, the female voice saying ‘garage door open.’ The big chest freezer sat ten feet to the left of the door. It was nearly half full of food, mostly single meals. He pulled a Thai stir-fry meal out, carrying it back into the house, shoving it into the microwave. “Let’s crack a beer.” He opened one, taking a sip, rushing to the sink to spit it out, pouring the rest down the drain. “Bummer, guess it’s gonna be wine.” He left the kitchen, taking stairs down to the wine cellar, picking out a mid-range bottle of Merlot, bringing it up to the kitchen. By the time he opened the bottle the Thai meal was finished. He went to a stool at the massive island with the meal, the wine bottle, and a glass, pouring, taking a big swig. “This is the life.” As he ate his microwaved dinner, the isolation and fear crept into his mind. After finishing the meal, he refilled his wine glass, and left the kitchen, going into his master suite. To the left of the bedroom was a sitting area, housing a desk and comm unit. He sat in front of it, flipping on the power switch, waiting for the machine to go through its login. When he got the green lights at the bottom of the screen, he punched in the code for Charles and waited. A moment later the connection indicator appeared, and the screen lit up, Maggie in the center, Charles coming in from the left side and sitting.
“Lance, we feared the worst,” Charles said. “You got away.”
“I did,” Lance said. “Hear anything about Sturm?”
“Yes, Daan held a brief meeting earlier. Sturm has a broken leg and hip, but he’s with a UN medical team, at one of the Manhattan bases.”
“You aren’t on Manhattan, I hope?” Maggie asked.
“No, and thanks for your concern. Not a good place to be. Did they find out who hit me?”
Charles shrugged. “The intel points to Zumwalt destroyers using laser-guided projectiles, but the evidence is somewhat circumstantial.”
“Is the task force still on the way to Boston?” Lance asked.
“Daan put that on temporary hold,” Charles said.
“Not because of what happened to my house?”
“No, EU High Command got intel that two US Navy subs are on the way to Bremerhaven, to attack the navy base there. It’s the home port for some ships in the EU task force, including the flagship.”
Lance chuckled. “Well played, Mayor Fine, you son of a bitch.”
“We don’t know if it was him,” Maggie said. “There have been some rumors about Admiral Compton.”
“I thought we killed him,” Lance said.
“I’m still believing we did,” Charles said. “Do you have any loose ends that need to be tied up?”
“One, but it’ll keep, and she doesn’t know where I went. I might need her.”
“Somebody who helped you escape?” Maggie asked.
“Yeah.”
“What will you need her for?” Charles asked.
“Revenge.”
Maggie shot a glance to Charles. “Don’t do anything stupid, Lance.”
“Wouldn’t you guys like to lure Dannon into a trap?”
“That is exactly what I’m talking about,” Maggie said. “Don’t toy with that man, he’s too dangerous.”
“Wait a minute,” Charles said, moving closer to the screen. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
“I went to an employee’s house, spent the night, and tickled her fancy a little bit, just to get her interested.”
“Gross,” Maggie said.
“She didn’t think so, got her off several times, but I digress. I made sure Dannon would pay her a visit.”
“How?” Charles asked.
“I charged my Tesla on her charging unit. You know about that model Tesla I have.”
“Yes, that’s why I got rid of mine,” Charles said.
“Dannon’s already been there, guaranteed. All I need to do is call her and set things up.”
“She’s in on it?” Maggie asked.
“She has no clue,” Lance said. “I’ll wait a while, of course. Meanwhile I’m in a safe place, a long way from danger.”
“Join the club,” Charles said. “Are you going to mess with Mayor Fine’s hacker again?”
“Eventually, but I’ll lie low for now. Anything else come out of the meeting I missed?”
“Not really, just the usual bickering,” Charles said.
Maggie shook her head. “The bickering wasn’t as bad as usual. Wonder why that was?”
Lance burst out laughing. “I’ll take that as a complement. Talk to you guys soon.”
Lance ended the call, then walked the house, pulling dust covers off lamps and furniture, storing them in a closet. “More wine.” He stopped in the kitchen to pour another glass, then sat on the dark leather couch in the living room, picking up the remote, realizing by the weight that he’d taken out the batteries. “Dammit, wonder if I’ve got any triple As?” He tossed the remote on the other side of the couch, and leaned back, his mind going to Steph, the mixture of pain and pleasure on her face as he worked her… and then his mind went elsewhere. The teenaged girl with straight black hair and white skin, looking like Sadie. She was hitch hiking on Lake Wallenpaupack Road all those years ago, shortly after he bought this place. He tried to push the thoughts back, but couldn’t. She was flirty at first, trying to milk him for money, batting her hazel eyes at him, not afraid to come to his house, but then she got standoffish. He took her while she screamed, the isolation of the house in his favor. He didn’t want to kill her afterwards, but he didn’t have a choice. If only she hadn’t led me on, hadn’t fought me. His mouth got dry, his heart starting to pound. It was all coming back to him. There was a reason he didn’t come to this house often. The demons are still here. He got up, going to the sliding glass door, rushing into the backyard, the forest surrounding him, almost guiding him to the grave. His heart rate slowed as he stared at the spot, not looking like a grave, undisturbed for the past thirty years. “Don’t be a dumbass, that’s in the past. You don’t do that anymore.”
He turned to walk back to the house, a twig breaking behind him, hackles coming onto his neck as he whirled around, only to see several deer working their way across his property. “Dammit.” He rushed back to the door, going inside, locking it tight. There was a pack of AAA batteries in a kitchen drawer, so he loaded up the remote, turning on the TV, thankful for the sound and the faces. The wine glass was empty, so he went into the kitchen to refill it, finishing the bottle, the dullness of intoxication tugging at him. He plopped on the couch, channel surfing, drifting to sleep with the remote in his hand.
***
Jaak and Ashley made love quietly in their room at Art’s base, in gentle passion, holding each other after they finished.
“Happy?” Jaak asked.
“Yes. You?”
Jaak smiled, raising her hand to his lips, kissing the back. “Happier than ever. Glad we have a couple days to hang out.”
“Me too, but I’m worried about the team. They’re spread out all over.”
“It’s safer that way,” Jaak said, sitting up in bed. “We’re probably in more danger here.”
Ashley got out of bed, picking up her clothes, getting dressed. “I know, but it seems like we got off too easy. All those attacks we pulled off on the road, and we didn’t lose anyone? That can’t go on forever.”
“You’re right, we have been very lucky so far,” Jaak said. He finished dressing, and put on his shoes. “Want to go to the intel room for a while?”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Ashley said, pulling the covers up on the bed. “Those EU ships ought to be pretty close to Boston by now. Halifax isn’t that far.”
“True, let’s go.” Jaak opened the door, holding it for Ashley, following her down the corridor to the common spaces, Henry and Ross seeing them from their table in the snack room.
“Something going on?” Henry asked.
“We’re going to the intel room to check on the enemy task force,” Jaak said. “You guys hear anything?”
“Not a word so far, but we haven’t spent any time looking,” Henry said.
Ross nodded. “Art was showing us some new hardware. That’s kept us busy for most of the afternoon.”
“New hardware, huh?” Ashley asked. “Are we getting some new toys?”
“These aren’t ready for prime time, but I wish they were,” Ross said. “Hovercraft, mainly for cargo movement.”
Jaak smiled. “Interesting, I must hit Art up for a demo.”
“We’ll join you in the intel room in a few minutes,” Henry said.
Jaak nodded, following Ashley down the hall. Sunshine and Jacob were in the intel room on PCs, hammering on their keyboards.
“Something going down?” Jaak asked.
“Just checking with the team,” Jacob said.
“And I’m putting up new articles,” Sunshine said. “Got a new piece by Craig Smetana, the next episode of John Clancy’s serial, and a new article by Janey too. When it rains, it pours.”
“Really?” Ashley asked. “I’ll have to check them out.”
“Janey is developing fast as a writer,” Jacob said. “This will be her fourth article. Can’t wait to read it.”
“It won’t disappoint,” Sunshine said, looking away from her monitor. “We’re getting some interesting rumors.”
“What about?” Jaak asked, sitting down in front of a PC.
Jacob looked over. “We’re hearing that the EU task force has stopped. I’m trying to get more info.”
“Stopped where?” Jaak asked.
“They’re about even with Portsmouth, but they’ve moved further out into the Atlantic, according to the reports.”
“Something is causing them to delay the attack,” Jaak said.
“That’s the consensus on the message boards,” Jacob said, “but they’ve made bad calls before.”
“I’ll see if I can raise Jared,” Jaak said, taking out his thin phone, walking out of the room with it.
“Whatever the reason, I’m glad,” Ashley said, logging onto a PC. “Heard from the others on our team?”
“Justin and Tyra checked in, asking about the others,” Sunshine said. “Of course this one had to tease them.” She nodded at Jacob.
“It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to,” Jacob quipped. “Remember how they treated us.”
“We’ve been through it, but I don’t care,” Ashley said, looking away from her screen. “We’re in love, and I don’t care who knows it.”
“That’s how I feel,” Jacob said. “Still fun to tease, though. Can’t wait to see Tamera.”
“Don’t,” Sunshine said.
Jaak rushed back into the room. “Just got a text reply from Jared. The task force has stopped. He’s trying to find out why.”
“Might be the unrest in the EU,” Jacob said. “The riots are getting worse over there.”
“I don’t know why, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Ashley said.
“What’s up?” Henry asked, coming in with Ross.
“The EU task force stopped,” Jaak said.
“Stopped?” Ross asked. “Where?”
“Portsmouth,” Jaak said, “and they’re moving further out into the Atlantic.”
“To make it harder to attack them,” Henry said. “Something happened. Hope it’s in our favor.”
Jaak’s thin phone buzzed. He looked at it. “Jared wants a meeting.”
“Good,” Henry said. “He knows what’s going on.”
“Hopefully,” Jaak said, getting on his PC, setting it up to project on the large screen, turning on the microphones. “Have a seat, guys.”
“Do we need to leave?” Jacob asked.
“I’ll check with Jared, but I doubt it,” Jaak replied.
“I’m going to check the RFID app,” Jacob said. “Maybe the Islamists are heading back into town.”
“Yeah, do that,” Jaak said, looking at his phone. “Jared wants you to stick around for the meeting. He’ll be on in a couple minutes.”
“Can I keep working?” Sunshine asked.
“We’ll play that by ear,” Jaak said, his thin phone buzzing. “There he is.”
“I’ll get the comm program running,” Ashley said, walking to a PC on the far end of the table.
{ 10 }
Alliance
T he meeting was starting at the Intel room, deep within Art’s base, east of the Boston suburbs. Ashley was at the PC, setting up the call. The screen lit up on the wall, Jared’s smiling face there.
