Dark Titan Journey: Finally Home 3, page 30
part #3 of Dark Titan Series
“Not really,” Nathan said, looking over at Lonny. “You?”
“He hasn’t said anything. I think he’s asleep,” Jasmine said.
“No he’s not,” Nathan said. Lonny lifted his head, hearing Nathan come over. He now knew everyone’s name and he was committing their faces to memory.
“So you believe me?” Lonny asked when Nathan stopped at his feet. Nathan pulled his knife out. “Wait.”
“You lied. They hacked in and said laptops can be tracked,” Nathan said, kneeling down.
“Yeah if you hook up to the internet just like any computer,” Lonny cried.
Nathan stopped and knelt down beside Lonny as he continued to lie. “They didn’t say that.”
“That’s the only way you can track a Homeland computer,” Lonny said.
Nathan shook his head. “Wrong, Lonny. They hacked in and even found a tacking ID for your computer.”
The color drained from Lonny’s face as Nathan held up his knife. Lonny closed his eyes, racking his brain. “Hold on,” he pleaded, remembering something from when he first started. “If the password is entered wrong ten times, the computer will use the satellite card to report its place. I forgot about that, they told me when I started but I never worried about it. I know my password.”
“Kind of convenient,” Nathan said, looking at Lonny with narrowed eyes.
“What about the rest I told you? It all checked out, huh?” Lonny asked.
“I don’t know yet. When they found that out they had to slow down, making sure they weren’t tracked,” Nathan said, standing up.
“I told you my password. You can turn my computer on and see,” Lonny begged.
“So they can track us?” Nathan asked.
“What, so you can kill me? You will see anyone coming two miles away,” Lonny said. Nathan turned around as the boys drove the buggies inside. He walked over and pulled out a laptop bag. Laying it on the hood, Nathan stepped outside. Tom and John followed him.
“John, I want you to walk halfway up the hillside and turn your radio on. When you see me beside the M-U, just press the transmit key for a second,” Nathan said and walked inside. He acted like he was messing with equipment on the buggy but was looking at the M-U when he noticed it fuzz out instantly.
Starting to get worried after five minutes, Nathan knelt down behind the buggy, praying they didn’t break it. Almost at the ten minute mark, the M-U came back online in scan mode. Nathan saw two red and white dots heading toward the center. When the boys came inside they squatted down beside Nathan. “I hope you turned your radio off.”
“I did,” John said. “What happened?”
“Shit, I thought we broke it,” Nathan said.
“Amanda’s radio is on,” Tom whispered urgently.
Nathan slapped his forehead. “That’s the bright white dot we see on everyone.”
“It could break it, it looks powerful,” Tom said.
Nathan nodded. “It is, but it only receives and doesn’t transmit. That’s what that thing doesn’t like, radio waves.”
“That makes sense,” John said. “EMFs are low-frequency while radio is high-frequency. EMF doesn’t travel far but radio does. I bet from up close, radio scrambles EMF like a microwave. I think a microwave up close would fry that thing.”
Nathan looked at John, surprised. “How do you know that?”
“I read about it for a science project,” John said.
Standing up, Nathan smiled. “I hope you got an A.” John smiled his normal smile. “If you see this thing freak out, yell,” Nathan said, walking around the buggy and grabbing the laptop case.
Carrying it over to Lonny, Nathan sat down in front of him and pulled out the laptop. “The boys are going to radio back to our group in an hour to see if they have uncovered more of your forgetfulness.”
“It was an honest oversight,” Lonny said. “Can I have some water?” Nathan pulled out a water bottle and let Lonny drain it. “I need to pee.”
“Pee on yourself. If I cut you lose they will come over here and put a bullet in your head,” Nathan said, opening the laptop.
“Pull out the satellite card, just in case I was on it when I shut the computer down,” Lonny said. Nathan turned the laptop on its side and pulled out the card. “I hope you told those two not to use their radios near the M-U.”
“They know, and not because of the M-U. You have radio trackers around here,” Nathan said, turning the computer on.
Lonny shook his head. “None close. We have one unit outside of Scottsbluff and another in Cheyenne.”
“I was told more,” Nathan said, watching the computer boot up.
“Maybe a few days ago, but they were pulled. Several headed to Yellowstone and the others were pulled east,” Lonny said.
“Yeah, those heading to Yellowstone we know about, they are looking for F-U,” Nathan said as the login screen came up. Lonny’s eyes practically bulged out of his head. Nathan pulled out his notebook and typed in Lonny’s login. On the inside, Nathan sighed, while on the outside he was a rigid stone.
Lonny shook his head. “There is no way you could have found that out that fast.”
“Dude, we knew that two days ago. We haven’t found out what shot the missile at F-U, but we knew it was coming,” Nathan said as the desktop opened.
“How?” Lonny asked.
Without raising his head, Nathan glanced up at Lonny. “You don’t get to ask.”
“It was a drone that shot the missile, but someone shot it down,” Lonny said quickly.
Feeling lucky with the lies so far, Nathan looked up. “That drone was nowhere near the antenna.”
“There were three drones,” Lonny said. Smiling on the inside, Nathan looked back down at the computer.
Sitting in front of Lonny, Nathan started opening up documents scanning them fast. When he saw one for the M-U, Nathan opened it and started reading. He was halfway through when John put a plate of food in front of him. Nathan took it and stated eating while he continued reading. When he was done Nathan looked up at Lonny, who was looking at his empty plate.
“You can’t have any of our food, so don’t ask,” Nathan said. “Each M-U unit cost seven million dollars?”
Lonny nodded. “Yes. Can I have some of our food?”
Without saying anything, Nathan stood up and walked to the buggies. He saw John asleep and Tom on watch. “Tom, wake Jasmine so she can take over.”
Tom shook his head. “Nah, I have it. I figure we will stay here tonight.”
“You’re right about that. I don’t want to jar the girls too hard,” Nathan said, opening up a case and pulling out a cord. He connected the cord to the M-U that was turned off inside the buggy. Tom watched him. “You can’t charge them while they’re on. They have a small solar panel as well but it still has to be off. The battery is good for twenty-four hours, but I’m still busy with our guest.”
Tom nodded as Nathan pulled out an MRE, some pills, and a bottle of water. Nathan headed back to Lonny, cut his hands loose, and dropped the bottle and MRE in his lap. Holding out his hand, Lonny took the pills thankfully. Casting a worried glance over at Tom, Lonny threw the pills in his mouth and opened the water bottle.
Nathan set his camera back up and started asking questions. Lonny was only too happy to answer. Looking at his notebook, Nathan started throwing in questions he had already asked, but asked them in different ways. Lonny always answered them the same way, sometimes reluctantly but he answered.
It was getting dark when Nathan heard someone behind him. “What the hell is he doing untied?”
Knowing it was Jasmine, Nathan didn’t turn around. “I cut him loose so he could eat.”
“You aren’t feeding him our food?” Jasmine said, handing Nathan a plate.
“He will eat his own,” Nathan said, shoveling food in his mouth.
Jasmine glared at Lonny and he slumped down under the glare. “If he moves, I kill him.”
“If he moves, I’ll kill him,” Nathan said, standing up. “I’ll be back, so don’t go anywhere,” Nathan told Lonny, walking away.
Jasmine leaned over Lonny. “Please move.” Lonny just shook his head. Seeing Lonny was going to be good, Jasmine followed Nathan.
She found him kneeling over Amanda and Casey, checking their blood pressure. She walked over to see him moving them to look at the bruises the gunshots had left. They were both a dark blue now and the girls wouldn’t let him touch anywhere near the bruises. Nathan stood up and looked Ares over, who was lying between the girls. “I want each of you to drink a two bottles of water and eat.”
“I don’t want to,” Casey whined in a soft voice.
Looking down at her, Nathan shook his head. “Don’t make me feed you like I did Emma. You will eat something. The water is nonnegotiable.”
Casey lowered her eyes. “Okay,” she mumbled. Nathan got down on his knees and kissed both on the head and gave each a small hug, careful not to hurt them. Once both were drinking, he got up and headed over to the saddles. The horses were milling about in the stalls. Jasmine had let them eat and drink all day, hobbled outside.
Seeing Nathan digging in the pack saddles, John came over, and Nathan told him what he wanted. John picked up the stuff and headed over to Lonny. Nathan moved on to his messenger bag and pack, changing out the batteries and memory card in his camera. Jasmine came up beside him. “What do you have John doing?”
“Putting up the small tent and covering it with the tarp we use to shelter under. I have to have light to talk to Lonny. I can’t be scary if he can’t see me,” Nathan said.
“You’re going to talk to him tonight?” she asked.
“Probably all night,” Nathan said, draining a water bottle.
Jasmine shook her head. “Why?”
“I should’ve talked to those first two longer, but Lonny knows so much I have to talk to him. He was a deputy director; he has the Dark Titan policies on his computer. From him I learned if we get twenty more miles northwest, we are outside of the government ground forces. He has locations of gang movements and the radio call signs for them,” Nathan said, and Jasmine held up her hand for Nathan to stop.
“Okay, he’s important. What the hell was he doing out here?” she asked.
Nathan shook his head and looked away. “He wanted to see how the ‘web’ units operated. They set out like a spider’s web, using the M-U, killing those they can, or reporting them after their shift is over and someone else takes over watch. You can’t use a radio near the damn thing. Trust me, I think we almost broke one.”
“So he wanted to see how many were killed?” Jasmine asked with tense lips.
“Yeah, and he even shot some yesterday,” Nathan said.
“He’s a fucking piece of shit murdering asshole,” Jasmine growled.
Nathan nodded. “Yes he is.”
“You’re still going to let him go?” Jasmine asked smiling.
“I gave my word,” Nathan said.
Jasmine calmed down and looked to the girls. “Casey peed blood an hour ago.”
“I figured as much. Amanda refuses to take a deep breath,” Nathan said.
“She has broken ribs. It hurts,” Jasmine said.
“I’m sure it does, but she is going to get pneumonia if she doesn’t,” Nathan said.
Looking up at Nathan, Jasmine wiped a tear from her eye. “When are we leaving?”
“Tomorrow morning. There is a reservoir ten miles from here. It’s at seven thousand feet but has some trees and green grass around it. We will move the girls up in the buggies as the rest of you follow on horses. We will wait there until they are ready to move,” Nathan said.
“How long are you guessing?” Jasmine asked.
Nathan looked off. “Three to five days if it goes well. A month if it doesn’t.”
“If it comes to that, you will take them in a buggy and we will follow behind,” Jasmine said.
Nathan turned to Jasmine with tears in his eyes. “I didn’t protect them. They counted on me to protect them and I didn’t.”
Jasmine stepped back. “Nathan, you’ve done everything you could. Because of you, they’re alive. You made them wear the vests, and you charged the shooter before he could get any more of us.”
Nathan heard the words but didn’t believe them. “Have someone awake at all times watching the M-U. I’ll be with Lonny.”
Watching Nathan walk away, Jasmine was speechless. She watched Nathan tell Lonny to crawl in the tent and give Lonny a MRE and bottle of water. Nathan followed him inside. Jasmine saw the tent start to glow green as Nathan broke a chemlight, and then John covered the tent, smothering the light.
John looked around the tent and didn’t see light anywhere and walked over to Jasmine. In the waning light he could see shock on Jasmine’s face. “What is it, Jasmine?”
Jasmine just stared at the lump that was the tent Nathan was in. “He blames himself.”
Shaking his head, John sighed. “Figures.” Jasmine slowly turned her head till she was looking at John. “You didn’t hear what he was yelling as he ran up the side of the hill, shooting?”
“He was just yelling and screaming,” Jasmine said.
“No he wasn’t,” John said. “He was screaming, ‘You won’t take my family.’”
“Shit,” Jasmine mumbled, turning around and heading over to the girls.
Feeling something tap his leg, John looked down to see Emma with her stuffed dog, holding out her arms to be picked up. John picked her up and looked back over at Jasmine talking to the girls. “I hope they get Nathan straightened out,” he said, then looked at Emma.
Emma just babbled at him. “I hope you said they will,” John said, carrying Emma over beside the buggies so he could watch the M-U.
It was midnight when Nathan climbed out of the two-man tent to use the bathroom. He hadn’t let Lonny do so and it was stinking inside. He walked over to find Natalie watching the M-U. “See anything?”
Natalie turned to him, smiling. “Not on this, but I saw some deer outside and they didn’t show up on the screen.”
“Only humans and primates will show up. They found out each species emits its own EMF,” Nathan said.
“Casey and Amanda will be okay. They just need rest,” Natalie assured him.
“I know,” Nathan lied, looking away. He walked outside and used the bathroom, then came back in. Passing Natalie, he hugged her, then headed back to the tent. When Nathan climbed inside, Natalie turned back to the screen.
Closing her eyes, Natalie said the first prayer she had uttered since her mom died.
Chapter 20
Day 54
The group was awake as the sun started coming up. Hearing the tent move, they all looked over to see Nathan climb out, holding a big notebook and a small one. Raising his arms, Nathan stretched, then put his camera in his pocket.
Everyone was sitting around Amanda and Casey eating as Nathan came over. “How are you two doing?”
“I fucking hurt,” Amanda snapped.
Nathan blinked his eyes at the comment but held his tongue. “You will get better.”
“Oh, I know I will, so I can kick you in the leg. What the fuck are you thinking ‘you caused this?’ That’s the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard!” Amanda yelled.
Nathan ignored the tone and cut his eyes at Jasmine, who had a harsh look on her face. “I’m responsible for you, all of you, and I failed.”
Amanda sucked in a deep breath, grimacing. “Bullshit, motherfucker! You said yourself you’re not superman! You have done everything you can, asshole! Shit happens!”
Keeping his temper in check, Nathan rolled his head on his neck. “Amanda, volume. I doubt you would feel this way if Casey had died or you were hurt worse.”
“You’re fucking right I wouldn’t. I would be over there cutting that cocksucker’s liver out eating it in front of him!” she bellowed. “They did this, you didn’t, so drop it, fuckwad!”
“That’s enough!” Nathan bellowed back.
Amanda blinked, swearing she was blown back by the volume. “About time you said something,” she said, grinning.
Nathan just stared at her with a flat look. Then slowly he started to smile. “Firecracker, you need to watch your mouth. I can take the hint.”
“Hint, my ass,” John said, standing up.
Shaking his head at John, Nathan looked back to Amanda. “Okay, but I do feel some responsibility. I’m sorry. I love you guys.”
“And we love you,” Casey said. “But you didn’t hurt us and you thinking that is bullshit.”
Nathan looked at Amanda with a scowl. Words like that didn’t need to come out of little mouths. “Amanda, you need to limit your vocabulary.”
“Humph.” Amanda snorted and grabbed her chest. “The night you had a headache I learned words I didn’t even know existed. I’m certain you can’t combine some of them, but you managed it.”
Closing his eyes, Nathan wanted to lie down. “Amanda, I don’t want my little girls taking like that.”
“I don’t want you feeling responsible. Feeling bad for us hurting is okay, but not feeling responsible,” Amanda said.
Nathan opened his eyes. “Point taken.” He made Ares scoot over so he could sit between the girls. Jasmine handed Nathan a plate and Emma climbed in his lap as Nathan launched a ‘plane.’ As he fed Emma, Nathan told the group what they would be doing that day.
After breakfast, Nathan headed to his pack, putting the camera and notebooks away. He looked over at the piles of clothes they had taken off the three agents. Nathan picked up the ballistic vests and threw them in the gunner’s seat of his buggy. Then Nathan moved the M-U to the gunner’s seat, clearing out the passenger seat.
There wasn’t much room in the buggies with all the equipment they had gotten from the house and strapped on them. Heading to the horses, Nathan helped saddle them. Nathan reluctantly turned the M-U off and carefully packed it on the horses. Seeing some leather reins hanging on the wall, Nathan cut them off. He filled an old metal bucket with water and dropped the leather straps in.
