Chapter 17
THEY’RE OKAY, Liz.” Jacey didn’t need to pretend the words were true as she assured the other woman.
Hannah, hands griping the wheel of the SUV as she gunned it down the rutted road, concurred. “Damn straight they are. And we’re going to bring them home. For fucking Christmas.”
Jacey dared to laugh before adding, “We’re on a mission from God.”
“Oh, hell yeah.”
“You know we can’t just go bursting into the middle of town, right?” Liz did her best to keep her voice from squeaking from her precarious perch in the back seat.
“Yeah, yeah.”
Jacey glanced back at the two women seat-belted into the back seat. “That’s why we sent Antoine in. We’ll get set up and wait for him to bring us a scouting report.”
Amy nodded grimly while Liz studied the SAT phone in her hand. “I’m picking up signals from at least one phone. Not sure which one.”
“You’ve been hanging around Sean again, Liz. I’ve never seen two such geeks.” Jacey peered between the seats. “Can you get it to work?”
“Maybe. If you’ll shut up and let me concentrate.”
Hannah applied brakes and slowed the vehicle for a curve. She wanted to barrel in at full speed, like her heart urged her to do, but her cooler head and training overrode the emotions. Caution. Until they knew the situation, they couldn’t rush in. The road climbed a fairly steep hill. Hannah shut off the driving lights.
“Out here, they’d be a beacon to anyone watching this direction,” she explained in answer to Jacey’s questioning look. We’ll park near the top of the hill—the military crest—and wait for Antoine to come back.”
Hannah parked just below the crest of the hill and they tumbled out to hike to the top. The sight that greeted them stunned the women into silence. Fires still burned and they could see the stark outline of the church bell tower. A smoking crater had swallowed the southeast side of the little town. The northwest corner showed jagged remains and husks of burnt-out vehicles though an old gas station stood in mute sentry on the road.
They didn’t need a wolf’s nose to discern the odor of burning tires, gasoline, and the sickly-sweet stench leftover from building fires. A wolf howled, singing to the almost full moon and raising the hair on the women’s arms. In the distance, a second wolf answered, raising their spirits.
“Rudy.” Jacey was certain.
“I wish I could tell the difference in their voices,” Liz groused.
“You recognize Michael.” As a veterinarian, Jacey had a knack for identifying the Wolves’ voices in wolf form.
“Well, maybe.” Liz didn’t sound sure.
“No maybe. They’re alive and they’re down there. That’s all that matters.” Jacey’s certainty filled her voice.
They glanced at Hannah who was looking through the binoculars again. “Lightfoot’s in the church’s bell tower. Liz, wave to him. He’s got his scope on us.”
Liz waved madly and blew kisses. They caught a brief glint as the fire reflected off a small piece of glass—his scope.
“Nate’s between the gas station and the first set of houses toward the center of town. He waved, Jacey.” Hannah continued scanning the town. “Holy crap, but they’ve taken damage. The place wasn’t very big to begin with. Looks like the only building left fully standing is the church. Go figure.”
Liz’s breath hitched as she said, “How can you sound so calm, Hannah? It’s a war zone down there.”
“Yeah. And?”
MAC KNEW she was up on the hill, and probably watching. He wanted her gone. Having the women so close with things this out of control was a distraction none of the Wolves needed. His SAT phone buzzed. For a short moment, he considered ignoring it. Instead, he jerked it out and answered.
“Put Hannah on.”
Hannah accepted the phone from Liz. “Sit rep.” Short, to the point. She wanted a situation report and she wanted it now.
“Situation normal,” Mac replied.
“All fucked up.” The woman he loved beyond all reason was on top of things. “What do you need, Mac?”
“Ammo. Water. Transpo outta here for the civilians.”
“No baby yet?”
“Nope.”
“Anything else?”
“A mechanized division would be nice.”
Hannah chuckled. “Bliss isn’t that far away. First Armored is there.”
“I’ve considered that.”
She didn’t have an immediate comeback because she’d considered it too—despite the implications to the Wolves. The men had gone back on active duty when the Pentagon recommissioned the 69th under the command of the DSS. After New Orleans, she resigned her position and Harjo resigned his commission, but the other Wolves were technically AWOL. The Pentagon wanted them back. Or buried. And therein lay the problem of revealing themselves to personnel at Ft. Bliss and calling in the cavalry.
“I made a stop on the way in. Border Patrol. They weren’t interested.” The phone she’d handed to Jacey beeped. “Mac, stand by. We have an incoming.”
Jacey hit the speaker button on Hannah’s phone and Liam’s voice filled the air. “Mom? Izzy and I are picking up a lot of traffic.”
“What kind?”
“All kinds. We’re scanning a bunch of frequencies. Sounds like cops mostly, but there’s some weird chatter on an aviation frequency.”
“’Kay. I’ll relay to your dad.”
“I heard. Maybe your visit stirred the pot.”
“Yeah, that and I ran into an old acquaintance in El Paso. He’s with the First, just back from Korea. I doubt he’d mention the encounter and I used the Homeland Security persona at BPS. It may have tripped something if they caught me on video.” Dammit. She’d tried to be careful. But then again, running government plates and plastering signs on the side of a big RV was not quite the way to keep a low profile.
“Do you have ammo with you?” Mac’s question returned them to the immediate situation.
“Yeah, but not enough to take on an army.”
“The cartel doesn’t have that many. Maybe seventy-five or eighty left. But they have a rocket launcher.”
“Is that what created the havoc?”
“That, and the HE they’d stored in an underground cavern.”
“Oops.” High explosives in the hands of amateurs was bad news.
“Hannah.”
“Shut up, Mac. We’ll do what we always do. Your son needs you. I need you. Let’s fix this shit and go home.”
The SAT phone fairly crackled in the charged silence. Mac finally replied. “I’ll send someone for the ammo.”
“No. I’ll bring it. Don’t argue. I’ll transport in and bring out some of the civilians.”
“Yeah. We have some kids here.”
“Well, fuck, Mac. I’m headed that way.” She clicked off the phone. Everything else she wanted to say to him would be said when she saw him. In person. To his face. Things like “I love you.” And “I’d die without you.” She wouldn’t—not physically, but everything in her heart and soul would shrivel up until no emotion colored her existence.
“I want all of you to stay here.” Hannah shook her head when the other three started to argue. “Don’t. I’m taking the ammunition in and bringing the kids out. And just in case I have to run some sort of gauntlet to get in, I don’t want your blood on my hands.”
Jacey squared off in front of her. “I think that’s for us to decide, Hannah.” She glanced toward Amy and Liz. “I’ll go with you. I’ll drive, you ride shotgun. In case, you know, we actually need a shotgun?”
“We want to go too. Right, Liz?” Amy stepped forward. “I can shoot. So can Liz. Right? Right?”
Hannah threw her hands up. “Dammit. How the hell am I going to get kids out with all of you taking up space?”
“Because we’re going to stay while you drive them out.” Liz’s quiet tone cut through Hannah’s tirade. “Sean says Honi shouldn’t be moved. Jacey has medical skills to free up Sean to fight. Amy and I can act as a rear guard.”
Lights flashed on the road behind them and all the women dropped down, weapons in hand. The RV, in gear-grinding slow motion, was headed their way.
“Well, fuck. Hell, hell, the gang’s all here.”
“I think the word is hail, Hannah.”
“Yeah, maybe from where you’re standing, Amy.”
The RV stopped at the bottom of the hill and cut its lights. The door opened and Liam jumped out. He sprinted up the hill and was barely out of breath when he slid to a stop in front of his mother.
“We’ve got trouble, Mom. A whole bunch of cops are coming. There’s no place to hide the RV. And that’s not all. We heard Border Patrol was sending a chopper, but it got called off.” Liam was fairly hopping in his excitement.
“Well, that’s good.”
“No, Mom! That’s bad. Really bad . They called in the Army.”