Chapter 66
WE STARE AT THE PHONE, and the message intercepted a while ago.
It's late into the night, just before eleven o'clock.
We're all crammed into the living room of the cabin with the exception of Jace who's inside the bedroom.
Laken is with him. So is Ash. They took it upon themselves to distract him while the rest of us discuss strategy.
"We can't all go out." Dale checks the rounds for the sniper's rifle available for his use.
Beside him, his sister is perched on the armrest of the couch, checking her own inventory, rummaging through Ezra's bag of ammo for the pieces and rounds for her own sniper's rifle.
"I'll be up in the trees," she offers. "I'll have a better vantage point to spot anyone we don't know heading for the cabin. Dale can stay inside. Provide coverage as the last line of defense."
"I'm down for it," her brother agrees with a nod, laying the loaded rifle across his lap. "But since there are two of us, it'll be strategic for one of us to cover the lake. We don't know which direction they will come from. For all we know, they could come across the lake from underwater."
The message came from Beta Chad. It was sent to all of us through a mass text message, but we've established Ezra as our main point of contact.
"Was anything said about their current location?" I ask, directing the question at Ezra. He shakes his head.
"The same message you received is what I also got."
My cheeks puff in annoyance. It feels like ants are crawling over my skin and just beneath it all at once. "So, nothing on tracking methods. No aerial surveillance. Nothing from ground troops."
Ezra shakes his head again. "We'll give S.W.A.T the benefit of the doubt. If we're lucky, they'll thwart the attack before it happens. This," he says, holding up a G19, "is a precaution. Plan B if Plan A fails."
"Can you try reaching out to the ground unit? See if there's any progress."
"You're really worried, aren't you?" Ezra observes.
"Ez," Jessica jumps in, a chiding quality to her tone. "Humor him. You'd do the same if it were me. Besides, it's been nearly thirty minutes of radio silence. That doesn't sit right with me. It's like Sky said," she explains with a nod in my direction.
I've been unable to sit still since we intercepted the message.
I've been pacing the living room, crossing and uncrossing my arms, rummaging through Ezra's bag of ammo and switching between different pieces of weaponry, contemplating pros and cons of each, mentally debating the best method of defense.
I've poked my head into the bedroom at least three times since. Each time, I'm greeted with a smile from Jace. It calms me knowing he's safe but it's not enough.
Something about all of this doesn't sit easy.
Maybe it's pent-up stress. Maybe it's the series of unfortunate incidents of the last two weeks. Maybe it's everything culminating to a boiling point that's pushing me closer to the edge.
Jessica's remark about the thirty minutes of radio silence increases my rising unrest.
"No news from the men on the ground," she continues, swiping back strands of dark hair from her face, one hand steadying the sniper's rifle across her knee. "There's been no indication of aerial or drone support. We're basically sitting, blind ducks."
"Okay, fine," Ezra obliges, reaching for his phone.
He studies the text message and then slowly, his thumb moves across the screen.
Jessica's point seems to weigh on him more than he lets on because his eyebrows pinch together and his jaw tightens.
The same skepticism etched onto his face, laces his next words. "You make a good point."
No one speaks while Ezra taps his thumb across the phone a few more times. Carter continues assembling the G19 he's selected, checking magazines, and making sure he's aptly prepared for any number peculiarities that might come our way tonight.
Ezra presses the phone to his ear.
Dale gets up and stretches, disappearing down the adjacent corridor leading to the bedrooms. I hear the door open and voices follow. I hear Jace say my name, asking after me. Hear Ash ask if things are all right, and Dale responds that he'll know soon enough.
Ezra tries again.
Still nothing.
He lowers the phone now, his expression tighter than before. All eyes go to him.
"I'm not getting through," he says.
Worry begins creeping in. My heart is suddenly pounding – in my chest, in my head, my ears. It's everywhere.
Carter fishes out his phone. "I'll try my dad," he offers, casting a furtive glance my way. He holds the phone to his ear as it rings. In the deafening silence that follows, each ring is loud.
One ring.
Two rings.
Three rings.
The anticipation builds. I rub my hands together, walking the length of the living room. I almost collide with Dale when he swings out of the corridor and back into the living room.
"I'm not getting through, either," comes Carter's steady voice though it carries a small detail that doesn't quite mask his worry.
I don't think twice. In fact, I'm not even thinking when I pull up Dad's contact on my phone. I hit the Speaker icon and continue walking, reaching the window that looks out onto the front of the cabin and into the woodland beyond, down to the lake several meters away.
Pushing the curtain aside only a fraction, the lake's water shimmers through the trees, moonlight reflecting white off of it's smooth, undisturbed surface.
Nothing in the water. They're not coming from that direction, I think.
The call goes unanswered.
With a slight tremble in my hands, one I am careful to hide by slipping the phone back into my pocket, I sweep my gaze over the room. Jessica's jaw clenches and she curses softly.
Dale is already reaching for his sniper's rifle. Carter gets to his feet, slipping a blade into a leather sheath strapped to his thigh.
"I'm going out there," Ezra informs, breaking the silence. His tone is firm and final. He starts gathering his weapons – slipping knives into sheaths belted diagonally across his torso, G19s strapped to his hips, and a semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder.
"You're not going alone," Jessica protests. She's reaching for different weaponry but halts when Ezra holds up a hand.
"No. Jessi, I need you here. You, Dale, and Laken will be the last line of defense, and we'll be counting on you to make sure Jace gets out alive."
He pauses to double-check his weapons, swiping up the handheld transceivers.
He walks to the window and shifts the curtain, peering outside into the thicket beyond, squinting at the darkness.
We're out here alone.
The other cabins are lights out with no one occupying them. This whole trip was a bad idea. Never mind we're using it to lure these guys out which seems to be working but bringing Jace here was a bad idea. I'm sure that Dale would agree that bringing Laken, too, was also a very bad idea.
Ezra speaks into the transceiver. It crackles with static from the other side. Out here in the wilderness, even with all the trees in the way, we should be able to get maybe five miles on the signal.
Yet, there is only static.
"Unit One, state your location," he repeats.
Still nothing.
"I repeat," he tries a third. "Unit One. Any man on the ground. Mayor Hayes. Councilman Daniels. Report your current position."
More static. More crackling.
And then, it comes through in a rasped whisper.
Not Beta Chad. Not my father.
"Captain Peters Unit One reporting. Get them out!"