After the Republic (27 page)

“I can understand that feeling,” Jack assured him. “Just try and calm yourself. It’s over.”

“For today,” Perry said.

Joshua and Rebecca again turned their attention to Kane, who was now somewhat coherent. He tried to sit up, but groaned and laid down once more.

“You’re banged up pretty bad,” Joshua said. “Looks like you’ve got a broken arm, but we’ll get that fixed up. Just try and rest.”

“Command Sergeant Major Kendall…” Kane did not finish the thought.

Joshua and Rebecca looked at each other and Joshua put his hand on Kane’s shoulder. “I am so sorry.” He swallowed hard. “I know how much he meant to you.”

Kane broke down into tears, bawling like a baby. This was the first show of real emotion Joshua had ever seen from him, and it came like an avalanche.

Shallow graves were dug for the slaughtered hostages and crosses made from wood found near the church were placed at the head of each grave. The terrorists’ bodies were piled up in the yard. Joshua and Rebecca constructed a crude splint for Kane’s arm using a small board and some towels from the church.

“What should we do with your friend’s body?” Ray asked.

“I’d like to take him with us,” Joshua answered. “We’ll give him a proper burial where we live.”

They wrapped Bob’s body in sheets found inside the church, then again in plastic, and put it in the back of one of the trucks. Joshua retrieved Bob’s Springfield 1911.
This should go to Kane,
he thought.

Jack and Ray retrieved every weapon the terrorists had brought to the church. There were automatic weapons, high-powered rifles, several rocket launchers, hand grenades, quite a few large knives and lots of ammunition.

“Half of this is yours,” Ray said.

“We’ll take it,” Jack quickly responded. “But I agree with Joshua that I’d really like to know how you knew we were here.”

“Let’s talk about that at our next stop. We need to get out of here.”

Jack nodded. The men divided the weapons and ammunition equally and put it into the back of two trucks. Everyone piled into their vehicles. One of the men poured gasoline onto the dead terrorists’ bodies and ignited it.

Rebecca grabbed Joshua’s hand and squeezed it tightly as they rode up the hill. When they reached the road Joshua was surprised to see several more trucks and groups of men standing guard near the driveway. Bob’s Yukon was parked on the roadside about a quarter of a mile away.

Jack took Bob’s Yukon and the convoy made its way along the winding mountain road, eventually reaching Fontana Dam. The lead vehicle stopped near a red crew-cab Ram pickup parked on the road.

“Which one of y’all is Perry Edwards?” Ray asked.

“That’s me.” Perry cocked an eyebrow.

Ray pointed at the truck and tossed a set of keys to Perry. “Then this is yours.”

“That can’t be.” Perry snatched the keys out of the air. “My truck was destroyed in the attack this morning.”

“That’s why this is yours,” Ray answered.

Perry looked at Joshua and Jack, dumbfounded. Joshua shrugged. The men loaded Bob’s body into the back of his Yukon and placed half of the weapons and ammunition in Perry’s new truck.

“We’ll wait here until you’ve been out of sight for 30 minutes,” Ray said. “Good luck. Maybe we’ll meet again sometime.”

Joshua extended his hand. “Thank you. I
am
still curious about how you know our names and knew we needed help.”

“Well, it’s a long--"

The tall man in the brown flannel shirt got out of his truck and rushed to Ray. “Just got a report on the radio. Another AIS group nearby with hostages. Got their location.”

Ray turned to Joshua. “Change of plans. We’re out of here. Got some more terrorists to kill.” Joshua nodded. Ray called out to his group as he fired up his truck. “Lock and load, boys. I’ll relay instructions over the CB. Let’s hit it.”

The convoy sped off, clearly on a mission. Perry got into the drivers’ seat of his new crew-cab truck and Kane claimed the passenger seat. In the back seat Rebecca buried her head in Joshua’s chest and he squeezed her tightly as they rode back to the camp in a heavy, somber silence.

***

The sun was beginning to dip below the mountains when Reagan suddenly started growling and walked to the bottom of the steps, tail sticking straight up. Caroline tensed, fearing the worst.
I’m sure they’re bringing terrible news
.
How will I make it without Perry?
She looked down at her scarred left wrist.
Maybe I should finish what I started
. She swallowed hard.
Caroline, don’t even START with those thoughts.

Chuck and Tommy raised their weapons, then let their guard down as Drew’s motorcycle made its way up the path from the road to the cabin.

“I didn’t even realize he had left the camp,” Chuck said.

“Me either,” Jim agreed. “I guess we were all preoccupied.”

Drew parked his motorcycle beside Joshua’s cabin, removed his helmet, combed his hair and dismounted.

“Where in the world have you been?” Chuck asked.

“I had to take care of some things,” Drew replied nonchalantly.

Drew’s ambivalent attitude sent a spark of rage through Caroline. “You were out running
errands
on a day like today, when Perry and Joshua have probably been killed by these terrorists?” She put her left hand on her hip and waved her finger at him. “Have you no respect? What is WRONG with you?”

Drew did not respond. Caroline glared, seething with anger as he made his way onto the porch and claimed one of the rocking chairs.
Snot-nosed brat
.

A short time later Reagan again started growling. Chuck and Tommy went on high alert as a strange red truck made its way toward the clearing.
NOW the terrible news is coming
, Caroline thought.
I don’t think I can live without Perry
. Her eyes narrowed as she again stared at her scarred wrist.

“Do you recognize that vehicle?” Chuck asked.

“No, sir,” Tommy replied, raising his shotgun.

“It’s just dark enough that I can’t see who’s inside,” Chuck said. “Get into position.”

Tommy found a vantage point behind a tree near the path. As the vehicle made its way into the clearing Chuck stepped in front of it and raised his Ruger .44 Magnum Revolver.

“Relax, it’s us,” a familiar voice called out from the truck.

Caroline sprang up from her seat on the porch and raced toward the truck. “Perry! I thought for sure you were dead!”

Perry stepped out of the truck and rushed to meet her. Caroline gripped him tightly. “I thought I was never going to see you again,” she said, then broke down into tears.

“I’m here,” he said, holding her close.

***

Reagan rocketed off of the porch at the sight of Joshua and Rebecca, running so hard that he knocked Joshua onto his rear and then licked him across the face. “I’m okay, boy. I’m okay.” Joshua laughed as he scratched Reagan’s head. Bob’s Yukon came up the path as he climbed back to his feet.

“Thank
GOD
you guys are safe,” Jim said as he made his way down the porch. He pointed at Joshua’s swollen right eye. “Looks like you got beat up pretty good.” He cocked an eye as Jack climbed out of the Yukon. “Where’s Bob?”

Joshua shook his head and Kane again broke down into tears.

“Oh, no.” Jim shook his head and looked down at the ground. A solemn mood descended over the crowd.

“I know.” Joshua heaved a deep sigh. “Kane has a broken arm. Keri, can you help take care of that?” Keri nodded.

“What in the world happened?” Jim asked. People crowded around to hear the answer.

Joshua described everything that had transpired. “I thought we were done for. And then these local guys disguised as terrorists showed up. They wound up killing the militants and freeing us. Their leader knew my name and said they had been sent there to help us today.”

“That’s strange,” Jim said. “Any idea who they were?”

Joshua shook his head. “Just--

“Let me guess, Ray dropped you off at the dam,” said Drew.

Joshua’s jaw dropped. He was speechless.

Drew followed up with a question. “Perry, how do you like your new truck?”

Everyone stared at Drew in silence, shell-shocked at the revelation.

“You are all obviously perplexed, so I’ll explain it for you.” Drew leaned the rocking chair back and kicked his feet up on the rail. “You know those trips I’ve been taking by myself? The ones you asked me to stop taking, the ones you said were jeopardizing our security?” He pounded his chest with his fist. “I’ve been building relationships with people in nearby communities. Don’t worry, they don’t know where I live, and I’ve never given them details about the camp. However, unlike some others I’ve long believed that completely isolating ourselves was a recipe for disaster.”

“How do you know these particular men?” Jack asked.

    “A few years ago I worked as a field rep for a campaign in this part of the state. One of my jobs was organizing coalitions, including a sportsmen’s coalition. I kept lists of my contacts, and that network proved useful today. When I heard what had happened I found Ray and told him you needed help. I haven’t met most of the other guys, but I’m pretty sure they’re from his hunting club.”

“What did you tell him about me?” Joshua inquired.

“I didn’t go into great detail. I simply told him that you were someone who was of like mind, a natural leader, and that you were in trouble and needed help. He said he’d take it from there.”

Joshua shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”

“The truck,” Perry interjected. “How did you do that?”

Drew smiled. “I’ll explain that some other time.”

Joshua somehow overcame his bewilderment. “Drew, thank you. We all owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“I have to agree,” Perry concurred. “And I have to admit that I always thought you were one who might go off the reservation, especially after the last couple of council meetings. I know you were interested in serving as chair if Joshua decided not to run again, and I wasn’t sure how you’d react to the way things went.”

“I never really wanted to be chair anyway,” Drew said.

Joshua cocked an eyebrow. “Then why did you express interest?”

Drew chuckled. “Let me guess how things played out. After I expressed interest you talked to the other council members. They said they would not support me, and someone probably even said they would run to make sure I didn’t get the job. You didn’t want to see the camp divided, and you were uneasy about the other person who expressed interest serving as chair, so you felt like the best way to keep the camp united was to agree to serve again. Correct?”

“Umm… yes.”

Drew smirked. “My expressing interest in serving was the best way to ensure that
you
would agree to serve again.” He winked. “Not bad for someone who is nothing but a political hack, huh?”

***

Major Chinn unrolled a map of the port at Morehead City. “Sir, we have troops stationed in Beaufort, Fort Macon and Morehead City to prevent the terrorists from escaping via land. We are maintaining a constant lookout from the Atlantic Beach bridge. Just before nightfall we will begin amassing ground forces near the entrance to the port property. After sunset those forces will begin maneuvers which will serve as a distraction and while we launch an amphibious attack from the channel. I believe we can catch them off guard and reclaim the port with little difficulty.”

“Good plan,” Cloos said. “Keep me posted, Major.”

Colonel Brookhart threw open the conference room door. “Major General, it appears your hunch was correct. We have detected a drone headed our way.”

Cloos pursed his lips. “Shoot it down. And make sure we get this on video. After we shoot it down we need to recover the wreckage.”

“Then what?”

“Then we will call the President.”

***

Joshua and Rebecca slept until late morning, exhausted and sore from the previous day’s challenges. After they ate a brunch comprised of four large eggs and very potent coffee Joshua planted himself on the couch and turned on the television. “I’m almost afraid to watch.”

The news anchor was talking about the previous day’s events.
A bizarre ending to a tragic story. As we told you yesterday, a group of AIS militants seized a church near Fontana Dam, executed at least two hostages and threatened to kill others. Now, we are receiving reports that locals found a pile of burned bodies that appear to be those of the militants. There are two freshly-dug shallow graves nearby, and the local who tipped us off said there were more spent shell casings than he could count. No one seems to know what happened to the other hostages or who is responsible for what appears to have been either a daring rescue or a retaliatory attack. Meanwhile, President Armando said this kind of ‘vigilante justice’ is uncalled for and would not be tolerated.