From The Ashes (Life After War) (78 page)

The mobster didn't hesitate, and Cara led the way to the door. She liked working with people who were as organized as she and her group were.

Kyle left the Major's control center the same way he'd entered it–walking single file, carrying an unconscious loved one. For the mobster, Adrian's son was like Adrian himself–to be protected. It was also a flashback to the rest stop, but this time, Kyle was glad to find it held little power over him. He'd survived it. That was a ghost he could let rest.

“
This way.” Cara led them through the debris-laden alley behind the brick building that only Kyle had viewed upon entering. His first thought–
“Now that's a fortified place,”
–still held. From bars over windows with currently unmanned gun-pods, to the razor-wire and dead spotlights, the Major knew how to shelter-in-place while he got the job done.

Kyle was impressed with everything about Garret's setup and plan–except for the man himself. The soda bottles in place of lights and solar generators for the rest of their power was very efficient, as were the solar dehydrators and small farms on each rooftop. The only thing that kept this from being a perfect compound–despite the evil running it–was Garret's lack of consistent correction. After his own background and then being with Adrian so long, Kyle had recognized the dooming flaw almost instantly. If he let one kill or steal from him, but beat another for backtalk, it sent out mixed vibes that caused dissension. Leaders had to remain leaders. Now, if Garret had immediately killed Adrian as soon as he'd had him in custody, it would have been over with. Adrian had also made mistakes, but Garret hadn't caught them.

Bang!

The gunfire was directly behind them, and Cara took off running.

It quickly became 'keep up if you can', and the three of them were careful not to lose sight of each other, though they had to guess on Cara's direction more than once.

Cara took them toward their waiting men, and then away from the meeting place. She scaled the broken walls and mounds of filth like they weren't even there, increasing speed.

They tried to keep up with her, but unlike Conner, who'd been leading, Cara was now evading. After only minutes, they were lost, and Cara was gone.

“
But we're free,” Adrian told Angela when she would have complained. “Just be grateful and go back to caring for yourself. Rookie lesson X, one we haven't covered yet.”

Angela took it in humbly. He was right. Cara had risked her life to help them, though they didn't know why. During the run, there hadn't been time to ask.

“
Where to?” Kyle asked.

“
We hunker down and watch for a signal,” Adrian stated, eyeing the lengthening shadows. “We can't be out here walking when night falls unless there's no other choice.”

Angela and Kyle began searching for a shelter in their surroundings.

Adrian gently took Conner's weight into his arms. Heavy and awkward, it was still the first time he'd ever held his son. It was something he would cherish now, in case there wasn't a later.

“
Rooftop, or trees?” Kyle asked, missing his Glock.

“
Rooftop,” Adrian chose, adjusting Conner's weight so that he could elevate the leg a little.

Kyle pointed. “I suggest that transmitter tower. It has a small utility stair that you can usually only see from one side. Just need to scavenge some cover along the way.”

Adrian nodded to Angela, “Give him that pissy little thing Brady insisted you carry on your thigh. He might be able to put someone's eye out with it.”

Angela grinned. She'd said about the same thing.

She handed it over and gave a slight frown when she saw Kyle take a quick sniff of it. What the hell was that?

“
Let's go.”

Kyle took point, and Angela fell in between them, hands resting on empty holsters.

Around them, the silence was nerve-wracking.

They moved steadily south, feet crunching through layers of debris while even more began to hide them from view. They stepped lightly around and through horror, wood, and death, and it didn’t take them long to realize there was a path.
Angela picked out the trails in each direction, barely visible as they wound through collapsed houses, burned businesses, and upended, reshaped cars. Their feet squelched, sometimes sinking alarmingly.

They went west and then south again as the piles grew larger, sharper.
Almost like they’ve been stacked,
Kyle thought, and then realized they probably had been to create the maze they were now deep inside of. It would be hard to spot them from anywhere; the debris was that high.

“
Where are you going?” Kyle asked as Angela broke off from the formation and veered toward a line of partially-collapsed stores.

“
Getting something we need.”

The Premium Pet products store was half-crushed and half-collapsed against its neighboring convenience store, and the smell of dead fish was strong as they neared it. The small piles of bones near long-gone windows gave the whole block a sense of doom.

Adrian indicated for Kyle to follow her, and gently set Conner's body on a mostly clear patch of concrete. When Angela disappeared into the pet store, moving carefully over charred rubble and sharp metal, Kyle was on her heels.

Angela stepped carefully, penlight glaring off of bodies and gore as the reek of aquatic decay permeated the disturbed air.

She walked down the two aisles still intact, noticing this store didn't seem looted, only damaged. She was counting on that. No one thought of going to a pet store when the end of the world came, but that didn't change the fact that it held a vital supply. In their case, it was as valuable as water.

Angela blew the dust and layer of webs back to read the small bottles, and grabbed the edge of her shirt. She swept them all into the makeshift carrier and went outside.

“
Fish medicine?” Kyle asked, as Angela dumped the tablets into her pocket.

“
Surprised to know it's the exact same ingredients as human antibiotics and legally bought?”

Kyle scowled. “That was the old world. $150 bucks for a ten day supply for a child with Strep throat, and yet the same medicine for a fish ailment was...”

He picked up an empty bottle. “$33.89.”

Kyle tossed it away angrily. “And people wonder why it all fell.”

Adrian helped Angela force one of the small pills down Conner's throat, getting him to swallow as he began to wake.

“
We need to get under cover,” Adrian informed them, picking Conner up. “Night's coming.”

Kyle took point again, and they headed for the tower as the clouds roiled above them.

Faint drops sizzled on their skin, and they hurried to get under cover. The rain was coming.

Except it didn't. The sky looked ready to burst, but they stayed dry.

The radio tower's base was nearly covered in the rotting wood of a lumber company across the street, and it took them a long bit of climbing to reach the narrow platform.

Once on it, they quickly settled down and tended what issues they were able to.

From their new vantage point, they could see movement of Garret's hunters and survivors fleeing the city ahead of the Major's reaction.

4

“
Where did they go?”

Kenn didn't bother to answer, since he didn't know. Cara was supposed to lead them away from Mansion Row and then double back. Kenn wanted to grab one of the Major's loaded vehicles for the ride out of this hell hole.

It had now been an hour, and there was nothing. No Adrian, no Cara, not even any noise. It was colder now than when they'd first arrived in Little Rock, and the chill in the wind wasn't comforting.

“
She set us up.”

Kenn shrugged. “Maybe. Either way, Adrian's out.”

Kevin's training had resurfaced in his tired mind. “A signal!”

“
But not just any will work. Asshole knows Adrian's methods too well. This has to be something Angela will recognize, or we'll all be in cells this time.”

“
Like what?” Kevin asked, hating this feeling of isolation, but more than enjoying the rush from it. If they survived, he would gain another jump in rank and have more respect–both from himself.

“
They'll watch hardest as it gets dark, when they have a clear view,” Kenn muttered. “We'll settle in somewhere until then. Pick it, rookie.”

Kevin was eager. “Unless we want to swim with the fish, I'd say high. The billboard's a good vantage point.”

Kenn motioned him to take point, thinking he'd be glad when Adrian was back with them.

“
I'd even take Brady,” he muttered, wincing at his own loud steps. The debris was impossible to avoid.

Kevin squinted upward for a moment and then did the same on the other side.

“
Hey, we're in luck! One of the panels over here is hanging down. We'll be out of sight!”

Kenn followed Kevin up the rusty ladder, straining a bit under the weight of the kit he was now damn glad to have grabbed. Kevin didn't have his, but Kenn's pack would allow them both a comfortable couple of hours anyway. Being prepared had its advantages.

From their wide perch, Kenn could see the top of the Major's compound and the small group of guards on the roof. In the other direction, he could pick out the street that would lead them home.

Garret's compound was a fancy house in the middle of four others. He'd knocked out the side doors and windows to create an adjoined compound of three-story brick buildings that were patrolled heavily by his bodyguards. His bounty hunters didn't do a turn on guard duty–they were above pulling watch.

The center house was where the cells and Garret's personal residence were, and Kenn knew that's where Adrian would be stashed. The Marine eyed the strip mall across the street and the small refrigeration company on the corner. Maybe he could do something with that.

“
Damn. You've got some great stuff in here,” Kevin stated a bit later. “My kit is... was light in comparison.”

Kenn leaned back, soaking up the praise. “Years of runs taught me that the manual never has it all covered.”

Kevin scraped the last of the applesauce from the packet and muffled a belch that could have echoed for a while. He began to clean up their mess.

Kenn shook his head. “Leave it. If someone catches a movement, we can send a piece of debris flying on the wind to cover.”

Kevin was also absorbing information. Most of the Eagles loathed the Marine, and while Kevin didn't want to be best friends, he did want to learn whatever Kenn wanted to teach.

The billboard–asking those in Little Rock to visit the children's museum often–swayed uneasily in the wind, creaking and groaning. Kevin didn't care that much for heights, but the view was great. Among the rubble they'd discovered paths, and Kevin was currently trying to figure out where they led. Many of those routes through the decay weren't random. “What are we using for a signal?”

Kenn pointed to the kit. “You tell me and remember your lessons.”

Kevin began digging through the pack again, paying attention this time. He came up with starting a fire, glow sticks, a flashlight, and a mirror. “The flashlight?”

“
Too noticeable,” Kenn corrected “Try again, but rule out using light to communicate.”

“
Can't you... uh, I mean... You know.”

Kenn shrugged. “Been trying. If she could hear me, she would have responded.”

Kevin frowned. “Do you think they're okay?”

Kenn snorted. “This is Angela, who crossed the country with only one man for backup, and Adrian, who's been doing this his whole life. Not to mention his trained assassin and the teenager who’s been surviving here for six months. If you want to worry over someone dying, consider how the rest of the team's gonna feel when they find out Cara betrayed us.”

Kevin hadn't considered that. His voice became cold. “They'll kill them all.”

Kenn, in full training mode now, corrected again. “They’ll strike a deal, try not to have to honor it, get us out of here, and then we'll help kill them. Make sure you have the order correct, because Adrian won't leave any of them alive after what they've done and forced his son to do.”

5

Cara lowered the binoculars. Now that she knew where both groups were, she could go to the Major and bargain. He'd forbidden the snake women from staying here, but he didn't have the power anymore. She would use his vendetta to regain their home.

And Conner?
her inner voice asked.

Cara winced. That one she might die for, once her people had the permit to stay. Conner wouldn't be the Major's prisoner for long.

“
You ready?”

Cara wasn't about to let her XO see weakness, but she had to let her in enough to be sure Gina would do as instructed. “Each of those men are pure stock. If we keep them with us when it's over...”

Gina's scale-covered body tensed in need. “Yesss, our women will agree for that reward.”

“
Even if I want to break into the compound and kill Garret, so that Conner will stay with us?”

Gina was impressed with her leader's level of depth. “Guilt will work on that one. Smart.”