Conquest ~ Indian Hill 3 ~ A Michael Talbot Adventure (17 page)

Sixty… fifty… forty… thirty—
Beth’s car was rapidly losing speed.

“I guess that’s what happens when you run out of gas
,” Beth said
as she slammed her hands down on the steering wheel. “Isn’t there
some sort of patron saint of fuel stops
?
” she asked
the heavens.

Beth had finally left the desolate Mass pike and had started south on Interstate 495, which made the Pike look like Times Square on New Year
’
s. The smell of Smoke was everywhere and it was
acrid
.
T
his was no forest fire
,
she surmised.

“
Shit
!”
s
he whispered vehe
mently as the car came to a complete
stop
. Two miles outside of Natick she began her trek anew on foot, this time she grabbed the gun.

“I’m sorry
.
” she said
into the back window. “I’ll get someone here to give you a proper burial.” That was two promises she had made to come back, she desperately yearned to be able to keep th
em
, but she didn’t like the odds.

CHAPTER T
W
ENTY-TWO

The absence of traffic on the highway worked to his advantage
.
Boady was his given name but
Pegged
,
was how he was known to everyone outside of his family,
because his anger was always
at full throttle
,
had no idea where the bitch
who killed his brother
was going
.
A
fter he had ‘borrowed’ a motorcycle he
headed
due
e
ast, not knowing if he was losing or gaining ground on her. And then his luck changed
.
A
fine mist of dust
,
which was making driving a bike a little more difficult
,
was also leaving him a trail to follow almost as good as
the
Yellow Brick Road
.
Two miles before
,
The Bitch
had exited
the highway she was leaving
tell tale tire marks
in the dust
.
Pegged
could only reason that God was on his side, how else could it be possible she had left a trail moments before she
left the Mass Pike.
Ten minutes after he turned off the highway he
spotted the car on the side of the road. He ditched the bike and headed into the woods so he could come up on the car quietly. He was quivering with excitement, he hoped beyond hope she was sleeping and he would be her last waking image. He couldn’t have imagined it any better than that, he might be nicknamed
Pegged
, but he wasn’t crazy, he knew there was at least one gun in that car and he’d be even more damned if he let her get off a lucky s
hot that would end his ‘crusade’
.

For ten minutes he had laid in the trees watching the car, yet to see any movement. He crept closer in the standard military advancement technique, arm over arm and pushing alo
ng with his legs, like some
mal
formed crab. If she had been lying in wait he would be a goner by the time he reached the door. But what would she be
lying
in wait for
?
T
here was no
reason in the world for her to
think she hadn’t completely and utterly lost him once and for all.
What
she didn’t realize
was
that God
was
on his side
and
he
wanted her dead even more than
Pegged
did. He stopped to revel for a moment and then continued on once again realizing where he was and what he was doing. He rapidly closed in on the car, not liking the feeling of being completely exposed
.
H
e slowly peered up and over the lip of the window and saw the blanket. He almost wanted to clap for joy at his good fortune
.
H
e stood up slowly and quickly opened the car door, making sure to firmly press the barrel of his gun against her head.
I
t didn’t work out
quite
as he had planned
.
S
he didn’t wake
up screaming and begging for mercy, she didn’t move at all. Maddened
,
he yanked the blanket off to reveal a completely blue
,
young dead boy, who wouldn’t be getting any older at least not on this plane of existence.

“Fuck
!” he screamed
, and then his frustration turned to fruition as he spotted Beth’s footsteps heading off onto the roadway.

“Thank you Jesus
!” he said
as he started off on a slow trot.

CHAPTER TWENT
Y
-THREE

“
Colonel
Ginson we have reports coming in of alien gr
ound troops making their way
in
to Dedham.”
Major
Salazar tried his best to act nonchalant about the news when the Private had finished, but Paul knew better, Frank had nearly spilled his drink all over the front of his uniform, had the private not been so fixated on the report he also would have noticed.

“Thank you
,
p
rivate
.
L
et
me know if you hear any reports of their
movements
,”
Paul
was
a
s matter of
fact
as possible taking into consideration his pounding heart.

“Aye-
aye
, sir
!” The private said a little too enthusiastically. Paul wondered if he would sound that thrilled when the aliens were marching down
Main Street
in Walpole. Probably not, Paul reasoned.

“Damn
,
I really wish they had positioned themselves
n
orth of Boston, not South
,” Paul said
as he turned to Frank.

“Well
,
we knew this day was coming
,
Paul
.
W
hat difference does it matter where they are?” Frank asked.

“You’re right
,
Frank, just having them that close is a little unsettling
,”
Paul
responded. “It will
,
however
,
make raids a lot more logistically easy.”

“Speaking of which, when should we begin?” Frank asked.

“I’d really like to have Mike back here first, but I’m concerned the three or four days we wait for him will give the aliens that much more time to make a foothold.”

Frank looked at him sideways.

“Okay
,
a
stranglehold
,”
Paul retorted. “I’d like to have an assault slated for tonight. I don’t want a full on engagement yet, I would like to have something set up to test their strength and tactics. I don’t want to commit fully to something when I don’t have a complete understanding of what we are up against.”

“Understood
, sir
. I can have Charlie team fully operational and equipped by 1600 tonight
,” Frank said
.

“That’s Dennis’ team
,
right?” Paul asked.

“Is there a problem
,
Paul?” Paul shook his head. “Since his team almost lost the grocery store
,
he has been working them non-stop to get them prepared for this invasion. His team is the most physically fit and well trained platoon we have
,”
Frank added.

“Old allegiance
s die hard
,
Frank, it’s difficult to send a friend out into what truly amounts to an unknown quantity
,” Paul replied
.

“I understand, Paul
,
and that’s why I want to send the best, anything
less could be disastrous.”

“Get it done
,
Frank
,” Paul said
as he sat down at his table and began writing into his log. This was Frank’s cue to dismiss himself. Paul still surprised the hell out of Frank at times, but this was one mannerism Frank had down cold.

“Dennis
,
can I come in?” Frank said as he knocked on the pole that held up Dennis’ tarp.

“Yeah
,
come on in Frank
,” Dennis said
as he sat up on his bed putting down the old copy of Sports Illustrated.

“Sports Illustrated?” Frank asked.

"
Yeah
,
it’s kind of nice to catch up on them. Had a subscription for three years and never really read any of them. And now I know how everything
turned out
,”
Dennis answered with a wry smile. “What brings you down to this end of the barracks,
Major?
” Dennis asked. “I know this isn’t a social call or you would have brought down some beers with you.”

“Right now Dennis, I’d love to have a beer with you
,”
Frank responded.

“This sounds serious, should I be taking notes?” Dennis asked, half-jokingly.

“It is serious
,” Frank said
as Dennis scooted on to the edge of the bed. “As you already know the aliens have landed and have begun to set-up
station in Dedham.
Colone
l Gin…
Paul wants to a
ss
ess troop strength, weaponry
,
and tactics.”

“And he needs guinea pigs to find this out?” Dennis answered.

“It’s a recon mission
,
Dennis
.
W
e have got to
find out what we are up against
and your men have
proved themselves to be a well-
trained unit
,” Frank said
. “This isn’t a full on engagement, Paul just wants you to gather as much intell as possible and get your asses back here.”

“Frank
,
you don’t have to explain yourself to m
e, I knew what I was getting in
to the day I started working for Paul
,”
Dennis answered. “This is why I have been pushing my men so hard
—
I wouldn’t have it any other way. I couldn’t live with myself if another unit went out there in my stead and got cut to ribbons. Since the store incident
—
” Dennis
began looking up at Frank, whose expression didn’t change in the least
—
“I’ve been chomping at the bit to prove I’ve got the right stuff to get us out of this jam.” Frank’s expression did change this time, luckily
,
though
,
Dennis wasn’t looking.