Reckoning ~ Indian Hill 2 ~ A Michael Talbot Adventure (38 page)

“Thanks for letting me off the hook. So much has happened in the last twenty-four hours, I’m not sure which way is up.” Then, for the first time, she truly realized what this man had given up for her and Deb. Emotions that were long buried and reserved for another welled up inside her. Before she knew what she was doing, she leaned over and kissed him.

Now it was his turn to be shocked. But he didn’t pull away. The kiss lingered for a few seconds. Beth slowly eased her head back, before she leaned in full tilt, grabbing the back of the sergeant’s head, pulling him close. Any closer, he figured, and he’d be on the other side.

The sergeant felt a brief moment of remorse for his act of infidelity, but it was inexplicable; he was drawn to the woman like a moth to the flame. And, knowing her penchant for getting in trouble, he figured that would be the way he went out. But right now, however, that was okay.

They made love for hours on a musty, old blanket. The snap in the air only electrified their exposed skin. And for the briefest of times, Beth never thought once of Mike.

Chapter 40

Indian Hill

Paul had gone back to his office when he discovered he would not be able to get any information from the cave-in sight, that, however, had not stopped his constant questioning for new knowledge.

“How bad is the cave-in?” Paul slammed his hand on top of his desk so hard that the private in the outer office jumped.

“Sir, we’re not sure. It’s impossible to get close because of the small arms fire.” Paul looked at the man with murderous intention.

“Small arms fire from whom?” Paul demanded.

“We aren’t sure, sir. And…”

“I want answers.”

“Sir, I have no answers. The only thing I know for sure is that Major Salazar and his team were in the tunnel when she blew.”  Paul’s stomach turned; he couldn’t afford to lose his second in command. He relied on Salazar’s expertise and handling of the troops immeasurably. The captain noticed the change in Paul’s demeanor. He pressed on.

“Sir, for good or bad, we have to believe that the major or at least some of his men are alive.” Paul looked on questioningly.

“Sir, there is a small battle going on down there. I believe it’s Major Salazar and his men against whoever detonated that bomb.”

“What about getting some men down there and helping out?”

“Two things, sir. First off, that whole tunnel is now structurally unsound. Do you want to risk any more men down there? And the other is that you can’t see two feet in front of you in there. It would be impossible to know who you were shooting at. We could cut our own men to ribbons and not even realize it.”

“Captain, I want full guard details on both sides of that tunnel. I want every man that comes through that tunnel unarmed and restrained until we sort this mess out.”

“And Major Salazar? Should he come through?” Paul couldn’t believe that his friend and second-in-command had anything to do with this whole affair. Sure, they had their differences, but nothing that would accommodate treason.

“Bring him here immediately, unless he requires medical attention.”

“Unarmed sir?”

“Everyone, Captain. Get to it, now!” The captain saluted and headed out the door. Paul was left to reflect on the events that led up to the whole scenario.

The National Guardsmen had assimilated very well into Paul’s unit. Sure, there was still some suspicion regarding them, Paul had done his best to alleviate the worst of it. He made sure that the men were evenly distributed throughout the unit and none of them had too much in the way of high security positions, although he allowed for that to change.

Some of the men had very skilled positions previously when the Earth still made sense. It made no sense at all to waste that talent. Sure, some of them despised what Paul had done, and others fell easily into the routine. Military was military after all, and that’s what some people needed--the attention to detail and the discipline that was inherent with that philosophy.

***

When the baby had come back parentless, many grumblings had surfaced and not all from the Guard unit. Some had not liked the dogma associated with it. There was no easy way out of that one. The events of that day had spread like wild fire throughout the Hill. The fact that Paul had intended to kill those people in cold blood was not lost on anybody.

Most realized the wisdom of the decision, and had to, even if with great difficulty, accept the reality of it. To let those people go, was tantamount to suicide. Secrecy was security. But still others would never come to terms with their leader’s actions. To them, there was no justification for murder, not even self-preservation. 

In those people, Paul felt the trouble began, although that wasn’t the only front he was battling. Rumors also spread, “From God knows where,” Paul muttered. One was that the aliens were providing amnesty to those who gave themselves up. Those acquiescent ones would be given wonderful places to live out their lives, safe from the wrath that would be brought to bear against those that bore arms against them.

Where that information came from, Paul had no idea. Every conceivable area of bandwidth was scanned by Paul’s highly skilled radio men. If they received a peep about anything like that, he would have most certainly heard about it. To those few bad seeds who began the rumor, the rot had already taken hold and started to infect.

Sure, who wouldn’t want to get out from living underground and safe from the highly trained and dangerous enemy? Yeah, it sounded like a great deal. Problem was, it wasn’t true. The people that gave up were far more likely to end up on the dinner table than be set up in some seaside resort. Most knew the fallacy of the rumors and the damage they could inflict.  Information was the key to dispelling the myths and Paul had made sure to disseminate as much of it as was possible without making it look like propaganda.

Still it persisted and apparently festered, judging by the day’s sabotage. What did they hope to accomplish? Sure, blowing the tunnel would be harmful but not to any extreme. Most of the food had long since been removed from the grocery store. In fact, plans had been laid to close the tunnel to prevent anybody from finding the entrance to the Hill and to relieve the guard details who monitored the site twenty-four/seven. Guard duty was important but there were still other very valuable jobs that could be performed. So what was the reason? What was the point?

It was nothing more than a hastening of the plans already in effect. Paul sat at his desk with his elbows resting on the surface, his hands folded over each other. He slowly lowered his head down when suddenly, his head shot back up with the dawning of a thought. Diversion, it was a diversion!

“Damn it!” Paul exclaimed. “Private! Get in here!” It was an amazingly quick response, but the private was already on the move when his colonel began to shout.

“Get Colonel Sal..” He corrected himself. “Get Captain Baker up here, fast. And on the way out, sound the general alarm.” The private nodded at all the right times, but understanding did not come so quickly. He knew about the tunnel and the measures the colonel had taken to contain the situation, so why the alarm? The alarm only meant bad things. Right now, the private wished he hadn’t eaten that second bowl of oatmeal this morning. It was sitting in his belly like a lead weight.

Red lights blazed along the hallways and in each room occupying the Hill. A controlled pandemonium broke loose as the alarm rang three times and silenced itself, lest it be discovered from above. But the effect was instantaneous.  Men and women ran to their posts in various stages of disarray. This was not a drill, that was understood. The alarm would only be sounded under the gravest of matters. Were they under attack? No one knew. They could only hope they had prepared well enough to thwart off whatever threat came their way.

The second explosion, although not close enough to do any physical damage, still had enough power to throw Paul to the ground.

Chapter 41 - Mike Journal Entry Ten

Paris

Many moments passed before I could shake the dread of the encounter with Deb. She had been here. But what did it mean? Roy had completely retreated down the hallway, crucifix in hand and Hail Mary’s flying. He didn’t approach me until a full five minutes had passed and he was somewhat assured that the vision wasn’t coming back. Thankfully, he didn’t say anything about the whole affair. I’m not sure I would have known what to say anyway.

He quietly escorted me to the colonel’s office, and I noticed that his grip on his crucifix was much tighter than that of his weapon. If I had any notion of escaping, this would have been the time.

My concern for Deb was, so far, outweighing all the events that were unfolding before me. What I saw left me with an ominous feeling. One which I hoped I would not carry for the rest of my days.

Colonel Brintley’s office wasn’t lit much better than the rest of the warehouse. Apparently, the aliens succeeded in severing one of the main power grids to the region. Battery-operated backup lights were the only source of energy in this place. How long would they last? Candle power next. The aliens were doing their very best to throw us full tilt back into the Stone Age. A few more days of this type of barrage and they would succeed.

Colonel Brintley was a big man somewhere in the neighborhood of six foot and two hundred pounds and he looked dangerous. The salt and pepper crew cut did little to temper that image. The colonel looked like he had fought his way to the top; scars lined his left cheek, as well as a wound that disappeared below his neck line and looked like it would have killed just about anyone else except this man. He stood to greet me, hand extended.

“Captain Talbot! It is so good to see you. I hope that my men were not too rough with you,” he said as he looked severely at Roy. The act was for my benefit. The colonel didn’t look like he gave a rat’s ass about my welfare or abuse at the hands of his men. Roy completely dismissed the glance.

“Not at all; we even stopped for croissants. Although, I have to admit, I like the ones at McDonalds better.” The colonel’s face tightened for a moment and then softened as he regained control. And then it came out.

“You can see, Captain, why we are not all that thrilled to be in your company at the moment.” I can’t say I was expecting that but at least he was honest; and for that I could respect him.

“How long until the next attack, Colonel?”

“They have given us another twenty-four hours to deliver you,” he stated flatly.

“Then could you please have Roy here direct me to my quarters. I have some things I’d like to take care of.” The Vice Sergeant looked pissed. I think he thought I didn’t give a care about the country, but the colonel understood. Well, now I knew he had brains to go with the brawn.

“Vice Sergeant, please take the captain to my quarters.” Roy was now more puzzled than ever. He knew some sort of information had been passed between us but he’d be damned if he knew what it was.

“Right away,” Roy said as he snapped to attention and saluted.

I made my decision almost immediately. I knew that ultimately, every one’s fate on Earth was predetermined. But I’d be damned if I was going to be labeled as the man who destroyed France. Who was I anyway, to decide their fate? I was not the judge and jury. My life, in comparison, was nothing. The good of the many far outweighed myself. Although when you are put in that spot, the rhetoric isn’t quite as easy to swallow. It’s a lot easier to hold up mighty ideals when you’re not the crux of the morality.