Tread Fearless: Survival & Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 4) (23 page)

When Pete walked away, toward the house, John returned to the barn. He found Jessy asleep on the hay bale, curled up in a ball and breathing heavily. He was glad they didn’t act hastily in responding to what they thought of as a terrible crime. It was a terrible crime, but they had quickly blamed the wrong people.

John felt remorse for his quick judgment, and chided himself for knowing better. It was a harsh lesson, but fortunately one that didn’t result in a much harsher guilty conscience. He heard the approach of two people and turned to greet them as they entered the barn with food and medical supplies. He was tired, but happy for how things had turned out, especially with the spiritual stuff. He was still busy contemplating it when he was relieved of his guard duty responsibilities two hours later.

CHAPTER 9

WHEELS

M
ark sat up to a firm knock on his bedroom door. With a muffled groan, he lifted himself from the bed and looked at his watch. With more than ten minutes before his alarm was scheduled to go off, he wondered who or what needed his attention this early in the morning.

Only three people knew his timeline, so he figured it had to be one of those three. And for a brief moment he hoped it was Lauren at the door, but then he realized the knock was that of a man. It had been quick and hard, three sharp raps, followed by a short pause, and then three more. Definitely a man’s knock.

“Impatient, aren’t you?” Mark said quietly, as he stood up after the second iteration of knocks. He had no need to dress, for he only just recently collapsed onto the bed with everything but his shoes on. He walked over to the door and opened it to see the grim face of Sheriff Green staring in at him.

“Got a minute?” asked Green sharply, as he held a flashlight lantern up to the door.

Mark squinted from the light and said, “Sure, I’ll be right with you.”

“Here’s fine,” replied Green, and he pushed against the door and entered Mark’s room.

“Okay,” said Mark, as he stepped clear of the door to allow the big man in. “What can I do for you?” he added, a little annoyed at the early morning intrusion.

“I have a dispatch for you to deliver to General Fogg.”

“A dispatch? Aren’t you in radio contact with him?” asked Mark, surprised.

“Open channel only. This is a . . . classified dispatch. Eyes only. You’re to give it to Fogg personally, no one else. Do you understand?” asked Green, as he handed Mark a brown, letter-sized, envelope.

“Sure,” replied Mark as he studied the envelope for a moment, and then turned and tossed it onto his bed. He offered no apparent interest in the long pieces of red, tamper-proof tape that sealed the envelope flap and edges. He looked at Green and asked, “Understood. Anything else?”

“Yes,” answered Green. “If you hurt her, there’s no place you can hide that I won’t find you. And when I find you, I’ll kill you. And I will find you,” he added, while pointing a finger straight at Mark’s chest.

Mark considered a dozen retorts to Green’s unnecessary comment, and decided instead to take the less hostile tact. He didn’t take kindly to threats of any sort, and Green had no reason to threaten him, but he also wanted to leave without issue. He knew that arguing with Green, and pointing out his character flaws, would only cause problems, so he stared at Green and replied, “I understand.” But silently to himself he added, even hoping to project his feelings to Green, “
You have no idea who you’re dealing with, Pal
.”

If Mark had felt the threat was entirely possible, he would have dropped the big man were he stood regardless of personal risk, and left the compound alone. But there was something special about Lauren, and he wanted to get them both off the crazy hill. That was, after all, his primary objective, to leave the compound as quickly and easily as possible. Fighting his way out would not achieve those results.

Though unwilling to admit it to himself, the entire encounter with Green reminded Mark of his dad. A boastful drunkard who often threatened Mark, and his younger brother, with their lives while beating them with a belt. As a result, he grew to take such threats seriously, and came to resent them from anyone, serious or not. As a result, he often approached them head on. But this time he only stared blankly at Green and waited for him to reply.

Green stared back, as if trying to read Mark’s thoughts, and said, “Good. I’m glad we understand each other.”

“
I understand more than you know
,” thought Mark without changing his expression. He held his gaze a moment longer before asking, “Is there anything else?”

Green nodded slightly and said, “Yes. I don’t know what she’s told you about her father, but he’s not to be trifled with either.”

Mark was also getting tired of people telling him who he could and couldn’t trifle with, but he swallowed his urge to reply in kind and forced a smile for Green. Then, while holding that smile, Mark said, “I’m not here to make enemies, Sheriff Green. I’ll deliver Lauren, and the letter, to Fogg as you have requested. Once complete, I’ll be on my merry way.”

“Good,” snapped Green.

Then, as the big sheriff turned to leave, Mark asked, “Are we peddling out of here, or can I ask Ed to give us a lift a short distance? I prefer not to make a big spectacle out of our departure.”

“There will be no spectacle,” replied Green. “I’ve already ordered Ed to take you to the south end of the airport. That’s on the edge of our secured area, and will give you a little more than a five mile jump on your trip. But don’t ask him for any more than that. That’s as far as I’m willing to risk my resources in that area,” replied Green.

“
I thought you were concerned about Lauren’s safety
?” thought Mark. But again, he only smiled at Green and said, “Thanks.” Mark looked at his watch and said, “I’ll be ready to leave in fifteen minutes.”

Green replied with another, “Good,” and turned to walk away, purposely leaving Mark’s bedroom door standing open.

Mark closed the door, flipped the light switch up to no effect, and then lit two of the three candles in his room. He made short work of preparing and quickly wheeled the bikes out of the room and onto the patio under the back entrance.

Ed was already waiting with the truck, and with him was another man Mark had seen earlier but never met. After brief introductions, Mark asked Ed, “Where’s Grumpy?”

Ed snickered and said, “He’s off this morning. Here, let me help you with that,” as he reached for Lauren’s bike.

Together, the two men helped load the bikes and Mark’s bike trailer into the back of the truck, and then sat on the tailgate to wait for Lauren. Mark chatted with the men quietly in the dark, curious about their route and destination. A few minutes later, Mark saw a small flashlight beam make its way up the drive toward them from the lower parking area. He couldn’t tell if it was Lauren, but he felt that it was.

Ed turned to see what Mark was watching and said, “I’m guessing that’s Ms. Lauren, but I thought she’d be coming from the church.”

Mark grunted and waited for her in silence. All three men watched as she approached. Even in the dark, Lauren moved with purpose and confidence, though he realized he would have to teach her to trust her eyes. Flashlights were dangerous in enemy territory.

A moment later Lauren walked up and cheerfully said, “Good morning, gentlemen. Are we ready to go?”

Mark nodded and turned to Ed, who was also nodding. He then looked her over, noting her uniform and gear, and asked her about the plastic grocery bag in her left hand. Lauren held it up to Mark and said, “I thought a little fresh food, a lunch, would help you along the way.”

Mark smiled and said, “It will indeed.”

“Ms. Lauren, would you like to ride in the cab?” asked Ed.

“No. I’m fine in the back with Mark,” she said, and with that the two travelers climbed into the bed of the truck. Without another word, Ed lifted the gate and climbed into the truck’s passenger seat.

The ride down the hill and from the compound was, as Green had promised, unannounced, save for the gate guards who seemed to be expecting their departure. The truck was silently waved through with a red-lensed flashlight, and it proceeded down the hill unchallenged.

The driver took a left at the bottom of the hill, completely ignoring the one-way sign on the far side of the road. Mark thought it funny how certain things, like light switches and street signs, still seemed to demand his attention, and he snorted.

“What?” asked Lauren.

“Just wondering how long the world will be messed up,” replied Mark.

Lauren didn’t know how to take Mark’s cynicism, so she turned away and watched the ever present darkness slip by around them. Mark looked at his watch and knew they’d begin to see blue on the eastern horizon soon. The sky already seemed brighter. Instead of turning right to the power substation, the driver went straight through the intersection where Mark had met Ed earlier the previous day. Mark reflected on how things seemed to be moving faster, but also slower at the same time. It was a weird feeling that overshadowed the ever present condition of compliance to routine.

Nothing was as it was, and he wondered when things would begin to return to normal – if they would return to normal. A part of him hoped some things would, but he realized life was about absolutes, that you had to take the good with the bad. He struggled to qualify what was good and what was bad under the new conditions.

Ed delivered the pair to a clearing near the entrance of Richard Moya Park, located on the south end of the runway. The park was empty save for two abandoned and looted cars in the playground driveway, and looked to be completely deserted. Mark jumped to the ground, checked his weapon, and studied the trees in the distance. Ed joined him from the cab and said, “The area’s clear. We control this part of town.”

Mark grunted and said, “Is someone stationed here at all times?”

“Oh, no. We don’t have the manpower to set a guard here,” replied Ed.

“Then it’s not clear. We’re gonna unload and take off ASAP, but can you sit here for ten minutes . . . just long enough to cover our departure?”

“Sure,” replied Ed. “But I don’t know what you’re worried about. I’m telling you, this place is safe. There’s not a house around here for miles.”

Mark ignored the comment and set about unloading the bikes and attaching the trailer to his. Lauren and Ed talked casually as he worked, and in a few minutes they were ready to leave. Mark shook Ed’s hand and thanked him for his help and hospitality. They joked with each other about their first meeting, and then Ed offered his hand to Mark. As they shook, Ed slipped Mark a folded piece of paper. He discretely accepted the note, and then casually slipped it into his pocket. Though he was surprised by Ed’s covert methods, he figured he wouldn’t risk passing a note if it wasn’t important, and immediately suspected the driver as being one of Green’s agents, which would explain why Fuller wasn’t driving.

Ed said, “Be careful out there,” and returned to the truck.

Mark and Lauren said the same in reply, and peddled south, on Burleson. His plan was to head north on 973, and skirt the edge of Austin along highway-130, and maybe even head a bit more east before they reached Highway 290. About an hour later, when they reached the freeway bridge over the Colorado River, they quickly peddled across the quarter-mile span and took a dirt road that traveled off to the north east.

Mark hated exposing themselves on the freeway, bridge or no bridge, but they had little choice given the route. Still, he made plans to make for the shelter of a nearby gravel quarry to plan the next stage of their route. There was something about Green that he didn’t trust, and he wanted to prove those feelings before he continued. He also wanted to spend a little time working with Lauren, to teach her how to react to danger. If they couldn’t work together as a team, in one mind, he didn’t think they would make it.

And though she said she could use a pistol, Mark wanted to see for himself just how proficient she was. He was impressed with her stamina on a bike, but the trip was just beginning, and he wanted to make sure she could survive on her own, if it came to that. They reached the far end of the bridge, lifted their gear over the guard rail, and descended a grassy slope onto an old, and now seemingly unused dirt road. It was a rough, uneven surface, but it was in the trees and off the freeway. Though Mark
had never been in the area, he had studied the maps in Green’s office and knew exactly where he was.