“Alright, Lieutenant Hatch.” She gave him a full on stare. “I don’t play games.”
“Ma’am,” the co-pilot she had spoken to earlier craned his neck back to their conversation. He was trying to be the peace maker with a polite tone. “I think all Hatch is asking for is a reference point.”
She watched the co-pilot carefully for a second while he added: “I don’t think that’s really asking for too much, ma’am.”
There was a pause in the air while he waited for her reply.
“Do you know the Gene Snyder Freeway near Louisville?” Molly broke the silence.
“Got it,” he turned quickly and started to access a computer screen.
“They were spotted on the freeway south of Louisville near a place called Poplar Level Road.” Molly spoke while the co-pilot nodded his head and typed the words into the navigational system.
“Okay,” he finally gave her a smile. “We got it.”
“Miss Hunter,” it was Hatch now. He tone had become more respectful. Clearly, he was picking up on the co-pilot’s cue. “It would also help if we knew what we were up against.”
“Why should I trust you?” Molly’s eyes were suspicious. An arched eyebrow was added to her expression for good measure.
“Well,” Hatch paused and calmly explained, “If we meet something unexpected we all get shot down together.”
Molly saw his point. It was time to throw her hand in. Her fingers fished into her Louis Vuiton and found the cold plastic of her Blackberry. She tapped the screen and found the Deacon’s photo and passed it over.
“I’m sure you know what this is.” Molly pointed at the eight wheeled, beetle like machine.
“Strykers.” Hatch nodded his head. “They’re called Strykers.”
“Can they kill us?” Molly tried to keep her voice calm.
“Yes they can.”
*
The rain had been replaced by a clear canopy of stars. The Milky Way was slowly rising in the east as they proceeded down the Dixie. The lack of lights and his darkness sensitive eyes allowed him to pick out the black galactic clouds and stars that gathered in the air like magic dust. He had once heard that there was a bubble of radio and television signals expanding outward from this lonely blue marble in space. Was anyone listening? What would they think of us? His mouth opened for a poetic moment at the thought. Are they out there? The thought gave way to an infinite understanding to the vastness of the concept.
If they are, he brought himself back to the present. What did they think when all those signals began to take on an urgency and panic before winking out. There was something to ponder one night. Would they understand why?
Perhaps this was all even happening to them..........
Is anybody listening? The division between north and south traffic disappeared and the highway merged to one as they pressed on. The skeletal trees on his left were silent witness to the darkness and stars above.
The trees.......
His eyes followed the terrain to his left. A few feet past the edge of the pavement a gully followed the roads path. It was probably a small river in the rainy season. Puddles of murky water reflected the starlight like a mirror. An embankment of 15 to 20 feet in height evened out to a tree line. His head did a slow nod. Perfect, his battle force would have a hard time finding room to maneuver if there was an ambush.
A green sign with rust on the edges announced:
FORT KNOX
ELIZABETHTOWN
The Commander tapped his microphone and spoke, “Hojo, you there?’
“Yes sir.”
“Slow down to half speed.” His eyes began the slow pivot of his surroundings. “I need some time to think.”
“Slowing to half speed, sir,” There was a squeal or two in the darkness as the big machines began to battle momentum. He was trying to train himself to ignore the shifting shadows among the wreckage and the broken forms watching the column. They were distracting as hell. A child in her perfect Sunday best was standing in the gully with water up to her ankles. She was transfixed by the liquid pools beneath her feet. She turned to the Commander as his vehicle passed by, the right side of her face was raw cartilage with a gaping hole between her jaw line and cheek bone. The mouth worked twice and a black tongue slithered in and out of the wound like a worm.
Jesus, he averted his eyes to the road.
“Sergeant Ubaid.” He tried to flush his mind of the image.
“Yes sir,” She answered quickly. He liked Ubaid. She was smart, precise and very alert, the perfect officer to bring up the rear and keep an eye out. She spoke a handful of languages around her home country of Egypt. To hell with past impressions and prejudices, she was one of those officers he kept close.
“How are things on your end?” He was listening to her tone now as a concrete overpass seemed to shimmer in the starlight before them.
“Very quiet, sir,” He swore he could see Ubaid take one more look around to be sure. “Is there anything wrong?”
“It just feels like ambush country.” He felt the instinct in him rising.
“Should we increase the space between vehicles?” Ubaid offered.
“Yeah, good idea.” The Commander liked the thought. It felt good to take at least some counter measures to suspicion. “How many sparrows do we have?”
“Two, sir,” Ubaid replied. “The other one is with jack rabbits four and five in Louisville.”
“Have we heard from them?” The Commander had a loose end on his hands there. He felt an uneasiness growing about it.
“No sir, nothing at all.” She replied.
“Increase space between vehicles and get the two sparrows in the air.” As an afterthought he added: “Tell the gunnery crews to shake the cobwebs off and have an eye.”
“Yes sir.”
He double tapped his microphone while watching the bridge grow larger and trees more skeletal. The wrecks on the road seemed to be part of the conspiracy as they began to crowd the Strykers into a single file column. Some barely showed any rust at all while others bore the orange red marks of the passing of time. He was reminded of vines growing on estates or algae at the edge of the river when he had time to go fishing. It was all just nature marking its territory.
He listened absently to Ubaid giving orders in her precise English. His unit was like any group of people randomly thrown together anywhere. It harbored personal feelings and prejudices. Any chance he had, the Commander left it to Ubaid to give the orders. They had better get used to it. He listened to his men replying. She was moving up in rank soon whether they liked it or not.
“This is Birk, ma’am.” He was a huge man with massive shoulders and a real knack for techie toys. The Commander wondered how a white Alabama boy would take to a dark skinned woman giving orders, but so far so good. “I have one sparrow ready. The other is with Jackrabbit 6.”
“Excellent private,” Ubaid replied. “Jackrabbit 6, are you ready?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Horowitz in Jackrabbit 6 was on the radio after a beat.
“Commander, sparrows are standing by.”
“Good,” he continued to watch for .........something. “Horowitz, I want a look behind those trees on our left.”
“Yes sir,”
“Birk, give me a close up look of that over pass.” The Commander