To their left, mission teams were getting set to roll out and gather lists of needed items, from food to weaponry. The rest of the camp wasn’t going anywhere yet. They were sticking to the original plan of staying here long enough to stock up on supplies and let their wounds heal. It would also send a powerful message to those who’d initiated the attack. Safe Haven wasn’t going to flee or become submissive because someone sucker punched them. These people had survived worse.

  To their right, the training tent was also hosting lessons, though these were more mental than physical. The teenagers were attempting to share power with some of the open minded, proven men. There was occasionally a thump or cackle, but little else from that canvas.

  Beside the teen area was a kids’ class being taught under a wide canopy. The little children were given bags they could carry and instructions on how to use the items in those tiny kits. Angela and Adrian both doubted any of the elementary school-age kids would survive on their own, but both of them were glad to know that the kids would have the information. Despite their young ages, each of them was hanging on every word the grieving sisters were saying.

  Overhead, the bubble flashed and pulsed in every color of the rainbow as emotions ran high. The only dominant color was that crimson-killing gold, only now it was tinged in green as well–Angela’s color. It rippled above them, spinning new shades of the two into patterns that bewitched those who looked up. The shield was fully visible and people remembered her words, that she was here to protect them, that Samantha was, too. The stories they’d been told seemed proven after the attack that they’d been sentenced to. It was easier to accept that Angela was indeed what Cesar’s former slaves had been saying all along–a witch.

  Angela wasn’t concerned about it anymore. If they revolted, Adrian would protect her and Charlie. The only thing that mattered was stopping the government from taking over. Everything else was second to that. The people who destroyed America wanted the chance to do it again and only the Eagles could stand in their way.

  “And we will,” Adrian whispered soothingly, not even pretending he wasn’t in her thoughts.

  Angela tightened her control and unthinkingly brushed his wrist in solidarity. “We’ve got this covered.”

  Adrian flinched at the contact, jerking away. “You’ve got it covered.”

  Angela stared at him coldly. “If that’s how you want it.”

  Adrian turned away before he could say more. Nothing he wanted was possible–not from her, the camp, nor Conner. For him, it could never be returned.

  Angela understood his grief, but at least Conner hadn’t been killed like the others in that tin can when the bomb went off. Kyle had managed to get Conner, the newborn he was holding, and Jennifer out in time, but John and Anne hadn’t been as lucky. Nor had Leslie or the second infant in the incubator that she’d come to visit. Jennifer was inconsolable and being sedated regularly. Kyle was storming around in a fury of work, hitting anyone who had the balls to suggest that maybe it was for the best. Four members of Safe Haven had been snatched away by a thieving blast in the night.

  The funeral had been a loud, damp hour that saw a surprising number of men honoring Leslie. She’d certainly been friendly, was the most common phrase used. John and Anne were mourned more deeply. They’d been here longer, done more, and the fear of being short a doctor was real. The nursing assistant from Rapid City was a large help, as were the classes John had been holding, but it wasn’t enough. Even with the medic that each team had been assigned, there was no way they were prepared for a battle’s horrible consequences. John had known more, had more experience. There was no way for Angela to replace him or his knowledge. There was also no substitute for Anne’s caring hand on a brow or the other life they’d lost.

  Angela had only spent as much time at the service as she thought was needed. It hurt her to be there, as it did everyone, but she couldn’t afford to spend the extra time. There was too much going on. Besides all the lessons and training they were setting up, they were also trying to get ready for moving the camp to the spring, searching for supplies to get them through to the mountains and monitoring the area around them for trouble. Her grief would have to come later. She hadn’t been away from Marc in a while and it hurt to think he could die out there. It also pissed her off that she had to put him in such a dangerous position in the first place. When the government came, they would feel her wrath.

  The camp’s rage was nearly visible. It simmered in slow waves of hatred and misery. Taking their doctor was something only the most brutal of enemies did, something that even the old world had disapproved of. They would pay for the wounds, for the damage this time. Every angry soul in Safe Haven now demanded it and those were the people Angela went to. She let them surround her, smother her with their certainty of what had to happen next.

  “I’m going to bring you down!” Angela vowed furiously, eyes bleeding crimson hatred. “I won’t leave a single man.”

  Part Two

  “Once the change in leadership becomes an accepted fact, those being led will either love their new commander or hate them. For a leader to be successful, they have to inspire both of those emotions, at the right moments. Without love and hate, there’s no respect. Without respect, there’s no leader.” –Angela White, leader of SHRC

  Chapter Thirteen

  Once a Ghost

  July 15th

  Little Rock Air Force Base

  Arkansas

  1

  Eagle teams had gone by the AFB, gathering what they could find while on their way to that doomed city to grab Adrian’s son. The base had been deserted then, lightly looted and eerie. It appeared and felt much the same as Marc and his team arrived.

  It took them only a few minutes to get inside and verify that no one had come through since they had. Marc thought there might have been large animals on the base from the tracks, but not one sign of people made him breathe easier. He’d been prepared to fight for it, but it was easier this way. He had brought his full group, one man from each of the other teams, and three promising rookies. The rest, he had left to defend his family.

  Arriving at dawn, by the time the sun set on the first day, they’d made good progress. Marc had them set up in the center command room, power going through the backup generators, and computers whirling softly in the electric lights that none of them were comfortable with anymore. They’d adjusted to candles and flashlights, to lanterns and fires–to the old ways that had started to become lost.

  Marc didn’t put on a security detail yet, instead keeping the men in the large command room with him. As the first night inside the base rolled by, Marc prepared them for his departure.

  “We’ll go to Denver first, see which route they take, make sure it’s 25. We’ll set things up all along there and 40.”

  “What about other survivors?” Shane wanted to know. “Won’t they get caught in our traps, blow them too soon?”

  “Some of them will, I’m sure,” Marc responded grimly. “Most have gone to ground. They know a fight is coming. I’m sure Adrian has a plan for it.”

  “He shut Safe Haven down,” Morgan, one of the few remaining from Kyle’s team, reminded them.

  Marc ignored the guilt as best he could. “We can’t leave signs or give radio warnings. The best we can do is report where we know the enemy is going, so they’ll stay clear of the area.”

  “That could help us,” Rusty stated, moving a bit closer. He was on Seth’s team and he missed that, but being here with Brady was worth it. He was honored to be chosen. “Many survivors want a target,” Rusty added.

  Marc was counting on it. The more damage and chaos they could cause the enemy, the better their chances were of reducing the number of troops in the final battle that would likely take place in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.

  “It gives them an advantage, if we force them to take 25.”

  Marc agreed resignedly. “Several of them. Besides the roads that Cesar already cleared, they’ll have towns in easy reach for resupplying.”

  “Won’t those be emptied?” Paul asked.

  “Some of it will, but unless you’re military, you can’t possibly imagine how many locations you can use to resupply yourself. The suburbs are helpful, but those big cities along 25 are goldmines.”

  “And if we make them take 70?”

  “It puts them here a week sooner. It’s a high price to pay to keep them from resupplying,” Marc stated. “I chose to let them take 25 so that we’ll have the extra week to set things up.”

  “Choke points are the reservoirs, north and south avenues of approach,” Donald added, staring at the maps with a hard glare. On Zack’s team, he’d been low ranked. He expected the same on this run.

  “What if they don’t come through here?” Shane asked, viewing the shadows on the walls as if they were from another planet. They didn’t sway in the breeze like camp tents did and it made him uneasy.

  “We’re going to use good bait,” Marc answered,

  “What?”

  Marc held up a tape recorder and hit play. Angela’s voice flowed out.

  “We’ll use the Air Force Base and send the camp on. They’ll assume we’re with Safe Haven and we’ll wipe them out.”

  Marc hit stop. “I’ve got a few clips like that. We know they’re listening in any way they can, monitoring and collecting information. We’ll plant some.”

  “You’re sure they’ll fall for it?”

  “We’re going to make it look real. They probably have satellites redirected and reconnected by now. When they zoom in on the base, they’ll find an army waiting for them,” Marc said.

  “How do we make it appear that 18 men are an army?” Shane asked. “They’ll know we’re bluffing when none of the mannequins change shifts.”

  Marc’s face filled with cold calculation. “Who said anything about bluffing?”

  2

  “I have to leave you here for a little while,” Marc stated quietly a bit later, voice rising over the light conversations among the settling men. “I have friends to gather.”

  The Eagles hated the idea of Marc going out alone, but he knew what had to be done. “While I’m gone, you’ll work on these pages of preparations.” Marc tossed the notebook to Quinn. “You’re in charge, my XO here.”

  Quinn nodded in eager pride, opening the book. The first paragraph got his attention and held it completely.

  “This base is where the soldiers will come to make their own camp. From here, they’ll punch out troops to wherever we are. If they take this building, they take Safe Haven.”

  Quinn glanced up in horror. “We can’t hold this place with only 17 men.”

  “That’s why I have to go visit some friends,” Marc answered. “Turn to the last page.”

  Quinn did it quickly, reading.

  “If I don’t come back, this all falls to you. Keep them out as long as you can and buy SH time to hole up at Lookout Mountain.”

  Marc slid his hands under his neck as he lay on the cot. They’d brought the beds up to this one room and the barracks feel of them bunking together had Marc’s mind drifting contentedly through past moments of glory, searching for anything he could use.

  “When you know you’ve lost it, blow the traps that we and the supply teams have put down. Block every avenue of approach that you can as you go.”

  The Eagles took turns studying the book when Quinn handed it around, and Marc let himself go to sleep, relaxed for the last time on this mission. From here on out, life would get incredibly hard and become more satisfying than even working under Adrian.

  An hour before dawn, Marc woke Quinn and gestured for him to follow.

  Kit over his shoulder, Marc looked west. “I’ll be in Oklahoma if something unexpected happens and you need me. I’ll be on a southeast to northwest route.”

  Quinn walked Marc from the building to find Jax and Paul waiting by their vehicles.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Marc asked.

  “With you.”

  Marc grinned. He hadn’t thought any of them would want to leave the relative safety of the base. “I’d be glad of the company.”

  Marc held a hand out to Quinn. “Do it how I would. Be me. They’ll come around.”

  Quinn shook it with eager happiness. He’d never been given control of anything in his life, but he’d dreamed of the day that he would get to prove himself. Now, here, he would finally get the chance. Marc had put him in charge. Marc had faith in him. That was enough to convince Quinn that his time for glory had come, and he went inside with a set jaw. When Marc returned, he would find the list finished.

  3

  It took them three days to reach the area that Marc wanted, one of those spent trading in their loud bikes for horses, and he had furthered their training while they traveled.

  The two Eagles were soaking it up, confident that Marc knew what he was doing. He’d earned their respect with his courage. The fact that he was taking them deep into Indian lands, hoping to convince them to fight, was amazing. That they might die hadn’t sent either rookie back when they’d heard the plan.

  Marc had confided in them while showing Jax how to saddle the wild horses they’d broken only enough to be rideable. It helped that it hadn’t been so long since the horses had been used for it, but catching them had been rough. Paul had been a huge help. He clearly didn’t mind animals.

  “If we can convince even one tribe to fight with us, it will pull the others in,” Marc had told them.

  “Won’t they all want to fight?” Jax had asked. “Surely they don’t want the government here.”

  “Of course not, but they were nearly wiped from existence once. They’ll be sure of the outcome this time.”

  “They’ll be leery. We can’t just ride up, explain what’s coming, and ask for help. That will get us killed,” Paul had remarked.

  “What’s the plan?”

  Marc had smirked at the eager tones. “Ghosting, of a sort.”

  Now, riding through Choctaw lands, Paul thought he understood better. Observing Marc, learning from him, was incredible and sometimes surreal. He was so quiet! Even on an animal he wasn’t familiar with, Marc was dangerous, like he’d bended the horse’s will to match his.

  “We’re not alone,” Jax picked it up suddenly. “We’ve got a tail.”

  “This isn’t going to be easy,” Marc warned the men on either side of him. “They had to obey the laws before. That isn’t the case now.”

  Paul understood some of what they were about to face and was scared. He was also excited. He came from a family that hadn’t believed in exploring their roots, but Paul had missed not knowing where he came from. He’d always felt a connection to these lands, these people.

  “You’ll follow my lead, then your training, then your instincts. Is that clear?” Marc drilled.

  Both men agreed, thrilled to be a part of what Marc had told them over the last days. If his plans worked, Safe Haven wouldn’t have to worry.

  “We’ve got fresh eyes on us, I think,” Paul stated, enjoying the comforting creak of the saddle beneath him. He’d also missed riding. “Closer.”

  “They’ve been there since we entered tribal lands,” Marc confirmed. This was it.

  “I mean closer, like we’re about to be…”

  Spaatt!

  The arrow sank into the tree on Paul’s right.

  The three Eagles came to a quick stop.

  “Be still,” Marc instructed, observing only the riders in front of them.

  The Indians didn’t want them here. That was the first thing they all picked out. The second was that there were a lot of them, and they appeared like the proud natives of legend, not the drunken troublemakers the world had been told of for so long. They’d reclaimed their heritage.

  Marc stayed pointed forward, voice low. “They’ll look for fear. Do what I do.”

  The sound of softly padding horses came to their ears, but neither of the rookies glanced around for the source. The Indians ahead of them were stern-faced shadows without paint, but loaded with weapons.

  Marc felt the demon tense as his gifts were sensed and went with plan B. His voice rang through the area in haughty pride, “The Ghost wishes to cross your lands.”

  The trio held still as silence filled the woods. Not even the birds made noise.

  The soft pad of an unshod horse came from the right and Marc bowed his head.

  Paul and Jax hurried to do the same.

  “White men are not allowed here.”

  “No other men are allowed here,” another warrior added, voice guttural with hatred. “Kill them now.”

  “The Ghost does not trespass. He comes to barter passage,” Marc informed them, making sure they understood what he was to be addressed as.

  “What does he bring to barter with?”

  Marc slowly raised a hand toward his saddlebags. “Medicine.”

  “We need none of your poisons!” the guttural warrior spat. “Kill them!”

  “It will help with the radiation sickness and the miscarriages you’re people are having.”

  There was a thick silence as a horse covered in a sheen of sweat came around to take a blocking position in front of them. It told Marc that this was a second group that had ridden hard to catch up.

  “Why does a trio of hard-asses come here alone?”

  Marc locked gazes with the obviously important Indian now in front of him. “Will you accept my barter? I can add these horses, but we’ll need to ride them to the edge of tribal lands first. Our business is important.”

  The warrior stared with a weathered, impassive face, but Marc knew he understood what was happening even before the man spoke.

  “The soldiers have woken. You are one of them.”

  “I was before, when there was no choice,” Marc answered. “Now, there’s a different future waiting for my people. As there is for yours.”

  “We stay here and have been left alone except for trespassers,” the warrior stated arrogantly, tone implying he wasn’t sure if that’s what he’d found.