It’s an impressive vehicle. Much bigger and cleaner than the last one I saw. I’m glad he chose to upgrade using our newfound wealth.
He pushes past me and opens the side door. “Come on, I’ll give you the tour,” he says.
I follow him on board, climbing the three steps that lead up and into the back. As with his old model, it’s mostly open plan at the rear. The windows are tinted, so you can’t see in from the outside. There’s a long worktop running along the left hand side as I look, with various monitors, computers and gadgets fastened in place. In the right corner, covering half of the back and right side is a booth, with a brown leather, L-shaped sofa fitted in, and a table in front of it. Next to that, finishing off the right side, is a workstation with a single computer on it. There’s a narrow path linking the back area and the driver’s cab, with the door on the left and a cupboard on the right.
“That’s the generator,” he says, seeing me look at it curiously. “It’s an independent power source, with an encrypted Wi-Fi connection, for my toys. Saves the engine battery for running the vehicle.”
“Nice,” I say, genuinely impressed.
We both step through to the cab, which looks like the flight deck of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The seats are like armchairs, which would swivel around in their space. There’s a center console separating the seats, filled with a variety of buttons and screens.
“Josh, this thing is unreal…”
He smiles like a proud father. “Isn’t it? Not really taken it out on the road for any great distance — been no need to. Figured now was as good a time as any for its maiden voyage.”
He steps in behind the wheel and starts it up, pulling out onto the main lot. I walk back to the SUV and drive it into the storage unit, replacing the Winnebago. I lock it back up again before climbing aboard, placing my bag on the seat at the back, then sitting in the passenger seat next to Josh.
“So, what’s the plan?” I ask him. “How are we going to get to Pripyat? We’ve got less than three days before Clara said the Initiative’s plans will come to fruition and she’ll kill Tori. We’re cutting it fine as it is.”
“I know…” he replies, sounding worried. “Just let me speak to Clark, see if he’s been able to round up any troops who are out and about.”
We turn out of the complex and head east. We clear the city, and as soon as we hit the interstate, Josh dials Clark on a secure line via speakerphone. He picks up on the sixth ring.
“Yeah?” says Clark.
“It’s me,” replies Josh. “How are you guys doing?”
“We’re good. The sheriff’s driving — we’re currently heading toward Colorado. Where are you guys at?”
“Heading east toward St. Louis. We’re in my Winnebago, so we’re tooled up and secure — no acronym in the country can track me in this. What assets have you managed to find?”
“Not many, to be honest,” he says, regretfully. “Most currently on missions overseas have gone dark. Schultz will have sent an emergency communiqué out before he went along with the NSA, warning we’ve been compromised, so they’ll be following protocol.”
“Shit. Understandable, but it doesn’t help us. You got anything we can go on?”
“Hang on… you say you’re heading for St. Louis?”
“Yeah, for now. Just trying to stay mobile. What you thinking?”
There’s a silent pause on the line, except for the tapping of keys on a laptop.
“If you head for Nashville, Tennessee, I might be able to hit up a contact for a private flight out of the States,” says Clark. “They’re not a GlobaTech asset, so there’s no reason for the NSA to keep tabs on them. There’s a small airfield just outside of Pleasant View. You’ll take off from there.”
“And where will we be heading?” I ask.
“I’ve got a guy in Gomel — a small town in Belarus. He’s over there working security for a Russian diplomat. If you can get there, he’ll get you over the border into Ukraine. Pripyat is maybe three hours’ drive, all told.”
Josh looks at me, silently asking for my approval of the plan. I simply shrug and nod. It’s time-consuming, but it’s all we have, so we have to take it and make it work.
“Bob, that’s some fine work. Make the call and get the flight arranged. We’re on the I-70 right now; maybe five hours out.”
“Will do.”
“Bob,” I say. “You and John keep your head’s down, okay? No un-necessary risks.”
“We will, Adrian,” he replies. “Don’t worry about us, just focus on getting your girl back.”
“Thanks, Bob.”
Josh hangs up the call and looks over. “Well, we have a plan, which is a lot more than we had five minutes ago. You alright?”
I sigh heavily, momentarily drifting from the conversation as I watch the world whizz by through the window.
“I’m tired,” I say, eventually. “It feels like a lifetime since I slept properly.”
Josh smiles sympathetically. “Get your head down for a bit,” he says. “I don’t mind driving — want to give this beast a good run anyway. You can get a few hours at least.”
“Thanks, man.”
I lean back in my seat, which, it turns out, reclines as well as swivels — very fancy! I close my eyes but don’t think for a second I’ll get any rest, what with everything that’s…
“Wakey wakey!” shouts Josh. “Hands off cocks, hands on socks!”
I snap awake in my chair, bolting upright with my hands gripping the arms. My eyes are stinging, not yet ready to look at the world after a deep sleep I didn’t expect.
“Where are we?” I ask.
Next to me, Josh is laughing. “We’re about ten minutes from this airfield in Pleasant View,” he announces. “You’ve been out for almost the whole journey. Feel better?”
I rub my eyes and relax back in my seat, blinking to clear the fog.
“Yeah, a little bit. You good?”
“Yeah, no dramas,” he says. “Bob called just to confirm the flight has been arranged. Him and the good sheriff are lying low in a motel somewhere in Denver.”
“Okay.”
It doesn’t seem like two minutes before we’re turning into what looks like a large field, hidden away behind a large cluster of trees. It’s a dirt track, carved through long grass over the years. After a few minutes, we see a wooden signpost on the right, saying OLDE TOWNE AIRFIELD.
“Hey, look,” I say. “They spell things like you people used to back in the day… badly.”
I smile as Josh gives me the finger.
We carry on down the track, which eventually opens up to a small, makeshift parking lot in front of a large hangar. The doors are open, and the plane stands there with a fuel tank next to it, connected via a pipe. There’s a guy standing with it, checking the gauges as it refuels. It’s a Cessna Citation 500—not a bad plane at all. It will have seen far more commercial use than military over the years. It looks a few years old, with the paint worn in places, but it doesn’t look like it will fall out of the sky or anything.
“I want you to stay here,” I say, turning to Josh.
“And I want to wake up next to a Playboy Bunny every morning, but that’s not going to happen either…” he replies, looking slightly offended.
“Josh, I need you here. Bob and John are doing all they can, and I appreciate that, but you’re the only one I trust to be here running things while I’m over there shooting things. I need you to keep your head down, guide me to Clara Fox, and help me get out of there. You need to be here for that…”
“Adrian, I can’t let you go over there alone against God knows how many armed terrorists. Not to mention that bitch holding a gun to Tori’s head. We both know you’re gonna struggle thinking straight going against her. You need me with you.”