Andy maintained his silent disposition.
“You know, Andy,” continued Mark, “Mac might still be coming our way. In our talks, it was always my job to build an impregnable fortress. That’s what I’ve tried to do for the last five years and it’s worked out pretty well, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, Mark, it’s great. I know you’re proud of this place, and you should be. But Mac will never understand what I’ve done.”
Mark realized Andy had only heard half his words—the ones he wanted to hear. He began to understand with more clarity Andy’s sense of lethargy and paralysis—his friend Connor was on the verge of finding out Andy was within a few days of taking Connor’s wife as his own.
“C’mon, Andy… he’d understand. He’d hafta understand. It’s been five years, I think—”
“I don’t think so, Mark. I’m definitely a dead man walking!”
Ryan caught up to them, smiling. His smile widened when he saw his brother’s anxious concern. “He’s gonna kick your ass! You’re dead, bro!” The younger MacMillen hesitated and put an arm around Andy’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, man, I’ll explain it was the right thing to do. You waited five years, you know? Mac was in Australia when this Sickness came. We thought we’d never see him again—you thought he was dead.”
Andy continued his pace, head down, and didn’t respond.
“C’mon, bro… I’ll tell him you waited as long as you could. You know… outta respect.”
“It won’t matter, Ry. I shoulda listened to you.” Andy’s face experienced a flurry of emotions. Fear, pain, excitement, and loss fought for predominance.
“Andy, I know I got upset by it, I did, but after the initial shock of you and T being a couple… I have to admit, it made sense. It was a good fit. For sure. I’ll tell Mac that five years is a fair amount of time to wait.”
“Thanks, Ry.”
“You’re welcome. But, bro?”
“Yeah.”
“Mac is still gonna kick the living shit outta ya!” Ryan bounced away, checking with the others to make sure they had sufficient ammunition and their weapons were in working order. Despite his despair, Andy felt some elation over the news. His older brother was alive.
Mark heard the exchange between the two and he considered Andy’s predicament. He was glad that his own plans for wooing Terry had failed miserably. He raised the radio to his lips. “Commander, do you copy?”
After several moments the commander answered. “I copy, sir. Over.”
“I never thought I’d say this cheesy line, commander, but… head ’em off at the pass. Over.”
“Yes, sir. Your message is understood. Over and out.” The commander’s voice had held a hint of amusement.
A few yards away, Ryan grabbed Cam by the arm and motioned to JR to join them.
“What’s up, Ry?” asked Cam as JR sidled up to them.
“Hold here for a sec while I talk to Andy.”
“Okay.”
Ryan approached his brother. “Andy, we need to initiate H-4 protocol back at the clan.”
Andy stood distracted until the mention of ‘Hunker down at maximum level’, or H-4 as it was known in the clan’s yearly drills. His eyes took on a clear focus and he nodded immediately. “I agree, bro.”
“Okay.”
Andy raised his hand to delay Ryan from leaving. “Hold up a sec, bro. I want T and Mac’s kids over here.”
“You do? Why?”
“I need to talk with T before this shit gets any deeper. And I want to have her here when Mac shows up so we can… um, at least lay it out all together, ahh—”
“Okay, sure, I see. But why bring Liam and Shannon closer to the firefight?”
“That’s easy. ’Cause T won’t come over here without them once she’s instructed to come over. She won’t leave them to hunker down without her. I know how she is. Plus, having those two kids here might give me a few minutes to figure out Mac’s take on things.”
“His take? Shit, bro, he’ll hug his wife and kids and then, I’ll hug him and then you’ll hug him and then he’ll probably hug Mark.”
“True, it’s the point after that I’m considering.”
“Hah! You think bringing Liam and Shannon over here is the right thing? Bringing over T, her, I can understand—”
“She won’t come, without them anyway. So tell her to bring them. Make it clear.”
“’Okay. You do know you’re going to get seriously fucked up no matter what you do, right?”
“We’ll see.”
Ryan held his hand to his chin, thinking. He turned more serious. “Bro, I’ll try to help you out.”
Andy laughed at his attempt. “Nah, you just want to see me get my ass kicked.”
“You could take him… you’ve had some advanced training since the last time.” Ryan’s voice held no conviction, though he tried.
“Yeah, for a few minutes. Maybe more than I did when I was sixteen.”
“Oh, that was true drama, bro. At least—”
“Talk to Cam and JR. Have them go right now.”
“Right.” Ryan returned to Cam and JR. “I want you two to run like hell back to our place and bring Terry, Liam and Shannon back here to the hotel. They need to be here for this.”
“C’mon, Ry,” said Cameron, “I’m going with you guys!”
“I know you want to, Cam, but someone has to alert the rest of them to prepare for a full assault. Tell ’em Andy has initiated H-4 Protocol. Immediately.”
“H-4. For sure?”
“Yeah,” said Ryan, “I trust you two to do it. The clan needs to move now and Andy wants T. She won’t come without her kids. So, I want you to bring Terry, Liam and Shannon back with you after the hunker down plans are in place—you got it?”
“Yeah,” answered Cameron, not happy about the prospect of leaving, but knowing that a clan update would be required.
“Here’s the thing, Cam. This goes for you too, JR. You guys have to keep the fact that Mac might still be alive completely to yourself. You can’t tell anyone. That’s news that, right now, I think only Andy should deliver. Understand?”
“Yeah, Ry, I do.”
“JR? You on board?” asked Ryan.
“Yeah, I understand.”
“When you guys are finished, we’ll need you back at the garrison ASAP. By then, I’m sure we’ll be needing ya.”
CHAPTER 10.20-Wahlberg Unmasked
“Okay, everybody, gather around,” said Colonel Starkes. The men circled the desk that held the map of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Amanda and Nicole kept to the back of the crowd with CJ resting on a chair in his makeshift carrier. The map showed an area from the western border of the state all the way to Somerset County, about one hundred miles directly east of Pittsburgh.
Starkes waved her index finger between Pittsburgh and Perryopolis, a town situated southeast of the larger city, along Route 51. “We’re looking for a particular guy who might be around here somewhere.”
“What he do, ma’am?” asked Captain Dawson.
“We need to speak with him about a matter concerning national security, captain.”
“Yes, ma’am—I’d like to know why,” he pushed. Nervous, Captain Dawson wanted to know for whom he was risking his life despite the fact he was addressing the President of the United States. Major McLoy nodded in agreement.
“You guys will find out once we have all the pieces. In the meantime, what do you know of Perryopolis?”
“It’s a secure town, ma’am,” answered Major McLoy. “It’s run by Commander Del Re—he’s a good man. He’s ex-military. Marines. Anyway, we’re on good terms with the town—we trade for their homemade brew.”