The brisk air assaulted his lungs when he stepped outside. They stung as he inhaled deeply, the scent of the pine heavy in the air. He strode across the open ground, walking toward the tree line. The ground was saturated from an overnight rain. His ears heard each ‘squish’ as he tromped toward the trees. When he reached the trees, he surveyed the area looking for a suitable spot for privacy.
He spied a copse of four pine trees clustered in a tight circle and made his way there, about fifteen yards into the forest. He cloistered himself in their cover and knelt, one knee on the ground. He fished a photograph out of his breast pocket and looked at it intently.
Elena looked back at him, cradling a newborn Jake in her arms. It was taken a week or so after his birth. Her face was radiant, the glow of newfound motherhood emanating from her. Jake’s face was scrunched into a grimace that looked like an evil smile, but Cooper smiled to himself every time he looked at this picture.
“I need your help today,” he said to the photograph. His voice was quiet, barely making it to the edge of the trees that surrounded him.
“I have to succeed in bringing our son home.”
Cooper’s throat tightened as he thought about the alternative, which wasn’t something he thought he’d survive. He’d known too much loss already. If not for Jake, he thought he would have laid down beside Elena when she had died and willed himself to die with her. Without Jake, he there would be no reason to struggle onward in this world turned upside down.
Tears did not come to his eyes. His heart stayed just shy of that. Maybe this is all making me harder, Cooper thought when he recalled how easily the tears had flowed when he had knelt beside Elena’s grave before his last mission.
He looked into Elena’s eyes, “I’ll do whatever it takes to get him back safely. I promise you that. Or, I’ll die trying.” His words were firm, stronger. They rang out into the forest, but went unanswered by the trees and animals that scurried about. He felt her answer in his heart, though. Warmth rushed in. The love they had shared came back. Her confidence in him had never wavered that he would do what was needed for their son. Now, it came back to him from her grave. His nerves vanished.
Cooper stood up. He gave a last look at Elena and Jake in the photograph and nodded to it. No words were needed now. He put it back into his chest pocket and began walking back towards the cabin. He was peaceful, relaxed.
He made it about ten yards past the trees before a plaintive wail ripped all of that away from him.
“Oh my God! Oh my God!” Angela wailed as she came flying outside. She was running in haphazard fits and starts, changing direction constantly. Her arms flopped up and down unevenly, akimbo. Her eyes were unfocused, wild.
Cooper raced towards her, just as she collapsed into a heap on the ground. The others came rushing out from the cabin and clustered about her. Everyone else was confused.
Cooper slid down beside her, grabbing her shoulders, and tried to make eye contact with her, “What, Angela? What?”
His eyes caught hers. Terror owned them. Her words came out jumbled.
“Nuked. They. So many dead!”
Cooper looked at the others, but received nothing for his trouble except blank stares.
“Okay. Slow down. What are you talking about?” Cooper responded.
Angela took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then looked up at him again, “I was listening to the Ham radio. Honolulu. It was nuked. It’s gone!” She began sobbing again.
The air whooshed out of his lungs and he immediately felt dizzy. He fell backwards and landed in an awkward seated position.
He shook his head in disbelief, “Honolulu? What? Who?”
Seconds ticked by before Angela could respond. “Early this morning.” She shook her head slowly, “No one knows.”
Dranko recovered fastest, “Could be the Russians or the Chinese.”
“Why Honolulu?” Cooper asked, looking up at him.
“If it was the Russians, it’s a good warning shot to the U.S. Limited fallout to the rest of the country. If it’s the Chinese, it’s good for weakening our power in the Pacific,” Dranko’s tone was analytical.
Angela climbed to her feet, “Oh my God. I can’t believe it.”
“What’s gonna happen now?” Freddie asked.
Cooper shook his head, “Who knows?”
They all stood in shocked silence for a long while. Freddie fell to his knees. Calvin paced around, wordless. Cooper remained on the ground shaking his head in disbelief.
Freddie finally spoke, “The world needs this like we need a hole in the head.”
Suddenly, Dranko’s face alighted, “Is there any news of a retaliation?”
She shook her head, confused, “No. Why?”
“There will be a hue and cry for one. And, it could lead to an escalation.”
“My lord,” Cooper exhaled.
His father’s words returned to him: in a crisis give people a shared challenge to rally them. Then, he shook himself out of it, “There’s one upside here. At least for our little tiny corner of the world.”
“What’s that?” Dranko asked.
“This might have Hodges and his men distracted. If we can stay focused.”
He received a series of mumbles for the response.
He looked at each of them sharply in turn, “Can we stay more focused than Hodges’ men and bring Jake home safely today?”
Calvin squinted his eyes to look at him intently, “Yes, we can.”
Freddie nodded vigorously. Angela fell into his arms and gave him a firm, confident, hug. She stepped away, drying her tears. Dranko simply nodded at his old friend.
The butcher’s bill for the truth I told just keeps growing. Cooper brushed his tormented thoughts aside as he went back inside to grab his gear and weapons for the work that lay before them today.
He had laid everything out the night before, so it was a simple matter for him to don his body armor, the belt and pouches that held the magazines for the his FAL rifle, and then to hoist it into his arms. He checked the function several times out of habit more than necessity. He liked the heaviness of the rifle in his hands. He knew that there were disadvantages to carrying a rifle that weighed more than ten pounds; namely that fatigue could set in during combat. However, it was the weapon he was most familiar with and that counted for a lot, too, in the stress of battle. But, the biggest reason he carried the FAL was that he welcomed the hard-hitting power of the .308 cartridge.
Around him he heard the sharp snick of metal hitting metal and sometimes the louder bangs as metal crashed against metal. His friends were readying themselves and their equipment, as well. Everyone else, except Angela, was carrying the M4 rifles that they had taken from the men who had attacked them. The selective-fire M4s might make the difference in their attack. Angela was cradling a hunting rifle in .308. She would provide sniper fire during the attack.
“So, how did it go at Miles’?” Cooper asked.
Calvin finished snapping a buckle before responding, “Good, I think. In addition to Miles, he thought he could round up another four or five trusted men.”
Cooper nodded, “That is good. What kind of weapons would they have?”
“That part wasn’t so good. Mostly hunting rifles and shotguns.”
He rubbed his chin, thinking, “We can put the ones with hunting rifles as our sniper fire support team and those with shotguns can join one of the assault teams.”