“Yeah, I do. I don’t wanna die.”
She reached for the radio, and I grabbed her arm. “Not so fast. What are you going to say? Is it an open network with the rest of GA?”
“It’s on our own net. Relax.”
“Don’t describe us,” I said. “Just in case.”
“Do you two think you’re important? In the grand scheme of things, you’re even more irrelevant than me.”
“We killed Ron,” Jack said. “I’m sure there’s one or two who are slightly irritated.”
“Not from the tech team. Like I said, the shit’s going to hit the fan because of the slip in schedule. We want to be on the right side.”
“The shit’s already hit the fan and splattered over everyone,” I said. “Tell him we want information and food.”
She nodded and picked up the radio. “Echo-zero-Charlie, this is Tango-two, over.”
“Echo-zero-Charlie, is everything okay?” a male voice crackled.
“Tango-two, can you come over on your own with the device and food?”
“Echo-zero-Charlie, no worries. Have you found a stray?”
“Tango-two, I’ve got two here. Come unarmed.”
She received no instant reply and transmitted again. “It’s fine, Brett, trust me.”
“Okay, I’ll be right over. But I’m not coming unarmed; it’s too risky.”
They didn’t use the call signs for the last part of the conversation. I wondered if it was because they had no military experience, were simply paying the procedures lip service, or if it was a sign that all was not well. From what we had seen so far, I doubted the latter. We still had the upper hand in this situation and could easily flee into the dark if they tried an ambush.
“I’ll take that,” Jack said and grabbed the radio.
The rain eased to spits. Jack beckoned the woman out of the car and kept his rifle trained on her. I searched the vehicle for any communications devices or weapon but found nothing. With the car clean, I waved her back into the driver’s seat before twisting the keys out of the ignition to stop any attempts to flee.
“How long till he gets here?” Jack asked.
“Probably five minutes if he drives; the farm’s just off Laplaisance Road.”
“We’ll be behind the fence over here,” I said, pointing at a waist-high brick wall in front of a white bungalow with a hipped roof. “You know the drill?”
She nodded and I backed away from the car. We crouched behind the wall, keeping a good view along the road, close to a potential escape route back around the houses. It would be difficult to approach our location on foot without making a noise, because the rain had stopped.
After a couple of minutes, the rumble of an engine rose in the distance. A pair of dazzling headlights rounded a bend in the road and approached. I looked across to the woman, who sat facing away from the oncoming vehicle. She hesitantly raised her arms in the air.
“Rifle’s got a full mag,” Jack said. “First sign of trouble, and I’ll fill them with lead.”
“She won’t give us up. She was shitting herself,” I said. “If they’re a bunch of techy geeks, the last thing they’ll want to do is have a firefight in the dark.”
Jack gazed down the rifle sights at the headlights. “I hope for her sake they don’t.”
The vehicle slowed as it neared her car. It abruptly halted twenty yards from it, engine still rumbling and headlights illuminating the road. I kept one eye closed to try to maintain my night vision.
A man got out of the car and held a rifle above his head. He walked five yards forward, placed the weapon by his feet, and held up his arms. “I’ve come on my own.”
“Kill the lights and stay by the car,” Jack yelled.
He quickly returned to the vehicle, put his hand through the open window, and switched the lights off.
“Are you sure there’s nobody else?” I called.
“It’s just me, Brett. I’ve got a device in the back and some sandwiches,” he said with a heavy New Zealand twang.
I put my arm on Jack’s shoulder, listening for any sounds around us. Without hearing anything suspicious, I nudged him in the back.
Jack moved forward with the rifle on his shoulder. “Put your hands behind the back of your head, and keep still.”
He kept his rifle trained on the new arrival. I approached through the gloom and patted Brett down. He had the look of a slightly over-the-hill surfer, with straggled short blonde hair and a healthy tanned face.
I picked up his rifle and took a step back. “Brett, is it? I’m Harry and that’s Jack.”
“Look, I know who you are, but you need to get away from here. Anthony’s named Jerry as his number two. He’s taken control of operations and focused the entire organization here on finding you—”
“Hold on,” Jack interrupted. “We’re severely pissed off with you and Genesis Alliance, so don’t bloody tell us what we have and haven’t got to do. If I had it my way, you would be on your knees, about to kiss your life good-bye.”
He jabbed his muzzle in the direction of Brett’s head. I understood Jack’s fury. We had only been out of the pit a short time, and I’d already experienced several vomit-inducing flashbacks.
“Like he says, Brett,” I said while glancing at his black clothing, “wearing that uniform means you don’t get to call the shots.”
Brett looked toward Monroe. “We need to get away from here. There’re patrols all over looking for you. Jerry thinks you’re hiding in Monroe. They’re searching houses and burning the whole bloody town to the ground.”
Through the trees, I noticed a red glow hanging over areas of Monroe. I didn’t care if Jerry wasted his time burning down the whole place. It wasn’t our problem and would give us time to get clear.
“So if you aren’t with Jerry, who are you?” Jack said.
“I was seconded to Monroe by Genesis Alliance to work on the technical side of the operation. None of us knew exactly what was going to happen, but we didn’t expect this.”
“Your girlfriend told us the same. Are we supposed to feel sorry for you?” Jack asked.
“Look, mate, they have my wife and kids locked up somewhere—what was I supposed to do? I’m here to neutralize you and help you get out of here.”
“Why should we trust you?” I said.
He narrowed his eyes. “Do you think I’d lie about my wife and kids?”
Brett was either a convincing actor, or he was telling the truth. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. The woman walked to his side and gripped his arm. He turned to her. “Are you all right, Kate?”
She shuffled closer to him. “I’m fine. A little shaken but…”
“Where’s the rest of your team?” I asked.
“We’re holed up at a farm a couple of miles away,” Brett said. “If we go there now, we’ll have some safety for the rest of the night. Jerry’s boys won’t get near without us knowing.”
I considered our options. Spending time in the pit and thinking about the state of the world, I’d realized I needed to know more about GA, the enemy we needed to confront. Brett seemed to be different from others we had come across. On the flip side, he could be leading us into a trap set by Jerry or Anthony. The need for information proved to be a stronger pull, and we both had rifles.
“Okay, Brett, I’m going to trust you this far. We go in your car. I’ll drive with you in the passenger seat, and Jack will be in the rear. You can imagine what Jack will do should there be any monkey business. Once back at your place, you talk.”
Brett lowered his arms. “I’ve nothing to hide. Kate, you wait here and get ready to bug out if you see anyone coming this way.”
She nodded and returned to her a car. I heard an electronic lighter click three times.