Paul Kirk - Devastation Point

“Ahh—”

“I’m fucking serious, Cam.”

He studied her face before he glanced at JR who had moved out of her line of sight so as not to incur her wrath. JR shrugged his shoulders at Cameron. Terry was furious, her voice was low and slow, but it had weight—there wasn’t much doubt that she would do what she said.

“Cam, I’m the leader of this clan! Do you understand? It’s not Andy! It’s not Ryan! It’s not Kevin! It’s me! You got that?”

Shannon cowered behind her older brother who was watching the conversation with his mouth open. He had never seen his mother this angry. “Mom?”

“Not now, Liam,” she answered venomously and without taking her eyes from Cameron’s face. She had her hand on the grip of her holstered Berretta. Her look of rage said she expected his answer immediately. Cameron brushed his hand through his hair. They were stopped about thirty yards from the cottage, out of earshot of the busy clan members.

Cameron looked into Terry’s eyes. “I’m supposed to let Andy tell you, T,” he said pleadingly, his voice soft and nearly incoherent.

She moved quickly to stand squarely in front of him on her tiptoes and staring hard into his eyes. “Andy’s not here! And I’m the one in charge! Do you understand?”

“Yeah, T, I understand.”

“Good! Now tell me why we’re implementing a primary defense protocol here, but you’re taking me and my kids closer to danger?”

“I understand your frustration, T.”

Terry stepped back and unholstered her Beretta. She held it casually by her side, pointing toward the ground. “I’m way beyond frustration. I’m very close to killing you, Cam. And that’s a sentence I was sure I could never speak.”

“T!” he said, panicking. “It’s… um… it’s Mac. His name’s come up. They think he’s being chased by this army and ahead of them coming up the mountain.”

Terry’s knees weakened at the mention of her husband’s name. She caught herself before she dropped to the ground and quickly holstered her weapon.

“Cam!” hissed JR.

“What? What the hell was I supposed to do? She’s head of the clan, JR, not Andy. Besides, she was gonna shoot me!”

“No she wasn’t.”

“Yes, I was,” said Terry, her voice raw. “You can tell Andy that if he gets on your case about telling me. I woulda shot you both.”

Without warning, Liam ran back toward the cottage.

“Liam!” yelled Terry.

“I forgot something, mom. I’ll be right back,” he said without stopping.

“Hurry up!” said Terry.

“What’s he doing?” asked JR.

“I dunno,” said Terry, her shoulders drooping from the recent news. Hearing Connor’s name was the last thing she had expected. Her mind began to contemplate a new reality, a reality with Connor MacMillen very much alive. She stood frozen, briefly thankful for Liam’s forgetfulness—she wasn’t sure she had the ability to continue walking without thinking things through. Images ran past her eyes, moments with Connor—his smile, his laughter, and his incredible look of lust when he found her naked in their bed.

“T? You okay?” asked Cameron.

“Umm, yeah,” she whispered. She wondered how he had survived for the last five years. How had he made it across the Pacific Ocean? It was impossible. It was against all odds. She smiled, knowing she had married a man who liked a deck stacked against him. It was more of a challenge to Connor when hope was a limited option. She should have known—she should have realized he would have simply analyzed his situation as if it were any other problem and simply knocked down the barricades, one by one.

Her smile faded quickly as she thought of Andy—wonderful, kind Andy. Her knees weakened again. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Liam’s return. Besides his go bag, he now carried something in a big, black plastic bag. He didn’t stop where they waited, but continued past them, running with the energy of youth on the well-worn path toward Route 40 and Nemacolin Woodlands beyond.

Terry followed her son at a slower pace, lost in her own thoughts. Cameron and JR followed behind with Shannon trotting-walking-trotting-walking to keep up with her mother. Terry stumbled on, lost in her thoughts.

“What have I done?”

“Colonel, the men need orders, ma’am. Are we flying back to Perryopolis, flying to the rendezvous, or up the mountain to meet with Commander Bastin?”

“Things are becoming complicated, major,” she answered. She put her face in her hands, not in despair, but in the brief respite it gave her from making decisions. She was exhausted.

“Yes, ma’am. Complicated,” he repeated, his level of concern rising at her apparent lack of focus. “The helicopter’s ready now, colonel.”

“Okay, major. Have you and Major McLoy made safe arrangements for his horses?”

“Yes, ma’am. Major McLoy has instructed, Pike, one of his men to run the horses to the mountain garrison.”

“Good.” She stared silently at the ceiling.

“Are you okay, ma’am?”

“Yeah, major, I’m fine. I’m just thinking… what a long journey. But we finally have a bead on Colonel Connor MacMillen.”

“Yes, ma’am, we do. I’m sure he’s around here somewhere. I’m still confident he’s hooked up with our team though and we just don’t know it yet.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Colonel, I’m sure MacMillen passed by Perryopolis at some point with or without the team. Why don’t we trace Route 51 back to that town? We can try to establish radio contact with the team while we head toward Perryopolis. We can fly up to the mountain after that. Besides, the extraction isn’t until tomorrow anyway.”

“Yes, major, sounds like a good idea.”

“Yes, ma’am. I asked Shamus to plot a course parallel to Route 51 toward Perryopolis, pending your approval of course. He can trim the treetops.”

“I like it, major. You’re always two steps ahead of the game.”

“Yes, ma’am. I had a great teacher, colonel,” he said smiling. Instrumental in his military education and training, she laughed at his bald attempt at flattery.

“Major, you’re a good man,” she said, slightly rejuvenated. She appreciated his attempt to lighten her mood. She was lucky to have this man as her second-in-command.

“Yes, ma’am, I try to be.”

“Okay, major, let’s do this. We’ll keep the radio live and Scott can broadcast on sixty second intervals.”

“Yes, ma’am. Though it might turn out to be annoying hearing his voice every minute for the entire trip.” He was grateful for her focus on the task at hand.

“Naw, c’mon. Scott’s got a great voice. Okay, let’s go see about Perryopolis. And if we come across Phoenix on the way—”

“ That scenario’s already factored in, ma’am.”

“Good, major. Hmm, staying low for radio reception will place us in greater danger from one of his RPGs.”

“Yes, ma’am. Shamus and I have discussed that.”

“Okay.”

“I started to instruct him on the need to avoid such exposure, ma’am.”

“What do you mean ‘started to instruct him’?”

“I brought up the subject in front of GT and Scott and they tried hard not to bust out laughing, ma’am.”

“Wow, no kidding?”

“Yes, ma’am. Apparently, they were impressed at how serious Shamus could be while he listened to what I had to say.”

“You mean, like Shamus was only humoring you?”

“Yes, ma’am. When GT and Scott started laughing, I turned to look at them and when I turned quickly back to Shamus, he was grinning from ear to ear though he hid it fast.”