Paul Kirk - Devastation Point

“Yes, ma’am.”

“If, after your explanation of the situation, he doesn’t believe you and decides to escalate the meeting, I have a set of hand signals that I want you to follow without question.”

“Yes, ma’am, of course.”

“I’ll touch my right hand to my right ear twice for you to take out all the snipers simultaneously. “I’ll rub my nose twice for you to remove any threat of a surprise frontal attack.”

“Yes, ma’am. All the two-ways are operational, but we’ve lost three radios from battery drainage over the past month. One has a bad recharge cell and it can’t be fixed until we return to Mt. Storm, colonel. That leaves all team members supplied with communication, but with only one spare.”

“A little thin.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“What’s the ‘go’ signal to take out the sniper teams?”

“The current tactical comm ‘go’ signal for the hostile sniper removal is ‘Charlie One.’ The ‘go’ signal for assault on the annex hostiles is ‘Devil Two.’ Shamus is primary comm ops for all status inquiries on channel six. GT is serving as tactical comm ops messenger for me.”

“That sounds fine, major,” said the colonel, studying the area outside her window. The winds from Lake Erie were quickly blowing the clouds away, turning the gray sky to a bright blue. “One more signal, major. If I run both my hands through my hair, your team is to shoot the rifle of one of their primary snipers. Understood?”

“No kill, ma’am?”

“That is correct, major. No kill. It might be necessary simply to redirect their attention. A shot across the bow so to speak.”

“That might be a little dangerous, colonel.”

“Yes, I know, but I’ll be very careful.”

“Maybe it’s a bit too risky, ma’am.”

“Those are my orders, major.”

“Yes, ma’am,” acknowledged the major, clearly not happy with the command, but holding himself in check. “Is the mission authorized, colonel?”

“Yes, major. Please proceed.”

“And the comm ‘go’ signal for this no-kill rifle-only shot, ma’am?”

The colonel ignored the major’s obvious dissatisfaction—it was clear he didn’t like the risk. “Elephant three.’”

“Elephant three it is, colonel.”

“Major, you have full operational authority at this juncture to fulfill the current mission objectives.”

“Yes, ma’am. I understand.”

“What’s the status of the ’copter?”

“The bird’s safe, colonel. Shamus is at the controls, listening in on the radio and ready for any evasive action that might be necessary. He’s checked the landing pad for structural integrity and he’s convinced it’s sound and can handle the weight. I thought the shape of the turntable was only decorative, colonel—have they ever landed a ’copter on it before?”

“I don’t know, major. I doubt it. Since Captain Daubney’s a native, you should ask him if that’s what it was meant for. Either way, it’s nice to have an engineer who’s also a mathematician, isn’t it?

“Yes, ma’am, we were lucky to find Shamus, GT, and Scott.”

“I get the feeling that we haven’t seen everything they’re capable of.”

“You might be right, colonel.”

“Okay, major, this is your show. Let’s get started.”

“I don’t think that’s any of your fucking business, Kevin,” raged Andy. He understood Kevin’s question all too well. “Who the hell made you judge and jury?” Andy stood to face Kevin who remained sitting on his rock, calmly sipping his beer.

“Hey, Andy, relax. I’m just letting you know that Liam is kinda worked up on the matter.”

Andy stepped closer to the fire and took another swig of his beer. He was still angry, but the dancing flames had a soothing effect.

“Listen, T,” said Kevin, “it’s none of my business—”

“You got that right!” interrupted Andy, his anger rekindled.

“Andy,” said Terry, “Kevin has a right to speak his mind.”

“Thanks, T. It’s just that…” stammered Kevin. He was unsure how to continue.

“Kevin,” said Andy, “how about you give us a few minutes out here? Huh? Me and T need to figure a few things out.” Andy drained the remainder of his ale and shoved his mug into Kevin’s flannel shirt. “How about getting me another beer, Kevin?”

Kevin ignored Andy’s mug and took a swig of his own beer, his hand trembling slightly with anger. “Get it yourself, Andy.” Kevin felt the adrenaline wash of blood pulsing in his ears and priming him for a fight he would ultimately lose.

“Kevin,” said Terry, gently trying to diffuse the situation.

“Yeah, T?”

“Could you leave the two of us alone for a few minutes? I would appreciate it.”

“Sure, T.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, T.” He stood and swiped the beer mug from Andy’s hand. “I’ll even grab this SOB another beer.” He glared at Andy for a few seconds and turned to face Terry. “Can I get you anything, T?”

“No, thank you, Kev.”

They watched him walked toward the cottage, his wounded pride apparent in his gait. Andy settled next to Terry on the bench and her anger at him surfaced quickly.

“That was completely uncalled for!”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. But it’d be nice if you and me can talk before nebshit starts putting his nose where it don’t belong.”

“He’s looking out for Liam, Andy. I respect that.”

“And who’s looking out for you, T? Huh?” Despite her building anger, Andy enveloped her slim shoulders with his arm, forcefully pulling her to him. He roughly kissed her cheek. More gently, he kissed her lips. She pushed away half-heartedly and took his hand.

“I’m in strange waters here,” she said.

“Me too, T.”

“Dammit, Andy, I miss him.”

Andy drew in his breath and slowly exhaled. “I miss him too.”

“It’s been so long. And… I’ve have feelings for you.”

“T, you know I have feelings for you.”

“Andy… I’ve tried a couple times to find comfort… to somehow replace Connor, but it didn’t work. I’m not sure it’ll work now. I don’t think you can replace him.”

“I don’t want to replace him, T. I don’t plan on replacing him.”

“That’s good.”

“The way I figure it, I’d like to start my own tab. That is, if you’re willing.”

She leaned softly into his shoulder and sighed. “I think it’s about time, Andy. I gotta start letting myself move where my body and mind are telling me to go.”

“Same here, T.”

“I’m not sure about tonight, okay?”

“One night isn’t gonna make a difference. You make your move when you’re ready—that’s all I ask. I’m telling ya now, T, I’ll wait for you. Okay?”

“Yeah, Andy, okay. I won’t make you wait much longer.”

He gave her a final squeeze and slid away from her on the bench. “You think I should go find Mother Hen?”

“I do, but go easy on him for me, Andy. He’s just trying to protect my family and me. And, why don’t you invite whoever’s awake out to enjoy the fire.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Now that I think back on it, it is kinda obvious how everyone’s made the effort to give us some space over the last couple weeks. It’s not good for our families.”

“I agree. Seventeen adults and seven kids sharing thirty-five hundred square feet makes a small space to keep secrets.”

“How ’bout you tell whoever’s awake that we have something to say. You should probably wake up any sleeping adults.”

“Really? You wanna do this, now?”

“Yeah, Andy, let’s put this out in the open. We’ll tell ’em that we’re thinking of sharing a bedroom. That should put to rest what they’ve probably been thinking for awhile.”