BJ Knights - The City Burns

Coyle leaned on the front driver side of the truck while Samantha and Annie sat inside.

“When will I get to see daddy again?” Annie asked.

“Uncle Jim is getting him right now,” Samantha replied.

Annie jumped from her mother’s lap and gasped. Samantha grabbed her shoulders. “What’s wrong, baby?” Annie looked at her mother with fear in her eyes. “We forgot to tell Uncle Jim to get Tigs!”

Samantha let out a sigh and smiled. “I’m sure Jim will remember to bring Tigs with him, Annie. You don’t have to worry about her.” The tent flaps flew open as Hult entered. “He goes on in an hour,” he said. “He’s got watch for four hours, and halfway through, Matt’s scheduled for a bathroom break. We’ll get him to a computer station then.”

“Where’s the station at?” Jim asked.

“There won’t be a crew in the report stations outside his holding cell. We can put him on a computer there. I’ll keep watch outside while he’s in there,” Hult said.

“I’ll be outside with you,” Jim said.

“Farr, it’s too risky,” Hult replied.

“I got the drive,” Jim continued, “Locke made this my mission. I’ll see it through.”

“What if somebody sees you?” Brett asked. “Hult’s supposed to have not found you remember?”

“Nobody recognized me when I came through the front gate. I’ll just make sure I keep some extra gear on while I’m out,” Jim said. Annie had fallen asleep. Samantha peeled her arm off of the hot leather and slid out the door quietly. Coyle was still leaning up against the truck when she got out.

“I’m really beginning to hate the desert,” Coyle said. He took a swig from the cantina and passed it to Samantha. She didn’t say anything as she rested her head back on the window and passed the bottle back to Coyle. He could feel her worry. “It’ll be fine. Despite my jokes, Jim’s actually pretty good at what he does,” Coyle reassured her.

“Being a marine mechanic?” she replied.

“No, I still think he’s terrible at that,” he said. That got a small smile out of her.

Coyle’s voice became very soft as he spoke. “He got me out of San Diego alive. He saved a half dozen people along the way and, despite a few setbacks here, has kept us going since we’ve arrived here.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “He’ll bring Matt back.”

She nodded. “I know.”

Jim paced around the tent as he checked his watch. Brett was sharpening his blade with a whetstone. The slow, precise movement of the stone in his hand made a rhythm that sounded throughout the tent. Jim glanced back down at his watch. “Checking it every five seconds won’t make it tick by any faster, Jim,” Brett drawled. Jim stopped. He found a seat and dropped himself in it. He leaned forward onto his elbows and rubbed his hands with his face.

Brett frowned and paused while sharpening his blade. “What are you worried about? We have the drive. We have a plan. All we have to do now is sit back and let the computer nerd do his thing,” Brett said. He picked the stone back up and restarted his sharpening of the blade. “What if we’re wrong?” Jim glanced around the tent for any of Hult’s men. They weren’t there. “What if Locke’s in on it?” Jim said. Brett threw him a look of “c’mon man.”

“I’m serious, Brett,” he replied. “Locke doesn’t trust anyone here at this base? Anyone? What if this is all just a ploy to cover up his tracks?” Brett stopped sharpening his blade. “If Locke wanted us dead then Hult would have done it out in the dunes when he had the chance. He wouldn’t have brought us back here if he was in on it.”

Samantha started to laugh. Coyle went on with his story and was holding back a smile. “I’m serious. I ran through the entire dormitory butt ass naked screaming that I was the Duke of Snatch.” He paused a moment to ponder. “Surprisingly enough I wasn’t very popular with the ladies that year.” Coyle shook his head as he continued. “I shouldn’t have had that fifteenth beer.”

Samantha had to cover her mouth from laughing too loud. She put her finger to her lips. “You’ll make me wake up Annie,” she said and as she turned around to look in the window of the cabin truck. Annie was gone. The door on the other side of the truck was open. Samantha ripped open the truck door and climbed through to the other side.

“Annie!” she screamed. Coyle ran around to the other side as Samantha checked under the truck bed. “I don’t see her,” she cried. Her face was stricken with panic as she whipped around in all directions looking for her daughter. “Annie!” she screamed again. “Look,” Coyle said as he pointed to a pair of tracks that went up and over one of the dunes.

The two of them ran up the dune. Samantha reached the top first and all she could see were the rolling dunes in the distance leading to the camp in front of them. Coyle gasped for breath once he got to the top. “She went… to the camp?” he said sucking in wind. “Why would she go back there?” Samantha shook her head. “The cat.”

Annie was just outside the perimeters of the fence as she waited on the other side of a large dune. She was spying on two soldiers who were outside the back of their tent. There was a small hole in the fence she thought she could squeeze under, but it was right in front of where the soldiers were sitting. A third soldier came around the back and motioned for them to follow him. Annie waited until they were out of sight and then rushed down the hill and under the fence where she squeezed through the opening. She poked her head in the tent to see if anyone was inside. It was empty.

Hult came back into the tent. He nodded to Jim, “It’s time to get started.” Jim threw on a cap and wrapped a bandana around his mouth to help conceal his face.

Jim handed Hult the drive before they left the tent and the two set off to where Matt was being held. There was only one guard at the front door entrance. Jim hung back as Hult walked up to him with a friendly smile and the two shook hands. He saw Hult slide the drive into the guard’s hand when they shook.

Hult came back over to where Jim stood next to a gas truck and nodded. “He’s got it. In ten minutes he’ll go in to check on him, then we’re on watch.”

Samantha and Coyle crawled the last hundred feet as they got closer to the backside of the camp. The sun was getting lower behind them as they peaked over the last dune before the gate. Coyle pointed towards the small opening at the bottom. “She probably went through there,” he said.

Samantha grabbed the pistol out of Coyle’s cargo pocket and tucked it in her belt under her shirt. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Getting my daughter,” she replied.

She started to get up, but Coyle pulled her back down immediately as two soldiers came back around the tent in front of the opening in the gate.

“Do you want to get yourself killed?” Coyle whispered angrily. “Wait here,” he commanded. He crawled back down the backside of the dune and took off at a run keeping his head and body low. She watched him go about a hundred yards down and then stop. She heard him fire off a few rounds into the air. The two soldiers at the tent immediately started running towards the gunfire. Samantha glanced back down at Coyle who was taking off at a sprint in the opposite direction. She checked the perimeter of the fence once more. Nobody was there.

She took her chance and sprinted down towards the hole. The wires cut her deep across her clothes and the skin along her back as she pulled herself inside the base. Jim and Hult shot each other a look when they heard the gunfire. Sirens started to go off as men were running towards the back of the camp.

“The girls,” he whispered through the cloth of the bandana. He started to move forward, but Hult held him back. “No, we don’t know what that is. We have to finish this,” Hult said. He signaled over to the guard who nodded and went inside the door.