Conquest ~ Indian Hill 3 ~ A Michael Talbot Adventure (34 page)

“We’ve got to bring it to th
em before they have that chance
.
B
ut
only
after their air support is gone.”

“Do you think th
ey’ll have some ships available?
”

“We’ve been monitoring their
maneuvers
around the globe
.
W
e
can only speculate that either our
air forces around the world took down more than was initially thought or that they just really didn’t have all that many to begin with.”

“Well
,
that makes sense.”

“What’s that?” Paul asked, curious to discover some more information about a puzzle that had been mystifying him for weeks now.

“The ship that’s sending all these aliens and weaponry and supplies, is not an assault ship
,”
I
answered.

“Are you f
uck
ing kidding me
?
A
ll this death and destruction and that thing up there’s not a battleship?” Paul asked incredulously.

“To be honest
,
bro, they classify it as a Heavy Scout ship.”

“So that’s why they haven’t just pounded us into the ground
,” Pa
ul said
to
no one
in particular. “I thought they were spread t
o
o thin. But why? And how much time do we have?”

To the last question
,
I
knew
what
Paul was asking without any
further
elaboration.

“Well,
my friend
,
it’s not like I had a direct pipeline to the
Supreme
Commander’s war room
,
but I did get some information and it comes down to power, or
more
exactly
the pursuit of power
.
T
he new
commander on that ship saw an opportunity to seize power and took it. The normal process, if there is such a thing for planetary takeover and domination, is for the scout ship to find a viable planet, radio the coordinates back home and then they wait, basically planting a flag on the planet. And my understanding is that from the time the signal is received, the true war ships arrive, is somewhere in the neighborhood of two years.”

Paul shook his head. “So then
,
what we’re doing here is…”

“Surviving
,” I answered
quickly.

For the first time in a long time
,
Paul began to doubt their whole objective. “So no matter what we do to this little bully, his big bully brothers are coming and then will really start to dish out some whoop-ass? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Listen
,
Paul, I’m only relaying the message
.
I don’t like the news any more than you do
,
but there it is. Just because someone bigger and badder is coming down the street, doesn’t mean we should just give up now. I still want to kill as many of them as I can before this thing ends.”

Paul
nodded
in agreement. “You’re right. I’m sorry. That just wasn’t the news I was expecting or hoping to hear.”

“I understand
,
bud
.
B
ut it’s not like I told you the Pope wasn’t Catholic.”

“What do you know about that?” Paul asked
conspiratorially
.

“How long until we attack?”

“Tomorrow
morning.”
T
he men began to melt back into the woods
surrounding
the town center.

***

I
got back into
my
bunk, Tracy still
sleeping
, the perfect vision of an angel
.
H
er
a
uburn hair fanned out around her beautiful face.
I
stared down at her a long time soaking in
everything
about her from her straight nose to the curve of her slightly thin lips
,
to her almost elfish ears.
I
didn’t think
I
had quite crossed over to love, but
I
was damn close and falling fast.
I
was snapped out of
my
thoughts when Tracy spoke.

“Instead of looking, why don’t you come over here and kiss me
,” Tracy said
dreamily.
We
made love with a passion heretofore unbeknownst to the both of
us
. An hour later
we lay
next to each other breathless and spent.

“That was amazing
,” Tracy said
as she half rolled over
,
drawing small circles with her finger in
my
sparse chest hair.

“Yeah
,
I was pretty good
,” I answered
with a wicked smile on
my
lips.

Tracy teasingly punched
me
in
the
arm.

“What time do we leave tomorrow?” Tracy asked out of the blue.

I
had hoped to avoid th
at
conversation
.
I
had planned on sneaking out before she ever woke. But the cat was out of the bag now.
I
wouldn’t be able to dodge the issue no matter how hard
I
tried.
How the hell had she found out?

“Five
am
,” I answered
solemnly.

“What
,
no fight? I thought for sure you’d try to talk me out of it. I’m a little disappointed.”

“Would it have helped?”
I
asked.

“No
,” she answered
matter-of-
factly. “But what’s the fun in that
?
”

“Listen
,
Tracy, I would be able to concentrate a whole lot better if I knew
you were back here and safe.”

“Listen
,
Mike
,” she said
,
sitting up now. “I was a soldier long before you. I was training in Annapolis when you were playing quarters and trying to get in some freshman’s skirt.”

“That’s not fair
,
Tracy, you know what I meant
,” I answered
, true hurt in
my
voice. “I’m not doubting your ability to fight, I’m doubting my ability to fight when I’ll be constantly watching to make sure you’re alright.”

“You love me, don’t
you
,”
s
he stated, not asked.

“I think I might.”

“You think
?” she asked
staring directly into
my
eyes.

“Alright
-
alright, I do.”

“And I love you
,
Mike
.
H
ow do you think I’ll feel sitting here waiting to see if you come back or not?”

“See
I should have never opened this door
, I knew I’d never
win.”

“And you never will
,” she answered
smiling. “Now go to sle
ep, I don’t want you all bleary-
eyed when we go and kick some ass.”

“Do you think so?”

“Do I think what
?” she asked
.

“Do you really think we’re going to kick some ass tomorrow?”

“Call it woman’s intuition if you want to, but I feel it in my bones. This is going to be a class-
A
seek and destroy mission.”

I
wasn’t quite as confident, but the table had
been
set
and now it was just a matter of sitting down to eat.

Tracy laid back down. “Now go to sleep, because I want to do this again tomorrow night and the night after and then
,
who knows
,
maybe the night after that.”

“Yes
,
dear
,” I answered
,
using
my
best whipped dog imitation.

I
could tell within scant minutes Tracy had fallen
a
sleep, looking no more troubled than if she had to get up in the morning and let the dog out into the backyard.
I
had no such luck, as quietly as
I
could
,
I
arose and went in search of some solace. In five minutes
I
found what
I
had been looking for. It was a large conference room that had been converted into a non-denominational chapel. God and
I
had for the most part been on uneasy terms, but
I
was going to try
my
best tonight to smooth that over.

“God, I know in my heart you exist, no matter what my head says. And I know you are aware of the devastation your world has come under. We need you
,
God, now more than ever. Is it right of me to only seek your help now when things are at their darkest, when for most of my adult life I have turned a cold shoulder? No
,
probably not. But don’t you
hear
those who stray and then come back to the flock? I learned at least that much in Sunday school. Please
,
God
,
don’t turn your
back
, like so many of us have to you. Your children need you.”
I
performed the Holy trinity and then rose and turned, slightly shocked to see Dennis leaning against the door frame, a half drained bottle of Southern Comfort in his hand.

“Did he hear you?” Dennis asked earnestly with not the slightest hint of a slur.

“Look around Dennis, do you think so?”
I
answered just as earnestly as
I
reached for the bottle Dennis had now proffered.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so
,
either.”

CHAPTER FI
F
TY-TWO

“Holy
shit
,”
Beth yelped joyously, as s
he looked upon the Norwood sign,
bent over at an angle most motorists would never be able to see. “One town away
,
Sampson
,” she said
excitedly.

Sampson couldn’t for th
e life of him understand why the
girl was so excited about the metal object. He had sniffed it and knew without a shadow of a doubt he couldn’t eat it. He would’ve reflected her feeling
happy
if it had been a steak or some corn chips
—
his personal favorite
—
that the little boy used to share with him even when the older lady half yelled at him for doing so. H
e wagged h
is tail
,
remembering
. But it wasn’t steak and it wasn’t corn chips, it wasn’t even those hard little crunchy things that tasted like old cardboard
that his family called dog food
. With little ceremony, Sampson lifted his leg and let this girl know exactly what he thought of the large metal object.