From Within (20 page)

“What do you think we should do?” Lea asked her father.

“What can we do?” Alejandro answered.

“There were gunshots. We need to go make sure they are okay,” Lea said with an increasing sense of urgency in her voice.

Alejandro sighed. “I’ll make the hike down there. I definitely don’t want you going.”

“But I need to know Will is okay,” Lea said.

“Once I can see what I can find out, then I am coming right back here,” Alejandro said.

Alejandro dreaded what he had just volunteered for. He immediately played out several scenarios in his head after hearing the gunshots. One, which was the worst case scenario, both Marcus and Will were killed by the group that took their home. If that was the case, he didn’t want his daughter taken by the group or seeing Will’s dead body. He also did not want to come across Will’s dead body. Two, Will and Marcus made it away with some injuries. Three, which was his hope and the best-case scenario, they followed through with the original plan of bringing the Jeep higher up the mountain to join the four-wheeling trail. The gunshots were from their dash by the property. Either way, there were gunshots and that could never be good.

Alejandro figured leaving now would put him at the property when there was still daylight. He had mixed feelings about it. He wanted the cover of night, but at the same time, he wanted the light so he could see as much as possible. He warned the others that he might spend the night somewhere on the mountain and head back in the morning. He didn’t know the terrain as well as Will and didn’t want to get lost in the dark. Alejandro packed a small bag with some food and a few survival items for the potential overnight stay and headed down the mountain.

Alejandro considered the gunfire could lead to the group deciding to search up the mountain for them so he concluded it would be best to parallel the trail at least ten feet in the trees on his way down. He hadn’t been in that great of shape prior to the country spinning into chaos, but now that they had been doing much manual labor, Alejandro was energized by the trek. He made good time down the mountain and was even able to see ahead on some of the switchbacks and cut down on the distance he had to travel.

He made it to the portion of the trail that was above Beth and Will’s property. He even got lucky and came across their footprints on the side of the trail where they entered the woods again. He was fairly positive it was their footprints because one set looked like they belong to the dress shoes Marcus was wearing. He entered the trees and cut over to his right. He knew he should eventually run into the fence that marked the property line.

He reached the fence where he thought he must be lower down the mountain from where Will said he broke through the fence with his Jeep. His tracking skills were non-existent so he had immediately lost the footprint trail upon entering the woods. He tossed his bag over and then managed to climb the fence and drop over to the other side.

Now that he was on the property, he crept slowly ahead. He stopped every few steps to listen. He could see the edge of the tree line ahead and decided to watch the property from here. He didn’t want to get too close to the tree line and risk being seen. He pulled a small pair of binoculars that Lewis lent him and started scanning the area.

“Ruined a lot of my gardening work,” he muttered under his breath.

Alejandro pulled the binoculars from his eyes and scanned the area without. He replaced them and quickly scanned around again. There was only one truck. He could tell that there had been many vehicles before. He saw the signs all over the yard and in the garden areas. There were tire tracks that beat the ground into a muddy mess and flattened areas that had to have been tents. Had they left? Maybe the gunfire they heard was another group threatening this one. The lone truck bugged him. It did look fairly beaten up and old. Perhaps they left it behind on purpose.

After fifteen minutes or so of reconnaissance at this location, Alejandro decided to move all the way around to the other side of the property to see what was on the other side of Beth’s house. He made his way all the way back to the fence where he had entered the property and followed it all the way around. He had to remind himself several times to slow down so he wouldn’t make so much noise. Once he arrived at a new spot he was satisfied with, he spent another fifteen minutes doing the same.

There was nothing out of the ordinary on this side of the house. He was happy to see no sign of Will or Marcus. Maybe the gunfire wasn’t related to their arrival down here earlier in the day. Alejandro held on to that hope. He decided he would go to the opposite corner where Will would have broken through the fence and try to find the Jeep tracks. He could also head down to the main road to search for any clues with the little light of day that was left.

He was happy he didn’t find the Jeep. He also didn’t find anything at the road. On a whim, he double-timed it over to Lewis’s property. The thought had crossed his mind that the group had possibly moved over there. He was glad to find almost no evidence of them living there. It appeared they had searched the house food and probably took everything that Lewis had stored. It was now dark and Alejandro started to hike back up the mountain. He would return in another day or so to make sure they didn’t return. He would spend the night at least a mile beyond Beth’s property, still worried about the lone truck. If the group did pack up and leave completely, it may be a confidence booster for everyone that they could return home.

*****

The next morning Alejandro awoke early to hike the almost ten miles up the mountain in the still-cool morning. He had felt good about what shape he was in the day before but going uphill told him a different story. His lungs were on fire. He definitely would have to wait an extra day or so before doing all this again to check if the property had remained clear.

He arrived as they were cooking lunch on the fire. He reported his findings and it did indeed boost everyone’s mood.

“I’m still worried about what that gunfire was,” Lea said. “It happened about the time they should have gotten down the mountain.”

“It could have been anything, Lea,” Juana chimed in.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if those people fired on them as they drove down the road by the property,” Alejandro said. “I went to the road and couldn’t find any sign of trouble. Maybe someone was hunting in the area.”

Lea nodded and remained quiet and in thought.

“After I can recover a little bit from the hike up this morning, I’ll go down again to see if it’s all still clear.”

“That certainly wasn’t a good start,” Marcus said.

“Yeah,” Will said. “Definitely not how I expected that to go.”

The two had been driving for a little over thirty minutes. Their nerves had finally just begun to settle. Marcus stopped watching the road behind them and shifted on the bench seat to get comfortable. The loud rumbling exhaust on the ancient big block engine made Will cringe. Anyone would be able to hear the trucks for miles ahead of their arrival. He continually worried about any other similar groups that might stop passers-by and lighten their load of all their belongings, or perhaps even their life.

It seemed eerie that the only other vehicles they saw so far were ones abandoned on the side of the road. Had that many people either died or went to the camps to cause the area to be this empty? The thought made Will’s blood boil. He pushed the thought away. He didn’t want to be fuming the whole time. He also didn’t want to drop into one of his dark, depressing moods.

As they could start to see the white canvas in the distance that was typical of refugee camps, Will began to wonder what Marcus’s plan was. He had said that he had one, but he definitely hadn’t told him yet.

“So, Marcus,” Will began, “you never did say what the plan to get into this camp and get transportation was.”

“We are going to walk right in like we own the place,” Marcus said.

Will waited for more of the plan. He eventually raised an eyebrow when one didn’t seem to be coming.

“That...that’s it?” Will asked.

“Basically,” Marcus said. “I’ve had a successful career talking my way into things and places I don’t really belong. You have to do that to make it in the media. If you are a young investigative reporter and you let another network get the exclusive interview or break some big story before you, that very well could be the end of your career. Just follow my lead. Leave the talking to me.”

Will suddenly lost some of his confidence in Marcus. He wondered if the plan to get into Cheyenne Mountain was as solid as he thought. They turned onto the dirt road that led up to the entrance of the camp. Will couldn’t believe the size of the camp. It was massive. Looking to his left and right, it stretched to the horizon all around him.

“Are all of these camps around the country this huge?” Will asked.

“All the ones I’ve seen are,” Marcus said.

Will shook his head. “I guess they would need this many people to rebuild the entire country after the destruction they caused.”

Marcus didn’t comment any further. He reached out his hand and tapped it on Will’s arm. “Remember, let me do the talking.”

They had reached the entrance and two CMA security guards stepped up to the truck.

“Are you two here to seek refuge...” the guard had paused. He had just noticed Marcus. “Are you...are you Marcus Braden?”

“Yes,” Marcus said. “What seems to be the problem?”

“It’s all over the news that you are dead. Died in a plane crash in the Nevada desert,” the guard said. He still had a surprised and confused look on his face.

“Yep, that’s what happened,” Marcus said jokingly. “In all seriousness, as far as you know, the story you’ve heard is what happened.” Marcus’s face turned serious quickly.

“I...think I understand,” the guard said.

“No, I don’t want you to think you understand. I need you to understand,” Marcus said. He dipped his chin and kept his gaze steady on the guard just outside his open window. “If you have trouble understanding, I’ll make sure Mara hears about this. If you know her at all, you know that she is very keen on re-education.” Marcus didn’t know if that was true or not. He had only briefly talked with Mara during the last big meeting he was in. “Now, if there’s nothing else you two need, Mara has an assignment for me to complete.”

“Where’s your camera?” the other security guard said. He stood outside Will’s open window. He had remained quiet up until then. He appeared quite serious. He also appeared to be eyeing the pistol on Will’s side.

Before Marcus could come up with an excuse, Will decided to give it a go. “Not all tasks that we complete have to do with what shows up on t.v., if you catch my drift.”

The guard looked back and forth between Will and Marcus. Will had had a boost of confidence when he decided to give the storytelling a try, but now the piercing silence and the steady look on the guard’s face was causing that confidence to drain.

“Look, sir,” Will said, “you’ve seen on the news that he is dead.” He jabbed his thumb in Marcus’s direction. “There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that not every single person knows about. Mara has us on a tight schedule and we need to get going.”

The guard nodded. “I was just making small talk. I’ve never talked to a dead man before.” A slight grin formed on his face. “You can proceed.”

Will smiled back. “Thank you, sir.”

As they pulled away, Will could see in his mirror that the guard still looked a little suspicious of them.

“What was that?” Marcus asked. He kept facing forward to not alarm the two guards. They were still watching them drive into the camp.

“I thought it seemed legitimate,” Will said. “It seemed like you needed a little help.”

Marcus finally turned towards Will as they were a good distance from the gate. He dipped his chin and raised a single eyebrow at Will.

“You think I needed help?” Marcus asked.

Will laughed. “We are in, aren’t we?”

Marcus responded, “Stick with the plan.”

Will still chuckled for another minute. After he regained his composure he asked, “So, where am I driving to?”

“Glad you could rejoin me,” Marcus said with a hint of sarcasm. “It looked like the aviation area of the camp was on the opposite side.” He pointed straight ahead. “Just keep on this pathway all the way across.”

After a few more minutes of driving, they arrived on the opposite side of the camp. Marcus had been right. This side of the camp was littered with helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft as well. Marcus noticed that this camp had the luxury of having a runway on site. It wasn’t a runway in the usual meaning of the word. They had simply flattened out the farm fields to accommodate the smaller fixed-wing airplanes that were parked all over.

Marcus explained this portion of the plan to Will. They were going to be borrowing one of these aircraft and flying to Colorado Springs.

“Are you a pilot?” Will asked.

“Just became one this week,” Marcus said. “Didn’t you see my landing?”

Now it was Will’s turn for the piercing stare at Marcus. Marcus explained that they’d be borrowing a pilot. He would do this all the time at the camp he was at in the northeast. They would have to keep up the story of his death being faked and that they had much more important and secretive work to do for the CMA. Marcus also warned Will that they should keep quiet during the flight. They didn’t want to slip up by discussing any of their plans and have the pilot pass the information on ahead of their arrival.

They pulled up near a tent that sat apart from the rest of the tents in the camp. It was surrounded by helicopters so they assumed it was acting as the hub for aviation in the camp. Marcus pulled a credentials badge out of his pocket and wrapped the lanyard around his neck.

“Don’t know why I didn’t think of this for when we tried to enter the camp,” Marcus said.

They walked around to the tent’s entrance. As they entered, they felt a wave of cool air. There was a swamp cooler on the opposite side of the tent blasting cool air all the way across the tent. The inside of this tent was nothing like any of the tents Marcus had been in at the camp he lived at. It was mostly empty. A few workbenches lined the edge. It smelled of oil and grease and burning electricity. This had to be what was acting as the maintenance hanger.

They spotted a man to their left in the corner of the tent. He had his legs propped up on a desk and he looked to be reading a magazine. For a brief moment as they walked over to the man, Marcus wondered if this might be the pilot that pointed him westward in the King Air and then jumped. They approached him and Marcus cleared his throat. The man laid the magazine down on his chest and looked over at the two men that had just approached him. He noticed Marcus’s credential badge first and stood fairly quickly. He then shifted his gaze to Marcus’s face. It took the man a moment to register who he was seeing and then his eyes widened and he took a step back. Marcus was relieved that it didn’t appear to be the same pilot.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Marcus said, “you’ve seen the news that I’m dead. Big surprise, I’m here. And, I’m not dead. What’s your name, son?”

“Uh...Jay,” he said in an unsure tone.

“Is that a question?” Marcus asked.

“No...my name is Jay.” he said more confidently.

“Jay,” Marcus said, “there is something you need to understand. As far as anyone is concerned, including yourself, you never saw me or him.” He pointed to Will. “Do you understand?”

Jay nodded.

“Are you a pilot?” Marcus asked.

“Yes, sir,” Jay said. “For both rotor and fixed-wing. Pretty much everything we have here at the camp.”

“Good,” Marcus said. “Mara has an important task for my friend and I. We need your assistance. Why don’t you go get an airplane ready? You’ll be taking us to Colorado Springs.”

“Yes, sir,” Jay said. He ran behind the desk and grabbed a bag. He took a pen from the desktop and was about to write on a clipboard.

“Oh, no,” Marcus said waving his hands from side to side. “This is a level one security operation. No records on documents from your security level.”

Jay had a growing look of concern on his face but he continued to go along with whatever Marcus was telling him. He placed the pen down and nodded. He took the bag and started for the exit.

“I’ll get the plane pre-flighted,” Jay said. “You can come with me now and wait in the plane or wait for me to be done. It shouldn’t take too long.”

“We can come with you now,” Marcus said.

Marcus had the slight worry that this young guy might try to call someone above Marcus’s head to verify that he should be doing this flight. They walked around the tent and when Marcus saw the airplane his stomach sank. It was a King Air, identical to the one he flew into the ground.

“Figures,” he muttered to himself under his breath.

Marcus did his best to hide his growing anxiety but he was pretty sure that Will could pick up on it. Marcus and Will got settled in their seats while Jay walked around the aircraft. Marcus kept an eye on him as best as he could through the small, round windows.

Jay reentered the aircraft and closed up the door. He picked up a small cooler that had been sitting on the floor.

“There are some drinks in here. They should still be cold.” He pointed to a bag that also sat on the floor. “There are some snacks in there. Give me about ten minutes to do the flight planning and we should be on our way.” He grabbed a tablet computer out of the bag on his shoulder and went to sit in the pilot’s seat.

Marcus eyed the cooler. He wondered if it had any more off-brand soda cans.

Jay turned after a minute. “Mr. Braden, sir?”

“Yes?” Marcus said.

“I just wanted to double-check,” Jay said. “Am I filing a flight plan for this flight? The CMA likes it that way for all flights.”

“This isn’t all flights,” Marcus said. “No flight plan.”

“I’ll still have to talk to air traffic control in some of the areas we’ll be flying.”

“That’s fine,” Marcus said. “Just remember, I’m not here and neither is he.”

Jay nodded and returned to his flight planning. After a few minutes more, Jay turned back again.”

“Strap in tight,” Jay said. “Looks like it’s a bumpy day over the Rockies.”

The announcement made Marcus slump in his seat and let out a deep sigh.