The Horse Soldier: Beginnings Series Book 10 (14 page)

What if he was wrong? What if the
Captain gets angry at him for not doing his job? Taking a chance, Sgt. Ryder walked to Hal’s office. The door was slightly opened. He knocked once. “Captain, is everything . . .” He paused in his speaking and opening of the door when he saw the two men embracing. Sgt. Ryder was right. It was like he was watching an old movie. His heart skipped a beat for Hal and his eyes even glossed with a mist. “Excuse me. I apologize.” He began to step back.

“Elliott.” Hal called to him. “Wait.” He wiped his eyes and hoped his face wasn’t too red
, but it was. “Wait. I need you to meet . . . meet my father, Elliott. This is my father.” Hal proudly pointed.

“Mr. Slagel.” Sgt. Ryder gripped Joe’s hand again, this time with pride. “You have raised one fantastic son. It’s an honor to not only meet the man who runs Beginnings but meet the man who taught our leader so well.”

Hal snickered a blush and waved his hand in an embarrassing ‘go on’ fashion. “Dad, Elliot is my right hand man. Sort of like that . . . who
is
your right hand man in Beginnings?”

“Supposed to be a man named Henry . . . .”

“Henry?” Hal looked to Sgt. Ryder. “Oh yes. Whiny guy.”

Joe looked at Hal oddly. “How do you know?”

“We monitor your radio transmissions. We haven’t communicated because, well, we didn’t want you to think we weren’t a serious organization.”

Joe shook his head. “You’re a serious organization all right. Goddamn
, Hal. You did all this?”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to talk about that now. We will. Elliott have Craig bring us something to drink. Dad, are you still a coffee drinker.”

“You bet,” Joe said.

“Coffee
, Elliott, and tell Craig to behave himself. My Father is here,” Hal said like a kid showing off his dad on parents’ day at school.

“Be right back.” Sgt. Ryder smiled.

“Elliott,” Hal called out. “Make sure you do return. We have a lot to talk about with my father.”

Sgt. Ryder smiled at the enthusiasm Hal showed
. He paused in his leaving. “Mr. Slagel, I just want to tell you, since we have been monitoring your radio transmissions, we’ve been really entertained, and a little jealous of you guys. You seem to have a good time there.”

“Well you’ll have to come there
, Elliott, meet some of our finest and then see how amused you are,” Joe said sarcastically and watched Sgt. Ryder leave. “Hal? If you’ve been monitoring transmissions, I’m on that radio all the time. How did you not know it was me?”

“I thought it. You know.” Hal pulled a chair out for Joe. “But then every guy who listened said someone sounded like someone they knew. I chalked it up to my imagination.” Hal slid a chair near Joe’s. “But
Dad, I have to know. Don’t think I’m off my rocker, just bear with me. O.K.?”

“O.K.”

“Is this Eagle One, this Robbie or Robert . . . is he . . . is he my baby brother?”

Joe smiled. “Unfortunately
, yes.”

Hal shrieked and jumped from his seat. “Let’s go.”

“What?” Joe stood up. “Where?”

“I’m leaving Sgt. Ryder in charge. I have to see
him. I have to see Robbie. God, Dad,” Hal spoke rapid and fast. “I have been thinking about you guys nonstop. Now I know why. It was you, it was really you.”

“Easy.” Joe followed him. “We’ll get there
, but I need to slow down or else you won’t be seeing me much longer. My heart can’t take this. I need to just take this all in before we race around and get all emotional again.” Joe grabbed his chest. “My son is alive.” He gripped Hal’s shoulder. “And look at what you’ve done. This is a hell of a community you got going. Can you show me it before we leave?”

“Aw.” Hal cringed. “It’s no big deal. I’ll show you later.”

“Hal.”

“O.K. I’ll give you the grand tour.” Hal held the door opened for Joe.

“Thank you.”

“Then we leave.” Hal moved quickly with Joe towards the steps. “Tell me Dad, is Robbie still the same?”

“Unfortunately . . . yes.” Laying his hand on Hal’s back, Joe moved with his son, looking just as proud to be seen with him as Hal was to be seen with Joe.

^^^^

Robbie sounded more like a children’s book than anything else, asking everyone, “Where’s my father? Have you seen my father.” Not out of concern, missing, or needing Joe, but out of the search for the possibility of getting away with a really long unscheduled break.

But Robbie figured he’d might as well get part of his job out of the way first, processing the new survivor he found out running about. Walking the male survivor to Joe’s office, because that was where the processing was done, Robbie slowed in his walk when he saw Dan outside Joe’s office, oddly enough, feeding a horse. “Dan?”

“Robbie. Hi.” Dan said nervous
ly.

“Who’s horse?”

“Who’s horse?” Dan repeated.

“Yeah, who’s horse?”

“Joe’s.”

“My Dad’s?”

“Yeah, he wanted to start riding. Go figure. Must be a gas conservation idea he had for getting around the community.”

“Not for all of us
, I hope,” Robbie commented.

“I think that’s where he’s steering
,” Dan said.

“No way am I riding a fuckin horse.” Robbie opened Joe’s office door. “This way
,” he told the thin man with dark hair. “Have a seat.” Robbie shut the door. “Let me just get some things.” He walked to the back of the office, to the examining room and came back out with a clipboard. He sat down at Joe’s desk. “O.K. you seem like a calm guy.”

“I am. I’m usually not quiet. Right now I’m still shaken up over what all went down.”

“What were you doing in the area?” Robbie questioned.

“Trying to find this mysterious community I heard about. See . . .” He fiddled with his hands. “I was traveling with this man. We’ve basically been scouting the country side looking for this place we heard others were searching for.
We thought it was mythical. You know, sometimes people make up places to convince themselves that something better is out there. He and I were camping. We woke up to find the soldiers raiding our camp sight. They killed Tony and I took off. That’s when you found me. Thank you.”

“You’re lucky. I usually don’t go that far east.” Robbie grabbed a pencil. “O.K., we need this for
the record before you go to containment. You remember that place I told you about?”

“Yes.” He nodded.

“Basics. What is your name?” Robbie asked.

“Jeremy. Jeremy Lyons.”

^^^^

Joe couldn’t help it. With his coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other, he kept looking behind him as he walked with Hal and Sgt. Ryder through town.

“Dad, something wrong?”

“Why . . .” Joe looked back again. “Why is that man following us?”

“Damn it.” Hal bit his lip, looked behind him and shouted. “Craig! Go!”

“I see you have them here as well,” Joe commented.

“He annoys me.” Hal said.

Sgt. Ryder interjected, “He lets him annoy him.”

“It’s a Slagel thing. He can’t help it
,” Joe said.

Hal stopped at the police station and opened the door. “This is where we monitor your transmissions.” As he stepped in
, the monitor stood up. “Corporal, meet my father.”

“Your father? For real?” The corporal extended his hand to Joe.

“Yep,” Hal stated, “and the Chief of Beginnings. You can take a break.”

“Thank you.” The corporal left the office.

Joe checked out the radio. “So you do have radio communications?”

“Yes
.” Hal answered. “We just stayed silent. Now we can use them, which eases my mind if Elliott gets into trouble here.”

Sgt. Ryder looked confident. “We shouldn’t have any problems. Hell, if we do
, how long would it take for Captain Slagel to get back?”

“We can fly him here in twenty minutes. Fifteen tops.” Joe told him. “Thanks Elliott for taking the
reins so I can spend time with my son. We need him there for a while.”

“The Captain is good enough to be there and give orders here
,” Sgt. Ryder said. “I’m very happy his family is alive. And you giving him a truck to go back and forth will help us as well. Plus sir, we do want to know more about the place where we keep sending our sick men.”

“That’s right.” Joe snapped his finger. “We have one of your men. He’s doing very well. H
e had tetanus. But I do have to tell you something, Hal. You think Beginnings is this big deal. We haven’t the man power you have at all. You may not be all that impressed.”

“We are impressed
,” Hal corrected. “We used to watch your community. We weren’t sure if you were part of the Society or not. And . . . we may have the manpower, but you have the technology. We’re soldiers in this battle, maintaining the front lines.”

“Which is?” Joe asked.

“Basically, we drew a line. The Dakotas, Kansas straight down is the front line. We’ve been doing good. Took out five, six camps so far.”

Joe whistled. “So what do you need us for? Aside that your family is there.”

“Survival. We’re rationing now. I have the man power you need to farm your fields. You have the food we need. We can help each other in more ways than you realize. I have to concentrate on training these men to fight the Society. With Beginnings helping, I can build the army we need to eventually bring the Society down.”

“A common goal
,” Joe said, “and we have more than enough food. We waste so much between what we grow in the field and greenhouse. I can use the manpower for the fields and preservation right now. The more men we have, the less we will waste. Can you give up some men within the next week or so?”

“Absolutely. Name the number.”

Sgt. Ryder leaned toward Hal whispering loud enough for Joe to hear. “Tell him about your contract.”

Hal nudged him away. “Shh.”

“Contract?” Joe asked. “What, Hal? You wrote a contract to present to Beginnings?”

“Well yeah.” Hal shrugged. “It’s pretty detailed
, explaining how we can scratch each other’s back.”

“God, that is so like you.” Joe laughed as he shook his head. “You realize we don’t need a contract now.” Joe didn’t get an answer. “Hal?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” Joe turned to Sgt. Ryder. “So tell me
, is my son still over the top and dramatic.”

“Yes
,” Sgt. Ryder answered. “No. Yes. Dramatic yes, But uh . . .” He snickered. “Never without flare.”

Joe grabbed on to Hal’s uniform. “The Horse Soldiers?”

Hal grinned. “You got it. And . . .” He clapped his hands together. “Let me go pack. I can’t wait to see my little brother.” Hal rushed to the door. “Elliot, keep my father company and tell him nothing bad about me.”

Sgt. Ryder gave Hal a thumbs up as he left. “I’ve never seen him so excited.”

“Well I just have a feeling that excitement is going to be nothing compared to when he sees Robbie.” Joe smiled. “Those two back together again.” The smile dropped from Joe’s face. “Oh Christ, I’m in trouble.”

^^^^

Ellen had a slight smile to her face as she sat in her small office
at containment, alone. “I don’t know, Frank.” She shrugged. “You can’t be threatened by this. Well Hon . . . what did you expect. I know. I know. You think? Yeah right . . . ha!” Ellen turned serious. “It’s the right thing to do. For you and for me. I feel a little guilty.” She held her fingers close together. “Just a little. But I love Dean and you know that. It’ll work out. I promise.” She leaned in to her desk more. “I miss you so much. God, how I miss you. I miss fighting with you. Touching you. Telling you I love you. This is the longest we have been apart and my heart is broken. Come back to me, Frank. Come back to me soon.” Ellen reached out her hand and lifted the picture of Frank she had setting against the pencil holder. It was the picture she classified as the best one Frank had ever taken. It was a couple years old, taken when Jonas was around taking pictures still, him and Robbie. It was an odd one of Frank. He smiled, genuinely smiled. Frank always posed in each picture like he was going to kill the world. So handsome she thought Frank looked as she ran her index finger across his face.

“El.” Robbie walked in, knocked on the door
, and shut it. “Where’s my father?”

“Where’s my survivor?”

“In the security office up front.”

“In that case
, I haven’t a clue where Joe is.” She noticed the frazzled look on Robbie’s face. “What’s the matter? What happened?”

“O.K., get this.” Robbie held up his hands. “I lost a
Jeep.”

“You what?”

“I lost a Jeep. I don’t know how. I go to get one to bring the new guy here and there’s one less Jeep charging at the garage.”

“You’re kidding?” Ellen stood up. “Did you check the new reqs
?”

“Yep and the old ones. I even looked on Frank’s desk and my Dad’s. Nothing
. You know my dad put me in charge of them just this morning.”

“Oh man
, Robbie. Wait, this is Beginnings. How hard is it to find a Jeep? Just make a radio call for the number.”

“Yeah right.” Robbie fluttered his lips. “And then what? Have my Dad hear
? You’ll know what he’ll do. Shit, and Frank isn’t even here to blame it on.”

“You know what you should do
? Talk to Henry. He’s the leader in training.”

“I thought of that.” Robbie ran his hand over the top of his head. “So I talked to him. He said I’d better find the
Jeep before Joe gets real mad. Some leader. Shit.”

“Calm down. Just say a prayer to St. Anthony. Your
dad said your mom always said it worked.”

“I’ll do that. How’s it go? Tony, Tony please come down . . .”

Ellen nodded. “Something’s lost and can’t be found. That’s the one.”

“Got it.” Robbie snapped. “I’ll get your survivor. Thanks
, El, and if you see my Dad . . .”

Ellen zipped up her mouth. “But . . . we can always blame it on Dean. You know how he never signs reqs.”

“Good idea.” Robbie grinned. “See ya.” Robbie started to whisper as he walked out. “Tony, Tony please come down. Something’s lost . . .”

Ellen snickered as she leaned in her doorway
, listening to Robbie repeat the prayer over and over. She shut her office door, returned to her desk, and put on her ‘official’ containment stern face.

^^^^

Hal seemed
amazed as he rode in the Jeep with Joe. He held on with a wide smile on his face. “It’s been so long since I rode in a Jeep.”

“Well get used to it. I think I can issue two trucks to you guys. It’ll make for easy back and forth access to Beginnings.” Joe grabbed his phone and started to dial.

“So that’s why we don’t know everything? You talk on phones.”

Joe showed Hal the phone. “Henry did this . . . Dean?” Joe spoke his name.

“Joe shit. I’ve been waiting,” Dean spoke with excitement. “Well?”

“I’m on my way back home.”

“Well?”

“With my son.” Joe pulled the phone away from his ear
. Dean’s excitement probably had more to do with the fact he was going to get to do more research. “Dean, listen to me. I need a favor. I want this to be a surprise so . . . get Robbie up to my office have him wait there and not move. Then hold Missy Jane at the clinic in the back until I radio we are there.”

“Got it.” Dean answered. “How far away are you?”

“Half hour tops. See you soon.”

“Oh Joe
,” Dean called out. “I’m happy for you. I am.”

“Thanks.”

“Could you make mention that I want to run some tests on him?”

“Bye
, Dean.” Joe hung up the call.

“Dad? Who’s Missy
Jane?”

“Don’t worry about
it. She’s just a friend I want to introduce you to.”

“Is she . . . is she a bearable woman
?”

Joe looked quickly to his son
, wondering what kind of question that was. “Well, she can be a little intolerable. Sorry.”

“Typical.” Hal slouched in his seat and stared ahead.

Joe snickered at his son’s dismay and continued to drive on.

^^^^