headed?”
“Mike Rollins—we went through ranger
school together long ago.” He leaned back and wriggled his head around,
stretching his neck under the weight of his tactical vest. “I should also
mention that Mike was always notorious for having the best home-brewed beer,”
said Duncan. “I sure hope he still has some in reserve.”
“Now that would be warmly welcomed,” said
Carlie.
The radio crackled and the voice of Mike
came into their earpieces.
“Rollins here, we’re waiting. What is your
ETA?” said the voice, which sounded feeble.
“We’re just coming up on McKenzie
Mountains and should be at your base in twenty minutes,” Duncan said.
“And you have your tactical specialists? I
have an interesting dilemma to get their advice on.”
“Yes, I look forward to hearing your
report and catching up with you.”
When the two men finished talking, Carlie
leaned towards Duncan.
“I wonder why he’s in need of our tactical
personnel?”
“This is a pretty isolated outpost—he may
just need some additional advice on how to further fortify their location.”
Carlie shrugged her shoulders and settled
back into her seat, staring back out at the snow-enshrouded valleys below. It
had been a long winter and she was eager for the warmth of spring. She kept
reminding herself why she had formerly lived in Arizona and how she would one
day reside again in a warm climate unclaimed by the snow. One day… She
shook her head, wondering if there would ever come such a time when humans
could plan so far ahead and contemplate retirement.
Carlie pulled her thoughts back to the
present as she saw Duncan and the other men readying their gear and preparing
to set down. He tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the settlement nestled
between two mountains a few miles east.
“Looks quiet down there,” she said,
scanning the scattered buildings and surrounding terrain.
“They’ve been hit by a hard winter in
these parts so everyone’s probably holed up.”
The helicopter circled the outpost and
then swung in low to a helipad behind the main two-story command center. The
tinted windows on the building prevented any sign of movement from inside and
Carlie studied the immediate grounds instead.
There were eleven buildings spread out
amongst the 200 acres of open meadow. The entire compound was situated in a
u-shaped bowl with only one main road cutting through the thick swath of spruce
and pine trees. It was an ideal location for a command post, with protection on
three sides and a defensible chokepoint leading in. She looked down at the
dusting of snow on the helipad and noticed the absence of any tracks.
Mike’s barely audible voice came through
their earpieces again. “I’m just getting back in from a trek to our lookout
tower and will be with you shortly. Just walk into the command center and wait
in the control room.”
“Copy that,” said Duncan, grabbing his M4
and opening the sliding door. “He sounds like he’s under the weather—no
surprise living in this icebox of an outpost that we’ve got him in.”
Carlie followed him with the other men and
Eliza trailing behind them. The command center was a hundred yards ahead, its
steel double-doors fortified with metal plates bolted onto the core.
“Don’t you find it odd that there aren’t
any tracks around the entire area? Not even deer or rabbit,” she said.
Duncan paused before the steps leading up
to the entrance and scanned the terrain. He frowned and panned his head up at
the surrounding hills then back at the front door. As he extended his gloved
hand out to the round knob, he heard a faint but familiar whistling sound from
above growing in intensity.
Carlie craned her head up at the sky and gazed
around for answers.
“Mortar—take cover!” said Duncan.
Everyone’s eyes grew wide and they dropped
to a squat behind a cement retaining wall as a white-hot flash of light drove
into the helicopter. The explosion rocked the entire
“Mike Rollins—we went through ranger
school together long ago.” He leaned back and wriggled his head around,
stretching his neck under the weight of his tactical vest. “I should also
mention that Mike was always notorious for having the best home-brewed beer,”
said Duncan. “I sure hope he still has some in reserve.”
“Now that would be warmly welcomed,” said
Carlie.
The radio crackled and the voice of Mike
came into their earpieces.
“Rollins here, we’re waiting. What is your
ETA?” said the voice, which sounded feeble.
“We’re just coming up on McKenzie
Mountains and should be at your base in twenty minutes,” Duncan said.
“And you have your tactical specialists? I
have an interesting dilemma to get their advice on.”
“Yes, I look forward to hearing your
report and catching up with you.”
When the two men finished talking, Carlie
leaned towards Duncan.
“I wonder why he’s in need of our tactical
personnel?”
“This is a pretty isolated outpost—he may
just need some additional advice on how to further fortify their location.”
Carlie shrugged her shoulders and settled
back into her seat, staring back out at the snow-enshrouded valleys below. It
had been a long winter and she was eager for the warmth of spring. She kept
reminding herself why she had formerly lived in Arizona and how she would one
day reside again in a warm climate unclaimed by the snow. One day… She
shook her head, wondering if there would ever come such a time when humans
could plan so far ahead and contemplate retirement.
Carlie pulled her thoughts back to the
present as she saw Duncan and the other men readying their gear and preparing
to set down. He tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the settlement nestled
between two mountains a few miles east.
“Looks quiet down there,” she said,
scanning the scattered buildings and surrounding terrain.
“They’ve been hit by a hard winter in
these parts so everyone’s probably holed up.”
The helicopter circled the outpost and
then swung in low to a helipad behind the main two-story command center. The
tinted windows on the building prevented any sign of movement from inside and
Carlie studied the immediate grounds instead.
There were eleven buildings spread out
amongst the 200 acres of open meadow. The entire compound was situated in a
u-shaped bowl with only one main road cutting through the thick swath of spruce
and pine trees. It was an ideal location for a command post, with protection on
three sides and a defensible chokepoint leading in. She looked down at the
dusting of snow on the helipad and noticed the absence of any tracks.
Mike’s barely audible voice came through
their earpieces again. “I’m just getting back in from a trek to our lookout
tower and will be with you shortly. Just walk into the command center and wait
in the control room.”
“Copy that,” said Duncan, grabbing his M4
and opening the sliding door. “He sounds like he’s under the weather—no
surprise living in this icebox of an outpost that we’ve got him in.”
Carlie followed him with the other men and
Eliza trailing behind them. The command center was a hundred yards ahead, its
steel double-doors fortified with metal plates bolted onto the core.
“Don’t you find it odd that there aren’t
any tracks around the entire area? Not even deer or rabbit,” she said.
Duncan paused before the steps leading up
to the entrance and scanned the terrain. He frowned and panned his head up at
the surrounding hills then back at the front door. As he extended his gloved
hand out to the round knob, he heard a faint but familiar whistling sound from
above growing in intensity.
Carlie craned her head up at the sky and gazed
around for answers.
“Mortar—take cover!” said Duncan.
Everyone’s eyes grew wide and they dropped
to a squat behind a cement retaining wall as a white-hot flash of light drove
into the helicopter. The explosion rocked the entire
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