very well push him
over the edge and result in his refusal to help.
“I talked to
you when I got to Tinker,” she said patiently. “You know I couldn’t have made
it without you. After that, things were crazy and I didn’t have a chance to
call you. Then I was kidnapped.”
“You were
what?” The switch to concern in his voice was immediate.
“Kidnapped,”
she said again. “Some psycho Air Force officer tasered me and tied me up and
took me off the base. He killed the pilot he had forced to fly us, and I
thought he was going to kill me.”
“Oh my
God!” Steve exclaimed. “How did you get away? What happened?”
“John found
me and rescued me, but not before I was shot.” She said.
“What? You
were shot? Are you OK?” He was nearly shouting into the phone.
“I’m
recovering,” she said, not willing to give him any more details. “But we all
need your help. Tinker has been evacuated. It’s overrun with infected. There
are four of us still here. We stayed behind to find a small group that was out
searching for us. That’s what I need your help with. Finding them.”
“I can’t
help you,” Steve said after a long moment to digest what she’d told him.
“Please,
Steve. It’s not for me. It’s for the three people that stayed behind to find
me.” Katie hated begging, but she would do what it took to enlist his
assistance.
“No, you
misunderstood me. It’s not that I won’t help, it’s that I can’t help. All of
the satellites over North America have gone dark. Don’t know if it’s the
Russians or not, but I can’t connect to any of them.”
Katie
cursed, this time letting Steve hear the sigh of frustration. “There must be
something you can do,” she said.
“I don’t
know what,” he replied. “I’ve been trying for days, and nothing is working.”
Katie stood
quiet for a few moments, watching Dog as he wandered around the far end of the
roof looking for a good spot to take care of some personal business.
“Wait a
minute,” she said, feeling a little hope. “I’m talking to you on a satellite
phone. If all the satellites are down, how is that happening?”
“Hang on,”
he said and she could hear his fingers flying over a keyboard. “You’re signal
is heavily encrypted. I can’t pull your location or number or any other data.
You must be coming over an NSA satellite. If it was commercial or even
military I’d be able to get in. Who’s phone are you using?”
“I know just
who to ask,” she said. “I’ll call you back in a few minutes.”
Katie broke
the connection and whistled for Dog. He came running, following her through
the roof top door that she had propped open. They descended the stairs and she
found the rest of her group still sitting at the bar. She explained the
situation to Colonel Crawford and he jumped to his feet.
“Call him
back and let me talk to him,” he said. “He’s right, it is an NSA satellite.
He won’t get in, but I’ll bet he can put me in touch with Pearl Harbor.”
Crawford and
Katie headed for the roof, Martinez turning to me and smiling.
“So you were
saying? They were engaged and you took her away from him?” She prompted.
“I didn’t
even know about him,” I said, shaking my head in emphasis. “I met Katie and,
well, it just happened. We’d known each other maybe three weeks when we got
married. I don’t know when she told him, for sure, but he didn’t take it well.
“Now, enough
soap opera. It sounds like the Colonel will be talking to Pearl soon, which
means we’ll probably have a location on Scott soon. We’d better get busy
transferring the fuel from the Pave Hawk to the Huey so we’re ready to go.”
Martinez
frowned that I wasn’t going to tell her anything else, then stood up and
drained her glass.
“We need to
find a hose and some tools,” she said.
“We can
probably find that in the
over the edge and result in his refusal to help.
“I talked to
you when I got to Tinker,” she said patiently. “You know I couldn’t have made
it without you. After that, things were crazy and I didn’t have a chance to
call you. Then I was kidnapped.”
“You were
what?” The switch to concern in his voice was immediate.
“Kidnapped,”
she said again. “Some psycho Air Force officer tasered me and tied me up and
took me off the base. He killed the pilot he had forced to fly us, and I
thought he was going to kill me.”
“Oh my
God!” Steve exclaimed. “How did you get away? What happened?”
“John found
me and rescued me, but not before I was shot.” She said.
“What? You
were shot? Are you OK?” He was nearly shouting into the phone.
“I’m
recovering,” she said, not willing to give him any more details. “But we all
need your help. Tinker has been evacuated. It’s overrun with infected. There
are four of us still here. We stayed behind to find a small group that was out
searching for us. That’s what I need your help with. Finding them.”
“I can’t
help you,” Steve said after a long moment to digest what she’d told him.
“Please,
Steve. It’s not for me. It’s for the three people that stayed behind to find
me.” Katie hated begging, but she would do what it took to enlist his
assistance.
“No, you
misunderstood me. It’s not that I won’t help, it’s that I can’t help. All of
the satellites over North America have gone dark. Don’t know if it’s the
Russians or not, but I can’t connect to any of them.”
Katie
cursed, this time letting Steve hear the sigh of frustration. “There must be
something you can do,” she said.
“I don’t
know what,” he replied. “I’ve been trying for days, and nothing is working.”
Katie stood
quiet for a few moments, watching Dog as he wandered around the far end of the
roof looking for a good spot to take care of some personal business.
“Wait a
minute,” she said, feeling a little hope. “I’m talking to you on a satellite
phone. If all the satellites are down, how is that happening?”
“Hang on,”
he said and she could hear his fingers flying over a keyboard. “You’re signal
is heavily encrypted. I can’t pull your location or number or any other data.
You must be coming over an NSA satellite. If it was commercial or even
military I’d be able to get in. Who’s phone are you using?”
“I know just
who to ask,” she said. “I’ll call you back in a few minutes.”
Katie broke
the connection and whistled for Dog. He came running, following her through
the roof top door that she had propped open. They descended the stairs and she
found the rest of her group still sitting at the bar. She explained the
situation to Colonel Crawford and he jumped to his feet.
“Call him
back and let me talk to him,” he said. “He’s right, it is an NSA satellite.
He won’t get in, but I’ll bet he can put me in touch with Pearl Harbor.”
Crawford and
Katie headed for the roof, Martinez turning to me and smiling.
“So you were
saying? They were engaged and you took her away from him?” She prompted.
“I didn’t
even know about him,” I said, shaking my head in emphasis. “I met Katie and,
well, it just happened. We’d known each other maybe three weeks when we got
married. I don’t know when she told him, for sure, but he didn’t take it well.
“Now, enough
soap opera. It sounds like the Colonel will be talking to Pearl soon, which
means we’ll probably have a location on Scott soon. We’d better get busy
transferring the fuel from the Pave Hawk to the Huey so we’re ready to go.”
Martinez
frowned that I wasn’t going to tell her anything else, then stood up and
drained her glass.
“We need to
find a hose and some tools,” she said.
“We can
probably find that in the
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