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“Not quite the greeting I expected when you so politely asked for my company, Specialist Morris,” KB said, knowing full well the comment hadn’t been directed at him.

“No Sergeant, sorry Sergeant, no excuse.”

“Oh give it a rest Morris.  What’s up?”

“I think we might have a problem with the “meet & greet”.  Sergeant Keeler didn’t report in on schedule, and after I couldn’t raise him I switched to Ms. Hines’ frequency  As soon as I did, I got the following.”

He played back the recording, which transmission he’d been listening to as he briefed Sergeant Bowersock.  By the end of the recording, KB was actually growling in the back of his throat.  The community that had sprung up here at Natchez Trace had become very tight in the last five weeks, and the thought of someone doing harm of any kind to one of theirs was infuriating.  “I’ll be right back.  Don’t go anywhere and don’t say a word about this to anybody else until I get back.”

The order proved easier said than done as Morris was supposed to be relieved in three minutes and his relief showed up early.  This presented a problem as Morris was unable to provide his relief with a situation report, having been gagged by Sergeant Bowersock prior to his departure.  Corporal Alex Pine, being “Command Eligible” and therefore technically senior to Specialist Morris, didn’t take kindly to “Negative” and “I’m truly sorry, but I’m unable to comply with that request.”

“It’s not a request, it’s an ORDER!  GIVE! ME! THE! HEADSET! NOW!”  The shade of purple that Pine turned during the exchange was truly startling.  Promised Land was still rather small, all things considered, and Corporal Pine had a good set of lungs.  Bowersock and Jensen got to the communications tent at a run.

“Stand down, Corporal, he’s refusing orders on my authority,” Bowersock said.  “And while you’re at it sit down before you pop a vessel, or a nut for that matter.  You look like a grape about to go all juicy on us.  I assume you’re his relief so you’d probably hear about it anyway but I told him not to talk to anybody about what’s going on until I got back.  I said sit down, I didn’t mean when you got around to it.”

“Has there been anything else since I left?”

“The sound of a vehicle leaving and it wasn’t ours, which was just active stupid.”

“Maybe, maybe not.  I’ll explain why in a minute.  Please play it back from the time you switched freqs.”

Morris played the recording up to the point that the car, it was obvious it was a car the second time through, was fading away.  Mallory’s normally olive complexion was turning redder by the second until she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.  Her jaw muscle was still clenched tight enough to be painful though.  “KB, you said ‘Maybe, maybe not’ about leaving our Humvee being stupid.  Explain.”

“Well, he doesn’t know if we can track it, at least that was the first thing I thought of.  You and I know we can’t but he has no idea what we can and can’t do.  I find it interesting that it doesn’t even sound like he looked for anything in it but then again, maybe he plans on coming back for it.”  KB was squinting now, thinking about it from a couple of angles.  “We have no idea how bad off Keeler is, that’s why I stopped by and sent off two more Humvees to go get him with a couple of medics.  I say we radio to them to leave the vehicle behind and try to tail him if he comes back for it.”

“We have to assume that grabbing Sheri was a spur of the moment decision at the end of the meeting with what were obviously patsies, a crime of opportunity if you will.  I think it was a setup from the beginning, like a couple of these have been, but not to grab Sheri.” KB finished.

“I agree with a number of your points and most of your analysis, unfortunately.  Morris, radio the group headed out to Keeler and instruct them to leave the Humvee and bring Keeler back,” Mallory paused, “whatever his condition.  And he better be functional eventually or I’m gonna be really pissed and not at my medics.”

After the lead vehicle acknowledged their new instructions, the incoming transmission light flashed on the frequency that had been assigned to Sergeant Keeler.  Morris switched to it and was greeted with an obviously pained “-apa Two.  Repeat, this is Tango Two to Papa Two, over.”

“This is Papa Two.  Authenticate Whiskey Tree Niner, over.”

“I authenticate Big Fat Bleeding Goose Egg Back of Head.  Be advised; never drink nine year old whiskey in a tree.  By the way, that’s not nearly as funny when stopping to think about it, made my head want to split open and the world is spinning, and I think I’m gonna throw up, and Sheri’s gone, over.”

“It’s him,” Morris said to the others in the tent.  “We read you Lima Charlie.  We have two medics inbound.  How bad is the head? over.”

“I don’t know for sure, but you did catch the part about the big fat bleeding goose egg, right? I can’t look around too quick either or everything goes tilted like the old Batman TV show and I feel like I’m spinning.  I feel like I was too close to an Abrahms when it let loose and I forgot to open my mouth and cover my ears.  Did I mention Sheri’s gone?”  Keeler swore.  “I knew we shouldn’t have brought civilians along on these things.  Over.”

“Keeler, knock it off,” Mallory broke in.  She’d put on another set of headphones in order to have a microphone to herself.  “We couldn’t be meeting with groups of civilians without a civilian present, and we really couldn’t meet with them with fewer than equal numbers of military and civilian representatives on our side.  Everyone who has gone has been a volunteer, and it’s something that’s been discussed before--every single trip out.  Don’t beat yourself up over something that you couldn’t have done anything about.  Over.”

“Yes, First Sergeant, I know all that, I understand, I’ll do my best, but it’ll be hard knowing that we lost the first person on my watch.  I’m not saying I won’t get over it, especially once we get her back.  It just sucks is all, and I’m not too good at suck.  Over.”

“Roger that Keeler, major suck.  For now, though, try to stay upright until the medics get there and let’s get your head patched up.  Over”

“Roger.  Whoever did it didn’t take my sidearm, and as long as I’m conscious I’d like to think they won’t get the drop on me.  Out.”

To KB she said, “Please request that Jackson and Ramirez accompany you to the command tent.  I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”  Mallory shook her head, “We’ve had it too easy for too long; I’m afraid this won’t be the last time someone tries something like this unless we change our tactics.”

“I concur, Top, but like you said, we have had it fairly easy as far as bringing other groups in.  I’ll be right back, by your leave.”  KB ducked out and went to find the other Sergeants.

“Morris, come with me.  Pine, you cooled off enough to man the radio yet or do I need to dump a cooler of ice over your head?” Mallory asked.

“Sorry Top, I’m fine.  Absolutely no excuse,” Pine said.

“Go ahead and take the radio then, and if anyone comes asking send them to me please.” Mallory said.

“Right away,” Pine agreed.

When Mallory walked into the command tent, all three Sergeants were already there.  “Who are we gonna go kill?” Jackson asked.  “And no, KB didn’t say anything.  It’s just that I’ve known him long enough that I can read the look on his face.  He’s gonna disassemble something and there’s a good chance it’s a biological.”

“Well, good call then.  Hold on a second and let me play something for you.”  She picked up the radio in the command tent and called over to Corporal Pine, “Pine, send the recording we’ve been discussing recently to this handset please.”  A few seconds later they were listening to Sheri and Pete; some for the first time, others once again.

Chapter Thirty-Two

When the recording was over, Mallory thanked Pine, cleared the channel, and looked at her present cadre.  “Ok, protocol is suspended, advice?”

Ramirez didn’t even hesitate a full heartbeat, “Personally, I’m this close to sending a Humvee out after this worthless meat-sack right now to prune the friggin’ helix!”  The string of creative uses for a human body that followed would later be referred to by those present or who overheard it as ‘something that had to be experienced to be truly appreciated’; ‘the reason I got into the military in the first place’; ‘the funniest thing I’ve ever heard’, and ‘the single biggest reason that not a single teen pregnancy has ever been reported on base’.

“I can’t fault your analysis or disagree with the general direction of your approach to dealing with the matter.  I’m not, however, sure that some of those things you said are physically possible, dead or alive.”

“If the body was still warm it would probably still bend that far, at least at first,” KB interjected, and he didn’t smile when he said it.

“Oookay, how about we move along then?”  It wasn’t often that you could make Top shiver.  Going with her gut and getting these three together for this was probably the right move, but that didn’t make it any less scary.

“I want to watch the vehicle, and try to follow whoever comes back to it, assuming someone comes back to it.  Suggestions,” Mallory continued.

“It needs to look like we simply showed up when our people didn’t radio in and decided getting our wounded back was more important than getting the vehicle back.  What did we have on the Humvee other than the .50, ammo, and the radio?” Jackson asked.

Ramirez responded to this, as Sergeant Keeler was in his squad.  “Actually, we didn’t send out a .50 on this trip because there wasn’t a dedicated gunner.  So we don’t have to worry about that or ammo.  There are two M-16s and ammo for them, but they’d be locked, and it’s a combination lock, so we don’t have to worry about someone losing a key.  The medics will pick those up when they get there as part of SOP.  The only thing they would get is a sweet ride and a radio, and all we have to do is have them pull the encryption circuit, again, SOP.  At that point all they’ve got is a CB/shortwave combo unit.”

“Ok, good to hear.  What else?” Mallory asked.

“Just standard fare, five days of supplies for two people in two rucksacks, first-aid kit, tube tent, flare gun, etc.  They weren’t that far away and with the radio in the truck and two handhelds we were pretty sure they would have been able to get back in touch with us if necessary.  It’s actually only a two day hike from where they were, even under really bad conditions.”

“So what are we going to do to get Sheri back?  Somehow I don’t get the feeling that Pete’s the ransom kind of guy.  KB, you mentioned that this struck you as a ‘crime of opportunity’, any more, well…ideas since I hesitate to use the word insight?”

“I appreciate that, I think.” KB snorted.  “Like I said, from what we overheard it didn’t sound like grabbing her was the endgame of this little drama.  It felt like it was designed to see how we would respond and possibly to set up another meeting and hopefully take more of our people and equipment at that point.   Nabbing Sheri was a spur of the moment decision and it was done because he couldn’t be sure she would be there next time.  I do wonder if we’ll hear from the group again and they’ll deny that they had any involvement.”

“Come to think of it, I’m almost sure we will,” KB continued.  Then his gaze snapped to Mallory, “We need to get three units out NOW.  Far enough out that we can triangulate their position when they broadcast next time.  We have no idea how long it will be before they contact us again and we don’t have any time to waste.  We need to make sure they are large enough to protect themselves, but small enough not to attract too much attention, and they need to leave literally as soon as possible.”

“From here, let’s see, they’re going to need to be…” his voice trailed off for a few seconds as he muttered to himself and the fingers of his right hand flipped like he was typing and then, “four units would be better, put us at the center of a square twenty-one miles on a side.  That way, no matter where they are coming from, we would have them surrounded geographically and should be able to triangulate almost perfectly, to within no more than half a klick.”

“Nice.” Jackson replied.  “You really can set up a long wire in your sleep, can’t you?”

“Not really, I think in feet in my sleep, not meters.  Screws up the math.” KB replied with a grin.  “And no, I can’t actually use the prosthetic for a resistor; the carbon fiber is way too conductive!”

“And we wouldn’t have to watch the site either, no chance of being seen because we simply won’t be there.  If they take my truck and mess it up though I’m gonna be so pissed.”  Mallory was pragmatic about most things, but she loved her people and her equipment.  She took them both personally and the thought of someone screwing around with either one made her blood boil.  She was keeping her temper in check about Keeler right now but if she ever got her hands on Pete, he was not going to be a happy camper.  You did
not
want to be the one who had clocked one of her boys on the back of the head.

“Next question, how do we break the news because
not
breaking the news is not the question?” This was one of the things that had endeared Mallory to her troops; she didn’t hold back information, good or bad.  “One, I’m sure a bunch of people either saw the medics leave or heard you send them off--or both.  Two, Sergeant Keeler and Sheri should be back in about twenty minutes either way, but won’t.  Three, Keeler
will
be back in the company of medics in about forty-five minutes…without Sheri.

“On top of all of that, we have no idea if Pete is going to start broadcasting, not as part of this group they went out to see, but all on his own, to help prove his ‘power and greatness’.  After all, he just ambushed the U.S. Army all by his lonesome and made off with a hostage, did he not?  He must be really brave and all that.  You know, I’m developing a real distaste for this guy.”

Jackson, having been SFC for a long time, piped up first with an oft-repeated axiom.  “Seeing as how rumor is the only known phenomenon to consistently travel faster than light, we could probably just tell a couple of people and then tell them ‘not to tell anyone else’.  By the time we hit the third or fourth person, they’d be asking us to corroborate the story.  The biggest downside to that is that by then we’d be wasting time correcting misinformation.”