Both women watched as the larger of the two helicopters turned, revealing two big machine guns pointing out the doors. The helicopter then turned its back towards them revealing another, even larger, machine gun sitting inside the back hatch of the aircraft.
A sudden sound made both of them jump, and all the noise that you would expect a helicopter to make was suddenly assaulting them, all at once.
Marcus ran into the room and pulled Doris close to him as he looked out the window, in time to see the second helicopter land.
"Wicked COOL!" Bax called out as soon as he raced into the room and saw the first helicopter.
Within a minute, just about everyone in the house was drawn to the living room by the sound.
The noise had gotten louder as everyone gathered by the big bay windows looking out over the front of the house. A sharp, high pitched whistle got everyone's attention, and they turned to see Deb and Ryan standing there, Deb was just lowering her hand from her mouth. "It's okay everyone. We knew they were coming. Please wait in here, and we'll explain everything in a few minutes." She then looked over at Tommy and Mikey. "Is the third floor ready?"
"Yeah, we just got done. You finally gonna tell us why we did it?" Mikey asked his mother hopefully.
"In a moment." She said as she and Ryan made their way through the crowd, and strode out the front door. They kept walking toward the helicopters, while everyone else filed out onto the front porch. Even Carson, accompanied by Jay, and Roris, with Lawrence by his side, cautiously ventured out to witness the surreal spectacle.
Several men in military uniforms and black suits came down the ramp of the big helicopter, all of them with rifles in hand. They looked around, then spread themselves out around the back of the helicopter. Just as Deb and Ryan approached, they saw a man, his arm in a sling, a bandage on his head, come walking down the ramp. The man's suit was badly rumpled, and dirty with mud, soot, and even some blood stains.
The man accompanying him wasn't nearly as disheveled, but it was also clear that they had both been through difficult times. The first man stuck his hand out towards Ryan. "Mr. Brown?" When Ryan nodded, the man continued. "Thank you for doing this for us."
"It's our pleasure Mr. Vice President...elect?" Ryan couldn't help but chuckle. "Not sure exactly what to call you."
"Why not just call me Mike?" He said with a smile, he then turned to the man next to him. "And this is my partner, Eric Carlson."
Ryan extended his hand and shook with Eric who also smiled. "We really appreciate this. I hope it's not too much trouble."
"Of course not." Deb said, speaking up for the first time. "As Ryan said, it's our pleasure. We have a lot of people coming this way, and you're not the first."
"I really would like to spend some time getting to know you guys better, but before that, I need to ask... I know there is a Trauma Center close by. Do you know of any way of getting in touch with them?" Eric asked distractedly as he looked back into the helicopter they were standing behind. "Both Mike and our son Sammy need to get to a hospital as soon as possible. Sammy's got a badly broken arm, and we've kept him sedated so he's not in a lot of pain, and while Mike probably wouldn't admit it, he's hurting as well, and needs to be seen by a doctor."
Before he had even finished, Deb had pulled out her cell phone and was placing a call. Eric looked a bit confused, as most cell phones didn't work right now, until Ryan spoke up. "We're actually close enough to Canada to catch their signals. We'll probably have a hell of a bill, but then again, we may not." He laughed, causing both men to laugh as well, until Mike cringed in pain.
Deb spoke for a few moments before she snapped her phone closed and rejoined the group. "I just spoke to my father, who happens to be at the hospital right now. He's going to get everything ready for you, and will meet you and your son when you get there. I am assuming you are going to use that helicopter?" She said nodding towards the Huey which was currently unloading their passengers, which happened to be twelve children.
Mike nodded, turned and spoke to a few of the men who were standing behind them. "Okay, get Sammy over to the Huey, and we'll airlift him and myself to the hospital. I want the security to be as minimal as possible. I don't want to disrupt the hospital any more than absolutely necessary."
"Yes sir!" One of the men in a suit said as he turned and jogged back into the back of the helicopter.
"Let's move over to the side, shall we?" Eric said, and they all moved a bit away from the back of the helicopter. By this time the twelve children had reached them.
* * * * *
Ben was watching the scene before him unfold, not knowing what to think about what he was seeing.
"Alvin!" Oleksandr said suddenly and started to wiggle in Ben's arms.
Afraid that he would drop the squirming boy, Ben quickly placed him on the porch.
As soon as Oleksandr's feet hit the floor, he was off like a shot.
The surprise on Ben's face melted into a smile as he realized that the time had finally come, Oleksandr had reached a point where he felt safe.
* * * * *
"You came! You're here!" Oleksandr said as he ran up to Alvin with a delighted grin on his face.
"Yeah. It's nice to see you, too." Alvin said with a smile, not used to being welcomed so warmly.
"Want to introduce me to your friend?"
Oleksandr looked at the new arrival, then back at Alvin with confusion. The two boys were as identical as any two people could possibly be.
"Oleksandr, this is my brother, Simon." Alvin said with a grin, knowing that Oleksandr was shocked.
"There's two of you..." Oleksandr said slowly.
Alvin laughed and said, "No. There's just one of me. I promise you, Simon is a completely different person."
Oleksandr looked from Simon to Alvin and back before finally saying to Alvin, "I think I like you best."
"Most people do..." Alvin said with a grin.
* * * * *
Less than five minutes later, the smaller helicopter took off again, and seconds later, the area was eerily quiet compared to the noise level that had announced their arrival. Eric looked over the group of people and then toward the porch. "Well what say we get the introductions out of the way, and let you folks get back to what you were doing."
As they moved over to the porch, Eric softly spoke to Deb and Ryan. "I mean no offense, but how much would you like everyone to know?"
"Unless there is something of a sensitive nature, everyone here, even though some have only been here for a day or two, have made themselves invaluable to the rescue effort: not to mention all of them are living in the house: so I would imagine they have a right to know as much as you feel comfortable sharing." Ryan said as diplomatically as he possibly could. Eric nodded with a small smile as the group stopped in front of the porch.
Deb raised her voice so she could be heard by everyone. "Okay everyone, this is our next group of guests. Although this one is a bit more complicated. For those that may not know who these people are, the man that got on the other helicopter with the young boy is Mike Reynolds, the Vice President Elect. Next to me is his partner Eric Carlson, and I will step aside and let him introduce the rest of his family, and those that have come with them."
Eric took a step forward and spoke in a deep clear voice. "As Deb was so kind to say, my name is Eric Carlson. My husband Mike Reynolds, the Vice President Elect just left with our oldest son, Sammy. They both had to go to the hospital due to Sammy's injuries. We were in a bunker just outside of Redding California when the earthquake hit. The bunker was severely damaged, requiring us to find a new place to live. Deb and Ryan graciously agreed to allow us to move up here." He gave a big smile toward Deb and Ryan then stepped back, pulled a boy in front of him, then placed his hands on two other boys' shoulders.
"Now for the Rat Pack." He said with a grin. "These two, are Randy and Kevin Carlson, our nine year old twins. They and their younger brother Danny Carlson, who's eight, are collectively known to everyone as the Unholy Trinity!" He said with a laugh.
Danny looked up from his position in front of Eric with mock outrage on his face. "Hey! That's not fair!"
"Of course it is. We need to warn them, don't we?" Eric said, causing everyone to laugh.
"Humph!" Danny said as he crossed his arms in front of him and fake pouted.
"Anyway..." Eric said with the grin still plastered on his face. "Next we have Brian and Scotty Reynolds. Brian is ten and Scotty is nine. Sammy, who as you know is going to the hospital, is eleven, and the leader of the Rat Pack." Brian and Scotty beamed as they were introduced, but when Eric mentioned Sammy, all five boys got worried looks on their faces.
Sensing this, Deb stepped over, and squatted down to face all the boys. "Don't worry about Sammy or your dad. They'll be fine. The best doctor around is waiting for them. He's my dad, and he will take really good care of them." The boys all put on a brave face and tried to smile. The adults that surrounded them could all see that the boys relaxed slightly, but were still worried.
"Thanks, Deb." Eric said with a worried smile on his own face. He quickly changed to a more convincing grin, as he looked over at a man in a military uniform that was standing there with them. "Next we have General Richard Adams. He is like family to us, and all the boy's call him Uncle Rich. I'll let him introduce himself and the young man with him."
"Thanks, Eric." Rich said with a smile as he pulled the boy next to him, in front, and placed both hands on the boy's shoulders. "As Eric said, my name is Richard Adams. I am an Army General, and acting as an adviser to Mike. The young man in front of me is Max, he's thirteen, and I am hoping that he will accept my offer to become my son."
Max looked up at Richard and smiled, while nodding. Even though it was easy to tell that they were not related, with Richard's light skin, and Max's rather dark skin, there was no denying the bond that they two already had.
"Thanks, Rich." Eric said with a smile. "Now we have the final group, and I will let them introduce themselves."
Alvin took that as his cue and stepped forward, Oleksandr still attached to his side. "Thanks, Mr. Carlson." He said as he looked over the group, his eyes found one of the older boys, and his smile started to slip before he quickly put it back in place, and started to talk, hoping no one had noticed. "First off, I am sure you all know the boy next to me." Alvin said as he threw his arm over Oleksandr's shoulder. That got a lot of chuckles from the assembled people, and made Oleksandr blush but smile brightly.
"My name is Alvin Casey, and the guy that looks a lot like me is Simon. And yes, before you guys ask, we're two of a set of triplets, and our other brother's name is actually Theodore." That got a lot of laughs from most of the people there, although a few didn't seem to understand the joke.
"The two fly boys with us..." Alvin said as he pointed to the two boys who were wearing flight suits and had joined the group after shutting the Chinook down. "Are my brother Will Casey, and his partner Billy Tompkins. Yes, before you ask, they were the ones flying. We'll explain that later."
"We also brought some of the kids that were at the Bunker, these guys all volunteered to help out up here. First we have the twins, Courtney and Trevor. Then we also have Freddy, Victor, Jamey, Lee, Kyle, Christina, Bryan and Bruce." Each kid raised their hand slightly when Alvin said their names.
Seeing that everyone had been introduced, except for the Secret Service and military men who were all still surrounding them, Deb stepped forward, this time in front of the porch, and looked toward the new group. "Thanks, guys. I'll introduce my family, and then we'll let each group introduce themselves. For any of you that haven't heard, my name is Debra Brown, but I hope all of you call me Deb. Beside me is my husband, Ryan. Next to him are our sons, Tommy and Mikey. Our middle son, Carson, is over there sitting in the chair. Last, but not least, is my mother Madelyn Murten, standing at the edge of the porch." Deb said, as she pointed to each person who raised their hand when Deb said their names.
* * * * *
When the helicopter landed on a small helipad at the very modern looking hospital, Mike and the Secret Service agents were out as soon as the skids touched down. He was about to turn back to help get the stretcher the copter carried, when two men pushed past him, and carefully started to pull Sammy out. Mike backed up, and felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning quickly, he saw an older gentleman standing there wearing a doctor's lab coat. The man quickly pulled him back, and away from the helicopter as the nurses, and Secret Service pulled Sammy out, and rushed him inside.
"Come on, let's go with your son." The man said as he escorted Mike through the same doors Sammy had just gone through. They all crowded into a large elevator, and started to descend. The doctor turned to Mike and held out his hand. "Mr. Vice President. I am Doctor Fred Murten, Chief of Pediatric Surgery. Well, actually chief of a lot of things, since this is a rather small hospital. However, don't let that worry you since we have all of the latest equipment here, and thanks to my son-in-law's business, some equipment that is not available to other hospitals, yet."
Mike nodded as the doors opened. He followed Sammy in, and was still walking next to the doctor as they hurried down the hall. "Thank you Doctor, just please do everything you can for Sammy. He's had such a rough life already."
"I know some of the details. My wife and I followed your family, as well as the President's family, very closely. I am honored that I'm going to get to help you, in my own way." Fred put his hand on Mike's shoulder, again stopping him from walking, as Sammy was pushed through a set of doors. "I am sorry, sir, however, this is where you need to let us work. I will have another doctor come out and take a look at your shoulder. Sammy's in good hands, and I will personally come out and talk to you as soon as he is in recovery." Mike nodded, although he wanted to be with Sammy through it all. Doctor Murten followed Sammy through the doors, and Mike found himself with just his security team. One of them came up and guided him over to a chair, and gently pushed him down into it.
Mike really didn't know what happened after that, he was running strictly on autopilot. His mind wrapped up with everything that had happened so far, and Sammy, his Sammy, being in surgery. The rest of the time in the hospital flew by, and Mike didn't even really know what happened.
* * * * *
"I guess we should do this by locations, huh? Well, my group is from Orlando, Florida. My name is Vincent Winters, but everyone calls me Bug. I came here with my Oma, Geraldine Shoupe and my brother Lawrence Winters." Bug said as he pointed to them, then continued, "We brought two younger guys with us, but I'm not sure where they ran off to." Bug said as he looked around.
When he finally spotted the inseparable trio standing with Ro's dads, he said, "Introduce yourselves, boys."
"I'm a Reynolds like Mike. But my name is Bax. Well, Baxter, actually." Bax said happily.
"I'm Ro. That's short for Ronan O'Connor. And these are my dads, Walter Mason and Reginald..."
"Please, just call me Reginald. It's a pleasure to meet you." Reg said as he put a hand over Ro's mouth.
"When we were about to leave Orlando, we met Marcus, Doris and Roris Teeter." Bug said, as he gestured toward the family that was gathered together, along with Lawrence.
"I think that's it for us. I guess Ben can tell you about the Chicago group." Bug said as he glanced at Ben.
"Um, yeah. My name is Brian Weston, but everyone calls me Ben. Over here's my cousin Zane. The guy he's standing with is Brother Jacques. The twins beside Bug are Kev and Ken. Someone else will have to tell you the kids' names. I don't know all of them yet." Ben finished shyly.
Not missing a beat, Brother Jacques said, "First we have Dax."
Dax looked around at all the expectant faces and reluctantly said, "My real name's Dakota Wentworth, but I go by Dax."
Brother Jacques looked at Ty and waited.
"Tyrell Oldman. And before any of you says it, yeah... it's real funny... old man ... and I've got gray hair, some social worker somewhere must be real proud of that one." Ty said venomously.
"It'll be hard to follow Ty's ray of sunshine, but why don't you give it a try, Jamiah?" Brother Jacques said with a smile.
"I'm Jamiah Kamal-Jennings. And this is my sister, Loquicia Kamal-Hooten." Jamiah said simply, then gave a slight perky smile at the end.
"That just leaves Oleksandr, I know he's around here somewhere." Ben said as he looked around. He had lost sight of the boy for a moment, but easily found him at Alvin's side.
"Don't worry." Alvin said with a grin, "We've met."
It warmed Ben's heart to see that Oleksandr was happy and that Alvin was accepting him.
"I suppose it falls to me to introduce the Kansas City people." Lucas said as he stepped forward.
"I'm Lucas DeLong and this is my life partner, Gordon Frank. These are our kids Lazlo Orion, Annette Salas, and Michelle Green, known as Lazlo, Annie and Misti." Lucas said cheerfully.
"We also received two more kids, just as we were leaving Kansas City. Jay? Max?" Gordon said, then spotted Max with Ro and Bax. After another moment of searching, he found Jay with Carson.
"My name is Jeremy Winters." Jeremy said simply then smiled at the man at his side.
"My name is Henry Gibbons, but I go by Hank."
"Walter Kane." Walt said next.
"That might be everyone." Bug said as he looked around uncertainly.
Deb smiled when everyone was introduced. "Okay, Eric, why don't we show you and your boys where you'll be staying. Carson, I know you probably want to talk to Alvin, so why don't you take them to your room, and get your chat out of the way."
* * * * *
"I told you." Max said firmly as the trio walked into the living room.
"What?" Ro asked as he looked at her curiously.
"Why else would the Vice President be here? Mrs. Brown must be a ninja. They're here so she can keep him and his family safe." Max said with certainty.
"But they've got all those guys in suits to protect them." Bax said slowly.
Max rolled her eyes, then said, "They're just for show. But a ninja could get past them without even trying. They gotta be here so Mrs. Brown can keep any bad ninjas from getting to them."
Bax and Ro couldn't seem to find any flaw in her reasoning. Finally, Bax hesitantly asked, "What should we do?"
"We'll help her. We'll keep watch and if anything suspicious happens, we'll tell her." Max said seriously.
"Yeah. It'd be great if we could really help a ninja." Bax said with a smile.
Ro and Max both grinned as they entered the big house.
None of them had noticed the boy that had been following them, nor did they notice when he slipped away to return to the main house.
* * * * *
"Walt, would you mind joining us?" Ryan asked as he peeled away from the Vice President Elect's group.
"Of course I wouldn't mind, but I don't know why you would want to include me." Walt said cautiously.
"You obviously have a lot more knowledge of security procedures than I do. If you'd be willing, I'd really appreciate it if you could work with the Secret Service and represent our interests in the decision making." Ryan said seriously.
"I'm not sure I understand how you mean." Walt said slowly, but with obvious interest.
"Their job is to keep the Vice President and his family safe. Of course, I completely support that. But I just want to be sure that in our effort to keep them safe that we aren't ignoring the needs of our other guests. It's likely that I won't have the time to keep up with all the details of what they're planning, and even if I did have the free time, I probably wouldn't understand all of it. If you'd be willing, I think that it would be of benefit if you'd work with their security team and be our liaison." Ryan said hopefully.
After a moment to consider, Walt nodded as he said, "If nothing else, it'll be good to know what's really being done to protect us."
"Once things settle down, I'll get with you and we'll talk about a job title and pay and the like." Ryan said as he ushered Walt to start walking with him.
"You're going to pay me? You could've just said that upfront!" Walt said with a grin.
"I could have, but then I wouldn't know that you were doing this for the right reason." Ryan said with a smile as they approached the stairs.
* * * * *
"Okay, now that we're all here." Carson said with Jay at his side. He looked around his crowded bedroom. Not only was there the group of kids who just showed up, but Carson also invited Bug, Ben, Zane, Roris and Lawrence. Of course, Oleksandr was there, but this time not at Ben's side. Tommy and Mikey were also there, just inside the door, looking uncertain of their welcome.
When Carson's gaze fell on Zane, it reminded him he needed to talk to Alvin about him. He jumped slightly when Alvin's voice sounded inside his mind. 'I know you want to talk about Zane, and we will, but we can do that later. For now, know that he is not a threat. However, I already have my older brother looking for that bastard of a grandfather of his.'
Carson nodded hesitantly. Sensing his problem, Alvin stood up from where he sat on one of the chairs that had been brought into the room. He looked around at everyone who was seated, either in chairs, or on the big bed. A few of them, mostly the Genesis kids, chose to remain standing. After he had scanned all the people's minds in the room, he decided that there was no one there who would be a security risk, and with what was going to happen, they all needed to know several things.
"Okay, everyone, I believe it would be best to lay all of our cards on the table. There's a lot of things about us that you all need to know, to make sure everything goes as planned. A lot of what I am about to tell you will probably seem like it came straight out of a bad Sci-Fi movie, but believe me, it's entirely true. If you feel you need proof, we would be more than happy to give it to you."
"First off, everyone that came with us is a member of what we call the U.N.I.T. That stands for the Universal Next Generation Infiltration Team. Most of us have been genetically engineered to be what you would call super soldiers. The problem was, the people who created us, well, bluntly, they did their jobs too well, and we didn't take too kindly to some of the shit they wanted us to do. So we told them to go to hell and went out on our own."
Seeing that he had not lost anyone yet, even though some of them were starting to look a little disbelieving, he moved on. "Other than my brothers, and Billy, the rest will be staying here to act as security. I'll let you guys work out how that will work, and what you will do to stay under cover, later on. For now, there is one more thing that all of you must know."
He paused for a moment to make sure he had all of their attention. Finally he spoke again. "All of us, with varying degrees of strength and ability, are telepathic." He waited a moment to see how people reacted, and the only one who really started to freak out was Zane. Alvin, seeing this, spoke directly to Zane's mind. 'Don't worry, Zane, I know what you're concerned about, and you are NOT a security risk. Okay?'
Zane spoke in a relieved but somewhat spooked voice. "Okay..." while looking at Alvin. Alvin smiled and nodded to him. Everyone realized that something must have been passed between the two boys.
"Okay," said Alvin, "Now that the fun stuff is out of the way, let's get down to business. First off, Carson, I want to thank you and Dizzy for sending us everything you have. It really helped us to see what others were hearing and seeing. Please keep it up, especially when the refugees start filtering in, anything they say about their trip may help others."
"Gotcha." Carson said with a relieved smile. He had wondered if he was sending stuff he didn't need to, but now knew he wasn't.
"Also, we want to set up a logging program, so we know who's here..." Alvin began, but Tommy actually jumped in.
"Where they're from, if they have family they're looking for, things like that. Carson's already been writing the programs..."
Carson continued seamlessly. "The programs are gonna grab 17 different fields of interest, correlate them in a database, and Dizzy is gonna keep watch over them to flag matches in the system. What we're hoping to have happen is Dizzy will alert a user if a name match happens."
Alvin smiled and looked at Simon. "I told you he was good."
Simon laughed and nodded. "Okay, in that case, we'll talk geek later. How about we give you the real introductions to your security team?" Simon then motioned for a blond haired girl to stand up. "This is First Lieutenant Courtney Hughes. She's the Commander of the Strike Team Firebirds. I will let her take over for a bit."
Courtney smiled then went around the room, shaking hands with all the non-unit members, making sure she had their names right. Finally she ended with Jay and Carson, then addressed everyone in the room. "First off, I want to make sure you all understand that we are not to be known about. The greatest advantage we have is no one thinking that us kids can really do anything." She got a grin on her face, "We love to prove them wrong, but not before it's needed."
There were a few laughs in the room, and she smiled again at everyone. "It's bound to come out at some point, so I'll get it out of the way, now." She then looked over at Mikey and her grin grew big. "Yes, technically, you could say we are aliens. In the sense that we are not native to this Earth. We still have no idea how it happened, but a little less than a week ago, we suddenly found ourselves in a base; very much like the one we had, but on a very different Earth. The main reason I bring this up is twofold. First, we need to establish a great deal of trust between our two groups, and the second reason is, we don't know this world. We still don't know just how different things are, although I can tell you we've found a GREAT many differences so far. Just to give you an idea. In our world, we knew both Jack and Mike very well. But in our world, Jack was not President, and never had been. He was simply a very capable military commander, and he ended up joining our group. Mike was not the Vice President, but a friend to our group, that we ended up having to rescue; a rescue that cost us over seventy members of our family."
She paused again since the pain of that event was very real and apparent on all the U.N.I.T. members' faces. Even the usually smiling Will was somber right then. Though she and her team hadn't known anyone that died that day, they were still family, and that event haunted all of them. Finally though, she pushed on.
"As I said, we will be needing your help as much as you will need ours. The Secret Service and Military forces are here to protect Mike and his family. They know about us, but won't say anything. We ask that you don't mention this to any people outside of this room unless you clear it with me first. Also, as I said, the Secret Service will protect Mike and his family. Our job is to protect you guys."
"Why?" Jay asked, fear evident in his voice.
Courtney got a sad look on her face as she looked around the room, seeing that Jay had voiced a question that most of them had, although she knew a few of them understood. She reached into her pocket and pulled something out. "When I got my command, General Chang Casey, one of my instructors, gave me a patch. It's the same patch that we all wear, but this one... he said it was meant for one of the ones who died. He gave it to me to always remember what could happen." She handed the patch to Jay who took it reverently, looked at it, and then back to Courtney; when their eyes met, Courtney spoke again. "What does the patch say?"
The room was deathly quiet as Jay looked back down and started to read. "It says, 'MOURN THE LOSS OF CHILDHOOD.' Then underneath it says, 'GIVE EM HELL, KID'." He looked up and again met her eyes.
She looked into his eyes still seeing his confusion and sighed. "You really don't understand what you are doing here, do you?" Jay shook his head. Courtney glanced down at Carson, and knew immediately he knew what she meant, but was letting her explain it to the others.
"You are all doing things that others have not. You kids are doing everything you can to help people. People who are trying to get away from the fighting. You all have a good idea of what happened today, all the attacks?" She looked around, and saw them nodding. "Good. Those attacks were aimed at doing one thing; scaring people. Asswood is targeting areas with a large amount of mostly defenseless people to try and scare everyone else into falling into line. He's hoping they will feel totally helpless, and powerless. You guys are busting your asses to help people he is trying to hurt. That, alone, makes you a target." She paused a second then continued. "We're here to make sure NOTHING happens to you guys."
Bug met Courtney's eyes and sighed. "I knew something was up. I was seeing reports that scared the shit out of me. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but I was convinced the shit was going to hit the fan, and it was going to do it damn soon. I knew if there was any chance of keeping my family safe, we had to get the fuck out of Dodge, and do it quick."
Ben spoke up next. "When Zane and I got to Chicago, we were looking for his father. We found him running a mission there, and everyone there was freaking out because their bosses had decided to close the mission and dump everyone out. Knowing as much as I did about what was going on, I got the feeling that something was terribly wrong. What was happening with the mission had to be directly tied to what was going on politically. The only thing I could think to do to make any difference was to get the kids to somewhere safe. The only problem was, I didn't have a clue where that would be, or how we would get there. But Zane came to the rescue. He contacted Studmffn... I mean Carson. Carson set things up, and we just followed his instructions."
"You're right, and you did the right thing. I don't want any of you guys freaking out. We're not gonna let anything happen to you, but you need to know all of this, so you can help us do our jobs." Replied Courtney.
"If any of us tell you to do something, please do it, then ask questions later. Remember, we're all telepathic, we can and will be scanning the minds of everyone around us looking for trouble. So we may tell you to do something, and you'll have no idea why. Please, just do it, and we will explain later. Now, let me introduce the rest of the team, and tell you what they do. First off, this is my brother Trevor. He's also the second in command. If any of you need something, and you can't find me, he's your go to guy."
Trevor had stood up while Courtney was introducing him, and everyone could easily tell that they were, in fact, twins. If it weren't for the fact that Courtney was a girl and Trevor a boy, they could have been identical. "Next is Freddy. He's our intel geek. He will shortly know more about you, and everything that goes on around you, than you do." That got a round of laughs, including a quip from Trevor about him just being a nosy bastard.
"Next are the two medics, Jamey and Victor." A girl and boy both stood up and nodded to everyone around. "Now, a quick note about our medics. They are actually trained well enough to be doctors, by most people's standards. They also have a few devices that got brought over from our home, so if you see anything strange, please ignore it."
That got nods from everyone as Jamey and Vic sat down, and Courtney continued. "Next is one of the guys we try not to claim as one of our own." She said it with a grin, making sure everyone knew she was joking. "Lee's the oldest of us, at fifteen, and easily the biggest. He's also our heavy weapons officer, and demolitions expert. In other words, he likes to make things blow up. Either close by, or from a distance." The just over six foot tall boy stood up, grinned and waved to everyone before sitting back down.
"Next, we have our sniper team, Kyle and Christina." The two fourteen year olds stood up and waved to people. "Just so everyone knows, those two are a couple, not to mention one of the best sniper teams in the U.N.I.T.. The only person who always beats them is Juan and he cheats." That line caused every U.N.I.T. member to burst out laughing, with the rest politely chuckling at the inside joke.
"And rounding out the team, we have the runts, Bruce who's twelve, and Bryan who's eleven. They're the recon scouts. Don't let their innocent looks fool you. They would rather sneak up behind someone and slit their throats than actually say boo to the enemy. They've also been known to climb around in air ducts and run through treetops. In other words, you won't know they're around, unless they want you to know it. Trust me, don't play hide and go seek with them, you'll lose." Again, all the U.N.I.T. kids laughed, this time though, everyone else joined in when the two boys in question put on hurt, innocent faces. Of course, the evil grin those innocent looks melted into made everyone know just how much Courtney was right.
"Now, the last bit of information you need to know about us. As I said some of us are genetically engineered, while others are not. Freddy, Jamey, Victor, Bruce and Bryan are all Genesis Augments. Meaning they are genetically enhanced." Courtney looked at Bryan and nodded. The boy nodded, looked around the room, then walked over to Carson.
'Sir, would you mind helping me with a little demonstration?" Carson looked a little nervous, but nodded. "How much do you weigh? Roughly."
"Uhh... about 110 pounds." Carson responded.
"Okay, and your chair?" Bryan asked as he looked down at Carson's motorized chair.
"I don't know, like 200 I guess." He said slightly confused.
Bryan grinned. "No problem, then." He said as he squatted down, put his hands under the chair, and lifted the entire thing, Carson, chair and all, up in the air. He held it there for a few seconds, then gently set it back down on the floor.
"Holy Shit..." Bug breathed out.
Bryan sat back down and Courtney continued speaking. "Now, the main reason we showed you that, was so you all had an idea of what we can do. Bryan is not the strongest of the augments, by any stretch. Will, over there, has been known to pick up the seven or eight hundred pound bombs for his helicopter, by himself." They all looked over at Will who struck a strong man pose, which caused everyone to die laughing, especially since he could easily be called a string bean. "So just be ready for it."
"Lastly, what we thought we would do here. First off," She looked at Carson, "I think you should try to convince your parents that, because of the Earthquake, we would all rather sleep in the tents we found. We would like to camp out right where the helicopters are, so we can keep an eye on the entire house, and keep unknown people from entering. We'll be as unobtrusive as possible, of course, and mostly the tents would be where we store our gear. We will always be armed, but unless something happens, I'm positive no one will know. All our big guns will be kept in the tents, and someone will always be there."
She saw everyone in the U.N.I.T. nodding in agreement. She then looked around for a moment, and nodded to herself. "Okay, guys. Get out there and grab the tents, start setting them up. I want the big one in the middle and then the other 10 spread around it. Make sure you don't unpack any of the weapons till you're inside the big tent."
She then looked at Trevor and continued. "Set up a rotation, I want all of us to become familiar with the grounds, but I also want no less than two people outside the big tent at all times, and awake, day and night." She looked at Carson again. "Do you guys have any picnic tables, chairs and the like we can have?"
"Sure, there's a bunch over by the rec center. They're all lined up and ready to be put out." Carson said, not really sure why they needed them.
"Good." She said as she looked back at Trevor. "I want no less than five of them, put them in a slalom in front of the big tent, making it harder for people to get to it, with the last one not more than five feet in front of the opening. I don't want anyone to be able to get in there by accident. I also want the laptop set up and communicating on the network here, ASAP. Freddy, that's your first job once the tents are set up... she paused for a second, thinking something over, then nodded again to herself. "Any questions?"
"No, ma'am." They all said in unison, and for the first time, everyone could see that they really were a military unit, as most of the U.N.I.T. members filed out of the room with nothing else being said.
* * * * *
"What'd I miss?" Ryan asked when he caught up to his wife.
"I was just showing them Carson's old room. They're going to use it as sort of a Secret Service Command Center and barracks. Being here on the second floor, it gives them a convenient way to guard the only access point to the upstairs." Deb said seriously.
Ryan noticed Walt nodding his head in approval.
"Well, I'm glad it worked out that way." Ryan said with a smile.
Deb returned the smile, then turned to Eric and asked, "So, are you ready to see your new rooms?"
"I don't know..." Eric said slowly as he watched for the reactions of all the kids.
As expected, all the boys looked like they were one step away from dragging the adults upstairs to get on with it.
Finally, when he had kept them waiting long enough, he said, "Yes. I think that we'd all like to see the rooms."
Deb started walking as she said, "Actually, at the moment it's one big room. We designed it to be a play area for the boys for when the weather is too bad for them to go outside. But all you'll need to do is snap some wall panels into place, wherever you want them, and you'll have as many or as few rooms as you like, whatever size you need them to be."
"That sounds perfectly suited to our needs." Eric said as he walked alongside Deb up the stairs.
"We wanted to be able to adapt the space to other uses without time consuming renovations." Deb said as they crested the stairs.
Deb waited as Eric looked around the huge empty space.
"This is AWESOME!" Randy and Kevin crowed in unison. Their voices slightly echoed back to them in the vast empty space.
"What's in there?" Danny asked as he pointed at one of two doors on the far wall.
"The one on the right is the bathroom, the one on the left is the storage room. That's where we have the wall partitions to make this big room into several smaller rooms." Deb said with a smile at the boy.
"I like it big!" Danny said immediately.
"You might not think so when your Daddy and I have to be working late at night and you're trying to sleep." Eric said as he looked askance at the boy.
"That's all there is to show you. We have a store room out back with some extra furniture. All the rest of the rooms are already set up, so feel free to help yourselves to anything you like from there... including the games." Deb finished with a grin at the boys.
As she expected, all the boys perked up at the sound of the word games.
"Be sure to ask your father, first." Deb said to the boys as she looked from one boy to the next.
"Yes, Ma'am." The boys said in unison.
Deb nodded with approval, then turned to leave.
* * * * *
"Where are we gonna stay? I mean, do I get to stay with you?" Max asked in a barely audible whisper.
"Of course you're going to be staying with me. But since we seem to be building our rooms to our liking, I suppose the only question is, would you rather we share one room with two beds, or would you like a room of your very own?" General Adams asked the boy that he was holding around the shoulders.
"I could have a room of my own, like real kids do?"
"I suppose that's settled. Let's go grab a wall partition. I think that between the two of us, we should be able to manage to make a nice place for ourselves."
* * * * *
Ryan stepped forward and said, "Eric, before I forget, I wanted to introduce you to Walt and let you know that he's going to be in charge of my security. If you or any of your Secret Service people have any questions or concerns along those lines, you can get with Walt."
"It's nice to meet you, Walt." Eric said as he shook the man's hand, then added, "I'm not sure of all the precautions the Secret Service is going to have to take, but I think it will work a lot more smoothly for everyone having someone we can coordinate with."
"That being said, I think that I'll go check on my other guests, now. If you need anything at all, please feel free to ask." Ryan said pleasantly.
"Thank you, again. This day has seen such catastrophic tragedy..." Eric trailed off as he fought to regain control of his emotions. Finally, in a lower voice he continued, "Your hospitality and generosity has kept us from falling into despair. I thank you for me and Mike, but most especially for our boys. Not just for taking us in, but for showing them that there are still good people in the world. After the events of today, I could see why they might have reason to doubt it."
"All I did was provide a roof. If you really want to see some amazing examples of humanity, get to know some of the other people staying here. I probably don't know a tenth of what they've been through, but the little bit that I do know has blown me away. Their strength makes me feel humble and inspires me to want to do more." Ryan said frankly.
A noise drew their attention and they turned in unison to see the twins, Randy and Kevin, carrying a wall partition out of the store room.
"What do you guys think you're doing?" Eric chuckled.
"We're making our bedroom." Randy said simply, without slowing his pace.
"I'd better help, or at least supervise." Eric smiled.
"If you need anything at all, just ask." Ryan said seriously.
Eric nodded once in agreement before rushing over to the boys.
Ryan watched for a moment as the wall the boys were carrying was seated into place, before leaving.
* * * * *
Walt and two of the Secret Service agents headed to the front of the house. Ryan followed curiously. Walt told him, "Strange bus arriving."
The bus came to a stop, the doors opened and the driver, a man in a kilt, a white shirt and tie, stepped off onto the ground. He was quickly followed by a bunch of boys, some in black pants and blue shirts and the others in Boy Scout uniforms. Several adults followed them off the bus. One of the adults looking around spotted Ryan coming out of the house to meet them.
"Tom, I'm glad you made it safely." Ryan said as he approached and shook hands with one of the Boy Scout leaders.
"We drove straight through. This is Mr. Scott Montgomery from the Boy's Brigade in Scotland. He is heading to Canada and hopefully from there to home."
"Ach, 'Tis good ta be seein' ye. 'Tis a long drive we've been havin'. All these Yanks be drivin' on the wrong side of the road 'n all."
More hand shaking. "You've missed lunch but we could probably pull something together," Ryan added.
"I'm Mike Little, the Scoutmaster. We ate on the bus before arriving so we're good."
"Jeez, Mr. Little, he was gonna give us food." One of the Scouts whined.
Tom scowled, "Manners, Neal. You are the one that pushed us to eat another MRE on the bus and not wait 'til we got here."
"Jeez, Dad..."
"Ryan, any word on Haven-1? Murdoc should have arrived by now," Tom asked.
"We'll check with Carson and see if Dizzy can get us an update." Ryan replied.
Tom and Ryan left the group and went into the house.
Tom returned a few minutes later. There was a game of capture the flag going on around the house with the Scouts vs Boy's Brigade. Tom approached the other adults who were all stretching their legs. "We're going to need to get to the Airport. The plane will be arriving in about twenty minutes. Then we'll head over to the Scout camp and set up a more permanent camp."
Mr. Little suggested, "Let's let the boys run off a bit more steam. Then we'll load up and head out."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Tom agreed.
Oliver asked, "Will Dr. T be on the plane."
"Pity the fool, if he ain't!" Tom said.
Soon the bus was loaded again and set off for the airport.
Tom told Mr. Little and Eddie that there was a huge caravan coming from Chicago that would be needing to set up at the camp also.
"Well, our boys are all Order of the Arrow, so helping set up tents won't be a problem, if the camp ranger will let us into wherever they are stored."
"Ryan said he would let him know we were coming."
* * * * *
Once the majority of the Strike Team had left, Courtney looked over at Alvin, then back to Carson. "Well, I know you guys are gonna be talking about the refugees you got coming in, and by the way, if I didn't make it clear before, I think what all you guys are doing is great. I can tell most of you don't think of it that way; but by the time you're done, you will each be responsible for helping hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of people. Each and every one of them could easily have ended up severely injured or worse, dead, if it wasn't for what you men are doing right here and now. I know that some of you still see yourselves as boys, but regardless of your age, the moment each of you stepped up to help, you threw off the mantle of being a child."
She pulled the patch out of her pocket again, and handed it to Jay, who hesitantly took it. "I will personally be asking General Adam Casey, the commanding officer of the U.N.I.T. to issue all of you that patch, but for now, Jay, I would like you to take mine. 'Mourn the loss of childhood', is not just referring to those who have been abused, but also recognizing those that gave their childhood away so that they could step up and do what's needed. That's what each of you are doing, and for that, you have my respect, admiration, and protection. You guys help the people, and we will make sure you guys stay safe. Sound good?"
Carson looked at Courtney and nodded. "I'm glad we could help. None of us could just sit back and let people suffer if there was any way we could stop it. It's also nice to know we aren't going to have to do it alone."
Once Courtney sat back down, Alvin stepped up and started talking to the group. "Okay, I expect you guys are pretty overwhelmed with everything you just found out. Being that we live it, we sometimes forget about how much it is for people who don't know us to accept it. Just keep in mind that we are as new to this world, as you guys are new to us." Seeing many nodding heads, Alvin decided to get to the last part of the meeting. "So why don't we start talking about the plans that you guys have made, and see where we can possibly help you."
That started a long conversation where just about everyone was, throwing ideas back and forth, and explaining what they had already come up with. The remaining U.N.I.T. members were rather impressed with everything that this group had done so far, and only really offered a few minor suggestions, until it came time to talk about the programming of the computers to keep track of everything.
Things were starting to get a bit heated between Carson, Alvin and Simon, as they were discussing which operating system to base the programs in. Carson wanted to use Dizzy, while Alvin and Simon wanted to use the U.N.I.T. based ones. Finally, Carson spoke up, trying not to get too upset. "Guys, I created my own operating system already, I mean, hell, that's what Dizzy really is. A very complicated operating system that is somewhat intelligent! Have you guys done that?"
Alvin and Simon looked at each other and then almost burst out laughing. They looked back at Carson who was beginning to look offended when Alvin was finally able to speak. "Dude, we're not laughing at you. There's something about us that you don't know, yet. Do you know what a positronic Matrix is?"
Carson looked really confused, but then answered. "Well, as far as I know, it's the type of brain that Data, in the 'Star Trek, The Next Generation' episodes had. He was an android that had a computer for a brain, they called it a positronic matrix.... why?"
"WELLLLLLL." Alvin said with a grin. "Both Simon and I have them..."
Carson sat there stunned for a moment before he cried out. "CAN I HAVE ONE!?"
Immediately both Simon and Alvin backed up a few steps with looks of horror on their faces. They both crouched down ready to fight off anyone that came near them.
It took a second for Oleksandr to realize what was going on. In fact, he really didn't have a clue what a positroni-whoosis-whatsis was at all. But what he did recognize was fear. Since Alvin and Simon had backed away, that left Oleksandr standing on his own. In a split second, he made a decision and reconfirmed his footing and crossed his arms across his chest. With that subtle movement, he had drawn a line.
Carson was baffled for a brief moment as he looked at the two boys, with wild fear filled eyes. Then it dawned on him... "NO!!!!! I wasn't meaning one of yours! I just meant I would like to have one... a spare one... that no one's using..." He was speaking so fast his words were almost a jumble, but it was enough to make Alvin and Simon relax... a bit.
"You're not going after our brother's, either..." Simon said defensively.
"No... I wouldn't ever think of something like that. I was just wondering if I could get one for myself." Carson said a bit more slowly, wondering why they had that sort of reaction.
"It's rather easy...." Will said as he came over and put his hands on Simon and Alvin's shoulders. "You see, you're not the first one to ask for one; the last time, though, the people who wanted one were quite willing to just take Alvin's brain... forcefully."
Gasps were heard throughout the room, as people finally understood the reaction the boys had.
"And before you ask... No, Alvin, Simon, and their brother, Theodore, are not exactly androids in the same way that Data was on Star Trek." Will paused as everyone processed what he just said.
"Okay. I'll ask it. What, exactly, do you mean?" Carson asked in a voice that clearly showed he was not sure he wanted to really know the answer.
"Well, they were originally 100% flesh and blood boys. Their minds, personalities, basically their self-awareness and individualities were sucked out of their brains and put into the Positronic Matrix, then the matrix was placed in their bodies, with a few reinforcements and other additions." Will was scanning the room with his mind for reactions as he said all this. Carson was horrified, but it did not seem to change his underlying feelings regarding the Chipmunks. Will had been pretty sure of this reaction from the start, but was gratified to see he was right.
Alvin finally relaxed enough to reach out and pull Oleksandr into a hug. "Thanks for trying to protect us. It feels real good knowing people care about us."
"Come here." Oleksandr said as he put a hand on Alvin's shoulder. "You, too, Simon. Come over here."
Everyone watched as Oleksandr guided the two boys to walk with him across the room to where Ben was standing.
"I'm not big, so I can't protect you too much. But if you're ever scared, Ben will keep you safe. He won't hurt you or do stuff to you or make you do things or nothin. He'll just hold you and keep you safe for as long as you need him to." Oleksandr declared confidently.
Alvin smiled up at Ben before looking to Oleksandr and saying, "Thanks Oleksandr. We were really only scared for a minute, but I appreciate that you're willing to share Ben with us."
"Your other brother, too. If he's here and he's scared, you tell him to come to Ben and he'll be safe." Oleksandr said seriously.
"We'll tell him." Simon said with a warm smile at Oleksandr.
"If you ever do need me, I promise that I'll do anything in my power to keep you safe." Ben said as he looked Alvin in the eyes.
"Thank you. I can see that Oleksandr's faith in you is well placed." Alvin said sincerely.
* * * * *
"If you'll bring up a map of the area, I'd like to cover access points to you and get your opinion on coverage." Alvin said as he stood behind Carson's chair with Oleksandr right by his side.
"You got that, Dizzy?" Carson asked as he typed on his keyboard.
"Got it, Boss." Dizzy responded, then maps started filling all the screens.
"Nice." Alvin said with a smile at Carson and Dizzy's efficiency.
"Excuse me." One of the younger teenagers in the room said cautiously.
"What's up, Bryan?" Alvin asked curiously.
The boy turned to look at Zane and anxiously said, "Brother Jacques really needs you. Like, right now."
Zane turned without hesitation and ran for the door.
Alvin looked at Bryan curiously, then looked away, toward the door.
It only took him a second to come back to himself and say, "You, too, Bug. Your twins need you."
"What's wrong?" Bug asked with immediate concern.
"You can talk or you can do. What's it going to be?" Alvin asked him seriously.
"Can you read my mind right now?" Bug asked as he got up from Carson's spare computer to leave.
"Yeah." Alvin said with a wince as he watched Bug leave, then said to the others still in the room, "I think I need to wash my positronic matrix out with soap, now."
* * * * *
When Zane arrived at his room, he found Brother Jacques, Ken and Kev all holding each other and crying.
"What's wrong?" Zane asked with tears already forming in his eyes.
"I don't want to die. Life's just starting to get good." Brother Jacques said past his tears.
Ken and Kev automatically shifted out of the way so that Brother Jacques could pull Zane into a much needed hug.
The twins felt despair setting in on them when Bug rushed into the room.
When he saw them, with their faces wet and their eyes red from crying, Bug realized that it didn't matter what was going on. As Alvin had said, his twins needed him. That's all he needed to know.
"Let me in there." Bug whispered and was immediately pulled into their hug.
"Jake's afraid that he's gone full-blown. The doctor tested him, then came back and said that he needed to do the test again. They only do that when they're wanting to be sure that you're ripe." Kev explained in a whisper.
Bug held both the twins tightly for a long moment before quietly asking, "So the doctor hasn't called you back with the results, yet?"
"No. When you're ripe, they always tell you to your face." Kev said frankly.
"So all the doctor really told you is that he needed to do the test again, is that right?" Bug confirmed.
"Yeah. But that's how it works. If you're ripe, they do a second test, then they take you in a room and sit you down and tell you that... that..." Further words were prevented by Kev's sobs.
"Where's the doctor?" Bug asked as he turned to look at Ken, who had tears flowing down both cheeks.
"At the hospital, doing the blood test." Ken whispered.
Bug pulled Ken close and gave him a quick but firm kiss, then turned and did the same to Kev.
"If the doctor's at the hospital, then that's where we need to be." Bug said loudly enough for Brother Jacques and Zane to hear him.
"But... he said..." Brother Jacques tried to say past his sobs.
"Like I give a rat's ass what he said! That's where the doctor is. That's where the answer is. Sitting and waiting and being quiet, that ain't me. Fuck that! Going there may not make the news any better, but at least we'll be getting it on our own terms." Bug said angrily.
"Yeah!" Ken said as he stood a little straighter.
Kev nodded his agreement and stood tall at Bug's other side.
"It beats sitting here." Brother Jacques said in a trembling voice as he held Zane close at his side.
"Okay! Let's do this!" Bug said confidently, then thought to ask, "Hey, does anyone know where the hospital is?"
* * * * *
"We need to find Tommy. He's coordinating where everyone's going and staying, so he'll know the best way to get us there." Bug said as he led the group down the stairs.
"Where should we look for him?" Ken asked cautiously.
"I don't know. He was in Carson's room when the meeting started, but he might have left before I did." Bug said uncertainly.
"I don't remember if he was still there when I left." Zane said frankly.
"Come on. If he's not there, then we'll check that office where the doctor was, then maybe the kitchen. If we run into his mom, we'll ask her. Mom's always know where their kids are." Bug said as he finally reached the bottom of the stairs and hurried toward the Main house, almost at a run.
* * * * *
"Is Tommy here?" Bug asked as he barged into Carson's room.
"No, he probably has a million things to take care of right now. I don't know where he is." Carson said frankly.
"Well, maybe you can help. How do we get to the hospital?" Bug asked quickly.
"There's a few ways. You can drive a gator over there. It'll probably take you about... an hour, maybe. If you don't want to wait that long, I guess you could take a gator down to the monorail station, that's about five minutes from here, then you could ride the monorail to the hospital. That'd be... I don't know, probably about twenty minutes." Carson said after a moment's consideration.
"Yeah. Let's do that. How much does it cost?" Kev asked urgently.
"Nothing. All public transportation is free, here." Carson said frankly.
"Great! We can afford that." Bug said with a weary chuckle, then asked, "Where's the station? How do we get there?"
"That's kind of hard to explain. It'd really be better if we got someone to go with you who knows the way." Carson said honestly.
"For fuck's sake! How fucking hard can it be?! We just want to go to the fucking hospital!" Bug ranted.
Carson rolled his eyes, then reached over to the intercom by his keyboard and said, "Mikey, could you come to my room?"
"Can't you just tell us?" Bug growled.
"I guess you could go out front and get on the road, but that's kind of the long way around. It'll be a lot faster if Mikey takes you cross country." Carson said honestly.
"Why does every goddamned motherfucking thing in the world stand in your way when you just want to get one simple fucking thing done?" Bug asked in exasperation.
"Because life's a mean bitch with a bad sense of humor?" One of the younger kids, Bruce, asked with a smile.
"Yeah, well, I guess if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off of it." Bug chuckled.
"Did you need me for something?" Mikey asked as he hurried into Carson's room.
"Yes. These guys need to get to the hospital. I thought that if you took them cross country on the gators to the monorail station, you could shave a few minutes off their trip." Carson said honestly.
"Would you mind if I tag along? I'd like to get familiar with the area. Plus riding a gator sounds like fun." Bruce asked with a grin.
"Yeah. If you're ready to go right now." Bug said as he encouraged Mikey to lead the way.
"Sure. Let's go." Bruce said with a happy-go-lucky smile.
* * * * *
Mikey led the way through the house, toward the outside door that led to the gators as Bug followed closely behind. In fact, Bug was half tempted to just pick Mikey up and carry him outside so that they could be on their way.
"What's the big rush, anyway?" Bruce asked as he followed at a casual pace.
"These guys have been waiting on the results from a blood test. Rather than wait for the doctor to come all the way back here, we're going there to wait for the results. Besides, if we're there, they might get the results a little bit faster, just to get rid of us." Bug said as he walked to the nearest gator and climbed on.
"So, you don't actually need to go to the hospital, you just need to talk to the doctor, right?" Bruce asked slowly.
"Yeah. Get on a fucking gator so we can get moving!" Bug said as he started the gator's engine.
"Okay. But if you go out front, the doctor's helicopter is going to be landing in about twenty seconds." Bruce said as he pointed toward the approaching helicopter that was just becoming visible over the tree line.
Bug stared as the helicopter flew over their heads, then set down, just on the other side of the house.
"The doctor's on that helicopter?" Bug asked to be certain.
"Yeah." Bruce confirmed.
"Did you know he was coming?" Bug asked as he turned off the gator's engine.
"Yeah."
"Then why the fuck didn't you tell us that before?" Bug asked in a bewildered tone.
"You didn't ask."
To Be Continued...
Editor's Notes:
Well, It sure had better be continued.
This chapter was certainly jam packed with content.
I was really sad that Alvin and Simon had been in a situation where they were going to get killed so someone could get their brains. That would be pretty frightening.
Oleksandr showed quite a bit of caring concern, when he put himself between Alvin and Carson, to do whatever he could to protect Alvin and Simon.
I thought it was also really neat that he had the presence of mind to lead Alvin over to Ben and tell Alvin that Ben would protect him, too.
I wonder what is going to happen to Brother Jacques. What did the Doctor find in his test that made him want to recheck it?
Everyone sure is panicked about it. I sure hope we find out what's going on pretty soon.
Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher