Apocalypse unleashed

45

Downtown Sanliurfa

Sanliurfa Province, Turkey

Local Time 0453 Hours

Danielle looked at Goose. “Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?”

“Got tired of lying around,” Goose replied. “Thought I’d get a breath of fresh air.”

Concern tightened the lines of her face. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and Goose would have bet his last dollar she hadn’t slept all night. “You look like you’re ready to fall over,” she said.

“Ma’am,” Goose said with a smile, “I’d say that’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black.”

Danielle grinned in return. “I guess neither one of us was meant for the life of a spectator, First Sergeant.”

“No, ma’am.”

“Want to go anywhere?”

Goose thought about it. “I don’t know. I just knew I couldn’t stay laid up in that bed anymore.”

“Gary and I were heading out to breakfast. If we can find a place. If I eat another MRE, I’m going to barf.”

Goose grinned. “Yes, ma’am. But like my first sergeant told me back in the day, if you find yourself turning your nose up at an MRE, you just ain’t gone hungry long enough.”

Danielle laughed. “I think it’s more likely an acquired taste. But the offer stands. If you stand out here much longer, one of those nurses is going to find you.”

“Yes, ma’am. You’re probably right about that.”

“Then get in.”

“You don’t mind?”

“First Sergeant, I insist.”

“Yes, ma’am.” As Goose hobbled over, the cameraman abandoned the passenger seat and sat on the rear deck. With difficulty and considerable pain, Goose managed to lever his bad leg into the jeep. A fine sheen of perspiration covered him by the time he was in.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” Danielle asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“These streets aren’t smooth anymore.”

“No, ma’am. I can see that. It’ll be all right. But thank you for asking.”

Danielle put the jeep in gear and pulled out onto the street behind a convoy of United Nations vehicles. “I suppose you’re aware of what Carpathia is doing with the military?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’ve heard that Captain Remington is accepting a position with them.”

“You’d have to talk to the captain about that, ma’am.”

“I don’t think I’m one of the captain’s favorite people these days. Not only that, but I’ve heard a lot of Rangers aren’t happy about it either. Several of them plan to stay with the army.”

Goose didn’t say anything. He’d heard the same thing, and it weighed on his mind.

“Many of those Rangers,” Danielle added, “are the same men who were following Corporal Baker’s church. Before he was murdered.”

That statement gave Goose unpleasant thoughts about Alexander Cody. “Have you done any more follow-up on Cody?”

“Enough to get myself in trouble with the network.”

“They tell you to stay away from him?”

“Not in so many words.”

“It appears to me, ma’am, that you’re working for the man you’re wanting to declare as an enemy.”

Danielle smiled. “For the moment, yes. But Nicolae Carpathia, and especially OneWorld NewsNet, can’t control me.”

Seeing the fiery independence in the woman, Goose nodded. “I reckon not, ma’am.”

“I’m going to stay until they force me out. And I’m going to use my position to ferret out everything I can.”

“Given what you’ve found, ma’am, that might not be the smartest thing you could do.”

“You’re out here wandering around on crutches when you can’t even stand up, First Sergeant. I don’t think I’d be talking about smart things to do.”

“No, ma’am. I suppose not.”

“What about you, Goose?” she asked.

“Ma’am?”

“Are you going to join Carpathia’s army?”

Goose chose his words carefully. “The docs tell me I’ll be doing good to walk again after this. I get back stateside, I’ll talk to a few specialists. But I don’t think their diagnosis is gonna be much different. Me and this knee, we been through a lot. Got a lot of miles on us. A lot of pain.” But Goose couldn’t stop thinking about Megan and how she was coming to Sanliurfa.

“And if your knee wasn’t hurt?”

“I try not to deal in guesswork like that, ma’am. I’m a U.S. Army Ranger. I was trained to deal in realistic situations.”

“I think we left behind the kind of realistic situations you were trained for weeks ago,” Danielle said.

“Maybe so, ma’am.” Goose shifted and tried in vain to find a comfortable position. Even if he managed that, the bumpy street guaranteed a lot of pain. Some of his discomfort must have shown on his face.

“Sorry,” Danielle said. “If I go much slower, the engine stalls out.”

“I’ll be okay, ma’am.” Goose stared at the blocks lined with bombed-out and wrecked shops. Only a few days ago, many of them had still been open.

“Do you think Remington, as a captain or a colonel, is going to be able to hold this city?”

“If it can be done, I’m sure he’s just the man to do it.”

“You put a lot of faith in him.”

“He’s been a friend for a long time, ma’am.”

“He hasn’t seemed like much of a friend lately.”

Goose didn’t answer for a moment. “The captain’s got a lot on his mind lately, ma’am, but when push comes to shove, I’ve never known him not to do the right thing.” He tried not to pay attention to the doubts he felt as soon as he spoke.

Silence stretched out between them for a time. Goose shoved the pain to the back of his mind, but he didn’t know how much longer he could stand the drive.

Danielle said, “Maybe you’ve still got faith in your boss, but I’m losing faith in mine.”

Goose wondered at the word choice. Faith seemed like an awfully big word to throw around these days. Especially when you weren’t sure what you were supposed to have faith in.

“Goose.”

The voice echoed in Goose’s head and it was so familiar that he started and stared over his shoulder.

“Something wrong?” Danielle asked.

“No,” Goose answered automatically. “Thought I heard something.”

“I don’t see how you could hear anything over the noise this jeep makes.”

“I must not have.” But Goose was sure that he did.

“Street’s blocked,” the cameraman said. “You can’t go that way.”

Goose looked forward and saw that the statement was true. One of the cargo trucks had broken down in the intersection. A ruined tank occupied one of the side streets. Danielle turned left and crept by the sawhorses the military had put out.

“Goose.”

The voice sounded so uncannily like Bill Townsend’s that Goose’s nape prickled. Gotta be more out of it than I thought. Shoulda stayed in bed.

Only a couple of blocks later, Danielle approached a bridge stretching across the river that ran through the city.

“Stop.”

“Stop here.” Goose spoke before he knew he was going to.

Danielle braked the jeep to the side of the street and looked over at him. “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know.” Goose searched the thinning darkness that clung to the riverbanks and couldn’t find anything that stood out. A few boats sailed sedately across the smooth surface. Judging from the amount of boxes and people aboard, a lot more of the citizens had finally decided to throw in the towel and abandon the city.

Goose stared at the river, following it with his gaze as it wound through Sanliurfa. Then, only a short distance off the road, down the gentle hillside, he spotted a group of Rangers lining the riverbank.

At first Goose thought they were part of a scouting expedition. But there were simply too many of them. Dozens of men sat along the riverbank with their weapons. One of them stood in the water and called out to another. The man walked down the hill and into the slow-moving river. When he reached the waiting man, they talked briefly; then the first man held the other, lowered him into the water, and brought him back up.

“They’re baptizing,” Danielle said. “Gary, get the camera on them.”

“No, ma’am,” Goose said, turning to her. “This is a private ceremony.”

Danielle’s gaze met his without flinching. “This is important.”

“If Captain Remington finds out this is going on, he’ll likely put a stop to it.” Goose didn’t have any doubts about that.

“Are you planning on not reporting them?”

Goose didn’t speak.

“Isn’t that a declaration of some sort about your loyalties?” Danielle pressed.

The question troubled Goose. He tried to find an answer.

“Goose.”

The nape of Goose’s neck prickled again. “My loyalties are to those men.”

“Even if what they’re doing flies in the face of what Remington wants?”

Goose watched the men. He was torn over the issue, but there was something greater at stake. He was certain of that now.

“If you’ll excuse me, ma’am, there’s something I gotta go do.” Goose swung his legs out of the jeep and set the crutches on the ground. His knee throbbed painfully, and his other leg almost buckled underneath him on the uneven ground.

“Goose.” Danielle ran up to him. “Let me help.”

“No, ma’am. I appreciate it, but this is something I gotta do on my own.” Slowly, with great difficulty, Goose made his way down the hillside to the gentle river.

The men caught sight of him and stopped what they were doing. Fear showed on their faces.