“I know,” the leader of the Scouts agreed with a grin. “So I hope we will be out of her line of fire until she gets over it.”
“Has the team found Jerre yet?”
“No. But they’re closing. Should hear from them any day.”
The sergeant took a map from his battle jacket. He spread it out on the tailgate. With one blunt finger, he jabbed at a circle. “That’s the last known position of Jake Devine.”
Gray nodded, then a slow smile worked its way across his face. “Hell, Larry—we’re not tied down. Soon as Tina gets airborne, we’ll pull out. Have the lads dress in civilian clothing. Let’s head for Illinois.”
“Doctor Chase!” Tina cried, running the last few steps to the plane.
He held open his arms and the girl rushed into them. “Good to see you, Tina. So good to see you.”
“But…?”
“Let’s get on board, girl, then we’ll talk.”
Airborne, Lamar Chase grinned and said, “You don’t think I’d let Ben suffer at the hands of those Army sawbones, do you? Thought I’d better ease over that way and take charge.”
She laughed at his mock seriousness. “You’ll never change.”
“I hope not, girl. You know the Joint Chiefs want Ben in as president?”
“Captain Gray told me.”
“And…”
“He’ll never take it.”
“Then it’s up to us all to change his mind, Tina.”
“But…”
“He’s got to do it, honey. It’s his duty.”
She looked out the window at the clouds below them. “Sometimes I just
“I know,” the doctor said, taking her hand in his. “I do, too.”
“Well, now,” Jake Devine greeted Hartline and his men. “Are things lookin’ up or are they not?”
His eyes were on Jerre.
“That was a stupid fucking play moving against those bridges, Jake. I cannot believe you gave those orders.”
“I didn’t, Sam. That was young Jefferson. He got ants in his pants and too cocky. We paid hard for it.”
“Give me a report.”
“Illinois and Indiana are ours. Parts of Ohio and Missouri. All of Iowa.”
“Lots of good land,” Hartline said.
“If you’re a farmer,” a mercenary bitched.
“That’s what we’re going to be, boys. Good hardworking honest law-abiding farmers. We are going to do the same thing with this land that Ben Raines did with his Tri-States. Let’s see if he’s so two-faced he’ll condemn us for doing what he did.”
The mercenaries smiled.
“All the while,” Jake grinned, “working for the old man in Richmond.”
“But of course,” Hartline returned the grin. “I spoke with him just before we pulled out. He said to keep our heads down and stay clean. Do some honest work for a change. Like farming.”
“I was raised on a farm,” Jake mused, a faraway, wistful look on his face. “By God, that just might be kinda nice.”
“Jesus!” Hartline gave him a disgusted look. “I can’t believe you said that, Jake. Farming? For real?”
“Well, who the hell else is gonna do it?” Jake demanded.
“The people,” Hartline explained. “They’ll be happy to do it for us. I bet they will.”
“And we’ll be…?”
“The police, Jake. We’ll keep the peace. And for our services… we’ll take just a… small portion of the profits. Can you dig that, Jake?”
“Yeah,” Jake said. “I can dig. But I still want a little piece of ground for my own. I love the smell of fresh plowed earth.”
“Ain’t but one thing that smells better,” Hartline said.
“Oh?”
Hartline grinned. “Pussy.”
Jerre had stood quietly by during this exchange. Hartline glanced at her. “Jerre,” he said, the one word an introduction. He looked at Jake. “How many women you gone through the past few months?”
“Just one. She’s still with me. Lisa.”
“That’s a bit odd for you, isn’t it, Jake?” Hartline asked, a note of suspicion in his voice.
Jake shrugged. “We get along, that’s all.” He changed the subject, not wanting to discuss Lisa with Hartline. Lately his feeling for the teenager had… deepened, he guessed that was the right choice of words. She had begun evoking a feeling within him he never knew he had; certainly had never experienced.
And he had changed in other ways, as well.
And it scared him.
“When do we pull out, Sam?” he asked.
“First thing in the morning. You’ll be ready?”
“Count on it, Sam. Good to see you. See you in the morning.”
Hartline watched Jake walk away. Something about the man had changed. And Hartline sensed it was not for the better.
Well, he thought, time to worry about that later. He looked at a young merc. “Where do we bunk, soldier?”
“We have a nice house for you, sir. If you’ll follow me.”
The house was a relatively new home, with a pleasant warming fire burning in the fireplace in the den. Hartline waited until after the young merc had gone.
“You fix dinner. I’m going to take a shower and read the paper.”
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll run away?”
His smile was as friendly as the permanent grin on a snake. “Look outside, Jerre-baby.”
She looked. The house had armed guards on all sides. She again faced the mercenary. “And then what?”
“You know what.”
“No more Mr. Nice Guy, huh?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that, honey. I never seen a woman yet didn’t like a big cock. And that’s what I got.”
“I’m having my period.”
“No, you’re not. But even if you were, it wouldn’t make no difference. I’d just take the back door.”
Jerre’s temper got the best of her. “Hartline, you are the most despicable person I have ever met.”
He was in a good mood, a good personality. He laughed at her. “I’m a saint compared to some I’ve soldiered with, Jerre-baby. You go run on now. You’re lookin’ a mite peaked from the plane ride. You can take your bath first, then cook supper.”
She looked at him for a moment, thinking: Oh, Ben, where are you?
She remembered when she saw Ben again, after her leaving in North Carolina. But this time he’d been with Salina. Or she with him. They were in the northwest, in the area that would soon become Tri-States.
The young people from the colleges Ben had visited rolled in and looked around. They were wary, for they believed the adults had caused the original mess (which was true), and they weren’t too certain this new state could be any better. But they decided to give it a try.
Jerre saw Ben, at first from a distance, and for a time kept her distance as she realized the woman with him was more than just a friend. Then she worked up enough courage to speak to him.
“Hi, Ben.”
