“Dang, that looks good,” he said, speaking of both her and the sugary treat. He ran into the kitchen and found the open box on the counter. On the floor, a woman’s nightgown had been discarded, along with a necklace and a mobile phone. Sobered by the sight, he tentatively walked around them and reached for the treasure.
“Thanks for letting us be here,” he mouthed to the clothing pile.
Ted retreated from the kitchen and carried the mostly-full box to the living room. Emily had downed hers by the time he started his first one. He was impressed by her singular focus on the thin yellow book. Using it to look up a number seemed quaint, as opposed to always tapping his phone to search for information, but it served their purpose.
He took a big bite, talking while chewing. “I wish I had a Kit-Kat. We used to break those apart and dredge out Twinkie filling. They made for great bonus treats while doing long tours across the sky.”
She flipped a couple of pages. “So, that’s what you did while waiting for excitement to happen on my plane.”
He laughed. “You have no idea.”
“Here!” She tapped a page with her fingernail. “The local affiliate is right here.” She finally glanced up, smiling when she saw him. “You’ve got some of that great filling on your whiskers. You might need to shave soon, too.”
He hurriedly used his black sleeve to wipe his mouth, which then required him to scrub the conspicuous blotch away with his other arm.
Emily laughed. “You know, there’s a whole kitchen of wash towels and napkins.”
Ted felt foolish, but it was hard to avoid while eating the moist tube of cake filled with crème. He tried to think of something sensible. “We should load up as much food as we can carry.”
They took the phone book since it contained a map of the area. They also filled two plastic tubs with as many canned goods, crackers, water bottles, and utensils as they could fit. They both moved around the woman’s pink nightclothes, respectful it had once been a person. Back in the living room, he threw in the box of Twinkies, sure they would consume the whole supply before the day was out.
“Let’s roll,” Emily said, once their supplies were ready.
“Wait. This house seems pretty soccer-mom-ish. Do you want to see if they have any clothes you can wear?” Based on the modern art on the walls, two cars in the garage, clean carpets, and lack of pets, he assumed an older couple lived in the home. Tasteful clothes might be on offer.
She paused to think about it but ended up shaking her head. “First of all. Soccer mom? I don’t even have kids yet. Second of all, I’d say these jammies are what we need to get us into the studio, don’t you?” They’d talked about changing clothes for most of the morning, and she’d even grabbed a few tourist T-shirts from Devils Tower, but it wasn’t urgent to change. It might never be. The black jumpsuits they’d taken off the dead men would give them an edge.
“That’s a good call, Madam President, as always.”
They both hustled to the door, but he stopped abruptly before going out, sliding on a throw rug at the entryway. “Wait!”
“What?” she asked anxiously from the front porch.
“We have some time…” He spoke in an if-you’re-interested tone as he looked back toward the empty home.
Emily walked back inside, curious as to what he was looking at. Ted found it fun to watch her be so clueless, and he wasn’t going to do anything to help her figure it out. “Do you need a rest?” she finally asked.
He rolled his eyes.
“What?” she pressed.
He strode through the door, sure she was going to figure it out at some point. As expected, she came out after him, still not catching on to his non-specific request.
“What am I missing?” she said, finally sounding upset.
Ted gripped the door handle of the truck but watched her come out onto the driveway. She flipped her bangs out of her eyes in a way he’d come to appreciate as being part of her nervous tics. It was very cute. “You know, for being the most powerful woman in the entire world, you have a blind spot to certain things.” He’d done it to remind her she’d used the same line on him, and what it meant.
She glanced over her shoulder, as if noticing the empty house for the first time. “Ah. I’m an idiot.” She thumbed back toward the doorway. “It’s still empty, if you want to go check it out.”
He sighed heavily. Nothing would be more enjoyable at that moment than sorting out some feelings he had for his travel companion, but he’d ditched Kyla to do a job. He intended to take Emily into harm’s way. It had been wrong to tease her and tempt them both. “We can’t. It’s getting late. I want to get to the station before they shut down. Assuming they work normal hours.”
“Raincheck?” she said with optimism.
“Deal.” He got behind the wheel of the SUV. “Now, let’s go break some things.”
Amarillo, TX
“If we’re going to Colorado Springs to take on NORAD, we should have better weapons than this,” Long commented to Brent as they surveyed what they’d tossed into the back of a black police Chevy Tahoe. “We have access to every weapon left behind by the United States military. Why don’t we go steal some?”
Brent closed the rear door. “We have pistols and shotguns for the up-close defense we need. We’re going up against a huge army. As much as I’d love to get a five-finger discount on a tank or fighter jet, those aren’t what’s going to win the war for us. We have to think like guerilla fighters. Travel light. Strike fast. Blend back into the land. Besides, after the success of those tankers last night, I
