She was pleased, in the moment. It beat seeing David or Charity come out. But she could never forget who he was: part of an army who’d killed everyone in her country, including her mom.
“Let’s just say you’re growing on me.” Tabby decided not to speak her true feelings. Whatever else he was, the young man was her ticket to getting out of the bunker. She turned to Tanager. “This man was held prisoner. His name is…”
“President Tanager,” Victor exclaimed.
“You know who he is?” How did a foot soldier in an enemy army know him, but she did not?
“Of course. He’s the last president of the United States of America. It’s an honor to meet you in person, sir.” Victor stuck out his hand to shake.
Tanager seemed worried. He looked around her and Victor toward the elevators. She thought he might be anxious to make good on the open door. However, he still refused to accept the salutation. “I will not make nice with the people who destroyed my country.”
“I didn’t—” Victor tried to say.
Tanager cut him off. “Save it. Why are you really here?”
The kid seemed taken aback. “For her, of course. She was supposed to be my betrothed. David set it up, but Tabby had no interest in the arrangement. I guess I want to see if I can change her mind.”
Don’t stomp on his heart, girl. Save it for when you’re safe.
“Keep trying,” she replied in a friendly voice.
“See?” Victor added, for Tanager’s benefit.
There was no point in sticking around a second longer than necessary. They had everything required for an escape, except a weapon. However, if there was a toolbox…
She strode over to the elevator door and opened the box. As expected, there were makeshift weapons of all kinds. “Grab a tool, boys. We’re going back up.” She pulled out a big crescent wrench, but also put a screwdriver inside the cinched-up blanket she was using for a skirt.
Victor crouched to study the box, but Tanager stayed where he was.
“Come on, sir. We’ve got to arm up.”
“I’m afraid I’ve been a bit untruthful about what I’m doing down here.” He still didn’t come over. As she waited to figure out why, he lifted the leg of his trousers, revealing a black ankle bracelet.
Victor knew what it was. “You have a keep-in-place.”
Tanager laughed. “Yeah, you people have such simple names for things, but essentially, you’re correct. My keep-in-place is this subterranean dungeon. If I try to go up the elevator, someone would have a long day cleaning up the mess. This thing will explode.”
“You can’t leave?” she asked sadly. “Can we get it off your leg?”
“Not possible,” Victor said, pulling out a socket driver and hefting it as if to test if it was worthy of being his weapon.
She glared at him until he looked up.
Victor kept talking. “What? It’s true. Unless you have the key, they are designed to explode if anyone tampers with them. It’s probably why they keep him away from everyone else. Safety.”
Tabby wanted to leave but couldn’t give up on her nation’s leader. “Is there anything we can do for you?”
Tanager became reflective, looking out the window into the pit. “If you see David, tell him this is not a dignified way to hold the leader of the free world. Tabby, you’ve made me realize how much I miss being with people. I need babies to kiss. Lollypops to steal.” He laughed.
“Well, I recently got the ability to vote. If you ever come back into office, you’re going to get mine.”
“That’s sweet,” he replied. “You two get out of here. Good luck topside. I can only imagine what it’s like up there.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said, stepping over the toolbox to get into the elevator.
Victor was about to yank the box through the gap, but he stopped short. Instead, he looked over to Tanager. “Sir, I really am sorry they did this to you.”
“I’m sure you are,” the man said dryly.
Victor pulled the box into the car.
Tabby started on her journey to the surface.
CHAPTER 25
Pike’s Peak, CO
Colonel Avery let Kyla and Meechum watch the drone feed. The man chatted as the flying device made its way across the five or so miles to the other mountains.
“Where did you boys come from, sir?”
“Eielson Air Force Base. It’s in North Pole, Alaska, which is pretty much in the heart of the Last Frontier. Task Force Yankee is only one of the missions flying out of there, trying to figure out what happened. We learned right away the Blackout superweapon didn’t have the reach to clear the state of Alaska beyond Juneau. We’ve done a lot since then, but your tip about NORAD might be what we’ve been looking for. I guess we owe you…”
Kyla had no idea where he was going with his answer.
“We were told before we left to avoid big cities and especially airports, as that was their vector of approach into our abandoned lands. We saw a hell of a lot of piles of people’s clothes. Way too many.” He seemed to hold his breath for a few moments. It wasn’t an easy task in the thin air at fourteen thousand feet. “I can’t tell you how nice it is to find survivors. I’m sorry for not trusting you earlier. We can’t take any chances.”
Meechum stood up straight. “Requesting to have our weapons returned, sir.”
Avery glanced at both of them before looking at one of his team. “Get the Marine her weapons.”
Without missing a beat, Meechum pulled the pistol out of her pocket and put it in the empty holster on her hip. “Already have this one, sir.”
The colonel shook his head.
“What about my rifle?” Kyla asked.
Avery’s face hardened. “I’m afraid I can’t give weapons to a civilian while on an op of this sort. When we complete our assignment and we part ways, you’ll get your property back. I promise.”
She was ready to rise up in rebellion, but Meechum caught
