Hank liked things nice and straight forward, and in his mind women didn't get that mad. Why, women were kind and soft and gentle, like his mother, he reasoned, things like that. But they were never angry, they never swore like Annie had, and men were never afraid of them either, he had told himself as he left the room. Maybe it would be a good idea if he just took a short walk, he had convinced himself. In fact it was time to take a walk... A long walk. Time to lay low maybe, he told himself.
Annie drew in several deep breaths, as she sat at the table, and once she felt she had herself under control, she snatched the disc from the machine and forced herself to set it down instead of throwing it across the room, which is what she wanted to do. "Prick," she mumbled under her breath, as she sat the disc down. She reached across and picked up the disc that Frank, Gary, Ira, and herself, as well as Jimmy, had made before they left. She slid it into the machine and hit the play button, then leaned back into her seat to watch it.
~ 5 ~
Frank turned from staring out over the water and asked, "How much longer you think, Gary?"
"Twenty minutes, maybe less," he responded, after checking his watch.
Frank turned. "Almost there guys," he said. Ira and Jimmy walked forward and stared out over the water.
"It's changed a bit," Gary said, "we should already be on dry land, and, as you can see, we ain't."
"That bad?" Ira asked.
"Not if we want to save time it ain't," Gary replied, "the closer the better, I just gotta be careful is all, don't know how deep it is here."
"Seems pretty deep to me," Jimmy said doubtfully.
"Seeming deep, and being deep, is two totally different things," Gary said, as he dropped the throttle to a low idle. They coasted slowly up what looked to be a wide and calm river.
"This is new," Gary said, a trace of wonder in his voice "looks like it might be what used to be White creek. If it is, we'll be coming in a whole lot closer than we figured to be," he finished.
"How's that?" Frank asked, feeling foolish.
"White creek comes right into Fort Drum, is why, and if this is it, we're coming straight into... Damn if it ain't!" he said pointing ahead. "That's the water tower, and soon as we get through these trees, I'll bet ya dollars-to-donuts it says Fort Drum on it," he finished excitedly.
"Well, how far from here to that Jeffery's place you figure?" Ira asked.
"Mile, maybe mile and a half," Gary answered, smiling. Ira started to turn to frank. "Be about forty hours left," Frank answered, before he could ask.
The boat coasted through the trees, and they all read the lettering on the water tower, slapping Gary on the back as they did.
"Good navigating, Gary," Jimmy said.
"Fine, that's for sure," Ira said also. They all knew they were trying to hold the lighthearted mood that they had just acquired seconds before, they knew as well that it was no use. It was time to be serious, lives, not the least of all their own, were at stake.
Frank jumped to the grassy shore, caught the rope Ira threw to him, and pulled the boat in closer, tying it off to the thick trunk of a nearby tree.
"Think that'll be okay, Gary'?" he asked as he knotted the rope, and the remaining three men stepped ashore.
"I take it you were never in the Navy, Frank," he said, as he looked over the three square knots, Frank had used. "It ain't going nowhere I don't think. The rope'll break first, Frank."
Frank put one more knot in the rope to be sure, before he looked up and then followed Gary, who was shaking his head, away from the boat.
"What?" he asked, as he caught up to him.
"Nothin', Frank, I was just bustin' your chops is all," Gary replied smiling. They walked up to a vine covered road. Or at least it looked like it had been a road, Frank thought, as he joined Ira, and Jimmy.
"What's with the vines?" Jimmy asked.
"Don't know, but they're everywhere, Jim," Gary replied, "started the same night the bombs fell... Ira?"
"Don't know any more than you do, walked over a whole bunch of them myself. Wasn't something He thought to let me in on," Ira replied. "Which way, Gary?" he asked, as he looked up from the vines, and down the road in both directions.
"Left," Gary replied, and started away. The others stood for only a second, and then fell in behind him.
~ 6 ~
Annie watched the recording that was due to be transmitted in little over four hours. It was an old ruse, probably wouldn't work, she thought, but it had been the best they could come up with on short notice.
The six of them, John included, stared grimly at the camera. Their reasoning had been simple. If Luther was aware that they could transmit, then he had probably been, and would probably continue, monitoring their broadcasts. The recording was set up to appear live, and the speed with which they had recorded it heightened that quality.
Frank stared grimly into the camera and spoke...
"...We felt we needed to inform you of something that developed earlier today," he began. Behind him a large screen lit up and began to replay carefully edited parts of Luther's recent broadcast, as Frank spoke. The clock behind Frank read 6:00 PM, and the hope was that Luther would buy it as a live transmission. If not it would all be for
