Jacob, feeling bold, took a step toward one of the flight crew. “Hey, what’s with the bi-plane? We haven’t gotten to using that in combat, have we?”
A crew chief began to speak but was cut off by the truck operator who looked at Jacob after finally getting the tank strapped to a rack on the small vehicle. “It’s a crop duster. Going to use it to wet down the Deltas with this stuff,” the man said, patting the extended tank. He turned away and jumped into the small truck, following the work party to the other side of the helicopter.
The group stood, watching them for a moment before heading to a tall hangar bay at the end of the tarmac. At the entrance, they were met by a man in camouflage pants and a black T-shirt. He wore a 1911 in a black nylon shoulder holster. When he saw Rogers, he rushed forward and grabbed the man in a stiff bear hug before greeting James the same way. He stepped back, looking the men up and down. “I heard about the L-Tee and Stephens,” he said. “Glad to see you two made it out.”
Rogers nodded and changed the subject, not wanting to think about it again. He grabbed at Jacob and pushed him forward. “Hey, meet Jacob, this is our cherry. Jacob, this is Alex. He works up at command; you heard his voice on the radio.”
Alex shot Jacob a sly grin. “Oh yeah, I heard a lot about you. Met your other guy earlier. The broken one, Jesse. He says—”
Jacob interrupted. “You mean Jesse is here?”
“Yeah, up at the hospital. He’s going to be fine, by the way. He refused to take the Medevac bird back unless they brought the other guy with him. He must be a tough negotiator, because it worked. I can take you there, if you’d like.”
“Wait, did they bring in the old man?” James asked.
Alex nodded. “Yeah, old man and a young woman. But don’t get too excited; they're both headed back out once they stitch the old man up.”
James stopped and turned. “Hey guys, I have some things I need to do. Maybe run to the hospital for a checkup.” He shot a wink at Jacob, showing a toothy grin, before pulling on his rucksack and stepping off with Duke close by his side.
“What got into him?” Alex asked.
Rogers grimaced, trying not to laugh. “Don’t even ask.”
Jacob shook his head. “Alex, I’d rather you took me to see my family. Can you do that?” Jacob asked.
“Yeah, sure, no problem. I can drop you off on the way to the unit building. They have your wife and kid staying over on the north side. We got them moved in to nicer digs. We like to keep all of the unit families together. It’s on the way.”
They followed Alex down the flight line, turning a corner to where a dark green open-top Jeep waited. As they strolled, a large group of soldiers in full kit passed by them going the opposite direction in a hurry. Jacob turned and saw they were moving to a flight of Blackhawks with the props already rotating.
Rogers threw a thumb over his shoulder and said, “They seem to be going somewhere fast.”
Alex glanced back but continued on. “Yeah. Headed back out to the chemical plant in Middleville. They need to recover the rest of the MX4. Looking to be an easy mission; the scout birds still report the area being vacant of Deltas.”
“We heard the base is in trouble. How bad is it?” Rogers asked, moving up alongside Alex, Jacob lagging back.
“The base is good for the time. The Deltas broke through our defensive lines at the border and have been massing against the forward deployed troops. That’s where the real fighting's at. We’ve had massive assaults against the walls and stopped every one of them. As you can hear, they’re still fighting them.” Alex paused for effect, pointing a hand at the distant walls and the sound of the artillery explosions. “Command is in a rush to get the MX4 deployed. It’s going to be a game changer.”
“It works,” Rogers said.
Reaching the Jeep, Alex stepped into the driver’s seat with Jacob in the back and Rogers riding shotgun. He started the vehicle and took off. “Yeah, it works, but the problem is that might be all we got. Once they drain the tanks back at the chemical plant, there might not be any left.”
Jacob grabbed the seats with his hands and pulled himself forward, saying, “You mean here? They have to have it someplace.”
Alex shook his head. “No, that ain’t exactly over-the-counter stuff. They think there might be some in Buffalo, but nobody has confirmed it yet. The Germans used all of theirs. The last resource on the books is China, but we haven’t heard a peep from them in over eight weeks.”
“Can we make more?” Jacob asked.
“I don’t know; do you know any chemist still alive?”
Jacob looked down. “Damn, there won’t be enough.”
“Don’t worry about it; we’ll figure out a way to make it work.”
The Jeep slowed and pulled into a tiny neighborhood of old, red-brick homes. Each one looked exactly alike. Alex wound down several streets before pulling into an empty driveway. “Well, Sergeant Anderson, this is you,” he said.
“Sergeant?” Jacob said. “No, I’m a private.”
Alex smiled. “Promotions come fast in the apocalypse, but don’t get too excited; it doesn’t come with a pay raise. Enjoy your family time—you've definitely earned it. I got you an eighteen-hour pass. I’ll send a vehicle for you in the morning.”
Jacob reached into the front to shake Rogers’s hand. He jumped to the sidewalk and lifted his bag with his right hand. “Take your rifle. Everybody on base is required to have a weapon at all times,” Alex said.
Jacob nodded, lifting his M14 from
