Chapter 35
Friday, June 29, 2018
Morgan was just packing up his bag when there was a knock at the bedroom door. He looked up and saw Uncle Roger there. "Hey. Come on in."
"So you're leaving." Uncle Roger said, closing the door behind him.
"Yeah, there's some stuff we've got to do." Morgan said. "We are grateful though. I don't think we would have made it this well if you hadn't taken us in."
"You're family. Besides, you four are great tenants." Morgan chuckled at that. "So where are you folks going anyway?"
"I said. We've got to move for work."
"That's a why, not a where, and not a good why either."
Damn. Morgan slowed his packing. "I can't say."
"Can't huh?"
"Nope. I'm sorry about it, but I can't."
"Uh huh," Uncle Roger leaned against the dresser. "I don't know why but I've got a funny feeling that there might be a uniform involved."
Morgan slowed his packing once again. "Pacifica doesn't have a military. They gave it up to the UN."
"So they tell us, which tells me that if they changed their minds people involved couldn't say."
"That would follow."
"And if they did and someone I knew chose to get involved, had to go away to help deal with this mess, well that's quite a sacrifice." Uncle Roger said. "I'd have to say I was proud of him." Morgan stopped all together and looked at his uncle. "I'd think his father would be proud too."
Damn. "He'd be grateful to hear it. That would mean a lot to him."
Uncle Roger nodded. "And I'd say I'd keep his Momma from worrying. Tell him to keep in touch, come back to visit when he could, that kind of thing."
"And he would promise all of it."
"All right then. That being the case I'd tell this hypothetical man to finish his packing. Trains for this kind of thing usually leave early in the day."
"They do." Morgan broke off and went to give his Uncle a big hug. "Thank you."
"Thank you son. You take care. Make it right."
"I'll do what I can."
The next morning the team stood at the train station. One knot among many as the Scouts boarded the train to go off to training. "This is so weird." Penelope said. "This is the first time we've split up since all this happened."
"Yeah, I never thought I'd get used to living with Pretty Boy here." Morgan joked.
"You two take care of yourselves." Will said. "I don't want to lose anyone else."
"You haven't lost anyone yet." Penelope said, stepping in to hug him. "You're going to get them back, I'm sure of it."
Morgan looked over at Spencer. "You take care of my baby girl."
Spencer frowned. "I thought she was going to take care of me." He joked.
There was a flurry of movement on the platform, an indication that it was time. Hugs were passed around, just as the conductor called out the traditional "All aboard!" And then Will and Morgan ran with the others to board the train.
Spencer and Penelope stood there, watching and waving as the train pulled out of the station. "Oh my god." She said. "Do you think they'll be all right?"
"I'm sure they will be." Spencer said.
"I hope so." She hugged his arm tight as they turned to go.
It took five hours for them to get to their next stop. During that time Will got up to stretch his legs with a walk through the train. "Looks like we're all in this car," he as he came back with a bag of lunch. "Snack bar downstairs is free for us."
"Least they're providing." Morgan said as he pulled a sandwich out of the bag.
"I noticed something else." Will said. "Outside of the General and the Colonel we're the oldest ones in this car, by a good ten years at least."
Morgan chuckled at that. "Meaning we're crazy."
"Might be," Will agreed. "But she's my wife, that's my son, I got to try."
"Your wife, my partner," Morgan said. "We'll get them back."
"I do hope so."
Just before they reached their destination Colonel Cain came upstairs to talk to them all. "We'll be spending the night in Ashland." She said. "You'll have liberty but I suggest you don't go drinking, you want a clear head for the morning. Remember, this is still a confidential operation, don't say anything to anyone. Remember to carbo load tonight, you'll need the energy tomorrow. And keep your weapons concealed, this used to be a very liberal enclave in a heavily Brethren area, the locals can get twitchy."
"Great." Will groaned.
They played it safe, took a walk around a charming little downtown, got some dinner at a family style Italian place that was not as good as Rossi's kitchen, went back to their assigned room to watch the soccer game before turning in early. The next morning they joined the others in the nearby coffee shop for breakfast. It looked like, despite being college aged in a college town, everyone took the advice to not get hammered. They all quietly emulated the General and the Colonel's breakfast choices before boarding the bus for their next destination.
Their next destination was a parking lot at the base of the mountains. Once the bus dropped them off the Colonel went to lock the gate behind them. There was a man waiting there for him. He wasn't tall, was as skinny as Spencer, older, with shaggy grey hair and a beard shot through with silver. "All right everyone." The General said. "This is Otter. He's going to be our primary trainer. He's former Air Force Special Ops, you can all learn a lot from him."
"Otter?" Someone asked.
"Yeah. Otter." The scrawny man said. "I haven't used my real name since the internet came on line. Otter works just fine."
"I didn't know the Air Force had a special ops group." Someone else said.
"That's because unlike the Seals and the Rangers we didn't advertise. Our job was to go behind enemy lines and rescue downed pilots, which was not something we wanted anyone to know about. It's also a lot like what you're going to be doing which is why I'm here." He looked over at the Colonel. "Ree, are we going to be teaching them drill and stuff here or at camp."
"Camp," Colonel Nock replied, "less chance of prying eyes there." She and the General were already getting their packs settled."
"All right then." Otter said. He looked back at the group. "I hope you're all ready to hike. Today is an easy one. It's about ten miles and we'll be gaining about four thousand feet of elevation along open trails. Any questions? No? Good. Let's go children."
Will and Morgan looked at each other as they got into their packs. This was not going to be fun.