Chapter 27


Kara knocked on the door of the cute bungalow house, she looked to Larrin feeling like a horrible guardian as Larrin looked ready to collapse. But she was afraid to take Larrin home. The door to the Bungalow opened and Kara's eyes went wide as Commander Andrea Garnett was drunk, it wasn't hard to tell given the woman's hair was wild and loose and she reeked of bourbon. Something years of growing up with her Drunk mother gave Kara the senses to pick up when a person was drunk just by scent.

"Lt Kara Foster, what a surprise." Andrea said in a firm tone even if she slightly slurred her name. She leaned against the door frame dressed in a comfy pair of grey tracksuit pants and purple, cream stripe loose scoop neck t-shirt.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you at home Ma'am without calling ahead. I can see this is a bad time." Kara said trying to back peddle from her idea of convincing the Commander to let Larrin crash at her place until Kara ascertain that their home was safe for her.

"Not at all, I was just enjoying my R&R. So it's Andrea," Andrea's eyes focused on Larrin, she'd been wallowing in her grief and what her personal life had become. The bourbon was more out of relaxation as she had no duties and frankly she just wanted to let loose without anyone watching. But that plan was destroyed now seeing the young woman in such an injured state sobered her. Seeing the desperation in Lt Kara Foster also made her mind switch into paying attention and taking things seriously. "What the hell happened to you?" she asked Larrin.

"It's a long story." Larrin answered, not sure what was going on but trusted Kara. She could only assume this woman was from the Nathan James.

"You bringing trouble into my house?" Andrea asked Kara. Kara wasn't sure what to do but at this point she had to trust in the woman Commander Garnett was, she was a strong person unlike her mother. So she had to think Andrea's current inebriation was an aberration and not normal behaviour.

"Larrin needs a place to lay low. I can explain it all." Kara said to her, Andrea looked between the two. Kara Foster was not one to attract trouble...at least not the kind that got a woman beaten by a pulp. She knew could easily tell them to move on but she was not that kind of person. She turned and pulled her car keys off the hook on the wall and tossed them at Kara.

"Here are my keys, switch our cars and put yours in the garage." Andrea told her, she turned to Larrin. "Come on, anyone who kicks Wright's silver spoon ass is welcome in my home." she said waving Larrin into the house while Kara went to move the cars.


"So that girl in the passport is Wolf's sister?" Barbara asked as the police had left the house. They hadn't made a mess but they did break vase. Not too bad but all of it was strange as they promised to keep a unmarked car monitoring the place in case Larrin showed up. Miller said it wasn't necessary but then they'd shared that Larrin was wanted for the murder of four men in Colorado and that she'd assaulted a witness who'd seen her downtown. He honestly didn't believe any of it, sure he could see her capable of killing a man given how she'd kicked Wright's ass but if she killed a man it was out of survival. To him, that didn't count as murder.

"Hey Miller!" Kat said as she came into the house with Halsey at her side. She looked like she had been on a long run with Halsey as she was sweaty and looking exhausted.

"Kat, this is my Mom Barbara Miller. Mom, that's Kat; Tex's daughter and dog is Admiral Halsey." Miller said making the introductions.

"Hi, it's so good that you two found one another." Kat said as she shook hands with his Mom. "Larrin's going to be happy. She was worried about you and the others' not finding their family." Kat said as she moved to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water and taking a long pull from it.

"Do you know where Larrin is?" Miller asked her, Kat swallowed the water and shook her head.

"Nope, I've been out all day with Halsey. Does this mean Danny and the others are back?" Kat asked him.

"Green is but he's in the hospital. You know where Kara is?" Miller asked as he really wanted to let her know given she wasn't technically his next of kin so no one was going to be calling her up. He knew the Captain might out of consideration but just in case he wanted Kara to know.

"If she's not here, then I don't know but Dad will be back at 5." Kat offered.

"What's he doing?" Miller asked.

"He got a job out at farm. So he's bringing home the cheddar, literally." Kat told them.


"There are cops out front of our house. So I wasn't comfortable given only hours ago they wanted nothing to with her." Kara said as she explained to Andrea what happened with Larrin. They were sitting in the kitchen sharing a coffee and talking about the situation while Larrin had fallen asleep on the lounge.

"I'm not sure if I should be relieved at knowing St Louis is not so perfect after all or plain scared of what they are hiding." Andrea said as she took a sip of her coffee. She knew she was over the limit for driving but mentally she was sobered.

"Larrin was going to tell me something about the attack but Val interrupted us. I think she knew her attacker." Kara said, she thought she should mention it in case Larrin brought it up with her.

"I just find it weird Val would help you let alone she has a thing for Granderson. Talk about chalk and cheese." Andrea said with a wry chuckle as she ran a hand through her red hair.

"Opposites attract?" Kara offered, she couldn't help but like this less formal side of Andrea. She had been worried not just about the drinking but more about Andrea being pissed off at her for invading her space but the woman had offered her nothing but support and kindness.

"Well, at least she's on our side even if it feels a little too late." Andrea commented, she looked at the clock on the wall. "You should go see if your place is clear." she told her.

"I was thinking the same. Um, I was going to drop by later this week and invite you over for dinner." Kara said to her.

"What do you want?" Andrea asked with a smile as she could see the dinner came with strings.

"The house I was given needs work. I was hoping you could maybe look at it from an engineering standpoint." Kara said with a hopeful smile.

"You know I'm not really a Structural Engineer but I've done some renos in my day. So I can take a look." Andrea offered. She wasn't doing it because she was desperate for dinner but because she liked to help people when and where she could.

"Thank you, and I'll be back in an hour." Kara told her.

"Just take my car and save yourself some more time." Andrea told her.

"Ok." Kara said with a nod.


"Senior Chief Taylor, I heard you were awake." said a 6ft 2 tall, African American man in his mid 30's, Wolf winced as he pushed up in his bed to look at the man. He wore Navy BDU uniform with Lt Commander maple leaves on his collar and Burk stitched in the name tag. "I'm Lt Commander Cameron Burk. It's a pleasure to meet another sailor like myself." he said as he moved to the side of his bed and held out his hand.

"Same." Wolf said though he wasn't too sure about the man. "Are you any relation to Lt Carlton Burk?" he asked, the man didn't really look related to Burk but it was worth an ask. The man smiled at Wolf and nodded.

"Yeah, he's my little brother. I have to say that I was relieved we were able to retrieve you all before the Scavengers got you. They aren't too kind to the Military let alone Australian military in these parts." Cameron told him.

"What is that about?" he asked him.

"You think you can walk?" he asked Wolf.

"Yeah, I can." Wolf said, Lt Commander Burk signalled a nurse who rushed over and removed the IV cannula from Wolf's hand freeing him from the bed in essence as the 'doc' said he'd be tossed out into 'Gen. Pop' once the bag was empty. Once the nurse stuck a band aid on the back of his hand, she made it clear he could go.

"So, Doc told me I could take you for a quick excursion but I shouldn't leave you standing up too long unless I wanted you to swoon into my arms." Cameron told him with a wry smile at the Doc's humour.

"She's an odd bird." Wolf said as he followed him.

"Yeah, but an excellent Doctor. She's saved many lives here." Cameron said as they walked out of the hospital, judging by the dimming light it was just after sundown. He took in the area as it looked like a makeshift shanty town with tents set up on what looked to be a large park. Street lights were working and

"Where are we?" Wolf asked him as he dodged some small kids running wild around the area. The place was busy and humming with people talking, generators running and the smells of food cooking. It was an active community that was sheltered by the campus buildings. Wolf looked up to the roofs and spotted a couple sentries. He wondered where the safe zone began and ended as it wasn't a lot of security from what he could see but then they could be part of a warning system.

"Safe Harbour, though it used to the University of Chicago." Cameron said as they headed to building to the right of the hospital. It was guarded by soldiers in uniform carrying weapons. He hadn't missed the guards stationed at the hospital either.

"We're in Chicago?" he asked shocked that they had travelled so far, he also wondered how long it would take for them to get back to St Louis. He wasn't exactly savvy of American geography.

"Yeah." Cameron said as they walked up the stairs and entered the building. "Burk and Alisha woke up half an hour ago. I wasn't comfortable in bringing you three into the fold so quickly but after I spoke with our people in Norfolk it was necessary." he added. They walked down a long hallway on the first floor until they reached what looked to be a large computer room. But it had been retrofitted as it looked more like a command centre. What Wolf couldn't get over was the amount of Military roaming the hallways and in the room. They came from all branches and then there were plain clothed soldiers. He knew they were military by how their physic, how they held their posture and walked.

"Wolfman." Burk said, breaking Wolf out of his thoughts as he was still processing the room and it's details. He turned to see Burk and Alisha looking just like how he felt. Completely wrecked. They were both sitting down at the main table.


"We've had no contact with Granderson, Burk or Wolf." Mike told Tom as they sat in his office going over everything again. Tom had sat down with the team from today trying to get as many details about their attackers and what had happened. They'd also had comms trying to hail their team still out there with no success.

Tom had updated Michener about what happened and his new pal Senator Pierce informed them it was probably Scavengers who attacked them. Told them they were lucky to escape. Tom hated the Senator as he was a worm of a man. He also didn't like how this 'Scavenger' issue wasn't brought up a lot earlier when they were debriefed on the current state of America. It only made Tom more blatantly aware that the government was hiding things from him and the others.

"How's Lt Green?" Tom asked.

"He'll be fine though he'll be on medical leave with the leg. I saw him before coming here. Lt Foster is with him." Mike informed him.

"What about Taylor's sister; Larrin?" he asked.

"It's become more complicated." Mike said in a frustrated manner. Tom sat back in his seat and looked to his friend.

"She still in hospital?" Tom asked wondering if they'd have to act on that situation and show that they didn't condone such behaviour. He was already in enough trouble with Lt Foster and Green, the pair had a baby on the way. While he was satisfied with their punishment for fraternisation and their behaviour since. He couldn't help but feel a little impatient waiting for them to decide what they were going to do with their future. Tom knew he was going to lose one of them as the baby couldn't be left behind and definitely wasn't going to be on board the ship.

"No, but Lt Foster informed me the police have put out a BOLO for Larrin. She a suspect in the homicide of four men in Colorado." Mike told him, Tom looked at Mike incredulously as he met Larrin and the girl was not a killer.

"No way, she's not a killer." Tom said not believing it for a minute.

"We don't know the details. Wolf and her have proficient training in hand to hand combat. You saw what she did to Wright." Mike said playing devil's advocate.

"I would have kicked him in the junk if he tried that with me." Tom said, Mike gave him a wry smile as they both knew Wright had been hitting on Wolf's sister at the time.

"Anyway, I dropped by the Australian Embassy earlier today. Just to check in and see what we'd have to do about getting Taylor paid given he's been working for us." Mike said letting go of the subject of Wright.

"And?" Tom asked.

"The place is ran by Americans. There's not one single Australian in the building, none of them knew what I talking about. They tried to BS me with the 'I'm Australian who lost my accent' thing, so I went along with their dog and pony show." Mike told him.

"It does happen. People lose their accents." Tom said trying to explain it away.

"Maybe except in my experience Embassy workers don't carry weapons and Senator Pierce reminded Michener only yesterday that they haven't had any contact with our international allies. Did I mention the place was completely empty of Australians? Sure, you could let the employees slide but there wasn't any civilians in the lobby waiting to see a delegate. Not one Australian civilian. The virus doesn't discriminate but you have to admit that's off in such a large population." Mike told him,

"Ok, that is off." Tom said as he couldn't explain that. He knew if he were lost overseas he'd be camped out in the Embassy waiting for answers or coming in everyday to find out if there was any news while he tried to be productive. Even with the high mortality rate of the virus there would still be at least a few displaced citizens.

"So where is Larrin?" Tom asked.

"In hiding, Lt Foster said that Val was looking into the other side of this 'sport' business. But I shake the bad feeling." Mike said to him, it made Tom worried too as he thought of Rachel.