The Nine of the North (NotN), the third book in the Western Front series (Book 1: the Western Front; Book 2: Kratocracy) and the fourth book in the series' universe, should be released in about a week. Chapters 1-5 are available here. Chapter 6 is available exclusively at TSLRF, and found below:
Chapter 6
Texas State Capitol; Austin, Texas
The entire team sat in stunned silence as the final coded
message was translated for them:
| Plane Down | 31o15’35.37”N | 87o44’03.41”W
|
Reese leaned back in his chair and gazed around the room. The governor’s aides and advisors all looked
completely immobilized. They had no
answers; there was nothing they could do.
Nothing they can do.
This isn’t their
specialty, but it is the specialty of someone in the room. You, Reese.
Governor Baker’s booming voice interrupted Reese’s thoughts.
“Get me Morgan West on the phone, now!”
A young aide leaned across the conference table and dialed the
old pilot. The phone had barely begun to
ring when the gruff voice echoed through the room.
“Morgan.”
“Morgan, this is Governor Baker.”
“Yes sir.”
“The plane’s been shot down.”
“I know.”
“Do you know the status of the pilot?”
“I was in communication with
him immediately before ejection. To the best
of my knowledge, he was successful.”
“What’re the chances of survival from an ejection at that
altitude?”
“About as good as any. As long as his suit wasn’t damaged during the
ejection, and all else went as it should, he should be fine. His chances are good.”
Reese interjected, “His chances of surviving the crash are
good, but once on the ground, he’s the most wanted man east of the
Mississippi. Washington will stop at nothing to find out who stole that
plane.”
Morgan replied solemnly, “He’s
right, governor.”
Baker massaged his temples with his hands as he asked, “Was
there anything in that plane that would implicate Texas?”
“No sir,” Morgan
replied.
“Nothing but Lobo,” Reese added.
A blanket of silence settled over the room. The sense of inaction that surrounded Reese
infuriated him. He knew what had to be done. He
looked to each person in the room, but their eyes were closed, or their heads
were averted down, or they mindlessly busied themselves with their notes. Finally, he looked to the governor at the
head of the table. Baker stared back
unblinkingly; he knew too.
“Scott, if they find him, it might be what Washington needs to
justify a war. We still don’t have
public support of the other western states.
We’re too weak yet to take Washington on alone.”
“I know.”
“Then give the word.”
The governor stared down the table at his friend for several
moments, before replying, “Reese, we can send someone else. You’ve done so much already.”
“This is what I do, Scott.”
Baker turned to the others and said, “Everybody, give Reese
and I a few minutes. Morgan, thanks for
your help; keep your phone close by.”
“Yes sir.”
After the last of the group filtered out of the room, the
governor arose from his chair and began to pace the room. Reese took a sip from his lukewarm coffee and
waited to be addressed. Finally, Baker
spoke.
“You got a plan?”
Reese shook his head as he replied, “Nope, but I can make one
up as I go right now.”
“Let me hear it.”
Reese took several moments to gather his thoughts before
beginning.
“Well, we certainly can’t show up in spurs and boots and scoop
him up. Can’t look the part of a rescue
team, especially one from Texas.”
“Alright.”
“And we can’t drive across three states in Humvees
either. They’d see us coming from a
hundred miles away. And that’s assuming
we could even make it there. There’s no
telling what we might encounter along the way.”
“We don’t have that much time.”
Reese nodded in agreement.
“Could you fly in?”
Reese thought for several moments before replying, “We’d need
a chopper’s flexibility to extricate, but the crash site is too far way. We’d be pushing well past the range of any of our birds. We could fly the mission from a ship in the
Gulf, but that’d be too dangerous. If
they found the U-2 at eighty thousand feet, they’d surely find a ship bobbing
in the water.”
Reese arose from his seat as well and stood silently beside
the table. He rested his hands atop his
head and closed his eyes. He breathed
deeply as he searched for an answer. All
the while, Baker continued to pace the room.
Suddenly, the governor stopped mid-stride and turned to Reese.
“We’ll just go by boat.”
“It’s not that easy, Scott.
We can’t just cruise across the Gulf and then up into the mouth of the
Mobile Bay. Movement is restricted all
across the country, especially around
this crash site.”
“What about my contacts in Pascagoula? If they could set you up as the crew of a
barge, you might slip through under the radar.
In the meantime, we can be assembling some forged documents for the team
– make you look like a legitimate outfit.”
A smile began to creep
across Reese’s face as the governor spoke.
“That could work,
Scott. The team that’s been training up
here is as ready as anyone. I’ll take
the best men and leave for Pascagoula as soon as possible – if they’re willing to help.”
“I’ll make the call to my contacts; see what they can do.”
“You’re getting good, governor. Maybe you should’ve been a spook.”
“I’m learning from the best, Mr. Byers.”
Reese smirked, but then furrowed his brow and asked, “Say, any
thoughts on how we’ll get back?”
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