CHAPTER 23
I managed to condense everything pretty well into three suitcases and a couple of cardboard boxes. I loaded them all in the back of my car and made the short drive to Sabela’s house. Along the way, I placed a quick call to the medical center. Tomorrow would be Monday, and obviously I wouldn’t be making it in to work. I left a message on the departmental secretary’s voicemail that I had taken a fall while rock climbing out of town over the weekend, and would therefore be taking some sick days. I explained that I would call back when I returned to town later in the week.
Sabela could put in a call in a few days claiming to be me, requesting a more extended medical leave due to complications of broken ribs. At least that would justify my sudden disappearance and keep anyone from searching for me. I didn’t want my family to have to deal with that kind of attention.
I parked in Sabela’s driveway, where Dominick’s SUV was still hooked up to the moving trailer. I let myself in through the side entrance and followed the sound of voices to the living room, where Ewenami and Aeron were stacking their things near the front door. Most of it was still boxed up from the night before. I offered to help as Sabela and Dominick came down the stairs with the rest of the boxes.
Once everything was arranged by the door, we all convened around the dining room table to finalize our plans. We would be loading everything back into the moving trailer, then driving the three and a half hours to the hidden location of Aeron’s ship—a secluded spot near Cibola National Forest, southwest of Albuquerque. We would have to leave the unloaded trailer at the site, but Dominick’s vehicle would actually fit inside the ship’s cargo hold. We would allow some extra time to get everything squared away on the ship, then after nightfall we would take flight for Montana.
Sabela was fairly certain our destination was somewhere in the Rocky Mountains near Glacier National Park. We would fly at night to avoid notice. The ship was equipped with stealth technology to avoid detection by radar, but to the naked eye it would be an obvious deviation from a typical airplane. We planned to land a safe distance from the enemy ship, using Dominick’s SUV to get in closer. Sabela’s vision suggested the ship was in a valley clearing amid the mountains. We would position ourselves at various points overlooking the ship, keeping the enemy soldiers distracted with gunfire while Aeron attempted to board the ship and disarm the weapon.
If we were successful (and that was a big if), we would get Sabela to the nearest airport before returning to Aeron’s ship for our final departure. It would more than likely be broad daylight—but by the time we were noticed, we would be long gone.
I could feel the butterflies fluttering in my stomach at the realization that I had no formal combat training whatsoever. Aeron, however, seemed fairly confident in that context. I wasn’t sure if that made me more or less nervous. He would be trying to carry more than his fair share of the weight on this mission, and it might leave him open to injury…or worse. I didn’t want to face the terror of wondering whether I would be able to save his life a second time.
Evidently my intense worry was showing through in my facial expression. As we concluded the meeting, Aeron walked over to put his arms around me. “Don’t be so concerned,” he whispered. “We will get through this, I promise.”
“What makes you so certain?” I couldn’t help my skepticism.
“We have no other choice,” he replied matter-of-factly.
“Is that really all you can come up with?” I scowled. “Couldn’t you just lie and tell me you have some kind of secret badass weapon that is going to make this a piece of cake?”
“I have all kinds of badass weapons,” he grinned. “But unfortunately, the rebels probably have all of the same stuff. It will help that we have the element of surprise. And Ewenami can keep them off guard by scrambling their thoughts…They’ll have trouble remembering where they are, or what they’re supposed to be doing.”
“I recognize that will be a huge help,” I agreed. “But have you thought about what kind of powers they might have that we aren’t prepared for?” I wrinkled my forehead nervously. “I hate being the pessimist, but somebody has to do it,” I added with an apologetic shrug.
“I assure you, that concern has been on my mind since long before now.” His tone was more somber. “But I choose to believe that good will triumph over evil. And remember what I told you last night…If anything happens to me, you run.” He eyed me sternly.
“Bear in mind, I love you,” I returned his stern gaze. “But I have absolutely no intention of listening to you.”
He sighed in exasperation as I leaned in to kiss him, not giving him a chance to argue. It distracted him sufficiently. He dropped the issue and took hold of my hand, walking me to the back door to meet everyone outside for the next phase of our preparations: target practice.
The large weapons cases were already out in the backyard, an expansive desert landscape looking out on the mountains. Aeron had positioned makeshift targets at various distances from the open cases. Ewenami was already setting up to take the first shot. I startled slightly as she fired. A harsh, electric zapping sound rang out, as a neon blue flash discharged from the muzzle. The gun was deceptively small compared to the sizeable blast hole it left in the center of the target…This was not Ewenami’s first time on the shooting range.
She demonstrated impressive accuracy with the remainder of the targets, then stepped back to introduce Sabela to one of the other weapons. While she was doing this, Aeron began distributing fresh targets. Sabela was not quite as adept as Ewenami, but she held her own reasonably well. Dominick looked on with an apprehensive expression, trying—as I was—not to think of the fact that the real targets would have their own similar weapons.
My turn was up, and Aeron pulled a formidable gun from the case. It reminded me of something a comic book gangster would carry, only it was white and molded from some sort of heavyweight plastic. He gave me a thirty second crash course in its operation, then stepped back to give me a wide berth.
I carefully lined up the first target and squeezed the button that functioned as a trigger. It was a direct hit, but it left me with spots in my eyes from the intense blue flash. “What the heck is the benefit in that?!” I griped, turning back to face Aeron. “How am I supposed to hit the next target if I’m half blind?” I blinked feverishly to regain my full sight as he stepped toward me.
“Sorry, that’s my fault,” he cringed. “I neglected to tell you to keep your eyes focused on the distant target. Try not to look down at the barrel.”
“Anything else I need to know about?” I jokingly harassed him. “Are my arms going to fall off if I don’t push the button the right way?”
“No,” he chuckled. “Your arms only fall off if you forget to say the magic words first.”
“Something like, ‘Die, you rebel punk bastards’?…” I proposed.
“That’ll work…” He stepped back with a wink.
I squinted my eyes slightly, taking care to remain focused on the next target—another direct hit. As Aeron had anticipated, I was able to continue on to the remaining targets without another disruption to my vision. I was slower than I’d like to be, but my accuracy was dead-on.
Aeron stepped up to my side again, patting me gently on the back. “You did a great job,” he observed. “You’re a natural.” I handed the gun back to him, and he returned it to its place in the case, locking the lid closed. Apparently he had no need to join in for the practice run.
The second case contained an assortment of grenades and some sort of futuristic bazooka. We gathered around as Aeron gave us a detailed description of their operating instructions. We opted against actually testing these. Even though our property extended for miles, the commotion might garner unwanted attention.
We hauled the cases around to the front drive, loading them back into the moving trailer. We followed them with all of the remaining boxes and suitcases. With everything secured
in the trailer, we piled into Dominick’s car to drive over to my father’s house for a farewell lunch.