Page 9 of Firestorm

“No one unusual hung out near the farm?”

“No, nobody.” Her troubled eyes reached out to him searching for assurances he couldn’t give.

“My guess is they’re holding him somewhere near your place. I have people in that part of the state. I’ll reach out to them and see what they know. Pamphili wants information on us. Which means they’ll keep Blake alive.” James didn’t want to tell her the means those men would go to in order to find Strike Force, and Blake knew where they were hiding.

He touched her arm. “Try not to lose hope. Blake needs you strong. I’ll be right back.” He stepped away. As a precaution, James used another burner phone. He powered it up and waited for the home screen to come up.

The exhaustion of the past few hours made it hard to recall numbers. It took him three tries to get Dustin Nagle’s number right.

“Dustin. It’s James. I need your help.”

Dustin didn’t hesitate. He was one of the many around the country who had been following the website James and his team had created to get the truth out about Legion and then Kirkpatrick’s and Pamphili’s paths to power.

“A friend of mine was taken from his home outside of Fort Collins by armed men. No one’s seen him since. I need to find him. Alive.” James told him what he knew.

“I’ll get my people together. We’ll see what we can find out.” A beat passed and then, “There are rumors of people disappearing all around the country—those who have been supportive of Strike Force. I think it’s time for us to go underground.”

The news was terrifying. “Protect yourselves. If you find out anything about Blake, call me on this new number.”

“I’ll be in touch.” Dustin ended the call.

James rejoined Sarah. “I spoke to my contact in Colorado. He and his people are going to check around and see what they can come up with.” He touched her arm. “It’s going to be okay, Sarah. I promise.”

Someone approached. The female pilot who had been introduced as Maya. “We’re ready for you two to be decontaminated.”

Sarah nodded. “I remember the way.” She gave a wry smile and started off while James went with Maya.

His mind raced over necessary things. Like finding a place for them before Pamphili’s men discovered they’d escaped. He showered and dressed quickly before entering the building that now housed the choppers. James spotted his team and went over to where they’d gathered with other members of Strike Force. “What’s being broadcast on the local stations? Something as big as a nuclear weapon exploding, even if it was a low-yield weapon, should make the news.”

Garrett Craig pulled up a local radio station on his tablet.

They were talking about an explosion near the mountains, but the reports were vague. Pamphili had put a lid on what the news could broadcast.

“Unbelievable. The last time I checked this was still America.” James shook his head. “Unfortunately, we have a bigger problem. This place will be one of the first they check when they realize we didn’t die in the explosion.”

“I have a suggestion,” Ben told them.

James welcomed the input. “What do you have in mind?”

“About a decade ago, when I was still working as a youth pastor, our church took some kids to a Christian camp in Wyoming. It was called Camp Hope, and it’s adjacent to the Bighorn National Forest near Greybull. The camp was privately owned. I found out it closed down a few years back. There’s plenty of room there, but I have no idea what condition it is in.”

James pulled out a map from his backpack. “Getting there will be a problem. It’s too risky to move everyone that distance by choppers. And it will take too long.” James glanced at Holden and his pilots. “Any way to get your hands on a cargo plane or two?” he half joked.

They’d left several at the campsite that had been bombed. Everything there would have been destroyed in the blast.

Holden whirled around for suggestions from his people.

“I may know where we can procure a couple, but it won’t be legal,” Noah told them.

Under the circumstances, James figured they’d do what they had to for survival. “Where are they?”

“Not too far from here. A virtual army moved into the area a few days earlier. There were dozens of troops. Most have been deployed somewhere—I’m guessing they were sent to the explosion site. Regardless, they left a lot of equipment behind at their temporary base. Enough to wage an all-out war. Eli and I have been keeping track of what was left. There are several cargo planes. Enough to carry us all out of here in one trip.”

Victor and several members of the leadership team joined the discussion. James updated them on what they knew so far.

“I say let’s take everyone to the location. We can do recon once we’re close.” Victor addressed Holden and his men. “We have enough pilots for the cargo planes. Can your people handle the choppers? You’ll have to refuel along the way.”

Holden surveyed his people for confirmation. “We can.” Then he motioned to two men James hadn’t been introduced to. “This is Kirk George and Jeb Hatfield. They can take you all to the base. I run a helicopter sightseeing excursion business. We have a couple of vans we use to bring people here from other parts of the state.”

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