Page 100 of Resistant

“Yeah, man.”

“C’mon then. Let me show you my home sweet home.”

We follow Josh through the trees to a tiny cabin. It takes him only a few minutes to fill a rucksack and he grabs a canteen and what looks like home grown MREs.

“Man, we got food, you don’t need that.”

“I haven’t eaten today, so I’ll gladly take your food and eat this on the way, dude.”

“Suit yourself.” I shrug.

Josh circles the cabin and rolls out his own ATV and we load up and set off back to the truck.

Josh eats, and I give him he extra short version of what I’ve been up to the last several years. I struggle telling him about the camp, Brynn, motherfucker number one, and all the shitty chaos that goes with the state of the world. Lastly, I share my promise to Brynn- to find her boys, and that we may have found Nathan.

“So, you going to show up and like proclaim yourself his new Daddy? That sounds fucked man. I’d shoot you.”

“It’s a real possibility. Brynn can be a firecracker, and my guess is that the apple didn’t far from the tree. He fought hard to keep from being taken, and only surrendered when he thought they would kill his mother to take him.”

“Jesus. I’d help you get this kid just based on that. Forget about his genetics and the fact that you are pussy whipped by his mom.”

Riesa cracks up in the driver’s seat, and I glare at her.

“I know, Declan. What happens on the road stays on the road. I will never repeat this conversation to Brynn.”

“Fucker.” I mutter under my breath to Josh.

He snickers. After that, we drive in silence, and I try and get some shut-eye. At the halfway point, we’ll switch and I’ll drive the rest of the way to the ranch.

Occasionally, I hear Josh and Riesa talking softly, but I turn away and pull the brim of my hat down to block them out.

My stomach is growling angrily at me, and I have to piss. We are so close to the ranch that I don’t want to wake Riesa and Josh; I just want to get there. I drive to the front door and shake Josh’s shoulder.

“Wake up motherfucker. Go take a shower. You stink. And I’ll come to get you for chow.”

Riesa steps out and wraps her arms around herself heading into the lodge in silence. I lead Josh to the room down the hall from mine, shove his stuff through the door and promise to be back in 30 minutes.

I hop in the shower. I’m getting so close, and I’m nervous as fuck at the prospect of extracting Nathan. We have no idea what kind of shape he’s in, and I’m praying he will listen to me and bug out with no problems.

But what if he’s sick or needs help? I need to talk to Larry about getting an air team to be ready, just in case. I have no idea if Arcadia has those kinds of resources.

I make a mental list of everything I’ll need to get done before we push go. The rest of my team is waiting in cabins throughout the property. I’m planning on having a briefing in the morning, which is coming fast. I dry off and head out to get chow with Josh so I can get some real sleep before morning.

* * *

I’m lying on my belly in the dark, the predawn light struggling to shine through the fog. We have the cover of darkness for maybe another hour if we are lucky.

Fencing with razor wire lays in front of us and we are slowly, methodically cutting the fence as quietly as possible so it’s not easily apparent that it has been cut.

It’s possible that the guards will walk through here before we can get back with Nathan and be away. The facility is hidden in plain sight in the desert which has been a logistical nightmare. Its fucking freezing and I need to get moving before my dick gets frostbite.

Finally, the fence is opened and four of us crawl inside. I hear my team behind me speaking quietly into my ear and I adjust my direction based on the intel they are feeding me live through my earpiece.

Last week one of my guys died getting an entry card to this place and I’m praying it hasn’t been deactivated. He bled out on our doorstep, literally and we don’t know what happened to the other guy.

I hold my breath and swipe the card and breathe out as the reader turns from red to green. The doctors will be making rounds in two hours, only two hours to find Nathan and convince him to leave with me.

Josh is at my back, and we are methodically checking each room. Most of them are empty, and I hear the echo of his whispered “Clear,” deep in my ear canal. I don’t answer him. I keep moving. The next room has a woman lying on the bed, with hoses and machinery everywhere. A sour feeling settles in my stomach, and I move forward.

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