“This weather is horrible.” Curtis stood at the windows in Rowan’s office that faced the south, but all he saw was the blowing snow swirling past the glass. “Can’t see a damn thing.”
“What are the odds my troops are keeping watch like they should?” Rowan organized and straightened various items on his desk again.
“There’s a minus twenty-five wind chill, Rowan.”
“I don’t care. Ready one of the trucks. I’ll make rounds to remind them not to slack off.”
“We have almost two feet of snow on the ground now, not including the drifts and the remaining foot yet to fall. The plows stopped because they couldn’t keep up with the snowfall.”
Rowan left his desk to stand at the window too. The snow blocked his views of everything, and he frowned. “Trees and snow. I hate this state.”
Curtis chuckled. “And you’re interested in a post in Canada? It’s more trees and more snow there.”
“Quebec City and Montreal are still bigger cities than this one.”
“Agreed. Bangor is smaller than Portland, though.”
“Bangor is a pain in my ass.”
“You make Bangor a pain in your ass. It’s a nothing town that you’re only slightly less obsessed with than you are with finding the girl.”
Rowan turned and stared at his friend.
Curtis shrugged. “Just being honest.”
Rowan grunted in response and left the window. He retrieved his coat and pulled it on.
“Where are you going?”
“To make rounds where I can. We still have snow machines that can handle the deeper snow.”
Curtis groaned but followed his superior. As they walked down the corridor, one of Curtis’s aides rushed up to him and handed him a palm-sized panel.
“What is this?” Curtis asked.
“Intel reports from across the state, sir,” the young man replied. “It mentions Bangor.”
“Thank you,” Curtis said. He dismissed the aide and scrolled through the report while Rowan waited.
Rowan shifted with impatience. “Anything of interest?”
“Not really. The usual stuff. Wait.” He passed the panel to Rowan and pointed to a particular paragraph. “Read this part.”
“Commonwealth troops have been observed actively training with resident Brigands in the town and completing military maneuvers,” Rowan said, reading from the report. “They have a cache of weapons but exact numbers are undetermined. Their intent of training is unknown but is likely for the defense of Bangor.” He shook the panel at Curtis angrily. “Fuck. The groups united anyway. I specifically didn’t want this to happen. Why is this information only coming in now? How old is it?”
“Keep reading.”
Rowan sighed and returned his attention to the report. “Blah, blah, blah. Lieutenant Colonel Catherine Houston of the CNA leads the Commonwealth division and a former military member turned Brigand, Gavin Marcus, leads the civilian troops.” Rowan lifted his eyes from the report. “Houston’s the one that was in charge of the MPs here when we took over. The CNA rolled right over and let us in without much of a fight that day. I’m not worried about her.”
Curtis gestured toward the panel.
Rowan glanced back down at the report. “Both are assisted by various leaders in the Commonwealth and Brigand communities. Marcus is closely assisted by fellow Brigands Jace Ireland and a woman named Dani, last name unknown. …” He reread the last sentence again before turning to Curtis. “Dani.”
“It might not be the girl you’re looking for, Rowan.”
He grinned and gave the panel back to Curtis. “It’s her. It has to be.”
“We’ll find out when we hit them in the spring.”
“Fuck the spring.” Rowan spun and headed down the corridor in the direction they’d come from with long, determined strides.
Curtis jogged to catch up. “Where are you going?”
“Change of plans. I don’t need to inspect the soldiers on watch. I want troops to load the helos. We’re going to Bangor tonight.”
“You don’t have orders to attack.”
“I’ve received intel indicating a significant threat to the Warden initiatives regarding Earth. I have the authority to act on that threat.”
“You’re stretching the boundaries of that authority. Let me contact Boston, sir. If you attack without clearance, you can be stripped of your post here.”
“No one, not even the CNA, wants Portland. The vice regent sits in Boston and has never bothered to make the short flight here to see everything that we do. Without me, the Wardens don’t get new tech. They can’t strip me of anything. I’m attacking Bangor now.”
“We’re in the middle of a blizzard!”
“We can fly in the snow.”
“This is more than a passing squall or snow.”
“Get the birds ready, Curtis. We leave as soon as we stow our gear and troops are on board.”
“If we wait a couple of hours, the worst of the storm will be over.”
“Within an hour. That time is non-negotiable.”
“Sir—”
“Do it, or I’ll find someone who can.”
Curtis nodded. “Yes, sir. Within an hour.”
“Good. You’re in charge of the base until I return,” Rowan said. He’d never slowed his pace during the conversation, and they were already close to the barracks where his elite Wardens were housed. Like him, they were always ready and willing to attack the CNA and Brigands. A little snow and cold wouldn’t bother them. They could leave, capture Dani, burn Bangor, and be back in Portland before this storm was done. Boston wouldn’t know until it was over. He might receive a reprimand for disobeying the order to wait until the spring, but he didn’t care. He’d gotten enough commendations over the course of his career to cancel out a negative mark for attacking a town he technically had permission to attack. He could also fudge some numbers regarding the weapons stores they had in Bangor to further justify the trip.
As expected, his elite troops were eager to gear up for an easy trouncing of Bangor. They stood at attention while he walked among them.
“The weather could be better, but none of us are worried about a few snowflakes, are we?”
“No, sir!” they shouted in unison.
“Bangor Brigands and Commonwealth troops have been training together, and our sources say they’re making significant progress,” Rowan said. His troops would never know that he was lying a bit—and even if they did find out, they wouldn’t care. “Our task is to destroy that progress; burn it to the ground.”
“Yes, sir!” they said as a collective.
“There is a woman there helping them, a Brigand. Her name is Dani, no recorded last name. Find and capture her alive. She has important intel on the inner circles of the Brigands, so no harm is to come to her. Once we have her, we incinerate Bangor. Capture what Echoes you can, but that is not our main objective. The woman is the one I need captured at any cost.”
“Sir, do you have an image or description of her?” one of the Wardens asked.
“No. The only description we have is over a decade old. But Bangor isn’t that big. Round up the locals and interrogate them to find out where she is.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Gear up, and get on the helos ASAP. I’m going with you.”
Though the prep time took longer than he wanted, by Warden standards, his team was ready in record time. Rowan strode toward the running helicopter wearing his body armor, a quake rifle slung across his back. He carried his helmet and used his hand to keep the swirling, wind-whipped snow out of his eyes as he neared the bird. The storm had intensified, but he had four helos loaded with troops and weapons.
He stepped up into the helicopter and placed ear protectors over his head.
“How are we looking?” he asked the pilot.
“I’ve flown in worse,” the pilot said.
Rowan grinned. “Good. Take us up.”
Once the doors on the helicopter closed, the spinning blades picked up speed. A blast of wind rocked the helo as it left the ground, but the pilot didn’t flinch. The other helicopters lifted from the tarmac successfully despite the thrashing wind.
Rowan lost sight of the ground and base within seconds as the helo gained altitude and turned in a northerly direction. His heart rate quickened with anticipation when he thought of what would happen when they reached Bangor. Even with the poor weather, the flight would be quick.
Finally.