Advertisements to the contrary, Reaper realized ATVs were not the best way to get around in the densely forested and steep hills of Appalachia. The four-wheeled vehicles they drove were loaded down with heavy gear. Despite their speed and carrying capacity, they were forced to stick to wider trails, almost roads. Those on foot had much greater freedom.
“Is this really supposed to work?” asked Bunny, pulling up beside Reaper and Hawkeye as they waited for scouts ahead to give them the all-clear. “Won’t those drones just listen for the ATVs, or follow their heat signatures?”
“Not necessarily,” answered Hulk. “Those are small drones. They probably have only a few sensors each.”
Reaper, Hawkeye, and Bunny stared at the large man in amazement.
“Did you hear that?” asked Bunny. “The damn thing can talk. Do you think he’s becoming self-aware?”
“It’s true,” said Hulk. “If you want to carry a bunch of shit you have to be big.”
“Truer words were never spoken,” said Bunny, squeezing one of Hulk’s massive arms appreciatively. He responded by reaching around and groping one of her healthy breasts.
“You know this is still kinda one of those ‘life or death’ situations?” said Hawkeye.
“I’ve learned to take whatever happiness gets sent my way,” Bunny said. She turned her face to Hulk’s. “Want to go fool around in the bushes?”
“No,” said Reaper and Hawkeye at the same time.
“Sure,” answered Hulk. “If I’m on top.”
“No deal,” said Bunny.
“Shh,” said Reaper. “Hear that?”
There came a faint, high-pitched whine from the west.
“More drones,” said Hawkeye.
“These sound different,” said Hulk, releasing Bunny. “Bigger.”
“Well, size does matter, after all,” said Bunny.
Hawkeye quickly pulled binoculars out of his sniper bag and pointed them toward a speck on the horizon. “Oh shit,” he eventually said.
“What?” asked Reaper.
“Hulk’s right. We got a fixed wing drone coming in, like a Predator. Worse yet, I see missiles.”
“My namesake,” said Reaper. “MQ-9 Reaper.”
“Which way is it headed?” asked Bunny.
“Right for us,” answered Hawkeye. They looked below them at the line of ATV’s trying to make their way up the mountain path. Overhead tree cover was patchy on the steep slope. “They’re sitting ducks.”
Reaper keyed her radio. “Drones inbound! Spread out and take cover. Hide the ATVs, then grab your rucks and get away from them! Hulk, go downhill and tell anyone who didn’t copy!”
Without a word Hulk began running down the hill, crashing through brush and saplings as if they didn’t exist. When he got to the line of ATVs, he gestured wildly in the direction of the incoming drone and began helping push the ATVs under the cover of bushes. When one got wedged between a tree and a large rock, Reaper actually saw the man lift the thing, cargo and all, and move it from the tight spot.
“Uh-oh,” said Hawkeye.
Reaper turned to find him looking to the west again with his binoculars.
“What now?” asked Bunny.
“You know that Reaper headed our way?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, there’s more of them.”
Reaper turned to look and was alarmed at how close the first drone was. She could see it with her naked eye. As she watched, a pinprick separated itself and angled toward them, a thin line of smoke trailing it.
“Incoming!” Reaper screamed and ran to leap behind a pile of rocks.
An explosion shook the hillside. Debris and dirt leapt high into the air. The drone circled, no doubt examining its handiwork.
“Good thing they’re flying low, trying to pinpoint and shoot us, or we’d never see them,” said Hawkeye climbing out from under a fallen tree.
“How is this a good thing?” asked Reaper.
“They could simply track our movements, and then send in an airstrike or kill teams once we camped. Someone must be impatient.”
“Or worried.” Another explosion struck the hillside nearby and Reaper felt a burning on her face. She reached up to find blood.
“Yes, this is much better,” said Bunny, slapping at flames licking at her tightly pinned hair.
A lithe figure leaped in beside them from above.
“Jeez, Spooky,” Reaper snapped. “Give us some warning next time.” She put away the blade she’d drawn in reflex.
“How many drones are there?” he asked calmly.
“Three that I see,” said Hawkeye. “It’s a hunter-killer team.”
A missile struck the hill far above them.
“We have to get out of here,” said Reaper.
Spooky shook his head. “It will do no good. They might run out of missiles, but they’ll still know we’re here. We have to take them out so we can melt into these hills.”
“Take them out?” asked Hawkeye. “With what?”
Spooky smiled without a word, and then bounded down the hillside toward the scattered ATVs. He raced from vehicle to vehicle before finding the one he was looking for. He popped open a case strapped on the back and pulled out a cylindrical object and two small canisters, which he dropped into his cargo pockets.
“Is that a missile launcher?” said Bunny.
“Not like any I’ve ever seen,” said Reaper.
Spooky climbed up onto a large rock with an open field of view, placed the weapon against his shoulder, and looked toward the horizon.
“They’re coming back around,” Hawkeye yelled looking through his binoculars. “Eleven o’clock.”
Spooky aimed the weapon, his eye to a scope on the side.
Reaper watched as he slowly pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
“Crap,” said Bunny.
“Look,” said Hawkeye pointing toward the horizon. One drone descended toward the ground with deceptive grace until it crashed in a fiery heap.
Reaper looked back at Spooky and saw him unscrewing a canister from the bottom of the weapon, replacing it with one from his cargo pocket. “Maybe it’s a laser.”
“Maybe.”
Hawkeye helped spot the drones and Spooky took out the remaining two. They both crashed, one farther down the hill and another high above them.
The danger past, the teams began recovering their ATVs and scattered gear. Walking down the path toward Spooky, Reaper saw him smiling.
“What is that thing?” she asked.
“An experimental weapon,” Spooky answered with a touch of pride. “I didn’t make it, but I requested its development. Something from Herschel.”
“The guy who made the EMP bomb that took out New York City?” asked Reaper.
“The same.”
Hawkeye stepped forward and looked closely at the object. “A directional EMP weapon small enough to be carried.”
“Indeed,” answered Spooky. “The range is rather limited, but we’re working on that.”
“Derrick said to keep moving,” called Owen from below. “More could be on the way. The caves aren’t far.”
“He’s right,” said Hawkeye. “We need to hurry.”
“Casualties?” Reaper asked. Her team and Derrick’s conducted a quick roll call and found only superficial injuries and everyone accounted for...except Shortfuse.
“Anyone see him?” Reaper asked.
“He was at the end of the ATVs,” said Stitch. “Said he was going to keep a personal eye on his explosives.”
“Only he would cuddle up to what kills him,” Hawkeye said.
Reaper gave him a warning look, but began running down the hill toward the ATVs. She keyed her radio. “Shortfuse! Hey! Answer me! Sound off!”
No answer.
“Dammit. Where’s the ATV with the demo?” Reaper soon found it, undamaged. “Everyone spread out from here, quarter and search.” She began pointing out directions, images in her mind of her teammate crawling through the dirt, injured.
“I’m here,” came a distant voice.
Reaper looked down and saw the man struggling up the steep trail, a thick round metal object covered in wires on his shoulder. Stitch grabbed the thing, and then passed it to Hulk.
“What the hell happened to you?” asked Reaper when they arrived. “And what is that?”
Shortfuse smiled as Hulk lifted the heavy object off his shoulders and held it in his huge hands. “That’s a drone brain, a control module, whatever you want to call it.”
“Did it fall out of the sky on you?” asked Hawkeye.
Shortfuse looked confused. “No. I took it out of the one that crashed.”
“Why?” asked Reaper.
“Because it’s cool, duh,” he answered. “And it might be useful.”
“Since when do you go running off in the middle of a firefight and not tell anyone?”
“I told somebody. That guy.” He pointed vaguely toward one of Derrick’s people, then shrugged.
“We have to didi mao, now,” said Derrick, striding toward them. “More drones could be here any minute.”
“You heard him,” said Reaper. “Vamonos. Salvage what you can from the damaged ATVs and double up if you have to. Follow Derrick’s people. Hulk, give that thing to Shortfuse.”
“What?” said Shortfuse.
Hulk handed the object to him.
“You found it, you carry it,” said Reaper. She turned to race up the hill toward her ATV.