“Have a chair, Cody. Captain Landers and I have a proposition for you.”
Cody chewed his lip and settled down in one of the hard wooden chairs in Jake’s tent.
Jake paced the floor twice and then stopped in front of him. “First let me tell you that just because I saved your life, your dog and your supplies—not to mention the fact that we fed you—I don’t want you to feel obligated to do what we’re about to ask.”
Cody’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not so sure I like where this is heading.”
Jake grinned, then took a deep breath and ran his hand through his gray hair. “The captain and I need your help.”
Landers cleared his throat. “And your weapons.”
Cody shook his head. “I’d like to help you out but that stuff is earmarked. I have a private score to settle with the CCR.”
“We could take it from you,” Landers said irritably.
The chair Cody was sitting in creaked as he leaned back against the tent wall. He fixed Landers with a quiet look. “I can absolutely guarantee that you wouldn’t have them long.”
The tension in the room was thick. Landers started to say something, then let it die off.
Jake broke the silence. “We have no intention of stealing anything from you, Cody. We’re all Americans here and we’re all working for the good of what’s left of our country. Captain Landers was out of line.” He unfolded a large map and smoothed it out on the table. “Will you at least listen to what I have to say?”
“Sure.” Cody let his chair drop. “I owe you that much.”
“Here’s our location.” Jake pointed to a spot on the map. “The CCR doesn’t know we’re here yet. They never fly over because there’s nothing out here in this desolate area they want. We’re still careful, though—just in case.”
“Is that why you wear those light-colored ponchos?” Cody asked.
“Right. They blend in with the sand.” Jake pulled up the other chair. “This”—he pointed to a dark barbed line on the map—“is the Turbo Track. The CCR has been using it to transport supplies to outposts and camps in the desert.”
“I’ve heard of it. When I was in the prison camp most of our supplies came off that train.”
“So far the CCR has only used the Turbo for minor things like supplying the prison camps, so none of the U.S. resistance groups have bothered with it. But now we’ve received word that in two weeks’ time a large shipment of raw trilithium is coming through.”
“Whew.” Cody’s eyebrows went up. “The CCR must be building a few more nukes.”
“They’ve taken over a nuclear laboratory in New Mexico. The shipment will be sent there on the Turbo.”
“Okay, so what’s the problem?” Cody shrugged. “Tell Colonel Wyman and the army to come over and take out the train.”
“The problem is that we already sent this information to the higher-ups last month. But the first date we had was false. We took a squad out to stop the shipment and the CCR was waiting for us. The information was planted. They wanted to see what we would throw at them before they sent the real shipment.” The creases in Jake’s forehead deepened. “We lost most of the company. Those kids outside lost their parents on an empty run.”
“I don’t get it,” Cody said, frowning. “Won’t the army send you more troops for something this serious? Heck, they could do a hit-and-run in a chopper and put a stop to it.”
“The word from headquarters is they don’t have enough men to spare for something they’re not absolutely sure of.”
“Are you sure?” Cody asked thoughtfully.
“My source is the best there is—me. I can’t tell you how I know. I just do.”
“Do you have a plan?”
Jake sighed. “Not really. The kids are great but they don’t know anything about fighting. Landers and I were going to have to use them anyway, at least as backup. I felt we had no other choice—that is, until now.”
Cody ignored the last part of Jake’s statement. “What did you have in mind?”
“The Turbo stops here to fuel up.” Jake pointed to a black square on the map. “That’s where we hit them the last time. But now we know they’ll be ready for us. So Landers came up with the idea of waiting until they were on the way out of the fuel depot to attack. The train will be moving but not too fast.”
“Good idea.” Cody nodded. “Then you can target just the cars you want.” He stood up and studied the map. “Right about here”—he tapped the map—“you could unhook a few of the cars and let the end of the train go. If there were any troops on them, they’d be stranded in the desert.”
“Hmmm.” Landers rubbed his chin. “Not a bad suggestion.”
“The Smiths are our drivers,” Jake cut in. “We were planning on having them meet us here, outside Tingley, where we’ll offload and then bring the stuff back to camp until headquarters tells us what to do with it.”
Cody walked around the table and studied the map. “I could be wrong, Major. But I think you and I might be able to work something out. According to this map the Turbo can be rerouted to another track that comes pretty close to the place I was headed anyway. If G Company is willing to alter its plans a little, I just might be able to help you guys out.”