Knowing the routine, combined with scavenging the few intact uniforms from the scouts he’d taken out in the canyon, provided the beginnings of a plan that he was confident would work. Or, even if something went wrong and it failed, would give those who joined him in the attack multiple ways to escape or evade danger.
Which he assumed was why, when he announced he was going and asked who’d be willing to come with him and Jane, the response was better than it could’ve been. His dad agreed, and surprisingly so did Uncle George, even though he looked reluctant. Tam and Carl volunteered next, the couple insisting that they were only taking the risk because the plan seemed solid.
Martin Colton and Travis Marsh were also unexpected additions, since the two defenders had mostly seemed interested in listening in on the brainstorming. And even more unexpectedly they talked several of their fellow defenders into coming along. Lewis didn’t know any of them too well, since aside from Martin they’d all been defending the town or riding in the trucks during the last attack on the raider camp.
There were also volunteers he had to turn down. Wes and Alvin were too young, and Mary probably was as well, not to mention she just didn’t know how to handle a weapon. Lewis also had his doubts about whether his gentle sister was cut out for the task, even if she seemed determined.
Especially considering what the plan demanded of them.
All in all Lewis had accepted thirteen people’s offer to come, which made fourteen total including him. For his plan that was enough. More than enough, probably, since each extra person increased the risk of discovery.
He’d spent the previous day filling them in on the details, and making sure they were cut out for sneaking through enemy territory in the dark with night vision gear. A few weren’t as stealthy as he would’ve liked, but he hoped that if they did a good job following the movements of the people ahead of them it would turn out all right.
It would have to be, since they’d planned the attack for early the next morning and were out of time.
Lewis was the first one ready in the shelter group’s camp that afternoon. Even Jane was still in their tent, making a few final adjustments to her gear to be sure she could move silently. Normally he’d be with her, but she was in one of her moods where she liked to be alone so he was giving her space. He wanted her to be as relaxed as possible before they all put their lives in danger.
Instead he had Alvin for company as he waited by the edge of their camp. The young man was hanging out waiting too, completely failing to hide the fact that he was hoping Lewis would change his mind and invite him along at the last minute. He’d even brought a pack with all his gear.
Not this time, though. If Matt wasn’t about to bring kids to defend canyons, which was perfectly reasonable, Lewis was even less likely to bring one on an attack against the blockheads below. Even bringing Wes to attack the scouts in the canyon a few days ago had been a bit much, although the young man’s role in it had been a reasonably safe one.
Lewis wasn’t in the mood for conversation, and Alvin was obviously keeping quiet so he wouldn’t annoy him, so the time passed in tense silence. In that silence the droning of a bee idling its way from flower to flower nearby caught his attention. Lewis watched it, finding the sound oddly relaxing, as it came closer until it landed on a flower right next to Alvin.
His friend stomped on it.
“Hey!” Lewis protested. “That’s probably one of ours.” With Aunt Clair’s help he’d relocated the new hive to a spot near the wooded slope to the west, a few hundred yards down the meadow from the refuge.
The young man gave him an embarrassed look. “Right, sorry. Nobody likes a buzzkill.”
Lewis bit back a sigh, giving no other response to the bad pun as he looked back towards his tent. Which Jane would hopefully emerge from soon. He wasn’t in the mood for banter, and honestly he kind of regretted the fact that he was the first one ready, forced to spend this tense time waiting for the others.
That wasn’t helped by worrying about Uncle George, trying to figure out why he’d insisted on coming along. Admittedly Lewis wasn’t sure his dad, who’d also volunteered, was any more qualified than his uncle. But George Smith had never struck him as very aggressive, and even if he was dead serious about defending his family and the town Lewis wasn’t sure it would be enough.
Then again, volunteers weren’t exactly lining up at the door. If nothing else he trusted his uncle completely. He’d do his best.
“Sorry,” Alvin said again, after his joke falling flat had stretched into an awkward silence.
Lewis turned to his friend, catching his miserable expression, and put a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve got an important job to do here,” he said quietly. “I trust the townspeople, and the defenders will look after our family. Even so, at the moment it’s just you, Terry, April, and Ed to really guard our camp. Desperation can sometimes make the best people do bad things, and we have a lot of stuff that would tempt people.”
The young man nodded, straightening slightly. “Don’t worry. Nobody’s touching our food, and I’ll keep everyone safe.” As he spoke his eyes drifted over to one side of the camp.
He might’ve been looking at the part of camp where Jane’s group was starting on the evening’s chores, which would make sense since he was a member of that group. But it didn’t escape Lewis that the tent where Trev’s family slept was also in that direction. The young man had been showing a lot of interest in Linda, although as far as he knew his cousin hadn’t returned any of it.
A more easy silence settled between them. Not too long after that Jane emerged backing out the entrance to their tent, wearing her captured blockhead uniform and usual body armor and other gear. She was dragging her pack and rifle, a G3 variant with a similar design to Lewis’s own HK G3, in either hand.
As she shrugged her pack onto her shoulders she turned towards them, and he saw she was wearing her familiar focused expression. The look that said she would keep going towards her goal until she reached it, without letting herself be slowed or sidetracked. He trusted her ability and determination without question, and that focus was a major part of it.
She also looked very appealing when she wore that expression, although admittedly as a besotted husband he would’ve found her cute snoring with her mouth open, drool trickling down her chin, and serious bed head. Still, that look represented some of the things he loved most about the remarkable woman who’d agreed to become his wife, and he always felt a fierce surge of affection when he saw her wearing it.
Lewis clapped Alvin on the shoulder and picked up his gear, making his way over to Jane. She gave him a nod of thanks as he helped her adjust the pack’s belts for a more comfortable fit. “How are you feeling about this?” he asked.
That earned him a slightly impatient look. They’d gone over the details time and again by this point. “It’s risky, but it’s a good plan. We can hit them hard.”
That hadn’t quite been what he meant. “What about what we’ll be doing to get the job done?”
Jane hesitated, then leaned against him and rested her cheek against his. “I can handle it. It needs to be done.”
Lewis supposed that was that. He wrapped his arms awkwardly around her and all her gear, and together they waited until his dad and uncle came from their respective tents.
Along with the rest of the family, at which point they had to endure a sending off from everyone.
Endure probably wasn’t a generous way to put it, when he could tell his family was worried for them. But looking at the faces of his mom, aunt, and Linda he could see they thought this was a mistake.