They set away from Brayburne, checking in and getting clearance with two more guards on the eastern end of town. Fred turned in his seat, planted his thick forearm on the bench seat’s cracked upholstery, and started talking to the new arrivals. “An Audi, hey? I had an ’03 once, the fenders were rusted right through, but that thing never broke down. Good mileage.”
Caitlan stared out her window. “What happened to it?”
“My nagging wife made me trade it in on a mini-van.”
“Yeah… women. We’re all bitches, aren’t we?”
“I never said that.” Fred looked away from Caitlan and stared at Sergeant Jeffrey. He was laughing. “You think that’s funny? At least I had a wife. What was your excuse, Sparky?”
Jeffrey glared at him. “Do not call me that. I’m ranking officer here.”
“Why do you call him Sparky?” Hayden asked.
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to say.” Fred held his hands up in mock fear. “Take my advice, though… Do not piss Sparky—I mean Sergeant Fartel Jeffrey off.”
The sergeant slammed on the car’s brakes. “How many fucking times have I told you to never use my first name? How many fucking times?” Jeffrey put the Buick into park and thrust his finger inches from the bigger man’s face. “All you fucking assholes think you’re so goddamned fucking funny!” A pulsing vein had appeared at the center of his forehead and a line of spit was stuck to his chin.
Fred grinned into the backseat. “See what I mean? We call him Sparky for that temper of his—one little spark is all it takes.”
“I’m reporting this when we get back.” The sergeant started driving again. “I’m sick of this shit… the disrespect… the total disregard of rank. Just because a bunch of bombs wiped out almost everything, doesn’t give you or any of those other assholes the right to talk to me like that. I’m fucking telling as soon as we get back. You’ll see.”
No one else said a word for the next five minutes as Fartel drove and threatened. Fred grinned at Caitlan and Hayden with raised eyebrows the entire way. The Audi was still parked on the shoulder of the highway. Michael and Amanda were sitting on the hood with Nicholas squeezed between them.
Hayden saw Angela appear from around the back end. She made her way to the front passenger side and started opening the door. Hayden shook his head as they exited the Buick. No, don’t go for the gun, not yet.
“Three rug rats,” Fartel observed as he went to look the Audi over. “Glad to see they’re good and healthy. They’ll be plenty to keep them busy in Brayburne.”
Hayden introduced them to the two soldiers and explained the situation. The twins nodded glumly, slid off the car, planted their hands in the pockets of their track pants, and stared at the ground. Nicholas remained on the hood, pushing an empty water back and forth between his legs. He looked at Jeffrey expectantly. “You got hotdogs and ice cream there?”
The sergeant was running his fingers along the car, walking slowly around it. “No hotdogs, kid. And all the ice cream was eaten in the first week. You’ll have to settle for whatever rations are provided.” The little boy looked disappointed, and went back to his bottle game. Jeffrey ended his walk-around inspection of the Audi with a kick to the front tire. Caitlan made a grunting sound. It was how most ignorant people judged a car’s merit. He glared at her. “This vehicle is actually yours? You paid with real money?”
Hayden braced for the inevitable attack. She would break his nose for that, and maybe worse. Caitlan simply nodded. “The money seemed real enough to the dealer… Sergeant.”
She’d almost called him Sparky. Or Fartel. Either one would have sent him into a rage.
Jeffrey nodded thoughtfully. “Okay, Fred, let’s get her fuelled up.”
The big guard went to the back of the Buick. Jeffrey threw him the keys and he opened the trunk. He leaned in to grab one of the four full gas containers, and Hayden nodded to Caitlan and Angela simultaneously.
Caitlan smiled the biggest smile Hayden had ever seen. “Hey, Sparky… you buck-toothed little cocksucker. Get your greasy fingers off my car.”
“What… did… you… say to me?”
Hayden went and stood behind Fred who was still bent over inside the trunk. “You need a hand?”
“Damned cap’s stuck on the underside. I can manage.” He yanked at the container and it came free. Just before his head was clear, Hayden slammed the trunk lid down. The edge of it caught the back of the man’s neck. The lid bounced back up, and the guard spilled down onto the ground, gasping for air and clutching at his partially crushed windpipe.
Caitlan could move fast considering her size. She didn’t go for the sergeant’s nose—she went for his balls. Her big leg shot up and her foot disappeared into the baggy crumple of pants collected around his crotch. He dropped to his knees making a wheezing noise that sounded like air being forced through hole-ridden newspaper. She slapped the side of his face with enough force to knock him down onto his back. Caitlan wasn’t finished. She sat on his stomach, pushing the last little bit of air from his lungs. “Is this car actually mine?” She broke his nose with the first punch. “Did I use real money to pay for it?” She knocked out four of his teeth with the second.
Angela pulled her off before she could bust the rest out. “Okay… you made your point.” Michael and Amanda were back up on the car hood, huddled against Nicholas. The boy was crying.
“Fucking weasely little bitch,” Caitlan said, glaring at the unconscious soldier. “You okay back there, Hayden?”
“I… I think he’s dying.”
Fred the car-compound security guard was on his elbows and knees, crawling around on the pavement and coughing up blood. Caitlan squatted down beside him and rubbed his back. “Can you breathe, sweetie?”
Fred nodded and rasped. “Hurs real bah… Cank swallow…”
“You’ll live.” She grabbed the back of his skull and pounded his forehead into the highway. The rest of him collapsed down into unconsciousness. Caitlan stood back up. Angela and Hayden had horrified expressions on their faces. “Don’t go looking at me like that. These two have to sleep for a few hours if we’re going to try and make a clean getaway.”
“A clean getaway?” Angela stumbled from one sleeping soldier to the next. “What did the two of you do in that town, rob a bank?”
“You saw how they were,” Hayden protested. “Brayburne’s locked down tight with guys like this running the place. They would’ve taken the car and forced us to stay.”
“And that would’ve been worse than driving aimlessly across the country?”
Caitlan and Hayden stared at each other guiltily. Caitlan shook her head. “You weren’t there, you didn’t see the condition people were in. They were staying in dirty tents… being forced to work for water and food. It was goddamned pathetic.”
Angela threw her hands into the air. “What do you expect the army to do in conditions like this?” Nicholas was crying harder, and the twins were squeezing him tighter. “The world we knew is gone! I think we should give Brayburne a chance.”
Caitlan pushed at Sergeant Jeffrey’s shoulder with the tip of her shoe. “I don’t think Brayburne’s going to give us a second chance.”
Angela ran her fingers through her short grey hair. “We can’t keep running like this… We have to find a home for these kids.”
Hayden had finished dragging Fred into the ditch. “There’s bad people staying there. A lot of the men in uniform aren’t really soldiers. Trust me, I know.” Caitlan helped him do the same with Fartel. “Get that gas put in the car and let’s get the hell out of here.”