“Julianna survived,” Harry said, nodding. “That is good to hear.”
“Also some other actresses and stuff,” Faith said. “Found them on St. Barts. Anna Holmes for one. Anna’s actually along on the float. But…the world is a very screwed up place. Just got to keep pushing the ball. The more people you have, the more you can do. We couldn’t have done this two months ago. Well, we probably would have figured out a way. We do. Okay, I suppose I should start with: “There are three command posts left, American, Russian and Chinese. American is the Hole in Omaha. The NCCC is Under Secretary Galloway who was something like a hundred something on the list. Russian and Chinese are similar. You’re the most senior people we’ve found of the Brits. We’ve got one former…congressman sort of? Like military police?”
“Member of Parliament?” Whiteshead asked. “MP?”
“That’s it,” Faith said. “One of them. Most of the subs were uncontaminated and they’re closed up. They’re surviving on fish. No serious land areas cleared. There are some people forming in various places but…you gotta have a lot of ammo to clear much land and even civilians in the U.S. don’t have enough. And we got a lot, trust me. We had ten thousand rounds when we started and it burned up fast. My dad is LantFleet which is, yeah, part of the reason I’m an officer. The other reason is I’ve been doing this since right after the Fall and I’m getting okay at it, I suppose…”
CHAPTER 31
“Permission to poke my head in the cockpit?” Harry asked.
The last lift was going out. Staying behind were twenty Gurkhas and ten Warders. The Warders were all former military, all veterans and all determined that whatever happened, the Tower would remain in British hands.
“Grab the jumpseat,” Colonel Kuznetsov said, pointing to it. “Colonel Nikifor Kuznetsov, Your Highness.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Colonel,” Harry said.
“Captain Milo Wilkes,” Wilkes said. He was piloting the bird. “Pleasure to have you aboard, sir.”
“Very glad to be out of there, Captain,” Harry said. “I shouldn’t feel that way but being trapped like that was… unsettling.”
“You’re the first people we’ve pulled out of a city,” Wilkes said. “It’s… unpleasant. I can’t believe the fire damage.”
“It is… worse than I’d realized,” Harry said, looking at the torched landscape. “But there are survivors.”
“A few, sir,” Wilkes said, pointing to the side with his chin. “We’ve passed this group three times. I’m sure they’re getting annoyed.”
“Can we pick them up?” Harry asked.
“I’m going to request we be allowed to as a supplementary mission from the colonel, sir,” Wilkes said. “That one, at least. But not right now we can’t. From the looks of it, we’d have to winch someone down and then winch them back up. We can do it. We have the equipment. But it’s not part of the primary mission.”
“With a helo and some support we could pick up pretty much everyone,” Harry said. “Most of them had to access rooftops to survive.”
“Like Katrina,” Wilkes said, nodding. “I didn’t work it but I knew people who did. Marine Reserve picked up more people than the Coast Guard. But it would take a lot of support. You’d need somewhere to keep them, food, and…Lots of logistics, sir.”
“There is that,” Harry said, grinding his teeth. “But these are my people, Colonel. In a very real sense. It’s possible I’m their sovereign if the reports of Grandmum’s death are accurate. I need to do something.”
“Take that up with higher, sir,” Wilkes said, banking around. “It’s possible they’ll support it. Or give you support to support it. Until the subs are vaccinated, though, we’re sort of focused.”
“You cleared in the Caribbean,” Harry said.
“We were looking for vaccine materials, sir,” Wilkes said. “Give me a moment, would you? Winds are tricky…”
“Welcome aboard, Captain,” Colonel Hamilton said, shaking the prince’s hand. “We’re sort of crowded at the moment but we’ve got a room for you below. Although I’m sure you’d like to get some food in your belly…”
“We can do that,” Hamilton said, nodding. “The one group, at least. I’ll have Captain Wilkes schedule it for later this afternoon.”
“Is there any possibility of staying in the area to do more recovery?” Harry asked. “That’s an official question of the British government.”
He was sipping soup. They’d been on very short rations for a very long time, and as other survivors had, he needed something light to start.
“Our first and primary mission is recovering some supplies from the London Research Center,” Hamilton said carefully. “After that…it would be up to higher. But let me point out that what holds for London holds for every city in the world. There are survivors. There are survivors everywhere. With helos you can pick some of them up. But we only have two pilots, three with you, and one fully functioning helo. The other is ready for a test hop but…Logistics. Support. Especially for the helos. Do you have any other pilots?”
“No,” Harry said, frowning. “We have one more helo, though. I flew it in on my own. It’s tucked up against the wall in the Tower. Getting it fueled and supported, though…And it’s not very good for rescue. It’s a Lynx. Only a few people at a time.”
“That’s all you generally get, Captain,” Hamilton said. “Hang on. Sergeant.”
“Sir?” Sergeant Weisskopf said.
“Tell Captain Wilkes he’s authorized to pick up the survivors spotted on the way to the Tower,” Hamilton said. “Assuming the bird is still good. And he’ll need a detail with it. Take Januscheitis and his team.”
“Yes, sir,” Weisskopf said, leaving the compartment.
“Thank you, Colonel,” Harry said.
“It’s not outside our parameters,” Hamilton said, frowning. “There should be something we can do…I hate to do this. PFC!”
“Sir?”
“Get Shewolf and Seawolf in here,” Hamilton said.
“Shewolf was the young lieutenant we met at the Tower, sir?” Captain Whiteshead asked.
“And her sister, Sophia,” Hamilton said. “They are…green as grass and yet far more experienced at this than I am.”
“And…cold, sir?” Harry said. “She seemed very…flat.”
“Faith is…” Hamilton said. “You’ll have to see the introduction to Wolf Squadron video to even begin to comprehend either one of them. And it really doesn’t cover it.”
“You sent for me, sir?” Sophia said, sticking her head in the door.
“Grab a seat, Ensign,” Hamilton said. “Have you met Captain Whiteshead and Captain…Wales…?”
“Can the platform on the Social Alpha handle that other chopper?” Faith said as the conversation paused. She’d spent most of the last ten minutes sitting with her mouth shut, leaning on her hand.
“Yes,” Prince Harry said. “Probably.”
“Whatever,” Faith said. “Reinforce it. The Grace has got a machine shop. You can fly the helo off from there or at least support it.”
“That is a point,” Colonel Hamilton said. “Assuming we’re willing to give up the Social Alpha.”