“I got this urge to tinker with ’em,” Hickok disclosed. “I’ve seen Plato use them. He likes to spend hours listening, hoping he’ll pick up something. So I figured, why not?”
“You picked up something?” Blade deduced.
“More than I bargained for,” Hickok admitted.
“Like what?” Blade queried.
“Let me put it this way,” Hickok said, grinning. “Have you ever wanted to visit Seattle?”
Chapter Two
He was hurrying from his cabin when he saw her storming toward him.
Plato paused, his kindly blue eyes narrowing, absently reaching up to stroke his long gray beard. His slim frame was clad in patched and faded jeans and a brown shirt well past its prime, both stitched together by his doting wife, Nadine. As Family Leader, he was sensitive to fluctuations in the normal Family routine. And the sight of Blade’s wife in a funk was definitely out of the ordinary.
Jenny’s fists were clenched, her jaw set tight, as she tramped in the direction of the row of cabins.
“Hello, Jenny,” Plato greeted her when she was several yards off.
Jenny simply nodded.
“Is anything amiss?” Plato inquired as she came abreast of him.
Jenny broke her stride, halting and glancing at the Family’s wise, elderly chief. “Why do we do it?” she snapped.
“Do what?” Plato responded, perplexed.
“Get married?” Jenny stated. “Why do women willingly tie themselves to a man for better or worse?”
Plato opened his mouth to speak.
“I’ll tell you why!” Jenny said, cutting him off. “Because we’re gluttons for punishment! That’s why women marry men!”
“Love is also a prime factor,” Plato observed.
“Love!” Jenny practically exploded. “What kind of love is it when the husband is hardly ever home? What kind of love is it when the man you love has to leave all the time to go off slaying dragons?”
Plato glanced at the west wall. “I don’t understand. Didn’t a jet arrive a short while ago with Blade?”
“It did!” Jenny said bitterly. “But I won’t get to see much of him! He’s planning to leave tomorrow morning!”
“Leave! Why must he leave?” Plato questioned.
“Ask him!” Jenny replied, starting to walk off.
“What is his destination?” Plato asked.
“Seattle!” Jenny declared over her right shoulder.
Plato scratched the gray hair rimming his wrinkled forehead, confused.
Jenny abruptly stopped and turned. “Oh! If you should see Hickok, would you do me a favor?”
“Anything,” Plato promised.
“Punch him in the mouth!” Jenny spat, her eyes watering. She spun and ran toward her cabin.
Plato hastened to the west, scanning the compound for the man he loved as the son he’d never had. Spotting Blade wasn’t difficult; the giant Warrior towered head and shoulders over the majority of Family members. He saw Blade and Hickok in the open area between the concrete blocks, moving his way. Plato smiled and waved.
Blade returned the wave, increasing his stride, reaching his mentor within seconds. “Plato! It’s good to see you.” He placed his brawny hands on Plato’s narrow shoulders. “How is Nadine?”
“She is fine,” Plato replied. “I wish I could say the same for Jenny.”
Blade gazed at the cabins. “You saw her, huh?”
“She is extremely upset,” Plato remarked.
“She’ll get over it,” Hickok interjected. “Women are contrary critters. They’re so blamed moody. They’re just not happy if they don’t have an excuse to get all bent out of shape now and then.”
Blade glanced at the gunman. “Do you ever tell your wife she’s a ‘critter’?”
“Are you crazy?” Hickok rejoined. “She’d kick the stuffin’ out of me.”
“The marriage expert,” Plato commented, smiling. He stared up at Blade. “What is this revelation concerning your impending departure for Seattle?”
“Didn’t Hickok tell you?” Blade asked.
Plato looked at the gunfighter. “Tell me what?”
“I was playin’ around with the radios last night,” Hickok divulged. “I received this emergency broadcast from Seattle, from a man named Dale.
He claimed he was being held prisoner by a mutant called Manta. Him and a bunch of other folks.”
“Do you believe the call was genuine?” Plato inquired.
Blade nodded. “It’s genuine, all right. Hickok said the man wanted a message relayed to Governor Melnick about the Cutterhawk.”
“The Cutterhawk?” Plato repeated quizzically.
“I heard about the Cutterhawk when I was in California,” Blade detailed. “It was a destroyer sent to investigate a call for help from Seattle. The destroyer never returned to California.”
“Did Governor Melnick send a rescue party?” Plato queried.
“No,” Blade said. “There was a lot of political pressure on Melnick to do something, but he refused. He didn’t want to risk more lives, and he definitely didn’t want to lose another ship. The Cutterhawk packed a lot of firepower. Melnick was worried that whatever took out the Cutterhawk could take out anything.”
“California has a large standing army,” Plato noted. “Why didn’t he sent a battalion north overland?”
“Like I said,” Blade replied. “Melnick didn’t want to lose more lives. And remember. North of California is no man’s land. We know Portland suffered a direct nuclear hit during the war, and Seattle was extensively damaged by a neutron bomb. Who knows what’s between California’s northern border and Seattle?” He paused, pursing his lips. “Melnick told me he sent his most experienced admiral in command of the Cutterhawk. He was shocked when they lost contact with the ship. There were close to three hundred crew members on board that destroyer.”
“Three hundred,” Plato said, gazing at the dozens of Family members going about their daily routines all around him. How would he react if he was responsible for the loss of three hundred lives? Small wonder Melnick was reluctant to commit more troops.
“How do you know Portland was wiped out?” Hickok questioned. “And that business about Seattle?”
“That’s what the records say,” Blade explained. “There were a few radio stations operating in rural areas during and shortly after the war. Some of the broadcasts were received in California, probably relayed from station to station.”
Plato looked into Blade’s eyes. “So you intend to rescue the captives in Seattle?”
Blade nodded. “I intend to try.”
“I commend your noble sentiments,” Plato said, “but I am leery of your logic.”
“You don’t think I should go?” Blade inquired.
“Not if there are other viable options,” Plato answered. “For instance, why not inform Melnick of the news when you return to California? He might be willing to dispatch another ship, once he is apprised of the situation.”
“True,” Blade conceded. “But think of the time involved. I won’t be ready to leave with Jenny and Gabe for a few days. If I wait and inform Governor Melnick, more time will be wasted while he organizes the rescue operation. And even if Melnick does send another ship, another destroyer or something else, they will have to sail all the way up the coast to Seattle. By then, all the people being held could be dead.”
“How do you propose reaching Seattle?” Plato wanted to know. “The SEAL?”
Blade shook his head no. The SEAL was the Family’s pride and joy, a mechanized juggernaut, a prototype developed by top engineers for Kurt Carpenter, an all-terrain vehicle bequeathed to the Family by the Founder to enable them to travel savely beyond the confines of the compound. “The SEAL would take too long. I’ll use the Hurricane.”