Molly whooped exuberantly.
“You did it!”
“Thank God!”
The window on the screen revealed the slightly blurry features of... General Dmitri Losenko, late of the Russian Fleet. His gaunt, haggard face made him look considerably older than his fifty-some years. A vintage wool peacoat, with a Cyrillic insignia that betrayed his roots, was draped over his bony shoulders. A creased cloth forage cap rested atop his skull. A smile lifted his thin lips as a webcam transmitted her own voice and image to Command’s undisclosed location. She glimpsed solid steel bulkheads in the background. Molly felt a surge of excitement. This was the first time she had ever made contact with Command directly.
“Ah, Ranger Kookesh!” he greeted her. “We meet at last.” Fifteen years in the Resistance—where English was the lingua franca—still had not dispelled his thick Russian accent. “I was starting to fear that something had gone amiss.”
Molly didn’t know exactly where Command was lurking these days, but communications to and from their hidden base were tightly controlled, taking place only according to Command’s timetable.
“Just some technical difficulties at our end,” she apologized. “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”
“Not at all,” Losenko replied. “I regret that we have never spoken before. Your efforts in the north are greatly appreciated.”
Tell that to the rest of the big brass, Molly thought. Losenko was the first high-ranking member of Command to ever give her the time of day. She’d heard through the grapevine that the old Russian warhorse had taken a special interest in the Alaskan Resistance. Molly wondered why.
“Thanks,” she said. “I’ve been looking forward to this meeting, too.”
“My condolences on your recent reverses,” he answered. His gnarled face reminded her of an old Siberian spruce. Command had already been briefed regarding the pipeline disaster and the attack on the mill town. The genuine sympathy in his voice came across despite the scratchy audio. “I know how hard it is to lose people under your command.”
Molly didn’t want anyone’s pity.
“Could have been worse.” A casual shrug belied the sorrow and anger she still felt. “But I don’t want to waste time hashing over a couple of minor setbacks. I have bigger fish to fry.”
“Such as?”
She quickly filled him in on her plans for the Skynet Express.
“It’s doable,” she concluded. “But we could definitely use some logistical assistance, and air support.” They had lost too many people and supplies to that damned T-600. “And reinforcements would improve our odds substantially.”
A pained expression—one she knew only too well— came over Losenko’s face. Molly knew what he was going to say even before he opened his mouth.
“I would like to promise you our full support, but our resources are strained as well. The war is approaching a crucial juncture, especially on the Californian front.” Video tiling momentarily distorted his image. Static punctuated his refusal. “I’m not certain we can spare the manpower or the materiel.”
So what else is new? Molly chewed her lip in frustration. The Lower 48 always seemed to take priority over her own operations. She wondered if Command was losing faith in her cell, especially after her recent losses.
It’s not fair, she thought angrily. The fact that they’re sending Terminators after us proves that we’re getting on Skynet’s silicon nerves. That’s gotta count for something.
“Forget reinforcements, then,” she pressed. “How about just the air support? Skynet’s got an HK and Aerostats escorting the train. All we’ve got is one fucking plane!”
For a brief moment she regretted swearing at him, then she remembered that Losenko was supposed to have been a sailor in the old Russian Navy. Surely he’d heard worse.
“Planes and helicopters are in short supply,” he stressed. “We lost several Warthogs in an engagement over San Diego last week.” The durable fighter planes were one of the backbones of the Resistance. “We need to choose our battles carefully.”
Molly didn’t want to beg, so she tried bribery instead.
“What about all the uranium ore? Don’t tell me the Resistance couldn’t use some of that stuff.” Rumor had it that Command had a nuclear sub or two prowling offshore. “And wouldn’t you like to keep it out of Skynet’s greedy clutches?”
“You make a good case,” Losenko conceded, and the pained expression was replaced by a thoughtful one. “Indeed, another Resistance cell recently managed to disrupt a Skynet mining operation in Niger, albeit at considerable cost.” Molly wondered if he was talking about people or equipment, or both. “Yet the benefits were clear. So let me take up your proposal with Command.”
Molly scowled.
“You mean with Ashdown, don’t you?” She had never met “Old Ironsides,” but she’d already decided that he was an obstinate prick who didn’t take civilian militias like hers seriously. Never mind that they’d been fighting the good fight for more than a decade now.
Maybe if I’d been a Marine—and not a forest ranger— Ashdown wouldn’t treat us like morons who can’t tell one end of an HK from the other.
“You know he’s just going to give me the brush-off,” she continued.
“Not necessarily,” Losenko equivocated, blindly defending his superior officer. “I’m certain General Ashdown will give your request due consideration. It’s only that he has the larger picture to address.”
“And we’re just small potatoes, off in the middle of frozen nowhere.” Molly didn’t hide her bitterness. She wished that Losenko was the top dog at Command, not Ashdown. “Yeah, yeah. I get that.”
Losenko did not take offense at her sour tone, perhaps because he appreciated the strain she was under.
“I will talk to Command,” he promised again. “But I can make no guarantees.” The transmission began to break up. He glanced off-screen. Some sort of siren blared in the background. “I’m afraid we must cut this visit short. We will speak again, though.” He saluted her from far away. “Take care, my friend, and stay warm up there.”
“You too.” Molly didn’t want Losenko to think that she blamed him for Ashdown’s pigheadedness, so she saluted him back. “Talk to you soon.”
The video window closed, leaving her without the answer she wanted—and no real expectation that it would be forthcoming.
“Fuck.” She slammed down the lid of the laptop with more force than was necessary. A phantom toe ached like hell, adding to her bad mood. Talk about a waste of time.
“Whoa there!” A gust of cold air invaded the shack as Geir came in from outdoors. He brushed the snow from his jacket and stomped his boots on the welcome mat. “Don’t be too hard on that thing. It’s not like we can get another one at Radio Shack.”
Molly watched with a twinge of irritation as he tracked wet slush into the room. He should have done a better job of brushing off outside. Then again, at least he’d gotten the satellite dish working on time. So she reeled it in.
“Good point.”
He nodded at the closed laptop.
“So how did your pow-wow with the bigwigs go?”
She snorted in disgust.
“How do you think?”
After fifteen years aboard the Wilmington, Losenko could have—and had—navigated its cramped corridors in the dark. He had almost forgotten the feel of grass or dirt beneath his feet, or what dry land looked like. The confined spaces of the sub, where nothing was ever more than a few meters in front of his eyes, had given him a bad case of myopia, impairing his ability to view things at a distance. He had become a true denizen of the deep, swimming silently beneath the waves to avoid the mechanized predators that were prowling the surface.