CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  The dense trees gave cover as the squad crept between the soccer fields. Had the branches not been bare and the ashy snowdrifts high, they could have moved much faster. Sergeant Roark was thankful for the five men Braston sent along. They were professionals—stealthy and calm as they scouted ahead and kept eyes on the rear. If they encountered resistance, he was confident they could handle themselves and, more importantly, complete the task.

  The worst part of this mission had been getting past the Russian line and worrying how they’d get back through if successful. But high snowdrifts had forced the long lines of troops and trucks to remain on the main roads, making sneaking easier but not simple. They swam the river to the north and crossed eastward into this wooded area. It took hours despite their best attempt to quick time, but they finally had eyes on the target.

  It's less of a Walmart and more of a Dollar Store, Ben realized, reading the tall red letters painted on a white billboard. It was an odd name for a store.

  The location was simple, but an obvious choice for headquarters. The shopping center held two supermarkets, this one with its strong metal roof, and another which had somehow remained intact during the bombing. There was also a gym and shoe store, with soldiers setting up those as barracks for the newly arriving staff and aides. Ben watched the road to the Sonderposten. It was clear on his side, though the eastern line was busy with trucks and soldiers unloading rations and gear.

  “Are we certain he’s in there?” one of the soldiers asked.

  “Never certain in our line of work,” Sergeant Roark explained, “but our intel’s strong and orders clear. We’re to standby for a signal to enter the Sonderposten.”

  “What kind of signal are we waiting for?” one of the soldiers asked. “In case you haven’t noticed, Sarge, we don’t have comms.”

  “The general didn’t know for sure, but he said to wait for it so here we sit.”

*****

  Braston watched the skirmish on the bridge. The Russians had easily pushed him back, but to Michael’s credit the foolish move had surprised them. Wary of a trap, they cautiously held positions on the Eastern bank of each bridge. No doubt waiting for their flanking troops to find positions. He nervously scanned the south. They only had an hour or so before they did. Luckily, the German forces held better than he expected and bought them two hours—time enough for retreat if Michael changed his mind.

  “I told you it would work,” Esterling grumbled beside him.

  “Yeah, it worked,” Jake agreed, “but we’re sitting ducks once Herr General Richter’s line breaks. We should leave now and give him orders to follow.”

  “Why? So they can catch up to us in Ramstein? It’s less defensible, you told me yourself. No, we’re assured victory. Adam and Eve promised.”

  “We should at least have Titus and the others fall back to this ridge. Move the artillery first.”

  Michael nodded. “Make it happen.”

  Jake relayed the order to an aide. Movement to the northeast caught his attention. “What in the blazes is that?” His eyes grew wide, his mind not believing what they saw.

  Esterling put down his binoculars and turned. As he did, his eyes grew as large with surprise as Braston’s. “Is that a ship? On land?”

  Both men marveled at the ghostly specter. A glistening sailing vessel skimmed across the land, passing through trees and buildings while people stood firmly on the deck. It headed directly for their position on the hill.

  Jake snatched the field glasses from Michael and zoomed in on the marvel. With the closer view he could clearly see the shimmer of its construction, recognizing the tendrils of air from their underground lab.

  “It’s Adam and Eve,” he said, focusing in.

  “I told them to stay behind!” Michael fumed. “How’d they get free?”

  “Doctor Yurik and David are with them. Wait... For heaven’s sakes, Brooke’s there too!”

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  “They betrayed me—let the experiments out of the lab! I knew bringing David would mean trouble. We don’t even need him! Stephanie had it all in hand!”

  “What’s wrong with you, Michael?” Jake demanded. “What are you really afraid of?” But Michael had already revealed this new side of him. Jake recognized it as greed for power. He wanted this victory to be his alone.

  Movement against the clouds caught both men’s attention, and they looked upward, gasping when realizing the children had not arrived alone.

  “There’s your signal, Roark,” Braston muttered.

*****

  “It’s getting late,” a soldier complained to Roark. “Braston said we only have a few hours, so why don’t we just bust in? We should grab this general and go.”

  “Because we haven’t received the signal,” Ben replied. His eyes hadn’t moved from the building’s front door. The two guards appeared as bored as he.

  Look up, a voice said in this head. He recognized it at once.

  Eve?

  Yes, Ben. Look up and you’ll see our sign.

  He raised his eyes to the sky. At first all he saw were the same heavy clouds that had lingered since the apocalypse. Heavy with snow, they lumbered toward the horizon.

  I don’t see it.

  A screech abruptly turned his head to the northwest. As a boy, he’d watched the migratory geese flying overhead, always in perfect formation and seemingly graceful in their journey. These were not geese. These were bigger. They dove downward after flying high above the storm.

  “What’re those?” one of the soldiers demanded.

  “Eagles,” said another.

  Hundreds of bald eagles flocking together, dancing an unchoreographed ensemble to the wind. Unlike geese, who took turns following a rotating leader, there was no arrangement to this flight. Just as the nation of people who had chosen them as a symbol of their freedom, these flew side by side as individuals—unified only in their presence and the direction they moved. Each was free to travel their own direction as they maintained a steady course as one body.

  Go now, Eve urged.

  Ben tore his eyes from the display overhead. The guards had seen the birds as well. Their rifles dangled from slings as the men shielded their eyes to better focus. They watched with wonder as Sergeant Roark raised his own weapon to his shoulder. Two shots, muffled by a silencer, let loose. The subsonic rounds made no sound in the air as they found their marks, dropping the only resistance between him and the door.

  “Let’s move,” he said to the others, and led them into the Sonderposten.

*****

  Jake diverted his eyes from the eagles circling overhead, watching as Doctor Andalon and the two women stepped off the shimmering deck onto solid ground. Adam and Eve followed. The vessel behind them dissipated like smoke from a smoldering candle, and, all at once, the birds screeched. Braston jumped, startled by the sound as he locked eyes on the new arrivals.

  Brooke caught his stare and shrugged, pointing at David as if the entire thing had been his idea.

  But Jake knew better. The children had arranged this. They knew Michael wouldn’t allow them to come along, so they put into motion their own chain of events. He suddenly realized they had seen the outcome of the battle, and planned everything this way from the beginning. Their chosen vehicle of arrival was grandiose and captured the attention of both armies.

  Just as they approached, the Russian positions poured forward across the bridges.

  “It’s begun,” Adam said calmly.

  “But I’ll win?” Michael demanded.

  “That depends,” Eve said dryly, “on whether we allow you to continue blundering the outcome, or if you’ll finally trust us to fight the battle for you.”

  Jake and Michael both looked toward the charging infantry, pouring across the bridge by the thousands. Below, Titus held briefly but the entire line broke into a running retreat as the onslaught neared. The battle would be lost in a single charge.

  “What can you do?” Esterling asked the children. “It’s apparent we’ve already lost.”

  “No,” Adam corrected. “We promised you wouldn’t.” The boy raised his hands into the air and worked it like clay, molding and shaping fierce vortexes. The clouds above began to churn, and the eagles parted as several tornadoes moved southward. These touched down between the allied forces and the Russians.

  Rubble and debris swirled, unburying what was once sprawling suburbs and city streets, and briefly exposing a recently lost civilization. The roaring winds ripped everything to its foundation.

“I’ll hold them off,” Adan said to his sister, “until you can free General Richter to the north. He should be here when it happens.

  She nodded and closed her eyes, stepping northward and raising her arms in the same fashion as her brother. A single eagle broke away from the flock, speeding toward the clashing forces. “The Germans already retreat,” she said. “I’ll cover his approach, but we want the enemy closer. Their entire force must witness today.”

  “Where is Roark?” Adam calmly asked.

  Jake began to answer, but Eve replied before he could. “He’s on his way back and nearly to the river.”

  “Good. We need Petrov to witness as well.”

  Jake turned to watch Michael while the children worked their power. His face did not hold shock, nor did he seem surprised by the ease with which they channeled it. No, where every other man and woman in that valley reflected fear or awe, the senator displayed angry jealousy. The children upstaged the politician, and everyone saw.