Free Backlash: Prequel to The Wildblood Series by S. A. Hoag Page B

would be later, much later. 
    Wade gestured to a line of vehicles that had converged on the area.  “Mac's here.  Say 'hello', say 'goodnight' and go,” he told her.  “I need you sharp.”
    “I want an RPG,” she said, figuring it was worth a try.
    “I want a helicopter crew intact, but that's not happening.  Neither is the RPG for rookies barely allowed out of the dayroom.”
    Shan nodded.  “Fair enough.  You better shoot first this time.”

Chapter 5
    Sept 29, before 6am, near Sheridan
     
    A tapping sound woke her and Shan sat up, wondering where she was.  Backseat of her car, apparently, covered in a blanket but not much in the way of comfortable.  Mac was standing there, a cup of what she hoped was coffee in each hand.  There was barely light along the eastern horizon.
    “Are those for me?” she asked, getting out of the car as gracefully as she could manage.
    “One of them is,” he offered her a cup.  She took it.  “Wade told me to wake you up and tell you we're on today.”
    “Good,” she decided after a moment and a sip of lukewarm coffee.  “I'll be ready in ten minutes.”
    “You have thirty.  Get breakfast.  Someone has a mess tent set up over by the creek.  We'll find you soon.”
    “So do we have a plan?”
    He raised his eyebrows.  “Wade?  Without a plan?  You need more sleep.”
    Shan nodded, heading off to find food.  Dehydrated rations that might have been eggs and bacon.  Cars were parked under trees and tents carefully camouflaged.  There was a fresh coating of snow on the nearby peaks.
    Officers had already begun gathering and Wade was there with Ballentyne and Jasso.  “Let's get moving,” he finally announced.  “You've got your assignments.  Drive around in the open.  Kick up clouds of dirt, be noisy, attract attention.  The second you hear or see any Nomad, any sign of that helicopter, you announce it to everyone.  If you have a shot at it, take it.  If that helicopter swings around to make a run at you, hide.  Get in the trees and stay there.  Call for help.”  Wade knew they trusted him; he wasn't about to betray that trust by missing this opportunity.  The Nomads were close and winter was setting in. 
    “If you have any questions or concerns, now is the time,” he finished.  Wade beckoned for his team to join him for a moment.  “If we sense anything early, fantastic,” he started.  “If we don't, it's no big deal.  Don't read anything in to it because it's not a concern.”  They both nodded.  “Let's go drive around.  Shan you're out first, Mac five minutes later, me five minutes after that.  You know the route.”
    Mac caught her arm.   “Wait,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.  “I'm going to be close, damned close, all day long.  If you think you need to call us, do it.”
    “You don't think I should be out here,” she said rather than asked.
    “I wish you weren't.  You're as qualified as any of us to deal with a helicopter.”
    “I suppose I am.”
    “Be careful.  If you get that urge, if you need to run, do it.”
    “I understand,” she offered.  “The same thing applies to you.  It's entirely appropriate for Team Three to bail the hell out if there's a helicopter involved.”
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    “I'm fucking bored, I'm fucking bored,” Shan repeated over and over, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel as she headed south on Highway 287 again.  It was her fifth round; ten miles south, turn around, ten miles north, three miles west, turn around, three miles east.  Her mother had told her swearing wasn't ladylike, so she tried to do less of it.  Not that she was concerned with being ladylike.  Deirdre could make her feel guilty over pretty much nothing, and that was one of those things.
    Today was an exception.  Shan looked at the radio and announced, “I'm fucking bored.”  She didn't have to put it on the air for Wade to be aware.  So was he, so was Mac, and every other officer