Free Reckoning ~ Indian Hill 2 ~ A Michael Talbot Adventure by Mark Tufo Page B

scattering. They can’t tell if there is a mouse or a division under these things. And for those times when we do training out in the open, we know the fly overs of every possible spy sat in orbit.”
    “Does that leave much time to do anything?”
    “It gives us roughly half an hour, each hour, to be safe. There have been times when we had to be out longer; so we’ve devised a system for that also. We try to use it sparingly because we don’t want them to catch on. When we’re out there with our pants down, and have something we definitely don’t want Big Brother to see, we can send a micro-burst of highly ionized particles into the satellite that completely scrambles the onboard computer. The machine has to reset and, by the time it boots back up, it’s long gone.”
    “You guys developed that?”
    “Don’t be so amazed, Captain. There are a lot of very smart people on this project who are not happy with the way the U.S. is preparing for this war. They want to be as prepared as possible to save their families, their lives, and their country.”
    “No, you misunderstood me, Colonel. I wasn’t in astonishment that this organization developed it, I’m in astonishment that anybody developed it. If the military knew, they’d be on you like flies on a shit storm.” I realized my error when almost everyone at the table looked at me. It suddenly dawned on me that I was that very military. “Present company excluded.” The men relaxed after my joke.
    I stood up. I knew the majority of the men still did not trust me and would not speak their minds while I was present. I did not want to disrupt their proceedings.
    “Colonel, if you could have one of your privates show me the way to the mess tent, I would greatly appreciate it.”
    “Sure thing, Captain, and when we are done here, I will join you for some of our fine cuisine. After that, I would like to show you around.”
    “That would be great. Gentlemen, it was a pleasure meeting you.” A few nodded their courteous greetings; but most just stared at me, waiting for my graceful exit.
    The militia adopted the old rule of two hots, meaning two hot meals a day. Lunchtime wasn’t included. But they had a huge variety of MRE’s. Even inedible food was better than no food. And, to be honest, it was pretty good. I was halfway through my meal, attempting to open my tube of peanut butter, when Paul joined me.
    “So how goes the war council?” I asked as I looked up from my task at hand. From the look on Paul’s face, it didn’t appear that all had gone well.
    “Not as good as I would have liked,” he said as he plopped himself down on the chair opposite me. “I hoped that your return would spark more of a fire in their eyes. Instead, it has aroused more suspicion than anything else.”
    “Suspicion?!” I half yelled as a stream of peanut butter nearly made its way across the table.
    “Yeah, are you familiar with the Helen of Troy story?”
    “You’re comparing me to a woman?”
    “You know what I mean; why are you busting my balls?”
    “I’m sorry, bud, I know the story. The Trojans fought for years and years to get her back and, when they finally succeeded, they figured she was a spy.”
    “Exactly.”
    “Why would I spy for the government? I already told you they sent me here.”
    “It’s not the government, that they are concerned about.”
    “Then who is it?” Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. “Aw, Paul no way! I hate those bastards and what they did! I told you about everything that happened. Why would I possibly spy for them?” I was now shouting and most of the people at the chow hall tried their best to ignore my outburst.
    “Mike, try to settle down. I don’t for a minute believe that you are working for them,” Paul said as he pointed skyward.
    “But?” I was on the verge of shouting again.
    “But some of my officers think that your ‘fantastic escape’ and your timely arrival are just too coincidental.”
    “Coincidental?