AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled, up-down-up.
Another woman, hair knife-cut high and tight into a cross between a mohavvk and a mullet, rose from the ditch running along the road. She had legworm leather trousers and a poncho concealing what looked to be a military carbine. A camouflage bandanna added a festive touch to her neck.
"This is Vette, Val. She was blooded in Missouri. It's quieter there now, so Southern Command retasked her here because she was born in Bowling Green. Vette, this is Ghost. I went to Colorado and across Nebraska and Kansas with him."
Vette extended hands in fingerless gloves and gave a strong handshake. "Pleased to see you're still alive."
"If you watch him close when he walks, you'll see that he's had some near misses,"
Duvalier said.
"Hope you learn as much from her as I did," Valentine said.
"She's smarter than you when it comes to picking a fight," Duva-lier said, running a knuckle down the scar on his cheek.
"So, what have you got for us?" Valentine asked.
"You guys have moved fast and hard. We're going to take you to sort of a feudal lord. He's got several tribes united under him."
"Including the old crew you ran with, the Bulletproof," Vette said. "I recognize the cut of your leathers."
"No other hints, Smoke?"
"You'll be relieved to know you're about to be reinforced," Duva-lier said. "A third of Kentucky is mounting worm to fight."
One of the soldiers snorted. "Worm ranchers fight?"
"On our side, is what he means," another added.
Duvalier glared at the doubters. The fire in her eyes reminded Valentine of how pretty she was, when her real self peeped through the scruffy exterior.
"Six clans have come together," Duvalier said, nodding to Valentine's detail and shaking any proffered hand. "That churchman may like playing stinkfinger with the female help, but he's one hell of a diplomat. Every time things heated up, he calmed them down and got them talking again. It's as much his triumph as it is Karas's."
"Who's Karas?" Valentine asked.
Vette also shook hands all around. "He's a Bowling Green boy too. He's just what the Cause needs. A visionary."
* * * *
The men of the brigade waited. With some fresh bread and Kentucky honey in them, they were in good spirits and chattering like meadow-larks. They lounged on a gentle hillside forming a natural amphitheater, warm in April sunshine that promised summer on the way.
During Valentine's training and time in the Bear caves of Pacific Command, he sometimes spent a few hours at night in the rec room. They had a LCD TV rigged there, and he watched old movies on disk. One Bear favorite was an old movie called Highlander.
While Valentine found it interesting enough, especially the sweeping images of scenery, he'd forgotten the movie until he saw Karas emerge from his vast tent. He immediately thought, that's the Highlander!
Karas had the same strong face, long hair, and impressive build, though the hair was stringier and the build wasn't enhanced by camera angle. He wore a big-pocketed waxed canvas coat that hung to midthigh and rather striking pants that were legworm leather on the inside and what looked like corduroy on the outside. His soft brown boots, with just a hint of felt showing at the top, made Valentine rather jealous. They looked durable and comfortable.
Followed by deputations from the six clans supporting him and by Brother Mark, who looked pleased for the first time since Valentine had known him, Karas approached an old pasture tree that had been butchered just that morning for firewood. Earlier in the morning Valentine had watched two men working a long saw cutting it off, but had wondered at why they went up the tree and sawed off limbs instead of simply felling it in the first place.
Valentine recognized the honey-colored hair of Tikka among the tribal dignitaries. She'd apparently assumed some role of importance within the Bulletproof.
Karas mounted the stump with the aid of a ladder. Valentine wondered how he'd look to the men in the pasture or on the lower slopes of the hill-a statue atop a column?
The breeze died down as if by command.
A leathery worm rider stepped forward. "Let the Kentucky Alliance take heed," he called in a formidable bass baritone. "Our chief is about to speak."
"This is a sight I've dreamed of for a long time. You all don't know how happy you've made me, marching to these quiet hills. It's been a long time since the Stars and Stripes has been carried openly, pridefully, across these hills. Let me formally welcome you as friends. A mite more valuable: as allies."
