Trackers by Smith Nicholas Sansbury

Author:Smith, Nicholas Sansbury
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: High Caliber Press
Published: 2017-01-10T16:00:00+00:00

AS JAKE STEERED up the twisty roads around Prospect Mountain, Nathan held the probe of a Geiger counter out the window and watched the needle while the words of the emergency broadcast repeated inside his head. This was the worst-case scenario. Not only had he lost his brothers from the 120th when their planes fell from the sky, but he’d lost his only sister to a damned nuclear strike on the nation’s capital. The only thing keeping him going now was the thought of his nephew. But if the device in his hand detected high amounts of radiation from the first wave of nukes, then Ty would probably be doomed, too.

The big officer picked at the bottom of his handlebar mustache. “What’s it say?”

“We’re good for now,” Nathan said.

Jake drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and then said, “Look, I know you’ve been through the wringer in the past twenty-four hours, Major, but you landed in one of the best towns in America. You’re welcome to stay if we’re not able to get you a radio. We could use a good man like you.”

“Thanks, but I have to get to Empire to find my nephew after I reach Buckley AFB,” Nathan said.

“I understand. Kids are the light of the world. If my girls weren’t safe at home in Estes Park with their mom, I’d be trying to get to them, too.”

Jake took a swig of bottled water and offered it to Nathan.

“No thanks.”

“Suit yourself,” Jake said. He set the water back down and pointed up the steep road.

“Bill Catcher lives off the grid up here. He’s a paranoid bastard and doesn’t care much for law enforcement.”

“Or the military?”

Jake grinned. “You got it. Let me do the talking. If I don’t end up with a gun pointed at my head, I’m going to offer Bill some diesel in return for his help looking over our recovery plan and letting you use any radio he might have.”

He parked on the side of the road and killed the engine. Nathan limped after Jake up the dirt road. That pretty nurse had done a good job wrapping his ankle, considering the circumstances, but it still hurt.

“Remember, let me do the talking,” Jake said.

Prospect Mountain towered over them like a castle. A small cabin was set up high on a clearing peppered with rocks and clusters of pine trees. They approached slowly with their hands by their sides, held away from their holstered pistols.

To the east stood a small barn that looked like it had been made from salvaged wood. Nearby was a well with an old wood bucket hanging from a rope. There were rows of solar panels, plots of well-tended crops, and a chicken coop topped with a faded blue tarp. Rain barrels flanked the front porch, but one of them was knocked over.

That seemed odd. Everything on the property was rough and ramshackle, but it was all carefully maintained. Nathan could tell at a glance that this Bill Catcher took a

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