There was no response. Only the random static they’d gotten used to since they first fired up the unit. Krista made the same broadcast again, bringing the same result. Nothing.
“I hope they didn’t give up and walk away,” Summer said, her tone less than excited.
“Anything is possible, but if they’re as desperate as we are, they’ll be monitoring. Just need a little patience.”
“Well, you know as well as I do, patience is not my middle name.”
“Mine, either,” Krista said. “But my time in the military taught me exactly that. So give yourself a chance. It’ll come, if you let it.”
“What if they changed their mind about the trade or maybe found someone else with what they need?”
“A scientist and a Geiger counter? With a working radio? What are the odds of any of that?”
“Yeah, you’re right. I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I?”
“Just a bit. It’ll work out. Trust the process and the plan,” Krista replied, engaging the microphone again. “Blackstone, this is Eagle Base. Come in, please.”
A squelch ran out, then a series of rapid clicks before a familiar male voice erupted across the speaker. “Eagle Base, Blackstone. We read you. Glad to hear your voice again. We thought we lost you for good.”
Krista looked up at Summer, who now stood a foot closer than before. “See, I told you. Gotta have faith.”
“Probably need to answer him,” Summer said, pointing at the radio.
Krista squeezed the trigger on the mic. “We had a technical glitch, but we’re back online. Are you ready to make a trade? Over.”
“Affirmative. My commander asked me to get a list of what you need, then we’ll have a meeting with our Ruling Committee and make a plan.”
Summer put her hand over the microphone. “Ruling Committee? How about that? I guess we’re not the only ones out here trying to start over with some form of hope. That’s a good sign, right?”
“Sure, it’s a good sign until it’s not,” Krista said, prying Summer’s fingers loose from the mic. “Blackstone, Eagle Base. We agree, but let’s speed up the timetable, if we can. We’ve got women and children on this end who are in need. Time is of the essence, as I guess it is for you as well. Over.”
“Copy that, Eagle Base. We’re standing by to receive. What do you need? Over.”
Krista brought the paper in front of her eyes and read from it, sending their laundry list of needed items over the airwaves. When she was done, she said, “That’s all we have. Can you assist? Over.”
There was an extended pause before Blackstone responded. “That’s a bit more than we were expecting, but we’ll see what we can do. Over.”
“Fair enough, Blackstone. We look forward to doing business with you. Do you have a meeting place in mind? Somewhere south and west of you? We are ready, willing and able. Just need a go from you. Over.”
“Understood, Eagle Base. We will be back on the air in two hours, 21:50 Zulu, with an answer and hopefully a plan. Over.”
“Thank you, Blackstone. We await your call. 21:50 Zulu. Eagle Base, over and out.”
“That went well, I think,” Summer said.
“Mostly. But I think they didn’t like all the stuff on the list. Might want more in exchange.”
“If they do, we’ll get them what they need. Assuming we have it. No choice, right?”
“Not really.”
“By the way, what’s 21:50 Zulu?” Summer asked.
“Universal time. Based in Greenwich, England. Near London. Seven hours ahead of us right now.”
“Then these people are military?”
Krista nodded. “Probably. At least some of them.”
“So what do you want to do?”
“First thing, we need to make sure they want to meet somewhere neutral and do it quick. The clock is ticking, Summer. Can’t be too far from here, either. We have to get there and get back without wasting too many days.”
“The E.O.D. clock,” Summer said.
“It’s not going to stop for anyone.”
“At least we’ll get rid of Lipton once and for all.”
Krista snickered. “Assuming they still want the man after meeting him. That’s never a given.”
“Yeah, that would be just our luck, wouldn’t it?”
“Yeah. Just our luck,” Krista said.
“Let’s stay positive.”
“I wish they’d take the Scab women, too. Get them out of our hair. There’s still something off about all that.”
Summer nodded. “I know, it’s a gut thing. I wouldn’t understand.”
“Maybe the dog, too. I’d prefer to simplify everything. Tactically and security-wise. We’re gonna get stretched thin as it is.”
“The Scabs, yes. But not the dog, Krista. He stays with me, okay?”
Krista took a second, then nodded. “Okay.”
“Promise?”
“Sure. Promise.
“We’re going to need fuel for our meet-and-greet with them. Lots of it, depending on where the rendezvous is.”
Krista nodded, working through the options. “I’m thinking we try those gasifiers that Stuart had us build last year.”
“Kind of slow, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, but they’d allow us to refuel along the way with whatever we can find to burn. Otherwise, we have to drag along a ton of extra fuel and that gets heavy, cutting down on the mileage and increasing the number of vehicles needed. There’s a diminishing return in that scenario.”
“Okay, let’s take the gasifiers. Probably need to make sure they work properly anyway.”
“Nothing like an initial live fire test in the middle of combat. Let’s hope this time it works out better than the last. We lost a ton of good soldiers that day.”
“Well, we’re not the Army. We had Stuart,” Summer said. “And this allows us to kill two birds with one stone.”
“Plus, who knows what will happen with Fletcher going forward? Just because Frost was willing to be reasonable with the fuel exchange doesn’t mean Fletcher will be.”
“Even if he helped us at the Trading Post—”
Krista smiled, realizing the little snotnose was starting to get it. “Now you’re starting to think like me.”
Summer laughed. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
Krista chuckled, too. “Guess that depends on who you ask.”
Summer held her smile. “No doubt.”
Krista sat in the chair and raised her hand up and held it, waiting for Summer to do the same. They gave each other a high-five slap.
CHAPTER 18
“What’s the status?” Summer asked Liz as she and Krista walked into the office attached to the infirmary.
Liz finished scribbling something on a notepad, then stood from the chair behind her desk. She adjusted her glasses, then pulled down on her smock. “The status of what? Rod or the girl?”
Summer shrugged, not remembering there were two patients in Liz’s sick bay. She’d been a little myopic in her thoughts and with her focus. “Both, I guess.”