Edge of Valor: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival Thriller(96)

Liam grunted. “Sorry I couldn’t oblige you. I had more pressing matters to attend to.”

“Like saving your town? All of Michigan? I know, I know. Some guys are real glory hogs.”

“Did you come here just to insult me?”

Hamilton paced the room like a lion in a cage, all tense, coiled energy. “Much as I detest staring at your ugly mug, I thought you guys deserved an update.”

“It’s about time we got some good news around here,” Bishop said.

Hamilton glanced at Hannah and Bishop, who were seated at either side of Liam. “Glad you two are here to hear this.”

Bishop had cajoled Liam into a game of Monopoly Deal, which he was losing. Badly. Charlotte sat on Hannah’s lap between her arms, trying to grasp the cards in Hannah’s hands to gnaw on them.

“You saved our collective butts,” Bishop said.

Hamilton grinned and hooked a thumb at Hannah. “She’s the one who risked a treacherous Paul Revere midnight ride to get the truth to us. Once I made a couple calls to a few friends in high places, I could confirm her actionable intel.”

Hannah looked at Liam, her lips pursed. “Almost too late.”

“Hell, the only things that get done are in the nick of time.” Hamilton paused in his pacing to rake his eyes over Liam. His gaze snagged on Liam’s immobile legs, two lumps beneath the blanket.

A shadow passed across his face—a flicker of sadness, of regret—and then it was gone. “Lucky this bulldog got to General Sinclair, or this story would’ve had a much different ending.”

“When the National Guard showed up, they didn’t attack,” Bishop said. “If they had, we’d be toast.”

“They didn’t attack because the General never gave the final go-ahead. Turns out Liam had already turned him into a pin cushion. Most of the soldiers were ambivalent. It didn’t feel right to them, either. They were more than relieved to stand down, and then it was a matter of relaying the true state of affairs along the chain of command.”

Hamilton’s unit had joined the battle against the Syndicate and managed to turn the General’s five hundred guardsmen. Together with Fall Creek and the Community Alliance, Hamilton had led them in an organized assault.

Within an hour, they’d routed the Syndicate.

Broken but not destroyed, the remnants of Poe’s army had retreated across the border, fleeing back to Illinois to lick their wounds.

“And Poe?” Hannah asked.

Hamilton resumed pacing. “Half their armored vehicles were ruined. At least four hundred killed by the guardsmen. Crippled as they are, they won’t attempt another attack for a while. I don’t plan to give them another chance.”

“Who’s in charge in Lansing now?” Liam asked.

“Homeland figures that Governor Duffield was murdered. General Sinclair had a hand in it, we’re certain of that. The Secretary of State, Lauren Eubanks, was sworn in last week as the new governor of Michigan.”

Bishop frowned. “Don’t know much about her.”

“Me either. But she’s got great taste in leadership.” He halted at the foot of Liam’s cot, a broad grin splitting his face, and gave a sweeping bow from the waist. “You’re looking at the newly-promoted Lieutenant Colonel and Michigan Task Force Executive Officer.”

Liam managed a smile. “Couldn’t happen to a better guy. Good thing they don’t promote based on looks.”

Hamilton ignored him. “Governor Eubanks, she’s smart. Got a good head on her, from what I can tell. Capable and decisive. And mad as hell about General Sinclair going off the rails. She may even visit Fall Creek to apologize in person, but I get the feeling she’s got a crap-ton on her plate right now, including cleaning up the mess Duffield left behind.”

“We haven’t received any help from the government since the Collapse,” Hannah said. “You think she’ll be different?”

“She told me her priority is guarding the Michigan border and protecting the rural counties so they can get crops planted and start farming. It’s not just empty words, either. She’s putting her money where her mouth is.

“She’s diverting some troops from Detroit from the 1st Battalion, 119th Field Artillery Regiment. They’re MORTEP certified—they’ve got mortars and know how to use them. We’ll have a few hardened drones at our disposal. Mortars and artillery. A half-dozen Black Hawks. The governor ordered me to engage Poe’s forces and eliminate him from the face of the Earth with extreme prejudice.”

Relief flooded Liam. It was the best news he’d heard in a long, long time.

“That’s fantastic,” Hannah said.

“Even better, I’m in command of Southwest Michigan.” He winked at Liam. “You’ll be seeing a lot more of me, gorgeous.”

Liam snorted. “Can’t wait.”

“How does she plan to feed all these soldiers?” Bishop asked.

Hamilton gave a careless shrug. “That’s above my paygrade. But my takeaway is that whatever she does will be fair and reasonable. She passed my B.S. meter. And Liam, you know I’ve got a good one.”

“Since you dish it out so often.”

Hamilton grinned. “Guilty as charged.”

Charlotte stretched for the cards in Hannah’s hands, bouncing and gurgling happily to herself. Hannah tried to raise them out of the baby’s reach, but Charlotte snatched a card and waved it with enthusiasm.