Read Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3): Salvation for Free Online Page B

he didn’t have to know.
Yes, taking prisoners might be acceptable.
    The
group meeting lasted only a few more minutes. It had been arranged to discuss
general strategy so the residents of Yellowstone knew and understood that
concrete actions were being taken to keep them safe and to allow for any input
or ideas. The actual planning would be done behind the scenes.
     
    *
* *
     
    “Is
there a reason the girl is here?”
    “I’ll
have you know that I am not a girl,” snapped Mary.
    “Yes,
you are,” said Dale.
    Tara
nodded.
    “You are,
Mary.” I looked her up and down. “It’s pretty obvious.”
    “You’re
all being mean.” She sounded quite annoyed. “That’s not what I meant, and you
know it.”
    The
twins looked at each other, then at her. I don’t think they were grasping her
point, which did nothing to improve her mood.
    “Captain,
Mary is basically an assistant. She keeps notes, writes out orders for me, relays
instructions, that sort of thing. Since she is in the middle of everything, she
gets to stay. Saves me the trouble of telling her later.”
    He
nodded slowly and glanced at the twins before giving the slightest of shrugs.
The pair really should not have been present, but Briana told them to never let
me out of their sight. The siblings, loyal to the core, would not permit me to countermand
my wife.
    “My own
XO, Lieutenant Gikas.” He gestured at the young man standing to his left. “Now
to business. This flat stretch provides easy access both to the park as a whole
and to the portion of Idaho where the raiders are lurking.”
    I
glanced at the large topographical map lying atop the table. “You can get
through in other places, a few of which have roads.”
    “Yes,
but those would result in a longer route to the Yellowstone settlements and are
easier to obstruct or guard.”
    “So, we
put a forward base in this centrally located and harder to defend spot. Lacking
any better options, they will likely decide to come right for us. Makes sense.”
I paused. “We should go ahead and fortify the airstrips your planes have been
using, maybe spread them out more too. The ones in the Black Hills are far
enough out of the way that I’m not worried about them getting attacked.”
    “That’s
being worked on already,” remarked Briggs. “We want the birds close enough to
provide support. Unfortunately, there aren’t that many runways or suitable
stretches of road available.”
    “I’ll
send in more fuel too, by truck. That’ll come through the northern route. I
know you’ve been running short, and the tanks at Ellsworth and around Rapid
City are still full.”
    The
lieutenant made some notes. “How many pilots can you provide?”
    I
thought about that for a few seconds.
    “Ronnie
– that’s our senior helicopter guy – stays at home, along with most of our other
helicopter pilots. We use them to move people and gear between the valleys and
to respond to any threats or emergencies. I also want them to keep practicing
with the Cobras and Pave Hawks. I will bring Xavier though. He’s licensed for
both fixed-wing and choppers. The man can stay with me at the forward base.
I’ll have him bring a helicopter too, regular kind, so you don’t have to worry
about me commandeering one of yours. Actually, he’s gonna be the only pilot.
The others will take over the patrols of Wyoming and surrounding area.”
    “That
would free up all the Yellowstone people,” said Briggs, “but we may need them
at some point.”
    I
shrugged. “Consider them reserves. They can be here in a few hours if need be.”
    “We will
require the attack helicopters too,” commented Gikas.
    “Not
yet,” I said, slowly. “With the prophet keeping his people in the woods, it’s
hard enough to make use of the civilian craft. There’s no reason to let him
know what we have or how many, and if they are necessary, they too can be in
Yellowstone in just a few hours.”
    “Yeah,
Lieutenant, no trying to steal our