Jericho, 48 hours after the war with New Bern
Despite Rob's assurances that she shut his computer down before they were able to exactly pinpoint their location, Darcy was still worried that Rob wasn't home yet. Before he had left for the Richmond farm they had set up a rendezvous point in the outskirts of town just in case something went wrong. He had told her that if he didn't return with the others she should find Jake Green and bring him with her to the rendezvous point. Rob had said that Jake knew about the bomb and how it got to be buried beneath the woodshed and that he also knew that he had tracked New Bern's movements using his computer's link to the satellite. Jake Green was a friend and could be trusted he had assured her. Just as she was opening the door to go find Jake she saw him walking up the path to the house.
"Hello, Mrs. Hawkins, I don't believe we've met. I'm Jake Green."
"I'm glad to meet you, Jake, call me Darcy. Please, we need to go get my husband," Darcy said quite urgently.
"He isn't back yet?
Darcy shook her head no. "He told me if he didn't get home within twenty four hours after everyone else returned then it meant he couldn't. He wanted me to find you and take you to him. We agreed on a meeting place before he left for the Richmond farm."
"Okay, Jake replied, "let's get going."
A half hour later Jake and Darcy reached the designated meeting point and Hawkins stepped out from the bushes.
"Dee." Robert was relieved to see that she was safe and able to make her way to him.
Darcy turned at the sound of his voice and ran to him and he took her in his arms. After a few minutes, Darcy lifted her head off of his shoulder and took a small step back, with tears in her eyes she said "I'm so glad you're safe."
"Dee, the kids, are they okay?"
"They're fine. Alison came home from the Town Hall about four hours ago and she's watching Sammy now. Rob, they're worried about you."
"Dee, everything will be alright," Rob replied before he brought her in for another hug.
Jake, who was beginning to get embarrassed, cleared his throat to remind them that he was there. Darcy and Hawkins ended their hug but kept their arms around each other. Darcy was the first to speak.
"I'm sorry. You just can't imagine how happy I am to see him right now."
"No problem, I understand," Jake replied.
"Jake, how's your father?" Hawkins asked.
Jake could barely answer the question. "He didn't make it."
"I'm sorry to hear that, he was a good man." Hawkins said. "I know it's hard, but try to stay strong. The people of Jericho will be expecting you to step into your father's shoes and will be depending on you to lead them. They're going to need you now more than ever."
"I know," Jake replied solemnly.
"Jake, I'm so sorry. If I had known I wouldn't have asked you to come with me." Darcy said apologetically.
Jake nodded then turned to Hawkins and said, "We need to talk." He looked at Darcy and then back at Hawkins. Not sure of how much he should say in front of her, he added, "Maybe later?"
Hawkins, understanding the hidden question, replied, "No, we can talk now. There are no more secrets between Darcy and me, not anymore. She's aware that you know about Project Red Bell and the package."
Hawkins saw the look of surprise in Jake's face, "I know you're wondering how I could've told her...all these years I thought I could protect my family by not telling them what my job entailed, but things have happened since we got here that made me realize I can't protect them all of the time. It's better they know what's going on for the times I can't be there for them."
Jake nodded his head, acknowledging the truth of Hawkins statement.
"Jake, there's something you should know," Hawkins said.
"Go on," Jake replied.
"While I was tracking New Bern's movements, someone was tracking me through my computer's satellite connection. The connection was broken just before the tracking was complete. At best, they know my location within 200 miles. Although I'm not ready to go into detail with you, I suspect there's a connection between this and the army coming to stop the war with New Bern.
"That would explain it. We would've been fighting a losing battle if they hadn't come." This realization was difficult for Jake to swallow.
Jake continued, "I was just appointed town liaison to the Army, I met with them for the first time today. They said that they'll be a presence in Jericho until the peace negotiations are finished and they complete an inventory of supplies that both Jericho and New Bern need. They figure it will take about about eight weeks. After hearing what you just told me it's not safe for you to return to town right now."
"I agree, I can't go back to Jericho. I'm going to need your help finding a hideout. I don't want Darcy to know where I am in case she gets questioned."
"I know of a place, it hasn't been used in years. It's deep in the woods, no one will find you there." Jake was startled by a sudden realization. "Wait a minute, what about the package?"
"Don't worry about that. I was in the tool shed the day after you left and found a bag of cement. I used it to put down a new floor. No one will ever suspect there's something buried under it." Hawkins explained before asking, "How about if you meet me here at 10:00 tomorrow morning? Darcy will pack up my computer and a few other things I'll need. You can pick it up on your way out of town to meet me."
"But you can't use your computer, they'll only track you again!" Darcy interrupted the concern evident in her voice.
Hawkins turned to his wife to reassure her. "Don't worry it will be okay, I won't log in so the connection to the satellite won't open. I just need it review some research that's stored on the hard drive."
"It's getting late we better get going." Jake said to Darcy before turning and walking a few feet away to give the couple some privacy. Hawkins turned to Darcy and took her hands in his.
"Dee, I'm going to miss you. Remember, I love you and nothing is more important to me then you and the kids."
"Oh Rob, I love you too. Stay safe and come back to us."
Hawkins then pulled Darcy into his arms and kissed her passionately. When the kiss ended Darcy walked over to Jake then turned to look at her husband. "Goodbye Rob."
"Bye Dee, tell the kids I love them."
"I will."
Jake and Darcy walked back to Jericho saying little to each other. Both had many things weighing on their minds. When they stopped at Hawkins' house, Darcy turned to Jake, "Again, I'm so sorry about your father. Do you think your Mom would mind if I stop by tomorrow?"
"Not at all," Jake replied, "I'm sure she would appreciate it and I would be grateful knowing that she won't be alone all day."
"Good, I'll stop by sometime in the afternoon. Jake, thanks for everything you're doing for my family. I really do appreciate it."
"No thanks are necessary, after all the things your husband has done for Jericho the past few days it's the least I can do. I'll talk to you soon. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Darcy replied.
Jericho, 3 weeks after the war with New Bern
Jake was angry and was on his way to take it out on the person who deserved it the most. He walked into Jericho Town Hall, went directly to Gray's office and entered without knocking. "What exactly are you trying to do?" he said angrily.
"I don't know what you're talking about," replied Gray, puzzled by Jake's outburst.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about! I was appointed by you to be the liaison with the Army. When it comes to dealing with them, I should be making the decisions, not you! How could you go over my head and tell them they had the town's cooperation for the house to house searches they plan to conduct?"
"Listen, I'm the Mayor here; I had every right to promise them our cooperation." Gray replied.
"Well you've made a mistake. You had no right to say it...we just went to war with our neighbors and now you want to let total strangers into our bedrooms! In case you haven't figured it out, your choices lately are undermining the trust the people of Jericho have in you. I'll do what I can to assure them that you only had the town's best interest in mind but I can't promise you won't end up with a problem on your hands." He then turned around and stormed out of the mayor's office.
Gray sat back down at his desk frustrated that yet again a Green had the upper hand. He resented the fact that Johnston, and now Jake, always second guessed his motives. He knew that the town, despite electing him mayor, had continued to look toward Johnston to lead them. He had thought that things would be different now that Johnston was dead. Instead, Jake now had the respect that was once his father's and Gray felt helpless to do anything about it. If Jake turned against him then the town would too.
After leaving the town hall, Jake went to Bailey's for a much needed drink. He sat at the bar and asked Mary for her latest brew. Eric had just walked in and had joined Jake at the bar.
"What's up, Jake?" Eric could tell by the look on Jake's face that something had him all stirred up.
"Gray Anderson!" Jake replied. "He told the Army that it was okay to conduct house to house searches of Jericho! I'm sick and tired of him acting without thinking and making decisions without considering anyone else's viewpoint."
"You know, Jake, Gray's heart is in the right place. He really wants to do what's right for the town but he's acts impulsively, sometimes too impulsively. He did everything he could to undermine Dad's authority to become mayor but he can't lead. If he had been elected before the bombs the transition would have been easier but Gray is way out of his league now. I think he understands on some level that he needs people around him who really understand what war is about. That's why he asked Dad for his help in dealing with New Bern and that's why he appointed you to be the army liaison."
Jake was surprised by Eric's insight. "Yeah, you could be right but understanding the way Gray ticks doesn't make him any easier to deal with him."
"I know what you mean. I have to go help Mary with the bar now. I'll talk to you later."
"I have to go too. I have something to do before I pick up Mom at the Med Center and we can't be late, Emily is expecting us home for dinner tonight. Oh, before I forget, Mom wanted me to find out if you and Mary would like to come over for Sunday dinner?"
"Sure, tell her we'll be there." Eric said as he was walking behind the bar.
After leaving Bailey's, Jake made sure he wasn't being followed and headed into the woods to the old hunting cabin where he brought Hawkins three weeks earlier. He needed to tell him about the house to house searches and that his family may be in danger.
Arriving at the cabin Jake didn't waste any time making his point. "Hawkins, we have a problem."
"What is it Jake?" Hawkins asked calmly.
"The Army is planning to search every house in Jericho. They'll start tomorrow and will work their way out from the homes closer to the center of town. They will be scheduling five to six house searches a day. It'll probably be about six to seven weeks before they get to your home."
"It's okay, Jake. Darcy knows how to handle this. We discussed various scenarios of what could happen while they were tracking my location that day. This was one of them. We have a cover story all set."
"Are you sure? Do you want me to find an excuse to go over there during the search?"
"No. It won't be the first time Darcy has covered for me. It would only look suspicious if you showed up for no reason. I need to tell you about a few things . . . things I left out when I told you about the package."
"Go on," Jake replied, all his attention now focused on what Hawkins was about to tell him.
"One of the refugees, Sarah Mason, was my handler in Red Bell. She came here to find the package. As it turns out, she was working independently. She was offered a great deal of money if she killed me and retrieved the package."
Hawkins, wanting to keep the story short and protect his daughter decided to lie about the next part. "I killed her. She threatened my family, I had no choice. I pretended that I was her and used her PDA to make contact with the person who hired her. I told them that I was dead and that ‘Sarah' was ready to hand over the package. We agreed to a meeting in two days time. I was counting on the charade to give me a clue as to who was behind the bombs."
"I went to the abandoned factory where we agreed to meet. I managed to get a couple of pictures of the men who arrived at the rendezvous point. When I got home and analyzed the pictures I recognized one of them as Valente, the Director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office in the Department of Homeland Security. I suspect that Sarah was working for him and that he was the one who wanted the bomb."
"I don't know if you're aware of this Jake, but the uranium found in bombs have a specific signature that places the origin of the device. I suspect that Valente wanted the bomb because somehow the signature in the uranium can be traced back to something he was involved in. I've been asking myself why the Army would make such an effort to squash a skirmish between two small Kansas towns. With the house to house searches its beginning to fall into place. I suspect that Valente has some sort of influence in the new government and it was him who sent the Army, not to end the skirmish, but to find the package."
"My God." Jake shook his head in disbelief. "This would mean the attack was planned by someone here, in the U.S."
Hawkins closed his eyes and nodded, he himself had a hard time believing that he was holding the smoking gun. "The scenario makes sense, you have to agree with me on that."
"I just don't know if I can believe that someone working for the government may have been behind the attacks. What reason would they have?"
"We figure that out and we'll have the motive behind the biggest crime in the history of the world."
Hawkins was glad that he had trusted Jake with this last piece of information. He knew that he would need his help from time to time and it no longer served him to keep Jake in the dark. What if something happened to him? The package would need a new protector.
With daylight slowly fading, Jake's thoughts turned to home and his promise to Emily that he'd be home for dinner. "I need to get going. Take care of yourself. I'll be in touch soon."
"Sure thing, Jake. See you soon."
Meanwhile at the Green home Emily was just starting dinner when there was a knock on the door. She was surprised to see one of the soldiers from Camp Liberty.
"Good Evening Ma'am, Colonel Hoffman ordered that I deliver this dispatch to Jake Green."
"Jake isn't here right now, I'll take it and make sure that he gets it." Emily replied, holding out her hand.
"Sorry, Ma'am. My orders are to give it directly to Mr.Green."
"Well, Jake won't be home until later, you're welcome to wait, but it's really not necessary. I'll be sure to give him the dispatch. Colonel Hoffman will never know you left it with me."
"Thanks, Ma'am. I appreciate it. You have a nice evening."
"You too. Goodbye."
As Emily turned and walked back into the kitchen, she couldn't help but wonder what was in the envelope. She held it up to the light but all she could make out was what appeared to be a letter written on official U.S. Army letterhead. She could only guess that they were requesting Jake to perform yet another service on their behalf.
She took another look at the envelope and her mind wandered to what Jake had told her that morning. He had promised her that he would take a break and spend the next couple of days relaxing with her. She didn't want anything interfering with their time together and decided that whatever was contained in the letter could wait a couple of days. She went upstairs to their bedroom and slipped the envelope into one of her dresser drawers.