Chapter 18

Gary had run, tumbled, and fallen his way down to where he had left his motor bike. He had then made as much speed as possible through the forest on the deer trail. He knew he had limited time. So he made the most of the time he had. If the bastards had satellite coverage as of the time he had attempted to kidnap the Generals daughter, then it wouldn't matter. He was gambling that the resources were being used elsewhere though. He figured he might have as long as 30 minutes to an hour before the satellites could be refocused to this area.

He knew he was leaving a trail, but it couldn't be helped. He would transfer to a different mode of transportation shortly. He would have to abandon his motor bike though. Gary winced as another branch whipped across his face. Damn it, it should have gone better, or he should have been better prepared.

When he got to where the trail split off in three directions, he stopped the bike and hide it in the under brush. Retrieving a backpack that he had placed there earlier, he quickly made his way up the left trail, going back up the mountain. Finally he saw his destination. It was a little wash that ran with water down the middle of it. It was not deep, and would cover any tracks he made. He entered the wash, the water climbed up to mid thigh level on him. He waded upstream until he came to where it came out from the wall of a high cliff.

Removing his backpack, he checked everything inside and assured himself that all within was still sealed in water proof bags. Removing a rope from the bag, he attached one end to his waist and the other end through the carrying straps of the backpack. Taking a deep breath he submerged, and entered the small hole the water was exiting the cliff from. Pulling himself along, he quickly went through the small 3 foot tunnel, and then was able to stand, in water that was only waist deep.

He immediately turned to his right, and felt along a shelf. He found by touch what he was looking for. A flashlight. After turning it on, he immediately felt better. He settled the flashlight back on the shelf and started pulling his bag through the tunnel. Shortly, he had his backpack and he placed his rope back in it, retrieved his flashlight, and started the two mile underground trek that would let him out not 500 yards from his house. If he got away, he would be back, he vowed to himself.

It had been three days since the attempted kidnapping of Jessica and the shooting of Adam. Although he had been shot, Adam was recovering from the wound. Prompt medical attention was the only thing that had saved him. Jessica and Tracy spent as much time visiting and doing what they could to ease his discomfort. In their eyes, he was a hero. He was a hero in General Baron's eyes as well. He personally checked on the boy daily.

None of the satellites had been able to spot anyone close enough to have been involved in the attempted abduction. The trail of the man had been found and followed. They lost it as it entered a stream. Try as they might, the search party lost the trail. They searched up stream, and down. No sign of where he had exited the water could be found.

Security was beefed up again. Guards were doubled at the entry road to the lodge. Guards were placed at the dam. A rotating shift of 10 guards were always awake 24/7 at the lodge from this point.

In China, starvation was killing people at the rate of thousands a day. The most populated country in the world could not feed it's survivors. Russia was also in dire straights. The brief nuclear exchange with China had not only killed and destroyed over a million men from both sides, it had contaminated a prime water source with radiation. People drank the irradiated water and died a horrible death from radiation poisoning.

In Australia, the people were better off. Australia was emerging as the world's greatest naval power. Although a great portion of it's fleets had been destroyed, it had enough ships left that had been protected to begin exploring, salvaging equipment and items from other lands. Australia was experiencing a beneficial side effect from the disaster. A portion of Australia that had been suffering a drought, was no longer suffering. Water was abundant, and they were busy growing crops at a heretofore unheard of rate.

Richard Ellis, commanding the combined troops of general Baron's hastily put together defense force, was finally getting somewhere with the local people of the area they had defended from the French invasion. It had helped that Cheyenne Mountain had come through with some much needed medical attention in the form of a permanent doctor assigned to the area. That and the medical supplies and relief food shipment turned the tide. With the relief shipment, the people of the area were now eating slightly better, and the backlog of medical problems resolved changed the local leaders' minds.

To be sure, they still resented the Federal Governments high handed intrusion, but they had been short of a lot of supplies that the Government came through on after the invasion was over. A large holding area had been set up for the prisoners, and questioning was still going on. It was becoming more and more clear that with the exception of about 100 combat troops, most of the invasion force were conscripted French and foreign nationals. Commander Ellis was at a loss as to what to do with these people. Communications with General Baron still contained no final disposition of the prisoners.