Ranger (The Bugging Out Series Book 5) by Noah Mann

the complex nature of the attempted communication, requiring many moving parts to all work without losing synchronization. In the real world, that was not possible.
    And, when the actions of our own kind were thrown into the mix, simple issues led to fears of manipulation for purposes at odds with our own, and with the government we believed was working to bolster our survival.
    “Do you have any way of knowing that it’s our side you’re talking to?”
    Our side .
    That term used to hold such clarity. Not anymore. Not since the blight, and certainly not since the residents of Bandon were forcibly relocated to Skagway in the government’s, in our government’s, attempt to assist our survival. That endeavor had gone horribly wrong. But, to me, it demonstrated that there were times when the actions of an ally and an adversary were difficult to distinguish.
    I was beginning to wonder if our contact with the outside world should not be viewed with the same level of skepticism.
    “Fletch,” Schiavo began, a calm confidence about her, “the people in the woods, they’re not who I’ve been talking to. I don’t know a lot about this situation, but I know that. Okay? You have to trust me.”
    She was right, even if she was wrong. I did have to trust her. We all did.
    Schiavo quieted and thought for a moment, then did something that I did not see coming. That none of us did, in particular her husband as she leaned in and gave him a very quick, but very deliberate kiss on the cheek. His gaze seized on her, and hers on him, as she eased away. In that moment, where I saw love, pure love, I felt an immense worry rise.
    “I need to get a message out and find out just what the hell is going on,” Schiavo said.
    She left us alone on the porch, Martin and Elaine standing with me. A few yards from us, the captain pushed through the crowd and climbed behind the wheel of a Humvee, speeding away, leaving her sergeant to deal with gathering of the curious and shocked.
    I glanced behind, through the front doorway. Mayor Allen was sitting with Grace, Brandon in her arms and Krista on the floor, sitting at her mother’s feet. I stared at them for a moment, wanting to flush the fear that had risen with Schiavo’s very tender gesture from my thoughts.
    But I couldn’t.
    “Eric...”
    I turned to my wife, who’d looked at me as Angela Schiavo had her husband on many occasions. During good times and bad. But those connections, those moments, I expected of her. She’d never held them back since we’d become one.
    This was the first time I’d seen such a display from the captain while in uniform.
    “What’s wrong?”
    Her question hung there, with Martin wondering what she’d noticed. His own puzzled look mirrored Elaine’s. I could have lied, I knew. Held back what I felt. Maybe share it with Elaine when Martin was not around to hear what I had to share.
    But I didn’t. Because neither of the people in my presence would hold back from me.
    “She’s worried about something,” I said, gesturing with a nod toward the spot on the porch where Schiavo had stood.
    To my surprise, Martin nodded without hesitation.
    “Yes,” he said. “She is.”
    “What?” Elaine asked.
    For what might have been a tense, grim moment, Martin surprised me yet again with a subtle, true smile as he answered us.
    “She’s worried about bringing a baby into all this.”
    ––––––––

Part Two
    Silence

Seventeen
    T he phone in our house rang at eight in the morning. I scrambled to it, thinking how odd it was that we’d willingly brought back a bit of the old world’s technology whose primary function was interrupting what might be happening at any moment.
    “I’ve got it,” I said as Elaine hurried out of the bathroom after her shower, towel pulled quickly around her.
    I slowed a bit and let my gaze linger on her dripping beauty.
    “Yeah, yeah,” she said, scolding me mildly. “Answer it already.”
    She darted into the bedroom and