Read Online Children Of Fiends by C. Chase Harwood - Free Book Online

that he had experienced so much with over the years. He looked at the pucks who still stood guard around Eliza, and felt their consciousness at the edge of his own. He made eye contact and mentally invited them in. Instant disorientation caused him to sit as they shared a mental conference call, and he waved away Sanders concerned hand. Eliza was there, had been there, reassuring them with a sort of motherly love even as they stood to protect her. A rush of emotional pain caused his throat to swell as he tasted the loss of the lust/love driven cocktail they had been taking. Then she was gone and she looked away as though suddenly ill. He took a moment to clear his head, swallow the bitter discomfort and crush, until he could focus. He swallowed again and asked the children, What sense do you have of the crew? Are they for this? Nearly as one they replied, They are as unsure as yourself, Stewart Dean. They trust you, even the soldiers. He nodded and said, Thank you. Now get out of my head. They instantly obeyed. He stood and called out to the drone. “We will take your offer. Any attempt to board this ship, however, will be met with grave consequences. Zero tolerance. We will work out the details of the eventual transfer after we are underway and clear of the harbor. At that point and at that point only, you may send one representative to have that discussion.”
    There was a long pause and Thompson’s voice came out of the drone. “We will raft up to your bow and tie off up close.”
    Dean looked at Sanders and Palmer who both gave him a yeah right skeptical look. He smiled at them and called out. “That won’t work in any kind of sea. We will maintain a proper no man’s land between the two boats of roughly fifty yards to avoid any collision. Put your stern to our bow and we will toss out two towlines.”
    In the control room of the Lyndon Johnson, Thompson and his drone operators looked at a zoomed in view of Dean. They had considered just shooting him. They all felt that they had the shot, but then there would be the trust issue with the rest of the Northerners. Beckman said, “We have this destroyer. Bring it home and we are all heroes anyway. Fire a round into their waterline we should. Sink the bastards and be done with it.”
    Plimpton said, “It’s the wind turbines I want. The turbines make our mission perfect. There will be other opportunities to deal with them.”
    On the Delfshaven, Dean continued to wait for an answer while keeping enough of his people close to the turbines. Thompson spoke through the drone. “Very well. When the lines are secure we will move out.”
    Dean chuckled. “I’m afraid it will be a lot more complicated than that. We have no power with which to steer this ship. Without the ability to steer, we will sideslip and crash into any assortment of obstacles out there. We need to rig a manual tiller. For that, we will need a welding rig and access to some boxed steel among other things. The steel I have seen in a warehouse on the dock. The welding rig should be somewhere on your boat.”
    It was Timbs whom the Shoremen chose to send to deliver the welding kit. He launched from a small tender that came from the stern of the Lyndon Johnson and was met on the dock by a very well armed Ensign Palmer and Mr. Kile. The Northerners helped lift the heavy gear off the boat, and after an uncomfortable pause without communication from either party, Timbs moved to head back to the destroyer.
    Palmer said, “Hold up just a moment, friend.”
    Timbs paused and smiled. “Yes?”
    “Mind tellin’ us who you folks are? You’ve been following us from Texas at least? Do you know that the country has survived? That the U.S. still exists in what is still New England? Eastern Canada still exists. Lot of Northern Africa. Even Northern Australia? Who knows how many Pacific Islands.”
    Timbs nodded. “Didn’t know about Australia and the islands.”
    “So where are you from?” asked Mr. Kile. “Why