Chapter Five
The Rendezvous
September 20, 2043

Brian found a gas station on the outskirts of town and filled his tank and his reserve containers. There was always plenty of gas still in the bottom of the tanks of most gas stations in the big cities. Most people didn’t have a working vehicle so gas was not considered a precious commodity. Most people traveled on horseback or on foot these days. Most people didn’t travel long distances as it was unsafe to travel outside of the colonies.

He decided to ride hard to ensure that he arrived at the rendezvous point in plenty of time. Considering what he saw last night, he wanted to be able to scope out the rendezvous site and make sure that it wasn’t a trap. No one knew he was on this mission except for the council, so he was pretty sure that the Mexican squad wasn’t looking for him, but no sense in taking any chances.

He decided to stop one mile from the rendezvous point and trek in. He could find a good place to watch the location and see who arrived. He walked the mile to the point and took a position within the tree line and waited. He knew he had an hour or so before his contact would arrive. He got out his binoculars and started to watch the horizon. They would likely arrive on horseback and he would see them coming in plenty of time to see if they were setting up to ambush him.

He had been on many missions where he had to sit and wait in his time in the military. He always kept him mind sharp by performing some simple math exercises in his head. He didn’t want to start day dreaming as he needed to be ready for anything. An hour passed and then he saw them in the distance. Three riders coming quickly on horseback. He watched them carefully to see if any of the riders split off and took a flanking position. Nothing, they came right to the rendezvous point and dismounted.

He recognized Robert Anderson as the main rider. He had met Robert in the past on these missions. Robert was also Special Forces and fought in the war. They had not known each other back then, but he had known of Robert. He was one of the military leaders to realize how wrong the war was and join the rebel forces. Brian wished that more military people had been that wise, the war wouldn’t have lasted as long and maybe the country wouldn’t have collapsed. Robert looked a little nervous and impatient. Brian decided it was safe and headed out of the trees.

He waved at Robert as he approached the team. Robert waived back and the team walked toward him. He hadn’t seen the other two men before. One was a young man, in his mid twenties. He had dark hair and angry eyes. The other was older, but looked more relaxed. He trusted Robert, well as much as he trusted anyone these days.

“Hi Robert. How are things?”

“A little scary right now Brian, but I am glad they sent you.”

“So tell me what is this all about.”

“Are you here alone?” chimed in the young rider.

Brian looked at him without responding.

“How do we know we can trust this guy? This could be a trap,” the young man continued as Brian continued to ignore him.

“Shut up Paul,” Robert said.

“Hey, this is important and we need to make sure this information gets back to their council. How do we know this old man can handle the task?”

“Really Paul, shut up before I let this old man kick your ass.” Robert turned to the two men and said, “You guys wait by the horses, I want to talk with him alone for a minute.”

The two turned and walked back to their horses. Brian could hear the older man say, “Don’t you know who that is? That’s Brian Fallon.”

“No shit, really? The guy who killed Malcolm Roberts? Man I thought he would have been dead by now.”

Robert started, “We have a dispatch for your council. There are some rumors going around that the Canadians and the Mexicans have been meeting secretly. As you know, those guys haven’t gotten along since the end of the war when they started fighting over what was left of the United States.”

“What are they talking about?” Brian asked.

“Good question Brian, but it can’t be good for you or us. We are afraid they are going to move inland and try and take over the rest of the land. That means a war that none of the colonies are ready to fight. On top of that, we have heard that the Cubans have been traveling between Florida and Washington DC.”

“Do you have any proof of this?”

“No really just rumors and a lot of peculiar action on the east coast. As you know, we are situated between all three of those countries and if they decide to go at it, we will be caught in the crossfire. Here is all of the intel we have on the situation.”

“Have you reached out to the other colonies?”

“Yeah, but I am not sure all of us together can stop any of those countries if they decide to take our land. We don’t have the man power or the weapons for a war.”

“OK Robert, I will make sure to get this to the council. The last thing we need is to be caught in the middle if they decide to fight it out.”

“Thanks Brian.” Robert began to turn away when Brian reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him.

“By the way, I should tell you that I saw a Mexican assault squad last night in Atlanta. They looked well trained were looking for something or someone. They avoided about 100 scavengers right in the middle of town.”

Robert turned and had a worried look on his face. “Be careful, they may be trying to prevent you from delivering this information.”

“Thanks. I will be careful. If anything comes up, contact me on short wave. I will be using 52 MHz. Be safe my friend”

“You too. Let’s hope the next time we meet it will be in a bar over some beers.”

The two men shook hands and Brian headed back toward the tree line. He would need to be careful with this information. If the Mexicans wanted more land, then it would not be long before they came for his colony. None of this really made a lot of sense to Brian. Mexico and Canada had been content with the land they took after the war. They had left the colonies alone for years. Why would they suddenly care about the left over Americans. He knew something else had to going on. He just wasn’t sure what.

He decided to take another route back to the New Georgia colony. It would take him longer to get back, but if the Mexicans were looking to prevent him from completing his mission, he knew they would assume he would take the shortest route home. Best to avoid trouble now as he had a feeling there was plenty of trouble to come.