Without Law 18 by Eric Vall (most difficult books to read .txt) 📗

time on the ship,” I told Hammer. “I don’t want a repeat of this incident. I know you have some experienced sailors, they should teach everyone at least the basics of how to navigate the ship, that way if something like that ever happens again whoever’s on board will be able to get the ship to safety. We’ll have Minji work with some of the ensigns to quickly re-label everything important in English.”

“It’s always good for everyone to know how to do things,” Bailey said, and I saw her smile in my rearview mirror. “Like we have everyone try all the chores at least once back home.”

“I’ll get my guys on it first thing in the morning,” Hammer assured me. “Everyone will get a chance to work the controls some.”

“Thanks,” I told him, and I rolled the window down slightly and breathed in the fresh air.

My heart rate was finally dropping after the exhilaration of the fight we’d just been in. Not only was it intense, but it was unexpected as hell. We’d just defeated hundreds of NK soldiers, and here were less than ten trying to get revenge for all their buddies.

I shook my head as I thought about what must have been going through their minds. They had to have known they weren’t going to get the jump on us, but then again, Anna had to be right. Those assholes had nothing to lose. Even if they managed to escape our view for a while, after we took back America, they were bound to be found and killed, if not before.

They might have assumed the opposite, though, and figured the other NK troops were going to finish what they started. They underestimated us, and they’d paid for it. We weren’t about to let anybody steal our country right out from under us.

It didn’t take long for us to get back to camp, and once we arrived, Hammer gathered a couple of experienced sailors and one of the rafts, then they all headed back to the ship to bring it back around to the area closer to our base camp.

“Well, that was exciting,” Anna laughed as we made our way back over to the fire.

“Right,” Tara chuckled.

“Oh, good, you’re back,” Minji said as we approached. “Is everything okay? I’m assuming you all got it taken care of?”

“We did.” I nodded, but then a whiff off something delicious hit my nostrils, and I breathed in deep. “It smells like you took care of dinner?”

“I hope you don’t mind,” Minji said to Tara. “You all left in such a rush, and I didn’t want it to get ruined by just letting it sit there.”

“Normally, I’d be mad,” Tara said with a playful smile. “But it really does smell delicious. And I’m starving. So, I guess I’ll forgive you.”

“I’ll take it,” Minji laughed. “It’s ready if you want to eat?”

“Yeeeeessss,” Tara groaned, and she walked over to the fire and sat down on the bench so she could dish up a bowl.

The other girls followed suit, and I sat down next to them, but my eyes were on Tara the whole time. The platinum-blonde was holding everything together well, but I knew the pregnancy was making her tired, and I just hoped she wouldn’t push herself too hard. I’d step in before I let anything like that happen.

I took the bowl of stew that was passed to me and delighted in the aroma that wafted up to my nose. I could smell the cabbage and venison, and some spices, though I wasn’t sure what they were. The stew smelled like Tara or Betty had cooked it, and that was a good sign to me.

I took a large spoonful, making sure to get a little of everything, and put it in my mouth. My eyes closed as the flavor hit my taste buds, and I felt my stomach rumble in response. I was hungrier than I’d realized, and the stew hit just the spot. The dish was warm in both flavors and temperature, and as I ate, I grew more and more content with where I was right at that moment.

We’d just had to deal with a random NK attack, but it didn’t matter right then. Not only had we eliminated the threat, but I had a stomach full of delicious stew, beautiful women around me, and a brigade of trained men and women who answered to me. Though the United States was still at war, life was good at that moment.

I had planned to go over the areas we’d seen earlier with Hammer after we’d returned, but with everything that had happened, I figured I would wait until morning. It was dark out, and I figured everyone could use a little bit of rest.

The shifts were all assigned, and I knew we had men posted in various places, and with the addition of the walkie talkies Kimmy had fixed for us, we’d know almost immediately if something else went wrong.

After dinner was over, the girls sat and chatted about things before the EMP hit, but the warm food in my stomach, and the heat from the fire had made me sleepy, so I decided to excuse myself and head back to our tent.

Once I got inside, I took off my weapons and set them near where my head went, then I stripped down to only my boxers and laid on top of the blankets. It was slightly chilly outside, but it was decently warm in the tent, and my body was still hot from sitting by the fire, so the cool air felt good on my skin.

I had just closed my eyes when I heard the tent door unzip, so I peeked one eye open and saw that it was Bailey.

“Hey.” I smiled. “Did you decide to come to bed, too?”

“Kind of,” the blonde hippie said,