Eden's Hammer - By Lloyd Tackitt Page 0,8

and finally finish off his obsession. He could return to empire building later, but until he fulfilled his obsession’s demands, he knew he could never be content. Rex pulled out a road map that covered Louisiana and Texas. He had studied Adrian when they were at Fort Hood. Rex had fully intended to kill Adrian back then, but not quickly. He would torture him first, make him suffer as much as humanly possible. He had also considered torturing Adrian by killing his family before he killed Adrian himself. Using what information he could casually gather from listening to Adrian talk, he had learned that he had no parents or siblings and had been raised by an aunt and uncle. Adrian, unaware of the incredible depth of Rex’s fixation, had not guarded his talk. It didn’t take long for Rex to find out about where his aunt and uncle lived.

Rex marked the location on his map. They lived deep in the country north of Waco, on the banks of the Brazos River, so he didn’t have a specific spot to mark, but he did have a general location within fifty miles. Drawing a circle around that area, he called in his best three scouts and sent them on a mission to locate the uncle and report back to him. “Find this man, but do not let him know he’s being looked for. Do not approach him. Just find him and gather whatever information you can. I want to know if he is alive and exactly where he is. I want this information as fast as you can get there and back. Take motorcycles and fuel; ride day and night both ways. Do not attempt to use a radio to report. Do not talk to anyone whatsoever about this mission. This is top secret, and remains top secret after you get back. Do not leave anyone alive that you question. I expect you back in two weeks.” The three men saluted and left the room rapidly. They knew better than to ask questions or to come back without the information.

While waiting for the scouts to return, Rex thought through his overall plan, making changes, determining which men he would take and what equipment they would carry. He’d conceived of an approach that would motivate his men to move forward until it was too late for them to turn back. It also created a situation that would get Adrian back to his home in time for Rex to arrive and take him. Rex dreamed of how he would torture Adrian as he slowly removed his life. Rex had long planned how Adrian would suffer. He’d had a monstrously vicious plan before the grid had even dropped. The plan might still work, but if not, he could modify it to where it would be almost as good.

Smiling, he opened the small duffle bag of equipment he had previously gathered for Adrian and had brought with him back to Baton Rouge. He fondled every piece in the bag. The bag was small and tightly packed; he had kept it even though he hadn’t really thought he would ever get to use it. Now, he knew its usefulness was back.

CHAPTER 3

MARCH 2, NIGHT

ADRIAN AND HIS FIVE FORMER squad mates—John, Bollinger, Isaac, Renny, and Clif—were sitting around an outdoor fire pit, sipping Roman’s homemade whisky. Adrian said, “I don’t know how he ages this so fast and gets such excellent flavor, but this would have been top shelf whisky in any place, and at any time. He did explain it to me once, but it was too technical to follow—sounded like a chemistry lesson.”

Renny said, “You got that right. This stuff is hard to believe.”

Adrian asked John, “So what’s the story? When I left, you and Jennifer had taken over Mad Jack’s place and were running it quite well. When did you move back?”

“We came back shortly after you left. Jennifer said she was needed here to take over the field hospital and run it. I had a choice: come back with her and be happy, or stay there with her and be unhappy, and you know the old saying: ‘When mama’s not happy, no one is.’ To be honest, I wasn’t enjoying being the top dog all that much. Mostly it was just a headache. Here, all I have to do is take care of Jennifer and myself—way better all around.”

“What about the rest of you guys? Ever thought of leaving and trying to get back