Turns out we were scheduled to leave the next morning. Kemi, Marcus, and I had a quick discussion amongst ourselves over who to pull into this with us. We agreed that the smartest thing to do was invite rather than order them to participate. We each discussed the individuals we’d invite, agreeing on a list of names. Then we went our separate ways to talk to the soldiers.

None of the people I asked turned me down. Stone was more than happy to join me and thrilled to hear I had been promoted though, like me, he was a bit surprised. Johnson was game and the other veterans of Charlottesville all agreed to come. It was going to be like a big reunion.

Kemi and Marcus had similar luck with their recruits. I think everyone saw a trip to Colorado as a break from the routine we’d been trapped in of late.

After making the preparations and pouring over the maps of the area we were given, it appeared that our stray group of Changed were located in a small valley, near a little town named Bluff Springs, population 2893. To our knowledge, no incursions had occurred in the valley, though it was possible that one happened prior to the acceptance and dangers of such events. If this was the case, an entire group might have been Changed with no real knowledge of the dangers the angels posed.

It seemed odd that they’d been missed for so long. Still, even the Seers did not fully understand how or why their powers worked, so it was entirely possible that this was a more normal occurrence than we thought and there were myriad pockets like this one hidden out there.

That was not a comforting thought at all.

Everything we had on Bluff Springs told us that basically, it was a tiny one-horse town. This was not going to be much of a holiday I was afraid. There were three churches, one bar, two factories, and the main street that contained all of the seven main businesses in town. Yeah, this was going to be a thrill a minute. At least it would not be too difficult to scout the place out.

August, Rebecca, and Jessica were the Seers assigned to this mission. I got to catch up with Rebecca for a few minutes before we had to get down to business and get started. We caught a couple of helicopters out to an airbase and from there got a flight on a cargo plane to a base near Denver. Stone and the men looked pretty bored and kept themselves entertained. The Seers looked uncomfortable in the tiny seats and bouncy plane. I had to admit that I was not too thrilled either. I’d only flown a few times and frankly, I did not like it. I wasn’t afraid or anything, but I hated the loss of control I felt.

At the base in Denver, we were provided several hummers to use on the mission.

Looking at our choice of vehicles, I asked August, “Isn’t this kind of conspicuous? A whole lot of hummers driving down the middle of tiny town America? Won’t that attract a lot of attention?”

August looked at the line of vehicles, eyes narrowed, as though really looking at them for the first time. “Well, uh, I hadn’t thought it would really matter really. I mean, we are trying to convince them to join up with the military. What difference would it make for them to see us in these?” he indicated the hummers.

“Well,” I said, “Maybe they might consider it a bit, oh, I don’t know, threatening? You know, in a world of terrorists and military action this seems over the top and more, well, fearful than anything else.”

August was quiet, thoughtful for a few moments. “Yes,” he said, clearing his throat, “You may have a point here.”

I shook my head, “You know, August, sometimes you amaze me.”

“Oh, how is that?” he asked.

I smirked at him as I said, “With your technique, sometimes I’m amazed that you managed to convince any of us to join.”

He glanced skyward while shaking his head. “You can’t expect me to think of every detail Peri.”

Punching his arm, I said, “Yeah, maybe, but I’d think the ‘making an impression’ detail would be pretty high up on your list. It is what you guys do, right?”

Letting out a deep breath, he said, “Well, we’ve not had to deal with a situation quite like this one. And it’s what the higher-ups want us to do: full military pomp and circumstance.”

“You think shock and awe is the way to go on this?”

He shrugged. “You have your orders, I have mine.”

“Well, all right, I guess we roll out and show them that we are here to look out for mom and apple pie and all that shit.”

“I’m sure they’ll appreciate the sentiment.” He stared for a few more minutes at the vehicles then down at some paperwork he was holding. “Damn, you’re right. This doesn’t make any sense. We don’t want to attract undue attention. Why in the world did they give us a bunch of vehicles that will basically point neon signs in our direction?”

“Well, that’s military intelligence for you,” I said with a shrug. “So what do we do about it?” I asked.

He looked thoughtful for a moment then said, “Give me a minute.” Turning a bit, he fixed on Jessica. She was standing there, stunning as always, wearing a dark governmental suit that somehow made her look even more feminine. She turned towards him, her flaxen hair floated gracefully around her and her large eyes and delicate lips beamed as he approached her. They had a brief discussion, with lots of pointing at the paperwork in his hand. When they finished, she was frowning. I smirked but wiped it away when August returned.

Coming back, he said, “Ok, new plan. We are going to ignore the orders. We are renting some cars and vans from the local airport. These can stay on base. Better to not attract attention if we can avoid it.”

“Now that’s good thinking,” I said, relieved. “How are we… how are you paying for it?”

Shrugging, August said, “Operational expenses. Tell the crew to take any of the gear out of the hummers they think we’ll need and be ready. I’ll need about four drivers to come with me to get the vehicles.”

The rest of us waited in the base while August and his group left for the airport. We got lots of curious looks from the other soldiers, but mostly we were left alone to wait in the canteen. Hurry up and wait, the story of our lives.

When the guys returned, they were driving a mix of vans and SUVs. We divided up the equipment into them and then set off on the road, only two hours late.

Soon we’d be in Bluff Springs hunting strange Changed. I hoped that this went as smoothly as they thought it would.

Why did I know it wouldn’t?