Cellular phone service was available in the three adjoining towns, which were now designated as stage one of the rebuilding project.

The local hospital was still in need of further repairs, but it was open and operational. Advanced medical care was now available to people, many of whom had never seen a physician before.

The raiders were no longer a threat in the Tri-town area. Shortly after that first encounter with the raiders, armed helicopters and ground troops swarmed in on the raider's camp while they slept. Without a single shot being fired, every raider was rounded up and their weapons and equipment confiscated. They were given two options. Behave and join in the rebuilding efforts or leave the area. Most chose to leave, but some joined the growing community.

Within a month of the initial awakening, the local airport had reopened, and many of the sleepers' aircraft were moved there permanently. The rest would be moved once more hanger space was available. Soon reconnaissance flights began, using F-32 fighter jets. Instead of missiles, these aircraft carried sophisticated cameras which were used to look for evidence of other groups who were rebuilding.

Night flights were equipped with thermal imaging cameras, and groups of survivors were located by heat signatures given off by equipment and cooking fires.

Before long several dozen groups had been located. The decision was made to focus first on a collection of groups in the New England area. As soon as they'd been located and charted, the F-32s took off again. This time they 'bombed' the sites. Several thousand printed leaflets were dropped over each location describing what the sleeper mission had been, rebuilding efforts, and giving the radio frequency which could be used to establish contact.

For those who didn't wish to relocate to the tri-town area, efforts would be made to maintain regular communication for the purposes of information exchange. Experts on farming, engineering and medicine would make regular visits to any friendly settlements wanting to participate.

The Humvee entered the airport boundaries, and Brad saw two old school buses pull in behind him. The buses had been stored inside a garage which had mostly survived the last forty-two years, and it had only taken a couple of weeks to get them back on the road. Now, Brad hoped they wouldn't be leaving the airport empty.

David and Brad exited the Humvee and hurried into the terminal, where a temporary control center had been set up while the control tower was rebuilt.

“Do you have an ETA on them?” David asked.

“About ten minutes, sir. We had them on the radar a while ago, and then the radar went down again. It's been quite unreliable. I have someone looking into it now.”

David inclined his head in acknowledgment. “Okay, thanks.”

The two men walked out towards the old observation area. There was construction going on all around them, but they didn't seem to notice.