by Lopez, Rob
“You know,” he said, “I don’t like you running these risks.”
Dee, who was about to set off up the trail, turned around. “What do you mean?”
“All this running around in the night, doing spy stuff.”
“I thought you didn’t mind me being with you.”
“I don’t. What I can’t stand is you going on alone while I wait.”
Dee paused. “What I do isn’t dangerous. Not compared to what I’ve done before.”
“It’s dangerous enough for me. I mean, if anything happens to you, I don’t know what I’d do.”
“I’m not your woman, Packy. Everything we do is just temporary. I don’t want to invest too much in a relationship anymore. Just leave it how it is.”
“When are you going to see that it’s more than just that now?”
“It isn’t.”
“It is for me.”
“For you.”
“Yeah, for me. And you too. Do you seriously think you’ll feel fine if something happened to me? Something bad?”
Dee hesitated. “I’ll manage.”
“Oh sure. I can die and you won’t even shed a tear.”
“I won’t be tested, Packy,” said Dee defiantly.
“You gotta feel something, right?”
“We need to go.”
“You want me to beg, don’t you?”
“I don’t want you to beg.”
Packy dropped to his knees. “Dee, please don’t take any more risks without me. I love you too much.”
Dee began walking.
“Marry me,” said Packy.
Dee stopped.
“Be my wife. Let me take care of you. Until death do us part.”
Dee’s voice was an anguished whisper in the dark. “Please don’t say that.”
“I mean it. You’ve got feelings, and you know it. Why not just say it?”
“I’m not going through that again.”
It was Packy’s turn to pause. “Ever?” he said.
Jacob began to stir, usually a sign that he was picking up on his mother’s distress.
“Packy, please, stop bringing this up.”
Packy sighed heavily. “I just want to hear you say it.”
Jacob wailed, and Dee hushed him with a breast. The sound of Jacob’s frantic sucking receded, and Packy realized she was walking away. He dropped down to his haunches and gnawed his thumbnail. It took a while for his brooding tension to subside, and when he stood up, he still wanted to scream. Frustrated, he kicked the fender of the Road Runner.
It was solid enough to hurt, and he had to limp after Dee, cursing quietly to himself.
*
“So, the good sheriff is in cahoots with Moresby and Parson,” said Connors, pondering the news.
“I figured he would be,” said Leon.
Connors shook his head. “He doesn’t strike me as the plotting type. Too stupid.”
“They’re all stupid,” said Fick, “if they think they can do this right under our noses and get away with it.”
They stood on the balcony of the observatory, on the fourth floor of the tower at Biltmore House, with a rare glass of bourbon each. Outside, a half-moon was rising, showing the perpendicular lines of the lavish gardens. Atop a grassy slope stood the statue of the goddess Diana, now peppered with bullet holes from target practice.
Inside, past the French doors, leather couches shone in the candlelit interior, where Taft wooed two prostitutes whom Connors had invited up for his own pleasure.
“Where did Eagleburger go after leaving the house?” said Connors, keeping his voice low.
“Followed him straight back to the courthouse,” said Leon.
“And Parson?”
“I lost him in Black Mountain,” said Fick. “Didn’t return to Old Fort until much later. My guess is that he paid a visit to a contact there.”
“So he knows he’s being followed?”
“I think so.”
Connors swirled the bourbon in his glass. “It’s interesting that they should want to involve the sheriff. What exactly can he bring to the table?”
“Why don’t we bring him in and find out?”
“And scare the others off? No. I’m intrigued.”
“You think Parson’s in touch with Nolan?”
“I don’t know, but there’s definitely some ally of his in Black Mountain. When Nolan blew the dam, he left the pipes to Black Mountain intact. Makes sense if they’ve been feeding him intel. He’s too sentimental for his own good sometimes.”
“If Nolan’s involved, then the only reason they want Eagleburger is his access to Nolan’s wife.”
“So let’s move her,” said Leon.
“Let’s not,” said Connors. “I want to see what they’ve got in mind. Maintain surveillance. Let’s give them enough rope.”
21
Rick’s band arrived back at Camp Alpha, wearily pushing their bikes through the picket line. Word spread rapidly through the camp, and loved ones rushed to the perimeter to greet the fighters. Lizzy weaved between the people in the trenches to get there first, throwing herself into her father’s arms. Hugging him tight, she looked behind him.
“Where’s Mom?” she said.
“We didn’t get Mom. The time’s not right for that.”
“But Josh said you were going to get her back.”
“Not yet, kid. We’ve got to wait a little longer for that.”
“How long?”
“Don’t know. I’m working on it.”
Lizzy looked at Josh’s face and saw glum disappointment. She clung to her father’s neck as he carried her to Scott’s dwelling.
Scott sat on the end of his bed, fully dressed. Rick lowered Lizzy to the ground.
“How are you doing?” he said.
“Apparently, I’m doing great,” said Scott, massaging his stomach. “Stitches are holding and I’ve been walking a little.”
“How long before you can get about?”
“Not long enough for what you’re planning,” came April’s voice behind him. She was holding a plate of flatbread spread with honey.
Rick glanced back at her. “Didn’t say I was planning anything yet.”
April squeezed by and handed the plate to Scott. “You’re always planning something,” she said.
Josh stared hungrily at the food.
“Get yourself over to the cookhouse,” she told him. “Grab what you can, sugar.”
“I’ll have what he’s having,” motioned Rick to Josh.
Josh needed no further prompting and shot off, with Lizzy close behind him.
“Ain’t a lot of choice on what you can have,” said April with a sigh.
“How’s supplies holding up?”
“Not good,” said Scott. “Too many people in the camp, and there hasn’t been much time to plant anything yet. Foragers are having to go out farther, and patrols are making it difficult for Lou to keep us supplied. Asheville is taking most of their surplus anyway.”
Rick stowed his rifle, removed his heavy armored vest and sank down onto the end of April’s bunk, rubbing his tired eyes.
“Time’s not on our side,” said Scott.
“I know,” said Rick. “I’m trying to move things as fast as I can, but I need Connors to take the bait.”
“Trying to draw him into the mountains?”
“Yeah, that’s where we’re strongest. I can start wearing him down, then.”
“That’s going to take too long.”
“He’s holding his best troops back. Until we can thin them out, he holds all the cards. Is Dee back yet?”
“Yeah, she’s in the camp.”
Josh appeared in the doorway with Rick’s plate, his mouth smeared in honey.
“Go find Dee,” Rick told him.
Josh rolled his eyes. He’d been hoping to rest. He took off again, Lizzy following and Daniel, who’d just appeared, trailing behind.
Harvey and Sally turned up, squeezing into the cramped s
pace.
“Any news?” asked Harvey.
Rick shook his head. “Not the kind I’d like to hear. How’s morale in the camp?”
Sally pulled a face. “Okay, I guess, but people are wondering how long they’re going to be living like this.”
“What are they saying?”
“Not sure you want to hear it.”
“Just tell me.”
Sally pursed her lips. “There’s talk about moving to another town. One farther away.”
“They know that Connors will chase them there, don’t they?”
“Not exactly,” said Sally hesitantly. “They think this is a beef between you and him, and some are wondering why they have to be involved.”
Rick nodded thoughtfully. “I guess it was going to come to that sooner or later.”
“Might be good to explain things to them. Show them the bigger picture.”
“Anybody left yet?”
“Not that I know of. But I don’t see why we should leave it to chance.”
“There’s nothing I can tell them. Nothing that isn’t already obvious, anyway.”
“I don’t know. Give them a speech about freedom or something.”
“I’m no good at that. Once they get hungry, they won’t buy that anyway.”
“You have to give them something to believe in, Rick.”
Scott cleared his plate and licked his lips. “Tell them that Connors is the kind of problem that’s not going to go away,” he said. “Tell them that the longer we leave him, the stronger he gets. Let them know what kind of man we’re dealing with. They already know what conditions are like for those folks living around Marion. Today, Connors has Lauren. Tomorrow, it could be their loved ones if they so much as lift a finger to complain. If that ain’t enough to make them fight, they’re a lost cause. They’re facing the kind of slavery that will make their current bitching look like paradise.”
Sally frowned. “That’s great. Now if you can synthesize that into something that sounds halfway palatable, we might get somewhere.”
“Meh,” said Scott. “I’ll let you do that. All I want from you is the green light for when I can get out and fight again. I want to finish this.”
Before he could receive a scolding from both Sally and April, Dee arrived, handing a couple of sheets of paper to Rick.
Rick read through the scrawled intel. He looked disappointed. “So there’s no official reaction then?” he said.
“Sonita says they’ve strengthened the garrison at Black Mountain,” said Dee, “and they’re maintaining strong security around Asheville.”
Rick carried on reading. “Seems like we’ve got good contacts in the city itself. So why no news about Lauren?”
“I don’t know.”
“When you see Sonita again, tell her I need any and all information about her. Is she still being held in the same place?”
Dee shrugged.
“Ask,” said Rick. He read on, turning the sheets over and deciphering the barely legible script. “Interesting,” he said absently. He looked up. “Thank you, Dee. This is a great help.”
Taking that as a dismissal, Dee left.
“So what we got?” said Scott.
“Another potential target. One guaranteed to make Connors sit up and take notice. I’ll need your help planning this one. And I’ll be needing more guys.”
“Count me in for the ride.”
“No,” said Sally and April together.
“You’re not ready yet,” said Rick. “Give it a little longer.”
“Only if you want him fighting from a wheelchair,” said Sally.
“I ain’t that bad,” opined Scott.
“I took a fifty caliber bullet out of your stomach. That’s no small thing.”
Scott was dismissive. “If that tree had been an inch thicker, I’d have been fine.”
“And if it had been an inch thinner, you’d be dead. Don’t tempt fate. These things take time to properly heal. If this was the army, you’d be declared unfit for service.”
Scott turned to Rick. “This is what I gotta put up with.”
“I just need your brains on this one, no more,” said Rick.
“That ain’t the best part of me, you know that.”
“That’s okay. I’ll talk slow.”
“Funny.”
Rick gave him a sad smile. “Somebody’s got to be.”
*
Eagleburger unlocked Lauren’s cell.
“Stand up, turn around,” he said.
Lauren rose slowly from her bunk and complied. The sheriff came up behind her and cuffed her hands behind her back, then walked her out.
Passing the deputy at the desk, he said, “Exercising the prisoner.”
The deputy, reading his tattered novel, simply nodded.
Eagleburger steered Lauren past the lobby and up the stairs. On the third floor was a wide corridor in front of offices, large windows affording wide views over the plaza and park. The sheriff removed the cuffs and let Lauren stretch her legs, basking in the sunlight that warmed the hall.
Through the window, Eagleburger could see the machine gun post on the scaffold, the snipers on the rooftops and the checkpoints on the boulevard. The security was intimidating, and Eagleburger had brought Lauren here before as a way of showing her how it was impossible for her to escape if she did something foolish. Today, however, that security posed problems for him too, in a way he hadn’t thought about before. Seeing Lauren pressing her face against the glass, he felt a little guilty about his earlier intentions.
“So,” said Lauren, “have they decided what they’re going to do about my case?”
“I’ll tell you when they tell me,” said Eagleburger.
“Is this going to be my permanent prison? Because I wouldn’t mind a cell up here.”
“It’s not for me to say.”
Lauren looked at him. “It’d be nice to have visitation rights.”
Eagleburger felt another twinge of guilt. “You and I both know that’s not likely to happen.”
Lauren gazed back out of the window. “I think you’ve just answered my first question, Sheriff. I guess there’s a reason they kept the scaffold erected.”
For the first time, Eagleburger detected despair in her voice. Solitary confinement had a way of wearing down even the toughest of souls.
“You shouldn’t speculate about stuff like that,” he said. “Messes with your head.”
“But you know how this is going to end up, don’t you?”
Eagleburger cleared his throat, a little embarrassed. “No. They don’t tell me anything.”
“And you don’t ask?”
The sheriff averted his gaze. “It’s not my job to interfere with the judiciary.”
“You’re not even curious?”
“Ma’am, I’ve got a bunch of other responsibilities that occupy my time.”
“The doc said you were under martial law. Kind of makes you redundant, doesn’t it?”
Eagleburger didn’t want to have this conversation, but he felt he had to be honest. “In many ways, yes.”
“So why are you still here?”
Eagleburger met her gaze. “I don’t trust anyone else to do this job.”
“Guarding me?”
“Guarding you.”
Lauren fell silent for a moment. “You’re too honest, Sheriff. You’re not the kind of man Connors wants around. The only reason you’re still here is because he’s not interested in using me yet. When he does, he’ll remove you. And if you resist, he’ll kill you.”
Eagleburger wanted to disagree, to argue that he don’t shift so easy, but remembering his encounter with Fick put the lie to that fantasy.
“Well, that ain’t happened yet,” he said.
Lauren put her hand on the glass, as if testing its solidity. “If you’re still around when I’m gone,” she said, “will you carry a message for my husband? My last testimony?”
“It won’t come to that.”
“But will you?”
Eagleburger felt a burn of indigestion coming on. Truth be told, he hadn’t slept well since his meeting with Moresby. Wrangling with his options twisted up his insides, and he couldn’t imagine a good outcome from any of his decisions. His instinct, usually a solid guide for his actions, had taken a vacation. Apart from wishing he hadn’t been put into this situation in the first place, he felt completely lost. Tentatively, he went out on a limb.
“You can maybe carry that message yourself,” he mumbled.
“I’m sorry?”
Eagleburger checked that the stairs and nearby offices were clear, then moved closer to Lauren.
“I said, there’s a chance you can carry the message yourself.”
Lauren looked at him as if he’d made a distasteful joke. “I don’t find that funny, Sheriff. I’d rather meet him here than in the great beyond.”
Confused for a moment, Eagleburger realized the extent to which she’d misunderstood him.
“I ain’t saying you can meet him in heaven. I’m talking about here. Well, not here, but in the mountains. Or someplace. I don’t know. Plans haven’t been finalized yet.”
Lauren stared at him. “Are you saying you can get me out of here?”
“Keep your voice down.” Eagleburger checked his surroundings one more time. “I don’t know if I can get you out of here, but there’s a couple of fellas who think they can get in touch with your husband and somehow reunite you.”
The flame of hope flared in Lauren’s eyes. “He’s definitely alive then?”