“Are you going?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Why wouldn’t you? Oh, I don’t know, maybe because half of the people who show up might have the flu. If you show up, make sure you wear one of those surgical masks and gloves. Seriously. This bug is all over the neighborhood. Eighteen households by my calculation,” Alex advised.
“Well, we can only see so much from these windows, and the phone calls with information have slowed to a trickle,” Ed said.
“You’re doing better than the Fletchers. Nobody calls us anymore.”
“Well, after the last meeting, most of the neighbors probably figured they’d be better off steering clear of the Fletcher-Thornton connection,” Ed said. “Of course, against my better judgment, I reluctantly decided to take my chances with you.”
“Thanks for the loyalty, Ed, you’ll be rewarded handsomely. Actually, the less attention on this house, the better. I don’t think Kate would let me out to that meeting even if I thought it was a good idea. You’ll have to be my eyes and ears out there. Give me a ring tomorrow,” he said and hung up the phone.
Alex walked to the bedroom, thinking that nothing good would come from the meeting.
Chapter 25
Alex gazed out of the dining room window, straining to see the small mob that followed Ed halfway down the street. The group, which consisted of Todd Perry, Mike Lynch, Eric Bishop and a few others, stopped in front of Todd’s house, but he lost sight of them as they wandered up Todd’s driveway. He grabbed the phone off the dining room table, and before he could start dialing Ed’s number, it began to ring. Ed.
“I know you can’t get enough of my charming…”
“Yeah, yeah. Hey, there’s a small crowd gathered in front of Todd’s house, and they ain’t happy campers. I was pretty much chased back to my house by these lunatics. Todd started ranting and raving about you, and how you fucked over the entire neighborhood with the anti-virals and blah, blah, blah. I think they’re about to head your way,” Ed said.
“Are you serious? Sounds like it was a great meeting.”
“It was all a set up from the start. I think they were waiting for you to show up, so they could attack you or something. They turned on me as soon as it was clear you weren’t going to make an appearance. Scared the shit out of me. Oh boy. Looks like they’re on the move and headed your way,” he said.
“What’s going on? I see some people walking this way from Todd’s,” Kate said, having suddenly materialized on the stairs next to the dining room.
“Hold on, Ed,” Alex said and muffled the phone.
“Honey, I’ll be off in a second. It’s nothing we need to worry about.”
“Sorry, Ed, Kate’s freaking out…”
“Freaking out?” she yelled indignantly and grabbed the phone from him.
“Thank you for the heads up, Ed. Sorry to hang up on you, but I need to talk some sense into my ‘it’ll all work out’ husband.” She hung up on Ed and put the phone back on the table, turning to face Alex, who stood staring at the hand that just moments ago had held a phone.
“That’s funny, I could have sworn I was having a productive, adult conversation with a good friend of mine, when—”
“You’ll get over it. So now we have an angry mob headed toward our house?” she said, walking toward the great room.
“Why don’t we take a look? I’m not worried about these yahoos,” he said and followed her. As they crossed the great room, he passed Emily, who was sitting on her favorite chair, wearing earphones that were plugged into a tablet on her lap.
Emily looked up and smiled at them as they walked by. Kate walked to the front of the great room and peered through one of the windows facing across the Walkers’ yard. Alex joined her and saw the group walking down the sidewalk, headed straight for their house. The group was already halfway across the sidewalk in front of the Andersons’ house.
“Looks like you need to start getting concerned real quick. Those jerks are going to be at our front door in less than a minute. Emily, turn off the movie and go upstairs, please,” Kate said loudly.
Emily looked up and shrugged her shoulders. Kate briskly walked up to her and reached for the headphones. Emily took them off, annoyed. “What? What’s going on?” she asked.
“I need you to go upstairs right now,” Kate said.
Emily didn’t stir. “Why? What’s…” Emily started.
“Just get upstairs now! Go!” Kate yelled.
Emily closed the player and hopped out of the chair, mumbling a series of hushed complaints.
“Thank you,” Kate said as Emily exited the room.
“Thank you, sweetie,” Alex added. “All right, when they come to the door, we’ll see—”
“Come to the door? No way. We’re not letting them get that close to our house. You want to know why I’m freaked out? I don’t like the idea of these people just deciding to march on our house. We’re going to meet them on our driveway and tell them to get the hell away from us. Let’s go. They’re already in front of Ed’s,” Kate said and started walking back into the kitchen.
Alex paused to think about the situation, then followed her. “Do you want me to bring the rifle?”
“No, I don’t think that would be a good idea. You still have the pistol on you, right?’ she asked, and Alex nodded his head as he patted the small of his back.
“That should be more than enough if this gets out of hand.”
He and Kate both rushed to the mudroom and put on their shoes, grabbed jackets, and headed out of the mudroom door. As soon as they cleared the stoop, Alex was glad they had hurried. Six extremely angry looking men were already halfway across their lawn, headed straight for the mudroom door. Kate led him through the evergreen bushes on a direct path to intercept them. Todd appeared surprised by the sight of Alex and Kate.
“Can we help you?” Kate yelled with her hands on her hips. She looked irritated, and everyone stopped.
Alex moved next to Kate’s right side as the group paused for a few seconds before Eric Bishop attempted to respond, his words cut off by a violent coughing spasm. He took to a knee and turned to Steve McKinney on his left, who backed away quickly with a frightened look. Mike Lynch and Tom Hodges both moved in to help him, but withdrew as the hacking worsened. True to Ed’s words, Eric looked like he was about to die. His face was ashen gray, his lips purplish, and sweat was pouring down his face. Alex thought he saw a small amount of blood on the corner of his mouth, but couldn’t be sure. Bishop seemed to be rapidly deteriorating.
Todd finally answered Kate’s question. “We’re just out for a stroll. We all have the right to walk around the neighborhood, right?”
“Looks like you strayed off the sidewalk a little. I think you should all go home. You don’t look so good, Eric,” Alex said.
“I’d be doing a lot better if you weren’t hiding medicine from all of us. Sneaky jerk. I caught one of Jamie’s kids swallowing some pills earlier this week. Looks like you managed to hook them up, huh? Now they’re doing just fine, while my entire family is sick,” Eric said.
“What exactly do you want from us?” Kate asked.
“I want a full inventory of your food supply and any medical supplies you have, so we can divide and distribute them to those families that need help,” Todd demanded.
“This is ridiculous,” Kate fumed.
“It’s all right, honey. Really. I want to hear this,” Alex said.
Todd looked confused by Alex’s response and looked at Eric, who shrugged his shoulders.
“So is that your plan? Just inventory everything and divide it up?” Alex asked, trying to bring them back into the conversation.
“Yes, that’s sounds about right,” Todd hesitantly said, as if he was not sure how to answer the question.
“Just my house, or everyone’s?” Alex asked.
“Well…we should start with your—”
“But we’re going to move on to every house? Right?” Alex pressed.
“Have what? Any food? Any supplies? That shouldn’t matter. Then what? Where will we store everything, and who will divide it up evenly?”
“Look, cut all this bullshit speech and debate crap. I don’t think we’ll need to go any further than your house, or his…or his,” Eric said, struggling to point at Charlie and Ed.
“So you just want to raid our houses because you suspect we have enough food and medical supplies for everyone? How much food do you think I have, Eric? Todd? Take a guess,” Alex challenged.
“I don’t know. That’s why we want to see, so we can figure it out,” Todd said.
“A year? Does that sound like a lot for one family? If we had enough food for a family of four for a year, should we divide it up for everyone?”
“You’re goddamn right. If you have a year’s worth of food…are you kidding me? I have less than a week,” Todd raved.
“Okay, so that’s fifty-two weeks, divided by thirty households. I’ve already done the math here. That’s 1.7 weeks per family, maybe more, maybe less. Twelve days. Not exactly a windfall. So, if I had that much food, which I don’t, you’d be asking me to give it all up so that we could all be equally screwed as the winter descends. It’s only the middle of November, Todd. We have a long way to go. Probably until springtime when the roads are cleared and the trucks can move supplies again,” Alex said.
“Cleared from what?” Mike demanded.
“From the snow. Do you really think the plows are going to keep up with the snow? When’s the last time you’ve seen a police car, or heard a siren? Everyone is either sick, or not showing up to work, and we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg here. The worst is on the way, and it won’t get any easier. Especially if we sit around hoping someone else solves our problems,” Alex said.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Todd asked angrily.
“It means that I believe you had every opportunity to stock up on food, Todd, even after the food crisis started,” Alex said.
“That’s bullshit! Every time I tried, the store closed before I set foot inside!” Todd yelled.
“Are you kidding me, Todd? I distinctly remember volunteering to watch your kids, at the crack of dawn, so you and your wife could get over to Hannigan’s early enough to make it through the store. We waited, and we waited, and you never called,” Alex reminded him.
Todd looked uncomfortable with the accusation, and Steve McKinney mumbled something to Mike Lynch. Mike Lynch fired back at Steve with a hushed “that’s not the point of this,” and then Mike stepped forward.
“Look, food is no longer the issue. You made your point. You don’t have enough food to carry the entire neighborhood along through the winter. Understood.”
“It’s still an issue for me,” Todd yelled.
“I know, but we can deal with that later,” Mike said to Todd.
“So what exactly do you want from us now?” Alex said, exaggerating an exasperated look.
Before Todd could answer, Eric, still on one knee, broke into another coughing fit.
“Eric doesn’t look like he needs to be out here in the cold. He needs to be breathing warm, moist air to help open up his airway. This cold air is constricting his lungs, making it worse,” Alex said.
“He’s fine for now,” Todd retorted.
“And you’re a doctor?” Kate shot back.
“I’m no doctor, but I’m pretty sure if he’d received some of the drugs and medical supplies you’re hoarding, he’d be doing a lot better!” Todd said smugly.
“I already donated anti-virals to the community chest. That’s it,” Alex said.
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?” Todd said, his face reddening.
“That’s it. And, uh…from what I understand, Eric received one of those courses of anti-viral therapy. Sarah told me that she handed over four of the thirteen courses to Stephanie. Unfortunately, it looks like it didn’t help him, which is not unusual,” Alex said.
Todd looked down at Eric, barely able to contain his surprise. Alex also detected a hint of anger flash across Todd’s face. “Maybe he didn’t take it.”
“Four doses. Four family members. You do the math. The flu affects everyone differently. Some get hit hard, some don’t even get symptoms. Others get slammed and die within a day or two, like Matt McDaniel. Anti-virals are no guarantee of anything. The best way to fight this thing is to avoid it altogether. So like I said before, you should all separate and button up inside your houses,” Alex advised them yet again.
“If you’re trying to talk me out of getting some anti-virals for my kids, save the lecture,” Todd said.
“This conversation’s over,” Kate said and turned around to walk away.
“No, it’s not,” John Hodges piped up.
Kate turned back around. “Get off our property right now. I said this is over, and that’s it! I don’t want to see any of you around here anymore. We have nothing more to say or give you. We’re done here.” She pulled Alex’s arm as she started back toward the mudroom. “Don’t even look at them,” she whispered, releasing his arm as they walked away from the mob. “Talking just encourages them. We’re through communicating with those jerks.”
Alex and Kate entered the house and closed the door behind them, muting the verbal tirade launched by the group. He glanced back out of the door and verified that they hadn’t moved any closer to the house.
“Your problem is that you continue to engage these guys until they reach their boiling point. You have to cut them off and walk away. They want you to provoke them,” Kate said.
“But I didn’t even get a chance to threaten to kill them, or something good like that,” he insisted, still watching the group.
“Yeah, that would have helped the situation immensely.”
“It doesn’t matter what we do. He’s raving mad. And, he is convinced that we’re sitting on enough of these supplies to save the entire neighborhood.”
“Maybe we could we give up some of our stuff and make him happy? We have a lot of food down there, way more than we need. We could put together a package for them. Just enough to get them off our backs,” she suggested.
“I think it could only make matters worse. As soon as they run out of whatever we decide to give them, they’ll be right back at our door, along with the rest of the neighborhood. Then we would really have problems,” he said.
“I don’t know, but we need to do something. We can’t sit here for months waiting for them to attack us. We can’t live like that.”
“Hey, I lived like that for several months while in Iraq. It can be done,” Alex said, stepping into the kitchen.
“Yeah, but the rest of us can’t. Let’s figure out what we need to survive. I don’t mind stretching our food supply thin if it will get them off our backs.”
“Off our backs for now,” he reminded her.
“Well, at least we’ll have a clearer conscience,” Kate said, following him into the kitchen.
Alex sat down at the kitchen island and poured a cup of steaming coffee into a brown mug, waiting for Kate to sit down next to him. “My conscience is clear,” he said, not sure he fully believed the statement.
“Really? You don’t feel the slightest amount of guilt that we are sitting on enough food for six families to last well past the winter or spring? Or that we have essential medical supplies that could make a difference to at least a few households? Hon, we have a ton of stuff down there.”
“I know. Believe me, I’ve thought about it, and that’s why I don’t mind helping out Ed, or Jamie’s kids…”
“Hon, we can’t pick and choose who we help. That’ll only make matters worse. We need to make an offer to those around us, but make sure they understand it’s final. That it’s all we can give up without…”
“Without hurting ourselves?” he asked.
“Yeah, something like that…” Kate said, her voice trailing off.
&
nbsp; Alex heard her remove the coffee pot from the coffee maker.
He watched the mob through the mudroom door windows and saw them conferring with each other, obviously arguing about their next move. He saw Mark Silva shake his head furiously and hold up his hands, waving them, then start to walk back down the street. Eric managed to rise to his feet by himself, and everyone kept several feet away from him.
Todd continued to gesture wildly to the four of them. Alex saw some agreement in the faces and gestures of Mike and Tom, but Steve was clearly not interested in whatever Todd was proposing. Steve stepped back out of the group and started to head across the street. Alex watched as he walked between the McDaniels’ and Sheppards’ houses, soon disappearing behind the McDaniels’ on what Alex assumed was a straight line through the backyards to his own house.
The remaining four men started to walk down the sidewalk toward Todd’s house, soon escaping his view from the mudroom window. He hurried out of the mudroom and through the kitchen on his way to the great room so he could keep an eye on them the whole way back. He noticed that Kate was already at the front corner window.
“Did I miss anything?” he asked, embracing her shoulders.
“Not really, just a bunch of bickering. Eric doesn’t look good at all,” she said, settling back into his grasp.
Eric kept shaking his head and coughing. His left leg collapsed and he fell to the ground in front of the Walkers’ house, managing to break his sideways plunge with his left arm. He ended up on his stomach, with his head turned away from Alex’s view. The other three knelt down around him, keeping back by a few feet. They didn’t appear enthusiastic about the prospect of lifting him back onto his feet. Todd stayed down with Eric, who was coughing so violently on the ground that his body appeared to convulse.
“Hon, you better call Stephanie and tell her to get over there. I’ll let them know she’s on her way,” Alex said, releasing Kate.
He rushed over to the front door, opened it and then the storm door, and called out to the group. “Hey, we’re calling Stephanie to come pick him up!”
The three of them looked up at him, and he repeated himself. He heard Kate on the phone with Stephanie.
THE ALEX FLETCHER BOXSET: Books 1-5 Page 18