“You can hold it in your hand and look through it, right? Damn. Maybe we should spend the next fifteen minutes building a litter so you can carry me along to do all of your thinking.”
“Now that would be a sight,” said Ed, laughing.
“Funny,” said Alex. “You sure you won’t need this?”
“Nope. All set. Night vision goggles should do the trick,” said Charlie, patting one of the pouches on his backpack.
“Thanks, bud. This should come in handy,” said Alex, wrapping the scope in a T-shirt and stuffing it into his pack.
“So—we’re off?” he said, extending a hand.
Charlie took it, and Alex pulled him to his feet, hugging him for several seconds.
“Stay out of trouble,” uttered Alex.
“Same to you,” said Charlie, pulling Ed into the huddle.
“You’re not going to kiss me, are you?” inquired Ed, his head on Charlie’s shoulder.
“Well, now that you mentioned it—no. Get out of here before I change my mind,” said Charlie, releasing them.
Alex saluted him and followed Ed down the path, glancing back at Charlie a few times, until the trail veered left and their neighbor disappeared.
“We can slow down now,” said Alex, taking the lead.
They walked in silence for fifteen minutes, pushing their way through broken branches and climbing over fallen trees, until the trail intersected “Red Cross Path.” Alex shifted his rifle to a ready position across his chest and slowed the pace, peering through the trees. A few minutes later, he spotted the faint outline of a neighborhood ahead. He crouched behind a tree on the left side of the trail, signaling for Ed to get behind him.
“I thought we had another hour and a half,” whispered Ed.
“What was I supposed to say? We’re almost there? We made better time than I expected from the Jeep. GPS has been coming in and out with the trees blocking the signal. I almost choked when I saw how far we had made it on the first half hour.”
“Shit. I really thought we had at least an hour to go,” said Ed.
“You can walk back and forth for another forty-five minutes if it’ll make you feel better.”
“That’s quite all right. So now what?”
“We move about a hundred yards off the trail and very cautiously approach the edge of the neighborhood. We’ll wait there until 7:30 or so,” he said, checking his watch. “Eat dinner, take a nap. We have some time to kill.”
“You sure we can’t press on? Doesn’t look like an urban kill zone up there. More like Durham Road,” said Ed.
Alex scanned beyond the trees through his riflescope. “White, two-story colonial with attic bump-outs. Red garrison. Three-car garage. I see what you mean,” he said, lowering into a crouch and listening.
Dead silent.
“Charlie gave me the impression that this gets crowded really fast as we move south. Hold on,” he said, activating his handheld radio. “Charlie. You there?”
“Miss me already?” Charlie responded immediately.
“Not exactly. Quick question. Where does it get really crowded on our route south? We’re thinking about pushing through when we get to the edge of the forest.”
“You’ll probably exit the forest at the top of Governors Avenue. It’s pretty swanky all the way to High Street. Nice little downtown area along High. Expect people. The Mystic River is just past High Street. It really starts to get busy over the river. You’ll have a lot of people displaced from the areas closer to the coast. Shit. Come to think of it, you might have some trouble getting across the Mystic because of the tsunami.”
“Seems like plenty of bridges to get across,” said Alex.
“Yeah. Those can be fun,” said Charlie.
“Not looking for that kind of fun. Any other places to hole up on the way?”
“Lots of athletic fields and small parks. Tufts University has a fairly large campus. Nothing you can get lost in like the Middlesex Reservation. Once you cross the Mystic, you’re in the city.”
“Got it. Thanks, Charlie. Let’s use call signs from now on. Lots of Eds, Alexes and Charlies out there. Use our former street name followed by street number. If you need to authenticate a transmission, ask for the other person’s wife’s name, or one of the kids. That should keep any impersonators busy. Durham three-zero, signing out.”
“Solid copy, three-zero. Durham one-seven standing by,” said Charlie.
Alex shook his head. “Sounds like a no-go on leaving the reservation. Charlie didn’t think we’d find anything like this on the way. I miss him already. Never thought I’d say that.”
“Me either, but you made the right call. No way he could have made it. Not to Boston and back,” said Ed.
“The Best Western parking lot sealed it for me. I knew he’d have trouble once we ditched the Jeep.”
“I would have taken off if you hadn’t jumped out to help him,” Ed said.
“That’s why I jumped out. I couldn’t leave him like that, and I knew we’d need him later. It was a calculated risk. Sort of.”
“Hell of a risk,” said Ed.
“We would have been fine,” said Alex.
“I didn’t mean you and Charlie.”
“I know. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you hadn’t waited. Family first.”
“I’d really hate to catch a glimpse of how your mind works,” said Ed.
“It isn’t pretty,” said Alex. “Right now I’m wondering why this neighborhood is quiet when I can hear commotion east of here. I’m thinking there must be a serious roadblock set up at the hospital. Something we want to avoid.”
“The Special Forces story feels a little thin to you too?”
“We need a more chaotic environment for that to work. A focused roadblock in a quiet residential area probably isn’t the best place to test our new identities. I’ll have to carry your rifle when we roll.”
Ed shrugged his shoulders. “Why?”
“Because it doesn’t look right as a primary weapon. If anyone asks, or looks at it funny, I can say that it’s part of a specialized load-out. A .22 equipped with a suppressor can be extremely quiet. Either that or we leave it behind,” said Alex.
“How long did it take you to make that up?” said Ed.
“I started plotting this trip when you told me Chloe was going to Boston College,” said Alex.
“Chloe?”
“You didn’t think I’d let you make this kind of a trip on your own?” said Alex.
“Amazing. You have this whole thing planned out in there. Don’t you?” said Ed, poking Alex’s hat.
“I’ve put a lot of thought into it.”
“Do any of those thoughts include ditching me along the way?”
“Not yet. Let’s find a spot out there and rest up. It’s going to be a long night.”
Chapter 31
EVENT +38:10 Hours
Limerick, Maine
Kate set her beer on the wooden coffee table in front of her and collapsed into the cushioned chair between Linda and Samantha, the constant pain from her quadriceps and thigh muscles governing the discordance of complaints her body had lodged against her. Shoulders, lower back, wrists—all vying for her attention but failing to take her mind off the fact that she could barely walk. The sun had dropped below the tree canopy, casting a shadow over the screened porch and dropping the temperature a few degrees—not enough to bring any real relief to the humid evening. She closed her eyes and thought about Alex. He’d set out with Ed and Charlie soon.
She was jarred out of her thoughts by the sound of a chair scraping along the deck. Her father-in-law dragged a chair over to them from the patio table.
“Mind if I join the ladies’ club for a few minutes?” he asked, placing a cooler on the floor next to his chair.
“Not if that’s another round of beers,” blurted Samantha. “Did I actually say that? I’m sorry, Tim. Two beers appears to be my limit tonight.”
“This is the most I’ve seen her
drink since I can remember,” said Linda, laughing. “Tim, I have to thank you and Amy again for everything. We’re all still a little legless from the ride, but we’ll be earning our keep tomorrow,” she added.
“Same with my crew,” said Samantha. “We’ll turn to in the morning and make breakfast for everyone. We should set up a rotation, if that’s all right with Amy.”
“I don’t think you’ll get an argument from Amy. Retirement for her meant retirement from all domestic duties. I must have missed that in the original contract,” said Tim.
“It’s in small print on the back page of your marriage certificate,” said Linda.
“I’m pretty sure she added it after the fact,” said Tim. “Just as well, between you and me.”
“Oh shit, he didn’t go there,” said Samantha.
“He can get worse. At least Amy’s out of earshot,” said Kate, finishing her beer.
Tim fished a bottle out of the cooler and set it on the table next to the bottle opener. Kate gripped the ice-cold pale ale and held it for moment. She resisted the beer commercial cliché of lifting it to her sweat-glistened cheek.
“We’ll be on our best behavior,” he said, holding Kate’s glance long enough for her to get the message.
“Me too,” she said.
“Refresh on the beers?” he said, placing two more on the table. “I always carry bribes.”
Samantha raised her new bottle. “To the Fletchers and the best damn dinner I’ve had in years. I almost felt like none of this was happening.”
“Well, the timing couldn’t have been better. Harvest is in full swing,” said Tim, with a chuckle.
They all broke out laughing, drawing stares from the gaggle of teenagers sitting by the fire pit behind the deck.
“To the apocalypse!” said Linda.
“I’ll drink to that,” said Kate.
“You’ll drink to anything,” said Linda, causing Samantha to cackle.
“Here’s to the three of you bringing the kids here safely. That’s what really counted today,” said Tim.
The laughter died off, and they clinked bottles, settling in for a serious talk.
“Should we grab Amy?” said Kate.
“No,” Tim said. “She didn’t want to hear all of the gory details, and she’s worried sick about Alex. Head in the sand is her preferred mode of operation when it comes to the uncomfortable stuff. So…the SUV is in the garage. Best way to keep it out of sight for now. It might be possible to sink it in the pond if we could get it over there at night—quietly. There’s not a lot of water access on this side of the pond, aside from the walking path over there,” said Tim, pointing past the barn to the flickering points of light visible through the trees.
“The other side has too many houses. All locals,” said Kate.
“Nosy locals,” said Tim, “and everybody has known everybody for generations. I don’t think the BMW would remain a secret for long—especially if someone saw us pushing it into the pond.”
“How about the woods?” Samantha suggested.
“Fine for now, but once the foliage dies, anyone walking the property could stumble across it,” said Linda.
“How worried do we need to be?” asked Tim.
“The kid claimed his dad was some bigwig in one of the local militias,” said Kate.
“He said his dad put him in charge of Waterboro, which sounded a little crazy to me,” said Linda. “They were sitting around the Hannigans parking lot, throwing back beers like, uh—”
“Like it was the apocalypse, and the rules no longer applied to them,” said Kate, tipping her bottle back for a swig.
“His ID says Nathan Russell. Does that sound like anyone Alex met in the York County brigade, or whatever it’s called?” asked Tim.
“I have no idea. Name doesn’t register,” said Kate.
Samantha frowned. “Alex talks to those crazies?”
“He got in touch with the York County group to do an interview for his website,” said Kate.
“Thesurvivaldad.com?” said Linda.
Kate nodded. “He went to one of their public meetings down in Sanford. Had a long talk with the founder and a few of his deputies, or whatever they’re called. Parts of the interview were picked up by the Portland Times. Definitely some tinfoil hats in the crowd, but Alex was impressed with the organization. Whatever we ran across in Waterboro felt different.”
“Scary,” said Samantha.
“We have to assume the kid was connected to something bigger than a dysfunctional family. He was dead serious about being the new sheriff in town. That’s why I drilled him between the eyes,” said Linda.
“Jesus,” said Samantha.
“She’s right. He had more than Budweiser coursing through his veins. He had authority. You could see it,” said Kate.
“Then we better keep the Beemer in the garage and cover the windows. I’m sure someone saw you roll through downtown Limerick,” said Tim.
“We saw a few people milling around the variety store,” said Kate.
“Let’s hope they didn’t recognize you,” said Tim.
“We have to assume they did,” said Linda.
“Then we have some work to do. Alex has several bins filled with stuff like motion detectors, trip flares—”
“He doesn’t have trip flares,” declared Linda.
“Oh yes, he does,” answered Kate, rolling her eyes.
“—security monitors, weatherproof cameras, spools of insulated wire, relays, inverters,” Tim continued. “All kinds of shit down there, and I have no idea what to do with it.”
“Don’t look at me,” Kate said. “That’s Alex’s show. He’s the IT guy at our house.”
“Same with Charlie,” said Linda.
Samantha smiled. “I think I can help.”
“Aren’t you a lawyer?” said Kate.
“Not me. Abby. She’s all over this stuff at home. Seriously. She reconfigured all of our electronics. Ran wires through the floors and walls for speakers. I guarantee she’ll be able to figure out how to get that stuff working. It’ll be up to us to figure out where to install it,” said Samantha.
“That’s the easy part. Alex has it all mapped out,” said Tim.
“How much time does he spend on this?” said Linda.
“It keeps him busy,” said Kate.
“Sounds like an understatement,” said Linda.
“Don’t get me started…” said Kate.
“But here we are,” said Tim, “in the midst of another disaster, and we’re ready this time.”
Kate raised her beer. “I’ll drink to that. He was right again.”
“If you don’t mind, Samantha, I’d like to show Abby the map Alex produced and let her dig around those boxes. Tomorrow,” said Tim.
“Absolutely.”
“Maybe she can make sense of the backup solar power system. The battery banks stopped taking any charge after the power went out. Either the EMP fried the panels, or the charge controller got hit. Probably both. Alex has backups for everything, all disconnected from the grid or any wires that could conduct EMP energy. He felt pretty confident that the backup could be used after an EMP attack. The solar panel bank on the roof of the barn is not connected to anything. It should be fine. I didn’t want to connect it to the battery bank without Alex’s help. If he’s a day or two out, it might make sense to try to get the system up and running, especially if we’re going to hook up all of this surveillance gear. I have no idea what kind of strain that stuff will put on the remaining battery charge.”
“Until we get it figured out, we should run patrols along the perimeter,” said Kate.
“Tomorrow. We’ll be fine tonight. There’s a room for every family upstairs. Ethan and Kevin will share a room. Amy and I will take the small bedroom. We can move some beds around and make it work. We can lock the door at the top of the stairs,” said Tim.
“I’ll sleep down here, with my friend,” Linda said, nodding at one of the rifles set agains
t the screen porch frame.
“Same with me,” said Kate.
“I’ll take a real bed upstairs,” said Samantha, draining her beer.
“You’ll be lucky if you make it off the porch,” said Linda.
“I think I’m ready for bed right now.”
“You’ve had a long day. Why don’t we finish up here and get the kids inside,” Tim suggested.
“I wouldn’t bother them unless we have to,” said Linda.
“Once the sun hits the treetops, the mosquitos take over. Kevin and Ethan are already getting up. Amy will get them situated upstairs, and I’ll lock everything up once everyone’s inside.”
Kate studied her watch, the digital numbers fuzzy for a moment: 7:34. She finished her beer and contemplated another, but shook her head. Three would be more than enough. She’d sleep hard tonight. Linda saw her check the watch.
“Do you think they’re heading out now?” she asked.
“That was the plan,” said Kate. “Clear the outskirts of the city at dusk.”
“I hope Charlie had the sense to stay with the Jeep,” said Linda. “He’s in no shape to hike that far. Not with all that gear.”
“Are you serious? Why didn’t you say something when we were studying the maps?” said Samantha.
“I tried. You know how he gets.”
“It’s all fine,” said Kate, stopping the argument and drawing their stares. “Alex isn’t going to let him hike into the city.”
Linda shrugged her shoulders and squinted. “What are you saying?”
“He told me that he’d make sure Charlie stayed with the Jeep,” said Kate.
“How was he going to do that?” said Linda, annoyed.
“I don’t know. That’s all he said,” said Kate, willing Tim to offer her another beer.
“When was he planning to ditch Ed?” said Samantha.
“Come on now. Linda, you just said you didn’t want your husband leaving the Jeep,” said Kate. “And Samantha, do you want Ed swimming the Charles River?”
“He’s going to leave Ed at the Charles?” said Samantha, shaking her head.
“I didn’t say that,” said Kate.
“But you and Alex clearly talked about the Charles River. Ed’s not a strong swimmer. Alex knows that. Anything else you want to tell us? He’s still planning on getting both of our kids back, right? Not just Ryan?” said Samantha.
THE ALEX FLETCHER BOXSET: Books 1-5 Page 66