by Robert Boren
“Yes, they are,” Hilda said. “The army is here to guard you guys too, just in case.”
“I know, it good,” Rosie said. “Roads safe enough to go back?”
“Yes, from what we’ve been told, but we’ll be careful,” Hilda said.
“Jasmine wants to come, but I told her not yet, just in case. Too much stress for pregnancy.”
“Good point,” Hilda said. “If you need any of us, we’ll be here. You know that, right?”
“Yes, I know,” Rosie said. “We’ll be back with you in no time.”
“Alright, honey, you take care.”
“You too, Hilda,” Rosie said, smiling. “Thanks.”
Hilda joined Gabe and Earl in the hallway, and they headed for the elevator.
“You sure we’re doing the right thing?” Earl asked.
“Yeah,” Hilda said. “If all goes well, we’ll be back to pick them up in a couple of weeks.”
The three rode the elevator down, and ran into a line of people in front of the door. A couple of Major Harrison’s men were guiding people along.
“What’s going on?” Gabe asked one of the men.
“Mandatory small pox vaccinations,” he said. “It’ll only take a minute.”
Gabe, Hilda, and Earl looked at each other.
“Those bastards,” Earl said. “Hope we have enough vaccine.”
“I’m calling Charlie,” Hilda said, pulling out her phone as they waited.
“Hey, Charlie.”
“Hi, Hilda, you guys on the road yet?”
“Just about. They’ve got us queued up in a line at the hospital at the moment. Small pox vaccinations.”
“Really, already?”
“You knew about this, Charlie?”
“Yeah, Saladin told us it was his fail safe. Not to worry, though. We have plenty of vaccine, and we aren’t even sure if the threat is real.”
“Okay, just wanted to let you know.”
“Glad they’re up on it so fast. Be careful, honey. I’m so anxious to see you. Love you.”
“Love you too, Charlie.”
Hilda put her phone back in her purse.
“They knew?” Gabe asked.
“Yeah, Saladin said something.”
“That jerk weed is still alive?” Earl asked.
“No, he passed earlier today,” Hilda said. “Surprised Charlie didn’t mention the small pox thing.”
“He didn’t want to worry you,” Gabe said. “I don’t blame him.”
The line moved quickly, and soon they were walking down the steps towards the SUV. They got in, and Gabe drove off the lot.
“I’ll check the apps,” Earl said, pulling his phone out. He worked his finger on it as Hilda and Gabe sat silently.
“Nobody around with a chip in them,” Earl said. “I’m surprised.”
“Well, let’s hope it stays that way,” Gabe said, as he got onto the interstate. “Not much traffic up here, is there?”
“Nope,” Earl said. “Wonder how many people know about this small pox thing?”
“Not many yet,” Hilda said. “I just checked the news sites on my phone. Nothing about it.”
“I suspect the hospital got themselves going because of the Major and his men,” Gabe said.
“Still bothers me that there’s nothing on the news about it,” Hilda said.
***
The Class C was back on the highway, heading for Columbus, Ohio.
“Getting close now,” Howard said. “I’m tired of being on the road.”
“We’ll hit traffic,” Scott said. “It’ll take us a good half hour to get to my place after we get into city limits.”
“Looks like Kerry is finally calming down,” Howard said. “Bailey knows how to handle him.”
Scott looked back at the dinette from the passenger seat. “She’s reading to him, on her iPad,” he chuckled.
“She reminds me of my late wife,” Howard said. “Miss her so much.”
“She doesn’t remind me of my late wife,” Scott said.
“You have any regrets being married to her, Scotty? Even though she was a civilian?”
“Yeah, I regret I didn’t get to kill her myself,” Scott said.
“No, really?”
“Yeah,” Scott said. “Thinking about the look she would’ve gotten on her face still turns me on.”
“Well, I told you I wanted a piece of her,” he said.
“Yeah, whatever, Howie. How are we gonna get you back over the Mississippi?”
“That’s a good question,” Howard said. “We know St Louis is toast, and so is Memphis. Might be some enemy activity in the area between them. That’ll bring in National Guard, cops, maybe regular army too. Cops might still be looking for our Class C after the massacre.”
“The bombs might have helped us there, Howie. Haven’t heard or seen anything on our handiwork since the nuke attacks happened.”
“You download those apps yet?” Howard asked.
“Yeah, but I haven’t tried them yet. You?”
“No, not yet. Was going to do it at your place,” Howard said. “You know if the war gets over, things will get more difficult for our game.”
“Yeah, but we both knew that was coming. What about your truck stop? No way you’re gonna get back before the fuel delivery.”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Howard said. “I might have to trust one of my employees after all.”
“How about Sherry?”
“C’mon, Scotty, we don’t even know where her head is at these days. She might be straight enough to turn us in.”
“Doubtful,” Scott said.
“I don’t even have a phone number for her,” Howard said.
“You said she took over her mom’s house after she died, right?”
“Yeah, but who keeps a land line anymore, Scotty?”
“I’ve still got that number. I’ll try it. You never know.”
“You sure we should do this?” Howard asked. “Seems pretty damn risky to me.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure?” he said as he put in the number. “It’s ringing.”
“Hello?”
“Is this Sherry?”
“Who wants to know?”
“Scotty.”
There was silence on the line.
“No way. He’s dead.”
“No, I’m not dead, Sherry. I’m with a dear friend from the old days.”
“Prove it.”
“You remember when you, I, and Jason kidnapped our English teacher?”
“Maxwell. Yeah, so what. That made the news. You can look it up.”
“You recited the end of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar before you jammed the knife in him.”
There was silence on the line. Scott looked at Howard and grinned, then went on.
“According to his virtue let us use him,
With all respect and rites of burial.
Within my tent his bones to-night shall lie,
Most like a soldier, order'd honourably.
So call the field to rest; and let's away,
To part the glories of this happy day.”
Scott looked at Howard and grinned again.
“You still there?”
“Okay, you’ve got my attention,” she said. “What do you want?”
“We need a favor, Sherry.”
“I’m not killing anybody. I’m done with that.”
“Oh, it’s nothing like that, Sherry. We need you to run Howard’s truck stop for a few days.”
“Howard? You’re with that old cretin? I wondered where he went. Everybody’s asking about him.”
“We’ve been on a road trip, and thanks to those bombs on big muddy, we can’t get back soon enough. He’s got fuel deliveries coming.”
“What’s in it for me?”
“Well, I’ll keep quiet about your past.”
She laughed on the line. “You say anything, you’ll get as bad as I will. Probably worse.”
; “I’m dead, remember?”
There was silence on the line again. Scott glanced at Howard, who still had a worried look on his face.
“Okay, Scotty, I’ll do it. Where are the keys? How about the other info I’ll need to run the place?”
“I’ll hand you over to Howard. He can give you the details.” Scott handed the phone over. Howard reluctantly put it to his ear.
“Sherry?”
“Yeah, Howard. I thought you were done with that jerk.”
“He forced me back into the game.”
“You don’t sound very upset.”
“I feel alive again.”
“Blah blah blah. You got keys somewhere I can get them?”
“Yeah, go to my place. There’s a key under the flower pot by the back door. In the service porch next to the water heater there’s a two drawer file cabinet. The keys are in the top drawer, along with info on how to turn on the systems and get the shop up and running.”
“Okay. I’m keeping the money you take in.”
“Consider it your salary. Thanks.”
“What about your employees, Howard?”
“Call them in. Names and numbers are in the drawer right under the cash register.”
“How do they get paid?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve got a service. They’re getting paid automatically.”
“How long?”
“A week too long, Sherry?”
“Yeah, but I don’t have a choice, do it?”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. Give me back to Scotty.”
Howard handed the phone back.
“Everything set?” Scott asked.
“Yeah. You owe me big time. And by the way, I don’t want to see you.”
“No problem, sweet cakes.”
There was silence on the line for a moment.
“You can’t call me that anymore.”
“I miss you, you know.”
“What about wifey? She with you too?”
“She really did get killed in the nuke attack. I just happened to be at an alternate location.”
“She never figured it out, did she?”
“No. Talk to you soon.”
“Hopefully not. Later.”
Scott put his phone back in his pocket.
“How do you know we can trust her, Scotty?”
“She doesn’t want to spend the rest of her days in the crossbar hotel.”
“Neither do I, Scotty.” The traffic slowed down. “Here comes rush hour.”
***
General Hogan came over to the bar in the lounge. Jake was tending. Jackson, Kurt, and Mary were there. Dobie walked over when the General sat down.
“You want a drink, General?” Jake asked, smiling.
“Yeah, give me three fingers of that Maker’s Mark you’re drinking there,” he said, smiling.
“This a sign that we’re over the worst of things?” Dobie asked as he sat next to the General.
“Too early to tell,” the General said, taking the first sip of his drink. “I’m worried about those high-ranking folks south of Big Bend.”
“Across the border?” Jake asked.
“Yeah,” the General said.
“There a force with them?”
“No, they’re by themselves,” he replied. “The girls are keeping an eye, using Frank’s long range detail app.”
“You think they have something to do with this small pox thing?” Dobie asked.
“Perhaps,” the General said. “Just got off the phone with the joint chiefs. So far none of the high-ranking folks in custody are talking.”
“Figures,” Jake said.
“You thinking about going down to investigate these two guys?” Dobie asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’m going to chat with George about it.”
“Well, bring him down here, and we’ll set up a round for him,” Jake said.
“He’s having some much-needed down time with Heidi,” the General said. “It can wait for a little while.” He downed the rest of his drink.
“Another, General?” Jake asked.
“Just one more,” he said. “I need to keep a clear head.”
“Are we gonna win this thing, General?” Kurt asked.
“Yeah,” he said, taking a sip of the new drink. “We’ve got them on the run now, thanks to Frank’s apps and those lists of people.”
“Last I looked, Denver was looking good,” Dobie said. “There was a large group of icons huddled near Boulder.”
“Detention camp,” the General said. “Believe it or not, most of the Islamists are surrendering. The militia guys are a bigger problem. We had to kill most of the group hanging out near the Grand Canyon.”
“So where are the remaining battles?” Kurt asked.
“If you’re talking about big battles with a lot of men, only the bigger cities in Arizona and New Mexico, and those will be over fast. The operatives in the smaller towns have been exposed. They’re getting cleaned up by townspeople and local law enforcement.”
“Sucks to be them,” Dobie said.
“Yeah,” the General said, staring down at the bar for a moment. “We’ve completely shut down the flow of new troops and supplies through Canada. Mexico is where the action is, but we’re winning there now, too.”
“Who did that nuclear attack down there?”
“No comment,” the General said, smiling after a moment. “Hit the right spot. That was a last-ditch attempt at a new invasion. We burned them good.”
“You still look pretty worried,” Mary said. “Why?”
“Too many operatives left,” he said. “They can’t win a land battle. That’s over. What they can do is kill a lot of people in smaller actions. That’s what keeping me up at night. I’m afraid they’ll slip into the peaceful areas so they can hit soft targets. This is liable to go on for years.”
“We still have the apps,” Jackson said.
“Yeah,” Dobie said. “As long as the bad guys keep their chips implanted. If they aren’t in the heat of battle anymore, they might remove them and bide their time until they heal up.”
“Yeah, incubating sleeper cells,” Kurt said.
“They’ll still have the scars,” Mary said. “But you’re right. When they’re past the heat of battle, it’s more likely that small numbers of them can get the chips removed and heal up.”
“Maybe we’re being too negative here, folks,” Jake said. “They know they’ll never take us over. Lots of them may remove their chips just so they can leave the country.”
“There are discussions going on at the highest levels about that,” General Hogan said. “Mass transit routes like airlines, trains, and passenger ships won’t be easy for them to use. They’ll be screened for scars before they can board. That will restrict movement pretty well.”
“They can slip through the borders by car or on foot,” Dobie said.
“Yep,” the General said. “I’ve been pushing for us to bring most of the troops home from Mexico to round these people up during the small window we have, but I’m getting resistance.”
“Why?” Mary asked.
“Certain people in the government want to clean up Mexico and then continue on with the prior efforts to annex them.”
“Why would we want to do that?” Kurt asked.
“Buffer zone, with lots of natural resources,” the General said. “Also good time to do it, while much of the Mexican population is in favor.”
“Yeah, well you know that won’t last for long,” Mary said.
“I think I’m beginning to see why you’re worried, general,” Dobie said.
“Go on,” the General said.
“We’re going into uncharted territory now, and it’ll make life very much different in this country,” Dobie said. “More like the countries in the Middle East. We’re going to have repressed minorities who want to overthrow the society, and it’ll be difficult to get rid of them.”
“How
can that be if we’ve got the enemy defeated, Dobie?” Kurt asked.
“We’re about to annex another country. Many of the citizens on both sides are for it right now, but not all. We’ll have to deal with the actions of nationalists from south of the border, and they play by different rules than US citizens have since about the 1880s.”
“1880s?” Kurt asked.
“Yeah, after the main aftermath of the Civil War,” Dobie said. “We became a more stable society after that, and stayed that way even when times got tough. The other issue is the Islamist faction. They’re in our midst in bigger numbers than ever before. The ratio will be higher than we had in Paris or London before the war. They’ll disappear into the woodwork and concentrate on hiding their past. We’ll have thousands of ticking time bombs to deal with eventually. The world is changing for us, and it’s not going to be pleasant.”
“You’re too smart to be a dog trainer, my friend,” General Hogan said.
Chapter 17 – The Invisible Hand
Gabe was driving the Suburban on the interstate. Hilda sat in the front passenger seat, and Earl was sleeping in the back, sprawled out as comfortably as he could get himself.
“You keep looking in the rear view mirror,” Hilda said. “See something?”
“There’s been a van following us for about 40 miles now,” he said nervously. “I can’t wait to get off this interstate.”
“How much longer do we have to stay on I-70?” Hilda asked.
“About two hours. I’ll get on Route 50 as soon as we hit Grand Junction, and head towards Pueblo. We should be able to come up to Route 94 from there, and scoot into Kansas like we did originally.”
“Should I call Charlie?” Hilda asked.
“Not yet, but why don’t you check the app. I haven’t for a while.”
Hilda nodded and reached down to grab her phone from out of her purse. She held it close to her face as she ran her fingers over the touch screen.
“No cell coverage,” she said. “Checking the short range app.”
“They’re hanging back quite a ways. They might be too far for the short range app.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Hilda said. “I heard it was good for half a mile.”
“I think that’s only under the best conditions,” Gabe said.