by LC Champlin
Probation Meeting
Teenagers - My Chemical Romance
Nathan needed to only half force a smile. “Officer Rodriguez, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Save it.” She shifted her sights to the group. “Explain what you’re doing here. Assembling like this is dangerous.”
“Then bring us food, you pig!” Chas retorted. He had evidently grown up with the idea that police officers could not touch him. Then again, in California and especially Silicon Valley, they probably couldn’t.
Rather than tasing the idiot or ordering him onto the ground, Rodriguez hooked her thumbs under her belt, tapping her fingers on the thick leather as she looked the rebels over. “I gather you haven’t been collecting supplies.”
“You gather correctly,” Nathan replied. “It’s difficult to keep order when people are hungry. If you intend to use bread and circuses, the cannibals and looters can provide the circus, but you need to put in your half with the bread.”
Her partner looked less confident in the trustworthiness of the citizens than did Rodriguez. He palmed the grip of his pistol. His other hand hovered over his pepper spray. Not a good scenario if he deployed either.
“Officer Rodriguez.” Head up in defiance, Nathan stepped in front of his people. “Could I speak with you in private? I don’t want these people to get excited and possibly do something unwise.”
“Fine.” She turned toward the cruiser, then paused. “Everybody, remember that looting is against the law. You will be held responsible if you’re caught.”
If you’re caught. That clause made everything an option. Laws only punished crimes after criminals committed them.
“Get in the back.” With the jerk of her thumb, Rodriguez indicated the rear seat of the police car.
Not again. She took pleasure in his hatred of restraints. He looked from her to the cruiser and back again. “We can simply step to the side and—”
“You want this private or not?”
Releasing a breath through his nose, he looked away. Everyone watched him.
With a nod, he followed Rodriguez. She opened the door and pushed his head down—only mental preparation prevented him from jerking away—as he slid inside. Then she swung into the front passenger side. Her partner remained outside, a wary eye on the populous. Amanda and Taylor moved to engage him in conversation, likely voicing the same concerns as Nathan.
The backseat began to close in. His chest tightened. Hard to breathe—Focus! Imagine bushes and yards instead of the locked squad-car doors and the rubberized steel grate between him and the front seat.
In the rearview mirror, Roddy’s eyes narrowed as she regarded him.
“Officer Rodriguez, we can’t go on like this much longer. The looting has already started. It will only get worse.” No sense beating around the bush—imaginary or not. It didn’t count as an admission, only a statement of the situation. “If the government doesn’t deliver supplies like they promised, chaos will break out here. That’s going to cascade as people leave Redwood Shores to seek shelter outside the city. They’ll be targets for criminals and cannibals.”
Rodriguez let out a sigh and closed her eyes. “I know, but I can’t do anything about it.” She tapped the backward facing camera on the dash.
Nathan nodded, resting his elbows on his knees and letting his head hang. “I’m just trying to help these people. Albin’s gone, turned against me. I have kids out there who are desperate and hungry enough to go looting. Their parents are panicking because the pantries are bare.” Or not as full as normal. He met her eyes in the mirror. “There’s only so much we can do with fishing poles and grass.”
“I’m not authorized to say anything, Serebus. You understand that. I’m only here as a representative of the law to check on this place’s condition and your location. But your requests are on record now.”
“Has director Washington said anything?”
“The fuck do you not understand about the words, I’m not authorized to say anything?” She shook her head in annoyance, or possibly frustration. Any emotion she showed meshed with irritation, growing unrecognizable. “But I am allowed to say you and the people here can join the evacuation. It’s what the government is ‘strongly encouraging.’” Air quotes. “There’s too much going on right now for us to force people to leave, but . . .”
“Evacuate where? Onto the freeway? No.” Leave it to the government to suggest the worst course possible. “We need food and water here. You know that, and Washington knows that. Now let me out.” Hurry up!
With a grunt, she pushed out of the vehicle. Slam! Then silence. Alone, locked in the back of a cruiser. Don’t think about it. Eyes closed, he dug the knuckles of his left hand into the palm of his right.
His door opened, with Officer Rodriguez acting as footman. “Out.”
Though his muscles wanted to throw him clear as if from an explosion, he eased from the vehicle.
She glanced at her partner. “Lowry, let’s go. We have to make a report.”
The man nodded. Both officers re-entered their mobile Fortress of Neglect. This had the precise reaction that one would expect: the people began yelling: “What about our food?”
“We need to eat!”
“You can’t just leave, damn it.”
“Pigs!”
“Shut up!” Nathan roared as the patrol car rolled away.
That startled the entitled bastards into silence. They’d probably never experienced a real upbraiding in their lives.
“Yes, we need food. But rioting isn’t going to make manna rain from Heaven. This is how communities and cities fall into chaos. Stop wasting your energy and instead start thinking of places that may have supplies. Now, go home before your noise draws cannibals. If they find you, food will be the least of your worries.”
The parents recovered first, moving in to collect their offspring.
“If you want to speak with me like rational people, you know where to find me.” He swung into the Sierra, slamming the door behind him. Amanda and Taylor entered their Genesis.
“Fucking government!” He pounded the meat of his fist into the steering wheel—fuck! Pain jolted through his torso, made his breath catch.
He rammed the truck into gear. The two-vehicle convoy reached Keelson Circle in minutes.
As Nathan swung out of the truck, Amanda left her car to join him. “Do you think they’ll bring anything? This is what we were afraid of when we first decided to wait out the disaster. Maybe we should have left with the government, like Carolyn and Albin wanted.” She looked away as she said the traitor’s name.
A derisive laugh tore from Nathan. “The government can’t handle delivering a few flats of supplies, a feat they accomplish easily in starving African nations, yet you want to trust them to evacuate you?” Insanity. “Even if they hadn’t already proven themselves incompetent during this situation, you only need to visit the local DMV or Health Department to lose all faith in them.”
“It was just a thought.” Her shoulders tensed as she looked away, jaw muscles pulsing.
He sighed as they started toward the front door, Taylor trailing them. Had Janine occupied Amanda’s place, she would have fired back, furthering the sparring match. “I’m sorry. I’m not angry with you.”
“I know. It’s just that . . . it all seems to be falling apart.”
He held a finger to his lips and twitched his head toward the tweenager.
“She already knows.” Amanda waved away the concern.
Inside, they went their separate ways, Nathan retreating to his room under the auspices of planning. While he often spent strategy sessions with Amanda, she left him alone now, likely assuming he would spend the time brooding.
He stared out the window for a few minutes, the time it would require Amanda to busy herself with a task around the house or neighborhood. Then he emerged into the hall. “Taylor!”
“Yes?” From upstairs.
“I want
to talk to you about something.”
Footsteps padded down the steps. “What is it?” She peered over the rail at him.
“Come outside.”
She looked confused—and curious—as she followed him out the front door. He settled onto the top step. She remained standing, her back against the porch’s pillar.
“Taylor, I need you to get those six teens we spoke to earlier. I want to talk to them in private. I want to avoid having their parents jump in and make things even more confusing for them. Can you do that for me?” He looked up at her with a smile.
“Sure.” Nod. “I know one of them, and she can get the rest.”
“Excellent.” He stood and put a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you.”
She blushed.
Chapter 55
Rules of the Game
The Best Is yet to Come - Sheppard
Albin crossed his arms as he scanned the map on Kenichi-san’s desk. The satellite image detailed Silicon Valley and its environs, replete with names of businesses and other points of interest. The glasses Kenichi-san had provided enabled limited interaction with the map, such as route calculation and detailed information on local businesses.
Leaning on the desk, Bridges rolled his head from side to side as he studied the map. “So many options, so little time. You said Mason compared this to a game between you and Nathan. If Ken is continuing his game with us, I wonder who’s winning?”
“I have no doubt he is.” It mattered little as long as Albin could use the inventor as an advantage.
Kuznetsov paced beside them. “This is getting more and more dangerous. Mr. Serebus is not a person I want to fight.”
“Chill out,” Bridges returned. “He doesn’t know where we are. And he’s got other things to worry about, like finding food for his people, and keeping gangs and cannibals out.”
“If this is a game,” Albin began, “then—”
“We need to buy the boardwalk, or take over Germany, or get more Mana,” Bridges completed the idea, but with more embellishment.
“As you say. Mr. Kuznetsov, do you know if any of these buildings are a suitable substitute for the location Mr. Serebus had first selected?”
“Actually, there was a file in the information Mr. Oshiro gave us. I remember that Quantsystems looked promising.” He indicated a building to the east of the Bair Island Marina. “Any of the buildings here would be helpful.”
“We don’t have the manpower to do everything ourselves,” Bridges mused, “so we’re going to have to get some help.”
“The nearest apartments are here.” Albin pointed with a pen to the grid of houses south of the Redwood City’s port. All the locations of interest lay southwest of ONI’s office.
“It’ll be easy enough to hop over there and use the drone.” Bridges had spent a portion of the day outside, testing the machine. Albin and Kuznetsov had also taken turns, but with less interest. “We get to them before he does. We’ll win this game yet.”
++++++++++++
“I’m glad you came,” Nathan began as the troublemaking teens gathered beside the baseball diamond in Sandpiper Park. “I know you’re running low on food. We all are. The government is not bringing us anything.” He held their gazes as he spoke the last sentence.
Their standard level of disgruntlement increased: “Why?”
“They said they were!”
“Are they going to leave us to starve?”
“They want us to look after ourselves.” Nathan slid his hands into his pockets as he regarded the youths. “This is unlike anything any of us has ever faced. I know you’re still teenagers, still kids. At least, you were before this happened. Society still treats you like children, even though you’re capable of much more. This is your chance to prove you deserve the respect you want so badly.
“This is the cold truth: either you step up and you take care of your families, or you become like the refugees and starving Africans you see on advertisements for charities. You’ve all been to the self-defense class. You’re all training to be competent with weapons. I’ve even seen you”—he nodded to the two younger members and a short-haired girl of Asian descent—“fight alongside us when we pushed those cannibals out of Marlin Park. You like to read manga and comics, watch movies, and play video games that are full of adventure. Now’s your chance to do it for real—and to make a real difference.”
They stared at him, ideas they’d never heard before bouncing about in their skulls. In theory, anyway. Realization, fear, and confusion flickered across their faces.
“If you want to talk to me, Amanda, or Josephine, you know where we are. Remember, we can’t save you. We do our best, but we’re not God. That’s all. Go home.” He gestured toward the neighborhood proper. Then he started toward the Sierra.
Behind him, the little gang began talking among itself in earnest.
A smile devoid of amusement broke on Nathan’s face.
++++++++++++
“Nathan!” Denver greeted him as he parked in the Musters’ driveway.
“What can I do for you, Denver?” Sliding out, he smiled at her as she trotted up.
“Look!” From her pocket she pulled a square of black fabric. She held it up like a magician’s assistant proving that a handkerchief hid no swords or animals. A white equilateral triangle dominated the center.
Confusion’s antigravity opened under him, the type that came only when a kid displayed what they considered a work on par with the Mona Lisa, and expected the adult they targeted to appreciate it as such. “That’s a nice design,” he ventured.
“It’s for the armbands. It can be our logo.” She beamed over the top of the cloth.
Thank goodness she clued him in. “What does it represent?” He crossed his arms and stroked his goatee in the manner of an art critic admiring a masterpiece.
“The triangle is like a tree, you know, for Redwood. And the background is like the ocean.”
“Why black and white?”
“Um.” She looked at it as if seeing it for the first time. “The white is because we’re kind of like a lighthouse or a pyramid. And the dark is because it’s really dark at night now, and because everything’s trying to get us. Like the riders in Lord of the Rings and the soul eater things from Harry Potter.”
“Nazgul and Dementors.”
“Right! Also”—she wore a sheepish grin—“they’re the only colors I could find.”
With a chuckle, he reached out to pat her on the shoulder. “I think it’s perfect, Denver. My company has a similar logo. The triangle is like the A. It also stands for the three people at the top of the company, like the apex of a pyramid.” He brought the tips of his fingers and his thumbs together to form a triangle. Three. We were three, and now I am one. His hands fell to his sides.
“What’s the matter?”
Get it together. Shaking his head, he forced a smile. “Nothing. I think it should become our official logo. Get some of your friends, and whoever else wants to help, and begin making armbands. Good work, Denver.” He gave her a genuine grin.
“Nathan.” Josephine’s voice reached him. “I’m glad I found you. I was about to call.”
He swung about to face the reporter. “Is there something—”
“It’s nothing bad. Remember the pictures of Lexa and Vic Birk?”
“Of course.”
“Have you read any of the journal entries he wrote in them?”
“Many.” He’d devoted a few hours to perusing them.
“Badal found one that was hidden in another folder. You’ll want to see it.”
Chapter 56
A New Player
Quoth the Raven - Eluveitie
Nathan and Josephine trekked to Badal’s boarding room, where the engineer’s laptop ran off a solar charger.
“Buddy!” Grinning, Badal bounded from his chair to grab Nathan by the shoulders.
“Easy!” through clenched teeth.
“Sorry, sorry!” Hands up, the engineer stepped back.
Nathan waved the man away. “Show me.”
“Already on it.” Badal turned the laptop screen to his employer. A Word document waited.
Nathan’s eyes narrowed against the glare to read: These people have figured out how to make miniaturized machines that actually function! This is like sci-fi, but without spaceships. They don’t need recharging, because they feed off the biological energy of their hosts. They can function like cells to repair themselves.
They’re still in the developmental phase, but from what Lexa says, I’m sure they’ll be fully functional and ready to go for FDA trials within months. The possibilities for these are limitless! Right now they’re only for biological use, namely in cancer cells.
They can be misused, of course, but I don’t think there’s much of a likelihood of it. There are other ways to kill.
“It goes on,” Josephine related, “but that’s all there is about the machines. At least, that’s all I found so far.”
“I haven’t found anything either,” Badal confessed.
Another reading of the entry—“Is he talking about nanotechnology?”
“Yep, but there’s no other explanation. He wasn’t kidding when he said it was like sci-fi!”
“Except in science fiction,” Nathan murmured, the words on the screen blurring, “they never end well.”
Josephine leaned against the desk. “Are these things related to the cannibals, and if so, how? If they are, what do we do with this information?”
Eyes widening, Badal clapped his hands. “I know! An electromagnetic pulse. An EMP would knock out all electrical equipment.”
Nathan rubbed his temples and sighed, “Badal, listen to your last sentence.” Badal had proven himself one of the best software engineers in the business, but sometimes he lacked the common sense God gave a donut.
With a roll of her eyes, Josephine sighed. “I’m sorry, but there’s got to be a better way than destroying modern civilization. Such as, I don’t know, using technology to fight them?”