“Marjory, would you please ask Seth Miller to come in here? Thank you.” It was hard to be so nice to the people he detested. They served a function for him and he would tolerate his new image, at least until the ankle monitor came off.
“Welcome back, Mr. Polez,” Seth said, holding a file in his hands. He waited with a smile until his boss invited him to sit.
“Thank you, Seth. Have a seat. What can you tell me about Adele’s activities over the last two months?” Kyle said, getting right to the point.
Seth opened the file and handed Kyle the first sheet of paper. “I’ve kept a close eye on the tracking device in her Lexus. When it didn’t move for a week I followed the beacon to a dealership. She left it there on consignment. I haven’t found any vehicle registered to her since.”
Kyle stared at the information. “She sold my gift to her? How unkind of her. What else?” It was getting harder to maintain control on his temper, now that he was off those stupid drugs the hospital forced on him.
“Her cellphone hasn’t been used, and neither has her computer,” Seth continued. Kyle scowled. His company was founded on computer hacking. He was hired to hack a system, find all the flaws, and fix them, for a healthy fee. He fixed them, and he always left a backdoor so he could get back in. What good was it if he couldn’t use that backdoor to help him find one person?
“However,” Seth continued, “I put a trace on her bank accounts, and while we can’t manipulate them, we can monitor the activity.” Kyle looked up. “She’s in Montana, sir. I can’t pinpoint exactly where, because she hasn’t used her cards wherever she is staying, but she’s been to Butte to shop, then to the small town of Avon, then a week later back to Butte, and again to Avon. She hasn’t used any credit cards, only the debit, which most don’t realize can be traced just like credit cards. By the types of purchases to her debit card, she’s somewhere in Avon, Montana.”
Kyle smiled.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Adele put two more logs on the fire, hoping to keep the coals going while she was at the Thanksgiving dinner. She dressed in a long blue and green plaid skirt with deep green silk long-johns underneath and a dark green turtleneck sweater. She decided on the low heeled boots that would give her more stability in her walk to the restaurant. It was snowing again, and she should have let Jeff pick her up.
The long scarf wrapped around her head and neck kept the wind out, and the knee length down coat kept her warm enough, but she still felt a chill. Winter had arrived in Montana.
***
Adele closed her door and set off on her trek down to the gathering. Five steps outside, her cellphone rang quietly and she missed the call from her attorney.
“Adele, it’s Anthony Evers. I just got word that Kyle was let out of the hospital last week, and three days ago he slipped his electronic tether. So much for the courts giving us advanced warning! Please be extra careful!” was the message left on her voice mail.
***
Jeff met Adele at the front door of the restaurant. Although he had been spending extra time with her and he was sure the staff had noticed, he still didn’t want to make it obvious their relationship was evolving and growing more intimate. They hadn’t stepped over that line, though it was getting close. The restraint was intoxicating to him.
“Let me take your coat,” he said, hanging it by the door on the clothes racks. In another couple of weeks, it would be filled with ski jackets and heavy boots. “You look lovely tonight.” He kissed her cheek and led her over to the tables they would share with the other dozen people in attendance.
“How festive it all looks, Jeff!” Adele took in the green and white candles that were placed by every person. The long table linens were deep beige, and the cranberry, green, and matching beige napkins were a perfect accent. The crystal sparkled in the soft light emitted by the fireplace behind them.
Matt came by and poured everyone a glass a champagne, a signal to Jeff that everyone who was invited had arrived and was seated.
“I’ll be right back,” Jeff whispered to Adele. The tables had been arranged in a tight U-shape, to allow easy access by the working staff, yet close enough that conversation with anyone was possible. Jeff made his way to the center and picked up his glass.
“Good evening everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving! I’m delighted you could join me in this festive meal. The Geo Dome Resort opens again in one week, on December 1st, and there won’t be many more occasions for this kind of cozy dinner, so enjoy yourself.” He raised his glass to them and took a sip. “And now I would like to introduce everyone, since some of our guests haven’t met yet.” Jeff started at the furthest end of the table and gave everyone’s first name only. This was the solution he had pondered when it came to Adele. Someone might recognize her full name. He had promised to keep her secret and he fully intended to do that.
Course after course was served on alternating buffet tables. The working staff, Beth and Matt, were being paid triple time, and were there to keep dishes cleared away and to keep wine bottles replaced as they were emptied. When not busy, they each sat and enjoyed the meal.
The atmosphere was jovial and festive. Adele was relaxed and enjoying herself, until she heard someone calling her name.
“Adele, I understand you’re going to be here all winter,” Gwen Swanson said, “what do you do that you can take that much time off?” The question was innocent, yet it sent a wave of panic coursing through Adele.
She smiled to stall for time. “Oh, I don’t do anything, Gwen. I’m a TFB.” The lie was met with silence at first.
“What is that?”
“A Trust Fund Baby. Daddy was a rich man,” Adele answered.
“What did he do?” Gwen pushed.
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that,” Adele retorted. “Family secrets, you know?” She added a laugh. The conversation drifted away from her.
Jeff leaned closer. “That was a good dodge.” He could smell her hair and it smelled of sunshine, which they hadn’t seen for days.
The dessert table had just been set with an array of sweets when the lights went out, leaving everyone basking in candlelight.
There were a few gasps around the room at the suddenness of the dark. With candles glowing around the room, shadows danced and flickered, creating movement that wasn’t there.
“I’m on it,” Aaron said to Jeff, pushing his chair back. He pulled a flashlight from his pocket and switched it on. “Hmm, new LED flashlight, fresh batteries, and the darn thing won’t work.”
“There’s another one on the front desk,” Jeff said. “I’ll get it.” He grabbed a candle and made his way down the dark hall with Aaron following him. The flashlight was right where it was supposed to be; however, it didn’t work either. “This is confusing, Aaron. I know this was good this morning, I used it to look for something under the desk.”
Aaron had a worried look on his face, and pulled out his cell phone. “Cellphone isn’t working either. I think we have a really big problem on our hands, boss-man.” They both noticed a light coming down the dark hallway.
“Is everything alright?” Adele asked.
“How come your flashlight works and ours don’t?” Jeff queried.
“May I see your light, ma’am?” Aaron asked politely. When Adele handed it to him, she moved closer to Jeff and waited. “This isn’t an LED, it’s an older style. Battery engages bulb when the button is pushed, a simple design.” He handed it back. “Can I talk to you privately, Jeff?”
“Jeff, I’ll wait for you back at the table,” Adele said.
When they were alone, Jeff faced his trusted friend and employee. “What’s on your mind, Aaron? What do you think is going on?”
“I don’t know, Jeff, and I don’t want to speculate without knowing more. If we don’t have any working lights, I can’t check out the power plant until the morning, and maybe not even
then… unless your girlfriend will loan me her light,” Aaron said.
“My girlfriend?”
“Come on, Jeff, I’m not blind. The whole staff knows you’ve been spending a lot of time with Adele. Don’t worry, we also think it’s great, and she seems like a really nice person, so we’re happy for you,” Aaron reassured him.
Jeff blew out a breath through his pursed lips. “Okay, let’s not make a big deal out of it. Back to the problem at hand, I’ll ask her about the flashlight. Still, why does her light work and ours don’t?”
“Hers is an older one. LEDs have a substrate composed of gallium arsenide, a semi-conductor, but it’s enough to make them vulnerable to certain problems.” Aaron paced a bit, and then came back into the candlelight. “What time is it?”
Jeff looked at his watch and frowned. “My watch stopped.”
“Mine too. I’m betting all the computers don’t work either, even the laptops with a fully charged battery.”
Jeff waited while Aaron paced again.
“Shit.” He looked toward his boss. “I think we’ve been hit with some kind an EMP, maybe a massive solar flare. If that’s happened and we’re out, then maybe everyone is out.”
“An electromagnetic pulse? How would we know for sure?” Jeff asked.
“We try turning on anything that should run without being plugged in,” Aaron suggested.
“If that’s what has really happened, we’re in a world of hurt, aren’t we?” Jeff looked off toward the restaurant. “Let’s not alarm everyone yet until we know for sure, okay? What else can we test?”
“A car!” Aaron snapped his fingers. “There are so many electronics and computers in a car now, it wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“The truck is right outside; let’s try it.” Jeff headed to the door.
“Wait, Jeff. That’s a 1963, made before all the electronic parts went into a vehicle. It might be the only thing running here, or anywhere else in the state.”
***
“It might take a while to get the generator working again,” Jeff announced. “But we’ve got plenty of candles and dessert to eat!”
He sat back down next to Adele and leaned toward her. “What kind of batteries does your flashlight take?” he asked quietly.
“AA, why?”
“I may have to borrow it later.”
Adele looked at him askance.
“We’ll talk more when I take you home.”
***
“I think everyone walked down. If any of you want a ride back to your dome, I’ll be happy to do that,” Jeff offered. It was a beautiful moonlit night and most decided to walk. Jeff opened the plow truck door for Adele to climb in.
“I’ll take you home first, Adele. If it’s okay, after I take Lane and Gwen home I’ll stop back. It will give me a chance to talk to you about what may be going on.”
***
Jeff returned to Adele’s unit ten minutes later and was surprised to see a light in the window. He knocked on her door. When she opened it, he saw what was creating the light.
“Are you always this prepared?” he asked, admiring the oil lamps on the counter.
“No, but my mother-the-prepper insists on me having certain things with me all the time, and as I said before I swear she would know if I didn’t!” Adele laughed. “While you were taking Lane and Gwen home, I checked my voicemail.”
“And?” Jeff asked hopefully.
“My phone doesn’t work. I know it had a full charge, too. And the TV doesn’t work, but that needs power.”
“Have you tried booting up your laptop?” he asked cautiously.
Adele took one of the oil lamps over to the desk where her computer was and turned it on. “Nothing.” She scowled. “Jeff, what is going on?”
He took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Aaron thinks it might have been a solar flare, and it’s taken out the grid.”
“A solar flare big enough to take out the grid, would take out all electronics, yes,” Adele thought out loud. “We also should have been given some notice. Those X-Class flares take a couple of days to reach the Earth. They don’t sneak up on us anymore.” She noticed Jeff giving her a strange look. “I read a lot.”
***
Kyle stopped at a diner in the small town of Avon for dinner. The special was turkey, and the waitress cheerfully wished him a Happy Thanksgiving. Kyle hated turkey and ordered a burger. He didn’t want to leave her a tip for being so chipper, but no tip or even a big tip would be remembered, and he didn’t want to be remembered. He left an adequate amount of cash and left to find a gas station and a motel. He had been driving all day and was exhausted. Tomorrow he would find that place Adele bought all the clothes and get some answers.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jeff and Aaron stepped out of the old pickup truck and knocked on Adele’s door. Looking a little confused, she opened the door to the two of them.
“Care for some coffee?” she offered.
“What? How did you make coffee?” Aaron asked.
“I heated water on the woodstove and used my French press. There are lots of ways of doing simple things, with or without power.” They sat sipping coffee and discussing events.
“Okay, if not a solar flare, then what? And have you tried starting your car yet, Miss Michaels? It’s new, and probably has a few circuit boards,” Aaron said.
“A few circuit boards?” She laughed. “That car is loaded. Let’s go try it.” Adele grabbed her keys and led them to the carport.
“Nada, not even a blinking light,” Adele got out of the dead car, and they went back inside to the warmth of the woodstove.
“Would a solar flare really cause that much damage to the grid?” Jeff asked.
“I really don’t know,” she confessed. “What if it wasn’t a solar flare? What if it was something intentional… like a high-yield nuke?”
Aaron started. “You think someone nuked us?”
“I don’t think anything yet. Isn’t it a possibility, though?” Adele thought back to the newscast she heard. “It wasn’t that long ago there was a news report about North Korea arming a missile with a nuclear warhead, followed by the bobble-heads suggesting sanctions against them.”
“They wouldn’t care two wits about sanctions. They hate us, plain and simple, and if our grid went down, our government wouldn’t be able to enforce sanctions anyway,” Aaron replied.
Jeff looked back and forth between the two. “I think I’m really glad to have two really smart people on my side. What do we do now?”
“It might be a good idea for one of you to go into Avon and see if anyone else is affected,” Adele suggested. “If it’s only the resort, then it’s something else.”
***
With sun streaming through the massive glass windows, Adele pushed her art table closer for more of the natural light. She took all of the finished paintings except for Dragon’s Breath and the untitled dome one, and put them in one of the canvas portfolio bags she carried with her at all times. She put the bag in her closet out of the way.
Now she didn’t feel so cluttered. Adele took a new sheet and created a washed background, then another, and another. Six sheets later she went back to the first one and spread fern leaves in a random pattern, moving them around until she was satisfied. She worked for hours, forgetting lunch and occasionally wondering what Jeff may have found out by going into town.
***
“I’m telling ya, Jeff, if Avon is down too, people are going to get real twitchy when they see you’ve got a working car,” Aaron pointed out.
“Are you saying we shouldn’t go?”
“Not at all, though I think we should be taking one of those shotguns I know you have. Just in case.”
The ride into town was slow and uneventful. There were no tire tracks in the snow from the
previous night; no plows had been by; no mail delivery. The few houses along the ten mile route were silent and dark.
Approaching the edge of Avon, Jeff stopped the truck to observe. “I don’t like the looks of this,” he said. “There is nothing moving, and it’s so quiet.”
“May I make a suggestion, boss-man?” Aaron asked. “Park the truck over there and let’s walk. Being on foot will be a lot less conspicuous than driving around.” Aaron pointed to a parking lot in front of the Mountain View Motel where there were a few other cars. They slid the shotgun and a rifle under the wide front seat, and Jeff locked the truck, pocketing the keys.
“The township’s and sheriff’s office are two blocks down. I say we start with those,” Jeff suggested. They passed the dark and silent traffic light. Three cars had been in an accident and still sat in the middle of the road. The café was dark, although they could see a few people sitting at the counter. Everything else was closed.
The front door to the township government building opened easily and they stepped into the dim and cold room. The sheriff, still wearing his heavy dark gray wool jacket and insulated leather gloves, stepped out to see who had come in.
“Jeff, Aaron, good to see you,” Sheriff Claude Burns said when he recognized his visitors. He was a tall man, six foot three, and not as lean as he used to be. At fifty years old, his short dark brown hair was starting to show some gray at the temples, and his gray eyes required readers for the fine print these days.
“Sheriff,” Jeff acknowledged. “Do you have any idea what is going on? The resort lost all power last night, and by the looks of the town, so have you.”
“Yeah, everything stopped around seven o’clock last night,” Claude said. “Not only is the power out, cars won’t run, phones don’t work, nothing. Most people are staying inside trying to keep warm. A few are lucky enough to have wood heat, though not many.
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