by David Nees
“Yes, it’s beautiful,” Jason replied. There was not much to add to the picture being painted before their eyes.
After a moment, Frank turned back to Jason. “We’d like to go over the issues from the trade. I know we didn’t appear friendly and I apologize for that. I felt we should get all the issues out and settled so the next time things will go more smoothly.”
“Apology accepted,” Jason replied.
“What is it you want to settle?” Catherine asked.
Frank looked at her but didn’t answer.
Jason could see the irritation in his face. “You’ll have to get used to discussing things with Catherine,” he said. “She’s been given a role in the valley’s affairs…by all the residents.”
“She looks pretty young to be in charge,” Leo said.
Catherine stiffened, but Jason put his hand on her arm. “She’s earned her right to speak for the group,” he said.
Leo gave Jason a disdainful look. Jason leaned forward in his chair and held Leo’s gaze. “Understand this. I’m a trained army sniper. I’m well versed in the art of killing. Yet Catherine saved my life, not once, but twice. You would be well advised to treat her with respect.” He kept his eyes locked on the man.
Frank jumped in. “I accept that Catherine has a place at the table, so to speak. I didn’t realize she was so accomplished as a fighter. I do know she’s a good negotiator.” He smiled. “We don’t want to get going again on the wrong foot,” he said, turning to Leo. “I think we can acknowledge Catherine’s position.”
“I’m flattered,” Catherine said. Her voice held a hint of sarcasm. “I appreciate your acknowledgement. You’re very smooth, Mr. Mason, probably like that whiskey you drink.” She gave the three visitors a big smile.
Frank’s smile in response was unconvincing. Chief Cook’s face broke out in a huge grin, his eyes twinkling. Leo just looked sour.
“So, what issues do we need to iron out?” Jason asked.
“Well, taxes for one thing. It’s best we get that settled beforehand. But I want to start with something more positive for both of us.” Frank sat up a little straighter in his chair. “We foresee a long and fruitful relationship between your community and ours. The trading we’ve started may be the key to a faster recovery for both of us than either of us could have expected without it. We’re thinking that anything we can do to expand the volume of trade between us is something we should jump on.”
Jason didn’t respond. Let him get it all out.
“We were talking about the trade and figured you could use help here in the valley. Since the EMP event, we know a lot of machines don’t work. I suspect that holds true for farm equipment as well. It must be more labor intensive to raise crops now. We guessed that everyone had to work really hard to plant and harvest what you brought with you.”
“And your point is?”
Frank leaned forward. “What if we could help you?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“We’ve got extra people who we need to put to work. Much of our projects are getting more technical, so less manual labor is necessary, but I still have to keep everyone busy.”
I’ll bet you do.
“So we could send you some workers to help you get your crops planted and harvested. You could plant more and have more to trade. We get more food resources, you can get more goods from the city, and everyone wins.” Frank sat back with a satisfied smile on his face.
Jason wondered where the catch was. He guessed with Frank there was always a catch.
“Of course it’s not all altruistic on our part. We get an immediate benefit. We don’t have to feed those we send to you and they don’t get into trouble in town.”
“You want to send us your troublemakers?”
“No, no. I didn’t mean it like that. I meant the ones we send might be ones who don’t have enough to do…you know, idle hands make for mischief, or something like that.”
“That makes me feel a whole lot better.” Jason’s voice carried a thinly disguised note of irony.
His mind raced. If the offer were genuine, a possibility that had to be considered, it could increase production. Still, how many extra hands could the valley absorb? How many did the residents want to absorb? These were private people. Also, the valley had only two tractors, built before the age of electronics, and one of those only worked part of the time. The number of tractors set a limit to how many people could be successfully put to work; what the tractors could get done defined how much else there was to do.
“It has possibilities,” Jason finally said. “And it’s an interesting offer.” Frank smiled. “But I’ll have to run this by all the others in the valley—”
“I understand,” Frank said.
“This is a small, private community.” Jason went on, ignoring Frank’s interruption. “We’re used to being alone…and self-reliant. Also, what you may not realize is that farming work comes in spurts. There’s a lot of work at the beginning, preparing the fields and planting. Then there’s not much to do while you wait for things to grow. We do have to wait on Mother Nature, you know.” Everyone smiled at his attempt at humor. “Then the work starts up again at harvest time.” Jason deliberately left out the repair work that took up time during the waiting periods. He wanted to hold on to a reason for rejecting this offer if the valley objected to it.
“I hear you, but the extra help should still be beneficial,” Frank said.
“My point is that it’s complicated, we’ll have idle time as well. This will take some thought.”
“That’s no problem. I know I’m springing this on you with no notice. I expected that you would have to discuss this with the others.” He smiled again. “We just want you to see we’re in this with you for the long term.” He seemed to Jason happy just to have his offer considered. How important was it to Frank, Jason wondered—and was there another motive for his offer? Jason was beginning to feel with Frank one could never get down to the sole root of any issue; there were always layers obscuring the bottom line.
“So, the taxes?” Catherine now spoke up.
Frank began his talk about the justification for the tax. Everyone listened politely even though they had heard it before. Chief Cook just sat there with a thoughtful expression on his face. Leo looked bored.
Catherine made her counterarguments, and finally everyone agreed that they would just have to disagree on the justification of any taxation.
“Since we can’t agree on whether or not it’s proper, we’ll have to talk with the valley about whether or not to accept any tax,” Catherine said. “Which takes us to the only real question here. What percentage can we agree on? Remember, the higher percentage you propose, the greater the risk that the valley decides to not do business with the town.”
“We can back up from the ten percent, which I think is a fair rate, considering the difficulties we face in rebuilding. We’re willing to set the rate at seven percent.”
Catherine smiled at Frank. “Mr. Mason, why would we agree to a higher rate than we accepted the last time?”
“That was a rate offered for the moment…as a compromise to complete a deal that both sides were heavily invested in.”
“Precisely. But now we aren’t heavily invested, as you say, so we would be foolish to accept a higher rate when there is no immediate pressure to do so.”
“Well, what do you propose?” Frank asked. There was a hint of annoyance in his voice.
Catherine looked him in the eye. “We appreciate you coming all the way here to settle this issue. You know we don’t think there should be any tax. But I think we understand that you want to stake out your claim to be able to impose taxes, much as we don’t agree. I think my dad and I can accept a six percent rate, the same as we did before. This lets you establish your point, and we’ll be able to sell this to the other farmers because we won a one percent concession from you.”
Jason couldn’t stop the grin spreading across his face. Not only fo
r Catherine’s maneuvering, but that she had called him “dad.” Charlie Cook sat smiling too, seeming to enjoy this girl’s handling of the situation. Leo didn’t seem to be amused. His eyes stayed focused on Catherine’s face.
Frank sat there for a moment, seeming to consider Catherine’s statement. Jason guessed that if the tax issue were a major reason for the visit Frank would not give in easily.
“Okay.” Frank’s smile looked forced. “I can’t fault your logic…at least from your point of view. We’ll do six percent on future trades.”
Catherine smiled back at him. “We all appreciate your willingness to compromise.”
Frank looked back to Jason. “Then we’re down to the bottom of the list. One last thing. I was wondering if you would show us these non-hybrid seeds you have. We brought some of our commercial ones with us and I’m wondering how we tell the difference.”
“Why would you need to know?” Jason replied. Was this the real reason for the visit?
“Well as we go around the countryside, looking for resources, we’d like to keep our eyes out for these fertile seeds as you refer to them. If we can locate more, we can help each other increase the food supply.”
“Actually we don’t refer to them as fertile seeds. They’re all fertile to start with. The ones you mean are often called heirloom or non-hybrid seeds …” Frank nodded, his eyes fixed on Jason. “You can’t tell the difference just by looking at them, anyhow. An expert might, but I can’t. Of course there are probably some tests you could run if you had the equipment.”
“Still, we’d love to see these seemingly magic seeds,” Frank said.
“Frank, there’s nothing to see.” Jason chuckled to hide the tension in his voice. “They’re just fine in our care. As we said before, after a couple of seasons we’ll probably have enough to share.”
Catherine spoke up in the same pleasant tone. “It’s better to let them keep their magic. And when we have enough, we’ll also have built up enough trust with each other to make sharing work for both of us.”
The smile on Frank’s face had disappeared. “That’s disappointing. We come a long way, at great cost, to apologize and work out arrangements with you. We concede to your demands regarding the tax, we offer you some help, we try to get along with you, and you won’t even trust us to give us a look around at your operation, to help us better locate more fertile seed.”
“You could get more help just by looking in your library. Strains to look for by name. That’s what you need,” Catherine said. “We wouldn’t know any of that.”
Jason sighed. “I wouldn’t put it in such a negative light. Looking at the seed wouldn’t tell you anything. It’s just grain.” He looked Frank in the eye. “We’re simply saying that we’ll keep this resource safe and use it for the benefit of both parties. Sharing can come later, when we have established more trust and more reserves. You have to admit, we didn’t get started very well.”
“And that’s why we’re here. And now you’re rebuffing us.” Frank leaned forward in his chair. “Look, if you can give us some samples, then we can have something to test and measure. That would aid us in finding the right seed.”
Jason cursed inwardly. Why the hell had he mentioned tests? He had no idea if there were any such thing that would help, but now he had pointed Frank in that direction.
“If you find any seeds, just plant them,” Catherine said sweetly. “You’ll get a good crop, and the next season you’ll find out if the new seed grows the same way.”
Just then the door opened and Sarah and Anne came out. Sarah was carrying a stack of plates with knives and forks on top, and Anne held a platter, steaming in the cool air.
“Everyone take a break,” Jason said with relief. “We need to eat something before we lose all the light.” Indeed, the evening had advanced unnoticed. He glanced at the back of the truck. The men were barely to be seen; now lying back, looking like they were trying to catch up on their sleep.
Charlie thanked the ladies warmly as they passed around the plates, as did Frank. Leo merely nodded. The platter held venison along with field greens, tomatoes and some bread on the side. The group dug in. The meal was delicious. Jason could see Frank’s pleasure in his energetic eating. Chief Cook wouldn’t stop grinning delightedly, and even Leo’s expression had grown pleasant.
Anne and Sarah joined them on the porch. “Are you going back tonight?” she asked Frank.
“No.” Frank was wiping his mouth with his napkin. He looked up at Anne. “Leo says it’s not safe to travel the roads at night. We could get lost and the risk of ambush is too great.”
“You think the gangs work at night?” Jason asked.
“Who knows?” Frank said. “But a truck on the road with its lights on really stands out in the dark.”
Leo’s voice was a low rumble. “Guards aren’t much use when they can’t see the people already aiming at them.”
“That too. Is it all right if we stay here for the night?” Frank asked.
Both Anne and Catherine glanced at Jason. He read the uneasiness in their eyes, but Frank and Leo had a point. “Sure,” he said. “We can’t put you up in the house, but there’s room in the barn. I can put a ground cloth down and give you some blankets. It won’t be too cold tonight, but there’ll be a heavy dew this time of year. The barn will keep you dry.”
“I guess that will work,” Frank replied.
When he thought it was deep enough into the night, Leo stepped outside the barn, closing the door on the snores behind him. The moon was three quarters full, and its cool light filled the yard. He took three quick steps to his right, into the shadow of a tree, and listened for any sound from the house. He was glad there wasn’t a dog on the property.
As soon as they had been left alone in the barn and the door had been closed, the three of them and their four guards had conducted a careful search of the structure. They had found no seed. There was nothing remarkable, just a couple of workbenches, a tool rack with hammers, several saws and other tools no one recognized hanging on it. On another larger rack there were shovels, hoes, scythes, and rakes. On the floor were some other farm implements that looked like they attached to a tractor. A corner held stacks of lumber planks in various widths and lengths. At the back wall were four 55-gallon drums, two labeled gasoline and two labeled diesel. A careful sniffing and jostling had confirmed the contents. Toward the end of the search, Leo had had the guards down on all fours inspecting the concrete floor to look for spilled grain and tapping the floor, listening for any hollow sound that would give away a hidden cavity
Now he wanted to look around the property. Perhaps there was a shed or storage bin hidden in the woods. As he made his way across the yard, a pair of eyes watched him from the second floor of the house.
Catherine was sitting at the open window when she saw Leo come out of the barn. She hadn’t been able to sleep and was enjoying the soft night breeze coming through the screen. The moonlit yard always looked otherworldly to her. The night didn’t scare her anymore. It had its own beauty that she enjoyed.
Sarah came over in her nightgown. “What are you doing?”
“Shhh.” Catherine pointed to the dimly seen figure moving across the yard.
“Who’s that?” Sarah asked in a whisper. She scrunched herself onto the seat with Catherine.
“That guy, Leo.”
“I don’t like him. He doesn’t seem very nice.”
“Me either. I’m sure he’s a gangster. I saw him before, when we did the trade.”
“This is creepy. What’s he doing?”
“That’s what I’d like to know. I’ll just have to watch him. He’s up to something.”
“Something no good, I’ll bet.” They watched in silence as Leo disappeared into the trees at the edge of the yard. “You really take all this organizing and negotiating stuff seriously, don’t you?”
Catherine turned to her. “Yeah. Jason trusts me and I think I’m pretty good at it.”
“I wo
uldn’t be,” Sarah said. “I can shoot and fight, but I don’t want to…and I don’t want to argue with people, especially adults. How do you do it?”
Catherine looked back out the window. “I don’t know. I feel responsible. Like it’s up to me to help out. I think the battles we fought changed me. I guess I don’t feel like a kid anymore.”
“Yeah. You’re getting married…then you’ll get pregnant and be no fun,” Sarah said. There was a hint of sadness in her voice. Catherine understood. Sarah was losing her big sister to adulthood. The EMP attack had distorted all children’s lives, but Sarah still tried to hold on to remnants of being a kid.
Now Catherine put her hand out to Sarah. “Shh,” she said. Leo was coming back out of the woods. He walked towards the barn and disappeared around the far side of it. “So he wasn’t going to the bathroom,” Catherine said.
“The outhouse is the other way. Sarah said. “He’s looking for something,”
“Yeah, but what? They asked about our non-hybrid seed. I wonder if that’s what he’s looking for?”
“Why are they so interested in that?” Sarah asked.
“If they get seed of their own, they don’t have to do business with us anymore.”
“Is that a bad thing? Why do we need the town?”
“If we were real partners with the town, life would be better for everyone. We concentrate on food production, the town concentrates on things like electricity, machinery, medicine, education…it all works well together.”
“How’d you get so smart about all of this?”
“I listen,” Catherine replied.
Sarah punched her sister on the shoulder. “Well, so do I. I just don’t find that stuff all that interesting.”
Catherine playfully punched her sister back. “Go back to bed. I’m going to watch for a while longer, till this guy goes back into the barn.”
Sarah yawned. “Suit yourself, but we have to get up early tomorrow. I’m sure Mom wants to feed them before they leave.”
“Probably right,” Catherine said. They both knew their mother.