The Forgiven The Fallen The Forsaken

by S. M. Armstrong

  "You realize," said Julie, "if we ever so much as fart in public, there's going to be a news camera there to report it."

  "In at least three different languages, no less. It doesn't seem sane."

  Julie turned off the television and they slept, dreaming of life before fame.

  LAS VEGAS, NV

  OCTOBER 24th

  Susan pulled Jim into the living room. "Julie and Helen are on. You've got to see this."

  On the television, the girls were being interviewed for a morning news show, fielding a wide variety of questions about everything from their current visit and their businesses, to their marriage.

  When asked about their businesses, Julie said, "We're doing our best to do what needs to be done to get keep the country moving forward. Right now the market is off of life support but remains fragile. The goal is to strengthen the market then get out of its way. You'll know that we're succeeding when you start seeing more competition and our market shares start dropping. In the meantime, we're trying to put as much back into the economy as possible. We don't feel that the wealth we've acquired is ours to keep."

  The interviewer asked about their marriage, Helen answered, "I think we were both a little surprised. It seemed like everyone else figured it out first, but we've always been happy together and I can't imagine life any other way."

  "What about kids?"

  Julie said, "Someday, but first we need to do what we can to get the country back on its feet while making sure that terrorists never threaten us with extinction again."

  "Even if at the price of religious freedom?"

  Helen answered, "When a religion becomes a terrorist ideology, it is no longer a religion."

  "Some would say that President Ambrose has been too harsh with the Muslim population."

  Julie put a hand on Helen's knee to stop her from answering. "I once called him Uncle Stalin over that issue and he told me that Stalin wouldn't have allowed anyone to avoid execution just by disavowing their religion.

  "Here's the thing, no one is running around asking people about their religion. There isn't any kind of witch hunt going on, but any kind of open Islamic religious worship will get you sent to prison indefinitely."

  The interviewer asked, "What about Senator Malek?"

  Julie said, "We never met him, so I can't make any informed comments about him, one way or the other."

  The host wouldn't drop the issue. She bluntly stated, "There have been suggestions that President Ambrose had him killed."

  Helen jumped in. "What you don't seem to realize is that the decision to run for a second term has not yet been made by either the president or vice president. You're still operating out of a paradigm in which politicians want their offices so badly that they will do anything to keep them and put up with any slight or insult.

  "If President Uncle Jim can accomplish enough over this year, I don't think that he will run for a second term."

  The interviewer sat with her mouth open for a second before saying, "None of us, I mean, he has to! No one else can do it like he has." She caught herself and said, "I, for one, hope that he does. Now what do you two have planned for today?"

  Susan said to Jim, "So, how do you like that? The reporter looked like she'd been punched in the gut."

  "The people are scared and are just going through the motions of normal life. Reporters, too. Now I'm going to have to address the election long before I want to think about it. I'm not sure that the girls did me any favors there."

  "Oh, I think they did you a huge favor, President Uncle Stalin. Now the world knows that you really are going to leave the presidency one day. People have heard you say it, but this is the first that they will believe it. Julie and Helen said it so it must be true."

  "I have a feeling that I'll have some help in that direction, eventually. I need to get to work. I'll see you tonight." He kissed her and walked out of the room.

  Later, at his offices, he met with Albert Medina. "Al, it's good to see you again!"

  "You, too, sir."

  "How are the territories coming?"

  "They're schizophrenic, sir. They love the idea of being Americans, and hate having rules that actually have to be followed. They really hate all of the foreigners we're shipping into the New Territories, especially the Asians and Africans. The immigrants are starting to outnumber the locals in many of the most desirable locations."

  "Good, we're going to need their votes to make more states."

  Al said, "The funny part is that the locals are busy heading north now that the borders are open."

  "We can use them here. How is the fight against the cartels?"

  "They've ceased to exist, mainly because there is no longer a market for their products and no one is willing to put up with them. I hear that tattoo removal is big right now."

  Jim laughed and said, "I bet it is!"

  "I can deliver most of northern Mexico, Belize, Cuba, and Panama at any time. Most of the rest will fall into line later."

  "I want to have votes as soon as possible, but only if we know it's a sure thing. I'll get Julie and Helen working on getting our companies down there hiring. Those two are miracle workers. You need to know that I'm ready to ask congress for an enabling act for all US territories to become states."

  "That's a big step, sir."

  "I don't know how much time I have. I'm determined to establish more responsibility for the world than we've ever exercised before. It's incredibly important."

  "It's going to cost."

  "I know, Al, but it's the right thing to do. Make it happen, however you can."

  NEW YORK CITY

  OCTOBER 25th

  Julie hung up the phone and said, "Uncle Jim wants us working magic in the new territories."

  "How? We're not done here yet," said Helen.

  "He's having Speaker Larson submit an enabling act to congress for the new territories to start the process for statehood."

  "You've got to be kidding me!"

  "Our job is to sell it by pouring business into the area."

  "Great. Well, Richards is due in tonight anyway. Are you ready for an all nighter?"

  They had Richards brought from the airport directly to their new headquarters in Soho. He looked around the building and said, "It'll do. So talk to me."

  Julie said, "We've been directed to dive into the new territories, but we're not finished with the relief effort and business opportunities for Europe yet."

  Richards said, "Enough said, give me what you have so far and I'll get things moving here. I'll be a week behind you down south."

  "One more thing," said Helen. "Uncle Jim is going to get an enabling act through congress next week to start the process for statehood. Keep that quiet for now."

  "Holy crap! Are you fucking serious?! We need to be down there now. Look, you two fly tonight. I'll wrap up here and head out the day after tomorrow. Start buying land. I know you know what you're doing. It will triple in value as soon as word gets out."

  Julie said, "Okay, but we need you focused on operations here for right now."

  They spent the next few hours briefing him on their work in New York on shipping, import/exports, and on taking advantage of the flood of immigrants. He agreed with all of their decisions and made some good suggestions.

  They called Matt and told him to get an interpreter and be ready to fly out in the morning. That night they flew into San Diego and caught a few hours sleep in a hotel near the airport. They knew the next day would be manic no matter what they did.

  SAN FRANCISCO BAY

  OCTOBER 26th

  Kemp talked Sandy through piloting the boat under the Golden Gate Bridge against the current at 7 knots. The view was beautiful, but it was too cold to stay outside the cabin for long. Most of the women were inside watching through the windows, but Lisa and Maria were out on the forward deck with the wind blowing in their hair.

  To Kemp, it was just another city, but the women were very much taken with the sight of San
Francisco. Though it was expensive, he arranged to dock the boat at a marina in the city for a few days. He had to laugh and admit that their excitement was contagious and he was enjoying keeping them happy.

  Once the boat was docked, the marina manger, Simon, went out of his way to see to their needs. When Kemp sent Lisa, Sandy, and Maria out to find transportation, Simon was able to direct them just where to go for a vehicle that would be sound for a decent price. A few hours later they returned with a van that ran well despite some rust spots here and there. It would do for now.

  That night the girls went out to dinner and sightseeing while Kemp spent the evening on the internet getting caught up on the news and searching for ships for sale. He found a couple of trawlers that looked promising and would look into them later. Frank's yacht had served him well, but he had no illusions about its potential to cause problems later. Plus, I'm going to need more storage space.

  "Hi Skipper," said Lisa as the girls came back in for the evening. "It was magnificent! You should have been there!"

  Sandy walked over, kissed him, and said, "This place is amazing! That dinner was the best."

  He smiled. "I'm glad you had fun and I want to hear all about it, but first I'll need two volunteers for a road trip tomorrow and the rest to hang out here for a few days. Let me know who wants to do what in the morning, okay?"

  They all wanted to go. That will change with tomorrow morning's hangovers, he thought. The issue may be decided by who is functional by then.

  He joined the girls for a couple of drinks then called it a night.

  The next morning Kemp loaded his equipment bag into the van. Sonya and Maria volunteered to go with him. He told the rest to thoroughly enjoy San Francisco as he didn't know when they would get back there, but they really didn't look like they would be enjoying anything for a few hours. He gave them B-complex vitamins to help with the hangover and told them to be sure to drink lots of fluids. Lisa just groaned at him.

  They stopped half way there to purchase a 24 foot box truck with the last of Frank's money from the yacht and the few hundred dollar trade in on the van. They piled into the truck and continued on toward their destination.

  "Thanks for taking us," said Sonya.

  "I didn't want Pam lifting and it seems you two were the only ones of the rest who were able. Don't think I didn't notice who was mixing the drinks last night," Kemp said, looking over at Maria.

  Sonya laughed and said, "Busted!"

  They told him of their lives from before the virus. All of the young women had been friends for years and were skilled tattoo artists.

  "Have you heard of Neo-Burlesque?" asked Sonya. He shook his head. "It's an art form reviving burlesque with lots of today thrown in. Our little group had quite a following in the Neo-Burlesque tattoo crowd. We'll show you some things when there's time."

  "Sounds intriguing," said Kemp, raising an eyebrow twice. Sonya laughed.

  "I noticed you don't have any body art," said Maria.

  "In my line of work, you just didn't do anything that would compromise your cover," said Kemp.

  "So, you were, like, a spy?" asked Sandy.

  "For many years, yes."

  Maria said, "Holy crap, we've got James Bond."

  "That's fiction. The real thing isn't so glamorous."

  Kemp enjoyed talking to the women over the three hours to get to their destination. It was a wilderness property he had purchased several years before with the George Wood identity. The only building on the property was a small shed that was a lot tougher than it looked.

  Once there, Kemp used the key he had taped in his passport to open the lock on the shed and pulled out the two shovels that were the only items in the shed.

  Maria teased him, "Really, a three hour drive for a couple of shovels?"

  "But they're very nice shovels," said Sonya.

  Kemp grinned and said, "Just wait." He started pulling up the floor of the shed. Within several minutes he had all of the wood removed to the outside of the cabin, exposing the dirt underneath. He started digging up the dirt and soon hit a solid surface. Maria grabbed the second shovel and helped him to remove the dirt.

  Before long, he was able to remove the metal hatch and expose stairs leading down into a room. He stepped down and turned on the battery operated lamp that he had brought with him. The boxes were there, just as he'd left them. He grabbed the first box and lifted it up to Maria, saying, "It's okay. You can open it."

  He heard Maria squeal in delight as she opened the box and then the black plastic bag inside. "Oh my God! How much is in here?"

  Kemp handed up the next box and said, "Each box holds one million dollars. There are about 360 boxes. I'd say it's enough to stop for ice cream on the way back." Maria giggled, and he said, "Okay, let's start loading them up."

  It took some time to get all of the boxes out of the storage room. Once they were loaded into the truck, Kemp started bringing out the firearms, ammunition, and boxes of freeze dried meals.

  By the time everything was loaded into the truck, it was mostly full. Kemp took great pleasure in tossing the shovels and wood back into the shed and locking it again, this time throwing the key into the woods.

  The trip back to San Francisco was boisterous. Kemp stopped at a hotel to shower and change into clean clothes and had to insist to the girls that they stay on schedule despite other ideas.

  He detoured to another marina on the way back in to the city to look at a fifty eight foot trawler that he had seen for sale online. The yacht broker met them at the dock and introduced himself as Phil Hayes.

  Kemp shook his hand and said, "George Wood. Good to meet you. Let's take a look." Kemp had left the girls to guard the truck.

  Phil said, "I'm sorry, but first I need to ask about payment."

  With a hard edge to his voice, Kemp answered, "If I buy it, it will be a cash sale to be completed today. If it can't be completed today, I have other trawlers to look at. Is that a problem for you?"

  "Not at all."

  "Good. I'll need to see the maintenance logs, too."

  Kemp carefully examined the Krogen trawler looking for flaws. After a couple of hours looking over the boat and a quick run out into the bay, he told Phil he wanted it.

  As they returned it to the dock Kemp saw Maria walking up with a briefcase. Kemp turned to Phil and said, "Let's get this deal done. Do you have the documents?"

  "I'll run out to my car and get them."

  Maria walked up to trawler and stepped on board. She asked Kemp, "Will it work?"

  "Perfectly, though we'll want to paint it and change the name." She handed him the bag and he opened it and started putting cash on a nearby table."

  Phil's eyes went wide and he said, "I'll be right back with the documents," and practically jogged off the boat.

  A half hour later, everything was signed and Phil had left with the asking price, just beaming all the way down the dock. Maria commented, "He sure looks happy."

  Kemp chuckled and said, "I paid him 10% over the asking price, which I'm sure he won't bother to tell the owner. He's probably contemplating retirement. Let's get a hand truck and start loading this bad boy."

  They loaded everything into the boat and Kemp asked Sonya to drive the box truck back to the other marina. She looked hesitant and he asked, "What's wrong?"

  "What if I just take a bus over and pick it up tomorrow?" she asked as she walked toward him, peeling off clothes.

  "That's fine," he said, "but what's wrong?"

  "So far you haven't made love to any of us. You always just say 'It's okay, you don't have to do that,' or some such garbage. I'm telling you, it's not okay. Those assholes in Catalina don't get to ruin my sexuality for the rest of my life. I'm not going to shut that part down, and neither are the rest of us. The time has come and you're going to pay the price for making us wait."

  Maria said, "You're not leaving me out of this!" as she followed Sonya's example.

  He was quickly backed into the main
cabin, stripped, and pushed down onto the king sized bed. The two of them dove in and didn't quit until he was completely exhausted and they were fully satisfied. Maria rolled over afterwards and said, "I'm never leaving you."

  "I'll share, but you're still mine," said Sonya.

  He kissed them both and held them tightly. He hadn't been with a woman since his wife had left him three years before. What the hell was I waiting for?

  After an hour's nap, the three of them took a quick shower and dressed. He hugged them both and said "Thank you for bringing me back to life." He had a feeling things would never be the same again.

  They filled the fuel, propane, and fresh water tanks and left the marina. Two hours later they were docked next to Frank's old boat.

  That night Kemp brought all of the women together on the new boat. "The deal is that I need to get the hell out of this country very soon. I'd ask all of you to help out with stocking the boat over the next week and I'll be heading south after that.

  "On each of your bunks you'll find two million dollars. This belongs to you and I don't care what you do with it.

  "Two million changes things, so if any of you wish to head off on your own, you are welcome to do so with the provision that you keep your mouth shut." Lisa started to say something, and he held up a hand to stop her. "Just think about it over the next few days and make up your minds then."

  Lisa looked at him and said to Maria and Sonya, "You two did him!"

  Maria looked sheepish and Sandy said, "Damn it! I wanted to be first."

  Kemp said, "Girls…"

  "Shut up and get in that bedroom now," said Pam.

  By the time the other three were satisfied, he felt like he was going to die, but he wasn't about to complain. Sandy said to him, "We told you that you belong to us now. You're not ever getting away. Understand?"

  He kissed her and sunk back into the pillow.

  That night, they ate on board and thoroughly enjoyed their new home. Kemp was appreciative of having the focus on the boat and not on him because he wasn't sure if he could survive another session like that. The women had acted like they had something to prove and he didn't believe for a second that it was something to prove to him. Still, he worried that he might not be enough for them, even if he was a safe harbor for now. How the hell am I going to manage this?