States of War

by Kevin Partner

  "I warmed them up before we set off this morning," Solly said. "I've also got coffee, if you'd like some."

  "Seriously?"

  For the first time, Paulie's face spread in a grin as Solly took a second flask from his pack, poured a little coffee into her mug, swilled it around to clean the beans out, and filled it. All away from the window. He could feel her attitude toward him thawing by the second.

  "I'm sorry," she said, after taking a long swig. "I know I've been a bit of a bitch."

  Solly shrugged. "No need. We don't exactly make for the best sidekicks."

  "We're sidekicks?" Ross said, suddenly animated again. He'd spent the past hours silently watching the adults between dozes. "So, Paulie's the superhero?"

  "Of the three of us, I reckon she's the only candidate," Solly said. Like a fresh breeze blowing the dark clouds away, he felt a little brighter, and he could see from her more relaxed expression that Paulie was experiencing the same. Suddenly, they were a team, all because of a flask of coffee and a mug of beans.

  Ross glanced out of the window. "Something's going on out there."

  Solly and Paulie followed his pointing finger. A group of people, most of them in fatigues, had gathered in front of an entrance into a long, low building. A large black SUV moved out of the vehicle compound and reversed towards the entrance.

  A figure came out of the building, flanked by two uniformed men. Bound and gagged, his head was covered by a hood and he staggered as his guards bundled him towards the open back door of the car.

  "It's Scott," Paulie said.

  "How can you tell?"

  "I know him well enough. It's him, I'm sure of it. Come on, we have to follow."

  "Where do you think it's going?" Ross asked.

  Paulie pointed as the SUV began to move towards the compound gate and the lettering on its side came into view: Lee Corporation, Seattle.

  "That could mean anything," Solly said. "Just because it's from there doesn't mean it's going back."

  Paulie hefted her pack over her shoulder. "He's Scott Lee, there's a Lee Corp building in Seattle, and that's where the car is from. Everything's pointing that way, and that's where I'm going."

  Solly followed her out of the door and down the metal steps to where their car waited. "Where is the building?" he asked, remembering the squat black box in New York.

  "I don't know," Paulie said, "I'm hoping to follow that car. Come on." She bypassed the car and made to cut between two buildings.

  "We're walking?" Solly said.

  "No," Paulie called over her shoulder. "We're running."

  The SUV seemed to be in no hurry as it weaved its way through the streets like a presidential motorcade on the fourth of July and they were able to keep it in sight by following a direct line on foot.

  "Here," Ross said, handing Paulie a glossy tourist map he'd found in a booth beside the road.

  They'd taken a brief stop as even she was flagging now and Solly was almost out for the count.

  "Good idea," Paulie said, scanning the map.

  Solly pointed at a black square. "It's there, among the Amazon and Microsoft buildings. How far is that?"

  Paulie glanced across at the black SUV which was just approaching the end of the next road. The roads were much more congested here and its progress was slower, so it was easier to spot. "Around a mile, I'd guess."

  Solly let out a long breath. "Good grief. I don't know what you expect us to be able to do when we get there, I'm exhausted."

  "Come on Sol, you're twice the man you were when I met you," Ross said, slapping him on the back. "You can do it!"

  Solly smiled at him. "Save your amateur psychology. I know my limits, but I'll get there."

  They followed Paulie as she jogged off after the SUV.

  The Lee Corporation building was a five story black box, almost identical to its sibling in New York. It sat near one of Amazon's city outposts on a wide, tree-lined street that had been cleared of vehicles. They'd seen no signs of life on their journey across the city, something that was beginning to worry Solly. He wondered whether the militia had rounded up all the survivors or whether the Lee Corporation had cleared the area. He also wondered what the connection between the two was. Were they in some sort of alliance?

  Paulie, Ross and Solly peered out from behind a low wall opposite the building. The car disappeared into an underground garage and, hugging the walls, they made their way steadily across. There were no guards at the parking garage entrance, so they ran carefully down the ramp and into the darkness.

  They were just in time to see an elevator door close as the SUV pulled away, its red and white lights disappearing and leaving only the light above the elevator to illuminate the darkness. A guard stood beneath the light, a carbine hanging at his chest.

  "We need to get in there," Paulie whispered.

  Solly gave a little sigh. What was the saying? In for a penny, in for a pound? It seemed as though all the insanity of the past weeks had been leading up to this moment of utter stupidity.

  "Look, I hate to rain on your parade, but is it sensible to take Alison into the heart of the beast? This whole fiasco was supposed to be about keeping her out of the reach of the Lees."

  "What would you rather do? Leave it out here somewhere? Perhaps you should stay with it. Is that what you want?"

  If he were brutally honest, Solly would have confessed that the last place he wanted to go was inside that building, but he wasn't about to admit that to her, and so Alison would have to go with them. So, he shook his head. "How do you want to do this?"

  "I'll make my way around the guard. If he spots me, you'll have to shoot him, but if I get past him, then, when you see my sign, make sure he can see you and I'll disable him."

  It worked like a charm. The guard lay on the floor, hands and legs tied together with his own bootlaces and a sock stuffed in his mouth. All it had taken was the sensation of a pistol barrel in the back of his head for him to become instantly compliant. They now knew the key-code for the elevator and what floor Scott Lee was being taken to.

  Solly's gut tightened as he entered the elevator and he fought back the urge to jump back out as the doors closed. It was like stepping into the past as they were bathed in electric light and began their upward journey with an almost imperceptible bump.

  He gripped his Glock tightly and stood behind Paulie, who looked ready to spring out like a jack-in-the-box, as they counted the floors to the fifth and top story.

  As the door slid open, Paulie swept the corridor with her weapon, but it was completely empty. They looked at each other, not wanting to believe their good luck.

  "Maybe there's not as many of these Lee Corp goons as we thought," Solly said. "I mean, I've only ever seen a maximum of a dozen or so at a time. Perhaps this building is practically empty—more for show than anything."

  Paulie shrugged. "Could be, although we know that the ones we followed are in here and there were at least five of them."

  She darted out of the elevator and along the corridor, stopping by the first office door. Inch by inch, she raised her head until she was able to peer through the corner of its window. She breathed out. "Nothing. No lights on."

  The next office was the same and Solly became more and more convinced that his theory was correct. The Lee Corporation was a fake—like one of those towns in Spaghetti Westerns that have no sides or rear. And yet it had control of some of the world's most advanced technologies and, after all, how many people did it take to push a doomsday button?

  They reached the end of the corridor where it took a 90 degree turn to the left, into the heart of the building. Paulie peered carefully around it and then put her hand up to stop them, touching her ear. Solly could hear voices.

  "Two guards," Paulie whispered as she leaned against the wall. "We should be able to deal with them if there aren't any others in earshot."

  "And if there are?" Solly hissed.

  "Then we'll have to run for it. Get back to the elevator
and try to escape through the garage."

  They all knew that this was no plan at all, it was a suicide note.

  Paulie nodded to Solly and they stepped around the corridor simultaneously with their guns leveled.

  "Put your weapons down!" Paulie called as both guards swung around. "Put them down!"

  Solly was astonished that the guards complied almost instantly. They dropped their carbines to the floor and raised their hands to their heads as Paulie and Solly approached them. As Solly covered her, Paulie handcuffed them using their own cuffs and made them face the wall as she looked through the window in the door.

  "He's in there! And he's on his own!"

  Solly stood to one side so he could watch as she opened the door and ran inside.

  Scott Lee was sitting with his hands cable-tied behind his back. Paulie strode over to him and pulled the gag from his mouth. He looked sadly up at her.

  "It's a trap, Paulie."

  A woman's voice filled the room.

  "My name is Annabel Lee. There is no escape. I believe you have something for me."

  Chapter 8

  Four figures with leveled shotguns stepped out from behind a sign saying Welcome to Elizabeth and waved them to a stop.

  Al reached for his weapon, but Bella put a hand on his arm to stop him. It was too little, too late. They would have to see it through.

  "They're cops!" Maddie said.

  Sure enough, beneath their brown greatcoats, Bella could see deep blue uniforms and a flash of gold. One of them lowered his weapon and walked up to the RV as Bella wound down the window. He took off his sunglasses, nodded to her, then looked inside.

  "Ma'am," he said. "You're entering the jurisdiction of Elizabeth. Please state your business."

  Bella tried to force her face to relax before realizing that it probably made her look more suspicious. "We're just passing through on our way north."

  "You're going to D.C.?"

  "That's right."

  "How many of you in the vehicle?"

  Bella did the quick mental count. "Five—two women, three men."

  "I only see two men here."

  "The other's in the back. He's sprained or broken his arm."

  The police officer nodded as if considering this. "Well, we have some doctors here and a small town hospital. Our standing orders are to help anyone who comes by and asks for it, as long as we think they're not a threat to us."

  Bella glanced at Al, who nodded.

  "We'd appreciate some medical attention for our friend," she said.

  The cop waved another towards him as the final two lowered their weapons and resumed their stations monitoring the road. "We'll just take a look in your vehicle and then you can go right on in."

  Reluctantly, Bella agreed. She wasn't comfortable with strangers searching the RV, but if she refused, she doubted they'd let her drive on whether she was heading into town or not. She got down from the cab and watched as the first police officer climbed up. He rummaged in the lockers, though she could also see him glancing at Al and, in particular, Maddie and Luke, who sat on the bench seats at the back of the cab.

  The second officer, a middle-aged woman with a sour expression, opened the side door and looked inside. "Suggs," she called, "you might wanna take a look at this."

  Bella's heart skipped a beat as she followed the officer to the rear door. "Well, wadda we have here?" he said as he climbed aboard.

  Skulls was sitting up in the bunk-bed, his left arm inexpertly bound and his otherwise naked upper body displaying a colorful array of tattoos.

  "His name is Steve," Bella said before Skulls, who'd obviously been woken by the female officer's call, could throw gas on the flame. "He saved us from escaped prisoners. He's a good man."

  Officer Suggs looked at Skulls, then back at Bella, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "I seen a lot of folk like him, miss, and none of them was worth a hill o'beans. What have you got to say for yourself, Steve?" he added.

  Skulls, who had no idea who these people were or why there were searching the van, nevertheless adopted an alien tone of respect. "I used to be a bit of a tool, Officer. Had these done when I was younger. But I'm grown up and I don't mean nobody no harm."

  "Come on, Maggie, we'll let these folks get on."

  Officer Maggie scowled, glancing at Suggs as if he was crazy. She struck Bella as the sort of person who needs to do a daily bad deed in order to feel good about themselves.

  Bella climbed back into the front and Suggs waved them on. "Drive down to the mayor's office and they'll see you right. Have a good day, y'all."

  Thanking him, Bella pulled away.

  "Well, that was odd," she said.

  "Maybe they're not trained. Probably only pulled those uniforms on a few weeks ago. From what I've seen, hardly any cops survived."

  Elizabeth was a small town on the Arkansas bank of the Mississippi, just southwest of Memphis. As Bella drove into the urban area, she was astonished at how normal things appeared—it was almost as if the Long Night had never happened. Cars moved along roads that were clear of debris and people walked along the sidewalks looking entirely relaxed. The only giveaway that these weren't normal times was the number of police on the streets and sitting in patrol cars, but then that seemed a sensible precaution to protect this oasis of civilization.

  "Can you believe this place?" Al said. "I never imagined anything like this would survive. They really seem to have gotten their act together."

  Bella pulled into a parking spot outside the mayor's office and she and Al went inside.

  "You are newcomers," the man sitting behind the reception desk said. "Which patrol sent you along?"

  "It was Officer Suggs," Bella said, still struggling to cope with this normality.

  The man nodded. He was lean and black with a wide bald patch on his graying close-cropped head. If he could be summed up in a single adjective, it would be neat. "Yes, that is correct. The officer radioed through. The other members of your party are still inside your vehicle?"

  "Yes. One of us is injured and Officer Suggs said you have a hospital here."

  "We do, though it is small, and priority is given to residents, so your friend may have to wait a while. Please park your vehicle here," he said, pulling out a town plan and drawing a red cross. "It is close to communal washing and bathroom facilities. I'm afraid we do not have any available accommodation in the town center."

  Bella took the map, thanked the man, and went to leave.

  "One moment, please," he said and held up a sheaf of folder papers. "These are the town ordinances. You are required to obey them at all times and I'm afraid the penalties for breaking them are quite severe. These are difficult times and community cohesion is essential."

  Bella felt her stomach tighten a little as visions of the sort of summary justice practiced in the TLX imposed themselves on her inner eye. She forced a smile, thanked him again, and left.

  They had no choice. Skulls' injury wouldn't heal properly on its own, not quickly at any rate. They'd planned to push on to D.C. in the hope of finding medical help there, but that would take many days and she knew he was in constant pain. She'd scanned the list of rules and had found them to be pretty reasonable. Specific punishments were not mentioned, only dire warnings for non-compliance. Bella made sure that everyone read them and prayed they wouldn't trip over some of the more idiosyncratic regulations.

  "It's not broken," the doctor said. "Though it is a nasty sprain."

  They'd found the hospital quickly enough. It was a clean, compact unit that had once been a clinic. And it had power.

  Skulls sat on a gurney like an overgrown child as the doctor, a man of Indian appearance, addressed himself almost exclusively to Bella.

  "Repairing it will be painful, I'm afraid," he continued. "We have only limited supplies of pain relief and this doesn't qualify for local anesthetic."

  "I guess I'll just have to suck it up," Skulls said. "I gotta be able to use my arm properly. One handed I'
m useless."

  Bella stroked his arm. "You saved us one handed. That was a shot in a million."

  "It sounds as though you've had some adventures," the doctor said.

  Bella chuckled. "We have. It's good to find somewhere peaceful at last."

  The doctor gave a small smile and returned to his examination of Skulls' arm. "That is true, but please don't mistake peace for softness. The mayor has worked tirelessly to sift the grain, as she puts it. Those who contribute are welcomed, but we allow no bad apples, to use another metaphor."

  "We'll behave ourselves," Bella said, "and we only intend to stay a couple of days. Just long enough for Sk…Steve to recover for the journey."

  "You are going to D.C.?"

  Bella nodded. "That's the plan. Have you had any news from there?"

  "A little. Sounds like it's one big refugee camp. Lots of people traveling across the country on a promise. They think they're being patriotic, but they're just adding to the problems up there."

  It was a pale Skulls who fell back into his bed in the RV with a huge sigh of relief. Bella hadn't been able to watch the manipulation of his arm, but she'd heard his cries of pain from outside the room and she was glad it was over. The doctor had slipped them one packet of OxyContin to ease it until it began to heal properly.

  Before she could sit down, however, the church bell began pealing in sets of three. She grabbed the sheet of rules. "Mandatory town meeting," she said. "Well I suppose, as new and upstanding members of the community, we should attend. There's probably some disproportionate punishment if we don't."

  So they wandered into the town square where, to her horror, Bella saw a gallows had been erected. White painted, neat and clean, she was as shocked by the fact that it had been put up in the hours since she arrived as she was by its presence and what it meant. It spoke of a brutally efficient system of retribution.

  After a few minutes, the murmuring of the crowd fell away as a woman climbed the steps of a platform to the side of the gallows. With no obvious sign from anyone, a wave of applause rose and spread through the crowd until the woman put her hands up and began speaking into a microphone.