States of War

by Kevin Partner

  She rang an ornate china bell that had lain unnoticed on the coffee table. The muscled guard who'd fetched them from the RV walked in and took station beside the door. The mayor gave him a brief nod and he moved forward.

  "You will help us find this man," she said, "and, when he is safely in our custody, I will return this boy."

  The guard grabbed Luke by the arm and hauled him to his feet.

  Maddie jumped up and pulled on his other arm. "Get your hands off him!"

  "Now, now," the mayor said, "he is in no danger. He is simply our surety against you making a run for it. You may abandon your friend, but I don't think you'll leave this boy behind."

  "What do you expect from us when you've got your entire police force out looking for him?"

  Kennedy's face hardened. "I expect help! Now, I have other important matters to attend to. If you'll excuse me."

  Luke gave Maddie a quick hug and allowed himself to be led away.

  As they reached the door, Mayor Kennedy looked up from the sofa. She had a white envelope in her hand. "Oh, and do hurry. I'm sure the president of the TLX would be very pleased to receive my message that we have his son here."

  The bright sun shone on row after row of white single story houses. People were cutting lawns, taking out the trash or walking; all the routine activity of suburban America as if the Long Night had never happened. Al was driving, while Maddie and Bella scanned in each direction.

  It had been Al's plan, such as it was. Given that they had next to no chance of finding Skulls, his idea was to be as conspicuous as possible in the hope that Skulls would find them.

  Bella felt utterly wretched. The last thing she wanted to do was hand Skulls over to face a certain and very public death. But if Kennedy sent that letter to the TLX, they'd not only lose Luke, but also have a president out for vengeance on their tail.

  Maddie was an emotional wreck. Bella had known they were close, but it was now obvious that her daughter had fallen deeply in love with Luke. Bella herself had never felt the teenage passion that she'd seen in others, but it tugged at her heart to see her daughter in such pain.

  Bella had felt passion, certainly. Or was it lust? She'd given poor Todd so little thought since that first night. He was a good man, and he'd certainly thought the world of her, but had she been in love? Truly? Not as Maddie was, that was for certain. She was too old for that, she decided. But she wasn't too old to fall for another so gently that it was only when she was faced with losing him that she truly understood.

  That was how she felt about Skulls; about Steve. It wasn't a physical thing, at least not entirely. She'd first made a connection with him over a Hopper painting when she realized that there was a depth to him that could easily be missed beneath the tattoos and dyed yellow beard.

  So they drove along the quiet streets of Elizabeth for want of any other plan. In her heart she desperately wanted to see Skulls again. In her mind, she wanted him to be a long way from here by now.

  Her heart won out. They were moving slowly along another row of bungalows when, quite suddenly, he was there in the road, waving his arms. When they stopped, he waved them into a driveway and under a carport. He put a finger to his lips and gestured them into the little house.

  A single candle sat on a low table in the center of the main room. All the drapes were closed and beside the candle, his grim face warmed by the amber glow, kneeled the priest.

  "I am so sorry to have brought this upon you," he said.

  Bella ignored the kneeling man and stepped into the strong embrace of Skulls. He smelled of stale sweat and cigarettes, but she didn't care.

  "I'm sorry too, but I just couldn't let them kill this old boy. Where's Luke?"

  "The mayor's got him," Maddie replied, her voice trembling. "She'll only release him if we hand you in." There was something accusatory about her voice, and she treated the priest to a venomous glance.

  "This is all my fault. But I want you to believe that I didn't steal for my own sake. The church helps the families of those who haven't been granted citizenship here but have nowhere else to go. Mainly children, and some who are disabled or frail."

  "The mayor turns away people like that?"

  The priest looked surprised. "Yes, of course. She accepts only the strong and the young. I would not be admitted if I were to present myself today, but I was already here."

  With a sudden flash, Bella realized that she'd not seen a single old person since they'd arrived here. Why was that? Had she assumed they were hiding behind curtains or were they simply invisible to her?

  "Why did they allow me in, then?" Al piped up. "I'm no spring chicken."

  The priest shrugged. "You were not applying for citizenship and, in any case, you had others with you who were strong. There is work to be done in the fields and out there scavenging the neighboring towns and cities. Did you know that the mayor's slogan is ‘No Deadwood’? I believe she thinks it's funny."

  "So, what do we do now?" Bella asked.

  "We've got no choice," Skulls said. "You'll have to hand me in. I can't be responsible for the boy dyin'."

  Al helped the priest to his feet. "Father … O'Rourke was it?"

  "Just call me Brian."

  "Father Brian, do you think she'll release the boy even if we do hand you both over?"

  Again, he shrugged. "Who can say? She will do it if it suits her purpose. A young lad with many years of labor in front of him is worth something to her. So, maybe."

  "There's a complication," Bella said. "Luke is the son of the president of the TLX. He escaped with us and they want him back."

  "Does she know who he is?"

  Bella nodded.

  "Then we're lost. She won't let him go. She'll hold onto him and then hand him over to the TLX when she's good and ready."

  "You're only saying that to save your own skin!" Maddie hissed. "We have to get him back."

  O'Rourke turned to face her, ignoring the hostility in her face. "I will confess that I am not quite ready to meet my maker, but I would do it if I thought your friend would be delivered back to you."

  "Sure you would. You're just a coward!"

  "Perhaps, but I'm an honest one, I think."

  Bella collapsed onto the couch and sat watching the candle flame flickering away. "So, what are we going to do?"

  Skulls sat down beside her, and she felt a thrill at the warmth of his leg against hers. "I guess we'd better break Luke out of jail."

  Chapter 13

  "We're gonna head for Spokane first, have a little rest. Then we can decide what we're gonna do."

  Marvin Tucker rolled up his sleeping bag and tied it to his pack. He watched Luna struggling with hers before moving across and helping her. They'd spent the night in an office a few blocks north of the Lee Building. The place had been broken into and looted, but they found an intact room on the second floor. He shut the smell out and opened the window briefly. He awoke to see Luna fast asleep, sharing her sleeping bag with the dog.

  "But I want to go to New York. That's what it said on the helicopter. Lee Corporation, New York. In big white letters."

  Tucker sighed. She was like a broken record. "I told you before, kid, that don't mean the bird was flyin' that way. Man, it'd take a long time and lots of refueling stops to get clear across America. New York's three thousand miles away."

  "It was one of their helicopters, and it had my mom in it. They were taking her to New York. Isn't that where their headquarters is?"

  She was a sharp one and no mistake. "How'd you know that?"

  "I'm ten, not stupid," she snapped back. "And anyway, why should we go to Specci…"

  "Spokane. I lived there. I know the place, so we can hunker down for a spell. Make our plans."

  "You hope I'll just agree to stay there."

  Yeah. She was sharp as a tack.

  "Well, wherever we aim to end up, we have to get out of the city first. And we need supplies."

  "Have we run out of chicken soup?"

>   "Yeah."

  "Good."

  It was a gloriously clear day as they made their way carefully eastwards. There were people here and Marvin kept his Glock in the pocket of his dark brown Sheriff's Department coat. He'd liberated it from the arms locker back in Arbroath as soon as the shooting began. Though he preferred a shotgun, he could draw and fire the Glock much more quickly and it was a whole lot less conspicuous.

  He'd studied the tourist map and considered two routes. One would take them across the Evergreen Floating Bridge. It was around a mile and a half, most of which was over Lake Washington. This was the direct route but, once they were on it, they'd be committed. It would be an easy place to be ambushed and they'd have nowhere to escape to other than the icy depths of the lake.

  The other option was to head south. No bridges that way, but it would mean walking back through territory held by the Lee Corporation or the militia, though Tucker was now convinced they were one and the same. After the incident with the 'copter, whatever it signified, he was reluctant to go that way—his gut told him the ants' nest had been kicked and they'd be on the alert.

  "Can't we get a car? I'm tired of walking!"

  "It's only been an hour," Tucker said. "And, anyway, you've got the dog to help you."

  He patted Dany's head. She was exerting just enough pull on her lead to keep Luna walking. Clever dog.

  "We're gonna go over a bridge, and it'll be blocked, I can guarantee it. We'll find a ride once we're on the other side. I don't like walking any more than you do. My legs are a lot older than yours."

  "And a lot longer," Luna said, sulkily.

  Three hours later, they were gathered around the camping stove waiting for a can of beans to heat up.

  "Those beans smell mighty nice."

  Tucker leaped to his feet, drawing his handgun in one motion. "Step right away, pal."

  A man in rags threw his hands up in apparent terror. "I don't mean no harm. I'm just Victor."

  Marvin lowered his weapon a little. "We don't have enough to share."

  "Sure we do!" Luna said. "Come and sit by the fire, Santa."

  "Stay where you are!" Tucker snapped as the man, who, with his white beard and red coat, did resemble a particularly moth-eaten Saint Nick, went to sit down.

  "Honestly, I ain't even got no weapons. Not even a knife."

  "How have you survived on the streets these three months unarmed?"

  Santa shrugged. "I been on the streets twenty years, son. Never needed no protection other than …" He pointed skyward.

  Marvin relaxed. His gut told him the man was a genuine hobo and harmless at that. But he kept a grip on his gun and reconciled himself to sharing the beans and being hungry again within the hour.

  "Is this where you live when you're not making toys, Santa?"

  The old man sat on the curb and looked from Luna to Tucker. "She yours?"

  "He's not my daddy," Luna said. "My daddy's in Afghanistan. I let him come along with Dany and me so he's not lonely."

  Again, Santa looked from one to the other. Tucker gave a shrug, poured the beans into two mugs and gave the warm can containing the remainder to Santa.

  "Are you folks heading out of town?" he said, after noisily devouring the beans.

  "We're going across the bridge," Luna replied.

  "Evergreen?"

  "Yep."

  The old man licked the can and then threw it into the shadows beneath the overpass. "Well, you kids make sure you wrap up warm. It's a cold day and it'll be blowing pretty chill out in the middle of the lake."

  He pulled a packet of cigarettes out of his coat and put one in his mouth before offering another to Tucker. After a moment's hesitation, Tucker took it.

  "Didn't you know smoking is bad for your health?" Luna said, watching her guardian take a satisfying drag,

  "My first one in fifteen years, but I reckon it won't be my last," Tucker responded as he relished the bitter taste in his mouth and the instant buzz.

  "As for my health, kid," he waved around at the dead city. "I'm taking it one day at a time."

  Santa chuckled. "I been smokin' for fifty years and it never did me no harm." He ruined the effect by dissolving into a fit of chesty coughing. "This cold air's no good for my lungs, though."

  Luna rolled her eyes and went back to petting Dany, who was nuzzling into her. Dog food had been easier to find than human supplies, so she'd eaten better than her companions and was ready for another long walk.

  "But look," Santa continued, "why not stay here? There's good pickins if you know where to look. I used to be hungry, but now I eat like a king."

  "Are there any gangs around here?"

  Santa nodded. "Oh yeah, but it's not hard to keep out of their way. I ain't got nothin' they wanna steal anyway. Or so they think. And there's plenty around just waitin' for someone to give it a new home."

  "I reckon we'll keep on going," Tucker said. "We're heading to Spokane."

  "And then we're going to New York," Luna added.

  The adults shared a meaningful look before Santa got to his feet and held out his hand. "As I said, my name's Victor. If you run into any trouble, mention my name. Thanks for sharing your beans." This last was directed at Luna who treated him to a cheery smile.

  Tucker shook his hand and then watched as the old man shuffled off into the shadows before addressing Luna. "Well, when you get hungry, you just remember it's your fault. We don't invite strangers to share our food."

  "He wasn't a stranger, he's Santa."

  "There ain't no such thing as Santa Claus, kid."

  She treated him to a withering stare. "I know that. Like I told you, I'm ten, not stupid. But he didn't feel dangerous."

  "Can't trust your feelings. Rely on your senses, that's my advice. Now come on, I want to be well past the bridge by nightfall."

  Trouble found them once they were out over the water.

  "Hey you!" It was a woman's voice and she stood with a leveled shotgun blocking their way. Two male shapes emerged from a gap in the wall separating the walkway from the main highway.

  Tucker cursed himself for being too slow. He'd been nervous about stepping out over the water and had been trying to keep his mind focused when what he'd thought was simply some abandoned luggage had leaped up and leveled a gun on him.

  "Put your weapons down," the woman said. She was young and heavy set with mousy brown hair and wore what looked like a ski suit crowned by a bobble hat.

  The two men approached Marvin and watched as he slowly withdrew the gun from his pocket and dropped it to the ground. "We just wanna pass the bridge," he said, angry at himself for being so simply ambushed when he'd anticipated exactly that happening.

  "Oh, you can pass sure enough, once you've paid the toll."

  Tucker sighed. "We've only got what we're carrying on our backs!"

  "Down girl!" Luna said as Dany bared her teeth and growled at the approaching men.

  "Yeah, that's right, little girl, keep that thing under control or I'll put a bullet in its head."

  "She's not a thing, she's my friend."

  Tucker felt the pack being pulled from his shoulders.

  "Where are you folks going?" the big woman asked.

  "Across the bridge," Tucker said, biting back his anger.

  The woman's eyes narrowed. "And where then, big man?"

  "We're heading to Spokane," Tucker responded.

  "And then New York," Luna added.

  The woman regarded the girl. "And is he your daddy?"

  "Why does everyone ask that? No, same as I told Santa, we let him come along, Dany and me."

  "Santa?"

  "He said his name was Victor," Tucker said.

  The woman's eyes widened. "You met Victor?"

  "Yeah, and he said if we ran into any trouble, we was to say his name," Luna added.

  Tucker sensed the men who'd been rifling through his pack tense up and, as quietly as possible, refill and zip it up.

  "What happened?" th
e woman asked.

  Luna recapped the story.

  "He asked for food, and you gave him some?" the woman said.

  "Yeah, he looked hungry. Marvin didn't want to give him any of our beans, but I said we should."

  One of the men handed him his pack, picked up his weapon and gave it to him.

  The woman looked Marvin in the eye. "You've had a narrow escape."

  "What do you mean?"

  She was now scanning the shoreline as if checking to see if they were being watched. "He is much more dangerous than he looks. I guess he took a liking to you. And you gave him food—he is a perverted monster, but he has his own moral code."

  "Monster?"

  The woman was waving them on with exaggerated gestures. "Let's just put it like this," she said as Tucker walked past her. "He got very fat after that night in November. Since then, he's been haunting Montlake. Not many walk away from an encounter with Victor and I'll be glad if I never see him again."

  Tucker lengthened his stride as Luna jogged along beside him. She'd not heard what the woman had said. "See, I told you we should give Victor some food," the girl said, relieved. "All we had to do was use his name and they let us go! What a nice old man."

  "Yeah," Tucker said. He turned his attention to the end of the bridge, took her hand, and powered on.

  The sun was going down when they found what they were looking for. They'd kept up the pace as they walked along the 520 as Tucker had felt hemmed in by the high concrete walls that lined the road—they were almost as vulnerable there as they had been on the bridge.

  They had threaded their way between the abandoned vehicles blocking the road. Most had been broken open, but all were covered in a layer of dust that obscured their contents. They were low on supplies, but Tucker wanted to get as far out of Seattle as possible before they went scavenging. The encounter with Victor had creeped him out and he doubted he'd sleep well tonight.

  He'd seen a tunnel ahead and had decided to scramble up the embankment and walk along the top when he noticed that he could see through to the end. So, they jogged through and found, on the other side, that the road became clearer.