by Chris Hechtl
He ignored her until she tried to slap him. He cussed at her in Spanish and then pounded the dash. “Let's roll,” he said waving angrily and they moved off. The teams separated to let them go.
“Little prick,” Wayne growled.
“He'll be back,” Shane said shaking his head as the dust settled and the gates closed. He turned to them. “He knows he needs us more than we need him. He just needs a little direction now and then to keep on track.” He kicked himself a little. He should have checked in on them. Or had Wayne do it.
“You rubbed his nose in it,” Torres said. “Right in front of his people.”
“Which is why I'm going to be a bit nervous about drive bys for the next day or two,” Shane said shaking his head. Torres opened her mouth and then closed it and looked at Wayne worriedly.
Wayne shrugged. “I don't think the kid has the balls, but you never know. He's got that Spanish pride and temper. You know it more than us,” he said looking at Torres.
She studied him with cold shark like eyes for a long moment. After a moment she nodded exhaling. “So what now? Bodyguard?” she asked.
Shane looked at the gate for a long moment and scowled. “No,” he said after Torres started scuffing her boots on the pavement. “No, we change our radio frequencies, we change up our procedures, and I'm going to be finding new hunting grounds. Other side of Day Street I think,” he said.
“Good idea,” she said nodding. “He'll think you're here and you'll be there...”
“Deny him a target. I don't think he'll do anything stupid. He knows the rest of us will roll right over his ass the moment he does. It’s keeping a lid on his people that's important,” Wayne said shaking his head.
“I'm still not going to give him or anyone else the chance,” Shane said. “Not with everything at stake right now,” he growled. The others nodded. They knew better than to suggest he stay at home.
“Come on,” he said waving to the vehicles. “Daylight's wasting folks!” he yelled. “Better late than never. Mount up!”
...*...*...*...*...
“How's Jen doing?” Bobby asked. He looked over to the harvester and to the squads milling about, pretending to not listen as they did post clean up chores.
“She's okay. She has her good days and bad days,” he said, trying to shrug it off.
“Man, if it was my wife...” Bobby started then stopped, spreading his hands wide. “Look boss, if you want to take some time off, I mean, no one will blame you for wanting to be at her side.”
“No one would dare you mean,” Austin said looking up from his rifle cleaning.
“No, wouldn't dream of it,” Shane said, feeling and hearing the click as he finished re-assembling his MP-5.
“Its okay, we can handle this,” Tater said.
Shane looked over to him with amusement. “Trying to get rid of me already?” he asked.
Tater blinked then scowled a little. “Not what I mean, but now that you mention it...”
“Its okay,” Shane said waving a hand. “Jen's been through this before. She's made clear her policy on what she calls bedside leeches,” He grimaced a little. “Hates them. She knows people have things to do, better things than standing around. She wants me to keep busy, the kids too. I'll be there despite her growling when I feel the need, but she'll get mad at me if I stay too long. I don't need her to wear herself out having a tantrum.”
“Oh,” Tater blinked. He looked uncertainly at the others. Bobby shrugged helplessly.
“Thanks though, knowing your thoughts and prayers are with her is nice,” Shane said with a nod. The squad nodded, feeling awkward.
“Speaking of downtime, I heard the weather forecast. We've got another storm coming in next week, or at least by Monday. Which means we've got to wrap up Brodiea before then. We'll all have plenty of downtime during the storm, whether Jen and Jayne like it or not.” He grinned a little.
“Yeah,” Bobby laughed softly. “I get you. Women hate it when we lie around, and heaven forbid we watch football!” That earned a general laugh around the room.
“Well, we'll see. Maybe we can do a scrimmage or something. Tag team. Or the kids can, or both,” Shane said.
“You serious?” Tater asked, looking like his grin was ready to split. “You're going to get hurt little man,” he said pointing to Shane.
“Hell,” he sighed shaking his head.
“Where? Can't do it in a field and the rain...”
“We'll figure it out, even if we have to take some gaming systems away from Gabe and play it virtual again. Now, Shit shower and shave,” he said putting his weapon away and then his cleaning kit. “I've got to do the same and then go see a beautiful lady.”
Bobby gave him a two fingered salute as he turned and walked to the baths with his towel.
“Now there goes a brave man,” he said softly, watching Shane go. The guy was like granite, able to weather everything and come out strong. He shook himself. Hopefully Jen would pull through. Hopefully. He knew the odds weren't in her favor however. They were getting longer by the hour.
...*...*...*...*...
Jill frowned at the report in front of her. It was a radio report; fruit from an alien tree was sweet and edible. One of the few plants that people can eat. Not poisonous, but it does have an after taste. She'd passed it on to the scientists but someone had got a hold of it already and it was making the rounds in the mall.
The harvesters had already reported in, some saying that they had seen some. And of course they had to pick some and try it. When it passed the tests they could throw at it, a volunteer tried it. That was the plan anyway, but it went out the door when a harvester on a dare tried it. Stupid. Luckily she hadn't died so it apparently wasn't lethal. At least not immediately so. When she was okay after 24 hours they went out and got more.
Doctor Niederman was concerned about the mushrooms. Some mushrooms taste fine, but are poisonous. They take up to a week to kill someone. That throws people off. Suddenly they weren't interested in trying the alien plants when he circulated that around. Good.
“It’s not fair that they can eat anything of ours but we can't do the same!” someone complained bitterly.
Shane snorted in amusement. Jen however rounded on them. “We don't know that,” she said, turning on him. He raised his hands in supplication. She put her hands on her hips and turned to address the crowd. “We don't. We don't know if they can digest our food long term. We don't know if it’s poisoning them or if they are just passing it without digesting it. Have you checked their dung? I haven't! Don't make assumptions unless you've got a shred of something to back it up.”
“Okay, okay,” the lady who had been complaining said. Shane smirked a little and got an elbow in the ribs for for his troubles. He oofed, getting a dimple from her and a mild chuckle from the crowd.
“Finding out that this fruit is edible is good news. We can try to cultivate it. Since it grows faster than ours we'll see how it goes.”
“Just think of all the recipes we can make with it!” a woman said eyes suddenly blazing. She was grinning as others looked at her.
“I'm sure you'll think of all sorts of things. Pies, pop tarts, jams, jellies, whatever, Trisha,” Jayne said dryly, smiling a tight lipped smile. “We'll keep testing the plants folks. Animals too. We're not sure what we can eat, but we'll keep plugging. Right now we've got enough food for a couple of months and more food growing in our greenhouses and other areas every day. Keep a positive outlook.”
A few people murmured as Jen and Shane nodded. The crowd broke up after that.
“That went well,” Jayne murmured turning to them. The rains the other day had helped the farms and moat immensely. They were now using Eric's plan, circulating the water through the moat after it came from the runoff from the cisterns or the farms. It made a circuit in some areas and then was passed back through the farms to start the cycle again. So far so good.
Water had been a touch and go subject, but it looked like they wer
e finally getting a handle on it. Groups further up stream had started venturing out and shutting off broken water mains. Or the plants had blocked them off. For whatever reason they now had enough water for their needs. Things were definitely looking up.
“You mean it could have gotten ugly?” Jen asked, lifting an eyebrow. “Over Kudzi fruit?” Shane felt a flicker of annoyance at his woolgathering and then smiled a little.
“At least they didn't riot and throw it,” Shane murmured looking around. “That slip about the food level wasn't...”
Jayne held up a hand and frowned. “Wise yes I know. A slip of the tongue. I'll try to watch that. Sorry.” They were posting the food and farm report twice daily but some people were still shaky. Anything less than a two month supply had them on edge or starting to hoard again. They didn't need that crap.
“Yeah. We need to keep a lid on people. I don't need hysterics or rumors getting out of hand. We've got enough to do without the distraction,” he said.
“Tell me about it,” she sighed shaking her head. “Speaking of which we've got a ton of fruit coming in and I've got to figure out what the hell to do with it all.”
“Crate it, freeze it, refrigerate it, and puree it. Turn it into drinks, sorbets, can it...” Jen said.
“I get it, I get it,” Jayne said shaking her head. “It’s been a while. Hell, decades. I don't remember half the stuff grandma said to me about canning and making jelly and jams.”
“Well, fortunately I do the baking in the house and since I came from a farm I do know some of the basics,” Jen said with a smile. “Let's round up the girls and pass the torch of knowledge to the next generation.”
“You just want to put them to work,” Jayne accused smiling.
“You know me so well,” Jen said with a mischievous grin. “Young hands and all that. We'll keep them busy. I'm getting a bit concerned about Trina; she's chasing some boy and well...”
“Oh god. Boy trouble,” Jayne said rolling her eyes and glancing at Shane.
“Boy trouble?” he rumbled, suddenly the over protective dad.
“Never you mind. We'll deal with it. You've got enough to deal with. Go play with your guns or something. Polish your knife. Order a surprise drill. Fly a kite.”
“Funny, real funny,” he rumbled shaking his head. “I do need to check the perimeter and get with Bob. He did say something about a new idea and wanted my input.”
Jayne made a shooing motion at him, dismissing him from their attention as she hooked an arm through Jen's. Jen's wheelchair was nearby. Jen turned and smiled at him and then started talking with Jayne. He snorted softly and turned, shaking his head and walking off. “Women,” he muttered.
“I heard that!” Jen said laughing. He chuckled, shaking his head as he kept trucking on.
...*...*...*...*...
He looked up as Bill came in. He stepped to one side as Julio entered carrying a case of Corona. He set it down on the table and stepped back. “We friends again now home boy?” he asked.
“What gives Julio?” he asked amused. It wasn't like he was stupid enough to drink the beer. It had probably been stuck out for months. Julio had taken his time making it up to him, a whole week. Bill pulled open the case and took out a bottle. He popped the top and sat on the edge of the desk watching the barrio kid. Shane cocked his head; the beer had condensation on the outside. Interesting.
“You were right,” the kid said after a moment, seeming to kick the carpet. He looked up and shrugged.
“Ran into more than you could chew?” Bill asked. His shoulders immediately hunched. “I noticed it’s near dark,” he said.
“So you're spending the night, you and your people,” Shane said nodding. “Doctor Niederman said your lady friend will make it,” he said.
“Thanks,” Julio said softly after a moment. He hadn't been sure if they had heard or not. Apparently they had. The fact that they could have easily of locked him out had preyed heavily on his mind ever since things went so badly.
“De nada. I told you before Julio, people matter. Crap we've got a plenty to go around. We need people to watch each others' backs.”
“Yeah, I learned that today. The hard way,” Julio grimaced.
“Have a seat,” Shane said. Bill handed each of them a beer. Julio took it and downed half in a couple of gulps.
Shane looked at him for a long moment and then took a small pull of beer. “That bad huh?” he asked. The beer wasn't half bad. Good.
“Yeah,” Julio said after a moment. “Fucking thing came out of nowhere. We thought we had it made. I thought we had it made,” he said shaking his head, looking down. “Gremlins man. Tore my people a new one. We went in there all fat dumb and happy.” He was seriously disgusted with himself.
“A bank?” Shane asked.
Julio shook his head. “No, barrio liquor store near the storage depot I knew about. Owner had solar panels on the roof and the lights were still on so we went in. Place was tore up though. That was all we got out of it. Shit,” he sighed shaking his head. “I lost four friends and saw a bunch shredded, for a case of beer,” he snarled.
“Shit,” Shane said looking at the beer in his hand and then setting it down carefully. Julio finished his off and then tossed the bottle into a corner where it smashed. Bill winced as shards flew near him.
Julio cussed in Spanish for a moment, tears flowing. Bill stretched an awkward hand out then pulled it back, looking at Shane. Shane got up and came over and sat on the edge of the table. He patted the kids shoulder until he calmed down.
“It’s a bitch being in charge. Sending people, friends, out to die. I know. Believe me I know,” he said softly. “Kid, I was a marine when I was your age. I watched men die. I've been in war. I know. Believe me I know. And sometimes the payout doesn't even begin to seem adequate,” he said.
Bill nodded, taking a pull of beer and then wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He had a hell of a time handling his end of things. He'd never imagined what it must be like for the boss in times like this. At least until now. The boss was a rock. A rock they drew strength from.
Shane looked up as the door silently opened. “Julio, did you learn something from this?” Jen asked gently as she came into the room. He turned to see her in a wheelchair. She shrugged as his eyes widened, taking in her gaunt look.
“Answer me son,” she asked. Her gentle eyes probed him. He gulped and then nodded. She came over and patted his hand. “Then they didn't die in vain. If you can learn from it, if your people can learn from their sacrifice, then it wasn't in vain. They will live on in you. Remember that. Try not to make the same mistakes,” she said. “You will make mistakes. We all do. But try to do better,” she said. He looked at her for a long moment and then nodded.
She smiled, patting his hand. He cupped hers, aware of how frail she was. She smiled as his fingers stroked hers. He looked at her and shook his head. “Thank you,” he said after a moment.
“Just remember Julio, its people that matter,” she said. She looked a little wan. Rick, the orderly came in and patted her shoulder. She looked up and nodded. She smiled at Shane and then blew him a kiss. He leaned forward and kissed her gently.
“See you tonight babe,” he murmured. She sighed and nodded. Rick turned her about and wheeled her out.
Julio waited until they were gone before looking at them. “What's wrong with her?” he asked softly.
“The leukemia is back. It’s killing her,” Shane said, still looking at the open door. “The doctors aren't sure how long she's got. A month? Two?”
“She's so frail,” Julio murmured.
“Yes, it’s the chemo drugs. They make her sick and she can't eat. They are helping her with intravenous fluids and supplements but it’s...” Shane shrugged helplessly.
“Its not going well,” Bill said getting up and patting Shane's arm. “She's a strong woman though. If anyone can get through it, she can. She did once before boss,” he said.
“Maybe,” Shane sa
id, face clouding. “I have to believe it,” he whispered. “We all do.”
Julio sat back, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. After a long moment they returned their attention to him.
“Boss, I... I'm sorry man. I got greedy. Fell into old habits, bad habits. I promise, I'll... well, I won’t say I won’t do it again, but I'll try to keep crap like that to a minimum,” Julio said.
“Okay,” Shane said nodding. “What happened with the gear?” he asked.
Julio looked embarrassed. “We got so damn greedy we were knocking over every bank we could day in and day out. Liquor stores, banks, pawn shops, diamonds, damn man, I've got storage lockers full of it.”
“And it’s not worth it is it?” Bill asked amused. He raised an eyebrow to Shane who snorted softly.
“A diamond is worth money because of artificial demand. I found that out when I bought Jen's engagement ring. It’s all supply and demand. Back in the day there was so much demand because the people who supplied the diamonds sat on huge stockpiles of them.”
“Ouch,” Bill winced.
“Yeah,” Shane nodded. “Same goes for money. It’s just pretty paper now. The diamonds though, those we can use.”
“I figured that part out after you rubbed my nose in it. Thanks boss,” Julio said shaking his head. “A couple of my boys didn't see the same as me. One got torn apart raiding the register. Just went right for it and didn't look below the counter.”
“Gremlin?” Bill asked sympathetically.
“Yeah man, just swish,” Julio said, using three fingers to demonstrate claws raking a person across the gut. “He bled out right there. We were so busy grabbing other shit I didn't even know he was down until we heard the thing laughing as it tore his face off and ate it.” He shivered. So did Bill.
Shane winced. He looked at Bill. Bill had been in the mall for most of the post invasion stuff. He hadn't seen the combat the veterans in the teams had.
“I know, it sucks,” Shane said nodding. “Hurts even more because you think you failed him. Just... just talk about it with someone. Us. We, hell, I know what you’re going through.”