"Oui, Jean. I worry about Masako. I looked through my entire supply of medicines. I opened every bottle checking for thyroid hormone, but I find none. The thyroid from the boar you and Fred shot is not as powerful as the commercial material or she is needing more. I do not know which. I am sorry."
"It's not your fault. No need to be sorry. You're doing everything you can."
"No, it is nobody's fault. But, it is my responsibility. I do not wish to fail. I wish to save lives. Her life. I fear Masako's thyroid is shutting down. I am increasing her dosage a little each day. At this rate we will run out of medicine within twenty days. Perhaps less."
John sighed heavily. "Then, as soon as it stops raining, we'll make the rounds of the pig farms again and if we don't find anything, we'll go back to the hunting lodge to look for another boar."
"And if you do not find anything? What then? What then!" Pierre had raised his voice and was almost screaming. "What can we do? What can I do? I am responsible for all of you. And I cannot help her. I cannot. I do all I can." Pierre stopped talking and sat down at the table with his head in his hands. Marceau knelt beside him and hugged him. The coldness of her eyes was now replaced with a warm glow and she caressed him lovingly.
"Hey Pierre. Take it easy," John said, putting his arm around Pierre's shoulder. "As one of our most intelligent people once said, 'It ain't over 'till it's over.' And it's not over. If we need to spend the next twenty days hunting, that's what we'll do. I won't rest until we've done everything we can for Masako."
Pierre sat up, blew out his breath and looked at John. "I blame myself, mon amie. I could have saved the thyroid from the horses or the cows, but I did not think of it. I did not think. I am so stupid." He closed his eyes briefly. "Even the squirrels and the other small animals. I am so incompetent. I am the death of her. She will die because of me." He lowered his head again.
"Even if you could have extracted it, the thyroid of the small animals wouldn't help. Don't worry. It's not your fault. You can't think of everything. We take life one day at a time. That's the best we can do."
* * *
The next morning dawned clear. John and Fred met in the kitchen before heading to the pig farms. "You know, John. I'm not happy about this."
"Really? Why? Masako's life is at stake. We must do something. We must do everything we can. We must save her life."
"That's not what I don't like. With that, I agree with you. But what about security? We aren't thinking about that. If you and I leave, then Pierre and George are defending the place and George is not in the best shape. Pierre is a marksman, but he can't do everything. I worry about our two new residents. One of us should stay here. One of them should go to the pig farms. Split the danger."
"If that's all, then, sure. I'll go find Chung," John said, reaching out and touching Fred's shoulder. "I trust him. At least, I trust him not to shoot me in the back. We'll take White Warrior Number One. We'll go to the closest farm and return. We'll take White Warrior Number Two and go to the second one. Tomorrow, we'll go to the third and if we don't find anything, then the next day, we'll fire up the Dark Dart train and go back to the hunting lodge. I assume you can handle everything here. Did you guys finish your upgrade on the engine."
"It's almost finished. It will be faster than ever and the brakes are better. It will be finished tomorrow."
"That's good. The brakes were originally made to stop two hundred pounds. I thought I was going to burn them out last time. Why did you guys upgrade the engine, anyway?"
"George was thinking of trading with the neighbors, if we ever meet any. Any we can trust. He wants to sell gasifier generators. Electrify the world. He's going to be the new Thomas Edison. He thought we needed more horsepower to pull a heavier load."
"Sure. He's not developing a big head from all this, is he?"
"No, George is normal. I think Iris is encouraging him to become business minded. In case the world ever goes back to normal."
"That's good to hear. I was worried the carbon monoxide was having a bad effect on him, but it's just Iris that's having a bad effect on him. I suppose I can live with that."
"But about security, John. I don't really feel up to the job. Charles made it look simple. The Army wasn't like this. We knew who the enemy was and we carried the fight to the enemy. Here, we don't know where it's coming from and we don't know what it looks like. Each time is different."
"Just keep thinking like that and you'll be fine." John put his arm around Fred's shoulder and continued, "You have my complete confidence."
Fred watched as John walked off and asked himself, what the hell did that mean? I was hoping for some guidance. I feel a little out of my depth here. What else should I be doing? Maybe he meant I shouldn't be doing anything else. John, why are you so difficult to understand? Or maybe you aren't. Wish I knew.
John went to Chung's cabin and found Chung sitting on the front porch. "You're an early riser."
"Couldn't sleep, Big Guy. Lots to think about. This is not what I thought it would be."
"Are you worried, too? We have plenty of food, but everybody is still worried about something. Food used to be the only thing I worried about. What are you worried about?"
"It may not be my place to say anything, but I'm worried about your friend, George. I saw Hans coming in from outside, just before Fred said he wanted to go check the grounds. I worry that Hans is trying to kill us all, starting with George."
John glanced up at the lodge. "I didn't notice. I must be slipping . Let's talk about it on the trip. How about accompanying me to a pig farm? We need a pig thyroid for Masako. She's gone hypo."
"Sure. She looks hypo. A little heavy."
"Don't tell her that. Grab a rifle and a pistol. We'll take one of the electric cars. We charge them with solar panels."
"Smart. Who figured all that out?"
"George. Who else? Losing him would set us back. Or it would set our future back. He's the key to going back to where we were. If something happens to him, our present will become our future. I was hoping for something better."
"Not all that bad, though. You're doing better than most."
"Maybe, but that's not good enough. In the past, every time a plague hit, civilization lost two hundred years. I don't want to see that happen, again. If we can keep what we now have, then maybe civilization will only lose seventy or eighty years. Still, that's quite a bit. I'm hoping George will continue to close that gap."
John led the way to the barn and an hour later, they pulled up at the Big Gap Pig Farm. The sign at the gate was still up, but no people or pigs were around. Not even any footprints. The rain had washed theirs away from last time and no one had ventured to the farm since. They wandered through the farm and the surrounding forest for two hours without seeing or hearing any pigs. After throwing some corn on the ground, they drove back to the lodge, had a quick lunch and left in White Warrior Number Two. The next farm was harder to find and John became lost twice. The sign at the gate had fallen down. They parked in the small parking lot and began searching for pigs.
After twenty minutes, John heard a sound. "Hear that? Might be something. It would be best to catch the pig, but shooting one is the next choice. Shooting one in a non-lethal place would be best. Having our own pig farm would take care of Masako's problem forever and Marceau wants the meat. Win, win."
"Making two beautiful women happy at the same time. Sounds like a good idea. Are you and Masako together? I hope you don't mind my asking."
"I don't know Chung. She thinks we are, but Cho died only a short time ago. I'm not ready."
Chung moved close to John and whispered, "I know this pig thing is important to you, but I'm really worried about Hans. Are you sure he's alright? You said he was a spy."
"You were a spy. I was a spy. Masako was a spy. My stepfather was a spy. What's your point?"
Chung took a step back and cocked his head to the side. "I've known a number of Germans. His accent is not authentic. If he's German, t
hen I'm a seven foot tall Swede. He's hiding something, Big Guy. And that story about how he obtained those maps is full of holes. I don't trust him."
"He doesn't trust you either."
"He said that? That seals it. He's trying to make you worry about me so you won't worry about him. Distraction. It's an old saboteur trick."
John looked into Chung's eyes and shook his head. "We have to be careful. Watch him." John went back to the White Warrior, took a net and some rope from the back seat and returned to Chung. "Hear anything?"
"That way," Chung said, pointing off to the right.
John was proud of the two of them, at how stealthily they moved through the woods. Ten minutes later, fifty feet dead ahead of them was a small pig. John motioned for Chung to go to the left and circle around behind the pig. He didn't go far before the pig sensed him and bolted. John ran after the pig. The extra strength the virus had given him made him much faster. He was within ten feet of the pig in seconds, threw the net and tackled the animal.
"Now what, Big Guy? And how can you run so fast?"
"The virus, of course. Affected different people differently. Some of us are stronger and faster. I don't know why."
"Some of us?"
"Me. Fred less than me. George, Cho and Charles a little bit. Nobody else. What about you? Aren't you stronger? You should be as strong as I am."
"The virus was aimed at Americans. I haven't changed. The American mutants are much stronger than any human I've seen."
"Hey, just in case that's what you are thinking, no need to worry about us. At least, I don't think we're going to turn into mutants. If we were going to turn into something, it would have happened before now. But one group of mutants we saw was throwing picnic tables. Strong and fast. That ties in to what you said about the Chinese making two viruses, one for a warrior or slave race and one to destroy the world. Like you said, they were probably mixed up. I was exposed to the warrior virus more than the other one. Anyway, I'll tie up the pig and we can take him back to the car. I put a box in the trunk. Then we can look around some more."
They spent another two hours, but found no more pigs and no signs of more pigs. John put out some corn he found in a back room of the building before heading back to the lodge.
Chapter 70 - The Spy
The next day, they went to the remaining pig farm within range of the White Warriors and found two more small pigs. That gave them one male and two females and much hope for starting a farm. However, to make more pigs, these pigs had to stay alive. That meant they needed more pigs to provide thyroid medicine until these grew to maturity and reproduced. John discussed this with Fred and they decided that for security reasons one of the new guys should go with John to the boar hunting lodge. Since neither Chung nor Fred trusted Hans, John decided to take Hans with him and try to decide for himself if Hans could be trusted or not.
"Hans, would you like to go on a trip out west? Or at least as far as Tennessee."
"Zat would be fine, John. What do I need to do?"
"We need to capture a boar, alive if possible, but that probably isn't possible. In fact, it may be better to shoot one. So, bring a hunting rifle and a pistol. I'll bring the nets and some corn."
The next morning, they drove the White Warrior with a trailer full of wood to the warehouse where they stored the Dark Dart train. John unloaded the wood onto the flatcar, filled the burner and started the fire. After closing the lid onto the burner chamber, he jumped into the first car, beside Hans. They pedaled the car for a few feet until the engine hiccupped a few times and then ran on its own. As usual, the wheels spun a few times and the train moved out.
"We also have an electric starter on the engine, but I try not to use it. The battery is small and it only works a few times before it has to be recharged. George could add an alternator and a bigger battery, but that would add more weight. It's hard enough to turn around now."
"Zis train was made by George?"
"It was his idea. He and Fred built it. I heard that half a million such burners were used in Europe to run cars."
Hans frowned and then said, "Ya, they are everywhere."
John looked at Hans and thought, yes, they were everywhere -- seventy years ago, during the war. It was evident in John's mind that Chung had told the truth. Hans had never been in Europe.
John stopped the car, only a mile from where they started and climbed out. Hans also climbed out to see what John was doing. John pulled out his three twenty seven Magnum and pointed it at Hans. "So, who are you and what do you want? And drop that sleeve gun on the ground. If I see anything I don't like, I pull the trigger. Understand?"
All the blood drained from Hans' face as he took on a whitish pallor. His eyes began blinking and he said, "I - I - I am not wearing the sleeve gun," Hans' hand moved with jerky motions as he tried to unbutton his right sleeve. After the third attempt, he showed his arm. "I - I told you everything. Everything. I - I swear," he said, gasping for breath. "Do not shoot me. I know you people are violent. No need to shoot me. We can be friends."
"The other arm, now. No tricks." John took a step back and raised the pistol, pointing it at the man's head.
Hans finally managed to unbutton the other sleeve and held out his bare left arm.
"Hands on the car and spread your feet." John searched the man and found a nine millimeter semi in an ankle holster. He whacked Hans on the side of the head with the nine mil and said, "Again, who are you and what do you want? I want some answers. I want them now. And this time, I want the truth." John hit Hans on the side of the head again and Hans fell to the ground.
Hans looked up at John, his lips trembling and his breathing quick. "I told you everything. Don't kill me. Please."
"No, you told me a pile of lies. Now, I want the truth. Who are you?"
Hans waited for a minute before speaking. He pushed his back up against the Dart and said, "OK. I'll tell the truth. You are right. I was lying. Do you remember the second government car that came to see you? It waited by the curve in the road."
"Yes."
"I was in that car. We ran into a gang of mutants a day later. We thought they were normals. They killed my partner. I shot one and was lucky to get away. Most of what I told you was correct. I am with the government, but I'm not German. My grandparents were Austrian. My parents and I were born here. I'm familiar with the accent and I've always been able to use it to convince people I'm German."
"Where did you come from?"
"I was in a bunker at a military base outside Washington. They were running out of food and the power had failed. We volunteered to return to the surface to see what was happening. And to find food. We went to two military bases. Everyone was dead. We were able to refuel the cars there. Those maps I gave you were what we used to find you. Your outfit is now the only serious sign of civilization for two hundred miles in any direction. We found scattered groups of mutants, but only a few other normals. When you went to the coast and met Captain Hamilton, we started looking into your situation. We wondered what happened to him. Did you kill him?"
John thought long and hard before answering. If he told the truth and somehow Hans left and told the government, he would be in trouble. That shouldn't bother him. He was in trouble with the government anyway, since the group wasn't willing to cooperate. That situation couldn't be much worse. If Hans stayed, then … Well, it made no difference one way or the other, so he answered.
"He thought I was a mutant and was going to kill me. Self defense."
"You do a lot of self defense."
"Hard times. Go on."
"We were told to contact you and give you the forms, then return the next week. After my partner died, I had the idea if I told you I killed the government agents, you would trust me. That would give us a common enemy and when I showed up, saying I had killed your enemy, you would accept me."
"Good plan. So, what about the forms? Does the government really expect us to tell them about those things?"
"Of
course. Everyone will fill them out. The government needs to know what and who is in the country. They will collect taxes or they won't survive. If you resist, they will send men and inventory your house for you."
"That doesn't make sense. Money does no good now. The tax will be our supplies. But go on. How does Chung fit into it?"
"He's not with us. Did he tell you he was? I believe he is suspicious of me. He's been watching me. Did he put you onto me?"
John looked down at Hans and asked himself what he should do now. The government was watching him. They knew where he was and who he was. What did they want? The answer was too obvious. They would come to exact a tax, a hefty tax. A tax John couldn't afford. What would he do with Hans?
"Now that I know who you are, what are you planning to do? You can't spy on us."
"I can. We can go back and do what we were doing. Return to normal. Nobody needs to know."
"How do you contact the government?"
"Satellite phone. I brought it in my backpack and I stashed it in the forest. I pulled the battery. You'll never find it."
John thought that was the wrong thing for Hans to say. It revealed an arrogance that a man on the ground with a gun pointed at him shouldn't have. "You have been spying on us and reporting back to the government?" When he asked the question, John had a sick feeling in his stomach that he knew the answer. Their fortress was no longer safe. It hadn't been for months.
"Ya. I mean yes. Every day. They are quite interested in George. They even volunteered to air drop some medicine, if he didn't recover quickly. That would have blown my cover, but they thought he was worth it. Fortunately, he recovered. I spoke to him and gave him some verbal tests. He didn't know what I was doing. He'll be fine."
"So, you didn't try to kill George. Chung thought you did."
"No, of course not. We wanted him. Just think. If the government could put those generator sets in every house, the country would be back on it's feet in no time. If everybody had electricity, productivity would go through the roof. You thought I tried to kill George?" Hans said, wiping his face with his handkerchief.
The Weak Shall Die: Complete Collection (Four Volume Set) Page 71