A floorboard downstairs creaked, and a figure clad in black froze in the dining room. When the house remained silent, the figure continued to the hall and crept stealthily toward the small living room. It stopped at the threshold and looked around, and then made for the saddlebags by the old brick fireplace, barely visible in the murky half-light.
A flashlight snapped on, and gloved fingers fumbled with the flap of the first bag before slipping the cover aside. Inside were dozens of polystyrene rectangles, each containing twenty doses of vaccine. The figure removed five of the boxes and slit the tape on one to check the contents before loading them into a nylon backpack.
The figure departed as soundlessly as it had arrived, slipping through the rear door and pulling the latch softly closed before disappearing into the night.
Chapter 33
A sharp rap at the front door woke Joel, who looked around the bedroom, disoriented until he was fully conscious. He blinked at the hazy morning light intruding into his stupor, and reluctantly pushed himself to his feet as the knocking echoed through the house again.
“Just a minute!” he called out, wetting his dry lips. His teeth felt fuzzy and his mouth tasted like a barroom urinal. He glanced ruefully at the remaining whiskey in the bottle on the dresser and cursed under his breath at what had compelled him to drink so much of it. When the deputy had dropped it off, the idea had been to have a few shots to chase away the scaries, not consume enough to get drunk again and start the whole ugly cycle over.
He coughed as he struggled into a clean shirt and jeans. The knocking persisted, and he padded barefoot down the stairs to the front door and pulled it open.
The mayor was there with the sheriff. The pair took in Joel’s hair sticking up at all angles, his bloodshot eyes, and his three days’ growth, and exchanged a look. Hubert tried a smile and stepped forward with his hand out.
“Joel, isn’t that right? I’m Hubert, the mayor. You know Sheriff Hayden, don’t you?”
“Kind of. I met your deputy,” Joel mumbled.
“Right. Alex,” Hayden responded. “Sorry to get you up so early, but we have pressing business.”
Joel looked from the sheriff to the mayor. “With me?”
“Is Lucas here?” Hubert asked.
“Not right now. He went to check out the trading post – where the ambush happened.”
“Did he say when he’d be back?”
“I expected him last night. Should be any time.”
Hubert’s brow furrowed and he regarded Joel’s bare feet. “Can we come in?”
“Oh. Uh, sure. I guess so.”
Joel stepped back, and the two older men entered the foyer. Hayden closed the door behind him, and Hubert walked to the living room and made himself at home on the couch. Hayden followed him in and noted the saddlebags by the fireplace before taking a seat next to the mayor. Joel sat in the easy chair, trying to process what was happening.
“Young man, first of all, thank you for bringing the vaccine to Astoria,” Hubert began. “The entire town owes you a debt it can never repay.”
“Um, okay. I mean, it’s okay. That’s what I agreed to do.”
“Good man. And you’re also adept at making more vaccine?”
“I was supposed to help your doc do it,” Joel said, looking away.
“Yes, well, it’s a tragedy, what happened to him. But I trust with his equipment you could make more, so perhaps not a total loss.”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” Joel said, his tone evasive.
Hubert frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It’s just that there are a lot of variables. And if you’re planning to move the town, well, probably not. It would take a lot of time.”
Hubert nodded as though he understood Joel’s double-talk. “Well, it’s looking like we will have to move, so last evening the council voted to distribute the vaccine, starting today. That’s why we’re here. To pick it up.”
It was Joel’s turn to frown. “I can’t give it to you until Lucas gets back.”
Hayden smiled, but it was a cold expression. “We appreciate your dedication, but we’re on a rush schedule, and if your boss spent the night on the trail, it could take him all day to return. I’m afraid we don’t have that kind of time.”
“I…he told me not to let it out of my sight. He’ll hand it over once he gets here.”
Hayden glanced at the saddlebags. “That’s not necessary. You brought it for us. I’m sure there’s no problem if we begin inoculations. Is there anything special we need to know?”
“No. I mean, it’s one dose per person, half a dose for someone less than fifty pounds. Inject it into their shoulder muscle. Pretty straightforward. But you’ll have to wait for Lucas. Seriously. He’d kill me if I gave it to you.”
“Nonsense. I’ll be happy to explain why we needed it so soon. Is it there, in the saddlebags?”
“Um…”
Hayden stood and crossed the room in three strides. He opened the first bag and withdrew one of the white foam containers. “This looks like what I’d ship them in.” He split the tape with his thumbnail, lifted the top half carefully, and counted the vials. “Twenty doses. Perfect.”
“We have five hundred in all. That’s what we were given to bring.”
“That’s more than enough. We lost twenty men, so we’ll have some extra, even with the Chinese,” Hubert said. “Hayden, will you do the honors?”
Hayden turned and made for the front door. He was back a moment later with a green army surplus duffel bag and set it on the ground next to the saddlebags. Joel watched as he removed all the boxes from the one side and then emptied the other bag. When he was finished, he scowled at Joel.
“I thought you said there were five hundred doses. I only count four hundred.”
Joel blinked in confusion. “No. There are five hundred. I put them in the bags myself.”
Hayden pointed at each box on the floor and counted them out loud. “Twenty boxes of twenty vials. What am I missing here?”
Joel moved to the bags and ferreted through them, as though he could find the missing boxes in the nooks and crannies. When it was obvious five were missing, his face was a tableau of shock.
“Someone must have stolen them.”
Hayden’s jaw clenched. “You’ve been guarding them the entire time, haven’t you?”
“Um, yeah. Maybe Lucas took the others and hid them or something?”
“Why would he do that?”
Joel stared at the bags like they were live snakes. “I…I don’t know.”
“How long will it take to make more?” Hubert demanded.
“Um…like I said. There could be a problem with that.”
“You didn’t say there could be a problem. You said we might not have enough time.”
“That would be a problem,” Joel countered.
“Spit it out. How long?”
“Normally, a couple of weeks. But we had an issue with the culture on the way here. It might not be any good.”
The words hung in the air like a curse. Hubert sat forward, his face impassive. “Might not?”
“It was during the attack. The canister got broken. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.”
“So it’s impossible to make more? This is all we have?” Hayden growled.
Joel wouldn’t meet his eyes. “You need to talk to Lucas. He’s figuring all this out.”
“How?” Hubert snapped.
“He’s talking to our boss. Finding out what to do.”
Hayden looked to the mayor. “If people hear we’re short by twenty percent, we’ll have a big problem.”
“Why didn’t you tell us earlier?” Hubert asked.
“It was Lucas. He wanted to talk to Elliot before he said anything – find out when they could send more, or something.”
Hubert sighed. “This is a disaster. Now we’re back to a substantial segment of the town not getting the shot. How do we decide? Volunteers?”
Hayden eyed Joel. “H
e said that kids only get a half dose. How many under-fifty-pounders do we have?”
“No more than…fifteen or so.”
“So that’s an additional seven shots. Still not close to enough.” Hubert shook his head. “Take what’s here and let’s get out of here.” He looked at Joel. “I want to see Lucas the moment he shows himself, do you understand?”
“I’m sure there’s an explanation.”
“The moment he arrives. No exceptions.”
Hayden packed the vaccine into the duffel and straightened. Both men eyed Joel like he was an insect, and Hubert graced him with another frown on the way out the door. Joel watched them make for their horses, the mayor in the lead, obviously furious, and he closed the door and locked it, the siren song of the bottle upstairs loud in his head.
Chapter 34
It was early afternoon by the time Lucas made it to the fringes of the tent city, and he immediately noted a tension in the mood of the squatters, many eyeing him resentfully as he rode past. A few of the men near a lean-to flipped him off, and he had to duck to avoid a rock someone hurled at his head from his left. He spurred Tango to a faster pace and unslung his M4, unsure why the atmosphere was so angry, but uninterested in putting up with any abuse.
He spotted Ray near The General’s, where a small crowd was milling around, the bouncers and cleaning crew blocking the entrance with crossed arms. Ray caught his eye and indicated that Lucas should follow him to the water’s edge, where a grove of trees would provide privacy. Once there, the young man looked around apprehensively as Lucas dropped from the saddle.
“What’s going on?” Lucas asked.
“The General’s cabin blew up last night. We just got word a few hours ago. There’s nothing left.”
“What? What happened?”
“Nobody knows. I heard a couple of guys saying they think maybe the still exploded.”
“Is he okay?”
Ray shook his head. “Nothing survived. It started a big fire, which is still smoldering,” Ray said, pointing to smoke rising from the southwest. “A morning shower put most of it out, but it was bad.”
“Then he didn’t make it?”
“Doesn’t look good. Shame. I liked him.”
“So why are people throwing stuff at me? I didn’t start the fire.”
“Oh. No. That’s because of the vaccine. Rumor is that there’s not nearly enough doses to go around.”
“How would anyone know that?”
“You would,” Ray said bluntly.
“So I’m to blame if there are a thousand more people here than when I set out with the vaccine?”
“People are scared and angry. A lot of people have started dying in Portland, and nobody’s sure why. Could be the radiation, or could be the virus. It’s a bad situation, for sure.”
“Probably the radiation.”
“Yeah, well, some people think it’s the virus, and that’s why you’re here. They want the vaccine, but nobody from the town is talking.” Ray looked around again. “It’s probably not that safe for you out here right now.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“If somebody with a gun decides to take a shot at you, will it matter?”
Lucas’s lips pulled downward. “Be the last thing they ever did.”
“You should make for the gate. I’d hate to see something bad happen.”
Lucas straightened his hat and pushed it forward to shade his eyes. “Appreciate the tip. I owe you one for the drugs, too. Although I never found your Lee.”
“I haven’t seen him. But after last night, I doubt anyone’s going to come through the gate.”
“What about you?” Lucas asked.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“Do they consider you part of the town?”
“My guess is no, when it comes time to hand out shots. Call that a hunch.”
“I’ll see you get one.”
“Don’t sweat it.”
“I’ve seen the virus at work. Nothing to play with.”
“It doesn’t seem like I have a choice, do I? Or any of us, if we aren’t on the council’s good side?”
Lucas lowered his voice. “This wasn’t how this was supposed to play out.”
“The road to hell’s paved with good intentions, my dad used to say.”
“Smart man.”
Lucas mounted up and made for the gate while the throng busied itself at the bar. If the General’s still was gone, that meant his booze supply was dried up, so whatever was in the bar was all that was left. Lucas had seen enough shortages since the collapse to know they brought out the worst in people, and he didn’t want to be around when the inevitable fighting started. Maybe things would be different this time around, but he suspected not.
A group of squatters blocked the approach to the gate where the barbed wire began. Lucas slowed, the gun in his hand making clear his intention, and motioned with the barrel to them.
“Need to get through, boys.”
One of them pointed at him. “That’s one of them that brought the vaccine.”
The men’s expressions turned dark, and a pistol came out. Lucas looked at the gunman with cold eyes and shook his head slightly. “You don’t want to die today, do you?”
“There’s more of us than you. You can’t get us all,” the man taunted.
“That going to comfort you when you’re the first to get it?” Lucas asked, his tone conversational as he thumbed the fire selector to full auto. “This here’s an M4 carbine. Fine piece of American workmanship. It can spray seven hundred rounds per minute. Small caliber – 5.56mm – but it does a lot of damage. Slug likes to tumble when it hits bone and flesh, and it tears you up something fierce. Ugly way to go.” Lucas eyed another man, who had a revolver in his hand. “Pity to survive the virus and the collapse just to die for no reason on a patch of dirt nobody cares about, isn’t it? What they call ironic.”
“You can’t shoot everyone,” the first gunman repeated, stepping away from the others.
“I count sixteen of you. Got to assume anyone still standing here means me harm. You’ll all be dead in under two seconds. That how you want to play this?”
“So will you,” the first squatter countered.
“I’m wearing body armor. You aren’t. You’re 100% dead when I pull this trigger, whereas you’ll be trying to hit a man on horseback where he isn’t protected by a plate. Tough to do, even with a rifle.” Lucas paused to let that sink in. “Don’t see any rifles.”
Lucas could see the doubt in the second gunman’s eyes and pressed his advantage. “You boys go and get out of here. My hunch is the guards at the gate are trigger-happy with all the excitement. Be a shame if one of them decided to clear the way with his gun, wouldn’t it?”
A fragile moment stretched to ten seconds, and then the second gunman swore and slipped his revolver back into its holster. The unarmed men were quick to disperse when it was obvious that Lucas was ready to kill them all, leaving the first gunman standing obstinately in front of Lucas, his face twisted with rage.
“You stinking bastard. You knew all along you didn’t have enough for everyone, didn’t you?” he snarled.
“You mean I was psychic and figured out that half of Portland would set up camp here while I was on the trail?”
The man blinked several times, and Lucas realized he wasn’t very smart. Lucas spoke patiently. “I’m a messenger. Lost half my party bringing what we could spare here. And now you want to get even with me for something the town’s doing? How does that make any sense?”
The man had no comeback. Lucas motioned with his rifle. “I don’t want to shoot you. It’s over. Save your bullets for another day.”
The gunman’s lower lip trembled as the fight went out of him, and he slowly lowered his weapon and slid it into his belt. Lucas waited until he had walked out of easy range and then goaded Tango forward at a fast clip. Last thing he needed was for one of the desperate to try to shoot his horse out from
under him.
At the gate, the reception he received was only slightly more inviting than that of the squatters. A grim-faced guard barked into a radio as Lucas waited for the barrier to open, and Lucas called out to him.
“Might tense out here, fellas. Any way you could speed this up?”
“Hold your horses.”
Lucas didn’t react to the man’s unfriendly tone, figuring everyone was on edge. When the gate finally slid to the side, Tango walked through and the lead guard blocked the way. “Mayor said he needs to see you immediately.”
“That right? Where is he?”
The man had clearly been expecting a challenge and seemed surprised by the question. He had to think for a moment before answering, “Over by the hospital, with the sheriff.”
“I’ll find him.”
“One of us has to take you over there. Them’s orders.”
“I know the way. Seems like you’d be more valuable here in case that gang decides to rush you, doesn’t it?”
“That’s not my call. I’ll walk you to the hospital.”
“Suit yourself.”
Crossing the town took twenty minutes, and Lucas could practically feel waves of hostility radiating from the townspeople he passed. He had no idea why they would also harbor a grudge against him, but he was about to find out, he was sure.
When they arrived at the hospital, Hubert and the sheriff were there, along with the other members of the town council, as well as Joel, who looked as dejected as Lucas had ever seen. Lucas noted that Joel had his saddlebags with him, and immediately intuited that the council had forced Joel’s hand on the vaccine. He dismounted and took his time tying Tango to the lamppost before turning to face the council.
“What brings you gentlemen out here today?” Lucas asked.
The Day After Never - Insurrection (Book 5) Page 17