by Jill Cooper
New Haven wasn’t taking any chances, not that Jenna blamed them.
Five semi-trucks each with fifty glistenings secured in chains and harness devices around their neck that if signaled, would do more than silence them; it would kill them. Since Susan Monroe had gone manic and killed a handful of armed guards, safety precautions had gotten a little stricter, to put it mildly.
“Maybe because you know how dangerous this all really is.”
She pivoted on her heel, not used to being caught off guard. It was Carl Spector, the new leader of the New Haven Initiative since Alistar Crane killed himself before being indicted for his crimes. First of which was having Chief Reynolds killed and setting her up for the fall all in the pursuit of Wendy and her half glisten baby.
Tall, African American and with a deep soothing voice, Spector was nothing like his successor. Rather than being held up in New York City wearing fancy suits and throwing parties, Briggs was down in the trenches. He wore a police issued jacket and an emblem baseball cap, but the way he held himself and moved through the New Havens when he visited commanded respect.
Jenna stood to attention even though she’d never really trust someone in charge of the HI. Not until he proved he wouldn’t frame her at the drop of the hat.
“Just part of the job, Sir.” Jenna moved to salute him, but Spector waved his hand.
“Dispense with the formalities, Jenn. I’m just here to wish you well. And hope you’ll reconsider.”
“Reconsider?”
“Your retirement. We’re still weeding the bad from the good. I could use an officer like you to tell me when I’m messing up; when someone in my organization has their own personal agenda. In the eyes of the public, we still have a lot to make up for and rightfully so. It’d be easier with you at my side.”
She smirked. “To save face? For good PR? A company man like you can’t approve of everything I did.”
“No, I don’t think anyone approves of everything you did. But you got the job done. You uncovered corruption that went to the top.”
“Yeah.” Jenna let out a deep breath. “And Wendy, the chief, all still dead. I just wish my actions were able to save them.”
Spector nodded. “When you received your commendations I meant every word I said. This world is damned messed up. We need someone like you to tell us when we’re fucking up. Someone needs to keep us in line. Damn wish it was you and anyone you tell me I can trust.”
“Sorry, sir.” Jenna smiled. “But the ocean, sandy beaches, my son, they all call to me. And no offense, I don’t think they’ll try to blow me up.”
Spector snorted. “Shame to see you go, but I understand.” He held his hand out and Jenna accepted it and gave it a hearty shake. “That’s some grip you have there, Officer.”
“I work out.”
He turned, ready to head back to command center. “And I’ll be here, Morgan.”
“Sir?” Jenna asked for clarity.
“When you decide the sandy beaches are too boring to hold your attention. I give it oh, maybe a month. Three weeks?” He walked away, didn’t wait for her to answer. Jenna wasn’t sure she had one. The same thing had crossed her mind more than once.
Taking a deep breath, she shook off his visit and cleared her mind. Jenna inspected the back of the rigs, made sure everything was secure. It was. Just like the last three times she had checked.
And thank God this was the last of the runs they were going to have to make. After months of prep work, New Haven 57 would finally be fully populated. Jenna felt like they were pressing their luck. Just asking for something bad to happen.
The glistenings were strapped in, shoulders rounded, heads down. They wouldn’t look at her. Part of her was grateful, but part of her wished they’d show some gratitude. She had been through hell and back to save their way of life, save their asses, and now she was raising one of theirs. Hell, she was one of them.
But they didn’t know any of that and Jenna couldn’t expect them to. Living inside a bubble meant you didn’t get a lot of outside news reports.
“Keep your heads down, do what we say, and soon you’ll be drinking soda pop while watching a late night movie with family and friends.”
A few of them glanced up, the brave ones. Surprise filled their faces. No one expected her to be nice.
Jenna didn’t either and she didn’t like it.
She pulled the door down and secured it with a padlock. “I’m growing soft in my old age.” She muttered and walked to the front of the caravan.
Dirk was opening the door to his rig in the front. When he heard her coming, he turned. “We’re ready to roll out. Are you?”
His eyes may have just reached into her soul and yanked it out, along with all its secrets. Jenna swallowed. “Of course I am. Just making sure everything’s secure. Seems tip top.”
Tip top? Who the hell said that anymore?
“Hmmpf.” Dirk rubbed her arms and gave her forehead a soft kiss. “Everything is going to be fine, Jenna. And when we’re there, safe inside New Haven 57…hey, New Haven finally is sharing a number with Heinz ketchup.”
Jenna laughed and turned her head. She couldn’t help breaking out into a wide smile.
“When we get there,” Dirk’s voice was low, sensual. “You’re going to tell me what’s going on. And whatever it is, we’ll deal with it together. All right?”
She nodded and wanted to cry, collapse against him, but both of those were things they didn’t have time for. Damn him for always knowing when she was most vulnerable. It was times like that she wanted to kiss him—after punching him in the family jewels.
Dirk touched her chin. “No more going rogue. We do things together now. Whatever it is, for better or worse, right?”
She couldn’t stop herself. “I love you, Dirk.” Her voice was unstable and gave away a lot more emotion than she meant, but she was getting used to it. She stroked his cheek and brought his face in for a desperate kiss. The kind where breath was hot, scarce, and you clung to each other like you were drowning in the ocean.
His voice was soft, sensual. She had awoken something in him again and she picked a pretty bad spot to do it in. “C’mon Officer Morgan. We have a job to do.”
“I’ll see you there. Try to drive the speed limit, okay? No more grandpa driving.”
Dirk snorted. “You’re going to have a hard time keeping up. They don’t call me led foot Dirk for nothing.”
Jenna couldn’t come up with a retort that wouldn’t sound forced or corny. She gave him a parting glance, longingly let her eyes drift down his body and headed for the rig at the back of the line. She took a deep breath, pulling herself in and secured her seatbelt. The engine rolled over smooth and she had nothing left to do but wait.
One by one everyone checked in over the CB radio and the engines purred to life. Up in the front of the line, Jenna could see the final inspection was taking place. It would only be a matter of moments before the blue bubble was lowered and they would be driving through the open road. Two hundred miles to their destination. Didn’t seem so bad.
She checked her watch. It wasn’t even nine AM. Heck, they’d be there before lunch. Maybe dinner, with the way Dirk drove.
The bubble lowered and she shifted her truck into first gear, keeping her feet on the clutch and break. She picked up her CB radio. “See you on the flip, Dirk.”
He said something, but she didn’t hear him. Her gut clenched ridged in a cramp unlike anything she had felt since her stillbirth years earlier. Jenna gasped, gripped the steering wheel and felt her body raging with heat and fire.
She reached into her pocket for her special pills, the ones that kept her stable during an episode. As a kid she lost time, went manic. Now the worst thing that happened was that she went dizzy or her blood pressure might drop if she hadn’t eaten any meat.
But never before had her finger shined blue, like she was on the cusp of changing into a monster.
Jenna’s heart raced. Her chest tightened, g
ripped like something was threatening to break free of her rib cage. She slipped the pill into her mouth and bit down on it, releasing a bitterness into her mouth. Swallowing, her eyes slipped closed and she waited.
Holding her breath. Counting to ten, waiting for the pain to recede, like the crashing wave of an ocean receding from a beaches wall. For a moment the storm was passed, Jenna opened her eyes and was able to feel normal again. The pain was gone and her hand no longer shimmered blue.
With great relief, she hit the gas to bridge the gap between her and the rig in front of her. It didn’t take long, clearly the episode took longer in her mind than it did in realty. Still Jenna was left with horrifying questions.
Why now? What was happening to her?
Was it because of the baby?
She prayed to God she could at least get through this final mission before she found out the answer.
****
Jane checked on baby Travis. The one year old was sound asleep; breathing was even and calm. She touched his fleshy cheeks, pressing her palm to him with love. Such a good boy, such a blessing and one she thought would never be in the cards for Jenna. Now that Jenna had everything she wanted, Jane worried about her more than ever.
She’d worry about Jenna until she went to her grave and had since the moment she found out she was pregnant with her. Jane made mistakes, hell some would say her biggest mistake was Jenna herself, but Jane had a hard time regretting them.
Creeping out of the room, Jane left the door open a crack and went into the kitchen. She pulled a pitcher of iced tea from the fridge and left it on the counter while she hunted down a glass. The cabinet was filled will pill bottles; no labels and no description. Jane picked one up and rolled it in her hand, watching the red pills turn over in summersaults inside the opaque orange container.
Last she knew Jenna only needed a pill or two a day. So why was she stocking up so much? What was she keeping from her?
Jane’s lips drew together in a line. Determined and stubborn; it was where Jenna got it from after all.
Travis’ cry startled Jane to the present. She stuck the pills in her pocket and made her way to the bedroom. “Coming, Sweetie!”
His little limbs were flailing and there was a bit of spit up on his chin. “Oh, honey.” She picked him up, cradling him to her chest. A year old and still spitting up, Jane hoped it was nothing serious as she took him into the adjoining bathroom. Her eyes swept across the white tile room, looking for a towel.
She didn’t see any. Jenna was so disorganized it drove her batty. Jane picked up some tissue she found on the floor and something fell to the ground, striking with a hollow click. The tissue worked at wiping Travis’s face. He smiled and babbled at her.
“You are such a sweetheart.” Jane kissed his head and then squatted down to pick up whatever it was that fell.
When she saw it, her heart stilled. She knew she was intruding, but she picked it up anyway. She had a right to know if Jenna was in trouble again, didn’t she?
And Jane already knew she was. Just the look on her face. Jenna looked just like she did when she was a teenager sneaking out of the house to do God knew what. Jane never discouraged it, but now she wished Jenna would come to her.
Trust her once. Instead, Jane had to resort to snooping. She thought when they entered into the pact to raise Travis as family, to keep the secret between them, that things would change. But instead, Jenna only grew more distant.
Jenna blamed her for everything; Jane loved a glistening. Now Jenna was ‘tainted’, but Jane didn’t see it that way. Glistenings could be wonderful, caring people.
Like Jenna’s father.
She flipped the pregnancy test over. Two pink lines.
Jane squeezed her eyes shut. No wonder Jenna looked so upset. God, she had no good sense if she went on the mission anyway. She needed monitoring, she was going to need prenatal care if she was going to see the pregnancy through.
She sighed and put the pregnancy test back where she found it. But she had no intention of keeping quiet.
She put baby Travis down in the living room with some of his toys while she bustled in the kitchen, preparing him a small snack of soft foods and formula. She opened a cabinet to get Travis his special liquid medicine and saw Jenna’s line of pills.
If she just took the pregnancy, why was she hording pills? Was it possible something was wrong before? Was Jenna experiencing some sort of complication?
All the what-ifs were going to drive Jane crazy. She picked up her cell phone and did the only thing she could.
She dialed her daughter.
Chapter Four Jenna
Jenna pulled her phone open. “What’s wrong with Travis?”
“Nothing. He’s fine. Awake, but fine. I want to know what’s wrong with you.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Me? Nothing’s wrong with me, other than I’m stuck driving a rig filled with blood suckers in the backseat.”
“Don’t lie to me, Jenna. It was written all over your face. I found your stash of pills. You have enough for years.”
“We’re getting ready to move. I just want to be prepared. So Dad doesn’t need to keep sending me smaller shipments.” It made sense, didn’t it? So much sense that Jenna almost believed it herself.
“I found the test. I didn’t mean to. I was looking for a cloth to wipe Travis’s face and since you never keep clean towels where I can find them, I grabbed the tissue and it fell out. I’m sorry, Jenna. I don’t mean to snoop.”
“Sure you don’t.” Jenna muttered. “I’m fine. I just need time to think.”
“Think?” Jane’s voice hit a pitch Jenna hadn’t heard in a while. “What is there to think about?”
“Don’t make me say it, Mother.”
“Oh Jenna.” Jane whispered.
“I have Dirk. I have Travis now. I can’t risk it all on a whim anymore, Mother. Don’t make me feel like a horrible person because I already do. Just back off, all right?”’
“Let me help you. Let me be there for you. That’s all I want. I am your mother, Jenna. I love you.”
There were tears in her voice. Jenna bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to keep you out so much. I just…let me think. Give me a few days.”
“That sounds reasonable. All right. What does Dirk have to say? I know this can’t be easy for him.” Jane paused. “Jenna? You did tell him, didn’t you?”
Jenna’s chest was tight again. “I have to go. Checkpoint is coming up. I just…have to go.”
“My dear girl,” Jane whispered, “Don’t do this on your own. You have to tell him. Do you hear me?”
Jenna hung up the phone and slid it into her pocket. “I hear you, Mom.” Daggers may as well have been shoved through her heart for all the pain she felt. She heard her mother; the pain, the regret, but right now there was nothing she could do about it as traffic slowed to a crawl.
She peered out her window and craned her neck, but couldn’t see past the rigs. Traffic on the other side of the road was nonexistent except every few minutes a lone car would barrel at top speed.
Jenna touched her ear. “What’s going on up there?”
There was a deep slow breath and Jenna knew it belonged to Dirk before he started speaking. “Some sort of NH checkpoint. They’re checking papers.”
Interesting, Jenna thought. Maybe security was heightened because of the glistening transfer, but it hadn’t happened during the last transfer runs they made. There was nothing she could do, but try to relax.
She turned up the music and blasted her air conditioner, but time traveled like molasses. Not exactly how she wanted to spend her day; alone in her thoughts with a bunch of blood sucking glistenings.
One by one the rigs rolled through the checkpoint. They stopped off the side of the road beside the ditch and waited for the caravan to be completed. Finally Jenna’s turn, she rolled the rig forward. The NH officer stepped in front and held out his hand to stop her.
She rolled her window do
wn and offered the guard a smile, but beneath the rim of his hat he was all business. “What’s going on today?”
He sucked on the gum in his mouth, but Jenna couldn’t make out his eyes behind his mirrored sunglasses. “Got a tip about some radicals smuggling some stuff through to Chic town. Weapons. Contraband for those bastards in the south.”
The Mexican cold war. The US definitely had enough problems on its hands. Maybe it shouldn’t have made Jenna happy, but she was just damn glad it would make disappearing easier. Physically anyway. Deep inside, Jenna feared she’d never stop worrying.
“I’ll try not to keep you, Officer. I know you boys are on your way with a hot delivery.”
Wasn’t that the truth? She handed him her badge and he scanned it with his hand held device.
“Damn, I’m in the presence of a real celebrity.” The guard said and Jenna couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. “Broke out of jail and found the NH guilty of corruption all in one day.”
“Well, I finished painting my nails so I figured, what the hell.” Jenna said. “Though actually it was two days, but who am I to argue with my own success?”
The glare on his face suggested he didn’t find her amusing. “We’re gonna need to check the back.”
She nodded with a firm jaw. Jenna didn’t see them opening up anyone else’s trucks, but she wasn’t about to get into a pissing match. She turned off the engine and gave the cars behind her a glance. The line was crowding up and soon the drivers, mostly pedestrian, were going to be getting impatient.
Her radio buzzed. “Everything all right?” Dirk asked.
His voice was still enough to make her heart pelt with excitement, but she heard the worry. “Should be. Just wants to check the back.”
“Our papers are in order. There’s no reason--.”
“It’s fine, Dirk.” Jenna said calmly. “Just sit tight.”
“This is bullshit. He didn’t check any of the other rigs.”