Hot Zone

by Sandy Holden

  We also discussed having some of the more routine calls being screened by me, but I pleaded with him to let me have some time to figure out what I was doing before he dumped more on me.

  The acting Governor of Iowa (no election, but no one was complaining) was a beautiful woman. She had a no nonsense way about her that I respected. Unfortunately for her, at least, she reacted to Gabriel as everyone but me seemed to. She started off the meeting suspicious and ended it commending Gabriel for everything he was doing and offering to have Iowa come under the same ideology as soon as she could arrange it.

  I was quieter on the drive back, at least initially, as I realized the sheer power this ability gave Gabriel. “Do you ever wonder why you got this power?”

  He was wrapped in his own thoughts, although the silence between us had been comfortable enough. He looked at me now. “Yes.”

  “And?” I prompted.

  “And nothing. I don’t know,” he said a little defensively.

  “At least you’re trying to do something good with it even if I don’t always agree with your methods.”

  “About that,” he said a little uncomfortably. I immediately tensed. “You can’t go on TV and disagree with me. You can’t air our disagreements in any way. I’ve put a lot of trust in you, but …” he hesitated. “I can’t let you destroy what I’ve done.”

  “So I need to walk the line or you’ll roll me so thoroughly that I won’t recover?”

  He nodded slowly. “You know I don’t want to do that.”

  I shrugged. “I’ll keep that threat in mind.”

  He looked like he wanted to say more, but didn’t. We were in the backseat of some kind of official car I’d never seen before. It seemed almost like a cross between a limo and a SUV. In any case, we were alone back here, with no one watching us. I decided to try the guard issue one more time. “You know, I hate to beat a dead horse, but I think that the no-touch rule has to go.”

  He shook his head.

  “Oh, come on. I told you that no one even finds me attractive, well, except maybe for you.” I felt myself blush and looked away.

  He chuckled. “I truly doubt that.”

  I said earnestly, “No, it’s true. I’m just not seen that way.”

  “Should I ask Luis whether he thought of you that way? Tucker? Fred? It’s amazing how you’re surrounded by males.”

  “Coincidental, and I doubt any of them saw me as anything.”

  “Madde, power is seductive, and you exude power. People naturally turn to you for answers, right?”

  “Maybe, but I think that’s just because Dad was really active in the town.”

  “Yes,” Gabriel said meditatively. “Tim told me that your father went runner?”

  “Uh, well, see, that’s not exactly public knowledge.”

  “I’m not the public. Have you heard from your mother at all?”

  I shook my head. This topic wasn’t conducive to my peace of mind. “I don’t know if Dad is a runner. I don’t know what happened to them.” I looked out the window at the countryside. It was beginning to green.

  “When is the last time they were seen?” he asked.

  “They were going to my aunt’s cabin up north. Then poof—they were gone. Tucker thinks there was evidence that Dad or Mom or both may have gone runner, but I don’t know anything.”

  He thought for a minute. I wanted to change the subject, so I pointed at the fields. “How are you going to get the farms productive? I assume you’ve thought about it.”

  This topic was discussed for a long time. I kept asking why we couldn’t export food, and Gabriel kept evading the question until I nearly yelled it at him. He sighed. “If you tell anyone this, and I mean anyone—even your pals in Catfish, I’ll come after you, understand?”

  I nodded. I believed him.

  “I’m not kidding, Madde. I told you once to keep the things we discussed to yourself. I’m asking you now, did you?”

  Crap. I thought I’d dodged this bullet. “Yeah, pretty much.”

  “Hmm.” He obviously didn’t believe me.

  I decided to ‘fess up or he might just decided to force the issue. “I told them what I judged they needed to know in order to back me in my decision to join with you.” I gave him a small smile. “Now you can yell at me if you want. I promise I won’t cry or commit hari kiri.”

  He said with a clear warning in his voice. “Nothing to them of this. Promise me and mean it.”

  “I promise.”

  He said slowly, “I know why people get sick here in the Hot Zone.”

  My eyes widened. “Why?”

  He still seemed undecided whether to tell me or not. I tried to reassure him. “Gabriel, I know I don’t agree with everything you do, and I give you a hard time about things, but I do believe you are doing what you think is best for everyone here. I shudder to think what would have become of the Cities if you hadn’t been around. I won’t betray you, even if I was so angry I was ready to kill you.”

  He fought off a smile. “Your reassurance is mixed with a murder threat? You really aren’t very good at this.” He took a deep breath. “Have you ever heard of BZ?”

  I shook my head.

  “It was used in Iraq although they called it Agent 15. It’s an odorless incapacitating chemical used in military applications. Essentially it’s neither chemical nor biological but what is called a midrange—with properties of both.”

  He must have noticed that my eyes were glazing over. “You know a biological agent is like a virus or a bacteria that infects the target, right? A chemical weapon is something that works on the target but isn’t alive like a virus or bacteria. Then there are the substances that are not a virus or bacteria but have a biological slant to them.” He considered me a moment. “That most closely resembles what we have here. It’s not Agent 15, although that’s originally what it was thought to be. It does have similarities to it, however, in that it works on the nervous system. The biological component is that it also has changed our DNA in ways we’re just beginning to understand. The substance seems heavy enough that when released, or when the U.S. forced it to be released by shooting down the missiles, it mostly stayed in this area. With me so far?”

  “I think so. It changed us, right?”

  “Yes, but there’s more changed than just us. BZ and Agent 15 both dissipate fairly quickly, which makes them useful for military applications where the idea is to attack but not affect the area as a nuclear weapon would.”

  “You mean making everything radioactive.”

  “Yes, no one wants to conquer a poisoned land, right? But this substance has combined with the ground, the dirt, and the water of our area. We got sick not because of the initial release of the agent, but because we live in a poisoned land.”

  “If the land is poisoned, how can we survive?”

  “Good question. Maybe we won’t be able to.” His eyes were grave. “But at this time it looks like we can survive because we are poisoned too. Unfortunately we can’t send out any produce from this area or we’ll make other people sick too.”

  “If the land is toxic, is that why people coming in got sick? Not because it’s contagious but because they were in the poisoned area?”

  “Yes.” He gave me a minute to digest this. “We didn’t get the full doses that they intended, but what we did get works on our nervous system as well as somehow attaching to neurons and altering our brains. We’ve adapted to the point where we don’t get sick, but if we left, we wouldn’t spread the illness.

  “Do you see why I can’t have that out? First of all people would leave in droves. I don’t want that because the rest of the U.S. believes we’ve only experienced illness. There are people at the top who suspect that we have also had other effects. If we let them know too soon, they might decide we’re far too dangerous and just carpet bomb the entire Hot Zone.”

  “Even if they didn’t, they would round up anyone who has been in the Zone, and those people would be—best case scena
rio—sent back here. Worst case scenario—they’re used as weapons, or possibly eliminated. To say that the people at the top are paranoid right now is putting it lightly.

  “Finally, I don’t know how much you’ve been keeping up with world events, but China and the U.S. are nearly at war. If this came out, I think it would push the U.S. right over the edge into war. While we wouldn’t be directly involved—after all, we’re the injured party, not the attackers—I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t get collateral damage.”

  He sighed and sat back, crossing his arms.

  “Wow,” I said, dazed. “I guess you’ve thought this through.”

  “Oh, a bit. That’s what I do when I’m not rushing to your rescue.”

  I said slowly, “If we export grain or other food, it would be toxic as well?”

  He nodded. “We can eat it, we’re now immune—if we weren’t, we’d be dead. See, this is why I want us to be a different country, break off from the U.S. entirely. Once we’re strong enough, we can tell them about the toxic land, and I don’t think they’ll fight too hard to keep us.”

  A separate country. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. “And in this country, you’d be, what, King?”

  “I was thinking more along the lines of Imperious Emperor, but I’m open to suggestions.” His voice was dry.

  I thought about everything he’d said. It certainly changed things, knowing we were immune to the land around us, but no one else was. Eventually I said, “I suppose it’s a good defense. Who’d want to take over a land they couldn’t inhabit, farm or even visit?”

  He nodded. “Will you keep this secret until it’s time to release the details?”

  I nodded solemnly.

  The rest of the trip we talked about what he knew about the bombs and the toxins they had contained. It was frightening how close we’d all come to dying.

  Eventually we got back, and Gabriel had to make some calls. He’d done some of that in the car, but he’d told me that as of now, he had a few people who screened his calls. The problem was that they were so terrified of doing the wrong thing and letting Gabriel down that they mostly just took messages and let him decide. I assumed he would have to go through a day’s worth of messages and decide what to do about all of them.

  I’d called Fred to discover that Jacob seemed to be on the mend. The doctors wanted to keep him in the hospital for another few days, but Fred said I could go back if I wanted to. I wasn’t sure what to do about that. I’d also called Meri, and she said that I should do whatever I wanted. Big help there.

  I supposed I should return. Part of me wanted to stay, and it was a rather obnoxiously loud part of me, so I decided to wander off and find Gabriel and ask him if he minded if I went back. If he wanted me to stay another few days, well, that was doable.

  He was in his office, but one of the pretty assistants was in the outer office and gestured to a chair where I could wait. She seemed to know me, although we hadn’t been introduced. I finally asked her what her name was to be told she was Raine. She didn’t seem too busy at the moment, and I was waiting for Gabriel, so we began to chat. I found out that she was the only one in her family to survive. She gushed about how Gabriel had ‘saved’ her when she’d been so depressed she’d tried to kill herself. Now she would do anything for him. I tried not to consider what that meant, and thought I did pretty well. And then I asked her why she was still here.

  “Oh, one of us, or sometimes more of us are always on call in case he needs anything. And, you know, sometimes he has one or more of us stay with him at night.”

  I stared at her, saying in a remarkably calm voice, “Is that so?”

  She nodded. “I was with him last night,” she said brightly.

  I stood and walked out. I didn’t return to my room or get anything. I just walked out to the cars, calling Luis on the way. “I’m leaving. If you want to come, meet me by the cars in five minutes. If you’re late, I go without you.” I was fully intending to steal a car if necessary.

  I walked out to the bench I’d sat in before, trying not to think but unable to keep phrases from coming back. “One or more of us.” “With him last night.” I was such an idiot. He got to insist that no one even touch me, and he was with her last night.

  Not that I had any right to complain. After all, he wasn’t mine. He and I had no agreement not to sleep with others. Oh, well, I was guarded day and night, but other than that. I jumped as something whined close by. I looked down to see the black dog. I said, “Oh, sorry, I just found out I’m an idiot, and it doesn’t feel so great.”

  The dog whined again. I suddenly turned and marched back into the mansion. The guard said something to me, but I turned and gave him such a glare that he shrank back. I didn’t see Luis yet, which was just as well. There was one thing I needed to do before I left.

  I went into the outer office and Raine smiled at me. “He’s still in his office,” she said sadly. I ignored her. Stupid beautiful drone. I walked swiftly to his office and threw open the door. He turned to look at me in surprise. I whirled and shut the door with just as much force, and his look changed to wariness. I saw something dark move out of the way of the door, but didn’t stop to examine it further. As I looked at him I realized I didn’t know what to say now.

  Gabriel said, “Problem?”

  I said with gritted teeth, “If you want me to have a bodyguard, if you want me to do anything to help you, if you want me to skip trying to hurt you bad, you’ll do as I tell you.”

  He still looked wary, but his voice didn’t reflect that. “By all means, tell me what I must do.”

  “You need to leave me be. No restrictions on touch. Because I’m telling you right now, I won’t follow it—I plan to touch whoever I want, whenever I want, and I’ll be damned if you’ll stop me!”

  He looked annoyed if not outright angry. “And what brought this on?”

  I considered evading the question. I didn’t really want to answer it because now that I’d vented a little, I felt embarrassed at my reaction. Sheesh, we weren’t married and I wasn’t the avenging spouse who had been cheated on. Then again, I refused to lie down and let him walk all over me like he did everyone else. “I want the same opportunities you have. Fair’s fair.”

  He frowned, and then suddenly he understood. He glanced at the door, and possibly to the extremely willing woman on the other side. He let out a breath slowly. “No,” he said.

  “No? You refuse?” I became aware of another sound that had started up so quietly that I hadn’t noticed it until now. Something was growling. I looked down. There was my black dog, growling at Gabriel as if he was an enemy. I smiled with pathetic satisfaction.

  He was approaching me, but the dog’s growl rose in pitch, and the fur stood up all along her back. Gabriel frowned. “What the hell is that?”

  “That, you stupid fool, is a dog. And it seems to me that she likes you just about as much as I do.”

  “Madde, calm down. This isn’t a big deal.”

  “Ha!”

  “What happened?” He apparently didn’t want to assume I knew more than I did.

  “I had a nice chat with Raine while I was waiting for you.”

  “And?” he asked calmly.

  I gave him the most disgusted look I could. “You were with her last night. Did you go directly there, or stop by and see Melissa first? Maybe invite her to join you?”

  He raised his brows. “What exactly did she tell you?”

  “You know, I’m not a complete fool. You’re trying to make me out to be a jealous freak. Well, maybe I am. I certainly feel like an idiot right now. And I swear I was on my way out, never to darken your door again until I realized you’d essentially crippled my sex life while going full steam ahead with yours. That’s not happening.”

  “Madde, sit down. Let me …”

  “Let you what? Look into my eyes and tell me I don’t care? Good freaking luck. And do you think I’d let you?

  “Okay, then stand. You’re ab
solutely right, this is unfair, but …”

  It was almost funny when I realized that until he admitted it, I was hoping Raine had made it up, or that I’d misunderstood. He was still saying something, but it didn’t matter what it was. I couldn’t handle this, but at the same time, I couldn’t leave things the way they were.

  “I don’t care,” I said baldly, cutting off whatever he was saying. “I’ll help you from Catfish. I’ll even let you put bodyguards on me. I won’t spill any secrets. But you will tell Luis and Nick that they are to protect me from harm only. I’ll be with whoever I want.”

  He tried again, “Madde—”

  “No! I said I’d help, but I never want to be in your physical presence again. If you call me, at least I can hang up. And if you think I’m going to let you control who I see, who I date, who I ultimately love, you’re out of your despotic mind!”

  “Don’t you think you’re overreacting?”

  “Maybe, but this how it’s going down.”

  “And if I refuse?” he asked calmly, still keeping his distance from the watchful dog.

  “Then there will be no bodyguards, no help. I’ll still keep your stupid secrets. But I might just decide that since I’m not Typhoid Mary I want to see the world. Whatever I do, it will be my business and none of yours.”

  “Will you just let me talk for a minute?” he asked, his voice soft. I felt the little shivers that tone gave me.

  I shrugged. “Talk.”

  “Do you think I would be able to resist you to the pathetic degree I do if I didn’t have other outlets?”

  I started laughing harshly. “Other outlets? That’s great. I plan to find other outlets myself. And seriously, this is not my problem. I don’t care if you think I ‘attract’ you with some weird power—no one is allowed to treat me like this. Ever.”