The captain leaned forward and shook his head slightly. "Explain it away? Why would you need to explain it away?"
Todd shrugged. "Ah, you’re right. The cat’s out of the bag. We just have to learn how to deal with it…till it blows over."
"I’m sorry, sir," the captain said. "I don’t know what you mean."
Todd glanced at Maria and back at Captain Fletcher. "But you’ve been assigned to protect us. You must know why."
"I assume it has something to do with the picture," the captain said.
Todd looked around the room. "That’s all you know? Nothing about…our son?"
The captain frowned and shook his head."No, sir. We have people posted all around the perimeter of the house. Some you’ll see, some you won’t. Constant Predator surveillance from the sky, and special ops are watching the surrounding mountains. The president has given orders to lock you down. No-one this side of Washington hiccups without us knowing about it. The president wants you to know you’re safe here, and that we will continue to maintain this presence as long as necessary."
He reached into his pocket and produced two phones. "These are the only two cell phones authorized for civilian use. If you ever need to contact me, use these." He handed one to Todd and the other to Maria. "They are a direct line to my dedicated phone. You’ll get through to me every time. Any questions?" He stood and began moving towards the door.
Todd stood up and joined him. "Uh, no questions…but." He took the captain’s hand and shook it. "We sure do appreciate it."
The captain smiled slightly and reached for the door. "Just doing my job. We won’t be bothering you any more… Oh, and," he turned to face Maria, "you’re even prettier than your picture."
~~~
Within the tiny community of Parktown, transportation had never been an issue. A shuttle had been set up to carry people back and forth to Salt Lake when necessary and there were few places one needed to go that weren’t well within walking distance.
For the new residents of White City, things were quite different. White City was a tiny community within a larger community called Sandy which in turn was basically a subdivision of Salt Lake City.
Life there had become more normal. Commuting was thrust back into their world. A city bus line had been revived and the new residents were allowed to purchase a single economy class automobile per household, though gasoline was another matter.
Fortunately, several refineries north of Salt Lake City had survived the day and were supplying fuel to the surrounding area, but the Mums had commandeered a good portion of it. What was left for the general public was strictly under Mums control and tightly regulated. Each resident was allowed five gallons of fuel per week per household. It was hardly enough to shuttle kids to school and collect the week's groceries, but Stacey Wheeler was more than grateful for the new life they had been given.
The family was blossoming. Their new home was all she had hoped for. Most importantly, most of the residents of Parktown had been relocated with her. It was like kids playing grownup.
The Mums had supplied trucks, equipment, and manpower, and the residents' personal effects were quickly transported to the new neighborhood.
Then the redecorating began. Now the little things like pushing a grocery cart through a store seemed like a dream come true.
That’s where Stacey Wheeler first spotted the magazine. A second look wasn’t necessary. She snatched the last one from the shelf and rushed to the first person she saw. He was standing in the produce department spraying water on the apples, obviously a very young store employee.
"Have you seen this picture?" Stacey hollered as soon as she was within shouting distance.
"Oh… yeah," the kid said, putting on his best unimpressed face. "That’s Doctor Riley’s wife, I know. We’ve gone through about a thousand of them. Everybody recognizes her—"
"She’s my best friend!" Stacey yelled. "She lives right next to me!"
"I know," the kid said. "I see her in here all the time."
Stacey put on a sly smile."I bet you do."
~~~
Stacey was deep into a magazine article entitled ‘The Ricky Girl’ when her car back door opened. The sudden noise startled her. It took her a moment to remember she was picking her daughter up from the mall. Her oldest daughter Kiara pushed into the car, followed closely by her new friend.
"Mom!" she shouted. "Oh…my…gosh, there’s this magazine—"
Stacey held the magazine up interrupting her daughter.
They both squealed in unison drawing a strange look from Kiara’s friend.
Stacey laughed. "This is our best friend!"
Kiara’s new friend rolled her eyes. "I know. Kiara’s only told me about a hundred times—"
"Is Maria home?" Kiara asked.
"I think so," Stacey said
"Let’s hurry!"
Stacey drove south on ninth east, dropped Kiara’s new friend off, and turned east on Sego Lilly drive. She left the windows down, taking in the sounds of the early spring.
It was Sunday afternoon in the new neighborhood, and the sound of lawnmowers, laughing children, automobiles, and sprinklers brought with it a feeling of cherished normality - a stark contrast to the starvation, terror and cold that had all but consumed them only months earlier. Stacey especially loved the evenings, when the kids were safe in their new beds and she and Eric would slip out onto their back patio, drink soda, cuddle, look at the stars and listen to the strangely comforting sounds of distant trains.
She loved the smell of the new neighborhood, with its barbecues and fireplaces… all things taken for granted before the day. The entire community seemed to feel it; she could see it in their faces, the way they went about their lives. It was as if everything had been made new again. At times she couldn’t help but wonder if that was the grand plan. Maybe God saw a need to shake things up. As terrible as it had all been, it had brought her to this place, to these people. She had never been so happy.
She turned right off Sego Lilly drive and found herself surrounded by military vehicles. A uniformed man was standing in the road holding his hand up signaling her to stop.
"What’s going on, Mom?" Kiara said.
Stacey slowed to a stop."I don’t know."
The uniformed man seemed to recognize her, smiled, and waved her on. "The Mums are out in force today," Stacey said. "Must be some sort of trouble."
They continued slowly, driving east on Serpentine way.
"Mom, look," Kiara said. "The Mums are at our house."
As they approached it became apparent that the Mums were actually next door at Todd and Maria’s home. Stacey pulled into her driveway just as Maria’s door opened and a tall black man in a suit stepped out. He quickly moved to a Humvee waiting in the midst of several other military vehicles. Within moments the entire convoy pulled out as one and left the area.
"What in the world?" Stacey breathed.
"I think Maria must be very famous now," Kiara said as she stepped out of the car.
Stacey held her hand up shielding her eyes from the sun. "Something is certainly going on." She stood for a time staring at Todd and Maria’s front door before glancing back into the street. The Fasbenders' new Land Rover was still parked in front of the house.
Hmm, she thought, Gladys and Louis are over there. Suddenly it struck her. Something was very odd about Todd and Maria. We’re their very best friends, but we really know so little about them. More than once she had privately wondered why President Hatfield had become personally involved in their rescue off the mountain. She had told herself it was because Todd was a doctor and doctors were so very rare here. Still, things hadn’t quite added up. The only thing she could think of as to why the Mums were suddenly active again most likely had something to do with the picture…but why would the picture concern the Mums?
Kiara began moving away towards the house.
"Oh, Kiara," Stacey said glancing over at her. "I have a bag of potatoes in the trunk. Tak
e those out to the shed, will you?"
~~~
Maria poured Louis a third cup of coffee. "I don't care what anyone says, the Vinces are never going to give up."
"I wouldn’t be too sure of that," Todd said, sitting across from Gladys at the kitchen table. "For the first time in a long time, I’m feeling pretty good about things."
"You are?" Maria said, sitting down to sip at her own coffee. "You really think it’s going to be all right?"
Todd leaned back in his chair."I do. I think it was pretty easy for them to bully a couple of college kids. Let’s see how they fare with the Mums. They sure’n hell had no problem abandoning everything and scattering before the day."
"I’m glad to hear you feel that way," Louis said. "With any luck, you two can settle down now and have a normal life."
Gladys sat her coffee cup on the table. "How is little Lylya doing? Is she coming out a little? I was hoping she would be a little more…open by now."
Maria looked up from her coffee cup. "Oh, Gladys, I’m messing everything up. I’m so stupid."
"What happened?"
"Ah…" Maria said softly. "I’ve been telling her I’m her mommy and Todd’s her daddy. She kinda’ blew up on me this morning. It’s just that, when I was a kid all I ever thought about was finding a mommy and daddy. I guess I didn’t… I guess I didn’t think."
"What did she say?" Gladys said. "What happened?"
Todd leaned forward."She just corrected us, no question, she laid it down. She made it clear she had a mother and father and we weren’t them."
"Oh well," Gladys said. "That doesn’t sound like you messed up. She put you in your place. Now you know. You can respond accordingly."
"Spunk," Louis said, breaking his silence. "She’s got spunk, that’s all that means. Nothing more."
"There’s no getting anything over on her, I‘ll tell you that," Maria said, smiling. "She’s smart as they get. It’s a little scary how smart she is. About a week after we brought her home, I was feeding Joshua. She pointed at him and said, ‘I know who he is’…Just like that. ‘I know who he is’…and we'd never said a thing to her."
"What do you think she meant?" Louis said.
Maria glanced at Todd and back at Louis. "It was just a strange thing to say…about Joshua considering…you know."
Louis scowled and pointed an old finger at Maria. "You see? You two are still paranoid. What she said could mean anything. Maybe she was simply telling you she knew his name. Or that he was a baby, or that he was her new little brother—"
"Maybe not that paranoid," Todd said. "You remember the last time we had this conversation about a stranger on the mountain. As it turns out, that fool took a snapshot of my wife and blew things wide open."
"Well, maybe things should be blown wide open," Louis said. "This continuing paranoia can’t be good for the children. It creates tension, and even if you don’t talk about it, kids can feel that sort of thing."
Maria held her hand up. “Speaking of the kids, they’re a little too quiet." She stood and headed off towards the back bedrooms.
"I like hearing you finally talking positive though," Louis said as soon as Maria left the room. "Even though I don’t believe it for a minute."
Todd looked up."You mean about the Vinces turning tail?"
He leaned forward and spoke softly to Louis. "Look, Maria finally has a chance to really settle in, really make a home here. You know what that means to her. There ain’t never been a time since leaving Nashville that we haven’t felt like we were hiding out. It feels good not to be hiding anymore. I meant what I said: let them try and take on the Mums."
"That’s the spirit," Louis said.
"Todd," Maria said from the hall. She appeared in the kitchen holding Joshua. "Lylya pulled her dresser to the wall and went out the window. She’s gone."
~~~
Kiara stopped in front of the shed for a moment, noticing a uniformed man looking back at her from over the fence. The man smiled, waved and disappeared back into Maria’s yard. "What are you doing?" she called out.
No answer.
"I’m telling mom you guys are in Maria’s back yard!"
Frowning, she opened the door to the shed and started to put the bag of potatoes in the back corner. She noticed a small pair of feet sticking out beneath an old tarp her father had brought back from Parktown. She smiled, made her way back to the door, opened and closed it.
Quietly, she moved back to the tarp, waited till it felt right and shouted, "What are you doing!" as she snatched the tarp away.
Lylya screamed and sprang to her feet.
Kiara squealed and jumped back. "Lylya!" she said breathlessly. "I thought you were Sadie!"
Lylya stood, her hands pulled into fists, her jaw set and taut, tears streaming down her face.
~~~
"Tango, you copy?"
"Yeah, I saw the girl go in the shed from up here."
"The other one just screamed like hell….Kids playing around, I guess. Don’t you think?"
"Yeah."
"Probably shouldn’t worry about it, huh?"
"No."
"Yeah, Bravo out."
~~~
"Lylya, what‘s wrong?" Kiara said stepping towards the terrified little girl. "What…what are you doing hiding in our shed?"
"Shh," Lylya hissed. "Please! Police outside. Hide me, please!"
"Police? Are there cops outside?"
"Cossacks…soldiers. Please hide me!"
Kiara looked down at the little girl curiously. "I don’t…I don’t think they're here for you, Lylya. They’re here because of the picture."
"No," Lylya said quickly, her eyes wide. "The woman. She knows I am a… she has sent police for me."
"What woman?"
"That woman who wants be…mother."
Kiara’s face softened. She lifted her hand and gently pulled a tuft of hair away from Lylya’s face. "Lylya, do you mean Maria?"
~~~
Todd stepped out of the house and quickly scanned his back yard. He went to Lylya’s window trying to get a bead on where she could have gone.
Maria joined him. "She couldn’t have gone far," she said breathlessly. "I was talking to her only a half hour ago."
Todd moved to his back fence and peeked over. Two uniformed men were standing nearby. "Hey buddy, have you seen a—"
"Little girl?" a uniformed man interrupted.
"Yes," Todd and Maria said in unison.
The mum pointing at the Wheeler’s yard. "She’s in the neighbors shed."
Maria pulled back from the fence. "It’s the soldiers, they’re scaring her."
"I’ll go check it out," Todd said.
"Not without me, you won’t."
~~~
The door opened. Lylya screamed, clutched Kiara’s arm and jumped behind her.
Todd, followed closely by Maria and Stacey Wheeler stepped into the shed. Maria moved forward, reaching out to Lylya. "Sweetheart," she said softly. "It’s alright. These men are here to help us—"
Kiara stepped forward and took hold of both Maria’s hands. She looked at Maria with pleading eyes. "We’re just playing," she said. "We wanted to play house and—"
"Lylya," Maria said interrupting. "Are you crying? She tried to move forward but Kiara stepped in her way. "Trust me," she silently mouthed before speaking out loud. "Can we stay for a while? We’re having fun. I promise I’ll take care of her. I’ll bring her home as soon as we’re finished."
Maria glanced at Stacey.
Stacey looked confused and worried, but nodded a silent confirmation.
"Uh, okay…but…"
"Thank you," Kiara silently mouthed again.
The adults glanced around at each other before slowly leaving the shed.
Kiara turned to the terrified child. "Let’s play house."
Lylya was gasping, trying to catch her breath. "Are they left?" she said finally.
Kiara smiled and glanced around the shed. "Yeah, you stay
here and I’ll go get some dolls and a flashlight. Should I go get your doll?"
Lylya stared back at Kiara for a time and slowly nodded.
"Okay," Kiara said. "This is going to be fun. You stay right here. I’ll be back."
"No," Lylya shouted grabbing at Kiara’s arm. "You must not go!"
"Lylya, if we are going to be best friends, you have to trust me."
Lylya stepped back, studied Kiara’s face intently and spoke. "We are not best friend."
"Not yet, but we will be."
"We can’t be best friend."
"Why not?"
"Already have best friend, but…died."
Kiara softened and spoke in a tiny voice. "Lylya, I’m sorry your friend died, but you can’t have too many best friends."
Lylya looked at the floor and slowly raised her eyes back to Kiara. "Okay….We are be best friend."
Kiara grinned. "I’ll be right back."
"No wait," Lylya said. "If we are be best friend we must make…promise." She stopped, considered the words and continued, "Must make…oath."
"Okay," Kiara said, "but I hope we don’t have to cut ourselves."
"No, don’t cut but...you have swear to come back and not get police."
Kiara smiled softly. "Of course I’ll come back, and the police don’t care about us. We haven’t done anything wrong."
"You’ll promise come back," Lylya said, "upon payment of death?"
Kiara frowned theatrically and raised a palm. "Upon payment of death, I promise."
Lylya looked solemnly into the Kiara’s eyes, pushed the palm of her right hand against her mouth and swiped the fingers of her left hand across her throat.
"Upon payment of death," she repeated after finishing the ritual.
She paused for a moment before motioning towards Kiara. "Now…you must do."
Kiara copied what Lylya had done. "Upon payment of death," she said as she swiped her finger across her throat.
"Now," Lylya said, her eyes blazing, "if you make lie, Allah will die you."
The Son of Man 2, Elders of Zion Page 21