Minus America Box Set | Books 1-5

by Isherwood, E. E.

  That made the drone speed over to her. “Warning. You are ordered to return to your structure. This is a mandate by the St. Louis County Police Department for your own protection.”

  It seemed wrong to disobey this authority figure, but if Deogee was going to act strange about it, she was going to do the same. The instructions made no sense to her, and when the authorities finally arrived, she was going to have a word with them about the way these computer-boxes talked to her.

  “You have three minutes to comply with directive. Unable to deviate.”

  She remained concerned, but also found a little humor in the soulless voice. “What does that mean? Why does it matter if we sit in this minivan or go in there? Are we in danger?”

  The box readjusted outside her window. “Affirmative. There are renewed threats of poison gas. You must get inside the structure to avoid further contamination.”

  “Oh, dear,” she replied, testing a long-buried sense of sarcasm.

  She sat there thinking for a few seconds, but quickly made up her mind about what had to be done. If the machine claimed to know about poison gas, she wasn’t going to argue with it.

  Rose grabbed Deogee’s leash and put it back on the dog. She also whispered in her ear. “Trust me, pup. I’m going to get you to safety.”

  She licked Rose’s cheek in return.

  Rose hesitated, recognizing the bond she’d made with the dog. “I love you, too.”

  She opened her door, which made the drone move aside. It warmed her heart when Deogee rose to follow, and they walked around the white box like it was barely worthy of their notice.

  “Two-minute warning. Help will arrive presently. Please return to central structure for rescue.”

  “I will,” she said in a pleasant voice.

  Rose led Deogee onto the walkway, which caused the dog to strain against the leash. As she expected, she didn’t want to go inside the convent again. Outside, there were no sirens or flashing lights approaching on the street. It was completely silent, save for the purr of fans from the machine …

  When she neared the entrance, the laser-pointer beam of light was clear and bright as it struck the wooden front door. She paused to study it. The dog acted like the light was going to burn her.

  “It’s bad, isn’t it?” she whispered. “That’s why you don’t want to touch it.” Behind her, the floating machine remained at the van, but the red light came out of its shell. To her eyes, it was as if the robot was pointing an angry, red finger at where it wanted her to go for punishment.

  Her heart rate went supernova as she realized she was going to willingly break another rule.

  “Lord, help me run.” She let go of the leash and jogged along the front of the convent, off the pathway and away from the door. “Run, dog!”

  Sister Rose hoped she wasn’t being silly, but all the pieces added up. Deogee’s reluctance to return to the convent. The machine’s odd insistence on going inside. The strange red light. A countdown. And the computer said it was poison gas. That was an outright lie. Gas didn’t steal away her fellow sisters; God had come for them.

  Deogee ran ahead but wouldn’t get too far in front of her. Her lungs burned from the short run, but they made it to the far end of the vineyard, at the edge of the tree line. The parable of Lot’s Wife came to mind as she reached the safety of the woods.

  “Do I look back?” she thought.

  She had to know if she’d been paranoid, so she glanced back to the convent. The white machine remained next to the SUV, which suggested maybe there was no threat, after all. However, as she stood next to a towering old oak tree, she noticed the red beam of light on particles of dust in the air. The pointer finger was on the tree, not two feet from her head.

  “What the—”

  Through the trees, an orange light caught her eye. A muted gray military airplane was high above.

  Now she understood fully what was going on.

  Panicked breath caught in her throat and she barely croaked out the words. “Run, dog!”

  She and Deogee took off into the woods and made it a few paces, but the ground shook behind her, throwing her off balance. A white-hot light came from back at the oak tree, like a giant flash camera.

  Time seemed to slow, giving her an opportunity to consider her next move. She could drop to the ground behind a nearby tree and perhaps save herself. But she remembered her conversation with young Tabby. At the time, Rose disagreed with her idea it was a simple thing to die for your children.

  Now, she faced the same test. Was this God’s plan all along? Did he want to see if she would live up to his standards? Is this how she could join her sisters in Heaven?

  Her canine friend stood there confused at the turn of events. Maybe she wanted to make sure she got out of there; maybe the explosion made her freeze in fear.

  No matter the cause, she was able to jump on top of Deogee as the fire arrived.

  She would never know if she’d done the right thing.

  New York City, NY

  Ted and Emily kept close to the buildings as they walked the streets, ever mindful they might need to jump into an open shop or alleyway to hide. However, when they reached Times Square, he couldn’t resist walking in the open. Fifty-foot tall advertising video screens hung from buildings all along the popular tourist attraction. They remained lit and working, as if they didn’t get the message there were no people left to watch them.

  “I’ve never seen it close to empty,” Emily remarked.

  Clothing blew in the wind, and the canyon-like cross streets seemed to force mounds of pants and shirts into small drifts, like dunes in the desert. Shoes and heavier items remained where they fell, however, giving a snapshot of how packed the central square was at the time of the attack.

  They walked north, toward the most crowded portion of the open-air entertainment venue. Ads for perfume, smartphones, and movies flashed on the screens above them. The trees of Central Park, where she was taking him, beckoned from a few blocks away, leading him to glance over at Emily.

  “I’m fine,” she replied to his unasked question. “I could tell you were about to ask. My apartment isn’t far, but I figured this place was worth a shot. For many New Yorkers, this is the heart of the city, and for some, this is the heart of our entire culture. If there were survivors anywhere in the Big Apple, they would have come here.”

  She pulled down her mask and smiled at him. “See? I’m fine. I really am. Now I know there’s no going back. The city is ruined.”

  “I’m sorry,” he replied. “I’m hoping to find survivors, too.” The helicopter blades continued from elsewhere in the metropolis, but they never seemed to get closer. The noise could have hidden the sound of the Predator drones, though he’d been watching every side street for flying objects. So far, he’d seen none.

  “Follow me.” She raised her mask, then offered her hand, which he accepted.

  They walked together for a few blocks before she stopped in front of an apartment building. “This is it,” she breathed out.

  The doors and elevators worked as usual, so it was an easy trip to get to her apartment. He expected her to let go of his hand the whole trip up, but she seemed to need his support. It wasn’t until they reached the door of her apartment that she released him.

  He was relieved, though it was difficult to pin the exact reason. Part of it might have been her seniority, which played against his ingrained respect for the chain of command. At the same time, as far as he knew, she was still married to the man inside this home, so it was wrong on that level, too.

  “Let’s get this over with,” she exhaled before going in.

  He followed at a respectful distance, mindful she might want to be alone.

  The inside of the apartment reminded him of who she’d been before all this. Political photographs hung from the walls. Pictures of her in the White House. At rallies. There was even one of her with the crew of Air Force Two, though it was before he joined up.

  She saw
him looking at it. “We’ll get another one taken with my new plane. You’ll be the pilot. Bank on it.”

  It made him laugh, but also made him feel a little emotional at the implications. How great it would be for things to get back to normal. Back to a time when his biggest concern was whether another pilot would get the trots so he could take over. Today, the weight of the whole country seemed to balance on his shoulders. “That sounds good.”

  Emily strode into a large living area with couches and tables. It had wide windows facing out to Central Park and enough room for dozens of people to mingle. It instantly made him imagine politicians standing around at fancy cocktail parties as they rubbed elbows with wealthy donors. He went in but shivered at how much he’d hate living that lifestyle.

  He gravitated toward the windows because they were twenty stories up and the view of the rectangular park was amazing. The greenery went on for a couple of miles, and it was boxed in on all sides by a wall of high-rises, including the one he was in. On the ground below, he observed a large open playing field on the left side of the park and a tree-filled region on the right. A giant statue of a horse and rider were far to the right, in the corner.

  The smoky mess from the Newark fire smudged the horizon far to the northwest. There was no way to see the ground over there, but the fire didn’t seem to be slowing at all.

  When he turned around to comment on how impressive the view was, Emily was on the floor crying. He hurried over but stopped short when he realized what was in her hands. It took her a minute or two before she looked up at him.

  “This was Roger, my husband. He was here, no doubt about it.” She held up a gold wedding band. “I—” A sob rose up from her chest and seemed to catch her by surprise.

  “Oh, ma’am, I’m so sorry for your loss.” He crouched next to her.

  Emily’s eyes were filled with tears, but she didn’t seem particularly sad. “This isn’t what I expected,” she admitted. “I haven’t felt emotions for him for several years. Our jobs didn’t really let us remain close, you know?”

  He’d had a taste of that. Multiple deployments had killed his marriage, but that was a long time ago. It was difficult to remember those early years when he believed love could conquer all.

  “I didn’t mean for you to come here,” he said. “I only wanted to get you somewhere safe in these buildings.”

  She reached out and touched him on the wrist. “I know, Ted. You’re a good man, and not only because you saved my life. Don’t hold this outburst of emotions against me. I’m glad we came here, because now I know his fate. It would have been a distraction if I’d avoided facing this apartment.”

  Ted smiled back, unsure what else he could say.

  “There is one good thing.” She slapped him gently on the wrist as if to illustrate the sad part was over. “I’m going to go change into my own clothes. These loaners were nice, but we’re here, so I might as well take advantage of it.”

  He stood up after her. “Yeah, maybe we can stay here for a day or two, until things settle down outside. Or…this would be an excellent base of operations for keeping an eye on what’s going on over in Newark. It’s too bad we don’t have a radio.”

  “That’s your call,” she said as she disappeared down a side hallway.

  My call, he thought. Ted went to the window again to watch the empty city for any signs of life. The sky rats flew all over the park and buildings, as they always did, but there were no rollerbladers, bikers or joggers making their way around the bike paths below him.

  His mind drifted during his watch, though at some point Emily came out of her room wearing a new pair of jeans, hiking boots, and a button-down khaki shirt, like she was going on safari. She’d transferred the American flag pin again; it was tagged onto the pocket of her shirt.

  “What do you think?” she said with a bit of a curtsy.

  “I think you look…ready for anything.” He might have said pretty or beautiful if she’d been anyone else.

  Oddly, she seemed disappointed in his response. They both stood there for a few seconds of awkward silence, but her demeanor changed when she pointed behind him.

  “A helicopter!”

  Amarillo, TX

  “I said don’t shoot!” Brent screamed again. The six orange-clad prisoners who’d come in with him stood at various locations inside the trailer, each with their big shotguns trained on Curtis’s boys. Unless there were more guys in the back rooms of the trailer, he thought it might have been about even in terms of good guys vs. bad.

  He held his breath, willing everyone to relax, including himself. He was unarmed, so making peace was about all he could do. Trish crawled over to him, while everyone else was focused on the guns. Many of the guys slowly re-aligned inside the trailer, so Brent’s people stood near the front door, while Curtis’s group stood near the kitchen.

  Curtis didn’t back down, even with a pistol up against his temple. “This is how it’s gonna be? Working for him now?”

  Paul seemed more nervous than the other guy. “We’re on no one’s side, but he knows what he’s doing. He was fair to us when we was prisoners, and he was fair to us when we got out. At least he never pointed guns in our faces.”

  That upset the men behind Curtis.

  The young leader gravely shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. My mom and dad are in Phoenix. I can’t check on them even if I wanted to. Unless I find out they’re already dead, I can’t break my blood oath to the cartel. They’ll kill them.”

  Brent tried to think of a way to further defuse the situation. “We’ll drive down there. Me and you. I’ll prove to you…” He realized it wouldn’t sound good to want to prove they were dead. “I’ll let you prove to me that they’re still alive. From there, we’ll both have our answer about what’s going to happen next.”

  Phoenix was ten hours away by car, but he’d happily take the man to his house if it would save some lives. Cars were free for the taking, including sports cars, so they could probably make it in half the time it would have in the old days.

  Curtis seemed to think it over, but his guys continued to retreat into the kitchen.

  “It sounds like a trap,” the man replied, acting a little like he wanted to be convinced. It was progress, Brent reasoned.

  Paul pulled back a few inches, so the gun wasn’t pressed up against Curtis’s skin.

  Yes, that’s definitely progress.

  One of the guys in the kitchen tipped over a broom that had been stood up against the counter. Brent saw it travel the whole way down and heard the metal pole slap against the linoleum with a loud bang.

  Paul visibly jumped and squeezed the trigger of his pistol.

  Curtis’s head snapped sideways.

  Then everyone started shooting.

  CHAPTER 21

  New York City, NY

  Ted and Emily leaned against the window like two kids watching fish at the aquarium. The helicopter banked left at the far end of the park, but then flew toward the near end. He immediately thought it was looking for someone.

  “It’s a Sikorsky Seahawk. It’s the kind of rotor aircraft you find on a carrier.” The JFK was on the East Coast, he was sure of that, but it was unlikely to be parked off New York.

  “Who are they looking for?” she asked. “Do you think there are others, like us, running from the terrorists who attacked our nation?” There were still no people down in the park, so nothing felt right to him. However, when the Seahawk came toward them and swept through a turn right outside the windows, they both crouched below a chair so they wouldn’t be seen.

  He got a good look at it. “That’s an unarmed version. It must be recon or search and rescue.”

  “That probably means it didn’t come from a carrier, right? Why would they have anything unarmed on a warship?”

  “I don’t know, but there’s only a pilot. No co-pilot or crewmen in the back. Why would he be flying around alone?”

  She stuck her head up as the helicopter flew toward the
opposite end of the park. “He’s definitely looking for someone.”

  It couldn’t be searching for him and Emily; they’d never made contact with friendlies. He’d been careful about staying off the enemy radar, and he was more and more comfortable they’d evaded the Predators, and thus, the bad guys. But if this was friendly search and rescue, they might not get a better chance to escape.

  “I believe this might be a legitimate US Navy craft.”

  She studied him for a time, but then seemed to defer to his expertise. “Well, how the hell are we going to contact them?”

  He laughed. “I don’t suppose you keep a flare gun in the suite, do you?”

  Emily rolled her eyes.

  “A fire extinguisher?” he pressed.

  “Yes, but—”

  “I’ll take it. Grab it for me. We’re going to the roof.”

  If he had unlimited time, he would have taken a trash can filled with flammables up to the roof. The smoke would give away their position and the helicopter would see them. Since there was no time to spare, he had to go with the next best thing.

  Emily’s apartment was already at the top floor, so the run up top only took a minute. They popped out onto the roof while the helicopter was on the far end of the park.

  “Let’s hope it comes back,” he said dryly.

  “Are you going to shoot that in the air? You think they’ll see us?”

  And what if they did see them? Would it be safe to get on board an unarmed helicopter in the middle of a city surrounded by wandering bad guys? Predator drone Hellfire missiles were designed for air-to-ground combat, but there were other planes at the airport. Certainly, any competent invasion force would be able to shoot down a lone helicopter.

  The more he thought through the permutations of rescue, the less convinced he became it was the right way to go. However, rather than bounce ideas back and forth to no end, he decided to present options to his commander-in-chief.