Surviving The Black (Book 4): Betrayal From Within

by Finley, Zack

  Claire put her hand on Aaron's arm, and they both relaxed, signaling the rest of the table that the crisis had passed. For now.

  I started breathing, again. "Jules and I will check out the locations today. Zeke and Phil will work through the operational plans to balance Valley defense with the expedition," I said, reacting to the collapse of opposition.

  "We'll work through the grain handling issues. I'm inclined to double or triple up the trailers, but that won't work unless we can use TN-52 to Jamestown. Check that route on your way to the grain storage site," Roger said.

  I nodded, standing up, "I'll alert Jules and Zeke. We will check in with you before Jules, and I take off."

  Aaron didn't glance at either Roger or me. He stared straight ahead with his jaw set firmly with the look others referred to as going all Breckinridge. My grandpa perfected the look, and his sons had it in spades.

  Claire acted resigned, likely considering how to replenish the fuel this expedition would cost. She kept the fuel storage within the Valley and at Justice filled by sending out fuel scavenging trips when needed. Alex maintained a detailed master inventory map of Mecklin County with pins indicating locations for each type of salvage. While our fuel usage was less than predicted, I knew we already scavenged most of the available fuel from areas around Oneida. Most of the closer sources remained untapped, for now.

  Zeke, Ben, Eric, and Grady waited at the warrior table in the food hut for my return. I provided the broad strokes, knowing that was all Zeke needed. Grady and I left to roust Jules from the horse barn, where he worked most days.

  Jules must have gotten the word because he popped out of the barn as Grady and I drew near. "I hear we are going on a plane ride," he said. "Give me a few minutes to finish up here and clean off the manure. I'll meet you at the armory in less than an hour. We need to take Allie's marked-up map with us."

  "I think Claire has it."

  "Claire? Since when do you call your mom, Claire?" Jules asked, his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped open for a split second. "Are you having a fight?" His eyes narrowed, and his body leaned forward to hear the dirt.

  "No fight, I need to think of them differently. I love them and respect them, but they aren't infallible. I think they are steering the Valley in the wrong direction on this," I said. I couldn't stop my voice breaking. The emotion raw and so near the surface. I hated to disagree with them, but I felt duty-bound to make this stand.

  "Let me know if that helps," Jules said with a smirk. "Arguing with my mom is impossible, and I can't imagine taking a strong stand against my dad in public. That is a real family no-no. How did they react?"

  "Roger agreed with me, so that helped," I said. "My folks are both wrecked over the kidnapping, and Granny's death. I have never heard my mom so negative. She effectively said, 'let them starve.'"

  "She might be right," Jules said, all signs of humor gone, his face bleak. "I saw the top-secret predictions associated with a partial grid collapse. They got classified code-word top secret because the outcomes were horrible. Two hundred million deaths following a significant grid collapse. They defined significant as the loss of all satellites, the complete collapse of part of the country, and a partial collapse of the rest. This assumed less than half the country lost power from the initiating event. Once power plants can't get fuel, more and more of the country goes down. Even in those forecasts, everything depended on keeping the refineries in the West and Gulf Coast operational.

  "Every prediction assumed the Northeast grid would go down hard and stay down, no matter where the CME or EMP struck. Its grid was so weak they predicted any substantial surge would fry key components and prevent a restart. Even with half the country still going strong, the death toll in the East and other affected areas was projected at over 50 percent."

  "That doesn't sound right," I said. "Those in the unaffected areas would have rushed in to help."

  "It would have been like pissing on a raging wildfire," Jules countered. "A lot of the predictions were based on things that happened during other disruptions, some before we were born. The oil embargo of the 1970s caused an instant nation-wide gasoline shortage. The mere threat of a shortage created it. Planners learned overnight that 99.7 percent of all U.S. gasoline storage was in people's vehicles and that it was normally pretty empty. When people heard someone was shutting off the oil supply, they rushed out to fill up their cars. Even though no crude oil disruption reached U.S. borders, the announcement created an instant gasoline shortage. Drivers didn't want to be caught short, so they filled their tanks. That change created and instant gas shortage. If you were the poor Joe at the end of the gas line, you blamed it on the Saudis. In reality, the people to blame were their neighbors. I'm sure the Saudis were thrilled at the disruption."

  "Okay, but why such a high predicted death toll even with power remaining in much of the country?" I asked.

  "Disrupted communications and fear. Fear of a shortage creates one. Substitute bread, or meat, or milk, or canned goods for gas in the oil embargo scenario. People can store a lot more food than the stores can. Even rationing can’t deal with that type of disruption. Then what happens to banks? Drug dealers have wads of cash, but most normal people don't. At some point, no one has any cash, then what? After I saw those projections, I realized our parents were optimists," Jules said. The clenched jaw and sunken eyes reminded me that Jules went through hell to get to the Valley. He took a deep breath and relaxed his jaw. "I hear we have a mission?"

  "We have an area to check out near Clarksville and one near Knoxville. Can we fly both places on one tank of gas?" I asked.

  "You and me?" he asked. "Do we need to land or recon from the air?"

  "Yeah, just you and me, I don't plan to land."

  "We'll top off the tank, to be safe," Jules said. "When do you want to leave?"

  "I have to pick up the maps and verify a few addresses, then I'll be ready," I said.

  "Bring your best binoculars, the ones in the plane are mediocre. I'll meet you at the armory in an hour?"

  "Sounds reasonable, although I can wait for you to wash off that Eau de Manure you're wearing this morning."

  "Very funny, I'll leave my muck boots in the barn, but you don't rate a shower."

  "Meet you at the armory," I said. Jules returned to the barn, and I turned to Grady. "Please help Zeke out, he has a lot to prep to do for the planned missions. Let him know Jules, and I will take two ninjas to the airport. We plan to be back before late supper."

  Grady nodded and trotted toward the armory. I needed the road map and the address for the potential seed warehouse from my house. I just didn't know whether my parents would be around. Part of me hoped they were working somewhere else.

  Both parents and Roger were studying a map on the dining room table. "We think the address for Knoxville Seed is in a warehouse district," Roger said, looking up at my entrance. "The place is about five miles west of the city, north of I-40 and just west of I-140. The most direct route is probably through Oak Ridge, but you know how that goes. A lot of people live in communities within walking distance of this address, but everything in its immediate proximity appears commercial or industrial. I think this complex is just west of all those automobile dealerships, but my memory of the area is fading fast."

  "The street it's on is less than a quarter-mile long, so if you fly over, you may be able to verify it from the air," Aaron said, looking me in the eye.

  "I'm taking my best binoculars, the ones in the plane are kinda weak."

  "How long do you think you will be flying?" Claire asked.

  "Jules says we can do about 150 miles per hour at an easy engine rpm. Air miles, it's only 50 miles from here to Knoxville and only 150 to the granary northeast of Clarksville. So, the round trip should take about two hours plus any sightseeing. We'll check out TN-52 from Huntsville to Jamestown and some of the areas between here and that Knoxville location. We should be back by supper."

  Roger folded up the Knoxville map with the
target location highlighted in yellow. Clair disappeared into her office and brought out the road atlas we used for the Arkansas trip. That roadmap was now legendary. My teams just called it Allie’s map.

  "Have a safe trip," Roger said, handing me the metro-map. "I hope you spot a Knoxville Seed sign on this warehouse. Not sure we can authorize an expedition for anything less. Of course, if the whole area is burned down or looks looted, that puts the issue to bed. Don’t consider the trip a waste, since knowing conditions between here and Knoxville should help us assess risks the region poses to the Valley."

  "While we are flying around, any other area you want us to check?"

  "Don't waste the gas," Aaron said. "You and Jules come back safe."

  I nodded and turned to go, only for my mom to catch me from behind. Definitely not Claire, this was the mama bear. "Jeremy Breckinridge, you had better not leave here without giving your mother a hug."

  "I thought you were mad at me?" I asked, turning and wrapping my arms around her.

  "Family matters more than mad," she said, squeezing hard before releasing me. "We can disagree without being rude."

  "We should be back by supper, then I'll brief everyone in the armory about the missions. I'm inclined to go for the seeds first if it looks viable. We need to rig up a HAM radio on one of the trucks. With an antenna mounted on a trailer, we can crank it up and phone home." I glanced at Roger. "Please ask Sally to look into that, I'd like to test it on the first sortie."

  "Seeds come either on pallets or in 3,000-pound bulk bags, according to the farmers I talked with," said Aaron. "You will need a forklift for the trip. Don’t forget that flatbed with the forklift mount we picked up from the lumber yard. We've been discussing something else for the granary, but will be better able to talk about that later."

  "Okay, see you for supper."

  I tucked both maps in my vest, along with several stubby pencils to mark them up with. Checking my watch, I picked up the pace, running to the armory to make up time. I was still late, but not by much.

  The 10 ninjas parked in front of the armory appeared ready to go. The sun edged higher in the eastern sky. Last night's heavy frost was receding from the grass, but only where the early rays of sun splashed its warmth. The sky was clear, and the wind calm, a perfect day for flying. That was helpful because now I had pushed the Valley this way; it was time to deliver.

  The interior of the armory bustled. Joel conducted an impromptu refresher on hijacking diesel rigs with the follow on in one corner. The plan was to send out ninja scouts to locate local rigs. It was up to the follow on teams to bring them back to the Valley.

  There were hundreds of trailers parked at businesses all over town, I couldn't recall any big-rigs. We spotted dozens on our journey to Arkansas, but I hadn't really noticed that many locally. Zeke was doling out target locations to the ninja riders. While I might not have spotted big-rigs, some on our team had been more on the ball.

  I looked at Zeke when a big-rig tractor pulled up outside and tooted its horn.

  "Buzzer," Zeke said, sighing and shaking his head. "He and Tank are bringing in empty trailers today. Roger is providing people to modify the trailers to hold grain. Joel and I will work with them once our teams are dispatched."

  "Anything else?" I asked.

  "Roger is hoping we locate some trailer dollies," Zeke said, smirking. I knew he was baiting me, but I couldn't help myself.

  I raised my eyebrows, "Trailer dollies?"

  "Yeah, you need one to pull two trailers behind one big-rig tractor," Zeke said. "What else could you think it was."

  Right.

  "Does he have any idea where we might find these dollies?"

  "I've asked the ninjas to call in any doubled up trailers they spot, and Buzzer will go retrieve them."

  Jules came in at a trot, breathing heavily. "Sorry, it took me longer than I expected to finish in the barn." He peered around at the flurry of activity. "This isn't for us, is it?"

  "No, they are gearing up for the actual missions we are scouting. We'd better take our ninjas or someone else will." I turned back to Zeke. "I'll call in big-rigs if we spot them from the air. I'm hoping to keep in touch with Justice, at least on our plane radio while we are in the area."

  "We may not need them for this trip, but it never hurts to know where to find resources," Zeke said. "Leave now, or you'll be late for supper."

  While those who missed meals received boxed lunches, most people wouldn't risk it. While I knew the boxed meals were nutritious, they were also bland and barely palatable. Early on, they were quite tasty. So tasty, too many people skipped the communal meals. This created two problems, one of diverted resources, and the second was Dr. Jerrod's belief that communal meals were essential to maintaining mental health. Anyone skipping too many communal meals received a summons from Dr. Jerrod.

  Once the alternate meals started to taste like dreck, people found ways to show up on time to the communal meals. So no, I didn't want to be late for supper.

  One of the reasons for Jules meeting me at the armory was to gear Jules up for a trip outside the wire. As we mounted our ninjas, we wore plate armor and helmets. We rode in the middle of the scouting pack leaving the Valley. Ninjas began to peel off once we passed Justice. Even so, we still had a ninja escort for our ride to the airport exit.

  The trip felt like Jules and I were playing hooky. By the time we got to the airport, the temperatures had warmed up, and frost only remained in the deepest shadow. The ninjas were quiet and fun to ride. The hum and whir of their tires and the air streaming by my ears surrounded me. The sensation felt like I was sitting still, and it was the world that whizzed by me.

  Despite the lightening of spirit, monitoring our surroundings for threats retained most of my focus. Jules exhibited a similar caution as we approached the hangar, parking the ninjas nearly a block away. We scouted the hangar area before slipping inside.

  I left Jules rolling the aviation gas barrel next to the plane, while I went back to retrieve our rides. I cranked the barrel pump to top off the gas tank, while Jules conducted his pre-flight checklist.

  Next flight, we needed to refill the two drums and add stabilizer to them.

  After filling the gas tank, I checked the runway for debris. I cruised down and back, stopping once to toss a rock and a second time to remove a metallic piece. Neither would cause a problem for takeoff, but there was no reason not to remove them. Besides, it was more interesting than watching Jules finish his checklist.

  I timed my return well; Jules indicated we were ready to go as I parked my ninja. After removing the chocks from the airplane wheels, I pushed the plane out on the tarmac. Jules remained in the plane, warning me to push only against the propeller hub. Pushing the hub was better than pushing the prop, but we really needed a tow bar.

  I closed and locked the hangar before climbing up into the passenger seat. It took a few minutes to stow my gear, put on my radio earphones, and fasten my seatbelt.

  Jules cranked the engine in pulses aided by some subtle throttle action to finesse the engine to start. Then we waited for the engine to warm up, giving me time to plot our course on Allie’s map. I expected roads leading to Knoxville would be a mess, I just hoped to identify a workable route. The most direct approach took US-27 to Wartburg and then TN-62 through Oak Ridge until diverging onto TN-162 and then TN-131 and then surface streets. Yeah, it was as convoluted as it sounded with a lot of likely bottlenecks.

  We took off and flew south. I wanted to check whether the roadblocks around Elgin popped up again after the kidnapping. They wouldn't delay us much, but it would provide insight into how active their defenses were. I knew Mandy was interested in expanding our sphere to include Elgin. Some of us weren't convinced we should expand any more until the whole seed and grain issue got resolved.

  No one wanted to touch Oneida, except for salvage and to monitor them as a source of future threats. Roger and Aaron were in discussions with farmers in the Pine Hill and Ph
illips Creek area. I thought expanding to the areas east of us to include Winona, and the other small townships would be worthwhile. Mandy wanted it all. She desired an extensive stable buffer around Justice and was willing to work at it. Despite opposition from my parents.

  Flying overhead, we learned the people of Elgin had better things to do than reset their roadblocks. The way was clear through Sunbright. I felt some curiosity when we passed over the church, where we turned off to follow the kidnappers.

  "Turn east, I'd like to check out Chaney Gap and its hidden valley," I said.

  "Me, too. I mostly stayed on the west side of the highway, so I never saw it. I wonder if they cleaned up your mess."