“That's more on the hardware side of things, which isn't exactly my strong point,” Nick said. “Unless you're talking about setting up large scale computer networks and systems for businesses, I'm not sure how I can help you.”
The moment the words were out of his mouth he felt like an idiot for arguing against his own case; was he trying to end up arrested along with Chet and Ben?
“Actually, in many cases data processing and organization would be highly useful to our efforts,” Gorstrom said. “With all the chaos, the people in charge are still trying to figure out the scope of the devastation, let alone begin making useful plans to fix things. We need to parse through tremendous amounts of information, and get it to the people who need it most.”
She leaned back. “And that's just the obvious application. There are numerous other jobs your skills could be useful in, with a little bit of extra training. At the moment we're particularly in need of power plant technicians, especially for nuclear plants. We need those back up and running fast so we can get everything else online.”
Nick couldn't help but laugh incredulously. “I wouldn't have the slightest idea what to do there.”
“But you'd be in a better position to learn quickly than most.”
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. “You know what this looks like? It looks like you guys are so desperate to push your rebuilding efforts that you're trumping up any bogus charges you can think of, to scoop up people to pad out your workforce.”
Gorstrom's eyes narrowed. “You've got that backwards, Mr. Statton. In truth, we're so desperate to make progress on rebuilding this country that we're willing to be extraordinarily lenient to criminals, as long as they're willing to join the effort.”
“Me and the McCleese brothers are already working from sunup to sundown to rebuild, right here in Stanberry,” Nick said heatedly. “How does tearing us away from our friends and families and moving us across the country improve anything?”
“Because you're rebuilding in the wrong place!” the administrator snapped. “Along with too many other people too stubborn and lacking in common sense to go where they're desperately needed, even if it vastly improves their circumstances!”
Nick leaned back, blinking at her sudden outburst.
Gorstrom leaned forward, expression sharpening. “Here's the deal, Mr. Statton. You can join the rebuilding efforts where you'll do the most good, and receive the generous compensation due a skilled professional. You'll be allowed to bring your family, and they will similarly have a high standard of living. You can be an important and respected part of rebuilding our great country.”
Her voice hardened. “But I'm afraid that you don't have the option of staying with the others who opt to remain here and muddle through rebuilding on their own. If you refuse my offer, we'll start looking at you very closely for your scavenging, as well as everything that happened during the war with Wensbrook. Especially that firebomb attack you helped plan and carry out on the camps of the Wensbrook survivors and the Zolos-vulnerable people they convinced to join them. Hard to justify that as self-defense, especially considering all the noncombatants in those camps. Even with as lenient as we're willing to be, you're looking at at least two years and up to five just for that.”
Nick did his best to keep his expression neutral at that bombshell, feeling like a rabbit caught in a trap.
Gorstrom abruptly leaned back, crossing her arms. “I'd hate to waste your talents, but having you hauling garbage and demolishing half-burned buildings is still more useful that nothing. It's your choice.”
“You said Chet and Ben would be working off their sentences, essentially,” Nick said. “Is that the same for me? You'll put a ball and chain on my ankle and sit me behind a computer for a few years?”
She snorted. “No, we won't be quite that draconic with you. You don't seem like the sort to run off, especially when deep down you know you need to take responsibility for what you've done. We'll basically treat you like any other citizen who's joined the rebuilding efforts. Full autonomy, and we won't publicize why you're there.”
The administrator paused, although she was smiling slightly. “Besides, once you realize how well we're willing to compensate people with useful skills, you won't be counting the days before you can come back to this little town with no utilities and get back to scraping in the dirt for food. As I keep saying, but nobody seems to fully appreciate, resources are plentiful.”
After that she fell silent, giving him a while to think about it.
“What about the other scavengers?” Nick finally said. “I was in charge, I'm the one responsible for anything we did. I don't want them punished for just trying to help.”
To his surprise, Gorstrom's smile became warmer. Although she also shook her head regretfully. “I'm afraid that they made their choices, same as you. Although we'll give them the best offer we can. Even your friends Chet and Ben . . . their situation will be far better than a prison or some work camp, as long as they're cooperative.”
She leaned forward again, but this time earnestly rather than for intimidation. “If I'm being honest, Mr. Statton, from what I've heard of you, and what I've seen in this interview, I think you're a good man, and that your intentions have been good every step of the way. It certainly can't be argued that you've helped a lot of people. Even considering how things turned out with Wensbrook. I very much hope you take my offer.”
“Because if I don't, you'll make good on your threat no matter what you think of me?” Nick asked quietly. Gorstrom's level stare was answer enough, and he grit his teeth. “I'd have to leave my children behind . . . their mother's staying here with her new husband and his family.”
Not to mention if he was going to be as good as a prisoner, no matter what freedom or perks Gorstrom offered, he was hesitant bring Ricky and Tallie along with him. At least not until he could be sure they wouldn't get caught up in his problems.
The relief administrator stood, apparently done trying to convince him. “I'll give you some time to think it over, Mr. Statton,” she said, leading him towards the door. “But consider that this isn't just good for you short term. Your skills will always be in demand, and if you come with us you'll be with us from the beginning, first in line for every opportunity. You can have a prosperous life, a good future for yourself and your family.”
She gave him a tight smile. “If you ask me, that beats the stuffing out of staying here trying to scratch out a subsistence living in a practically nineteenth century environment. You didn't go through years of higher education and even more years of on the job experience for that.”
That was a pretty convincing argument; Nick had spent so long just focusing on getting himself and his loved ones through this disaster, he hadn't given too much thought into just how far their standards of living had fallen.
His kids deserved a better life than that, and if Gorstrom was telling him the truth she was offering him that life. That, and she wasn't giving him much choice in the matter, even if she was giving him time to “think it over”.
“Tell me something, Administrator,” he said at the doorway. “If I'd volunteered to join the rebuilding efforts from the start, and so had the McCleese brothers, would you even have brought any of this up? Gone after us at all?”
Gorstrom smiled thinly. “Pack your things, Mr. Statton, and make whatever arrangements you need to for your departure. We leave tomorrow at noon.”
The next thing he knew the tent's entry flaps were shut firmly behind him, leaving him outside and shaken by just how much everything had changed in the space of a few minutes.
Chapter Eighteen
Resignation
Nick took a deep breath, feeling like he'd just gone through a hurricane. An emotional one, certainly.
What was he going to do?
Well, first things first he needed to go home and make sure his loved ones knew he was okay. He spotted Preston waiting patiently nearby, and the man started forward the moment Nick met h
is gaze, nodding politely towards the the car they'd come in.
“Let me give you a ride home, sir,” he offered.
Nick was tempted to accept, since to be honest his legs were feeling a bit shaky after what he'd just been through. Besides, the man's tone was more of a command than a request. But then he noticed Gen, Ellie, Hal, and Bruce waiting anxiously for him nearby.
The sight of them immediately lifted his spirits, but also settled a leaden weight in his stomach as he realized he was going to have to break this news to them.
“Thanks,” he told Preston, nodding towards his friends, “but it looks like I've got one already.”
The corporal glanced at them, then shrugged. “Fine. But before you go, I just want to stress how bad an idea it would be to try to run or hide.” Gen was already hurrying forward to meet Nick, and the soldier politely stepped back so he wouldn't disrupt the reunion as he added, “Report to this camp by 11:00 tomorrow morning.”
“Right,” Nick replied numbly.
Then Gen was in his arms, visibly struggling not to cry as she held him tight. “What's going on?” she demanded. “Did you get arrested too? Were you able to help Chet and Ben? Is everything okay?”
Nick felt his shoulders sag in defeat. “Not really,” he mumbled. “The brothers were arrested, and I couldn't do anything for them.”
Gen's brow furrowed in alarm, but the others all looked grim, as if they weren't surprised. “Because they started those fires in Wensbrook?”
Nick blinked in surprise. Chet's and Ben's arson really must be a poorly held secret if even she thought they'd done that, even though she didn't know them well. He'd never spoken his own suspicions to her, out of respect for his friends and since it didn't seem to matter after the fact. But the culprits of the Wensbrook fires seemed to have become one of those rumors that got around and everyone seemed to know.
“That's the reason Gorstrom gave,” he agreed heavily.
“But that was in the middle of a fight for our lives against a psycho and his goons,” Gen protested heatedly. “Ben and Chet are good people . . . why bother going after them for something in the past? There have to be so many people out there who've done worse.”
Nick sighed. “I don't know. I guess if we want to be fair, in a fight where so many people died it makes sense Gorstrom would want to go after everyone on both sides who fanned the flames.” He paused, realizing his poor choice of words. Hal snorted, but Ellie and Bruce both remained grim.
Gen either didn't notice or chose to ignore it. “It's not fair, she wasn't even here.” She hugged him a bit tighter in comfort, resting her head on his shoulder. “What's going to happen to them?”
“A work program of sorts,” he said with a dour twist of his lips, thinking of his own fate. “They'll get a chance to work off their sentence helping rebuild the country they helped destroy, as Gorstrom put it.”
“BS,” Ellie said with a snort. “She's probably just trying to get as many laborers as she can, since a lot of people don't seem overly eager to be the first to pack up and move to where the infrastructure's being brought up and running.”
No one seemed to disagree with that assessment; amazing how quickly the goodwill earned by bringing them the vaccine could vanish once the relief administrator started throwing her weight around.
Gen patted his back. “Well, at least she didn't go after you. After how Jay dragged you into that mess so many times, I'm surprised she didn't.”
Nick tensed, and she must've felt it because she paused, suddenly doubtful, and looked up at him. “She didn't, did she?”
“Not exactly.” He hugged her a bit tighter to ease the sting of his bad news. “I'm under arrest for now, with Chet and Ben and probably the scavengers and several others involved with the fight against Wensbrook. Gorstrom is serious about restoring law and order. Starting with past crimes.”
“The town and camp leaders were definitely arrested,” Ellie supplied. “A lot of them were brought in before you.” She leaned forward. “Did she tell you what's going to happen?”
“A whole lot more than I expected her to, actually. I'm still trying to process it.” Nick quickly filled them in on everything Gorstrom and told him, and what his ultimate fate was looking to be.
“That's complete BS,” Ellie snapped when he was done, looking furious. “It's like when criminals were shipped to penal colonies! I can't believe this sort of thing is happening in our own country. She-”
Cutting off with an angry noise, she turned and stormed away towards the town. Probably to try to do something about what was going on. Hal shot them all a reassuring look, then hurried after her.
After a moment Bruce, who'd been staring darkly in the direction of the relief workers' camp, said, “Yeah. Yeah, I'm going to go talk to the town leaders too. There has to be something we can do to stop this.”
“I hope so,” Nick said wearily. “But I'm going to go home and pack, then spend as much time with the kids as I can.” Gen shot him an unreadable look, and he hastily added, “And you, of course. Sorry, I'm just-”
She patted his back comfortingly. “No, it's not that,” she said. “I just . . . you don't want to fight this?”
Nick noticed Bruce also looking at him expectantly, and shrugged. “I mean, I don't want to go. But at the same time, Gorstrom's not completely wrong.” He hung his head. “Even if it was for the best of reasons, I looted those people's houses. I told myself they were already gone and the stuff would just rot otherwise, but still . . .”
Bruce rested a hand briefly on his shoulder. “Packing's probably a good idea, just in case,” he said quietly. “And no parent ever went wrong spending more time with their kids.” He glanced at Gen for a second, then back to Nick. “Or with other significant others. But don't give up hope just yet, Nick. We'll find a way to stop this. Whatever we had to do to get through this crisis, you're a good man and you don't deserve this.”
He hurried away, leaving Nick and Gen to keep walking home.
“He's right,” she said, taking his hand and holding it tightly. “This isn't fair, and she can't get away with it.”
Nick thought of what Jay had told him, sitting around a campfire so long ago, of the day he'd come home and found his home ransacked. Of the dark night he'd spent after losing everything, and the vicious spiral he'd gone into afterwards.
Then he shook his head firmly; he couldn't burden Gen with grim thoughts like that. Instead he made his voice as upbeat as possible. “I don't know. After how good she made the rebuilding sound, there's already over a thousand people volunteering to go. Looking forward to it, even. And she did promise me I'd be treated the same as any other volunteer. Maybe it's not the worst thing.”
Uncharacteristically, Gen wasn't in the mood to take Gorstrom's side. Her grip on his hand had tightened as he spoke, expression equal parts sympathy and outrage. “What a piece of work!” she snapped when he finished. “I thought she was pretty impressive with how she came in and distributed the vaccine and supplies and got the quarantine camp organized in less than a day. But I should've known she wanted something in return, especially when the entire town doesn't seem eager to rush off and take her offer. Isn't over a thousand volunteers enough for her?”
“I guess not,” Nick said, leaden weight sinking into his gut as the reality of his situation settled in. “There's always strings attached, and one of them is wrapped around my neck.” He put an arm around her and rested his cheek on her head, feeling morose. “And I just finished quarantine so we could be together. I'm so sorry about this.”
“About what?” Gen demanded, outrage winning out. “All you did was help the town and protect us all, and now she's holding prison and forced servitude over your head!”
Hard to argue that. “Even so, I think I have no choice but to take her offer. It beats hard labor, at least, and she seems sincere about wanting things to work out well for me as long as I do things her way.”
Some of his girlfriend's anger faded into
resignation and she nodded. “I think you're right.” With a sigh she pulled back and picked up her pace, voice turning determined. “All right, let's get home and pack our things. We've got a lot to prepare for before noon tomorrow.”
For a second Nick actually misheard her, since he wasn't expecting this. Then he caught her eye to make sure she meant what he thought she did. “You want to come with me?”
Gen scowled, at the situation not at him, although her eyes sparkled. “I've been waiting months to be with you . . . I'm sure as heck not letting you wander off without me now.” She hesitated, turning pensive. “Besides, I was always kind of on your side about joining the rebuilding efforts. Billy's doing okay here in these conditions, but if I can get him back to a place with power, running water, plentiful food and other resources, and access to proper medical care, I think it's best for him to go. I hate to take him away from his grandparents, but we can sort out visits and stuff.”
To his embarrassment, he felt his eyes burning with tears. He never could've asked her to do this, but knowing that she wanted to go with him was a tremendous weight off his chest. It almost made the situation bearable.
“Thanks,” he said, voice thick. “Having to join the rebuilding efforts wasn't the worst thing, it was the thought of leaving you and the kids behind.” He hugged her closer. “This means a lot.”
Gen grinned at him, although her cheeks turned a bit pink. “Well I mean, don't assume it's all completely unselfish . . . I'm also banking on the fact that Gorstrom's project to rebuild America will have pizza places and hamburger joints.” She closed her eyes, a look of intense longing crossing her face. “After months of eating out of cans or plain meals made from staples, thinking about how good restaurant food tastes feels almost indecent.”
Isolation | Book 4 | Holding On Page 29
