by Angela White
Adrian, Kenn, Kyle, Doug, and Neil were sitting at a round table on the top deck of the bowling alley. The Eagles were watching, laughing, and letting the camp have their fill first, but the leader’s eyes were on his right-hand man.
Kenn was playing with a new deck of cards, fanning them out in different shapes and scooping them back up like a pro. His face was pale, uncomfortable, and at that moment, Adrian found it hard to accept that the Marine might be...special. Loyal and hardworking? Yes. Psychic? No, and it wasn’t because Adrian didn’t believe in it. He did, deeply, and while he longed for one of his circle to have such a gift, he just couldn’t place it with Kenn.
Then how did he know? Adrian asked himself the important question, and the blunt, quick answer made him frown. Kenn was in contact with someone not in this camp, and he was either lying, or about to.
Almost as if Neil had picked up on that thought, Adrian’s most steadfast man turned to the quiet Marine, unable to hold back any longer. “So, come on, Kenn. How’d you know?”
Neil’s question had the attention of the entire table and the Marine dropped his eyes. “I’d rather not say.”
“Why? You’re the hero now,” Todd insisted.
Kenn didn’t look up. “You won’t believe me.”
There was a thick silence as everyone looked at Adrian, and Kenn understood his moment of betrayal had come when those sharp eyes turned to him, searching. He sucked in a breath. “I feel things...sometimes," he said carefully, not looking up.
It was the answer Adrian wanted, the magic he’d been looking for, but it fell awkwardly from the Marine’s lips. He was right. None of them believed it.
“Oh.”
“Okay.”
No one questioned though, that was Adrian’s chore, and the leader said nothing yet, still evaluating.
“Who’s ready to bowl?” Kenn asked cheerfully, distracting he hoped.
All but Adrian agreed and started getting up. “You guys go ahead. I’ll catch up after I make rounds.”
Kenn opened his mouth to offer his company and snapped it shut, sensing Adrian’s unease. Let the boss man have some time to think about how big an advantage it would be to have a bad weather alarm that was never wrong. With that skill on his list, he’d never lose his place here.
"Until the real deal comes," his mind reminded, and Kenn pushed it away. She wouldn’t make it this far west even with help. There was no way one of her weak-assed hospital friends could keep two people alive through a thousand miles of this. She might even be dead now. Kenn grinned widely and went to be admired by his followers.
Adrian did continue to think about it, not how great it would be, but about the lie they’d just been told. He stood inside the glass doors, watching the snow fall harder, feeling the alert eyes of the guards on him as his mind worked it. Clearly it wasn’t true. The Marine was in contact with someone, and he didn’t want them here. That was the only thing that made sense. Why?
Because they know the old Kenny, he guessed, frown growing. They knew what Neil suspected, and Kenn was leaving them out there to die, rather than bring them to safety and deal with it. Adrian’s face darkened. If that were true, he would have to change his plans for their future. By his own actions, the Marine would be unworthy. The one Adrian left leadership to needed to value life the way he did.
The thick, dark flakes fell harder, and Adrian pushed Kenn from his mind for the moment as he looked over what there was to see of the town around them. Pleased to see his Eagles doing Recon nearby, taking pictures, and widening the perimeter as they’d been taught, he concentrated. A foot or more - were they prepared for that? No. Livestock trucks would have to be heated and covered; water and main supply trucks would have to be brought around front. Warmer clothes and shoes dug out, shovels too. Mind racing, Adrian stepped back inside and began putting his sheep to work.
As Adrian talked to people, got them moving, he noticed Kenn’s boy, Charlie, hanging around. When they were alone for a moment, the leader stepped over to him, thinking he needed to eat more and have some fun.
“You okay?”
The teenager nodded, but said nothing, and Adrian frowned, lowering his voice.
“You sure? I’m all yours right now.”
Charlie shook his head, eyes saying different. “No big deal. Just bored.”
Dark circles under the teenager’s eyes showed he still wasn’t sleeping well, but Adrian was encouraged that he wasn’t constantly standing at attention anymore. “Sounds like you need a job.”
The 14-year-old agreed right away and Adrian wondered if he should give him make work or something that really mattered.
“Something that matters?”
Adrian nodded, smiling, “Everything matters now, son. I’ll change your schedule when I do the next set. In the meantime, how about some snow shoveling? We need to keep a clear path to the trucks.”
There was no reluctance on the boy’s pale face, “Sure. Now?”
“No. We have to get some supplies first. You can beat me up at a game like your dad will, I’m sure,” Adrian joked. He wanted to question the slight grimace that came over the boy’s face but didn’t.
“Sure. Can I be on your team?”
“Absolutely. Lane 17 in half an hour. Bring coffee.”
Charlie shoved his hands into the deep pockets of the baggy, hooded shirt he wore over dusty jeans and left Adrian alone in the dim hallway outside the main office.
The leader watched him go, almost certain the child had wanted to scream at him. That Kenn wasn’t his dad, maybe? Adrian yawned and stepped into the cool darkness. It was yet another sign something wasn’t right with his newest man, and it didn’t occur to him until later to replay their conversation and listen to the way the boy seemed to read his mind.
Adrian moved inside the stale darkness of the office, but before he could flip on the light, a voice with a fake, southern drawl mocked him, “Avoidin' people is bad for ya image.”
Adrian turned quickly, an annoyed scowl on his face, and Tonya took a step back at his glare of distaste. “Not if they’re bad news.”
The sexily-dressed redhead gave him a knowing smile. “Wasn’t what ya were sayin' when ya were between my legs.”
His body was tempted, the office pitch black, but his eyes were emotionless, and he returned her mocking tone. “Musta dreamed it. Never happened.”
Tonya gave him a sexy grin, but her green eyes were unsure. “We’re alone. Ya can’t deny it ta' me.”
Adrian gave her a tight smile and sneered confidently, “Yes, I can. Prove it.”
He gave the door a gentle shove with his boot and couldn’t resist a parting blow, voice full of contempt. “Find someone else to spread those legs for. I’m busy.”
“Maybe I will,” Tonya muttered, accent dying as she moved back to her sleeping bag near the basement door, “And maybe you’ll be surprised by who.”
Adrian was more worried about the fiery redhead, than he’d let on and was glad no one had heard their short exchange. He knew she was currently looking for a way to pay him back, ‘hell hath no fury’ and all that, but even more, her kind had been a bitch before the War, and that hadn’t changed much. Adrian tensed at the creak of steps outside the barely open door.
“Can I talk to you?”
Adrian flipped on the lights, waved him in. The small room had only a chair and a messy desk, a single filing cabinet in the corner, and a layer of dust on the floor that they were leaving tracks in. Good thing he hadn’t taken Tonya up on her offer. Those heeled black boots she wore left unmistakable prints and his Eagles were getting sharper. “What’s on your mind?”
“Kenn.”
Adrian brushed absently at the layer of dust, sitting on a corner of the cluttered desk. “As in, how did he really know?”
The former cop’s green eyes were full of suspicion. “Exactly. Mitch and Matt cover the hell out of that radio. No way that he heard it and no one else did.”
The leader nodded a se
cond time. He’d already gone down this road with himself. The sheep would believe it, though, and that was all that mattered. They would never hear Kenn’s real answer. “How do you think he knew?”
Neil shrugged, his hat twisting in his restless hands. “I don’t have a clue, and that bothers me. He saved our ass, that’s for sure, and now these people love him, but…” Neil paused before pushing on carefully. “Something isn’t right with him.”
Adrian lit a smoke, waiting, and the cop looked at the man he respected more than anyone he’d ever known, hoping he wasn’t about to make a big mistake. “I know he’s your choice, and you have my complete support, but him, I plan to watch. You should know that.”
“Good.”
Neil blinked, and Adrian grinned, stood up to clap him on the shoulder. “Didn’t see that coming, did you?”
The trooper shook his head, stern face confused. “No. I thought I’d be in trouble.”
Adrian’s pale eyes were serious. “I expected no less. I want to be told about the smallest thing that catches your attention, Eagle. The smallest thing.”
“You know it.”
“He knows what?”
Neither man flinched, but both were caught off guard, and turned with nearly identical frowns. What was it with women and lurking in doorways?
“You need something?” Adrian demanded.
Cynthia’s shrewd brown eyes lost some of their eagerness at his bark and she nodded quickly. “Yes. Sorry. The door was open.”
Adrian went from pissed to bored in seconds, and he stared back at the Asian-American reporter with shuttered eyes and a cold smile. “Yes, it was. What can I do for you, Ms. Quest?”
The thin brunette looked at Neil, but apparently thought better of asking him to get the hell out. “I have some questions.”
“There’s a surprise,” came his response, and the dry tone made the normally unshakable reporter flush and hesitate, unsure if she should go on. He was a hard man to read.
“What, Cynthia? Tell me your deepest desires.”
The words hung in the dusty room, and now she was the one caught off guard, unable to give him anything, but the honesty his eyes were insisting on. The truth flew out of her mouth like a bullet.
“You. What kind of monster were you before? What are you atoning for?”
Cynthia missed Adrian’s flinch, horrified to hear those private words spoken, the ones she wanted known the least, but the trooper noticed it, felt the change in the man at his side.
Neil scowled darkly, automatically protecting his boss. “None of that old shit matters anymore, in case you haven’t noticed. Only our survival does. You should wake up before you piss off the wrong person and find yourself on the outs. See ya later, Boss.”
Adrian watched Cynthia step hurriedly back as the angry trooper moved past and there was a tense silence where he let her squirm for a long moment.
“You have questions?” he asked finally.
Glad he was willing to pretend she hadn’t crossed the line when they both knew she had, Cynthia took a small step inside the dusty office. “Yes. I’d like to volunteer to teach a class when you get them going.”
Adrian’s cool eyes never left hers, and she could feel his pull, her woman’s body softening under his gaze. “Maybe a teacher's aide or something?”
Adrian opened his notebook and wrote it down, and Cynthia held herself in check. She was hard too, an old dirt-digger, but she wasn’t immune to his spell any more than Kenn or Neil were. Just like them, she wanted to be close to Adrian, wanted to be useful.
“What class?”
The reporter controlled herself tightly, itching to ask, demand, trick, trap, and badger until he broke, but knew he wouldn’t, even if she didn’t care about being banished, which she did. He wasn’t like the others, wasn’t part of Before, as far as she knew, and treating him like he was, wouldn’t work. “I’m quick at basic math and I have a Pulitzer Prize for my writing. That should be worth something, right? My contribution to your New America.”
Instead of correcting her wording as he might have done with nearly anyone else, Adrian used the moment to pay back just a little of what she’d given him. “And, what do you get out of it? How are you benefited?” he mimicked her accusing tone perfectly.
She flushed, but didn’t drop her eyes. “The chance to teach a journalism class once we get settled somewhere.”
“You realize that’s a camp vote, because of the material?”
Cynthia’s brown eyes were bitter as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket. “Why do you think I came to you? With your support, they’d agree to almost anything.”
He didn’t confirm or deny, but was pleased she knew it. Cynthia had been a White House reporter before the War, a dangerously good one, and while she had only been here a few weeks, she already understood how things worked. Then, there was Tonya. She'd been with him since Nevada and still had no clue how to legally get what she wanted.
“Deal. And just maybe, I’ll have more important things for you later. If you’re interested?”
Cynthia agreed right away, surprised, suspicious, and he smiled at her, one of his genuinely beautiful moments that made her heart thump. There wasn’t a man in camp who could compare.
“Anything else?”
“Yes. I’d like to go the mall across the street. I’m out of supplies.”
“Alone?”
Cynthia hesitated again, not wanting to tell him she hadn’t really made any friends yet. She did have the eye of one of his guards, but she said nothing. Jeremy was on duty outside and would never leave his post.
“No one wants to walk in a blizzard just for notebooks and pens,” he guessed. Then surprised her again. “It’s nasty out there. I might be able to find you an escort.”
Adrian watched her quickly hide the relief in her eyes, and was glad to know the Ice Queen could feel fear too. They had found her sleeping in a school bus, and she hadn’t hesitated to speak her mind even then, alone, with only one bullet left in her gun.
“That would be great. I’ll be ready when they are.”
He looked at his watch, thinking she wore too much perfume. The room now reeked of flowers she’d probably never even seen. “The truck leaves in ten minutes. Kenn and the Eagles are heading over to collect our reserves. You’ll be expected to help and do what you’re told.”
“No problem. Thank you.”
“Anything else?”
“No. See you later.”
Cynthia left quickly, glad she’d heard good words about her future here, but disappointed she hadn’t gotten anything new. She still had no clue who he had been before and that question ate at her some nights. If it was the last thing she did, she would find out.
Adrian watched her go, thinking he would reward Neil for the unknowing distraction, but she wasn’t going to give up because of a warning or even a mysterious possible offer somewhere down the line. Cynthia was going to keep digging, keep watching, and he would have to be careful. Because that female was smart enough to figure out his puzzle if given enough pieces.
Hearing footsteps near the door again, Adrian looked up with a frown. One of the new men, Seth Daniels, appeared, green eyes much more excited than his even tone.
“We think something’s happening outside. It sounds wrong.”
Adrian immediately got up, reaching for his jacket.
Seth moved aside to let him through. “I guess you know I was an undercover cop, before. I’d make a good Eagle.”
Adrian met his eye as they went up the dim hall. “I’ll get back to you on that.”
Seth nodded, dropped back to allow him the lead. “I’ll be here.”
As they neared the front, glass doors of the alley, Adrian stopped, listening to the noises growing louder, closer.
Crunch...Snap!
Recognizing the sound, his eyes widened, and he waved to Kenn and Kyle, “Get them all in the hall, bring the heaters! Perimeter men too!”
The
next three minutes were total panic and chaos as a hundred sheep ran for the cover of the windowless hallway. Adrian watched with worried eyes, hoping the generators wouldn’t freeze, but there wasn't time to bring them inside.
Heavy tree limbs were snapping off, slamming into banks of ashy, black snow, and when the windows in the mall across the street began to shatter, the din of fear increased. Adrian moved the Eagles to the front and rear of the terrified crowd, keeping his herd together.
Not as severe as in other places, the wave of freeze didn’t take out all of the bowling alley’s glass. Layers of plastic and mats were sealed over drafty doorways, and the temperature inside continued to climb despite the below zero winds that forced the guards to watch from the few trucks that hadn’t frozen. Because of Kenn and Adrian, more than a hundred people were saved, and the camp relaxed quickly, went back to enjoying the light and heat when Adrian led them out.
5
The noise in the 34 lane alley was almost deafening, awful, and totally beautiful to those making it. Pins fell, balls thumped and rolled, voices talked, laughed, argued. Arcades dinged wildly, music blared from the speakers, and outside, snow fell in heavy sheets, blanketing everything. Other than the guards now watching from snow-covered trucks and the plastic hanging all over the inside of the alley, it was as if the crisis hadn’t happened. Adrian was pleased that they had handled it so well.
Chris, Daryl, and Jeremy were the only Eagles on guard outside, all Level Two, and very uneasy as they kept the rest of those on duty alert. The noise was loud even through the muffling effect of the snow storm, and the lights glared out in the darkness. If anyone was still around here, they were hearing and seeing it too.
