California

by Jamie Lee Grey

  “You’re being overly dramatic, Ambassador. As usual.” The president looked at the clock, then stood up. “This meeting has gone far longer than any of us expected. Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention.”

  “They aren’t my concerns, Madame President! They are the concerns of Israel.” He rose to his feet and pushed his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose. “And, by extension, they are the concerns of the Jews. Don’t forget the Jewish community in America voted heavily for you and President Callahan, putting your campaign over the top and sweeping you both into office.”

  “The Jewish community will always vote Democrat. And fund our campaigns. That’ll never change.” She threw him a fake smile and walked to the door, opening it for him. Urging him to leave, without being flat-out rude.

  Alana concealed her smile as she rose to her feet. At last, this annoying delay was over, and she could enjoy the rest of her weekend. Finally.

  Chapter 2

  Nadir checked the Inciweb wildfire incident web site, then scanned local news sites in California’s coastal cities. Several carried breaking news alerts regarding small new wildfires in their communities. He skimmed them quickly, then closed his laptop.

  It was hard to believe. It was actually happening! If all went as planned, this might really work. After all these years of planning, this day had finally arrived and everything was proceeding according to his plans.

  Could it really go off smoothly?

  Was it going too well?

  Would all those little local fire departments be able to put out the fires?

  Or, as he hoped, would the sheer numbers overwhelm them? Each fire department would be on its own now. They all had their own fires to deal with, so they would not run to the aid of the next community. And already, a breeze was coming off the coast, fanning the flames.

  Of course, some of the fires would get put out. That was inevitable. But maybe, hopefully, most of them would take off.

  One thousand torches. Blazing across the entire state, north to south.

  ***

  As they pulled away from the gas station, Katie felt despondent. For months, they had been planning to participate in this coastal cleanup and then spend the rest of the week at the beach. Her favorite place in the whole world, and their only vacation this year.

  Now, all that was off the table.

  Maybe they should just go home.

  She sighed and stared at the trees flashing past her window.

  “I’m sorry, Kate,” Zach said, kindness in his voice.

  After eight years, he was pretty good at picking up on her moods. Or at least hearing her sighs.

  “Me, too.” A frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. “But nothing we can do about it.”

  “Look at the bright side. We won’t be spending the day picking up garbage.”

  “True.” She let herself sneak a glance at him. Strong jawline, straight nose, broad shoulders. Still as handsome as the day they were married. Six years ago this weekend.

  That was something to celebrate. And he was right… she didn’t actually mind missing the garbage pickup.

  So now they just needed to come up with a new plan. Away from the cool, breezy beaches.

  Reaching into the glovebox, she pulled out a map of the state and spread it across her lap.

  “Any ideas?” Her eyes scanned the northern half of the map. They had the whole week. They could pretty much go anywhere.

  Zack shrugged. “You choose. You’re the family tour director.”

  “Well, let’s stay on Highway 1. It’s a pretty drive.”

  “It’ll take longer.”

  “I don’t care.” She glanced his way. “It’s not like we’re in a hurry to get anywhere.”

  And it was a beautiful drive south along the coast. Puffy white clouds floated in on soft ocean breezes, decorating the pristine blue sky.

  As the little RV rolled over miles of pavement, Katie’s spirits began to lift.

  This wasn’t the end of the world.

  They’d still be able to have a fun week together. Her eyes turned to the map. She just needed to think of this as an adventure, a surprise twist to their plans that would make a good story someday.

  Where could they go that’d be really fun? Or that was truly beautiful?

  Zach turned on some music and the miles flew by as she let her imagination take the lead.

  As he applied the brakes, she looked up. They were approaching Point Reyes Station, gateway to the breathtaking Point Reyes National Seashore. Heavy traffic slowed to a crawl through town.

  “Hey, is that smoke?” Zach squinted through the windshield.

  “Maybe.” Katie followed his gaze. Could it be late fog that hadn’t burned off yet? It looked more like a column rising into the sky, rather than a lazy cloud on the ground.

  “I think it is smoke.” She turned to face her husband. “Another fire? That makes four?”

  “Yeah. Something’s not right.” He turned the radio to a news station, but the broadcasters were talking about college football. “Saturday! Ugh.”

  As soon as they cleared the congested traffic around town, Katie felt the motorhome pick up speed. The engine strained, then shifted gears.

  Zach was suddenly in a hurry.

  “Maybe they’ll have something on the news at the top of the hour.” Katie glanced back at Timothy, who was playing on his tablet computer, a gift from Zach’s parents. She might be a bad mom for letting him have so much screen time, but the games and movies kept him occupied – and quiet – longer than any of her other options.

  “Why don’t you look on your phone and see if you can find out anything about these fires?” Zach asked, easing off the gas as the motorhome lumbered into a curve.

  She rifled through her purse and retrieved the phone.

  “I’ve got some alerts from Nixle.”

  She opened the texts. She’d signed up for community service notifications for Marin and Sonoma counties, and both were reporting small wildfires.

  Her mouth dried as she read them to herself, then summarized for Zach.

  “Two fires in Marin County.” She took a sip from her water bottle. “No evacuations, but they are closing some areas to local traffic only.”

  The Winnebago surged forward as Zach pressed the gas pedal.

  She leaned over so she could read the speedometer. Almost ten miles per hour over the speed limit.

  “You’ve already got two speeding tickets,” she reminded him. Like he didn’t know.

  “I want to get home.”

  “You mean we’re not going camping? You want to stay at home all week?” She studied his face.

  “No, I want to find out what’s going on, and make a good decision. At home.”

  Katie leaned back and adjusted her seat belt across her shoulder. “Well, slow down so we all get there safely. This old RV wasn’t built for a racetrack.”

  This was really turning into some kind of anniversary celebration.

  Now she wished she hadn’t asked to drive down Highway 1. The twists and turns were only enjoyable at slower speeds – unless you were a motorcyclist or sports car driver. Zach’s alternating acceleration and braking between curves and corners was stirring nausea in her stomach.

  It seemed like forever until they finally approached Mill Valley. She’d be glad to get out of this lurching house on wheels. Her head was starting to throb.

  And she still hadn’t figured out where they should spend the rest of their vacation. She hadn’t really been able to think about that or look at the map as they zoomed along the narrow, windy highway.

  As they finally pulled up beside the curb in front of their house, her phone beeped a text message alert.

  Zach turned off the engine and looked at her expectantly. “Nixle?”

  She nodded. “Okay, this is really weird! There’s a fire at the south end of the Robin Williams tunnel.”

  “They’ll probably have to shut down the Golden Gate Br
idge.” Zach flung open his door. “Something crazy is going on.”

  A gust of wind pressed her tank top against her back as she climbed out. The air was warm, but her husband’s words chilled her. The thought of shutting the Golden Gate Bridge was just… unthinkable. And yet, if they had to close the tunnel, they would likely close at least the northbound lanes across the bridge as well. And soon the southbound lanes would be closed, too. No one would be able to travel south to the bridge if that fire was significant enough to close the highway.

  She rubbed her arms. This was just so bizarre.

  Zach came around the front of the motorhome. Their eyes met.

  “What are we going to do?” Katie moistened her lips.

  A long pause stretched between them, then he reached for her hand. “First, we’re going to pray.”

  She bowed her head. Zach’s words reached up to heaven and down into her heart. Whatever was going on, they would face it together with God’s help.

  Zach didn’t release her hand after he said “Amen.” Instead, he rubbed it with his thumb, and looked at her with those gorgeous blue eyes.

  “I feel like we should pack up the mountain gear that you wanted to take camping. But I think we should grab some other stuff, too.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like whatever we would take to evacuate.”

  Evacuate. The word echoed through her mind, but she had a hard time grasping it. Evacuate?

  “You think – ”

  “I don’t know, Katie. Something strange is going on, and now it looks like our southbound escape route will be closed.”

  “We wouldn’t go that way, anyway.”

  “If you’re evacuating, you take any route that is open. It looks like one option is closing. And we can’t go back toward the ocean, either, since we know there are fires over there. That limits us to north and east.”

  “But I-5 is already closed at Yreka. And 101 is closed at Eureka.”

  “That’s a real long way from here. Anyway, the east route is still all clear.” He opened the motorhome’s door and grabbed Duke’s leash. “Would you get Timothy?”

  He hooked the leash onto Duke’s collar. The black dog bounded out the door onto the grass.

  “Yeah.” Katie stepped inside the RV and released Timothy from his booster seat. He pushed away and slid to the floor, following the footsteps of the giant dog. She let him go.

  Once his little feet landed on the lawn, he tore after Duke and his dad, who were already on the front porch.

  Katie inhaled slowly and tried to gather her thoughts. Surely, they wouldn’t actually have to evacuate. There were no fires in their neighborhood, or even within a few miles.

  Something was going on, though, something bad. And while it was not in their neighborhood, it was definitely too close for comfort.

  It wouldn’t hurt to pack some extra things, just in case.

  That phrase turned over in her mind. Just in case. In case of what? That was the big question.

  ***

  After the ambassador left, the president turned to Alana with a disarming smile. She placed her hand on Alana’s elbow.

  “I know you were planning to go to Vermont this weekend, but I wonder if I could convince you to come to New York with me, instead. We’ll take in a play tonight, and have a spa day tomorrow.”

  The president could easily convince her to do anything. Spending the weekend together, without a schedule packed with formal obligations, would be heaven. But Alana didn’t want to sound too eager.

  “What about the Secret Service? They’ve made all my arrangements, and yours. They hate it when we make any changes.”

  “You can just fold your detail in with mine. We’ll stay at the same hotel, on the same floor. My detail is fully prepared for New York, and you’ll be with me, so it’ll be no problem.”

  “They also get worried when we travel together.”

  “They get paid to worry. Besides, if we both get assassinated, there’s still a chain of succession after me and you.”

  Alana winced a little. “I hate it when you talk like that. Anyway, isn’t your family going? I thought you were spending time with them tomorrow.”

  “Dominic got in a huff, so I sent him and the kids to Martha’s Vineyard for the weekend.” Basilia twirled a shiny lock of hair around her finger like a little girl. “C’mon! It’ll be fun! Manicures, pedicures, massages….”

  Before Alana could respond, the president grinned, lifted her hands in the air and swung her hips. “Maybe we’ll go dancing!”

  Alana laughed. She couldn’t imagine the security team letting them go to a club, but she wasn’t about to turn down the opportunity to find out.

  “Fine. You tell Secret Service, though. I don’t want to deal with that grief.”

  Chapter 3

  Nadir Abdullah tugged on his linen jacket and adjusted his tie. He examined himself in the mirror and tried to calm his nerves. His face must not betray a thing. He relaxed the muscles around his mouth and his dark brown eyes.

  They looked darker than usual. Not only that, but he looked older somehow. Twenty-six was a good age, mature but still strong. Old enough to be both trusted and cunning.

  He’d worked hard to earn his father’s respect. And to earn a seat at the government’s table and an office in the state’s climate department. Now, at last, he was truly putting his meteorological studies to good use. For Allah.

  He ran a comb through his coarse black hair. Then he took a long breath, released it slowly, and straightened his shoulders.

  It was time.

  He swallowed, fixed his tie again, and left the washroom. His mouth dried as he strode to the stairs. His father had called an emergency meeting here at the governor’s mansion.

  Sometimes Nadir wondered whether it was a blessing or a curse to be the governor’s son – but today, there was no question. A blessing, for sure! And now, he intended to be the first one in the room, so he wouldn’t miss a single word that would be spoken by the early arrivals.

  Thomas Abrams, the state fire marshal, was entering the building as Nadir reached the first floor. He nodded to Abrams and shook his hand, ignoring the state trooper stationed at the front door.

  “Thank you for arriving so promptly.” Nadir moistened his lips. “We’ll be meeting in the conference room. Right this way.”

  He ushered the man into the grand room, where sunlight flooded through windows extending almost to the vaulted ceiling. They were the first to arrive, which was fortuitous.

  Perhaps they’d have a few minutes for Nadir to ask probing questions on the state of the fires, before the rest of the attendees arrived and his father took over the meeting. There were specific details he needed to know.

  ***

  Katie pulled out her cell phone and texted her editor.

  “Lots of new fires this morning. Something big is going down.”

  She followed her husband and son into the house. Her eyes turned toward the kitchen. What should she pack? What would they need?

  This all seemed so surreal. Nobody else was packing up to evacuate. Her neighbors were enjoying the weekend, probably setting up barbeques or hanging out by the pool.

  Were she and Zach nuts? Paranoid?

  Well, they were going camping anyway, so she needed to figure out what to take for that. Some warm sweaters, long pants, maybe rain jackets? And sturdier shoes, since they wouldn’t be hanging out on a sandy beach.

  Zach walked out of the bathroom. “I’m going to take the truck. Or you can drive it, and I’ll drive the Winnebago.”

  “We’re not riding together?” Katie frowned. “Happy anniversary?”

  “It will be happy, once we get where we’re going.” He wrapped his hands around her slender waist. “In the meantime, taking the extra rig will allow us to pack more of our things.”

  “Evacuation stuff.”

  He nodded. “You should pack the things that are most important to you. If you’ll set them by the gar
age door, I’ll load them in the pickup.”

  That F-150 could haul a lot of stuff, especially with the canopy over the bed. But what was most important to her? A few mementos from her grandparents, the quilt her great-grandmother had made, her jewelry, photos… and everything in the home office. And the safe.

  Zach gave her a quick peck on the forehead, and headed down the hall. Timothy was making truck noises in his bedroom, so at least he was okay for the moment. Soon he’d be hungry. Should she make lunch here, or pack for a lunch on the road? There was still plenty of food in the RV, too.

  She closed her eyes and took a long, calming breath. Okay. Make a list.

  Grabbing a notepad and a pen, she scratched out quick notes.

  Wedding photos. T’s baby album. Childhood pics. Framed family photos. EVERYTHING in the safe! Bank info, check books, credit cards, wallets, passports, insurance docs for the house, title paperwork, important files from the home office, laptops, mementos.

  Camping stuff – warm clothes, better shoes or boots, socks, jackets.

  The RV already had the blankets and pillows and everything, plus the kitchen items she’d need for the week.

  What else?

  Her mind blanked.

  Well, she’d start with the written list. She tore the paper off the notepad and stuck it in her back pocket with a pen. She’d add to it as more items crossed her mind.

  Oh, yeah… dog stuff. They’d already packed what Duke would need for the week, but she would bring his vaccination records, too. Just in case.

  There were those three words again. Everything she was doing was just in case.

  It was too bad she was wasting time now trying to figure out what she wanted to take. What if she forgot something important? Why hadn’t she and Zach sat down at some point and made a full evacuation list when there was no pressure and their minds were clear?

  She sighed, then began gathering the things listed on the torn paper in her pocket. First, she went to the safe and unlocked it.

  Her parents had given her and Zach a one-ounce gold coin on their wedding day and on each anniversary. She gathered them and dropped them in her purse. Her most valuable jewelry was there, too, and she slid those pieces into a travel jewelry bag and packed them in a tote. Some important paperwork was there, and she packed it, along with the cash she’d been squirreling away.