by Mark Church
Before she can say anything, Ken holds out a small box of chocolates and says, “I brought you a peace offering. You never answer your apartment door, so I was forced to bring it here.”
Hannah is caught off guard, but she recovers quickly, “I’ve been really busy – here mostly.”
“No explanation needed,” Ken waves off her comments. “I’m willing to let bygones be bygones. What do you say?”
Hannah doesn’t respond right away. She considers his request and concludes that, while she could never let ‘bygones be bygones’, she can’t let that interfere with the bigger picture.
Finally, Hannah pastes on a weak smile and concedes, “I guess we could be friends again.”
“Great! How about joining me for dinner? We can celebrate our rekindled friendship.” Since this is exactly the response Ken expected, he doesn’t notice that her smile never reaches her eyes.
Having recovered from the shock of Ken’s appearance at her door, Hannah’s alter ego takes charge and turns on the charm, “That would be nice. Let me freshen up and we’ll go”
Ken’s wasn’t expecting Hannah to come around quite so quickly. He imagined he’d have to work harder to win her back. Whether or not she is worth the trouble still remains to be seen. There are plenty of attractive women in DC, but she has definitely gotten under his skin. Maybe his proposal at dinner will be the boost he needs to seal the deal.
✽✽✽
Ken and Hannah’s destination is a quaint restaurant overlooking the Potomac River. Government officials and other well-connected elites are regular patrons.
Ken does a little hobnobbing when they arrive, taking great pleasure in showing off the pretty woman on his arm.
They don’t have to wait long before they are shown to a private booth in a small alcove off the main dining room.
After the waiter leaves to fetch their drink order, Ken reaches across the table and casually holds one of Hannah’s hands, “I’m really happy that you agreed to come with me tonight. I have a surprise for you.”
“And what would that be?”
“I’d like you to head up a new government education program,” Ken offers with a smile. He knows this is the last thing Hannah was expecting and enjoys seeing her off balance.
“What, exactly, are you talking about?” Hannah appears clearly confused by this unexpected ploy.
“It’s a program that will help students understand the advantages of government and social policy.”
“What kind of advantages?”
“Advantages related to central government control and the rejection of individualism to the benefit of the individual.”
“That sounds like indoctrination to me.” Hannah responds before she can catch herself. She inwardly grimaces and questions again her ability as a spy.
“Maybe,” Ken acknowledges agreeably, “but for the good of all.”
Inwardly Hannah thinks, “Yeah, for the good of you and the ruling class” but outwardly she just smiles and comments “Oh, I see how that could be helpful.”
“I’ve been tasked with finding someone to lead the program and I immediately thought of you. You’re a well-respected teacher who could influence the opinions of fellow educators. If we can convince the educators to espouse our, uh…”
“Propaganda?” offers Hannah.
“Well, I was searching for a gentler word but, okay, propaganda… future generations are less likely to resist the system.”
Ken tries to get a read on Hannah. She gives him her best poker face. If he really knew what she was thinking, he’d likely have her thrown in jail.
“Sounds like it could be interesting.” Hannah toys with the stem of her water glass and tries to appear to be considering the proposition.
“So,” presses Ken, “you’ll do it?”
“I’ll need some more specifics before I can give you a definitive answer.” Hannah doesn’t want to raise suspicions by appearing overly eager.
“Sure, sure. How about I have my driver pick you up tomorrow at 9:00 am? He’ll bring you to my office at the Capitol Building where we’ll go over your role and the position’s responsibilities.”
Hannah nods her head, “Okay, but you need to realize I’m not making any promises that I’ll accept your offer. Just that I’ll keep an open mind.”
Ken smiles and replies, “That’s all I ask.”
The waiter appears with two drinks. He places a glass of Chardonnay in front of Hannah and a whisky and water in front of Ken. He excuses himself with the promise to return shortly for their dinner order.
Ken lifts his glass and proposes, “Let’s toast to possibilities.”
Hannah lifts her glass and lightly taps the edge of Ken’s before saying, “To possibilities.”
The irony of the celebration is their polar opposite interpretation of the toast. They are both happy with the arrangement, but for very different reasons.
The rest of the dinner is pleasant enough. So much so that Hannah has a pang of guilt for the way she is deceiving Ken. Reminding herself of the events at the Coliseum and the incident on the bus, chases away the lingering doubts easily enough.
Ken feels confident and relaxed as he drives Hannah home after dinner. He walks her to her door and after some small talk leans in for a good night kiss. Hannah turns her head to the side and offers her cheek. Thrown a bit off balance, Ken gives her a light peck on the cheek. The awkwardness is followed by Hannah saying, “Good night, and thank you for dinner,” as she turns to unlock her door.
“Are you sure that I can’t tuck you in?” Ken offers with a sly smile.
“Been doing that by myself for years, I think I can manage.” Hannah responds coyly before ducking inside.
After she disappears into her apartment, Ken lingers for moment looking at her door. He thinks to himself, “Damn, shut down again. Is she really worth it?” As he starts down the stairs he decides that she’s most definitely worth it, and that the chase is part of the fun.
12 three down and faith
Amy has been watching out the window almost continuously since late afternoon. She expected Kayla and Cole to be home by now and she’s getting worried. It’s nearly dark and she’s concerned that they are lost.
Just as her anxiousness begins to morph into something closer to panic, she sees the two adolescents emerge from the tree line. Cole appears to be leaning a bit on Kayla. The two dogs trot alongside them.
Amy dons her coat and rushes out the back door. Mike happens to be coming out of the barn and sees Amy racing towards the kids. Sensing that something is wrong, he sprints in their direction.
Seeing her mother run towards her, Kayla calls out, “We were attacked by a mountain lion, and Cole is hurt.”
When Amy reaches them, she quickly looks them both over before focusing her attention on Cole, “Where are you hurt?”
“My arm mostly.” For the first time, Amy notices that his left arm is not in his coat sleeve but in a sling by his side. “Hurry, come inside.”
“What about the dogs? Bull is injured too.” Cole pleads.
Just arriving on the scene, Mike looks confused. “Who’s Bull?”
“The Black dog.” Cole nods towards his defender.
As they turn their attention to the two dogs, Cole continues, “That’s what we named him. He saved my life.”
They can see that the male dog is pretty torn up.
Turning her attention back to Cole, Amy gently takes Cole’s shoulders in her hands and propels him toward the house. “My concern is you right now, so let’s get inside.”
“Not until I know that Bull is being taken care of,” contests Cole.
A momentary standoff ensues.
Mike breaks the stalemate by suggesting, “I’ll take care of the dog – Bull, while Amy takes care of you, okay?”
Cole looks at the dog and then back at Mike before saying, “Okay, but he goes where I go.”
Mike looks at Amy and raises his eyebrows and shrugs his shoulder
as if to ask permission.
After a brief pause, Amy nods, “Fine, just go.”
When they reach the house, Bull is reluctant to enter. Shadow only hesitates briefly before entering. Once inside, she summons her mate with soft whimpers and a wagging tail. Cole seals the deal by patting his leg with his good hand and coaxing Bull with gentle praise.
Gena and the kids investigate the commotion going on at the back door. The look on Amy’s face tells them all they need to know.
“Gena,” Amy takes the lead, “get medical supplies.”
As Gena rushes off for the requested items, she instructs Luke and Emily to warm some water.
Bull lies down on the kitchen floor in exhaustion. His injuries and the subsequent loss of blood have taken their toll. Shadow gently nuzzles him before lying beside him as Mike begins looking over his injuries.
Amy watches nervously as Kayla helps Cole remove his coat. As she pulls it way from his left arm, Amy is stunned to see the extent of his injuries. The gashes and deep puncture wounds on his forearm are serious, clearly more severe than she was expecting. She quickly regains her composure and begins assessing the damage.
After evaluating the injuries to his forearm, she begins looking for other injuries, “Do you hurt anywhere else?”
“Not really. Maybe a few bumps and bruises from wresting with the cat but nothing big.”
Gena reenters the kitchen turned emergency room with the medical supplies. After setting them next to Amy, she leaves to retrieve some clean rags.
Amy and Mike take this opportunity to wash their hands in the kitchen sink while Kayla begins helping Cole remove his sling. She tries to remove his shirt next but its tattered remains are stuck to the wounds. Cole winces with every tug.
Amy notices and advises, “Wait – we’ll use warm water to moisten the dried blood, it’ll make it easier to remove.”
They turn their attention to Bull as they wait for Gena to return with the rags and water.
“How bad is he?” Cole is clearly more worried about the dog than his own status.
“Pretty bad, but he doesn’t act as if he’s in pain, he’s one tough dog.” Mike rubs Bull’s head in affection, while Amy continues her examination of the injuries.
Almost afraid of the answer, Kayla asks, “Is he going to make it?”
“No way to tell for sure, I can stop the bleeding but he’s already lost a lot of blood. And then there’s always the risk of infection.” Mike’s pragmatic response is somehow reassuring to Kayla even though she understands the risks to which he is referring.
Gena and the kids return noisily with two pails of warm water and a stack of clean rags. She places a pail and some rags next to Amy before taking the remaining rags and the other pail to Mike.
From her kneeling position next to Mike, Gena asks, “Do you need me over there?”
“Mike needs you there,” Amy directs. “Kayla and I can handle this.”
Both sets of caregivers begin attending to their patients. The warm water proves effective in dissolving the dried blood, which allows them to better assess Cole’s wounds.
Amy determines that two of the puncture wounds and one large gash on Cole’s forearm will need stiches. She reaches for the medical bag and retrieves a fishhook needle and some thread. She hands the needle to Kayla and instructs her on how to sterilize it in the fire.
“You may as well sterilize one for us too,” Gena chimes in. “This dog is going to need a yard of stiches to put him back together.”
Kayla returns with the sterilized needles and hands one to her mother and one to Gena.
As she threads the needle, Amy warns Cole, “I wish I had something to numb your arm.”
Kayla, close to the edge of hysteria now, babbles excitedly, “There’s lots of medical supplies at the Outpost, I bet there’s something there. I could go get them.”
“Not a chance,” Mike nixes the idea. “No one is going up the mountain in the dark while that cat is still roaming around.”
Kayla protests vociferously before Cole assures her, “It’s okay babe, I can handle it.”
Cole’s bravado is admirable, but Amy has to be honest, “I’ll try to be as gentle as I can but I’m not going to lie to you, it’s going to hurt like hell.”
“It’s not gonna get done by talking about it,” Cole points out, “so have at it.”
Kayla holds his good hand while Amy begins stitching. Cole’s grip on her hand tightens each time the needle punctures his skin. Beads of sweat pop out on his forehead but he doesn’t make a sound.
Amy is impressed with Cole’s fortitude, while Kayla’s heart melts just a little bit more with each stick of the needle.
Mike briefly watches the proceeding before turning his attention back to Bull. Before he can begin stitching the dog, he knows he has to shave around the wounds. Using a razor from the medical kit, he begins the delicate task.
When Mike is finished, he sits back to evaluate his work. Aside from the wounds, Bull looks like he has a bad case of the mange. Barber College may not be in Mike’s future, but he manages to get the job done.
Now that the dog is prepped the more difficult task lies ahead. In spite of concerns that he may be bitten, Mike doesn’t hesitate. The first poke of the needle prompts the dog to flinch before raising his head to investigate, but after sniffing the hand holding the needle, he drops his head back to the floor and lays still. Blood loss may be fueling his exhaustion but somehow, he seems to know that they are trying to help him.
Amy works as quickly as she can. It takes her about fifteen minutes to close Cole’s wounds. She counted thirty stitches total. The bleeding has all but stopped.
“Kayla,” instructs Amy, “go and get the yarrow salve.”
Gena and Mike had collected medicinal plants last fall before they went dormant for the winter. They had studied books on plants and herbs that they found on the farm and learned about their value for everything from infections, to coughs, to constipation. The books described how to identify and harvest common plants, and how to pound them into a paste or boil them into syrups. They took it upon themselves to develop the techniques and make an inventory of medicines for future use. Their foresight was paying off big time.
Kayla returns with a glass jar and hands it to her mother. Dipping her finger into the container, Amy scoops a finger full of salve and begins spreading it over Cole’s recently stitched wounds. When she has covered all of his wounds, she wraps clean rags around his arm and secures them with an elastic bandage from the medical kit.
Mike is still busy working on Bull. He’s already inserted over ninety stitches, but he’s only halfway done. The job will likely take two hundred or more stitches to complete. Gena continues to support Mike’s efforts just as efficiently as a seasoned ER nurse.
Amy starts to offer her assistance before determining that adding a third person to the mix would be counterproductive. Instead, like Cole and Kayla, she assumes a spectator role.
It takes another thirty minutes to sew together all of Bull’s wounds. He is no longer bleeding, but they know he’s not out of the woods. He’s very weak and subject to infection. Just as they did for Cole, they put the homemade salve on Bull’s wounds and cover them the best they can. They agree that it’s best not to move him tonight, so they decide to leave him where he is and reassess his condition tomorrow. When he’s stable, they’ll move both dogs into the barn.
Shadow lies down next to Bull. He acknowledges her presence by raising his head slightly. She licks his muzzle lightly and whimpers softly. He responds with a few wags of the tip of his tail before dropping his head back to the floor.
They begin cleaning the kitchen. Amy’s thoughts turn to Jake. Wondering why he and the others aren’t home by now, she’s blissfully ignorant to the next round of chaos that is barreling their way. It won’t be long before their relative peace is shattered for the second time today.
✽✽✽
Tim and two companions, a man and a
woman, depart New Town towards Arcadia in the hopes of discovering the source of gunfire heard shortly after speaking with Jake about his encounter with the soldiers. They extinguish their lights when they reach the highway, cautiously driving the few short miles in the dark to conceal their movement.
When they reach the outskirts of town, they leave the vehicle on the side of the road and continue traveling on foot. They hope that Jake and his companions weren’t the ones on the receiving end of the gunfire.
When they approach Pine and Main, they see a destroyed vehicle that wasn’t there when they met Jake and the others earlier in the day and, thankfully, it isn’t their truck but a sedan.
Tim approaches the vehicle. Its doors have been pushed wide open. It appears that whoever did this had an axe to grind given the excessive force employed to disable the vehicle.
He shines his flashlight inside. Other than copious amounts of blood, there are no bodies.
From a short distance away, Tim’s female companion points out, “There’s spent bullet casings everywhere.”
After considering the extent of the vehicle’s damage, and the number of bullet casings, Tim says, “This was a revenge killing pure and simple, and it was done by someone who had no interest in conserving ammunition.”
“Where are the bodies?” his male companion is puzzled.
Tim continues searching around the vehicle and observes the blood trails coming from the vehicle. “It would seem that someone took the bodies away.”
“Why would they take the bodies?”
“Don’t know, but maybe we can find out. Come on.”
Tim gestures for them to follow him down Pine Street towards the highway. Not wanting to share the same fate as the people in the destroyed vehicle, they proceed cautiously. When they reach the old sporting goods store at the highway intersection, they make a right onto the highway.
“This is the direction Jake and the others would have traveled.” Tim points down the highway. “Let’s follow the highway back to where it meets Main and from there, we’ll work our way back up Main to our vehicle.”
