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Pepper kissed me after the meeting and went to check on Mona. She was still being held in the locked storage room and was dependent upon Pepper for food and bathroom breaks. Her mention of the girl reminded me of my intention to speak to Pops about her.
I caught Pops in sub-level one; he was down there helping Marcus and George get their people settled. As I walked up, they were involved in their conversation.
“We have ten bedrooms on this level,” Pops explained, “each one containing a full-size Murphy bed and a set of bunk beds. It’s your call, but I would give first dibs for those to any families you might have among you. There are two big common bathrooms, each having four stalls and two showers. We have the common recreation room which is fitted out with a big screen television and hundreds of movies on CD. With everyone pressed this close to each other, entertainment is a must, but, if you can’t get everyone into the available bedrooms, feel free to set up cots in here. I have about ten cots stored downstairs.”
George had his hands in his pockets and was rocking back and forth on his heels. “We’ll get everyone a bunk in the bedrooms you have; we should probably keep the common room available for diversion and recreation. We have only three families and a few kids. The videos will be a godsend to keep them distracted.”
“I agree,” Marcus chimed in, “and we might be able to shift the bunk beds around and have some of the rooms sleep four of our unattached males. Or females, now that I mention it. We have forty-two people now after the four we lost today. There are twenty-four adult males, twelve adult females and six children with ages running from infant to twelve years old.”
Pops put his hands on the shoulders of the two young men. “You and your people are welcome here in our home. I’ll show you where the food stores are, and some of your people can bring it up to the community kitchen on this level so you can cook for yourselves.”
Pops had a sober expression on his face. “I have only one favor to ask: I don’t want anyone on the level beneath us without Myself, Virgil or the Major along. Later on, we’ll give access to some of your crew along with the codes but, for right now, I feel it’s best to limit access to it. I’m sorry to ask that, but there are just too many dangerous things down there.”
George laughed. “Hey, we’ve got electricity, running water and hot showers. I’m happy.”
“Yeah, that brings up the matter of assigning shower schedules and conserving hot water…”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Pops, but I have to talk to you about something important.” I looked at George and Marcus and gave them an embarrassed expression. “Sorry guys.”
The two men indicated they had things to do, anyway, and headed off to take care of them. I led Pops to the stairwell where we could talk.
“About the girl we captured? Mona? Why are we still keeping her locked up?”
Pops looked puzzled. “She was part of the group that was trying to kill us, Virgil. My read on her is that she’s just a scared kid but who knows for sure?”
“Yeah, but when it comes right down to it, Pops, we probably know more about her than we do about Isaac and his family or any one of the new group we just brought in here. Marcus and his brother just recently brought most of them into his neighborhood. How much could they know about them?”
He smiled. “You make a good point, but why? What would you have me do with her?”
“Why not let her out? Pepper has her little room upstairs, and it already has another twin bed. She and I could keep an eye on her. Emma and Gayle could help us. I mean, really…what could she do to us? They already know where we are now. The only things she will see are the living quarters and the compound.”
Pops frowned a bit. “Why the sudden concern for this girl?”
I had to do a quick bit of introspection because I didn’t know the answer to his question. Then it dawned on me. “Well, like everyone has made a point of saying, Mona is just a little girl. She joined that Army group because she had no choice and wanted to protect her brother. Over the next few days, she might be able to provide us with valuable information about this Arlo guy and his people. If she feels like she is one of us she might feel compelled to do so but, if we keep treating her like a prisoner of war, her allegiance to the army guys might grow stronger.”
“There’s some merit to what you’re saying.” He suddenly got a big grin on his face.
“What? What are you smiling at, Pops?”
“You. Seems like a few days ago you were sneaking around through the escape tunnels and now, here you are giving sound advice to your decrepit old father. And that plan you came up with earlier about turning the tables on the gangs? Where did that come from?”
I had no real answer for his question, so I replied with a silent shrug, both palms held pointing at the ceiling.
He smiled again. “Okay, I’ll talk to the Major, and if he has no objections, we’ll let her out. Pepper should stay on her and try to get all of her recollections regarding this military group.”
When Pops left, I hunted Pepper down and found her in the storage room talking to Mona. The girl looked better today; there were no tear-stained eyes even though there was still a sadness about her. She had on clean clothes, and it looked like she had showered recently because her hair was still wet.
Pepper brightened when she noticed me. She popped up from her plastic chair and kissed me then put one arm around my neck and pointed at me with the other. “This is my boyfriend, Virgil. He’s a little dorkish, but he grows on you over time.”
I gave her an exaggerated frown and looked at Mona while making a circular motion with my index finger next to my temple. “She has these episodes every now and again, but the doctors have hope.”
Mona giggled. I knelt so I could look her in the eye. “Mona, are you doing all right here? Any problems so far?”
“Well, I miss my brother, but there isn’t much anyone can do about that. Other than that, I hate being isolated from everyone but; I understand I guess.”
“Well, I can’t do anything about your brother, at least not now. But, tell me, if we let you go, would you want to go back to Arlo’s bunch?”
She seemed to be considering the question. She chewed at the inside of her lip before answering. “I don’t see how I could. The only reason to even consider it would be to find Zeke and try to sneak him away, but judging by the way he was acting the last time we spoke, I think he liked the whole army thing. He was so proud of being given a rifle. Honestly, after what happened to us in the attack on your friend’s neighborhood, I don’t even know if he’s still alive. I gather your people inflicted quite a few casualties on Arlo and his people.”
She might have been trying to fool me, but I liked the way she referred to the military group as ‘Arlo and his people.’ The other thing was her desire to get her brother away from them even though she knew he might be too far gone.
“Mona, listen to me carefully,” I said. Pepper frowned questioningly as I moved a step closer to her new friend. “We might find our way clear to giving you some freedom.” Her eyes widened, but I held up my hand. “Nothing has been decided yet. You still are a potential threat to us, in light of your participation in the raid the other day. If we decide to trust you, it will be because we don’t want to penalize someone who is already a victim.”
I took Pepper’s hand in mine. “We are good people up here, Mona. At least we try to be. We all care for each other, and we don’t allow innocent people to be attacked, killed or raped. If Pops and the Major decide to trust you, you will need to stay with Pepper night and day. No slipping off by yourself except for obvious exceptions like bathroom trips and all. With everything that has happened, you will have to earn our trust.”
She tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear and nodded eagerly. “I understand, Virgil. And I really will earn your trust, but can I ask one favor?”
“Okay,” I said.
“If it ever becomes possible, would my brother
be able to join us here? I know the odds are monumentally long on that happening but, can I at least hope?”
I stood and looked down at her. “Anything like that has to be cleared by Pops but, depending on the circumstances, you’ll find he keeps an open mind.”
Mona and Pepper started gushing about possibly rooming together, so I got out of there before the estrogen level got too high. I was limping past the clinic when I heard Sharon call me.
“Need something?” I asked.
“As a matter of fact, young Mr. Cole, I do. I’ve sent Pepper to you twice, telling you it is past time to change your dressings.”
I feigned astonishment. “Really? I swear that girl is so irresponsible. Pardon me while I go give her a piece of my mind.”
Her frown deepened. “You take one more step, Virgil, and I’ll have Dan come in here and hold you down. I know you’re almost as tall as he is, but I think he can still take you on.”
I sighed and resigned myself to the embarrassment of baring my backside to my father’s new girlfriend. While I was lying face down on the exam table, she gently peeled away the bandages and cleaned the dried blood.
“Virgil, I think these stitches in your, uh, upper leg can come out. The edges of the wound look healed, no redness or oozing. The other gunshot looks better, too, but you aren’t out of the woods with that one yet.”
She started snipping away at the stitches on my hind-parts with a small set of silver scissors; then I gritted my teeth as she pulled the tiny threads out of my flesh. When she finished, she covered the graze with clean gauze. “Don’t get this wet, Virgil. Sponge baths for another week or so.”
“Great. Who wants a nice long hot shower anyway?”
“That’s funny, Virgil. You’re a funny young man. Now hold on because this might smart.” Then it felt like she poured molten lava over my leg wound. I tightened up and came halfway off the table. “Whoa, hold on, cowboy. That’s just the peroxide; I still see a bit of redness along the entry and exit wounds. This will burn out some of that infection.”
When the pain subsided, Sharon patted the area dry with wadded gauze and redressed the wound with fresh bandages.
“Okay, honey. I think you’re gonna live.”
I slid off of the table and pulled my jeans up as quickly as I could. “Thanks, Sharon.”
She put a hand on my cheek. “You’re welcome, sweetie. Don’t make me send out a posse next time.”
I promised her I would respond to any future summonses then headed to the surveillance room to gather the batteries for the drones. Myrna was in there again, and she smiled at me then went back to her paperback. I put everything in a cloth bag and slung it over my shoulder and headed for the cargo ramp.
The ramp was more comfortable than the stairs on my damaged leg, so I limped my way to the top without too much discomfort. It was good having Sharon around to treat us when we needed it. I honestly didn’t know if Dr. Tashnizi could be trusted not to make things worse.
When I came out of the cargo doors and into the compound, the sun was almost entirely below the horizon, and deep shadows were marking up the landscape. I saw Jimmy at the same time he saw me. He waved me over then made a point of mocking my limp by taking a few halting steps of his own.
“Funny, Jimmy. You get a boo-boo on one foot, and the whole place stays up all night worrying about you, but I get shot-not once, mind you, but twice-and you go making fun of me. I’m a war hero, you know.”
He reached over to tousle my hair, but I dodged his hand and assumed a boxer stance.
“Oh, look at this,” he laughed. “So, I assume you’re here to take one of the enhanced guard duties?”
I frowned. I’d never heard of this new arrangement. “No, man, what’s up with that?”
The mechanic withdrew a paper tissue from his pocket and dabbed at his nose before answering. “The Major said we need to cover every possible assault route into Dragon’s Lair. Said he’s gonna put two people to cover the back roads south of us and another two to watch the hills to the north. The compound sentries can cover east and west.”
I looked in each of the directions that he had mentioned and nodded unconsciously. “Seems like a good plan. We have enough people to do it now, anyway.” I held up the bag. “And we still have the drones; I charged the batteries last night. Have you seen the Major?”
He lifted his walkie. “No, but he said to let him know when the drones were ready to fly again.”
Jimmy got hold of the Major while I went over to the drones. We had brought the two helicopter-types back inside the walls, and I started installing the batteries while I waited. I noted that the larger fixed-wing drone was now fully assembled. I was finishing up with the power supply issues when the Major approached me, sipping on a steaming cup of coffee.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to see those things ready to fly again,” he said.
I nodded. “We need to run a cord out here so we can recharge them on site. You want them both out there?”
“No, Virgil, I don’t. I want one drone up at all times from now on. If you can’t find anyone else who knows how to fly them, then you’ll need to train at least four more people besides you and Pepper. The low-light vision on the video cameras will be crucial to our detecting any attempted night attack.”
“I understand, Major. I’ll get Pepper up here, and we’ll figure something out. Meantime I’ll get one of these in the air and watch it. Pepper can spell me in the morning.”
The Major gave me one of his rare smiles. “Are you sure, son? You’ve already had a full day.”
I shrugged. “Well, right now it’s just me and Pepper who are checked out on them, so it limits our options. I’ll be fine; this is why man invented coffee.”
“Thanks, Virgil. In the meantime, I’ll pass the word to Marcus to canvas his people for anyone with drone experience.” His expression changed, and he bunched his eyebrows. “I spoke with Dan, and we agreed to let that little girl start rooming with Pepper. Needless to say, I’m counting on you two to keep a close eye on her, but I don’t think there’s much she could do to us even if she were to sneak away and make her way back to them. Which reminds me, once you get the drone airborne, take a pass over that motel and see if those bozos are still there. If we’re lucky, they’ve already decided to move on.”
I could tell by his expression that he harbored no real thoughts that such would be the case. I acknowledged that I would send the drone over the hotel and he slapped me on the back, slung the remaining coffee out of his cup and headed for the front door of the mansion.
I finished my final preparations and launched the drone. I raised it to about twenty yards overhead and checked the video feed. Everything was operating fine, the readings for the batteries and everything else looked good, so I started it heading east. The light was entirely gone now but the night vision image it was sending to the laptop was surprisingly vivid.
I played with it for a while. The menu allowed me to switch from infra-red to heat signature and this turned out to be useful. I made a pass over the neighborhood where Marcus and George used to live and, though there were no signs of any bodies out walking around, the heat signature mode revealed a hit on a parked SUV. Evidently, the bad guys had decided to keep a watchful eye on the place in case anyone was super stupid and tried to sneak back in.
I left the area of Shields and Fowler Avenues and flew the drone high over the small city. It passed by the colorful downtown area and the famous rodeo grounds. Once a year Clovis hosted one of the best rodeos in the country. The population of our little town tripled on ‘Rodeo Weekend,’ and the bars, hotels, and restaurants were always packed.
When I got the device over the motel, I could see dim lights streaming from most of the windows on the lower levels. The illumination was probably from candles and camping lanterns which were shrouded by pulled curtains. I caught movement on the roof and zoomed in the camera to see a man and woman engaged in intimate activities.
; “Wow, it never fails. Even the end of the world can’t keep men from watching porn.”
I whipped my head around to see Pepper grinning. Her hair was swept back into a simple ponytail, and Mona was at her side.
“This is important survival stuff, ladies, you wouldn’t understand.” I pointed to the two extra seats beside me, and they sat, with Pepper next to me. She kissed my cheek as they sat. I looked over at Mona. “They sprung you, huh?”
The young woman smiled sweetly. “Yes, they did and thank you so much, Virgil. Your father told me you talked them into it.”
I blushed a bit and was thankful the darkness hid it. “I didn’t do anything.” I caught Pepper’s eye. “I’m gonna run these things all night, and I was hoping you could take over for me in the morning. Say six o’clock.”
She studied the luminous dial on her watch and frowned. “No, Virgil, that’s just under twelve hours from now. I’ll be here at three.” She seemed to remember Mona and pointed at her. “We’ll be here at three. Mona is my new shadow.”
We talked a while about training replacements for us and a few other things. Finally, the two girls left me at my monitor as I swapped off keeping the motel and the National Guard Armory under close watch.
About a half hour, after the girls left me, I heard scuffing behind me and looked around to see a pre-teen boy with blonde hair. He was skinny and shy-looking, but his eyes showed real intelligence. He was holding a steaming cup in each hand.
I put my eyes back on the laptop screen as I spoke. “Can I help you?”
“Yeah,” he held out one hand to me, wincing as a bit of hot coffee spilled on his thumb. “The Major guy? He said you would want this.”
I took the cup and gratefully sipped at it until my tongue started burning then I lowered it and let out a long sigh. “Aw, man, that’s good stuff.” I stole another look at the lad. He was a few years younger than me, but this new world condition had hardened him. I pointed to the chair beside me. “Take a seat and enjoy your coffee, dude. It hurts my neck to keep turning around to look at you.”
Virgil's War- The Diseased World Page 30
