by Robert Boren
“It’s a little stale,” Sarah said. “There’s a smaller coffee pot in the cupboard next to the dishwasher.”
“Okay, thanks,” Erica said, retrieving it. “Any of you interested?”
“Sure, I could drink a cup,” Clem said.
“Me too, come to think of it,” Sarah said. “Thanks.”
“How are you holding up?” Erica asked her.
“I’m numb,” she said. “I can’t even cry now. It’s weird.”
“I’m so sorry,” Erica said.
“How’s Sam doing with Mia?” Anna asked.
“He’s in love with that little girl,” Erica said. “Should have known that would happen. He’s a good man. Even better than I thought when I first met him.”
“Yep, he’s good people,” Garrett said.
“So are you,” Erica said, glancing at him. Anna smiled and nuzzled up against him.
“I’ll say,” she said. “How do you feel about Mia?”
“I know what you’re gonna say,” Erica said. “You sure?”
“Yeah,” Anna said. “You couldn’t find any of the family, could you?”
Erica stopped spooning coffee into the drip basket and looked at her, shaking her head no.
“Do you want her?” Anna asked.
Erica looked at her, starting to tremble, tears running down her cheeks. She nodded yes, looking embarrassed.
“What’s the matter?” Sarah asked.
“I’m afraid I can’t be a good enough mother,” she said.
“Rubbish,” Clem said. “You’ll make a fine mother.”
“And you’ll have Sam to help you,” Garrett said. “I saw how he looked at her.”
“He didn’t have any kids with is first wife,” Erica said.
“First wife?” Sarah asked. “He’s only been married once.”
“He’s married to Erica now,” Anna said. “Or as good as married.”
Erica continued making coffee, feeling a welling of pride within her. She turned and smiled. “This is weird.”
“What?” Anna asked.
“I wanted to have kids with Sam,” she said. “It struck me so fast after we met. I thought I was going nuts. It kept up, too.”
“That’s not weird,” Sarah said.
“No,” Erica said. “Now it’s not urgent anymore. Now I want Mia. I can’t explain that.”
“Biology works in strange ways,” Clem said.
“It does,” Anna said. “Have you two talked about this yet?”
Erica turned on the coffee maker and turned back towards Anna. “No, not in so many words, but we’ve definitely had some non-verbal communication about it.”
Anna chuckled. “Hell, even I picked up on that, and I barely know Sam.”
The coffee maker pulsed, the room filling with the aroma. Anna looked up at Garrett. “Maybe we should be off.”
“Where are you two going?” Clem asked. “Upstairs?”
“Clem!” Sarah said. Anna laughed.
“No, he’s taking me to Dodge City, to meet his sister and some other people,” Anna said.
“Oh,” Sarah said. “Is it safe to go there?”
“Sure,” Garrett said. “Probably safer there than it is here.”
“I meant the drive,” Sarah said.
“Oh. Yeah, we’ll be fine. A few others are going with us. Most are staying here, though, at least until the cavalry gets back. They should be here in a half hour or so.”
“Okay,” Sarah said. “Just be careful? Please?”
“We will,” Anna said, getting off the stool. She walked towards the archway into the living room and stopped, turning towards Erica. “You’ve got to see this.”
Erica walked over to her and looked. Sam and Mia were both asleep, looking as peaceful as can be.
“Oh geez,” Erica said. “Guess he’ll have coffee later.”
“They won’t sleep long,” Garrett said. “Those horses will wake them up.”
“Let’s go out the back door so we don’t wake them yet,” Anna whispered. Garrett nodded, and they went through the kitchen slider into the backyard, pulling it closed behind them.
The coffee pot sputtered as it finished. Erica poured three cups, sliding one to Clem and one to Sarah, then taking a sip of hers.
“Thanks,” Clem said, taking a sip. “Wish we could have a little booze in this.”
“We have some,” Sarah said.
“I know, but I’m not comfortable,” Clem said. “I know we’re supposed to be safe and all, but I still want to be alert.”
“Good policy,” Erica said.
“You know, our marriage was having real problems before this craziness started,” Sarah said. “John had a bad drinking problem.”
“I remember,” Clem said, watching her start to tear up.
“The old goat had to become such a good man,” she said. “Right before I lost him.” She broke down, Clem and Erica both rushing to hug her.
***
Dean Lambert sat in the cement room next to Hodges and Davis, their hands still bound, their mouths uncovered.
There was a clanking sound, and the heavy metal door creaked open.
“Shit, what now?” Dean Lambert muttered under his breath. Hodges looked over at him, pure hatred in his eyes.
“What are you gonna tell them this time, traitor?” he said, sweat glistening on his bald head.
“Shut the hell up,” Davis said. “Both of you. He scratched his kinky black hair on the wall behind his head.
“Gentlemen, how are you?” Ivan asked, walking in with Mr. White and Mr. Black. “Somebody wanted to see that you were really here. Come on in, Ben.”
Ben Dover walked into the room slowly, his face still battered, his head bandaged. “Hey, no fair, these creeps aren’t beat up as bad as I am.”
“Your name is Kent Garland,” Davis said. “You were in one of my classes. What are you doing with these reactionaries?”
“You don’t know what this little cretin did, do you?” Hodges asked. He spat at Ben, who leapt back to avoid it.
“We don’t need Mr. Hodges anymore,” Ivan said. Mr. Black nodded and walked towards him, grabbing his head with both hands and twisting, a sickening crack reverberating in the cement room. Davis and Lambert both cried out, trying to scoot away from Hodges as he fell, ending up across Davis’s lap. He began to cry.
“There, there,” Ivan said. “You don’t have to suffer the same fate as your friend here. All you have to do is cooperate as well as Dean Lambert has.”
“They’ll kill me,” Davis said.
Ivan chuckled. “Your leadership is the least of your worries. Trust me on that. They’re in more danger from us than you are from them, I guarantee you.”
“What do you want?” Dean Lambert asked. “I’ve already told you everything I know.”
“If that’s the case, you won’t last much longer,” Ivan said. He turned to Ben Dover. “You might want to leave the room, Mr. Dover. This is liable to get a little intense.”
“I’d rather stay, if you don’t mind,” Ben said.
“You didn’t ask me to call you Kent again,” Ivan said.
“I think I’d rather go by Ben,” he said. “Sounds like a good name for a revolutionary. I might be able to help you steer the questioning. I know a lot of details that you might not.”
“Capitol idea,” Ivan said. “Hey, Mr. White, close the door, would you please?”
He nodded, his bulky figure moving towards the door, slamming it shut so hard the walls shook.
{11}
Boarding House
R obbie watched the cop cruiser behind him in the rear-view mirror. “He’s gonna pull us over.” The siren blipped.
“Are you gonna pull over, or should I waste him with the rear guns?” Morgan asked.
“I’m gonna pull over. We’re bulletproof.”
“Our tires aren’t,” Morgan whispered as Robbie slowed, pulling to the side of the road.
“So if he doesn’t shoot those right away
, we’re probably fine,” Robbie said. “Put your piece out of sight.”
“Yeah,” Morgan said.
Robbie pulled over and slid the heavy plate glass side window forward so he could talk to the officer, who was leaving his car.
“He’s alone, isn’t he?” Morgan asked.
“Yep. Might have called for backup or something.”
The officer walked up, looking around.
“Good day,” he said when he got to the window.
“Hello, officer,” Robbie said politely. “Did I do something wrong?”
“You’re not staying in town, are you?” the officer asked, searching his eyes.
“No, we’ve got a place outside of town,” Robbie said.
“How about your friends? They’re not coming here, are they?”
“Friends?” Robbie asked.
The officer chuckled. “I saw what happened at the Mertins plant on TV.”
“Oh,” Robbie said, sensing the officer was a friendly. “You don’t have a problem with that?”
“Would’ve joined in, had I known,” the officer said. “I’ll deny I said that.”
Robbie laughed. “Don’t blame you there. Are we gonna be okay?”
“I’m not going to mess with you, and I won’t tell anybody you’re here,” the officer said. “I just wanted to find out if there was going to be a battle here, that’s all. There are people I’d want to move away from town if that’s the case. People I love.”
“Gotcha,” Robbie said. “We aren’t planning anything here that I’ve heard about.”
“I think we understand each other,” the officer said. He pulled out his ticket book and scribbled something, then handed it up to Robbie. “Have a nice day. If you have issues or problems, feel free.”
“Thank you, officer,” Robbie said, looking at the phone number on the ticket. “Nice to know there are other patriots around.”
He nodded and went back to his car.
“Whoa,” Morgan said. “That was interesting.”
“I’ll say,” Robbie said, starting the engine. He pulled away slowly. “Smooth how he used his ticket book. If anybody was watching, it looked like a normal traffic stop.”
“I noticed. Maybe we’re gonna be okay.”
“We’ll be fine while we’re here, I suspect,” Robbie said. “Any hits around?”
Morgan picked Robbie’s phone off the center console and checked the apps. “Nobody in this town or near it. The closest large concentration is in Oakland.”
“Figures,” Robbie said. “There’s probably stragglers all over the place, though, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” Morgan said. “Lots of hits in San Jose, Palo Alto, and San Mateo. Also some in Berkley and Concord.”
“None in San Francisco?”
“Just a few here and there,” Morgan said.
“Interesting. Where do I turn?”
“Concannon Boulevard,” she said. “Take that to South Livermore Avenue, then get on Tesla Road. Follow that all the way out of town and into the hills. The name changes to Corral Hollow Road when we’re getting close to the RV Park.”
Robbie nodded. “There’s that street up ahead already.”
“We’ll have some twisty roads once we get out of town,” Morgan said. “You’ll be tired by the time we get to our destination.”
“No problem,” Robbie said. Morgan’s phone dinged. “Gil?”
Morgan looked up, smiling. “Yep, he got the apps too.”
“Excellent. Can’t wait till we get to the park.”
“Me too,” she said. “The fire’s still burning a little from the battle.”
“We have to get set up first, you know,” Robbie said.
“We’ll work together.” She shot him a grin.
Robbie made the turn onto Concannon, curving towards the left after a mile, then making a tight right turn onto Livermore.
“That wasn’t fun,” Robbie said. “We aren’t on this one for very long, are we?”
“Nope,” Morgan said, watching her phone screen. “After this curves to the left, you’ll be making a right on Tesla, and then you’ll be out of town in a hurry.”
They were into the hills in minutes, cruising at a good clip on the empty road.
“This isn’t that tight,” Robbie said. “The curves are pretty gentle.”
“Give it time. It looks worse when you zoom out. This is a good road, though. By the way, the place we’re going is for the off-road park nearby.”
“Really?” Robbie said. “Used to love those. Bummer that we don’t have our jeep anymore.”
“Probably won’t have time to do off-roading anyway,” Morgan said. “Hard to believe we just left the city. Feels remote out here.”
“Part of it is the lack of cars,” Robbie said.
“I’m surprised the RV Park is open.”
“Hell, it might not be,” Robbie said. “Might just be some special deal that Jules and Ivan set up.”
They followed the road through the hills, clumps of trees showing up every so often.
“Look there,” Morgan said, pointing at blackened ground and trees. “Must have been a brush fire recently.”
“Welcome to California.” Robbie glanced at her, smiling.
“That’s right, you’re a native,” she said, looking out the windshield. “I could get used to it here, if the government wasn’t so crazy.”
“Here’s a big curve,” Robbie said, turning the coach hard, applying the brakes.
“Wow. Careful.”
“Time to slow down a little bit,” Robbie said. “Sorry.”
“You’re doing fine,” Morgan said.
“More curves coming. Spoke too soon. Some of these are pretty tight.”
“Take your time, honey,” Morgan said. “We’re not in a hurry.”
“I know,” Robbie said, hands gripping the wheel. They rolled along for nearly a half hour before they saw the signs for the RV Park and the OHV facilities.
“We’re getting close,” Morgan said, looking at her phone. “Wonder if we’re gonna have to pay?”
“I’ve got cash if we need to,” Robbie said. “Hope there’s a camp store there.”
Morgan chuckled. “There it is. See it? Looks almost empty. Sparse. Not many trees.”
“Geez,” Robbie said, looking at it as they approached.
“There’s the driveway, to the right,” Morgan said, pointing. Robbie took it, slowing to a crawl as they neared the office building.
“They have a small store,” Robbie said. “Looks like only about five coaches here. The whole damn place is visible from the road.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that. There’s nobody on this damn road.”
“Good point,” Robbie said as they pulled into the check-in lane. He shut down the engine, and they left the coach, walking down the steps into the warm, dry air.
“Wow, there are dirt race-tracks on either side of this place,” Morgan said as they walked.
“I’ll bet it’s noisy as hell here when they’re busy. This was my dream place when I was in Junior High.”
“I’ll bet,” Morgan said. “Back home we just drove off the road a little. There were off-roading places everywhere.”
“Country girl.” Robbie grinned, shaking his head.
“At least you didn’t call me a hick,” she said, smiling as Robbie pushed open the door and held it for her. They entered, walking up to the counter. There was a middle-aged woman sitting behind the register, eating a popsicle, her long bleached blonde hair falling around her tight black t-shirt.
“Howdy,” she said, standing up, wiping her mouth. She set the popsicle down on a paper towel. “You Robbie?”
“Yep,” he said. “This is Morgan.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jill.”
“Not many people here,” Morgan said.
“Damn war killed our business. We just have a few locals living here. The rest of the trade hasn’t been around for more than a month.”
“You got something that’s away from the road?” Morgan asked.
“We’ve got you set up in thirty-six,” Jill said. “Oh, and your Jeep was dropped off this morning.”
“It was?” Robbie asked.
“Glad they did it in time,” Morgan said, eyeing Robbie. “We didn’t expect it until tomorrow.”
“How much do we owe you?”
“Paid in full,” Jill said. She got out a map and drew on it with a felt-tipped pen. “We’re here. Just follow the line. It’s a pull-through, 50 amp.”
“You got a store?” Robbie asked. “We could use some food.”
“Yes, but I’ll have to open up for you. Can you wait until tomorrow morning?”
“Sure,” Robbie said. “Thanks.”
The couple walked back to the rig with the map and pamphlet in hand.
“Well that was easy,” Morgan said.
“Glad they brought the Jeep. They had this whole thing planned to a T.”
“Indeed,” Morgan said, waiting as Robbie unlocked the coach door, then climbing up. “I’m so glad we’re here.”
“Yep,” Robbie said, getting behind the wheel. He fired up the rig and drove it down the long access road, finding their spot quickly.
“We can see the road from here,” Morgan said.
“Hell, you can see the road from every single space I’ve seen here,” Robbie said, shooting her a grin. “This place is solely focused on the off-road park. I’ll bet this is filled with drunk off roaders on Friday and Saturday nights.”
“During normal times,” Morgan said.
“Normal times,” Robbie said as he drove into their space. “At least the front of the coach isn’t facing the highway.”
“There’s more coaches here than I expected.”
Robbie shut down the engine, then started the auto-level program. Morgan got up. “Can I walk around while this is going?”
“May want to give it a minute,” Robbie said.
She nodded and sat back down until the coach settled.
“There we go,” she said, getting up again. “Hungry?”
“Yep,” Robbie said.
“Good, I’ll see what I can come up with while you get us hooked up.”
Robbie pulled her into his arms and kissed her, then left the coach to do the hookups, leaving her looking at the door.
***
