"Larry, what else did Daniel say? I want exact words."
Larry pulled the notebook across the surface of the small radio station and glanced at the pages. He scratched his neck, shifted in his chair, and nibbled his lower lip before answering her. Ally noted the way his fingers shook.
"He said he would be here soon, and that when he arrived he'd share what he knew about other places and what our best option was for survival."
Ally took in the information. Her conversations with Neal and Susan kept her up to date with quite a bit, and what they shared with her from other locations rounded out her knowledge of most of the country. Their choices for survival were to find ammunition and food supplies, numerous vehicles, and head west. Of course, she had a back-up plan in case that didn't work out, but it was a last resort.
"And I bet he didn't clarify what that best option was, did he?"
Larry didn't meet her eyes. "No. I have to go. I'm off the clock and promised a friend I'd help him with some new moves."
Ally gave him a half-hearted wave. She wanted to be mad at him, tell him he knew better, but Joseph bullied people into doing what he wanted. Even though his political status held as much sway as a donut, he acted as if he still led a Firm and all the survivors were his to do with as he pleased. His confidence carried him.
Filling in a new time in the notebook and initialing it, she felt a presence behind her. "Hey, Kevin."
"How'd you know it was me?"
She turned to him and focused on his eyes with total seriousness. "You don't smell as bad as the others."
He raised an eyebrow. "Thanks…I think." He took a seat across from her.
"So, Noah filled me in on some details about your trip out. Seems you forgot to mention you ran into some trouble."
Ally noticed the white knuckle grip he had on the arm of his chair. "It wasn't anything new. You know better than anyone what's out there. You survived longer than I would have."
Shaking his head, he raised his eyes to meet hers. "That's bullshit, and you know it. And, it's not the point. You should have told me. In fact, from now on I want to go on missions with you. We can't lose you…I can't lose you."
Unsure how to handle any conversation in which feelings were involved, Ally shrugged it off. "Doesn't matter anymore, there's nothing for us to find. Right now, I'm more worried about some folks Joseph invited our way."
Kevin nodded, but his grip on the chair arm didn't loosen. "Ally, you know…I want to help. Tell me about these people heading our way."
Ally mentally thanked him for not pushing it. The last thing she needed to deal with was a relationship. Kevin was young and good looking, a strong fighter, and unlike most of the other guys, tried to make things easier for her instead of harder. The image of Marcus came to mind, parts of his face blurred out—time and so much death made things hard to remember. The drugs she popped to stay alert weren't helping, either. She'd kicked them once before, and she could do it again but was finding it hard to bother. The damn apocalypse was here, and addiction was the least of her concerns.
"I don't know much. He popped in on a random frequency a while back, and we spoke for a few minutes. I got his name, and he told me he had a plan to save what was left of humanity. He was going to gather up as many people as possible. I didn't hear from him again until last night."
Kevin thumbed through the contact logs. "And something about him or what he said isn't sitting right with you."
Ally pointed to the most recent entry. "If he's near Savannah, he's over five hundred miles from here, closer to six hundred…"
Kevin picked up on her thought. "Which would put him out of range, even farther out than all his prior communications."
Ally stared at the screen, her thoughts muddled. "I know I probably sound crazy, but it seems too convenient. At the moment we run out of food, he swoops in to save the day? We don't know anything about him. It's so easy to lie about your location, and I never told him we had limited radio range."
Kevin walked over to the map on the wall, moving his fingers along a path. "If he came up from Florida, there's a good chance he's been at sea, likely a salvager. And nothing good ever comes out of that place, it's all... well it was all Firm run."
Ally walked over to the counter to pour herself another cup of coffee.
"Hold on, I got something for you." He pulled a Thermos from behind him and unscrewed the top.
Ally sniffed the brew appreciatively. "Oh my God, is that—?"
"Shh." Kevin held a finger up to his lips as he poured her a cup of real coffee.
She cradled it in her hands; such a simple thing, but for a few minutes, it made her feel like things were normal. They sat in silence as they sipped the beverage, unwilling to break the moment. Ally let her head loll to the side and watched Kevin. He was a good guy, there for her...
"Hey, guys. I can't sleep," Sean said as he came into the room.
Kevin blew a breath out and Ally almost laughed. "Hey, kiddo. Come sit next to me. If anything comes over the radio, write it down."
Sean looked at her with what she thought might be the most dejected face ever. "I hate doing that, it's so boring."
She slid the notebook over to him and tossed the pen. "Want to be one of us? You have to pay your dues."
Five minutes later the boy was sound asleep, Kevin snored softly next to him, and Ally, for the first time in a long time, felt a shred of peace.
Chapter Four
Angry voices echoed down the hall into Ally's bedroom, or what passed for sleeping quarters: a five by seven-foot space with a small cot, a flickering light bulb hanging from a wire, and a few changes of clothes tossed in the corner. She missed the bunk room she shared with Marcus. They'd managed to turn it into a place.
She pulled on her boots and sighed. Her body ached from the lumpy mattress, but at least she had one. The survivors were sleeping on threadbare blankets on the floor, and only a lucky few had cots. One glance at the time grid on the wall and she almost crawled back into bed. Nightmares plagued her sleep. She'd managed about two hours this time.
"Yay, me."
Zipping up her jacket, she plodded into the hallway to see what all the commotion was about and ran right into the back of Victor.
"Lane, how nice of you to join us…I thought you'd still be sleeping."
Ally peered around the man and saw Joseph, his face was slack but his eyes were fearful. Not a good sign, since nothing seemed to ruffle him.
"What's going on? Why's everybody up…and yelling."
Joseph cleared his throat, Victor took a step back. Instinct told her she was about to become responsible for the clean-up of a mess they made.
"It would seem the group was under the impression we would be able to stay in this safe location for months to come. I informed them that you no longer wanted to go and get supplies, putting us in a precarious situation," explained Joseph, condescension lacing every word.
Ally felt the anger rise; her vision tunneled, muscles tensed, and was not surprised by the spurt of blood jetting out of Joseph's nose when life sped back up to normal. Victor reached for her and she grabbed his arm, twisting it behind him then using the momentum to shove him into the wall. His face made a satisfying thud.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Lane? You looking to get—"
Ally let go of Victor's arm to dodge Joseph's sloppy attempt to tackle her. She slipped her foot out and tripped him. "Looking to what? Write me up? Oh no, not that. Arrest me? Good luck with that. Have you deluded yourself into thinking you have some sort of power here?"
Joseph pulled a stained cloth from his pocket, dabbing at his nose he glared at her. "I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in my people. Victor, take her to the holding cells."
Ally's eyebrows shot up. Holding cells? She looked at Victor who seemed as confused as her.
"Sir, we don't have any holding cells. We had to convert everything in order to make room for all the survivors."
Joseph sho
ok a bloody rag at his thug. "I know you're holding out on me. You think I don't know you made plans behind my back to take over my position. I know you have a holding cell somewhere, so stop stalling and shove her in it."
"I am not going to jail or whatever the hell you think we have hidden here. You've lost your friggin' mind," Ally said.
Victor leaned toward Joseph and whispered. "Sir, we can't imprison her. They still listen to her. Not until we have more support."
"I'm standing right here, idiots," Ally said.
"I'm the boss here, you work for me. Do you know who I am? Put her in restraints, now! I want her in front of the judge for insubordination tomorrow morning."
"Yes, sir," Victor said while Joseph jammed the rag back in one of his nostrils and stalked away.
Ally guessed he was satisfied with the response, or was going to go talk to his shadow for the next hour. She, on the other hand, was not thrilled. Knowing the installation backward and forward, she knew there were a few select places they did keep sealed in case of problems. With a group as large as theirs, she expected petty crimes with escalations to assault and possibly murder. Joseph's behavior reminded her there was a high chance of people losing their nut as well.
Victor turned to her, an apprehensive look on his face. He raised his hand, lowered it, moved forward, took a step back.
She shook her head at him. "Let me help you out. Anything you touch me with, I'll break. I am not going into any goddam cell. Instead, I have to go and explain to the angry mob there are no supplies left to find."
She walked away, ignoring a strangled cry from Joseph. Hopefully, Victor would deal with his boss, and she needed to remember to let the others know Joseph was losing his marbles.
The main room where people collected during the daytime hours was full. At three in the morning, that was surreal. She glanced around, noticing many hostile stares directed her way, and debated her options. From the corner of her eye, she saw a sleepy Sean stagger toward her, trailed by an equally haggard Kevin.
"Hey, guys. I hear Joseph has been speaking highly of me again."
Sean stood next to her, an arm around her waist. Kevin looked at her, and then glanced away awkwardly. "Most people are mad that Joseph came in and woke them up. Then he announced supplies were almost gone and–"
"The part about how I don't plan to go out again set everyone off?"
"At first, but a lot of the people who've gone on missions with you spoke up about the lack of supplies and the increasing danger. I told them about the vehicle breaking down and having to fend off an attack while you fix it. Even though I wasn't there."
The pointed look he gave her told her everything she needed to know. He was still pissed off she didn't tell him what had happened.
Get in line, buddy.
"And it won't make a difference. People are starving. Parents are panicking. Others are getting aggressive and cutting themselves off from the group," Ally said.
Kevin surveyed the crowd. "They need to let off some steam, they've been living under stressful conditions for over half a year. Cut them some slack."
She rubbed Sean's shoulder. "Why don't you try and get some sleep in my room. I need to talk with Kevin."
Ally understood everyone had an opinion, but in this case no one seemed to take her seriously. "Kevin, listen to me. They outnumber us ten to one. If they decided to revolt, to take over this place, there is nothing we can do about it. We don't even have the weapons to defend against a threat from outside, let alone one from in here."
Kevin looked startled. "I didn't mean–"
"I don't care what you meant. Before all this happened you were a plumber, right?" At his nod, she continued. "I wasn't. I know what people are capable of when they're desperate, and I also know what jackasses like Joseph, Victor, and their little army can do when they feel threatened."
"Ally, I didn't mean anything. I'm trying to…I don't know, make things not seem so goddam dire. Not everything has to be doom and gloom."
Looking into earnest eyes, she felt bad for what she was about to do. But if this guy was going to make it out of this alive, he needed a reality check.
"Yes, it does. The minute you try to put a shiny coat of bullshit on anything, it's going to bite you in the ass. Watch your back, don't trust anyone, and make sure you have a plan."
He looked down at his feet, but the mumbled words reached her ears. "So you don't trust me?"
Nice guy, she reminded herself. Naïve about the human capacity for doing bad things, but a nice guy. She liked him, enjoyed listening to him talk. Taking a deep breath, she tried to relax.
"Trusting people gets you killed. Don't take it personal."
"Ally!" The voice boomed from across the room.
She glanced over and saw Noah, a group of people surrounded him. She started to walk over, only to be stopped by half a dozen angry-looking men.
"Look, we get the situation isn't great out there, but there has to be something left for us to eat."
Ally kept her hands at her sides, Kevin planted himself beside her. "I know people are hungry. I'm hungry. But there's nothing left. What places did have food were raided during the riots. The meager supplies I've been able to bring back to you were from cars or trucks, the drivers still inside most of the time–zombified."
A large man with stained teeth and greasy hair took a menacing step toward her. When she didn't back down, and none of his friends joined him, he stopped. "My son's hungry; he can barely move. My wife died last week because she was giving him her food. What am I supposed to do?"
One of the things that made Ally good at navigating a submarine was her attention to detail. Growing up in a militia that trained her to read people gave her a special insight into interpreting body language and other "tells."
"What's his name?"
He looked confused for a moment. "My name's Flynn, what's it to ya? And don't think I'm stupid. I know damn well, you and your friends keep the best for yourselves. Right, guys?" He glanced back at his friends who stared back, offering small nods.
"I know your name, Flynn Mallory. Thirty-eight, former drug dealer. When we scanned your information there was nothing about a wife or child. So, I'll ask again, what's his name? I'll go and talk to him right now."
"Bitch," he sneered, and took a swing at her.
Ally moved to the side, but Kevin intervened, using his face to stop Flynn's fist. She grabbed Kevin by the arm and pulled, striking Flynn in the ribs with a hard sidekick. He staggered and gasped for air, his performance convincing enough to leave his friends unsure what to do. Ally knew she had a reputation, and few people would be willing to take her on in a fight.
Hoping the others weren't going to cause trouble, she grabbed Flynn, locked her leg between his, spilling him to the floor. Kevin shot by her landing on his back with a thud, blood dripping from a split lip. Large hands wrapped around her neck. She reached back and scratched at the face behind her.
"Shit…"
The hold loosened and she turned, delivering a powerful backhand. The man's head snapped to the side and Ally finished him off with a series of jabs to his stomach and throat.
"I can do this all day if I have to. I'd rather not, since it sucks for morale and all that."
"And I am more than willing to help show you boys some manners." Ben's deep voice penetrated the chaos.
Flynn's friends left, dragging the one she'd knocked out with them. "He said he had a kid, and he…we didn't know he was lying," one of them said as they retreated.
Ally ignored that. Flynn, on the other hand was going to be a problem. She'd bested him in front of his friends, and proven he was lying to get more food.
She stared at Kevin. "See? People do some pretty bad things. I'm sure there are a lot more people like Flynn than we realize."
Kevin got to his feet, accepting Ben's helping hand, and swiped away the blood on his face. "Maybe, maybe not. I can't imagine what you've been through, but if I let myself start thinking t
hat way, what the hell is the point? Might as well curl up and die. Why are we fighting tooth and nail to survive? Why bother caring about anything or anyone? I don't want to live that way. I care about people. I care about–"
"I admire your ability to stay positive, I really do. It's probably part of the reason I like being around you. At the same time, I'm one of the few people here trying to maintain the well-being of the group. Now, I need to figure out what to do with Flynn, and you should get your lip cleaned up."
Ally ignored the look Kevin gave her; he didn't understand, but he would. Things would fall apart and he'd get what she meant, until then…
"Wait–"
Ben put a hand on Kevin's shoulder. "Drop it, kid. Now's not the time."
Ally sent a grateful nod to the dark-skinned man. She had no idea what she'd done to earn such loyalty, but she wasn't about to question it. Instead, she grinned down at the former drug dealer.
"Come on, Flynn, on your feet. We're going for a walk. I need to figure out what to do with you. I have a few ideas, but I think Kevin might frown at them."
Chapter Five
Nothing moved, but that didn't mean much. Ally slipped off the night vision goggles, not wanting to waste the battery. Since Noah grew up in the area, he drove. Local perspective helped them avoid a lot of things that could have turned into major situations. In the passenger seat sat Flynn; she wanted him to see first-hand how many supplies were available, and what they went up against every time they ventured out. Kevin sat next to her, silent as he held his axe.
She didn't mention Daniel's imminent arrival. For some reason, she wanted to see if she could spot him, or some sign of his presence before he showed up. It was over twenty-four hours ago he'd said he was on his way.
A matter of when.
She took a deep breath, choking on the polluted air and smell of decay. Leaning back, she gazed up at a mass of clouds, plump with chemicals and other toxins. Being outside used to make her edgy, anxious, but now that Richards was dead, and with him the threat of the militia finding her, she enjoyed it. She'd spent several years on the lam, and now that it was all over, and she didn't have a life to reclaim. The memories still clung to her, try as she might to shake them.
Z-Boat (Book 3): Z-End Page 3
