by W J Hegarty
“Have a seat, Dad,” Jim sneered, his hand on the girl’s leg.
“Daddy, Mister Jim is helping me color. Look.” The girl kept her head in the placemat. Stick figures of her and her father surrounded by carriers were sloppily added to the artwork.
“Come to Daddy, sweetheart.” The man knelt. The girl leaped from Jim’s lap and ran to her father’s extended arms. “There you are. Sit right there so Mister Jim can eat his breakfast.”
Jim slid one of the plates of food to his side of the table, the meal that was intended for the father. “Thanks, Dad.” He swiped the girl’s toast for good measure.
“Can Mister Jim eat breakfast with us every day, Daddy? He says he keeps the monsters away from his friends. Can he be our friend, too?”
“I’m sure Mister Jim is very busy, sweetheart. He should probably be going.” The anxious father monitored Jim through concerned eyes.
“Your daddy’s right, little lady. I do have to be going, but don’t you worry. You’ll see me again real soon.”
“Jim, please.”
“I’ll be back tomorrow. We can have breakfast again. Isn’t that right, Daddy?”
“Of course, Jim,” the man stammered as he lowered his eyes.
10:05 am - Carlyle Residence
Nisha was Isabelle’s closest friend since high school. She always dressed nice, even when she wasn’t expecting company. Black jeans and a purple top accented her dark features. Her thick curly hair was long, and it framed her face well when she wore it down. Lately, though, she had been keeping it pulled back with a few loose curls left dangling past her jawline to give the impression that she casually threw the look together. She didn’t.
Tommy was spread out on Nisha’s living room floor. An army of plastic soldiers surrounded him. He arranged the action figures in various poses. Today’s event was his own re-creation of a tale he overheard his parents discussing that involved a shootout just beyond Pepperbush’s gate.
Isabelle sat back in a chair at Nisha’s dinner table while her host fixed the women drinks. She peered around Nisha’s clean, immaculate home. A part of Isabelle envied the serenity of the single life. She would often comment about how they should switch up. Nisha could take Tobias and the kids; Isabelle would rough it alone. She was only partially joking.
Nisha joined Isabelle at the table. “So soldiers in our midst, huh? Who would have thought we’d live to see the day?”
“Tell me about it. I heard that Mayor Lancaster wants them gone. Says they’re just scaring people for no reason.”
“Donald Lancaster is only concerned about his reputation. If the soldiers put a little fear into the rest of us, it makes him look incompetent.”
“Well that goes without saying. That guy’s slimy as shit. I don’t believe a word that comes out of his mouth.”
“From your lips to God’s ears.” Nisha raised her glass in a toast.
“Can I ask you a favor?”
“Anything. What is it?” Nisha was concerned. It wasn’t like Isabelle to ask for favors.
“Would you mind looking after Tommy for a couple hours? I haven’t had a moment to myself in weeks. I just want to get out there, walk around. I want to see what’s going on around town without people talking to me like all I am is a frightened mother. I’m not afraid, but nobody tells me anything.”
“Oh, honey, of course. You scared me for a minute there. Take all the time you need. I’ve got board games, movies. I’ll have Tommy so worn out by the time you get back he’ll fall right to sleep tonight.”
“Thank you, Nisha.” Isabelle quickly finished her drink, gave Nisha a hug, and said goodbye to her son. “Two hours tops,” she said as she gently closed the door behind her.
Nisha fixed herself a cup of coffee before making her way to the living room. “So what do you have here, Tommy? Who are all these little men?”
“They’re Joes. They’re my dad’s.”
“Oh neat. Do they have names?”
“That’s classified.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Here, you can play with this one. He’s a ninja, and this one’s a firefighter and this one…” Tommy wouldn’t tell Nisha the names of his toys, but he was more than happy to explain that each of them had a job and exactly what that job entailed.
1:20 pm - Mother Leeds
Mother Leeds had a decent turnout this afternoon, considering Takashi’s briefing only let out a few hours prior. Lillian watched as Vanessa discussed Damon’s growing instability with Markus. She liked Markus, but Damon she could do without. Markus would catch her staring. He would smile or wave. Lillian would usually turn away; she didn’t want to lead him on. Her gaze often lingered on Vanessa, though. The way she smelled reminded her of when she was a child visiting the beach. The scent of cocoa butter hung in the air of her parents’ rented villa. Vanessa reminded her of simpler times, peacefulness, security, and, most of all, warmth. When she thought of Vanessa, she imagined the sun and how it warmed her, enveloped her.
Lillian discovered while away in college that she liked girls. Vanessa was the only person she told. Sure, she knew that she could confide in her, but it was more than that. Lilian couldn’t wait to move out of Pepperbush. The only thing holding her back anymore was Vanessa. Lillian didn’t want to leave her, and she didn’t have the nerve to ask Vanessa to abandon Mother Leeds. First things first, she needed to work up the courage to let Vanessa know how she truly felt. How would she even go about it? Should she just blurt it out at the top of her lungs? A part of her wanted to. She would lie awake nights, imagining herself standing atop the bar, mugs of beer at her feet, as she professed her love for Vanessa for all the world to see. Vanessa would come running across the bar, take Lillian in her arms, and the crowd would cheer. Happily ever after, right?
Of course, the crisis changed everything. A sadness hung over the place now, and an inescapable dread washed over everything. Every decision everybody made had the crisis in mind. If it wasn’t on their lips, then it was certainly just behind their teeth. Impending doom was all around. Now, with the arrival of these soldiers, the doom was more real than ever. Danger wasn’t some abstract possibility anymore; it was fact. Pepperbush was going to be attacked—soon. So yeah, there really wasn’t a good time to talk to Vanessa, not anymore. So much could change in a day. Had Lillian known just yesterday what she knew today, she wouldn’t have squandered the time.
Vanessa smiled when she talked with Markus. After all, he was from home. He reminded her of that. She had no real desire to return to Baltimore; he just offered some familiarity in a place that never really felt like home. She was the perpetual outsider. Except for Sam and Lillian, no one in town really paid her much mind. Of course, the people who lived here frequented her drinking establishment. What else was there to do?
Markus would drone on endlessly about how much he grew to despise life in the city, always careful not to reveal too much for fear of scaring away his new friends. Once again, Damon was up for discussion. Vanessa had heard it all before, but last night was different. Last night he scared her. Damon could have killed that man, and if not for Marisol’s intervention, he might have.
The bell rang, alerting Lillian that another customer had arrived. To her surprise, it was her mother.
Isabelle took a spot at the bar in front of Lillian. “So what’s good?” she asked with a smile.
“Mom, what are you doing here?”
“What, can’t I get out for a drink like everyone else?”
“Of course you can. It’s just… I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in here before.”
“Well now you have. I’ll take a vodka tonic.”
“Okay!” she said with a bounce of excitement. “Coming right up.”
“So what’s the word around town in light of our new guests?”
“Everybody’s talking about it. Some want to leave now. Some already have.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, do you remember Dane Harris? He too
k his family and split. A few others went with. Can’t say that I blame them.”
“Interesting.” Isabelle sipped her drink. She looked around the bar; it was busier than she expected. Truth be told, she didn’t know what to expect; she probably hadn’t set foot in the place in five years. A group of college-aged guys playing pool caught her attention. Maybe she would join them. Conversation with a complete stranger might be exactly what she needed.
Lilian leaned over the bar, scanning the floor with a sudden curiosity. “Mom, where’s Tommy?”
“Nisha’s watching him for a bit.” Isabelle’s face dropped, her smile faded, and her eyes had a sudden heaviness about them. She knew what came next.
“Are you sure he’s safe? I mean, I love Nisha, but she’s not exactly great with kids. I don’t think Dad would be very happy if he knew you left Tommy with anybody.”
Isabelle’s attempt at serenity was over before it even began. “You really are your father’s daughter. An hour Lillian. All I wanted was a fucking hour. Can’t I get a break, too?”
“Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“Save it.” Isabelle walked with purpose toward the back of the bar and the restroom area.
“Mom, wait.” Lillian started to chase after her mother, but Vanessa stopped her.
“Let her be.” Vanessa rubbed the small of Lillian’s back. “She just needs to cool off. Everyone’s on edge lately. It’s only going to get worse now that the military is here.”
“I suppose you’re right. I just feel so bad for her locked up at home all day, every day. I didn’t mean to drive her off.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. I feel for her, too, but I wouldn’t know what to say to her. I barely know the woman.”
“That’s kind of my point. If she got out of the house a little more, you would.”
Isabelle barged into the men’s room, where a tall, attractive man in a form-fitting red T-shirt stood in front of the urinal. He was one of the pool players. The man attempted to zip up as soon as he saw her, but she rushed over and spun him around. He was a good-looking guy, clean-cut, mid-twenties by the looks of him. She dropped to her knees and yanked his pants to around his ankles in one swift move. She looked up at his face and marveled at his tone physique. He smiled and gently began to run his fingers through her hair. She slapped his hand away and pushed him backward into the urinal, wetting the back of his shirt and exposed ass. “Don’t fucking touch me,” she said with authority. She wasn’t here to be nice. She was going to treat him the same way she felt her husband treated her. Do as you’re told. Any thoughts you have on the matter mean less than shit. She rummaged through her purse, spilling its contents about the dirty floor. “Here, hold this.” She handed the man the framed photo of her and Tobias on their wedding day.
Isabelle said no more. She quickly set upon her task, not at all gently. An anger swelled as she thought of her husband. Instead of pushing him from her mind, she welcomed it. She imagined Tobias there, helpless to stop her. The man was finished in thirty seconds flat. Disappointing to be sure, but Isabelle wasn’t fulfilled. The entire point of this exercise was to feel something, anything. It was over before she even had the time to process if she liked it or not. How it felt or how much further she would let this scenario play out was cut short by no fault of her own. Similar to her husband, this man was ruining a perfectly good fantasy. Isabelle wouldn’t have it, not today. This man would have no say when it ended. She kept going until he finally pulled himself off of her.
“I need a minute, lady. What’s the rush?”
It was as if a switch went off. Her face went red. She pushed him to the door. “Get the fuck out of here!”
The man was tangled in his bunched-up pants. He tripped and fell to his knees. She pushed him again. This time he hurried out of the bathroom, desperately trying to pull his pants up. He crashed against the wall opposite the restroom before scrambling out of the nearest exit at the back of the bar.
In the man’s haste, he’d dropped the picture, and its glass frame shattered. The photo itself lay face-down in a puddle of piss. Isabelle smirked as she picked it up. With her finger, she guided droplets of urine around the surface of the photo, depositing them atop Tobias’s smiling face. She tossed the broken frame into the garbage. The photo itself she held onto. Isabelle leaned into the sink. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, emotionless.
Another man entered. He was not nearly as appealing as the first, a little short and pudgy. She quickly turned to face him. “You, against the wall.” She shoved the damp photo into his chest. “Here, hold this.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Apprehension
Evening had set on a troubled Pepperbush. Its citizens were home with loved ones. Refugees filled the various shelters, all preparing in their own way for the inevitable. Town Hall was empty this time of night, save for Mayor Lancaster and his inner circle gathered around a table far too large for the few men it hosted.
Mayor Lancaster sipped from a glass of Brandy, his leathery features illuminated by firelight. “It would be quite a shame if something tragic were to befall Mr. Burke sometime during the coming excitement, wouldn’t you agree, Joshua?”
“I shudder to think about that, Donald. After all, the man is a pillar of the community.”
Near on twenty-five years ago, Joshua fast-tracked a local bill that on the surface ensured every resident of Pepperbush, within or outside of town limits, received a lucrative tax incentive. The idea was that Pepperbush sat atop a newly discovered aquifer; the community literally had access to free clean water, virtually forever. It was decided that a percentage of the water would be pumped out and sold to local municipalities at a premium and that the profits would be shared with Pepperbush’s residents in the form of waving state taxes. All well and good unless you scrutinized Joshua’s paperwork with a fine-tooth comb, which no one did.
Essentially, by agreeing to this proposal, the citizens of Pepperbush not only signed away any rights to a natural resource below the very land they owned, but they would now be taxed in perpetuity for its usage. The people of Pepperbush would also pay for the inconvenience of Donald Lancaster’s new water-bottling company, which set up operations a county away from Pepperbush’s prime location directly above the source. Joshua hid the bill’s intent under layers of technical jargon and legalese that your average citizen couldn’t decipher even if they could keep awake long enough to read the document in the first place.
Mayor Lancaster received a phone call from a furious Jim soon after Takashi and his men arrived. Phone service was still spotty at best. Like the Internet, it would be available one day and gone the next. Jim was a town over, at an abandoned convenience store twenty miles away. Apparently, the sheriff had taken it upon herself to exile the mayor’s muscle without bothering to speak with him first. That simply would not do. Lancaster promptly sent Phillip on an impromptu road trip to fetch his attack dog. Phillip was uneasy. Like everyone else in the room, he hadn’t set foot outside of town limits since before the crisis. Driving past the gate guards unmolested was of no consequence for Mayor Lancaster’s men. Though someone like Phillip leaving the safety of the berm raised eyebrows, it wasn’t uncommon for Jim to come and go at all hours. So when Phillip returned an hour later with a battered passenger, no questions were asked.
At a glance, Jim looked out of place with these men, and he was. The man was crude, cruel, and unkempt before the world turned to shit. Now he was nearly off his leash, if anyone ever really had any control over him to begin with. Mayor Lancaster never asked Jim directly to see to the more unsavory tasks that needed doing. Implications were all that were necessary to send the brute on his way. Lancaster hinted that Tobias was stirring things up, things that the Mayor would prefer to be left alone. An eye towards Jim was all that was required to set him to task.
Jim nodded. “I got something in mind for the Burkes, no problem. They were on my radar, anyway. Fucking loudmouth is all Tobias is.
I’ll take care of it. There’s something I need to see to first, though.”
“Care to elaborate, James?” Mayor Lancaster raised his eyes from thought. He took in Jim’s large shape, outlined by the firelight. The brute’s eyes stared off blankly into the flames.
“Not particularly, no,” Jim said plainly.
“Well then, it’s probably for the best that we leave it at that.” Mayor Lancaster chuckled with an overly long pull from a large cigar.
“What about his family? Little chance he’ll be very far away from them.” Phillip had grown convincing at hiding his displeasure with his master’s more nefarious schemes.
“Well if the man was foolish enough to leave his back door unlocked, one wouldn’t be very surprised to find that a few of those things had managed to have their way with his loved ones. All the more tragic if you ask me.” Lancaster spit a mouthful of Brandy into the fire. Its sizzle echoed throughout the chamber, and his familiar grin finally returned.
Jim chuckled, more of a snort than a true laugh. His belly fat and large man-boobs jiggled up and down with each heave of his stout frame.
Lancaster and his lapdogs were pleased with themselves, and the laughter echoed throughout Town Hall.
“Heartbreaking, really,” Joshua added with a nudge to Phillip, who remained mostly silent throughout the proceedings.
Phillip was apprehensive over his colleague’s implications. Murder over a public disagreement was inconceivable. His mind raced. Is this really happening? Am I hearing this right? They’re talking about murdering a man and possibly his entire family to boot. He didn’t dare express his reservations aloud. Phillip was on the wrong side of the angels to be sure—more than twenty years at Lancaster’s side ensured it—but this was something else entirely. Rigging ballots and swaying local opinion through less than savory means was bad enough, but he grew accustomed to it over the years. The knots in the pit of his stomach after breaking the law or intimidating people for Lancaster faded years ago. In their place, a sort of callus grew. Scar tissue covered up the old feelings, but they were still there, deep down as they were. There was a good man in Phillip still. Once this impending danger had passed, Phillip had every intention of joining Tobias on his journey. His days as Mayor Lancaster’s lapdog were at an end. Colonel Takashi’s revelation this afternoon put all of that into jeopardy.
