American Dreams | Book 1 | The Decline

by Parker, Brian

  Then he drove forward, out of the neighborhood. We were on the 183 when something he said struck a chord. “That’s right. With you sucking dick in jail for the rest of your life, somebody’s gotta take care of your girl. I bet she fucks like a champ, huh, Salad Tosser?”

  “You leave her the fuck alone or I’ll kill you.”

  “Ooh! Threatening a CEA agent.” He made a checkmark in the air. “That’s another charge against you. Keep racking ’em up, Salad.”

  “If you touch her—”

  “Oh, I’ll touch her all right. I’ll be the man she always deserved, but got you instead. That bitch won’t know what to do with herself because I’ll treat her so good. Tell me. Does she like anal? I feel like that’s one of those early relationship questions that you have to get out of the way to determine if you’re a good fit together. I mean, I’m into it, not sure…”

  I lay my head back against the seat. What had I done? Cassandra and I were making do in this world, carving out a little niche of our own. But I’d refused to do something that happened anyway and she would be left alone to raise our child, or worse. What if they forced her to have an abortion to eliminate all traces of me? Or just kill her outright. Why wouldn’t they? I was so fucking stupid.

  I needed to do whatever I could for Cassandra. Would Director Goodman forgive me? Could I go for the remedial training that she mentioned when she ordered me to hand over my weapon? Was that even a thing? I sure as hell hadn’t heard of it before now.

  I’d fucked up hard and now my wife and kid were going to pay for my mistakes.

  PART TWO

  NINETEEN

  A loud, rapid knocking sound resounded through the house, startling Cassandra. She’d been in the middle of a catnap on the sofa before Bodhi got home from work. The baby was already demanding more of her energy than she felt was normal, but the women she’d met in the neighborhood who had kids said it was completely normal to be exhausted all the time during the first trimester, especially with the first pregnancy.

  She wiped at her eyes. Was Bodhi already home? He usually called her on his way to see if she needed him to pick up anything. A quick glance at her phone told her that if it was him, it would be the earliest he’d been home in months.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  The knocking returned, it sounded hurried, almost insistent that she open the door. “Hold on!” she called out, pushing herself up from the couch. She needed to pee and she considered going before opening up the door to whomever was out there.

  The knocking sound came again. “Jesus,” she muttered as she walked quickly to the door. What was this person’s problem?

  She peeked through the side window and saw one of Bodhi’s coworkers standing there. He looked angry.

  “Oh, God,” she said aloud, covering her mouth. Something had happened to Bodhi. Something terrible.

  She didn’t want to hear the news. She wanted to go back to her couch and curl up until Bodhi came home. He’d be home soon, she told herself. He always came home.

  The guy reached out again and banged rapidly on the door. Each heavy rap against the wood made her jump as if it were gunfire.

  Gunfire. Bodhi. Was that what this was about? Had Bodhi been injured in the line of duty?

  Cassandra’s hand inched toward the door. She had to make the sound stop, even if she knew what doing so meant. Bodhi was dead. She was aware in a detached sort of way that her emotions had swung from hopeful to denial and now to certainty. She was on the verge of losing it. Bodhi was her rock. He was her everything, there was nothing else for her in Austin. What would she do?

  She twisted the deadbolt and the door immediately surged inward. The guy was bowling his way through her door, knocking her over in the process. “Stupid,” he hissed, turning around and closing the door quickly.

  She screamed, scrambling backward on her rear end. He was a madman.

  “Shut up!” the guy said in a harsh whisper. “You remember me, right?” His eyes were wide and crazed.

  “You work with Bodhi,” she said, fear making her voice quiver. What did he want? Why was he in her home?

  “That’s right. Haskins fucked up. He fucked up big time and now he’s in jail, scheduled for execution. The agency will be coming down hard on everything and everyone in his life. That means you’re on their hit list.”

  “Execution?” The floor seemed to drop out from beneath her. It was too much. What did this madman mean that he’d messed up so bad that they would execute him?

  “Hey! Hey, Cassandra!” the guy grunted as he crouched down beside her. “You need to get your shit together. Taya can only keep the cameras offline for a few minutes before they notice something.”

  She stared at him stupidly. What was he talking about?

  He reached out and she shrank away from him. “Come on, you stupid woman. We only have a little bit of time to get you out of here before they come for you.”

  “What?” She blinked. Everything was a blur.

  “Go-bags. Bodhi said you guys have go-bags packed for…well, for things. Where are they? You’ve got to help me.”

  “Go-bags?” Her mind felt like she was wading through mud. “Oh, the backpacks with clothes and stuff?”

  “Yeah. That’s right. Come on.” He reached out again and slipped his hands under her armpits. “The agency is going to come here,” he said slowly, looking into her eyes once she was back on her feet. “They will send soldiers to arrest you or evict you, or whatever. I don’t know what they’ll do, but you need to not be here when it happens.”

  “Uh… Where’s Bodhi?” she asked.

  “They’ve got him locked up down at the agency right now. Goodman is going to torture him for a while, then execute him.” He pointed up at the camera in the corner of the room. “You remember Taya?”

  “The computer specialist?”

  “Yeah, that’s her.” He smiled, possibly trying to ease her alarm. “She’s back at the agency right now, running all of your house’s cameras on a loop. They’re blind right now, but she can only do that for a few minutes, then the security protocols will kick in and override her external controls. We need to get moving.”

  “Where… Where do I go?”

  “Out of this neighborhood for starters. Then we’ll figure something out.”

  “Huh?”

  He wrapped a hand around her upper arm and pulled her toward the center of the house. “Where are your go-bags? The backpacks that you and Bodhi packed.”

  “The closet. In the bedroom.”

  “Okay. Let’s go get them. We have to hurry.”

  Cassandra stumbled on the carpet and the man’s grip kept her from falling again. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. We are a long way from out of the woods.” He let her go and she rushed down the hallway.

  “Besides what’s in these bags, do you have anything else that you want to take? You’ll never see any of this stuff again.”

  That made her stop. “What?”

  “The agency will make you disappear. Somebody else will be living in this house by next week. You need to leave now! Is there anything else that you have to have?”

  He pushed past her into the bedroom and opened the closet door. She looked around the room. So many memories had already been made in this home. What was happening? Why was she being made to leave?

  “What did Bodhi do?”

  “Ugh,” the man grunted from the closet as something fell. He reappeared holding the two black bags. “These?”

  “What did Bodhi do?” Cassandra repeated.

  “Director Goodman ordered him to murder an old lady and he refused. Newman arrested him and then killed the lady anyway. They’re going to execute him. Taya and I are going to try to stop it, but we need to get you someplace safe first.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. The dumbass has some big, brass balls, I’ll give him that.” The man set down the bags. “We need to go. Is there anything else that you want?” />
  “Um…” She rushed over to the dresser and threw open the top drawer. She put on a pair of socks and then grabbed a fistful of underwear. “I probably need a jacket, and… Hold on.”

  She went into the closet and fished around inside one of Bodhi’s oversized duffle bags. Inside, he’d hidden the pistol. She dumped everything out and picked it up along with the extra magazine and the box of ammunition that he’d bought. “These,” she said, holding them up.

  “Geez. Do you know how to use them?”

  She nodded. “I’ve never fired it, but Bodhi went over it with me a bunch of times.” She put them back into the bag and threw a pair of sneakers for her and one for Bodhi into it, then started pulling their clothes randomly from hangers and stuffing them into the bag. She grabbed her laptop and charger along with Bodhi’s as well, sliding them on top of the clothing. Before long, it was stuffed full and she struggled to zip it.

  The man took the bag and zipped it closed. Then he put his finger to his ear. “Okay. Time’s up. We need to go now.”

  “Where?” she asked as she followed him.

  “Outside the city. Go north on I-35 until you find somewhere to rest. Where are the keys to that red car in the driveway?”

  “Uh… In the drawer. I’ll get them.”

  “The truck too. I’ll come back for that. They’ll be tracking my Tahoe after this.”

  “Okay…”

  “Hurry up, Mrs. Haskins.”

  “I’m trying.”

  She opened the junk drawer where they kept the keys to their old cars and saw them sitting in a tray. Her hands shook so hard that it made it difficult to pick them up, but she finally managed. She came back around the corner and he was waving intently for her to hurry. She slipped on her tennis shoes by the front door and followed him out to the car.

  “Unlock it,” he ordered, keeping his head down. She realized that he’d taken a major risk. Taya might be able to block cameras, but she couldn’t stop the neighbors from seeing him if they looked out their window.

  She unlocked the car and he tossed the bags in the back seat. “Go north. Don’t use your Citizen ID.” He stopped and placed a hand on the car. “Actually, go south, get as much cash as you can here in Austin from an ATM, then go north on 35. I don’t have a burner phone for you, so try to not use your phone. I won’t be able to find you without your phone. Taya will shield it for as long as she can, but they’re gonna catch on that you’ve left. Make sure you turn off the GPS services and shut down all of the apps in your phone. It’s a digital trace that will lead the agency right to you. Can’t help it for right now though.”

  She started the car and the engine sputtered to life. “Thank you, ah…I’m sorry. I don’t remember your name.”

  He frowned. “Maybe it’s better that you don’t even know my name then. Be safe. We’re going to try to get Bodhi out of there.”

  She nodded as he closed her door and walked casually back to his agency-issued Tahoe. He drove off and she backed out of the driveway.

  Cassandra’s mind raced as she put the car into drive, following the Tahoe toward the neighborhood exit. Everything was happening too fast. The man she followed and Taya were members of Bodhi’s team at work, so was Newman. He’d said that Newman murdered some lady that Bodhi had refused to.

  She began making a list in her head, a mental checklist of “good guys” and “bad guys.” Apparently this guy and Taya were in the good guys column, whereas Newman and Director Goodman were in the bad guys column. What about the fifth member of Bodhi’s team, the former cop? She wished she could remember everyone’s name, but she’d only met them a handful of times and her memory had gone to shit since she’d become pregnant, so it was hard for her to do so. She had to assume for now that the fifth person was not a good guy. Maybe that would prove false later on, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

  The security guard waved at her as she turned out of the neighborhood. She waved back and tried to smile. It probably came off as a half-crazed look that he was sure to notice. He didn’t, thank goodness.

  The cell phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out. There was a text message on the screen that she read as she pulled to a stop at a red light.

  This is T. I shut down traffic cameras. Go to Shell station 8 blocks away. Get gas, food, and cash. Then leave town. DO NOT REPLY!!

  She put the phone down, then remembered the man’s directions, so she opened up the settings and turned off her location services, along with the Wi-Fi and the Bluetooth. “Dammit,” she hissed. She’d forgotten to grab a cell phone charger. How was she supposed to keep the phone charged if she didn’t have a cable?

  It was a short drive to the gas station that Taya had directed her to. She put her card into the machine and put the nozzle in her gas tank. She was immediately aware of the fact that she’d just popped up on the network for using her card. It couldn’t be helped though. There would be a few times when she’d have to use it, so it was best to do so while she was here, near her home. If her savior was right, they hadn’t started to search for her yet, so she hoped she had enough time.

  She really needed to pee, and she was hungry too. He’d woken her from a nap. She glanced at the convenience store and then back at the pump. “Shit,” she groaned. Her body had already made the decision for her. Inside was the ATM, food, and a bathroom.

  Cassandra locked the car, then lifted her mask up into place before rushing over to the store. She hoped the restrooms were clean. She did her business and went to the ATM. Their bank had a $500 daily limit, so she took the money and stuffed it into the little pocket on her yoga pants. Thankfully, this pair had a zipper to keep the cash secure, most of them didn’t even have pockets.

  Then, she went around the store and got several snack food items, plus several large bottles of water. “Going on a trip?” the clerk asked.

  “Ah, yeah. I got authorization to go to Houston,” she lied. “I need a lot of snacks to keep me awake while I drive.”

  The woman looked her up and down. “It’s just not fair how you can eat like that. I have one potato chip and it goes straight to my thighs.”

  “Uh huh… Can I get four—no, five—slices of pizza, um, two of those burritos, no, on second thought, no burritos. Uh, two of the hot dogs. Yeah, that’ll be good.”

  The clerk looked out the window. “Damn, girl. You feeding an army of kids out there or what?”

  “I’m pregnant, so, you know.”

  “Ah. Okay, now it makes sense.” The clerk rang up her purchases and put everything into a couple of bags.

  “You know what? I’m going to get a few more bottles of water. Always be prepared, my husband says.”

  “Smart man.”

  She retrieved three more bottles of water and a bottle of soda for some caffeine, fuck what the doctor said about no caffeine while she was pregnant. She knew that she’d need the help once the adrenaline wore off.

  “I put some extra napkins in there for you, sweetie. Lord knows I was a mess when I was pregnant.” She gestured at her large breasts. “I was always dropping food and these puppies caught most of it.”

  Cassandra showed her Citizen ID and then paid, crossing her fingers that she hadn’t been cut off yet and that the transaction would go through.

  It did. She thanked the clerk and went back to her car to finish everything up. Her luck needed to hold just a little longer.

  A police car pulled up to the pump right beside her as she put the food into the passenger seat. Her eyes went wide and she ducked her head, making it plainly obvious to the police officer that she was trying to hide. Stupid, she chastised herself.

  She walked around the car and took the hose out of the tank. Keep it together. Keep it together! she told herself. All she needed to do was just keep her cool and not do anything stupid. She hung up the hose and then opened her door.

  As she was sitting down, the officer yelled, “Hey!”

  “Uh, yes, sir?”

  “You forg
ot to put your gas cap back on. Hold up.”

  She turned to see him slip between the pumps and screw her gas cap onto the tank. Then he shut the fuel door. “There you go. Be safe out there.”

  “Thank you,” she replied, smiling as sweetly as she could.

  She kept calm as long as possible until she turned back onto the road, heading south. Then she allowed herself a moment to freak out.

  Her phone buzzed again and she picked it up to read the text message.

  That was close. Go south for three miles to I-35. I turned cameras ON again to track you. Go north on 35, all cameras are off there. Drive until you are past Belton, then look for somewhere to stop. We will get in touch.

  Cassandra set the phone down on the seat beside her where all the food was. She’d trusted them so far, what other choice did she have? Her fate was in their hands for the moment. She barely knew them, would they really be willing to risk their own lives to save hers? She had to hope that they were as good-hearted as they claimed to be.

  She accelerated past the intersection southward. Even though it was ridiculous and completely impossible, she felt as if the world were watching her now that Taya had turned the cameras back on. Every single one of them stood out as a stark reminder of what had happened to the country. This wasn’t America any more. That was what Bodhi would say when they were out on their walks. She hadn’t really understood what he meant at the time.

  Now she did and she wished that he’d been wrong.

  TWENTY

  Rogan tried to act natural as he strolled through the agency’s parking garage, but his hands betrayed him as they shook when he pressed the button to call the elevator. He was a goddamned Green Beret. He’d been in combat, gotten in prolonged firefights on eight different occasions and had friends get seriously wounded and killed beside him. Hell, he’d gotten a giant shard of concrete embedded in his arm when an RPG exploded against a wall and sent chunks of it flying. But he’d never been as scared as he was right now. Why?