by Ira Tabankin
“Great, I’ll be back with your sneakers.”
“Nancy, thanks for coming by, I missed you, I love you like the sister I never had.”
“I love you too.”
Lacy closes her eye and is quickly asleep. Wendy whispers,
“She’s on a morphine IV, it’s a wonder she could talk to you as much as she did.”
“Is she going to be alright? Tell me the truth, don’t bullshit me.”
“I won’t. Doctor Basaco thinks she’ll recover around 60% movement in her shoulder, her eye was too damaged to save. She’s lucky she’s still with us. A piece of shrapnel entered her eye, a little further and it would have entered her brain. She’s a very lucky woman.”
“We are. Can you imagine what Jay would have done if she died?”
“I hadn’t thought of that. You’re right. My God, I pity the North now, if she’d died, I don’t think he’d stop until the North was a wasteland. Thank God she survived.”
Chapter 5
Nancy steps out of the shower shaking her hair,
“That felt damn good. I really needed that.”
“Honey, I can’t tell you how scared I was. I’m so happy you’re home. Can you tell me what happened?”
“I don’t know exactly what caused the cave-in. I think something in the wall by the first turn in the entry shifted, it pushed the concrete form from the wall into the entry portal. The shifting released the dirt behind the concrete form. All of the dirt on the other side came flowing down trapping us in the shelter. I’m glad you didn’t try to tunnel in from the front, you would have run into the shifted culvert and might have brought more of the walls down on you.”
“We got lucky, a mining company sent us a tunneling machine and a couple of experts.”
“Did I miss anything else? I know Jay, they tried to kill him, they kidnapped his daughter and granddaughter, he isn’t going to agree to a cease-fire or truce, what happened while I was buried? Did someone replace Jay? Did he nuke the North?”
“No change there. Jay’s waiting, he told me he wanted to get everyone out of the cave in safe and sound before he thought about getting even. Frank worked his magic, he brought Sammi and Linda home. The military is protecting us like a mother bear protects her cubs. We got the tunneling help from a company interested in relocating here, they loaned us the tunneling machine in order to gain favor with Jay. Did any other part of the new shelter collapse?”
“No. The shelter itself held up great. It looks much stronger the original one. The only reason we couldn’t get out was the shifted concrete section, it had turned sideways blocking our exit. We couldn’t move it. The rear emergency exit hadn’t been cut yet, if it had, we would have just walked out.”
“We’ll have to look into a way to bolt them to the rock walls behind them, so this doesn’t happen again. I’m sure our experts will be able to solve the issue. Are you hungry?”
“No, we had food. Remember a lot of the supplies had already been moved into the new shelter. We could have survived in it a long time. After the initial panic, our mood was good. We knew Jay wouldn’t rest until we were rescued.”
“You’re right on that one.”
“The only time we really worried is when we heard the two explosions. At first, we didn’t know what they were, Franco told us they were bombs. We worried everyone trying to rescue us had been killed.”
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The next morning, Franco, Fred, and Glenn meet over breakfast in the castle’s conference room to discuss what went wrong with the construction of the new shelter and how to improve it. Glenn looks around the table,
“Is the President going to join us? Are you the official review board?”
Fred shakes his head, “Jay’s with his wife who was injured in the bombing, he’ll be along very soon, why don’t you set up your presentation? One word of advice, Jay doesn’t like long-winded presentations. He’s been known to get up and walk out in the middle of them. Tell him what you want to say, show him the why and what it’s going to cost in money and time, then sit down. He’ll answer you very quickly.”
“Do you mind if I tack up a drawing on the wall?”
“Go ahead. What is it?”
“It’s a diagram of your shelter and what we think happened, I’ve made some notes how to improve your project.”
“Please, you have our full attention.” Says Jay walking into the conference room, his eyes are bloodshot, it’s obvious he hasn’t slept very much. He’s holding a large mug of steaming coffee in his left hand as he holds out his right hand to shake Glenn’s.
“Jay, I was told you’re a very direct person, as such, I’m going to cut through the normal opening presentation I usually give and jump right into the meat of it.”
Fred laughs, “If I were you, I wouldn’t show a Power Point presentation. The President doesn’t like sitting through a lot of slides. If you’re lucky he’ll throw you out, if you’re unlucky, he’ll shoot you.”
“In that case, how about I skip over the first fifty slides.”
Jay smiles, nodding his head. “Excellent idea. I’m all ears. Glenn, thank you for dropping the normal fifty-page company overview about similar projects. You can leave them behind; I promise you they’ll be read. I have a couple of questions for you. First, how long to finish our shelter, connect it to our existing and tunnel to the General’s while also finishing his? Second how much? Third how long and how much to add the office space?”
“We’re offering to finish your shelter, connect it to your existing one and tunnel under the street to connect it to the General’s under construction shelter which we’re also including in our proposal to complete.”
Fred smiles, “How about the office space we asked about?”
“Our second proposal is to add five hundred thousand square feet of office space under the street, running towards the north. If you want this added later, we can dig the starter tunnels and leave the machines in them so when we return the addition will move very quickly.”
Jay leans back in his chair, “Glenn, good start, I like direct people, how much and how long?”
“Is this going to go out on a typical government bid?”
Fred spits up his mouthful of coffee, shaking his head, “Now you’ve done it. DUCK.”
A coffee cup sails across the table. Jay shakes his head, “One-word answer, NO! All I ask is that you hire as many local people as possible. I’d rather you not swamp us with Northerners. I want to keep my shelters secret, hiring you to build them will make them public. However, since they’re going to be connected to the country’s new national office space, I expect they will become public information sooner versus later.”
“Sir, not really. We have experience building shelters and secret bases for the military, some are so secret no one except for the people who work at them know they exist. We can build the office space separate from the three shelters. While connected, most people won’t know the shelters even exist.”
“I like this.”
Fred shakes his head,
“Jay, if the state or country is paying for this and it’s going to be the offices of the new government, it can’t be secret.”
Jay holds up his hands, “We’ll talk about that later, first, let’s hear what he has to say.”
“One of our ways of ensuring the secrecy is workers are brought in via a tunnel on the other side of the shelter. They won’t see anything around the work site. We’ll also be using people who have experience building facilities for the military and hold security clearances, although the clearances are from the North. We usually build such structures in modules, which we move into the tunnels, the modules are connected together, yielding an instant shelter, office, whatever you want it to be.”
General Arthur shakes his head, “How loyal to the South are these people? Hiring people with security clearances from the North ensures they’ll know we’re building an underground complex. They’ll quickly figure out where we’re building it and
its purpose. I’m very concerned about the security of this construction project.”
“General, how about we allow you to review the personnel profiles of everyone we plan to hire. The unskilled and a lot of the skilled work can be done by the locals.”
Franco snaps, “They’re not unskilled, they’ve already built one shelter and almost finished the second.”
“Excuse me. I didn’t mean it that way.”
Jay looks around the conference table. “We don’t have time for little squabbles. Glenn, I’ll ask again, how much, and how long?”
“Mr. President, five million in gold, and one year.”
“Unacceptable. I’ll agree to six million and six months.”
“Sir, I’m not sure it’s possible to build it in six months. There are the various environmental studies, state and local approvals. The modules have to be built, there are the hundreds of reports to file.”
The room laughs, Franco shakes his head, “There are no environmental studies, no building approvals, if Jay says, yes, it means you’d better already be digging.”
“Sir, is that how the Confederacy is going to do business?”
“Not for long, but right now, we have to cut some corners. The Confederacy needs a real government, we need the office space, and our people need security. Right now that means speed and security is essential. We need help, and we need the initial facility finished yesterday. I also want shelters built for most of our population in case the North decides to attack with weapons of mass destruction, something I don’t put past their current President. I won’t allow our people to become hostages or causalities because they couldn’t get out of the way or had no place to go. The Confederacy is also going to need underground storage sites for oil, food and other supplies.”
“Mr. President, can we take a short break so I can consult with my headquarters?”
“Of course, will one-hour be sufficient?”
“Yes, that will be perfect, I’ll need an office and a secure phone.”
Fred laughs, “Follow me, those we have.”
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While Glenn is discussing the project with his corporate President, Jay looks at his friends and closest advisors, “The question of getting even for the attack and kidnapping my family hasn’t been discussed yet. We’re not going to let them get away with the attack, they killed many of us, and they targeted my family. Him targeting my family and me personally went above and beyond the normal rules of war. General, you have the floor.”
“Mr. President, thank you. I’ve looked into a number of different ways we can strike back, I should warn you, all of them will most likely lead to an all-out Civil War, which is something we should consider before we move ahead. I’m not sure we’re in a strong enough position nor do we have the people’s support for an all-out war. When our people voted to secede, war wasn’t on the ballot. I don’t want to launch a conventional war that will drag on for years and possibly destroy both the Confederacy and the North. Nor do I want to suggest using WMD against the North which will cause the entire world to turn against us. Mr. President, the people may support a war. However, I wonder how many will support a war when the body bags begin coming home? They’re used to watching a remote control war where bombers drop weapons which hit open windows, they’re not going to be happy with a war that’s being fought on their front lawns. We should think hard and long before we enter into a Civil War. In addition to our people, what are we going to do if other countries and terrorist organizations use our Civil War to attack the country? We could be fighting wars on multiple fronts at the same time, never a good idea. Hell, we could be firing the opening shots of a third world war. In addition, we’re still consolidating our military, that’s the good news, most of the North’s military is rushing across the border to join us. Our bases are overflowing with equipment and people. I couldn’t be happier with the number and quality of our forces.”
No one wanted to break the silence after General Arthur spoke. Jay sat staring into space, his mind racing, thinking about how far he could push the North while not crossing the line into a full Civil War. A thought started to form in the deepest recess of his mind. He didn’t know a smile started to form on his face as the idea gained details. His friends stared at him worried about the smile on his face, they knew it meant he had the beginning of a real nasty idea.
Chapter 6
Fred is standing in the shower hoping the hot water will help his body feel better. No matter how many times a day he showers, he feels he can’t wash the dirt and guilt away. He’s becoming consumed with survivor guilt, he made it and his family didn’t. Everywhere he looks, he sees Cheryl. They lived in their home together for over forty years. Wherever his eyes look, he sees memories and images of his life with his family. His boys were born and grew up in this house, he and Cheryl lived and loved each other since it was built, trashed and rebuilt. Her clothes are still in the closet and the dresser. Her make up bottles sit untouched on the bathroom counter. Their wedding picture sits on her night table. His eyes fill with tears, his knees shake, his breathing becomes labored, he begins shaking. Shaking in grief under the hot water spray, he begins uncontrollably crying, sliding down the shower stall with his back resting against the tile wall, his head bent over between his knees. The shower water washes away his tears as quickly as they run down his cheeks. Sitting on the floor of the shower, Fred looks at the ceiling, crying out loud, through his tears and the hot water beginning to turn cool.
“Why? Why did you have to take them? If it was their time, why didn’t you take me too? We should be together, in life and in death. You cheated me from keeping my promise to her. You could have had all of us at the same time. Are you playing with me? Is this some sort of test? Haven’t I suffered enough, is this some sort of game you’re playing? If it is, I fail. I refuse to play. Take me, please take me. I can’t live without her. I don’t know how to live without her. Also, a parent shouldn’t have to bury their children. It’s not the way of the universe. Children replace their parents. I’m not a young man, I can’t continue alone. Should I help you take me? I can take the drugs and go to sleep, if I do will I wake with her? At least, will the hole inside me be filled? Why won’t you answer me? What did I ever do to you? I went to church every Sunday. I have crosses on the wall. I sang your praises, we read the Bible every day, I followed the ten commandments, this is the way you replay a loyal follower? WHY? Damn it, answer me.”
Fred remains sitting on the floor of the shower stall shaking in the now cold water until he can’t feel anything. Slowly he feels something in his soul, a small ball of heat, a fire lights, it grows giving him the strength to pull himself to his feet. Slowly his arm reaches up to turn off the water, he does it without even thinking about it. Shaking his head to clear the water from his eyes he opens the shower door, grabbing his towel to dry his hair and face. I should shave, but why? Is there a future worth shaving for? Do I have a future without my family? Is life worth living without her? Can anyone live through this much suffering? My soul is broken; there's a hole in it. I now understand why my grandmother died so soon after grandpa, after all their years together, she decided she couldn’t live without her partner. I don’t think I can live without Cheryl. I’m going to tell Jay he needs to replace me. If I can’t trust myself, he shouldn’t trust me to manage the affairs of state. I can’t focus on the needs of the country. I can’t focus on anything except for my pain. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, all I feel is their loss, I can’t continue. I’m going to tell Jay today it’s no good. He’ll replace me, and I’ll go to sleep tonight and wake with Cheryl. It’s the only way forward. It’s the best way for the two of us. I feel better now, I know what I’m going to do.
Fred’s hand shakes, he cuts his face trying to shave. I might as well look good for my last day. The blood drips down the left side of his cheek. Funny, I don’t even feel that. Maybe I’m already dead and don’t know I’m supposed to lay down. Fred shakes his head, I’ll place a
piece of toilet paper on the nick to stop the bleeding, I’ll dress and tell Jay I’m done. I’ll stay here until someone finds my body. I don’t want to see anyone or talk to anyone except Jay. Tonight I’ll take all of the sleeping and pain pills, it’ll be painless, I’ll just go to sleep, I won’t feel any more pain or loneliness. I’ll be at peace with my family, we’ll all be together.
Fred dresses in his best clothes, he’s calm, having decided what to do. He’s filled with purpose, he’s ready to tell his friend goodbye. Walking into the shelter, he finds Jay sitting in the recliner next to Lacy’s bed. Jay looks up at his friend, smiling, “If you want to kill yourself, I’d suggest the wrists or the neck, cutting your cheek isn’t going to kill you. Even dressed up you look worse than I feel, not even your Sunday best covers your pain. My friend, what can I do for you?”
“Jay, I came to resign. I can’t do this anymore.”
“It’s okay with me if you don’t want to shave anymore. I doubt there’s a dress code for state workers, if there is, find it and burn it.”
