“Can’t wait,” Jake replied.
Chef John came back, carrying a hot plate. He was becoming Jake’s first friend during the Utah exodus. “By the way, me and the guys are playing poker tonight, wanna join?”
Jake could use the distraction, but didn’t want to get too comfortable living up north. For some reason, making friends without Elizabeth felt unfair. They haven’t had non-mutual friends in their eight years of marriage. It wasn’t a bad thing, but the idea didn’t sit right. “Eh, I’m no good at cards. Maybe another time.”
“Oh come on, we don’t take it serious. It’s all just a bunch of guys smoking cigars, drinking bourbon, and making fun of each other. Once the borders are taken down and we’re allowed back on the lake, we all take our boats out in Willard Bay and play cards and fish. Water levels are higher than they’ve been in years, I can’t wait to get out there. It’s a good group to have a good time with.”
“Alright, yeah, you got me. I’m in.”
He played with his eggs while gnawing on a strip of bacon. The large television screens displayed one of the twenty four hour news stations and their ridiculous coverage of the Salt Lake City fires. Jake laughed when he saw his face on the screen, people were finally getting the message about his interview with Bryce Chapman. The pundits were going to have a field day with President Watt and his lack of disclosure of the terrorists in SLC. Jake rarely paid attention to television news. Until now, they served a better chance to make viewers dumber instead of smarter. They were formulated to catch viewers, not educate the masses. This was why he loved Bryce Chapman’s brutal honesty.
Jake was interested today, though.
The interview was going to change things. Soon, President Watt would have to respond to this and lay out a timetable. At least, that’s what Jake hoped for.
Jake wanted to see his wife.
*******
Tink Morris
Late Morning
Salt Lake City, UT
Two truths and a lie was a terrible game. It was dumb and boring, but exactly what the group needed after spending yesterday staring at the walls. Tink went from driving across the country and carrying a bunch of people all over Salt Lake City to sitting in a small bomb shelter with his sister and five white strangers. He didn’t mean to disrespect the bond built in the short period of time, but it was still weird.
The thing is; two truths and a lie was better than working the graveyard shift at the factory. He would rather hear his sister’s laugh than be stuck listening to his boss complain. Also, he would rather be playing this dumb game than be out on the streets of Salt Lake getting burned alive from the bombing yesterday. Those noises made South-hell tower, the baddest tower in Chicago, sound like an old folks home in Beverly Hills, California.
Tink’s biggest problem with two truths and a lie was that he didn’t know how to play. He got the first part; write down two facts about himself and then add a random, but kind of believable, lie. He got that part down, but he wasn’t sure where to go from here. So he sat on the ground at the Capitol building in Salt Lake City, Utah with his legs in a ‘crisscross applesauce’ stance, and waited for someone to explain to him why he was pretending he once ate a gold fish at party.
“Alright, it looks like everyone is finished.” Shelly looked around. “Who wants to go first?”
Mona raised her hand like she was in class. “Me, me, me!”
Shelly laughed at her child-like attitude. Not like she was making fun, but Mona’s reaction made Shelly blurt out a happy laughter. She gave Mona the thumbs up. Shelly was very pretty in a very different way. Tink thought she was the best kind of person to be around his little sister. She was kind and strong, smart and humble. He saw she didn’t have it all together, but she seemed to be comfortable in her own skin. Which, Tink thought, was rare to find in women.
Mona stood and rattled off her three. “Okay. My name is Mona Leigh Morris. My hair is natural, I read sixty books last year, and my favorite color is yellow.” She said and sat down fast. She could barely hide the excitement. Mona Leigh thought she did a good job. Tink already knew the answers. He knew which one was a lie, but would give someone else a try.
Harry was the first to guess, “I’m not going to stand, I hope that’s okay,” he said and looked around the room for laughter. The old man didn’t stop trying to be funny since he lost his leg. “I think you’re telling me the truth when you say you read that many books. And I think your favorite color is yellow.”
Mona clapped her hands. “Nope! Bzzzzz, wrong!” she shouted and laughed. This young lady was really enjoying herself in this dumb game. Tink raised his hand, Mona looked at him with fake betrayal. “No way, Tink! You know, that’s not fair.”
“Can I try?” Shelly looked at Tink.
“Go for it, girl,” Tink replied.
“Your hair is real. It’s beautiful and long and the texture is absolutely perfect. And how does a little girl who was a softball superstar and honor roll student have enough time to read that many books? I would be tempted to believe you if you said fifty, but sixty is too many, young lady. The two truths are your hair is natural and your favorite color is yellow.”
“Ding, ding, ding!” Mona clapped. Everyone else followed. “Your turn now, right?”
“Sure,” Shelly said, standing up. “My name is Shelly Rayl, I was a state champion swimmer, I have a twin sister named Sherry, and I have my pilot’s license.”
No one raised their hand. Asher pretended to be deep in thought, Mona was still coming down from her turn, Jenna was always in her own little world, and Harry was too bummed about missing the last one. That left Mickey and Tink as the only ones to guess. Shelly called on Mickey.
“I think you do have a twin sister, even though being specific about the name makes me think it could be a lie. But Shelly and Sherry sound like names Lynn would give his girls. It’s either that or something funny like… I don’t know, Frick and Frack. I bet that was his other option. So yeah, you have a twin named Sherry, and you can fly planes. I saw you run and you don’t sprint like a swimmer. I dated a swimmer in high school. She swam like a fish and ran like one too. You ran like someone taught you. You ran like a gazelle and a cheetah made a baby and named it Shelly. ”
“Ding, ding ding!” Shelly yelled, her laughter put a peace over the room. They were going to be here for a few more days, moments like this would need to be spaced out, but it was nice to have humor in the room. Mickey was a funny dude too. He was moody, especially with Asher challenging him to turn on a light bulb with his bare hands, but other than that, he was a stand up guy. All these people had goodness added into their goofiness.
Tink enjoyed the rest of the game. It was good to learn some surprising truths about the rest of the group. He might not have ever known Harry once tried to ride a bull in the middle of a farm and he definitely wouldn’t have thought Jenna was the girlfriend of Ned North’s son. Tink knew enough about basketball to know he owned the Knicks and even remembered getting box seats to a Bulls game with Grady and seeing the Norths in the suite next door. Crazy to think, they were that close before.
*******
Conrad Greene
1430 (Eastern time)
Washington, DC
DC traffic was a nightmare, as usual. Even during the sweet spot before rush hour but after lunch was a nightmare. At least, Conrad was in stand still traffic on the right side of the city. Everyone worked in the district, but no one lived here. This was a politician city, nothing more than zoned liberators pushing pens and taking bribes. Of course no one would live here, it’s like the old saying goes, don’t shovel crap where you sleep.
His cell phone rang, the caller ID said it was a from a blocked number.
Under normal circumstances, Conrad would not answer. In America, your private line was never private from telemarketers. Conrad wasn’t interested in a vacation rental or the discount offer from the satellite company. He’d seen enough of the world and television screens to la
st a lifetime. Life would be easier back in his cabin up north.
He answered the phone against better judgement.
“Greene, it’s a friend,” a female said from the other line. “Please turn around and come back.”
Conrad didn’t need to hear any more of her voice. It was Sarah Francis, Senior Chief of Public Relations at the White House. She was surprisingly a part of President Watt’s advisory group and she was the first to show him the video footage of the threat in Salt Lake City. Other than Marshall and Uriah, she understood the impending danger more than anyone else in the room. Conrad didn’t trust her, and she wasted no effort in giving him a reason to. She didn’t fret over the opinions of others, which was rather ironic for a person whose occupation was to keep public perception skewed in a positive trajectory.
“Hi friend. I’m actually stuck…”
“On Interstate 95, I’m aware. There is a pull-off up ahead, use that to make a U-turn and merge back into southbound traffic. We need you here.”
Conrad didn’t reply. He followed orders and pulled off into the dirt median of the freeway.
“Are you there?” she asked. Conrad didn’t respond again. He enjoyed pushing her buttons while she tried to issue commands like she wore stripes. She was the wrong kind of civilian, someone who thought of herself as an equal to soldiers, as if her civil service was as equally important to someone who protects civilization.
“General Greene, come back to where it started. Red Wave was a failure. I repeat…”
“That’s enough, I’m on the way.”
“17 minutes is your ETA. Don’t be late.” She said and hung up.
Conrad stepped on the gas and enjoyed driving against the traffic. Whatever was calling him back to the Capitol was important enough for President Watt to have Sarah Francis call him on a private line. While she wasn’t calm or prepared, her orders must have been to keep the conversation brief and cryptic. Which meant, Uriah was busy and matters were troublesome. Always careful in regards to outside listeners, always aware of someone else joining the party line, and now President Watt was trusting someone without proper training to call back the troops.
It was unsettling.
This would create a problem. If Red Wave was a failure, something went terribly wrong. The explosive worked fine. Conrad trusted Gathe with sat-recon. Reyes caught his dishonesty, but there wasn’t enough potential civilian collateral damage for this to be the reason why Conrad was called back to the White House. Which meant there was either a leak, or a new development.
He picked up his phone and dialed for Reyes. If he leaked information, he would confess. The man had a conscience, but there was enough trust between Conrad and Reyes to open up before spreading the wrong message. However, if Conrad didn’t call him and ask, Paul Marshall may take it in his own hands to protect the secrecy of Red Wave.
“TV is off, sir.” Reyes answered. His voice was clear through the line, it almost sounded as if he were sitting beside Conrad in the car.
“Where are you?” Conrad asked. This would be the first question asked by the other advisors. Conrad wouldn’t tell them if they asked, but he wanted to know what direction to not point.
“High in the sky, where the eye don’t lie.”
Reyes wasn’t a poet. He wasn’t clever. The man was a world class gunman and drone pilot, but he was not someone who spoke in elaborate code. He was too simple. Conrad didn’t press. “Safe?”
“And sound, sir. How did the talk go with Big Papi?”
“It went. I’m actually headed back to his house now. Do you know any reason why someone would tell me Red Wave was a failure?”
“Can’t discuss now, sir. Too busy with friends.”
“You didn’t speak to anyone… other than me about our findings, correct?”
“Correct, sir.”
“Roger. That’s good. Contact me directly once you get done with your next objective.”
“Am I in danger, sir? What happened?”
“No, soldier. I had a bad feeling, but nothing to do with you. You know my feelings towards other bullies in our neighborhood. I might need you for another operation.”
“Not with babyface, sir.” Reyes said. He was soured to Gathe. Something about the babyfaced sat-recon wizard didn’t sit well for Conrad either. He wasn’t going to be joining Conrad for dinner any time soon. “Not at my table.”
“Will be in touch in less than twenty-four hours.”
*******
Asher Blake
Afternoon
Salt Lake City, UT
Asher knew what he was doing. Mona knew too. Mickey might not like the light bulb and his inability to understand the point behind Asher giving it to him, but he would learn how to turn it on, eventually. Possibly before they left the shelter, possibly after. It didn’t matter when, it would happen exactly when it needed to and Asher wanted to mentor Mickey the right way.
The idea of being Mickey’s mentor came from Mona last night. She didn’t beat around the bush; instead, she went after Asher’s guilt regarding Ben’s death head on. Asher would have appreciated more tact, but her message was taken to heart; this is Asher’s chance to learn from his experience with his little brother and help.m.ld Mickey into the man Ben should have been.
Ben’s life was taken, and Asher stole it. It ended on Capitol Hill with Asher striking his little brother in the heart with his own hammer. However, that’s not where it started.
It started with a competitive little brother who always wanted to prove his equality. The competitive relationship continued through high school, into college, and eventually ended with Asher falling in love with Ben’s wife.
It was the final nail in his coffin.
Asher killed his brother before he stopped his heart. But the last heartbeat might have been the only honorable treatment he ever offered Ben. At least then, he ended his brother’s life before the darkness was able turn Ben into a dark echo of himself.
It was good to get these emotions off his chest, and Mona was a great listener.
Asher sat on the floor beside Mona, enjoying the silence. The world outside was ablaze, and they were sitting in the safe confines of a bomb shelter. So much for being the ones who would save the world. They couldn’t even save Edie or Lynn.
“How you feeling?” Mona asked.
Asher wondered if his face betrayed his thoughts. It wouldn’t take much with Mona. She looked at him with those discerning, too wise for fourteen, eyes as if she knew his every mistake.
Asher opened his mouth to speak, but pursed his lips. She might know his answer before he says anything. The little girl openly admits to knowing things, oftentimes her knowledge is randomly shoved in front of her face and she can’t help but speak the words to light.
“I mean, how are you feeling physically?” she asked, with a small smile.
“Oh, yeah, physically I’m better than I was yesterday. The ability to heal comes in handy. I think my collarbone has already… I don’t know how to say this… but it’s unbroken itself. Can you do that?”
She looked around the room, the rest of the group were in their own conversations. The game paid off. Everyone was less tense and more talkative than before, simply because of a dumb game. Even Harry looked back to Asher and Mona with a big smile on his face.
“I haven’t needed to yet, but I don’t suspect that’s a part of my Pulse. We’re learning new stuff every day though, ya know?”
“That’s true. I wish someone knew what happens when we leave though…” Asher said, winking at Mona.
“Sometimes it’s better to learn on the fly, instead having it all spelled out for you. But the door opens tomorrow. I don’t know where we go, or what all of us do. But…” She trailed off and smiled out to the group. Asher couldn’t tell if she was smiling at them, or if she was smiling at whatever thoughts were floating in her head. “but I know what you will do.”
“Really? What’ll I do?”
“Regret is going to eat
you up. You’re pride is going to cause problems. You’re going to open a lot of doors. And you’re going to save my life.”
“All of that, tomorrow?”
“I don’t think so, but soon.”
“That doesn’t help much.”
“For a girl who is supposed to know stuff, I don’t know much right now.”
“What about your brother? Maybe the knowledge runs in your family.”
“This has very little to do with blood, Ash. My brother has the Pulse in him too, but it ain’t like mine.”
“Do you know what it is?”
“I do.”
“What is it?”
“Ah. To tell you would ruin the surprise.”
“I can keep a secret.”
“Okay.”
“Really?”
She laughed. “No, I know the Pulse inside everyone here, and I have a pretty strong idea of how it will be manifested.”
“Did you know about Mickey?”
“I did.”
“And you didn’t tell him earlier?”
“Is it any different than the lesson you’re trying to teach him right now?”
“I suppose not, but still. You’re better than me.”
“No such thing as better than or worse than. We’re all on equal footing under the sun.”
“What else can you tell me?”
“You’ve heard enough already, friend.”
“Come on.”
Mona’s smile and positive demeanor went away. She turned to Asher and looked at him with annoyance. “You act like this is an A to B math problem. But it’s a story. There’s a beginning, middle, and an end. We’re at the beginning. The beginning of every good story has conflict. Usually, a lot of conflict too. But that only makes the ending more satisfying and ends up making the conflict worthwhile. Without the conflict, the end is toast. Without the end, the conflict is a waste. The story demands to never waste conflict.”
Shadow and Shine (Book 2): Dark Divide Page 4
