by Martha Carr
The larger man with Clemente started to reach out and separate the two older men but was stopped by a ceramic table lamp that came crashing down on his head, making him wobble on first one foot and then the other. Harry Weiskopf stood behind him, looking just as startled, holding the remains of the lamp.
He seemed to be waiting to see what the man did and when he finally toppled over, Harry moved and wrapped the electric cord around Clemente’s neck, and pulled as he listened to Clemente gurgle as he tried to claw at the cord and Harry’s hands as they all slowly sank further along the floor.
He finally elbowed Harry hard in the ribs and loosened the grip of the cord, slipping it over his head. It was all of the time that he needed.
Clemente had wanted to torture his old enemy, Reverend Michael but he was prepared to just end things if that became necessary. Even though he was dizzy and there were deep, red lines around his throat he still had enough presence to reach down to his legs that were splayed out on the floor and remove the small pistol he always kept there.
Harry looked startled when the gun went off in his face. He died making a small noise and fell back from where he was sitting on the floor, with a small thud, staining the Persian carpet.
Reverend Michael didn’t hesitate though and fought back, biting Clemente’s arm as hard as he could, trying to get the gun away from him.
A loud bang could be heard out on the sidewalk, followed by two more bangs as people pulled out cell phones and called for help.
Several, braver souls rushed into the church and toward what remained of the noise bursting into the room where they found the elderly priest barely alive with a gunshot in his shoulder. Harry was dead, still staring up at the ceiling and Clemente was nowhere to be found.
The rescuers thought they heard the elderly priest praying but one of them said, “No, he was counting something. I’m sure of it. He kept saying, just long enough, just long enough.”
Father Donald had made it to back to St. Stephen’s in record time, wondering about the outcome at Monumental Church as he waited for Norman Weiskopf and his family, ready to pass on the leather pouch.
Norman and Wallis were standing in the front office of Ned’s school trying to look relaxed as they waited for someone to fetch their son.
“Where are we going?” asked Ned. The hall monitor had shown up in his class and the teacher had motioned for him to get his things and follow the student. His parents were waiting for him in the office.
“Okay, good,” said his dad, seeming to ignore Ned’s question. They had all walked outside with Ned following behind them, still asking the same question as his frustration only grew and his voice took on a certain amount of whining.
“I have lacrosse practice,” he said, gesturing toward the field. “Coach said if we miss a practice, we miss a game.”
Ned stopped at the car and refused to get in, planting his feet. “I can’t go yet. What’s going on? I deserve an answer,” he shouted, finally getting his mother to look him in the eye. “Why are you taking me out of school? What’s gone wrong now?”
Wallis looked like she’d been punched in the gut and couldn’t get a deep breath. She forced herself to keep trying and take the moment to think about what to say. Ned turned to head back toward the school as Norman stepped in front of him and blocked his way.
Ned tried to push past him, a look of determination on his face but Norman grabbed him by the arms and stopped him again, without saying a word. Ned started to yell at Norman as loud as he could, inches from his father’s face.
“I hate you! I hate you!”
Wallis knew it had all gone too far. They were making Harriet’s mistakes and it was too much.
“Stop! Stop!” she yelled, trying to be heard over Ned’s screams. Ned let out one last, long scream of sound like he was in some deep pain. Norman grabbed his son in a tight hug and refused to let go no matter how much Ned pushed and pulled, trying to break free.
The assistant principal came running out of the door they had just exited, carrying a walkie talkie and looking very concerned. A guard was right on his heels.
Ned finally stopped yelling and Norman held on to him, more gently and rubbed his son’s back. Wallis tried to look calm as she waved at the men.
“We’re okay. A little family drama but we’re okay. Sorry.” It sounded so melodramatic and she wasn’t sure anyone would buy it but the men stopped and glanced at each other before they slowly turned and went back inside.
Wallis wondered if they saw a version of this kind of family story all the time. In her practice, Wallis did and she vowed often that she would never be a part of it. Things change, sometimes when we’re not looking, she thought.
“We owe him an explanation, Norman,” she said, quietly.
Norman tried to shake his head, no but Wallis said, “We have to start acting as a family and that means we trust each other. Like we always have.”
Ned pushed away from his father and turned around to face his mother. He wiped his face on his shirt and looked like he was waiting for something.
“We should have done this sooner, Ned. I’m sorry. This is going to sound lame but when you’re a parent you do what you think is right and it’s only later that you can tell what was a good decision and what was a really wrong turn.” Wallis thought of Harriet and wondered for a moment what it must have been like trying to decide if she could trust Wallis enough to tell her such enormous secrets.
Wallis let her shoulders drop and found herself feeling an odd sense of peace. It was like she had come to a stretch in the road where at least she didn’t have to wonder if this was the right thing to do.
“There are a few things we haven’t told you,” Wallis started.
“You lied to me,” said Ned, nodding his head. There were tears in his eyes.
Wallis hesitated for a moment. Norman looked like he had been slapped. He was standing behind his son, holding very still, not saying anything. Wallis wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
“Okay, I can see why you’d say that. We didn’t set out to…to lie to you. We were trying to protect you. Like I said, seems pretty lame now. Look, there’s a lot of ground to cover and it’s going to take a while. I’m going to hope that you still trust me just enough to make a deal with me. If you’ll get in the car, we’ll tell you everything.”
Norman looked like he was about to object again.
“Everything,” Wallis repeated. “If you start to feel overwhelmed, we’ll stop but we’ll let you decide. We’ll stop making that judgment call for you. Okay?” she asked, looking at both Ned and Norman.
“Where are we going,” asked Ned. He wasn’t asking so much as stating something.
His curls were matted down in places from his struggle with his dad and his face had a sheen of sweat. He looked so young to Wallis. She grimaced, remembering the little boy who would run at her down a long hallway every time she picked him up at preschool. Somehow that road had led them here.
“We are hitting the road and heading for the Midwest, I think,” said Wallis. Ned started to protest.
“Wait, wait,” said Wallis, holding up her hand like she was trying to protect him. “I’m not trying to hide anything. I’m admitting that we don’t exactly know either. A few things have happened and we’re going to get help from Father Donald and his friends to get out of town. Unfortunately, they don’t tell you more than you need to know to get from Point A to Point B.”
“What’s Point A and Point B, then?”
Wallis smiled, grateful that Ned was trying to work with her at all.
“We start at St. Stephen’s and get our instructions from there.”
“Is this like when you helped Will and Trey get out of town?” asked Ned, referring to the Schaeffer boys. “Are we going to see them?”
“I honestly have no idea,” said Wallis. “But I’m actually hoping. A familiar face or two would be a comfort. All I know is we need to get moving, and fast. There are a few people that m
ay be looking for us that don’t have our best interests at heart.”
“That man from the big meeting, the auditorium. From where I saw Uncle Harry. That’s who you mean, don’t you?”
“I do,” said Wallis, nodding, taking a step toward her son. Everything between them was so cautious these days. Wallis found herself overthinking every movement. It all used to be so easy. Once again, she wondered how much of this was the horrible reality that had become their lives, and how much of it was really just her fault.
“Well, then, we better get going,” said Ned, ducking under Wallis’ arm. He made his way to the car and opened the back door and got in, without ever turning back to look at them. Just as quietly, he shut the door and Wallis could see him putting on his seat belt, and sitting back against the seat. She wasn’t sure if this was all a good sign or not and she started to cry. Norman rubbed her arm as he tried to give her a small nudge toward the car.
“You do realize that there is nothing about my life that is where I left it, again.” Wallis stopped walking and pushed away Norman’s arm. “I used to have so much confidence about things. I knew right from wrong and I judged everyone, myself, my mother, based on what I knew.”
“You know, you and Ned are a lot more alike than you realize,” said Norman, trying to get Wallis moving but without success.
“Norman, stop for a moment. This may be the last moment we have together, alone, for a week or more and I can’t walk around with these thoughts swirling in my head, anymore.”
“Okay, but you only have a minute. We can’t get caught out in the open just because you had to tell me how you felt. No offense, love of my life,” he said, making an effort at a small smile.
It only made Wallis cry a little harder. “Duly noted,” she said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “God, I’m so full of self-pity. All I really want to know is if I have screwed up everything, like that needs to be settled right now.”
“Wallis,” Norman whispered, lovingly as he took his wife’s hand. “We do the best we can, all the time and sometimes we really make a mess of things. Add in a family or two that loves to keep some pretty big, hairy secrets and you can see that our operating instructions were faulty to begin with. Look, for right now, we need to go with, it is what it is, because it’s all too much to take in but we have to so that we can keep moving.”
He started to push his wife toward the car again.
“I’m sorry, I know you’re hurting and need to talk. I know Ned is hurting. I know Harriet needs us to sit by her side and just talk to her about the day so she hears a friendly voice. It’s not ideal that none of that is going to happen, yet. But I’m going to make damn sure that we all live long enough to hash it out later, no matter how painful all of that turns out to be. Okay?”
Wallis relented and opened the passenger side door. “I always thought that Ned got his determination from you,” she said.
“Hmmm, no,” said Norman, as he waited till his wife was safely tucked inside and he shut the door, hurrying around the car. He took a quick look around to see if he could see anything suspicious, anyone suddenly pulling into the school’s parking lot before he got in and started the car.
Father Donald was waiting for them when they got to St. Stephen’s and wasted no time giving them the next stop along the Episcopal Church’s idea of an escape route.
“Your mother was a faithful servant watching over this pouch for most of her life. It seems only fitting that you should carry on that legacy, at least for a little while,” said Father Donald, as he carefully laid the pouch in Wallis’ hands.
“What do I do with it?” she asked.
“When you get to your final stop where you’ll be staying till things can calm down here and we can figure out what to do next, you’ll know. Someone will be waiting there for you. Now go.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The squad that had been hunting for Sergeant Kipling wasn’t anywhere to be found. They seemed to have moved on to another area and the time had come.
Tom waited until closer to dawn to give the order for all of them to move out by foot. They were taking Sergeant Kipling with them. Mark woke up Jake so he could say goodbye. The teenager had tried to stay awake but had dozed off and was sitting up in a chair by the window at the top of the house, his head resting on his arm against the ledge of the window.
“Hey, Jake,” he said softly, “it’s time. They’re getting ready to go. Did you want to come see them off?”
Jake roused from his sleep and startled awake. “What? Are they gone?” he asked suddenly standing upright, almost knocking over the chair.
“No, they’re waiting to say goodbye. It’s okay. You have a moment. Come on, let’s go say goodbye.”
They found the small band of men standing with Ruthie and Peter, smiling and watching Ruthie entertain them with her idea of dancing.
Sergeant Kipling stepped out from the group and extended his hand to Jake. “You saved my life,” he said, “and probably everyone else’s life here. You were a very brave soldier.”
Mark bristled at hearing his son called a soldier but stayed quiet when he saw Jake smile and grab the Sergeant’s hand to give it a vigorous shake.
“Not so hard,” said the Sergeant, smiling. “Still recovering and we have a lot of terrain to cover in the snow on foot.”
“Sorry,” said Jake, letting go of his hand.
“Not a problem, you have a good grip there. Your dad must be really proud of you.”
Jake looked back at Mark who smiled at him, trying to get the worry off of his face.
“Management has lost the war,” said Tom. “Something happened in Virginia that set off a chain of events. That’s probably why that squad has disappeared. For now, things are going to quiet down, we hope. But the Sergeant is right, Jake. You and your family made it possible for us to get to this point. Without you, the orders to move forward wouldn’t have been given because I wouldn’t still be alive. We owe you a debt of gratitude that we may never be able to repay.”
“Leave us in peace, that’s all we ask,” said Mark.
“Dad,” started Jake, surprised. He turned back to Tom. “I was thinking of coming with you.”
“No,” said Mark, shaking his head vigorously, “Not a chance. You will be going to school and then college before you make those kinds of choices.”
“It’s alright, Jake. Your dad is right. He’s a good man,” said Tom. “Listen to him. Taking care of your family and creating a life with those you love right around you is all that matters. Not all of us get that choice. If you’re one of the lucky ones, hold onto it. Otherwise, everyone else’s sacrifice has a little less meaning.”
Everyone gathered their gear and were heading out into the night as the sun barely started to rise over the far peak. Mark pulled Tom aside for a moment, away from the others.
“Are you sure the war is ending?” he asked.
“There is every indication. You know, there will never be a formal surrender like in other wars. This was never an official war. There will never be an official end. But they’ve lost too many key people to continue and something has happened to whoever was pulling the string from within Management. Everyone is headed home, from both sides. Now, we all have to learn to live as neighbors again and go back to what’s left of our lives.”
“How do you do that?”
“That is what the Circle is about to find out. There are ideas about how to be the group in charge and we will finally get the chance to put them into action. That’s where we will really find out if we’re any different from Management and can lead without having to take away choices. We will see.”
“Try not to ever bother us again, okay?” said Mark, putting out his hand to say goodbye.
Tom laughed and said, “I will do my best. There’s so much to do when I get back. I wish you were coming with us. The Circle will get the chance to fill a lot of key roles all over the country and you could write your own ticket. That last ope
ration left a lot of empty Management slots and they don’t have replacements, but we do.”
“No, thank you. I’ve been on that merry go round and I’m not getting back on at any price. Besides, you saw my son, Jake. He wants to be a part of the action too much. I’d prefer to change his mind in the time that I have left.”
The group slipped away quietly, Jake still trying to negotiate at least crossing the woods with them to show them the quickest route. Mark never relented and Jake watched from the top window for as long as he could, telling himself that someday he was going to be the one to lead the expedition.
The election came and went and President Hayes won, as expected with a wide margin as the waves of violence that rolled across the country simmered down. Everyone started to feel better about keeping things just the way they were. A mood of general optimism hit the country.
Fred Bowers was still in the wind and the upper cells of the Circle had talked about sending out teams to try and locate him. He knew too much.
But President Hayes had said that being President ought to count for something and in the end ordered everyone to stand down and leave Fred Bowers alone. He trusted the man with his life and knew they had more to fear from chasing him than from letting him disappear.
There were still bigger worries.
Reverend Michael had barely survived his wounds this time but the nursing staff at Henrico Doctors Hospital found it difficult to keep the old man quiet and in his bed. He was insistent on speaking
Even though he was on pain killers that should have knocked him out cold, he kept insisting instead that he had to speak to someone he kept calling a keeper.
“Keeper of what?” asked a nurse.
Tom Weiskopf made his way to Reverend Michael’s bedside as quickly as he could where the minister told the Keeper about the death of his brother, Harry. Tom had felt a mixture of relief and regret. At least in the end, Harry was a hero and he would make sure to tell Norman that when he had to break the news.
