And just as Isaiah, neither was Martin a fool.
Chapter 17
“Logan, we’ve talked about this. I think it would be helpful to everyone else if you would participate.”
Julia gave him her stern look. It usually worked, but not today. Logan sat next to her in the circle of folding chairs. He seemed to be fascinated with a speck on the freshly-swept carpet of the hospital’s conference room where Julia had hung her virtual “Psychiatric Help” sign. It was her second group therapy session, and all seats were occupied. People were struggling with mood and behavioral issues, depression, anxiety, and insomnia. She spent her free time in the library/commissary with Marilyn, reading everything she could find on the subject of psychiatric therapies.
The recommended treatment usually included a laundry list of pharmaceuticals – not an option these days. So she was making do with patience, empathy, and gut instinct.
“Logan, use your words, please.”
A long moment later he raised his head, seeming to just realize where he was. He studied a few of the faces in the circle, and skipped over others. Finally his gaze came to rest on Julia. She realized how tired he looked and wondered if Dani was pushing him too hard. Yes, he was physically a man, but he was still a child in all the ways that mattered. She knew from their road trip together that he required more sleep than an average adult, and she knew he was getting less than eight hours a day.
She would talk to Dani about that.
“Sometimes I wish it was just you and me, Julia. Remember how much fun we had in Yellowstone? Then sometimes I think I might need to go away and be by myself again. Like I was before I found you at your house, when your car wouldn’t start.”
“Yes, I remember that day, Logan. But you’re much safer here than you were by yourself.”
The messy blond head nodded. “But I did okay back then. I got to shoot my guns more than I do now. I had Twinkies too, and they don’t have any of those here.”
“Maybe we can ask Pablo to look for Twinkies.”
“I bet he won’t find them. I think everybody likes them as much as I do and they’ve eaten all of them up.”
Chuck’s son snickered. Logan’s blink-less stare shifted to the large boy. Julia recognized the expression; she knew what was coming next.
“You’re black and orange. Nice! You’re Halloween colors! I’ve never seen that before. I love Halloween.”
“What the hell are you talking about? My shirt is blue. Don’t you even know your colors? That’s baby stuff, like numbers and shapes.” It wasn’t a man’s voice yet, but was in that discordant, in-between stage.
Julia’s heart sank when she saw Logan smile.
“You sound funny. Like a cartoon boy.”
“Eat me, dipshit.” The light eyes narrowed to slits of chipped ice.
“That’s enough, Bradley,” Chuck said, placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder. Julia noticed how small it looked there.
“Let’s shift gears,” she said quickly. “Let’s talk about anxiety and the ways in which we can address it. I think just about everyone here is dealing with that, right?”
All but two heads nodded. Julia had been surprised to see Natalie and the new man, Calvin, show up at her group therapy session. Neither seemed to be struggling, but hers was an open-door, no-questions-asked policy.
“There are several things you can do when you feel anxious, or when you feel a panic attack coming on. First, take ten deep breaths, slowly breathing in through your nose and exhaling out through your mouth. Let’s practice doing that, shall we?”
For the next minute everyone was occupied with the process of breathing. Julia saw Thoozy wink at her from across the circle. She appreciated his offer to be here during these sessions. He seemed to have a calming effect on people, herself included. He could always be counted on for helpful advice, even when it wasn’t asked for.
She winked back.
“I know I feel better. Meditation is also an excellent tool. And of course talking to others about your feelings is one of the best things you can do, so kudos for everyone’s attendance tonight. I’m glad you’re all here. Just remember, there’s no shame in sharing. Saying what’s troubling you, and expressing your fears doesn’t make you weak. It makes you feel better. And better is stronger.”
“I think that young man over there is plenty strong enough,” Thoozy said with a grin, indicating Bradley whose expression remained hostile as he continued to glare at Logan.
Appreciative laughter was interrupted by the squawk of Logan’s walkie-talkie. A male voice emerged through the static.
“Code red, western checkpoint!”
Logan launched himself from his chair and toward the doorway. Chuck, who was also on the security crew, was right behind him.
As an afterthought, Logan yelled over his shoulder, “Don’t worry, Julia! I’ll be careful!” The next moment he was gone.
“What’s that all about?” the new man, Calvin, asked.
“It means there is a group of at least five people approaching the western barricade. That was a call to the members of the security crew who are not currently on duty.”
She had helped Logan go over the protocols many times. She did not want him to fail the town, but even more, she did not want him to fail Dani. Something about that ferocious young woman resonated with her. She found herself sitting up straighter in her presence, as crazy as that sounded.
“Perhaps I should go see about helping.” The man’s voice was cultured and southern, evoking images of cigar-smoking gentlemen in white suits and sun-hatted ladies sipping mint juleps, or whatever it was those southerners sipped.
“I wouldn’t advise that. The security crew is capable. Dani has systems in place to deal with just about any contingency.”
The man’s smile blazed from within the neat dark beard. “I’m certain that’s true, Miss Julia. She seems quite exceptional, despite her manners.”
Julia arched an eyebrow and gave him her full attention now.
“But she is just a girl,” the pleasant voice continued. “She can’t be much more than twenty. I wonder about this onerous responsibility resting on such young shoulders.”
“Her shoulders are stronger than you realize,” Julia snapped. “And it was my brother who wisely placed that responsibility with her. She could massacre you at chess and kill you with her bare hands. At the same time.”
The man’s laughter managed to sound contrite.
“I apologize, ma’am. I’m new here. Just trying to get a feel for the lay of the land. I mean no disrespect to you or the young lady in question. Is she a relative of yours? I can’t help but notice a resemblance.”
Julia’s eyes narrowed. “No relation, but you’ll find we’re a close-knit group here in Liberty, much like a family. And while we sometimes welcome newcomers,” she gave the word a delicate emphasis, “we tend to rely on those with proven skills and unquestionable loyalty.”
“Calvin, please don’t go starting trouble now,” Natalie interjected. “You’re the new guy here. Be respectful of that.”
Julia heard the patronizing tone in Natalie’s voice. She had yet to make up her mind about the woman, and she hadn’t been able to pry any information from Steven. She knew something had happened between them, but Steven was taking the gentlemanly path; if there’d been kissing, he wasn’t telling.
“We’ll end the session early tonight,” she said as she stood, dismissing both Natalie and her apparent beau with a turned back. “I would advise everyone to go home and stay alert. If there’s a problem, you’ll be notified via the town crier.”
“Town crier? Oh my!”
“Calvin!” Natalie punched his arm.
Julia had started toward the door, ushering people on their way out. She turned to address the source of the amused laughter, stopping a ruler’s length from the man’s chest. She was a tall woman. Their eyes locked at roughly the same latitude.
“I don’t know what your experience has b
een since the world ended, sir, but here in Liberty we’ve been reduced to nineteenth century technology. We’re making the most of what resources we have: elbow grease combined with the considerable intellects of some very gifted people. We’re doing better than everyone else left out there, I’d bet. We have food and clean water and we stay warm at night in the relative safety of our beds. If you want to remain here and be a part of that, I suggest keeping your rude comments to yourself and wiping that smug expression off your face.”
The smile blazed again from within the dark beard, but Julia saw a flash of something in the eyes. Something that made her think of euphoric tent revivals and the handling of snakes.
“Again, my apologies, ma’am. I assure you it won’t happen again.”
“Come on, Calvin. Let’s go. Sorry, Julia. I think he’s been on the road too long. We forget how barbaric it can be out there.”
Natalie pulled the man’s arm and dragged him out of the room.
Julia realized her heart was racing and her hands were shaking from a surge of anger-fueled adrenaline. Bradley, Chuck’s large son, paused and spoke in her ear just before he left.
“That man is an asshole,” he said in a low, cracking voice. “If you need any help with him, you let us know. Dad says we have ways of dealing with jerks like that.”
‘We’ was the security crew, of course. Julia contemplated the subtext of the boy’s statement, then wondered if Logan had told her everything that went on at their meetings.
Chapter 18
“Jeff, you cover the three gorillas on the left. Creeper, you have the four on the right. Got ‘em?” Dani’s whisper carried a plume of vapor in the night air.
“Yes.”
“Got ‘em covered!”
Logan was more lucid and animated than she had ever seen him. The thought made her smile. Knowing these two sharpshooters were at her side deepened her confidence in the outcome she envisioned.
People were going to die tonight. But they wouldn’t be her people.
She stepped back from the junk pile that was the western checkpoint and pressed the button on the side of her walkie-talkie.
“Sam, you copy?”
The response was instantaneous. “Copy. It’s just like you said. I see two trying to flank us here on the east. Annie Oakley and I have them in our sights. I don’t want to shoot anyone unless we have to.”
She swallowed down the knee-jerk annoyance. “Wait until you hear from me. Chuck, you copy?”
“Copy that. No activity at the southern checkpoint.”
“Excellent. Winston, you copy?”
One of the security crew’s newest recruits was a forty-year old tax accountant who could shoot a tin can off a tree stump from two football fields away.
“Copy. All clear in the north. I’m moving out now.”
“Good deal. Stay frosty, everyone. The shit’s about to hit.”
She walked around the mountain of rubble and into the line of fire of the seven people who had taken up defensive positions fifty yards in front of her. They had received the obligatory warning shot and the shouted speech, after ignoring the threatening sign.
That mistake was about to bite them in their collective asses.
“Hey stupid fucks! Can you not read, or do you have a death wish?” She felt the follicles on the back of her neck tingle as she was sighted in multiple crosshairs.
“Don’t even think about it. The second your finger begins squeezing those triggers, my guys will blow the tops off your skulls.”
This was the weakest part of her plan. Of course she wore Kevlar under her leather jacket, but it wouldn’t protect her from a head shot.
“I just want to have a chat. Be nice now. Why have you come to our little burg, brandishing weapons and ignoring every attempt we’ve made to dissuade you from forcing your way in? We’re reasonable people. If you’d followed the simple instructions on the sign, the situation would be different now. More’s the pity. I’m interested in your motivation and the confidence in a strategy that compelled you to select force over polite conversation.”
A snicker wafted through the still night air. Seconds ticked by. Despite the forty-degree temperature, she felt dampness in her armpits. Just another couple of minutes...
“Hi, Dani! Long time, no see!”
She couldn’t see the speaker, but she recognized the voice. It was melodic and affable, just as it had been that day at the Best Western when she had recruited Dolores’s help for the rescue mission. She pictured the unfortunate face with its asymmetrical features, and the keen intelligence in the lopsided eyes.
There was nothing dumb about Dumb Dolores.
She had convinced Dani she was on her side, then ratted her out to the misogynist who ran the town. Why she had done so was still a mystery, but the betrayal had almost cost Dani her life.
Dani narrowed her eyes, trying to find the girl with marginal help from the moonlight.
“I bet you’re wondering why I betrayed you that day.” The singsong voice floated out of the gloom.
“I was just now pondering that very thing.”
“The guy who ran the town was my pa. Jacob was my brother.”
Oh shit. She hadn’t seen that coming.
“I thought you said your pa kept you in a woodshed? Didn’t let you go to school?”
A snort wafted over the heads of the invaders. “You’re kind of gullible for such a smart girl. You trusted me way too soon. You thought being friendly and touching my bad hand would make us instant friends. We might have been too, if it hadn’t been for you killing my family.”
As unexpected as the Dolores development was, it wouldn’t change the plan. She just needed to stall for another few minutes.
“They were doing horrible things to those women. Why were you a part of that?” Dani replied.
“Because they were my kin.”
She could hear in the tone that ‘kin’ should have explained everything. Family was a bond strong enough to compel an intelligent girl’s complicity in despicable, heinous acts against other females.
“That’s a damn shame. I wish I could say I’m sorry it ended the way it did, but I’d be lying.”
Her walkie-talkie burped static. She didn’t know it, but she now wore the predatory smile almost everyone in Liberty had come to recognize.
“I think you’re going to be sorry quite soon,” Dolores hollered.
I think you’re going to be sorry in about half a second.
Her left thumb on the hand that had been hiding the Motorola pressed the squelch. Three rifles fired at the same moment, two from behind the debris and one from the northern side of the highway. While Dani had been stalling for time, Winston had utilized a recently-cleared path through the dead cornfield to flank their adversaries. They had been prepared for a frontal assault, not an additional one from behind.
She didn’t bother hitting the pavement because she could see that all seven were down. She hoped to find an eighth body farther to the west.
“Sam, what’s your status?” she said into the walkie-talkie.
“We have the two in custody. There doesn’t seem to be anyone else coming. You’re okay?” She could hear the relief in his voice even through the tinny transmission.
“I’m fine. Chuck?”
“Still clear here.”
“Alice?”
“Still clear in the north. Did Winston make it?”
“Yes. Keep your eyes peeled, Alice. Winston, you stay put. We need to make sure nobody else is out there. Creeper, you come with me,” she said to the junk pile. “Jeff, stay in position.” She had promised Steven his son’s safety would be given top priority, as long as it didn’t compromise a mission. Julia had tried to wrangle the same deal for Logan, but with no luck. All bets were off when it came to the grownups, no matter their mental age.
Logan was beside her the next moment.
“We’re going to proceed with caution,” she told him. “I’m pretty sure they’re all dead
, but someone could be playing possum.”
“Got it,” he said, matching her whisper.
The Sig Sauer was relegated to its back harness and Logan held the Ruger handgun now. She had seen him in action with that thing and knew she was about as safe as she could be, under the circumstances. She reached behind her back, sliding the filigreed revolver from her belt. She was good with the Cattleman, but she was no match for the weirdo walking beside her.
Bodies lay sprawled on the asphalt. She squatted seven times to check seven pulses, knowing it was a superfluous effort. Five men and two women were dead, thanks to her sharpshooters.
There was just one more body to find now.
“You out there, Dolores? Might as well give up. It’ll go better for you.”
Dani’s voice rang out in the cold air. Her ears felt preternaturally tuned to the sounds of the night. She could imagine them swiveling forward, wolf-like, to the hoot of an owl from a leafless oak up ahead. Then toward a crackling of dead cornstalks beside the highway.
“That you at three o’clock, Winston?” she whispered into the walkie-talkie.
“Yes,” came the reply. “Sorry. I had to pee.”
She and Logan proceeded another hundred yards.
“Dolores, you’re only making this harder on yourself. I can have twenty people here in five minutes, beating the bushes for you. If I have to do that, I’ll be more pissed than I already am, which won’t end well for you.”
She breathed in the wintry air, processing the scents of earth, decaying vegetation, blacktop tar, and something else...faint and unpleasant.
The next moment she identified the odor: an unwashed female body. She remembered Dolores’s stench from the Best Western. She also remembered her words: I’m very fast. Nobody even saw me. That’s because I can be invisible. And her own thought at the time: The girl moves like a ghost.
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