"Go back to McDonald's. Get Big Mac," she said giving him a big hug. "Maybe last one."
"I'm serious, Cho. That was terrible. What's next? This is important."
"Last Big Mac important. Best to not miss. John be sorry for rest of life. Already have enough to be sorry for."
Chapter 21 - A Visitor
After dinner, everyone gathered in the living room at the lodge watching the news on television.
"And on the international scene, we have been reporting about an outbreak of a virus in China for the past several weeks. We have no confirmed reports, but reliable sources say that over one percent of the population of China, that would be over ten million people, have died. In addition, some sources claim that ten percent of the population, one hundred million, is now sick with the virus and completely incapacitated.
"Sources are saying that many cases have now been confirmed in Europe, England and in the United States. The CDC has been investigating and found that a team of people employed by a German company left China before the restrictions were put in place. They travelled from China to Germany and all of them have died there with the virus."
John looked at the gathering, at their startled faces. "I know who they are talking about. A group was visiting the computer chip factory. Their company sold some equipment to the Chinese and those guys were at the factory for only a couple days to set it up. I never talked to them, but I saw them coming and going several times. They left the day before we did." John glanced about the group, especially at Cho.
"Yes. Cho make good plan. The best. Almost best. Still sad about Mama," she said, mopping her eyes with a napkin.
"Me too," said John.
Cho looked back and said, "No three way …"
"You don't have to keep saying that," John interrupted. "But she was hot," he said under his breath.
Once again, all eyes were riveted to the television and the dreadful news.
"Over ten thousand have died in Germany and over one hundred thousand are believed to be infected, with numbers climbing hourly. All hospitals have set up triage tents outside and all hospitals have patients lined into the streets."
Everyone in the group looked blank-faced at each other. Each person's eyes moving from person to person. Masako's eyes were glassy. Marceau blotted her eyes. Even George, the normally calm Texan, and Charles, the emotionless Scot, just stared. Finally, it was sinking in and it affected all of them from the strongest in the group to the weakest.
Marceau clasped her hands to her mouth. "Mon Dieu. Papa was right. I was certain he was wrong, this would all end one day, and I would go home. I thought it would be a chance to see America and I would have a little vacation. A weird little vacation where I am working all the day and never have a vacation. But no, it is the beginning of the end as he said. I am sorry, Papa. I should have believed you." She said looking upward, toward the heavens. She took her napkin and began to blot her eyes, then gave up and sobbed into her hands.
Pierre put his arms around her and said, "I believed him. We were not the same kind of people, but he was a great man and I respected him. I am sorry he was right, but I am not surprised. He was a great spy and a heroic man."
Marceau looked up at him and smiled.
John's worrying shifted into high gear. He thought, I want them to be concerned and alert, but not panicking. I wasn't sure my leadership skills were good enough to handle this. Now is the time I find out. Now is the time they all find out.
"Yes, Marceau," said John. "The end of life as we know it. As Cho says, the end of the bad world, but the beginning of the next world, a new world. The Phoenix will arise from the ashes and we will give it flight. It is not just a time for sorrow, but a time for hope. We have a big responsibility, the future of the world. It will be what we make it and we need to make it good. Better than it was. The best it can be. We have the right people here to make a great new world. I'm sure of it." John looked around the room, making eye contact with each person, and finally with Marceau.
"Ah, oui, Jean, I believe you are right," Marceau said, drying her eyes and forcing a smile. "I am ready to help make a better world." She raised her head and looked up. "Papa, you will be proud of our new world and me. I promise."
The others chimed in with words of encouragement and Elspeth raised her glass and, in a more sober tone than she normally had, said, "To a new world. May God help us make it the best world ever."
John shifted in his chair, hoping he said what was needed. But to move their minds away from the past and solidly into the future, they needed to have something to hold their attention. "To make that better world, we'll have to keep a few things in mind. Safety is most important. Even if we don't have an epidemic here this week, we could see the beginning of panic buying. From now on, two of us should be in each group. No more lone wolves." John looked at Charles and Fred. "One of those in each group should be well-armed and will handle security. The other will shop. With eleven of us, we will have five groups of two, with one floater. Three groups shop and the others sleep. Pile the goods in the barn when you get back and we'll move them out as we can."
"You want the floater to join whatever group is convenient?" said Fred.
"Yes, but the van group if possible. To make sure we have enough supplies, from now on, we do continuous runs to stock up. That will reduce our sleeping time, but it should only be for a few days. We're all strong. We can handle it. The vehicles are always in use. Each group shops until the vehicle is full or six hours and returns, then the next group takes over. Some have questioned us and our motives because they overheard us talking amongst ourselves. Now, it is more crucial to watch what we say in public. Also, to make sure our list has everything, those of us in the SUV's should just look around the stores and grab anything we might need. The van people can concentrate on the lists and buying in bulk."
"Those of us not sleeping, what should we be doing?" said Marceau.
"Protection of what we have is of the greatest importance and it will continue to be so. It doesn't help to buy more things, if others plunder what we have. Your first duty is protection. One person should always be on guard duty here at the lodge. If you have any problem, do what you have to, then call one of us. Or all of us. Any call for help has the highest priority. We all drop what we are doing and run back to help. "Second, the things we bring back have to be stored in an organized manner. The people making runs will leave their purchases in the barn. Those not sleeping or working can take them to the lodge and to the cabins we're using for storage. Then, they must be organized. Put up some signs so those of us looking in the future can find things easily. Maybe even make a paper map and put it in each storage area."
"But, Jean, I will still have to cook."
"Marceau, you should spend some time developing simple meals to minimize your time cooking. At least for the next few days. Cereal for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. I really hate to say this, but we don't have to have gourmet meals every meal." Looking at Marceau, he said, "You don't know how much I regret saying that."
Marceau smiled and said, "Pierre said that we should prepare bug-out bags for everybody, in case we have to leave quickly."
"Yes. Thanks Pierre. That's a good idea. Two days of food, water, ammo and whatever else makes sense. You'll find lots of suggestions on the internet."
* * *
After four days in their new home and over thirty trips to the stores, everyone was tired, sleep deprived and nervous. After the dinner was over, John stood up, a bit wobbly, tapped his glass with his fork and waited for quiet. He looked around the group, trying to gauge their level of anxiety. As he looked, he unconsciously fiddled with his pencil, rubbed his hands on his slacks and then rubbed his neck. His own anxiety was at a high level and he knew it. He always hated standing in front of people, making speeches, but he had gathered these people.
He always thought his nervousness in crowds singled him out and made him a target. But, he had no need to fear these people. He had
been taught that the leader was the first one people targeted when they had dissension in the group. He pushed the thought out of his mind and began.
"It's the end of another hard day, folks. I hate to break the mood and bring up work, but it's as good a time as any. I know you are all tired and want some sleep. We'll make this short. George you're the quartermaster, what's our status?"
"Today, we made three trips with the van and six with the SUV's. Most were out of town in Reynolds, about forty miles away, two were local. Reynolds has over a hundred thousand population. We figured nobody would pay us any attention in the big city. It also has a good selection of special purpose stores. We brought back a mix of food, clothing, fuel, ammo and supplies. With the ammo shortage, we can only find shotgun and rifle shells locally. We have to order the pistol bullets online. And we'll have to take what we find. Marceau is updating the inventory. Our non-food supplies are about seventy percent complete, but food supplies are only about thirty percent prepared, with ten of that done today. We assumed you would want the bullet inventory kept in the spare bedroom upstairs."
John shifted his weight and leaned on the table with his hands. "That's not good. Not good at all. The panic could come any day or someone in town could die from the plague. Then, we'll be in deep crap and probably starve to death. We have to get more things and faster. You'd better plan to make each day's shopping closer. At least for a few days. Stay in town and don't travel as much. I hope we have seven days before the panic, but I doubt it."
"Sure. I'll make tomorrow's shopping in town. The van holds quite a bit, but some of our supplies, like toilet paper and bedding take space. With that almost finished, food should go more quickly."
"It better. Starving to death will be no fun." John said, as he eased back into his chair, using his napkin to wipe the sweat from his face. He turned his attention to Fred and the eyes of the group followed his. "How's the progress on the greenhouse and the solar panels, Fred?"
"Doing well, John. Most of the supports for the panels are in place. The electrical from the panels to the basement of the lodge is in place." He leaned into the group as he saw the women's attention waning. "The panels, inverters, charge controllers and batteries are scheduled to be delivered in two days. The greenhouse is almost finished. Probably tomorrow. As soon as it is, we start planting seedlings. I used to know a guy who started his seeds in plastic cups, inside. I've already planted a number of those in the front window in my cabin and in the supply cabins. Enough to start us eating out of the garden a few days early. Reduce the need for supplies by a few days."
"Does anyone else have any other ideas about the garden? Our life will depend on the garden and on preserving what we don't eat."
No one said anything, until Fred again spoke up. "We'll need fertilizer. This is one of those things that we can't have too much of. Next year, we will need it and it won't be available. Also, seedlings grow faster if their roots are warmed. I'll build a few shelves in the greenhouse for that. Anybody seeing any heating pads, grab them. As many as you can find."
"Sure, Fred. But, let's worry about that in a few days. Let's spend the next few days getting mostly food in the van. Just in case."
Fred and George looked at each other with raised eyebrows, then jotted a few notes.
"OK, anybody see any signs of panic today?" His question was answered with silence. "No. Well, stay calm. We don't want to precipitate anything bad. Keep your eyes open and be nice. Remember. Don't talk too much. Loose lips …. You know. What are the plans for tonight, Fred?"
"For night trips, we have added a third person to each group for security. You and Cho are in the van with Harry on security. Tom and Elspeth are in the white SUV with Charles on security and Masako and Marceau are in the black one with Pierre on security. That only leaves me and George guarding the whole compound here. But I think the risk is outweighed by our need to stock up on supplies."
Charles smiled big. "Don't worry. No one will give us any trouble."
"Same security code?"
"No, John, after anyone turns onto the driveway, flash your headlights four times, wait a few seconds and four times again. Whoever is here will flash the porch light once to acknowledge."
John thought for a second and commented, "If anyone forgets the code, I assume they won't be blown away."
"No, but they will have at least two guns pointed at them and the barn door won't be open."
* * *
The night's prepping went without a hitch and in spite of his late night return and general nervousness, John was up early the next morning. He had been troubled by sleeplessness. Too much responsibility was wearing him down.
"It's nice in here, Fred. The sun is bright. Even a little warm for early May."
"The seeds also like it warm, John. Actually, they like their roots warm. That's why I put the black mulch on the pots and the heating pads under them."
John looked around the greenhouse with its white painted wooden beams and glass panels. He stopped looking around when his eyes landed on Fred.
"Fred. I'm worried. You did a good job, but, be honest with me." John stopped for a moment, looking around at the tilled ground inside the greenhouse with a few sprouts coming up. "Is this all going to work? I'm no farmer. I don't know crap about farming. You know that. My father had a little garden out back, but it wasn't enough to feed us. And to make things worse, I never paid much attention to it. He wanted me to help in the garden, but I did everything I could to get out of it. Now, I'm sorry about that. He's gone and I can do nothing about it. I could have learned much more from my father, but I didn't. John looked up into the sky and said, "Sorry dad." A tear filled his eye and ran down his cheek.
"John, maybe you should take a page from Cho's book. Do the best you can and don't worry about it. We're pretty resourceful and innovative. Whatever happens, we'll figure something out."
"Yeah, I know. But, this whole project is a big gamble. If my father didn't harvest enough corn from the garden, he just went to the store and bought some more. No gamble involved. We're a bunch of city people trying to survive by doing things we know nothing about. You never had a garden, did you?"
"No, afraid not. Too busy playing football and chasing after girls. I did enjoy coming here on vacation. Maybe because it was different. I enjoyed hunting, but no. I'm not a farmer, either. Everything I know came out of books or off the internet or from my military training."
John stroked the back of his neck, giving it a hard massage. "I worry about that. Not about you, but about us all. Just a bunch of city folk trying to cheat death out of one more day by pretending we're something we're not. A year ago was the time to start learning about farming. Not now."
"But a year ago, you didn't know this was going to happen."
"That's why they call it prepping. You don't wait until the last minute. You do something every day."
"Cho says you worry about everything. Marceau knows about plants and gardening. She's the one who suggested the heated shelves. And, even though George grew up on a ranch, they raised a small garden, a few vegetables. He knows some things. I've downloaded hundreds of pages on farming from the internet. I bought a dozen books. Besides, what's the choice? We'll be lucky to stockpile enough food to last for six months. Some things, like rice, we'll never be able to have again. That's rough. We'll do the best we can and we'll learn and do better next time."
John stared through the glass wall to the cabins beyond, not really seeing them. His mind was on survival as it had been since day one in China. He saw his ghostly face reflected in the glass, stirring memories of that day at the office. He didn't want the people he had gathered together to become those ghosts he'd first noticed in China and dreamed about every day since. But what else could he do?
"If we have a next time, Fred. The problem is that we don't know a missed opportunity until long after it's missed. Like you say, no matter how much we know, we won't be able to have any more rice. This year, we can center our diet on
beans and rice, but next year will be different."
"Next year, we'll have beans and potatoes. I like potatoes better anyway. You should have more faith in your people, in all of us." He patted John on the back. "They are all thinking the same thing you are. Each time they go shopping, they buy things for the list, but they buy other stuff, too. Look through the storerooms sometime. Elspeth has squirreled away cases and cases of whisky and boxes and boxes of wine, which were never on the list."
"Yeah, but will she share?" John said, with a grin.
"Ha. Sure. She tends to be charitable when she's plastered. Which is about every night."
Cho opened the door and eased in carrying a rifle and binoculars. "So, this where you hide."
"Hiding in a greenhouse only works if everybody else is blind," said John. "What's up?"
"Someone out back. In woods. Look this way," she said, handing John the binoculars. "Maybe thief. We go shoot?" she said, raising up the rifle in her hand.
"I don't see anyone. No, I do see something." John's calm voice became agitated. "A bush moved. Yes, a person. Moving to the left. Stopping. Can't see a face. Feet. Bushes moving. They've stopped. Wonder what they want? Why are they watching us? Do they know something?"
"Let me see." Fred said and John handed him the binoculars. "You're right."
"Look like person. Only one. We can do this. No need Pierre."
"Give me the rifle and I'll go check," said John, grabbing the rifle.
"Get own rifle. This mine," she said, jerking it back.
Fred smiled and went to a cabinet in the corner and pulled out a rifle and a shotgun. "Take your choice."
"You're better with the rifle. I'll ride shotgun. What's the strategy? Flank them?"
"Yeah, you and Cho go left. I'll go right, around the solar farm. And don't point that scattergun at the solar farm or the greenhouse. Or me."
John and Cho went back around the lodge and the barn, then crept low across the open ground to the forest and hid behind the trees. John heard the crunch of leaves just ahead. Then another and another. Then, the snap of a twig. This spy was doing a bad job of not being detected, John thought. Wouldn't have made it the first year in spy summer camp. At the next snap, John looked around the tree and saw a woman. She saw him and began to run. Cho fired a bullet into the air and Fred, a hundred feet away, did the same.
The Weak Shall Die: Complete Collection (Four Volume Set) Page 22
