Binky stepped up to the man and, in a flash, he pressed a pistol against the man's head. John automatically had his gun in his hand a second later. Even Simca pulled out a small pistol, although John had no idea where she was carrying it in her tight top and shorts.
"Put those away. There are six of us. There's nothing you can do. We are a bigger force. You shoot me and five guys shoot you. The odds are against you. Two to one. "
Simca's gun went off and John decided that nothing he could do would make matters worse, but failure to do anything could be disastrous. So, he pulled the trigger, dropping a second man. Three shots were fired from the lodge and the other three men fell before they could aim their weapons.
"That's the strange thing about odds," said Binky, still holding a gun against the man's head. "They are always changing. You can't count on them. One minute the odds are in your favor and the next, they are against you. They play no favorites, those odds. I suppose that's why they are called odd."
"You won't get away with this. We are with the government."
"Your friends were with the government," said Simca, pointing at the men on the ground. "You are the only one left and you are in a bad situation." She stopped talking and frisked him, finding a gun and a wallet. "Let's go up to the lodge and talk." She turned to look at John. "As I understand it, you are a whiz with drugs. They say you can make a mute man sing like a canary."
"Listening to stories, again, are you? Well, we all have our gifts. Let's go." John pushed his revolver into the man's ribs and nodded toward the lodge.
Binky escorted the man up the driveway as John and Simca followed behind.
"Why did you shoot him?"
"You said these things always end badly. If you are as good as everyone says with your little chemistry set, then we can obtain some information from him. You're a spy. You value information. If we waited for him to come back and we shot all of them then, we'd receive no info and wouldn't know what to expect or when to expect it. And even worse, we'd spend the next week or two or three fretting and worrying. Tossing and turning every night. Jumping at every noise. I don't like fretting and worrying and I like doing other things than tossing and turning at night. I prefer to get on with things. Bring the pot to a boil and see what happens. This way, we save time. Finish this debacle and straighten everything up before the next one hits. As his five friends died so easily, he's seen that we're serious and he'll be willing to talk."
"He's also seen that we're crazy as hell and we're likely to kill him, whether he says anything or not. He has no reason to talk."
"If your chemistry set doesn't work, I'll give him a reason," she said with a wink and a smile.
"Let's try the drugs first. I'm not big on torture."
"You're squeamish," she said running her hand up his side and tickling him. "That's so cute. How did you survive this long? You must have many good friends."
"I had many. Not so many now."
As they arrived at the lodge, Pierre was standing by the doorway with the sniper rifle Cho had taken from the man planning to attack the Retirement Home in High Gap.
"Nice shot, Pierre. Or shots."
"One was Chung's shot. Binky said you would need some backup. What are you going to do with this man?"
"Chung, grab a rope," said John pushing the man onto the floor of the porch and up against a support post. When Chung returned, John tied the man to the post. He tore off the man's sleeve, baring his arm.
"We are going to question him. Would you like to make the injections or would you prefer that I do it?"
"I will do it. I am adjusting to our new morality. I had many problems in the early days, but I now understand that life has changed and we have to do what must be done to survive. C'est dommage. When I became a doctor, I wanted so much to save lives."
Simca put her hand on Pierre's arm. "You are saving lives now, ours and yours. If you don't save your own life, you can't save the life of anyone else, n'est pas? This is not the end. This is a new beginning. This will be better, later, but for now as you say, we have to do what we have to do."
"Oui. C'est vrai," he said with a smile.
Marceau was looking out the window and her smile quickly turned to a frown.
John was beginning to understand that Simca was not just a pretty face with a nice body. She was smart and well suited to the current environment. In other words, a survivor. At first he thought she was air-headed, but the more he watched her, the more she showed how intelligent and wise she really was, without being pretentious. Sometimes even sensitive as she was with Pierre. But also, brutal. She didn't hesitate to shoot that man. She just came to a conclusion and acted on it. Quite logical, and emotionless. Also, she was calculating, counting on John and Binky for backup, as well as the people back at the lodge. It was a gamble that paid off, this time.
Pierre started with a drug that would reduce the man's inhibitions and later make the man forget his last few hours. Sometimes that worked. John asked him his name and his address, but the man was determined to be uncooperative.
"We are worried about losing what little we have. We want to find out what is going to happen to us. That's all. What was your next step either if we filled out the forms or if we didn't? We've had a hard life. You have to understand."
"I do understand. You are a band of murderers. You killed five of my people. Without blinking. You are going to kill me. I won't tell you anything. The government will come for you and blow away your little camp with one press of a button."
"We don't normally do things like that. But, you were rude and you were becoming belligerent. We are only trying to survive. To survive this long, we've had to do many things we didn't want to do and you are forcing us to do some more things we won't like. I'm going to dream some bad dreams over this. Our life hasn't been easy and you were going to make it worse."
"You can't fight the government. It's too strong and there are only a handful of you."
Fred looked at John and raised his eyebrows.
Simca walked over and slapped the man's face, hard. "My friend here is soft. I'm not. He may not like what is going to happen to you, but I don't bloody care." She reached down, grabbed the man's crotch and squeezed. Tears ran from his eyes and finally he screamed and she let go. "You really should answer my friend's questions."
"Good cop, bad cop. Is that your game?"
"No. We play no game. He's a nice guy and I'm an asshole. That is all there is to it. We just met. We make a great team. He understands kindness and compassion. I understand fear and pain." She slapped the man's face again, harder than before. Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth.
John nodded to Pierre, who made another injection.
Twenty minutes later, John slapped the man's face gently. "Wakey, wakey. Time for us to talk. Who do you work for?"
"The government."
"Which part of the government?"
"The Forest Service. I'm a Forest Ranger."
"Really," said John. He turned to look at Pierre and Simca. "I didn't see that coming."
"He had pine needles stuck in the trim of his vehicle," said Binky.
Simca smiled at John.
"So why are you here, giving us questionnaires. Shouldn't you be out in the forest, putting out forest fires?"
"We were there when the virus hit. We stayed up in the mountains. Under orders from the government. The government is still in the bunkers. Most of the Army and Air Force are gone. The Marines, Navy and Coast Guard are on their ships and they aren't coming ashore. We were given the job."
"How many of you are there?"
"This was our whole group. There's one other group."
"In the state?"
"In the east."
"Where are they?"
"Florida."
"You want me to slap him again?"
"No, we've learned all we need. Take him out into the forest."
* * *
The next day, Fred and George returned with the small fla
tbed train car stacked with of fish. It took three trips in the White Warriors to bring back all the fish to the lodge. John insisted they keep the windows open for the trips to minimize fishy odors.
"What's with the cars at the front gate, John?" said George.
"Yeah, John," said Fred. "We were gone and you invited the neighbors over?"
"We had visitors."
"You want us to bury them?"
"No, We took care of that. I wanted you to check the vehicles for some kind of GPS system and for a bug. I'd like to keep the cars, but not if they're traceable. They came from the forestry people."
"Yeah, I saw the pine needles. Looked fresh. Only a few days old. Probably came straight here from their base. They probably also programmed their base into their GPS. And since they're drivin' gasoline-powered vehicles, they must have a tank of gasoline somewhere we could unload. And it must be within the return range of these cars. Maybe also some solar panels."
"Smart, George. But, I thought you had enough panels."
"No such thing," said George. "I'll check the vehicles. If we go to their base, do you want to do it?"
"Yeah. We'll give you a vacation from your vacation. Chung and I can do it, if you can figure out where they came from."
"You probably need a vacation from your -- how should I put this delicately -- activities. Iris says Simca is keepin' you busy."
"I'll leave her here. That will give me a vacation, too."
Fred and George checked the vehicles, three large, black SUV's. They all had GPS systems and they all had their home location programmed in. The vehicles also were all gasoline powered, as the fuel tank had a definite gasoline aroma. George checked the vehicles for bugs and other transmitters and found nothing.
"Exactly how is it that you had a bug detector, George," said Fred.
"When your friends are like John, you buy or build a bug detector. I've removed half a dozen bugs from my cars and from my house over the years."
"John was doing it?"
"Don't know. Either John or whoever was spying on John. That could be just about anybody."
Chapter 74 - A Walk in the Woods
Fred tossed and turned. He couldn't sleep. It was just past midnight and this would be another sleepless night. He pondered about how long it had been since he'd had a good night's sleep. He turned once more. It was obvious that Masako still had feelings for John, even before Cho's death. He had a few good months with her, but he knew it was over. He turned again, opened his eyes and looked around. The window was dark. No moon. He was alone and, for the first time in his life, he felt alone. Sure, he had a good group of friends, much like in the army, but he was ready for a life with a wife and kids. He shook the thought from his mind because life was never going to be like that for him. The world had fallen apart before he could enjoy it and before he could become setup for it. Finally giving up on sleep, he dressed, reached for a map and walked over to the lodge and to the office where he found John at his desk.
When John saw him, he dropped his pencil onto the desk and looked up. " 'Sup? Having trouble sleeping?"
"You know me. Always on my guard." It was better than telling John about his real thoughts. "I wanted to update you on the Rangers' cars. They're all clean. No bugs. I marked the location of their home base on this map," Fred said, removing the pencil and placing the map on the desk. He tapped his finger on the destination. "Also, GPS coordinates are written on the top of the map. It's also on the car's GPS. George said you were taking one of their cars, that right?"
"Thought we'd take one of their vehicles with a trailer and a few empty gasoline drums. George is setting it up now. I'll talk to Chung and then rest some before we go. I want to leave tomorrow, at dawn. I wish we could take the Dark Demon, but it's too far."
"So, what exactly is your objective for this trip? Must be important. Gasoline?" Fred rubbed his right eye. He was tired, but he knew sleep was not possible.
"You need to go to bed."
"What for? Tossing and turning? You're one to talk."
"All right, Fred, no lectures. But gasoline is important. But, mostly, we need more intel. Did that guy tell us the truth? Are any other government agents nearby? Are we in danger of an attack by the government? And most important, when? How much time do we have? A day or a week or a month? If we don't have much time, we have to start our bug-out, ASAP. But, the faster we pack, the greater the likelihood we'll do something stupid or forget something important."
Fred paced in front of the desk. John was making him nervous with all the questions and doubt. "You don't think your truth serum worked?"
"No such stuff exists. The drugs usually work, but not always. I don't think these guys were practiced liars, but we definitely pissed off this last guy. I can't blame him. I'd be pissed if I were in his shoes. And when he started talking, the words just gushed out. That's usually a sign the subject is spinning a yarn. Telling too much. Not really trying to withhold anything, but mixing truth and fiction. Mix in enough fiction and the truth is hard to find. For the sake of our future, it's important to know what the government is doing and when. Did you guys find any phones or radios in the cars?"
"No, nothing. Completely clean, like I said." Fred crinkled his brow. "Odd, now that you mention it. Should have been some kind of radio." Fred finally took a seat on the sofa.
"Well, they communicated with the government somehow. That's how they found out about us. Either they use satellite phones or some kind of radio communication. If it's not in the cars, then it's at their base. I'd like to find the equipment and maybe bring it back to listen in on government communications. Might help us find out when they are coming and how much time we have. I told George to include some tools to take down antennas or disconnect them."
Fred rose to leave. "If I don't see you before you go, then good luck. If you don't communicate with us, we'll come looking for you in four days. Make sure you take enough food and some emergency camping gear."
John snapped his fingers, then scribbled a note to himself. "Right. Good idea. I won't use the satellite phones except in an emergency because I worry that the government will be able to listen in or at least to detect our locations. And, while I'm gone, get some rest."
"You promised no lectures."
***
Before the sun rose and as soon as travel was possible without using headlights, John slid into the driver seat of the government-issued SUV and Chung climbed into the passenger seat. Since the vehicle was giant by Dark Demon standards, John had room to bring everything he thought he could possibly need in any circumstance. As they drove through the winding drive toward the front gate, John glanced over at his companion and noticed that Chung was sitting sideways, on the black leather seat, fidgeting with his hands, clasping them and unclasping them.
"You doing alright, Chung? Sleep well?"
"Yeah, I'm good." Chung paused briefly and took a shallow breath. "Do we really need all this stuff, Big Guy? I thought we were going to pick up some gas and maybe a transmitter. Four hours there, one hour to grab what we want and four hours back. You brought enough gear for a two week camping trip." He paused again, rubbing his hands together. "And enough guns and ammo to assault a police station."
John raised an eyebrow. "Maybe in China. Assaulting a police station here would take far more stuff."
"But, why do we need so much?" Chung's voice was more high pitched than usual. "I thought this was going to be easy. If we're going to find trouble, we should go back and bring Fred and Pierre. Plenty of space for them in this thing."
John shook his head. "They are guarding the fort. It doesn't matter whether or not we make it back if the place we're coming back to isn't there. We're in trouble if someone takes over the lodge. That happened once before and we lost our security man and a ton of food. Almost killed us all. Also, it never works out as simple as it should. Not afraid of a little trouble, are you?"
Chung bit his bottom lip and crossed his arms defensively. "I just want to
be sure you're telling me everything. I've been honest with you. How can I be sure you're being honest with me?" Chung looked over at him, his eyes asking a question.
John slowed the car, as he looked back at Chung. "You don't trust me?"
"No, no. It's not that. I just think you are busy and preoccupied with running the group and the lodge and maybe you forgot to tell me some things. Some important things. Did you?"
You know everything I know and now you know everything I suspect. I'm just being careful. If we don't make it back, they will come looking for us and that will leave our home unprotected." John hit one of the many potholes in the road and let out an oath before continuing. "Although you haven't been there long, I assume you consider it to be your home, too. You weren't planning on continuing your travels, were you?"
At that question, Chung uncrossed his arms, put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his seat.
"No, I'm not planning to go anywhere else. You really want to know why I came here? It's a stupid reason, now that I think about it. I came here because we had such a good time in China. Damn, those were good days. I'll always remember those parties. Wine, women, song, food. If anybody could make this new world into something good, it would be you, Big Guy. That's why I'm here. I figured my chances were better here. Better chances to stay alive and better chances for a nice life. And a good time." Chung smiled and looked over at John. "You think life will ever be that good again?"
John never thought much about the others yearning for the old days, but he knew they did and he knew it would never be the same. He had to convey that to Chung, but without causing him to lose his spirit and become depressed.
"Maybe. But our definition of good may change. The days like we had in China are over. I had free money over there. Access to drugs, alcohol, women. All illegal, of course. For now, life will be all work. Later, it will be better. You know, they all act like I'm the boss and I'm not required to work, but if I didn't, sooner or later, I'd have a revolt on my hands. If you stay, you'll work, too. The biggest jobs are cutting wood, scavenging, farming and doing general maintenance of the buildings, cars and equipment.
The Weak Shall Die: Complete Collection (Four Volume Set) Page 75
