“It’s not what I usually wear, Mother.”
“You know I’ve got a couple more interns now. And that new blonde appreciates appearances more than you.” Caroline shook her red curls lightly. “I’ll be fine. You go enjoy playing cop.”
Kat tried to fight down elation and irritation at the same time. By now she ought to have stopped being surprised by her mother—she had gotten to know the woman better. She’d even come up with this strategy herself. Then Tony had agreed that it would work, and he should know.
Kat looked at her watch. “Good luck tonight.” She didn’t know what else to say. She didn’t think ‘break a leg’ seemed appropriate, even if Caroline considered this evening to be a performance.
She left with a little wave to Susan and returned to the back of the meeting chamber. She winked at Tony to let him know it had went well and headed for the other side of the room, weaving through the newcomers pushing in from the opposite direction until she reached her post.
Kat was excited, and aside from the heat there was a definite feeling of electricity in the air. She’d better be on her toes.
The hands of the big clock hanging on the back wall ticked over to seven. The two community leaders ended their little talk and took their seats, and more people continued to press into the room from the lobby—students and instructors, laborers and bureaucrats, tradesmen and technicians. It was a huge, diverse crowd, packing the space full.
They had expected as much. Two weeks since everyone’s lives had been turned upside down—by the governor’s surprising actions and then the compound being locked down.
They’d been sealed off from the outside world, and rumors circulated wildly. So far the only official response since the original announcement had been some vague pronouncements that everything necessary was being done. There remained a complete lack of real news.
Kat didn’t blame people for being dissatisfied, but they’d all been privileged to participate in this extraordinary project. Especially when most of the communities around the country were struggling so much these days. The residents had seemed to appreciate their circumstances before, and she found it surprising how quickly they were turning bitter upon encountering a little adversity. She felt extremely grateful herself, though she knew she was even more privileged than most.
She stood and watched the crowd shuffle their feet and listened to their murmuring grow steadily louder for another five minutes. Then a quick hush descended. Caroline Sanderson had appeared.
Kat marveled at the effect her mother had, even as it perplexed her. She herself was immune to this charismatic power Caroline exerted, which was another thing for which she was truly grateful.
Kat was also glad she’d worn her boots with the two-inch heels. For all they made her nearly six feet tall, she still had to stretch to see over the crowd. She’d want to watch what was happening herself.
She’d barely seen her father over the last two weeks, and then he hadn’t had time to do more than greet her and ask how she was doing. Or maybe he was withholding the news on purpose.
She’d not had much chance to speak with other students, either. Kat had been spending too much time focusing on her work to talk with those she’d considered friends before. As for those she hadn’t been friends with—well, most of her personal interaction these days came in her professional capacity and was not conducive to chit-chat. But at least she loved her job.
The crowd had started to buzz softly again as Caroline took her time waltzing across the platform and taking her seat. Then she cleared her throat into the microphone.
“Friends—and I hope I’m right to call you my friends—I’m sure you’ll help me to welcome Dean Kittner and Councilman Radley. They’ve come forward tonight to represent your concerns about the current circumstances.” Caroline waited for both of them to nod an acknowledgment before she continued. “Thank you, Alice. Thank you, George.” Those two smiled, but they didn’t look happy.
Caroline turned to Kat’s father and Verity. “I think everyone here is anxious to get some explanations—about what you’re doing to address their concerns, and how you plan to resolve this situation.” Apparently Caroline didn’t think they needed introduction. “So why don’t you start by giving them the answers they came for.”
Kat’s father propped his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together. He leaned forward and scanned the sea of faces, peering through his glasses as if he were examining a peculiar phenomenon. At least that was the impression he gave.
“Many of you won’t believe what I’m about to say, but it’s the truth. We don’t know what’s happening outside. The emergency protocols require an absolute communications blackout, and that’s what we’ve put in place. We don’t have any information about what’s happening—across the state or across the country. What we need to discuss is the situation right here. What this community needs—”
“Of course we don’t believe you!”
Kat stood on her toes trying to spot who had shouted the interruption, but there were too many people jostling around.
“What we need is to be able to leave this place.”
“I need to let my family know—”
“My wife lives just over in—”
People kept shouting over each other, started pushing against each other, and Kat found herself being shoved further to the back of the room.
Caroline had her gavel in hand and began banging it enthusiastically, though the crowd paid little attention.
Councilman Radley stood abruptly, sending his chair crashing back against the platform and cutting short the commotion. He looked around the crowd with his jaws clenched. “A better question is what gives them the authority to keep us trapped in here? I know many of you, like myself, have business to conduct on the outside. Others have friends and family they’re worried about.”
He turned to glare at Kat’s father. “What’s the deal with the complete cut-off? What gives them the right?” Shouts of approval greeted his words and he continued. “Does it even matter if it’s the State or the Feds who’re running the show here? I think the director overreacted. I have an idea—”
Radley cut off whatever he would have said as her dad rose to his feet. “As I said two weeks ago, this is federal property and Governor Roberts has no authority to appropriate it. We have evidence that he’s prepared to try and take over this community by force, and we have no way of knowing what he might plan to do here if he did take control.
“As I also stated in my original announcement, the FURC charter gives me full authority to initiate the emergency protocols in case of a threat to this community, and requires certain steps be taken. All for the sole purpose of protecting this community. As soon as we’re able to do something about communicating with your loved ones, or—”
People in the crowd started shouting again. Caroline whacked her gavel down. Radley growled at Kat’s father, but she couldn’t hear over the crowd. She saw her dad start shaking his head.
The crowd’s shouts merged into a continuous deafening roar and everyone started seething back and forth like violent waves. Kat had to fight to keep her footing. She saw Tony tapping her dad on the shoulder and her mom already standing up. Dean Alice sat frozen in her chair, and Radley shook a fist while his words drowned.
Kat watched in horror as someone pushed the person in front of them so hard they fell to the ground unheeded by the crowd. She started shoving her own way forward to try and reach him. Down on his hands and knees on the floor, that unfortunate could soon be trampled underfoot.
Kat herself was roughly knocked by one person into another like a pinball, but she was able to use that to propel herself further into the crowd. At last she reached the young man, probably a student, who had now curled into a fetal position. A gash on his forehead was bleeding. Kat knelt over him and tried to shield him with her arms while she figured out what to do.
She couldn’t lift him while he was rolled up into a ball. And she wasn’t
sure how she could get him out even if she managed to get him to his feet. All of a sudden, the crowd broke forward. Kat felt a foot slamming into her back, but she rocked with the impact, and then the tide was breaking around them. When it passed, she dared to raise her head for a glimpse.
It took her only a second to assess the situation. Tony must have herded her father and mother and Verity off the platform and into the rooms beyond. That door was closed and presumably locked, because several people were pounding on it with their fists. Radley and Kittner had huddled in the opposite corner, but the crowd was ignoring them for the moment.
Kat tucked her head back down and wrapped herself around her charge. Everything was out of control. She couldn’t imagine what would happen next, and she doubted those in the crowd understood what they were doing any better than she. They weren’t even people anymore. They had become a single rabid beast, mindless and arbitrary in its violence.
Kat didn’t understand how this had happened, how it could have happened. These people knew how to behave themselves, even if they were frustrated and angry. Her dad hadn’t gotten a chance to even address their concerns. They were that mad. Then Kat realized what that could mean for her.
If they were that aggrieved with her father, she didn’t want to think about what they would do if she were recognized here and now as his daughter. She remembered one particular encounter. She’d handled those guys easily enough, but this situation was already much more perilous.
She wrapped her arms tighter around the boy and tucked in her head. Hopefully the anonymity of the uniform would protect her. The new cap had been lost in all the jostling, but Kat’s new hairstyle looked completely different from the old and that should help, too. If these people started thinking clearly enough to see through all that, they’d likely be calming down as well.
But instead of waiting to see when or if that happened, Kat needed to consider an exit strategy. She lifted her head slightly and tried to scan the room through her bangs. The crowd had all surged ahead of her, and with everyone facing the opposite direction, she might be able to slip away unnoticed. She doubted she could drag the injured boy along with her, though—not without attracting attention.
She could not abandon him. There had to be a way to get both herself and the boy to safety. She would have to try talking to him softly, and get him to follow her instructions. She couldn’t manage this without his cooperation. Kat found herself wishing she had her mother’s ability to charm people.
She felt a presence coming up behind her, saw a mountain of shadow cast around her, and she tried to prepare herself for the worst.
A gruff voice boomed. “What in flaming tarnation is going on here?!”
Kat turned her head to see a figure blocking one of the exits. Contractor Ken Cameron. He strode past her and the boy and stood in front of them as he thundered at the crowd again. “Have you folks lost your blasted minds?”
Kat shifted and looked around the back of the room as several more burly figures entered the hall. Apparently Cameron and his crew had arrived to the meeting late. In this particular instance, late was a vast improvement over never.
Feeling safer with this distraction, Kat slowly shifted to a standing crouch and tried to ease the boy to his feet. When she looked up again, it was obvious—the fever had broken. People were looking around them as if in a daze.
Then the door at the back of the room opened and Tony and Susan stepped out. Kat hoped her parents had already been spirited away. She turned and saw several of the student volunteers in their teal uniforms coming in behind Cameron’s crew.
Although Tony had only wanted full officers on this detail, clearly he had kept some of the recruits nearby as a reserve. Kat spotted Paul among them as they filtered into the room. She thought he’d be promoted soon. For all his gangly awkwardness, he had a good head on his shoulders. Tony had likely selected the most promising of the trainees for this assignment.
Kat stood to her full height, pulling her charge gently to his feet. Aside from the gash on his head, which had bled freely, and his white pallor, he didn’t seem to have any other injuries.
“What’s your name?” she asked in a soft voice.
He took a minute to respond. “Ben. Thanks. My glasses?”
Ben might have lost a lot of blood, or he might be in shock, or both. Either way, Kat needed to get him some medical attention. She looked around to see everything was well in hand—the recruits were finding the injured and starting to lead them out of the building. And there were injured.
But she suspected Ben might be worse off than most, so she stopped dithering and gently walked him out of the hall. Outside a full medical triage had been set up. A couple of nurses and some aides were standing at the top of the steps, while more sisters had a tent set up on the grass at the bottom, where a few medical techs and more aides waited next to two ambulances with their back doors open and ready—gasoline rationing didn’t apply to them. The sisters had turned out fast and in force.
Kat didn’t bother with the nurses on the landing who were trying to sort the wounded as they left the building. She just marched down the steps, almost carrying Ben in her haste. She handed him over to the sisters at the tent, who looked like they might want to object.
Kat spoke first. “He’s got a nasty contusion with a laceration. He’s lost a lot of blood and he may be in shock. And his name is Ben.” And she watched as two aides loaded the boy onto a gurney.
The nurse began checking Ben’s vitals, then she ordered him loaded onto the ambulance and taken to the clinic. While this was being done she took Kat by the arm and led her over to one of the folding chairs in the tent, next to a table piled with medical supplies, and started taking her pulse.
“Look here—”
But this time the nurse wouldn’t let Kat do the talking. “You didn’t let my sisters take a look at you, so be quiet and let me do my job.”
Since Kat clearly wouldn’t be able to escape the sister, she tried to muster up the patience to wait until the nurse had finished. She hoped to be done and gone before people saw and assumed she was pampering herself. As soon as she was released she jumped to her feet.
As she walked, she rubbed her wrist to check the time—and felt dazed when she saw that barely fifteen minutes had passed since her mom had called the meeting to order. It felt more like a lifetime.
Tony appearing at her elbow also caught her by surprise. “I might’ve known you’d be the one insisting on putting yourself in harm’s way.”
Kat made the best attempt at a smile she could manage right then. “It’s true I had a bit of a tumble in there.”
Tony looked grim. “While I’m glad you’re not seriously hurt, Kat, none of my other officers took a beating.”
“Hardly a beating, Boss. I might have a couple light bruises.” Kat walked with Tony out of the way of the oncoming patients. “What about Dad? Caroline and the rest?”
“Your parents and Ms. Belue are fine. I had an evacuation plan all ready. It’s my plan for the worst philosophy.”
Kat managed a grin. “I like to hope for the best. It’s just who I am.”
As she said that, Kat’s brain finally made a connection it should have long before this. The reason Councilman Radley had looked familiar to her. He was an older version of that louse who’d caused her all that trouble what now seemed ages ago.
She had never followed up to find out who he was, but she’d wager he was a close relative of the councilman’s—a younger brother or a son. Instead of just dealing with the troublemakers as they came, maybe she should be paying more attention to just who wanted to cause trouble and why.
Kat could bring that subject up with Tony later. Right now there was probably work to do, and she’d go ahead and assume the nurse had cleared her for duty. “So, what do you want me to do now, Boss?” Whatever it was, she first had to try and find a pair of glasses.
Chapter 7
Scattering Dust
5:15 p.m. Su
nday, December 8th
DAVID grabbed two hotdogs in one hand and saluted Ken with the other. “Sorry to have to eat and run.” Though he hadn’t done either, yet.
His boss was standing at the grill, scowling as he added more meat to the fire. “You just began sharing Sunday dinners with us.”
Indeed, David considered it an honor to be included in the tradition with the rest of Ken’s crew, and having to leave so soon was why he’d shown up early to help out with the preparations. Then he’d excused himself on the grounds of a prior commitment he had to keep. The rest of the crew had only just started to drift into Jeff and Sandy’s back yard.
The light was now beginning to fade, but David still had time to try talking to Ken again. “Boss, this Colonel Gray…” He trailed off as he saw Ken’s face darken.
His boss waved the hot tongs in the air. “Gray is not your business. There are people who can worry about the man, and if there’s anything needing to be done, they can do it.”
David nodded in acknowledgement. Thinking the same, he’d told his mother about his suspicions of Gray and Rossiter. At least she’d really listened to him. But she’d told him what he’d expected to hear—that there wasn’t much to be done without some kind of evidence.
He’d tried to talk to Ken about it as well, but his boss hadn’t wanted to listen. So David would operate by Ken’s own motto. He’d do what he believed was right, even if it wasn’t his business. Because no one else seemed to be taking care of it, he had to do what he could himself.
He smiled and turned and walked away. As he left the yard, he looked back at the tableau behind him—his boss flipping burgers on the grill with the crew gathering around, and Sandy coming out with two giant pitchers of iced tea. All so normal that it seemed completely unreal. Everyone kept going on with life as usual, as much as they could anyway, as if nothing were different.
David felt as if his whole life had changed. The compound had been sealed and they were all under threat. He’d set aside his studies to accept his new responsibilities—and everything just continued to keep changing. He’d given up Sunday dinners at home so he could partake with Ken and the rest, but for now he was abandoning that, too. If his life kept turning around, soon it would turn upside down.
Starting the Slowpocalypse (Books 1-3 Omnibus) Page 11
