His mind flew to that night when he’d gone out to rescue her and had to carry her back unconscious while worrying he might lose her. Then he saw Kat smile. She had meant to remind him and knew her shot had gone home.
Another deep breath, then he managed to speak in a controlled tone. “I’ll drag you out of here if you make me, and not care what Miles thinks about it.”
“You’re still recuperating from the flu, so I don’t think you have it in you. But you can try.”
He stalked around the desk to stand beside her, looming and trying to look menacing—but he didn’t dare touch her. He couldn’t trust his own reactions. “Get out.”
“No.” Then Kat was pulling the paper mask off his face with one hand and grabbing the back of his neck with the other and kissing him.
His hands reached out and grabbed her arms of their own accord, but instead of pulling her closer as he wanted to, he pushed her away.
They stood and stared at each other for one long moment. Anthony brought himself under control—Kat knew he was still contagious with a highly communicable and severe strain of the flu. She’d almost certainly just infected herself with it.
Maybe it was for the best. She had already been infected by the lethal pathogen threatening them all—her behavior right now was probably proof of the poison at work in her system. And the flu she’d now exposed herself to might be the only hope of a cure. “If there’s any more mischief you want to get up to, you’d better take care of it tonight. Tomorrow you’ll likely be laid up with the flu after that little stunt.”
“Stunt?” Kat took a step back, folding her arms across her chest. “I know how you really feel, Tony. I’ve known since that night, even if you hadn’t confirmed it just now.”
“Whatever I do or don’t feel, there can’t ever be anything between us. Not the way you want.”
Instead of arguing the point as he expected, she just nodded to herself with a slight smile. Then she turned and walked away without another word and left him standing there feeling like an idiot. But he didn’t know why that should be.
He prayed the cure Miles had cooked up would save her life, and hoped it would also bring her back to her senses.
Chapter 12
Let Them Eat Potato Pancakes
1:45 p.m. Friday, May 23rd
CAROLINE had formally opened the council session by warmly welcoming Professor Johnson, once again appearing as Dr. Harker’s proxy. Everything had gone downhill from there. Immediately following Caroline’s remarks, Dean Kittner had hopped to her feet to question why, if this flu outbreak was so severe as to prevent the doctor from attending herself, wasn’t the woman here in person, making a full report to the council?
Despite Alice’s demand being nothing but nonsense in the first place, Tracy had hesitantly started to explain. Only to be ignored, as Dean Kittner went on to fire more questions at the deputy director.
The woman had wanted to know why there had not been a better plan in place, to replace the senior figures who’d been unable to fulfill the responsibilities of their positions because of the flu that was going around. And with Ms. Belue sitting right there. Dean Kittner knew better than most how ably Verity had been filling in for Miles, even before he’d gotten sick. And thus disregarding how the three supervisors had been running Security between them, and how Caroline’s own daughter Katherine had been in charge of the Guards, while the two chiefs had been ill. And apparently ignorant of the fact that both of those men were now back on the job.
Tracy, Jeffrey, and Sara had simply watched all this. Ms. Belue had at least behaved with decorum, remaining seated while calmly responding to Alice’s attacks with facts and figures. Verity ended with an appeal for suggestions about how they could recruit qualified people to fill vacant positions in the upper levels of management, or add more officers to Security, which surely needed a larger staff. She specifically asked Dean Kittner if the woman had any constructive ideas to solve the problems they faced.
Alice had spluttered and answered with a vague statement about her years of experience. Seemingly forgetting that they were all being recorded, and apparently unaware that there would be much greater interest in this meeting, now that the candidates for First Councilor had been announced, Dean Kittner’s performance had been aggressive and harsh. Surely people would be put off by all that blatant badgering of Ms. Belue.
This wasn’t an ordinary council session. It was essentially a campaign debate, and Alice did not appear to have any conception of how she was coming across to potential voters. On the other hand, Caroline would repeatedly express weary resignation, or glance down at the tabletop, rubbing her temples to show her frustration. But she was far from vexed by Dean Kittner’s behavior. Rather, she was amused at the woman’s clear conviction that every sally aimed at the administration somehow helped herself while harming Caroline’s candidacy.
But enough was enough. The moment Alice sat down for the umpteenth time, apparently needing a moment to think up another barbed question to put to Verity, Caroline leaned forward and addressed all of them. “Now, if there’s no objection, I have quite a few topics I’d like to bring up myself.” As this meeting was not only the first since the candidates were announced, but one of only two that would be conducted prior to the election, she wanted to make the most of this time with them together on one stage.
Alvin Fox raised his hand and responded. “I do have an objection, Mrs. Sanderson, if you will allow me to say so.”
Caroline turned and smiled at him. “Of course, Mr. Fox. You may be our newest member—” Therefore the least experienced. “But your input is just as welcome as anyone else’s.” Since that happened to include Dean Kittner, it didn’t mean much. “I’d like to hear what you have to say.”
He smiled back at her. “It’s just that you’ve got an advantage over myself and Ms. Kittner, an hour-long magazine show broadcast over the FURCSnet, and very popular it is. But that means you have frequent opportunity to share your views with a major portion of the community. And it’s the administration that provides you with that platform of course.” Making her a mouthpiece for Miles?
“As anyone who has watched my show knows, I do express my opinions.” They’d also know that her views were independent. “Do you watch, perhaps?” She waited for Fox to incline his head slightly in acknowledgment. “Then you’ll know most of my show features regular residents and their concerns.”
“And who chooses those people?”
“I do, of course. Who else?” That was a mistake as it invited people to wonder at the answer. Caroline had let him rattle her. “But I take your point. I certainly wouldn’t want to prevent either Dean Kittner or yourself from making all the points you need to, so that everyone can be fully informed about the choices before them in this election.”
Alvin Fox sat up straighter in his chair and cast his eye around the conference table. “That’s mighty fair of you, Mrs. Sanderson. And since Dean Kittner has already had plenty to say, I hope the rest of you won’t mind if I say my piece now.”
The nerve of the man, talking about what was or wasn’t fair, when Caroline well knew that he’d been poaching support from her voter base. Fox’s forces had been actively trying to convince Caroline’s civilian constituency to switch to self-identifying themselves as business or worker class. It decreased her leverage as a council member and indirectly threatened her campaign, as those people would be more likely to vote for Fox, due to that same sense of self-identification. But it wouldn’t do Caroline any good to make that accusation in public.
When nobody objected to giving him the floor, Fox turned his attention back to Caroline. “Understand, I’m not questioning your motives, or those of the administration.” Trying to tar them all with the same brush. “But I don’t believe any of you are really in touch with the residents and their concerns.”
That stung. Caroline would rather he had questioned her motives than the connection she’d developed with her audience. She managed to
react with only a narrowing of her eyes at the man. “I’d appreciate it if you’d explain that remark. I don’t believe I could be any closer to the community.”
He smiled gently. “I’m sure you think that. I’m sure you mean well too, but you and everyone who’s part of the elite group that’s been running this community—” He paused and looked carefully at Verity and Dean Kittner to make sure everybody knew that he meant to include them. “You are concerned with security, and with everything operating efficiently—and those things are important—but the people I’ve been talking to are concerned about their quality of life. A priority they don’t feel you share.”
This attack on her empathy was a dagger aimed at Caroline’s heart—and the way he kept linking her with the administration with every breath was more subtle and more effective than Dean Kittner’s ham-handed attempts.
Putting her hand over her chest, Caroline’s eyes widened. “Now I really am confused. I thought you watched my show, but obviously that was a little fib. Otherwise you wouldn’t say such a thing. Everyone knows I care about their happiness here.”
He fixed her with a warm stare. “I’ve been viewing all your recent programs, and I’m definitely becoming a fan. But it’s what you haven’t been talking about that worries me.”
“What do you mean?” She was used to asking a question like that in interviews, but Miles had tried to warn her not to ask open-ended questions in political debates. Too late now.
Fox kept his gaze on her. “Ms. Belue explained what Brandon Radley did, but why not press her for more details? Were all options for saving the stores really explored before they got rid of all that wheat? How much flour remains, and where is it? Couldn’t you have asked tougher questions as people are going without their bread and pasta and pastries?”
Caroline tried not to get exasperated. “I’m sure no one would have destroyed all that wheat if they’d had any other choice. And Ms. Belue described how they had distributed the last of the uncontaminated supplies as usual. People do have legitimate reason to be upset that they didn’t know these things much earlier, but I’m not going to keep stirring the pot.”
“Exactly. And that shows your inherent, though I’m sure unconscious, bias toward this administration’s point-of-view.” He suddenly switched over to Verity. “If the director really wanted to open things up to more community involvement, I would expect you to be plenty forthcoming about these details. If Mrs. Sanderson won’t press you for some answers, I will. How about it, Ms. Belue?”
Verity met the man’s challenging stare with her blank expression. “Ag Center experts examined the wheat stores, and they determined that any method they utilized to eradicate the toxin would also make the wheat unsuitable for human consumption. And we’re not going to go around searching every home, cafeteria, and restaurant checking to see if someone has hoarded a bit of flour. We’re all going to have to learn to make do without soon enough.”
But of course that didn’t satisfy Mr. Fox. “What have you been doing in the meantime to explore alternative sources of wheat, or have you decided unilaterally not to try to replace what was lost?”
Caroline jumped in as Verity appeared momentarily nonplussed. “I’d like to hear an answer to that one myself. I’ve interviewed some of the people involved, so I know about a lot of the research into alternative food sources the FURC has been doing for a few years. Haven’t you had all those brilliant scientists working to find a way to grow us some more wheat?”
Ms. Belue shook her head. “You said it yourself—those projects have been underway a long time. It would take far too long starting from scratch. We’ve decided our limited resources would be better spent moving forward with the new power potato or those remarkably innovative fish farms—like the one running through these very walls.”
Fox smiled. “Isn’t that project run by the same George Radley whose son was responsible for sabotaging the wheat stores? Whose resignation is why I sit here today?”
“Yes. And I hope people would respect the contribution he’s made to this community.”
Leaning back in his chair, Fox studied the woman. “I’m sure we can be grateful for all the good he’s done, but I hope we’re not pinning the future of our food supply on him.”
Caroline leaned forward to look at everyone. “I imagine George feels deeply upset about the trouble his son has caused everyone. I sympathize with him as a parent, and as a resident I respect his decision to resign and accept responsibility.”
He shook his head at her. “Why didn’t the man resign right away then? Instead he waited until the information was leaked and he really had no choice. Why didn’t he come out publicly and tell everybody what had happened? That, I would’ve respected.”
Verity interrupted. “George Radley is not really the issue we’re concerned with though, is it? If your question is about the food supply, then rest assured that we’re well provisioned. While we may be out of wheat, we have potatoes and plenty of other vegetables being grown inside the compound. And we’ve got milk and cheese and eggs. Chicken and fish, and all from self-sustaining sources. No one need worry about starving.”
Fox nodded sharply. “See, that’s exactly what I mean about not sharing our priorities. Great, so we won’t starve. Even supposing that’s true, it doesn’t mean people have to be satisfied with that. We want cake, and you offer us potato pancakes.”
Caroline silently and invisibly fumed. Professor Johnson had watched the exchange with wide eyes, while Jeffrey had followed it with keen interest, his eyes narrowed behind his glasses and his poker face on. Sara continued to slouch in her chair, seemingly half-asleep. At least the girl had shown up on time today, which was a marked improvement.
Verity cocked her head at Alvin, but she did not respond to his last sally, and Caroline almost sighed with relief that she could now change the topic. But then Alice popped to her feet once again.
“I have a more important problem and a motion to make.” She paused to make sure she’d gotten all their attention before continuing. “I don’t think it’s proper that the vote should be conducted by the administration, which it is, since it’s all being done by the FURCSnet. How can we trust the results, knowing they might have fiddled with the votes? I move that we go with a traditional paper ballot. That way we can confirm the vote count.”
There was a surprised silence. And though nobody rushed to second the motion, Alice had gotten everyone thinking—even Sara was sitting up with a look of interest on her face.
Caroline stepped into the breach. “Of course it would mean a monumental hassle, and the election would probably have to be postponed. But since the director was the one who decided to give up some of his authority and let the residents vote on a community leader in the first place, how can you think he’d then try to meddle? Why would he do that?”
Alice shook her head. “He’s your husband, and this is a conspiracy to install a puppet. You or Fox. Either way, it will only be an illusion of democracy if we can’t trust that the outcome of the election represents the true will of the people. They’ll think they are getting a voice in things when they aren’t.”
“That’s really going too far, that kind of accusation. If people can’t trust the administration not to fix the vote, what’s the point of this council?” Caroline looked around the table. “I move that we table any discussion of this until the next session. Hopefully by then we’ll all have had time to consider the consequences.” She directed her stare at Dean Kittner. “And talk about it reasonably.”
It was Alvin Fox who quickly seconded the motion, which was then thirded by Verity and fourthed by Jeffrey—putting an end to the matter, since there were only seven of them to vote anyway. Right after Caroline declared the motion carried, she was startled by an annoying chirping from her FURCS pad. She’d set it only to alert her in the case of an emergency. Her stomach somersaulted as she thought of how poorly Miles had been doing the last time she’d seen him at the clinic. She pulled the pad f
rom her clutch with a feeling of dread.
“Excuse me, but this must be important.” When she’d read the terse text message from her daughter though, what she felt was irritation. Aside from the interruption, this was the worst time for Caroline to have to deal with Katherine’s foolishness. Glancing up at her fellow councilors, she smiled to apologize. “First Miles, now my daughter has been stricken by this flu virus that’s going around. I know this meeting is important, but my family comes first. I’ll have to go see about my daughter.”
Verity stood. “I think we’ve had enough discussion for one session anyway. I suggest we call a halt to this one and resume deliberations on Monday.”
Caroline nodded. She had a lot of damage to repair, but now would not be the best time or place to try. Monday’s meeting, with a live public audience, would work better.
Alice Kittner was still on her feet, and she spluttered. “But that hardly gives us any time before the election to change the voting procedures.”
Caroline nodded again. “If we end up adopting your suggestion, the election would have to be postponed anyway, Alice, so it doesn’t matter. Now, excuse me, please. I have to go.” And give Katherine a piece of my mind.
Chapter 13
Remaining at Rest
2:10 p.m. Friday, May 23rd
KAT piled the pillows against the headboard before climbing into bed with a satisfied sigh. She probably shouldn’t have went and worked through the night, knowing she must’ve caught the flu from Tony. This morning she’d already started to feel achy and tired. Now she had a stuffy head, runny nose, and a slight fever—and she felt great.
Well, perhaps not great, but what was a bout of the flu after yesterday? She propped herself up and drew the quilt snug around her, prepared to do battle with the virus. On the nearby nightstand were a pitcher of water and a glass, a full box of tissues, and a stack of books she’d been meaning to read but had never found the time to get around to. Unfortunate that she couldn’t have a bowl of oranges by her bedside too, but at least she had C supplements. Those were much better than chewing on some cabbage to get her vitamins. She shuddered at the thought.
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