by Angela White
The crowd muttered and murmured, whispering and worrying. Adrian finished his beer and smoke before he spoke, pleased with the doctor. He would have no trouble getting a good day’s travel out of them now.
“So, you want responsibility for our health? Want to care for us? The right to add to our laws, once voted on, comes with it,” Adrian offered and warned.
The doctor was aware of what was going on and was surprised that it was being offered so soon. “Not the laws part. I’m no politician, but yes to the rest. My Oath didn’t die with my country.”
“Well said. You’ve got my vote, but it’s theirs that matters,” Adrian stated, waving a hand at the listening people. “All those in favor of putting the doctor’s suggestions on the ballot?”
John slid his glasses back on as he sat down.
Adrian casually held up his own hand, and both men were secretly relieved that nearly everyone else did too.
“So be it.” Adrian held up a sheet of paper. “The bottom is blank. Fill it in as advice. A-D-V-I-C-E. Okay, any other new business?”
No one spoke, and Adrian motioned for Neil to pass around the pens and papers. Neil was emotionless, even while he was grinning and saying all the right things. Something was going on with Kenn and Adrian. Neil could feel it, and what came to mind was the reason his mirth didn’t reach his eyes.
“All right, last thing. Members of the moral board need to stay after the vote. We have a possible violation to judge.”
Kenn, and everyone else, wondered what unspoken rule had been broken. The big ones went to trials that were witnessed by the whole camp, or so he’d heard. There hadn’t been one since Kenn had been here, hadn’t even been a case of thievery, but the moral code was strict too. There had been one moral vote since he’d joined Safe Haven and the stalker was no longer a member here.
“Which rule?” Roger Sawyer, the current foreman, asked.
“None directly, and that’s why we’re doing a closed hearing. I won’t ruin an innocent man’s chances for a new life here.” He said it for ear candy and it worked, but Adrian was sure the man would be gone before he did rounds tonight. Leon and the words “not guilty” hadn’t been on speaking terms in a long time.
Roger grinned, and while Adrian hated that gleam of eagerness in the ex-Pinkerton detective, he understood the deep need to punish those who were even the smallest bit responsible for all they had suffered.
Adrian waited until Kenn dropped his vote into the metal lockbox, and then joined him at a small, empty table in the rear. The rest of the camp was crowded around the front tables to witness the votes being counted.
“That was some of the slickest shit I’ve ever heard,” Kenn’s stated lowly, admiring.
“Maybe you’ll MC for me sometime.”
Kenn laughed, happy with the words. “I’m not a public speaker.”
Adrian let it go, sure the Marine would be, and there would be no one better. “How about coming by my tent an hour after everything’s done? We’ll have a beer and a conversation.”
“Sure,” Kenn agreed casually, heart rate picking up. This was it. “Should I bring anything?”
“Just your stamina. I’m gonna need to be drunk when this night’s work is over.”
5
The vote went Adrian’s way on all of the issues and as the crowd slowly broke up; their faces showed that they were confident that their guardian was doing his job. Their calm gazes also said they would find out what rule had been broken.
In a short time, the mess was mostly empty, the camp quieting down as everyone settled in for the night. Kenn wanted to stay, longed to be on the inside, but he caught Adrian’s eye instead of waiting until he was asked to leave.
“I volunteered for a double on sentry duty tomorrow, so I’m gonna hit the showers, then the rack. Call me if you need anything.” Kenn assumed he hadn’t been here long enough to be trusted and was showing humility that he didn’t remotely feel.
Adrian took the opportunity, telling them all that Kenn’s status had changed. It had been talked about openly since the encounter with the birds three days ago, but there would be some surprises when the camp found out how high up he was about to be placed.
“Hang around, will ya? I need someone on my right.”
There was a ring of magic to the words, and Kenn kept the triumph out of his voice by sheer will. “You know it.”
Adrian gave Neil a nod before motioning to the thirteen men and women waiting together. Neil left with a scowl on his face. It was as he and Kyle feared. That coveted position was being given to Kenn.
“We’ve set up a hooch near the parking area. Follow Doug. He’s the one with the red vest and shoulders so wide that we could land a plane on them. Let’s get this over with as quickly as possible.”
The mood turned somber, but Kenn couldn’t help the swagger in his stride as he walked on the boss man’s right. They followed the board members, who had no trouble catching up to Doug. His limp was the only reason Kenn didn’t consider him competition.
Big-nosed, deeply tanned Kyle was on Adrian’s left and Kenn wondered what the stocky goon thought about those words, smirking to himself. Probably hated it, but he could eat shit and die. Nothing he could do but suck it up. It made Kenn feel like laughing. He and Kyle hadn’t spoken a word to each other in two full days, since the first gun class he’d taught where they’d both said too much, barely avoiding a fight. Now Kenn was about to be given authority, and he planned to rub it in every chance he got.
“Stay on this guy. He has a nasty temper, and I’m sure this type of proceeding isn’t new to him,” Adrian warned.
Kenn hid a disappointment at the words. They were chasers for a prisoner?
“The punishment might be new,” Kyle stated, pulling his black cap tighter over his dark curls.
Adrian didn’t smile. “True. Don’t let him intimidate the girls. They’re already afraid he might sneak back and hurt them in retaliation.”
Kenn saw them exchange a glance that said the violator wouldn’t be able to return because he would be dead. Jealousy flared up in Kenn, made him push a little, test his new place before it was official. “Can I ask or should I wait?”
Kyle listened openly. A refusal would mean they had read too much into Adrian’s words. Kenn might not be empty clothes, the birds proved that, but there was still something wrong with him.
“Sexual assault, threats against women and kids, and physical assault. Those are all death penalty crimes here, and he knows it.”
Sorry about your luck, Kenn thought, gloating silently, but he immediately brought the inner Marine out when they slipped into the big tent and spotted the defendant’s huge, tattooed body. Leon was easily three hundred pounds.
As he and Kyle strode to each side of the sullen biker, they exchanged a look that said truce, for Adrian’s sake. They would do this together and be hard from the beginning. It wouldn’t take much for this to get out of control–the pierced suspect wasn’t even handcuffed–and both men were aware of how little they liked Adrian being around this guy. Anything could go wrong once the verdict was in.
Nothing did though, and less than an hour later, a sedated Leon was being escorted out of the tape by men who had orders to kill him and piss on his body–a request from one of the victims.
Adrian wandered afterwards, worrying over the orders he had given. He walked in the darkest shadows around the flapping tents, occasionally listening to his people. Leon wouldn’t be missed. He had contributed almost nothing, but the loss of life still made Adrian feel like a failure as a leader.
Not that he would change his mind. He could still call Kyle, but he knew the mobster didn’t want the biker to get a stay of execution after what they’d listened to him admit, and he wouldn’t. The entire world was better off without Leon. Right or wrong, Adrian had made a leader’s choice, based on what was best for everyone here. It was how he made all of his decisions now. It was the only way his people would survive.
Adrian’s feet carried him to the medical tent, but he hesitated to go in despite knowing he needed to invite the doctor onto the payroll. Doctors were notoriously temperamental, and this one, having been here only a short time, couldn’t be pleased with this night’s labor. It had taken nearly a dozen men to hold Leon down, and though John had done what was asked without protest, the hypocrisy of it had to be fresh in his mind.
Headlights flashed, and Adrian shifted deeper into the shadows as Tonya rolled into camp in a very red, very new convertible that was clearly not easy on gas like they had voted for at the last meeting.
She parked in front of her tent, making him grumble at the second rule violation. As she disappeared inside the deluxe vinyl structure, he scribbled a note in his book, wondering which sucker had helped her put it up. Tonya would gas her own car all this week and maybe the doctor’s idea about a mandatory quarantine zone would work. She could be…
“…new place, Anne. A hard new world, where everything has an uglier price.”
Adrian didn’t budge as the husband and wife talked about what had happened, unknowingly approaching his hiding place while they cleaned up the large two-sided tent.
“But, it’s barbaric, Johnnie! Branding him like an animal! It’s...it’s barbaric!”
“What else is there? No jails, no drugs, no mental help, and really, those things never worked on men like that anyway.”
Adrian heard her frustrated sigh and understood that criminal justice was an old discussion between them.
“He couldn’t let him go, Anne. He had to make sure that everyone who meets that monster will understand what he really is.”
The husband’s voice was patient, still teaching after all their years of marriage, and he had Adrian’s complete attention.
“It isn’t right! We heal. We don’t hurt! This isn’t how America’s supposed to be!”
John gave a harsh snort that made Adrian tense.
“This is exactly how it should have been, and maybe we wouldn’t have destroyed ourselves.”
“But the whole word?”
“It’ll keep him from easily hiding or removing it.”
“It’ll get him killed and you’re responsible. You did it.”
“This is a good place, and I’ll do what I have to so that we can stay, but this sin I’ll pay for willingly. It’s the only way now, and let me tell you a secret, my dear sweet wife. I won’t carry the burden alone. That young man feels it a lot more than he shows. He values life, all life. It’s in the way he cares for his people, for his farm of exotic humans. I’ll give him my help in any way he needs, and I hope you will too. He’s the few, the good, and I suspect we were allowed to survive because he needs us.”
Definitely right to offer John a place on the council, Adrian thought, moving away. That old man had his head on straight. Adrian had used it at the meeting and heard it just now, but he had witnessed it during the punishment too. John had handled not only himself, but also Anne and the Eagles around him with a calm sense of leadership. Because of that, the branding hadn’t been as ugly as the members of the voting board had expected. Most of them would sleep tonight.
It only eased Adrian’s mind a little, though, that he now had at least two of the six or seven he’d been promised in his dreams. He spent a lot of time worrying over the rest. Had he passed them somewhere? He hoped not, because he and his grunts couldn’t keep doing all the work. Eventually, they would miss something that endangered these people and cost them the right to lead.
Adrian wasn’t as excited as he wanted to be, though his first was here and he was about to offer him the place that every man in this camp wanted. The weight of this leadership was heavier than anything Adrian had ever carried before the war, and he was starting to feel a bit winded.
6
Life was good.
Kenn was sitting in an uncomfortable folding chair in the center of Adrian’s perfectly neat tent. He wished more people were out to walk by and witness the moment. The flap was open, the dim lantern light flickered gently in the soft, midnight breeze, and Kenn couldn’t imagine being more content anywhere else.
“Here ya go. Try this. I made it myself.”
Adrian handed him a cool metal cup, along with a cigar, and Kenn noticed the five o’clock shadow and bloodshot eyes. Clearly, their leader had already gotten a head start.
Kenn smelled his cup, liking the vanilla more than he would ever admit and took a large swallow. It burned its way down to his gut despite the sweet aftertaste, and he sucked in a breath, coughing.
The two men shared a leer.
“Good?”
Kenn nodded, noting the patriotic designs on the cups. With Adrian, everything was about America.
Adrian studied Kenn, countenance unreadable, and the tension thickened.
Kenn forced himself to stay still, sensing if he was too eager now, he might lose it all before it was even his.
“Do you have any idea why I asked you here?”
Kenn shook his head, instinctively knowing this was all part of the ritual of being brought in. “Have I done something wrong?”
“Just the opposite. The guys tell me you like to stay busy.”
Kenn emptied his cup, set it on the small folding table as the potent alcohol burned its way to his gut.
“There’s a lot to be done,” he gasped out, making Adrian snicker again.
“Ain’t that the truth. How long have you been here now?”
“Fifteen days.”
The quick answer made Adrian grimace. “You’ve done doubles on guard duty, taught two gun classes for the Eagles, helped find supplies, set up, broke down, and gassed up vehicles. There’s been something every day, all on top of your regular schedule. Busy two weeks.”
Kenn shrugged. “Unleaded is my new cologne.”
“Smells like a hard worker, someone with ambition searching for a mountain to climb.”
“I’ve got a lot to offer.”
“And I want it.” Adrian handed Kenn a thick black notebook with a silver pen in the ring. “Others recognize it. Many people have hinted that you should be invited onto the payroll.”
“But?”
“It’s not up to some or most of them. It has to be unanimous and that depends on you.”
Kenn met Adrian’s pointed look with one of his own. “I’m working on it.”
Adrian finished lighting his cigar before responding, “Not fast enough, but I can’t wait any longer. We have to get these people ready to defend their freedom.”
Kenn asked himself if he could start out as a lowly drill instructor.
When he glanced up to say that wouldn’t hold him for long, Adrian added what was missing, with careful wording that Kenn overlooked.
“I have important work for you. You’ll be higher than any other here now will. Together, we’ll save some of what matters.” Adrian raised a brow, questioning, “If you have the time?”
“You make the schedules. I have the time if you say I do.”
Adrian glared coldly. “This is no game. Be sure.”
“I’d never treat it that way.” Kenn sounded horrified.
Adrian knew that, but the warning came with the offer. “Things will start slow, but it won’t stay that way. Effective immediately, you have that place at my right that you were already asking for when we found you. You’ll always be my second in command and more aware than anyone else, in my plans deeper. I’m offering you what the Corps couldn’t…your purpose. The reason you were born, why you survived.”
“What’s the catch?”
“You’re mine.” Adrian’s harsh tone said no going back would be allowed. “Be the anything and everything that I need to keep these people alive. I make every choice based on what’s best for the entire camp and nothing else takes priority, not even me. I’ll do anything to keep us together, and I will expect your complete and immediate support, no matter the chore or situation.”
Kenn didn’t even consider refusing, holding
out a hand. “You have a deal.”
Adrian shook with his new XO, thinking the first one had come into his web, but there would be many more.
Chapter Sixteen
Dreams and Schemes
1
There were people everywhere, and it was a joy to behold.
They were here to pay their respects to the man who had made their new lives possible, and groups were streaming in from all corners of the globe in an endless succession of happiness and grief. Hundreds, then thousands more, were still on the way.
The founder of Safe Haven may be near the end of his time, but the vision he had created would survive forever. With his strength of mind, the son of a traitor had given them peace, honor, and safety. There were no jails, nor any need for them, no hunger, no pollution or dying planet trying to kill them first. The methods he had used to achieve such a utopia were often brutal, but forty-seven years after the war of 2012, America was flourishing, spreading into the wilderness again. Even the years they had spent in foreign lands had been ones of happiness and light–because of Adrian and his Eagles.
In the heart of Safe Haven City, surrounded by rolling farms and playing children, they gathered, waiting. Adrian would talk to them all one last time, and they would listen well to any final words he had for them.
Glowing with fulfillment, he only spoke for a moment, and then there was a cheer as he stepped proudly from their lives. It swelled from the arched walls around the stage and grew into a noise heard over more miles than anything since the great eruption of Yellowstone in 2013. It was a celebration of the hope that he had given them, the second chance to get it right, and they would honor Adrian’s memory by keeping America in their hearts. It was his last wish.
2
In the early morning hours, the happy dream faded, allowing restless minds to sleep easier, but along Interstate 25, a Mexican with hate in his heart snapped awake with a scream of rage that brought men running to him.
“I will never let them rebuild! That bright Safe Haven future will never exist!” Cesar vowed, delivering a brutal kick to the girl chained at his feet. He would sacrifice every son and daughter he owned to prevent it!
