by A. American
“We didn’t do shit.” I replied. “The engineers did all the work. And yes, the plant fired and ran. But there’s a crap-ton of work to do to get power here.”
“Oh man. Power again.” Shane said, shaking his head. “That would be awesome. Having AC again. Being able to sleep comfortably. Man, I can’t wait!”
“You won’t have power at your house, buddy,” I said. “Sorry to piss on your parade. We’ll be lucky to get a couple of buildings here in town lit back up.”
Shane thought about that for a moment. Then asked, “What about the water plant? Can we get that back up? Bringing treated water back to town would make a huge difference. People having running water would be a big relief. The clinic stays packed with people sick from water-related issues.”
“It ain’t that simple, my friend. We’d have to get the pumps running as well as the treatment plant. There probably aren’t enough chemicals around to treat much water. Then, we’d have to get the sanitary plant up as well. The waste would have to go somewhere. I don’t know if we can do all that.”
“I’ll look into it. I’ll see what we have for chemicals and stuff. One of the plant operators lives here in town. I’ll get with him and see what it would take.”
I stopped at the door of the PD. “See if you can find the plant operator. We’ll look at it then.”
Shane opened the door and Thad and I followed him through. He led us back to the holding cells. “Rosa!” He shouted.
Dave Rosa lifted himself from his bunk and rested on the bars of the cell. “What?” He asked. He looked rough. His hands and clothes were dirty and he hadn’t shaved in some time. He looked homeless. Or what we would associate with homelessness in the Before.
“Sheriff wants to talk to you,” Shane said.
Hearing that, Dave perked up a bit. “How long you going to keep me chained up? You’re working me like a slave. Every day is the same thing and I’m getting tired of it.”
I looked at Thad, he shrugged and I looked back at Rosa. “Think we’re being a little hard on you?” I asked.
He scratched at his nappy head. “Well, yeah. I mean, this falls under cruel and unusual punishment.” He paused and looked up at me, half squinting. “It’s unconstitutional.”
I looked at Shane and asked, “You still have volunteers going out to the farm every day?”
Shane shrugged. “Some days more than others. But yeah, we still have people going out every day.”
“Sounds like your neighbors don’t think it’s cruel and unusual.”
Rosa kicked the cell door. “But they ain’t on a damn chain! They ain’t worked like a fucking slave in that blazing sun!”
I stepped closer to the bars. “And they haven’t killed anyone either.”
Rosa snapped. “It was an accident!”
I laughed at him. “Yeah. You accidentally killed that poor girl. You can say what you want. But your sorry ass will stay on that chain.” I stepped a little closer to the cell door, “You’ll die on that chain. That or we can get it done today. Your choice.”
Rosa’s eyes went wide. His hands shot out of the bars and wrapped around my throat. I was stunned for a moment. He was strong and had a hell of a grip. He was screaming as Thad and Shane grabbed his arms. But I had another idea. I calmly drew my Springfield and stuck it through the bars. When I felt it push against him I squeezed the trigger.
The blast from the .45 was deafening inside the holding area. Thad and Shane both jumped back. Rosa released my neck and stepped back holding his stomach. Looking at his blood covered hand, he said, “You shot me.”
When he looked back up at me, I had the pistol leveled at his face and pulled the trigger again. He collapsed in a heap in the cell. And while he was certainly dead, he was still breathing, kind of. The sound coming from his throat was disturbing. His chest would heave as that part of his brain still tried to fulfill its task, and a sucking gargling sound rose from his throat. Thad and Shane stood silently beside me. I looked at them each and asked, “Anyone have a problem with this?”
Thad shook his head. When I looked at Shane, he said, “I do.” I turned to face him. He was still looking into the cell when he added, “I have to clean that shit up.”
I looked at Rosa’s body lying a very large pool of blood. The sucking sound had stopped and he was lying motionless. As I examined the body, something caught my eye. Turning my head to the side, I looked at one of his hands. It was lying out in front of him and looked normal, except for the pinky. It was twisted out at ninety-degree angle from the palm.
“Damn, bet that hurt.” I said.
“Must not have hurt too much,” Thad said. “I figured he’d let go of your neck when it broke, but he didn’t.”
I looked at Thad, “You broke it?”
He nodded and pointed at Rosa. “Yeah. When he grabbed you round the neck, I took hold of his little finger and bent it back. He didn’t let go, so I broke it. But he didn’t even flinch.”
I looked back at Rosa. “Didn’t flinch when I shot his ass either.”
Shane walked out of the holding area and returned, pushing a mop bucket and mop. Leaning the mop handle in the corner, he asked, “Will you two help me get him out of here?”
“That’s going to make a hell of a mess,” Thad said.
“I’ll go get a body bag from the clinic,” I said.
I left them there and walked back towards the clinic. Crossing the parking lot, I noticed that my neck hurt. I rubbed it as I ran through what happened in my mind. It seemed it happened in slow motion at the time. Though I know that certainly wasn’t the case. As the scene went through my mind, I drew my pistol and dropped the mag, replacing it with a full one and tucked the other mag into my dump pouch.
It was odd to be walking through the parking lot of the police department replacing the mag in my pistol. But then, I guess it wasn’t nearly as strange as shooting an inmate in a holding cell inside the jail. But it was a new world we lived in. I was brought out of my stupor by the sound of an engine. Livingston and Sheffield pulled up beside me.
“Hey, Morg,” Livingston said. “Heard the test went well. So when can we expect power in town?”
I shrugged. “It’s going to take a while. We’ve still got a lot of work to do. One thing I need you guys to do is find out what size transformer the armory has. We’ll probably have to replace it when the time comes.”
“I’ll sort it out,” Livingston replied. He looked out the window of the truck and asked, “Where are you going?”
“I need a body bag.”
Sheffield leaned forward and asked, “For what?”
Cocking my head to the side, I asked, “Really?”
Sheffield now looked around and asked, “Where? Who?”
I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder towards the jail. “In the jail. Dave Rosa is dead.”
“What happened?” Livingston asked.
I told them the tale of Dave’s death. When I finished, Sheffield asked a ridiculous question. One I would have expected in the Before. “You couldn’t stop him without killing him? Was that really necessary?”
I leaned towards the window so I could see his face. “How about I walk around there and throttle you by the neck? Let’s see what you think about it. Besides, we did try. Thad broke one of his fingers trying to get him off me. Dude had a grip. Not to mention, he was going to die one way or another. Just happened sooner than I planned.”
“How’s your search for a judge coming?” Sheffield asked.
Running my hand through my hair, I replied, “I don’t know. Haven’t found anyone yet. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to find a bag for that sack of shit bleeding out in the jail.” Turning back towards the clinic, I walked off. I’m sure Sheffield was grumbling, but I didn’t give a shit.
I found a body bag at the clinic, having to answer the same stupid question once more. Bag in hand, I went back to the jail where Shane and Thad had moved Dave’s body out to the vehicle sally port. A rivulet of blood
ran across the floor and into a drain. I unfolded the bag and dropped it on the ground. Looking at the body, I said, “Looks like you guys were busy.”
Thad nodded at Shane. “He wanted to clean that cell.”
I looked at the mop bucket, now full of red water, and added. “I guess in this heat you don’t want to waste any time.”
Shane stepped up and grabbed Dave’s feet. “No, you don’t; now let’s get him in this bag.”
We quickly loaded Dave into the bag and zipped it up. With that part of the task done, the question now was, what do we do with him?
“I guess we’ll take him out to the farm and bury him there,” Thad said. “I’ll have Cecil bring his tractor out.”
“Alright. You ready to head home?” I asked Thad.
Pulling a small cloth from his hip pocket, he wiped sweat from his forehead. “Yeah. Let’s head back. I say we go to the lake tomorrow. I could really use a dip in the lake to cool off.”
“Alright, Shane. Cecil will collect this sack of trash in the morning,” I said.
He nodded. “Sounds good. Catch you guys later.”
I gave him a wave as we walked out the roll-up door. As we headed back to the clinic, Thad said, “I want to check on Jess before we go.”
“Good idea.”
We stepped into the clinic and found Jess and Lee Ann sitting in a couple of folding chairs. The girl they’d brought in was now in a bed. She was wearing one of those little gowns that shows everyone your ass. But that wasn’t an issue as she was lying in bed and mostly covered with a sheet.
I put my hand on Lee Ann’s shoulder. She looked up and smiled and I asked, “How’s it going?”
“They said she should be alright. She was really dehydrated. They put an IV in and gave her a bunch of stuff. She has injuries though, you know, inside.”
As I was talking to her, Thad knelt down beside Jess. She was looking at the girl and he stayed quiet for a moment before asking, “You ok, Miss Jess?”
She didn’t reply. Just stared at the girl. Thad placed his hand on her arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. When she looked at him, he said, “You saved her, Jess.”
She looked at him for a moment, then back at the girl, then back to him. “It doesn’t feel like it. Someone should have been there sooner.”
Thad nodded as he looked at the young girl. Getting up, he stepped to the bed and pushed her hair behind her ears. Looking back at Jess, he said, “But if you hadn’t gotten there when you did, she wouldn’t be here now. You saved her. You did a really good thing.” Jess gave a little shrug in reply. Thad walked over to her and held his big arms out, “Now give me a hug so I can head home.”
She reluctantly stood up and leaned into the big man. Thad wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground. She smiled and then laughed. “Uhg, you’re squeezing me in half!”
He smiled and said, “I knew I’d get you to smile.”
Jess smiled in an exaggerated manner, “There, you did. Happy now?”
He set her back on the floor and replied, “Yes ma’am.”
“You two going to stay here tonight?” I asked.
Jess nodded. “I am.”
“Me too,” Lee Ann added.
“Alight then. I’ll come check on you guys, and her, tomorrow.”
“We’re going swimming tomorrow,” Thad said, grinning.
Jess stabbed her finger at me, “You better come get us before you go!”
Holding my hands up, I replied, “I will, I will. Well, someone will.”
Jess crossed her arms over her chest. “You better.”
“I’ll make sure you get home,” Thad said.
“Alright. We’re out.” I said and leaned over and kissed Lee Ann on the head. “See you two in the morning.”
As we walked out, Thad said, “I’m driving.”
Walking around to the passenger side, I replied, “Fine by me.”
Thad started the buggy up and was pulling out of the parking lot when a man came running up, waving a piece of paper and shouting. I dropped my head back against the seat and moaned, “Now what?”
CHAPTER 5
“Settle down, Gulliver,” Sarge said from under his hat.
Dalton was restless. The men had moved out to the small structure at the juncture of two conveyors. They made the move in early morning hours while it was still dark. The sun was now up and activity was picking back up around the reactor.
Dalton rolled his neck and settled back in behind the scope. He was resting behind the old man’s M1A. But all he was doing was looking through it. He wanted to be on the trigger. Not just staring through the scope’s twenty-five power magnification. After a moment, he asked, “Are we just going to sit here or are we going to dance?”
Sarge was lying on his back with his feet stretched out and propped up on the conveyor belt. His hands were folded on his chest and he was trying to sleep. Rocking his feet back and forth, he said, “The dance don’t start till tonight. Simmer down.”
“I think ole no-neck down there is the jefe,” Mike said.
“That’s one big-ass Russian,” Doc said.
Dalton clicked his tongue and said, “You think he’s a religious man?”
Doc was looking through a compact pair of Steiner binoculars. He studied the large man for a moment and replied, “I don’t know. Why?”
Dalton smiled. “Because he’s about to have an out-of-body experience.” He clicked the safety off on the M1. “In three, two…”
“You pull that trigger and I’ll stuff that rifle up your ass sideways,” Sarge said without moving. Dalton clicked the safety back on and Sarge added, “Good man.”
“You seeing our guys down there?” Ted said.
Sarge sat up, “You see those Corps guys?”
Doc handed Sarge his binos. “Yeah. They’re down there at the door to the reactor.”
Sarge looked down at the plant and saw several men in multi-cam uniforms. They were surrounded by armed men in green fleck camo pattern. The man they called no-neck was talking to them and gesturing with his hands. A couple of the engineers were obviously wounded, the bandages clearly visible.
“We got to get those guys out of here,” Dalton said.
“Where’d they come from?” Sarge asked.
“They came out of the reactor building.” Ted said. “Probably walked them through from the other side.”
Sarge shook his head. “We don’t have enough people.”
Dalton looked over at the old man. “We can’t leave them here. We’ve got to get them out.”
“Look son, I know how you feel. But there’s four of us.” He pointed down at the reactor. “Look at how many are down there.” Then he pointed to the tall steam plant to the west of the reactor, “Look how many guys are up there. They’ve even got armor down there. This is a fight we can’t win.”
Dalton turned his attention back to the scope. “There’s got to be something we can do.”
Doc leaned forward and looked at the boat tied up in the lagoon. “I still don’t get what they’re doing with the old fuel rods. I mean, it’s hazardous waste. You can’t do anything with it. Why in the hell are they hauling it out of here.”
Sarge looked down at the boat. “They’ve got two of those casks loaded, and looks like there’s room for one more. My guess is when that third one is loaded, they’ll pull out.”
“Think they’ll leave those engineers?” Ted asked.
Sarge shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Well, whatever they’re planning with that shit, we can throw a wrench in the works,” Mike said. “I’ve got enough plastic to sink that boat.”
“If that boat were to sink right there, they wouldn’t be able to get another one in here,” Dalton said.
Sarge was watching the boat as he thought about it. After a moment, he said, “You feel like going for a swim tonight, Mikey?”
“You know it, boss.”
“I’ll go too,” Dalton added.
Sarge handed the binos back to Doc. “Alright. Get some rest. You two go over there tonight and send that thing to Davey Jone’s locker.”
Mike pulled his pack over and smiled, “With pleasure.”
They spent the rest of the day observing the activity at the reactor and trying to get a hard count on the number of Russians. There were soldiers obviously, but there were others as well. These people may have been in uniform, but their mannerisms gave them away. They obviously weren’t military. Ted had a running tally on a small notepad. Currently, the count was twenty-nine armed men and eleven others.
“Damn this fucking dust,” Dalton growled.
Sarge raised the brim of his hat to see him. “What’s the matter? Little coal dust bothering you?”
“A little?” Dalton asked, holding his blackened hands up. “The shit is everywhere.”
Sarge chuckled. “It’s a coal conveyor. What the hell did you expect?”
Mike slapped Dalton’s shoulder, causing a small cloud of black dust to rise. “Don’t sweat it, man. It’ll come off when we take our swim later.” Dalton looked at Mike and couldn’t help himself. He started to laugh. “What?” Mike asked.
Dalton was laughing so hard while muffling the sound with his hands that he could barely talk. He pointed at Mike and managed to mutter, “Your face!” And he ran a finger around his mouth.
“What?” Mike asked.
Sarge looked at Mike and stifled a laugh as well. “What the hell, Mikey. You look like you been sucking on a dirty asshole.”
Mike’s face was covered in black dust. But, like little kids that play in the dirt, they always seem to develop a really dark ring around their mouths. And Mike had a thick black ring of coal dust around his mouth. He pulled his pack over again and took a small signal mirror out and looked at himself.
“How in the hell do you get so damn filthy?” Ted asked.
Looking in the mirror, Mike muttered, “Holy shit.” He pulled a bandanna from his pocket and started wiping at the black ring. “This shit isn’t coming off!”
“Hang on,” Doc said. He opened his bag and took out a bottle of saline. Handing it to Mike, he said, “Use this.”
Mike used the saline to wet the cloth and managed to scrub most of the dust from around his mouth, though his face was a couple shades darker than normal. But then, so was everyone else up there.
