After The Solar Flare (Book 2): Adventures in the Apocalypse

by AJ Newman

  “Mary, I saved a young girl from the same pirates. I fished her out of the water, and she sailed with me to Pueto Rey where she said her parents lived. Her friend and her friend’s mom didn’t escape and were abused by the pirates.”

  “Those were Gentleman Jack’s men. We don’t want him to know you were part of the crew that successfully stopped his pirates. He would kill us all. He only tolerated the Father and Nuns here since the entire city is Catholic and would revolt if he attacked the Church.”

  We made love for hours then lay in each other’s arms until time to go over to the Convent for supper. Mary dressed in the Nun’s Habit and said, “No hanky panky while I wear these clothes. It just seems like a sin to fool around dressed like a Nun.”

  “Then, how do you account for sales of Nun outfits at Costume shops. I’m thinking there are people who roleplay.”

  “You, my child must get you mind out of the gutter long enough for us to have supper and get these clothes off of me when we get back to the room.”

  “Hmmm, you might be right about the dirty mind. I never wanted to make love to a Nun before.”

  Mary took my hand, picked up a fly swatter, and swatted my hand as she said,” “Behave, or I’ll spank you and send you to bed without supper.”

  We walked over to the Convent, and a dozen children attacked me, “Mister Matt, we missed you. We were afraid that you had gone away like our parents.”

  I played with the children while the food was placed on the table and Sister Angela sent for the Fathers and the rest of the Nuns. We all washed our hands and seated ourselves at the long table. The meal consisted of a stew made up mainly from carrots, potatoes, and beans. There was no meat, and I later learned that they only had meat on Sunday and Wednesday. Of course, they had fish on Fridays.

  The cooks were a couple of parishioners from the village who worked for the Church. They cooked, cleaned up the kitchen and cleaned the entire Church and Convent. I found out later they also worked for Gentleman Jack.

  I woke up with Mary’s head on my chest thinking it would be wonderful to stay in bed all day with Mary. I looked over on the dresser at the clock and saw it was 5:00 and I needed to get up, get dressed, and head over to Pueto Rey with Oscar’s man. I gently moved Mary’s head to slide out from under her when she threw her leg over mine, rolled her body on top of me, and pinned me down.

  “Are you trying to sneak out on me without leaving your phone number big boy?”

  “No, I’m running late for work and didn’t want to wake you. I’ll call later this week.”

  Mary giggled and replied, “You’re not leaving until I’m done with you big boy.”

  “I’ll be late.”

  “I’ve been waiting to wake up next to you for about a year now. You can be a few minutes late,” she said as she started tickling me.

  Fifty minutes later, I scrambled to get my clothes on and ran out to meet Jose at the Jeep. Jose had a thermos full of black coffee, which hit the spot on our drive to Pueto Rey. The drive was only 15 minutes, but it gave us a chance to get to know each other.

  Jose was from Jacksonville, Florida and had not been home for several years. He had been in the US Army when The Flare occurred and was in Colombia on a mission to eliminate the drug cartels. He and several of the men assigned to the mission were abandoned when the plane carrying their command officers crashed due to the solar flare. He fell in with Oscar to survive.

  Oscar was just sitting down to have breakfast when I arrived. He invited me to join him, and I gladly accepted the offer. Breakfast for Oscar was much different from a meal at the Church. There were eggs, ham, hash browns, and fruit. I ate my fill and complimented Oscar’s chef and the waitress. They both looked very familiar, but I couldn’t place them.

  “Do you have a formal training plan or do I need one of my men to take notes?”

  “I’d have someone take notes. The instructions were in Spanish and Russian, so they were read to me, and I learned by following the instructions and trial and error. Do you have the drones here or are we traveling to a remote site?”

  “It is best that we do the training in secret. I have a ranch about 20 miles from here where we can have privacy. Did you enjoy your visit with your friends?”

  “Yes, I did. I told him I met Sisters Mary and Angela on the way south and became good friends.”

  “Matt, most men don’t share a room with a Nun when a Convent is next door.”

  “Sorry for the deception but they thought it was best to keep Mary hidden as a Nun so they wouldn’t raise Jack’s suspicion.”

  “That was a good plan. Jack has spies all over the city and this one also.”

  “Thanks that helped. Your chef and waitress also work at the Catholic Church in the afternoons. I think they are spies.”

  “Shit, if I had known they work in Arboletes I would have never hired them.”

  I replied, “What is more suspicious is how they get back and forth when almost no peasants have running cars or trucks.”

  “Double shit.”

  “Are you going to kill them?”

  “Why do you care?”

  “Well, I would kill them after I fed Jack with as much bullshit as I could come up with that screw with his business and his private life.”

  “I was thinking the same thoughts. Jack might be real mad at his girlfriend tomorrow.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because she slept over with one of our town counsels last night and I’m sending my chef over with a note for him.”

  “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

  It only took half an hour to go the 20 miles to Oscar’s Ranch, and the surrounding jungle was beautiful along the way. The word ranch didn’t do justice to Oscar’s estate in the middle of the jungle. The main house was over 15,000 square feet, the outdoor pool was 100 feet by 50 feet wide, and there was a small airport at the back of the property with a large hangar full of airplanes, one helicopter, and a Gulfstream jet.

  “Oscar, this is a bit more than a ranch.”

  “Yes it’s nice, but it’s still a ranch. We raise horses, sheep, cattle, and goats along with a large garden, corn, wheat, and beans. Most of my crops go to feed my people. I have three other large farms spread across my land.”

  “So you’re a combination Robbing Hood and Good Samaritan.”

  “Robin or Robbing?”

  “If the shoe fits.”

  “You are smart and funny. Get your ass over there and train my men before I have time to think about that Robbing crap.”

  “Yes, Boss.”

  “That’s better.”

  Oscar had chosen his men well; they soaked up the knowledge and were soon flying the drones as well or better than me. Once they had all the basics, I asked Oscar’s man to bring some RPG rockets, a piece of metal that weighed about the same as the RPG, and a Ruger MKIII pistol.

  Oscar walked over to see what the hell I was going to do with the RPG round.

  “Don’t kill any of my cows,” he said in a stern voice.

  “Be patient and watch.”

  I used a coat hanger to hold the weight below the solenoid and then flew the large drone out over the pasture towards a pickup truck parked at the edge of the field. I used the small monitor to aim and pushed the button to release the weight. It fell a hundred feet into the bed of the pickup.

  “Damn, are you telling me you can drop an RPG rocket on a target from a mile away?”

  “No, I can hit a target five miles away with the large drone and about a mile with the smaller ones. That’s how I defeated the pirates attacking a freighter. The small drone has been modified to accept the Ruger .22 and can hit a target accurately from 25 yards with a little practice.”

  Oscar’s face lit up, and he hugged me in front of his men as he said, “You are a fucking genius.”

  “Thanks, but it was a team effort with Joeseph, Manuel and me working to find a way to stop the attacks. Hell, would you like to make some flame thro
wers?”

  “I heard that some of Jack’s men died of severe burns a couple of weeks ago. Was that you?”

  “It was the crew of the Svetlana. I will give your guys a list of what to gather and show them how to build one of our last prototypes. It will shoot a burning stream of fire about 150 feet. It’s kinda’ big so it will have to be mounted on a truck or large boat.”

  Oscar was ecstatic over the new weapons at his disposal.

  “Matt, I’m not happy that I can now bomb and burn people; I’m glad that these can be defensive weapons to fight off Jack when he finally attacks us. He wants to take all of Colombia before the Brits and Canadians move into the country from the east.”

  “I’m glad to assist in your defense. I’m beginning to believe that you are a good man down deep inside.”

  “How soon are you heading out for Quito?”

  “The day after tomorrow. Why? “

  “I’d like for you to bring your Nun out here and be my guest tonight and tomorrow. You can be yourselves, swim in my pool, and be my wife’s and my guests. My daughter returned home a few days back, and we will throw a party for both of you.”

  “I’d like that a lot, and I think Mary would love to get out of that habit for a day.”

  “Jose, take my friend back to the Convent and bring him and his lady back here. Thanks and watch out for Jack’s men. Oh, Jorge, go get a side of beef and Jose will take it to Father John.”

  ***

  “You’re asking me if I want to lounge around a swimming pool, drink umbrella drinks, and make love all night. Let me think for a second. Yes, let’s go before he changes his mind.”

  “Grab some clothes.”

  “Damn, I don’t have anything to wear.”

  “Mary, that’s not important. You are beautiful in any clothes.”

  “Darn, I haven’t worn nice clothes or put on makeup for almost a year. I’ll look like a ragamuffin out there with Oscar’s women all dressed up.”

  Mary’s excitement was tempered by the same old emotions women went through before The Flare, and it hurt me that I couldn’t provide for her.

  “Mary, I’m going over to Oscar’s store and see if he has anything nice for you to wear.”

  “Thanks, babe. He probably won’t have anything, but I appreciate the thought.”

  Just as Mary finished talking, there was a knock at the door, and we heard Jose say, “I have a gift for you from Oscar.”

  I opened the door, and Jose handed me two packages and said, “Oscar thought you might want to have some new clothes for your vacation.”

  Mary gave him a big hug and started ripping the package open as Jose left and I closed the door. There were two nice dresses, underwear, shoes, and an assortment of makeup items in her bag. I opened my bag and found a pair of pants, two shirts, underwear and two swimsuits. There were man’s trunks and a sexy white string Bikini in the bottom of the bag.

  Mary had quickly dressed and was putting her makeup on when I came up behind her and held the Bikini in front of her and whistled.

  She saw the Bikini and her eyes lit up with glee.

  “Matt, I haven’t worn one of those since before I was married. My husband didn’t approve then, and now I’m too fat to wear one.”

  “BS, you have a fantastic figure, and I want you to wear it, please.”

  “Maybe just for you in our room.”

  “Okay, we can go skinny dipping in the pool.”

  “Not likely,” she said as she pinched me and laughed.

  ***

  Oscar and his wife walked down the steps of their beautiful home to greet us as we arrived. I expected a 25-year-old blonde bombshell to be on his arm; instead, there was a mid-forties gorgeous Latin lady who greeted us with a warm smile and equally warm heart.

  Oscar introduced us and said, “Oliva and I have been together for twenty years, and we have three children. Only the Lord knows why she picked a rascal like me to stay with all this time.”

  “It’s because you are kind and considerate for a damned old pirate. Come on Mary; let’s let these men get a few drinks while we catch up on the feminine part of the world. Dear, dinner is at eight. Matt, don’t worry, I’ll have your beautiful woman back to you in a short while so you can spend some time together before supper later on.”

  Oscar was the perfect host, and his butler served us the best whiskey I had ever had the pleasure to drink. We discussed the state of the world for a few minutes, and then Oscar made me a job offer.

  “Matt, as you know my current business model has 90 percent let’s say risky endeavors, and I want to switch my business to a more traditional model with less risk. To do that I need an honest man to manage the legit businesses while I back away from the, err, less legit business. I want you to be that manager.”

  “Oscar, I am truly flattered, and under the circumstances, I should jump at the job; however, I have given my word to the Nuns and kids to get them to Quito. Sorry, but I have to pass for now.”

  “Much of my legit business will be in Ecuador. Perhaps you could manage that division for me.”

  “Let me get everyone safe in Quito, and I promise to give you and answer. I have nothing planned after I drop them off other than making love to my beautiful Mary and making a good life for her.”

  I felt movement behind us as the women returned.

  Olivia said, “Matt that was so sweet. Mary is a lucky woman to have a man like you. Well, what do you think of your wife now?

  I turned fully around, and my jaw dropped. There was a goddess standing next to Olivia wearing a tiny black dress, diamonds, and stilettos.

  I jumped to my feet and stammered as I tried to describe how beautiful my lady was; I finally said, “Oh my God you are a living doll.”

  We kissed and then stood there red faced as Oliva said, “Matt we have about two hours before supper. Be careful taking that dress off her and don’t ruin her makeup before supper. Go have fun.”

  Before we could head to our room, Oscar said, “Here’s my daughter Rebecca.”

  I turned to see a gorgeous young lady in a string Bikini with a fishnet wrap hanging from her hips. She saw me, shook her head, and ran to me yelling, “That’s my hero, Matt.”

  She planted a big kiss on me as Mary stood there with a frown on her face.

  “Becca, what are you doing here at my friend’s house?”

  “You know my dad?”

  Oscar spoke up and said, “Matt, this is my daughter Rebecca. Rebecca, I believe you know Matt. This is his beautiful wife Mary, and they are our guests here until tomorrow. So, Matt, you are the ten-foot tall, handsome stranger who saved my daughter.”

  “I’m the guy who fished a half-drowned young girl from the ocean and fed her until my food was almost gone.”

  Mary interjected, “Becca, Matt told me about you, and I am so sorry about your friends.”

  “Thanks, we were able to buy them back from Jack, and they are resting at their villa.”

  Olivia said, “Oscar told me that Matt was a special kind of man and now we find that he is the hero that saved my little Becca.”

  She hugged both Mary and me while she cried with joy.

  Mary led me to our suite that was just off the pool. We spent our time wisely, and I didn’t harm the dress or her makeup. Well maybe smeared the makeup a bit, but nothing Mary didn’t fix quickly before we left the room for supper.

  “Darling, I never thought I’d spend another day doing anything normal again. Matt, the world has to return to some kind of normal.”

  “Babe, I hope it doesn’t return to the things that were bad, but like you, I could get used to this. Oscar offered me a job managing a large part of his legitimate business. I like him, but I don’t know if I want to work for a pirate.”

  “Well, I guess that depends on what our options are at the time. When do you have to give him and answer?”

  “Right after we deliver Sister Angela and the kids to the orphanage in Quito.”

  �
��That sounds fair. I love his wife, and Oscar seems nice. His little girl is in love with my man.”

  I ignored the comment at the end and replied, “I promise I won’t give an answer without your approval. We are in this together, and I never want to be away from you again after all of our adventures.”

  “Oliva thinks that I’m your wife and I hope that beautiful young lady keeps her hands to herself.”

  “Well, I guess we have to make that official as soon as possible to keep the young ladies from chasing me.”

  “Is that a proposal?”

  “No, this is,” I said as I dropped down to one knee and said, “Mary will you marry me?”

  “Mary kneeled down and knocked me to the floor as she said, “Yes, I want to be your wife.”

  We were late for supper.

  Supper was a formal affair with several courses, then desert, and then after dinner drinks by the pool.

  “Olivia, Matt, and I aren’t married, but he proposed to me before supper. We plan to get married as soon as we get back to the Church tomorrow. Matt and I have been the best of friends for a while and fell in love a few months back. He has saved my life several times and saved the lives of several Nuns and a busload of children. He is the best man I ever met. I love him so much.”

  “I am so happy for you. Oscar, Becca, and I will go to our rooms now and leave you two lovebirds alone.”

  Olivia leaned over and whispered to Mary before saying, “Come on Oscar.”

  They left us beside the pool in the dark as the lights went out for the night. There was only the light of a quarter moon in the sky to light up the pool. We took our clothes off and dove into the pool with Mary heading to the far end of the pool by the house. She was very fast in the water, and I only caught up with her when she stopped in the corner. The water was only four feet deep, and I stood there kissing her as she took tossed her underwear up on the deck.