“If we don’t prepare for all possible scenarios then this country will be sent back to the days of horse-drawn carriages and steam engines.”
Dr. Wyatt’s chest was heaving, trying to catch his breath from the anger welling up inside. The press snapped a few pictures before the vice president finally spoke.
“This hearing is in recess until Dr. Wyatt can give us the documented facts of his allegations and present them in a more professional manner.”
The vice president slammed the gavel on the table, ending the session. Dr. Wyatt’s eyes closed when he heard that sound. However long this “recess” was going to last was time he knew the country couldn’t afford. Every minute that ticked by was one less to help prepare.
A few of the reporters came up to him, barking questions, but he didn’t hear what they said. The only sound left was the ringing of the gavel still lingering in his ears.
When the cleaning crew came in he was asked to leave. He didn’t want to though. He knew the world outside would call him eccentric, or a fearmonger, trying to panic the American people.
Outside, the Capitol building was buzzing with tourists running around snapping pictures on the Capitol steps. He walked around to the National Mall and he could see the Washington Monument protruding into the sky. Just beyond that the lights were turning on in the Lincoln Memorial.
The construction of those buildings was a testament to the human spirit, the will to go on; it renewed his strength to keep pushing. The men who made those monuments were the embodiment of this nation’s endurance, of its reason.
It was hard for him to imagine a world where that voice of reason was snuffed out by the fear and hypocrisy of politicians. Whatever fate awaited him after today’s events wouldn’t be as bad as that to come if men like the vice president remained in power.
“I was wondering when you’d come out of there.”
Dr. Wyatt turned around. Walking toward him was a tall, well-dressed man. The cut of his suit suggested wealth, but the manner in which he wore it gave him an air of power.
“I’m sorry. Can I help you?” Dr. Wyatt asked.
“I hope so. My name’s Bram Thorn.”
“What can I do for you, Mr. Thorn?”
“Please, call me Bram.”
“Okay, what can I do for you, Bram?”
“Those comments you made in the Senate hearing today were bold, but I don’t think you got your point across.”
“Those hearings were closed to the general public. The only people allowed to attend were government officials and the press, so which one are you?”
“I’m like you, Dr. Wyatt. A kindred spirit in trying to bring awareness to our nation’s weaknesses.”
“Well, in that case it looks like you’re the only friend I have right now.”
“Then perhaps you could give your friend a few minutes of your time.”
***
Bram’s office had the same opulence as the car that drove Dr. Wyatt there. The office was small, but whatever it lacked in size it made up for in location. It was on the top floor of a high-rise in downtown Washington, DC. The view was spectacular. You could see some of DC’s most notable sites: the Capitol Building, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and The White House.
“One of the reasons I bought the place,” Bram said.
“Did you know they stopped construction on the Washington Monument for over two decades? When they went to finish it they had to use another type of marble. It’s one of my favorite monuments,” Dr. Wyatt said.
“The storms of winter must blow and beat upon it… the lightnings of Heaven may scar and blacken it. An earthquake may shake its foundations… but the character which it commemorates and illustrates is secure.”
“Who wrote that?”
“It was a speech written by Robert Winthrop at the dedication ceremony of the Washington Monument. Please, have a seat.”
A group of chairs surrounded a small coffee table in the center of the office. As he set his bag down a young man entered.
“Can I get you anything, Dr. Wyatt? Something to eat or drink?” the young man asked.
“No, I’m fine. Thank you.”
“I’ll take an iced tea, Trent,” Bram said.
Trent left, leaving Bram and Dr. Wyatt alone.
“I’m glad you could make time for me today,” Bram said.
“Well, you were a hard man to say no to, what with the phone calls, and e-mails, and the car that you sent to come and pick me up.”
“I know what I want, Dr. Wyatt.”
Trent came back with the iced tea and set it on a coaster on the table, then left.
“What is it that you do, Mr. Thorn, I-I mean, Bram?” Dr. Wyatt asked.
“A few years ago I engineered a new piece of software that protected financial information. That success led me to expand into the development of hardware. Today my company is the fifth-largest microprocessor manufacturer in the country, and we continue to grow.”
“I can see that.”
Dr. Wyatt took another glance around the office. The place had a simple elegance to it. The office was neither intimidating nor excessive; it was powerfully quiet.
There were a few pictures on the walls. Most of them looked as though they were from the company’s first few days. There were also a couple of ribbon-cutting ceremonies for factories, personal vacations around the world, and one with him in military fatigues surrounded by military personnel.
“What branch?” Dr. Wyatt asked.
“Marines.”
“How long did you serve?”
Bram’s mouth curved into a taut smile.
“Too long,” Bram answered, and then broke the tension with a small chuckle. “My back still isn’t the same from lugging that pack around.”
“Bram, I have to be honest with you. I’m not sure you want to be associated with me after yesterday’s events. Aggravating the vice president like I did isn’t the best career advancer. If you’re looking for someone to help with producing funds, or getting an inside scoop on any appropriations in the technology industry, I’m afraid I won’t be of much use.”
“Dr. Wyatt, I didn’t bring you here because of your tenure with working in government. Your talents far exceed any politician’s. I read your research. It was very thorough.”
“So, you’re looking for a consultant?”
“A partner.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“The hardware my company produces is useless without the utilities to power it. If the country’s grid goes down, so does my business.”
“Mr. Thorn, I feel I must tell you that even with the small chance that the results of my research do get approved, it’ll take years before the security measures are put into place, and by the time that happens there could be new threats that arise. Our legislative process is just too slow.”
“And that’s why I need your help. Our elected officials have done nothing but prolong the inevitable.”
“And what is that?”
“Our fall from being a world power.”
“Mr. Thorn, I’m afraid I can’t help you with that.”
Bram set the iced tea down on the table and reached for his inside jacket pocket. He pulled out a card and handed it to Dr. Wyatt.
“If you change your mind,” Bram said.
Dr. Wyatt took the card hesitantly. He shook Bram’s hand and headed for the door.
“We could do a lot, Dr. Wyatt,” Bram said.
Dr. Wyatt gave him a nod and Trent escorted him out.
***
When he arrived home, Dr. Wyatt flicked on the living room light and set his bag on the couch. His apartment was modest. The living room was filled to the brim with books and papers spread across every surface.
The research from his work on the national utilities was in the same spot he left it when he arrived home yesterday: the trash.
He rescued it from under an empty soup can and set the wrinkled and bound papers o
n his desk. He pressed the pages down, trying to smooth them out, then flipped through his work, remembering the countless hours spent collecting the data, analyzing it, and coming up with solutions that could solve the problems found.
“All for nothing,” Dr. Wyatt said, dropping them back on the desk.
Maybe Bram was right. The politicians were the root of the problem. There wasn’t any place for knowledge or facts, not when favors and political pull overrode everything.
His fingers ran along the edges of Bram’s business card in his pocket. He touched the corners, letting the paper dig into his skin. Finally, he pulled the card out and held it under the lamp on his desk, the gold letters shining in the light.
Dr. Wyatt’s eyes kept moving from the card to his phone. The conflict was burning inside him. He wanted to call, but was afraid of what that meant. He’d spent his entire life working for the government in the belief that he was making a difference, but now, there seemed to be no difference at all.
His fingers found the keypad on the phone and when he heard the ringing on the other line he felt his pulse quicken. Within three rings he heard not the voice of Trent but Bram himself. It wasn’t something he expected.
“Mr. Thorn? Yes, right, Bram… I was wondering if your offer was still on the table?... Great. When can we get started?”
Chapter 2: Day 20 After the Blackout (The Cabin)
Mike opened Freddy’s door. His son was sound asleep, just as he’d been every morning when he checked on him. Mike liked watching him rest. Whatever peace Freddy had in those moments Mike felt a part of.
“Dad.”
Kalen stood behind him in the hallway. He gave her a nod and closed Freddy’s door. His daughter was up with him every morning for the past week. The scars and bruises on her face were almost healed. Aside from a few lumps and a little discoloring you couldn’t tell she was almost beaten to death.
“Nelson up?” Mike asked.
“Yeah, he’s outside. You think Sam was able to fix the Jeep?”
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
This new bond the two of them shared was one he wished had never formed. Both of them were veterans of bloody conflicts. Each of them had inflicted pain, and they had received it in kind.
Nelson looked half asleep when they walked outside, but he was standing. The three of them headed down the dirt path that would take them to the highway. Once they were on the road they’d follow it to the small town of Carrollton.
None of them made any unnecessary trips there over the past week. It was a place consumed with death. The biker gang responsible for his daughter’s injuries was the same group that laid waste to everyone in the town that they came into contact with.
The grass fields that surrounded the town were filled with the people that used to live inside it. The bodies were too burned and charred to be identified by any records, so an unmarked stone was placed for each body. The stones formed a circle around the mass grave Mike and his group had dug.
The casualties of the gang’s violence were made personal when they killed Mike’s father, Ulysses, and two other members of his group. Ulysses sacrificed himself to save Mike and Kalen.
When they were digging the graves Ulysses’ body wasn’t placed with the townspeople. Mike dug his father his own grave along with four others. Two were for the mother and father of three girls that Ulysses had saved from the brutality of the biker’s violence, one was for Tom, and the other was for Jung’s wife.
Mike hadn’t visited the grave since he put his father in the ground. He didn’t need to. He saw his father every time he fell asleep. In his nightmares he relieved the pain of watching his dad put a gun to his own head and squeeze the trigger.
Kalen was up front taking point, gun at the ready. Mike noticed that she still hadn’t let her guard down. She always had a firearm within arm’s reach, even when she was at the cabin.
Despite all of the pain Kalen went through, a part of Mike was glad she experienced it. She was sharper, more aware of everything she did.
That’s how you had to be now. In a split second, everything could change and your life, or the lives of the people you love, could be over.
Nelson hadn’t said much since the events. Out of the whole group, his family suffered the least. Mike figured Nelson felt guilty about it. His wife had been kept safe by Sam, who was her security escort for her vice president’s position at the engineering firm she worked at, and Mike had managed to keep Nelson and his son safe on their travels from Pittsburgh to the cabin.
“How are you holding up?” Mike asked.
“I should be asking you that,” Nelson said.
“Everything seems to be healing all right.”
“What about Kalen? How’s she doing?”
“As good as she can be.”
“Mike, I don’t know if this is a good time to bring it up, but when we get into town you know that Sam’s not the only person that’s going to be there, right?”
“I know.”
“We all know what Jung did was terrible, and we’re with you on your decision, but if you jus—”
“I’m not changing my mind. And I shouldn’t have to remind you that he didn’t just put my family in danger, Nelson, he put yours as well. He let desperation and fear guide his choices, and I don’t want that anywhere near my family. I wouldn’t think you would either.”
“What about Fay?”
Mike paused. He didn’t agree with Fay staying with Jung. She was a valuable member of their group. He didn’t want to lose her, but he wasn’t going to budge on their disagreement with Jung’s fate.
“It’s her decision. She’s still welcome to come with us, but I won’t allow her to bring Jung,” Mike said. “It’s not up for discussion.”
Mike continued down the path, catching up to Kalen, who’d stopped to wait for them. Nelson was quiet the rest of the way down.
***
Sam dropped the wrench to the ground and it clanged against the concrete. The barrage of bullets that flew into the engine damaged the battery and the coolant tank of the Jeep. The tank was easy enough to repair, and luckily the mechanic’s garage in town had some spare batteries.
After a few other adjustments with getting new tires and knocking out the cracked, bullet-ridden windshield, the Jeep was as good as it was going to get. The only test now was to see if it’d run.
It had been a lot of trial and error over the past week, trying to figure out which parts were working and which weren’t. Sam grabbed the keys, hopped into the driver’s seat, and put the key in the ignition. He waited a few moments before finally turning the engine over.
The Jeep cranked to life and Sam leaned back and smiled. He threw the shifter in reverse to take it for a spin.
Sam pulled onto the road and shifted the Jeep into second gear. The clutch was a little touchy, but everything seemed to be working fine. He did a few laps up and down Main Street.
The sound of the engine caused Fay to come out of her motel room. Sam gave her a wave when he saw her and she threw her hands up in the air and started clapping. Sam parked in one of the motel’s spaces and she came out to greet him.
“Feel like going for a ride?” Sam asked.
“Only if you can take me to a place with a shower.”
“I hear Cincinnati is nice this time of year.”
Fay’s smile faded.
“You haven’t talked to Mike about it, have you?” Sam said.
“He hasn’t been in the talking mood lately.”
“Well, he’s on his way down this morning. You’ll get your chance.”
“Yeah.”
Sam patted the seat and Fay’s smile came back. She hopped up in the passenger’s side and Sam tore off.
The two of them rode through the fields. Sam spun the tires and did a few donuts. Fay screamed and held on tight to the roll bar as the dirt and dust flew up around them. Sam finally brought the Jeep to a stop and the two of them started to laugh.
“I
think she’ll run just fine,” Sam said.
When Sam came back into town from the fields he could see Mike, Nelson, and Kalen walking down Main Street toward the garage. Nelson and Kalen spun around and sprinted toward him when they heard the Jeep’s engine.
“You got it running!” Nelson shouted.
“You say that like it’s a surprise,” Sam said.
No Power: EMP Post Apocalyptic Fiction Thriller Super Boxset Page 135
