Apocalypse Atlanta (Book 2): Apocalypse Aftermath (Book 2)

by David Rogers

  Candice hugged her back. “I forgot where we were.”

  “I know. So did I.” Jessica soothed. “How did you sleep?”

  “Good.”

  “You sure? You can tell me anything, you know that, right?” Jessica pressed gently, mustering her willpower to keep from grimacing against her slowly reviving arm.

  “I dreamed I was at Six Flags with everyone.”

  “Everyone?”

  “Joey and Sandy.” Candice confirmed. “And daddy and grandma and grandpa and you. We were riding a rollercoaster.” She fell silent for a moment. “We were having fun. Then they started falling off, and I almost fell too, but you caught me.”

  Jessica blinked a few times to hold back the urge to tear up. “I’ll always catch you Candy Bear. That’s what mommies are for.”

  Candice’s arms squeezed around Jessica’s midsection. “I know.” she said quietly.

  “Was it scary in the dream?”

  “A little. I woke up before it got really scary.”

  “Good.” Jessica said, rubbing Candice’s back a few times. “You slept a long time. You were very tired.”

  “I’m awake now.”

  “So am I.”

  “What are we going to do today?”

  Jessica looked down as Candice leaned back and cranked her head up so she could see Jessica’s face. Candice’s hair was utterly tousled, having dried stiff from the river crossing, then suffered further throughout the previous day until the pillow and night had finished the job of completely mussing it. “Well first off, I think you need to take a bath.” she said teasingly. “You were so tired you didn’t take one before you got in bed.”

  “There’s no bath here.”

  “That’s right, you’ll have to shower. Wash your hair, there’s shampoo and conditioner in there on the shelf in the shower. While you’re working on that I’ll find you some clean clothes in the suitcase, then we’ll brush your hair. Then we can go get some breakfast downstairs. How’s that sound for a start.”

  “Good.”

  “Okay then.” Jessica smiled. “How about some nosy kisses first?”

  Candice giggled and tipped her head back further as Jessica scrunched hers down so they could rub noses. A few touches back and forth, then Jessica leaned back and made a sour face. “Whew, and brush your teeth while you’re in there.” she said theatrically.

  “Is there a toothbrush?” Candice asked, still giggling.

  “Yup, on the counter next to the sink, still in the plastic. And see if you can try not to get water everywhere.”

  “I’m not messy!” the girl protested.

  “No, but you splash a lot. Make sure you close the shower door before you turn it on. Now scoot, let’s get going.”

  Candice hugged her one more time, then scrambled out of the bed. Jessica watched her disappear into the bathroom, then looked around for the cane. There it was. She levered herself up using it cautiously. Her knee was aching, and she paused while she considered that. After a few moments she limped over to the windows and pushed aside one of the curtains so she could look out.

  The grounds were draped in sun and shadow, with the sun only just starting to struggle up past the edges of the trees that bordered the grounds. There was a lot of space behind the buildings, all of it fenced within the rectangular section carved out amid the trees.

  The things she’d noticed in the ‘back yard’ yesterday upon arriving at the facility were targets for shooting practice, all of them facing tables of some sort where she supposed those practicing would stand. Some of the setups looked to be quite long if she understood the layout properly. She couldn’t imagine shooting as far as that; even from up on the third floor she could barely see some of the targets.

  But the important thing was how quiet it all looked. The fence seemed intact as she traced her eyes across it, and she didn’t see any figures moving about. Either inside or beyond. She could only see the back, but it was a big back ‘yard’. No holes had appeared in the chain link, and nothing hungry was roaming about or headed for the buildings.

  Hoping that meant the night had passed quietly on the grounds, she opened the curtains to let some light in, then limped over to where the suitcase waited. She hesitated a few moments, then decided she didn’t want to unpack it. That would be an expression of trust in continuing safety she couldn’t make. Not yet.

  Instead she pawed through the half that held Wendy Morris’ old clothes, from when Dennis and Trudy’s daughter had been closer to Candice’s age. Everything was too big, but some of it wasn’t so completely outsized. Jessica laid a set out on the bed and managed to find a belt that would hold the pants up.

  “It is what it is.” she finally sighed. The shirt was going to hang on Candice like a drape, but it and the pants would suffice. At least Candice didn’t have to worry about falling out of the shirt yet. Jessica still only had the one bra she’d had on when she made it to Dennis’ house Saturday night, and that was waiting in a corner of the bathroom with the other clothes she’d worn upon leaving her house so she could take a stab at washing them later. Somehow she felt certain there wasn’t a laundry room anywhere in the building.

  The contents of her purse were spread out on one of the desks, drying. She’d salvaged what she could, but it wasn’t much. She used the little mirror in the compact to study herself for a moment, but decided to just go with the lipstick. The shade was pretty neutral, but it helped brighten her up a little. She wanted to be presentable, nothing more. And she was tired of how the mascara ran if she ended up in tears, or swimming a river.

  Collecting her brush and some scrunchies that were dried out, she dragged the other desk chair around to the first one and positioned both so she could prop her leg up. It was tricky lowering herself to sit without flopping untidily, but she was starting to get the hang of it. She laid the cane on the desk so it wouldn’t fall over and be irritating to retrieve, then started brushing her hair out.

  She’d managed to shower the previous night after her cry, but sleep always did a number on her hair. It was the burden that came with hair long enough to hit the middle of her back. As she ran the brush through it, slowly teasing out the pillow induced tangles, she thought about cutting it. She’d always worn it long because Brett liked it long. She was used to it, and liked it long herself, but she wondered if there perhaps weren’t good reasons to shorten it now.

  Jessica was still undecided when she realized the brush had been pulling through without a hitch for at least a minute or two. She shook herself mentally and quickly put the scrunchie into use, capturing her hair at the back of her neck and wrapping and doubling and redoubling the band of elastic fabric until she was certain it was going to stay put.

  The shower shut off in the bathroom, so she pushed herself back up and collected the clothes from the bed, then hobbled over to the door and knocked lightly on it. “Candice?”

  “Hang on.” the girl called back. Jessica waited patiently, and about half a minute later the door opened a few inches to permit a towel wrapped Candice to peer out curiously amid a rush of steamy air. The towel was enormous on her, hanging down nearly to her ankles.

  “Here, try these on. If they don’t fit we’ll figure something out. Leave the ones you had on with mine on the floor.” Jessica said, holding the clothes out.

  “Okay.” Candice said, taking them.

  “And brush your teeth.” Jessica reminded her.

  “I am.”

  The door shut, and Jessica limped back over to her personal effects. She considered, then decided to leave most of it to continue drying. The slacks she had on had pockets, and she had a belt. The magazines for Brett’s gun went back into her pockets, and she hooked the holstered pistol into place on her right side and made sure it was securely attached. The box of extra bullets could stay up here in the room.

  Shoes and socks were a problem; she only had the one pair of shoes – loafers – but putting a sock on her left foot was going to be tricky when sh
e couldn’t bend her knee. She got the right foot sorted out, then sat back down to wait for Candice to finish. After a few moments she picked up an Eagle brochure from the desk and started paging through it.

  The company proclaimed over thirty years of successful bodyguarding and security work on five continents, everywhere from city centers to rural regions plagued by civil unrest. Its bodyguards were military trained and further educated in concepts of close protection, remote surveillance, and defensive driving. All delivered with the highest level of attention and discretion.

  It was interesting, but she’d read enough corporate literature to wonder how much of it was hyperbole. Though she had Austin as a measuring stick to judge the claims by. Even if he was an exceptional example, the Eagle executive bodyguards were formidable. She was saved from further contemplation when the bathroom door finally opened again.

  “How do they fit?” Jessica asked, replacing the brochure and taking a look. Candice shrugged and held her arms out. The shirt was definitely almost a poncho, but since it was short sleeved that meant at least the girl’s hands were free at the ends of the sleeves. Not by much, but still.

  “They fit.”

  “Barely.” Jessica chuckled. “Hmm, we’ll have to try and work on fixing them, but I guess they’ll do for now. You want to brush your hair or do you want me to do it?”

  “You can do it.” Candice said agreeably, coming over and kneeling down in front of the chair. Jessica started pulling the brush carefully through the wet hair. Candice liked hers long too, though Jessica kept the girl’s cut shorter – relatively – than her own. The toiletries stocked in the bathroom were top notch; the conditioner was good enough to have satisfied even the ever so particular Sandra, who had been turning into something of a prima donna on the subject of personal care and fashion.

  “Had.” Jessica reminded herself sadly. But she held the sadness from her face as she kept the brush moving.

  “Okay, you want a scrunchie for later?” Jessica asked when she was reasonably sure Candice’s hair had a chance of drying straight. If she didn’t end up running around too much.

  “Sure.”

  “Here.” Jessica said, giving her the extra. Candice snapped it around her wrist like Jessica often did, then started to get up. “Hey, hang on a second. Do your mom a favor.”

  “What?” Candice asked, turning to look up at her.

  “I can’t put my other sock on with my knee all bandaged up.” Jessica said with a grin. “Can you do it for me?”

  “Sure. No problem.” Candice took the sock from Jessica and carefully got it into place. “How’s that?”

  “Beautiful. Thank you sweetie.”

  “Breakfast?” Candice asked as she got off the floor.

  “Um, sure. We can go see if there’s anything to eat.” Jessica pushed herself back up and paused to step carefully into her left loafer before opening the bedroom door. The suite’s main room was still immaculate and empty, and the locks on the door were undisturbed when she reached it. She listened carefully for a few seconds before she started undoing them, and again after they were off, but when she opened the door and looked out into the hallway beyond she found it as quiet as the suite.

  The elevator doors were closed, but the panel indicated it was responding when Candice pushed the button, and the car was empty when it arrived. When they got off on the second floor though, she smelled breakfast scents wafting out of the dining room and into the hallway. And heard a subdued swirl of conversation, along with the clink of silverware on plates. She took it as a good sign; it was such a normal sound, which was more than welcome after the past few days of terror and alarm.

  “That smells good.” Candice said in a half whisper.

  “Sure does.” Jessica nodded. The air was thick with baking bread, eggs, and what just had to be either bacon or sausage from the spicy scent of grease. And coffee, which caused Jessica to have to force herself not to hurry and risk tripping over her cane as they went down the hall.

  When they managed to make it to the dining room she saw a sort of breakfast buffet was in the process of being assembled and maintained on the serving counter. The sliding panels separating the dining area from the kitchen were open, revealing Kay Farring and Trudy Morris busy around the stoves and ovens – there were two of each, professional grade suitable for a small restaurant – while one of the Eagle security guards stood at the center island working a knife slowly through some onions and potatoes.

  A near double handful of people were already at the tables, some with plates before them. Dennis looked up as she appeared and jumped to his feet. “Jessica.” he said, hastening over. “I was planning on bringing you two some plates in a little while, and checking your leg over up there so you didn’t have to walk on it.”

  “I’m not walking on it Dennis.” she said reasonably. “See, here’s my cane. And I’m using it.”

  “Well . . . you should still stay off the knee. You’ll heal faster if you keep it elevated; that’ll help keep the swelling down.”

  “It’s not too bad.” she said, though she was actually considering using one of the painkillers he’d given her back in Johns Creek. The knee was aching some. She’d only wanted to check on how things were going with regards to security and planning before popping one of the pills.

  “The more it swells, the longer it’ll be before you’re back to normal.”

  Jessica resisted an urge toward frustration. “Dennis, I got up and rode the elevator down one floor to get breakfast. That’s about as strenuous as I’m hoping my day will get. Honest.”

  “Well at least sit down.” Dennis said, gesturing to the table he’d risen from.

  “Now that I can agree with you on.” she allowed. He managed to hover without quite getting in the way as she limped over and joined Tyler and Vanessa. “Good morning.” she greeted them as she sank down in the chair Dennis pulled out for her, using the cane and her left arm to keep from collapsing into it.

  “Mrs. Talbot.” Tyler nodded to her. “You’re looking better. How’s your knee?”

  “It’s okay.” she shrugged. “How are things around here this morning?”

  “We’re stable for the moment.” Vanessa said, sipping her coffee. The smell was driving Jessica insane; there were three steaming mugs on the table next to their breakfasts, and based on the meal Isaac’s wife had whipped up last night out of the kitchen’s stocks, she was certain the coffee would be amazing. “Mr. Carter is taking another look at the fence with Mr. Farring, but there were no problems last night.”

  “That’s good.” Jessica said, relieved to hear it. “Candice, sit down. Say hello to everyone.”

  “Hello.” the girl said shyly, moving the chair next to Jessica back and closer to her mother before squeezing into it and sitting straight.

  “And hello to you too.” Dennis said with a decent attempt at cheerfulness. Jessica could see the still fresh pain in the back of his eyes as he glanced at Candice though. Her daughter was a reminder of what had happened to Dennis’ kids. Especially, she realized after a moment, when she decided Dennis might just recognize Wendy’s old clothes on her.

  “We’re going to have a preliminary planning session shortly.” Tyler said calmly. “After we eat, and after Mr. Carter has a chance to finish checking around a little.”

  “What can I do to help?”

  “You can stay off that leg.” Dennis said quickly. “I’m serious Jessica. I don’t have any way to scan it, and you could be hurt worse than I think.”

  “I’m fine.” she said firmly. “And I’m going to. Aus– Mr. Carter said he’d have some desk and office type things for me to help with today.”

  “You don’t need to push yourself.” Tyler said, glancing at his brother. “Especially if Dennis thinks you should take it easy.”

  “Mr. Morris, I promise you and everyone that I’m going to. But I can rest my leg just as easily at a desk helping organize and coordinate as I can sitting around doing nothing.”
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  “There are things we can use some help with.” Vanessa said as Dennis opened his mouth. “Mr. Carter is right. We’re going need a full inventory prepared and sorted, and that’ll lead to a list of what we need to focus on obtaining. The better organized we are, the less chance we’ll double up on something, or worse, end up short on something else.”

  “Okay, okay.” Dennis said, holding up a hand in surrender. “But first thing after breakfast, you’re going to park yourself on the table in the infirmary downstairs so I can have a look at your knee.”

  “Absolutely.” she nodded.

  “Alright then.” he said, a hint of his normal doctor’s tone leaking into his voice. “Then that’s settled.”

  “Am I going to be allowed to get the two of us some of the breakfast I smell?” she asked hopefully. The coffee really did smell quite lovely. “Healing takes energy you know.”

  “Let’s not taunt Dennis any further than we have to.” Tyler grinned, glancing at his brother again before lifting his gaze over to a nearby table. “Ah, Greg?”

  A man wearing the standard black Eagle jumpsuit, who looked to be in his late twenties, looked up from his mostly empty plate. He straightened a little in his seat when he realized who was calling him. “What can I do for you sir?”

  “If you wouldn’t mind, could you see about dishing up a couple of plates of food for Mrs. Talbot and her daughter here?”

  Jessica blinked at the casual authority in Tyler’s voice, at the automatic assumption of obedience evident in the tone, but the Eagle guard nodded and rose swiftly. “I’m basically done anyway. What can I get you ma’am?”

  “Um . . .” she faltered momentarily, then decided to just go with it. “Some of everything, I guess. It all looks good. For both of us. Thank you.”

  “Sure thing.” He went over to the open window and started filling two plates.

  “And here’s Mr. Carter.” Tyler said, causing Jessica to look over her shoulder.