by Connor Mccoy
Conrad actually smiled a little. “You know what? I don’t think anybody knows if they got it in them until the situation calls for it. God knows what you’ll be capable of in the next couple of hours.”
Tom looked back at his gun, and pondered what he might be using it for.
“Well, I think we’ve yammered long enough. You ready?” Conrad asked.
Tom looked to the door. “There’s no way I can be more ready. Lead the way, Conrad.”
Chapter Five
Jack knocked lightly on the office door. “Come in,” Maggiano barked.
The door easily pushed open. Maggiano waited in his chair. Jack stepped inside, then gestured to the open doorway. “I brought her in as requested. She is, understandably, very upset. Please indulge her.”
“Just bring her in, Jack,” Maggiano said scowling, with a hand under the table, grasping a gun on his belt’s holster. “This had better be worth my time.”
Jack reached through the door and pulled in Molly. She was wearing a long light yellow skirt, and a buttoned-up beige shirt. Her footsteps were very slight. Jack had to keep dragging her by her arm. She was in such shock that she didn’t seem to be walking under her own power.
“Alright.” Maggiano’s eyes focused on her. “I’ve heard a couple of the women talking bullshit about you screaming last night. I want to hear it from your lips, and if you lie to me, I’ll shoot your pretty head off. Now, did someone rape you?”
Molly said nothing, just nodding once.
“Who the hell was it?” Maggiano asked.
“Actually, I think you should see the evidence first.” Jack stepped up to the woman’s side. “Before any accusations are made.”
Maggiano curled in his fingers. “Show me.”
Jack then grabbed the back of Molly’s skirt and yanked it off, uncovering her pink underwear and several white bandages wrapped around her legs. Some of the bandages were stained red.
Maggiano’s eyes widened. “What the hell is this? Who did this?”
Jack clasped his hands around the woman’s shoulders. “She was eager to protect her virtue, but it seems her assailant had other plans.”
“Name.” Maggiano shook with fury. “Give me the goddamn name, now.”
Molly swallowed. “Mar…co. Marco.”
Jack’s eyes widened. “Well, that does change things, doesn’t it? You can’t deny what you see.”
“He did this?” Maggiano’s face tensed up. “That arrogant little punk. He thinks he can do this to my property?”
“It may be premature to declare him guilty.” Jack released the woman and approached Maggiano. “I say we give Marco one last chance. He’s invaluable to your empire, isn’t he? Why not set up a test to prove his innocence? After all, there are other men here who are more than capable of…” Jack rolled his eyes. “…a bad night.”
“A test?” Maggiano stood up. “What the hell do you mean?”
Jack smiled. “She can describe her attacker in great detail, if you understand my meaning.”
“Really? Maggiano turned to the woman. “Well, get on with it.” The crime boss stood tall enough that his gun was in plain sight. “And be quick about it.”
Conrad’s target was in sight.
Apprehension gripped Conrad’s stomach. He was about to approach closer to Maggiano’s warehouse than he ever had been before. The fact that there were palettes and barrels to help cover his approach made the mission feel a little easier.
No guards, Conrad thought. At least none so far.
The only trouble spot was the warehouse’s main office, a short distance from the propane tanks. There was a glass window that allowed anyone inside to look out into the parking lot. Conrad made sure to stick to cover whenever he was sure he was in view of the office.
At the same time, Conrad couldn’t resist stopping and looking into the office with his binoculars. But most of the time he saw nothing except shapes that vaguely shifted around. They could be anything from human beings to a blowing curtain.
I’m hoping Maggiano and his top boys are in there, Conrad thought. The propane was pretty close to the office. If the gas went off, the explosion might take them out, too.
The thought of that much killing did stir up Conrad’s insides, but he fought his discomfort. No, he would have no qualms about taking out Maggiano or any of his men. He took care of his distaste for killing on the journey through Redmond. The stakes were too high for him to freeze up now. Besides, Maggiano and his henchmen committed great crimes. And with no police, army or judge to lay down justice, it was up to men such as Conrad to preserve order.
By now, Conrad had moved out of the office’s line of sight. From this spot behind a stack of palettes, it’d be a straight shot to the propane tanks.
A short jog later and he arrived at his target. Conrad sat behind the propane tanks. These tanks likely were used to power the forklifts that picked up palettes and took them into the warehouse for storage. If the warehouse’s forklifts didn’t have any microchips or electronics, they might not have suffered damage from the EMP, but Conrad saw no evidence these tanks were in any kind of regular use. Odds were the forklifts might have been fairly new, and probably were fried when the solar event hit.
Conrad eyed the gray tank before him. The gas inside was highly flammable. It wouldn’t be much of an effort to ignite it and make a big explosion. It would do all the damage needed to draw the men out of the warehouse.
He removed his plastic explosives and attached each one onto a propane tank. No gauges were available, so Conrad couldn’t tell which ones were full and which ones were empty. However, judging from the reaction of the men outside earlier playing chef with that fish, there was likely a great deal of propane still in here.
He was about to attach the last explosive to a tank when he heard soft crunching on the cement. “Shit!” Conrad whispered. Someone was coming.
Conrad took the explosive and scooted backward into the warehouse’s dark shadow. This couldn’t be a worse time for company to arrive, as it was impossible to see much from behind the propane tanks. A guard could be almost on top of Conrad before becoming visible, and then it might be too late.
His gun. He was almost certain to have to use it. He could take out the guard, drag him into the building’s shadow, then finish setting the explosives. Provided his gunshot didn’t attract attention, he still could pull off this plan.
A shadow then crossed into Conrad’s line of sight. It was likely a man. But then the shadow stopped. Conrad’s throat caught. Did the guard see the explosives on the tanks?
Dammit, step closer. At this moment, it would be so much easier if the guard actually did spot him. Conrad was ready. One shot and it would be over.
The shadow didn’t budge. He was just standing there, turning his head from left to right.
Move! Conrad thought.
Then his radio buzzed. Shit! Conrad quickly switched off the radio’s sound. Did the guard hear that?
Conrad waited. And waited. And then the shadow just turned his head before leaving.
Conrad decided he had to risk crawling out to get a look, any kind of look out there. He crept out to the side of the tank and got a glimpse of the parking lot on the building’s north side. There was a tall, muscular man with a rifle, actually much farther away than Conrad had feared, walking away from Conrad’s position. The sentry seemed unalarmed. Evidently, he did not notice Conrad or his handiwork on the tanks.
“Thank God,” Conrad said softly.
He hurried back to the tank and attached the last explosive. Then he turned on each timer. He had prepped the timers so they were linked together. Their countdown would synchronize once they all were activated, ensuring that each explosive would go off along with the others. In two minutes, this whole collection of tanks would blow sky high.
His work complete, Conrad took one quick look for sentries before dashing back onto the parking lot. From there, he made his way back to his vantage spot behind a barre
l. He was close, but not so close that he’d get caught up in the explosion. Conrad wanted to be in easy range of the doors on the right side of the propane tanks. He could dash inside during the ensuing commotion.
He picked up his radio and called in. “Tom,” he whispered, “You read me?”
“Yeah,” spoke Tom, “I, uh, I read you. Copy. What happened? I tried calling you, but I didn’t get an answer.”
“Had to lay low. Guard got too close.” Conrad looked at his watch. “Timers are set. Give it a minute and then the fireworks will go off.”
“Okay,” Tom said.
“When I penetrate the inside, I’ll see if I can find Sarah. If not, she may come out to you. Good luck out there,” Conrad said.
“Same to you, Conrad,” Tom said.
Conrad put the radio back on his belt. “Keep it together, Tom,” he whispered. “Odds are you may be the one to find Sarah.” He sat back and waited. There should be just thirty more seconds to go.
Tom took up a position facing the west side of the warehouse. Goosebumps formed on his arms and neck even as the sun shone brightly overhead. His fears weren’t helped by the long delay in Conrad responding. Tom wasn’t sure if Conrad had bought it early, and if he would have to abort and flee. Now his body tensed up waiting for the big boom Conrad was about to create. Then there would be no turning back.
I can’t believe this. Any moment now I’m about to go into an actual shooting fight, or worse. He wasn’t so stupid to think he wouldn’t make it through this without having to shoot his gun at another human being, which was something he never had done before. Tom never had given serious thought about having to take another person’s life. It made him sick to his stomach. Even worse was the realization he was sure to be outnumbered. He could take out one shooter only to be cut down by three, four, or who knows how many.
This could be my last day alive, he thought. The very thought crawled through him like spiders creeping through his bowels. What was the only thing keeping him from ditching Conrad and running off into the city? Why had he stuck with this crazy old man for so long?
Sarah.
His hand gripped harder around his radio. He had let her down. Worse, he had betrayed her. When Marco and two of his boys showed up to stop Tom and Sarah from fleeing town, they were ready to put a bullet in Tom’s head. But instead of putting up a fight, Tom offered Sarah up to them. They rewarded his cooperation with a rifle butt to his head.
Since then, Tom had tried to push the guilt out of his head, but guilt was a tough bitch to deal with. Perhaps he finally had recognized there was little left in this world to live for, and that those things he did have, he should hold onto tightly, with no hesitation. Sarah was one of those things.
I saved my own skin, but for what? Tom winced. Without her, what did he have? A ruined city. A professional career destroyed with the ravages of the solar event’s EMP. A house filled with electronics that, thanks to fried microchips and a destroyed power grid, were no better than junk. Now he didn’t even know where he’d get his next meal from.
Conrad said he couldn’t trust anything but what he made. Damn. I know what he means now.
He looked at his weapon. The west side of the warehouse remained quiet. Maybe all the action would occur on Conrad’s side. If so, he could sneak around behind them and take out any armed resistance. He might, as Conrad had suggested could happen, be the one to free Sarah.
Conrad. Damn you. If I never went to the monument center downtown, I wouldn’t have met you, and I wouldn’t be in this mess.
At the same time, Tom had to admit Conrad had given him a lot to think about. Part of Tom even felt a little grateful that he had met Conrad. Sure, Conrad may be crazy as shit, but damned if he wasn’t right about how the world could came crashing down around them. Tom had to admit Conrad was more prepared for this horror than Tom ever could have been. Hell, Tom had no inkling that such a disaster would happen. This was the kind of stuff for fringe radio shows and conspiracy websites.
I guess if my life had been as rough as his, I’d have turned out like him, Tom thought. He never had imagined he could put himself into this kind of peril for anyone. Perhaps Conrad was right that nobody knew what they were capable of until the moment arose. Tom got the feeling if he got out of this ordeal alive, he wouldn’t be the same man he used to be.
Any second now, he thought.
Chapter Six
Liam and Carla sat at the table while Camilla poured each of them a tall glass of sweetened tea. After sliding a glass each toward them, Camilla picked up her own and raised it.
“A toast,” she said, “to the Midwest.”
Liam and Carla clinked their glasses against Camilla’s. Their host chuckled. “Always wanted to say that.” She took a sip from her glass.
Carla twirled her right forefinger in the air. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
“Nope,” Camilla replied, “I’m from Queens, and we don’t have stuff like this there.”
“I thought you might be from the East Coast,” Liam said.
Carla sipped before commenting, “It’s called New Jersey.”
“Oh Lord.” Camilla coughed, “my family called Jersey the bastard cousin of the New York City area.” She smiled deeply. “No, I’m from the city.” She took another sip, then sighed. “We have bagels, lox, and great pizza but none of this.” She looked into Carla’s eyes. “So, what about you, Carla? Where do you hail from?”
“Here. This state. Midwestern by birth,” Carla said. “Never been to New York. Been to Minnesota a couple of times. That’s the furthest north I’ve ever gone.”
As Liam drank more tea, he kept an eye on Camilla’s facial expressions as she spoke. It was clear she was making conversation and seemed to enjoy their company. Still, Camilla was dancing around the elephant in the room—where was Liam’s dad?
And I’ve been dancing around it for too long, Liam thought. He had hesitated for too long. This era was too dangerous and life was too precious and short to bother with covering up his father’s current whereabouts and situation. He’d have to deal with Camilla’s reaction when it came.
“So,” Liam said, “you want to know where my dad is?”
Carla’s eyes widened. She probably didn’t expect him to launch into it. Camilla, on the other hand, seemed calm and serene.
“If you could give me the whole lowdown.” Camilla folded her arms. “You haven’t wanted to, have you?”
Liam tilted his head away from her. “I’m sorry,” he said, feeling more than a little guilty, “But I hope you can understand that meeting you was a hell of a shock. Dad didn’t mention you.”
“It’s alright.” Camilla smiled, but it was a little pained. “I didn’t exactly greet you with open arms when you popped onto the driveway.”
Carla laughed softly. “The shotgun on the porch was a little much.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re right about that.” Camilla blew a lock of her hair out of her face. “Go ahead. I’m ready to hear it all.”
Liam straightened up. “I came here with Carla because my mom’s trapped in Redmond. I’m sure you know about Sarah, my dad’s ex-wife?”
Camilla nodded. “Yep. I know the whole story.” Her voice then turned cynical and sarcastic. “Did she decide to beg on her hands and knees for Conrad’s forgiveness?”
“No, no, it’s not like that,” Liam said, “You know she had custody of me, so I lived with her for most of my life after the divorce. I actually had my own place when everything went to hell. Anyway, I was cut off from her when the power went out. With all the chaos, there was just no way I could get through the city and find her.” Liam curled his fingers into fists. “But I knew there was a chance my father could. I always believed he was one of the toughest men out there. I remembered my mom saying he was a prepper. I figured he’d know how to help us.”
Liam then spelled out the whole tale about how he and Carla journeyed to the homestead and enlisted Conrad’s help, and about
their trip to Wynwood, and later Redmond, where they ran into Tom, and finally, their splitting up.
“That’s…that’s how it all ended up,” Liam said. “My dad’s probably reached Maggiano’s hideout by now. Maybe, maybe he’s already found my mom.”
There was no more to say. Camilla had sat there, not commenting, not questioning, doing nothing but just sitting there and taking in the whole tale with a crooked look on her face. Liam wasn’t sure what to say next. He glanced at Carla, who seemed just as unsure.
There still was a bit of tea in Camilla’s glass. She drank it. Liam and Carla continued to wait. About a minute passed. She frowned for a while. It was plain that she was registering all the pain and turmoil that he had experienced when he had parted from his dad.
Or was she angry that Liam had plucked his dad out of the homestead in the first place? Perhaps the thought of Conrad being reunited with Sarah at all upset her, even though Liam had made sure to mention that Sarah had a boyfriend and expressed no interest in returning to Conrad.
Finally, she spoke up. “Damn him.”
A chill ran down Liam’s back.
Folding her arms, Camilla looked away. “Damn him for going on a vacation without me.”
Liam and Carla exchanged puzzled looks.
“I told him if he went out on an outdoor adventure, he was going to haul me along with him.” Then she laughed. “I am going to make him pay so much when he gets home.” A tear then welled up. “If he does.”
The high tension escaped Liam’s body. Camilla hadn’t lashed out in anger. However, it was clear she was hurt, even alarmed, by the news.
Camilla wiped her face. “So, he sent you two back? Damn. We shouldn’t be waiting around here for him to come home. We ought to be out there helping him.”
Liam nodded. “We wanted to, but he was adamant we come back here.”
“Fine. Then you can help me help him. He’s crazy to think he can survive out there by himself,” Camilla said.
