Nuclear Survival: Western Strength (Book 1): Bear The Brunt

by Tate, Harley

  Keith nodded at her bag dumped unceremoniously at her feet. “How about you dig out that book Daphne gave you? It might come in handy for the broadcast if we ever make it upstairs.”

  Lainey blinked like he’d spoken to her in a foreign language.

  He pointed. “The library book. You searched for it?”

  Comprehension lifted her brow and she knelt to rifle through her things. A moment later, she stood, book in hand. Was directing Lainey to read about nuclear war a good thing? Keith didn’t know, but it beat wandering around in ever more erratic circles and drawing more and more pointed looks from the security guards. Lainey shuffled back into the corner of the lobby and eased down to the floor. The book lay open on her lap and she chewed on a nail like an absent-minded teenager.

  Keith exhaled in relief. A stationary, quiet Lainey was better than one in the throes of a guilt-fueled meltdown. He swiped open his phone and dialed Robbie again.

  As Keith waited through the ringing line, a woman pushed her way through the revolving door, stumbling as she took in the sight of Keith, Lainey, and Bear. A fair reaction, all things considered. Bear dripped slobber onto the marble floor as he paced back and forth, nervous energy turning him into a confused mess of a golden retriever.

  Every time Keith commanded sit, the dog would touch his butt to the marble and bounce back up. He couldn’t explain or make Bear understand that he needed to behave. Lainey sitting by herself didn’t help matters. Bear wanted his two people together.

  Keith smiled at the flustered woman, but she gave them a wide berth, edging around the walls of the lobby and straight to the security desk. She leaned across the counter, eyes darting back to Keith and Lainey as she spoke. It didn’t take a genius to figure out her complaint. If Robbie didn’t get down to the lobby ASAP, they were going to get kicked out. Or worse.

  The main security guard, a portly man probably retired from the LA Police Department, tugged the radio off his belt. He clicked the button and spoke into the microphone.

  Keith leaned back in Lainey’s direction. “I think we’re about to have company.”

  She didn’t lift her head from the book. “Is your friend finally coming?”

  “It’s not the good type of company.” The two security guards still stood by the desk, but their heads bent together as they talked, eyes trained on Keith and Lainey. Not good. He held Bear’s leash out to Lainey. “Take Bear. I’ll call Robbie again.”

  Lainey reached up for the leash and pulled Bear toward her, absentmindedly running her fingers through his fur as Bear settled beside her. Keith dialed Robbie‘s number for the tenth time in the past hour. It was his last chance.

  “What the ever-loving—” Robbie let out a string of curses. He wasn’t one to pull his punches. “I’ve got my boss breathing down my neck, all hell is breaking loose on the East Coast, and you keep blowing up my phone. We haven’t talked in months. What can the emergency possibly be?”

  Keith kept his voice even. “I’m in the lobby. You need to come down. Now.”

  Robbie sounded incredulous. “You’re in the lobby? We’re about to launch into midday news. You know I can’t come down.”

  Keith bit the inside of his cheek to keep from cursing. “That’s why I’ve been calling you and why I’m here. I’ve got a scoop.”

  Silence carried for a beat. “What kind of scoop?”

  “About the blackout. Everything I know will be exclusive to KTLA.”

  “Why isn’t KSBF running with it?”

  Keith didn’t have an answer for that. He glanced at Lainey. “The reporter won’t give it to them. She’s looking to break it wider to a bigger audience and I thought of you. But if you’re not interested…”

  “How big of a scoop are we talking?”

  “Really. Freaking. Big.” Keith waited. It wasn’t much to go on, but the few times he’d met up with Robbie for drinks over the years, the guy’s entrepreneurial spirit had shown through. Curiosity might bring him downstairs. If not, Keith didn’t know what to do. He pressed harder. “Come on, man. You don’t want to miss out. I can’t stay down here forever. If you’re not willing to listen to me and this reporter, then I’ve got to go. I’ll convince her to give it to KSBF if that’s what you want.”

  Robbie cursed. “No, don’t do that. Give me five minutes.”

  “I don’t have five minutes. Get down here now before the security guards call the cops on us for loitering in your lobby.” The line went dead and Keith turned to face Lainey.

  She’d pulled her eyes off the book and trained them on Keith, her expression echoing the same trepidation and fear rattling around in Keith’s brain. “Is he coming?”

  “He better be.”

  Lainey handed the leash back to Keith as she stood up. “Did you tell him about Bear?”

  “Haven’t said a thing.”

  “Do you think—”

  A security guard cut off Lainey’s question. He stopped in front of Keith with his hands on his hips. His right pinky finger rested on the flap covering a service pistol. Not good. His eyes traveled up and down the motley trio, pausing on scraped knees, dirty shoes, and finally on fur. He cleared his throat. “Is this dog a service animal?”

  Keith swallowed. “Yes, sir.”

  “What kind?”

  Keith spouted out the first type he could think of. “Blood sugar detection.”

  The guard raised an eyebrow.

  Keith stammered to fill the void. “I’m no good at reading my blood sugar but this dog can smell if my sugar gets too high or too low and he lets me know.” Keith didn’t know if that was even possible, but it sounded good. Right? He gave Bear a pat and the dog lifted his head in appreciation.

  “He doesn’t have a vest.”

  Keith’s eyes fell to the guard’s belly hanging over the waistband of his pants. “He’s a bit heavy at the moment to fit his vest. Too many snacks.”

  The security guard crossed his arms over his paunch. “Do you have any kind of identification? Proof he’s a service dog?”

  Dammit. Did service dogs even have identification?

  Keith tried to cover. “We’re just here waiting for a friend. As soon as he comes down, we will be out of your hair.” He turned to Lainey, hoping she got the hint.

  She took a faltering step forward. “I know it, um, looks like we’re a bit of a mess, but—” She stumbled over the words, mouth moving with no sound coming out. Bear nudged her side and she looked down at the animal. “We, um, have a good reason.” She patted Bear as he leaned against her. “We were… throwing a tennis ball when a pair of squirrels darted across the grass and he took off after them.”

  “Prey, you know?” Keith added, relieved Lainey had thought of a story. “He chased those critters for half a mile up Van Ness. We were lucky he didn’t get hit by a car. It took us two hours to catch him and we both suffered.” Keith pointed at his dirty jeans and Lainey’s scraped knees. “I had to wade into a set of bushes to grab the leash.”

  The guard narrowed his eyes. “Doesn’t sound like a real good service dog if you ask me.”

  Keith patted Bear’s side. “What he lacks in discipline, he makes up for in ability. Isn’t that right, boy?”

  As the security guard reached for his radio, the elevators behind him opened. A lone man walked out. Thank goodness. Keith nodded past the guard. “Here’s our friend, just like we said.”

  The guard turned around. “Mr. Buckel?” He paused in surprise. “Are these people friends of yours?”

  Robbie grimaced. “I’m afraid so.”

  “He claims this animal is a service dog for his blood sugar. Is that true?”

  Robbie looked past him to Keith, a question in his eyes. Keith nodded once.

  After a moment, Robbie shrugged. “I don’t see why he’d lie.” He turned to the guard with a smile. “Apart from the dog are there any other problems?”

  The guard stepped back. “No, sir. If you’re comfortable with bringing the dog upstairs, then I can’
t stop you.”

  Robbie waved Keith and Lainey forward before holding out his hand for the guard. “Thank you. I always appreciate that you’re looking out for us. Never can be too careful.” The guard shook his hand before turning back to the desk.

  Keith exhaled. One hurdle down, a million more to go.

  Robbie escorted them to the elevator in silence, not saying a word until the doors slid shut and they were alone. He turned on Keith. “What the hell? You didn’t tell me anything about the dog. And diabetes? Give me a break.”

  Keith held up his hands. “Exigent circumstances. I was afraid if I told you about Bear, you would never come down.”

  “You were right. If I get fired over this—” Robbie shook his head. “This scoop better be worth it.”

  “Believe me, it is.” Keith turned with his hand outstretched in introduction. “This is Lainey Sinclair. She’s a reporter at KSBF.”

  Robbie looked her up and down, disbelief dragging his lips into a scowl. “Do I even want to know why you’re coming to me and not your own station?”

  Lainey didn’t answer.

  “That’s what I figured.”

  The elevator doors opened and Robbie pointed down a hall. “We can snag the first open conference room. You have fifteen minutes.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  KEITH

  KTLA

  Los Angeles, California

  Saturday, 11:30 a.m. PST

  Lainey fell into a conference seat, her eyes bouncing around the room. From the way she clenched her fists over and over, to the red blotches coloring her cheeks, she looked like a woman on the verge of a mental breakdown. Keith eased into the chair beside her and tried to encourage her with a smile.

  Her eyes glazed over, tears welling, and she reached for her bag. As Robbie shut the conference room door, Lainey pulled out the library book and flipped the pages. She was going to read, now?

  Keith closed his eyes and exhaled. He had taken the chance on Robbie and KTLA because he thought that was what she wanted and needed to overcome the horror of Rick’s death. But if she couldn’t pull it together enough to pitch her piece, it would be another colossal waste of time.

  He didn’t know what to do or say to snap her out of it.

  Bear inched closer to Lainey, nuzzling beneath her elbow. He hooked his nose in the crook of her arm and pulled. The book wobbled, but Lainey merely eased Bear’s nose away and leaned forward. She propped her forearms on the table and held the book open with splayed fingers, ignoring everything around her.

  Robbie pulled a chair out across the conference table and sat down. His gaze flicked back and forth between Keith and Lainey.

  Keith was in uncharted waters. He never negotiated a story before, never tried to make a reporter understand his position. He was a behind-the-scenes guy. Someone away from the action. Unless Lainey snapped to her senses in the next five minutes, he was the one who would have to convince Robbie to put the story on the air. He grimaced. Would Lainey even be able to report it?

  With a deep breath, Keith threw out a question. “What does KTLA know about the blackout?”

  “Same as everybody else.” Robbie ran a hand through his hair. “Probably a terrorist hell-bent on creating chaos. Even in the cities that still have power, there are riots and mass confusion. Everything‘s going to shit.”

  Keith leaned forward. “Yesterday, Lainey uncovered evidence that the attack is bigger than the EMP.” She didn’t look up. Keith continued, “We have evidence that twenty-five nuclear bombs are headed to cities across the United States, including Los Angeles.”

  Robbie leaned back, conference chair bouncing with his weight. “I call BS. We’ve heard nothing.”

  Keith exhaled and palmed the table. Now or never. As succinctly as possible, Keith explained what he knew, walking Robbie step-by-step through Midge’s discovery to Rick’s disappearance, to Crystal MacKinnon’s information from another hacker. Only when he reached the tip from Crystal’s unknown British source did he pause to suck in a breath.

  “That’s a bunch of theories. No proof. I can’t do anything with it.” Robbie shook his head. “If I put you on the air… I could be cut out of the business. Fired. Blacklisted. No way.”

  Keith took his phone out of his jeans pocket, navigated to the photos app, and handed it across to Robbie. “This morning, we broke into the British Consul General’s residence based on the tip received earlier in the day.”

  Robbie’s heavy brows knit as he stared at the screen.

  “What you’re looking at is only a portion of what we found.” Keith waited as Robbie attempted to process the evidence.

  He pinched the screen, zoomed in, squinted, shook his head. All the signs of someone doubting what he saw. He made a show of pressing his lips together like he swallowed a bitter pill. “You’re saying the British Consul General had all this information? These estimates of mass casualties and the projected radius of damage from bombs of different weights?”

  “Yes.” Keith pressed his hands flat on the table again in an attempt to stay calm. “We located a conference room inside the home. It had been turned into some sort of a command center where the Consul General received British intelligence. A source inside the home confirmed the evidence was real. The family evacuated Los Angeles this morning, with an ultimate destination of London.”

  Robbie flopped against the seat as he let fly a string of curses barely louder than his breath. “Why hasn’t anyone heard about this? Why haven’t we seen one speck of this information on the news or on a blog or somewhere on the internet? Why has this been kept silent?”

  Keith glanced at the corners of the room before lowering his voice. “Are there cameras here? Voice recorders?”

  “Not that I know of.” Robbie looked around, considering. “We don’t have those kinds of resources, I don’t think.”

  Keith hesitated. Should he tell Robbie what he really thought? He glanced at Lainey. She might as well have been in a soundproof bubble. Keith wiped his lips. Hell with it. “I believe the government is aware. I believe some members of the government are involved.”

  “Any proof?”

  “Apart from what’s on my phone and the lack of coverage? That would be enough for a lot of people, Robbie.”

  “Not for me. I need something more.”

  “Lainey got a call. A man on the line told her to drop the investigation. Said she was sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. Sounded American.” Keith left out the part about the photo of Rick. Reporters loved the sensational route, but he wasn’t about to let Robbie splash the guy’s corpse all over the nightly news.

  Silence fell over the conference room. Robbie returned to Keith’s phone, scrolling through the photos. After a few minutes, he clicked it off and handed it over. “So what are you asking for? A spot on the nightly news? A special alert? A big investigative piece?”

  “As much as you’re willing to give us.”

  “That’ll take time. I can’t abandon protocol and push this through to the news desk without approvals. I’ll have to share the evidence with my boss and wait for him to make a decision. It’ll take hours.”

  Keith glanced once again at Lainey. “We need to go on the air now. Lainey has all the knowledge. She could do it. Give us ten minutes on air where we can reach as many United States citizens as possible.”

  Robbie held up his hands. “No way. That would ruin my career.”

  “In a few hours, you won’t have a career. A bomb is going to level Los Angeles along with Chicago, New York, DC, you name it. It could happen in an hour, in two, we don’t know. But our evidence says today.” Keith checked his watch before thumping the table. “It’s already noon. Do you want the deaths of millions of people on your hands because you ran through official channels?”

  Robbie pressed a hand to his forehead. “I’ve got a wife. Kids. We live in Burbank.”

  “Then get us on the air and get out of here. Go get your family and go somewhere safe.”
>
  “Where? Where the hell is safe? Los Angeles is almost five hundred square miles. Where can we even go? Santa Monica? San Diego? The coast? I need to know. I need to know where to go!” Robbie’s voice edged into panic and Keith didn’t know what to tell him. He didn’t have a clue about bombs or radiation or how to stay safe. They’d been running so hard trying to break the story that he hadn’t taken the time to find out the facts.

  A crack echoed through the room as Lainey snapped the book shut beside him. She leveled a focused stare on Robbie. “Head north out of the city. You want to be out of the blast zone and the radiation plume. When the bomb detonates, all the buildings and everything inside them will be instantly turned into radioactive dust. That dust will spread into the air.”

  Keith didn’t dare breathe. Robbie stared at Lainey, mouth slack in shock.

  “The plume of radiation will spread with the wind. With a typical weather pattern here, we’re looking at winds from the west carrying across the city and eventually over Phoenix or Las Vegas, depending on the force of any crosswinds.”

  “How long will that take?”

  Lainey shrugged. “Depends on the wind speed. The worst of the radiation will degrade within seventy-two hours, but it will remain in the air for two weeks.”

  Robbie licked his lips. “What if I can’t get out? What if the city devolves and your report incites mass panic and gridlock?”

  “Look for an underground bunker. Something made of concrete. A basement will do in a pinch. Seal the windows and doors and don’t even think about going outside.”

  Robbie stared at her with wide, exaggerated eyes. “This is Los Angeles. Where is there a place like that?”

  Lainey stayed disturbingly calm. “There are Cold War bunkers around. It was a big thing in the 50s. You’ll see the signs that look like a radiation symbol or maybe just the words Bomb Shelter. If you find one, stay there. But you can’t go out for any reason. Bring food and water. Something to stay warm.”