by Hunt, Jack
“Not yet.”
“Yeah, well, expect it to happen. He visited us tonight.”
Alby stood out on his back porch in a bathrobe and slippers, a huge white gut protruding. He lit a wicker lantern and held it in one hand as he guided them over to where he’d stashed the goods. He had this beaten-up 1960s gold sedan that had four flat tires parked way back in his driveway behind his garage. Many had told him he should have gotten the wreckers to take it away for scrap, but that would have revealed its true purpose.
He turned to them and wagged a finger in Jessie’s face. “Now what you see here, you don’t tell anyone. You hear me? If it gets out, I know who to come see. You understand?”
They nodded.
“Now stand back.”
With no neighbors on either side of him or behind to see what he had in place, Alby picked up a rusty hand tool and shuffled over to his garage and stuck it in the wall. He began cranking it like he was winding up a toy. A slight groan came from beneath the car and then the damn thing started moving backward. The entire car was on a system that when the tool was engaged it would pull the car away from the garage wall to reveal a series of steps that went down beneath the garage.
“Don’t you think it would be easier to just dig a hole inside your garage?” Zeke asked.
“Where do you think the cops would look first? But a vehicle with four flat tires. No one in their right mind wants the hassle of trying to move that.” He hawked a loogie and spat it, then wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his robe. He was a bit of a slob but he was a smart man. It wasn’t the first contraption he’d created. He was good with his hands and had rigged up traps in the mountains surrounding their grow after several thefts.
“Watch your step.”
They followed him down a series of concrete steps beneath the vehicle. It smelled like oil and grime. It was dingy. The glow from his lantern provided dim lighting.
Once down, Alby revealed a large stash of groceries, rifles, ammunition and barrels of wheat, oil and gas. There was also a stash of gold bars stacked on a pallet.
They stared in awe.
“Where did you get that?” Jessie asked.
“Never you mind.”
“Does our mother know?”
“No. And I plan to keep it that way. Remember. No one is to know. What you see here stays with us. Okay?” They nodded. “Under a tarp out back by the wood pile, there’s two trailers for the ATVs. You can use those. Get moving.”
It took them a while to lug everything out of there and get it loaded up but once it was done, Dylan and Zeke would head up to the farm while Lincoln led the way a few hundred yards ahead to make sure there was no one farther up the trail. The last thing they needed was to have the Stricklands ambush them.
“Jessie?” a familiar female voice called out, farther down the driveway.
Jessie waved the other three off and told them he would be right behind them.
Alby lifted his lantern and squinted into the darkness. “Is that who I think it is?”
“I’ll be right back.”
“How does she know you’re here?”
Jessie shrugged.
“Your momma know about her?” he asked as Jessie walked off. He didn’t reply. That was a conversation he’d been holding off. He’d seen how that had gone down with Colby. He wasn’t going to make that mistake. He jogged around the garage and down the driveway to find one of the Stricklands cousins knocking on Alby’s side door.
“Nina. What are you doing here?”
“I need to speak to you.”
He looked over her shoulder, nerves getting the better of him. The street was empty but with darkness shrouding every corner, and the need to get the supplies up to the farm, he couldn’t take any risks. “How did you know I was here?”
“You need to be more careful. A neighbor saw you.”
“Does Luke or your father know?”
“No. I was asked to pass on the message.” She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. He blew out a lungful of air, relieved.
Jessie ran a hand over his short dark hair. As he did, Nina leaned in and kissed him. Although it was forbidden, his relationship with Nina had blossomed before she knew who he was.
Her father was white and mother black. Nina had moved to Garberville from San Francisco five months before he went inside. The daughter of one of Hank’s brothers who’d returned to the town after years away, she had no idea about the rivalry between the two families.
He’d been on the tail end of a relationship with Carla when she bumped into him in a coffee shop and spilled two lattes all over his shirt.
Admittedly, at the time he was pissed. It wasn’t love at first sight or any of that even though her smile and nervous laughter were disarming.
Apologetic, not only did she buy him two coffees, she went out and bought him a T-shirt and dropped it off the next day. It was the slogan on the front that made him laugh and look at her in a different light. Something about I like my coffee like I like my women, full-bodied, bold and liable to give me the jitters.
From that point on they’d meet a few times a week — always in secret. He was vague and used his first and middle name instead of his last. When they were together, he’d say that he wanted to take her somewhere else, show her something, anything to get them away from prying eyes.
At first she bought it until she started asking about his family. He skirted around the questions for a while. Always shifting the topic away. It didn’t last long.
Eventually she wanted the truth.
That’s when he dropped the bomb and brought her up to speed. He figured she wouldn’t want to see him again but it was quite the opposite. Having grown up outside the ridiculousness of his world, and having parents that came from different backgrounds, she didn’t see the harm in it. He did. As would Hank, and his father if they found out.
So they kept it on the down low. Seeing each other on the sly.
He treated it like a summer fling. Nothing serious.
But it soon developed into more.
When he got put inside, she came by for conjugal visits.
He swore it was the only way he could have gotten through those three years.
Now that he was out, he wasn’t too sure how to go about it all or whether or not he wanted to. “You know if your family sees you talking to me…”
“I’m pregnant, Jessie.”
He blinked hard. “What!”
“Pregnant.” She ran a hand over her belly.
“Is it mine?”
Her mouth widened.
He continued, “Well, I was inside.”
“I haven’t been with anyone else. And I visited. Those conjugal visits.”
He took hold of her by the arms. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I missed my period. I got a test a week ago. It was positive.”
“Holy shit.” He brought both hands up to his face, feeling the pressure rise. He turned and paced. His mind was in turmoil. All the implications. The consequences. The responsibility.
“Well aren’t you going to say something?” she asked.
He bought a hand to his head. “What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to be… happy.”
He chuckled then crossed over to her and pulled her in close, placing her head on his chest. “I am happy. It’s just… it’s not going to work.”
“What?” She pulled back in astonishment.
“Nina, you can’t keep the baby.”
She gave him an incredulous expression. “I’m having this baby.”
“You can’t. When your family finds out. Hell, when my family finds out. Shit will roll.”
She took a step forward, touching this arm. “Who gives a damn about them?”
“I do. I give a damn. You might not have grown up around here, Nina, but I did. I’ve seen what happens when the Stricklands and Rikers collide. It doesn’t end well. It never ends well.”
“Maybe this baby would cha
nge things between the two families.”
“No. You don’t understand. If it could have, it would have ten years ago.”
“What are you talking about?”
He looked at her in astonishment. Every family had secrets. Things they didn’t want to get out. Heck, he didn’t even know Alby had that storage area. It wasn’t just outsiders they were nervous around, at times it was their own blood.
“Do you know about Skye?”
“I’ve heard the name mentioned from time to time, but no.”
“Ask. Then you’ll understand why you need to get an abortion.”
“An abortion?” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re saying that.”
“Listen to me, Nina, I love you. I do, but you’re only a few weeks along. Right?”
“I can’t believe you. I can’t believe you would even consider it.” She thumped his chest hard then slapped him across the face. “Damn you, Jessie Riker. Damn you! You don’t even have the balls to stand up to your own family and tell them about me.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Of course it is.”
He narrowed his gaze. “And you’ve been so eager to tell them about me. Right?” He waited. “Yeah, see. We’re very much the same here. I’m sorry but it’s just the wrong time and…”
Tears welled in her eyes and she turned and walked off down the driveway.
“Nina. Nina!” He hurried over to her but she took off at a sprint. Jessie stopped short of the end of the driveway and crouched down, placing both hands on top of his head. Footsteps came up behind him.
“My advice. Don’t tell your mother,” Alby said. “You did the right thing.”
He got up. “Did I?” he said, walking past him as Alby looked at Nina running into the distance.
Farther down the street, out of view, Luke Strickland watched the two of them. He couldn’t hear the conversation nor was he there when she arrived, but by the reaction of his cousin it was clear something had upset her. He watched her run by, tears streaking her cheeks. He’d seen the way that piece of crap had looked at her in the store. He wasn’t stupid but then neither was Jessie. After what had happened to Skye he wouldn’t have gone down that road.
It was too dangerous.
So why was she meeting him? And what had he said that had riled her up?
After getting news of the piss poor attempt to bring the Rikers to justice, he’d told his father he’d find out where they’d stored the groceries and medicine.
He knew about Alby, and other Riker family members spread throughout the area, but he didn’t think they would have let him store the goods. Not in Garberville. No, that would have been a mistake. Then again, his uncles and cousins were close knit and were often doing favors and errands for them. Was it possible? It sure would have made it easy.
His brother Edgar lit a cigarette and he tore it out of his mouth and stamped on it.
“What the hell?” Edgar said.
“You want to give away our position?”
“They can’t see us down here.”
“Yes, and I’d like to keep it that way. Moron.”
He was with two of his brothers, Edgar and Jared, the rest of the family was trying to work their magic to get in the good books with their father, who was livid after his interaction with Dan. He assumed his visit that day would have gotten Dan in his back pocket but he was a different beast. Problematic. He’d tried telling his father that but he wouldn’t listen. He was from the school of where blackmail and intimidation got him what he wanted, whereas Luke was a straight shooter. Some people didn’t understand words, they only understood violence, and he was more than ready to dish it out.
The death of Bruce Riker was meant to incite a war but maybe they’d become weak, like their father, seeking to spend their time growing dope. Now that the world had gone dark, he planned on turning that around real fast.
Several minutes passed and they heard a rumble, and saw headlights cutting into the night.
It was Jessie. He veered out of Alby’s driveway and headed back up the mountain.
“All right, boys. Let’s visit the fat man.”
TWENTY-ONE
COLBY
Los Angeles
Beyond the door, death awaited. If it came knocking, he was ready to go. Colby had never expected to live beyond the age of thirty. He’d spent his whole childhood looking over his shoulder, and living in Los Angeles was no different. Maybe that’s why he’d stayed a cop when others quit because of the daily stress. Stepping out in that crisp uniform every day was like playing Russian roulette with his life. There was no telling if he would make it home. That was the risk that came with the career but back then he could call for backup. There was no one coming to their aid now.
Crouched in the darkness, gun at his side, he and Alicia listened to the men searching. It didn’t take them long to find their way into the rear. “Anything?”
“Not here.”
The knob on the door rattled, someone outside asked who had the key but no one replied. His heart was drumming inside his chest, waiting for them to open it.
“Please. Get off me.”
“Tell me the truth.”
There was a commotion inside the sanctuary.
“Andrei, one of them said they went out the rear door.”
A few minutes of back and forth with whoever had told them and then silence.
They sat in the dark waiting.
Biding their time. Only the sound of their breathing could be heard. A bead of sweat trickled down Colby’s back, his mind flashing back to the past, to hiding in the woods, being chased by the Stricklands.
Clunk.
When a key finally went into the lock and the door cracked open, a woman’s voice spoke. “They’re gone. It’s safe. You can come out now.”
A second of hesitation and they moved, his finger still on the trigger, ready just in case. Once out, they went back into the sanctuary and found the priest surrounded by three people. The thugs had pistol whipped him. He had a nasty gash on his forehead but he was alive. “Everyone okay?” Colby asked.
Folks nodded.
“A little shaken up but yes,” the priest replied.
“I’m so sorry for bringing this upon you,” he said before cautiously approaching the main doors. He heard Alicia thank them. He was just glad no one was dead. Colby cracked open a door just a few inches to see if the coast was clear. The sidewalks were still full of confused people. The road packed with wrecked or stalled vehicles.
It might have been a trap, nothing more than a ploy to get them to exit into a hail of gunfire, but remaining inside could be equally dangerous for them and the others.
“Is it clear?” Alicia asked.
“Only one way to find out. Stay here with Kane,” he said. Colby darted out and hurried down the steps toward the road. He crossed over to a Korean restaurant and took cover inside a window that was shattered. He scanned the tense faces of locals, protesters, office workers, tourists and managers streaming down the street. Most were responsibly conducting themselves. It was the riled-up ones, the same people that would have caused trouble for the cops, that were making it bad for the rest. If the situation didn’t improve he imagined the percentage of troublemakers would increase.
But that was just this section of road, he’d seen other areas better and worse.
If it wasn’t for downed planes, defunct vehicles and thousands of protesters already out on the streets, he imagined most of L.A. would have taken this in stride. But there was no pulling the wool over these people’s eyes. They knew this was some form of terrorist attack and were hurrying to escape even if it was only to find shelter in their apartment or a neighborhood nearby.
It was the criminal element he worried about. They could see opportunity when it presented itself.
As a cop, reading incident report after incident report, he had wondered why a lot of it never made the news. His sergeant had been pretty blunt. He’d told him
that if the public knew half the crime that happened, they would leave L.A. the same day. And that was with law and order.
Although first responders, law enforcement and the government were still operating, there was no doubt about it, they were severely hamstrung and the situation was becoming worse by the minute. That’s why it was crucial to escape the disaster zone immediately.
After seeing the way Daisy, Carl and Manny had lost their lives, a huge weight of responsibility fell on his shoulders to ensure their deaths were not in vain.
Colby held up a hand and waved them out.
Kane practically dragged Alicia down the steps and across the street, bounding toward him, tail wagging, tongue flapping.
They ran the next few blocks, elbowing their way through the jostling crowd. Colby held tightly to Kane’s leash as they traversed around vehicles, heading west along Wilshire Boulevard. Huge buildings on either side hedged them in.
They passed a temple on the right, then a Chase Bank followed by insurance buildings and Liberty Park to the south. By the time they’d made it ten minutes up the road, he was already feeling a sense of relief.
They crossed the street to avoid a crowd that had gathered outside a CVS pharmacy. The damn place had been pillaged. Glass scattered along the sidewalk, shelves were stripped bare and people were still coming out with armfuls and bags of goods.
“C’mon. Get out of the way,” he said to a huddled group of curious onlookers that had taken up most of the sidewalk. Most ignored him or couldn’t hear him. Kane’s hackles raised as he barked and lunged forward. They soon got the message and parted like the Red Sea.
Not every building was without light.
Companies that had been smart enough to buy back-up generators that were protected from an EMP were in operation. But windows illuminated would make them a target. Preparation didn’t equal safety. People had to be smarter than that.
