It Was 2052 (4 page)

The man with only a towel around his waist was instantly reminded of that fact and that he stood with his wet hair all matted down, water dripping from his gray peppered short beard. He grabbed for his bundled clothes on the bench, “Excuse me,” darted into a toilet stall. His head against the closed door, he mumbled, “Sorry again, I don't usually meet someone in a towel.”

A sweet toned choppy laugh sounded, “I thought your towel was very nice.” It was quiet for a few moments and he attempted to get clothes on his damp body. Obviously, he needed to invest in a robe of some sort if he was to continue to use this co-ed facility.

“Mamie? are you still there?”

“Yes.”

“Have you had supper, yet?”

It wasn't until much later that he realized she could've been married, he had bumbled right in and not even asked. What had possessed him to ask someone to dinner minutes after they met? He was going to have to assume that she would've declined his invitation if she was attached. After they each went to their rooms and dressed, they met back near the restroom. Mamie was not a skinny woman, she seemed so appealing and soft around the edges to him. Her hair all dry and fluffed out, gold earrings in her ears, her lips were tinted pink. A loose fitting white blouse with embroidered flowers at the neck tied and left a tempting oval of cleavage, dark pants draped to the top of slip-on brown shoes. Just the nice clean smell of her made him want to be close.

This was not a shy person, she ate heartily like she enjoyed and appreciated the food. Without so much as a twinge, she sipped the bourbon and water they ordered after dinner.  By the end of the evening as they made their way back to level three, he felt like his cheeks were aching from the constant smiles and laughing.  At the door of her room, he didn't have time to think about being unsure of how to proceed. Mamie said, “Thanks John. It was a great night.” She stretched up and kissed his cheek, “Let's do it again.” She disappeared into her room.

He stood there in her lingering scent for a moment. Down the hall, he saw his old militia friend go into his room. He hadn't thought of their earlier conversation all evening. As he moved down the long hall towards his room, he found himself looking with a more critical eye at the few third level residents he passed.  The likable maintenance man knew the majority of the people who lived on his level and where they worked in the village, not as many on the fourth or second floors. He liked to joke sometimes that the upper floor was the child care center and the lower was the nursing home. 
Shouldn't do that, I suppose. There are plenty of productive young people here and I'm not so far away from qualifying for the old folks floor, myself.

He encountered the couple, Jason and Larry, just as they turned to go to their room on the end of the short side hall.  Arm in arm, they gave him their usual friendly greeting, “Evening, John.”

He nodded and smiled.  There were two side halls that branched off the lengthy main hall. At the end of each, two rooms faced each other, slightly larger spaces than all the singles that lined the main walkway. Couples were given those rooms.  Across from Jason and Larry, who both worked in the cafe, were two sisters. In the second hall,  two more couples resided.  John had often squeezed a full bed into a single's room because no larger was available.  It left barely room to walk, but at least beat two sharing a twin size bed.

He didn't turn the light on in his room, scanned the spotty glows of night from the window.   His mind filed through the residents that he knew on his level, room by room.  Some were more friendly and likable than others, however, he couldn't think of a single person that made him uneasy or seemed suspicious. He was going to have to pay closer attention to all the residents of Brewer's he made contact with, perhaps even make an effort to meet the ones that he didn't know.  That somewhat settled in his mind, he fell asleep with thoughts of Mamie and how much he had enjoyed the evening.

Over the next three weeks, he and Mamie shared a meal at least once a week and often an early morning cup of coffee in the cafe or an evening drink.  Her story was similar to so many in these times. No family left and came to the city to be around more people and work.  She actually was a well trained nurse, her father had been a doctor and she worked with him for several years after the event, until his death from an infection that they couldn't get the right medicine to cure.  The woman never felt like she had the heart for being a nurse and that wasn't what she wanted to do here in the city.  There was a big hospital and some smaller clinics, she could've lived in a medical village. She had declined and was happy working in the market.  John was a nice and interesting man, she enjoyed spending time with him, thought he felt the same.

The old friend of John's often worked beside him and sometimes would join the new couple for a drink.  He hadn't said anything else about the serious exchange that had taken place, in the weeks that followed. One evening, there was a tap on the door and John opened it to find his friend there, a small bottle of bourbon in his hand. “Got time for a little nip, bud?”

“Sure, come in,” said John.

The two sat at the small table, a shot of liquor in front of them. The friend said, “Remember our talk? Have you had eyes on anything unusual?”

“Not so far.  There are a lot of people here that I don't know. They come and go pretty regular.”

“Yeah, like Mamie.” He smiled, “She's a nice lady, I like her.”

“I'm rather attached to her myself. Truth is, it's really nice to have someone to share some things with, talk to.”

The drinks disappeared, “Do you know the couple on the second level, the Pendeltons?” asked the friend. 

“Don't think that I could say I know them. I've joined them for lunch a time or two. You know, folks on the second level usually work only short hours, not any of the manual labor jobs. I believe the two of them work in the market at various jobs.  Mamie might know more of them. Is this Pendelton of interest to you?”

“Nothing definitive, yet. A hint or two of outside connections, away from Brewer's.”

John said, “Now that you mention it, something I nearly forgot. Eric told me that on the day that he and Rose and the new friend, Jackson went out on a shopping and lunch trip, they thought Pendelton was in the back regions of the Luciano Village Pizza place. Thing was, a recognized street thug was also there with a young woman and was admitted through a door by Pendelton. They all wondered why the old guy would be in private areas of that village and have contact with a known criminal.”

“I'd say that is of interest. Since you're at least on familiar terms with the couple, if the opportunity arises again, join them in the cafe. See if you can get a read on the guy. Listen, I still don't have an idea if there is some deep dark secret beneath these more open seedy activities. If there is something more sinister, they are doing a frickin' good job of hiding it. It would be extremely dangerous for anyone that even skirted the edge of this underground operation.  I need your eyes and ears but don't be careless.” The friend shook his hand, placed the small bottle in a pocket and said good night. 

Pendelton? What the hell could that old fart be up to or into? He and the wife both just barely shuffle around.  Well, one thing I know, I'm going to find out.

A couple of days later, he had a bit of luck. Jackson was in the maintenance area. When John asked him what was on his schedule that day, he said he was supposed to add some shelves to the bottle storage area that was in a small room on the second floor. He was gathering some supplies onto a rolling cart, no easy task to get materials up and down the stairs. So happened that Eric was busy on the fourth floor today.  “And one of the residents, Mrs. Pendelton asked that I stop in. The closet rod collapsed and she needs it put back up,” said Jackson.

Pendelton,
got John's attention.  “I'll help you get the supplies to the storage area. Don't know why I can't go and repair that closet rod. If it's something I can't handle, I can let you know.”

“That would help. Let me finish strapping these supplies on. The Pendelton's are in room 220.”

When they got the supplies into the double locked storage room---bottles of booze were too tempting to leave unsecured---John went down the second story hall to room 220 and knocked on the door, his tool box in hand.  It took a moment for the short gray haired woman to reach the door, “Oh, hello John,” she looked at his toolbox, “I was expecting that young carpenter.”

He smiled, “I think that I can get the closet rod repaired for you, Mrs. Pendelton.”

The woman motioned him in and moved at her slow pace toward the closet. The bed was scattered and piled with clothes and hangers.  He looked in the emptied hanging space, “Looks like that middle support just pulled out from the wall.  I'm no master carpenter but I think I can get this secure again for you.” He opened his toolbox. 

“I'll just get over here, out of the way, John.” She eased over to the small table and sat with a steaming cup and saucer in front of her.  These rooms on the second level were all just a slight bit larger than the other rooms and had space for two easy chairs and a normal size refrigerator. Like all the rooms in the complex, there was a counter with a tiny sink and shelves above.  More of these rooms had a private toilet, the old couple had one beside the closet. 

He tapped with his hammer and searched for something solid to mount the hanging rod support. It appeared that when it was installed, it missed the stud behind the wall. In one end of the closet he noticed a quite large metal box that was padlocked, on top of it sat a leather bag that looked like the type a doctor would carry. A small brass plate was engraved,
Dr. Pendelton.

“Your husband is a doctor, Mrs. Pendelton?” he made a pilot hole in the wall with a nail so he could screw the support back in.

“He is
doctor
Pendelton but not a medical doctor. He was a research scientist, years and years ago.”

“Impressive, he must be a very smart man. Where did...”

The door banged open and Dr. Pendelton stood in the opening, his gray hair in disarray, shoulders permanently stooped, wearing a faded suit and an unpleasant expression, “What are you doing here, John?”

He turned to address the man, “Hello, Mr. Pendelton. I've come to fix the closet rod that fell down.” He extended his hand.

The old man looked from his wife to the maintenance man and then flashed a quite forced smile, “Oh. Well, carry on.  Thanks.” He sat in one of the easy chairs, made no more effort at conversation and watched John as he finished.

When he was done, the rod back in place, he closed his toolbox and reached for a piece of clothing on the bed, “I'll help you get these hung back up.”

At the same time, the wife said
thank you,
Dr. Pendelton said, “No thanks, we can manage. Appreciate your help.” He took the few steps to the door and held it open.  “I'm sure we'll be catching up with you in the cafe.”

Later that week, John and Mamie did join the Pendeltons in the cafe for lunch. Mamie waved from the entrance at the older woman and they were motioned over to their table. The two women talked about some new linens that had come into the market.  It was no different from other times that he had shared a meal with the elderly couple, he supposed. When he said to the man, “Your wife tells me that you're a research scientist, Mr. Pendelton. That's very interesting, where did you two live before you came to Dallas?”

It took the doctor a long time to respond, finally he said, “That was a long, long time ago. You have to realize that I go way back to before the world catastrophe. We lived many places. When the event happened, we were living in Austin, Texas and I worked at the University.” The elder had never been excessively talkative but now he abruptly rose and said, “Time to go, Dear. Nice to see you, John, Mamie,” he nodded.  The wife looked a bit surprised, a fork halfway to her lips. The two shuffled out of the cafe.

“Well, god-o-mighty, that was plain rude, don't you think?” huffed Mamie. She narrowed her eyes at the old man's back and tossed her soft curls.

“Um-m, well he's just old, maybe he had a sudden stomach ache.” He grinned and touched her hand, “Tell me about what you've been up to this week.” She didn't answer him right away, still glared at the retreating couple. John had already noticed that Mamie had a bit of a temper.

Shortly, her attention was back to him and that was a situation he always enjoyed. He wouldn't think about Pendelton for the time being. He had thought for a while after his not so warm welcome in the couple's room the other day.
So,
the man was a scientist. That was something to admire,
wasn't it?
Certainly there was no reason to think he was suspicious. It possibly could be just senility, an honery old man. Somehow, he didn't really believe that though. He thought that the man was sharper and more capable than he appeared.  Something was much more complicated about the man, something evasive, even a glimmer of something sinister. There were some dots floating around out there, so far he couldn't connect any of them.  Like he had promised, he would report to his friend about his interactions with Pendelton.  For now, more pleasant thoughts.

Chapter Three

Exotic Connections

His mother would've said
It's warming up real nicely, now. 
That would be said in a glib manner, the sarcasm passed along through the generations and it was true.  In Texas, by the end of May the weather was building up to it's
hot as the devil's backyard
summer temps.  This climate hadn't changed, as a matter of fact, with the ocean invading closer along the coast and the increase in moisture overall, the stifling humidity that made it so uncomfortable was heavier than ever before.  Jackson looked at the long sleeve denim shirt that he had been able to purchase after his first pay day;
not going to do for today,
he thought. 

The high rise windows didn't open, a small fan whirred from the top of his narrow set of drawers. He pulled out a clean t-shirt. A glance at the mirror proved he better go down the hall for a shave and shower, even though he showered the night before. It had been a little over two months since he left home and he was feeling much more at ease with the big city life.  In reality, he was intrigued by  the congested and unfamiliar activities of the high rise villages.  Today, he would be going a little farther through the city than he had been so far.

The mayor had approved a trip to the Salvage and Lumber Village that lay about a mile and a half from Brewer's.  Just as the man had said, there was always something that needed repair in the village. Once Jackson had proved himself to be capable, the list grew as to the jobs to be done.  The day before in the mayor's office, he had received instructions, “Jack, my boy. I want you to go out to the Lumber Village and procure the supplies that you and the maintenance crew need for the repairs here in the village.”  The constantly busy man wasn't just a title, he actually owned and ran all the operations in the complex, he stood in front of the shelves that Jackson had installed in his office. “Did I tell you how pleased I am with the job you did here?”

“Yes sir, you did, always nice to know.” 

“Anyway.  You get a list from John, in maintenance, of plumbing or whatever he needs. I know that a couple of the toilets need replacing.  If you can negotiate a good deal, get extras of things like commodes or sinks.  Then you get carpentry supplies that you need.  I understand that more than just one of those closet rods has fell or broke and that lots of shelving in the rooms is getting pretty shabby.  That young man we evicted last week, kicked in his door---what a piece of crap he was---better put doors on the list.  They'll load all of the items you choose on a big truck and deliver it here. The owner and I are on good terms, he knows I will pay on delivery.  However, I'm counting on you to get a final bill in writing so I know what you and the manager over there agreed on.” Mayor Adams clapped his hands together, pulled a fat cigar from his desk drawer and lit it, squinted through the smoke at him, “Can you handle it?”

“Believe so. I'll go tomorrow, Mayor.”

“Take a D-cab.  That's an adventure all it's own.” He puffed and laughed.

Jackson stood with the hot wind blustering through the canyon between the buildings,
no rain at least,
he whistled until he was breathless. Finally a beat up old vehicle screeched up to the curb where he waited, on the side it said, D-CAB
Fastest Ride in Big D.
In a thick accent that he didn't recognize or barely understand, the driver said, “Whera-to?”

“To the Salvage and Lumber Village, please.” he nearly bit his tongue as he was jerked back against the well worn seat, the vehicle horn blared and the driver inserted the hunk of metal into the wild streak of traffic without invitation.  The windows down, the cacophony of motors revving and brakes squealing, pieces of conversation, music, shouts and curses blared and waned on all sides. Before he had a chance to answer the question
new in town, kid?
he heard the unmistakable sound of a gunshot. He grabbed the window and held on to look out, just as the cab bumped the back of another D-Cab and his driver leaned out to shout at the driver ahead.

Jackson spotted the Sheriff on the street walk, his pistol still extended,  a few feet from him a man jumped around and held onto his foot.  “Told ya not to be bothering the women folk, scum.” No one seemed to be interested and just surged around the small scene, the traffic jerked along.  As his ride moved on, he saw a second man put the hopping man's arm across his shoulder and heard the hoarse voice of the sheriff say, “Take the idiot over to the clinic.”

“As-a-holes, don even know how to drive,” griped the driver.  The passenger leaned back, he noticed that it was not quite as shadowed with towering village buildings and up ahead he spotted a large sign,
Salvage and Lumber Village.
The building was huge, but only three stories tall. It looked as if the sky had opened up, as all the buildings in this area were sprawling lower.  The taxi careened up to the front of the building. The passenger asked the agitated driver how much, gave him the fare and some extra. He barely had both feet on the sidewalk, when the vehicle roared away. 

It's not that far, think I'll walk back to Brewers.

Inside the cavernous structure, he found two unorganized levels of all kinds of construction materials, plumbing and fixtures, rows and stacks and piles of boxes and hardware.
No telling what the hell is actually in here
. Like all the villages, there were living quarters on that third level. It didn't look like a place that he would want to live. He located a manager and told him that he was from Brewer's.  The light was not great but he started to look for the supplies he needed. The man walked around with him, wrote down his selections on paper with carbon paper under it that was secured to an old clipboard. Jackson watched everything the man wrote down. More than once, he had to argue and dicker with the man about the price, “No, wait. You said if I bought four of these toilets, I could have them at this cost. You are making a copy of this for me, aren't you?” 

After over two hours, he thought he had found most everything he intended to purchase. He took the copy from the manager and studied it carefully.  Lot's of scratch outs and revisions but he thought it was all straight.  He got a promise that the materials would be delivered to the basement entrance of the Brewer's Village, two days from today.  Even though it was sticky hot, he was relieved to be back outside.  He looked around for a bit, more warehouse type buildings along this stretch. With the diminished traffic and foot crowds, this area seemed dirtier, more menacing. He definitely was anxious to move away,
still
he wasn't ready to take another ride in a kamikaze cab.

It occurred to him how hungry he was and he thought about that pizza at Luciano's. Turning north, he soon begin to move in the shadows of the high rises, the crowds and street congestion grew heavy again. He spotted another screen, not as massive as the main one but quite large, the big red lips smiled again and lured the passersby to the pizza restaurant.  His thoughts had drifted to the exotic beauty in the cafe many times over the past weeks. Not sure why but she was a mystery to him that he couldn't seem to completely forget.  He weaved in and out of the walking crowd, only got an occasional nod or mumbled
morning.
Living his whole life in the small town, he was unaccustomed to the rather cold and determined focus of the city street people. 

As he covered the blocks to the cafe he remembered a morning recently when he had unintentionally eavesdropped on a conversation between Rose's Uncle John and his friend. He'd been in the back of the maintenance area, just cleaning some tools when the two men came in, not aware that he was there. John had been telling the friend about a couple of encounters with the old man Pendelton, from the second level.  Feeling like he shouldn't be listening, he just caught bits of the talk before he eased out of the basement unnoticed.  It was obvious that they thought there might be something a little worrisome about the man and he did hear them mention the day that he, Eric and Rose had seen the man in the Luciano Village. The same day that Jackson saw the dark haired woman from the ads. By the time he walked through the doorway of the pizza cafe, his mind had circled around and he found himself scanning the place for a possible glimpse of the woman. 

He ordered his lunch and observed the variety of people coming in and out of the doors, even gave a glance or two to that back door where he had watched the woman and company disappear on the earlier visit.  The young man felt a little disappointed there was no sight of the mystery woman.

***

Anissa emerged from the narrow space between the Luciano Village and the building next to it. The alley between the buildings was barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side and the slash of light that beamed from several stories above gave little brightness to the tunnel.  The petite woman smoothly slipped out and merged into the walkers. She wore black silky loose pants and a sleeveless white blouse. Flat soled black shoes moved swiftly along the sidewalk. Today, the sleek dark hair was twisted up on her head with just a short tuft spilling out. Dark round sunglasses that seemed large on the olive skinned face covered her eyes, she spoke to no one. 

About two blocks north, she took the wide steps with an agile trot and entered the building with a large red cross on the front and large letters,
Downtown Medical. 
Not slowing her pace, she pushed the shades up on her head, took a handkerchief from a pocket and dabbed at the skim of moisture on her cheeks.  The only jewelry that she wore were small pearls in her ears and a silver cross on a chain that hid beneath her blouse.  Across the spacious area where people waited for medical assistance, down a long hallway with treatment rooms down each side, she took the stairs and went to the third floor and burst through a set of doors that were marked in red, No Admittance.  Through another heavy door and the old man in the white lab coat looked up from a microscope he peered into.

“My, my, how's our beauty today?”

The woman stood very straight, still a bit breathless from her hurried trip, “What is it that you need, Dr. Pendelton?”

The man turned and walked with ease and a straight back to a desk, sat down in a chair. His tone exaggerated and falsely sincere, he said, “I'm a bit concerned about you.  Seems that you're not very happy in your work these days. Some of the girls tell me that perhaps you're thinking of leaving us. That would be a mistake, Anissa.”

She remained stiff with no expression on her face. She knew very well that tone and the viciousness that it could disguise.  “They are mistaken.”

Another door opened and a toddler dashed across the tiled floor, “Mommy!” An older Asian man with no smile on his face followed the boy.

Some of the reserved confidence faded from the woman's demeanor. She picked up the giggling two year old and hugged him to her. He looked a lot like his mother, except for the big blue eyes.  Stocky and slightly large for a child his age, his chunky arms went around his mother's neck. A brief frightened look was exchanged with her father and she turned to the old scientist, “Why is the baby here?”

“Oh-h, I haven't seen the child in a while. You know I'm always concerned with his welfare, my dear.  Thought he might even need a check-up.”

The pure evil expression that accompanied the statement drained any shred of defiance from the mother. She handed the boy to her father and using all of her courage to keep her voice calm, said, “I have no intention of leaving.  You are to leave Lee and my father alone.  I want them to leave, go home right now.”

Pendelton laughed, “Of course.”

She kissed the boy and urged the two of them towards the exit, “I'll see you later, father. Take him home now.”

When her son and father had left, the old man came around the desk and ran his wrinkled hand down her bare arm, “Sadly, I'm too busy today to insure that you are serious about your intentions. I'm sure that you know I am serious about my intentions.”

Anissa felt like she had rubbed up against something slimey and disgusting. She turned and left through the first door and then the double set, still hearing the sound of laughter from the lab.  By the time she went past the waiting area and through the front entrance, even with the stifling heat, every inch of her shivered. She leaned against the building next to the entry, pulled the sunglasses down to cover tears that streaked her face. A strong hand grasped her arm, she reflexively jerked away and said, “NO!” her legs gave away under her. 

***

Jackson left the pizza cafe, time to get back to Brewer's and to work.  As he looked ahead, he saw the slim figure materialize from the alley. When the dark head turned to look at something on the street, even in the big shades, he knew those lips. It was the mystery woman.  Without even deliberately following, he continued a few feet behind her and just wanted to keep her in sight for a while.  She was moving fast and when she entered the Downtown Medical Village, his curiosity of not only her but the facility carried him inside.  He watched as she disappeared down a long hall.

A woman behind a waist high desk said, “You need to register, sir. Have you been here before?”

“What? Oh, no thanks. I'm just ah-h---I'm just new in town and wanted to locate the clinic. Don't need anything today.” He gave her what he hoped was a sincere smile. The young man's smile was much more charming than he knew, the receptionist returned it.  He nodded and tried to appear casual as he explored the waiting area, stole a glance down the hall a time or two towards a distant door to the stairs. Feeling like he couldn't keep wandering around the facility, he exited the front doors and sat down on one of the wide steps.  Not logical but he wanted to see her when she came out.