Pedestals of Ash (45 page)

Before long, Agent Powell entered the room with another man and a female soldier. The man was introduced as the base commander, General Westfield.
The w
oman was
with the Judge Advocate General’s office
and would serve
as the official recorder of
the meeting.
A stenographer’s machine was soon wheeled into the room.

For the next several hours, Bishop recounted his experiences of the last few days. Several times during the session, he was interrupt
ed by either Powell or the g
eneral to clari
fy a point or fact. After he
finished, it was Terri’s turn to d
escribe her brief encounter
with the former president.

After the debriefing had concluded, Agent Powell offered Bishop an apology, “Bishop, I
sincerely regret
my actions in Alpha. The man I was charged with protecting died. You
carry no
blame
,
and I should’ve never gone there.”

Bishop looked the man in the eye and nodded, “Apology accepted. He was a better man that I thought he would be. I don’t know what’s going to happen
now
, but if you have any influence with the future president, I think he’ll do a better job if he gets out among the people. That’s just my two cents worth.”

Powell nodded his understanding and added, “I have no idea what’s going to happen. As of this moment, no one is in command. I’ve radioed Washington, or what’s left of it, and explained the situation. They are going down the chain of succession and trying to find the next leader of this nation. W
ho knows what’s going to happen?
”

Bishop started to turn away when General Westfield stopped him. “Could I have a word
,
young man?”

Bishop nodded and followed the base commander to a quiet corner. The officer wasted no time, “You’re good. As a matter of fact, I think you’re damn good. Why don’t you and your wife move here to Bliss? I can re-instate you as an officer in the United States Army with the full privileges associated with the commission. I’ll be blunt son – the army needs the nation’s best right now. We have one hell of a job ahead of us
,
and I could use a man like you here.”

Bishop kept his expression neutral, “Why thank you
,
sir. I…well…I wasn’t expecting such an offer. I don’t know quite what to say.”

The general nodded understandingly, “Talk it over with your bride
,
Bishop. I know I came out of left field with this offer. You two talk it over. By the way, I’ve made arrangements for her to see the base obstetrician. Can’t hurt to have things checked out.”

Bishop thanked the man
,
and then
the
couple was
shown back to their room. 

Nick and Deacon Brown stood looking at the row of jail cells. The former home of criminals,
convicts,
and ne’er-do-wells was now stuffed with looted goods from various stores around Alpha. Smokey had been both smart and quick after breaking free. He had known what was going to be valuable and had sent his fellow prisoners on organized raids. Even the local hospital’s pharmacy had been cleaned to the bone. 

Nick was watching a group of the church’s women take an inventory. One lady was inside of a cell while the other stayed in the
a
isle with a clipboard. The woman counting would yell out something like “Three 20 pound bags of sugar,” and all of the others would respond with “Praise the Lord.” The amount of food and medical supplies was significant.
Every now and then
even
Nick
had to let out a whistle over the quantities
uncovered.

Diana turned and motioned for Nick to follow her outside. The couple proceeded to the front of the courthouse and went out into the cool morning air. Nick started to say something but Diana held her finger up to her lips, “
S
hhhhhh
h
.” The big man tilted his head and listened. Off in the distance, he could hear a female vo
ice being broadcast over a loud
speaker.

“We are using two police megaphones we found to let
everyone know those convicts
are no longer running this town.
We have groups of church ladies walking through the streets broadcasting our message.
Some people are probably still too sc
ared to come out of hiding, but we’ve
already had almost
50
people show up.”

Nick nodded, appreciating the results
, but more so the
fact that Diana seemed so happy. The tone of her voice
,
and the spring in her step was refreshing. It was as if a tremendous burden had been lifted from her shoulders. The Special Forces operator watched her for a moment and decided she was even more beautiful than he had thought.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Diana said.

“I was just thinking what a good mayor you were going to make,” replied Nick.

“Ohhhh
,
no.
Not me, sir.
I’m done with civic leadership and responsibility. You are going to be the next mayor,” she replied poking her finger into his chest for emphasis.

Nick broke out laughing at the thought of someone calling him “
Your H
onor.” After the moment had passed, he became serious. “We’ve got a lot of work to do
,
Diana. There are still a few little bands of criminals running loose around here. While there’s a lot of food inside, it won’t last forever. The list of critical items seems to have no end.”

Diana nodd
ed
as she
kicked a pebble
.
“I know. We’ll begin to organize an election soon. Until then, I’ll keep at it. I want you to know though; having you here to help is the best part. I feel like together there’s nothing we can’t accomplish. Thanks for staying…and Nick…I’m
really beginning to
think you are a very
special
person
.”

Nick smiled and pulled her close in a warm embrace. “I’m so happy to hear you say that
,
Diana. I
felt a spark
about twenty minutes after we
first
met. I
don’t know if it’s because the future is so unsure or all
this
turmoil has me acting like a teenager again. I can say this, it feels good
.”

Diana nodded wisely, “I think we should
take it
slow for a while. I’ve just lost a son and gained a town. There’s so much to do
,
and I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of our problems yet. I almost feel selfish even thinking about a relationship when so many people are depending on me right now.”

Nick’s
responded
assuredly
, “We’ve got plenty of time. I’m not planning on going anywhere. I do need to say one thing though. You’ve been sacrificing yourself for months now. I would advise finding a balance…
t
aking time for you
..
.
doing some things that make Diana happy.”

Diana nodded and motioned for Nick to follow her. She led him down the courthouse steps and
to a side street bordering the building.  In the middle of the block,
the sidewalk split around the base of a large tree. The giant bur oak was about four feet in diameter
,
and it had obviously been a
town
landmark for some time. Beneath the canopy, the city had installed a park bench
,
and it looked like a great place to sit and enjoy some shade.

The couple sat
in silence, absorbing everything that had been said. Diana finally spoke, “We may have won this battle, but the war is far from over. It boggles the mind how far we still have to go.”

Nick took her hand and held it softly. “Right now, right this moment, don’t think about any of that. Think about this beautiful tree and warm day. Think about how we aren’t worried about somebody shooting at us or storming any wall. What’s the old saying
about smelling the roses
?”

The
Meraton
volunteers
, along with their Beltr
o
n
R
anch comrades
,
pulled into
town
waving
,
and honking to everyone. They stopped in front of
the Manor hotel and began jump
ing from the back of the pickups
, slapping each other on the back and shaking hands with anyone nearby
. Even though the market had long since started to wind down, word
of their return
spread
quickly around town
.
Despite being a dreary, cloudy day, dozens of people quickly surrounded the arriving heroes, pelting them with hugs
and
kisses
, while
eagerly pumping hands.

Pete and Betty immediately announced a celebration in the Manor’s gardens. Everyone was to bring a covered dish
,
and Pete’s would provide the beverages. A grand party was planned for that very eve.

The Beltron boys headed back to the ranch to let the boss know the raids from Alpha should no longer be a concern. Before leaving, they had committed to bringing back a side of beef to barbeque for the festivity.

As everyone was running around preparing for the grand celebration, an odd noise was heard all over town. It took most of the residents a few moments to recognize the sound of an approaching helicopter. As all eyes looked to the northwest, a large green military copter appeared and flew directly over Main Street, slowly banking into a turn to the east.

The pilot picked a spot not too far from the main cluster of buildings and gradually landed the big machine in the middle of the main drag.

Everyone seemed to gather on the street in front of Pete’s, curious
about
what was going on. Pete yelled out that the army must have heard about the party and wanted to join in. That r
emark brought a series of chuckles
from the
curious
crowd.

Two men dressed in army uniforms jumped from the cargo bay and
strode
toward the gathered citizens of Meraton. Pete stepped forward to meet them. The older of the two men extended his hand, “I’m Major Donaldson, a surgeon from Fort Bliss. We
understand you have a wounded c
olonel here
,
and we’ve come to take him to our facilities back at the base - if it’s safe to move him.”

Pete nodded his understanding and turned to a boy standing nearby, asking the youth to fetch the doc. After watching the excited young man run off, Pete
turned to the soldiers and instructed
, “Please follow me.”

An hour later, the Colonel was being loaded onto the military
transport along with his grand
children and their suitcases. David and Samantha hugged Betty and Pete and promised to visit as soon as possible. Sam
antha
made Betty promise to
let
Bishop
know
where she was so he wouldn’t worry. After tearful goodbyes and promises of future reunions, the citizens of Meraton watched as the big aircraft spun up its blades and slowly lifted off.