The Forgiven The Fallen The Forsaken (41 page)

That evening
they attended a new Broadway show, amazed that there were actually three
productions to choose from.  From the quality of the show, you wouldn't know
that the biological attack had ever happened. 

They were
invited backstage after the show and posed with all of the cast and crew for
pictures. 
I'll never get used to being treated this way
, thought Julie. 

They went out
for dinner afterward, had an incredible meal, and found themselves back in the
kitchen meeting all of the staff afterward.  It was a joke between them that
they couldn't go anywhere without being dragged back to meet everyone in the
place.  Indeed, everyone had heard of their family's preference for regular
people and it was expected that they would want the full tour, wherever they
went. 

By the time
they got back to their room for the night, they were both exhausted.  They
turned on the television to find coverage of their visit taking up most of the
news broadcast.  It seemed insane.  Flipping through the channels, Julie
discovered that the Spanish language channels covered them as much or more as
the rest.

"You
realize," said Julie, "if we ever so much as fart in public, there's
going to be a news camera there to report it." 

"In at
least three different languages, no less.  It doesn't seem sane."

Julie turned
off the television and they slept, dreaming of life before fame.

LAS VEGAS, NV

OCTOBER 24
^th

Susan pulled
Jim into the living room. "Julie and Helen are on.  You've got to see
this."

On the
television, the girls were being interviewed for a morning news show, fielding
a wide variety of questions about everything from their current visit and their
businesses, to their marriage.

When asked
about their businesses, Julie said, "We're doing our best to do what needs
to be done to get keep the country moving forward.  Right now the market is off
of life support but remains fragile.  The goal is to strengthen the market then
get out of its way.  You'll know that we're succeeding when you start seeing
more competition and our market shares start dropping.  In the meantime, we're
trying to put as much back into the economy as possible.  We don't feel that
the wealth we've acquired is ours to keep."

The interviewer
asked about their marriage, Helen answered, "I think we were both a little
surprised.  It seemed like everyone else figured it out first, but we've always
been happy together and I can't imagine life any other way."

"What
about kids?"

Julie said,
"Someday, but first we need to do what we can to get the country back on
its feet while making sure that terrorists never threaten us with extinction
again."

"Even if
at the price of religious freedom?" 

Helen answered,
"When a religion becomes a terrorist ideology, it is no longer a religion."

"Some
would say that President Ambrose has been too harsh with the Muslim
population."

Julie put a
hand on Helen's knee to stop her from answering.  "I once called him Uncle
Stalin over that issue and he told me that Stalin wouldn't have allowed anyone
to avoid execution just by disavowing their religion.

"Here's
the thing, no one is running around asking people about their religion.  There
isn't any kind of witch hunt going on, but any kind of open Islamic religious
worship will get you sent to prison indefinitely."

The interviewer
asked, "What about Senator Malek?" 

Julie said,
"We never met him, so I can't make any informed comments about him, one
way or the other."

The host
wouldn't drop the issue.  She bluntly stated, "There have been suggestions
that President Ambrose had him killed."

Helen jumped
in.  "What you don't seem to realize is that the decision to run for a
second term has not yet been made by either the president or vice president.  You're
still operating out of a paradigm in which politicians want their offices so
badly that they will do anything to keep them and put up with any slight or
insult.

"If President
Uncle Jim can accomplish enough over this year, I don't think that he will run
for a second term."

The interviewer
sat with her mouth open for a second before saying, "None of us, I mean,
he has to!  No one else can do it like he has."  She caught herself and
said, "I, for one, hope that he does. Now what do you two have planned for
today?"

Susan said to
Jim, "So, how do you like that?  The reporter looked like she'd been
punched in the gut."

"The people
are scared and are just going through the motions of normal life.  Reporters,
too.  Now I'm going to have to address the election long before I want to think
about it.  I'm not sure that the girls did me any favors there."

"Oh, I
think they did you a huge favor, President Uncle Stalin.  Now the world knows
that you really are going to leave the presidency one day.  People have heard
you say it, but this is the first that they will believe it.  Julie and Helen
said it so it must be true."

"I have a
feeling that I'll have some help in that direction, eventually.  I need to get
to work.  I'll see you tonight."  He kissed her and walked out of the
room.

Later, at his
offices, he met with Albert Medina.  "Al, it's good to see you
again!"

"You, too,
sir."

"How are
the territories coming?" 

"They're
schizophrenic, sir.  They love the idea of being Americans, and hate having
rules that actually have to be followed.  They really hate all of the
foreigners we're shipping into the New Territories, especially the Asians and Africans. 
The immigrants are starting to outnumber the locals in many of the most
desirable locations."

"Good,
we're going to need their votes to make more states."

Al said,
"The funny part is that the locals are busy heading north now that the
borders are open." 

"We can
use them here.  How is the fight against the cartels?"

"They've
ceased to exist, mainly because there is no longer a market for their products
and no one is willing to put up with them.  I hear that tattoo removal is big
right now."

Jim laughed and
said, "I bet it is!"

"I can
deliver most of northern Mexico, Belize, Cuba, and Panama at any time.  Most of
the rest will fall into line later."

"I want to
have votes as soon as possible, but only if we know it's a sure thing.  I'll
get Julie and Helen working on getting our companies down there hiring.  Those
two are miracle workers. You need to know that I'm ready to ask congress for an
enabling act for all US territories to become states." 

"That's a
big step, sir."

"I don't
know how much time I have.  I'm determined to establish more responsibility for
the world than we've ever exercised before.  It's incredibly important."

"It's
going to cost."

"I know,
Al, but it's the right thing to do.  Make it happen, however you can."

NEW YORK CITY

OCTOBER 25
^th

Julie hung up
the phone and said, "Uncle Jim wants us working magic in the new
territories."

"How? 
We're not done here yet," said Helen.

"He's
having Speaker Larson submit an enabling act to congress for the new
territories to start the process for statehood."

"You've
got to be kidding me!"

"Our job
is to sell it by pouring business into the area."

"Great. 
Well, Richards is due in tonight anyway.  Are you ready for an all
nighter?"

They had
Richards brought from the airport directly to their new headquarters in Soho.                He
looked around the building and said, "It'll do. So talk to me."

Julie said,
"We've been directed to dive into the new territories, but we're not
finished with the relief effort and business opportunities for Europe
yet."

Richards said,
"Enough said, give me what you have so far and I'll get things moving
here.  I'll be a week behind you down south."

"One more
thing," said Helen. "Uncle Jim is going to get an enabling act
through congress next week to start the process for statehood.  Keep that quiet
for now."

"Holy
crap!  Are you fucking serious?!  We need to be down there now.  Look, you two
fly tonight.  I'll wrap up here and head out the day after tomorrow.  Start
buying land.  I know you know what you're doing.  It will triple in value as
soon as word gets out."

Julie said,
"Okay, but we need you focused on operations here for right now."

They spent the
next few hours briefing him on their work in New York on shipping,
import/exports, and on taking advantage of the flood of immigrants.  He agreed
with all of their decisions and made some good suggestions. 

They called
Matt and told him to get an interpreter and be ready to fly out in the
morning.  That night they flew into San Diego and caught a few hours sleep in a
hotel near the airport.  They knew the next day would be manic no matter what
they did.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY

OCTOBER 26
^th

Kemp talked
Sandy through piloting the boat under the Golden Gate Bridge against the
current at 7 knots.  The view was beautiful, but it was too cold to stay
outside the cabin for long.   Most of the women were inside watching through
the windows, but Lisa and Maria were out on the forward deck with the wind
blowing in their hair.

To Kemp, it was
just another city, but the women were very much taken with the sight of San
Francisco.  Though it was expensive, he arranged to dock the boat at a marina
in the city for a few days.  He had to laugh and admit that their excitement
was contagious and he was enjoying keeping them happy. 

Once the boat
was docked, the marina manger, Simon, went out of his way to see to their
needs.  When Kemp sent Lisa, Sandy, and Maria out to find transportation, Simon
was able to direct them just where to go for a vehicle that would be sound for
a decent price.   A few hours later they returned with a van that ran well
despite some rust spots here and there.  It would do for now.   

That night the
girls went out to dinner and sightseeing while Kemp spent the evening on the
internet getting caught up on the news and searching for ships for sale.   He
found a couple of trawlers that looked promising and would look into them
later.  Frank's yacht had served him well, but he had no illusions about its
potential to cause problems later. 
Plus, I'm going to need more storage
space
.

"Hi
Skipper," said Lisa as the girls came back in for the evening.  "It
was magnificent!  You should have been there!"

Sandy walked
over, kissed him, and said, "This place is amazing!  That dinner was the
best."

He smiled. 
"I'm glad you had fun and I want to hear all about it, but first I'll need
two volunteers for a road trip tomorrow and the rest to hang out here for a few
days.  Let me know who wants to do what in the morning, okay?" 

They all wanted
to go.  That will change with tomorrow morning's hangovers, he thought.  The
issue may be decided by who is functional by then.

He joined the
girls for a couple of drinks then called it a night.

The next
morning Kemp loaded his equipment bag into the van.  Sonya and Maria
volunteered to go with him.  He told the rest to thoroughly enjoy San Francisco
as he didn't know when they would get back there, but they really didn't look
like they would be enjoying anything for a few hours.  He gave them B-complex
vitamins to help with the hangover and told them to be sure to drink lots of fluids. 
Lisa just groaned at him.

They stopped
half way there to purchase a 24 foot box truck with the last of Frank's money
from the yacht and the few hundred dollar trade in on the van.  They piled into
the truck and continued on toward their destination.

"Thanks
for taking us," said Sonya. 

"I didn't
want Pam lifting and it seems you two were the only ones of the rest who were
able.  Don't think I didn't notice who was mixing the drinks last night,"
Kemp said, looking over at Maria. 

Sonya laughed
and said, "Busted!"

They told him
of their lives from before the virus.  All of the young women had been friends
for years and were skilled tattoo artists.

"Have you
heard of Neo-Burlesque?" asked Sonya.  He shook his head.  "It's an
art form reviving burlesque with lots of today thrown in.  Our little group had
quite a following in the Neo-Burlesque tattoo crowd.  We'll show you some
things when there's time."

"Sounds
intriguing," said Kemp, raising an eyebrow twice.  Sonya laughed.

"I noticed
you don't have any body art," said Maria.

"In my
line of work, you just didn't do anything that would compromise your
cover," said Kemp.

"So, you
were, like, a spy?" asked Sandy.

"For many
years, yes."

Maria said,
"Holy crap, we've got James Bond."

"That's fiction. 
The real thing isn't so glamorous."

Kemp enjoyed
talking to the women over the three hours to get to their destination.  It was
a wilderness property he had purchased several years before with the George
Wood identity.  The only building on the property was a small shed that was a
lot tougher than it looked. 

Once there, Kemp
used the key he had taped in his passport to open the lock on the shed and
pulled out the two shovels that were the only items in the shed. 

Maria teased
him, "Really, a three hour drive for a couple of shovels?"

"But
they're very nice shovels," said Sonya.

Kemp grinned
and said, "Just wait."  He started pulling up the floor of the shed. 
Within several minutes he had all of the wood removed to the outside of the
cabin, exposing the dirt underneath.  He started digging up the dirt and soon
hit a solid surface.  Maria grabbed the second shovel and helped him to remove
the dirt.