The Forgiven The Fallen The Forsaken (8 page)

“What do you
have in mind?”

“We have to get
the word out.”

“No one will
listen and we’ll get shut down if we attract attention.”

“What?” 

Helen paused,
then said, “There’s a fight between the part of the government and elites in
control that want to be able to easily prepare themselves for what’s next, just
like we have, and those who want to do anything and everything to save as many
as possible.  In the middle are the politicians who are in denial or just plain
being lied to about the dangers.

“If we openly
run out and start proclaiming that the sky is falling, we’ll be locked up or
shut down instantly because we will be endangering the power players who want
the time to fully prepare and who want to completely dominate afterward.  They
won’t play nice.

“The news
channels won’t cover it because many of those same folks own the networks.  The
most we can do will be on a micro level.  You can pull in Samantha and some of
her friends.  We can talk to some of the local leaders on a one to one basis
and encourage them to start getting the word out to stockpile some extra food. 
Pastors, Rotary Club, Masons, whatever.” 

“That would
work for a start.  Maybe it would leave us with something to build on after the
flu burns out.” 

“We can do it,
we’ll just have to be very careful.  What if we donated truck loads of freeze
dried foods to some of the churches.  We could have food shipped directly to a
few of the big ones.”

“Helen, it
won’t work.  There’s not enough of our money left to be doing such things and
we can’t do it without asking Jim.”

“So, we tell
Jim that we’re doing it.  You think he won’t go for it?”

Julie thought
for a few minutes.  “Yes, I think he would if it could be done without raising
attention. Plus we may need some good will down the road.  What if we leave the
warehouse completely full of food, too?  It wouldn't be much for a city, but
could save a lot of lives when the right time comes.  We can let Mike know
about it and send him a trailer full, too."

They spent the
afternoon lining up plans.  It probably wouldn’t be enough, but it might work
to get more people through long enough for them to get organized and have a
chance.  They would talk to Jim and Susan about it tonight.

DECEMBER 9
^th

It took most of
the morning to clear the private road, airstrip and helicopter pad of snow with
the bulldozer. 
We should invest in a snow plow blade for one of the trucks,
Jim thought. 
It’s just not something you think of coming from Vegas.

He was pleased
for the cold weather gear he had purchased as the tractor didn’t have an
enclosed cab.  Still, he wasn’t crazy about working outside in 20 degrees.

Once that was
done, he broke up some of the ice on the pond and ran the aerator for a while. 
He couldn’t tell if it was making a difference but he wanted to make sure he
was doing it anyway.  At least he wasn’t seeing dead fish floating so far. 

Once the work
was done, Jim walked the property. 
My God, this is beautiful. 
It just
didn’t seem possible anything bad could come to a place so serene.

Susan had gone
into town with the girls to talk to some of the pastors about food donations. 
He thought it was a gesture rather than anything that would make a difference,
but if the donation would leverage the message to the point that the pastors
would talk to their members about how to avoid the flu and about the importance
of stockpiling extra food today, it might make a difference.  Plus it would get
the rumor mill started and, if that would get people making the right
preparations, he was all for it.

SAN
DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

DECEMBER 11
^th

Justin had reconnected
with Ann, an old flame from a few years back, and was enjoying a few days of her
welcoming him home in a plush San Diego resort.

Ann was medium
height, blonde, and had the body of a college cheerleader.  She would never
have been a model, but she made Justin's mouth water.  She was also one of the
most dangerous women he had ever met and had been working with Rob for some
time.

"I
wouldn't have believed it was possible," said Ann.  "Looks like you
learned a thing or two in China."

Justin grinned
mischievously. "Oh, there's more."

"Really? 
I'm intrigued."  She also wasn't disappointed.

A few hours
later they wandered down to one of the resort restaurants, a steak house with a
five star rating.

Over wine, Ann
asked him, "So, are you ready to settle down?"

He looked
uncomfortable, squirming a bit in the chair.

She smiled and
said, "Good, this wouldn't be nearly as much fun then.  But when you're
ready, you're mine.  You understand?"

He laughed,
relieved at being let off the hook.  "I can live with that."

The steaks were
phenomenal.  Once again, he was thrilled to be back in the States enjoying a
wonderful meal with a beautiful blonde, without so much as a wisp of cigarette
smoke in the room.  Life was very good.

They were
walking down the hall back to their room when several men stepped out of rooms
in front of them and behind them, guns drawn.  Ann shifted her weight to one
side and stepped through the nearest assailant, redirecting his pistol at the
man behind her, who dropped as the first round travelled through his brain. 
She kept moving, breaking the man's balance completely and keeping his body
between her and the next set of shooters as she shattered his right wrist and
shot him behind the ear with his own gun.

She dropped to
the ground with the body, delivering head shots to two more of the assailants,
but was a split second too late on her last target.  Justin had killed three
already, but Ann's fourth target fired an instant before her bullet took him
out.  Justin was down. 

She quickly
double tapped each of the attackers and ran to Justin.  He had been shot
through the heart and was already pulseless.
  How could this happen here in
the States?! 

Ann was numb,
but there was a job to do.  She spent seconds searching a few of the men and
taking their wallets and phones.  She then ran down the hall and into her room
to grab her go bag and was soon running for the stairs.  Less than two minutes
had passed.

As she casually
drove away from the hotel, she heard sirens in the distance.
  I will find
whoever ordered this,
she thought. 
Nothing will prevent me from
torturing and killing that son of a bitch, and I'm going to take my time doing
it.

Once on the
freeway, she transferred the cell phones and wallets she had taken into a
metallic bag designed to completely block the signal.  She wiped the gun down
with a cloth and dismantled it, throwing pieces out the window as she raced up
the coast toward LA.  Someone would find the pieces, but it didn't matter as
long as she wasn't caught with it.

She pulled out
her cell phone and made a call to Will.   He answered, "4153."

Ann had ice in
her voice.  "A hit team just took out Justin and almost got me.  It's
happening."

"Shit. 
I'll put the word out. Sorry about Justin."

"I'm going
dark," said Ann as she hung up, and then ripped out the phone's power
pack.

She was too
angry to cry.  That she could still smell Justin's scent only made it worse. By
the time she reached her safe house, she was calm and focused.  There was work
to be done and it would be a very long night.  Someday in the future she would
mourn, but not today. 

FLAGSTAFF,
ARIZONA

DECEMBER 12
^th

Susan's
nephews, Matt and Luke, arrived with two friends that afternoon in a beat up
four wheel drive SUV, also pulling a cargo trailer.  Matt had called from
Seligman and Jim and Susan drove down to pick them up since Matt had never
driven in snow. 

When Jim
greeted them, Matt and Luke both yelled, “Uncle Jim!” They ran over to hug him.
Both Matt and Luke were skinny and fairly tall.  At 17 and 15, they would fill
in a lot later, but still looked scrawny for now.  Susan thought they were cute
as buttons with their curly blond hair.   

The two friends
were Ricky, a gangly 15 year old and his brother Evan who was 13. They both
looked as dark as a human could get.  Jim imagined them hanging out and fitting
in someplace in Africa, at least till they opened their mouths and their speech
screamed Southern California surfer.  He gave them both hugs and said, “I’m
glad you two are here.”  Both of the boys smiled from ear to ear.  “Now let’s gas
up and we’ll get you out to the ranch.” 

On the drive
back, Matt filled Jim in on what he could.  The plan called for Ricky and Evan’s
parents, Will and Sophia Brown, to leave for Arizona around the same time as
Rob and Denise, probably in the next couple of weeks.  Until then all four boys
would be stuck under the thumb of their Uncle Jim and Aunt Susan.  Jim could
tell they weren’t too worried about the prospect. 
Might have to shake them
up a bit,
he thought.  
This could be fun.

Once back at
the house, Jim turned the boys loose to see their fifth wheel and to explore
the property while Susan and Jim talked over a coffee.

“Jim, I just
can’t believe that they sent those kids with Matt and Luke.  This is starting
to feel way too real.”    

“I know.  You
don’t have a 17 year old driving eight hours with an SUV full of kids while
towing a cargo trailer.  This is nuts.  Rob had him pay for the SUV, buy that
cargo trailer, and get a full load of MRE’s on the way here.  Each of the boys
has two suitcases worth of clothes and a few personal things.  That’s it.  Oh,
and they each have a shopping list to fill and an insane amount of cash to work
with.  I have a feeling it’s going to be a wild week. ” 

Susan said,
“Make you a deal, I’ll take the girls out to pick up some livestock I found,
you take charge of the testosterone brigade and get them shopping for some
decent cold weather clothes and shoes before you let them get crazy on their
list of must have items.”

He asked, “Sure
you don’t want to trade?” Susan just laughed at him and grabbed her truck keys.

 Susan took a
cargo trailer back out to pick up goats and pigs that she had found online.  Helen
and Julie asked to tag along to help before she even had the chance to ask them,
and Susan was delighted for the company and the extra pair of hands.

Jim had the
rest of the boys pile into the diesel crew cab and he took them to pick up
another fifth wheel, after which they stopped at a large department store where
he turned them loose to fill their lists and drive store security nuts.  The
boys loaded a cart, paid for the merchandise with cash and loaded it into the
trailer.  They repeated the process four times before he decided that was
enough attention and took them all to a sporting goods store where he had them
buy good quality cold weather gear and several pairs of hiking boots, including
some for the boys to grow into later. 

While the boys
shopped, Jim picked up more ammunition and hunting gear.   He also bought
several crossbows and compound bows and related equipment.  By the time he
finished, he had cleaned the store out of arrows, bolts, and targets.  It was
definitely time to head home.

Once they
arrived, Jim parked the new fifth wheel in an RV port and the boys all piled
into the fifth wheel that Julie had initially picked out for them, inspiring
Helen to wryly comment “Lord of the Flies.”  Jim groaned knowing it was likely
true.  He’d seen the boys picking up posters, tape, DVD’s and CD’s.  Somehow he
doubted those were on their assigned lists.  When the music started, he was
sure of it.  He was now glad that Susan had the foresight to park the boy’s RV
in the port farthest from their own. 

The more he
thought about it, the more Jim liked the idea of leaving the four of them in
the same RV as it would decrease their opportunities for individual mischief
and allow him to use the group to keep the individuals in line. 
Like that’s
going to work.

Jim, Susan, and
the two girls were playing a board game and sipping Chianti when they heard the
helicopter overhead.  With the game forgotten, they all threw on jackets and ran
outside to see a military chopper with its spotlight on landing on the pad. 
Susan looked at Jim and said, “Really?!”  Jim didn’t answer at all.  The boys
all ran up behind them.

Once the rotors
stopped, Rob stepped out of the left pilot seat in jeans and a heavy jacket. 
Denise and a black woman Susan didn’t know jumped out of the side exit after
Rob opened the door.  Tim and Ricky ran forward yelling, “Mom!”

There were hugs
all the way around.  Afterward, Rob grabbed Jim’s arm and said, “We need to get
this bird covered up now.  Let’s get it in the hangar.”

They had to
move the Piper out of the hangar for the helicopter to fit, but soon had the
chopper safely secured in the hangar.

Rob insisted on
unloading the cargo right then.  The cargo was heavy so Jim called for one of the
trucks to be brought around so that the crates could be loaded into the bed of
the truck.  Jim opened one of the cases to see a thirty caliber machine gun.  

By the time
they all got into the cabin, Jim was ready to explode.  “
Who
the hell are
you, showing up in a military chopper?  How do you even know how to fly that? 
And
machine guns
?!  We could be locked up forever for that!” 

Robert
answered, “They were getting ready to round up everyone who knew and their
immediate families, too, Jim.  It was time to go.  The rest of the crew and
their families are on the road right now, headed here.   Look, it’s started,
Jim.  We have about a week to go before all hell breaks loose.  A terrorist
cell in Amsterdam slipped up and released the virus early so we have a little
warning; thank God for that.  We have, maybe, about a week to finish preparations. 
After that we lock down for the next six months to a year, at least.