Divided We Fall (31 page)

“Yes!” JoBell said. “Finally he gets it!”

Becca giggled. “Digi-Hank will be sorry to hear that.”

“You need to get Digi-Trixie,” said Sweeney. “She’s so hot.”

“Gross, Eric!” JoBell said.

We talked and laughed most of the way south, but after we reached Interstate 90, things got quiet. We’d be at the border in no time.

“You awake back there, Danny?” Cal said after a while.

“Yeah.” I stretched the best I could in the cramped space. I could feel the Beast slowing down. “Bit of a crimp in my neck. What’s up? We at the border?”

“Last rest stop before Washington. We get any closer to the border, they’ll see you. You better make the switch to that compartment now,” said Cal.

I climbed out the back, dropped the tailgate, and slipped into the tiny dark space under the false bottom. Cal shut the tailgate behind me, closing me into darkness. We drove on.

“We’re getting close now,” JoBell finally said. I was glad I could still hear her. “It looks like a total war zone out there. Coils of razor wire and concrete barriers all over. Traffic’s been funneled into one lane, but there are only two cars ahead of us.”

“I see some tanks out here. And some serious machine guns,” said Sweeney. “All pointed across the border at each other. I wouldn’t want to be around if everybody here decided to start shooting.”

“Okay, everybody shut the hell up,” said Cal. “Act natural.” I could hear the sound of the driver’s-side window going down.

“I need to see your IDs,” said a voice I didn’t recognize. There was a long pause. I hoped Sweeney’s fakes were good. “Okay, here you go. I’m required by federal law to inform you that pursuant to the Unity Act, no one leaving the state of Idaho will be allowed to return under any circumstances until such time as the blockade has been lifted. If you wish to turn around and remain in Idaho, our soldiers will guide you through the turnaround route. If you understand these instructions and still wish to leave the state of Idaho, and if you are at least seventeen years of age and are leaving of your own free will, I need a verbal confirmation from each of you. Do you wish to leave the state of Idaho?”

“Yes,” Cal said.

There was a little pause. “No, I said verbal!” said the stranger. “A nod of the head won’t cut it.”

“Yes!” JoBell shouted.

“Yes,” said Sweeney and Becca.

“All right. Pull ahead slowly to the next station so they can search your vehicle for contraband. Thank you, and have a nice day.”

I heard the window going back up.

“Asshole power-tripping Army prick,” JoBell said quietly.

“Well, let’s hope that false bottom works,” Sweeney said. “If they find you, we’re screwed, Danny. They have us totally boxed in with concrete barriers on either side of us. Armed soldiers everywhere. There’s a huge machine gun at the guard shack ahead.”

“Yeah, Danny, I think we might have really messed up here. I didn’t know they would be searching like this going
out
— I thought they just wouldn’t let us back in. Damn it!” Cal slapped the steering wheel.

“Just chill,” said JoBell. “Be cool. They might not figure out there’s any space under there.”

It sucked being helpless, stuck in this smelly little hatch in the back like this, walking into another Fed trap, this time with all my friends in trouble too. The driver’s-side window went down again.

“How you doing?” said a different voice.

“Fine,” said Cal. “Sick of being stuck in Idaho. There’s no food, barely any gas. We’re tired of it.”

“Tired of putting up with Governor Montaine and the Idaho National Guard’s bullshit!” JoBell said.

The stranger at the window chuckled. “I hear that. I can’t wait until this is all over. Checkpoint duty is about as boring as it gets, you know.” My friends laughed, and I hoped not too much.

“Big tough guy like you?” Becca said. “I would have thought they’d have you flying a jet or manning a really big gun.”

The soldier chuckled again. “No, I’m only a grunt, stuck on gate duty.”

“Bet you wish you could get back to base,” Becca said. “Where you from?”

Becca sounded really interested. She was laying it on thick. If we were super lucky, she could get us out of this search.

“Right now,” said the soldier, “I’m stationed at Fort Lewis, but originally I’m from South Carolina.”

“Sounds like you miss it,” Sweeney said.

“Yeah. Searching people and being on guard against other Americans? That’s not what I signed up for. As soon as my enlistment is up, I’m going home.”

“Well, sorry you have to leave.” Becca giggled. “Thanks for your service.”

“Well, I appreciate that,” said the soldier. “And I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to search your vehicle. Is the back window unlocked?”

“Yeah,” Cal said. “You have to pop the Chevy bow tie on the door and crank the window down. It’s kind of tricky. What are you all searching for anyway?”

“We’re checking for contraband and persons of interest. Plus we have to make sure that nobody under seventeen crosses the border without an adult guardian.”

Then it was quiet for a moment.

My heart pounded as I heard the sound of the back window being rolled down. I squeezed the pistol grip on my nine mil, then changed my mind and hid the gun underneath me. This was it. The false bottom would work or it wouldn’t. I was never going to win a shoot-out here, and provoking these soldiers would probably get my friends hurt. If they had me, they had me.

“Got supplies back here?” the soldier said, his voice sounding louder and so close to me now.

“Yeah, not much stuff though,” Sweeney said. “The blockade’s made life so tough that we had to sell most everything we had.”

“Hey, what’s the trouble back there, Ortega?” someone shouted from near the front of the truck.

I heard the sound of the window being cranked back up. “There’s no trouble. All clear.”

“Welcome back to the United States,” another soldier yelled. “Drive on ahead. Follow the posted speed limits.”

The Beast pulled forward and Cal rolled his window up. “Everybody be cool. Act normal. Wait until we’re away from all these Army guys,” he said.

In my dark hiding place, I took deep breaths to try to calm down.

A short time later, Cal drove us onto some gravel roads and pulled over so that I could get out. JoBell hugged me. I placed my hand on the back of her head, happy to be free to hold her.

“I was so worried he’d catch you,” she said.

“Schmidty did a great job making that little hiding place,” I said. “I just never thought I’d have to use it like that.”

Becca hit me lightly in the arm with one of two screwdrivers she must have pulled from the toolbox in the back of the Beast. She used it to point to a trailer house set back in the pines. The yard was full of broken-down cars and other junk. “There are probably more cars with Idaho plates driving around the Spokane area than usual, but I don’t want to stand out any more than we have to. Eric, help me with this.” She tossed a screwdriver to Sweeney, and the two of them crouched-ran through the yard, dodging old farm equipment until they reached a truck with Washington plates.

JoBell grabbed the AR15 from the back of the Beast and climbed up into the passenger seat, keeping the weapon out of sight of the trailer. “Well, if we’re in it this far, I guess I’ll cover them, in case there’s trouble.”

Soon enough, Becca and Sweeney came running back to the Beast. I took the keys from Cal as everyone scrambled inside, and we took off down the road, finding a place a few miles away to stop and swap out our Idaho plates for the Washington ones.

“Now, drive normally,” Sweeney said. “Don’t speed or do anything else that will get us caught and arrested. If we play it cool and don’t draw attention to ourselves, we should be able to pick up your mom and get back in no time.”

Everything he said was true, but it sounded like he was describing a mission into Iran or North Korea, not a neighboring state and a city I’d been to hundreds of times growing up. Then again, I’d finally accepted that America wasn’t going back to normal any time soon, and that more and more, my home was a war zone.

As we rolled down I-90 toward Spokane, we passed Army five-ton trucks, Stryker armored fighting vehicles, and even M1A3 Abrams tanks. We saw tents set up in the mall parking lots and armored Humvees parked on side streets alongside cars. Soldiers were everywhere. We got stuck in a lot of traffic, since so many roads were closed to store military vehicles.

“All of this can’t be for the blockade,” Becca said.

I checked my mirrors and took care not to speed. “It’s not. This city is a staging ground for an invasion force.”

“If that’s true,” said Cal, “Idaho is in deep shit.”

“Just like we’ll be if we don’t get Mom and get out of here.” I handed JoBell the piece of paper where I’d written the address of the apartment where Mom was staying. “JoBell, can you have Eleanor give us some directions? Otherwise we’ll be stuck driving around Spokane all night until someone catches us.”

JoBell keyed in the address. “Got it,” she said a moment later. “Exit the freeway in one point two miles.”

A little over fifteen minutes later, we were knocking on the door of the apartment. I hoped Mom had listened to me and waited. And even though I knew there was basically no chance that anyone knew I was here, I kept looking up and down the hall nervously, expecting the FBI or Fed soldiers to come running after me any second. I knocked on the door again. “Come on, Mom. Be here,” I whispered.

Finally, I heard the jingle of the chain being unlocked on the other side of the door, the dull click of the deadbolt being released. After almost a month, I’d finally get to see my mother. The door opened.

And there stood a hot blond woman in little white shorts and a blue button-up shirt, who couldn’t have been more than four or five years older than us.

“Oh wow,” Sweeney whispered very quietly right behind me.

“Can I help you?” the woman said.

“I’m looking for my mother,” I said instead of introducing myself. I didn’t want her neighbors hearing my name and getting ideas about calling me in to the police or the Fed.

“Oh my gosh! Hi! I’m Sarah. We talked before. Come in. Kelly’s sleeping, I think, but she’ll be so glad to see you!” She led us into the living room of a small, simple apartment with white walls and a wood floor. Then she spoke more quietly. “I’m glad you came when you did. This morning she was talking about making the trip herself again. Anyway, I’ll go get her.”

Sweeney leaned around me to watch her butt as she walked down the hall. “Dude, check her. I think I’m in love. Saraaaaaah. She’s so hot.”

“Don’t you have a girlfriend?” Becca whispered. “Remember Cassie?”

“Well, we’ve gone out a couple times, but —”

“You mean
made
out a couple times,” said Cal.

“Same thing. But who cares about that? This girl … this
woman
… Sarah is so beautiful, and I think she kind of likes me. Did you see the way she looked at me? She knows Asians make the best lovers.”

“Eric,” JoBell said.

“Maybe we should spend the night here instead of going straight home. You know, get some rest and —”

“Eric, shut up!” JoBell growled.

“Danny?” A soft voice came from down the hallway.

I couldn’t hold back my smile. “I’m here, Mom. I promised I’d help you. We’re here to take you home.”

Mom ran from the hallway and hugged me. “Oh, Danny, you made it. Are you okay? It can’t be safe for you here. Are they looking for you?”

“Easy.” I gently backed her up a step. “They got no idea where I am, and it’s going to stay that way.”

Sarah followed Mom into the room. “Why don’t we go into the kitchen?” Sweeney said, pressing his hand to Sarah’s back. “If you don’t mind, could I trouble you for a drink? We’ve had the most amazing journey. Let me tell you about it.”

Sarah actually seemed charmed, and JoBell rolled her eyes, but Becca led her and Cal into the kitchen after the other two.

Mom held my face in her hands with her warm palms pressed to my cheeks. She looked older, like instead of being here for about four weeks, it had been more like four years. Tears traced the wrinkles around her eyes. “You really came to get me.”

“I promised I’d take care of you, Mom. I always will.”

“Was it tough getting here?”

I took her hands off my face, but held them in mine. Her question would have been funny if the whole situation weren’t so tragic.

“No problem getting out of Idaho,” I said. “Getting back might be tricky, but you’re going to have to trust me, okay? I mean, it could be a little scary, but I promise we’ll make it.”

“I trust you, Danny. You’re such a good son.” She hugged me again, and I squeezed her back.

“You better go pack your things. We should get out of here as soon as possible.”

“We’ve been thinking, Danny,” JoBell said a few minutes later when everyone had come back from the kitchen. “We should do some shopping, you know, pick up supplies that we can’t really get inside the sanction zone. We all wouldn’t have to go.”

“That’s a great idea!” Sweeney said. “Why don’t you all go get us some real food, and while you’re at it, Cal, since you’re eighteen, why don’t you buy me about three hundred dollars’ worth of cigars and cigarettes? We can sell it to guys like Schmidty for three times as much in Idaho.” He handed a debit card to Cal and wrote the PIN on the back of an old receipt in his wallet.

“Sure you don’t want to come along?” Cal said to Sweeney.

“Ah …” Sweeney looked down and lightly kicked his foot back and forth. “I better stay here with Danny and his mom. You know, in case they need any help.”

Cal laughed a little. JoBell looked from Sweeney to Sarah and shook her head. “Okay. We’ll buy all we can and hurry back. Then we’ll go home.” She held up her hands. “Keys, babe?”

“Be careful with her,” I said as I tossed her the keys to the Beast.

“I should crash that truck.” She smiled. “I swear you love it more than me.”

“That’s impossible,” I said.

After they were gone, we settled into that useless polite talk that just fills silence. Sweeney asked Sarah all about her work. He’d never been so fascinated with nursing before, and I knew he never would be again. Finally, he said, “I noticed you have a lightbulb out in the kitchen. Can I change it for you?”

“Sure,” she giggled. “If you want. You don’t have to.”

Once again, Sweeney gently placed his hand on her back and led her through the door to the kitchen. He winked at me before the door swung closed.

“I better get my things ready,” Mom said.

“Good idea. Hey, I spotted a gas station down the block. I’m going to go buy a Mountain Dew. There’s basically none left in Idaho, and I’ve missed it.”

Mom squeezed my hand. “Be careful, Danny. Hurry back.”

Out on the street, I shielded my eyes from the late-afternoon sun. It was still weird to see so many cars on the road. Because of the rationing and the cost of gas, traffic in Idaho had dropped to a minimum. Plus, I’d been living in the woods with the Guard for so long that I’d kind of forgotten what normal roads were like. It didn’t seem fair that everybody here, twenty minutes from the Idaho border, was able to live their lives like they always had, while innocent people in Idaho had to suffer.

I stepped into the Gas & Sip and almost started drooling. Candy bars and beef jerky and pop … Even milk and bread looked great. Instead of empty or nearly empty shelves, instead of ration signs and increased prices posted everywhere, this Washington convenience store had everything, and signs for discounts. I took my sweet time wandering the aisles.

On the way back to Sarah’s apartment, I dumped some delicious M&M’S in my mouth, chomping them like a hog and barely getting them down before chugging some Mountain Dew. Pure sugar! I’d missed junk food like this. It was so good.

My comm vibrated in my pocket. I had Digi-Hank shut off so I wouldn’t draw attention to myself if someone called me. I pulled my comm out to see a call from Cal. “What’s up?”

“Danny, they got JoBell and Becca.”

I dropped my pop so I could hold the comm closer to my ear. “Who?”

“The Feds, man. Soldiers.”

“Weren’t you with them?”

“They sent me away when I kept picking out Frosted Flakes and Oreos. There’s a cigar place next to the grocery store. I was in there when I heard a scream.”
Cal was whispering, but almost panicked in his breathing.
“When I went out, these Army dudes had ’em.”

“Where are they now?”

“Right around the side of the store. What should I do? I got a knife. Should I go get them?”

“No!” Damn it, what was I supposed to do? I didn’t even know where they’d gone. “Do you have the keys to the Beast?”

“JoBell does.”

I took off at a sprint toward Sarah’s apartment. “Me and Sweeney are coming. Send me your location. Whatever happens, don’t let them leave, or else stay with them.”

“Yeah, the soldiers don’t have a Humvee or nothing. I think they radioed for backup.”

“Cal, just keep eyes on them. We’re on the way.” I tapped out right as I entered the apartment building, rushing up the stairs. “Come on, Sarah, have a car, have a car, have a car,” I whispered.

Cal’s comm location popped up on my screen. I tapped for directions between us. He was ten blocks away. We’d never get there in time on foot.

The apartment’s living room was empty. I rushed to the kitchen. As soon as I burst in, Sweeney jumped away from Sarah, who started buttoning up her shirt. Unbelievable.

Sweeney pushed his hand back through his hair. “Dude, you could have knocked.”

“They got JoBell and Becca,” I said, adding to Sarah, “You have a car?” She nodded. “Mom,” I shouted. “The girls … um … bought too much stuff. Sarah’s going to take us to meet them in her car. We’ll be right back. Stay here.”

“Danny?” Mom called from her bedroom, but I didn’t wait around. No time.

Sarah knew right where the grocery store was, and she drove as fast as she could. I checked my comm. “Cal hasn’t moved. He’d follow them if they left. Or he’d call.”

“What are you going to do when you get there?” Sarah asked.

I took my nine mil out from under my belt. “I’m going to get Becca and JoBell back. I don’t much care how.”

Sarah pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall with a big grocery store and other businesses. The parking lot was packed with cars, some wasting gas, stopped with their motors running.

We drove on and sure enough, in the parking lot around the corner, two soldiers stood with M4 rifles next to JoBell and Becca. The girls’ hands were bound with plastic zip ties. The only thing we had going for us was that the side lot was mostly empty. Only one car and truck were parked over there.

Sarah drove through the lot until she pulled up in front of the store, out of sight of the Army guys. As soon as she stopped, Sweeney and I scrambled out of the car.

“Listen, Sarah —” Sweeney started.

I pushed him aside and leaned down to the window. “Go back to your place. Tell my mother that we’re leaving the second I get back there. Be cool. Don’t tell her what’s going on. Try to keep her calm.” She chewed her nails. “It’s okay,” I said. “Thanks for all your help. We’ll see you soon.”

She drove away. Cal ran up to us. He pulled out his pocketknife. “What do we do? You got your gun?”

“We can’t shoot them,” Sweeney said. “I mean, it’s broad daylight. It’ll make too much noise. Draw too much attention. Plus, you know, we can’t just
kill
them.”

I drew them into a huddle. “If the three of us hurry, we might be able to get the jump on them, take their weapons, and maybe tie them up.” I elbowed Sweeney to get him to look at me. “But here’s the thing. We need to be hard-core on this. Yesterday I gave these guys a chance, saved the life of this asshole Fed soldier. As soon as I helped get him stabilized, the Fed medic tried to arrest me. We can’t trust them.”

Cal’s eyes were hungry. He looked like he was getting ready for a big football game. I knew he was in, but Sweeney looked away. “Hey,” I said, grabbing Sweeney’s arm. “We have to be willing to do whatever it takes. You with me?”

He nodded. “With you all the way.”

“Hell yeah,” Cal said. “What’s the plan?”

“We rush those guys. Tackle them. Like football,” I said.

Sweeney wiped his brow. “I’m the quarterback. I don’t really tackle people.”

“It’s three against two,” I said. “Me and Cal will go for the tackle. You help where you’re needed. Make sure we get their guns. We only get one chance at this.”

I motioned for them to follow. We walked past the storefront until I could peek around the corner. Becca was crying. JoBell was talking to her like she was trying to calm her down. The soldiers were maybe fifteen feet away. That would be a lot of ground to cover when they were armed. We might have only a few seconds from the time they spotted us.

“Here’s the play,” I whispered. “Tackle some asshole Fed soldiers. On three, on three.” The guys signaled that they understood. I made sure my nine mil was secure in my pants with the safety on so it didn’t go flying or accidentally shoot me in the leg. I closed my eyes and said a quick silent prayer. Then it was time to do it. “Set, hut, hut, hut!”