Exiled Omnibus (33 page)

Brooke stood on the corner of Fifteenth Avenue and Bakers Street. Despite the dangerous situation, she found herself in she couldn’t take her eyes off of a sprinkler in the front yard of some very large, expensive home.

There wasn’t anything extraordinary about the sprinkler. It performed its function to the mediocre standard that was set forth by its manufacturer. But with each drop of water that landed on the green, freshly cut grass of that lawn, she could feel rage swelling up inside her.

The movement of a passing car broke her concentration. Brooke shook her head and continued down Fifteenth Avenue. All the houses she had passed on her walk had nowhere near the decadence of this neighborhood. The rest of Charlotte looked more like what she had seen in other cities on her way here: barely getting by, but still alive.

The well-kempt lawns, expensive cars, and large homes made her think back to when she was a child. But now watering a lawn was the essence of extravagance. Brooke tried to count in her mind all of the ration cards she would have needed to accumulate over a three-year span to water that lawn for one day.

Amy’s car was in the drive, and she hurried up the walkway to the front door and knocked. Brooke looked around her, afraid that the place may be under surveillance, but there didn’t seem to be anyone around. Nobody answered. She knocked again, this time harder.

“Coming!”

Brooke almost broke down at the sound of her sister’s voice, and when Amy opened the door, she didn’t even have time to gasp before she wrapped her arms around her sister.

“Brooke. Oh my god. Are you okay?” Amy said, pulling her inside and shutting the door.

Brooke pulled back slightly, enough to see Amy’s face and the reflection of the tears the two of them shared. She wiped her nose and laughed.

“It’s really good to see you,” Brooke said.

Amy pulled her in for another hug and then led her into the living room for the two of them to sit down.

“Where’s John and Emily?” Amy asked.

“They’re fine. I had them stay with the car. It’s not exactly road safe around here,” Brooke answered.

“Did you just get into town?”

“This morning. I walked here from the outskirts near the forest on Highway 49, in the nature preserve.”

“Why didn’t you call?”

“I wasn’t sure if your phone had been tapped.”

“Jesus, Brooke. We’re not being watched.”

“You could be.”

“Are you hurt? Hungry? Thirsty? What do you need?”

“We need to go and grab the kids and Eric. Is Daniel home?”

“No, he’s in DC for work.”

“What about Gabby and Kevin? Are they home?”

“No, they’re at school. They won’t be home for another two hours.”

“Then let’s go now. We’ll need to wait until night to bring the cruiser back though. Do you have room in your garage for me to store it?”

“Yeah, Daniel and I can just park in the driveway.”

***

After Amy and Brooke had Eric set up in the guest bedroom and given him some more fluids, they let him rest. As much as he protested, he fell asleep very quickly.

Once Amy handed Emily the remote, Brooke knew she wouldn’t see her daughter’s eyes again for the next few hours. John had glued himself to the kitchen stool and feasted on whatever he could find in the freezer.

Amy caught Brooke up on what she’d missed. The trial with Smith, the debate scheduled between Smith and Jones, and Daniel’s constant presence in DC.

“What about the scientist?” Brooke asked. “Doesn’t he have the solution that’ll get us out of all this?”

“That’s what I thought Daniel was working with Smith on, but after Smith was arrested, Daniel… he…”

“What?”

“He’s been drinking a lot. His secretary’s given me a few calls, and when I went to go and see him the other day, he was drunk in his office. He tried to play it off, but I could smell it on him. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He has me worried.”

“I’m sure it’s been stressful.”

“He tried, Brooke. He really did. But whatever it was it caused everything to fall to pieces. Daniel was so sure their bill would pass.”

“The one that had to do with the scientist?” Brooke asked.

“Yes.”

“Where is he now?”

“I’m not sure.”

It all seemed so simple to Brooke. All they had to do was get Dr. Carlson working again, and all of the country’s problems would be solved. The drought would end. The necessity for exiling the Southwest would be null and void. But politics and hidden agendas were holding it back.

“I can’t believe this,” Brooke said.

“I know. It’s been insane.”

Brooke’s brother-in-law’s actions seemed out of character, though she would never say that aloud to Amy. Not that Daniel was a bad man, but he had never struck her as the type to stick his neck out for something like this. But maybe that’s why he’d been in DC so much lately. He had to patch up the mess everyone had made.

The front door opened, and Brooke saw the faces of her niece and nephew light up.

“Aunt Brooke?” Gabby asked.

“Hey, guys!” Brooke answered.

She walked over and gave each of them a hug.

“What are you doing here?” Kevin asked.

“Your aunt and cousins are going to be staying with us a while,” Amy answered.

“John’s here?” Kevin asked.

“He’s in the kitchen,” Brooke said.

Kevin smiled and sprinted to the kitchen. “And Emily’s in the living room watching television,” Brooke added.

“Yaaaay!” Gabby said, and the only thing Brooke could see after that was the bounce of her Barbie backpack as Gabby went to play with her cousin.

“It’s good to have you guys here,” Amy said, smiling. “I haven’t heard a whole lot of laughter the past week.”

“Amy,” Brooke said, gently holding her sister’s arm, “You need to speak with Kevin and Gabby. No one can know we’re here. It has to be kept secret.”

“I know. I’ll talk to them tonight after dinner.”

“Do you know when Daniel’s going to be home?”

“Tomorrow, I think. I’m going to get supper started.”

Amy left Brooke alone in the foyer. The giggles of Emily and Gabby combined with cracking voices of two teenage boys felt a lot like watching the sprinkler on the lawn. It was a magnificent sound to be heard, but the feeling somehow felt odd after everything that had happened.

The feeling made her shiver. She stepped into the living room. She became aware of the cushioned couches, the soft fabric that lined the pillows, the clean carpet, and the fine wooden furniture that surrounded her. Much like her sister, everything in the room represented elegance.

None of it seemed real. She’d thought that when she made it here, the sense of normalcy would reappear, that there would be some noticeable change, but nothing happened. There was no sense of relief, no increase of hope, and the anxiety that she’d felt during the entire trip had only intensified. It didn’t feel over.

***

The plane landed back in DC at 6 p.m. EST. Daniel had stared at the mini bottles of whiskey the entire trip back. He sat by himself on the plane, away from Jones and his henchmen. They didn’t bother him, and he didn’t cause a fuss. It was a nonverbal agreement they’d entered upon boarding the plane. Once they’d taxied down the runway after landing, the door to Jones’s private jet opened, but Daniel remained in his seat.

“Daniel, we’re leaving,” Jones said.

He was hunched low in his seat with his back turned to the group, so they couldn’t see him. He was playing with the end of his tie. “I need to go and visit my family.”

“We don’t have time for that,” Jones replied.

Daniel’s hand found his neck. The red marks from where Jones had choked him still lingered. He ran his fingers over the raised bumps. “Make time.”

“Fine. But I need you back by tomorrow,” Jones said. “I’ll have the pilot take you to Charlotte.”

The whine of the jet engines filled the cabin. Daniel remained motionless as the pilot and crew went about their preflight duties. The captain came over to him at one point and mouthed something about refueling and taking off in thirty minutes, but Daniel wasn’t paying attention. He stayed in the same position until they finally landed in Charlotte.

Daniel grabbed a taxi and gave the driver his address. The sun had gone down, but the sky still glowed with faint oranges and pinks, the last push of dying light until the night finally took over. He rested his head on the windshield, feeling the vibrations of the cab as it drove him home.

The yellow lights from inside Daniel’s house glowed from the windows. He knew Amy wasn’t expecting him until tomorrow, but something was compelling him to come home. He couldn’t explain it. All he could feel was the burning urge to see his family. Like a horse driven to water to drink, he needed to replenish himself with the people he was doing all of this for. He needed to go back to the source.

When Daniel walked inside, his jaw dropped. Additional chairs had been added to fit everyone at the kitchen table. Amy was the first to see him.

“Daniel?” she asked.

Everyone turned to face him. He was standing in the living room, still dressed in his suit and reeking of booze. “Hey.” He couldn’t take his eyes off Brooke. “How did you get here?”

Amy got up from the table and walked over to him. “Honey, I didn’t think you were coming home until tomorrow.”

“I was… I mean I did. I just… wanted to come home,” Daniel said.

Brooke got up from her seat and walked over and gave him a hug. He kept his arms at his sides as Brooke squeezed. “It’s good to see you, Daniel.”

“Yeah.”

“Hi, Uncle Dan,” John said.

“Hey, John. Emily.” Daniel turned to Amy and whispered in her ear. “Can I talk to you?” he asked, motioning to the other room.

“Sure.”

Daniel led her upstairs to their room. He shut the door behind him and turned on this wife. “What is your sister doing here?”

“I told you she was trying to get out. She made it. She’s staying with us until this thing blows over.”

“Blows over? This thing isn’t going to blow over, Amy. This isn’t a temporary problem, it’s a permanent one!”

Amy sat on the edge of the bed. Daniel could feel himself getting hot. He hastily removed his tie and tossed it on the ground.

“Daniel, she’s family. You said yourself that she had to get out. And now she has. What do you expect me to do? Just throw her and the kids back out onto the streets?”

“And who was that man she was with? You didn’t tell me she was seeing anyone.”

“They’re not together. He was a friend of Jason’s who is helping them out.”

“We don’t know anything about him.”

“Brooke trusts him.”

“Are you stupid?”

“Excuse me?”

“Are you fucking stupid?”

Amy jumped from the bed and got right in her husband’s face. “Are you drunk again?” she asked, the hint of disgust creeping into her voice.

“Order is hanging on by a thread. People are turning in any illegals left and right for the reward, and anyone helping them is being thrown into jail alongside the people they help. I can’t protect us from this, Amy, if we get caught. Do you understand? Your sister put our family at risk.”

“She’s staying, Daniel,” Amy said. Then, inching closer and clenching her jaw, she shoved her finger into his chest. “And if you ever speak to me like that again, I will throw you out of this house.”

She turned the door handle angrily and stomped down the stairs. Daniel turned to try and say something, but she was already gone. He stumbled backward until the backs of his knees hit the bed, and he collapsed on top of it.

The ceiling above started to spin. He closed his eyes, afraid that opening them would make the spinning worse and he would fly off the bed. Then, after a few minutes, he felt the heaviness of his chest pin him down, sinking him lower. His mind grew foggy, and after a few minutes, he fell fast asleep.