FORSAKEN: THE SYSTEMIC SERIES (16 page)

I honestly couldn’t think of why Joanna would want to go along.  Well, actually, I could think of
one
reason.  But if that was the case, I found it odd that she would make the request in such a public forum. 

“Alright, let’s get going,” I said as casually as I could.

I wasn’t about to stand around and wait for people to start their gossiping right there in front of us.  They could do that when they took their evening constitutionals around town later that evening.  I felt bad for Claire though, as I knew that she would certainly realize what the hot topic of conversation was when small groups started braking off for their walks without benefit of her company. 

But what was I supposed to do?  Say, “No Joanna, you can’t come.”

That would make things seem even stranger.

So I just acted as though everything was normal and that I was taking my best buddy along for the ride.

Joanna and I made almost the entire trip in silence.  As we neared the pond, my curiosity got the better of me.  “So to what do I owe the honor of your accompaniment on this extremely exciting and intensely interesting endeavor?”

She waited for a few seconds and then said, “We’re leaving.”

I frowned, not understanding.  “No,” I said shaking my head as we approached the pond. “We just got everything set up here.  We can’t leave
now
.”

“I didn’t mean the group,” Joanna said.  “I meant me and Shane.”

I still didn’t understand.  There were many things about Joanna that I didn’t understand, but this was one that truly befuddled me.

“But
why
?” I asked.  “Did we…did
I
do something wrong?”

“You’ve done nothing wrong,” Joanna said, looking at me and putting a hand on my knee as I drove.  “That’s part of the problem.  You’ll never do anything wrong.”

I laughed aloud, not because it was funny, but more because I found it rather ironic.  “I feel like I’ve done
everything
wrong ever since we left southern Illinois.”

She shook her head.  “No, I didn’t mean like that.  I meant that you would never knowingly do something wrong that would hurt your family.  It’s a very admirable quality, and one that makes me care about you even more, but at the same time, it’s one that means I’ll never have the chance to be with you.  I was watching you with Claire today at the garden, and I could see how much you love her.  It hurts.  It hurts me every time I see it, and I just can’t take it any more.”

She paused, and we drove on in silence for a minute before she said, “I don’t think you have any idea what it’s like.”

“What what’s like?” I asked, playing dumb.

“Waking up every morning and seeing the man you care about enjoying his life with someone else.”

“But Joanna, there’s nothing I can do about that.  It doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you and Shane…that the whole group doesn’t care about you and Shane.”

“I know that,” she said.  “But it’s not the same.  It’s not the way I
want
you to care about us.  I want you to care about me and Shane the way you do about Claire and Jason, and I’m realistic enough to know that’s not going to happen.”

“You’re a part of our family though,” I said.

“I know, and I thank you for that and for all you’ve done, but it’s
your
family, not mine.  You have your wife, your dad, your brother, your son.  I have Shane.”

“No,” I said forcefully.  “You have all of us too.  You’re just as much a part of this family as anyone.”

She looked at me, “You don’t really believe that do you, John?”

“You
are
,” I said, not quite as convincingly as I’d hoped.

“We’re not,” she said softly.  “And that’s not your fault.  You’ve tried to incorporate us in every way.  And you’ve done a wonderful job at it, and of helping us.  I don’t think we’d have made it without you.”

“You’d have made it,” I said, knowing that she would have.

“But it’s time for us to move on.  It’s almost lonelier being around the group and seeing everyone with someone of their own.  Think about it.  Ray has Pam, and soon they’ll have a newborn baby.  Will has Sharron.  You have Claire.  Even your dad and Emily have gotten together.  Sure, I have Shane, and I love him more than life itself, but it’s not the same.  You know that.  I need to find my own life and a life for Shane, and I think we’re ready to do that now.  I’ve had enough time to learn how to adapt to this new world and survive in it.”

“It’s dangerous out there, Joanna,” I looked at her.

“It’s dangerous
everywhere
,” she said.  “I can’t keep watching you build your life without me.  It’s just too hard.  I need to find my own place and hopefully a place to grow a family of my own with Shane.  You’ve been great to Shane and have been integral in helping to raise him to the mature boy that he is…but he needs more. 
I
need more.”

“He’s a wonderful little man,” I agreed, taking a deep breath.  “I’ll miss him.  I’ll miss you,” I paused thinking. “You’re sure about this?” I asked, as we rolled to a stop near the pond.

“Yes,” she nodded solemnly.  She took her hand off my knee, leaned over, and kissed me on the cheek.  “You’ve been nothing but wonderful,” she said, a single tear sliding down her face as she said it.  “And believe me; I’ll always be indebted to you for what you’ve done for us.”

I shook my head sadly and looked out the pickup’s dusty windshield at the pond in front of us, bewildered by this unexpected turn of events, but not necessarily as shocked as I thought I might be.  “I can’t talk you out of…”  I stopped suddenly.  “Somebody’s been here,” I nodded ahead of us at two deep ruts in the mud beside the pond’s edge. 

The stake acting as my water gauge was gone. 

I killed the truck’s engine and opened my door.  “Somebody
besides
us.”

Chapter 14

With the oppressive summer heat now starting to settle over Atlanta as June eased into July, Ava realized it was time to start finalizing the remainder of her plan.  The weeks following their rapid-succession raids had proved her strategy correct, providing them with a steady flow of the resources necessary to continue to feed the little war machine that she and Jake were building.

With things relatively calm for the moment, Ava decided to make another trip to see Blondie, Brownie, and Bushy in their dilapidated abode.  This time she drove. 

The three men were glad to see her and appreciative of the drugs and alcohol with which she’d been steadily supplying them.  Brownie and Blondie hadn’t taken part in the first few raids, but after the incident with the Stryker being damaged, Jake had called upon them for the fifth and final raid.  They had acted largely in supporting roles, serving as more of a rear guard and available reserve if necessary.  Jake hadn’t been impressed by the look of the two, and seeing as how he knew little about them and they hadn’t yet been battle tested alongside his own men, he’d been wary of using them in any sort of integral role in what he thought might be a pivotal battle. 

This was fine with Ava.  In her opinion, the less contact Jake had with them, the better.

Ava brought an extra few baggies of assorted drugs and a case of whiskey – Bushy’s booze of choice – with her.

“I need you to take another trip for me,” Ava said, after they’d finished unloading her vehicle and bringing the supplies down to the dingy basement of their home.

“Sure,” Blondie said.  “But we’re low on gas,” he nodded as he sparked up a joint and held it out to her in offering.

“No thanks,” she waved it away.  “Gas won’t be a problem.”  She quickly scribbled an address on a pad of paper she found lying atop a disorganized coffee table upon which an array of drugs and drug paraphernalia were scattered.  “Stop by here and tell them Ava sent you.  They’ll fill up your car,” she said as she ripped the piece of paper off the pad and handed it to Blondie. 

“We’ll need extra for the trip though,” added Brownie.

“I’ll send one of our guys over with a couple five gallon cans,” she said.  “After that, you’re on your own.  I give you too much, and Jake’s going to notice and start getting suspicious.”

“Should be enough to get us close,” Blondie agreed.  “We can get a little bit more from your contacts while we’re there.”  

“Should we take Bushy here with us?” Brownie asked.

“No,” Ava said.  “I need him here.  Plus, another body in the car means more weight, and more weight means more gas.”

“So what do you need us to do down there?” asked Blondie.

She looked over at Bushy.  “Bushy, there are two envelopes on the dashboard of my car.  Go get them.”

Bushy nodded and headed upstairs.

Ava waited until he was gone and then said, “I want you to go to the same city you did last time.  When you get there, just feel out the situation.  Find out exactly who is running things around town and how.  Find out how business is being conducted.  Learn about what supplies are available, in what amounts, what’s scarce, what’s plentiful, how trades are being conducted, what’s used as currency…that kind of stuff.  You know how we have the Three Families up here?  See if they have something like that set up down there.  Try to find out how everything is organized – or even
if
they’re organized.  Then I want you to meet up with the same guys you did last time.”

“Got it,” Brownie and Blondie nodded.  “They seemed like pretty cool cats.” 

“No partying though,” Ava eyed them.

“
Awwww
,” they moaned in unison. 

“I don’t want you guys to be gone any longer than a few days, and that
includes
travel time.  If Jake needs you for something, I don’t want him wondering what the hell you’re up to.”

Bushy was back with the envelopes.  He handed them to Ava.

“When you see my contacts there, give them this,” she said, handing a rather bulky envelope over to Brownie.  “Don’t open it…and make sure it gets to them.”

“What’s in it?” Blondie asked.

“None of your fucking business,” Ava replied calmly.  “If I wanted you to know, I would have told you.”

“So when do you want us to leave?” Brownie asked.

“As soon as you have your gas.  My guy will be here about an hour after you fill up your car…which will be right now.”

“You want us to leave
now
?” Blondie said, surprised.

“Did I stutter?” Ava frowned.

“Uh, no…” Blondie said, “…but we were…”

“Listen,” Ava interrupted, “I don’t have time for this.  If you get this done and done right, there will be big things coming your way.  That’s all I can say.  If you fuck it up, well…” she squinted, looking at them, “…all I can say is that you’d better just keep on driving until you run out of road in Key West because your lives will be worth shit.”

They looked at each other and then back at her.

“Got it,” Brownie nodded his head nervously.

“Bushy, I want you here,” Ava went on, unperturbed.  “Keep an eye on the place while these boys are gone and be ready if I call on you for anything.  She handed him the other envelope.  I’ve got another raid I’m planning. I want you to scout out the various locations I’ve written down in this envelope.  Find a good one and one that’s protected by the Three Families.  I want you to infiltrate it.  Make it look like you’re hard up and need work.  I want someone on the inside after we carry out the attack.  Shave off all your facial hair before you do this and wear a hat so that you won’t be recognized by any of our men.  I know I haven’t introduced you to the group, but I don’t want to take any chances in case I was tailed here.”

She looked it him. 

“Understand?”

“Will do,” the bearded man nodded solemnly.

“You have no problem with changing your appearance?” she pushed.

“Don’t really like it,” he shrugged. “But it’ll grow back.”

“Good,” Ava nodded.  And with that, she left the three men.             

Ava did her best to get Jake to spend the next two days in a drunken stupor, but he was growing impatient about the fuel situation.  The Strykers were both nearly out of gas, and he wanted his toys up and ready to be played with whenever he so desired.

“What’s the big hurry?” Ava asked him on the afternoon of the second day when Jake was bitching more than usual about the lack of fuel while boozing it up in the pump station’s upstairs lounge.

“Don’t you fucking worry about it!” drunken Jake yelled angrily, throwing his half-finished bottle of whiskey against the wall so that it smashed, spraying whiskey upon several of his men who sat drunk and half-asleep on a sofa nearby.  “You’re not the only one who can plan stuff!  I got things going on here too.  Don’t think you know everything,” he babbled at Ava.

His words worried her, but she knew Jake; anything he had brewing was likely small-time stuff.  He lacked the capacity for big thinking. It was probably some half-assed deals for booze and guns.  He got so wrapped up in the little stuff that he just couldn’t see the forest for the trees and he ended up stepping over dollars to pick up dimes.