Siege (33 page)

“We are determined to give people a chance to have a good life. If they don’t agree with the concepts of hard work, loyalty, and the basic ideals of the US Constitution, they can leave.”

“You will not tell me how to live my life,” the Senator snapped.

“Oh, but you can tell us?”

“I am an elected official. That is my job! To make the hard decisions that you cannot,” the Senator retorted. She came around the desk in a streak of red.

Katie didn’t back up as she was sure the Senator expected her to, but crossed her arms under her breasts. She could feel the curve of her belly under them and felt even stronger.

“I am in charge here! I make the hard choices for the people!”

“You see, that is where you are mistaken. You’re supposed to represent the people who elected you and help them by not hampering their lives. And that is what you want to do. Kevin showed us your plans. You call people assets! Breeders! You estimate how many of us can die and not be considered a liability to your plans.”

The Senator shot a venomous look at Kevin. “You were supposed to convince them to turn over the fort.”

Kevin stood up slowly. “I went and told them your plans so they wouldn’t.”

“Excuse me?” The Senator looked completely shocked.

“First Lieutenant Reynolds, how dare you defy a direct order?” The Major General rose to his feet heavily, looking furious.

“Easily. I realized it meant making the people surviving in this mall into slaves.” Kevin stood with his chin up, his eyes blazing.

“Slaves?” The Senator barked a sharp, sarcastic laugh. “They are the future of this country! They need to be guided firmly and not left to their own devices or else we are going to be doomed.”

“Our fort is much better off than this mall, Senator. We are just common people trying to survive in this new world and make a life for ourselves,”

Katie retorted.

“And doing a better job at it than we are,” Kevin added.

“How long before your people fall into chaos without proper and experienced leadership? Let’s be frank here. You have no clue what you are doing and you will need me to guide you. The civilians of this country have proven they can barely take care of themselves. Why do you think there are so many social programs to assist them? They have no idea how to make good, solid choices for themselves.” The Senator’s voice had gone very quiet and persuasive. It was the voice she was famous for during debates.

“Bullshit,” Katie answered angrily. So much for her persuasive prosecutor approach. “You are completely underestimating the people who helped build this country.”

“You will turn over the fort per the orders of the President of the United States,” the Major General said in a firm voice.

Bruce Kiel shook his head. “There is no more United States. Don’t you see that? It’s fallen and all that remains are pockets of survivors that will do what they must to survive. Some will become animals but others will rise above. You’ve been making choices for everyone here and now it’s time for us to start making choices for ourselves.”

“If people want to stay here, then they can. But we are offering them a chance to come to the fort,” Katie continued. “If you want to stay here, that is your choice. But you can come with us. You will just be one of many. You will have to find a way to make yourself useful and that doesn’t mean trying to tell the rest of us what to do out of a false sense of superiority.”

The Senator laughed and shook her head. “You are completely delusional. You actually think those sheep out there will follow you? I have proven myself as a leader of this State. I am an elected official. I know damn well how to lead people who are unable to even lead themselves.”

Her campaign manager was wincing. Katie thought it was rather amusing. She supposed he still tended to think about popularity polls and campaign rhetoric.

“I think you’re wrong. I know you’re wrong. And I know this ridiculous plan you have to establish a totalitarian form of government is utter bullshit and doomed to fail.”

“Government and the law bring order to the people. Without us they don’t know how to think or act for themselves. Only the educated and the powerful truly understand the full dynamics of what it takes to run a society.”

Katie shook her head. It shocked her to realize the Senator fully believed what she was saying. “You know what. I’m not here to debate politics. I’m here to tell you how it is. We are not turning over the fort and we are not going to follow your orders. Your rule is over. And we are leaving with whoever wants to go with us.”

“My men will not follow you into mutiny, First Lieutenant,” the Major General said, pushing out his chin, trying to look fierce. His eyes strayed to the woman who promised him power and guidance. His weakness was evident.

“They will and they are,” Kevin answered. “We’re done here and frankly, sir, you are disgrace to the uniform you wear. The minute you fell into bed with this woman you lost your right to order any of us.”

The Senator’s mouth opened in shock. “Well, I never-’“

“Oh, please,” Katie said with the roll of her eyes.

“The worst thing I ever did was turn over the mall to you. I should have trusted myself. I learned my lesson. I’m leaving and taking these people and my men with me,” Kevin said in a firm voice.

“There is no room for debate on this,” Travis added. “We’re taking these people home.”

“We’re done here,” Katie said firmly. “We’re leaving in the morning. We’ll spend the rest of the evening organizing the people for the airlift. You are welcome, despite your bitchiness, to join us. But if you do, remember, you will be just another member of our little fort.”

The Senator leaned back against her desk, smirking. “We’ll see.”

Turning around, Katie looked at her father, Travis and Kevin. The three men were all looking quite serious, but Kevin slightly smiled at her.

“Paige, you just can’t let them do this,” the Major General said in a low voice.

“Try to stop us,” Katie answered.

Travis opened the door and they left without a backward glance.

1. The Last Hours

The afternoon was harder work than any of them had fully anticipated. Kevin made the announcement over the intercom system that anyone wanting to move to the fort and have a new way of life was to line up in the food court to be registered for the airlift. A few people had laughed when they heard Valerie’s voice whisper: “And tell them the Senator won’t be in charge.” Kevin had then hastily added that sentiment. The line had formed immediately. Jenni and Katie had found themselves scrambling to get organized.

Families were to register in one notebook. Elderly singles in another. Orphans in another. Singles in the last.

Jenni carefully translated for the immigrants that were confused and promised them that they were not going to be reduced to non-citizens. Meanwhile, Katie kept assuring the elderly that they would be taken care of and the helicopter ride wouldn’t be all that bad.

“Child, after nearly having to run from those damn zombies, that helicopter will be like a ride to heaven,” Ethel had assured her. Travis and Kevin spoke with the soldiers that filed in from outside to make sure their allegiance was known. Most of them were relieved at the prospect of something more stable than the mall. They were weary and rundown. They had been keeping the zombies at bay for months with no chance of relief or to mourn all that they had lost. It had been hard and some men and women had broken. There were five soldiers that had disappeared over the last few months. It was tempting to try to make a break for it and try to make it home. But the zombie threat was all too real beyond the walls and too much of a risk if you were in your right mind. But then again, who was truly in their right mind anymore?

“Jenni, I really do wanna make sure my kids and I get on the same helicopter, okay?” Amy’s face was drawn with concern as she sat to write down her name and those of her kids. “Losing their Daddy like they did was so hard and I don’t want them to think they’re alone.”

Jenni looked up to see a little boy with thick, straight bangs staring at her with the biggest chocolate brown eyes she had ever seen. She couldn’t help but smile. The boy’s older sisters were both blondes with eyes the color of the morning sea. All three were holding hands and the oldest girl, around eight, was holding her mother’s shirt firmly in one hand.

“Don’t worry. We want to make sure to keep families together if we can,”

Jenni assured her.

Amy scrunched up her face and sighed. “Just so hard, Jenni. Having faith again. After all that went down at the civic center and here.”

Jenni leaned toward Amy and took her hand gently. “It’ll be okay. I promise. Your kids are gonna get a good life. Okay? And somewhere far from here.”

Amy forced a smile and clutched Jenni’s hand. “Okay. I believe you.”

With a smile, Jenni reached out and ruffled the little boy’s hair. “You’re going to have a big adventure tomorrow.”

He just stared at her, blinking those huge dark eyes.

“He doesn’t talk no more. Not since his Daddy died,” Amy said softly. Jenni sighed. “I understand. It’s not easy.” She thought of her own kids and brushed her hair back from her face, trying to regain her composure. Amy stood and gathered her kids around her. “Thanks for doing this, Jenni. We needed it. Bad.”

“Guadalupe Garcia,” the old Mexican woman said to Katie. She wielded her cane like a sword. “Let the puta stay here and die.”

With a laugh, Katie wrote down the woman’s name. “Well, she can come along if she promises to behave.”

Mumbling in Spanish, the old woman gave Katie a hard stare.

“Not that I think she will come along,” Katie assured her.

“She won’t give up control. She’ll do something. That is her way. She’s not a good person,” Guadalupe said firmly.

“I know,” Katie said softly. “I know.”

The announcement from the Senator came about an hour before dinner.

“I realize that many of you have chosen to depart for the fort. This is understandable since you are desperate to escape the zombie scourge and the conditions here have not been easy. But what you need to consider is that you may be exchanging one haven you are not completely happy with for one that is in a worse condition. The reason why I want to take over the fort is to ensure that all the surviving citizens of this great State and this great Country are given a fair and equal chance to fulfill their patriotic duty. To ensure that all the citizens of this mall and the fort have strong and capable leadership in the coming years. I have worked hard for this State and its people. I am an experienced and strong leader. I believe in this country and its people. I know that this has been a rough time for all of us, but help me appeal to the fledgling leaders of the fort and help them see that true leadership will be best for all of us. I am in contact with the President and what remains of our government. They care about what happens to you and they have assured me that they will do all they can to assist us once we are at the fort.”

“So why aren’t they helping us now,” Guadalupe said loudly, waving her cane at the nearest speaker

A few people laughed as the Senator’s voice droned on.

“…together, unified, we can withstand all that comes against us. Do not give up hope. America will rise again and the President and the remains of the government are dedicated to helping you.”

More laughter.

Jenni rolled her eyes.

Bill just shook his head.

“Come stand with me. Come to the top floor and let the leaders of the fort see that you want a strong, powerful new home. To be part of the rebuilding of America and the great state of Texas. Come, join me, and let’s begin a new world together.”

There were murmurs from the people crowded down on the first floor. A few people made jokes, others looked serious. No one seemed anxious to join the Senator.

“I think this is a pretty good answer,” Katie said after ten minutes and still no one had attempted to go upstairs.

Travis just looked somber, his arms folded across his chest. He could see soldiers on the second floor, patrolling the escalators. It was still uncertain if those men would do anything to hinder them. Kevin had explained to him that the Senator had made grandiose promises to all the soldiers. A few were still holding on. It was hard to let go of the hope that somehow you would find your family and friends alive. Travis understood that far too well. Beyond that, some people found it hard to give up their faith in the old institutions. It was hard for some people to stop believing in their superiors.

At around eight PM, Kevin finally decided to see if the Senator had reconsidered joining them peacefully or if she was going to stay behind. He and Valerie started up the escalator, both of them bone weary and just wanting the day to be over.

“She won’t come with us,’ Valerie said softly. “She’s too proud.”

“It doesn’t seem right somehow to just leave them here,” Kevin answered, his eyes on the men at the top of the escalator.

“I have no problem leaving her here,” Valerie assured him. She looked back over the people in the mall. There was excitement in their voices and people were carefully packing just one bag to take with them to the fort.

“She’ll just fuck things up at the fort.”

They were almost to the top when one of the National Guardsmen came into view. He was from East Texas and determined to get there, one way or the other. Snapping off his weapon’s safety, he aimed at Kevin and Valerie.

“Go back down,” he said firmly.

“We’re just coming to ask the Senator to come with us,” Kevin answered.

“You made your choice. Now go back down,” the man repeated.

“Ben,” Valerie said softly.

“I said go back down. I have no problem shooting either one of you.”

Kevin could see from the look in the man’s eye that he meant it. “Okay,”

he said softly. “Okay.” Turning, he calmly walked back down the moving stairs to the main floor, Valerie close at his side.