Siege (7 page)

Lenore’s nimble fingers kept braiding as she spoke. Ken marveled at her patience and stamina.

Curtis squirmed around his chair. “You’re taking too much-”

Ken grabbed Curtis’ head firmly between his hands and aimed his gaze straight forward. “Stop moving.”

“Your ass is fine,” Felix drawled from behind his book. There was a pause as everyone looked at him and he slowly lowered it to peer over the wellworn edges. “I meant that it’s not fat. Not that it’s...”

“You saying my ass ain’t fine?” Lenore shot him a cross look, her fingers still braiding.

“I didn’t mean that!” Felix sighed heavily.

“So it is fine?” Yolanda arched both her eyebrows, gazing into the mirror in front of her at his reflection.

Ken giggled.

“Just don’t answer them, Felix. They got you trapped,” Curtis advised.

“They’re just being wicked.”

“You have no idea how wicked I can get.” Yolanda winked. Ken was amazed at how red Curtis’ scalp turned under the golden strands of hair. “You made him blush, Yolanda!”

“It ain’t that hard. Curtis is our sweetie, ain’t you?”

Curtis blushed even more.

Ken wondered how red he could turn.

“He’s always making sure everyone minds themselves and he is always super sweet and gets me coffee when I’m on duty in the communication center.” Yolanda smiled affectionately at Curtis.

“It’s no big thing,” he answered awkwardly.

“Maybe he’s sweet on you,” Ken teased.

“Nah, he’s sweet on Linda,” Yolanda answered.

Curtis darted out of the chair so fast, Ken almost stuck him with his scissors. “Hey!”

“I...um..I can’t pay nothing and can’t tip you. I feel bad about that. Maybe I can get Bill to let Lenore get more supplies-”

“Just gimme a kiss and we’re even,” Ken said, trying to sound and look serious.

Blinking hard, Curtis stammered, backing toward the door, “I think...I’ll...”

“I’m just teasing, Curtis!” Ken burst out laughing. “I wasn’t done. Sit your ass back down.”

Turning, Curtis ran his fingers over his hair, fussing with it a little. “It will do. I’ll see you later.” He was moving so fast, he nearly shoved Peggy back out the door as she entered. Mumbling an apology, he darted past her and vanished.

Peggy screwed up her face, frowning. “What is up with that boy?”

“I just teased him a little about Linda,” Yolanda answered.

“Oh, Lord. You didn’t!” Peggy looked aghast.

“Oh, there is dish here. Spill it!” Ken began to clean up around the chair, sweeping up the tiny bits of hair he had trimmed.

“I caught him consoling Linda in the communication center.” Peggy paused for dramatic effect. “They were naked.”

Ken almost dropped his scissors. “No!”

“Oh, yeah. They were buck ass naked and going at it. Well, actually Curtis’ pants were around his ankles, but they were doing the naked tango just fine.” Peggy smirked as she slid into the vacant chair in front of Ken.

“I will never sit in that chair again,” Yolanda declared. “Curtis’ nasty, naked pasty ass on that chair is too much for me to deal with.”

Lenore murmured in agreement.

Felix sighed loudly.

“Were you next?” Peggy asked.

“I have nothing better to do, so you might as well go first.” Felix cracked his book back open with dramatic flair that impressed even Ken and went back to reading.

“I just need a little trim and some fresh bangs.” Peggy messed with her hair a bit, showing off her abundance of split ends.

“Okay, I suggest taking two inches off the bottom, skip the bangs and do a little bit of layering in the front instead and let me put a little bit of a lighter color in.”

“Honey, I ain’t got a man to impress no more. Just chop it so it’s easy to deal with.”

Ken frowned at the back of Peggy’s head and ran his hand slowly over her hair. He wanted to hack it off and make it stunning. The thought of a mere trim was too terrible to bear.

“Hey, you got an opening for me? I need a serious shave and some of this hair whacked off.” The voice was big and booming, yet strangely comforting and warm.

In unison, everyone in the room looked toward the doorway. A stranger stood there filling it completely. He was tall, muscular and shaggy. Ken thought he looked like a big ol’ cuddly bear. And he wanted the big man to cuddle him right up. He felt his jaw drop, but didn’t care.

“Twinkle toes is gonna trim my hair, but you can take a seat,” Peggy answered.

“I’ll check back in then. I gotta go check in with some Juan guy,” the big man answered.

“I can make time for you,” Ken managed to squeak out.

“When he’s done with my hair,” Peggy added, giving Ken a dark look. He ignored her and took a step toward the newcomer. “I’m Ken and more than willing to help you fulfill your grooming needs.”

“If that ain’t a come on, I don’t know what is,” Lenore muttered.

“Um hmm,” Yolanda agreed.

Ken flipped them both off.

The big guy laughed and shook his head. “It’s all good. I’ll just come back. Name is Dale. I’m glad to meet all of you.”

“I’m Ken, and the rest of these bitches are Peggy, Lenore, Yolanda, and that’s Felix.”

“I’ll be back, Ken. Thanks.” The big guy flashed a wide grin, then left.

“You could have let him go first!” Ken wailed, whirling around toward Peggy.

“Oh, no way am I supporting your sinning ways. You practically threw yourself at that poor man.” Peggy folded her arms, giving him a disdainful look

“Ugh! I hate you,” Ken pouted. “I’m chopping off your hair and dying it, you old bat!”

“Fine! But make it snappy!” Peggy smiled slowly. “Besides, he was kinda cute in a bear-like way. Maybe I should look a little more presentable.”

“I’m going to shave your head,” Ken growled.

Peggy just chuckled and waved a hand at him. “You’d like to, but you won’t. Cause then I could tell everyone you ruined my hair.”

“Ugh! You’re evil!” Ken frowned, but began his work. Soon he was consumed in his task, but he still couldn’t help but think of the big, brawny guy with the great smile.

Hopefully, he would come back for a shave and a trim. Smiling at the thought, Ken continued to snip away as the ice continued to ping against the window.

2. Making Demands

Travis sighed the second he saw Stephen Mann briskly walking down the hall toward him. This wasn’t going to be pleasant. The sleet was coming down hard and he contemplated ducking out into it to escape the determined man bearing down on him. The thought of being pelted by the ice rain and the harsh wind was enough to keep him from opening the door. He was trapped and knew it.

Slowly, he turned away from the door leading out onto the construction site and headed down the hall. As he knew he would, Stephen fell into step beside him.

“We need to talk,” Stephen started.

“Make it fast. I got things to do other than to hear your latest complaints,”

Travis answered.

“Okay, I deserve that. I know that I have complained at times-”

“-everyday-”

“-since we arrived here, but it has been very difficult for Blanche to adapt. She struggles to fit in and she’s not doing too well.”

Travis stopped, turned, and regarded Stephen with raised eyebrows.

“You’re joking, right?”

Stephen ran his hand over his hair nervously. “What do you mean?”

“Blanche does not try to fit in at all. She yells at everyone all the time and is a right, royal bitch. She lied to Linda about the Imotrex and accused her of stealing. She also shoved my very pregnant wife when Katie tried to calm the situation down. So do not tell me that Blanche is trying.”

His brow puckering, Stephen averted his eyes, obviously weighing what his next words should be. “Okay. So maybe she’s not trying, but this has been difficult for her. She was raised dirt poor, but her Mama always took good care of her and treated her like a princess. When she married me, I made sure she got everything she deserved.”

Travis sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. “Stephen, why are you telling me this? What do you want?”

Stephen fumbled with the buttons of his shirt nervously. “We want to go home. Blanche hates it here. She wants the Hummer back and anything you guys took from our estate and she wants to go home.”

“No. The Hummer is an important part of our defense and anything salvaged from your home is part of the fort’s inventory now. If you want to leave, we can get you a car, a few days of food, and a gun, but then you guys are on your own.” Travis hated the words coming out of his mouth, but this was the law of the new world. As mayor of the fort, it was his responsibility to keep its inhabitants safe and as healthy as possible.

“You can’t do that. It’s our property.” Stephen’s voice rose in pitch and a few people walking by hurried on. “We paid for all of that. Our money. Our property. Give it back.”

“Stephen, no. We took food and anything else the fort needed when we salvaged your place. It’s part of the stores now. How are we supposed to know what we took at this point? That was months ago. We probably ate the food by now.” Travis set his hands on his hips and gazed steadily at Stephen. “And why do you want the Hummer?”

“Because it’s ours!”

“Are you going to use it to drive you and Blanche out to areas to salvage?

Where are you going to get your food? Your supplies? Chances are, we give you the Hummer, you take off, and we’ll find you two moaning outside our walls in a few days.”

“Don’t underestimate us, Travis.”

“Blanche won’t even clean her own damn room right now. Who is going to cook?”

“Actually, Blanche thought maybe we could get a few people to go with us if we promised them some jewelry and other valuables,” Stephen answered in a cold, angry voice. He was growing impatient. He was used to being able to push around local officials. He did not like being rebuffed.

“You mean stuff that is worthless now that the zombies have risen.” Travis shook his head. “Unbelievable. Really.”

“Why do you want us here? You hate us! Everyone does. You hate our wealth and our prestige.”

Travis gripped Stephen’s arm tightly with one hand. “Stephen, you’re not wealthy or prestigious anymore. Now, you’re just another living human being. You’re a part of this town. This fort. I wish to God you two would settle down and just adapt. Look, I get that you used to be spoiled rotten, but those days are gone. All of us need to carry our own damn weight and help everyone out here in this fort. Do you get that? Do you understand that? We can’t afford to be selfish anymore.”

Wrenching his arm away, Stephen looked unsure of what to say next. He rubbed his arm, his eyes cast downward.

“The old world is gone. This is the new world. You gotta adapt. Be a part of us. Settle down. Learn some useful skills. Chip in. Make some friends, Stephen.”

“You know, everyone keeps talking about the old world being gone. But it’s really not. It’s just waiting for us to push back the dead then everything will go back to the way it was. I will rise to the top again. I will take care of my wife. You’ll go back to being a foreman of a construction site, working for me, not strutting around acting like you’re the mayor.”

Stephen’s voice was angry, but defensive. “All these people you want us to be friends with will go back to their pathetic lives. You think everyone is equal, but people with power, like me, have that power because we worked hard to gain it and we deserve it.”

“Stephen, you got your money cause your great-grandpa was smart enough to take advantage of the railroad when it came through these parts way back in the day. He worked his ass off to be a success and bring commerce to this area. He put this town on the map. He built this hotel. He brought jobs into this town and he made it happen. Hell, this town is named after your great-grandma. I’ve been in that little museum down the hall that shows him working side by side with the townspeople. So maybe you should follow his example and join us in making this fort a success. Let that be your legacy.”

“You don’t get it, Travis. You think I’m just a spoiled, rich man who never did anything to earn my keep. Well, I have. I have worked damn hard. And I love my wife. I want her to be happy and she is not happy. She wants our supplies back and our Hummer. She wants an armed escort and some people to come along to work the estate. I think she deserves those things. Being here is hard on her. And being a good, decent husband, I plan to do what she needs to make her safe and happy.”

Stephen was close to being enraged.

Travis shook his head, frustrated at not being able to get through to the man. “You go out there and it will be just you and her unless someone is dumb enough to fall for your ruse.”

“I am not a man to be trifled with, Travis.” Stephen stared at Travis for a long, piercing second, then turned and stomped off without another word. Travis raised his hand to rub his very tired eyes. When he lowered his hand, Bill was staring at him. “What’s up?”

“He isn’t an easy man, Travis. You can’t make him be what he doesn’t want to be.”

“You heard that, huh?”

Bill nodded, his hands resting on his belt. It was cinched tighter than in the past and his once round face was now more oval, with a hint of jowls.

“They ain’t never been easy people. Stephen is the younger brother who wasn’t supposed to inherit his Daddy’s mantle, but his older brother managed to get his ass killed doing some fool stunt in a race car. He’s always trying to prove himself, and his wife ain’t much better. She’s from the trailer park and got lucky becoming a beauty queen. Stephen has been smitten with her since the day he saw her. He has poured tons of money into making her sister’s political career work. They don’t wanna be here, Travis, because this is what they wanted to avoid all their lives. Being common folk.”