The Forgiven The Fallen The Forsaken (5 page)

Jim sat on a
log and looked up at her.  "Everyone has blind spots."

"He's more
than capable of doing the wrong thing for the right reasons.  I would expect
that half of his job is dealing with things that require setting aside ethics
to get them done, but he is one of the most patriotic and pragmatic people
you'll ever meet.  I don't think there's much chance of him being wrong, nuts,
or off on some rogue mission to benefit himself."

"So what
is bugging you about him?"

"He's in
over his head, Jim.  There are too many moving parts for him to stay on top of
it all.  That's why he's given us all the responsibilities around preparing this
hidden base camp.  I grew up with him.  I can see he's scared that he won't be
able to pull this off even though the stakes may be a trip back into the
nineteenth century for most of the planet."

"You're
sure of him?"

"I'm not
worried about us being on the wrong side, if that's what you mean.  Rob's
solid.  He's a good person.  And he's one of the worst enemies anyone could
ever imagine.  I'm mostly worried about the entire situation.  It just feels
like we should be able to do something to save more lives."

"Maybe
what we're doing will make a bigger difference than we can imagine."  He
stood and offered a hand to her.  "And if not, at least it's a good
distraction.  Let's get started." 

Today’s project
was installing commercial grade A-frame greenhouses designed to handle a snow
load.  He’d cleared the land earlier in the week and had a crew from California
putting in four of the 40 foot structures today.  He placed them to one side of
the pond site so that water would be readily available. 

As each of
building was finished, a second crew would start installing hydroponics systems
along both sides of the greenhouse and tables of planting pots in the center.   

Susan had been collecting
seeds and irrigation systems all along and was delighted to see the greenhouses
being built so that she could start working on those systems.   

She had also had
finished off the livestock pens with chain link fencing and gates earlier in
the week.  She planned to have chickens, goats, pigs and rabbits.  Jim teased
her about being “Farmer Susan,” but she was enjoying role much more than she
ever would have believed.

They had added four
more large fifth wheel RV’s and two travel trailers that were functional, if
not all pretty, so seven of the twenty ports now had RV’s in them.     

Half way
through the day, Susan was surprised to have Rob and Denise’s daughter, Julie,
pull up to the cabin in a small white SUV towing a cargo trailer.  Julie leaped
out and ran up to her, “Hi Aunt Susan!”   They hugged as a second twenty
something young woman got out of the SUV and walked up to them.  Julie
continued, “And this is my friend, Helen.  She went to UC Irvine together with
me.  You’ll love her.”

Susan hugged
Helen, too, and said, “You’re both welcome here.  Come on in the cabin and I’ll
get you something to drink.”

Julie was
Robert’s daughter through and through.  She was tall, brunette, athletic, and
looked like she had just stepped off a volleyball court.  At 22, she looked
like a kid to Susan, but Julie was sharp and tough as nails, so much so that
Susan always expected Julie to become a marine officer or something along those
lines.  Susan wasn't the least bit surprised that Julie had chosen mechanical
engineering as a profession.

Helen had a
similar build but with Asian features, maybe half Japanese.  Susan never could
tell ethnicities very well and really didn’t care.  She was delighted to have
them both.

They sat at the
kitchen table while Susan poured iced tea for them.  Julie looked frazzled. 
She said, “I don’t know a lot more than you do, but I’ll fill you in with what
I do know.  Dad’s up to his eyeballs at work and won’t talk about it in the
house because he figures that the place is bugged.  There was a tracking device
on my car, even.  It’s getting crazy."

Susan said,
"A tracking device.  Really?" 

Julie nodded.  “We
put it on our next door neighbor's car.  Dad had me tell everyone who would
listen about me moving to Colorado Springs to take a job.  Then he helped me pack
the trunk with photos and such things and go trade the car in on this SUV.  He
gave us money, a map to here, and a list of things to pick up.  He said he
can’t just take off yet, but he’ll be here when he can."

"So it
sounds like it's real."

"I wish it
weren't," said Julie, "but on a brighter note, Helen’s dad is Air
Force and the rest of the family is stationed in Germany right now, so she’ll
be with us for the duration.”

Susan said to
Helen, “And we’re lucky to have you.  I was an Army brat, myself.”

Helen looked
relieved, “Thank you!”

Susan looked up
at both the girls, and said, “So, it can't be kept a secret forever, and as
soon as word gets out, the supermarkets will be empty, the roads will be
gridlocked, and there won’t be much of a choice beyond FEMA camps and martial
law.”

Helen looked
away, saying, “Until almost no one is left.”

Julie pulled
out an envelope.  “Dad wrote a letter for you, too.”

Susan opened
the letter and started to read.

Hi Susan and Jim,

Like I
expected, my friends and their families here are being closely watched. I’ll be
staying in place for now.  Julie and Helen will stay with you.  Matt and Luke
will take a trip to Mammoth with their church group sometime in the next few weeks
and get lost on the way there.  Don’t worry; everything is in place on that
end, so there won’t be any fuss.   They will have other teens with them.  You
should see them soon.     

Just in
case they get there before I do, I’ll have several folks I hope can join us. 
They’ll call on the satellite cell phone Julie has for you before showing up. 
There will be a lot happening at once when this thing goes. 

I know
you’re doing great with preparations.  Think about setting up a quarantine area
on some part of the property.  If people aren’t showing symptoms after 10 days,
they don’t have it.  If they have it, it’s going to be frighteningly virulent. 
Distance is the only sure thing.  Also, remember that birds can carry this. 
That means any poultry need to be kept away from other birds, preferably
indoors.  Water has to be treated before drinking. 

Julie has
a box for you that will help with things.

I need a
helicopter pad set up.  It needs to be a flat area with no big trees around. 
If I can pull it off, I may fly in.  Aviation and Jet A fuel would be useful to
have on hand.

Start
assuming that time is short.  Any additional prep time from here on out is a
gift.

Love you
guys.  Thanks in advance for saving our butts.

                                                Rob

Julie and Helen
each brought in an 18 inch by 18 inch box and set them on the kitchen table. 
Susan opened the first one to find two way radios and satellite phones.  The
second was completely filled with envelopes.  Julie said, “Dad said the
envelopes had $10,000 each and the box has just over $1 million.  I haven’t bothered
to count. He also gave us a list, and our own funds to fill it as best we can. 
We’ll let you know if we’re running low.”

Susan opened
one of the envelopes and said, “You know I’m not buying that $100 bills from
Saddam Hussein’s vaults story.  All of these bills are new.  Rob’s in deep,
isn’t he?”

Julie answered,
“I don't know that part.  He just said that what we were doing would be beyond
important.”

Susan looked at
the ceiling for a moment and sighed.  “I had a feeling.”

They finished
their drinks and Susan stood, saying, “Well girls, it looks like we’re going
shopping.  Let me bring Jim up to speed and we’ll head into town.” 

NOVEMBER
3
^rd

The girls were
up and out early the next morning.  Aunt Susan had told them to take the day
for themselves and they intended to make the most of it.  They took the SUV in
to Flagstaff and had breakfast at a restaurant that Julie had found online.  It
was delicious, but they both felt stuffed to the gills afterward. 

They were at a
semi tractor dealer before the lot even opened.  Once the sales staff arrived,
they wandered the lot and had soon narrowed things down to two used
Freightliner raised sleepers.  When they asked to see the dark green two year
old model, the salesman looked at them like they were pulling a gag on him.  When
he told them to piss off and turned to walk back into the office, Helen pulled
out her cell phone and dialed a preprogrammed number.  Seeing Julie staring at
her, she said, “I thought I might run into some trouble and did a little research
first.”  

Talking into
the phone now, she said, “Hello Mr. Moore, sorry to use your cell number.  My
name is Helen and I’m at your Flagstaff store trying to buy a Freightliner with
cash.  Your salesman just told me to piss off.  He looks pretty hung over.  I
was wondering if you could suggest any other dealers in Flagstaff that I might try? 
Sure, I can hold.” 

Two minutes
later another man came running out to the lot. “Helen spoke back into the
phone.  Okay, here’s someone now.  Oh, he’s the manager.  Thank you.  I’ll let
you know if I have any problems.  Bye now.”

The man was
balding on top and had a shape that screamed a love of beer matched with a
loathing of exercise.  He said, “I’m John, and I’d be more than happy to help
you.”

Helen said, "I
need a rig like yesterday and I’d like to stick with a Freightliner.  Can you
grab the keys for these two and help me figure out which one I want?”

After the test
drives she said, "I can't make up my mind.  Tell you what, if you'll fire
that asshole right now, I'll pay cash for both of them today.  And I'll throw
in a five thousand dollar tip for you."  She opened her purse and let him
see the bundles of hundred dollar bills.

He looked at
the cash, looked at her, and said, "Not a problem."

The three of
them walked into the office together.  John yelled, "Frank!  Pack your
shit and get the fuck out of my dealership." 

Frank said,
"What?!"

"You heard
me.  Get out.  Payroll will mail your final check this afternoon.  If you come
back on this property I'll have your sorry ass arrested." 

Frank grabbed a
few things out of the sales office and stormed out the door. 

"How was
that?" asked John. 

Helen and Julie
could barely talk, they were laughing so hard.  Helen said, "That was perfect!" 

She drove off
the lot a half hour later with the dark green one.  Julie followed in the SUV
to their next stop, a RV dealership.  When they got out of the vehicles Julie
asked Helen, “Where the hell did you learn to drive one of these?”

“Dad was always
big on being prepared.”  There was a gleam in her eye.  “I have a fixed wing
pilot’s license, too.”

Things went
much smoother at the RV dealership.  They spent a half hour touring the lot and
settled in on a one year old 43 foot unit that was like a palace inside, a five
year old fifth wheel in good condition, and a 42 foot  a toy hauler trailer
that could be towed behind Julie's SUV. 

Helen paid cash
and a good bit extra to have all three prepped for them with all new batteries,
full tanks, and all preparatory maintenance done.  Helen had also paid for
extra spare tires to be placed in the storage compartments along with chains
and covers for all the wheels.   

They ate lunch
at a well reviewed pizzeria and picked up the second Freightliner afterward.  Their
timing was right on, with the first fifth wheel and toy hauler prepped and ready
to go by the time they returned.  Helen made arrangements to leave the second
rig on the RV lot and to pick up the second fifth wheel the next day. 

She was
thrilled to hook the Freightliner up to their new RV.  "How do you like
our new home?" she asked Julie.

Julie answered,
"Love it!"

Julie was
shocked at how much money they had already spent, but was not least bit
surprised when Helen said, “So, are you ready to go shopping?”

“What’s first?”

“How about
shoes?”

They towed both
the fifth wheel and the cargo hauler to a nearby mall to take advantage of the
large parking lots.

Once there, they
started off with high quality hiking boots, buying several pair for each of
them, and moved on to cold weather gear, including sleeping bags.  They also
bought jeans, t-shirts, robes, socks, shorts, underwear, sandals, flip-flops, swim
suits, and other such items.  Soon the clothes closets and drawers were filled.

Next they
shopped for cooking wear and dining sets that would be appropriate for the RV.  Before
long they had the kitchen fully stocked with kitchenware, including several can
openers.  Julie did insist on good wine glasses, tumblers, and shot glasses,
but these they left in their boxes.  Helen picked up a high end coffee and
cappuccino machine.

The large
department stores were only too happy to have staff load their huge quantity of
purchases into the toy hauler trailer for them.  It was almost too easy.

The young women
soon moved on to less practical items.  They spent a small fortune on DVD’s and
Blue Ray disks, along with several players.  They also picked up two large
plasma screen TV’s.  The rationale was that they could set up a library that
everyone could use and maybe even a movie hall for movie nights.  Throw rugs
were a must given the amount of dirt that would get dragged in at the camp
site.  Julie bought several vacuum cleaners.  When Helen asked why, she
answered, “One to use, the others to loan out to the others you know are going
to be pestering us to use ours every time we turn around.”