Authors: Shelley Singer
Tags: #post-apocalyptic, #Thriller, #Suspense, #Mystery, #New World, #near future, #scifi thriller, #Science Fiction, #spy fiction, #Tahoe, #casino, #End of the World
Torch Song: A Kickass Heroine, A Post-Apocalyptic World: Book One Of The Blackjack Trilogy (43 page)
On the way to her office I passed the poker tables. Emmy was dealing at Samm’s table. We nodded at each other.
Jo was sitting behind her desk. She rose when I walked in, circled it, and gave me a tender kiss on the cheek. I kissed her on the mouth and won a tiny smile.
“Sit down, Rica.”
“This sounds serious.” We both sat on the couch, a yard apart, facing each other.
She laughed softly. “Everything seems serious. Let me get right to it. I don’t think I’ll really have time to take a council seat. Zack’s going to need help, now that Samm’s gone.” Her voice broke. “The casino needs running. The campaigns and the policies need work. That’s really where I belong. I want you to be the candidate.”
That was the last thing I wanted.
“I’m sorry, Jo. I can’t do that. I need to go home and see to things there.”
Her eyes flickered. “You’re leaving?”
“At least for a while.” I thought it would be longer than a while. What was that noise out in the parking lot? Sounded like a lot of cars. Again.
“I don’t want to lose you, Rica.” Her eyes dropped to her folded hands. “I mean I don’t want Sierra to lose you. Either.” I laughed; she smiled back at me. “So I have another proposal. We need to negotiate an alliance with Redwood. You’re the perfect person to serve as our ambassador to San Francisco. Work with us, and with your own people. Make it good for everyone.”
I didn’t know what to say. Was she really offering me a job in Redwood? How much would I have to say about the relationship between Redwood and Sierra? Could I work for her and still keep the Colemans from setting themselves up as our royal family? A dozen clichés ran through my head. A light at the end of the tunnel. Beware of Colemans bearing gifts. For just a moment, I felt ambivalent about giving up the merc life, the merc freedom. But that feeling passed very quickly.
“I won’t just take orders, you know.” Even working independently, could I really affect what the Colemans ultimately decided— and were able— to do?
She laughed again. “Would it help if I told you another raiding party came across from Rocky this morning?”
“It might help if it was true.”
She had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. “It’s true. Zack’s on his way to the border in about an hour.” So that was what was going on outside. The army was gathering again.
“You’re going to have to keep troops closer to Rocky.”
She nodded. “We’re interrogating the prisoners to see if we can find out about crossing points, plans. So far, half of them are singing religious songs and the other half are trying to beat each other up.”
“What are you going to do with them when you’ve finished asking them questions?”
She shrugged. “Try to absorb the ones who are willing to be absorbed. The others?” She shrugged again.
“You didn’t address my last point— I won’t just take orders.”
“I’m hoping you’ll find my orders reasonable. If not, we’ll talk about it.”
“Or maybe you’ll just arrest me?”
“Rica, Rica, Rica.” She shook her head.
“Are you going to execute Newt?”
“I doubt it. Maybe we should just send him to Rocky and let him mess things up for them.”
She was incorrigible. Adorable. I didn’t really care about Newt.
“I’ll have to think about it, Jo. And I want to see your proposals for the alliance. You screw with Redwood, I’ll make sure they get off their butts and organize to defend themselves.”
“I don’t think you’ll have any trouble supporting us.”
I was not at all sure of that. But it was a way to go home, get off the road, do what I could for my country, and earn a living too. Although we hadn’t yet talked about how much the job would pay.
“What if I decide to work against you?”
“You won’t.”
“I’m not sure I want to give up being a merc, you know.”
She laughed. “I think you wouldn’t mind. A merc, a spy— you’re just a hired gun. You can do more. You can do a lot for Redwood. You can be a hero in Redwood’s history.”
I shot her a sardonic look. “There are no heroes.”
She shrugged. “Spoken like a merc.”
Restless, unable to sit still on that couch, too close to Jo, I stood and walked to the window. Andy. Zack. Drew. Emmy. As I was watching, Lizzie marched up to stand beside her brother. She had a pistol strapped to her hip. I was glad she wasn’t taking Soldier, despite the dog’s name.
I turned back around. “You’re letting Lizzie fight?”
Jo sighed. “There’s no stopping her. She said she’d follow the troops on her own if we didn’t let her go with them. Judith’s upset, I’m not happy. But I guess she’s safer this way.”
I leaned back against the sill, arms folded across my chest. I knew I looked defensive but I didn’t care.
“I’ll visit you, Rica. In Redwood.”
“I doubt that. You’re going to be pretty busy.”
“I’ll manage.”
“I hope you do. I expect I’ll be coming here from time to time, as well.” I’d certainly keep in touch with Tim and Fredo.
We looked at each other. We had a long way to go before we even thought about any alliances other than the one between our countries, and we both knew that.
“You still haven’t given me your answer, Rica.”
I turned back and looked out the window again. Some of the cars were pulling out of the lot.
“How big is this new raiding party?”
“About the same as the last one. Maybe a little bigger. They seem to be making a slow start. But I’ve heard fairly reliably that there’s organizing going on and these little forays are just diversions to keep us busy while they build for a real invasion.”
“Fairly reliably.”
“Fairly. But I don’t doubt it.”
Neither did I.
I faced her. She stood, walked to her desk, sat down.
“I need your answer, Rica.”
She was a busy woman. So was Judith and I was betting she was waiting for my answer, too.
I sat in the guest chair, across the desk, and laid my hands on the polished wooden surface.
“Okay, Jo. How much does the job pay?”
THE END
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SHELLEY SINGER has had 13 novels, including a Shamus Award nominee, and several short stories published. Most are mysteries, including the six books in the Jake Samson series. Her most recent novel is
Torch Song
, a near-future thriller. She teaches writing online and does manuscript consulting. She has served as a judge in a number of fiction writing contests, including the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction writing competition. She lives in Petaluma, CA with two dogs and the love of her life.