Deep Freeze: Protocol One, Book 2 (Protocol One Saga) (14 page)

The vehicles parked sideways one north, the other south and a half a block apart to protect our little camp.

The town was so secluded, it made me wonder if we needed Tony and Tom to play watch guard all night.

But I suppose the campfire was a calling card, especially if the Military was in the area.

The temperatures had dropped and I even suggested that Melissa sleep in the van with the baby. Her reaction, along with Nelly’s was the same. They wanted to enjoy sleeping outside, not hundreds of feet below the surface. I could understand that. It wasn’t that cold that blankets, sleeping rolls and a fire wouldn’t work.

Mike was a nice addition to our group, I wish we’d met him under different circumstances. His presence was jaded in Tony’s eyes by the fact that he stole the Humvee and in doing so, killed his girlfriend and damned near killed Tony.

He pretended well, but I could see the lost look in his eyes that he carried that guilt.

Peter brought up a good point about Tucker. He believed it was probably the best place to set up long term living, seeing how it was spared because of its geographical location. He even stated that if the South Carolina place wasn’t up to par, he’d move back to Tucker. Melissa said the land was good and farming would work.

Unfortunately, those who fell in love with the small town charm of Tucker had to go to South Carolina. The guys had already been there weeks prepping it. Unless of course they wanted to stay behind, which they didn’t want to do.

No one was sleeping and very little talking took place.

Except Gwen.

Something was different about her. Aside from the fact that she looked completely out of place in that big giant fur coat and shiny black boots with heels, she never brought up her kidnapping. She sat on a cinderblock, staring at the fire, nibbling on an MRE cracker while sitting next to Joie.

I was on Joie’s other side, shifting between watching them and Tony.

“This is so unique,” Gwen said. “Would this be considered camping?”

Melissa chuckled. “A little, in a survivor way.”

“Oh, then it’s a treat. I always wanted to go camping.”

“You never camped?” Joie asked.

“I did. But there was always a deluxe RV with all the luxuries involved.”

“Maybe because you didn’t want to go without your hair straightener or shower,” Peter said.

“Maybe.” Gwen shrugged. “I just know I always wanted to go. Do a family camping trip. Get lost in the woods. That sort of thing. Not that I’d be any good at it. They don’t teach you that stuff in finishing school.” She giggled as if she just told the funniest joke.

“How come you didn’t have kids?” Joie asked her.

That caught my attention.

“I did. Do. I really don’t know how to answer that. I had a little girl,” Gwen said. “She would be nineteen right now.”

“What’s her name?”

“Amy,” Gwen replied.

“Did she go to finishing school?”

“No. Sadly, Amy …. Well, Amy’s dad was a senator like Gil. They were on the campaign trail and meeting my father. Their plane crashed. They died.”

Joie gasped. “Both of them?”

“Yes.”

“Your husband and your daughter?”

“Yes.”

“How old was she?”

“Your age. You’re six now. She was five. With fire red hair.” She shook her head. “My goodness was she a pistol. Sassy and smart like you.”

“Is that why you like me so much?” Joie asked. “Because I’m like her?”

“No, Joie, I like you because you’re you.”

Immediately, upon hearing that I stood. Not because it bothered me but because Gwen said something human, genuine, and nice. And I did not want to put human qualities on Gwen.

I made my way over to Tony and I guess he was listening, how could he not? Sound travelled in a quiet empty town.

“Jealous again?” Tony asked.

“No.” I answered and climbed and stood next to him. “I have faced the fact that I am not a kid magnet. I never was.”

“Really? Because you do really well with Joie.”

“I do the mother thing well with Joie. Nah, I wasn’t that mother that all the kids liked. Honestly, none of Jackson’s friends ever asked to stay over. I never was the mom with all the kids at the house or the cool mom.”

Tony nudged me. “Well, if you ask me. You were pretty cool with Jackson.”

“Thanks.”

“So, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Have you given any more thought to your plan? I mean, let’s say it works. Let’s say we get to Damnation Alley, best case scenario, they tell you where everyone is. What then? What if they are in Kansas? You gonna deviate from the plan, go to Kansas and pull a, how did Peter put it? A Liam Neeson?”

I laughed. “Not quite sure I can do that. The Liam Neeson thing. Best case scenario is they let them go. But I don’t want the government to know where we’re going. Maybe we’ll just play it by ear.”

“That’s not a way to do things,” Tony said. “You’re going down there with a hostage situation.”

“I know you believe it was the wrong thing to do.”

“It was spur of the moment, emotionally charged and not the right thing to do. But you did it and now you have to see it through. This can all be for naught, Anna. You may not find the Pittsburgh people. I hate that you put me in this position.”

“You don’t have to go with me to Texas. Peter is going.”

Tony shook his head. “Oh, that makes me feel better. No I’m in this. We could have said it sucked about Pittsburgh, put it behind us and left. The world is not your responsibility. You make choices without thinking about those involved. Promise me in the future you will consider others.”

“Am I that bad?”

“No. You just make bad choices with good intentions.” He leaned forward and kissed me. “Go back to the fire. I got this.”

“When will you rest?”

“Oh, I plan on sleeping quite a bit on the trip to Texas. That’s thirteen hundred miles.”

Hearing that made me realize how long of a journey it was. Yes, I made the snap decision to take Gwen. A part of me now hinged in debate on whether or not it was the right thing to do. It felt like the right thing at the time. But with each hour and each mile, it made less sense.

Like Tony said I made bad choices with good intentions. This was one of them. Like it or not, right or wrong, like the flood water in Pittsburgh, I was in knee deep.

I was going to see it through no matter what the outcome.

One of the best talents I had was the ability to read a good old fashioned paper map. My father was a firm believer that it would be the ‘Sense of Direction’ death to us all when we lost the ability to navigate via an electronic device.

We maintained radio silence and even though it had been two whole days plus since we left Protocol One, we hadn’t heard anything on the radio.

The trip from West Virginia was almost uneventful. I was able to maintain highway driving. Once in a while we ran into congestion of abandoned cars that spread all four lanes. That was when I put the Humvee through its paces . Going off road.

It wasn’t a trip void of survivors. We ran into them a lot. The cities we passed, showed remnants of the heat. Buildings were blackened and burned, there was an abundance of this thick, black liquid everywhere. Like black paint. Peter said it was the ash that had mixed with ice and became its own type of mud. It was everywhere.

Sometimes we would see people wandering the roads, just walking. We passed a huge camp of survivors outside of Louisville. We didn’t stop. In fact, we only stopped once and that was for a family. The woman and two children were seated on their belongings outside of a clearly looted convenience store. I slowed down to check on them and that was when the father came out guns blazing.

He was protecting his family.

I admired that. We offered them food and water. They accepted, but we moved on. I wanted to tell them where we were going, but I promised Tony I wouldn’t.

The further we traveled the more I worried that I put Joie in harm’s way. Tony didn’t seem concerned with that, which made me curious. Perhaps it was the relationship between Gwen and Joie that secured her safety.

Tony slept a lot, I drove and Peter did most of the talking. I think the best conversation of the trip came when Gwen asked how we knew about Tucker West Virginia.

“You,” I told her.

“Me? How do I know? Surely, Gil told you.”

“No, Gil told me nothing. Your BlackBerry did. Seems you left it in that cool black bag inside this Humvee.”

“Do you have it?” Gwen asked. “My scarf is in there. I love that scarf.”

“It’s … it’s in the back.” I peered in the rearview mirror. “What were you doing with all that information?”

“Hoping to get more,” Gwen said. “But there was nothing on that phone but those files.”

“Who is D?” I asked.

“My father. Do you have the phone? We should call and…”

“No,” I cut her off. “We won’t call. We’re just showing up.”

“We hacked your phone you know,” Peter said. “Found all kinds of stuff.”

Gwen folded her arms. “I bet you had a grand time looking at the nude selfies.”

My foot instinctively moved from the gas, I swerved the wheel as I looked back. “Peter?”

“Damn it,” Peter said. “I never looked for photos. I didn’t get that far. I did enjoy your short stories. They were actually really good.”

“Really?” Gwen asked. “Thank you.”

They conversed about her ambitions to be a writer, and how she wrote the stories as her way to keep her daughter alive.

God! I hated when she sounded like a nice person.

That conversation was before we stopped for the night. By that point everyone but Tony was exhausted and he held watch while we camped out quietly on the side of the road.

We left without hesitation at sunup. I just wanted the mission over with.

Other than the effects of the comet, we watched the temperature change as well. The Humvee thermometer read from a cool forty degrees in West Virginia all the way to seventy-four when we crossed the Texas Border.

It was at that point Gwen finally removed her coat.

In fact, as we neared the complex, she had to navigate the rest of the way.

“Are you sad that you left our bunker?” Joie asked. “That Anna made you leave.”

“No,” Gwen answered. “I miss my father. I miss him very much. Doesn’t matter how old you get Joie, there’s a special bond with daughter’s and dads and you will miss them when you don’t see them.”

Then Joie asked me. “Do you miss your dad, Anna?”

“Every single day of my life.” I wanted to add that even more so since we pulled into his home state of Texas.

“See?” Gwen said. “And this complex is so much nicer than Protocol One. You’ll see. By now I am sure they finished erecting the topside buildings. We were living above ground when we left. There’s even a playground.”

“We’re not staying,” I said.

“Yeah,” Peter added. “Anna will probably be shot.”

Joie gasped.

“Peter.” I scolded. “Why would you say that?”

“Um, you kidnapped the vice president’s daughter at gunpoint.”

Tony grumbled from his semi sleeping state. “She won’t get shot.”

“Hung maybe?” Peter guessed.

I groaned, Joie let out a panicked scream and thankfully, Gwen instructed me to turn.

At first I thought it was a wrong turn, a set up, because we went down this deeply tree lined road for what seemed to be forever.

When we emerged it was the light at the end of the tunnel. A small open area led to a huge gated iron wall. It looked like some sort of zombie fortress.

There was a guard booth out front. I slowed down and Tony sat up.

“We’re here,” I said to Tony. Then slipped my gun behind my back.

At the gate I came to a complete halt and Gwen wound down her window when the guard approached the Humvee.

“Mrs. Jenner,” the guard said. “I didn’t expect to see you back.”

“Homesick. Can you notify my father I have returned?”

“Yes, ma’am. He should be in his office. They’ve been built since you left. Section A-3.” The guard looked at me. “Through the gate, first right, and you’ll see Building A on your left, ma’am.”

I nodded in thanks.

The guard stepped back and the gate rolled open.

“That was easy,” I said softly as I drove through. I believed they knew, that somehow Gwen conveyed some code to the guard and no sooner would we stop, we’d be surrounded by military men.

That wasn’t the case.

Uninterrupted we drove down the small road. I turned into the lot for Building A and Vice President Don Hutchins raced out the door.

“Is that your dad?” Joie asked.

“It is.” Gwen answered.

A distinguished handsome man in his seventies and fit like a man in his forties. His hair was white and he wore a tee shirt and blue jeans.

He ran to us the moment the Humvee stopped.

“Shit.” Gwen clicked the handle of the door. “Child lock is on. Can someone let me out?”

“Oh my God. I’m gonna look like the chauffer.” I put the car in gear, opened my door, stepped out and reached for the back door. I had it planned. Open Gwen’s door, pull my gun, and show my seriousness.

But as soon as I opened Gwen’s door, she blasted out and into her father’s arms.

Damn it,
I thought. It wasn’t going as I hoped.

Their embrace was long and I stood by impatiently. Tony held Joie on his hip and he and Peter stood by me.

“This is a surprise,” the  said. “Something wrong? What is going on?”

“Mr. Vice President,” I said. “I—”

“Actually, the president now. Unfortunately he passed away. Call me Don,” he replied and held out his hand.

I didn’t take it and with a confused look, he retracted his hand, rolling his fingers.

“Oh, .” Gwen stepped back. “Sorry I didn’t call. It was so spur of the moment. I was kidnapped.”

His eyes widened. “Kidnapped? By whom?”

“Me.” I reached behind me for the gun and I felt a hand stopping me. I shifted my eyes. Tony shook his head.

“You kidnapped my daughter to bring her here?” Don asked with shock. “That just seems odd.”

Gwen waved out her hand. “There’s confusion. She needs answers. You can clear it up. This is Anna. That precious little girl is my new friend, Joie.” She pivoted in an upbeat way as if she weren’t a hostage or angry. “This is Peter Fleishman.”

“Peter.” Don shook his hand. “My God, Mulligan speaks highly of you as do our people at the space station.”

“Really?” Peter shook his head. ‘Wow. Thanks. That’s cool.”

“And of course,” Gwen said. “You know Tony.”

Stop.

My heart dropped.

Gwen said something, I don’t know, I stood in shock.

“Anna?” Don called my name, drawing my attention. “Come inside. Maybe we can find out what this is all about.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Maybe we can.” I said in shock and followed them into the building. The whole time I was suck on the one line Gwen said.

You know Tony.

Did he? How?

<><><><>

The beat of my heart sounded like a steady drum in my ear. Fast and out of control, my blood pressure soared. Filled with anxiety, the brief wait in the quaint office of the new president seemed like an eternity.

Peter knew. Without saying a word, he knew where my mind was. He kept calling me, trying to get me to talk. I didn’t answer.

Tony kept trying to speak to me and I ignored him. I stared at the photos on Don’s desk, waiting for his return.

It was a mistake. Something was wrong.

Suddenly my reason for being there, the Pittsburgh survivors, was lost.

Gwen took Joie for a walk, that was a good idea. Joie didn’t need to be around.

Finally, Don returned.

“I’m sorry it took so long,” He set a folder before me. “Gwen told me what brought this on, told me some details, and I wanted to...”

“How do you know Tony? Or don’t know?” I asked abruptly.

Don sat down, he looked at Tony. “She doesn’t know?”

“No.” Tony said.

Did I wheeze? Because I was pretty sure the shock sucked every bit of air out of me.

“Wait. Wait.” Peter said. “I am so lost.”

“Join the club,” I replied. “How do you know Tony?”

“I’ll answer that,” Tony said. “I have been working with him since the beginning. Well, he and the President.”

There was a physical reaction that accompanied the ‘I have been a fool’ revelation and it rendered me unable to move or speak.

“You what!” Peter jumped up. “You have been part of the enemy the whole time? No wonder they knew about Pittsburgh. You took them right there.”

“Hold up,” Don said. “We aren’t the bad guys here.”

“Bullshit.” Peter blasted. “Explain this.” He slid the BlackBerry to him. “Explain that exchange. Gwen talks about people being slaves. You guys making them salves.”

“Not us.” Don reviewed the phone. “I remember this conversation. It isn’t us. She was referring to Gil. We need to locate the survivor camps to protect them from Gil. Because we knew that was his entire plan all along.”

“No.” I shook my head. “Gil is not a bad person.”

“Anna,” Tony said, stepping to me. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear.”

“You!” I shouted. “Are the last person I want to speak to right now. Back the fuck away. Your involvement with Gwen and this place, I don’t care. I want to know why you…” I looked at Don. “Insist that Gil is the bad one here.”

“It’s all here.” Don pushed the folder forward. “When we found out Gil hired Tony, we approached him. We didn’t care what Gil did as long as it wasn’t made public, but when he started his own military, forming it with some of the less reputable militia, we knew he was up to more than just protecting you and Jackson. You were a ruse, a cover, for a grand plan for his domination.”

I laughed. A maniacal laughter. “This is ridiculous. Gil is some sort of Dr. Evil. No. World domination. That’s insane.”

“It’s not world domination,” Don said. “It’s resource domination and he has it, right now. He has more than we do. We can’t reach out and help people. His militia has taken over four of our stockpile sites. They already, from what we know are beginning to farm regions with all the research your agricultural person did. He needs to man the farms, the rebuilding of cities with survivors. So he recruits them. If they don’t join, he forces them. Labor camps. In our laxity we didn’t secure and protect as many armed forces as we should have. Tony’s job, after reporting what all he did, was to let us know when and if Gil arrived at Protocol One. Once Gil arrived, we knew he would be setting up his plan.”

“To rule the world?” I asked. “What difference does it make if Gil has control?”

“Then he controls what each woman, man and child eats.”

“And that is different than you, how?” I asked.

“We want people to control their own food, rebuild, and grow their own food. That is what we want,” Don answered. “We don’t want those survivors to be dependent on us. That’s the difference. Our job as the government is to rise from the ashes, establish a government again, and help people rebuild. Gil wants to say, ‘Look what I got. You want it, this is what you do.’”