Deep Freeze: Protocol One, Book 2 (Protocol One Saga) (9 page)

Gil tried several times to talk to me throughout the day. I wanted no part of it, I just wanted to spend time with Joie and Tony. I needed Tony back to where he had been and for that he needed to rest. I asked Spencer, Craig and Duke not to mention anything to Tony about Gil’s threats. That was something I would handle, and they agreed.

At one point, just before dinner, Gil did manage to corner me.

“I don’t want us to be like this, Anna. We never were before.”

“Do you even comprehend how this looks?” I asked him. “You were gonna throw out three really good and reliable men. I feel foolish. I have made bad choices this whole time. Not thinking about others. That’s why I thought for sure, letting you take reins would be the best thing. It wasn’t. This is not you.”

He lowered his head some. “This is not the same world. In situations like this, we need order. Defiance is …”

“Oh, stop it.”

“No, you stop it. You are not thinking this through. You gave me the leadership position here. I have a plan. One that will get many people fed, happy, and back on their feet. Everything they need.”

“Hitler tried that once. You saw how well that worked out for him.”

Gil bit his bottom lip. “Everything is planned out. Every gallon of gas. Every vehicle.”

“What were you gonna do about me, Gil? Leave me there?”

“You were fine, Anna. We would have sent someone for you when the weather broke. Those three risked a needed vehicle and the amount of fuel they consumed to do so was insane.”

“What about Tony? Was his life not worth it?”

Gil didn’t answer.

“Guess not.”

“Anna, what would you have done as leader, if say, three of the new survivor guys took the biggest gas guzzling truck you had, after telling them they couldn’t, and disappeared for days.”

“If they did it to help someone, then nothing.” I replied.

“That is why you are not leader.”

“And this is why you are not my husband anymore.”

“Stop.” He lifted his hand. “That hurt. Okay? Now what is it going to take to get you to like me again?”

“Be the way you used to be. I trusted you. I really did.”

“Anna, I haven’t changed. You just never got to see me in this scenario.”

“It’s just hard to believe. But seeing that the whole divorcing Gwen was a lie, it only makes sense.”

He slowly shook his head. “You don’t get it. I don’t care about Gwen. I would have and still would give my right arm to be with you.”

There was one thing that was certain. If you have a conversation in a community area such as a stairwell, in a bunker, and you don’t want someone to hear what you say … they will.

Gwen did.

While her expression and gasp were priceless, it was my out and I excused myself from that stairwell.

There were two things I needed to do, one was talk to Peter and the other meet Joie for dinner and then Joie and I would head back to my room with Tony.

I missed my room.

But the bunker didn’t hold the same effect as it did before I met Larry and the others.

I couldn’t even call myself a survivor any longer. What I did was beat the odds due to being privileged. Larry and the others beat the odds of the comet and were truly the survivors. I carried that with me. I wished I could have brought them all back to the bunker.

<><><><>

Peter was easy to find. Other than his room, he was usually in one of three places. His office, the safe room or in the kitchen getting a drink box. Luckily, he was alone in the safe room when I found him and I closed the door, locking it.

“I’m going to take it this isn’t some sort of seduction,” he said.

“No.” I smiled and sat down next to him.

“Thought I’d ask. What’s going on?”

“Tell me. What happened when I was away?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean with Gil. How was he?”

“He was Gil. I mean, he was worried about you.”

“What did you find out or hear?” I asked. “That you needed to talk?”

“I overheard him and Gwen talking about a replacement doctor. I figured he was kicking them out. Because, Anna, he was freaking pissed they took the plow truck.”

I leaned back. “It doesn’t make sense for him to get so mad he’d throw people out.”

“It’s Gwen,” Peter said nonchalantly. “She has something on him.”

“What?” I laughed out my response.

“Seriously, it’s something. I mean, why is she here? She hates it here. I realize Gil’s her husband and all even though the divorce was a ruse, but there’s no love lost there. Why come up here?”

“Because I think she is trying to find out where everything is. The fuel and other things he has hidden out there. I mean she knows about them, the location and Gil’s plan is what she needs to figure out.”

“For what purpose?”

“Whoever has the fuel has the power, maybe.”

“Nah, that’s not it. Maybe they don’t want Gil having that much control,” Peter said. “I mean, he gets things up and running, the government is gonna have to bow to him. They don’t want that. And apparently, it’s Gil’s secret apocalypse fantasy to rule the world.”

“I would have doubted that a year ago,” I said. “It just doesn’t make sense. I keep saying that. But this is really not Gil.”

“How are we sure that she even knows all his secrets?”

I actually debated on telling Peter about how Gwen knew, but then again, it was Peter and after telling him, I was glad I did.

“When Tony and I took the Humvee, we found a bag she left behind.”

“What kind of bag.”

“What kind of bag? Like a gym bag, but small, soft leather.”

“Sounds nice.”

“Peter,” I snapped. “Oh my God, this has nothing to do with the bag. It has to do with what was
in
the bag. Aside from really nonsense items she had a BlackBerry.”

“She had her phone? Why? Who uses their BlackBerry in the apocalypse?”

“Apparently, Gwen, because she was communicating with someone at Damnation Alley, that’s how I got the message call for help. But other than that, is what she has all the documents. Everything about what Gil has. Stuff I didn’t know about. I haven’t even looked at it lately, but it’s all there.”

“So if Gil knows she has this, then he is trying to keep her from letting it out. If he doesn’t, she’s here to get the rest of the info.”

“I guess. But it’s hard to tell only the files are there and about four text messages to one person.”

“No contacts?”

I shook my head. “No other messages. She either had that as a dedicated device or she deleted stuff.”

“Let’s find out.”

“How?” I asked.

“Give me the BlackBerry, I’ll hack it.”

“Can you?”

“Uh, yeah, I can. May take a few days, but I will. If she deleted messages, they are there. Files, too.”

“That is excellent. I’ll give it to you tomorrow.”

“That works.”

Excited, I stood and kissed him on the cheek.

“Ha, see, I knew you shut the door to put the moves on me.” Peter said

That made me laugh, I shook my head, reminded him it was dinner, thanked him again and headed out.

I wanted to have dinner with Joie and I knew she was in the dining area.

Nelly had made chicken chili and the whole place smelled of its goodness. She said she was in a good mood because of her gift.

I swore I became her new favorite person when I gave her that duffle bag full of cigarettes.

“You just don’t know what it was like,” she said. “Staring at that half pack knowing that was it.”

I told her they were a tad stale, but she didn’t care. I didn’t think she would.

Nelly had a tray for Tony, and would heat up chili for that plate, after Joie and I had eaten. As a special thank you for the smokes, I got an extra piece of corn bread. Joie and I were seated at the first table, catty-corner to each other. I got a good view of the dining area and was amazed how many people were there. Survivors that happened upon us in the previous months, one Duke stumbled upon. Soldiers that Gil knew.

Nelly fed them all, if we grew any more she wouldn’t be able to keep up. She already complained that she hated being the lunch lady. Although a part of me believed she enjoyed it.

Joie only had a small helping. She wasn’t fond of the chili and stared at the cornbread with a sense of guilt.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s like cake. Should I save this for Daddy?”

“No, honey you eat it,” I said. “Nelly has put a piece on his tray, too. We’ll take it to him.”

No sooner had I said that I caught through the corner of my eye, Gwen as she stopped by our table.

“Well,” she said snidely. “I see why there’s no more cornbread. Someone took two slices.” She nodded her head at my plate.

“Nelly, gave it to me,” I replied cordially. “But you are welcome to have one.”

“I wouldn’t take anything from you. Unlike you who just takes from others.”

Ready to respond, I didn’t need to. Joie slammed down her spoon.

“Why are you so mean to my new Mom?”

I heard that and immediately gasped out emotionally with an ‘Aw’. My hand shot to my chest. ‘That is so sweet.”

“You replaced your mother awfully fast,” Gwen quipped at the little girl.

“I didn’t know my mother. So there I was a doorstep baby.”

“How old are you?’

“I’ll be six next week.”

“You speak like your sixty. It’s not becoming.” She turned to walk away.

“Neither is being rude,” Joie said.

I reached over and laid my hand on Joie’s. “Let it go. Don’t say anything else. She is your elder.”

“But she’s mean to you. And she has a poison.”

“What?” I laughed.

“I bed your pardon,” Gwen said. “What poison?’

“Bot … bot …” Joie growled in frustration. “Botched something.”

“Botulism?” I guessed.

“That’s it.” Joie said.

“Why would you say that?” I asked.

“Peter told me,” she picked at her cornbread. “I asked why her forehead didn’t move and he said it was because she got something made out of that poison.”

“Botox,” I said.

Gwen cleared her throat harshly. “It is filler. It fills in the lines. If Peter is going to teach you things, he needs to teach you correctly. And I will take that cornbread now.” Before I could respond, she reached, grabbed one of my cornbread and started to storm away, but stopped and turned back.

Joie held up her half eaten cornbread. “Did you come back for mine?”

Gwen raised her eyebrows. “Thinking about Peter teaching you things. He is an extremely intelligent man but oftentimes intelligence leaves room for social blunder. So, I was thinking, you seem like a quaint little girl. Time here in this place is rather drudgingly slow, perhaps I can alleviate the boredom by taking you under my wing and teaching you some things, if that is fine with your …” She shifted her eyes with a snide expression. “New mother.”

“Teach me what?” Joie asked. “Like math.”

“No. I went to finishing school. And I...”

“To finish what?” Joie asked.

“To finish myself.”

“Were you not done?”

At that point, I decided to explain to Joie. “Finishing school is where they refine you and teach you manners and stuff.”

“Did you go?” Joie asked me.

Gwen laughed.

I refrained from saying anything. I was curious why Gwen wanted to take special interest in Joie. Was she really that bored?

“It’ll be fun,” Gwen said. “I’ll teach you how to be quite the little lady even in this Godforsaken world. People are going to need to emerge from the ashes with class and poise.”

I saw it. Joie was ready to turn her down flat. But I had other plans. What better way to figure out what was going on with Gwen then to pull an inside job. Joie was years ahead in intelligence and having been raised by Tony, she had a keen natural instinct to keep her eyes open and take in everything.

“She would love it,” I said before Joie declined. “I would love it. It really would be a great thing. You don’t mind?”

“Not at all. We’ll start tomorrow.” He eyes cased downward to Joie picking at her food. “With table manners.” She turned and then walked away.

“Anna,” Joie whined.

“No whining.”

“I don’t want to do this. I’m finished. I have all my parts.”

“No, you will like this.”

“Why did you tell her ‘yes’?”

“Eat your food. When we go to our room,” I winked. “Then we’ll talk.”