ASYLUM: Asylum is now completely posted.

 Please note that Chapters 31 through 37 have been posted and are available from the archives listed to the right of this notice. I hope you enjoyed the story and be aware, I am currently working on my next book, which will also be presented here, at zombiefictionandothertales.com.

ASYLUM: Epilog

 

Epilog

   General Debra Monroe-Menendez smoothed the last page and then closed the binder. Daniel’s journal would be a good addition to the Cadet Library. She had been reluctant at first to allow it to be added to the listings, but yes, a good addition. Rising from her desk, she leaned on her cane until she reached the large bay windows that overlooked the Parade Ground. The huge manicured lawn was bigger than two football fields and directly across the parade aground was the Menendez Tomb, Daniel’s final resting place. There was a formation of Cadets standing at attention for reveille and the American flag was being raised, she drew herself to attention and raised her hand in salute as she remembered her and Daniel doing the same thing, fifty years earlier. The flag reached its apex and the Cadets shifted to parade rest as they listened to one of their instructors. Behind her, she heard the door to her office open.

   Carrie Michaels walked in with a tray and sat it down on Debra’s desk, “Cornflakes, just like you asked for and some of that god awful Krank. Why anyone would even want to drink that crap is beyond me and to think you send all the way to Kansas for it.” She shook her head and her once red, but now white ponytail, flopped back and forth from one shoulder to the next. She was still a tiny little thing, but she carried her sixty plus years with authority.

   “Still leaving for Holloman this morning?”

   “Yep, I’ll be there until my grand-daughter, Tabitha, gives birth and then head back this way as soon as I can.”

   “Take some time, Carrie, you’ve earned it,” Debra replied.

   Carrie kissed Debra’s cheek and quickly left as Debra returned her eyes to the Tomb.

   “Commandant Monroe?”

   Debra smiled and said, “Becky? You know how I feel about that.”

   The young woman smiled in return and said, “I know Grammy, but we’re both in uniform and Grandma Danni bit my butt the last time I called her Grandma when we were both dressed to kill.”

   “Has she arrived?”

   “Yes, she has, and boy is she full of piss-n-vinegar.”

   Debra chuckled, “Danni is always full of piss-n-vinegar.”

   Colonel Danni Monroe walked past Becky, her grand-daughter, and said, “I heard that, you old bitch.”

   Debra’s smile widened and she held her arms open as Danni stepped into her embrace, “I’ve missed you, how was Seattle?”

   “Wet, does the sun ever shine there?”

   Debra laughed, “How is the new rain gear doing?”

   “Most of the Rangers prefer the old ponchos, they say the new stuff holds water vapor and you may as well not wear anything once you’ve sweated in it all day.”

   “Same thing we said during the trials; remember when Daniel said those who don’t study the past are doomed to repeat it?”

   “Of course, and he was right.” Danni walked to the bay window and stared across to the tomb, “Oh! They finished the marble facing!”

    Debra stepped beside her and looked, “Last week, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

   Danni shrugged and said, “Daniel wouldn’t have liked it, he would have preferred the original concrete.”

   “Yes, he would have, but he would have also recognized the importance of it being grand instead of utilitarian.”

   Danni looked at Debra’s desk and asked, “His journal?”

   “Yes, the head librarian wants several copies for the Autobiography section and I was wondering if I should allow it. There’s a lot of personal, private talk in there.”

   “And?”

   “I was talking to some of the new Cadets, the ones from Seattle.”

   “The orphans we sent back here?”

   “Yes, I was telling them about Daniel, what he means for us, why he was important. One, in particular, made the comment that no one could live up to his legacy and I explained how he had been an orphan also, just like they were. I told them about his humility, how he always thought he wasn’t enough and yet he was everything.” She sighed, “They need to know we all come from humble beginnings, we all have things about us that maybe we aren’t proud of, but those things help create who we are.” She nodded and finally said, “I’m going to allow ten copies, but it needs an epilog; it ends abruptly.”

   “We all end abruptly,” Danni said. “And we have lost another grandchild and a great-grandchild.”

   “Combat?”

   “Childbirth. Mary Elizabeth. She was in labor for thirty-six hours, then, massive hemorrhage. The baby had the umbilical cord around his neck.”

   “It was better for us, sometimes I wonder why the girls today…”

   “Because they want the same things we wanted.” Danni sighed and added, “Are you going to write the epilog?”

   “No, I don’t think I can. It would be too…no. You?”

   “I’m willing to try, but what would I say?”

   “Just tell the truth, how he waited until we were all there in the clinic and just went to sleep.”

   “I should lie, you know? Something about insurmountable odds, heroic bravery while killing scores of the enemies of the Republic. A legendary death for a legendary man. People would believe that, but not dying in his bed from pneumonia.”

   “Did he ever tell you how he envisioned his death?”

   “Yes, and he got what he wanted, you, me, and the children gathered around him.”

   “He wanted a family so bad. Do you ever wonder what he would think of what we created, our extended family?”

   “God, are you kidding? He would have been so proud; all the kids running everywhere.”

   “Do you remember his last words?” Debra asked.

   Danni closed her eyes and said, “I am loved, by those I love, I finally feel special.”

                                                                   The End

 

ASYLUM: Chapter 37

Chapter 37

   “Sir! Lieutenant Colonel! Take cover!” He started pushing me sideways as I realized something was, repeatedly, buzzing past my head. I found myself behind a column and I could see machinegun rounds impacting the walls farther inside. “Sir! Sir! Lieutenant Colonel Menendez! What are your orders!”

   “We need the Raiders to deploy their recoilless rifle, and we need counterfire, now!” I swung up my bullpup, leaned out past the pillar I was behind and started popping off rounds at the LAV 300 that was rolling to a stop and firing another 90-millimeter round into the mine. The vehicle commander lowered himself down, but kept his head high enough to still see out of the open hatch as he communicated with his crew. I drew a tighter bead, exhaled and squeezed the trigger; the commander dropped from sight as dust popped off the front of his helmet. I began to hear additional fire from within the mine, and without, as infantry appeared from the surrounding area and rushed across the open area and past the destroyed guard shack and gate. A second armored vehicle drove slowly past the blown apart guard shack and there was at least a squad of infantry following closely behind, using the vehicle as cover while it approached the entrance to the mine. I dropped down prone and began to fire underneath the belly of the second armored car which caused several men to drop to the pavement with wounds to their lower legs. I put additional rounds into them as they lay upon the blacktop.

   The main gun of the LAV fired again and I heard a corresponding explosion deeper inside of our mine. It rolled forward until it was almost inside while Zipper infantry began to cluster behind it for cover. My face was hit by shards of salt impregnated material and began to sting intensely, as I rolled around the pillar and started firing from the opposite side, but as I did, I saw the Raiders’ Fast Attack Vehicle pull to a stop and one of the Marines start firing their M-240 machinegun at the infantry behind the second armored car. From the trailer behind the FAV, the recoilless fired its first round and struck the LAV 300 directly between the two rear axles. I spun back around the pillar and started shooting the LAV’s crew as they tried to exit the vehicle, it was beginning to burn fiercely.

   The second armored car was now past the guard shack and its small turret turned towards the Marines’ FAV and fired several rounds from a short, fat barrel. One of the rounds hit the passenger area and the vehicle exploded, but the recoilless gunner fired a second round that punched through the front of the M1117 and exploded inside. The armored car rolled to a stop as the remaining infantry hiding behind it, turned their weapons on the recoilless. Suddenly, the blacktop around the FAV erupted and a steady series of impacts traveled across the parking lot and over the top of the M1117 and its infantry detachment. I heard the roar of a prop driven engine and looking up, saw an aircraft bank away and begin to climb higher. It sort of looked like the old P-51s, but the nose was narrower, more pointed, and the pilot’s bubble cockpit looked taller.

   Two of the Marines ran from the trailer with the recoilless mounted on it, but they both were carrying large plastic cases. Once under an overhang at the loading dock, they opened the cases and pulled out surface to air missiles. As they were prepping the missiles, another Super Tucano made another strafing run over the top of the Mine entrance. Like the first aircraft, it banked and climbed away as a third began another strafing run, but the Marines were ready, as the plane pulled away the same as the previous two, one of the Raiders stepped out from beneath the overhang and fired a missile at the departing plane. The missile streaked upwards and impacted the rear of the aircraft which blew off the tailfin. The aircraft tumbled from the sky and crashed somewhere out of sight. I wanted to step out also, to see if the fourth Tucano was approaching, but the Marines were now taking small arms fire and were retreating inside the loading dock. I turned my bullpup on the remaining infantry and started picking them off. Finally, as the gunfire was dissipating, I stepped out and started advancing on the two burning armored cars with my weapon at my shoulder.

   Someone grabbed my shoulder from behind and when I looked backwards, Captain Stark was saying something, but my ears were roaring so loudly I couldn’t understand him, “What? I can’t hear you!” Hell, I couldn’t hear myself.

   He tugged on my arm and pointed upwards in the direction the previous Tucanos had come from and the ground around us erupted just moments before the plane swept by. Both of us were hit with debris from the asphalt surface of the parking lot as we knelt down too late. He stood and started dragging me back to the shelter of the mine, but in my peripheral vision I saw another missile streak skyward. I managed to get my feet under me and we retreated inside the mine. Once inside, I ejected my partially empty magazine and slid a full one in, “Report?” I asked. His mouth started moving, but all I could hear was the roaring in my ears, “What? I can’t hear you!”

   He used his hands to pantomime a strafing aircraft, then held up two fingers and drew them across his throat. Two destroyed. Then he held up two fingers and swept his hand away to the North-east, two had broken off and left, probably because of the Marines destroying the previous two. I nodded, “Good, get medical personnel up here and gather our wounded. Have the Marines stand by with their Stingers in case the Tucanos return. Are there any survivors from the attacking force?”

   He shouted and I faintly heard, “Yes…retreating…”

   “Organize a team to chase and harass them, take them all out if you can!”

   He nodded and trotted away; I looked back at where the Comms tent had been and started walking towards it. I don’t know what I thought I was going to do when I got there, no one could have survived the explosion, but I needed to know she was dead. I needed to be certain.

   There were cables for the comm gear scattered everywhere. Pieces of radios, tent fabric, uniform fabric, parts of, people. I found myself looking for pieces of fabric that would match the OCP cammies she was wearing, but finally, I just stopped and stood in the middle of the debris and closed my eyes. It was too much; I was afraid I would find something that removed all doubt.

   I felt a tugging on my sleeve and when I turned, Corporal, no, Sargent Sanchez, was standing there with a concerned expression on his face as his mouth moved.

   “You’ll have to speak louder, Sargent, my hearing is shot to hell.”

   “You need to sit down, Sir, so we can treat your wounds, but not out here in the open.” He pulled and I began to follow him. Once we were deeper inside the mine entrance, Jennings opened a folding chair and had me sit on it. Sanchez removed the insert from my IFAK, opened several alcohol wipes and started wiping my face down; it stung like a bitch. “I’m going to clean you up, Sir, if the Major sees you all bloody the way you are, she’ll have a shit fit.” After wiping down my face he said, “Not too bad, Sir, looks like a lot of minor cuts and scrapes, it looked a lot worse than it is; you’ll be fine.”

   “Thank you, Sargent, but my wife…”

   “Alright, what the hell happened to you?” Her scent enveloped me as she tipped my face up to look me over.

   “Debra? Wha…how…”

   She frowned as she asked, “Daniel? What’s wrong?”

   “You were in the Communication tent…”

   She looked at where the tent had been and then said, “Oh, shit, Honey! You thought…?” She stepped closer and pulled my head to her chest, “I’m fine, Daniel, I went to move the kids and Maggie, remember?”

   I literally began to shake.

   “Sargent Sanchez?” Debra asked.

   “Yes, Ma’am, Jennings and I did exactly as you ordered, as soon as you left with Miss Chancellor and the children, we came here to inform the Lieutenant Colonel of where you were, and the safety of the children. The fight was already in progress when we arrived and we tried to help where we could. It wasn’t until the Marines shot down the second enemy plane that I saw the Lieutenant Colonel and we were able to catch up to him where the Comm tent was. I know he’s looking a little rough, but the wounds seem to be minor.”

   She stepped back and tilted my face up again and softly asked me something.

   I frowned and said, “What?”

   Sanchez said, “You’ll have to speak up, Major, he was close to the muzzle blast of that armored car’s main gun.”

   She looked at me and said louder, “Are you injured anywhere else?”

   I shook my head, “Nothing serious, where’s Captain Stark? He was next to me during the last strafing attack.”

   “Medics have him, Sir,” Jennings said. “He picked up some shrapnel and debris from the .50 Cal rounds hitting the pavement so close to the two of you.” He dropped down and touched my pants leg before showing it to Debra, “Looks like the Lieutenant Colonel caught some of it too, Ma’am.” 

   She knelt next to Jennings and untied the blousing of my combat pants and then pulled her Air Crewman’s knife to slit the fabric open, “Oh, no you don’t!” I said. “I’m running out of good pants!”

   She looked up and me and said, “Dan…”

   “No!” I emphatically said. I unzipped my Flick and shrugged it off. Then I released my sustainment belt and dropped it beside me. Standing up, I unbuckled my belt as Debra glanced around.

   “Daniel, there’s other women around…”

   “And your point is?” I waved to a female medic who had just arrived and she turned and trotted over to us, “Sir?”

   “I have a few flesh wounds that need patching up so, I can continue my duties.” I dropped my pants and pointed to the numerous seeping wounds, “Do you mind?”

   “Of course, Sir.” She dropped down beside Jennings and went to work on my legs with his help.

   “Debra,” I said. “Did you get hold of your Air Force people and give the go-ahead for the attack on the warehouse?”

   “Yes, and I stayed on the line until they gave me confirmation of the strike. They’re waiting until things settle down and then they’ll check inside to make a damage assessment. They said they doubted anything would be salvageable, but they’re going to stay on-site anyway until the Kansas Militia sends people to go through it.”

   I wondered what type of bombs were used, if they were thermobaric, she was probably right. “How was the building constructed?”

   “I don’t know.”

   “Okay, any idea how old it was? That might give me an idea of how it was built.”

   She shook her head.

   “What about…” I realized I was beating a dead horse; Debra knew nothing of construction and had never seen the building in question. “Never mind. Are we in contact with our forces at the Zipper facility?”

   She pointed at the remains of the Comms tent, “I doubt it.” She looked past me and said, “I hope this isn’t trouble coming.”

   I looked in the direction she was and saw Thorpe walking quickly towards us. He started talking as fast as he was moving, “They have an Air Force? How could we not know that?”

   I shrugged, “It was news to me also, Harris told me just before the attack started.”

   “Wonderful! Can we call off the attack at the other mine?” He asked.

   “If we can locate some communication gear, have you got a spare communications room somewhere?” I asked him.

   “No, I never dreamed, I should have listened to my military advisors and put it deeper into the mine.”

   “Recriminations come later, right now, let’s find out what we can do.” I looked around and saw a motorcycle a short distance away, “Sargent Sanchez, see if you can find the rider of that bike, if he’s alive, we have a courier.”

      Debra knelt down and assisted the medic who was wrapping my leg with gauze. Looking up at me she said, “You’re good, Hon, all minor wounds.”

   I nodded, “Good, are you done?” The medic nodded and then grabbed her gear and took off looking for someone else to treat. “Governor, how many armed people have you on hand?”

   Thorpe was looking frantic, “Uh, I’m, I’m not sure, maybe forty? The rest are at the other facility.”

   “Alright, your job right now is to assist your military command to get organized in case you are attacked again.” I pointed at the burning LAV and said, “If you can, get those fires out and hope you can salvage what’s left. Those vehicles could be very valuable.”

   “How? They’re burning.”

   “They’re steel, but if you don’t get the fires out, the ammo is going to start cooking off.” I pulled my pants back up and squared them away. Debra handed me my sustainment belt and after I put it on, Jennings stepped forward and held my FLC up for me to slide into. “Thank you, Jennings.”

   “Sir.”

   Sanchez came trotting back and said, “Found the bike rider, Sir, he’ll be here shortly.”

   “Good, Debra? How many of our people stayed here?”

   “One squad of ours and the Marines, but I know one is seriously wounded.”

   “Okay, I know the Marines’ equipment took some hits, see if the recoilless is still viable.” She trotted away as she called out for the Raiders.

   “Menendez,” Thorpe said. “What are we doing? Should we…”

   I held up my hand as Jake Cummings ran up to me, “You were looking for me, Sir?”

   “Yes, is your bike good to go?”

   “Yeah, not even a scratch.”

   “Okay, mount up an get your ass over to the Zipper facility, find the CO for our people and tell them we’ve lost our comms here. Get a situation report and run it back to Governor Thorpe.”

   Jake threw me a casual salute and trotted away. Thorpe was turning very red in the face and I began to become concerned, “Governor, it might be best if you tried to calm yourself somewhat, I know this is extremely stressful, but we need you in top form, okay?”

   Debra was returning and looked at him before she said, “Henry?” She placed her hand on his arm, “Why don’t you go join Maggie, you can keep track of what’s going on there as well as you can here.”

   “No, I need to be in touch with my people, I sent them out to fight and now things aren’t going the way we planned!”

   “No battle goes as planned,” she said. “There are always SNAFUs, things we didn’t see coming, that’s why we try to prepare for contingencies. Getting our comms knocked out is bad, yes, but we’ve got this, Henry, we train for these situations.”

   “I’ll be out of contact and not know what is happening!” I could see he was starting to become obstinate.

   Debra smiled at him as she said, “I took the twins and Maggie to the old Souvenir Shop, there’s a phone there; we can keep you constantly updated and run everything through you.”

   He stuttered and finally said, “It will look like I ran away and hid with the women and children, no, I’m staying here. The people need to know I’m with them, that I will put my life on the line and not just theirs.”

   You had to give the man his due, “He’s right, Debra,” I said. “He knows his people better than we do and they need confidence. They need to see him calm and in control.” The last part was intended for Thorpe, not Debra, and she recognized what I was doing.

   “Of course, they do, but we need to get him informed which means he needs to be somewhere he can communicate with his people.” She looked at Thorpe and asked, “Where can you go that’s close-by, but has phone comms within the mine?”

   He took a shaky, but deep breath and exhaled, “I, uh, damn, the Souvenir Shop.” He pulled a handkerchief from a pocket and wiped his face, “Shit, I guess I’m screwing this up, aren’t I? I’ve never… I’ve always wondered, what the hell is a SNAFU anyway?”

   Debra patted his arm and said, “It’s an acronym, it means Situation Normal All Fucked Up.”

   “I suppose the two of you are right, you’re used to this crap and I’m not.” He took another breath and added, “But I won’t get used to it if I bail out; how can I help?”

   “We need some sort of communication,” I said. “Concentrate on that first.”

   “I have wounded people…”

   “You have medics tending to them,” I said. “Let them do their jobs and you concentrate on your own. You can’t be everywhere, so be where you are.”

   He frowned for a moment and then smiled, “Sort of like, be in the moment?”

   I shrugged, we’re always in the moment, leave it to some new age guru to coin a philosophical phrase that mystifies everyday life. “It’s one way to look at it, but I always preferred, ‘Just Do It.’”

   He actually chuckled as he said to Debra, “No nonsense, just like you said.”

   She smiled in return.

   I heard a dull pop and looked at the burning LAV, “It’s ammo is starting to cook off, we better…”

   “That I can do something about!” Thorpe said as he turned and trotted away. The vehicle was partially within the entrance of the mine and once the 90-millimeter rounds inside started to go off, it was going to be dangerous to be around.

   I shouted, “Get this area cleared out! The LAV is going to start cooking off!”

   People started rushing around and the medics started transporting the wounded away from the vehicle. Moments later, a small bulldozer came from within the mine with Thorpe in the operator’s seat. He drove the dozer up to the front of the LAV and started pushing it out of the entrance. One of the rear tires was locked in place and refused to turn, but it steadily moved backwards. Thorpe kept pushing until the LAV was close to seventy-five yards away and then stopped, reversed, and started backing away. He was a good fifty yards from the LAV when the first main gun round went off. Everyone retreated deeper into the mine.

   Thorpe parked the bulldozer, climbed down and stood next to me, “Wow, that was kind of scary,” he said.

   One of the Kansas Militia walked by and said, “Good job, Governor.”

   “Thank you, Elliot.” The man continued walking away as Thorpe watched him. “First civil words that man has said to me since the election.”

   I glanced after the man and asked, “I take it the two of you don’t get along?”

   He smiled and said, “He ran against me in the election and wasn’t very gracious when I won.”

   “Ah, he’s been working on the next election ever since the first?” I asked.

   “Pretty much.”

   Debra returned, “The FAV is toast, but the recoilless is good to go if we can find something to pull it with.”

   Thorpe looked thoughtful and then asked, “That FAV thing, is that a VW motor in it like they used to put in dune buggies?”

   Debra nodded, “Yes, but the whole frontend is shot away. It was hit by a 40-millimeter round and several .50 cal. rounds from the planes.”

   “But the motor is still good?”

   “Yes, Sargent Clinton said it was a shame,” Debra said. “But he’s going to strip it down and take all the salvageable parts back to Holloman.”

   “What if you could come up with a vehicle that could use the motor?” Thorpe asked. “I have an old Volkswagen Thing I bet they could use. It doesn’t have a motor, but they do.”

   Debra nodded and said, “Maybe? I’ll tell him after all this crap is over with, we’ll see what he thinks.”

      I had the Marines keep their Stingers handy in case the Tucanos returned and we set about securing the entrance to the mine. We sent a fireteam down to the highway to provide early warning of any additional attacks and resupplied everyone’s ammo. Thorpe had meals sent forward to us and then he retired to the clinic to check on his wounded militia members. Once the hectic nature of our preparations slowed, I went back outside and examined the destroyed Armored vehicles. Both vehicles contained the charred remains of the crew members that didn’t get out and frankly, I didn’t see them being salvaged for further use. They would probably be hauled off for scrap metal.

   Debra walked out and stood beside me after taking a look at the burned-out hulks herself. “This is a shame,” she said. “The Militia here could have really put these to good use.”

   “Yeah, and I noticed no one is in a hurry to remove the remains either.” I couldn’t blame anyone; it wasn’t a pretty sight.

   “Hon? What’s a Volkswagen Thing?”

   I smiled and said, “Weird name, huh?”

   “Yeah, so what is it?”

   “I don’t know, Babe, but I think I smell some mansplaining coming on.”

   “Oh, one of those kinds of things, never mind.” I shrugged and continued staring into the woods. “Alright, damn it, mansplain.”

   It occurred to me she was trying to lighten the mood we were in, “Back in the late sixties, early seventies, NATO wanted a Jeep type vehicle for their armed forces. Volkswagen came out with a little four-seater car that was similar to the World War Two German Kublwagen, I don’t know if they ever actually submitted it for review, but they kind of became popular in the States for a while and they sold quite a few. Just like the Beetle, they seldom updated the design and eventually people sort of lost interest in them. Eventually they stopped making them. There’s actually a fairly large number still on the road and they have a pretty large group of people who like the way they look, heck, I almost bought one once.”

    “Okay, but what do they look like?”

   “Most were convertibles, they were kind of boxy with straight sides, four doors, fold down front windows, very simple amenities. Most cars have trunks in the back, the Things’ were in the front like a Beetle.”

   “But they use the same motor as the FAVs?”

   “Same type, but not the same. I imagine they will have to do some modifications to put in the FAV’s motor and suspensions.”

   “Oh, doesn’t sound very interesting to me.”

   “Probably not, the Thing’s elegance was in its simplicity.” We continued to stand there looking towards the highway until I looked at her and said, “I’m hungry, have you eaten yet?”

   She shook her head, “No,” she said. “And I’m hungry too.” We held hands as we walked back and asked about food. We were told the cafeteria had brought up the makings for sandwiches and that’s what we had.  We were finishing our meal when I saw Jake Cummings racing up the road to the mine entrance. I quickly stood from the chair I was in and waited for him to dismount and then approach Debra and I.

   “Sir?”

   “Report, Cummings.”

   “Captain Merrell and Major Kim are requesting that you, Major Monroe, and Governor Thorpe bring Hunter Harris to the Zipper facility as quickly as possible.”

   “What’s going on?”

   “The Zipper leadership wants to negotiate a ceasefire.”

   “Really, they want a truce. They attack us and when it fails, they want a negotiated ceasefire?”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   I shook my head, “Do you know where the clinic is?”

   “Yeah, next to the Souvenir Shop.” I guess he only had so many Sirs available.

   “Get down there and inform the Governor; I’ll get things rolling here so we can be ready to leave when the Governor is.”

   “Okay,” he said as he remounted his motorcycle and rode it deeper into the mine.

   Debra stood beside me and asked, “Do you think they are sincere?”

   “No, I mean, yes, they want a ceasefire, but not for the reasons we might want one. They probably think if they can stall us for a while, help for them will arrive and turn the tables.”

   She nodded, “Who is going with us?”

   “I’d rather you stayed here with the twins.”

   “Not going to happen, besides, they asked for me too, remember?”

   “And Thorpe. If we do as they ask, they have the ranking Asylum officer, me; the Governor, the CO of the training cadre, you, and the one man we have as a hostage, all in one place, at one time. It’s better if one of us is here in case the shit hits the fan.”

   “Daniel, they requested me specifically, how are you going to convince them of why I’m not there?”

   “Easy, both you and the Governor were wounded during the attack on us.”

   “So, you don’t want Governor Thorpe there either?”

   “Now that I think about it, no, if something happens to him, this place will come crashing down. You said yourself, Thorpe is the one holding this place together.” I glanced up as I heard Jake’s motorcycle returning. He came to a halt and dismounted.

   “The Governor is on his way.”

   I pointed at the food on the table and said, “Grab a bite to eat while you can soldier, your day is far from done.”

   “Thank you, Sir.” Like any young man his age, food was a priority, so he hurried to the table and started building a sandwich.

   “Daniel, you realize that you are probably very important also, right? I can guarantee that Becker would love for you to make an appearance.”

   “I know, I’m counting on his co-operation when he finally sees me again.”

   “Daniel? What are you thinking?” She looked worried as she stepped closer to me.

   “He wants me, Debra, he always has. I believe he’ll try to convince everyone he can, to allow him to be on the negotiation team and if he is, he will no longer be a problem for me.”

   “Us, a problem for us, Daniel.” She kept looking at me and then added, “You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?”

   “Given the chance? Yes.”

   “I am not allowing you to go without me, period!” She was adamant.

   Behind her, I could see Governor Thorpe slowing his approach as he realized things between Debra and I were becoming tense. He finally stopped and just listened. “Major Monroe,” I said, “Do I have to give you a direct order before you will follow my commands?”

   Through clinched teeth, Debra said, “You wouldn’t dare!”

   “Major Monroe, you will remain here and organize our troops to assist the Governor in defending this facility. You will attempt to re-establish radio communication with our forces and keep the Governor informed of the changing situation, do you understand your orders?”

   I could see the emotion as it played over her face, but she came to attention, saluted me, and said, “Yes, Sir.” She performed a crisp about face and marched away. I was watching her leave as Thorpe stepped up beside me.

   “That little lady is more than just a little bit pissed.”

   Both of us watched as she turned a corner and out of our sight, then I heard a loud, “GAHHH!” Echo off the walls. In my mind’s eye, I could see her pulling her hair.

   “Yes, she is, but she’s a Ranger and will follow her orders.”

   “My first wife was a lot like Debbie, full of piss and vinegar, but sweeter than honey when she got her way.”

   I nodded, “Yeah, that sounds like Debra.”

   “How long will she be angry?”

   “Until she remembers she loves me. Until she realizes what I said makes sense.”

   “What did you say to make her so upset?”

   “The Zippers want you, her, me and Harris, but all they are going to get to begin with, is me.”

   “Excuse me? These are negotiations, Dan, that means I need to be there.”

   I turned and faced him directly, “The people here need your leadership, Governor, anything happens to you and this whole thing gets turned upside down and the Zippers know it. Plus, these are not negotiations, you can’t trust these people to stand by any agreement they make. Any compromise you make is bait for them to come at you again, so, no, give them nothing except your demands.”

   “So, you expect me to negotiate through you?”

   “No, I expect to negotiate for you and Asylum.”

   “Asylum?” He asked.

   “Heinrich Becker committed crimes in the region controlled by Asylum; he will stand trial in an Asylum controlled court.”

   “Peace is important, Dan, if they don’t choose to surrender Becker…”

   “Then no truce.”

   “Daniel…”

   “Governor, you cannot trust these people! They are responsible for God only knows how many deaths world-wide. If you want to understand how well they keep their agreements, ask Captain Skinner, the CO of the Colorado Militia training cadre. He will be more than happy to discuss the trustworthiness of the Zippers.”

   “Skinner has already explained the reluctance of the ZPGers to negotiate in good faith, Dan, if nothing else, I want to sit in and observe the talks.”

   I shook my head, “If you are there, we create a target rich environment, as I said, they know how important you are to preserving your coalition; don’t piss on your chance to beat them.”

   He studied my face for a moment and then asked, “Are they really as bad as you suggest? I mean, these people here, the ZPGers, surely they were not responsible for what may have been done by others?”

   “What is it you don’t understand? They are all one organization that has killed billions and wish to enslave the rest of us. They demonstrated their sick ideals when they crawled out of their hole and tried to take over here. People like you? You have a target on your back and they will remove you any way they can, as soon as they can. You and your people are nothing more than beasts of burden to be used and discarded.”

   “Debra has said much the same, is she repeating what you have told her?”

   “She has been telling you who they really are, Governor Thorpe, they haven’t tried to hide it from you, that’s why your rebellion has grown to what it is.”

   He looked away and finally nodded his head, “Alright, I’ll let you open the proceedings, let’s see how accommodating they are and go from there. Once we reach some early consensus, then I will step in and work on the finer details.”

   I stared at him and final said, “Agreed, I’ll open negotiations and lay the groundwork, I have extensive experience in the process.”

   “That’s what Debbie has told me. I’ll take your advice and wait here, but keep me informed, you will, correct?”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   “How soon are you leaving?”

   I glanced over at Jake Cummings and watched as he shoved the last of his sandwich into his mouth, “Now.” I waved to Jake and he hustled over to us, “Cummings, do you mind giving me a ride to the Zipper complex?”

   “On my bike?” He smiled, “Sure.”

   “Let’s go, but stop by the billet my people have been using, I need some gear to take with me.”

   He trotted away and returned on his motorcycle, “Hop on!”

   First, he took me to the billet and I started getting my gear together; I was trying to decide whether to bring my ALICE pack, or just my J-LIST bag with my Ranger Taco in it, when…

   “Take both, you might need food, or something else, from your ALICE.”

   I turned and looked into Debra’s eyes, “You’re right of course, I’ll take both.”

   “Ammo?”

   “I haven’t topped off my mags yet.”

   She started pulling magazines from my pouches and inserting fresh magazines she removed from her plate carrier. “Daniel, why haven’t you ever asked Danni for you armor back?”

   “For the same reason the two of you never asked if you could have your Bowies.” I glanced at her and added, “They’re at the Adobe anytime you decide you want them, and yeah, I’d like to have Dan’s plate carrier again.”

   I had never asked for the return of the gear they kept when I escaped from Asylum; I figured if they wanted me to have it, they would have offered it. Instead of the Air Crewman’s knife Debra had given me before, I still carried John Cameron’s SOG Kabar derivative. I considered the Kabar too long for the front of my flick, so I wore it on my sustainment belt. I wasn’t sure I wanted to surrender the longer blade of the Kabar, but it would be nice to have the Crewman’s knife back on my flick; it fit better.

   She nodded and asked, “Water?”

   “Good to go.”

   She picked up the ALICE and held it as I slid my arms in and then attached the waist belt. After I shrugged everything into place, she raised up on the balls of her feet and said, “I love you.” Then she kissed me.

   “I know, and I love you.”

   “But…”

   “What?”

   “In bed, there’s no rank, we’ll talk there, about this.”

   “I know.”

   “Be careful, but when you kill him? Make it hurt.”

   “You are so blood thirsty.”

   “Am not.” She cocked her head and looked up at me, “Well, in his case, after what he did to Stacey and Danni? Yeah, I guess I am.” She stepped back, I remounted the bike behind Cummings and tapped his shoulder, he pulled smoothly forward and we were quickly on the highway headed west.

 

   I leaned forward and shouted in his ear, “Do you always ride this fast?”

   He turned his head and said, “I figured you were in a hurry to get there.”

   “To get there? Yes. To die? Not so much.” He immediately slowed down and I breathed a sigh of relief as the speedometer dropped from ninety-five to sixty; I guess I’m getting old. Then again, maybe it’s just life is moving at a slower pace than it used to. “Just curious, why don’t you have a loud exhaust pipe on this thing?”

   “I was raised on a farm, Sir, my Dad would have beat my ass for upsetting the livestock.”

   Of course, why didn’t I think of that? “How much farther until we get there?” I shouted into the wind.

   “We’re almost there now,” he pointed ahead and then slowed more as he directed the bike onto a side road paralleling the highway. Several men in Kansas Militia cammies waved him down as they stepped into the roadway. Jake slowed to a stop and said, “Hey, I’m back, this is the guy the Zippers wanted to talk to.”

   Twenty minutes later, I was standing beside Merrell, Lawrence, and the CO of the Kansas troops as we studied a tent with no sides sitting in the middle of a parking lot. There was a table under the canopy with five chairs on the far side and four on our side. I assumed it was for five of them and four of us. Merrell shook his head and said, “I don’t like it, they said when our negotiators had arrived, their people would come out and the talks could begin.”

   “Good way to take out the Free Kansas leadership.” I responded.

   “Yes, Sir, what do you want to do?”

   I slipped my pack off and set it next to my feet while I shrugged my carbine into place. “I guess I’ll go get comfortable, all our people in place to provide security?”

   “Yes, Sir, but…”

   “But, what?”

   “Part of the truce agreement is no personal weapons carried by the negotiation teams.” Judging from the expression on his face, he wasn’t real comfortable with what was going on.

   “I appreciate your concern, Captain Merrell,” I said as I starting handing him my weapons and gear. “Believe me, but we need to start talking sooner, or later.” I studied the front of the facility, it looked a lot like the front of Asylum, it even had the same style air plenum buildings. They were fortified better than our own, but there, none-the-less. “I guess I’ll go have a seat.”

   “Sir?”

   I started walking towards the canopy, which was a good fifty yards from where we were. When I reached the table, I pulled out the right-center chair, and then sat down. Within a minute, a single individual wearing black SWAT gear emerged from the Zipper facility and walked towards me bearing a white flag. When he arrived, he glanced past me and then said, “May I ask who you are?”

   “Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Menendez, ranking officer, Asylum Rangers.”

   “An agreement was reached, you were supposed to be accompanied by three others, where are they?”

   He had a lieutenant’s bar on the collar of his shirt, “I’m sorry, Lieutenant, you are?”

   “Lieutenant Baker, Internal Security.”

   “I see, you must not be considered very important.” He clinched his jaw, but remained silent. “Governor Thorpe, and Major Monroe, were both wounded during the attack on the Free Kansas facility and will be unable to attend. Hunter Harris was wounded also, looks like I’m all you’re going to get.”

   “This is unacceptable.”

   I pushed the chair back with the back of my knees as I stood, “Well, I guess your leadership shouldn’t have tried to kill us all, have a nice day.” I turned around and started walking away.

   “Wait! I need to inform my superiors of the situation.”

   “I’m an impatient man, Lieutenant, and I have an attack on your facility to implement.”

   “One moment, Sir, it will only take a moment.” He stepped away from the table and spoke into his walkie talkie, listened, and then returned, “Our people are coming, they’ll come out when the meal is ready to be placed.”

   “Meal? As in food?”

   “Yes, Sir.” He grimaced and added, “The Director thinks we should practice being gracious, therefore, she wanted a formal meal prepared for the negotiation teams.”

   I sat back down, “This could be interesting.” Psychologists believe sharing a meal can cause people to be more agreeable during negotiations, “Your Director, is she a psychologist?”

   “Yes, Sir, I heard she was considered one of the top of her field.” Behind him, an electric cart, like the ones we had at Asylum, drove out of the facility and approached us. I pressed my left arm to my side and was reassured by the feel of the short, little dagger I carried under my jacket. When it stopped, a second and third also appeared. People, dressed in maid and kitchen staff uniforms, covered the table with a cloth, then started placing china, glassware, and utensils in front of the soon to be occupied chairs around the table. When they were done, they stepped to the side, formed a line, and then waited as two more, larger carts came out and parked as well. Five individuals, two men and three women, got out and approached the table, each standing behind one of the chairs.

   “Lieutenant Colonel Menendez,” the woman in the center said. “I am Director Samantha Barnes.” She then introduced the remaining four as I stood and nodded to each. “I thought perhaps we could share a meal together, a symbol of a more civilized time.” She was dressed in white, the other four in black, but I noticed all five had trimmings of red on their clothing. What’s with the red shit?

   “I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Director,” I indicated the chair in front of her, “Please, make yourself comfortable.”

   She waited as one of the servants pulled back her chair and then pushed it forward for her to sit. After she was situated, the remaining four representatives took their own seats, as did I.

   Director Barnes said, “These last few years have been difficult, but I believe we are coming to a turning point that we can all benefit from.”

   I glanced around and replied, “I’m surprised Heinrich Becker is not in attendance.”

   She frowned and then said, “I assumed he might be an impediment.”

   “I was looking forward to his presence.” The servants began placing food on the plates.

   “Mister Becker has issues; we have decided to limit his participation.”

   “I don’t see how we can proceed, without his, participation.” The food smelled delicious as it was placed on my plate.

   “Lieutenant Colonel…”

   “It would be a shame to see such elegantly presented food go to waste, may I suggest Mister Becker be brought out?”

   She stared at me for a moment, but then pasted on a smile, “Perhaps my assumption you would find his presence distracting was incorrect.” She snapped her fingers and one of the servants leaned down next to her as she whispered in her ear, then the servant quickly walked to one of the carts and drove away.

   “He’ll be here shortly,” Barnes said with a smile. “However, there is little room left at the table.”

   I smiled in return and said, “There is more than enough room on this side.” I placed the palm of my hand on the table in front of the chair to my right. One of the servants, at the Director’s gesture, placed another setting beside me. The cart that had left was returning and I could see Becker was the passenger. He must have been very close by.

   I could tell Becker was unsure of himself when he saw the only plate without someone in front of it was placed next to me, but I had to give it to him, he walked around and sat down. “Lieutenant Colonel Menendez, a pleasant surprise.”

   I nodded politely and said, “You have no idea.” One of the servants began adding food to Becker’s plate, but as each item was served, he demanded more. I can’t say I blame him, the portions were small, the size you would receive in an upscale restaurant. I suppose there is a reason portions are usually small, but you’re paying premium prices for a mere taste of the meal. I’ve never understood why people pay exorbitant prices in order to leave hungry. However, even though the reasoning escapes me, I wasn’t really interested in discovering it.

   Picking up a fork and serrated steak knife, I sliced into a small portion of meat and discovered it was bleeding, I hate red meat, that is red. I pushed it to the side and used the fork to stir a small spoonful of sauce, better known as gravy among the lower classes, into a mouth full portion of what I believed was good old mashed potatoes. It was ground cauliflower. I like cauliflower, but not when I’m expecting potatoes. I ate it as Becker reached over and skewered the rare meat from my plate, shoved it into his mouth and smiled at me as he chewed it. I glanced across the table as Director Barnes scowled at Becker’s rudeness and lack of table manners.

 I smiled at her and said, “It’s alright, Director, I’m well aware of Mister Becker’s lack of sophistication. It runs among people of his sort quite often.”

   Becker laughed and asked, “Is your current wife well, Menendez? I have never had the enjoyment of meeting her, though I tried; I understand she is quite beautiful.”

   “She wanted very badly to accompany me today, but unfortunately…” I allowed the sentence to fade away.

   Around the mouthful of meat, he said, “I met your other wife, of course you know that already, don’t you?”

   “Yes.”

   “She was very beautiful also, until the time she spent with me.”

   “Careful, Becker, you’re treading on dangerous ground.”

   “Nonsense, this is a truce meeting under the protection of a white flag, therefore, this is neutral ground and you dare not tarnish it with violence.”

   I picked up a dinner roll and took a bite from it to keep from spoiling the moment.

   Barnes quickly spoke out, “Mister Becker, you do not occupy a favored position here, it will serve you well if you…”

   “Silence, Director! You are in this position because you ignored my advice.”

   She dropped her eyes to her plate and started moving the food around with her knife and fork. Becker chuckled and turned his face to me, “These people here, they are weak.”

   I nodded and then replied, “Like your son? He must have been a disappointment to you.”

   He stopped chewing what was in his mouth, and then started slowly chewing again as his lips smiled in return. His eyes though? They weren’t smiling. He was quick for his size, but I train with Debra and Danni, both are infinitely faster, and I was expecting the attack.  The steak knife in his right hand, streaked towards my throat, but I intercepted the tip of the blade with the palm of my left hand. The blade passed between the bones of my hand where the ring and middle finger meet as I gripped his closed fist with my fingers and tightened the grasp as he tried to withdraw the weapon; I had his hand easily under control. I had already gripped my own steak knife in an icepick hold and reached across above his extended right arm and flicked the tip over his esophagus. The cut was deep enough to open his throat, but not sever the artery; I promised Debra he would hurt. He raised his left hand between his extended right arm and his chest and gripped his neck in an effort to, maybe, stop the bleeding and gurgling noises coming from the injury I had inflicted, maybe to protect his throat from a more severe second attack, but it wasn’t his throat I was aiming for. I dropped my right hand with the knife, reached across his lap and sunk the razor tip into the right side of his abdomen just above the hip, before ripping the blade back towards me. He tried to cry out, but all he did was project frothy blood across the table where it liberally coated the Director’s plate and the man sitting to her left. She screamed and pushed back against her chair, but one of the servants rushed forward and kept the chair from tipping over backwards. Becker forced himself to his feet, released the hold he had on the knife through my hand and tried to hold a loop of lacerated intestine from slipping out and onto the table. I dropped the steak knife, shifted his plate away, and then forced him flat, face down on the linen covered surface. Planting my knee in the middle of his back, I withdrew the knife from the palm of my hand, reached out over his head, sunk the fingers of my injured hand into his eye sockets and pulled his head backwards.

   Then, I leaned forward and softly spoke into his ear, “The wounds you are suffering from, are for my wife, Danni, but the next one is for someone else. I killed the men I thought responsible for the death of my wife, Stacey, all of them, but it felt incomplete, not enough. Try to imagine the joy I feel at this moment.” I quickly reached around and pulled the razor-sharp knife from his left earlobe to the right. By the time the blade reached the right ear, the edge was grating on bone. I held him pinned on the tablecloth until the tremors of his dying body ceased.

   Glancing over to the Director and her staff, I said, “Unpleasant, I know, but shall we finish our meal?” I sat down and pulled Becker’s plate in front of me. Reaching out, I wiped the steak knife with a linen napkin and proceeded to slice pieces of cooked meat from what was raw and bloody. “I’ve always felt the consumption of meat cooked rare was a sign of primitive behavior, don’t you agree?” I looked over the five people left, “I mean, even the flavor of the cooked meat is better, right?”

   Director Barnes nodded her head in agreement.

   “Please,” I said as I pointed to their plates with the tip of the steak knife. “Finish your meals.” One of the other two women leaned sideways and vomited onto the ground beside her chair. I laid down the fork as I suppressed a gag and said, “I guess our bonding and kumbaya moment is over? Alright, I prefer a more direct approach to negotiations anyway.” I cleared my throat and said, “First, this is not a negotiation; this is an ultimatum. You,” I pointed to the five of them with the tip of the steak knife. “Will immediately surrender to me, now. We will send your serving staff inside to inform your assistants they are no longer assistants, they are directors.”

   Barnes said, “What?”

   “The Free Kansas Forces will allow your community to hold elections and will abide by the decisions of the people within your facility. However, if the governing body of this facility continues the failed policies you have enacted before? The new governing body will be hung and another one elected. We will keep doing that until we feel you have joined the reconstruction effort, or you are all hanging from a rope.”

   “What?” Barnes, again.

   One of the two men blustered, “Our military forces are formidable, as you will no doubt discover.”

   “At best, all you have left is one company of ex-law enforcement personnel. The rest are dead, or captured. Which reminds me, you can pick a small group of constables to enforce your laws, so long as the laws do not infringe on the rights of the people. Each member of the Constabulary will be allowed to retain one sidearm and one magazine, all other weapons, ammunition, and gear, will be immediately surrendered to the Free Kansas Armed Forces.”

    “Preposterous!” Barnes shouted. “We refuse your demands categorically!”

   I looked to each other member on the other side and asked. “Who is the director of your science department?”

   The woman who had vomited raised her hand, “I am, Doctor Elena Helensdotter.” She had a Scandinavian accent.

   I pointed back over my shoulder with my thumb and said, “I remember your name, Doctor, back behind me is a truck loaded with eight fifty-gallon drums. Four of those drums contain ordinary chlorine bleach. The other four contain ordinary ammonia.”

   She looked puzzled for a moment and then her eyes widened as she said, “You wouldn’t!”

   “What?” Barnes asked.

   I became somber as I replied, “Mix bleach and ammonia, you get chloramine gas. Those eight drums are enough to contaminate your entire facility within minutes.”

   Barnes looked horrified, “You would actually use chemical warfare against us? That’s barbaric! Are you insane?”

   I laughed out loud, “Wow, says the woman who is partly responsible for using biological warfare to kill billions of innocent people. You killed billions with horrific diseases and that damn blue shit you sprayed everywhere you could, and I’m the barbarian? Well, okay, I’ll own it. The barbarians are at your gates and that blue crap has come back to bite you in the ass.”

   Barnes started looking frightened, “What do you mean?”

   “I, among others, was contaminated by it and believe me when I say,” I pointed to Becker’s body still decorating the table, “I have no problem pouring those barrels into your air supply.”

   Barnes looked as though she was about to break down, “We will need some time to discuss your proposition, we will meet with you again, tomorrow, agreed?”

   “No, I want your answer now.”

   “This is too important! You’re forcing me to send several thousand people into slavery, at best, servitude.” She looked shocked, to say the least.

   “No, I’m allowing you to save the lives of several thousand people. I am giving you the chance to save several thousand people from a horrible choking death, your decision.”

   “Will myself, and my compatriots, be allowed to leave to another location?”

   “Your people, any who wish to leave may do so, but you and the rest of the leadership class will stand trial.”

   “On what charges?”

   “I’m neither a lawyer, nor a judge, but Crimes Against Humanity seems a good place to start.”

   “Would we be incarcerated within a suitable setting?”

   I bit my tongue, and then slowly said, “You will not suffocate within a cloud of chloramine.”

   “You offer me no options.”

   “No.”

   “I’ll need to discuss the change of leadership with my assistant directors…”

   “You’re going in circles, Director. No, I already addressed that issue, your servants will deliver the news to those that require it.”

   She started to cry, “This isn’t fair! We were trying to save the world, to save mankind!”

   “By destroying it, save it for the trial, Director.”

 

   Debra and Thorpe were waiting outside the mine when I returned with our people. I stepped down out of my Jeep and eagerly allowed her to wrap her arms around me. She held me for a long moment and then taking my left wrist, she raised my bandaged left-hand, “What’s this?”

   “Steak knife.”

   She frowned, “What?”

   “We were having a pretty nice lunch…”

   Merrell interrupted me, “Sorry, Sir, but we just finished receiving a report from the Predator crews, the Recon guys say there are a lot of usable weapons and gear in the warehouse they took out. Do you want them to stay onsite until the Kansas military arrives to take inventory?”

   I glanced at Thorpe and he nodded, “Yes,” I said. “Tell them it appears the hostilities are over, but to stay sharp none-the-less. Have someone monitor the radio in our truck until something better can be arranged.” He saluted and jogged away as I turned back to Debra, “Still no comms?”

   “Not yet. So, what is this?” She waved my hand at me.

   “I told you, steak knife, and it hurts when you wave it around like that.”

   “How did you get stabbed by a steak knife?”

   “Babe, let me get our men squared away, then we’ll have this discussion, alright?”

   She clinched her jaw and released my wrist, “Well, at least it isn’t a direct order to mind my own business.” She started to walk away, but then asked, “Becker?”

   “Dead, done deal, over, no longer interesting…”

   Lawrence jogged up and said, “Sir, may I have a moment of your time?”

   “Lieutenant?”

   “I was just wondering, I bet the Zippers have a pretty good communication facility, maybe they have some redundant equipment we can requisition for the Governor’s use here?”

   That immediately got the wheels turning, “Possibly, and I’d be interested in finding out what kind of intelligence collection capability they have. Thanks for thinking of that and bringing it to my attention.” He saluted and then started to leave; Debra joined him and they walked away, together.

   Thorpe stepped up and asked, “Becker?”

   “Dead.”

   “How did it happen?”

   I held up my hand and showed it to him, “He attacked me, I killed him.”

   “Senator Harris?”

   “No idea, the topic didn’t even come up, so that is something you’ll need to establish. I suggest you get troops inside the Zipper facility and get a firm grasp on what’s going on in there as quickly as you can. That’s what we did when we took over Asylum and we still had problems, so don’t leave them room to maneuver. My suggestion? Encourage the Zippers’ true believers to leave as soon as possible.”

   “That’s the same thing Captain Skinner suggested.”

   “Yeah, the people in Denver had the same situation and paid the price over and over, better to nip it in the bud.”

   “The leadership of the ZPGers?”

   I turned around as I searched with my eyes and finally pointed, “Over there, in the back of the truck. There’s five of them, and Director Barnes, the woman all in white, was in charge. Best to get them locked up as soon as possible in separate cells, so they can’t communicate with each other. Do you have a judicial branch yet?”

   “I’ve been working on that, we have an ex-prosecutor, a retired judge and at least one public defender, they are trying to figure out how to get a fair justice system up and running.”

   I nodded, “Yeah, even with our past so close, it can be hard to get it rolling again.”

   “Tell me about it. Okay, I guess I better make some arrangements for our guests, but just out of curiosity, how did you get them to surrender so quickly?”

   “I made them an offer they had difficulty refusing.” Holding up my hand, I said, “This is starting to become uncomfortable, where’s your clinic at?”

      He looked around and finally shouted, “Jake! Hey, Cummings!” When Jake looked at him, he waved for him to join us. When he arrived, Thorpe said, “Take the Lieutenant Colonel over to the clinic; he needs to have his hand treated.”

   “Okay,” he motioned for me to follow. “Come on, it’s not very far.” I took some comfort from the fact he was short on, Sirs, when it came to the Governor as well.

 

   “Babe, how much more time do you need to get the Kansas people up to speed?” I pushed my empty plate away and sipped from the glass of beer next to it.

   She stood up and walked around the table to sit on my lap, “Actually, from my perspective, they are up to speed. Captain Skinner agrees and says there’s no reason for us to stick around, but Julia is balking. She wants to be headed home more than anyone, but she says the intelligence gathering capability of the Kansans are below minimal, especially with the loss of comms here.”

   “Thorpe needs to do one of two things,” I said. “He needs to prioritize gathering communication gear, or take over the Zippers’ equipment. My vote goes for taking over their facility and evicting the assholes. Less work involved setting up what they need here.”

   She glanced at the clock on the wall and said, “Tell him that when he gets here. Is your hand still throbbing?”

   “Yes, but not as bad, thanks for the Ibuprophen.” Ibuprophen isn’t a good choice when you have a serious bleeding wound, but I was willing to use it for the stab in the palm of my hand. “Do you know who will be here this evening?”

   “Governor Thorpe, Maggie of course, Merrell, Lawrence, Julia, Captain Skinner, and Major Lawson.”

   “Okay, but it’s going to be crowded in here and you don’t have enough chairs,” I said. “Whose Lawson?”

   “Thorpe made him CO of the Kansas Militia around here, he seems pretty steady.”

   “Experience?”

   “I’ve spoken with him a few times, he graduated from VMI and became a lieutenant in the 82^nd Airborne until he broke both legs in a training accident. He transferred to the 101^st Air Assault and ended his tenure as a captain. He’s good to go.”

   “Okay, any Air Force people around?”

   “Locals?”

   “Yeah.”

   “I only know of one, he was an Air Tech Sargent. He admits he served mostly as a Supply Sargent in a warehouse up at Wright-Patterson.” She laughed and said, “He told me if he would have known the Airmen were going to get so good looking, he would have stayed in past his Thirty.”

   I smiled, “Do I need to be jealous?”

   “Hon, he’s seventy years old.”

   “You didn’t answer my question, should I be jealous?”

   She punched me lightly in the chest with her fist as she smiled and said, “Asshole.” Then her expression sobered and she asked, “Are you okay? Lawrence told me what happened, how your hand was wounded.”

   I held my hand up and gingerly flexed the fingers, “It’s sore, but…”

   “Daniel,” she frowned at me. “You know what I mean, I shouldn’t have told you to make him hurt, it’s not who you are.” She reached up and caressed my face, “Are you okay?”

   “It wasn’t that hard for me to do, Babe. I thought of what he did to Danni, what he did to Stacey, what he wanted to do to you and even the Twins.” I looked away for a moment and then added, “Really, it wasn’t hard at all.”

   “Let me know if you need to talk it out, Daniel, I know you, you’re a gentle soul, you only do what you feel you have to do.”

   I drained my glass of beer and waved it at her, “Refill?” Deflection, and she knew what I was trying to do.

   She sighed and said, “Just remember, okay? If you need to talk, if it starts eating at you, I’m here for you, always.” She took the glass and refilled it.

 

   That evening as we were discussing what had happened and what needed doing, Thorpe asked me a direct question, “Lieutenant Colonel, Dan, would you have really dumped that bleach and ammonia into their air intake?”

   I shook my head, “There wasn’t any, Governor, I lied to them.”

   “I know, but what if you actually had it and they refused to comply, what would you have done?”

   “I would have tried a different approach, why?”

   “There were people in there that didn’t agree with the ZPGers, innocent people.”

   “Just like in Asylum and Denver, I figured it was the same here.”

   “What if you exhausted every other avenue, what would you do?”

   I thought about it for a few moments as he waited, then I said, “At Asylum, those of us who disagreed with the Zippers stepped up and did what was necessary to end their control. The people here? They could have done the same if they wanted.”

   “At Asylum, you were members of an organized military, here, the military supported the decrees of the Director, what were they supposed to do when faced with that?”

   “Organize, sabotage, resistance, lots of things they could have done; they chose not to.”

   “Do you consider them, I don’t know, maybe complicit?”

   I nodded, “Yes, they chose servitude over self-determination; rather than rock the boat, they rowed the boat.”

   “I don’t know if I can agree with your conclusions, but I feel I should respect your opinion, you’ve earned that at the least.” He stared at me and finally asked, “Would you have gassed them?”

   “It would depend, but in an extreme situation with no other recourse?” He nodded, “Then, yes.”

   He sighed heavily and said, “I hope I never have to face you on the field of battle.”

   “I’m not concerned by the possibility, Governor, you’re a good man, an honest man, we’ll have no reason to ever butt heads.”

   “Thanks for that, but just out of curiosity, if we did, who would win?”

   I smiled as I said, “Ready for another beer?”

 

   It was another week before we finally collected our gear and left for the return trip to Holloman. During that brief period, we put down two uprisings among the Zippers. We put them down hard and Thorpe ordered the series of executions that followed. The day before we left, the Zippers left their base and moved on in the general direction of West. The people that chose to remain were given permission to stay and Thorpe had all of them pledge their allegiance to the Constitution. Time will tell.

   Harris demanded his son, Hunter, be released because he, as President, was issuing an executive pardon and full clemency to his son, but the ex-Senator was arrested instead. We had proof he also was deeply involved with the attempted kidnapping of both Debra and the Twins and he is no longer thought of as a possible President. Thorpe agreed to let us know how the legal aspects of the situation played out, but both Harris’ were definitely done.

   Holloman only had two C-130s flying, so I asked for volunteers to drive the remaining vehicles back to Asylum. I decided, as much as I wanted to get home to Danni and the children, I would go with the people driving back, but General Packer ordered me home by air, he said Terry Martin needed both Julia and I back as soon as possible. I’m ashamed to say I welcomed the order. Naturally, Debra and the kids came with me and most of the Asylum Militia and Rangers as well. All of the Air Force personnel and the Marines returned with their remaining equipment, we were flying into Holloman after all. The Denver Rangers were flown back home and after all is said and done, it was an interesting experience. That Volkswagen Thing Thorpe offered to the Marines? They took it and then argued over who would get to drive it.

   We were met at Holloman by drivers and trucks from Asylum and General Stone was impressed with his first inspection of two of our armored trucks, he asked if perhaps he could work a deal for some of his own. We just might be opening another market opportunity, we’ll see.

   When we arrived home, there was a large crowd waiting for us, and Debra and I looked hard for Danni, but we didn’t see her anywhere. Once we off-loaded, General Packer and Gilly greeted us. “Daniel, Debbie, it’s good to see you back!” Packer kept slapping my shoulder and finally just grabbed me and gave me a hug.

   “General, it’s good to be home, I’ve missed your advice.”

   He smiled as Gilly took Richie from my arms and snuggled him close, “My God how much they’ve grown! Wait until you see Danni Lynn and John,” she said to Debra. “You won’t believe how they’ve changed!”

   Debra stepped forward and said, “Speaking of, didn’t Danni know we were coming? I don’t see her or the kids.”

   Both of them sobered, “Yes, uh, Danni isn’t here, she decided she needed a vacation and left the kids with the childcare center and drove down to your place in Cliff, the Adobe.”

   Both Debra and I said at the same time, “Why? Why would she leave the children here?” I asked.

   Gilly answered, “We didn’t understand at first, but now we think she wanted to draw attention to herself.”

   Debra looked confused, “Draw attention to herself? What attention? Whose attention?”

   Packer said, “Becker, she was convinced if she was down there, he would try for her again and maybe forget about the two of you.”

   I started getting sick to my stomach, “Becker’s dead, doesn’t she know that?”

   Packer answered again, “I’ve sent people down there twice and tried to convince her to come back, she says she doesn’t believe he’s dead, that we thought he was dead before.”

   “Christ!” I said.

   Debra grabbed my arm and said, “We need to go right now, she’s all alone and…”

   “I know, but the kids?” I asked.

   “We’ll take your truck; we have plenty of car seats for all the children.”

   Gilly said, “Will Maggie watch them until you get back? I can help.”

   Debra shook her head, “No, Maggie stayed in Kansas. Her and Governor Thorpe decided they wanted to see where their relationship was going.”

   Danni Lynn and John looked the same to me, but I hadn’t been gone very long. Debra sort of went nuts over them and said she wasn’t leaving for long periods, ever again. Danni Lynn and John were all over her and Danni Lynn said it was time for Mommy to come home too. We gathered them up, loaded them in the truck and headed down to the Adobe.

   We arrived after dark and there were two vehicles I didn’t recognize in the drive. “Stay in the truck and be ready,” I said to Debra. “I don’t recognize that Mustang, or the pickup.”

   “The Mustang is Danni’s; she bought it and barely ever drove it. The truck I don’t recognize though, maybe it belongs to the Fermins?”

   “Danni has a car? I didn’t know that; how could I not know that?”

   “Daniel, she has two, one was Dan’s Range Rover.”

   “What about you? Do you have a car also?”

   “Yeeaaah, but it’s nothing to write home about.”

   “Okay, what is it?”

   “Um, well…”

   “Debra?”

   “It’s a Toyota Prius, okay?” She looked chagrined.

   I got out of the truck and opened the gate; she drove through and I closed the gate behind her. When I reached the truck, I again told her to stay inside as I drew my sidearm and walked to the front door. I tried to open it, but it was barred from the inside, so I knocked instead. Moments later, I heard the bar removed and the door opened, it was Danni.

   “Daniel! Is Debbie with you?”

   “Yes, Danni, why are you here?”

   “Bring her in, hurry!”

   “Danni, we have the kids with us, why did you come down here alone?”

   She pushed past me and hurried to the truck where she started helping Debra gather the children together, “Hurry, we need to get back inside; we’re targets out here!”

   Her urgency and concern for the children quickly infected Debra as she handed John to Danni and then handed me the twins. Debra snatched Danni Lynn from her car seat and we hurried inside where Danni re-barred the door. Spinning around, she grabbed Debra and hugged her tightly, “Oh, God, I’ve missed you so badly!”

   “Danni, why are you here?” Debra asked.

   “I thought if Becker found out I was here, it might take some pressure off of the two of you, but here you are, I guess he didn’t get a shot at you in Kansas?”

   Debra patted Danni’s face and said, “Sweetie, Becker is dead, Daniel killed him.”

   It was almost like she melted, “He is? Are you sure? He fooled us before, what if…”

   I wanted to embrace the two of them, but my arms were full of wriggling Twins, “I’m sure, Honey, I did it myself.”

   “You’re sure, there is absolutely no doubt?”

   “There is no doubt, Hon, I watched him bleed out, and I made sure he knew it was for what he did to you and Stacey.”

   “Stacey? He was responsible for Stacey’s death?”

   Debra nodded, “Yes, we found out after Daniel arrived in Hutchinson.”

   “He was the one that killed her,” I said.

   “How did he die? How did you do it?”

   I looked around and asked, “Are the cribs still in the loft?” Behind me, as I started up the stairs, I could hear Debra telling Danni what had happened. Putting the children down for the night was a no-go; they were too excited about having both of their mothers within beck and call. The girls ended up making dinner and then we waited out the kids until they wore their selves down and put them to bed. With the children down for the night, we celebrated our own reunion.

   Afterwards, with my ladies asleep, I rose from our bed and sat next to the window and looked out into the moonlit night. It always seemed so peaceful here. I was replaying Becker’s last moments in my mind when I noticed the first indicator that something was wrong. An individual moved quickly from the fence line next to the highway and trotted to the pump shed next to grapevines. I quickly, and quietly, woke Debra and Danni.

   “We have an armed intruder on the property,” I said. “Get dressed and arm up. Danni? You stay here with the kids, Debra, you protect the ground floor, I’m going out and have a meet and greet.”

   Debra shook her head, “I’m going with you.”

   “No, you’re not. You’re going to bar the door after I go out.”

   “Daniel…”

   “I said no, and I mean it!” I started putting on my boots, “Danni is in no condition to be running back and forth and up and down, you know it!”

   “But I have NVDs, Daniel.”

   “I know, and they’ll be handy once you kill the lights in here. “I’m taking the silenced Henderson rifle in case there is more than one; it has the thermal scope on it.”

   “Daniel…”

   “Stop it, Debra, the children and Danni will need you in here, don’t make me worry about you while I’m out there, okay?”

   She nodded and slipped the prong of her stock into the hilt of her Glock, “Alright, wait, what about the Fermins?”

   “Danni told me she sent them to visit friends for a few days; she didn’t want them to become collateral damage if someone came after her.”

   “Good, one less thing to worry about, are you ready?”

   I nodded, “Whoever it is, they were by the pumphouse next to the grapevines, there’s no telling where they are now.” I plugged the earphone of my walkie-talkie into my ear, turned it on and performed a radio check with Debra, she gave me a thumbs up. “Okay, I’m going out the window in the alcove office,” I pulled my patrol cap off and stuck the IR reflector to the crown, “This is me,” I said as I pulled the cap back on. “Don’t shoot me.”

   She reached up and stripped the Velcro patch back off, “I know who you are, even using thermals, don’t you think that they might have NVDs also?”

   “Sorry, you’re right of course.” I moved to the window, unlatched it and gently swung it open, but before I could climb through and out, she grabbed me and kissed me hard.

   When she released me, she said, “Don’t get hurt!”

   I smiled and nodded, “Relax, it’s probably someone snitching eggs from the henhouse.” I stuck my head out, used the thermal scope, and looked both ways along the length of the house, clear. I stepped through the window and started moving west towards the back gate and west fence line. I always kept the weeds cut down inside the property and Mister Fermin had continued the practice, but I also knew where there was a drainage channel that passed the house and garden. I belly crawled to it and then down inside. I crawled the full length of the channel and then turned along the fence line as I moved north. The taller wild weeds outside the fence would help disguise my silhouette. When I reached the north facing fence, I turned back to the east and began crawling towards the pump and henhouse.

   Stopping, I examined the side of the pumphouse that was in the shadow of the moon and clearly picked out the intruder; he was examining the west side of the house with a scoped rifle. It had to be a thermal scope because he was looking at the shadowed side. Dropping his rifle’s butt to the ground and swinging back behind the pumphouse, I watched as he activated a radio attached to the plate carrier he was wearing and spoke softly into it. That gave me two pieces of information, one, he wasn’t alone, two, you don’t wear a plate carrier to steal eggs. I brought the suppressed rifle to my shoulder, lined up on his forehead, and squeezed the trigger. The muffled pop of the discharge seemed more loud than normal, but it was still quiet. I watched through the scope as the man slumped forward and then down. I crawled forward and checked him out, he was wearing all black, the reason I saw him run from the rear gate to the pumphouse before. The bright moonlight and light-colored sandy ground had exposed him easily. Idiot. I examined the rifle and discovered it was an M-14 variant with a fully adjustable stock. The barrel was heavy profile and I knew both of the girls would drool over it, but neither would want to carry it. It was a beast.

   I keyed my mic and softly said, with my hand covering my mouth and radio, “One down, there are more.” Debra clicked her PTT button twice to let me know she understood. Going prone, I slid the suppressed rifle around the corner of the pumphouse and swept the distance before freezing as a second man stepped to the corner of the henhouse and pointed a weapon I had never seen before at the house. It was short, blocky looking, and had a large cylinder protruding beneath it, then I remembered, I had seen something similar. It was a 40-millimeter grenade launcher that operated like a huge revolver. I quickly lined up and put a round through his head directly below the rim of his helmet. These guys were loaded for bear.

   I slipped around the back of the pumphouse and crawled to where the second man was lying. When I reached him, I could hear a muffled voice speaking. There was an earbud hanging loose from his body, so I picked it up and placed it in my empty ear, “Reaper One, Reaper Three, in position, over?” A pause and then, “Reaper One, do you copy, over?”

   I was tempted to say something cool back to him, but for the life of me, I couldn’t think of anything witty, so I started to pull out the earbud when the voice said, “Reaper Two, copy?” Nothing, no response, I wondered if I was listening over Reaper One, or Two’s, radio. “Reaper Four, do you copy?” So, there were four of them?

   “Roger, Three, are we blown?”

   “Rally point, Reaper Four, I repeat, Rally point!”

   “Roger that!”

   I swung the bolt action suppressed rifle behind me and drew my sidearm, holding it about twelve inches in front of my face, I began to rapidly advance around the henhouse and headed for the back of the power shed. A man just past the power shed stepped into view, approached the barbed wire fence at a tee-post, and began to scale the fence. As he paused at the top to swing his leg over, I put three rounds into his face. He fell back into the property; however, one leg was hung up on the wire. I advanced quickly and kneeled beside him as I pressed two fingers of my left hand into his neck. No pulse. As I stood back up into a crouch, I heard Debra over the radio as the suppressed rifle slipped around and dangled in front of me.

   “Daniel! Report!”

   Instead of pushing the rifle back out of the way, I pushed the PTT on the radio and said, “One left! Stay in the…”

   A burst of automatic fire erupted from beneath the solar array and at least one of the rounds struck the receiver of the Henderson rifle driving it into my chest. I pointed the pistol and fired half-a-dozen rounds at the muzzle flash and the weapon went silent. I moved forward and crouched next to the man, there was one hole through his right eye, I had missed with every other shot. Lucky. I stood up and realized Debra was screaming in my ear.

   “Daniel! Answer me, damn it!”

   “That’s it,” I said. “That was the last one, I think.”

   “I’m coming out to you!”

   “No,” I said. “I’ll come inside; we’ll wait for sunrise and…” I realized I was sliding down the side of the shipping container I used for a power shed, what the hell?

 

   “Daniel, I’ve got you, Honey, come on, look at me, Honey, please look at me?”

   I blinked into the intense white illumination from her headlamp, “That hurts, can you dim the light?”

   “In a minute, I need to see where to apply the bandages.”

   “I’m okay, just got the wind knocked out of me when he shot my rifle.”

   She didn’t respond, she just kept pulling at my clothes and…I looked down and saw blood, “Is that mine?”

   “Yes, stay awake, okay? Danni is bringing her car over and we’re going to get you to Asylum.” I heard the deep throaty rumble of a V-8 and then Danni’s dark red Mustang pulled up next to the solar array…

 

   “Go, Danni! I’ll get the kids together and follow in the truck!”

   “Debra…”

   “Go! Now!”

   I was laying sort of prone, but not quite, in the front passenger seat, I coughed and felt my chin get wet, then I choked and when I tried to talk, gurgling noises came out. I managed to sit up a little and said, “Up, I need up.”

 

   “…Major Danni Monroe, I have my husband…clinic now! Open the gate!” Squealing tires and roaring engine.

 

   “…Horne, his eyes are open.”

   “They have been for a while, start putting drops in them so they don’t dry…”

 

   Roses, and Danni…Roses? Debra and Danni.

 

   My eyes wouldn’t open, they were stuck together, closed? I sighed, no, that sighing noise, that’s a ventilator, I remember the sound. Oh, no, not that damn beeping noise again! Shit! I hate that sound! I tried to talk, but nothing escaped what was in my mouth and throat, I gagged and my chest erupted in pain.

 

   Dreams, disjointed dreams and memories, what are dreams and what are memories? I woke to a cool wet cloth being pressed to my forehead.

   “I think Doctor Horne is getting ready to call it quits.” Pricilla Pringle.

   “I know, but somehow, it just doesn’t seem right.” Mary Cho.

   I felt a hand wrap around my fingers and squeeze them, I squeezed back. A gasp and then, “Pris! He squeezed my fingers!”

   “What?”

   “He squeezed my fingers!”

   “Mary, it was probably some sort of reflexive movement to physical stimuli, he…Oh, my God! Mary! Call Horne! Hurry!” I felt the fingers leave and the cool wet cloth began wiping my face, “Daniel? Can you hear me?”

   I nodded.

   “Are you in pain?”

   I shook my head and tried to open my eyes, but they were still stuck closed.

   “No, no, hold still; your eyelids are taped closed, just a moment!” I felt a tugging sensation as something was pulled off of my eyes and finally, I could open them. “There you are! Long time no see!”

   I frowned and then gagged again.

   “Easy, easy, let me do this,” she said as I felt her tugging at something in my nose and then the pressure in the back of my throat wasn’t so bad. “That was a feeding tube, we might have to put it back, but we’ll see.”

   Feeding tube? I frowned again.

   “You’ve been unconscious a long time Daniel, but things are looking up.” She turned away and checked an IV bottle next to me, “I’m going to get a fresh bag and I’ll be right back, okay?”

   I nodded again.

   She left the room and I tried to turn my head and look around, where the hell was I? Clinic, of course, but why?  Pris returned and hung a new bottle as Mary Cho hurried back in.

   “Doctor Horne is on his way and I called Captain Ortiz, she said she’d get word to Danni and Debra, they’ll be here soon.” She leaned over me and said, “There’s going to be some people very happy to see you, Daniel.”

   I tried to raise my hands, but once again, they were restrained.

   “Easy, Daniel, let me loosen those for you.” Mary did something to my wrists and then raised them and placed them on my abdomen. “Better?”

   Yeah, I nodded. I raised one hand and tried to touch the tube in my mouth, but there wasn’t anything there. Below my chin, where my collar bones met, there was a tube in my throat. I felt around it and then pantomimed pulling it out.

   Pris answered, “No, I’m sorry, not yet, not until Doctor Horne gives permission, but he’s coming, I promise.”

   I nodded again and closed my eyes.

 

   “I need to brush my teeth.”

   “What? What did you say?” Danni.

   “My teeth feel nasty, and I need a drink, well, maybe some ice chips?” I looked around and then centered on her face, “What happened?”

   “You don’t remember?”

   I shook my head and then explored where the tube in my throat had been, it was gone and had been replaced with a heavy bandage.

   “You were wounded by an assassination team, is there anything else you don’t remember?” I frowned and started to answer, but she said, “Oh. My, God, that was a stupid question, how could you remember if you forgot things you forgot?”

   I smiled, but when she leaned down to kiss me, I turned away.

   She straightened back up and asked, “Don’t you want me to kiss you?”

   I nodded and then said, “Yes, I do, but I need to brush my teeth.”

   “Oh, of course,” she hurried out of the room and I started searching for the control for the bed, but it was nowhere to be found. I then tried to sit up, but I was extremely weak and my body didn’t seem to want to do anything. Danni came back in with a glass of water, a toothbrush, and a stainless-steel basin. she reached down and pulled the bed control into view and started raising the head of the bed, “Tell me when you’re comfortable.”

   I looked her over as she raised the bed and was surprised, I actually started becoming aroused even as weak as I felt. She was in top physical form, her narrow waist and…narrow waist? “What happened!?” I asked.

   She stopped the bed and said, “What happened to what?”

   “The baby, what happened to the baby?! Are you okay? I mean you look great, but…”

   “I’m fine, the baby is fine, let’s get your teeth brushed and then I’ll explain, alright?” My arms got tired as I brushed my teeth, and I was so uncoordinated, I actually gagged myself with the toothbrush, what-the-hell? When I finished, she started slipping ice chips past my lips. “Daniel, you were unconscious for a long time, Debra and I thought…we were told…we’ve been waiting…”

   “For what?”

   Debra hurried into the room, but then stopped and stared at me before she began to cry as she stumbled to the side of the bed, leaned over and wrapped her arms around me, “Babe?”

   “I’m sorry it took so long for me to get here, I’ve been training…” She started crying harder.

   “Somebody want to tell me what’s going on?” I asked.

   Danni sat on the edge of the bed and said, “Daniel, everyone thought you were going to die.”

   “They did? Shouldn’t I be feeling worse if that was the case?”

   “I was seven months pregnant when you and Debbie got back from Kansas, your newest son is one month old, and I carried him full-term.”

   “Another boy?” I asked.

   She smiled and said, “Daniel Martin Monroe, he was kind of small; he’s healthy, but the poor little guy got stuck with my hair.”

   “Nothing wrong with that, so I was out of it for three months?”

   “Yes, we had Doctors from Holloman and Denver that came and tried to help, but I think they sort of gave up hope for you.”

   Debra sat up and wiped her eyes, “We should have known better, you’re a hard man to keep down.”

   Danni smiled and then reached out and placed her hand on Debra’s arm, “Show him, Sweetie.”

   “No, it’s too much for him, so soon after waking up.”

   “Show me what?” I asked.

   Danni giggled and said, “Debbie, there’s no such thing as too much good news.”

   Debra glanced at Danni, at me, and then stood up, unbuckled her belt, pulled down the front of her fatigue trousers and pulled up her shirt, there was a small mound where her previous six-pack abs had been.

   I smiled and said, “No way!”

   “Three months,” she said as she smiled. “Remember how mad you were when you couldn’t find your clothes in Kansas?”

   “Yeah.”

   She pointed to her belly with both index fingers and said, “There it is.”

   “One time without a condom, sorry, Babe.”

   She sat back down and said, “No, don’t be sorry, be happy for us, I am.”

   “So am I, but geez, half the kids in diapers, it’s going to be a full-time job changing and washing them. Speaking of which, anyone want to help me to the restroom?”

   Danni stood up and said, “I’ll get a wheelchair,” and started to walk out.

   “I don’t think I need it Danni, just give me a hand and I think I can make it.”

   Debra frowned, “Daniel, you’ve been out of it for months, I don’t think you should…”

   “God Damn it! Either help me up, or get someone in here willing to treat me like a fucking man!”

   Both of them went silent as I covered my mouth, I wasn’t angry, I was happy, why did I start shouting? “Uh, I’m sorry, I don’t know where that came from, I mean,” I stuttered to a halt, rolled to my side and stared at the wall, “I’m tired, I think I’m going to sleep for a while.” That was the last thing I remembered until I woke up again.

 

   Opening my eyes, I looked around the room, Debra was asleep on a cot beside the bed and Mary Cho was adjusting the O2 generator. She glanced at me and then looked again before she leaned down, “Hey, need some water?”

   “Please.” She reached to a rolling table and pulled it quietly to me. After she poured a cup half-full, she held it as I sipped.

   “How are you feeling? Any pain, discomfort, confusion?”

   “My chest feels tight and I’m having some difficulty breathing, not a lot, just, I don’t know. Some confusion I guess.”

   “That’s to be expected, Daniel.”

   “Maybe, I yelled at Debra and Danni, but I wasn’t mad, I mean when I was saying it…”

   “Daniel, that happens a lot with people recovering from a coma, their brain is still reconnecting and sometimes it connects in inappropriate ways. Do you remember what you said?”

   “I think so, but not very clearly.”

   “That’s actually good, some people say things and don’t even realize they did. You said your chest felt tight and it was a little hard to breathe?”

   I nodded.

   “After we got you originally stabilized, you kept developing pneumonia, and you had large amounts of fluid in the sac that contains your lungs, and around your heart, I’ll have Doctor Horne check you out in the morning, okay?”

   “I really need the restroom.”

   “I’ll take him, Mary,” Debra sat up and swung her feet down to the floor.

   “You should be resting,” I said.

   “I’m here for you, Danni has the kids tonight, I will tomorrow while she is here with you.”

   Mary said, “I’ll get a wheelchair.”

   “Wait, Mary,” then Debra looked at me. “Do you want to try walking while I help?”

   I nodded, “Please, the sooner I start getting stronger, the better.”

   “Uh,” Mary said dubiously. “Debbie, maybe…”

   Debra shook her head as she said, “No, he needs to try, it’s who he is.” She reached out with her hands and grasped my wrists, “Ready?” She asked.

   I nodded and pulled myself upwards as she braced herself, but I had to stop as my arms began to tremble from the exertion; God, I was so weak! “Pull,” I said. She did and I was able to sit fully upright. She moved down and took hold of my ankles.

   “Ready?” She asked and I nodded.

   She lifted my legs and swung them over the edge of the bed; my legs looked thin and emaciated. “Try and stand, Daniel, use me to hold on to.”

   “I can’t reach the floor.”

   “Try scooting forward, I’ve got you.”

   “I can’t, it’s almost like I’m paralyzed, am I paralyzed?”

   Mary rounded the bed and stood next to Debra, “No, Daniel, you’re not, you’re just very weak because you’ve been immobile so long, shall I get the wheel chair?”

   I sighed and softly said, “Yeah, okay, sorry to be such a burden.”

   “Don’t, Honey, you’re not a burden. You’re going to get stronger; you’ll see.”

   After Mary brought the wheelchair, they got me to the restroom and I took care of things, then they rolled me back. That was my life for the following three weeks. Danni and Debra brought the children to see me every few days and our friends dropped by often as well. I would start feeling better, my lungs would clear out, my breathing became easier and I would start doing light workouts lying in bed and then everything would rapidly go downhill. Congested lungs, fluid around my lungs, my heart would begin to struggle and I would sleep constantly.

   Julia Ortiz brought me my laptop, so I could have something to do besides stare at the walls and feel bad. That’s when I turned back to my journal and started writing again. I have always written in it, usually when I was really down, or very happy. Now? I think it’s sort of a testament, a testament to those I love. I always felt alone until I met John Cameron, then there was Debra and I finally began to feel like I was someone. Then my friends, then Danni, the children, my children, Stacey. I think I truly found myself in the arms of those that loved me. The ones who love me, they are who I am. Someday, I will end, but my memory will still be there, in the thoughts of those that love me. For that, I am grateful, I am at peace with who I am. I’ve been good enough.

   Enough is enough though, Danni will be here soon and she’s bringing the kids until Debra gets back from a training exercise, then we’ll all talk quietly until we are tired and go to sleep, maybe I’ll take a nap until she arrives.