Authors: Steven Konkoly
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Science Fiction & Fantasy, #Science Fiction, #Dystopian, #Post-Apocalyptic
“Alex, I don’t expect—”
“Seriously, Sean. I think this is my new mantra. Let it go.”
“Is your son feeling all right?” Grady asked Alex’s dad.
“That’s the first logical thing he’s said since the fall, so I’d say he’s doing just fine,” said Tim, patting Alex on the back. “I’ll head on down to the convoy to see what’s in those armored trucks. If you can even fit anything in there. In my day—”
“We know. Marines walked everywhere, with twice the gear and no body armor,” said Alex.
“You see that, Colonel? No respect for his elders,” said Tim, shrugging his shoulders, and they all had a good laugh.
“We’ll be right there, Dad,” said Alex.
“Take your time,” said Tim, heading down the road toward the armored vehicles.
“Grab a cup of coffee? Fresh brewed with a new batch of grinds,” said Alex. “Looks nice enough to sit out on the deck.
“I’ll take you up on that,” said Grady. “But I need to push off in about fifteen minutes. I’m headed up over to Searsport next. I need to collect some personal gear.”
“How many did Staff Sergeant Taylor lose?” asked Alex, aware that a fierce battle had been fought over the terminal the first night of the military coup.
“Five. The National Guard garrison took the brunt of the casualties. Eighteen out of the forty-two soldiers assigned to guard the terminal. They threw at least fifty Homeland mercs against the facility, supported by heavy weapons and several up-armored Humvees. Hit the place hard.”
“Jesus. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“They fought all night. We couldn’t use the helicopters because the mercs breached the northern gate and took up positions near the fuel farm. We ferried half of the Sanford-based Ranger company up to Searsport to conduct a predawn attack. Finally cleared them out,” Grady told him.
“What about the rest of the state? We heard some explosions. Sounded like they came from Waterville.”
“A National Guard garrison was attacked on the outskirts of the city, but the same helicopters that brought you home managed to intercede. Homeland spread the battalion too thin. Searsport was the biggest attack, outside of the coordinated raid on the governor’s mansion and state government in Augusta. Colonel Martin’s Stryker battalion met them in force outside of the state capital. There wasn’t much left of the Homeland force after that. We hit them all over the state with Medina’s intelligence.”
“And how is our former RRZ administrator?”
“Helping us keep the peace. Homeland doesn’t want word spreading about this. As far as we know, it’s been swept under the rug,” said Grady. “They barely have the support of the military at this point. A few of the RRZs have been torn apart by these mercenary battalions, right under the noses of some very disgruntled and confused military commanders. The New England RRZ has a chance of surviving now, which is more important to D.C. right now than a petty control battle between two bureaucrats,” said Grady.
“You’re not a big fan of Dague or Medina?”
“What choice do we have?” said Grady. “The military can’t be put in charge. The last vestige of trust in the government would be eradicated if the military took over. Those two will figure it out. They don’t have a choice at this point.”
Alex showed Grady to the kitchen, where Kate was pouring an extra mug of coffee.
“Kate, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” Grady said. “Feel free to slap me as many times as you’d like.”
Kate eyed him warily, shaking her head. “A slap? I’ve been practicing a frontal kick, aimed low, for the past few days.”
“Point taken,” he said, looking to Alex.
“Don’t look at me,” said Alex.
She handed Grady the mug she just poured, the Marine hesitant to take her offer.
“I’ve decided it would be in nobody’s best interest to assault you—today,” she said. “Plus it sounds like my husband has found it in his heart to forgive you.”
“I’m truly sorry,” he said.
“I know,” Kate said, her face softening. “I live with a man who still wakes up in a cold sweat, blaming himself for every Marine killed or injured under his command. I know it’s not something you take lightly, and that it stays with you forever. But my son and husband are not part of your battalion. You had no right to send them up their without the full picture.”
Grady swallowed hard.
“Never again,” she said, pointing at him.
“Never again,” Grady agreed.
“All right. I’ll let the two of you catch up. I hear you brought four trucks with you?” she said, trying to smile.
“It’s the least I could do to thank everyone,” said Grady. “In addition to enough food to last your whole crew at least two years, we grabbed some gear from the Limerick compound. Solar panels, the whole system, along with the batteries, ham radio, personal effects. Nobody has gone near the place since we left.”
Kate’s eyes watered, her stern look melting.
“Thank you, Sean,” she said, having trouble forming the words. “You don’t know what this means to us.”
“I should have brought this up to you a lot earlier,” said Grady.
“It means a lot. We’re truly grateful for everything you’ve done. We wouldn’t be having this conversation if you hadn’t helped Alex in Boston,” she said.
“Friends help friends,” said Sean.
“Then I should be glad some things haven’t changed,” she said, extending her hand. “Square?”
“Unless you need something,” said Grady, shaking her hand. “I mean it. It’ll be easier for us to get around the state now.”
“I’d give you a hug, but I’m done hugging rifle magazines and body armor. I’ll let the two of you catch up,” she said.
“See you in a few minutes,” said Alex, giving her a kiss.
Alex and Grady stepped onto the deck, basking in the warmth.
“Not a bad place up here,” said Grady. “Now I can see why they call Maine vacationland. I never understood why people flocked to the southern coast. Same with Cape Cod. The last thing I want to deal with on vacation are crowds of people. This is nice.”
“I never understood why people wanted to vacation in the summer. I know the kids are out of school, but for shit’s sake, why go from one warm place to another?”
“I never understood ski vacations either,” said Grady.
“Don’t even get me started. Going from cold to cold makes no sense either,” Alex replied.
“I wonder how long it will be before any of us takes a
vacation
again,” said Grady.
“I was on my way to warmer climates, maybe Europe, until my boat was taken by the state,” said Alex.
“You don’t want to go to Europe,” Grady said gravely. “Things are falling apart quickly. The Russians have swept through half of their former satellite states, stopping at the Polish and Romanian borders. There’s nothing in place to stop them if they want to drive further.”
“I was thinking Argentina or Brazil,” said Alex.
“Not a bad idea, though it’s only a matter of time before the economic ripple effect starts to tear things apart down there. Mexico is essentially a no-man’s-land, along with most of Central America. The Caribbean islands are folding one by one as the supplies from South America slow.”
“Sounds like you’re trying to sell me on staying in the U.S.”
“Frankly, it’s starting to look more and more like the best bet,” said Grady.
“I was hoping to subsist on more than MREs and B-rations for the rest of my life,” said Alex.
“I was going to surprise you on the walk back, but I might as well break the news over the best cup of coffee I’ve had since last August. Harrison Campbell gave me a small cooler filled with heirloom seeds. Said he thought your garden might need a boost. Sounds like he was right,” said Grady.
“He really did that?”
“He was adamant about it,” said Grady. “Made me wait while he put it together.”
“The RRZ relocation thing was bullshit, right? You still went out to visit him?”
“Medina did plan on moving the RRZ once the state government was neutralized. I knew that wasn’t going to happen, but I promised you I’d talk to Harrison. He was touched by your generosity, and very happy to learn that the RRZ security zone wasn’t moving north.”
“I bet he was,” said Alex.
“Well, I better get moving,” said Grady. “I’ll leave one MTVR, with a squad of volunteers to help you dig up the garden beds. Harrison led me to believe that you might need some help with that as well.”
“Harrison must have been worried all winter about us,” said Alex, leading him into the house.
“We were all worried about you. Like it or not, you’re somewhat of a celebrity back at the MOB. Even more so now. I’d never say this around Kate, but if you’re interested in a job with the RRZ, I’ll make it happen. Just say the word,” said Grady.
“I think I’m done with all of that, Sean,” said Alex. “I just want to start over and enjoy what I still have.”
“I don’t blame you, Alex,” said Grady, cracking a smile. “You have more than most up here. “If you change your mind, you know how to get in touch.”
Alex swiped the ROTAC from the kitchen table on the way past, stopping to hand it to Grady.
“I’ll drive down and let you know personally,” said Alex. “Maybe after everything settles.”
Grady accepted the ROTAC, nodding. “Hopefully, I’ll be back with my family by then.”
“I’ll drink to that,” said Alex, clinking Grady’s coffee mug.
The End
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Table of Contents
PART I “BIG PICTURE” Winter 2019-2020