The Forgiven The Fallen The Forsaken (22 page)

Helen’s mother,
Emiko, came running out as they were dropped off by the base shuttle.  She
hugged both of them and almost dragged them in the house, where she was half
finished making a light pasta dish for lunch.  When Julie asked what it was,
she said, “Pasta Surprise!”  When asked about the ingredients, she said, “I
don’t know.  Whatever happens to be available, because that’s the surprise.”   

It wasn’t delicious,
especially after months of eating Rita's masterful cooking, but the girls
weren’t about to complain.

Later that
evening, they were driven over to the Officer’s Club where they had dinner with
Jim, Susan, and Helen's parents.  Jim and Susan looked good, but tired. 
Helen’s dad had always been the type to be energized by a crisis, and looked
like he was truly in his element here. 

Helen hugged
her dad for a long time before introducing Julie.  General Whitman gave Julie a
hug too and whispered to her, “Thanks for keeping Helen safe.”

Dinner was
simple but delicious.  The conversation was cheerful.  Julie asked, “So are
there any perks to being the First Niece?” 

Susan answered
quickly, “Doing the dishes?”

“Knowing this
crew, I thought it would be something like that.”

After dinner
they moved to the bar for drinks.  Helen asked, “So where are we in terms of
the big plan?”

Whitman answered,
“Well, public enemy number one ceased to exist a few days ago.”  He held up his
glass in a toast, “May they rot in hell.” 

Jim said, “I’ll
drink to that!” and they all downed their glasses.

Whitman said, “We’re
making gains quickly across the country.  We are in control of most cities,
though there are a few that are a bit messy.  About half of the survivors are
the
forsaken
and the other half are the
forgiven
or
fallen
. 
Anyone with gang or prison tattoos is running for the southern borders or doing
their damnedest to keep their tattoos hidden.  We can’t afford a corrections
system right now, so anyone breaking major laws is just being shot on sight.”

Jim said, “I
don’t even want to think about the history books, but I have a job to get done
and I will do it, whatever it takes.”

Whitman asked,
“Would either of you be interested in the House or Senate?”

Both girls
said, “No!” at exactly the same time and Paul laughed.

Jim said, “You
would think that was funny, you sick bastard,” and Whitman laughed even harder.

Whitman continued,
“We have enough vaccinations for all of the military.  In another few days
we’ll have the entire remaining military vaccinated and moving in to take
control of the rest of the country.  Humanitarian missions have already
started.”

Helen said,
“Wow, you make it sound so easy.  What’s the catch?”

Jim answered,
“We’re essentially at war with the
fallen
and whatever is left of the
gangs and drug cartels and we have taken the war to them.  Those worms have
killed more Americans than I care to think about and now we’re systematically
killing them wherever we can find them.

“Cuba is now a
US territory and I’m not giving it back.  Soon it will be the same thing with
Mexico all the way down through Panama.  We’re going to be controlling a much
shorter border from here on out.    

“We’ve had
boatloads of vermin dropping into our port cities and making themselves at
home.  They fight all the harder knowing that they don’t have a home to go back
to.  We’re exterminating them city by city. 

“Right now,
everyone is being asked to do whatever they can do.  Those who can but won’t
are welcome to starve.” Julie sat there with her mouth open and Jim said, “You
asked about the catch.

“The bigger
game is that the nations that remain intact are now dividing up what’s left of
the world.  Japan and Korea are now close allies and are occupying China and
North Korea with our blessing.  There’s not a lot left of the Chinese
population. 

“India turned
Pakistan into a radioactive mess after the ISI slipped a nuke into Mumbai, so
at least we don’t have to deal with those assholes anymore, but the left over
radiation is going to be a problem for a long time to come.

“The EU has
made it clear to the Russians that EU countries are off limits, though Russia
doesn’t have the resources for adventurism anyway. 

“I’m not sure
that there are many Muslims left alive in Europe.  For better or worse, Islam
will be remembered always as the religion that almost destroyed humanity.  I’ve
issued an executive order classifying openly practicing Muslims as enemies of
the United States.  Those who don’t give up their practices are being stripped
of citizenship and deported.”

Julie said,
“Whoa, Uncle Stalin.  What happened to religious freedom?” Helen kicked her
under the table.

General Whitman
said, “Islam declared war on the rest of humanity.  Allowing them to denounce
their religion rather than just executing them is extremely progressive at the
moment." 

Jim softened
his voice and said, "Look, the problem isn't a belief in Allah, it's that
goddamn
jihad
that they keep coming back to.  It's hardwired into the
religion to the point that you can't have Muslims without
jihad. 
We've
had enough and we're not putting up with any more, ever.  They can do whatever
the hell they want in their own homes, but they're not going to practice or
promote Islam in public.”

Helen asked,
“What about other groups?  Other freedoms?”

Jim looked her
in the eyes and said gently, “With the exceptions of Muslims demanding to
practice their religion, anyone who is not being an impediment to the survival
of the country won’t have a problem.   Even the folks with gang tattoos are, in
practice, being given the opportunity to cover up and straighten up.  We’ve
left a lot of autonomy with the troops on the ground to target behavior.  Most
of them are being let go with directions to get their tattoos changed to
something that’s not blatantly gang affiliated.  Phoenix was the exception for
good reason. 

“Overall, the
goal has to be to return control of the country to the Federal government and
to restore elections.  The House and Senate are being filled with appointments
as we speak and special elections will be held within the year. 

“I’m going to have
to function as a de facto dictator for the moment and gradually let up as the
country is safe within reason and institutions are in place to return checks
and balances.  Once my term is up, I’ll have to deal with the consequences of
what I do now.  That’s the deal.

“In the
meantime, I’m going to save as many lives as possible by doing whatever I have
to do,” he laughed for a second, “even if it means getting dubbed,
Uncle
Stalin
, and much worse for a while.  For what it’s worth, you should know
that the liberal in me is flipping out at the prospect of some of what I have
done and still have to do, but if stomping on some toes gets me a functional
congress sooner, then I’m for it.   Fortunately it won’t be for more than a
couple of years.”

Julie said,
“I’m sorry Uncle Jim, I didn’t mean that.”

He smiled and
said, “Yes, you did, but it’s okay.”  He stood and walked around behind her,
putting his hands on her shoulders.  “I’m going to depend on a lot of people, especially
you, Helen, and Susan, to help remind me that the right path isn’t always the
most convenient.  I expect things will get murky before I’m able to turn this office
over to someone more qualified.”  He kissed the top of her head and said, “You
know, you’ve always been my favorite niece.”

“But Uncle Jim,
I’m you’re only niece.”

“Are you sure?”
He asked with a wink.  “Last I checked I thought we’d adopted about six.” They
all looked over at Helen and laughed.  “Who’s up for one more round before I
have to call it a night?” 

The rest of the
evening was much lighter, but Julie was happy to get as far away from that
awkward moment as she could.  Her shin still hurt where Helen had kicked her. 
Julie was relieved that she was staying with the Whitman’s that night.  

Before going to
bed, Helen apologized for having kicked her under the table.  “I just thought… 
I didn’t want to see you make…  I don't want to lose you.” 

Julie hugged
her and said, “It’s okay.  I was wrong and it was awkward.  You were right. 
But I get to kick you now when you’re wrong, okay?”

“Okay by me.” 
They were both crying now.

After a few
minutes of holding each other, Julie said, “Look, this is a conversation we
should finish at home, okay?”  Helen nodded.  “Now go to your own room before
your parents forbid any more sleepovers!”   

Helen laughed, hugged
Julie tightly, and kissed her on one side of her neck, saying, "I'm so
sorry."  She left, closing the door behind her.

Neither of them
slept well that night.

Helen’s parents
were both there for breakfast in the morning.  Julie thought it was great to
spend the time with them.  Any awkwardness from the night before was long forgotten. 
General Whitman asked if they could stay for a couple of days.  Helen told him
that they had to take passengers back to Flagstaff that afternoon. 

“I can assign a
pilot to cover that.”

“Dad, thanks,
but I have to do my part, too.  You’re the one who taught me that shortcuts are
always paid for later.”

“Just know that
I miss you and I’m so proud of you.”

“I know.  Thank
you, dad.” 

Before leaving
for work, he gave Julie a hug, too, and said, “You two keep looking out for
each other, okay?”  Julie kissed him on the cheek and hugged him back.

Their driver
was soon at the house.  Both the girls said goodbye to Helen’s mother and Helen
promised to return as soon as she could. 

The flight back
to Flagstaff was beautiful.  Helen flew over the Grand Canyon to the delight of
her passengers and was landing in Flagstaff before they knew it.  Once on the
ground, she turned her passengers loose to find their rides and refueled the
plane.  After doing a safety check, she and Julie were soon back in the air. A
few minutes later they were landing at the village runway. 

Helen parked
the plane next to her hanger and the two of them secured the wings and tail to
the eyelets in the cement that were there for that purpose. 

On the short
walk through the village they waved and chatted as briefly as possible with the
folks there, finally telling Frank and Rita that they had a lot of work to get
done and needed to start. They made a bee line for their fifth wheel.  Julie
dropped their bags by the sofa as Helen closed and locked the door behind
them. 

Once they settled
in Julie brought out a bottle of wine and said, “You know, your mom said to me
that as long as I understood that she expected grandkids from us she wouldn’t
have it any other way.”

“Mom said
that
?! 
Did you tell her that we’re not a couple?”

“I tried, but
she just laughed.”

“Uncle Jim and
Aunt Susan were hinting pretty hard, too.”

“What did they
say?”

“That they
loved both of us and were thrilled to have me as part of the family. That and
'Will you two get on with it already?'”

Julie’s
expression was perplexed.  "That sounds like Aunt Susan.  I was putting
things out of mind because I thought everyone would freak out."

Helen caressed
her face and kissed her. 

Julie asked “And
they didn't care about it one way or the other?”

Helen finished
her glass of Chianti, stood up, and said, “I need a shower.”  She walked toward
the bath room, looked back, and asked, “Are you coming?”

Julie downed
her own glass and followed. 

Later, Julie
asked, “How the hell did we manage to wait this long?” 

Helen answered,
“It was worth the wait.  I’m never leaving you.”

"I'll hold
you to that!"

They snuggled
and enjoyed the moment.  It was perfect.

Frank and Rita
had seen them heading to the RV earlier.  Rita said, “It’s about time.  I
didn’t think those two numbskulls would ever figure it out.”

Frank laughed. 
“Oh, to be young…”

“Who you
calling old?”

They both
laughed and went back to feeding the livestock.

LAS
VEGAS, NEVADA

JUNE 22
^nd

Jim was not
happy.  “What do you mean you can’t get Palo Verde running?” He paused,
listening to the engineer on the phone. “Well, keep at it.  We need some kind
of power system up and running for Phoenix as soon as possible.”  He hung up
the phone and said, "Damn!"

“Frustrating
day?” asked Susan. 

“There’s so
much to be done that I can influence, but can’t do much more than that.”

“At least you
don’t have congress blocking you yet.”

“Hopefully we
won’t see that kind of garbage again anytime soon.  At least we’re making
progress with the trains.  Thank God for Canada.”

“Canada?”

“The EMP didn’t
hit much of Canada at all.  They’ve been sending down parts and sometimes even
engines to help clear the tracks.  They are much better of an ally than we
probably deserve.

“We’re even
starting to get oil refineries back online, can you believe it?”

Susan answered,
“Now if we can just get the food produced and to the people who need it.”

His phone rang
again.  “Gotta’ go!  Love you,” he said kissing her.  He then answered the
phone as he walked out the door to go to work.

IDAHO

JUNE 25
^th

Luke and Jamie
were now an official driving team.  This trip the convoy was hauling working
generators, radios, TV’s, solar panels and satellite systems up to Idaho
farmers and would be hopefully be making the return trip with a full load of
produce.  They still travelled armed and in small convoys, but there hadn’t
been any hijacking attempts in this area so security was lighter than on some
of the other trips.