After the Republic (4 page)

Outside, she quickly unloaded her cart into her dark gray Explorer.

“Looks like you’ve got a wad of cash in that there purse. Hand it over.”

Rebecca turned and came face-to-face with the same man in the blue denim jacket. His scraggly mullet appeared to have never encountered shampoo and his white t-shirt featured several prominent brown stains. His stench was more putrid than anything her cows had ever produced.

“I don’t want any trouble.” Rebecca smoothly slipped her hand into her purse and squeezed the grip on her Beretta, her index finger resting on the barrel. “Just go on your way.”

“GIVE ME YOUR MONEY, WOMAN!”

As Rebecca tightened her grip and started to draw her pistol, two tall, muscular men in their early twenties appeared from behind a van two spaces away. The first man removed his sunglasses and brushed his wavy blonde hair back. “Is there a problem here?”

“None of your business, punk. Get out of here.”

The second man, a clean-cut African-American, removed his red and white jacket and tossed it on the ground, revealing bulging biceps and an “N.C. State Football” t-shirt. He clenched his fist and took an imposing step toward the would-be robber. “Leave the lady alone.” The troublemaker took a half-step toward him before turning and walking away, cursing.

Rebecca exhaled and slipped her hand off of her pistol and out of her purse. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome, ma’am.” He picked up his jacket, the back of which was emblazoned with a strutting wolf. “We’ll stay here until you’re out of the parking lot.”

“Thank you so much,” Rebecca repeated, her voice still shaking. “Is there anything I can do for you? Do you need money for groceries?”

“No, ma’am,” the blonde football player answered. “We’re just glad to help.”

“Thank you again.” Rebecca locked the doors, fired up the Explorer and got out of the parking lot as quickly as possible.
I’m sure glad those guys showed up or that could’ve been a real mess. I should’ve brought Josh with me.

Joshua met her in the kitchen when she returned. “How was the store?”

Rebecca shuddered. “A madhouse. People are really freaked out. They’re buying up
everything
. There were even a couple of fistfights.”

Joshua shook his head. “That’s what I was afraid of. And it’s only going to get worse.”

Should I tell him I almost got robbed?
She wondered.
No, that’ll just give him one more thing to worry about.

***

Group Claims Responsibility
. The anchor expounded on the unsettling details behind the scrolling headline:
A terrorist group calling itself ‘AIS’ is claiming responsibility for yesterday’s attacks. The following is from a video the group posted online this morning.

“Who the heck is ‘AIS’?” Joshua wondered aloud. “Never heard of ‘em.”

The newscast cut away to the video clip, which featured a seated terrorist in a black robe and balaclava mask flanked by two men in similar attire brandishing machine guns. One of the men also had a large sword. A flag featuring bold blue, green and white horizontal stripes and red Arabic lettering underscored by a black sword hung behind them.

The seated terrorist’s voice was disguised.
AIS conducted the attacks against the American infidels yesterday. This was just the beginning. The United States has bombed our countries for too long. Now it is your turn to know what it feels like to be attacked in the night, where you thought you were safe.

Joshua leaned forward and clenched his fists. The terrorist continued:
Now you will know what it feels like to see your women and children suffer and die. We will destroy your cities. We will destroy your government. We will wipe you from the earth. We will own your land. Your country will burn like the depths of hell. The United States will be no more.

White-hot rage surged through every inch of Joshua’s being. He uttered a rare expletive.

The newscast broke away from terrorist leader and the anchor continued.
Ominous words. AIS is short for ‘American Islamic State.’ Sources tell us that this group gained inspiration from both Al Qaeda and ISIS. One intelligence analyst who wishes to remain anonymous describes AIS as a hybrid that has adopted the worst traits of both terror groups. Additionally, British intelligence sources tell us that AIS is methodical, organized and brutal, and that they are planning more attacks on American soil. The weapons used in yesterday’s attacks appear to have been suitcase nukes. No word yet on how they got the weapons into the U.S.

Joshua wondered if the anchor was quoting British intelligence because there were no American intelligence sources left to quote. He clenched his teeth as the newscast cut away to clips of young men burning American flags and holding up pictures of mushroom clouds in street celebrations in middle-eastern cities.

***

Reagan barked incessantly as Thomas’ white Suburban turned into the driveway. Thomas rang the doorbell, and then entered before Joshua or Rebecca could make it to the door. “How are y’all doing?”

Thomas was a tall man, just over six feet, and had short, light brown hair. His tan baseball cap had seen better days and he wore faded jeans and beat-up brown work boots. Joshua envied his laid-back approach to life.

Thomas handed Rebecca several BBQ sandwiches. “Leftovers.” A well-worn toothpick twisted between his teeth as he spoke.

Reagan continued growling until he realized Thomas had food with him. Rebecca poured three glasses of tea and everyone wolfed down their sandwiches.

After the meal Joshua looked at Rebecca. “This was excellent.
Nobody
cooks barbecue like Thomas.”

“Thanks, man.” Thomas chugged his tea. “Given how many fish I helped you put in that new pond a few months ago I’m sure it’s overcrowded. My fishing poles are in the Suburban. Let’s kill two birds with one stone and talk out there.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Joshua said. “Rebecca, we’ll be back in a bit.”

Outside, they grabbed their fishing poles and Thomas pulled a bait bucket and roll of papers out of his Suburban. Reagan followed them to benches near the edge of the pond as the sun faded into darkness.

After they dropped their baited hooks into the water Thomas unrolled a sheet of paper and handed Joshua a flashlight. The light illuminated a map of the Great Smoky Mountains in Western North Carolina, near the Tennessee border.

“Man, you know how I’ve always said I would like to move out to the mountains?” Thomas asked.

“Yes, but I was never sure if you were serious about it,” Joshua answered.

“Well, last year I started getting serious about it. You remember that land I sold back in 2007, right before the market tanked?”

“I think I remember you mentioning that.”

“Well, about a year and a half later, right after the market crashed, I used the money from that sale to buy about 300 acres of mostly wooded land here, near Fontana Lake and the Little Tennessee River.” Thomas used his index finger to circle an area on the map. “It was a foreclosure, so I got a good deal. Paid less than what I got for the land I sold. We’ve just been sitting on it waiting for the right time to do something with it. Last year I started working on plans to live on part of the land and sell or develop the rest. The plan was for this to be our retirement.”

Thomas used his toothpick to point out several different areas on the map. “Kim and I are planning to keep this section for us and the kids. It’s out of the way and secluded, just like we like it. And this is where we had plans to sell a few lots and maybe build some houses. It’s a bit closer to the road, but still out of the way and can’t be seen from the passing vehicles. It’s fairly remote and the terrain is pretty rugged. Would be a good spot for y’all to get away from all the craziness.”

“That sounds great, but I don’t expect you to just
give
this to us.”

“Man, don’t worry about it. It’ll all work out.”

“
I’m serious.
Everyone who uses a piece of your land should compensate you somehow.”

“Man, I’m sure everyone will chip in.” Thomas rolled the toothpick between his teeth.

“I’m not going to assume that. Everyone we invite to come
will
have a clear understanding that they are going to somehow compensate you for the use of your land.”

“You really think all of that’s necessary?”

“I’m not going to let it happen any other way,” Joshua insisted. “I do have a few other questions, though. First, I’m assuming there are no houses on any of this property, no infrastructure, no power, and so forth?”

“Not exactly. My cabin is pretty much ready, and I’ve had enough interest that I already built two cabins to use as spec houses. I’ve also cleared several lots, and my equipment is still there. I’ve run electricity to all of the spots where I was planning to sell lots. And I’ve got some guys up there drilling wells and putting in septic tanks today and tomorrow.”

“Wow. I had no idea you had all of this going on.”

“Man, you know I keep things pretty close to the vest.” Thomas grinned. “So what do ya think?”

“I think it sounds good,” Joshua answered.

“I do have one rule I will enforce though.” Thomas leaned forward, taking the toothpick out of his mouth and gripping it tightly between his fingers.

“What is it?”

“One of those two cabins is for you and Rebecca.”

“You don’t need to--”

Thomas waved his hand. “It ain’t negotiable, buddy. You’re going out of your way to help all of the folks you’re bringing with you. If y’all are going to stay on my land, one of these cabins is yours. And don’t try to change my mind.
It ain’t changing.”

“If you insist.”

“Good. Done deal.”

“What are you doing tomorrow night?” Joshua asked. “You need to meet some folks I’ve got coming over to talk about our plans.”

“Thanks, man, but I can’t make it tomorrow. Me and Kim are headed to the mountains in the morning to take a load of stuff. If you think they’re good people I’m sure they are.”

“I still think you need to meet them. How about Friday?”

“Friday is good. What time?”

“5:00?”

“All right, man.” As Thomas nodded his float disappeared beneath the surface of the water. He frowned as he removed the catfish from his hook and threw it back. “Let’s let him get a little bigger.”

“Another question,” Joshua added. “If we all show up at one time there will only be room for so many people in the cabins. Some of the folks we’ll bring along have campers and RVs. Will those work?”

“Man, we can make ‘em work.”

Thomas was a talker who was known for making a short story long. The pitch-black sky was dotted with innumerable stars, and the Big Dipper was clearly visible between several wispy clouds. Joshua felt the temperature dropping as their conversation veered off into a wide range of less-serious topics. Several hours later Thomas’ phone rang. “I bet that’s Kim wondering where I’m at.”

Thomas hung up the phone and they pulled their lines out of the water. Joshua nudged Reagan, asleep on the ground near the end of the bench, and they returned to the house.

***

The next afternoon Joshua sat down on the couch, leaned back and closed his eyes, hoping for a few restful moments after a long day of preparation. The gravity of the situation weighed on him like an anchor around his neck. He was jarred out of his brief moment of peace when Reagan started barking and ran to the window. Joshua let out a frustrated sigh as he spotted Drew’s Corvette coming down the driveway.
So much for a few minutes of peace and quiet,
he thought.

“Drew’s here.” Joshua looked at his watch. “Quarter till five. Always on time, if not early.”

“Sometimes he seems a bit
too
eager,” Rebecca said.

Drew had barely gotten out of his car when his phone rang. “Sorry, but I need to take this.” He walked away from the house, immediately diving into a deep conversation.

“Always busy, too,” Rebecca said quietly, but loud enough that Joshua could hear. “Or at least trying to
look
busy.”

“Give him a chance, Becca. He’s a good kid, but he’s young.”

Rebecca shook her head. “A bit too ambitious for my taste.”

“You didn’t know me then, but I wasn’t so different when I was his age.” Joshua had been 37 when he married Rebecca and they had recently celebrated their eighth anniversary.

“Well it’s a good thing you grew up
before
I met you or both of our lives might be different today. Just keep an eye on him.”

Joshua heaved a heavy sigh. Reagan started barking again as the Edwards’ Ram pickup made its way down the driveway.

“Good to see you guys.” Rebecca invited them in. “You didn’t bring Charlie and Allie?”

“No,” Caroline answered. “My parents are watching them tonight so that we can focus on what we need to discuss. They’re going out for pizza in downtown Raleigh.”