“Yes, ma’am?”
“I don’t mean to be impolite, but how would my family be treated?” she asked. “We’re not exactly American citizens.”
“The status of your citizenship is not an issue,” Sheila quickly said. “You are all welcome to join us.”
“Will we be required to disarm?” I asked.
“Yes and no. There are certain areas in which firearms are not permitted. All personnel who want to be armed while inside the compound must be able to pass a safety and qualification course.”
“I bet they have a rear-echelon hump for a safety officer,” Justin quipped under his breath. True grunted in agreement. Seth chuckled.
“I happen to be that safety officer. I’m also the OIC of the armory.”
“Sounds like you’re wearing a lot of hats, sir,” Rachel remarked.
“Too many,” he replied in agreement.
“How many military personnel you got?” Sarah asked.
“Not nearly enough, ma’am,” Seth replied. “Approximately forty of various ranks and services. There is a group of Marines, two squads, who are currently being supervised by a Navy ensign. Those jarheads don’t like it too much, maybe a Marine lieutenant would be a better fit.” I could see Justin liked the sound of it. That captain would have been an excellent used car salesman. Earl, who had been mostly quiet, stood.
“I took a look at your greenhouse and gardens, they are very impressive. There is plenty of farmland available around the compound. In addition, we have greenhouses and an active livestock operation. If farming is your gig, we have the land and the equipment to help you out. Also, we have a water treatment facility on premises and our power grid is hardwired directly to a nearby hydroelectric dam.”
“What about single women?” Jorge suddenly asked. There were more than a few guffaws directed at him. He grinned sheepishly.
“There are a number of single people, both male and female,” Earl replied, to which his wife arched an eyebrow at him.
I had to admit to myself, all of it sounded impressive. My thoughts drifted as Raymond took over answering questions. His oratory was impressive and he was doing a good job of luring everyone in. When the questions had lulled, he held up his hand.
“As I’ve been standing here answering questions, it occurred to me that it may sound like I’m painting a mighty rosy picture, which wouldn’t be entirely accurate. Our situation is tough and we’ve had set backs.
“A typical workday is long; you can expect some days to be twelve hours or more. You’ll be expected to work and be a contributing member to our burgeoning society, but in our opinion it’s totally worth it.”
When the questions had finally stopped, Raymond paused long enough to drink a glass of water before speaking again.
“I’m sure you people will want to discuss this in private. I’ve taken the liberty of clearing it with Tonya and we’re going to bed down in that nearby church for the night so that you can talk freely amongst yourselves.”
Justin and Ruth volunteered to take them to the church and get them settled in. One of the tables was under a shade tree and I motioned toward it.
“It’s hot in there,” Kelly remarked.
“Not much better out here,” Janet quipped. We were in the shade and there was a gentle breeze, but they were right, it was still hot and humid. In other words, a typical July in Tennessee.
“We have a month or two more of hot weather before it starts cooling down,” I said. Kelly and Janet nodded in agreement. True ambled up while we watched the kids playing with the dogs. Macie stopped what she was doing and looked up at him in wonder. True responded with a small smile.
“She don’t see many black men, does she?”
“Just you and Mike,” I said. “What’s on your mind?”
“I’d like to know what you think about all of this.”
“They make some valid points.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I want what’s best for my family, but I’m also suspicious.”
“Of?”
“The government. There’s a lot of politicians up there. Now, keep in mind, I’ve had limited exposure to politicians during my lifetime, but I’ve read a lot of history books.”
“So, what do them books tell you?” True asked.
“They tell me that throughout history politicians have always had a peculiar mindset of what’s best for the people.”
“Yeah, that usually means what’s best for them,” True said. I nodded in agreement.
“What if you didn’t have a family? What would you do?” he asked, to which I scoffed.
“That’s a no-brainer.”
“But, what would you do?” he pressed. “Would you stick around here?”
“Good question.” I thought for a minute. “Do you mean like, if I had nobody else?” True nodded. I shrugged. “I suppose I’d stay right where I am.”
“You’ve never wanted to get out? See the country?” In fact, I had. I’d never been outside of Tennessee and I’d often wondered what the rest of the world looked like, especially now.
“Yeah, sure, I suppose. But, it’d be dangerous doing something like that by yourself. I’m sure when you were by yourself you had some hairy moments.” True looked at me, but he had the best poker face of anyone I knew, with the possible exception of Fred.
“Why do you ask?” At about that time, Brandon walked up.
“Mind if I join you guys?” I gestured toward a chair.
“Did you tell him?” Brandon asked True.
“I was just gettin’ at it.”
“Tell him what?” Kelly asked. Brandon glanced at True again, leaned forward and spoke quietly.
“Myself, True, and Mann have been talking about heading out on our own,” he said.
“Why?” Kelly asked.
“We’re done with the military,” Brandon replied. “If we go up there, we’ll be expected to be a part of the rank and file.”
“And that means a life of taking orders,” True said.
“Why don’t you want to stay here?” Kelly asked again. True shook his head slowly.
“I don’t think this place is for me,” he said. “I don’t much like it here. Tonya has a thing for telling people what to do too.”
“Yeah,” Brandon agreed. “We’ve been talking ever since the rendezvous.” He nodded at True. “We think alike. We know we can count on each other,” Brandon said and the two men exchanged a fist bump.
True said. “Mann too,” True said. He then gestured toward Kelly. “I’m thinking if you didn’t have her and the kids, you’d probably be wanting to go with us instead of hanging around here.” Yeah, I had to admit, I probably would’ve.
“We’ve decided we don’t need other people giving us orders all the time, deciding what’s right for us and what’s not,” Brandon continued. “We know what’s best for us.”
“We ain’t like those idiot brothers.” They exchanged another fist bump. I smiled and nodded in understanding.
“Sounds like you men have already decided,” I responded. “When are you leaving?” True glanced at Brandon.
“We’re getting things ready right now,” Brandon answered.
“And we don’t want anyone else to know what we’re going to do until then,” True said. I understood all too well their reasoning. Kelly started to ask why, but I nudged her.
“They have their reasons,” I said. “The military officers may cause a stink if three enlisted men decide to end their military obligations.”
“Yep,” True said. “I don’t want to kill anyone, but I ain’t taking orders from nobody anymore.”
“If any of them try to pull rank, even Smitty, it could get ugly,” Brandon said. “We’d rather just avoid that possible scenario.”
“I see your point.” I looked the two men over.
“I believe I see why you two have told us this. You want us to help facilitate it.” Brandon smiled hopefully as he nodded. Now that I was in on the conspiracy, I subconsciously lowered my voice.
“Which vehicle are you wanting to take?”
“Not sure, but we were thinking of appropriating one of those Humvees,” Brandon said.
“Hmm, that might cause a stink. Do you know anything about diesel engines and how they can run on used cooking oil?” Brandon nodded.
“A little bit,” he said.
“Alright,” I said and sat there with my notepad, jotting a few things in an effort to aid my thoughts.
“This is going to be a covert ops type of mission,” I muttered to myself. Brandon and True exchanged glances.
“Have you an idea of how much you’re going to carry with you?” I asked. They exchanged glances again.
“As much as three men can cram into a Humvee.” I shook my head.
“No, taking a Humvee could cause problems. I got a better idea.”
“You do?” True asked
“Of course I do,” I answered. “That’s why you came to me, right?” Brandon grinned openly. True’s mouth stretched a little bit. Our conversation was interrupted by Justin walking over.
“You guys look like you’re discussing a major conspiracy,” he said jokingly. Both men tensed up.
“You know that big dually truck parked at the house?” I asked him.
“Yeah, that was your friend’s truck, wasn’t it?”
“It was,” I answered. “The guys here are going to use it for the trip. We were just discussing what their loadout should be.” Justin looked at me seriously. I thought he detected my deception, but instead he snapped his fingers.
“You know what’d go on that truck? A camper shell. Back when we went to that Volvo dealership, I saw one lying in the back lot. It’d fit perfectly.” I gazed at him steadily.
“That’s an awesome idea,” I said. “Right, guys?” Brandon sputtered out his agreement.
All of us talked well past sundown. After all, this was a big event in our quaint little community, at least as big as the rendezvous, which everyone was still talking about. For every question, another ten questions germinated, and for every what-if scenario there was a counter scenario. And discussions. And, discussions led to arguments. It was exhausting. I remained mostly quiet, only answering a question that was asked directly to me. Ruth worked her way over to where I was sitting and nudged me.
“You haven’t said much.”
“Yeah, I guess I’m a little tired.” It was a vague answer, but I didn’t want to get involved in any debate on the pros and cons. I already knew what I was going to do.
“Are you two going?” I asked when Justin joined us.
“Yeah, we’re going,” Justin replied. “It’s a no-brainer, really. I’m just a Marine; I don’t know any other kind of life.”
“Besides, he wants the best for his child,” Ruth added. We all looked at her in surprise. She gave a bashful but radiant smile.
“Does this mean what I think it means?” Kelly asked. Ruth nodded. Kelly squealed with delight, jumped up and hugged her.
“Well, congratulations,” I said to Justin. Justin tried to look nonchalant, but his face turned red as he nodded his thanks.
“Wow, the big tough Marine is blushing,” Kelly said teasingly. Ruth reached out and squeezed his hand as the others started congratulating them.
“Who else is going?” Kelly asked. Sarah spoke up.
“We’re going to go as well,” Sarah said. Rachel nodded in agreement. “Has anyone else committed?” she asked.
“I’m going wherever my grandbabies are going,” Janet declared. I nodded in understanding. I personally was happy with her devotion. Her behavior toward everyone else left a lot to be desired, but she certainly looked after Frederick and Macie.
“I’m pretty sure the sisters and brothers are going,” Kelly said as she glanced over at them. They were huddled together on the far side of the cafeteria talking about who knew what. Tonya was chatting with her group of people and had not committed one way or another.
“What about you, True?” Ruth asked. His poker face didn’t give anything away.
“Yeah,” he answered. They took that as a commitment.
“Brandon and Blake are with True,” I added, hoping to keep them from asking any direct questions.
“That’s good,” Justin said. “The more soldiers we have, the better.” Thankfully, the subject was changed when Marc and Ward walked over.
“We’re going to go get the delegates and invite them to spend the night here,” Marc said.
“We don’t want them to feel ostracized,” Ward added. Justin stood.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’ve got more questions of them anyway. I’ll go with you guys.” I looked over at True.
“Why don’t you ride back with us and pick up the truck?” He nodded and stood.
We left shortly after and everyone was home in bed an hour later.
“I’m tired,” I said as I pulled a sheet over us. It was still too warm for a blanket. “All of that talking wore me out.”
“Why aren’t we going?” Kelly asked tiredly.
“What makes you think that?” I asked. Kelly scoffed.
“Zach, please. I know you better than anyone.” Yeah, I suppose she did at that.
“So, are you going to tell me why?”
“I just don’t think it’s the right move for us,” I answered simply. Kelly was quiet. I half expected an argument, but remembered that was how Julie would respond. Kelly always gave me the silent treatment when she disagreed with me. It was a brilliant tactic, very hard to counter.
“So, what are your thoughts on all of this?” I finally asked. Kelly mumbled something and snuggled closer to me.
“What was that?” I asked.
“I think we should go,” she mumbled sleepily. I asked her why, but she’d already fallen asleep. I had at least fifty reasons for not going that I wanted to tell her, but I guess it was going to have to wait.
Sarah and Rachel joined us for breakfast and the conversation picked up where we left off last night. Everyone had an opinion over the pros and cons of staying or relocating. Even Janet voiced her opinions, most of them negative. As the conversation continued, I sat with Macie on my lap. She was unusually quiet this morning and wouldn’t stop staring at me with her big blue eyes.
“You’ve been awfully quiet, Zach,” Sarah said during a lull in the conversation. I took a deep breath. May as well let them know.
“I could give a big long speech, but the bottom line is we’re staying.” Kelly looked at me in a mostly neutral expression, but I could see a tiny sliver of disappointment peeking out. She picked up our plates and put them in the sink before quietly walking outside.
The silent treatment. There were no books or military manuals that discussed how to deal with it. Rick sure didn’t know, and if Fred did, he didn’t share his wisdom on the subject. After a few minutes, I excused myself and went outside. I found her sitting in one of the swings we’d recently erected for the kids and sat in the one beside her.
“I’m sorry, I know you want to go, but I don’t see it the same way as you.” I gestured toward the field where some cows were contentedly grazing. “I like it here. In spite of the setbacks we’ve had, we’ve made a good home for ourselves.”
“But what about all of the things they can offer us?”
“Sure, they can offer things that aren’t currently available to us, but is the grass really greener up there in Virginia?” I paused, searching for the words.
“I’m not sure what to say. Everyone else may decide to pack up and go. If that happens, I’d totally understand if you went with them. Of course, that’ll mean I’ll be stuck with Janet.” Kelly gave me a look.
“You know I’m staying with you, no matter what.” She held up her hand showing the ring. “It’s hell being married to a shithead.” I laughed, even though the joke was at my expense.
“If you consider us married, I guess I need to start acting like a dutiful husband.” We held hands and watched the morning come to life.
“It’s going to be a hot one today,” Kelly remarked as we watched the morning dew being converted to shimmering vapors.
“Let’s go to the school and give them the news. Then we’ll go horseback riding, just the two of us. Janet won’t mind babysitting.”
“We can fix up a picnic basket and eat lunch under the oak tree,” Kelly suggested. I thought of the last time we did that and reminded myself to bring along some mosquito repellent.
“Yeah, that sounds wonderful.”
I waited until Sarah and Rachel rode off, insisting Sammy ride with them. After they passed through the gate, I turned to Janet.
“Just in case they don’t take the news well and there is a plan-B which includes using force, I want you to load the kids up in the van and disappear for a little while.”
“You think they may try something?” she asked.
“I don’t think so, but I don’t want to take any chances.” Janet agreed without argument. She insisted on not one, but two assault rifles and as much ammo as I would give her, which actually seemed prudent. I handed her a map.
“You’ll be in radio range if you stay in this area,” I said as I pointed. “Once we give them the news and get out of their sight, I’ll give you a call.” She nodded and I looked at my watch.
“Okay, it’s zer0-eight-hundred. We’re going to ride over there, tell them of our decision, and leave. It shouldn’t take over an hour. Remember the duress password?” She nodded in irritation.
“And if everything is good on your end, you’re going to use the word fireworks when you call.”
“Got it. Zach, be careful of Smithson,” Janet warned.
“Why’s that?”
“I know you two have become friends, but back at the CDC a couple of idiots said some rude things toward Ruth. He gave them both a pretty vicious beating.”
“Okay, good to know. We’ll see you in an hour.”
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to go on that horseback ride.