“If they’re not back by morning, we need to go after them,” Stephen said.
“DeVontay and Rachel can take care of themselves,” Franklin said.
“Under normal conditions.” Stephen tried not to make a smart-assed comment, because conditions hadn’t been anything close to normal for a long time. “But if the army’s on the move and these bird-things are flying around, that might mean the Zaps are stirred up.
“We can’t leave Marina alone with these assholes,” Franklin said.
They were in Rachel and DeVontay’s room, one of the few spaces not currently occupied by soldiers. Stephen felt a little uncomfortable being in here, considering what lengths they all went to in respecting one another’s privacy. The walls were bare except for a few scenic nature photographs torn from magazines and taped into place. On the rear wall, Rachel had painted a window frame and a view looking out on a sun-splashed meadow full of perpetually blooming daisies, black-eyed susans, and bright blue bachelor’s buttons.
A gun rack in the corner spoke to the reality of this cozy little love nest.
“You’re probably right,” Stephen said. “That captain looks at Kokona like she’s the spawn of the devil. I think he even hates her more than you do.”
“Hey, now,” Franklin said. “I don’t really trust her, but I’m not going to throw out the baby with the bathwater. When it comes down to it, Rachel loves that child, and I trust Rachel, so that’s that. Family first.”
“Then let’s go after our family. We can be in Stonewall by afternoon if we hurry. Better yet, maybe we can get the captain to send a military escort.”
Franklin rubbed his crusty beard, found something solid there, and pulled it out and inspected it. Stephen thought he was going to eat it for a second, but the man flicked it to the concrete floor. “Not a bad idea. That reduces the chance that he’ll do something crazy while we’re away. But I still don’t like leaving Marina behind. It kind of feels like we’d be surrendering the bunker.”
“So?” Stephen said. “I know we’ve worked our asses off to turn this into a home, but what do we have, really? A hole in the ground.”
“A place where you can sleep at night without creepy critters gnawing your eyeballs out in your sleep. That counts for a lot in this world.”
“We can all move back to your compound. You’ve had that many people there before, and so far you haven’t been gobbled up, either.”
Franklin looked at the painted window and the two-dimensional promise it offered. “I’m used to the peace and quiet.”
“We could chip in with the garden and the livestock. We could produce more than we eat, and you’d have an extra set of eyes to watch your back. Plus, it’s not on the map, unlike this place. The army would never know it existed.”
“That’s the other thing. You heard the man. The army’s mobilizing, at least what’s left of it. This might be the last stand of the human race. You really want to sit that out?”
Stephen occasionally debated Franklin about the possible tactics they could employ against the mutants, usually while playing chess. The theories were wild and wholly uninformed, since they really knew nothing about the enemy and how the Zaps might’ve mutated over the years.
What did their civilization look like now? What was their behavior? How many were there? What kinds of weapons would it take to defeat them?
In the end, those had been intellectual exercises about as useful to their lives as the outcome of their chess games—checkmating the opponent’s king brought a moment of satisfaction and pride, but you immediately set up the pieces for the next game.
“If you really think we have a chance—the human race, I mean—then we should just offer the bunker to support the cause,” Stephen said. “And we should enlist if they’ll let us. I mean, you’re probably too old to be any use—”
“You just shut that fresh little pie-hole there, you runt. I’ve got more scalps on my belt than you got hairs on your chest, so don’t be counting me out of the fun.”
Stephen grinned. One sure way to get Franklin to go back on his own principles was to challenge his manhood. “You sure you could handle taking orders from the government?”
“Oh, hell, you’re right. They’d probably store my name on a list somewhere in New Pentagon, so that when all this is over they’ll have a place to send the tax bill.”
“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that for a long, long time, old man,” Stephen said, relishing the idea more and more. There were uniforms in storage, although they’d mostly chosen to scavenge civilian clothes from the houses in the valleys below.
He pictured himself buttoned down and ramrod straight, a helmet on his head, maybe even some brass insignias on his chest. Marina might think he was hot.
But I can’t leave her behind. She’d have to join up, too. And where does that leave the others?
“I might even get a haircut,” Stephen said.
“If it gets a few inches off that shaggy, flea-ridden mop of yours, then that’s mission accomplished in itself.”
“I’m in,” Stephen said. “But I can’t make a final commitment until I discuss it with Rachel and DeVontay. Which means we have to find them.”
“All right,” Franklin said. “I’ll talk to the captain and see if he can spare a couple of men. Offer our support, make some plans, and do our part to make the world safe for democracy. Holy shit, I can’t believe I’m saying this.”
“One other thing,” Stephen said. “We need to cut a deal with him about Kokona. It’s weird enough to be declaring war on her people when we’ve been taking care of her all these years.”
“Yeah.” Franklin nodded thoughtfully. “Kinda like a bunch of white slave-owners signing the Declaration of Independence and then patting themselves on the back for being so noble.”
“Let’s win back the world first, and then we can worry about the paperwork.”
“Fine with me,” Franklin said. “You start packing, then get some sleep if you can find a bunk. I’ll deal with the captain.”
“Cool. Meet at the door at around six o’clock?”
“That’s oh-six-hundred to you, soldier. May as well start learning the lingo.”
Stephen snapped off a salute and they entered the hall. Stephen took a last look inside, and even its eight-by-ten perimeter seemed way too large without Rachel and DeVontay in it. He closed the door behind him, promising they would be sleeping here by this same time tomorrow.
Most of the doors were closed along the narrow hallway, although someone was clattering around in the mess area opening some pouches for a midnight snack. The telecom room was open, the flickering lights of the monitors spilling out onto the floor.
Then the light was interrupted by a silhouette. The captain rushed from the room and glanced toward the bunker’s entrance, then back at Franklin and Stephen.
“What’s wrong?” Franklin asked.
“Those parts on the desk,” Antonelli said. “From the bird. Did you take them?”
“Why would I do that?” Franklin asked.
“What about you?” Antonelli said to Stephen, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
Hmm, maybe I need to reconsider signing up under this clown.
“I don’t know nothing,” Stephen said.
“Well, they’re gone. All gone.”