“This is our home, Mac.”
“And that army’s pure fucking evil, Del. I’m sorry—I am. We’ll help you out for the next three or four hours, but we’ll need to leave at that point.”
“So, Mac, he’s after you guys?”
“Yep.”
“So you brought ’em here?”
“Yeah, Del, I did. And I’m real sorry about that, but it wasn’t intentional. Next year—or maybe the year after—they woulda came here anyway. Or somebody else woulda knocked on your gate with hundreds of men. And, if we would have avoided this town, you wouldn’t have had any warning about them.”
“Thanks, Mac. I sure appreciate your warning.”
“Screw that, Del—I don’t have time for sarcasm.”
Del Re checked his anger. He sensed the effort that Connor was making to convey the situational status.
“Okay, Mac. I’m sorry. You’re right, we should clear out. It’d be nice to stay and defend this place, though. It’s our home.”
“That might sound good on paper, but it’s better to walk away and avoid this fight to live for another day.”
“Why they coming for you, Mac?”
“We pissed ’em off in Cleveland. You see, they were trying to kidnap the president and steal her helicopter.”
“Really?” asked Del.
“Yeah. In fact, we had a certain women with us and Phoenix was probably trying to kidnap her, too,” interjected Captain Daubney. A fury crept into his voice when recalling the surprise attack.
“So, we definitely still have a president?” asked Del.
“Yes, we do. Her name is Colonel Hannah Starkes,” chimed in Captain Daubney.
“I see.” Del Re took the information at face value. Nodding to himself, he came to a decision. He went to the door and opened it, stepping onto the porch. With a quick hand motion, he waved Josh and Russ onto the porch. When they were within hearing range, he yelled.
“Josh, bring Matty back here, pronto! He’s over at Dr. Reilly’s”
“Yes, sir!” said Josh, turning quickly toward Dr. Reilly’s quarters.
“Russ, find Tina for me! She’s over at the bakery probably talking to Big Momma.”
“Yes, sir, right away.”
Commander Del Re reentered the command post and approached the three men. “Give me a few minutes, Connor. I need Matty and Tina.”
“Sure thing, Del.”
“In the meantime, where’s this president now? Why’s she not with you? What’s the deal?”
“We’re set to rendezvous with her shortly.”
“Where?”
“At an undisclosed location, Del,” said Connor. His soft tone suggested he was not simply giving the commander a hard time, but rather, was hesitant to provide him any more specifics.
The commander stared at him hard for a few seconds. “I see.”
“Del…”
The commander raised his hand while shaking his head. “No, I understand. You’re protecting your men and the president. You don’t think we can pull it off and I might be captured and relay the info.”
“Del, I would—”
“No. You’re right. But, obviously it’s south of here, probably Uniontown. Probably the high school.”
Matty, the commander’s second in command, came in the door in a rush. “Sir? Dr. Reilly will be here shortly. What’s going on?”
The commander filled him in on the hostile army coming their way and the timeframe involved. He outlined the town’s response; as he finished, Tina entered.
She was concerned. “Honey? Del?”
“Hold on a sec, sweetie.” The commander turned to his second in command. “Matty, see to it that people are moving to leave this place like a ghost town. Make sure everyone knows how time sensitive this evac is. Got it?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll start right away.”
“You’re in charge of all the gold, silver, and other tradeables. You’ll handle that, right?”
“Of course.”
“Good. Make sure Big Mama takes her yeast cultures with her. I don’t wanta hear about how she can’t make her bread and I especially don’t wanta hear that we can’t make ale or whiskey.”
“Understood, sir. I’ll see to it personally.”
“Go, Matty. Go.”
Matty turned for the door, but Connor stopped him. “Hold on a sec, Matty.”
“Yes?” he asked.
“Tell your people that no one is to stay in this town. No one!”
“Why’s that?” asked Del.
“No last stand guards. No one to give them trouble. No one to try to make their life difficult. This army is less likely to do any damage if you leave the way clear for them to blow right through.”
“I hear you, Mac, but why are you so insistent?”
“If they find even one of you, you can say goodbye to your hideout. I know you think it’s impenetrable, but they’d remember where it is and if they came back this way, they’d wait you out. You’d either starve to death or they’d pick you off one by one when you came out.”
Angry, Del Re’s face reddened and he walked to the front store window to gain better control of his emotions. He came to a decision. “Aw, fuck it. It’s only things sittin’ out there—material shit. We can rebuild anything they destroy. It’s more important that nobody dies. My people are too important to me.”
“That’s good thinking, Del.”
“Matty?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do what the man says. I mean it. No heroics. We need to let this storm pass and live to fight another day.”
“Yes, sir,” answered Matty, somewhat disappointed.
“I’m not kidding, Matty. This is a real as it gets. If anyone stays back and gets captured, we’re totally screwed. Just one man, women or child could get us all killed.”
“I understand, sir.”
“Make sure everyone bugs out. I want head counts every thirty minutes.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll see to it.”
“Okay, go. Go now.” The man left quickly and everyone in the room overheard him in the street, calling for several men to carry out his orders.
Tina walked over to where Del was standing and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He turned at her touch and smiled grimly.
“Honey, we got a very nasty army coming our way. I’ll fill you in. In the meantime, please make sure that all the children have everything they need before we bug out. Make sure Betty helps you grab all the first-aid supplies.”
“I will.”
“Pam needs to gather the books and hide them in the vaults.”
McLeod’s ears perked up at the mention of books. “You have vaults of books, Del?”
“Yeah, John. Why doesn’t that surprise me that you would be interested in books? We’ve stashed a few fire-proof safes around—they’re very well hidden and only five people know the combinations.”
“Oh, man, what I’d give for an in-depth review of your collection.”
“I knew you’d understand, John.”
“Understand what, Del?”
“With your expertise in psychology.”
“I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”
“After the Sickness hit, I started analyzing the ‘big picture’. You know, the behavior of men after a serious devastation. How would they react? What would be the general attitude of men? I came to the conclusion it would be about five years before clusters of small armies would begin to show up—most of ’em not very well intentioned.”
“That’s nicely thought out, Del. You continue to impress me.”
Tina walked to the front window and turned immediately to pace back. She was becoming visibly more agitated and the commander noticed.
“We’re gonna be okay, Tina,” said Del.