“CJ?”
“Connor Junior. I named him after his daddy. I thought it was the right thing to do.”
“What do you mean plenty more?”
Nicole smiled mischievously. “Well, I guess you’ll see, if and when you find Connor Mac.”
“What do you mean?” asked Colonel Starkes, not quite sure where Nicole was going.
“Hah. Look at you!”
“What?”
“Gettin’ all hot and bothered.”
“I am not,” said Colonel Starkes, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks.
“Okay, let me put it to you this way. How old are you, colonel?”
“It’s Hannah. Please call me Hannah. And I’m thirty-six. What possible bearing does that have on this conversation?”
“Okay, Hannah. Let’s just say that you’re a very attractive women.”
“Umm, thanks, I guess.”
“What I mean is, since I’m an artist, I see you got those chocolate brown eyes and huge eyelashes on that pretty heart-shaped face. A good tight bod and all that.” Colonel Starkes cleared her throat, embarrassed. “And, if and when you find Connor Mac, you’ll probably be pregnant in a week if he takes an interest in you.”
“What?” Colonel Starkes heard a few snickers from a few of the surrounding men, but kept her attention focused on Nicole.
“Hannah, if you find him, you’ll find him irresistible. Just like I did. He has something about him—I don’t know—a chemistry, a magnetism. Just a very nice way about him.”
Flustered, Colonel Starkes became lost in unbidden erotic images. A fierce man atop her, hard, ready—
“I’m serious, Hannah,” said Nicole, interrupting the Colonel’s thoughts, “You’ll see. That is, if he wants to be found.”
“Can you describe him for me? In as much detail as you can?”
“Sure.”
“Fantastic. Umm… uh… you wouldn’t happen to have a picture of him, would you? I know that’s an absolutely ridiculous question in this day and age, but I have to ask. You know, just in case.”
“You’re taking me and CJ out of here? To plenty of food and Camp David and good treatment?”
“Yeah.”
“And you promise, as president, not to take CJ from me?”
“I promise.”
“If that’s true, I can give you something better than a picture.”
“How?”
“Like I said, I was an accomplished artist in the City before the Sickness came. While we were together, I drew Connor Mac several times. I kept a few of the smaller paintings while I moved around. I’ll get them.” She stood and shouldered her way through the ring of men, holding CJ tightly.
Colonel Starkes motioned for a few of her men to accompany Nicole to her hidey-hole. In minutes she returned, offering her drawings for Hannah’s scrutiny.
“He certainly is… ahh… handsome,” said Colonel Starkes, “in a very rugged way.”
“Uh, huh.”
“Are his eyes really that deep shade of brown with those bright green-gold flecks? Is that smile for real?”
Nicole laughed. “See what I mean! See what I’m saying?”
“C’mon, Nicole. It’s a painting. I think you’re a fantastic artist, but nobody can look that good.” Colonel Starkes spoke quietly to keep the conversation away from the ring of men surrounding them. She pulled the eight by eight inch oil painting out of the Ziploc bag for closer inspection.
“Yeah, Hannah, he’s that handsome. In fact, my artwork doesn’t begin to capture the charm and charisma that man has. It’s such a natural part of him; I don’t think he even notices it. But, I’ll tell you a little secret.”
“Yeah?”
“He saved me from a bunch of men and an old woman who were planning on using me as a slave. I was grateful. After he fed me, I was so grateful I was ready to repay him in any way he liked with anything I had to offer.”
“Oh.”
“But instead, like the gentleman he was, he let me use his sleeping bag to get a real night’s sleep. He sat next to me all night, on guard.”
“Oh, wow.”
“And I admit, it was probably the first true night of rest I’d had in years. I felt so unbelievably safe. But you know, I woke once when the fire popped and saw him glance at me above the book he was reading. He smiled and I went back to sleep. I remember smiling myself in contentment.
“What was he reading?”
“Umm, I think it was—Lord of the Flies. I felt safe with him. All he had to do was smile at me and I knew everything would be okay.”
Colonel Starkes continued to study the painting. “Did he tell you how he got that small scar?” she asked, pointing at a small discoloration above his left eyebrow.
“Yeah, I asked him once. He told me he ran into an open door. But Connor Mac’s a terrible liar. I didn’t believe him and asked him to tell me for real. I remember he stopped smiling and it scared me. His face had turned deadly—it was the same intense face he used when he took care of those assholes who caught me.”
Hannah nodded sympathetically, a simple encouragement for Nicole to continue.
“But his look faded quick like he was caught showing me emotions that he didn’t want to show. Then he said he owed a staff sergeant from Kentucky for that.”
Colonel Starkes stood quickly, overturning the five-gallon drum on which she sat. “Of course! Why didn’t I see this before? Connor Mac’s military!”
“Yeah, I guess.” answered Nicole.
“Do you know when he served, Nicole? Which branch? Do you know anything about his service time?” Colonel Starkes was intense, focused. When she noticed that Nicole looked panicky, she contained her excitement. She righted the overturned bucket and sat.
“I’m sorry, Nicole, it’s just that we still have some access to working computers and databases, specifically military. I should’ve known Connor Mac was military. Dammit!”
“Why? Why should you have known that?”
“Well, most soldiers, and sometimes their families, received preventative flu injections during wartime deployment. This has greatly augmented existing immunity to the Sickness.”
“Oh.”
“That’s the strong military angle to this survival equation.”
“Uh, huh,” said Nicole. CJ stirred in her arms and she consoled him with soft words.
“Nicole,” said Colonel Starkes, “what did he tell you about his military service time?”
“I never paid much attention to that kinda stuff. I can’t remember him talking much about the military.”
“Major O’Malley, please join us,” said Colonel Starkes. The major approached and glanced shyly at Nicole.
“Yes, colonel?”
“Major, Nicole’s about to give us information on Connor Mac. Please take notes.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Colonel Starkes gathered her thoughts. “Nicole, what can you tell us? Don’t leave anything out—if it’s about Connor Mac, I want to know.”
“Okay. Lemme think. Um, Connor Mac said that he was a parachute guy—no, he said paratrooper. Air something.”
“Airborne?”
“Yeah, that’s it. And I think he said a number with that—eighty something.”
“82nd Airborne?”
“That sounds right,” answered Nicole.
“Do you have any idea of Connor Mac’s last name?”
“No. He was always Connor Mac to me.”
“Age?”
“He said thirty-six, but I didn’t believe him. He seemed much younger than that.”
“Okay. Major?”
“Ma’am?”
“Start immediately. A bottle of Glenlivet from my private stock for each man back home that helps identify Connor Mac.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Tell Jimmy to start the search on the Intrex System. If he can’t find it there, tell him to check into Kojak and the archives. He has my password.”