“Morning, T.”
“Kev.”
“Are there any big plans for today?”
“Nope. Nothing more than bringing in the rest of the September kale harvest. Should probably start thinking about bringing in some of the squash and early pumpkin.”
“Right.”
“Why’d you ask? Is something else on your mind?”
“Umm, well, yeah, I guess.”
“And that is?”
“Mark has that big fall festival going on today at Nemacolin. People from all around will be coming to see the fireworks and do some serious trading.”
“Uh huh.”
“We should sell some of our Jasmine soap. Fetch a good price. We should send a few of our own people and trade what we can.”
“Yeah, we talked about this already last week, remember? Jessie and Ryan are going.”
“Yep, that’s right. But… I’d like to go, too.”
“Well, plan on it then. What’s keeping you?”
“I was assigned to help with lunch and dinner.”
“Oh. Well, in that case, I’ll have Christy pitch in and take your assignment.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.” Kevin turned and walked toward the cottage.
“Kev?”
“Yeah?”
“You got someone at Nemacolin you’re looking at?”
“T?”
“C’mon, Kev.”
“Umm…”
“Kev? It’s not like you’ve kept it a secret. Is it that Aldonza girl?”
Kevin puffed hard on his pipe and studied the two-lane blacktop evaporating a light fog in the distance. Smiling, he found it difficult to hide his affection. “Yeah, maybe.”
“What do you know about her?”
“A little. She comes from Miami. Has a kid named Carlos, fifteen or so years old. And, she used to work at a bank as a mortgage broker.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“Lost her husband to the Sickness and traveled to Pittsburgh to see about her parents, both dead. They didn’t make it, so she started back south and ended up here. Nothing surprising.”
“How’d you meet up with her, again?”
“Umm, last month. I went to see about those deep-cycle batteries we wanted to trade on for our solar array. Aldonza was passing by as Todd and I traded.”
“And?”
“Ahh, she was something special… I felt it.”
“You felt it, did you?” Terry chuckled and Kevin noticed.
“No question.”
“Uh, huh.”
Kevin smiled, thinking back to that day. Terry did not want to keep him from exploring this new aspect of his life.
“Kev?”
“Yeah?”
“Go to Nemacolin and see what you might have going on with Aldonza. Okay? If things work out, bring her in—everyone wants to meet her.”
“Oh. Yeah, sure.”
“I’m serious.”
“Ahh, okay. If she’s interested, I sure will.”
“And, Kev?”
“Yeah?”
“Take 200 of our Nemacolin trade credits from the main account.”
“Umm…”
“Use it to impress her. Buy her something nice. No payback required.”
Stunned, Kevin stared, flabbergasted.
“200 Nemacolin, wow!”
“Uh, huh”
“But… that’s two month’s—”
“Aww, c’mon, Kev. You’re essential to this clan. You know that.”
“Okay, sure, but…”
“The least we can do is give you 200 chits so you can make an impression on a potential future wife. One that might end up a contributing member.”
“Ahh, oh, well, T, that’s… more than I planned for.”
“I know. That’s why I did it.”
“Thank you.”
“Hmm, now don’t go tellin’ the rest of the clan about my generosity… or I’ll have your ass.”
“No, course not.”
Kevin headed back toward the cottage with a spring in his step, but already, he was caught up in thoughts of Aldonza and her boy. Confident, he was pretty sure that they would be a good fit with the clan.
CHAPTER 7.8-On the Move
“Phoenix is on the move, ma’am.”
Colonel Starkes sat on a bench in the open yard of Allegheny college, sipping a cup of coffee. She had heard the return of the helicopter, but was immersed in reading a book on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire she had found in one of the classrooms. The major’s approach and comment made her mind spin to face him with interest.
“What strength? What direction? How’s he supplied? He using motorized vehicles and all those horses he has?”
“Umm…”
Colonel Starkes forced herself to relax, tempering her intensity. “Sorry… welcome back, major.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Set it up and bring the rest of the team in to hear your report. Meet in twenty in command.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You and your men need any more time to get situated beforehand?”
“No, that’d be fine.”
Twenty minutes later, the entire contingent crowded into the command center, a makeshift room on the second floor that used to be the Teacher’s Lounge. With no fanfare, Colonel Starkes entered, making her way to the main table up front with a fresh cup of coffee in her left hand and a batch of papers in her right. At her entrance, most stopped talking. Within a few seconds, she had their undivided attention.
“As you know, the major ran recon into Cleveland today. This will be his report. And, I wanted each of you to hear this to keep us all on the same page. This will be the first I’m hearing of it as well. Major?”
“Thank you, ma’am. Okay, so we ran up to Cleveland and found out a few items of interest. Number one, Phoenix is on the move traveling south east.”
“Phoenix, the damn bastard.”
“Maggot piece of shit.”
“Puke damn traitor.”
“Let me shoot the prick.”
“Nah, he’s mine when I—”
“Guys, quiet up. Save it,” said Colonel Starkes.
The grumbling stopped, though the fierce looks of her men conveyed an intense desire to settle the score from the recent debacle that they’d left. To a man, no one relished the idea of vacating the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame under the cover of night with their tails between their legs. Retreat was not in their blood. They would not forget.
“Major? Go on…”
“Right. Anyway, number one, Phoenix is on the move and about twenty miles out from the city, so he may have only started out very early today or late yesterday. Number two, this is not a scouting mission. We counted nearly 250 cavalry, 60 white pickups with driver and passenger and around 250 or so men packed in tight in the pickups or on twenty quads and twenty bikes. They were traveling with purpose in tight units on the move.”
“That’s around 620 men total, sir?” said captain Daubney.
“At least. And, from what we know, that’d likely be a good portion of Phoenix’s highly trained ‘Pride Brigades’, the DPs and cavalry. Based on our time in the city, he’s probably kept on a hundred or so men sitting back in Cleveland. Well, that is, after our firefight trimmed off more than a few when they tried to take us down.”
“Damn right,” said GT to the man next to him. Many men grumbled in agreement, but were hesitant to be the first to dismiss Colonel Starke’s command to stay silent. Major O’Malley continued.