We weren’t mean to be extinct, not yet. It wasn’t our time. As a race, we are resilient. Like Project Protocol One, the human race would rise from the ashes. It would rise up and start again.
There were survivors, I was sure of that.
We just had to find them.
And we would.
52 – COLD STOP REALITY
The first snowflake fell with a hard ‘plop’ to the windshield just as we hit the end of Elwood City.
It was a single flake and huge, causing both Tony and I to lean forward to peer at the sky.
“That was odd,” Tony said, “Sky is darkening.”
“Should we worry?” I asked.
“Peter said it would just be cloudy, no snow, right?”
“That’s what he said. Want me to double check?”
Tony hummed out in debate. “Nah, I mean, he’s pretty anal about the weather. If he even suspected it was going to get bad, he would have said something. Besides, we had very little snow, so I highly doubt it would wait until this day to come.”
“What do you think?” I asked. “I mean, you’re from Chicago.”
He shrugged. “It looks like it’s gonna snow.”
“Maybe we should stop and go back.”
“Radio in, have him double check.”
Tony slowed down just before getting on to the main highway to head to Pittsburgh. I radioed in and Peter confirmed with some annoyance, as if we doubted him, that it wasn’t showing snow clouds. He had rarely been wrong before.
“No, snow,” I said.
“Uh, Anna, I heard. It’s a radio.”
I smiled and removed my coat. The comfy and cozy Humvee was warm. In fact it was surround sound warm. Removing my coat, I took another look at Elwood City as we left. It truly was void of any life. It had an aura that no one was left.
We pulled onto the main road, the first time venturing there. The four lane highway was barren and white. Nothing but slick, covered concrete untouched by vehicles. It had a virgin like look about it. In fact, even though it hadn’t really snowed much, there was a blanket of white and ice for as far as the eye could see. A few cars were on the road abandoned. Some had a glaze of ice over them. Most had no windows.
I supposed we’d see more as we neared Pittsburgh.
Gil had broken the city into sections. Four per week. It would take us three weeks to get through the entire city.
I folded the map and set down the clip board.
“How long until we get there?” I asked.
“Forty minutes,” Tony replied. “I’m not taking a chance on flying. Not on these roads. We’ll just take our time and get there. Scan the first area and head back. I’m not in a hurry. I’m enjoying the break from the Giltator.
“The… the what?” I asked with a stutter. “Giltator?”
“Yeah, the Caesar incarnate.”
“Oh my God, Tony, he is far from that!”
“Maybe right now.”
“And for good. I know Gil.”
“Yes, Anna,” he said. “We’re all aware of how well you know Gil. And we’re also all well aware of how easily you just let him take over and implement his ‘rule the world’ scheme.”
“Stop.” I shook my head. “You’re being silly. He’s helping. Plus, I think you’re joking because you are going along with it.”
“Silently, until I can implement my own plan. Hence why I want to run the security aspect. I need to know what’s going on.”
“Your own plan?”
“Yeah, trust me. I have no plans to stay under the Giltatorship. I eventually would like to take you and Joie and head south. So, until that time comes, I’m just biting my tongue.”
“How do you know I’ll leave with you?” I asked.
“One word. Gwen. Speaking of which…. I have something for you.” He reached out his arm, but stopped. “I can’t get it. Reach behind your seat. There’s a small black bag.”
After undoing my belt, I reached around. On the floor was a soft black leather bag, about the size of a large purse or small gym bag. I sniffed. “It smells pretty.”
“It’s Gwen’s. They left it in here. Have fun. Snoop.”
“Is it right?” I unsnapped the bag.
“Well, seeing as how you are already opening it, I’d say it’s fine.”
“You didn’t look?”
“Nope. Thought it would be an early Christmas gift for you.”
I laughed a “Ha”, and dove in. There was a silk scarf that I realized was the source of the perfume smell.
“What’s in there?”
“Scarf, ibuprofen. Ha-ha.” I withdrew my hand and pulled out four tiny bottles of booze. “There’s more, too. And… oh!”
“What?’
“Tampons. I’ll take those. Good Lord, what all did this woman shove in here? It’s like her road emergency bag, she even has…”
I paused.
“What?”
From the bag, I lifted a Blackberry style device.
“Well, that’s old.” Tony said.
“A car charger. Why would she have an old Blackberry? I would think she’d have state of the art.” I said as I turned on the Blackberry.
“Actually, their security technology can’t be beat. Extremely hard to hack.”
“Well she wasn’t worried about password protecting this.” Using the car charger, I hooked up the unit and started charging it. It ‘beeped’ and I began being nosy. There wasn’t much on it. Two previous calls. But oddly, they were from two days earlier. “Tony why and how would she get phone calls on this thing?”
“Satellite maybe.” He said.
“Weird, who would she call? And only two incoming calls from the same number.”
“Maybe she used it more as a pocket desk.”
After saying, “Maybe’ I went into her documents and immediately froze. “Tony. Why would Gil share all his schematics and info with her?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean. All the documents in here are work orders, information… and here is a list of locations of every one of his facilities.”
Even though it wasn’t safe, Tony took the unit, looked at it and drove. “The fuel one is missing. Maybe he emailed them to her as a safeguard.”
I searched the unit. “There’s no email attached. These were downloaded.” Then I saw the message folder and opened it. “Whoa, she had quite the text conversation happening just before she arrived with a contact named ‘D’.”
“Read them.”
“Just back and forth. She didn’t want to talk in front of the driver. ‘D’ said understandable. She said she will send them over as fast as she could. It was barbaric. She hates him.” I lowered the unit. “Who does she hate?”
“Maybe the driver?”
I shrugged. “Then ‘D’ said to bide her time. It won’t be long. Soften the sources and find SJN135. Then it is over.”
“SJN135?” Tony asked.
“Soften the sources. What does that mean?”
“It means…. Damn it!” He slammed his hand against the wheel. “She hates him. The Giltator. She is here to get information and break down our barriers, soften the sources, get in, get trusted. SJN135 is the fuel location. The biggest asset he has. Somebody wants the fuel depot!”
“Who knows the location?”
“Gil, me, and who ever drove the first run out there.”
“Duke and Spencer.”
“Yep.” Tony said. “We make sure we take that directly to Gil, no one else… as soon as we get back.”
I wanted to radio him, but I didn’t. It would be too risky. I should have known Gwen had other reasons for coming to the bunker than just to be with her husband.
We also knew we had to save our conversation for later, because we saw the skyline of Pittsburgh come into focus.
Get in, get out, but it was starting to snow much harder.