Cooper nodded, “You were up late.”
“Yeah, I was on the ham radio. I wanted to get the lay of the land, both regionally and nationally.”
“Start locally,” Cooper requested.
“Well, there have been scattered riots in Portland. Some over the news you released. Some over food. No news about areas around here, except vague references to various local officials ‘establishing order’ in their respective comm…”
“Strongmen,” Cooper interrupted. Dranko nodded, face laced with concern. “Nationally?”
“Riots all over the place. Again, it’s a combination of riots demanding the truth about what happened and the other half is over food. People are both desperate and pissed off.”
“How bad is the unrest?”
“Pretty bad. Dozens dead in this city. Hundreds in another. Whole sections burning in others. Everything is still teetering. The plague has left a huge gap in the human infrastructure. The planes, trains, and trucks are still not running on time. But, honestly, they’re not really running much at all.”
“And news about me?”
“Brother, the hunt is on for you. The President and others in officialdom are continuing to declare you a liar to the thousandth degree.”
“They still focused on California?”
“Seems like. I gotta tell you. I think the government and military are stretched beyond belief. I half expected a Blackhawk chopper to have been waiting for us here.”
Cooper rubbed his chin, “I half expected one back on Lincoln Street!” He paused for a moment before continuing, “What’s happening with the Chinese?”
“It’s hard to figure. My best guess is that they mostly have sent over police and medical personnel to help out. But, it does sound like small military detachments accompanied them.”
Cooper’s eyebrows furrowed, “What do you make of that?”
“I’d guess they are here to scout us out. See the state of our military and defenses, post-Plague.”
“Hmmmm…could be. What’s the word on the international front?”
“Russia isn’t just sabre rattling, she’s pulled it out and is waving it above her head. I think they see this as a chance to finally win the Cold War. A few other countries have joined in their call for surgical nuclear strikes against us. Anti-American sentiment is off the scales. Tourists stuck overseas have been beaten and some killed. Embassies all over the place have been attacked. Most countries are demanding ‘justice’ but want a UN panel to determine what that means. But, Russia and her pals aren’t waiting for any UN foreplay. No, they have a serious hard on for us.”
Cooper rubbed his temples, “What a mess. I think I might have screwed up.”
Dranko put his hand on his friend’s shoulder for comfort, “Brother, I know you. You didn’t have a choice but to let the truth out.”
He looked back at him sternly, “Except for breathing and eating, everything is a choice.”
Dranko looked at the ground, “There’s one more thing.”
“What?”
“A reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer is making noise about the billionaire Karl Van Welton’s link to the Brushfire Plague.”
“I know that name.” Both men whirled around, hands going to their holstered sidearms.
Julianne stood twenty feet away, eyes wide in shock, and putting her hand up in a defensive posture, one held a hunting rifle.
They exhaled together, “Don’t sneak up on us like that,” Cooper growled.
“I wasn’t sneaking. You guys were just deep in thought. I was on guard duty and drifted over.”
Dranko shook his head to clear it, “You know this guy?”
“That’s a name you don’t forget. I would periodically bump into him and other very wealthy men while working with Mitchell. He always described them as our ‘wealthy benefactors’. What’s the Inquirer saying?”
“A reporter there has found some links between Van Welton’s investments in China prior the outbreak of the plague and his close ties to the President and to Admonitus.”
“What does that mean?”
“He speculates that Van Welton knew about the pending outbreak, knew about China’s apparent preparation for it, and bet heavy on them.”
“What?” Julianne gasped.
“When a billionaire goes from zero percent invested in a country to almost one-hundred percent invested, it can raise eyebrows. And, it’s no secret that China was one of the least affected countries. Van Welton was also invested in Admonitus. There are dots to connect.”
“We need to get to the bottom of this!” Julianne was almost hysterical. “I need to know.”
“Know what?” Cooper asked.
“Whether I got played like a damned, stupid fiddle!”
Dranko looked at her, nonplussed, “Well, I can get onto the Internet from here. You can research the other names you remember and see what you come up with.”
“Good. I want to get started right away.” She grabbed Dranko by the arm, pulling him inside. He looked at Cooper, helpless. Cooper shrugged. That woman gets what she wants. He finished his tea alone, enjoying the solitude and quiet. When the last warm mouthful fell down this throat, he went back inside to start making breakfast. Boiled oats with a dollop of honey. Good times, he mused to himself.
After breakfast, they gathered outside at Dranko’s urging. Cooper was glad to see Freddie back on his feet. He moved gingerly, but he was moving. They gathered in a circle as Dranko reviewed a litany of protocols needed for security’s purposes. He laid out the week’s guard duty schedule.
“I’d suggest we swap Calvin on nights for Julianne. You’re a natural night owl, right?” Cooper directed his question at Calvin. Put people where their strengths are, nothing overcomes natural talent, his father had often told him.
Calvin nodded. “Okay,” Dranko responded.
“You might as well put me on the other night shift. I’ve done enough night ER shifts, I can handle it fine,” Angela added.
Dranko scribbled onto his schedule sheet, “Done.” He finished with a flourish of pencil on paper and then continued, “Let me turn to the more unpleasant topic of sanitation.”
“Pee-yoooou,” Freddie groaned, grabbing his nose and plugging it in exaggeration. Jake howled with delight. So good to see him be a kid again. The others chuckled.
Dranko looked annoyed, “I was set up for myself and my composting bucket system would have worked fine. But, with this many people, we need a better plan.”
“Let me guess, we’re building an outhouse,” Lily asked.
“That’s the short of it. I’d suggest we get started today. I have the dimensions we need right here,” he said, foraging a piece of paper from his stack.
Cooper took a step forward, “Calvin, Tim, Angela, and I should get on this.” The others agreed.
“Great. I need to work on our menu and estimate out our caloric intake…”
“Our what?” Jake asked, puzzled.
Cooper rustled his hair, “It means he needs to figure out how we can eat each day to make our food last the longest.”
“Get ready to tighten our belts… literally, right?” Freddie added, his face turning serious.
Dranko frowned, “’Fraid so. We’ll all be losing some weight, I’m sure.”
“Well, I have twenty I would lose gladly,” Calvin joked, patting his belly.
“Most of us have a few extra pounds, but being hungry isn’t any fun,” Dranko said, smothering the humor. Cooper’s eyes narrowed as he glared at Dranko. I’m going to have to talk to him. He’s bringing everyone else down. Constantly. For no good reason. Calvin’s face fell and those who had been smiling were no longer.