“And why did you need therapy, my darling?”
He really had tried to avoid rehashing this particular memory since arriving here. Did he want to talk about it now? What the hell.
“Because I had just split up with my live-in partner of nearly two years. I was a little traumatised.”
Lena raised her eyebrows. “You have never spoken of this before. So, you dumped her?”
“Not exactly. I came home from work one day and she was gone. All she left was a cute little note on the kitchen table.”
“What did she say, if you don’t mind me asking.”
He sighed. “She basically insinuated that I should have known this was going to be the inevitable end of our relationship right from the get-go, and please don’t be a dick and call me to ask me about it. Have a good life. Ciao.”
“Oh my.”
“That’s sort of what I thought.”
“And what did you do?”
“I called her.”
“How soon after?”
“About thirty seconds.”
“Oh my.”
“You just said that.”
“What did you say?”
Now Hamlin had to smile. “I can remember the exact three words. She picked up and said hello, and I said, ‘what the fuck?’”
Lena actually gasped a little. “Oh my, oh my. How did she react to that?”
“Not very well, actually. I’m paraphrasing somewhat, but she basically told me to grow up and get lost.”
“I see.”
“So, after a brief stint training for the Olympic drinking team, I decided a dramatic change might not be a bad idea. In retrospect, I should have gone to a professional to have my head examined. But I didn’t, so bingo-bango, here I am.”
She patted his knee again. “Oh, Francis, I am so sorry. You come down here damaged and vulnerable, and the first female you run into is me, playing the role of station slut. And of course, you also get a visit from the slut and her sexually confused friend with the big boobs who both stripped down and jumped into your bed without so much as a ‘would you like some company?’. Oh Francis, we didn’t do you any favors. I apologize.”
“Are you kidding me? Have you forgotten I’m a man? Apologies for sexing me up are totally unnecessary.”
Zoya was trying hard to concentrate on her driving so she would have a legitimate reason not to participate in the discussion.
“On the bright side, if I somehow survive this house of horrors at the end of the world, my life is going to look pretty darn awesome, girlfriend or not, when I finally get back. Also, I have plenty of fodder to use for writing an article that should be easily publishable in any number of gentlemen’s magazines. So it’s not all bad.”
“Nice to see you looking on the bright side,” Lena said.
“Names will be changed to protect the innocent. Anyway, I’m confident I’ll have a different attitude and will be able to appreciate and enjoy my life once I return back to it.”
“I hope so,” Lena said. “For you and for all of us. I have decided that this will be my last trip down here. I fear the cumulative stress will follow me home and stay with me for a long time. I need to move on with my life. Enough is enough.”
“And you, Zoya?” Hamlin asked, uncomfortable with how she was being excluded from the conversation.
She turned briefly and smiled. “Undecided.”
The Cat rolled on, drawing ever closer to the outer shed.
Barinov had wandered incessantly until he stumbled upon the generator building. He eventually managed to figure out the door and walked in on unsteady legs. He smelled food and was desperate for it now, such as his limited consciousness could convey.
Inside he found two sources. He fell upon the first one. It was frozen quite hard, so instead of a frantic feast, it was more of a slow gnarl. But that was okay. It was food and he was not on any kind of a schedule. He settled in for the long haul, the nourishment stoking the furnace inside him that kept the brutal cold completely at bay.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
It took some time to get started. They had to figure out if Lena’s concern over the cache being booby-trapped was legitimate or not. After thinking it through, she decided it was perhaps less likely than she had originally thought. It was already protected by an electronic combination lock and secured in an abandoned building that nobody had any reason to visit. Once that conclusion was shared, they looked for switches, wires or any signs of tampering in the cabinet. That came up negative. Finally, Lena rigged up an old wooden broom handle that she used to poke one of the guns loose while crouching beside the cabinet and reaching around from a semi-protected position. Nothing went bang, so they decided her fears were officially unfounded.
Things moved fairly quickly once they got started. The last item they moved was a rocket launcher. Hamlin carried it as if it was a newborn infant. He sure as hell didn’t want to drop it. The weight surprised him. In the movies, a muscle bound hero would handle this thing as if it were a pistol. Could it be that Hollywood misrepresented reality? Surely not.
Setting it down safely in the back of the Cat was the pinnacle of stress. Lena had bunched up an old blanket for him to set it on, and in the end, he got it placed without blowing everyone to kingdom come. He decided to put that accomplishment in the good stuff category.
“Okay, which country should we invade first? We should probably start small and work our way up. How about China?”
Lena continued to enjoy his sense of humor. “And what have the Chinese ever done to you?”
“Hmm, I suppose you’re right. We have to stock Wal-Mart with high quality merchandise from somewhere. What was I thinking?”
“Let’s get in before we freeze, you lunatic.”
They piled in and Zoya soon had them turning back toward the barracks.
“Try not to hit any big bumps or hydro poles,” Hamlin requested.
“She knows how to drive, you stupid ass,” Lena responded. “You know enough to ignore him, Zoya, correct?”
She turned and finally smiled, making her dimples pop. “Of course.”
“Good. Now, what are we going to do with all these doomsday devices when we get back?”
“The oven seems like a secure enough place for the ammo,” Hamlin said.
Lena just stared in response.
“Okay, okay. I’m in a weird mood right now, I admit it. It feels like we’ve made another proactive move to take some control back. I feel good that we did. In addition, I’d appreciate it if you’d get off my back about it.”
Lena turned toward the driver.
“Zoya, what do you think? Let’s leave our resident lunatic out of this until he regains some semblance of composure.”
She chose to respond seriously. “Well, what if we are invaded in the night while we’re sleeping? We should keep some of it distributed and accessible just in case.”
Lena was quick to agree. “Yes. We can spread some of the smaller weapons around, based on need and skill levels of the people in the area. Some of the bigger, more complicated pieces should go into one of the storerooms. We can do a survey of the crew and see who has operated what in their past lives. We don’t want to be shooting ourselves. And it shouldn’t be necessary for each and every person to be armed unless they want to be.”
Zoya returned to looking straight ahead. “Yes. That is a good plan.”
Lena looked back toward Hamlin. “And you, Francis? What do you think?”
“Well, if you really want my opinion, a fact which is in doubt as far as I’m concerned, I think your plan is too radical. I propose we do something low key and safe, like putting the rocket launcher on the table, pointed toward the door, with a string running from the knob to the trigger. But suit yourself.”