Chương 148

Louis sat on the curb with the old phone. The battery was half charged, and the signal shifted between one and two bars. He opened the dialer and entered his father's emergency number. Before he entered the last digit, Donya said, "No." He looked up. Donya stood with the MRE packet still in one hand.

"What?"

"You can't call him. Not like that." Donya stepped closer.

"This is the Great Lakes Alliance. They monitor and tag every international call. If you call the Dominion directly from a Black Zone phone, they will trace it and arrest us before your father can help."

"Then what do we do?" Louis lowered the phone and turned to Willa.

"Can you route it through something? Make it untraceable?"

"Not from here," Willa said.

"This is not a Dominion device. I can try to encrypt it, but I will need more tools and time."

"Shit. Do you have any idea?"

"I can call my father," Donya said.

"He is in Chicago. Chief of surgery at St. Bartholomew's. He knows people."

"How can he help?" Savannah asked.

"I don't know. But he might know the right people to contact. I can call him. He will listen."

"Will he help us?" Angelique asked.

"I don't know," Donya said.

"But he might help me."

"Okay." Louis held out the phone.

"Try." Donya took the phone. Her hand remained steady until she opened the dialer. Then Louis saw her thumb begin to tremble. She entered the number from memory but stopped before pressing call. Cherish touched her sleeve.

"It's alright." Donya nodded without looking at her. She pressed call and turned on the speaker. The phone rang five times before a man answered.

"Hello?"

"Baba."

"Donya?" His voice sharpened at once.

"Where are you? We've been trying to reach you."

"South of Chillicothe," Donya said.

"In the exclusion zone, near the highway checkpoint."

"What happened? Why did you stop answering for two days?"

"The People's Army captured us. They took everything. We just escaped." Her father was silent for a moment.

"Are you safe?"

"For now."

"Is Louis with you? The others?"

"They're all here. Everyone survived." Donya paused.

"There is one more person with us. Her name is Maeve. She helped us escape." Her father released a long breath.

"Praise be to Allah. I thought I had lost you."

"I'm alright. I'll explain everything when we meet. Right now, we need help. We can't go through the checkpoint without being arrested."

"Why not?"

"We entered illegally, and Maeve was with the People's Army. We need someone who can get all of us through without reporting us."

"Give me your exact location." Donya told him.

"Stay there," her father said.

"I'll make some calls. I know someone who may be able to reach you."

"Thank you, Baba."

"Keep this phone on. I'll call you back."

"I will."

"I love you, Donya."

"I love you too." The call ended. Donya lowered the phone but kept holding it in both hands.

"He will call back," she said.

"I hope."

"Of course he will." Louis put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you." Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Donya handed the phone to Willa.

"Please keep the battery on until the next call." Willa connected it to the power bank.

"Now what?" Savannah asked.

"Now we wait." Louis folded the sunglasses and put them inside his jacket.

"Waiting in the open," Maeve said.

"Great."

"Got a better idea?" Gladice asked. Maeve shook her head. Savannah took a bite of her MRE.

"So we camp behind a billboard until the doctor's friend shows up. Sounds cozy."

"Look on the bright side," Angelique said.

"At least it's not raining."

"And no one has tried to eat us in the last hour," Gladice added.

"That's an improvement." Willa tore open a snack pack.

"Anyone want some chocolate?" Cherish reached for a piece.

"Thank you."

"Me too," Maeve said. Willa passed pieces to the others.

"Chocolate in the middle of nowhere," Maeve said after she finished her piece.

"I forgot it could taste so good."

"My mother didn't let me eat much chocolate," Willa said.

"She said it was bad for teeth."

"Your mother is wrong," Maeve said.

"She was not wrong about my teeth," Willa said.

"I spent two years in braces. That was not fun."

"Braces?" Maeve asked.

"They are metal wires. To straighten your teeth," Willa said.

"Rich people's problems." Maeve shook her head.

"Yeah, but they work." Willa smiled.

"And I'm surprised your teeth are good at all."

"Because I don't eat chocolate every day," Maeve said.

"And I sometimes steal toothpaste from the Authority trucks."

"Brilliant." Gladice laughed.

"I like her."

"She is resourceful," Angelique said.

"I'm glad she's with us." Maeve looked down.

"I am glad too. I guess." Louis saw a headlight appear on the abandoned highway behind them. Savannah straightened before anyone else reacted.

"Vehicles." Gladice sat up. Maeve pushed herself off the ATV and moved closer to the billboard. More headlights appeared behind the first, moving unevenly over the broken pavement.

"Stay still," Maeve whispered.

"Don't look at them." They stayed close behind the billboard. Angelique pulled Cherish closer. Three pickup trucks rolled off the highway and down the shoulder toward the billboard. The trucks were old and crudely armored, with metal plates welded over the doors. Men and women stood in the truck beds beneath patched canvas covers, their rifles slung or held low. One truck had a spotlight bolted over the cab. The spotlight swept across the billboard and the ATVs, then stopped on the group behind them.

"Do not reach for the gun yet," Angelique said. Gladice stared at them.

"I wasn't going to." The trucks stopped twenty yards away. Six men and two women climbed out and spread across the ground in front of them. Several wore armored vests beneath patched coats, with scarves covering part of their faces. One of the women carried a shotgun. A man in a canvas coat approached with a revolver held low in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He looked at the ATVs first.

"Well," he said.

"You folks got yourself some nice rides." Louis stood. Savannah moved beside him with her hands visible.

"We ain't looking for trouble."

"That so?" The man looked them over.

"You look like trouble to me." Gladice stood and pulled her jacket aside enough to show the pistol at her waist.

"Your eyesight could use some help," she said. The man laughed. He took a drag from the cigarette and looked back at the others.

"Where did you get the ATVs?"

"Found them," Louis said. He kept his voice even.

"After we shot the owners." The man stopped smiling. He looked at the blood and dirt on their clothes, then at the people standing around Louis.

"Where are you from?" he asked.

"South." Louis nodded toward the exclusion zone behind them.

"And you're going where?"

"Not your business," Gladice said.

"Maybe not." The man spread his hands slightly, keeping the revolver pointed at the ground.

"Just curious."

"We don't want a fight," Louis said.

"But I suggest you move along." The man watched Louis for another moment, then gave a short laugh.

"You got some stones, kid. I'll give you that. But you should know, this is our patch. We don't like randoms here."

"We are not staying." Louis held his ground.

"Since you insist on talking, why don't we trade instead?"

"What have you got to trade?" the man asked.

"These bikes can be yours." Louis indicated the ATVs.

"For a reasonable price."

"What the hell you doing?" Savannah asked under her breath.

"Keep quiet." Louis kept watching the man.

"Ah." The man grinned.

"A little trade. I like that." He took another drag from his cigarette.

"How much?"

"That depends," Louis said.

"Will you leave us alone if we make a deal?"

"Sure." The man motioned for his people to stay back.

"If the deal is good."

"One thousand Alliance dollars," Louis said.

"For each bike." Angelique shook her head. The man whistled.

"You got some nerve."

"You want them or not?" Louis asked.

"I want them. I don't want to pay that." The man stepped forward.

"Your price is too high." Eight people stood in front of the trucks, with more still in the beds. Louis could not tell whether anyone else was nearby.

"You folks look like you could use more bikes," Louis said.

"It seems a bit crowded back there." The man glanced back at the crowded truck beds, then laughed.

"You are a smart kid."

"I'm trying to make a living."

"So am I." The man walked to the nearest ATV and nudged the rear tire with his boot.

"This one's got a busted muffler, and the front shocks are shot. That one's leaking oil. That one..." He pointed to another ATV.

"That one's got a loose chain. Those two aren't worth more than three hundred each. The other two, maybe four hundred each. That's fourteen hundred total."

"Two thousand," Louis said.

"And the bikes are yours." The man looked from Louis to the others.

"I will give you fifteen hundred. And I'll let you walk away."

"Eighteen hundred."

"Sixteen."

"Deal," Louis said.

"Show me the money." The man motioned to one of his people, who came forward with a satchel. He counted out twenty-dollar Alliance bills, some worn and some newer. Savannah stepped closer and watched him count. Louis took the stack and counted it again.

"You have the bikes." He stepped back. The man looked Louis over once more.

"You got a name, kid?" Louis smiled.

"None you want." The man laughed and walked back to his truck. Four of his people mounted the ATVs while the others returned to the trucks. The spotlight passed over the group once more as the trucks pulled back onto the highway. The engines faded in the distance. Savannah came up to Louis.

"What the fuck was that?"

"We wouldn't need them anyway," he said.

"And now we have more money." Savannah shook her head.

"You lucky they didn't shoot you."

"Sometimes luck is all you have." Maeve looked at the money in his hands.

"That was... impressive."

"That's capitalism, baby." Gladice laughed.

"Get used to it." The phone buzzed. Willa gave it to Donya, and she answered at once. Her father spoke immediately.

"Listen. I have arranged help. A colleague from Columbus is coming to you. His name is Dr. Elias Rahman. He will be there in an hour. Follow his instructions exactly. Do not trust anyone else."

"Thank you, Baba." Her father ended the call. Donya lowered the phone. Gladice looked toward the checkpoint lights.

"So now we wait for a doctor."

"Yes," Louis said.

"And then we go home."