The McClane Apocalypse Book Three (23 page)

"You could come out to the camp," Levon
suggests.

Frank elucidates further, "Yeah, come out
some night and hang out. You know, party with us. We can get some
pretty good parties going."

"I'm sure you can," Sue agrees with a
grimace.

"Got some pot left. A little coke, too,"
Levon adds.

"We don't do drugs on this farm, and if my
grandfather finds this out, then you'll be escorted off of it!"

"Easy, sugar," Frank attempts to appease
her. "We was just sayin' you could party with us and if you don't
want to stay here, you could leave with us. We need more women with
our group. We don't know shit for growing a garden. We need some
women for other…well, you know what I mean, sugar."

"Well, then good luck with that when you
leave our farm," Sue says directly, but the longer they still stand
near her the more irritated she becomes. "I'm sure there are some
free love, hippie types still roaming around out there, but you
won't find any women on this farm who are interested. None at
all!"

"This one's got some fire, Levon," Frank
calls over her shoulder to the other man.

"Sure does. It's cool. We got no problem
with that. Do we, Frank?"

"I'm sure my husband would, fellas," Sue
interrupts.

"Yeah, and which one is he? The big one?"
Frank inquires.

Sue knows he's asking if her husband is
Kelly.

"Look, I'm married and my sisters are with
the other two Army Ranger Special Forces guys on the farm. I don't
think you should go looking for trouble around here, guys. If you
do, you're bound to find it, and I don't think you're going to like
the result," she explains, hoping they'll leave. They don't. Frank
shrugs, smirks and reaches for her arm. He obviously doesn't
understand what 'Army Ranger' means.

"Hey!"

A loud, angry bark comes from her left. Sue
swings with relief toward the man yelling. It's Cory, and he's come
back from the house. He is stalking with such purpose and has the
pistol on his hip drawn and down to his side.

He shouts, "What are you two doing?"

"Easy, man. We was just chattin' up this
hottie," Frank replies.

"She's Mrs. Harrison to you," her savior
orders.

Thank God for Cory's good timing. Thank God
he's big and intimidating like his brother.

"Chill out," Levon says.

There is more force and underlying hatred in
Levon's tone this time. His eyes alight with fierce anger.

"No, I won't chill out. Get back to your
camp. Don't ever talk to her again. You hear?" Cory grinds out
angrily.

He pulls Sue gently by the arm until she's
half behind him. She can't see over his shoulder because he's grown
so tall. His lean teenager body is starting to fill out with more
muscle. He will probably fill out even further because of all the
hard work like cutting firewood, handling thousand pound cows and
the construction projects and repair jobs that never seemed to end
on the farm. She's not sure if these two men are intimidated by
Cory, but she sure as hell would be.

"Watch your mouth, boy," Levon spits out
menacingly.

"I ain't a boy and I sure as shit don't take
orders from you, so get the fuck outta' here," Cory says.

He has a calm composure that she would not
have thought him capable of.

"Alright, kid. Relax," Frank jumps in to
intercede, tugging his friend along. "We're going, man. We didn't
mean no harm."

"Just go," Sue tells them with more
confidence than she feels.

"It's cool. We was just being friendly is
all. We'll go," Frank relents.

They slowly walk back to their assigned
area, but not before Levon tosses a couple of foul glares in Cory's
direction.

As soon as they are gone Cory turns to her
and starts apologizing. "I'm so sorry, Sue. I shouldn't have used
that kind of language around you…"

"Seriously, Cory?" she says on a laugh. "You
do know my sister Reagan, right?"

He laughs nervously and continues, "Yeah, I
guess. But I'm sorry anyways."

"I know, Cory. It's cool. I won't tell Grams
on you," she appeases him.

"I was thinking more like maybe we won't
tell my brother. He'd kill me if he knew I talked like that in
front of any of the women…"

Sue cuts him off and lays a hand to his
shoulder. "Cory, you saved my ass there. I don't know what they had
in mind, but it seemed pretty bad. I don't think I want to know,
either."

"Were they threatening you?" Cory asks and
his brow furrows with renewed fury.

"Not really," she says. "They were just kind
of… I don't know, creepy."

"Like creepy how?"

"Just saying things that made me feel
uncomfortable. Nothing you need to know about," she tells him,
momentarily forgetting everything he's been through. He's hardly a
kid anymore.

"We gotta tell the others. Warn them. Let
them know that those two could be dangerous," he says.

He shows such maturity and a strong sense of
responsibility that Sue is stunned anew. She'd been awestruck by
how brave and assertive he'd been when he'd threatened those men.
He'd not shown an ounce of uncertainty of himself or any fear of
them. It had been quite amazing to behold in someone who always
seems so quiet and reserved.

"I suppose we do," she concedes. "But I'm
afraid of how they'll handle it. Derek can be rather possessive,
and if Reagan hears of this, then she might just go out and shoot
them all."

"She might anyways," Cory mumbles as they
return to their harvesting.

Sue chuckles at Cory's quip. It's rare that
he makes a joke or finds anything humorous. He doesn't, however,
join in her laughter.

For the first time in a few days, the family
all convenes for dinner at the same time. Derek has locked the med
shed and turned off the lights inside so that Jennifer can rest.
More importantly, he's locked the shed to make sure nobody from the
visitors' group goes in there to loot for prescription drugs. John
locks the front door to the house and Kelly double checks that the
back and side doors are locked. It feels strange to barricade
themselves in like this, but it's probably for the best.

"How is your patient doing, dear?" Grams
asks of Reagan.

They all pass the baskets of bread, platters
of baked chicken and serving bowls full of roasted root vegetables.
Reagan snorts.

"Not great," her sister answers.

A second later she yawns, and John reaches
over to take Jacob from her. Reagan's fatigue is obvious by the way
she carries herself and the dark circles under her green eyes.

She arches her back before reciting her
patient's progress, "Worked on pumping fluid into her today. Around
four o'clock she became unresponsive, so I can't give her broth or
food. She's on a full IV diet now with heavy steroids and
antibiotics."

"The poor thing," Hannah says softly to
which Grams agrees.

"We'll work with her again after dinner,
Reagan," Grandpa suggests to which she nods.

Samantha is sitting with the family, but
Simon and Cory are at the island in the kitchen again.

"First we need to have a meeting after
dinner," Derek butts in. "There have been too many things going on
around here that we need to communicate."

"Sounds fine to me, Derek," Grandpa
acknowledges.

The conversation ebbs and flows around them
until everyone is finished and then pitches in to make the clean-up
work go quickly. Em and Samantha head for the music room, where the
blinds and curtains are closed, watching the babies and smaller
children. Cory and Simon are keeping an eye on the shed and the
outside perimeter of the house from Cory's bedroom upstairs.
Finally, the pocket doors to the dining room are pulled shut.

The men talk of the harvest season and what
still needs to be done. Then Reagan and Grandpa talk about the
medical safety precautions again while the visitors are on their
property. John goes over the new demos that he and Kelly have set
at the edge of the cattle pasture so that everyone is aware of them
and where exactly they are located.

"A few of them have been caught wandering
around," John brings up the visitors.

Nobody wonders of whom he is speaking.

John adds, "We need to be careful while
they're still here."

When a break comes in conversation, Sue
figures it's now or never.

"Cory and I had a slight problem in the
garden today with a couple of those men," she doesn't need to
expand much about who she is speaking. Everyone knows. Once she
tells them their names, Derek and Kelly tense up. John makes a fist
on the table in front of him. She explains it in detail as best as
she can recall, but notices how Reagan's demeanor changes. John
tries to touch her arm soothingly, but she jerks away.

"These creeps need to go. Now!" Reagan
demands hostilely.

"Reagan, calm down," Grandpa commands
quietly. It barely works. "We still have their sick traveling
companion, whether those two men are concerned about her or
not."

"So she can stay and they can get the hell
out," Reagan says forcefully.

"I agree," John is quick to add.

"I don't think it will be long before she
either turns the corner or…," Grandpa can't finish.

It is too much to deal with losing another
person to this devastating sickness. Their family is being touched
by the tragedy that this world is creating through war, disaster
and disease.

"We can't just throw them all out. Perhaps
they can go tomorrow to search for a new place to live while
Jennifer is getting better," Grams adds with her usual optimism.
Hannah nods.

"Plus the situation with those kids hasn't
been figured out yet, either," Derek says.

Grandpa sighs. "Right. We can't throw them
out and let them take Samantha, Huntley and Simon with them without
knowing what's going on with them in that group. We need more
information before we make a decision about them."

Grams jumps in, "I believe that if those
children want to stay here, then we ought to make the offer. I
don't want them to have to leave with my brother's group if they'd
rather stay."

"I think that's a good idea, Grams," Hannah
suggests cheerily. "I think they need our protection. The others
will need to just find another home to live in, or a farm like
ours, or a building of some sorts. If they go tomorrow to find some
place to make their new home, then perhaps they can leave the
following day."

Sue nods in agreement with her youngest
sister and adds a solid, verbal, "Absolutely."

"We just need to stay calm and keep better
watch," Derek says.

He is speaking with his usual
level-headedness. He hits Sue with a stern look before
continuing.

"Nobody goes anywhere alone. Not even for a
minute. They'll be gone in a few days anyways."

"Cory was right there with me. He only left
for a second to get more baskets," Sue defends. "He did a really
good job, Derek. Kelly, your brother is a tough kid."

Kelly doesn't comment, but nods gravely. She
certainly doesn't want Cory to get in trouble with his big brother.
The kid already feels so much responsibility, even the obligation
to take care of Em.

"At the rate that our patient is declining,
I don't expect an improvement. It's amazing that her body hasn't
aborted her baby as it is. I think we're looking at maybe less than
a week, don't you, Grandpa?" Reagan asks.

His only answer is a grim nod. Removing his
eyeglass and setting them on the table, he leans back in his chair.
Sighing heavily, he rakes a hand through his white hair.

"A few more days could be dangerous, boss,"
John says tightly.

He also looks exhausted. Sue wonders if he's
even had a full night's sleep since they've returned from the city
trip.

"I know, but Grandpa's right. She could pass
tonight for all we know. Then you guys can throw those dicks out,"
Reagan relents.

In Sue's opinion, John still looks as if
he'd like nothing better than to go out and shoot them. His
fun-loving spirit is nowhere to be seen on his handsome
features.

"Reagan," Grams admonishes.

"I just get the feeling that they don't
think they
have
to leave," Kelly finally interjects. "From
what we've heard from Sue tonight and the way Peter was talking the
other day, I don't think they get it."

"Oh, they get it," Derek says with a snide
smirk. "They just don't want to."

"Denial isn't going to help them," Reagan
states.

John doesn't nod or agree with her. His
posture is tense and he still seems angry which is highly unusual
for him.

"Let us give it a day or two and then they
can leave," Grandpa states with finality. "You men can talk to them
tomorrow and let them know that it might be a good idea to leave
for a few hours to find somewhere they can eventually settle. If
they choose not to, that's fine, as well. It's up to them. But they
will be leaving soon. Make no mistake about that."

The meeting wraps, the family goes about
their own chores and business and Sue collects her children for
bedtime preparations. Derek refuses to go to bed with her and
instead decides to go back downstairs to help keep watch. He is
uneasy and tense. She knows that he would like to just throw those
people off the farm at gunpoint, but she also understands his
hesitation. There is more than just the group of adults out there
to consider. There are an additional three children to worry over
as they puzzle out the pieces of this jigsaw that the visitors have
brought to their farm. Her husband's stiff body posture and the
firm set of his jaw let her know that he is truly uneasy over this
situation. Sue returns that sentiment and lies awake for over an
hour worrying about what their future may hold with these people on
their farm.