Part 32 (1/2)
”Charge all the market will bear,” Mary growled.
”I'm certain the situation will resolve itself. Left to itself, the market always does,” San Paulo insisted.
”How many people are you willing to let starve?”
”No one will starve,” San Paulo said with absolute certainty.
Ray tapped the board, bringing up the weather picture. A fifth hurricane was forming behind the four headed their way. ”The first storm will come ash.o.r.e just south of Refuge tomorrow. Then one every three days. There won't be a next crop.”
San Paulo looked at the board, frowned at it, then shook her head. ”That's impossible. Hurricanes do not behave like that. That's just another one of your computer tricks.”
Ray shook his head. ”Ms. San Paulo, we will continue to care for Rose. You are welcome to stay here as our guest. But if you will not cooperate with us in the problems we now have, I believe this meeting is over.”
”I must serve my people, look out for their welfare,” she started.
Ray cut her off. ”Outside the base, but not on it. Here, the people are under my protection. They are at present organized and satisfied with that arrangement. Is that right, Father?”
The priest nodded.
”What would you expect from a priest? You feed him,” one of San Paulo's staff muttered.
”I don't have time for you to poll them,” the Colonel shot back. ”Stay in the quarters a.s.signed you, or leave. If you won't help us, I can't afford for you to cause me trouble.”
At that the Colonel stood and left; Mary led the rest out. Poor Father Joseph watched them go, glanced at San Paulo's group, then joined Mary. She held her troops for a second in the work bay. ”You've got your orders. Make 'em happen.”
The others left; the doc and the padre remained. ”Mary, I'm worried about the Colonel and the kids,” the doc started.
”My office,” Mary cut him off as the first of San Paulo's cronies nosed around the door. A moment later, door closed, Mary motioned the two to chairs, then leaned against the front of her desk. ”What about the Colonel and the kids?”
”I think he plans to use them in some kind of attack on the computer,” the doc said. ”They were with him and a stone when the Gardener died.”
”I know. I saw the kids shortly after it happened,” Mary answered. ”He looked a lot worse than the kids.”
”Right. Something had healed his back. He should have looked bad. Still, using the kids in a fight!”
”Father”-Mary turned to the grandfather of one of them-”what do you think?”
”Like so much of what is going on around here, I don't know what to think. I do know that unless we get sun, lots of it real soon, a lot of people will be very hungry. If David can somehow help...” He trailed off.
”What chance could the Colonel and a couple of kids have against that?” The doc waved toward the conference room, whether at the storms or the allied computers or fighting ones, Mary didn't need a clarification. All of them looked too much to her.
She stood; centuries of breeding brought the men to their feet. Or maybe it was the command presence of a marine officer. Mary wasn't sure, just glad of it. ”We've got a day's work cut out for us. Let's take it one step at a time. Padre, will you accompany me on a walk around?”
Mary scrounged up a poncho, which on the priest dragged the ground. For the rest of the morning, they walked the base. They stopped to talk with the troops mustered on the wall, enduring wind and rain to keep an eye on the growing crowd outside. They pa.s.sed through all the living quarters, saying a kind word to worried grande dames and little children. Mary included the padre in her stops around the base's functions run by the crew of Second Chance. His heartfelt thanks to Ray's crew was probably the best morale boost she could have hoped for. Here was one of the locals, thanking the crew for what they were doing. Thanking them for the risks they were taking.
There was no way for the padre to know what Mary did. That the crew had no more choice of being here than he did. Until Matt found a way home, they were all in this together. Still, it would have been easy to build a wall between us and them. The priest helped Mary keep that wall low, toss away the stones that could have built it higher.
Early on, Jeff and Harry said their good-byes, heading out the north gate. The mule towed a trailer full of explosives, laser cutters, and batteries with three horses following it. G.o.d help them, never had a smaller David taken on a bigger Goliath.
Jeff held his rifle tight as the young marine driving zipped out the gate and gunned the mule, wagon, horses, and all out across the field, dodging first left, then right to avoid small clumps of people rus.h.i.+ng their way. ”You know, Zed,” the older marine in the back drawled, ”you flip that trailer over and none of us will be worrying about meeting anyone anymore.”
”Lil, I'm the one driving and I ain't wrecked a heap yet.”
”Before last year, you'd never wheeled a heap legal.”
”When it's hot, you sure don't drive it like an old lady.”
Jeff and Harry exchanged glances, neither sure exactly what was being said. Jeff strongly suspected he'd be happier not knowing. Ned just leaned back, enjoying the ride. Two hours later, they'd avoided all problems, and had the present small valley they were crossing all to themselves and a flock of six-legged things that ignored humans and vice versa. ”I'm getting a message from Lek!” Jeff hollered. ”Zed, could we take a break?”
”Braking!” the kid hollered, and skidded to a halt that fish-tailed the mule's rear and the trailer behind.
”Zed, I'm gonna turn those nanos loose on your head.”
”Wouldn't find nothing?
”He didn't drive that way yesterday,” Harry pointed out.
”Wouldn't dare; Ca.s.sie'd hauled his a.s.s off to church,” Lil laughed.
”Just having some fun,” the kid defended himself.
Jeff studied the map Lek fed to the mule's display. ”Dancer says the two are fighting it out up the James River, with flanks seventy miles on either side,” Lek told them as the screen showed a large blob of pink in front of them. Blue was on the far side. Both spread north and south of the James. ”Dancer figures the Pres was outmaneuvered. He'll take the worst hits from the hurricanes unless he gets inland fast. Any places we can disrupt the Provost?”
Harry overlaid his geology data on the display, ”Several rocky outcroppings close to us.” He highlighted four. ”Does Dancer have a preference?”
There was a short pause. ”Dancer has no idea. Hit a few. He'll let us know what happens.”
”Great targeting system we got here,” Zed growled.
”Best we got is always great,” Lil said cheerfully.
”What's that?” Zed shouted, pointing behind them.
Jeff turned, just in time to see the tarp on the trailer move. He leveled his gun. ”Who's there?” he demanded.
”Just me,” came a very familiar voice. The tarp raised; Annie stared at his gun. ”Could you point that somewhere else?”
”Annie,” Jeff safetied his rifle as Lil and Harry leaped out to help Annie. Jeff got there just in time to put his arms around her and help her over the trailer's side. She was very holdable. ”d.a.m.n it, woman, what are you doing here? Can't any Mulroney woman stay where she belongs?”
”If Mulroney women had stayed home, there wouldn't be any Mulroney men on this planet,” she shot back. ”I heard you griping there weren't enough on this team. I have two hands.”
”You should have asked,” Jeff cried.
”And you'd have said no,” she answered primly, looking around, taking a poll of those present, ”Wouldn't he?”
”Boys what think they're in love do crazy things,” Lil answered. ”Let's roll.”
Jeff took his seat up front, rifle handy. Annie squeezed in the back between Lil and Harry. As Zed got them moving, Jeff relented. ”There's more room in front.” In a flash of hiked-up skirts and revealed legs, Annie was over the seat and settling down beside Jeff in a second.
”There's plenty of room close to me,” Zed pointed out, patting the seat next to him.