Starting the Slowpocalypse (Books 1-3 Omnibus) Page 5

Everything Changes

  6:40 a.m. Saturday, November 23rd

  DAVID cradled his hands around the warm steel mug and tried to blink the sleep from his eyes. The first weak efforts of the predawn sun were barely enough to see by as he made his way down the sidewalk toward the perimeter wall. His mind failed to focus, despite the crispness in the air—his thoughts were still and quiet, as empty as everything around him. Then, into that silence, a heavy chain rattled and rusty wheels screeched.

  He raised his head in confusion. In the distance he saw the great gleaming white of Ken’s pickup, idling on the other side of the high chain-link fence as two guards struggled to pull the gate back.

  Blinking slowly, David checked his watch—difficult enough, he found, to get up and ready before the first crack of light, but now his boss was having the compound opened early. No doubt to get a head start on the day’s work.

  David stopped and took a small sip of his coffee while he waited. He took a long, deep inhalation of the bitter aroma to stimulate his senses and felt his brain finally, slowly, start turning over. He usually had a good fifteen minutes to finish waking up—it was one of the reasons he liked to walk down from his mom’s house to meet Ken at the main gate in the first place—but here was his boss already at the curb and leaning across to pop the passenger side door open.

  David pulled himself up into the spacious cab, slamming the door shut with a satisfying thunk. He noticed the street remained deserted. Because only Ken would be insane enough to arrive before dawn on a Saturday morning. David swallowed another slug of coffee. Sweet honey-laden heaven.

  “I know you’re a big man, Boss—I mean a person with influence.” He didn’t want Ken to think he was talking about the man’s weight. At six-foot-two it was mostly muscle, but if Ken had some extra flab on his frame, it didn’t detract from his intimidating presence. “But do you really have to use it to get the gate opened twenty minutes early?”

  Ken merely grunted, his own giant mug forgotten in his hand as he stared into the rearview mirror while the truck continued to idle at the curb. David glanced into the side mirror and watched as the two guards pushed the gate closed again. He stretched up and leaned out the open window to stare as they looped the heavy chain through and closed the padlock.

  David pulled his head back in and turned to his boss. “Making sure they do a proper job of locking up?” Though he wondered why they would bother, when they’d only have to open back up again in another fifteen minutes or so.

  “Enjoy your coffee.” Ken took his eyes off the rearview mirror and pulled out his FURCS pad and began logging on to the local network.

  David couldn’t help but sigh. His boss was an old-timer who refused to accept that the pads could automatically connect to the FURCSnet when they got in range. David decided to use this opportunity to down a significant amount of coffee in a couple of long gulps. He believed he’d need it.

  Feeling more alert, he watched his boss slip the pad away, shift his bulky frame in the seat, and return his gaze to the rearview mirror. David looked out and back again—in time to see two more guards arrive. The first two had retreated to one side of the perimeter wall and started to slide a tall and heavy-looking iron gate from inside the wall and across the road toward the other side. Together they pushed the thing far inside the opposite wall until it locked into something with an ominous clang.

  David hadn’t seen that particular gate before or even known it was there. Of course he’d only been living in the community a few months, so the whole business might not be that unusual. He tried to get Ken’s attention. “What’s going on?”

  His boss simply shrugged and put the truck into drive. They glided up the deserted central avenue as brighter light began to fan across the sky. Ken started gulping his own coffee as he cast a discerning eye over the roofs and foundations, gutters and lawns of the homes on either side of the street. David might have done the same if he’d been fully awake.

  Instead of the usual running commentary about problems needing to be fixed and work to be done, his boss continued to drive in silence, turning down one of the residential streets to continue the casual inspection. As they passed by the Belue home, Ken asked the question. “Why don’t you let me pick you up at your mom’s house? Or the student dorms, if that’s more convenient?”

  David shook his head. “Thanks, but this works fine for me.”

  Ken grunted. “At least you get to spend some time with your mother now.”

  “Sunday dinners, mostly.” David had first met his boss when David had been living with his aunt and uncle on the Gulf Coast. “She’s been too busy otherwise.” Of course, he was quite busy himself, between work and classes and what little social life he managed to eke out. He didn’t blame his mom.

  David took another slug of coffee before turning to business. He pulled out his own FURCS pad and called up the queue of complaints and requests to be dealt with. Ken had drilled the priorities into him. David could now sort all the routine tasks from the urgent problems. Before he could finish, though, a new message came through the business filter. An administrative alert. A quick glance at the content forced an unintended groan from his throat.

  David turned to his boss and saw he had Ken’s attention. “You’ve been summoned by the deputy director.” Also known as David’s mother.

  His boss frowned but said nothing, just slowly pulled a U-turn and headed back toward the main thoroughfare, which led straight to Admin. Something was in the wind. Between the behavior of the gate guards and this, David could see that much, but he couldn’t imagine what it might be.

  He wasn’t surprised that his mother had official business with Ken. Indeed, it was inevitable. Yet he’d never before had an occasion to visit her workplace, and now he’d see it first in his capacity as a part-time gofer. Somehow David felt faintly embarrassed, and that did surprise him.

  His boss swung the truck into the restricted lot by the main entrance and parked it right in front of those doors and started to slide out of the pickup. He paused with one foot on the ground and jerked his head at David, who would rather have waited in the truck finishing his coffee.

  Ken had swept inside and made straight for the stairs by the time David caught up to him. Casting a longing glance at the elevator, David hurried up the steep steps, chasing after his boss as he tried to tamp down the apprehension rising in his gut.

  As they emerged onto the fifth floor, David had managed to squelch his stomach if not his curiosity. He wondered what connected Ken with his mother and that business at the gate. If he kept his mouth shut and just listened, maybe he could piece enough together to figure out what was happening.

  A reception desk sat empty, the door behind it standing open onto a large suite of offices, where a swarm of people buzzed around in a frenzy of activity. David knew his mother often worked Saturdays, but he hadn’t expected the place to be this busy.

  Four desks formed a square in the center of the room, and in the middle of that space sat the only person David could recognize. Toby was a bean bag with thick glasses and fine brown hair in a bowl cut—and according to David’s mother the man was a competent dynamo. Toby was her valued assistant and gatekeeper. And right now Toby looked to be occupied with four or five different tasks.

  Ken walked on in, pausing only to nod at David to stay behind, then strode to the far side, barging into the office opposite. David caught a glimpse of his mother’s face as she raised her head, before the closing door cut off his view. At least he was spared witness to that confrontation.

  He flashed a grin at Toby and let his eyes roam, but he saw nothing to indicate what it was that had everyone working so hard. So he gave up wondering for the moment and tried to just wait.

  Toby flashed him a return smile, but none of the others paid David any attention at all—they flew around him like he was a piece of furniture. David eased closer to Toby’s desks to get further out of the general flight path, and waited for an opportunity to speak.
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br />   With Toby typing into one workpad while talking into another FURCS pad, it was difficult for David to judge the right moment, but when he noticed the man pause for a second, he interjected a quick comment. “Busy, isn’t it?”

  Toby stopped. He looked a bit weary, like he might appreciate a break. But he wasn’t smiling. “It’s serious, alright.”

  “Is it top secret, or can you give me a hint?”

  Toby pursed his lips. “If you’d taken your job here with us, you’d already know all about it.”

  “Work for my mother?” David couldn’t see that being anything but awkward.

  Toby shook his head. “Office work would have been more your speed. You’re just not the construction type.”

  David bit back his reply. Everyone saw him as bookish, but he’d labored hard rebuilding homes after Hurricane Ashley. He might not be the ‘type’ but he could do the work. He didn’t mention that, though, as he didn’t think Toby would understand his point-of-view. “I get plenty of admin as Ken’s assistant. Anyway, it’s just part-time. You know I’m studying to be a lawyer?”

  Toby ought to appreciate that, and the man did unbend a little. “There’s been some kind of threat—the nature of that is top secret, for now—so they’ve put the compound on lockdown. There’ll be an official statement soon.”

  “Lockdown? Isn’t that Security’s thing?” Since it was early on a Saturday morning and most sensible people were still in bed, David supposed they’d felt no need to rush out an announcement. It could be a while before most people even noticed anything unusual. “All this activity can’t be only for making a statement?”

  “We’ve got to cross-reference the resident files with the security logs. To find out who was actually inside the compound when it was sealed this morning and who wasn’t, and where they might be so we can—” Toby swiveled in his chair and hit a few keys on his workpad. “Although—”

  David boggled a bit. “How long are they expecting this lockdown to last?” But he wouldn’t get an answer to his question, as Toby had already plunged back into his work.

  No doubt David’s mother was explaining everything to Ken right now, and surely his boss would be filling David in before long. Nonetheless, David had nothing else to do but wait, so he took out his pad and checked the news.

  There was nothing on the local FURCSnet, but that was no surprise. They were always behind anyway, and surely Admin would delay any story until after an official announcement was made.

  The major news outlets would be reporting the threat, though, if it were that big a deal. However, David could find nothing beyond the local network. There was no connection to the outside web at all, and although that could happen by accident, he did not think that was the case. He imagined either a threat to the network itself, or an attempt to control just how and when residents found out about whatever this threat was. A news blackout.

  He didn’t have much opportunity to speculate, though, about what might’ve prompted it. His bleak thoughts were interrupted by the door of his mother’s office swinging open, with his boss heading for the lobby and barely glancing at David, who hurried after him. Ken made straight for the elevator doors, and waited. When the car arrived, he stepped in and motioned for David to follow.

  Entering to stand behind his boss, David examined the man’s blank expression and relaxed stance and saw determination. His own mood was relief to be out of that place, and curiosity. Which might not be satisfied for a while yet, but he continued to feel lighter as he trailed Ken back to the truck. Even the man’s continued silence didn’t bother him.

  Still, he considered what approach to take as his boss pulled the pickup out of the parking lot. Better to avoid the subject of his mother. Best to start by offering something, even if it was information Ken already possessed.

  “There’s been some kind of threat. No idea what though. Didn’t hear any more.” David let the comment lie there while his boss focused on driving. He expected a response, and eventually it came.

  “Threat.” Ken blew air out between his lips as if that was a comment in itself. He turned down a side road before continuing. “They’re anticipating an all-out assault. So they’ve sealed everything up tight as a drum. No clue when or how or what kind of attack, but we’re to make preparations.”

  David managed to keep his mouth from hanging open. It sounded bad, even though it didn’t really explain anything or make any sense yet. He noticed that Ken had refrained from saying they didn’t know who might attack the compound or why, so David figured they knew and that Ken did too. But hadn’t said. Since Ken didn’t seem inclined to explain further, David figured it would be useless to ask. And even more useless to try to guess.

  Then he noticed they had come to an unfamiliar area near the back of the compound. Visualizing the layout of the place, he estimated they had to be close to one of the far sections of the perimeter wall. This was a question he could ask. “Where are we headed now?”

  “Warehouse 6b.” Which Ken clearly felt needed elaboration. “We’re setting aside the usual maintenance work and starting a new construction project. The supplies we need will be at the warehouse.”

  By the time he’d explained, they’d arrived. Ken swung the truck to a stop in front of a few short steps leading up to a bare metal door. He sat there for a minute, quiet. “I summoned the crew while I was in with the deputy director.”

  David found himself nodding. Ken’s crew were technically subcontractors, but they worked mostly for Ken’s company. Those experts had spearheaded the building of the FURC facilities and community, and they’d settled here once the work was done.

  Of course Ken wanted his crew on board for any big new project. But if any of them had been traveling outside the compound, David had no idea what might be involved in bringing them back inside.

  “Boss, the whole crew is here? On the inside?”

  Ken turned and squinted at him. “I made sure they were.”

  David breathed a sigh of relief, but he remained concerned about the situation. Then he recalled his boss didn’t live in the community.

  “What about Fiona and the girls?” Ken’s family lived on a vast ranch several hours’ drive away.

  His boss ignored the question. “Come on.” Ken left the truck and walked up to the warehouse. David took his time following. He’d had a shock and was still digesting the possible implications. Separated families would only be one.

  At the door, his boss plugged a security key into his FURCS pad and used it to unlock the warehouse and enter. David came in behind, walking into the cool, stale air as he heard the fans kicking on. Then the lights popped on and he saw a gigantic space. It remained dim, though. With the lights far up in the rafters, by the time their illumination drifted down to the floor, there wasn’t much left.

  David could still see enough to take his breath away—boards and cement blocks and long metal rods in dizzying number piled all down the sides of the building, massive shelving that must have been twenty feet high and packed full of who knew what. And all of this had just been sitting here, waiting. He tried to think what it could build.

  He tore himself away from gaping and went to watch Ken plug his FURCS pad into the side of a free-standing counter. The entire thing lit up—it was one big screen displaying inventories and blueprints and other plans. The new project.

  Ken sped through dozens of different diagrams. It all whizzed by too fast for David to examine the specs in detail, but he saw enough to grasp the magnitude of the job, the amount of work involved.

  “Boss. This calls for extensive modifications to the entire perimeter wall. Eight sections, each nearly three thousand yards—that’s over thirteen miles.”

  Ken nodded as he continued scanning the display. “Remember when we were putting in six ten-hour days every week?”

  David’s heart sank. What he remembered was foolishly volunteering to help rebuild. He’d learned how far he could actually push himself if he had to, and it had almost
killed him. David had fervently hoped he’d never have to endure such an ordeal as that again.

  Ken clapped David on the shoulder. “You managed once, you can do it again.”

  They both turned at the sound of Ken’s crew filing in through the open door into the warehouse. Even though Ken saw them all from time to time, the men came in shouting loud greetings and wanting to shake his hand. Ken’s crew reunited.

  David had spent enough time around them to know they were good men, but they were also big, brawny men who lived in another world, with different interests than David. The exception was Jeffrey—thin and wiry and wearing spectacles with tiny frames, he didn’t look as tough as he really was. And he read books. So David had a special liking for the landscaper.

  The crew exchanged updates on how they and their families were doing, laughing together as they got ready to get down to business. The men weren’t displaying any unusual curiosity or concern though. David presumed Ken must not yet have mentioned the trouble that was brewing.

  Steve was the first to ask. “So what’s this great big job you’ve got for us?”

  Ken glanced around to make sure they were all listening. “A major overhaul to the perimeter wall. New security measures, installing other upgrades to the compound’s defensive capabilities.” He reached up a hand to scrub the graying bristles on the top of his head. “They’ll make a big announcement later this morning. Governor Roberts may try to take this place by force.”

  Ken’s crew were stunned into silence, so David asked the next question. “Why?”

  His boss coughed into his hand. “Florida’s seceding. Roberts is claiming this whole place, all the federal property in the state.” He looked around at them all. “Who knows what that nincompoop might do to try and enforce that claim? So we start getting ready for the possibilities.”

  Steve spoke up again. “We’ll need to bring in a lot of workers.”

  Ken shook his head. “The compound has been sealed, to prevent the governor’s people from just waltzing in and taking over. We’ll have to make do with the ones already here. And we’ll be drafting in some help from the community.” He coughed again and turned to look at David. “During this emergency, regular FURC classes have been suspended. The director will be asking every student to pitch in by working full-time.”