America's Sunset: A Post Apocalyptic Fight for Survival (19 page)

“Where the hell am I?”

“You’re in my world, boy, is where you are, and you need to get with the program.” Jake pulled him to his feet. Dawson steadied himself, leaning back on the crates. “There’s no time to waste, we need to find your kids. Maggie’s working on it downstairs.”

“Downstairs? Isn’t this your shed?”

Jake had no time for this. “Dawson! The town is going to hell, we’ve been shot at, and your kids are missing. You need to wake the fuck up and be a man. I don’t care how hung over you are. Follow me. Now!”

The fog of liquor in Dawson’s brain parted, and reality came flooding back in. “Veronica? Chase? Damn, what the hell have I done?”

“What you’ve done is tried to find the answer in the bottom of a bottle. Again. If only it were that easy. This problem isn’t going away. We’re going to have to work doubly hard to fix this. Follow me.”

Jake opened the door when his cell phone chimed a text message. It was from Homeland Security. He read the message, then looked back at Dawson. “You may have just caught the biggest break of your life, son.”

Chapter 35 ~ Pickup Confessions

The first half of the drive was quiet. Jake was at the wheel, Dawson sat in the passenger seat, and Maggie occupied the rear seat of the extended cab. There wasn’t much traffic on the road, what with the majority of vehicles still out of commission. Most everyone was focused on repairing the damage done to the city in the recent attacks. Water was now the big concern, with the tower out of commission. Some people had started stockpiling water when the grid went down, but others still didn’t seem to get the message. Those who had at least filled their bathtubs and every container they had would be fine for a few days, but after that things would go bad fast. There was an effort by city employees to get word out about basic sources of water that everyone could use, like the water stored in their water heaters. They distributed pamphlets with instructions on how to drain your water heater. Jake hated the thought of leaving the bunker at a time like this, but the thought of the kids out there on their own bothered him even more.

Dawson’s old pickup ran fine now that Jake had disabled or found workarounds for the digitally controlled engine components. Jake knew well the location the agents had texted him. It was a small deserted farmhouse that used to belong to one of the original settler families. The land was now a small part of corporate controlled farming. The original family sold out during the Great Depression in the ’30s. The farmhouse would have been knocked down long ago, if not for the debate between the local historic preservation society and the corporate landlords. It sat on a very small lot of farmable land. The preservation society was in the midst of trying to raise funds to restore it. So, it just sat.

Dawson leaned forward, pointing down the road. “There’s a van in front of that old house. Is that them?”

Jake worried about how much he had said to Maggie. The agents had him under strict orders not to tell anyone what he knew. Maggie could be trusted. Jake knew that, he just wasn’t sure he could convince the agents of the same thing. Dawson was another story. How much of the story could he be trusted with? How much of the story could he handle? The agents would have to understand that Dawson would figure things out. They’d rescued his kids, and they were now meeting them in the middle of nowhere for a secret hand-off. How could Jake not tell Dawson anything? “This is the location they gave me,” Jake said. “There wouldn’t be anyone else out here.”

“Who exactly are these guys?” Dawson asked.

Jake made eye contact with Maggie in the rear-view mirror. She looked sympathetic, but didn’t offer any advice.

“Homeland Security,” Maggie said. Jake shook his head disapprovingly.

Dawson looked abruptly back at Maggie, then at Jake. “Are you serious? Why would they have anything to do with my kids?”

“They were in the area because of the attacks. They pulled over a vehicle that looked suspicious and found the kids inside with a couple of Middle Eastern guys.”

“Iraqi guys?”

“They didn’t specify. They just said Middle Eastern. What makes you think Iraqi?”

“Isn’t it always guys from there?” Dawson answered, now looking back up the road at the farmhouse.

“Isn’t that where you did your military time?” Maggie asked from the back. Jake gave her the silent what-are-you-doing stare this time, but she ignored him.

“Yeah,” Dawson answered gruffly.

They turned down the narrow gravel road leading up to the farmhouse. Veronica and Chase sat on the front porch. The black van started up the road towards them. They passed each other going in opposite directions. Dawson strained to see inside the departing van, while Jake paid them no heed whatsoever.

“I couldn’t see anyone inside the windows. Could you guys?” Dawson asked.

Jake just shook his head. “The kids look OK,” Maggie said, pointing through the window, changing the topic.

Veronica and Chase sat huddled together on the front steps till they recognized Dawson’s pickup. Veronica leapt up and charged down the steps toward the pickup in spite of Chase’s attempt to hold her back. She was having none of that. Dawson was the first one out of the truck as it came to a stop, and Veronica nearly bowled him over as she threw herself into his arms.

“Do you really think it’s necessary to tell him everything?” Jake said, turning to look at Maggie in the back of the truck. “The man can barely stay off the bottle for more than a few days. I’m not sure we want to be telling him too much.”

“I didn’t tell him everything. Besides, they’re his kids. He deserves to know what’s going on.” Maggie paused. “It’s his life too. Maybe knowing everything would straighten him out.”

“Or send him right back into the bottle.”

“We’ve got to give him a chance to make things right. There are tough times ahead, and we both know there’s no room for a dead weight. He deserves an opportunity to fix things. I’m sure if he knew what was really going on, he’d behave differently.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” They both watched as Dawson sat with the kids on the front steps. Chase was reluctantly talking.

“Wouldn’t you?” Maggie asked.

“Wouldn’t I what?”

“Want to know what was going on if this was happening to you?”

“It wouldn’t happen to me.”

“Don’t give me that, Jake Banner. You know very well that things can happen in anyone’s life that they have no control over. Dawson didn’t decide out of the blue to jump on a plane to some foreign country and kill innocent people.”

“No, but he did decide how to deal with it afterward.”

“Those are horrific events for anyone to deal with.” Maggie took a deep breath. “He’s good people, Jake. Deep down inside, he is and you know it. We wouldn’t be here if you didn’t believe that. He needs our help. Just a little guidance. Point him in the right direction. That much we can do. We wouldn’t be saving just one man, we’d be saving an entire family.”

The both watched as Dawson and the kids made their way down the drive towards the truck. Dawson said something to Chase, who playfully punched Dawson in the shoulder.

Jake nodded his head up and down. “Yeah, alright. For the family.”

Maggie couldn’t wait any longer, and jumped out of the truck to see the kids. Veronica ran into her arms, but Chase just walked by with a smile. Maggie grabbed him in a headlock and pulled him in for a group hug. Chase begrudgingly played along.

“I’m so glad to see you two; you have no idea how worried I was,” Maggie said as she squeezed them tight. “Your dad was pretty worried too I might add. It took both of us to keep him from tearing the whole town apart looking for you both.”

Dawson gave her a guilty smile. “Thank you, Maggie. I don’t know what I’d do without the two of you. You’re the world’s best landlords ever. Above and beyond.”

“You’re welcome, Dawson. Whatever it takes to help out with my second favorite kids in the world.”

“Only second favorite?” Veronica looked up at Maggie with big eyes.

“I do have children of my own you know, pumpkin.” Maggie smiled. “They always have to be my favorite. It’s a rule.”

“It is?”

“Of course it is, just ask your dad.”

Dawson nodded his head in agreement. “It’s true, kiddo. You wouldn’t want anyone to squeeze in above you on my list of favorite kids, would you?” Chase rolled his eyes, finally sneaking away from Maggie’s embrace.

Veronica looked to Maggie. “Are we ever gonna meet your kids? How old are they?”

“I certainly hope so, pumpkin. They’ll be coming for a visit soon.” Maggie’s eyes misted over.

Dawson clapped his hands together. “Alright, everyone, let’s get in the truck and out of here. We’ve got places to go.”

“Actually,” Maggie interrupted, “Jake wanted to chat with you in the truck about a few things.” Dawson raised questioning eyebrows. “I’ll hang out here with the kids for a little bit, and let you two have a guys’ chat.”

“Umm, OK,” Dawson agreed as he got in the truck, giving Maggie a what’s-up look. Maggie and Veronica walked hand in hand down the lane, while Chase trailed behind. Looking back at the pickup, he wanted to ask what was going on, but knew Maggie wouldn't tell him.

“You wanted to have a chat?” Dawson said, sliding in.

“Yeah,” Jake answered, adjusting his ball cap. “There’s been some stuff going on lately that we need to be straight about.”

Dawson held out both hands in agreement. “Let me just stop you right there. I know I’ve been a screw-up lately, and I know there’s no good excuse. I’ve got lots of crappy excuses, but you don’t need to hear them. You and Maggie have been nothing short of spectacular, and I already owe you guys more than I can ever pay back. But, from now on, I promise to —”

“Actually, let me stop you. This is not about you and your screw-ups. We’re all well aware of those. This is more about mine.”

Maggie and the kids didn’t get far down the lane before Maggie heard the sound of feet running in the gravel. Maggie turned, bracing herself, only to realize that the feet were running away from her. It was Chase running towards the parked pickup truck, which at first confused Maggie. Where was Chase going? Alarms went off in Maggie’s head and she looked around to see what Chase was running
from
. All Maggie could see was the old farmhouse, and crops. No one was coming up the lane, there were no vehicles on the road, and nothing overhead.

They she realized what was going on. Through the back window of the pickup, she could see Jake and Dawson having a heated discussion in the truck. Heated enough that they were pushing each other, and while she couldn’t be sure, it looked like Dawson was throwing punches. Maggie ran after Chase. Before either could get there, the passenger door flew open, and both Dawson and Jake came tumbling out onto the ground.

Chase stopped at the edge of the wrestling match. He hesitated for a second, then reached down to break up the grown men, but changed his mind. He wasn’t sure who to pull off who. Maggie pulled Chase back from the tussle by his arm.

“Go with your sister,” Maggie instructed, pointing to Veronica, who was standing in the middle of the laneway, frozen. Chase hesitated briefly. “Don’t make me repeat myself. Go to your sister. She’s had enough excitement for one day, and she’s not going to understand this.”

“I’m not sure I understand it,” Chase answered.

“Go!” Maggie said, and Chase headed towards Veronica.

Maggie turned her attention back to the wrestling match. “Grown men can be such jack-asses,” she said to whomever was listening, which at the moment was no one.

The longer the two of them wrestled in the dirt, the more tired they became. It no longer seemed a battle of one trying to beat up the other one, but more a battle of survival. Neither wanted to give in, but it was becoming obvious that the younger Dawson was going to win out on pure endurance. As the fight ran out of enthusiastic combatants and Dawson was about to pin Jake, Maggie delivered a swift kick to Dawson’s backside. They were both so engrossed in the conflict they hadn’t noticed Maggie’s presence.

“Get the hell off of my husband!” Maggie said.

Partially from surprise, and partially from fatigue, they rolled away from one another. Dawson was the first to get to his feet but Jake wasn’t far behind. He had no intention of letting the kid think he’d got the better of him. They hunched over, hands on their knees, trying to catch their breath.

Maggie spoke up. “What the hell is wrong with you two? Did you forget the kids were here?” She turned to Dawson. “Do you really want them to see you rolling around in the dirt like a dog? Is that what we’ve come to? There’s enough damn conflict going around, without you two squaring off.”

Dawson pointed a finger at Jake. “This bastard has been —” Jake shook his head, and Maggie cut him off.

“You will not refer to my husband in that tone. He may be a lot of things, but a bastard he is not. I’ve met both his parents, and they’re wonderful people. Salt of the earth. I have no reason to believe that their son was born out of wedlock, so you will not call him that. Not after everything we’ve done for you and the kids.”

“Dammit, Maggie, I’m sorry, but he’s been spying of me and the kids. He’s known we were in danger all this time and did nothing. He put all of us in harm’s way. That’s just not right.”

“He had no choice. This is big government we’re talking about. They do whatever they want. They could’ve locked him up on trumped up charges or confiscated everything we have. At least this way he was in the loop. He was in contact with the department, and knew what they were looking for. He pieced together quite a bit of your story. They didn’t say much, and you didn’t say much, but between the two he figured things out.”

Jake chimed in. “I didn’t give them much, just enough to keep them happy. After a while, I figured out what they wanted to hear. It’s not like you were doing anything wrong, at least not in their eyes. It’s not you they were ever looking for, it’s these bastards that have been blowing everything up. Actually, they’re interested in their bosses. These local guys are just little fish. Your original target—whoever that was—is who they’re really interested in.”