Compass Call: Survival & Awakening (The Gatekeeper Book 3) (29 page)

He didn’t know what to expect from the meeting, but he planned to be cordial, polite and cooperative. He also planned to apologize for his behavior during the last meeting, but only if the opportunity presented itself. Now that he had Tony’s attention, he hoped they could come to agreeable terms on how life was to go forward in the neighborhood. The last thing John wanted was to sustain open hostilities with Tony. His goal was to leave the neighborhood without resistance, and that wouldn’t happen if he continued to pull the man’s chains.

Pete asked, “How long do you think the meeting will last?”

“I don’t know. I’m thinking an hour . . . hour and a half, tops,” replied John.

“What’s your contingency plan?” asked Pete, as he continued to focus on John’s demeanor.

“I’m only going for a meeting, Pete. It not a combat op.”

“You’re wrong, John. It
is
a combat op. That guy is oily . . . he’s bad news,” said Pete, as he turned to look at Paul for moral support.

“I’ve never trusted him,” said Paul, and shrugged to Pete when John was momentarily distracted by his equipment.

Pete gave Paul a look of, “Is that the best you can do?” and continued with his criticism. “Let me go with you . . . at least for the initial meet. If everything looks good I’ll leave and you can hold your private meeting,” finished Pete.

“Pete, seriously,” said John, “I can handle Tony and his boys. And I’d rather you be here at the house protecting the group with Paul, than be on the other side of the neighborhood with me, especially if the bikers come back.”

“Speaking of bikers, aren’t we supposed to set up some obstacles or something?” asked Paul.

“We’ll do that as soon as I get back,” replied John. “Now if you guys are satisfied I’ll head over to Tony’s. Call me on the radio if anything comes up.” Turning to Pete, John added, “If you hear any shots fired, jump in your truck and come to Tony’s.”

“See! I knew you had bad feelings about the meeting. You do, don’t you?” asked Pete.

John chuckled softly, not to offend as much as acknowledge Pete’s feelings. There was something about the meeting that didn’t sit right with him, but he wasn’t going to admit it to Pete because he’d never agree to let him go alone. “I’m committed to this meeting, Pete. To back out now would show weakness on our part. It would only embolden Tony. I need to approach him from a position of power.”

“It’s risky . . . and it’s not very army of you,” said Pete.

“You’re right, but you know I can handle myself. Besides, I need to close the loop on this . . . on Tony,” said John, as he waved his hand in gesture of the neighborhood. What John didn’t say is that he would willingly risk walking into any ambush if Pete was protecting his family, but he knew better than to fuel his friend’s concerns, so he kept that comment to himself. Besides, John was confident he could handle Tony. He felt the man was little more than a self-serving loudmouth, not some seasoned mafia crime boss.

John noticed Pete was still trying to get a read on him, so he added, “It’s not like I don’t want you to come, but I’ll not risk the greater vulnerability for the sake of the entire company. You and Paul staying here, protecting the company, is what makes this meeting even possible.”

“Why?” said Paul. “So what if you stand him up? You don’t owe him anything.”

John wasn’t surprised to hear Paul chime in. He was actually glad for it, but he was surprised that Paul was siding with Pete. He wondered if Paul also felt something was off about the meeting. A part
of John wanted to confront Tony, to rub his face in the fact that the neighborhood was unprepared because of his past rejection of John’s offer to help, but in reality it was more about standing and reputation, his view on honor and integrity. John also wanted to hold Tony accountable. “Look guys, I agreed to the meeting . . . we agreed to the meeting. We just need to wrap up a few more things, and then we’ll be out of here on our terms, not Tony’s. Trust me, I can handle this. I’ll stay in touch. And if I hear the sound of motorcycles, I’ll drop everything and run home.”

Paul slapped John on the back and returned to the house without another word. Pete just stood there silently staring at him. John looked at his watch and said, “I know you’re not comfortable with this, Pete, but I need the closure. I’d like to leave sometime tomorrow evening, once the sun sets. As soon as it’s dark we’ll pack up, drive for a couple of hours, and then stop for the night. We’ll go just far enough to clear the area and settle into a travel routine. My goal is to distract Tony for one more day, so we can leave here unmolested,” finished John. Pete still didn’t answer, so John added, “Will you please stop worrying, everything will be fine.”

“I don’t share your confidence, but you’re the boss. I just hope that if you get into trouble . . . I can come bail you out. I think you’re underestimating Tony. I should have shot him yesterday,” said Pete.

John sighed and said, “Yeah. Maybe you’re right. But we’re past that now. I’ll be fine. I don’t trust him either, but I feel confident I can handle anything he throws at me.”

“I hope you’re right, brother. I really hope you’re right,” said Pete, and with that he finally turned and entered the house.

When John heard the deadbolt engage, and the security brace drop into place behind the door, he almost knocked and asked to say goodbye to Jenna one last time. But he talked himself out of it by thinking it would be a sign of weakness, and he couldn’t allow himself to look weak, not after his speech to Pete and Paul. He turned and walked down the walkway and stepped onto the street.

John glanced right, down the road toward the entrance, and imagined the placement of blocking obstacles that would prevent the motorcycle gang from driving freely into the neighborhood. Security was one of the things he planned to discuss with Tony, about setting up an ambush and establishing some form of defensive perimeter.

He knew there were good people in the neighborhood, people who deserved better leadership than Tony, but John knew it wasn’t going to be him. Still, he felt compelled to help as much as he could, just as Pete did on his drive up. Other than Corbin, Paul, and Marissa, John spent all his time focused on the survival of his immediate family, and he felt it was time to give something of himself to the people in the neighborhood, even if it wouldn’t be appreciated.

The occasional gust of wind blew narrow lines of gray ash across the road as he walked. As a testament to the ash’s determination, it was once again accumulating in depressions, against trees and poles, and on the windward sides of buildings and other structures. Pools of ash sat in the road like rain puddles, but they were hardly more than a brief reflection of the original. John stepped through the ash puddles, leaving little more than a hasty footprint in the blowing wind. The neighborhood was a ghost town once again. John anticipated the sound of a banging window shutter, but the sound never reached his ears.

While sitting at his desk in his downtown Fort Worth office worrying about how to keep his investors happy, John never thought that in a weeks’ time he’d be openly carrying his rifle down the street, or seeing any number of other things when the ash started to fall. It was all very surreal to him, and he was prepared for it. He could only try to imagine how other people, unprepared people, felt right now. He was still amazed at how much change had occurred in such a short amount of time. He never thought it would end up like this; that so much change would happen so quickly, and completely. He also never thought it would come about by a single natural disaster.

He liked reading post-apocalyptic disaster fiction, of learning about other people’s thoughts and ideas about how they thought the change would happen, but he never thought he’d live to see the change. Many of the stories were fanciful and overly dramatic, but he was interested in all variations, and pleased to learn that there were other people who also felt the coming change. However, what surprised John the most about the disaster, was that it was natural, and that it came so hard and fast.

Until the ash actually began to fall, John was convinced the change would be brought about by man, a manmade disaster like an EMP attack, or economic collapse, but not Mother Nature. He believed she couldn’t effect a great enough outcome for change. He had never been more wrong about anything in his life, and it was the first and greatest mental leap he had to make in order to survive.

John actually like the idea of economic collapse because it would have left many things intact, important things, like water, crops, and livestock. The eruption was more like a gunshot wound to the head, rather than the slow, painful, cancerous death of a collapsing economy. He had no idea that a natural disaster could affect such complete and total change. It made economic collapse seem like child’s play by comparison. He might have once secretly longed for change, but now that it was upon him he regretted ever having had such feelings. John felt no pride for his preparedness because it didn’t justify his seemingly selfish desire to live while everyone around him died. He forced himself to control those thoughts, but wondered what good was it to live if he was the only man left standing.

One thing was for sure, survival made him long to be with other survivors, to be in the company of other people who prepared because they had the foresight to act before death actually came knocking at their door. For the first time since Eli directed him to leave, John was actually excited about finding something more complete and satisfying than anything his preparedness could have achieved by itself.
For John, it was not as much about survival, as it was about finding answers to his questions.

The spiritual experiences left him with many new questions about life, about his purpose and direction. He had more awareness than he ever thought was possible, yet he looked forward to even more. Even when taken in small doses, the experiences exposed him to an understanding of unlimited potential and possibility, and it was that feeling that inspired him to seek for more.

John felt a feather tickle on his ear, and he reached up to scratch it. He was pulled back from his contemplative reverie, and couldn’t shake the feeling that he was walking into a trap. With each step he was further committed, and another part of him urged him on, as if the experience was necessary for him to learn and grow.

When he rounded the corner at the end of the street, he paused to study the road in front of him. A clear message entered his mind, as if relieving him of all responsibility, “You don’t have to do this, John. You can turn around and go home right now.”

He paused again and considered the message. “
I have to do this
,” he thought. “
I feel the truth of it
.” A moment later another message lightly touched his mind, “
What will be, will be
.” With that, John resumed his walk to Tony’s. The house was just up ahead. He couldn’t turn around now. Besides, a new level of importance had been settled. The meeting had to happen, regardless of consequence. John realized that the meeting would set into motion a sequence of events that would facilitate his continued growth, and he was very much interested in forward movement, especially with his spiritual awakening.

He quickened his pace as he neared Tony’s home, and strode boldly up the driveway to face Tony. The short, round man was sitting on a lawn chair in his garage. He was reading a magazine as if he didn’t notice John walk up. John cleared his throat and Tony stood up to greet him.

“Just like a Soldier . . . right on time,” said Tony, looking at his watch.

John looked at his watch and said, “I’m five minutes early . . . hope you don’t mind.”

“I thought that was on time for a Soldier,” said Tony. “But of course I don’t mind. I’m glad you’re here,” he added with a big smile.

John disliked people who patronized his military service, but he learned to deal with it. Most folks he met were genuinely grateful for his service, but there were always a few who tried to use it for their advantage, such as ingratiating themselves to him. John simply smiled back and said, “It’s a quick walk now that the road is pretty much clear of ash. So, what do you want to talk about? I’ve got a few ideas, but I want to hear yours first.”

“How’s the water handout going?” asked Tony. He invited John to sit with a wave of his hand, and then settled into his own chair.

“Good . . . but busy,” said John. “I was thinking about asking you for help with that. The coupons work well, better than I thought they would, but it’s demanding.”

“I thought you had help . . . from the people living with you,” replied Tony.

“I do. I’m working everyone on two-man shifts,” replied John. “And that makes for some very long shifts.”

“And yet here you are by yourself. I was surprised you didn’t bring your friend with you. What’s his name? Pete?” replied Tony.

“Yeah, well, with the threat of the biker gang looming, I didn’t want to leave the house unprotected,” said John.

Tony nodded and said, “Yes, that was quite a scare last night. What do you think it was all about?” asked Tony.

John studied Tony, reading his facial expression and body language. It was clear to John that he knew more than he was letting on, and that he was fishing for more information, but John didn’t know what to make of it. After a moment he finally said, “Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. The man who attacked Paul’s family was a member of the same biker gang. I believe they came looking for him yesterday, and when they didn’t find him they torched his house. I also believe they’ll be back.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” said Tony. “Especially if they think Paul is still in the neighborhood. You said he was the one who shot the biker?”

“Did I?” said John. He thought for a moment and said, “Maybe I did yesterday, I don’t remember. But yes, he shot the guy who raped his wife, beat him, and tied up his children. I’m convinced Darrell was planning to kill Paul’s entire family, and then burn their house down on top of them,” said John.

“Really? How can you be so sure?” asked Tony.

With raised eyebrows, John asked, “About the rape? I saw . . .”