Jakarta Pandemic, The (45 page)

“Let’s not wear that one out,” he said and vanished down the stairs.

**

Alex peeked out of the rightmost window of the family room and scanned down the street toward the right, then the left, peering between houses and letting his eyes settle on stationary objects to activate his peripheral vision. He saw nothing out of the ordinary besides an increasingly menacing dark gray sky. The neighborhood was once again quiet after the surprisingly brief influx of refugees from the south.

Maybe they blew up the bridge?

He had convinced himself early on Friday that they would be forced to deal with slow-moving vehicle traffic for days and was now pretty sure that the weather forecast had something to do with the absence of travelers. He heard footsteps on the staircase.

Must be Ryan.

He turned toward the foyer opening just as Ryan stepped down off the stairs.

“Grab a seat, buddy,” he said to Ryan.

“What about?” Ryan asked and rolled over the back of the couch onto Emily.

“Ouuuch. Cut it out, jerk!” she cried, kicking out both legs simultaneously.

Ryan caught both feet directly in the chest while upside down and was propelled off the couch, landing on his back. He sprung back up to retaliate, but was brought right back down to the ground by Kate, who had jumped up from her cozy leather chair a few feet away from Ryan. Alex watched Kate take Ryan off balance and gently ease him back down to the floor.

“That’s enough for now,” she said calmly.

Ryan didn’t physically protest and instead verbally lashed out at Emily. “That’s not fair! She had no right to kick me for real. I was just playing, and she could have paralyzed me!”

“Quit being a baby!” Emily taunted.

“Take it easy both of you!” Alex said.

“But, Dad, she’s such a little—”

“That’s it! I’m not kidding. If she doesn’t want you crashing into her ten times a day, then lay off. And you need to be more careful. This isn’t an ultimate fighting arena.”

“But, Dad, someone needs to beat him down,” Emily said.

“Nobody’s beating anyone down except for me,” Kate proclaimed, still holding Ryan to the ground. “If I let you go, do you promise not to attack your sister?” she asked.

“Yes, Mom,” he answered unconvincingly.

“I think you should just sit on him for the next few minutes,” Alex said, eliciting a shrill laugh from Emily.

“Dad, you told her to knock it off, and now she’s laughing in my face!” Ryan cried.

“Promise your mother you won’t retaliate, and mean it,” Alex said forcefully.

“All right, I won’t bother her anymore. Sorry,” he muttered.

“Thank you.” Kate released Ryan’s sweatshirt. “Now grab a seat away from your sister. We just need to go over a couple of new rules for the house. Something has changed, and we need to be more cautious.”

“Is it those skuzzy people that moved into the Murrays’?” Ryan asked as he walked over to the other leather chair.

“Yeah. Your mom and I are a little concerned.”

“What’s wrong with them?” Ryan asked.

“Are there any kids?” Emily added.

“Uh, I’m not completely sure…about the kids. There might be some, but the problem is that one or more of the adults look dangerous. Not the kind of people we’re used to having around here at all.”

“Remember the guy that we didn’t like this summer after the Red Sox game?” Kate asked the kids.

“The one that asked Daddy for money, then followed us to our car?”

“While his buddies trailed us, too,” Alex reminded them.

“Yes. This guy reminds your dad of that guy. Something’s wrong with him, and without food or supplies, we think he might be a danger to the neighborhood, and to us.”

“Worse than some of our neighbors?” Ryan asked.

Alex laughed, not really sure if Ryan was serious or joking. “I think this group is way worse,” he said.

“Can we give them some food, Daddy?” Emily asked.

Kate smiled at her. “That’s a nice thought, sweetie, but it’s probably not a good idea…”

“Why not?” Emily pressed.

“Because I think they would want more, and if we couldn’t give them more, they would cause trouble,” Alex told her.

“How do you know?”

“They’re scummy looking,” Ryan yelled.

“Well, it’s not just that they look scummy,” Alex said, glancing at Kate.

I’ll let her handle this one.

“Your dad talked to them this morning—”

“Twice,” Alex interrupted.

Like that justifies my conclusion.

“Twice, and his gut instinct is that there is something seriously wrong with them,” Kate said.

That answer won’t satisfy her.

“But you always tell us not to judge people by how they look, so how can we know that they just don’t need a little help?”

“Sweetie, under normal circumstances you’re right. It’s not fair to judge a book by its cover, but in this case, we have to make an exception. I can’t explain it very well, but I don’t want to take the risk with them. I think the consequences could be disastrous, and I’m not willing to take a chance with your safety,” Alex said gently.

That might do it.

“You should have said that in the first place, Daddy,” she said with a completely happy and innocent look.

“She’s unbelievable,” Ryan commented.

“That’s enough. She’s on the right track,” Kate said.

Alex stepped back over to the front corner window and stared down the street toward the Perrys’ for a few seconds, then down the other side of the street, thinking about all of the doors and windows in their home as he walked over and took a seat next to Emily.

Locked for sure.

“So what we’re going to do is be a little more cautious around the house. Pretty much what we’ve been doing before, but a little different, especially at night. First, like always, nobody answers the door for any reason. Mom and I will take care of answering the door. Second, I want you guys to have one of us with you when you’re downstairs. Day or night, okay?”

“But what if I just want a drink of water?” Ryan asked.

“Then you keep a cup upstairs and get a drink from the bathroom.”

“But Mom doesn’t like us to drink from the bathroom faucet. Something about poop particles in the air.”

“Mom will make an exception in this case,” Kate said.

“But what…”

“Just get one of us to go down with you, all right? One of us is down here most of the day anyway, just be a little flexible about this. I don’t know what these people might try, okay?” Alex said.

“Okayyyy,” Ryan said, barely convincing Alex.

“All shades are open during the day. All shades are closed at night. After dark, kids upstairs, and we keep inside lights to a minimum. The other thing that will be different is that I will be visibly wearing a handgun, and you might see a few of my rifles around the house, and under no circumstances are you two to touch them. Don’t knock them over, don’t move them at all. They will be loaded with real bullets. Here’s what you might see.”

He stood up and moved over to Kate’s chair, reached behind the chair, and pulled out his shotgun and assault rifle.

“Cool,” Ryan whispered.

“Great, those were behind my chair?” Kate asked.

“This is a shotgun, and this is a rifle. Don’t touch either of them. I may have one of them sitting up against the island, next to one of the doors, or in my lap on the couch. No matter where you find them, or see them, do not touch them. Understand the rules, Mr. Ryan?”

“Why am I being singled out?” he asked with an overly incredulous look on his face.

“Because you’re the only one in the room that said ‘cool’ when I pulled these out, and I know Emily could care less about guns,” Alex said.

“Guns are stupid and dangerous,” Emily said.

“Exactly,” Kate agreed.

“You want me to break them apart and bury them in the backyard?”

“Not today,” Kate said.

Alex raised an eyebrow and smirked. “They might be stupid, but still, don’t touch them. Are we all clear?”

“Yes, Daddy,” the kids said in bored unison.

Alex looked at Kate.

“You’re including me in your solemn swear?”

He nodded his head slowly.

“I gotcha,” she said.

“And if you see something outside that doesn’t look right, let one of us know right away. Like someone peeking from the trees, or even just walking around the neighborhood,” Alex added.

“What’s weird about walking around the block?” Emily asked.

“It’s weird because nobody does it anymore. Nobody just takes a walk for the sake of getting fresh air. If they’re out, they have a purpose, and I want to figure out what that purpose is.”

And that’s about the most paranoid thing I’ve said so far this year. They must think I’m nuts.

“That’s it for me. You got anything, Mommy?” he concluded.

“Nope, this was your show,” Kate said dryly.

That sounded a little patronizing.

“Anything else from the peanut gallery?”

“What’s for lunch, Mommy?” Ryan asked.

“Tuna salad on crackers, with leftover peas and carrots,” she said.

“Sounds like a feast,” Alex said.

“Sounds like…”

“Don’t even think about continuing that sentence, little man,” Kate said to Ryan, cutting him off.

“…like the best lunch ever,” he said, flashing a sly smile across the room.

“I’m keeping a close watch on you,” Kate told him. “Lunch, of course, is self-serve,” she added.

Ryan got up and headed back upstairs. Emily moved over to her favorite chair and turned on the flat-screen TV. Before Alex or Kate could vacate the family room, the silly screams and sounds of the Cartoon Network filled the room.

Kate and Alex met in the kitchen at the island. Alex hopped on one of the stools while Kate grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water.

“How bad do you think it will get?” she asked.

He sat up from leaning the rifle and shotgun under the granite overhang, against the woodwork just next to his leg. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I made it clear enough that screwing with us would be a costly idea for them.”

“Well, if you’re not sure, then assume you didn’t. You’re not exactly the best at making things clear. What’s the plan then?” she asked, leaning over the granite with her glass of water.

“Stay vigilant. Make sure we see them before they see us.”

“What are you going to do if they show up again demanding that you share the bounty Todd probably told them we have?”

“Tell them to pack sand,” he said.

“Pack sand? I don’t think these guys are going to respond to an ancient nautical insult. In the interest of direct communication, you might want to think of a more modern one,” she advised.

“I’ll probably stick with something closer to ‘fuck off.’”

“God, I hope they don’t mess with us. Do you really think Todd screwed us over like that?”

“He did it a few times the other day. He picked the most unstable-looking people and sent them straight on over. I have little doubt that we’ll be hearing from our new neighbors soon. Ed saw them spend a considerable amount of time at Todd’s. My biggest concern is exactly how we’ll be hearing from them. We have to plan for the worst-case scenario,” he said.

“Which is what?” she asked, gently clasping his hands across the island.

He glanced into the family room and saw Emily in the oversized brown leather chair, intently watching the TV.

Not that she could hear me over that racket.

“She can’t hear us. I can barely hear you over the TV,” Kate said.

“I know. Old habits. Anyway, we need to be ready for a direct assault on our house. Probably after dark. If I were planning this…”

“Which sounds scary. I wish you couldn’t do that,” she said and released his hands.

“Do what?”

“Think like they do. This isn’t good for you,” she said with a pained look.

“What do you mean not good for…never mind. I know where you’re going with that. We can talk about it later. I have to try and plan this out from their perspective, so we can prepare ourselves. All right?”

“I’m sorry. You’re right. So what do you think they’ll do?”

“I think they’re watching us right now, looking for some kind of pattern. Something they can use. I’d look for an opportunity to take one of us down and storm the house. They can’t see into our house during the day, but we can see out. This gives us an advantage during daylight. As the sun sets, we need to shut the shades before the reverse occurs. At night, they can see in…if we have lights on. I’m going out a little later to put up the Christmas flood lights. We have enough for the front and back…maybe one of the sides,” he said, pointing to the side of the house next to the family room.

“I’ll put them out a little farther than usual so they cover more space. If we keep the inside dark, we’ll see shadows if they come between the lights and the house. We also have the motion lights on the garage in front and back. If it’s dark in the house, we’ll see those trip, too.”

“What if they cut the wires or just unplug them?” she asked.

“Then we’ll know something’s wrong pretty quick. The lights will go off. Plus, they’d have to approach the house to unplug the lights.”

“Can the battery system keep this going all night? After this storm, we might be on our own for power.”

“I don’t know. I doubt it, but the outdoor sockets can be turned on and turned off from the switch in the foyer hallway, so if we lose power, we can use the lights if we hear something outside or at random intervals. But until then, I think we should have them on all night.”

“And we all stay upstairs after dark?”

“Yeah, once the shades are shut, we’re blind except for the outside lights. Even then, they might be able to crawl and not cast a shadow. The ground floor would be their point of entry, maybe the basement. If they burst in while all of us are down here, it’ll be chaos, and I won’t be able to effectively protect us.”

“What about dinner?”

“We’re gonna have to eat earlier. Three thirty or four at the latest, or we eat upstairs. We’ve been shutting the shades at about four, so we should be fine if dinner goes on the table at roughly three-thirty.”