Nine-Tenths (38 page)

Leonard considered Russ’s theory.
Then why did you stay, Leonard?
An encouraging voice in his head suggested,
Maybe you were rebelling from the inside.
A more cynical voice countered,
Or maybe you were just a coward.
He would never fully comprehend the decisions made by the Leonard who preceded him in the alternate reality, so he decided it was best to forget the mystery and move on. Whatever the Leonard-that-came-before’s motivation, it mattered no more.

“Maybe I can help,” Leonard offered as a form of penance. “I work…I
used
to work in the DID’s new spy satellite program.”

Everyone at the table turned abruptly. Russ scowled. Wicker smiled.

“The Stasi?” she asked.

“The Feds have a spy satellite called the Stasi?” Chester exclaimed. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Satellites,” Leonard corrected. “I designed the prototype,” he said sheepishly, looking at Hayek. The dog bore him no grudge. Compassion emanated from the canine’s corner.

“Wait,” Wicker said. “What did you say your name was?”

“Leonard.”

“Leonard
what
?”

“Leonard Tramer.”

“Tramer!” She laughed, swishing her hand at him playfully. “We’re in the presence of a genius, gentleman.” She looked at Leonard, almost indignantly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Leonard didn’t know what to say, but all eyes turned to Wicker.

“My boyfriend, Seamus, practically runs the satellite division of the IT. About three weeks ago, he received an encrypted email with all kinds of information about a spy satellite program called the Stasi. The contact was the satellite’s designer. A guy named Tramer. Obviously
you,
you little stinker.” She grinned at Leonard, her eyes dancing.

Natalia’s face lit up. The mystery of her father’s peculiar behavior over the past three weeks revealed itself. She seemed satisfied.

Chester was not so enchanted. He narrowed his eyes. “Yet you knew nothing of the political revolution? I find that dubious at best.”

“I…”

“He only contacted us a few weeks ago,” Wicker said in his defense.

“The DID messed with his brain,” Natalia blurted.

Wicker winced. She tapped her head, gazing at Leonard. “You’re not right?”

“I’ll be plenty useful to your IT guy. I just lost a lot of memories.”

“Family memories included,” Natalia added. This appeared to drum up sympathy.

“Those bastards,” Russ snarled. “A double welcome to the free world, Leonard. I’m truly sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’d rather have Alina here than my memories.”

Everyone was silent.

“Oh, boo hoo,” Chester said. “How do we know he’s not a spy? What a perfect cover. Supposedly handing over secrets. Escaping with his daughter. I can’t believe you people are so trusting.”

Natalia withdrew in shock.

Aiden jumped to his feet. “You know, Father, I’m getting really tired of your freaking paranoia.”

“My
freaking
paranoia has kept your ungrateful little ass alive.”

“And what about Mom? It’s a little too late for fanatical vigilance now, isn’t it? What you really feel is guilt and—”

Chester lunged and grabbed his son by the collar. “Don’t you ever talk to me like that about your mother again.”

Wicker circled the table, pulled on Chester’s shoulders, and guided him back into his seat. “I hate to interrupt this affectionate family exchange, but Leonard and Natalia have already been cleared to continue. Shinskey vouched for them. Said they were, without a doubt, legitimate escapees.”

Max said that?

“So I think we can all settle down and move forward,” Wicker said with an air of authority.

Chester glared at Leonard. “Doesn’t mean I have to play host to them.”

Aiden sat down, scowling. “I’ll play host then. It’s my house, too.”

Leonard bit his lip and tried to formulate an acceptable response. “Please, Chester…”

Chester tilted his head and regarded Leonard skeptically.

Leonard faltered. “I, too, failed my wife—”

“Don’t you dare—”

“And I feel guilty for things I’m not even sure I’ve done. The satellites, for instance. Am I solely responsible?”

Wicker touched Leonard on the shoulder.

“All I want to do is honor my wife’s request and bring Natalia safely to Grand Junction. Once we get there, your police force can interrogate me, put me in prison, whatever.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Wicker scolded.

Chester’s face softened unexpectedly. He seemed to be undergoing an internal struggle — processing harsh memories and reconciling them with the current conversation. In the end, some form of empathy triumphed. He nodded. “Okay, Leonard. I believe you.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Chester for God’s sake,” the bearded man said. “Let’s not revert to groveling now, shall we?”

Russ took a deep breath. “We’re aligned then?”

“Yeah,” Chester replied quietly.

“I think you’ve been out here on your own for long enough,” Russ said. “Everyone else has relocated to Mesa County. You’re welcome to join us, you know. We don’t need a physical lookout post here anymore. Our security team has sophisticated monitoring equipment.”

Chester shrugged and an air of sadness washed over him. “I just don’t think I’m community material.”

Leonard gazed at Chester and then examined his son, a boy who was undeniably enchanted by Natalia. The teenagers whispered stealthily. Did it ever occur to Chester that Aiden might not be too enthralled with their reclusive lifestyle?

***

Later that afternoon, Russ and Wicker announced they needed to make it back before dark. All hostilities had melted away and everyone seemed cheerful again.

“You want us to take these two?” Wicker offered.

What?
Leonard sat up, startled. Aiden’s expression mirrored Leonard’s.

“Nah,” Chester said. “Let ’em rest. I’ll have Aiden take them tomorrow.”

“Aiden? Take both of us?” Leonard asked.

The boy laughed. “Wouldn’t that be cozy? Don’t you ride?”

Leonard stammered. “I…uh…”

Chester stood, rolling his eyes. “Maybe not tomorrow then. The next day.”

“You want me to drive one of your motorcycles? How will you get it back?”

“I’ll leave mine,” Wicker suggested. “For
Aiden
to ride,” she added, smirking at Leonard.

“Perfect,” Chester said, putting his arm over her shoulder. “You ride home with Russ. Aiden and Natalia will take your bike, and we’ll put Leonard on one of ours.”

“I’ll meet up with y’all when you arrive.” She winked at Leonard. “Show you the ropes.”

After the visitors left, Chester grabbed a few blankets and led his guests to a mudroom at the side of the cabin. Leonard arranged a couple of rugs in one corner. Natalia excused herself and presumably made her way to the outhouse.

While she was gone, Aiden removed the pillows from the couch and created a soft place for her. He frowned as he surveyed the makeshift bed. “She can sleep in my room,” he said.

“No,” Leonard snapped.

“By
herself
,” Aiden clarified.

Too tired to fight, Leonard dozed away. When he awoke in the middle of the night, he found Aiden lolling on the pillows next to him, one arm over his head and both legs dangling off the end.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Twenty-four hours later, Leonard announced that he was comfortable driving Chester’s older-model Harley. In addition to providing extensive riding lessons, Aiden gave them a brief gun safety course and fitted Leonard with a holster. That evening, Leonard slept on and off; the sounds of revving engines and reverberating shots dominated his dreams, sending an occasional jolt of adrenaline through his system.

When they were ready to go on Sunday morning, Natalia jumped enthusiastically on the back of Wicker’s bike and put her arms around Aiden’s waist. This time, Leonard made no objections. Natalia was safer, by far, riding with her new friend and Leonard would drive more confidently without having to worry about his daughter.

They stopped in town to fill up at one of the intact gas stations the counterrevolutionaries had rigged for service.

Aiden hummed quietly as he filled their tanks.

“What are you going to do when these underground tanks run out?” Leonard asked.

“We.”

“We?”

“You’re one of us now.”

Leonard tipped his head to one side. “Okay then. What are
we
going to do when these tanks run out? And what about electricity?”

“Our power plants are fueled with coal,” Aiden said. “We’re actively mining in the surrounding area. In addition, there are plenty of pockets of natural gas in Grand Junction. Plus Mesa County’s loaded with oil shale. It’s just a matter of refitting the refineries.”

“Oh.” Leonard said no more. Not entirely certain what oil shale was, but having the intelligence to recognize that it was a source of energy, he did not wish to further expose his ignorance of Western Colorado’s geological wonders.

The magnitude of such wonders he had yet to discover. Having never been west of Vail in his lifetime, the beauty of the western slope caught him entirely off guard. The towering red-and-gray walls of the Glenwood Canyon took his breath away, while the rushing Colorado River nurtured a blossoming freedom that stirred in Leonard’s tired soul.

Deliberately ignoring the desolate towns they passed along the way, he focused instead on maneuvering around cracks and avoiding potholes. But he could not help staring when he saw the ruins of Glenwood Springs Hot Springs — a resort he had heard so much about but never visited. Steaming water trickled over the interstate and into the Colorado River, causing significant road damage. Debris from washed out buildings lined the side of the road. It appeared as if the free community citizens had cleared the wreckage, hauling it just out of the way.

Aiden slowed down, choosing his path carefully. Leonard followed closely, watching every shift and turn. Once they skillfully navigated the area, Aiden picked up speed. The exhilaration of zooming through the canyon gave Leonard a rush he’d never before experienced.

Gradually, the rocky canyon walls transitioned into reddish, rolling hills and the area opened up and flattened out. Mesas in the distance came into view. Small oil wells pumped rhythmically at the side of the road. Aiden and Leonard passed two camouflaged vehicles going in the opposite direction before they approached a city formerly known as Palisade.

Just past Palisade, a barricade in the distance came into view. Nothing compared to the Western Gate, it seemed to be more of a checkpoint. Huge chunks of cement, randomly arranged, covered all but one lane of the interstate. To the left, the cement blocks stretched out almost a hundred feet, and to the right they ran up to the edge of the smooth sandstone hills. A wooden guard’s hut sat on the shoulder.

Aiden slowed down to about thirty miles per hour for the last mile and coasted to a stop at the guard station. He turned off his engine and Leonard followed his example.

A tall man wearing jeans, a green wind jacket, and a navy baseball cap approached Aiden cautiously, his right hand hovering near the holster on his belt. With his left hand, he lifted the brim of his hat to get a clearer view. He seemed particularly interested in the folded shotgun fastened to Aiden’s handlebars.

“Oh, come on, Victor,” Aiden called, pulling off his helmet. “You think I’d turn Fed?”

“Aiden!” the man shouted. “My God, look at you. How long has it been?”

Aiden dismounted and met the man halfway, shaking Victor’s hand enthusiastically before punching him on the shoulder. “About a year.”

Natalia removed her helmet, but she remained on the motorcycle.

Victor glanced at Leonard briefly, but his eyes lingered on Natalia. “You married now?”

“Give me a break. I’m fifteen.”

Leonard slipped off the Harley and approached the pair. “This is my
daughter,
” he said with fatherly emphasis. “Natalia.”

Natalia waved shyly.

Victor swished off his hat to greet the young lady. Then he turned his attention to Leonard, eyeing the newcomer warily. “So what do we have here?”

“Newbies,” Aiden replied. “Leonard and Natalia Tramer. Father and I found them at the Eisenhower Tunnel.”

“Uh huh,” Victor said, still regarding Leonard with suspicion.

“They’re cool.”

“You sure?”

“My father cleared them,” Aiden said confidently, as if the matter was already settled.

Victor’s lips curled up slightly. “Right. Chester Woods is no softy.”

No shit,
Leonard thought, but he appreciated the boy’s determination to persuade others to trust them.

“Mr. Tramer is an engineer.”

“Is that so?”

Leonard nodded, hoping Aiden would leave out the part about the Department of Interrogation and Defense. “I’ll be happy to help in any way I can.”

“You’ll be expected to,” Victor said dryly. Then he grinned.

Aiden turned to go. “We’ll be on our way then,” he called as he approached his bike. Natalia slipped off, allowing him to get back on. Then she refastened her helmet and cozied up to her new friend.

Leonard started the older Harley and Aiden revved his engine a couple of times.

Victor gave them a mock salute just before they departed.

A few miles later, Aiden led them off the highway and up a hill. When they reached the top, they turned off their engines and the air stood still. Leonard dismounted, his heart pounding as he walked to the edge of the cliff. Natalia joined him, placing her hand in his. They stared silently at the signs of civilization that filled the valley. The rich landscape, surrounded by rugged bluffs and plateaus, soothed Leonard’s spirit.

“Western Germany,” he said suddenly, soaking up the relevance of the moment.

Natalia gazed at him, bewildered. “What?”

He smiled at his daughter. Tears formed at the edges of her eyes, betraying a hint of fragility. Given her courage and stamina over the previous three days, Leonard had almost forgotten how innocent she truly was. Pushing a lock of hair out of her eyes, he answered, “Freedom, Nat.”