Pickers 3: The Valley (4 page)

The information was served up in a thick folder of tiny details. Observations from Pickers, traders and other travellers. None had seen the encampment close to- none who had escaped to pass on the information, anyway- but many had seen the smoke on the horizon, recorded the increased raider activity or worked their way past the debris left behind by it.

Veronique was flipping through the folder, seeing the pattern as it had been revealed to the Scouts, but secretly hoping to spot a flaw in the logic of their interpretation. Remy stood beside Georges looking down at the red ball with him. "There? You are certain?"

"Well, not certain." Georges pulled the ball from the map, revealing the hole where it had been pinned in amongst another cluster of little grey boxes. "But it seems the most likely location for them to set up. The town is on a junction of the main road up the valley. There are structures already built for them to take up residence in and, though it's not fortified, the town has a river on one side, and the centre is on a small hill that would make it easier to defend."

"Raiders just don't settle down. They could be gone by now." Maxine said. "They only stay somewhere long enough to bleed it of anything useful and until they've made an unholy mess of everything."

"Sooner or later, most people want to settle down." Georges said. "Even Raiders."

"And Pickers." Remy muttered.

"We have been getting reports pointing to the existence of this town for over a year." Sarah said.

"Nearly two, by the date on this one." Veronique said, holding up a sheet from the file.

Maxine didn't like being wrong. She frowned and studied the map some more. "But why would they set up a town there? I'm sure there are better places. There are empty cities they could take over."

"We think they want to be close to the Valley." Georges said. "They're looking for a chance to attack us and steal our resources. Pickers and traders have already stopped coming to us from the Northwest because they keep getting attacked. It's only a matter of time before they try to put us under siege."

"This is what happens when you become a legend." Remy said. "Even though it had been sealed off for over a decade when we left- or maybe because of it- there were so many tales told to me of the treasures they hoarded up here in the Valley. Even if most of the claims are ludicrous, this is a strong, settled community that has had a lot of influence on the area around it, one way or another. Who wouldn't want to break in and steal everything, or take over a known stronghold? What does the council plan to do about the threat?"

"So far, the council doesn't even recognise there is a threat." Sarah said with some contempt.

Tony was across the table from Georges and Remy, studying the contours from a different angle whilst listening to their conversation. He pointed to a network of lines- red, yellow, blue and green- laid on the map as thin strips of tape and criss-crossing the hillsides of the Valley. and occasionally over ridge lines. Most of them met up with faded black lines painted onto the map years before. "What are they?" he asked Fabien.

"Tracks and access roads to the old ski lifts and logging camps. Blue and green are passable by motor vehicles, at least, as far as they go. Yellow are bike trails and red passable on foot, maybe with animals."

Maxine and Veronique had worked out the plan Tony was forming. Remy was giving a little nod, but breathed in through his teeth before saying, "Goat tracks."

Tony nodded, "Well, the last one wasn't such a challenge. Perhaps one of these would really test the wagons."

"You are going over the mountains? You cannot be serious." Julien waved his glass around as he made his pronouncement, skilfully managing not to spill a drop.

"Not over. Well, not over the highest parts. Your Scouts have tracked all the roads and tracks that go into the next valley, and there are old maps we can work with from there." Remy was trying not to stare back at the small boy looking round Julien's legs and studying him. He didn't want to scare the child. Julien laid a reassuring hand on his son's head. Little Remy was fascinated by his namesake uncle. But, even in the newly opened Valley, he had never really met a new person, and was nervous about it.

"But not in your wagons, surely?" Julien decided that, if he continued the conversation, little Remy might come out of cover.

"Oh, of course in our wagons. How else will we bring back enough seed to make the trip worthwhile?"

"And you will come back the same way? Even fully laden?"

"Hopefully, yes. If we can make it a quick in and out without alerting the Raiders."

"If not?"

"The only things we'll carry over the hills are weapons. We are good at the running fight, and the wagons are fast and stable once they get going. We've out run Raiders before."

"It's not too late for me to change my mind and tell the council that this is a crazy idea." Julien said, after a pause. It had been so long that Remy had to study his brother's expression carefully before he could be sure the comment wasn't serious.

"I am a crazy man, and all those years in the wilderness have just made me worse."

"That's exactly what they were telling me before the meeting earlier. It is good that you agree with them."

Little Remy worked his way around his father's legs, then turned to face his uncle. "You have a lorry?" he asked.

"I have two lorries." Remy said, with a smile.

"Maman had a lorry, when she came here. She says. It is behind the Police station. But people keep taking the bits off of it."

"That'll be to make sure other peoples' lorries can carry on working."

Julien glanced across to the dining table. His younger son was sat on it, charming Veronique and her husband. Albert was less timid than his big brother, and confident that everyone wanted to hear what he said. "You look like tante Lola." he told his cousin.

"Really, who is tante Lola? I don't think we've met her yet."

"She works with Papa on the count sill. She's Maman's sorta sister." Julien smiled at Albert's description. It was about as precise as any number of more adult, and convoluted, attempts to understand the dynamic of the Picker convoy Myriam and Lola had rolled up in.

There was a low chime from the big clock in the corner. Time, it was saying, to check on the meal. The Remy's were talking about lorries, bragging about what they could do. When Julien stood, his son hardly noticed, and showed no sign of wanting to hide any more.

Myriam and Maxine were outside the kitchen, chatting about the contents of the gun cabinet built in to the space under the stairs. They had stood the biggest rifle in the cabinet up, showing that it was almost as long as they were tall, the barrel nearly as thick as Myriam's forearm. "This is a monster. Where did you get it?" Maxine asked.

"The back of an abandoned Army truck. I only used it a dozen times or so, but it was really good for stopping vehicles." Reaching into the cabinet, Myriam pulled out a huge bullet. "I've only got ten rounds left, so it hasn't been fired since we settled here. But if the Raiders ever try to come up the road, I've worked out my high spot to stop them."

It was a ridiculously big rifle, and Julien was confident his wife could block the road up the Valley with disabled Raider trucks if it was ever necessary. The stopping power she had with the big gun was a key part of one of the, many, defence plans the town kept drawing up.

The two young women- yet again, Julien was reminded that his wife was only a few years older than his nieces- stared lovingly at the gun for a moment longer, then hefted it back into the cabinet. There was a selection of smaller weapons for them to continue bonding over. Not all of them were Myriam's. Maxine pulled a very short double barrelled shotgun out. The barrels had been chopped off just beyond the end of the wooden fore grip, and the stock had been shaved back and formed into a sort of pistol grip. The metal work had a dull, satin like finish from years of cleaning and handling, and the wood was smooth and a deep, dark shade. "This one looks familiar. I'm sure I remember it. This is your, isn't it uncle Julien?"

Julien took the gun from his niece. Holding it one handed, he slid the catch and broke the barrels open. He stared down the empty tubes at Maxine, then flicked it, so that they clicked closed. "It's not the one you remember. Almost everything but the wood work has been replaced or modified. It doesn't come out so often now I'm not a constable any more. I've taken my wife's advice and got myself something with more range and accuracy for when I need to be armed nowadays."  He considered the gun for a while longer. "Would it be any good to you? On your wagon?" He held it out to Maxine.

"Up close, yes.... Yes, I think it could be.... useful."

Myriam had pulled out the satchel full of shells for the gun and held it out to Maxine. "They're local brew. We make some rather good black powder here abouts." Julien said. "Anyway, I was on the way to the kitchen. The meat should be about ready now. I'll bring it through in a couple of minutes."

"It is good that your uncle has a family now." Remy announced, as he navigated as near to a straight line as he could along the pavement.

"But...." Veronique had refused more of her uncle's drink than her father had, but she was still tipsy. Not as bad as Tony, though. He was far ahead of them, but had stopped to prop himself up on a street sign. Maxine seemed more lost in thought than drink, wandering along the middle of the street with her hands in her pockets.

"But?" Remy said after a moment.

"But. You sounded like there was an unspoken 'but' at the end of your sentence. 'But she's no older than my daughters.' That sort of thing."

"It never once crossed.... Well, maybe once. But you saw the way they looked at each other when they were telling their story of how her caravan ended up here and they chose to stay."

"And those boys are adorable."

"Little Remy wants to know everything there is to know about the wagons. I suspect.... Suss.... Yeah, suspect, that he's going to be visiting us lots as we strip them down."

Veronique leant in to whisper to Remy, "Did you see how Maxine reacted when she found out Georges Meunier is single?"

"No gossiping about your sister. You know how grumpy she can get." They both looked across at Maxine, who was giving them a suspicious look. Perhaps they weren't as quiet as they thought.

They caught up with Tony, who accepted his wife's support before they moved on. "So.... So how does it feel to be home?" he asked.

"It still hasn't sunk in." Veronique admitted. "Give it another week or two."

"In two week's time, we'll be leaving here again. But not for as long this time." Remy turned around as he said this, and looked up at the mountains they would be climbing. They stood out, grey in the moonlight against the deep black of the night sky. "And let's not be so loud, or they'll throw us out before then."

"Tree!"

Luke had learnt a word in the last ten minutes. Now, every plant, from a bunch of herbs up, was "Tree!" As they were in the greenhouses, he was using his expanded vocabulary extensively.

"Tree!"

Veronique picked Luke up and stepped closer to the plant that he was pointing at. "That's a tomato plant." she said. "Can you say that? Tomato? Plant?"

"Tree!"

"We'll work on that, shall we." She put Luke down on the slatted wood walkway and slouched down when he reached a hand up to her.

The town didn't have an orphanage the way so many others did. There had been years of taking them in one or two at a time, but this influx of children was the biggest they'd ever had in one go. They had been put up in a pair of adjoining chalets in the still underpopulated up valley part of town.

Tony and Veronique had spent the morning emptying wagon two, filling shelving in some old warehouse with wares. It had been an enlightening exercise. They never did stock takes when they were on the road, and some of the pieces that had been pulled from the depths had been thought long lost. They had been helped by the Scouts, though some of the time it felt like their assistants were only there to see what treasure would come from the back of the wagons. When everything that wasn't bolted down had been removed, they had called it a day. Tomorrow they would strip out the fittings and start conversion for the trip over the hills.

When they had split from the weary workers heading for a late lunch, and Veronique had led him along a street that ran up river, Tony had quickly guessed where they were going. "You just want to see how he's doing, of course." he said as he hooked his arm through hers.

"I want to see what he looks like when he's been cleaned up."

The wooden A frames of the chalets were nearly grey with age, almost matching the plaster facing and the cinder blocks walls. Despite the rough frontage, however, the buildings were still solid. The sounds of children playing could be heard before they even saw the buildings.

The woman they had talked to when they had arrived in town was refereeing a game of boules on a gravel strip between the chalets' shared veranda and the pavement. She spotted Tony and Veronique and waved to them. As they drew nearer, she pointed to a group of the smaller children crowded around a plastic table. One of the children stopped playing with the wooden bricks she was building a tower with,  and stared at the newcomers. One by one, the other kids looked up as well, until Luke turned to see them.

His face was very pink, now all the muck had been washed from it. His hair had been cut to a more manageable length, but he had compensated by getting it ruffled up so spikes stuck out in all directions. He looked up at Tony and Veronique, and his mouth formed a little O. Then he turned and ran into the nearest chalet.

"Oh." Veronique felt a horrible, quick loss as the child clambered up the steps. She hadn't expected to be rejected.

The woman got up from her refereeing and stepped over. "That was odd. He has come on so well since we got here. Just a couple of days and he's picking up words really quickly. Or perhaps he's remembering them, who knows. Should I go and get him for you?"

Before Veronique or Tony could reply, Luke appeared back in the door to the chalet. Holding something in his right hand, he carefully made his way down the steps. Serious expression on his face, he walked up to them and held out the object. It was the torch Tony had given him. Veronique bit her bottom lip, holding in a laugh and wondering why the back of her eyes stung.

Tony took the offered torch and tested it. It still worked. Kneeling down, he put it into the little front pocket on Luke's shirt and pressed the stud closed. "You keep on looking after that for me, okay." Luke grinned and nodded, holding out his arms to be lifted up.

When he was on a level with Veronique, Luke held out a hand, trying to reach across and touch her cheek. "jour" he said.

"Bonjour to you too, Luke. I hear you've been learning some new words. What new words do you know?"

Luke thought about this for a while, then pointed at the front of the chalet and said, "Ah."

"I suppose so. So, do you want to go and have a look around the town?"

Luke didn't seem to understand the question, until Veronique pointed down the street. "Erm, it is okay if we take him away for a while, isn't it?"

"Of course. But next time, we might make you take all the children and show them the sights. We're looking for good families for all of them."

"Families, eh?" Tony was trying to get Luke's hair to sit neatly, and failing. "We'll see how that goes. Where shall we take the little one? Can you show me part of the town I haven't seen yet?"

"Let's go to the greenhouses." Veronique said. "I loved them when we lived here."

The greenhouses were built on the expanse that had previously been car and coach parking around the wheel house for the cable cars. The cables were still strung from pylon to pylon up the hillside, and, a few times a year, a gondola would edge its way up to the wheel house's mate far above. But that wasn't going to happen any time soon, so they made their way to the mass of glass structures under the cables.

Veronique remembered the routine of old. There was a handle that visitors had to pull, that would set bells gently ringing in all corners of the structure and, if anyone was working in there, someone would come to decide whether to let them in. She tugged the handle all the way down, then watched as it clicked its way back into position. As always, she couldn't hear the bells, so didn't know whether they had rung. She resisted the impatient temptation to pull again.

While they waited, Tony was making nonsense conversation with Luke. "Look at that tree." he said, "And that one. That tree's even taller. I wonder if any of these trees give any fruit or nuts at the end of the year." He was a Picker, not a botanist.

Luke pointed at the short hedge that ran along the side of the wheel house. "Tree?"

"Sort of. I guess."

"Tree?"

"Oh, what the hell. Yes. If you say it's a tree, then it's a tree."

"Tree!" exclaimed Luke, triumphantly.

So now, everything with deep green leaves was a tree, no matter what size it was. Including the cannabis bush a row back that Tony was having a conversation about with Myriam. It had been a surprise when her aunt had answered the door. She had explained it simply enough as they walked through the flower dense entrance hall, "When I decided I was settling down here, I wanted to choose something that, well, symbolised it. You can't get much more symbolic than a job that involves, well, roots. It turns out I'm really good at it as well." Stopping by the door into the main body of the greenhouses, she had to ask, "Who's this little charmer, then?"

"Tree!"

"This is Luke. We picked him up on the way here." Tony said. He put the child down and let him shoot ahead of them as the doors opened.

"He's one of the lost children you rescued on your way in? Or did you find him before then?"

"One of the kids from the lorries. He hitched a ride with us for the trip into the Valley."

"We're thinking about keeping him." Veronique added. "I'm not sure how that works, though."

"It's not as if there's a lot of paperwork. Just be sure no-one objects and then get on with raising him. That's the way I joined my family."

"Albert mentioned his tante Lola last night."

"I have been middle sibling to Lola and Fabien for a long, long time. Their family took me in back when Fabien was about that one's size and Lola was Remy's age. We were Pickers until their parents died, then we decided we wanted to settle down rather than carry on with it. I think I told you the rest last night." Myriam looked like she felt guilty admitting that she had ever wanted to settle down, particularly to another Picker.

"We're thinking of settling here, too." Tony said. "After this next big pick. If they'll let us."

They were walking between rows of leafy greens, stacked on shelves three tiers tall. They were such a pale green that Luke hadn't decided, yet, that they were trees. He was looking at the space under the lowest tier, which was moist and muddy and just high enough for him to stand up in. "Out of there, you." Veronique commanded, hoping she was projecting authority without sounding too harsh. He held out his hand and she took it.

Now they were in one of the other galleries of the greenhouses, surrounded by tomatoes and peppers. Tony and Myriam came around the corner from the cannabis patch. "It's all medicinal?" he was asking.

"You'd need a prescription to get yourself any. Except at the harvest festival, when we crop a load of it and work out how much we can spare for fun."

"We are staying at least until the harvest festival." Tony told Veronique as they drew level. He looked down as he felt tugging at his trousers, to find Luke looking up at him and holding out a hand. When Tony and Veronique had a hand each, they lifted Luke off the ground, and he laughed as he waved his feet around.

"Come through here." Myriam pointed to a door leading to another section of greenhouse.

Luke walked between Tony and Veronique, though, three abreast, they were almost too wide for the walkway. Myriam opened the door, and Luke let go to be the first one to jump across the threshold.

The room was full of row after row of stalks, mostly in shades of gold, but with flecks of unripened green still in them. "Wheat and barley." Myriam announced. "We're trying to get the highest yield possible from them, because they are supplying some of our seeds for next year. Our seed bank is tiny, but we think these strains are resistant to the blight."

"This is what you'll do with what we bring back?" Tony asked.

"With the most promising strains. In here we should be able to get a crop for planting out next year before it gets too cold."

"How have you done this year?"

"We've been lucky. It helps that we planted barrier crops at the foot of the Valley and we've culled and burnt any plants that showed the slightest sign.... The yields are down on previous years, but we'll be okay. Not like places out there that were fully hit. We usually trade with some of the nearer farms outside the Valley, to top up grain supplies, but this year they don't have anything. We're going to have an excess of produce that doesn't keep, and a shortfall of grain."

"If it all works out, they can have seeds for the year after next." Veronique said. "It's a long time to wait with important crops destroyed, but...."

The stalks that filled the greenhouse weren't green enough for Luke to call them trees. He tugged at one, to see how it bent, until Veronique knelt down to stop him. Lifting him, she brought him up to the level of the seeds. "This is wheat." she said. "This is wheat, isn't it?"

"It is."

"This is wheat. Can you say wheat?"

"Wit." Luke said, then pointed at the door. "Trees."

"If he wants to see trees, let's take him for a walk through the rest of the greenhouses." Myriam said, running fingers through the child's hair.

"Trees!"