Through Many Fires (Strengthen What Remains) (7 page)

“
I
read that it had been introduced.” Caden thought for a moment. “Did it pass?”

The
governor shrugged. “Last I heard it was before the Security Council.”

“
I
believe it will pass—the Chinese won’t veto it.”

The
Governor’s eyebrow shot up. “Why would China use North Korea and then help us?”

“
They’re
not helping us. They’re covering their tracks.”

Reflecting
on his words Caden was certain he sounded like a conspiracy nut, but he
couldn’t put all the parts together. He rubbed his chin. “I need more
information about what China and Iran are doing right now. Do you have current
intel?”

“
Yes,
back in Olympia.”

“
Then
can we resume this when we get there?”

Putting
the folder away the Governor nodded. “Certainly.”

Back
in his seat beside Maria, Caden did what he always did on flights; he slept.
Only when the pilot announced they were on approach to JBLM did he awaken.

“
How
do you sleep in these web seats?” Maria asked.

“
Years
of practice,” he said stretching sore muscles. “I'm glad you are here.”

“
I
knew you were a good man even before we met.”

“
Huh?”

“
I was
watching the day the two guys tried to rob you.”

“
What
has that got to do with staying with me or…”

“
You
were trying to figure out how to change diapers.”

Caden
smiled. “Yeah, so?”

“
Bad
men don’t change diapers.”

He
laughed.

“
Then,
later that night, when you told me Adam wasn’t your son, that his mother had
died in an accident and you were caring for him—only a good man would do that.”

Caden
smiled and gently squeezed her hand.

“
I’m
glad you wanted me to come.”

Maria
held on to his hand, looked at him and smiled.

His
feelings for Maria grew stronger by the day, but it angered him.
Becky was
alive a week ago.

White
light shot from the cockpit momentarily filling the plane.

“
What
was that?” Maria asked.

The
plane lurched to the right, then abruptly to the left.

Luggage,
blankets and boxes flew about.

Someone
screamed.

Alarms
blared.

Adam
wailed.

Maria
grabbed the straps that held Adam.

Caden
tightened Maria’s belt.

The
plane rolled to the side.

Caden
hurtled across the fuselage.

T
here was a vague
awareness of self. Images of fire, mushroom clouds, scarlet blood and black
death stormed through the mind and then melted into pools of oblivion. An
indeterminate time later a sweet voice flowed into the void. The words gave
comfort, but like voices heard in the distance the mind could not grasp the
meaning. The mind cried out to reach the gentle sound without knowing how or
why.

Gradually
images of a family mixed with dreams of Maria and a toddler named Adam. Once
again he heard her and strove to comprehend. When the melody of her voice
stopped, he fought against the darkness to reach her.

His
head ached, like someone pressing hard against the side of his skull. As if for
the first time he became aware that his eyes were closed. A constant beeping
annoyed him.
Someone turn it off.

Slowly
he opened his eyes. Plain white sheets were pulled neatly up to his chest.
Wires ran from various places on his body to a monitor that continued to beep
and irritate him. Metal railings lined either side of the bed. A simple
nightstand was beside him and a gray metal chair stood near a door. In the
corner sat a cot with a rumpled blanket.

Gently
he rubbed his bandaged head. Shifting slightly he looked out the window. The
sun was not visible from his position, but the sky was clear blue and light
flowed into the room.
Where am I? A plane, I was on a plane. What happened?

The
door creaked.

“
You’re
awake!” With a huge smile on her face Maria zipped into the room. “Nurse,” she
stopped and turned toward the open door, “he’s awake.” She came closer with
Adam in her arms and the nurse was right behind.

“
How
do you feel?” Maria asked.

“
Okay,
I guess. How long have I been out?”

“
Almost
two days,” The nurse checked the monitor. Gesturing toward Maria with her pen,
she continued. “Your wife and son have been here around the clock.”

“
Huh?”

Continuing
to write she made a slight gesture with her head. “They both slept in that cot
for the last two nights.”

Maria
quickly smiled and bounced Adam on her hip. “We both wanted to be here when
Daddy woke up.”

Wife?
He
reached up and felt the bump on his head.
Do I have amnesia?
He was
reasonably sure he didn’t.
What’s she doing?
He looked at Maria. Her
face was flushed and wore a forced grin. He decided to play along—for now. “Oh,
that’s nice.” His eyes shifted between Maria and the nurse. “What happened?”
They had been on approach to JBLM. Alarms had gone off. “We crashed.” It was
both a statement and a question.

Maria
shook her head, then seemed to change her mind. “Well, almost. You strapped me
in as the plane rolled on its side.” She told him how he was thrown across the
plane, hit his head and then, bleeding from the wound, tumbled about as the
pilot righted the craft and made a hard, but successful, landing.

The
nurse hung the chart on the bed. “I’ve got to notify the doctor.” She hurried
from the room leaving the door ajar.

Caden
could see that Maria and Adam were fine, but he asked, “Was anyone else hurt?”

Maria
nodded. “Yes. The pilot has two cracked ribs, the Governor’s wife dislocated
her arm, there were lots of bruises and some cuts, but you got the worst of the
injuries.”

Caden
sighed with relief. There had been so much death these last few days. He didn’t
want to mourn anyone else. “I want to see…”

“
Everyone
else has already been discharged. The Governor and his staff have gone to
Olympia and Turner and his men flew to Fairchild. I’m sure they enjoyed getting
on a plane so soon after that landing. I don’t think I’ll ever step on a plane
again.”

He
reached up and felt the bandages and his sore head. “What caused the plane to
crash or land hard or whatever?”

“
Seattle.”

His
head pounded again. “Seattle caused our plane to crash?” Then he understood.
“Seattle is gone?”

“
Yes,
well, part of it. The bomb was on a boat in…what do they call all that water?”

“
Puget
Sound?”

“
Yes.
The terrorists were out on Puget Sound and the authorities found out about
them. Their boat must not have been in position when they detonated it. The
wave from the blast caused a lot of damage to the port area, there were fires
and radiation but fortunately the damage was less than in other cities.”

“
Oh.”
He looked at the electronics beeping and blinking in the room.

She
seemed to anticipate his question. “The plane was still a couple thousand feet
in the air. You might remember, we saw a flash when it happened.”

He
shook his head.

She
moved toward the door. “News reports say there was only limited damage in
Tacoma, mostly in the port area, and people in Olympia didn’t even see the
flash or get hit by the pulse.”

Checking
along the rails he found the controller and inclined the head of the bed. He
gently propped himself up and discovered, through pain, bruises on his legs and
torso.

“
I’m
really glad you’re okay,” Maria shut the door. Again her face flushed. “Ah…I
suppose you want to know why the nurse thinks we’re married.”

“
I’ve
got to admit I’m a bit curious about when that might have happened.”

“
When
they brought you in, I came along.” She grinned sheepishly. “I guess I was
pretty frantic. They asked me to sign some papers and I realized they thought I
was your wife. I didn’t want them to wait while they sorted things out so I
signed as Mrs. Maria Westmore.”

He
felt he should be annoyed by her deception, but all that emerged from him was a
laugh.

“
And
besides as your wife they let me stay here.” She looked about. “This room is
warm, they have clean, running water and the food in the cafeteria is good.”

He
shook his head. “If hospital food is now considered good, then the world as we
know it is finished.” He rubbed his chin. “And David and the Governor? They
think we’re married?”

She
nodded. “Did you ever say otherwise?”

He
thought for a moment. “No,” he said slowly, “but I’m a bit embarrassed.”

“
Why?”
she said with irritation in her voice and eyes.

“
When
Lieutenant Turner escorted you to the plane at Fort Rucker, they must have
thought we were having a serious marital quarrel.”

She
smiled enigmatically. “We were.”

*
              
*
              
*

Caden
flipped through the channels. New York had been spared and was once again the
nation’s capital, but of much more significance to him at that moment was that
the city was the home of several news networks and they were all back on the
air.

“
Turn
it down some, please.”

Caden
glanced at Maria.

She
pointed to the baby sleeping on the cot. “It’s going to wake Adam.”

He
pressed the volume button.

Someone
knocked on the door.

Adam
cried.

Maria
sighed.

Caden
looked at her, a portrait of exasperation and shrugged. “Come in.”

Governor
Monroe smiled as he stepped into the room. “I hear you’re recovering well.”

“
Thankfully
I have a hard head,” he said, muting the television. “I thought you had gone to
Olympia.”

Maria
took the crying baby from the room as Governor Monroe pulled up a chair and sat
beside Caden’s bed. “I did, but I wanted to see you before you were released
and headed home. He made small talk for a minute and then said, “On the plane
you spoke of North Korea and China working together.”

Caden
nodded.

“
You
also said that the Security Council resolution to allow Chinese technicians and
troops into North Korea would pass.”

“
If my
theory is right then yes, it should pass.” Caden sat up more in the bed. “Did
it?”

The
governor nodded.

“
Then
I expect North Korea to attack the south very soon.”

“
Why?”

“
That
was the price North Korea extracted from China.”

The
governor moved his chair closer. “I’ve got to admit, I don’t follow.”

“
China
is behind all of this, but they need plausible deniability, so they tell the
North Korean government to supply the fissionable material.”

“
But
the North has sold nuclear technology before, why do you think China is behind
these attacks?”

“
The
North has a reputation for selling to the highest bidder, but they’re not
stupid. They know if the material is used for attacks against us it’ll be
traced back to them and we would certainly retaliate.”

“
So
why would they do it?”

“
The
North’s economy is in a shambles.” Caden gestured with his right hand for North
Korea and his left for China. “They need the money that China would pay for
their cooperation, but I’m sure they demanded two more things.”

Monroe
looked confused. “What?”

“
First,
the protection they get from this U.N. resolution.”

“
How
does a Chinese invasion protect them?”

“
It’s
not really an invasion. The Chinese are probably retrieving nuclear processing
equipment they loaned to the North, but the Chinese can state to the world that
they are there by request of the United Nations and assisting UN inspectors.
However,” Caden wagged his finger, “we can’t attack the North without killing
Chinese troops and U.N. inspectors who are there by authority of the United
Nations.”

The
governor nodded. “I see.”

“
And
since we can’t attack North Korea without killing Chinese soldiers and U.N.
personnel, the North is free to attack South Korea.”

Monroe
swore and rubbed his chin.

“
It’s
really just an educated guess. I could be wrong about….”

He
held up his hand. “No, no. I think you are right. North Korea has been
cooperating with China and the United Nations, but they have been protesting
alleged incursions by South Korea for the last two days.”

“
I
haven’t heard this on the news?”

Monroe
looked Caden in the eye. “President Durant declared martial law in much of the
country. News is being censored.”

“
The
first amendment….”

The
Governor shook his head. “Officially the ‘Homeland Security Advisors’ are there
to keep the media from reporting anything helpful to terrorists, and I guess
they do that, but nothing that puts Durant or what is left of the federal
government in a bad light gets past them.”

Caden
shook his head. His country was dying in more ways than he had imagined.

Maria
entered the room holding a sleeping Adam, and sat on the cot.

Monroe
smiled at Maria as she sat down. “Durant is right to restore the federal government,”
he said turning back to Caden, “but not at the expense of liberty.” He looked
Caden firmly in the eye. “Things will change when I’m elected in November.”

Caden
nodded. “You’ve got my vote.”

“
Thank
you.” His faced relaxed into a smile. “However, there is another reason I’m
here,” the Governor said in a more upbeat tone, “I’ve got to get back to
Olympia, but before I leave I wanted to ask you to join my advisory staff, if
you’re up to it.”

Caden
smiled. “This is a great opportunity—joining the team of the leading
presidential candidate….”

“
Actually,
at the moment, I’m the only candidate.”

Caden’s
mind raced for a moment and then recalled. The other candidate had been Senator
Horton. He would have been at the joint session of Congress on the night of the
bombing. “Oh, yes.”

“
Will
you join me?”

Caden
was unsure why, but he looked at Maria.

She
shrugged.

“
Yes,
I would be proud to work for the next president.”

“
Great.
I’m heading back to Olympia this afternoon. I talked with the nurse on duty.
She tells me you should be released tomorrow. Meet me at my office in the
capitol when you get there. I’ll just keep you a little while and then you can
head home and check on your family.” They shook hands and then the governor
stood, nodded to Maria, and left the room.

Caden
turned and smiled at Maria. “It will be nice to get home.” As he said it, he
realized his home was not her home. “Well, when we get to my house…it’ll be
nice for you too.” His face burned. “You’ll like it…they’ll like you.”

“
I
know what you mean. I’m fine now. I’ll be fine there too.”

Again
he smiled, grateful for her understanding heart. Slowly his eyes lifted to the
still muted television. The caption at the bottom of the screen said,
“Presidential Press Secretary.” There behind the podium stood Rebecca
Thornton—Becky.