The Final Day (After, #3)(61)

He paused, obviously not appreciating having to dwell on what for him was personal history as well. “Remember, Central Command for our operations in the Middle East was based in the Tampa, Saint Pete area. Within two months, they collapsed, the survivors, the lucky survivors, evacuated by our navy. From Miami to Jacksonville—on the other coast Fort Myers to Pensacola—disintegrated into a sinkhole of anarchy, looting, murder, and then disease and starvation. There are some pockets of survivors along the coast, living again by what they can harvest from the sea as long as pirates don’t get them first. The navy tried to control the waters around there for a while and clean out the pirates but finally gave up. Florida, like I said, is a write-off.”

It was obvious to John that he wanted to leave that subject behind.

“Florida’s gone, but you were ordered to take this place, is that it?”

“I’d prefer not to use the term take, John. Call it unite, reunite. Bring you back in under a central federated government.”

“But after Fredericks, suppose we don’t want to join?”

“John, you have no choice. To be blunt, it is unite or die.”

John chuckled at that and shook his head. “I seem to remember that was on our flags during the revolution against an overbearing authority four thousand miles away.”

“You’re taking it the wrong way, my friend.”

“Bob, who actually are you serving? I mean, really serving? Bluemont, or the oath you swore to the Constitution?”

Bob fell silent, and there was a look of anger in his eyes.

“My trust for Bluemont? It’s about as far as I can spit into a hurricane,” John interjected.

“My God, John. So you are going to take that decision upon yourself. You don’t trust them, so go to hell and leave us alone, and that’s it?”

John offered no reply.

“I have my orders. I hope you can trust me to see them through and avoid a senseless conflict that you know you cannot win.”

He wanted to retort with a conjuring of memories about military ethics classes, the tragic, horrific example of the German army in the 1930s, when the oath of allegiance was one day switched from defending the state to accepting without hesitation all orders from the führer.

“So what are your orders regarding here, what we have come to call the State of Carolina?”

“A bit aggrandizing, that name, isn’t it? State of Carolina. Last time I checked a map, your state here controls what, five thousand square miles? What about Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh? For that matter, there is a garrison in Greenville-Spartanburg put there by Bluemont, and they have a corridor of control all the way down to Charleston.”

“It’s a start,” John offered, “and if left alone will continue to expand in an orderly way. Groups like the Posse either move out or, if need be, we take them out. We were doing okay with local folks reaching out to the next community and inviting them to join in. Unite or die? Maybe it is unite and live.”

“John, there are a hundred enclaves like yours that are making ‘a start,’ as you put it, from here clear up to Maine. But then what? We devolve into a hundred feudal-like states that eventually balkanize the way Europe did after Rome collapsed? You and your friends have done a masterful job of restoring order, civilization, and—from what I could observe—even bringing some technology back online. But reunite everything? Do you have any idea what some other so-called states have devolved into? You most likely know about Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, New York, even D.C.”

“I’ve heard some stories.”

“You haven’t seen it; I have. D.C. is of course gone, a write-off, same as Florida. There are some whack jobs running what they call a kingdom not a hundred and fifty miles from here that are told to worship their leader as the son of God, and if you don’t go along, you are crucified.”

“So why not go after them first?” John offered.

“Weak argument, John. Bait-and-switch logic. It is precisely places like here, where things are being restored, that old values still hold, that we need in our fold before I can take out places like that.”

“So we are back in the fold, is that it?”

Bob nodded, finally sipping his tea and grimacing slightly. “Damn, this is awful stuff, John.”

“Sorry, but that is what we live on.”

“Don’t take it as a bribe, but once we get this settled, I’ve got a convoy coming in with two hundred thousand MREs. Remember each of them has a packet of coffee. Do you still smoke?”

John shook his head.

“Why, I remember you as being really addicted.”

“I promised Jennifer before she died.”

Bob lowered his head. “Sorry.” John could tell the emotions were genuine. “We can talk later about all that we lost.”

“And your specific orders.”

Bob looked back up at him and sighed, obviously not happy about what he had to say next. “I’m ordered to place you under arrest and transport you in an expedient manner to Bluemont to stand trial for murder, the execution of prisoners, and treason.”

“Oh, really?” John said, and he could not help but offer a sarcastic grin. “Can I have time to say good-bye to my wife?”

“Wife?”

“Guess you wouldn’t have known, or would you? I assume Fredericks, before we killed him, was sending up reports.”