Vistaria Has Fallen (The Vistaria Affair/Vistaria Has Fallen #1)(58)

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m getting dressed.”

“You’re not going to phone him?”

“Hell, no.” Calli laughed dryly. “I’m going to stay as far away from Nick as geography lets me. I think you’re right. I need to leave Vistaria as soon as I can.”

“I’ll let Dad know. You’ll have to sneak into the airport.” Minnie left, shutting the door behind her.

Calli threw on jeans and a tee-shirt, the same clothing she had worn when she landed here. It seemed fitting she would leave that way. She had already packed, thanks to Joshua’s insistence. The two small packs sat next to her bed.

“Calli! Get down here!” Joshua yelled at the top of his lungs.

Calli flew down the three steps to the living room proper and hurried over to where he stood in front of the television, another copy of the newspaper in his fist. He turned up the volume.

Minnie sat on the sofa behind him, chewing her lip.

The screen showed the circular iron fencing around the legislative building, the big fountain in the foreground and just off to one side. The cameraman must have been standing with one foot in the water, for the camera was elevated over the heads of the crowd standing before the closed gates. They were shouting, waving newspapers, chanting, brandishing their fists. There was screaming and people were shaking the ironwork on the gates.

Behind the barrier, five soldiers stood with their machine guns slung over their shoulders and held down by their sides—non-threatening, yet there to be used if needed. Their faces were inscrutable. They wore hard helmets and jungle fatigues.

The voice-over narration was fast and breathy. Panicked.

“This is serious,” Minnie said as Calli sat on the sofa next to her.

“What are they saying, Josh?” Calli asked.

“No military action has taken place yet. It’s making the crowds more frantic. The size of the crowd is growing. There are more people coming onto the Avenue all the time.”

The picture changed, showing a view taken from a vehicle moving along the Avenue of Nations. The many people there jostled each other off the pavements onto the road itself. They looked angry.

“They’re talking about you,” Joshua said and cocked his head to listen closely, “and Americans in general.”

Abruptly, he turned off the television.

“What?” Minnie said.

Joshua sat on the other sofa next to his wife and took her hand. “This is the government station yet they’re asking the same damn fool questions as the crappy newspaper. Why are Americans influencing the government? Why is it allowed to happen?”

Calli hugged her knees to her chest. “Nick isn’t the government,” she protested.

“And you’re just an excuse,” Joshua shot back. “A damned good one as it happens. That’s all they ever needed, Calli. One lousy excuse.” He pushed his hand through his hair. “Well, they have that now.”

She hid her face against her knees. “I have to leave the country.”

“Good idea. Only, the first things to shut down in a civil disturbance are the transport systems. They won’t let you out.” Joshua smiled grimly. “You have to stay and face the music, my girl.”

“I wasn’t running away for my sake.”

“I know. They won’t see it that way, though.”

“Who won’t?”

“The rebels. The people. Vistarians. If this rioting keeps up, then the rebels will have a ready-made army at their disposal. It will take very little to turn these angry, roused civilian Vistarians to the rebels’ cause now.” He shook his finger at her. “So you will stay put on that sofa and not make a squeak and we’ll hold our breath and hope this passes too.” He grimaced. “Let’s hope we don’t wake up to worse news tomorrow.”

Calli shuddered. “It can’t get any worse.”





Chapter Fourteen


At eight o’clock that night, the news did turn worse. The television station, which had been broadcasting re-runs all day, broke into an X-Files episode and cut to a studio where an anchorman spoke swiftly, holding a sheet of notes in his hand. The paper trembled.

“Jesus Maria,” Calli breathed. The Spanish was too fast for her to pick up more than the odd word.

Minnie sucked in a quick breath. “Pascuallita! They’re talking about Pascuallita.”

Calli bounced off the sofa and ran to knock on Joshua’s door.

He came out, wrapping a gown around him, barefoot and wild of hair and sat in front of the television.

Minnie had her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide. She looked at her father, stricken.

He nodded. “Fighting in the mountains. Just south of Pascuallita. Many rebels. Some deaths. The army is there.” He looked at Calli. “This is it,” he added. “The army has engaged the rebels in combat. This is the birth of a revolution.”

Minnie gave a choked sound. Tears streamed down her face.

Joshua patted her knee. “I’m sure he’ll be okay, your Captain,” he said awkwardly. Then he groped for the remote control. “Wait. They just said something.”

He changed the channel to the local commercial station. It was on the air. A woman sat behind a panel, speaking into the camera. Calli had no trouble interpreting the intent of her message. She radiated fierce joy, even fervor. “That’s why the station went off the air,” she said. “They’ve sold out to the rebels.”