Out of the Ashes

“I will say when that happens, Admiral. Not you.”

“Mr. President, your plan is a good one—as far as it goes—if, and that is one hell of a big if, the American people want to go along with it. Obviously, a lot of them do not. So let them alone. We’re all Americans; we’ve all shared the same horrible experience and somehow managed to survive. My people—the military—don’t have the men or the time or the inclination to run around this wrecked country forcing people out of their homes. And they won’t be a part of it. I’ve got ships with no one to captain or crew them; electronic equipment with no men to man it; bases that are virtually empty—same with all branches. And there is just a whole hell of a lot of bases that have been blown up, equipment and planes destroyed. And that is since the hostilities ceased.”

“Those damned Rebels!”

The admiral shrugged. “Maybe—maybe not. Maybe they figure if you can form an army of mercenaries, they can, too.”

“I happen to be the president of these United States, Admiral. I would like to have a group of fighting men who are loyal to me, something I sense you are not.”

The admiral stiffened at the slight toward his allegiance. “Sir, I am loyal to this country—not toward any one man, but this nation as a whole. The military put your ass in that chair, we can damned well take it out.”

Logan smiled. “No… I don’t believe you’ve got the manpower to do that, Stevens.”

“Is that the way the game is played, Logan?”

Logan giggled. “My ball, my bat—my rules.”

The admiral nodded stiffly. “I get your point… sir.”

“Dandy. You may be excused now.”

After the admiral had walked out of the room, his back ramrod stiff, slamming the door on his way out, Logan picked up the phone.

“Yes, sir,” an aide said.

“Get me that mercenary, Parr, down in Georgia.”

Ben pulled into his driveway at five o’clock in the afternoon. Nothing had changed except the lawn had flowers where none had been before. There was a station wagon parked beside the house.

Since the outskirts of Shreveport, Ben had seen hundreds of blacks. No one had bothered him; they had all been friendly, waving to him and chatting with him when he stopped.

But the vague and somewhat amusing—to him—thought was: he knew how Dr. Livingstone must have felt.

Well, Ben thought, getting out of the truck. There is a lot of land to be had. I’m not going to spill any blood for an acre in Louisiana.

He left his M-10 on the seat and walked up the stone walkway to the front door. He felt kind of silly knocking on his own front door. But as he raised his hand to tap on the door, the door swung open.

“Come on in, Ben Raines,” Salina said. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Hello, Salina.” Ben returned the smile. He revised his original appraisal of her: she was not just a good- looking woman. She was beautiful.

“I was about to invite you in, Ben, but that would be rather silly of me, wouldn’t it? This is your house.” Her eyes found Juno. “What a beautiful dog! What’s his name?”

“Juno.”

She squatted down and held out her hands. Juno shoved past Ben and came to her, almost knocking her down with his eagerness to be petted. Ben stepped past them and into the house. Not much had changed; the house was a great deal neater and cleaner than when he’d left it. He said as much.

“You’re a bachelor—a man.” She smiled. “Most bachelors aren’t much on housekeeping.” A mischievous light crept into her eyes. “’Sides,” she mush-mouthed, “us coons have been trained for centuries to take care of the master’s house while he’s away seein’ to matters of great import.”

“Knock it off, Salina,” he said; then saw the twinkle in her eyes and realized she’d been ribbing him. He gave back as much as he got. “You’re only half-coon. So the house should be only half-clean.”

“O.K.” She laughed. “Call this match a draw. You hungry, Ben? Dinner’s going to be at seven. Guests coming over. We knew you were coming.”

“How?”

“Tom-toms!”

Ben grimaced at her laughter. “I’ll be hungry by seven, I assure you.”

The twinkle in her eyes became a flashing firestorm. “Well, got corn bread, fatback, and greens.”

“Salina, you’re impossible!”

She laughed. “You think I’m kidding?”

She wasn’t.

Ben sat in the den with Cecil and Lila, Pal and Valerie. “I’m beginning to get the feeling I’m a lone moonbeam on a dark night,” he said.

They did not take offense, as Ben knew they would not, but shared his laughter. It certainly was a dark night and the house was lit only by lamps and candles.

“Another month,” Cecil said, “and we’ll have full power restored. So the engineers tell me.”

Pal laughed and leaned forward, looking at Ben. “The truth, Ben—what was the first thought that popped into your mind at Cecil’s statement?”

“Nigger-riggin’,” Ben said honestly.

“You’re an honest man, Ben Raines,” Lila said. “O.K.—how do we combat that type of thinking. Not that you meant it; I don’t believe you did. But that… type of thinking is so ingrained in so many white minds, how do we overcome it?”

“By education and by trying harder. That’s my opinion.”

“Education…?” Salina let the question remain open-ended.

“On both sides, of course.”

“Let’s be sociable this evening, people,” Valerie said. “Let the poor man alone about race. We’re just six people, all full after a good meal, so let’s relax some, huh?”

“I don’t mind, Valerie,” Ben said. “Really, I don’t. Had people in the country gotten together like this years ago—more than really did—so much could have been accomplished.”

Ben was silent for a moment, then asked, “Kasim?”

“He’s around,” Cecil replied. “When he learned you were coming in he cursed and decided to skip Salina’s invitation—which she felt forced to offer, I must add in her defense. Any other time he would have broken his neck getting over here. He has feelings for Salina that, unfortunately for Kasim, she does not share.”

“And never will,” Salina added. “He’s a pig!”

“He is an uneducated man, Salina,” Lila said softly.

“He’s a prick!” Salina said flatly.

Cecil shook his head and said, “Are you planning on staying, Ben?”

“No, I’m not. I’m heading over to north Mississippi first, then pulling out to the northwest.” He met Cecil’s steady gaze. “Cecil, as long as you have Kasims in your society, it won’t work.”

The man shrugged. “I feel you are correct; he has too much hate in him. But what would you have me do, Ben? Kill him? Drive him out?”

“I know what I would do, Cecil, but I don’t walk in your shoes. He’s your problem. If he ever becomes mine, he won’t be a problem long.” Then he laid it out for the group, told them all he knew about the new government, what he had seen and heard. And it did not surprise Ben to learn they knew more about it than he.

“Yes,” Pal said. “We monitor the broadcasts. But perhaps Logan will leave us alone long enough… well, until we are strong enough to resist his forces. All we want to do is live and let live.”

Ike’s words, Ben thought.

“You’re welcome to spend the night with us, Ben,” Lila said.

Ben smiled. “This is my house.”

She cut her eyes to Salina. “Then perhaps you’d better come with us, Salina.”

“I like it here,” Salina said. Ben could feel her eyes on him in the dim light.

Cecil shook his head, a frown on his lips. “You’re making a mistake, girl; it’ll only cause hard feelings. You