or tissue samples.”
Boy, oh, boy, Phoenix is fishing for information. That made me uneasy. “It’s instinct. My stomach muscles get twitchy. That’s all I know.”
Again a silence. I sensed Phoenix-wherever he was, snugged away in the bunker complex-was digesting the information. Yeah, that made me goddam uneasy. Now I didn’t feel like a refugee from the madness of the outside world. I felt like a lab rat just about to be sliced and diced before going under the scope.
Just as I’d decided to be evasive when Phoenix asked the next question the whispery voice said, “I won’t be able to cover everything in detail, but I guess you’re curious about this place. And about its staff.” Brisk now, Phoenix spoke like the guide on a tour bus. “You know there are bunkers like this all over the States, not to mention all the missile silos. They were built in the Cold War in case of attack with nuclear weapons, nerve gas or biological agents, hence the elaborate decontamination procedures you experienced. The bunkers’ purpose was to provide a refuge for medical and administrative staff and a store of food, fuel, hospital sup-plies and so on in the event towns and cities were destroyed by nuclear weapons. It sounds like a tall order, but our job is to safeguard the civilian and military command structure… and to try and pick up the pieces after the radioactive shit hits the fan.”
Michaela said, “I thought these places were built entirely underground.”
“Not all. If we’re disguised as we are and as long as we’re not at ground zero-that’s why these places are situated in wilderness areas-then these can take nuclear blasts without excessive damage.”
“Phoenix, let me get this straight,” I said. “When those guys went crazy last year and started ripping people and whole cities apart your bunker team came out here and locked yourself in?”
“That’s about it. We’re supposed to have a complement of thirty-four. When all hell let loose, twenty made it through. Some of us were brought in by police helicopter. Man, those roads were clogged with cars. I can still smell the smoke of towns burning as we flew over them. Right then, I remember thinking, ‘My God. This is hell. Pure hell.’ ”
Michaela shook her head. “So your people are going to sit here until hell freezes back over?”
“No.” I imagined Phoenix shaking his/her head. “
No, we’re in touch with the government at all levels. Plans are being devised to bring this under control. It won’t happen overnight, but when it does this facility will coordinate the restoration of law and order in this district. Then comes the long job of rebuilding our towns.”
“They are that confident?” I heard skepticism in Michaela’s voice. “You know, it’s a mess out there. Apart from the hornets that pretty much control the state, maybe even the whole country or even the world for all I know, all I’ve come across are small groups of people who are scavenging an existence from the wreckage.”
“Michaela, I didn’t intend to paint a rosy picture, but things will be back under governmental control soon.”
“So you’re in regular contact with these other bunkers?”
“Yes, there are several hundred of them. We all-”
“And the hornets have overrun the entire United States?”
“A temporary state of affairs.”
Michaela stood up to talk to that phantom voice. Suddenly she looked cold, as if she’d begun to see the whole picture-devastation, death, dissolution. “Phoenix, what about the rest of the world? Is it like this in Europe, Asia and Africa?”
“Greg, Michaela, I won’t lie to you. At present, yes, it’s bad. This infection has been like an influenza epidemic that’s gone global.”
“Jesus.”
“After all, we lived in a world of international travel. You could step on a plane and be anywhere on the planet in twenty-four hours. Imagine a typical day at JFK. All those tens of thousands of people flooding through Customs into the country. They’re coming from China, Japan, India, Argentina, Mexico, Kenya, Germany, Russia, you name it. Customs can screen them for cocaine and guns but can’t screen them for what they carry in their blood…”
There was a pause. I could hear the sound of Phoenix breathing. It whispered from the speakers. It could have been the sound ghosts make, soft but sort of shimmering and unreal in the air. I shivered.
“We will beat this.” Phoenix’s voice was hushed. “We will do it. Believe in us.” When the voice came again it was louder, more direct. “Now, I don’t want to keep you up all night. You’ve been through hell today. But first I want to show you something. Although you’ll understand that this is a top-secret establishment, my boss has given me clearance to show you our recreation area. She and I thought you might find it reassuring that although this might appear an unusual place to you, life goes on normally enough. See for yourselves. This is some of our crew at play.”
The TV screen flashed. A banner appeared at the bottom of the screen stating CAM 6: RECREATION. We saw a brightly lit room with potted ferns and a big wall TV screen something like the one we now watched. Some middle-aged guys were watching an old Buster Keaton movie while sipping beers. At the far end of the room a couple of young women played pool. Like this room, there were comfortable armchairs and sofas. Men and women lounged about talking, reading books; an older guy sat at a table writing. As we watched a man in a military uniform walked in with a clipboard under his arm. He shared a joke with the pool girls. They laughed.
Phoenix spoke. “That’s about half the team. The others are at their workstations or sleeping. The white- haired gentleman at the table is Dr. Roestller. Before you go he’ll want to inoculate you.”
“Oh, what against?” Michaela spoke casually, almost as if making conversation, but when I looked at her she made eye contact with me. She seemed suspicious of something.
Equally casual Phoenix said, “We have a multiple vaccine shot. It was developed as a cover-all after a nuclear strike, when sanitation and normal healthcare would be disrupted. Some joker called it the Morning After Armageddon Pill. A single injection protects you against cholera, hepatitis, meningitis, influenza, septicemia, typhoid, malaria, intestinal parasites… all the visitors who’ve passed through here have had the shot. You might be drowsy and run a low fever for a couple of days, but that’s the extent of the side effects.” Phoenix didn’t wait for any answer or further questions. Instead: “Well, I’ve reached the end of my shift. I’m allocated six hours’ sleep now, so I best make the most of it.”
Michaela yawned. “OK, Phoenix, good night.”
“And thank you for taking the time to talk to us.”
“Don’t mention it, Greg. My pleasure. Good night, you two.”
“Good night.”
Silence settled on the room again. Michaela shrugged. “Well, I guess I’m going to turn in.” She gave a tired smile. “It’s going to be novel sleeping in a bed again. I hope I remember how.”
Thirty-five
It was one in the morning when I closed the door of my room. For the next five minutes I got the bed ready. There wasn’t much to do. A sleeping bag in that shrink wrap sat on a bare plastic mattress. I tore open the packing and something like a concrete block in hardness and size expanded and softened as the air rushed in. I unrolled the sleeping bag onto the mattress, then kicked off my sandals. Bolted on the wall next to the bed was a radio that couldn’t have been much larger than a pack of cigarettes. The controls consisted of a single push button. I pushed it. All I got was more of that ambient elevator music. I switched off.
“Greg?”
“Come in, Michaela. It’s not locked.”
She opened the door and looked in. Her hair fell loosely ’round her shoulders. It was damp from a recent shower. She wore a T-shirt for a nightdress. Shyly, she smoothed it ’round her hips to keep the hem down over her thighs.
“This might sound silly to you…” She smiled, looking awkward. “But do you mind if you leave your door open a little? I’m leaving mine open.” She blushed. “I’ve got so used to sleeping ’round a campfire with a crowd of people that it’s going to be strange sleeping alone in my own room.”
I smiled back, trying to be reassuring. “Of course. And relax-we’re safe in here. This place is built like a
