‘I know. I… Look, I don’t want to sound like a nut, but do you think we could go somewhere I can’t be seen from the door?’
Kipper was nonplussed, but Barney was so agitated and so genuinely concerned that he picked up the candle and led his guest through to the sitting room. He could hear Barb and Suzie playing tea parties upstairs, and thought about calling out that it was almost time for bed. But he kept his mouth shut. Barbara would probably put Suzie down in the next half-hour or so and crawl into bed with her. She’d been doing that most nights since the Disappearance.
The sitting room was dark, and the curtains drawn. A small fire in the hearth threw a flickering glow over the room. Kip blew out the candle he was carrying and placed it on an old plate that was already scummy with melted wax. ‘Welcome to the new frontier,’ he said dryly.
They took seats facing each other across a glass-topped coffee table, covered with Barb’s old magazines. Past editions of
‘Okay,’ said Kip. ‘What have you got yourself caught up in, Barn?’
Before answering, Tench rubbed his palms on the knees of a pair of jeans that looked like they hadn’t been washed in a long time. ‘Like the arrest warrant says, Kip – the Resistance. That’s what they call themselves. Frankly, I think it’s a dumb name, a bit too Secret Squirrel for me, but there’s a hell of a lot of them out there. Normal people, you know? Some, like me, worked for the city, some used to work for the feds, lots of business people too – but
‘But Barney, we’re not free to live as we did. You can surely see that?’
Tench leaned forward. ‘We’re not free to run our plasma TVs twenty-four hours a day, no. We’re not free to gorge ourselves to death on junk food and Vanilla Coke,
Kipper was going to protest, but he had been at the convention when that blow-hard mayor had moved for an amendment to reserve thirty per cent of the congressional seats for the military as an emergency measure. To ensure stability. He’d sniggered when he heard – and then been gobsmacked as one speaker after another rose to support it. And the fact was, the city was still locked down. People were living on handouts and doing as they were told. Food stamps were the new currency. The movement of people and goods was closely vetted by the military. ‘Production Committees’ had been set up to allocate labour and resources where they were most needed. And the local media, although able to work again, was heavily constrained by ‘D Notices’, issued by the Acting Governor but countersigned by General Jackson Blackstone.
‘Barney,’ he said, feeling very uncomfortable, ‘I work with these people every day. Some of them, sure, they’re sons a’ bitches. I wouldn’t trust them with three dollars in change. But I can guarantee you, man, they are not doing these things because they’re all little Hitlers in their hearts – they’re doing it because they’re
‘We’re not. Not like this. We might
‘Well, of course not, Barn,’ the chief engineer admitted. ‘It sucks the big one. But if you’d been there today and seen the chaos on the convention floor… Man, I really don’t know whether that’s the way to go. I just -’
A thunderous hammering interrupted him. Tench blanched, visibly so, even in the poor light, and muttered, ‘Oh God.’
‘Open up,’ called out a harsh voice. ‘It’s the police.’
The two men locked eyes and a whole conversation passed between them without a word being spoken.
Kipper placed a finger to his lips and gestured for Tench to follow him, leading his friend into the hallway and pointing to a door under the stairs that led down to the cellar. Barney needed no telling. He hurried over to the door as the pounding began again.
‘Open up, please. Police.’
‘I’m coming,’ Kipper yelled back. ‘But I’m not breaking a leg for you, so you can just fucking wait.’
Barb appeared at the top of the stairs and Kip waved her back, shaking his head emphatically. There was no time to explain to her any of what Barney had just said. He could only hope she wouldn’t give anything away. Kipper moved into the kitchen and deliberately banged his leg on the table, sending a glass crashing to the floor. ‘Son of a bitch!’ he yelled, loud enough to be heard outside.
Then, reefing open the back door, he let his natural foul temper off the leash a little, surprising the two police officers who stood there, blocking his view of a small squad of soldiers. ‘This better be fucking good, and quick,’ he snarled. ‘I have to get up at about three in the morning tomorrow and drive out to Fort Lewis.’
One of the cops actually blinked and said, ‘Oh.’ The other, older one didn’t take a backward step.
‘Mr Kipper, eh? My name is Sergeant Banks and this is Officer Curlewis. Sorry to bother you, sir, but we’re looking for agitators who’ve been reported in this area. We need to have a look around your place.’
‘What’s going on, dear?’
Barb had appeared at his elbow. ‘I dunno, some crap,’ he told her. ‘They think we’ve got someone here. Want to search the place.’
‘Oh, that’s ridiculous.’
‘I’m sorry, Mrs Kipper, ma’am,’ said Banks. T have my orders. Do you mind?’
‘Well, I do, but that’s hardly going to make a damn bit of difference, is it?’
The policeman didn’t bother replying to that, but he at least waited until Kip had opened the door properly, rather than forcing his way in. His partner followed and the soldiers moved up the path, until Barb held up a
