“Of course,” Carol muttered.
“We had to make sure the surrounding areas were safe before we attempted to travel further afield. The fuel that was kept here had more water than fuel in it. The gennys needed replacement parts that…well, let’s just say that things fell apart on us and we had to make do. In a way, doctors, you freed us.”
Higgins turned into a short and gloomy hallway. “These two rooms are for you. You can decide which you’d prefer.” He turned again and pointed down the main hallway. “Our lab is right down there. If you wish to drop off your things, I’ll take you down and introduce you to the rest of the CDC.”
Carol glanced at Andre and shrugged. “In for a penny?”
“In for a pound.”
“That’s the second time that Tahoe has driven by,” Lana whispered. “Do you think it’s the same people that drove by the other day?”
Simon stared through the blinds at the limited view from the tree in the front yard. “I don’t know. I don’t recognize the vehicle.” He released the blinds and turned to her. “If it’s the same people, they were in a truck before.”
“What does this mean, Simon?” She couldn’t mask the fear in her voice.
He slowly shook his head and eyed her nervously. “The only other people I know of in this area are the cagers.”
Her hands began to tremble as she paced the living room. “I know we planned on getting an RV and hitting the road, but…” She turned and faced him, anger in her eyes. “I don’t like the idea of being forced out.” She clenched her jaw as she paced. “When it was our idea that was one thing.” She turned and pointed at the window. “But them coming here and forcing us out is another.”
Simon tried to pull her into an embrace to help calm her down, but she sidestepped him and continued pacing. “Lana, I don’t know who it is or what they want, but they’re gone now.”
“What if they come back?” She clenched her jaw again and exhaled forcefully. “What if they decide to come back and stay?”
He gave her a weak smile. “We’d have neighbors?”
“If they’re the cagers that you hate so much, I don’t think I’d want to be neighbors.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t think they’d want us as neighbors either.”
Simon shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. It might be nice to have somebody to borrow a cup of sugar from.”
She nearly glared at him. “If that’s the same people who tried to kill you?” She shook with anger as the words caught in her throat. “Do you really think they’d let bygones be bygones? Do you think they’d want you as a neighbor?” She threw her hands up in despair. “Or me? I still look like a Quee!”
Simon pulled her close and refused to let her go. “You are beautiful, do you hear me?” He shook her gently to get her attention. “Fuck them if they can’t see that.”
She sighed heavily and tried to force herself to stop trembling. “I’m not getting a warm fuzzy feeling from them driving around here.”
“Neither am I.” He lifted her chin to peer into her eyes. “And if they come back, we’ll let them know that they’re not welcome here.”
She stared at him for a moment. “You’d go to war with a whole group of people just to keep them away?”
“I’d kill anybody that tried to harm you.”
She could see that he meant every word, and it softened her expression. “We’re just two people, Simon.” She slowly shook her head, her face a mask of sadness. “I don’t think we’d win.”
Simon shrugged. “Then we run them off long enough that we can make a getaway.” He pulled her close and kissed the tip of her nose again. “We find that RV and head for the hills.”
She sighed and melted into his chest. “I trust you, Simon.”
“Good.” He rubbed at her back with his good arm. “Because I meant it. I’m not gonna let anybody hurt the woman I love.”
30
Will Stanton walked along the street, studying the terrain and the wall surrounding the subdivision. “We couldn’t do rollaway gates,” he muttered.
“What’s that?” Hatcher asked.
“The gates entering the property.” He pointed to the cement curbs. “We’d have to install swinging gates. A roll away couldn’t get over the edges of the sidewalk.”
“How hard do you think it will be?” Buck asked.
Will bent low and sighted along the front edge of the wall. “If they’re solid, then it won’t be hard at all.” He turned and gave them both a knowing look. “If they’re decorative, like the Styrofoam sections we ran into at the retirement village? We’d be wasting our time.”
“How would we test that?” Buck asked.
Will stood and walked back to the truck. “That’s why I brought rudimentary tools.” He dug through the toolboxes and withdrew a drill. He attached a long masonry bit and tightened it. “I can tell you shortly what we’re looking at.” He clipped a tool belt to his waist and slid a hammer into the holster.
Buck walked with him to the corner of the wall and watched as Will leaned into the drill at high speed. The masonry bit chewed through the soft sandstone, spitting out a steady rain of reddish brown earth.
“This part appears solid,” Will stated as he withdrew the bit. He looked down the wall and shook his head. “I won’t be able to tell about the rest until I test it.”
“You gonna have to drill into the whole thing?” Buck asked.
Will shook his head as he pulled the hammer. “I should be able to get an idea with this.” He held the hammer up and tapped along the edge of the wall. The resounding ting made the wall sound solid. He began to walk along the front, tapping at regular intervals.
Buck looked to Hatcher. “What’s he doing?”
“Checking if the wall
