Alan perked up. “Who?”
Michelle chuckled. “Sorry, Ronald Reagan. Our fortieth president. You were an admirer.”
“Shit. It baffles me how much I don’t know sometimes,” Alan mused. “Do you remember the quotes?”
“Not verbatim…there was one about gun ownership being an American’s birthright, another about gun control and how it can’t be had by disarming citizens. Admittedly, my memory is on par with yours in recalling them.” Michelle grinned and rolled her lips. “I never knew much about guns until you came around. You took me to a range for my first time when I was pregnant with Lauren, and I thought you were a little crazy then. It scared me big time when you had her shooting rifles in her early double-digits, pistols a year after that. It was unnerving having all those guns around, but all that changed forever for me the day we needed them.”
Alan fell back on his butt and brought his knees together. “The day in the park,” he said. “The day I killed two men.”
“The day you protected your family from two evil men,” Michelle corrected. “The day you defended Lauren, defended me, and demonstrated the value of our human right to self-defense. It also made evident that killing another person can become necessary at times.”
“Even more so now.”
“Well, the world is harder now,” Michelle continued, “and people, what remain of them, are desperate. Every passing day brings more life-or-death decisions. God only knows what would’ve happened to us if you hadn’t shot those men. And if we didn’t have the guns we have today, there’s no way we would’ve survived this long. The right to keep and bear arms was intended to be just that—a right. The underlying reason for having them, whether hunting, self-defense, protecting one’s family, or maintaining the balance of power, is neither here nor there. But our government has always pushed to take them away. Forget the Bill of Rights, their entire track record speaks for itself. People in power only want more power, and total control of a populous can’t happen without disarmament. That’s something else you used to spout off about that I hated to hear but turned out to be true. And here we are today, the country’s in shambles and they’re still trying. All we want is to be left alone, and they still haven’t given up that fight.”
Alan nodded, recalling now his conversation on ‘federalized elements’ and government agencies with Valerie, and his, Ken’s and Jade’s near-fatal encounter with heavily armed agents in the hours before he’d made it home. “Michelle, have they…made it hard on you and the girls? And those living here?”
“They?”
“Our illustrious government.”
She gave it some thought. “Well, they haven’t exactly made it easy on us. I think I told you already about the lengths they had gone that ultimately sent us here.”
“You did,” Alan said. “The three of you had bugged out to my parents’ with Norman and his boys, but were only there a few weeks before things got too…hairy.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
Alan grinned uneasily. “You came here after that, and it’s plain to see why the location was chosen. We’re encircled by natural defenses here. Miles of mountains and rugged terrain with limited means of egress. But overall, has it been safer? I’ve asked Lauren a few times, mostly in a roundabout way, and haven’t gotten much feedback. It’s like she’s reluctant.”
Michelle raised a brow. “Lauren? Our daughter holding back from speaking her mind? That doesn’t sound like her,” she mused, then went on briefly concerning their various run-ins with what were believed to be FEMA and DHS agents, the initial instance being right after Lauren first met Christian, when the pair had been hunted by search dogs and their handlers. From there she went on to explain the Marauders’ scarcely thwarted siege of the valley and their inferred ties to DHS, the discovery of mysteriously deceased wild game, the poisoning of their water supply, illnesses it had triggered, and the lives it had nearly brought to a close. “It’s been a ride for us. If it’s them, they’ve yet to identify themselves as agents of the government. Lauren’s had her mind made up for a while now. And after what we’ve seen, heard and experienced, I wouldn’t put anything that’s happened past them, nor would I rule anything out for the future.” She sighed woefully. “I just think we have enough problems and enemies already. And I’d gladly declare a moratorium on all of them if I could.”
Alan hesitated a long moment, taking it all in. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am for not being around when things were falling apart. You needed me, and I should’ve been here, but wasn’t. But I’m here now. And so long as I’m alive, I will never allow anyone to harm this family. Ever.”
She smiled at him. “Is that a promise?”
“Damn right,” Alan affirmed. “I saw what those people did to Ken and what they were about to do to Jade. They acted like robots, no feeling, no compunction whatsoever. We were something less than them, something disposable. I hated every second of it, but they got what they deserved.”
Michelle audited Alan’s gaze at his mention of the younger woman who had accompanied him back to her while ensuring his safety with conviction, for reasons yet to be disclosed. She trusted her husband but hadn’t yet reached that point with Jade. “You’ve always been brave and a terrific
