“The early, corn crops yield reports do not look good. Lui, can’t manipulate the situation much longer.”
“How much time do you think there is, before it goes downhill?”
“Well, the wheat crops in the UK produced five percent less, than the last year’s non modified crops, so it was a total bust…Lui, is trying to stifle the corn reports, but it’s futile. The crops are in too many countries she can’t silence them all. If Brazil’s soybean crop doesn’t do well there is going to be hell to pay. By the end of November, the world will probably be ripping apart at the seams. You should know, if things here become insurmountable, there are some good people in Elizabeth. Find the Armstrongs. I played football with Jackson, their oldest son, or the Taylors I went to school with their daughter, Kirra. They are all good people, and I think they know something is coming.”
I hand Doc a piece of paper with their address scrawled on it.
“Burn it after you memorize it.”
Doc chuckles
“I didn’t lose my brains along with my leg Malone.”
His face takes on a more somber expression.
“Not trying to get into your business, but if they are such good people, maybe you should make a visit, and be sure they know what’s coming.”
The thought makes me queasy.
“I haven’t been back since I signed up for service, I don’t know if I can stomach it.”
Doc is silent for a long moment, and I start to think he isn’t going to respond. Then he looks at me with all the wisdom of a man in his late thirties that has seen and experienced more than most people would in three lifetimes.
“Fin, you can’t run away from your demons forever, you’ve got to set things right…time is running short, my friend.”
I have no response to this, because I know he’s talking about more than just warning the Armstrongs and Taylors, and I know he’s right. It is time for me to make amends.
Chapter Fourteen Homecoming
M rs. Taylor is ecstatic when she answers the door to their home. She wraps me in a bear hug so tight, I could swear it was Mr. Taylor and not the tiny framed woman who was the last face I saw when leaving Elizabeth. She pulls me into the house, and I can tell immediately that something is different. The house is dark and quiet, and while she is clearly happy to see me, there is sadness in her eyes…a hollow, loneliness.
“What’s happened? Is Kirra, okay?”
She gives me a small smile.
“Kirra, is well, she is at Central University with Jackson.”
She takes a deep steadying breath.
“Mr. Taylor passed away three months ago. He had a massive stroke.”
Her eyes well up with tears that she fights back down. I am stunned silent.
“It was just so unexpected; he was so healthy. He went for a run that morning, had the stroke right after lunch, and he was gone that night. He passed just a few minutes after Kirra, got to the hospital.”
I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to comfort her. So, I give her a hug, then, do what I was trained to do. I shut off my emotions and get back to the mission at hand. Still embracing her, I murmur over the top of her head.
“Something, bad is coming…I came to make sure you’re ready.”
She steps back, and looks at my beard covered face, and immediately knows the seriousness of the conversation.
“I’ll call the Armstrongs.”
Twenty minutes later I’m sitting at the kitchen table next to Sidney Taylor and across from Ava and Thomas Armstrong, no longer the battered little boy in need of help, but a warrior with the ability to help them. Over the next two hours I tell them everything I know and make suggestions. Jackson and Kirra need to be here. There needs to be a plausible excuse for both of them to come home. I suggest they fake a pregnancy. Unplanned pregnancy is rare these days, but it still happens, and it would give them a reason to leave school unexpectedly. When we are finished, I stand to go, Ava and Sidney both give me hugs and Thomas shakes my hand. The question is looming, I know he wants to ask if I’m going to see my dad and warn him also, but he surprises me and doesn’t.
“What will you do? Are you planning on staying in service and fighting Lui’s battles?”
“I’m not sure. If I leave, more than likely, I wouldn’t be able to come back here. This is the first place they would look. It really depends on how all this plays out.”
“Take care of yourself, Fin. You can always come back here; we have places we can hide you.”
I give him a nod, though I am doubtful, unless he has an underground bunker hidden somewhere. I think about asking but decide it’s better if I don’t know. The U.A. has ways of getting information out of people.
“One last thing, if you ever come across a man named Doc Love, help him, or let him, help you. He is a good man, and he is an asset. He has extensive medical training. He is one of my brothers from the unit. He will likely be traveling with a woman named Helen and a girl named Edie.”
“Of course, your friends are welcome here, as are you…always.”
I am filled with dread as I make the short drive to my dad’s trailer. Once, I am there I can’t bring myself to go in. I just stand outside in the little clearing in the woods staring at the door. I try to push away all the feelings, threatening to turn me into the scared little boy I once was.
