“No idea. Depends on how valuable this job is.”
Raymond thought about Emma’s testimony before Congress. How CropForward closed ranks and fired Gloria as soon as they found out she provided information to the government, even though she wasn’t set to testify. How the Seeds of the Future were worth billions in contracts.
The grid collapse might complicate issues for a corporation that large short-term, but the people in charge, the ones pulling the strings, would try to keep it afloat for as long as possible. As much as he hated to admit it, Emma was right. They needed John and his knowledge whether Raymond liked it or not.
He gripped the steering wheel too tight as he picked up speed, barreling down the road toward the Walmart parking lot.
Chapter Three
Emma
Emma held the notebook in her hand as Gloria rattled off the list of supplies. “Two cases of lentil soup, one case of chicken broth, two cases of tomato sauce, two—”
“Hold on, I’m still on chicken broth.” Emma finished writing the items and quantities on the list. Ever since Raymond and John took off for Walmart, they spent the morning inventorying the supply of food, medicine, and everything else Raymond and Gloria had the foresight to acquire.
Gloria moved the case of water out of the way and palmed her hips in frustration. “Those jerks on the road got half of my Costco hall. Half! I used all my savings to buy it.”
“What happened, exactly?”
Gloria relayed a harrowing experience on the road leading north out of Atlanta where Pringles darted off into the woods and a pair of opportunists took advantage, smashing the window of the Toyota Highlander and stealing half of the contents before Raymond intervened.
Emma shook her head. “Sounds like you’re lucky they didn’t get away with more.”
Gloria’s shoulders eased. “You’re right, I know. They almost got Pringles.”
The little dog perked up from his spot on his bed, ears pointed toward Gloria. She smiled. “If he hadn’t barked, we’d have lost him, too.”
Visions of the sporting goods store where Emma managed to buy one of the last pairs of sneakers amid squabbling and panic sprung to mind. “How bad were the stores for you?”
Gloria thought it over as she pushed a mess of long, brown curls off her face. “Nobody, and I mean nobody, except me and one guy at Costco seemed to care. Everyone else went about their routine like nothing was about to happen. But as soon as the power went out? Chaos.”
She reached for her coffee and took a sip. “By the time I reached the Ace Hardware near my house, panic took over. Neighbors—people I used to respect—walked out of the broken doors carrying grills and power tools. It made me sick.” She swallowed down another sip of coffee with a grimace. “It hadn’t been more than two hours. What must it be like now?”
Emma glanced at the door, thinking of Raymond and John in the Walmart. “We were trapped in that elevator for so long when the EMP hit, and then went to Zach’s—” She stalled on their former coworker’s name.
Gloria glanced at Holly sitting with Tank on the other side of the cabin, staring out at the mountain view. “You didn’t go into specifics before, and I understand it, but what don’t I know?”
Emma swallowed. “Like I said before, he was targeted by John’s organization. Killed in the middle of the day, no warning. We think CropForward is behind it.”
“That’s not what that monster said, and you know it.” Holly shot Emma a pointed stare. “He said the government was behind it.”
Emma pursed her lips. She still didn’t know whether to take Holly’s account for face value. Teenagers could have fanciful imaginations and in the heat of the moment who knew what she misheard. “We don’t have any proof. We have no way of—”
Holly stood up, leaving Tank and the view to stomp into the kitchen area. “He said the government hired them. That Seeds of the Future are supposed to fail. He said it’s a feature not a bug.”
Gloria stepped back, brow knit in confusion. “That can’t be true. Our own government wants to poison generations of people?”
“He said it wasn’t for us.” Holly crossed her arms. “He said it was for other countries.”
Emma thought back. “According to last year’s annual report, seventy-five percent of CropForward’s seeds are already exported to places like Africa and India.”
Gloria nodded. “They’ve been touting the Seeds of the Future as able to grow anywhere, even in poor soil and harsh climate. But it still doesn’t make sense. Why would they want to eliminate their customer base?”
Emma thought it through. “If their crops fail—if the seeds turn out to be bad—then all those countries will have to turn to someone else for food, won’t they?”
“If a country wholesale moved to the Seeds of the Future, you mean?” Gloria lifted an eyebrow. “I guess they would have to, but that would take years. Decades, even.”
The more Emma thought about it, the more it made sense. “Isn’t that always in the news? The US is lagging in exports for everything from agriculture to manufacturing. If we became the only major exporter with healthy crops, we would regain all our losses.”
Gloria eased into the closest chair. “This is all about money.”
“It’s more than that.” Bile edged up Emma’s throat and burned as she swallowed it down. “If the US owns the food supply, it owns the world. It’s not just about money. It’s about power. Control.”
Gloria’s lips twisted and she covered her mouth with her hand. “I might throw up.”
Emma agreed. If Holly was right, and the government was behind Zach’s murder, then John’s organization might never stop. They might be running until the United States was nothing more than a memory.
The cabin fell into troubled silence, with Gloria stacking food and Emma writing down the inventory. Holly disappeared to the loft above their heads and her bed.
As they finished the inventory, Tank stood, fur bristling across
