CHAPTER SIX
“I hear you got a promotion,” June remarked. They had finished their first glass of wine and were waiting on the food.
“Uh, huh,” Doug confirmed. “I get to be responsible for everyone else’s mistakes now.”
June laughed. “The price of being good. I guess I’ll be staying here, too. Amelia recommended me for a spot on her staff as her assistant. Administrative work is a little out of my line, but it will be interesting.”
“Congratulations. I’m glad for you, June.”
“Well, I got my fill of being lazy back home. And I imagine this place will be hopping for years to come.”
“I’m sure it will,” Doug agreed. He didn’t offer any of the scary visions of what he thought would be happening in the country before long, not to mention the rest of the world. He knew from hard-won experience how violently people could react when they felt threatened.
The food arrived and for a time they simply ate and compared notes.
“No children,” June said. “We were about ready but then… well, anyway, I have no one dependent on me. Dad still works for an oil company in Montana but he’s getting ready to retire… Doug, do you think they’ll be safe? Or how about if they move back to Texas like they say they’re going to? Dad’s something of a pacifist so far as guns are concerned. He thinks they should be outlawed.”
“I wish I could tell you they weren’t in danger, but—June, everyone is going to have to pull their heads in before long. When our black population starts dying in numbers, I think it will get bad. And here’s another statistic I haven’t heard much talk about. The military is about 25% black. I don’t know about the Hispanic percentage, but it’s fairly high, too. The army will be real short handed before long.”
“What will that mean?”
Doug had already said more than he intended to. “Oh, hell, I don’t know, really. It’s a situation made for trouble, though. I just hope the government is taking steps to compensate for the loss of so many of their people, military and civil service. Back to your original question, though. I think your parents are probably safer in Montana than where we are, simply because they live in an area with a small population of blacks.”
“That’s what I think, too. I know it sounds like I’m… well, you know.”
“Yes, I know. When threats arise, people want to protect their own. It’s just human nature. And I’ll tell you something else, June. If I were black, I’d be more than just pissed off; I’d be thinking of revenge, especially if someone close to me died from the bug. In my opinion, the riots we’ve seen in the past are going to seem tame compared to what I expect we’ll see before long.” He reflected on their conversation.
“For two people who didn’t intend to talk business, we can’t seem to stay off it, can we?” He had revealed much more of his anxieties about the future than he intended
“I guess it’s on everyone’s mind right now.” She pushed her plate away and sipped at her wine.
“Dessert?”
“I shouldn’t, but…” The sounds of approaching sirens interrupted her.
Both she and Doug listened alertly. There were more than just one. The noise approached, then faded, only to have the sound of another warbling siren grow in volume, then another.
“Somehow, I’d feel better if I got on back,” Doug said. “I don’t know if that’s where they’re going, but it sounds like they’re heading in the direction of the CDC.”
“I think I’ll follow you. It may be nothing, but then again…”
“Yeah. Stay close.”
Doug caught the waiter’s eye. He paid and they left quickly.
When Doug saw a solid phalanx of flashing tail lights ahead of them on the loop, he signaled for a turn and watched closely in the rear view mirror to be sure June was following. She turned off with him, two exits before the off ramp he normally would have taken to get back to the CDC. He knew another way.
It might take a bit longer, but it was safer, he thought. Then right after they exited, he realized they might have been better off staying on the freeway. Traffic appeared to be heavy in this direction, too.
As he continued to check and make sure June was close behind, he turned right, then right again, trying to go back and swing even farther around the area where his radio was saying a demonstration had gotten out of hand. He was beginning to suspect it was more than just “out of hand” and was cursing himself for leading June into it.
For a few moments he thought they were going to get clear without any more problems when he heard the ripping noise of a machine pistol on full automatic, loud even through the closed window of his car.
Behind him, he saw June’s car swerve off the road and up onto the adjoining sidewalk before veering back onto the street and coming to a jarring halt against the rear end of a parked car.
Doug stood on the brakes and twisted the steering wheel. His vehicle slid sideways, narrowly avoiding another car speeding recklessly in the other direction. He got the car into reverse gear while hitting the switch for the driver’s window. It came all the way down automatically. Looking backward, he saw figures emerging from another car. Its occupants had been waiting at a side street for anyone with a white face to pass. He thought some of their gunfire must have been meant for him. If so, they had missed—but raked June’s car with a row of bullets, hitting the hood and side window and blowing out a rear tire.
He backed quickly, but not quite fast enough. A black youth was already pulling the door of June’s car open. She was screaming. Doug stopped, jumped from his car and yelled. The youth behind the one trying to yank June from the vehicle whirled and fired. Doug dropped instinctively as he saw what the boy intended and had his own little automatic in his hand as he hit the ground and rolled, with chips of concrete and asphalt chasing him. He raised his pistol and fired once, twice. The young black man fell.
The other tugged at June harder, not realizing that his companion had been shot. He staggered backward with a piece of June’s blouse in his hand and tripped over the sprawled body of his cohort. Cursing, he drew a short barreled pistol and fired wildly in Doug’s direction.
Still lying prone, Doug aimed and shot once. That was enough. His bullet punctured the youth’s trachea just below his chin and shattered the vertebrae behind it. He dropped, with blood spurting from his throat in a red fountain. Doug ran forward while trying to look everywhere at the same time. He ducked his head and peered into the driver’s compartment of June’s vehicle, dreading what he might see. June uttered a short scream and shrank away from him, then saw who it was.
“Doug! Thank God!” She clambered out, shaking as if she had palsy.
“Come on, let’s get out of here!” Doug said, daring to breathe again. He took her hand and hurried her toward his car. Seconds later he was speeding away, not worrying at all over possible repercussions from the two young men he had killed. Gene would see that no charges were brought, even supposing he or his car was identified.
As soon as he felt like they were out of danger, he pulled over to the side of the street. June came into his arms, still shaking. Doug comforted her while still remaining alert, then as soon as she quieted, he replaced the three cartridges he had spent and holstered the little automatic.
“I didn’t even know you were carrying a gun!” June said. There was still a tremor in her voice. She suddenly realized that almost the whole front of her blouse was missing and that one of the shoulder straps of her bra had been torn loose, almost freeing her left breast from the cup. She gathered what material she could and held it close to her chest.
“Well, I don’t advertise it all over the place, but I’m glad I had it tonight. Can we go on now? Or if you like, I have an old shirt in the trunk. I can get it for you.”
“No! Let’s just go on!”
The route he was on now took them to the other side of the CDC complex and on toward the security building with no more problems. Nevertheless, he kept his gun laying in his lap and continually scanned the streets for possible danger. On the way, Doug said “I’m sorry I got your car all shot up. I should have taken the longer way to begin with.”
“It’s all right, you couldn’t have known. Besides, it’s insured. Did… did you kill those boys? I don’t think they were even grown yet.”
“Yes, they’re dead. I didn’t have time to do anything else and they were trying to kill me.”
“And God knows what they had in mind for me. Thank you. You’ve saved my life again.”
