Suffice to say I had a good marriage. That kiss last night was more enjoyable than anything else I’ve done with a woman since she died.”
June favored him with an assertive nod. She began gathering the breakfast dishes while trying to push away the faint feeling of guilt over her attraction toward another man. She couldn’t decide whether she was being disloyal to Charlie’s memory or not. Shouldn’t a good marriage in the past mean something positive about how her emotions were being stirred now by the presence of a man who had also had a good relationship? She watched him covertly as Doug rose to bring his plate to the sink then stayed and rinsed while she placed them in the dishwasher. She stood indecisively afterwards.
“Do you need to stop by your place before going to work?” she finally asked.
“Yes, but if you want a lift, I can wait until you’re ready.”
“I do. It won’t take me long. I reported my car stolen, by the way.”
“Probably a good idea. Need any help packing?’
“No, I’ll get what I need for now. Thanks.”
A few minutes later he carried her suitcase out to his car and stowed it in the trunk. Before leaving, he said “All I need to do is get a quick shave and pick up a couple of my spare pieces at my place. It won’t take but a few minutes, but I’d rather you stay inside here or come with me to my place until I’m ready to leave.”
“I’ll come with you.” June locked her door and they began walking around the corner of the unit to Doug’s apartment. “What did you mean spare piece?”
“My other guns. And June—I don’t know what you think about weapons, but I’d sure feel better if you carried one with you from now on.”
“I don’t have a license. And I wouldn’t know how to shoot anyway, even supposing I owned a gun.”
“I doubt anyone is going to be checking licenses for a long time to come. And I can not only teach you to shoot but I’ll give you something easy to handle. There’s an indoor range that we use right near work.
That’s where most of us practice.”
“Well… I guess so. I hope I never have to use it, though.
“I sincerely hope so, too.”
Once back in the car, with his face freshly shaved, Doug had just inserted the key into the ignition when June placed her hand on his arm. He turned, brows raised.
“Doug, before we leave… I want to be kissed again.” She leaned toward him.
Several long moments later, while their tongues were still playing warm games with each other his hand moved over her breast and cupped it gently. June tensed for a second then relaxed and enjoyed his touch. She had to almost force herself to finally break the embrace. She rubbed her cheek against his and laughed softly.
“Look at us, making out in a car like teenagers. And I still feel a bit guilty about it.”
Doug took a deep breath and looked directly at her. “I hope that doesn’t last. And I’ll confess I feel somewhat like a teenager right now, so I have an excuse. How about you?”
“I think we’d better get going if we’re going to go at all. One more like that… never mind. It was nice enough to repeat in detail another time, but not now.”
If he wasn’t floating on air on the way to the CDC, Doug couldn’t have proved it, because he certainly felt like he was. He wondered what it was about the woman beside him that had finally stirred something in his soul besides simple sexual desire.
With the elimination of overseas missions, and with the private security guards and federal marshals now under his command, Gene Bradley combined the small squads into four contingents of just over a hundred men each, now referred to as platoons. Each platoon would be responsible for an eight hour shift of guard duty each day, with the platoons rotating on a three weeks on, one week off schedule. It was similar to how the military might have handled it, which didn’t surprise Doug at all. He had been placed in charge of one of the four platoons and was with the other three platoon leaders in Bradley’s office getting the latest briefing.
As usual, the former Colonel got to the point quickly. “In case any of you haven’t been listening to the news, several cities now are in a state of virtual war between blacks and whites. There’s a pitched battle going on right now in northern Louisiana and the governor has called out the National Guard. The upset here in Atlanta has been put down, but the city is still a powder keg. Any little incident could set it off. I want you to emphasize to your men to think before they start shooting. Not every black face is an enemy, nor even most of them. On the other hand, this may very well be the most important medical facility in America right now. It must be protected at all costs. I’ve recommended that an army battalion be assigned to help us, but so far it hasn’t been approved.
“I hope it is soon, because the information has just been made public—leaked, I should say—that the Harcourt Virus was first released two years ago and has probably infected a good percentage of the world’s population—and that it definitely had a human origin. I don’t have to tell you what that’s going to mean. The infection curve is still rising and the morbidity is still one hundred percent for blacks—or dark skins, I should say.” He lowered his gaze for a moment. “Call it prejudicial if you like, but I want you to avoid putting anyone with dark skin in positions of authority.” He caught the disquiet at that remark and clarified his statement. “It’s not that I don’t trust our people but if this thing continues, I want continuity in the chain of command and that’s the only way to have it.
“Folks, this is going to get much worse before it gets better. It’s showing up in India and the Phillipines, and also in China, though I doubt it will reach catastrophic levels there as it will in Africa. That whole continent is rapidly slipping into complete anarchy, with whites being hunted down like animals. That, by the way, is why we may not get any army people here for a while. They’re busy as hell evacuating as many of our people as they can from overseas, Africa primarily, but also from the Middle East.”
“Until we see just how far this goes, you’re going to have to stick close and keep your men here. We’ve got a limited number of transient apartments available. You can announce that to your troops and have them apply over in the administrative building if they want to bring in their families. If they run out of room in the transient apartments, you’re authorized to bring families to your own quarters. Just keep them busy with something and out of our hair.
“Now I’ve given you your assignments. Three weeks on, one week off. The eight hour shifts will be rotated. Other than that, you can assign your men as you see fit.
“One more thing. I want each of you to send me five men, preferably ex-military who are familiar with heavy weapons. Machine guns and RPGs. I’m going to organize a heavy weapons detail. The National Guard here loaned us some surplus, so we’re well equipped. Doug, I’ve picked one of your men to head that up, Buddy Hawkins. I know he’s black, but he’s the best qualified and he’ll have assistants who can take over if he gets sick.”
Doug winced inside but his face showed nothing. Buddy was one of the few of his squad who had returned from Nigeria. He had planned on making him his assistant.
“All right, that covers it from my side. Questions?”
There weren’t many, and the few they had dealt with supplies of all kind for their men, now that no one was allowed to leave. Doug didn’t feel Gene’s answers were entirely satisfactory, but he knew the ex-colonel was doing the best he possibly could. There hadn’t been any contingency plans for this situation, not anywhere. There were several shops within the complex but few that sold what they would eventually need most; clothing, phone batteries, toiletry items and other essentials they were used to getting somewhere else. The briefing was finished within the next ten minutes.
Doug’s section had the second week off. At first he was annoyed because he wanted to try spending some more time with June and see what developed, but then after thinking about it, decided that allowing their relationship to simmer for a week probably wouldn’t hurt. But when he called June to tell her his schedule she sounded disappointed.
“Are you on duty the whole time? That sounds horrendous!”
“No, just eight hours out of each twenty four, but unfortunately, my section drew the night shift the first go round, midnight until eight. We start tonight.”
“You’re off during the rest of the time, though?”
“Well—officially, but in reality, I have to be available any time. I don’t have to stay in our compound, though, so long as my phone is working and I don’t go far.”
“Good. I work tomorrow but we’re getting one day a week off and the day after tomorrow is Sunday.
Come over to the transient apartments as soon as you’re free that morning and I’ll make us something to
