Life Goes On by Tayell, Frank (large ebook reader txt) 📗

we will assume they are missing, presumed dead. The lab could have been in Colombia. I’ll look at Hernando’s possessions for clues, but if he was that scared of the sisters, I doubt he’d even dare write it down. If he was just a go-between, he wouldn’t have been told. No, considering the resources we have, and the effort in getting here, finding the lab would be next to impossible. So, officially, I’m going to say that the sisters are dead, the cartel’s principal supply-stash has been destroyed, and they no longer present a threat.”

“And personally?”

“These people are fanatics,” Tess said. “I’m certain a few of their agents escaped capture in Australia, but the sisters ran a global empire. Even if they’re gone, a new underworld will emerge, headed up by people who think nothing of skinning victims alive. Ideally, I’d take a few days to gather any intel left here by Hernando and Mikael. Specifically, I’d want the address of the mansion in Miami. There we might find other addresses, hopefully in the Pacific. We’d go there, and follow every other lead, building a dossier on any missing terrorists. The first time we found a hint of their activity in home-territory, we’d open the file, and check the photos. I’d run them in the papers. I’d run them on the TV. I’d make a big show of the hunt. Remind people that justice might sometimes be slow, but it’s inescapable. Except, sadly, that’s impossible.”

“For me, it’s the Russians and the British,” Adams said. “Were those submarines hunting for the sisters? Who sank the flotilla of yachts? What kind of threat will they be in the months to come? Those are the questions I want answered.”

“That’s it,” Tess said. “It’s the months to come. But in the years after that, the real danger to our future is radiation. We’ve not avoided extinction yet, so we must put aside the personal, and take back an official report that’ll reassure our citizens.”

“We can hope it will prompt any stray gangsters to reform,” Adams said.

“The best we can hope for is they’ll keep their heads down,” Tess said. “But I’ll take a look at Hernando’s place, anyway. See if he was kind enough to leave us a signed confession.”

“Before you do, there’s one other issue to settle,” Adams said. “The two prisoners. Our options are limited. In fact, realistically, there’s only one thing we can do.”

“I know,” Tess said.

“Excuse me, Captain, Commissioner?” Pete Guinn called. He and Olivia walked over.

“Pete, hi,” Tess said. “Everything okay?”

“Kinda,” Pete said.

“Not really,” Olivia said. “Corrie says you’re returning to the Pacific?”

“Via a few fuel stops,” Adams said. “We should be back in Perth in two weeks.”

“Could you drop us off on the mainland?” Pete asked.

“The mainland? Why?” Tess asked.

“Over to you, Pete,” Olivia said.

“Judge Benton sent us to make contact with the Pacific,” Pete said. “And we did. So now we’ve got to go tell her.”

“Who’s Judge Benton?” Adams asked.

“General Yoon’s deputy,” Pete said. “She took over the Canadian army after the bombs fell.”

“What was left of it,” Olivia said.

“Do you know where she is?” Adams asked.

“Not exactly,” Pete said.

“But it would be in Canada?” Adams asked. “So closer to the pole than the equator? You want to walk a quarter way around the planet.”

“Hopefully we can drive,” Pete said.

“You won’t make it,” Tess said. “Even if you had a specific destination in mind, you probably wouldn’t make it. When we left Canberra, we thought we could reach New York. Here we are, about to turn around, and I had a warship and no need to worry about zoms on the open sea.”

“I know it’s a long shot,” Pete said. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.”

“If you found her, what would you say?” Adams asked.

Olivia folded her arms. “Yeah, Pete, what would you say?”

“Um… head for the Pacific, I guess,” Pete said.

“No,” Adams said. “It will be a minimum of two weeks before we’re back in Perth. At least another week before we, or another ship, could sail north. Two more weeks before we reached the northern coast of northwest America, and we still might get there before you. But where should we go? We don’t know where’s safe, and nor do you. It’s spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Anyone who’s survived this long will be thinking about planting. By the time you find them, they’ll have a crop in the ground, and a secure farm from which to watch it. You can’t ask them to give up that to trek west in the hope a ship might be there. And what if there are more people than we can fit on one ship?”

“You see, Pete?” Olivia said. “A rescue is impossible.” She turned back to the captain. “But as much as I hate to admit it, Pete’s right, we still have to go ashore.”

“You do? Why?” Adams asked.

“If not us, who?” Olivia said. “There are people who need help. Maybe we can find a safe route to the Pacific, and somewhere we can keep them safe until a ship comes. Or maybe we find somewhere to wait until you find us. But Pete found Corrie, and they found me. I don’t know who is out there who needs finding, but if we don’t look, they’ll die. It’s the right thing to do. The only thing.”

“A noble sentiment,” Adams said. “But I’ve got to think of my crew, and the people in the Pacific in desperate need of a ship which can carry medical supplies to the millions of refugees.”

“Right, exactly,” Pete said. “So if you just drop us off on the mainland, and maybe with some gas, we’ll drive north.”

Tess laughed. “Strewth, mate. Talk about sticking me in a corner. How can I go back to Canberra and announce to