Age of Monsters by John Schneider (books to read for self improvement .TXT) 📗

“You still can't even walk.”

Lucas tossed a dismissive wave.  “I could always walk on it.  I was just waiting until I could run.”

He smiled, looking around at the circle of unhappy faces.

“What?  No laugh?”

Rosa shut her eyes.  She'd been expecting this – he'd been setting them all up for the last couple of days.  She had watched him go to work on each of them – never for a moment stepping from behind the hard-boiled persona – and his methods were not subtle.

He had actually started with timid little Jamie, who, just like Julie, looked at him in awe, yet was also terrified of him.  His first night in the garage, he had sat down next to her, coaxing her over like she once would have coaxed her little lost cat.

“Listen, honey,” he had sad.  “You don't gotta be afraid anymore.  You just stick close.”

Simple as that.  Her face streaked with dirt and tears, Jamie looked up at him and nodded.

Lucas had tapped his busted foot.  “Just need a day or two, myself.  So right now it's sort of a rescue in slow-motion.  Think you can follow me out of here?”

Jamie had smiled timidly for the first time since it all began.

Rosa had likewise watched him hobble down next to Bud and Allison – similarly direct and succinct, indicating Allison's barely-showing belly.

He eyed Bud meaningfully.  “You've got a situation, here,” he said.

Bud nodded.

“You're looking after her, right?”

Bud glanced at Allison.  “I am,” he said.

`Lucas clapped his shoulder agreeably.  “I'm going to count on that.”

Jeremy had been a bit put-out that his position as guard dog seemed to have been usurped – yet he was also in awe of this apparently authentic American hero.

Lucas had flicked his finger on Jeremy's security badge.

“What's this part-time bullshit?  Why not the real thing?”

Jeremy glanced to see if Julie was in earshot, before replying in a low voice.

“I tried being a cop.  I wasn't good enough.”

“Wasn't good enough because you got the job and blew it, or because they wouldn't let you try?”

Before Jeremy could answer, Lucas stepped up eye-to-eye, like with a fresh recruit.

“Well,” he said, tapping his name-tag again, “Jeremy.  Here's your chance to be judged on your character instead of a checklist.”

Jeremy looked uncertain.

“How you going to judge yourself, son?”

The younger man again glanced in the direction of Nurse Julie.

Lucas smiled, grabbing Jeremy's chin, and turned him in the other direction, where coffee-girl, Jamie sat alone.

“Trust me,” he said, “try your luck over there, instead.”

Rosa wasn't sure what was more galling – the deliberate nature of the manipulation or the fact that it worked.

Besides squaring the young man's shoulders, within the hour, Jeremy was sitting next to Jamie and the two of them had paired off like a couple of ducks.

“Smooth, isn't he?” Rosa had commented to Julie.

Julie had batted her eyes dreamily.  “Yeah, he is.”

Rosa suppressed a tired sigh.

She had also noticed the Lieutenant had made no effort to beguile her.

His methods now became clear.

Now that Lucas had spent two days psyching them all up, they would turn to Rosa to make the call.  Seeing the set-up, Rosa attempted to abdicate by simply walking away – at least as far as the garage would allow.  Lucas solved that by following her.

“Time to go, Doctor Holland.”

“You've got everybody ready to charge over the hill, don't you?” Rosa said.  She nodded at the others.  “These people are refugees, not recruits.”

Lucas nodded agreeably.  “Still, if you're going to do something dangerous...”

He let the point hang.

“What if you end up getting everybody killed?” Rosa said.

Lucas sighed.  “Honey, look around you.  Things are not going to get better.”  He tapped a finger on his own forehead.  “Don't you get it?  I AM the rescue.  There isn't anyone else that's going to come.”

He took her shoulder and turned her so she had to meet his eyes.

“Doctor Holland.  If you want out of here, you're going to have to walk out.  Or you're going to die here.  It's just that simple.”

For a moment, the unrelenting bravado faded and he looked down at her with genuine sympathy.

“You're afraid.  I understand the urge to hide,” he said.  “But you can't let yourself freeze up.”  He shook his head.  “You know you can't just stay here indefinitely.”

Rosa said nothing.  She knew that perfectly well.

“Look,” Lucas said.  “I can see you've been taking care of these people.  You probably feel responsible for them.  Natural enough.  You're a doctor.  But that means I need you to help me.”

Now he turned her towards the others, who were looking over expectantly – a simple, deliberate, obvious gesture.

“They're scared,” he said.  “But if you come with me, they'll follow.”

He let her have a moment for the thought to sink in.

“The other option,” he said, “is that I just throw you over my shoulder and carry you out of here caveman-style.”

He tapped his watch again.

“Don't mean to be impatient,” he said, “but we're running low on options.”

Rosa would never admit it, but the caveman-thing actually helped.  It took a little pressure off of her, realizing she wasn't really being offered a choice.

She shut her eyes.

“Okay,” she said.  “Let's go.”

Chapter 15

As she followed him up the stairwell, Rosa knew that Lucas had been right – she was afraid.

The air actually seemed to grow heavier the closer they got to the surface.  She stopped, catching her breath.  Lucas stopped with her, as if ready to grab her if she should try and run.  She eyed hem warily.

“You weren't really going to physically drag me out of here against my will, were you?”

Lucas smiled sincerely and patted her comfortingly on her head.

“Aw, honey,” he