EMP Post-Apocalyptic Survival by Hunt, James (acx book reading .TXT) 📗

to back down or be intimidated simply because she didn’t have the size in the fight. And she wanted to make sure that Buford understood who was in charge.

“I want to make it clear that your people understand that this is a surgical operation,” Jane said. “One person goes in, they do their job, and then they leave.”

Buford stood his ground. “And how will your people know it was this prisoner who roughed up your guy?”

“You let me worry about that,” Jane answered. “You just need to pick your best guy, and we’ll go from there.”

“When is this happening?” Buford asked.

“Now,” Jane answered.

Buford raised his eyebrows and laughed. “You don’t waste any time. I like that. I’ll be back with one of my best.”

Once Buford was gone, and it was just Jane, Lester, and Danny, Lester looked more worried than before.

“Do you really think this is the best idea?” Lester asked. “How are we supposed to frame a man who’s locked away?”

“Liz’s brother-in-law is still in charge of watching the prisoner until this evening,” Jane said. “I know for a fact that Cole is seeing Jane’s sister. All we have to do is get her to call him, and he comes running. That’s our opening. We don’t actually have to let the prisoner out. Just have to make it look like no one was there to watch him. Then, we pretend we caught him and take him back before anyone notices. With no witnesses, it will be his word against everyone else’s. And there are already a lot of people who don’t like him. The odds are stacked against him.”

“So what happens after people think Abe roughed someone up?” Lester asked.

“The Rikers will defend Abe, if only for the fact that they need him for more information,” Jane answered. “And that’s when we go in hard with the counter punch and stoke the flames of dissent. This will be the final straw that breaks the camel’s back. One last ineptitude of a family who has failed the community over and over again.”

“If it doesn’t work?” Lester asked.

Jane clenched her fists by her side. “Well, then we do it your father’s way. We have more fighters than they do. So we take the damned place.”

20

After the vote had ended, Marty immediately returned to his portable. Wendy had tried to stop him, talking to him about how none of this was fair and that the Rikers needed to pay for what they had done to their families.

Marty had hoped he would experience some kind of vindication after publicly sticking it to the Riker family, but at that moment, all he felt was empty.

All of the rage and anger he had felt since Ali’s death, all of which he had directed at Ben for sending her to that place, had vanished. There was nothing but a pit left behind from where there should have been hope. But none of that mattered now.

A naïve part of Marty believed he would feel better, but that was only the anger talking. He was only going to bury himself deeper into a pit of despair the longer he kept digging at that anger, and soon he wouldn’t be able to pull himself out.

But if he lost himself down there, then he knew he would lose his girls. And that was something he couldn’t do.

Marty walked over to the Riker’s portable, where Sarah was watching all of the children. He was about to knock on the door when he heard laughter inside. He paused, fist in the air. It was Isabelle. He’d recognized that laughter anywhere.

It had been a long time since Marty had heard Isabelle laugh. And Marty knew that he hadn’t been the most cheerful person to be around.

It almost felt wrong to interrupt such joy and laughter, but Marty needed his children, and there was still that big part of himself where he felt the anger at the Rikers for what they had done. It was going to take time for that to go away.

Marty knocked, and Sarah answered the door. When she saw it was him, she immediately stopped joking around with the girls and grew serious.

“Hi, Mr. Schwartz,” Sarah said.

Marty knew Sarah had nothing to do with what had happened to his wife, but he couldn’t stop himself from keeping with the cold shoulder. He simply looked past her and called for his daughters. “Isabelle. Maya. Come.”

The girls immediately stopped playing, and the joy they had emitted only moments before was gone. Never before did Marty ever think that the sight of him would cause his daughters to be disappointed.

“Bye, girls,” Sarah said.

Both of the girls hugged Sarah before they stepped outside. Marty could see that they didn’t want to go, and it was clear they were having a good time.

Marty looked at Sarah and nodded. “Thank you,” Marty said. “For taking care of them.”

“Of course,” Sarah said.

Marty wanted to say more, but it was getting late, and he didn’t have the energy to strike up a conversation. He turned around, took his girls by the hand, and headed back to his portable. The girls said nothing on the walk back. They had grown used to silence. And after hearing them both laugh so hard, so joyfully, Marty hated himself for what he had done to them.

“Girls,” Marty said, slowing to a stop. “How would you like to spend the night with Auntie Sarah?”

Both of the girls brightened immediately. They looked up at their father with beaming smiles.

“Really?” Isabel asked.

“Would you like that?” Marty answered.

Both the girls jumped, squealing the same answer of yes. Their joy actually broke through the melancholy that had plagued Marty since Ali’s death. They turned around and headed back toward Sarah’s portable. When he knocked on the door, and Sarah saw them, she flashed concerned.

“Is everything okay?” Sarah asked.

“I was hoping the girls could stay with you tonight,” Marty said. “They were having such a good time, and I hate to take away from that.”

Sarah smiled.