Smith cleared his throat. “As of July 2009, the country’s been under martial law. It still is. Nobody’s thrilled by it, but the fact is the military’s in charge. As the only known ranking officer in the American southwest, Colonel Shelly is the man running things.”
Stealth shifted her stance again. “What are you implying, Mr. Smith?”
“I’m not trying to imply anything,” he said. “I just think we all need to be aware of where things stand, with no confusion or illusions.”
“So the Mount is now under the Army’s control?”
“Technically, unless you seceded from the United States at some point in the past two years…yeah.”
“Which United States are you referring to?”
The question froze Smith and Freedom. It jarred the others, too. The man in the suit coughed once. “I…I’m not sure I understand your question.”
Stealth crossed her arms. “Which states are still united? California has not had a functioning state government for twenty-two months now. There are no social services in effect. No taxes levied or laws enforced. Its borders and lands are not maintained. As a state, California has ceased to exist by any possible definition. From our own limited reconnaissance, I can say with some certainty it is not alone in this respect. Alaska. Arizona. Florida. Hawaii. Massachusetts. Nevada. New York. Oregon. Texas. Washington.” She paused for a moment, then added, “The District of Columbia.”
Smith shifted his feet.
“So I ask,’ she continued, “which states are still running and operating to the extent they can form a united nation, one which you and these soldiers can represent?”
“Captain,” said Smith, “perhaps you could field this one?”
“Ma’am,” said Freedom, “it’s good that you’re reluctant to hand over everything you’ve saved. But let me assure you, we are here as representatives of the government of the United States. Our commanding officer is in regular contact with the President, who is still in office in principle if not the actual building. We represent one of dozens of military outposts which are trying to re-establish local governments and provide services.”
“Why has it taken you two years to do this?”
“Because, ma’am, believe it or not, you’re not the only people who’ve taken heavy losses.”
Smith cleared his throat. “Can I just say one more thing?”
St. George glanced between Stealth and Smith. Stealth nodded.
“I can’t really speak for the Army,” the man in the suit said, glancing over his shoulder at Freedom. “I’m a loose liaison at best. But I can tell you this is going to be good for you. We’ve got a lot to offer and I know the Army is going to want to offer it. We’re here to help. We’re not going to take everything you’ve got and leave you helpless like…” He shrugged and gave a smile. “Well, if you’ll pardon me saying it, like the military would in some bad zombie movie.”
Barry let out a loud cough and shot St. George a look.
“If Doctor Morris decides to come out to Yuma for a while,” Smith continued, “we’ll supplement your defenses with troops, weapons, whatever you need that we can supply.”
Stealth still hadn’t moved. “What do you propose?”
Something tugged at Danielle’s leg as Smith replied. Barry gave her a look. She bent her head to his. “What?”
“Seriously,” he said. “This guy?”
“What about him?”
“You and him? He looks like he’s barely out of high school and he acts like Burke in Aliens .”
Her lips pulled into a faint smile. “It was convenient, I guess,” she said. “We barely had anything in common, and he put his job above everything else.”
“I’m old enough,” said Barry. “You can just say it was for the sex.”
“Honestly, I don’t even remember the sex being that great. We were together for a few months while I was building the suit and then he moved out, left me with a drawer full of shirts he didn’t want, and that was it.”
“He didn’t even show up to end it? Not even a phone call?”
“Nope. We traded a few emails later. Guess we both knew it wasn’t working.”
“Want me to blast him for you?”
She laughed. It was the first time Barry had heard her laugh in months. The others glanced over and she waved them off. “You know what’s the worst?” she whispered to Barry. “I swore for ages I’d kick his ass the next time I saw him. Now it’s just so damned great to see someone from…from before all of this. Someone from the real world. Even if it’s him. Does that make sense?”
The man in the chair nodded.
“I can have another Black Hawk out here tomorrow,” Smith told St. George. “Two days, tops. It’ll take Doctor Morris and the Cerberus suit, plus anyone else who wants to come. You can meet Colonel Shelly, our CO, and we can all shake hands and talk about what we can do for each other.” He looked at Danielle. “We’ve got full machine shops out there and even some manufacturing facilities. There’s no way you can tell me the suit doesn’t need a full strip-down and cleaning.”
Stealth was a statue.
“Look,” said Smith, “they want to help. It’s their job, remember? Protect American civilians. You’ve got nothing to worry about.” He shrugged. “Do you want a tour of the Krypton base first? I’m sure I could set something up.”
“That might not be a bad idea,” said St. George with a glance at Stealth.
Smith nodded. “Okay. Do you want to do it yourself or have somebody else go?” He looked at Barry. “Didn’t I see on a television special or something that you can fly at the speed of light? You could be there and back before lunch, right?”
“I’m not that fast, but I could.”
Smith’s head bobbed again and he looked from the heroes to Freedom. “So how’s this sound? We send the three Apaches away so everyone feels a little more relaxed. We get another Black Hawk out here tomorrow morning. While we’re getting the Cerberus suit loaded and stowed, Zzzap flies out to Krypton, looks around, gives a yes or no. If it’s a no, he’s back here to say so before we’re even ready to leave. Does that work for everyone?”
They all agreed. Even Stealth gave a slow nod of her head. “I always wanted to fly to Krypton,” said Barry with a smile.
“Great.” Smith turned back to the huge officer. “Freedom, could you have someone report in and check on a helicopter for tomorrow morning?”
Freedom turned and barked out an order to Monroe. Monroe relayed it to someone else and a soldier broke from the crowd and headed for the Black Hawk. When Freedom turned back, Barry was in front of him.
“Have you ever thought of a shield?” Barry mimed something circular on his arm. “Maybe in a patriotic color scheme? It could really work for you.”
“If it helps,” said Danielle, “we ignore half of what he says, too.”
Stealth had vanished. St. George realized she was probably halfway back to her office by now. He wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. When he saw her next time he’d have to ask.
“This is amazing,” said Smith. The man had moved to stand near St. George as they looked at the celebrating crowds. “Sorry to sound like a broken record but it is. We’ve checked so many places and if we found twenty or thirty survivors it was a miracle.”
“I didn’t think we were special,” said the hero. “I figured every city had a few thousand survivors holed up somewhere.”
Smith shook his head. “I wish. Phoenix is a ghost town, same with Scottsdale, Mesa, Tucson. We’ve never been able to raise anyone at White Sands or Camp Pendleton.” He shook his head again. “You must have every living person in southern California here.”
“No,” said St. George. “There’s a group of about two hundred people down in Beverly Hills. They’re what’s left of a street gang called the South Seventeens. Real die-hards who refused to join us here in the Mount.” He shrugged. “We check in on them once a week or so, make sure they’re doing okay. And we still find a few survivors here and there who’ve managed to make it this long on their own, although…” He looked past the helicopters to the gate. “It’s been a while since we found anyone.”