Then the senior officer was hopping into the passenger seat of his truck with a final wave, and the convoy rumbled up the road headed back to Manti.
As Matt stood watching them go, arms wrapped around Sam, Gutierrez sidled up to watch with them. “So when the Colonel pulled you aside, did he tell you what Rogers could expect for all the trouble he’s caused?”
Matt shrugged. “I heard what you did. Dishonorable discharge.”
“So that’s it?” Gutierrez demanded, glaring after the trucks. “Rogers caused the deaths of who knows how many people, and suffering for way more. A lot of innocent people, and even the guilty might not’ve deserved what happened to them before he drove them to it. And he gets to just walk away with no more than a light scolding?”
Matt shook his head. “That seems to be how the world works. The people who cause the most harm always avoid the consequences. It’s usually the innocent who suffer in their place.” He sighed. “I don’t like it either, but for me it’s enough that he’s been booted from the military so he’s not in a position to do any more harm. In the end whether he was jailed, exiled, put up in front of a firing squad, or just discharged from his commission, the results for all of us would be the same. The problem he was causing is solved, and hopefully his replacement will learn something from his mistakes.”
The former soldier spat off to the side. “Not after watching his predecessor royally screw up and get off scot free.”
There wasn’t much to say to that. “Would you consider a dishonorable discharge scot free?” Matt asked. His friend gave him a wounded look, and he guiltily realized that was basically what had happened to the former soldier. “Sorry, I didn’t—”
“Guess I’m the pot calling the kettle, huh?” Gutierrez cut in. Mumbling something in Spanish, he stalked off.
Sam watched him go, brow furrowed worriedly. “He’s not doing so great, is he? I should talk to Mary to see what she can do for him.”
Matt blinked. “I didn’t realize they were that serious.”
His wife shrugged. “She thinks they’re getting there. I hope so… they’d be an adorable couple.”
Interesting. Hopefully that would help Gutierrez get over whatever was eating him. Still… “I’ll have a talk with him.” Matt pulled her a bit closer. “But first can we enjoy a few minutes knowing our troubles with Rogers are finally over?”
“Sounds good,” she agreed, leaning back against him with a contented sound.
Chapter Fifteen
Unexpected Opportunity
The morning three days after Grimes returned with his news that the bandit problem was resolved found Matt cuddling with Sam under a blanket, listening to a book on tape from Lewis’s archives on her phone.
She’d been up most of the night, unable to sleep and bundling up to visit the latrine several times. Dr. Maggy had assured them that neither of those things were particularly unusual, but stressed that Sam needed to try to rest more. So Matt was setting aside his duties for a moment to relax with her, just to make sure she did.
It was his first chance to enjoy some much needed time with his wife for what seemed like weeks, during the day when neither of them were asleep. Which they both really could use after everything that had happened.
So of course Murphy’s Law kicked in, and Trev’s voice crackled over the radio sitting on their bedside table. “We’ve got a military truck approaching. Alone, covered in markings.”
That was the last thing Matt wanted to hear. Even though Grimes seemed to have resolved the situation with Rogers and had dealt with most of the displaced refugees, news of an approaching military vehicle was enough to stiffen his spine and make the hairs on his neck stand on end. Sam twisted to give him a look of concern as he gently extricated himself and leaned over to grab the radio.
“Markings? Like a special branch of the military, or some civilian outfit?”
His friend’s voice came back sounding amused. “Well the markings say things like “Jewelry for sale”, “Discount ammo”, and “Winter coats”. So I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s probably a traveling salesman.”
Matt exhaled what felt like every ounce of air in his lungs in relief. At his side Sam gently shoved him, her expression suggesting it was meant for Trev for scaring them like that. “You couldn’t have said that from the start? Things are tense around here.”
“Humor’s good for morale,” Trev replied. “Anyway any salesman with a truck probably has high end stuff to trade, to justify the expense of using fuel. He’ll probably have things we want.”
Matt was already pulling on his boots, but he paused long enough to reply. “Probably. But either way I want you to cover him just in case this is some sort of trick. Remember, Ferris took Helper by pretending to be a relief convoy.”
“Already on it,” his friend replied. “In the meantime should I roll out the welcome mat?”
“Go for it. Specifically, I want you to represent the town and get first offer on all his trade goods.”
There was a long pause. “You want to buy it all up, even luxury items?”
Sam gave him a curious look as he answered. “Of course not. But I want the town to have a chance to pick up what we need first. There are a few folks here who are well enough off that they might want to snatch up everything they can afford, then turn around and flip it at a markup to people who are desperate for it.”
“Gotcha. I’ll talk it over with him.”
Matt’s bruises had healed enough that he could put on his own coat without help now. As he was zipping it up he noticed Sam pulling herself out of bed and felt a moment of guilt. He didn’t want to tell her to miss the fun, but at the same time he didn’t want her to exert herself.
“You should stay here and rest,” he said.
She gave him a plaintive look. “I was going to, I just need to pee again. This little guy’s using my bladder as a trampoline.”
“Okay.” Matt leaned down and kissed her, briefly resting a hand on her belly to confirm that yes, the baby was kicking like crazy in there. “I’ll try to find something nice for you.”
“Don’t worry about me, take care of the town,” she insisted as she started for the back door. Then she hesitated and gave him a sheepish look. “Although I wouldn’t say no if you did happen to pick something up.”
Grinning to himself, Matt headed for what everyone was jokingly coming to call the Greeting Field, where they usually waited for visitors.
Lewis and his dad immediately pooled their store of precious metals when they heard about the approaching trader. The entire time Lewis fidgeted with nervous excitement at the thought of what sort of useful items might be carried by someone who’d use up hard to find diesel to drive around in search of trades.
In the back of his mind tickled the thought that things didn’t quite add up. Aspen Hill was doing all right as towns went, but aside from this business with Rogers they’d stayed fairly low key and off the radar. And news that they’d been harassed by the military and were fighting off hundreds of refugees turned to banditry didn’t exactly scream prosperity.
With such a huge risk, not only of being robbed but of simply using fuel for no good reason, why would anyone come here to trade?
His dad was smiling too, and at first Lewis attributed it to his own excitement at what they might be able to purchase. Then he caught the looks his dad kept shooting his way when he thought Lewis wouldn’t notice. And just that suddenly it clicked.
“This is a deal you made at the Manti camp, isn’t it?”
Lucas chuckled and scooped up the last of their one-ounce coins. “Let’s see.”