“A long list of various types of heavy weapon, well dug in and placed strategically to repel any invader — antitank weapons, probably anti-aircraft weapons — more hardware than exists anywhere in this country outside a military base.”
“What else?”
“He’s constructed what I can only describe as a cross between the White House Situation Room and Hitler’s Berlin bunker.”
“How big?”
“At a conservative estimate, something in excess of sixty thousand square feet.”
“What?”
“And that’s only the beginning of it. The exterior walls are a good eight feet of reinforced concrete.”
“Eight feet? What’s he expecting?”
“Armageddon, apparently. Let me go on. The place is on three levels, only one of which is above ground, and the thickness of the floors seems equal to the outside walls. There are weapon emplacements on the top, or ground, level on all four sides, and he has amassed an extraordinary amount of munitions to support them. There are living quarters for, I don’t know, in excess of a thousand people, maybe a lot more — kitchens, infirmaries, entertainment facilities, and food and medical supplies stacked to the ceilings. On the lower level, Coldwater has a suite of offices, completely equipped, and an apartment for himself. It looks as though he could take his people inside and remain for years, and I’m not exaggerating.”
“What sort of force do you think would be required to take it?” Kip asked, still sounding skeptical.
“Kip, I’m no military genius, but my guess is it couldn’t be taken — at least, not without wildly unacceptable losses on the part of the attacking force.”
“Jesse, there can’t be any such thing as a civilian installation that can’t be taken by a military force.”
“It isn’t a civilian installation, Kip; it’s an unbelievably fortified military defensive position. It sits on top of a mountain that has about a twelve hundred foot sheer wall on the south side and very steep sides on the other three. Mountain goats might be able to make it to the top, but infantry couldn’t and neither could tanks. There’s only one road to the top, and that must be heavily defended. They could simply blow the road and bar all access to the top of the mountain.”
“What about aircraft — helicopters with assault troops?”
“Any slow-flying aircraft would be shot to pieces before it could even land, and even if it could land, its troops would be cut up the minute they were on the ground. There’s simply no cover. You could bomb the site with high explosives, but you’d probably destroy the town in the process; you’d certainly have to evacuate thousands of people. Coldwater says only a nuclear weapon would have any effect, and he’s right when he says the government would never use it. I swear, you could spend a year attacking the place at a cost of thousands of casualties, and you might not even make a dent.”
“He’s got to have some sort of outside support,” Kip said. “He couldn’t exist inside a mountain without it. What about power, water and air?”
“He’s got it all, and in triplicate.”
“Jesse, this just doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know it doesn’t, but it’s real, I promise you that. And I’ll tell you this, I don’t think Coldwater would have built it if he didn’t intend to use it.”
There was a long silence from Kip’s end of the line. “I don’t know what to say,” he said finally.
“Neither do I, except you’d better report this as soon as you can, and you’d better see that all knowledge of it is absolutely secure. If Coldwater had the slightest notion that the government knew about it, he’d go in there right now and zip it up behind him. And God only knows what he’d do before he went inside.”
“When can you call again?”
“When do you want me to call?”
“I need to think about this before I spring it on my people. I’ll do that on the first day of business of the New Year. Try to call me around that time — during office hours, if possible. They may want to pass instructions to you.”
“All right, I’ll try to do that.”
“I’m certainly not going to sleep tonight,” Kip said forlornly.
Jesse laughed. “Well, if I can’t, why should you?”
“Oh, go to hell,” Kip grumbled, then hung up.
Jesse put away the phone and went back to the house. As he let himself in the back door, Jenny came out of the kitchen.
“Where on earth have you been?” she demanded.
Chapter 35
Jesse gulped. “I went outside for a while,” he said. “What are you doing up at this time of night?”
“I had to go to the bathroom, and you weren’t in bed. I was frantic.”
“There’s no need to be upset,” he said soothingly, taking her in his arms. “I just couldn’t sleep, and I thought some fresh air might do me good.”
She pushed away. “But what were you doing in the garage? I was at the kitchen window, and I saw you come out of there.”
“I was looking for my spare key to the truck, and I thought it might be in the glove compartment.”
“It’s upstairs in that little tray where you keep change and things,” she said.
“Oh. I don’t know why that crossed my mind, it just did.”
“Jesse, is something wrong? Is there something I should know about?”
He put a hand on her cheek. “No, of course not; everything’s fine. I couldn’t imagine things being any finer.”
She stepped closer and looked up at him. “Jesse, do you love me?”
“Of course I do; haven’t I told you often enough?” He put his arms around her again.
“Sure, after making love. But I want to know if you love me all the time.”
He turned her face up. “All the time,” he said. “At the dinner table, at the breakfast table, at work, in bed — everywhere, all the time.”
She relaxed in his arms. “Oh, I’m so glad to hear that.”
“I can’t believe you doubted it,” he said, rubbing her neck.
“Maybe it’s going to be all right after all,” she said, sighing.
“It’s going to be all right. I’ll make it all right.”
“Do we have a future together?” she asked.
“I certainly hope so. That’s what I’m counting on.”
“Because, if we don’t, I’ll just make a trip to Spokane and take care of it there. I won’t do it their way any more.”
“Jenny, sweetheart, I don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about. What’s this about Spokane?”
“Well, they’ve got a clinic there that hasn’t been bombed yet.”
He held her at arm’s length and looked at her closely. “What do you—”
“I’m pregnant,” she said. “I’m going to have your baby.”
He pulled her to him again so that she wouldn’t see his face. God in heaven, he thought, what have I gotten this girl into? “How long have you known?” he asked.
“I guessed a few days ago. This afternoon I used one of those home pregnancy tests.”
“And it was positive?”
“It was positive. Jesse, is this all right? Do you want this baby?”
He tried to quell the panic inside him. What was he going to do? Here he was, undercover, his life in danger at every moment, Jack Gene Coldwater waiting for him in one direction, the federal government and its prison system waiting in the other. Was he going to get this girl killed or just banished from her community? “Yes,” he heard himself saying, and he knew it was true. “Yes, I want this baby and you and Carey. I want to take care of you all forever. Let’s get married tomorrow, Jenny, or as soon as it can be done in this state. Will you marry me?”
“Oh, yes, yes!” she cried, then began sobbing.