“The report that I received was that they’re safe. Along with the Appleby family.”
The tension in John’s chest dissipated. “You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. How long do you think before your man will get a hold of the Chairman’s presidential orders?”
“Who can say?” Rodriguez replied. He was being curt and John didn’t understand why. “He’ll need to reconfigure his previous goals and objectives from Operation Hammer Fist toward this new mission.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s not quite as simple as dropping everything you have and snooping through drawers. He’s made contacts and commissioned friendly assets toward helping the cause.”
“You mean members of the Chairman’s entourage? Citizens of Oneida?”
“In a few cases, yes, but…” That funny look flashed across Rodriguez’s eyes again.
“There’s something you’re not telling me,” John said, noticing the subtle twitch in the radio operator’s lower lip. “Something about Diane.”
Rodriguez paused and sighed heavily. “The Chairman’s taken a liking to her,” he told him.
“A liking?”
“The report from the agent said the Chairman had taken her into a room to be interrogated and she nearly broke his wrist.”
A toothy grin grew on John’s face, although the act betrayed the simultaneous dread he was also feeling. “She can be a real pistol,” John said with pride. “It was one of the reasons I married her. She’d kill me if she knew I told you this, but we were both freshmen on the campus of Tennessee U. She was a literature major and I was enrolled in what would be a failed attempt to become an engineer. We were on the city bus, heading to our respective classes, packed in like factory-farmed chickens. It was hot and sweaty and the guy next to her decided her bottom would make a perfect resting place for his hand. A grab and a squeeze was about all he had time to accomplish before Diane turned around and decked him. Course, Mr. Touchy Feely didn’t like that one bit and made like he was gonna hit her back.”
“But you caught his arm and beat him?” Rodriguez said, clearly getting into the story.
The grin on John’s face widened. “I might have if she hadn’t kicked him between the legs first.”
Rodriguez’s face mirrored the pain the pervert must have felt.
“You don’t just let a girl like that slip away,” John said. “I thought she did a fine job. A couple years later, once I’d managed to make her my wife, I taught her that wrist lock in case another man tried to put his hands on her.”
“She sounds like she can take care of herself just fine then.”
“I’m sure she can,” John replied, remembering the soft features of Diane’s young face that day on the city bus.
For the time being, Rodriguez didn’t say more about the Chairman’s apparent interest in Diane. But John knew perfectly well, some men liked what didn’t come easy. There was something about trying to bend a strong woman to their will that excited men like the Chairman. A lesser man would have licked his wounds and sent her away. Someone with a rather unsettling fetish for power and control, however, would see Diane’s defiance as nothing more than a challenge.
Chapter 31
Edward let Diane, Kay and the three kids into the apartment and stuffed the keys back into his pocket.
“I told you I’d get you out of those cells,” he said gruffly.
There was something unusual about the man, Diane thought. Even when he was doing something kind, he somehow managed to sound cross.
“We can’t thank you enough,” she told him. “Although I can’t help but feel guilty. There are still so many others still locked up.”
“You’re not the first family I’ve gotten out,” Edward said. “But don’t go thinking you’re free, ’cause you’re not. A guard’s gonna show up any minute to stand right outside that door. Consider this more like house arrest.”
Gregory was thumbing the remote for the TV.
“Honey, you know that isn’t going to work.”
“Yeah, but you never know,” he said, grinning.
Kay and her daughter Natalie were in the kitchen playing with the faucet. Emma was probably checking out the bedrooms.
“No water either,” Kay said, wrenching the faucet lever back and forth.
“This isn’t a hotel at Disneyland,” Diane said curtly.
Edward nodded. “A gallon jug of clean water will be brought up once a day for each of you. As per FEMA standards, three quarters for drinking, one quarter for sanitation. You’ll need to make it last.”
He moved to the door and waved her over.
“Oh, yeah, there’s been a change of plan,” he said.
Diane went over to where he was standing. The others in the apartment were still snooping around every nook and cranny like a bunch of curious cats.
“You mean about the Chairman?”
He nodded and at once Diane reached down and removed the knife from the bottom of her pant leg. She was handing the blade back to him when he pushed her hand down.
“You’re having dinner with the Chairman tonight,” Edward said.
Diane looked both shocked and horrified.
“And there’s something you need to do. Slip this into his drink,” Edward told her, producing a small paper pouch.
“What’s in it?”
“Ground-up Ambien sleeping pills, strong enough to knock him out for a few hours. More than enough time for you to complete your mission.”
“My mission?” Diane was liking this less and less every second.
“In the breast pocket of the Chairman’s jacket are documents from the president, stating his appointment as temporary administrator for Oneida. We need you to find those documents and bring them to us.” He motioned toward the bedroom. “In the closet you’ll find a leather pair of size six-and-a-half knee-high boots. Wear those tonight.”
“But I’m a size seven.”
Edward fixed her in a steely glare. “Then you’ll need to squeeze.”
“What are the boots for?”
“So you can smuggle the knife in.”
Now the anxiety was making Diane’s heart slam against her chest.
“But what about the sleeping powder? I thought I was just knocking him out.”
“You are. The knife’s in case you get caught.”
The man who would stand guard outside their apartment arrived just then and Edward left without saying another word. Even with the door closed, knowing they couldn’t simply come and go as they pleased made their new dwelling feel so much smaller. Even so, it was infinitely better than a cell block filled with all those other people.
Edward’s words were still echoing inside her head when Gregory came next to her, his dark curly hair matted and greasy.
“Just went through all the drawers, Mom, and there are no knives, just a dozen spoons. Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, honey. I’m simply tired. Listen, I think we all need to wash up. I’m sure there’s a water heater in one of the closets. Why don’t you look for a bucket under the sink and see if you can’t fill it.”
Gregory smiled, eager to start the job he was given. He sped off and then put on the brakes. “Hey, Mom, you think we’ll ever see Dad again?”
Diane was suddenly hyper-aware of the guard standing outside and put a finger over her lips to tell Gregory to be quiet. “Of course we will, honey. If I know your father, he’s already on his way.”
While Kay was with Natalie, investigating the rest of the cupboards, Emma returned from the bedrooms and fell into the couch, kicking up a thick cloud of dust. She coughed, waving her hand in front of her face.
“This place hasn’t been cleaned in months,” she complained. “I think I preferred the cell.”