Sophie couldn’t quietly accept this pathetic show any longer. Barging through the door, she tried to put some pep in her voice. “What? No fireworks?”
Her father jumped from the chair, spilling his beer. Like flipping a switch, his face flashed from beat-down to top of the world instantly.
“Holy shi- baby! You’re home!”
She tried not to squeal like a little girl as he bear-hugged her and spun his daughter around. Tried and failed. It took a minute before either of them could speak coherently again.
“Don’t misunderstand me, I’m happy you’re here, but what are you doing back? I thought the Free American Army was on alert. Fully mobilized, the news said.”
Sophie didn’t even know where to begin filling him in on the last five months. “Well, the Freedom Brigades cooperate with the regular URA military but we’re independent. Work on our own schedule. After the….” no, he wouldn’t want to hear details about the fighting, “last few months, the least they could do is give us some leave. So I’m here for the week.”
Her father’s old, disapproving frown came back hard. “So it’s true then? Is the militia really privately owned and funded by corporate interests? Did the rich buy their own army? I thought that was all East Coast propaganda.”
Man, she did not want to fight again, but he had it all wrong. He’d spent too much time behind the lines watching the war on TV. She recited her oath with the passion of youth… and the grimness of a combat veteran. “We’re a grass roots organization, Dad. I don’t know or care where the money comes from. I just know we’re on the side of the people, of freedom. Our allegiance to a particular government is secondary to our pledge to fight tyranny in all its forms.”
For a wonder, he had no interest in fighting either and changed the subject fast. “Uh huh. You sound like a politician. Whatever. It doesn’t matter. Who cares about all that political nonsense? I’m just glad you’re home, even if only for a little while.” He kissed her on the forehead, but then a moment of anxiety racked his face. “Oh crap! Honey, I hadn’t planned on you coming. I’m sorry, but all I have is meat and potato salad. Give me a minute and I’ll run down to the store. We don’t have the variety around here like we used to, what with the embargo and all, but I’m sure there must be some type of soy burgers or something.”
Sophie giggled and tugged at the overcooked ribs. “I’m done with that vegetarian crap, Dad. Wow, I forgot all about that phase.” She wolfed a rib down smoking hot, without a drip of sauce.
“Phase? You’ve been a vegan since your mother passed….” No, he wasn’t going down that dark memory lane on this great day. “Well, OK then. Bon appetite!” He raised his beer to toast and then remembered his manners. He ran back to the fridge and poured a glass of orange juice, his girl’s favorite. Triple the price now that Florida was on the other side of the border.
He came back to see his little girl cracking open a sweating beer from the cooler. “Since when do you drink? You’re only 20!”
Twenty? Sophie cut her eyes at him. How did he know her exact confirmed kill count? After a moment, she laughed. Had it been only a few months in the militia? Felt like years. “Huh, that’s right! Prost!”
She gave her father an indulgent grin and clinked his bottle. Sipping the beer ‘lady-like’ to appease the old man’s sense of propriety, she changed the subject.
“Where are Uncle Dave and Aunt Mary? They’ve never missed a barbecue with us. As a matter of fact,” she glanced down at the little food he’d prepared, “is anyone coming over?” Their family wasn’t large or particularly close, but they were fastidious about meeting up for the major holidays. If only out of tradition.
A perfect storm raged across his face. “A couple friends of mine later, but that’s all. The 4th of July has lost a bit of the luster; wouldn’t you say?” He waved at some neighbor’s flagpole, with the old Stars and Stripes strung upside down, and a crowd of flabby suburbanites on the lawn arguing over the meaning.
“Besides, Dave and Mary left the URA. Just more defectors, according to the news.” Sighing, he downed the rest of his beer and yanked out a fresh one.
“I never knew them to be the political types, but the so-called ‘Revolution’ really shocked them. Your cousin stayed loyal to the East. He’s still in the Federal Army, you know. A week or so after the referendums his parents just sold their house here in a fire sale. Moved closer to his base before the border was closed. First I heard about it all was when Dave called from Dallas.”
Sophie dumped a gallon of her dad’s homemade barbecue sauce on another burnt rib. “Texas! Neutral territory? I expected more out of them than the coward’s way out. I always liked my cousin Mike. Hope I don’t have to shoot his dumb ass.” She downed most of her beer in one slug. Her father stared at his daughter, struggling with both pride and prejudice.
“Uh… anyway, what else could they have done? My brother is a Gulf War vet. It must be hell to risk your life for a country that later forces you to pick sides in its destruction. Heading to one of the few neutral states isn’t such a bad idea. Wish I thought of it before you got caught up in this mess.”
“Come on, Dad. We’re freeing the country from a dictator. We didn’t start this war. That man in Washington pushed this country over the cliff. He took so much from us. It’s time to return the favor!”
Her father’s pity annoyed her. “I know. Ben was a good guy. If he was still here I’m sure you never would have gone down this road….” She glared at him in confusion. Did he assume she meant the loss of her dead boyfriend, killed accidentally by federal troops during the rioting in the early days of the revolution?
“Dad, I miss him, of course, but I’m over it. Sure, I’ll admit, I joined the Brigades just for revenge, but I’ve moved on. That’s not what I’m fighting for today.”
“Um… Well, what’s done is done. Doesn’t matter how this all started. It’s too late to stay out of the way now. With everyone so pissed off, total war is inevitable. I’m at least happy you’re not facing the Federal Army. That’s not going to change, right? Sacramento doesn’t plan on moving your, ah, militia, to the front, do they?”
Sophie tried not to roll her eyes at his naivety. “First, we don’t take orders from Sacramento. Second, no, I haven’t heard anything about backing up the regular military. We’re mainly concerned with internal security threats.” She laughed at his unease and slapped his knee.
“Not like the Gestapo or something. I’m talking about rival militias that challenge the legitimacy of our government. Many of them organized against the Federal Government years before all this happened, and now they’re trying to hijack the URA movement. That’s where we come in. I’ll spare you the details, but we’ve shut most of those kooks and religious fanatics down. Sure, there used to be tons of bandit gangs taking advantage of the chaos, but they’re almost extinct nowadays. We dealt with those amateurs too. When all this started, when the military turned on themselves and the streets flooded with rioting and protesting, we kept anarchy at bay. Just barely, sure, but we alone kept things together long enough for the URA to get organized.”
Respect slowly replaced his skepticism. That warmed her tongue more than the alcohol. “Of course, there’s also the occasional special project. Let’s just say, I’ve been to Vegas recently….” She gave him a wink and waited.
Her father didn’t pick up on the hint. He failed to notice how desperately she wanted to talk about something. “Does that include the reprisals across the border?”