A second beginning, p.22
A Second Beginning, page 22
She took in the campus, the soldiers, the equipment. Rhythmic singing floated over from somewhere behind them. “It looks like you’re settling in.”
“We are, thank you.” Salinas gestured toward the school with an outstretched arm. “General Stewart-Bennett is eager to meet you two. Commander, she’d like to speak with you privately afterward. I imagine you’ll have some catching up to do.”
“We sure do,” Liam said. “It’s been a long time.”
“She looks forward to seeing you again.” And then, to Gary and Pamela, “Please, follow me. I’ll show you to her office.”
He led them into the school and through echoey, locker-lined hallways. More gear and supplies filled the classrooms. Soldiers used some as barracks, relaxing on cots or mattresses. Others had been converted into offices.
A young woman with fatigues and buzz-cut hair sat at the reception desk. Only when Gary got closer did he notice the prosthesis in place of her right hand. Idly, he wondered if she suffered the injury before the bombs or after.
“The mayors are here to see General Stewart-Bennett,” Salinas told her.
“Yes, sir,” the woman said, stone-faced, hardly casting a glance in Gary and Pamela’s direction. “She’s ready for you now.”
Salinas found a door labeled PRINCIPAL. After two knocks, a cordial voice came from inside the office: “It’s open.”
It took Gary a moment to find General Stewart-Bennett among the stacks of plastic bins and cardboard boxes filling the space. When he spotted her behind a desk covered in mounds of papers and files, he blinked in surprise.
He’d imagined her as a tall, imposing figure with dark hair in a tight bun and a pristine uniform adorned by metals and decorations. But this sixty-something woman was slight, five-foot-two at most. She wore her gray hair in a chin-length bob and sported a simple white T-shirt tucked into desert-camo pants. Her tanned skin told him she’d spent plenty of time in the sun during the march north, not sequestered in a shady, air-conditioned transport.
He liked her immediately.
The major brought his feet together, straightened his spine, and offered a crisp salute. “Major Salinas reports, ma’am. I have Mayor Gary Ruiz of Flagstaff and Mayor Pamela Grey of Prescott here to see you.”
“Excellent.” Stewart-Bennet stepped out from behind the desk, moving like someone half her age. “Thank you, Major. You are dismissed.”
Salinas dropped his hand, turned on a heel, and said to Gary and Pamela, “I’ll be waiting at reception when you’re finished.”
“Thank you,” the mayors replied in unison.
Once the major had left and shut the door, Stewart-Bennett pushed aside a plastic bin with her foot. “Excuse the mess. My list of priorities runs fairly long these days. Regrettably, tidying my workspace ranks near the bottom.” She gave Pamela’s hand an enthusiastic shake. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Grey. I should also congratulate you on your recent election win. It comes as no small relief, seeing democracy continuing to flourish in this country.”
Pamela stuttered a little. “Thank you, General. It’s nice to meet you as well, finally.”
Stewart-Bennett made a noise halfway between a laugh and a scoff. “You’re civilians. Please, call me Natalie.” She offered her hand to Gary, and he took it, feeling the calluses on her palm and fingers. “And Mr. Ruiz, when I learned that the father of one of our sergeants was the mayor of Flagstaff, I was rather surprised. Pleased, but surprised.”
“I wasn’t the mayor when she enlisted,” he said. “She was likely as surprised as you.”
“Another victory for democracy, I suppose.” Natalie laughed and sat in the swivel chair behind her desk. “Tell me about what you’ve been through and how you’ve made it this far.”
The mayors took their seats and recounted their stories. Gary was shocked to hear Pamela describe the crime in Prescott as an “insurgency.” Maybe he should reconsider sending Jenn’s First Platoon on the training mission. Could the Army send a unit instead?
“Remarkable,” Natalie said after hanging on every word. “All of it. You’ve proven yourself to be survivors, truly. And now you’ve brokered this deal with New Liberty. We owe you a great debt.”
“Have you met with Austin yet?” Pamela asked.
“I have. He insisted on a meeting the day of our arrival.” Natalie smirked and put her elbows on the desk. “I’d thought the former manager of a professional baseball team would be more . . . patient, let’s say.”
“We have a meet-and-greet scheduled for later this afternoon.” Gary couldn’t decide if he was looking forward to it or not. Jenn had spoken rather highly of Austin “the Bear” D’Angelo, but Gary recognized her bias. Camila, on the other hand, had spared no choice words for the man.
“Good, good.” Natalie sifted through a stack of papers. “There’s plenty to be done, and with us working together, I’m confident we’ll accomplish great things. Which brings me to these so-called Spartans.” She found the report she’d been looking for, slid a pair of reading glasses out from under a folder, and set them on the end of her nose. “I’ve reviewed the data from your drones’ recon flights, and what I’m seeing is rather disturbing: population between fifteen and twenty thousand, most of them forced laborers who spend twelve to eighteen hours per day in the fields. Slaves, essentially. And you’ve had no prior contact with this group, correct?”
“Not directly,” Gary said. “As far as we know, they haven’t sent another convoy to the city, and we aren’t sure why. They might have discovered that their contacts in Sun City are indisposed.”
“It’s likely, I would say.” Natalie laid the report on her desk and took off her glasses. “I assured Mr. D’Angelo that we will handle these Spartans, and I’ll make you the same promise. They won’t be a threat to either of your towns or our farming operations here in Buckeye. Our goal is to pacify the entire Four Corners region, beginning with the lower Colorado River Valley.”
With her mention of Spartans, Gary couldn’t help but think of his little alliance like Rome. Together, Flagstaff, Prescott, Buckeye, and the Army would bring Pax Americana to the Southwest. Until now, he hadn’t imagined himself becoming a part of history, a real driver of change. Children might someday learn about him in their classes. Gary Ruiz, mayor of Flagstaff, Arizona, when the country began to recover from World War Three.
“We’re glad to hear it,” Pamela said. “After the scare with the White Horde, people in Prescott were unnerved when we discovered another potentially hostile group nearby.”
The lines around Natalie’s mouth deepened. “You have my word: they will be dealt with—swiftly.” Her expression softened, and she sat back in her chair. “Mr. Ruiz, I’m told I have three full platoons prepared to relieve your Militia’s Bravo Company at the modular complex in Sun City. Or should I call it the Refuge? Regardless, I’ll finalize the details with Commander Kipling, but we’re ready to take over right away.”
“Thank you, Gener—Natalie. There’s been plenty of debate about what we should do with those people. The Refugees, with a capital R. I was hoping we could discuss that today.” He exchanged a glance with Pamela, and she nodded for him to continue. “As you know, they’ve been disarmed, and the entire complex has been checked—thoroughly—for weapons. They aren’t a risk to anyone anymore.”
“Continuing to feed them has proven unpopular, I understand,” Natalie said. “Mr. D’Angelo is quite furious about the arrangement.”
Gary squirmed in his seat. “It’s understandable, considering what the Refugees did to New Liberty and the rest of Buckeye. But I must admit, I was hoping for a more compassionate solution. I voted with Flagstaff’s city council to exile the White Horde in the dead of winter, with no food or water, which was tantamount to execution. It was a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention, and I regret what we did every day. And the White Horde was all combatants. Elderly live in the Refuge, not to mention children.”
Natalie drummed her fingertips together. “Of course, anyone under the age of eighteen will be given clemency. They should not be punished for their parents’ transgressions.”
Thank God. Gary wouldn’t have been able to live with himself otherwise.
Pamela’s exhale was a sigh of relief. “I’m glad we can agree on that.”
“As for the adults . . .” Natalie stood up and faced the window, arms crossed at the wrists behind her back. “Those who are found to have not engaged directly in slave raids or attacks on communities here in Buckeye will be given a choice: work the fields as prisoners of war or face exile far away, preferably south in the desert. Combatants will be summarily hanged.”
Gary’s breath caught in his chest. Had she said “hanged,” as in from the neck by a rope?
“Without a trial?” Pamela asked through a gasp.
Natalie turned on them, slowly, her face a silhouette in front of the window. “I’m happy you brought up the Geneva Convention, Mr. Ruiz, because I’ve had the same thought many times myself. What I’ve come to realize is that the people who wrote those articles wrote them from a place of privilege. They weren’t starving. The circumstances are different now.”
A rotten feeling had begun to fester in Gary’s gut. He wasn’t sure he liked the general so much anymore. “I agree with you, but we’re trying to rebuild, aren’t we? Trying to preserve what made us us and not the Chinese or the Russians.”
“You are correct, and someday soon, I intend to adhere to those ideals once again. But right now, at this moment, we are not in a position of privilege. If we don’t bend, we’ll break, and then there will be no coming back, no rebuilding at all.”
“It sounds like you’ve made up your mind,” Gary said. “I’d hoped we could discuss this.”
“I didn’t want to burden you with such a controversial decision.” She returned to her seat and showed him a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m sure you’d rather focus your energies on your respective towns. Let me handle the military matters.”
Gary had never been told so politely to shut up and mind his own business.
Pamela sat tall, shoulders back, but her voice quavered, came out hollow. “With all due respect, General, hanging feels somewhat extreme.”
Natalie’s eyes hardened and went cold. “As a punishment for slave-trading? I think not, Ms. Grey. Slavery is an abhorrent practice. It is antithetical to freedom. The Second Empire used slaves as porters in Central America. China, the same in Southeast Asia and India.” Her nails scraped the upholstery on the armrests of her chair. “The Russians kidnapped women in Poland and the Baltics and used them as sex slaves, for God’s sake.”
Her smile returned, but Gary had gotten a glimpse beneath the mask. Now her words sounded patronizing, not cordial. “Please, allow me to make the hard decisions. You’ve made enough of them already, from the sounds of it.”
A heavy silence soured the air. Pamela sank into her chair, frozen, as the rotten feeling in Gary’s gut became a full-body chill. His dreams of a Pax Americana had died on the vine. When he entered this room, he thought of himself as Natalie’s partner. Her equal. Despite her talk of cooperation and friendship, however, she’d made it perfectly clear that she was in charge. Worse, he had no recourse to challenge her authority if she made a decision that threatened Flagstaff or endangered his wife. The Militia couldn’t stand up to artillery and tanks.
“Well then.” Hastily, and with impatience, she marched toward the door. “Thank you so very much for coming to meet me in person. I’m grateful that we have this opportunity to build a new future together. Before you leave for home, I’ll have Major Salinas give you details on how we can stay in touch.”
Gary was too stunned to say anything but, “Thank you, General.”
All the color had drained from Pamela’s face. She only nodded, lips locked in the imitation of a smile.
They left Natalie’s office, and the door shut behind them. “Mayor Ruiz, Mayor Grey,” Major Salinas said brightly from reception. “How was your meeting with the general?”
“Excellent,” Gary lied. “I’m happy to say we’re in good hands.”
Salinas led them back through the school. With every step, Gary felt less like a leader of Rome and more like a leader of Carthage, Egypt, or some Gallic tribe destined to be wiped out by Caesar.
Veni, vidi, vici, he thought darkly, picturing General Stewart-Bennett at the head of the Army as it rolled into Flagstaff for the first time. I came, I saw, I conquered.
Desolation will continue in Book 7, Kingdoms Without Justice. For news on its release, subscribe to my newsletter. Subscribers also get a free copy of Ground Zero, a novella set in the Desolation universe.
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Afterword
Well, there you have it. Thanks for reading. And thank you for sticking with the series despite the twenty-eight-month hiatus since Night Before Dawn. Those of you who follow me on Facebook or receive my newsletter will know that my wife and I had our first child in the spring of 2022. I was (and still am) engrossed with being a dad, and my writing necessarily got put on the back burner. While I wish this book hadn’t taken so long, I have no regrets. They really do grow up fast.
A Second Beginning is the . . . beginning of what I like to think of as Season 2 of the Desolation series. You can expect three more books after this one, for nine in total. Book 1 of a Desolation spinoff series, This New World, should be out soon, too, so keep an eye out for that.
Thanks as always to my alpha reader, Gaby Michaelis. The first draft may have made her eyes bleed, but the story is much, much better as a result of her excellent feedback. Thank you to Covers by Christian and Deranged Doctor Design for the cover artwork and typography, respectively. Finally, a special thanks to Doug Townsend (no relation to Major Felicia Townsend of the Flagstaff Militia), my resident Arizona expert, for answering my many questions about the area.
About the Author
I hail from the mountains of British Columbia, Canada. After spending much of my twenties studying the British Army in the First World War, I gave up on academia and began writing fiction. Nowadays, I’m a husband, a father, a pet owner, and the commissioner of my fantasy baseball league, though sadly not its champion.
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David Lucin, A Second Beginning
