As Fanny went to get them all coffee, Rich said, “You sure about this, Mike?” His tone wasn’t challenging.
Whatever pissing contest there was between them had ended for Rich about the same time he and Fanny got married. For Mike, it had been harder to let go of the animosity. Mike liked to think he was the bigger guy, but it just wasn’t true. He still busted Rich’s balls occasionally, but this wasn’t the time and he knew it. It said something about Rich that he was the kind of guy who would do this, that when his wife’s ex-husband showed up at their house past a decent hour of night and told them it was time to head for the hills, Rich was willing to let himself be swayed, was willing to take Mike’s side against Fanny.
“No, Rich. If I’m being honest, I’m not sure. But I’d rather be wrong about going than about not going.”
Rich nodded, and other than a quiet thank-you to Fanny when she came back with the coffees, neither man said another word. Mike got back into his truck and took a sip while he waited for Rich to also fill the tank on his motor boat and then the two spare gas cans Mike had made him take.
From the gas station, it was twenty-five more minutes of back roads and twists and turns and past one in the morning before they got to the boat launch. Once everything was loaded up, Mike came back to the truck. He thought about just scooping Annie up and carrying her to the boat, but instead, he gave her a gentle shake until she woke up.
“Listen, Annie,” he said. “You awake?” She nodded, and even though Mike wasn’t sure she truly was, he had to trust that she’d remember. “You stay where you are for a little bit, okay? Stay with your mom and Rich. I’ll come to you. You don’t worry about me. I’ll be back.”
“Promise?”
Her voice was small and full of sleep, and it almost killed him. Two years ago, when an agent was killed in the line of duty and Annie had found out about it, she’d made him promise to wear his bulletproof vest anytime he was out on the job, but it hadn’t felt like anything big to do. Yet for some reason this request made him hesitate. Could he really promise he’d be back? He didn’t really understand what was going on, and it was terrifying him. But he looked at the way Annie was looking at him and he realized none of that really mattered. What mattered was making her feel safe.
“I promise, beautiful. I promise I’ll come back to you. Back for you. I’ll come back for you, okay?”
Annie nodded again, and then he walked with her over to the boat.
It was all he could do to let her go.
“Anything else?” Rich said.
“Actually, yeah.” Mike lifted a duffel bag. “My backup pistol is in there.”
“Jesus, Mike. You think that’s really necessary?”
“I hope not.”
“I don’t even know how to shoot a pistol.”
“Fanny does. I taught her. The pistol is for her. It’s a Glock 27. It’s small. There’s two boxes of rounds in there and a spare clip,” he said. “There’s also a shotgun. That’s for you. Go out tomorrow and have Fanny show you how to load it and take a couple of shots to get the feel of it.”
“Mike—”
“Rich.” Mike stepped close, keeping his voice low. “There’s a quarantine out west. Martial law. I saw one of those fucking things come out of Henderson’s face. You’ve got my daughter with you. Do you understand what I’m asking of you here?”
Instead of answering, Rich looked back over his shoulder at the boat. Annie was leaning into her mother. The light from the truck’s headlights cast odd shadows, but both men could see Fanny and Annie clearly.
“Yeah. Yeah, I do, Mike.”
“It’s a Mossberg 500. A twelve gauge. There are four boxes of ammunition in there. You learn how to use it. It will take out anything in front of you. Like spraying a hose. The loads will spread. Shit for distance with that ammunition, but for personal defense it will do fine. Just point and shoot.”
Mike handed over the duffel bag. The two men shook hands.
Mike turned to walk back to his truck, but then he heard Annie calling for him. He went back to them.
“How come you aren’t coming with us, Daddy?”
“I’ve got to work baby, okay?” He bent over the rail of the boat and Annie got up and came over to him. She leaned into him and pressed her nose into his neck. “Don’t worry. Your mom and Rich are going to take care of you.”
“I’m not worried about me,” she said.
He tightened his grip on her. “I’ll be fine, beautiful. I’ll be fine. And I’ll come for you soon enough. I promise.”
American University,
Washington, DC
Melanie lunged for it, but her fingers only grazed the glass. There was nothing she could do but watch it fall.