“Another suit?”
“For going outside. And you said those bunker busters weigh sixty kilos. Exactly how much is a kilo?”
57
“This is not a good plan,” Charlotte said. She tightened the breathing apparatus attached to the helmet and grabbed one of the large bottles of air, began fastening the hose to it. “What’re we going to do out there?”
“Die,” Donald told her. And he saw the look she gave him. “But maybe a week from now. And not here.” He had an array of supplies laid out. Satisfied, he began stuffing them into one of the small military backpacks. MREs, water, a first-aid kit, a flashlight, a pistol and two clips, extra ammo, a flint, and a knife.
“How long do you think this air will last?” Charlotte asked.
“Those bottles are for sending troops overground to other silos, so they must have enough to reach the furthest one. We just need to go a little further than that, and we won’t be as loaded down.” He cinched up the pack and placed it next to the other one.
“It’s like we’re lightening up a drone.”
“Exactly.” Picking up a roll of tape, he pulled a folded map out of his pocket and began affixing it to the sleeve of one of the suits.
“Isn’t that my suit?”
Donald nodded. “You’re a better navigator. I’m going to follow you.”
There was a ding on the other side of the shelves from the direction of the lifts. Donald dropped what he was doing and hissed for Charlotte to hurry. They made for the drone lift, but Darcy called out to let them know it was just him. He emerged from the tall shelves with a load in his arms, fresh coveralls and a tray heaped with food.
“Sorry,” he said, seeing the panic he’d caused. “It’s not like I can warn you.” He held out the trays apologetically. “Leftovers from dinner.”
He set the trays down, and Charlotte gave him a hug. Donald saw how quickly connections were made in desperate times. Here was a prisoner embracing a guard for not beating her, for showing an ounce of compassion. Donald was glad for the second suit. It was a good plan.
Darcy peered down at the scattering of tools and supplies. “What’re you doing?” he asked.
Charlotte checked with her brother. Donald shook his head.
“Look,” Darcy said, “I’m sympathetic to your situation. I am. I don’t like what’s going on around here, either. And the more that comes back – the more I remember about who I was – the more I think I’d be fighting this alongside you. But I’m not all-in with you guys. And this—” He pointed to the suits. “This doesn’t look good to me. This doesn’t look smart.”
Charlotte passed a plate and a fork to Donald. She sat on one of the plastic storage bins and dug into what looked like a canned roast, beets, and potatoes. Donald sat beside her and slid his fork through the slick roast, chopping it up into bites. “Do you remember what you did before all this?” Donald asked. “Is it coming back to you?”
Darcy nodded. “Some. I’ve stopped taking my meds—”
Donald laughed.
“What? Why’s that funny?”
“I’m sorry.” Donald apologized and waved his hand. “It’s just that … it’s nothing. It’s a good thing. Were you in the army?”
“Yeah, but not for long. I think I was in the Secret Service.” Darcy watched them eat for a moment. “What about you two?”
“Air Force,” Charlotte said. She jabbed her fork at Donald, whose mouth was full. “Congressman.”
“No shit?”
Donald nodded. “More of an architect, really.” He gestured at the room around them. “This is what I went to school for.”
“Building stuff like this?” Darcy asked.
“Building this,” Donald said. He took another bite.
“No shit.”
Donald nodded and took a swig of water.
“Who did this to us, then? The Chinese?”
Donald and Charlotte turned to one another.
“What?” Darcy asked.
“We did this,” Donald said. “This place wasn’t built for a just-in-case. This is what it was designed for.”
Darcy looked from one of them to the other, his mouth open.
“I thought you knew. It’s all in my notes.” Once you know what to look for, Donald thought. Otherwise, it was too obvious and audacious to see.
“No. I thought this was like that mountain bunker, where the government goes to survive—”
“It is,” Charlotte said. “But this way they get the timing down just right.”
Darcy stared down at his boots while Donald and his sister ate. For a last meal, it wasn’t all that bad. Donald looked down at the sleeve of the coveralls he’d borrowed from Charlotte and saw the bullet hole in them for the first time. Maybe that was why she had acted as if he was crazy for putting them on. Across from him, Darcy began to slowly nod his head. “Yeah,” he said. “God, yeah. They did this.” He looked up at Donald. “I put a guy in Deep Freeze a couple shifts ago. He was yelling all this crazy stuff. A guy from accounting.”