Trent Reedy - Divided We Fall

Then I stopped. That kind of crap was exactly why everyone knew something was wrong. I had to act normal, so I went to get another beer and talk football with the guys.

The game and this party had shown me that it might be possible to get back to my normal life. The only other part of it I still needed to fix was JoBell. I missed out on that bikini last Friday, and I wanted to make up for lost time. After a while, I found her by the fire and gently pulled her out of her chair, slipping my arms around her and hooking my fingers through the belt loops of her jeans. “Hey, let’s go back to the Beast,” I said. “I want to talk to you about something.”

JoBell pressed herself against me and kissed me quick. “You want to talk?”

“Um… Not really,” I said.

“Then what are we gonna do?”

“I’ll show you.” I started to unbutton the top button of her shirt, but she laughed and pushed my hands away.

“Dan-neee,” she said in that cute way where she held my name for a long time. Then she took my hand and led me through the darkness down the Abandoned Highway of Love.

—• Governor Montaine has called a second special session of the state legislature today in hopes of passing what he is billing as another round of emergency legislation, this time creating a new employment initiative known as the Idaho Civilian Corps. The governor describes it as an unarmed supplement to the Idaho National Guard, where the Corps could be called out to work in emergencies such as flood or wildfires. Keep it tuned to Idaho’s news station, AM 1430 KGLR. •—

—• statement from the White House today was the first indication of Washington’s growing impatience with the Idaho situation. When asked if he would issue Idaho an ultimatum for compliance with federal demands, President Rodriguez said only that state officials did not have unlimited time.

Protests have intensified on several campuses around the nation. Almost all of these have been peaceful demonstrations calling for the arrests of the Idaho Guardsmen involved in the shooting in Boise last week. Police and campus security were on heightened alert at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, when a growing group calling itself “Citizens Supporting Soldiers” showed up with a counterprotest in support of the Idaho Guardsmen. Hostile words were exchanged between the groups, but no violence or injuries were reported.

General Mills reports another round of layoffs. A little over one thousand employees will be let go, mostly line workers in Ohio, West Virginia, and Tennessee plants. The company is citing lower than expected third-quarter returns and improved production methods as the reason for the cutbacks. You’re listening to ABC News. •—

As many problems as Mom had, me and her talked a lot, about everything. Well, not everything. We didn’t discuss things me and JoBell did together. That would be gross. So far she hadn’t brought up Boise, but I worried all the time that she would, and I dreaded all the ways that conversation could go bad.

“Tea?” I said that Saturday morning.

“Mmm.” She nodded and I poured her some. “Forgot to tell you.” She took a sip of her tea and closed her eyes, rubbing her temple with her free hand. She had headaches a lot. “I have to go to this nursing conference in Spokane for recertification. It starts the last Monday of the month and goes all week. You’ll be on your own. I’m going shopping sometime soon. Leave me a list of the stuff you want me to get for you to eat. Canned soup. Frozen stuff.”

“Okay,” I said, but the idea worried me. Mom didn’t always do so well with stress or new situations. How would she handle a whole week away from home? “Mom?” I said. She opened her eyes and looked at me with a frown. “Mom, are you sure you’ll—”

“I’ll be fine.” She shrugged. “Work.”

I wasn’t convinced, but I went back to my breakfast. “Speaking of work,” I said after I’d finished my toast, downing the last of my tea and rising from the table.

“Love you.” She reached out, and I leaned down for a quick hug, but she held on and squeezed me tight for a long time. When she let me go, she kept hold of my hand and looked me in the eye. “Be careful, Danny.”

She said that a lot, but somehow today, there was something in her words — more weight, more feeling. Instead of rolling my eyes and mumbling “Yeah, yeah,” I nodded.

I was in the Beast on the way to the shop when Digi-Hank said, “You got a video call coming in. He ain’t in your contacts list. Don’t reckon I know who it is.”

Who would be vid-calling me that would come up unknown? “Put it up,” I said.

“You got it.”

It wasn’t really safe to be vid-chatting while driving, but I risked a look at my comm sitting on the passenger seat.

“Oh, shit!” It was Governor Montaine. I’d just sworn at the governor. “Sorry, sir. I didn’t realize it was you. Kind of surprised. Can you give me a second to pull over?”

“No problem,” said the governor kindly.

I parked the Beast and then, making sure I was off-camera, knocked my head back against the headrest again and again. I was beyond tired of dealing with this stuff. I just wanted my life back.

I picked up my comm and held it in front of me. The image of the governor was at a weird angle, looking up from below. “Then they’ll have to move the luncheon,” he said to someone offscreen. Someone answered, but I couldn’t make out the words. “Then get Darlene to help them schedule someplace else. The banquet hall is a barracks now. I’ll not have those men sleeping in tents out on the grounds.” He looked down at me. “Sorry, Private Wright.” He frowned and waved someone away. “Things are busy here. This situation is moving fast. In one week, it’s become a lot worse. I hope you’re holding up okay.”

“I’m fine, sir. I had a little trouble focusing on football last night, but I figured it out.”

“Ah, play a little high school football, do you?”

“Yes, sir. We won twenty-one to thirteen.” I stretched my sore arms.

He threw his head back in a big, loud politician’s laugh. “Good man!” Then he leaned forward and looked into the camera so that his whole face filled my screen. “Listen, I’m sorry to mess up your morning, but I’m sending a helicopter to your armory. I’m calling everyone in the rest of your squad next. I want you all down here in Boise for a meeting this morning. We need to discuss strategy and some other issues. No uniforms or anything. Come as you are.”

“I was on my way to work,” I said before thinking. Annoying as all of this was, he was still the governor. “I’m sorry, sir. I mean—”

“Not at all. I understand this is difficult for you. Believe me, I’m on your side. I’ll see that you’re all put on state duty pay for this meeting starting right now, and I’ll make this as quick as I can. You should be back home shortly after noon.”

“Yes, sir,” I said.

“Good man,” he said again. “See you then.”