Steven Konkoly - The Perseid Collapse

“Why would they wait this long?” asked Linda.

“Maybe for the same reason as us,” said Samantha.

“They don’t know that the police are grabbing cars,” Ed said. “They haven’t left the neighborhood, and I think we would have heard them start the car. Charlie heard mine from down the street.”

“What if their garage doors were closed?” asked Samantha.

“Here’s the other thing,” Alex said. “I told her to be careful on Route 26. She said they will. Route 26 doesn’t go anywhere near Bridgton. I think she was fishing for information.”

“Maybe she was nervous?” Samantha suggested. “You look like some kind of mercenary. I’m nervous right now looking at those guns.”

“I know the two of you used to be close…” began Alex.

“She’s been through a lot, Alex,” Samantha interrupted. “Now that asshole husband’s knocking her around.”

Linda grimaced. “When did that start?”

“Apparently all along,” said Samantha. “He’s a piece of sh—crap.”

“Maybe he put her up to it,” said Alex.

“Up to what?” Samantha asked.

“Trying to find out our plan to get out of here. Why else would she ask when we were leaving?”

“What did you tell her?” asked Ed.

“Sunrise.”

“We’ll be long gone by then.”

“They’ll make a move on the Jeep long before that,” said Kate knowingly.

Samantha blanched. “What do you mean?” she demanded.

“The Michaud family camp in Bridgton was sold at auction in 2016. The Michaud’s were clients of my firm for decades. Jeff pissed away all of the money after his parents died in the pandemic. Apparently, a latent gambling gene surfaced,” said Kate.

“Followed by a wife-beating gene,” said Samantha.

Kate shook her head. “I’m sure that one has been around forever. How bad is the abuse?”

“I don’t know,” Samantha answered. “He’s got her under tight control.” She turned to Alex. “I know Jamie. She wouldn’t do this if she had a choice. She hasn’t forgotten what we did for her girls.”

“We still have to plan for the worst. I can set up outside and watch the back of the house. He’ll probably try to break in and steal the Jeep. That’s what I’d do.”

“Then what?” asked Linda.

“If he shows up, I’ll shoot him,” said Alex nonchalantly.

“You can’t just shoot him, Alex,” said Ed.

“I’ve been down that road, and it got a lot of people killed—”

“That wasn’t your fault!” said Kate.

“I don’t see it that way anymore. If either of them approaches the house with a firearm, I’m taking them out.”

“What about the police?” asked Ed.

“What police?”

“You have to plan for the possibility that someone will hear the shots and contact the police. You said it yourself that they’re probably monitoring handheld radio frequencies,” said Ed.

“I have that covered.”

“The police?” countered Ed.

“No. The sound,” said Alex, to skeptical looks.

“What if they’re unarmed?” Kate asked.

“Unlikely.”

“You have to plan for the possibility,” said Kate.

“What’s wrong with all of you?” Alex said in frustration. “She lied to me out there. They’re either coming tonight, or they’ll try to hijack the car tomorrow.”

“Then maybe you should storm their house right now and kill everyone!” said Samantha, shaking her head in disgust.

“I’m not suggesting a preemptive strike!” Alex said. “We just need to take a more proactive stance here.”

Charlie piped in, “Why don’t we just capture whoever comes over?”

“Is anyone here trained to take down a potentially armed hostile?” Alex asked. “Just saying…” he added.

“I don’t think it’s out of the question,” said Ed.

“It’s out of the question. Trust me. It’ll take all three of us if he resists. What if he has help?”

“You really want to shoot him, don’t you?” said Samantha.

“Don’t you?”

Samantha shot him a nasty look, and the mudroom fell silent.

“I’ll issue a warning,” Alex said. “If a firearm is visible, they have to drop it. No exceptions. I’m not sending them back with the tools to try again. That’s all the leeway I’m willing to give.”

Ed let out a deep breath, “I can live with that.”

Samantha nodded. “All right.”

“We’ll need a lookout with a radio on the second floor,” said Charlie, “and someone on the ground level in case they try to get into the main house.”

“I’ll watch from Daniel’s room. Charlie’s probably a better choice to have guarding the doors,” said Ed.

“We’ll switch off, so you can get sleep, or at least try,” said Samantha.

“It’s gonna be a long night, but we’ll get through this. By noon tomorrow, you’ll be safe at the compound. We’ll join you with Chloe and Ryan the day after that,” said Alex.

“Easy as that?” said Ed, finally smiling.

“Easy as that,” repeated Alex.

EVENT +21:37 Hours

Scarborough, Maine

Alex swatted lethargically at the mosquitos. What was the point? The swarm above his head was unusually aggressive, relentlessly attacking his sweaty face. Their buzz competed with a distant generator. Annoying, but blameless, the mosquitos could be forgiven. Unlike humans, they lacked the capacity to govern their response to deeply ingrained survival instincts. Alex lay in the backyard as a hedge against their collective bet that Jamie and her husband had given in to their instincts.

Samantha had given him a thick comforter to lay over the mud, which he had placed over an old, supposedly waterproof poncho. The system had kept him dry for roughly seven minutes before the brackish water seeped over and around the poncho, quickly soaking the comforter. At least he wasn’t lying in a puddle of shit water. The hastily assembled ground cover had prevented him from sinking far enough into the mud for that.

He’d set up along the edge of the drainage easement behind the Walkers’ house, on the downward side of the slope, exposing little more than his rifle and his head to the house. His feet sat less than a foot from the water trapped in the ditch. The easement ran the entire length of the backyards, giving him an unobstructed view in both directions. The dual-tube night vision goggles had turned night into day, ensuring that nobody stood a chance of approaching undetected.

His earpiece crackled. “Alex,” Charlie reported, “I have a male with some type of rifle crossing the street between Jamie’s house and the house to the left. Looks like he’s headed to the Andersons’ next door. I need to go to the other side of the house. I’m about to lose him.”

“Stay where you are, and keep a close eye on Jamie’s house. Make sure we don’t have any more surprises. I have it from here. Charlie, did you copy?”

“Copy. Standing by,” said Charlie.

Alex pointed his HK416 semiautomatic rifle at the left corner of the house. He figured that Jeff would appear there first and slide along the house.

A darkened shape appeared beyond the corner for a moment. He focused his attention on the white trim, which appeared pale green in his goggles, and waited. Jeff Michaud’s head slowly emerged, followed by the shotgun. He pressed the transmit button on his shoulder-mounted handheld radio.

“He’s at the corner of Ed’s house. Pump action shotgun,” he whispered, mentally blocking out the nervous replies.

Several seconds later, Jamie’s husband stepped into the open and walked slowly along the back of the house, the mud sucking at his feet.