Frank Klus - Azaleas Don't Bloom Here

“When did this start?” Joanne asked.

“About three years ago,” Cassandra said.

“Most exit visas are given automatically,” Ray said. “Buy a ticket to Paris, no problem. Buy a ticket to Florida, no problem. This is why most people never heard of an exit visa. They never really see it. Yet it’s there on any ticket you have in the form of a stamp. In this day and age, where the ticket is usually an e-ticket, you never see it. You’re in the computer.”

“Then what’s it for?” Joanne asked.

“To keep people they don’t like in,” Ray said.

“Who is ‘they’?” Joanne said.

“Powerful people,” Ray said.

“You mean the government,” Dean said.

“More powerful than them,” Cassandra said.

“I don’t suppose Gene can get an exit visa,” Dean said. Ray and Cassandra nodded their heads. “Then how does my boy get out of here if he isn’t going to get an exit visa?”

“There is a way,” Cassandra said. “Do you remember Pamela Piper?”

“Redd’s sister,” Dean Sulke said, stoically.

“Exactly!” she said. “She still lives in Michigan; never did move to the New World. Instead, she helps people who are being persecuted. She’s expensive. It will cost Gene about twenty-five grand, but she can get him there.”

“I’ve got the money,” Gene said.

“Oh, God,” Joanne cried. “Will I ever see you again?”

“I don’t think he’ll ever be allowed to return,” Ray said.

“You really need to go as well; along with your other son,” Cassandra said.

Joanne turned to Dean with a look of disdain. “Leave our home? No. I won’t go.”

“We’re staying,” Dean said. “We have laws in this country. They can’t come here and just kidnap us.”

Ray’s cell phone rang. It was Sean. “Ray, there’s a car out front. I think it belongs to the Squad. I recognized it from Daniel’s research.”

“Thanks, Sean. Keep an eye on it.”

Ray hung up and gestured to Cass. “They’re out there.”

“Please,” Cassandra said, “you must leave. We won’t be able to protect you for long.”

Dean and Joanne looked frightened, but remained adamant. “Son, do you want to leave?” Joanne said.

“No, I don’t want to leave—I have to leave. I can’t ever be dragged back to Hell House again.”

“But,” Dean said, “didn’t you tell me that other guy burned the house down after destroying the lab?”

“That’s true,” Ray said, “but they’ll just rebuild it. They’re training doctors all over the country to use the brain probe. They’re building more labs all over as we speak. If they recapture Gene, they’ll bring him back to a new Hell House—”

“And I’m sure it will be tougher than ever to find it,” Cassandra said.

“I’m afraid,” Eugene said. “What if those guys break in and grab me?”

“They’re just here to report on what’s going on,” Ray said.

“But what if several squads are on the way here, now?” Eugene said.

“I can’t rule that out,” Ray said. He got on his phone and called Sean. They talked for a few minutes and then he hung up. “There’s no sign of activity from the Squad; nevertheless, we should get out of here.”

“Why can’t he just move to Canada? Or even Europe? Why does it have to be that commie place?” Dean asked.

“It’s too risky,” Ray said. “The U.S. has an extradition treaty with those countries. They’ll declare Eugene a fugitive and demand his return.”

“They’d just deport him; just like that?” Joanne asked.

“Maybe; probably,” Ray said. “If they refused, they’d come under retaliation from our government: reduced trade; increased tariff costs; even restrictions on travel to any country that refused to turn over Gene. The New World is really the best hope for Gene. They don’t have an extradition treaty; they speak English—no foreign language to learn; they have no unemployment, so finding a good paying job similar to what he had shouldn’t be hard to find. There’s no question about it, New America is the place to go. I wish you would reconsider your position.”

“What about your house, son?” mom said.

“I guess you’ll have to sell it for me.”

“And all your furniture, possessions, memories—oh God,” she gasped.

“I don’t want to go back to that house. There is nothing but bad memories for me there. These people took Catherine and then me. Even if the Squad left me alone, I think I’d still move.”

“Where will you go, now?” Joanne asked.

“I called Bo. He’s home now. We’re going over there next to try to talk him into going with us. Then we’ll be—”

Ray interrupted him. “It’s best if they don’t know.”

“You’ll be followed,” Dean said.

“We know how to throw off followers,” Ray said.

“Will we ever see you again?” Joanne asked, turning toward her son.

“I don’t suppose so. I’m going to have to leave pretty quickly. I wish you’d come with me. We can start a new life together; we’d still be a family—just in a different place.”

“Maybe one day that’ll happen,” Dean said.

“We can have some men watch your house,” Ray said. “At least until Eugene is safely away.”

Joanne gave her son a tearful hug, and said her final good-bye to him. Even Dean hugged him.

“Will he even be able to write or call?” Dean asked.

“I don’t know,” Ray said. “They pretty much terminated all communication with New America. They cut off land lines into and out of the country. They block cell phone transmissions, and the post office won’t accept mail from or to New America. There may be ways around it, but not many.”

This shocked Joanne, who put her hands to her mouth and gave a feeble shriek. Dean just stared blankly ahead. “Nothing lasts forever,” he finally said. “I know some people. They won’t shut my son away for all time. We’ll find a way.”

“Don’t worry, mom, dad. Until I cross over I’ll call nightly.”

Joanne hugged her son and began crying again. Dean put his arm around her. “There, there, Joanne. We have to let him go.”

“Please mom, dad, come with me. We’ll still be a family. Oh, please.”

“Not now, son. Maybe, someday. Maybe someday you’ll be able to return, but I won’t be run out of my home. We have good police here. They don’t side with Squads or RAC’s. We’ll be protected. We’ll be all right.”

With that, Gene said his final farewell to his mom and dad, and began a journey he would not soon forget.

“Mr. O’Reilly,” Stevens said from Eugene Sulke’s house. “We’ve entered the house and it appears to have been empty since the morning you picked him up. The car is still in the driveway. There’s still a tracker on it.”

“Stevens, check out his parent’s home.”

“Yes, sir.”

Dennis hung up and called Mad Dog. “Commander, he’s not at his home. He may be at his parents’ house. How long do we have before Alt House is ready?”

“Doc McCardell still won’t be here for two more weeks. We have most of the equipment ready.”

“I won’t be able to give you much notice. As soon as we find him we may be forced to bring him in right away.”

“Give me two days to set up a holding cell.”

“I want far fewer guards outside this time: one guy in a car near the driveway, and one in the backyard; one more making rounds around the house, and one in the… no, make that two in the house at each entry door.”

“You got it.”

“Also, I don’t want them in uniform. Put them in overalls and give them… oh, I don’t know… a rake or something.”