Free Evacuation by Phillip Tomasso

He gave her a handful of clips.
    Chatterton stood quiet. He hadn’t volunteered. He hadn’t opted out.
    “I do not want these people going with you,” Keel said to Vitale. “Do you hear me, Sergeant? I will file a formal complaint…”
    “With whom, Travis? Huh? Who the fuck you going to file a complaint with? Other than you, the people on this boat, and me, who the fuck you been in contact with? I’d like to know. I really would. Because, my satellite phone hasn’t heard shit from anyone. No one. You going to tell my Commander in Chief? Because even if that little fuck is holed up in some fallout bunker, I don’t think he’s going to give two shits if I handed out some fucking handguns. Is he? You think he’s going to care? Answer me! I’m not talking just to fucking talk. Fucking answer me!”
    Spade, who had been kneeling by the chest, rose to his feet and in one fluid motion was in front of and moving his sergeant away from conflict. “Sarge,” he said.
    Vitale shrugged off the soldier’s hands. He spun. We locked eyes. “You shoot before?”
    “Yes,” I said. This was not about being a hero. It’s what was right. The right thing to do. I didn’t want to go. I needed to. Had to.
    “And you?” he said.
    Dave nodded.
    “What about you?” Vitale stared at Chatterton. “I haven’t heard you fucking go peep.”
    “I’m going with you, sir.”
    “That’s what I wanted to hear. You shoot?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “They all set, Spade?” Vitale said.
    Spade handed the three of us more weapons. Rifles, side arms, extra clips and a big knife, which I clipped the sheath of to my belt.
    “You be safe,” Charlene said, hugging me.
    “I will. You take care of them. Allison, too. But you listen to her. You got me? You’re not a kid anymore.”
    “I know that. We’ll be okay.”
    “I know that ,” I said. I kissed her. Been a long time since she’d let me. Always gave me the top of her head or a cheek. I’ll not forget when she was younger. Used to carry her everywhere. People thought something must be wrong with her legs. We were inseparable. At a Fourth of July picnic one year, my uncle took photographs. Told us to smile. Said he didn’t have any of us together. Sarcasm dripped from his words. Times changed. As she got older, we remained close, but not as close.
    It was bound to happen. Might have been gradual, but noticeable. I felt it. Didn’t mean she loved me less. Meant she needed me less. That’s what hurt.
    “Daddy,” Cash said, reaching for me.
    Allison took his hand. She knew if Cash got his hands on me, the good-bye would last too long. “We’ll be fine. Just remember, no heroics. I mean it,” she said.
    “I’ll be back,” I said to both of them. To all three of them.
    Sues wasted no time; she stood on tiptoes and kissed Dave on the lips. Most I’d heard her say had been her yelling at our fearless captain. She and Dave, they hit it off though. Think desperate situations formed fast bonds. There was a textbook name for it. Two people in a crisis oftentimes fall in love. Crisis ends, isn’t long before whatever relationship was started is also over. Different circumstances, I would have busted his chops and given him a hard time. Instead, when he looked at me, I nodded.
    We got off the boat. Vitale looked back. Keel stared at us, at him. Neither looked away.

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Eleven
    2248 hours
     
    “You said your satellite phone isn’t reaching anyone,” I said.
    Vitale looked at me. “It’s pockets of people. Just pockets. And no one in New York, best we can tell.”
    “We saw D.C. on the news a few days ago.”
    “Gone. Virus hit them hard. Everyone and their mother were vaccinated,” he said.
    “The president?”
    “To be honest, I haven’t heard a word, but I’m a sergeant, so not very high on the totem pole,” he said. “He wasn’t vaccinated. Vice president either. I’m sure they’re in hiding somewhere secret and separated. To be honest,