Free The Trigger by L.J. Sellers Page B

tone.
    “I’m so sorry to hear that. You must be devastated. Is this a bad time for me to be here?”
    Spencer touched Dallas’ shoulder, his fingers staying longer than she expected.
    “I’ve had a long time to grieve for Lisa, and she’s in a lot of pain. It will be a relief for both of us to move on.” He started across the room again.
    “Will you have a service for her here?”
    “Of course. And I’ll scatter her ashes in the lavender patch she planted.”
    They stepped into the data center, and a young man glanced over his shoulder. Catching sight of her, he popped to his feet. Dallas wasn’t impressed: scraggly hair, sweat pants, and pudgy from lack of exercise.
    Spencer gestured. “This is Greg Rafferty, but he likes to be called Raff.”
    The techie didn’t offer his hand or make eye contact.
Odd
. Men rarely ignored her
.
And he didn’t look like a prepper. More like a slacker or, in this room, a hacker.
    “Sonja Barnes.” She nodded and glanced around. The data center held three main computers, a host of monitors, and a small server. How unusual. Why did a back-to-nature community with fewer than forty people need all that digital capacity? Raff was obviously a cyber geek, but why was he here and what was he up to? She turned to Spencer. “You have satellite internet?”
    “Yes, and it’s quite reliable unless we have really bad weather.”
    “What about cell phone service?” Questions any other applicant would ask, but the answers might be critical to her ability to relay information.
    “It’s intermittent. But some locations, like right outside the community center, seem to be better than others.” Spencer chuckled. “You’ll see members standing there talking on the phone.”
    Her personal smart phone would plug right into her laptop and, hopefully, connect to the community modem and satellite internet, so Dallas felt somewhat reassured that she could stay in contact with McCullen. But what if they monitored outgoing calls on the server? She’d be uncovered instantly.
Crap.
She would send emails or use her burner phone in front of the community center unless things got hinky.
    She turned back to Raff. “You must be the tech guy.”
    “Yep. If you ever need any help with your personal computer, just ask.”
    “Since you’re here in Destiny, you must be concerned about the future. What happens when the internet goes down?”
    Raff grinned, a man happy to show off his knowledge. “I belong to a group that’s preparing for that. We have a patchwork of landlines in place and people inside the major cable companies that will keep some streams going even if their companies shut down.”
    “Good to know. I’m sure that in a post-collapse world, we’ll all be too busy trying to survive to have time for social networking.”
    Both men laughed, and Spencer said, “That may be true for a while. But pockets of preppers all over the world will survive, and we’ll need a way to communicate.”
    “It’s reassuring to know you’re prepared for everything.” Dallas sort of meant that. She admired their willingness to see an alternative future and prepare for it. “I can’t tell you how good it feels to be here.”
    “Great. Let’s go see the rest of the community. Maybe meet a few people.”
    The afternoon went quickly. At first they walked around the homes, with Spencer talking about the members who lived in each. Behind the houses, paths crisscrossed the grass, leading to the community center and various storage buildings. She also met Grace, a fatigue-clad engineer who’d built a power station by the creek. Her tight smile didn’t distract Dallas from noticing her physique. Unlike the Clayton brothers, Grace would be a worthy opponent in a physical confrontation.
    Eventually, Spencer backed a golf cart out of his garage and said, “Let’s tour the back property in comfort.”
    Dallas climbed in. “It’s such a pretty day, I was prepared to walk.”
    “I usually do, but I’ve