Free New America 02 - Resistance by Richard Stephenson Page B

her granddaughter, but Chrissy eventually told Ben the truth about the situation.  The woman would have to live in the infirmary full time, and Ben would have to find a family willing to take care of the girl. 
    Ben reached for the radio on his desk.  “Jessica, what’s your location?”
    After a few seconds, the radio crackled.  “I’m at the Wilderness Lodge doing a security check.”
    “Lunch?”
    “Sure, I’m starving.  I’ll head over now.”
    Fifteen minutes later , Ben’s top lieutenant was in his office.  The two spread their meager brown-bag meals on a table littered with stacks of paper and a large map of Florida. The map was the focus of their meeting.
    “I just got this last night. T ake a look at it,” Ben said as he handed Jessica a thick manila envelope.  As Jessica was reading the report, Ben elaborated.  “The latest scout team found a major food distribution center south of Miami, right here.”  Ben pointed to the map.  “For the most part, it hasn’t been touched; it appears that a few scavengers have picked it over, but the bulk of it is still there.”
    “When do we leave?”
    “It’s not that simple,” Ben said.  “The UAE has a large base set up less than ten miles away.  If they catch us emptying out the warehouse, they’ll no doubt stop us and confiscate all of it.”
    “Fuck the UAE. We ’re more powerful than they are.”  Jessica had been with Ben since the beginning.  When Hurricane Luther roared into town, Jessica found herself at Ben’s Jiffy Lube and rode out the storm in the pits beneath the garage.  Ben liked her because she was smart and charismatic enough to convince people to do just about anything she asked.  She also had the best bullshit detector Ben had ever seen.  What Ben valued most about her was that she wouldn’t hesitate to shoot someone between the eyes if she thought for one second they meant her harm.
    “Slow down and think.  Yes, we are more powerful on a local level.  Regional Governor Prince cries for help and Sterling can triple her force in under a week.  They could wipe us out.  Do I need to remind you of what we’re doing here?  Much more is at stake than a warehouse full of food.”
    “You’re not seriously thinking about forgetting this place?  It could increase our food stores for months!  And don’t you dare lecture me about what we’re doing here!  You sit up here in your comfy office blowing Mickey Mouse while the rest of us are out there getting our hands dirty and seeing the most horrible things.”  Jessica closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean that.  It’s just that food is going to run out at some point , and I have no idea what magic rabbit you’re gonna pull out of your ass when that happens.”
    “I ever tell you about my great-grandfather?”
    Jessica was surprised by the question. She relaxed a little and prepared herself for one of Ben’s infamous stories.  “No, don’t think you have.”
    “He was a World War II vet , drafted in 1944.  He was thirty-two or thirty-three when he went overseas.  He volunteered for the draft, but they told him he was too old.  Well, by the third year of the war, the army wasn’t as picky, so off he went.  My great-grandmother was pregnant with my grandfather when he left and when he came back eighteen months later, he met my grandfather for the first time. They went on to raise eight children.”
    “Dear L ord, eight children? Are you kidding? Nobody told him what was causing that little problem?”
    Ben winked. “Eight kids! I think they knew how to make ‘em.”
    “Ben, as much as I lov e your stories, does this one have a point?”
    “Before The Pulse, could you imagine raising eight children?  Even four?”
    “Hell, no. I couldn’t imagine affording one kid.”
    “Exactly. When I thought about having a kid with my ex-wife, I couldn’t stop thinking about my grandfather having seven brothers and