After the Fall Ch. 08

The corner of Ezra's mouth twitched, but he remained all business. "I'm thinking about doing the interviews in The Tavern. 'The Tavern' is the name of the place, but it's not a tavern. It's part of the main arcade, sort of like one of those bar and restaurant combos you used to see in airport terminals. We have to assume there will be microphones anywhere we go, but with the background noise, we may get at least a little cover. We're still going to have to be very careful, though. You could help us test how immersed in The Center's culture the candidates have become, and you can do it in a way that can't be detected by anyone listening in."

Mariah raised an eyebrow, but Ezra continued quickly. "The plan is for you to be present during the interview, and for Michael to treat you very disrespectfully and even make hints that your favors might be available as one of the perks of the job. If the candidate behaves like a pig, we have our answer. If the candidate is put off or declines the opportunity, we know we've got someone who thinks for himself and is more trustworthy around you, Sarah, Amy, and Paula."

"What about Yvonne?"

Ezra laughed. "Anyone who tries to pull something with Yvonne is going to get their ass handed to them."

Mariah frowned. "I can take care of myself, too."

"Compared to most people, you probably can, but you don't train like Yvonne does and you don't go around armed."

Ezra's explanation didn't appease Mariah, but she moved on to her next question. "How are we going to test candidates who aren't interested in women? Or just aren't interested in me?"

"I think we'll still be able to gauge their comfort level with the attitude Michael will be demonstrating."

"How are you going to hire them if we've made working here seem so sleazy that they don't want to do it?"

"That's another place where we'll have to rely on you. If we decide we want to try to hire the person, you'll need to whisper something in their ear—you can play it off as flirting—to tell them it was just a test. If you're quiet, I doubt a microphone is going to pick it up over the background noise."

Mariah sat back in her seat to think about it. Eyeing her crossed arms and the crease between her eyebrows, Michael jumped in to reassure her.

"You don't have to do it. It was just an idea. We'll figure something out."

Mariah didn't immediately answer. Ezra and Michael both fidgeted uncomfortably while she thought about it.

After a little more thought, she looked up at them and said, "I'll do it."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Michael asked. "It's going to be a bit much, on top of everything else you'll be dealing with."

"I might as well. I'm going to be uncomfortable as long as we're there, no matter what I do. Ezra's right. It's acting. It might even be easier having something to actively act out than it would be to sit around trying to stay in character with nothing to do."

Ezra nodded approvingly. Michael still looked doubtful.

"I can do this," she assured him. "There's something else I've been wondering, though. Isn't it going to raise some eyebrows if you go in and start expanding your security team so extensively?"

"Definitely. We were talking about that when you came in. We're going to have to come up with some reason for it that can't be disproven by whatever reports Quinlan's getting from Fred Lansing or whoever else he has embedded with Hawley's crew."

"They're going to know something's up with the new construction, too," Ezra added.

Michael tried not to get distracted when Mariah bit the corner of her lip and let it slide through her teeth while she thought the problem over.

"If I'm understanding everything so far, the real reason you don't want Quinlan and the others to catch wind of what we're doing is that it upsets their ideas about social order and they might feel threatened by it. At a minimum, you'd probably become distrusted among the Elites. Is that accurate?"

"Pretty much," Michael confirmed. "I don't know how far they'd go to stop it."

"Then, It seems to me that it would be best to stick to exactlywhat's really happening but to provide a different explanation ofwhy it's happening. From what I know about them so far, it will be easy to provide an explanation more believable to them than the real one. Just say that now that you're in charge, you want to experiment with new business opportunities and you need more land and more workers to do that.

"It would be a good thing for the town to gain revenue sources, anyway. We could do that as part of the project, and it would be the perfect cover for the real purpose. But whether or not it makes economic sense, it seems like the sort of motivation those guys could understand. If the reason makes sense to them, they're probably not going to look any further."

Ezra had been nodding as Mariah spoke. When she finished, they both looked at Michael.

"I like it. It's simple and believable, and it will match the reports they get from their spy. Who knows? We might even generate some revenue. But if we tell a story like that, we're going to have to flesh it out a little more. What sort of business opportunities could we be exploring?"

"The obvious choices would be some sort of agricultural products. Do the Elites buy or trade for things they don' have themselves?"

"Sure," Michael said. "That's what we do for our supplies."

"Do you think any of them would want mushrooms?"

"Probably."

"How about wine?"

"Yes," Michael said. "It's getting incredibly expensive. We're fortunate to have a large reserve of it here, but replenishing it is becoming exorbitant. How are we going to make wine, though?"

"I'm not sure. I know how to do it on a small scale, but I'm not too sure how hard it would be to do large-scale. What about cheese? That would be easier. Do you think you get some goats to start a herd?"

"I'm sure I can. But doesn't it take a long time to make cheese?"

"It doesn't have to. Cheese is edible right away. Aging is to develop a flavor. The strongly flavored cheeses and the hard cheeses usually age the longest. Soft cheese only takes a few weeks, if it has to age at all, but soft cheese wouldn't keep well. Cheddar only takes a few months. The cheeses that have to age the longest take about a year. There's a book about it in the library that includes instructions."

"Why goats?" Ezra asked. "Why not cows?"

"People killed and ate all the cows around here. You'd have to bring them in, and I can't imagine a cow on a helicopter. Goats would be easier for us to take care of, too."

"Goat cheese seems like a real possibility," Michael agreed. "Mushrooms do, too. Wine seems like a maybe. Anything else?"

"We could plant some hazelnut and pecan orchards. It would take several years to see any results, but it would be a crop that's easy to preserve and ship."

Michael nodded. "Sounds reasonable."

"Do you think they would buy honey?" Mariah asked.

"We've been buying honey, so I assume other people must, too. There's probably not a high demand for it, though, since it's not too hard to collect your own. I think we've probably got enough products to start with."

"But I thought of one more thing," Mariah said. "What about herbs?"

"All right, herbs, too. But that's enough. All we need right now is a good story."

"Okay, but we do need to go ahead and get goats. And you have to promise that nobody's allowed to eat them."

Michael made a face. "Who would want to eat a goat?"

"Lots of people eat goat," Ezra said. "It's just not as common here as in a lot of other countries."

"Well, it's not going to be common here," Mariah insisted. "No eating the goats! Promise?"

Michael held up his hands in mock surrender. "No eating the goats. They shall be sacred goats."

"Thank you."

"I think that does it for our cover story. What do you think, Ezra? If we keep going, Mariah's going to keep thinking of more work for me."

Ezra laughed. "Good. It builds character. I agree, though. I think that's all we need to explain what we're doing as an expansion."

"I think that covers everything, then. I'm aiming for Friday, but I'll let you know when I've booked the flight. Mariah and I have some preparation we need to take care of first."

"Sounds good," Ezra said as he got up to go. On his way out the door, he clapped Mariah on the shoulder and told her, "You got this. You'll do fine."

When Ezra was gone, Michael turned to Mariah. "Are you okay? You look a little shaken up."

Mariah forced a smile. "I'm all right. It just now hit home that Ezra will be with us when we go to The Center. It was easier when I was thinking only of a bunch of strangers seeing me act like that."

Michael stood and reached for her hand. "Come here, kitten."

When she stood, he pulled her gently against his chest and wrapped his arms around her, doing his best to ignore the soft press of her breasts. He stroked her hair softly, running his fingers through its silky length. She sighed, leaning into him and resting her cheek against his chest. He waited until he felt her relax before he let her go.

"Just remember that you can call this off at any time, okay?"

She nodded. "I'll remember. I'll go through with it, though."

He realized that she probably would go through with it, whether or not she should. That meant he was the only one in a position to pull the plug on it if it got to be too intense. He was not looking forward to her reaction if he decided to put an end to it. She would rightly conclude that he had substituted his judgment for hers and would be insulted.

"It's about lunchtime. Are you hungry?"

"Yes!"

He laughed at her enthusiasm. "Do you mind if we bring it back up here to eat? There's a lot we need to cover."

"That's fine. Maybe we can make sandwiches."

"I suppose we could, but I thought you liked Marcus' cooking."

"I do, but since he was stuck in the meeting, I don't see how he'd have time to make lunch."

"What do you want to bet?" Michael asked.

"Five paperclips."

"Nah, that's too easy."

She shrugged. "You're the one who wants to bet, not me."

"How about if I win, you have to eat lunch naked?"

"And you have to eat lunch naked if I win?" Mariah asked.

"Yep."

"It would serve you right if you have to see how strange it feels to be naked around someone who's dressed."

Michael smirked. "Does that mean the bet's on?"

"What exactly are we betting?"

"If Marcus has made something besides sandwiches, I win and you eat naked. If we end up eating sandwiches, you win and I eat naked."

"Okay, it's a bet, provided that we eat up here."

"Of course. I like being the only one to see you naked."

"You're only going to see me naked if you win," Mariah reminded him.

Michael grinned. "If I lose, I'll just have to wait for after lunch to get you naked. But why don't we go down to the kitchen and settle this?"

"Let's go."

As they made their way downstairs, Michael silently congratulated himself on distracting Mariah from the weirdness of having Ezra see her at The Center. On top of that, he was enjoying the prospect of watching her eating lunch naked. Henry trailed along after them.

Mariah's face fell when she saw Marcus cooking behind the counter at the breakfast bar. He waved them in.

"We're having grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup," Marcus announced. "Would you like some tomato slices on yours, Mariah?"

"Yes, please. That sounds good."

"How about you, Michael? Tomato? Bacon?"

"Bacon, of course."

As Marcus started their sandwiches, Mariah whispered to Michael. "We're having sandwiches. I win."

"He made something besides sandwiches. He made soup. So, I win."

She frowned. "I guess we both win."

"Uh-huh. That means a naked lunch."

"But since we both won, doesn't each win cancel the other out? I want to eat my grilled cheese while it's still hot and melty, and the soup will be hard to bring upstairs without spilling."

He pretended to think about it. "Hmmm... I don't know."

"Please?"

"Oh, all right."

"Thank you!" She hopped up onto one of the stools at the bar. When Michael sat down next to her, she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

The grilled cheese sandwiches were soon ready, and Marcus plated them with a bowl of soup. Mariah took a bite too fast and burned her mouth, but it didn't stop her from going for a second too-hot bite.

"So good, Marcus. I love grilled cheese and tomato soup together. How did you have time to make the soup?"

Marcus smiled broadly. "Sometimes the simple things are best. I made the soup last night."

"Michael and I were talking earlier and we had an idea. What do you think about teaching people how to make cheese?"

"I'd say it was a fine idea, but where would they get the milk?"

"Goats!"

"There are goats here?"

"Not yet. But we can probably get some. It'll take a while for the herd to get big enough to produce enough milk, of course."

"As long as I'm not the one milking the goats!" Marcus laughed.

"How long is it going to take to get a herd?" Michael asked.

"It depends on how many you can get to start with. They'll breed once or twice a year, and they usually have at least two kids at a time."

"Sounds like it's going to take a bunch of helicopter trips. These goats of yours are getting expensive, babe."

"Think of it as an investment."

"A goat portfolio, huh?"

"Sure, why not?"

Michael shook his head. "No reason, I guess."

Unwilling to let her grilled cheese get cold, Mariah stayed quiet until she had finished the sandwich and most of her soup. She was closely observed by Henry, who was resting his chin on the seat next to hers. After every bite of sandwich Mariah gave him, he returned to looking like his life depended on getting another piece. When her sandwich was gone, he moved down the line to beg from Michael, who still had a few bites left. Henry managed to con Michael into giving him the last bite.

Between spoonsful of soup, Mariah asked, "Since you'll be looking for livestock anyway, do you think you could see about chickens, too? And maybe we could see if we can let the hens in the compound incubate some of their eggs."

"Don't people in town have chickens?"

"Yes, but not enough of them. Nobody's going to want to give up the ones they have so that we can start a flock."

"Why aren't there enough chickens?" Michael asked.

"Guess."

"They eat them."

"Uh-huh. By late winter or early spring, a lot of them get eaten. Everyone always thinks they're going to let some eggs hatch to replenish the flock, but when it comes down to it, that means giving up eggs, and they're already getting fewer eggs because they ate one of their chickens. They end up letting the bare minimum hatch"

Michael shook his head. "I know you're going to say I shouldn't judge, but that seems like a serious lack of self-control and some really poor planning."

"You're right—I'm going to tell you that you shouldn't judge. You don't have any idea what it's like to be in that situation. How many meals have you ever missed in a row? And could you have eaten if you wanted to? Anyway, it's not just that they are hungry. Their children are hungry. What a person might be able to tolerate for themselves can be intolerable when it's their children suffering it."

He sighed. "You're right. It's just so frustrating when it seems like the solution is right there in front of them."

"The other thing is that chicks tend to disappear," Mariah added. "They're just too easy for someone to walk off with."

"Don't people keep them in chicken coops?"

"Only at night. Chicken coops are too small to live in. During the day, people keep them in fenced areas, but the size of the fenced area limits how many chickens they can have. Chickens can find insects and grass seeds to eat, but if they're not on enough land to support them, they have to be fed."

"I guess it's more complicated than it sounds."

Mariah shrugged. "It's not rocket science, but there are considerations that wouldn't know about until you tried to do it. Most of the time when people aren't doing something that seems like it would obviously help, there's a reason for it."

"Did you have chickens?"

"No. I didn't have a fenced area to keep them in. My house is in the woods with a small yard. There's a field not far from it, but I would have had to build a fence that would keep out predators. I tried keeping a couple of chickens in my yard, but predators got them. I didn't get more chickens because the same thing would have happened again."

By the time they'd finished taking about chickens, they'd finished lunch. On the way back upstairs, Mariah waded into a riskier topic.

"I need to go into town tomorrow."

She glanced over at Michael and saw his jaw tighten. "Why do you need to go into town?"

"I need to start getting people on board with the project. I especially need to talk to Laura Cook."

"Who's Laura Cook?

"The architectural engineer we talked about. You don't like her hair, remember?"

He nodded. "Oh, yeah. Now, I remember."

"I need to talk to the other people on my list, too."

"Let's talk about it back in our wing."

"Your wing," she corrected him automatically.

"Really, Mariah? Aren't you living there, too?"

It was not the right time to pick an argument she wasn't going to win, especially since shewas living there for the time being.

"Sorry. It was just habit."

Satisfied, Michael guided her out of the elevator and to the doors of the private wing with a hand on the small of her back.

"Why don't you get comfortable in the lounge? I'll grab wine for us both and meet you there."

When she reached the lounge, Mariah positioned herself with one seat between her and the seat Michael always chose and curled up sideways in the seat so she would be facing him. She wanted to see if he would let her sit there or would insist on pulling her into his lap.

When Michael arrived with the wine, he handed her a glass and took his usual seat. He turned and lounged with his hand thrown over the back of the couch, facing her.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. About going into town..." he paused, sighed, and continued, "you know I don't like it, but I realize it has to be done. But, this is going to have to be done my way, and you're going to have to give me your solemn promise that no matter what, you'll follow my instructions when we're outside of the compound."

"We?" You're going, too?"

"Of course I'm going. Now can you promise to follow my instructions?"

She eyed him skeptically. "First tell me what you mean by things being done your way. What does your way entail?"

"We'll be taking Ezra, Jack, Yvonne, and Nate. Everyone will be armed, including you. You can't go wandering off or getting mixed in with other people. You have to stay with us. I want you no further than arm's length away from me at any time."

"That's ridiculous. You can't expect people to trust you if you go in looking like you're staging a hostile takeover. And I'm not wearing a gun."

"Why do I need people to trust me? I'm offering them something."

"You need them to trust the offer. We have to build a relationship with them. You're going to want them to abide by your rules. That requires good faith on everyone's part. The last thing you want is to bring in a group of people who are semi-hostile to you, but cooperating so that they get something out of the deal."

Michael was silent for a few moments, thinking. When he looked up at her again, she could see the tension in his features.

"I understand what you're saying, but I can't let you go to town without protection. I'll offer a compromise. Consider it carefully, because this is as far as I'm willing to go. You don't have to carry a gun. The rest of us will only carry holstered pistols. Any other weapons will remain in the jeep. That means we won't be going far from the jeep. You can interact with people, but you have to stay within two yards of me, preferably closer, and you have to avoid getting in the middle of groups. You have to stay where I can see you at all times."