Insurgents

33

There was a story on the news about a boat fire on the lake, but it was described as a tragic accident. The newswoman said that as many as three people might've died, but that no bodies had yet been found. The coast guard let the boat sink, and the news had some good helicopter shots of it going down. The whole thing left me pretty shook up, which I guess was obvious, because John told me to take two weeks off before I came back to work. He told me that when I came back I would no longer be working for the Guardian Security Agency, but would be a full partner in the newly formed Cavalier Security Incorporated. Jessie had already started calling us CSI Ohio.

David Telano pled guilty to breaking and entering and statutory rape for fucking Melissa Finer. He got sixteen months, but Thomas Delaney the Third said he would probably do nine. The newspapers did a couple of stories about how the murder charges had been dropped, but left it at that. America's Most Wanted offered no apologies, in fact they didn't mention it at all. As far as the media was concerned none of it had happened.

A day after the boat ride, Jessie got a call from her friend Jack, who'd just gotten in from Canada with a large supply of a particularly potent strain of marijuana called White Widow. We bought a half-ounce for three hundred dollars, taking a Payday loan from one of those check-cashing places to cover it. It was worth it.

Jessie kept in touch with Gretchen and over the next couple of months they became good friends. She learned that Gretchen had placed the kids she'd taken with adoptive parents all over the Midwest, mostly wholesome lesbian and gay couples, and supplied them with fake backgrounds and identities. Gretchen and Amanda had belonged to an LGBT bowling league, their team was called the Lady Pirates, and that's where Gretchen got her crew for the airfield invasion.

Gretchen had kept one child, Nadia, and Jessie started going over to baby-sit one night a week –bowling night. I didn't go, because the thought of seeing Gretchen made me sick. I kept thinking about the fact that I would've killed her to save myself. The opportunity to kill Mario presented itself first and I took it, but if it hadn't, I would've shot her to save myself. She had thanked me for saving her life, but I felt like a fraud for not setting her straight. I tried to explain all this to Jessie but she told me I wound up doing the right thing and that was what counted.

As far as I knew the Afghan Air-Bridge continued to operate. None of us were naive enough to think that we had brought it down. I had failed to get any evidence that could be used to prove human trafficking. Junior Pierson retreated to his place in Everett. Paranoia sometimes overwhelmed me in the days after the incident, and it was centered around fears of Junior Pierson coming after Jessie and me. When I actually thought about it, it seemed unlikely that he knew the full extent of our involvement, but rational thought couldn't overcome the fear.

It was about two months later when Jessie woke me up at three forty five in the morning, and told me to get dressed. I asked her why, and she said it was a surprise, and that I had to get dressed and take her to the PFPFP. She'd rolled two joints and packed sandwiches and water bottles in a bag. I kept asking what was going on, but she told me it was a surprise and that I would like it.

"Because I love surprises so much?"

"Just get your ass out of bed and come on." She said. It was about a quarter after four when we arrived at the PFPFP. The roadside dinosaurs looked creepy all lit up from underneath in the dark. I parked by the triceratops and we went into the shop, with Jessie locking the door behind us. The chimps were all asleep when we went through their enclosure -I followed her up the hill.

"Please tell me there's a blowjob at the top of this hill."

"Come on. Just trust me." She said. We got to the last dinosaur exhibit on the tour, the one with the T-rexes fighting, and walked around the small building to the back. There was an old wooden ladder leaning against the back wall. "Go on." She said.

I sighed and climbed the ladder. There were two folding chairs on the roof. Jessie came up after me. "Okay." I said. "Here I am on the roof. What now? What's the big deal?"

"It's a nice view up here." She said.

"Yeah, I'm sure it is, in the daytime, when you can see something."

"Just sit okay? Here." She got one of the chairs and turned it so it was facing off to the left of the building. "Sit right here and smoke a joint with me." She pulled the other chair over and sat.

I sighed and sat down. She lit one of the joints and handed it to me. I took a couple of hits and passed it back. She asked me what time it was and I got out my phone and looked. "Twenty after." I said. We passed the joint back and forth a couple of times. "Are you pregnant?" I asked.

"What? No... Why'd you ask that?"

"I don't know. I thought maybe we were up here to watch the sunrise, and that during that perfect, magical moment, you were going to tell me that we're having a kid."

"Would I be smoking if I were pregnant?"

"Yeah, probably." I said. She punched me in the arm and took the joint from me.

"No, I'm not pregnant." She inhaled.

"Because if we're here to see the sunrise, I was gonna point out that we're facing west." I took it back from her and took another hit. I was starting to feel loose in my elbows and thick in my tongue. "That's it for me." I said passing it back to her. "That shit is strong."

"You're a lightweight." She said, taking it from me. "What time is it?"

"Again? What the fuck?" I got out my phone and looked. "Four twenty seven." I took a water bottle out of the bag and sipped it. Jessie put out the joint and leaned forward in her chair as if she were waiting for something. "You're making me nervous." I said. "What's going on?"

"Just sit there for a few minutes okay?" She said. "Trust me. Let's just sit here for like five minutes more." I grunted. The sun was starting to come up and the landscape was slowly becoming visible around us. There was fog rising from the trees, and I could see Lakeview off to the right, a lush patch of green in an otherwise mostly brown scene. Beyond it was a big empty space on the horizon, which was the lake. I could only see a sliver of water from where I was. On the other side of the PFPFP's T-rex I could see Route 163 stretching out past Megapark! and all the way to the highway. I took a deep breath. There was a bird nearby that was chirping repeatedly in a strange way. I was slightly creeped out by it.

A light popped in the distance and I turned and tried to focus on where it came from. There was another, and another before I heard the sound. A low frequency thump came to my ears, followed closely by two more thumps. It was coming from Megapark! and I saw the tall roller coaster crashing down in a cloud of dust and smoke. There were more flashes, followed by a massive crashing sound and the tall water slides started falling too. I saw smoke coming off of the main gatehouse, and from the food court. There was a really big flash, and the whole arcade was suddenly on fire. The sound and smell of the fire came to us on the roof of the dinosaur exhibit. A huge plume of gray and black smoke was going into the air and it reminded me of videos I had seen of atomic bombs. "Oh fuck." I said.

Jessie was on her feet. "Yeah! Fuck you Pierson asshole!"

"Jess, what the fuck? Is that Gretchen? Is she doing that?"

"That's the Lady Pirates." She said. She turned back to the fire. "Burn that shit down!" She screamed.

I wasn't sure whether to celebrate or run. The fire was so big that it seemed like we could be in danger. It also occurred to me that if anyone saw us there, they would realize that we'd known this was coming. We'd even brought sandwiches. My car was sitting in the lot for anyone to see. I watched sparks fly and flames going higher. It was an epic bonfire by the lake. I was smiling and shaking uncontrollably at the same time. Jessie was laughing, which made me laugh too. I was gripping the arms of my chair tightly. There was nothing to say, it was too outrageous. I could hear sirens in the distance.