THE ALEX FLETCHER BOXSET: Books 1-5 Page 5

  As they approached Harrison Road, a black Toyota Sienna minivan careened, tires squealing, onto Durham Road, barely making the turn.

  “What the hell?” Alex exclaimed, pushing Kate slightly off the sidewalk onto the grass, putting himself between the van and his wife. He quickly recognized the Perrys’ van as it approached, still moving way too fast for a neighborhood road. He saw Todd Perry behind the wheel of the van as it closed the distance.

  The van slowed as it pulled next to them, the window already down.

  “Can you believe this shit?” Todd yelled at them.

  “What’s going on?” Kate asked, sounding concerned.

  “I’ve been all over Portland, and it’s the same story. I guess you have to get up at five in the morning to get groceries now,” he said, barely below the level of screaming.

  “Yeah, I think from this point on, you might be right,” Alex said.

  “What am I supposed to do, camp out with my entire family? Four kids in a minivan, just so we can fill up a cart full of groceries? They have to figure something else out. Not everyone can afford to sit around Hannigan’s all day,” he replied, his tone calming slightly.

  “Todd, why don’t you have Susan give me a call? We can watch your kids for a few hours in the morning, and you can both head over really early. Take separate cars, get in line separately, then you can play a little catch up and get two loads of groceries. Don’t go together. They won’t let you grab two carts if they see you’re together,” Kate offered.

  “They? Who the fuck are they? Some punk ass kids working at Hannigan’s?” he said loudly.

  “No, the police. Nancy Cooper saw the cops broke up a couple trying to load two carts into one car.”

  “Unbelievable. It’s a police state already. Hey, sorry to bite your heads off. I’m just a little frustrated by all of this nonsense. I appreciate the offer to watch the kids. We may take you up on it. I’m gonna have Sue call her parents, maybe they can drive down from Augusta tonight and help us out. Thanks. I’ve been so pissed off, I can barely think straight,” he said, calm now.

  “Just keep us in mind, Todd. We’ve got nothing planned for tomorrow, so it’s really no big deal for one of us to head over and keep the kids company, or you can pack them up in their pajamas and herd them over to our house. I’ll feed them pancakes,” Alex offered.

  “Thanks, guys. I’ll run it by Susan.”

  “See ya, Todd,” Kate said.

  Todd accelerated the van to a reasonable speed and made a controlled turn toward his house. Alex and Kate started walking again.

  “Loose cannon alert,” Kate said. “Susan told me he had a short temper.”

  “Confirmed. Are you really gonna get up at the crack of dawn to watch their kids?”

  “Oh, I’m not getting up. You are.”

  “That’s what I thought.” He laughed.

  They walked holding hands. A chilly breeze sifted through the towering maple and oak trees sending a cascade of dried yellow, red and brown leaves to the ground.

  Chapter 10

  Alex sat alone in his office, surfing through several bookmarked websites. He skimmed several stories and then jumped over to the ISPAC Pandemic Map, which he kept minimized for quick access. The map of China showed expanded red and violet areas, growing inward from the coast all the way east to Fuzhou. Shanghai and Qingdao, two major coastal cities, sat in areas shaded red. The greater Beijing area was colored orange, with several small red dots indicating medium cluster outbreaks within the area. Placing the cursor over the China icon, he read:

  “China. Population 1,350,678,400. Massive outbreak. 820,000 reported cases. Concentrated WHO effort to contain outbreak unsuccessful. WHO teams status unknown due to communications blackout imposed by Chinese government. Uncontained.”

  He went back to the news articles. “Indonesia to allow full WHO and U.N. support…submits formal apology to U.N. for treatment of inspection teams…pleads for immediate assistance…deaths estimated at 73,000…over 2 million cases of Jakarta flu.”

  “More cases of Jakarta flu appearing in major European cities…London confirms several hundred cases…”

  “That’s it for me,” Alex announced, rising from the chair to check on the rest of his family.

  He really didn’t need to check on Ryan. His son never woke before 10 a.m. on weekends, but Emily was a different story. She usually got up at the same time on weekends as she did during the week, sometimes earlier. Alex peeked into both of their rooms. Ryan was buried in his covers, his dark hair barely poking out of the top of the blankets. He pushed Emily’s door open and walked a few feet into her room, peeking around the corner. She had tossed all of her covers off, but still looked solidly asleep. Both rooms were dark, with the shades pulled tight.

  Alex walked down the hallway to the master suite and looked over at his wife. Like Ryan, Kate was buried in covers, her long black hair spilling out from the top of the blankets onto her pillow. He could hear her breathing deeply. Unlike the kids’ rooms, the master bedroom was bathed in light. Kate liked to rise naturally with the sun, or at least she claimed to like it, but he couldn’t remember the last time she’d woken up within three hours of dawn, especially during the summer months, when the sun began to rise at four-thirty. He backtracked to the master bathroom and started the shower.

  ***

  As Alex poured pancake batter onto a non-stick frying pan, he heard someone walking down the stairs. By the creak of the stairs, he could tell immediately that it was Kate.

  “Good morning, my love. You’re right on time,” he said without turning around.

  She took the final step down onto the hardwood floor in front of the stairs before responding.

  “How did you know it wasn’t Ryan?”

  Alex sensed a trap. “I can just tell,” he said, not taking the bait.

  “All right…just as long as you’re not implying anything about my weight,” she said.

  “Nope. Everyone has their own unique signature coming down the stairs. Ryan sounds like he’s stumbling down after being shot. Emily takes three years to descend. I fly down the stairs, and you glide gracefully with a purpose,” he said, smugly.

  “Don’t push it,” she said, moving directly for the coffee maker. “Pancakes. Yummy. And the coffee is made. You’re my hero. How many times a week can we have pancakes with our current supplies?” she asked.

  He flipped the pancakes over and stepped away from the stove to give her a hug and a kiss. The warm, cozy smell of Sunday morning pancakes and coffee filled their sunny kitchen.

  “Do you mean if we go into quarantine, or in general? Because in general, I could eat them every morning, but in quarantine, we’re probably looking at no more than once a week,” he said, still holding her.

  “Maybe one of us should stand in line at the store—just buy pancake ingredients,” she replied.

  “Almost worth the risk,” he said, kissing her.

  He returned to the stove, taking the pancakes off the pan and placing them under tin foil on a large plate.

  “Actually, after today, I think we’re done visiting public spaces, or interacting with other people. Did you check the ISPAC map?” he asked, while pouring another batch of pancakes onto the frying pan. The oil around the edges of the pancakes sizzled when the batter hit the pan.

  “No, I just came straight down when I smelled the pancakes.”

  “They’ve named it the Jakarta flu, so I guess they’re fairly certain that the epicenter is in Jakarta. The Navy rescued a missing ISPAC team from Indonesian waters. Based on the flu casualty predictions I saw in one of the articles, I can understand why no one wanted them snooping around. The estimate I saw was two million cases.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Kate asked incredulously.

  “No. That’s why I think today is our last day out and about. The numbers are rising very rapidly here and abroad. It’s already out of control.”

  “Hey, I’m good with starting our quaranti
ne right now,” she said, taking a coffee mug down from the cabinet.

  “I think we should let them hang out with their friends today and then call it good. That way we can start the quarantine on a better note. Emily has a play date set up with Jessica, and Ryan is planning to invite Connor and Daniel over today. I think that should be fine.”

  “I don’t know…what if Jessica’s uncle visited them last night, after shopping at the Shale’s in Falmouth, right behind the wife of the guy, or the sister of the guy who’s in the hospital…”

  “I understand what you’re saying,” he assured Kate, “but I feel confident we’ll be fine letting her go over there. She can wash her hands a lot. It’ll be fine. Let both of them enjoy the day. It’s beautiful out,” he said, pointing out of the windows over the kitchen sink.

  “All right. I’ll talk to Elaine and make sure they wash their hands a lot. Maybe she’ll cancel the play date,” she suggested.

  “Maybe, but don’t count on it. Even if she does, Emily will find another. At least Jessica’s parents seem pretty responsible,” he said.

  “Yeah, I guess. Are some of the pancakes ready? I don’t feel like waiting another hour for the kids.”

  “Almost. If you set the table, I’ll pour a few more.”

  “Deal. Hey, did you see any cars in front of the Perrys’ this morning?” she asked, having just spotted the Sunday paper.

  “No, I checked on my way out for a run at about seven, then again an hour later. I walked out about ten minutes ago, pretending to check the mailbox and still nothing.”

  “What do you think they are doing?”

  “I don’t know, maybe they all went out shopping together,” he suggested weakly.

  “With four kids? I doubt it.”

  “Whatever it is, I hope they were able to get some supplies. If this thing continues, we could all be home without help for a very long time.”

  “Me too,” she said as she grabbed dishes and silverware.

  Alex glanced at Kate as she set the table. He loved this quiet time with Kate on the weekend. Soon Ryan and Emily would wake, sending the house into the low frenzy only kids could manufacture. Savouring the last few minutes of quiet, he sipped his strong coffee and thought again about how fortunate they were to have each other.

  Quarantine

  Chapter 11

  Alex looked away from the computer screen in his office, to watch Kate amble down the street. She stopped in front of the Carters’ house and walked up the driveway to pet their dog Kelso. Kelso enjoyed the full range of the half-acre lot, cut off from the rest of the world by an electric fence.

  Occasionally, Kelso managed to escape his electric prison, and inevitably wound up in the Fletchers’ backyard, lavished with Milk Bones and other treats. Sometimes, the kids just let him in the house to hang out. He’s convinced that Kate and the kids just might steal a dog if they didn’t get one of their own soon.

  When his mind drifted back into his office, Alex noticed Kate standing in their front yard, waving up at him and looking frustrated. Opening the window, he wondering how long she had been trying to get his attention.

  “Hey, honey. Nice out, huh?” he yelled through the screen.

  “Very nice. Another gift before the winter buries us. What were you staring at up there?”

  “Nothing, just thinking about something,” he said.

  “You must have been thinking really hard, you’ve been staring out of the window for over five minutes.”

  “Nothing much. I’m just tired.”

  “All right,” she said.

  She definitely didn’t buy it. I’ll get a PTSD lecture within the next twenty-four hours. Guaranteed. Kate started walking toward the mudroom, and he kept watching her. He loved her more than anything.

  Alex grabbed his “Checklists” folder and began thumbing through the contents. The folder held a few different checklists, specifically created for different emergencies or contingencies. He thumbed through them, seeing one for “Nor’easter” and another for “Coastal Flooding.” He finally found the “Pandemic” checklist.

  Before glancing at the checklist, he shook the computer mouse to jar his computer out of standby mode. The flat-screen monitor jumped to life and displayed a family picture taken on a beach in Mexico. He took a close look at the list.

  -Fill up oil tanks and propane. Need to do this anyway.

  -Fill up cars. Done.

  -Fill up all fuel canisters. Next time at gas station.

  -Inspect solar power system. Done.

  -Inspect stockpile and fill in any gaps. Done.

  -Test walkie-talkies. I’m sure they’re fine.

  -Test generator. I’m sure it works.

  -Withdraw all cash from checking and savings accounts. Let’s not get crazy.

  -Borrow from 401K to get maximum amount of cash. Overkill.

  -Trade non-retirement investments for gold-backed funds or bonds. Paranoia.

  -Contact schools. Done.

  Even though they were well prepared for the pandemic. Alex couldn’t shake the unrelevting feeling of doom. Glancing at the list one more time, he tried to push aside his feelings as normal, given the circumstances.

  ***

  Alex wandered down the stairs to find Kate pouring coffee into a mug. She looked up at him and smiled. He could hear the Morning News on the kitchen TV.

  “Good workout earlier?” she asked.

  “I actually went for a run again. It’s still pretty warm out. Hey, I have to hide in my office again for a teleconference at eight. This one should be really interesting.” He winced and gave Kate a quick kiss.

  “Have you communicated to Biosphere that you gave away all of your samples?” she asked with a weary look.

  “Not yet. I was thinking about hooking my computer back up on Tuesday. I may just do it today and get it over with. Ted’s going to flip out when he sees the drug sample inventory has been completely depleted. I wasn’t supposed to give all of those TerraFlu samples to Dr. Wright, but in this case, doing the right thing seemed more important than job security. Anything good on the Morning View?” he asked, looking up at the TV screen.

  “Not really. Still no word from the Chinese, our carriers are converging on the region, and Asia is crawling with the flu.”

  “Yeah, I checked. The numbers have skyrocketed, and Europe is exploding, too. It’s gonna be the same here in about a week,” he said and grabbed a tall glass from the cabinet above the coffeemaker.

  “That’s what they said. Not about the U.S. though,” she said.

  “They didn’t mention cases in the U.S.?”

  “Oh no, they definitely said over a thousand cases nationwide. Confirmed.”

  “That sounds conservative. The ISPAC estimates the number of cases in the U.S. could hit 20,000 by the end of the week, based on all of their variables,” Alex said.

  “20,000? Did they give their estimate for the Jakarta flu’s basic reproductive number?” she asked him, opening the refrigerator.

  “Yeah, initially they set it around four, but they took pains to mention that this number fluctuates hourly in their projections, and that it may turn out to be higher.”

  “Infectious about seven to ten…” her voice trailed off. Kate turned around from the open refrigerator and looked upward. Calculating. She responded to mathematical or statistical challenges like a deep-programmed Cold War mole, suddenly activated by a trigger phrase and trapped in a computational trance until released by the answer. Within a few seconds, she broke the spell and looked at Alex.

  “Based on four as an average, the U.S. will hit roughly a million cases around November 20th. If the case fatality rate is similar to what they are seeing in China, we could be looking at close to two hundred thousand deaths.”

  “Three weeks from now,” he added dryly. “The scope of this pandemic could be devastating to all of us. Let’s just hope we can keep our family safe.

  “I agree.”

  “Hey, did Ryan roll
down? I thought I heard him rummaging around down here earlier.”

  “Yeah, he was down here pouring some cereal. He forgot about our no school during a pandemic policy. He made a beeline back up to his room when I reminded him.” She laughed, nodding at the half-filled cereal bowl.

  “I don’t think we’ll get much resistance from him right now. Emily on the other hand…I don’t know,” he said.

  “She can be pretty tough to deal with.”

  He smirked. “I wonder where she gets that from?”

  “That’s why you love me so much,” she countered, bending over to pull the toaster out of a drawer in the island.

  “Among other things,” he said and grabbed her from behind, pressing his body against hers.

  “You bad boy. Why are you always so frisky in the kitchen?” Kate stood up and nervously looked over at the stairs.

  “Probably because you bend over a lot in the kitchen. I can’t help it.”

  “Yeah, well, you better make sure the kids don’t see you. I don’t feel like explaining it to either of them, especially Ryan.”

  “No kidding,” he agreed.

  “So, what’s the plan for today?” she asked, breaking their embrace.

  “Some breakfast, teleconference, then I was thinking maybe we could all take a bike ride to the beach. Get everyone out of the house,” Alex said.

  “Sounds nice.”

  “We should make the best of the weather. Some Canadian air is coming our way toward the end of the week, and then another storm. The extended summer party is officially over.”

  ***

  Alex sat in his office, checking his personal email, a Bluetooth earpiece resting in his right ear blaring intolerably optimistic music, as he waited for the rest of his sales district to join the teleconference. He heard a double beep, which indicated that someone had joined. He thought he heard Dave from Portsmouth mumble something.

  “Is that you, Dave? It’s Alex.”

  “Yours truly,” Dave replied.

  “Hi, Alex. How are things up in Portland?” asked Karen, joining the teleconference.