The Jakarta Pandemic Read online

  After several minutes of mindlessly tapping the steering wheel, he decided that he didn’t need to sit in traffic any longer, especially since he wasn’t part of the Hannigan’s rush. The police cruiser sat at the Copley Road intersection, which could be used as a detour to Route One, and he was sure he could talk his way through to the turnoff. He pulled his car out into the oncoming lane and started to slowly roll toward the cruiser at the intersection. He now saw that the cruiser was not actually blocking the intersection, and that its occupant was standing at the far end of the intersection talking with the driver of a gray sedan. The police officer detected Alex’s car and immediately turned in his direction.

  I hope this guy’s not too pissed off today.

  As he continued to move past the cars to his right, a black Suburban lurched out from the line of cars to block his path. Jesus! Caught off guard, he jammed his foot down on the brake, bringing his own vehicle to an immediate stop about five feet from the enormous truck. His smartphone flew off the front passenger seat to the floor of the car, and he felt the contents of the cargo area shift and hit the back of his seat. The Suburban was positioned at a forty-five degree angle to his car, blocking most of the oncoming lane. The front driver window opened, and Alex opened his own to apologize to the driver and explain what he was doing.

  A young woman with blonde hair, possibly in her early thirties, leaned her head out of the window and screamed at him. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going? Get back in line and wait like everyone else.”

  He heard a similar sentiment from a few of the other cars to his right. A scowling man in a small black sedan right next to him was waving emphatically and yelling, but he had no intention of lowering his passenger window to hear the tirade.

  He addressed the woman in the suburban with a loud authoritative voice. “I’m not going to Hannigan’s. I’m turning left at Copley. Nice mouth.”

  “I don’t give a shit where you think you’re going. You won’t have any luck getting in from that direction either. I’ve been dealing with this for nearly two hours, so back off.”

  She pulled her head into the car momentarily to yell into the tinted darkness behind her. “I told you all to shut up. We’ll get there when we get there.”

  Mom of the year.

  He felt his adrenaline surge; he wanted to escalate the argument.

  Calm down. Nothing to gain from it.

  She put her head back out as the police officer appeared in front of her truck. Alex could hear him tell her to roll up her window and get back to the other side of the road. He walked up to Alex’s window.

  “I’m really sorry, Officer, I just wanted to get to the intersection so I could take a detour and get home. I’m sorry I caused a little stir.”

  “Not a problem. There’s been a run on the Hannigan’s. Started around seven this morning and has only gotten worse. Wait until that lady moves her truck, and continue to the intersection. Make sure you take a left. There’s no way to get through to Route One anyway, and I can tell you for a fact that nobody will let you through the line to try it. It’s getting ugly out here. Hannigan’s ran dry within a couple of hours, but there’s a rumor that they’re dispatching some more trucks today. That’s what everyone’s waiting for. Wishful thinking if you ask me.”

  “Thanks Officer…Patrick,” he said, glancing at the officer’s name badge. “Good luck today. Looks like you might need it.”

  “You said it. It’s going to be a long one. All shifts are working. You better get moving. Semper Fi.”

  “Yeah, Semper Fi,” Alex replied, having forgotten about the U.S. Marine Corps sticker affixed to his rear left passenger window.

  No wonder he didn’t reach in and throttle me for being stupid.

  He moved past the black Suburban and slowly approached the intersection. A few more cars angrily honked at him, until he turned left. He gave Officer Patrick a “thumbs up” as he completed the turn.

  Pretty soon, you’re going to need more than luck, Officer. You’re going to need riot gear.

  Alex rinsed his plate in the sink and gingerly set it down on top of a small pile of precariously balanced dishes in the sink basin.

  “Feel free to put that in the dishwasher,” Kate said from an unseen location in the great room.

  “The kids didn’t,” he shot back.

  “Do I even need to dignify that with a response?”

  “Oz has spoken,” he said, opening the dishwasher, which was jam-packed with clean dishes. “Son of a…”

  “Oh, is the dishwasher clean?” she said, and he detected an antagonistic tone in her voice.

  “One of these days, Alice. One of these days,” he mumbled.

  “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

  “I was just commenting on what a delightful surprise it is to discover the dishwasher full, and ready to be emptied. A dream come true.”

  “This particular dream comes true for me so often, I decided it would be selfish of me not to share it with you today.”

  “Thank you so very much for your consideration. Anyway, I’ll take care of it after I talk to my parents,” he said and sat down at the kitchen island.

  “You must really not want to empty the dishwasher.”

  “Funny,” he said and picked up the cordless phone.

  “Not in here, please. I’d like to unwind without you pacing around the house all stressed out.”

  “Not a problem. Hey, can you call Sam on your cell and make sure that the kids don’t stray over to the McDaniels’? Matt and Jamie work in the schools, and I would just feel better if we kept a little separation from them. For now at least,” he said.

  “Can’t you call?” she asked.

  “I don’t like making calls like that. You’re better at these touchy situations,” he replied, slinking away toward the stairs.

  “Better at the dirty work, you mean,” she grumbled, and he heard her get up from the couch. “I’ll take a walk over to the Walkers’. I could use some sun. Have fun on your call.”

  “Oh, I’m sure it will be a blast. Thanks, hon,” he said and vanished up the stairs.

  Settling into his office chair, he dialed his parents’ home number; his mother answered.

  “Hey, Mom, what are you guys up to?”

  “Well, your dad just got back from the grocery store. Lucky he got there earlier in the morning. He said there was a line of cars stretching back something like two miles when he drove home. One of your dad’s golf buddies was over near the Dunkin’ Donuts and saw the mob start to form at Albertsons. Thankfully, he called your dad.”

  “Same thing is happening here. I just drove by a line that was nearly a mile long.”

  “This is insane, Alex. I still don’t see why everyone is so riled up right now. We watched the news last night, and they said that the flu was unlikely to get past immigration authorities in great enough numbers to drive a crisis.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t hear this on your SPOT news?”

  “SPOT news is fine. This was a senior official from DHS, not some unemployed expert from one of the other networks. This came right from the source.”

  “I know it’s fine, Mom, but not all of the networks are saying the same thing. Anyways, I’m glad you guys got to the store. You should get more food if you can. Where’s Dad now?”

  “He ran out to Home Depot. He just called and said that it was mobbed, but not as bad as Albertsons.”

  “Mom, you guys should consider coming out here if things get really bad. Regardless of what you hear on TV, I don’t think the government will be able to contain this on any level. The head of Maine Medical Center’s infectious disease department agrees.”

  “Yeah, but the DHS guy last night said that they were keeping tabs on everyone that comes into the country, even if they don’t show symptoms,” she replied.

  “Do you really believe they can pull that off? What about the hundreds of people they come in contact with within the first few hours of
arrival? Are they going to investigate all of them, too? This isn’t just coming at us from Asia anymore. It’s global. Any passenger, on any plane from anywhere in the world could be infected.”

  “Well, there’s only so much that can be done, and at a certain point, you just have to deal with it.”

  Throw the towel in, Mom.

  “I agree, that’s why you two need to take a trip to see your grandkids. If the situation out there deteriorates, you’ll be in the best place to weather the storm. You still have the TerraFlu that I sent, right?”

  “Oh yes, it’s still in the upstairs bathroom closet. We don’t need to take that yet, do we?”

  I think I’ve been over this ten times with them.

  “No, not yet, Mom. If you experience flu-like symptoms, then you should start taking it. Fever, headache, exhaustion, congestion. I’m going to send you an email with a self-assessment guide. You won’t remember all of this.”

  “Sounds good. How are the kids doing?”

  She’s not even listening.

  “You really should ask them yourself, like within the next few days,” he chided, and then relented. “They’re doing great. Ryan is having an amazing cross-country season. He can almost outpace me on runs, and he’s probably the fastest sixth or seventh grader on the team. Emily is in the middle of the fall soccer season, and she wants to start running like Ryan. Between the two of them, we’re being pulled in every direction.”

  “What does Kate think about all this flu stuff?”

  What?

  “Does she think you’re overreacting, too? She’s been the voice of reason in the family since you got back from Iraq. I still think the war made you a little paranoid. Sorry to say it, but it’s true.”

  “Thanks for the psych eval, Mom, I’ll pass it along to the doctors. And for the record, she’s more worried than I am,” Alex said.

  “Well, she probably doesn’t want to upset you.”

  What does that mean?

  “Really, Mom, you guys should consider coming out. Make it your annual trip. If nothing happens in the next few weeks or so, you can go home having enjoyed the kids and one of the best times of the year to visit Maine. The leaves are turning, and the weather’s been great. Lodging is free, and we can take a couple of trips up north to check out the colors.”

  “I’ll talk to your dad about it again. If things get really bad, we’ll seriously think about it. I don’t think your brother will consider it, though.”

  “Who said he was invited? Just kidding, Mom. Hey, don’t let him make the decision for you. He chose to work nearly two hours away in Denver, and Karla isn’t exactly helpless.”

  Well, she’s close to helpless.

  “Things are hectic for them. They’re both extremely busy with their jobs, and the kids are busy with sports and school activities.”

  “What do you think we have going on over here?” Alex said.

  “If you guys were closer, we’d help you too.”

  “I think Danny is a little too focused on a big salary, and way too dependent on your support. I can think of other terms for it, but I promised Kate I wouldn’t bitch about it with you guys. Anyway, I can feel my blood pressure skyrocketing. Bottom line, they can deal with their own kids for a couple weeks without your help.”

  “We’ll see how things go. I’m willing to bet this whole thing will clear up in a few weeks, just like the swine flu. A trip sounds nice, but…”

  “I know. Danny and Karla need more time to figure out how to take care of their own kids. Sorry. I promised I wouldn’t. Anyway, just don’t wait too long, Mom. I think the situation has the potential to deteriorate very quickly. Think about it and let me know. You guys are always welcome out here, and so are my brother and his family. Love you guys.”

  “Love you too, Alex. Give Kate and the kids a hug for me.”

  “Will do, Mom,” he replied and hung up the phone.

  They aren’t taking any of this seriously.

  Alex was sweating profusely. In just under one hour, he had hauled roughly one-third of their firewood into the garage. Two cords of firewood were dumped on their driveway in late August, and with the reluctant help of his son, he’d finished stacking the wood along the outside back wall of the garage by the middle of September.

  Sometimes I wish I was a hard core procrastinator.

  He grabbed another oversized stack of wood and started the grueling trek around the side of the garage. As soon as he cleared the rear corner of the garage, he saw Charles Thornton walking over from his house across the street. He picked up the pace, hoping to disappear into the garage bay before the man arrived.

  Alex had made a practice of tactfully avoiding Charlie Thornton as much as possible. He had learned the hard way that any conversation lasting more than three minutes with Charlie would inevitably shift to the politics of hunting, and the liberal conspiracy to deny his children the right to enjoy a tradition on which this nation was founded.

  He approached the front corner of the garage and looked up at Charlie, who was clearly headed over to talk to him.

  Unavoidable. God damn it.

  Alex entered the garage bay and placed the wood on a neat stack along the outside wall of the garage, furthest away from the mudroom door.

  Two cords are going to jam this garage shut.

  Charles was halfway there, just as Alex emerged from the garage.

  “Hey, Charles, not tromping around the woods today?” Alex asked, wiping his forehead.

  “Shit, I wish. Linda’s still at the office, trying to unscrew the temp situation at National Semi. Three of them walked off the job yesterday, unannounced. I still have no idea why, but if we don’t get some replacements in there by Monday, we could lose our contract with them. We have at least thirty floating around there.

  “Anyway, we heard about the crowds at the stores, so I took off to try and get some grocery shopping done. I started over at Sam’s Club. Forget it. I couldn’t even get close to the place. Same story at Hannigan’s and Shale’s. Did you manage to get to any of these stores today? Linda and I have been so busy at the office that we never made our weekly shopping run. Our house is empty. Looks like we’re eating out tonight.”

  Like every night?

  “Yeah, you and the rest of the town. I couldn’t get near Hannigan’s this morning. Drove by around eleven, and the line was over a mile long just to get into the parking lot. That’s just in one direction. We have enough stuff on hand for now,” Alex said uncomfortably.

  “I heard they closed all of the Hannigan stores in the area. Picked clean by ten. I’m worried about getting my dad’s meds. They should at least keep the pharmacy open at Hannigan’s. All I need are some refills.”

  “You should ask Greg Murray about that. His wife might be able to hook you up. She’s a pharmacist over at the Scarborough Hannigan’s.”

  Sorry, Greg.

  “That’s right. Do you know if they’re home?”

  “Carolyn might be home right now if the store is closed.”

  “I’ll have to check. So why are you stacking your wood inside the garage. Don’t you normally keep it out back?” he asked.

  What dragged you all the way over here, Charlie?

  “Well, ever since we put in the wood-burning stove, we make a lot more trips to get wood. Kate hates going outside to grab the wood, so I figured if it was inside the garage, she’d keep the fire going and quit turning up the thermostat.”

  Outright lie.

  “You gonna move it all inside?” Charlie asked.

  “I don’t think so. We won’t go through two cords this winter. Barely burned through one last year. But who knows what the boss will want,” Alex said.

  “Wives. Give them whatever they want, right? Well, I gotta get back to the house and figure out dinner. Probably need a reservation to get in somewhere tonight. Hey, if I can’t get into a restaurant, you might hear the thunder of one of my rifles. I’ve seen fresh signs of deer in the woods back by the park
.”

  A little more than three minutes this time.

  “No worries here. I’ve been on the receiving end of blasts that could make your ears bleed.”

  Or tear your limbs off.

  “I’ll bet. You ever do any sniping? That’s the ultimate hunting in my book.”

  Is he serious?

  “No, but we routinely had snipers assigned to our battalion. They didn’t seem to enjoy their job much.”

  “Hell, I’d give anything to trade places with them for a few hours.”

  “I don’t know. Nothing out there shoots back,” Alex said and glanced toward the trees north of the neighborhood.

  They both looked at each other for a second, and Alex felt like he was being sized up.

  “Yeah, maybe not. Anyway, have a good night, Alex. I’ll catch you later,” Charlie said and started walking back down the driveway.

  “You too, Charlie.”

  He returned to the wood stacked behind the garage.

  Definitely gonna keep an eye on Private Pyle over there.

  **

  Alex stepped out onto the mudroom stoop and looked around for Kate. He didn’t see her in the front yard, so he headed down the driveway and spotted her four houses down, petting a chocolate lab in the Coopers’ driveway. He approached Kate and leaned down to pet the Coopers’ dog, Max, who wiggled and squirmed his way over to Alex, stopping short to roll over onto his back. Kate stood upright as he rubbed Max’s chest.

  “Very good boy. Yes, you are. Any sign of Paul and Nancy?” he asked, without looking up at Kate.

  Kate leaned in and rubbed Max’s neck. “No. I thought I saw their car drive by our house on the way out…maybe an hour ago?”

  Alex stood up and took in the trees, his eyes straining in the direction of the Thorntons’, without turning his head. “Let’s get rolling before we attract some unwanted attention,” he remarked, nodding toward Charlie’s house.

  Kate looked over at the Thorntons’.

  “Jesus Christ. Don’t look!” he whispered forcefully.

  “What are you, in third grade? None of their cars are out, and you know they never park in the garage.”