Hunter and Tiyana were holed up in their room using their computers to perform research. Hunter’s research wandered to Lyon. Lyon’s history. Lyon’s culture, Lyon’s nightlife, Lyon’s restaurants...
“The internet says that we are in the gastronomic capital of the world.” Hunter said.
“The world or France?” Tiyana replied.
“The world, at least according to one travel blogger.”
“Hunter, we have so much work to do.” Tiyana pleaded.
“Do we? Have you been doing anything other than staring at that article for the last three hours?”
Tiyana began to protest, then thought better of it, “I’ve read it three times already.”
“And you’re still staring at it because…”
She replied, “I might have missed something.”
“You have to take your mind off it. Think about something completely different. Let your subconscious go to work. Your conscious thought processes only use a little part of your brain. Your subconscious uses your full computing power and it processes while you do other things. Just let it work for a while and presto! You’ll have an epiphany, or I’ll have one. You don’t have to have all of them, you know.”
She smiled, “Hunter, that’s all quite speculative.”
“Doesn’t matter, I know it intuitively. What does matter is that you are getting nothing done right now and you have to eat.”
“I am hungry.”
“C’mon, get dressed. We’re going to try a bouchon. It’s the thing to do here.”
“Really, well, I’m glad someone’s research was fruitful today.”
Hunter laughed.
• • •
Later that evening, Hunter and Tiyana talked while dining on duck pâté and roast pork. While the war ravaged on, commerce did not stop. The restaurant’s attendance had dropped dramatically over the last couple of weeks.
Hunter was saying, “So, I see this woman and she’s sharing a couple cots with three kids. One of them has a fever, sweat is streaming down his face, he’s pallid, and she’s trying to feed a baby.”
“Was no one helping her?” Tiyana asked.
“It was pandemonium. You saw the lobby.”
“What about relief efforts? A medical tent, somewhere?”
“Maybe there was one, maybe there wasn’t. The hotel guy didn’t know. I didn’t know. She didn’t know.”
“I’m assuming you rode in on your white stallion and saved the day.”
Hunter sighed, “I wish I could have. What I did was not so poetic.”
“Ok, but you did something, right?”
“I got antibiotics, opened a line of credit at the local grocer, and called my dad. What else did I have time for?”
“Hunter, how is your father? Is he worried?”
“Probably, but he won’t let on. He’s reserved. Not like my mother.”
“Your family.” She said, shaking her head. “They’re like a secret society.”
Hunter laughed. “I suppose so.”
“What is your dad going to do?”
“Oh, he’ll take care of it. One of the foundations is making this a pet project. He’ll give it his personal attention. I just wonder.”
“Wonder what?”
“Well, I don’t know how bad it is everywhere. Just in Turin.”
“You can’t help everyone.”
“I know, but shouldn’t I help people as much as possible?”
This time Tiyana laughed. “You can’t be all things to all people. Deal with what is in front of you before worrying about what’s not.”
“Sometimes, it’s all in front of me.” Hunter said resignedly.
Tiyana nodded. “Don’t be like that. One thing at a time. Do your one thing zealously and confidently like I know you always do. Another will come along on its own, without you going out and finding it.”
“You’re right, as usual. My dad will get in touch with the right people, anyways. He always knows how to root out the info.”
“Your family is so close.”
“They hammer it into us. Family first, then your interests. It’s good. When I was younger, I wanted to go out and do something on my own. I wanted to be like John Christopher Price, my great great great great grandfather. I wanted be my own man, make my own path. It wasn’t until I was managing the digsite that I realized that no man is an island. Everyone who succeeds stands on someone’s shoulders. I just wanted to be a lone cowboy, becoming a legend with just my pistols and the shirt on my back.”
“But not anymore?” Tiyana asked.
“I rely on Hongo. I rely on you. I wouldn’t be anywhere without my dad, my family, all of the support. I had professors in school, classmates, business associates, friends, partners, clients, suppliers, and even sales reps. My family has connections. It takes the total package. It’s not enough to master a craft. You also have to be a leader, a salesman, and a politician on top of it all. It’s exhausting.”
“Is that how John Christopher Price did it?”
“It is, in fact. I didn’t understand that part of his story until later. He was a legendary businessman, but he wasn’t a reclusive genius. His real genius was in uniting people. He brought the Price family together, united their interests, set common goals, communicated, and made everyone work for each other rather than themselves. That’s how our family grew, as a family, not as individuals.”
“That’s not how my family grew.” Tiyana said. It was a bittersweet comment, but there was no bitterness in her voice.
Hunter took her hands in his, “You’re a part of my family now. The two of us, and someday more, are a family, but we are a part of a bigger group. Those bonds are important.”
Tiyana gave him a sly smile, “Someday more?”
Hunter’s eyes widened. “Of course.”
“And when do you think that day might be?” She asked.
“I don’t want to wait anymore.” Hunter said abruptly.
“What? Really?”
“We waited to get the digsite up and running, then we waited to let the ding situation play itself out, now we are waiting while we try to save the world. Okay, that last one might actually be a good reason to wait. But there are always going to be reasons. I’m just saying, ‘Let’s build a life around us. Let’s stop building us around life.’”
“Oh, John.”
“I’m sorry that I wrapped you up in all this. I lost track of priorities.”
“No, I wanted this as much as you.”
“I know.”
• • •
Tiyana woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. She put on a pot of coffee and began getting dressed. She started working before the automatic drip finished. After it finished, she let it sit so long that it got cold. Eventually, she walked over the pot and poured a cup. She started to put it in the microwave and then realized that she did not need it. She felt great. She really did not need the caffeine that morning.
“Hrmm.” Tiyana mumbled.
She looked at the calendar on her phone.
“One, two, three, four, five, six... hrmmm.”
She went back to work, but her mind drifted.
“Let’s stop building us around life.”
• • •
Around noon, Tiyana walked down to the hotel’s restaurant to meet Hunter, Virgil, and Hongo. She was determined to talk to Hunter.
“Hunter, I have to talk to you.” She said.
“Okay.” He turned toward her, away from the group.
“I’m late.”
He looked at his watch, “Don’t worry about it. We haven’t even ordered yet.”
“No Hunter, that’s not what I meant.” She tilted her head and widened her eyes.
She saw absolutely no understanding in Hunter’s face.
He tried to respond, “Okay, well, I’m sure that Hongo and Virgil are not offended...” Hunter trailed off and the look on his face changed. “Turn that up!” He shouted.
Someone turned up the television that was playing at the bar.
“There have been explosions at the Cruas Nuclear Power Station in France along the Rhône River. Our initial reports are now being confirmed. Ladies and gentlemen, we have confirmation. Explosions occurred near the Cruas Nuclear Power Station. We are receiving word now. The explosions were part of a firefight. A military caravan with Allied Forces markings was moving west toward the station. The caravan met a contingent of French artillery. A firefight ensued between the army and the caravan. We are getting word that the caravan was defeated.”
“The Cruas.” Tiyana said.
“Not the one we guessed.” Hunter replied.
“It sounds like it is over.” Hongo added.
The reporter came back on, “We go live to our man on the scene. Lane, what can you see?”
The reporter replied, “I’m at a blockage just minutes from the scene. I can see wreckage, Alfred. There are burn marks on husks that used to be tanks and artillery carriers. The ground is scorched. It appears that the caravan made it through the outer walls and into the courtyard. I am looking through the chain-link fence and I see burned-out vehicles. There are also bodies. Alfred, I do not think they are human.”
Alfred came back on, “Lane, was this a ghoul attack?”
“Alfred, I am going to say yes. I believe it was.”
At that moment, a group of well-armed military men arrived and seized the reporter by the elbows. They had words in French on camera, and then the camera dropped.
“Alfred, are you still there? I am being escorted away from the fence. They do not want me to see what is in there.’
“Lane, what can you tell us?”
The camera jumbled around, sometimes showing Lane recalcitrantly letting himself be escorted away.
“The ghouls breached the outer walls and made it inside the complex. Many of them died. Alfred, I do not know how many. I do not know if they made it inside. There are lots of soldiers here. The area is getting thick with soldiers.”
The camera settled on a man in military fatigues.
He spoke to Lane in broken English. “This area is being quarantined. You will be allowed to continue to film from behind the blockade.”
Then Lane spoke into the camera, “Alfred, I will continue to report from the scene. I am being allowed to continue filming. I will update you with all new developments from ground zero.”
The screen returned to Alfred in the sleek, modern newsroom. “There you have it ladies and gentlemen. You saw it first here on IGB. We are getting additional reports. Only a few hours ago, there was an attack on the Maddalena Pass. Initial reports indicate that the attack was performed by the same caravan that attacked the Cruas. Wait. Wait. Okay. We are also receiving word from Allied Forces Public Relations. The reactor is safe. All hostiles were defeated. Repeat, the power plant is safe; all hostiles were defeated.”
“It’s over sweetheart.” Hunter said.
“Do you really think so?” Tiyana asked.
Hunter turned to look at Virgil and Hongo, and then responded, “No, not really.”
• • •
That afternoon, the quartet found an internet café. They paid through the teeth for four seats all afternoon and unlimited printing. They all printed every bit of news that they could find. Then, they met for dinner and debriefing.
“They think that the ghoul army took the Allied vehicles in the attack on Parma.” Hunter read.
“And retrofitted them with particle beam cannons from Genoa.” Hongo added.
“The blockade at the pass through the Alps didn’t stand a chance.” Tiyana said. “They even called in an airstrike and the jets were shot down.”
“Do you think that they really failed to take the reactor?” Hongo asked. “Or are they just saying that to placate the public?”
“I don’t think a few ghouls and Ghaelvord can do anything with that plant.” Tiyana said. “It’s very far from Genoa and they have no operations in France. Reactors are complex and they need a lot of trained staff to operate.”
“They have no operations that we know of.” Hunter added.
“The Chthonians are creatures of the underground.” Virgil said. “We stopped his attempt to tunnel, but he may have taken other measures.”
“Like what?” Tiyana asked.
Virgil just shrugged his lanky shoulders.
“Do you think he has a facility here in France already?” Tiyana asked him.
Virgil looked contemplative, “I do not think so. This attack seems desperate. It is uncharacteristic.”
“Well, Genoa hasn’t had power for weeks. He must be miserable.” Tiyana added.
“It was a close fight.” Hongo said.
His eyes were glued to an article that he had printed off earlier, but was just now reading.
“The French knew that the caravan was coming. They sent infantry. They brought artillery and mortar. I think that the attack on the border was a surprise, but they tracked the caravan’s progress to the reactor. They had a few hours to prepare their defenses.”
Hunter had his tablet computer out.
“Hold on. We need to turn the TV on, now!”
“What is it sweetheart?” Tiyana asked.
Hongo went for the television.
“They found his armor. Ghaelvord’s. It was in the wreckage at the plant. They found it inside one of the blown-up vehicles that breached the outer walls.”
“Uh oh.” Virgil said. “I think I understand the purpose of this attack now.”
“It’s not...” Tiyana started.
“He wants the Allies to think that he is dead.” Virgil ended. “He faked his own death.”