Page 46 of Exit Strategy

The next morningreminded me of the first time I had been with a woman. Everything seemed more vibrant. There was greater clarity, and a certain lightness of spirit. I had thought I was in love with her at the time, and maybe that was what made it different. It didn’t feel like this the mornings after when I had picked some woman up at a bar or off the set. Those mornings were tinged with something not quite regret, maybe a hint of annoyance. There had been no connection, just the fulfilling of some base biological urge.

But the grass seemed brighter and greener, and the birds seemed to sing a happier song. Part of that was where we were, the Great Smokey mountains, surrounded by green as far as I could see, almost like the trees were reaching up to engulf the sky. It was a welcome change from the hundreds and hundreds of miles of desert and badlands, and the near post-apocalyptic wasteland that had been crossing the Panhandle and Oklahoma. We couldn’t stay, as much as I longed to. I was down to only a few hundred dollars in my stash, and the cabin had been pricey, even during the off season. It was huge, not meant for a couple, but for a family, or a retreat for a group of friends. The place easily slept eight, ten if you were willing to use a pull-out sofa.

My cabin was so much smaller than this one, but that was okay.

Mine was off the grid and unregistered.It had power from a generator, and I had plans of getting some solar panels set up, but I had to find work and money for that. I had ended up losing that heroin cartel cash, which really, that was for the better.

Callie seemed in a much brighter mood as well. That might have something to do with the sex, it might also have had something to do with the showers the cabin had, steaming heat and solid pressure. Not like the various showers we used crossing the country. Few things are worse than hotel showers. No heat, no pressure, or the heat was so hard to dial in it was roast or freeze.

I carried our bags to the truck, and then hefted the locking gun cases from where I had hidden them. If worse came to worst, most of these were worth moderate to serious money. In California, they had been a liability. Several were outstandingly illegal, here they were a commodity. I could trade some of these even for a motorcycle, or a boat.

She was a little reluctant to leave the wooden fortress of the cabin, with its tall windows and its view of the river, and the distant mountains turning blue in the distance. It was really quite stunning, and if things worked out, a place that I would have to come visit again.

“There are some people I know in Indigo City who can help us out,” I said as we traded the unpaved roads and county roads of the mountains for the main interstate heading east. I had tried to avoid these roads, but here it was nearly impossible.

“What can they do?” she asked.

“Cash in some of my crypto and find out what’s been going on back west. You haven’t been on the news, nor on social media. Rex and his people aren’t visibly looking for you.”

“That’s good then, right?”

“Probably not. That just means they aren’t wanting to get the police involved, or it’s more important for them to keep this out of the news,” I said.

“It should be obvious that I will be getting a marriage breakup.”

“A what?”

“A marriage breakup. I won’t be his wife after this,” she said.

“Divorce?”

“That’s the word, sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I smiled. “And I think that is a good idea. My friends might have some ideas about where we can turn to get you some protection. I’m sure that even with whatever prenup you had, you’ll be entitled to something, and it will be bad press for the New Eden poster boy to get a divorce.”

“There isn’t a prenup,” she said.

“That’s insane, and dumb on his part,” I said.

“Well, the Centre created false documents to make me appear older than I am. When I was married to Rex, I was still technically a minor, and anything I signed wouldn’t be legally binding in the state of California.”

“How old were you?”

“At the time the documents were falsified, I was five weeks away from sixteen.Nubile pussyhas an expiration date, you know? I was married on my sixteenth birthday.”

“That’s news to me, and I had no idea about Rex really playing the cradle robber, no offense.”

“None taken. My mother groomed me to basically be his child bride. The Centre has been talking about expanding into other countries, especially those with lower age of consent laws, so that they can get the pussy before it turns.”

“Is this some of that, what was his name, the guy with the island and the underage girls?” I asked.

“I can’t remember his name, but I do remember him. I met him once or twice at the Centre, and then at Arik’s afterparties. Do you know what the magic number is?”

“Am I going to be upset?” I asked.

“I would hope so, because if you weren’t, that would mean you were one of them, and since you helped me, you aren’t. The magic number is fourteen.”

“Fourteen?” I spat.

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