Ex-Communication: A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

least six or seven hundred thousand exes down there. Plus it’s wall-to-wall cars and tons of barricades the National Guard left behind. We wouldn’t get five blocks before we were overrun, even if we had Cerberus and all of Freedom’s soldiers with us.”
    “You could do some advance scouting and pave the way,” Billie said. “You’ve made it down to the toy district three years now for Christmas.”
    He nodded. “That’s why I know downtown’s a bad idea. It’s hell to grab a few trash bags full of Barbies and knockoff Transformers all on my own.”
    “One other issue,” said Jarvis, “if y’all don’t mind me bringing it up.”
    “Depends,” said St. George. He gestured up the street and the three of them walked north along the Big Wall.
    “Elections,” said the bearded man. “We still shooting for six weeks from tomorrow?”
    “Last I heard,” said the hero. “Why?”
    Jarvis shrugged. “Still time for someone to throw their name in the hat for mayor.”
    St. George shook his head. “I told you, not me.”
    “You should,” said Billie. “You’re the natural choice.”
    Jarvis nodded in agreement. “Everybody knows you,” he said. “Pretty much everyone likes you. Only ones who don’t still have to admit you’ve saved us all a dozen times over. You’re a natural, boss.”
    “Same holds for you and Billie,” the hero said.
    She snorted.
    “I’m serious,” he said. “Jarvis, you’d make a great mayor. Why aren’t you running?”
    “To tell the truth,” said the salt-and-pepper man, “I couldn’t stand the cut in pay. Got me a pretty extravagant lifestyle to keep up.” He raised his chin and straightened the lapel of his threadbare coat. “All kinda besides the point, though. If someone else don’t step up, it’s going to come down to Christian and Richard. And Richard just ain’t mean enough for politics here in the big city.”
    “What are you getting at?”
    “I’m just saying, if nothing changes in the race there’s a goodchance six weeks from now things are going to be real different around here. Might be best to get stuff done earlier than later, know what I mean?”
    St. George shook his head. “We can’t start making this an us-and-them thing,” he said. “It took us over a year to get the Seventeens integrated. Last thing we need is to start making up political parties and dividing everyone that way.”
    “People are already divided, boss,” Jarvis said. “Just the nature of the beast. Some folks want to go forward, some folks want to try to go back. There’s all the religious nuts, too.”
    “Hey,” said St. George. “Tolerance.”
    “Sorry, boss,” said Jarvis. “Seriously, though, have you listened to some of this A.D. stuff?”
    “It’s all classic Book of Revelation,” said Billie. She tipped her head at the Big Wall. “It’s not that out there, all things considered. Pretty easy to think we’re living in the end of days.”
    “I never knew you were religious,” said St. George.
    “I’m a Marine and I was in Afghanistan for a year and a half,” she said. “I’m religious enough, I just don’t push it on anyone. You know they all back Christian, right?”
    “The A.D. folks?” asked the hero. “Not too surprising. She’s been with them from the start, hasn’t she?”
    Billie nodded. “Someone told me she lost a niece when everything went to hell.”
    “I think I heard that once.”
    “Still,” said Jarvis, “y’all get my point. Still a lot of work to do and we ain’t quite the unified front we were a couple years ago.”
    “Yeah,” said St. George. “I was saying something about this the other night. Is it a good thing or a bad thing that we’ve gotten big enough for people to start splitting apart?”
    “What’d you decide?”
    “That we’d have to wait and see.” He shrugged. “Anything else?”
    Billie shook her head. “I was going to put together a weapons detail tonight, make sure everything’s good