After Oil Read online

  This, again, was not actually anywhere near downtown Sudbury. Derek and Terrence glanced surreptitiously at each other.

  “Fishy,” mentioned Jeremy.

  “Very,” agreed Terrence. “It’s not the flimsy excuse, it’s the lack of central intelligence. The reasons should have matched exactly.”

  “What do you think it is?” asked Marissa.

  “Don’t know. And I don’t know what to do about it either,’’ answered Terrence as the group moved the groceries into the kitchen.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Despite wearing a seat belt, Russell head still hit the driver’s side window. Dazed to the point of seeing stars, Russell took a moment to catch his breath. He willed the ringing in his ears to dissipate.

  And then he swore vehemently, silently. Not that it mattered one way or the other how much he bit his tongue.

  There was no one else to hear him.

  Stupid rookie mistake… he thought as he gingerly climbed out of the SUV and back up to the road, surveying the situation. There is no way I can get that damn truck out of the ditch myself.

  He pulled out his cell phone, found the number for the roadside assistant he had paid for when he rented the SUV, and dialed. Moments later, he stared down at the smartphone, his eyebrows lifting. He looked around, eyes scanning for another car on the road, or even a house close by.

  Still nothing.

  “What do you mean, no network access?!” he asked the device as he stared at it again. “I’m not that far into the boonies.”

  He glared harder at the SUV as if he could lift it out by mind power alone and put it back on the road. Naturally, that didn’t happen. With a frustrated sigh at himself, Russell realized he was stuck somewhere just outside of Sudbury proper with no shelter and no help.

  Gingerly picking his way back to the truck, he pulled out one of his bags—one with a few nifty items that would hopefully make life a bit easier. Especially if he had to beg shelter from a stranger.

  Assuming I can even find a stranger, he thought, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth to prevent the howl from escaping. No other cars, no houses that I can see, and no signal.

  He climbed back up to the road to look around.

  He could just barely make out a few houses on the lake itself. Knowing that the incline was not steep, but that he risked breaking his neck to climb down it.

  Then again, the snow drifts could have been hiding something worse under their surface. He just had no way of knowing, not without risking it.

  Rather than die of hypothermia, he decided to risk the embarrassment of a tumble.

  Soon he was down on the back road that led to the houses on the shore of the small lake, thankful the slope was less steep than it had appeared.

  The first house was completely deserted. It was clear someone did live there but they had left days earlier.

  Russell moved to the next home and noted that it, too, was a deserted house. Looking down the road to the last house, he could also see it was dark. There was an old-fashioned chimney, but no smoke rose from it. The first two were the same. With a sigh, Russell knew he had no choice.

  He had to break into one of these houses.

  There was just no waiting for someone to come home. Not that they could reach their house with the weather this temperamental. There was no point hoping, if they did come home, that they would feel merciful enough to let him use their phone or stay until things cleared up even if they did.

  He walked back to the first house, figuring that at least it would give him clear view of the highway if a plow or tow truck drove by.

  The door was a solid metal door with small windows set into it. With a sigh, he checked around the wooden door trim to make sure the owner had not left a key hidden somewhere. Russell checked everywhere around the sparsely decorated entry. This search left him with nothing but a few splinters for his trouble.

  With a sigh, he decided to move to the next house.

  Breaking a window would cause a draft that would be difficult to plug up, and losing heat was no option.

  The next few houses were locked tightly and their windows—being modern—were burglar proof. There were other houses on across the lake, but that meant a risky walk across the ice to get them. It was not a long walk across the lake but the houses were huge secured against intrusion.

  He was familiar enough with the building code to know just how difficult it would be to get into them.

  Except one.

  The driveway was shoveled clean, the interlocking bricks salted and sanded. With the snow still falling enough to bury roads and paths in a matter of hours it was obvious someone was here.

  Russell walked up the driveway, shaking off the snow and trying to ignore the vaguely numb feeling in one of his toes. As he came around the corner, and stopped dead at the sight of the Ontario Provincial Police issue SUV.

  “Is there something I can do for you?” someone asked, and Russell whirled to face the woman—immediately noticing the jacket and badge.

  “I didn’t mean to alarm you. I'm just glad to see you. I came from up there,” he added as he pointed towards the highway and her gaze followed where he pointed.

  “You came from the bypass?” she asked incredulously. “Through the closed roads… no one is allowed in or out of Sudbury and you came from there? How’d you avoid the military?”

  “What? What do you mean?” he asked.

  “Where did you come from?” she asked.

  “Whitefish… Panache Lake to be exact,” he answered.

  “In this weather and those roads?” she asked, her surprise clear. “I have to hear this… why?”

  “Visiting family before I head back to Toronto…” And then he clued into what she actually meant. “Oh, you mean why today. Well, I have family out at Panache Lake, as well as near the Four Corners. I have an elderly uncle and aunt there … figured I’d stay close to them at a hotel instead of out in Whitefish. I was driving back when my truck slid off the road and into the ditch. I don’t suppose you could call me a tow? My cell isn’t working.”

  “Nothing is,” she answered and then moved out of the way. “Come inside and warm up.”

  He followed her in as the cold began biting into his joints saying gratefully, “Thanks, it’s getting colder.”

  “So, you’re from Toronto?” she asked blandly.

  “Yeah, was driving back down tomorrow,” he answered.

  She shook her head and pointed out, “You picked a bad time to be between places.”

  He followed her in and realised they were not alone For a long moment, he stood there in confusion. “What’s going on here?” he asked.

  “No idea,” answered the eldest of them.

  It was the officer who had greeted him who answered the question, her voice matter of fact and quiet, “As far as we know the power is out, communications are out… we’re in a complete blackout.”

  “Jesus,” murmured Russell.

  “You can say that again,” she answered. “So, we answered your question—what about answering mine?”

  “I’m Russell… Russell Wither.” He held out his hand and she shook it, with a small smile on her face. “As I said, I’m from Toronto and the rest of my family is still there. My plan was to stay one last night here and head back down in time for Christmas.”

  “I’d ask if you were in any way related to Daniel Wither, but I can see the resemblance,” she said. “Adrienne Constantapoulos, and these are my parents.”

  “Nice to meet you and thank you for letting me warm up,” he nodded to them.

  “Well, are you going to make him stand there or are you going to let him get his wet clothing off?” asked the older woman, undoubtedly Adrienne’s mother.

  “I left my luggage in the truck... which is back up on the highway,” he pointed out.

  “You look about my size,” said Mr. Constantapoulos. “I'll let you borrow something of mine until we can get up there or until the phones come back on.”<
br />
  * * * * *

  “Do you have any idea where we can go?” asked Fitz as soon as they were down the fire escape.

  “If we can get to the police tower I’m pretty sure we’d find help there,” said Victoria, looking at Daniel as she did.

  “I have to agree on that,” he answered, a small grin brightening his face but the smile vanished seconds later. “I have a feeling that—”

  “You, stop!” came a shout.

  Victoria froze, and Daniel breathed a soft, “Dammit.”

  Fitz looked at the two of them as she edged away. Daniel stared at her. “What are you doing?” he hissed.

  “I’ll lead them off your trail,” she whispered back, and when Daniel shook his head. “Look, I can take care of myself. No need for a man to do it for me… remember how I got my nickname.”

  With that she was gone before he could respond.

  “Stop! Dammit, I said stop!” yelled the soldier as her voice echoed off the cement walls and what few cars remained in the underground lot.

  Daniel pushed Victoria ahead of him, and then around the corner in the opposite direction. She looked at him in askance and he held his index finger to his lips.

  The sound of booted footsteps clattered and echoed making it difficult for Daniel to pick out exactly where they were. It hardly mattered as the two soldiers chasing Fitz went past the blind corner he had pushed Victoria and himself into. He felt her grasp his elbow and he looked over at her.

  In a glance, he knew what she was asking.

  Was it safe? Were those two chasing Fitz now off their trail?

  He honestly had no idea. Daniel was still having trouble reconciling his day and it felt like some kind of dream gone completely wrong.

  He waited a few moments and nodded to her that it was clear now. She licked her lips and he followed her further into the rat’s maze under city hall and through another tunnel that led to the police tower.

  Unfortunately, the fenced area prevented them access but there were far more cars to hide between. He knew his own cruiser sat nearby and he knew that there would be some problem if he poked his head up. The two soldiers sweeping the underground garage could spot them and not keep chasing Fitz.

  He slid down and crouched by the wheel well with a sigh while looking over at the mayor.

  She’d have no issue dodging either one, Daniel thought, and this brought a grin back to his face. They keep giving away their own position.

  The underground lot was one large open space, with the obvious need of support pillars which were evenly spaced throughout. It was open enough for the soldiers to easily see each other and use hand signals for communication. If Daniel needed to tell Victoria anything outside of using hand signals, this worked both ways.

  He looked behind him, and past her face to her feet. She’s still wearing her heels. Heels had a tendency to click on any hard surface. Although he did not remember hearing the telltale clatter of her heels on either the cement down here or the tile on the floors of City Hall above them.

  They darted to the next car as the voices moved farther away and into the other part of the garage.

  Daniel pulled Victoria around the car.

  The fenced area in the underground parking garage was in sight. Well, we made to the police tower… now is anyone home? Daniel wondered as he risked one last glance back at his own car before turning his head to look up, out the ramp and at the street outside. Wouldn’t matter. There’s too much snow for me to drive through now.

  We’re stuck here.

  Daniel moved closer to the fenced area, spotting what he hoped was a closed-circuit camera. One part of him dreaded the thought. If this feed went up to the main security desk, then Harnet would know where they were. But, considering the location within the fenced in area and that it was trained on the gate he suspected that it was instead fed up into the police tower and their own people watched over it.

  He just hoped there was someone left to watch it or he would be pulling Victoria—who was not prepared at all for the outdoors and already shivering with the cold in the garage—out into the blizzard blanketing the city.

  Creeping into the visual range of the camera, he took out his badge and identification and held it up so it could be seen.

  Minutes went by, and Daniel shook his head before he motioned for Victoria to join him. For the love of God, if someone is watching, please just open the gate, he silently prayed.

  He had no idea if it was the sight of her or if someone just happened to figure out he was there, but the gate began to move. Daniel winced as the creaking, as part of it dragged on the cement, echoed in the garage.

  It stopped then, leaving enough of a gap for the two of them to squeeze through. After they were through, the gate groaned as it reversed its motion and slid shut.

  “Remind me when this is over to approve of some basic maintenance,” whispered Victoria. “That was just ridiculous.”

  “The whole building is old, Vic, you’d need to do some serious renovations to get to everything,” he pointed out, his voice also still in a whisper as he led them to the door leading up into the police tower.

  This, however, needed a key card to gain entry and he was not sure his OPP issued one would suffice. He looked over at Victoria, and she pulled out her own. “I have no idea if this will give me access,” she said.

  The light on the door flashed red instead of green. “Apparently not even the Mayor can get in unless the police invite her,” pointed out Daniel.

  The door opened minutes later and a voice ordered, “Get in here.”

  Not needing further invitation, Daniel pushed Victoria through the door before darting inside immediately after. The door shut and the dark inside blinded them both.

  A flashlight, pointed away from their eyes, flicked on and in the wan light Daniel could see that it was another office, only from the local police. “You’re lucky I just happened to walk by that particular room,” he said. “Or you’d be still sitting out there. What the hell is going on?”

  “Did a Colonel Harnet come to see you?” asked Victoria. “I had sent him with my assistant to meet with you but then his soldiers began shooting everyone.”

  “No, no one came down the connecting hall,” answered the officer. “And if he just decided to ‘start firing’ then I don’t think he’s actually a Colonel—at least not for our military.”

  “Yeah, I have a rather nasty feeling that he stole those uniforms,” agreed Daniel. “Even if he was a Colonel, he isn’t anymore.”

  “We can talk about this upstairs where it’s warm,” suggested the officer. “Ma’am, my name is Henri Lescelle, I’m one of the shift supervisors.”

  “How many of you are there here now?” asked Victoria.

  “Not many,” he admitted. “It was mid-shift and most of us are out, or stuck out because of the weather. We’ve been trying to figure out a way to get people in here but no one is able to do anything.”

  “What about those with snow machines?” asked Daniel.

  Lescelle retorted, already walking back up the stairs to the tower above, “How do you think they got here?”

  Victoria and Daniel followed, and Victoria asked, “Do you think Fitz managed to give those soldiers the slip?”

  “The slip?” asked Lescelle, his voice above them. “What is this, a film noir?”

  Daniel sighed heavily, shaking his head, but then answered Victoria. “Honestly? Probably. She’s cunning like her father, and into something called Airsoft. Only, with her training from the Navy and basic training from the military, plus her background up here—and that she always went hunting with her father—she’d be a ghost the minute she knew we were safe. She’d just vanish into thin air,” he explained, shrugging. “She was headed out to see them when this went down. Just managed to find something ‘pretty’ for her mother that she couldn’t find in the malls.”

  “I’m guessing ‘pretty’ was spotted downtown?” asked Victoria, and when Daniel nodded she
smiled slightly. “Plenty of that down here. I have quite a bit in my own house bought from more than a few of the galleries down here.”

  “So does Sheridan,” he mused aloud, and then he sighed. “I guess I’m not going to see her today, or anytime soon.”

  “I think there’s a lot of people in your same boat,” said Lescelle as they joined him on the landing. “Come on, we have a bit of food left from the Christmas party, and I put a fresh pot of coffee on.”

  * * * * *

  Garrett arrived at High Falls shortly after the sun sank into the west horizon. The lonely dirt path behind him disappeared into inky darkness. With a blink, he stared back down the road and past it.

  This is strange, he thought. Normally at night—particularly in winter—the lights from Sudbury are bright enough to light up the horizon. Even when clouded over, the light bounces off the clouds and give it a hazy presence.

  There was nothing but the dark.

  He shook his head at this oddity and locked his truck – not that it was necessary. The dam and station were miles away from civilization or any sort of major highway.

  One of the workers came running up to him. “Garrett! Thank God you’re here!”

  “What the hell is going on now?” he asked. “Why does it look like we’ve got a major blackout in Sudbury?”

  “That’s just it. We’re supplying the power just fine and the grid didn’t show a blip of a problem. It’s as if someone pulled the plug connecting us to the rest of the grid.”

  “What does head office say?”

  “Can’t get a hold of them.”

  Garrett stared at him and asked, puzzled, “What do you mean you can’t get a hold of them? We have a satellite Internet connection directly to them. Let me see…”

  He followed the younger man up to the office and into the control room. Gone were the days of dials and hard switches. The power station only needed a few computers to run. The on site server was directly connected via a high speed internet T1 satellite connection to Hydro One head office which could, theoretically, run the dam remotely. Nothing could replace human instinct, however.