Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Jericho or any of its characters. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.

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Bill and Heather had left early the next morning to make the long drive to the meeting. Along the roads were the scattered remains of cars and trucks that were either burned out or stripped of anything valuable. People with warn out faces walked along the highway trying to make their way to nowhere. Fires could be seen off in the distance. Bill had asked Heather what they were burning.

"They're burning bodies," Heather said with no emotion as she looked over the horizon. It took everything in her to ignore the feelings of sadness and guilt over those deaths. If she thought about it, she knew she'd cry. "You are going to want to turn left at the next intersection."

"Bodies? Why the hell are they burning bodies?!" Bill asked with fear in his voice.

"Hudson River Virus," Heather answered matter-of-factly. The virus had spread to Kansas despite efforts to quarantine it. Heather tried again not to think of the lives lost.

Bill made no reply and kept driving. He knew about the virus and had heard vague rumors about its spread. He also knew that J&R had made every effort to see that no one, but the chosen few, got the vaccine. Thanks to Jake and Dale, the citizens of Jericho had been able to get their hands on the vaccine and avert what could have been a catastrophe. Those people hadn't been so lucky.

The meetings of the Resistance leadership moved around often, always struggling to stay one step ahead of Ravenwood and the Cheyenne government. Putnam, Kansas was chosen because it was more than 50 miles from any ASA occupied territory making the possibility of an attack minimal. With much of the leadership in one location, the meeting was a prime target for the ASA.

Bill had lived all his life in Kansas, but had never ventured to the tiny town of Putnam with population of approximately fifty people. The town consisted of a feed store, a grain elevator, and a mechanic. Otherwise there were few other buildings in the town proper. Heather had explained to Bill that the town and the farm houses around it had been almost all abandoned within months of the attacks. Without supplies of gas, medicine, and other essentials most of the residents had left.

Heather seemed to know exactly where to go and so Bill followed her directions as he drove his Ford Bronco down old country roads that were in serious need of re-surfacing. The roads reminded him of his teenage years hanging out with Stanley and Jake. Bill had always been a hanger-on, a follower. If he did stupid things, it was always at the urging of his friends. Sometimes Bill wished he was more like Jake, but he was too cautious by nature. He wasn't someone who was going to take a lot of risks and he accepted that about himself a long time ago. The biggest risk he took lately was pursuing Heather.

Bill thought about Heather, who unlike Bill, was not a follower. She always did her own thing and went to the beat of her own drummer. She was the only woman he knew that could fix a car and make an apple pie. Bill knew Heather was too smart for him, but he'd struggle to hold on while he could. A girl like Heather doesn't come around very often and they didn't date guys like him. Bill found himself shaking his head, as Heather told him to make another turn, trying to figure out how she knew where she was going.

With every turn, Bill was sure that they were getting lost. Finally, after making one last turn, they came upon an older two-story farmhouse with a myriad of trucks and cars parked around it in what was left of the front yard. The house, like the road, was in serious need of repair. From the chipped paint to the mile high weeds, the house had seen better days. There were two men wearing dingy army jackets and carrying AK-47s standing at the entry of the driveway. They nodded at Heather and let Bill through.

There were men and women milling about the front yard and going in and out of the house. Mixed in with the civilians were members of the military. There were people laughing and people crying and some people just standing there looking expressionless. The sound of rock music was blaring through the area. The leadership of the Kansas Resistance Movement was an eclectic mix of individuals from various backgrounds. Most had little military experience and prior to the war had lived ordinary lives.

The only face that Bill recognized was that of Major Beck who was intently watching them as they drove up. Bill still didn't trust the Major, not after what he had done to his friends and to Jericho. Heather, on the other hand, seemed to trust him implicitly. Bill felt the one flaw that Heather had was that she was too trusting and too forgiving. He didn't think he would ever be able to forgive Major Beck for all of the harm he'd caused.

"That drive was quiet," Heather commented as Bill parked the Bronco near the road. "At least there were no irradiated ants," Heather joked, using her old standby, trying to break the tension in the air.

Bill turned and looked at Heather incredulously. "You call that quiet? Heather, I…I had no idea…." Bill couldn't even get the words out to describe what he had seen.

"I'm sorry," Heather quickly apologized. "I didn't prepare you enough for what to expect. I've tried to protect…."

"I'm okay, Heather," Bill interrupted. "I knew things were bad. It's one thing to hear about them, but another to see them. I just can't believe you have been going alone. You could have been killed or worse," Bill said as he struggled to keep his emotions in check.

"You're here now to protect me, right?" Heather asked looking at him straight in the eyes.

Bill nodded his head.

"Keep your eyes and ears open. Things may look secure, but as you know, looks can be deceiving." Heather reached out her hand and patted his cheek lightly. "Also, just to warn you, these guys can get a bit wild. They tend to think of this whole thing as a party slash meeting." Heather quickly exited the vehicle. Bill, with rifle in hand, followed her out of the Bronco and toward Major Beck.

"Heather! I was starting to get worried about you," Beck smiled at her as she walked up the drive with Bill. "I see that you took my advice and brought someone with you," Beck said as he looked at Bill. "Deputy Kohler, good to see you."

Bill merely nodded in response fearing that if he opened his mouth he would probably say something he'd regret later or make Heather mad at him.

"I'm sorry for causing any worry. It sounds like the guys started in early," Heather quipped as she looked around the farmhouse. "I take it they haven't actually discussed anything?" Heather quickly asked.

"What do you think? You know these guys. I thought I would wait for you out here and avoid the fray," Beck replied. "We'd better get in there before it gets out of hand."

Major Beck, Heather, and Bill walked in the dilapidated front door of the farmhouse and headed to the back where the kitchen was located. They had to push through a crowd of people who had gathered at the farmhouse. Most were not actual leaders, but merely members of the resistance who had come along to the meeting. They used the meetings as an excuse to get together with friends and exchange information.

As Heather entered the kitchen, she heard the familiar voices of her colleagues. She noticed the air inside was stuffy as the house was rather crowded. Inside was a large kitchen table with several people seated around it. There were maps of Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming on the walls. As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, Heather looked around at the men and women in the room. It looked like they had already begun talking.

"This is ridiculous!" Heather heard a man shout. She recognized the voice as Roger, Emily's Roger. Roger, after being turned out of Jericho and away from New Bern, had taken refuge in a small town in southern Kansas near Dodge City. The town was just far enough off the beaten path to not have refugees coming through, nor had they had to face Ravenwood. They had been reluctant at first to take him in, but within a few months, Roger had earned their respect and been made a leader of their small force. Using his experience in business and banking, Roger was managing to create an alliance among many of the small towns in southeastern Kansas. While much of the world was falling apart, Roger's little part of the world was coming together.

"Roger, you are just being too careful," another familiar sniveling voice chimed in. Heather recognized the voice as Phil Constantino from New Bern. Heather took a deep breath trying to remember that he wasn't the enemy any more or at least for the time being. Heather had forced herself to move beyond the feelings of anger and betrayal, even though it had cost her soul dearly. She added it to the list of compromises she'd made for the greater good. If the Kansas Resistance was going to make it, they were going to need every able bodied person available; even one's whose tactics were questionable.

"Phil, we don't have the resources to start an offensive move on the ASA," another familiar voice pointed out. The voice belonged to Alton Matthews who was often the voice of reason. Alton had become defacto leader of a group of farmers who chose to fight rather than give up their farms to the new government. When J&R came through making promises, Alton was skeptical and his feelings were well founded. Like in Jericho, J&R tried to force the farmers into bad deals threatening to take their farms. Alton led his group in an all out revolt and was successful in running J&R out of the area. He eventually assumed leadership of the entire Kansas Resistance.

"Hey, baby-girl, come sit by me," Alton Matthews called out to Heather as soon as he noticed she was in the room. Heather looked around to find him sitting at the end of the table patting an empty chair next to him. She went around and sat as quickly as she could. Bill followed her around. Heather glanced back at Bill who was standing behind her chair with rifle in hand, trying to give his best bad-ass look. Heather couldn't help, but crack a smile.

"We need to figure out our strategy. Are we going to sit back and let the war come to us, or are we going to make a decisive move?" Constantino interjected clearly disgusted.

"Phil, we are well aware of your feelings on the matter, but we don't have the resources to launch a full scale attack," Beck answered. Beck looked to Heather. "Heather, how's it coming with Columbus? Is there any hope that we are going to get reinforcements soon?" Beck asked trying to move away from Constantino's statements before he derailed the whole meeting. Beck had little patience for the man. If he didn't need New Bern or its men, he would have taken the man out a long time ago, but as it stands, he needed the jerk.

"I've tried getting through to Columbus, but the chain of command is a complete mess. Look, we're going to have to make it on our own. We've seen the devastation that the bombs have caused and then the virus in Kansas alone. Just think about it on a nationwide scale and you'll realize that it's going to be a long time before we get back-up from the east."

"You mean we're on our own? How in the Hell are we going to survive the winter, let alone win this war without some kind of aid?" the familiar voice of Sam Wade asked. Sam was leader of the central Kansas Militia. His group was responsible for the Kansas Turnpike and kept Cheyenne from using the road to transport supplies.

Beck shook his head. "Not on your own Sam. You have the 10th Mountain division, Kansas National Guard, a contingent of Texas troops and Kansas Militia who are going to fight along side you," Beck quickly countered, "And remember, ASA is not operating on full strength either. They have been hit hard by desertions as word spreads about Cheyenne's involvement in the September attacks."

"Look, one thing everyone can agree on is that we can't launch a full-scale attack and think that this war will be over. We are going to be at this for a long, long time. Our focus has to be continuing on weakening Cheyenne's hand," Heather interjected. "ASA has its own problems. As far as I can tell from some foreign news outlets, they are postponing any major confrontation with us until they see some fruition with their negotiations with China and Russia."

"The Chinese?!" Christopher Matthew, Alton's son, asked as anger flashed through his dark brown eyes. Christopher was a young man in his early twenties. "We might be fighting the damned Chinese?"

"Possible, but not likely," Heather explained. "More than anything, ASA needs an influx of money. The Russians and the Chinese are the best possible sources. The EU has chosen to side with Columbus thanks to Texas," Heather explained. More like thanks to Hawkins and Jake, but Heather wasn't going to go into that.

"So what happens now?" Roger asked.

"We keep doing what we're doing. We fight on a small scale, work on spreading the message. The only thing that matters is that we keep going, keep fighting. I know you guys want our nation back, but we've got to concentrate on getting our State back. Remember, we're fighting for our very survival, our right to live," Heather answered realizing she was quoting from the movie "Independence Day". She hoped no one called her out on it.

"What do you mean our survival?" Beck asked knowing what Heather was about to explain. Heather knew exactly what to say to inspire these guys to fight.

"What do you think ASA hopes to accomplish by all of this?" Heather said as she looked around the room. "The bombs were just the first wave of the attack. The Hudson River Virus is bio-warfare meant to annihilate the population of the eastern United States. Their goal was and still is to wipe out most of the population of the eastern United States and then, take it."

"How do you know this? You have to be making this up," Sam pleaded. Everyone in the room looked shocked at Heather's statement.

"I wish I was. I found a file detailing the plan in one of those laptops you all snagged from a convoy. I've got the print-out in my backpack," Heather replied. She swallowed hard looking for the words to express her feelings. She never thought of herself as a great public speaker. "Look, what they did is criminal. They'll pay what they did to us, to our nation eventually, but what we need to concentrate on is figuring out a strategy to stop them. Major, what are you seeing?" Heather asked hoping it would refocus the conversation way from her.

"From the intelligence on the ground, an offensive could happen any day. We've done a good job cutting off their supply lines inside Kansas and Nebraska and they could be getting desperate to eliminate us. On the other hand, if I were them, I'd wait 'til spring. Fighting in the winter on the Kansas-Colorado boarder is difficult, if not impossible. Their main ground supply lines are all through the Rocky Mountains and soon they are going to be battling with the snow just to keep them open."

"So, we are pretty much in a waiting game?" Alton Matthews asked, already knowing the answer.

"That sums it up, pretty well." Major Beck replied as he started handing out a packet of information that he had brought with him.

By the time the group had gone through all of the information and figured out their strategy for the next couple of months, it had been more than four hours. With the lull in the conversation, Heather finally had to time to look back at Bill who she could tell looked confused. Someone who didn't know him well wouldn't notice, but she did. She worried about Bill who hadn't known any of the information they were discussing. She also wondered about his reaction to seeing Roger and Constantino. She mentally prepared herself for a fight on the drive home. Bill did not like being left out of the loop and this meeting proved, just how out of the loop he and most of Jericho really was.

Phil Constantino, who had spent most of the meeting making off-handed comments, was the first to leave. "I am out of here. It's obvious that you guys have no plan," Constantino said to Heather, Beck, and Alton with obvious frustration in his voice. "Contact me when you have something concrete to offer. Otherwise, leave me out of these little pep rallies," he arrogantly added. Before anyone could reply, Constantino was gone slamming the front door behind him.

Heather shook her head and Beck gave her knowing look.

"Don't listen to him. He's just being an ass," Roger reassured Heather as he rose to leave. Roger moved in closer to her and began to whisper, "If you talk to Emily, let her know I'm okay. I know she probably doesn't care, but…." Roger stopped mid-sentence unable to continue. It was obvious that he still loved Emily, even though he knew about the Jake-Emily relationship. Roger stepped away and started moving to the door. Before leaving Roger turned back for a moment. "Heather, stay safe," Roger said with genuine concern in his voice. He patted her on the back and walked out the door.

As others filtered out of the farmhouse, they came to speak to Heather. Somewhere along the way, Heather had developed a reputation as the guru for modern survival. Many had questions on how to build windmills for power, biodiesel compositions, and even how to build a pipe bomb. Others just wanted her take on what was happening in their area. Heather carried with her various plans in order to hand them out. Finally, all that was left was Heather, Major Beck, and Alton Matthews sitting around the table. Bill, finally seeing an opportunity to sit, sat down next to Heather and took a break from his perpetual guard duty.

"It was nice seeing you again, professor," Alton teased. "Seriously, it's good to see you alive. I'm sure you noticed Moe isn't here."

"Yea. What happened to him?" Heather reluctantly asked. She had lost so many friends in the past year it was hard to keep track.

"Hudson River," Alton replied. "I don't know how we are going to survive the winter. The Virus is running through town after town killing off my men. Those bastards are going to pay for this. I swear it."

"We'll get them Alton. We'll get them," Beck replied.

"Heather, days like these, I wish your father was still around." Alton stated. He had known Robert Lisinski when they both had served in the Kansas Air National Guard together and had a deep appreciation for the man. Alton rose to leave. "Baby-Girl, you be safe."

"I will, Alton." Heather replied. Alton's mention of her father brought back memories. Heather knew Alton from her father's days in the Guard. She had spent many a weekend out on his farm hanging out with his sons Christopher and Noah. When she connected again with Alton, they had spent a long, hot August evening telling stories about her father. She had appreciated it at the time because it was very rare that she had any opportunity to reminisce about her father anymore. Like Alton, Heather felt that things would've been a lot different if Robert Lisinski was still alive.

"Your father must have been one hell of man," Beck stated as he looked over to Heather noticing that she looked like she was miles away.

Beck voice brought her back to the present. "He was a great man. I sometimes wonder if things would be different now if my father was still alive," Heather answered knowing it would have been a hell of lot different.

"Why do you say that?" Bill asked trying to join the conversation.

"My dad would handle things a lot different than Constantino and probably me, too," Heather replied with a tinge of sadness in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Beck asked in confusion.

"My father was New Bern's Sheriff prior to his death. He would have fought for the survival of the town, but I know he wouldn't have condoned killing innocent people, no matter how bad things got. War with Jericho would've been the last thing on his mind. He was a different sort of man than Constantino," Heather replied. She thought about Constantino's treatment of her in New Bern and how close she had come to death. "What is so ironic is that Constantino was one of my father's best friends. Isn't it strange how fate works?"

"So, what happened to him?" Beck asked afraid to know the answer. He feared that Constantino had some hand in Robert Lisinski's death.

"Yea, you never told me what happened to your dad." Bill added curious to know more about Heather's past without thinking that Constantino might have had something to do with it.

Heather shook her head at Beck. "I know what you're thinking and no, Constantino had nothing to do with his death. My dad was killed in the line of a duty. It was a botched robbery that happened about six years ago. Two kids, who had no clue what they were doing, got caught. One of them was smart and gave up. The other one got into a shoot-out with my dad, killing my father and getting himself killed in the process."

"I'm sorry," Beck replied.

"It's been a long time. There's nothing to be sorry about. My father always said he was living on borrowed time. He was in the Kansas Air National Guard and served in almost every major conflict since Vietnam," Heather answered with little emotion. She had the feeling that she was living on borrowed time as well. By all accounts, she should be dead, but here she was talking to Major Beck. "As much as I love a stroll down memory lane, Bill and I had better get out of here. I don't want to travel back after dark."

"I understand," Beck nodded in agreement. He was worried about her safety. He liked Heather and in a different world and a different time, he would have pursued her romantically, but his heart was still attached to his missing wife and to rebuilding the nation. Beck didn't want to see Heather come to a bad end, but had a feeling that Heather felt like she was bound to her father's fate. Beck pushed those thoughts away and thought of a happier subject. As Heather was about to turn to Bill, Beck stopped her by gently grabbing her arm. "By the way, I have two gifts for you to bring back to Jericho," Beck mischievously stated.

"Two gifts?" Heather asked with a half-smile. "Unless they involve booze or food, I don't think anyone is going to appreciate them," Heather joked. She had no clue what Beck was planning. Heather used to enjoy surprises, but not any more. She'd rather know what was happening and when it was going to occur.

"I think you'll appreciate them. They should be somewhere around here," Beck replied as he got up from his seat. Beck hoped that the arrival of her "two gifts" might lift Heather's spirits or at the very least, perhaps ease her burden.

Heather with Bill and Beck in tow walked down the hall to the almost abandoned front parlor. Almost, everyone had left the farmhouse to make it back home. No one wanted to travel at night because it was too dangerous. When the trio made it to the parlor, Heather looked around for her "two gifts." She was surprised to find Jake Green and Robert Hawkins sitting in metal folding chairs talking. Jake and Hawkins both looked pretty good and no worse for wear. Hawkins had the same emotionless expression he usually carried and Jake didn't look quite as beaten down as he had before. Looking at the two of them, a flood of memories from four months ago came over her. Heather knew she had to say something.

"Jake?! Mr. Hawkins?!" Heather exclaimed trying to sound excited. They both looked up to see Heather and Bill. Shaking her head, Heather went on, "I thought you were permanently stuck in Texas for the duration? Your families are going to be so excited to have you back." The range of emotions that Heather was trying to hide was still evident on her face. The two men could see that she was excited to see them, but at the same time apprehensive.

"We didn't want to stay way any longer," Hawkins replied getting up to shake her hand. "We came up with the soldiers from Texas. Figured Jericho needs all hands on deck for what's coming." Hawkins had been surprised when Beck explained Heather's role in the Resistance. A year ago, when Hawkins arrived in Jericho, Heather had never been on his radar screen as someone to worry about. Jake had popped up as someone who could be trouble, but Heather never even crossed his mind. She didn't even become an issue for him until Jake had to use her to get that intelligence information out of Beck's office. He had his suspicions that Heather's background was a little more diverse than teaching the third grade.

Jake remained quiet as he looked at Heather. He didn't quite know what to say. From what Beck had told him, Heather had been through Hell and most of it was Jake's fault. Jake mentally added Heather to the list of people he needed to have a long talk with. He looked at his shoes and then back up to see her whispering to Bill as Hawkins shook Bill's hand.

Jake tried to think of something to say. "Long meeting, hu?" Jake asked as he finally got up and gave her a hug. That was a dumb question! Jake thought to himself. Jake hadn't seen her in over four months and that was all he could come up with? He took a step back and looked at Heather once again hoping that a glimmer of the girl he met a year ago was still in there, but she wouldn't look at him straight.

Heather nodded in response, but said nothing. She couldn't look at Jake knowing if she did she might lose it. She wasn't sure what to say to him without sounding bitter or letting her emotions overcome her. She had hoped that when he returned she wouldn't be there, but here she was, bringing him back. You are such a fool, Heather thought to herself. Heather looked at Bill who was giving his best supportive look. Heather smiled back at him, trying to non-verbally tell him not to worry.

"Enjoy!" Beck teased trying to enliven the mood of the group. He quickly gave Heather a hug and shook hands with the three men. "It was good to see you all again." Placing a protective hand on Heather, Beck went on, "Heather, I'll be in touch. Please be careful out there."

"Will do, Major," Heather answered with a half-smile. She signaled the men. "Alright boys, we better get going before it gets too late. We can all catch up in the car. Let's move on out." The three stepped out of the house and the sound of gunfire irrupted.