Katie could hear rapid fire typing for a couple of minutes, then just the sound of Steve breathing as he waited for the adjusted feed to display on his screen.
“OK, got you. Is that you standing by a swimming pool?” Katie involuntarily looked skyward, as if she could see the orbiting camera that was capturing her image at the moment.
“That’s you,” Steve said a moment later. “Just as beautiful as ever.”
“Steve…” Katie started to admonish him.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s just that I thought I’d never see you or hear from you again. It’s really good to be talking to you.”
Katie took a breath, biting off her impulse to remind him she was married. He was obviously still not over her, and didn’t sound to be in the most stable state of mind. She needed his help and alienating him wasn’t the way to go.
“It’s good to talk to you, too.” She finally said. “Now, tell me what’s going on around me. Please.”
“OK, the neighborhood you’re in is quiet. I don’t see any movement or any damage. The gates are still up and intact. Open desert to the east and northeast of you. A couple of trucks driving on the highway that runs up into the mountains to your northeast. Fires to the south of you, but the closest one is five miles away.”
Katie turned to look to the south, seeing three plumes of black smoke climbing into the air. “I see the smoke from the fires to the south.”
“North of you is more neighborhoods. They all look gated. One of them has had the gates torn out, but I don’t see any movement or any other damage. West is… west is a problem. The freeway a few miles to your west is jammed with cars. No vehicles moving, but people are walking along the shoulder and in the median, heading north. What’s north?”
“The mountains,” Katie answered. “It’s summer here. Hot as hell. People are trying to get out of the city and that’s the only direction that isn’t more desert.”
“Makes sense. All right, on west of the freeway it looks like a war zone. We’ve got burned out buildings and vehicles all over the place. Lots of movement on the ground. Medium sized groups and they’re all armed.”
“Does it look like any of them are coming this direction?” Katie asked.
“No. They’re occupied with fighting each other. Looks like lots of stores and that’s where the biggest concentrations of people are.” Steve said.
Katie stood silent, processing the information she had just gotten. None of it surprised her. There were five large grocery stores all within a couple of miles of each other and that’s what everyone was fighting over. Her fear was that when the stores were stripped bare the mobs were going to start spreading out and forcing their way into homes to take any food the people in them might have.
“What?” Katie asked. Steve had been talking but she hadn’t been listening, lost in her own thoughts.
“I said I’ve been doing some research and I have an idea how to get you out of there.” He repeated.
“Steve, I really appreciate all you’re doing, but I can’t leave. What if John shows up and I’m not here.” Katie said.
“Listen to me. This isn’t about me or him, this is about getting you to safety. We both know things are only going to get worse, and in a hurry. The country is shattered. Do you really believe he’ll make it all the way from Atlanta to Phoenix? That’s what? 1,800 miles at least?”
Katie stifled a deep sigh, not wanting Steve to hear her frustration. She knew he was right about the odds, but she also knew her husband. There weren’t many like him.
“What’s your idea?” She asked, more to placate him than anything.
“Do you know where Gateway airport is?” He asked.
“Yes,” Katie said. The airport was a former Air Force bomber base that had been closed due to budget cuts and taken over by the city to supplement the main civil airport in Phoenix. It was about 15 miles due south of where she stood.
“That’s the Arizona hub for FedEx. I’m looking at them on satellite right now and they’ve got half a dozen long range cargo planes sitting on the tarmac. Long range enough to make it here to Western Australia. You remember our contract with them? I’ve already checked and I can still access their systems and create a flight with you on