America Libre by Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Author:Raul Ramos y Sanchez [RAMOS Y SANCHEZ, RAUL]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC000000
ISBN: 9780446551472
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2009-07-29T04:00:00+00:00

THE QUARANTINE AND

RELOCATION ACT:

Month 2, Day 2

Your purpose for entering the Quarantine Zone, ma’am?” asked Private First Class Paul Little as he examined the three-day pass issued to Emily Barnett.

“I’m a deaconess of the First Apostolic Church,” answered the primly dressed blonde. “We have a congregation in the zone.”

Private Little jerked his thumb toward the steel gate behind him. “There’s not much hope of saving any souls in there, ma’am. They’re all scum. A white woman alone around these people had best be careful.”

“Cool it, Little,” said the other guard at the fortified checkpoint.

“Nah, man. The lady oughta know what she’s getting herself into.”

“Ma’am,” the other guard said to Emily. “My squadmate’s just an ignorant redneck. There’s good folks in there that need all the help they can get.”

“Yeah, and she’s going to find out how good when some Pancho pulls a knife and rapes her.”

Emily retrieved her pass from the soldier. “Thank you for your sensitively expressed concern, Private,” she said, and entered the North Gate into Quarantine Zone B.

The government bureaucrats had split Los Angeles into two Quarantine Zones divided along the L.A. River—Zone A in the west and Zone B in the east. Wedged precariously between the zones was downtown Los Angeles.

Walking into Zone B, Emily glanced at the graffiti-covered wall behind her. Erected only two months earlier, the wall facing the central business district had been the first section completed—a ten-foot barrier of stacked concrete slabs topped with concertina wire. Work on the wall along the eastern and southern boundaries of Zone B was still under way. In those areas, dense coils of concertina wire served as an interim barrier.

After walking two blocks, Emily turned east, out of sight of the checkpoint guards, and entered a black Audi sedan parked along the street.

“The pass worked perfectly, Mano!” Jo said, climbing into the Audi’s passenger seat. “The guards never raised an eyebrow. Ramon’s document team did an exceptional job.”

Mano started the Audi and pulled away from the curb. “Ramon’s people are already working day and night. How much longer do we wait?” he asked, rubbing the new growth of beard on his chin.

“I’m glad you’re eager to start our operations, Mano. But we shouldn’t make any moves until we’re ready. Once the government opens the Relocation Communities, all Hispanics will be moved into quarantine. That means Ramon and I are going to lose our homes outside the zone—and that’s going to make it much harder for us to travel. We all need identities that will hold up. Otherwise our plans will be worthless.”

“Maybe we should take on one of these guard posts along the wall while we’re waiting. We’ll need to test their defenses eventually.”

“No. An attack might draw a military crackdown in the zones before we’re ready. We need to be patient.”

I’ve been patient. Very patient, Mano said to himself. But as the launch of their operations grew closer, he ached for the chance to lash back at the soldiers. Still, he knew Jo was right about striking too early.

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