Fight for Power (28 page)

“What benefit was there in setting tents on fire? That would only destroy the things that any raiding party would be searching for. It was like they swept in with the intent of simply killing those people and destroying their shelters.”

“We've certainly seen many acts of random violence,” the judge said.

Herb shook his head. “This was not random. Did you find any bodies that belonged to this raiding party?”

“None,” Howie said. “Maybe they took their dead with them.”

“Perhaps, but I think that's unlikely. They swept in, destroyed their target, and left without a single casualty. These people were not just ruthless but organized and professional.”

Ruthless, organized, and professional—those words seemed to hang in the air.

“I'm almost afraid to ask this next question,” the judge said. He paused, and it was like it wasn't even necessary for him to speak because I was sure we all had the same thought. “Do you think this could have been the work of remnants of the force we destroyed at the bridge?”

Herb shook his head. “We have no way of knowing one way or another.”

“So it could be them?” Howie asked.

“If it is, it's a new tactic. Their previous actions were always aimed toward strengthening, gaining, robbing, finding more resources—always getting something.”

“So you think it wasn't them,” the judge concluded.

“Herb didn't say that, either,” my mother interjected. “Maybe this attack on the tent town was a way to test our defenses.”

“But why would they do that?” Howie asked. “They can't possibly think that they could successfully attack us now. We destroyed their forces … most of them anyway.”

“What Howie's saying makes sense,” the judge said.

“We can't assume that they haven't recruited more members, but it's possibly the work of another group altogether,” Herb said. “The group from the compound is not the only evil out there. All I know is that they chose to attack in the one spot where we are most vulnerable to an attack.”

We were back to a subject that kept coming up but had never been resolved.

“Can we strengthen the walls there?” Councilor Stevens asked.

“The issue isn't the strength of the walls but the closeness of the forest. No matter what we do, our walls would be pierced by an RPG round. We need to take down the trees and cover for at least a hundred meters on all sides.”

I knew that the whole tent town was within that distance from our walls.

The judge let out a big sigh. “I know we have discussed this issue at great length. It might be wise for us to revisit this situation.”

“It's clear that the tent town can no longer exist,” Herb said.

I felt a rush of anxiety.

“Are you suggesting allowing the tent people to come into our neighborhood?” the judge asked.

“No, sir, we cannot afford that. They have to go elsewhere.”

Herb turned and looked to me. I felt afraid of what he was going to say next.

“I have a plan,” he said. “But we're going to need Adam and, Mr. Peterson, your daughter to help us make it work.”

“Lori isn't going to do anything that will hurt those people,” I said. “And neither will I.”

“You don't even know what I'm proposing, son. You might want to listen before you pass judgment.”

 

27

We walked out of the little greenhouse. Herb, Lori, and I were the tour guides for people from the two tent towns. There were ten of them altogether, including Leonard's grandfather from one group and Madison's mother from the other.

“I can't get over all the things you've been able to do here,” Leonard's grandfather said.

“It's amazing how people working together can get things done,” Herb said. “But people of our vintage know about hard work, don't we?”

They both laughed. For Herb, connecting with the other old-timer was mainly just strategy but also some degree of admiration. They were about the same age and each a leader of his respective community, so they not only had things in common but also a mutual respect.

Along with the greenhouse we'd shown them the clinic, the school, the fields, and the guard system along the walls.

“This has all been very impressive. But are you going to tell us what this little tour is about?” Sheldon asked.

“Couldn't it just be one neighbor inviting some other neighbors in for a visit?” Herb replied.

“We've been neighbors for three months, yet you've always seemed to make a point out of keeping us outside, so I figure something is up,” he said. “No offense.”

“None taken. Why do you think you're here?” Herb asked.

“Well, the only thing that's changed is the attack on the other tent people two nights ago,” he offered.

“And we do want to thank you for everything you've done for us,” Mr. Armstrong said. He had become the unofficial leader of the other tent town.

“It was a terrible thing that happened to you,” Leonard's grandfather said. “It could have been us. It's the thing we live in fear of.”

“That fear is well placed, Sheldon,” Herb said. “You're no less open to an attack than the other tent group was.”

“I guess we're a little more protected because we're farther from the roads, and we do have a lot of armed guards,” Sheldon said.

“There were a lot of men who attacked us,” Mr. Armstrong said.

“We'd put up a fight,” Sheldon said.

“I know you would, but that fight would have casualties and fatalities.” Herb paused. “You all know that your present situations put you in extreme danger.”

“It felt so much better knowing your men were patrolling the last two nights,” Madison's mother, Elyse, said.

“We won't be able to extend that patrol for more than a few more nights. We can't expose our men to the risk. That's why we invited you in today, because we're asking both your groups to move.”

“Are you inviting us to move into your neighborhood?” Elyse asked.

Herb shook his head. “We can't do that. We simply don't have the capacity to take on more people.”

“So do you just expect us to pick up our tents and leave?” Sheldon demanded.

“Yes, I do,” Herb said.

“You have no right to make us leave,” Sheldon said defiantly.

“The threat isn't from us, but from outside forces,” Herb said.

“We have guns and we'll post more guards,” Mr. Armstrong said.

“You can't guard against winter. You'll need shelter, heat, warmer clothing, food, and better security as well,” Herb said.

“We all know what we need,” Leonard's grandfather said. “Knowing what we need and getting it are two different things.”

“We want to help you get those things,” I explained.

“The only place that has all of those things is your neighborhood,” he said.

“Not here. There's no room in our boat,” Herb said. He turned to me. “But, as a very wise person once said to me, we can help build a bigger boat.”

*   *   *

Forty-five minutes later, we were across the street from our compound, standing in front of a vacant house. I opened the door and we walked in, followed by Leonard's entire family.

“This is going to be ours?” Leonard asked.

“Your family is going to split it with one other family from your tent town,” I said.

“Even cut in half it's bigger than our old house,” he said.

“And a lot bigger than the tent,” his mother added.

Penny ran up the stairs.

“It's a house, but that doesn't make it safe,” Leonard's aunt—Auntie Mary—said. She had been reluctant to leave the tents behind and had threatened not to come.

“There's a concrete wall on the south, a high fence to west,” I said. “We already have a crew working on the east side, and the north wall is across the street from us on Burnham. We'll guard that wall for you.”

“It will be good to have walls,” Amy said.

“And sleep in a bed,” Sheldon added. “How many houses are in this section?”

“Just under a hundred and forty of them are vacant. Those are the houses your group and the other tent town will take over,” I explained again.

“And the people who live here are okay with this?” he asked.

“I've been in conversation with them about many things,” Herb explained. “They agreed to this.”

“He helped them see there are benefits for everybody, including them,” I added. “Our committee agreed to give them three rototillers, and Lori's father is going to come over with his tractor to help cultivate the seed we're donating. It's mostly potatoes, cabbage, and carrots, but you can start growing.”

“I just wish it wasn't so late in the season,” Sheldon said.

“The growing season will be extended with the greenhouses our engineers are going to show you how to build, and of course we'll try to figure out the best place to dig a well for drinking water,” I said. “And, oh, did I mention that the committee has agreed to allow our doctors to come over to take care of all the people who form this new neighborhood?”

“That's … that's all so amazing,” Amy said.

“We're grateful, so grateful,” Sheldon added.

“I still have a question,” Auntie Mary said.

I turned to face her. She was standing at the open door, holding her rifle. She didn't have her finger on the trigger and it certainly wasn't pointed at me, but I still felt a rush of fear.

“Why are you doing all this?” she asked.

“Do we need a reason to help other people?” I asked.

“Yeah, you do. What's in it for you, for your neighborhood?”

I thought about saying “nothing,” but there
was
something in it for us.

“We needed to clear space away from our southeast walls, and the one tent town was in the way.”

“You could have just forced them to leave,” she said. “You have enough men and weapons.”

“That's not who we are,” I said. “Honestly.”

“Honestly?” she scoffed. “You still haven't answered why you're making that offer to us as well. We're nowhere near your walls.”

“We couldn't stand by and watch what's going to happen, watch you all die when winter comes.”

“Lots of people are dying out there,” she said.

“We can't help everybody, but we can help a few people. This isn't just about surviving. We need to do more than just survive. We have to keep being human. That's all we're offering, a chance to help us all keep being human,” I said.

Slowly she nodded. “I think I might believe you.”

 

28

“Adam.”

Once again I reached for my pistol in the pitch black of my room.

“Adam, wake up.”

It was Rachel. I relaxed and then tensed all over again. What if I'd found my gun?

“I'm awake. What's wrong?”

“I don't know. Mom's arguing with somebody downstairs.”

I sat up and looked over at my half-open door. I heard them, too. Something was going on.

“I'll find out. You go back to sleep.”

“I won't be able to sleep,” she said.

“Then at least go back to bed. I'll take care of it.”

When Rachel opened my bedroom door to leave, I could hear the voices more clearly. It was my mother and Brett. What could they be arguing about in the middle of the night? I felt uneasy.

As usual, I was sleeping in my clothes. I grabbed my pistol as I climbed out of bed, stuffing the weapon into my back pocket, under my shirttail.

I went down the stairs and eased into the kitchen. The voices had gone silent, but the atmosphere was tense. My mother was standing, and Brett and Herb were seated at the kitchen table. Thank goodness Herb was there. Brett was sitting on a chair, chewing an apple. He looked up and glared at me, and suddenly I didn't think it was unwise to have my gun with me.

“We encountered resistance,” Brett said. “Simple as that.”

“Simple as that?” my mother exclaimed. “Two people were killed!”

“A lot more than two,” Brett said. “Over twenty of them were killed.”

“Two of our people, two of the men under your command were—”

“How about if we all just calm down?” Herb said. His voice was quiet, his words spoken slowly. They both nodded. “Good. Now, Brett, could you please start at the beginning.”

Brett took another bite of the apple, chewed a couple of times, and swallowed. “We were out on the hunt, doing our jobs, and we ran into a bunch of guys who had weapons.”

“Where were they?” Herb asked.

“They were in a truck. As we approached they stopped and a few of them got out and ran for cover.”

“Is that when you noticed the weapons?” Herb asked.

“I didn't need to see them to know that they had weapons. Everybody out there has weapons.”

“But you did see them,” Herb persisted.

“We saw rifles.”

“If you saw they had weapons, why did you approach them?” my mother asked.

“If we ran from everybody out there who had a weapon, we'd be doing nothing but running. Like I said,
everybody
out there has a weapon.”

“And what happened next?” Herb asked. His voice remained calm.

“When I saw that they were going to flank us, that we were in danger, I took action,” Brett said. “I opened fire.”

“Did you give them warning?” my mother asked.

“Warning?” Brett asked.

“Standard police procedure.”

“There's nothing out there that's standard, and what we're doing has nothing to do with policing,” Brett snapped. “Do you have any idea what's going on out there?”

“Watch your tone, mister!” she snapped. “You're still under my command, and you're still a police officer.”