by Ryan King
Chapter 14 – Unwanted Authority
Reggie Philips was having the time of his life. He and his wife Janice were practically flying down the highway in their new horse-drawn buggy. It was a beautiful clear day and the cool wind in their faces was refreshing rather than uncomfortable.
The horse and buggy were a gift from the Jackson Purchase, which ordered twenty sets from the large Mennonite community in Graves County. The Mennonites were the only people around whose life did not seem to have changed in the least since N-Day…with the exception of getting more business. They conducted a steady trade in horses, blacksmithing, animal slaughtering, and various other tasks which they looked upon as normal while the rest of the world only saw such things in old movies or documentaries, if at all.
The buggy ride took longer than a car would have, but fuel was scarcer than ever. Reggie and Janice made the trip from Murray to Paducah for the regular JP County Cooperation Council in three leisurely days. Reggie grew up around horses, but had almost forgotten how temperamental they could be and Clipper presented quite a frisky personality. He thought a lot of people would have to learn about horses because they were here to stay. Besides horses, bikes now seemed to be the most practical means of transportation.
They were nearing the huge United States Enrichment Corporation, or USECO for short, which would be the new meeting site and presumably the impromptu governmental center for the JP as a whole. USECO began as a gaseous diffusion plant after World War II. The plant processed weapon grade uranium. The facilities were vast, solid, and most importantly made to withstand a direct nuclear strike.
During the Cold War, the U.S. Government knew that USECO was high on the list of Soviet nuclear targets, but for whatever reason, it was not struck during the N-Day attacks. The engineers who ran the plant followed protocol and responsibly placed all radioactive materials in huge specially built lead vaults several stories beneath the ground, and then thoroughly secured those vaults. Since then, the staff kept the facility in as good working order as possible. The Committee was now taking advantage of the site’s unique features.
It was set on several hundred wooded acres outside of Paducah and surrounded by layers of fences and ditches. The facility itself was not very impressive from the outside because most of it was underground. Inside, the work and living spaces were vast and sufficiently supplied to keep a large staff alive indefinitely following a nuclear holocaust. The Committee decided the USECO complex was perfect for their use.
The facility was also well stocked with Geiger counters and other radiation detection equipment. Reggie previously ordered these to be handed out to government officials throughout the JP, mainly to calm lingering fears of radiation poisoning. So far the Geiger counters had only picked up trace radiation amounts, mostly from dead fish in rivers flowing downstream from the destroyed cities of St. Louis, Louisville, Pittsburg, Nashville, and Huntsville.
As Reggie and his wife rolled through the front gate, he acknowledged and smiled to the two guards who responded with friendly waves of their own. They rode for several minutes up to the old parking lot near the front gate. There wasn’t a hitching post in sight, so Reggie stopped the buggy near an abandoned car, dismounted, and tied the horse’s reins to the front bumper. He then went around and helped Janice down.
General Clarence Anderson was outside smoking with several other people all of whom came over to greet them. Reggie noticed that the men smoked home-rolled cigarettes that looked rough, but tobacco was still in high demand and would probably continue to be one of the major cash crops for the JP…if they could grow enough food to survive the next winter.
“Afternoon. How was the trip?” Anderson asked, giving Janice a warm hug and then shaking Reggie’s hand.
“Wonderful,” replied Janice, who was still flushed and smiling.
“Good. With your permission I would like to take Reggie from you for awhile. Everyone's been eagerly awaiting his arrival,” he said giving Janice a wink.
Reggie looked at Anderson with sudden concern, but could tell nothing from his expression except possibly suppressed amusement.
“Yes, time for work,” said Janice with a smile. “I’ll be around here somewhere when you’re done.” Reggie gave her a peck on the cheek and then followed Anderson inside.
They walked down wide concrete halls lit with florescent lights. At various points along their path stood open metal vault doors that Reggie doubted he could budge if his life depended upon it.
They entered a large meeting room and noticed that no one was arguing, which was exceptionally odd. He also noticed that not only were the county executives present, but most of the mayors as well. Reggie shook hands and exchanged greetings as he made his way to an empty chair at the head of the table, typically reserved for him.
Reggie took off his coat and opened his shoulder bag, pulling out a binder and notebook. He sat, put on his glasses, and was just beginning to call the meeting to order, when James Harping, the County Executive of Ballard County, stood and cleared his throat loudly. Here it comes, thought Reggie. Whatever is causing everyone to act so weird, this is it.
“Uh, Reggie, we all feel we have a piece of business that must be handled before anything else.” James looked around for support and the others nodded in agreement, something which amazed Reggie since they rarely agreed on much of anything without an immense amount of tedious debate. James continued, “We have decided that this cooperative committee just isn’t going to work in the long run. It was okay when we thought things would go back to normal, but we all know that just ain’t going to happen.”
Reggie grew tenser. He had been dreading the moment when they would make this realization. He was afraid their mutual distrust of each other could tear their fragile cooperative life apart. Reggie tried to speak quickly before James could go on, “Well James, that’s an interesting point, but this is a little sudden and the council serves an important purpose-.”
James continued on, evidently emboldened by the support of his peers. “The JP has done better than most. Hell, we know we’ve got a good thing going, but we need a stronger government than the Cooperative Council.”
“What did you have in mind?” asked Reggie cautiously curious.
“We need an overall leader to direct the Council’s efforts and also to ensure our security. The Council can still handle all the county business and cooperative stuff, but we need someone like a governor or even a president maybe.”
“Now wait a minute,” started Reggie, “we’re not officially anything. The JP is just something we made up.”
“That’s right,” jumped in Brad Williams of McCracken County, “and thank goodness for it. Without the JP, we’d be cold, hungry, and worried about raving crazies killing us and our families. We made the JP up, but it’s a good thing, and we need to make sure it sticks around. If the U.S. Government rolls in here tomorrow, we can throw the whole JP business into the river as fast as you please; but I just don’t think that is going to happen.”
“So…” began Reggie, “what sort of powers would this individual have and how would we select him? I’m presuming some sort of vote?”
James replied with a smile, “Well, as far as powers go, basically everything you’ve been doing on an unofficial basis. We would just make it official.” Here James paused and looked around before continuing, “And we couldn’t think of anyone better to be our new president than you.”
Reggie inwardly groaned. Others around the room affirmed their support. They were obviously very pleased with themselves, and why not? They finally agreed on something. Willingly agreed to submit themselves to authority. Reggie admitted it made sense in a way. They trusted him more than each other.
Reggie raised his hand for everyone to stop talking so he could speak. They eventually did, but kept their wide ridiculous smiles on. “Gentlemen, I’m grateful, honored, and humbled, but I must emphatically refuse. Please accept this as my final answer.”
The room got qui
et for a moment and then one of the mayors spoke from the back. “Reggie, we know it’s a shock and all, but you’d really only be doing what you’ve been doing already.”
“That’s not the point,” said Reggie.
“Then what is the point?” asked someone with a little attitude from the back.
“Well, there are several problems, actually,” responded Reggie as he began to organize his thoughts. “First, any official leadership position for any new government should be a democratically elected official, which I am not. Second, this body does not have the authority to simply choose to set up a government and pick a leader. And finally, I’ve already got a job…Lieutenant Governor for the state of Kentucky.”
Many people started to speak at once, but Clarence Anderson stood and the room became still. “Gentlemen, I know it is not my place, but I would like to speak, if you don’t mind.”
Reggie felt relief that someone would establish some sanity to the discussion.
“The Lieutenant Governor is right. He already has a job, which is why he is most qualified to lead us.”
Reggie looked at Anderson quizzically.
Anderson continued, “No one in the JP has been democratically elected by the citizens of the JP to any leadership position, except you, Reggie. I believe you carried a majority of the vote of every county in the JP in the last elections.”
Reggie smiled, “That’s because my ticket was tied to Governor Henry.”
Anderson shrugged, “Nevertheless, they elected you. You must recognize we need a stable, practical, working government to survive. What we are playing with just isn’t going to work in the long term.” Anderson turned and began addressing the whole room. “I’m afraid dangerous times are coming and we better be ready. Everyone has to do their part, even if they do not want to. I’ve come to know Reggie Philips as a good friend and believe no one is better qualified for the position. The fact that he resists the authority only makes me more confident that he is the right man for the job.”
Reggie began to understand with growing horror that this might actually happen and there may be nothing he could do to get out of it.
Anderson turned back to Reggie and with a knowing smile said, “After all, Lieutenant Governor Reginald Philips does not strike me as the sort of man who turns away from what is obviously his duty.”
Reggie hoped that his fierce stare at Anderson conveyed his displeasure. Anderson in return only seemed more amused.
“With that settled,” said Anderson with finality, “I think we can move on to other business.”