It's costing us more to wait than to go forward. So let's move forward, let's move forward. And quickly."
Turning to Sarah, he asked, "Are there any financial considerations to bringing troopers back from overseas if we need them here for short term use?"
"As long as we maintain the contracted number and don't run into any problems, there are no issues. It depends on the long-range goals. We're well manned now with our current contracts but those extra ones we're talking about with State will take more men."
Gwinnett thought for a few seconds. "Confirm for me we can bring 5,000 troops home on a moment's notice."
"No problem, can do it within a week of you deciding," she said and nodded.
Gwinnett hadn't told his staff about his latest research. It was an interesting concept but he wouldn't tell anybody until the circumstances and timing made sense. His role in overseeing the company ensured he studied the charts and strategic updates on the disposition of military forces, no matter which country or company they represented. This meant he knew as much about world military power and where that power was located as any military planner for any country. Sarah, as Chief Operating Officer, took care of day-to-day operations while he did the strategic thinking.
"We can bring home up to 10 percent without setting off any warning bells so 5,000 shouldn't be an issue. That's normal rotation and State and DOD will assume we're in transition as normal. We might bring home 20 percent, but if there's a problem while we're short staffed over there , all hell will erupt in Congress," said Sarah. She tilted her head at Gwinnett in a unspoken question.
Gwinnett smiled. Sarah knew something was coming but he decided on diversionary tactics. It would be another month before he'd let this secret loose into his executive ranks. "OK, let's continue, but let's identify our top performers and bring them back for two-week refresher training first. Have them here in two weeks from today. They can help set up the new facilities and review the training exercises after real world experience."
"Anything else?" he asked. He made eye contact with his team around the table, receiving a quick head shake from each. "Let's do this. One of those two communities recommended within two weeks, and finished, out-a-here, in two months."
The group all quickly rose and left with little chatting.
Savannah would suffer but the South was dying; but it was time to move. And quickly, Gwinnett thought.
He went back to his office to begin the calls easing the way north and soothe the concerns of a bunch of Generals when they saw his heavy armament rolling up the highway. One of the first would be to his old Ranger buddy. Damn they'd both been young and alive down in Fort Stewart, wandering along River Street on weekends and taking home more than their fair share of young ladies. We both married Savannah girls. Who could resist them, he laughed to himself. The four of them still got together several times a year.
River Street was often underwater now, and he missed both the street and the carefree days and nights on the River. Yes, a talk with his old buddy was definitely a good place to start.
"Call President Barrett. Office. Private." He heard the private line beeping.
18/03/2047 09:42
"Mr. President, it's good to talk to you, Sir, thank you for taking my call," began Gwinnett.
Barrett leaned back in his chair, a smile on his face.
"Shit Gwinnett - this is business isn't it. I recognize your tone of voice. You either 'want something' or you 'really want something'. Which is it this time?"
"Damn, you're turning into a sneaky Yankee, can read a poor old Southern boy like me a mile away," said Gwinnett using his heaviest Southern drawl.
"Cut the shit Gwinnett and drop the accent to normal level. It's going to hell-in-a-hand-basket up here, and I've got twenty things I should be doing right now. What can I do for you buddy?" said Barrett.
"We're moving QuellCorp north, we can't train here anymore, too hot, water's too high so we've pretty much lost the South Carolina facility. We can meet our current contracts overseas and our protective details are still up to standards. There are no problems handling what we're doing, but those other contracts we've discussed are going to be a problem unless I can bring new troops up to operating standards. And I know you don't want to send the army or marines. Congress will batter and fry you alive if you go for more appropriations there," said Gwinnett.
Barrett snorted.
"I need leeway on permits and moving heavy weapons around the country. We'll be transferring all the armored vehicles and aircraft up to our Illinois base for the moment. The generals get nervous when they see our rolling stock on their local roads. I'll also need deadline extensions for a few of those new contracts. You can give us the deadlines or give the contracts to Securite-Francais and you know how that will play out on the hill. That's it for now, Mr. President. I need travel permits and deadline extensions if possible," Gwinnett finished.
"No problem, I'll talk to Hagin this afternoon. He'll deliver your request to the right channels. And there won't be any problem from the money boys, it's either you or the French and that's an easy lob-ball to hit," said Barrett.
"Do you need me to talk to any of your political people?" asked Gwinnett.
"Nope. Hagin will take care of it. Anything else?" asked Barrett.
"No Mr. President, that's all, Sir."
Barrett dropped his official voice, relaxed and said, "Good. How's Charlotte? You told her she was coming north?" He threw his feet up on the desk and leaned back, enjoying the brief respite from his official duties.
"Crap! Yeah, and it wasn't pretty until I told her she'd see Alice a lot more. Y'all gotta make that happen with your security details or my ass is grass," said Gwinnett.
"Done. And one more thing you stupid grunt, you better get your swing in gear because I'm taking back that buck you won last month." Barrett had a huge grin on his face waiting for his best friend's reply.
"Yes, Sir, Mr. President, Sir. The only way you're getting the buck back is if you have your marines take it out of my pocket after they shoot me."
"Look, gotta go. Hagin just walked in so the shit's hit the fan. You take care buddy. Give my love to Charlotte," Barrett said, laughing, disconnecting and turning to get what he assumed was more bad news.
18/03/2047 10:15
Aleysha dressed carefully. She wore her plainest dress, her best blouse, sensible shoes and the simple, plain gold wedding band Jerold had bought for her on her left hand. The apartment water flowed this morning, so she had a cold shower, there was no hot, leaving her short black hair tightly wound to her scalp.
She put her stern momma-face on. "Girls, stay with your Gramma and mind her. Hear me?"
Two solemn faces stared at her and nodded. Then they looked at their Gramma who winked at them. The solemnity disappeared and grins appeared.
"All three of you behave yourselves." Aleysha shook her head as her momma bent over, opened her arms to gather in the young girls for a big hug.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," she said to her mother. As she turned towards the door, a smile escaped as the giggling intensified behind her. She felt lighter, happier knowing momma was taking care of her girls.
Aleysha walked the mile to Ro Taylor's favorite coffee shop, deep in the heart of the East Side territory. She practiced her speech over and over. At the start of one block she was demanding, but by the end of the next she was begging. She tried every approach she could as she walked, and slowly but surely, she decided the truth and how she really felt had to be said. Ro would appreciate the truth she decided. She hoped. Her stomach churned, and she focussed on the street ahead of her.
She knew where she was going, these streets were Jerold's home ground and she'd spent more than enough time on them to know the people and the shops. But they'd changed. More than half of the stores were boarded up or their windows shattered, leaving jagged edges that didn't stop the sparrows from freely flying in and out. There were few pigeons left. They'd ended their days in
stew pots in the city and only those nesting on the tallest, most inaccessible ledges survived.
Lost in practicing her speech, she was surprised when two burly men stepped out of a doorway, one had his hand straight out, pointing at her. "Girl, you don't want to come down here right now."
"Do so. Ro's here. I know he's having coffee. You go tell him Jerold's woman Aleysha is here to talk to him," Aleysha said. She surprised herself with how calm and in-control her words sounded.
"Get lost. Ro don't want to talk to you."
"How you know? You making that up. You get your ass down there and tell him he's got a problem. And I'm it. He'll know I'm serious. Jerold was blooded and you know it. Ro owes me," Aleysha said, her face flushing with anger, her upset stomach forgotten.
"Ro don't owe you nothing."
"You want to bet your ass on that?" said Aleysha.
The larger of the two put his hand on the other's arm and said, "I'll go. She's got a point. And Jerold was our friend." Turning to Aleysha, he said, "You stay here. I'll ask Ro and then we'll see." He turned and strutted down the block, disappearing into the coffee shop about half-way down.
"Stupid bitch," said the remaining sentry.
Aleysha didn't respond. She understood there was no point. She felt her heartbeat thumping, and she shifted from foot to foot as she waited.
Three minutes later, the man stepped out of the doorway, blew a piercing whistle, and waved Aleysha to him.
Aleysha gave her biggest, most-challenging smile to the man blocking her way. He moved reluctantly and remained silent. But his eyes followed her swaying steps all the way to the coffee shop entrance before he turned to resume his guard duties.
It was bright inside. The smell of freshly brewed coffee hung in the air along with the sickly sweet smell of cooked sugar. Every man in the shop looked at her except for one and he remained focussed on a magazine he was reading. None of the gang members was facing the man in the back of the shop, they were all looking at the door and her. To get to him, she'd have to thread her way among all the tables, between all the men.
Aleysha put on her best restaurant-server smile, made eye contact with the first guard, walked to guard's table and, without being asked, put her purse in front of him. He nodded but didn't reach for it. She continued her walk. Her eyes focus on the man in the rear. None of the men followed her once she'd passed. Their eyes were on the front door. Pulling out the chair opposite Ro, she sat down, looked at him, and waited. She wondered if he could hear her heart beating, it sounded so loud in her ears.
A minute later, Ro put down the magazine, took a sip of coffee and asked, "Want a cup?"
She nodded. A server, unbidden, had already poured a cup and was on his way. Aleysha noted the bulge at his side under his apron.
She took a sip and smiled. It had been a very long time since she'd had real coffee.
"Jerold was a good man," said Ro.
She nodded. A tear escaped, and she got angry. She promised herself she wouldn't cry, she'd be tough. The words backed up and her practiced speech wouldn't emerge.
"And we didn't help you, did we?" said Ro.
She shook her head, and the damn broke. "No. I lost my apartment, our girls don't have enough food, my momma needs medicines, I don't have a job anymore. Jerold died because you sent him to the god-damned Army to learn skills. The army gave his pension to his parents instead of me because we didn't get married yet. It was all arranged and you were going to be the best man. He was your friend, and you forgot him and us. And fuck you!"
Aleysha stopped, horrified. It has slipped out. She stopped thinking when she heard him laughing.
"That's why that dumbass loved you. You pretty much said what you thought to anybody who needed to hear it," said Ro.
She met his smiling eyes and watched him shake his head at her.
"You are one gutsy bitch, you know that?" said Ro.
The words wouldn't come, she could only nod. But she didn't break eye contact.
"You're right. I didn't take care of you and the girls like I promised him I would. I screwed up. Yeah, you don't have to nod like you're agreeing with me." Ro said as he finished.
"But I'm going to, starting now. I'll have the boys include you on rations. DeMarco (a head turned towards him) you make sure Aleysha and her momma are taken care of," said Ro.
Aleysha turned, and the head nodded once at her, acknowledging the order. She turned back to Ro and met his eyes.
"And I'm going to ask you to help us sometime in return. I don't have anything in mind right now but you know how it works. We help you, bring you into our family where you belong, and you help us. Deal?" said Ro.
Aleysha nodded. This was the best outcome she could think of. She, the girls and her momma would be protected, and the price was the normal one she'd grown up with and accepted.
"We don't have a lot of food so everybody has to take advantage of the bread offer that's coming. Take any food you get offered from anywhere, and we'll add to it," said Ro. He gave a small wave of his hand to a slightly built man sitting on the edge of the room who constantly changed the direction he looked, now to the door, now to Ro. The man focussed on Ro. Ro pointed to Aleysha and nodded. The man nodded in return.
Aleysha smiled. Her babies were taken care of. She only had one more thing to do to cement the deal.
"Sorry for telling you where to go, you know how it is. And when you need me, I'll be there. It's what Jerold did, and what we would have done had he lived," said Aleysha.
He nodded.
Aleysha stood, looked down at him, smiled and said, "Thank you." She turned and left the shop, feeling lighter, hopeful, her stomach normal, and walked as fast as she could to share the news with her momma. She gave a fuck-you smile to the guard as she passed.
18/03/2047 12:15
"Marines. We own the Park. I want this place set up, protected and secure. See to it," ordered General Beck to his personal staff.
The roar of a dozen quadcopter engines reverberated over the park. The intermittent rumble of large trucks and machinery added counterpoint sound and, under both, the steady beat of an increasing number of generators marked the progression from park to armed camp. While the troops would get used to the noise, the beginning stages were always a challenge.
The General and his men stood around a large conference table in the command trailer. They'd all been sitting too long on the trip north and welcomed a standing meeting. All carried tablets to work their checklists. These lists would be shared with subordinates and used to communicate task commands and control systems. Tablet data showed on the screen embedded into the table surface.
The display morphed to show a city map. "Quartermaster - get your distribution points established and pick unload points to move the bread. Be ready to assume responsibility in 24 hours. I don't want the Corps to be the bottleneck here. We're the good guys so start in the poorest sections and work outwards. Use whatever troops you need. Coordinate with Colonel Johnson."
The two officers nodded at each other.
"Air - make sure we have eyes up there, full-signals array and use as many drones as needed. I don't want a rat to surprise us. I'm told the local gangs have anti-air so use full response should a missile or laser snake out. Shove a strike right back on the flight path if fired on. No permission needed for retaliatory strikes. Permission for anything else is still required until we go red."
The table view changed to a close-up of the streets surrounding the park and all the men leaned in to get a better look and visualize their own positions.
"Security - warn residents overlooking the camp to keep their windows closed and stay off their balconies." The designated buildings turned red on the table. "We'll treat any any person on a balcony as a sniper. Emphasize we'll shoot before asking questions. I want patrols on all access streets. Set up traffic checks and searches. No surprises are to come from that direction.
I'd move them all out but anybody in them is wealthy and influent
ial and we've been ordered to tread lightly. Tell them we're providing extra security in these tough times - that should keep them happy," he finished. He took a few seconds to let those orders sink in and his team update their command tablets.
"Show CCTV," said Beck.
The location of CCTV cameras, including all public and private units as well as those of the Corps became pulsating dots of green.
"I've arranged for penetration and analysis of everything within the city's computer networks. Every keystroke in the city is now being analyzed. That includes full facial monitoring 24-7."
Another quick flip of the General's hand and pictures of gang leaders filled the screen.
"Colonel, please set up communications with The East and West Side leadership and offer to make our relationship go smoothly. Establish yourself as their contact person. Include me in the first meeting. We want to show respect, but we need to be clear about who's in charge. I want their networks penetrated. Talk to NSA, they should be inside already. Before you ask, yes you can threaten to talk to Hagin if NSA balks. He'll deliver. Questions?" he finished. He flipped his hand over the table top. The screen changed to an overhead view of the entire park with all troops and equipment highlighted.
None came.
"Dismissed."
His team left to begin its tasks.
The General watched his screen as sandbagged, defensive-perimeter walls rose and mobile-command buildings wheeled into place. He heard the remainder of the division's heavy chopper force arriving now that full command and control was established. The drone-sentry duty with the electronic arrays was sent up by the recon group and came online. The battle gunships touched down and were immediately prepped for instant relaunch. All computer systems went live, networks established, and green lights indicating readiness lit up the checklist area.
2047: Hell In A Handbasket Page 7