Gundown

by Ray Rhamey

  When it was put that way, Hank couldn’t argue. Any decent member of society had a duty to try to make things better. He scanned the room. All eyes were on him. They thought he could do this. Should do this.

  It was his duty, wasn’t it? To Noah. To Jewel. To Chloe.

  After another hour of wrangling, Hank agreed to give it a try. Then, his shoulder screaming at him to give it a rest, he decided to get someplace where he could sort out his thoughts and feelings. He told the board, “The new chairman is going on a retreat. See you tomorrow.”

  They protested that there was a lot to do, but he was soon down the spiral staircase and outside. On the way to the parking lot, he saw Jewel on a bench in the shade of an oak tree, eating a sandwich, a brown paper sack beside her. She looked up and, to his surprise, gave a little wave. He walked to her.

  She said , “Hey” and pointed to his injured arm.

  Before she could ask, he said, “It’ll be okay.”

  “Good.” Her gaze flicked to the administration building and back to him. “You working with the Alliance again?”

  He laughed. “I guess you could call it that.” He discovered that he wanted to talk with her about it. He hadn’t had anybody to talk to since . . . since his wife . . . since Marcie. “Listen, can I interest you in a cup of coffee after work?”

  She shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t.”

  Oh, well.

  She continued. “Got a going-away party for Franklin.” She chuckled. “A TV producer offered him the lead in a new sitcom about a gay taxi driver.”

  Hank chuckled at the irony. “Well, if you think it’s okay, wish him luck for me.”

  “I think he’d like that.”

  This was going nowhere. He said, “Well, I gotta go clear my head.” He turned away.

  Her soft voice stopped him. “About that coffee . . .”

  He turned back.

  Her smile was warm, her gaze direct and open. “Ah, you’ll ask me again, right?”

  He grinned. “Oh, yeah.”

  Consequences

  Mitch sat back in his recliner as he watched the press conference in Ashland get under way, but his gut was snarled up the way it had been since . . . since he’d had a hand in the murders of two people. Nobody had connected him to the colonel, and he hoped to God that they never did. He prayed every day to forget that awful moment, but it was still all there, all the time. Along with guilt like lead weighing ever heavier on his soul.

  An announcer from the television caught Mitch’s attention with the words, “And now to our coverage of the Alliance press conference in Ashland, Oregon.”

  Carrie skipped in. “Hey, Daddy. What are you watching?”

  “News.” He shifted in the chair and patted a spot next to him. “Come watch with me.” She snuggled next to him.

  The picture cut to Bruce Ball, the network reporter. Behind him was a low stage with a microphone stand. The stage was outdoors, with a backdrop of green hills. It was a sunny, cloudless day. He guessed there must be a hundred people, including a dozen reporters with microphones bunched up front, close to the stage.

  Ball said to the camera, “This is the first public appearance by the new head of the Alliance, Hank Soldado, after the shocking murder of the U.S. Attorney General and the assassination of the organization’s leader, Noah Stone, on the campus of Southern Oregon University. The aftermath that propelled Mr. Soldado to leadership in the Alliance was caught on amateur video.”

  Cut—the picture changed to Hank Soldado, standing on the auditorium stage, speaking into a microphone, lines of people stretching out from him on both sides. Bruce Ball’s voice-over said, “After the killing of Noah Stone, Soldado, although wounded in trying to prevent the murder, led the audience in something the Alliance calls ‘the promise.’”

  The clip rolled, and Mitch was sucked back to that auditorium at the words of the promise. The whole audience said it with Soldado.

  Ball gazed into the camera. “After her inquiry, the assassin, Colonel Martha Hanson, was sentenced to the Oregon Women’s Keep for life.”

  An image of Marion Smith-Taylor’s blood dripping from his hands slammed into Mitch’s mind. He grunted with the force of it, then clenched his teeth and willed his focus back to the television. But he knew the horror would be back.

  Carrie turned to him, her expression worried. “Daddy?”

  “I’m fine, honey, I’m fine.”

  At the Alliance press conference, a black man who looked like a football player stepped onto the stage and scanned the crowd. Mitch spotted the tension of a pro searching for danger. Must be Donovan, Soldado’s head of security.

  The man gestured to the side of the stage, and moments later Hank Soldado strode onstage, dressed in casual slacks and a sport shirt, one arm in a sling. He looked strong and capable, in charge.

  He stood before the microphone and gazed at the crowd. The picture zoomed in for a close-up. Recognition of the intensity in Soldado’s eyes startled Mitch. He’d seen its like before . . . in Noah Stone on the night of his speech at McCormick Place.

  Hank said, “I’m here to reassure all members of the Alliance that we will stay true to the mission begun by Noah Stone.” It seemed to Mitch that Soldado’s gaze was leveled directly at him. “There are those who thought that what Noah started would end with him. I’m here to tell you that it won’t.”

  Mitch glanced at Carrie. She seemed enraptured by Hank.

  Hank scanned the crowd. “The Alliance will keep making the promise, and continue to keep it. That promise gave new life to me, and it can give new life to all of us. The promise is this—I promise to help, the best I can.”

  Carrie looked to Mitch. “That sounds nice. Doesn’t it, Daddy?”

  He sighed. “Yes, honey, it does. It does.”

  Hank said, “Noah was taken before he could do all the things he had planned to help each of us, all of us, onto the road to a better life. One of the things he was most excited about was the announcement he was to make a few days ago.

  “The Alliance, by vote of its board and the overwhelming support of its members, endorses Governor Alan Thomas, candidate for president of the United States.”

  The audience before Hank burst into cheers and applause. Red-white-and-blue signs popped up that said, “Thomas for President.”

  “We believe that Governor Thomas, as president, will help our nation move forward toward greater justice and greater safety.” He gazed into the camera. “Especially as far as guns are concerned.”

  After what had happened to Noah Stone, Mitch thought Hank had all kinds of guts to stand there, exposed, and say that.

  Hank said, “And now I’ll take your questions.”

  Carrie turned to Mitch, her brow wrinkled. “What does he mean about guns, Daddy?”

  Mitch clicked the remote and Hank vanished. He took out a mini Tootsie Roll. After raised eyebrows from Carrie, he handed it to her. “It means, sugar, that we’re going to have a long talk about guns and their place in our lives.” He smiled. “But not today. Why don’t you run along and see what your little brother is up to. I’ve got some thinking to do.”

  He had some things to make up for, and signing up for the promise was a place to start.

  • • •

  After a half hour of being peppered with questions, Hank held up a hand. He was uncomfortable with the assault by hungry reporters, though he gave honest answers. And the pain in his shoulder had flared up. “That’s it, folks. Many thanks, and a good life to you.” He did not like this part of the job.

  The reporters kept yammering questions, but Hank had no trouble turning away. He headed off the stage and smiled at the sight of Jewel waiting for him, Chloe at her side.

  Parting Shots

  I did not publish this book to argue about guns

  •I did it to stimulate thinking about gun violence, self-defense, and our criminal justice system.

  •Gundown offers thought-starters. not prescriptions for cure
s.

  •It is about community and the promise.

  Our common ground

  Whether for or against guns, we all have one thing in common—none of us wants to be shot or to see a loved one hit by a bullet. Let’s start there and find ways to stop the fusillade that riddles our society with death and injury.

  Gun violence is undeniably epidemic in America

  For me, an unending river of tragic headlines sums up the issue of handguns in America.

  Mistaking her for an intruder, Florida woman shot and killed her 27-year-old daughter

  The woman’s husband, a cop, was asleep in their bed. If that handgun hadn’t been there, she would have awakened her husband or called the police. No handgun, no young life lost.

  Ohio man mistakes teen son for intruder, kills him

  He ended his son’s life when his son was only fourteen. No handgun, no young life lost.

  You could argue that these incidents were just cases of self-defense gone horribly wrong. Yes, we need to defend ourselves, but how about this 2015 study of self-defense that found:

  American gun owners are far more likely to injure themselves or someone else with their firearm than to stop a criminal.

  For instance:

  2-year-old girl shot in face after gun goes off inside mom’s purse

  Having a gun doesn’t work the way we think it will, or the way the NRA says it does. I have to wonder what would have happened if those parents had had stoppers instead.

  Gun violence is about guns

  You hear people say that guns don’t kill people, people kill people.

  Yes. But only a handgun could lead to this headline:

  Couple left four children in a car with a loaded gun, boy accidentally killed his 7-year-old brother

  Picture a person you love dearly and then think of a bullet from your gun accidentally ending their life. It could happen. Wouldn’t you give up your gun to prevent that?

  9-year-old girl shot in arm by celebratory gunfire

  That little girl was leaving church on New Year’s Eve. Police said the round “seemed to be from the voluminous amount of gunfire” happening at the time. Seemed to be?

  Milwaukee 2-year-old fatally shoots mother in back

  It was the mom’s boyfriend’s handgun, and it slid out from under a car seat. “Smart” guns can prevent accidental shootings by children, but gun stores won’t sell them—a New Jersey dealer was almost driven out of business when he offered them. How about laws requiring every lethal weapon to be a smart gun? Gunmakers would make billions on new or retrofitted guns.

  Here’s an insight into guns in the home from a 2014 study:

  Bringing a gun into the home substantially increases the risk for suicide for all family members and the risk for women being murdered in the home.

  Half of all suicides are done with guns, and attempts made with other methods usually fail. How many of those “gunicides” would still be alive if there had been no gun handy?

  If you own a handgun or an assault rifle, let me ask you this: Do you really need a lethal firearm in your home?

  It’s about the money

  A headline from June 19, 2016:

  Orlando shooting makes big profits for gun makers

  Yes, the day after forty-nine people were murdered in Orlando, Florida, gun sales and the stock of gun and ammo makers shot up. Whenever mass shootings occur or there is serious discussion of gun control, gun sales soar.

  And when we decry the violence and the weaponry used against us, the NRA raises its voice to encourage people to buy more firearms, and to fear losing their guns. It adds to that constant pressure on politicians to stay away from new gun safety legislation. The NRA’s lifeblood (money) comes, of course, from gun and ammo makers.

  Whatever happens in America regarding guns is in the hands of the people who control firearms in America, gun manufacturers and their subsidiary, the National Rifle Association. Only if they change their ways can anything happen, and the motivation for what they do or don’t do is money.

  That’s why Gundown imagines a way for gun makers to make even more gigantic profits if they turn from lethal firearms to nonlethal defensive weapons. The market is there—more and more of us need some form of self-defense. In a sense, they’ve created it by pushing so many people to buy so many guns.

  Gun makers, which sounds like a better idea to you: serving the existing and increasingly saturated gun market and living in a country where your kids could be shot at school or you at a movie theater, or becoming hugely wealthy by walking away from that to create and promote nonlethal self-defense weapons?

  To the majority of politicians who fail to give this deadly issue the debate and consideration that we the people need because they fear political repercussions, I say how about a little guts? Lives depend on it. The American public and most gun owners support gun safety laws.

  Where I come from on guns

  I grew up in Texas in the 1950s. I owned guns—BB guns, pellet rifles, a .22 rifle, a shotgun, a .38 revolver—and hunted for many years. I enjoy shooting guns, I’m a good shot, and it’s fun. Like most men of that time, I never even questioned my right to have any gun I wanted. When I was sixteen, I bought that .38 revolver by mail order (my parents never knew about it).

  I started working on this story about twenty years ago (as I write this, it is 2016). It was sparked by an attack on an elementary school in Stockton, California, when five schoolchildren were killed. It started me thinking about what, if anything, could be done to deal with gun violence. It was clear that gridlocked government was powerless to change things. That led to the insight that the key lies with gunmakers—and the money.

  What about self-defense?

  Ours is an increasingly dangerous society, and a great deal of the danger exists because, with 300 million guns littering our country, criminals, radicalized militants, and the insane can easily obtain weapons to slaughter innocent students or office workers or bystanders or wives and girlfriends. Month after month, year after year, the news reports assault after assault, killing after killing.

  In Gundown, citizens are encouraged to carry nonlethal defensive guns. A lot of people would feel safer if they had a stopper—I know women who have been raped, and I’m sure they’d like to have delivered a shot of tangle to the attacker’s crotch.

  If market forces get behind a move to replace lethal firearms with a new kind of defensive weapon that will bring the gun and ammo makers billions in profit, who knows what might happen?

  To those who fear ourselves

  Some folks fear tyranny from our government. Here’s what Sgt. John Love, a Vietnam vet and gun owner says about that:

  “I am a Nam vet, two tours. I own a Dirty Harry style magnum Smith & Wesson, a coach side-by-side 12 gauge, a long rifle, a target pistol, and so forth. I do not need an assault rifle added to my arsenal to protect myself, or thirty rounds jammed in my weapon. I am not living in fear that my government is secretly at war with me and that I am going to have to fight them off at any moment. I am not under any misguided misconception that my guns will do me any good if my government did come after me. It would be like bringing a damn slingshot to a guided missile duel. Get over it.”

  America has the strongest democratic government in the world. There’s no need to fear each other, and certainly no need to arm ourselves with military weapons to kill each other. We have peaceful ways to work things out.

  If someone does come to “take your guns,” it can only happen if a majority of your fellow citizens have voted for them do so. If you accept and exercise the freedoms and benefits of living in a democracy, then you should also live by its rules.

  Did you know that conservative Republican president Richard Nixon wanted a federal ban on handguns?

  And how about ultraconservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who said,

  “Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited . . .” It is “. . . not a right t
o keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.”

  Yes, even he concluded that the kinds of guns we own can be regulated and controlled.

  We pride ourselves on being a nation that lives by the rule of law. Well, the Constitution does not grant a right to own an assault rifle. The Supreme Court—rule of law—has held that there’s no barrier to state laws limiting the nature of guns that can be owned. There’s already a 1934 federal law that in effect stopped ownership of machine guns. More recently, in 2016, the Supreme Court ruled that:

  “. . . machine guns are not protected arms under the Second Amendment.”

  There is no legal or constitutional reason we can’t ban weapons suitable only for—and created specifically for—killing.

  About our criminal justice system

  It often doesn’t seem to accomplish much in the way of justice. As it says in the story:

  “Defense lawyers distort the truth in order to free known criminals. Prosecution lawyers do the same in pursuit of conviction. Lawyers seek to discredit opposition witnesses, not to glean the truth from them. The adversarial system is about winning, not justice.”

  About the technology in this story

  The stoppers and ammo, brain fingerprinting, and the neurological things that happen in the Repair Shop are based on existing technology.

  About the promise in this story

  Writing this book changed me. I wrote it as a novel of ideas because I wanted to offer thought-starters that could lead to solutions for the troubles that plague us. Along the way, I found that the core idea of Gundown, the promise, had deep meaning for me. So I made the promise, and I live by it as best I can.