Standing at the Edge

by William Alan Webb

  But first, he would relay the news from Junkyard. Walling hoped that incident might distract the general enough that he wouldn’t strike the unpleasant man who’d follow.

  After leaving the pursuit of Cranston and his bandits to subordinates, Angriff’s only concession to the morning’s attack was to take a security detail with him as he made the rounds. He stood admiring the outside wall of an old brewery, marveling at the craftsmanship of the brickwork, when Walling caught up with him.

  “Signal from FOB Junkyard, General. They had an incident this morning involving dual fatalities.”

  “What kind of incident?”

  “A sniper duel of some sort. It’s not very clear yet, sir. I don’t think they know exactly what happened. One of the dead is an Apache.”

  “Who’s the other one?”

  “They aren’t sure, General. She was in a non-regulation American uniform, driving a JLTV with American markings, but think it might be left over from Lester Hull’s crew. The officer in charge reports that Sergeant Snowtiger acted against his direct orders in firing on the sniper and allowing the Apache chief to claim the body of the dead Indian.”

  “Who’s the officer in charge?”

  “A Captain Anthony, sir. He’s got a good record.”

  “Radio Captain Anthony that the Apaches are allies of the brigade and Sergeant Snowtiger’s judgment is to be trusted in this matter, and to preserve the remaining body as best as possible until pickup.”

  “Aye, sir, will do.” Walling fidgeted but didn’t leave.

  “Was there something else?”

  “Sir, Colonel Minokawa and Doctor Proctor are waiting to see you.”

  “Minokawa? What now? I assume it’s about the courthouse…” He chuckled. “At least it wasn’t damaged again this morning. All right, bring them over.” Angriff sipped cold coffee and made a face. A long draw on his first cigar of the day counteracted the bitter flavor.

  Minokawa was nattily dressed, as usual, but Proctor’s slacks were also clean, with sharp edges, and his buttoned shirt looked brand new. Few people in Prescott were so well dressed. Angriff knew immediately this was not a man who liked to get his hands dirty, but where had he come from?

  After the usual pleasantries, Angriff got right to the point. “So what do you need now that I haven’t got, Colonel?”

  Minokawa smiled. “It’s not what I need, General; it’s what Doctor Proctor here needs. He requests a space in downtown Prescott to set up shop, somewhere around here, and he needs our help with cleanup, restoration, power, that sort of thing.”

  “Sounds like a lot of resources. What do you need this space for, Mr… Proctor, is it?”

  “Doctor Proctor. I need it for my office. I’m your Director of Diversity Compliance and right now my hands are tied.”

  Angriff nodded and smoked, a stall tactic which gave him time to wonder what the hell he needed with a Director of whatever-the-hell Proctor had said.

  “Pardon me, General,” Proctor said, interrupting Angriff’s silence. “Could you put that cigar out? It’s bothering me, and smoking really shouldn’t be allowed.”

  Minokawa glanced at Proctor and shook his head.

  Angriff, however, took another draw, although he did exhale the smoke in the opposite direction. “What exactly does… what was it? Diversity Compliance? Explain to me what you do.”

  “Certainly, General.” Proctor made a show of waving at the smoke, even though Angriff had backed up a step and the breeze was blowing it away from his face. “My department ensures diversity among the various personnel in the brigade. We make sure that there is no bias at play, that people are assigned their tasks based on long-established formulas.”

  “Long-established formulas…” Angriff said. “I see. Help me understand all of this, Doctor Proctor; these sorts of concepts really aren’t my strong suit. You want to make sure that duty assignments are made according to… a formula? Is that like a quota?”

  “Quotas are part of the formula,” Proctor said, warming to his topic. “But it’s more complicated than that. We also have to take into account gender and sexual preference, among other things. We could use an algorithm if our computers were up… which is another issue I wanted to take up with you. I know you would think it’s easy to achieve the correct compliance ratios, but trust me, it’s not. I trained for years to learn this job.”

  “Years.”

  “Yes, eleven to be exact. I have a PhD in Diversity.”

  “You’re a Doctor of Diversity?”

  Proctor smiled. “I am. One of the first. I helped write the standard textbook later studied at some of the finest colleges and universities.”

  “Uh huh,” Angriff said, trying to determine if this was a prank. Norm Fleming had been known to do such things. “This space you’re asking about, with the power and restoration and all of that. What exactly do you need it for?”

  “My staff needs a place to work. We need interview space, a place for records, all sorts of things.”

  “Interviews?”

  “Yes, General, in case someone wants to file a complaint.”

  “A complaint against who? For what?” The longer it went on, the more certain Angriff became that Fleming had set it up.

  “Well, against whatever authority committed the offense.”

  “What are you talking about? What kind of offense?”

  “Giving preferential treatment,” Proctor said, as if Angriff were thick. “Using offensive language either verbal or written, incorrect body language that infers bias, sexual harassment, that sort of thing.”

  “Pretend I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “People will be given their tasks based on their representation within that section, or department, to ensure its diversity. It can be very complicated. If someone files a complaint for non-diversity, then we adjudicate the case.”

  “Adjudicate.” Angriff licked his lower lip and glanced down, as if tasting a food he didn’t like. “Doesn’t that come under the purview of the JAGs?”

  “No, General, this is in addition to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”

  “And it’s you who determines guilt or innocence? I take it you might need to speak with the principals, such as, I don’t know, Mayor Parfist here in Prescott?”

  “He could certainly be involved.”

  “Or someone in the Seventh Cavalry?”

  Proctor’s expression showed he’d finally begun to realize the conversation wasn’t going as well as he’d thought. “Well, yes, of course.”

  “For the sake of argument, Mr. Proctor, let’s say one of my officers came to you and said he had been passed over for promotion because of his religion, or his race. Or his or her sex. Hypothetically speaking, of course. Then what?”

  “It’s Doctor Proctor. Assuming he or she was a minority, then we would interview them, take their statement, and open an investigation.”

  “What if they were not a minority?”

  “Then there could still be bias, but of course…”

  “Of course what?”

  “There’s white privilege to take into account.”

  Angriff closed his eyes a moment to maintain self-control. “Let’s forget that for a minute and assume the person making the complaint is a minority. Would this lead to you interviewing other brigade personnel?”

  “It could. Probably yes.”

  “What if they were not available? What if they were in the field on vital military business?”

  “That does not matter, General. Per regulations, you would have them recalled from the field, or, if that were not possible in a timely manner, you would provide my team with an escort to interview them in the field.”

  Angriff grunted. Walling had gotten to know his boss pretty well by that point and was not sure Proctor would live to see tomorrow. The Doctor of Diversity, however, only had the vaguest sense of what was coming.

  “You called it an offense. That implies there would be punishments if yo
u found someone guilty of… what, being non-diverse? Is that classified as a hate crime?”

  “It can be, General, and the punishments can be quite severe.”

  “How many people work in your office, Mr. Proctor?”

  “It’s Doctor Proctor, if you don’t mind. We’re very understaffed right now. We have seventeen people but need many more, as I’m sure you can imagine. I hope to be able to use some locals eventually, but in the meantime we’ll have to make do.”

  “Seventeen people.”

  “Correct.”

  Angriff leaned over to Walling. “Handle this as priority.” Walling nodded. Angriff shifted the cigar into his jaw, but did not bother to turn his head before exhaling.

  Proctor waved at real smoke this time. “Smoking should be not allowed, General.”

  “I’ll tell you what’s not allowed, Mr. Proctor… pardon me, Doctor Proctor! It’s… it’s…” Angriff’s hands balled into fists. He wanted to throw the smaller man to the ground and smash his face and yell that was exactly the sort of nonsense that had rotted American society in the first place, that caused Americans to hate each other. Truth be told, he wanted to shoot him. But even as his right hand went to the grip on his pistol, he blinked and took a step back.

  Stop it, Nick! Stop it. This is a defining moment. Angriff took a deep breath and walked in a circle away from the others until he regained his composure. It took close to a minute. Before he spoke again, he took another deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “Doctor, those days are gone; those politics are gone. I hated them then and I hate them now. Both parties amped up the animosity of their members for their own personal gain. That’s what made Americans hate each other so much and when the time came for us to pull together, it was too late. I disagree with everything you’ve said, but I also see that you feel just as strongly about your beliefs as I do mine. In private, you have just as much right to them.

  “But I’ve been given a grave responsibility and all I can do is my best to see it through. I have to utilize every man and woman to help rebuild our country to the best of their abilities. Whatever I may have thought of you before The Collapse, or you of me, is no longer relevant. Forget politics; they don’t apply any more. Help me rebuild our country. I promise you, we’re on the same side.”

  Proctor seemed stunned. “I… I don’t know what to say, General.”

  “Doctor Proctor, have you studied the demographics of the Seventh Cavalry?”

  The doctor had been terrified by Angriff’s initial outburst, but talk of his realm of expertise reassured him. “Umm… yes, General, of course.”

  “And what are your conclusions?”

  “I don’t understand the question.”

  “Is the Seventh Cavalry skewed toward a particular race or sex?”

  “Well…”

  “It’s not a loaded question. I really don’t know the answer.”

  “No, just over half of your personnel are classified as minorities.”

  “Good,” Angriff said. “I’m truly glad to hear that, not that I could do anything about it now. Have you gone over our personnel records? You have? Then I think you’ll agree the only consideration given to personnel assignments within the brigade were talent, expertise, and training. Those are still the hallmarks. If that means I wind up with an all-white engineer company, then so be it. Or all black, or Asian; I don’t care as long as they are the best at doing their assigned duties. Do you understand me so far?”

  Proctor nodded, but it was obvious he suspected a trap.

  “Doctor, I’m tired of fighting against my own people. I don’t want to do that any more, and that includes you. But I want you to understand something. I will not now, or in the future, have my S-1 assign personnel based on any other considerations than their fitness for the duty in question. I have a mission to perform and only those things that further completion of that mission matter to me.”

  “Excuse me, General, but what are you telling me?”

  “Just this: I need you. I’ll grant your request for office space and do whatever I can to help you get set up.”

  “But?”

  Angriff smiled the charming smile that once graced major newspapers across the world, with deep crinkles around his bright blue eyes.

  “There was a time in the past when I would have set you digging latrines, Doctor. The world you helped build collapsed, and frankly, from the view of history, it was probably doomed anyway. Our society was too fractured to survive. Alt-right this, alt-left that, and nowhere near enough alt-American. I’ve been called an alt-right racist and every other name in the book. One German guy took offense that I believe in God and some Englishwoman called me vile.

  “However, that was my view. You, no doubt, would have thought me a war-mongering brute… hell, maybe you did. Maybe you read about me and said I was culturally insensitive or repulsive or maybe you wrote me off as being full of right-wing bullshit. If you did, just don’t admit it now.” Angriff winked to let him know that was a joke. “I was a nationalist, no question about it… I still am. And maybe you were a globalist, and maybe you still are. I’m guessing we were on opposite sides and I honestly don’t think reconciliation was possible back then. And in that dead world, maybe a Doctor of Diversity was considered important. Hell, maybe it was important and I’m the one who was wrong.

  “And maybe one day we can argue about all that again. If that day comes, I promise to listen to what you have to say. But for now that’s all gone and we have to put aside our differences to survive. The United States can’t divide along ideological lines again unless we first resurrect her. That’s all I care about, restoring my country.”

  “Despite what you may think, General, I care about that, too.”

  “Outstanding. For that to happen, we all have to pull in the same direction. This brigade doesn’t need a diversity compliance officer because all I care about is competence. Nothing matters but how well you do your job. And you already know I have an S-1, Colonel Saw, to handle military personnel matters. So the brigade itself doesn’t need your talents, but someone else does. Where you’re needed is right here in Prescott, and later maybe in Sedona, and Flagstaff, and who knows where else?

  “Mayor Parfist told me this morning that assigning people to the right projects is a burden for his office staff. Keeping up with who does what well is driving him crazy. If you become his director of personnel, and use your training to put the right people in the right jobs, then you can be a huge asset to our mission of rebuilding Prescott and the surrounding area. If you agree to only consider a person’s qualifications for a job, and nothing else, then I’ll back you to the hilt if you have any problems. And if you find somebody who does refuse to work with someone else for racial or gender reasons, or any reason, for that matter, you let Colonel Walling know and I’ll personally kick their ass. Is it a deal?”

  Proctor thought about it for a few seconds. “If you mean everything you say, General… it’s a deal.”

  “I’ve been called many things, Doctor, but dishonest isn’t one of them.”

  #

  Chapter 6

  They have the eager eyes of men who know nothing of war.

  Quintus Fabius, 489 b.c.

  Prescott, AZ

  1442 hours, April 10

  “From a distance, they don’t look bad,” Angriff said to Colonel Walling.

  Fifty feet away, the battalion of new recruits stood at attention on what had once been the fifty-yard line of Prescott High School’s football field. Comprised of the reliable elements of Lester Hull’s old Army of the Republic of Arizona, and fleshed out with local volunteers young and fit enough for military duty, they’d been incorporated as a second Marine battalion. After four months of boot camp, the day had come to see what kind of Marines they made.

  “Colonel Strickland thinks they’re going to make fine Marines, sir.”

  “If anybody can make Marines out of them, it’s Harry the Hat. I wish we could have d
one better with uniforms.” Those weren’t new and some were Army; a few were even Navy.

  “Colonel Schiller’s working on it. Our first cotton crop will make a big difference. Don’t forget we have to review the Homeguard battalion today too, general.”

  “I know.” Angriff hadn’t formally inspected troops in a long while. He scowled, put a cigar in his mouth, but didn’t light it. “Let’s see what we’ve got.”

  With the CO, Colonel Strickland, by his side, they took a close look at every one of the eight hundred men in the battalion’s five companies. Angriff had reviewed many units in his time as a general officer, but after the inspection he came away impressed enough to ask Strickland if he could address the new Marines. Strickland beamed as he said yes.

  “I’ll keep this brief,” he said. His voice had a natural force behind it, and the Virginia accent only empowered it further. “Today, some of you participated in an operation against your former comrades. Your professionalism was outstanding and the operation was a complete success. There were no casualties on either side and that’s a tribute to both you and your trainers. I’m very proud to have you as part of the Seventh Cavalry Brigade. I’m proud to call you Marines!”

  A cheer rose and he let it go on for a few seconds before waving them to silence.

  “Since there are now two Marine battalions, I’m announcing the formation of a Marine regiment under the command of Colonel Strickland.”

  More cheers. Strickland himself looked dumbstruck; Angriff hadn’t told him in advance.

  “That regiment is to bear the name First Marines! You’ve got a proud heritage to live up to, but I have faith you can do it!”

  This time the cheers overwhelmed him and Angriff was smart enough to know when to stop.

  #

  “So you’re Cranston?” Angriff said. “I’ve heard a lot about you. It doesn’t look like outdoor living agrees with you.”