by Don Shift
“How are we set for communications?” Brad asked.
“We’ve got portable and car radios.” Tony Ford said.
“My suggestion is work on relays until we can establish long-range VHF and high-frequency communications through our ham radio community partners. We can talk without the repeaters to one station in each direction, say an average of fifteen miles apart. Get a radio and makeshift antenna on the roof, talk to Camarillo, Camarillo can get on the roof and talk to Thousand Oaks. TO can talk to Simi, LA, etc. Cars fill in the gaps. I think some of that has been partially implemented spontaneously this afternoon.”
“What is the most important thing we’re not thinking about?”
“Water. We have to protect the municipal wells. We can find food, we can bury our poop, burn our trash, and walk, but we can’t live without water. Anyone who knows what and where the wells are will try to get it working again once they get desperate. Copper thieves and scavengers might try to tear wells apart before then. Someone may even try to take one hostage and sell the water.”
“You want us to detail deputies to sit and protect a water well when things are falling apart?”
“There are handful of water sources in this county that are accessible to the suburban population. Imagine a gang gets a well working. They can use that water to control the area, control people, buy loyalty, and trade water to get whatever they want. Think about your wife having to have sex with some skanky douchebag so your kids don’t die. Resources have to be kept out of the control of the criminal element.”
They understood. “And as we have to protect the wells, and someone has to convince the public works guys to get them working again or maybe rig up some solar-electric pump for long-term use.”
“Why convince?”
“Because everyone is going to listen to an order from OES backed by the board of supervisors, and ideally city governments, especially when you tell them it’s part of the plan. People want to know there is a plan. It guides them and reassures them. It gives them a goal. Remember, it won’t be long before people understand we can’t pay them, and they will want to stay home to protect their families.”
“You want us to lie and say we have a plan for this?”
Brad held up his binder. “We do. But we won’t tell them it’s my hobby plan and master’s thesis. Or that we’re making much of it up as we go. The board and city councils won’t need to make the necessary decisions, no offense. We have the legal authority, the ability, and the trust to be the ones who can take charge. People will look for leadership and that’s what we need from you. They aren’t going to wait for the Board of Supervisors or the city council to decide. If we act like we have the answers, then maybe, with a little luck, we can get things done.”
“Interesting,” Supervisor Hong said. He scribbled something down on his notepad. “Back to water.”
“As far as water, we’ll have to get the emergency generators back up to pump the wells. The water guys might have some luck doing that. Without them, there are no gravity fed systems I’m aware of. Once the water tanks on the hill go dry, that’s it. The pumps that fill up those tanks are electric. All our water will have to come from wells. Without electricity, there will be no importing water from reservoirs or the aqueduct.”
“How much water do we have?”
“We have less than two days of water in storage until the taps stop running. It will vary unpredictably and from water system to water system. As you are aware, the water districts are numerous. I think the Camarillo area has four or five. Anyhow, water pressure will begin to drop gradually, and people will panic at that point. The good news is that the aquifers will have years of water to supply the wells.
“Every city has water scattered around. Same for the water districts. A lot of the farms have them too. I’ve mapped a bunch out. What we do is secure the urban wells against looting, people looking for machinery or copper wire, whatever, and begin converting them to work with diesel generators and pumps. We can get those from construction sites, contractors, and rental companies. We’ll need water tanks too, five hundred gallons. People can fill up whatever they have with handpumps. We can grab those from places like Harbor Freight or Home Depot.
“It’s not practical for citizens to walk across town only to carry 20 pounds of water back. We can scrounge enough tanks and trucks to move water from wells to central distribution points in parks and the like. People can bring their buckets or tanks and fill them up there. Someone with horses can tow a water wagon around town. Spit balling here.”
“What do we do when the diesel for the generators run out?”
“Uh, well, not much we can do. By then, we can rig up new well bores with windmill pumps, or just go straight to wind or solar power. Not sure how to phrase this, but by that point, demand for water is going to be a lot less, if you catch my drift.”
“You mean people will die,” Supervisor Park said.
“Yes ma’am. Estimates vary between 60-90% in the first year.”
The entire room gasped. No one said anything for a few minutes.
“Up to 90% fatalities?” someone asked to confirm.
“That’s right,” Brad replied. “A combination of starvation, health issues, accident, disease, and violence. More so in the urban areas than the rural areas. Given the weather, we will see many die in the late summer and early fall heat waves from dehydration.”
“Can we pump into the municipal water mains?” Hong asked.
“No. I haven’t really studied it in detail, but remember, we’re not getting water from the Aqueduct or any other sources, just what’s in the ground and stored locally. There is not enough supply or power to make the water run like normal. Plus we’d be charging empty houses and businesses with water that would be wasted. It’s a question of electricity and water supply. Not enough of either. It’s bucket brigades.”
“What about pools?”
“People with pools won’t want to give up the water. And unfortunately, the water is too tainted with chemicals to drink or cook with. You have to wait until the sunlight breaks down the chemicals and the pool starts to get scummy. I’d recommend putting out the word to only use it for flushing toilets or body washing, with plenty of soap.”
“So what do we do about sewage if we can’t flush the toilet?” a supervisor asked.
“I don’t know, someone else will have to come up with that answer. These are just ideas I have. We have to secure our ability to execute our public safety mission. We also have to consider infrastructure protection, like securing the wells from vandalism. You’ll need people watching fire stations when they’re empty and someone to guard the city and county equipment yard. I’d recommend seeing if GSA can get people to stay and guard places overnight.”
Villareal wrote down infrastructure protection on his notepad. It would be impossible to detail enough men to guard every well, hospital, fire station, and city/county yard in addition to patrolling for emergencies. All the people who couldn’t or wouldn’t come in due to transportation or other issues would leave the department short-handed.
“Another thing you’ll have to deal with is massive desertion,” Brad said.
“Desertion?” Chief Greer asked.
“Yeah, government employees, not just cops and fire fighters, are going to think of their families first, not their jobs or the public. It happened after Hurricane Katrina. When things are desperate and the mission seems hopeless, very few are likely to stick around. In the short term, they will stay because there is food, water, and security at the station, but once that goes away, why should they stay? The goodness of their heart in incredibly challenging circumstances?”
“Honor?” Supervisor park suggested.
“Honor can’t fill empty bellies,” Villareal muttered to himself.
Brad went on. “We have to secure immediate, short-term gains so we can instill confidence in our own people that we can succeed at our mission at saving as many lives as possible. Finding
viable workarounds will do a lot to keep order instead of letting everyone slip into despair. Once the public becomes desperate and we have done nothing for them, we have lost their trust that we are acting in their best interest. If we cannot maintain order, we are looking at total anarchy.
“This is two-fold, government workers and the public. If the police feel it is hopeless to maintain order, they go home. Fire fighters don’t go out, public workers don’t deliver water, bury bodies, and so on. So we also need to keep our disaster workers reasonably well-fed and hydrated.”
“What about us regular people?” someone in the crowd snapped.
Supervisor Hinojosa ignored the remark. “So how do you get all the things you need to simply do your jobs? Give out vouchers for payment?”
“The governor has delegated the emergency power to commandeer necessary equipment, which can mean supplies.” The members if the public looked horrified. “Does anyone have a better idea? It’s better than just taking it. Go through the motions with good intentions and it looks less like the government is looting and has an air of legitimacy. Right now and for the first few days, people will not truly grasp what this means. They will vaguely expect things to go back to normal at some point.”
The supervisors’ heads nodded. “What if they don’t take the ‘vouchers’?”
“We just take it at that point. Sorry, but survival of the fittest. Call me a keyboard commando if you want, but we’re tasked with keeping society intact and saving lives.”
“So we’re going to be shooting looters at some point, but you want us to loot?” Villareal asked.
“When armed deputies truly need something, they’re going to just take it. You want to do it now under the cover of law and supply the sheriff’s office before the good stuff we need gets stolen or wait until the government looks like totally corrupt thieves?” Brad was getting heated.
“You people should have planned for this. I’ve written each supervisor for the last three years about this. The end of the world has been a fad for what, a decade now? There should be a year’s worth of dried food and supplies put away in a warehouse so I wouldn’t have to suggest legalized government theft. I’d rather pretend and get ahead of the curve, maybe do some good, then have the entire county government non-mission capable in a week’s time when those with guns will take what they want, cop or criminal.”
By some miracle Brad’s insubordination wasn’t what they responded to. “It’s a distinction without a difference.”
“No, madam supervisor, it’s inaction to not get what we need. We’re just tying our hands and being self-defeating. We’re already in a world without the rule of law; the old order is overthrown. We’re going to have to steal to survive; we can do it with honor and in a way and at a time that doesn’t make us look like total scumbags, or we can suck at our job, fail, and look like thugs who got into the looting game late.”
“I can’t believe we’re trying to justify this,” Lee said.
“Look, send out orders to the deputies to gather necessary supplies in order to preserve public order and assist the public works department with getting what they need. You think anyone would care if a hospital ripped off a drugstore to keep surgeries going? This allows us to keep cops on the street and get water to citizens. Every item I’ve put in my plan is vital to survival.”
“Such as?”
“Car power inverters and cigarette lighter adaptors. If we have gas, we can charge radios and electronics. Solar battery chargers. Batteries. Generators. Fluid transfer pumps for water and gas. Gas cans. Buckets, lanterns, flashlights. Office supplies to keep track of everything on paper. Things we should have had stockpiled so we’re not taking them now.”
“What about food?” Hong asked.
“We’ll survive off MREs in the short term. Every sheriff’s facility should have enough MREs and survival food for a couple of days and fire stations should have their own pantries. We’ll ration them.”
“Why don’t we just loot a grocery store or commandeer one for our own use? You said the deputies have the guns,” Chief Ostrander inquired cynically.
“There’s a very fine line. Cops stealing food for their own benefit will piss people off. You’ll lose your legitimacy. Carrying out office supplies and inverters doesn’t send an unconscious signal that says, ‘Those cops are taking all the food and we’re gonna starve.’ Plus if this turns out to be small potatoes and we’re all embarrassed a week from now, we can justify supplies to continue our public safety mission but will never justify taking an Albertsons as our prize.”
It’ll happen anyway, Villareal thought.
“This all feels so unreal,” Supervisor Park said.
“Well, look on the bright side. Doesn’t look like anyone dropped any nukes since we’ve been here talking. It could be worse,” the county CEO said.
“Judge Fitzgerald, what about the constitutional aspects of all this?” Supervisor Hong asked.
The elderly man walked up to the podium. “Obviously unconstitutional. I would say that the governor’s order to commandeer property violates the Fourth and Fifth Amendment. We certainly can’t actually pay people back for what we take, not for a long time anyhow, even if we issue some sort of bond. It does have a very distasteful air about it, I must say that. On the other hand, many would say ‘the Constitution is not a suicide pact.’ I would idealistically prefer to stick to that document no matter what. Our present circumstances make that difficult.
“Though I have tried all afternoon to deny it, I believe the sunset tonight will bring the end of the world we once knew. We are facing survival. The best and the worst in men, mainly more of the latter, will be often seen. As for the government, I would have to agree with the young man’s argument. We have failed in our primary duty to protect the public. I’m sorry I don’t have any easy answers for you. Maybe at another time with more information, I could offer more.”
The rest of the meeting was procedural. A flurry of resolutions were passed. One affirmed the commandeering of property with a county guarantee to pay when possible. Another granted plenary powers to county department heads, a basic blank check. Brad Vaughn’s infrastructure control plan was approved wholeheartedly and given priority. A curfew was passed that limited citizens to their neighborhoods after 10 PM, except for emergencies. Non-essential businesses were ordered closed and all non-essential traffic ordered stopped.
The long-time secretary to four sheriffs, was still at her desk when Villareal got back to his office.
“Peggy, go home.”
“Only when you do,” she quipped.
“Fine, pass the word and then write a note and stick it some place conspicuous. I’m going home to see my wife, eat something, and bring in some spare clothes and things. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”
Driving away from the office, Villareal had a new desire never to come back. He feared that Tennant wouldn’t return and lift this burden from his shoulders. Something about that man in a crisis like this didn’t resonate well within the chief. He prayed that he was wrong.
No Day is Ever Routine
Almost the entire uniformed staff of the jail, deputies and civilian Sheriff Service Techs, crowded around the bubble in Cluster control, the heart of the jail. It was standing room only with the commander standing on a chair. It was six-thirty, an hour after Fischer was supposed to go home. She had a date tonight, or she did. It was just going to be dinner only as it was a “school night” for her. To her dismay, the commander had just confirmed that this was going to be an eighteen-hour day. Already four people from the next shift were late.
“So Chief Ostrander has ordered that we release all sentenced female inmates. Additionally, we will be letting the workers go in the morning. Your seniors will be preparing a list of low-risk inmates to be released. You know who the troublemakers are and aren’t. As much as we might disagree, we must release everyone who is not an immediate risk to the public. We simply cannot function normally. Your seniors will
have more details.
“SSTs are now full corrections officers. We will issue spare Tasers and OC spray. If you don’t have cuffs, get some. Those of you who are willing and able will be assisting with the count and feeding. Congratulations, you’re now promoted to custody deputies.” An SST looked at Rybals, arched her eyebrows, and rolled her eyes. “Dayshift does not have to report until 7 AM tomorrow. We know you will need time to take care of your families and there is likely to be transportation issues. As you know, everyone on the Tactical Response Team and SWAT has been pulled out to the field already. It’s going to be rough, but if we all pull together, we’ll make it through.”
The meeting broke up and Fischer and Rybals made their way back to their section.
“This is so crazy,” Mika said. “We’re going to empty out Section A except for the psych inmates?”
“You heard what she said. This is a big deal Mika. You know as well as I do that these bitches are a pain in the neck. They take up, what, half? of the jail’s resources and they’re a quarter of the population. It’s not like they’re the ones likely to be raping, looting, and murdering.”
Women are far less likely to engage in violence than men, especially opportunistic crimes taking advantage of any disaster. Removing them from the jail would remove a burden of supervision and allow deputies to consolidate inmates without having to worry about sex segregation.
“I had a date tonight. I can’t even call to cancel.”
“You had a date tonight? Do tell.”
“What’s to tell? It isn’t happening.”
Rybals shrugged. Mika Fischer was alternatively quiet and talkative, usually the latter when tired or intoxicated. Fischer was described as “weird” by her colleagues, not regarded as one of the competent females like Rybals. Her thoughts were random and never seemed to make any sense to anyone except Fischer herself. Many wondered if she had a slight case of Asperger’s. She also suffered from the undeserved reputation of a slut after an unsuccessful relationship with a male deputy. The rest stayed away from her, which was unusual in the predominantly male working environment where extracurricular activities of a sexual nature were common between deputies.