After The Fall (Book 4): Undercover Page 3
When Jason was within twenty paces of the man he said, “That’s far enough.”
Jason sat down on the ground, slipping off his rifle and backpack. He made sure to sit close to a car in case he needed to duck for cover.
“Why don’t you sit down?” he asked.
“I’ll stand.”
“Suit yourself. My name’s Jason Richards. What’s yours?”
“Ernie Tillerman. This is Ruth,” he said pointing to his wife.
Jason nodded. There was a boy who looked to be about ten, and a girl a couple of years older.
“Where are you coming from?” Jason asked.
“Why do you want to know?”
“Just curious. More information is always better than less.”
“We’ve come from Knoxville if it’s so important for you to know.”
“Why didn’t you stop at Hillsboro? Why head all the way to Charlotte?”
“Hillsboro? They attacked us, almost killed the Chairman. I doubt they’d welcome anyone from Knoxville. We figured they see us as the enemy.”
“Are you?”
The man shook his head. “But we’re from the town that Hillsboro fought.”
The man’s wife was standing behind him with the kids tucked under her arms. Their faces were gaunt with tired looking, hollow eyes. The strain of their journey seemed to be showing.
“How long have you been on the road?”
“Ten days.”
“You got any food left?”
The man shook his head. “Very little.”
“Well you’re in luck. I’ve got some food I can share with you,” he paused, then added, “and you’re only two days out from Charlotte. But why pick Charlotte?”
“We heard it’s under control. The other cities we don’t know about.”
“But why leave in the first place?”
The man hesitated. His wife put her arm on his shoulder and whispered in his ear.
“Not sure I should tell you.”
“You kill someone? Get on the wrong side of the Chairman?”
“Something like that. Not kill anyone, but got in some trouble.”
“Stealing?”
“No,” the man said, sounding insulted. “I don’t do things like that.”
“Okay,” Jason said. “I don’t mean to pry. I’m glad you’re not a thief. People are pretty hard on thieves and outlaws these days. That a .38?” he asked looking at the man’s revolver.
“It is.”
“How many rounds to you have left for it?”
“Enough,” came the reply.
“It only takes one to kill a man. I can see from here the chambers are all filled. You have any rounds in reserve?”
“Some. I’m not telling you.”
Jason looked at the children. They appeared traumatized as well as fatigued. He felt a twinge of pity for them. “Would you like something to eat? I have a couple of MRE meals I can share since we’re almost to Charlotte.”
That perked the kids up. Ruth spoke to her husband.
“The kids could use something to eat. We’re fine,” Ernie said. He paused for moment. Their names are Jennifer and Tommy.
“Great.” Jason started to get up. The man’s body posture went on full alert. Jason paused. “I hope you’re not going to shoot me. I’m going to leave my rifle on the ground here. But I need to get up to get the MREs and heat them.” He glanced from Ernie to Ruth. “Do you have any eating utensils?”
Ernie nodded.
Everyone sat at the side of the road. Ernie put his pistol in his belt and when MREs were heated, Jason handed them to the kids. They barely waited for them to cool before they tore into the food, as Jason offered Ernie and Ruth some venison jerky.
“Thank you for the meal. That’s going to help them,” Ruth said when the kids had finished eating.
“You’re welcome,” Jason replied. “Do you know what you’re heading into in Charlotte?”
Ernie shook his head. “We know it’s under control, people can work and eat, survive, get their lives back together.”
“It seems to be run by a mafia boss—a gangster.”
Concern started to spread over Ruth’s face.
“I’m not trying to discourage you. I just want you to know what you’re getting into. I’d hide the gun or, if you can’t, dump it before you get to town. They probably won’t let you in with it.” He leaned closer to the parents. “Can I speak to you in private?”
Ruth told the kids to go back to the highway and watch their gear while the grownups talked. They both whined a bit but did as their mother instructed.
“Ernie, you look like you can handle yourself and maybe that’s what got you into trouble. I don’t want to panic you, but I want to tell you to be careful. Don’t let anyone separate your family. And keep you daughter close to you. She’s getting to that age where she might attract the attention of grown men.”
“Oh no,” Ruth said, putting her hand to her mouth. “You aren’t suggesting…”
“I’m only saying to be cautious. I’ve seen some very bad things since the EMP attack. I have no idea how this mob boss might run Charlotte. I’d keep Jennifer as covered up and unkempt as you can. This is not the environment to have her begin showing off her growing femininity. The scruffier the better would be my approach…for both kids.”
“We’ll be careful,” Ernie said in a grave voice. Jason could see this new sense of threat had unnerved both he and his wife.
“I have a little familiarity with Hillsboro, Jason said. “I think they’d welcome you there. From what I hear, they don’t hold any grudge against any citizens. They just had a dispute with the Chairman and his men. Sounds like you did as well.”
“How far would it be?” Ernie asked. “We’re so close to Charlotte and I don’t think the kids have the strength for a much longer trek.”
“Probably take you four days of hiking. Definitely longer than going to Charlotte. It’s just that Charlotte is a greater unknown.”
“How do you know so much about Hillsboro? Are you from there?” Ruth asked.
Jason paused for a moment. Best to not let anyone know. “No, but I met some people that were.”
“And why are you going to Charlotte? You’re warning us to not go there, so why are you?”
Jason looked away, across the highway. “Let’s just say I have some business in Charlotte.”
“Don’t want to talk about it?”
“Not important for you to know,” Jason thought for a moment. “Probably better for you to not know.”
“That sound mysterious…and threatening.”
Jason shrugged. “I wouldn’t read too much into me being private. It’s just how I am.”
“But you ask a lot of questions, Ernie said.
“That’s for important information, how things are on the road. And remember, I told you something about Charlotte you didn’t know, so now you’re more informed.”
“I appreciate that,” Ernie said, “but I think we still have to go there. If it’s not a good place, then we’ll gather some supplies and strike out again. Maybe Wilmington. I hear there’s a military installation there.”
Jason sighed. “Just be careful.”
After packing up, they started hiking along the highway, together and more relaxed. When Jason inquired about camping Ernie said they just slept in cars.
“That would worry me,” Jason said. “I go into the woods where no one can sneak up on me.”
“We’re worried about the wolves. We’ve heard them at night. Inside a car it’s safer,” Ernie said.
“From animal predators, but not from human ones.
That evening, after the family picked out their vehicles for the night, Jason walked off the highway into a patch of woods. It was a small stand, so he wouldn’t be making fire. Still, it felt better than sleeping on the highway. He’d re-connect with the family the next morning.
Chapter 6
___________________________________
After that struggle, Jason had settled back into a comfortable routine. He had involved himself, not in the politics of the city, but in training people how to shoot. It was a program set up by the mayor and Kevin, as head of the city’s defenses. Jason enjoyed training others how to use and care for weapons. He could see the empowering effect it had on people to understand the different arms and how they could be used to defend themselves. Most citizens understood that the world outside their city was still dangerous. But instead of fearing it, they now felt prepared to deal with that danger should it ever threaten them.
Regionally, there was increased cooperation with a few surrounding towns. The story of Knoxville had convinced other municipalities that coordinating their defenses only strengthened them. There was an air of hopefulness in Hillsboro. A feeling that, even if the country was still in a state of anarchy, they were getting their lives back together. Electricity had returned, however limited. And with electricity, came refrigeration improving food storage. Meats and vegetables could now be more easily preserved for leaner times. The local chemistry teachers were hard at work, making anesthetics which was taking the terror out of certain medical and dental procedures.
Then Joe Nicoletti had shown up.
After Joe’s visit Steve had called a special meeting of the town council. He and Kevin related Nicoletti’s demands. Jason had attended the meeting along with Charlie Cook, the former Chief of Police, and other town officials.
“Seems like we have another attempt at extortion facing us,” Steve said after recounting his meeting with Nicoletti.
There was silence around the dais as the council members digested the news. Jason thought it odd to have politicians struck dumb. They usually weren’t at a loss for words. But these aren’t professional politicians, thank God.
Finally, one of the council members, Bob Jackson, spoke up. “We have to be guided by our previous experience. In that situation, our mayor properly claimed that we needed a treaty with Knoxville before we could consider their arrest warrants. We offered to deal with the city in a proper, legal fashion.”
“And that didn’t work so well,” Raymond Culver said.
Bob looked annoyed but didn’t respond.
Les Hammond, the current Chief of Police and council, member spoke up. “That example could be helpful, but this situation is a bit different. They’re not presenting us with a legal document, for which we could offer a legal rebuttal or response. We’re being told we need to pay a fee that was owed by Stansky. A fee for the right to operate a criminal enterprise.” He paused to let the fact sink in. “I don’t know how we make a treaty to deal with that.”
“Again, why don’t we just pay this demand and be done with it?” Raymond asked. “Why do we look to endanger ourselves? Is it worth creating another conflict?”
Steve responded. “The amount of a half million dollars in gold, ammunition and fuel is significant. I’m not sure we have those resources to spare. And who do you think will determine how to work out the conversion?”
“I still want us to consider the payment alternative…this time seriously,” Raymond said. “The last time we came up with all sorts of rationalizations as to why we shouldn’t pay Knoxville off and just go about our own business. And,” he said pointing his finger at Steve, “that decision led to a lot of bloodshed.”
“Duly noted,” Steve said. He looked around to see if there were other comments, questions or points to be made.
Jason raised his hand. Since he was not on the council, he needed permission to speak. Steve recognized him and he rose.
“We don’t know much about what is going on in Charlotte,” Jason said. “We don’t know if this mafia boss is in charge of the whole town. There’s word of a FEMA presence there. Is there a civilian or federal governing force? Maybe this guy, Tagliani, is not the central authority,” Steve said. Nicoletti was a bit evasive when he was asked that question. Maybe there are others in charge and we can appeal to them to intervene.”
“What are you suggesting?” Steve asked.
“That we send someone to find out what’s going on. We have some time before they expect an answer. More information is always better than less. We preserve all of our options while we gather some intel.”
“I’d like to hear what our options are other than paying this demand,” Raymond said. “I’m concerned about the alternatives some of us might suggest.” He looked pointedly at Jason.
“The floor is open to hear possible options,” Steve said.
“I say we tell Nicoletti to pound sand,” Bob Jackson said. “What are they going to do? Send tanks? I never heard of the mafia having tanks.”
There was the titter of laughter around the room.
“You’re suggesting we open ourselves up to some kind of retaliation, even as you make light of it,” Raymond said. “But it could come in many forms. The problem is you…we…don’t know what form it could take. And I doubt our refusal would be met with acquiescence.”
“Let’s just get our options on the table for now. We can debate them later,” Steve said.
Janet Morgan, who ran the hospital, spoke up. “We have two basic options with numerous variations inside of them. First, we can pay the demand, maybe negotiating the amount, maybe not. Second, we can refuse to pay and risk whatever response might come from that decision. It’s a binary situation we face. I have to agree with Jason. We could use more information before we make one of those choices.”
“Who would we send?” another council member asked.
“We can’t just have someone walk into town asking ‘who’s in charge?’” Bob Jackson said.
“Send someone undercover?” Les Hammond asked.
“That might be best,” Dr. Morgan replied.
“Here we go again,” Raymond said. “This will turn into another fiasco with violence following.”
“Ray,” Steve said, “it doesn’t help for you to make dire predictions based on nothing in particular. Let’s consider actual steps to deal with this.”
“Mr. Mayor,” Raymond said, “I just want us to look ahead and not let things get off track and then we’re forced into some sort of conflict we could have avoided.”
“Let’s send someone undercover to find out what the power structure is in Charlotte,” Bob said.
“Are you offering that as a proposal to vote on?”
“I am.”
“Discussion on the proposal?” Steve asked.
There were a few comments offered after which the proposal passed by a vote of seven to two.
“Now who do we send?” Steve asked.
“I propose that the decision be left to the mayor and our militia commander,” Dr. Morgan said. “The mayor can handle an operational detail after we have approved an operation. He and the militia commander can work that out.”
There was some argument about that, but no one could challenge the process Dr. Morgan proposed. It fit the structure they had established after the Knoxville incident.
Later that evening, Steve sat in his office with Kevin. Jason had joined them at his own insistence.
“Undercover. That’s an interesting idea that Bob Jackson proposed,” Steve said. “I wonder if we have any undercover agents in town.”
“Probably not like a Serpico,” Kevin replied.
Jason sat looking thoughtful.
“What do you think about this?” Steve asked, looking over at Jason.
“Dr. Morgan is correct. We need more in
formation. This probably isn’t an empty threat…or demand. But how dangerous it is remains to be seen.”
“Any thoughts about who to send?” Kevin asked.
“I do.” Jason paused looking at both men. “We need to send someone well versed in dealing with bad people, hard people. The mob is not a band of amateur outlaws generated by the EMP attack. These are professional sociopaths, people who don’t have a social conscience. Outside of family or their mob compatriots, anyone is fair game. Someone not familiar with their ruthlessness, their willingness to operate outside the bounds of decency, could be overwhelmed.”
“Does someone have to be that familiar with them? Get that close?” Steve asked.
“Possibly. How else can we figure out who has the power? Someone just can’t walk in and say they want to observe the power relationships in the city—it’s hierarchy of authority and control. Someone has to insinuate themselves into the system and find out from the inside.” He looked at both men. “That won’t be easy.”
“So…who?” Kevin asked.
“Me.”
The two men looked at Jason in surprise.
“Why you?” Steve finally asked.
“For the reasons I just mentioned. I’m probably the one that can best understand these men. I’m experienced and tough enough to fit in, to present a narrative that they’ll buy.” He paused for a moment. “I don’t revel in this, but I’m certainly skilled enough at killing to be considered useful to them.”
“But you have a two-year old. This is going to be dangerous,” Kevin said.
“Yes, and you have a pregnant wife, so you shouldn’t go. Most of the possible candidates wouldn’t come across as believable bad guys to be considered by the mob. Our local police are not going to be up to the task. It’ll be hard for them to disguise their law enforcement background. I don’t think we have any real undercover types on our local force.”
“And you can come across as a bad guy? You can fit in?” Steve asked.
“When I have to. Let’s face it, I’ve killed a lot of people since the EMP attack. More than I care to dwell on. It has an effect. I also killed people in Iraq as a sniper. Now Gibbs could have done this. He’s a hard man. But he’s gone and, being a black man, he’d have had trouble being accepted by the mob hierarchy. That’s just a fact.”