No one said anything, but they all looked at each other. Finally, a man in the back coughed. "I'm sure there's more of us out there that want to join your side, but without knowing what you're thinking…well…a lot of people are scared."
"And they’re right to be afraid!” Harriet said as she slapped her fist into an open palm. “Look at what we've gone through so far—and we still have to deal with this madman, Cisco!”
"I just came from over there," said the man who'd spoken, "and they took a couple prisoners. Cisco's got scouts out in the woods all around us, checking things out…watching us.”
Harriet smiled as she watched the news ripple through the ranks. Her steering committee members quickly descended upon the bit of information and fanned the flames of fear.
"How do we know Lavelle isn’t working with them?" one asked. Several nods of agreement met this outburst.
"She going to feed them, too?" asked another. "I heard she's got tons of food in that house."
"I've seen it," said another. "Couple nights ago, during the hurricane. I had to slip into the garage…” He looked around sheepishly. "I needed a cigarette," he said with a shrug. Others nodded sympathetically. He continued. “All the stress between the attacks and the storm and the tsunami…I’m down to my last pack, and I figured it wouldn't hurt nobody if I snuck into the garage for a smoke break. There's a reason they don't want no one in there—that garage is just full of stuff."
"What kind of stuff?" asked Professor Isaac Kaplan. "Every time I’ve been over there since the troubles started, they didn't expressly say I couldn't go in the garage…but like the spare bedroom upstairs, it was always shut and locked.” He looked around. “And someone was always there to pounce on me and direct me to another area. It was all very cloak and dagger, if you ask me."
"Yeah, that's exactly right," agreed the man who spoke. “That’s what it was like.”
"That's all well and good,” asked one of the steering committee members, right on cue. “But what are we going to do about it?"
Harriet smiled. "I'm glad you asked that question, Daniel. That's precisely why I called everyone here. Roger," she said sweetly to the HOA secretary. "Do we have a quorum to establish an official meeting?"
He pushed his glasses up his nose, turned to face the crowd, and used his finger to count faces. "Yes, I believe we do."
Harriet beamed at him. "Lovely. I therefore call this official meeting of the Bee’s Landing Homeowners Association to order." She looked around for a second, then eventually slapped her hand on the table. "I have no idea where my gavel is,” by way of apology.
"I think our first order of business should be to decide what’s to be done with Cami Lavelle, who resides at—” began Daniel.
Harriet raised her hand. "Really, Daniel…I think we can dispense with the formalities a bit. Everybody here knows where Cami lives—we don't have to read her address every time we mention her name."
Daniel nodded and crossed his arms. "Just trying to keep everything legal."
Harriet reached out and squeezed his bicep. It wasn't nearly as thick as Flynt’s, but she smiled at him, nonetheless. "Of course you are, dear. And it's much appreciated."
The back door to the house shut, and heavy footsteps foretold the entrance of a newcomer. The smile on Harriet's face faded as Darien Flynt filled the doorway. He nodded at her, crossed his arms and leaned against the door jam.
Speak of the Devil…I’ll deal with you later.
She cleared her throat and put on the fake smile once more. "Now…where were we?"
"Point of order," the man who'd originally suggested they take action spoke up.
"Oh, yes. As chair of the HOA, I have an idea about what should be done, but I think in the efforts of transparency, we should hear any suggestions. The chair opens the floor to any suggestions from those in attendance. "
"Well,” said one of the locals, “why don't we just have a neighborhood meeting, take a vote, and then take whatever we need from Cami and divide it up among the people who have nothing?"
Harriet frowned. “Alright, that’s a suggestion. Anything else?" she asked hopefully.
"Why take a vote?” asked one of the residents. “This is the HOA—as far as we know, every other government out there has collapsed. We haven't heard anything from Columbia in weeks now. If we have enough people here to run the homeowner’s association, who’s to say we can’t be the new law in town?"
Harriet turned to the resident legal eagle. "Daniel?"
Back in the limelight, the young man stepped forward and crossed his arms as he frowned thoughtfully. "Mind you, there's no precedence for this in American jurisprudence—not that I'm aware of, at least—but if the federal, state, and county governments are proven to be nonexistent, then I would say yes…it falls to us as the last representative governing body left in unincorporated Charleston County to take charge.” He looked at Harriet. "I'll have to consult my resources more thoroughly, of course, but I should have a definitive answer for you relatively soon."
Harriet nodded. His was just the kind of vague answer she wanted. "Excellent, Daniel. So, let me put it to the committee this way—does the knowledge that we are a duly appointed and authorized legal entity change anyone's suggestions for how we proceed?"
"Does this mean we have to come up with our own police force?"
"I highly recommend against that option," Flynt said. All heads in the room turned toward him.
Harriet frowned at her erstwhile beau. "What exactly does that mean?" she demanded, in an acidic voice.
Gary frowned as he stepped forward, and the HOA members cleared space for him. "Everybody in this neighborhood’s packing right now. You try to do anything like that—and I mean anything that can be construed as theft against Cami Lavelle…” He shook his head. "You're opening yourself up for a world of trouble."
"If people resist, we’ll be well within our rights—” Tom began.
"Yeah? Who's going to enforce those rights?” Darien crossed his arms. "I'll wait."
"He…might have a point," one of the other residents said. "If they tell us no, it ain't like we can go to the cops or the courts…is it?”
"Maybe we need to make our own courts?" suggested another. "Shoot, they left us out here on our own, what else are we supposed to do, just let everybody do whatever they want? Next thing you know, we’ll have petty tyrants and kings popping up all over the place."
"My point exactly,” Harriet said with a gesture at the speaker. "This Cisco character has already declared himself to be exactly the sort of tyrant this country rebelled against!"
Darien shook his head. "I think you're missing the big picture here, doll.”
"I suggest you speak to the committee chairman with a little more respect," the bespectacled secretary said as he waddled up closer to Darien. Though Harriet knew there was no way the short little rotund man could possibly back up his words against someone as powerfully built as Darien Flynt, it nonetheless warmed her heart to see someone, anyone, standing up for her for once. She had thought that Flynt might be that man…but recent events, and the way he sidled up to Lavelle and her daughter so quickly during the hurricane gave Harriet pause.
"Or what?" Flynt asked as he looked down at the little professor.
Harriet’s heart raced. A thrill crackled down her spine like lightning. That was the kind of alpha male she wanted…and she'd been so close…
“Y'all need to pay close attention," Flynt said as he looked around, breaking Harriet's daydream wide open. "I done told you everybody in this town is packing. Cisco's got them all on edge, and there's a lot more trigger-happy folks on their side than yours. I'm just saying…if you go around claiming you’re the police, the courts, and the government, you might find a lot of somebodies willing to say no."
"As I said, we’re well within our rights—”
“And they’ll be within their rights," Flynt snapped at the lawyer. "They're going to defend themselves. They've already d
one it against Cisco—twice—and pardon me," he said, affecting an air of propriety as he tugged at his sweaty shirt, "but y’all got nothing on Cisco's boys.”
The crowd fell back into arguing options: do they set up a government and attempt to have Cami join? Do they simply march over and take her stuff? Do they put it to a vote and have the neighborhood march over and take her stuff?
Harriet raised her hands for silence. "What I want to know," she said, cutting through the chatter, "is why you just said your, and not our when you mentioned options, Darien.” She cocked an eyebrow at him. "What are you saying? You’re not with us anymore?”
He looked down at the floor and kicked at the wood with one work boot. "Harriet, I think you know where my heart lies." He looked up.
"I once thought that it was with me," she said quietly. Every head in the room turned from her to Flynt.
"You can't do this," he said softly. "Don't try it. Please."
"Why?" she demanded, drawing herself up to her full height. "Are you afraid there will be some kind of scuffle?" she asked with a sneer. A few of her followers snickered but fell silent under Flynt’s glare.
"No, I'm afraid you're going to start a civil war. If we start fighting each other, we’re just gonna make it that much easier for Cisco to walk in and kill all of us. Is that what you want? Or are you too wrapped up in the idea of becoming queen of this whole neighborhood that you can't even see the bigger picture?"
She frowned. Now you've done it.
Harriet clamped her jaw shut and clenched her hands into fists. As the men around her turned to confront Flynt, the shouting began. She didn't understand most of it and didn't care besides. Some defended her honor, others called out Flynt to be the snake that he was, while others clamored for quiet. The HOA committee, continued to egg the group on from the background.
Flynt silenced the crowed when he drew his gleaming Desert Eagle pistol and raised the hand cannon above everyone's heads. The talking stopped instantly.
"That right there is the difference. If I were over there and drew my weapon like that, everyone would've drawn down on me. Everyone. Y’all simply don't have what it takes. You people like to talk," he said as he lowered the weapon and holstered it once more. "And that's fine when things are peaceful…you got the law behind you and all the courts and government and everybody working away…but this here's the Wild West, folks.” He glared at the assembly. “The quicker y’all realize that, the longer you’ll live. You go startin’ trouble you don’t need, and you'll end up finding your solution, six feet under."
"Is this your official suggestion?” Harriet asked through compressed lips.
“Dang it, woman—this is me begging you! Don't do this. It ain't the right time."
Harriet smiled sadly at him. "You had so much potential.” She sighed. “Such a waste. Sergeant-at-arms," she said louder as she turned to the biggest man in the room. "This man,” Harriet intoned as she pointed a manicured nail at Flynt, “is no longer welcome among the homeowner’s association. Kindly show him to the door."
“I…uh…” the big, potbellied man said as he looked from Harriet to the glowering ex-con in the corner.
"I'll show myself out." Flynt turned from her and looked at the others. "Open your ears, listen to what she's telling you. Think of your wives and your children."
"I am—“ the instigator snapped. “My kid’s been starving this past month. And now I'm hearing rumors that Cami's got a whole bunch of food over there and ain't sharing with anybody? That ain't right!"
"Yeah!" half a dozen other voices shouted at once.
Flynt shook his head. "I see there's no point going any further. Well…I tried.” He looked one last time at Harriet. "This doesn't have to be the last word." Before she could answer over the clamor of voices that shouted for action against Cami and her associates, Flynt turned and left, quiet as a ghost.
"It might be the last word for you, though…” Harriet said to herself. She raised her hands for silence. “I call for a vote. Those in favor of taking immediate action against Cami Lavelle, raise your hands…”
Chapter 16
Lavelle Homestead
Bee’s Landing Subdivision
Northwest of Charleston, South Carolina
Cami frowned and tried to reason with the man in front of her. "Luke, just because those guys escaped doesn't mean that they're going straight back to Cisco."
"How can you say that? It looks pretty obvious to me. And a lot of other people, I might add," Luke Jergen, one of the volunteers from the east side of the neighborhood said in a low voice as he leaned toward her.
"I don't think—” Cami began, then saw Darien Flynt approaching over Luke's shoulder. "Luke…just trust me on this," she said as she raised one hand in front of her. The other held Marty's cane stiffly at her side. The pain meds Amber had given her had worn off an hour earlier, and her mood had darkened exponentially. "I just need time to figure things out. Okay? I'm not asking you—”
"Cami, if this means that Cisco's going to come hit us again, you got my support, don't worry about that. I’m just giving you a head’s up because there’s a lot of other folks that are running pretty scared right now. Ragged nerves, you know?”
Cami touched Luke on the arm. "I understand, Luke. And I appreciate it, I really do," she said as her eyes shifted to follow Flynt. He approached, his face looking like a thundercloud and his hands balled into fists. Whatever his problem was, it was about to be dropped into her lap.
“If you'll excuse me Luke, I think there's something I need to attend to,” she said with a slight nod toward Darien.
Luke turned and pushed the baseball cap on his head up to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "Yeah well, good luck with that."
He nodded at Cami in parting, then picked up a piece of lumber and headed back to join the work party at the nascent wall.
Cami closed her eyes as the incessant sound of hammering continued to pound against the inside of her skull. She pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand.
"Headache?" Flynt asked as he stepped up next to her on the deck.
"Standing out here in the sun isn't doing me any favors," Cami said without opening her eyes. "And yes, the hammering, the infighting, and all the rumors running around this place are starting to give me a headache." She opened her eyes and looked at Darien.
"Well, I'm sorry to say that I'm about to give you something more to worry about." He looked around as if making sure no one could eavesdrop. “You’re going to have some trouble on your hands pretty soon. Harriet's stirring up the HOA," he said as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward her house.
"What do you mean, stirring up the HOA?" Cami asked as she narrowed her eyes.
"She's got all the usual hotheads over there—the lawyer guy and the little fat professor. All the ones that want to be mini-potentates in this neighborhood. There's a handful of locals over there, too. From what I can tell, she doesn't have a whole heck of a lot of support among the residents, but it's growing."
Cami let out a monumental sigh and let her shoulders slump as she leaned against the bullet-riddled deck railing. "Of course, it is."
"There's more," Darien said as he leaned against the railing. It groaned under his bulk. "Harriet's under the impression…and so are a handful of the others over there…that you're hiding something. Hiding a lot of somethings, actually."
Cami looked at him carefully. "Like what, exactly?”
He shrugged as he watched the workers continue to build the log wall. "I don't know…food, water, supplies…” He watched her closely. "Electricity."
Cami did her best to keep a straight face, but she could tell by the twitch at the corner of his mouth that she'd failed miserably. It didn't help that Amber chose that moment to appear on the deck with a couple glasses of sun tea.
“Hi, Darien," she called out cheerfully.
"How's it going, kid?" he replied, gruff as a bear.
"I was gonna bring this out for m
om and me, but you may as well have it," she said as she handed Darien one of the glasses, then gave the other to Cami.
He raised it in salute, then took a sip. "I swear, I used to hate this stuff before the wave hit. Now? It's better than an ice-cold beer."
Cami snorted, and took a drink herself. "I suppose…”
"You suppose what?" Amber asked. She looked from her mother to Darien. "Why the long faces? You guys talking about something serious? What's up?"
"Oh, you know…the prisoners that we took yesterday escaped," Cami said pointedly, "most of the people here are afraid that Cisco was using them to spy on us, and now there's an attack coming—oh, and Harriet is trying to foment a rebellion across the street. Just the usual day-to-day stuff," Cami said nonchalantly.
"Cami, I'm serious,” Darien said. “They're gathering weapons over there. When I left, a couple of the locals were saying that they should just come over here and take what they need.”
"Mom…I told you," Amber began.
"That's enough, Amber." Cami snapped.
"Look," Darien said, "I didn't come over here to start trouble, all I’m doing is giving you a head’s up.”
“Why is that?" Cami asked. "I thought you were thick as thieves with Harriet."
Darien shook his head. "I don't know what I am with her anymore. All I know is whatever they're doing over there isn't right. More importantly, it's going to do nothing but divide the entire neighborhood—right when we need to be putting out a united front. Cisco could come back at any point…”
“If you listen to the people around here, he's coming back tonight," Cami muttered. "I can't hardly blame them. It does seem pretty suspicious that we happen to catch a couple of his people, pump them for information, and then they somehow escape into the night with all the information they were able to get from us."
“It can't be very much," Amber offered. "I was around most of the time—in the background—while you guys were talking with them. They didn't ask very many questions."
"They didn't have to, kid," Darien said. He turned away from them and rested his glass on the railing as he looked out over the backyard and the construction efforts. The log wall had a dozen trees embedded in the earth already. The roughly sharpened points on the end of the logs stood in stark contrast to the fancy neighborhood they protected, but there was something rugged, something comforting about the wall.
Broken Tide | Book 6 | Breakwater Page 12
