People started filing from the room, but Hunnicutt motioned for Luke, Wright, and Butler to keep their seats. Jennings was halfway to the door when she noticed the men still sitting and turned to Hunnicutt, her eyebrows raised.
“A private meeting, Colonel?” she asked.
“Security issues, Doctor. I’m sure they’d be a waste of your valuable time and bore you to tears besides. Would you please close the door on your way out?”
Her look communicated her disapproval more eloquently than any words, and when she left, the closing of the door was just short of a slam.
“I think you pissed the good doctor off,” Butler said.
“So it appears, and I truly regret that. She’s good people, and she’ll make a big difference. She IS making a difference,” Hunnicutt corrected himself, then shook his head. “The problem is she thinks we can save everyone, and we all know that’s impossible.”
The others nodded as Hunnicutt turned to Luke. “Was that a chopper I heard, Major?”
“Yes, sir. It’s what held me up. That’s the third overflight in as many days, so it appears the FEMA folks are taking an increasing interest. I had Lieutenant Washington set a round-the-clock sky watch,” Luke said.
“Good,” Hunnicutt said. “Given your recent ‘association’ with our FEMA friends, do you have any insights into how much of a threat they might be?”
Luke shook his head. “Just very generally. We were only with the Special Reaction Force a couple of weeks, but my gut feeling is they won’t have the stomach for a stand-up fight. Intimidation and bullying the defenseless seems to be more their MO. They may make a lot of noise, but as long as we show our teeth, I think we can hold them at bay.”
“Let’s hope you’re right, Major. We sure as hell don’t need to add a combat mission to everything else we’ve got on our plates.” Hunnicutt turned to Wright. “But if that comes to pass, how do we stand on readiness, Lieutenant?”
“Just over eighty combat effectives, sir, counting the Coasties and the men that came in with Major Kinsey here. I can up that a bit as we place civilian recruits in some of the support roles, like cooks, mechanics and so forth. They aren’t line troops, but they’ve all had at least basic weapons training and we can put them on the wall with a rifle if we have to. But we’ll max out at a hundred shooters.” Wright paused. “That’s as many as we can arm anyway, and ammo is a concern, especially for the crew-served weapons. They’re key to our defense, and if we have to hold off a sustained attack, those machine guns will burn through ammo like a house afire.”
“We might be able to get some ammo from the Military Ocean Terminal downriver,” Butler said. “The Coast Guard used to help them enforce an ‘exclusion zone’ around their wharfs, and I’m familiar with their facility, the part of it closest to the river, anyway. I was also pretty tight with a couple of NCOs that helped run the place.”
Hunnicutt looked skeptical. “That’s an Army facility, and I have no clue how the regular military is leaning. However, I doubt they’re just going to hand out ammunition because we ask nicely.”
“Maybe, maybe not, sir,” Butler said. “It was actually kind of a hybrid operation and mostly civilian. The place is huge, much bigger than most people realize, and they used a lot of technology-based security to guard the place—CCTV, motion-detector-based alarms, stuff like that. None of that will be working now, and given how everything has gone to hell, we might just be able to slip in and grab some ammo at a five-fingered discount. With your permission, I’d like to do some recon and check it out.”
Hunnicutt hesitated, then nodded. “Okay, go have a look, and JUST a look. We’ll decide what to do based on what you find. And be careful, making an enemy of the Army is the last thing we need at this point. Put together a small team and go when you’re ready.”
“Yes, sir,” Butler said and shot Luke a ‘let’s talk later’ look.
“Now,” Hunnicutt said, looking back and forth between Wright and Butler, “and before you two get your noses out of joint, you should know that I asked Major Kinsey here to have a look at our defenses. Given his much more recent deployment in the Sandbox, he’s the only one with recent experience in setting up forward bases in hostile areas, and I figured we can benefit from a fresh set of eyes.”
Wright grunted. “No problem here. I’d much prefer to be alive than admired for my work.”
“Same here,” Butler said, “I was a life saver, not a fort builder.”
“Good,” Hunnicutt said, nodding toward Luke. “You have the floor, Major.”
“Okay,” Luke said, “first let me say I’m blown away by what you guys have accomplished in such a short time. No one could have done a better job of establishing a defensive position with the materials at hand. I wouldn’t have done a single thing differently as far as the defensive walls go. Establishing clear fields of fire between the walls and the original terminal fence was an especially good move. I only have one suggestion.”
“Which is?” Hunnicutt asked.
“I think we have to take preemptive measures to keep the refugee population further away from the walls. You’ve set the relief station at the country club some distance away, which is a good thing, but it’s still relatively close to us here. Despite your best efforts, the population will expand in this direction. They’re desperate people, and they’ll quickly figure out we’re the source of the food and water, and they’ll all want in. If we allow a lot of them to concentrate here, it could get ugly.”
“So how exactly can we prevent that?” Wright asked.
“We need to set a perimeter much further out, as far out as we can without running into the gangbangers. We barricade all the roads in but Shipyard Boulevard with a container across the road, and put No Entry signage all around the perimeter to create an exclusion zone. We then enforce it with roving vehicle patrols on a random schedule so the bangers can’t figure out a routine and try to ambush us.”
Wright was shaking his head. “We can’t possibly hope to stop people. That barrier will be porous as hell. They’ll just walk around it.”
“You’re not expected to stop everyone,” Luke said, “just discourage them from getting too near the fort. The signs and barriers will deter most of them, and a certain percentage of those who do slip through will be rounded up and politely but firmly returned to the camp. If we have repeat offenders, we can figure out some way to deal with them at the time.”
“Extra patrols is extra manpower we don’t have,” Butler pointed out.
“Not extra,” Luke said, “just task every third or fourth regular patrol headed out to patrol the route between here and the refugee camp with swinging through a portion of the exclusion zone. When we turn back a few people and return them to the camp, word will get out.”
The room grew quiet as they considered Luke’s plan.
“Worth a try,” Wright said.
“Agreed,” Butler added.
“That makes it unanimous. Set it up, gentlemen,” Hunnicutt said, glancing down at his notepad again. “Which brings me to the last item on my agenda, the census; where do we stand, Lieutenant Butler.”
Butler nodded. “As of this morning, counting military and dependents, the other civilians we brought in with us, all the merchant ship crews and the terminal personnel, and other folks we’ve recruited so far”—he glanced down at his pad—”eleven hundred and sixty-three, sir.”
“And what’s our capacity within the walls, best guess?” Hunnicutt asked.
“If we max out the living quarters we have now and start converting some of the empty containers to housing, we can probably shelter another two thousand people, maybe twenty-five hundred,” Butler said. “We can push out the walls and accommodate more, but space isn’t really the problem at that point, it’s water. The engineers tell me they can probably make enough water to support three thousand total, at least until the diesel in their fuel tanks and the terminal starts to go off-spec in a year to two years. They’re working on some solar-powered opti
ons for the longer term, but no way those will produce near enough water for that many folks. They’re thinking maybe a stable long-term permanent population of fifteen hundred, with a bit of reserve for short-term increases.”
“So we can survive here long term, but with a limited population, and in the short term we can accommodate extra people but have to find them some place to relocate, is that about the size of it?”
“Yes, sir, basically,” Butler said.
“I’ve spoken to Levi Jenkins and Vern Gibson,” Wright said, “they have pretty much all the farmers and landowners along the river out fifteen or twenty miles sold on the idea of a mutual protection network. I’m thinking we could build on that concept and turn the manned security stations we’d planned to establish along the river into small towns, each anchored around a fortified base. They could be mutually supporting and—”
“Whoa!” Hunnicutt said. “Towns and bases are a hell of a lot more intrusive than the security stations we were talking about, with much bigger footprints. How are the farmers going to feel about that?”
“I think they’ll go for it, under the circumstances. We’re talking fortified towns of up to two hundred people every mile or so on alternating sides of the river, each with maybe ten or twenty acres of land. A hell of a lot of that riverfront is undeveloped woodland anyway, sir, so it’s not like they’d lose productive farmland,” Wright said.
“So you figure everyone in these towns is going to live inside the fortified base.” Hunnicutt shook his head. “That’ll be a bit tight.”
“Not nearly as tight as it will be here, sir.”
Hunnicutt nodded. “Point taken. You think the farmers will go for it?”
“What’s not to like,” Wright said. “They’ll have an employable labor pool without having to actually house folks on their own places. Each town can have a militia unit, and they can all be mutually supportive. We can house mechanics, medical facilities, and other needed services in the different towns, all accessible by water. We can—”
Hunnicutt held up his hands. “Okay, okay, I think I get the picture. Get with Levi and Vern and see if you can sell them on the plan, and if so, ask them to start scouting sites and working with their friends and neighbors to get buy in. Then I want you and Butler, in your spare time, of course, to start figuring out what skill sets we’re going to need to start these towns from scratch. Grab anyone you need to help plan that, but make sure to include Levi and Vern. If we expect people along the river to buy in to us redesigning their world, it’s only polite to get their input.”
The pair nodded, and Hunnicutt muttered, almost to himself, “Then we just have to play God and decide which of these people get offered tickets to a decent existence and which ones we leave in Hell.”
“It’s going to be a tough call, sir,” Luke said, sympathy in his voice.
“That it is, Major, that it is. Which brings me to contingency planning,” Hunnicutt said. “We’re hoping for the best, but we sure as hell need to be realistic and plan for the worst. I’m sure it hasn’t escaped anyone’s attention the odds are stacked against us.”
Everyone nodded, and Hunnicutt continued.
“We’re doing the best we can feeding and sheltering our growing refugee population, but we have to face facts. They’re living in squalor in cardboard and canvas shacks, with minimal sanitation. We’re essentially feeding them slop and providing them drinking water, and we’ll do our best to improve that, but chances are pretty good that every advance we make is going to be offset by a population increase. And it’s summer now; God knows how we’ll cope when it gets cold.”
Butler shrugged. “But what more can we do, sir? We’re trying—”
“That’s just the point,” Hunnicutt said. “We’re all flat out and working sixteen- and eighteen-hour days, seven days a week, and we’re still falling behind. But I’m sure there’s not a single person in that refugee camp who thinks we’re doing enough. We wouldn’t feel any different if we were there, because that’s human nature. To those folks, we’re the privileged ones with guns who eat good food, crap in real toilets, sleep in real beds out of the elements, and even get to take the occasional shower. Major Kinsey’s suggestion to establish an exclusion zone, necessary though it is, will add to that resentment. I believe anyone in that camp who doesn’t hate us already probably will within a week, or a month max.”
Wright nodded. “Actually, you can already feel the resentment when you ride through the camp. But what can we do about it?”
Hunnicutt sighed. “There’s nothing we can do except continue to do our best. But we can’t ignore it either. That camp is becoming a powder keg of simmering resentment, subject to blowing up at any time. We need a contingency plan for rapid withdrawal of all our folks, including our civilian recruits like Dr. Jennings.” He paused. “And we have to be prepared for the possibility safe withdrawal may require use of deadly force. I want you to pick out your most trustworthy NCOs and come up with rules of engagement if we have to activate the withdrawal plan. I want that strictly need to know, and God help anyone who lets any mention of the plan slip to ANYONE.”
Wright hesitated. “Ah … what about the folks we have to evacuate? I mean Dr. Jennings—”
“Especially don’t tell Jennings,” Hunnicutt said. “She’ll be appalled at the very idea, and advance notice won’t make extracting her any easier. It will also likely mean endless arguments with her and guarantee everyone will know about the plan. If it comes to an emergency evacuation, just plan to hog-tie her and bring her along. In fact, make forced extraction of our civilians part of the plan if necessary. If things go to hell, we’re not going to have a debate. After they’re safely inside Fort Box, they can leave if they want, but at least they’ll have an option at that point.”
Hunnicutt’s subordinates nodded in unison.
“Understood, sir,” Wright said. “We’ll get on it.”
“Thank you, gentlemen,” Hunnicutt said. “If there’s nothing else, I think we’re done.”
The three nodded and began to rise.
“Oh, Major,” Hunnicutt said to Luke, “a word, if you don’t mind.”
Luke settled back into his chair with a quizzical look and waited for the other two to file out. Hunnicutt waited for the door to close before speaking.
“Thank you, Luke. Have you given any more thought to your longer term plans?”
Luke shook his head. “I appreciate your confidence and the promotion, Colonel, and I’m not going to leave you while things are obviously as critical as they are, but I’ve always been up front with you. I want to join my dad and the rest of the family, which means they either come back here or I go down to Texas. Since there’s only one of me, it makes more sense for me to go there. It would be near impossible for my dad to make it back up here with my sister and my aunt’s family.”
“You know my hope with the promotion was to make you second-in-command—”
“Yes, sir, and you know I declined. I’ll stick around awhile and do anything you need me to do, but when the time comes, I’m leaving. That would be a great deal more difficult if I was in a leadership position.” He paused and looked Hunnicutt in the eye. “And I think you know that, sir.”
Hunnicutt smiled ruefully. “Busted. Okay then, any idea when that time will be?”
Luke hesitated. “I can give you six months, with the understanding if my dad needs me before then, I’m going.”
Hunnicutt nodded. “Fair enough. I’ll take what I can get. Thank you, Luke.”
“You’re welcome, sir. Now if that’s all, I suspect Lieutenant Butler may want to talk to me about a little recon trip down to the Military Ocean Terminal.”
Chapter Four
M/V Pecos Trader
Sun Lower Anchorage
Neches River
Near Nederland, Texas
Day 26, 6:35 a.m.
Captain Jordan Hughes felt the heat of the rising sun on his neck as he stood bent at the waist, his fo
rearms resting on the ship’s rail, studying the curious operation unfolding on the water below. Some distance down the deck, Chief Mate Georgia Howell was also at the rail, her eyes glued on the river’s surface and her right hand raised, signaling the bosun in the cab of the hose-handling crane as he lowered a strange-looking contraption to the water.
Hughes heard a slap and a curse and looked around to see Matt Kinsey, formerly chief petty officer, USCG, staring at a large blood spot in his open palm, a dark blob in the middle of it.
“I don’t know whether this is a mosquito or a frigging bat,” Kinsey said. “I may need a transfusion.”
Hughes laughed. “Well, they’ll be worse in bayou country. But I anticipated you.” He reached in his pants pocket and pulled out a small bottle and held it out to Kinsey. “Polak has some insect repellent squirreled away somewhere, consider it our contribution to the mission.”
Kinsey grinned. “Outstanding! Thank you, Captain,” he said as he slipped the bottle in his pocket and stepped closer to the rail. His grin widened as he looked down.
“But not the only contribution. That chief engineer of yours is a pretty smart cookie. I’d been driving myself crazy trying to figure out how to get the boat around those locks. This is terrific!”
Hughes nodded. “Well, maybe. Presuming it doesn’t fall apart on the way there. It’s not exactly the sleekest craft in the fleet.” He watched as Georgia Howell lowered the subject of their discussion the last few feet to settle on the river’s surface. It was a sturdily built aluminum boat trailer outfitted on either side with two large and ungainly-looking pontoons, each constructed of four fifty-five-gallon oil drums held in rigid alignment by a skeletal structure of lightweight angle iron. A sheet metal cone was fitted at what was apparently the ‘bow’ of each pontoon.
Kinsey watched the makeshift craft bob on the water. “It floats well enough,” Kinsey said, “and I watched Gowan and the boys put those pontoons together. They’ll hold up just fine. I figured we had no more use for that trailer. It was a stroke of genius to make it water-mobile.”
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