Read Online State of Emergency: Jack Emery 2 by Steve P. Vincent - Free Book Online
Authors: Steve P. Vincent
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community briefings she’d led.
“Everyone calm down.” Benning finally managed to be heard above the noise. “What happened?”
“Some State Guard put down a riot at a liquor store. There’s a few people dead.” The junior looked like he was about to cry. “It’s all over the media, despite the bans.”
Mariposa’s eyes widened. While the media had been told in no uncertain terms what was acceptable to report, the restrictions clearly hadn’t sunk in fully. While other FEMA areas had experienced more trouble than Area V had, as far as she knew this was the first incident anywhere in America in which the authorities had had to put down dissent with lethal force. Mariposa felt a lump rise in her throat. The game had just changed.
“Okay, we’ll need to handle this. You all know the drill.” Benning looked at the manager responsible for media relations. “Get your dogs under control, Jim.”
The team dispersed but Mariposa waited behind, a million thoughts running through her head. Though things had been relatively calm to date, she had no doubt that people were being suppressed, rather than carried along with the changes until the attacks were dealt with. If people were pushed so hard that they resisted and started to die, things had gone too far. She was about to move back to her desk, but found her feet anchored to the floor.
She swallowed and then approached the director. “Alan, do you have a second?”
“Sure.” He gave a weary smile. “What can I do for you?”
She leaned on the edge of the giant table. “I’ve got some concerns, Alan. I think some of the changes we’re trying to force are unnecessary, attacks or not.”
“Come on.” Benning reached up to massage his temples. “I’ve – we’ve got enough going on here without an attack of the morals, don’t we?”
Mariposa wavered. She was not usually the one to speak out, but she felt she had an obligation to voice her concerns. “I don’t agree. If we keep squeezing, there’s going to be more issues that bubble up. I think we need to let things settle, not agitate them even more.”
He sighed. “Things have been going fine here, Mariposa. But don’t assume that’s the case across the whole country. The south is ablaze. Let’s keep our patch quiet.”
“But—”
“No, Mariposa.” Benning’s eyes locked onto hers. “This is above your pay grade. Do your job and leave the rest to me. If you still want it, that is.”
She wanted to fight, but Benning’s threat was clear. She thought of Juan, at home with the sitter she could barely afford despite all the overtime. If nothing else, she had to make sure he was looked after. Others, more important than her, had put the country on this path. Who was she to argue? She sagged. “Okay, Alan.”
He exhaled loudly and his posture softened. “I don’t like running roughshod like this, but we’ve all got jobs to do. Go do yours.”
She nodded and walked toward her desk with her head downcast, all fight gone from inside of her. She was still worried about the direction things were heading in, but felt that she’d pushed her luck about as far as she could with her boss. She sat down in front of her computer and reviewed her emails, which never seemed to cease. After a few emails she glanced at her phone, picked it up and dialed. It rang for a moment before being answered.
She mustered all the authority she could. “I want extra caution by city security forces. I only want live rounds in the hands of the rapid response squads.”
She waited for the confirmation then hung up. She smiled. If there was no way she could impact the direction of the entire organization, she could at least make sure that the zone she was responsible for didn’t go to hell. For now, she’d have to be satisfied that no police officer or State Guardsman inside the Chicago city limits would be firing off live rounds without her knowing, given the rapid response squads were under her direct
“Everyone calm down.” Benning finally managed to be heard above the noise. “What happened?”
“Some State Guard put down a riot at a liquor store. There’s a few people dead.” The junior looked like he was about to cry. “It’s all over the media, despite the bans.”
Mariposa’s eyes widened. While the media had been told in no uncertain terms what was acceptable to report, the restrictions clearly hadn’t sunk in fully. While other FEMA areas had experienced more trouble than Area V had, as far as she knew this was the first incident anywhere in America in which the authorities had had to put down dissent with lethal force. Mariposa felt a lump rise in her throat. The game had just changed.
“Okay, we’ll need to handle this. You all know the drill.” Benning looked at the manager responsible for media relations. “Get your dogs under control, Jim.”
The team dispersed but Mariposa waited behind, a million thoughts running through her head. Though things had been relatively calm to date, she had no doubt that people were being suppressed, rather than carried along with the changes until the attacks were dealt with. If people were pushed so hard that they resisted and started to die, things had gone too far. She was about to move back to her desk, but found her feet anchored to the floor.
She swallowed and then approached the director. “Alan, do you have a second?”
“Sure.” He gave a weary smile. “What can I do for you?”
She leaned on the edge of the giant table. “I’ve got some concerns, Alan. I think some of the changes we’re trying to force are unnecessary, attacks or not.”
“Come on.” Benning reached up to massage his temples. “I’ve – we’ve got enough going on here without an attack of the morals, don’t we?”
Mariposa wavered. She was not usually the one to speak out, but she felt she had an obligation to voice her concerns. “I don’t agree. If we keep squeezing, there’s going to be more issues that bubble up. I think we need to let things settle, not agitate them even more.”
He sighed. “Things have been going fine here, Mariposa. But don’t assume that’s the case across the whole country. The south is ablaze. Let’s keep our patch quiet.”
“But—”
“No, Mariposa.” Benning’s eyes locked onto hers. “This is above your pay grade. Do your job and leave the rest to me. If you still want it, that is.”
She wanted to fight, but Benning’s threat was clear. She thought of Juan, at home with the sitter she could barely afford despite all the overtime. If nothing else, she had to make sure he was looked after. Others, more important than her, had put the country on this path. Who was she to argue? She sagged. “Okay, Alan.”
He exhaled loudly and his posture softened. “I don’t like running roughshod like this, but we’ve all got jobs to do. Go do yours.”
She nodded and walked toward her desk with her head downcast, all fight gone from inside of her. She was still worried about the direction things were heading in, but felt that she’d pushed her luck about as far as she could with her boss. She sat down in front of her computer and reviewed her emails, which never seemed to cease. After a few emails she glanced at her phone, picked it up and dialed. It rang for a moment before being answered.
She mustered all the authority she could. “I want extra caution by city security forces. I only want live rounds in the hands of the rapid response squads.”
She waited for the confirmation then hung up. She smiled. If there was no way she could impact the direction of the entire organization, she could at least make sure that the zone she was responsible for didn’t go to hell. For now, she’d have to be satisfied that no police officer or State Guardsman inside the Chicago city limits would be firing off live rounds without her knowing, given the rapid response squads were under her direct
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