Lacey shared what she and Tucker had observed. “We saw military trucks, even tanks, headed west on Interstate 40 toward the Panhandle. Did they invade Texas?”
Erin sighed. “I wasn’t privy to all of the details, but I did hear the whispers in the corridors of Mount Weather. Let’s just say it was in the works.”
“Were they going to do the same here?” asked Peter before adding, “I saw them staging in Homestead at the Speedway.”
“Yes. That was the president’s intention. I believe the operation was delayed by the storm and, of course, the decision to blow up the bridges.”
“Maybe Lindsey did the right thing after all,” Mike said as he poured himself another drink.
Erin’s eyes grew wide. So much for lighthearted.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Sunday, November 10
Driftwood Key
“Come on, Mike,” countered Hank in a raised voice. “There were better ways to deal with these problems than blow up bridges.” This was the second time Hank and Mike had had a disagreement that day.
“Okay. Okay. Calm down,” began Mike. “Just hear me out. Everyone knows how I feel about Lindsey. Trust me, there’s no love lost between us. That said, she made two decisions that arguably may have benefited the Keys.
“The first one involved expelling all nonresidents. Think about it, Hank. You did the same thing here, and it was the right thing to do. Those folks needed to go home and take care of themselves. We’re going to be facing some difficult times ourselves without trying to feed a dozen extra mouths.”
As soon as he made the statement, Erin wanted to shrink within herself. She was one of those extra mouths.
Mike continued. “Imagine all of these tourists wandering around the Keys. Homeless. Hungry. Desperate. Increasingly violent. It would be a bad situation.”
“What about the bridges?” asked Hank.
Mike turned to Erin. “So what was the president’s plan as he invaded the Florida Keys? Depose the government and become a military occupying force on U.S. soil? Arrest Lindsey and any criminal co-conspirators who set up the roadblocks? They might’ve taken all of law enforcement into custody until they could decide who was complicit and who wasn’t. Think about this. Under the martial law declaration, the president took away all of our rights of due process, speedy trial, trial by jury, etcetera. Jessica and I, and even Jimmy, could be rotting away in a jail cell somewhere.”
“I don’t think the president would’ve let it come to that,” Erin began to explain before Mike interrupted her.
“Don’t get me wrong because I’m not defending Lindsey. All I know is what I hear from people at the MCSO. She honestly believed the National Guard was going to come onto the Keys, by force if necessary, and use all of the powers afforded under the martial law declaration to seize control of the government and anything else it wanted. Including a place like Driftwood Key.”
“Lindsey threatened me with the same crap, Mike,” said Hank. “She stood right outside this window and all but said fork over Jimmy to stand guard or I’ll be back to load up all your food and supplies.”
“I’m just saying we’re better off with the devil we know rather than the devil we don’t,” said Mike as he leaned back and folded his arms.
The tensions between them were evident, making the rest of the family uncomfortable. Erin had intended to speak with Hank alone about why she was there, but she decided to address the group before the brothers’ relationship worsened.
She took a long swig of liquid courage and stood in front of the Albrights. “There’s something I need to say.”
Everyone exchanged glances with one another. Lacey turned around on the couch to give Erin her complete attention.
“Go ahead, Erin,” encouraged Hank.
She looked at him as she spoke. “I never wanted to leave the boat that day. I can’t tell you how wonderful it felt to close out the world and have someone as nice as you come into my life. Being summoned back to Washington like that frightened me because it meant really bad things were on the horizon. Turns out that was the case.
“Hank, not a day went by that I didn’t think about you. Well, all of you, really. I worried about your safety and well-being. In fact, I did my level best to keep tabs on what was happening here through my contacts in the intelligence community who worked out of Mount Weather. I was aware of the mayor’s actions although I never imagined she’d blow up a federal highway and a state road.
“Anyway, I had become a thorn in the president’s side. It was unintentional. In our briefings and cabinet meetings, he’d ask my opinion, and I’d give it. As it turned out, I was too disagreeable for him and was about to be fired. While I was pleading my case to save my job, I seized on an opening he gave me. That’s what led me back to you.”
“What was that?” asked Hank.
“Everyone, the president went through a period in which the stresses of the crisis overwhelmed him. When he came back, he was angry and wanted to take out his frustrations on anyone, including entire states like Texas, which he perceived to be working against him. The Florida Keys became one of those lightning rods for his ire.
“When he learned of the nonresidents being removed from the Keys, followed by the closing of the two bridges with armed personnel, he blew a fuse. This happened at a time when Texas and other areas of the country were doing the same.
“You see, the president has this utopian vision of everyone coming together to help one another through the collapse. That’s possible, but it must be done on a community or more localized basis.
“The president hasn’t been on the road like Lacey and Peter. He hasn’t had his home fall under attack like you have. He sees everyone coming together to share their resources for the greater good of all Americans.”
“Lindsey is the same way,” interjected Hank. “In her mind, all the resources in the Keys should be pooled together and distributed according to need. She doesn’t care whether a business or family like ours made personal and financial sacrifices to prepare for a catastrophic event like this one. In her mind, it’s not fair for some of us to have an advantage over others.”
Mike poured himself another shot of Jack, his fourth. “Are you saying you volunteered to return to the Keys to help the president?” His skepticism of Erin’s motives came through in his questioning.
“Mike, let me tell you what the president’s stated intentions were,” replied Erin, who finished her drink, more to quench her dry mouth than to loosen her tongue. “I’m serious when I tell you this. He planned on taking control of Monroe County’s government. Then he was going to displace most of its residents by moving them to government-owned housing on the mainland.”
Erin took a deep breath before finishing her thought. “He intended to undertake a massive land reclamation project by leveling buildings, trucking in topsoil, and creating large federally operated farms to produce food for the nation.”
Mike started laughing. “That’s freaking nuts!”
“What would that look like?” asked Jessica. “Big bulldozers mowing everything down and then dump trucks building farmland?”
“It’s absurd, you guys, and I told him as much. That’s why he wanted to fire me, among other things.”
“Is that why you’re here?” asked Mike. “To lay the groundwork for this ridiculous idea?”
Erin poured herself another drink and sat back on the barstool. “President Helton is a cunning, conniving politician, not unlike your mayor, except on a much higher level. Here’s why he agreed to send me to the Keys. He wants me to recruit Hank to take Lindsey’s job through valid elections.”