Jimmy walked to a wall mirror and began to remove his bandages.
Peter abruptly stopped him. “Wait. Not yet.”
“Why? I wanna see what they did to me.”
“I have an idea,” replied Peter. He pointed down to the unconscious soldier. “I’m about the same size as this guy. Let me put on his uniform. I’ll use his identification to get us out of here.”
“What about me?”
“You’ll be in the back seat, pretending to be in cuffs. If they ask, I’ll tell them you’re being evacuated.”
Jimmy looked from Peter to the soldier sprawled out on the vinyl tile floor and back to the mirror. “I think it’ll work. Let’s do it.”
It took several minutes to transform Peter from mild-mannered reporter to National Guardsman with an infirm prisoner. After the man was stripped to his skivvies, they dragged his body to a back office and cuffed him to a bed. It was a disrespectful move, but it provided Jimmy some semblance of revenge for the beating he’d endured.
The guys were ready. Peter took the guard’s sidearm, and Jimmy grabbed a rucksack that he filled with medical supplies to treat his wounds as well as injuries at Driftwood Key. Everything was a valuable resource now.
After they rushed through the blowing rain and got settled in the Humvee, Peter started the motor. The roar of the six-point-two-liter V8 could barely be heard over the howl of the wind. He turned slightly in his seat and looked Jimmy in the face.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Green. Green. Green. As they say.”
Peter became serious. He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Jimmy, I’ve had to shoot people. Kill them, too.”
Jimmy stared at his friend, who’d never shown a violent streak in all the years they’d known one another. He sat up in his seat and pulled his arms behind his back to feign being handcuffed. Then he offered words of support.
“Things have changed, and there don’t appear to be rules anymore. It’s dog eat dog, you know? Survival of the fittest and all that.”
Peter nodded and slowly unclasped the weapon in his newly acquired utility belt. He understood where Jimmy was coming from and appreciated the words of support. He’d made the statement for another reason, however. He wanted to provide Jimmy advance warning.
They might have to shoot their way out.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Thursday, November 7
Key West
After Hank visited with Mike, he had a conversation with Jessica in the hallway. He explained to her the concerns he had about Jimmy. He laid out his plans for the afternoon, and she gave him the names of a couple of deputies who would know the most about the newly deputized private citizens brought on board for checkpoint duty. She’d heard a rumor that the new people were going to be released from their commitment to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, but then, later in the night, she had been told that the mayor was building a militia of some sort.
Also, it was Jessica who acknowledged that she needed to get back to Driftwood Key to help protect their home. Mike was well taken care of, and if she knew her husband, he’d begin to insist that he be released. In fact, she said, it wouldn’t surprise her if he simply dressed and moseyed out the door without so much as a wave goodbye.
Hank agreed to touch base with her before he left Key West, but at the same time, he couldn’t make any promises as to when that might be. He’d been warned by Mike that the sheriff was elusive, and Hank believed Lindsey was in way over her head in her effort to take on the federal government.
His first stop after leaving the hospital was to return the golf cart to Sunset Marina. He asked if he could continue to dock the Wellcraft there and if someone would assist him in bringing Jessica’s WET team boat over as well. Afterwards, he walked across the street to the MCSO.
Sheriff Jock Daly, who was named in part after his father’s favorite television character, Jock Ewing of the old television show Dallas, had also been a star athlete in high school. He went on to play football at Florida State before graduating with a criminal justice degree. He had been trained at the FBI National Academy and considered a position as a special agent but chose to return home. His résumé included stints with the fire department and as a detective investigating drug cases alongside the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
He was not known to be overly friendly, and most described him as serious. As a public servant, he was required to run for office. He wasn’t a campaigner and preferred to allow his record as a law enforcement officer to speak for itself. For the most part, the community was pleased with the job he’d done over the years, as he’d won reelection twice.
Despite the fact that he wasn’t amiable, he’d never been known as a shy or introverted person. Nor had he ever been accused of hiding from controversial subjects. Hank had met the man on several occasions over the years and generally had a decent rapport with him. He’d never had a reason to have a sit-down, face-to-face conversation with Sheriff Jock, as most residents of the Keys called him. Until now.
Hank’s reason for meeting with the sheriff was mostly personal and partly to satisfy his curiosity. He felt responsible for what, if anything, might have happened to Jimmy. The mayor had forced his hand, which had resulted in Jimmy being deputized by Sheriff Jock or his subordinates. Jimmy had no business wearing an MCSO uniform even though it consisted of nothing more than a pair of khaki pants and the signature green tee shirt with MCSO emblazoned across the back in gold lettering.
Hank was mad at himself for not standing up to Lindsey, and he intended to let her know how he felt as soon as he learned of Jimmy’s whereabouts. Then, in the course of conversation, he wanted to know why they thought it was a good idea to blow up the bridges entering the Keys. Hank also thought he should let Lindsey know how the decision might impact Peter’s and Lacey’s ability to return home.
Unfortunately, Sheriff Jock refused to see Hank. He waited and waited, periodically getting up from the chairs outside the sheriff’s office suite to look for some of the personnel on Jessica’s list. He learned more about the bridges being taken down and the aftermath. He was told how the National Guard had staged in Homestead and were en route to the Keys. It was presumed, based upon the president’s statements, that the Guard intended to replace the sheriff and the mayor with U.S. military officers pursuant to the martial law declaration.
While he waited, Hank also obtained a copy of the president’s martial law declaration and read it several times while he waited for the sheriff to emerge from his office. Finally, as the day grew long, he became concerned Lindsey might leave her office. Having given up on an audience with the sheriff, he hitched a five-minute ride to a location near the Monroe County Administration building.
He briskly walked the final two blocks to the center of Monroe County’s government, half-expecting the place to be empty already. He was wrong.
He’d never seen it bustling with so much activity. The parking lot was full of vehicles bearing the county’s yellow license plates. The portico entrance to the two-story, white building was packed with county personnel talking. Their conversations were animated and excited. Something big was happening, and Hank wanted to know what it was.
He didn’t waste any time and marched directly up the stairs to Lindsey’s office. Unlike Sheriff Jock’s office suite that was on lockdown thanks to his ornery secretary and an armed deputy, the double doors entering the administration suite were wide open. Within the suite that included the office of the mayor, formerly known as the county administrator, and her staff, there was also space for the county business manager, a legislative affairs director, and the assistant county administrator.