One at a Time
Judith Reye barged into the community building, the grounds around it were battered but due to the fort like construction the building itself showed now signs of damage. She charged straight through the meeting area, packed with noisy colonists and into the small windowless office and conference room where her husband was standing talking with Joe Fortson. Fortson had just been passing by looking for Andy Stuart, but had stopped just long enough to let Les know what had happened to Kathy Osborne and about the rumblers. Ignoring Fortson Judith demanded, “Lester! make them get in touch with Michael!”
“Please Dear, one moment and I will be right with you.” Les replied in a distracted tone, keeping most of his attention focused on the conversation with Joe.
“Don’t you even care that I can’t talk to our son? He can’t be reached and might even be in trouble!“ Judith yelled totally out of control.
“Not now Judith, not now! Mike is probably fine. Since the storm we’ve lost all radio communications with everyone. Kathy Osborne has just reported being raped, Joey Dawson and the Washington kid are missing, and Burke likely killed and eaten by rumblers. I can only handle one crises at a time!
“Oh dear, oh dear. It’s always about power isn‘t it?” The transformation of Judith Reye as she latched on to one of the lode stones of her personal belief system was instantaneous and near miraculous. “I am going over to see what I can do to help the poor Osborne woman. Get a hold of Mike, Lester, and I will talk with you later!”
As Judith left Les turned to Fortson and said, “Joe I am very much regretting being here right about now and,” with a nod to the meeting room, “ I am sure I am not the only one. Go ahead and get with Stuart on the rumbler situation and looking for the Washington kid. You should probably help out there. But first find Karl Nash and alert him about the rapist in our midst. And let him know that according to my dear wife he can forget the sex angle and confine the search to men lusting after power. Whoever did it wasn’t thinking worth a lick, or at least not with his brain. With DNA evidence, finding the guilty party should take all of a minute or two. Also ask him to try and organize some folks to take down any of the tents still standing. Half of the people outside just ran in here and left their tents full up and waiting for the winds to rip them to shreds. The bots should be able to handle most of the work on that detail.
“If you run across Sabbu send him this way. I am going to stay right here and try and work out some way to at least be an informational clearing house now that most of our communications are down.” He nodded once more to the main meeting area and said, “Now I have to have to start by filling in that mob out there on everything we know, or think we know, right up to the present point. And all I‘m gonna get back from most is what I should of known.”
“Better hope they have a sense of humor Les. But then that’s why you get the big bucks ain‘t it?” Fortson commented as he headed out the door.
Bam! Went the gavel. Bam! “Quite everyone,” Reye said. And as the room did quiet down he began reading from his notes.