Avenging Home (33 page)

I laughed at the thought. “All you’d have to do is put your feet down and the thing could walk right out from under you.”

The girls all laughed at the statement and continued to laugh as Dalton told the story of the last time he rode a horse. He finished it with, “The last time I rode one, was the last time I’ll ride one!”

There was also an old truck rolling slowly down the road. The bed was like something from a movie about India or Indonesia. The bed was overloaded with people. Packed to capacity with standing room only. There were even smiling and waving faces sitting on top of the cab. I laughed at the sight as we passed it, and the girls all talked about it. It was quite the sight.

In Eustis, there were throngs of people walking down Bay Street towards the park. We slowed as we made our way through the crowd. Mel looked over at me and said, “I don’t think we have enough food for all these people.”

I nodded. “I didn’t think we’d made enough to feed everyone. When it runs out, it runs out.”

When we got to the park, the lawn in front of the band shell was crowded with people. There were chairs and blankets with families sprawled out on them. Children ran around playing. They were everywhere. The band was already on the stage, and I could hear a fiddle hard at work as I pulled up to a row of tables Shane and Sean had set up for us. There was a group of Guardsmen there waiting for us as well.

Shutting the truck down, Little Bit jumped out and looked at Mel expectantly. “Can I go play?”

Mel looked out across the park. There were uniformed Guardsmen wandering through the throngs. They were all over the park, just to make sure there were no issues. She looked at Little Bit. “Yes. But stay close and don’t leave the park for any reason.”

Little Bit smiled. “I won’t!” And she took off at a run to join in with the other kids.

Mike backed the MRAP up to the tables and everyone got out. Sarge looked around the park. After taking the crowd in, he looked at me. “You’re going to start a damn riot, Morgan.”

I shrugged. “I’m just trying to give a little something back to the community.”

Sarge looked at Mike. “You, Teddy, Doc and Ian keep people away from this truck.” He looked at the guys. “No one gets near this thing, understood?”

“Roger that, boss,” Ted said.

Ian and Doc nodded, and the guys spread out around it. Jamie was in her BDUs today, in full kit. She went with Ian as they took up a position on one side. I enjoyed seeing them together and remembered the day I told them they should knock boots and get it over with. She was so pissed, it made me laugh just thinking about it. But now they seemed inseparable. It was good.

Looking at Sarge, I said, “I’m going up to the stage. I’ll make an announcement about the food and ask folks to line up.”

Sarge shook his head. “This is going to turn into a cluster fuck.”

“You just don’t trust people do you?”

Sarge snorted. “Hell no! I know people! Shit, I am one. I know what they’re capable of.” He wagged a finger at me. “Never underestimate the power of idiots in large numbers. And this is a damn idiot convention!”

I shook my head and turned to head for the stage. Mel took my hand and walked with me. “Didn’t know you were coming with me,” I said.

“Oh, I’m not going up on that stage!” She said with a laugh.

“I didn’t think you were. But thanks for coming with me.”

We made our way to the stage. The sun was starting to go down and the lights in the trees came on. The crowd acknowledged it with a round of applause. A generator had been set up behind the band shell. It ran the lights and the sound equipment for the band. They’d brought in some old school amps and mics. I could tell by looking at it, the gear had seen some miles. But it sounded good.

As we approached the stage, they were in the middle of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”. The banjos were playing fast and furious. I stepped up on the stage and waited for the song to finish. From where I was standing, I could see the entire park. Kids were running, playing and laughing. Some adults were dancing. Everyone seemed genuinely happy. The lights added to the scene and made for a happy sight.

As the song finished, Mel looked at me. “You ready?”

I shrugged. “May as well be.” I leaned over and kissed her and walked out onto the stage.

Approaching one of the band members, I leaned in and whispered into his ear. He nodded and stepped up to the mic. “Howdy, folks. Are you enjoying the music?” There was a round of hoots and applause. “We got someone here that wants to say a few words.” He looked at me and motioned to the mic.

I stepped up and adjusted it. “Evening, everyone. Are we having a good time?” There was another round of applause and shouts. “Some of you know me, but for those that don’t, I’m Morgan Carter.”

From the crowd came several shouts. One above the others, “Sheriff Carter!” Followed by whistles and cat calls.

I laughed. “Yeah. I suppose. Anyway, I organized this for everyone tonight with the help of the guys from the police department. How about a round of applause for Shane, Sean and the guys that strung all these lights and set this up?” There was a loud round of applause, whistles and cat calls. I stepped to the side and swept my arm over the stage. “And let’s hear it for the band!” The crowd erupted once again as I continued. “These guys sound pretty good!” The park erupted even louder and the band members nodded their appreciation.

I motioned for them to quiet down, and after a moment, I was able to speak again. “We’ve all been through some tough times. Our world has changed, hasn’t it folks.” I could see heads nodding in agreement along with a couple of shouts. “But working together, we’re getting better. The park is full everyday of folks trading and bartering, things are starting to get done. But we’ve got more to do and the only way we can do it is to work together.” There were more nods and shouts. “Like the farm. With everyone working together out there, we’ve got nearly forty acres planted. That’s food for everyone!”

Again the crowd erupted. I gave them a minute to settle down before continuing. “To show our appreciation, and to make sure we had a real party, I arranged some food for tonight.” That really got the crowd going. Trying to shout above them, I said, “It isn’t much! But it is a bit of a treat.”

People were looking around and shouting, “What is it? Or, “Where is it!” The idea of food excited them.

“This will only work if everyone cooperates. We need to form an orderly line at the tables set up over there,” I pointed to where the tables were. “So line up for a slice of fresh pizza! But there’s only so much. We made as much as we could, but I’m sure it won’t be enough for everyone. So let’s line up orderly and we’ll do our best to hand it out.”

The crowd went wild and everyone started moving. While it was a rush, it wasn’t unruly. There was no real pushing or shoving. I looked at the band and motioned for them to start playing. They quickly dove into Shackles and Chains with a young lady joining in on vocals. I left the stage and walked back to the trucks with Mel. She tugged my hand as we walked.

“Good job,” she said.

“Eh. Had to say something.”

Back at the tables, the pizza distribution was going surprisingly smoothly. Probably because Sarge had organized the Guardsmen into a cordon the people had to walk through to get a slice. It was an impressive show of force that prevented any disorder. People in line craned their necks, trying to get a look. They talked animatedly about the thought of pizza and wondered out loud how we did it.

As Mel and I made our way back, many people shook my hand or offered thanks. Some with a simple nod, others with a slap on my back. I didn’t want the attention though. That wasn’t why I did what I did. I quickly made my way back to the trucks, to be separated from the masses.

Everyone was busy, cutting the pies into small pieces about three inches square. I stood beside Sarge and watched as Jess and Fred handed it out as fast as they could. Mary and Miss Kay were likewise working as fast as they could. I looked at Sarge. “Looks like you were wrong.”

He grunted. “It ain’t over yet.”

I laughed and shook my head. I grabbed a box with half a pizza in it and handed it to Mel. “Can you take this up to the band? I want to make sure they get some for what they’re doing.”

Taking it, she said, “Sure.”

As the crowd moved through in orderly fashion, I heard Jess say something that caught my ear. Up to this point everyone was satisfied and thankful for their single piece of pizza. “You can only have one.” I heard her say, then she added, “They have to come get their own.”

Looking over, I saw Albert, Hyatt’s toady. I nudged Sarge and nodded at the man. We both walked over to back up Jess. Seeing us, Albert’s face soured. “Why can’t I get enough for our people?”

“You heard the deal. Get in line to get a piece. We’re not letting anyone carry off more for someone else,” I said.

“It only makes sense to allow people to take some back to others in their group. It’ll make this whole thing easier, faster,” Albert said.

Sarge stepped up. “You tell Porky to waddle his fat ass over here if he wants some. One piece, per person, period.” Begrudgingly, Albert took his piece and wandered off. Sarge was shaking his head and looked at me. “We should have shot those dickheads. They’re going to be nothing but trouble.”

I nodded. “Probably. But they haven’t done anything yet to justify it. We’ve taken their guns, there isn’t much they can do.”

The handout continued without issue. But we were starting to run out, some would certainly go without. Once we were down to the last few boxes, Hyatt came walking through the crowd with a number of his people. He bypassed the line and walked directly to the head, drawing a number of comments from those in line.

Seeing him, I asked, “What do you want?”

“Albert said I had to come personally to get my share. So I came to get it.”

I pointed to the line still snaking its way through the park. “You have to get in line like everyone else.”

Hyatt waved his hands. “This is ridiculous. I already sent my man! So I’ve already been in line!”

The crowd was getting irritated and began to shout and shake fists. Hyatt could singlehandedly turn what’s been a very peaceful event into a damn riot. Sarge looked at him. “Back of the line, Porky.” Sarge’s comment was greeted with shouts from those in line. “Yeah, back of the line, asshole!”

Hyatt looked at the remaining few boxes and then down the line. Incredulously, he shouted, “There isn’t enough! If I go to the back of the line, I won’t get any!”

“You won’t be the only one. A bunch of these folks won’t get a piece. But that’s the way it works. When there’s more demand than supply, the supply runs out.” I said.

Hyatt stamped his foot. “This is unjust! This isn’t right! How can you promise these people food, and then not provide it?”

Sarge looked at two of the nearest Guardsmen. “Get this sack of shit out of here.”

The two men quickly moved in on Hyatt. Using their rifles, they began to push him away from the table to cheers from the crowd. Naturally, Hyatt protested and whined, but it was to no avail. The two soldiers pushed him to the back of the line where he then stomped off.

Sarge was shaking his head. “We need to kill that fucker. Mark my words. We need to kill him.”

I sighed. “You may be right. He’s going to be nothing but trouble.”

Ted was standing beside Sarge. He grunted. “I’ll do it. Let me and Mikey take ‘em out one night. It’ll be fun.”

Glancing sideways at Ted, I said, “Not yet.”

Fred looked back at us. “Guys, this is the last one.” She was holding a pizza box.

I nodded. “Give it out and we’ll tell everyone.”

I asked Aric to go tell the Guardsmen monitoring the line that we were out so they could start to disperse the line. Mike and Ted moved out as well and started delivering the bad news. While there were some complaints, hurt feelings more than anything, everyone behaved and those still in line broke up and drifted back to their places in the park.

The band was still playing and things were settling down. Shane approached me and said they’d planned for a big bonfire and were about to light it. While everyone was getting their food, they’d brought in wood and made a huge pile in front of the band shell. I told him it was a good idea; it would get people back into the party mood. I asked where Sean was and he said he was at the fire pit.

Sarge stepped up. “Go get him and anyone helping you and bring them over here real quick. He nodded and ran off. I asked Sarge what was up. He jabbed a thumb in the direction of the MRAP. “We’ve got a couple of pies in the truck still. I wanted to make sure those guys got a piece.”

As we were talking, Sheffield and Livingston walked up. Sheffield looked around the park and nodded. “This was a hell of an idea, Morgan. Good job.”

“Did you guys get any pizza?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, we left it for these folks.”

“Come over here and get a piece. You guys deserve it just as much,” Sarge said.

Livingston looked with surprise. “Thought it was all gone.”

“It is. We held a couple back for the folks working hard here tonight.”

Shane and Sean returned with a couple of men that helped them. Shane pointed at the two men. “These guys worked for the city. They strung all the lights and are helping get the fire ready.”

I pointed to the back of the truck. “Get yourselves a slice. We appreciate the efforts guys.”

The two men thanked me and grabbed their share before heading back to the fire pit. Sheffield and Livingston grabbed a piece and were eating it when I noticed Hyatt again. He was off the side of the park, in the shadows glaring at us. I could almost hear him saying,
you said it was all gone.
Shaking my head, I turned back to the park as the fire was lit to cheers from the crowd.

I left Sarge and the guys to talk. Mel and I went out looking for Little Bit. We found her near the fire. The kid loved fire, like a moth to a flame. She was with a group of other children doing a ring-around-the-rosy around the fire as the band played. Everyone was happy. A carefree feeling swept over the park as people danced and carried on. The band kept rolling; and as the night wore on, others showed up with instruments. From time to time, someone would go up on the stage and give one of the folks up there a break.

Late in the evening, a competition of dueling banjos broke out between several players. The crowd really got into it and hooted and howled as the strings got faster and faster. The fire roared and the music filled the air. It was a truly great night. Looking at my watch, I saw it was getting on close to midnight and told Mel I wanted to go listen to the radio to try and catch the nightly broadcast.

I left her by the fire with Little Bit and went to find Sarge. He was still at the truck with Sheffield and Livingston. I pulled the little radio from my vest and turned it on. Sarge looked at me and asked, “Time for the radio show?”