Dystopia Chapter 38: The Annexation

It took days to pull the plan together. Addison and I met with Diana at the medical cage and staff members at the top of the hill along the north side of the roadway. Opposite the identified site. Weeds, a few trees, and cacti currently cover this vacant site, which is well protected to the east and north. A crumbling apartment building guards the west side. The south, an unknown. The residents doing their best to, like everyone, survive. While looking formidable, in truth wimpish. From the sounds overnight, fights with the occasional gunshot. Not sure where they buried the bodies.

In the past, because of the building’s height and the occupants’ ability to shoot down from the apartment’s fourth floor onto our rooftop, we engaged in scuffles that cost lives. We aggressively confronted these actions, making their fourth floor unusable, thus establishing a truce. We offered minimal protection on their northern flank if they covered all windows on the top floor. If not, we would shoot out those windows and at anyone appearing in those voids, and occasionally, for the hell of it, unannounced, in the middle of the night. Those windows are now covered.

We began visiting this ‘new’ location to scope out the area to determine what kind of resistance we might meet. For now, observed but never confronted. Next, we wandered across the roadway and chatted in the open, in the shade of a Palo Verde tree, leaning against a few boulders. Again, no one approached us. Observed. This all seemed straightforward.

Yesterday, a crudely printed sign appeared: NO TRESSPASSING!!! Misspelled, but close enough.

Ignoring the sign, a small group of us stepped across the warning and walked about the lot as if surveying the area. Checked out all four sides, and eventually, once again, sat below the tree as if engaged in a conversation, occasionally pointing here and there.

Today, the side door of the apartment opened slowly, and two well-armed men exited. One was tall and slender, the other short and stocky. Both wore jeans, unshaven, and dare I say, on the grimy side. They headed our way while several others appeared in the windows of the second floor. Wish Brett and Cord were back, anyway. We’ll do our best to deal with whatever may happen. We borrowed two Scout Team 1 members. Invited Mr. Maddox and Diana to join us. With Addison, we waited, ignoring their arrival. Acting startled at their approach.

Stopping a few feet away from us, I looked up and shouted, “Hey, I know you.” They appeared surprised, and the taller of the two demanded, “You all need to leave. This is private property.”

Standing, I approached slowly, “Are you the owners?” They clearly had not thought this through.

Hesitating awkwardly, they replied together. “Yes.”

They both appeared antsy. Relax, I told myself. Looking up at the windows and pointing, I said, “You’re more likely to be shot in the back by your friends, so I’ll move a bit to my right to give them a clear shot at me and take you out of the line of fire.”

Their backup-band, startled, responded by taking aim at me.

I moved my folks out of the line of fire.

Still, he looked uncomfortable. “You need to leave, now,” the second visitor repeated after clearing his throat.

“We will, but here’s the deal. We need this area and…

“Screw you!”

Ignoring this demand, I continued, “…have a proposal, a win — win for all. First, let me introduce Diana, our medical staff supervisor, and over there Addison, a colleague, and my name is Jesse. And across the roadway, you’ll notice a wagon and a dozen of our… friends. When you wave them over, they will bring materials to build a medical center, provide some food, meat from a recently butchered steer, vegetables, and offer protection to your site, your homes, and your property.”

The second guy quickly stepped forward, weapon now drawn, screamed, “WTF, get the hell off our property… this is your final warning.”

“Okay, easy,” Diana stepped closer, smiling. “I noticed you appear to have a skin lesion on your nose. Hum, appears asymmetrical, edges ragged, black. I can remove that before it gets worse.”

Shifting his attention, he asked, “Is it bad?”

He responded, “Been there a while; not a big deal.”

“Treated, you could survive years… untreated… I predict you’ll be dead in six weeks.”

“You’re a liar.”

Diana, still smiling, made eye contact with the other. “Noticed a limp, you seem to favor your right foot…and a shortness of breath… Jesse made you all an offer. Protection, a medical facility, a wagon of supplies, friendly neighbors… we annex the land, build a lean-to or two, a shed, we mind our own business and you, yours. Win, win.”

“Again, we don’t need no protect,” he said, stepping closer, weapon now aimed at my head.

Addison, no longer smiling, moved gingerly between us. “You know your safety is still engaged.”

He looked, giving Addison an opening. In one movement, she redirected his weapon toward his buddy and pressed the barrel of hers inches from his neck. “Bang, you’re dead.”

“Whoa, stand down, Mike!” the apparent ‘boss’ shouted.

They looked at each other. “Give us a minute to talk this out.”

“Fine, first Mikey, holster… the… gun.”

He protested as she pressed hers harder into his neck.

Contemplating the situation, he grudgingly followed the directive.

“Good plan.” They turned and returned to the apartment, stopped, and engaged with several others — body language worrisome, kept looking our way. Eventually, the still-nameless ‘boss’ returned without Mike.

“FYI, I’m nobody, just pulled the short straw. Truce, doable, but you all stay out of our building. Stay on this side of the fence. Anyone wandering beyond will not make it out, capiche?”

“Deal… but, need to introduce you to one other individual, Mr. Maddox. He’s the detail man, our Security Director.”

Looking back, “Your name?”

“Les.”

“Okay, Les, Mr. Maddox will keep our folks out of your way, promise, and will direct his security team to monitor your people while in the area receiving medical support, etc., etc. If we cooperate, we can secure the area, the roadway, and help each other. And if an issue arises, please let me know; just ask for Jesse. This is all good. And… maybe Mike needs to be a bit more diplomatic in the future. Wouldn’t want Diana snipping off his nose.”

Separating ways, we returned to our respective corners. Reviewed the ground rules and, with a final prediction, “Take care, and beware.”

Waving the wagon in, Mr. Maddox and the remaining staff prepared to occupy the area. We prepared to exit, hoping this all ends well. In the second-story window, I could still see watchers. Barrels resting on the windowsills. Mr. Maddox was aware of the plans from this point.

Watching for now, I placed myself between the wagon and the building. A few others had slowly exited the building, now standing along the chain-link fence. As promised, Mr. Maddox and selected workers moved supplies and food to the chain-link fence. Here, our new ‘friends’ collected supplies and quickly disappeared into the building. As if rehearsed, Les saw two sizable military tents rapidly assembled in the area, and supplies and materials were unloaded.

Meanwhile, Mike gathered a few mischief-makers, clearly stirring the pot, occasionally pointing this way.

Trouble brewing.

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