SUMMARY: David Reid watches the past.
WARNINGS: Profanity
AUTHOR'S NOTE: None
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DISCLAIMER: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following stories are works of fan fiction intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.
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TITLE: REIDVILLE-Hangover In Hell, Chapter 4 of 5
AKA:
STORY TYPE: Alternate Episode with Alternate Characters (Outside of Jericho)
TIMELINE: 200X1001 (Bombs+1)
EPISODE GUIDE: n/a
TUCKERAU GUIDE: n/a
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--SCENE: Reidville City Hall, Multipurpose room
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David Reid sat in emotional agony as he watched disaster hit his city. He felt like turning it off, but the information was too valuable and he couldn't get over the feeling that there was still something he could do. He watched as Katherine kept control of the situation.
"Find me David Reid! Go to his house."
The exasperated officer responded. "They did and got no answer. He's out jogging and we just haven't found him yet. We're covering each neighborhood starting with the mill town area. Unless you want me to sound the civil defense sirens there's not much I else I can do."
Katherine resisted the urge to lash out as the fire chief got her attention. "My people have checked in. I've got twenty full time and twenty volunteers."
She responded, "I have ten on duty already but only seven more have responded to the call back. The power company says to expect brown outs but short of an EMP over the east coast they should stay on line. Their main concerns are surges, downed lines and fires."
"What's happening on the streets?"
David took a second to dial in some of the same video feeds they were watching. He could see neighbors standing in the streets and the red-light camera at the east intersection showed a line at the gas bumps.
An officer responded to the Chief's question. "They're calling us, but the majority of the calls are going to the county 911. They're so slammed they've told us to route and respond on our own although our only official incident is a fender bender."
Since the officer seemed to have talked to someone at county more recently than she had, she queried, "What else is county doing?"
"Asking us what we're doing. Nobody has enough to go on."
Katherine nodded her head. "Let's get people started setting up the storm shelters. It will take a while to get them going so get with the Red Cross now. Let's see if we can get in line first for whatever resources they have. They're not self contained like the shelter here."
David watched as Katherine paced the floor. He imagined a split screen where he was half way through the first bottle. Not numb yet, he had been pushing hard as he abandoned any hope of getting his lawyers and bankers started on his problems. He had planned on doing that today if only the world hadn't gone to hell.
i'You should have kicked in my door,'/i he thought but then realized how unrealistic it was. Even if they could have gotten through the two inches of oak and the double deadbolts, it wasn't their job to find him. It was his job to be there leading them. He should have been the first in that command center and last to leave it. He was the ship's captain and his vessel had hit an iceberg. He watched on not knowing if it had sank.
"CHIEF MCCARROL! County is calling asking if we can spare some units."
Katherine looked puzzled, "To do what?"
"Crowd control. Looting has started in some of the neighborhoods at the stores, banks and gas stations."
While she thought about it, her eyes were drawn to the ATM two blocks away where two men were fighting. She pointed at the monitor, "Get someone over there."
"We can't. There are only four cars rolling. All four have been called to gas stations or grocery stores. People are causing a ruckus that they can't use their credit cards."
"This is going to get worse before it gets better. Tell county we have our hands full. Tell the officers at those stores to shut them down."
The mayor interjected, "You can't just shut the stores. There are people trying to get food and supplies."
"They should have done it sooner. There's no way I can control one riot with four cars, much less a dozen. We're going to lose the grocery stores, but I want two units and a fire truck at the east and west intersections. There are two-three gas stations at each. Let's see if can keep them from setting anything on fire."
The mayor offered, "Maybe we should evacuate?"
This time the fire chief cut into him, "To where? We don't know what's going on. Opening the shelters or ordering an evacuation would be premature. You'd just cause a panic."
Katherine asked, "Are we getting anything useful off the local channels?"
"No Ma'am. They're just quoting the main news channels."
"Call them and ask them to send a crew over here. Offer them an interview or call it a news conference. Let's see if we can start trying to calm someone down." She looked up at the clock and realized it was a little past eight.
The officer started making the calls but before he ever got through all of the screens blinked and the symbol came on the screen for the emergency alert network. At the same time, an emergency action notice printed out from a dedicated receiver. Katherine noted, "OK… here it is… it will solve everything or deliver us to hell in a hand basket."
The same tone made famous to everyone as part of the Emergency Broadcast System came on by the following verbal message;
"The is an activation of the Emergency Alert Network for the upstate of South Carolina including Anderson, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens and Spartanburg counties. This is not a test.
There have been multiple events affecting your area including nuclear detonations in Charlotte NC at 5:47pm and Atlanta GA at 5:52pm. Reports have confirmed that radioactive fallout has already been measured in northern Georgia. Prevailing wind conditions project initial fallout in the city of Greenville at 9:03pm and the city of Spartanburg at 9:27pm. All residents are hereby ordered to evacuate the area immediately. FEMA is establishing a support center for evacuees in Knoxville TN. Once in Knoxville, you will receive further instructions. REPEAT… the upstate of South Carolina is subject to a mandatory evacuation of all residents to Knoxville TN.
This concludes the alert."
"WHAT THE FUCK?" Katherine was livid, "We're supposed to stage a two hundred mile evacuation in an hour."
The fire chief tried to work with her, "Maybe we have some leeway. You have to admit we're one of the few with real shelters."
"Get FEMA on the line!"
"The phone lines are jammed. I haven't gotten an answer in the last hour and I'm using three separate lines."
"Try the video conference… they always answer when they get to use one of their toys."
While they waited, she turned to the mayor and fire chief. "Can you believe this?"
The mayor answered, "Shouldn't we start the evacuation?"
Katherine started on a rant, "Start what? With only an hour, all we can do is pass out flyers and say 'Good luck.' Its ridiculous. They'll be playing bumper cars with three hundred thousand other people on four lanes of highway. Some asswipe at FEMA looked at a map and said 'here 'ya go'. He didn't bother to think about the Smokey Mountain pass where a single car accident can back up traffic on I-40 for seventeen miles. Seventeen miles without a gas station or an exit. If they're lucky people will have the sense to push the accident over the cliff because that's all there is. A four hundred foot cliff up and a four hundred foot cliff down."
The fire chief tried to get her under control, but only poured fuel on the fire. "Look at this." He handed her the printed message.
For the regional coordinator at FEMA who answered the video link and was already having a hellish day, Katherine McCarrol might as well have been the devil. "Hello… Southeast Coordinator Stewart here. Make it fast. I have a meeting in seven minutes."
"WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU MEAN WE ARE ORDERED TO KEEP OUR SHELTERS CLOSED?"
He turned stern and bureaucratic, "Who am I speaking with?"
"Police Chief McCarrol in Reidville, SC. We have a fully operation shelter here and five auxiliaries. Instead of taking sheltered we've been ordered to evacuate the along with the entire upstate up one highway."
"Ms. McCurry. We've ordered all shelters closed because we simply do not want another superdome situation on out hands. Now I doubt your shelters will hold three hundred thousand people and I can't tell you how long they'll have to hold the ones you can. We need to get those people moving and we need to get them moving NOW. Its only thirty or forty miles to the border and out of the fallout. If we get people moving now they can be clear before the fallout even gets there."
"BULLSHIT. These roads get clogged with accidents in a light rain much less cities running for their lives."
"The decisions have been made at the state and federal levels and this qualifies as a National Security Order. You are compelled to follow them. Willful disobedience of a NSO can be a capital crime."
"You're putting people from my community into the fallout when I could give them shelter."
"Yes, well I'm authorized to make that decision. You are not. The order stands. All shelters are to remain closed. There are to be no exceptions."
The video link terminated and the room stayed quiet for several minutes.
The fire chief moved to console Katherine, "We can't fit everyone in the shelters anyways and we don't have the people to guide an evacuation and open shelters."
She looked crushed, "We could still open the shelters. Give people a choice."
The mayor spoke up, "No. It would be criminal. You heard them… they'll hold us responsible for anyone that doesn't evacuate."
She spat back, "Fuck them... I'm responsible for the people of this city."
The mayor responded levelly, "So am I. The shelters are limited and have limited supplies. We can not be responsible for locking people in a hole when there is a relief effort a three hour drive from here. I hereby order all city officials to aid in the evacuation as ordered by the federal government."
Katherine thought, 'Where are you David?'
She didn't have any fight in her as she realized she had her own family to take care of. She'd left her husband and daughter during dinner and given the circumstances, she made the decision to go along. "Alright… open up the pumps and have them top off people's tanks in an orderly fashion. For anyone that wants an escort let's ask for volunteers to provide blue light escorts using police cars. I need the firefighters to take the evacuation orders and notify the neighborhoods. Use bullhorns and flyers, but by ten I want everyone released to take care of their own families."
She then picked up a phone to call her husband, but made a request of the officer at the console, "Get me a full hazmat suit."
He looked puzzled, "For what?"
"I'll be staying until I can get FEMA to change their mind or I die trying."