The Karuk managed the northeast, the Hupa were in charge of central Humboldt, the Tolowa and Yurok covered the northwest and the Wiyot provided additional support to the south. They were to be another line of defense beyond the city. Whether they would act upon that promise was yet to be seen.
But even with more eyes in the county, that didn’t mean threats couldn’t slip through the cracks. That’s why they needed to strengthen their group by increasing their numbers.
Each person wouldn’t just protect those inside the fencing, they would carry the responsibility of patrolling, fishing, hunting and managing the day-to-day tasks.
“Aaron. What do you want us to do?”
Finally, they had a name for the ringleader.
“Collect what they have.”
“And the women?”
“The women?” Alicia asked.
“Take them too.”
“Like hell you will,” Jessie said, stepping in front of Nina.
“Move out of the way.”
“What so you can rape them?”
Aaron laughed. “You think that’s what we want them for? Please. Extend me the courtesy of some respect. That’s not our way. No, there is a high ticket on the head of women now. Almost as much as bullets. They have multiple uses. So we’ll be taking them.”
Colby might have spoken on behalf of Alicia but these three women didn’t need anyone to do the talking for them. “If you think we’re going with you, you are wrong,” Alicia said.
“Interesting. And how do you suppose to stop us?”
“I’ll answer that!” a familiar voice shouted from the roof off to their right. The men turned to find Dylan, Zeke and one other pointing rifles at them. A whistle echoed. On the other side were another two ready to open fire. “Now how about you lower those weapons?”
“Well shit, how the tables turn, hey fellas?” Jessie said as they each released their weapons and Jessie moved in to collect them.
As cool as ever, Martha waltzed over to Aaron and circled him.
“What do you want us to do with them, Ma?” Jessie asked.
“Well haven’t you heard?” she said, stopping in front of Aaron. “There’s a high ticket price on the head of men. Almost as much as bullets. Let’s take them in. I’m sure we can put them to use.”
For all her shortcomings, his mother’s wit never failed.
Chapter Three
Humboldt County, California
Some said it would be their downfall, others, the reason they would survive. Colby wasn’t convinced it was a good decision to bring in outsiders. He didn’t like it but he wasn’t in charge and he didn’t want to be. Dan Wilder had made his mistakes, he’d expected Sheriff Johnson would make his own. Could this be one?
So far he’d proven the theory right.
Ward one in the south end was originally home to good families, well-to-do folks. Now Lundbar Hills was the holding area for newcomers. As they reached the heavily armed gates of Eureka, Colby brought his window down and brought them up to speed.
The point of dissension among those opposed was if anyone was deemed a threat on the road, how could they ever become a productive member of a community? Would they not always be a wild card that could turn at the drop of a hat? It was a valid point. One he’d supported. However, Johnson, who’d originally come up with the idea after seeing so many leave, said that everyone out there was a product of the environment.
If they were to disregard everyone who was a threat, how could they ever hope to grow the community and rebuild? Rebuilding required people. People required trust. Trust was earned. It couldn’t be earned if they made a snap judgement based on whether they were aggressive. Everyone with a gun now was aggressive even more so when with others. Groups had a pack mentality. It made sense. If he was out there, he probably would have taken the same approach as them.
Worst case scenario, they would exile them from the community within two weeks. But at least in that time they could find out what these outsiders had seen, where they had been and who they’d encountered. Bringing strangers back to the community was every bit a form of reconnaissance as much as it was integration. They’d already averted two attacks through people they’d brought back. Outsiders had told them about groups eyeing their community. That kind of intel was hard to pass up but with any pro there would always be a con.
Two weeks. That’s all it would take.
Johnson felt like he had it honed down to a fine art.
Aaron and his group would be held in two locked houses and given the chance to stay. They could usually tell within a matter of days whether that would be a problem. Some they’d released within three or four days, others a day away from the two-week mark. Anyone who made it past fourteen days had so far become a good addition to the community. The fact was, those who wanted to be there would do what was required. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t have done it later, so it was no skin off their nose to let them go.
To avoid the newcomers learning about the exact numbers of their community, all of them wore black cloth bags over their heads as they got closer to the city. The next thing they would see would be the inside of a home. No weapons were allowed. The neighborhood was heavily guarded around the clock. Newcomers were watched like a hawk.
It was the opposite of trying to break someone through interrogation. Instead, they showed them that they were not a threat. At least that’s how Johnson had put it. As the truck bumped its way through the streets of Eureka, Colby thought back to that town hall meeting and what Johnson had said when he asked him why he thought this would work.
“Colby, I served for twelve years in the military before becoming a cop. I saw many methods of interrogation. Holding people. Breaking them down
