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MARTIN TOOK A SEAT in the back of the auditorium. It was packed, making him a lot more uneasy. People were scared and angry. The fire had destroyed so much, and Jackson was sowing discontent at a time when everyone was most vulnerable. Tall Joe arrived, planting himself by the doorway. Martin waved him over.
“This is going to cause trouble,” Tall Joe grumbled as he knelt in the aisle next to Martin’s seat. “I don’t understand what he wants.”
“Power,” Martin said. “We control the arms and the food. If he wants to be in charge, he’s got to take that away from us.”
“All by himself?” Tall Joe scoffed.
Martin gestured to the audience. “Maybe not for long.” If Jackson got the audience fired up enough, he could start a riot. Martin knew he didn’t have enough people here to stop them if a mob flooded over to the kitchen’s storerooms, or even down to the warehouse. His men would be less willing to fire on unarmed civilians. An act that they all knew would infuriate Angus. Food that they needed for the winter could be destroyed in a riot. It was a time when people got crazy. He couldn’t let it get that far.
Tall Joe checked his watch. “It’s past time. Maybe he won’t show up.”
A murmur rippled through the room as Jackson came on stage. He was wearing a smart suit looking a sharp contrast to anyone else in the auditorium. Jackson stood upright, looking well fed and well groomed. Despite being the one that was late, he glanced over to the opposite podium which remained empty. “Apparently my opponent doesn’t believe in the courtesy of a prompt arrival.”
A spike of alarm ran up Martin’s back. “Where’s Angus?”
Tall Joe pulled out his radio as he dashed out of the auditorium. Martin was torn between following or keeping an eye on Jackson. But then things got complicated, and he knew he’d better stay.
Jean walked down the aisle with a black look in her eyes. “I’ve got a question.” Her voice was low and flat making conversations stop all through the room.
Jackson smiled at her. “Well, I was going to wait for my esteemed opponent, but please.” He gestured to her to continue.
“What are your views on thieves?”
“That’s an excellent question. In these difficult days of fractured law enforcement and inadequate food distribution, it is inevitable that there will be those who try to take what they want rather than earn it. I believe that anyone who steals should be apprehended by the appropriate authorities and punished quite harshly.”
“How harshly?” Jean asked in a way that warned Martin that she was setting him up.
“Food is life right now,” Jackson said flashing a smile at the audience. “We may not be able to show mercy. We have to consider what is best for the community.”
“And a thief with a gun?”
“Anyone who takes a life during the commission of a crime should be punished in kind,” Jackson said firmly.
“Then you support the right to defend yourself against raiders?”
“Absolutely.”
“And if those raiders shot at you, it would be within your rights to shoot back?”
“This country has always held that self-defense is an inalienable right.” Jackson was starting to look rather smug. Martin knew what was coming. It was going to be wonderful.
“So you should be happy to hear that the raiders that just attacked the warehouse are all dead now,” Jean said. The fury in her voice made her words carry across the quiet room.
There were a few rustles in the audience as three people ran for the exits. Jackson went pale. He grabbed a glass of water in a stalling tactic, but Martin could see his hand shake. He signaled to Tall Joe at the door to send a tail on those men.