Home Invasion - J. A. Johnstone [62]
The man who had let Alex in told her, “The colonel is right over here, ma’am.” He led her to a video screen where another black-uniformed figure stood watching what was on the display. This man stood erect, with his hands clasped behind his back. He didn’t wear a helmet like the others but was bareheaded instead, revealing a thatch of iron-gray hair that matched his tanned, rugged face. The soldier with Alex said, “Colonel, here’s Chief Bonner.”
The colonel turned to her, nodded, and extended his hand. “Chief,” he said. “I’m glad to meet you. I’m Colonel Charles Grady.”
Alex shook his hand. “With all due respect, Colonel, what are you and your soldiers doing here in my town?”
Grady smiled faintly. “These men and women aren’t soldiers, Chief. They’re officers. Police officers, just like the men and women who work for you.”
Alex wanted to say Not hardly, but she controlled the impulse. Instead she said, “But you’re a colonel. That’s a military title.”
Grady shrugged. “I’m a retired colonel, actually. Now I work for the Federal Protective Service. My superiors have been kind enough to allow me to keep the rank.”
“Which still doesn’t answer the question of what you’re doing here.”
“Following orders,” Grady said. “I would have notified you in advance of our arrival, but those orders specified that I not do so. From one commanding officer to another, ma’am, I apologize for that.”
“The President sent you here, didn’t he?”
“The FPS is part of the executive branch, yes, ma’am.”
Getting a straight answer from this man seemed well-nigh impossible. Alex kept trying, though, asking through clenched teeth, “Why?”
Grady glanced at a watch strapped to his wrist and then gestured at the video screen in front of him. “I believe if you’ll just watch this for a few minutes, Chief, you’ll have all the answers you need.”
Impatiently, Alex glanced at the screen and saw that it was showing a cable news feed. A man and a woman were talking, then a moment later, they shut up and the broadcast switched to a location Alex recognized.
The Oval Office in the White House.
The President sat behind his desk, looking as handsome and photogenic and sincere as ever. He spoke in a calm, assured, rational voice.
And yet as Alex stood there watching and listening, the world seemed to start spinning crazily around her. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Even after all the outrageous things this president and the previous one had done and gotten away with, this new trampling of the Constitution was shocking.
When the President’s speech was finished and the news anchors came back to talk about how wonderful he was and how everything he had said was right, Alex turned to Colonel Grady and said, “So you’re here to take away all the guns that belong to the citizens of Home.”
“And the surrounding area, yes, ma’am,” Grady replied. “Those are our orders.”
“You can’t do that.”
“Actually, Chief, we can. The area is now under martial law. Technically, you no longer have any authority here. “ Grady smiled. “However, for the sake of the public good and to make the entire process run smoother, I’m asking you and your force to cooperate. The citizens are much more likely to comply peacefully with the order if they see that their own police force thinks it better for them to turn in their guns.”
“I won’t do it,” Alex said flatly. “It’s not legal.”
“If the President says that it’s legal, then it’s legal, as far as I’m concerned.” Grady frowned. “As he said, you and your officers will be allowed to keep your weapons, Chief. I want you to continue enforcing the law in Home, just as you have been. But … that decision can be suspended if I see fit to do so. I have the authority to demand that you and your officers surrender your weapons as well. I’d prefer that you not force me to do so, Chief.”
It was all Alex could do to control the fury