David Rosenfelt - Airtight

He had been receptive, but preferred to wait until the legal proceedings had run their course, so as not to appear to prejudice them. She was so sure that he would eventually come around, regardless of the outcome of the case, that she had done background work. Camera crews had been sent to the town, and interviews were conducted. The piece was done and ready to go, and probably would have aired with or without Holland.

But he was a politician, and Adrienne knew that no politician would be able to resist such a platform. So when the call came to tell her that he was ready, she set it up for that evening, and Holland was there at 6 PM.

The interviewer was Anderson Cooper, and he first ran the taped piece providing background for the viewers who had not been familiar with the story. It included the interviews with local people in Brayton, expressing heartfelt concern for their children and their way of life.

The piece tersely said that Richard Carlton and representatives of Hanson Oil and Gas had both declined to comment on camera but had released packaged statements vowing that they would protect the environment while supplying much-needed energy resources.

It was obvious that the compilers of the segment were on the side of the people of Brayton, which provided an easy segue into Holland’s interview.

But he was not there to mouth platitudes; he was there to make news, and he did so right away. “Anderson, I have asked privately, and now I am asking publicly, for state and federal authorities to come in and provide protection for the people of Brayton. There is a significant danger of violence.”

“Why do you say that?” asked Cooper.

“Well, as you noted in the piece you just ran, there has already been violence, a house was blown up. And now the anger, the totally justified anger, has been ramped up to a much higher level. I’ve put our police force on high alert, but we are a small town, and can do just so much. I want to do everything I can to protect the people of Brayton; they are not just my constituents, they are my friends.”

Cooper pointed out the obvious. “But it’s those same people that are angry. So the constituents and friends who you are trying to protect are the ones that might commit the acts you’re worried about?”

“Anderson, I don’t know who committed the previous act, and I certainly have no knowledge of who might do something illegal or dangerous in the future. But people are very, very angry and upset. When parents feel that their children’s lives are in danger, they will do anything they can to protect them. In a situation like this, the frustrations can boil over, and the actions of one or two can hurt many.”

“So you’ve not been able to provide specifics to the authorities?”

Holland shook his head. “I have not. What I have done is caution everyone to remain calm and not take any rash actions. At the same time, I repeat that I have asked for state and Federal intervention to help defend our community. These are dangerous times, and I don’t want to be in the position of wishing we had all done more.”

Holland was more than satisfied with the interview. He felt that he came across exactly as he hoped, as an intelligent, rational public servant who cared only about the people he represented.

He did not delude himself into actually believing that anything he said made anyone safer.

Holland went directly from the studio to the rally in Brayton. It was at the local high school, but was far too large to be contained by that building, and was being held on the football field.

A podium was set up with a loudspeaker, and various citizens were taking turns speaking and voicing their outrage at what the courts had decided. Among the listeners there was some anger, but the place had a sort of festive atmosphere, and the watching police had absolutely no need to intervene.

When Holland arrived, Alex Hutchinson was talking to the crowd. “So we will have people on the site twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Carl Hamilton will set up the schedule; so contact him and tell him your availability. We need everyone to contribute their time. Saturday evening will be our big rally; please call everyone you know, not just citizens of Brayton, and ask for their support. It will start at four o’clock, but come as early as you like.

“We want fifty thousand people on their land, telling them to go away. We can still win this thing, but we have to stick together.”

When she saw that Holland had arrived and was listening to her, she called him up to the podium. Neither she nor anyone else had been able to watch his CNN interview, so of course they did not know that he had expressed concern that they would commit violent acts.

He spoke briefly, cautioning everyone to be calm and to write their Congressman and Senators. He spoke of understanding their anger, but said that it had to be channeled in a law-abiding fashion. There were no TV cameras, so no need to speak with any particular passion.

He also was not inclined to tell them that he had decided to get a court order to remove them from the land, if they did not go peacefully. He did not want any of the people in his town getting hurt or worse.

Tommy Rhodes had only himself to blame.

He should have gone with Frankie Kagan after that cop, even though Frankie had said he could handle it alone. Frankie was the boss, so Tommy let it go, but he should have insisted. But he hadn’t, and the results were disastrous.

Just how disastrous remained to be seen, but he already knew enough to be very worried. Someone had gotten into his hotel room, and had gone through his and Kagan’s things. They had also taken the documents relating to Rhodes’s ongoing operation, though the likelihood was strong that they would not understand them, at least not in time to cause a problem.

Kagan hadn’t returned, and hadn’t checked in with Rhodes for six hours. That was such a violation of procedure that it could only mean one of two things; either Frankie Kagan was captured, or he was dead.

Rhodes was very much rooting for dead.

In any event, Rhodes needed to get away, so that he would have time to assess the damage, report in to his boss, and figure out his next moves. He had wanted to usurp Frankie’s position and deal directly with their employers, but now that it seemed to have happened, he wasn’t pleased.

It was very likely the police would search for him at the hotel; in retrospect he was surprised that they weren’t waiting there for him when he returned. It might mean that it wasn’t the cops at all who had broken in, though Rhodes could not imagine who else might have done it.

So Rhodes packed his things quickly and left. It wasn’t safe to go to another nearby hotel; there were so few that the cops could easily check each one. So Rhodes drove south, towards New York City, and checked into a Hilton in northern Westchester. He further assured his anonymity by using a fake ID, which he carried for emergencies. He would not cancel his plane flight on Saturday, but since the police would find out about it, he just wouldn’t show up.

A radio news report as he was leaving Brayton provided some level of reassurance. A cop had been shot, out near the abandoned missile silos, and the shooter had been killed. Rhodes thought with relief that at least Frankie hadn’t talked, which meant there was no way the cops could react quickly enough to stop the operation.

Of course, Tommy’s future was altered forever. His identity would certainly become known, and he was going to be a target of the police. He was confident that he’d have the money and resources to never be found, but it was not the way he wanted this to go down.

He was already a wanted man, and in forty-eight hours he’d likely be the most wanted man in America.