Glen Tate - 299 Days - The Community

Grant realized how lucky they were that the kids were sixteen and thirteen. They already had a good chunk of their education. A makeshift school or semi-organized home schooling would be a topic for the next neighborhood meeting.

Dinner that night was deer steaks and some leftover salmon from lunch. Mary Anne and Eileen made biscuits. Everyone seemed to be getting along well. People were sharing things and offering to help each other. Grant hoped it would last.

“Time to get to the meeting,” Mark said, looking at his watch. Grant thought it was good that Mark was taking leadership on some things, like the meeting. It was also good that Mark, who was well respected by the Pierce Point full-timers, would be representing them at the meeting. John was liked, but not as well known. He and Mary Anne kept to themselves more than Mark and Tammy.

Grant thought about what to wear. That was such a pre-Collapse thought: dressing right for a meeting. But he didn’t want the Team to come across to the full-timers as too “military.” That would be a threat to them. The Team was wearing 5.11s and earth-tone t-shirts in colors like green, brown, and tan. Not camouflage, thank God. Actually, they didn’t have any camouflage, except for some outerwear. Their day-to-day clothes were 5.11s and similar things. They looked like military contractors. That was actually OK, Grant thought. Let the full-timers know that they have some skills—but not too many skills. Grant would wear 5.11 pants, but with a hunting t-shirt with a Mossy Oak camouflage pattern. Mark had hunting pants and a regular t-shirt. John had jeans and a hunting shirt. That was how guys out in rural areas dressed. Hunting clothes were a “two-fer”: clothes for hunting and for everyday wear. They only had to buy one set.

Grant needed to talk to the Team about the politics of the situation. This first meeting with the full-timers would be key. First impressions were everything, especially when the stakes were as high as they were right then.

Grant tagged along as the Team finished dinner and headed to the yellow cabin to get ready to go the meeting. He motioned for Chip to come with him. He didn’t want to have the political discussion in front of Mark.

When the Team was in the yellow cabin, Grant said, “Hey, guys, could I talk to you for a minute?” They looked like something was wrong or they were in trouble.

“Everything’s cool,” Grant said, “I just need to go over a plan with you. This meeting tonight is a big deal. It’s the full-timers’ first impression of us. We might scare them. We’re very tactical and they’re a little more on the duck hunter side.” Grant didn’t think his description was entirely accurate; these country boys were far more effective fighters than one might think. Grant wanted to compliment the Team and, at the same time, draw them the distinction between them and the full-timers.

“We are way better trained than these guys and way better armed,” Grant said with a “no duh” tone. “I don’t want them jealous of us or thinking we’re a threat to them. Remember, people aren’t sleeping, they’re afraid, and men are more aggressive during times like this. They might be looking for a reason to hate us. Now, at the same time, they need us and our gear, so they’ll probably be cool. Regardless, I did lots of big meetings at my old job and know how to handle these situations.”

The Team nodded. At some level, they were all thinking the same thing about easing into it with the full-timers. Watching Mark and Rich interact at the gate showed them that the Team was part of the larger Pierce Point security force, not a separate little unit.

“Here’s my approach,” Grant said, “Let me know if you agree. I think we should be ourselves. We are good at this tactical stuff. We don’t need to hide that, but we should respect the full-timers, especially their leaders, like this Rich guy who was at the gate. He’s an ex-cop. Mark said he quit about six months ago because of all the corruption. Mark is a leader, too. We need to take the lead from them, but we can be open about the fact that we know our shit. Let’s face it; we will end up being the SWAT team out here. But, we don’t need to throw it in their faces. Let them come to the conclusion on their own that we should be doing that shit.”

The Team nodded some more. “So I’m thinking that we go there tonight with just pistols showing,” Grant said. “Don’t even bring ARs.”

“Seriously?” Wes said. “What if we can’t trust these guys? I mean, I think we can, but I don’t want to take any chances.” The Mexican grocery store incident earlier that day had him thinking that long guns were pretty nice to have in an argument.

Grant thought about it. What he wanted was that the full-timers wouldn’t see a group of military contractor-looking guys show up with tricked out ARs. “How about if we keep the ARs in the truck?” Grant suggested.

“That will require one guy to stay with the truck and guard the ARs,” Pow said. “Hell, it would probably be a good idea to have someone doing that for all the cars there.”

Good point. “Sure,” Grant said. “Let’s do it. You can bring ARs, but keep them in one truck. One of you can stay with the truck. When it’s time to introduce ourselves, someone run out and get the truck guard.” Grant knew that specific duties instead of vague “somebody be the guard” plans were best.

“Who wants to guard the truck?” Grant asked. Bobby and Scotty raised their hands. They hated meetings.

“OK, Bobby it is,” Grant said. He looked at Scotty, “His hand was up slightly faster,” Grant said with a smile. He wanted to foster healthy competition among the guys on the Team. It kept people on their toes.

“I think you guys are dressed OK,” Grant said, looking at them in 5.11s and earth-tone t-shirts. “Here’s my idea on that. We can be a little different with 5.11s and that kind of thing, but no camo right now. That will freak them out. They might think we’re militia whackos. We don’t need that impression. Camo should be for outerwear when we’re going out to do something or are hiding in the woods. And by ‘camo,’ I mean military camo. These guys wear hunter camo, which is always going to be OK for us, it’s just that I don’t think you guys have any.” The Team nodded. They viewed hunting camo as “duck hunter” wear.

Grant went on, “Maybe after we have their confidence and respect, we can start wearing whatever we want, but that will take time. Do you guys think I’m crazy about this?”

“Nope,” said Pow.

Grant pointed to his own hunting camo tee shirt. “I will wear some hunting camo to kind of blend in with these guys.” They chuckled.

Grant pointed to Chip who had Carhartt jeans and a black tee shirt. “I think it’s great that Chip is wearing his working-man clothes, which is all he has.” Chip laughed. Chip never dressed like a “tactical” guy, even though he had all the tactical skills in the world. At his age, Chip would dress any damned way he wanted. And with all the guns he usually worked on, he needed clothes that he could get oil on and that wouldn’t rip.

Grant continued, “I’d like to take the lead with these guys since I’m the one who has a connection out here. I’m a resident, even if I’m just a cabin person. You guys, though, are total strangers.” And one of you is Asian, Grant thought. Probably not a big deal, but when it came to a first impression that the Team were outsiders, probably being the only minority in the room would be a factor. In time, everyone would love Pow, like everyone always did.

“You guys are doing great on the political stuff,” Grant said to the Team. “Mark and John love you guys. I just wanted to script this meeting a little bit. It’s what I do,” Grant said.