Read Essential as Air and Water Page 21

Chapter 21

  Lanegan and Ken returned to Cadnam to find Wilf sitting outside the Sir John Barleycorn.

  “I’m assuming we have either had success or utter failure,” said Lanegan. “Please give me some good news, Wilf.”

  “It has been an extremely successful morning Tom, you will be glad to hear. How did it go? I was with Ken when he received the tip off, is it as we were told?” asked Wilf.

  “Unfortunately, yes. We knew this sort of thing would happen, but to witness it was unpleasant. That being said, the situation was – confusing.”

  “Much, if not all of this is confusing, Tom.”

  “Indeed. So, tell me your good news.”

  “Firstly, the PA system works. It has been tried and tested. Secondly, with a little help from a technological genius, me, we can broadcast it live nationwide for all to hear.”

  “Excellent, that’s really good news. Ken, do we have any feedback yet from the other teams? Did they all make it safely?”

  “It appears that we are not unique in finding people such as Wilf and places as organised as this,” replied Ken. “The reports state similar findings to what we have experienced. Everyone seems to have accepted we are all in a struggle. It’s all about keeping things positive.”

  “Okay then. We must show that we are up to the challenge. How does everyone know about the speech?”

  “As it happens, speakers were sent out recently to each site,” said Ken.

  “How recently? I knew nothing about speakers either.”

  “As recently as two weeks ago.”

  “By who?”

  “Bob.”

  “Do we know why?”

  “Not exactly. But there are a few peculiarities that we have found. I won’t go into details now, but it appears he may have had an alternative use for this site and others.”

  “For example?”

  “It appears he planned it to be some sort of secure compound.”

  “A prison you mean?”

  “That would be my guess.”

  “And the speakers were for, what?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine; probably for instructing those inside, or possibly a means to interrogate prisoners.”

  “We’re getting into dangerous territory, Ken; if you’re insinuating some kind of experiments or inquisition was possibly going to occur here …”

  “Unfortunately, there may be more evidence that Bob was working without our knowledge in preparation for something. After a little digging, I found out that military personnel had been ordered to prepare to keep anyone who turned, so that they could be questioned. It is beginning to become very clear that he thought he would be able to proceed as he liked. I have put a stop to his orders, permanently.”

  “The deceiving ... right, well I have to do this speech before we get into that. Get him on the radio and tell him not to move; I’ll speak to him afterwards.”

  The information left Lanegan feeling angry and insulted. He could not believe the audacious way that Bukewitz had behaved. Pushing forward with plans that had been clearly stated as unacceptable without authorisation was not just insubordinate, it was approaching treason and it would have resulted in resources being redirected at the expense of keeping people fed, warm and safe. It also proved that the attempt to depose Lanegan was pre-meditated, with Bukewitz becoming close to fulfilling his ambition to become leader. Lanegan began to feel sick at the thought of something such as this being ordered from his office. He blamed himself for letting Bukewitz take over without personally scrutinizing his plans. He had been trusted to work with absolute authority over all military personnel and nobody had questioned him.

  Lanegan tried to shake off the bitterness that was left by Bukewitz’s actions and moved forward towards the site where he would address the nation.

  When they arrived at the site, Lanegan was quietly happy and relieved. All along he had wished to not appear authoritative. He was used to turning up to events with seats laid out for press and television cameras, so he couldn’t help but smile when he saw the microphone hanging from a common English oak branch.

  “Where’s the stage, Ken?” he joked.

  “We didn’t think it was appropriate. And since we have the speakers, there is no need to cause a big fuss about where you are actually standing.”

  “Ha ha, I like it. It’s a nice change from the usual pedestal and party members sitting in front of me.”

  “Are you ready, Tom?” asked Wilf.

  Lanegan looked down to see his wife and friends sitting on a bridge over a small brook. He recognised what an inspiration they had all been to him and hoped they would stay by his side for a long time to come. As he looked at them one by one he began to envisage what they could achieve collectively. As he panned across them in turn he stopped as his eyes reached Morrison. He was the best and the most trusted of his security team and he had proved himself in many other ways. At that moment a thought crossed his mind that would solve a particular problem. He didn’t want to separate the group, but he knew it may be necessary. If he was to continue leading, difficult personal decisions would still need to be made.

  He turned back to Wilf.

  “Yes, I’m ready,” he answered.

  “Good, just switch the microphone on and start talking when you are ready.”

  Lanegan switched the button to on:

  “Good afternoon, my name is Tom Lanegan. I talk to you in these most testing of times, where each and every one of you has shown great courage in the presence of danger and uncertainty. You have held your heads high, even when witnessing the hurt and suffering of your fellow citizens. We have all suffered in one form or another; we are not unique in the world, as most nations suffer as we do. We left London yesterday morning to a scene of anger, violence and chaos. I will not lie to you; in many ways the cities and towns that you have left will not be recognisable when you return. I am here to reassure each of you, as you would be justifiably worried if you believed we have followed you out of the city because all is lost and there is no hope. But this is not the case. We came here to join you and to ask for your help. We have reached a point where we can no longer start a recovery unless we unite and take a stand together. I promise you now that we will never give up until our loved ones are back with us, happy and free. The events that are occurring have made us dig deep within ourselves in many ways. The government has searched for the cause and possible solutions and have come to realise that we need to re-evaluate many parts of our society. This will involve a deep examination about how we live and the system we believed that was best for the world. We now accept that there is something missing from the lives of the world’s citizens to cause such a reaction as the one we are currently witnessing. The government must learn from this crisis; but we can only learn and make the changes necessary if we are all united as a nation and as a world; otherwise we are destined to fail. We need to return to our cities and towns with energy and with a determination to succeed. If you will join us, we will lead you back to your homes so that we can peacefully take back our towns and cities and rebuild again. Please help us. We must continue to believe we have a future together as civilised people, in a civilised society. Thank you.”

  Everyone looked at the floor in silence, unsure of what reaction the speech would receive. A strange silence began that gave Lanegan an uneasy feeling. Explaining their intentions was nearly impossible when the majority of people were unaware of the things Jacob had talked about.

  “Please tell me that was good shouting,” he said.

  “We just got the call, the response seems confused as we expected,” said Ken.

  “Is it just here or everywhere?” asked Lanegan.

  “I’ll find out.”

  “Thanks, Ken.”

  Ella bent down and met Lanegan at eye level.

  “You should be proud of yourself,” she said. “I think everyone recognises how hard you’ve all worked to get to this point. And now they feel they can be a part of en
ding it. You will have gained their respect for admitting that you can’t do it without help. They will look to you afterwards when we begin to put the pieces back together. And I know they will help again.”

  “Thank you,” said Lanegan. “I can always count on you.”

  “You can, always.”

  “Ken, how are we doing?”

  “It seems to be across-the-board. But the positive is that the message is out there and people are finding each other. Hopefully we will have more information by the end of the day.”

  “So,” said Jacob. “What do we do now?”

  “That is a good question,” replied Lanegan. “We need to somehow introduce the ideas that you brought to us.

  “Why don’t we start this how we mean to go on,” said Morrison.

  “How do you mean?” asked Lanegan.

  “We came here to bring a message and to ask for help, so let’s go and find out what ideas people have. We need to start as we intend to go on. Can we organise a meeting of some sort?”

  “I’m not sure a meeting is possible with this many people and there is still work to be done, there are too many bad things happening around the country,” said Lanegan.

  “Morrison’s right,” said Jacob. “It would be a great way for people to meet and talk. We’re here to change things aren’t we? What better way to get started than to go and be with people.”

  “It might backfire politically. Nobody in your position has sat down and consulted the citizens of this country for many years. It might be seen as weakness,” said Ken.

  “Okay, but what happened to taking risks? Everything we do from now on is a risk. And besides, we are surrounded by people who can help us. Let’s go and learn and experience what we are supposed to be promoting,” said Jacob.

  “You’re right Jacob,” said Lanegan. “We should be encouraging change. Let’s not just ask for people to join in, let’s demonstrate that this change is for all of us. We probably shouldn’t turn up without an idea of what to expect in the camp. None of us have physically experienced what has been going on here …

  Lanegan looked at Ella who was enjoying watching them outside of their natural environment. He shook his head and smiled.

  … I do have one idea, however,” he continued. “Where’s Wilf? I have a feeling he may be able to help.”