Chapter 6
The Arrival
The moon peeked from behind the clouds in the night sky, as Silas pulled up to the dirt road leading to the old lumber mill. When he turned on the road, he was surprised to see the glow of light coming from the direction of the mill.
“Well, I’ll be damned; Howard and Chuck were right. There is someone out here,” Silas said aloud.
It had been two weeks since the renovation crew had left town, so everyone was waiting for them to begin accepting applications. There was a small staff brought in to prepare for the opening, but no announcement yet of when they would start hiring.
As Silas reached the end of the road, he noticed a large bus and a big rig parked in the open area next to the old office. He also saw three Suburbans parked there.
“Crap, what’s going on here?”
He pulled up next to the Suburbans and noticed US Department of Homeland Security logos on the each of them.
Silas rolled down his window and waited as one of the men standing by the office, approached his car.
“Good evening, what’s going on here?” Silas asked.
The man looked at Silas and grinned. “Good evening, Chief Greer. Nothing you need to concern yourself with; everything is under control.”
Silas looked at the man and noticed that he stood over six feet tall, wore a dark blue, short-sleeved shirt with ICE boldly printed just above the left shirt pocket.
How does this guy know my name? Silas thought as he narrowed his eyes.
Silas nodded toward the group of people standing by the bus. “Who are they and what are they doing here?”
When the man did not answer right away, Silas suddenly had an uneasy feeling overcome him.
“As I said before, there is nothing here that concerns you or your town. I don’t want any trouble; I’m just doing my job,” the man forced a smile, but Silas knew this would not end well.
“I understand that you’re doing your job, but I’m responsible for knowing what’s going on in this town. Now, who are those people and why are you here?” Silas began to open the truck door, but the man held out his arm, letting him know to stop.
“Chief, I don’t want any trouble with you tonight. I know it’s your job to protect the citizens of your town, but you have no jurisdiction here.” The man’s expression remained hard and emotionless.
The words caught Silas by surprise. “What do you mean I have no jurisdiction here?”
“This is federal land, and your jurisdiction ends at the highway. Now, please leave and let us continue with our work.” The man stood rigidly, but his eyes let Silas know not to press the issue any further.
Silas began to protest, when the man interrupted, “Please don’t force me to arrest you.”
Again, the man surprised Silas with his words. Arrest me, why would he arrest me, and when did this become federal land?
Deciding it was best not to press things at this time; Silas started his truck and slowly backed away. He stopped briefly to look at the crowd of people gathered by the bus, realizing it was a mixture of men, women, and children.
“Son-of-a-bitch!” At that moment, Silas understood what was going on, and he knew who he needed to go see.
The tires of the truck screeched to a stop, as Silas stopped in front of Mayor Andrew Sexton’s house. He then jumped out of the truck, slamming the door behind him.
The sound of the truck door closing alerted Andrew that someone was outside. He had been working on some paperwork at his desk when he heard the pickup truck stop in front of his house.
Andrew stood and walked to the window, and was surprised to see Silas rushing up the sidewalk. “What is he doing here at this time of night?”
Silas reached the front door and began pounding the brass doorknocker. “Open the damn door, Andrew. I know you’re still awake!”
“Hold on, I’m coming.” Andrew opened the door, but before he could say a word, Silas stepped inside.
“Damn it, Silas, what’s going on? Please hold it down, or you’ll wake Nancy and the whole neighborhood.”
“How could you do it, Andrew? How could you sell us out like that?” Silas shook with rage, and it took every ounce of will he could muster not to grab Andrew by the throat.
Andrew stood dumbfounded, not sure of what to say.
“What’s wrong? I’ve never known you to be speechless,” Silas words dripped with sarcasm.
Andrew looked at Silas and tried to understand what had him so upset.
“Honestly, I have no idea what you’re talking about, Silas. What happened?”
Silas saw the shocked and confused look on Andrew’s face and suddenly realized that he had no idea what was going on.
“You were bamboozled, my friend. They dangled a dream in front of you, and you danced like a fool; that’s what’s wrong!”
“Andrew, what’s going on here?” A dazed and confused Nancy asked as she stood in the hallway in her robe and slippers.
“Nothing dear, Silas, and I just need to discuss some city matters. Go back to bed.” Andrew gave her a reassuring wink, hoping she would understand.
“I’m sorry for waking you, Miss Nancy. I just have something important to speak to Andrew about; that’s all.”
“Are you sure…” Nancy said, but Andrew interrupted her.
“Nancy, please go back to bed. Everything is fine.”
Nancy looked at Silas again and decided it was best to do as told.
“Goodnight, Silas. Please tell Miss Jen hello for me.”
“I will, and I’m sorry for waking you. Goodnight.”
Silas watched Nancy turn and walk back to their bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Once he knew they were alone, he turned back to face Andrew.
“I’m so sorry about that, Andrew. I should’ve calmed down some before coming here.”
Andrew shook his head, trying to understand why Silas was so upset.
“It’s alright, Silas, but I have no idea what you’re talking about, I swear. Why don’t we sit, drink some coffee, and then you can fill me in on what’s going on.”
Nearly an hour had passed since Silas arrived at Andrew’s house. They had drunk nearly two pots of coffee, and eaten most of the pound cake Nancy had baked earlier that day.
When Andrew finished the last of his cake, he set his fork on the table.
“I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it. I negotiated with them in good faith. Damn it, how could this have happened?”
Andrew had seen on the news of how the federal government was bringing groups of illegal aliens to towns across the country. However, he never thought they would do it to his town.
“Shit, Silas, what are we going to do? I think you’re right. I bet they brought them here to work in the factory.”
Andrew felt a sickening feeling in his stomach.
“How am I going to face the townsfolk? You know they’re going to blame me for this.”
Silas did not know what to say. He knew it would be devastating news to all those who were looking forward to the new jobs, and he could not begin to imagine the effect it would have on the community.
“I don’t know what to think. We can’t afford all those people and their children. We can barely afford ours.” Silas rubbed his temples, trying to ease his pounding headache.
“You said there were approximately seventy people, right? How many of those do you think are school-age children?” Andrew held his breath, waiting for the answer.
Silas thought for a moment. “I’m not sure, but it looked like twenty or so.”
“Twenty? Crap, the school, can’t afford twenty new students at this time.”
Andrew poured the last of the coffee in their cups. “Silas, this is bad. This is extremely bad.”
Silas had to agree, but what worried him more, were the reports on the news of the gang members coming across the border as well. It was too dark for him to
tell the exact ages of those standing by the bus, so he said a silent prayer that none was among the group.
“You know that you’re going to have to call a town meeting and let everyone know what’s going on sooner or later, don’t you?”
Andrew hung his head in shame. “This is all my fault. I brought this to our town. I sought them out. I went to that meeting and sold them on how mutually beneficial it would be for them to set up their new operation in our town.”
Andrew looked at Silas, hoping for a look of forgiveness that never came. “Silas, I have a confession to make.”
Silas steadied himself, unsure if he wanted to hear any more bad news. “Go ahead.”
“I knew that someone bought the lumber mill. In fact, I’ve known for several months.”
He looked at Silas; waiting for the outburst; he knew would come.
“Damn it, Andrew! You knew the federal government bought the mill. How could you not tell me?”
“I didn’t know it was the feds, I swear. A man who said he was a representative from the company that bought it came to my office one afternoon to introduce himself. He said they would be reopening the mill within the year, but he didn’t want it announced just yet. I believed him. I thought I would have more exciting news for everyone.” Andrew looked away, ashamed of being a fool.
“You can’t put this off, Andrew. You have to let everyone know what’s going on out there before the word gets out. You know this isn’t going to be welcome news at all, right? I know a few people who will be rather upset.”
Andrew looked down at the coffee in his cup, not wanting Silas to see the fear and shame in his eyes.
“I know, but I need to get more information about what’s going on out there. I’ll contact the ICE office first thing in the morning, and try to find out why they brought them here. I’ll also contact Mr. Timmons at Top Choice, and find out if they, in fact, were brought here to work in the plant. I spent hours on this project, and I thought it would be a good deal for our town. I swear, Silas, I had no idea about any of this.”
Silas believed that Andrew was telling him the truth; however, it still did not make him feel any better about it. “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it tonight. I need to get home, and you need to get some rest. I’m sure that tomorrow is going to be a busy day for the both of us.”
Silas stood then carried his plate and coffee cup to the sink.
“You didn’t need to do that, Silas,” Andrew said, as he put the cover on the remainder of the pound cake.
“It’s habit. Jen has me trained well,” Silas snickered, as he ran some water over the plate and fork, and then rinsed out the cup.
“I’ll have to thank her,” Andrew teased.
Silas held out his hand to Andrew, “I’m sorry about barging in here earlier and accusing you of selling us all out. I should have known better.”
Andrew took the offered hand and returned the handshake. “You have no reason to be sorry. You care about this town, and only want what is best for it. That’s why we’re so lucky to have you here. Go home before Jen comes over here and gets us both.”
Both men laughed, and each felt better knowing they were on the same side of this brewing battle.
“Goodnight, Andrew, and tell Miss Nancy how sorry I am for waking her earlier.”
“I will. Goodnight, Silas, I’ll call you as soon as I know more tomorrow.”