justice system out here is for you to decide, as long as it follows the Constitution and is simple and transparent. I guess you could decide to have a system that didn’t follow that, but it wouldn’t involve me or my men.” That was the first time Grant had thrown down the term “my men” and the concept that the community would have to fight the Team if they went astray. It was the right time to hint at it. Grant wasn’t going to participate in a dictatorship or vigilante gang. The residents needed to know that. The short speech he gave about the Constitution and decency was the time to make that point.
It was quiet for a while. Rich introduced the next topic.
“OK,” Rich said, “we have the Chief here to bring us up to speed on the beach patrol. Chief, take it away.”
Chief Boswain’s Mate (retired) Shane Eaton came up to the front. He had on work clothes, not hunting clothes.
The Chief went up to the podium and addressed the audience like he was giving a briefing to the captain of a ship. “We have twelve volunteers so far. All good men and women.” He introduced those of them who were at the meeting, which included Paul. It was good to see Paul had a solid role. Two, actually, because he was the metal fabricator for the gate and probably other projects, as well. It looked like Paul had lost some weight and was beaming with confidence. He looked happier than he had since Grant met him.
“We’ll have one boat on the water at all times,” the Chief said, “including at night when it’s a little trickier. We have plenty of boats made available to us. I’ve been told to get with Drew and make sure those donations are recorded,” the Chief said as he was scanning the crowd for Drew. He saw Drew, they waved to each other, and the Chief kept going.
“We will always have two in the boat for safety. We’ll cruise the water and into the open waters of the Puget Sound a little. We’ll try to conserve gas by drifting whenever possible. We’re there to detect any unauthorized craft, to board them if necessary, and to act as a deterrent. As far as authorized craft go, we are asking residents to stay off the water unless they absolutely have to be out on it. Try to get in touch with the Grange here and they can radio us that someone from here is on the water. I understand that there will be fishing and crabbing going on. We’ll work on a system of identifying friendlies. Speaking of fishing, we think that one of the reasons outsiders might encroach on our waters is to fish and get crab, clams, and oysters. We’ll tell them to leave and make an impression on them to not come back,” he said with a smile.
“In addition to the two on a boat,” the Chief said, “we’ll have at least one man with a radio walking the beach roughly parallel to the boat. The beach walkers will be looking for any unauthorized people who have come ashore. They will also be a deterrent. The beach walkers will be well armed and they will need to know how to walk up on someone undetected. So far, my beach walkers have regular hunting rifles. I’d like to upgrade if possible, but I understand that AR-15s are in short supply right now. I can use people for this who don’t know boats. So if you’re a hunter or, better yet, ex-military, I’d love to have you as a beach walker.” Grant noticed that this was the first request for better armament he’d heard. He thought about that basement full of ARs and how much they’d be appreciated. But they were Chip’s, so it was up to him on how, or if, to use them.
“I can’t pay you, of course,” the Chief said, “but my wife is arranging to have meals for the beach patrol. My neighbors down on the point are pooling their resources to do that.” The Chief waved at Drew again so Drew would know to get that recorded. “Our neighbors have plenty of deer meat and we’ll be fishing while we’re patrolling on the water. Get used to lots of fish, crab, clams, and oysters if you’re
It was quiet for a while. Rich introduced the next topic.
“OK,” Rich said, “we have the Chief here to bring us up to speed on the beach patrol. Chief, take it away.”
Chief Boswain’s Mate (retired) Shane Eaton came up to the front. He had on work clothes, not hunting clothes.
The Chief went up to the podium and addressed the audience like he was giving a briefing to the captain of a ship. “We have twelve volunteers so far. All good men and women.” He introduced those of them who were at the meeting, which included Paul. It was good to see Paul had a solid role. Two, actually, because he was the metal fabricator for the gate and probably other projects, as well. It looked like Paul had lost some weight and was beaming with confidence. He looked happier than he had since Grant met him.
“We’ll have one boat on the water at all times,” the Chief said, “including at night when it’s a little trickier. We have plenty of boats made available to us. I’ve been told to get with Drew and make sure those donations are recorded,” the Chief said as he was scanning the crowd for Drew. He saw Drew, they waved to each other, and the Chief kept going.
“We will always have two in the boat for safety. We’ll cruise the water and into the open waters of the Puget Sound a little. We’ll try to conserve gas by drifting whenever possible. We’re there to detect any unauthorized craft, to board them if necessary, and to act as a deterrent. As far as authorized craft go, we are asking residents to stay off the water unless they absolutely have to be out on it. Try to get in touch with the Grange here and they can radio us that someone from here is on the water. I understand that there will be fishing and crabbing going on. We’ll work on a system of identifying friendlies. Speaking of fishing, we think that one of the reasons outsiders might encroach on our waters is to fish and get crab, clams, and oysters. We’ll tell them to leave and make an impression on them to not come back,” he said with a smile.
“In addition to the two on a boat,” the Chief said, “we’ll have at least one man with a radio walking the beach roughly parallel to the boat. The beach walkers will be looking for any unauthorized people who have come ashore. They will also be a deterrent. The beach walkers will be well armed and they will need to know how to walk up on someone undetected. So far, my beach walkers have regular hunting rifles. I’d like to upgrade if possible, but I understand that AR-15s are in short supply right now. I can use people for this who don’t know boats. So if you’re a hunter or, better yet, ex-military, I’d love to have you as a beach walker.” Grant noticed that this was the first request for better armament he’d heard. He thought about that basement full of ARs and how much they’d be appreciated. But they were Chip’s, so it was up to him on how, or if, to use them.
“I can’t pay you, of course,” the Chief said, “but my wife is arranging to have meals for the beach patrol. My neighbors down on the point are pooling their resources to do that.” The Chief waved at Drew again so Drew would know to get that recorded. “Our neighbors have plenty of deer meat and we’ll be fishing while we’re patrolling on the water. Get used to lots of fish, crab, clams, and oysters if you’re
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