Deep Shadows by Vannetta Chapman

orders—”
    â€œUntil you’re relieved of office.”
    â€œThat might happen to you faster than me, Bob.”
    Perhaps it was the use of his personal name. Whatever the reason, Bob Bryant snapped his mouth shut and motioned for them to continue.
    Castillo seemed willing to accept Perkins’s evaluation. “If what you’re saying is true, and I have no reason to believe it isn’t, we need to get word out to people to watch the power lines. If they break, there are likely to be explosions.”
    â€œWhat will we do about them?” Max asked.
    All eyes turned to him.
    â€œYou need to make this decision now,” he continued. “Will we use the limited amount of water we have on hand to put out fires?”

N INE
    N o one in the room spoke for at least a minute, and then everyone started talking at once. Shelby noticed that, as usual, Bob Bryant was the loudest and most argumentative.
    Mayor Perkins grabbed a book and slammed it down on her desk. “I will not have this type of behavior in my office!”
    Once she had everyone’s attention, she turned to the fire chief. “You wanted to ask Max a question?”
    â€œIt’s preposterous.” Castillo turned to Max. “Surely you’re not suggesting—”
    â€œThat you should let buildings burn?” Max leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees. “I don’t see what choice we have. If I remember correctly, our water tower holds enough supply for a single twenty-four-hour period. At night, when people are sleeping, it refills. But it’s not refilling tonight, and if Shelby is right about this knocking out the electrical grid, it won’t refill for quite some time.”
    Castillo didn’t argue with his logic. “My concern is that people will panic. If people see the city can’t provide fire suppression service, we’ll have lost this battle before it’s begun.”
    Perkins cleared her throat. “Castillo, I want a report from you within the hour. Explain how you’re going to provide emergency services with limited or no water supply.”
    She stretched her neck to the left and then right, trying to relieve the tension in her shoulders. Shelby was suddenly glad that this woman was in charge. She wouldn’t panic, and she wouldn’t allow anyone to run over her with their opinions.
    â€œPower, communication, and transportation,” Perkins said. “Those three things are our priorities.”
    â€œIf what you’re saying is true, the only power we have will be provided by the city’s emergency generator.” Danny shook his head. “When you first hired me as city manager I did a complete inventory and analysis. The three generators we have won’t be able to do much good.”
    â€œI want you to find out how many of the major businesses have generators. Get me that information.”
    Vail grabbed a pen from her desk and began taking notes.
    â€œBryant, how will people communicate their needs to the police department?”
    â€œIf the phones don’t work…” He was still agitated, but now on a familiar playing field. “We might be able to position officers at key positions throughout Abney.”
    â€œIn addition, I need a way to convey information to the citizens.”
    â€œWe could tack flyers to prominent places throughout the town,” Shelby suggested. “Word will get around once someone reads them.”
    â€œAnd how are we supposed to copy them?” Bryant asked.
    â€œI’ll release a concise statement, and we’ll handwrite a couple dozen copies.” Perkins looked to Vail.
    â€œA few of the secretaries showed up when the power went out. I’ll see who else I can wrangle into helping.”
    â€œAll right. That leaves transportation. For now, some of the cars are working, and I assume they’ll continue to do so—right, Shelby?”
    â€œThe older