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“We have. We told him what you said about workers needing to feel safe. He says he understands.”
“It doesn’t matter that he understands, Gerard. It matters that he never does anything like that again,” he ground out.
Jasiah lifted his hands in front of him. “Spencer, we’re trying. Honestly, we are. This is too much change happening too quickly. Craig isn’t on board with any of it and forcing it on him all at once has him on the defensive all the time.”
“Well now, we’re on the defensive, too. Why would we send anyone up there to work if they don’t know if they’ll come down the mountain without being beaten? Or worse?”
Gerard looked briefly at Jasiah. Jasiah nodded and Gerard took a deep breath. “We’ve been speaking with our people, privately. We feel we have enough people to support Craig’s removal as president.”
Spencer’s stomach tightened. He stared at both Gerard and Jasiah in disbelief. “What does that look like?”
Jasiah spoke slowly and clearly. “We’d have to put him in jail, most likely.”
Tate chuckled. “For what?”
Gerard swallowed and shuffled his feet. “We have witnesses that saw him kill Faye, Kent’s mother.”
Spencer’s jaw tightened again. His eyes slid to Tate’s, and they stared at each other for a few moments. Tate finally said, “Witnesses aren’t proof. They’re good and, provided they are credible, it could work. But we’re going to have all kinds of issues with this. First, to get him to trial, he’s entitled to an impartial jury of his peers. The townspeople aren’t necessarily his peers and your people aren’t impartial. The townspeople aren’t impartial either.”
Gerard’s head dropped. “We’re trying to figure this out. But we need some action from you to show you’re sincere with your promises.”
Tate nodded and glanced at him once again. It conflicted Spencer. Yes, he was pissed the fuck off. Craig had beaten Kenna. He wanted to run his fist right into Craig’s face several times. But if Gerard and Jasiah were earnest, they were trying.
Spencer asked, “What’s Kent been up to all this time?”
Jasiah’s head jerked at the change in topic, his brows furrowed as he stared back.
Spencer relaxed his jaw, and Henry shifted next to him. “He’s been working at CyberSecure. He’s started a few days ago. To our knowledge, he’s been working every day.”
Spencer swallowed. That was easy enough to check out. And, the fact he worked at a computer security store could also be a way for them to check and see if he’s sent any disappearing texts.
Gerard sighed. “Why are you asking about Kent?”
Tate stepped in, “We’ve had some interesting things happen, electronically, in the past few days and we’re trying to figure out who and why. That’s all.”
Gerard shook his head. “Kent feels bad about his actions in the past. He’s trying real hard to make up for it. To my knowledge, he’s giving his entire paycheck, minus only fuel for his car, to the BRR to help pay for the taxes. Then, he’s said, he’ll work to pay for the damages he caused.”
Jasiah shook his head. “Not every bad thing that happens down here is our fault.”
Spencer looked into his eyes. He didn’t see deception; he saw genuine sadness and frustration.
Taking a deep breath, he turned to Tate. “How about this? If Gerard and Jasiah can guarantee safety for me and another man, we can begin running wires. We can start with a mini substation just over there.” He pointed to a flat spot up the side of the hill, just off the road. “The mini-sub can’t power homes, and the wires aren’t run yet anyway, but it can be the start. If we can get Casper to speak with the governor of Kentucky, perhaps we could begin with a joint effort of the Department of Defense and the State of Kentucky to bore into the mountain, to set up anchors for lines. The bulk of the cost will be the boring. If we can have that paid for in tandem, we can then run power lines up for the homes. We’ll work with those who cooperate first.” He looked at Gerard and Jasiah. “But you need to provide a secure environment for them to work.”
Tate nodded and turned to Gerard and Jasiah. “What do you say to that?”
Jasiah nodded. “We can provide the security. Some of our men haven’t found jobs yet. They can fulfill the security aspect of it.”
Spencer reached forward and shook Jasiah’s hand. “That’s a great start. And, beginning immediately, Craig’s men guarding the roads has to end.”
Gerard reached forward and shook hands with each of them. “I can guarantee that.”
Tate added, “Let’s begin having weekly meetings to share information and ideas and simply to stay in contact to bridge this gap.”
Spencer’s heart raced. This was good. This was very good. They may actually begin to see some progress in this new pact with the BRR.
Tate slapped him on the back. “Nice job, Spence.”
“Thanks.”
