Full Measure: A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

rock-hard sandbags and Hesco blocks. He mostly ate standing up. As Mayor Anders called the meeting to order, the chairs were all but full and more citizens stood in the back and more outside the open doors, straining to see in over one another. Lew Boardman found a seat next to Patrick.
    When the minutes were done, the mayor opened with old business. A stocky man in his early forties stepped to the podium. He wore a brown suit that looked too small, a white button-down shirt, and a striped necktie. Patrick was surprised. He recognized the man as Cade Magnus, the middle son of onetime Fallbrook scourge Jed Magnus. The Magnus family had left town almost a decade ago—to the great relief of most of its citizens—but Patrick instantly recognized Cade’s smug demeanor and haughty smile.
    When the Magnus family lived in Fallbrook, Jed had published a racist newsletter and hosted a hate-filled radio show that had a national following. Young Cade, obviously enthralled by his charismatic father, was the heir apparent to the then White Crusade. Patrick remembered their car repair shop, Pride Auto Repair, where only American and German cars were worked on. Later a lawsuit had crippled the White Crusade but the Magnuses had stayed on in Fallbrook while father and son continued to publish racist literature and speak at Aryan, Klan, and white separatist events across the country. Patrick had seen them many times over the years, walking around downtown as if they owned it, openly baiting people with their loud voices and braying laughter.
    When Cade tapped the mic a low murmur came from the crowd then subsided.
    Evelyn Anders looked down at him with some irritation. “Cade, I wish I could say it was good to see you again.”
    “Go right ahead.”
    “I heard you moved back here two weeks ago.”
    “I’ll plead guilty to that.”
    “First you arrive, then we get the worst fire in our history.”
    “You’re not implying I set the fire, are you?”
    An uneasy murmur rippled through the room. Patrick heard a gaggle of laughter from up near the front where Cade had been sitting.
    “So, you guys are the Rogue Wolves now, not the White Crusade?” asked the mayor.
    “We can’t use the words White Crusade or you’ll take what little money you left us with.”
    “I’ll take it?”
    “Government will. Government is government—public enemy number one.” More laughter from his cadre.
    “Cade, I read this Rogue Wolf proposal that you sent in last month, about the weapons ban protest. I see no merit in it at all, nor does this council. The city attorney says that legal open carry of weapons would provoke violence and has no chance in the courts. We don’t want people carrying guns around here. The City of Fallbrook is the avocado capital of the world, not the gun capital of the world. We will not sanction such a protest. We will not place this item on our agenda for public input.”
    “Yet the bylaws of this city allow me to address the council at this time.”
    “Don’t trivialize our city, Mr. Magnus. Fallbrook has just suffered a major catastrophe.”
    “It was punishment from God for your ignorance.”
    “You have exactly two minutes.”
    “Thank you. Boys and girls, in these days of spiraling gun violence, such as in Columbine, Tucson, Aurora, and Newtown, we believe more than ever that citizens must bear arms. The Supreme Court guarantees this as a constitutional right. It is not a privilege. An armed citizen is a protected citizen. A self-defense weapon locked in a safe at home is no protection against the rapist in a late-night parking lot. I would not be motherless now if Ellen Magnus had been allowed to defend herself in our family’s place of business. But this is not about her or myself. So, our society encourages a woman to defend herself against such an attack, yet leaves the crucial question of weapon access to the states and municipalities. Arizona and other states have the right idea—legal carry. California