Under a Tell-Tale Sky: Disruption - Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

head. “The Guard’s too close to their respective communities, and for the same reason, we shouldn’t let Defense mobilize the reserves. We’re trying to sever connections between the civilians and the military, not build them.” Crawford paused. “I have another idea.”
    Gleason cocked an eyebrow. “Mercenaries?”
    “Private security contractors,” Crawford corrected. “Most are very experienced in chaotic conditions in third world countries. They’ll have no problem doing whatever needs to be done. We can use the regular military for overseas missions like the South American thing, or maybe duties not likely to be challenging, like guarding the power plants. But if something looks likely to be domestic and messy, we’ll use the contractors. They’ll be the tip of the spear.”
    “We can’t just send in armed thugs,” Gleason said.
    “They’ll all be members of a FEMA Special Reaction Force, something I’ve been working on for a while. I can have it up and running in forty-eight hours.”
    “You’ll have enough merc … contractors?”
    “I’ll have enough to form the backbone of the unit and get things started. They’ll set the tone; then we’ll fill the unit out by selective recruitment from the regular forces,” Crawford said. “We’ll restrict it to single individuals and then station them in SRF units far from their regular units and in places where they have no former ties to the civilian community. They’ll be isolated, and the SRF will become their home—and if they fail to adapt, we’ll strip them of weapons and equipment and ‘discharge’ them into the civilian population.”
    “How are you going to recruit them in the first place?” Gleason asked. “I can’t see too many of our regular troops being eager to join a ‘contractor’ force set up to keep the lid on civilian unrest.”
    Crawford smiled. “I’m going to lie, of course.”
    Crawford glanced at his watch. “It’s almost time for you to be off, Mr. President. I think the chopper is—”
    “Going to leave when I’m ready to leave, Ollie, and there’s one more thing I’d like to set in motion ASAP.”
    “Yes, Mr. President, what did I miss?”
    “Spin, Ollie. Any of our citizens who survive on their own over the next months are going to be mad as hell. So if we end up with a nation of say fifty or a hundred million angry citizens, we have no chance of governing even if we restore electrical power. We have to make sure we give them someone other than us to hate.”
    Crawford nodded. “Makes sense, but how?”
    “By making state and local officials the face of a failed relief effort. I want your folks on the horn, assuring governors and other state officials that stores are tight, but we can meet the near-term requirements and that distribution will begin immediately. Tell them we’re not calling out the National Guard at the federal level, because we don’t want to ‘panic the population’ or some such excuse. Make up something plausible, you’re good at that sort of thing. Then tell state officials FEMA is going to take a secondary and supportive role and encourage the governors to call their own Guard out for state service to set up state-run shelters and distribute the FEMA-supplied stores. Invite the governors and other state officials to join the appeal for calm and make sure they get plenty of airtime on the Emergency Broadcast System to do it. I think those guys will all jump at the chance of being heroes.”
    “So THEY’LL own the relief effort when it goes belly up?”
    “Exactly,” Gleason said. “I also want you contacting all the ‘administration friendly’ news anchors and entertainment celebrities you can reach. Give them jobs at DHS Public Affairs Office, and find places for them and their families on those cruise ships. Got it?”
    Crawford nodded again, impressed. “You’re thinking when we need to get the word out on something, we use spokespersons the public already