Chapter 23, A Time for War

"What? Maggie, who's doing what?" Micheal Strood exclaimed into the reciever of his desk phone.

Benton heard this and looked up from his scribbles of chemical equations on the notepad in front of him. The inspection of the scrubbers and ventilation system had turned up nothing unusual to his eye and the filters were being chemical tested on the shop floor. It was a long process of touching the litmus paper to the polyeurthane mesh filter, fifty tests had to be done and noted on a log and then analyzed. It had been an hour and a half and vat four had stayed at equilibrium. He hoped there wouldn't be the need to vent it anyfurther until they knew for sure what it had been venting.
"Ok, ok, uhm, just stay behind the door and don't let them in. How are the kids?"

Benton looked at Micheal and tried to imagine what was happening. It didn't take much to figure out that the valley folks were once again up to something.

"Ok, you keep the kids in the back rooms, I'll be there in a few minutes, just don't let them in!" Micheal hung up the phone then looked at Benton, a worried and angered expression met Benton's stare. Micheal stood and motioned to Benton to follow him. Both men walked the short path between desks to George's office. George looked awful, the accident and the scene up the hill earlier that morning had taken their toll on him. The visionary and architecht of all of this was watching it being wrested from his grip.

"George, we got problems up on the hill again. I just talked with Maggie, that valley posse has started threatning the neighborhoods, they've tried to force thier way into my house but Maggie's holding them at bay. She can't see what else they may be doing, but it's a good bet they are trying to break into all of our homes," Micheal said as he leaned on the door handle.

"Damn it! We don't have time for this! Ok, we'd better release everyone and hope that they don't have the gumption to actually oppose us to our faces. Let's bring everyone we can down here tonight, the shop floor is big enough to hold as many as we can organize to plan out how we are going to deal with this problem, I'm not going to let Tate destroy all of this!" George looked away in anger. "Make sure everyone looks after thier families until that mob looses interest. I'm going to call the county and see if a Marshal or two can be sent down here to restore some order."

"You'd better stay here Benton, they're looking for you no doubt," George said after a pause.

"No problem, I know Theresa is being looked after by Jim Hilcock, I've got the venting problem to work out yet when the testing is done, wich I'll have to finish for Charlie," Benton said and sighed. Of all the places he'd rather be, up on the hill was the last place.

"You can turn yourself in to the Marshall's when they get here."

Benton looked at George for a moment in disbelief then nodded ascent.

"I'm sure it will work out in the end given what he's already done to you, shooting Ed Jr. should be considered self defense. Who knows what else he's done to deserve worse."

"Yeah, well I suppose I've made a big enough mess of the day," Benton said and walked back to his desk. Retrieving his notes he walked back to the shop floor door and back into the noise. Motioning to Charlie to gather everyone around he descended the stairs. There were hard working men with families all up on the hill who deserved better than to be threatned by this irrational mob of farmers and half wits. Benton gave a quick explanation as to what was going on and told everyone they were dismissed but to come back with thier families or whomever that evening as George had instructed. There was shock and concern etched on every face and Benton couldn't help but feel responsible for the current state of affairs. Though no one blamed him directly, he blamed himself for the accident and in many ways for being part of what brought each man here this day with the starting of the plant. George would be the eternal optimist, but Benton couldn't help but wonder where each man would be right now had not he and George not dreamed a dream to big to hold on to.

The men dispersed quickly and soon only the hum of the generators and the buzz of the overhead florescent tubes could be heard upon the floor. Charlie had gotten halfway through the litmus tests and Benton busied himself with the remainder. It was tedius work. Each litmus strip was different and reacted to something different if it where present on the filter. Charlie had already found two of the compounds that Benton was expecting to find and the positive reactions had been set aside. The scrubbing process was to allow whatever gasses built up in the vats to bubble through distilled water, the water acting to isolate and bond with the chemical make up of the gas and render anything toxic inert. If they needed to, they could mix something else into the water to get the desired result. Either something else was in the gas that they hadn't counted on and was already toxic and the scrubbing hadn't neutralized it, or Benton had created something toxic by allowing the wrong chemicals to bond in the scrubbing process. The science of safety was complicated but not out of the realm of his competance. It was simply the proper working of the known compounds and knowledg of chemistry and how molecules combine. A seventh grader given a perodic table and rudimentary knowledge could figure out what would come of what when two atoms were placed in close proximity.

Yet, somehow, or so he feared, somehow he had messed up in his equations or had missed something simple. Chemicals reacted with one another on a linear scale with the same results each time. That was science. Hydrogen took two of Oxygens electrons to form the one chemical symbol everyone knew, H2O and it always happened the same way on the molecular level. That was rudimentary grade school chemistry. It got more complicated, but in the essence it was always down to that simple fact that elements higher on the scale would combine with the orbiting electrons of another element to form a compound. Now, some unknown compound had been allowed to form and escape the safety systems they used to do some physical harm. In the end, it was his fault regardless of what he found to be the result of the venting.

The moment of impetuosity in the office crept into his thoughts as the repetitive motions of dipping the strips went into auto pilot. Without thought of what it might mean to both his family and to the overall tensions evident in the community. He had been stupid to do it, he concluded. Now he was holed up in this empty plant wondering if and when the sheriff was going to show up with a posse to arrest him. The look of evil delight upon Ed Jr.'s face appeared before his mind's eye and he tensed. Had he forced himself upon Theresa much as he had with Hubie's daughter that night Micheal caught them. Had she willingly given herself? Was Billie not really his? Had that bastard really fathered Billie and not he? Could the baby, his little girl and first born really be from that letcherous Tate? Why hadn't he aimed better, he thought with a wry smile.

Benton finished with the litmus tests and waited to see which ones would turn. The silence tainted hum of the electric lights was becoming oppressive.

****

"He is not in here Middlebrook," George said to the sheriff from the front doorway.

"Then you won't mind us pokin' 'round if ya got nuthin' hidin' in here," Middlebrook said, a tense expression on his face.

"Yes I will mind, you aren't coming in. You've got no warrent and no hope of getting one any time soon," George replied.

"Step aside Pembrook, we're lookin' fer your friend Shields an' we know you hilltoppers pertect yer own so give him up an' we won't do nuthin' to ya."

"Sheriff, I won't tell you again, get lost!" George moved his coat out of the way to display his pistol on his belt. "Unless you want to come in firing, I suggest you leave right now."

"I'm the duly 'lected law around here Pembrook, you lemme do my job."

"You were appointed, Middlebrook, you wouldn't be holding that badge but for Tate Sr. So take your appointed carcass off my property and round up your hooligans, we aren't going to suffer this kind of harassment for long," George said, setting his face as stern as possible to negate any chances Middlebrook might think he's bluffing.

The plant employees had come home to a mob of valley men armed to the teeth and pounding on doors demanding to be let in to search for Benton. Micheal Strood's home had already been threatened and from what he said over the phone when George had gotten home, the Shield's home had already been entered and ransacked but was empty. Angry and nervous confrontations where happening at each domicile as the mob had split into smaller groups to cover more ground. The employees and other home owners on the hill had gotten home in time to prevent thier homes being rifled through in the pretense of hunting a fugitive.

George was getting angry and knew that Middlebrook didn't have a leg to stand on despite his badge. It was also the final insult to a man whose vision had started it all, and reson no doubt that the sheriff was there himself to do the honors of the search. Charlene stood off to the side peering over George's shoulder and craddling thier first born son, Timothy in her arms. Timothy wriggled around, uncomfortable being held still for so long and squirmed against her grip. Charlene bounced him gently and George could hear him getting fussy from behind him.

"You people better get moving or I will start winging anyone left on my property and I'll have every legal precedent to back me up," George said.

"You can't oppose the force of law and order 'round here, Pembrook. We will find Shields and bring him to justice fer shootin' a law man."

George smiled, "Tate may wear a badge, but he's no law man if one of the requirements is to uphold the law. County marshall's been called Middlebrook, I'd put your own house in order before he arrives or you'll have some explaining to do."

"County got no jurisprudence 'round here," Middlebrook said and glared.

"But they got juisdiction if the local authorities are unable to deal with the situation in a manner that is fitting, of which yous could be argued, Sheriff. He can intervene when the local authorities are crooked bastards who act contrary to the public good," George countered.

"We'll see 'bout that, an' we'll see 'bout where you hidin' Shields too," the Sheriff said and abruptly turned on his heel and stomped off down the walk way to the front door. The other civilians who had been standing behind him stood and stared at one another in confusion.

"You men ought to just go home, what your doing isn't legal and you know it," George addressed them. "You want to keep the peace, stop being puppets of Ed Tate Sr."

"What you waitin' fer, we've got other houses ta search," Middlebrook called to the men still loitering near George's doorway.

"Good day to you," George said as he closed the door on them and looked at Charlene. "This is going to get out of hand really quickly."

"It's already gotten out of hand," Charlene said as she continued bouncing little Walter on her shoulder. Walter had been the second baby born to the community, a surprising lack of activity happening on the family front for a community topping almost fifty family units. But given the tensions and the constant state of alert the hill topper families had been in the last year and a half, it was little wonder no one seemed to be in the family mood.

"You heard about Benton then," George said.

Charlene answered, "Yes, Theresa phoned me from the hotel where it happened. What the hell was he thinking?"

"Yeah, I don't know but I probably would have shot him too."

"No, not Tate, Benton. Of anyone to start causing problems Benton was the last person I would have thought to be the one to do it.

"And did Theresa tell you why he shot him?" George asked, irritated that Charlene would take this stance.

"No, but ..."

"Because Tate claimed to be the father of Billie, Benton's daughter. If I'd been there I would have shot him too!" George snapped. "Rape or consent I don't care, no one makes that claim and then smiles about it without losing a few teeth in the process Charlene!"

"Look what its doing, for God's sake! These people didn't need an excuse like that to go around threatning us any more than they have. It was stupid George, just plain stupid!" Charlene bounced Walter a little harder, causing him to emmit little grunts each time he landed against her body.

"No ones' going to make that statement and walk away, and I imagine Tate didn't expect to be the one getting shot out of it, either. He's probably lucky it was Benton and not one or the other of us, Tate'd be lying in at the morturary if he had said that to me or Strood or Hubie."

"So now what, Mr. visionary? This place is going to hell in a handbasket and you aren't even in a position to do much about it. What now? They aren't going to just stand by while you bring in the county law into this, not after doing all of this. And, and there's the accident that I'm sure someone's going to have to pay for. What's the company going to do about it?" Charlene bit her lower lip and paced back and forth.

"It was an accident, and I have my doubts as to whether we had anything to do with the other problems. It don't add up, none of it does and the Tate's got something to do with all of it, them and that windbag Willie Banks," George replied.

"You think any of those men out there following the Sheriff or Tate have any incling that it wasn't your fault? All they see is an opportunity George, an opportunity to finally do what they've wanted to do for a long time, get rid of us and this little dream of yours."

"Look, this'll all blow over in a few days. The worst is over with what they did to Hubie and I'm sure we can straighten that all out in a few days as well. They can't hold him for long and once the county law gets involved we'll get some control back. That little punk Tate Jr.'s had it in for Hubie for some time, that's clear enough and they got nothing real on him in Howard's death. Benton will be a little harder to keep out of thier hands since they got a real grievance against him for shooting Jr. Once they find out that it was probably Tate that killed Howard, what Benton did to him will be the least of anyone's worries," George said.

"I don't think it's going to blow over, George. Too much anger out there."

"We just need to get organized and protect ourselves and interests until we can strip the bad apples of thier power and influence. It'll happen, it has to. We'll figure out what to do tonight, I've got the employees and anyone from the hill buisnesses meeting at the plant tonight to figure out what we are going to do to protect ourselves."

"You sure that's wise, George?" Charlene asked alarmed.

"Char, we got to do something, we can't let these yokels push the rest of us around anymore. I'm going to start by seeing to Hubie and maybe get him out. They can't hold him for any reason and I"m sure a quick call to our company lawyers will get some things moving, then I'm going to go down there and see how he's doing," George said as he headed to the telephone.

"You think it's wise for you to even leave here?"

"No, but something's got to be done."