Not to be left out, Trent and the twins both came up to Ava and Debra, giving each of the bemused women big hugs. Trent just looked from one woman to the other, gave a low whistle, and said, "Hubba, Hubba!" before he blushed and hurried back to the table. Emma and Noah each gave extra-long hugs to the two women, then gave Miles a quick hug and scampered wordlessly back to their breakfasts.
Penny and Jan both approached Miles as he filled his Yeti tumbler with freshly brewed tea. "My goodness, y'all look very nice in your service uniforms!" Jan exclaimed, giving each of the women a hug.
Penny leaned close to whisper in Miles' ear, "Just an FYI - Ava's not the only one to get her visitor last night," kissing him deeply afterward.
As she pulled away, he pulled her back in for another kiss, then leaned back and looked her in the eye. "If things go as I expect, we'll be going back to some sort of lock-down, perhaps even martial law after the town hall. Any shopping you need to do, place your order first thing and try to pick it up no later than 3 pm today. And stay safe!"
He gave her another quick hug, then turned to Jan and gave her a hug and a kiss. Leaning back from her, he got a mischievous gleam in his eye and just stared deeply into her eyes, making her blush as he silently communicated his intentions to her for later.
Seeing no sign of his other partners, he grabbed his laptop backpack and headed to the garage, his two officers in tow. As he passed through the laundry room, he started singing, loud enough for Jan to hear, "I've got it made, got it made, got it made..."
He almost lost it when Debra and Ava chimed in a moment later, singing, "I'm hot for teacher!"
**** Gainesville, FL - FOB Waldo - 1100, Friday, August 14, 2020****
Miles was pleasantly surprised when he returned to his team's offices after having met with General Palmer and her staff. Sophia and Maddie had joined them after all, even though he'd told them they could take the day off if they wanted to. Both were dressed very nicely in sharp-looking business attire. Maddie was in a no-nonsense black skirt, burgundy blouse ensemble, with matching burgundy heels and purse, while Sophia was wearing a charcoal pencil skirt and matching jacket, with a coal-black blouse, black heels, and black purse. Both had applied a minimal amount of makeup - the epitome of professionalism - perfect for the day's upcoming events.
"Okay, gather around so I can give you all a quick update based on the meeting I was just in," Miles said, pulling up a chair in the middle of the room.
As the others pulled their chairs around into a circle so they could all face him, he began to lay out the key points from the staff meeting. "First, we will be going back into a lock-down, that will probably last until whenever this shit gets revealed to the nation - to the world, I guess - regarding the existence of DuoHalo, the current vaccine, and its inevitable impact on society. It is a priority that we keep all information contained regarding our activities in Gainesville, as well as why they are necessary."
He looked around but saw no questions, so he continued. "The military will be largely in charge of instituting the lockdown, with support from the National Guard. Local LEOs will continue to do their assigned community policing - their numbers are too thin to do that job AND enforce a lockdown."
Glancing again at his notes, Miles continued, "Second, a curfew will be put into effect, beginning this evening. All non-emergency traffic will be subject to stop and arrest between 10 pm and 6 am."
He looked down at his notes for a moment before continuing. "Third, barricades will be put into place to stop or limit traffic into or out of Gainesville. Three of the four exits from I-75 will be blocked off using concrete barriers, and the fourth will have a manned checkpoint preventing access unless authorized - which will be limited to supplies, food, etc., but preventing lookie-loos from coming to check out what's going on. Similar barricades or checkpoints will be put into place on surface roads leading into Gainesville from neighboring communities, such as 441 southbound from Hague, 24 from Fairbanks, 20 from Hawthorne, 441 northbound from Micanopy, Archer Road, and Newberry Road. Chances are, anything small will be blocked outright, but a few of the larger arteries will have checkpoints to enable limited access - again, for necessary traffic, not tourists."
"What about internet and cellular services?" Debra asked, with the others nodding, looking concerned.
"I asked about that. I think we're at the point where that won't be necessary. If I understand it correctly, the government has sufficient capacity built up to actively censor unwanted traffic in real-time."
The ladies all shifted uncomfortably but restrained themselves from further comment.
"As for the Town Hall, we are limited as to what we can discuss with the civilians. We can outline Tranche 1 activities for now, but not beyond. With any luck, this will all become public knowledge before we get very far into Tranche 2. The mayor will be asking the big box stores and small shops alike to understand what is going to happen so that they can make informed decisions about how they need to adjust to the new dynamic."
Reviewing his notes, he continued, "We won't be asking for more than about one hundred or so headcount as a workforce for the reclamation efforts, with another hundred or so to handle the sorting and organization of the Haves-Needs market. Those efforts will be prioritized for now. We can continue to work on the Identify and Assess tasks, but with only a few additional headcount to assist for now."
He paused, seeing frustration in the eyes of his team. Maddie spoke first. "I can get the job done with 200 assets, but it will go slower than I'd hoped."
Miles nodded, understanding her concern. "I suggest you take a modified approach - consider two crews of five to perform street-sweep ops. That's ten streets at a time. It's a start. Also, just for your awareness, the Air Force will be assigning physical security details to each of your teams - likely two- or four-person details to provide security from any criminal elements we may find ourselves competing against."
Maddie looked concerned at first, then nodded.
Ava spoke up next. "Are we shelving the repurpose efforts, sir? I noticed you didn't mention any resources that had been earmarked for that effort." She was composed, but he could tell she was disappointed.
"Don't worry, Ava. I've got your back. Instead of asking for general help resources, I'm going to suggest to the Mayor that some of her resources could better support your efforts - after all, with the lockdown, there's likely going to be certain public service centers furloughed, so we should ask to leverage some of her benched resources - it seems to me that those folks will possess skills that could be helpful to your tasks."
Ava looked like she was considering this for a moment, then nodded. "That might work, sir."
Miles looked at her with an odd grin for a moment before adding, "This is all a big gambit, after all. Every part of it pits risks versus rewards. We can only do our best."
Looking back down at his notes, he continued. "Those are the big items. We're going to ask for volunteers to begin to show up next Monday morning at 0800 to start putting together the reclamation teams and help organize the warehouse."
Flipping the page in his notes, he stabbed a finger at an item. "We will be requesting trucks to be delivered by 0800 Monday, which will be divided up between the reclamation teams, and should know which storage or warehouse facilities will be made available for the sorting teams no later than end-of-day today."
Looking up, he looked at his partners, turning to the youngest. "Maddie, do you need help coming up with a list of what you think we'll need to set up the Haves-Needs shops? I'm thinking of things like shelving, big tubs, clothes racks, things like that. If you like, we can all help you brainstorm it during or after lunch."
Maddie shook her head. "Not necessary, thank you. I reached out to a local who runs the Goodwill shop over in Newberry. He gave me a pretty comprehensive list of what I should expect to need to start up something like what we're imagining. Shit that I'd never have thought of, to be honest. Anyway, I put it all into a spreadsheet that I will share with the hardware owners this afternoon."
"That's good thinking. You know, after we go into lockdown, your Goodwill contact won't be allowed to travel to Newberry. Maybe you can poach them to help run the warehouse. Food for thought." Miles checked his notes again, saw nothing new, and then looked back up, "Okay, anything that I am forgetting, ladies?" he glanced around, making eye contact with each of them. No one spoke up.
"Okay, so we're learning as we go. I don't want any of you to be afraid to find out we've made a mistake, miscalculation, or some other error. This whole program is an exercise in putting theory into practice. There's no blame for getting smarter. But, we can't fix it if we don't know it's broken." He looked around again, seeing them nodding their heads in agreement.
"The minute you suspect something might be off, bring it to me, and we'll sort it out. I need you all on the same page with me on this. I expect mistakes - it's human nature, and we're blazing trails here, so we're bound to make them. The test is how we respond and recover. Please remember that."
Standing, he grabbed his garrison cap, saying to the group, "I'm hungry. Anyone else hungry?"
**** Gainesville, FL - City Hall - 1700, Friday, August 14, 2020****
The crowd that had arrived to attend the town hall was huge - too large for the venue by far- and included many folks who weren't included in the Zoom invitation. Many of the folks visiting were advised to go back home to watch the meeting on TV, as it was going to be televised via the local cable network. After many had refused to depart, they were ushered into an adjoining courtroom with a large video monitor so they could still see and hear what was going on in the smaller meeting chambers.
The initial meeting with the mayor had gone as expected. Following the opening benediction, a surgeon from Shands Hospital reminded those in attendance that DuoHalo was still a very present threat and that all in attendance should be sure to reinforce their resistance as soon as practical after the meeting. General Palmer had set the expectations of the Mayor, her staff, and the community leaders appropriately by explaining the continued need to ensure that word did not get out prematurely about either the existence of DuoHalo or the Vaccine until logistical preparations were complete. This dovetailed nicely into the matter of the resumption of lockdown, including a ninety-day travel ban. This topic ruffled quite a few feathers, with many individuals voicing their dissent and more than a few suggesting the lockdown and related measures were unconstitutional.
