But the heavy spending was temporary. The economy quickly returned to recession and, for some reason, the politicians avoided the news talk shows. As things continued to get worse, the government began talk of programs to help families with food and housing. Patton protested with a couple of blog posts, but he quickly relented. He understood that Charlie Henry had won this round. Blue Creek residents grew up in a society where government programs were the norm. He also understood that griping about policies on a blog site was not going to be enough to stop Henry and Asher. They were going to have to be removed from power.
CHAPTER 17
Anna called the meeting of the Blue Creek triumvirate. Charlie requested it be held at his house. He sat, reclined in a large stuffed chair. Anna and Asher sat across the living room from each other. They didn’t want to throw their relationship in Charlie’s face. He was already difficult to deal with. The silence was like an acid fog hanging in the air. No one knew where to begin and Asher started to wonder why Anna had called for the meeting. Besides that, it was dangerous for Asher to be seen with Charlie, although there was a small risk of that. They’d taken every precaution, but still, if word of the meeting got out, Asher could kiss any chance of reelection goodbye.
“I expected this,” Charlie said, finally breaking the intense silence. He knew that the others blamed him for their current situation, but he had to set them straight and get them to see the big picture. He had to let them in on some things and hopefully then, they would regain their former faith in him. Both just looked at him in shock. He gestured for them to calm down with his hands.
“These people out here are sheep,” Charlie said, pointing out the window. “They’re hurting some now, sure, but they’ll adjust to the new realities. We still have our secret weapon. If they start fighting back we’ll hit them hard. Travis is still close right?” he asked Anna.
She nodded. Although Travis had been forced to flee Blue Creek during the election fiasco, he had stayed close. Currently he was living in Salt Lake City, waiting for a chance to return to Blue Creek.
“He’s changed his look,” Anna said. “He got his hair cut, grew a beard, put on some weight, stuff like that.”
Charlie nodded approvingly. He was glad to know that option to use violence was still on the table but if he had his choice, he wouldn’t resort to terrorism again.
“We have a year to turn things around,” Asher said.
Charlie glared at him. He was obviously annoyed but said nothing. Charlie no longer dealt with Asher directly. All of their communications went through Anna. It was Charlie that formulated policy. Then, after he felt like he had policy fleshed out, he would tell Anna what he wanted Asher to do. It was a simple formula, but in his mind it had worked so far.
“Turn things around?” Charlie said, smirking. “You’re not understanding me, David,” he said, knowing that using his first name annoyed him.
“People are pissed off, Charlie,” Asher said angrily. “I’m the face of this thing. If I can’t get reelected we’re done. That hick Wilson gets put in and God knows what will happen then.”
Charlie chewed on this for a moment. Anna’s eyes darted back and forth between the two as if she were watching a tennis match.
“I say we double down,” Charlie said, his hands making a steeple at his chin. He didn’t look at either of them but he could tell he had shocked them again.
Asher shook his head. Anna looked down at the carpet in disbelief. Without any response, Charlie went on. “These people are angry, yes, but what are they going to do about it?” he asked, looking at both of them in turn. It was meant to be a rhetorical question—one that would be answered during the coming summer. However, in the moment, it seemed to Charlie to be a legitimate question. He continued.
“They’re not going to protest in the street. They’re not going to show up at your house with torches and pitchforks, David. How do you think we’ve gotten away with so much in American politics? All of us in the Underground knew that we were a gigantic minority. Still, over the years we have pushed America to where it’s at now.”
He stood and began to pace around the room. “They’ll grin and bear it. It all depends on two things. We have a plan in place to use force if they ever do rebel. But before that, we blast the people with propaganda. Class warfare. We create a boogeyman. Not all of these people are Mike Wilson and Patton Larsen. Most of them are sheep. They follow the message with the prettier package. All you gotta do is bundle it right.”
A deranged laugh escaped Charlie’s mouth. He despised these simple people, his new neighbors with their trite, inane lives. Most of them were just like his father, who had never truly lived a day in his life. With Asher and Anna’s morale at a low ebb, Charlie realized it was his chance to reassert his control. He wasn’t going to hold their hands anymore. He was going to formulate the plans and these people were going to carry them out. It was as simple as that. Finally fed up, Charlie made a move to leave the room.
“Where are you going Charlie?” Anna asked.
He looked at her with pity in his eyes then turned to walk out the door. She stood and grabbed his arm in hopes of keeping him there and telling them what they needed to do.
“Anna, that’s very unbecoming of you,” he said with an evil little sneer.
She let go but the pleading look did not recede from her face. He felt some remorse then. He hated the fact, but he had to admit that he was still very much attracted to this girl. He still thought about her. Her passion. Her beauty.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked her finally.
She moved back to her seat, hoping that Charlie would do the same. He didn’t budge.
“Charlie, please stay. Let’s talk about this. David and I are new at this, right David?” she said to Asher pleadingly. Turning back to Charlie she said, “We need you.”
Charlie looked over at Asher who had his face in his hands. Finally noticing that he was being stared at, Asher looked up to meet the older man’s gaze. After a moment he reluctantly nodded his agreement. Satisfied, Charlie returned to his seat.
“So… what shall we do next?” Charlie asked, obviously relishing the moment.
Anna blew out a breath and looked over at Asher, who was still displaying his petulant, childish posture. “You tell us,” Anna said.
“I already told you. We need to double down. We need to keep pushing the envelope with policy and drive it home with propaganda. If that all doesn’t work we’ll bring Travis and his friends back to town…” he said, letting the words trail off. He let the implication hang in the air.
“What policies?” Asher asked.
Without turning to look at the younger man, Charlie said, “We need to ramp up the taxes, both on business and individuals. Value added tax to businesses and we really need to push an income tax increase. We also need a program to help families that are losing their houses. Lastly, we need to print some more money.”
“And when do we announce it?” Asher asked, seeming to be thoroughly whipped now.
“Next month.”
“What’s going to happen?” Anna asked, feeling a surge of confidence. Charlie’s arrogance was contagious.
Charlie shrugged noncommittally and said, “People will become more angry than they already are but I can’t see them doing anything about it. Once a government is set up, particularly through democratic means, the people are less likely to fight against it.”