State of Emergency: Jack Emery 2 by Steve P. Vincent Read Free Book Online Page A

onto the bed and pulled out his cell phone. He searched through his contacts until he found the name he was after: Celeste. He stared at it for a few long seconds, not sure that he wanted to make the call, and then pressed the green button. He put the phone to his ear and waited for what seemed like an eternity for her to answer.
    “Hi Jack.” Her voice was cold. “I think I hear from my dead grandmother more than you.”
    “I deserve that, but it’s good to hear your voice.” During the time he’d spent dealing with Erin’s funeral, setting up the website and working in Syria, they’d barely spoken. He’d hoped she’d understand his need for distance, but clearly she’d taken it personally. He couldn’t blame her. They’d gone through hell together, and as much as he’d needed space, it wasn’t hard to imagine her needing something different. And he’d left her out in the cold.
    Her sigh was drawn out. “What do you want, Jack?”
    “I’ve just checked into my hotel and it seems there’s a whole lot of shit that comes attached to being a journalist now. I wanted to make sure you’re okay and let you know.”
    “It’s happening here too, Jack.” There was a pause. “There’s New York State Guard troops on the streets. They’re at Penn Station, Central Park, Yankee Stadium – you name it.”
    So it was happening all over America. It was amazing how quickly the executive orders were being implemented. The announcement had only been made four hours ago but already the troops were in the streets, the monitoring was in place and the tendrils of FEMA were expanding to embrace all of society.
    “I reckon they’ve had this drawn up for a while.” He sat on the edge of the bed with a sigh. “It’s low key for the moment – dudes with rifles – but I wonder what comes next.”
    “It gets worse, Jack. The Standard offices got a visit from some FEMA employees an hour or so ago, explaining our place in the new world order.”
    “Oh?” He lay back on the bed, closed his eyes and did his best to imagine that she was in the room with him. He didn’t dare say that though.
    “Yeah. They basically told us to continue working, but that all stories must be submitted for approval prior to publication.”
    Jack was appalled. “Did Peter go for it?”
    “Don’t know. We haven’t got a response from the company yet, but it’s hard to see them resisting.”
    Jack couldn’t picture it either – the company was likely to toe the line even with Peter Weston in charge. EMCorp had been through too much in the past few years to put up much of a fight. The company was traumatized and the shareholders were jumpy. Any journalists that strayed from the strict conditions were probably on their own.
    “Just keep your head down, Celeste. This is a dangerous situation. Stay out of it.”
    “Oh, I plan to.” She laughed softly. “I’ve had my turn at the hero game.”
    Jack felt the same way, deep down. A year ago he’d have been outraged by all of this, but he’d rocked the system enough and had the scars to prove it. The trauma both Celeste and Jack had suffered during the war with China and at the hands of Michelle Dominique would be a long time healing. It probably also gave them a free pass to sit out of this battle.
    “How are you doing, Celeste?”
    “Alright. Busy. You should be here, Jack.”
    “I can’t.” He ended the call.
    ***
    Mariposa felt strange, seated on a plastic chair on the grass of a high school football field while, in the bleachers, a few thousand people were gathered for a FEMA briefing about the executive orders. The same briefing was taking place in thousands of locations across the country. They were also being broadcast on television, radio and the internet. She wondered if the other briefings had the same feeling of tension as this one. She could feel the silent fury emanating from the mass of people as a Chicago Police Department lieutenant finished his briefing on the changes