Chapter 4

Tuesday, November 16, 2027, The White Tower

There was no more cell phone service and anyway, you would need a generator to charge a phone.

The hearty smell of baked beans filled the hall as everyone gathered for breakfast. There were more than sixty of them now and Dale felt it was time to make some changes and put some structure into things.

AS breakfast was winding down, Dale got up to make an announcement.

“All of you are here because we brought you here and this is now your home. We’re a great team but we’re starting to get big. I’ve decided to create more structure and want to make sure you’re all on board.”

“First of all, most of you have seen me as your leader. I plan to continue that to ensure you are all safe.”

The entire hall was clapping and stomping their feet in acclamation. That had been easy, though there wasn’t much of an alternative.

“Next up we’ll be setting up more dedicated teams. Your roles may evolve as our needs do.”

“I am appointing Tom as Chief Warden, responsible for the overall security of the Tower. We’ve been quite lucky that we haven’t suffered any attacks, but we can’t rest on our laurels. Many of you have seen the violence that is out there, and we need to be prepared for it. We’re getting to a place where we can staff lookouts and gate security, and I want to ensure we do it.” “Dale borrowed the title ‘Chief Warden’ from the Beefeaters that had guarded the Tower for the past millennium, believing it added a sense of continuity. There was some irony though in the fact that they didn’t have any beef in the cellar.

“Sven and Joe are promoted to lieutenants. Each one of them will be in charge of a scouting squad in charge of clearing buildings, securing supplies, and probing any people who may turn out to be hostile.

“Bob is going to be our Chief Engineer and will be giving the scouting squads instructions on what we need to secure.”

When it came to the women, he knew he was stepping on a minefield. He couldn’t just assign roles based on who he wanted to sleep with or who flirted with him most. The first one was easy.

“Clare is going to be Chief Medic. That doesn’t just mean helping when you get sick but also making sure we have the supplies we need and take the right preventative measures, so we don’t all catch scurvy or something worse. She will also oversee teaching basic first aid, so we have enough skills to get us through if things go pear-shaped.”

There was a slight chuckle as people thought about the ‘something worse’ they had been living through.

“As to keeping you clothed and fed Sigrid and Rebecca will be in charge of setting meal plans, organizing food prep, and cleaning.

“Allegra will be Master of Ceremonies.”

Neither Allegra nor any of the others knew what he meant, though he had a plan.

“Lastly, Polina will be the Master of Ledgers and in charge of keeping track of everything and everyone.”

“As we evolve and hopefully grow, we will require more roles and there will be a time for some of you to step up.

“All of my lieutenants will be selecting their teams this morning. If there are any disputes I will judge. We will want to specialize but there will be opportunities for you to change teams over time.

“All in favour say yay.”

A rumble went out as almost everyone cheered. He hoped it was genuine.

“All against.”

There was silence.

Tom had one of the most important jobs but would start with the fewest people. Jake would be his first and for the time being only recruit. They weren’t big enough to justify a night guard but for the time being one of them would man the gate during the day while the others made sure they had weapons secure and at the right place. They would need a centralized and secure weapons store in the White Tower. Tom went exploring and thinking.

Dale put a high priority on securing the surrounding areas.

“Sven, Joe. I want all the docks cleared out. By the end of the day, I don’t want anyone dead or alive to be left between East Smithfield, Thomas More Street and the River. You’ll be heading a team of eight. Do you think you can do that?”

It was quite useful that they had a map of the surrounding area in the courtyard. There was quite a lot of ground to cover but they were happy with the task at hand.

“Try and cover adjacent buildings so you can reinforce each other if something happens. The farther we go out the riskier it will get.”

They were both confident they could do it and assembled their teams. All the men bar those that had assigned roles went on the scouting teams. That meant they needed seven more women. Anja, Polina, Nicole, Bea, Carly, Jemma, and Ling all volunteered.

Before they headed out Dale pulled Tom, Sven, and Joe aside, outside of earshot of the others. This could be a tricky conversation, but he thought he knew them well enough to bring it up.

“I’m a bit worried. We’ve been lucky and I’m happy with who we’ve brought in, but we need to be careful as we expand. We need to maintain a level of cohesion” Dale opened.

“What are you thinking?” Tom asked.

“We’re in the minority here. To our East, it’s all Asian, South of the river you got Africans and all sorts. They’re going to be sticking together. We have to do the same if we want to survive.” Dale explained.

“So we only rescue English people? Not many of them left.” Joe asked.

“I think we can cast our net wider. Europeans are in unless they are vocally opposed, or you smell trouble. I’m thinking Albanians. They are quite organized, and we don’t want them. Blacks are out. Muslims too, but maybe we can make exceptions if there are any women that we think won’t make any trouble with religious stuff.” Dale rattled off.

“What about Indians and Orientals?” Tom asked.

“Women should be fine if you think they’ll fit in, and I don’t think Oriental men are going to be too much trouble. Use your judgement. If in doubt, they’re out.” Dale continued.

“So you get the fit birds, but we can’t welcome in a hot Black stud?” Sven said with a laugh.

“Fit birds make less trouble,” Dale responded with a grin.

“I was just kidding,” Sven replied. “So what do we do with others?”

Dale flung the question back. “What do you think we should do?”

“If they stay in place they’ll cause trouble, especially if we’re stripping all the food,” Joe remarked.

“So we let them starve?” Sven asked. “Won’t that just piss them off more?”

“You want to off them instead?” Joe replied. “That seems a bit harsh.”

“It’s dog-eat-dog out there, you want them to off us instead?” Sven said matter of fact.

Dale decided to weigh in. “I don’t think we need to be setting up death squads here. Let’s focus on getting the people we need in. As for the rest if they look easy just move them on, if they cause trouble they go in the river.

“I can do that,” Tom said.

“Same here,” Joe said.

“Same, but I think we need to be more cautious,” Sven added.

“I understand, just apply your judgement,” Dale said.

They had a plan. It wasn’t nice but these weren’t nice times.

Meanwhile, Clare had Natalie help her convert the former hospital into an actual hospital. They would need to go out later to get more things from the hospital, but the scouting teams could lead that.

The rest were busy with cooking and clearing.

Dale took Clare aside and asked her to check on the girls and make sure nothing had happened to them while they were being held prisoner. He also asked her to do basic medical checks on all new arrivals.

Then he sat down with Polina. He had selected her for her accounting background though maybe that was unfair. She was to set up a system to track their inventories, their people, and what they controlled. She was going to track who joined them, their skills, their backgrounds, and their relationships. Their inventories were a mix of things they had retrieved for their cellar, known locations where some shops or warehouses held things they might need later, but also equipment like pumps and spare parts.

With everyone busy Dale took some time to do a more thorough tour of the grounds. The raven enclosure still had two ravens in it. According to the sign if the ravens left the tower the monarchy would fall. It didn’t feel like it was still standing from where he was standing. They hadn’t touched the Waterloo block yet. On a previous visit, he had been inside and seen the crown jewels. It would be neat to have access to them, but he didn’t recall anything of utility, and they would probably attract more trouble. Come to think of it they had in some measure become the guardians of the crown jewels. He hoped no one would come after them.

He was worried about what was further out. Clearing relatively wealthy pockets of the city was one thing. They were right next to the East end which was home to more than 1million people, most of them from South Asia and Africa. If just 1 percent had survived that could mean more than 10,000 people. Two squads of eight, even armed wouldn’t be able to withstand that if even a small portion of them organized. They had to beat them to it. That would mean some tough decisions.

Meanwhile, the scouting teams had hit another cluster of restaurants and one of them was shuttling back supplies. When they did so they brought back more survivors. There were three more women and two men, one of whom had a toddler. They let them in and got them up to speed and on the rota. Children didn’t contribute but they were the future, and they needed to find a way to cater for them. The clearing of the White Tower was slowly progressing, and they would need to find an area for parents with young children.

After lunch, the teams continued to clear the docks. All of the new recruits’ bar the father with the toddler joined the dock clearing teams.

Joe and Sven each seconded a man to help Clare, Natalie and Dale go back to the hospital. They found another ambulance that they loaded a hospital bed and various supplies. The ride this time was easier as they had already cleared the path. Their only problem would be petrol but for now, the distances were short and they had plenty. They made sure not to turn on the heating and made four round trips, bringing four beds and a variety of supplies for the hospital.