Chapter 57: Neighborhood Defense Alliance

After finishing breakfast at the hotel, Martin went to the lobby and called Benjamin.

Last time, when Benjamin wanted to send him to the Sacred Valley, he mentioned that he was a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, specializing in film.

Martin brought up the accent issue, and Benjamin, needing Martin's help, quickly arranged contacts for him.

Within a few minutes, Benjamin provided a contact, and Martin drove to the Atlanta campus, found the relevant personnel, and obtained auditing privileges and a class schedule for the drama department.

He attended professional courses all morning and went to a nearby professional bookstore in the afternoon to buy a recorder, tapes, and other auxiliary equipment.

He called Kelly Grey, but she was still in Washington handling important matters.

There were things Martin couldn't discuss over the phone and had to wait for her to return.

Returning to the Clayton community and arriving at the school bus stop, Martin found two skinny black kids trying to harass Lily.

Lily was almost as tall as Elena.

Martin drove over and honked the horn, and Lily quickly ran over.

The two skinny black kids were undeterred and wanted to follow.

Martin pulled a short shotgun from under the passenger seat, and the black kids turned and ran.

Lily got into the passenger seat and grabbed the gun from Martin.

Martin put the gun away on the other side and said, "Let Harris pick you up next time."

"Give me a gun," Lily pulled out a knife from her bag, "I'll show those bastards!"

Of course, Martin didn't give her a gun.

Back at the Carter house, Elena was still practicing mixing drinks. Martin told her what had just happened.

Elena said, "Harris, from now on, you take Lily to the bus stop."

The community's security had recently collapsed. After dinner, no one was willing to go out, and everyone was busy doing their own things.

Martin put on headphones and practiced his accent with the recorder.

This had to be practiced whenever possible; it was a long-term process.

As night fell, a black business car approached Clayton.

Scott Carter lay on the seat in a bizarre pose, occasionally glancing out the window. All the streetlights outside were broken, making it pitch dark.

By the moonlight, he saw two black men running out of an alley, robbing an unlucky guy.

The car had just stopped when the driver yelled, "We're here, get out quickly!"

Scott got out of the car, shuffling even though he had taken two painkillers ahead of time. It still hurt, and he could only waddle like a duck.

Reaching the store entrance, it took him a lot of effort to lift the shutter door.

As soon as he entered, four black men in dark clothes rushed out from the original pitch-black shadows and ran into the store before Scott could close the door.

A black gun was pointed at Scott's face.

Scott's eyes widened, "These old blacks from the Southside sure know how to use their talents effectively."

The bald black man with the gun said, "Don't want to die? Hand over all the money."

Another black man pulled down the shutter door and said, "We have plenty of time."

Scott raised his hands, "Don't shoot, I'll give you money! I'll give you money!"

Money wasn't worth his life.

The money he had made tonight hadn't even warmed up before he had to give it away.

"Is this all?!" said the black man with the gun, "You've been throwing parties at the bar, claiming you've made big money, but you only have a few hundred dollars? Who're you kidding?"

Scott said, "That's really all I have!"

"Search!" ordered the bald black man, and the remaining three black men ransacked the store.

The night was long. The black men had been watching Scott for a while and searched every corner of the convenience store.

With a gun aimed at his head, Scott didn't dare move.

The convenience store wasn't large, and the black men quickly found several liquor boxes filled with cash of various denominations.

Scott trembled all over but could do nothing.

The black men opened the shutter door and vanished into the night.

Scott didn't even dare to call the police. He had too many unexplainable stolen goods in the store.

"My money! My money!" Scott fell to the ground in despair.

Then he jumped up: "Ow, my butt!"

---

In the morning, five people sat around the coffee table having breakfast at the Carter house.

Martin looked at Harris, who had just taken off his cast, and asked, "How did you do on the SAT?"

Harris, knowing Martin didn't understand the exact scores, replied, "I did well, but my social work was weak, so my chances of getting into a public university are higher."

Martin asked, "What about tuition?"

Harris had already thought it through: "Student loans."

Lily suddenly interjected, "You'll still be paying them off when you retire."

Elena pulled out a lottery ticket stub from her pocket and compared it with the newspaper results, cursed "Fuck," and threw it into the trash.

Martin asked, "Didn't win?"

Lily quickly answered, "She never has any luck."

At that moment, Mr. Wood entered, smiling, "Everyone's here."

Elena quickly hid the kettle under the coffee table, "Wood, what's up?"

Mr. Wood sat on a chair, "There have been frequent robberies around the community recently, and the police haven't responded. I've contacted many people and made complaint calls, so the Westside Police Department finally sent someone to talk to us. Martin, I heard you joined a very influential social organization and wanted to ask you to come with me."

Elena looked at Martin. Martin said, "Mr. Wood, I'll go with you."

Lily couldn't hold back and said, "It's those black X's; they should all be sent to the zoo!"

This time, Elena didn't scold Lily.

Martin changed into slightly formal clothes and brought his ATL Freedom Association work ID, then accompanied Wood to the community's outskirts.

People with some prestige in the community, like Ashley, Welbeck, Nani, and Valencia, were all present.

They waited for a moment in Nani's small community supermarket before a representative from the police station arrived.

A black officer.

The hot-tempered Nani tried to speak civilly, "Officer, ever since those black gang members came to the community, Clayton's security has completely gone to hell!"

The black officer said, "This has nothing to do with race."

Nani couldn't resist, "Before the blacks came, Clayton's security was bad, but not this terrible!"

The black officer stood up, "Are you discriminating against black people?"

"No, absolutely not." With such a big accusation, even the President would struggle to deal with it. Martin quickly pulled Nani back and showed his work ID.

Seeing the ID, the black officer didn't dwell on the issue and coldly said, "We will strengthen our surveillance of this area, but with limited police force, high-frequency patrols are impossible. Here's a suggestion: form a Neighborhood Defense Alliance. Report your members to the police station, and we will register you."

It was as if he hadn't said anything at all.

The black officer looked at his watch, "I have other work to do. This meeting is over."

With his racial privilege, discussions about the race issue went nowhere. The crowd could only watch him leave.

Nani asked, "What now?"

"I'm old, but I'm willing to do my part for the community," said Wood, "I've got a long gun."

Welbeck proposed, "Let's form a patrol team!"

Fletcher asked, "What about the costs?"

Everyone fell silent. The poor could barely make ends meet.

Martin suggested something practical, "Post notices on the community bulletin board advising people to reduce night outings and avoid deserted areas even during the day. List households with firearms and exchange contact information to support each other during assaults."

Wood added, "We'll register the members, so if those black X's really attack, we can actively defend ourselves."

Joining the Defense Alliance would mean fewer hassles when shooting. Martin thought for a moment and said, "Elena and I both have guns."

That afternoon, Nani, Wood, and others took the list to the police station for registration.

The Clayton Community Neighborhood Defense Alliance was officially established.

With the fences around the yard barely serving any purpose, Martin and Elena collected many cans, filled them with gravel, and tied them to the front and back fences.

*****

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