Following another volley of nuclear armaments and riots elsewhere, the flow of power in Laclede and the surrounding counties goes off.
The rioting in all towns cools off with the initial hype and flood of refugees. Gasconade's northern region is still embroiled in armed violence from feuding farming families which have used the chaos to attack each other. Eldridge's police force experienced heavy casualties as it found itself spread too thin to accomplish its goals. Smith is still dealing with limited trouble from people passing through. Spring Hollow fared rather well.
The worst of the damage is in Lebanon where local police were completely overwhelmed. Armed gangs still roam the streets looting and raping when not engaged in firefights with national guard and state defense force reinforcements (about 750 all told who came in by Route 5). The government is discouraging all nonessential travel in all nonradioactive counties, including Laclede, as it attempts to reassert control.
A combination of military veterans from multiple wars as far back as WW II, and preppers have formed a local militia and essentially taken over Franklin from the democratically elected mayor. A mandatory curfew has been established and violators, looters, thieves, and troublemakers are being beaten and thrown out of town into the surrounding areas. Locals seem to have mixed feelings about all of this.
Auglaize, being on the other side of Lebanon, replies that there is little that it can do to help. Thought you were Washington; my bad.
Auglaize's mayor declines Eldridge's offer; when the riots hit his town, he was able to clear them without much violence, which has made him extremely popular with the people, and he views having close ties with Eldridge, which has a violently different approach, as politically dangerous.
Smith's police force, seeing its continued difficulty in maintaining law and order following the dismissal of the temporary deputies after the worst of the riots ended, the deputies are called upon to continue their service. Armed neighborhood watch groups led by capable men are organized for the more populated areas to maintain order, and attempts are made to keep farmers farther out in the loop.