by Steven Smith
Mike's smile got bigger. "So I've heard."
He took another sip. "The main thing I wanted to tell you is that I've decided that this is where I want to live my life and raise my family."
Jim nodded but remained silent, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Everyone here has become such a part of things, I really can't imagine anyone leaving," Mike continued. "and that includes me."
He looked out into the fog as if envisioning the compound shrouded within it. "It's amazing what's happened here. I remember the day I showed up here with Christian, Tracy, Bill and Ann. It was just your home then. Now look at it."
Jim nodded. "It's amazing alright. I think about that myself."
Mike looked at Jim. "Back home, I'd be a part of my family, which is great. But I feel like I've been more a part of something here than anytime and anywhere else in my life, including the military. So, I'm staying here to build a family with Tracy. I just wanted to tell you that."
Jim looked at Mike, thoughtfully. "You know we might be in for some tough times if others don't like our stand for autonomy."
Mike nodded. "All the more reason for me to be here where I can do the most good."
Jim leaned back in his chair, taking a sip from his mug and resting it on his knee. "I don't know what kind of trouble we'll get from other groups. I don't have any worries about the sheriffs, but government means bureaucrats and bureaucrats mean petty people anxious for power over others. There will be trouble, and we'll need to be able to deal with it."
Mike nodded. "I agree. How many more scouts do you think we're going to need?"
Jim shook his head. "There's no way to know. We don't know what we're going to have to deal with. It could be nothing or it could be more than we expect."
He took a sip.
"How many scouts do we have out of training now?"
"Two hundred and eighty-two. Twenty-three teams and a few spares."
"And currently in training?"
"Twenty-eight."
Jim nodded as if to himself. "I hope that's enough."
Mike looked at him. “Are you expecting trouble at the meeting?”
Jim shrugged. “Not so much expecting, but I want to be ready if it comes.”
Mike nodded. "When is it?"
Jim took a slow sip. "A month from tomorrow."
28
The following month went by fast.
All the trading posts were completed and stocked with the first round of supplies, and locals soon began dropping by - sometimes to trade, but often just to see what the posts had.
Kelly had stocked the posts with the widest variety of items she could think of, from pickaxes to ponytail holders, and the concept of shopping quickly returned to those who perused the shelves of so many items they hadn't seen for sale for some time.
At first, people had little to trade, but Kelly hung a list of suggested items at each post and people were soon bringing livestock, freshly churned butter and other homemade items that made their way back to Stonemont and Jamestown for use or resale.
If the posts themselves helped reintroduce the concept of regional commerce and community, the shuttles Naomi had instituted between Jamestown and each of the posts did even more. A novelty at first, the shuttles were soon full of those wanting to visit the new town to shop, have lunch in a real restaurant or just walk around seeing new people.
The Jamestown Inn became a favorite destination for shuttle riders, and Mrs. Hernandez soon had purchase agreements with several residents around the posts for homemade pies and pastries to be delivered on the morning shuttles, which brought her even more business from the locals.
Mike and Tom had spent two days in the city talking with Mahoney and his people as well as the Travelers from South Carolina. The knowledge that there were functioning communities throughout Missouri was encouraging, and the fact that there was communication between the groups indicated that individual communities had already developed into a web that allowed them to stay in touch with each other - an important suggestion of wider stability.
The Travelers had provided the most important information, at least on a farther-reaching basis. They had traced the route they had taken from South Carolina on maps Tom brought from Stonemont and had provided great detail on groups they had come into contact with, areas to avoid and gossip they had heard along the way. Importantly, they had also reported that most interstate and U.S. highways were clear and most secondary highway river crossings were unimpeded.
Gangs had pretty much taken over the cities, with St. Louis, Memphis and Atlanta reported to be no-go zones. Secondary cities like Chattanooga, Montgomery and Jackson, Mississippi were also rumored to be off-limits, with Nashville and Little Rock being mixed bags. Fort Campbell, on the Kentucky/Tennessee border, was reportedly locked down and had established a perimeter outside of its original boundaries, as had Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
The situations in more remote areas were difficult to judge because of the numerous layers through which the information had filtered, but thoughts were that the entire gulf coast was out of control except for the Florida panhandle, with south Florida also being beyond any organized authority. Very little was known about areas to the north, though rumors held that Washington D.C. and its surrounding area had been a restricted zone since the event.
Mike's decision to remain had given Stonemont a renewed long-term stability and had allowed Jim and Christian to plan the necessary coming expansion with the promise of a seamless leadership structure. Renewed efforts to solidify relationships with surrounding communities were proving fruitful, especially in those areas around the trading posts, and a new feeling of regional unity was growing.
Jim, Christian, Mike, Tom and Bill met regularly to discuss both the expansion and the upcoming meeting in Topeka, often including Naomi so that she would be privy to the discussions and reasoning leading up to the decisions that were made and the positions she would be representing.
The inclusion of a diplomatic element added new layers to the discussions. Tactics and strategies were now discussed with an eye and an ear toward public opinion, from the perspective of both allies and potential adversaries alike. The complexity this added to the discussions slowed the process, but also allowed everyone to ask questions and make suggestions that might otherwise have gone unexpressed.
Christian met with the sheriffs of Miami, Linn, Franklin and Anderson counties to get their views on the upcoming meeting, and Sheriffs Freelove and McGregor came to Stonemont twice to discuss details with the Stonemont core.
By the end of the month, they were as prepared as they could hope to be.
29
"What do you think?" asked Bill, stepping up onto the veranda.
The preparations had a different feel than previous expeditions. When they had gone out before, it had been for the sole purpose of protecting and providing for Stonemont and its protectorates. This time, the knowledge that they were headed toward a meeting with a number of groups interested in reviving the state of Kansas added an underlying layer of both excitement and unease – a feeling that had been growing over the past few days
Jim pushed his hat back a bit and looked up at the cloudless sky. "I think it's going to be a nice day. After that, thinking time is over. It's time to see."
"See?" asked Bill.
Jim nodded. "Yep. It's time to see what others are going to do."
Bill looked up at the sky. "What do you think they'll do?"
Jim shrugged. "I don't know. We'll just have to see."
"See what?" asked Christian as he approached them.
Jim looked at his nephew. "About getting you a brown hat. You've got dirt on yours again."
Christian chuckled as he stepped up onto the veranda and walked to the coffee pot. "Sleeping late make you grumpy?"
Jim rolled his neck and smiled. "Morgan had a nightmare last night and came in to sleep with us. She kicked me all night long."
Christian took a mug off the she
lf and filled it from the pot on a dying rocket stove. "Do boys kick too?"
Jim nodded. "They all kick. You about ready?"
Christian took a sip and walked over to stand beside Jim.
"Yep. Mike took ten teams out at daybreak and they should be settling into their positions by now. Two are striker teams that will shadow us in when we pass them, giving us four teams real close if we need them with eight more in reserve if we need them. Tom is forming up our two teams at the gate now, and they should be ready. Just waiting on you."
Jim nodded slowly, looking around the commons. "Is Naomi ready?"
"Yep. She's been up since dawn going over things" He nodded toward his cabin. "Here she comes now."
Jim squinted into the brightness of the commons and saw Naomi walking toward them carrying a brown backpack over one shoulder. He thought about the first night Christian had brought her to Stonemont for dinner after she had shown up at the school. Her simple words take over had been a wise suggestion - a suggestion that had been responsible for much of their success in stabilizing the area and building the communities around them. He smiled at the memory of her self-assured manner and knew that his selection of her as their ambassador was right.
He looked at Christian. "You think you ever would have found her in the before world?"
Christian thought for a moment and shook his head. "I doubt it."
"I packed you guys some food," Kelly said as she came out the kitchen door.
She set a large wicker basket on the table. "I wish I was going with you."
Jim smiled. "I wish you were too, but you're in charge while I'm gone, so you can't."
He walked toward her and kissed her on the forehead. "Where are the kids?"
She stretched up to kiss him back. "They'll be out in a minute. They have something to give you."
He chuckled. "Does Morgan want to kick me again?"
Kelly smiled. "Maybe."
"Good morning," said Naomi, stepping up onto the veranda. "Am I late?"
Jim shook his head. "Right on time. Are you ready for this?"
She set her backpack down and took a deep breath. "I think so. What are you expecting?"
Jim shrugged. "Anything and everything. We'll see when we get there."
The kitchen door opened, and Aedan came out followed by Brody and Morgan. Aedan was holding something behind his back.
"Hi dad," said Aedan and Brody in unison.
"Hi daddy," said Morgan.
Jim smiled. The sight of his kids always energized him. "Hi, guys. What are you all up to?"
The three looked at each other expectantly, then Aedan brought something out from behind his back and held it up. "We made this for you."
The dark green mug shined, its polished surface reflecting the sunlight and revealing several words and markings on its exterior.
"It was our idea," said Brody.
"But mommy helped," added Morgan.
Jim took the mug from Aedan's outstretched hand, holding it almost reverently and reading the beige colored inscriptions around the rim.
"It has our names on it," quipped Morgan.
"And our thumbprints under our names," smiled Brody.
Jim inspected the names, imagining each of his children painstakingly etching their names into the clay. A thumbprint was imbedded below each name.
"It's for you to take with you whenever you go somewhere," said Morgan.
“So that you’ll think about us,” added Brody.
"There's something else inside," said Aedan seriously.
Jim looked at the inside of the mug, just below the rim, and saw the words Always Come Back.
He felt as if he had been punched in the chest and his vision blurred. He gritted his teeth and tried to say something, but he didn't trust himself to speak. He tried harder to read the words again, holding the mug tighter in his hand and glaring at it, trying unsuccessfully to overcome the unbidden emotions by sheer will.
"Daddy?” asked Morgan. “Are you crying?"
30
Christian looked over at his uncle and smiled. "You used to be such a hard ass."
Jim turned west into the sun. "Yeah, you just wait. You'll see."
They drove west to Highway 75, turning north toward Carbondale where they would meet up with Mark Freelove to caravan into Topeka.
"Where are we staying for the night?" asked Bill from the back seat.
"We're not sure yet," answered Christian. "We'll see what Mark says when we hook up with him."
He glanced at Jim before continuing. "But we'll stay somewhere on this side of the outskirts. We don't want there to be much between us and home."
"What are we going to do tonight?" asked Naomi.
"We'll get set up and relax, kind of go with the flow and see who's around."
He put on his sunglasses as the sun dipped below the door frame. "We sent an infil team to the area two weeks ago to get the general lay of the land and watch for groups arriving for the meeting. We'll meet with them tonight before settling in for good."
"What's an infil team?" asked Bill.
Christian turned in his seat to look at Bill and Naomi. "An infiltration team."
He cocked his head at Jim. "Jim and I both worked covert operations, and Jim worked clandestine. We know the importance of getting to know situations from the inside. A lot of people rely too much on hearsay and informants and find out too late that their information was wrong. The results can be a big suck. Having your own eyes on things is the best way."
"I've never heard of that team," said Naomi, her statement carrying a question in it.
Christian looked at Jim, who nodded.
"The I-Team is the most specialized unit we have - even more than the strikers. It's made up of an indeterminate number of both male and female scouts who are individually selected and invited after having completed scout training. They go through additional training in intelligence, signaling, covert tactics and techniques, psychology, combatives and free-running."
He glanced at Jim again, who gave a shake of his head that looked like he was working a kink out of his neck.
"Anyway," he continued, understanding Jim's message to not further explain infil training, "the I-Team will find us when we get into the area and fill us in with what they've learned."
"How can you be sure they'll find us?"
Christian smiled. "That's their job."
They continued up Highway 75, watching the cow-dotted rolling hills and slowing as they passed through Lyndon, then fell in behind Freelove and McGregor's groups at Carbondale to drive the final leg north. Several miles later, they picked up the scout teams that had dropped off the main body.
Approaching Topeka, they took the SW Topeka Boulevard exit, continued north to Airport Road, then turned east past the Kansas National Guard Museum toward the Topeka Regional Airport.
Driving through an open gate and past the service buildings, they turned left onto the tarmac, then right onto a taxiway that took them to the eastern edge of the airport complex where they button-hooked their vehicles to face back toward the airfield, fields and scattered trees behind them to the east.
They sat for a minute, waiting to see what Freelove and McGregor were going to do, then saw both sheriffs get out of their vehicles.
Jim shut of the engine. "Okay, here we go."
Getting out of the truck, they watched the two scout teams fan out to establish a defensive perimeter about a hundred yards out, two members of each team continuing another hundred yards beyond.
"The other sheriffs will be meeting us here," said Freelove as he and McGregor walked up to them. "We figured we'd all stay together for security's sake and close to the highway home for peace of mind."
Jim nodded. "That's what we figured, too. How many are coming?"
Freelove shrugged. "Hard to tell. All of our counties are sending people, Hersey and his bunch are coming, and we hear some sheriffs from west of us are coming in. We don't know about the guys north of here,
but Rod heard that some of the tribes might be sending delegations from the reservations."
McGregor nodded. "One of my deputies is Kickapoo. He said his tribe and the Sac and Fox are sending groups. He doesn't know about the Potawatomi."
Jim looked around. "We going to be camping here?"
Freelove nodded. "We figured it would be best to stay out of the city." He surveyed the area around them. "This way, we can stay in the open and keep our eyes on things."
Jim nodded. "How many guys did you bring with you?"
"I brought six," said Freelove. "Rod brought five and the others are each bringing a few." He nodded toward the field into which the scouts had disappeared. "I see you brought a few."
Jim nodded. "A few."
McGregor squinted at him. "Where are the rest?"
Jim smiled. "They're around."
McGregor looked at Freelove, smiling. "Told you."
Freelove chuckled. "Rod said you'd bring some of your army."
Jim shrugged. "Well, better to have them and not need them. What's the plan?"
Freelove turned toward the city as if envisioning the next day's meeting and rested his hands on his hips. "The big shindig begins at nine in the morning at the capital. I figure we should get there about eight, just because these things are always a mess, even in the best of times."
"And to see who comes in with who," said McGregor.
Jim nodded. "How about tonight?"
Freelove shrugged. "We thought we'd just hang out and relax around here telling jokes and lies and spittin' in the fires."
Jim smiled. "Sounds good. Some of our people will be stopping in after dark and may have some things to tell us."
McGregor looked at Freelove and nodded. "Told you."
They spent the afternoon setting up camp, visiting with those they knew and meeting some they didn't. Small cooking fires were started in the areas of each group, the wood having been collected from stands of trees to the east, and a larger fire was laid in a communal area for a get-together after supper.
Small groups continued to arrive throughout the afternoon, some meeting the sheriffs' groups and some just having heard about the encampment through the grapevine, and Jim and Bill watched the activity from their chairs under a sunshade while Christian and Naomi mingled among the groups.
