Jon Smith

by Richard Proctor

  He had always regretted not fighting for something and had regretted not fighting the change in his old world. No, he would stay and defend his home land. Like his ancestors of old, those that defeated the British in the Revolution and even those in the Confederacy that had stood up to the Yankees, he would stand and fight. With that Jon began to whistle a tune under his breath and mouth the words.

  “Oh I wish I was in the land of cotton old times there are not forgotten look away look away look away Dixie land.”

  Catherine soon returned with the wine and pulled up a chair next to Jon.

  “Looks like you are about to finish your tri annual reading. What chapter are you on?”

  Jon looked down at the red book and smiled as he thought the point that he was at was quite appropriate.

  “I am getting ready to read the chapter called The Scouring of the Shire, seems quite to the point.” As Jon laughed and took a sip of wine.

  “You always seem to have the right line honey.” said Catherine.

  “Yes ma’am I do.”

  Jon Smith II

  By

  Richard Proctor

  Book 2

  Chapter 1

  “Now where is it we are going with this load Jake?”

  “We are headed up to a place about 45 miles outside of old Denver to drop it off with some guy named Dick. That is all I know. That and some guy is going to pay twenty-five thousand in gold for this stuff.”

  “Sure hope the snow isn’t too bad, being middle November and all.”

  A green Humvee with two men inside and a covered load were quickly heading up the highway about fifty miles into old Colorado. The sky was overcast but not to the point of spitting snow. The load they carried had been bought and paid for with the hope that it would provide security for about two hundred and fifty people in a valley in the mountains.

  The Humvee had gone another hundred miles and the journey had been without much excitement. The roads for the most part were empty except for the rare truck that traveled north and south delivering contraband goods. The trip was nearing its end maybe another 50 miles and the package would be delivered.

  “Not too much longer Jake and we will be there.”

  “Yep Carlos we are close.”

  Looking up at once Jake took note of an ominous sign in front.

  “What the hell is that Carlos? Stop the truck.” said Jake

  The truck came to a stop as the two men peered out the front window ahead, trying to get a good look.

  “Carlos, give me the binoculars and open the roof hatch.”

  Jake took the binoculars and stood up in the cab putting his head and shoulders outside of the hatch. He focused the lenses down the road and at once knew what they were looking at.

  “Damn, it is a road block. Why the hell would the government put up a road block?” said Jake.

  “Maybe they got word of our shipment.” said Carlos.

  “They didn’t spot us did they?”

  “No not yet but we better get off this road and look at a map for a way around.” said Jake.

  The Humvee backed up and found a side road that the two could then stop and reconnoiter. Looking at the map they found a side road that would take them where they needed to go, that is unless that too was blocked. The Humvee turned and within a couple of miles cut off on the detour.

  “What do you think is going on?” asked Carlos

  “I don’t know all I know is that we are getting paid to make a delivery and was told that the pay load was hot.” said Jake.

  “Well the sooner we get there the better as I don’t like messing with those government troops. What were they by the way security force.” asked Carlos.

  “No they looked like storm troops as they had a heavy wheeled APC with them.”

  “Storm troops, shit I don’t want to mess with them.”

  The Humvee continued its track over the back road and in a couple of more hours managed to make the destination. Turning up a small side street the vehicle came to a stop in front of a building that looked like an old ware house. With the instructions they were given they hit the horn three times and waited. Then the panel door opened up and the Humvee pulled inside.

  The inside was dark except for the sky light giving some illumination. At once a fluorescent light came on and out walked a man quite grimy but yet meaning business. The two at once looked toward him.

  “You Dick?” asked Carlos.

  “Who wants to know.” answered the man.

  “Well if you are we have a delivery for you.” said Jake.

  “And it would seem there is something you need to tell me first.” said the man

  “Oh yea, the password, go Jackets.” said Jake.

  “Damn, that Jon, he sure lives in the past, yea that’s it and I am Dick. Well let’s see what you got so I can pay you.” said Dick

  The three stepped toward the back of the Humvee and opened the back cargo door. They pulled back the tarps to uncover multiple boxes which they hoisted onto the ground.

  “Well let’s see if it is all here as I have the manifest in my head.” said Dick.

  They opened the first two boxes and Dick took a quick count of the thirty AR15 rifles. The next box contained numerous boxes of ammunition and extra magazines for the weapons.

  “Now for the killer.” said Dick.

  The next two boxes contained twenty Soviet style RPGs with more boxes of some fifty rockets in all. The final box held roughly thirty claymore mines.

  “Yep that’ll do it. Here help me take these into the store room.” said Dick.

  “What is your friend getting set for World War Three?” asked Carlos

  “You might say that, seems our friendly government just ain’t too friendly any more.” said Dick.

  With the equipment stored Dick came back out with two sacks of gold coins.

  “Well there is twenty five thousand dollars in there if you want to count it. Also if you need gas I will fill you up and it is paid for.” said Dick.

  “Yep we need it, no telling where we will have to go to get back as we ran into a road block on the way here and had to detour.” said Carlos.

  “A road block, my god this thing is gonna get out of hand. Gonna have to let Jon know about this.” said Dick.

  “Jon? Who is Jon?” asked Jake.

  “The guy who this stuff is for.” said Dick.

  Dick walked over and removed the cap from the Humvee’s gas tank. Fifty gallons later the vehicle was full and ready to go.

  “Well you tell old Jon good luck cause he is going to need it.” said Carlos.

  “Something tells me Jon makes his own luck. But I will tell him. Have a good trip back guys.” said Dick.

  Dick opened the panel door and the Humvee backed out. Carlos gave a waive to Dick as the two proceeded back from where they had come.

  Dick went back into his place and shut the door. He walked back to his office where he picked up a short waive set and put out a call.

  “Doc at Gulf do you read. Doc at Gulf do you read.”

  The set crackled to life.

  “Doc at Gulf reply.”

  “Dick here Doc.”

  “Yes Dick go ahead.”

  “Package for JS delivered and paid for. Tell him to come get it at any time.”

  “Roger that will inform.”

  “Dick out.”

  Dick put down the mike and shook his head.

  “I sure hope they know what they are doing.”

  Chapter 2

  It was the Monday of the week of Thanksgiving and the Smith family was preparing for the Thursday feast.

  “Jon, when should we get that turkey out to thaw?” asked Catherine.

  “Oh how about Tuesday afternoon, that should be enough time I think.”

 
; “So what are the plans for this holiday as Amanda and I haven’t really had a Thanksgiving in about ten years.” said Catherine.

  “Well in the morning Chris and I will head out to find a Christmas tree and bring it back and set it up. We will start the turkey cooking about one o’clock. I think we will have some wild rice with it.”

  “Now where do you get wild rice?” asked Catherine

  “Well they still grow it in old South Carolina and we get some of it shipped here for holidays. Ah South Carolina, the birth place of the Confederacy.”

  “Now Jon is it really wise to glorify that time, a time in this country of slavery and such.” said Catherine.

  “My dear you know me and I hold my southern roots and heritage very close to me. Yes slavery was bad but there were many things about the South and its people that were grand. I still miss those days and those fall weekends of pageantry that was college football.”

  “Get ready Amanda here he goes.” said Chris.

  “What do you mean.” said Amanda.

  “Any Second we are going to hear.”

  Then Jon cleared his throat and began.

  “I’m a rambling wreck from Georgia Tech and a helluva an engineer

  A helluva helluva helluva helluva helluva an engineer

  Like all the jolly good fellows I drink my whiskey clear

  I’m a rambling wreck from Georgia Tech and a helluva an engineer.”

  “Well there it is and never goes away” said Catherine.

  “You know kids this was always a big week as we had Thanksgiving, decorating for Christmas and depending on where the game was we would either watch or go to the big rivalry.” said Jon.

  “It really was a fun week you know.” said Chris

  “And it still is.” said Jon.

  The family was just finishing up breakfast preparing for the day. With the snow season setting in there was less to do as far as work around the house. Sweeping the inside and dusting were the main chores, along with keeping the firebox full of wood. As Jon and Chris had split up eight chords of wood prior to winter there was an ample supply. At times they would need to go on the roof and clear snow over the solar panels to keep electricity ready but for the most part they rarely turned it on.

  Jon had walked into the back bedroom and moments later came out dressed in warm clothes as if ready to make a trip.

  “I have to go down and get Doc and run an errand today.” said Jon.

  “You need me to go?” asked Chris.

  “No just me and Doc, I need you to stay here. By the way would you shovel and sweep the snow of the back and front porches. I think it might be a nice night for us to cook out and sit out back.”

  “Ok dad.”

  “Where are you going? Aren’t the roads a mess?” asked Catherine.

  “Well we try to keep the interior road plowed so it should be ok. Doc and I need to go down to Dicks to pick something up I ordered. I will be back before dark.” said Jon.

  “Ok we will be here when you get back.” said Catherine.

  “Where else would you be?” asked Jon

  “No where.”

  Jon moved to the front hall and put on a good pair of snow boots. He then grabbed his traveling hat and a pair of gloves. He opened one of the closets and pulled out his 30-30 and a box of bullets.

  “I guess you always need to carry one of those.” said Catherine.

  “Now more so than ever.” said Jon.

  Jon bid the family goodbye and got into his truck and headed down the road. A good foot and a half of snow had fallen over the weeks but the roads were pretty good because the valley folk made it a point to plow the road so that they could get out and about. A few miles later Jon pulled into doc’s driveway. Doc was sitting on the porch drinking a cup of coffee and holding his rifle. Jon stopped and got out of the truck and yelled to Doc.

  “You ready to go?”

  “Yep, just finishing up some coffee.”

  “Well finish up and let’s get going.” said Jon.

  Doc drank down the rest of the coffee and crawled into the truck. He set his rifle and ammunition behind the seat and made himself ready. Jon turned the truck around and headed down toward the valley entrance Ten miles later they were out on an old county road headed for their destination.

  “Jon, you sure you know what you are doing?” said Doc.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean what the heck are we off to get at Dick’s as I assume it has something to do with us dealing with the next round of those Urban troops that are sure to come after us in the spring?” said Doc.

  “Well let’s just wait till we get there and I can show you in detail. After all I am going to need your help figuring out how to use some of the things I bought.”

  The two took in the sights of the beautiful snow covered mountains and the crisp blue sky. The old state of Colorado was beautiful this time of year. Looking to the left they spotted a small herd of elk foraging in a field for late season fodder.

  “Look at those guys, they are something else.” said Doc.

  “Almost too beautiful to hunt, but they sure taste good.” said Jon

  “That they do.”

  “How is Catherine doing, any signs of issues from the cancer?” asked Doc.

  “Not that I can tell, in fact she looks much better than when we got her.” said Jon.

  “Well good, I checked her out and while I can’t tell the state of the cancer, she is holding weight.”

  Jon thought a moment and then asked Doc.

  “Doc, if she took a turn for the worse what could we do?”

  “Well I don’t have fancy medicine but I do understand that there are some natural medicines we could send for from old Mexico. Do you want me to go ahead and get some on hand?” asked Doc

  “If you don’t mind and let me know the cost, I will pay.”

  “I will take care of it when we get back.” said Doc.

  About half an hour later Jon turned down a dirt drive and stopped in front of the warehouse looking building that Dick lived in and had his business. To define what Dick actually did took a lot. He was a mechanic, he sold gasoline, he smuggled goods, and he served as a central point of information for several outlier communities. He lived alone but he lived well.

  Three honks of the horn and the panel door opened. Jon pulled the truck into the dimly lit area and as usual the fluorescent light came on as Dick walked out.

  “Hello Jon, hello Doc, how goes it”

  “Not bad Dick.” said Jon.

  “How are the roads, slippery yet?”

  “Not too bad but you have to be careful.”

  “I guess it is a good thing for you all that the snow season is here. It will keep those urban guys away from you for a while.” said Dick.

  “Well that is what we are hoping.” said Doc.

  The two men walked toward Dick and shook his grimy hand.

  “Do you ever take a bath?” asked Doc

  “Only on Saturdays.”

  The answer brought a laugh from all three men.

  “Well let’s get to it, where is the package I ordered?” asked Jon

  “It is in back of one of my store rooms under lock and key. Let’s head back there.”

  Dick led the men to a back room that was behind a heavy iron door that was locked. Dick produced a key which allowed the bolt to be drawn back and the door opened. Inside the room looked to be several boxes that were covered by a green canvas tarp. Dick pulled back the tarp and proceeded to open the first box.

  “Jon, what in the hell did you go off and buy?” asked Doc

  “You will see.”

  Dick opened the first box and pulled out an AR 15 rifle. He pulled back the bolt and inspected the barrel.

  “Got a little grease but that i
s ok. Jon, you are going to need to clean all these up.” said Dick.

  “How many of those did you buy?” asked Doc

  “They delivered thirty and a couple of boxes of extra magazines and looks like about five thousand rounds of ammunition.” said Dick

  “I haven’t seen one of those for real since Gulf One.” said Doc.

  “Just wait and see what else got delivered.” said Dick.

  While Dick was working with another box Jon pulled out a rifle and looked it over.

  “I know some of the guys in the valley have used these before but I never have and I am sure there are others. We are going to need training on using all the items here.” said Jon

  “Well let’s see what else you got.” said Doc

  Dick got the next box opened and pulled out the Soviet made RPG. Doc looked in disbelief as it was now all becoming apparent to him what Jon was getting ready for. Dick then opened the box with the claymore mines and gave a whistle.

  “Well that’s it. But it ought to be enough, at least for the first wave.”

  “Jon I guess you don’t plan on going back to the city or picking up and running do you?” asked Doc

  “Nope” said Jon as he grinned, looking down the barrel of the AR 15.

  “Look Doc the World Order will be back in the spring and they won’t be bringing untrained security troops. They will be bringing storm troops with armor. I plan on meeting them.”

  “So I guess you begin your own Revolution of sorts.” said Doc

  “Yep I am.” said Jon

  As the men placed the weapons back in the boxes Dick scratched his head and turned toward Jon and Doc.

  “Guys, I need to tell you that the fellows that brought this stuff told me they had to detour to get here. Seems they had to drive around a road block that was out that had storm troopers and an APC.”