Second, in the Rockies, numerous bands of patriots have fought tirelessly to push the Pacific Rim nations back to their ships. These, dare I call them militias, have suffered mightily for their resistance, but they have persevered and won the day. In the east, I am happy to report that similar groups of fighters have retaken West Point. The home of the Black Knights is once again safely in American hands. New Orleans is under the protection of the French Navy while the Dutch finalize the clean-up of hostile forces in Charleston.
Third, it is with deep regret that I disclose that a coup attempt was made against what remained of our government by the Secretary of State. She has been executed by firing squad along with three of her staff. Her husband was executed by me personally as it was he who was responsible for the death of President Rayburn.
And lastly, it is incumbent upon us all to work together and rebuild our once great country. As a result, Martial Law is being declared throughout the nation. I am calling on all local law enforcement and military personnel to make a full accounting of all resources within your area. Food, fuel, ammunitions, weapons, and medicines should be counted for possible collection and redistribution as needed.
Please do not resist these efforts as we attempt to put our nation back together.
This is President Alan Culpepper signing off.
Josh sighed while refolding the piece of paper. As he stuffed it in his pocket, Chester asked, “Thoughts?”
“Depending on how it all goes, he may have just lost the backing of the people.”
“Yup,” his old friend replied.
* * *
At 8:00 AM, two hours after the shelling had ceased, the deuce carrying Sheriff Watson and the Martinez family contingent rolled into downtown McArthur. Behind them, in a dilapidated Nissan pick-up, were Dick Brashier and his grandson Holland.
Josh, Heather, and his new son-in-law, Carlos, exited Mama Reni’s when they heard the massive diesel approaching. The three were waiting out front as the two vehicles turned onto Main Street. Jim rolled it to a stop along the curb and killed the motor.
“Jim!” Josh proclaimed as he approached the driver side door with arms outstretched. “How’d it go? Daisy didn’t give you guys any trouble, did she?”
“Hell no!” Dick exclaimed from behind him. “I told you when you stopped in there that she was mechanically flawless.”
“That she was, Dick. That she was. To be honest, I kept waiting for the auto re-loader to crap out on us, but it worked like a charm,” Jim added.
“Any news from downtown?” the father asked eagerly.
“Last we heard, Rodin and her teams were conducting interviews and separating the residents into groups.”
“Smart kid,” he replied. “She assessing the viability of leaving people there?”
“Yeah, but one thing’s for certain, as soon she and the rest of them pack up and head home, that mob is gonna execute about a dozen or so sympathizers.”
“I didn’t get the impression,” Juan added as he approached, “That Katherine was in the mood for any bullshit.”
Josh chuckled at the comment as the pair shook hands.
“You guys hungry?”
“Starving!” Holland proclaimed.
“Well alright then, go grab some grub from Mama Reni’s!” Josh answered in kind.
“You heard the man,” his grandfather stated. “Food first, re-supply is gonna wait. We’re not in a hurry, so chew your food for a change.”
As the group began making their way toward the restaurant and a well-deserved meal, Jim quietly asked, “Why aren’t you at the farm? I figured you’d be monitoring communications.”
“It was too tempting to try and lead from afar. Don’t worry though, I kept myself busy.”
The Sheriff glanced over at his friend with a cocked brow.
“The British are comin’. The British are comin’,” Josh half whispered.
Both of the Jim’s eyebrows arched up.
“Relax… relax. I’ve got scouts two miles out on every road. We’ve received confirmation that they number less than ten and they are on foot. Everything is well in hand.”
* * *
“She’s a lying whore!” the man screamed as Katherine continued to ask TK’s wife questions.
“Whoa!” she shot back. “Any more outbursts from you and I’ll have you gagged. Am I clear?”
“But she –,” he stammered. “All I –,”
“NOT another word!” she demanded forcefully then turned demurely to address the madam. “Mrs. Knightsbridge,” she began.
“Don’t call me that,” she growled. “My husband was a sadist and a pig. Please call me Emma.”
“Emma the lying freakin’ whore,” the man mumbled under his breath.
“Dallas, please gag him.”
A smile broadened across his face. “With pleasure,” he replied as he withdrew a bandana from his pocket.
“Hey now wait a minute,” he sputtered as he tried to turn and get away.
Evan grabbed him by the back of his collar and threw him to the ground. The cloth was quickly placed in his mouth and tied behind his head by Dallas.
When he finished, he stood up and proclaimed, “Done!” like he was roping a calf.
“Emma,” Katherine began again. “If possible, please give me the truncated version of the events.”
“Okay,” she answered meekly.
“What happened the first night the lights went out? Benjamin stated that TK and a few others broke into their house and kidnapped his wife. Is this true?”
“Yes, but I was unaware of this until after the fact.”
“When did you become aware?”
“It wasn’t until he had united the gangs and setup that room of horrors. One day he says to his men, ‘My bitch can run the whorehouse. She likes putting out just as much as a hooker’.”
“Sounds like a real charmer,” Katherine muttered.
“Oh, he was at first,” she quickly clarified. “But then he changed.”
“How so?”
“He was so sweet and kind and then he started working for that pig downtown. Shortly thereafter he’s not spending time with me, he’s gambling, comes home hammered out of his gourd…” then her voice trailed off and she started crying.
She took a few seconds to collect herself and added, “These were things he never did or had any interest in before. Then one night he takes me to a party at a ‘friends’ house and I had too much to drink… or at least I thought I did,” she continued as the sobbing became more pronounced. Then, at a hundred miles an hour, she confessed her darkest sins.
“The wives were being auctioned off like cattle! That bastard drugged me and forced me into an open marriage! He took pictures of the whole thing so I couldn’t leave him. He said he’d splash them all over the internet for all of our neighbors to see!”
Katherine stared at her blankly with wide eyes. After a few silent moments, she cleared her throat.
“Can anyone corroborate this?”
She nodded slightly. “The brunette your men pulled out of there, she can.”
“I’ll be sure to ask her once the drugs are out of her system. Speaking of which, how was TK getting supplied?”
“One of the gangs he took over received a shipment from Central America a day or two before the lights blinked out of existence. He confiscated their entire stash after he executed their leader. Started doling it out like tic-tac’s.”
“And the weed growing in the ballpark?”
“He had a thing for it, said it mellowed him out… needed it for ‘medicinal purposes’.”
“How did Lieutenant Stokes get killed?”
Emma shrugged. “I didn’t know him. I only saw him once or twice.”
“I can answer that,” a scrawny dirt covered man said as he stepped forward. “I was there.”
Four weapons were immediately drawn and pointed at him.
“Wait! It ain’t like that! I didn’t have shit to do with it! I’
s just up there tryin’ to get me some sleep!”
“Let him talk, guys,” Katherine stated. “If we don’t appreciate what he has to say… well… So what’s your name?”
“Eddie, but I didn’t have nuthin’ to do with it, I swear!”
“So you’ve said. Go on,” she said leading him down the path she wanted to hear.
“The housing units was pretty full and all them boys snore loud, like a bunch of truckers. I went to the roof to get some shut eye in peace and quiet, that’s all.”
“Go on,” she cajoled.
“Next thing I know, TK and his gestapo friends are questioning your man and that accountant dude... What’s his name? Tyler something ‘er other.”
Katherine motioned with her hand to continue.
“Yeah well, they shot Tyler and he started to talk, but then he gave Stokes a weird look. Your guy put one in ‘em an another guy too. Then he circled around and went for them stairs, but ol’ TK had guys waitin’ behind the doh. Blasted his ass with rock salt or some shit.”
“Any of this check out?” Katherine asked without taking her eyes off of Eddie.
“So far so good,” one of her FO’s replied from behind her.
“Do you recognize him?”
“We’ve seen him around over the last few weeks. He didn’t take part in Eustace’s death, he’s clean.”
“Very well. Please continue,” she said.
“TK shot your man in the leg, but that dude was defiant to the end. Told him to pound sand so TK pushed him off the roof.”
“And where were you during all of this?”
“Me? I was keepin’ my ass in the shadows behind all them A/C units. Bullets and shit be flying all over the place… I ain’t coming out during all that!”
Katherine thought for a moment. When none of her men said anything to counter his story, she gave him what he was looking for, “Okay, thank you Eddie. You can head back to your group.”
“Ya’ll ain’t gonna shoot me?”
“Not today, no,” she said with half a smile as she tried to picture Eustace’s defiant last stand.
She then turned to Dallas and Evan and stated, “Pick him up, please.”
Once the loud mouth was vertical and the gag was removed, she asked, “So what’s your malfunction? What’s she lying about?”
The man stared at the ground and didn’t answer.
“Well? I’m waiting,” she demanded.
Emma spoke up and answered for him. “He’s just afraid that I’m gonna start pointin’ fingers and naming names cause I was the ‘madam’. He doesn’t want his darling wife to know that he was one of the better, more frequent customers is all.”
“You bitch!” he muttered as he lunged toward her.
Evan and Dallas quickly grabbed his arms and stopped his forward progression before he made his first full step.
“Gerald! You promised!” his wife angrily spat at him from yards away. “That’s it! I want a divorce!”
“Oh Lord,” Katherine silently said to herself.
“Ma’am? Miss?” the wife asked.
“That’s Captain Simmons,” Brent corrected.
Josh’s youngest daughter glanced at him quizzically.
“We voted. Just go with it,” he whispered as he leaned in.
“Capt. Simmons. I’d like a divorce, can you grant that?”
“Fine. Gerald, on the grounds on infidelity, you have violated God’s covenant. You are hereby divorced. Pick up your stuff and move to a different structure by sundown.”
His now ex-wife was beaming ear to ear.
As she looked around, she saw several dozen smudged and gaunt faces staring back at her expectantly. These people needed guidance and direction. The she laughed to herself at the thought of her father. They need a purpose.
“Everyone come in close so you can hear me,” she began.
Many of the surviving inhabitants looked up at her, optimism in their eyes. Groups of individuals started slowly coming forward to be within ear shot.
Once Katherine was satisfied, she asked them all to have a seat on the ground.
“How many of you have any idea how we lost power?”
Emma offered, “Your dad stopped in the neighborhood that first night. Picked up Bryan and your aunt.”
Katherine glanced down at her confused.
“Yes, I know who you are.”
“Good,” Josh’s youngest daughter retorted. “Then you know I’m not here screwing around. What did he say?”
“He told us a terrorist detonated some nuclear weapons in the atmosphere and knocked out our power grid,” TK’s wife replied.
“Okay, thank you,” she stated more gracefully then turned her attention back to the assembled. “Now, I’m sorry I have to put it this way, but I see no alternative. You people, through specific intent or willful ignorance, have failed every single test of human survivability. Instead of trying to maintain any semblance of society, your leaders chose booze, drugs, and prostitution as a means to subdue and mollify the masses. And you went along with it.”
Heads began hanging. There was no rebuttal that could be made that justified their continued existence. Many fully expected to be lined up and shot. Several men began glancing casually, looking for an exit.
“However, we are a nation founded on second chances. I’m not going to tell you what to do, but there is a town not far from here that your horde of locusts burned to the ground. I’m offering you a chance at redemption by rebuilding it. Once that task is done, you will be asked to establish some form of commerce and trade with other communities in the area. Those of you that would like to take this opportunity, you are welcome to do so. There is food in the hills if you know where and how to look. There is shelter is you are willing to work for it. If you decide to stay and rebuild here, that’s up to you. My guess is that we will have a little of both.”
Clusters of families and groups of people began looking around at one another.
“But make no mistake, what happened here today was necessary. It was necessary for the survivability of the surrounding towns and communities. It was necessary for the survival of the women that inhabited your whorehouse. It was necessary for no other reason than to free you from your bonds of servitude to TK and his ilk.
“We are not here to hand down punishments for the actions of those within your city walls. However, I would imagine that a fair amount of retribution might be at hand specifically regarding the repeated drugging, rape, and torture of some of your citizens. You people can solve your own problems after we’ve left.”
Katherine paused to let the full weight of her words sink in. Some of the residents actually looked… happy. However, there were more than a few that carried the shame and worry on their sleeves.
“Are there any questions?”
“What’s the name of the town?” came from a distant group.
“Logan,” she replied.
Then it was like a dam burst open and the questions began flooding in.
‘It’s already mid-summer. How are we supposed to grow enough food for winter? You’ve taken all the weapons we had. How are we supposed to shoot anything? Where will we get the plants, the seeds, needed to start a garden? Are there any buildings still standing? Is anything salvageable down there? How will we get there? Is it safe to travel the roads?’
Katherine and her leadership team stood patiently and answered all of the worrisome questions. After a nearly twenty minute long Q&A session, the McArthur contingent had a brief conversation. In the span of five minutes, they knew what they had to do. In the end, Evan summed it up best.
“Look people, what you’ve earned and what you deserve, in either case, doesn’t amount to much. We’d be well and good to just roll outta here and let you folks figure it out, like the rest of us did, but I’m a ‘teach people to fish’ kinda guy. Once upon a time this was a Christian nation and it wouldn’t be very Christian to prolong your suffering when we are in a position to assist you.
“Those of you heading to Logan, you have three hours to gather your possessions. My team and I will escort you and get you acclimated to your new surroundings. Any one staying in Columbus, assemble under the shade tree over there,” he concluded as he pointed off to his right. “You have fifteen minutes to decide.”
Chapter 29
“HALT!” came the booming order from the woods.
The British Army Lieutenant and his men quickly stopped their methodical plodding.
“Do not move or you will be fired upon! Nod if you understand my instructions.”
The CO looked over at his contingent. All were frozen in their tracks. Sergeant Coker swallowed hard. The Lt. turned his head slightly in the direction of the command and gave a polite, but curt, nod.
Suddenly the woods came alive. Six men, three from each side of the road, displaced and silently exited from their hides. Weapons were up, safeties off.
“Gentlemen, unload and sling your weapons. Sir,” the team leader said as he addressed the Lieutenant. “Please unload and holster your sidearm. Leave it snapped in place.”
“What, we aren’t going to do name and rank?”
“Sir, I don’t give a shit what your name is and I can see that your collection is made up of one Lieutenant, a Sergeant, two Corporals, and a Private.”
Their commander glanced over and gave the order through a quick nod of agreement again. In as non-threatening a manner as possible, he and the rest un-chambered their rounds, removed clips, and slung their weapons as directed.
“There are only the five of us,” the Lt. offered.
“We know. We’ve been tracking you for the last three miles.”
The totality of the message immediately sunk in with the surrounded British troops.
By the Dawn's Early Light Page 34
