Mike, Mary and Mac entered the M113 and the ramp lifted off the ground and closed. Mac sat in the driver’s seat with the drivers hatch open for an unobstructed view. The command chair was occupied by Mary on Mike’s lap and elevated the command chair until they were riding above the command copula. Mike put on the commanders helmet and gave the order to Mac to move out. Mike and Mac envisioned the Museum being very hands on so with that in mind they designed a course through the woods for about a half a mile loop that they could give rides. They went down the dirt path around 10 mph and Mary was whooping it up the entire time. By the time they got back the tour group that was there, a bunch of little people were demanding rides, so Mike and Mac became drivers for an hour or more and those kids never had so much fun.
***
Day -100
Mac followed Mike into the Mohan Manor. After going through the main gate that looked like an old castle entrance they entered the main building and entered the large hall with a wooden table that looked like it could seat fifty people. Mike and Mac went to either end and sat down, nodding to about thirty people that were at the table. Everyone here was in the loop, and by loop he meant something more was going on than just the show to the public, to certain extent or another. He was going to tell everyone her the whole truth.
“Thank you all for coming today, this will be our final full meeting of the Mohan Group before I either go to jail or I’m hailed as the greatest planner in history.” Most of the people laughed and gazed around the table. Some looked back at him with neutral expressions. Some looked confused like they didn’t know what he was talking about.
“Before we proceed and I explain the full purpose of the Mohan Group to those looking confused. Lets’ hear from our department heads first.” Mike looked down the table at Mac his executive officer of the Mohan Group, to proceed.
Mac stood and turned to Lester Holt, the recent expert hired in the last six months to get their power supply up and running. “Lester please give us your report on the Mohan Power Company.”
Lester stood up. “Gentlemen the Mohan Power Company is operating at sixty percent of capacity, crews are still assembling Photovoltaic panels and installing inverters and equipment associated with them and the wind turbines are still to be finished and come on line. This location is perfect for wind power, the first of ten, two hundred foot towers are going up now. We figure in three months we should have all but two up and running that should add a considerable jump in power production with about three additional megawatts. The system is set up in blocks with all its own associated equipment. So seven blocks are online, and three are yet to be finished. They should be done within a month and a half. As of right now we are producing close to ten megawatts of power. We’re using about one megawatts and selling back approximately $30,000 worth a month at a reduced cost, of course. By any standards a complete success. Upon completion we can produce eighteen megawatts of power enough to run the whole complex three times over. Plans and supplies are also in place to tie in additional solar farms adding around twenty more megawatts.
“Thank you Lester.” Mike Said.
“Next how about our museum curator. Master Sergeant Sean Thornton, retired.” Mac added.
“Thank you Mr. McDermott, and I’ve appreciated the warm welcome I received at the museum on my arrival three months ago. With the additional help that I hired with Mr. Mohan's approval, we have all the vehicles up and running except four M113A2, we are waiting on parts for those. All the APC’s will have the rubber tread kits installed soon. I’ve ordered spare parts for all the common issues associated with these vehicles, so we should be all set for the foreseeable future. I’ll just talk about our ground fleet and let your chief pilot talk about the air wing. As of today we have eighty M113A2 that will all be in working order soon and twenty YPR-765, and upgraded version of the M113A2. We have approximately one hundred surplus Hummers that have been rebuilt and run like they are brand new. We have an assortment of fifty other military vehicles for the museum that are in working order, mostly beginning with WW2 up into the cold war era.
“These are not part of the museum but I’ll cover them anyway. The group owns sixty new large diesel SUV’s and sixty new diesel extended cab pickup trucks. All are in black or dark gray right now with Mohan group insignia of castle imposed over a moose, we have paint booth that can change them anytime you want. In back of the Museum we have a fully operational eight bay Garage that can handle working on everything we have.” We also have an assortment of heavy equipment left over from all the excavating including ten, ten wheel dump trucks, ten six wheel dump trucks, four front end loaders, six excavators, four bulldozers, seven backhoes, six bucket trucks that linemen may use like telephone company or electric company, fork lifts and bobcats, This week we are expecting a shipment of eight Mack truck units and one hundred trailers along with six all-purpose farm tractors with assorted attachments. These last few items I have no idea what we need them for. I’m sure you’ll tell me when the time is right.” Thornton finished up.
“Next up is Captain Fred Masters Captain USAF, retired. You have the floor Captain.” Mac flourished his hands in Fred’s direction.
“Thank you Mac, since I was hired to head the aviation division of The Mohan Group, I’m proud to say our flight school has produced fifty qualified helicopter pilots and thirty fixed wing pilots, many of the pilots are cross licensed for both. The Moose Hill Transport Company has been up and running for three months and most of those pilots are employees of Moose Hill Air Transport Company now. We’ve been keeping six of our C-130 taking contracts into smaller airports then the commercial airlines can go. We seemed to have found a niche market, especially transporting high end motor vehicles over long distances for their owners. We’re making a moderate profit. But more importantly getting a lot of pilots experience. I’ve usually been running one of our trained hired pilots including myself with a least two of our new pilots on each flight.” Fred took a sip of water and continued. “The museum has had a least two Huey’s open to the public each day and the airport offers helicopter rides out to Quabbin Reservoir a thirty minute round trip. It’s been very popular. Another money making business, not much though but with the reasonable fare we have been charging, very popular. That and the museum are generating a lot of good will in the area. The five Robinson helicopters are ideal for the beginning lessons until moving up to the Sikorsky's and the Huey’s. Finally the more experienced pilots are getting time in the Blackhawk's, which demand a more experienced pilot. We are due to receive three Chinooks that I have no theory how you got. All I can say is thank you, I haven’t had this much fun in, well never actually.” Everyone laughed at that.
Mac stood back up. “Our Opus shelter expert Mr. Oddie Gussdorf has been here a month overseeing the last installation of his product, which just happens to be his very own units. Mr. Gussdorf is so impressed with our complex, he asked to be part of it. Just in case, you understand.” More laughter.
Oddie stood up. “Thank you Mac for that stellar introduction, although I think I met everyone here other than a few of the new additions. I’m happy to say you installers did a fantastic job and all units are in and up and running. I’ve been helping Mac with some odds and ends. This complex fully stocked can support five thousand for up to five years I’m estimating. When we get closer to whatever Mr. Mohan is going to talk to us about, I plan on moving in.” Oddie being a man of few words sat back down.
Mike stood up at this point, paused and with a smile, looked around the table. “A few of you already know the full story behind the Mohan Group and more have probably guessed what all this is about. I’m here to tell you everything, no more guessing.
In approximately one hundred days The Mohan Group led by me expects a world changing event that our governments will not be ready for or know how to respond too. This info had been developed by confidential sources that I’m not ready to divulge yet.
Now put yourself in my shoes, you just won t
he largest Lottery in history at one and a half billion dollars, since the win I have made another two hundred and ten million in investments. Now ask yourself if you knew a disaster was coming and you had the means to not prevent it, but survive it, and help as many others as you can. What would you do? We have spent on the order of eight hundred million dollars through the Mohan Group and its subsidiary businesses. I’m not sure how this is going to play out. I hope nothing happens, but I have reason to believe that’s not the way it will go. With that in mind we had to think about our security. The museum makes a perfect cover for the military equipment. Besides what Master Sergeant Thornton, aka the Duke, talked about, under my and Mac’s personnel supervision, Last Chance Gun store has accumulated on the order of thirty SAW (squad automatic weapons) the M240, thirty M60 Machine guns with extra barrels and four million rounds for each type. Also five hundred M4 Carbine’s with ACOG that stands for Advanced Combat Optical Gunsights either Aim point or EOTech with ten million rounds of 5.56, twenty 60mm mortar’s with five thousand rounds and also six hundred Semi auto pistols, Glocks, or M & P 40 or 45 Cal. With two million rounds. The Store has also gotten a hold of five hundred M14 Surplus rifles, several of them need work.
We also have purchased two thousand battle dress camouflaged uniforms with associated Molly backpack with field gear. Besides the tractor truck units with their one hundred trailers full of dry good that need to be unloaded into the Hill, we expect the arrival of three hundred fifty foot cargo containers with supplies to sustain us should the worse happen. Those weapons form a good base, but everyone I’ve hired has a license to carry or themselves are gun dealers, so when the time comes I expect or Armory to have two or three times that amount of weapons and ammunition. Ladies and Gentlemen in one hundred days give or take a few I figure we should know! The weeks leading up should show some hints of what’s to come possibly. This facility can be self-sustaining for a number of years if the worst comes to pass, with capability to expand. Don’t get me wrong, we are not going to sit back here and hide if the world goes to shit we will help as many people as possible in the coming years.”
Mike looked around at the stunned faces. He thought they may have guessed at his ultimate plan, but to hear it out loud was shocking even to himself. “Any question?” he asked…
***
Mary was really excited today, she had passed her ultralight qualification a while ago but had to satisfy her Dad’s standard. So today was it, she was going up solo with her Dad in anther ultra-light. She was now 13 years old and felt much more mature then her Dad thought she was.
“You ready sweetie for you Solo.” Mike asked his daughter.
“You know it Dad. I can’t wait to get up there.” Mary told her father. She has been taking lessons for a year and considered herself a much better pilot then most, but because of her young age, the youngest in training at the Mohan flight school since it opened. Plus her father worried about her a lot being an only child and so forth. That hadn’t stopped him from training her in firearms and flight school, she was also a pretty good driver, she can even drive one of the M113A2, and she loved blasting around on the four wheelers too. But today was all about the flying.
“Okay honey, I had two ultralights prepped for us. But do your own safety check and after where done we can get airborne.”
Mary and her father finished their safety checks and suited up in there flight suits and helmets with comms. Once they were both in the Ultralights and on the runway. They were given the signal and Mike started rolling down the runway first, with Mary a short distance behind him. After about one hundred and seventy feet first Mike then Mary were airborne with a speed around 45 mph. They both gained altitude to about three hundred feet with Mike in the lead and Mary off his left side two hundred feet behind and to the side. Mike performed a slow turn to the left and Mary followed with no problems. Looking out from this height they could see Thompson pond to the North West and turning, Sugden reservoir and Moose Hill Reservoir came into view to the south and the Moose Hill Complex was laid out before them with the airport and its new upgraded runway and hangers. On the taxi way where four C-130’s parked with crews performing maintenance and a dozen Huey helicopters parked on the apron behind the hangers, a few dozen M113A2’s parked behind the museum with crews working on them. To the south west side of the complex was the Anderson's Farm that had gotten a upgrade with two new barns and new tractors outside. A light coating of snow was still on the ground but it was a mild winter with temperatures hitting 55 degrees today, that’s why they decided to come up today since it was so nice.
The two ultralights took a spin around Sugden Reservoir then out to route 9 before returning to the airport with Mary in the lead on the way back. She made a perfect landing, followed by Mike who bounced once before settling down. They exited their ultralights and turned them over to the ground crew and Mary ran up and gave Mike a big hug. “Thank you so much Dad that was a blast, when can I go up again?” she asked.
“Well you’re good enough, but I don’t want you flying alone, you have to have me or one of the other experienced pilots with you, and no going up without asking first, understand.” Mike told her.
“Yes Dad, and thank you so much.” She ran off and hopped on her four wheeler and took off down the road heading toward Mohan Manor.
***
Today was going to be special. The new shooting range was finally up and running. Mike had promised his daughter Mary when the range was done he would take her shooting. Mac was bringing an assortment of small caliber guns up to the range at 2pm.
"Let's go Mary, Mac's meeting us in half an hour, we don't have much time." Mike yelled down the hall of his Cape house that they lived in since before she was born. Mike didn't see a need to move after they won the lottery with just the two of them. He did add a three seasons room off the back and an above ground pool with a deck and he also had all the hardwoods done over, installed a whole new kitchen. Mike also had the interior and exterior painted while they we're away at Disney world for a week then onto Disney cruise for another week.
Mary came out walked down the hallway and stopped in front of her father and held her hands out.
"What do you think Dad?" She asked with a twirl in place. She was wearing forest digital camouflage pants and a black high quality t-shirt with a moose head logo with a hill behind the moose head and circular lettering in white with Moosehill on top and M.H. on the bottom, her name Mary on the other side from the logo. Mike thought it actually looks pretty good.
"That's great sweetie, where did you get that?" Mike asked her.
"I bought it off a website t-shirt business. You gave me that credit card with a thousand dollar limit every month and I've been buying some clothes for you and me for the last eighteen months or so. Your clothes are in boxes in the basement. You've been so busy I knew you wouldn't buy clothes for yourself." Mary said with a big grin. She ran back into her room and came out with a bag and handed to Mike.
"Shirts for you and Mac. We’re the Guinea pigs for Moosehill Working Apparel for all your employees that work there. I also had a Mohan Group t-shirt made up, yours and Mac's are also in that bag. The two of them went out and got in Mike’s Truck and sped down Rawson Street, then West on Main Street Past the Super Walmart and finally taking a right heading north on Donnelly Road right up to the main gates at the Moosehill southern gate. Mike showed his identification which was ridiculous Mary thought, since her Dad owns the company. They drove past Mohan Manor and past the underground complex and around the solar Arrays and down the road to the airport. About half way down on the right they turned off onto a dirt road that Mike drove down for two hundred yards and it opened up into a gravel parking lot surrounded by woods except facing north which had a gravel area approximately one hundred yards wide by two hundred yard long. Along the side and the back were gravel berms fifteen feet high and the back was almost twice that height.
Mike backed his truck up where there’s were wooden tab
les with a open sided roofed area all along the firing line covering the tables, for bad weather shooting days. Mary realized. Mike put down the tailgate and pulled some equipment out and put them on the table.
Mac pulled up while this was going on and backed in also. He greeted Mary and Mike and pulled several gun cased out of his truck.
“Hey, Sweet Pea.” Mac greeted Mary.
“Good afternoon Mac, what are we going to shoot today? She inquired.
“Well I got a few rifles and a few handguns. But first we need to go over the range safety rules.” He said. “First, no loaded weapons until where on the firing line. Second keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot. Third, never point a gun at anything unless you intend to kill it. Fourth, always empty a gun before handing it to someone.” Mac stated. Mary listened intently, of course she heard this all from her father before a million times she thought.
“Okay then, there will be more rules as we go along. Mac asked me to teach you. It’s not always a good thing having your father show you, it can be frustrating for both parents and children. So I volunteered to do it.” Lucky you.” Mac said with a smile.
Mike observed and readied his own Glock 21.He also brought his M & P 45 Caliber Compact and his M &P Shield, plus his M-4 rifle. Mike watched as Mac showed Mary how to load the pistol he handed her, a Shield 9mm, it was semi compact and she should be able to get her hands around the grip. After showing her how to load the bullet in the magazines and then take them out several times. Mac allowed her to put a magazine into the magazine well until it clicked in. The slide lock was engaged so the gun could not be fired and there was no bullet in the Chamber at this point. He had her holster the gun into a holster she put on earlier.
Mike went down about twenty yards and set up two stands with cardboard and stapled two basic silhouettes that police use. He came back to the firing line and Mac had Mary take her gun out and he showed her the two most common stances for a handgun, the Weaver stance that most police switched over too from the isosceles stance.
Moosehill Militia (Book 1): INFECTED Page 7
