Titus' face relaxed once more upon hearing his own words coming from his wife's lips. If Marion's condition had been serious, Marcus would have reported it immediately and would have requested a medevac chopper. "Okay, as long as you're alright," he said. "But no more combat ops for you, lady, if you're gonna get yourself shot up!" He said the last with a smile on his face.
Marion touched her fingers to her lips then touched her fingers to the camera. "See you soon, soldier!"
Titus winked at his wife then turned back to his son. "Meet you at the med center upon your arrival. Carry on!" With that, he cut communications.
Marion looked at her son and his companions. "Well...that went well."
***
June 13th
Omega Mining Compound
Northwestern, AZ
Rafiq Aswad was vomiting in a toilet. His stomach had been bothering him for the last few hours and he felt like his skin was on fire, particularly around his left wrist. The flesh there was red and raw. Some of it peeled off at his touch.
"Rafiq Aswad," called one of the other men from the dormitory. "Rafiq Aswad, are you in here?"
"I am...in the...lavatory," Rafiq replied. He wiped his mouth with his shirt sleeve then staggered to a sink to splash water on his face. He was drying his face on a towel as Abdul Sarraf entered the restroom.
"Mustafa Al-Fakeeh would like to see you immediately, Rafiq," said Sarraf. "He said to meet him at the front of the mine."
"Thank you, Abdul," Rafiq replied. He hung the towel up and followed Sarraf from the room. While Sarraf stopped at the door to his room, Rafiq continued to the nearest exit and left the dormitory facility. He walked as quickly as he could across the compound towards the main mine entrance. Now, if my stomach...and everything else...will only stop hurting, thought Rafiq as he approached Al-Fakeeh.
"You called for me, sir?" Rafiq asked Al-Fakeeh.
"Yes, Rafiq, follow me!" said Al-Fakeeh, turning and walking into the mine. They had not reached the first branch tunnel, when Rafiq suddenly doubled over and began to vomit.
"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Al-Fakeeh. "How long have you been ill?"
"It started just a few hours ago," replied Rafiq weakly. He supported himself by leaning against the tunnel wall. The wave of nausea passed and Rafiq stood up looking at Al-Fakeeh.
"Come with me," Al-Fakeeh said sternly, leading Rafiq back out of the tunnel to the dispensary located near the mine's primary entrance. Rafiq paused to vomit once more before reaching the dispensary.
Al-Fakeeh pointed to an examination table in one small room and ordered Rafiq, "Sit there!" The older man then stepped over to speak quietly with the one doctor on duty. As the doctor came over to Rafiq, Al-Fakeeh picked up a phone by the dispensary's front door. In the office building across the compound, Abdul Aziz Mohammed Al Zahrani answered his phone.
"One of the men appears to have radiation poisoning, Amir," Al-Fakeeh reported.
"Is it one of the men who has remained in the compound throughout his time here?" Zahrani asked.
"No, sir. It is Rafiq Aswad...the man who accompanied me to Kingman recently," came Al-Fakeeh's reply.
"Was he ill then?"
"No, sir. The illness started today," replied Al-Fakeeh.
"Very well, monitor the situation. This was anticipated that we would have men because irradiated. They are, after all, expendable," said Zahrani hanging up.
The doctor had Rafiq remove his clothing and don an examination gown. Al-Fakeeh stepped into the room and told the doctor to keep him posted. He nodded to Rafiq and left the dispensary to get another man to help him in the mine.
As he removed his clothing, Rafiq paused a moment to scratch at his left wrist. The wound was larger, redder, and much more painful. Then the nausea and vomiting came once more.
Chapter 8
June 17th
ASGuard HQ
Phoenix, AZ
General Titus Roman entered the briefing room. In attendance were all senior ASGuard officers and noncommissioned officers, Combined Bureau of Intelligence and Investigation agents Kenneth Halsted and Phillip Caldwell, and the delegates to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. Others joined the briefing over the ASGuard secure digital communications network.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!" said General Roman once everyone had taken his or her seat. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone here and online for their efforts statewide over the last couple of weeks. Your prompt response saved lives and the people of Arizona thank you! In fact, to express those thanks, let me introduce the Governor of the great State of Arizona, Eleanor Alvarez."
Governor Alvarez stepped into the room. Everyone in the room rose to their feet and applauded Alvarez as she walked up the steps to the stage at the front of the Armory's largest briefing room. Approaching the podium, Governor Alvarez waved everyone to sit down.
"Thank you...thank you! Please, take your seats," the governor said into the podium microphone. When everyone was once again seated and quiet, she continued. "On behalf of the citizens of the State of Arizona, I thank you all for your valiant efforts. Sadly, we've lost 32 citizens and another 113 were injured during the recent attacks upon our populace. Those numbers would have been much higher if not for armed citizens, law enforcement personnel, the CBII, and the timely intervention of the Arizona State Guard. Once again, you have risen to the call and emerged victorious against those who would destroy our people, our state, our country, and our way of life. Thank you all!" With that, Governor Alvarez saluted the audience then took a seat with the others on the stage.
General Roman returned to the podium. "I want to brief you on the status of the Arizona State Guard. Across the state, we had 43 personnel injured and we lost 7 to injuries sustained during the battles. Funeral services and honor guard details will be announced this afternoon. For now, we will remain on high alert statewide. All personnel are to remain on or near their duty stations ready for rapid deployment. Logistics reports all units have been resupplied, damaged vehicles and equipment replaced from our ready reserves, and we remain at near full strength, even considering our injured and casualties. To brief us on conditions across the U.S. and the rest of the continent, I call Senior Agent Ken Halsted of the CBII to the podium." Titus shook his old friend's hand as they passed one another.
Halsted cleared his throat before speaking. Surprisingly, he did not active the subsonic field generator he normally used when providing the ASGuard with a sensitive briefing. Halsted noticed the quizzical looks upon so many faces in the crowd and said, "Hey, the bad guys know what's going on, so why should I turn that damn thing on!?! Besides...it gives me a headache!" Laughter filled the room.
"Arizona hasn't been the only state hit by the jihadists," said Halsted. "There were multiple attacks across the new United States and in the People's States. Fortunately, the vast majority of the conservative states have followed Arizona's example and created State Guard organizations to augment their law enforcement and National Guard units. Add to that open and concealed gun carry laws that allowed armed citizens already onsite to respond immediately to the threats."
The crowd cheered the bravery of their fellow citizens who defended both themselves and others in their communities. When the cheering died down, Halsted continued. "The folks in the PSSA were...unsurprisingly...less prepared and, as a result, took much heavier losses than our states did. Piss Ant President-for-life Carrington has already gone on television to once again apologize to the IGC and their puppets for any offense they may have given."
The audience jeered and booed the very mention of Sherrill Carrington's name. Carrington rose to the office of the President of the formerly United States with the intent of ramming through a Progressive agenda bent on tearing down the U.S. Constitution and turning America into another Socialist "utopia". The actions of Carrington and her fellow Progressives over the past 100 years had forced a split between the U.S. Government and half of the citizens of the U.S.
By overplaying their hand, the Progressives forced the U.S. military and those states under Conservative control to take action. For years, the military and the Conservatives had been 'salvaging' vital historical documents and artifacts, replacing them with extremely convincing replicas, and transporting the originals to safe locations in the Heartland Region of the country. When the Progressive began their final push to take absolute control of the country, the Conservative states announced their defiance and, with the support of the military, walked out of Washington, D.C. For a time, people moved to states more in tune with their political beliefs and the former United States of America found itself divided once more and engaged in another civil war, albeit a cold war with limiting fighting.
"Our agents in the PSSA report two major trends. First, the citizens of the PSSA are becoming more and more fearful that their government is not doing enough to protect them. Second, their government is going to capitulate to the IGC and allow IGC operatives free access to PSSA territory." The crowd roared their anger at this news. To allow an enemy onto the North American Continent was egregious.
General Roman stepped forward and shouted, "At ease! Quiet down! None of us likes hearing this, but let Agent Halsted finish his briefing. We can express our anger and plan our response later!" The room quieted down, allowing Halsted to resume his briefing.
"U.S. President Alexander Ford has sent a sternly worded communique to Carrington to denounce her appeasement agenda and to warn her that the IGC will take advantage of her...'largesse', I believe was the word he used. Personally, I think 'stupidity' would have been more correct." This comment brought a round of laughter to the room. "Carrington's reply was both rude and anatomically impossible to accomplish, so President Ford was heard to say 'Fuck 'er then!' One of his Cabinet members supposedly responded, 'Who'd want to?'" The briefing room was filled with laughter once again.
"Bottom line here, folks...it's going to get worse, both in the PSSA and here in the U.S. of A. before it gets better. Our Federal and State Governments are doing everything possible to prevent indiscriminate attacks on peace loving Muslims who are loyal Americans. In fact, we're getting a higher than usual level of support from the Muslim population than seen previously. Based on the intelligence we have gathered here in Arizona and that has been gathered elsewhere, I'll be passing along additional detailed classified information to the general and his staff as it becomes available. Thank you!" Halsted walked back to his chair and sat down.
Returning to the podium, General Roman said, "I thought you'd like to hear from our Arizona delegates to the Constitutional Convention. I understand they chose a really pretty looking representative to speak for them, so let me introduce...Delegate Marion Roman!" Marion stepped forward and gave her husband a peck on the cheek before stepping to the podium. The ASGuard troopers clapped, cheered, and whistled at the public display of affection between their commanding general and his wife. Titus' blushed but Marion remained unruffled.
"Howdy, everybody! How ya'll doing today?" she said cheerfully. "Thank you for that warm welcome...the one here, not the one at the airport!" The crowd chuckled and laughed.
"I'll keep my remarks short today. Titus...uh, the general, has told me how each of you has been caught up in the Convention and what we're trying to do to re-affirm our government and ensure the events that tore apart our country won't happen again. We, the delegates of the Constitutional Convention, thank you for your trust in us to represent you. We're proud to report that the convention has adopted all of Mark Levin's Liberty Amendments and several others that we feel will strengthen our Constitution and prevent politicians from stripping the rights of American citizens from them ever again. Based on polling data from each of the Conservative states, it looks like each of the amendments we recommended will be ratified and become law as part of our Constitution very soon!" Marion Roman paused to let the troopers cheer. When the cheering died down, she took a moment to introduce each of the Arizona delegates and have them join her at the front of the stage.
As one, the men and women of the Arizona State Guard, joined by Governor Alvarez and the CBII agents, rose and gave their delegates a standing ovation. The clapping and cheering went on for several minutes. When it finally died down, Marion and the other delegates returned to their seats to sit down.
General Roman stepped to the podium once more. "That's all for now. There'll be a planning meeting for unit commanders and senior NCOs at 15:00 hours this afternoon. Dismissed!"
***
June 18th
Omega Mining Compound
Northwestern, AZ
Rafiq Aswad's condition had grown much worse. He had not been able to keep any food or water down all day and his gums had begun to bleed. The radiation burn around his wrist had grown wider and the damaged skin had turned black. The doctor had started an IV to keep Rafiq hydrated and had administered strong pain killers but the young man was dying. The doctor called Mustafa Muhammad Al-Fakeeh and reported Rafiq's deteriorating condition. Thus it was that Al-Fakeeh and Abdul Aziz Mohammed Al Zahrani came to the dispensary to talk with the doctor.
"There is not much more I can do for him, other than ease his pain," the doctor told Al-Zahrani and Al-Fakeeh. "The radiation poisoning went unnoticed for too long." The three men stepped into the room where Rafiq lay moaning on a bed. Al-Zahrani approached the dying young jihadist to say some words of encouragement. As he stood next to Rafiq, Al-Zarhani noticed the red and black band of bleeding, rotting flesh around the young man's wrist.
"What is that on his arm?" Al-Zahrani asked the doctor.
"He must have been wearing a watch or band of some type that is contaminated, Amir!" the doctor replied. "He was not wearing it when he was brought in, however."
Al-Zahrani turned to his lieutenant, Al-Fakeeh, and asked, "Do you know anything about this, Mustafa?"
"I do recall him wearing a watch when he arrived at the mine, Amir. I saw him wearing it the other day when he drove the truck into Kingman for supplies," answered Al-Fakeeh. "I have not seen him wear it since."
Al-Zahrani leaned closer to Rafiq and slapped the dying man sharply across the face. "Wake up, Rafiq Aswad! Wake up!" Rafiq's eyes opened but he could not focus on the man standing over him nor could his drug clouded mind understand the man.
"Where is your watch?" Al-Zahrani raged. When Rafiq lapsed back into unconsciousness, Al-Zahrani turned back to the doctor questioningly!
The doctor looked at Al-Zahrani and said, "Amir, I do not believe he will regain consciousness. I cannot save his life but I can keep him sedated so that he will not feel pain."
"I can do better," said Al-Zahrani. He turned from the doctor, drawing a semi-automatic pistol from a holster at his waist. In one smooth motion he aimed and fired. The bullet struck Rafiq in the center of his forehead. Rafiq Aswad, the young jihadist from Saudi Arabia, died instantly.
"Now, Mustafa, you shall find that watch. If he lost it outside of this compound, it could endanger our mission should it fall into the hands of the authorities," Al-Zahrani said turning to leave the room. He paused at the door and said, "And send two men to rid us of this piece of offal."
"As you command, Amir!" responded Al-Fakeeh. He stepped past Al-Zahrani and raced from the dispensary to carry out his commander's orders. Al-Zahrani scowled at the cooling corpse of Rafiq Aswad then followed Al-Fakeeh outside, cursing loudly!
Chapter 9
June 24th
Kingman, AZ
Four days later, Dave Johnson was in a hurry to get out of his office. Business is booming, he thought, and I've got to keep up with it. The Phelps order needs to go out today or there'll be hell to pay! As he moved quickly around his desk, his left thigh struck a corner of the desk. A sharp pain, far in excess of anything he'd experience before, shot through his thigh. The watch, he thought. Better check it...and my leg. First though, he paused to tell his dock foreman, Bill Kreel, to get the Phelps order prepped ASAP! Fortunately, the foreman was just around
the corner from Johnson's office door and it took only a moment to bring him up to speed on the rush order.
In the men's room, Johnson stepped into a stall and closed and locked the door. He pulled the watch from his left front pocket. A careful examination didn't reveal any damage so he set it on top of the toilet paper dispenser. Then he unbuckled his belt, opened his trousers, and pulled them down. His upper left thigh was bruised. In fact, the bruise seemed to be spreading before his eyes. Must have busted a blood vessel, Johnson thought. Damn! That's spreading pretty fast. Better go see the doctor...quick!
Johnson pulled his trousers up and fastened them and his belt. He dropped the watch back into his pocket before opening the stall door and leaving the restroom. He found his dock foreman and told he was going to the doctor then hurried out to his pickup truck. Fifteen minutes later, he was sitting on an examination table with his trousers down around his ankles.
Doctor Clark Turner had been Dave Johnson's physician for over two decades and had his offices in the city's largest hospital. Turner carefully examined the injury, touching it gently in several locations, and asking the usual, "Does it hurt here?" each time. Sweat broke out on Johnson's forehead as he winced with pain. Turner pulled a magnifying examination light into position and turned it on. Muttering quietly to himself, he carefully examined the skin around the growing bruise.
"Dave, did you burn yourself here recently?" the doctor asked.
Johnson shook his head. "No, Doc. That spot did itch a lot today...until I ran into that damned desk."
"Hmmm," the doctor said. "Well, you've ruptured a blood vessel alright, but there's something else going on in there as well. I want to get in there and close off that bleeder first then I'll take a look at the tissues around it."
Dave Johnson gulped and replied, "Okay, I guess. Yeah...sure!"
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