The Arizona State Guard Trilogy
Page 42
“It shall be as you say, my caliph; Allah be praised,” responded Al Zahrani.
“Allah be praised indeed, my faithful one!” answered Suleyman.
**********
September 13th
Valle del Sol Hospice Center
Phoenix, Arizona
In the dimly lit hospice room of Liam W. Evanston, his son and niece sat quietly listening to the rasping breathing of the shrunken husk that lay upon the bed and the beeps of the heart monitor. Just before midnight, the shallow, rhythmic sound of Evanston’s breathing changed to a brief coughing fit and then stopped. His heart continued to beat for a single moment longer then the bouncing line on the heart rate monitor flatlined. A doctor and a nurse rushed into the room.
The doctor checked for a pulse and respiration…but found none. The doctor glanced at the clock on the wall…it read 11: 58 p.m. After he expressed his regrets to the man’s family, the doctor would log the time of death on the patient’s chart. He drew the sheet over the man’s head and turned to speak with the family.
Liam W. Evantson, author and American patriot, was dead.
Chapter 5
September 20th
ASGuard Command
Verde Valley, AZ
The sun was well above the horizon and the air was already warm. ASGuard troopers in their dress uniforms were formed into uniform ranks and stood at parade rest. Local, state, and national guests filled the bleachers to one side of the front gate to the ASGuard’s new primary base. The Mingus Union High School Band from Cottonwood was warming up.
An air traffic controller in the helicopter control tower commed Colonel Marcus Aurelius Roman to report the approach of General Titus Roman’s ACV, leading a long column of other ASGuard vehicles. The controller added that five flights of ASGuard helicopters were approaching from the south to perform a flyover. Marcus thanked her and signaled his senior officers and non-commissioned officers and the bandleader to stand ready.
Moments later, Marcus could see his father’s armored command vehicle nearing the gate. He snapped to attention, did an about face, the called out “Troopers, ten hut!” The tiny microphone and transmitter attached to his lapel carried his voice to speakers positioned around the field. Every ASGuard trooper snapped to attention. Many veterans in the bleachers came close to snapping to as well!
Marcus did another about face as the general’s ACV entered the gate and came to a halt in front of the formation. Other vehicles entered the base and parked, flanking the general’s ACV. The doors and hatches of the column’s vehicles opened and the ASGuard personnel within exited their vehicles. They formed up ranks in front of their vehicles and snapped to attention.
When all personnel were in place, Governor Alvarez stepped from General Roman’s vehicle and was quickly followed by General Titus Augustus Roman and his wife, Marion. They in turn were followed by Kenneth Halsted, Jake Evanston, and his cousin, Jessica.
General Roman marched forward until he stood in front of his son. Marcus brought his right arm up and saluted his father. “Sir! The 1st Tactical Battalion, Roman’s Legion, welcomes you to the Verde Valley!”
General Roman returned the saluted and replied, “Thank you, colonel! Please, put your troopers at parade rest.” The general’s hidden microphone carried his voice to everyone on the field. Marcus did another about face and called out, “Parade, hess!” The ASGuard troopers dropped into the more comfortable position with feet apart and hands behind their backs. Marcus turned and stepped next to his father and went to parade rest himself. The general turned to face the governor.
Governor Eleanor Alvarez stepped forward and presented Titus and Marcus each with a new flag. “Ladies and gentleman, honored guests, troopers of the Arizona State Guard…it is an honor to be here with you. Today, we are assembled to activate this new base to serve as the headquarters and primary training facility for our Arizona State Guard. While we have gone to considerable expense to renovate older buildings and construct other new facilities in Phoenix for the ASGuard, in recent months they have outgrown those facilities.”
“Additionally, this base is part of our new, national and state policies of dispersing our people, infrastructure, industries, and defenses in order to protect them from potential attack. The monies spent on the old ASGuard facilities will not go to waste. Already, several industrial corporations are preparing to re-utilize the old Armory for a variety of manufacturing, logistics, and training purposes.”
“This morning, I signed an executive order activating this base, ASGuard Command, as their new primary base of operations. I have just given the general and Colonel Roman two flags to be raised above this post. Gentlemen, please do so now!”
The Romans, father and son, each marched to a flag pole where troopers waited to assist them. Marcus and his trooper clipped their flag to the halyard and working together they raised the Arizona State Flag to the top of its pole. A moment later, Titus and his trooper raised the general’s flag. As it reached the top of its pole, General Roman’s voiced boomed out over the field, “I hereby activate ASGuard Command and assume command of this installation!” Titus and Marcus tied off their halyards then returned to face the governor. Halting in front of their chief executive, they both rendered salutes and waited until Governor Alvarez saluted in return.
More speeches followed for the better part of half an hour as the mayors of surrounding cities officially welcomed the governor and the ASGuard. Finally, the speeches were over and the troops were called back to attention and then dismissed. Troopers, guests, families, and friends began to mingle, shake hands, hug, and talk.
General Roman took the governor, his wife, his old friend Halsted, and other dignitaries on a tour of the new headquarters building. Marcus, his executive officer, and sergeant major led another group around the base showing off the flightline, basic training center, firearms training range, and other points of interest. The tours lasted until lunch, which was served in the base’s new dining facility.
Finally, the local citizens and most of the visiting dignitaries were bid farewell and were escorted from the base. General Roman gathered his senior personnel in one of the ASGuard’s new briefing theaters. The general took the stage and everyone in the theater quieted down.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the Arizona State Guard, you have done an old soldier proud!” Titus Roman began. “This new installation has come online early and under budget. The facilities I’ve toured look great! Our move was completed promptly and efficiently. And our activation ceremony was an apparent hit with everyone. Congratulations…to each and every one of you!” Those gathered in the theater broke into applause. Titus smiled and waited until they stopped before continuing.
“Please share my congratulations and my thanks with each of your troopers. They’ve done a tremendous job in a short amount of time!” He paused again and looked at Governor Alvarez sitting in the front row. “Governor, would you care to come up and speak to your Arizona State Guard?”
Governor Ellie Alvarez rose from her seat and walked up the steps onto the stage to stand next to General Roman. “Thank you, General Roman! And thank all of you for a job very well done! I’m proud of all of you!” She paused to listen to the ASGuard troopers applaud again. “As the general said, the federal government has issued broad instructions for each state to reduce the sizes of our cities by moving industries, military installations, and personnel, to include civilians to less densely populated locations. There are three major benefits of this policy. First, it increases the survivability of our people, our industries, and our infrastructure. Second, it alleviates many of the problems faced by overcrowding in the cities. And third, our economy is booming, employment is up, and unemployment and crime are down!” More cheering filled the room.
General Roman stepped forward again. “As the governor mentioned, there is a military rationale to this move…dispersing our assets to protect them from attack. For the last few years, we have been quite successful in protec
ting our state and its citizens from attacks from drug cartels and terrorists. The federal government now suspects the threat level across the country is on the rise. The Islamic Global Caliphate continues to spread across the globe. And there is intelligence that the PSSA are preparing to ally themselves with the IGC to smash the U.S.”
The ASGuard officers and non-commissioned officers in the room grew serious. They had heard rumors or “scuttle butt” about this possibility but nothing official…until now!
“Ken Halsted of the CBII is here to brief us on what the federal government knows. Ken?” the general nodded to his old friend. Halsted left his seat and made his way to the stage.
“Howdy, troopers! Great job getting these new digs set up and occupied in record time! Well done!” Halsted began. He was a retired U.S. Army officer and had led troops in battle. He recognized a great organization when he saw one. “As your liaison to the federal government, it is my pleasure to be here but also a great sadness to be the bearer of bad news. To put it succinctly, yes, the Piss Ants are working out an alliance with the IGC. Our deep cover assets within the IGC have reported that Caliph Mahmud Muhammed Suleyman has sent his number one field agent, Abdul Aziz Mohammed Al Zahrani, to meet with President-for-life Carrington.”
The ASGuard were familiar with Al Zahrani, who had led the terror attacks upon Arizona cities that had been disrupted by the Arizona State Guard. How he escaped capture and left the country was still a mystery…and a sore spot with the leadership of the ASGuard.
“What we’ve been able to determine is that conditions are growing increasingly bad in the PSSA. Carrington needs troops…not just to attack the U.S. but also to keep down a budding rebellion within her socialist utopia. The caliph has millions of trained and faithful warriors around the globe, captured military equipment…ships, aircraft, tanks, artillery, and so on. Thank God and a modicum of good fortune that the nuclear arsenals of the fallen countries did not fall into the IGC’s hands. But thanks to their scientists and engineers in Iran and Pakistan and their friends in North Korea, they do have a limited low-level nuclear capability.”
Halsted paused to let that sink in before continuing. “So, they might be able to hit us from ships off shore but not very hard or very far inland from the coasts. What they can do, however, is send millions of their warriors along with military materiel into PSSA territories along the Atlantic and the Pacific and into the countries south of our borders. Once they consolidate their forces and pacify any resistance, there’s only one objective left for them…us!”
**********
September 20th
The People’s Palace
The District
Al Zahrani sat near President Sherrill Carrington in a quiet parlor; sipping coffee. He smiled as he reported, “I am pleased to tell you that our first ships are arriving this evening in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Spokane. Our warriors, their vehicles, and equipment should begin disembarking tomorrow.”
Carrington returned the Arab’s smile. “That is good news, Abdul! The director of my National Security Forces informed me today that the radical elements within our borders are growing. Your warriors will prove vital in suppressing those radicals.”
“Our warriors, Sherrill…our warriors,” responded Al Zahrani, giving the PSSA president the impression that the IGC troops would be under her control. “You and I shall secure your nation...all of it!” He smiled at her again. Al Zahrani had used his wiles to sway other women before and they were working upon Carrington as well.
“Yes, Abdul…we will secure the People’s Socialist States of America…to keep the Socialist Agenda alive in America! Once we complete our briefings…would you be interested in a personal guided tour of the private residence?” Carrington asked, enthralled by Al Zahrani sexual aura.
“Why, Sherrill, that would be delightful!” said Al Zahrani, running the fingers of his right hand gently over the back of her left hand. A sexual thrill run up Carrington’s arm and she slid slightly closer to Al Zahrani.
My caliph…the things I do for you! Al Zahrani thought to himself, surrendering himself to the inevitability of having to seduce…and sleep with…this infidel to further his mission. Many of the women he’d had to seduce through the years had been beautiful, others not. Carrington fell in the latter category. Ah…yes! The mission must come first!
In the residence, the tour soon led, of course, to the Presidential Bedroom. Carrington offered Al Zahrani a choice of alcohols and drugs, all of which the Arab declined. Some prohibitions he refused to indulge even though the caliph had given him dispensation to do so in order to gain the trust of the infidels. He had witnessed men lose themselves to such vices and become worthless to their leaders.
Carrington offered her visitor a comfortable chair and excused herself. Al Zahrani turned the chair so that his back would be to the nearest corner and sat down. He looked about the opulently decorated room. He thought, Ah, Western decadence unleashed!
The lights in the room dimmed. Al Zahrani turned his gaze towards the doorway Carrington had stepped through. She stood there, silhouetted by a low-watt light in the room behind her. Her stocky form was visible through a filmy gown of silk. Al Zahrani sighed silently to himself but smiled at Carrington as he began to remove his shoes.
**********
September 20th
ASGuard Command
Verde Valley, AZ
The national security briefing over, General Roman prepared to address one more solemn topic with the personnel under his command. “Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, we ASGuard troopers have chosen to have our remains cremated upon our deaths and be interred in our own sacred place of honor. With the move of our headquarters to this new installation, we have arranged to have a new place of interment prepared and the remains of our fallen were carried with us in the move. Tomorrow morning, we’ll hold a special ceremony and Chaplain Terry Travers shall bless the site. Until then, let’s fall in at the Club!”
With that, General Roman left the stage. Colonel Marcus Roman called the theater to attention as the general and the governor left the room. Once they’d passed through the doorway into the hallway beyond, Marcus dismissed the officers and NCOs. Personnel quickly filed from the room and made their way to another new facility nearby.
General Roman, his wife, and the governor stood before the main doors of the ASGuard’s new all-ranks club, a combination restaurant and bar. When everyone had assembled, the general presented the governor and his wife with a giant pair of ‘gold’ scissors. Marion Roman and Ellie Alvarez made a big show of cutting the large ribbon across the doors. The ribbon parted and General Roman waved everyone in. “The first round is on me!” he told them.
Chapter 6
October 16th
The People’s Palace
The District
Al Zahrani had spent the morning briefing President Carrington on the status of IGC personnel being deployed to the PSSA’s coastal states. He proudly announced that the deployment was ahead of schedule in terms of personnel and military materiel. It seems that the caliph had provided additional ocean vessels and aircraft to speed the movement of his warriors and their equipment to the PSSA.
“Excellent, Abdul!” Carrington said. “The sooner your forces have been adequately reinforced my National Security Forces, the sooner they and the NSF can begin the pacification of dissidents within the People’s Socialist States. Once they are crushed, we can turn our attention to those damned redneck rebels in ‘Fly-over Country’ and crush them as well!”
“I warn you not to underestimate those so-called ‘rednecks’, Sherrill,” Al Zahrani said gently to avoid angering the mercurial woman. “They have been extremely successful thus far and it will take guile, surprise, superior strategy, and the rapid replacement of warriors and resupply to defeat them. The caliph, may the blessings of Allah be upon him, understands this. He has sent me to assist you in your time of need.” Al Zahrani said the last as a double entendre t
o remind the woman of their recent sexual liaisons.
“Yes, yes…Abdul, you are correct. And I will rely heavily upon you in the days to come!” responded Carrington, fully cognizant of the Arab’s double meaning and providing one of her own.
Al Zahrani smiled at Carrington and said, “Very well, my dear! We shall proceed expeditiously with reaching our full complement of warriors and their equipment before proceeding to the next phase and purging your NSF of any personnel not fully committed to the cause.”
There was a knock from the door. Carrington signaled her aide to answer. The aide return a moment later, escorting a tall, stocky, blond-haired man. Carrington smiled as she recognized her visitor and rose to greet him.
“Phillip, thank you for joining us!” said Carrington. “Please, allow me to present Abdul Aziz Mohammed Al Zahrani. Abdul, this is Phillip Caldwell, formerly of the Combined Bureau of Intelligence and Investigation…and before that the United States Army. Now, due to some…philosophical disagreements with his previous employers, Phillip has joined my NSF…and will serve as your liaison.”
The two men eyed each other warily. Each know of the other and that person’s background. What should have set them against one another was set aside for commonly shared goals…revenge against the new United States and the death of Colonel Marcus Aurelius Roman of the Arizona State Guard.
Roman had been a thorn in Caldwell’s side since their early days together in the military. Caldwell’s blind hatred and jealousy of Roman’s natural leadership abilities and family’s legacy had poisoned him towards the ASGuard officer. Caldwell’s failures with the CBII had led to his dismissal. Always a mercenary at heart, Caldwell had sold his body and soul to the People’s Socialist States of America.