THE TOCABAGA CHRONICLES: (BOX SET - PART I - BOOKS #1-5)

by Thomas H. Ward

  “Shanda Jones,” she replied.

  Shanda was safe now and able to fill her little tummy. She was tired and starting to fall asleep. I watched her little eyes close as Amy wrapped her in her arms and took her home to a safe place to sleep for the night. We could ask her more questions tomorrow but now she needed to rest.

  A few of us sat around the main campfire downtown talking about how these people were willing to blow up a little girl to gain entrance into our compound. What dirt bags they were. What lowlifes they were to use a little girl by putting a bomb on her back? It was clear we were dealing with some dangerous and evil people that would resort to any measure to get what they want. Were they really that crazy? Maybe little Shanda could shed some light on this tomorrow after a good night’s sleep.

  I was thinking to myself, I want them all dead.

  April 22, 2025

  The next day Amy came to our house with Shanda. Hemmi gave the child a lot of attention and the little girl ate a lot. The cutie seemed happy being with us. No one asked her any questions and she could relax here, not fearing for her life. Amy and Hemmi took her on a tour of our compound and she drank her first Coke and had her first taste of chocolate, which was not common even for us but someone had been saving the candy and decided to give it to her.

  We didn’t go sniping and stood down for the time being. Shanda was our main concern and everyone wanted to meet her and show her love. She brought an infusion of new life, new hope, a reminder of what it is to be innocent. It made us all start to think about others that were out there in need of food and shelter.

  How many other kids were living in that cruel world with no hope? It broke my heart to think about it. It made us all wonder what we were doing to improve the situation for mankind. What were we doing to the little kids who had no concept of why people were fighting and killing each other? How could we make a difference?

  I remained in the background as Amy and Hemmi played with her.

  Later that day Amy asked her, “What is your mommy’s name?”

  “Her name is the same as mine,” Shanda said.

  “Why did you come out yesterday and walk down the road to us?” Amy asked.

  ”Because Mommy told me to go over the bridge and get some food. Everyone wants to have food. I could take some back to Mommy. She is hungry too.”

  “Shanda, where is your daddy and what is his name?” Amy inquired, in a soft voice.

  “My daddy is Big Jim. I don’t know where Daddy is,” replied Shanda, while smiling at Amy.

  The three of us just looked at each other in disbelief. Stunned, I got up and left the room. I killed her daddy.

  APRIL 23, 2025

  I woke up and thought Big Jim, the guy I killed, was her father! Now she had no father and didn’t know what would happen to her mother.

  I started to wonder was the bomb a fake? Did her Mother allow to her come to us so she could be saved? That way the other gang members would not be suspicious. I was pretty sure the mother did send her out but not to blow us up it was to save Shanda’s life.

  Maybe she just wanted her daughter to have something to eat and a safe place to stay, now that she had no one like Big Jim to protect her. Maybe she thought it was better to be with us than the gang. This theory could be correct, and if it was, maybe her mother was not a dirt bag like her father. The only way to find out was to verify if that bomb was real or not.

  It was about 10:30 am when all of a sudden I heard choppers coming. I rushed outside and saw the UH-60 Black Hawks fly directly overhead about 200 feet in the air. They were too many to count but I guessed there were about twenty of them. Two Black Hawks circled back and landed downtown near the Fire Station, which always flies the American Flag. The rest flew to the south toward NO MAN’S LAND. The Rangers were back, thank God!

  I jumped into my truck with Tommy, Robbie, and Eddy. We raced to meet the Rangers just a few minutes down the street. Arriving, I saw Rick was already there along with Captain Sessions, a full-bird Colonel and a one-star General, along with a four-man security detail dressed in black. These were the General’s security guards and they are real pros at what they do. There were also four other Rangers who I assumed were assigned to the Colonel under Captain Sessions.

  We got out of the truck and walked up next to Rick. We all stood there in a straight line; Rick, Tommy, Eddy, Robbie, Mathews, and I.

  Captain Sessions approached in the lead and said, “Hello gentlemen, it is good to see you once again. I would like to introduce my commanding officers, General Harper and Colonel Turner.”

  They went down the line shaking hands and we each introduced ourselves and told them our positions.

  When the General stepped up to Tommy he said, “Are you Tommy Gunn, the Marine Sniper with 45 confirmed kills?”

  Tommy replied, “Yes sir General, retired Marine now sir.”

  General Harper said, “It is an honor to meet a Silver Star winner.”

  The men in black were watching everything and everyone, forming a protective circle around the group. Three of them carried M4 carbines and one carried a SAW M249, which is a Squad Automatic Weapon, a light machine gun that holds a 100-round drum of 5.56 bullets.

  Rick suggested, “Let’s go into the church and talk in the shade, out of the bright sun and heat.”

  Sessions agreed, “Good idea.”

  One of the security men said, “Sir, we have to check the church first.”

  Two men went inside for five minutes and then called out, “General Harper Sir, it’s all clear.”

  They followed us inside the church to the small conference room.

  General Harper got down to business saying, “Gentlemen, let’s not beat around the bush our country is in a serious state. Captain Sessions told me about your compound, how you run things and follow the Constitution of the United States. As you may know the President has declared a state of emergency invoking the Executive Order 13603, which basically declares the government owns all property, homes, guns, money, and even your kids.

  “Gentlemen, we Rangers do not believe that order to be lawful or Constitutional and therefore will not follow it. We have put out a warrant for the arrest of the President for treason. When I say we I mean all Special Forces, Rangers, Delta Force, Green Berets, Seals, Marines and Air Force special ops. The rest of the Military is standing down for now. As you may know the President has the Federal Police Force under the Secret Service, a force of about 50,000 men, protecting him and the Congress in Washington. Make no mistake, we will arrest or eliminate anyone who may stand in our way. We have to regain control of our country.

  “We intend to replace all members of Congress who are communists, and hold new elections sometime in the future. In addition the heads of the FBI, CIA, NSA, IRS, EPA, etc., and the entire Cabinet will be charged with treason for following his orders.”

  The President started a draft but not for the military, it is for the new Federal Police Force or FPF. Their job would be to start green safe zones in the cities and guard the electric power plants and water supplies. They were to keep things running and generally enforce the laws. The Federal Police have all the same weapons, trucks, and tanks that the Army does. There were now 50,000 new police officers. Even this number could not control the situation. The President put into effect Presidential Executive Order 13603, which to everyone’s surprise, declares that all property belongs to the Federal government. They could tell you where to live and where to work.

  “We operate under SOCOM based in Tampa, commanded by four-star General McNab. Our job is to secure a base of operations to gain control of the west coast of Florida. We want to put a base here and I assume you all would agree to this in short order as my Rangers are on the way. I just had 80 men land at what you call No Man’s Land. We plan to have 580 Rangers based here within the next five days, most are coming by truck with supplies and so forth. The Rangers are from the 3rd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment and also the 7th Special Forces group. Both
are under SOCOM, Special Operations Command.

  “I would like to house some families here for protection as they are in great danger of being arrested by the Federal Police Force. There are about 250 wives and children. Now, any questions or comments?”

  I asked, “How will you remove the President?”

  ”Our forces will move on Washington and arrest the President, his communist cabinet or anyone else we have identified as a communist in the Executive Branch. This will include any affiliated Senator or Congressman. They will all be put on military trial for treason and breach of their oath of office. If the FPF stands in our way they will be run over.

  “General McNab will be acting President along with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. New elections will be held as soon as possible. First however, we must get this crime and terrorism under control, thereby restoring law and order. It’s a big job but some states like Utah, Arizona, Texas and Montana are already under control. We have new enlistments joining our forces every day. The worst places are Washington, New York, L.A., and generally the northeast and west coast. Any states that do not support this cause will have their Governors arrested and also put on trial.”

  Tommy asked, “How long will this take?”

  The General replied, “We expect it may take up to another year. This is why your support is critical.”

  Rick stated, “Your Rangers and their families are more than welcome here. We stand behind you 100% and agree that the President overstepped his lawful bounds, while a spineless Congress did nothing to stop him. We need new elections. We are lucky to have you here. If you give us a list of the family names we will select proper housing for them and assign people to help them move into the compound.”

  The General replied, “Thank you Rick, for your comments. We feel right at home here already. Now if I may, I would like Jack, your Director of Security, and Tommy Gunn to take us on a tour around the island.”

  I responded, “Yes Sir, we will take two trucks; one for all of us and one for your security team.”

  Captain Sessions replied, “Ok mount up. Security take the red truck, and we’ll be in the blue one.”

  I drove with the General sitting next to me and Tommy in the back seat with the Colonel and Captain.

  The General asked, “Have you had any trouble here over the last year?”

  Tommy answered, “Yes Sir we have had small groups of five to ten people try to breach our island but they gave up real quick when they saw how many men we have. Our biggest skirmish happened five days ago. Captain Sessions warned us of ten cars about 60 miles away coming in our direction; they arrived here a few days later.

  “There were about forty gang members at the start and we had a couple of battles with them right here at the main bridge. We eliminated about 20 of them. We aren’t sure but we think some of them are hiding in the first high-rise down the road about a mile. They did manage to kill two of our people, sorry to say.”

  Captain Sessions asked, “Which gang are they affiliated with?”

  “Captain, we don’t know and we didn’t ask them as we were too busy shooting. All their bodies were thrown into the shark-infested waters here. We called them fish food.”

  Everyone got a good laugh from that comment. The Captain had a point, as the gang name may be important. I hoped there weren’t more of them coming because I knew some gangs can have several hundred members.

  We pulled up to the bridge and everyone climbed out of the trucks. We had ten guards posted on duty. Everyone watched as the General walked with us over the bridge and surveyed the area.

  General Harper said, “We are going to put one Abrams Tank at the foot of the bridge and two Bradley fighting vehicles with four guards 24-7 as soon as they arrive in a few days. Then your security problems are over. As far as any group that may still be in that building I will have my Rangers remove them. Colonel, please take care of that.”

  Colonel Turner replied, “Yes Sir General, right away Sir.”

  Turner was on his satellite phone talking to someone in less than a minute.

  I told the General, “Your security is appreciated. As for the gang, we are not sure they are all bad, some may be held against their will and some are women. We managed to save four little kids and one woman, who were being held as slaves. They tried to sell them to us.”

  Harper said, “Slaves, my God! This country has gone to hell!”

  Then I told them the story about little Shanda coming to us and the bomb in her backpack. The Colonel got on his phone immediately and in 15 minutes a Black Hawk flew overhead and landed in the road.

  Out jumped one Ranger who said, “Master Sergeant Smith, reporting as ordered.”

  “Jack, can you take Master Sergeant Smith to where the bomb bag is located? He will inspect and disarm it on the spot,” ordered Colonel Turner.

  I replied, “Ok, Master Sergeant, let’s go.” As we walked down the road the chopper took off, blowing dust in our faces while we held on to our hats.

  We reached the spot where I sank the bomb and I told Smith there was a radio wired up to it. He pulled the bag to the surface of the water, peeked inside for a minute, and retrieved the radio.

  Smith said, “Nothing to worry about; the radio is dead from the saltwater and it is not wired. The dynamite is real however.”

  That meant my theory about Shanda’s mother was correct. She was not a dirt bag who wanted to murder everyone, including her daughter.

  Going back to the bridge, I asked the Colonel, “When your men go into the building can you have them look for a woman named Shanda, and have her brought here, so she can be reunited with her daughter?”

  Turner affirmed, “Roger that, on with the tour.”

  On our way to the bridge at NO MAN’S LAND a little sign on the side of the road that had been there for years read BURIAL MOUND of the TOCABAGA Indians.

  The General said, “Interesting, I will name this island compound CAMP TOCABAGA in honor of the original inhabitants, the Indians, and NO MAN’S LAND is Fort DeSoto, the original 1898 name of this fort.

  “Jack, do you have an email address?”

  I replied, “No, I don’t now but I used to have one a few years ago. The internet doesn’t work well anymore.”

  “I suggest you set up an email address that you can use to communicate with me and others. How does tocabaga.jack sound to you? It is easy to remember. You can tap into our Army wireless email system. Captain Sessions will set up your own Army Gmail account and issue you a new super smart phone.”

  ”Thank you, that sounds good to me. We may need to keep in contact.”

  “Yes we will Jack, as my wife and little boy will be coming here to live and I am making you my primary contact. I’ll be counting on you to watch out for them since you are Director of Security here. I would like you to notify me if any problems arise.”

  “No problem, General, I will watch them as I do my own family, so no need to worry. I will arrange some housing close to mine and provide your wife with whatever she may need.”

  “Thank you Jack I know I can count on you and the good people living here. It is a great relief to know they will be safe.”

  Pulling up to the bridge to NO MAN’S LAND the General said, “I have eighty men now securing Fort Desoto and getting it ready for the rest of the Rangers. Please have these cars moved out of the way. Also, move the cars at the main bridge when our convoy shows up.”

  I asked Tommy, “Can you make sure that is done?”

  Tommy replied, “Yes Sir, no problem.”

  Tommy had the cars moved to the side of the road.

  I told the Colonel and Captain, “Your Rangers can make use of these cars if they need them for patrols. The keys are in the ignition. This channel is called the shark channel. It is full of sharks and fast-moving water. If anyone tries to breach the island this is a weak point that should be guarded. We had one man killed here when the gang tried to land here the other day.”

  Captain Sessions re
plied, “I understand and will place two men here 24-7 as this is the entrance to the Fort. That takes care of the north and south bridges. What about the east and west side of the island?”

  I informed him, “We put four men on each side. If you’d like, we can still cover that or we can show you the locations we use for the best views.”

  Captain Sessions commented, “We will cover that also in the future. Please have one of your men show Master Sergeant Smith the locations.”

  I got on the radio and called Eddy, asking him to show Sergeant Smith the east and west side security points.

  We jumped back into the trucks and drove into NO MAN’S LAND.

  I told them, “Please note we are farming this land and it helps feed our compound. The gardens are outlined with white string on sticks. Our people come here almost every day to tend the crops.”

  We pulled up to the old fort built in 1898, now the headquarters, set up by the Rangers. Colonel Turner told Captain Sessions to warn the men not to destroy the gardens. Lucky for us the Black Hawks did not land in the fields but in the roadway.

  Satisfied that his men were progressing well at Fort Desoto the General said, “Let’s go back to town.”

  I asked the General, “How about some grilled fish and fruit for lunch?”

  “That sounds great, Jack,” replied General Harper.

  We loaded into the trucks and headed downtown to the bar.

  The General asked me, “How do you feed everyone?”

  “All most everyone provides for their own family. But we have community fishermen, hunters and farmers who mass-produce what we eat. It is brought to our three restaurants to divide up. Anyone can choose their portion between the hours of 7am to 9pm. We have a goal of 500 pounds of fish a day and whatever rabbits or squirrels are killed over in NO MAN’S LAND, excuse me, I mean Fort Desoto. In addition, we have a chicken farm here supplying eggs and sometimes the whole chicken. It is just down the road about a half mile. The chicken farmer lives there.”