Chapter 8
Planning For War
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“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”
—Ronald Reagan
General Davies, I guess I have to start by asking what the Alabama militia is doing here in New York and where are you heading?” I started.
“Please call me Lenard,” he began. “Well, we heard that there were two young chaps who were giving the Socialist and Russian armies quite the fit, so we decided that we would attempt to find them and see if we could provide them with some degree of assistance. I’ll have you know, we heard that the two of them took out several tanks, drones, and over a hundred soldiers in one afternoon. Quite impressive don’t you think?”
“Leonard, I think,” I began as he interrupted.
“Good god man, please do not call me that confounded name, my name is not Leonard, it is Lenard. Le followed by nard. Imagine Lard with an N in the place of the L. Le-Nard!” he said with emotional fervor.
“I’m sorry, Lenard,” I said with emphasis. “I think you heard about Adam and me, just before we arrived at General Thomas’ camp several days ago. We obliterated tanks, drones, soldiers and the like.”
Looking at General Thomas, Lenard spoke, “Good god man, his English is deplorable is it not?”
Grant was laughing as he replied, “He’s just a good old southern boy Lenard. He’ll grow on you.”
“What did I miss?” Adam asked as he plopped down beside me in the grass.
Looking at Adam all I could muster was a “Ggrrr,” with a roll of my eyes.
General Thomas stated, “Just pleasantries Adam, we were waiting for you so we could get started. You will be a big part of this Vermont thing,” he said, as he rested his left hand on Adam’s shoulder. “We’ll be depending on you, son,” he said as he looked over at me with a smile and winked.
Again, all I could muster was a low growl “GGrrr,” as I shook my head and looked down at my feet.
General Davies pulled out a faded, yellow map that looked like it came from an old atlas and laid it out on the ground. Clearly, the entire page was of Vermont.
“Been planning this for a while have you?” I asked.
Looking at me in astonishment General Davies started, “I say again man, deplorable English indeed! If you will look here,” he said as he pointed at the map. “My intelligence suggests that the Socialist and Russian armies have gathered to form a stronghold here, at a place called Brattleboro Vermont.” He was pointing at a spot just slightly to the north of Brattleboro.
“We have acquired the same intelligence,” I informed him.
“Jolly good, old chap. Then there must be some smattering of truth to this information. We also heard that The Bear and his armies were assembled there, just outside of a town called Brattleboro, and were awaiting orders from Mr. Obama himself. We ideally considered, that, if we could get there, we could surprise them and have a wonderful little scurry indeed,” General Davies said.
“We had him as a prisoner,” Adam replied.
Looking at Adam, “Who?” General Davies asked.
“The Bear!” I stated matter-of-factly.
Looking at Adam, then back at me and settling on eye contact with General Thomas he started, “My god man! You have The Bear as a prisoner? Why didn’t you bloody well say so? That is glorious news. Did you kill him? Can I see the body?” Lenard anxiously asked.
Clearing his throat, General Thomas asked, “Would you like some company on your trek up to Brattleboro Lenard?”
“First things first, General Thomas, what of The Bear?” he asked again.
“He escaped General! But that’s water under the bridge now. Can we please move on in our plans here?” I said as I looked down at my feet and then to the map.
Still attempting to change the subject, General Thomas asked once again, “Lenard would you like some company on your trek to Brattleboro?” As they made eye contact, General Davies appeared to get the message and dropped the conversation about The Bear.
“Why General Thomas, that would be utterly stupendous. We were actually on our way to meet up with the New Hampshire 27th Militia on the eastern side of a place called Schenectady. There are rumored to be approximately eight hundred men in that particular militia. Those men, along with your two hundred or so, and our eleven hundred, we will have quite a large group to attack those bloody Russians.”
“I have an idea,” Adam said, as he looked up at the group and waited for a reply.
I sat deep in thought stroking my beard once again. Ever since this damn war started I have taken to rubbing on my beard when thinking about something serious. At this point, I have no idea if it is done as a necessity or out of habit. I do know that I cannot help myself.
“Let’s hear it Major,” General Thomas ordered.
“All of us go to Schenectady. We assemble there, count our men, distribute supplies, and have a quick meeting about what we are going to do. Then we break into three groups of equally divided men. One group attacks from the east. Once the Socialists are focused on that group in battle, another group comes in from the north. Just as they are trying to figure that out, the last group comes in from the west. Because they will outnumber us three to one, that will come close to evening things up a bit with a staggered attack. And a surprise, is a surprise. But damn! What a surprise that would be for them to have us on three sides.” Adam concluded with, “Just an idea is all.”
Continuing to stroke my beard, I went deeper in thought as I studied the map.
There was silence among the group for a few minutes. General Thomas finally spoke. “I think that’s a fine idea Adam.”
Adam continued, “Without radios, we would have to set up a specific time for everyone to be on site, ready to go. Once the attack starts, there can be no turning back. If one group isn’t ready, we are all done.”
“We can decide on the time for the attack once we are all together, just before we split up,” I said.
“That would be the way to go about it,” General Thomas said.
“Done?” I asked
“Done!” General Thomas replied.
“Deal!” Adam said.
We all looked to General Davies who was opening up an old leather satchel and then he slowly pulled out a nice, old aluminum canteen that was covered with an OD green, canvas cover. “Shall we seal the deal with a spot of tea?” he asked, as he held up the canteen toward us, after taking a sip.
I looked at Adam, I looked at Grant, and I looked at Lenard and shook my head. “Really? Tea?” Tea was much like coffee in 2028. You were even luckier to find tea than coffee. “Where did you get tea General?” I asked.
“My good man, a proper Englishman never wanders far from his home without an appropriate supply of tea leaves,” he said smiling, and opened his satchel to show us quite the supply of tea bags. It appeared that all he had in the satchel were tea bags, a couple of maps, and his canteen.
“How do you brew it General?” Adam asked.
“I have a clear, glass gallon container that travels with me. Whenever we stop, I fill it with water, hang the tea bags inside, and leave it in the sun. In a few hours I have freshly brewed tea,” he said as he lifted the canteen to his lips once again. “Would you like a sip good Sir?” he asked as he offered me the canteen.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I said shaking my head and looked to Adam. “Major, go meet with General Davies men and find out what ammunition and weaponry we have available. Be sure we take everything we can off the dead. At least we do not have to worry about the ATF. And gather up some of those lemon grenades, those things are the shit.”
“Cheerio!” General Davies said as he raised his canteen and took another sip.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was a federal law enforcement organi
zation within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities included the investigation and prevention of federal offenses involving the unlawful use, manufacture and possession of firearms and explosives; acts of arson and bombings; and illegal trafficking of alcohol and tobacco products. The ATF also regulated the licensing, sale, possession, and transportation of firearms, ammunition, and explosives in interstate commerce. Many of ATF’s activities were carried out in conjunction with task forces made up of state and local law enforcement officers, such as Project Safe Neighborhoods.
In the wake of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, on September 11, 2001 President George W. Bush signed into law the Homeland Security Act of 2002. In addition to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the law shifted ATF from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of Justice. The agency’s name was changed to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. However, the agency still was referred to as the “ATF” for all purposes.
Additionally, the task of the collection of federal tax revenue derived from the production of tobacco and alcohol products and the regulatory function related to protecting the public in issues related to the production of alcohol, previously handled by the Bureau of Internal Revenue as well as by ATF, was transferred to the newly established Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which remained within the Treasury Department.11
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was yet another reminder of everything that had become wrong with the American government. By the time our country began to collapse, there was a government entity that oversaw every single aspect of American life. There was nowhere to hide from the rules, restrictions and regulations that our elected politicians made law for us. By the time President Obama nullified the election process and began appointing all members of the Congress, the Senate, the House, and other government entities; it was far too late for our society. The America that we had known and loved was over. And while many presidents and politicians contributed to the demise of our country, it was President Obama who saw the final destruction through to the end.
“Paul, I’m thinking we should leave day after tomorrow to try to meet up with the New Hampshire boys. What are your thoughts?” General Thomas asked.
I stood up from my seated position, stroked my beard a few times, looked down at General Thomas and General Davies and said, “I think that will be fine,” as I turned and began to walk off. After walking about ten steps I stopped, turned and looked at General Davies. When our eyes met I said, “It was my fault, General. I let him get away. I can assure you, I won’t let it happen again!” Then I turned and walked away.
Chapter 9
Adam, Hannah, Lily, and Paul
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Piglet: How do you spell love?
Pooh: You don’t spell it. You feel it.
—A.A. Milne
I am sure Generals Thomas and Davies were wondering why I was so quick to agree to a day after tomorrow start to our impending march toward a battle with The Bear and his soldiers. As much as I wanted to say that the reason was so our soldiers could rest, that would be a lie. The truth of the matter was, that I had some personal things I needed to handle. Namely, two people called Adam and Lily. There had not been time for me to digest it all yet. How could he do this to me? She was my daughter, for heaven’s sake. After all, he was my protégé’. I was his mentor. What the hell was he thinking? Did he not understand how fragile she was after her three-year ordeal? No, I needed answers, and I needed understanding. But more importantly, I needed time. I sat down on a small clump of green grass by an old sidewalk near a decrepit street and began to think.
Maybe ten minutes into my alone time, “Penny for you thoughts?” Hannah asked, sitting down beside me. She put her arm around my neck.
“I don’t even know where to begin right now Hannah,” I replied.
“Do you know what I remember?” she asked.
Turning to look into those beautiful, blue eyes that I could still get lost in, I asked, “What’s that baby?”
“I’ve been thinking about that first day we met,” she said as she smiled and began to blush a little.
I smiled back and looked out across the open field at the soldiers assembling makeshift tents, while they laughed and joked.
“As soon as I looked up from the phone, before I even heard your name, my heart jumped. There you were, my knight in shining armor. We had not even spoken a word to each other and I already knew that my life had just taken a turn. I think I loved you then, at that moment. For days, weeks, months, I was consumed with thinking of you. Everyone told me, he’s a cop, leave him alone. He will surely break your heart. But it was too late. I knew what I wanted, I knew what I needed, and I knew what was supposed to be.”
Taking her arm from my neck and still touching my arm, she continued, “Look at me, Paul.”
I looked at her and our hearts connected. I felt that unmistakable swelling of love in my heart and soul. I felt a tear in my eye. God, I loved this woman.
“I tried to deny my love for you. I tried to get over it like my friends asked. But the heart wants what the heart wants. And mine wanted you. No one, absolutely no one could have torn us way from each other. Do you remember that Paul? Do you remember those feelings of true love that you never expected when you walked up to me that day?”
“I remember all too well, Hannah,” I replied with a slight smile.
“We’ve talked about this before. We didn’t choose us, God did. He gave you to me and he gave me to you. I know that fact with everything that I am. Paul, how could we have survived through all of these last ten years, if He had not ordained our love? You are the man I was destined to be with before I was ever born into this world. I believe that Paul. I know it. And as much as I know that about us, I know others have the same type of love. No one plans it. No one maps it all out. The timing has to be right and then it happens.”
“Is there a point to this Hannah? I know all of this already,” I said as I looked at her.
“My point is, like it or not, Lily is a grown woman. Adam is a grown man. We brought him into her life. We have her back on our lives after three years Paul. Three long years she was a prisoner and was kept away from us. Be glad that she is still here. Be glad she still is able to feel love. Be glad that she has found a good man that you love like a son. And don’t tell me you don’t, I’ve seen you with him. Your heart swells with pride when you two fight and plan. Think about it Paul. Maybe God brought you and me together, so he could have Adam and Lily together. Who knows?”
She paused, as I blinked back a tear that threatened to spill onto my right cheek. I leaned over and rested my head on her shoulder.
“Give them some space, let them figure this out. Love both of them and support them. They didn’t plan this, it just happened. Do not interfere with them. I mean it. Promise me you will not meddle and will let them sort this out?” she pleaded.
Looking into her eyes again, “How do you always know what to say to get me to do what you want?”
“That’s easy. I’m a woman, and you love me,” she replied as she smiled widely.
“I’ll let them alone. As usual, you are right. But it isn’t going to be easy, I can assure you that!” I exclaimed.
“That’s all I ask darling, all that I ask,” she said as she stood up. “I love you,” she softly spoke and then leaned over and kissed me gently. And with that, she walked away.
I sat there thinking of all of the things Hannah had said. As usual, she was right. I knew Adam well enough to know that he would not disrespect me for anything in the world. I knew Lily well enough to know that she wouldn’t either. Besides, if he did love her, he wanted revenge just as badly as I did. Two men such as we, wanting, needing revenge on the man that held the woman we both loved captive for three years. What could stop us? Who could stop us?
“Do you have a minute Sir?” Adam interrupte
d my thoughts.
I turned and looked up at him, he looked different somehow. Not scared, not confident, just a guy wanting to talk. It was kind of weird really. “Sure,” I said.
He sat down beside me and started. “Sir, I didn’t intend for you to find out I had feelings for Lily that way. I meant to tell you before, but it did not work out. Then the battle happened. You’ve got to understand, we have become good friends and to tell you I cared for your daughter, who had been missing for three years, well, that was a tough thing to do.”
“I can understand that,” I said as I looked off into the distance.
The Conspiracy of American Democracy - A Father's Revenge Page 7
