The Shelter: WAR

by Ira Tabankin

  Fred shakes his head at Franco, “Jay doesn’t want any eyes in the sky seeing where the new shelter is going to be. The only way to build it without it being seen is to tunnel under the fields. In order to make the shelter bombproof, it has to be built deeper than the original shelter. He picked this area because it is rocky. He’s hoping the rocks add to the shelter’s armoring.”

  “I built the original one to survive a bomb. The building went quicker once we dug the hole, we built the shelter in the hole, we covered the roof in layers to survive an attack, then we filled the remaining hole with the dirt we removed in the digging process. Since we can’t dig the hole, this time, we have to tunnel much deeper. The going is very slow.”

  “Shit, I’ll talk to Jay, can you stop by the castle tonight around eight, his visitors surely will have left by then.”

  “I’ll be there with the plans.”

  “Good. I’ll see you later. I suggest you bring all the ideas you can think of.”

  @@@@@

  Fifteen minutes after entering Ricky’s home, the Governor exits and climbs back into Jay’s SUV.

  “Thank you. That was very interesting.”

  “Did he tell you his tale of woe?”

  “He told me an interesting story, one I want to think about. Do you plan on showing me the shelter?”

  “I think we should chat first. You can tell me what you're planning and why you’re so interested in our shelter. Why don’t we return to my home? I have a secure conference room where we can talk in without interruptions or worry about being overheard.”

  “I thank you, shall we go?”

  They drive slowly to the castle. The governor asks,

  “Is it alright if my CoS and General Arthur join us?”

  “What about Captain Black?”

  “I suggest he not join us. I don’t know where his loyalties lie yet.”

  “Mr. Governor, you don’t know where the mine lay either.”

  Chapter 6

  Al Afi studies the reports from his scouts, he sits in his recently taken over hotel penthouse thinking about the area in central Tennessee. Sipping his tea, two military bases, and the main farm are expanding. What are they doing? What are they hiding there? What is so important in that area that it takes two military bases to protect? There must be something very valuable there. They defeated my two previous attempts at taking their farm. What are they hiding? What do they have they don’t want me to see? I’m going to pull in thousands of troops to hit the farm from different directions, we’ll overwhelm them and find whatever it is they are hiding.

  @@@@@

  The President’s cabinet stands when he enters the Situation Room. He sits, nodding to his staff to take their seats. The President’s CoS is concerned about how the meeting will proceed. He knows his boss is very angry, he’s already broken four monitors in the Oval Office and the antique desk lamp that used to sit on the resolution desk. The President’s anger has been growing the previous few days, every time he hears anything about the South seceding, he explodes. He’s already fired six staffers and a secretary. He slowly turns in his seat looking at each of his Cabinet Secretaries,

  “I hear too many rumblings of secession. I thought this issue was already settled. I will not be the first African American President, who has to oversee another Civil War. My legacy was to be the transformation of the country, not sit over its breakup. I want a report from each of you on your plans for ensuring we aren’t facing another Civil War.”

  Sitting to the President’s left is the Secretary of HHS, she smiles at the group, standing, she straightens her skirt,

  “Mr. President, fellow Secretaries and staffers, I for one don’t believe the Southern Governors will attempt to secede.”

  The President snaps his head around towards her,

  “Why the hell not? What do you know that I don’t?”

  “Sir, we control the Affordable Health Care dollars, if they secede their people won’t be able to use their Affordable Health Care credits. When we stop making payments to their doctors, they will come begging home. I don’t think we should do anything but wait for them to implode. Their inner city citizens will riot forcing their Governors to crawl back to us. I suggest the military and every other armed force stand down.” She sat down very proud of herself, she smiled a bright white smile to everyone around the table.

  The President shakes his head mumbling under his breath. “Next.”

  Next up is the Secretary of Energy,

  “Mr. President, we control the supply of oil and natural gas, we won’t issue them any permits to frack or in the South, they will run out of oil and be forced to come back to the bosom of the union when their NASCARs run out of gas.” He smiles and nods to everyone at the table, a few of the Secretaries are saying, “Good one, that will work.” The applaud the Secretary of Energy.

  The President shakes his head wondering if anyone he appointed has any sense of what’s really going on. “Next.”

  The Secretary of the Interior smiles, standing he says,

  “We own 17% of the land in the Southern States, my department suggests we quickly increase that number as high as possible. If we own most of the land, they can’t secede since we own the land. We’ll kick them off the Federally owned land. We’ll take control of their farms and forests, they will run out of food and lumber to build with.”

  “Good one, that will stop them.”

  The President looks at the table,

  “If they secede we won’t own the land, they’ll be declaring a new nation. Nothing you suggested will help stop them.”

  “Sir, then I suggest you sign an Executive Order stopping them from seceding.”

  “Another good one.” Says the nodding secretaries.

  “Next.”

  The Secretary of Labor smiles, he bows to the President,

  “My suggestion is we have the NLRB block their companies from seceding. Once the NRLB issues their order, their major employers will be blocked from leaving the Union, when they’re employers are blocked, they will have to stay or their people will be unemployed without us covering their unemployment. Yes! See the mastery of my plan?”

  “A great one, you’ve got them by the short hairs on that one.”

  “Next.” The President was getting angrier with each person who spoke.

  The Secretary of the Treasury smiles saying, “I have the best blocking move. We bill the south for their share of the national debt. We arrest anyone who uses their Huntsville Currency plan. They can’t leave if they owe us billions of dollars.”

  The Secretaries pounded the Conference table in support of Treasuries suggestion.

  “Next. So far I don’t think any of these suggestions will block the South from leaving.”

  The Secretary of Defense frowns,

  “Sir, my estimate is, we’re going to lose at least 85% of the military to the South.”

  The other Secretaries stare at the Secretary of Defense with shock and surprise. One yells out, offer them a promotion or whatever it is you do when they do a good job, maybe give them all a new pretty uniform to wear, they seem to like those, they wear them all the time.”

  “Great idea!”

  Defense looks around the table shaking his head.

  “That’s not going to do anything except push more of them across the border.”

  “Why can’t you order them not to leave? Just extend their enlistments. No more problem. I don’t see any problem here.”

  The table explodes with laughing and smiling Secretaries.

  Defense shakes his head wondering how he got caught up in with these wackos, none have any understanding of reality. He thought to himself, the majority of the military is going to side with the South, I’m worried the advantages of the previous Civil War are going to be reversed this time. Most of the country’s remaining industrial strength resides in the right-to-work states. While many of the country’s technology companies are based or started in California, I wonder how l
ong they’ll remain there if the South offers them special incentives. The good news is two of our largest Navy bases are in California and Hawaii. We’ll lose Norfolk, I better begin moving ships to San Diego before the Confederacy closes the border. We’re going to lose most of our long range bombers. The production base is another issue, our only tank plant is in Ohio, most of our missiles are built in the South West, I hope they side with the North. Ammo and rifles can be manufactured anywhere. Ships are where we’re screwed, our major shipyards are in Virginia and Mississippi. We have Bath Iron Works in Maine, but there’s a limit to the type of ships they can build. Groton can build subs, but so does Virginia. We’re also going to be screwed in the production of fighters. I don’t think these morons realize this isn’t the 1860s, the resources really have swapped. If we go to war with the South, I fear the results will be different. I wonder if they’re really stupid enough to engage a hot war with the South. His thoughts are interrupted by the President asking,

  “If we have to fight he South can we quickly knock them out in a week? Drop a few smart bombs, kill their leaders and scare their people back into the Union.”

  He looked at the President, he considered if he should lie or tell him the truth. He shook his head, he looked the President eye to eye,

  “Sir, not only can’t we beat them in a few days, or a month, I’m not sure we’ll be able to beat them at all. As soon as they announce their secession their leaders will go into hiding. We won’t know where they are.”

  The conference room is silent for a moment before everyone yells at the Secretary of Defense. Everyone talks over each other. They denounce the Secretary of Defense, they call him a traitor and defeatist. The President holds up his hand to silence his advisors.

  “Before I deal with Defense, we need to hear from State.”

  “Mr. President, Secretaries, I fear that the Chinese and others will recognize with the South. They may even sully them with weapons. The Chinese will enjoy watching us split apart, they know it will weaken us. China may use the secession to build bases in the South. Countries who loaned us money may demand immediate repayment. Mr. President, if the South secedes, we’re going to be in hot water on the international stage. We may find the Chinese based on what was American soil.”

  “Will any countries recognize the South?”

  “I’m sure China and Russia will within the hour they announce. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn the South and China sign a mutual defense treaty. If they do, us attacking the South will be the same as attacking China. We’d be moving from a civil war to a world war.”

  The President holds up his right hand motioning the room to be quiet so he can think.

  “We have to locate and take out the leaders of the secession movement before they can make an announcement. I don’t see any other way to save the Union. It has to be done quickly and quietly, them having an accident would be perfect. I want to form a working committee to come up with a plan to take out their leaders. I want the plan on my desk within a week.”

  The meeting breaks up with only the Secretary of Defense worried the President’s plan will backfire and light the fuse on the civil war no one wants. He decides to call his service chiefs together to have a secure discussion on the potential impact of a civil war.

  @@@@@

  Franco is worried they won’t have a sufficient quantity of the concrete culverts they’re using. Each is seven feet high and twenty-five feet long. He makes a note to talk with Jay about building forms to cast additional culverts if they run out. They’re using the culverts as the entrance tunnel to the main shelter. Franco hands off the rest of the day’s work to his oldest son. He wants to make another call to NorthWest Shelter Systems where their blast doors are being made. He promised to make payment in gold and provide transportation of the doors from Naples, Idaho. Exiting the tunnel, he runs into Tony, who’s inspecting the new construction.

  “I like it. If I didn’t know where the tunnel was located, I wouldn’t know it was here. You picked a great location, the hill hides the entrance from three sides. How’s the construction going?”

  Wiping the dirt and grease from his hands, Franco smiles,

  “It’s going good. I was going to call NWSS to check on our doors. Which reminds me, we’re going to need an eighteen-wheel truck and security to pick up the doors.”

  “I have that taken care of. You just tell me when to pick them up. There're some people up there who owe me a favor or two and are willing to do almost anything for a bag of gold coins. I’ve arranged for them to pick up our doors and bring them here.”

  “I assume part of their payment is a space in the shelter?”

  “That’s correct. That and the gold.”

  “How many in total? Will I need to alter the plans?”

  “No, we’re good. The new shelter is designed for twice the number the first holds. By the way, I like the entrance tunnel, how far down does it go?”

  Franco laughs, “This time the entrance tunnel goes in forty feet, then it makes a ninety-degree turn before it continues another thirty-five feet. We’re going to have four blast doors instead of three. The walls are going to be thicker than the current one. After defending the existing shelter, we designed this one to be easier to defend and harder to break into. No one’s getting into this one without permission.”

  “Are you having any problems?”

  “We need more culverts and more concrete.”

  “Do you need reinforcing rods?”

  Franco laughs.

  “I could sell you some. We have thousands. I have no idea where they came from and I’m not asking. We keep them under camouflage tarps. Todd flew a drone over them, no one can tell there’s a tarp there or what’s under them. We store our equipment under the tarps when we’re not using them. Nothing is left in the open. Somehow General Arthur got us a schedule of when any spy satellites go over us. We're very careful the government can’t spy on us.”

  “Good. None of us trust them. We don’t want them to attack the shelter before it’s finished.”

  “Trust me, no one from the air can see the construction. We’ve covered the entrance so no one can see us moving equipment in and out of the new shelter. We have cameras watching the area around us and we’ve laid mines in the land close to us so anyone trying to sneak up on us will get a nasty surprise.”

  “That only leaves Ricky’s land and house.”

  “Yeah, Jay told me not to place mines close to his home. He told me Ricky’s dumb enough not to believe the minefield signs. He would also guess something is going on under his feet. I worry that he will feel vibrations in the ground as we have to use small explosives to expand the shelter.”

  “Isn’t there any way other than explosives?”

  “I don’t know of any other way. Ricky is sure to feel the vibrations, I’m afraid he’ll tell others what’s going on. I asked Jay if he could relocate Ricky to another plot of land.”

  “Jay would like to relocate him to Mars.”

  “Me too.”

  Chapter 7

  The Secretary of Defense asks the service chiefs to meet him in the Pentagon bunker. He tells them to come alone without any aides or staffers. He also tells them, there will be no interruptions allowed except for an all-out attack on the country. The service chiefs are confused, especially when they’re told they don’t have to prepare to present anything to the Secretary, he just wants to pick their brains. Walking towards the elevator to the bunker the Commanding Generals of the Army and Marines whisper to each other, “I don’t like this, be on guard. He may be trying to trap us. The only thing I can think he wants to discuss with us is the potential secession. He most likely wants to know on which side our people will fall.”

  “The Marines are going to come down on the side of freedom and protecting the constitution.”

  “Does that mean you’re going to support the President?”

  “He doesn’t represent freedom and the constitution. He wants to be a ki
ng or dictator. I believe if a split comes, most of my people will head south.”

  “A lot of mine will too. Many of the 06 and above were appointed by the President, they will support the President, the bulk of the warriors will head South while the RAMFs will go North.”

  “I wish the President luck when he’s surrounded by the very officers he appointed.”

  “I don’t know which side the Secretary will come down on, I’d advise caution today.”

  “I agree, what’s your take on the Navy and Air Force?”