The Shelter: WAR

by Ira Tabankin

  “Thanks for coming, here’s the video showing him cutting the fence. He must have outside help. Our fear is he’s going to lead an outside hit team into the castle to take Jay out.”

  “We’ll find him.”

  The two Humvees with Todd drive across the street searching for Ricky, who’s sleeping peacefully, unaware of the hornet’s nest he kicked over.

  Jay enters the kitchen, he kisses Lacy,

  “I assume you heard about Ricky?”

  “No, I know something happened, I sent Todd directly to you so whatever happened, you could start to handle it ASAP.”

  “Ricky got out of his ankle tracking device and escaped. We don’t know where he is.”

  “Does Sammi know, has she heard from him?”

  “Good question, have you seen her this morning?”

  “She and Linda had an early breakfast today.”

  “That’s a serious tip-off, thanks. I’ll call John to search for them too,”

  Hanging up the phone Jay looks at Lacy, “They’ve left the farm with three backpacks, John tracked them crossing the street.”

  “So he did contact them. Find one, find the other,”

  “You’re right. We’ll find them. I’m worried he’s being helped by the Feds who are going to use him or her to get to us.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m calling General Arthur to ask for more security people.”

  “Good idea,”

  Jay speed dials the General.

  “General, good morning, do you have a minute?”

  “Mr. President, of course, I can be across the street in two minutes.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Lace, do you have enough for the General?”

  “Sure. I’ll set another place at the table.”

  Ricky is tapped on the shoulder, he jumps up, prepared to fight when he smiles seeing his family.

  “Your directions were perfect.”

  Linda jumps up into her father’s arms. His wife asks.

  “Are we supposed to just wait in the woods for the rest of the day?”

  “Yes, unless you know someplace we can spend the day.”

  “There used to be a small general store about half a mile down the road. Let’s wait there, even stripped bare, it’s got a roof and a hidden basement almost no one knows about.”

  “Lead on,” Ricky smiles following Sammi while holding Linda’s hand. “How do you know about the basement?”

  “Explored one day, I thought it would be a good place to hide in case we ever got overrun.”

  “Sometimes you remind me too much of your father.”

  “Thanks.”

  “That wasn’t a compliment.”

  @@@@@

  Admiral Jefferson and the colonel who’s escorting him arrive in the kitchen,

  “Morning, the transport bird is due in twenty minutes, where do you want the fuel bladder laid?”

  “I’ll get Fred to arrange for it.”

  “Once my bird is fueled and checked, I’ll be leaving for the Missouri. I’ll move her closer to the coast to block the Navy from interfering with trade.”

  “Thank you. Once you check your Task Force, I’d like you to return to run the Navy from here. Maybe you can convince other ships to join us.”

  “I’ve already sent messages to every commanding officer I know. I’ve already received confirmations from at least Sixty-two warships. If more confirm, we’ll have the largest Navy in the world.”

  Smiling, Admiral Jefferson replies,

  “We’re going to give the President a hell of a surprise. I should be able to return at the end of the week.”

  “Great. I’ll make sure Fred has some offices set up for you.”

  They hear the helicopter in the distance. Jay dials Fred,

  “The fuel bladder is almost here.”

  “I know; we’re outside waiting for him. We’ve been in radio contact with the pilot for the past thirty minutes.”

  “Sorry, I should have known you’d have it under control.”

  @@@@@

  John stands in front of Jay’s desk shaking his head,

  “We lost them. We tracked them across the street, we found where Ricky was resting, and then we lost them. We don’t have any cameras on that side of the street. They could have gone anywhere.”

  “You know I don’t care what happens to him, it’s Sammi and Linda I worry about. I also worry that the SOB will lead a hit team against me and everyone on the farm. Increase the guards.”

  “Will do.”

  Jay can’t focus on anything all afternoon and evening. At eleven thirty Lacy taps a sleepy Jay on the shoulder.

  “Come to bed, you’re falling asleep at your desk. If they’re found, John or Todd will wake you. The house is ringed with guards, no one is going to be able to sneak in.”

  “Okay, you’re right.”

  Thirty minutes later Ricky is standing next to the tree when he feels a tap on his shoulder.

  “You Ricky?”

  He jumps, not hearing anyone approach him.

  “Yes.”

  “Good, we’re the people you were told to expect.”

  “I didn’t hear or see you approach.”

  “That’s a very good thing. Can you show us how to enter the farm without being seen and avoid their minefield?”

  “About the only way to avoid the minefield is to stay on one of the driveways, the downside to walking on the driveways is they’re constantly under video surveillance.”

  “Leave that to us. Just show us how to open the gate.”

  “I think they changed my code, but I have my wife’s, she’s Jay’s daughter.”

  “Good, where is she? We’d like to protect her.”

  “Bout a half mile east is the remains of a small general store, she and my daughter are sleeping in the store’s hidden basement. You have to lift the last floor board by the back door to release the door to the basement.”

  “Thanks.” Picking up a small tablet he texts the information to members of his team, he adds, “ALIVE, unharmed! We may need them.”

  “Confirm.”

  “Now point out where the gate is. Did you bring the layout of the castle we asked for? We don’t want you with us, they’re most likely looking for you. Your presence may set off their alarms. Go to the general store, my men will take care of you.”

  “I drew the floor plan as I remember it. Every door has an alarm on it.”

  “Thanks. Now go join your wife.”

  The lead agent looks at the hand drawn floor plan thinking, this is going to be a bitch. No windows, all of the doors have security bars and alarms, the walls look to be too thick to breach. If the daughter’s code opens the gate, I bet it also opens the castle’s door. They wouldn’t have changed it that quickly hoping she returned. It looks to be our best bet to quickly get in. Once in, speed and quiet are going to be key. I hope, as the report states, he goes to bed early. Motioning for his men to gather round him, he explains the plan. They’re dressed in dark disruptive camo to confuse cameras. The commander sends one person to sneak across the street to try the code. He doesn’t realize he’s been picked up by the farm’s motion sensors.

  John yawns, he leans back in his chair sipping his fifth cup of coffee when a red warning light flashes. He looks at the light, motion in front of the gate. Not good. He presses the silent alarm alerting the security team. He texts them, “Motion, front gate. Unauthorized.” He decides not to wake Jay until he’s sure they’re under attack. The seconds drag by feeling like hours, John waits in the shelter for information from the security teams. Another red flashing light grabs his attention, “FRONT GATE” I bet someone is using Sammi’s code, I left it intact to see if they would try it. Once entered it automatically sounds the silent alarm. Everyone should be ready before they reach the castle.

  General Arthur smiled when his tablet flashes the warning, John was right, they're using her code to gain what they think is an eas
y pass onto the farm. Boy, are they going to be surprised.

  Fifteen men covered head to toe in light absorbing uniforms silently and slowly make their way up the driveway. When they’re three-quarters to the castle, they hear.

  “Throw down your weapons, you're surrounded by overwhelming forces. If you make any hostile moves, you’ll die where you stand.” The next moment the attackers are blinded by bright construction lights. Their commander decides to surrender. He raises his arms above his head, his fourteen troops follow his lead.

  “Don’t make any stupid moves and you’ll live to have breakfast. There’s no reason for you to die tonight.”

  The commander whispers into his radio headset,

  “Caught, take the family and get out.” He’s quickly surrounded by thirty security troops. “I’m Commander Richard Wilson, US DHS. I am here on a mission authorized at the highest level of the government to arrest a traitor to the United States of America. You would be wise to stand down and allow us to complete our mission. I have reserves who can quickly overwhelm you. Let’s all live to share a beer one day.”

  “Commander, your forces across the street have been arrested for trespassing on Confederate territory. You have no one to come to your rescue.”

  “What’s going to happen to us now?”

  “In time, you’ll be returned home. First we need to understand your orders and your mission.”

  “According to the Geneva Convention…”

  “Which we haven’t signed yet and thus is meaningless. I can promise you, you will tell us everything you know. We have some wonderful drugs which will help you remember everything.”

  “That’s against the law.”

  “So is planning to kill our President.” Major Walker smiled, “Take them away. Strip them to make sure they’re not hiding any surprises.”

  “Major, we checked the area across the street. It appears Ricky and his family were hiding in the remains of the general store. They’re gone. There are a lot of truck and SUV tracks in the area. We have to assume they took Sammi and Linda with them.”

  “Damn it, Jay’s going to be pissed.”

  Chapter 30

  “Mr. President, our latest team was stopped before they were able to complete their mission. They were captured, we haven’t heard from them since their capture.”

  “Another failure? Why can’t the DHS complete a simple mission? Am I not making myself clear?”

  “Sir, we do have a little good news. We have finally gotten leverage over the Governor.”

  “I’m listening. What is this leverage?”

  “We have his daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law. They’re on the way to Mount Weather.”

  “Ah, this is indeed very good news. Finally, something we can use to get the upper hand on him. A father will do anything to save his daughter and granddaughter’s lives. We can leave him in place and play him like a puppet. We’ll own him, he’ll have to do our bidding as long as we have his family. Make sure they’re not harmed. Treat them with special care, we can’t afford to allow any harm to come to his family. If he finds out we’ve harmed them, he’ll stop at nothing to destroy all of us. Is Mount Weather safe?”

  “Yes, sir. We have two hundred heavily armed DHS troops guarding the facility. The Governor of Virginia is working to convince his people to remain in the Union, so far the state is split, for now, Mount Weather is very safe. I’ll make sure the staff at Mount Weather knows to treat them as VIPs.”

  “Record their arrival with something that proves they’re alive today. Thinking about it, you did an excellent job. I’d rather control him than have him dead. We’ll play him like a fiddle. Maybe we’ll let them have their little experiment while we control everything he does. I’ll always have him as a fall guy. I want to meet their family when they’re settled in, I’ll hold a video call with Jay to discuss our future.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll set it up.”

  @@@@@

  “What do you mean Sammi and Linda are missing? That’s totally unacceptable. I want them found right now. We’re talking about my daughter and granddaughter. Shit, if you can’t protect them, how can you protect the rest of my family, or me?”

  Major Walker holds his tongue because, in fact, he did lose Jay’s daughter and granddaughter. He tracked them across the street and to the small general store, from there all he found were tire tracks. Measuring the tire tracks, he knows there were, at least, eight Tahoe’s. Based on the tire tracks he knows their visitors were from the DHS. If the military had taken them, the tracks would have been from LAVs. He assumes the DHS people were met by a special black helicopter which flew them to a plane. He doesn’t know where they took the hostages which he knew is what they are now. If they wanted them dead, they would have killed them on the spot. Jay looks up asking,

  “Major, where do you think they’ll hold them? It’s obvious if they wanted them dead they would have been killed at the store, they would have left the bodies to send me a message. They took my family to use over me. The President thinks he’ll be able to control me by holding my kids. We need to locate where they’re being held and plan a rescue mission. While we’re at it, we should look into a strike against the government.”

  “You want us to kill members of the Federal Government?”

  “Not kill, abduct them, once the President kidnapped my family he opened the door to personal attacks. Ask your planning group to be creative. I want to go on record, even though he kidnapped my family, his is off limits. I don’t deal in harming families. I won’t have the deaths his children on my conscience.”

  “Sir, since he took yours, aren’t his fair game?”

  “They might be, but, I won’t stoop to his level. Find others he cares about or leaders of Congress. Anyone other than his family is fair game.”

  Jay says, not yet fully acknowledging that no one is important to the president, but the president himself.

  “Yes, sir. We’ll get right on it.”

  “Major, on your way out, please call Tony and ask him to stop by.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Major Walker leaves Jay’s office feeling low, on his first mission for the new President of the Confederacy he lost his family. He calls Tony,

  “If you’re free, Jay would like to see you.”

  “How’s he dealing with the loss of his family?”

  “He’s pissed, really pissed which is why he wants to see you.”

  “I’m on my way, I asked Nancy to spend time with Lacy.”

  “Good idea. I only got a quick glance at Lacy, she looked like she was in a state of shock.”

  “She most likely is.”

  Tony enters Jay’s office. He hasn’t seen Jay look so angry in a very long time.

  “Tony, please close and lock the door. I’m going to turn on the sound generator so no one can overhear us. I need a favor, a big one.”

  “You want me to find Sammi and Linda?”

  “Yes, I want to know where they’re being held and how we can rescue them. I also want to see if your old contacts and friends can turn up the heat on the assholes who masterminded kidnapping my family.”

  “Anything special you’d like?”

  “Can they strike D.C., shutting it down? Can they find a way to increase the government’s pain? Make them suffer and at the same time send a message tying the kidnapping of my family to their pain?”

  “Easy, I’ll get right on it.” Smiling, Tony looks at his friend, “Are you okay? Do you want a hit ordered on any of them? Maybe the asshole in the White House himself?”

  “You can’t reach him.”

  “Anyone can be reached. It’s a question of whether you’re willing to trade your life for your target. If you want him taken out, I can arrange it.”

  “Tony, let’s place him off limits for now. If we go after him, won’t he go after me?”

  “He already has, he sent two hit teams after you. He’s already targeted you, turn around is fair play. If you’re on his
list, shouldn’t he be on yours?”

  “I don’t want to launch a government where we kill people, what kind of message does that send to our people? Piss us off and we’ll kill you too? This isn’t a good way to start.”

  “Jay, no one has to know.”

  “Don’t bet on it. Everyone will assume it was us, even if China takes him out, we’ll be the ones blamed. The world won’t trust us if we assassinate the President. Do we want to start out being hated by the rest of the world?”