Hell in the Homeland

by A J Newman

  Chief Charlie started, “We have over twenty thousand trained militia and weapons for all. Only about half would be qualified as real fighting forces. The rest can definitely shoot and kill the enemy, but would not last long in an extended campaign. We have armed checkpoints at all roads into our city. We have placed sensors and cameras covering all possible ways into our city about five miles out that will give us warning if anyone tries to approach the city. This makes it very difficult for anyone to enter in force around the roads. There are lookouts around the clock so there won’t be any surprise attacks. The blackout rules are in place before dark and my guys remind anyone not complying. There are rumors about some pretty bad guys over towards Stowell. It’s rumored they are building a small army of thugs and bikers and are kidnapping children.”

  “Great work, Charlie. Thanks for staying on top of our security. Charlie we trust you to handle the Stowell situation. The only advice I’ll give you is to go in softly with overwhelming force. Make friends or wipe the thugs out.”

  This brought out a mixture of cheering and blank stares. Everyone wanted a strong defense; however, a small group was very much against expanding their influence. The crowd died down and the meeting went on.

  “All essential services are working with no issues. The water plant is back up to 100% efficiency thanks to Tim’s hard work last week.”

  “Thanks, I will pass the praise on to the guys who work their asses off to keep the city ticking.”

  The Mayor pointed at Mike, who was in charge of the farming for the town and said, “Mike, how are things going on the farm?”

  “Sorry, but not all is well. We still need more tractors and fertilizer. Charlie took a large amount of our stores to manufacture those damned IEDs of his.”

  “Now damn it Mike, we’ve had that discussion and those bombs will save us from attack. It’s not if; it’s when someone tries to take what we got.”

  “Okay, okay, I get it. We are farming enough land to supply our current needs, but we need more so we can build up a reserve of corn, wheat and other semi-perishable foods. We are only one drought from starving.”

  “Mike, I’ll send out my deputies to the surrounding counties to find some tractors and other farming equipment. Just give us a list. We’ll also search every farm supply, hardware store and Wal-Mart in a 50 mile radius for fertilizer. We won’t steal, but it appears most of these items will be found to have been abandoned.”

  The group applauded Tim and his team’s efforts for repairing a long list of electrical issues caused by the EMP blast.

  The Mayor and Chief of Police were very pleased with the progress in such a short time. They were self-sufficient and living almost as well now as before the attack. They had electricity, city water and sewage, which eighty percent of the USA did not have. They had several old fashioned round ups and had over twenty thousand cattle, fifteen thousand hogs and ten thousand sheep on their surrounding farms. No one tried to count the chickens, ducks and geese.

  Jack and Charlie left the meeting and went to Jack’s house to have their weekly private discussion. “Charlie, I need details on your plan to expand our territory and give me numbers on men, supplies and potential losses. Will Sowell be your first target?”

  “I have a written plan and have the data that you need. Yes, to taking Sowell first. Those thugs rape young girls and if left alone, will get too big to handle without major losses. My plan will always be to strike first without mercy and overwhelm the opponent.”

  “Do you have any fresh intel on other groups like us in Texas or Louisiana that we could join up with for a common defense against the DHS and thugs?”

  “Not much change from last month. There is the group outside of Dallas that is slowly clearing Dallas and the one west of Houston. The Houston group is having a tough time with biker gangs and disease. They are barely holding their own. They have plenty of citizens willing to fight, but are poorly armed. There has been a lot of chatter the past couple of days about a group in Mobile that is standing up to the DHS. A few ham operators said that this group may actually be attacking the concentration camp.”

  "Thanks, Charlie, is there anything that we can do help those guys in Houston? If we don’t, we’ll end up fighting those thugs alone.”

  “Mayor, I think we can spare enough arms to help make a big difference and we can conduct some hit and run attacks that will weaken their enemies.”

  “Can we secure the Sowell area and help Houston?”

  “I am one hundred percent sure that we can be successful at both operations. In fact, the Sowell operation is the springboard to take all of Houston into our new country. You might want to think up a name for our new country that suits our conservative roots, Mr. President.”

  The Mayor thought for a minute and said, “I’m a small town mayor and know it. We will need a strong man to lead our new country, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

  “Or woman," said Charlie.

  “Charlie, do you know a woman with balls big enough to run this country?”

  “Well, Cliton certainly had balls, but socialism and welfare is not my cup of tea. I hope those last nukes fried her sorry ass. You know, that may be the best thing that happened during this disaster.”

  ***

  Major Johnson saw the sign that said Sulphur, LA and told his team to get off Highway 10 on 27 South.

  “We will camp at the Sabine Pass Battleground Park for the night. Captain, send one scout team ahead to check our Port Arthur from the north and three teams up from the south. Do not make contact with the locals.”

  “Sir, what if we are spotted? Should we take out the locals?”

  “No, first do not get spotted; but if that happens, be nice and ask for directions. We want to win their hearts and minds, not kill them. Always remember we need workers to grow food and manufacture goods. We are not concurring hoards raping and pillaging.”

  “Yes, sir,” said the captain to his superior.

  The captain turned and said, “Lieutenant, take your squad out Highway 10 and make camp north of Port Arthur. Report back every hour and do not engage the locals.”

  He passed on the orders, but noticed the Lieutenant was not paying close attention.

  “Yes sir, we will scout out North Port Arthur and won’t rape any women.”

  “Lieutenant, if this were the regular Army, you’d be in the stockade for that smart assed remark. Now get you’re your ass out of here before I have you arrested.”

  The Lieutenant gathered his men and passed on the orders.

  “What good is it to have the only army within a hundred miles if you can’t take all the beautiful women and steal everything you want?”

  “Don’t worry about that, once we take over one of these towns, Mr. Johnson will have an unfortunate accident.”

  The Lieutenant sent one scout team on down Highway 10 to approach Port Arthur from the north and he sent a three-man unit to keep an eye on Major Johnson.

  Major Johnson was one step ahead of his two wayward officers; he had a team following them.

  “Sergeant, those SOBs are doubling back and spying on us. Keep an eye on them and kill them if they make any hostile moves. Keep in communications with my captain, but don’t give up anything about our attack plans.”

  ***

  The sun was peaking just above the pine trees chasing the shadows away. The roosters were crowing and the birds were chirping as if to tell the world that this was going to be another beautiful day on the gulf coast. The VW Bus was rocking a bit and there were moans and groans coming out of the window. Joe got out of the bed, looked out the window and saw the sun coming up.

  “Darling, this morning is almost as beautiful as you are. There is a light wisp of a fog as the sun burns the night away. When are we going to tell your dad, so we don’t have to keep sneaking around? I love you and shouldn’t be forced to hide all of the time.”

  “I’ll do it when I get the courage to tell daddy. He thinks I
’m still his little girl and haven’t even had sex yet. He might come unglued if he caught us.”

  Joe kissed Jenny and said, “I’d better leave first today. See you at work."

  “Joe, let’s go to the beach this weekend. I miss the water.”

  “Okay, darling. I’ll make sure we have the weekend off and we can camp on the beach and make love all night.”

  She laughed and said, “All night or fifteen minutes?

  He blew her a kiss and left before she got the best of him again. Jenny cleaned up, had breakfast and went into work.

  The surveillance office was manned around the clock and all sensors and cameras were vigilantly watched. They saw mostly deer and only an occasional group of people drifting through the area. There was a beeping sound for the sensor for sector three, which covered the Northeast.

  “Joe, please pan camera thirty-five left and right. That’s it! See those men in the bushes; they are spying on our northern border. Jenny, call the Chief. Joe, call the water tower and tell the men to hide until further notice. Warn everyone and tell them to hide until we know who these men are.”

  Charlie ran all the way from the town hall when he got the alert about the soldiers at the north end of the town. He walked into the room, went over to Jenny and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  “How’s my favorite daughter doing this great morning? Get your boss a cup of coffee while Joe fills me in on what’s going on this morning.”

  Joe played back the camera feed and then showed him the live feed from several cameras covering the area in question. Charlie watched the live camera for several minutes and gathered the team around him.

  “These guys are soldiers, but not very good ones. They are military, but not Special Forces or CIA types. They appear to be grunts surveying the area for a larger force. I’ll bet that there are several more like them coming at us from all directions. Keep a close eye on the sensors and cameras. My men would have found the sensors and cameras and disabled them or avoided them."

  Charlie had Joe call the council and tell them to go to the town hall ASAP.

  A couple of hours passed before all of the council members could get to the town hall. Several had been south of town, fighting a small house fire and were still in their firefighting equipment. Charlie was pleased to see that every one of them had their M4 and pistol with them as they arrived.

  “Our initial surveillance has found three small recon teams watching our city. These soldiers are armed to the teeth and have the latest military equipment. This is not some bunch of thugs setting up a raid to steal drugs. It probably is the DHS or a rogue army group trying to find a base of operations. We would be a prized plum for any group to conquer. I’m sending several small scouting teams out to find their camp.”

  “What should we do to protect our town? We can’t ignore them and need to find out if they are friend or foe.”

  Chief Charlie spoke up, “First, they can’t be allowed into our city. Second, we meet with them to find out their intentions. Third, we wipe them off the face of the earth if they try to attack.”

  The mayor banged his gavel and said, “Charlie, put the plan into effect.”

  ***

  They kept watching the men watching the town for three more days without any movement on either side. Then at ten o’clock of the fourth morning, a Humvee drove towards town from the south with a white flag waving on its antennae. The men guarding the checkpoint were heavily armed and had bulletproof vests. One noticed that a soldier in the Humvee had a camera and was recording every move they made.

  A soldier wearing captain’s bars got out of the vehicle and said, “We are peaceful and want to meet with your city leaders. Can you take us to them?”

  “No, we won’t take you to them. Who are you? Why are you here and what do you want?”

  “We are the US Army. We are here to help protect you and establish law and order in this area. We want your help in accomplishing our goals.”

  “Be prepared to prove you are with the Army. I will inform our leader of the conversation and get back to you. What channels do you monitor?”

  The captain told them the channel to use, then got back in the Humvee and drove away.

  Charlie had been listening in on the conversations through a microphone placed on one of the men at each checkpoint. Everything he heard pointed to these men being regular Army soldiers, but his gut told him that the Army would not have sent recon teams out for several days to watch his town. Charlie had his radio operator change to the frequency supplied by the soldier.

  “US Army, this is Port Arthur. Do you read me?”

  “This is Sergeant Brown; we read you loud and clear. Here is Major Johnson.”

  “This is Major Johnson, who am I speaking to?”

  “This is Charlie; we don’t need your help or protection. Our town is self-sufficient and does not need the government interfering in our affairs. Move on and find some other town that needs your assistance. You are not welcome here.”

  “Charlie, our orders are to set up a base of operations and re-establish law and order on the Gulf Coast of Texas. We would like to use your town as our base of operation. We can protect your town and begin turning the lights back on.”

  “Major Johnson, you only have about five-hundred men, five armored cars and about six Humvees armed with Ma Deuces. You cannot protect yourselves. We have over twenty thousand heavily armed citizens, mortars, LAWS, and several 90mm cannons.”

  Charlie heard Johnson gasp when he found that the town’s people knew more about his army than he knew about them.

  “Look Charlie, your fucking with the US Army not a bunch of ragtag wannabe civilians playing soldier. You have until noon tomorrow to lay down your weapons and join us or be destroyed.”

  “Major, you’re just another thug trying to set up his own kingdom. The real Army would have tried to win us over not try to run us over. You are the pretenders and your ego will get you and your men killed.”

  Johnson cut of the call.

  “Well Charlie, what do you make of that conversation? The major didn’t scare off as you thought, did he?”

  “Joe, tell everyone to go to highest alert and be ready for an attack before daybreak. Mayor, the major just about shit his britches when he found out that we knew more about him then he knew about us. His ego kicked in and he is going to pull a sneaky surprise attack to overrun us before we can react. He thinks he is dealing with a bunch of rednecks.”

  “Charlie, are you sure about this, what if they are the US Army?”

  "Jack, trust me. I was in the army for over twenty years and these guys have served, but are the dregs of the army.”

  “You know I trust you; tell us what to do.”

  “Joe, tell the team to arm all of the IEDs and tell the company commanders to position all forces in their defense positions after the sun sets. We do not want them to see us strengthening our positions. Jack, if they were legitimate, they would be trying to assist us and win our hearts and minds, not threatening to wipe us out. I pushed the bastard to find out how he would react. I hoped for the best, but got the worst.”

  Charlie was in the command center watching the video feed from the numerous cameras around Port Arthur and saw the enemy slowly moving into position. He watched them set up their mortars and gave their coordinates to his mortar teams, which greatly outnumbered the enemies. He had seen men like the major before, all cocky and full of themselves. The major was over confident and committed all of his men to an overwhelming attack, which would be his downfall. Charlie continued to watch the troops move in towards the city and kept making counter moves. The Port Arthur fighters were perfectly positioned to counter the attacking soldiers.

  Charlie decided it was time to resolve his issues with Joe before the fight started.

  “Joe, come outside with me so we can work out some personal issues.”

  They walked outside and Charlie led him out to the parking lot and stopped beside Joe’s VW bus.
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  “Joe, you know my daughter, don’t you? Do you know how much I love my daughter and how protective I am of her?”

  “Yes sir. What are you trying to say?"

  “How long have you been screwing my daughter and what are your intentions?”

  Joe was stammering and trying to collect his emotions to give a coherent answer, when he said, “I love Jenny and plan to marry her, if she’ll have me. I’m sorry if I’ve upset you sir, but I love her and will fight for her if I need to. You can’t keep us apart.”

  “Damn, son, we have enough fighting about to happen tonight without fighting each other. I know you love my daughter; everyone knows that. What I want to tell you is to stop screwing her in my parking lot, which everyone also knows. Son, you need a lesson in discretion. Ask her to marry you and get a home and give us some grandkids.”

  He slapped Joe on the back and said, “Now get your ass back to work.”

  Charlie looked up and saw Jenny was standing in the doorway watching them.

  “Darling, marry the boy and get the hell out of that damn bus.”

  She gave her dad a kiss and went back to work.

  Johnson’s men started moving in at four o’clock sharp with two major groups. The captain was attacking from the north just above Bridge City and Major Johnson led the group attacking from the south

  “Captain, you are free to move down from your position. You are free to eliminate any resistance, but keep civilian losses to a minimum.”

  “Yes sir. We will sweep through and meet you for lunch at the town hall.”

  “Don’t get too cocky and watch out for traps. These people are not soldiers, but many of them are experienced hunters. Do not advance past Groves without orders from me. I plan to be a mile south of Port Arthur about the time you get to Groves. Pacify that city and be prepared to advance on Port Arthur tomorrow morning as we planned.”