“Joshua, unless you are rich and can afford legions of accountants and lawyers, half of what you make will be taken by the government each year,” Ernest said. “Sure, their tax code says thirty to forty percent, but then you add on federal excise tax, fuel tax, death tax… Hell, I could go on forever, but you know what I’m talking about.”
“I don’t mind paying taxes, but they were going to kill me to take my business,” Joshua said.
“Joshua, when taxation started after the Civil War, it was at five to eight percent on every six hundred dollars a person earned. Six hundred dollars back then was equal to about ten grand today,” Ernest said. “The Founding Fathers didn’t want a rich central government because they knew money would cause mischief.”
Joshua nodded, looking at Ernest, “Is my family safe?”
“As anyone can be,” Ernest said.
“What are you wanting to ask me?” Joshua said, leaning back in his chair.
“Right to the point,” Ernest smiled. “Well, we need to record another video of you,” he said and Joshua shook his head.
“No, I released that first video because I filmed it while I still had my beard. I don’t want them to know what I look like without it.”
“Hold on,” Ernest said. “One of my troops use to do Hollywood makeup and we can fix that. I had him prepare using your last broadcast and he’s here.”
“So you don’t like the fact that the feds say I’m wounded?” Joshua asked and saw Ernest furrow his brow. “I heard some of the teams out talking to each other about it over the radio.”
“Oh, well, since the government put that out, attacks have dropped in half,” Ernest said.
“Then I should keep my mouth shut,” Joshua said.
Gene raised his hand, stopping Ernest from replying. “Joshua, this is going to happen whether you do it or not. If you do it, more people will join in the fight sooner rather than later,” Gene said. “If you don’t, then this little war will last longer, getting more people hurt.”
Joshua nodded at Gene, “You’ve been around Ben too long.”
“Hey, I wanted to fight with you, so don’t even go there,” Ben popped off and Gene grinned.
“That boy aged me ten years since you headed back in the hills,” Gene said. “But I have to say, the little leprechaun can fight.”
“Alright, old man,” Ben growled.
Joshua looked up at Ernest, “Go get this makeup guy but if it looks fake, I’m not doing it. That’s my one wild card I have to play, if it all goes to hell.”
With a straight face, Ernest said. “Joshua, he could make you up to pass for an old lady with one eye.”
“He tries that and I’ll sick Ben on him,” Joshua said, grinning. “So I take it you want me to join your merry little band?”
“Not really,” Ernest said, sending a man out of the tent. “You are a head figure. We need you to keep the morale up. We’ve heard at almost every attack against the government a scrench has been left at the scene, it’s become the sign of the rebellion.”
“I don’t sit back and let others fight for me,” Joshua said in a grumble.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t fight.”
Appeased, Joshua leaned back. “I will still have to make hits.”
“I know, and we will help.”
Shaking his head, “Sorry, but that Moore guy and his team will know if others are with me,” Joshua said.
“You don’t need to risk it,” Ernest said as a man came in, followed by several others carrying boxes.
“Ernest, they think if they get me, nobody will fight back. Hell, the teams out looking for me talk about that all the time. Even if you start a war with them, they will concentrate manpower to finding me.”
A cold grin spread across Ernest’s face. “Oh, you haven’t heard how we plan on kicking this war off.”
“Ah, just what the hell are you going to do?” Joshua asked as the men that came in started laying stuff out on the table.
“Joshua, we can’t have a military presence here in northern Idaho and that’s what they are doing; building a military base,” Ernest said. “As we speak, a thousand German troops are offloading at that compound. You took out ten Blackhawks and a drone, very good by the way,” Ernest winked. “But they have brought in more, along other military assets. We can’t let them get entrenched here. If they do, it will take out the northern routes to the coast.”
Joshua looked at Ernest and laughed, “Please, I can move around out there just fine.”
Shaking his head, “Joshua, you’re one man. That’s easy to hide, I’m talking about moving ‘men’ and equipment,” Ernest said.
The realization of what was happening hit Joshua like a glass of ice water. “My God, we can’t do this,” he gasped.
“Joshua, I’m sure somebody in the 1930’s said the same about Hitler. The difference now, is it’s not one man, it’s a system that has to be defeated or we will wind up in the same boat. But this time, there will be no country to stop it,” Ernest said gravely. “The rest of the world has already started down that path. America is the last bastion of freedom and they want to take it away, for our own good, of course.”
Slowly, Joshua nodded, “I would prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery.”
“Thomas Jefferson,” Ernest nodded. “America is in the hands of special interests and that has to stop. You realize the first restrictive federal gun control law; the Gun Control Act of 1968 was enacted because several politicians had been targeted. Did that stop the Kennedy assassination? I’m sure you know all about Federal Firearms Act of 1934.”
“Yes,” Joshua sighed. “Congress tried to use taxation to get automatic weapons and suppressors out of the hands of the working class.”
Clapping his hands and smiling, Ernest nodded. “A student of history. Yes, they put a two-hundred-dollar tax stamp on them. The rich could still afford it, but when a suppressor only cost a dollar or two from the Sears catalog, why on earth would you spend a year’s salary for the tax stamp? That is expressly prohibited in the Constitution, using taxation as abjuration, taxing something out of reach except for the privileged, but the rich were already in power.”
Holding up his hand, Joshua nodded. “Okay, I’ve studied history and know that, but you realize we are talking war, a modern war here in America.”
“Then we come back to the peaceful slavery,” Ernest said as Gene leaned over to Joshua.
“Hell, you’ve said all your life, this is the only way to change the top,” Gene whispered.
“Gene, it’s okay to talk about it and know it, but war in reality?” Joshua sighed. “The Founding Fathers had this same dilemma and I guess we’ve tried talking to the king. What did the king do? Went after all that wasn’t the two parties.”
Ernest walked around the table and stopped beside Joshua. “Joshua, nobody wants this, but I want my kids to have the freedom that has been bought and paid for. I don’t want someone telling them they can’t eat french fries or stay up late. I want them to have a right to choose.”
Joshua looked up, nodding, “So, what do you want me to do?” he asked and then he slowly grinned.
“What you always do, be yourself,” Ernest said, stepping back. “You will want to take your shirt off, this can get a little messy.”
Chapter Forty
The next evening, Colonel Tanner looked around the table in the briefing room. “As many of you have heard, another video of the target appeared on the web this morning,” he said and tapped his laptop. Everyone turned to the huge screen on the back wall.
They saw someone’s hand on the lens of a camera then the familiar face of Joshua as he stepped back and sat down on his backpack beside a tree. “Hello again, America,” he smiled with a thick beard. “I heard a rumor that the feds said I was wounded, so I had to let you know, they’ve lied yet again.”
“Well, it looks like Wagner is in for unhappy times,” Tanner mumbled as Joshua continued.
“Wh
en I found this out, I also heard of others fighting back,” Joshua said somewhat depressingly and Moore held his breath in hope that Joshua would condemn these acts. “At first I didn’t want this, I’m not going to lie. I didn’t want others to get hurt but then I realized, that’s why others were fighting back, they have already been hurt.”
“Oh shit,” Moore mumbled, slumping in his chair like he had been shot.
“You are fighting for the same reason I am; they won’t leave you alone. By alone, I mean quit taking my stuff I work for and not letting me decide what’s right for me and my family,” Joshua said, leaning back against the tree. “Hey, I’m an American and I see taxes like rent, but rent shouldn’t be half of what you make. This nation’s debt is more numbers than I would care to write out much less pay back. Yet, those in Washington keep spending as those of us who work keep letting them take our money. They take trips around the world, live better than kings while the rest of us-.” Joshua paused for a second like he was thinking. “Peasants. Yes, ‘peasants’ is a good word for how they see us. We are forced to work while the ‘royalty’ lives a life of luxury.”
Winters wanted to shout with joy but remained calm as Joshua took a drink of water. “I’m not saying if you fight it’s wrong, but I am saying if you have cause and think the rich and powerful have gone too far, then yes, it’s time,” Joshua said, putting the cap back on the bottle. “Anyone can see it, there is a caste system here in America now. The rich can have what they want. They don’t mind gun control because they have armed guards and the police. If a woman in the projects calls 911 and a woman in a mansion calls 911, I can guarantee you, the mansion will have more cop cars there. I don’t care if it’s just a cat in a tree.
“This is not America,” Joshua said, stretching his legs out. “If you believe the legal system protects us equally, then I’m sorry, you’re stupid. If a regular man, regardless of color, is pulled over in a rundown car with drugs and a rich man, regardless of color, is pulled over in a Porsche, they both might and I stress, might get arrested but we’ve all seen it, the rich one will get off with a slap while the other will be hauled away. Color has no meaning here; it’s the money, and you know why?” Joshua asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Money buys votes,” Joshua said sternly. “The ‘color’ of others is just what the feds push, to get us to argue and fight each other about.”
“I’m just as guilty as the rest because I hoped it would get better, but look what that got me. I had a small business with several employees. By no means was I rich, hell, I was in debt up to my-,” Joshua stopped. “Sorry, don’t know if kids will be watching.”
“I was in debt up to my eyeballs, but I was happy. I was providing for my family and employed. Others do the same. It was hard work but myself, I enjoyed providing for my family and not being dependent on the government and I know my employees did as well. Then, here comes the Feds. They froze my bank account, and then wanted to seize my equipment. Why? Money. They aren’t happy with the half they are already taking, they want more.
“What about me and my family? I don’t want to work for a year and only get six months of pay. Hell, we’ve all heard the politicians, ‘Only the rich pay taxes’. Hey, idiots, I can take you to the guy working behind the counter of Taco Bell and show you he’s paying taxes. Oh I know you’re going to say ‘Not really’, but I want you to try to make ends meet if we take half of your money.
“Oh, I forgot, the rich are taxed at different rates,” Joshua said, taking the cap back off of the bottle. “But even some of the rich are starting to get tired of this and just leaving the country. Well, hell, I like it here. My family helped build this country and I shouldn’t have to leave because some guys in Washington decide they want more.”
Taking a long drink, Joshua wiped his beard. “Sorry, got off topic,” he said. “This still pisses me off. They were going to kill me over money; my money.”
Setting the bottle down, Joshua looked at the camera hard. “If you fight back, you’d better realize what you are getting into. They will take everything, including your life. The elite don’t want to relinquish power. If you fight back, you won’t be able to stop unless they give up, which if all of us do fight back, they will, but it will take some time. When I started this, I only wanted to be left alone, but now?” Joshua grinned. “Now, I’m not stopping until I get the real America back.”
Joshua paused, looking at the camera. “If I die, so be it, but I will not have my son growing up in a country that tried to kill his dad, just because they wanted more. Not caring what would happen to my son or wife after they’d killed me and took what we had built as a family. No, this country has fought once for this and it looks like we will have to again. So if you join this fight, make sure in your heart that you’re willing to sacrifice because it won’t be a few days and nobody will get hurt. It will be long and hard with many getting hurt, but if they win, you won’t own anything and know only work. If we win, we will fix it. I’m leaning toward tar and feathering those in Washington. This is just my thoughts and when I can, I’ll talk again.” Pushing off the tree, Joshua walked over and turned off the camera.
“Oh, fuck,” Moore mumbled as Tanner tapped his computer.
“Yes, I said the same thing but much louder,” he said, looking over at Winters who was pale. “Winters, are you going to be sick?”
Slowly, she turned to Tanner, “Oh, fuck,” she mumbled.
“Seems to be the new mantra,” Tanners said, looking around the table at the others. “NSA said the first video was sent out of a fast food place in Miami but not ten minutes later, another was put out in Phoenix. I want to know how Joshua got this to someone and how they got this outside of our quarantine area.”
“Sir, we don’t control all the roads leading out of the area,” the major said. “It would take ten times the men we have just to put on all the backroad dirt roads. All internet traffic in the area is being restricted and monitored along with all phones.”
Letting out a sigh, Tanner looked around at the others as they fidgeted. “Anyone else?” he asked and everyone just looked around. “Well, we will start putting boots on the ground at 0900 tomorrow, and you better tell all those going out, we will only get one crack at Joshua. If they mess it up or miss, I’ll personally see they receive every immoral action I can do to another individual.”
He turned to Moore and saw him still mumbling the mantra. Glancing over at Winters, he saw shock still on her face. “Moore, Winters, stay please. Everyone else, get to work,” Tanner said and the others almost ran out of the room.
When the last one closed the door, Tanner turned to Moore. “Moore,” he snapped and Moore jumped in his chair, looking over at Tanner. “Can you give me any idea of where Joshua is?”
Blinking his eyes and trying to get his brain working, Moore nodded slowly. “Yeah,” he said then cleared his throat, getting up walking over to the map on the wall. “I’ve gone over all of his attacks so far and Joshua concentrates on areas that aren’t saturated with search teams. I think he’s moving north to Upper Priest Lake. He hits and moves, but we can’t physically put up a block for a single man in this terrain.”
“You leave that to me,” Tanner said, looking at the map and nodding.
“Colonel,” Winters said, and Tanner looked over at her. “Is Washington still pulling a thousand agents from us?”
“Yes,” Tanner snapped, slapping the table. “The first C130 will be here in an hour. They said since I was here, they needed to move agents to other areas of the country to deal with this outbreak of insurrection.”
Leaning back in his chair, Tanner looked up at the ceiling. “They want me to get Joshua and then they take a thousand personnel.”
“Colonel, I think they will pull more federal agents,” Moore said, moving back to the table. “You can’t let them.”
“Ha,” Tanner laughed curtly. “They asked and I told them I can do this with reduced forces, but it will take longer. You see wha
t their reply was.”
“Colonel, I haven’t checked my email. Have the attacks increased since this new message was released?” Winters asked.
“Tenfold,” Tanner said, without emotion. “At last count, thirty agents died today, but now attacks are coming on all federal agents. FAA, FCC, USDA, DEA, OSHA- hell, if you have a badge, they are gunning for you. Hell, they even killed a BIS agent, Bureau of Industry and Security, had to look that one up. So far, the only agency I haven’t heard of losing anyone is NOAA.”
“How?” Moore asked, leaning over the table.
“A list of every employee of the federal government was included in Joshua’s message,” Tanner said. “Just to let you know, a copy was sent to the director of Homeland before it was released on the net. Nobody realized it until this afternoon when an aide checked his email.”
“Joshua didn’t do that,” Moore said, finally sitting down in his chair.
“Moore, I need an idea how Joshua is communicating with the outside. We know he has help, I need a guess as to who,” Tanner said.
“Colonel, I know he has help now, but it goes against Joshua’s profile,” Moore said. “The best I can figure, he moves outside the search area and uses some place’s Wi-Fi and uploads his video. We know he can do it at will. My guess is, he’s sending it to one of the alternative news sites and they are helping him get his message out.”
Looking behind Moore at the map, “How far out could he feasibly move and still maintain his action against us?” Tanner asked.
“Spokane, Coeur d’Alene,” Moore said, spinning in his chair till he was looking at the map. “Hell, there are truck stops and coffee shops everywhere in between them. Thankfully, even there it’s sparsely populated. All he needs is Wi-Fi and there isn’t much to the east.”
“I’m expanding my emergency area,” Tanner said, picking up his pen.
“Um, don’t you have to call someone to do that?” Moore asked as Tanner made notes.
The Bonner Incident: Joshua's War Page 25
