Patriots

by James Wesley, Rawles

  Todd picked up a beat later, “For our tractor, which is the only vehicle with a diesel engine, let’s assume that we have about a ten-year supply of fuel. I was planning to buy a diesel-powered pickup, but I never found one at a reasonable price. In retrospect, I should have made that a much higher priority. We’ll only be using the tractor for tilling and towing the trailer we use for hay and firewood. So for all intents and purposes, let’s assume we have plenty of diesel, unless this turns out to be one of those major whammy multigenerational scenarios that we’ve talked about.

  “Gasoline, however, is probably going to be more of a problem. Our tank filled with premium unleaded is just under half full—about four hundred to four-hundred-and-twenty gallons. There’s another eighty-two gallons of various grades of gas in cans, and roughly sixty gallons in the fuel tanks of the various vehicles. All of the fuel in the underground storage tank has a stabilizer added to it, and is pretty well sealed against moisture, so I’m issuing a directive right here and now that the fuel in cans will be used first. We’ll probably be doing very little driving around the retreat, aside from wood and compost hauling. Therefore, most of the gasoline can be saved for use in chain saws or the Weed-Eater, or the occasional times that we have to fire up the gas-powered generator to provide power for larger electric tools such as drills, the Skilsaw, or the table saw. With gasoline, our problem is going to be storage life, not the total quantity we have stored. Even with stabilizer, we cannot depend on having reliable gasoline beyond five or six years. Hopefully, by then things will be back to normal.

  “By far, our biggest headache is kerosene. Even though it stores quite well, there’s not enough of it. Mary and I only had four gallons of kerosene of our own stored here. Of the rest of the group, only T.K. thought to pre-position any, and that was only three one-gallon cans. Only two additional gallons were brought by those of you who recently arrived and we found about half of a one-gallon can at Kevin’s yesterday. Mary and I had planned to buy several twenty-gallon drums of kerosene, but we never got around to it, with so much else going on in fixing up the retreat. Oh well, like they say,‘hindsight is 20-20.’

  The bottom line is that we are going to have to be very, very conservative in using kerosene lamps, and we cannot run Mike and Lisa’s Kerosun space heater at all, unless there’s an emergency or some special occasion.”

  Lisa raised her hand and chimed in, “Well, Todd, that makes kerosene our highest priority for bartering, assuming that we find someone to barter with. Perhaps we can either trade some gasoline or some ammunition for kerosene. Otherwise, even with minimal use, we’ll probably be out of kerosene within at most three years.”

  Todd nodded his head to the affirmative. “Very well. Unless there are any questions, that pretty well covers it for critical logistics. We are in good shape on all of the other categories, like medical supplies, batteries, toilet paper, clothing, camouflage face paint sticks, distilled water for the storage batteries, insect repellent, ladies’ supplies, and condoms.”

  Rose giggled after hearing Todd’s last comment.

  Lisa eyed Rose and offered, “I think that as time goes on, aside from the odd glitch like the kerosene, you’ll find that we thought out what we would need very carefully and thoroughly right down to the last diaper pin.”

  Just then, Todd felt a cold, wet nose touch his elbow. He shouted, “Now who let Shona in?”

  Lisa said weakly, “I’m afraid I did.”

  Todd gave Lisa a scowl and said, “One more point of clarification. Shona has a job to do just like the rest of us. Her job is to secure the area inside the chain-link fence, and give warning of anything she detects is amiss within range of her eyes, ears, or nose. Basically, she operates as a backup for the LP/

  OP, and as such, she’s part of our life insurance. Please resist the urge to spoil her. She is not to be let into the house again. Period. Don’t worry if it’s cold outside. Shona is used to it. She has a nice snug and warm insulated doghouse that I built for her. It’s okay if you give her the occasional pet or pat her on the head, but please remember that she’s a working bitch.”

  After letting Shona back outside and giving her a scratch under her collar and a pat on the head, Todd walked back in and carried on with his agenda.

  “The next item of business is our duty schedule. I think that Mike is much better qualified to brief this subject.”

  With that, Todd sat down, and Mike stood up and cleared his throat. “Okay, here’s the rundown on the duty sked. Both picket and C.Q. shifts are six hours long and are on a semi-rotating basis. That means that once you get assigned a block of time, say 0700 to 1300, you can always depend on having the same shift. Because there are nine of us here, everybody should have either C.Q. or LP/OP duty once a day. Security is always the priority, so work schedules will be made around the picket and C.Q. sked, rather than vice versa. I tried to set the shifts based on my past experience with you during field exercises. Kevin and I, for example, are night owls by nature, so we will almost always have the swing or graveyard shift. So will you, Jeff. Not so much because you are a late sleeper, but because your night vision is only one notch below Kevin’s, and, as everybody here except Rose already knows, Kevin’s night eyes are pretty phenomenal.

  “Okay. I’ll be posting copies of the sked at both the LP/OP, and at the C.Q. desk. That way, nobody can plead ignorance as an excuse for not showing up to relieve somebody on time. I’m going to have to insist that we stick to the rule in the SOP that only the tac coordinator has the authority to make changes to the sked. If two of you mutually agree to occasionally swap a shift, okay. But let’s not make a habit of it, and once again, every change has to be specifically approved by me, and well in advance. That’s the only way we can keep the sked from disintegrating into chaos. Also, I cannot overemphasize that when you are on either LP/OP or C.Q. duty, your main job is to keep your counterpart awake and alert. Call each other on the field phone at least once each half hour. That’s all I have to say. Any questions? Okay, I’m done.”

  Mike sat down abruptly and Todd again took his feet and said, “The last item of business that I had planned also has to do with security, in a way. That item is our vehicles. In case you haven’t noticed, our gravel turn-around circle out there looks like a used car lot. To my way of thinking, the only vehicles that we will be likely to use right here at the retreat are the pickups and the tractor, primarily for hauling hay and firewood. We have room to store three vehicles in a row in the garage, so I’d like to put T.K.’s Bronco up on blocks or jack stands in the back, Mike’s Power Wagon in the middle—also on blocks, to make the tires last longer—and my Power Wagon in the front. Because it doesn’t have a camper shell, it seems to be the handiest vehicle for hauling things. We should keep all three of these vehicles topped off with stabilized fuel at all times. As for the tractor, we’ll park it in the end of the woodshed for the time being. When we cut more wood and fill that overgrown woodshed, probably late next spring, we’ll make other parking arrangements.

  “As for the other vehicles, I think that we should drive them all out under the cover of the trees in the wood lot. The ground is frozen solid in the mornings this time of year, and it’s relatively level so we won’t have any problems getting even the two-wheel-drive rigs back there. I’d like to get them as far back into the woods as possible. We’ll cover the shot-out windows on Dan’s Toyota with sheet plastic to keep the rain out. The windshield area will also have to be covered with plywood or whatnot, otherwise snow will just pile up and push in the Visqueen.

  “I also want you to cover all the exposed glass on your vehicles with burlap sacks to stop reflections. We have a large supply of burlap sacks, so we can cover all the glass. We also have a lot of olive drab duct tape, so go ahead and tape over all of your reflectors and turn signal plastic. You can either take off or tape over your license plates since they reflect too. I also have several cans of flat black spray paint and rolls of masking tape that you can use f
or blacking out any residual chrome plated pieces. For any vehicle that might have its outline show from the road, we’ll cover it with a camouflage net held up by spreaders or hung from tree limbs. Once we have these vehicles parked, we’ll drain their gas tanks into cans, disconnect their batteries, drain their radiators, and put them up on blocks.” There were a few sour looks at Todd’s last suggestion. “I knew that this wouldn’t be a popular decision, but we just don’t have the storage space, and it’s a security risk having all those cars out in plain view.”

  All around the room, heads nodded in agreement.

  “Is there any other new or old business?” Todd asked.

  Lisa raised her hand. “I just want to remind everyone about the importance of brushing and flossing our teeth after every meal. Mary bought two of those Navy surplus monster rolls of floss. And we have a considerable supply of salt and baking soda for once the toothpaste runs out. We have absolutely got to be conscientious about this. Without a dentist here, the best we can do is to replace a filling that falls out, and we only have the weaker temporary-type filling compound for that. The only other option is pulling teeth. Enough said.”

  After seeing that she was done, Dan Fong raised his hand and remarked, “Boss, I have an item, too. I’d like to see everyone that owns an AR-15 or CAR-15 in the back bedroom after lunch.”

  After the meeting, Jeff lingered by Rose’s bed. “Is that the way the meetings usually go?” Rose asked.

  “Yep, Todd pretty well calls the shots except for tactical things, where he used to depend on me, and now defers to Mike. Luckily, Todd has a good head on his shoulders, and has sound judgment. Also, I’ve never known him to hold a grudge.”

  “How did the group get set up like this? Isn’t it a bit autocratic?”

  “Well, I’ll tell you, Rose, ten years or more ago, when they first set up the Group, they tried running it with votes on every issue. They realized that that was fine in peacetime. The only detractor was that it slowed some meetings down to a snail’s pace. But in times like these, what we need are firm, prompt orders, and no messing around. One-man-one-vote and endless debate just doesn’t cut it in a survival situation.”

  Meanwhile, T.K., Mary, and Lisa showed up to meet with Dan, just as he had asked. “Go ahead, take a seat there,” Dan said, pointing to the rumpled bed.

  They all had curious expressions. Dan held up a milled block of metal just over an inch long and articulated, “This is a drop-in auto-sear. I’m sure that at least one or two of you have heard of these. They’re illegal as all get out, but under the current circumstances, I don’t think that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is likely to send anyone out to investigate if somebody hears a gun get a bit hyperactive here at the retreat.”

  A smile widened across T.K.’s face. Mary and Lisa still looked puzzled. Dan carried on with his lecture. “There was a neat loophole in the law. Machineguns were of course tightly restricted in the Federal United States, subject to a two-hundred-dollar transfer tax. They have been taxed this way ever since the National Firearms Act got passed in 1934. There are also some separate laws in some states that require registration of full autos, and in some cases an absolute ban.

  “After about 1981, some full auto conversion parts like auto-sears themselves also became illegal. However, a loophole existed for a few years that allowed people to sell auto-sear component parts ‘for repair or replacement purposes only.’ In fact, there was at least one outfit that sold ‘repair’ auto-sear bases, and another that sold ‘repair’ auto-sear springs, cams, and pins. Just by ‘coincidence,’ these two businesses were located only a few miles apart. For a couple of years, these guys did a brisk business. I actually bought these a few years after that loophole closed. These were manufactured before the McClure-Volkmer law was signed, so they were grandfathered under a different loophole.

  “I got mine the same way that Kevin got the bastard crystals for our Trick five hundreds. I used a drop box using a false ID that I worked up, just so I wouldn’t get caught. Because I knew that the loophole would eventually be closed, I took the opportunity to buy six of them. They cost me one-hundred-seventy-five dollars each.” Now, all three of Dan’s guests were grinning.

  “An auto-sear is a key part in converting an AR-15 or CAR-15 to selective fire. It means that instead of having a two-position selector switch—SAFE and FIRE—you have a three-position switch—SAFE, SEMI, and AUTO. The D.I. A.S. can’t do this all by itself, though. You also need an M16 bolt carrier and a set of M16 lower-receiver internal parts. Now all of you already have early model hard-chromed M16 carriers in your ARs. That was part of the group standard set of upgrades. As you recall, I once insisted that we standardize with the chrome carriers, tritium front sights, and the five-slot closed cage M16A2 flash hiders.

  “Just after I got the auto-sears, I also bought six sets of M16 lower-receiver parts at a gun show. At that time these parts were only about one hundred dollars for the full set. In recent years, BATFE agents have even been hassling people who they’ve caught with just a few of the lower-receiver parts. Those ‘F Troop’ guys don’t cut any slack.

  “I never told anybody about the M16 lower-receiver parts sets or about the auto-sears.

  “I didn’t want to get into any big arguments about legalities, or whether it’s right to obey a law that is contrary to the Constitution—you know, the Marbury versus Madison decision, and all that. Also, I didn’t want to put Mikey into one of those ‘police officer’s moral dilemma’ tizzies. Soooo, I just tucked them away in a wall cache, saving them for a rainy day. Needless to say, we got our rainy day. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a freakin’ Wagnerian thunder-storm out there, at least in the big cities.

  “Soooo, here you go. I’ve got an auto-sear and a set of lower-receiver parts to give to each of you. I’ve already put one in my AR-15. After you install yours, that leaves two more sets. I’ll be saving one for when Terry Layton gets up here.

  As for the sixth and last set—well, I guess it will make one fine barter item.

  “Now, I’m also giving you some advice along with these marvels of innovative machining. Number one: don’t think that just because you have the potential to rock-’n-roll that you’re an instant Rambo. That’s a mistake that could be fatal. Remember that the best practical use of full auto is at very close range, versus multiple opponents. Even then, don’t use it like a garden hose. If you do, you’ll just be wasting precious ammo, and probably missing more than you are hitting. Stick with short, controlled bursts. Three to five rounds at the most.”

  After a brief pause for his last statement to sink in, Dan continued, “Number two: Don’t even think about switching to the ‘group therapy’ mode unless your targets are at thirty yards or less. Beyond that range, well aimed semi-auto shots will be much more effective. One more thing: If you are in a large-scale firefight and start shooting full auto, guess who the bad guys are going to concentrate their fire on?” Dan tilted his head and raised an eyebrow for emphasis. Then he concluded, “Well, that’s basically it. I’ll get together with each of you individually on how to swap out the lower-receiver parts and install the auto-sears.”

  After they had cracked a few jokes, Lisa, Mary, and T.K. walked out of the back bedroom, Ziploc bags in hand, wearing conspiratorial grins.

  • • •

  Aside from the term “group standard,” the other term used most often at group meetings was “case lot.” Before the Crunch, the group bought as many items as it could in bulk, and in many cases directly from their packagers and manufacturers. This included not just storage food but also many others, including ammunition, bandages, and nickel cadmium (“ni-cad”) rechargeable batteries.

  In the long run, buying items in case lots instead of in “onesies and twosies” saved the group thousands of dollars. Gun and ammunition purchases were handled by Dan Fong, who had obtained a Federal Firearms License (FFL) as soon as he turned twenty-one. The FFL allowed Dan to order guns through
the mail from distributors at dealer’s cost. This too saved the group a lot of money, as it eliminated the 30 to 60 percent markup normally charged by gun dealers with storefront operations.

  Most large quantity purchases were coordinated by Terry Layton. Often, the Laytons’ garage looked more like a warehouse than a place to park their cars. At one point, nearly half the garage was stacked from floor to ceiling with cases of military MRE field rations. Terry wondered what the neighbors thought of all of these goings-on, but she was never questioned by them.

  Like many survivalist groups, Todd’s group was faced with a seemingly insolvable quandary. Nearly all of the group members wanted to move to a safe haven, but there were virtually no prospects of finding work in their chosen professions in a remote, agrarian area like north central Idaho. Eventually, only the Grays and Kevin Lendel were able to make the move. In their cases, this was only possible because they were able to work at home with an out-of-state income. The rest of the group members kept their G.O.O.D. backpacks packed, and their jerry cans of gasoline full and frequently rotated. They also took advantage of the Grays’ offer to “pre-position” most of their survival supplies at the retreat. Todd and Mary had left most of the basement of their farmhouse largely empty for just this purpose.

  During the course of the first two years after they bought their home near Bovill, the basement was gradually filled. Aside from the bulkier items such as five-gallon plastic buckets filled with grain, rice, beans, and powdered milk, most of the group members’ supplies were stored in G.I. surplus wall lockers that Mike Nelson found on sale at Ruvel’s Surplus on West Belmont Avenue in Chicago. Todd gave all of the group members the option of putting padlocks on their lockers if they preferred. By the turn of the century, all of the outer walls of the basement were lined with wall lockers. Much of the center of the basement was tiled with wooden pallets and heaped with the more bulky supplies such as five-gallon grain buckets, camouflage nets, and tan plastic five-gallon G.I. water cans. Each container was marked with an Avery label with the owner’s name, date of purchase, and the anticipated expiration.