by Mark Goodwin
Shelly and Rene walked up to the outpost. Rene said, “Adam wants you guys to see something. We’ll keep an eye out for a while.”
Matt thanked them and explained how to work the walkie. Shelly assured him that she was familiar with the operation of a walkie-talkie.
Matt grabbed his rifle and crutches and hobbled down to the house. Doc and Justin followed. When they arrived, they saw a big wall tent already set up.
“How do you like that?” Adam asked.
“It’s great!” Matt said.
“Gary used to be a Civil War reenactor. This was his tent.” Adam explained.
Gary said, “I guess we’re all Civil War reenactors now.”
Justin joked, “As long as it wasn’t no Yankee tent. I ain’t sleepin’ in no Yankee tent.”
Gary said, “I ought to whip you for even thinking I’d play a Yankee.”
Matt laughed and said, “That should easily fit four cots.”
Adam added, “And someone will always be on watch, so there will never be more than four men sleeping at one time anyway. On Navy subs, they call it ‘hot racking.’ Space is limited on submarines, so sleeping space has to be shared. With the pull-out couch in the office, we should have enough space for everyone to sleep.”
The men continued to get the accommodations set up then moved on to erecting the platforms for the girls in both bedrooms.
CHAPTER 33
“May God give us wisdom, fortitude, and perseverance, and every other virtue necessary for us to maintain that independence which we have asserted!”
-Samuel Adams
Ryan Randall arrived early Friday morning at Fort Hood to meet with the other pilots who volunteered for the counterstrike against the Federal States. As he was getting settled into his temporary barracks, General Jefferson walked in. All the pilots stood at attention.
“As you were, gentlemen,” the general said.
Jefferson walked over to Ryan’s bunk. “I thought you’d be staying with your parents.”
Ryan replied, “I’m still not on speaking terms with Dad.”
Jefferson said, “That’s no reason to punish your mom.”
Ryan replied, “If I tell her that I’m here, she’ll want to know why. If she finds out I’m flying in the assault, she’ll worry from the time I tell her until I get back. Ignorance is bliss.”
Jefferson said, “I can’t keep the fact that you’ll be flying from your father. You’re your own man. He can’t stop you, but he deserves to know. That’s part of being a man, Ryan. I think you should tell him.”
Ryan agreed. “I’ll tell him. I want to wait ‘til just before takeoff. I’m in no mood for a long argument about it. He can decide if he wants to tell Mom.”
The general said, “I can respect that. I’ll be going over the attack plan with everyone in the briefing later this afternoon. However, I want to discuss it with you in private. I may have a special role for you if you accept the task. Can we have lunch together after you get settled?”
“I’d be honored,” Ryan said.
“Good. Head on over to my residence at twelve o’clock,” Jefferson said.
Ryan replied, “Twelve o’clock, sir.”
The general left and Ryan continued to put his things away. He got several looks from the other pilots, but no one said anything. It was common knowledge that Ryan had been fast-tracked through training by the general. He had proven himself as a good pilot, but he could still sense the contention from the other men.
Ryan put on a ball cap and sunglasses before walking over to meet the general. He kept a lookout for his father. He was in no hurry to explain why he was on the base. He arrived and was escorted to the dining room by an MP. Ryan took a seat and was soon joined by the general.
“I hope you like roast beef,” Jefferson said.
“We don’t get anything like that at Kelly Field. Things are pretty tight on base,” Ryan commented.
Lunch was served and Ryan had to make a conscious effort not to be a pig.
Jefferson said, “I’ll show you some maps after we eat, but the assault is going to be a combined attack utilizing ICBMs launched from Malmstrom and missiles launched from fixed wing aircraft. The ICBMs will be used to strike the larger geographic areas such as the Southwest, West Coast, and Midwest, but you’ll be part of the attack that will launch smaller missiles against the Northeast. We want that to be more surgical so we minimize the effect on Canada. We need to do what we can to keep the few friends we have.”
“Has Canada been supportive of the Coalition?” Ryan asked.
Jefferson took a sip of his iced tea. “No, but they haven’t been supportive of the Federal States, either. Hopefully, we can rebuild a relationship with them after the dust settles.”
Ryan inquired, “What about China? How will they react to their forces on the west coast being hit by an EMP?”
Jefferson said, “I’m not sure, but they are an invading force. They’ve aligned themselves with the Federal States. They should expect retaliation for the action taken against the Coalition.”
Ryan quizzed, “You mentioned that you wanted to discuss a special role for me in the assault?”
Jefferson wiped his mouth. “Yes. I hope I can depend on you to keep this between us. I know how angry you are at D.C. for the murder of your brother.”
Ryan answered, “I’ll never get over that. And yes, you can count on me to keep a secret.”
Jefferson said, “You have no obligation to accept the mission, but I’d like to propose an opportunity for you to collect your pound of flesh from Howe. There is no political will for anything other than an EMP against the Federal States, but we need to take the head off the snake. You’ll be launching a small nuclear warhead over D.C. If the guidance system on the delivery missile were to malfunction, the warhead might detonate at a lower altitude. Rather than generating an EMP, it would eliminate all of the corruption inside the beltway. There would be collateral damage. You have to decide if you can live with that. Your father has no stomach for it. I wish it were not something that had to be done, but I see no other option if we want America to survive.”
Ryan asked, “So you’re talking about nuking Washington? Wouldn’t I have to launch from a different altitude? That could cause speculation. It might make people think that I was part of a conspiracy or at the very least, blame it on pilot error.”
Jefferson said, “You’ll launch the missile from miles away, at the same altitude as all the other pilots. It could have been done without any pilot ever knowing. If you’re uncomfortable with it, I’ll assign you to launching the EMP over New York or some other place.”
Ryan said, “No, I’ll accept the mission. I want to be the one who blows that cesspool to the devil. I don’t care if we’re exposed. I’ll do it and I’ll never have any regret.”
Jefferson said, “We won’t be exposed. The only trace evidence will be in the guidance system which will be destroyed on detonation.”
Ryan countered, “But it’ll look awful fishy that it was the missile over D.C. that malfunctioned.”
Jefferson lifted his ice tea for a toast. “We’ll blame it on the EMP strike from the Federal States. I’m sure people will believe that it could have affected the guidance system in the missile.”
Ryan toasted the general. “There will be no way to prove otherwise, so they’ll have to accept it.”
CHAPTER 34
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
-Psalms 119:11
Early Monday morning, Matt woke to a firm nudge on the arm. Doc said softly, “It’s five o’clock. Time to get up.” Matt took a second to remember where he was. For a second, he thought he was back in the work camp prison. Why else would Doc be waking him? As soon as he saw his pillow, the blanket over him and the fold-out cot beneath him, he knew he wasn’t in the work camp. There had been no such comforts there.
“Okay, thanks. I’m up,” Matt replied with a smile. Doc returned
to the office or what was now being referred to as the radio room. Matt’s six-hour guard shift began in one hour. He would be stationed at the observation post near the road and Karen would be watching the backside of the property from a second position that had been erected atop the metal work shed. This secondary position allowed them to keep watch for assault teams approaching from the forest. Between the two observation points, all possible angles of approach were covered. Matt stoked the fire outside of the men’s tent and started a pot of coffee on the metal grate over the fire. He used Gary’s blue enamel coffee pot for his morning fix. There was still plenty of natural gas in the tank, but making coffee outside when the weather permitted was one way to stretch the depleting resource.
Matt went inside and quietly opened the door to the master bedroom. He climbed the short ladder to the upper level of the sleeping platform and gently stroked his wife’s leg until she awakened. “Time to get up,” he whispered.
Karen nodded that she heard him but continued to rest her head on the pillow. Miss Mae, however, needed no coaxing. She came out from under the lower level sleeping area where Mandy and Carissa slept. She met Matt at the bottom of the ladder with a soft “meow.” She was ready for breakfast.
Matt went to the kitchen and took a few pieces of leftover chicken from the fridge to give Miss Mae. Her supplies of cat food were dwindling, but she didn’t seem to mind. In fact she much preferred the leftovers on most occasions.
Matt made a small batch of pancake batter and took it outside to cook over the fire. The coffee was ready when he arrived so he poured himself a cup.
Karen joined him just as the pancakes were ready. “It’s been five days now since the EMP. Does this remind you of Florida after Hurricane Wilma?”
“Sort of,” he replied. “At least we knew power would eventually be back on. And we still had radio stations. This feels a little more permanent.”
Karen asked, “If we haven’t been attacked yet, do you think we’re safe?”
Matt shrugged. “I don’t know. They may be waiting for things to descend into chaos. It’s possible that they figure we’ll use up all of our resources and get weaker. The opposite is probably true. Most folks who live in rural areas are probably adapting and becoming more resilient, like we are. Lt. Joe has been able to reach others who had some type of communication equipment that survived the attack. He thinks there are even more who may have had shortwave radios that survived. They would be able to receive information being passed around, even if they have no way of letting us know.
“The Northwest Coalition has several of their AmRRON participants operating a communications net. They’re able to pass information or call their militias and military if any region comes under attack. The Carolinas have established a fantastic emergency communications network utilizing military radios that were stored in EMP resistant locations. It’s only a matter of time before Kentucky and Tennessee get a network set up like theirs. The time to have hit us was right after the EMP attack. Now we’re getting stronger day by day.”
While the two were eating their pancakes at an outside picnic table near the men’s sleeping tent, Mandy came outside to join them. “Matt, I want to be on lookout with you. I can watch, and I’m a good shot if I have to shoot somebody.”
Matt said, “I don’t mind if you come along, but you have to ask your mom.”
Mandy rebutted, “Can’t I ask my dad? I know mom won’t let me. She thinks she can protect us, but if anything bad ever happens, I might have to shoot somebody. It would be better if she let us learn more about fighting.”
Matt said, “Climb up to the observation post on top of the work shed and have Shelly call your dad on the walkie-talkie.”
“I can tell him that it’s okay with you?” she asked for clarification.
“It’s fine with me,” Matt smiled.
Mandy ran off and Karen said, “She just turned thirteen. Do you think this is a good idea to have her out on the front line?”
Matt said, “She makes a good point, if we do get hit, she may have to fight.”
Karen countered, “The plan is if our house gets hit, the girls are supposed to fall back to Adam’s house.”
Matt said, “That’s the plan, but what if you get cut off, or what if they run you down in the woods on the way? We could get boxed in from multiple directions. War is unpredictable. We try not to dwell on all the horrific things that can happen, but the reality is that it can get ugly. If Mandy is brave enough to embrace the thought of having to fight, we should encourage that bravery and try to get it to grow. It will serve her much better than fear.”
“Whatever you say,” Karen didn’t sound convinced when she conceded.
Mandy was soon back with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. “Dad said I can come with you!”
Matt chuckled, “Then you better eat a good breakfast.”
Matt made her a small plate of pancakes and poured himself another cup of coffee.
Mandy began eating. Between bites she said, “Dad said it was alright for me to bring my .22 rifle.”
“You might need it.” Matt looked over to see Karen’s reaction. She didn’t say anything, she just rolled her eyes.
After breakfast, Karen headed to her post above the work shed to relieve Shelly. Matt grabbed his rifle, some water and his Bible. Then he and Mandy went to the post near the road to relieve Adam.
When they arrived, Adam gave Mandy a quick rundown of what was expected of a sentry. “Sweet pea, you have to be very still and very quiet. You have to stay low and do what Matt tells you. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” she answered.
Adam smiled and placed his camouflaged boonie hat on her head as he kissed her. The hat swallowed half of her small head but Mandy beamed with delight from her father’s approval.
Adam left the post while Matt and Mandy settled in for their shift. Matt pulled out his Bible and began to jot down some scripture on a three-by-five-inch index card.
Mandy whispered, “What are you doing, Matt.”
“I’m writing Psalm one on an index card so I can memorize it,” he replied. “I recite the part I remember in my head, then when I get to a section that I can’t remember, I can pull out the card and memorize the next section.”
Mandy was curious. “You’re going to memorize the whole Psalm?”
Matt nodded. “The first psalm is only a few verses. I should be able to do it this week. Did you know Jewish children used to have to memorize the entire Torah? Some still do.”
“What’s the Torah?” Mandy whispered.
Matt replied, “It’s the first five books of the Old Testament.”
“Wow!” Mandy exclaimed. “But why are you memorizing a whole psalm?”
Matt spoke softly. “When I was captured and held in the work camp, I didn’t have a Bible. The only Bible I had was what I had memorized. When I had no hope at all, those few verses I could remember were a great source of hope for me. I wished I had known more verses to meditate on when I was sitting inside my cell.”
Mandy sat with her eyes wide open. “That must have been horrible. I can’t imagine being in a cage like that. Can I read your card?”
“Sure.” Matt handed her the index card.
Mandy recited the words from the card. “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
She sat quietly for a moment as if she were digesting what she had read. “Why is the guy who meditates on God’s law like a tree by a stream of water?”<
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Matt smiled. “A tree planted by a stream gets its water from underground, sort of an unseen source. Other trees are dependent on the weather. They have to have rain or they’ll wither away. The man who gets his peace from God’s word isn’t dependent on outside circumstances. For that tree, it doesn’t matter if it rains or not. Do you understand?”
Mandy nodded. “So if you’re planted by the stream, it doesn’t matter if DHS throws you in a cell, your peace comes from inside.”
Matt smiled and patted Mandy on the head to let her know that she got it.
Mandy asked, “Do you have another index card?”
Matt handed her the one he had written on. “I’ll get another one back at the house.”
Mandy and Matt sat diligently watching the road and the surrounding area all morning. At noon, Gary arrived to relieve them. “Did Matt sleep all morning and make you stand watch?”
Mandy laughed. “No!”
Gary snickered, “Well then, you’re lucky. That’s what he used to do to me when we were guarding the border.”
“Really?” Mandy was unconvinced.
“It was the other way around, the way I remember it.” Matt grabbed his things and headed back toward the house, with the young sentinel trailing close behind.
When they returned to the house, Janice was preparing a huge meal to feed everyone at the homestead that was now being called Fort Bair. “Everyone can’t eat at once anyway, so just grab a plate and eat when you’re ready.”
Mandy asked, “Is Dad awake, yet?”
Janice said, “He’s still asleep. He needs at least another two hours. You can wake him up later.”
Karen had been relieved from her post by Debbie. She went to the bucket to wash up then came to eat next to Matt and Mandy.
Janice asked, “Matt, do you think it would be too much of a drain on the batteries to run the dehydrator?”
