by Ira Tabankin
“I’ll be damned, the seventy-year-old armor held up to the Russian’s latest anti-ship missiles. DC, keep me informed.” Hanging up the handset, Captain Jefferson picks up the handset again, “Weapons, Captain, when will we be in range for our main guns?”
“Sir, we are currently in range.”
“Good, fire at will, give the Chinese a full broadside, fire all nine main guns.”
Smiling the weapons officer replies, “Aye, sir!”
Two minutes later, nine sixteen inch cannons fire. The recoil moves the 65,000-ton displacement ship in the opposite direction of the guns firing. The sound from the nine canons sounds like hell itself is being ripped open. Each shell weighs 2,700 pounds, they were designed to attack other battleships. When the shells strike the thin armor of a modern warship, they tear it apart, the only thing left on the surface is an oil slick and a large debris field. Two shells strike Chinese destroyers, completely destroying them, three of the nine shells land close enough to a Chinese ship that their hull welds crack open, flooding the destroyers. Admiral Zin, watching the battle from video relayed via satellite, is shocked by the damage the Missouri’s shells cause. He sees the flames from the broadside, he says, “Holy Spirit, what was that?”
“Sir, those were armor-piercing shells fired from the American Battleship. They tore our ships apart, nothing is left of our ships when that shell strikes them.”
“I thought we targeted that ship with twenty sunburns.”
“Sir, we did. The Missouri is protected by over 320mm of armor. The Sunburn’s warheads didn’t penetrate her armor.”
“What do we have that will damage that ship?”
“Admiral, the only weapon we have that will sink her is a tactical nuke.”
“Order all of our ships to zig-zag, those shells are dumb, they will land where our ships were, not where they will be.”
As they’re watching, the Missouri fires another broadside that destroys four Chinese ships. Admiral Zin shakes his head watching what was a few weeks ago a museum sinking his battle fleet. “Leak to the Americans that we are preparing to use a tactical nuke if they don’t withdraw, the threat itself should be enough for this President to stop his fleet. Once the American’s withdraw, make the best possible speed to Hawaii, get our transport planes in the air, I want 100,000 troops on the ground within 24 hours. We’ll give the Americans 12 hours to leave the Islands before we begin assimilating them with the mainland.”
“Admiral, what about any American military we find after the 12 hours?”
“Arrest them, they will make good work slaves, we’ll work them to death as an example to the population to not oppose our rule.”
“Yes, sir.”
They continue watching the World War Two battleship ravage their fleet hoping their ploy will cause the American President to withdraw the American fleet.
Admiral Zin is handed another message filled with bad news, the initial transports were all shot down by American F22 fighters based in Japan. He orders the transport flights held until he can arrange fighter coverage.
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“Lacy, the only thing he didn’t say is he’s appointed himself King, or President until the end of this little crises, hence allowing him to legally serve for life. However, since he’s merging us with the UN, he doesn’t have to be king, he’s now become an emperor.”
“Maybe we’ll be lucky and he’ll choke on his words or one of the cigarettes he smokes behind the First Lady's back.”
“You know, she might get angry enough to him to put him out of our misery for us. They never look like a happy couple together. They take separate vacations from each other, they only attend official functions together, where she always wears her BRF, Bitchy Resting Face, the rest of the time they’re separate. I wonder if the rumors of their marital problems are real.”
“Jay, does it matter? He’s going to increase taxes again, he’s sending the army and the new UN world police to bring peace, the sight of an Army marching down Main Street is going to be enough to start problems he didn’t even think about. The gangs will slip away as they always do, the Army will try to disarm everyone, those who support the constitution will fight the Army, can you say civil war? When the fighting breaks out, the gangs and outlaws will resurface to loot the country’s limited resources. We could be fighting a three-front battle.” Lacy stops, thinking to herself unless our U.S. armed services stick to their oath to defend the United States Constitution and side against this new world order and join patriotic Americans to defend our basic constitutional rights…
“Don’t forget the Chinese are still demanding we hand them Hawaii or pay them what we owe and the Russians are eyeing Alaska.”
“Remember, you told me one day I’d be happy you stockpiled so many guns and so much ammo, I’m not ashamed to say, I’m happy you did. I think we’re going to surface and need our supply of weapons to hold on to what’s ours. Fighting the asshole degenerates above us may be the least of our problems.”
I nod my head, “I agree.”
Chapter 9
Jason, the mobs new leader holds a meeting in Fred’s house to discuss how they’re going to deal with Dutch and his motorcycle club. Jason says, “The MC helped us win the battle which enabled us to have these homes. We found food and beer in the homes. However, not only did they kill Robert and Jack, they’ve been starving us. They limit the food they give us, they screw with us every minute they can. I’m not going to let Dutch and his asshole friends get away with screwing us. I want to kill Dutch before he can kill any more of us. I want them to fear us versus taking us for granted. I want us to get the rewards so many of us died for.”
Bill, who's been walking with the mob since the first day, says, “How can we touch Dutch? He’s surrounded 24/7. None of us will be able to get close enough to him to kill him. We have a limited number of weapons compared to the club. They won’t let a lot of us in their large house at the same time.”
Jason smiles saying, “He likes his ladies. I think we should see if one of our women is willing to take out Dutch. We can make sure she catches his eye, he’ll pick her up, when they’re alone, she kills him, easy.”
Bill smirked saying, “Jason, that’s very easy to say, however, we know no woman is allowed near him unless she’s naked. If by chance she succeeds, his guards will most likely kill her and also assume we were behind Dutch’s murder and kill all of us. We may rid ourselves of Dutch at the cost of all of our lives.”
Jason smirks saying, “I can think of a place she will be able to hide a weapon.”
Bill shakes his head responding, “Jason, you’re a dirty person. Where are we going to find someone who is cold-hearted enough to risk her life?”
“I think we start with Karen. She has a reason to do it.”
“Yes, she was Robert’s girlfriend, but is she strong willed enough to carry it out? It’s one thing to talk about killing, it’s another to do it while looking the person in the eye. She’ll have to kill him in cold blood while relatively defenseless.”
Jason looks at the ceiling of Fred’s living room, “All we can do is ask her, we have nothing to lose if she says no. I bet we find someone who is willing to do it.”
“Remember, we’re only going to get one chance. If she tries and fails, they will kill her and many of us, they will never allow anyone close to Dutch again. Whoever agrees to do it can’t get cold feet and back out at the last minute.”
Looking concerned, Bob continues, “Jason, if we ask her and she refuses for any reason, we have to be very careful she doesn’t say anything to anyone else about it. Dutch has ears everywhere. If he finds out what we’re planning, he’ll kill us all before we can move against him. We will also have to prepare for the aftermath of her success. We’re going to have an all-out war between our groups and the MC. They will come after us with everything they have. Taking Dutch down is going to cost us. We should be ready to attack their base of operations as soon as we know Dutch is gone. Surprise
is our best friend. Hopefully, we’ll be able to strike them while they’re still confused.”
Jason looks at his friends, “We’ve been together for a long time. We’re the survivors of the long walk from Chicago. We’ve survived the weather, the illnesses, the hunger and each other. We can get through this. Sooner or later Dutch is going to drop his guard. He’s going to grow careless. He has a current favorite woman. He usually grows tired of one after a couple of weeks, let’s talk to Karen. If she’ll do it, we’ll have a couple of weeks to prep her. We’re also going to have to make sure she catches Dutch’s eye. We want to make sure he wants her so she can get next to him. It’s the only chance we’re going to have to get rid of him. We can’t tell anyone about our plans or Dutch will come after us. None of us can talk about this to anyone else. At the same time, we have to prepare and practice our defenses.”
Everyone agrees this is the only workable plan they can think of to kill Big Dutch. When the group leaves Fred’s house, Jason paces outside the house trying to draw up a mental plan of what to do if they succeed or more likely if they fail. He decides the best plan is to put some distance between his group and the MC. He goes back into Fred’s house to make a list of those people who have skills they will need in the future, the ones who have skills they need now and the ones who are only takers. Jason decides in order to protect those with critical skills he’ll whisper to them to begin leaving the farm. He’s selected an area on the map where he plans to meet when he gets everyone he needs away from the farm.
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Dutch laughed so hard watching the President’s speech, beer ran out of his nose. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Fair share, one percent, higher taxes” are what he and his lieutenants heard, most were laughing at the speech as the President spoke the words. One of Dutch’s staff was an ex-college economics professor they called ‘prof.' “Prof, what do you make of his speech?”
“Dutch, I can’t believe he’s repeating his normal mantra. We’re in a situation where the international markets aren’t accepting our dollar, we lost the reserve currency classification, we’ve lost most of the value of the dollar. Many of our allies won’t accept it for trading. We’re seeing hyperinflation begin, people’s saving and market holdings are dropping in value every day. The banking system is broken, most of the branches are closed, ATMs are out of money. Even if people could get their hands on money, nobody knows what’s its worth. Stores are either out of inventory or charging anything they want for whatever they have left. People have started to barter for things they need. Our economy has fallen back in time two hundred years. Unless something drastic happens, the country’s unemployment rate is going to exceed fifty percent. I’m not sure we’re going to be able to reverse course in our lifetimes. His merge with the UN is very dangerous. He said he’s going to send UN troops here to fight us. We should look for a way to stop them before they can get settled in our country. The army is Americans, they might not fire on other Americans while on the other hand the UN troops will take joy in killing us.”
“Prof, repeat that again in English.”
“Dutch, the country is screwed, everything he’s saying is going to make the current situation worse. We’re about to have a civil war against the UN in our back yards.”
“Why didn’t you just say so?”
“I did.”
“Have another beer, you’ve got too many brain cells for me to deal with. Jose, you were in the Marines before they busted you out for punching your sergeant. What do you think about him sending the military to patrol the streets? Are we going to have to fight the Army?”
Jose laughs, “Dutch, he cut the military before and during the start of the economic crises, two months ago they were down to only half a million people in the military. It’s anybody’s guess how many are left in uniform, there’s not enough of them to patrol everywhere. Most of them are going to be tied up providing services to the starving population. It should be easy for us to stay away from them. If we do run into them, they will most likely be in very small numbers, numbers we’ll be able to handle. I worry about the UN troops, they are an unknown.”
“If I understand what the two of you are saying, we have nothing short term to worry about.”
Both Jose and the Prof nod their agreement. Dutch smiles, “In that case, I suggest we party. Someone bring the girls in.” Eight naked young ladies aged from eighteen to twenty-six are led into the large family room. Each walks to over to the man they’ve been sleeping with. They sit on the men’s laps, where they’re offered beer or glass of wine.
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Tony and I open the security door to find out what the code 1 problem is, “Todd, what’s the problem?”
“Dad, Tony, we’ve received reports that the US Army is in Illinois heading in our direction, there are also posting on a number of forums of Tea Party militia planning on attacking the Army patrols, they’re asking for other like-minded people to join them fighting against the Army and new world order. And there are videos of UN airplanes landing in the country. According to the HAM reports, the Army, the militia, and the UN are all headed to Nashville. Dad, there’s one report, which I think is pure BS that Russians have been spotted moving towards the Army.”
“Shit, we’re right in their path. The last thing we need is us getting caught in a mini world war.”
Todd asks, “Dad, what can we do about it?”
“I don’t know yet. I need to think about it. While, I’m thinking, let’s see what the assholes upstairs are doing.”
I watch Dutch launch his sex party from the security room, “Damn it, I’m going to have to burn all of my furniture and start all over again. Lacy won’t ever sit in any of those chairs again.”
Todd smiles while responding, “Dad, where are you going to find new furniture?”
“I don’t know, but we’ll have to find some before we return home. God knows what filthy diseases those scum are spreading in my house.” Tony enters the security room, he looks at the monitors, “Next time you decide to hide and watch a porn flick make sure you call me. Anyone have any popcorn?”
I jab him in his ribs with my elbow, “That’s my house they’re screwing in.”
Tony smiles saying, “So that’s how you made your money, you made porn flicks and you never told me, you shouldn’t keep secrets from me. You know I have a good distribution arm that can expand your sales.”
Everyone laughs, Tony is trying hard to hold his laugh in. “Jay, I think we need to pay these assholes a visit.”
“I agree. We need to pit these assholes against the other assholes, maybe we can maneuver them into killing each other off so we can move back into our homes. It’s better for us if they kill each other off versus us risking our lives.”
Tony and John grin, Todd says, “I think we have to start hitting them if for no other reason than the morale of our people is falling again. They thought that when Dad returned everything would return to normal. They thought we’d be quickly moving back into our homes. They don’t see us doing anything ‘constructive’ and they’re getting restless and depressed.”
“Todd, you talk to almost everyone, what did they think of the President’s speech?”
“Jay, most were confused, they don’t understand what he was saying or how anything he said, except for sending the military into the country to restore order, will make any difference. Some think the military will swarm in, crush the gangs and everything will return to the way it was. Some think working closer with the UN is a good thing.”
Tony shakes his head, “Are they that far gone? Can’t they see that life will never be the way it was? The federal government is meaningless. They have proven to be a useless, instigating part of the problem versus being part of the solution. My friends were able to make their living by building the cost of paying off the government into our cost of business, the only thing the government did for us was to turn their backs. If anything, their demise is going to help people like me. Ther
e will be fewer people to pay off. The unknown in the future is the UN.”
John looks at Tony, “Aren’t you afraid of the country breaking into many small countries with warlords?”
“No. If it happens, many of my friends are going to be those warlords. We’ve had the supplies, the weapons and the will to use them before the crash, we’re going to be in a perfect position to restore order.”
Todd asks, “Tony, restore order or establish the order you guys want?”
“Is there a difference?”
“Todd, you’re too young to remember how it used to be when we controlled areas. I’ll give you an example. Years ago, we ran Las Vegas. When we ran the city, the gambling, and the girls, your safety as a visitor was important to us. We wanted you to be safe, we wanted you to stay in our hotels, spend your money with us. We knew we would always win at the tables, the odds are stacked in our favor. All we wanted was for our visitors to spend their money in our casinos. You didn’t have to worry about being mugged, we kept the streets clean and crime free. We kept the city humming along making money for everyone. We knew drugs could be a problem so we controlled where they went and how much they sold for. We kept them away from schools and kids. We knew if kids got into drugs, their parents would want us gone, it would be bad for our overall business. We kept the streets clean to protect our customers.”
