THE TOCABAGA CHRONICLES: (BOX SET PART III - BOOKS #9-10)

by Thomas H. Ward

  They seemed to be in pretty good shape, sporting full beards with long hair. They looked like Free Roamers. I guessed them to be about thirty something. I found out they were preppers that have lived here for two years, under the radar so to speak.

  Bill pleaded, “Please don’t take our supplies.”

  I advised, “Don’t worry, we’re here to help you. No one’s gonna steal anything.”

  George came outside and looked at the men. “Man, you guys got a lot of stuff up there.” They nodded in agreement. “Where’d you get the AK47’s from?”

  Ted replied, “We bought those years ago.”

  George looked at Ted. “Those guns will get you killed.”

  “How’s that? So far they’ve saved our lives.”

  “AK’s are junk guns. They’re not very accurate. I can jam one just by stomping on the receiver, by the ejection port.”

  “How long have you guys been living here?” Baldwin asked.

  “Like, we told Jack, about two years. This used to be our parents place. When they passed away, we moved in.”

  “You know, there’s radical Muslims living nearby. How come they haven’t killed you?”

  Both men laughed. “We can speak Arabic. They think we’re Muslims. We give them stuff every now and then. They leave us alone for the most part.”

  “You look like Muslims. Where did you learn to speak Arabic?” I asked.

  “Our Father was from Morocco. He moved here 40 years ago and married a Christian, our mother. Then he converted. We also studied Arabic in college.”

  “So are you Muslims’?”

  They glanced at us and then at each other. Ted said, “No, of course not. We’re Christians. You won’t find any prayer rugs in our home.”

  Baldwin’s radio hissed, “Boss, we got eyes on the J’s [jihadists] and there’s six that I can see. They’re armed, alright.”

  “Roger that. Keep watching them for now. Over.”

  “Affirmative.”

  “Bill, how many jihadists are there?” Baldwin asked.

  “I guess about six men and four women. We don’t really know for sure. Oh, there’s also some kids.”

  “Damn it anyhow, kids and women. That’s all we needed to screw this up. We don’t kill kids and women … unless we have to.” Everyone looked at Baldwin. “What? Why are you looking at me? If they point a gun at you what are you gonna do?”

  I said, “George, let’s get the men together and make a plan to deal with these J’s.”

  “I was getting to that. There’s no hurry. They’re not going anywhere.”

  George radioed his two teams to come in. We made a plan to assault the building. It was a simple plan, using the Humvee fifties, we would surround the building and give them a chance to surrender. If they didn’t, then we’d blow them away. George felt sure they would rather surrender than risk their family getting killed in a fire fight.

  The clubhouse or main building had locker rooms with showers. There was a dining room, kitchen, and a few office spaces. It was about 10,000 square feet in size.

  We slowly encircled the one-story building. No one fired at us while doing so. We had the two Humvees and a total of eleven men, including me. Everyone was behind some type of cover. A tree, wall, or any protection that was handy and secure.

  George pulled Bill over to his side. “I want you to repeat what I say in Arabic incase some of them don’t understand English.” He nodded ok. “U.S. Marines. Come out with your hands up! You’re surrounded. Leave your weapons inside. You have five minutes before we start shooting.” Bill shouted into the megaphone in Arabic. We hoped he was repeating exactly what George said, but we had no idea.

  Four minutes had passed by and I was getting worried. Then the front door slowly opened and out stepped four women with three little kids, holding their hands in the air. One of them shouted, “No shoot, No shoot us!” Three women were dressed in traditional clothing, wearing the simple head scarves called the hijab, but one had on a dark blue burqa which covered her head and face.

  George ordered them to sit in front of him in a straight line with their backs to us. Right away, I knew why he did that. If the men inside decided to fight, the women and children would be in the line of fire. They would be gunned down by their own people. Also, the women might have guns hidden on them. We had to keep any eye on the women.

  Five minutes were almost up when one man stepped out. “Don’t shoot,” he said, in perfect English. Following behind him were the remaining five men with their hands in the air. Pete, Jeff, and George pulled each man aside and searched them for weapons. They were clean. The men all had on the traditional red and white checkered ghurta. George ripped the scarfs off their heads.

  Pete and Jeff proceeded to zip tie their hands, behind them, so there was no chance they could do anything stupid. After they were all tied up, Captain Baldwin had his men go in the building and search it for anyone else. It was clear.

  Baldwin had them all stand in a line while he walked up to each one, peering at their faces. Coming over to me, Baldwin whispered, “Here’s a little lesson for you. See the two men on the right dressed in black? Look closely at their faces; you can see the hate in their eyes. The other four men don’t have that look. Those are the two bad boys.”

  “Yeah, I can see the hate.” I remembered seeing that same hateful look when I fought the two al-Qaida men at the church. They have a lot of hate in them for some reason.

  The Captain turned and faced the prisoners. “I want to know who killed the old man, Mr. Jackson?”

  One of the men spoke up. “Jack, it’s me Habib.”

  I glared at his face. He had a full beard and long hair. I didn’t recognize him at first, but I knew that voice. It was Habib. He used to be the General Manager for the golf course here. I used to go to the club house bar every Wednesday. Habib is a little thin guy, standing no more than five and a half feet tall. His hair and beard are jet black.

  I walked up to him. “Habib, I thought you left here a long time ago.”

  “No. I’ve been here all this time, with my wife and kid. We had no other place to go that was safe.”

  George asked, “Jack, you know this man?”

  “Habib, this is Captain Baldwin. Captain, Habib. He was the GM for this place when it was a golf course.”

  Habib smiled, showing his yellowish teeth. “It’s my great pleasure to meet you, Captain.”

  “Yeah. Cut the bullshit, which one of you killed the old man?”

  One of the men dressed in black yelled something in Arabic to Habib. “Habib, what did he say?” I asked.

  “He said if I tell you anything he’ll kill me and my family.”

  I pulled Habib aside, about ten feet away from the group. “Don’t worry, Habib, he’s not gonna kill anybody. Tell us, did he do it?”

  “Yes, he did it. The two men in black are brothers. They’re al-Qaida fighters. The woman in Burqa is their sister. Watch out for her, she’s a blood-thirsty bitch.”

  “Pete, tie the woman in burqa up,” Baldwin ordered.

  Pete went over to tie her hands. As he approached her she suddenly pulled a large butcher knife out from under her robe. She managed to slash Pete across the face giving him a long bleeding gash on his cheek. Pete promptly bashed the knife-wielding bitch in the face, knocking her to the ground. He ripped off her burqa and tied her up.

  Her brothers jumped at Pete, even though their hands were tied behind their backs. Jeff and Pete quickly knocked the two to the ground, using their weapons. The bad guys kept shouting something in Arabic.

  George said, “Shut them the hell up.”Jeff gagged them while slapping them around.

  Pete’s gash was bleeding profusely, so Jeff tended to his face.

  George, standing next to us asked, “Habib, are you al-Qaida?”

  “Shit no! I’m not al-Qaida or ISIS. I’m an American and proud of it. Jack, you know me and my family. We’ve lived here 25 years.”

  “Yes, I know y
ou, but I don’t know these other people.”

  George asked, “Who are these three guys?”

  “These are my brothers,” as he pointed to them. “Only the two men in black are al-Qaida.” Habib spit in their direction.

  One of the al-Qaida men tried to growl some words through the gag. Pete promptly bashed him in the face, knocking him to the ground again. The other man made a move toward Pete, so Jeff quickly wacked him in the face.

  I closely observed Habib’s three brothers. They looked younger. A lot younger because they couldn’t grow a full beard. They definitely resembled Habib, because of their height, weight, and shape of their long hooked nose. I recall that he once told me he had three younger brothers. I had no choice but to believe Habib was telling the truth. Why would he lie?

  I asked, “Habib, how did you get involved with these al-Qaida guys?”

  “They managed to stay here after the Army drove out the main al-Qaida group. They made me hide them. If I didn’t, they would kill my whole family. I had no choice.”

  “Boss, what now?” Pete asked.

  “Get the big guy ready.” With that comment, Pete and Jeff proceeded to beat the shit out of the bigger man. After a few minutes into the bloody beating, George looked at the man. He was almost knocked out and couldn’t put up any type of a struggle. “Ok, that’s enough. Drag him over to that bench and hang his head over the back.”

  I warned Habib, “Don’t let your kids see this.” He told his wife to cover their eyes.

  Jeff and Pete held the man on the wooden bench, forcing his head down so it hung over the back. Captain Baldwin walked up to him and drew out his sword. The man tried to struggle but he was held firm. Baldwin raised the sword over his head and looked around to make sure the man’s brother was watching.

  Then, in one swift move, he swung the sword with all his might. I heard George grunt as the blade struck. The head fell to the ground with a plop. After wiping the blood off the blade, George sheathed his sword.

  Picking the head up by the hair, he stepped over to the other man and held it up in front of his face. “If your kind comes here, this is what you’ll get. Habib, does he understand English?”

  “Yes, Captain. He fully understands.”

  Jeff got in his face and rubbed it in. “No head, no heaven, and no virgins.”

  “I’m letting you go free, to tell your buddies what we did here. Tell them that Captain George Bladwin of the Knights Templar did this. If they come here, they’ll get the same treatment. We show no mercy.”

  Baldwin ordered his men to take him and his sister down the road, over the bridge to I-275 five miles away, and let them go.

  “Jack, what should we do with Habib and his family?” Baldwin asked.

  I eyeballed Habib and his brothers. He was clearly scared to death, wondering what their fate would be.

  I replied, “I’ve known Habib for many years. He’s not dangerous. However, I don’t know his brothers.”

  Habib spoke, “Jack, I can tell you my brothers are just like me. You can trust us. They are not al-Qaida or ISIS. I promise you that. That’s the honest truth.”

  While thinking about the situation, it occurred to me we could use Habib and his family to help improve this area. “Here’s what I propose. Habib, you and your family can stay here to live. We’re trying to bring law and order to this area and make it safe for normal honest people to live here. Do you wanna help us?”

  “Of course, Jack. This is our home. We have no other place to live. What do you want us to do?”

  “You and your family will be our eyes and ears here, along with Bill and Ted Cramer. We’ll give you a radio and if you see any strangers, let us know right away. Don’t take any action. Let us take care of the problem. Captain Baldwin and his men are trained to do that.”

  “Ok, that sounds great. We’ll have your protection. I feel better already.”

  “That’s good, but here’s the drawback. If I find out that your brothers are radical Islamists, then you’ll lose your head. Does that sound fair?”

  Baldwin asked, “Are you sure we can trust them?”

  I put my hand on George’s shoulder. “I’m ninety-nine percent sure.”

  Habib commented, “Jack, you can be one hundred percent sure we will be good citizens. You’ll see.”

  “I really hope so, for your sake and your families. We’ll be clearing all these buildings over the next few days, so stay inside and don’t go roaming around near our men. I don’t want you to get killed by mistake. After that, we’ll have daily and nightly patrols come around. Also, we’re setting up road blocks at each bridge to prevent people from entering.”

  “You’re going to stop everyone from coming here?” Habib asked.

  “No, not everyone. Our plan is to allow people in, who pass our interview, or those that have lived here before. So part of your job will be to welcome these people and help them get settled.”

  “That sounds great to me. You know I’m a friendly guy.”

  “Yeah. Think of it this way; you’re going to be like the Mayor and we’re the police. We’re also going to give you seeds and plants so you can grow your own food. If you need fishing equipment, then we’ll supply it.”

  Captain Baldwin was getting restless. “Jack, you continue here while my men and I start clearing the buildings again.”

  “Ok Captain. I think everything is under control here. Thanks for your good work.”

  “Habib, do you know if any other people live around here?” Baldwin asked.

  “Actually, I don’t know. There might be some, but I’ve never seen anyone other than Bill and Ted.”

  “Jack, what should we do with this body?”Baldwin asked.

  “Dump it over the seawall, into the water; the sharks will eat it.”

  Everyone watched as Baldwin’s men picked up the body, along with the head, and took it away. There was a large wet spot of blood on the ground as a reminder of what just happened.

  Habib asked, “Do we get to keep our weapons?”

  I replied, “Yes. Bill and Ted still have theirs. Only use them for self-defense. Let’s go inside and see what you have.” Following Habib and his family into the club house I noticed the room smelled like pot. “Who’s been smoking pot?”

  “The al-Qaida guys. We never touch the stuff. You know I don’t drink either.” Habib went over to a corner, pulled a drawer open, and handed me a two pound bag.

  I handed it to Bill. “Here, do you guys smoke?”

  “A little, thanks,” Bill replied with a smile.

  “Habib, where are the guns?” I followed him into the next room. Sitting on the floor were eight AK47’s, and several hand grenades. There was a box of ammo on the floor with a dozen mags.

  I asked Habib, “Why didn’t these guys put up a fight? You got plenty of weapons here.”

  “To tell you the truth, when they saw your Hummers, with machine guns, they knew you had them out-gunned. But they didn’t fight because of their sister and her kid.”

  “Kid? Is one of these kids her child?”

  Habib called the name Abdul. A little boy walked over to us. He was about five years old. “This is her child. I promised her if they were killed or captured I would look after him. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I didn’t think it was important. He’s only a little kid.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Abdul Adi.”

  I looked at the kid and his eyes showed the same evil look that the others did. “The boy should have went with his mother,” I said.

  “She’s out on the road with no guns and no place to sleep. Great harm might come to the boy.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I am counting on you to watch him closely and teach him we’re his friends. He just saw his uncle’s head cut off and his mother beat up.”

  Habib said, “Jack, don’t move. Abdul, put down the gun. Put the gun down now!”

  I turned to see little Abdul, fifteen feet away, holding an
AK. I froze not knowing what to do. If he was a man, I would have shot him right off the bat. He was pointing the weapon at me when he said, “Infidel … Allahua Akbar,” and tried to pull the trigger.

  The kid was too weak to pull the trigger or the safety was on. The AK has a eight pound trigger pull. Habib quickly grabbed the gun out of Abdul’s hands and loudly scolded him in Arabic. We were very lucky no one was hurt. Habib looked at the gun and smiled. “The safety was on.”

  “See Habib, that’s what I’m talking about. This kid is trouble.”

  “I know, I know, I’m very sorry, Jack. His uncle beat him, making him learn the holy books. He was teaching him to hate all none-believers.”

  It reminded me a little of Adam and the beatings he was given learning the Bible. I couldn’t hold it against the kid but I knew he was going to be trouble for sure.

  “Well, you got your hands full with him. You’re gonna have to teach him not all people are bad. I suggest you keep those guns away from the children or you might get shot. Lock them up in the locker room.”

  “Ok, I’ll do that. Again, I’m very sorry. Abdul, say you’re sorry to Mr. Gunn.”

  Abdul was crying as he said, “Me sorry, Mr. Gunn.”

  I patted his head. “Don’t ever do that again, Abdul. You understand?” He nodded his head and ran over to Habib’s wife. “Let’s make a supply list of what you might need right now. Bill, you got any ideas?”

  Bill and Ted were standing there in shock that the kid tried to kill me. Ted said, “Man, the kid just tried to kill you.”

  “Yeah, he didn’t know what he was doing. Now, let’s make a supply list. What items do you need to become self-sufficient here? First of all, I’m bringing everyone some razor blades to shave off those beards.”

  Ted commented, “Yeah, we don’t need these beards anymore, thank God.”

  Habib said, “We could make a few gardens if we had seeds or some plants.”

  I said, “Yeah, you’ll need some garden tools, also.” Habib nodded in agreement.

  Bill commented, “Ted and I are pretty good at fishing. We have some gear but could use a net to catch bait fish.”

  “Actually, I need some fishing gear, just a couple of rods and reels,” Habib advised.