Paul didn’t say a word. He just stopped in front of them and stared as he leaned on his crutches.
The kid with the switchblade pushed off the wall. Paul moved fast, straightening, swinging a crutch, striking the kid’s hand so the loosely held switchblade went spinning.
The punk yanked his hand back, clutching it against his chest, staring at Paul.
Kavanagh stared back with his game face.
Maybe the ex-knifeman saw the death in Kavanagh’s eyes. Maybe the druggie recognized the heat of combat about to erupt. The punk wilted as his mouth went limp, and his harsh words dribbled away into silence.
Likely, the other two saw the same thing. They pushed off the wall. One of them mumbled something that sounded like, “Let’s jet elsewhere, man.” With hunched shoulders and hands in their pockets, they swaggered away, attempting to salvage some pride in their flight from death.
It took Paul half a minute to calm himself down, to put the game face and emotions away. Then he went back to the sidewalk, using the crutches and his good leg. The apartments had a center area with dead trees and weeds. He crutched his way to rusty stairs and negotiated them one at a time.
Yeah. He was here to stay. His wife wasn’t going to live like this anymore. And if he did live in this dump, he was going to bring changes to a lot of things here.
Paul’s heart began to beat quicker as he approached 232. Cheri, his darling bride, he missed her, maybe more than he realized.
He stopped, straightened and rested the crutches against the wall. That wasn’t going to be his wife’s first image of him. Tightening the brace, he raised a fist to knock. I hope she locks the door.
On impulse, he tried it, and the knob turned. He couldn’t believe it. How many times had he told her in the past to lock the door?
Pushing it open to his apartment, he gingerly used his bad leg. That caused a twinge in his knee, but he could take it for a few minutes.
The corridor was short, and he heard a rustle of paper. He stepped into a kitchenette, surprising his wife. Cheri sat at a counter, reading a magazine.
She looked up, and her eyes went wide. “What…what are you doing here?” she asked.
Paul didn’t answer. He moved toward her, forgetting about his bum knee, grinning, with his arms wide.
“Paul!” she shouted. “Paul, you’re home!” She jumped off the stool.
He grabbed her and spun around as she squealed with delight. “Paul, Paul!” she said, with tears running down her face. “You’re alive, and you’re home.”
He hugged her fiercely so her breasts squished against him. She felt so good, so very, very good. Then he set her down and began to kiss her lips, her salty cheeks, her nose, eyes and lips once more. She hugged him tightly, weeping.
After a time, he released her. “We won the war, sweets. We beat the Chinese and made them surrender. Now your man is home for good.”
“Do you mean that?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “We’re moving out of this dump. I have a few favors I can call in, but that doesn’t matter now.”
“No,” she said, almost shyly.
He grabbed her hand. It was small and warm, the hand of his wife. With a gentle tug, he led his beautiful bride into the bedroom. She had already started telling him about things. That was good. He wanted to know. First, though, he kicked the bedroom door shut behind him. He was home, and he was going to enjoy the wife of his youth, his most precious love, beginning right now.
-17-
Epilogue One
IMMEDIATE EVENTS
With the death of Director Harold and Militia General Williamson, Homeland Security was at a loss what to do next.
Vice President Steakley took over. His security teams broke into the President’s quarters and David Sims revived during six days of rehabilitation.
The Detention Center people in Colorado shot Dr. Levin. Army personnel invaded the premises the next day, releasing Anna Chen and General McGraw, who had been scheduled for execution. She rushed to David Sims’ side and convinced the President to allow an old-style election next year. She also convinced him that it was time to retire.
During the next few weeks, McGraw’s fame grew with people clamoring for him to run for office. Beginning to collect his team, he offered Stan Higgins a place on his staff. Stan accepted with the proviso he could have his son as his aide.
McGraw said, “Yes, of course. That would be perfect, father and son together. People will love it.”
Director Harold’s murder in Harbin was chalked up to Chinese extremists. It meant harsher peace terms concerning China’s blue-water Navy.
Under Chairman Shun Li’s guidance, the People’s Republic of China surrendered to the United States of America. The Mexico-based PAA army soon began the long trip home, taking seven months until the last soldier departed.
Premier Konev’s Russia offered to run Manchuria as a protectorate. On the advice of General McGraw, President Sims agreed.
“It’s time to rebuild,” McGraw said. “And it’s time to bring the boys home. Let the Russians worry about Chinese guerillas. It will embroil them both in a quagmire for years to come.” Unknown to any but his inner team, the advice came directly from “Professor” Higgins, the Historian.
-18-
Epilogue Two
A LONGER VIEW
Stan Higgins became President McGraw’s Secretary of Defense. His first act was to eliminate penal battalions and to prosecute the numerous war criminals among the Detention Center people. Then he merged the best officers and enlisted personnel of the Militia organization into the US Army, soon disbanding the rest of the Militia. After six years of service under McGraw, Stan Higgins taught military history at West Point. He retired at sixty-nine and moved to Alaska, writing his seminal treatise, On Modern War, before dying at age seventy-three to the Aleutian Flu Epidemic.
Jake Higgins worked for the McGraw Administration until transferring to the revived Libertarian Party under Stuart Smith. He married Sheila Baxter, a former exotic dancer, had three children and divorced when she joined the Holy Shakers religious movement. Jake failed in a bid for governor of Colorado and complained about rigged elections. Before the police could arrest him under the latest Anti-Democratic Speech Laws, Jake joined the US Expeditionary Force to Argentina, dying during the intense urban fighting in Santiago, Chile.
Anna Chen married David Sims and ghost-wrote his famous six-volume biography, The Life and Times of David Sims. She gave birth to twins and homeschooled them until they entered junior high. Shortly thereafter, David passed away and Anna ran and won the post of Mayor of Bangor, Maine. She died peacefully in her sleep at eighty-two, remembered as an integral member of the team that won the Sino-American War of 2039-2042.
Romo remained in the US Marines, becoming a Master Sergeant until the stabbing death of Jorge Domingo and Peter Parham in 2052. The trial revealed the two victims burglarized the apartment of Romo’s girlfriend Rita Backwater, raping and killing her before leaving the premises. Romo spent seven years in Leavenworth before the authorities—on the President’s orders—commuted his sentence and quietly released him due to services rendered during the space drop into China. During Romo’s drunken celebration from prison, a car struck and killed him as he crossed the street. Foul play was suspected but never proven.
Shun Li ruled China for seven years until the Rebellion of ’49. During that time, she secretly funded the Manchurian Insurrection against the Russians. Konev ordered Russian forces out of Manchuria in 2046, but threatened to intervene if the Chinese military entered the area. The next three years proved pivotal as Shun Li readied the country for war against Russia. Her draconian laws finally ended in open revolt, led by the military. Various Army Groups set up autonomous regions in the country. As the nation threatened to disintegrate into a civil war among warlords, East Lightning Commissar Fu Tao’s Eagle-team assault captured Chairman Shun Li. During a drumhead hearing, Fu Tao declared her guilty of war crimes and e
xecuted “The Butcher” on the spot.
Soon after retiring from the military, Paul Kavanagh began Salvage, Incorporated, a one-man private detective agency. Despite a rough two years in the beginning, he gained a reputation for finding and retrieving missing items or information. He never became rich, but he was good at what he did, refusing to take bribes or let the powerful intimidate him. In his later years, he sold the agency to his son Mikey. Paul and Cheri died in the same week. She was 74 and he was 81, survived by his son, his son’s wife and their three grandchildren, Billy, Tom and Sarah.
The End
To the Reader: Thanks! I hope you’ve enjoyed Invasion: China. If you liked the book, please put up some stars and a review. Let new readers know what’s in store for them and let me know what worked for you.
Invasion: China (Invasion America) (Volume 5) Page 48
