Tyranny in the Homeland

by A J Newman

  June, 2021

  Joe called Bob to let him know of the plan to flush out the spies and get any ideas to improve its execution. Bob had his Intelligence team attend the meeting to assist with fleshing out the trap.

  “We like your idea in general, but don’t use the bio-weapon trials as your rumor. Use an upcoming trial of a new anti-missile weapons system based on laser technology. The trials are to be conducted west of Mobile on July 2nd at 9:30 p.m. We’ll feed you enough tech crap to make it sound real.”

  “Thanks, Captain, this is just what we need.”

  “Joe, you only have a couple of weeks for the leak to get out to the spies and get them moving, but don’t be too aggressive with passing out the info since they may smell a rat if it falls into their lap too easily.”

  “Thanks for the advice. Are there any signs that I need to watch for to make sure that they have taken the bait?”

  They discussed the plan for another hour then broke off the discussion with a well thought out plan.

  “Team, as we have discussed, there is at least one spy in Port Arthur and there could be a spy ring. I have a plan that should get the spies to show themselves and I need your help to spring the trap.”

  “Joe, what can we do to help get these bastards behind bars?”

  “First, I have to have you swear that none of this will go to anyone not is this room.”

  All swore theirselves to secrecy and assured Joe that they are loyal to Port Arthur and the new ISA. Joe looked them over for a few minutes and knew that his next statement would upset at least one of them.

  “Team, the leak to the spy starts right in this room with you.”

  They all started talking at once and several were upset and weren’t afraid to show it to Joe.

  "Charlie never questioned our loyalty. How dare you?”

  “I never questioned your loyalty, however, I do question who you trust with sensitive information. People we are not just a local police department anymore. We are at war and are the leaders of the defense of Port Arthur. We are closer to being the Pentagon than the police station that we used to be.”

  All agreed and several got that hand in the cookie jar look when momma catches you red-handed.

  “I won’t name names, but how many of you go home and tell your husband, wife or significant other about our day to day events and sensitive info. Don’t say you don’t, because I personally know of situations where three out of the five of you caused Charlie issues due to your loose lips. Evelyn, your sister is seeing Jake Daniels, isn't she?”

  “My sister is married! Don’t bring her up in this conversation!”

  “Sorry, but I caught them screwing in the back seat of Jake’s car just a week ago out on LaRue Road behind the high school. The military thinks Jake is too close to the Cabras. He trades with them in several towns about a hundred miles west of here.”

  “I knew about my sister and Jake, but I don’t want rumors going around town. Is Jake really a bad guy?”

  “Team, my point is that you talk with your friends and relatives, and then they talk with others that they trust or want to impress. They don’t have to be spies, but can innocently pass on info to the bad guys. Now we want to use those people to feed misinformation to the spies to get them to trip up and show us who they are.”

  “Joe, I think we all get the point that what happens during our job stays at work and that lives depend on our ability to keep things secret.”

  “That’s true because even small details about our arms, manpower and even food supplies can give an enemy an advantage. I won’t lecture you anymore and now I want to cover our plan to ferret out the spy.”

  ***

  Jake Daniels had always been a shady character making shady deals. He was the guy that could fence stolen property from out of town or get you a gun when you couldn’t pass the background checks. He had small businesses in Port Arthur and several towns east and west of town. He had at least one woman in every town and a couple of kids that his wife didn’t know about.

  “Miguel, now look here, I gave you a damn good deal on those rifles on my last trip; you need to pony up some more silver for these ignition parts. They are getting scarce and I can sell them for twice what you are offering.”

  “Jake, that might be true, but if you don’t take care of me every once in a while you won’t be welcome back in our land. You make plenty of money off of the locals; just consider this a sales tax.”

  Jake thought for a minute and knew that Miguel was more than just another customer on his route. He was always armed to the teeth and had four bodyguards with him at all times.

  “Okay, you got me there. I am just a poor man trying to make a living in this post-apocalyptic world.”

  “Damn big words for a peddler.”

  “I read a lot Miguel. I can sell you some books if you want some.”

  “Hell no! Are you ready for some entertainment? I have three new girls from Mexico and a couple of blondes from Illinois. I won’t charge you this time. They are on the house; just don’t leave any leave any bruises on them.”

  “Miguel says that you are a big man over in Port Arthur.”

  “Well, I do pretty well for myself and you would do well to take care of my needs.”

  “Are you the Mayor or Governor?

  “No, but they work for me. I control all of East Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. I have 5,500 heavily armed soldiers, ground to air missile batteries and 24 tanks guarding my city.”

  It only took a couple of hours for the girls to get everything Jake knew about anything. The dumbass had no clue that he was the leak to the enemy. He was just enjoying sex with Miguel’s women every week or so.

  ***

  “Evelyn, did you get the info to your sister and did you say it just like we rehearsed?”

  “Joe, I’m not stupid. I did it just as you coached me. She mentioned that Jake would be back in town this evening and I was her alibi tonight. She told her husband that I was depressed and need her to stay a couple of days to take care of me.”

  “Great, now let’s go to the copy room that is just outside of the break room. Two of the ladies that we suspect of spreading gossip are taking a break. Just ask me the question as we rehearsed and I’ll tell you to shut up."

  Joe set four traps that day and was sure that one would catch a rat, or maybe several rats. He also took his “rat catching" team to the park just outside city hall to have a confidential discussion. He told them that he was worried that the station might be bugged and that this info was top secret. He proceeded to tell them about the laser trials in Mobile while all along trying not to look for strange birds.

  ***

  “Bob, we have set five traps and feel very good about two of them. Now we wait five to six days to see who tries to sneak over to Mobile to see the trials. We told each one the same story except for the location of the trial. Since they have at least 20 miles between them, it should be easy to see who the leak in Port Arthur was.”

  “Good work, but you might scare the bad guys off if they hear five different locations.”

  “No, we thought about that and think that since all but one of these stories was passed on through several people that the enemy would be certain the story is true. We thought the exact same story would spook them more.”

  “Great thinking and you are right. We should have thought about that, since we have all of the professional Intel guys on our staff. I’ll have my team cover all five locations so we can catch the rats red handed.”

  “Great Bob, we’ll have our security tightened and report anyone heading over to Mobile. Every citizen knows that they should check in before heading that far east or west, so we may know before they actually get on the road.

  “This is Unit Four. We have a suspect acting like a poorly trained spy waiting in some brush with a pair of field glasses. He drove around the area taking pictures an hour ago.”

  "Is this the same guy?”

  “Yes, same guy,
same truck.”

  “Unit One reporting activity. It’s only 7:00 and two men are sneaking around checking warehouses and any large buildings.”

  “Thanks for the reports. Take lots of pictures, we want to be able to ID these bastards. Don’t take action unless you are spotted or they try to flee. Let’s see if more arrive for the laser show.”

  No one else showed up for the laser trials, which started promptly at 9:30. The Captain had set up a laser to fire six times at drones, which on queue exploded in a ball of fire. The spies had some great pictures and info on the ISA’s futuristic new weapon.

  “Joe, did you get the mug shots? They were very clear and if these are your people we should be able to ID therm.”

  “Bob, two of them are ours. We suspected Jake Daniels, but Greg Allgood is a big surprise. He is the Mayor’s brother-in-law. We have no idea who the third man is. We thought that he was of Hispanic descent. What were your thoughts?”

  “Yes, definitely Hispanic and could be a Cabra operative.”

  ***

  Charlie was sleeping when Jenny and Joe entered the room. Jenny went to her father’s side and gave him a kiss on the forehead. He woke and rubbed his eyes.

  “I guess y’all know that you are interrupting my beauty sleep.”

  “You’d better go back to sleep for a week or two, because it’s not working.

  “Joe, don’t pick on Dad; he’s still recovering.”

  “I guess since you are feeling puny, I will lay off the insults.”

  “If you ever want to live to marry my daughter, you had better tell me how pretty I am. Now what do you have for me? I see the folder.”

  “We have pictures of two of our spies. We hope this is all of them. Take a look.”

  Joe opened the folder and showed Charlie the two pictures. Charlie’s jaw hit the floor.

  “Son of a gun! The Mayor’s brother-in-law! Damn! Jack will roll over in his grave. Now that we caught them, what do we do with them? They could be very useful.”

  ***

  “Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. You can tell the Wolf that the Gringos have a real laser weapon that will shoot planes out of the air.”

  “Shut up! You are on an unsecured line. Report back in on the secure SAT phone.”

  “Yes, I got that. Tell Mister Blue that we have some startling news from our friends down south. If this is accurate, it could be a game changer. We may need to strike fast before this can be deployed. I will send an encrypted message ASAP.

  ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺

  Chapter 23

  Armageddon

  Gulf of Mexico

  July, 2021

  Commander Cox listened to the recorded enemy chatter for the third time since breakfast.

  “Ensign, send for more coffee and tell Captain Jones that we need him to join a conference call with the Admiral at 1000.”

  “Yes, sir, and the Admiral asked us to delay the meeting for 15 minutes. He has personal business to attend to.”

  “Jim, have you found any more evidence concerning my son? I haven’t heard from you in several weeks.”

  “Sir, I apologize, but the trail is cold. As we last told you we think he was lost in the attack on DC, but can’t confirm that info.”

  “Jim, I’m sorry for pestering you, but we need closure on what happened to him.”

  ***

  “We have confirmed the carrier’s position in the attack force and it matches known Navy protocol. They are just a few hours from ground zero. As predicted, they are spread out except for the cruisers protecting the carrier

  “The Boss wants to know the status of the Bush carrier group.”

  “I can’t report good news here. They are lagging behind the Ford in moving towards our planned target area. Tell the Boss that we will go with the original plan to begin operations when the Ford is in range and not wait on the other group. I am confident our plan will work.”

  ***

  The Ensign came into the meeting room and gave Commander Cox a message. The Commander smiled and brought the meeting to order.

  “I am confident that our plan is working. We just intercepted several communications from the Cabra’s that indicate that they are tracking the battle group and are passing its location on to another party called “the Boss”. We are trying to find out if this is the head of the Cabras or perhaps the USA. Our intel on the USA indicates several attacks are in the planning stages, but no chatter on our battle group.”

  “Sir, does this change our plans? What do we need to prepare for?”

  “Our plans stay the same. The Cabras are a force to be reckoned with on land, but they only have a few small ships and towable submarines used to haul dope into the USA. On the other hand, the USA has all of the equipment and capabilities that we have. As you know, our thinking is that the UN may have enlisted the Cabras to harass and report on the ISA as they expand their territory. We are expecting anything from aircraft trying to crash into the Ford to homemade wooden mines. We are currently watching UN planes coming and going to and from Mexico along with five ships that are converging on us now. They are supposed to be heading towards Mexico, but I don’t trust them one damn bit. They have not shown any hostile intent, but could be setting us up for an attack similar to the USS Cole event back in the 90’s.We will intercept them with our smaller craft and make sure they know we have guns and missiles trained on them.”

  The Admiral spoke up, “We are as prepared as any fighting force in the history of the world. We have contingencies and backup plans for every possible scenario, however, the bottom line is that we are in a reactionary phase and need to go on the offensive. I take sole blame for our team not taking charge of the battle and taking it to our enemy. In my defense, I never thought that I would be leading a rebel fight against our own country and until the atrocities started, I frankly didn’t have the stomach for the fight. I assure you that I will be anything, but timid in the future.”

  Commander Cox added, “Even while we speak, our team has joined with the Harris team to train and field several thousand guerillas to take the fight to the USA. Our spies are filtering into the USA every day. You will begin hearing about sabotage and mayhem all across the USA. We are also sending teams into the Great Lakes and Rocky Mountain areas to get them to join the ISA. If they won’t join, we will at least get them to fight with us against the ISA. Now, we need to give updates on the situation in Corpus Christie. We will be within operational range by 0600 tomorrow.”

  “Sir, sorry to wake you, but one of our subs picked up the signature of an Iranian sub at 0130, that is south of our current heading. I want permission to send the Ohio out to destroy it.”

  “Captain, have any other ships or aircraft been spotted; this could be the trap that we were worried about."

  “No other craft have been spotted so far other than a few trawlers along the coast between Mobile and New Orleans.”

  “Find that sub and kill it. Take the time to search for survivors. Send a couple of surveillance planes to check out the trawlers. They could be spy ships. If they are, I want to interrogate the crew. Double the surveillance aircraft. There is just too much going on here at one time. The Cabras, Corpus Christie, the UN relief effort and USA attacks. This has to be one big master plan. Have the Captain order the UN Ships to hold where they are and order any UN flights to stay 50 miles from our path.”

  “Yes, sir! I’ll wake you if there are any significant changes.”

  “Son, I’m up for the day. I have a gnawing thought in my head that I haven’t had since day one of the first Chinese attack on Japan. We lost three ships that day, they lost 21 ships and 20,000 men in their landing force. I gave the orders to sink 15 ships with a thousand Chinese assault forces each. We thought that would teach them a lesson, but a year later we had to bomb their ICBM launch pads and kill another 90,000 assault troops. The loss of their ICBMs hurt them. They just brought up another 250,000 men and women to begin training to replace those losses. If the damned
liberals hadn’t gutted our military, no one would have even tried to test us, much less attack a close ally. If TSHTF hadn’t happened we’d still be fighting the Chinese and Russians in small wars across the world.”

  “Sir, I was with you during the second battle. You made the right decisions. Men die in battle.”

  “Son, I think you read me wrong. I wish we had killed a million of the bastards so their resolve would have been broken and they would have known that we weren’t a paper tiger. I was reprimanded for that counterattack and would have been kicked out if the second attack had not occurred. Again, the President kept us from achieving a decisive victory and again we would have had to face the Chinese if not for the Russian-Chinese war. Those guys are still fighting and will be until one occupies the other’s capital and shits on the head of the loser.”

  “Sir, is that why we keep the pot stirred with attacks on both countries staged to appear that they are the aggressors?”

  “Smart young lad! Later, tell me how you figured it out.”

  ***

  “Mr. Cortez, wake up. I need to brief you.”

  “What is the Ford’s location?”

  “Sir, our radio triangulation had the carrier about 30 miles from the outer range of our bomb. The planes are in flight, but none of the ships appears to be able to get close enough to do any damage. All UN ships and planes were warned to stay a minimum of 50 miles from the carrier group. Both will ignore the warnings as planned. In two hours, the Ford will be on target for both the nuke and the planes if any successfully get through, we could have a major victory. Admiral Jones is actually awake and giving orders two hours before daybreak. Unfortunately the Bush is still closing on the bomb at a much slower pace.”