“What do we need to do tonight to get ready for the general’s visit tomorrow?” I asked. Carter looked thoughtful for a moment.
“We’ll need to have a place to meet – the dining hall will do for that. I’ll bring over a couple of large maps of the area, although I suspect he will bring his own. We need to be sure our sentries are on high alert, since we don’t know if Homeland knows where the general is right now. Let’s try to keep the kids and civilians out of the area – is it too much to ask them to stay away from the dining hall tomorrow morning?”
I looked at Tom and we both nodded. “That’s a good idea,” I said. “I think we can get the kitchen folks to make a quick and easy breakfast for everyone downstairs. We’ll need to get a couple of cameras up and get at least some of the solar hooked back up before that, though. What else?”
“Let’s keep the sentries doubled tomorrow – at least until we find out what the general’s plans are. We also need to have someone watching for drones or planes. Can you be sure someone is in the OP to do that?” Carter frowned for a moment. “I’m not sure what else needs to be done tonight. Not knowing what time in the morning to expect the general, let’s plan on getting together around seven. Do what you need to with the solar and cameras, and then try to get some rest. I’m sure the general will make sure tomorrow is a really busy day for all of us.”
“We’ll need to monitor for radiation during the night. You’ve got one of these fobs. The more radiation there is, the faster it chirps.” Carter pulled the Nuk-Alert out of his pocket and looked at it, then put it back in his shirt pocket.
“Thanks. If we start hearing chirps, you need to get all your folks back down to the basement. My troops have some protection against radiation, and we will handle the security. At the first sign of radiation, pull your folks off the berm and get downstairs. I will hopefully see you both in the morning.”
We said goodnight, and Tom and I headed back to the house. I gave Frank one of the Nuk-Alerts and explained to him how it worked. He agreed to keep monitoring and let the security teams know if they needed to take shelter because of radiation. Tom got Frank and Bill started on the hooking up a few of the cameras, while I got Kiara, Marty, and Tim busy checking the solar and hooking some of it back up. While they were busy, I shared Carter’s information with the rest of the group. Jon and Chris both volunteered to take the day shift tomorrow in the OP. Several others volunteered to double up with the scheduled sentries in the fox holes. Once that was settled, I talked to Janet about breakfast. She thought it would be no problem to feed our folks in the house tomorrow if the soldiers could eat MREs instead of coming to the dining hall. I’m glad she mentioned that, because I had forgotten that Carter’s group usually ate in the dining hall at mealtime. She also mentioned she would be sure there was a good supply of coffee ready while the general was here.
“Carter told me once that the general lives on coffee. I’ll also make sure there are Danish or rolls or something to go with the coffee. We don’t want the general to think he is visiting an apocalyptic refugee camp or anything!” Janet smiled as she headed over to talk to Maria and Gabby. Knowing those three, I knew I did not need to worry about breakfast for the general in the morning.
Tom and I headed back over to Carter’s RV to remind him about his troops’ breakfast, and he nodded.
“Thanks for thinking of that. I already gave instructions to my troops that breakfast would be MREs. I want them ready for the general at six. I don’t know what time he’ll be here, but I am betting on early. I think it will be a good morale booster for everyone if he comes and sees that we can still act like a functional combat unit. It will be good for the troops, too. They need to see they have an important role to play in the battles I know are coming. And… I think it will be good for you and for your folks to see that we are ready to deal with anything that might come along. One of the things the general is fond of saying is that the optics are important. How things look can influence people’s attitude.” Carter paused a moment, and then looked at Tom and me. “I want you two front and center when the general arrives. You are such an important part of why we are as ready as we are. Of course, I don’t expect either of you to be in uniform, though.” He chuckled as we looked at him in surprise. We talked for a few minutes more, then headed back to the house. I wanted to find Kiara to see if she thought the solar would work after the EMP. Tom said he would check on the cameras and make sure the generators would work in the morning. Then, hopefully a couple of hours of sleep and, I hope, no nightmares.
CHAPTER TWO
General Wayne McPherson sat with his elbows on the cluttered table. The single light bulb hanging from the peak of his tent cast shadows across his face, making him look much older than his fifty-eight years. He reached up to rub his tired eyes and took a sip of his cold cup of coffee. “Sammy, have you heard from Major Angelo’s group yet?”
Colonel Samuel Iverson checked the list in his hand and answered, “I’m sorry, Mac, no contact with them yet.”
The general shook his head wearily. “I hope they got out. They were the last group to leave, and we should have heard from them by now.”
“I expect it will take them a while to get somewhere that they feel safe calling in. We also have to consider that their radios might have been damaged if they were close enough for the EMP effect from the nuke. In any case, at least we’ve heard from all of the other teams. How in the world did you know they were going to attack Bragg? Was it all the stuff Carter was worried about that set you off?”
“No, I just figured it would make strategic sense for them to try to take out our headquarters. Thankfully, when I talked to the Joint Chiefs two weeks ago, they told me the same thing. I’m not surprised that Carter thought of it, though.”
Sammy laughed. “Yeah, I was kind of surprised to hear him talking about having a bad feeling. He didn’t strike me as a psychic kind of guy, you know? Turns out he was right about those Homeland traitors, though.”
“Yeah, I thought he was nuts at first, talking about gut feelings, but he has a real talent for anticipating tactical scenarios. Not to mention, my own gut was screaming the same thing. That’s why I started the evacuations when I did. I just hope we did enough, that we got everyone out in time. I just wish we would hear from Angelo and his troops.”
“If he got out, you know he will contact you. I can think of at least ten scenarios where he got out but is unable to call to check in. Knowing him, he is probably trying to do damage assessment from the nuke.”
“He’d better not be.” replied the general. “I don’t think he has the equipment to do that safely, and it really doesn’t matter what they did to Bragg. We’re done there. Tomorrow, we’re going to see Carter at his location. It sounds like he lucked out when he found that farm. He might have some insights for us about the area I’ve chosen to establish our next base. These caves are great for hiding and I’m glad we found out about them, but they are also damp, dark, and cold, and I don’t relish staying here very long.” He rubbed his hand across his eyes and finished the last sip of cold coffee. Sammy looked at the general, worry etched across his face.
“Mac, why don’t you try to get some rest. I’m going to go check on the men standing watch, and then I’ll be back. It will be dawn in a couple of hours, and time to head over to Carter’s.”
“I can’t. I’ve got too much to do. I’ll sleep when I’m dead, I guess. I’m still working up our plans for tomorrow. Just bring me another cup of coffee when you head back this way, okay?”
Sammy smiled at the general. “What are you going to do when we all run out of coffee?”
General McPherson faked a frown at his friend and barked, “Do not even think about that. Do not talk about that. It will be a tragic day when that happens. No coffee? That will really be the end of the world as we know it.”
Sammy laughed as he exited the tent. No coffee will indeed be the end of civilization! Of course, he thought, civilization is already pret
ty fleeting. If people told him a year ago that Homeland forces would conduct a nuke attack on American soil, he’d swear they were nuts and that their tin foil hats were on too tight. But, it happened, and he still couldn’t believe it.
After Sammy left, General McPherson picked up his radio and contacted Carter to let him know that they were headed out to his area in the morning. After only about three minutes of conversation, though, the radio quit working, the noisy generator became silent, and the light hanging in his tent slowly faded. McPherson stood, pulling the flashlight from his belt and switching it on. “Thank goodness this still works,” he muttered. He walked out of the tent to see Sammy rushing towards him, flashlight in one hand and coffee pot in the other.
“General,” he called, “I do believe we were just hit with an EMP!”
“Well, Sammy, I’m glad you have your priorities right and brought the coffee with you. Leave the coffee here and chill a little. Can’t have the troops seeing you look so distressed – after all, optics are important. When you can, go double the watches for tonight, and then come back. We have some work to do.” The General turned and went back into the tent. He sat back down at the table and propped his flashlight up to shed light over the maps he had spread out. A few minutes later, Sammy came back carrying a larger lantern, which he placed on the table. The general smiled his thanks and moved the lantern closer to his maps.
“I am not surprised at all that they set off an EMP after they destroyed Fort Bragg – assuming it was Homeland who did it. The more they cripple the country, the easier it will be for Homeland to take over and set up their anti-Constitutional government. The thing is, though, that Homeland has not taken a few things into consideration. First of all, it is not good strategy to piss off a general who is overtired and has not had enough coffee. Second, I do not think the American people will appreciate this at all, and this may be just the impetus needed to get those militias all fired up. Third, I don’t think Homeland realizes we have hardened a lot of our equipment over the last couple of months. Yes, we probably lost the generators that were running, but we have more in the back of the caves. Most of our vehicles should still work, and we have a lot of other electronics that were protected. To be honest with you, I really expected the EMP to happen weeks ago. Which brings me to our plan. What do you know about the town of Riverdale?”
Sammy shrugged his shoulders. “Not much, sir. I know that Carter says it has been hit really hard by a number of things including a lot of violence from a renegade motorcycle gang. I also know that Carter sent information about a possible sleeper group in the area trying to damage the railroad. He also said that the farm where he is staying right now is very well organized and is doing well. As far as resources, I know there is the railroad, a branch of a good-sized river runs through the town, and there is a community airport. Other than that, I really do not have any additional information.”
“OK, come look at the map. I notice that there is a private college campus here alongside the airport. I doubt if there are any classes going on, and so we are going to go back to school. I think that would make an excellent place to set up shop. Get a couple of squads to go out now and do some recon. In the morning, I want the airport and the campus secured for us to move in by 1400. Tell your troops if there are peaceful civilians living on the campus or at the airport, they are not to hassle them. I’ll deal with them when I get there tomorrow. We will help them relocate to a safe and secure area. On the other hand, if they find gang members or anyone hostile to Patriot soldiers, they should place them under arrest until I get there.”
“Are we going to set up permanently in Riverdale, then?”
“Ah, I wish I could say it was permanent. We are going to establish a base of operations there. The war that we are fighting, though, will be very fluid. It’s not like we can just go bomb the daylights out of the enemy and his territory, because interspersed among the enemy are American citizens. We need to protect them. We also want to keep as much of the infrastructure intact as we can, so we can recover from this when it’s all over. So, we’ll set up our command elements in Riverdale and then move out from there. First step is to get settled and make contact with Carter’s group. Second step is to find the sleeper cell in Riverdale and take them out. Third, we fortify this area so we can expand. We need to create safe places for civilians to live, too, like they did at the farm.”
Sammy gave a low whistle. “Sounds like we have our work cut out for us, then. What time will we leave to go see Carter?”
“I’d like to leave here around dawn. Have Major Stein and Major Phillips secure this area and be ready to move to the airport when we return. Also, have Lieutenant Evans get some of the men to check the equipment in the back of the caves to be sure it all still works. I plan to leave a small contingent of men to protect the large equipment in the caves until we are ready to move it. Then, when all that is done, please go get some rest. Tomorrow will be a really busy day.”
Sammy saluted and left the tent. After he was gone, the general poured himself another cup of coffee and went back to studying the maps.
It seemed like I just closed my eyes when I woke up to see it was already five AM. I quickly got up, washed my face, brushed my teeth and got dressed. I came upstairs to find Tom already up, sitting in my office and drinking a cup of tea. He reached over the desk and handed me a steaming cup.
“I don’t hear the generators – does that mean the solar is working?” I asked.
“Well, we really won’t know until after the sun comes out,” Tom said, smiling.
“Well, duh, that was a stupid question, wasn’t it? Guess I’m not all that awake yet,” I answered, embarrassed by my question.
Tom smiled back at me. “Kiara tested all of the photo-voltaic panels. As best we can tell, we only lost one panel and Kiara was able to replace it. That woman is an electrical wizard! So far, the system seems to be working without any issues. We ran the generators for a while last night to get the batteries all charged up. Kiara checked out all of the components and so far, everything seems to be operational. That’s a relief.” Tom must have noticed I was feeling a little preoccupied, because he changed the topic. “Are you ready for the general’s visit this morning?”
“I think so. I am a little concerned that he will want to take over the farm. That’s not going to happen, but he can set up on adjoining property if he wants. I’m a little nervous about that, though, because I don’t want us to become an even bigger target.” I sipped my tea, and Tom reached over to take my hand.
“Let’s not worry about things before they happen, OK? Let’s just meet the general, hear what he has to say, and then go from there. Like my mother used to say, don’t borrow trouble.” I squeezed Tom’s hand, grinned at him, and put my teacup down. “Okay, then, let’s go find Carter.”
We found Carter outside his RV talking with several of his officers. As we approached, his officers saluted him, turned, and went towards the barracks buildings.
“Good morning! Any word from the general yet?” I asked.
“Good morning. No word yet, but I expect he should be here soon. I sent my officers in to round up the troops and get them into formation, so we are ready when he arrives. I’ve got spotters out on the road who will let us know when they see his entourage approaching.”
“That’s a smart idea. Do we have any kind of agenda for his visit? Or will he just come in and tell us what we have to do?” I think Carter could tell I was a little nervous about what the general might be planning.
“Please don’t worry about what he wants to do. He recognizes all of the hard work you all have done, and I guarantee he won’t do anything to jeopardize that. In the couple of conversations I’ve had with him since I got here, he has been extremely complimentary and very impressed with how well you guys thought out everything. I’m betting that more than anything, he will want to pick your brains for ways to get Riverdale set up as well.”
I was about to reply when Carter’
s radio squealed. He spoke briefly into the radio and then looked at us and said, “The general and his staff are about 20 minutes out.” He pulled out a small air horn from his pocket and sounded three sharp blasts. Immediately, soldiers began to pour out of the barracks and line up in formation on the pasture next to the barracks. I was surprised at how sharp the troops looked, in spite of not having access to irons, starch or even real laundry facilities. As I watched the troops, I was amused to see the squad of Marines off to the side in their own formation. As everyone fell into place, I was impressed to see each company even had guidon flags with unit designations posted. Tom and I stood off to the side of the formation and watched as the officers made sure everything was perfect. I have to admit that Tom and I both were enjoying the military pomp and ceremony, and I was even feeling a bit nostalgic for the days when I, too, would have been a part of the formation.
Suddenly, the officers began to issue commands, echoed by the platoon sergeants, to come to attention. Tom and I both straightened up, too, and looked towards the gate as several Humvees pulled through. As the Humvees parked, several soldiers got out of each one. The soldiers all took places in front and behind a person I assumed was the general. While Carter was greeting the general and his staff, I took a moment to study the man who would most likely influence the course of our future. General McPherson was rather tall, about 6’3”. He had dark cropped hair with significant grey at the temples. Even from a distance I could see that he had a weathered, tired face, but he was smiling as he looked over the formation of troops in front of him. He was accompanied by a slightly shorter man with steely grey hair and dark eyes. I assumed this was Colonel Iverson, the general’s adjutant.
Premonitions: Book 2: War Page 2
