by David Nees
“Where am I going with this? Joe Stansky owed allegiance to the mob in Charlotte. Only he didn’t make any payments after the EMP attack. They well might want to come get what they think is their share of the loot.
“So we should start a ranger corps with our young people, along with the clans. I propose we call it the Bird Rangers after Bird Early. He was the young man from Clayton’s clan who died fighting Joe’s gang.”
There was a rustling in the audience with a few murmurs of “hear, hear.”
“And lastly, I’m going to go rescue Rodney and Billy. We’re not paying the ransom as that will only lead to Knoxville attacking us.”
Jason looked around. The storm was about to start. “The floor is open for discussion.”
The questions came fast and furious. Some were supportive, some critical, some dismissive.
“Won’t your solo mission actually jeopardize our city? Won’t it trigger an attack? Why shouldn’t we try to pay the ransom and leave it at that?” This came from Dr. Morgan. Jason was a bit surprised but understood the motive behind the questions. Dr. Morgan, like most citizens didn’t want another hot conflict. They just wanted to be left alone. The problem with that desire was that the outside world was not going to leave Hillsboro alone.
After fielding so many questions revolving around this theme, Jason offered his analysis. He knew many would reject it, but hoped the leadership would understand before it was too late.
“We’ve grown comfortable since getting rid of Stansky. I have as well. We haven’t had any attacks. Our outreach to the surrounding towns—Hickory and others—while not completely successful have been positive. We have electricity. Even if it’s limited it has made an enormous difference. We now have enough food for everyone. Our chemists, thank God for good chemistry teachers,” this brought a supportive chuckle from the audience, “have made progress in anesthesia. Our dental care has improved with electricity and anesthetics. All this has made life seem pretty normal.
“But look outside of the city. There is no state government, there’s limited outreach from a federal government. We hear rumors of the military splitting up. We hear about accommodations with gangsters in the name of civil order. We’ve walled ourselves in as have other cities and now we hear about other cities becoming city-states or regional powers. Let’s face it, the country is balkanized and may be a generation or more in coming back together.
“We have to live with this reality.” He paused for effect. “And we ignore it at our peril.
“I can only report what I learned from our messenger and draw my conclusion from my experiences. This Chairman will not stop with one hundred pounds of loot. He wants all we have…and we’re fools if we don’t prepare for that.
“So, no, I don’t think my mission will change Knoxville’s plans for Hillsboro. I think it can give them a reason to think twice about attacking us. And I think that if we do what I’ve proposed today, we can be ready for them.
“You want to turn us into a militarized community.” Raymond Culver stood up and spoke as Jason paused.
“According to the models I mentioned earlier, yes.”
“What if we don’t want to live that way? We’ve walled ourselves in. We reject the refugees that come to us. I know we help them, give them some food, tend to their medical needs, but we don’t let them in unless they have a specific skill, ability or expertise that can help us. We send them on their way…to where? That’s discrimination. Some of us don’t want us to become that kind of a community.” There was a smattering of applause as he sat down.
“As you point out, we help them as we can, but if we are to open our borders to all, let everyone in, think about where we would wind up? We’d be overrun and then what the refugees seek would no longer be here. Remember what happened those first two springs and summers after the EMP attack. That would still happen, only a bit slower now. And what about the criminal element that would be let in? Do you want to add that to our troubles?”
Raymond tried to respond but Jason continued. “You bring this issue up again and again, but the council has supported my position repeatedly. We have to be selective. We can help those in need, but must limit who we let in. We have our own growing population of aging people who can’t contribute that we are committed to support. No one wants to change that, but we certainly don’t need to voluntarily take on more burdens.”
At this point Charlie Cook stood up. “I’d like to say a few things. I know Dr. Culver. I know what he did during the Stansky era. He was allowed to remain in a cushy job, being the school administrator. Not even running the school. That seemed to be too much work. Instead he was allowed to delegate that work and sit in his office making up nice reports to send to Frank Mason. Frank encouraged the arrangement since it helped to have Dr. Culver be a supportive voice. I don’t recall his speaking out against the atrocities that were going on.
“I can say this because I was on the inside. I was compromised in a larger way, but I can say unequivocally that Dr. Culver was compromised. That said, we all were compromised to some extent except for a few brave people, Steve Warner and the technicians who formed the resistance group.”
Raymond Culver gave Charlie an angry look but didn’t rebut his statement. For the moment the fight seemed to have gone out of him with Charlie’s reminder of his passive acceptance of Stansky’s regime.
The discussion went on for two more hours, but in a more supportive tone. Finally, Kevin spoke up.
“I agree that we should not buy off this Chairman, but I think you may be on a suicide mission. I would personally hate to see you killed.”
Suddenly Anne stood up. “Jason is not going to get killed. He’s going to come back from this mission. I know that because he promised me he would.” There were smiles on the council and in the audience. Anne now had a fierce look in her eyes as she continued. “Don’t think I’m being a silly-headed female. I’ve seen my husband in battle, I’ve seen him defeat Big Jacks’ gang. It was eight valley residents, only two of them with any combat experience, against thirty gang members. And we prevailed. I’ve seen how our own family defeated a dozen gang members…just the four of us. I don’t doubt my husband’s abilities and neither should you. He will do what he says he’ll do.”
She looked around at each member of the council, her face still set hard. “And don’t forget, he was the catalyst that saved this town. And he’s going to risk his life again to do that for you.”
With that Anne sat down. There was an uncomfortable silence.
Finally, Jason spoke up. “I’ll make that the last word. I’m not asking for any vote on my mission. What we need to vote on today is to appoint Steve Warner as acting mayor until elections can be scheduled.”
The voice vote was unanimous in support of Steve Warner with one abstention from Raymond Culver. Jason gaveled the meeting to a close and the crowd began to approach Jason, many expressing support, concern, or offering advice.
Anne stood by Jason’s side and Catherine joined them. “I still don’t understand what you did,” Catherine said, “but I’ve seen this in you before, your dark side. Where you go before a battle.”
“And you have shown that as well. It’s not the healthiest trait to have, but necessary to do what has to be done. I’m happy if I can keep that away from all of us.”
“But we have to be prepared, right?” Catherine said.
Jason nodded. He turned to Kevin, “I’d like to go over my plans and equipment this afternoon. I have to leave no later than the day after tomorrow.”
“Why so soon?” Anne asked.
“Knoxville will expect their messenger back soon, probably within a week. I have to arrive before they put some alternate plan into action, or harm Rodney and Billy. Speed is essential in this situation.” He kissed her. “I’ll be home later tonight, after Kevin and I do some planning.”
Chapter 5
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W hat weapons are you going to take
?” Kevin asked as they sat in his office.
“I’ll need the M110, if I’m going to do any damage long range. That would sow some panic and confusion. For close up, I’d need an M16.”
“Two rifles would be a bit of a load, especially with different ammo requirements.”
“I know. I’m going to take just the M110. The group controlling Knoxville is probably using M16s. They’ve probably gotten them from a National Guard armory. I can grab one of theirs and use it if I need a close combat rifle.”
Jason leaned towards Kevin. “What I really could use is a small caliber, silenced hand gun.”
Kevin gave him a questioning look. “Like an assassin weapon?”
“Exactly.”
Kevin smiled. “You’re in luck. Wilkes found some interesting weapons in Leo’s collection after the battle. He had a silenced .22 Walther PPK along with a couple of hundred sub-sonic rounds. We tested it and it’s hardly louder than a sneeze.”
“That’s perfect.” Jason smiled for the first time in two days.
The next day, as Jason was sorting his gear and loading his pack, Clayton showed up at the door.
“Clayton, What brings you here?”
“Heard you was going to free Billy and Rodney.”
“You heard right, leaving tomorrow. Come in, sit down.”
Clayton shook his head. Can’t stay long.” He motioned for Jason to come out onto the porch. They sat down in chairs.
“So you came here to tell me something, what is it?”
“I’m going with you,” Clayton responded.
Jason looked at the mountain man. He was the leader of the Jessup and Early clans. They had come out of the deep Appalachian woods to help defeat Stansky’s gang and settled onto abandoned farms near the city.
“Why would you want to do that? You have two clans to lead. You’ve got to be pretty busy.”
“Billy’s kin.” Clayton said it as if that was enough reason.
“What about your wife, and boys?”
“Lisbeth be fine, boys be fine. They know I got to help kinfolk.”
“This is dangerous, could be fatal, people are going to get killed.”
“What we did here was dangerous. Clan boys got killed—”
“Yeah, Bird Early. I haven’t forgotten.”
“More’n Bird. Others were killed as well. We got to free Billy and Rodney. We got to make them fear us, so they don’t come down this way.”
Jason sighed and leaned back. “I can’t argue with you.” He knew when Clayton had made up his mind there was no changing it. Clayton was a man of few words and intense loyalties. If you were part of his group, there was nothing he wouldn’t do for you. If you were an enemy, he was to be feared, implacable, fearless and deadly.
“I’d love to have you. I could use a good fighter alongside me. Kevin can’t go; he’s got to protect the town. We’re really one big tribe now. My group has grown from myself, to my family, to the valley, to you and your clan, and now to the town.”
“Not sure about the town, but you be part of our tribe now.”
“Let’s head over to see Kevin. See if we can get you a rifle that shoots faster than your bolt action .30-06.”
“It’s a good piece.”
“It is, but it’s not the right piece for the job. “I’m taking my M110 for long range use. It shoots the 7.62 mm round. Maybe we can find you an automatic that shoots the same round.”
“Don’t want to lug around a machine gun.”
“No, I’m talking about a rifle, but one with auto fire option. If we have to put a lot of shots out there, you can’t beat it.”
“This be different from hunting in the woods.”
Jason nodded. “Yeah it’s going to be different.” He got up. “Let’s go see Kevin.”
Later in Kevin’s office, they talked about options. “We really only have the M16 for a rifle with automatic fire option, unless you want to take an M60.”
Jason shook his head. “Nah. Too heavy and the belt feed will just be a problem. We’ve got to be lighter, faster.”
Clayton didn’t say anything. Jason could see he understood he was in a different world with military hardware. Still he’ll be an asset with any weapon.
Kevin opened the door and shouted out for Lieutenant Tommy Wilkes to come into his office. Tommy had been promoted from his rank as specialist in the army to lieutenant in the militia after the battle. He had acquitted himself well during the fight and played a large part in securing weapons and ammunition from Stansky’s warehouse, thereby limiting the gang’s firepower.
“Wilkes, what do we have in 7.62 caliber rifles? I need something that can fire on automatic.”
Wilkes looked thoughtful. He turned to Jason. “I heard about your mission. I just want to say that I’ll keep a close eye out on your family while you’re gone.”
Jason smiled back. Tommy Wilkes was in love with Jason’s step-daughter, Sarah. She was seventeen now and Wilkes was about eight years older than her. Jason figured it would only be a year or two more and they would be telling him and Anne they were getting married.
“Thank you. I’m sure you’ll do a good job in that area. But let’s get back to the question at hand.”
Tommy Wilkes smiled. “I think I’ve got just what is needed. We found some AK47s in the warehouse. Apparently they were from Joe Stansky’s gang days, before he robbed the armories.”
“Are they in decent shape?” Kevin asked.
“We can go through them. There’s six if I remember correctly. I think we can find a good one. We test fired a couple and they surprised me. They don’t kick that hard. Pretty easy to control on automatic, unlike some other rifles.”
“You mean like the old M14.” Jason said.
Tommy Wilkes nodded. “I understand they took the auto function off of it because it was uncontrollable. This AK seems much more controllable. And it hits harder than the M16.”
“Sounds like what you want,” Kevin said. “Let’s go have a look.” The four men headed out of the office in the police headquarters to walk over to the warehouse.
After a half hour of selecting three rifles they went to the rifle range that had been set up near a section of the town’s wall and tried them out. Clayton quickly figured out how to control the rifle on automatic.
“That’s a lot of bullets fired. Seems wasteful,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s better to send a lot of rounds down range than pick a target carefully. But helps to try to aim the weapon, not fire blindly,” Jason replied.
Clayton nodded. “Still seems odd.”
The two men agreed to meet up at dawn by the north entrance gate into the city. Jason got out a map and traced the route. “We’ll go along Interstate 40 for most of the way. The walking will be easier.”
“Unless we get ambushed.”
“There is that risk. We’ll have to be vigilant. If we have to take to the woods, we’ll do fine. It’ll just take longer.”
“How we gonna sneak into town?” Clayton asked.
“Got a map from the messenger. We’ll have to play that by ear. He marked where he thinks Rodney and Billy are being kept, but he’s not completely sure.”
Clayton nodded, shook hands and left the group to head out of the city to his farm. He had over an hour walk, but he was used to walking. Everyone was used to walking.
As the other three headed back to the police station, Jason made a suggestion. “I’m going to tell you to execute Bud if I’m not back in a week. I want you to agree to that in Bud’s hearing. It will keep him helpful, trying to please you.”
“What do we do while waiting for your return?” Kevin asked.
“Work on defenses. If I’m not back in a week, you should accelerate those preparations. Hell, you should accelerate them now. If you don’t see us in two weeks, you can assume we’re dead or captured. In any case, you have to assume this Chairman is coming. Keep the scouts out far enough to give you time to get everyone to the walls.
“And we’ve got mortars and M2s we can set up along the walls,” Kevin said.
“Yeah. Unlike Stansky, you’ve got the ability to defend the full perimeter. Don’t let them into the city.”
Chapter 6
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T he next morning Jason and Clayton set out hiking west along I40. Their route would first take them west and then near Lake Junaluska, in Tennessee, the interstate turned north on its way to Knoxville. If they could keep to the highway and encountered no trouble the walk would take them about a week.
The spring morning was invigorating. In spite of the dangerous nature of their mission, Jason couldn’t suppress some joy at being out in the open. Was it the quest? He chuckled softly. That was a part of it he had to admit to himself.
“What’s funny?” Clayton asked.
“Nothing really. Just found myself enjoying the morning, even though we’re heading into trouble.”
“Don’t pay to not enjoy things when you can. Trouble comes soon enough.”
“You’re right about that.”
“I think this hiking on the road’s going to get hard on the feet. The woods be softer walking.”
“I agree but this is faster. Think of it as a clear path, all graded and smoothed out for us.”
“And paved so it hurts the feet.”
The highway was littered with vehicles that had stopped when the EMP burst had struck. The cars never moved again. There was evidence of wrecks as cars had become uncontrollable at sixty to seventy miles an hour. Jason thought about all the people who had left those cars. Where had they gone? Had they survived? At some of the wreck sites, they could see the skeletal remains of the victims. There was no question about their fate. The density of the cars increased and decreased like frozen waves of traffic.
