ASYLUM: Chapter 36

 

Chapter 36

   “Lieutenant Colonel Menendez,” the man nodded to me as he shook my hand. “My name is Carter and I’m sort of in charge around here.”

   I scanned the surrounding area as Captain Merrell supervised the off-loading of the men and Jeeps. “Our vehicles have the supplies you were promised, as soon as we can off-load, we’ll be leaving.” Everything was flat for as far as I could see; a lot like the desert below Asylum, but greener.

   “You guys must be in a hurry?” I could tell Carter was curious, hell, he probably hadn’t seen an airplane land at his facility in years. Then to have us arrive in two C-130s with Jeeps, trucks, armed troops and supplies?

   “Not really,” I replied. “We just like to be about our business in an expeditious manner.” He didn’t need to know what we were doing, or going. OPSEC, operational security, was important; I didn’t want word of our arrival to be spread around.

   “Sure, whatever you say.” He seemed a little irritated, but I had other things on my mind.

   No one else knew where we were either, this whole excursion was on the sly and no communications had been used to organize it. I had gathered my people with Packers acquiescence and travelled to Holloman where it was easy to convince them to help. Their love and respect for Debra once again paid dividends. Holloman decided the fact I and my team were headed to Kansas was too important to send over our comms network, so no notice was sent to Debra and our people there, not even encrypted.

   Once the vehicles were off the planes, we unloaded the supplies we had promised and then prepped the vehicles for travel. We had three Jeeps and two one-and-a-half-ton trucks carrying extra fuel and assorted supplies for the convoy. Including me, there were twenty of us, all members of Golf Company, 3d Battalion, Militia. Every man was a volunteer, single, and with no dependents. All of the Jeeps had PKM machineguns mounted, but one had one of Hendrick’s rocket launchers. The supply trucks had M-2, .50 caliber heavy machineguns mounted to them, but we were short ammo for the Ma Deuces and would only use them if really necessary. With that said, we also have a little help that might prove valuable. When we loaded up at Holloman, we were joined by six Marine Raiders with two FAVs, or Fast Attack Vehicles. One is pulling an ammo trailer and the other has an old 75 Millimeter Recoilless Rifle mounted on a trailer. They are all six trained in the use of Carl Gustav anti-armor missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, which they have with them. We rechecked all the vehicles, ran radio checks and then mounted up and headed out. I was hoping to reach Debra within two hours.

   We could have landed much closer to her location, but I was concerned with the C-130s drawing unwanted attention to our presence. Packer and Merrell wanted us to remain as low-profile as possible, so the Zippers wouldn’t suspect what we were up to and cause him, Becker, to jump forward with any plan he might have to try and acquire Debra and the children. At first, General Packer denied my request to join the team, but finally relented and gave me the go-ahead when I became obstinate. In essence, though we were small in numbers, we were a highly mobile, well-trained team with a lot of fire power that could easily be missed by opposing forces.

   Oh, yeah, Packer informed me that Lieutenant Colonels commanded battalions, so, yeah, I’m known as Lieutenant Colonel Menendez now. Captain Merrell was hesitant at first about who was in every day command, but I told him to pretend I wasn’t here, or I was a civilian, but that was a no-go from the start. Every order he gives he looks at me as if he’s looking for my approval. I can’t blame him I guess, he’s new to the role of Company Commander and it might take some time to fully accept the promotion I gave him. He earned the rank though and I’m confident he’ll step up. He has sent one of the Jeeps a good ten minutes head of the rest of us as scouts, my jeep is head of the convoy and next is the Marines’ two FAVs. Then the two supply trucks and finally the last Jeep with Henderson’s rocket launcher mounted.

   We were maintaining radio silence, but then our scout Jeep broke the quiet, “Q-B? This is Wide Receiver, over?”

   Merrell reached for the mic and answered, “Q-B, go ahead Wide Receiver.”

   “Wide Receiver just reached the top of a low summit, and there is a road block ahead. We’re setting up a spotting scope to check it out, wait one.” Our driver tapped his brakes and began to coast with the other vehicles following suit. “Q-B, there are two armored bank trucks parked nose to nose in the middle of the road on our end of a narrow bridge. They must have seen us; two motorcycles are approaching our vehicle at this moment. Over?”

   “Wide Receiver, any markings on those bank trucks? Over.”

   “There is what appears to be a red circle with a representation of the globe within the circle. Over?”

   Merrell looked at me and I said, “The Zippers have a penchant for red and use the globe a lot in their graphics.”

   “Roger, that!” Into the mic he said, “Those may be Zippers, Wide Receiver, be prepared to engage if you are forced to. We’re coming up on your six. Over.”

   “Roger that, Q-B, wait one.” We waited for his return transmission as our driver sped back up and continued up the road. Several moments passed and then they radioed back, “Q-B, Wide Receiver, both motorcycles are down. They opened fire when they saw the emblem on the doors of the Jeep. Over?”

   “Wide Receiver, friendly casualties?” Merrell asked.

   “Negative, we can see the trucks have started their motors and are idling, Q-B. Over?”

   “Hold your position unless attacked. Over and out.”

   “Roger that, over and out.” Turning to me, Merrell asked, “Sir?”

   “Pull over and stop,” I said. “We’ll have the Raiders and our guys prepare the Recoilless and Bazooka, so when we reach the crest of the rise, we can take out the bank trucks quickly before they can escape.”

   “Yes, Sir!” He gave the commands and our convoy pulled to a stop. The Jeep with the rocket launcher pulled forward and the Marine FAV with the Recoilless Rifle began prepping and loading their weapons. The crew of the second FAV prepared a Gustav in case it was needed. When they were finished, we told them to follow us and be prepared to fire as soon as they could position their selves on the rise in the road. We then raced ahead of the supply trucks to join our Scouts.

   When we arrived, our driver stopped short of the Scouts’ Jeep and allowed the Marines and our rocket launcher to pass. The FAV pulling the Recoilless turned sideways on the road as our Jeep and the second FAV pulled to a stop on each end. The recoilless fired and then our guys followed suit. The Marines hit their armored bank truck on the left directly in the driver’s compartment and our guys hit the second near the rear axle which disabled, but didn’t destroy the truck. The Marines quickly reloaded and put another round through the cab; both bank trucks were reduced to burning, smoking, ruins. We reorganized, the Scout Jeep sped away up the highway and we followed once our main weapons had been secured. I hoped any future engagements went as quick and clean as the last one.

   It took longer than the two hours we had originally thought it would take, but eventually we arrived in Hutchinson, Kansas. The town had one of the best-known salt mines and underground Salt Museums, but that wasn’t the reason we were there. The Zippers had another facility they had dug nearby and was one of the ZPG central hubs of the region. The opposition to the Zippers had taken over the storage facility of the old salt mine and was using it as a central hub of their own. Like Silver City, Hutchinson had suffered from being sprayed by the ZPG also and like other areas, had suffered the aftereffects as well. They were bringing it together though and the population was expanding like Asylum had. Saying the population is expanding is a little misleading; it’s not expanding so much as concentrating.

   Like other facilities of the Zippers, Hutchinson had a tremendous amount of LTS foods, but had not shared it with the surrounding people when the times were bad. Now that the people of the region had pulled together, created a micro-economic zone, established farming communities and local governments of one type or another, the Zippers crawled out of their hole and instituted a program of confiscation of things they wanted. They were able to do this by having superior military capability and the willingness to use that force even though they were outnumbered by the people around them. Because of their elitist views, they had little respect for the people outside their facility and acted like it. It was the same everywhere we had dealt with the Zippers; Asylum, Las Cruces, El Paso, Denver, other places, and now here. I was afraid the process of putting the Zippers down was going to be an ongoing proposition.

   As we approached the main gate, I brought the convoy to a halt and walked to the gate with two men who were acting as my personal security detail, Sargent Dawson and Corporal Timothy Tyler, uh huh, Mister Slice Out of the Middle. Remember?

   “Halt where you are and identify yourselves!” The guards at the gate were taking their job serious.

   “I’m Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Menendez, Grant County Militia, from Asylum, New Mexico. I’m here to confer with Major Debra Monroe, CO of the Asylum Training Cadre.”

   “We were not told you were coming, or to expect you.” The man was in his thirties and had a military aspect about him, I wondered if he was a veteran of the U.S. Military.

   “There’s a good operational security reason for that. Can you contact Major Monroe and have her meet me here at the gate?”

   “She’s not currently here and I’m not going to allow you to enter until someone gives me the clearance. Wait where you are while I make some phone calls.” He turned to the other men at gate duty and said, “Keep an eye on the Lieutenant Colonel and his men until I find out what’s going on.”

   I watched as he entered the Guard Shack, picked up a phone and began to speak into it. Dawson mumbled under his breath, “This is no way to treat an officer from Asylum, we’re helping these people for shit’s sake.”

   “Relax, Sargent,” I smiled as I continued. “I would have been more upset if they let us cruise in just because we said we were from Asylum.”

   “Yes, Sir, I understand what you’re saying, it’s just…You’re right, Sir, these people don’t know you, so we play along until they do.” He went quiet and I waited for the security guard to return.

   Eventually, he stepped back out and said, “Sorry for the inconvenience, Sir, Security is sending an officer to speak with you. Would you care to enter the Guard Shack and sit while we wait?”

   “I’ve been sitting for quite a while; I’d rather stand and stretch out a bit.”

   “As you wish, Sir.” He stood watching the three of us, but I noticed the rest of the guards, three of them, were eyeballing the parked convoy. Then, I saw three tracked APCs approaching at high speed from within the complex. “Relax, Sir, just a safety precaution; we don’t know you and you have some interesting weapons mounted on your vehicles.”

   “Just be careful,” I said. “We don’t want things to blow-up in our faces, right?”

   “Of course.”

   The APCs pulled to a stop and at least a platoon sized force off-loaded and took up positions around the gate, finally, one of the new arrivals walked forward. He was a younger than me, but he carried himself with a calm assurance. He addressed me as he came to a halt, “Lieutenant Colonel Menendez?”

   “Yes, and you are?”

   “Lieutenant Patterson, Kansas Militia. Unfortunately, we’ve had some hostile incursions and we have to be very careful. I was told you wished to speak with Major Monroe?” He was about my height, blonde short cropped hair, and dressed in the same old-style Woodland Camo as the gate security were wearing.

   “Yes, we have important intelligence for her that we decided should be delivered in the most secure manner possible.”

   He frowned and asked, “Which is…?”

   “Me.”

   “I see, as much as we appreciate the help Asylum has provided our movement, Major Monroe is our primary connection with you and we are rather protective of her. Is there another member of her training cadre that can vouch for you?”

   Without hesitation, I replied, “Captain Julia Ortiz, she knows me quite well, or Lieutenant Lawrence, CO of Monroe’s Security element, in fact, any member of her training cadre can identify who I am.”

   Phillips turned to one of the gate guards and nodded to him, the man instantly entered the guard shack and used the phone. “It will be a few minutes, Lieutenant Colonel.” He continued to look at me as I took note of their security precautions, “You seem inordinately interested in our security, Sir.”

   I glanced back at him, “My wife, she impressed on me the importance of active observation from the early days of our relationship; I guess it’s become second nature for me.” We waited another ten minutes before another vehicle, an older Chevy Tahoe pulled to a stop near us and a young man wearing an Asylum Smock climbed out and quickly approached me.

   “Major Menendez! Sir!” He came to attention and saluted me.

   It was Ranger Jimmy Slate. I smiled and said, “Jimmy, folks around here treating you well?”

   “They’re good to go, Sir, you’re a long way from home.”

   “That I am,” I responded. “Major Monroe?”

   “Training exercise, Sir, she has 2^nd Squad with her today as security.”

   Phillips suspiciously asked, “Okay, but why does this man call you Major, and you introduced yourself as Lieutenant Colonel?”

   Slate glanced at the rank emblem on the center of my smock and smiled, “When we left there were rumors the General was going to offer you battalion command, I guess he did?”

   “Indeed, had I been smarter, I would have declined the offer.”

   Slate pointed to the convoy and asked, “They your security these days, Sir?”

   “Yes and no, most are from 3d Battalion, a few are Marines from Holloman. They’re a good group, Slate, so watch your ps and qs.”

   “Yes, Sir.” He turned to Patterson and said, “They’re good, Lieutenant; they’re our people.”

   Patterson nodded to the gate security team and they began to open the gate. I waved the convoy forward and they started preparing to do so. “Lieutenant Patterson, where can I park my vehicles and where can I billet my people?”

   “Your men will be quartered with Major Monroe’s people,” he nodded towards Slate. “Corporal Slate will show them where to park and where to take their gear. I will escort you to our Communication Room and you can contact Major Monroe to let her know you are here and need to meet with her.” He glanced at his watch and added, “You arrived just after the noon meal serving, but I believe we can arrange something…”

   “Not necessary, Lieutenant, we have supplies for today and I would rather I either be taken to Major Monroe’s location, or wait until she returns; her physical safety could be jeopardized otherwise. Can you direct me to where her children are quartered when she is on duty?”

   “Her children?” He went to suspicion again, “Why would you be interested in them?”

   I think Slate realized I didn’t want the fact Debra was my wife to be known, “If the Lieutenant Colonel is concerned with the Major’s safety, it stands to reason he would also be concerned for the safety of her children.” He turned to me and added, “I can take you there, Sir, the Major’s quarters are close to our billet.”

   I said, “Thank you, Corporal Slate,” as our lead Jeep stopped beside us. “Squeeze in and you can direct us where we need to go.” He ended up needing to stand between the two men in the rear seat and we left for our vehicle park. After there, he led us to where we would be quartered during our stay and finally, he led me to Debra’s rooms.

   As we walked through the underground passages, he asked, “Sir, May I ask what is going on?”

   I nodded as we passed several old bulldozers on display, “Remember when Heinrich Becker had my wife, Danni?”

   “Of course, Sir.”

   “He’s not dead like we thought. He’s somewhere here, in Kansas, and he’s searching for my wife, Debra, and our children.”

   “Fuck! Oh, sorry, Sir!”

   “No need to apologize, Slate, I said a lot worse than that when I found out the son-of-a-bitch was alive.”

   “But how? I mean, you killed him before the helicopter crash.”

   “In truth, that was Mathias Moller, the man we thought was Moller, was actually Becker.”

   “Crap, okay,” he pointed and said, “Here we are, Sir.” We stopped in front of a metal door and he knocked. “As soon as you are inside, I’m going to go notify Lieutenant Lawrence and get a security detail over here, I imagine you’ll want protection for your children and Maggie until further notice.” Margarite Chancellor was Debra’s nanny.

   “Thank you, Jimmy, I’d appreciate that. Tell Lawrence I want to meet with him and Captain Merrell at their earliest convenience.”

   He answered, “Yes, Sir,” as the door opened and Chancellor, a middle-aged woman who was prematurely grey, looked at the two of us.

   Her eyebrows rose as she said, “Major Menendez?”

   I nodded to her and said, “Mrs. Chancellor, I’ve come to visit my children.”

   Slate corrected her, “Lieutenant Colonel Menendez.”

   Chancellor, who was obviously confused by my sudden, and unannounced, appearance said, “Huh?”

   I had only met Margarite Chancellor for a brief period before Debra left for Kansas, so I wasn’t surprised she seemed less than enthusiastic about me appearing from nowhere, “Sorry for showing up without prior notice, Mrs. Chancellor, but I’m sure you understand the need for Operational Security?”

   “Uh, yes, I suppose, did Major Monroe know you were coming? She could have given me a little heads up so I could…”

   I shook my head as Slate walked away, “She doesn’t know I’m here.” I leaned forward and attempted to see inside the room, “My children?”

   She stepped quickly aside as she said, “Oh, yes, please come in.” I entered and saw a playpen that was resting on a raised platform in one corner of the room. “I’ve been having some problems with my lower back and Debbie, I mean Major Monroe, suggested raising the playpen to a more convenient height.”

   “Sounds like something she would say, she’s always thinking of others.” Richie was obviously asleep, but Nadia was propped up somewhat and batting at a suspended mobile in front of her. “How are they doing?” I asked.

   “After the bout of colic they had before we left, they’ve been perfectly healthy. As you can see, Richie sleeps, a lot, and Nadia seems to be the more active of the two.”

   I reached inside the playpen and caressed first, Richard’s, and then Nadia’s face. Nadia instantly became more energetic, almost agitated in her movement. I raised my hand away, but kept it close as I watched her, she turned towards my hand and finally grasped my thumb and little finger as she pulled it to her face. She was smelling me. “I see she has already developed the smell thing?”

   “Yes, she has.”

   “Richard?” I asked.

   “He has as well.”

   “Is there any concern over how much he sleeps?”

   “No, the pediatrician says he’s just a sleeper. Other than that, he’s well above normal for a child his age.”

   “Really?” I paid closer attention to him and realized he was noticeably larger than his sister.

   “Yes, when he’s awake, he is very aware of his surroundings, he has developed greater dexterity than Nadia and he loves it when Debbie, I mean the Major, talks to him. It’s kind of funny, it almost seems he’s trying to talk back; even as young as he is.”

   “Mrs. Chancellor, it’s okay to refer to my wife by her first name.”

   “Thank you, Debbie and I have gotten rather close, but I really know nothing about you on a personal level.”

   “That’s understandable, we didn’t have much time to get to know one another before all of you left for here.”

   “No, we didn’t.”

   “You wouldn’t happen to have any coffee, would you?”

   “Oh, I’m sorry, where are my manners? Unfortunately, no coffee, but we have several varieties of tea and there is local mixture of something they call Kansas Krank that will wake you up pretty damn fast once you get past the horrible taste.” She laughed and said, “Debbie loves that crap, but only after she has doctored it up with honey and cream. I will warn you though, don’t drink it late in the day unless you want to be awake half the night. Debbie won’t drink it past noon.”

   “Speaking of which, when are you expecting Debra back?”

   “Normally, she’s here by five in the afternoon, but today she had to run a field exercise and warned me she might be later than normal. She’s been working the scout trainees pretty hard and she’s cross-training them for tracking as well. She said another week and she would wrap up the trip and we’d head home again. Are you here to escort your family home? Is that why you’ve come?”

   I didn’t comment on her question, instead I said, “It’s still pretty early, can I try a cup of that Krank?”

   “Of course, I’ll make you some right away.” She walked away and into a kitchen that was even smaller than the kitchen in my first apartment in Asylum. I straightened up, which set Nadia to fussing, but I wiggled the mobile over her and she started batting at it again. Walking into the kitchen, I sat at a table barely large enough for two plates and two chairs.

   “I imagine Debra has cultivated a few friends since arriving?”

   “She makes friends quickly, doesn’t she?” She smiled as she looked over her shoulder at me.

   “That she does. She loves people and hearing their stories.”

   She was silent as she worked at the counter while filling a teapot and placing it on an electric burner. As the teapot of water heated, she turned and leaned against the counter. “Unfortunately, sometimes, people misunderstand her friendliness.”

   “It’s happened before, has there been a problem?”

   “Perhaps it might be best if I leave that topic for Debbie to explain.”

   I stared at her for a moment and then said, “Then perhaps you shouldn’t have mentioned it to begin with?” I passed her a quick smile to remove any sting and waited.

   “Um, yes, I’m going to let Debra explain; I spoke out of turn on a topic I shouldn’t have, I’m sorry.”

   “Is this something I need to take care of?”

   She sighed, then nodded her head affirmative as she said, “No, I’m sure Debbie has taken care of it.” Great, so Chancellor felt it was going to be necessary for me to become involved and apparently because Debra hadn’t, or someone was being persistent.

   “There is more than just interest involved on someone’s part and Debra is carefully toeing a line. I assume this person is important, or has someone of importance that is sponsoring them?”

   “Debbie mentioned you were intelligent; she didn’t mention intuition.” The teapot began to whistle and she hurriedly pulled it from the electric burner, “The twins hate the sound of this thing.”

   I waited as she mixed some sort of powder and leaves together and stirred the concoction in a large cup. Finally, she poured the dark brew through a paper filter and then handed me the cup of steaming liquid. I started to take a sip and gagged as I breathed in the fumes, “What the…?”

   She laughed and said, “Debra says it’s an acquired taste; the problem is getting past the smell in order to acquire the taste.”

   “Good lord, this is awful!” I took a tentative sip as I held my breath and swallowed. It was so bitter, it made me react the way taking a bite from a lemon would. I shivered as she laughed.

   “Perhaps the honey and cream like Debbie drinks it?”

   “Got any Kentucky Bourbon?”

   She laughed again as she placed a jar of honey on the table and then removed a small stainless-steel container from the fridge, “Debra uses two teaspoons of honey and almost twice as much cream.”

   I added the ingredients and then stirred as I looked at Chancellor, “Are you going to tell me, or make me sit here and get irritated.”

   She shook her head and said, “Debbie is going to be cross with me, I know it.” After a deep breath she released it and said, “Captain Hunter Harris. He escorted his father here from Iowa and took shelter with the ZPG people at their facility.”

   “Wait, a Zipper has the hots for my wife? And why is he here, now?”

   “His father is, was, the senior U.S. Senator from Iowa. He claims that by the rules of succession, he’s the President now.”

   “Okay, I’m getting the picture now. This Hunter Harris, nice political name by-the-way, he thinks he should get what he wants when he wants it?”

   “Pretty much, but Debbie doesn’t see it that way. Senator Harris made Hunter, commanding officer of all military forces within the U.S., but a lot of folks around here are not buying into it. He has a small following, but most people around here look to Henry Thorpe for answers.”

   “Okay, that name I’m familiar with from intelligence reports I’ve seen. He’s the guy that contacted us at Asylum through Denver.”

   “Yes, that’s what Debbie told me and now that I know Henry, this place needs him a lot more than Harris.”

   “Okay, that’s who we’ve been dealing with, so where does this Hunter guy come into the picture? What qualifications does he have to be the so-called Commander of the military?”

   “He was a National Guard Captain and Company Commander of Military Police in Des Moines.”

   “And?”

   She just looked at me blankly, then shrugged.

   “Great.” I thought for a moment and then said, “Okay, the Senator and his son were at the Zipper facility, why are they here now?”

   “Apparently, when they joined with the ‘Zippers’ as you call them, the ZPG leadership initially considered him a plus. They thought he would lend some legitimacy to their authority, but he, the Senator, can be rather abrasive and over-bearing. After a while, he was relegated to the position of figurehead and he didn’t like it, so he, his son and their military police escorts left and came here. He’s been causing problems ever since.”

   “Why has Thorpe allowed him any say what-so-ever? If Harris aligned himself with the Zippers, he has disqualified himself from participation in any present form of leadership role.”

   “Debbie has been frustrated over the same thing; Henry is trying to build a political coalition, but she thinks including Harris is a mistake.”

   “If that’s what she thinks, then she is probably right and I can only support her view if that’s the case.” I looked at my watch, “You said she’s usually back by five?”

   “Yes, but like I said…”

   “Yeah, field exercise,” I took a drink of the doctored Krank and grimaced before pushing it away. “Sorry, but that needs a little more than honey and cream to be palatable.”

   She nodded as she smiled and then said, “Are you hungry? It’s lunchtime if you are.”

   “Yes, but I need to touch bases with Lawrence, do you know where I can find him?”

   “Yes, but I’m reluctant to try and give you directions, it’s easy to get lost down here with all the twists and turns they have and no markings that make sense.”

   I nodded, “Okay, I told Slate I wanted to talk to Merrell and Lawrence, so maybe they’ll show up soon. Did you have a plan for lunch already?”

   “Soup and grilled cheese, will that work for you?”

   “Please.”   She started going through cabinets and I wandered back to the twins and watched Nadia, still batting at the mobile over her head. “Hey, Little Bit, can daddy hold you?” I reached in and she became still again as I lifted her out and held her close. It almost felt as if she was snuggling against me.

   “My goodness,” Chancellor said. “I’ve only seen her do that with Debbie.”

   “What?”

   “Try to snuggle closer and bury her nose in your neck.”

   “Really?” I smiled and started murmuring to her, but within moments she was asleep. “Damn, she crashed on me.”

   “That’s a good sign, she feels safe in your arms.”

   “Good,” I said. “I want her to feel safe.”

   “You may as well put her down, when she naps, Richard normally wakes up and he’s going to be hungry.”

   “Is there breast milk available? I can feed him while you prepare lunch.”

   “Yes, but Richard has been eating more solid food lately. By solid, I mean normal food that has been run through a processor and reduced to a sort of puree consistency. Debbie’s breast milk was leaving Richard hungry, so we started giving him the puree mixed with her milk and he seems to be more satisfied by it. We just have to avoid using salt.”

   “Is the pediatrician good with it?”

   “Not at first, but he sort of said give it a go because Richard started getting a little thin. Now? Just look at him.”

   “Yeah, he’s a little bulldozer.”

   Someone began knocking persistently at the front door and then even louder, “Damn it!” Chancellor said. “Whoever that is, if they wake up Nadia, I’m going twist their ears off!”

   I opened the door and found Captain Merrell and Lieutenant Lawrence staring at me and I didn’t like the expressions they were wearing, “Captain, Lieutenant, what’s wrong?”

   Merrell looked at Lawrence and said, “Lieutenant.”

   “Sir, Major Monroe left this morning with one of our squads, two trucks, and fifteen Scout Sniper Trainees. We received word from one of the trucks, they were ambushed, three of our team in that truck and three trainees were killed, and Major Monroe is not answering any radio calls trying to contact her vehicle.”

   I spun around and handed Richie to Maggie and then walked out the door, “Reaction team?”

   Lawrence responded, “Two squads are loading up as we speak, Sir, Air Force has a Predator already in the area and they’re launching another at this moment.”

   I looked at Merrell and asked, “My weapon and gear?” As I closed the door behind me.

   “Back in your Jeep by now, everyone, but the supply truck personnel, are gearing up and preparing to pull out on your command.”

   I pointed to a side-by-side ATV parked in front of the apartment and Lawrence said, “Yes, Sir, that’s our ride to Topside.”

   “Let’s go,” I said as I slid into the rear seat. Merrell sat down and Lawrence took the wheel. He sped away and moments later we burst out into the sunlight and stopped several yards from our three Jeeps and the Marines two FAVs. Walking quickly to the Jeep my gear was in, I donned my FLC and then placed my sustainment belt on the floorboard between where my feet would be. I slung my carbine across my chest and waited for everyone else to get ready.

   “Sir,” Lawrence said. “I’ve been where we are going several times and we’ll get there in maybe twenty minutes. It might be best if you and your men hang back…”

   “That’s a negative Lieutenant.”

   “Sir, my teams will approach the ambush site directly by the road, if you are hanging back, we can point you in the correct direction once we examine the ambush scene. That region is mostly small farms and the roads are laid out in a large grid system. You may be able to redirect and cut off the ambush party along a different road.”

   “Right, of course, carry on Lieutenant.” He jogged towards two trucks that were waiting and pulled away as soon as he entered the cab of the first.

   “Sir,” Merrell said. “Lawrence made arrangements for a local militia member to guide us,” he motioned to a young man to come to us. “This is Jake Cummings and has lived around here his entire life.”

   His entire life couldn’t have been very long, he looked like he was barely out of high school. He wasn’t wearing a uniform; he was dressed in motorcycle leathers and his only weapon was a short little carbine slung over his back. He nodded and said, “Hi.”

   I looked over the Jeep and realized there was nowhere for him to sit, “We’ll dump some of our gear and see if we can fit you in somewhere.”

   “Naw, I’ll be on my bike, that way I can range ahead and check stuff out before you guys get there.” He extended his hand and offered me a small FRS walkie-talkie. “It’s set on the right channel to talk to me.”

   “Good,” I answered as I accepted the radio. “Do you have spare mags for your weapon?”

   “Yeah, I’ve got one of those vest things that carry my shit, oh, sorry, my gear.”

   “Well gear up, soldier, I want to head out as soon as I know where we’re going.”

   “Okay.”

   He walked away as Merrell shook his head. “Discipline is a little lax around here.”

   “They’re new to the game, but Debra said they were coming along.”

   “Lawrence said the same; he says these people know their business and the kid is highly recommended.”

   I nodded as an Air Force Lieutenant walked up to us, “Lieutenant Colonel Menendez, I’m Lieutenant Simms and I’ll be your liaison with the Predator crew.” He unfolded a map and spread it on the hood of the Jeep. Jake Cummings returned astride a rice rocket, shut-off the motor and then stood next to us as we looked at the map.

   “Our air asset is showing your disabled truck, right about here,” he pointed at a location on the map. “Here, is where the destroyed second truck, Major Monroe’s, is located.” Jake leaned in and looked. “The men from the disabled truck are onsite now, but no sign of the ambush team and no reports on the whereabouts of the Major and one more of our own, but we’re maintaining an air presence as long as needed.”

   Cummings reached in and pointed, “All this land was bought up by one of those big agricultural companies and they tore down the old farm houses, barns, and stuff like that in order to increase the actual acreage for crops, so there’s nowhere they could hide their vehicles, but up here is the old Potter place. All their kids moved away and when they passed, the land was bought by a hunting club out of Wichita.”

   I frowned, “A hunting club?”

   “Yeah, Mule Creek runs through that area and there’s some good deer hunting in there and just about anything else you might want to shoot. I’m not surprised the ambush took place there because Mule Creek would provide some good cover to folks trying to get away. There’s a lot of tree cover and the like.” He traced his finger up the map mumbling to himself and finally stopped with his finger pointing at a position four roads away. “I bet this is where they left their vehicles, it’s an equipment barn for the AGCOM that had been buying up the farms around here. The barn has been partially dismantled by locals for the building supplies, but it would still hide any trucks parked inside.”

   I looked at Simms and said, “Lieutenant?”

   “We have a second Predator headed that way now, I’ll have it orbit the site from a distance and check it out.” He left to make the radio call.

   “Merrell, let’s get on the road,” I said. “Cummings, how long for a dismounted ambush team to get to that barn?”

   “If they are on foot and stay under the cover of the trees and brush? At least an hour, probably more; that’s some pretty thick shit they would have to pass through.”

   “They don’t realize we can figure out where they are headed,” I said. “Okay,” I paused and then said, “Wait, Debra was training Scout/Snipers, right?”

   Merrell nodded, so did Cummings as he added, “Yeah, one of my cousins is in the class and they are supposed to have a graduation ceremony early next week.”

   “Are they following the ambush team?” I asked. “If not, why not?”

   Merrell started walking towards his Jeep, “I’ll find out.” Moments later, he was carrying on an animated conversation as I scanned the map again.

   “Jake, could the men on the ground there, the Major’s security team and the trainees, could they travel along the side of the creek and move faster?”

   “Absolutely, there’s access roads on both sides of the woods next to the creek.” He looked towards Merrell and asked, “Should I take off? Get ahead of you guys and…”

   “Not yet, you have too much valuable information, hang loose for a few minutes.”

   Merrell rushed back, “They were ordered to remain at the ambush site because they were trainees and the survivors of the security element were told to stay with the trainees and protect them.”

   “What the fuck!” I slammed my fist on the hood of the Jeep, “They’re graduating next week for shit’s sake! Who the hell gave those orders?”

   “Somebody named Captain Harris with the Kansas Militia.”

   “Get on that radio and tell those people to start following the ambush team, who do we have there?”

   “Sargent Summers and a private, he’s wounded though.”

   “Kate Summers?”

   “Yes, Sir, but she already says she’s heading out with the nine trainees that are not severely injured and will try to slow any enemy elements she comes across.”

   “Good, that sounds like Kate, I’ve worked with her before.” I looked around and said, “Let’s get this show on the road, but when we get back, Captain Harris and I are going to have a one-on-one.” I turned to the kid and said, “Cummings, you’re up, take point.” He jogged to his motorcycle, started it up and was gone in a cloud of dust. Most younger men with motorcycles generally have impressively loud exhaust systems on them, but Jake’s was surprisingly quiet. I climbed into the front passenger seat of my Jeep and said, “Follow him!” As I buckled my seatbelt.

   While in route, we received an update from the Predator crew, they had picked out our people running beside the woods and then reported they seemed to be engaging the rear of the ambush force. They wanted to know if we wanted them to drop some 250-pound bombs along the creek and I said absolutely not, they might have some of our own as captives. Once Summers had left the truck at the ambush site, we no longer had communication with her, but if she was aggressive the way she had been trained, she would continue to push the enemy in the direction they were going.

   Cummings would wait wherever we needed to make a turn and then race ahead again. Finally, we saw him approaching us at high speed. He braked hard and came to a stop along my side of the jeep. “Okay, it’s about a mile ahead on the right with a sign saying AGRICOM, Kansas, in green letters on a white background. The equipment barn is about 100 yards off the road and it looks as though the place is closed up and unoccupied, but I’m betting their vehicles are in there.”

   “How close can we get with our vehicles?” I asked.

   He pointed back behind him and said, “See that tree line? Those trees are along a stream that peters out about a quarter mile off this road. From there to the barn is about three hundred yards. If we keep the revs down on the Jeeps and those dune buggy looking things, we can park there and approach on foot through the fields.”

   I turned to one of the men in the rear of the Jeep and said, “Hustle out and tell the drivers to keep noise to a minimum. Tell them where we are going and how close we’ll be to our destination. Major noise discipline and radio silence! This close, we might bleed into their channel if we use the radios.”

   “Yes, Sir!” He jumped out and started running from vehicle to vehicle.

   I turned back to Jake, “What kind of visibility will they have if they are in there?”

   “Coming from this side, or the other side, we’re good; there are no windows. The front, facing the road? Lots of windows. The back, facing the direction their people will be coming from? Lots of windows.”

   I looked closely at him and then asked, “How do you know so much about this place?”

   He smiled and said, “I used to come here all the time and go hunting because there normally wasn’t anyone here. Like a lot of folks around these parts, I’m not adverse to a little poaching now and again.”

   “Good enough,” I said as my runner returned. “Let’s get this going.”

   We pulled forward at a slower speed and then followed Cummings off the road and parked along the thick tree line. Everyone dismounted and we grouped together as Jake gave everyone a rundown on the conditions we were looking at. Merrell asked if we should wait for Lawrence to arrive with his two additional squads, but we didn’t know for sure how close the Zipper ambush team was getting. I decided on a stealthy approach and a dynamic entry. Jake had already told us there were two doors on the side we were on, so they would have to be our entry points.

   “Staff Sargent Clinton?” He was in command of our Holloman Marines, was a lifer and damn good at what he did.

   “Sir!”

   “Have you any C-4?”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   “Enough to blow those two doors open?” I asked.

   “It’s going to be very noisy, Sir, how about we try a couple of Halligan tools first? Both my FAVs have one on board.”

   “Sounds good, but be prepared to blow them if needed; you and your Marines are in charge of the entry method.”

   “Aye, aye, Sir.” He called his five other Raiders together and they started preparing both the C-4 and the Halligan tools.

   “Captain Merrell, form our people into two teams to assist the Marines. Everyone else, camo up, check your gear and your buddy’s.” I returned to my Jeep and stripped off my FLC, then put on my sustainment belt. After the belt and suspenders were on, I put my Flick back on and settled everything into place. The last thing I put on was my hydration bladder. The actual pack for the bladder has an M-60 ammo pouch attached to it that normally holds some food items, drink flavoring packets, a few other odds and ends, and a ceramic water filter kit. I removed the MP-9 from its holster on the flick where I carried it when I was in a vehicle, and placed it in the holster on the belt. The magazines for my bullpup I normally stored in the belt holster went to the holster mounted on the flick. I now had a total of eight magazines for the bullpup, five quarts of water, my IFAK and a few other possibles. I then used the sideview mirror of the Jeep to apply camo cream to my face. When I was done, I rejoined the rest of the men.

   “Captain Merrell, if you’ll take the southern door with your team, I’ll lead the men going to the northern door. Let’s wait until everyone is in place at both doors and then open them at the same time, agreed?”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   “Okay, people, let’s get it done.” I took off through the woods and then across a shallow stream and up the opposite bank. I had to work my way through brush until I stepped out on the other side and waited for the rest of my team to join me. When everyone, including Merrell’s Team were through, I waved them forward and we started crossing the plowed field between us and the barn. This would not be a good place to come under fire.

   We reached the building and lined up by both doors, and I held up my closed fist as two Marines positioned the Halligan tools, I silently counted one, two, three, with my fingers and both Marines levered the tools and the doors sprung open. We rushed in and found eight men sitting around two tables having lunch, what the hell?

   We shouted for them to get on the floor and they all simply stared at us and it finally occurred to me, they couldn’t speak English. They were forced down, secured, and then several of our party that could speak another language attempted to communicate with them, but nothing. Damn it!

   “Alright,” I said. “Disable the trucks so they can’t be started, Merrell, pick a small team to stay here and guard these people. When we’re ready, we’ll move out and see if we can intercept these peoples’ friends.”

   “Yes, Sir!” He began rushing about and I walked to the nearest North facing window and checked if there was anything to see. Nothing.

   I turned around and looked for Cummings, “Jake! Over here!”

   He jogged over to me and said, “Yeah? This is going pretty good so far, isn’t it?”

   “So far, see how the field is tilled? Is it done like that because that’s a rise out there?”

   “Yeah, it avoids soil erosion.”

   “So that is sort of high ground and if someone was lying down over there, someone coming from the other way would be less likely to notice them, right?”

   “Yeah, but I’d have my nose planted in the dirt if I was hiding out there.”

   “Okay, thanks, but that soil felt pretty soft as we were crossing the field, so I figure it would be easy to dig in?”

   “Oh yeah, for about ten, maybe twelve inches.”

   A team of good marksmen out there could be invaluable, until they were noticed, but if they were armed with Henderson’s silenced .45 caliber rifles? No sharp report from the shot and no muzzle flash, maybe. “Merrell! How many of our team have Henderson’s silenced rifle?”

   He looked at me and said, “Uh…two, yeah two men.” Not enough, even if I added my own that was attached to my main ruck back in the Jeep. I checked the windows and they could be slid open sideways.

   “Leave the two men with the silenced weapons to watch the prisoners. Have them stand back from the windows in the shadows and if the people we are after make a break for it across the fields, they can take them out from concealment.”

   “Yes, Sir!”

   He continued organizing our team and finally joined me at the windows with two men who were readying their silenced weapons. “Okay, we’re headed for the creek and the woods, I want the two of you to watch the tree line and if they make a break for it across the field, use your suppressed rifles and take them out. Remember, they may have at least one of our people, so be sure of who you are shooting. Don’t stand in the windows, shoot from within the rooms and out through the windows, got it?”

   They both answered, “Yes, Sir,” and started opening every window along the North facing wall.

   Merrell said, “We’re ready when you are, Sir.”

   We exited through doors on the West side of the building and moved into the woods where we turned, formed a skirmish line and started moving towards the sound of distant gunshots; Summers was still harassing their rear. I was on the East side of the creek; Merrell and his team were moving down the West side when gunfire erupted from Merrell’s team. I waved my people to keep moving forward and then had them turn to our left, cross the creek and within moments, we saw the scattered Zipper troops and opened fire.

   The Zippers, realizing they had been out-maneuvered and were cut off from their vehicles, began dropping their weapons and placing their hands on their heads. Once again, their morale was failing them; we’ve seen it many times in the past. I led my team forward and we started securing prisoners as I searched for any sign of Debra, but I wasn’t finding her anywhere. Shit, maybe they didn’t even have her?

   One of the men from Merrell’s team ran towards me and said, “Sir! We have your wife, Major Monroe!”

   “Where?!”

   “The Zipper officer had her at their front, she’s a little beat up, but she’s good to go.”

   “Take me there!” I jogged after him while wishing he was moving faster, but eventually we broke into a small clearing just in time to see Debra fire a round from a pistol into the forehead of one of the kneeling prisoners. I had a feeling she was pissed.

   “Debra! Secure that weapon!” I ran up and stopped behind her as she turned and faced me. She was favoring her left leg and there was a very large lump on the left side of her forehead that was seeping blood.

   “Daniel? What…how…?” She started dropping to her knees as I caught her and squeezed her to me. “Am I hallucinating?”

   “No, Babe, I’m here, we’ve got you.” I allowed her to sag down and I kneeled beside her as I held her and whispered in her ear, “I’ve got you, Baby, I’ve got you.”

   “Sir?” One of our medics, Thomas Norquist kneeled beside us. “Better let me check that head wound and get it cleaned up.”

   “Go ahead,” I said, but I didn’t let go of her and she didn’t release her hold on me. He began cleaning the wound as I asked her, “Why did you shoot that guy?”

   She glanced up and said, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have, but I promised him I would after he shot Kaepernick. They took Kaepernick prisoner also, but he was wounded and having trouble keeping up. That asshole told him if he couldn’t keep up, he was going to leave him behind and then he shot him.” She grimaced as Norquist applied a gauze pad to her forehead and started taping it in place, “Honey, we have a problem.”

   “I know.”

   “Heinrich Becker isn’t dead.”

   “I know, that’s why I’m here.”

   “How did you know? I just found out from him,” she said as she pointed to the body of the man she shot. “He said he had orders to transport me to Becker’s location.”

   “Major?” Norquist interrupted. “I noticed you were limping, does that leg need to be immobilized?”

   “I was thrown out of the truck when it was hit with what I think was an RPG. It feels similar to when my knee was dislocated before, but not as bad, I think I can walk alright if I don’t have to go too far.”

   I looked up at Merrell and said, “Send people to get our vehicles and what are the chances we can get the trucks you disabled running?”

   “All we did was unplug the PCMs, once we plug them back in, they should be good to go.”

   “Do it, contact Lieutenant Lawrence and give him a sitrep; contact Hutchinson and tell them we will be returning shortly with survivors, wounded, and prisoners; contact Militia Medical and tell them to meet us to accept the wounded; make contact with Summers and tell her we have the Major and to join with us; restrain these prisoners and secure their weapons and gear. I want a team to work back through the woods and creek bed with Summers to locate and retrieve any bodies, weapons and gear. The bodies we will burn, the weapons and gear I’m sure the Kansas Militia will be able to put to good use.”

   Merrell hustled away as Debra smiled and said, “Wow, look at you, in command and owning it.”

   I smiled back and said, “I’ve had a lot of practice while you’ve been gone.”

   “Yeah? I bet Golf Company is really dancing to the music.”

   “Yeah, along with Hotel and Item as well.”

   “Huh?” She said as I pointed to my rank patch, “Lieutenant Colonel? Are you shitting me? Packer forced 3d Battalion on you?”

   “I wouldn’t call it being forced, it’s been really interesting and I’m kind of liking it.”

   She reached up and pulled my lips to hers for a lingering kiss, “Hi, Honey, I missed you,” she said.

   “Same here,” I replied. “You’re way to thin, why haven’t you been eating?”

   “I could ask you the same thing?”

   “I’m not nursing two babies.”

   “Maybe that’s the reason I’m so thin? They’re draining me, but Richie is eating some solids now…Okay, okay, you win, I need to gain a little weight, but I need another kiss.” I gave it to her, then helped her stand back up and allowed her to lean on me as I walked her to the creek where I picked her up and cradled her as I crossed the water, “Daniel!”

   “Shut up and let me do this, I want to do it.” She relaxed and smiled as I waded through the knee-deep water.

   “Hmmm, I could get to like this.” Then she frowned, “Danni is worried, isn’t she?”

   “I’ll try and get a message to her as soon as we get back to the mine, okay?”

   “Good, she’s pregnant and doesn’t need this shit.”

   I carried her to the dirt road beside the woods and creek and set her back on her feet, but she was starting to shiver. I had carried her over the water, but her captors hadn’t been so chivalrous; she was wet up past her knees. “Sit down, I’m going to take off your boots and put some dry socks on your feet.”

   “In a while, Honey, I want to…”

   “Sit down! You’re shivering!” She abruptly sat in the dirt and I began untying her boots as Merrell and Summers walked up to us.

   “Sir,” Summers saluted and then said to Debra, “It’s good to see you back in safe hands, Major.”

   “Good to be back, Kate.” She looked up at her and asked, “I was pretty out of it when they dragged me away, but I remember bodies; who did we lose?”

   “The shorter list is who survived, me and Private Gerard from our truck. I guess Kaepernick did, but we found his body in the creek. The other truck was disabled, but it can be repaired. All three of our Rangers in the cab were killed by an RPG that passed through, but didn’t detonate. The other two were killed in the following firefight. Between the two trucks, ten of the trainees survived, but three were wounded. Nine of them came with me and Gerard. You trained them well, Major, they performed in an excellent manner under difficult circumstances and accounted for seventeen enemy KIA.”

   “They had an excellent Sargent that stepped up and led them, Summers,” Debra said. “I won’t forget this, thank you.”

   “Thank you, Major.” She turned to me and added, “Good to see you again, Major, I mean, Lieutenant Colonel. You always seem to show up when needed.”

   I nodded to her and said, “You as well, Sargent. When we get back to Asylum, I’m seeing some steaks and brew for some special guests, you up for it?”

   She smiled, “Asylum Bock and a thick chunk of meat? I’ll be there with my dancing shoes on, Sir.” She looked back at Debra, but said to me, “The Major’s weapons and gear are back at the destroyed truck, Sir. When I get back there, I’ll make sure to bring it with me.”

   “Good,” I looked at Merrell and said, “Can we get another truck out here for Summers and the trainees?”

   “Already on the way, Sir. Lawrence should be here any minute and Hutchinson is sending additional vehicles and medics. I sent…Here they come now, two men to bring up your Jeep, so you can transport the Major back to the mine.”

   Debra shook her head, “That’s a negative, Captain, I’m not going anywhere until I know my people are taken care of.” Her shivering was becoming more pronounced. I was sure she was getting shocky; maybe that bump on her head was more than it seemed. Then again, maybe she was just cold. The Jeep rolled to a stop and I grabbed my ALICE pack and set it next to her. I finished stripping off her wet boots and socks and slipped a thick pair of wool socks from the ALICE on her feet. Digging deeper, I removed a pair of clean and dry trousers and placed them beside her before releasing her riggers belt and unbuttoning her pants. She grabbed my wrists and asked, “Honey, what are you doing?”

   “You need dry pants; these are clean and dry.”

   “In front of all these people? I don’t think so!” She actually looked outraged.

   “Babe…”

   Summers stepped forward as she shook out her War Casualty Blanket, “Sir?” She held it up between Debra and the rest of the men and I started tugging her trousers off.

   As I pulled them down past her hips I stopped and said, “Granny panties? Since when do you wear granny panties?”

   She punched me in the chest and said, “Since I’m not home with you, you assbite!” Summers started laughing and Debra said, “Kate!?”

   “Oh, uh, sorry, Major,” but she snickered several times before I had the dry pants up and around Debra’s waist. I pulled her belt from her pants and gave it to her to thread through the ones I gave her, and then tied off the blousing cords so my trousers wouldn’t extend past her ankles. I helped her pull her wet boots back on; the wool socks would keep her feet warm if they became damp from the boots. She started to stand up, but I held her in place.

   “You’re still looking pale and washed out,” I said as I wrapped her with a casualty blanket.

   The medic was packing up his gear as he said, “Keep her warm and her feet elevated for a while and then I’ll check her again.” He moved away and started checking out two of Debra’s trainees.

   Debra watched and then said to Summers, “Kate, how bad are they wounded?”

   “Minor cuts, abrasions, but like me, they were unconscious when the Zippers came up and took you. I woke up as they were taking you away, I guess they thought we were dead.”

   “Okay,” she shivered again.

   “Lay down, Babe, and I’ll hold your legs up for a while.” I said as I lowered her down and lifted her legs.

   “I’m alright, Honey, really.”

   “Just do it, for me, okay?” She nodded and finally relaxed. “I guess you finished your field exercise early? Chancellor said you might be home late.”

   “No, Harris sent a message and said we were needed back at the...” She looked up at me and said, “There’s this guy, named Harris, that basically has been trying to get in my pants and doesn’t seem to understand, no, not going to happen.”

   I nodded, “Chancellor told me.”

   “Oh, so you’ve already seen the twins?”

   “Yeah, they’re amazing.”

   “Anyway, the guy is really pushy and his dad…”

   “Claims to be President?”

   “Yeah, that old fuck hit on me too. He has this thing about sniffing women’s hair and he gets real touchy feely, you know? He’s creepy as hell.”

   “So, I need to have a talk with both of them?”

   “It probably won’t do any good, both of them seem to think they are above reproach.”

   “They’re wrong.” I kept looking at her and finally asked, “This Hunter guy, has he tried to put hands on you?”

   “He tried more than once, when you meet him, he’ll have a splint on the pinky and ring finger of his right hand, courtesy of me.”

   I gritted my teeth, “He’s going to need more than finger splints when I finish with him.”

   “Hon, we need to tread carefully, Henry Thorpe is trying to put together a coalition here of disparate groups to oppose the Zippers. Senator Harris’s people are a minority, but Thorpe thinks he needs everyone he can gather and Harris has made a lot of promises that appeal to some of the people.”

   “Let me guess, he, as President, is going to give everyone what they need, right?”

   “You got it, he was a RINO at one point before the fall, but he seemed to think being a socialist was the trending thing, so…” She shrugged her shoulders.

   “In other words, he’s a politician.”

   “Pretty much.”

   “How does he expect to pay for all the freebies? The tax base is pretty small now days.”

   “He says we can import labor with the promise of citizenship and simply gather up what the dead no longer need and redistribute it. The foreign work force means Americans won’t have to do any work they don’t like.”

   “God, the globalist socialist crap never ends does it? It just adapts to the new environment.”

   “Unfortunately, it sure looks that way.”

   “So, my having a little meeting of the minds with the younger Harris is on hold?”

   “On hold, yes, unless he touches me again and then I’ll hand his ass to him, okay?”

   “Can I watch?”

   “Oh, yeah, you know how I get after a tussle.”

   I kissed her and then whispered into her mouth, “Deal.”

 

   The drive back to Hutchinson was somber after we gathered our dead and wounded. The small amount of joviality Debra, Kate, and myself partook in seemed disrespectful afterwards, but there had been some reason for it. We were met at the entrance to the mine by a rather large crowd of people and Debra introduced me to Henry Thorpe. He seemed genuinely distressed by Debra’s near-death experience and hovered about her. He didn’t look anything at all like I envisioned he would. I guess I was expecting some sort of smarmy politician, but what I discovered was anything but. He was easily in his early fifties, overweight, and looked like your stereotypical farmer. He even dressed the part in a complete set of Carhart work clothes. His hair was white and his cheeks were bright red; I wondered if he had a drinking problem. I found out later, no, he didn’t, but he did have a problem with high blood pressure.

   “Major Monroe!” He said as he quickly approached. “I am so happy to see you in such good condition!”

   “Thank you, Governor, may I introduce my husband, Lieutenant Colonel Menendez?” She nodded to me as she shook his hand.

   His smile widened as he released her hand and reached for mine, “Really? I’ve heard so much about you and not just from your lovely wife!” He took my hand and started shaking it vigorously. The man had an iron grip. “There are stories I’ve heard about you that can curl your hair!”

   “You know the old saying, believe nothing you hear and half what you see?” I smiled instead of gritting my teeth. Like I said, the man has an iron grip.

   He laughed, loudly, as he continued dislocating my elbow and crushing my hand. Looking at Debra, he said, “You weren’t fibbing, he’s modest!” He looked past my shoulder and added in a softer, quieter tone “Aw crap! Look what slithered out of the woodpile.”

   I looked over my shoulder and saw a man walking quickly towards the three of us. He was about mine and Debra’s ages, well built, and about six foot. He was dressed in an OCP uniform and wore a Beretta on his right hip. That sidearm was probably difficult to draw with the splints on his fingers. He went straight to Debra.

   “Debbie! Thank God you’re safe! I was just about to lead a rescue party out when we heard you had escaped. Let’s get you to the infirmary and have that head wound treated!” He reached for her arm and she deftly side-stepped.

   “I’m fine, Captain Harris, but there are others that might benefit from your concern; we do have some wounded that need attention.”

   “Yes, yes, of course, but my main concern is for your well-being, please, allow me to…”

   I interrupted, “You must be Captain Hunter Harris, am I right?”

   He glanced at me and said, “It’s impolite to interrupt two people talking!” He turned back to Debra and stepped closer as he attempted to hold her hands, “You should stop all of this dangerous crap you do and remain here within the mine where I can look out for you. You must realize my willingness to…”

   “Captain Harris,” I said. “I’d like to introduce myself if I may.”

   He looked down his nose and said, “Please be quick about it, Major Monroe and I have urgent private matters to discuss.”

   I slowly smiled and then holding out my hand, I said, “I’m Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Menendez, I’m Major Monroe’s husband.”

   His face froze for a moment, but he steadied himself and said, “After the things I’ve heard of you, I imagined you would be…taller.”

   Still smiling, I replied, “I know exactly what you mean, but for some reason, after hearing of you? I imagined you would be…shorter.” I withdrew my extended hand as Debra snickered.

   “Honey,” Debra said. “We need to finish here, make sure my people are cared for and then get home to the children, Maggie is probably worried.”

   Harris looked back at Debra and said, “We’ll need to speak together, later.”

   “No,” I said. “You won’t.” My smile was slipping away.

   Thorpe interrupted, “You’ll have to excuse us, Hunter; Major Monroe, her husband, and I have our own business to discuss and I’m sure your father has something you need to fetch.” He turned his back to Harris and began to usher us away, but Harris couldn’t control his mouth.

   “Be careful, Debbie, your husband has already lost one wife he couldn’t protect.”

   I stopped and started to turn around as Debra grabbed my arm, “Daniel? Daniel! Look at me, now!” Harris spun around and quickly walked away as Debra continued to hold onto my arm, “Now is not the time, Honey, please, there’s more going on than you know.” She stepped in front of me as my ears began to roar and my vision shrunk to the point where Hunter Harris was the only thing I could see. “Daniel? Please? Not now, look at me, please look at me!”

   I dragged my eyes from him and said, “How does he know? About Stacey, how did he know?”

   “Honey, I don’t know, certainately not from me. Maybe he overheard someone talking about it.” She pressed herself against me and added, “Honey, people talk about you all the time and stories get told and exchanged, maybe that’s what happened, he probably heard some of our people talking about you and…Daniel! Look at me! That’s it, come on, let’s go see the children, okay?”

   I took a deep breath and allowed it to slowly release, “Okay.”

   I turned around as Thorpe said to Debra, “Why do I have the feeling you just saved Harris’ life?”

   Debra squeezed my upper arm and softly said, “Because I just did.” She urged me forward by gently pushing me as she continued, “We can talk while we walk, do you mind, Governor?”

   “Of course not, I wouldn’t mind visiting with Miss Maggie as well.” He joined us as he kept talking. “I have to say, your people acted quickly and decisively; I hope the people you have trained for us can be as effective as your own.”

   “They will be, Governor Thorpe, your new Scout/Snipers performed quite well considering it was their first engagement and I wouldn’t hesitate to lead them in combat.”

   He nodded and said, “From what I have heard, they reacted quite well, I’m proud of them.”

   “Yes,” I said. “But they could have reacted faster if they hadn’t been ordered to stand down after the initial ambush.”

   Debra looked up at me and said, “What? What do you mean? Who ordered them to stand down?”

   “Hunter Harris told Kate Summers not to follow the people that hit your convoy, he told her to stay at the ambush site and protect the trainees.”

   Thorpe took hold of my arm and pulled Debra and I to a stop, “Wait, if he ordered them not to follow, why did they?”

   “Because I ordered Summers to disregard Harris’ orders and to harass their rear in order to slow them down, so we could get ahead of them.”

   “And my people, my trainees, followed her and helped attack the ZPGers?”

   I nodded, “Yes, they did; they probably slowed them down enough that we were able to get ahead of them and cut them off from their vehicles. Your people demonstrated an impressive degree of confidence and ability; the pride you feel for them? It’s well-placed.”

   Thorpe nodded and said, “Thank you, I’ll make sure they know their Instructor Cadre spoke highly of them. Why would Harris order them to stand down? He must realize the loss of Major Monroe would have been a heavy blow to our alliance.”

   Debra answered, “He and his father were originally with the Zippers at their facility here in Kansas. Perhaps the reason they left was different than the one they gave you?”

   “No, we have people on the inside and they substantiated the Harris’ claims of having a falling out with the leadership there.”

   “Maybe after leaving, they found it’s a harder life out here with little support?” I asked.

   “That’s a possibility,” Thorpe said. “Every time we have offered Senator Harris a job, he says he already has one as President.”

   I shook my head, “It might be best to just put him out on the road; allow him to rediscover America.”

   Thorpe shook his head, “If only we could. The fact is, if we can’t find someone else, he may actually be right about being President.”

   “He was elected as a Republican, wasn’t he?” I asked.

   “Yeah, I went to the shindig when he was elected,” Thorpe said. “I own more land in Iowa than I do here in Kansas, so I was more involved there and I voted there.”

   “The democrats had control of the Senate then, so he can’t be in line to be President. It would be the Senate Majority Leader, most likely, that would actually be in line for the Presidency after the Speaker of the House. Then the Cabinet Secretaries and I think the Attorney General is in the mix somewhere. Geez, did we lose all of them?”

   Debra frowned, “Are you sure about that?”

   “Yeah,” I said. “Doesn’t anyone around here have a copy of the Constitution?”

   “Yeah, I do,” Thorpe answered. “It’s on my shelf at home. Guess I’m in for some light reading later this evening.”

   “It couldn’t hurt,” I said as we approached the door of Debra’s rooms. Outside the door were two men wearing Asylum smocks and I recognized both of them, “Corporal Sanchez, Private Jennings,” I said as I nodded to them. They were both part of my travel platoon that accompanied Debra to Kansas,

   They both saluted and Sanchez said, “Glad to see you here, Lieutenant Colonel. Major Monroe, happy to see you safe.”

   Debra smiled and said, “Thanks, guys, is Maggie inside?”

   “Yes, Ma’am.”

   I opened the door and the three of us entered and found Chancellor in the kitchen. Debra went straight to the playpen and started talking to the twins; Thorpe approached Chancellor and said, “Miss Maggie, you’re looking on top of things, as usual.”

   She actually blushed as she said, “Hello, Henry.” There appeared to be some action going on I wasn’t aware of. I left them to it and joined Debra with the twins.

   “Everything copasetic?” I asked.

   “Always, Maggie is a wonderful nanny.” Both of the kids were squirming around as she picked up Richie and handed him to me, then she picked up Nadia and cradled her as she stroked her cheek with a fingertip. “It’s kind of handy having you here,” she said. “Usually I’m trying to hold both at the same time when I come home.” She watched Richie for a moment and added, “Yeah, they’re a little confused, they can smell both of us and want both of us.” She laughed and said, “Sit down, Hon, I’m going to give them both to you while I take a shower and clean up, then it’s time to feed the beasts.”

   I sat and she did hand me Nadia before leaving the room. A few minutes later, I could hear her in the shower and then she returned dressed in clean clothes and a baby blanket she positioned to cover herself as she started nursing Nadia. I noticed Thorpe kept his back to her until Maggie suggested he have a seat in the Livingroom while she brought hot tea for everyone. She placed my cup of tea on an end table and handed me a baby bottle with a dark, thick mixture in in.

   “This is Richard’s puree and milk, once he finishes with this, Nadia will be done and Debbie can top him off.”

   I smiled as he latched on to the bottle nipple and said, “Wow, he’s a little glutton.”

   Debra was leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed as she said, “Yeah? Try being the one he’s nursing from.” She brought her head forward and smiled at me, “He’s better now with the puree, but boy does his poop stink.” I sat there staring at her for a moment and finally, she asked, “What?”

   “Earlier, when we were by the creek, did you say Harris sent you a message and told you to end your training exercise early?”

   “Yeah, he said Governor Thorpe wanted a meeting with all the military leadership as soon as possible, so I cut it short and we headed back here.”

   Thorpe perked up from the quiet conversation he was having with Maggie and said, “What was that?”

   “The meeting you wanted me to attend,” Debra said. “was it cancelled, or did you go with it even though I wasn’t there?”

   Thorpe was obviously confused, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

   “Harris called me in the field and…” She faded out as she looked at me.

   I stood up and handed Richie to Maggie, “It was a setup, he waited until the timing was advantageous and sent you into an ambush, probably for Becker.” I walked to the door and opened it, “Sanchez, Jennings.”

   Both came to attention, “Sir!”

   “There’s a good chance we could come under attack here within the mine and you two are sitting targets out here.” I looked around and then pointed, “See that equipment over there?” It looked as though it had been mining equipment before being relegated to a museum display, but it was a good fifty yards away and looked substantial.

    “Yes, Sir.”

   “Take cover there and watch the door. If anyone attempts to assault the entrance of the Major’s quarters, shoot to kill.”

   “Yes, Sir, do you have an idea who the opposing force might be?”

   “Possibly Hunter Harris, if you see him, or any of his men, don’t hesitate to shoot if they demonstrate any form of hostile intent.”

   “Yes, Sir!” He gathered Jennings to him and they jogged away.

   Stepping back inside, I closed the door and drew the MP9 from my holster and checked to make sure it was good to go. “Maggie,” I said. “Debra and I will be leaving shortly and I want you to be very careful who you open the door for. The two men who were outside? They’re still out there, but not as noticeable and therefore easy targets.” She looked nervous and I turned to Thorpe, “Governor Thorpe, would you prefer to remain here with Maggie, or go with Debra and I?”

   “I would rather be here for Maggie, but if you’re planning what I suspect, you will need someone with authority from here. We are allies, but you are still in my domain and have no official authority to arrest Hunter Harris.” He pulled open his jacket and reached into one of the interior pockets. When he withdrew his hand, it contained a small semi-automatic pistol, “Maggie, this is the gun you’ve been shooting with me at the range,” he handed it to her and then a spare magazine. “Keep it handy and don’t open the door without it.”

   “What about you, Henry?” She accepted the pistol and tucked it into a pocket on the front of her apron.

   He reached into an exterior pocket and extracted an old and worn looking Colt 1911, “I still have my dad’s old gun. It may not be as high speed as some of the newer plastic guns, but it still works fine.”

   “I’ve been on the receiving end of one of those,” I said. “And I can attest to the fact they work quite well.”

   Thorpe’s eyebrows rose and he said, “You’ve been shot with a .45 round?”

   I nodded, “Yeah, two to the chest,” I pointed at the notch in top of my right ear, “Luckily, he missed the one to the head.”

   “Damn,” he replied. “How did you survive the other two?”

   “Bullet proof vest, but I still spent two weeks under a doctor’s care and if not for Debra’s and Danni’s actions, I wouldn’t be here at all.”

   Debra interrupted, “Can we not talk about that, please?” She still gets upset about the whole incident. She finished up with Nadia, cleaned her breast, put it away and exposed the second for Richard who had finished his puree, but was still fussing for more.

   “Sorry, Babe.”

   “It’s just…I don’t like feeling helpless.” She settled Richie and he attacked her nipple the way he had the bottle. She grimaced, but didn’t say anything else.

   “Babe, why don’t you stay here while the Governor and I hunt up Harris?”

   “No, I’m not letting you out of my sight; when Richie is done, I’ll change into appropriate clothes and we can go get my gear. Then, WE, will hunt up Harris.” The emphasis on, we, was a warning.

   “Okay.” I’ve gotten a little smarter over the years; I glanced at Thorpe and he hid a smile behind his hand. Thorpe, Chancellor and I talked quietly for a while and then Debra finished with Richie. Maggie took over preparing the twins for bed and was finishing up when Debra came out of the bedroom dressed in her normal cammies.

   “I’m ready, Maggie, are you good here?”

   “Yes, but you three be careful out there, I’ve never cared for either of the Harris’s.”

   We walked outside, I touched bases with Sanchez and then we left for the Asylum billet. When we arrived, Sargent Summers was the first to see us coming and waved us over to where she was sitting at a table. She stood, saluted, and then pointed to the rifle that was disassembled in front of her; I recognized Debra’s weapon immediately.

   “Major, I just finished cleaning your rifle and was preparing to slap it back together. Would you prefer to do it yourself?”

   Debra nodded as she sat down where Kate had been moments before, “Yes, please, and thank you, Sargent. What’s the word on our wounded?”

   “Myself, and Gerard are under concussion protocol, along with several of the trainees. Only one of the trainees is serious enough to be hospitalized, the rest of us are just minor wounds.”

   By the time Summers finished, Debra had her rifle reassembled, impressive. “The rest of my gear and my sidearm?” She asked.

   “Yes, Ma’am, I gathered everything; one of the prisoners had your sidearm, which I recognized from the wear, where your shoulder stock attaches to the weapons grip. “I’ll get it all as soon as you’re ready.”

   “I’m ready now, Kate.”

   “Yes, Ma’am.” She trotted away as I looked around for Captain Merrell. When I saw him, he was walking towards the three of us with Lieutenant Lawrence by his side.

   “Captain, Lieutenant, we have a new mission,” I said.

   “Yes, Sir,” Merrell stated.

   “Gather all our personnel, gear up, and then standby, I’m taking a team and arresting Captain Hunter Harris, who we suspect may have been involved with the staging of the ambush today. I want our entire unit prepared for possible action if required.”

   “Yes, Sir, I was going to bring your gear to Major Monroe’s quarters, but since you’re here, I’ll bring it to you now.”

   “Thank you, Captain.” Merrell trotted away as he started shouting orders to the Asylum Rangers and Militia.

   Thorpe said, “I need to gather up some of my militia, if I allow you folks to do the dirty work for us, it’s not going to look good.”

   I nodded as I said, “I agree, Governor, also, if your people take part, perhaps even perform the actual arrest, it will lend credibility to your administration.”

   “I’ll make a phone call and be right back.” He walked quickly away and I saw Debra speaking with the Lieutenant commanding the Air Force detachment.

   She walked back and stood beside me as she said, “They wanted to know if they were needed, I told them to make sure their two predators were ready to be deployed if necessary, but otherwise continue with their normal procedures.”

   “Good, where are the Denver Rangers billeted?” I asked.

   “Not too far from here,” she answered. “They’re the ones involved primarily with training the majority of the Kansas troops. Do you think it might be a good idea to give them a heads up?”

   “Absolutely, those people have a lot of experience with this kind of shit.”

   She started walking away as she said, “I’ll get hold of Captain Skinner and bring him up to speed.”

   I turned to Lieutenant Lawrence and said, “Sanchez and…” From somewhere, deeper inside of the mine, I heard a flurry of gunfire as Merrell returned with my Flick and carbine. I grabbed my FLC from Merrell and put it on as Debra ran back to me.

   “Daniel!?” I knew what she was thinking, I was thinking the same thing myself, the children!

   I shouted to both Merrell and Lawrence, as I started running back into the depths of the mine, “Bring a squad to the Major’s quarters!”

   Debra limped as she ran beside me and we both readied our weapons for what we feared might be happening. Harris might be trying to take our children; what better bargaining chip could there be? It didn’t take us long, as we approached the front of Debra’s quarters, I could see a truck parked in front and several bodies scattered about that were wearing OCP camo with MP armbands. The men Harris commanded were Military Police, so I brought my carbine to my shoulder as I slowed my approach and then grabbed Debra’s shirt sleeve as she tried to hurry past me, “Babe! Slow down, let’s not run into an ambush!”

   She did and then I heard Sanchez, “Friendlies here!” I looked over the sights of my bullpup and saw both him and Jennings stand up and begin to approach from behind the equipment where I had sent them. “Looks like your caution was on target, Sir.

   “Report,” Debra said.

   “The truck,” Sanchez started. “Pulled up and the MPs bailed out the back and went straight to the door and tried to open it. Once they realized it was locked from inside, they deployed a breaching ram and started to pound on it, that’s when we opened up and took them out.”

   “Well done, Corporal, they never breached the door?” I asked.

   “No, Sir, we remained hidden in case there were follow-on attempts.”

   Debra went to the door and pounded on it as she shouted, “Maggie! It’s Debbie! Open the door!” It was quiet for a moment and Debra started to hit the door with her fist again as it opened, “Maggie! It’s alright now, are the kids okay?”

   Maggie was holding the pistol Thorpe had given her, “Yes, they’re fine now. They were scared by the banging on the door, and then the shooting, but they’re okay now.”

   Debra rushed inside and I followed closely as she went to the playpen and leaned over talking softly to the twins. I rested my hand on Maggie’s shoulder as she started to visibly shake, “You did exactly as we asked of you, Maggie, thank you.” She nodded, and then walked to the couch and sat down as she placed the pistol next to her hip. I joined Debra to look the children over and realized Debra was crying.

   “When is it going to stop?” She muttered. “Will it ever stop?”

   “Maybe, if Becker finally gets to me, or I kill him and everyone tied to him.”

   She shook her head, “No, he’s just part of the problem, he’s just a small cog, the whole machine needs to be torn down.”

   “I don’t know, Babe, it seems like some of them have had enough of him, they tried to end him at El Paso.”

   “Did they? They’re after you, Daniel, and they’ll use anything, and anyone, to get to you.”

   “Babe, it was Becker, he’s pissed because I killed his son.”

   She turned around and looked at me, “God, how can you be so smart and yet so oblivious? You still see yourself as some little kid that no one thought was worth having. You need to stop it, Daniel! You are too important! Start realizing it before it’s too late!”

   “Babe…”

   “What’s it going to take for you to wake up!”

   “Debra…”

   “Begging your pardon, Sir,” Sanchez said from behind me, I turned around thinking he was going to give me an update. “The Major is right. A lot of your people take chances just to ensure your safety.”

   “What? Nonsense!”

   “Remember El Paso?” He asked. “You probably don’t remember, but when we were first entering that hotel? I was the guy that stepped in front of you to keep you from reaching out to open that glass door and exposing yourself to enemy fire, so Fousekis could toss in that grenade. Remember how Fousekis bit your ass for screwing up our SOP? She was worried about something happening to you on her watch, we all were.”

   “But…” Outside, I heard Captain Merrell giving orders to load the bodies in the truck and clear the area.

   Debra nodded her head to Sanchez and he continued, “Sir, there’s not a single Ranger in the travel platoon that won’t follow you to hell and back, and we will do everything we can to protect you, while we do it. I wasn’t with the Rangers when you killed Karl Becker, the way you snuck off and did it on your own so no one else could be hurt, but I’ve heard the story. I was Militia when you held the Air Control Tower with Nadia Morrison, and ensured the people from Holloman knew where to land. I’ve heard the story of Stacey Menendez’s death and how you got revenge for her. I was there when you killed that guy that had Major Danni Monroe, you killed them, all of them, with a gun taped to your neck and then walked out of the burning helicopter crash with a knife stuck in your leg.”

   Debra frowned at me and said, “A knife in your leg? Okay, that’s one I haven’t heard…yet.”

   I frowned in return and said, “Don’t ask me, I don’t remember very much after the actual crash.”

   Sanchez laughed and said, “Yes, Ma’am, he had that gun taped off to his neck and it kept swinging around and hitting him in the face, so he asked…”

   “Sanchez,” I said. “Check and see if Merrell needs any help policing the dead MPs.”

   He came to attention and saluted, “Yes, Sir!”

   Before he could leave, Debra said, “Sargent, we’ll continue this discussion later.” It took me a moment to realize she had just addressed him as, Sargent, instead of Corporal.

   He smiled at me and then said to her, “Looking forward to it, Major.”

   She looked back at me and said, “Why was there a knife in your leg?”

   “Uh…” I started to answer, but Merrell walked into the apartment and then hurried to us.

   “We have Hunter Harris, but the Senator escaped. I’m guessing he was in on it also.”

   Debra and I both asked, “Where?”

   “He tried to ram the front gate, but discovered it was a lot sturdier than he thought.”

   “His men?” I asked.

   “They’re being held by the Kansas Militia, but Thorpe says some of them have previously asked to join the Militia and leave Captain Harris. They didn’t much care for a lot of what he has been doing.”

   “Good for them, but keep an eye on them,” I said.

   “I’m sure they will, Sir.”

   “Take us to him,” Debra said.

   “Babe, why don’t you stay here with the kids and I’ll…”

   Her eyes turned icy as she started, “Dan, don’t even think…”

   I held up my hand and she stopped, “Alright, relax, I just wanted to make sure the children were properly cared for and protected until we have a good handle on this. I’m sure Sanchez and Jennings will be willing to continue watching the Kids and Maggie for a little while longer.” I didn’t know if I could play on her guilt for walking away from the children after they were so obviously in danger, but I figured it was worth a try. She squinted at me and started to respond, but then shut her mouth.  “Captain Merrell,” I said. “Can you take us to where Harris is being held?”

   “Yes, Sir, we have a side-by-side waiting.”

   I stepped to the side and swept my hand towards the door as I looked at Debra, inviting her to go first. She walked out and I followed her to the side-by-side where she slid into the rear seat and then over farther as I slid in beside her. Merrell sat in the front passenger side and one of our Militia, who was sitting behind the wheel, started the motor and began to drive away. Debra looked over her shoulder anxiously and then said, “Stop!” Which the driver did, she looked at me with a steady gaze, “No, bull shit, Daniel, we have to send a message, a message they will understand.”

   “I know.”

   “They cannot use children like this, we wouldn’t and we will not stand for it under any circumstance!”

   “Agreed.”

   She grabbed me and kissed me, hard, “I’ll be here waiting for you, don’t take too long, or I’ll come looking for you.”

   “I know.”

   She slid out the opposite side of the vehicle and started walking back to her quarters. I watched as the driver pulled away and saw her talk to Sanchez and Jennings before they began walking back to the spot I had sent them before. Debra turned around and watched us drive away until we turned a corner and I couldn’t see her any longer.

   Merrell said, “The Major is incensed.”

   “Yeah,” I said. “I guess that’s one way to describe her emotional state, but I can think of others that are more adept and profane.” I leaned forward and asked, “Does this place have a maintenance department like we have in Asylum?”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   “Swing by it, there’s some tools and materials I believe will be handy when we talk to Harris.”

   “Yes, Sir.”

 

   Harris was being held in a small windowless room when we finally arrived. There were two chairs in the room positioned on opposite sides of a medium sized table with a wooden top. Good, that wooden tabletop would prove handy. He was sitting on the other side of the table, facing the door as I walked in.

   “Captain,” I said.

   “Under the Geneva Conventions…” I set the bucket I was carrying on the floor and then reached across and slapped his face as hard as I could.

   “Number one, Geneva is an historical footnote,” I said as a shocked expression spread across his face. I’m willing to wager it had been a very long time since he had been struck.

   He gathered himself and said, “You fucking idiot! Do you know who I am? I’m the son of the President of the United States! I have certain rights and privileges that transcend…”

   I slapped him again, “Number two, Daddy’s not here, you are, and he left you behind.”

   I motioned and Captain Merrell and Corporal McMahan walked around the table, pulled him up by his arms handcuffed behind his back and then bent him over the table. They quickly tied his wrists separately with extended lengths of Paracord and then removed the cuffs as I started cutting plumbers tape into various lengths. Plumbers tape, sometimes called hanger strap, is a roll of soft metal about three quarters of an inch wide with two different sizes of holes perforating the length. McMahan took one of the lengths of Paracord and stretched it taunt as I placed a length of plumber’s tape over Harris’ wrist and used a battery powered drill motor to run two screws through the appropriate holes and into the wooden tabletop. His wrist was completely immobilized. We followed up with additional straps at his elbows and his other wrist. When I told him to spread his fingers so I could strap each one down individually, he balked, closed his hands into fists and refused. I used a pair of pliars on his earlobe to give him the proper incentive. Eventually, I finished securing him and turned to my two helpers, “The two of you might want to leave now; this is going to be unpleasant.”

   Merrell frowned and said, “Sir, I may not like what I think is about to happen, but these people have done a lot worse when given the chance. I’m willing to go the distance with you.” Behind him, McMahan nodded in agreement.

   “Thank you, both of you, but no, this is on me and only me. Go on, step outside.” I waited until they left the room and then pulled a butane torch out of my bucket of materials. I cracked the valve, ignited the burner, and then stood it on end on the table.

   Harris nervously asked, “What are you going to do with that?”

   “First aid, so you don’t lose too much blood and pass out.”

   “What? What do you mean?” Instead of answering, I tore off the splints on the two broken fingers Debra had gifted him with. “Aw, Shit! Those are broken god damn it! That bitch you call your wife…”

   I pulled the tin snips back out of the bucket, open them, dropped the points on each side of the first joint of the right pinky finger and squeezed the handle. The first section of his pinky popped off as he screeched. I picked up the torch and applied the blue flame to the stub of his little finger; he screeched even louder.

   “You didn’t have to do that! All you had to do was…”

   “Shut up! You are responsible for the deaths of a lot of good people today, people who were supposed to be your allies! You tried to kidnap my children, so you could give them to a sick motherfucker that wanted to torture them! Don’t start whining and whimpering, Hunter; this is your doing and yours alone!”

   “I didn’t know! I didn’t know he was going to do that!”

   He lost the next joint of the pinky. Once it was cauterized, I said, “There are fifteen finger and thumb joints on each hand, Harris. In case your arithmetic skills are eluding you, that’s a total of thirty. So far, you’ve experienced two, do you have anything you want to tell me?”

 

   An hour later, I walked out of the room and found Merrell, McMahan, several Kansas Militiamen and Henry Thorpe waiting for me. I looked at Thorpe and said, “You can have him now, but we need to talk immediately.”

   Thorpe didn’t respond, he just stared at me before turning to one of his men and nodding towards the open door behind me. The Militiamen entered the room and Thorpe turned back to me, “I’m very uncomfortable with what has happened here this evening; I started this movement to stop this kind of activity, not to become complicit in it.”

   “Your discomfort is admiral, Governor, and believe me, I agree with you; we shouldn’t have to debase ourselves, or become things we despise in order to survive, but that’s the key difference between us and them, the Zippers. I do what I must in order to survive; the Zippers do it in order to gain and keep, control. Who has the moral high ground, Governor?” In the room behind me, I could hear the drill motor being used to remove the screws from the bands holding Hunter Harris restrained. The scent of burnt flesh drifted out and Thorpe grimaced.

   “You burned him?”

   “To stop the bleeding.”

   “To torture him.”

   “An added benefit.”

   “This is unacceptable.”

   I unzipped the front of my FLC and removed it, I then handed it to Merrell and removed my smock, which I also handed to Merrell. Pulling my tee-shirt up, I exposed my chest and abdomen to Thorpe, “Interesting scarring, isn’t it, Governor Thorpe?” He glanced down and then back to my eyes as he frowned and then took a longer look at the scars as I said, “Heinrich Becker’s son did this to me. Heinrich Becker then did the same thing to Major Danni Monroe in order to get his hands on me; he wanted Debra, so he could do the same thing to her. He tried to kidnap my children and I can only assume he would have done the same to them. Are all the leadership of the Zippers like him? Apparently not, because they seemed to have tried to kill him in El Paso, but now, here he is again, working for someone else in the Zipper leadership.”

   “If we commit the same atrocities as they, we are as bad as they.”

   “I’ve heard the same argument before, Governor, and every time the result is the same; good people die and the Zippers keep doing do the exact same shit again.” I watched as Harris was escorted past us. He was cradling his left hand as he whimpered and looked at me fearfully. The only thing he was missing was the first two joints of his little finger; it hadn’t been necessary to snip off anything else. “I can see you have no interest in dealing with me further, Governor, so I will be returning to Asylum as soon as possible. In the meantime, I’ll give the information Harris provided to Captain Merrell and he can relay it to you, agreed?”

   “What you did here, in the best possible light, would be considered a criminal act. I’m wondering if I should have you detained until…”

   Merrell interrupted to say, “That’s not going to happen.”

   I held my hand up and said, “The Governor and his people are in control here, if he chooses to arrest me, then he will. In the meantime, Governor, I’m returning to my wife’s quarters and spend some quiet time with her and my children. Stop by when you have made a decision.” I tucked my tee-shirt back in and retrieved my smock from Merrell. After it was on, he held up my FLC and I slipped my arms in and secured it. “I don’t like doing this type of thing Governor Thorpe, it makes me feel dirty, foul, but better that than to see my family, my friends, or anyone else suffer what I have.” I started walking away as Merrell and McMahan followed, but said to Merrell, “Captain, hunt up Lieutenant Lawrence and tell him I want all Asylum personnel on alert and notify the Denver and Holloman contingents that we have credible intelligence of a planned attack on this facility.”

   “Hold it!” Thorpe quickly joined us, “An attack? When?”

   I stared at him for a moment and then said, “Are you sure you want to know? A man was tortured to discover the information.” I could see the conflict in his eyes, this was a good man who despised what I had done, but his foremost concern was his people.

   He looked away, but said, “Winston Churchill once said, ‘Hard men stand ready to do difficult things, so we can sleep easy at night.’”

   I nodded as I smiled inside and didn’t bother to correct him, Debra would have said something about mansplaining. It wasn’t Winston Churchill that said it, George Orwell has been credited with it and said something similar, but the actual quote, which is, “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf,” has never been found in any of Orwell’s writings. Still, it was a worthy sentiment no matter who first said it.

   “He was a smart man,” I said. “He recognized the need for civilized behavior, but also the need to sometimes be,” I paused, “A little less civilized in order to protect civilization from those who were, less civilized.” I looked away and then said, “I don’t like what I did, Governor, not in any way, shape, or form. Someday, maybe I’ll show you the recording of what was done to me. Maybe then, you’ll understand why I can do, what I did.”

   “Recording? The man that put those scars on you, he recorded what he did?”

   “Yes, me and twenty-three others who didn’t survive his attention and died. I guess he liked to review them on occasion.”

   “That’s difficult to believe,” he said.

   “You’re a good man, Governor, so yeah, it’s difficult to believe. I think I used to be, but now? I’m not so sure.” I turned around and started walking away.

   “Wait! I’m not saying I don’t believe you!” I stopped and waited as he organized his thoughts, “Miss Maggie says your wife is one of the kindest, most intelligent people she has ever known. She’s also driven, professional and trustworthy, I think a woman like that wouldn’t be with a man that is cruel, or heartless.”

   I didn’t respond, I just waited, but Merrell said, “The Lieutenant Colonel’s wives would die for him, so would most of the people who serve under him. People don’t lay down their lives for someone who doesn’t deserve their respect.”

   “No, I don’t suppose they do.” He looked back at me and added, “I have some things to do, but I’ll be by Debra’s quarters with my Militia Commander and we’ll talk about this possible attack, in about an hour?” I nodded and he hurried away.

   I watched him leave and finally, Merrell said, “Sir?”

   “He really is a good man, Captain.”

   I told Merrell and McMahan what I had learned from Harris as they escorted me back to Debra’s quarters and then they left to organize our people and bring them up to speed. When I walked into the apartment, Debra was breast feeding Nadia again and Maggie was bathing Richard.

   “Okay,” Debra said, “What happened?”

   “Give me a minute, okay?” I walked past and into the bathroom where I stood over the toilet while I got the nausea I was feeling under control. It was times like this, when I wished the other guy, the other me, was still around. He could do what needed doing without repercussions. I turned on the water in the sink, splashed cold water on my face repeatedly, and finally dried off with a hand towel. I stripped off my FLC and smock before opening the door to find Debra waiting for me.

   “You were looking a little green when you came in, are you okay?”

   “I will be.”

   “So, you’re not okay. Come in here and sit down, I’ll get you a drink.”

   “Nothing alcoholic, there’s going to be a meeting and plans to make.”

   She stared at me and then walked away and into the kitchen. Maggie continued bathing Richard in the kitchen sink as Debra busied herself putting something together before returning and sitting next to me on the couch. “I’m heating water for hot chocolate; the sugar will help get you going again.”

   “Thanks.”

   “Hunter Harris?”

   “Thorpe has him and he’s going to be locked up somewhere secure for the time being.”

   “Was he helpful?”

   “He needed some encouragement, but yes.”

   She drew her knees up and kneeled on the couch as she wrapped her arms round me, “I should have gone with you, I should have…”

   “Becker told him about Stacey.”

   “What?”

   “Becker, he was the one that told Harris about Stacey.” I swallowed hard and choked back the emotion I was feeling. “He was there, Debra, he was the one that killed Stacey. He led the Cliff Militia when they raided the Adobe. He thought he would get both of us, but I was gone, so he did what he did to Stacey and then left to return to Austin.”

  “Oh, God, Daniel.” She pulled me tightly to her, “Honey…”

   “He’s here, at the Zipper salt mine. He wanted you and when he missed out on that, the kids.”

   “He’s here? Now?” She pulled back and stared at me as I nodded. “Daniel, what are we going to do?” I was completely numb and my mind wasn’t working. “Daniel? Does anyone else know yet?”

   “Merrell and McMahan. They are going to be here soon, along with Thorpe, the Holloman guys, and the Denver Rangers commander. The Zippers are planning an attack using the capture of you, or the kidnapping of the children, as a confusion factor. Becker figured the Kansas Militia and our people would try to rescue you, or the children, and then attack while the forces here were depleted.”

   “I see, but when Harris doesn’t show with the kids, they’ll call it off?”

   “If Harris calls the way he was told and tells them he has the kids, the attack is on as soon as the rescue forces from here, arrive there.”

   “What kind of troops? From where? What are their capabilities?” The tea pot she had heating on the stove began to softly whistle and Maggie removed the pot and set it aside. “I’ll get your chocolate.” She stood up and walked into the kitchen where she softly spoke with Maggie as she made the cup and then brought it back to me.

   I sipped and then set the cup on an end table. “Most of the troops they have are ex-federal SWAT members trained in Artesia, New Mexico, or Glynco, Georgia. The officer corps comes from numerous foreign military and law enforcement agencies around the world.”

   “We’ve fought those guys before and handed them their asses. How many are we looking at?”

   “Harris estimates about a battalion of SWATs formed into four companies of one hundred. He says they’ll need at least a company to defend and hold their own facility, so we’re looking at an attack by three companies here. The heaviest weapons they have are RPGs, but they do have access to five, maybe six, old Commando V-150 Armored vehicles.”

   “Not a problem, when I was training with the Security Police back in the day, we used old V-100s for target practice with ATGMs, even 40-millimeter grenade launchers. The Raiders’ recoilless rifle will make short work of them.”

   “Yes, but we’ll need fire support for attacking their facility, our Bazooka could handle the V-150s, but it’s not real effective on a moving target.  I guess it goes with the attacking force. The Raiders do have some Gustavs though.”

   She looked at me closely and then said, “Honey, you look really out of it, when did you sleep last?”

   “It’s been a busy day, in fact, I’m having trouble believing everything that’s happened.”

   “You didn’t answer me, when did you last sleep?”

   “Babe, you’re the one you should be concerned about, you were blown up, taken prisoner, rescued, almost had your children kidnapped and god only knows what else. I should be the one worried about you.”

   “Dan?” Crap.

   “Uh, night before last. Riding on the C-130 was kind of interesting and…”

   “Good grief! No wonder you look so out of it.” She stood up and started pulling at me, “You need some sleep, come on.”

   “Not yet, there are people coming and we need to make plans. The Zippers and Becker are going to sit idle while I have nap.” I rubbed at my eyes and repeated, “I mean they’re NOT going to sit idle.”

   “Ookaay,” the way she drew it out made me suspicious, but I relaxed when she said, “Hand me your chocolate, and I’ll reheat it in the microwave.” I did and she walked back into the kitchen and spoke quietly with Maggie again as the cup of cocoa heated. Maggie handed Richie to Debra and then left the kitchen for a few moments into the bathroom. Debra sat next to me and started rocking her upper body back and forth as she held Richard. “Try to keep your meeting short, you’re too tired for a strategy session. You’re one of the best there is, but so are your people, let us take some of the load, Daniel.”

   I nodded as I caressed her upper thigh with my hand, “You and Danni are so much alike, she tells me the same thing and then overloads herself to try and make things easier for me. God, I’ve missed you.”

   She smiled, then leaned over and lightly kissed me, “Same here, Lover. I think I can safely say, Danni has been taking good care of you?”

   “Always, but she has been missing you too. There are times when she gets really depressed and I’m not sure what to do, you know? The kids miss you also, especially Danni Lynn, she gets really down and Danni says she doesn’t perk up until I get home. She asks about you constantly, when is Momma coming home.”

   She reached out and stroked my cheek, “As far as Danni’s depression, just be there, you don’t need to say anything, or do anything, except be there when she needs to be held. I think maybe it’s time to stay home for a while, all three of us.”

   “If everyone would leave us alone, we could. Maybe go to the Adobe for a while, get dirty in the garden, do a little fishing and hunting. The place still needs a washer and dryer, but yeah, some down time would be really great.”

   “Okay, we’ll go as soon as Danni has the baby, okay?”

  “You betcha.”

   Maggie appeared next to us and handed the hot chocolate to me, “Drink that before it gets cold again, there’s not a lot of it available, so don’t waste it.”

   I smiled and said, “Thank you, Maggie.”

   I kept sipping it and Debra would re-stir it for me, she said it was to make sure all of the chocolate dissolved. Unfortunately, it seemed to be having the opposite intended effect, I was getting drowsy. “Honey, why don’t you lie down for a while and I’ll wake you when everyone is here?”

   I nodded, “Okay, but wake me up, alright?”

   She smiled and said, “Of course, I will.”

 

   “Honey? Time to wake up.”

   I immediately sat up and looked around feeling much better than when I laid down, “Everyone here?”

   “Uh, well…”

   “Debra? What did you do?” I knew before she said anything. I’ve been overly tired before and had short naps, but I always woke up almost as tired as when I laid down for the nap. I was feeling pretty good, so it was more than a nap. “Debra?”

   “You were in no shape to manage a strategy session and Merrell agreed. Thorpe seemed to get some satisfaction from the whole thing; he can be strange at times.” She caressed my cheek and added, “Please don’t be angry with me.”

   “Damn it, Babe! This is, it was, important! We needed to act quickly and…”

   “Hush!” She placed her hand over my mouth as she continued, “You were too tired, Daniel! I made a decision and everyone supported me on it. They also agreed that you were too involved on a personal level, and you know you are! Becker has you all wound up and now with what you found out about Stacey? There was no way I was going to allow…”

   “It wasn’t your decision to make!” I climbed off the bed and started searching for my clothes, “Where did you put my clothes, Debra! I can’t believe you did this to me, TO ME! You drugged me, didn’t you, DIDN’T YOU! DEBRA! I TRUSTED YOU!”

   She backed up and stood in the doorway of the bedroom, “You trusted me because you CAN trust me. Did I drug you? I guess I did, but it was a mild sedative I’ve been taking myself when I have trouble sleeping because I missed you so much. All it did was allow the natural process to culminate.”

   “WHERE THE HELL ARE MY CLOTHES?!”

   “You were so tired; you didn’t even wake up when I took them off of you. Daniel, you were in no condition to…”

   I took a deep breath and released it out of my nose, it didn’t work, “WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES!”

   From behind her, I heard Maggie say, “Debbie? Uh, the kids are getting really agitated, maybe you better do what he wants, I mean, what if he gets angry enough to…”

   Debra looked over her shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, Maggie,” she looked back at me. “He won’t hit me or anything like that, he’s just a little upset that I pulled one over on him.” She smiled as she added, “Not like I’ve never done it before, right, Hon?”

   I reached out, grabbed the sleeve of her uniform jacket and jerked her out of the doorway as I slammed the door. I crushed her mouth with my own and it was a contest to see whose clothes came off first. I was only wearing briefs, so yeah, she won, but I still ended up on top.

   Afterwards, we were softly kissing one another as she whispered into my mouth, “God, I have missed you so bad. I love you.”

   I raised up and took more weight off her as I looked into her amber eyes and kissed her again, then pulled back and looking into her eyes again, I said, “Where are my clothes?”

   She punched my shoulder and said, “You insufferable asshole!”

   I softly laughed and added, “I’ve missed you too, Babe, but that was worth it, I love you too and Danni made me promise to give you this from her.” I started kissing my way down and…

 

   I snugged my belt as Debra raised her foot and placed it on the nightstand so she could tie her boot laces. “Give me a little bit of a rundown?” I asked.

   She turned and looked at me through her hair that had come undone while we made love, “We made sure Harris sent a message to Becker and a plausible reason why he hasn’t arrived yet. I sent three two-man Scout/Sniper teams to recon the Zipper facility and they’ve been giving us constant updates. Our Predators have kept track of the movement of their assault force and we know where they have hidden their vehicles where they are holding up as they wait for their orders to jump off. Our Rangers and Militia are in stand-off positions and waiting the order to attack when they attack us here, but I think we should hit them where they laagered for the night.”

   “Hit them with what?” I asked as I put on my sustainment belt and transferred the MP9 to its holster.

   “Air Force Combat Control says they have eyes on the warehouse the Zippers are inside of and one of the two Predators is actually a Reaper. It has two Hellfire missiles and two 500-pound GBU bombs on board and the capability to hit with pinpoint precision.”

   “Why haven’t the Zippers been hit already?”

   “Thorpe left that decision to you because you are in command of the operation.”

   “What? Why me? I’ve never run a combined air and ground operation.”

   “No, you haven’t, that’s why I’m here with you. I’m your Air Force liaison.” She stood up straight and stomped her feet, something I’ve noticed she always does after tying her boots. “Are you ready? We need to get over to the command center.”

   I picked up my FLC and slung it on, she zipped up the front and then kissed me, “Maggie made breakfast sandwiches for us and some Kansas Krank to make sure we’re awake.”

   “Ugh, that stuff’s nasty.”

   She laughed and said, “Yeah? Guess who’s taking as much as she can when we go home?”

   “You…are…twisted, woman.”

   “Come on, let’s get going,” she said as she pulled me out the door.

 

   The Hutchinson Salt mine was never intended to be a shelter for humanity, so its amenities are sparse and utilitarian. The Communication Center? It’s a tent just inside the main entrance and there are power and comm cables scattered everywhere. Debra and I walked in and several Kansas Militia members stood at attention from their consoles.

   “At ease,” Debra said and then added, “Carry on.” We approached a white board and I started looking over the notes written on its surface.

   “Thorpe around?” I asked.

   Debra walked away as she said, “I’ll find out.” I continued looking at the message board until she returned, “He’s on his way here now. He was out at the main entrance at the road.”

   I nodded and tapped the board as I turned to the men inside the tent, “Who is updating the whiteboard?”

   A man wearing captain’s bars stood up and joined Debra and I, “That would be me, Sir.”

   “It says here that twenty-seven trucks and four armored vehicles departed the Zipper facility.”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   I pointed to another note, “Tactical Air Control is reporting twenty-four trucks and two armored vehicles are within the building they are laagered in.”

   “Yes, Sir.”

   I looked at him as I said, “Why the discrepancy?”

   “My first thought is someone miscounted, but we are checking just the same, Sir.”

   I nodded my head, “Good, I doubt very much our scouts, or the Air Force, miscounted.” I glanced around and asked, “Maps? Aerial photography?”

   “Next door, we didn’t have the room in here for the map table, Sir.”

   “Show me,” we followed him out of the tent and into a room a short distance away. The room was small and there were rolls of maps covering the surface of the few tables it contained. “Which maps cover the area the Zipper convoy passed through last night?”

   “Uh, honestly, Sir, I have no idea. These were brought in from the public library in town and…”

   “There’s a young militia member, Jake Cummings,” I said. “Is he around here anywhere?”

   “Sorry, Sir, but there are hundreds of militia members and…”

   “That’s alright, Captain, but if you could locate him, he might be very helpful. He’s a local and knows the area, oh, and he rides a rice rocket.”

   “I’ll put out the word and see if I can come up with him.” He hurried out and I started working my way through the maps, but they were disorganized.

   “What are you looking for, Hon?” Debra picked up a roll and looked at me expectantly.

   “Three trucks and two armored cars don’t just disappear. It doesn’t sound like much to be worried about, but…” I went quiet as I started trying to make heads-or-tails of what I was looking at, but the expression, lost cause, came to mind. “This is ridiculous, why hasn’t this been organized before now?”

   A voice behind me said, “Because you’re looking in the wrong place, Lieutenant Colonel.”

   I turned around and came face-to-face with Julia Ortiz, “Damn, girl!” I dropped the roll of maps I was holding and wrapped my arms around her for a hug. “Let me guess, you’ve got this covered somewhere else, right?”

   “Of course, I do,” She hugged me back and then asked, “Terry?”

   “Asylum, the General wouldn’t allow both of us to be gone, sorry.”

   “Yeah, I figured that, but you know how it is.” She leaned out and looked at Debra, “Hi, Debbie, is your knee doing okay?”

   Debra smiled and replied, “A lot better than I thought it was going to be.”

   “Good,” Julia looked back to me. “So, what are you looking for?”

   “Three missing trucks and two missing armored cars. I need to know the path they followed and figure out where we lost them.”

   She swung a briefcase off her shoulder and laid it on a tabletop as she opened it. “Well, I sort of have you covered on that.” She pulled out a group of pictures and started spreading them out, “These are photos from the Air Force Predator that was monitoring the convoy after it left the Zipper mine. If you look here,” she pointed at one of the photos. “This is the convoy passing under an overpass beside a set of railroad tracks.” She glanced up and said, “I have a video on disc if you want to check it out, unfortunately, no one noticed that the convoy was five vehicles shorter when it came out from beneath the overpass.”

   “Okay,” I said. “So where did the other five vehicles go?”

   She shrugged and said, “Beats me, the drone operator stayed with the convoy and tracked it to where they parked for the night.”

   “Damn it, it’s only five vehicles, but I don’t like loose ends.” I drummed my fingers on the table as I stared at the photos, and then picked one photo up and looked closer, “These two armored cars,” I checked another picture and then back to the one in my hand. “They’re different.”

   “I don’t know, Daniel,” Julia said. “It’s kind of hard to tell.”

   “They are,” I said. “I know the quality of the photo is poor, but these two here,” I pointed. “They appear bigger, longer, and the turrets on top are different. They are even different from each other. This one…”

   Debra gasped, “Oh, fuck me!”

   I looked at her and said, “What?”

   “Harris was Military Police! These aren’t V-100s, or 150s, that,” she pointed, “Is a M1117, Guardian! It’s an Armored Security Vehicle like the ones we used in the ‘Stan! The turret has a machinegun and a 40-millimeter Automatic Grenade Launcher! This other one though, that kind of looks like a LAV 300!” She grabbed my arm and said, “Some of those come with a 90-millimeter main gun! If that’s what that is, it will blow the shit out of this place! It can pump main gun rounds deep inside of here!”

   “Oh shit,” Julia said.

   “Okay,” I said. “Calm down, we need to talk to Harris again and find out what the hell they have. He’s going to have a vested interest in stopping them if they’re headed for us. First, let’s get to the Comm Tent and order that strike on the warehouse with the convoy hidden inside. Then warn the Air force to start looking for those five vehicles that we don’t know the positions of.”

   Debra gripped the sleeve of my shirt and said, “I’ll go to Comms, you get to Harris and find out what he knows. Then, I…I’m going to move Maggie and the kids farther into the mine and out of direct line of fire.”

   “Do it!” I said as she ran away and then to Julia, I said, “Get back to your people and get them armed up in case the Zippers penetrate the mine.”

   Julia took off at a dead run and I began looking for the Captain we had spoken to earlier, I eventually saw him hurrying out of the Comm Tent and coming my way. “Lieutenant Colonel! Major Monroe said you need to be taken to Hunter Harris, immediately.”

   “Yes, we may be looking at an attack by enemy forces armed with heavy weapons.”

   “Follow me!” He took off at a fast jog and I followed close behind. “What kind of weapons are we looking at, Sir?”

   “Possibly, a LAV 300 armed with a 90-millimeter main gun.”

   “Christ! Where the hell, did they get that from?”

   “That’s not all, we believe they may have an M1117 with an auto grenade launcher also.”

   “Infantry?”

   “At least a platoon, three trucks with a squad a piece.”

   “Not very many, but that 90-millimeter is a game changer.” He ran a few more steps and added, “Those Guardians? They can carry up to eight infantry also.”

   “Really? That’s good to know.”

   He slowed down and approached two militiamen who were obviously standing guard outside of a padlocked door, “Lieutenant Colonel Menendez needs to question Hunter Harris, open the door.”

   “We weren’t told anyone was…”

   “Stand at attention when you address a superior officer!” The Captain wasn’t fooling around.

   “Sir!” The man looked a little panicked.

   “We are facing an imminent attack and Harris may have vital information, now unlock the door and stand aside!”

   “Yes, Sir!” The man quickly unlocked the door and I pushed my way past.

   Harris was lying on a cot and as soon as he saw me, he scrambled to his feet and backed into a corner, “I already told you everything I know!”

   “What type of vehicles did your people bring down from Iowa?”

   “What?”

   “Vehicles! What kind did you bring down from Iowa!”

   “M1117s! Three of them, but we ran into some…” He suddenly shut-up.

   “Not a good time to suddenly reconsider what you tell me, Harris,” I drew my combat knife and started walking towards him.

   “Wait! Wait! Okay, we ran into some Venezuelan troops that were hauling 105-millimeter howitzers and they were headed here to Kansas; they had one of those M1200s, the ones that plot artillery strikes! That’s how we heard of the ZPG facility here and my father decided it was our best bet.”

   “Artillery? What else do the Zippers have?”

   “They have a couple of those LAVs they got from Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and some of those old V100s, they came from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq.”

   “How many, total!”

   “I’m not sure, maybe ten? Fifteen? A lot of them are at their airstrip…” He frowned and then shut up.

   “Air strip? Where? What else do they have?” The look on his face would have been comical, if what I wanted to know wasn’t so important. “Harris?”

   He slumped as he said, “They have four Super Tucanos.”

  “What the fuck, is a Super Tucano?”

   From behind me, the Kansas Militia Captain said, “Prop driven ground attack aircraft, we gave some of them to the Afghan Air Force when we were there. Imagine a P-51 on steroids, with state-of-the-art avionics, targeting, and weapons.”

   To Harris I said, “Where? Where are they based?”

   “Some place named Newton, or Newton City, I’m not sure.”

   I looked at the captain and he said, “About sixty miles from here, probably why they put them there; far enough away to escape our notice and close enough to be of use when needed; they could be overhead in no time at all.”

   “Son-of-a-bitch!” I said. “What do you people have?” I looked at Harris and then stepped out of the room and closed the door as I told the guards, “Lock it.”

   The Captain shook his head, “Nothing, except the drones the Air Force brought. Those Tucanos will use the drones for target practice.”

   “What’s your name?” I asked as I started walking back towards the Comm tent.

   “Roger Stark, Captain, Kansas Militia. I was originally with the Kansas National Guard.”

   “Okay, let’s get back to the Comms tent and tell Major Monroe what we’ve found out. The Marine Raiders that came with me, are they here? Or did they go with my people to the Zipper facility?”

   “Some went, some stayed. The ones that went left the recoilless rifle here with its crew, but if we’re taking out the ZPG forces at the warehouse, the ones here will probably leave and join up with the people staging to attack the ZPGer mine.”

   An explosion reverberated through the mine. “What the hell!” I shouted and broke into a run. The Comms tent was at the entrance of the mine, so the cables to the antennas would be shorter and that’s where Debra was. Stark followed and moments later, we heard another strong explosion that was even louder than the first. We reached the tunnel that exited the mine as Stark pulled me to a stop.

   “Oh, shit!” He said as we looked at the shredded remains of where the Comms tent had once stood. We were still a good 100 feet from where it had should have been, but we could easily see what was left. Destroyed radio components and bodies, pieces of bodies were strewn about; I went numb.