The Second

Civil War

BOOK II

A NATION

AT WAR

By MW HUFFMAN

A Nation At War by MW Huffman

©Copy write 2012

All Rights Reserved

A WaJe Production

2013

To the Loves of My Life

My Wife, Susan, My Children, and Family

OTHER BOOKS PUBLISHED BY MW HUFFMAN

THE END – BOOK I of THE EVENT

THE BEGINNING – BOOK II of THE EVENT

THE REVELATION – BOOK III of THE EVENT

A NATION DIVIDED – BOOK I of THE 2nd Civil War

A NATION at WAR – BOOK II of THE 2nd Civil War

A Nation HEALING – BOOK III of THE 2nd Civil War

OPERATION BLUEBOLT – BOOK I America’s Gulags

OPERATION BLUEBOLT BOOK II American Uprising

BlackStar

CHIMERA

CLOSE PROXIMITY

WORLD’S END

THE BRINK – Operation Deep Flight

Angie Bartoni Case File #1 – The Alphabet Murders

Angie Bartoni Case File #2 – Frostbite

Angie Bartoni Case File #3 – Dead Aim

Angie Bartoni Case File #4 – What Goes Around

Angie Bartoni Case File #5 – Nothing to Lose

Angie Bartoni Case File #6 – Shadow Man

Angie Bartoni Case File #7 – The Club

Angie Bartoni Case File #8 – Murder by Shakespeare

Angie Bartoni Case File #9 – One Too Many

The Logan Files – Blond Deception

The Logan Files – Innocence and Avarice

The Logan Files – The Deal Breaker

The Norris Files – Insurrection

The Norris Files – Silver2

Unfinished

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would be remiss if I did not give a loving ‘Thank You’ to my editor, my inspiration, and my best friend; my wife, Susan Huffman.  She never complains when I hand her another rough draft to proof.  She may roll her eyes occasionally at the grammar, having been an English Teacher for over twenty years and College Instructor at Parkland College.  She just forges ahead, makes the changes and tries to make me understand what a split infinitive is. That's when I just roll my eyes and say, "Okay dear."

Thank you to Amazon Kindle and to Barns & Noble for allowing new writers to get a foothold in the electronic publishing business.  Without them none of this would be possible.

A special thank you to everyone that has bought and read my books, I sincerely appreciate it very much.

There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.

-Sun  Tzu-

PROLOGUE

Wars come as a culmination of events that take place over a period of time.  Like a splinter left in a finger too long, it can fester and at some point it either has to be removed or the infection can spread to other parts of the body.

America had been undergoing a festering of conflicting ideologies for many years. High unemployment, creeping inflation, record home foreclosures, unchecked national debt, a shift in moral values, and a blatant attack on the second amendment rights of citizens was the poison moving through the body of the country.

While it takes a long time for one single event to serve as the catalyst that will set a war in motion, once it happens, changes ensue quickly. Historians can generally point to one incident that would ultimately trigger an all-out war.  It is often quoted that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire triggered the First World War. That is not entirely true but it is the one incident that can be labeled as the spark that got the war started.

World War II started because the Nazi Army under Adolph Hitler invaded Poland. Technically, it did provide the impetus for the beginning of the war. But the decay was planted long before by a number of things, a runaway inflation, high unemployment, and the Treaty of Versailles that was forced on the Germany people.

Pictures of tanks rolling into the streets of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein’s army comes to mind.  The triggering event?  Kuwait’s alleged slant drilling. A process of drilling on an angle to tap the oil reserves in Iraq.  Was there more to it? Of course. Iraq was economically devastated by the Iran-Iraq conflict a few years earlier. They needed the oil in Kuwait. The solution? Simply take it.

A defining moment is almost always associated with any war both past and present. Mention 9/11 to most Americans and they immediately see that as the real start of the so called War on Terror.

Now America was facing another war, not with a foreign nation but within the confines of her own borders. The final straw was an early morning government raid on registered gun owners across the nation. While raiders managed to confiscate almost 30 million small arms weapons, the violation of Civil Rights sent a ripple of discontent through the nation. Proponents of gun control hailed the action but others saw it as a clear cut violation of the second amendment constitutional rights.

The President had ordered the military to participate in Operation Clean Sweep but a few base commanders saw this as a clear violation of the Constitution and refused to participate. It was a decision based on what they considered a ‘clearly immoral and illegal order’.

Obviously the Commander-in-Chief cannot have his orders disobeyed thus he sent the Military Police to arrest the commanders. They refused to surrender themselves or their commands.

The commanders of the rebel bases allowed any officer or enlisted personnel who disagreed with their actions to leave the base with no repercussions. It they elected to stay, it would be strictly voluntary.

The President decided that he would order a strike on Eglin Air Force Base in Florida to show his determination that no commander has the right to disobey his orders.

The strike was carried out by the USS Harry Truman CVN 75.  Immediately after launching the air strike on Eglin, the carrier was attacked by a submarine under the command of one of the base commandants who refused to follow the orders for Clean Sweep. Four Tomahawk missiles were fired from the USS Annapolis SSN 760. Two of the missiles got through the defenses and slammed into the side of the carrier. It was unable to make port before sinking in the Gulf of Mexico.

The trigger for the Second Civil War had been pulled. America was no longer a nation divided but a nation at war.

CHAPTER ONE

The rain had been falling for the past two days. The gloom outside matched the atmosphere inside the White House. Even with the miserable weather over one million protesters had gathered each of the previous three days.  Each evening fights broke out between police and demonstrators. In addition there was widespread looting and destruction by other groups taking advantage of the ensuing chaos.

President Quasim was dressed in a warm up suit that had been given to him by the US Olympic team. His feet were up on the desk. Present with him in the room were the Secretary of the Navy, Dillon Kellerman, Admiral Jean Swanson from Pensacola, Lieutenant General Erickson, from Langley Air Force Base and General Arthur Ascot, from Quantico Marines.

They were waiting for Roland Clarke, Secretary of Defense. The President glanced at his watch and closed his eyes. The door opened and Clarke stepped into the room. He saw the President glare at him and quickly found a seat.

“And?” the President said, putting his feet on the floor and sitting up.

“Sixteen aircraft were shot down and three crippled.  Another nineteen fighters and seven helo’s went down with the Truman. Right now nine hundred and twenty are dead and fifty-six still unaccounted for. Another one thousand and seventy are injured. Eight F16 pilots are MIA,” he reported.

It was silent in the room. Only the faint sound of rain pelting the windows could be heard. The President rubbed his eyes, rocking back and forth slightly.

“Ladies and Gentlemen can any of you explain what the hell just happened,” he said, his voice rising with each word until he was shouting at the end.  No one spoke up as he glanced around the room.

“General Erickson? Can you tell me how they managed to sink one of America’s most up to date warships?”

“I think Admiral Swanson would be better able to answer that,” he said, trying to duck the question.

“But I didn’t ask the Admiral did I? I asked you.  Correct me if I am wrong but you are the one who laid out the battle plan. Isn’t that right?”

“Sir, we all had a hand in it.”

“I see. Since it was a disaster it is all of your faults collectively, but if it had been successful it would have been your idea, naturally.”

The General knew that nothing he could say would appease the President so he just sat there.

“Since the General seems to think you should answer that question, please Admiral, proceed,” Quasim said.

“Sir the only way that the Truman could have been sunk was by a submarine. For that to happen they had to have been on station before we arrived. That means they had advanced information. We walked into a trap because someone leaked information about the planned attack.”

The President sat bolt upright.

“What the hell are you saying Admiral? That someone in the White House shared the plans with the enemy?”

“No sir. I’m saying that someone did, and I don’t mean to implicate just the White House. Where it came from must be tracked down. As bitter a pill as it is to swallow, someone, somewhere, leaked information regarding our attack plans.  It gave the rebels the upper hand and they were able to capitalize on it,” she said.

“What about the rest of you?” the President asked.

“We have discussed it and we all pretty much see it that way. I would like to give the Admiral credit for having the gumption to actually say what the rest of us were thinking,” said General Ascot.

“It is the only way they could have had their planes in the perfect position to come in on us like they did and to have a submarine ready to take the Truman out,” General Erickson added.

The President looked around the room and the faces of his advisors looked back at him apprehensively.

“We have to find that leak and I mean now.  I don’t care what it takes. I want everyone that had anything to do with the plans investigated to the fullest. I mean the whole nine yards, surveillance, wiretaps, hidden cameras, bugs, and whatever else is in the arsenal. I want Homeland, the FBI, and military intelligence on this starting as soon as this meeting is over,” he said, banging his hand on the desk.

It was quiet for a second before General Erickson spoke up, “Sir. How do we go about getting warrants for taps and such?”

“Warrants are not necessary using Public Law 107-296, the PSP provision,” he replied.

“The President’s Surveillance Program? Is that part of the Homeland Security Act? I don’t know all the provisions but wire taps and bugs are allowed?” Erickson asked.

“As I interpreter it,” President Quasim replied.

They all glanced at each other but then Operation Clean Sweep had been invoked in a similar way.

“What about the White House?” Admiral Swanson asked.

“I’ll take care of that detail. I’ll make damn sure that everyone, and I mean everyone, that had anything to do with the plans is investigated vigorously,” the President answered.

A cell phone rang and the President scowled at the Secretary of Defense.

“Sorry sir. It’s an update with the latest figures.”

“Alright, but turn the damn thing off after this,” he commanded.

Cell phones in the Oval Office were a major irritant to the President.

“Go ahead and answer it,” he said.

“Clarke.”

“I see. Uh-huh. Okay. Okay. Thank you,” he said and changed the phone's setting to vibrate.

“So?” the President asked.

“Nine more bodies have been recovered. The USS Allen was damaged when she ran over one of the planes that did not make it back and ditched at sea. The crew was lost.  Evidently Colonel Fox has been trying to reach me or Secretary Kellerman.”

“Why?” Kellerman asked.

“He has captured eight of the downed pilots and recovered the bodies of five more. He wants to turn them over to us.”

“That bastard. He’s flaunting this in our faces,” the President shouted.

“Sir, I don’t think that is his intent. I think he is trying to say that these are still Americans and he wants to have them returned and cared for,” Kellerman said.

“Do you think for one minute that he is trying to do the honorable thing? If he wanted to do that he would have surrendered to the Military Police. Instead he participates in an attack on our armed forces,” the President said, getting red in the face.

It was no use. They all knew that no matter what they said at this point he had decided and that was final. The small detail that they had been the ones to provoke the attack seemed to be lost on Quasim. They could all see that he was fighting to remain in control but it wouldn’t take but one misspoken word to push him over the edge.

CHAPTER TWO

Colonel Fox was on hand to greet the planes as they landed. The main runway had sustained minor damage so they simply used the taxi strip. Everyone was waving and cheering as each plane rolled by. They had pulled off a daring counterattack but as happy as the Colonel was, he knew that this was just the beginning.

He was also keenly aware that without the warning, they would have been slaughtered. Once all the planes were parked and the pilots deplaned he had them all gather around.

“First, congratulations on a great victory today...”

Cheers and applause interrupted him. He waited for it to die down.

“But...we cannot bask in the moment. Today, fellow Americans on both sides gave their lives. We lost some good men today and for that I am deeply saddened. Some of you probably don’t know that the aircraft carrier the USS Harry Truman was sunk by a submarine at the loss of many good sailors and airmen. In a normal situation when we trounce the enemy like we did today I would be on top of the world. But...but it is hard to be happy about our brothers in arms dying. Having said that, it does not mean that we will simply surrender. They are the ones that came after us. They initiated the battle. They picked the time and place. It is because of their aggression that we will continue to fight for what we believe is right,” he said and halted for a second.

“Make no mistake about it, we are now at war with the government we took an oath to defend. Every one of us was prepared to follow that oath until the government stopped representing the very people that it has a duty to serve.  Our nation is no longer a democracy when the very doctrine upon which this nation was founded is disregarded for a side agenda. The second and fourth amendments were striped from the Constitution when President Quasim launched Operation Clean Sweep. That makes the order he gave to the military illegal and I will not obey an illegal order,” he said.

Even with the huge crowd you could almost hear the grass growing it was so quiet. No one moved and even the wind seemed to barely whisper.

“We are not alone. At least six other base commanders have also refused to follow the illegal order. Like this base, they have allowed anyone that did not agree to leave the base with no repercussions. I will repeat that offer. No one is being ordered to stay. Anyone wishing to leave has until 17:00 hours to vacate the base. I know this is a difficult thing that I am asking of each and every one of you. You have to choose what you believe is the right course of action in your own heart. I have made mine and I intend to combine any remaining forces at this base with the others that are refusing to obey the President's orders. I urge you to pray about it. Talk among yourselves. Seek counsel with your mentors or whomever you need and trust to help with this decision. This could be the most important decision you make in your lifetime.”

He paused and lowered his head.

“Heavenly Father, grant each man and woman here the wisdom to choose the right path for them. Thank you for those that gave their lives today doing what they believed was right. God help us all, Amen.”

With that, he turned and headed toward his office.  The others mostly milled around talking. Now the adrenalin rush was over the reality and enormity of what had taken place earlier was sinking in. The talk was subdued and eventually they all drifted off to consider what path they were going to take.

****

Aboard the submarine USS Annapolis the skipper was saying pretty much the same words. When the missiles had first struck, everyone had given out a cheer. Later as they heard the massive carrier breaking up and starting to sink they became aware that what they were hearing was the death of not only an American Carrier but of American sailors and airmen. Elation soon gave away to the realization that what had happened was not a drill but the actual sinking of a ship in battle.

The skipper would have liked to address the crew immediately but with the pursuing submarine killers looking for them he was forced to give his undivided attention to avoiding detection or they would become the next causality of war. It was almost two hours later before he felt that they were in a safe enough position for him to address the crew.

Much like Colonel Fox on Eglin Air Force Base, he reminded them of the seriousness of what had just transpired. The USS Annapolis had just sunk an American ship with fellow sailors aboard. The feeling wasn’t quite the same since the submariners were spread out in the sub and unlike the Eglin personnel they had not actually witnessed the destruction unfolding.

“While I am proud of the way you all performed today, we must remember that today was the start of a war. It was the first battle in many to come. When we get back to port, I will allow anyone that wants to leave to do so. I intend to stay and follow the direction I feel is most honorable for me. You will have to do the same. I have sent a burst to Admiral Heathcoat and he has essentially said the same. Only those that want to volunteer are to remain on the submarines. If you feel that you cannot or do not want to perform your duties you are free to leave the Annapolis and the base without any penalty. I would like to ask for a moment of silence for those that gave their lives today aboard the USS Harry S Truman,” he said and bowed his head.

He waited thirty seconds before telling them to resume their regular duties.

CHAPTER THREE

Brigadier General Allen MacMillan was waiting for the others to arrive at the MCAS Marine Air Station in Beaufort, South Carolina. It had taken a great deal of clandestine maneuvering for all six of them to get to the base.

Colonel Fox from Florida and Admiral Heathcoat from New London, Connecticut had the furthest to travel and their passage was a lot more challenging.

Despite the difficulties, they all managed to arrive more or less at the expected time. Admiral Heathcoat had been put ashore from the Los Angles class submarine, the USS Springfield SSN 761, at the mouth of Port Royal Sound. By using an SDV they were able to put him within a few miles of the MCAS Base. The Seal Delivery Vehicle then returned to the Springfield to wait for his scheduled return time.

“Well gentlemen we have stuck our wieners in the fire this time,” Brigadier General MacMillan said, and they all chuckled.

“I know how hard it was for all of you to get away so I will jump right in. Collectively we have decided that the President has given an illegal mandate that violates the Constitution of the United States of America. It has been made quite clear that you cannot hide behind the ‘I was only following orders’, if it was clearly illegal and morally wrong. We have all made that decision. None of us wants to be in this position but none of us is willing to commit acts of treason against the American people. We will be branded traitors but we know the real traitor is sitting in the White House.”

He looked at them intently.

“On top of that, the President planned and deliberately attacked US soldiers on American soil. He has, in effect, declared war on all of us who refused to follow his illegal command. We have answered his challenge to our resolve and will continue to do so. I have already been contacted by several US Senators, members of the House of Representatives, and Governors, not to mention hundreds of small militia groups that want to join our cause.

Senators from Florida, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi are spearheading the formal process of impeachment against President Quasim. Others have voiced their support for the impeachment proceedings. In talking to them, they feel they may get it done, but it will be close. The impeachment of a President is one of the hardest things to do in this country. States that are standing in support of the President are Virginia, Main, Massachusetts, Road Island, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, and Vermont.”

He projected a large map of the USA and drew a line showing the division of states at this point.

“We don’t know about West Virginia or Pennsylvania.  Kentucky will probably side with us and so will North Carolina.  Big unknowns are Ohio, Indiana and a few other Midwest states. They tend to be very conservative. California and the western seaboard? Who knows? Let’s just say I don’t hold out much hope for them at this point.”

Heads shook in agreement.

“Hell, Washington and Oregon still have hippies for Christ sakes. Here it is more than sixty years later and they still haven’t joined the real world.”

“Mac,” Admiral Greenfield interrupted.

“Yes Leon?”

“I hear what you are saying but how do you know the people will actually get behind us? I mean actually fight if push comes to shove? You know the administration is going to lay everything on our doorstep. How are we going to get them to understand?”

“Leon, I think they already understand for the most part.  Just as the White House is doing, we will start a counter attack letting people know our side of it and how the administration is doing their usual spin on the situation. If this turns into a full blown Civil War, God forbid, then they will have to decide where their fate lies. Just like the first Civil War. Eventually you have to take a stand on one side of the line or the other.”

“What about trying to talk to the President?” General Frank Amblin asked.

“We have sent word on five different occasions saying we would like to have a sit down with him but so far he has not answered. We have tried various avenues including the Vice President. To date, no luck.”

“I don’t understand. Does he want this to escalate?” Heathcoat asked.

“I honestly don’t know. Something is not right with the man. Somehow he thinks he is above the Constitution or is simply ignoring it. I’m not all that sure he is in control of himself.”

“You’re suggesting that he has lost it? Gone around the bend?”

“I’m saying that a President who thinks he can expect citizens to give up their rights just because he believes he knows best, is seriously misguided,” Mac replied.

“Can the Senate get him impeached?”

“I just know that they are going to try. Again, removing a President that has been elected by the people of the country from office is mighty hard to do. I think a lot will have to do with how they spin what has happened.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“Good evening. The President of the United States is getting ready to deliver a special message. Speculation is that it will concern the reasons and actions behind the latest decisions made by the White House. As a side bar, the House of Representatives are starting proceedings to initiate the impeachment of the President.  We now take you live to the White House.”

“Good evening my fellow Americans. In many ways I am saddened to have to address a series of events that has taken place over the past month. First there is the Operation Clean Sweep which is a serious attempt to rid our streets of guns. In a society such as ours, allowing people to have guns in their possession is simply reckless and unnecessary. When you look at the murder statistics and number of children that are killed due to firearms negligence, you realize that it is time to stop this foolishness. When the Constitution was finalized on September 17, 1787 they had no way of anticipating the advancements in weapons that we now have in today’s world. How could they have imagined citizens having assault weapons? Semi and automatic weapons in the hands of the average citizen is no longer acceptable. In Operation Clean Sweep we were able to confiscate over forty-five million weapons. While that did not entirely eliminate the number of guns still on our streets, it was a step in the right direction.

I know the vast majority of Americans support this campaign to rid the nation of dangerous firearms. Soon a revision to the second amendment will be ready. It will make it mandatory for all gun owners to relinquish their deadly weapons. The only exceptions will be those that pass a stringent test to prove that the weapons are necessary. This will modernize the intent of the second amendment.

Many of you know that in our efforts to make America a safer place to live, a few elected to resist. As a result of their unprovoked attacks on the officers during Operation Clean Sweep, a few were arrested and some were injured. Of more importance, one of our military commanders at Eglin Air Force base took it upon himself to disobey a direct order from the Commander-in-Chief. He has refused to surrender his command to the proper authorities. To date, he has refused again and again to make contact with the proper authorities including the Secretary of the Navy and other high ranking officials. I offered to meet with him to discuss a way of settling this matter but he has refused that as well.

It saddens me to say that Colonel Fox instigated an unprovoked attack on one of America's Naval Ships. In a sneak attack much like Pearl Harbor and 9/11, he sent planes to shoot missiles at the USS Harry S Truman.  Over a dozen Tomahawk missiles were launched but due to the valiant effort of the sailors on the carrier, only two got through. The crew was finally forced to abandon ship when the reactor was determined to be too damaged for safety.

Fellow Americans, this is clearly an act of treason and will not go unpunished. Colonel Fox will be removed from Eglin Air Force Base and brought before a Court Martial as a traitor to the United States of America. As Commander-in-Chief I have made it my highest priority to bring justice for the Americans of this great nation.”

“May God Bless us all”

****

“Well there you have it. The White House just confirmed that the second amendment will be changed and that a rogue commander of one of America's biggest Air Force Bases has attacked and sunk the USS Harry S Truman. The carrier had on board in excess of five thousand sailors and airmen. The carrier was attacked approximately sixty miles off the coast of Florida. The White House said that over one hundred planes were sent to sink the USS Truman.

All attempts to reach Colonel Fox at Eglin Air Force Base have gone unanswered.

****

The six men sitting in the room were watching the President's broadcast from the White House. Some had an amused look on their faces and others were frowning deeply.

“That lying bastard,” Colonel Fox said.

“Of course. We knew he would spin this to make us the bad guys. Actually when you think about it, you realize how pathetic it sounded. One base commander was able to sink one of America's most up to date carriers. Notice he didn’t mention why they were not on alert,” General MacMillan said.

“Well it was like Pearl Harbor, sneaky. I guess they had their defense systems shut off for cleaning or whatever swabbies do,” General Amblin replied.

“Easy you land lubbers.That’s the Navy you’re talking about. All the poor Truman was trying to do was protect our shores. It was that damned Air Force that snuck in and sunk it according to the President,” Admiral Greenfield countered.

“Bad, bad Air Force,” Admiral Heathcoat said shaking his finger at Colonel Fox.

“You guys are right. I am a bad boy. Maybe I'll be better tomorrow.”

“Oh right,” the others said.

CHAPTER FIVE

“So what did they say?” the President asked.

“Well,” Kendra Cox, the Press Secretary began haltingly.

“Out with it,” Quasim said impatiently.

“The poll taken after the broadcast indicated that only twenty-three percent believed the content of the speech. Seven percent said they did not know if it was factual or not. The rest believed they were not being told the truth,” she said reading from a piece of paper.

“Sonofabitch,” the President said, slapping his hand on the desk.

No one said anything. Actually there was nothing they could say that would not bring down his wrath upon them.

“I want the damn Eglin Air Force Base back in our hands by the end of the week. That is an order Mr. Kellerman,” the President said.

“Sir. A week doesn’t give us much time to make a proper plan,” Secretary of the Navy, Kellerman, replied.

“This is not up for debate. Get it done. I don’t care how you have to do it. Nuke the damn place for all I care. What the hell, only twenty-three percent believe what I say anyway,” Quasim said.

“Are you serious sir?” Kellerman asked.

“Do whatever you have to do short of using nuclear weapons,” he replied.

“Mr. President, I think this is a dangerous path to follow. This could escalate quickly,” he warned.

“Your concern is noted. You have your orders. I expect them to be carried out as quickly as possible,” the President replied.

****

“This is wrong on every level. This could evolve into something that grows exponentially,” Secretary of Navy Kellerman said.

The other three men in the room were silent. It was so quiet that all you could hear was the air conditioner humming.

“The question really boils down to ‘are we going to do this or not’?” Roland Clarke said.

“I wish it was that simple. This is a very complex issue. What happens if we do? What happens if we attempt it and don’t get the job done? What happens if it is totally botched? What happens if it is successful?  I mean it goes on and on. This is far too complex a discussion to get it down to a simple yes or no vote,” Kellerman countered.

“The first question we need to ask ourselves is ‘will we do it’?” Admiral Jean Swanson said.

“We don’t have a choice,” General Erickson stated.

“Yes we do. There are always choices. We can do as ordered or be like Colonel Fox at Eglin. He certainly made a choice,” Winfield replied.

“Yes and look what it is getting him. Because he chose to disobey an order from the Commander-in-Chief we have to come up with a way to put an end to all of this,” General Ascot interjected.

“Well, I guess that puts a pretty fine point on it. We need to come up with a way to reacquire Eglin,” Clarke said.

“I think we should use the Predator UAV platform,” Kellerman suggested.

“I don’t think that alone will get the job done,” Clarke replied.

“Then we use them along with Cruise Missiles.”

“Instead of the Predator we should use the MQ 9 Reaper. It can fly further and carry a larger munitions load,” General Erickson suggested.

“We will still need feet on the ground,” Ascot added.

“I agree,” Kellerman said.

“Your Marines will have to go in and mop up,” Erickson said.

“Then we are agreed. We will devise a plan based on using UAV’s, Cruise Missiles, and ground troops.  We can have planes standing off to support the Marines if necessary,” Clarke said.

“I think we need to consider the B-2 as well. We could arm it with AMG 154-B and AMG 154–C missiles,” Erickson suggested.

“Look, this isn’t the time to decide what missiles. We need to come up with the scope and mission.  Your subordinates can fill in the blanks about what we should use as types of armaments,” Sectary of Navy Kellerman replied.

They all had their opinion about the best way to state the scope of the mission and who should supply what part of the hardware. It was well after midnight before they were able to come to a consensus of wording and responsibility assignments. No one went away entirely happy, which in retrospect is probably a good thing.

CHAPTER SIX

Cars and trucks were lined up almost as far as Colonel Fox could see when he went to the front gate.  Every type and shape of vehicle lined the side of the road.  Men and women in everything from jeans to full fatigues were standing around. Some had weapons over their shoulder or side arms on their belts.

“What the hell is this all about?” he asked one of the guards at the gate.

“Sir, it started around daybreak. Cars showing up and parking along the side of the road. From what we can tell so far they are from different militia groups all around the country. A lot of them met up with other groups and caravanned here.”

“For what purpose exactly?” Fox asked.

“To fight for you and Eglin. They said that they wanted to join up with our forces to fight.”

“Oh for Heaven’s sakes. A bunch of rag-tag militia fighting along with professional soldiers? That just isn’t going to happen.”

“Begging the Colonel's pardon, I think you might want to talk to the head of this ‘Ragtag Army’ as you put it. They are pretty well organized.”

“Who is the leader?”

“Brigadier General Adams.”

“Joel Adams?”

“I’m not sure sir. They just said Brigadier General Adams.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“Yes sir. He said to tell you that he would be in the Southwind RV just across the street.”

“I don’t think it would be such a good idea for me to leave the base. Take two men and go and see if he is willing to come over to the base.”

“Yes sir,” he said.

The guard grabbed two others and headed over to the RV. Fox could see them talking and then one of the men went inside. A few minutes later he emerged with a tall, white haired man who still looked pretty darn fit. Fox noticed a slight limp as he watched them walk over.

“Brigadier General Adams, retired,” he said saluting.

“Colonel Fox,” he replied saluting.

“So I’m here, shall we talk?” Adams said.

Fox immediately realized that he was a no nonsense guy who didn’t come to swap war stories.

They spent the next four hours discussing the role of the American Revolutionary Army and how it could be aligned with the men and women at Eglin.

****

The first four stealth B-2 bombers came in over Eglin Air Force Base’s runway twelve and dropped their load of BETA-500 concrete piercing bombs. Within seconds the second wave of B-2’s coming in from the north unleashed their load of bombs on runway nineteen.

The BETA-500 bomb’s primary purpose is to penetrate concrete and asphalt to destroy runway surfaces. The drones that followed were packed with a variety of different weapons. Some were intended to destroy the taxi ways so planes couldn’t take off and land from them, others were used to simply kill.

The death and destruction wasn’t over. Within minutes six Tomahawk Cruise Missiles came in from the south and obliterated the remaining aircraft on the ground and leveled buildings.

****

The Marines under General Ascot's command had been deployed in the heavily forested area north of the base. As the last Cruise Missile exploded, they saddled up and got ready to sweep in and mop up the base.

“Captain, we are ready to move out.”

“Okay Gunny, let’s roll them,” he replied.

They mounted up and started down Roger Clary Highway. Just as they got to Elgin Parkway, the first Hummer in the convoy exploded in a huge ball of fire. Almost simultaneously the last vehicle was destroyed as well.

Automatic weapons opened up along with rocket launchers opened fire, raking the trapped vehicles.  Marines spilled out of the trucks but most were cut down before they had a chance to even fire a shot. Within minutes, six hundred and forty-two Marines were dead and another two hundred and eight wounded or dying.

Fire and smoke filled the air along with the cries of the wounded. General Adams emerged with his men and they quickly began doing what they could for the wounded. The ARM, American Revolutionary Militia had been fortunate. During the ten minute long fire fight, only nine of his people had been killed and fifteen wounded.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“We were damn lucky. You know this won’t last forever,” General Adams said.

“No but it has saved our bacon twice,” Colonel Fox answered.

“It’s just a matter of time before they determine who is giving us Intel. They will most likely be charged with treason.”

“Maybe it’s time to get them out?”

“I think that is a wise decision. It won’t take long to piece it together. If you can get word to them, I suggest you do it immediately before the scope of this gets back to the White House,” Adams agreed.

“It’s not easy but there is a way.”

“Then use it.”

“Yes sir,” Fox replied.

“And about the prisoners. We need to decide what we are going to do with them. There are only twenty or so but we still need to make a decision about what to do with them. Do we keep them or turn them back over to the regular military?” the General mused.

“I guess we could use them as hostages.”

“No. That’s not the right way to do this. They are prisoners of war and should be treated according to the Geneva Convention or else we should return them,” the General replied.

“Maybe we should just hold them for now until we can get to the base to assess the amount of damage done,” Fox suggested.

“That sounds good. Then let’s move over to the base and see what we can salvage.

****

When they arrived at the base all they found was the smoldering reminiscence of its former condition. The runways and taxiways were nothing but piles of rubble.  Most of the buildings had been destroyed or damaged.  Several of the aircraft that they didn’t have room for in the bunkers were damaged or destroyed.

“Those bastards,” the General said when he saw that the hospital had been obliterated.

“Sonofagun. They targeted the hospital. That is not from collateral damage,” Fox said pointing to the demolished building.

“So I guess we can kiss the Geneva Convention rules goodbye,” Adams said.

“So now what do you want us to do?” Fox asked.

“Well, I expect in a few minutes a recon drone will be sent over to survey the damage. That’s why I had my men clean up the firefight area as best they could.  They may not go that far but then again, you never know. I want our people to fan out in this area so that it will look like their Marines are on station.”

“Do you really believe we can pull that off? They won’t know it’s our people they will be seeing?” Fox asked.

“I don’t know for sure. Probably not in a really detailed look but they will want to let the President know as quickly as possible. That means they may just rush it and not really look it over as closely as they should.”

“I guess that’s the best we can hope for at this point,” Fox said.

****

“Mr. President,” Kellerman said as soon as he was shown into the Oval Office, “We just got the news from Eglin. They have taken control of the base. It’s back in our hands.”

“Yes. Yes...yes,” the President exclaimed, pumping his fist.

He didn’t often show that kind of emotion. He was usually irritated at someone or something.

“How many men did we lose?” he suddenly asked.

“Not many. Maybe a dozen at most,” Kellerman told the President.

“Excellent. I assume we destroyed the base.”

“Pretty much. It will be sometime before it is back in commission.

“Good. We can leave it as a reminder to the other commander that their days are numbered as well,” the President said.

“Excellent idea,” sir.

“I want to talk to the commander who led the Marines into the base. I want to congratulate him.  Oh and get General Erickson on the phone as well. It would appear that they should be congratulated as well,” the President ordered.

“Sir, I think you should wait until we get complete confirmation,” Roland Clarke said.

“We have confirmation. We’ve seen the fly-over photos. What more do you need?” Hanna Cole, the Secretary of State replied.

“Yes, but we have no eyes-on confirmation. We haven’t really analyzed the photos yet. Not in detail,” Clarke insisted.

“Clarke, for a Secretary of Defense you are such a wu…”

“Stop,” the President shouted at the top of his lungs, “Don’t you dare finish that sentence Cole,” he snapped.

Dead silence.

“I will not tolerate this kind of behavior. The next person that calls someone a name or makes a disparaging remark will find themselves unemployed. Is that perfectly clear to everyone in this room?” the President said.

Everyone nodded, afraid to even speak up. He continued to look at them for a minute.

“Alright. What would we need to confirm the success of the mission, Clarke?”

“Let’s send in a couple of choppers and verify the results. It wouldn’t take all that long and then there would be no doubts,” he told the President.

Cole rolled her eyes but kept her mouth shut.

“Kellerman?”

“Sir, I don’t see how it could hurt. It would only take a couple of hours and then we could give out more details. It would give the story more punch,” he replied.

“Okay. Get it done but as quickly as possible. I want to have the information so that we can break in on the stations with a special White House bulletin. Kendra, you get started on the networks. Coordinate getting the facts into the speech that I will deliver. We want to sell this as our only recourse since they would not reply to our efforts to contact them. I want them to be the bad guys.”

“Yes sir. I understand,” Kendra replied.

“Good.Clarke, you make sure she gets whatever information she needs. I want a full accounting on what happened. I will want to get the Commander, what was his name?”

“Colonel Fisk. He is one of General Ascot’s men.”

“Okay, good. I want him on the show as well. I doubt he will say anything but I would like for him to be there just in case someone asked a military question.”

“Yes sir.”

“Alright everyone, let’s get to it.”

****

As they walked out of the Oval Office, Secretary of State Hanna Cole tapped the Secretary of Defense on the arm.

“Yes Ms. Cole?” he said stopping to look at her.

“I suppose you are intelligent enough to recognize the chain of command. The last time I checked I am above you on the chart. I will not have the President getting upset because you can’t take criticism. If you would do your job the right way I wouldn’t have anything negative to say.”

He looked at her for several seconds. How far to push it?  Finally he decided to hell with it.

“Ms. Cole. Frankly I don’t care where your name is on the chain of command. I don’t like you. In fact I don’t even recognize that you exist. You are an ass and I can’t think of one single person who likes you or respects you. That includes the President. You just keep your big mouth shut when we are in those meetings and everything will be fine,” he said and started to walk off.

“Damn you. Don’t you walk away from me buster,” she yelled.

Clarke didn’t even bother to slow down, he just went on down the hall to his office and closed the door.

Cole was furious. She thought about going to the President about what he had just said but then thought better of it.

The President just smiled at the exchange. He had bugs installed in the hallway so he could hear what they were saying once they left the Oval Office.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Kellerman and Clarke sat stunned after hearing the report from Eglin Air Force Base.

“They had already pulled their personnel out?”

“Yes sir. The planes as well. Those that we saw being destroyed were ones that were obsolete and probably didn’t fly anyway.”

“And the men on the ground?”

“Almost all of them were killed. Our source tells us the official count was six hundred and forty-two Marines dead and another two hundred plus wounded. We believe they have around twenty prisoners.”

“My God. What a disaster. How could this have happened?” Kellerman muttered.

“They knew we were coming. It doesn’t explain the fire power our people came under but one thing is clear, someone on the inside is passing material to the opposition.”

“It’s a damn good thing you stopped the President from going on television. He would have looked like a fool,” Kellerman said.

“Tell that to Ms. Cole.”

“What else do we know?” Kellerman asked the Intel man.

“We are looking at a bunch of vehicles that...”

The door burst open. A shaken Sarah Slone, the White House Chief of Staff was standing there.

“The President wants you in the Oval Office now. Like right this second,” she said and raced back out of the door.

The men looked at each other before hurrying out the door and down to the Oval Office. The large screen Television was on and the President was pacing back and forth. All of the top members of his inner circle were watching with their mouths open.

“I have with me retired Brigadier General Joel Adams. General can you tell us what happened here today?” the talking head asked as the camera panned around the smolder wreckage of Eglin.

“Eglin Air Force Base was attacked by bombers, drones and Cruise Missiles. They carried cluster bombs that were intended to destroy the runways and kill as many people as possible in the area. We strongly believe B-2 Stealth Bombers were used first with the cluster bombs.  The next wave was drones flowed by Cruise Missiles. The fourth element was to be seven hundred Marines that were to come up and mop up any remaining resistance,” he said calmly into the camera lens.

“Where did this attack originate?”

“Actually from several different places. The B-2 landed in Pensacola to refuel we have learned. The drones were launched from a one strip airfield near Almore, Alabama. We are not sure where the Cruise Missiles were launched from but they came from the south so probably a navy ship. Possible the USS Hué City CG66.”

“How did you manage to deter the attack? After all they had the element of surprise,” the announcer asked.

“We knew they would try to take the base. We have been on a high state of alert ever since they attacked us last time. Unprovoked, sneak attacks seems to be the mark of this administration.”

“Wait. Are you saying that the White House ordered the first attack on Eglin? According to them, you attacked the USS Truman in an unprovoked attack.”

“Let me be as clear as I can,” the General said, looking directly into the camera lens, “That is a bald-faced lie. We were on the lookout for such an attack and as soon as the first planes appeared on their bombing run we responded. Secondly no aircraft attacked the USS Truman. That is a total fabrication. The Truman was sunk by Tomahawk missiles after it had launched its planes to strike the base. The President is lying to the people of America,” the General said.

“That is a pretty strong statement,” the newscaster said.

“Yes. It is both strong and accurate. The President is bent on starting a civil war in this country.”

“General, one thing I don’t understand. If you are a retired Brigadier General, why isn’t the regular military commander that is in charge of Eglin here to answer questions?”

“Simple really. They are now a part of the American Revolutionary Militia.”

“That’s quite a mouth full. American Revolutionary Militia,” he said.

“ARM may be easier to say,” the general replied.”

“What are your plans from here on?”

“While I can’t give you a direct answer, I will say that we are in the process of bringing all interested active regular military, reserved military, and volunteer men and women into ARM if they are willing to join.”

“You are telling them to go AWOL and join your army?” the announcer asked.

“I’m sorry. Did you hear me say that? I don’t remember saying that. I said nothing about going AWOL.  What I said is that we are in the process of bringing those interested in joining ARM together. This is a moral decision. We want no one that is not committed to our cause. We will draft no one but we won’t turn the appropriate people away.”

“General, I’m sorry but I don’t see the distinctions between going AWOL and choosing to join your army,” the announcer pressed.

“Going AWOL or absent without leave means they have walked off the job and have taken off without authorization. That is not what we are advocating. If they elect to join our men and women they will still be considered in the military.”

“By whom?”

“Why us of course.”

“One last question General. Do you really think you can stand up to the might of the American combined forces?”

He smiled quickly, “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be standing here before the media. We may not win every battle but we will win the war if the President continues on the path to divide the nation.”

Everyone sat or stood transfixed. The General had just called the President a liar on national TV. It was obvious that the President was stunned.

He turned around in his chair and said softly, “Everyone out please.”

They all scrambled to get out of the office. Only Kendra, the White House spokesperson remained. The President looked up and saw her still sitting there.

“You too Kendra.”

“Sir don’t you want to make a rebuttal? We should counter his claims somehow.”

“Yes, we probably should but right now I just want to be alone. You may go,” he said.

She got up and walked slowly to the door, “If you need me I will be in my office,” she told him but he didn’t bother to respond.

CHAPTER NINE

Clashes broke out in cities all across America and people begin to take sides. A large number wholeheartedly believed the President had done the right thing. The control of military was clearly within the framework of the President’s authority. Many didn’t necessarily agree with the way he was going about bringing the rogue units back into the fold. Nevertheless they agreed it was his duty to see that those responsible were arrested and court martialed.  Others, especially those in Florida, Alabama, Texas, and Georgia were livid at the attacks on the US bases.

****

Eight Senators sat at the table in the Presidential Suite at the Buckhead Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. Forgoing their usual suits and ties they were dressed in comfortable clothing.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m not going to sit here and make a long speech. God knows we get enough of that,” he said and they all chuckled.

“We are all here because the President of the United States has committed impeachable offences against the American People. At least that was before the last attack on Eglin Air Force Base,” Senator Folly said.

A large man, over six feet four, with gray eyes and wild white hair was addressing the group. He had been in the Senate for thirteen years and had won his seat in the last election by a huge majority. He was extremely popular in Florida and many thought he should run for President.

Sitting next to him was Linda Sampson, Florida’s other Senator.  She was an outspoken critic of President Quasim and felt he should never have been allowed to lead the nation. At only five two and one hundred and fifteen pounds, she was a hellcat once she got wound up.  She was small but she wasn’t intimidated by anyone, including the President.

Senator Beau Zimmerman and Harry Tellman were sitting next to Sampson. Beau was a good ole boy that somehow knew everyone and had a little dirt on all of them. He could sell ice cubes to Eskimos with his smooth southern voice that went down like melted butter. Harry, on the other hand, was more straight to the point. He chose his words carefully and would use them to cut the legs out from under you if given half a chance.

Sitting across from each other were the Senators from Alabama, Mary Lake and Robert Pen. Mary was a first term Senator but had been the Governor of Texas prior to running for the Senate seat. Robert was a little like Beau Zimmerman. He seemed to know almost everyone and seldom forgot a name. He could glad-hand with the best of them. No matter who he was talking to, they felt like they were the only one he cared about. It was a acquired skill that others envied.

The senior Senator from Mississippi was different from all the rest. Hugh Benson looked like almost anything but a Senator. He seldom wore suits, even to business meetings. His blond hair was fairly long by Washington standards. Jane Farley was the other Senator from Mississippi. The attractive thirty-five year old widow was in her second term. He husband had died in a car crash during her last bid for the Senate. Some attributed her winning to getting the sympathy vote.

The last person was Polly Patterson, often called P-squared by her friends. She was there as the aid to Senator Folly and to take minutes of the meeting.

“I no longer think that is our best course of action. The President is attacking US service men and women on American soil. This can no longer be tolerated. It is gratifying that he has had is butt kicked up around his shoulders but it is still our American service men paying the price for his actions. Having said that I propose we compose a letter to the President telling him that unless all hostilities cease immediately we intend to secede from the United States.”

It was quiet in the room as each person absorbed the information.

“Do you mean actually secede or threaten?”

“Before I answer that, I would like to hear your opinions on the whole idea of secession,” Folly said.

“Hey, I said before, I’m all for it. He attacked Valdosta without as much as a word. I don’t want anything to do with the bastard anymore,” Senator Zimmerman from Georgia said.

“What about you?” Folly asked the other Senator from Georgia.

“Well. I think it would be better if we could find another way but honestly, I doubt we can. So yeah, I would go along with that.”

“I think it’s safe to say, and speak up if you disagree Mary, that we are more than willing to join you if that’s what we all agree on,” the Senator from Texas replied.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Mary Lake added.

“Jane? Hugh? What about your position?”

“In for a penny, in for a pound. I’m for it,” Hugh said.

“In,” Jane Farley replied.

Then I guess our next course of action is to talk to any others that you feel may join us. I know Tennessee and Kentucky would be possible. Not sure about Pennsylvania or West Virginia,” Folly said.

“Oklahoma would be good to talk to and maybe South Dakota,” Mary Lake from Texas added.

“Nevada?” Folly asked.

“Doubt it. I don’t think they care one way or the other.”

“Others?”

“Louisiana, South Carolina. Not sure about North Carolina. Maybe,” Harry Tellman replied.

“What about Indiana?” Folly asked.

“Not sure. They would be worth talking to but no way will Illinois go with us.”

“They may not have a choice if we get enough of the others in the Midwest to go along,” Folly said.

“I noticed that no one mentioned California, Oregon or Washington State,” Mary said.

“Yeah, I wonder why?” Jane said as they all chuckled.

CHAPTER TEN

“It will never happen.”

“Don’t be so sure. They have lined up fifteen states that say they will secede from the union,” Adam Little of Homeland Security told the President.

“Bluster. Posturing. Nothing more. They could never pull it off. This isn’t like in the old days before instant communications. There would be a huge outcry and they would get tossed out on their ear so fast their head would swim.”

“Sir, I really think we need to take this as a serious threat. We should sweep in and remove the core of the group and arrest them.”

“Oh, that would really help. Can you imagine how the press would react to that? I can see the headlines. ‘Gestapo Arrests Dissidents’ in bold type. No Adam, that would just make them martyrs. The last thing I want to do is give them the ammunition to shoot at us,” the President said.

“We have to do something.”

“You need to relax. We need to take a step back and let things cool down some. We will leave the other commands alone as much as it irks me. For now. We need to let Eglin blow over before we do anything drastic,” the President replied.

“Sir. I doubt they are doing nothing. You know they have to be plotting and planning,” he insisted.

“Yes, yes. I know they aren’t sitting around on their thumbs but in the end it will do them no good. States are not going to try to secede from the union in today’s world. It isn’t like the Civil War. This is a complicated issue, not just one topic.”

“And I think that plays into their hands. It gives them a broader base to stir up unrest,” Little said.

“You are welcome to your opinion, however mine is the one that counts. I say we take a wait and see approach and let things cool off and that’s exactly what we are going to do.”

“Yes sir,” was all he could say in situations like this.

****

The Admiral’s Barge bobbed in the light chop as it sat anchored off the coast of Virginia Beach near the wreck of the Coast Guard ship the Cuyahoga. They could see dive ships anchored right over the wreck as they offloaded divers.  They were not there for fun, however.

“Where do we stand?” Folly asked.

“North and South Carolina will go with us. Same for Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana, and Oklahoma. Michigan and Minnesota are definitely not interested,” Harry Tellman of Georgia said.

“Iowa?”

“Uncommitted.”

“New Mexico?”

“I give them an eighty percent chance of going along. They understand the dilemma of not going along with others at their borders.”

“Well Colorado and Idaho are not going to go along so it will be interesting to see what happens when we really go ahead with it.”

“That brings up an interesting quandary in its own right. How do we set up the government?” Jane Farley of Mississippi asked.

“Well Jane, we haven’t quite gotten that far. I mean we are stilling trying to count the sheep before the gate is opened. I guess we would have to have an interim President and Vice President until elections could be held,” Folly answered.

“What about money? Where does that come from?” she asked.

“We have Fort Knox. I think we are pretty well set. If anything, Quasim will have a much bigger problem. He can lay claim to the gold but it will still be in our possession.”

“They will try to come after it,” Robert Pen from Texas said.

“Yes they will. And we will stop them.”

“What about currency? They have the presses. We won’t have access to printing money,” Benson from Mississippi asked.

“Not so,” Senator Pen spoke up, “We have a printing facility right in Houston.”

“Geez, I didn’t know that,” Linda Samson from Florida muttered.

“Okay, we are getting off the beaten track. So as it stands right now we have nine definite states and a couple of probably states.

“Crap. Pardon my French. I forgot all about Arkansas. They are definitely in.”

“Excellent. We should see about Montana and Wyoming. They are stuck out there pretty far but it couldn’t hurt to talk to them.”

“Same for Kansas and Nebraska. Probably North Dakota too,” Folly said.

“We can take care of those. I’ll take two and Robert can take two if that is okay with you,” she said turning to Pen.

“That’s fine for me. I don’t care which ones I visit but I do think it should be a priority. I’m sure the White House knows we are working on this plan.”

“Undoubtedly,” Folly agreed.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

President Quasim was more than struggling. He was fighting severe depression. His ratings were the lowest since he had taken office. Spontaneous riots were still breaking out across the nation and the NRA was painting him as a future dictator.

He was sitting alone in the Oval Office with only the light from the windows illuminating the room. The room matched his mood, somber and dark. The reports that several states were going to try to secede from the union were nagging at him. He was sure it was a bluff to try to force him to change his position on the second amendment.

The change was critical for his future plans. It was necessary if he wanted to stay in office longer than two terms. Once the militias were squashed he would have the power to do as he pleased. He could tweak the first amendment to limit the size of assembly to stop the protesters and rioting. From there it was an easy step to imposing security measures on the media. Criticism of the administration could be virtually eliminated.

As much as he didn’t like the Secretary of State, Hanna Cole, she certainly understood the way to control the masses. Without her suggestions he doubted he would have ever considered Operation Clean Sweep. Turning back now would end everything he had been working for.

The room continued to grow darker as the few remaining shadows moved across the room until it was plunged into total darkness. It was easier to see the future without the lights.

****

“He is a wimp,” Hanna said.

“Yes, that may be true but he is who we have hitched our horse to.”

“Why? Look he is President now but that does not mean he has to be once everything is in place. He can think that, hell, I want him to think that, but he can’t remain in power once this is over.”

“Hanna,” Ralph Larson said, “Right now we need him. He is the one the people are looking at. He has to remain in power until this is totally a done deal. After that...then it can change.”

“Ralph, you are dead wrong. Once we initiate the changes to the Constitution he will be even more powerful. He will have the military in his pocket and no one will be able to touch him.”

“But to get rid of him before the changes will create a vacuum.  The last thing we want is for Vice President Jason to take office.”

“Look, at that point it won’t matter. The Constitution will be a shadow of its former self.”

“Okay, if you find a way to take Jason out of the picture you still have the Speaker of the House next in line.”

“He has cancer. I have it from his own doctor that he has less than a year to live. You have seen him. He is weak and falls asleep half the time from the medicine they are pumping into him. That’s why we have to press forward. If he dies a new Speaker of the House of Representatives will be appointed. Then we have a whole new bunch of problems,” Hanna told him.

“Lord. I’m not so sure we can really pull this off,” Larson said.

“Listen Counselor, don’t start getting skeptical on me now. You need to stay the course. If you want to be the Vice President when I take over, you have to be the kind I can depend on.”

“I’m not skeptical. I just saying that a lot of things out of our control have to fall into place for this to happen.”

“No. It will happen. You and I are going to see that it does. Got it?” she said emphatically.

“Yeah. I have it.”

“Good. Now here is what we need to do next...”

****

“Sir. Do you realize what you are risking?  How this will play out in history?” Senator Beau Zimmerman of Georgia said.

“This is bigger than what people will say after I am gone.”

“It will start before you are gone, Sir. You will be dragged through the mud on a daily basis,” the Senator replied.

“That may be true but this is the only way that I can see that it will send the right message to the rest of America.”

“All I can say is that it would be an honor to have you on our side. I know you will go through hell in the short term but I honestly hope for your sake you will be able to weather the storm.”

“I’m tougher than you think.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

HEADLINE NEWS – Thousands of protesters clashed today in Washington DC. Anti-Quasim demonstrators and Pro-President Quasim groups met near the Washington Monument. Police were greatly outnumbered as they tried to keep the two groups apart with little success.

Police Chief O’Dell said that the two groups were to stay on their designated streets. The Anti-Quasim protesters were to be confined to 17th Street NW and the Pro-President demonstrators to 15th Street NW.

“We had police and barricades set up to keep the two apart but as the numbers grew they were able to overcome the police,” Chief O’Dell said.

During the melee two fatalities were reported and several hundred injured. When asked what started the free-for-all, Chief O’Dell replied “Ignorant people on both sides.”

When asked about the fighting taking place right outside of the White House a spokesperson told the news that “It may be time to implement a new policy limiting the number of people allowed to gather.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“We are live from the White House press room where in just moments the President of the United States will deliver a message. He has indicated that he would take a few brief questions.”

“Good evening my fellow Americans. Tonight I am going to address the lingering problem of the refusal of certain military commanders that are disobeying a direct order to relinquish control of their bases,” he said looking into the camera.

“We have exhausted every avenue of negotiation at this time. We have sent envoys to each base to talk to the commanders but have been turned away. I have personally tried to call each commander but they have refused to take the calls from the Commander-in-Chief. This is a blow to the security of the American citizens. This is quite simply not a situation that we can allow to continue.

America’s security is being jeopardized by a few self-serving military officers that do not care about the safety of the citizens they have taken an oath to protect.  As Commander-in-Chief, I am publically issuing a direct order to those base commanders to relinquish control and to surrender to the proper military authorizes.  You have exactly twenty-four hours to turn over control of the bases, at which time military action will be initiated to regain American assets.

For over a month we have tried other approaches and none of them have succeeded. At this point, for the security of our American citizens, we can no longer tolerate this blatant act of treason.  It is with a great deal of regret that I am being forced to make this decision but my oath to protect the citizens of this great country must be upheld.

My fellow citizens, this is a last resort measure. I wish with all my heart that I did not have to give the order to commence action against those rogue elements. For Americans to remain free we must have a strong Commander-in-Chief, one that is willing to make the hard decisions. As much as it unsettles me, I am willing to make that decision.

I am asking all Americans to understand the position of the Administration for the good of the country. This has been a tumultuous time for the entire White House staff and the military commanders that are responsible to bring these base commanders under control.

My hope is that they will realize the consequences and the danger in which they are placing the young men and women under their command. You must obey the order to surrender the bases and yourselves to the military authorities.

“Thank you and God Bless each and every one.”

Kendra Cox, the White House Press Secretary came to the microphones.

“Ladies and Gentlemen of the press. The President will answer a few questions concerning the present situation only. Irrelevant questions will not be answered,” she said looking out over the crowd.

Hands immediately shot up and he nodded to a reporter.

“This is the first we have heard of other base commanders not obeying the direct orders of the President. How many bases are you talking about?”

“Well Scott. Of the over one thousand military bases, we are talking about six tenths of one percent,” he answered.

“Meaning?”

“Obviously six bases out of the one thousand. Elaine,” he said moving on to another reporter.

“Thank you Mr. President. Are you willing to release the names of the bases and the commanders?”

“Not at this time. With the impending possibility of military action, the last thing we want is for the curious to get caught up in the action. We are withholding names in hopes that this can still be resolved peacefully,” he said and pointed to another reporter.

“Sir. What kinds of weapons will you use to regain control of the bases?”

“Whatever it takes short of nuclear weapons. Yes?” he said to the next person.

“You seem to be taking the position that the Constitution needs to be changed, especially the second amendment. Isn’t that what started all of this?”

“Absolutely not. A few dissidents cannot be allowed to twist the intent of the Administration. The NRA has been working hard to spread that vicious rumor but it is unfounded and untrue.”

“Even so? That still is why you have the situation you are now facing isn’t it?” he asked.

The President ignored the remark and pointed to another reporter.

“Last question. Ann,”

“Mr. President. How do you hold up under such scorching criticism?” she asked.

“Because I am an American sworn to protect this great nation of ours. It is my responsibility to the people of the United States to do the best thing for the country without regard to the personal attacks on me or my administration.”

They were still clamoring questions when he made his way out of the room.

****

“What do you think?” Quasim asked.

“Very good. Sincere and yet grim. Letting them know that only six out of over one thousand refused to follow your command put it into perspective.”

“I hope we don’t get caught on that.”

“No one knows, including the Pentagon, exactly how many military bases we have around the world.  It’s a flowing number. You know yourself that it all boils down to what is considered a military base.  So we took the high side. No one will go after that angle,” Kendra assured him.

“That was a great idea to feed that question to Ann Silzer from NBC. Make sure she is properly taken care of.”

“I’ve already done it. She has been invited to a reception you are giving. She will be given the advanced agenda so she will have a huge leg up on the others.”

“Good. We need to keep stroking the right media people.”

“I’ve got it under control,” Kendra replied.

“I never doubted it for a minute. Any polls yet about the speech?”

“Probably not for another hour or so. I would imagine by 10 O’clock we should have the first results.”

“Any guesses?”

“It will be better than the last time.”

The President laughed, “It would be hard for it to be worse.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Senator Folly’s office.”

“Could you get Zack on the line. This is Mary Lake.”

“Right away Senator Lake. He has been expecting your call,” she.

“Hi Mary, so how are things going?”

“Excellent. Marty and Wilma are coming to your party next week. Marty was glad to be invited. He said he always did love your Bar-B-Ques.”

“Well, the more the merrier,” Folly replied.

“Are their kids invited?”

“Hell yes. What’s a couple of more? I got a whole pig to roast. There is always room for good people.”

“I know Scott is coming but I don’t know about Neil. He isn’t sure he can make it at this point.”

“That’s fine. This is a fun occasion with no pressure on anyone. No speeches or arm twisting,” Folly replied.

“My mouth is watering already. Do you know how long it’s been since the last pig roast I went to?”

“What? In Texas?”

“All we ever have is damned old beef roast. Pigs are kind of a no-no here,” she said laughing.

“Humm...I think I see the problem. Well tell Robert I said hi and thanks for everything.”

“Will do. See you at the cook out,” she said ringing off.

Folly didn’t know for sure if his phones were bugged or not but he was not stupid enough to believe that they weren’t. He had brought in an expert and he had found nothing but he still wasn’t one hundred percent sure. No way was he about to take chances at this stage of the game.

****

More than a hundred people were spread out on the lawn and around the two pools at Senator Folly’s house. Two huge pigs were roasting on spits. Three bars were set up with all the booze they could drink for free.

Mounds of food were stacked on tables around the lawn with servers in shorts and polo shirts circulating. It was Florida after all. The temperature was in the mid-eighties with a slight off shore breeze. He couldn’t have picked a better day for the cookout.

“Might fine party,” Senator Peel from Virginia said.

“Why thank you Marty. I’m so glad you could make it. You know we don’t do this kind of thing often enough. I mean we do party affiliation stuff but just letting our hair down and enjoying each other’s company,” Zack Folly said.

“That’s a great sentiment but I doubt that it will happen anytime soon, I sorry to say.”

“Yeah, me too. It’s just wishful thinking on my part I guess,” Folly answered and finished his drink. “I need a refill, you all set or would you like me to bring you back one?”

“Well to tell the truth, I was hoping to have a word with you.”

“Marty. It’s a party. No politics.”

“Listen, it won’t take a minute. Just a few things.”

“Ah shit Marty. Okay, what is it?”

“Rumor has it you are getting states to join you in trying to secede from the United States.”

“Huh. Hadn’t heard that one. Must be something someone started as a joke,” Zack said.

“It’s no joke. Zack, if it is true, you can count Virginia in as well.”

“Oh come on Marty. We have brandished around that rumor to get Quasim to back off this second amendment kick. Hell you know how the game is played. You start a rumor and it gets bigger and bigger until people start thinking it’s the truth. If you really think about it much, it can’t really be done in today’s world. We have no clear cut north against south like the Civil War. You've got more states and instant communication now days. Sometimes I wish we could, but not in the world today. It can’t be done. Hell, I think a couple of states have made that threat in the past, but where did it get them?” Folly said.

“So it is a ploy to unnerve the President.”

“Yep and I think it is working. I haven’t heard much being said about the second amendment, have you?”

“Now that you mention it, not really,” Senator Peel said.

“I think the rumor has done its job. Now, I need that drink,” Folly replied and walked off to the bar.

He knew that Marty Peel and Senator Longman from West Virginia had been talking to some of the other Senators. They were obviously there to report back to Quasim.  That is exactly why he had invited them in the first place.

****

“Did they pump you?” Folly asked.

“Yeah. Both Longman and Peel took a run at me. I told them I thought it was a big bluff on your part. I said who in the hell in their right mind would try to pull something like that.”

“Oh thank you. Thank you very much.”

“I had to sound realistic.”

“Yeah I know. Mary?”

“Oh heavens yes. Peel needed to talk about an urgent item he had picked up. Said you had filled him in on the states attempting to break away, as he put it.”

“Little shit.”

“There is more. He said you had tried to get him to go along.”

“Well, I guess we see how he got elected,” Zack said.

“Ah hell, that’s how we all get elected. He was just doing his job for the President.”

“Hey, on another note. The food was incredible,” Mary Lake said.

“Nothing like an outdoor pig roast.”

“Except for the fact that I probably gained ten pounds,” Senator Jane Farley from Mississippi said.

“Oh, like that would show on you. I swear, how you do it is a total mystery to me. I just put it on my plate and gain at least two pounds,” Beau Zimmerman lamented.

“Metabolism,” she answered.

“Thank goodness it isn’t exercise,” Folly said.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The plan seemed simple enough. General Erickson, Admiral Swanson, and General Winfield had devised a three pronged attack. The USS Vella Gulf (CG72) would be stationed just off the mouth of Port Royal Sound.

The attack would come from the ship's VLS system that can launch up to sixty-four missiles. The Vertical Launch System on the Vella Gulf is the most advanced system on any cruiser in the American Fleet. They would also attack with their Mark forty-five inch guns that can shoot rounds at the rate of sixteen per minute.

While that was taking place, the Special Forces would be inserted on the east and west sides of Paris Island, South Carolina by SOC-R’s, a Special Operations Craft – Riverine. The thirty-three foot long boats only need eight inches of water to operate.

As deadly as this was, it was not the main battle. Even more firepower would be brought on the Marine MCAS Air Base which is just a few short miles from Paris Island.

The air craft carrier the USS Stennis CVN-74 would send the ship's air wing, CVW-9, in as first strike. All three fighter squadrons; 146, 147 and 154 were to be used in wave attacks. As soon as they had finished, the USS Bunker Hill would launch its cruise missiles.

To prevent being caught off guard, nine Destroyers and two cruisers would protect the carrier. The hunter killer submarine USS Virginia SSN 774 was already on station and looking for any submarines lurking in the area.

A detachment of Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina would then attack the base as a mopping up action. On paper it looked like they would overwhelm the Marines at Paris Island and the MCAS AIR BASE.

This time the President’s most trusted inner circle were the only ones that knew about the upcoming attack. General Erickson had also sent in a team of LRRP’s. Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols had one primary mission. It was to gather information without being spotted and report back. They are the eyes and ears of a planned mission. They are the shadows and ghosts that move without being seen. This time they would know if an ambush was in place.

****

Two LRRP teams consisting of four men each had been watching the two bases. Keeping transmissions to a minimum, they had reported nothing unusual. They were just about ready to move back to the pick-up point when suddenly they found themselves completely surrounded.

“Easy fellows. We don’t want to have to kill you,” the soldier said, dropping down out of a tree. Ten others came in from the tree lines with their weapons pointed at the four LRRP’s.

“I know. It’s a real bummer. We have been waiting for you to get ready to bug out. We knew when you came ashore. I know you guys are just doing as ordered but I’m sorry to say, you’re our prisoners.”

“Man, you are going to get your asses blown all to hell in just a few hours. If we don’t report in they are going to know something is up. You’re screwed either way,” the leader said.

“Well, I guess you could be right but what the heck, we've got to play the cards we were dealt. You just come along with us, you can meet up with the group from Paris Island.  We took them just a little while ago.”

“You may have us but it isn’t gonna’ change anything. They are still going to pound the hell out of you.”

“We’re quite aware of that. Sometimes things just aren’t exactly like they seem. Of course you helped us with that illusion.”

“That’s what you think. They are going to cut you traitors into little pieces. You are going to get exactly what you deserve,” the leader replied.

“I guess we will just have to see how it all goes down.”

****

“You waited until they got off their last message?” General Amblin asked.

“Yes sir. They had already completed the transmission and had pulled up their booby traps before we took them down.”

“Good work Sergeant. Tell your men I said ‘well done,” the General said.

“Thank you sir. I’ll pass it along,” he said saluting and heading back to his men.

“So I guess it is time. We can start rolling out the troops immediately. They have been sending the observation drones over every four hours. We can get the first group out and then wait until the drone departs the area,” the General said to his executive officer.

“I’ll have them start immediately,” he said and hurried off to get the trucks rolling.

Every available truck had been pressed into service.  They were loaded with troops and as much military hardware that they could carry. Even the civilian trucks had been pressed into service. Wives and children had already begun moving as soon as they found out they were to be the target.

Like moving the military personnel, it had been done in stages. Now time was running out and they had less than eighteen hours to evacuate the entire base.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“General Erickson, Sir. The LRRP teams didn’t make it to the pick-up zone.”

“Crap. Either they were caught or something kept them from making the rendezvous. Tell ops that I want a drone up and over the area in thirty minutes. If we spot additional activity, we will have to call this off.”

“Call it off?” General Ascot said, coming out of his chair, “We can’t call it off now.  Everyone is in place.”

“And we could walk into another ambush. I don’t intend to go through that again. We screw this up and we will be looking for a new job,” Erickson replied.

“Look. We have Intel right up until now. They can’t get an ambush in place that fast. We have the firepower to flatten them. If we crawl back to the President and say we ‘think’ they may be setting up an ambush, all hell will break lose,” General Winfield agreed.

“So it's damned if we do and damned if we don’t. Does that about sum it up?” Erickson said.

“Look, they cannot possibly react fast enough. They were able to get one over on us with the sub taking out the Truman. We have all the assets in place this time. We have a killer sub just waiting for a boomer to show up or even another fast attack. Choppers will be in the air in force and searching for anything that is out there. We have to go. We can’t just pull out now,” Admiral Jean Swanson told Erickson.

“So, you all agree we should proceed?”

“Absolutely.”

“You bet.”

“I agree. We need to get the show on the road.”

“Maybe I should bring the President into this,” Erickson suggested.

“Why? What can he offer? He is the last person I want giving advice about a military operation. The man has never served his country in any capacity. What the hell could he suggest?”

“A way to save our asses if this fails?” Erickson replied.

No one said anything for several moments.

Finally Admiral Swanson said, “I’m willing to just go. I don’t need the President’s blessing to do my job.”

“I’m with Jane,” Ascot added.

“Arthur?”

“Yeah. I’m still ready to go along. We need to show we mean business. You can’t succeed at anything unless you try. I’m willing to give it a shot.”

“Alright then. We will get the drone up, and after we analyze the material we will start the countdown,” General Erickson told them.

****

“How’s it going?” General MacMillan asked.

“We had to stop for a while because the drone was looking us over. We made sure we had people walking around like it was a normal day. Even had one of the planes moved like it was going to be worked on.”

“Excellent. Get as many out of the area as you can in the next couple of hours. They may make one more pass overhead. It will come in the early hours so once the IF drone goes over, the last people will have to really haul to get out of the area. I don’t want anyone to get caught in the fire once it starts.”

“Will do. We are still tracking their Marines. They broke into two groups. One is situated on the northeast side and the other on the southeast, divided by the two main runways.”

“Make sure to remind them to take 21 north and that we will meet them at Garden's Corner.”

“Believe me, they know. They will be using the MP SUV’s so they can use the lights and sirens.”

“Excellent. Then all we can do now is keep moving.”

****

The drone using infra-red came in over the base from the south.  It did a full three-hundred and sixty degree circle around the base.

The men watching via the wireless transmission were analyzing the data stream in real time.

“There is a car moving toward the control tower. It's probably a shift change.”

“I see eight heat sources. One is moving toward one of the hangers.”

“See anything that looks out of place?”

“Not really. Its 0400 so you wouldn’t expect much. We know there are people there and there isn’t anyone around the perimeter. No ambush waiting. We would see the heat signatures if there were.”

“Okay, let’s tell the General that everything looks normal.

“You want to go?”

“You go. I can’t stand the bastard. He creeps me out.”

“Gee thanks. I have no fondness for the man either,” he said and headed over to the General's office.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

As soon as the drone headed off toward the east the last twelve men jumped into the MP SUVs and took off with lights flashing. They figured they had thirty minutes at the outside before the attack.

They only missed it by a few minutes. The Vella Gulf unleashed the missiles in the VLS stacks. The Cruise Missiles came in over the base destroying almost anything. Almost immediately after the last Cruise Missile the first Predator Drones came in and immediately released their missiles.

Huge explosions rocked the base from one end to the other. Large chunks of the runway and taxiways were destroyed. Shrapnel buzzed through the air slicing into planes, trucks and buildings.

Very few were left undamaged. Most of the ones remaining were crumbling into piles of smoldering rubble.

The USS Vella Gulf and the USS Bunker Hill sent round after round to the base from their remote controlled deck guns. So much smoke and dust was in the air it was decided to wait a few minutes before sending in the air wing from the USS Stennis air craft carrier.

****

“Let’s send in another observation drone before we commit the air wing,” General Erickson said.

“Yes sir.  It’s still pretty obscured but with FLIR we should get some solid Intel.”

“Then get one up,” the General replied.

Within fifteen minutes the observation drone was looking down on the devastation. Nothing was left untouched. Most buildings were destroyed and it would be a long time before the runways would be usable again.

“Any movement on the screens?” Erickson asked.

“Nothing so far. Probably a lot of people trapped under the rubble but none on the tarmac that we have detected.”

“What do you think?” Erickson said turning to Admiral Swanson.

“Looks pretty devastated to me. We know they haven’t set up an ambush so I guess I would launch the planes but not commit them until the ground troops report in.”

“Good. Good. Exactly what I was thinking. Alright have the carrier launch the planes and just stand by. Do not drop bombs until they get the command from you directly,” Erickson told her.

“I’ll have it done,” she said and picked up the ship to shore phone and gave the order.

“What do you think Arthur?”

“I think we kicked their butt’s big time. When we release the footage of the remains of the base the others will fall in line pretty damn quick.”

“Sir,” a Marine Sargent said, coming to attention and saluting.

“Yes Sargent.”

“We have some civilian casualties.”

“What? How?”

“Sir. One of the Cruise Missiles came down in a housing development in Beaufort. First report is twenty-one killed and sixty injured.”

“Son of a...anything else?”

“A round from one of the ships overshot Paris Island and landed in Port Royal. Two people were killed and a dozen injured.”

“Alright Sargent. Thank you.”

“Yes sir,” he said and saluted.

“Well that’s going to cause some problems.”

“Maybe we can find a way to blame it on MacMillan’s people.”

“That’s a thought. We could say one of their planes went down in Beaufort and one of its bombs landed in Port Royal. We can tweak it a little so it sounds reasonable,” Erickson said enthusiastically.

“We’ll let the President’s people take care of that. Spinning is what they do best,” Winfield said.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The Marines advanced on both targets. This was old fashion grunt work. No tanks or armored vehicles. The men broke slowly out of the tree line and advanced to the air strip.

“Alpha One, Alpha Six. What have you got?”

“Alpha Six, One. So far nothing.  No shots fired.”

“Okay one. Keep your men spread out and take it slow. We have all the time in the world. Six, out.”

“Copy Six, One out.”

They continued, stopping at buildings and what was left of the hanger bays. Nothing. No bodies in the hangers or anyplace that they explored.

“Alpha Six, Alpha One, over.”

“Go One.”

“Sir. This is strange. We have no bodies. Not a single one. It’s like the place was empty when the attack came.”

There was a long pause.

“Alpha One. Hold your position. I’ll be there in ten.”

“Roger Six. One out.”

****

It was closer to twenty minutes when a Hummer with stars on the front plate came roaring up. Two Generals and a Major climbed out of the vehicle.”

“Sir, Lieutenant Dawson, team leader, sir.”

“Lieutenant. Relax. Tell me what you have found.”

“Sir. Nothing. By that I mean pretty much everything is destroyed but we haven’t found a single body or wounded person. It’s like no one was here.”

“Have you checked the hangers and any buildings standing?”

“Yes sir. Only a few buildings are still passable but we have checked each from top to bottom.”

“Did you check in any of the cars and trucks?”

“Yes sir. Everyone single one. Which brings up another interesting thing. We found no Hummers on the base. Even more strange, not a single truck of any kind.”

“Not a one? They had six with mini-guns, six with 50 cal. machine guns and four with tow missile launchers attached. They were all new.”

“They aren’t here now sir. Now that I think about it, we didn’t hear any secondary explosions when you were attacking.”

“At either base?”

“No sir. I just talked to Captain Farragut at the Marine Air Base and he is finding the same thing. No bodies, no trucks.”

“That is impossible. We know they were here just a half hour before the attack. They couldn’t have just vanished,” General Erickson said exasperated.

The Lieutenant decided this was a good time to just keep his mouth shut.

****

The last men to leave the base raced along State Road 21 until they came to Garden’s Corner. There they found two Hummers waiting for them.

“Sounds like they are pounding the hell out of the place,” one of the men said as he walked up to the SUV.

“Yeah. We almost cut it too close. We weren’t five hundred yards out of the gate before the first drones flew over. We could feel the shock waves buffeting the cars.”

“Well, glad you made it. The rest have headed up SR-17. You guys can follow us. We are going to jump on I-95 and head north,” he told them.

****

HEADLINE NEWS – BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA

“American forces attacked two of the rogue bases in South Carolina early this morning. The Marine Base at Paris Island was rocked by drones, guns from the ships Valle Gulf and Bunker Hill, and Cruise Missiles. At the same time, The Marine Air Base near Beaufort, South Carolina also came under attack.

The attack lasted for nearly two hours and the bombardment broke windows and shook houses in the city of Beaufort and the surrounding area.

General Erickson was in command of the operation and has not made any comments about how many were killed or injured. He did confirm that none of his troops had been injured or killed during the two hour bombardment.

Reports of twenty-three civilians killed and over seventy injured have been brought to light. When asked, General Erickson said he was not aware of any injuries or casualties. He did say, “If anyone was killed or injured it was not from his troops. We did shoot down one plane and perhaps it crashed in the town.”

He resolved to launch a full investigation as soon as all of the facts were in.

President Quasim said that he would issue a statement after General Erickson had a chance to brief him on the operation.

****

“Good evening Americans. I am Brigadier General Adams of the American Revolutionary Militia. Tonight we want to tell you the real story about what the Administration is trying to shove down your throats.

First is the attack on Eglin Air Force Base. President Quasim flat out lied to the American people.  It was a blatant fabrication to mislead you. The attack was initiated by the administration when the USS Harry S Truman launched an all-out strike on the base to regain control.

Our fighter planes were aware of the strike due to having surveillance aircraft in the air and launching planes to meet the attack. We stood by and waited for them to initiate the attack by dropping bombs before we retaliated. One of our submarines was watching and could see a second wave being readied to strike and launched four tomahawk missiles at the carrier. Two did get through the defenses and struck the carrier. It sank thirty-six minutes later.

No matter how much the Administration tries to spin the facts, it was an unprovoked attack on Eglin Air Force Base without any warning being given.

Secondly, the Administration ordered General Erickson to retake the Marine Base at Paris Island and the Marine Air Base, both in South Carolina. Once again it was to be a sneak attack but our Intel had managed to find out about it beforehand. We started evacuating the base several days before the date of the attack, leaving only a handful of volunteers to keep the surveillance drones off track.  Everyone was fully evacuated long before the first bombs fell.

One of their Cruise Missiles malfunctioned and fell in a housing development in Beaufort. A long shot from one of the ship’s deck guns fell just outside of Paris Island killing two innocent civilians.

The American Revolutionary Militia has been formed to fight against the illegal and immoral orders issued by the President of the United States. People of America, we cannot afford to have a government that wants to control every aspect of our lives. The only protection we have to preserve the Constitution is the second amendment. Once that is gone, it is easy to get rid of the Bill of Rights. The first ten amendments will go out the window and no one will be able to stop it.

Anyone that believes in this country, cherishes their freedom, and is willing to fight for it, is welcome to join the ARM. It is time to stop sticking our heads in the sand and stand up for freedom and the Constitution of the United States.

A later broadcast will give those interested in joining the American Revolutionary Militia directions to find a recruitment location.

God Bless America and my fellow citizens. Goodnight.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“Mr. President. You heard what Brigadier General Adams said on the radio. How do you respond to that?” the TV announcer asked.

“It seems fairly obvious, the man is delusional. First, he is a retired, General. Not on active duty as he was trying to get people to believe. This so called army of his is nothing more than a ragtag bunch of misfits."

“So none of what he said was true?”

“That they sank an American fighting ship, the USS Harry S. Truman, that part was true. A treasonous act of cowardness. What he basically said was that he is responsible for the loss of the lives of American sailors and airmen and women aboard the ship.”

“What about the attacks on Paris Island and the Marine Air Base?”

“What about it? It’s back under American control. Mission accomplished.”

“What were their losses?”

“We will release the final number after verification. At this point it would be premature to give a number.”

“We have heard that there was no one at the base.”

“Tell that to our fighting men and women that captured the base. I think you will get a far different story. For actual numbers I suggest you contact the proper people. General Erickson, General Ascot, Admiral Swanson, and General Winfield can certainly set the record straight.”

“And the civilian causalities?”

“I have no information on that. I believe General Erickson has addressed that. If I recall, something about shooting down one of their planes,” the President said.

“Sir. We have verified through independent sources that it was indeed a Cruise Missile that hit the subdivision in Beaufort, South Carolina.”

“Well, that’s certainly news to me. I think it would be best if you didn’t believe any unnamed or unverified sources until we have had a chance to authenticate the findings.”

“So you still believe it was an aircraft not a missile?”

“I have no reason to believe otherwise.”

“Any comments about the American Revolutionary Military?”

“Such as?”

“What kind of problems they present.”

“They are like flies. They are bothersome but hardly dangerous. We are in the process of bringing them under control and this very moment.”

“Really? All six hundred thousand of them?” and announcer said.

“What? Where did you get that figure? It’s a total fabrication. There are no more than a few hundred at most.”

“It seems militias from around the country have joined in with the six military bases that refused to follow your commands. The number is over six hundred thousand. That is the low estimate. The high is closer to one million.”

“I don’t know where you are getting your numbers but they are flat wrong,” Quasim said.

“One last question Mr. President. What is the true intent of revising the second amendment and Operation Clean Sweep?”

“I would think that is obvious. To reduce crime. Get the guns off the streets so our children will be safe.  Too many people feel that grabbing a handy gun is the answer. We need to make sure that anyone that has a firearm has a legitimate need for it.Guns sitting around the house are accidents just waiting to happen,” he said looking somberly into the camera.

****

HEADLINE NEWS – In a shocking development seventeen states have announced that they are seceding from the Union. Senators for all seventeen states signed the declaration stating that they would no longer answer to the US Government or abide by any ruling of the US Supreme Court.

They have formed their own government. They have named former Vice President James Jason as the new President of the American Republic States. The former Vice President said that he could no longer tolerate the policies of the current administration nor the direction in which President Quasim and Secretary of State Hanna Cole were leading the nation.

“For some reason they believe that they are above the law, not accountable to the American people, and can do whatever they please, including rewriting the US Constitution. Not all Americans can or will accept that.  I am one that will not. I was asked to join the American Republic States and am honored to serve as their President,” Jason said.

Reaction from around the world has been shock and unbelief. Russian President Michaela said that he never thought that America would go the way Soviet Union did. “I suppose there is a certain poetic justice to it,” he is quoted as saying.

President Quasim has not made a statement but White House Spokesperson Kendra Cox said that the President is considering all options. Obviously sanctions would be immediately imposed but he is not ruling out decisive military action.

The seventeen states are:

Florida                                          Georgia

Texas                                          Mississippi

Louisiana                            Indiana

Wyoming                             New Mexico

Oklahoma                             South Dakota

South Carolina               North Carolina

Kentucky                             Tennessee

Arkansas                             Missouri

Nebraska

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The President was in a total meltdown. His face was red and he was breathing so heavily that the others in the room were afraid he might have a stroke.

“Mr. President. We will handle this. It’s a ploy more than anything,” Adam Little said.

“Ploy,” he almost shouted, his voice breaking.

“Sir, they can’t exist with all of the sanctions we are imposing.  Nothing shipped into the seceding states. Cutting all power and water supplies that are controlled by us.  No flights in or out. We have started setting up border patrols.  Sir, they can’t possibly pull this off.”

“Can’t? They are. They have set up a government and that traitor Jason knows everything about us. Have any of you stopped to think about where our largest gold supply is? Fort Knox, Kentucky. You think they are going to hand it over? Weapons. Where are most of our medium and short range missiles stored? In the isolated states in Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico. If we don’t take stronger action than just sanctions they will have the upper hand.”

“Mr. President. We can’t just start dropping bombs or sending missiles. We need to find a way to negotiate with them,” the Secretary of Defense said.

“Negotiate,” the President shouted, his voice cracking, “Negotiate with traitors? I’ll negotiate with them alright. I’ll have them bombed back into the stone age.”

“Sir. I know you’re upset with them now but give it time. They just can’t pull this off. At some point they will come crawling back,” Secretary of Navy Kellerman replied.

“We will be lucky if we aren’t the ones crawling. The only way to stop this before it spreads is to hit them and hit them hard. I am not going to negotiate with those traitors. We are going to take military action,” the President said forcefully.

Only Secretary of State Hanna Cole was smiling when they left the Oval Office.

****

At 0300 the first bombs fell on Atlanta. B-52s dropped their deadly cargo on the sleeping city. Using I 75 as a marker, the beginning point was the huge Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Tons of bombs were dropped as the planes slowly worked their way north. One of the heaviest concentrations was in the downtown area. Buildings crumbled under the intense bombing. The second wave started just north of I-20 and continued all the way to Marietta, Georgia on Atlanta’s far north side.

Fire trucks raced around the city trying to put out the burning inferno but to little avail. Fires raged through the close packed houses around the Philips Arena and the Georgia Dome.

The forty B-52H bombers unleashed over one million, four hundred thousand tons of bombs.

At the exact same time another squadron off fifty B-52H bombers were attacking Houston, Texas. They started their run near Baytown in the eastern suburbs and cut across the heart of the city. Using Minute Maid Park as a waypoint, they broke into two groups, one heading south and the other north.

Like Atlanta, the fire and police were overloaded and most of the fires burned out of control. By the time they had closed their bomb bay doors, they had dropped almost one million seven hundred tons of iron bombs on the inhabitants.

Only one B-52 was lost and that was due to a mechanical problem. None were shot down or destroyed by aircraft.

****

HEADLINE NEWS – Houston, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia were attacked by B-52 bombers last night. Ninety bombers took off from several air bases in the early hours and dropped bombs on the two cities.

President Quasim said that he would continue the strikes until the seventeen states returned to the Union.

“This response is just the beginning. We will continue to step up our attacks until the traitors are overthrown. No state will be allowed to secede from the Union,” he said.

Secretary of Defense Roland Clarke said that this was just a warning. Full military operations will be brought to bear on the rogue states until they return to the fold.

“This is the United States of America. No one or collection of states will ever be allowed to break away from the Union. We will simply not stand for it,” he said.

General Adams of the American Revolutionary Militia said that this unprovoked attack was done by cowards occupying the White House. They have shown what kind of leadership Americans are following. Bombing American cities and killing civilians shows what kind of evil the American people are dealing with.

“They have proven themselves to be nothing less than murderers of innocent civilians. Women and children perished under an unprovoked hail of bombs from a megalomaniac,” President Jason of the new American Republic States, said at a news conference.

****

The American Republic States launched a retaliatory missile attack the next night. The submarines USS Virginia SSN-174 and the USS New Hampshire SSN-175 attacked Richmond, Virginia. Each submarine fired twelve BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles. They had been programed to explode mostly on the west side of the Jefferson Davis Highway and north of I-85. The area was primarily a high industrial area. They made sure that nothing near high population residential areas were targeted.

The second attack was against Buffalo, New York. Fifty MGM-109 ATAc missiles were fired. While not as devastating as the Cruise Missiles they are powerful nonetheless. The missiles were aimed for the middle of the city.  Most of the city center was left smoldering by the time it was all over. Fewer than two hundred were killed combined and another four hundred reported injured.

CHAPTER TWENTY

“It could have been a lot worse,” the TV commentator said.

“They didn’t have to do it at all,” Senator Felix from Virginia replied.

“It could have been New York City and Washington D.C. just as easy. The number killed would be much greater.”

“Tell that to the people of Richmond as they bury their dead,” the Senator shot back.

“Did you think that nothing would happen after the bombings in Houston, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia?”

“They are traitors to this great nation. They got exactly what they were asking for.”

“So you feel that the bombings of Houston and Atlanta were justified but not the retaliation against Richmond and Buffalo.”

“That is exactly right. We didn’t start this. They did when they started all this bellyaching about the second amendment. You have to be a total gun nut to think that anyone outside of the military needs a gun. Those people are illiterate rednecks that should never be allowed to touch a gun.”

“Senator, you are oversimplifying the position they are taking. It isn’t just the second amendment they are concerned about but the whole Bill of Rights.”

“Hogwash. The second amendment has nothing to do with the others. That’s just window dressing. No one wants to limit the first amendment or any of the others. This is about keeping the American people safe and nothing more,” the Senator replied.

“And how do you ensure that nothing will happen to the other amendments?” the commentator asked.

“We are the government. We have no reason to lie about something like that. No one has designs to change the Constitution,” he answered.

****

What started out small in the scope of major wars quickly escalated. Fighting broke out all across the country. Chaos was rampant as those trying to flee from the seceding states to the United States took on epic proportions.

It was far from one sided. Hundreds of thousands were fleeing to the American Republic States as well. Many chose to relocate to the non-committed states of Iowa, Nevada, and North Dakota.

The western seaboard had remained quiet about their intent. There was even some talk of the three states, California, Washington State, and Oregon forming their own Republic. They were so far removed by distance that it would make it difficult to remain a part of the United States.

Even those states were not immune from violence. Cities like Los Angeles, Van Nuys, San Jose, and Oakland had deadly riots that took over a week to bring under control.

The military ships, along with the Marines and Army personnel on the west coast were relocating to the east coast. That left California with only a few reserves to help the police with enforcing curfew.

Even the Air Force had its share of problems. Canada, Mexico, and all the countries all the way to Peru and Brazil refused to allow any planes fly over their air space.

The reason was simple. They would be choosing sides in an American Civil War and they could find themselves on the losing side in the future. It was safer simply not to allow any American planes in their air space.

Of course this immediately led to sanctions by the Administration. They restricted all travel to those countries and shut off financial aid.

****

Mexico was carefully watching the war with its own plans. Once all of the military was removed from the western states it would offer an excellent opportunity to drive the Americans out of Baja. Depending on the actions of the US, they could then consider reclaiming California.

The Mexican President, Señor Hermilo Medrano, authorized his top military Generals to begin work on increasing the military in size and to draw up plans to reclaim California.

Canada on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the war taking place to the south of them. They immediately started closing their borders and increased the amount of patrols along the southern border of Canada. The last thing they wanted was to get caught in the middle of what they considered to be an internal affair.

Panama was in one of the most, if not the most, difficult positions. While they had refused the American Air Force to use their air space, shipping was a different story. Closing the canal to US ships would put them in jeopardy of being bombed and put out of commission for years to come. Allowing US ships to traverse the cannel could be equally risky.

An ambassador was dispatched to both the United States and the American Republic to discuss the situation. After weeks of negations, it was decided by all parties that US commercial ships would be allowed to use the canal but no war ships from either side would be permitted passage.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The American Republic States had patched together a government consisting of the President, James Jason and Vice President Senator Zack Folly from Florida. Rather than emulate the United States they decided on doing away with the Senate and House of Representatives. In their place each state would elect two CITIZEN REPRESENTATIVES and they would be the voice of the people.

Citizen Representative’s terms would be for six years but with a provision that if they did not obtain at least a fifty-five percent approval rating they would be replaced. The maximum number of terms allowed would be three.

The President and Vice President would both serve six year terms as well but could not repeat terms. One six year term was all that was allowed. Any President or Vice President not having at least fifty-five percent approval rating was subject to impeachment. It was harsh but effective in making sure that the President was accountable to the people.

The traditional cabinet was jettisoned as well. New positions were appointed by the President and included:

MILITARY SUPREME COMMANDER: General MacMillan

REPUBLIC AFFAIRS CHIEF: Senator Mary Lake

INTERNAL AFFAIRS CHIEF: Senator Beau Zimmerman

TREASURY CHIEF: TRANSPORTATION CHIEF: Unnamed

JUDICIAL CHIEF:  Honorable Jackson Miller

Originally the Capital was going to be Atlanta, Georgia but the devastation caused by the United States bombing meant that a new location had to be chosen. Cities such as Memphis, Little Rock, and Nashville were all considered. They finally settled on Nashville, Tennessee.

****

Month three of the Civil War heralded more and more skirmishes along the borders of the two opposing forces. Fighting intensified along the Ohio, West Virginia, and Virginia State boundaries. Not only the regular military but civilians started joining together to protect their property.

Some of the most intense fighting took place from Portsmouth, Ohio along the Ohio River down to Huntington, West Virginia. It became one of the most bloody battles in terms of one-on-one fighting.

It started over the control of the Ironton-Russell bridge that spanned the Ohio River. Bitter fighting broke out with both sides drawing more and more men and women into the battle. Most of the combatants were regular citizens who were fighting for what they considered an essential crossing.

The battle raged back and forth with both sides encroaching on the other’s territory as circumstances changed. The battle stretched along the Ohio River as each side tried to gain control.

****

“Allen, I don’t want you to go on this raid. I have a bad feeling about it.”

“Baby, you say that every time. I have to go. Bob and his people have crossed the Greenup Damn. They have been making their way down, keeping to the woods to flank Kinkaid’s army.”

“Allen, that’s all well and good but do you have to go on this mission? You have already crossed over at least a dozen times.

“Honey, this is our home. Our country now. Of course I have to go. How could I sit at home while others risk their lives? We are all in this. No one can just stand by and hope for the best.”

Janet closed her eyes, fighting back tears. For the past three months her husband had been crossing the river and fighting. Each time she felt like it would be his last time. The odds were going to catch up with him eventually.

“Honey, it will be alright. Morton has a good plan in place. Maybe the best we have ever had. Having Bob Kingman pulling a flanking maneuver is going to give us an incredible edge,” Allen told her.

“Then if they can’t get in position or it doesn’t work. Then what?”

“Then whatever happens, happens. I have to trust in my Maker to watch over me.”

“That’s a great sentiment but there are millions of us fighting. He isn’t going to watch over all of you or no one would get killed.”

“That’s not the way it works and you know it. Honey, you have to accept the fact that I am going this time. Probably the next time and the time after that until this is finished,” he told her.

“You are so damn stubborn. You can’t let it go this one time. You have to go be a hero. I hate that part of you.”

He didn’t respond for several seconds. He knew the strain she was under. She wasn’t the type that could take a lot of hardship and the stress of battle was wearing her down. She was a good woman and he loved her dearly but she just couldn’t come to grips with why he had to go fight for his new country.

“Jan, I love you baby but our country needs me. I am fighting for our rights to make a better place for us to live and raise the children. If I don’t do this, how will I ever live with myself?”

“Damn it. I want you to live with me. You aren’t much good to me dead,” she said angrily.

“And I won’t be much good to myself if I don’t do this,” was his reply.

Allen spent the rest of the day getting ready. He had decided to take his heavy barreled Scar 17s that used the 7.52 x 54mm rounds. He liked the additional punch over the standard AR-15s. He sat loading extra magazines while reviewing his part of the mission.

He would be leading fifty men south to Ashland and then crossing the Ohio River. This would put them south of Ironton. They would then work their way north until they reached a point where State Road 141 crosses Highway 54. That would put them directly across from Ohio University’s Southern Campus. They would remain there until the main attack started.

A group of nearly ten thousand militia fighters would then attack at the Ashland Ohio River Bridge. Another ten-thousand would attack at the Ironton-Russell Bridge. The idea was to form a pincer attack and encircle the opposing forces of Seth Kinkaid’s Army.

It would take precision timing and most of all, a good deal of luck.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Using Demarre Inflatable Boats they crossed the Ohio at 0330 hours. They met no opposition and were able to quickly get ashore without a shot being fired. The first two inflatables were loaded with twenty men and women in each. The third inflatable carried ten men and additional munitions and medical supplies.

From start to finish it took just slightly over an hour to get everyone across. They divided up the extra munitions and started slowly making their way north sticking to the heavily wooded surrounding areas. It was slow going but it was necessary if they were going to remain undetected.

****

“What do you think?” Allen's second in command asked.

“All in all, it went remarkable well. The inflatables did a fantastic job.”

“We are slightly ahead of schedule. Do you want to keep pushing or have the men take a break?”

“We need to keep going. I want to be on the other side of Highway 52 before it starts to get light.  Once over we can find a place to rest. For now we have to keep pushing.”

“Alright. I’ll pass the word down the line and the reason. That should keep grumbling to a minimum,” the second in command said.

“They can grumble all the want but it’s what we have to do,” Allen replied.

They arrived at the crossing at 05:50 hours. It was later than Allen would have liked. They were forced to slow down several times as they came to small groups of houses.

“What do you think?”

“It’s getting pretty light. Fortunately not many cars have gone by while it is still dark. We need to cross in twos. I want everyone down except the two crossing. Once on the other side, they need to make it to the tree line. No screwing around, everyone needs to hustle,” Allen said.

“I’ll cross first and make sure the others keep moving.”

“Good. I’ll be the last over. Go ahead and get started,” Allen told him.

Within minutes the men were in position and paired off. The second in command made a dash across the four lanes of road and immediately dropped to the ground. He looked back up and down the road quickly and then motioned for the first pair.

They made a mad dash and kept on going until they reached the trees. Only two cars held them up but it was almost daybreak before Allen was able to make to the other side.

Once they were all across, Allen had them stop and take an hour break. Most nodded off but some immediately chowed down on MREs. Allen spent the time making sure he knew exactly where they were going and working out how long it was going to take them.

****

While things were going smoothly for Allen’s men, all was not going so well with Bob Ricker’s men and women. They ran into opposition when they crossed the Greenup Dam. It wasn’t too heavy but it slowed them down and alerted others to their presence.

As they made their way south, they stumbled upon a group of West Virginia Militia near county road 276 and Ohio Furnace Road. It took over two hours to finally subdue the opposition. In the course of the skirmish, sixteen of his men were killed and twenty-one wounded.  His unit strength had been depleted by fourteen percent. By the time the skirmish was over they had lost another six hours.

Jerry Falkner was the leader of the main attack group at the Ironton-Russell Bridge. They were going to use everything in their arsenal to take the bridge once and for all. Skydivers would take off from Ashland Regional Airport and drop along the south side of Highway 52. Boats would travel up and down the river, raking the shoreline with machinegun fire while others ferried soldiers over.  Three thousand would storm across the bridge and quickly force a salient. The second wave would expand the bulge and they would start the squeeze with the help of Allen's and Bob’s people.

****

Most military plans look great on paper but once the initial shots are fired they usually go to hell almost immediately. The opposition hardly ever behaves the way you have predicted.

Allen could hear the first rounds from the mortars across the river as they impacted in Ironton.  He sent scouts forward to report back on what was happening. The two radios they had brought had stopped working almost immediately.

Bob Ricker was way out of position when the attack began. In an effort to get into position they rushed straight into a group of one hundred plus Ohio Militia and Army Reserves. A ferocious fire fight broke out with both sides suffering causalities and wounded.

This left the pincer maneuver vulnerable to the north. Allen decided he could no longer wait to link up with Bob’s combatants and started his attack from the rear. The troops at the Ashland Bridge were also engaged in heavy fighting. Mortars rained down on both sides causing a high death toll for the two groups of combatants.

The battle plan had called for no more than one hour to cross the Ashland Ohio Bridge. Three hours later the mêlée was still going strong with neither side making headway. Kinkaid’s Ohio Militia had been well placed to block the attackers. He managed to find just the right instant to shift his people to where they were needed most. Time and time again they pushed back the marauders and were able to keep control of the Ironton Bridge.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“They aren’t getting across,” Allen said.

“Where in the hell are Bob’s people?”

“They must have run into trouble. We are going to have to keep pressing if we are going to take the bridge,” Allen said.

“This is all going to hell. Bob’s group is missing and we haven’t seen hide nor hair of Ben Appleton’s army. Hell they have almost ten thousand fighters. Why in the hell aren’t they here to link up with us?”

Allen didn’t reply. He knew it was frustration talking. Obviously both groups had run into heavy opposition. He watched through his binoculars as the battle for the Ironton Bridge unfolded.

Finally he said, “Look right there at those warehouses by the railroad tracks. They have spotters up on the roof. If we could take them out it would really put a dent in the accuracy of the mortar rounds going out. They would have no direction spotters.”

“Yeah, but look at what we would need to do. We would have to go right down Park Avenue, right through the heart of town.”

“So? They are fighting to the west. We can go over on 7th Street to Railroad Street and then follow it down to the warehouses.”

“Even if we take the spotters, they are going to know something is wrong pretty darn quick.”

“We just take over the spotting. Give them the wrong information and that will give our people a chance to push across,” Allen told him.

“Man, I wish Bob or Ben would show up.”

“We can’t wait for that. We have to move and do it now. Much longer and Jerry is going to break off the attack. We will be stuck here on our own. Get the men ready. We are going to take those warehouses.”

“Oh crap,” was all he said as he went off to get the men ready to move out.

****

They proceeded down Railroad Street without incident. It was easier than they had anticipated. No one was outside and the windows were closed. Most had the binds and drapes pulled shut. The first brief fire fight erupted when they came upon ten of the Ohio Militia resting beside a building on South Street. It was over quickly with all ten being killed in the brief exchange.

They continued to the back of the warehouses and found four access ladders to the roof. Within minutes they had scrambled up the ladders and were pressed behind the first ten A/C units. They were able to listen to the spotters report to the mortar teams.

Allen whispered to the men next to him, “When we take them you grab the headsets and start calling in false coordinates. Two things will happen most likely. Your voice will make them wonder and the new coordinates may cause some problems. Tell them if they ask that you have just relieved the other man and Kinkaid has found another threat position that needs immediate action. Don’t argue with them, just tell them what has to be done or else. Be assertive. Any questions?”

“Where do you want them to aim?”

“Back toward the airport. Obviously they took it out before the skydivers could get off the ground. Tell them that they had made temporary repairs and it must be stopped,” Allen told him.

They all looked skeptical but no one said anything else.

“Ready? Go, go, go.”

They rushed out from behind the air conditioner units and the spotters were so intent on what they were doing they were within arm’s reach before they realized they were being attacked. The headsets were quickly ripped off the spotter’s heads. Hardly a blip went by before Allen’s men were calling in new coordinates.

A minute later the shells started falling harmlessly toward the airfield. It would only be a matter of time before Kinkaid realized something was wrong and sent a team to find out why they had changed directions. Allen’s men took up defensive positions and waited for the inevitable confrontation.

Kinkaid was slower to react than Allen had dared to hope for. Falkner, realizing that something had changed, mounted an all-out charge across the bridge. This time they were able to push Kinkaid’s fighters back far enough to establish a foothold.

The battle was brutal with hand to hand combat taking place at various times. The battle raged for six hours with neither side willing to give an inch. Building to building, the fighting continued until dusk. At 1800 hours Ben Appleton’s fighters were able to break through and link up with the main force.

Kinkaid’s men were trapped. The only means of escape was north but by that time, Bob Ricker’s militia was there to cut them off. Even then it didn’t end. Fighting went on for three more hours before what was left of Kinkaid’s militia was willing to surrender.

Seth Kinkaid was seriously wounded but stood tall when he finally handed over his guns. He made no apologies for his men.

“Mr. Kinkaid. I regret that it has come to this. A lot of American blood was shed here today. We will make sure your dead receive a proper burial.”

“If you don’t mind, we would prefer to bury our own. They were my men, fighting under my leadership. I would like to see to their final rest.”

“I understand Mr. Kinkaid. Would you permit us to help with readying the graves? It would go much faster that way.”

“Yes. That would be satisfactory,” he said and bowed slightly.

By the time it was over, fifteen thousand men and women had died and nearly twenty thousand were wounded. It was the bloodiest non-professional military battle to date. It would not be the last.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

President Quasim was beside himself with each newscast. While they were certainly not losing by any stretch of the imagination he wanted total victory. He wanted James Jason brought to justice and tried for treason.

More than that, he wanted the so called American Republic States crushed. He would impose such strict sanctions that they would beg for forgiveness. He was the President of the United States and absolutely no one was going to defy him.

“General Erickson, I want you to start drawing up a plan for a full scale invasion of the American Republic. I want to knock them on their butts. This has gone on far too long. I want this ended.”

“Sir. I understand, but when you say a full scale invasion are you talking about bombing cities and dropping in troops?”

“I don’t care what it takes. Use everything in your bag of tricks to make it happen. I want results. I am not going to sit here while they thumb their noses at us. I want you to go for a knockout punch.”

“Mr. President you are talking about killing hundreds of thousands of American citizens. If we start bombing cities they will retaliate just like the last time.”

“General, perhaps you are not understanding me. I want a plan to bring them to their knees no matter what it takes. Do you understand?”

“Sir I do. I understand you perfectly but I cannot in good conscience obey that order,” Erickson said.

“What?” the President said, jumping up from his desk chair.

“Are you telling me you refuse to obey a direct order from the Commander-in-Chief?” he shouted.

“Sir I have followed every order you have given me to the best of my ability. Many times I did not agree with the decisions but as a military officer I carried them out just the same. Now you are asking me to kill hundreds of thousands of civilians. Sir that I will not do.”

“General Erickson, you are relieved of your command. You will be placed under arrest and tried for treason,” the President said picking up the phone and dialing.  His face was covered with red blotches and his hands trembled.

Within moments, three Military Police entered the Oval Office and placed General Erickson under arrest. The President glared at him as he was escorted from the room.

“Well, that was certainly entertaining,” Hanna Cole said.

“Don’t start on me. This is not the time,” he said.

“I wasn’t going to ‘start’ on you. I think that was a very decisive move. You didn’t take any crap from him. That will send a clear message to the rest of the soldier boys that you mean business.”

The President looked at her to see if she was mocking him. He decided she wasn’t.

“So who do we replace him with?” he asked.

“It’s certainly your choice, but I would suggest General Ascot.”

“Why him?” he asked.

“First of all he is a Marine. All they know is that when they are given an order they carry it out or die trying. It’s the way they are wired. Second, he is pretty darn sharp. If anyone can come up with a plan to squash the opposition it will be Phil,” Hanna replied.

“What about Erickson? Do you think that will cause him concern?”

“Why should it? You gave the order and he refused to follow it. What choice did you have? Maybe you should push Erickson’s trial ahead quickly and then have him shot for treason. They still shoot people that commit treason don’t they?”

“Hell if I know but I’m sure it can be arranged,” the President said.

“My second suggestion would be Admiral Swanson. I think she has the fortitude to pull it off but she has limited knowledge about how to fight anything but a war at sea. We are going to need more than that,” Hanna replied.

“I agree. Ascot is the best choice.”

“We should call in the Secretary of the Navy, Homeland, and Clarke from Defense. You need to make sure they are totally on board with your decision.”

“Alright, I’ll call a meeting for later this afternoon,” the President said.

****

General Joel Adams was now working with a militia approaching twenty thousand men and women. Colonel Ben Timmons was his executive officer and Colonel Brenda Yar was the intelligence officer.

General Adams had a unique approach to each battle they fought. He would have his executive officer preside over the briefings. Colonel Yar would then give them all of the pertinent Intel that they had. The most unusual part was that the tactician team made up of Colonel Ashford, Major Knight, and Major Kerns would present the actual battle plans. The rest of the officers were encouraged to make suggestions or ask for clarification. A free flow of information was not only encouraged but sought out.

Of the twenty-three battles they had participated in, there KIA rate was less than ten percent which is an amazing number considered they were out gunned by as much as five to one on many skirmishes.

General Adams was smart enough to realize that the way wars were fought were much different during his time. He picked the top people and let them have the responsibility.

****

Colonel Yar had just finished with her intelligence report on the upcoming battle that would take place near the North Carolina border. A major buildup of United Stated Army and Marines forces was being staged in a small town just a few miles across the border in a place called Danville, Virginia.

Intelligence had discovered that the US had developed a plan to invade Greensboro, North Carolina and then split into two groups.  The Marines would then head to Raleigh while the Army would go southwest to Charlotte. This would create a huge bulge into the American Republic creating a gap where they could funnel in additional troops and materials.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

“They will most likely take this road just before they cross the border,” Colonel Ashford said pointing to a back road labeled Old 29. I believe they will favor that road instead of Rock Quarry Road because it goes west and would take them too close to the new four lane Highway 29. Old 29 would take them all the way to Greensboro,” he said stopping to bring up another map.

“Obviously we can’t let that happen so we are going to let them come to us. They will be using drones, spy planes, satellites, and anything else they can think of to make sure the path is clear. We intend to accommodate them until they get to this point right here,” the Colonel said, pointing to a spot on the map where Old 29 and Goodman Road intersected, “We will use this area to hunker down in.

He was pointing to a large wooded area just east of the intersection.

“Sir,” someone shouted out.

“Is that you Lieutenant Webber?” he asked.

“Yes sir.”

“Go ahead.”

“Sir, did you really just say ‘hunker down’?” the Lieutenant asked and everyone cracked up including the General.

“Yes, I’m afraid I did actually. It just popped into my head,” he said and another round of laughter went around the room.

“Thank you for the clarification Major,” Lieutenant Webber said.

“Yes, well getting back to it,” he said and went on to explain how the attack would take place.

After a few tweaks to the plan, everyone seemed confident that the element of surprise would help them immensely. They needed it since they were going to be heavily outnumbered.

They would have air support as well but they were pretty sure the US troops would as well so that would not be a major advantage. General Adams approved the plan and it was set into motion.

****

“We have the element of surprise on our side. By taking this road, Old 29 we will be too far off the highway to be spotted. Two platoons will act as point and be in constant contact with the main body. Choppers will be in the air just over the border until we reach Pelham. At that point they will cross the border and land at the rock quarry. They will remain there until we reach the next waypoint and then move up again. I don’t want to call them in until we make solid contact,” General Ascot said.

“Once Greensboro is taken we will split up and the Marines will take Raleigh and the Army will continue on to take Charlotte. As soon as Greensboro is taken we will notify General Winfield and he will start moving troops into the bulge. We will be well supplied and have reinforcements if needed,” he told his staff.

“Any questions?”

No one spoke up. It wasn’t a good idea to question General Ascot.  He had been known to reduce an officer's rank for questioning his plans.

****

“Thank you for coming,” President Quasim said as Hanna Cole took a seat.

“What can I do for you Mr. President?”

“I’ll get right to the point. I know we don’t see eye to eye on many things. Actually most things.  You think I am too cautious and I think you are too aggressive,” he said pausing to look at her for a moment.

“I see,” she said, her neck starting to get red.

Here it comes, she thought. He is going to remove me from the Secretary of State position. Well, he was certainly going to get a piece of her mind before she left.

“Having said that, I think it is time for me to make some changes to the Administration,” he said.

“Meaning?” she said.

She was getting wound up. Her voice was starting to climb.

“Hang on Hanna. Don’t go blowing your stack just yet,” he said.

“Sir. I’m not stupid. I can see what is coming.”

“Hanna. This is exactly what I meant when I said you are too aggressive. You make decisions before you have all the facts. If you could learn to keep your emotions in check and your mouth closed until you have all of the details, you might find that you would make better decisions,” he admonished.

She didn’t say anything for several seconds.

“Alright Mr. President. I’ve been told that upon occasion but often too much information only clouds the situation as well.”

“Listen Hanna. What I called you here for is to ask you if you would consider taking the Vice President position now that Jason has become a traitor to his country.”

Her mouth almost dropped open and her eyes got wide. She must not have heard correctly. He was offering her the Vice Presidency? It made no sense to her. They were like oil and water. Why would he do this?

“Uh...I hardly know what to say. I...mean we seldom agree on anything. Why would you want me to serve as the Vice President?”

“Because as angry as I get with you at times, you tend to think outside the box and after you have left I will often think about what you have said. I still don’t always agree but at least it gets me thinking. We both have the same goal in reality. We have been going at it from different directions. Maybe together we can plot a course of action that will get the job done while compromising in a positive way instead of just butting heads,” Quasim said.

“I hardly know what to say,” Hanna said.

It was one of the rare times she didn’t have a sharp comeback.

“Do you want some time to think about it?”

“Yes...I mean no. No, I don’t need any time. I would be honored to take the position as Vice President,” she finally managed to get out.

“Good. That’s excellent. I’ll inform the press and you can hold a press conference on your own if you wish,” he told her.

“Wow. This is certainly one powerful demonstration of the problem of not waiting to get all the facts. I was sure you were going to fire me as Secretary of State,” she said, shaking her head.

“Well, I guess in a way I did,” he said and chuckled. She laughed as well. That was maybe another first.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“Captain, something is wrong with the drone,” the Sargent said.

“What’s that mean exactly?”

“We’re not sure sir. The temperature gauge and oil pressure readings suddenly spiked and then it started losing power.”

“It crashed?”

“Not exactly. I mean it’s like it doesn’t have enough power to climb. We can’t get it to come up but a few feet at most.”

“But it is still sending back signals? Audio and video?” the Captain asked.

“Yes sir. Everything is working except we can’t get it to climb.”

“Okay. We will proceed as long as we are getting video. If we lose that, let me know immediately.”

“Yes sir.”

Captain Miller went through a mental checklist of what could have gone wrong with the drone but if the experts couldn’t figure it out there was no use for him to worry about it. Video was the only really important thing. He put it in the back of his mind and started the troops moving again.

They had made it to the rock quarry without any trouble. Only two cars had come down Old 29 and they quickly stopped them and held them. He wasn’t going to let anyone sound the alert. Obviously they were not at all happy about it but there was nothing they could do.

****

“You have control of the drone, right?”

“Yes sir. We sent them a few fake readings but not enough to try to call it back and fix it. They are keeping it going and we are controlling how high it goes.”

“Where is it now?”

“Just about a mile ahead of Goodman Road. We will keep it below treetop level until it is well past that area”

“Good. Let me know the minute it is safe to move into position. I’m going to send the flanking team now so they can be behind them when they go by.”

“Yes sir. The minute they are past,” the controller replied.

Fifteen minutes later the controller reported that the drone was safely by. They would wait until the main body of US troops were approaching Goodman road before they crashed it.

****

“Captain Miller,” the Sargent yelled, breathless after running to catch up.

“Now what?”

“The drone suddenly went up about twenty feet and then nosed straight down.”

“It crashed?”

“Yes sir.”

“Any idea what caused it?”

“No sir. I’ve been doing this for five years and I have never seen one act like that.”

“Software glitch?

“I don’t know sir. We need to get it back and see if we can figure out what caused it. Maybe the receiver failed.”

“Okay. Take a Humvee and a couple of men and go retrieve the thing. I'll call for another one. I’ll give the men a break here until you get back.”

“Yes sir,” he said and started running back down the line.

“Listen up. The drone crashed. We are going to wait here while Sargent Primm goes to retrieve it. You can fall out but do not leave the road under any circumstances. Okay, fall out,” he yelled.

The soldiers quickly found a shady place to drop their packs and most started to stretch out. Captain Miller didn’t like where they were situated. It was far too open but there wasn’t a lot he could do about it at the moment. He found a shady spot and sat down. He was hoping this wasn’t going to take too long.

****

“Alright. As soon as we engage, you call in the choppers. We want to make sure our men are well back off the road because they will come in hot,” he told his radioman.

“Yes sir. Once we are fully engaged,” he repeated.

“Everyone. Get ready. On my signal we open fire, not before. Advance to the attack jump off point,” he ordered.

The men began to silently creep forward until they could see the road. The US soldiers were lounging around, talking and laughing. Most were doing what soldiers usually do, catching some shut eye.

“Pick your target, was the message spoken softly and passed down the line.

“Ready.”

He took one more quick look, “FIRE.”

A hellacious barrage of automatic and semi-automatic weapons started expending shells. The US soldiers were sitting ducks. They didn’t know what was happening. Many stood up and started to run but were cut down immediately.

Grenades were tossed and shoulder fired missiles slammed into the confused troops. Some of the more experienced ones knew that they needed to keep low and return fire, even if they didn’t exactly know where the enemy was.

Captain Miller was frantically trying to get a perimeter established and was yelling for his men to take cover. He had just sent one of his Corporals to pass the word to pull back down the road when a bullet blew through his lower jaw, severing his tongue and taking out most of his teeth. He was knocked to the ground and lay with his eyes open, uncomprehending what had just happened.”

He realized that someone was above him speaking but he couldn’t hear what they were saying. Suddenly he was being dragged by his backpack along the road for several feet. Another man appeared before him and then everything went dark. He was spared the Apache Helicopters firing 1200 rounds of 30mm bullets a minute, 8 Hellfire rockets and 36 Hydra 70 missiles.

The six AH-64D Apache choppers strafed and bombed all along the culvert beside the road. There was nowhere for the US troops to go.  Lieutenant Dawkins realized that they were in no position to resist and held up a white flag. Actually it was a white tee shirt. It was a few long minutes before the firing ceased. When it died down, he stood up and waved the flag over his head.

The choppers were still on station and it made him very nervous as he stood in the middle of the road.

“You can drop the flag but keep your hands up,” a voice from the tree line yelled.

The young Lieutenant threw down the flag but remained standing still with his hands over his head.

“Walk back to the tree line. Captain Crow will meet you.”

Making sure to keep his hands held high he walked toward the trees. A man stepped out and motioned for him to approach.

“You are?” the Captain asked.

“Sir. Lieutenant Dawkins.”

“Lieutenant. I’m Captain Crow. Do you wish to surrender your troops?”

“Yes sir. We are not in a position to defend ourselves properly. I see no need to sacrifice the remaining men.”

“Very well Lieutenant Dawkins. Have your men remove everything except their tee shirts, pants and boots. Everything else they are to leave. Anyone caught with any kind of weapon will be immediately shot. That means guns, grenades and knives.

“Yes sir. I’ll tell the men. What about the wounded?”

“I have already sent for a dust off. We have twenty inbound choppers as we speak.”

“Thank you sir. May I go tell the men?”

“Yes but remember, we don’t want to find anything that can be used as a weapon.”

“I understand Captain,” he said and saluted smartly.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“Are you telling me that a ragtag bunch of militia ambushed and killed over fifteen hundred of our men while wounding over twenty-five hundred and capturing the rest? Is that what you are telling me?” General Ascot asked. His eyes bored into the Major making the report.

“Sir, that was the message,” the Major said, sweat running down the back of his neck.

The General had a reputation for shooting the messenger.

“And just how is that possible, will you tell me that Major Heller?”

“Sir, I don’t know all of the particulars. Evidently they were waiting for our troops and then jumped them when they were taking a break.”

“Damn it Major. How in the hell did they know when they would take a break? Why were they right at that exact spot? Where the hell was the drone?” he said, his voice rising with every question.

“I don’t know General.”

“Son, when you report something like this to me, you had better have answers. Now get your ass out of here and find out exactly what happened before you report back,” slapping his hand on the desk.

“Yes sir. Right away sir,” the Major said and saluted.

The General let him stand there for almost a minute before he finally saluted back.

****

President James Jason and Vice President Zack Folly sat around a large conference table that had been brought in to the Nashville Capital Building. If the new President of the American Republic States were to look out the window toward 6th Avenue, he would be able to see reminders of the first American Civil War. There was a statue of General Andrew Jackson and the Bell of Freedom. If he really looked hard he might even be able to see the tomb of President James Polk.

Unfortunately, they were not there for the history or the scenery. They were in the midst of forming a new government. Seated around the table were the newly appointed advisors. The purpose of the meeting was to review the old United States of America Constitution and to look at it from a practical standpoint. They wanted to keep the essential elements, especially the Bill of Rights and revise that which was no longer valid.

“My opinion,” President Jason said, “Would be to simplify government and keep the number of members to the minimum necessary to get the job done. Large government is nothing more than a money sucking machine that bleeds the taxpayers.”

“How do we even begin?” Mary Lake, the new Chief of Internal Affairs asked.

“How about starting with my office? The job of the President,” he said and they all looked at him quizzically. “Look, the way I see it the President is not a King. He should have certain rules he has to follow. Backdoor deals, money under the table and secret agendas should not be allowed. That’s what got us into the mess in the first place. The President should set the tone for the country. Our public lives and our private lives should emulate what the country represents,” he said.

“You’re saying that the President should be transparent in the things he does?” Beau Zimmerman the Internal Affairs Chief said.

“Yes. Why shouldn’t the President be accountable to the people on more than the month before elections? Every President polishes his or her accomplishments and tries to bury their indiscretions. Here is what I propose. First, the President should only be allowed to serve one term. It should be for six years.  At the end of the first three years in office, an audit should be done including a poll of the American Republic citizens. The poll should represent at least ten percent of the total adult population. If the President doesn’t receive an approval rating of at least fifty-one percent, he is out. The Vice President finishes out the term,” he said.

It was totally silent in the room. Even the air conditioner seemed to be whispering.

“Let me get this straight. If the people don’t like the job the President is doing they can fire him?” the Vice President asked.

“Certainly. Why not? Why would you want someone in the highest office in the land that is doing a unacceptable job? If you can’t make at least fifty-one percent happy, you aren’t getting the job done to begin with. Toss them out.”

“And the Vice President then becomes the President?”

“Correct. At the end of the three years he can then run for President, but just like his predecessor, he has to have a fifty-one percent approval rating. If not, then he isn’t eligible to run again.

“Wow,” Mary Lake said, shaking her head.

“Wow is right,” General MacMillan, the new Military Supreme Chief echoed.

“That would certainly make sure the President was doing what he was elected to do,” Treasury Chief Allen added.

“Isn’t that the way it should be? Why should the people have to put up with an ineffective leader or one that promises everything and delivers nothing? Think about how many Presidents we have had in the past who have done just that?” Jason said.

“Any other conditions?”

“They should be at least forty-five years old, an American Citizen with proof of birth in the American Republic and have served in one branch of the military.”

“Why?” Judicial Chief Jackson Miller asked.

“How can you be the Commander-in-Chief if you have never been in the military? How do you know the hardships they face, the risks they take, what the budget cuts do to their morale and performance unless you have experienced them? It’s easy to commit our troops to fight for someone else’s problems if you’re not the one that could die or be maimed. They don’t have to have been an officer, just to have served and left with an Honorable Discharge.”

“Doesn’t that limit the number of people that can become President?”

“Yes it does, so what? People, if you are not willing to serve your country, then why should you be given a free pass on everything? I have no use for those that hide behind their parent’s money to get out of serving in the military. Hell, if I had my way, every able bodied citizen would be required to spend at least two years in the service of their country,” he said.

That was met with silence once again.

“You’re talking about a draft?”

“No. I’m talking about a duty,” Jason replied.

The next four hours were spent articulating the job duties and requirements to hold the office of the President of the American Republic.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the Vice President of the United States, Hanna Cole.”

A polite applause rippled through the crowd gathered to hear her first news conference. She looked out over the array of microphones crammed in every conceivable space on the dais.

“Thank you. First I would like to say that it is a privilege to be serving with the President of the United States, Benjamin Quasim. Having worked so closely with him over the past years we have formed a solid working relationship that will forge a better nation.

I have long admired the leadership of the President and look forward to working with him hand in hand over the next two years. I was a little doubtful about giving up the position of Secretary of State but the President reminded me of the greater good.”

She paused but no one clapped. She frowned and then quickly plastered on her game face.

“The President and I have met briefly to determine the course of action that must be taken during the difficult months ahead. This is the United States of American. It is one nation. It is not three nations nor two nations, but one. Those who think they can go off on their own and do as they please are certainly not true Americans.

The President and I have made a pact that the rogue nations calling themselves the American Republic of States will not be allowed to continue. We have only one President and every state answers to his Administration. I stand before you today to let you know that the President and I will not stop until our streets are safe, guns are removed from citizen's hands, and America is united.  Thank you,” she said and stepped away from the microphones.

Immediately reporters started shouting out questions but she chose to ignore them. Instead she turned to her Executive Assistant and whispered something. The assistant stepped to the microphone and held up her hands. She waited until it got quiet again.

“Vice President Cole has asked me to have you hold your questions until after she has had a chance to assimilate her job responsibilities and to have detailed briefings with the President. Once that has taken place she will hold another press conference and answer your questions.”

Immediately more questions were shouted but the two made their way out of the room leaving them clamoring.

****

“Geez. I hate this stuff,” General Adams said.

“There is something fundamentally wrong with killing other American soldiers,” Colonel Timmons agreed.

“What the hell went wrong with this country? I mean, how did we drift so far off center?”

“Baby step by baby step. Think about it for a second General. Starting with John Kennedy, youthful and full of life. Going to lead the nation to being the most powerful, successful country in the world. Going to the moon. Good stuff but then the dark side started to happen. Marilyn Monroe, the Bay of Pigs, a finger on the trigger to start a nuclear war with Russia. It was at that point in time that the morals of the country started to waver.”

“That’s a bit of an oversimplification don’t you think?” Adams asked.

“Really? Look at who was next. LBJ. Crude, big mouthed, classless and too dumb to get to the White House without directions. He wanted to run the Vietnam War from Washington DC. Totally inept. He is the reason we have fifty-eight thousand Americans dead. It was his stupidity.”

“And Nixon was any better?” Adams replied.

“In a lot of ways. At least he did get us out of Vietnam. Yeah, it took too damn long but he kept his promise to get us out of LBJ’s mess. And then you have Carter and Ford. Two bumbling morons that if you put their IQs together you may match a turnip.”

“Holy smokes, Major. How long have you been letting this build up?”

“Too damn long. What the hell is wrong with the American people? Do they really think that Clinton’s lying to the citizens of the country right on national television should be forgiven? What he does in his personal life doesn’t count? The hell it doesn’t. What is the message he is sending? Hey, I’m the President and it’s okay me to screw around.”

“Major that isn’t exactly what I was talking about. What I mean is that it is wrong to fight against fellow Americans. That’s all I was saying.”

“And I’m saying we got to this point because little by little we let our morals slip. Our country's fundamental belief in God has been left out of the equation. Heck, now you're considered a religious nut if you even mention God. Money and power are the new gods. General, that’s what has gotten us to this point.”

“So, how about those Cubs?” the General said, trying to get him off the subject and lighten the mood. The Major was probably right but that isn’t where he had intended for the discussion to go.

“Have you talked to the new President yet?” the Major asked.

“Heavens no. Why would he want to talk to me? I’m a retired General. He has General MacMillan to talk to. He doesn’t need my opinion about anything.”

“I don’t know. It’s going to be a long war. We have done a lot of damage to the US troops. At some point I’ll bet he will want to talk to you.”

****

President Quasim and Vice President Cole were in the Oval Office with General Ascot. It was tense, as almost every meeting had been in the past several months. The President was dressed in jeans and a Stanford sweatshirt. Hanna Cole had on a black pants suit with a light blue pinstripe. Her eggshell blouse was buttoned to the neck.

“General Ascot, I know that I just recently appointed you to head up the military but can you explain why a group of militia were able to overcome our regular Army and Marines? I mean, how could they have done such damage? On top of the dead and wounded, they took six-thousand soldiers prisoner. Six-thousand. They had only two thousand troops. Would you explain that to me so that I can better understand?” he said trying to keep his temper in check.

“Sir. They knew we were coming. They took control of the drone somehow and waited until we took a break while the drone was being replaced. They had Apache Helicopters ready to come in the minute we started defending. The plan was tactically sound. Somehow I believe they are still getting word of our plans.”

“I see. So everything is the fault of someone else, is that what I’m hearing?” he asked.

“No sir. But you assured us that no leaks would occur from the White House. Respectfully sir, that is the only place they could have come from.”

“So the White House staff leaked the plans?” he said starting to get tense.

“Sir. The people involved with the plans from the military were with the team. No one is stupid enough to leak the information knowing that they could get killed. Think about it. Who could have leaked the information and stayed safe and sound? That can only be someone here.”

“That’s bullshit,” Hanna interjected.

“Why is that?” he asked, turning to face her.

“No one here is going to give out vital information that will aid the enemy. That is just an excuse for poor planning. Why did you only have one drone? You should have had a backup to cover such a contingency,” she said.

“Ms. Vice President, have you ever been involved in military tactical planning? Have you ever gone out and put your life on the line? I have. Many times. I can assure you that we try to plan for every contingency. Sometimes unexpected things crop up.  Have you ever read about D-Day and all the planning that went into that endeavor? Hundreds of things went wrong. It’s one of the rules of war. If it can go wrong, it probably will. We try to plan for that probability,” he said calmly.

“Well, obviously you didn’t plan well enough.”

“Perhaps you would like to come along on the next mission...”

“Stop. General that is enough.”

“Yes sir,” he said.

“I understand what you’re saying. We did a cursory sweep of the White House but we need to look deeper. I have a tendency to agree that the problem may be someone here. I hate to think it, but you may be right. It is starting to look that way. As you said, no one would leak the information knowing that it would most likely get them killed. It has to be someone who has no real risk associated.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” the General replied.

“Here is what I would like for you to do. I want you to send me a full battle plan for some mission. I want it to be no more or no less than what you regularly send. We will track its progress from the time it arrives until it is on my desk. Then we will follow it until it arrives back to you with my approval. Obviously it won’t be a real mission. That should allow us to find out if the leak is here in the White House or someplace in between,” Quasim said.

“I wholeheartedly agree. I think that is an excellent plan sir.”

“Hanna, what do you think?”

“At least we will know if it is a leak or inept planning,” she quipped.

The General didn’t bite. He did however want to smack her in her condescending face.

****

“What is happening with the Americans?” Mexico’s President Hermilo Medrano asked.

“They are killing each other by the thousands. President Quasim has ordered the American ships to load up the Army and Marines on the west coast and have them brought to the east coast.”

“So they are essentially leaving the west coast unprotected?”

“Si. That is what our intelligence is telling us. It will take the Navy many days to get to the other coast. No warships are allowed to pass through the Panama Canal.”

“So not only does it take a long time to get to the east coast it will be very difficult for them to head back to defend the west coast.”

“Si. That is correct, Señor President.”

“What about the Air Force?”

“Most have been transferred as well but like the ships it will take much longer to traverse the United States. The no-fly zone is from the top of Canada all the way to South America. They will have to refuel to make it.”

“Well, this certainly could play into our hands. How is the training and recruitment going?”

“We have started to enlist all males between seventeen and forty-five. We have made a deal with Russia to purchase forty of their Sukhoi-27 fighter jets. They will be delivered in two months.”

“Excellent. We need to increase the avenues for intelligence that is being reported. We need as many agents as we can get.”

“We have already been working on that Señor President. We have thousands of illegal aliens in southern California. We can recruit from a vast pool.

“Very well. I would like to have an update each week,” Señor Medrano said.

“It will be done.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

In a rather obscure little place named Williamson, the town is divided between West Virginia and Kentucky. The people on either side of the Tug Fork River were easy going and existed pretty much as one community.

The Second Civil War had changed all of that. Family and friends on one side of the river had to choose which of the opposing forces they were going to support. Within weeks, the peaceful little town became a hostile environment.

The three main passages across the river were closed along with the railroad trestle. The West Virginia side had a large train yard which gave them a significant edge in transporting supplies. Armies of citizens on both sides of the river quickly formed and several fierce battles broke out. With all of the other skirmishes going on along border towns, it seemed like Williamson was destined to be merely another footnote in the history of the Second Civil War. All of that changed on a Friday night in late October.

Aaron Crocker was a rugged Kentuckian who had little use for fancy words. Brash and blunt, he had no problem speaking his mind when asked.

“We need access to more supplies,” the leader of the citizen’s army, Hanford Wilhouse said, “The few raids that we have made have only been marginally effective.”

“We can only bring back so much at a time,” one of the army members replied.

“I agree, but we have to find a better way. With Highway 19 closed, getting supplies is almost impossible. We know Lexington is having their own problems so we can't expect much help from them. We need to do something that is more effective,” Wilhouse said.

No one spoke up for several seconds. Finally one man stood up.

“Y’all ain’t gettin’ the job done cause you’re not committed enough,” Crocker told them.

“Of course we are. We take great risks every time we cross over and raid their facilities.”

“No sir. That ain’t gonna’ get it done. Y’all want results?  Ya’ gotta’ go all out. Quit these hit and run raids. If y’all want to eliminate the problem then just do it,” he said and sat back down.

“You’re Mr. Crocker aren’t you?” Wilhouse asked.

“That would be me.”

“Sir, what are you proposing exactly?”

“Simple. Go over and get the job done. The right way.”

“The right way? What is the right way in your opinion Mr. Crocker?"

“Take the entire town. Do whatever has to be done to make sure y’all don’t have to fool around with these raids.”

“You are suggesting we take the entire town of Williamson even though it is technically in West Virginia?”

“Yep.”

“Don’t you think West Virginia may have something to say about that?”

“Yep. But holdin’ is easier than taking it back,” Crocker replied.

“Thank you Mr. Crocker. We will take that under advisement.”

“Nah, ya’ won’t. You don’t want it bad enough, like I already said,” he replied and stood up and walked out of the room.

****

It was a month later, with supplies at their lowest point that Wilhouse went to see Crocker. He lived back in a heavily wooded area off of Central Avenue. The house was at least a hundred years old with shingle siding that had seen better days. The roof was metal and had rusted to a dull orange-brown color.  A 1970 El Camino sat at the side of the house.

“Mr. Crocker,” Wilhouse yelled, knocking on the screen door. It was a few seconds before Aaron came to the door. He was holding a twelve gauge double barreled shotgun.

“Yes sir. What can I do for you?” he asked.

“You said that we were going to have to be more committed if we wanted to quit wasting our time. We believe you may have been right,” Wilhouse said.

“Huh,” was all he said.

“Would you be willing to share your thoughts with me about how we should proceed if we wanted to take over permanent control of the situation?” Wilhouse asked.

“I would,” Crocker said and opened the screen door.

Wilhouse stepped inside and was surprised by how clean the place was. It was a lot better inside than on the outside.

CHAPTER THIRTY

The rain had been coming down for the better part of two days. Wilhouse was looking across the river to the wooded area next to the 2nd Street Bridge. Normally there would be several lookouts on the other side watching from the pedestrian overpass. Now he could see no one.

“Where do you suppose they are?” he asked.

“Probably in the bank building. They could stay inside and still see the bridge.”

“What do you think Crocker?”

“Bank or in the cars in the parking lot between 2nd and 3rd Avenue.”

“So if we cross just upstream they won’t be able to see us coming. The embankment will hide us,” Wilhouse said.

“Yep.”

“Then we should go while it’s raining.”

“Best time,” Crocker replied.

“Weather forecast says it’s going to rain until tomorrow. Tonight would be the perfect time.”

****

“Crocker, this is Jamie Lee Simpson. She is one of, if not the best shooter we have. She is deadly at just about any distance,” Wilhouse, said by way of introduction.

Crocker just looked at the young woman. She was a tiny little thing but everyone was pretty small beside Crocker. At six four and a half and two hundred fifty pounds, he was an imposing figure.

Jamie was barely five foot four and weighed one hundred and sixteen pounds. She had chocolate colored eyes and auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail.

“What we would like for you two to do is go across upstream around the bend and then work your way back to the BB&T Bank. We want you to get on top of the bank building and pick off anyone on the overpass or near the 2nd Avenue Bridge. We are going to come right down the middle of town. When we get to 1st Avenue we are going to split into four groups. One will go all the way to the railroad tracks, another down 3rd Avenue. The other two will split up with one taking 2nd Avenue and the other along the river up 1st Avenue,” Wilhouse told the two.

Crocker and Jamie had yet to say anything or even look at each other besides a quick side glance.

“When do you want us to cross over?” Jamie asked.

“Around midnight. That will give you two hours to get into position. We are going to cross at 2:00 a.m.,” Wilhouse said.

He opened the back of his SUV and pulled out two gun cases.

“These are .338 Barette Lapua rifles fitted with Gemtech suppressors. The scope is a 5 x 25 x 56,” he said, handing one to each of them, “They have been zeroed dead on at two-hundred yards.”

Crocker was looking it over carefully, checking every part of the rifle. He racked the chamber and dry fired it. The trigger was really sweet. He figured it was set at around 3 ½ pounds.

Jamie had used the gun several times before and was familiar with the operation. She looked through the scope a couple of times, made a small adjustment and put the sling over her shoulder. Crocker saw her out of the corner of his eye and didn’t know exactly what to think.

“Here are four loaded magazines. Crocker, do you have a sidearm?”

“Nope. Never needed one.”

“Well you should have one as backup,” Wilhouse said and handed him a Desert Warrior .45 ACP 1911.

Crocker took it and put it in the small of his back held in place by his belt. He glanced over and saw that Jamie already had a pistol hanging from a hip holster.

“Any questions?” Wilhouse asked as he closed the back of the SUV.

Neither said anything.

“Good. See you on the other side,” he said as he climbed in and took off leaving them standing there in the middle of the beauty school lot.

They started walking north to the river bend, neither saying anything.

Finally Crocker broke down and said, “You’re a good shot I understand.”

“Pretty fair. I can hit what I’m shooting at.”

“You use that rifle before?” he asked, touching the rifle slung over her shoulder.

“Yeah. Quite a few times. Never with the can on the end of it.”

“Yeah. I never shot a rifle with a suppressor either.”

They walked on in silence all the way to the bend.

A small raft with two paddles was waiting for them under the bridge just like Wilhouse said it would be. The rain made it easier to make their way down the bank and get in the raft.

As hard as they paddled the swollen river carried them on around the bend and further south than they had intended to go. They were finally able to get to the other side but both were dead tired.

“Damn,” Crocker mumbled.

“Double damn,” Jamie agreed.

They rested for five minutes, lying back letting the rain fall on their faces. Finally Crocker stood up and held out a hand to Jamie. She looked up at him for a second then reached out and took his hand. Wow she thought as he pulled her up, this guy is stronger than a horse.

They had to backtrack to get around the fence along the river. The finally made their way to the railroad tracks. The crossed the tracks and started making their way along the other side of the fence, back toward town. They were lucky. The rain was keeping almost everyone inside. Staying along the fence, they arrived a block from the bank. This would be the high risk part. They had to cross 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue to get to the back of the bank.

It turned out to be easier than they had ever hoped for. Ten minutes later they were on top of the bank building looking through the rifle scopes at the highway crosswalk. They could see three men grouped together with raingear on. They looked miserable even at a distance.

He looked at his watch. Five more minutes. He walked over to the other side of the building and looked around. He sprinted back to Jamie.

“Three men are coming down 3rd Avenue. Probably gonna’ relieve the guys on the bridge.”

“That’s not good. If they linger and shoot the bull they will all be there when our men come,” Jamie said watching the three new men start to climb up the stairs to the overpass.

They both waited, watching through their scopes. The men were huddled together obviously talking.

“Come on, move it,” Crocket muttered.

“We are going to have to take them out. It’s gotta be quick. If they start shooting it will all be over,” Jamie whispered.

Crocket looked at his watch. Two minutes. Still talking.

“How many can you take down?” Jamie asked.

“As many as there are rounds in the magazine.”

“Don’t go macho on me Crocket. How many?”

“Three.”

“Good. Once we fire the first shot they will be startled. We have to get most of them right then. Anything to the left you take. Anything to the right is mine.”

“Don’t go macho-ette on me. Can you really get three?”

“Mocho-ette?” was she said, “Well talk about that term later. Ready.”

He looked at his watch. One minute.

“On three. One...two...three.”

Two men on the overpass were violently thrown back, one toppling over the railing onto the road below. The others froze for a second and that was all it took for two more to go down. The other two started running to the stairs but never made it. It was all over in seconds. Crocker looked at his watch. The whole thing had taken less than thirty seconds.

Crocker looked over at Jamie, “Nice shootin’.”

“Not half bad yourself,” she said smiling.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Jamie was so close to Crocker that he could feel her body heat. He looked over and watched as she studied the area with the rifle scope. Pretty little thing, he thought.

“What?” she said without taking her eye off the scope.

“What, what?”

“What are you looking at?”

Crocker almost swallowed his tongue. How had she known?

“I...uh...”

“It’s okay. I know what you were looking at anyway,” she said finally taking her eye off the scope and smiling at him.

“Damn,” was all he said.

****

The rest of the night was a series of firefights. Crocker and Jamie remained on top of the bank building, picking off targets of opportunity. Finally the fighting was too far away for them to be of any use.

“Should we go down and see if we can help?” Crocker asked.

“Honestly? We really can’t do much. I’m down to my last magazine and let’s face it; this isn’t the best weapon to use in a fire fight.”

“You want to just sit here in the rain getting soaking wet?”

“Can’t get any more soaked.”

“Well I’m gonna’ go see if I can do anything to help,” he said and started down the ladder.

“Dumbass,” she muttered and started to follow him down.

Water from all of the rain was running along the curbs.

Jamie pointed to it and said, “Got a red tint to it. Lot of blood mixed in with that rain water.”

Crocker just grunted and moved on. They found bodies lying in various places. Some from their forces and even more from the other. They could still hear the crack of machine gun fire in the distance but it was lessening in intensity.

Suddenly it got quiet. All they could hear was the rain hitting their hats and raingear.

“They must have taken the town,” Jamie said.

“Sounds like. Let’s go find them,” he said and started jogging toward the north part of town.

They found the men and women milling around the split going to Ben Street, 4th Avenue and Little Oak Street. Wilhouse was sitting on the ground and two medics were working on his arm. Crocker looked down at him.

“Nice job,” Wilhouse said when he saw Crocker and Jamie.

“Took a round?” Crocker asked.

“Yeah. Doc said it would be okay. Missed the bone. Probably lose some muscle.”

“I take it the town is secure?”

“For the most part. Probably some holdouts that we haven’t come across yet.”

“You need to send out teams and check every house. You need to get a perimeter set up as well,” Crocker told him.

“I know. The Doc is not ready to let me go just yet. Would you mind taking on that task until I’m back on my feet?”

“You want me to give orders?”

“Why not? You are probably more qualified that I am. Just do what you think is right.”

“Man. I don’t know about givin’ no orders.”

“Come on hot shot,” Jamie interjected, “Nothing to it. I’ll go with you.”

“Damn. Okay but I don’t do very good in front of people.”

“Just do what my speech teacher once told us to do. Think of them all being naked and just look slightly above their head when talking.”

“You gonna’ be naked too?”

“Why Aaron Crocker,” was all she said and then grinned.

If it hadn’t been so dark she would have seen that he was beet read.

****

Hanna Cole had never been a very nice person to be around. Even when she was in middle school and high school she had few friends. Guys thought she was attractive enough but her personality was so unpleasant that they seldom asked her out. Those that did usually only did so once.

While majoring in Political Science at Brown University, she made few friends. She stayed in her room most of the time studying. She earned her BA degree with a 3.92 GPA. She had been determined to finish first in her class but was bitter with her third place ranking.

After a brief internship at the Massachusetts Capital, she enrolled at Northwestern University to get her MPP, Master of Political Policy. Her temperament had not improved one bit and she had only three dates the entire time she attended classes there.

Once again, she fell just short of her goal to end up first in her class. Graduating with a 3.96 overall point average she came in third once again. The other two had 4.0 gpa’s.

She worked in Chicago for a time but decided that if she was ever going to realize her dreams of power, she was going to have to go to Washington DC.

Twenty-six years later at the age of forty-nine she was the Vice President of the United States. She was almost there. She was just a heartbeat from realizing her lifetime goal of being President. If it wasn’t for the current fool in the White House she would be sitting on the throne.

Never one to waste much time, she immediately began to plot her strategy to move into the number one position. She would have to do something about Quasim. She began turning over ideas in her head.

****

President Quasim was no fool either. He had appointed Hanna Cole to the VP spot so he could keep a closer eye on her. He was pretty sure that she would try to parlay her VP position into being President.

By having her in the White House, he would know everything that she was doing. Security had placed several hidden cameras and bugs in her office. They would be monitoring all hardline calls as well as all cell phone calls.

Devious in his own right, he was going to use her as a fall person if anything went wrong. Her public image would hurt her immensely if and when the time came.

You did not get to be the President without knowing how to play dirtier than anyone else in Washington. There it was survival of the fittest.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Attorney General Noel Haskin, Homeland Security Director Adam Little, and Roland Clarke, the Secretary of Defense, sat in the lavish conference room at the HEADLINE NEWS Corporate Headquarters. Across from them sat Bolin Thompson, CEO and thirty-one percent owner of the mega-conglomerate. No one else even came close to the number of shares he held. Next to him were three attorneys and his Chief Operations Officer, Duane Bateman.

“Thank you for seeing us on such short notice,” Haskin said.

“Always a pleasure to deal with the White House. Now, what can we do for you?” Thompson asked.

Thompson seldom had time to waste on idle conversation. He wanted to get right to the heart of the matter.

“The President in evoking war policy effective today,” Hastings said.

“War policy? What does that mean exactly?”

“Starting today, any article carried by any news media, electronic, internet or print about the war will need to be expurgated by a team from Homeland Security.”

Thompson didn’t move a muscle. They were talking about censorship no matter how they dressed it up.

“You are telling me that we will need approval from the White House to run any story about the war? Losses? Victories? Upside? Downside?”

“Essentially that is correct. You have to understand that this is just temporary until the war is over. When you run news stories about the losses of American lives it causes everyone’s morale to drop. We don’t want the citizens going around thinking that everything is gloomy.”

“So you want to paint a rose colored picture.”

“I wouldn’t put it that way. We just don’t want them to be despondent over what is going on,” Haskin replied.

“Despondent? Despondent? Hell, it’s more than despondent. It’s downright frightening. Do you know how many lives have been lost in just this past five months? Despondent my ass. It’s terrifying.”

“You’re right and we don’t want that fear to spread. Articles that dwell on deaths, wounded, and prisoners of war are causing people to become apprehensive. We need to give them something positive to focus on.”

“So you just want to lie to them. Is that about it?”

“No. Not lying. Just not putting emphasis on the negatives.”

“Where I come from, we call that lying.”

“Mr. Thompson. We would like for you to simply go along with this until the requirements are lifted. Then you can go back to running the business as you see fit.”

He sat there looking at them for a few seconds, then leaned over and whispered to one of his attorneys. The attorney shook his head and reached into his briefcase and pulled out a tape recorder.

“I want a record of exactly what you are telling me. I want a signed affidavit stating that the recording is true and that you delivered the message to me in person.”

“Mr. Thompson,” Adam Little said, “This is not meant to be adversarial. We are just asking you to understand that the security of the country has to come first. When morale drops, all sorts of unpleasant side issues suddenly crop up. We have more than enough problems without the media adding to them.”

“Ah...so now it is the media’s fault. You want to shift the blame to us.”

“It’s not about blame. It’s just a fact that this is necessary for the security of the country,” Little argued.

“Mr. Haskin. I want a recording of you explaining exactly what we can and can’t do. You are, in effect, suspending the first amendment and the freedom of the press. I want that recorded,” Thompson said.

“Fine. Here you go,”

“Wait,” Haskins attorney said and rewound the tape before pushing the record button.

“Okay.”

“Under the provisions enacted by the President of the United States, President Benjamin Quasim, you are hereby being delivered the following Presidential Proclamation. All media of any type that includes written, internet, or other means distributed over the electronic media, must submit all articles relating to the war for perusal by the newly created Homeland Media Clearance Office.  Failure to do so will result in the immediate suspension of your FCC license and your facilities will be subject to seizure by the FBI or Homeland Security at the discretion of the Attorney General’s Office,” he said reading from the page he had been handed by Clarke.

“So you are saying that this is a provision of the President's War Policy.”

“That is correct.”

“And that you are suspending the first amendment to the Constitution in doing so?”

“I believe the statement speaks for itself. Good day, Gentlemen,” Haskin said, standing.

“You may think that you are bigger than the press, Mr. Haskin, but remember we put that bastard in the White House. We are the ones that got behind him and brought him from a nobody to the highest office in the land. You screw with us and by God, we will find a way to bring you down,” Thompson said.

“A little late for that isn’t it Mr. Thompson?” he said opening the conference room door.

****

“Who in the hell does that little pipsqueak think he is? Does he think he can suddenly suspend the First Amendment? I can’t believe he thinks he can get away with that.”

“Sir. I hate to be the one that points this out but HEADLINE NEWS was behind him when he violated the Second Amendment. We went so far in our editorials as to side with his decision on Operation Clean Sweep. This is the same thing.”

“That’s totally different. The Second Amendment is fundamentally flawed,” Thompson replied.

“How is it different?” another attorney asked.

“It just is,” Thompson said stubbornly.

“Yes, well it appears the First Amendment is fundamentally flawed as well according to the White House.”

“So you are siding with them?”

“No but you can’t have it both ways.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Crocker and Jamie were walking along through the middle of town. It was weird not seeing anyone about except other patrols. They were still looking for any of Williamson’s militia that might have slipped through the cracks.

They had been walking for almost an hour, stopping to check houses from attic to basement. So far they had found nothing.

“So what do you think?” Crocker said.

“What do I think? About what?” Jamie said.

“Oh come on, you know.”

“Would you mind telling me what the heck you are talking about? I have no clue,” she said, stopping and facing him.

“Uh...well...I, Ah the hell with it. Never mind,” he said and started walking off.

She had to run to finally catch up with him. They walked in silence for another block before Jamie put her hand on his arm and stopped him.

“Are you trying to ask me out?” she said, looking at him intently.

“Well...yeah. I guess I sort of am,” he said, looking down at the ground.

“Sort of am or am?”

“The last one.”

“Heck, why didn’t you just say so? I would be honored to go out with you, if there was someplace to go,” she said and laughed.

He grinned and said, “They are going to open the movie theater tonight. I got two tickets already.”

“Pretty sure I was going to say yes, weren’t you?”

He didn’t say anything just reached out and touched her arm, “You are the prettiest thing I have ever seen.”

“And you are a damn fine man.”

****

“Señor President,” a courier said, standing at attention.

“Yes, what is it?”

“General Portocus says that they have the plans almost ready and you would know what they referred to.”

“And?” President Medrano asked.

“And he wanst to know how far north you intended for them to evaluate?”

“Tell the General I said as far as the end of California and all the way to Oregon.”

“Yes sir. I will convey the message. He also asked if all branches of the military would be available without restrictions.”

“Yes, yes. I told him to use whatever it takes,” the President said, waving his hand.

“I understand Señor President.”

“Good. You are dismissed.”

“Thank you sir.”

****

The submarine USS Springfield SSN 761 had a crew comprised of ninety-seven enlisted men and twelve officers. It was in the service of the ARM and currently in the Albemarle Shelf Valley, just off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia. They had been watching the arrival of the ships coming from the west coast.

The sonar room was a beehive of activity. They were checking the arriving ships' electronic and acoustic signature library recordings against the actual visual sighting of each of the ships. So far twenty-seven of the ships had been dead on. Only one, a DDG was off and that was due to a new six blade prop being tested. They quickly updated the new data in the library.

“Captain, I am picking up a faint contact bearing 221.”

“Got a fix yet?”

“Not yet but I think it is a killer sir.”

“Okay. All hands, this is the Captain. We may have a killer lurking. All hands to battle stations until further notice.”

“Oh crap,” came over the speaker followed by “Sorry sir.”

“What is it?”

“Captain I’m pretty sure it’s the new USS Dakota.”

“Are you sure? I thought it was still doing sea trials.”

“Sir, I’m ninety percent sure.”

“Okay, keep me informed. What is its bearing now?”

“Still on course 221. Range?”

“6500 meters and closing at seven knots.”

“It’s looking for something. Maybe us,” the Captain said to the boat Chief.

The Chief just nodded,

****

“Captain. Range 2900 meters. Course is steady.”

“Depth?”

“600 Feet”

“Copy.”

They waited in silence. The Captain wanted to be a little deeper but had decided against anything that would cause the least bit of noise. He looked over at the depth gauge for the hundredth time. They were hovering at 700 feet. He knew the new USS Dakota no longer used a periscope but a high resolution digital camera instead. They could also launch unmanned vehicles. If they got a whiff of the Springfield it would be in big trouble.

Minutes seemed to turn into hours. The normally cool environment was now hot and humid as the crew collectively held their breath.

“1200 meters,” sonar reported in a voice just barely above a whisper.

“Three-quarters of a mile,” the Chief said to no one in particular.

“500 meters,” a whisper came over the speaker.

A few seconds later, “Passing over us but slowing.”

The captain couldn’t do anything at this point but wait.

“Slowing. Two knots.”

“Stopping.”

“Dead in the water, 90 meters ahead.”

Only three hundred feet of water separated the two submarines. If they put a UMV out it would probably see them. They waited.

An hour went by. Then two, with neither sub moving.

“Dropping sir. Slowly.”

“Damn,” the Captain muttered. Considering the closeness it was possible that the Dakota could actually scrape or hit his sub. It was going to be really close if they dropped to seven hundred feet.

“Seven-fifty.”

“Seven hundred.”

Everyone was braced for impact. The sub was so close they could hear it creak as it slid by.

“Six fifty.”

The Captain let out a breath. No telling how close it had been but it couldn’t have been more than a few feet. An hour later, the Dakota started moving away from them. The Captain looked down at his shirt and realized it was totally soaked in sweat.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

“Son of a...” Thompson said, throwing the script down on the desk.

“Can you believe this?” he almost shouted.

The others in the room knew better than to speak up. The story had been about the fighting in Williamson. According to the Homeland revision, the American Revolutionary Militia had crossed over the border to attack the town but had been thrown back across the river.

The story went on to say that the brave citizens of Williamson had killed over two thousand of the ARM fighters and taken fifteen hundred prisoners. It was a total fabrication.

“What do you want us to do?” the editor asked.

“Print the truth.”

“Sir, we are really going to do that? I mean won’t they totally shut us down?”

Thompson rubbed his face. This was pure propaganda. How in the hell was the White House going to explain the fact that the town was totally controlled by the ARM? There was no way could they keep this a secret. At some point someone would stumble across the truth.

“Sir?”

“As much as I hate it, print their version,” he said shaking his head.

How far was the White House willing to go? This is just like Germany in WWII when the Nazi’s told the people about their great victories until one day bombs started falling on Berlin.

“Just like they have it?”

“Word for word,” Thompson said getting up and slowly leaving the room.

****

“Captain. Ships bearing 144. Speed twenty-eight knots. Hold it. Make that three ships. They are coming out of Norfolk,” sonar informed him.

“What the hell is this all about?” the Chief of the boat said.

“They must have picked us up somehow. They are headed right for us.

“Sir. The choppers are dropping sonar buoys.”

“Distance?

“3500 meters.”

The Captain frowned. What was this all about? Maybe it was a drill of some kind.

“Four helo’s have buoy’s in the water. They seem to be sitting over something.”

“Think it could be the Dakota?” the Captain asked.

“Not sure sir. Whatever it is, they must think they have it trapped.”

“Whoa, torpedoes in the water. Three of them. They are searching.”

“How far from us?”

“No more than 3000 meters.”

“All hands. Brace for explosion,” the Captain ordered.

He had hardly hung the microphone when a tremendous shock wave hit the submarine. The Springfield was shoved over on its side and another explosion sent a second shock wave that rocked the boat again.

“They got whatever it was. It’s sinking, going down fast,” Sonar reported.

“I guess it wasn’t a drill,” the Chief replied.

“Apparently not. You think they sunk the Dakota by mistake, thinking it was us?” the Captain asked.

“It’s possible. They probably don’t have the ship's electronic signature on file yet. Hell, I didn’t think it had made it through sea trials yet.”

“Doesn’t look like they are ever going to,” the XO added.

The last thing they heard was the dying song of the submarine.

****

“General Ascot, the President and I agree. The town of Williamson needs to be terminated,” Cole said.

“Terminated? You don’t ‘terminate’ an object. You terminate people, assets.”

“Call it whatever you want, the point is, the entire town on both sides of the river needs to vanish,” she said.

“What about the citizens that are being held as prisoners of war?”

“What about them?”

“Well, we would be killing our own people. They are United States citizens. Shouldn’t we try to get them out of there first?”

“General. Listen to me. I will make this as clear as I can. The media already knows what happened there. We have taken measures to suppress the story. What I...we want you to do is destroy every inch of the entire damn town. Now if some civilians get killed, that’s the price that has to be paid for us to win. If they had fought harder, maybe they wouldn't be prisoners of war,” Cole said.

The President had been sitting at his desk, doodling on a pad of paper. He was watching but saying nothing.

“Mr. President. Are those your orders? To destroy the town and everyone in it?”

“I believe the Vice President made it very clear.”

“But sir. There will be women and children in the town. Surely you don’t want us to kill them as well.”

“General Ascot. We are at war. Collateral damage is bound to happen. It has in every war. I am sorry we have to do it this way but...well, there you have it,” he said, laying his pen on the pad of paper.

“Are we authorized to use MOAB?”

“What is that?” Hanna asked.

“A Massive Ordinance Air Blast.”

“Is it a nuclear bomb?”

“Oh no. It is a fuel-air explosive device that not only sends out a supersonic shockwave but a huge fireball that incinerates everything in its target radius,” the General told her.

“Ah. That would be perfect. We could say that they not only killed the prisoners but burned the town to the ground as well,” Cole said.

“So, we can use them?”

“By all means,” Cole said, not waiting for the President to speak.

“Mr. President?”

“Use them,” was all he said.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

“What are you up to?” Jamie asked.

“Painting an elephant, what’s it look like I’m doing?” Crocker said, rolling out from under his truck.

“Looks like you're messing something up to me,” she shot back.

“Well, sad to say, you’re mostly right. I took the oil pan off to replace the oil pump but now I can't get it back on. The damn gasket holes and the oil pan holes won’t line up and it’s so damn tight I can barely get my hands where they need to go.”

“Ah...poor baby. You want me to do it for you?”

“Hell no. No girl is messin’ with my truck.”

“Hey suit yourself. Look, I’m headed over to Toler. Got to drop off some stuff to the elementary school. You want to go along?”

“What the heck, I not doing any good here. I need to walk away from this for a while anyway. Let me get cleaned up and we can take off. You want something to drink while I’m cleaning up?”

“Got a coke?”

“You bet,” he said ushering her inside the house. He gave her a coke and went upstairs to clean up.

Jamie strolled around the front room looking at pictures and books that he had stacked on shelves. She was surprised to find ‘Out of My Later Years’ and ‘Ideas and Opinions’ by Albert Einstein. There was also one by Stephan Hawking entitled ‘A Stubbornly Persistent Illusion’.

She had just sat down when Crocker came down the stairs. His hair was combed and he had shaved. His shirt was pressed as well as his pants. She was quite surprised at what she saw.

“What? You think I can’t clean up decent?” he said when he saw her looking at him.

“Amazing. You look like a real person. Damn, now I feel bad. I look like crap,” she bemoaned.

“Not to me you don’t,” he said and started blushing again.

“Come on, I’ll even let you drive. You can drive a stick shift can’t you?”

“If it moves, I can drive it,” he said.

When they got outside he stopped and looked at the car.

“What the...”

“It’s a 1957 MGA.”

“What are you supposed to do with that little thing?”

“Hey, it’s bigger inside that you might imagine,” she said.

“How do you even get in,” Crocker asked looking for the door handles.

“Oh, yeah. You pull the wire inside the door,” she said showing him.

“And just how am I gonna’ get my legs in that thing?”

“Okay. Stand on your left foot and slide your right leg in and kind of fall in the seat. Then pull your other leg in.”

“Right.”

After several attempts he finally managed to get his tall frame in the car. He was surprised at the amount of leg room considering the size of the car. He sat looking at the dash for several seconds. He reached up and turned the key. Nothing happened.

“Dead battery?” he asked.

“Oh, sorry. You have to pull the knob that has the ‘S’ on it. Make sure you have the clutch pushed in,” she told him.

He pushed in the clutch and pulled on the knob. The engine sprang to life.

“Kind of sounds like a sewing machine,” he said.

“It has more pep than you think. You are going to have to put it in reverse. Put it in neutral first, then slap the shifter toward you and pull back.”

He looked at her like she was nuts for a second before doing as he was instructed. He felt it go into gear. He let out the clutch and backed the car up and then finally found first gear. A few seconds, later off they went.

“Oh, just so you know. If you have to downshift, only 2nd, 3rd and 4th have synchros. You have to be stopped to put it in 1st.”

“Some doodlebug,” he muttered.

They headed south on US 119. Crocker’s head stuck up over the windshield. Even though it was a cramped little car, he found that driving it was a real blast. They drove along shouting to each other over the noise. He wondered if he could even fit in the MGA if the top was up.

They came to stop light where US 119 and 319 splits off.

“Where are the turn signals?” he asked looking around.

“Oh on the dash. Far left hand side. That white knob.”

“What in the hell do you do with it?”

“Shove the bottom the way you are going to turn.  To the left,” she said.

As they were getting ready stop he downshifted to second and then tried to get into first. The gears ground.

“Damn. I forgot,’ he told her.

They turned left and a few hundred yards later they turned right into the Southside Elementary School. He pulled up to the front and turned off the engine.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“It’s kind of fun. Why do you have it?”

“It was my dad’s. He restored it from the ground up. When he died I just couldn’t get rid of it so now I drive it.”

“It’s definitely unique.”

“I’ll run the stuff in. It won’t take a minute.”

She got out and came around to the driver’s side.

“I need to reach behind you to open the trunk.”

“Does this car do anything normal?”

“Hey, it’s British, what do you expect?” she said pulling on the lever that popped the trunk.

She grabbed the books and went inside the school. She was only gone a few minutes before she returned.

“That was fast,” Crocker said as she got back in.

“Just had to drop them off. She wasn’t there so I just left them for her.”

He turned the key, pulled the starter knob and off they went.  They were just coming up on Belfry High School when a C-130 flew overhead.

“That’s kind of strange,” he said.

“What?”

“The cargo door is open and something just came out of the back of the plane.”

“I see it. It has a parachute attached.”

“Oh crap,” Crocker said slamming on the breaks.

“What?”

He could see something hanging from the parachute and it looked big. He quickly turned right on Ivy Hill, stopped and yelled for Jamie to get out of the car.

“What’s going on?” she said but he already ran around the car and grabbed her hand and was pulling her toward a ditch that ran alongside the road.

Without ceremony, he shoved her to the ground and covered her body with his.

“Aaron,” she yelled pushing against him.

“Open your mouth as wide as you can,” he yelled at her.

“What is wrong with you?” she said struggling to get out from under him.

He held her tighter and reached up and squeezed her jaws, forcing her mouth open. Suddenly a huge noise filled the air. Even as far away as they were lying, it was so loud that it hurt their ears. A millisecond later an incredible shockwave followed.

It hit he MGA with such force that it picked it up and flipped it over two times before it came to rest back on its wheels. Dirt, rocks, and tree limbs rained down on them. A section of the High School roof bounced over them.

Just when they thought it was over a second shockwave rolled over them. Not as strong as the first but it was still strong enough to pile even more debris on them. The air was stifling as they lay there.

“My God. Did they drop a nuclear bomb?” Jamie asked.

“No. It wasn’t a nuclear bomb but just as bad. I think it was one of those air-fuel bombs.”

He carefully shoved the debris off of them and stood up. He helped Jamie to her feet. They both had their mouths open as they viewed the huge thick black cloud rising from where the town of Williamson had been. The center of the cloud was deep orange.

“My God. What did they do?” Jamie whispered.

“They fire bombed the entire town.”

“You mean they killed everyone?”

“That would be my guess,” Crocker replied.

They stumbled out of the ditch and walked to the MG. One door was missing, and the windshield and hood were gone.

“What do you think?” Jamie asked.

“Worth a try,” Crocker said and climbed in.

He turned the key and pulled the starter knob. It ground a second then sprang to life.

“No way,” Jamie said climbing in.

She couldn’t close the door, it was gone.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

“Well?” Hanna Cole said.

“Done. Gone. Obliterated,” General Ascot replied.

“Excellent,” the President said.

“How do you know it got everything?”

“Our reconnaissance drone confirmed the amount of damage done. There is not a house or building standing.”

“I want you to send a team in to visually verify the results,” Cole said.

“Yes ma’am.”

“General, how many of these bombs do we have?”

“I don’t know right off hand but several.”

“Several. Meaning?”

“Probably fifty or so.”

“Very good. I would like you to put together a list of the top fifty cities in the so called American Republic. I want it by both population and density,” the President said.

“Yes sir.”

“Thank you General,” he said by way of dismissing him.

When he had gone Cole said, “What are you thinking?”

“I am thinking we need to show them that we are not going to fool around any longer. All we are really doing is fighting small skirmishes. They wanted a war, I think we should accommodate them.”

“That will escalate things,” Cole said.

“I’m not going to let them get away with this. They will come back into the fold and they will answer for what they have done,” he said forcefully.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Hanna replied.

****

“Slow down son,” General Adams said.

“But they killed everyone. They wiped out the entire town,” Crocker reported.

“Where did this happen?”

“Williamson, Kentucky. Well, part of the city is in Kentucky, the other part is in West Virginia.”

“We need to get you to Nashville ASAP,” Adams told him.

“Okay, but why?”

“It’s were the new Government is located. You need to tell this to the President and his staff.”

“The President? Look I’m not Mr. Personality. Maybe Jamie should talk to the President.”

“I’ll get you both there. I’m going to have Sargent Boling take you to the airport and get you to Nashville. I’ll have them put some sandwiches on the plane so you can eat in the air and get right to the Capital Building.”

“But look at our clothes. We’re not lookin’ too good right now.”

“We will get you set up with some BDU’s. Sargent Boling can take care of that as well.”

“Man. I just don’t know about talking to the President. Who is it anyway?”

General Adams laughed and slapped Crocker on the back. His name is James Jason. He used to be the Vice President under Quasim until he got tired of his crap and came over to our side.”

“And you trust him?” Jamie asked.

“Absolutely. He fought with the President many times trying to get him to stop his foolishness. Finally he had enough.”

“Huh,” she said.

“Now, if you will follow the Sargent we will get you on your way.”

****

“Man oh man,” Crocker said as they were seated in the plane.

He and Jamie were the only two on board.

“Don’t worry so much. You will do just fine. Look, I’m going to be right there with you. If you get into trouble I’ll jump in if it’s alright with you.”

“You bet it is. I get pretty nervous around big shots.”

She reached over and squeezed his hand. He held it and didn’t let go. She just smiled at him.

It was less than an hour later when they started their descent into Nashville International Airport. When they got out they were met by a full bird Colonel. They didn’t even have time to look around before they were placed in a black SUV and whisked off toward downtown Nashville. Two motorcycles with lights flashing and sirens blaring were leading the way.

“Man,” Crocker said shaking his head.

“It’s going to be fine. Just enjoy it. Let’s face it, how many times are we going to get our own plane and chauffer driven limo?” she said patting his arm.

When they arrived at the Capital Building, guards were standing outside in full combat gear. They snapped to attention and saluted as the Colonel led them inside. Two more guards were standing beside one of the elevators. The Colonel inserted a key and the door slid open.

“You will be met when the doors open,” he said as they slid shut.

“How will we...” but the doors had already closed.

“Know which floor?” he finished.

“No buttons. Must only go one place.”

When the doors opened a Major was standing there with two more guards.

“Welcome. We have been waiting anxiously for your arrival. The President is eager to hear what you have to tell us,” he said leading them down the hall.

More guards stood outside a set of large wooden doors.  One of them opened the door and they followed the Major in. A large conference table dominated the center of the room. Seated around it were eight people. They were dressed casually which rather shocked Crocker. He was expecting them to be all dressed up fancy.

“Welcome, a white headed, distingue gentleman said from the head of the table.

He stood up and waved to a chair, “Please, Aaron and Jamie, have a seat.”

Crocker hesitantly walked over and took a seat. He looked at the man and assumed he must be the new President. He reminded him a little of the actor, Donald Sutherland.

“I’m James Jason and these are my advisors,” he said.

James Jason? Not President Jason?  This was just too unreal he thought.

The President went around the table and introduced each of the people in the room stating briefly what their position was. Aaron knew he would never remember all of their names. They should have some of those little sticky tags on so he would know who they were.

“Now. I know you’re a little nervous. General Adams called and told me you were hesitant to come. This isn’t like the White House where everyone has to walk on eggshells. We’re just a bunch of people trying to put a country together. So relax and tell us all about what went on in Williamson, Kentucky.”

“Uh, yes sir.”

“James.”

“What? Oh. Well...James a few days ago the Kentucky Militia decided that if they were going to survive they would need to have control of the railways. We were running short on everything,” he said, starting to loosen up.

Twenty-four minutes later he finished his story with Jamie jumping in from time to time to clear up details.

“And it was a C-130?” MacMillan asked.

“Yes sir. I certainly know what a C-130 looks like.”

“Okay, and the back bay was open and you saw the package come out and it was supported by a parachute?

“Two actually,” Jamie said.

“Ah. And then all hell broke loose.”

“Yes sir,” Jamie interjected, “I thought it was an atomic bomb. It picked my car up and flipped it over.”

“How far away were you?”

“Five miles,” Crocker said.

“And the shockwave flipped your car over and took off the roof of the High School.”

“Yes sir. That’s correct.”

“Everything was gone. Burnt to the ground. Even the roads were melted and buckled,” Jamie added.

“Well,” the President said, “I guess we should expect as much from Quasim.”

“I’m sure the VP added her two cents worth,” Mary Lake said.

“Undoubtedly.”

“Sir? What did they say?” Crocker asked.

“They put out a news report that the Kentucky Militia came across the West Virginia border, killed everyone and burned the place to the ground to cover up the viciousness of the attack.”

“Sir. That’s a damn lie,” Crocker said, half rising out of his seat before Jamie put a hand on his arm.

“Son, relax. We know how they do things. They got their asses whipped and didn’t want anyone to know about it so they planted the story.”

“And the news went along with it?” Jamie asked.

“It seems they have little choice now. They have suspended the First Amendment as well as the Second Amendment” the President said.

“Man oh man,” Crocker responded.

“Indeed. If it isn’t too much to ask, would the two of you mind staying here a couple of days? I’m sure the General and his people will have more detailed questions. If you can’t it’s no problem.”

Aaron looked at Jamie and she shook her head ‘yes’.

“Sure, we don’t have a home to go to anyway,” Crocker replied.

“You are more than welcome to stay here. We have joined forces with militia from all around the American Republic,” the General said.

“Would we have to be in the regular military?’

“That would be up to you. Do you have a specialty?”

Jamie looked at Crocker and he looked back.

They both smiled and said, “Oh yeah,” at the same time.

That was a luxury that neither of them had ever had in their life time. It would probably be the last as well.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

After Aaron and Jamie left the room, the President sat looking pensively out the window.

“They are stepping up the game. They killed civilian men, women, and children and it didn’t matter which side they were on. Quasim is crazy,” Beau Zimmerman said.

“I can’t believe he dropped the damn thing. An air burst fuel bomb. It must have incinerated everyone instantly,” Mary said.

“Not a pretty picture no matter how you cut it. Maybe we should try to talk to the other side. Sort of a peace conference. Make sure we rule out certain weapons. The Atlanta and Houston bombings were bad enough, but this, this is nuts,” Mary said.

“It’s worth a try. I don’t know if Quasim is willing to talk or not. So far he has been the one escalating the amount of damage. He must think he has the upper hand,” Jason replied.

“He may well think that but we have a damn powerful arsenal as well. We have the same weapons they have, we just have not used them,” MacMillan told them.

“I heard they sunk one of their own subs by accident. It was the new USS Dakota. I guess they didn’t have the signature on file so they didn’t bother to try to force it to the surface, they just destroyed it. Of course the official story is that it was an unprovoked attack by one of our submarines,” Mary told them.

“You can slant the story anyway you like when you control the press,” Jason said.

“And you can control the people and the press when you control the weapons. They seem to be proceeding right along,” Vice President Folly replied.

“What do you all think about trying to talk to them?”

“Hey, what have we got to lose?” Mary said.

“Well, for one thing they may see this as a sign of weakness. That we can’t take what they are throwing at us,” MacMillan responded.

“But it’s all lies, except for Atlanta and Houston. Heck, they have lost every major encounter so far,” the VP said.

“You know that and I know that but Quasim is not in touch with reality. He has Cole spoon feeding him whatever she wants him to believe,” the President added.

“She is one evil woman,” Mary chimed in.

“So, the question is still the same. Do we or don’t we contact them and try to sit down and talk,” Jason asked again.

“Where would the talks take place? They won’t come to us and if we go to them we will be arrested and tried as traitors. No way would they pass up the chance to grab us. Especially you Mr. President,” MacMillan said.

“What about Canada? We could contact them and see if they would broker the talks,” Jason offered.

“That might work,” MacMillan conceded.

“They could remain neutral that way. You know, that just might work,” Mary said.

“Okay, first let’s contact Canada and see if they are even willing to host the talks. If they are, then we contact Washington and see if they will attend,” the President suggested.

After a little more discussion they all agreed it was at least worth a try. Jason was pretty sure Canada would go along, it was Quasim, or more accurately, Hanna Cole that might be the problem.

****

“Madam Vice President, the police are reporting that a near riot is taking place just north of the reflecting pool. It seems they want to march in front of the White House and are not willing to stay in the designated area,” the Chief of Staff told them.

“Damn it, Ben, I told you we needed to do something about demonstrators. We can’t afford to have these kinds of distractions,” she spit out angrily.

“Well, we confined them to a specific place and for a limited amount of time. If they won’t abide by the rules, they will be arrested,” he replied.

“You are missing the point. We don’t need this in the first place.  All it does is cause unrest. We can’t have thugs and dissidents roaming the streets causing trouble for the rest of the citizens of Washington.”

“Hanna. The police can handle the situation,” he tried to assure her.

“And if they don’t? If they overwhelm the police and end up in the front yard? Then what?”

“I think you are crossing the bridge before we get to it. I’m confident the Police Chief has it under control,” Quasim said.

“Then why are we getting this report if everything is under control?” she asked.

“Just a precaution.”

“And I’m saying we shouldn’t have to take precautions. We shouldn’t have the problem in the first place.”

“So you are suggesting what exactly?”

“We limit the number that can gather at any one time. They would have to submit a petition that we approve before they would be issued a permit to gather.”

“We have something like that in place already.”

“No. I mean the White House would have to approve it. Not the Police or the City. The White House,” she said.

“You mean set up another division just to handle those permits?”

“My office could handle them. I would have a couple of people to research the group and then submit the applications for approval,” she said.

“Well...”

“Look, Ben. It’s no big deal. My people can handle it with no problems. I have staff that could take it on. I would need maybe two more people at most.  Maybe even just one. I would have to think about that first.”

“What would the requirements be to get approved?”

“I’ll give that some thought too. Don’t worry about the trivial details. I can handle that part.”

“How many are you thinking about limiting it to?”

“Fifty.”

“That’s all?”

“If they can’t get the message across with fifty, what good would more do?” she told him.

“Alright if you think you can handle it,” Quasim replied.

“No problem. No problem at all,” she assured him.

Well there goes the fourth amendment, the Chief of Staff thought.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Mary Lake and Beau Zimmerman were sitting in a comfortable waiting room in Ottawa, Canada.  Prime Minister Benoît had agreed to meet with them. Mary had been rather vague when she had scheduled the appointment.

The Prime Minister was somewhat reluctant to get drawn into the internal affairs of America but nevertheless agreed to at least meet with them.

At exactly 10:00 A.M. a full dress military officer appeared and asked them to follow him. He led them down a long hall of marble. The officer’s steps echoed off the walls and he took them to a set of huge wooden doors. He opened it for them and ushered them inside.

The room was large with just a huge desk and two chairs facing the Prime Minister.

“Please. Come in and have a seat,” he said standing up and walking around the vast desk.

He held out his hand and shook Mary’s and did a small bow and then shook Zimmerman’s hand.

“I understand you are the Public Affairs and Internal Affairs Chief’s for the new American Republic,” he said and returned to his chair.

“Correct, Mr. Prime Minister,” Mary replied.

“Well, you certainly have your work cut out for you. I don’t envy trying to start up a new nation,” he said leaning back in his chair and clasping his fingers together.

“It has its challenges,” Mary offered.

“And just what does Public and Internal Affairs entail?”

“Well Mr. Prime Minister, Public Affairs is what America previously called the Secretary of State.  Internal Affairs deals with relations within the country.”

“Like your FBI?”

“Not exactly but it is a fairly good analogy,” she said.

“So? What is it you wish to discuss?” he said, cutting to the heart of the matter.

“As you know, we are embroiled in a Second Civil War.  Deaths are piling up on both sides.  We, meaning the American Republic States would like to see if we could open a dialogue with the United States. A peace conference if you will.”

“Humm. I see. You wish to find a way to reconcile?”

“Not exactly. We want to find a way to stop the death and devastation.”

“A friendly parting of the ways, then?”

“Something like that,” Beau replied.

“And you want Canada to help in some way?”

“Mr. Prime Minister, we would like to have Canada broker discussions between the two factions. We cannot very well go to them and they would certainly not be willing to come to us. We need a neutral place to meet. We have a great admiration for your country and would consider it an honor to have you host the talks,” Mary said.

“I see. And is the United States willing to come to the table as well?”

“We don’t know yet,” Beau said, “We wanted to get your reaction first. We did not want to contact unless Canada was willing to act as the host for the talks.”

“And our part would be to do what exactly, other than to provide a dwelling for the talks to take place?” Prime Minister Benoît asked.

“We would need security as well.”

“Security. I see. You do not trust the President?”

“Prime Minister, President Quasim has made it clear that he considers us traitors to America. He wants us arrested, tried for treason and executed,” Beau said bluntly.

“Executed?”

“Yes sir.”

“Well. So we would need very heavy security. I hate to bring this up but who would pay for this exactly?” Benoît asked.

“We would split the cost but in the event that they refuse, we would give your word that we would pay the amount in full,” Mary replied.

“I see. Well, here is what I will do. I will talk to our Ministers and see what they think. Our military and Special Units will need to be consulted as well. If they have no objections then I will certainly consider it,” he said standing up and coming around to the front.

“Thank you Mr. Prime Minister,” Beau said extending his hand.

The Prime Minister grasped it in both of his.

“You have much to do. I wish you well. You will hear from us in a few days,” he said turning to Mary and bowing.

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Prime Minister,” she replied.

****

“Is everything set up?” President Jason asked.

“I believe so. We were to call at 1:00 P.M. They assured me that they would take your call,” Beau Zimmerman said.

“Alright the, let’s do it,” Jason said and Mary dialed the number.

“White House. Yes, I am calling on behalf of President James Jason for President Benjamin Quasim,” she said.

“Just one moment.”

They waited until the recognizable voice of Quasim came on the line.

“President Quasim speaking.”

“President, this is Jason,’

“Yes. I am well aware who you are. I understand you are now President of the new rogue nation,” he said icily.

“Mr. President I have called to see if you would be willing to send a delegation to Canada to see if we can find a solution to the current situation.”

“What situation would that be?”

“The deaths of our US citizens,” Jason said stoically.

“And where would such a meeting, assuming we agree, take place?”

“Ottawa, Canada. We have approached Prime Minister Benoît and he just informed us that they would host such a meeting,” Jason informed him.

“Canada. Why would they do such a thing I wonder?”

“Probably numerous reasons. Trade and tourism just to name two. I am sure it is damaging their economy to some extent,” Jason replied.

“Who would attend from your...government,” he finally said.

“Our Chief of Internal Affairs, the Supreme Military Commander and Internal Affairs Chief. I would attend as well.”

“The agenda?”

“To cease hostilities.”

“That is simple enough. Stop your people from murdering Americans and the hostilities will cease.”

“Mr. President it is not that simple and you know it. We need to have real dialogue. Sniping at each other over the phone isn’t going to accomplish anything productive,” Jason replied.

“Is that what we are doing?”

“Maybe not yet, but it will happen eventually, and then we would have made no progress.”

“I’m not convinced that a meeting would do either of us any good.”

“How will we know if we don’t try?” Jason asked.

His last statement was met with silence. At first he thought maybe the President had hung up but then he could hear Cole’s voice in the background.

He came back on the line, “Who would pay for the cost involved?”

“I should think we would split the cost,” Jason answered.

“And why should we pay for a meeting that you are calling for?  Since you want dialogue, you should pay for it,” Quasim replied.

“Then you don’t think a meeting is worth it, I take it?”

“I’m not saying that. I’m simply saying it is you who wants the meeting. You should foot the bill.”

“Are you saying that if we pay the expenses, you would send a delegation to the meeting?”

“I’m not agreeing to anything just this moment. I would want to talk it over with my staff before we commit to a face to face meeting,” Quasim said.

“Alright. If that is what it takes to get you to meet we will pay the bill. I will hold off informing the Prime Minister until you inform us of your decision.”

“Very well. We will get back to you at some point,” he said and hung up without another word.

“Wow. Warm and friendly,” MacMillan said as Jason put down the phone.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

“Why would we want to even consider talking to them?” Hanna Cole said.

“What harm could it do?” the President asked.

“Harm? It would send a message that we are not in control,” she said.

“Hanna, that doesn’t make sense to me. If they want the meeting they are the weaker party. They initiated the contact and have even gone so far as to see if Canada would host the thing. That sounds desperate to me,” he insisted.

“Benjamin, they have been kicking our butts in just about every battle we have fought. We have won maybe a handful of smaller battles but in most cases they have cleaned our clocks. They don’t consider themselves being in a weak position.”

“Then why would they even ask for such a meeting?”

“Hell if I know. But what I do know is that before we even consider it we need to bloody their noses. Something that will make them sit up and take notice. No small skirmish someplace out in the boonies where no one will know what happened.”

“Your suggesting a major attack on some well know city?”

“Exactly,” she confirmed.

“I’m not so sure that will spur them on to a meeting,” he replied.

“So what? The worst that can happen is that they call it off. Big deal. We will still have smacked them upside the head,” Cole insisted.

“We would have to get General Ascot in here to discuss something like this.”

“Recall him. He is just down in Norfolk.”

“Very well. I'll have him come back tomorrow. We can meet in the Oval Office at 4:00 P.M.”

“Excellent. This will give them something to really want to talk about,” she replied.

****

“What do you think?” Jason said after Quasim hung up abruptly.

“They will come. They have to act like they aren’t interested. It’s Cole’s influence. I’ll bet she is running the war more than Quasim is,” General MacMillan said.

“Probably but still, I can tell you from experience, Benjamin is damned stubborn at times.  I know how he thinks. Right now they are discussing how they can get the upper hand. They will want to send us a signal that they don’t really need the talks because they have the upper hand,” Jason told them.

“You mean a major offensive?” MacMillan asked.

“Probably.”

“That does not sound good.”

“I can guarantee you they will pull out all the stops to show us who the boss is,” Jason replied.

****

Aaron was ten different shades of red as the escorts took them to the Hutton Hotel. They were showing him the King Suite that he and Jamie had been booked into.

Jamie was looking around thinking she wished she had a larger selection of clothes other than the BDU’s they had been given.

“Wow, come check out the view,” she yelled to Aaron.

He was still in the outer room. He had yet to venture into the bedroom yet.

“Come on. Take a look at this,” she said.

He slowly walked into the bedroom and immediately looked at the king size bed. There was just the one bed.

“Look here,” she prompted, pulling back the heavy drapes, “Isn’t it spectacular?”

He was still gawking at the bed.

“What’s wrong,” she finally asked when she looked over and saw him unmoving.

“The bed?”

“Uh...there is only one.”

“Yeah, isn’t it cool?”

“But there is just the one,” he repeated.

“Are you afraid of me Aaron Crocker?” she said, standing with her hands on her hips.

“Well, no but...”

“Hey if it is going to bother you one of us can sleep in the other room.  The couch makes a bed too.”

“No. I don’t mean that. It’s just that...” he let the sentence trail off.

“Go on. Say what’s on your mind.”

“Are you, I mean, do you...ah hell. Are we going to sleep in the same bed?”

“Do you have something against that?”

“No, but are you sure," he asked nervously.

“Aaron. I’m not afraid of you. We have been joined at the hip for most of the past week. Heck, a family of five could sleep in that thing and not touch.”

“Well, okay if you’re good with it.”

“I am. And thank you for worrying about it,” she said.

The phone rang and Aaron almost jumped out of his skin. He picked it up and heard the voice of General MacMillan.

“Glad I got you. Look, I would like to send a car for you tomorrow morning. Is 0800 hundred okay with you?”

“Sure. That would be fine.”

“Good. Just be in the lobby and one of my people will pick you up. Bring your wife along as well. She may remember something you overlooked.”

“Eight O’clock. We will be there.”

“See you tomorrow. Get some sleep,” he said and hung up.

My wife? Oh hell. They must think he and Jamie are married. Now what was he going to do?.

“I take it that was the general.”

“Yeah.  He wants us to be in the lobby at 8:00 A.M.”

“Kind of early but he probably has a full day scheduled for you,” she said.

“He wants me to bring my wife along in case I forget something.”

She looked at him a moment then broke out laughing.

“Well then, this looks like a good time to consummate our marriage,” she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the bathroom.

“Might as well shower together and conserve water,” she said starting to unbutton her BDU’s.

CHAPTER FORTY

General Ascot was waiting impatiently in the hallway. His appointment with the President was supposed to start twenty-five minutes ago. He was convinced he was being kept waiting due to something the Vice President had a hand in. He hated the woman and she had made it very clear she didn’t think much of him.

“Sir,” a Marine said.

“Yes?”

“The President will see you now.”

“Oh goodie,” he muttered.

The Marine opened the door for him and he was ushered inside.

“Ah General. Sorry we are running a little late,” the President said.

The only other person in the room was Vice President Cole. She had a smug look on her face.

“So General, what do you have for us?”

“Mr. President, in keeping with your directive of selecting six non-military targets we have decided on these,” he said handing the folder to the President. He had another one that he could have given to the Vice President but decided the hell with her. She frowned at him but he ignored it.

“Why these six?” the President asked.

“May I see?” Cole said.

The President handed the folder over to her.”

“For starters, none of them are heavily defended. Some National Guard stuff but nothing major. They are of no military value really. What we would be doing is spreading terror across the center of the American Republic. We would be sending a message that we can reach out and touch you anyplace we want.”

“Why isn’t Nashville on the list?” Cole asked curtly.

“We considered that but in the end it didn’t seem like the right time just yet. Once you have your meeting in Canada then we can come back and bomb Nashville,” the General replied, keeping his eyes fixed on the President.

“Put Nashville on the list,” she said.

“Mr. President? If we bomb their capital they may well retaliate in kind. I don’t think you want to take that chance do you?”

“No. You’re right. It could mean repercussions here in the capital. I agree.  We can always come back to Nashville after the talks,” he said.

The General quickly glanced over at the Vice President and saw she was stone faced.

“When would you like us to put this into motion?” the General asked.

“Not just yet. I’ll answer Jason first, let them get the meeting set. Once we know the final date, I can turn you lose. How much advanced notice do you need before you could actually bomb the cities?”

“No more than eight hours.”

“Excellent. Well done General. I will get back to you as soon as I have all the details worked out.”

“Thank you sir. Madam Vice President,” he said standing to leave.

“Bring a copy for me next time General,” she said condescendingly.

“Oh, sorry, I have one for you,” he said and handed her a folder.

He turned and walked out smiling. Got you Wicked Witch of the West, he said under his breath. He could almost feel her eyes burning a hole in his back. Damn, that felt gooood.

****

General Adams, head of the American Revolutionary Army and General MacMillan, Supreme Commander of the Republic Military were sitting at a table in the basement of the Capital Building.

A few minutes later Crocker and Jamie were brought down.

“Jamie, Aaron. Thank you for coming so early. This is General Adams of the ARM.”

“Sure. I’ve heard of you guys. You have been kicking some butt...sir,” Crocket said.

“Nice to meet you Aaron, Jamie. I hope you got a good night’s sleep. Sometimes it hard in a new environment.”

Jamie was having to bite her tongue to keep from laughing.

“It did take a while,” Aaron managed to get out.

“Good. Good. I know you told us all about what you saw but would you mind going over it for General Adams?’

“Sure,” he said and started in on telling the story from the 2:00 A.M. raid up until the air-fuel bomb exploded.

“That certainly is disturbing,” Adams said when he had finished.

“I don’t want to resort to that kind of thing do you?”  MacMillan asked.

“Absolutely not. I hope that was a onetime thing. Actually once was too many.”

Aaron, Jamie, what are your plans now?” Adams asked.

“Honestly, we don’t really know. We talked a little about it but right now we aren’t really sure what we should do,” Aaron replied.

“What was your specialty?”

“Specialty? Shooting I guess.”

“We are snipers,” Jamie said.

“Both of you?” Adams asked.

“Both of us,” Jamie answered.

“You interested in joining ARM?”

Aaron looked over at Jamie. She just shrugged her shoulders.

“What would be involved?” she asked.

“We operate like a regular military unit but not quite as formal. We never order someone to do something that they are not willing to do. We don’t worry about spit and polish very much. We do have rank but it’s not as formal as General MacMillan’s regular forces.”

“Food, room and board, and uniforms are included I supposed?” she asked.

“Of course. We even pay you but honestly you don’t need much money. You get fifty dollars a month but almost everything you need you can get with a request form.”

“Would we be together?” Aaron asked.

“Absolutely. We have married housing everywhere the ARM is located except on the front lines of course.”

“And if we don’t want to do a mission, that’s okay?”

“I’m not sure okay is the right word, but we won’t force anyone participate if they really don’t want to. Look, it’s not all roses. We are at war. Things happen, but we do try to accommodate our people. After all they are volunteers,” Adams told them.

“Where would we be stationed, if that’s the right phrase?”

“You could be based just about any place but our main headquarters in now moved to Knoxville, Kentucky.”

“That sounds okay to me, how about you Jamie?” Aaron asked.

“I like Kentucky. As long as we are together, I don’t much care.”

“So, what do you say?”

“We will give it a try,” Aaron replied.

“Outstanding. I’m going back tomorrow myself. You can fly back with me. We are looking at wheels up at 0900 hundred. I’ll have someone collect you at 08:30 in the lobby,” General Adams said.

“We will be waiting,” Jamie replied.

“I know you only have the clothes on your back. We have an arrangement with a couple of stores. You can go there and have them bill us. Here is a card to show them,” MacMillan said, handing a plastic card over.

“Thank you. I guess that’s it then. We will see you in the morning. General Adams, General MacMillan. Pleasure to meet you both,” Jamie said as they were led back upstairs.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Mexico had been massing troops all along the Mexico-California border for weeks. While many of the soldiers were new and inexperienced, the training had been rigorous. Much more so than in the past.

Mexico’s Secretary of National Defense, Eleazar Guzman and three of his Division Generals were seated in comfortable burgundy leather chairs. President Hermilo Medrano was seated on a large leather couch.

“Mr. President, we now have 200,000 men along the border of California,” Eleazar said.

“Is that enough?”

“Well, as always, we would like more but for now it is all we have that are combat ready.”

“I see. And the planes from Russia. How is the training going?”

“They need more time. It is a difficult process to get the pilots ready.”

“So, what you are all saying is that we are not ready?”

“Mr. President. We have never had much need for a strong military to fight beyond our borders. We are amply prepared to defend but not so well equipped to acquire land,” Eleazar told him.

“Yes, yes. I quite understand.  So we need more time and we need some actual combat training,” Medrano said.

“That would help a great deal.”

“Then I purpose that we do the following. First, arrest and detain all Americans living in Mexico. If they are married to Mexican nationals, they will both be arrested. Secondly, you should use your men to rid the Baja Peninsula of all Americans as well.”

“So not only would they get used to handling the enemy, but would learn about logistics as well,” Eleazar replied.

“Quite so. I would like you to use all of our resources. Navy, Air Force, and Army. Make it an exercise that requires them to coordinate tactics,” the President said.

“Excellent idea, Mr. President. We will begin immediately. Just one detail. What do you want us to do with the Americans that we detain?”

“Take them to Giudad Hidalgo and detain them.”

“They will want to see someone from the American Embassy.”

“Then they will have to wait until someone can see them. They will be confined to the Embassy grounds with an escort,” the President replied.

“General Armando. Brief the President on the intelligence report from California.”

“Mr. President. We have men on Otay Mountain. There are many radio towers there. Once the signal is given they will destroy the towers. Others will take over the radio stations at Imperial Beach, Chula Vista and San Diego. We have over two thousand countrymen in the San Diego area alone. Our planes will be able to land at the Miramar facility to refuel. We have people ready to secure that facility as well,” Armando told the President.

“And Los Angles?”

“Over five thousand are waiting for us to give the word of the attack and they will disrupt radio, television, power stations, and rail systems. Police stations will be destroyed as well using Semtex.”

“Very good. Thank you gentlemen. You may proceed with phase one, rounding up the Americans and detaining them in Giudad Hidalgo. I will deal with the American Embassy when the time comes.”

“Very well Mr. President. Phase one will begin just as soon as I return to headquarters.”

“Excellent. Keep me informed.”

****

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is unique in that it has earned the Commander-in-Chief Installation Excellence Award over a hundred and sixty-one other Air Force Bases. But more than that is was a part of what is often called the ‘Boneyard’.

The Boneyard is the storage facility and scrap yard for thousands of airplanes. Some are used for spare parts to keep obsolete planes flying but others are placed there for storage and can be resurrected if needed.

It was because of this and the fact that the 355th Fighter Wing was located there that American Republic President Jason went to Arizona to talk to the state legislators.

It did not go as he had hoped. While they were receptive to some of the American Republic ideology, there were points that they couldn’t agree on. President Jason explained the precarious position they were in. By staying neutral, they were incurring a certain amount of risk. The only way for them to bring in provisions and necessary goods was to fly over California and then all the way around Canada or down as far as South America. Neither offered a very promising option. By joining with the Republic they would have access to all the other states.

He also pointed out that Utah and Montana were holding a special election to determine if they were going to join the Republic. Early indications were that Montana would no doubt become another Republic State.

The only commitment he would get from Arizona was that they would continue to consider their options. They were not willing to hold an election for citizen feedback at this point in time.

Jason left with mixed feelings. They had not said ‘no’ but they were a long way from joining them. It would be a big help to have access to Davis-Montha Air Force Base and the thousands of aircraft stored there.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Almost a week after last talking to James Jason, President Quasim called back as promised.

“Jason, President Quasim,” he said in his familiar voice.

Jason thought it was interesting that Quasim never referred to him as President Jason. Probably couldn’t bring himself to accept the fact that he no longer controlled the entire nation.

“Good to hear from you Mr. President.”

“We have been giving your proposal for peace talks a great deal of consideration. While not everyone is thrilled with the idea, several are. One thing that we would insist on is an advance agenda and the right to modify it,” Quasim said.

“Well Mr. President. Actually if you would like, you may send us an agenda that you would like to discuss,” Jason said.

The line was silent for several seconds.

“Humm. No, I think it would be better if it came from your end since you are the one that wants the conference. We are just agreeing to attend.”

“Mr. President, we are more than willing to accommodate you however you like. The agenda is not the important thing to us at the moment. Our goal is to start a dialogue that would end the killing of American citizens. There, in a nutshell, is the entire agenda. How to reconcile our differences so that the fighting can stop,” Jason replied.

“I see. Nothing about economic issues, commerce or domestic issues?”

“I can certainly see a need for that at a future time. For the present time, the cessation of hostilities is our main concern. Nothing takes precedence over that.”

“Very well. I can see your point.  Then it will be a one topic agenda.”

“Can we agree upon a cease fire until that point in time?” Jason asked hopefully.

“Frankly I doubt it. Let’s talk first then we will see what can be worked out,” Quasim replied.

“Excellent. Do you have some dates in mind? I will need to coordinate with the Canadian Prime Minister.”

“How much time would that take?”

“I’m sure he would want at least a week’s notice to get security in place and everything else that goes into hosting another nation.”

That seems reasonable but to be on the safe side, let’s say ten days from now. Is that agreeable to you?” Quasim asked.

“Absolutely.”

“Then once you make the appropriate arrangements with Prime Minister Benoît, you can let us know the final details.”

“We will inform you as soon as we know. Thank you Mr. President,” Jason said as they broke the connection.

“Well,” Jason said as soon as he replaced the phone, “That is a big step in the right direction.”

“An agreement to a cease fire would have been nice but I guess you can’t have everything. Getting them to the table is a huge step in ending the fighting,” General MacMillan said.

“We still need to be vigilant. It would be just like them to launch an attack just before the talks. LBJ used to do that, thinking it gave us a position of power. It didn’t, but no one could tell that hard head anything,” Vice President Folly added.

“If they do try to pull anything, it will be during the last few days before the conference. We will put everyone on full alert the five days before the Ottawa meeting,” MacMillan said.

****

“We need to have a diversionary attack before Operation Lightning Strike. I have decided on an attack on Knoxville, Tennessee. We will do this three days before the conference,” General Ascot said.

“Where will the main strike force come from?” President Quasim asked.

“The Spearhead will be from Wright-Patterson AFB.”

“Why there? Dayton doesn’t have all that much in the way of assets,” Cole asked.

“More than you might imagine. We have been moving the B1-B and B-2 Bombers quietly to Wright-Patterson. We have also placed twenty F-35 Lightings there as well,” Ascot told them.

“Are you using any ground troops?” Quasim asked.

“No. That’s not our intent. Keep in mind, this just a diversionary attack. The main operation will commence thirty-six hours later.”

“Same aircraft?”

“Oh no. We intend to go with the big boys when we launch Operation Lightning. We will be sending the B-52H bombers.”

“What about their warning aircraft?”

“The F-16 Falcons and F-15 Eagles will be up ahead of the B-52’s to knock them out of the sky.”

“Nothing has changed on the selected cities, has it?” Quasim asked.

“No sir. Just the ones you have approved.”

“Good. Anything else General?”

“No sir, unless you have something further for me, I’ll be over at the Pentagon.”

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

“What do you think?”

“I am not so sure we are ready, President Medrano,” Mexico’s Secretary of National Defense, Eleazar Guzman told him.

“I’m afraid if we wait too long we will miss the window of opportunity.”

“Yes Señor Presidente, I understand but perhaps there is another way.”

“I’m not sure I understand, General Medrano.”

“Please. I know this is a unique proposal but if you would just hear me out.”

“Go ahead.”

“What if we joined forces with the two largest Drug Cartels to give our army not only more bodies but trained fighters as well?”

“General, have you lost your mind? The very people we are trying to rid this country of?”

“Señor Presidente, it would give us an instant combat ready Army.”

“But at what cost? We could never trust them. They would just as soon kill our own soldiers as join forces with them,” the President said.

“I am not so sure. They might see this as a good business opportunity. They would have free access to California.”

“And then we would have one more place to fight them.”

“Maybe not. Perhaps we could kill two birds with one stone.”

“General, I am trying to follow you but honestly I don’t see how that could possible benefit us. They would no more trust us than we would them,” the President replied.

“It would depend on how we presented. If we gave them a reason to join us that they could not refuse, then maybe they would put aside the differences between us,” the General said.

“Well, that is certainly a creative suggestion but I cannot see this working.”

“What would it hurt to approach them with such a proposal?”

“And just what would that proposal be? We let them move drugs as they desire and we will simply turn the other way?”

“No, no Señor Presidente. We would have to become partners with them.”

“What? You mean the government should join the cartels?”

“No. The cartels should join the government. We could legitimize their business. It would stop the cartel wars and much of the killing. Our only restrictions would be that they could not sell in Mexico. What they do in other countries would not concern us.”

“I am surprised at such a proposal. Especially from you General Medrano. We have been trying to rid our country of those murderers and now you suggest we become one of them. I’m very concerned that you would bring up such an idea.”

“Ah, well there is one more point I need to make so you will understand the full impact of the proposal.”

“I think I have heard quite enough.”

“Please Señor Presidente. Just let me finish.”

“Alright General but I must tell you I am disturbed.”

“Then here is the rest of my plan...”

****

Aaron Crocker and Jamie Stattler were given a small duplex outside of the Army National Guard headquarters just a few blocks off Sutherland Avenue. The complex was now shared with ARM. They were glad to see it was fully furnished since they had little besides the clothes on their backs.

After changing into fresh uniforms, they reported in to the ARM headquarters. Master Sargent Langford welcomed them and wrote down all of their information.

“You think you are good enough to be snipers?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” Crocker and Stattler answered in union.

“Let’s go see,” he said leading them to the new target range that had just been finished.

“You have your own weapons I see. Not military issue but I guess if you are happy with them and can shoot well enough, they will serve the purpose,” he told them.

He got them situated and had them start from sitting at a bench. They could use the tripod attached to the gun rails but nothing else. The starting distance was three hundred yards.

Aaron went first after shooting in two sighting rounds.

“You have five rounds. Only nines, tens, and X count.  Everything else is a miss. Understand?”

“Got it,” Crocker replied and aimed through the scope. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, keeping a small amount in his lungs and squeezed the trigger. He fired the other four in semi-rapid succession.

Looking through a spotting scope the Master Sargent said, three ten’s and two X’s. Nice shooting.”

Jamie followed the same procedure that Aaron had done. She took her breath, let it out and squeezed the trigger five times.

“One Ten, four x’s,” He reported.

They continued on out at one hundred yard increments until they got to seven hundred yards. It was as far as the shooting range extended.

Aaron had one nine just a shade outside the ten ring. Three tens and one X. Once again Jamie did a little better, she had four tens and one X.

“No doubt about it, you two can shoot. Sniping is what it will be. Just one question. Are you going to team up or split up so you are both shooters or stay together as one shooter and one spotter?”

“Uh, well Sargent we are both shooters. I mean we haven’t needed a spotter so far.”

“Yes, but when you get into heaver fire fights you will find a spotter is critical to your survival. You can’t look everyplace at once. It’s the way it has to be if you are going to be snipers,” he told them.

“Then can we get back to you on that? We need to talk it over some before we commit,” Aaron said.

“Sure. Talk it over and just let me know. I’ll work on team assignments in case you split or put you in your own team if you decided one is willing to be the spotter,” the Sargent replied.

“Thanks Sargent. We will figure it out and get right back to you,” Jamie assured him.

The packed their gear and slowly walked back to the building.

“What do you think?” Aaron asked.

“What do you think?”

“Oh no. I asked first. I know you want to shoot. So do I, but on the other hand, I don’t want another partner.”

“That about sums it up,” Jamie replied

“So what do we say?” Aaron asked.

“We stay together and either take turns shooting or both shoot if the opportunity presents itself. Hey, it’s our lives we’re risking so we will just do our own thing,” Jamie said.

“Ya’ know young lady. You are one smart woman. That’s exactly what we will do.”

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Six E-3 Sentry (AWACS) long range warning aircraft flew over various parts of the American Republic States. These remarkable airborne early warning and surveillance planes are the eyes and ears of both aircraft and ground troops. As technologically advanced as they are, for the most part they are vulnerable to long range missile attacks. To counter that, a new high powered laser beam system has been installed on the E-3. While it works against some types of missiles, other types can still get through.

The aircraft of the United States was just out of visual range of the E-6 keeping watch on the Kentucky/Tennessee area. Suddenly their attack warning board lit up.

“We have a threat warning,” one of the operators said unnecessarily.

Every member knew the minute the bogie had lit up the plane with radar. They immediately sprang into a well-rehearsed chorography of defense maneuvers to evade the predator.

Unfortunately for them, the F-16s were equipped with the new Raytheon AIM-125 AMRAAM and Vympel R-80 missiles.  A long range standoff missile could penetrate the electronic defenses of the E-6 Sentry.

“Jamming active.”

“Damn, it is still locked on. Deploy chaff and flairs.”

“Deployed.”

They waited but the missile kept coming. One of the problems with the E-6 with its huge radar dome was that maneuverability is relatively slow. There is no way it can pull a tight enough turn to evade a missile.

“We are toast, bail out, bail out,” the pilot yelled over the intercom.

The missile traveling at Mach 4 slammed into the E-6 just behind the cockpit slicing the aircraft in two before erupting in a huge explosion. The E-6 broke apart in thousands of pieces and plummeted toward the earth.

“Splash one Sentry,” the F-16 Falcon pilot reported.

“Roger. Linebackers are on schedule.”

“Copy. Will escort to target.”

The three B1-B bombers cleared the area where the E-6 had gone down and vectored toward Knoxville.  Forty minutes later they released their deadly cargo of bombs. The main target was the downtown area extending from the Tennessee River to the spaghetti bowl area around Interstate 40 and I-275. Each one of the B1-B bombers unleashed over 125,000 pounds of bombs. Almost everything from Five Points to the University of Tennessee was leveled. The death toll was twenty-six thousand two hundred and seventy. Over forty-five thousand were wounded and another nine hundred unaccounted for.

****

“Aaron? Aaron can you hear me?” Jamie shouted.

She tried to move but a section of the roof had collapsed across her left ankle. She could smell smoke and knew a fire was burning someplace nearby.

“Aaron, can you hear me?” she yelled as loud as she could.

They had been standing only a few feet apart when the bomb had landed just across the street. The explosion and shockwave had collapsed their house. The last thing she remembered was flying backward and hitting something hard.

She felt behind her and realized she had a big knot on the back of her head. As far as she could tell she wasn’t bleeding. The smell of smoke was getting stronger by the minute. She continued to struggle, scraping the skin off her ankle until she was finally able to pull it out from under the beam. She tried to stand but realized that the ankle could well be broken. She crawled out of where the room had once been and found a large section of the roof had collapsed on that part of the house as well.

“Please. Aaron answer me,” she yelled, starting to choke on the smoke.

She could hear the crackle of fire getting louder. She knew that she didn’t have much time. Crawling over to the large section of roof she tried to look under it to see.  Her eyes were watering, making it even harder. She reached under as far as she could and felt a shoe.  Tugging hard, she finally pulled it free. It was just one of her old tennis shoes.

“Aaron,” she croaked as the smoke continued to get thicker.

It was getting hotter by the second and she knew she didn’t have much time left before the whole house went up in flames. She started crawling toward the back of the house. The outer wall was still standing and she finally made her way into the relatively fresh air.

“Are you alright?” a man said, suddenly appearing.

“My ankle is broken I think but my friend is trapped inside. Please. Get him out,” she begged.

“Do you know where exactly?”

“I think under the large roof section just on the other side of the kitchen.”

“I’ll give it a quick look but the house is going to go up in flames in another minute or so,” he said, rushing inside.

A minute later he came out coughing and gasping for breath. His face was black with soot. Streaks were on his cheeks from where tears had run down his face.

“Where is he?” Jamie said when he emerged.

“I couldn’t find anyone. I tried to crawl under the roof section but I could only go a short distance. I’m afraid that if your friend is in there he has probably died of smoke inhalation,” he said sitting down on the grass beside her and coughing.

“You can’t let him die. Please,” she said starting to crawl towards the house.

He reached out and wrapped his hand around her good leg.

“Don’t go in there unless you want to die too. I’m sorry but if he is in there, he is dead.”

As if to emphasize his words a huge ‘Whoosh’ caused them to raise their hands to protect their faces. The house had burst into flames.

“I’m sorry. There was nothing we could have done,” he said coughing once again.

“Aaron,” she whispered.

It was so unfair. She had finally found someone she actually cared about and now, in an instant, he was gone.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

The news of the bombing of Knoxville reached General MacMillan while he was coordinating security with the CSIS. The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service operated much like our Secret Service. The two groups were putting the final touches on the security plan that would be in place when President Quasim from the United States and President Jason from the American Republic held talks.

They had been expecting some sort of action but nothing on this scale. Over twenty-six thousand were dead and another forty thousand injured. CSIS head Antone Jabel came to deliver the news.

“Do you want to put everything on hold?” Jable asked.

“I honestly don’t know. I will need to get further instructions from the President,” MacMillan replied.

“I would not be surprised if the meeting was called off.”

“It would be hard to argue with you on that,” MacMillan said.

He called the President to determine what course of action, if any, he should take.

“I guess I really don’t know. You said he would do something but I guess I never expected that something to be of quite this magnitude,” Jason told him.

“I would not be surprised if he didn’t do something similar either tonight or tomorrow night. He is trying to show you that finding a solution to the fighting is of no concern to him. He wants to be in control of the meeting and this is one way of getting your attention,” Mac replied.

“What do you think we should do?” Jason asked.

“Sir, not to be flippant but that is hardly my call.”

“I realize that General, but nevertheless, I would like your opinion.”

“Well sir, since you are asking, I would bomb the hell out of one of their major cities.”

“That would make us as despicable as them. I don’t mind retaliation, but dropping bombs on innocent people is not what we should be about.”

“Sir. All I can say is that at times you have to fight fire with fire. If we are the good guys all the time they are going to ultimately clean our clock. War isn’t about being more civilized than the enemy. It’s about bringing them to their knees,” MacMillan told the President.

“I understand that the bombers came out of Wright-Patterson Air Base in Dayton, Ohio.”

“That’s what I’ve been told.”

“Then I want you to put together a mission to take out the entire base. I want everything leveled.  Use whatever weapons you feel are necessary. Can you do that before the talks?”

“Mr. President, I will have planes in the air in eight hours.”

“Then do it General. Destroy as many aircraft as possible and make the facility totally unusable.”

“Consider it done,” MacMillan said.

“Are the talks still on?” Jabel asked after he had hung up from talking to the President.

“For the moment. He did not indicate that he wanted to call them off.”

“I don’t mean to pry but you suggested retaliation. What will happen if you do? Will President Quasim then want to call of the meeting?”

“I don’t know the answer to what President Quasim may or may not do. What I do know is that we can’t afford to allow this to go unanswered,” MacMillan told him.

“Yes, that’s all well and good but just as an outsider's opinion, I think this has the potential to escalate your war,” Jabel said.

Mac shook his head and said, “I know, but what else can we do? If we don’t do something they will become even bolder and then what? They think nothing of killing innocent civilians.”

“My friend, I do not have the answer to that. I am merely pointing out the possible repercussions.”

****

At 20:42 the last B-52H bomber took off from Shaw Air Force Base near Sumter, South Carolina. Escorting them was the 20th Fighter Wing. The six B-52s were surrounded by a dozen F-16 Falcon fighter aircraft.

Their flight path took them west to Tennessee until they cleared the tip of Virginia before turning north over Kentucky.

Once they crossed into Ohio they knew there was no way to avoid being identified. The fighter planes were prepared to protect the bombers at any cost. Almost immediately the Falcon’s threat warning alarms went off. The B-52’s had angled off to the east to avoid Cincinnati and then looped back to the North West for the bomb run.

Twenty miles from the target, F-15E Strike Eagles appeared. The F-16’s broke formation and immediately sat out to engage the much larger planes. The Falcons are far more agile in close combat and within minutes three of the Strike Eagles had been splashed. The battle raged on as the B-52’s continued their steady pace towards Dayton.

Suddenly one of the huge bombers exploded as a missile slammed into the side of it. Metal, bombs and human bodies rained down on the countryside below. A second bomber had a huge part of its vertical stabilizer missing. Undaunted, the large aircraft continued its bombing run.

By the time they were at the release point. Two F-16 Falcons had been shot down and seven F-15 Eagles were either destroyed or wounded too badly to continue.

The bomber pilots released control to the bombardier and within seconds tons of iron bombs were slamming into Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. By the time the smoke cleared, the base no longer existed. Twenty-seven B1-B bombers were nothing but smoldering wreckage along with fifteen B-2 stealth bombers. At 282 million dollars apiece for the B1-B Lancer Bombers and another 750 Million dollars for each of the B-2’s the total cost, not including the shot down planes, was in excess of seventeen billion dollars.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

President Quasim was seething while waiting for General Ascot to arrive. Having the Vice President in the room wasn’t making his disposition any better.

General Ascot arrived at the White House and was immediately hustled to the Oval Office. The President had been pacing back and forth. Ascot knew that was never a good sign. Hanna Cole was sitting on the couch, leaning back with her arm over the back.

“About damn time,” the President snapped.

“I came as quickly as I could. Someone at the White House has issued a directive that all helicopters used by the Pentagon personnel must be cleared through here first,” the General said, taking a seat without waiting to be offered one.

“No one gave such an order from the White House,” the President said frowning.

“Someone did. When I called for one to get me over here I was told in no uncertain terms that I needed authorization.”

“That’s crazy. I never gave such an order. Hanna?”

“We were having too much unauthorized use of the Marine Helicopters. Something had to be done. I’m afraid I didn’t make it clear enough that top military personnel such as the General did not need authorization. Someone must not have understood the intent of the directive.”

“Ms. Cole...we will discuss this later. It can wait for now. The General is here and we can move on. General Ascot, I would like for you to explain how the American Republic could retaliate against our forces in such a short time. We bombed Knoxville and within eight hours they were taking out a huge chunk of our B1 and B2 bombers,” he asked.

“Sir, it’s fairly simple. General MacMillan or General Adams calls up the President and outlines a plan. The President says Yea or Nay and they go off and do it. We, on the other hand, plan an operation after you give the order. Then we go back and come up with a plan. We come here where you, the Vice President, and whoever else you bring in, go over it and makes changes. We go back, make the changes and bring it back once again for approval. If it passes, we are given the go ahead. From that point on it takes about the same amount of time to implement the plan as it does on their side,” he replied.

He could see Cole sitting up and getting red in the neck. It wouldn’t be long before she blew her top. This should be fun, the thought.

“General, General, General,” she started, “Are you laying the blame on our doorstep? I can’t even begin to believe you are suggesting we are the ones causing the delays.”

“Madam Vice President, the President asked me a question. I answered it to the best of my ability. If you don’t like the answer, make up one of your own and save me the wasted time sitting in traffic.”

Cole came off the seat with her fist clenched and walked up to the General. He just looked at her with an amused expression. He could almost see steam coming out of her ears.

“How dare you talk down to me,” she hissed at him.

“Hanna,” the President interjected.

“Just who do you think you are? You are nothing but a little boy playing soldier,” she spat out.

“Hanna,” the President said raising his voice but she went on as if she never heard him.

“Let me tell you something soldier boy, you are not going to...”

“Ms. Cole,” the President’s voice cut through the air like a knife.

She stopped in mid-sentence and turned and glared at him.

“That will be enough,” the President said undaunted by her look of hate.

It became very quiet in the room. The President walked around his desk and sat down. He sat for a moment before he started in again.

“General, I’m sorry for any misunderstanding about air transportation. We will have that oversight corrected immediately. You and your staff will have no further problems with transportation, I can assure you.”

“Thank you sir.”

“Now as I understand what you are saying, they can respond quicker because of a shorter chain of command,” the President said calmly.

He glanced over at the Vice President and could see she was struggling for control of her emotions. Her face was still red and her hands were clenched into fists.

“That is essentially correct. The President gives an order and leaves it up to his Generals to determine the best method to solve the problem and then they simply take care of it. When the mission is complete, they debrief the President,” the General told him.

“Sir, if I may be totally honest, far too many past Presidents thought they could control a war from the White House. I understand the temptation but the simple fact is that only the men in the field really know what is needed and when. It takes far too long to get permission or to respond to a situation when the chain of command leads all the way back to the White House.”

“Hunh,” Hanna responded.

“So you are suggesting that I simply tell you what the mission should be and leave the rest up to you and your advisors?”

“Only if you want us to respond more quickly and to execute missions with a shorter turnaround time.”

“Thank you General Ascot. This has been most enlightening. Let me think on this a bit and I will get back to you. I appreciate your candor. Telling the Commander-in-Chief to back off isn’t an easy task.”

“No sir it isn’t.”

“Thank you General, we will let you know how we intend to proceed.”

“Understood. Mr. President, Madam Vice President,” the General said standing up and taking his leave.

The President waited a few moments before he spoke.

“Hanna. We have had these discussions too many times in the past. When I am holding a meeting, you are to listen and keep you temper under control. The General was absolutely right and I suspect the Helicopter was done as an annoyance. Now unless you intend to go fight on the front lines, I strongly suggest you find a way to work with General Ascot. He is our best leader and without his expertise we would be in a world of hurt. I am only going to say this one more time. If you want to be included in future decisions made by this office, you will keep you emotions and your mouth in check. When I want your opinion I will ask for it. Is that understood Madam Vice President?”

Hanna had only seen him like this on one or two occasions. She knew if she crossed the line now, she would be out on her ear. As much as it galled her, she was going to have to swallow her pride.

“I apologize for my outburst. It will not happen again. I will correct the problems with the Pentagon staff’s transportation immediately.”

“That’s good enough for me. There is no use to beat a dead horse. There is one other thing I would like you to do for me. I would like for you to apologize to General Ascot about the ‘soldier boy’ remark. The man is one of the most decorated soldiers in our service. He deserves your respect.”

She had to fight saying that she would never apologize to that man but she knew she was backed into a corner with no way out.

“Yes Mr. President. I will do so immediately,” she managed to get out.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

General Ascot went into action immediately upon his return. He wanted to be ready to strike the targets outlined in the mission plan quickly as soon as he got the go ahead from the President.

He was sure that the talk with Quasim would get the desired results. He needed to impress the President regarding how quickly they could respond.

B1-B, B-2 and a few B-52’s were loaded, moved to the taxiways with crews in place and ready to take off immediately. Fighters stood ready to start their engines to escort the bombers.

Now all he needed was the authorization to launch the attack. The General didn’t have to wait long.

****

The fighters started to roll down the runway and the bombers eased forward. Within minutes all aircraft were launched.

“Can you believe we are going to actually bomb Little Rock?” the copilot asked.

“I’m not too thrilled about it I can tell you that. I have a few relatives that live in the Little Rock area. I sure the hell don’t want to be the one that bombs them.”

“This is just crazy. How in the hell did we ever get to this point?”

“Hundreds of little things built up until it simply boiled over,” the pilot replied.

“Well I wish someone one would put a stop to it. Killing other Americans is just plain stupid,” the copilot replied.

“I don’t know if I can do this much longer. I’m thinking about resigning my commission.”

“You can’t do that. They won’t just let you quit. We have a draft in place. You have to serve.”

“Not as an officer. I can resign my commission and just be an enlisted man.”

“What the heck good would that do?”

“Well for one, I wouldn’t have to bomb our own cities and kill civilians. And for another thing, I wouldn’t have to be sitting here hoping we can even make it to the target without dying,” the pilot replied.

Almost as an exclamation point alarms sounded. The escort fighters were breaking off to attack the incoming bogies. Soon missile contrails filled the air as fighters engaged each other in deadly combat. A bomber just in front of them suddenly went up in a huge fireball. Another missile streaked by just a few feet from them.

Machine gun fire riddled the nose of the plane and the copilot suddenly fell face forward. His helmet was shattered like an eggshell. The plane shuttered and started to roll to the right. The pilot fought to regain control but it continued to roll.

“Get ready to bail out,” he yelled into the microphone.

He didn’t know if his crew had heard him or not, he was too busy fighting to regain control of the aircraft. He knew it was a lost cause when it started to stall and continued to roll over on its back.  There was nothing he could do except eject.

He yelled one more time for everyone to bail out of the aircraft before he pulled the yellow and black ejection handles.

****

While everything had not gone exactly as planned, it was nevertheless a successful mission for the most part. Montgomery and Birmingham, Alabama had received substantial damage.

Jackson, Mississippi had been especially hard hit with all but two of the bombers getting through. Little Rock was only slightly damaged. The United States had lost nine bombers and seven fighters. Only four bombers had been able to drop their bombs and even one of them had a rack malfunction and was only able to drop bombs from the external hard points.

The damage to Tallahassee was minimal. They ran into stiff opposition long before they had reached their bombing vector and as a result only two bombers had gotten through. One had been limping along and was too far off course to do any real damage.

Dallas, like Jackson, sustained substantial damage. The bombers had targeted most of the area inside the I-635 loop. Especially hard hit, besides the downtown area, was the Naval Air Station. The entire area around Mountain Creek Lake had been left in ruins.

The devastation was horrendous. Landmark buildings such as the Dallas Theater Center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright were flattened. Even more horrific was the death total. Over forty-two thousand were confirmed dead, three times that many wounded and nearly sixteen thousand missing or unaccounted for. It was by far the largest loss of American lives in any single day’s conflict.

****

“You are telling me that they murdered over one hundred and fifty thousand innocent citizens during those raids?” President Jason asked holding his head in his hands.

“The death total will be a lot higher as they continue to dig bodies from the rubble,” General MacMillan said.

“My God. This is unbelievable. Our conference is due to start the day after tomorrow and they do this? What is wrong with those people? Surely the President didn’t authorize this,” he said leaning back in his chair.

“Sir, this could only have come from him. General Ascot would not have the authority to carry out such a mission without approval from the President.”

“But the peace conference. I mean...why would he do such a thing?”

“He wanted to be in a position of power. He wanted you to know that he could go after whatever targets he desired. The message was quite clear. Give up and get back in line or we will continue to bomb your cities.”

“He has to be crazy. Does he think that killing innocent civilians will make us simply roll over and do what he wants?”

“Yes sir. That is exactly what he believes.”

“And the world thought Hitler was insane. President Quasim has nothing on him. Unbelievable,” President Jason uttered.

“Sir. I have a suggestion if you are interested,” the General said.

“Oh dear. I’m not so sure I’m going to like this.”

“No sir, I’m sure you won’t but you need to hear it anyway,” the General replied.

“Go on,” President Jason said leaning forward.

The General had been right, he didn’t like it one bit.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

The two Presidents were meeting at last in Ottawa, Canada. Prime Minister Benoît had been on hand to greet both President Quasim and President Jason. The meeting was to take place at the Canadian Federal Parliament Building. The building, finished in 1927, contained the House of Commons and Senate Chambers and sits on the scenic Ottawa River.

The evening before the historic meeting was to take place Prime Minister Benoît hosted a small gathering at the Confederations Building.

Both Presidents were cool to one another but kept things cordial between them. Benoît had made it very clear to both men that he would allow no politics to be discussed during the gathering.

By 10:00 p.m. both Presidents had retired to their quarters to prepare for the next day’s meeting.

****

“Did you catch that smug look he had on his face?” President Jason said.

“It may have been there tonight but I think after we have our talks tomorrow, it will be quite a different look,” the Republic Affairs Chief, Mary Lake said.

“Everything depends on timing. It is the most critical element of the entire meeting.”

“Don’t worry so much. General MacMillan is an excellent tactician. He has surrounded himself with competent people. He is probably more aware of how important timing is than anyone.  I would venture to say, the poor man will get very little sleep tonight,” she replied.

“You are right of course but...”

“Easy. No use getting worked up over things you can’t control. You have enough on your plate tomorrow without losing sleep over it.”

“Got it,” he finally answered.

“Now goodnight. Try to get some sleep. It is a huge day tomorrow,” Mary said on her way out of the room.

“I will give it my best shot,” he said as the door closed.

If there was ever a time to pray, this was it, he thought as he got undressed and climbed into the luxurious bed. He ran through all the things he wanted to say tomorrow and amazingly enough, he was asleep before he knew it.

****

General MacMillan had not gotten much sleep. In fact he had hardly slept at all. So many details had to work with a minimal margin of error. Finally he quit tossing and turning around 0400 and fell asleep.

It seemed like he had just closed his eyes when an orderly woke him. He sat up and slowly got out of bed. After finishing his personal hygiene routine, he had his driver take him to the flight line.

“Attention,” someone yelled as he got out of the car.

“Belay that. At ease,” he said quickly.

He looked around at the flight crews and smiled briefly.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I do not have to tell you how important the timing on this mission is. Actually it is the most critical element other than getting you all back safely,” he said and smiled again.

“Every detail has been set to specific time parameters. You have one of the most challenging elements. The variables you face are more arduous and dangerous. I want you all to know, timing and safety is all I care about on this mission. How well you hit the target, or even IF you hit it is not nearly as important. You have a difficult and hazardous journey ahead of you. I am proud of each of you for volunteering for this mission. May God watch over you as you carry out your assignments,” he said and saluted them.

The all snapped to attention and saluted the General back.

“Take me to the Operations Center,” he said to the driver after he got back in the car.

It was just a short drive and he immediately went to the Hot Room. Admirals Heathcoat and Greenfield were already in the room. They had been overseeing the maneuvering of the Republic's Naval ships.

“How are we doing Colin?”

“They are just outside of range and steaming parallel to the coast. They will launch at 0730 hours and will penetrate the air space at 0810 hours,” Admiral Heathcoat replied.

“And the subs?”

“The Virginia, Hartford, and New Hampshire are all on station. They will commence launch at 0815 hours.”

“What about the Annapolis and Springfield?”

“They are with the other ships as a secondary defense measure.

“Where is Colonel Fox?” the General asked looking around the room.

“He will be right back. He went to gather the latest weather information.”

“Good, Good. Then I guess we can’t do much more for the time being,” MacMillan said, taking off his hat and sitting down in one of the chairs along the wall.

****

“Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen. The talks today are between the United States of America and the American Republic. The purpose of this meeting is to see if some form of peace accord can be established between the two opposing nations. Our role in this is to provide the facility, safeguard the delegates, and prevent hostilities from interfering with the dialogue. Now if you are both in agreement with the ground rules, we may proceed,” the Prime Minister said.

“I agree,” President Quasim replied.

“I certainly agree as well.”

“Excellent. Then gentlemen, since the American Republic President James Jason called for the meeting he may begin.”

“Thank you. President Quasim, first I would like to thank you for agreeing to meet with me and I would like to thank our host for allowing this to take place on Canadian soil,” he said by way of starting.

Both the Prime Minister and President Quasim nodded.

“Mr. President, to date it is our conservative estimate that we have lost the lives of over seven hundred and eighty thousand Americans in our current Civil War. Seven hundred and eighty thousand, men, women and children. We cannot, as civilized nations, allow this to continue. We are offering to stop all hostilities if you are willing to abide by the boundaries of the states as they now stand,” Jason said.

“Well, we certainly understand the concern. The fact that two hundred thousand have died plus who knows how many are wounded and missing, is a great concern to us on our side as well. The road to peace is really a very straight and short one. All you have to do is rejoin the United Stated of America and hostilities can end immediately,” Quasim replied.

“Mr. President, I respect your view but you must realize that the division was brought about by acts that were repugnant to the Republic States. You are saying that all we have to do is submit to your will and everything will be fine.”

“It is the fastest and easiest way to end all of this.”

“Can’t you see that it was the direction the country was headed that caused all of this in the first place?”

“Not really. What caused all of this was a bunch of hot headed Senators and disgruntled politicians wanting to set up their own empire,” Quasim said.

“You can’t mean that. Your administration completely disregarded the provisions of the second amendment. Did you honestly think your administration could do such a thing with no repercussions?”

“The interpretation of the second amendment is within the power of the President of the United States and the Supreme Court. Just a few weeks ago, the Supreme Court upheld revisions to the first and second amendment.  Arguments for the fourth amendment are going on as we speak.”

“You are dismantling the Bill of Rights?” Jason said, shocked at the new revelation.

“No, we are not dismantling it, as you say, but modernizing it to meet the current political trends.”

“You are the current political trend. You are taking the government out of the hands of the people,” Jason argued.

“Oh grow up Jason. The government has never really been in the hands of the people. It is just a myth to give the illusion that they have some say. You are so naïve I wonder how you ever got as far in politics as you did.”

“President Quasim,” the Prime Minister cautioned.

“And you honestly think that to end this war we would just knuckle under and let you regain control over the Republic States?”

“Let me answer that this way. What other choice do you really have?  One way or the other we will have control over the so called Republic at some point. The question is, how many more lives are you willing to sacrifice for an untenable position?”

The sparring went on for the next hour before a short break was called. Neither side had given quarter.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

General MacMillan watched as the last of the planes headed off. They would soon rendezvous with fighters from other bases. He glanced at this watch, 0741 hours. Everything was on scheduled so far but it was just the beginning.

Colonel Fox had informed him a little earlier that a low pressure area was located over Delaware and could create some heavy cloud coverage for parts of the Eastern Seaboard.

No use in worrying about that. He couldn’t do anything to change it. It would be impossible to change the plans at this point. All he could do was wait and hope for the best. He felt like he was a hundred years old as he walked back toward the Operations Building.

****

“Gentlemen if you are ready,” the Prime Minister said as they took their seats once again.

“President Quasim. You may begin.”

“As I was saying before the break, your Republic is in a very precarious position. The causality rate for the United States is approximately one fifth of what you have experienced. It would seem prudent to consider the suffering of your people. How many more are you willing to sacrifice before the outcry is so strong that you have a rebellion on your hands?”

“Your observations are correct. We have many more dead than you but that is because we have only targeted military bases. As some point that will change. We are not inclined to bomb cities indiscriminately. We value the lives of innocent citizens.”

“It is war. In a war everyone is a soldier. Every city is a base. You cannot simply rule out every city and expect to win a war. Even during World War II, cities were bombed on both sides. The Americans, British, and Russians bombed many German cities that had no military significance.”

“And you want to revert to the tactics of the Second World War?”

“Jason, war is never pleasant. No one really wants a war but once one breaks out, you find yourself in a position that requires disagreeable choices. After all, not all of the bombs you dropped on Dayton were aimed at just the military. A large section of the inner city was destroyed as well,” President Quasim replied.

“But that is exactly what we are trying to avoid. We want all hostilities to stop. No more bombing of civilians or military.  We need to work together to stop the killing,” Jason replied.

“To what end?”

“Excuse me?”

“To what end? So we stop the bombing, what happens then? Do you seriously believe that we will allow the United States to be divided? Can’t you see how much that would weaken the country? We would be vulnerable to attack by any nation. No Jason, the war will not stop until you decide to give up this frivolous quest for a perfect government.”

“I’m not asking for a perfect government. Just one that answers to the people. A government that understands what the average citizen is going through. Not one where the Administrator sits in a big building like some Greek god and passes down judgments”

“Jason, Jason, Jason. You live in such a dream world. Do you honestly think that those in government are willing to give up the perks their office brings? Think about that for a moment. Can you really picture such a thing happening?” Quasim asked.

“Yes I can. We have it now in the Republic. Our government is made up of people that understand they have a duty to the citizens of the state they represent. We are not going to put them on a pedestal and treat them like they have some mystical power over others.”

“That is foolish. You may have that now but over time it will never succeed.”

“I guess only time will tell...”

The outer door opened and a uniformed officer came in the room and whispered into the Prime Minister's ear. Both of the Presidents could tell that he had just received some rather shocking news. He glanced at the two men and then dismissed the officer.

“Gentlemen. I would like a quick break. I would like a word with President Jason alone if no one objects.”

Quasim looked at him curiously but stood and left without asking any questions.

After the door was closed, the Prime Minister said, “I believe you know what I am about to tell you. Obviously not the details but certainly the essence of the message. It seems that the American Republic sent bombers, missiles, and drones to attack three cities.  It is my understanding that Boston, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Richmond, Virginia were all attacked. A General MacMillan has been trying to reach you. I assume with details. I do not condone this action in the middle of a dialogue between the two countries,” he said.

“Mr. Prime Minister. Two nights ago the United States forces attacked several of our large cities. They killed forty thousand in Dallas, Texas alone. The reason was quite clear. The whole message of these talks thus far has been that we have no choice but to give in to them. We will not give in. It is as simple as that. This was a message that if they continue to bomb our cities we will attack theirs. Please note. We did not go after New York City, nor did we take out Washington DC, which we could have done. President Quasim sent us a message before the meeting, we are just returning the message,” Jason said.

“That is all well and good but I see no further need for these talks. You are both determined to have the other knuckle under. Americans have always preferred war to negotiations and this just seems to be another example,” he said standing.

“What now?”

“You and President Quasim’s party will be escorted back to your individual planes and will depart Canada airspace immediately.”

“I would like to thank you for your efforts. The United States has refused to pay for any portion of the meeting. The American Republic will compensate you for your costs,” Jason told him.

CHAPTER FIFTY

Flying at 60,000 feet headed back to Nashville, President Jason was talking to General MacMillan.

“And Boston?” the President asked.

“Mostly rubble. Everything is packed in so close that once buildings begin to go they take the entire block with them.”

“Do we have any approximation of fatalities yet?”

“It will most likely exceed one hundred and fifty thousand. We destroyed approximately twenty-two square miles of the city proper.”

“And Philadelphia?”

“We are thinking between twelve and fifteen percent of the population.”

“My God. That could be as much as two hundred thousand people,” he replied.

“More like two hundred and twenty-five thousand.”

“Our losses?”

“So far, sixteen fighters, eleven bombers. Probably around sixty all total to date.”

“And that damn fool still wants a fight. What if we had targeted Washington and New York? Think of the death toll then.”

“I understand sir but you are not dealing with a rational human being.”

“We need to be ready for a retaliatory strike once he gets back to Washington.”

“We are as ready as we can be. We have fighters around the clock in rotation and every early warning plane we can get in the air,” the General replied.

“Thanks General. I should be arriving within the next two hours,” President Jason said as he hung up.

****

Hanna Cole was savoring the power she had been given. With Quasim out of Washington she had the reign over the nation. She could feel the power rush surging through her body.

She had even gone so far as to occupy the Oval Office almost as soon as he had been airborne to Canada. Who was to stop her? She deserved the power, she deserved to be the one in charge. People like Quasim were morons compared to her.

Now that she was the Vice President it wouldn’t be much of a leap for her to soon become the President. Quasim was as good as gone. Then she would deal with the American Republic. She would crush them like a bug.

“Madam Vice President. General Ascot is on the phone.”

“Tell him to hold. I’ll be with him in a minute,” she said smiling.

Let the bastard wait. Once Quasim was gone that jerk would follow so fast his fat head would spin. She waited another thirty seconds.

“Yes General.”

“Madam Vice President. We just got word that Philadelphia, Boston, and Richmond were being attacked by missiles and bombers. We have sent up fighters to intercept but most of them have already gotten through. The missiles were fired from submarines and the drones were from North Carolina and Tennessee,” he informed her.

“What?” she screamed, “You mean to tell me that our cities have been attacked?”

“That’s what I’m telling you.”

“Damn you General. You get your butt over here immediately. Faster than immediately,” she yelled into the phone.

“I think I should stay and direct our counterstrike operations,” he said calmly.

“You heard me. I want you here a minute ago,” she bellowed and slammed down the phone.

That was it. He was as good as gone. She would appoint someone to take his place immediately and launch an attack on Nashville.

****

“Are you actually going to go over to the White House?” General Winfield asked.

“Why of course. I believe it is the best course of action,” he replied.

“But you know she is going to either fire you or make you resign. There is no way she is going to allow you to remain in command.”

“Well I guess that remains to be seen. It all depends on how I approach it,” Ascot said.

“Are you crazy? There is nothing you can say or do that will appease her at this point.”

“You may be right but I think it is all in the way I word my response that will make the difference,” General Ascot said, with a slight smile.

“Phil, we have been through a hell of a lot together but I honestly think you are fooling yourself if you think for one minute you can talk her out of getting rid of you one way or the other,”

“Oh hell, Arthur, you always were a worry wart. I’ve had tougher battles than this to fight. I mean after all, she can fire me but she can’t kill me. This is just a minor skirmish, that’s all.”

“All I can say is good luck General. I don’t know who she is going to replace you with but it sure in the hell won’t be me. I will simply refuse.”

“Let it go. She isn’t going to fire me. I can almost guarantee that she will have a change of heart once I explain the entire situation to her.”

“I would bet you fifty bucks on that but you will need all your money once she sacks you,” he said laughing.

“I’ll be just fine,” Ascot assured his old friend.

He was in no hurry. It would do her good to be all whipped into a frenzy when he got there. It would make the job so much easier.  He stopped by his office and made three quick calls before sending for a helicopter to come and take him to the White House.

****

“Is everything in place?” Presidente Hermilo Medrano asked.

“Si. We are ready to commence the attack as soon as you give the orders,” Mexico’s Secretary of National Defense, Eleazar Guzman, told the Presidente.

“Then you may commence the operation,” Medrano said.

“It shall be done immediately.”

The Secretary of National Defense picked up a phone and said only one word, “Engage.”

Troops began flooding across the border from Tijuana, Tecate, and Mexicali. Within the first hour they had penetrated as far as El Cajon, Chula Vista and the outskirts of San Diego.

No one in America, at this point, realized the scope and severity of the attack. Dazed Californians could not comprehend what was taking place. Mira Mar Air Base was the first to react with any real resistance. The biggest problem was that they had been stripped of most of the planes that could stop the advancing Mexican Army. The 3rd Air Wing had been depleted of most of its fighters and only a few tanks could be rounded up to swing into the battle.

The few aircraft they had, fought an incredible battle. Being out numbered five to one, they still managed to decimate the Mexican Air Force. The only advantage they had was the proximity of the air field and refueling facilities. The Mexican Air Force was forced to break off when their fuel was depleted.

The 3rd Air Wing managed to shoot down twenty-six of the Mexican planes while losing only two. It was an incredible accomplishment.

As soon as the enemy aircraft broke off the engagement, the places refueled, rearmed and began attacking ground troops. Their persistent attacks slowed down the advancing army but could not stop it entirely. By the time the sun had set, the Mexican Army had advanced as far as Del Mar, California.

The total number of dead and injured would take weeks to finally tabulate. California’s strict gun laws along with their having been stripped of most of the military weaponry, left them vulnerable and with little in the way of organized resistance.

Even though they asked the United States to send reinforcements, there was little anyone could do. It would take at least a week to get any kind of help. For now, California was on its own.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

General Ascot walked down the hall to the Oval Office, stopping to get a cup of coffee. He held a brief conversation with the Marine Attachment assigned to the White House. Finally, nearly thirty-five minutes after the Vice President had called, he opened the door to the Oval Office.

Hanna was sitting in the President's chair behind the massive desk.

“Where in the hell have you been?” she said, looking at her watch, “I sent for you almost an hour ago.”

“Actually it was thirty-five minutes but who is counting? I’m here so what is it you wanted to see me about?” he asked sitting down without asking.

“You come strolling over here and have the nerve to ask me what I want to see you about? I’ll tell you General Ascot. You are a disgrace to the military. You let the enemy come in and bomb our cities. You are responsible for protecting our citizens and you did little or nothing,” she said angrily.

“What you fail to see is that America has long been vulnerable to attack to our cities. We have no real defense system in place to detour drones, missiles, and attack forces from damaging our cities. The military has been telling the White House for years that we needed a defense system around our most important cities. Of course the budget never allows for such contingencies. Now that we are at war on our own soil, everyone wants to know why we cannot defend our assets,” he said sitting back and taking a sip of his coffee.

“You mean to sit there and tell me it’s all someone else’s fault again? We got the hell pounded out of Boston, Richmond, and Philadelphia and it’s because you don’t get all the toys you want?” she said her voice rising once again.

“That’s what I’m telling you, like it or lump it.” he said.

“Do you realize I am now the Commander-in-Chief? You dare to talk to me in this manner?  This is nothing short of treason,” she bellowed at him.

“The word ‘treason’ seems to get brandished around a lot lately. If anyone has committed treason it is the White House. You started this war when you stripped the Constitution. To me that’s treason,” he said   mater of factly.

“You bastard. You are no longer in charge of the military. I am giving you your walking papers mister,” she said standing up quickly.

“Actually, no you are not. You are not the Commander-in-Chief. You are nothing more than a surrogate flunky trying to act like a Commander-in-Chief. Ms. Cole, I am the Army and Navy and all the other branches. You on the other hand are nothing,” he said.

“I will have you arrested and shot for this you pathetic little man,” she shouted.

“I think not,” he said, still sitting.

She stormed over to the door and yanked it open.

“You two, get in here and arrest this man immediately. I want him in handcuffs for everyone to see,” she practically screamed.

“Sorry Madam Vice President. We cannot comply with that order. Our orders come from either the Commander-in-Chief or General Ascot.”

“You are refusing to do as ordered,” she said with her mouth slightly opened.

“Yes Ma’am, we are.”

“I don’t believe this. I am the Vice President of the United States. You cannot refuse to take orders from me,” she shrieked.

“General?”

“I think it would be best if you escorted Ms. Cole to her quarters and kept her there. She seems to be suffering a breakdown and is obviously no longer in control of her faculties,” the General said, standing up.

Hanna rushed at him and tried to hit him with her fists but all he did was grab her hands and hold them. She struggled against him but it was useless.

“Perhaps restraints would be in order,” he said, smiling at her.

“I will see you shot for this,” she yelled at him, spittle coming from her lips.

“Yes, well, maybe another day. But not this one. Take her and keep her in her quarters,” the General ordered.

“This isn’t over," she screamed as they took her out of the room.

“No. Not quite yet,” he said softly as the door closed.

****

“Are you telling me that Mexico crossed into California and killed American citizens?” President Jason asked as they were riding from the airport to the Capital Building.

“That is the report we have. They are essentially using the main roads to move their tanks and support equipment. They are using I-5, 805 and I-15.  From the last reports, they were getting ready to move on San Diego. I guess some Apache Helicopters were able to get into the North Island Air Station and are preparing to attack the tanks and ground troops. They have only a handful of fighters since Quasim ordered everything sent to the East Coast,” Internal Affairs Chief, Beau Zimmerman told him.

“We can’t sit by and let Mexico invade. They may not be for the Republic but I damn sure don’t intend to have Mexico claim California.”

“What would you like us to do?”

“Get Jamison, Fox and...Ah hell, get all of the military commanding officers over to my office as fast as they can get here. They are spread out over hell’s half acre but we need to have a meeting as early as possible. Every hour it takes, Mexico gets entrenched deeper into US soil,” Jason said.

“What about the possibility of a retaliation attack by the United States?”

“It’s something we have to chance. I’ll see if President Quasim will even take my call. It’s worth a try at least. Maybe we can have a cease fire while we deal with Mexico.”

“Good luck with that,” Beau said as the limo pulled up in front of the capital.

“You start rounding everyone up and I’ll call Quasim immediately. This is something that we cannot afford to waste a minute of time on.”

“Understood,” Beau said hurrying to his office.

President Jason just shook his head. The next thing you know Canada will try to take Alaska, he thought as he walked into his office and began to make the call to President Quasim.

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

Mexico was overjoyed with the first day’s success. At daybreak they would continue their march north. General Riviera woke early, ready to have his men take San Diego. It would be a major accomplishment.

At first light he ordered his men to advance. They were met with resistance almost immediately. During the night as many reserves as could be found were entrenched along the Mission Valley Freeway.

They had even managed to get six Abrams tanks outfitted and had them hidden at the I-15 and 163 interchange. The Apache AH-64 helicopters met the advancing army and immediately attacked anything on the roads. Within a few minutes, fifteen tanks were destroyed and burning. Again and again, the deadly Apaches attacked, slowing the advance to a standstill.

General Riviera was furious. This was not the way it was supposed to be at all. Their intelligence assured him that they would meet with hardly any resistance. Instead he was fighting Apache helicopters, military reserves, and even some citizens.

“I want them to advance. I don’t care how stiff the resistance is. Captain you will break through or I will have you relieved. Do you understand?” he yelled into the field phone.

The fighting intensified and slowly the Mexicans started to advance once again. The Americans fell back to Balboa Avenue and dug in there. During the night, Miramar had moved its remaining fighters to Montgomery Air Field. Once the advance started up and the Apaches broke off to refuel and rearm, they entered the fight bringing the Mexican Army to a halt once again.

The fighting ended in a stalemate as the sun set on the second day.

****

General Ascot was waiting as the President’s plane came to a stop and the ladder was lowered. He saluted as the President stepped off the plane.

“I’m surprised to see you here. I thought you would want to be as far away as possible,” the President said as he climbed into the limo.

“It seemed like as good a time as any to talk. How did your negotiations with President Jason go?”

“As expected. They would have gone better if we had not received the situation report on what was transpiring in our country. Tell me General, just how did they manage to pull this off right under our noses? I’m not sure how something like this could have happened,” the President said, leaning back.

“Sir, with all due respect, how it happened is not the real issue here.”

“Oh really? I thought I decided what the issue was, not you General,”

“Let me rephrase that. We should be considering, not how it happened, or who is to blame, but how we can stop this foolishness.”

“Foolishness? Just what are you referring to General?” he asked, leaning forward now.

“Killing each other. The death toll is reaching into the hundreds of thousands now. Each raid brings an escalating mortality rate. We simply cannot continue to fight by bombing each other. I’m not sure at this point a ground war would accomplish much. I had hoped you would come to some kind of agreement with President Jason, that you would find some way to end all of this carnage,” the General said.

“I see. So you think we should just let everything go? Let them do what they want. It’s acceptable to you to divide the nation. Is that what you are telling me?” the President said.

“Sir. My point is that we will not have a nation if we keep this up. The division will be too great to even consider uniting again. You cannot kill millions of people and then turn around and expect them to welcome you with open arms. Let them try to create a country on their own. They will soon find that they will need help. Our help. Then we can start rebuilding the country.”

“I am truly sorry you feel that way. I guess the Vice President was correct. She said you didn’t have the stomach to see this out. She warned me that we needed a stronger person at the head of the military.  One that wasn’t afraid of making the hard decisions,” the President said and sat back once again looking out the window.

“You know Mr. President, you are being short sighted. You win a few battles and think you have won the war. It isn’t that simple. War never is. Military men will die to protect their country but they hate the idea of war. No one in their right mind wants to see death and destruction on the scale we are seeing. I’m sorry you feel that I am not strong enough but let me assure you I am. I am prepared to do whatever it takes to protect my men and our nation.”

“Meaning what, exactly?”

“Meaning that I no longer consider you fit to run the affairs of this nation. You are being relieved as Commander-in-Chief and are to resign as President of the United States immediately.”

“What? You...You pompous ass.  Do you think you can just take over like that? I don’t know where you got these delusions of grandeur but I am the President and you will relinquish your command effective this minute,” the President sputtered.

“Sorry Benjamin, it’s a done deal. Vice President Cole is under house arrest. You will be placed under arrest as well. We are taking you to a secure location where you will be held until we decide what to do with you. Several members think you should be tried for...are you ready for your favorite word?  Treason,” the general said and chuckled.

“You will not get away with this. You will answer to the people before this is over.”

“You know, Hanna said almost the same thing. I seriously doubt that either of you are correct.

****

President Jason was sitting in the main conference room with his head people. They were discussing what to do about Mexico and why President Quasim was refusing to take his phone call.

“What did you expect? You embarrassed him.  He thought he was going to make you beg him to stop and give in to his demands and then you go and pull the rug out from under him,” Mary Lake said.

“Yes, but still. I told them it was about the Mexican invasion of California.  You would think that he would at least want to discuss that aspect,” Jason insisted.

“He is a stubborn man.  He doesn’t know how to back down.  He just bulls ahead,” Vice President Folly replied.

“But California. He is just going to sit by and let them take it and kill the Americans living there? What if they decide that Oregon is land they want as well? When will it stop?” Jason asked.

General MacMillan was just about ready to speak up when a young woman came in and handed the President a note.  He read it quickly and looked up at them.

“It seems that General Ascot has been given the task of talking to us.  At least we can start a dialogue,” he said.

“When does he want to talk?”

“Apparently he is holding right now.”

“Then let’s see what he has to say,” MacMillan said.

Jason pushed the button and placed the call on speakerphone.

“This is James Jason. How can I help you General Ascot?”

“Mr. President. Thank you for taking my call. I assume I am on speakerphone so I will try to keep this brief. I am informing you that if you are willing to stop all hostilities, we are prepared to do the same.”

They all looked at each other in stunned silence.

“General Ascot, I just left a meeting with President Quasim and that was hardly the message I got from him. What has changed in the last twenty-four hours that would precipitate such an offer?” Jason asked.

“It is a fairly long story and I would be more than happy to give you the details at a later time but it is sufficient to say that from a military point of view ending the killing of all Americans is our primary concern.”

“I see. General, is the military now in control of the United States?” Jason asked.

“Temporarily.”

“Then you are speaking for the United States. I must assume that President Quasim is no longer Commander-in-Chief.”

“That would be correct sir. As I said, it is a temporary arrangement. We do not wish to have a military country. This was the only way that we could assure that productive talks could begin,” the General replied.

“General Ascot, this is General MacMillan. Just to be totally clear. You are offering to cease all hostilities if we will do likewise. You will no longer attack our states or cities as long as we do not attack yours. Is that correct?”

“Yes. I can’t speak for private citizens and skirmishes might occur in some areas but as for the military and reserves, we will not cross into your territory.”

“Thank you General Ascot.”

“Mr. President?”

“We accept your offer. We will begin a step down and all military personnel will cease fighting. It seems like we will have much to talk about soon. You are aware of the situation in California?”

“We are. It is a great concern and simply cannot be allowed.”

“We totally agree. We will issue orders to terminate all civil hostilities immediately.”

“Thank you Mr. President. We will do likewise.”

“We appreciate your calling General.”

“Good day sir,” he said hanging up.

They all sat there looking at each other for a moment before Vice President Folly spoke up.

“Do we really stand down? What if it is a ploy of some kind?”

“I honestly doubt it. They know we could retaliate with force if necessary. No. I think General Ascot is in control and President Quasim and Vice President Cole are either in seclusion or under some form of restraint,” MacMillan replied.

“What should we do next?” Jason asked.

“I will have our people remain on alert but to stop any fighting except to defend their positions. We were planning a major air strike on Columbus, Ohio later this week but I will have them stand down.”

“Good. We need to start planning for the next step. A dialogue with the General and looking at the situation in California,” the President said.

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

The war between the states began to wind down. President Quasim and Vice President Cole were removed from office. General Ascot remained in control of the United States and would do so until the election scheduled for a later date took place.

A series of meetings were to take place between Ascot and President Jason to discuss the free flow of citizens across borders and the resumption of trade.

The major concern on both of their minds was California. Finally it was agreed that they would both join forces and operate out of Davis-Monthan Air Base in Tucson, Arizona.

By the time they had gathered sufficient military personnel and aircraft, Mexico had pushed to the city limits of Carmel.

****

Mexico’s Secretary of National Defense, Eleazar Guzman entered the room where the President sat drinking coffee.

“Mr. Presidente. We have received word that the Americans are joining together in Arizona to counter attack our soldiers.”

“Where are we now?’

“We have just taken a place called Carmel and are pushing toward Monterey.”

“Show me on the map,” the Presidente said walking to a large table with a map of California lay out.

“This is Carmel. It is mostly destroyed now. We did not want to get bogged down in house to house fighting so we pretty much just obliterated it.”

“And this is Monterey here?” he asked, tapping the map.

“Si.”

The Presidente studied the map for several moments.

“Then I want all troops to stop advancing. We will hold along this highway here,” he said tracing along the Monterey-Salinas Highway.  Reinforce all positions and have our Air Force destroy the Monterey Peninsula Airport. I want it totally destroyed to prevent the Americans from using it.”

“I will see to it.”

“We will hold on to what we have gained. We may have to give some back but that can be accomplished at the future peace talks.”

“I understand Mr. President.”

****

Within three months, the Mexican soldiers had been driven back to the southern outskirts of Los Angeles. They held the line between Irvine and Riverside and on November 15th, they agreed to a cease fire. Major cities like Los Angeles, Long Beach, Pomona, and San Diego were mere shells of their former selves.

A conference was immediately set up between General Ascot and President Jason. California dominated much of the dialogue. Both realized that the killings had to stop all across the nation, including California.

It was finally time for the nation to begin healing.

The Second Civil War

Book III

- A NATION HEALING –

Marshall W. Huffman did not begin writing until after he retired from teaching.  He decided to start with a trilogy based on a cataclysmic event.   Marshall’s first trilogy is THE EVENT and consists of THE END, THE BEGINNING, and THE REVELATION. With THE EVENTS success he decided to write a second trilogy that is a frightening look at the events that could lead to THE SECOND CIVIL WAR.  It is made up of: Book I – A NATION DIVIDED; BOOK II – A NATION AT WAR; BOOK III – A NATION HEALING.

He has also published a series of books entitled: the ANGIE BARTONI CASE FILES with a central cast of characters.  In addition, he has two another series entitled: THE NORRIS FILES with its own set of central characters and THE LOGAN FILES.    He enjoys writing mysteries, techno-thrillers, and Sci-Fi.   His other Sci-Fi books THE BRINK – DEEP FLIGHT and CLOSE PROXIMITY are intense techno-thrillers with Sci-Fi intertwined.  He finished BLACKSTAR and it just went on sale. His latest addition CHIMERA is a look at what could well happen if we don’t stop twisting science in perverted way.

Marshall was born in Bainbridge, Georgia and grew up in Indiana.  After spending eight years in the Navy, he attended Ball State University, earning a B.S. degree in Business.

During and after college, he was involved in the restaurant business and spent the next twenty-five years in all types of venues, eventually owing his own fine dining restaurant.  After years of long hours,  he decided on a career change.  He attended Eastern Illinois University earning a MBA.  Because of his business background, Eastern Illinois University asked him to teach in the hospitality management program. He was recruited from Eastern to Parkland College and soon took over as the Program Director for the Hospitality Program.  During his tenure there, he became a chef and had a television show called Cooking around the World with Chef Marshall and taught a series of Gourmet cooking classes for Continuing Education as well.

Professor Huffman retired from teaching along with his wife, Dr.  Susan Huffman, to the Tampa Bay Florida area.

You can find his books under:  MARSHALL HUFFMAN at Amazon.com.