by TW Powell
“Mr. Jones will conduct this morning’s briefing.”
Jo picked up on the real identity of her Mr. Jones about as quickly as Delvin had picked up on the identity of his Mr. Jones.
Jones quickly got down to specifics, “Lieutenant Parker, last year you spent several weeks monitoring rail and truck shipments from the Racial Reparations Processing Facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee to the facility formerly known as the United States Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Those shipments were comprised of Depleted Uranium and Highly Enriched Uranium.”
Mr. Jones then handed both Jo and David a short briefing paper on DU and HEU.
“It is common knowledge that shortly after the ’26 Revolution, The Collective looted the Depository at the behest of their Chinese masters. No gold remains at the Depository. It was all shipped to China.
“The Collective is now stockpiling HEU inside the Depository and stockpiling DU, in the form of Uranium Hexafluoride, in the secure yard that surrounds the Depository. It is only reasonable to assume that this material will eventually help fuel the Red Chinese war machine.
“Even as we speak, 1st Brigade of the 2nd Kentucky Volunteers is encamped a few miles west of the Depository. 1st Brigade arrived at their current position near Vine Grove, Kentucky via a series of night marches under complete EMCON, radio silence. We assume 1st Brigade’s presence at Vine Grove is unknown to The Collective.
“With all due respect to Mr. Fleming, we considered naming this operation ‘Operation Grand Slam’. Upon reconsideration, we thought that might be giving too much away. So, we’ve renamed it ‘Operation Connery’, which we hope is somewhat less obvious.
“Uranium is even heavier than gold. There is no way we can seize and transport all that Uranium. Our plan is to detonate several conventional explosive devices in and around the Depository, in effect making the entire facility one big dirty bomb. There is a good probability that the HEU inside the depository could even reach criticality if the explosive charges disrupt the storage protocol. At a minimum, the explosives will render the Depository and its immediate environs extremely radioactive. If the HEU reaches criticality, then the entire facility will melt down. In either case, the Chinese will be denied access to both the HEU and DU.
Colonel Cooper then took over, “Lieutenant Parker, you have been selected for this mission due to your unparalleled expertise in piloting helicopters under fire. As a result of last year’s reconnaissance of the Depository, you are intimately acquainted with the infrastructure around the Depository, highways, airfields, bridges, rail sidings. Finally, you know Kentucky and its people. In our business, there’s always the unexpected…
“As for you, Mr. Shulman, your knowledge of vaults, locks, and security protocols is said to be world class…”
Both Jo and The Keeper had become quite animated, bantering back and forth amongst themselves.
Colonel Cooper was really getting pissed off by their apparent inattention, “Lieutenant Parker, do you have anything in the least bit constructive to add?”
Jo motioned for The Keeper to stay seated as she rose from her chair, “Yes Colonel, sir, there’s something you need to know…”
Kingston Stat
Carlos realized that his wife’s life hung in the balance as he floored the Hummer and raced northward on NV 376. Beth tried her best to keep Gabby still as they were tossed around by Carlos dodging potholes, tumbleweeds, and even an antelope crossing the road.
Down at Stonewall Ranch, Thomas was back at the triple-wide in a very few minutes. He quickly raised Kingston on the shortwave. This conversation was verbal and not encrypted.
“Cowboy to Junior and Pastor.”
Within minutes, Junior and Pastor Williams were on the horn.
Junior replied, “Pastor is here with me brother.”
“Pastor, casualty incoming. Type O positive. Gunshot wound to abdomen. ETA 30 minutes.”
Pastor Williams, aka: Doc Williams, jotted down the information and met Doctor J in the Aid Station. Weeks ago, Pastor had wisely prepared a list of blood types for everyone at Stonewall Ranch and Kingston. Statistics were working in Gabby’s favor. She was O+. Almost 60% of Hispanics have Type O blood and 45% of Caucasians are Type O. Pastor methodically began notifying all Type Os to report to the Aid Station. Gabby would need blood.
Doctor J supervised the sanitizing of the Aid Station. While that cleaning was still in progress, he asked the residents to gather all their pain medications and antibiotics, making them available for Gabby, if needed. Just minutes before Gabby’s ETA, both Pastor and Doctor J scrubbed up. Then they bowed their heads. They were ready.
Vet was manning the roadblock on the south side of town,
“Vet to Pastor. Humvee inbound. Emergency flashers on. I’m going to climb onboard as he passes and bring them up to you. 5 minutes!”
Meanwhile, Bobby Ray, both Doc Phams, and little Yasmin were once again mounted and riding for Kingston. They moved down a little lower on the fan where the ground was a little smoother. Periodically, they rotated horses as they now had three extra mounts. The horses were kept at a brisk canter. Three hours later they were in Kingston.
Once in Kingston, both Phams scrubbed up and entered the Aid Station. Doctor J was just closing. Pastor Williams made the introductions, then Doctor J updated Gabby’s status.
“Her vitals are strong. No internal bleeding. I repaired a nick on her large intestine. The bullet must have had a full metal jacket. It passed through cleanly with little deformation. Who packed her wounds with clay?”
Nurse Beth took responsibility, “I did Doctor J.”
“Nurse, you probably saved her life.”
Change of Plans
After Jo and David finished their incredible tale, Colonel Cooper turned to Mr. Jones for some answers, “How in the hell did Intelligence miss this one?”
“Colonel, I’m speechless, but this is all just hearsay, there are no records, no corroboration.”
Jo didn’t appreciate being called a liar, “You can bet your spooky sweet ass, Mr. Jones, that there ain’t no written corroboration, but hear what I’m telling you. 15 years ago, me and my nerdy compadre took The Charters to Fort Knox. The only thing The Collective ever got their fucking hands on were fakes, forgeries, got it?
“Shulman was known as The Keeper. His only purpose in life was the protection of those documents. He advised that pussy of a President to greenlight Operation Roosevelt just a couple of weeks before The Collective beat her worthless ass to death in the White House Rose Garden.
“Here’s the deal, the original signed copies of The United States Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and The Declaration of Independence are in a wooden crate, placarded with radiological warnings, and locked away in a small vault on the lower level of The Vault. You can take that to the bank!”
The Keeper finally spoke dispassionately in deadpan monotone, “My role in Operation Roosevelt required me to commit to memory the layout of the Bullion Depository and all security measures, including locking mechanisms, that protect the Depository.”
Mr. Jones was in deep shit, “You can’t possibly remember all that after 15 years.”
Jo responded, “How much do you wanna bet? I’m telling you; this guy is a savant with locks and security systems, and he’s got some kind of fixation on those documents. This goes way beyond oaths and duty bullshit. This guy is The Keeper.”
Cooper began thinking out loud, “If The Charters are in the Depository, then we can’t blow it up. Do you think The Collective knows they’re in there?”
Jo continued speaking her mind, “Hell no! Those bastards made a big show out in the middle of Constitution Avenue when they burnt the forgeries. Those original documents are right where The Keeper left them.
“Look Colonel, my Super Huey is in mothballs somewhere on these grounds. Let me take The Keeper and a few handpicked friends on a little joy ride over to Vine Grove. We’ll meet up with Jimmy Hay-Diddle-Diddle and his 2nd Kentucky hayseeds and fiddle
up a plan. We’ll bust into Knox, grab The Charters, then blow the entire Depository to holy hell. They’ll see the glow all the way to downtown Louisville.”
“Lieutenant, when you said you have some friends, who are they?”
“Colonel, have you heard of Gideon’s 300?”
Mr. Jones butted in, “You’re talking about that psychopathic bunch of Jews camped west of Winchester?”
“Yep, they are one badass bunch. But 300 is way too many, so I’ll cull out all of them except five. Just five crazy Jews along with me, The Keeper, and ‘ol Max.”
The Colonel was now smiling, “Jo, who in the hell is ‘ol Max?”
“He’s the orneriest junkyard dog on planet Earth.”
Carver’s
Tom Jackson heaved a huge sigh of relief when Gabby pulled through, but he was not at ease. Where did that Hummer come from? The lookouts up at Gilman Springs had not issued an alert. Were those boys asleep at the switch? If not, that Humvee came from the south, from Carver’s or Round Mountain.
“Tommy, show Adam everything you know about Puma. You two boys keep Puma on station a few klicks south over NV 376 from dawn to dusk.”
Grandpa John saw the worry in Tom’s eyes, “What’s bugging you son?”
“Dad, we’re spread pretty thin here at the Ranch, just you, me, and the boys. The Militia will come looking for their missing friends. I think I’d better have Bobby Ray and Vet haul ass down here. I’m talking about tonight!
“We could use Junior down here, but he needs to be up in Kingston getting those people ready. The boys are going to surveille our southern flank for a few klicks south along NV 376 using Puma. That Puma sure is one amazing piece of kit.
“That Humvee probably came from the south. We will be heading that way soon. I need my ass kicked. I just sat here for several weeks with no idea what we were facing just a few miles to our south. That must change. As soon as Bobby Ray and Vet arrive, we’re going to recon Carver’s and Round Mountain. Just me and the boys will handle it with Puma’s help. We’ll go at dawn.”
By midnight, John Nicolescu and The Skipper had arrived at Stonewall Ranch. At dawn, Tom, Tommy, and Adam headed south.
Tom was riding Little Sorrel, Tommy was on Petunia, and Adam was mounted on Vlad. Miss Daisy was loaded with supplies and Puma. The valley narrowed considerably as they rode south along the base of the Toiyabes. The small town of Carver’s lay just a little over a mile east of the mountains. The Jacksons arrived in Devil’s Canyon, near Carver’s, in the late afternoon, almost dusk.
“Boys let’s move a little way up the canyon. There’s plenty of cover and plenty of firewood. We’ll find a sheltered spot and keep the fire low. First thing in the morning we’ll locate a nice perch and launch Puma. Tommy, keep her to the east of town, that way she’ll be obscured by the morning sun and she’ll be looking back to the west with no glare. Adam, you’re going to keep your eagle eyes fixed on Puma. It will be tough; you’ll be looking into the sun.”
Adam snickered that jokey Adam snicker and pulled out a pair of polarized sunglasses.
“Great! You watch Puma and I’ll be watching the video feed on the laptop. Now let’s have some supper and turn in for the night.”
Patty had packed her boys some fried chicken and biscuits that hit the spot. It was a warm summer evening. By dawn, the temperature was still in the mid-50s. The Jacksons woke at first light and fried a few eggs and finished off the biscuits. While Tommy and Adam prepped Puma, Tom searched for a good perch.
It didn’t take long for Tom to find an almost perfect vantage point. A black igneous rock formation shot up about 20 feet above the rugged mountain slope. Its shape provided the Jacksons with a small protective alcove. They were surrounded on three sides by solid rock except to the east. Their view of Carver’s was clear and unobstructed.
“OK Adam, power on! Now give Puma a toss just like I showed you.”
A now bespectacled Adam heaved Puma off the mountain slope. She immediately caught an updraft courtesy of the intense rays of the rising midsummer sun.
“Take her just east of town.” Thomas could see every detail on the valley floor as Puma crossed NV 376 heading east.
Tommy inserted Puma into a holding pattern about a half mile east of NV 376 and 1,000 feet off the deck. Thomas was recording the high-resolution video onto a 64GB thumb drive.
“Tommy, it’s about 6 miles down to the Town of Round Mountain, then about a mile over to the mine, and let’s say about 7 miles back here. So, we’re looking at about 20 minutes flight time?”
“Yeah, Dad that’s about right.
“Adam can you keep her in sight?”
“Probably most of the way with the binoculars.”
“Tommy, will we have plenty of battery left?”
“No problemo, we’ll be over 50%.”
“Boys, let’s do it.”
10 minutes later, Puma was heading south along NV 376 just east of the town of Round Mountain.
“Tommy, have Puma focus on the airport.”
“You got it!”
“OK, make a U-turn and let’s take a look at the town from the west.”
“That’s good. Tommy, is that hanger door open?”
“Sure looks like it.”
“Doesn’t look like anyone is milling about the airport. Let’s chance it. We gotta know if anything is in that hangar. Tommy, when Puma completes her northbound leg, make a 180, take her down as close to the deck as you think safe, then gimbal her eyes over and let’s have a look in that hangar.”
Minutes later, Puma was heading due south about 25 feet above the runway. Her sharp eyes peered into the hangar.
“Dad, I’ve lost her. Too much glare and convection coming off that concrete.”
“Adam, focus on the south end of the runway. We’ll be popping up to 500 feet in just a moment.”
“Bingo, I just reacquired her, but she’s getting hard to track.”
“OK Tommy, have Puma make a complete circuit of the mine, then bring our little kitty home. Just follow NV 376 back up to Carver’s.”
15 minutes later Puma stalled and crashed to earth in Devil’s Canyon. When the Jacksons reached the crash site, the wings were lying 10 feet away from the fuselage.
“No worries, Dad. That’s one of the beauties of this system. It’s called a deep-stall landing.
Her frame is extremely durable considering her light weight. Oh yeah, the wing usually pops off.
Tom breathed another sigh of relief, “Next time, give your old man a heads up in this type situation.
Tommy smiled and Adam just snickered.
Getting Out Of Dodge
The Jackson boys made a beeline straight north up to Stonewall Ranch. Tom sat at the kitchen table with his laptop open, ready to replay Puma’s video. Grandpa John, Vet, Bobby Ray, Adam, and Tommy gathered round to watch the show.
“Patty, Mom, you need to watch this too. It involves us all.”
Tom began replaying Puma’s video.
“At this point Puma is just east of Carver’s and focused on the old Motel.”
Tom froze the screen. Look in the parking lot. Tom then enlarged the image.
“I count 13 off road vehicles in that lot. One of the Hummers is packing a .30 caliber Browning machine gun and a Land Rover looks to be toting either a missile tube or a recoilless rifle.”
Vet leaned in for a closer look, “That’s one of those old Brit MOBAT recoilless rifles. That’s a 120 mm gun, 5-inch diameter. Back in the day, the Taliban picked up a couple of those on the black market and they caused us a lot of trouble in Kandahar. They can’t take out a main battle tank like an Abrams, Challenger, or Leopard, but they could blow any of our stone redoubts to smithereens.”
Tom then fast forwarded to view the Carver’s mobile home park.
“Look closely, under those cottonwoods. See those two school busses?”
Patty innocently replied, “Tom it’s just two school busses.”
“Honey, ki
ds don’t ride in camouflaged busses.”
Both busses were painted desert camo.
“My best guess is at least 100 – 150 Peoples’ Militia are stationed in Carver’s right now and they are packing some pretty heavy artillery.
“Now let’s look at the town of Round Mountain.”
Grandma Betty was first to notice the wire, “The town looks like it’s been mostly rebuilt, but what’s the double line of curlicues around the town?”
“Mom, that’s razor wire. The town is now part of a slave labor camp. Look closely. Most of those dilapidated house trailers were hauled in from who knows where and 20 people probably live in each when they’re not working, and they work 12 hours a day, 7 days per week.
“OK, time to look inside that hangar.”
Vet was laughing his ass off, “Puma is amazing, you guys flew her right down the runway?”
Tommy clarified Puma’s flightpath, “Hell yes. Puma buzzed that runway about 25 feet off the deck.”
“The hangar’s empty, thank God. At least they don’t have ground attack air assets.”
Vet counseled caution, “Tom, they don’t have air assets on hand at Round Mountain, but a Predator based at Creech could be at Round Mountain in 90 minutes and loiter there for hours. For all we know, there could be a Predator on station over Round Mountain 24/7.”
“Yep, and just the ground forces assembled at Carver’s could probably take out this Ranch and Kingston. As for the Round Mountain mine, operations look about normal.
“Here’s my assessment. That Humvee that attacked Bobby Ray’s party carried a recon team.
We’ve been busy celebrating our victory in April, but we haven’t been thinking long term. That action in April was just a raid, a one off. The Collective is a long-term problem. Stonewall Ranch cannot hold against that force assembled down in Carver’s. They could be here tomorrow. We need to start working now and work right on through the night. I’ll raise Kingston on the short-wave and see if they can get down here with that flatbed and Hummer. Anything we can’t haul up to Kingston, we’ll just have to hide in some of our bugout shelters.”