At that moment the door opened and in came JT, Doc, Riley, and Angus.
Colonel James looked at Jon, and Amanda.
“I am truly sorry about all of that. I would have never let that happen. But I guess in the end you got your revenge as you just got through beating one of the Order’s toughest Regiment of Storm Troopers.”
“Yes we did Colonel and if you decide to rejoin the forces I would suggest that you get even tougher.” said JT.
Colonel James looked at JT and smiled.
“No, need to worry; my days as an errand boy for the Order are over.”
“Well, how about something to drink? Let me get glasses and Beer and Wine.”
Jon soon returned with mugs, glasses and then a bucket of beer and several bottles of wine. He poured some wine for himself and Amanda.
“Colonel James, what do you want?”
“Oh a beer would be great.”
Jon poured the Colonel a mug of beer and handed it to him. James took long drink and then wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
“Oh, that is good. You people know how to live.”
After a few moments of imbibing Colonel James looked at the men and began to question.
“So I want to know something. It seemed like you all knew every move we were going to make as well as our tactics. How did you?”
Jon turned to JT.
“Well Colonel, you remember me telling you that I killed your Commandos, well we took their radios and JT here programmed into all of your frequencies. We heard every conversation you had and by the way, that Major Jeffers sure sounded like an idiot.”
James laughed.
“Yea he is.”
“I would say Colonel yea he was as your men found him with his head blown off.” said JT.
“Colonel, as far as tactics, well Doc here served and was in Gulf One and JT here was in Gulf Two and Afghanistan.”
“Colonel, Major Jeremiah Thomas Special Forces.” as JT extended his hand.
“Well that explains everything except the weapons. We were told you only had hunting rifles and the machine pistols you took off of the Urban Police force.”
“I guess you can learn all of our secrets. Jon here arranged a purchase through the underground market and we acquired RPGs, AR15s and Claymores.” said Doc.
“Frankly Colonel, your worst enemy was not even us, you didn’t know the ground and we did.” said Jon.
“War all comes back to Sun Tzu doesn’t it?” said James.
“Yes it does, yes it does.” said Jon.
JT stopped for a moment and looked at Colonel James.
“Colonel, it seems that your men also retrieved your body, without a head as well, and took it back with them.”
“Yea, they sure did.” added Riley.
Jon smiled and looked at Colonel James.
“Seems phase one of my plan worked Colonel. According to records you are now dead.”
Colonel James smiled but then frowned.
“Oh this will go hard on my wife and daughter as they will soon be getting the news.”
“Plan, what plan Jon?” asked Doc.
“Well we are going to help the Colonel here get his family and go off the grid. He strikes me as some one more like us than the masters he serves.”
“Is that right Colonel?” asked Riley.
Colonel James smiled as he looked back at Jon.
“Yes sir, I have been dreaming of getting away from that plastic world I live in. I hear that there are ranches in old Northern New Mexico that one can find and fix up. They also say the Order will leave folks alone there or so I hope.”
“Yea, I have heard that as well. New Mexico has some great land and they say that one can still find cattle down there.” said JT.
“But Jon, what can we do to help the Colonel I mean he can’t just saunter back to the city.” said Doc.
Jon smiled as he already had the plan in his head.
“Well JT, you know that Humvee you got me, well that is going to be the Colonel’s transportation.”
Jon got up and walked to a pile of clothes he had set on the floor.
“And these wonderfully disgusting synthetic urban clothes will disguise him. How ironic that we can put the very clothes that the Order planned on putting on us to our use.” said Jon.
Colonel James smiled as he knew that he was in good company. It might truly be possible to get in and get his wife and daughter and get back out. Then he curled his brow.
“But how do I get in and out without being noticed I mean they will certainly be suspicious of the Humvee.”
“Well Colonel I believe I can help you there.” said Amanda.
She sat up and put down her glass of wine.
“See, you drive in to the outlying suburbs and park your vehicle in one of the old houses they are tearing down. Then you catch one of the worker transports in and get your family. When you are ready catch another out and you are there. I will draw you up a map so you will know the area.”
“Well sounds like you are a pro at this.” said the Colonel.
“Well we are.” as she looked at her father.
“Colonel tomorrow we will get you on your way. Now let’s get the fire going for meat, I am hungry. How about we move this discussion to the outside around the fireplace.” said Jon.
The group got up and headed out to the back porch. Chris got a fire going as Jon set out the chairs and restocked the wine and beer. The evening air was cool but had a feel of spring. All seasons in the mountains had their great points and spring was yet another. The warmer days lead to cold nights but the nights were tolerable.
Colonel James sat back in his chair and stared at the fire as he sipped on his beer. He had been many places in his life and had gone through many adventures but right now he was at a point of contentment. He felt his life was about to change for the better and was grateful that these folks were making it happen. Then he had a revelation of what was to be. He became concerned and looked at Jon and the rest of the men.
“What is it Colonel, you look disturbed?” said Riley.
“It has just come back to me what the Order is going to do next. Jon, you and your people have got to get out of this valley now.”
“Why colonel, what are they going to do?” asked JT.
“You are military, have you ever heard of a weapons system called Arc Light?”
JT sat back as if he had been hit by a hammer.
“Yes I have, would they truly do that to us?” said JT.
“What is Arc Light?” asked Jon.
“Arc Light is a satellite guided system that uses high level bombers to saturate an area. When it is used the force below is annihilated.” said James.
Jon sat back and reality sunk in. Of course the Order would resort to this as they had nothing left to get rid of them. Jon mused over the happenings of the last ten years and of what had become of the land that he loved. Those that had taken power had done so not through brute force but through the slow coercion and the drip drip of their plans. Now in the end the only thing they had left to them was using the hammer to finish the last piece of their work.
“Well, how much time do we have?” asked Jon.
“Once the order is given it will take them three days to get every thing on line so you better assume that the order is given.” said James.
“Three days. Three days to leave behind all we have built here. Three days to pack up what we can. Well that is what we will do.” said Jon.
“Colonel, tomorrow morning we will send you on your way and get you where you need to be. Then we valley folk will prepare for what is to come.”
Doc, Riley, Angus, Chris, Amanda, and JT stared blankly into the fire. They all knew, just like the rest of the valley would soon know what all this meant. They knew that the life they
had been living was going to change. They would have to leave the valley that was their home and go somewhere else. It was that decision that would need to be made the next day.
The next day dawned with out any noise or any drama. Colonel James had spent a comfortable night on the sofa and rose to look out the window at the dawn. He heard noise in the back and smelled fresh coffee. Walking out the back he saw Jon sitting in his chair staring toward the woods as if trying to recall all the times he had done so in the past.
“Would you mind if I had a cup of that coffee?” asked James.
“Sure Colonel, grab a mug inside and come on out.”
Colonel James went in and found a mug and returned to the back porch where he pulled up a chair beside Jon. He also sat back and admired the beauty of the woods. Hearing a noise they both looked up to see an eagle glide in and perch on a nearby tree. The white head of the bird defined that it was an American Bald Eagle.
“Well would you look at that. I haven’t seen one of those in years.” said James.
“Yea it is something to behold. What Colonel the eagles don’t come down to the city?”
Colonel James grinned as he looked at the bird.
“Do you think anything that proud and mighty would come down to the Urban world. If it did I am sure that Governor Tarl and his like would find a way to destroy it because it would remind everybody of what the country used to stand for, freedom.”
“Well Colonel, you probably have that right.”
Colonel James took a drink of his coffee and sighed.
“Man I haven’t had coffee in a while. Hell I am still full from those Elk steaks you cooked last night. It is too bad I can’t come back here and live.”
Jon stared into the fire he had recently lit.
“It’s too bad about a lot of things.”
“So Jon, what are you going to do, I mean where are you going to go?”
Jon sat back and took a drink of coffee.
“Well Colonel, after we get you on your way this morning I am going to convene a meeting of the valley and tell them what we need to do. After that I am going to come back here and spend what little time we have packing up. Where will we go, well I have heard that the Order doesn’t care too much about Alaska and I am told of a piece of land not too far from old Anchorage where a man can build a cabin, fish, and hunt. It just might be a little colder longer.”
“Will the whole valley move there?” asked James.
“No I expect that might be a lot on some of the folks. I would guess some will head toward New Mexico and some toward Utah, and Idaho. In the end it all only buys us time. Time and hope that maybe this government will just leave us alone.”
“Well, I am hoping the same thing I guess or at least that is my dream.” said James.
“A dream, yes I guess it has all been something of a dream and for now my dream is dead.” said Jon.
The back door opened and Chris came out to sit by the fire.
“Well Colonel, you ready to begin your adventure?” asked Chris.
“Yes son I am. Jon you have a lot to do so I am going to go in and ready my things so that you can get me going.”
“Sounds good Colonel.”
Colonel James went back inside and prepared himself for the trip.
“Chris, grab something to eat and when I get back we will need to get all the people together at the field. Chris, we are going to have to leave here.”
“I figured Dad as that Arc Light thing sounds like nothing to play with.”
“No it is not.”
“Dad, where are we going to go?”
Jon smiled as he looked at Chris.
“North to Alaska my boy, North.”
Jon and Colonel James were just rounding the turn when they came upon the scene of the previous day’s battle. There were wrecked vehicles and torn up ground. JT had put the troops to work and had cleared the road to one side so that vehicles could pass. The snow, mud, and blood covered ground displayed the results of the contest.
“Man, you guys really made a mess of us. I feel bad for my troopers. You know for the most part Jon they didn’t want to do this mission either. Well they paid the price.”
“Yes I am afraid they did and sounds like it was all for nothing.” said Jon.
Jon pulled the truck beside the Humvee he had secured and got out. He and Colonel James loaded the vehicle with supplies that would be needed.
“Well let’s see Colonel, two M-16s and about ten magazines, a pistol and about one hundred rounds, water, a box of food, a medical kit, a radio, and some warm clothes. That should be enough to get you to New Mexico.”
“Yes it should be. I will use the plan Amanda drew up for me. I am sure that my wife and daughter will be glad to see me as by now I am sure that they have been informed of my demise. Well Jon, this is it.”
“Yes sir Colonel it is. Listen, when you get that ranch set up make sure to help any more outliers that may come in that direction. You know we got to stick together and help each other.”
“Jon, you can be sure of that. You just make sure and get these folks out of here.”
Jon saluted the Colonel.
“Yes sir.”
Colonel James laughed as he started up the Humvee. He turned the vehicle and was soon headed down toward his wife and daughter. Jon smiled.
“I hope he enjoys the box of wine and beer I snuck in.
Several months later an old abandoned ranch began to take shape into a working facility. The owner, his wife, and daughter were busy growing crops, fixing out buildings and securing wild cattle. It became a sort of refuge for people traveling south as one could always get a good meal and a night’s rest.
Chapter 21
The early morning of late April looked as if it would dawn magnificently. The air was still and cold and there was an absolute peace in the valley. The homesteads were quiet and not even a breeze was blowing to shake the new forming buds on the trees. Then all that began to change as there were small specs of light in the night sky and at once a breeze and whistle came up. With little warning, a few moments later the valley became the pit of Hades. Huge explosions tore away trees and obliterated houses. The party field became pocked by huge fireballs as did the surrounding forest. The house of Jon Smith was there for a moment and then blown into a million pieces all at once. Arc Light was flexing its destructive power.
Governor Tarl looked at his watch as the hour struck four in the morning. The next sight that he beheld was three areas of huge fireballs that lit up the night sky toward the west. He stood watching as the fire balls ebbed and dimly lit smoking fires took their place. Outwardly he had a smirk on his face but inside he felt cheated. He had wanted nothing more than to bring these people in and have them conform to his world. He wanted to bring them to a world where he and the other bureaucrats knew better of how people should live their lives. A place where all was in order and there was not want. How could people not want that? What drove a man like Jon Smith to stay away and fight the perfectly ordered world?
“Well that is that, and now we can continue with our progressive agenda.”
The lead truck came to a stop as the driver looked out through his rearview mirror and saw the far off glow of what appeared to be explosions. He opened the door and walked out into the cold night air to get a good look.
“What is it Dad?” asked Chris.
Jon had a sad look on his face as he answered.
“Well I guess it is the final death of our dream. It seems the Colonel was correct.”
Chris got out as well as Amanda and the three looked back in the distance to see the faint glow of what no doubt was their valley being destroyed. JT, Riley, Angus, Doc, Mort, and his daughter soon joined the group as well as Nathan and his family.
“Looks like we got out just in time.” said Doc.
&nbs
p; “Well we had to make sure every one else got out as well.” said Riley.
The group stood there with somber expressions.
“I am going to miss a lot of people from the valley. I wish they had all decided to come to Alaska with us.” said Amanda.
“Well Alaska is not for every one. It is going to be a tough place but I think that is just what we need. For the rest, some will go to New Mexico, some to Idaho, and some to Utah. In either case they will all find a place to start over.” said Jon.
“I guess it comes to that, starting over.” said Doc
Jon stood for a moment and turned back toward the group.
“But of course we will start over because that is what people like us do. We don’t quit, we don’t give up. We will make a new life in a new place and it will be great. It will be great because we will be free.”
The group watched for a few minutes more as the light began to subside. They all realized that the valley they had grown to love was gone now. They had to move forward and continue on. Each group got back into their vehicles and pulled back on the road to continue their trip north.
“Dad, are we going to be alright? I mean is the Order going to leave us alone?” asked Chris.
“Son, I don’t know but we can’t worry about that. We need to get to a place to rebuild. And kids, that is exactly what we are going to do.”
Jon began to whistle and the kids joined in. In the back of the truck were tents, tools, guns, ammunition, fishing rods, cooking gear, water, coolers of food, and a few pieces of furniture. There were also three boxes containing some personal pictures and books. Underneath a cover sat a red book on top of a stack of journals. The book was leather and had a book mark just under the cover, waiting two years to be read again while the reader enjoyed a glass of wine.
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