by Cliff Deane
After explanations were made, Smith lowered his head and said, “I am so sorry to be late. Had I been on time this would never have happened. We have no really dependable vehicles, and this one had developed a clogged fuel line. Sir, I am so sorry for this terrible misunderstanding.”
Levi said, “Captain, this was no misunderstanding, once the barricade commander ordered us to disarm and threatened to open fire on us as we were walking back to our transportation, I took action.”
Captain, said a stone-faced General Levins, “If your tardiness was caused by a clogged fuel line, then perhaps you need to improve your preventive maintenance procedures.”
Captain Smith was too embarrassed to reply. Turning to the survivors, still, face down on the road, Smith asked if his men could be released. He then asked where he would find Sgt. Tompkins.
A Corporal Potter said, “Sir, he, and one other man was killed in the first blast. I told him not to be such an asshole, but he always did like to throw his weight around.”
The Brigade Medics rushed to check on the condition of those still behind the barrier. One Medic yelled out to get the Dust Off ready to evacuate one man who was still alive. Two men from the Security Detail ran to assist the Medic and took the injured man to the Dust Off, which immediately lifted off to get the wounded man to the Aid Station.
Smith was on the verge of protesting the evac of one of his soldiers without permission but decided that, in this case, discretion was the better part of valor. Instead, he ordered the surviving members of his guard force to place the remaining body in a poncho and put him in the back seat of his Jeep.
Colonel Murtaugh then introduced General Levins and his party to Captain Smith.
Smith then apologized for the idiocy of his sergeant and his own failure to provide preventive maintenance for his unit’s vehicles. He humbly suggested that perhaps they could begin this meeting again, in the hope of getting off to a better start.
Levi accepted this heartfelt request and agreed to begin again, but said, “Captain, our Security Detail will not relinquish their weapons, or be negligent in their duties. Our reaction to any threat or hostile act is always swift and over the top with extreme violence.”
“General, I give you my word as a former Captain of Infantry in the 10th Mountain Division that this was never my order. This horrible incident was so avoidable. I accept full responsibility and can only offer my most sincere apologies.”
Levi then placed his left hand on Smith’s shoulder and said, “Apology accepted, Captain Smith; did I hear you right that you are a former Infantry Officer?”
“Yes sir, I was a Company Commander when everything went to hell, so when we were disbanded I just came on home, and sir, please call me Smitty.”
“Well, all right then, Smitty; why not go ahead and have your driver take the body to its destination, and you come on with us; we’ll fly over to our meeting site.”
Moscato
14 August 1900
Home of Captain David Smith
Findley
Upon learning that the meal would be a simple salad, spaghetti with a tomato sauce, the Sgt. Major rummaged around in his kit and came up with two bottles of Moscato, an Italian wine appropriate for a meal of pasta. He handed the bottles to Captain Smith and said, “Sir, please accept this dinner wine as an offer of friendship from General Levi Levins for your gracious invitation to dine.
Smith was impressed and honored to accept. He somewhat hesitantly apologized for this less than elegant state dinner, but, in truth, until the crops came in, all the residents of Findley were on somewhat short rations.
Levi led the round of polite laughter and assured his new friend that this meal was a wonderful change to that of their own Sgt. Wong’s fare. Hopefully breaking bread over dinner would lead to friendly relations; and despite the unfortunate events at the barricade, things seemed to be going well.
Gus asked Bradley where he had gotten the wine.
“Sir, surely you know that all things are possible when you have a Dog Robber the likes of SSgt. Jones.”
So as not to embarrass any member of Smith’s staff, Gus pretended not to know what a Dog Robber was; Gus asked, “Dog Robber?”
Levi told the group that a Dog Robber is someone who gets things that his General wants and needs, no matter what, or how, and without question, Jonesy was born for that role.
The dinner party again joined in a round of polite laughter.
While the meal was somewhat less than sumptuous, the conversation was fascinating.
Captain Smith related the history of Findley after the lights went out. He told Levi how he and a few other former soldiers had banded together to prevent a Walmart from being looted, saving the food for even distribution among the local community; from there he just kind of fell into the position of Community Leader.
Everyone smiled at this revelation, but Levi’s party subliminally decided not to mention the similarity to Defiance’s beginning. Levi certainly had no desire to steal Smitty’s thunder.
“The town,” said Smith, “almost immediately, had trouble with the local Muslim population who decided that they should run the town under Sharia Law. Well, sir, this didn’t sit well with the folks around here, and gunplay soon erupted.
After a short skirmish the Muslim community was ordered to leave; so they moved to Dearborn. It wasn’t much after that until we came under attack from a group calling themselves The American Caliphate. We lost over three hundred folks that day before we could rally and counter attack; sending the few survivors slithering back to Dearborn.
Well, after that we organized the Findley Irregulars and began fortifying the roads into our little town. Since that time we have endured a number of probing raids from this Caliphate, but I have to say that their fighter’s hearts just don’t seem to be in fighting.
After we made some IEDs of our own and laid out a few minefields, they kinda gave up on us, and began to concentrate on Columbus.”
Gus said, “Captain, that’s quite a story; I’m certainly glad Findley had the courage to be willing to fight to keep what you have.”
Levi added, “Yes, Smitty, it certainly is. Say, how many people are still in Findley?”
Smith’s smile became slightly crooked; his eyes took on a wary appearance as he said, “General, I have to ask; are we that friendly, yet?”
Levi laughed loudly and finally said, “Smitty, your point is well taken. Perhaps you’re right about us not exactly being bosom buddies at this point, but I have a feeling that we soon will be.
So, as a show of good faith, once our convoy has passed through your little town, I would like to make a small gift to you, with one small string attached. Sgt. Major, please make a note to have four squad machine guns with ten thousand rounds of ammunition, and one 40 mm auto grenade launcher with one hundred rounds presented to the town of Findley.”
“Yes sir,” smiled the Sgt. Major.
Captain Smith was demonstratively pleased, and said, “Sir, I don’t know how to thank you, but we’re still not quite that friendly; so if your gift is dependent on such information, I must decline.”
Levi again laughed and said, “My friend, that tiny string to our gift is that, down the road, you will be open to negotiations with the ROA for trade. Perhaps one day you might want to join the growing Republic of America, and if not we hope to become trading partners; fair enough?”
“Yes sir, fair enough, you know, I think you’re right; we soon will be bosom buddies.”
“Okay, no more questions about Findley, but perhaps you could give us a head’s up on what lays ahead of us?”
“Oh, yes sir, now that I can do.”
As the evening wore on, all three ROA representatives became more and more impressed with Captain David “Smitty” Smith.
The Sgt. Major later reminded Levi that there were two open Troop Commander’s positions that could use an experienced Infantry Officer.
Both Levi and Gus had already come to thi
s observation, and Levi was considering making an offer to Smith, but only after the convoy arrived in the next couple of days.
They also learned that Columbus was having a difficult time with both the Caliphate and a long list of gangs. The first hostiles we would come across would be MS13 which had a strangle hold on the northern outskirts of town, centering on the junction of I-270 and I-71. MS-13 was extremely violent before the CME, and after the lights went out, they went on a “Pigs in a blanket, fry ‘em like bacon” campaign, killing any Police Officers who remained on duty.
Following this initial reign of terror, MS-13 numbers grew daily, until they were the major influence among the two other prominent gangs, the Bloods, and the Crips. Early on they began killing the leadership of other gangs and then absorbing their “soldiers” into the MS-13 ranks.
Now the gangs control the northern half of Columbus, and the Caliphate owns the southern half. The gangs have given up on us for now because they are busy with the Commandos on the south side for ownership of the Ghost Town called Columbus.”
“The south side?” asked Gus.
“Yes sir, those Caliphate troops come mostly from Cincinnati and Dayton.”
The Sgt. Major looked at Levi and said, “Aw crap!”
Smith then continued saying, “They are everywhere, sir, but in most places, they just want to be left alone and are not, yet aligned with the Caliphate.”
“Not yet?” asked Levi.
“Yes sir, when the Caliphate comes across any Muslim community, they get tough and take over; disagree, and you die.
They regularly fight, with the gangs, but so far neither side seems able to get the upper hand. Meanwhile, we are happy to sit back and let them have at each other.
We think the gangs are beginning to get hungry, so things there will come to a head, soon. From our perspective, we’re hoping the Caliphate wins that war because we do not want to duke it out in the sky scraper canyons of Columbus. We figure we’ll just leave that to the JJs; actually, neither side knows shit about tactics.
The only other option for the gangs will be to come after us because we control the farmlands between here and Columbus. If that happens, it will be in the next couple of months; after harvest time.”
Levi had noted that the fields the ROA passed by looked to be very well tended, and said, “By the looks of your fields, you’re in for a bumper crop.”
Smitty smiled and said, “We have the Amish to thank for that.”
Levi looked somewhat confused and asked, “Amish, in Lisbon County; I didn’t think they lived around here?”
Captain Smith said, “They didn’t, before the CME, and soon after we lost power most of our local farmers abandoned their farms. Unlike the Amish, they had no food reserves, and the local farmers were overwhelmed by the folks from Columbus who hit the road because they were either starving or running from the gangs who took over the food distribution centers; that was before they started taking slaves, white, of course. I hate to say it, but in Columbus, everything is now race based; hell, it’s become tribal. I guess you could say that we have become the same.
Oh, sorry, I got side tracked, anyway, once the surrounding farms were deserted, I sent a heavily armed diplomatic team to Holmes County, and they found the Amish under the thumb of the Caliphate, and gangs. Well, we took care of that little problem for them and offered to provide for their protection if they would relocate to this area.
The Amish weren’t too keen on the idea of packing up and leaving their beautiful farms, but they are a very smart and shrewd people. They knew that remaining there would only lead to their destruction, or enslavement, so here they are. The relations between us are superb; they feed us; we protect them, so it’s a win/win all around. I mean, they have their ways, and we have ours, and since both sides are happy to live and let live, well, we’re good.”
Levi was very impressed and asked how many citizens of Columbus remained.
Smith told Levi that the population of Columbus before the CME was around 800,000, but he figured that after a year of no available food, clean water, electricity, war, murder, rape, and slavery, there were very few who stayed. My guess is the decision to stay didn’t work out too well for anyone who chose that path.
The remainder of the evening passed with discussions on politics, gangs, JJs, and food storage.
Just before the festivities broke up for the evening, Levi asked two last questions, “Smitty, when your harvest comes in, how long before you’ll know how much of your harvest will need to carry you through to next year?”
Smitty thought for a moment before saying that he thought most everything should be counted and put away by the middle of September, why?”
“Oh,” said Levi, “I was just wondering if you might like to trade some fresh veggies, and grains? Our Brigade could use some fresh fruit and vegetables.”
“Trade, huh? Well, I suppose we could talk about it; what do you have to trade?”
“Smitty, if you would tell me what you need, this negotiation would go much faster.”
Again Captain Smith’s eyes took on that wary appearance, and he said, “Sir, your question could, once again, be taken for an inquiry into information I am not yet ready to reveal. I don’t mean to offend, I really don’t, but you must understand my hesitancy in these matters.”
Levi sighed and said, “Smitty, if we hope to make a trade we must know what each side needs. Think about a couple of things: If we wanted to take your food, we would just come back and take it; and secondly, well, go ahead and ask either my XO or my Sgt. Major what the ROA’s cornerstone is, concerning trade.”
The Captain looked a bit puzzled, but followed Levi’s request and asked the Sgt. Major.
He looked to Captain Smith and said, “Sir, with regard to trade, it is the basic premise in ROA doctrine to never make a bad deal, for either side. It is always our position to make trades which are beneficial to both parties. The primary advantage is that fair trade advances both sides; not enriching one while draining the coffers of the other.”
Thinking he might trap Levi, Smith said, “Most admirable, and have you developed a currency based economy, other than using the U.S. dollar?”
Levi smiled at Smith and said, “Smitty, we do have a currency based on gold and silver. We also mint coinage in Patriot Dollars, although most people now just call them Pats. However, we do not currently conduct trade in our currency, outside of the ROA proper. We prefer to trade in goods with foreign powers; that would be you, my friend.”
Come on, son, if you are interested in trade, tell me what you need; otherwise, we will leave and hope that at some future date you will change your mind, and we can both profit.”
As a test, Smith asked, “All right, we need weapons and munitions, just about anything of a military nature to put an end to this idiotic war in which we find ourselves.”
To his surprise, Levi said, “All right, if that’s what you want, we can arrange it, but that would be very costly to you. Come on, Smitty, what will it take to make a fair deal to both sides. Perhaps you might be interested in information.”
“Information?” spat Smith, “What kind of information do you have that would help us in these crazy times?”
Looking thoughtful, Levi said, “Oh, little, how-to things like electricity, running diesel semi-trucks, freeze drying equipment, you know, little things like that.”
“Wait, what? You have electricity, and running trucks, other than your hardened military vehicles?”
“Oh, yes, and more; tell ya’ what, Smitty, as an act of good faith, what would you say to my bringing one of our engineers to get a couple of semis running again. They will be yours, no catch. Oh, did I mention air-conditioning in your homes, not that you normally need it here do you?”
Smith wasn’t sure he believed all of these claims, but he was willing to take a chance, especially since the offer to get a couple of big rigs running again, would be worth more than Findley had; of anything.”
/> “All right, General, I accept your offer of a couple of running diesels. When can this be done?”
Levi looked to Gus, who said, “Smitty, we can have two trucks up and running in no more than a week.” A week was more time than was needed, but a little leeway seemed like a good idea.
Smith said, “All right, General, as an act of good faith on our part, I will guarantee the first loads of those semis will consist of fruits and vegetables. If you can provide security, of course.”
Levi said, “Done,” and offered his hand to seal the deal.
After the party broke up, Levi and his posse were on the chopper headed home, he turned to Gus and said, “We can do this, right?”
Gus smiled and told Levi that in retrospect it was a little bit late to ask if it could be done, but no worries, it’s in the bag.
Upon landing, Gus went immediately to the Convoy TOC and placed a call to President Bassett, and directed that it was to be presented to him the first thing in the morning, requesting one of the diesel Skonk Works genius’ to be flown to Findley to get a couple of semis up and running.
***
Chapter 13
Columbus
15 August 1000
Conversion of Insley Rd and I-75 S
TOC
A Huey with a Cobra escort arrived from Lejeune carrying Donald Painter, a poet at heart, but a diesel wizard by trade, along with an eight-man security detail and ground crew, exited the bird and Mr. Donald Painter made his way to the General saying, “Hey, Levi, how they hangin’.”
Levi had known Don since he and his family were plucked from the migration of walkers, just after lights out. Levi had also come to enjoy his whimsical nature; as well as his poetry.
“Donald, my boy, it’s good to see you, oh, and they are hanging just fine, thank you very much.
My friend, I sure hope you can get a couple of semis up and running.”
Don looked stricken as he said, “Whoa, Levi, did Adan tell you? I don’t do diesels anymore, I’ve moved on to 8-track Players.” He and Levi laughed for several seconds before Don said, “Sure, buddy, no sweat; do you mind if I have lunch first; I’m starved.”