“Do we have room for all of them?” Anthony asked.
“We can squeeze,” Terri said. She had started to help the children. Nolan heard a gunshot. He took cover and looked towards Ian, who walked away from the wounded agent, his gun smoking.
“We can’t take him with us,” Ian said.
Ian seemed cold to Nolan. He shook it off, and ordered everyone to head to the van. Nolan asked Lee if he was alright to drive. Lee looked a little pale but Nolan figured he could get directions from Terri and drive but he wanted to get as many answers from the family as he could. Lee said that he was able to drive. The group squeezed into the van. Nolan apologized for how tight it was. Terri took the gas hose from the tank and threw it on a nearby lawn.
“That would get some people to look at us.” She said.
Lee started the car and they left the small town. Lee said his phone was ringing. He handed it to Terri.
“It’s Mark,” she said and answered it. Terri didn’t say much before she hung up the phone. “He got called in because of our shooting. The agents must have radioed for help. He said to take 27 south. That is the road he is taking to us.”
“Sounds good,” Lee said. “It is the long way but it beats us getting into another fight.”
Terri turned and smiled at Red Squadron or was it at Nolan.
“You all were impressive to watch.” She said.
“Thanks,” Nolan said.
He shook off the compliment and turned towards the mother. The mother was holding her children. Nolan let them have their moment before he began to question them. Nolan saw a state trooper police car drive past and he knew who the trooper was.
Nolan took a moment to find his words. “I am Nolan Hunter,” He started. “I am with the Democratic Insurgence.”
“Insurgence. I didn’t think you people were real.”
“We are real alright,” Anthony said from behind her.
“I am Julia. This is my son Sean,” Julia said pointing to her eldest son. “This is Andrew and Kevin.” Pointing at the younger boys. “We can’t thank you enough for saving us.”
“It is not a problem,” Nolan said. “I do have questions. I know you just went through a lot but time may be of the essence.”
“Anything,” Julia said.
“Do you have any idea why you were taken?” Nolan asked.
“No. We were at home. The Security Bureau had been asking lots of questions around town. My husband was worried. He had an office that he hidden into the wall. It was his secret space. One day the neighborhood was swarmed with Security agents and soldiers. They were going door to door rounding up the people. My husband hid us in the room. No one knew it was there except our family. Some of the neighbors’ maybe but surely not the government.” She held her youngest kids close to her as she relived the event. “My husband told us to go to the room. He said he would come get us. We hid as the Security Bureau searched our house. We heard my husband tell the agents that we were at my sister's. They must have determined we weren’t in the house and left.”
“Why did you stay so long?” Nolan asked.
“We suspected that they had been watching the neighborhood. We were going to wait for my husband. We didn’t have a meeting place. If we left he would never find us.” Julia cried. “Now he may never find us.” The family silently cried.
“They didn’t say where everyone was going? Or for what purpose?” Nolan asked.
“No,” Julia said.
“Well,” Sean the oldest child spoke. His voice cracked from crying and most likely the lack of water for so long. “I heard from some friends that the old Paper factory in Sechrist was active again.”
“What would a paper company want with all of us?” Julia said shrugging off the thought.
“Mom, Mike said he thought he saw soldiers there,” Sean explained.
“What was he doing in Sechrist? Nothing good. He would say anything if he thought he would get in trouble.” Julia said.
“He only told me,” Sean said.
“Where is Sechrist?” Nolan asked.
“It is maybe a half hour or forty minutes from our home,” Sean explained.
“Michael is a trouble maker. I wouldn’t listen to what he has to say.” Julia told them.
“That might have been true but it is the closest thing to a clue,” Nolan said.
What the government wants with a paper company was beyond him. Perhaps it is more than what it seemed. Nolan reassured the family that they would keep them safe when they arrived at the camp. Nolan didn’t want to use the word base. It was hardly a base.
They arrived back at Lee’s family farm. The van pulled around the back of the barn and they all got out. Nolan stretched. He was stiff from sitting in the cramped car. Lee told the family he would get some food prepared for them. Lee led them towards his house. Nolan and the others stood by the car.
“I think we should check out this factory,” Nolan started. “It is the only led we have.”
“I have heard of that factory. Julia is right. That factory has been closed for years. Even if they got it working, what would they be using it for? Why these people?” Terri said.
“It is the only lead though,” Ian agreed. “If it comes up nothing then we are in the same spot we are now.”
“Can we steal a computer and do some research?” Nolan asked Terri.
“Of course,” She said. “We will set you up in the barn. Not the greatest place but somewhere to start.”
“Thanks,” Nolan said
Ian and Anthony moved towards the barn. Terri looked at Nolan.
“Were you guys taught that?” Terri asked.
“We all did go through some training.”
She ran her hand through her hair. “It was pretty impressive watching you all work together,” She bit her lip a little as she got closer to Nolan. “You’re a pretty good leader.”
She was close to Nolan now. He could start to see the blue in her eyes. He could smell her scent. It was almost like lavender. Something stirred in him. Lee came around the corner and the two of them instinctually separated.
“What’s going on?” Lee asked. Red flushed his face.
“Nothing, Lee. We were just talking. I gotta get my computer to help them look up stuff about that factory.” Lee said and she turned away from Nolan.
Nolan thought she winked at him but he couldn’t be sure. Lee came closer to Nolan.
“You like her?” Lee asked.
“I just met her,” Nolan said. It was the truth. “She asked about how we attacked today.”
“I see,” Lee said. He stomped off towards the barn.
Nolan stood outside. He couldn’t help but watch Terri walk to the barn. He watched every motion of her hips and sway as she moved. ‘Like her’, was a strong statement, Nolan thought. He did think she was very attractive. That wasn’t a bad thing. Nolan walked towards the barn thinking of how close Terri had gotten to him. He pictured her being closer.
Chapter 12
The Investigation
The United States Security Bureau had an office in the heart of the Quad Cities. Major Fulton had arrived several days before, he was there to look into the raids on USSB convoys. Thus far, he hadn’t found much. He suspected it was because of their use of some of the town’s people but the officer in charge Captain Swanson assured him that it wasn’t a concern.
‘We have kept the capture quiet.’ He had told him. Major Fulton knew that in small towns nothing was kept quiet, except it seems the identity of the rebels. Major Fulton had told the Captain how displeased Governor Higgins was. He wanted to avoid her coming to micromanage the situation. In the Major’s experience politicians were very unknowledgeable about military action.
This day the Major was sitting in his office. He was reviewing files from the convoy he wondered what exactly the rebels wanted. He knew they weren’t Insurgents. They didn’t have the Insurgent style. The odd things was they weren’t attacking food trucks but trucks with weapons
. This meant they were arming themselves. If there was to be an uprising he would deal with it quickly.
There as a knock at his door. Major Fulton murmured. ‘Enter’. He was deep in his work and didn’t want to be bothered with mundane questions. The door opened and a young sergeant walked in and saluted. He was thin and tall with very soft features. Major Fulton could tell by looking at him that he was young.
“What can I do for you, Sergeant?” Major Fulton asked.
“Sir, there has been an incident…”
“What sort of incident?” Major Fulton interrupted.
“We had dispatched a team of agents to search the home of some workers that might have been hiding from us in Lucas Valley.”
“And?” Major asked.
“Our agents were attacked. It left eight agents killed.”
This finally distracted the Major from his work.
“When did this happen?” Major Fulton asked.
“Several minutes ago,”
Major Fulton stood. He strode from the room with the Sergeant on his tail. His cloak-like coat billowed from the speed of the Major’s stride.
“Any witnesses?” Major Fulton asked.
“No, sir,”
The Sergeant got into a vehicle and the Major was in the front seat. The Sergeant put on the sirens and drove as fast as he could towards Lucas Valley. Major Fulton suspected that the Sergeant might have been from around the area judging by the slight accent. He made a mental note of that. They drove into town past the gas station and down a block were USSB trucks and cars were parked. Several local police cars also blocked roads. They turned on one intersection where the totaled USSB truck was. The Major instructed the Sergeant to stop the car. Major Fulton wanted to take the whole scene in for himself.
The car came to a stop several feet from the smashed van. Major Fulton looked at the car both damaged cars trying to figure out how the initial crash happened.
“Do we know who owns that car?” he asked.
One of the USSB officers responded. “The car belongs to the people in that house. We pulled them from their duties to question them.”
The Major nodded. He walked up to the first body. It was covered. He uncovered it to see the agent with a hole in the center of his throat. He nodded and moved on to the next body. It was hit in the center of the chest. Major Fulton inspected the rest of the bodies. Before he came to the last one.
“Sergeant,” Major called. The Sergeant ran to his side. “Is Captain Swanson around?”
“Yes, sir,”
“Bring him to me.”
The Sergeant ran off he seemed nervous looking for the Captain. He back with Captain Swanson who looked displeased with being summoned by a lower ranking officer.
“Yes, Major?” Captain Swanson asked.
“Have you inspected the bodies yet?” He asked.
“I mean… I suppose.”
“Did you notice anything?” Major Fulton asked.
“Umm…” Captain Swanson said. He must have been trying to come up with something before the Major continued.
“Most of these men were shot with accuracy. That one in the neck and then center mass. That one over there,” He pointed to the body that was under another. “That one was execution-style killed meaning they finished him off. This one, however… This one was poorly killed. Look at the scattering of bullets. Some of them even hit the car this agent hid behind. This suggests that most of the people involved were trained. They also managed to use a car that didn’t belong to them.”
“Why do you say that?” Captain Swanson asked.
“The car in question is owned by a family that has been in our custody. They most likely had used a car that was on this street to stop our vehicle.” He paced the area. He looked up and down the street. “Which house did our missing family live in?”
“That one,” The Sergeant responded. “The one that is four houses down on the right.”
“I see.” He thought for a moment. “Our attackers must have been in the area when the house was searched. It doesn’t appear that they knew they would be in a gunfight. They must have stumbled upon this.”
“How do you know that?” Captain Swanson asked.
“The attack seemed rushed. In the open. In daylight. This wasn’t planned.” Major Fulton explained, irritation in his voice.
He looked around before he spotted something a couple of houses away on the lawn, he walked towards it. Captain Swanson and the Sergeant followed him. When he reached the object on the lawn he knew what it was immediately. It was a hose from a gas pump. The Major ordered someone to photograph it before he picked it up.
“Interesting,” He said as he examined the pump. “I can’t imagine this had been left here.”
The other two men didn’t answer.
“Sergeant, we passed a gas station on the way here am I correct.” He asked.
“Yes, sir,” The Sergeant responded in a voice that suggested he was following his logic.
“Take us there.”
The three of them got into the USSB car and headed towards the gas station. Major Fulton hoped that the camera was still working. Most businesses, even if they turn off lights and shut down security systems still work.
The car pulled in front of the gas station. Major Fulton got out and walked towards the pump. As he suspected the gas hose was missing. He then walked towards the station. Major Fulton pulled out his sidearm. He didn’t think they would stick around but he didn’t want to be caught off guard. Captain Swanson and the Sergeant followed his lead and they cleared the gas station. They determined it was empty. The Major got to work to find the security cameras.
The office was dirty and disorganized but he found the security area. He went into the computer and found the footage from the gas station. The camera pointed towards the pumps and you were able to see part of the parking lot. The Major rewound the footage until they spotted the vehicle arrive. The angle was poor and he couldn’t make out what kind it was but it was a white van. Several people stepped out before someone entered the station. Major Fulton smiled. Seeing the familiar blond hair.
“Hello, Mr. Hunter.” Major Fulton said in a whisper to himself.
Fulton ejected the tape from the security camera and left the office.
“We have some evidence now gentlemen.” He said to the Captain and Sergeant who waited outside for him.
“You have something?” Captain Swanson said.
“Indeed,” Major Fulton said. “In our heist to gather the town’s people the old owner managed to leave the security camera on. We have our first piece of evidence and a suspect.”
“Who?” the Sergeant asked.
“An Insurgent,”
“Insurgents here? That is impossible.” Captain Swanson said.
“Not as impossible as you think, Captain,” Fulton corrected.
He paced the parking area. Something wasn’t adding up. He couldn’t put his finger on it. Major Fulton looked at the gas station. He wondered how they got past USSB agents.
“The town is being monitored right?” Major Fulton asked.
“Yes, sir,” the Captain said.
“We do frequent patrols,” The Sergeant put in.
“The team who came to pick up this family,” Major Fulton started. He walked towards the road. “They came down this way didn’t they?”
“I would think so.” The Sergeant said.
“They must have driven past their vehicle. The time on the security camera points indicates the similar time when our troops drove past.”
“You think our troops missed it? I can’t…” Captain Swanson was interrupted by Fulton.
“I do think so. You would have missed the gas hose if I wasn’t there. Which means you would have never found the video and would have no idea who is behind this. That is not the part I am hung up on. However, it is something that will be addressed in the future. What I am concerned about is how they got away.”
“What do you mean?” Captain Swa
nson asked.
“We received the call quickly. We alerted local law and USSB agents to come to this town. This happened during the fight. We had agents on the ground here almost minutes after the fighting was over,” The Sergeant informed.
“Captain I am beginning to wonder if you have any idea what is happening here, Captain. Sergeant, what is your name?”
“Sergeant Marx, sir. Norman Marx.”
“We’ll Sergeant Marx, what do you think happened?”
He thought for a moment. “No one is supposed to be in this town. Which means if they were leaving from this direction after such an event they would have been stopped. But they weren’t. There aren’t many roads leading out of town.” He thought some more. “Could someone have let them pass?”
Major Fulton smiled. The NCO showed promise. He started to wonder about the competency of other officers in the USSB. He added another mental note. Then something sparked in his head. The Marx mentioned that local law enforcement was notified. A memory from his reports that morning rushed to the front of his mind.
“Sergeant take me back to headquarters. We have some work to do. Captain gather the evidence.”
Marx followed Fulton and left Captain Swanson steaming in the parking lot. He didn’t like being shown up by a sergeant. This Major Fulton knew. He didn’t care the Captain was an idiot. The thought of people like the Captain leading USSB agents lit a fire inside Major Fulton. They made mistakes that could cause them to lose battles against the Insurgence.
They arrived back at headquarters. Fulton instructed Marx to come with him. Fulton would make sure that there are competent officers prepared for the fight against the Democratic Insurgence. This was what he was going to start teaching to Marx.
“Have you read any of the reports from the raids on our convoys?” He asked Marx.
“No, sir. I don’t have the clearance for that,”
“I am going to give you clearance,” Fulton said. “I have read them. It is important to pay attention to detail. Miss the gas hose, we lose our lead. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“In the reports, I found a recording from the most recent raid. Let’s have a listen.”
Resistance Rising Page 13