The Peacekeepers. Books 4 - 6.

by Ricky Sides

  Looking into the eyes of the assembled council one by one, Ramon’s eyes filled with tears as he continued, “It is a sad thing, a terrible thing to see your countrymen dieing all about you and know that there is nothing that you can do to prevent their deaths. My wife Anna was a doctor…,” Ramon faltered for a moment and wiped his eyes. “Anna… She knew what would happen if she continued to minister to the afflicted. But she refused to save herself from the risk of exposure. When she learned that she had contracted the disease she wrote a letter to me and left it in our home. She rode her bicycle away into the countryside to prevent me from contracting the disease. I searched for a week but never found her.”

  Ramon paused at this point and seemed to struggle with his emotions. When he spoke again, it was with determination as he said, “The invaders are savage. They rape and pillage the countryside. They force the men to grow food and take most of that food leaving the people to subsist on the scraps. Any woman they want, they take. Most don’t survive long. Any man who tries to prevent them from taking the woman is killed, and so are any children clinging to their mothers. These people are savage animals with no regard for human life.”

  Pausing in his narration once more, Ramon looked the peacekeeper council members in the eyes one by one. When he spoke again, it was with a grim air of determination as he said, “I came to America to accomplish two goals. Warning you accomplishes the first. Now I must ask you to release me so that I can go about accomplishing my second goal.”

  “And that goal is?” asked Pete.

  Ramon hesitated a moment before responding, but then he said, “I believe that you will have the wisdom to wait until the invasion commences to attack the invaders. Currently they are dispersed all over the island of Cuba. Fighting them there in their strongholds would be a monumental task. However, the invaders will gather and board their ships when the time comes to invade America. At that time, they will leave behind a relatively small force of some few hundred men to maintain their foothold on Cuba, and keep the food supply line established. Should the invaders meet heavy resistance in America, that food supply source will be of critical importance to the invaders. I plan to go among the Cuban-American community and gather one hundred men. We will go to Cuba and destroy the remnants of the invaders.”

  This announcement took the council by surprise and raised many questions in their minds. Jim was the first to respond when he said, “You seem extremely well informed as to the plans of the invaders. I must ask you how it is you came to possess this intimate knowledge of their plans.”

  Ramon squared his shoulders and stared defiantly into Jim’s eyes when he replied, “For two days I shadowed one of the top men among the invaders. The man was always accompanied by a heavy guard detail. On the second night that I shadowed the man, he had a twelve-year-old girl brought to serve his perverted pleasure. He dismissed his guards and I crept up on him as he… as he did things to the little girl. I took him captive and freed the girl, warning her to go home and say nothing about me. I told her to tell her family that they should leave their home and hide from the bad men, who would return to their home seeking the man.”

  Pausing in his narration again, Ramon studied the faces of the council members as if trying to come to a decision. When he spoke again, it was with an air of resignation as he said, “Judge me as you will, but I obtained my information about the plans of the invaders one piece of skin at a time. I took the man to a secluded spot. When he cursed me, and refused to answer my questions, I flayed him to loosen his tongue.”

  Ramon studied the faces of those present, gauging the effect of his words but all seemed neutral regarding his disclosure. This caused him to wonder if they had shared similar experiences in the past. “The invaders have no single leader. As I said earlier, they are gathered about a central drug cartel. They have several high-ranking cartel leaders representing the overall interests of the drug cartel. The man I had captured was a major underling of one of the cartel bosses. Their underlings run the ragtag army that they have formed, answering to the cartel bosses who have a strong core paramilitary army numbering in the hundreds. The rest of the army is composed of drug-addicted scum who seek a source for their drugs, and of course, the freedom to rape and pillage at will. They have about twenty ships, which they will bring to America loaded with the invasion force. But before they do so, they will send smaller boats or ships to spread the disease.”

  “They already sent one,” Tim said angrily. “Thousands of Americans died, but we contained the disease.”

  Nodding his head soberly, Ramon said, “This I know. An informant sent word to the cartel from the city of New Orleans. The informant sends messages to the cartel via a secure radio channel. The cartel will send additional vessels in late August. You must let those vessels reach your waters off the coast and destroy them at sea. This will cost the lives of dozens of my countrymen. The alternative is much worse. A preemptive strike on the entrenched invaders would cost the lives of thousands of my countrymen and many of your own people.”

  “But the informant will just tell them that the ships never arrived, and no plague is present. When that happens, they’ll remain entrenched and try something else instead of boarding their ships to invade the United States,” Jeff Brown said. Then, realizing that he was just present as a witness and not supposed to be providing input he said, “I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn.”

  “No apology is necessary, Jeff. Your concerns are valid,” Jim said reasonably.

  “Indeed they are valid,” Ramon agreed. Then he added, “But what if you know the identity of the informant? Can your people take that individual captive and learn the appropriate contact information, so that you can send false reports?”

  Smiling roguishly, Pete said, “The name?”

  For the first time Ramon looked uncomfortable but he answered, “I will of course provide this information to you, but first I wish to know if you will help me. I want transportation to little Havana in Miami and the arms to arm one hundred fighting men.”

  “We may agree to that and more, Ramon, but not by coercion.” Pete stated bluntly. “You will give us the identity up front or you are free to go now. We will not torture you to obtain your information. But we will not submit to blackmail. Decide, Ramon, and decide now.”

  Seeing the determined look in Pete’s eyes, Ramon took pen in hand and began to write on a tablet sitting on the table. When he finished he slid the note to Pete who examined it and passed it on to Jim. “Lieutenant Wilcox, please escort Ramon on a tour of the Peacekeeper while we discuss this matter,” Pete ordered.

  “Yes, sir,” the lieutenant said and quietly stood up to escort the Cuban from the presence of the council.

  Without waiting for orders to do so, the flight leader left. He wanted to get back to his fighter and head for the base before nightfall. He was cautioned to keep quiet what he had learned at the meeting until the council could decide how to respond to the looming threat.

  “What do you think, Pete?” asked Jim after the pilot departed.

  “I say we pick up the informant and make him talk. But that informant was in on the conspiracy to kill thousands, maybe millions of Americans. His life is forfeit,” Pete stated unequivocally.

  “I agree,” Jim said firmly and Tim added his firm agreement. “But what about Ramon’s request?” Jim asked.

  “Pol, we can send one hundred-ten men on a mission in a patrol class ship can’t we?” Pete asked for clarification.

  “It would be an uncomfortable flight, but yes my friend. A patrol ship can ferry one hundred-ten men into battle to Cuba,” the scientist said reassuringly.

  “You propose that we transport the men to Cuba for the attack?” Tim asked.

  “Yes and provide a squadron of fighter escorts,” Pete replied. “And since our strike forces won’t be needed to sink ships, I thought we could send along the Lieutenant and his men as backup, provided they are willing of course.”

  “I think the Lieutena
nt would like that,” Jim said smiling.

  “But the recruits Ramon gets will be green. They will be completely ignorant about fighting. It will be a massacre, much like the Bay of Pigs,” Tim pointed out.

  “We can make peacekeeper training a condition. There may not be time for the full course but there is time for most of the training. And when this is over, those who remain in America can finish the training and go on to become full fledged peacekeepers in their own right if they wish to do so and can met our criteria,” Pete said.

  “Ramon will be in charge of the Cuban-Americans?” Jim asked for clarification.

  “That might be best, but he’d need to yield to Lieutenant Wilcox’s judgment and experience,” Pete stated.

  “We should use Captain Cliff Barnes if he agrees. The Californian captain is the most experienced patrol ship captain in the fleet,” Tim interjected.

  “Captain Barnes is a good man. Stable and reliable,” agreed Jim and Pete concurred.

  Minutes later the council unanimously agreed to the project. The lieutenant received a summons via the hat radio, and he soon returned with Ramon who listened attentively to the plan. The Cuban leapt at the opportunity that the peacekeeper council was offering. He was profoundly grateful. The peacekeepers were offering much more than he had dared dream possible.

  “Now, Lieutenant,” Pete said addressing Lieutenant Wilcox. “I have a special mission I want you and your strike force team to undertake,” he explained with a smile. Pete then outlined the mission that the lieutenant and his men would carry out.

  ***

  Late that night on a busy city street in New Orleans, a middle-aged man got out of his car and approached his apartment complex. Opening the door to the central corridor that led to the stairs, he began to climb up the flight of stairs to his second floor apartment. He was half way to the top of the stairs when he noted a man dressed in a uniform standing there waiting. He stopped and stared distrustfully at the man who said, “Ricardo Garcia, I was sent to find you.”

  Ricardo quickly turned to flee down the stairs but stopped when he saw two men waiting there at the bottom of the staircase. “You’ll come with us peacefully or you can resist, but either way, you will be coming with us, Ricardo,” the same man who had spoken before said sternly. Now Ricardo noted that two others flanked the man.

  “Personally, I am hoping you resist,” said one of the lieutenant’s men who had been deeply affected by the tragic loss of human life in the wake of the plague.

  Ricardo Garcia was escorted to a waiting van and driven to the airport in the dead of night. In the back of the van sat his radio and a codebook, which the strike force team had located. The equipment had been hidden in the wall of his apartment. A sack contained every single scrap of paperwork that his apartment had contained.

  At the airport, the man was escorted aboard the Peacekeeper. He saw Mayor Reagan who looked at him with loathing and asked how he could have betrayed his fellow Americans to the people who had attacked their city and caused so much death. Then he saw Ramon who looked at him in fury and leapt at him in anger but the lieutenant stepped between the handcuffed prisoner and the angry Cuban.

  “Ramon, restrain yourself or go to your cabin,” Pete said in a tone of voice that brooked no argument.

  Ramon stopped struggling with the lieutenant and said, “I’m sorry for my behavior, but this man is an animal. Men like him contributed to my wife’s death and that of untold numbers of my countrymen.”

  “I assure you that he will pay for his crimes, but for the moment we need him, if we are to prevent more deaths, Ramon,” Pete answered the angry Cuban.

  “I understand, and again I apologize for my behavior,” Ramon said and glared at Ricardo who laughed and spit at him, cursing him in Spanish. To his credit, Ramon restrained himself saying only that he looked forward to his training and then he excused himself and went to his cabin.

  Three hours later, Ramon was summoned to the control room of the Peacekeeper. The mayor attended, and this time there was a man in a police uniform present as well. Flanking Ricardo were three strong guards and Lieutenant Wilcox. Soon the prisoner was marched out of the ship and led to a spot a hundred yards away beside a parked hearse. The man cried out in fear at the sight of the hearse and waiting mortician.

  Jim presided over the execution. He looked grimly at the condemned man and said, “Ricardo Garcia, you have been found guilty of conspiracy and complicity in the deaths of thousands of your fellow citizens of New Orleans. Present to attend your punishment are the mayor of the city, and the chief of police. Do you have any last words before your execution?” Jim asked.

  The prisoner’s legs buckled and he collapsed to his knees sobbing. “What about my trial?” the man asked. “This is America! I’m supposed to have a trial. I know my rights!”

  The chief of police looked uncomfortable for a moment, but then he resolutely replied, “Before the damned plague wiped out three quarters of the city you’d have had your trial. But the plague killed most of the judges, and three quarters of the police, and jail guards in the city.”

  Jim nodded to Lieutenant Wilcox who stepped behind the kneeling prisoner and executed him with a shot to the back of the head. The body was placed in a body bag and loaded into the back of the hearse after the execution. His burial in an unmarked grave was more than his victims had received.

  Chapter 10

  It took Ramon two days to recruit the men he needed for his mission to Cuba, but he managed to have them ready for the Peacekeeper to pick up and transport to Base 1 by the end of the second day. It was a crowded ship but the trip wasn’t overly long. It took just under four hours for them to travel from Miami to Base 1 in Athens, Alabama.

  The Cuban-Americans took to their training vigorously, for Ramon had told them many stories about what had transpired in Cuba and what the invaders planned for America.

  Meanwhile the peacekeepers worked diligently on their own plans and preparations. They had ten weeks to prepare, and then they would have to be ready to locate the three vessels loaded with Cuban carriers of the disease. Meanwhile the peacekeepers maintained their presence in the Gulf States. The patrols would be maintained. There was no way to know in advance that the cartel hadn’t had a change of plans, so it would be foolhardy to stop the patrols.

  Topping the list of the preparations was the construction of Pol’s current project. The manned battleship was a considerable investment in materials. It had taken two months of the alloy shipments just to reach the point that they had reached. Pol had approached the council with the news that it would be impossible to complete the construction of the ship with the currently available and projected next shipment. He presented them with a list of exactly how much additional alloy would be required.

  “That much?” Jim asked in surprise.

  “I’m afraid so, Captain,” Pol said sadly. “Remember that we had planned on using the next three shipments to bring in the material needed to build the ship.”

  “It’s too late to alter the designs, isn’t it?” asked Pete.

  “I’m afraid so my friend. The lower half of the ship has already been fabricated. We are now committed to the base design of the ship though we could go with a single outer upper section rather than the hardened armor design. That would save a substantial amount of material.”

  “But that would also leave the battleship vulnerable, at least in that section, to heavy arms fire wouldn’t it, Pol?” asked Tim.

  “I’m afraid that your assessment is correct my friend,” Pol confirmed.

  “Ramon says that the twenty ships we’ll be facing will be bristling with heavy machinegun emplacements along their decks, and possibly missile launchers,” Pete stated.

  “We could ask Bob Reager for an advance on the next two deliveries,” Jim stated somewhat dubiously. Bob Reager was primarily a businessman. He felt certain that if he agreed to this arrangement at all, it would cost them dearly in the future.

  “I’m
afraid it is worse than that, Jim,” Pol said apologetically causing Jim to raise a questioning brow. “Time is also of the essence. We have the personnel to finish on schedule, but only if we have the material here by this time next week. Thank God, we already have the battery system installed. If we had to wait for the chemicals then all would be lost, for it will be two months before the chemical supplier can accommodate another shipment.”

  “I think we’d better go to Saginaw. If I’m going to ask Bob for this favor then I want to be able to look him in the eye,” Jim said.

  “That is just as well. The battleship module of the Peacekeeper can transport back enough material to keep us going until the trucks can arrive. I was counting on that and the council ordering the trucks to head for Saginaw immediately,” Pol admitted.

  “Is the production schedule really going to be that tight, Pol?” asked Pete.

  “Yes my friend. As it is, if everything goes according to plan, the construction crew will be worked half to death before the ship is completed,” Pol admitted.

  “Would additional manpower help?” asked Pete.

  “At times this will be the case, but much of the work will demand skilled workers. I’ll let you know when less skilled labor would save time and ease the burden on the construction crew,” Pol said reasonably.

  “Should we take Ramon? His testimony may sway Bob Reager, should he prove reluctant to accommodate us,” Jim pointed out.

  “Ramon insists that he go through the training with the men here,” Pol said with quiet certainty. “So I took the liberty of having him make his case on video,” Pol said grinning and opened his briefcase. He handed Jim the video tape.