Forgotten Forbidden America:: Patriots Reborn

by Thomas A. Watson

  When they went in the basement, all façade of a house disappeared. The walls were concrete, and a huge computer set up with a dozen monitors was the first thing they saw. And Nancy was sitting in the main chair, emptying her gym bag. She pulled out several portable hard drives and cases that held dozens of flash drives each.

  “I’m going to make contact with the others in Palmer’s group. I know he said his hand print turned off all recordings, but keep your faces covered anyway,” Nancy said, running USB cords to some of the portable hard drives. “I’ll make a copy of detainees in the area first. Then I’ll let the contact at NSA know to release the virus.”

  “We’re good. The last memory dump was at nineteen hundred. Even if Palmer’s code doesn’t turn off the recording, the next one is at midnight, and he said they won’t get checked unless something happens,” Nelson said, stopping behind Nancy. “Still wish he would’ve come.”

  “He had to take Ivan and Jakowski to get his family; he doesn’t trust the others on the team to go through with anything,” Nancy said, grabbing the mouse and moving through files.

  “Checking the rest of the area,” Nelson said, walking away. He walked down the hall and stopped at one room with a big window showing a surgery table. “Been in several of those,” Nelson said, seeing tools on the wall that weren’t used for surgery. “I like blow torches much better.”

  The others followed, seeing two more torture rooms. Nelson opened the last door and found an examination table with cabinets around the room. “First Aid, take what you need,” he said, turning to look at Michelle. “They will have shit only a hospital will have.”

  Michelle nodded and moved over. As she opened cabinets, she started getting lightheaded seeing all the medications. Nelson reached past her, grabbing a big bottle. “Ooh, go pills,” he mewed.

  “You do remember only one a day, right?” Michelle said, opening the rest of the cabinets.

  “Hell yeah. Stayed awake a week on these working for the Agency,” Nelson said, shoving the bottle in his vest.

  “We need some blood?” Matt asked, opening the refrigerator in the corner.

  “Won’t last,” Michelle said, walking over. “You three go and get all the carry bags upstairs that Palmer said would be here,” Michelle ad-libbed, making Nelson startle.

  “Damn, you are a smart and fine woman,” Nelson grinned under his balaclava.

  “Go,” Michelle laughed, pushing him out the door.

  Matt and Gerald ran after Nelson upstairs. They went in all the rooms, grabbing suitcases and duffle bags. Those that held something, they dumped on the floor. Stuffing duffel bags and gym bags in suitcases, they each carried an arm load down to the basement.

  When they walked past Nancy, she told them, “Find out what equipment is left in the inventory in the team’s shop.”

  “Ivan said it was all left for us,” Nelson said, dropping the bags on the floor. “That’s why the others went with local law enforcement.”

  “Just make sure. What we don’t take, Palmer wants destroyed,” Nancy said, typing away. “Don’t move my hat on the picture.”

  They all looked around and saw a cheap painting on the concrete wall with Nancy’s cap taped over the middle. “I’m so out of my league,” Matt mumbled, walking past with his armload then dumping it in the infirmary. Michelle grabbed a suitcase, pulled out a duffel bag, and started raking the shelves’ contents into it.

  Nelson led them through the kitchen to the side door. He opened the door, stepping out on a covered walkway to the shop, and lights on the walkway turned on. When Gerald closed the door, Matt leaned over to whisper in Nelson’s ear. Knowing what Matt was doing, Nelson pulled back, pointing at the ceiling of the walkway.

  Gerald and Matt looked up to see a camera. “Damn,” Matt mumbled.

  Leading the two, Nelson opened the door to the shop, and the lights cut on. “Mama mia,” Nelson moaned, looking around the shop. Racks of weapons were in a back corner forming aisles, and vehicles were parked neatly at the front. “Those are fucking 6x6 Cougar MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected),” Nelson moaned.

  “Yeah, but look at this,” Gerald said, walking between dune buggies with weapons mounted on them. Stopping at a stack of hard storage cases, he panted and said, “These are Stingers.”

  Nelson looked over at another stack of hard cases. “Holy hell,” he said and walked over. “Javelins,” he moaned with reverence.

  Gerald walked over. “Talk,” he said, nodding outside.

  “Yeah, but only a hundred feet away in whispers with lips almost touching ears,” Nelson said, heading for the door.

  They walked out, leaving the walkway out onto a manicured lawn in front of the house. When they were far away, Gerald grabbed Nelson and pulled his head over. “We are taking the Cougar with the fifty. The other has a mini gun, and we have one on the Suburban,” he barely whispered. Even only a foot away, Matt hardly heard it.

  Nelson yanked Gerald’s head until his ear was at his mouth. “Are you fucking crazy? Those damn things are loud as hell not to mention huge,” he whispered as Gerald leaned his head toward Nelson’s ear.

  “It has a remote firing station with a fifty caliber. It can fire over the berm without us exposing ourselves. We can build a shed for it and keep it hidden, but we need that.”

  Gerald pulled back, and Nelson nodded as Matt yanked both of their heads to his mouth. “Just what the fuck do they need shit like this stashed around America for? I’m not a dumb ass; this shit and this house has been here for years,” he whispered excitedly.

  “They started building infrastructure for armed rebellion after 9/11,” Gerald whispered in Matt’s ear. “I’ll tell you more, but we have a lot of work to do.”

  Gerald leaned back, and Matt nodded. Leaning forward again, Gerald pulled both of them close. “I’ll point out what goes first. We take all explosives, Stingers, Javelins, and weapons. If we still have room, we’ll take ammo. We load the Cougar first then pull it out and back the Bronco and trailer in.”

  Reaching up, Nelson grabbed Gerald’s head. “We are taking all night or thermal vision, so don’t start. There are two General Dynamics armored FLYER 72s. I want the one with the mini gun,” he whispered. Gerald nodded and turned around, heading back to the shop.

  They followed Gerald around the shop as he prioritized what they wanted and needed to load first. He stopped at a stack of crates labeled “C-4 High Explosive.” Opening the back of the Cougar, Nelson threw Palmer’s severed hand in the driver’s seat, and then they formed a chain to load. When most were in, Gerald grabbed boxes of primers, rolls of wire, remotes, and detonators for them to load. Next were several rolls of det cord.

  As Gerald looked at the other explosives, Nelson picked up a crate of M67 fragmentation grenades and motioned for Matt to help. Gerald watched them load up the crates and pointed at boxes of shape charges, and Nelson flipped him off then grabbed another crate of grenades.

  Gerald gave a scowl and picked up the fifty-pound shape charge, loading it himself. When he put it in the back of the Cougar, he had a change of heart and helped load more grenades. Gerald did stop Nelson from taking all the fragmentation grenades. He pointed at boxes of M14 thermite grenades and M47 tear gas grenades. Nelson sighed and started grabbing cases.

  When the back of the Cougar was literally packed with explosives, Michelle walked in. “I’m done loading mine; need some help?” she asked and looked at the back of the Cougar. “Holy mother of God,” she gasped, looking at the pile of explosives.

  Nelson walked past her, grinning and carrying another crate of M67 grenades, and put them in the passenger floorboard. “Look what I found,” he said, pulling her to the back. Stopping at a stack of crates, Michelle chuckled, reading “M18A1 Claymore Anti-personnel mine.” Still grinning, Nelson grabbed one and carried it to the passenger door of the Cougar. As they loaded their crates, Matt held up a crate of flash bangs.

  “I’m not driving this one,” Michelle mumbled the
n helped fill the passenger side. When nothing else would fit, Gerald climbed in as Nelson opened the massive overhead door. Gerald cranked the engine, and Nelson groaned at the loud rumble as Gerald pulled out.

  Feeling Michelle stare at him, Nelson turned, looking for her. He didn’t find her until he turned all the way around. She was pointing at the Cougar as Gerald drove out and holding up her hand, wanting an explanation. Not in the mood for another twisting head whisper conversation, he just shrugged and pointed at the FLYER 72.

  It looked like a blunt dune buggy from Hell. Nelson got to use some in Iraq and loved the things. He walked over and started loading crates in the FLYER as Michelle groaned but helped as Gerald backed the trailer and Bronco in.

  The FLYER was loaded down by the time Gerald lowered the overhead door. Walking over to the racks of weapons, Gerald grabbed an armload, and the others followed suit. Matt grinned and wanted to ask what some of the weapons were but held his tongue. They loaded all the weapons, and Gerald coughed, seeing Nelson carrying a Carl Gustav M3.

  “I like a fucking rocket launcher that I only have to carry rounds for and can keep using the launcher,” he huffed.

  “It’s a recoilless rifle.”

  “Eat me, it shoots a big ass rocket,” Nelson said, walking away.

  “I’m taking a piss,” Matt said, walking out.

  As Nelson was putting the Gustav in the trailer, Gerald came in and set down two crates of rounds for the 84mm recoilless rifle. He leaned real close to Nelson’s ear. “You know you can take the other FLYER right? They are designed to tow each other without a driver in the tow vehicle,” he breathed out.

  “We take it,” Nelson said in a regular voice as he stood and grinned.

  They passed Michelle heading to the trailer with an armload of weapons. When Nelson walked over to an Mk19 automatic grenade launcher, Gerald snapped his fingers. Nelson turned around, and Gerald was shaking his head and dropped his hand to his pistol.

  “Jeesh,” Nelson said, raising his hands.

  “Thank you,” Michelle said, walking past Gerald.

  As they loaded the trailer, Matt came in. “Hey guys, there’s a boat in the backyard,” he said. “It’s like three years old, but I swear it’s never been used.”

  “Yeah,” Nelson said, walking out of the trailer. “Palmer said it was for cover so none of the neighbors would think anything other than weird rich people lived here.”

  “Figured, but there is also a sixteen-foot trailer out there,” Matt said.

  “Palmer didn’t mention that,” Nelson said, stopping.

  “Shit,” Michelle mumbled, walking past Nelson to the racks of weapons.

  “Matt, go see if that Suburban has a hitch,” Nelson said, heading for the weapons. “My luck it does, but it won’t be the right size ball.”

  As they continued loading the trailer, they heard the Suburban crank up and pull past the shop. “Guess my luck is good today,” Nelson grinned.

  “Not for long,” Michelle mumbled.

  When all the racks were empty, they loaded what Stingers and Javelins they didn’t get in the Cougar. Matt came in and just grabbed crates from a stack he saw someone else grab one off. When the trailer was packed, they loaded the back of the Bronco with cans of ammunition.

  As Gerald raised the overhead door, Nancy came in the side and looked around. “Made a real dent,” she said as she walked over to Gerald and handed him a piece of paper.

  “One more hour and fifteen minutes for what you want,” Gerald said, tucking the paper in his pocket.

  “Good, then I can finish,” Nancy said, turning around. “You will be able to do it, right?”

  “I’m going to act like I didn’t hear that,” Gerald said, climbing into the Bronco. Nancy laughed as she walked out the door.

  As Gerald pulled out, Nelson started loading the other FLYER. “N…” Michelle started but caught herself. “We have one.”

  “Well, we are taking two. Watch,” Nelson said and grinned under the balaclava.

  As they loaded the other FLYER, Gerald backed the Suburban in with the trailer attached, and Nelson groaned, seeing the sides of the trailer were only two feet tall. “There has to be straps or rope in here,” he mumbled and started tearing the shop apart until he found some rope, six straps, and one tarp.

  “Ammo, belted only, all of the stacks of fifty caliber, 7.62 and 5.56 then 4.6x30mm and 5.7x28. Palmer has all the loose stuff in regular calibers we need from confiscations,” Gerald said, closing the overhead door. “That Suburban, we fill as well,” he said, pointing at one of the two Suburbans parked on the other end.

  “Dude, if you’re talking about these cans,” Matt said, pointing at pallets of fifty cal ammo cans, “that alone is half the trailer.”

  “Want to bet?” Gerald said and cut the plastic wrapping off the pallets.

  “Sucker bet,” Michelle said, grabbing two cans.

  They formed a line and loaded them on the trailer. Matt just looked at the stacked ammo cans three feet over the side rails. Then Gerald carried over one of the pallets and stuck it between the cans and the side of the trailer. That extended the sides of the trailer to five feet tall.

  “Yeah, I feel stupid,” Matt mumbled and carried over more pallets, putting them on the front. When all the belted ammo was loaded, they filled the last four feet with the special 4.6mm and 5.7mm submachine gun ammunition.

  As the others tied it down, Nelson walked to a metal cabinet at the back wall. “I know what you hold, baby,” he mumbled, grinning. He opened the doors, grinning at the hard cases of night vision and thermal, goggles and monoculars. Seeing an identification number he didn’t know, Nelson grabbed the case.

  He opened it, pulling out a monocular that was much bigger than any he had seen. “PSQ/20,” Gerald said behind him. “Thermal and night vision combo.”

  “Oh yes,” Nelson said, putting them back. “All of this is coming.”

  “Go through the lockers on the wall, and find you a helmet that fits,” Gerald said, grabbing cases. “You can’t use those without a helmet.”

  Nelson ran over to the fifty personnel lockers on the wall and started opening them until he found a tactical helmet that fit perfectly. Knowing Michelle’s size, he went back through and grabbed one then carried it over. “Try this,” he said, putting it on her.

  “Uh,” she huffed as he put it on. “Hey, that’s not bad,” she said, liking the weight of the tactical helmet and how the straps wrapped around her chin. “Thank you.”

  They emptied the locker of all the night vision and thermals into the Suburban, and Matt went through the helmets until he found him and Ashley tactical helmets. Sighing, Nelson went over and just grabbed all the helmets and looked in one of the lockers and saw body armor. “We can make it fit,” he said, grabbing it.

  “I’m going to shoot that boy,” Gerald mumbled, walking over to help Nelson.

  “Get in line,” Michelle said, going over. When the stuff was loaded, Matt had to take a running start to close the passenger door.

  Gerald went over to the FLYERs that were parked one behind the other aimed at one of the overhead doors. Going to the back, he pulled out a heavy bar with big circles at each end. On the front bumper of the FLYER parked behind the other one, Gerald pulled a cotter pin out of one-inch pin in the front bumper.

  Putting one of the holes on the bar over the hole over the bumper, Gerald shoved the one-inch pin and the cotter pin in the bottom of the holding pin. Then he did the same thing on the rear bumper, and the rear FLYER was now trailered to the lead FLYER.

  “Pull it out,” Gerald said then pointed to Michelle then the Suburban. He walked over, hitting the button to raise the door in front of the FLYERs. Nelson jumped in; he wanted to drive the one in the back with the M134 mini gun, but this was okay. Having only glanced at the weapon on this one, he looked up and jumped.

  “A GAU19,” he mumbled in almost holy reverence. “Never even got to see one, much less touch one.” Hear
ing the Suburban pull out, Nelson started the FLYER and pulled out and could tell he was pulling a heavy load.

  When he was outside, he saw the Suburban riding low and the trailer squatting really low. Closing his eyes, he prayed, We only have to go thirty miles. Please let the trailer hold up. Satisfied, he climbed out and followed the others inside.

  They found Nancy in the offices going through filing cabinets and pulling out folders. She looked up to see them and turned to Gerald. He jerked his head to the side. “I need that suitcase,” she said, grabbing her gym bag and tossing a folder in a suitcase full of folders, bound papers, and three-ring binders.

  Gerald walked out behind Nancy as Matt and Nelson fought to close the suitcase. As Matt lifted the suitcase up on its wheels, Nelson walked around the desk. He saw a glass case of metal tubes and grinned. “Cuban,” he said, reading the label. Michelle stomped her foot behind him, but Nelson grabbed the case anyway.

  The three walked outside, digging out night vision goggles with Nelson getting in the FLYER, Michelle in the Suburban with the trailer, Matt in Gerald’s Bronco, and Nancy climbed in the Suburban without a trailer. Nelson looked around for Gerald and saw the driver’s door of the Cougar standing open and the seat empty.

  It was ten minutes later that Gerald walked out of the house and closed the door. He strolled over to the Cougar and climbed in. When he started up, the others did as well. Gerald led them back to the road as Nancy stopped and lowered the flag at the mailbox then climbed back in her Suburban.

  They pulled on the highway, and Gerald went as fast as he could, but all the vehicles were just starting to pick up speed when he slowed, pulled over on the shoulder of the road, and stopped on the highway. Nelson started panicking, thinking something was wrong, and saw Nancy jump out of her Suburban and lift the hood.

  She climbed up on the bumper, taking off her night vision goggles, and turned on a flashlight as she dug under the hood. She then jumped off and shut the hood as Nelson climbed out, grabbing his AR and spinning around, expecting choppers to start landing any minute.