A NATION AT WAR - The Second Civil War Book II (The Second Civil War - BOOK II 1)

by Marshall Huffman

  They mounted up and started down Roger Clary Highway. Just as they got to Elgin Parkway, the first Hummer in the convoy exploded in a huge ball of fire. Almost simultaneously the last vehicle was destroyed as well.

  Automatic weapons opened up along with rocket launchers opened fire, raking the trapped vehicles. Marines spilled out of the trucks but most were cut down before they had a chance to even fire a shot. Within minutes, six hundred and forty-two Marines were dead and another two hundred and eight wounded or dying.

  Fire and smoke filled the air along with the cries of the wounded. General Adams emerged with his men and they quickly began doing what they could for the wounded. The ARM, American Revolutionary Militia had been fortunate. During the ten minute long fire fight, only nine of his people had been killed and fifteen wounded.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “We were damn lucky. You know this won’t last forever,” General Adams said.

  “No but it has saved our bacon twice,” Colonel Fox answered.

  “It’s just a matter of time before they determine who is giving us Intel. They will most likely be charged with treason.”

  “Maybe it’s time to get them out?”

  “I think that is a wise decision. It won’t take long to piece it together. If you can get word to them, I suggest you do it immediately before the scope of this gets back to the White House,” Adams agreed.

  “It’s not easy but there is a way.”

  “Then use it.”

  “Yes sir,” Fox replied.

  “And about the prisoners. We need to decide what we are going to do with them. There are only twenty or so but we still need to make a decision about what to do with them. Do we keep them or turn them back over to the regular military?” the General mused.

  “I guess we could use them as hostages.”

  “No. That’s not the right way to do this. They are prisoners of war and should be treated according to the Geneva Convention or else we should return them,” the General replied.

  “Maybe we should just hold them for now until we can get to the base to assess the amount of damage done,” Fox suggested.

  “That sounds good. Then let’s move over to the base and see what we can salvage.

  ****

  When they arrived at the base all they found was the smoldering reminiscence of its former condition. The runways and taxiways were nothing but piles of rubble. Most of the buildings had been destroyed or damaged. Several of the aircraft that they didn’t have room for in the bunkers were damaged or destroyed.

  “Those bastards,” the General said when he saw that the hospital had been obliterated.

  “Sonofagun. They targeted the hospital. That is not from collateral damage,” Fox said pointing to the demolished building.

  “So I guess we can kiss the Geneva Convention rules goodbye,” Adams said.

  “So now what do you want us to do?” Fox asked.

  “Well, I expect in a few minutes a recon drone will be sent over to survey the damage. That’s why I had my men clean up the firefight area as best they could. They may not go that far but then again, you never know. I want our people to fan out in this area so that it will look like their Marines are on station.”

  “Do you really believe we can pull that off? They won’t know it’s our people they will be seeing?” Fox asked.

  “I don’t know for sure. Probably not in a really detailed look but they will want to let the President know as quickly as possible. That means they may just rush it and not really look it over as closely as they should.”

  “I guess that’s the best we can hope for at this point,” Fox said.

  ****

  “Mr. President,” Kellerman said as soon as he was shown into the Oval Office, “We just got the news from Eglin. They have taken control of the base. It’s back in our hands.”

  “Yes. Yes...yes,” the President exclaimed, pumping his fist.

  He didn’t often show that kind of emotion. He was usually irritated at someone or something.

  “How many men did we lose?” he suddenly asked.

  “Not many. Maybe a dozen at most,” Kellerman told the President.

  “Excellent. I assume we destroyed the base.”

  “Pretty much. It will be sometime before it is back in commission.

  “Good. We can leave it as a reminder to the other commander that their days are numbered as well,” the President said.

  “Excellent idea,” sir.

  “I want to talk to the commander who led the Marines into the base. I want to congratulate him. Oh and get General Erickson on the phone as well. It would appear that they should be congratulated as well,” the President ordered.

  “Sir, I think you should wait until we get complete confirmation,” Roland Clarke said.

  “We have confirmation. We’ve seen the fly-over photos. What more do you need?” Hanna Cole, the Secretary of State replied.

  “Yes, but we have no eyes-on confirmation. We haven’t really analyzed the photos yet. Not in detail,” Clarke insisted.

  “Clarke, for a Secretary of Defense you are such a wu…”

  “Stop,” the President shouted at the top of his lungs, “Don’t you dare finish that sentence Cole,” he snapped.

  Dead silence.

  “I will not tolerate this kind of behavior. The next person that calls someone a name or makes a disparaging remark will find themselves unemployed. Is that perfectly clear to everyone in this room?” the President said.

  Everyone nodded, afraid to even speak up. He continued to look at them for a minute.

  “Alright. What would we need to confirm the success of the mission, Clarke?”

  “Let’s send in a couple of choppers and verify the results. It wouldn’t take all that long and then there would be no doubts,” he told the President.

  Cole rolled her eyes but kept her mouth shut.

  “Kellerman?”

  “Sir, I don’t see how it could hurt. It would only take a couple of hours and then we could give out more details. It would give the story more punch,” he replied.

  “Okay. Get it done but as quickly as possible. I want to have the information so that we can break in on the stations with a special White House bulletin. Kendra, you get started on the networks. Coordinate getting the facts into the speech that I will deliver. We want to sell this as our only recourse since they would not reply to our efforts to contact them. I want them to be the bad guys.”

  “Yes sir. I understand,” Kendra replied.

  “Good.Clarke, you make sure she gets whatever information she needs. I want a full accounting on what happened. I will want to get the Commander, what was his name?”

  “Colonel Fisk. He is one of General Ascot’s men.”

  “Okay, good. I want him on the show as well. I doubt he will say anything but I would like for him to be there just in case someone asked a military question.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Alright everyone, let’s get to it.”

  ****

  As they walked out of the Oval Office, Secretary of State Hanna Cole tapped the Secretary of Defense on the arm.

  “Yes Ms. Cole?” he said stopping to look at her.

  “I suppose you are intelligent enough to recognize the chain of command. The last time I checked I am above you on the chart. I will not have the President getting upset because you can’t take criticism. If you would do your job the right way I wouldn’t have anything negative to say.”

  He looked at her for several seconds. How far to push it? Finally he decided to hell with it.

  “Ms. Cole. Frankly I don’t care where your name is on the chain of command. I don’t like you. In fact I don’t even recognize that you exist. You are an ass and I can’t think of one single person who likes you or respects you. That includes the President. You just keep your big mouth shut when we are in those meetings and everything will be fine,” he said and started to walk off.

  “Damn you. Don’t you walk away fro
m me buster,” she yelled.

  Clarke didn’t even bother to slow down, he just went on down the hall to his office and closed the door.

  Cole was furious. She thought about going to the President about what he had just said but then thought better of it.

  The President just smiled at the exchange. He had bugs installed in the hallway so he could hear what they were saying once they left the Oval Office.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Kellerman and Clarke sat stunned after hearing the report from Eglin Air Force Base.

  “They had already pulled their personnel out?”

  “Yes sir. The planes as well. Those that we saw being destroyed were ones that were obsolete and probably didn’t fly anyway.”

  “And the men on the ground?”

  “Almost all of them were killed. Our source tells us the official count was six hundred and forty-two Marines dead and another two hundred plus wounded. We believe they have around twenty prisoners.”

  “My God. What a disaster. How could this have happened?” Kellerman muttered.

  “They knew we were coming. It doesn’t explain the fire power our people came under but one thing is clear, someone on the inside is passing material to the opposition.”

  “It’s a damn good thing you stopped the President from going on television. He would have looked like a fool,” Kellerman said.

  “Tell that to Ms. Cole.”

  “What else do we know?” Kellerman asked the Intel man.

  “We are looking at a bunch of vehicles that...”

  The door burst open. A shaken Sarah Slone, the White House Chief of Staff was standing there.

  “The President wants you in the Oval Office now. Like right this second,” she said and raced back out of the door.

  The men looked at each other before hurrying out the door and down to the Oval Office. The large screen Television was on and the President was pacing back and forth. All of the top members of his inner circle were watching with their mouths open.

  “I have with me retired Brigadier General Joel Adams. General can you tell us what happened here today?” the talking head asked as the camera panned around the smolder wreckage of Eglin.

  “Eglin Air Force Base was attacked by bombers, drones and Cruise Missiles. They carried cluster bombs that were intended to destroy the runways and kill as many people as possible in the area. We strongly believe B-2 Stealth Bombers were used first with the cluster bombs. The next wave was drones flowed by Cruise Missiles. The fourth element was to be seven hundred Marines that were to come up and mop up any remaining resistance,” he said calmly into the camera lens.

  “Where did this attack originate?”

  “Actually from several different places. The B-2 landed in Pensacola to refuel we have learned. The drones were launched from a one strip airfield near Almore, Alabama. We are not sure where the Cruise Missiles were launched from but they came from the south so probably a navy ship. Possible the USS Hué City CG66.”

  “How did you manage to deter the attack? After all they had the element of surprise,” the announcer asked.

  “We knew they would try to take the base. We have been on a high state of alert ever since they attacked us last time. Unprovoked, sneak attacks seems to be the mark of this administration.”

  “Wait. Are you saying that the White House ordered the first attack on Eglin? According to them, you attacked the USS Truman in an unprovoked attack.”

  “Let me be as clear as I can,” the General said, looking directly into the camera lens, “That is a bald-faced lie. We were on the lookout for such an attack and as soon as the first planes appeared on their bombing run we responded. Secondly no aircraft attacked the USS Truman. That is a total fabrication. The Truman was sunk by Tomahawk missiles after it had launched its planes to strike the base. The President is lying to the people of America,” the General said.

  “That is a pretty strong statement,” the newscaster said.

  “Yes. It is both strong and accurate. The President is bent on starting a civil war in this country.”

  “General, one thing I don’t understand. If you are a retired Brigadier General, why isn’t the regular military commander that is in charge of Eglin here to answer questions?”

  “Simple really. They are now a part of the American Revolutionary Militia.”

  “That’s quite a mouth full. American Revolutionary Militia,” he said.

  “ARM may be easier to say,” the general replied.”

  “What are your plans from here on?”

  “While I can’t give you a direct answer, I will say that we are in the process of bringing all interested active regular military, reserved military, and volunteer men and women into ARM if they are willing to join.”

  “You are telling them to go AWOL and join your army?” the announcer asked.

  “I’m sorry. Did you hear me say that? I don’t remember saying that. I said nothing about going AWOL. What I said is that we are in the process of bringing those interested in joining ARM together. This is a moral decision. We want no one that is not committed to our cause. We will draft no one but we won’t turn the appropriate people away.”

  “General, I’m sorry but I don’t see the distinctions between going AWOL and choosing to join your army,” the announcer pressed.

  “Going AWOL or absent without leave means they have walked off the job and have taken off without authorization. That is not what we are advocating. If they elect to join our men and women they will still be considered in the military.”

  “By whom?”

  “Why us of course.”

  “One last question General. Do you really think you can stand up to the might of the American combined forces?”

  He smiled quickly, “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be standing here before the media. We may not win every battle but we will win the war if the President continues on the path to divide the nation.”

  Everyone sat or stood transfixed. The General had just called the President a liar on national TV. It was obvious that the President was stunned.

  He turned around in his chair and said softly, “Everyone out please.”

  They all scrambled to get out of the office. Only Kendra, the White House spokesperson remained. The President looked up and saw her still sitting there.

  “You too Kendra.”

  “Sir don’t you want to make a rebuttal? We should counter his claims somehow.”

  “Yes, we probably should but right now I just want to be alone. You may go,” he said.

  She got up and walked slowly to the door, “If you need me I will be in my office,” she told him but he didn’t bother to respond.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Clashes broke out in cities all across America and people begin to take sides. A large number wholeheartedly believed the President had done the right thing. The control of military was clearly within the framework of the President’s authority. Many didn’t necessarily agree with the way he was going about bringing the rogue units back into the fold. Nevertheless they agreed it was his duty to see that those responsible were arrested and court martialed. Others, especially those in Florida, Alabama, Texas, and Georgia were livid at the attacks on the US bases.

  ****

  Eight Senators sat at the table in the Presidential Suite at the Buckhead Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. Forgoing their usual suits and ties they were dressed in comfortable clothing.

  “Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m not going to sit here and make a long speech. God knows we get enough of that,” he said and they all chuckled.

  “We are all here because the President of the United States has committed impeachable offences against the American People. At least that was before the last attack on Eglin Air Force Base,” Senator Folly said.

  A large man, over six feet four, with gray eyes and wild white hair was addressing the group. He had been in the Senate for thirteen years and had won his seat in the last election by a huge majority. He was extremely p
opular in Florida and many thought he should run for President.

  Sitting next to him was Linda Sampson, Florida’s other Senator. She was an outspoken critic of President Quasim and felt he should never have been allowed to lead the nation. At only five two and one hundred and fifteen pounds, she was a hellcat once she got wound up. She was small but she wasn’t intimidated by anyone, including the President.

  Senator Beau Zimmerman and Harry Tellman were sitting next to Sampson. Beau was a good ole boy that somehow knew everyone and had a little dirt on all of them. He could sell ice cubes to Eskimos with his smooth southern voice that went down like melted butter. Harry, on the other hand, was more straight to the point. He chose his words carefully and would use them to cut the legs out from under you if given half a chance.

  Sitting across from each other were the Senators from Alabama, Mary Lake and Robert Pen. Mary was a first term Senator but had been the Governor of Texas prior to running for the Senate seat. Robert was a little like Beau Zimmerman. He seemed to know almost everyone and seldom forgot a name. He could glad-hand with the best of them. No matter who he was talking to, they felt like they were the only one he cared about. It was a acquired skill that others envied.

  The senior Senator from Mississippi was different from all the rest. Hugh Benson looked like almost anything but a Senator. He seldom wore suits, even to business meetings. His blond hair was fairly long by Washington standards. Jane Farley was the other Senator from Mississippi. The attractive thirty-five year old widow was in her second term. He husband had died in a car crash during her last bid for the Senate. Some attributed her winning to getting the sympathy vote.

  The last person was Polly Patterson, often called P-squared by her friends. She was there as the aid to Senator Folly and to take minutes of the meeting.

  “I no longer think that is our best course of action. The President is attacking US service men and women on American soil. This can no longer be tolerated. It is gratifying that he has had is butt kicked up around his shoulders but it is still our American service men paying the price for his actions. Having said that I propose we compose a letter to the President telling him that unless all hostilities cease immediately we intend to secede from the United States.”