The American Terrorist

by Ron L. Carter

Doug’s next target was going to be the suspected “Fish Camp” terrorist training camp at Cummings, Georgia. It is a one hour and twenty minute drive from the large city of Atlanta. Neighbors next to “Fish Camp” claimed they have heard gunfire and small explosions coming from the camp. One neighbor that was looking for his lost dog stumbled onto the area of the camp by mistake. When he left he was followed for several miles by someone from the camp before they turned around and went back. They have also heard recorded calls to prayer and other strange sounds coming from the camp. The Islamic people have prayer time five times a day and practice it faithfully.

  The population of the beautiful little town of Cummings is only around 6,575. The people were so friendly that Doug thought for a fleeting moment Georgia and a little town like this one was where he would like to settle down again someday if he was alive after his mission was completed. He was going to stay at the Jones RV Park which was north of Atlanta and a little closer to Cummings and his target. He was going to stop at one of the large sporting goods stores along the way. He needed to pick up some fishing gear, fishing license and a rubber raft with a battery pump to air it up. He thought when he got to Cummings he would do some fishing along the Hudson River and check out his next target. After a few days of traveling, seeing the sites, taking pictures, he was almost to his destination. Just before Doug got to the Jones RV Park in Atlanta he had to make an unnerving and unscheduled stop.

  While traveling on the interstate, he was waived over by a passing motorist. Doug rolled down his window to hear what the driver was saying. He told Doug that he had a flat on his Mercedes and motioned in the direction of his car. Doug thanked him and pulled off to the side of the road to see the damage. One of the rear tires on the Mercedes was pretty chewed up and just riding on the rim. He had to unhook the car from the motor home and change the tire. Right in the middle of changing the tire a state trooper pulled in behind him. Doug thought, Oh great! What does he want? He quickly jumped out of his car and put on his little Canadian Mounty look-alike hat and headed in Doug’s direction. Doug jumped up and glanced inside his trunk to make sure everything was hidden before the trooper approached his car. When the trooper got close to him he asked him if he needed any help. Doug looked at him and just laughed and said, “No, I think I have it under control, I’ve changed a lot of these in my day.” The trooper laughed and said, “I bet you have but probably never one while towing it behind a motor home.” Doug laughed and said, “Yea, this is a first.” He couldn’t believe how young this guy looked. He looked like he may have just gotten out of college or some type of military school. He was in real good shape and it reminded him of how Michael looked last time he saw him.

  As the trooper stood there it seemed to Doug that he just wanted to have someone to talk to for a few minutes. He didn’t think the trooper really wanted to get his freshly starched slacks dirty. He asked Doug if he was enjoying his travels across the United States as he looked at the California License plates. In an attempt to take his mind off the California plates Doug started telling him about the stops he had made at the Grand Canyon, Oklahoma, Nashville and the Grand Old Opry. After about twenty minutes, he had the tire changed; the trooper finally said he had to get back to work. Doug thanked him for stopping and for offering to help. He was glad the trooper was friendly and not just looking for an excuse to check out the inside of the motor home. He knew he had a few things lying around inside that he didn’t want the trooper to see. Once the trooper was gone he headed into Atlanta and was thinking how lucky he was the trooper didn’t go inside the motor home.

  The first night he was at his RV camp, he drove into Atlanta to have dinner and attempt to relax. He made reservations earlier to dine at the “Sun Dial Restaurant,” located seven hundred and twenty three feet above the city. It has sweeping views in a rotating restaurant, located at the top of the Westin Peach Tree Plaza. It reminded Doug of the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington. He felt this was just what he needed to relax his mind and body for a little while. When he arrived at the restaurant he told the young and pretty hostess, “This is a beautiful view from up here. I’m glad I chose this restaurant. Is the food as good as the view?” The hostess just laughed and said, “Even better, but you will find out for yourself,” as she ushered him to his table.

  After he had dinner he just sat for a while and sipped on a glass of red wine, nursing it as long as he could. As he sat there enjoying the view of the city lights he was thinking, I’m a long way from what I used to call home. I sure miss my old life with Shirley, Jenifer and Michael. I wish I could have it all back and forget about all this killing. At that moment, he felt very displaced, vulnerable and lonely. He thought the entire world seemed really large from up there, especially compared to the times he was out in his little hiding places, doing surveillance and spying on his targets or blowing them up. He felt like maybe he was the only one in the world that really cared about what was going on with the radical terrorist outside those windows. For that fleeting moment he wondered if any of what he was doing even made any sense to anyone but him. He was feeling sorry for himself again. How he longed to have Michael by his side. He was thinking I wish you were here Michael, I sure miss you. With tears in his eyes, he lifted his glass in the air and said, “This is a salute to you Michael, I love you.”

  The next morning he was composed and focused once again and spent some time getting all of his fishing gear and raft ready to go. As he left the campground, he put on his ski cap, mustache, goatee, sunglasses and headed for Cummings to pay a little unsuspecting visit to “Fish Camp.” When he got to Cummings he went into one of the little local home cooking restaurants called the “Dew Drop In” and ordered a hot turkey sandwich. While he was waiting for his lunch one of the waitresses that seemed as though she liked to talk, came over to his table. She reminded him of a typical pretty southern girl with beautiful long dark hair and dark eyes. She was wearing an apron around her skirt and top. She had a bubbly personality and talked to each customer in the restaurant for several minutes.

  When she came to his table she made him feel right at home so he asked, “This may be a silly question but do you know a good place to fish along the Hudson River?” She smiled, hesitated for a second, tipped her head to one side and said, “Are you in a boat or just fishing from shore? Doug replied, “I have a rubber raft with a couple of oars but do you think the water is too fast right now? She thought for a second and said, “Not this time of year, the water is moving fairly slow so you should be okay.” He thanked her for the information and then said, “I heard there is an Islamic camp somewhere along the river they call “Fish Camp,” do you think I will have a problem with the people from the camp if I get near their property?” She wrinkled up her nose and smiled as she said, “Not if you stay on the right side of the river. Just make sure you stay along the bank because if you accidently get on their camp, they don’t like trespassers.” He nodded his head as if he understood and asked, “How will I know when I am on or near their property? She replied by saying, “Oh, you will know, you will see the signs all along the river that says no trespassing.” He again thanked her and said, “I have another question for you and then I will stop bothering you. Where is the best place to put a raft in the river? She said, “The camp is on the other side of the river bank so if you take this little dirt road right out here as she pointed at one of the dirt roads leading out of town. Go about eight miles and you will see a turn-out where the river makes an L shape bend. That’s where everyone swims in the summertime because it’s deep there. ” Because she was being so friendly and helpful, he asked her one last question, “Do you know where I can get some bait?” She said, “There is a little grocery store around the corner and they can sell you some worms or whatever you want.” Doug thanked her for all her help and as he left the restaurant he gave her a nice big tip.

  He drove to the spot she had recommended but made s
ure he took his time getting there. He was checking things out along the dirt road for a hiding place for his car and an escape route in case he had to get out of there in a hurry. Doug found a good place to park his car in the thick brush where it wouldn’t be seen from the road. He blew the raft up and put the fishing gear in it. He carefully got in the raft and away he went down the slow moving river. He rigged up his pole, put a worm on the hook and started fishing as he drifted down the river. He caught a couple of good sized trout but turned them loose while looking for the terrorist camp. He would’ve liked to take them back to his campsite and had them for dinner but he didn’t want to be side tracked with cleaning fish while on his mission.

  When he finally drifted close to “Fish Camp” he could see their signs along the east side of the river just like the waitress had said. After he passed a few of the signs he jumped out of the raft and pulled it to shore. He walked along the edge of the river casting his line and waiting to see if anyone would show up to make him leave. After several minutes of not seeing anyone he crawled up to the top of the river bank to observe the camp. The camp was very much like his other targets with mobile homes and some shacks loosely put together. There were people just milling around and others that seemed like they were in a hurry to get to where they were going. He watched with his binoculars for about thirty minutes in a crouched position.

  Although the area was thick with brush and trees the camp had been cleared around the buildings and other parts of the camp. He couldn’t tell what the buildings were used for, but one building in particular was getting more traffic than the others. He didn’t see any children and only a few women walking around. Since he couldn’t observe the entire camp from any other position he felt he was pressing his luck staying there much longer. From what he could tell during his observation of the camp, the building with all the traffic would be his best target.

  He pulled his raft back into the water, jumped in and began to drift down the river. About a half mile past the camp he paddled over to the shore and pulled the raft out of the river and deflated it. He then hid the raft in some heavy brush along the road and hiked back the few miles to his car. Once he was in his car he headed back to where he had hidden the raft and stopped, opened the trunk, and threw the raft and the fishing gear inside. He had to remember this spot because he was going to make the same trip in a few days.

  Doug drove back to town and took the road on the other side of the river that looked like it might go in the direction of the camp. After driving for several miles he found the entrance into the camp and drove up to the guard house. He wanted to see how things looked from that side of the camp. He looked things over as he waved to the guard and slowly turned around.

  It rained all the next day so Doug spent the day charging the battery to the Silver Ghost helicopter and getting the detonator phone ready for the helicopter and one for the I.E.D. he was going to plant near the guard house. He enjoyed listening to the rain as it beat down on the motor home. It reminded him of when he was a kid and they had this building that was attached to the barn and it had a tin roof. He loved to sit under it during a rain storm and listen to the rain beat down on the roof. Sometimes during a rain storm he would sit under it for hours and let his mind just zone out.

  It was dark and gloomy as it rained for two more days. Doug was getting anxious to hit his target and didn’t want to wait any longer. It was the middle of the night when he decided to make his move. He got dressed in black and headed for the spot along the river he had picked out earlier. He put the helicopter and the phone detonator in the trunk. He had wires and a frame attached to it just like he had done at “Islamcity.” He also took an I.E.D., phone detonator, entrenching shovel and put them in his black bag in the trunk. When he got to the river he aired up the raft, put everything in it and hid it in some brush along the river. He drove his car to its hiding spot down the dirt road and walked back to where he had hidden his raft in the thick trees.

  It was completely dark and the rain clouds were black as the rain came pouring down. Even though he had on a black rain coat he was soaked as his raft made its way to the “No trespassing” signs in the river. He pulled the raft over to the side of the embankment and hid the helicopter and the raft under the brush and trees. When he crawled to the top of the embankment he could see a little light shining in the distance where the guard post was located. He took the bag with the I.E.D. in it and methodically made his way along the tree line to the light. When he was within forty yards of the little building, he didn’t see the guard so he believed he was staying in the guard building and out of the rain. He figured the guard was looking and listening more for lights and sounds of a vehicle instead of someone on foot. When he got a little closer he low crawled to within five yards of the guard house. He swiftly dug a hole in the soft wet ground with the entrenching shovel and quickly removed the I.E.D. from the bag and placed it in the hole. He attached the phone to the I.E.D. and turned it on. He covered the hole and low crawled back to where he was hidden once again in the trees.

  Doug slowly made his way to the raft and got under it for cover and waited for morning to come. He was shaking from head to toe from being so wet and cold. He sat there thinking to himself that he couldn’t ever remember being that cold before. He tried to take his mind off of the cold but nothing helped. When it got close to morning the sun never came up but the rain slowed down just a bit. He couldn’t take the cold much longer so around 7:00 am, he went up the hill with the armed helicopter and the extra phone in his bag and turned on the phones. He phoned the number that was attached to the I.E.D. near the guard entrance. He heard the explosion from the front gate and the sound of people shouting and running. He turned on the helicopter and put it in the air. He maneuvered it around a few trees and set it down right next to the building he had planned to blow up. He dialed the number on the helicopter phone and it exploded. He didn’t stick around to see the damage as he immediately pulled the raft down to the water and jumped in with the black bag. He quickly put the remote control in the black bag and pushed off from the bank and started floating.

  As he floated down the river he felt completely vulnerable the half mile to his disembarking point. That was one time he wished the water would have been a little faster moving. Once he was out of the water he put several holes in the raft and sank it to the bottom of the river. He wasn’t worried about prints because he wore the surgical gloves for everything he did with the raft. He was soaking wet and freezing when he made it to the car. He quickly jumped in, started the engine and turned the heat up as high as it would go to try and warm up. He put the black bag under the back seat and soon he was on the dirt road heading out of there and back to his campsite. He was exhausted when he got back and was finally able to take a shower and put on some warm clothes. He spent the rest of that day having a few cups of hot chocolate and relaxing before he fell asleep early that evening.

  The next day he was listening to the news reports and heard that he had killed sixteen men, three women and two young children. When Doug heard about the children he had to turn the news off because he was so angry with himself. He never wanted to kill a child. He knew in his heart that he should have taken more time studying this target. It was his fear of this camp and way it was set up and laid out that made him move on it quicker than he normally would have like to. He didn’t take his time and observe it like he had done with the other targets. He was having a battle within his own head and the tears wouldn’t stop flowing because of the children. He though, you crazy fool; now you are just like the terrorist you’ve been trying to kill. Why didn’t you take your time and make sure there were no children? He wasn’t so much concerned about the women because he knew some were just as deadly as the men in their terrorist desires. The little children didn’t have anything to do with their parent’s terrorist activities and he was hurting for the first time since he started on his mission
to kill the terrorist.

  Hours later he was able to calm himself down and remember what his Pastor had told him about killing people during an act of war. He now had to rely on his own faith to get him through his feelings of guilt. He also remembered what his commanders in Vietnam said when women and children were killed by the American soldiers. His commander always said, “They are all enemies when it comes to war. The women and children are just the unfortunate part of the casualties of this war.” He tried to accept this explanation but he was still being haunted by the children’s death. That night he got down on his knees and put his hands in a praying position and said, “God, please forgive me for killing the children. I never meant for that to happen. I know the innocent children didn’t have anything to do with what their parents may be involved in. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am so sorry for what happened to them.-Amen.” He tried to convince himself that because they were killed during his own personal act of war against the terrorist organizations, God would forgive him. He knew there was going to be a lot of repercussions from both the Muslims and Christians of America regarding the children but there was nothing he could do to change what he had done.

  Now he really had everyone’s attention and the news media was everywhere. The protestors from the south were angry about the camps being in their back yards. Some of the local people were saying to the press, “Thank you “American Terrorist” for opening the eyes of the rest of the people in America. Maybe the government will now come in and inspect these places for weapons and other propaganda and start getting the terrorist out of America.” Some of the so called “Rednecks” were talking about taking the law into their own hands to get rid of the terrorist camps. One young man that was interviewed by a CNN reporter said, “If they want to kill all of us Christians then I think we, as Americans, should hit them first before they have a chance to hurt or kill our families. We have guns and if they want a fight we should give them one.” The reporter asked the young man, “What do you think about the children and women that were killed at the camp called “Fish Camp?” He said, “Well, I feel sorry for the little kids that were killed, but the women knew what they were doing and were part of the terrorist plan to kill Americans or they wouldn’t have been in the camp in the first place. It is just unfortunate the kids were born into this type of family and hatred.” He also told the reporter, “This is the very reason we should do something now. I have two young boys and I don’t want them to grow up in an America were the terrorists rule our lives.”

  The reporter interviewed an FBI liaison, Eric Haden, and asked him his thoughts. He replied, “If the “American Terrorist or Terrorists,” were trying to get our attention it’s worked. We have people working overtime in all the locations that have been attacked by these people and we are trying to anticipate their next target.” He went on to say they would find the person or persons responsible for all the attacks and bring them to justice. He said, “They will make a mistake sooner or later, they always do, and we will catch them.” The reporter asked, “Do you have any leads on who may be behind the attacks?” He said, “I believe they have several they are following up on as part of the ongoing investigation.” The reporter thanked him for his time and said, “Good luck,” as she signed off. Doug knew they didn’t have anything on him yet or they would have known he was working alone. He thought, do your job Eric and find the real terrorist organizations, their camps and the holes they hide in, and put an end to their terrorist activity. Stop looking for a lonely old doctor that just wants what’s right for his grandson, (revenge and justice), from the terrorist organizations.

  After watching and listening to the news he decided he needed to find a target somewhere other than the South. He already had the people in the south all riled up and right where he figured they needed to be. There were still two known training camps in Ingham, and Jethrow, Georgia that Doug wanted to hit but with all the attention from law enforcement he couldn’t take a chance in hitting them at this time. He also figured the camps would be in high alert and maybe just waiting to catch or kill him. There were also suspected terrorist cells in Orlando, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Boca Raton, Florida but after he did his research on that area he was certain the FBI and other agencies were watching these groups very closely. He knew with the current situation in the south and the surveillance of groups in Florida that neither of these places would be safe for him. He decided he had to stay on the move to seek a new terrorist target.

  * * *

  Chapter 27 - New Orleans, Louisiana