by Mark Goodwin
"You too." Adam closed.
Karen stayed home from work as the public schools were closed due to the civil unrest. The sounds of gunshots and sirens had died off during the early morning hours. They had all but ceased when Matt had gone to bed at 6:00 am. It was just after 1:00 p.m. now and he was still drinking his morning coffee. Karen was doing her normal routine. She had just finished a load of laundry and was checking her coupon sites for deals.
Matt said, "You know you're not going to be able to use your coupons for a little while baby."
"I know." she replied. "It just helps me to feel normal to keep up my routine. I can only watch the replayed footage from the riots last night for so long."
"Have there been any new developments this morning?" Matt asked. He had not gotten around to the news yet.
Karen replied, "Things just look really bad in Detroit. The military has blocked all the roads that lead in and out of Detroit. FEMA is there processing people who are asking to leave. They’re taking people away on buses to a FEMA camp in Lansing, Michigan. It looks like a Nazi concentration camp. It’s fenced in with 10 foot chain link fences topped with razor wire. It even has guard towers."
"How horrible, why would anyone elect to go there?" Matt asked.
Karen answered, "That’s the only way they are allowed to leave Detroit. The government doesn't want refugees sprawling all over the country, especially trouble makers, and they can't tell who is and who isn't."
Matt said "I suppose we have been heading in this direction for a while. Our phones have been tapped for years by the NSA, our gun rights have been assaulted at every turn, and we are treated like criminals every time we travel. It’s just the natural progression of things. Once a tyrannical government starts to taste power, it’s like a drug addict that can't get enough. Very few people have said anything about the destruction of the Constitution all these years; it will soon be too late to say anything.
I’m going over to Jack's. I’m going to see if we can get a block watch started tonight. If we can get a few people involved, we won't have to stay up all night.”
Matt knocked on Jack's door. Tina answered and let him in. Jack was watching the news as was most of all America, not since the days following the 9/11 events had so many people been glued to their televisions.
"Did you get any sleep last night buddy?" Jack asked.
"I got a few hours." Matt said."How about you?"
"We both sat up till about 4:00, then we fell asleep on the couch watching the news." Jack responded.
Matt thought about how vulnerable they were during the worst part of the night. He remembered some of the calls that were coming across the scanner last night at about that time. He thought to himself "Ignorance is bliss... at least until it is unfathomable horror.", but he didn't comment. He had made his recommendations and they were old enough to make their own decisions.
"How do you feel about setting up a block watch tonight? I was thinking dusk ‘til dawn." Matt said.
"The worst seems to be over. I hope things will be getting back to normal." Jack said.
"OK, let me know if you change your mind.” Matt said. He let himself out the door. He knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere, so he went to Blaine's house across the street. Maybe he would be a bit more receptive to the idea. Blain and his wife Annie came to the door. They all discussed the events in Detroit as well as what had been going on in the surrounding areas. They seemed to think a bit more about a block watch, but like Jack, hoped that the worse was behind them.
On his way home, Matt saw Trevor Smith who lived directly behind him. He was at the end of the street talking to Chicken Elvis. Trevor normally had little to say to Chicken Elvis, but times like these brought people together. Matt walked over and joined the conversation. Trevor was fully convinced that this was the end of the world as we know it. While not quite a prepper, Trevor was fairly well tuned in politically. He had no love for the Democrats nor the Republicans. He had been watching the demise of the dollar for decades and had been expecting some type of event like this a long time ago. Trevor was a landscaper and had a very nice garden as well as a variety of fruit trees. Matt figured the reason he was talking to Elvis was most likely to establish communications for future trade involving some chickens. If it had indeed just hit the fan, Chicken Elvis was going to be a popular guy.
Matt threw out the block watch idea to Elvis and Trevor. They both thought it was a good idea. Since it was just the three of them, they set up a triangular perimeter that included their three homes. They decided to split the evening into thirds. Each guy would pull 4 hours outside patrol and four hours inside on call, in case the outside guy needed back up. The on patrol and on call guys would use Matt's walkies. Each guy would get 4 hours to sleep. They decided on that plan for the night and they would evaluate the schedule as needed each following night.
Matt headed home. He took some old boards and ran 3" wood screws in various places all along the boards. He laid the boards, screws facing up, in various places along the perimeter of his backyard fence. Anyone jumping his fence would have a rough landing. He also ran a few long screws facing both directions along the tops of the wood plank privacy fence. Anyone who was stupid enough to try to navigate between the screws sticking out on the outside of the fences was likely to get caught on the screws facing inside.
Matt continued to think of ways to harden his property without marking it as overly prepared. He put up two metal hurricane shutters on the inside of each of the windows facing the street. He positioned them to the sides of each window leaving the middle of the window exposed. This left enough space to see out of, or if necessary, to shoot out of. The thick metal shutters offered a much higher level of protection than just the glass.
Lastly, he parked the car caddy-corner in the yard. This created a fall- back position if there was trouble from 9th Avenue. Matt Bair's property was near the end of Oak Street, where it terminated on 9th Avenue. 9th Avenue was a neighborhood access street. It was not a main artery; however it did get a significant amount of traffic. There was a much higher probability of trouble approaching from that direction than any other.
Having worked off some of his nervous energy, Matt got cleaned up and had a nice lunch of pasta and salad with his wife. Karen cleaned up the dishes and Matt sat down to watch the news until his shift for block watch came up.
CHAPTER 14
“The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.”
-Patrick Henry
"The emergency session just ended." Paul Randall told Sonny Foster over the phone. "I'll be staying in DC tonight. I have a lot of work to do. The Senate passed both of Fitch's bills. The gun sales freeze, they labeled the 'right to security' bill. The authorization for the military to assist the National Guard and local police is called the 'liberty' bill. The en vogue thing to do on Capitol Hill is to try to label bills exactly the opposite of what they do.”
“Oh yeah, kind of like the Patriot Act was the most unpatriotic piece of legislation ever passed. And the Affordable Health Care Act made health insurance prohibitively expensive for millions.” Sonny said.
“Exactly.” Paul replied. “I’m going to try to get some support in the House to reject the bills."
Sonny responded, "The House won't pass the freeze will they? Even the neo-cons respect the Second Amendment. Any Republican that votes for that will get killed by the NRA in the next election."
Paul answered, "Republicans only hold the House by seven votes. If four Republican congressmen sway on this, it will pass. I know Marcos will cave on it. He has based his whole campaign on the middle ground. I am sure he will vote for the freeze. That means if three more cave, it passes. Forget about the military powers bill, it will pass with flying colors. And Mustafa Al Mohammad will be waiting at the back door to sign it into law. How is everything back home?"
Sonny replied "Anthony Howe is getting destroyed in the polls. You are up 6 points. It seems
people think you saw this mess coming and your prediction of failure is coming true. Even though many don't want to subscribe to the pain involved in your plan, they would rather have someone who knows what’s going on at the wheel."
Paul said "I wish I were wrong, but I think this is just the beginning, the first big crack in the facade. It’s too late to get a hold of it. I just feel like we could do a better job of managing the collapse. Perhaps we could save some lives if we had the opportunity. There will be no glory to the next president. Whoever wins will be blamed for the collapse. In many ways, I dread winning; I am truly in this because I feel it is my duty."
Sonny added, "If they would have gotten a new captain on the Titanic after it hit the iceberg, it would have still gone down. I suppose we’re just trying to get everyone to the life boats."
Paul Randall ended his conversation with Sonny and headed to “Capitol Dill”, a nearby deli, for a quick sandwich. Due to its close proximity to the Capitol building, it was a regular lunch meeting place for Senators and their staff. Paul grabbed a seat at the counter to try to blend in to the crowd. He had been around these people enough, and needed a break before he spent the next few hours trying to convince House members to defend the Constitution.
"Paul." someone announced.
Not recognizing the voice, Randall winced. He knew his moment of solitude was to be cut short. As he turned around, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the voice belonged to his friend, General Allen Jefferson. General Jefferson was the Commanding General, US Army Forces Command or CG FORSCOM for short.
Sonny had tried to get Jefferson to run as Randall's VP to attract the black vote. Regardless of the general’s race, Sonny genuinely respected the man, but Sonny looked at everything in the light of political capital, even skin color. It was his job; after all, the American public proved it mattered to them through their votes, despite what their mouths may say. The general was too dedicated to his duty in the Pentagon for such a frivolous pursuit.
"How are you General?" Paul answered with a smile as he stood to shake Jefferson's hand.
"Better now that I ran into you." Jefferson said with a grin. "I am heading back over to the Pentagon to start working out the logistics of this foolish 'liberty' bill. I have been advising against it all day. I spoke with the Senate Armed Services Committee, and then I spoke with the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. In two hours, I have to give my opinion to the House Committee on Homeland Security. None of them listen. They asked questions to try to get me to stamp their card. Each side is trying to get me to prove their points to the other side. It’s such a horrible bill. It goes right up to the limit of suspending Posse Comitatus. I feel sorry for the American people, but these are the fools they sent up here. It is very frustrating Paul."
Paul Randall replied "I have done everything I knew to do to wake people up. They seem to not care. I don't know when they will start caring. I don't know when they will open their eyes and start thinking for themselves."
"There is a lot of hostility from the ranks on this one as well. I have several high level officers that are going AWOL (Absent Without Leave) if the military is ordered to assist in the efforts in Detroit. Many others have simply stated that they will refuse any orders that are unconstitutional." the General said.
"Is there any common understanding amongst them that defines the term ‘unconstitutional’?" Paul inquired.
The General informed him "There is an organization known as Oath Keepers. Their primary purpose has been to unify the patriots among the ranks of the military as well as law enforcement officers. They have specifically pledged to disobey orders to enforce martial law or to blockade a city such as what is being done to Detroit as we speak. There are several other orders that have taken an oath not to follow including confiscating food or provisions, detaining or disarming the American people, or assisting foreign troops on American soil. This movement has spread like wildfire over the past few years. We are talking about 20% or 30% of the entire military that have taken this oath. The percentage is even higher amongst the older officers. Many of them have even put the Oath Keepers patch on their uniform. "
"What is your opinion of them General?" Paul inquired.
"I may not wear the patch Paul, but I have taken their oath." Jefferson replied in such a tone of conviction that it sent chills up Paul Randall's neck.
"God bless you Allen Jefferson." Paul said. "You are a patriot in a manner that gives definition to the very term."
The two men finished their lunch and returned to their respective tasks. Each of them had been encouraged by the other. They worked in a town where their views were considered radical and unwelcomed. It was as refreshing as a drink of cool water in the desert to be around another patriot after being submerged in a sea of ignorance day in and day out.
CHAPTER 15
"By removing the Bible from schools we would be wasting so much time and money in punishing criminals and so little pains to prevent crime. Take the Bible out of our schools and there would be an explosion in crime."
-Benjamin Rush, Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Karen came to sit down by Matt. "If things settle down this weekend, do you think they will reopen schools Monday?" Karen asked.
"I don't know. I don't know what the world will look like Monday. Even if they do, it doesn't mean you will be going back. If things stay volatile, you can't go back to work until they settle down." Matt responded.
"I can’t sit in the house all the time. I have to get out and move around." Karen countered.
"Go sit at the neighbors or find a hobby. You have to be safe. That school was not a good place to be in the best of times. Most of those kids have no sense of right and wrong. They have just watched the world start to crumble. They are not safe to be around when things start to come unglued.
It absolutely breaks my heart, but a lot of those kids are beyond helping until they realize they need help and ask for it. The schools have taught them that there is no such thing as God. They have used the myth of evolution to tell them they just happened. They believe there is no plan and there is no purpose for them to be here. They have been taught that they evolved from an animal, so why would we not expect them to act like animals. A large majority of the kids in your school are treated like animals by their mothers. They had them in the first place in order to milk the welfare system. They get SNAP benefits, housing, an Al Mohammad phone, Al Mohammad care, help from the utility companies, and everything they need to live a life of leisure by having four kids. So they have zero expenses, then they get a tax credit for each kid. Every year the free money tax credit goes up. It is currently around $4,200 for each kid. They can get a credit for up to 4 kids. That comes to $16,800 a year tax free that could go straight in the bank, because all the expenses have been taken care of. That's why you never see a welfare mom with five kids. The benefit caps out at four. Many of those moms see those kids as cattle, reinforcing the idea to the children that they are animals.
The Federal Government has effectively subsidized irresponsible pregnancies. Any time a government subsidizes something, you get more of it. It’s a basic economic principle. We have subsidized bad behavior and now our society is suffocating under the weight of it.
Now we have an entire class of people who are second and third generation welfare dependants with no moral compass. They offer nothing to society in return for what they have taken. In fact they offer a negative return by creating an average of two more welfare mothers from each mother and an average of two more sperm donors to inseminate the next generation of mothers and fill up the prisons." Matt ended.
Karen added "It cost a lot of money to create that problem. Simply by not spending the money and not giving the tax credit, many of them would have never had children they couldn't afford. Even if they would have capped benefits at one child, it would have never been lucrative enough for people to make a living out of it."
Matt said, "Well,
those chickens may be coming home to roost. I think the nanny state has just about tapped out on funds to support this nonsense. The horrible thing is that the people who have bought into it for generations are the one who will be most hurt by it."
Matt’s patrol did not start until 10:00 pm, and then he was the backup guy for the 2:00 am to 6:00 am shift. It was just after 7:00 pm and the sounds of sirens were starting to become more prevalent. Distant gunfire was also getting more frequent. Shortly after 8:00 pm, a loud succession of gunfire rang out from just a few streets over. It lasted for several minutes and it was obvious that it had involved several shooters.
"That sounded like it was very close." Karen said.
Matt responded, "I think it was about two streets over. Try to stay away from the windows. Even with the hurricane shutters covering most of the window, a bullet could still slide in. You should keep your Glock on you at all times also. Wear it on your holster if that’s more comfortable."
Shortly after the intense gunfire, there was a knock at the front door. Karen knew the night protocol by now. She would go to the hallway and stand with her gun drawn and trained on the front door while Matt would come out the side door to confirm who it was, with his gun hidden inside the doorway.
It was Blaine, but better safe than sorry. Matt came back around to the front door and let him in. Matt locked the door behind Blaine once he was inside.
"I spoke with Jack just a few minutes ago; we decided we probably should have a block watch. It sounded like World War III over there." Blaine said.
"I already set up a watch with Trevor and Chicken Elvis. I’m sure they will be fine with expanding the watch zone since we will get more guys to patrol. Why don't you and Jack go door to door to see who else you can recruit on the street and I'll start thinking up another patrol zone to present to Trevor and Elvis. Do you have your pistol on you?" Matt asked Blaine.