Spelling cleared his throat. "I need to call Nancy Drent and let her know about Miles. Damn!" Marcus turned and walked back to the border to speak with the personnel there. The ASGuard, BP, and NG leaders quickly worked out a plan to reinforce the guards at the crossing station and release their remaining forces back to their patrols.
Marcus' team pulled their vehicles up to the cross street and followed the ASGuard medical vehicles back to the compound. ASGuard personnel met them at the entrance to the ramp to the main facility and helped the rescued Americans from the vehicles and into the building. Six ASGuard troops carried the stretcher bearing the body of Dr. Miles Drent into the medical facility.
After his examination by the medics, Dr. Spelling was escorted to Marcus' office. Marcus rose as the doctor entered. "Dr. Spelling, please come in and have a seat. May I get you a cup of coffee, some water, or a drink?"
Spelling looked pale and drawn as he sank into a comfortable chair next to Marcus' desk. "I don't suppose you have some Scotch, do you?"
Marcus smiled, pressed the intercom button, and spoke quietly to his aide outside. A couple of minutes later, the aide brought in a tray with a bottle of Scotch, a small bucket of ice, and two glasses. Marcus poured for them both then handed one glass to Spelling before taking a seat near the man. Spelling's hand shook as he raised the glass to his lips and gulped down a large slug of it. "Thank you, major! It's been a rough day!"
"How are your assistants doing, doctor?" Marcus asked.
"They're...resting. After our examinations, your people were good enough to let us call our families. I got hold of Miles' wife. God, I wish I could have done it in person! Better from me by phone than on the news, I guess. Hell, Miles and I were safer in the military!" He tossed down the rest of his drink and reached out to take the bottle from the tray. He glanced at Marcus, who merely nodded. Spelling poured himself another drink and sipped.
Marcus sipped his drink before speaking. "Doctor, I hate to have to speak with you now, but it's better to debrief you now than later. You said you served in the military, so you should understand. I should have guessed...with your call sign being Dental One, that you had some military experience."
Spelling chuckled. "Yeah...it started out as a joke amongst the dental missionary members. They took to calling me 'Dental One' whenever we traveled by convoy and it kinda stuck. Go ahead, major, ask your questions and I'll do my best to answer."
Marcus called for his aide, who would record and later transcribe the debriefing. Once the recording equipment was ready, Marcus nodded to Spelling. With Marcus occasionally asking questions, Spelling described his team's trip to Mexico, the events of the day, and the harrowing escape from the Mexican thugs. After an hour and a half, Marcus brought the debriefing to a conclusion, feeling Spelling had given them everything they needed to know. Marcus personally escorted Spelling to the medical wing of the facility and let him lay down on a bed to rest.
Before returning to his office, Marcus walked the compound and spoke with the ASGuard personnel he ran across. Back in his office, Marcus wrote up his report on the incident and asked his aide to send it and Dr. Spelling's debriefing to ASGuard HQ ASAP. Then Marcus picked up the hotline to ASGuard HQ to make a direct report to the commanding general.
Doctor Spelling and his assistants were flown to Phoenix the next morning. Several news crews pulled out shortly thereafter while a couple stayed behind for a few more days. Eventually, they too left and Sasabe was better for it.
Chapter 8
The next several weeks were busy ones along the southern border and on the national scene. Sections of the Border Wall and Ditch were nearing completion. As fast as one section joined another, the construction personnel were shifted to one of the remaining gaps to help speed up the project. Having the shortest border, New Mexico completed its Wall and Ditch first and their crews were quickly picked up by Arizona and Texas.
As the gaps in the border defense system became fewer and shorter, the attempts to break through those gaps increased. Along with the increase in the number of illegals came an increase in the level of violence they waged against the defenders of the border. The gangs and rogue military units were not shy about using the civilian illegals as shields to fight behind. This gave the ASGuard, BP, and NG troops the idea that some of the ring leaders of the gangs were working with Middle Easterners who were trying to use the porous southern border to enter the U.S. in preparation for future terror attacks.
On the national scene, President Quill was nearing the end of his term and was too ill to run again. In point of fact, his party felt he was no longer up to the job and his party-chosen successor, Vice President Sherrill Carrington, was waiting in the wings for the upcoming election. Despite growing unrest amongst the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats were posed to "win" another election...by hook or by crook.
In a last ditch effort to be relevant to his party, Quill tried to nationalize the National Guard units of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. At the same time, he issued Executive Orders to remove any semblance of border sovereignty and encourage rampant border crossings. These measures backfired, creating further emergencies within the affected states requiring the use of the very Guard units Quill was trying to nationalize.
Two days before the national elections, Marcus and the other ASGuard unit commanders were ordered to report to ASGuard Headquarters the following day in Phoenix for a special briefing. Marcus was delighted as it would allow him to see his bride, who was wrapping up her assignment at Headquarters prior to deploying to Sasabe.
The commanders waited patiently in a large briefing room. Everyone leaped to their feet and snapped to attention when the door opened and Major General Roman stepped into the room. "At ease," he said. "Please take your seats. Thank you all for coming. This briefing is highly classified. I repeat, highly classified. Only your officers and senior enlisted personnel to be briefed upon your return to your units. Without any further ado, let me introduce you to your briefing officer, Colonel Kenneth Halsted!" As Colonel Halsted walked to the front of the room he nodded to four men stationed at each corner of the room. Marcus watched as each turned to a familiar looking device mounted on the wall. Within seconds, the room was bathed in the same subsonic field that Marcus and Titus had experienced during their last meeting with Halsted.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I repeat what General Roman said a moment ago. This briefing is highly classified. Release of this information to unauthorized personnel will be dealt with most severely. To answer your unspoken question, 'Yes! I am a spook...with the Company!' And as they say in the movies, 'I was never here!'" Chuckles could be heard from around the room and helped break some of the tension. Halsted gave them a moment before continuing.
"If you think conditions are bad here in Arizona, let me assure you, conditions within the rest of the country are disintegrating at an increasing rate. At least you have a governor and government trying to watch out for its citizens. That being said, the upcoming election will be a farce. All indications are that Carrington will win the election. In other words, the fix is in and the election is going to be rigged. There is no chance of the Conservative candidate winning." He paused again to let that sink in.
"With President Quill and his cronies ramming through a change for the inauguration to occur a week after the election, it is anticipated that Carrington will blow the cover off of her party's true agenda very soon! They've worked for decades to hold this much power and now it is time for them to unmask and let folks know who and what they really are...basically Marxist Socialists. And that's when things are going to get really interesting here and across the nation. I would say, expect the worst and pray it won't be that bad, but I won't lie to you. All forecast models point to another civil war...a hot one...unlike the cold one that has been going on for the last several administrations." Halsted looked around the room. The shocked looks on their faces mirrored his when he first saw the forecasts.
"You have a job to do and it's
about to get bigger...and a lot harder. Expect the situation along the border to get worse before the border defense system is completed. After they finished, expect regular attacks to try to find weak spots. Expect tunnels...they love to build tunnels that run under the border. So much so that you would think they brought in North Koreans to learn how to do it!" That last brought another rolling chuckle through the room. Good, he thought, it's sinking in but they're adapting!
"The military will focus their efforts outward to protect the continent as best as possible while things work themselves out internally. If the projections prove true, they won't support the new government. Hopefully they'll be able to keep Russia, China, and the Islamists from hitting us. At least, that's the game plan for now. I will be keeping General Roman and your state government up-to-date on the latest information as it becomes available. Thank you!" With that, Halsted stepped back to let General Roman speak.
Titus cleared his throat, "That, folks, is everything we know, in a nutshell. No sugarcoating it, just the plain, hard truth. We have a job to do...protect the Citizens of Arizona from invaders by securing the border. Where and when we can be compassionate, we will be. But, if the shit hits the fan, I expect all of us to hold to our oaths! We've prepared briefing packets for all of you. You can pick them up on your way out. Thank you again for coming. Dismissed!" The men and women snapped to attention as General Roman and Colonel Halsted left the room. Then they relaxed and began to talk amongst themselves as they headed to the exits, each grabbing a briefing packet before leaving the room.
Marcus left the room and headed to the Medical Wing to find Teresa. She was waiting for him at the door and they enjoyed a quick hug and kiss. Teresa was bubbly, "I'm finished here! We've got the training program fully operational and I'm all yours now. My kits and duffle are packed and ready to go!" Marcus gave her a hug, smile, and another kiss then wiggled his eyebrows at her lecherously.
"Yes, my beauty, now you are all mine!" he said. "I will carry you away to my fortress in the desert and have my way with you!"
Teresa rolled her eyes. "Yeah! Right!" Marcus winked at his wife, put an arm around her, and together they walked off toward the Command Building. There, they found Marion Roman sitting in the outer area of General Roman's office. After hugging and kissing her son and daughter-in-law, Marion explained that Titus was in a meeting with Ken Halsted and would be out in a few minutes.
Sure enough, the doors opened a few minutes later and Titus and Halsted stepped out. After hugs and handshakes, Titus announced that he was taking everyone out for a big dinner. "We're pulling out in 15 minutes so go get changed into civvies!" The food that night was good but everyone at the table knew something bad was lurking, waiting to happen.
After dinner and back at Headquarters, Marcus asked to speak with his father and commander. The two soldiers spoke for more than three hours before calling it a night. As they parted, they embraced and Titus wished his son well...knowing full well he would have to order his son, and the sons and daughters of many others, into harm's way in the very near future.
**********
Marcus and Teresa pulled out first thing the next morning. The trip to Sasabe was peaceful and the young couple enjoyed the chance to just sit together and talk. A little over two hours later, they pulled into the Sasabe compound. They were met by Marcus' executive officer and Marcus asked him to call a meeting of the officers and senior enlisted personnel for later that afternoon. Then Marcus helped Teresa with her bags and escorted her to their joint quarters. While Teresa settled in, Marcus walked to the command post to check the status boards then to the communications room to speak with his deployed teams.
With those tasks out of the way, Marcus went to his office, turned on the television to listen to the news, and spent some time reviewing the reports that had piled up on his desk in the short time he was gone. His aide stepped into the office just before noon to ask if Marcus wanted lunch brought in. "No, thank you! Think I'll take the missus to lunch at our finest eating establishment," said Marcus with a smile as he rose from his chair and stretched.
Teresa had finished unpacking and making some minor cosmetic changes to their quarters. A couple of pictures, some knickknacks, and...a teddy bear now rested on the some of the room's shelves. "A teddy bear?" Marcus asked, raising an eyebrow.
Teresa put her hands on her hips and a pout appeared on her face. "Hey, don't be talking bad about Hector! I've known him far longer than I've known you!"
Marcus grinned. "Okay! He can stay but you have to live with it if word gets around." He gathered his wife in his arms and kissed her gently on the lips. "Sorry, these quarters aren't much. Just the usual larger, 2-room quarters for a base commander. We never really put much thought into quarters for troopers married to one another."
"It's okay," Teresa said, "as long as we're together...which won't be much longer, if I starve to death! C'mon, let's go eat!" With that, the young lovers walked over to the chow hall and joined many of the other ASGuard personnel assigned to the Sasabe compound. Marcus quickly introduced Teresa to everyone present and asked them to introduce themselves to her as time allowed. Soon, they were able to sit at a table to one side of the room, relax, eat, and chat. The others let them be, knowing their commander and his wife were newlyweds who had not spent much time together of late.
After lunch, Teresa went to the compound's medical center to check in with the doctor and Marcus returned to his office. An hour later, he met with his officers and senior enlisted personnel and shared the briefing he'd received. The men and women were stunned but not totally surprised. For years, all of the signs were there for those who had their eyes open. The United States of America had been in dire trouble for some time...and it was about to get worse.
That evening, the members of ASGuard Base Sasabe, both on and off duty, listened carefully to the election coverage. By midnight, it was confirmed that Vice President Sherrill Carrington was going to be named the winner of the Presidential election. A dark cloud passed over the ASGuard troops as it appeared Carrington had carried numerous conservative states that hadn't voted liberal in decades.
Seven days later, Carrington was sworn in as President of the United States. During her inaugural address, she notified the members of Congress that she would address both chambers that evening. Major Roman made sure that all of his troops would have the opportunity to watch, or at least listen, to Carrington's speech to Congress. Those in the compound gathered in their large recreation room to watch it on a large screen television.
After walking to the podium to a decidedly mixed response, President Carrington began to outline her agenda. Long faces grew even longer as Carrington spoke. Only the faces of the Progressive Faithful beamed with anything like joy or excitement.
"For far too long, we have been the nation that has brought nothing but grief to this blighted world," said Carrington. "Under my administration, that will cease. Our industries shall pollute no longer. Polluters will be shut down, permanently. All industries, businesses, and banks will be nationalized and run by the government. As a nation of immigrants, we will accept any and all immigrants into our country. We will open our borders fully and provide newcomers with our full support until they are settled. I am ordering our Immigration and Border Patrol agencies to suspend all operations. To stop crime, we will confiscate all guns within the country. The new National Security Forces will enforce law and order in this country. As of this moment, I am ordering all United States military forces around the world to stand down and cease any and all offensive and defensive operations, wherever they may be. When we have sufficient funding, we will return those personnel to the continental U.S. where they transition to civilian status."
Many of the assembled legislators gasped as they realized what Carrington was saying and doing. A sizeable number cheered their Glorious Leader. Men and women began to look about seeking someone, anyone, to stop what was happening.
General Jonathan Kelso, Chairman of the Joi
nt Chiefs of Staff, leaped to his feet, concern for the tens of thousands of American soldiers, seamen, Marines, and airmen around the world writ fully upon his face! "Madame President, do you realize that your order will place our military forces overseas in imminent, grave danger?"
"Sit down, General, you are relieved of duty," Carrington shouted. "The military is subordinate to my authority and will stand down! If not, they will answer to the National Security Forces!" As she spoke, all of the doors into the grand hall opened and over one hundred black garbed, blue helmeted troops marched in. They quickly took up positions around those assembled and brought their weapons across their chests. On the left shoulder of each black jacket was a new patch with the U.S. Capitol Building pierced by a silver-blue sword, hilt up/tip down.
Carrington looked at the assemblage and continued, "With the aid of our friends in the United Nations, today is a new day for America. The Party will unite this country under one ideology, one goal. After almost one hundred years of planning and growing, the Progressive Ideal will take control and rule over America. The new National Security Forces, bolstered by personnel from the U.N. will maintain order as this transition takes place."
More and more legislators rose to their feet and bellowed their anger. Their Progressive "friends" taunted, cheered, and jeered.
In Sasabe, Arizona, Marcus and his personnel were shocked beyond description by what they were seeing and hearing. The majority of them were former members of the U.S. Armed Forces, sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, and they had just heard a President of the United States betray their brothers and sisters still in the military and the country's citizens.
On the television screen, General Kelso had remained on his feet, defiant and undaunted. His right hand rose toward his face, a DoD communications handset rested in his palm. Staring at Carrington, he spoke into the handset, "Initiate Operation: Resistance!" At a signal from Carrington, several of the NSF personnel moved towards General Kelso to take him into custody.
The Arizona State Guard Trilogy Page 9