"How can we be sure who the enemy is? Well, that's more difficult to answer. Yes, there are Muslims who are proud and patriotic American citizens. Many of them have come forward to stand with their country against Islamist terrorism. There are many others who are afraid to speak out for fear of angering their Muslim families or friends. There is a sizeable percentage that quietly support the use of terror and a smaller percentage of those who openly support or participate in terrorism, here and abroad."
A tall, older ASGuard trooper stepped forward. "Colonel, may I help answer Private Richards question?" Marcus smiled and nodded to another old friend and fellow soldier.
"Of course, Abe!" Marcus replied. "For those of you who have not yet met him, this is Master Sergeant Ebrihim 'Abe' Mokri, formerly of the U.S. Army Special Forces. Go ahead, Abe!"
MSG Mokri climbed aboard the Stryker to stand next to LTC Roman. "Good afternoon! As the colonel said, I am Ebrihim Mokri and I am an American Muslim. My older brother, Arman, and I were born in Iran before the Shah was overthrown. Our parents, fearing what was to come, immigrated to America bringing my brother and me with them. My parents were well educated people and spoke English very well, teaching it to Arman and me in our home. We settled in Phoenix, Arizona, where our parents found good jobs, bought a nice house in a nice neighborhood, and studied to gain U.S. citizenship. Arman, being older than me, missed his old friends and Iran and when he was old enough, he returned there. He became radicalized, joined Hezbollah, and died in a terrorist attack overseas. By then, my parents and I had become naturalized American citizens. My little sister, Lisa, was born and raised here! While I am a practicing Muslim, I realize that my religion has not kept pace with civilization. Many of us feel the same way. We love being Americans and we love our religion. We serve in the military forces to protect our country...the United States!" The MSG stopped for a moment to look into the faces in the crowd before continuing.
"I served with the colonel, Sergeant Major Templeton, and quite a few of you in Afghanistan in the Special Forces. But there is one among us who is as a brother to me. Tobias, please join me up here." Another ASGuard noncom stepped over to the Stryker and accepted Mokri's hand to assist him up onto the vehicle. "For those who do not know him, this is Master Sergeant Tobias Eban Cowen...he is a Jew. He is also my oldest and dearest friend. We met in grade school here in Phoenix."
MSG Cowen continued the story. "We were just two youngsters on our first day at a new school with no friends. Ebrihim and I were in the same class and gravitated towards each other. We were shocked when the other students told us that we should be mortal enemies, because that was not something we'd heard in our homes. Together, we proved our classmates wrong. Abe and I had no reason to hate one another and every reason to become friends...to stop the hate. By the time we graduated from high school, we were the best of friends and went into the Army together. One thing we discovered during our time in the military; we don't fight the enemy because we hate them, we do it because we love our country...the United States!"
"Over the years," Mokri said, gently placing a hand on the Tobias' shoulder, "Tobias has saved my life six times and I have saved his seven. He is my brother in battle...he is my brother in life!"
Cowen looked at his friend and said with mock seriousness, "I have saved your life eight times and you've saved mine six!" The two men squinted at each other as if they'd start swinging punches at any moment then they broke up laughing and climbed down from the Stryker.
Marcus shook his head and chuckled before saying, "Private Richards, I hope that helped answer your questions. The bottom line is...we're not going to round up every person of Middle Eastern heritage and lock them up in detention centers. That will NEVER be our mission! But we will not tolerate terrorists of any sort attacking our peace-loving citizens. We damn sure WILL put a stop to those people who are attacking our country, our state, and our citizens! Good enough? Great! I know that each of you have already put in a lot of time in pre-operational preparation, but let's use this time to go over our vehicles and gear one more time. Make sure we have additional food, supplies, and ammo for extended ops. Alright! Let's get to it."
Thompson brought the troops back to attention then ordered them to fall out. Some personnel began to climb into and over the vehicles while others went over to their quarters to gather additional clothing and equipment. Soon after, two trucks laden with supplies pulled up. The troopers drew additional rations, bottled water, ammo, spare clothing, blankets, and other items from the trucks and set about stuffing those items into every nook and cranny in each of their vehicles.
The sections of the parking area used by other units began to fill with personnel. Obviously, the commanders of the other units felt it necessary to double check the readiness of their personnel, vehicles, and equipment also. The ASGuard Supply trucks remained busy the remainder of the afternoon. Marcus stored his gear in his ACV and checked in with each squad leader. Finally, he walked over to Tommi Thompson.
"Okay, Tommi," said Marcus, "let's rotate the personnel to chow and a little relaxation, but everyone stays on full alert. Post guards around the vehicles, usual combat rotation for standing watches." Thompson called everyone one in for a quick formation. Marcus thanked his personnel for a job well done, gave them their orders, and had them fall out. Stepping over to a box of Meals Ready to Eat, he picked one and grabbed a bottle of water for a quick dinner. Thompson, Dillon, Hebert, and Templeton joined him in the ACV. Everyone got as comfortable as the vehicle's seats allowed and ate their meals.
Later, Marcus, his senior officers, and Templeton returned to the Headquarters Building and swung by the general's office to check in. Titus was on the telephone but waved them in and over to the small conference table in one corner of the large office. When his call was complete, the general stepped over to the others. They started to rise to their feet but Titus waved them back into their seats and sat down at the head of the table.
"Sir, Roman's Legion is ready for extended operations whenever, and wherever, you need us," Marcus reported.
Titus chuckled. "So I heard. Braddley over in Supply called to say you and the other unit commanders really kept his people hopping this afternoon." Marcus smiled and shrugged.
"Well, I'm glad you and the others are prepared. I've gotten word out to every state, county, and municipal agency in Arizona. Ken Halsted and Caldwell have been holed up in our Communications Center on a secured video conference with CBII Headquarters in Denver. There've been a number of small attacks in other states and in some of the PSSA states. More attacks there because the PSSA government isn't taking the danger seriously. Carrington and her loony cohort are too busy apologizing to every possible terror group you can imagine. What Carrington and company fail to understand is that the jihadists don't give a rat's ass about apologies. They just want to kill Americans!" Major Garry stepped into the room pushing a cart laden with pastries, a coffee service, and pitchers of sweet tea and water. Everyone poured themselves a drink and grabbed a pastry.
Titus looked at his only son and said, "Marcus, your mother's plane will be arriving in a little over an hour. The governor and I have a video conference with several agencies across the state at the same time. Would you mind taking a couple of your vehicles and some personnel over to Goldwater and pick her and the other delegates up?"
Marcus looked into his father's eyes to see real concern there. "Is there a problem, sir?"
"Nothing specific," Titus replied, "but major airports like Goldwater would fit the description of high population areas that the terrorists might hit. Additionally, your mother and the other delegates to the Constitutional Convention make prime targets."
"We're on it, sir! With your permission, we'll get going!" said Marcus. He and his personnel rose to their feet and saluted the general.
Titus returned the salute and replied, "Thanks, troopers! Carry on!"
Marcus spoke to his personnel as they entered the corridor outside the general's office
. "Tommi, Legion Headquarters squad will roll on this...all vehicles, all personnel. Matt, Alex...your squads will be on ready standby here at the Armory, in case we need you. No arguments, just do it," Marcus said before Dillon and Hebert could raise a fuss. Still, they followed him out to the vehicle staging area. Marcus, Thompson, and Templeton climbed into the Legion's command vehicle and strapped in.
When Thompson announced that all personnel were aboard all vehicles, Marcus gave the order to move out. Marcus asked his comm technician to contact the security office at Barry M. Goldwater International Airport. When the call came through, Marcus spoke with Commander Evelyn Felton, the airport's senior security official, for several minutes then thanked her for her professional courtesy. Marcus opened the communications frequency for his unit. "All personnel, this is Centurion," Marcus began, using his call sign. "Because of the high level threat of a terror attack at Goldwater, we've been assigned to pick up our delegates to the Constitutional Convention and transport them safely to ASGuard Headquarters. Strykers Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie will enter the airport through the western security post displayed on your heads-up displays. Strykers Delta, Echo, and Foxtrot, I want you to take up positions outside the airport at the coordinates displayed on your HUDs. Stay alert, folks!"
Marcus then said, "Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie, we've received permission to proceed to these coordinates on the ramp and wait for the transport aircraft. I want personnel deployed for security and gunners in hatches, locked and loaded. Tommi, Temp, and I will dismount and greet the arriving delegates."
The Strykers made good time along the streets of the city. Citizens along the way recognized their vehicles and waved at them as they passed. Marcus spent part of the trip riding standing up through an open roof hatch admiring another beautiful Arizona sunset visible to the west.
His communication tech's voice came through Marcus' earpiece, "Colonel, the general would like to speak with you on video conferencing." Marcus dropped through the hatch into the vehicle's interior. He stepped over to the comm panel and looked at the two side-by-side monitors. His father's image appeared in the left monitor while the image of a stern looking, middle-age woman appeared in the right monitor.
"Centurion, ASGuard Actual. Commander Felton of Goldwater Security just contacted us. Commander, proceed with your report," said General Roman.
Felton's image nodded then spoke, "Thank you, General. Colonel, we instituted a massive security sweep across the airport since the high alert went out. What we've found is...distressing to say the least. We have 23 employees, all with high-level security clearances who are supposed to be on duty and who noticeably unaccounted for somewhere on the airport. And we've just discovered a weapons cache. Handguns, rifles, a RPG system, and hand grenades. We've begun an evacuation of all terminals."
Marcus turned to Thompson and said, "Tell the drivers to get us to the airport ASAP! Get the rest of our troops and equipment rolling from the Armory!" He turned back to the monitors. "Commander Felton, we're picking up our pace and will be there momentarily with additional personnel to follow. I'd recommend diverting aircraft if you can."
Felton nodded. "We've ordered aircraft to divert to other airports, if possible. Some are already inbound with minimal fuel." The sound of an explosion roared behind Felton and as she turned to see what had happened the communications feed with her office cut out. Marcus turned to the screen his father appeared on and saw someone hand the general a message.
"Marcus, we've just received word of an attack at Metro Mall. We're dispatching two teams there now. You take care of things at Goldwater and keep your mother safe, son! ASGuard Actual, out!" Titus cut the comm feed from his end and began giving orders to get troops rolling to the mall. His aide handed him two more notes; an attack on people in a college football stadium in Tucson and a bomb threat at a large movie theatre in Prescott. It's going to be a long night, thought Titus.
Chapter 7
June 11th
Phoenix, AZ
The column of armored vehicles sped up and staggered their order across two traffic lanes to make them more difficult to hit if someone launched an attack upon them. They closed rapidly on the access gate to Goldwater International Airport. Marcus ordered his comm tech to switch to the airport's security radio frequency and notify the airport security personnel that three ASGuard Strykers were about to reach the gate. A moment later, the gate guards opened the gate to let Strykers Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie pass through.
Marcus switched frequencies on his personal comm unit and tried to raise the control tower. No response. He tried again with the same results. He switched over to the ground control frequency and got through. "Goldwater Ground Control, this is ASGuard 1st Tactical Battalion Leader, call sign Centurion, at your Access Gate Lima. What is your status?"
"Centurion, this Felton," came the voice of the airport's security chief. "I'm in our Emergency Operations Center in the Ground Control Center. I'm sending the coordinates. Please report to that location ASAP! You are cleared to cross the ramp area."
"Roger that, Commander!" replied Marcus. "Be right there!"
A long moment later, Marcus' command vehicle pulled up in front of the GCC. Two troopers stood guard behind the 50 caliber machine guns set in swivel mounts on the Stryker's roof. SGM Templeton opened the rear hatch. Security Commander Evelyn Felton stepped from the GCC Building with her M-4 rifle held over her head. She was wearing a black combat coverall, body armor, and a Kevlar helmet. A 9mm Beretta was holstered at her waist.
Templeton used the intercom to tell the gunners to let Felton approach and enter the Stryker then waved her to approach quickly. Felton raced across the distance between the building and the armored vehicle's hatch and climbed the steps into the vehicle. Templeton slammed the hatch shut and told the driver to move out.
As the Stryker began to move, the sound of bullets ricocheting off the vehicle's armor could be heard inside. Felton turned to LTC Roman and said, "Those aren't my people. My people know you're coming and know what your vehicles look like."
Marcus keyed his intercom microphone. "Gunners, target that incoming fire and respond in kind. Driver, get us over to where that is coming from." He switched to his unit's radio frequency and said, "Bravo, Charlie...fan out and follow us. Eyes open, troopers!" As Marcus' adrenaline began to flow, his sense of time shifted into high gear.
The two machine guns atop the command vehicle began to fire, the gunners calling out their shots and any effects they saw. The three armored vehicles raced across the tarmac towards an aircraft maintenance hangar. A flash of light inside the hangar showed the launch of a rocket powered grenade toward Stryker Alpha. The gunners, Peterson and Lindstrom, dropped back into the vehicle a split second before the grenade struck the vehicle's front right fender a glancing blow and detonated.
The vehicle rocked but continued to roll forward with minimal damage. Peterson and Lindstrom stood back up and resume firing their machine guns. Major Thompson turned to the sergeant riding in the right front seat to ask if she was okay. "Yes ma'am! Request permission to let those bastards know that I don't appreciate being shot at?" SGT Elysse Heston asked. Thompson smiled and said, "Give 'em hell, sergeant!"
SGT Heston activated the controls for the vehicle's remotely operated Mk 19 Grenade Launcher. Sighting through her scope, she saw the flashes of rifle fire from inside the hangar and centered the crosshairs on her target. She pulled the trigger once, twice...and two grenades flew from the launcher to strike inside the hangar. Boom! Boom! No more rifle fire came from within the hangar.
"Good shooting, sarge!" Lindstrom called out over the intercom. Thompson echoed the sentiment.
"Get us over to that hangar," Marcus Roman told his driver. "Strykers Bravo and Charlie...move into position to cover us. We're going into the hangar and see what we find." The officers commanding the two Strykers acknowledged Marcus' order. Their vehicle swung into position in front of the hangar bringing it under the aim of their guns.
&n
bsp; Stryker Alpha pulled up in front of the hangar and Marcus, Templeton, Thompson, Felton, and four ASGuard troops bailed out the rear hatch and closed on the hangar. Peterson and Lindstrom swung their 50 cals to cover the ground team. Even SGT Heston got into the act by standing in an open roof hatch with her M4A1 carbine.
Marcus and his team approached the hangar carefully. With the sun setting, lights were coming on automatically around the ramp and flightline areas and these helped the ASGuard and Felton see well enough. Small fires had broken out inside the hangar as a result of SGT Heston's grenades but had been extinguished by the hangar's fire protection systems. Smoke and steam hung heavy in the air.
"Over here!" Templeton yelled from one side of the hangar. Marcus and Felton converged on the sergeant major's position. Templeton kept his M4A1 trained on two seemingly unconscious men in airport work uniforms. Marcus brought his carbine up to cover the attackers as Templeton and another ASGuard trooper kicked their weapons away from them. Templeton reached down and ripped two IDs from the attackers' shirts and handed them to Felton.
"Jake Ghanem and Ben Basara...baggage handlers. Goddammit! Who cleared these bastards?" Felton asked rhetorically. She knew her office had played a major role in checking the backgrounds of all airport workers. She searched both men quickly but carefully. While injured, they were still breathing and could regain consciousness. Felton pulled out a portable radio and contacted her deputy. She ordered him to send a security team to pick up the prisoners. For the time being, two ASGuard troopers stepped over and zip tied the men's arms and legs then allowed a medic to begin treating their injuries.
The Arizona State Guard Trilogy Page 23