The young woman turned back to face Governor Alvarez and General Roman. “Governor…general, I’m am Kathleen Carter, Los Angeles Worker’s Daily. On behalf of our newspaper, I would like to apologize for Harris’ remarks and the manner in which he made them. It was utterly unprofessional of him.”
Ellie Alvarez smiled at Carter and replied, “Thank you, Ms. Carter! The general and I appreciate your candor. So, who’s next?” The press conference lasted about 20 minutes longer. As the reporters were leaving, Alvarez and Roman stood by the door, shaking hands and thanking the journalists for coming to the event. Kathleen Carter was the last journalist to approach them.
“I want to apologize again for Harris’ inappropriate remarks and boorish behavior. He sometimes has trouble being objective,” she said. “Actually, he’s always been extremely biased! No objectivity whatsoever!”
The governor smiled then asked, “Will you be in trouble with your boss when you return to L.A.?”
“Well, that’s the other reason I stayed behind…to speak with you both,” Carter replied. “Objectivity…and the truth…are becoming exceedingly rare where I work. Any chance I might apply to immigrate to Arizona and get my U.S. citizenship back?”
**********
1st Tactical Battalion ACV, 1532 hours (MST)
Castle Rock Bay, Arizona
Marcus punched in his security code into his ACV’s secure comm system. His father’s face appeared on the system’s monitor. “ASGuard Actual, this is Centurion!” Marcus said into his microphone.
“Go ahead, Centurion!” responded the ASGuard’s commander.
“Sir, we have been contacted by the Sheriff of Mohave County and the Security Chief at the Yucca Power Generation Plant. The plant has come under attacked by a large, heavily armed force. I’m pulling Legion HQ Company and one third of our air transport and attack helos to render assistance. Dillon’s Marshals and Hebert’s Headhunters will remain on station along the Colorado just in case!”
General Roman nodded to someone off-camera then focused on Marcus again. “Centurion, we’re receiving reports of other attacks on power generation and water supply systems across the state! Could be diversions to draw our forces away from our borders, but we have no choice but to protect our infrastructure. Stay alert and agile and let me know if you require additional support!”
Marcus replied quickly, “Will do, sir! Centurion out!” He logged off the secure comm system and turned to speak with his top sergeant. “Tobias, what’s our status?”
“Ready to roll, colonel! Our ground vehicles will drop the airborne forces at the airport then proceed on to Yucca. Our helos are spooling up and will be ready for takeoff upon our arrival. Majors Dillon and Hebert report that ‘they’ll hold the fort’, sir!” SGM Cowen answered.
Marcus stepped to the front of the ACV until he stood next to his driver. Tapping the man on the shoulder, Marcus said, “Let’s go!” The ACV raced forward, followed by other vehicles of the 1st Tactical Battalion’s Alpha (or Headquarters) Company. The drive to the airport was a matter of just a few minutes.
Five CH-47 Chinook and six AH-64 Apache Longbow helicopters sat on the airfield, their rotors turning. The vehicles of Roman’s Legion HQ stopped near the CH-47s and personnel disembarked from the Strykers and raced across the tarmac to board the cargo/transport helicopters. Marcus and Cowen boarded their helo and moved forward to their usual seats behind the pilot and co-pilot. Marcus leaned forward and clapped Major Fred ‘Frodo’ Hills on the shoulder and pointed upwards while mouthing, “Let’s go!”
‘Frodo’ Hills and his co-pilot, Major Luella ‘Lu’ Mingus, added more power to the rotors and the Chinook rose into the air. Marcus and Cowen quickly secured their seat harnesses and donned their comm headsets. “Frodo, as we approach Yucca, give me a 360degree high-speed orbit around the outer edge of the power plants security fence!” Hills responded with a “Will do, sir!” while keeping his eyes focused on the terrain ahead of the helo.
“Lu, patch me through to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office,” he asked the co-pilot, who gave him a thumbs-up. A moment later, she turned to her commander and tapped her helmet with a forefinger then pointed it at Marcus.
“Colonel Marcus, this is Sheriff Rachel Knox, Mohave County. I’ve got six deputies en route to Yucca as we speak. I’m on my way from Kingman and will join up with my personnel at the airport on the north end of Yucca. It’s across I-40 from the power plant.” Sheriff Knox didn’t wait for Marcus to reply; she cut the connection from her end. Probably focusing on her driving, thought Marcus.
A moment later, Lu Mingus patched a call from the power plant through to Marcus. “Colonel, this is Brock Benton, Yucca PGP Security Chief! We seem to have the attackers pinned down outside the perimeter fence. That, or they’ve got something else up their sleeves?”
“Mr. Benton, we’re almost there. Just sit tight,” Marcus responded.
The flight of ASGuard helicopters quickly reached the small town of Yucca. Marcus keyed his comm unit’s microphone to transmit to each of the helicopters. “Legion Yucca Flight, this is Centurion. Deploy three Apaches and two Chinooks north of the town and the same to the south. Go to hover and stand by for further orders. If you receive hostile fire, respond in kind.” The pilot of each helicopter acknowledged receiving the orders. A moment later, the various helicopters broke formation to head towards their assigned positions.
Frodo and Lu brought their helo in from the southwest, flying northward along the western edge of Yucca. As they passed over the airport, Marcus looked down to see four Sheriff’s Office SUVs. The helo banked eastward, passing just north of the power plant’s security fence. Marcus turned his attention to the southern bank of a dry wash. He could make out dozens of armed personnel spread out along the lip of the bank. There were numerous vehicles sitting in the wash and more personnel were coming from those vehicles!
The Chinook turned to the south and gave Marcus another angle on the situation. More vehicles were moving along dirt roads east of the facility. From time to time, a vehicle would stop and several armed personnel would exit the vehicle and begin moving towards the power plant. The same could be seen as Marcus’ helo traversed the southern end of the power facility.
Marcus had Frodo swing the Chinook to the northeast and hover above the southwest corner of the fence line. He radioed Sheriff Knox and briefed her on what he’d seen. They spoke back and forth for a couple of minutes, finally agreeing upon a course of action.
“Lu, patch me through to the speaker network,” Marcus said to Major Mingus. She quickly worked her console before giving Marcus a thumbs up. Given their new rules of engagement, the ASGuard had equipped their helicopter fleet with strong, external speakers that could broadcast a message through multiple speakers.
“Attention, hostile force! This is Colonel Marcus Roman of the Arizona State Guard,” began Marcus. His voice boomed from speakers on his aircraft and the others positioned to the north and south. Given the terrain, the hostiles should be able to hear him. “Lay down your weapons and cease hostilities!”
With that, some of the hostiles opened fire upon the ASGuard helicopters. At first, it was just small arms fire, easily deflected or stopped altogether by the armor each helo carried. Then the hostiles began to use heavier weapons; first some .50 caliber rifles then some rocket-powered grenades. The ASGuard were fortunate; they had very good pilots and armored aircraft and the hostiles were terrible shots.
The attackers took the arrival of the Arizona State Guard as their cue to escalate the attack on the power plant. They began to intensify their fire on the guards located within the plant’s fences.
“Centurion to Apaches, roll in and provide covering fire. Chinooks, move in and deploy ground person. Move, move, move!” Marcus called out over his comm unit. He unplugged his helmet comm lines and loosened his lap belt. “Frodo…Lu, find us a landing zone and set us down!” The pilots went into action and the Chinook made a combat landing approach towar
d an empty, paved parking lot almost due west of power generation plant’s main gate.
“Sheriff Knox, this is Colonel Roman!” Marcus spoke into his comm unit calmly. “I’m deploying my personnel to the north, west, and south of the hostiles. We’ll sweep those sides first. Have your personnel cover our six and be prepared to help apprehend hostiles.” Marcus waited until the sheriff acknowledged his transmission then commed Security Chief Benton. “Benton, have your personnel hunt cover and hold their fire so they don’t fire into my troopers. Stand by to render assistance, as needed.” Benton growled his acknowledgment and signed off.
The Chinook touched down and dropped its ramp. Marcus, Cowen, and the rest of the ASGuard troops aboard deployed quickly from the rear of the helo! Marcus asked for and received reports from each of the other squads as they grounded and deployed. The sounds of gunfire could be heard coming from all quarters.
“Tobias, let’s deploy our squad along these shallow washes here and over there,” said Marcus to his top soldier while pointing to the positions he meant. The sergeant major passed along Marcus’ orders and the ASGuard troopers began to move out in small groups. At first, they encountered no weapons fire being directed at them. That did not last long! Quickly, the ASGuard troops shifted to moving in a leap frog motion with small groups shifting positions while others laid down covering fire. Once in place, they laid down covering fire for the others to make their moves. In only a few minutes, each group was in position to take on the hostiles in the sector they were responsible for.
Marcus checked in with his Apache pilots to receive an update on their air ops. Satisfied with their progress, he ordered them to carry on. Next, he commed the leaders of the other ground squads to determine their deployment. Finally, he called Major Mingus and asked her to patch him through the helo speakers. Once she reported that she had done so, Marcus keyed his microphone again.
“Attention, hostile force! This is Colonel Marcus Roman of the Arizona State Guard. Lay down your weapons and cease hostilities immediately! I repeat, lay down your weapons and cease hostilities immediately. This is you final warning!” Marcus shut off his mike then signaled Mingus to shut off the speaker system. He paused a moment to see if the hostiles would comply. If anything, their rate of gunfire increased.
Marcus shrugged and turned to SGM Cowen, “Tobias, are our troops in position?”
Sergeant Major Tobias Cowen nodded then replied, “Yes sir! Cocked, locked, and ready to rock!”
Marcus keyed his comm unit mic, “Legion Air, suspend ops and go to hover. Ground ops, let’s take ‘em!” A moment later, the ASGuard troopers leap frogged forward so that they quickly closed in on the personnel attacking the power plant.
The fight along the southern fence line lasted all of three minutes before the attackers laid down their weapons and surrendered to the ASGuard. Then the group along the western line surrendered. Marcus called Sheriff Knox and asked her to move in and take control of the captured prisoners and to protect the medics while they worked on the wounded.
Marcus took his squad and shifted them to the north to assist the ASGuard troops dealing with the hostiles in the wash. He ordered his personnel to the south to shift eastward and to put pressure on the attackers there.
Once his personnel were in position to the southwest of the wash, Marcus contacted Lieutenant Maxine Cruz, the ASGuard squad leader to the north of the hostiles. “Max, we’re in position to put the hostiles in a crossfire. We’re ready when you are! Just say when!”
Cruz, never one to take life too seriously, responded, “When, sir!” Weapons fire erupted from the ASGuard units, keeping the pressure on the large force in the wash north of the power plant. It took several minutes and a number of injuries before the ASGuard captured the remaining hostiles in the wash.
“Max, detail a short squad to guard the medics and prisoners. Then bring the rest with us! We’re gonna sweep around the northeastern corner of the plant’s fence line and take on the attackers on the eastside!” Marcus said to the young lieutenant when they met up. Cruz nodded and proceeded to detail her personnel accordingly. When Cowen and Cruz reported the personnel were ready, Marcus signaled them to move out.
As they double-timed eastward, Marcus called his squad leader at the southeast corner of the plant’s fence line. Marcus told him to be ready to press the attack in two minutes. Then Marcus contacted Benton inside the Yucca PGP compound. “Benton, have your guards lay down some covering fire for us. Have everyone fire several rounds due east in one minute and thirty. Copy that?” Benton replied in the affirmative.
Arriving at the northeast corner of the fence line, Marcus checked his watched. “Ten seconds!” he broadcast to his troops. He raised his right arm and at the five second mark opened all five digits on that hand. He did a silent countdown ticking off fingers and at the correct moment, swung his arm forward. “Go! Go! Go!” he called out, firing his M-4 as he rose to his feet. Benton’s security force commenced firing from within the fence line. They fired their weapons the agreed upon number of shots then fell silent. The ASGuard troops at the northeastern and southeastern corners leapfrogged forward, closing on those who were attacking the power plant.
The attackers fought back…for all of about two minutes then began throwing down their weapons and kneeling on the ground with their hands on their heads. Marcus and the ASGuard troopers moved in to take captives and begin treating the injured.
Marcus’ comm unit chimed, signaling an incoming call. “Centurion here, go!”
“Centurion, this is Legion Stryker Alpha! Sorry, we’re late. Got stuck behind some heavy traffic,” said Captain Ken Takashi. “Where can you use us, sir?”
“Uh, Stryker Alpha,” Marcus began, “Uh…I hate to say it, but we started the party without you! The hostiles got…nasty! Check in with the sergeant major and he can help route you where you’re needed most.”
“Roger that, colonel! Sorry, we missed all the fun!” answered Takashi.
About an hour later, Marcus met with Sheriff Knox and Security Chief Benton in Benton’s office in the power plant’s main operations building. “According to my chief medic,” Marcus began, “we captured 73 hostiles with an additional 12 of them injured and 14 dead. We have seven ASGuard troopers with minor injuries. Mr. Benton has three injured security guards and one dead. Sheriff, you have one injured deputy, correct?”
“That’s affirmative, colonel. One of my men got sloppy around one of the prisoners. He didn’t see the knife the prisoner had hidden until it came out. My deputy has a nasty cut across the back of one hand but he’ll live…and learn!” Sheriff Knox answered. “Colonel Roman, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office thanks you and the ASGuard for your timely aid today. This situation could have gone terribly wrong with Benton’s team and mine being so heavily outnumbered!”
Benton smiled and added, “That’s the truth. My personnel are security guards not soldiers. We don’t have the personnel or weapons to repel an attack like we had today.”
“Well, you’re not the only ones under attack, Benton! There are other attacks going on at other key infrastructure facilities across the state. We’re just glad we were able to get here as soon as we did!” Marcus added.
Knox cleared her throat. “Uh, colonel. If that’s the case, this makes this attack one part of a larger conspiracy. Maybe, you should take the prisoners into custody on behalf of the State of Arizona.”
“Hold on a second, sheriff,” Marcus replied. “Let me contact our HQ in the Verde Valley and see how they want to handle this.” Marcus stepped outside and pulled his comm unit from his harness. “ASGuard HQ, this is Centurion. I need to speak with ASGuard Actual. Repeating, Centurion needs to speak with ASGuard Actual.”
“Standby, Centurion! ASGuard Actual is on another call,” came the response.
“Centurion, standing by!”
Several seconds flew by then, “Centurion, ASGuard Actual! What’s your status!” Marcus picked up the urgency in his father’
s voice. Damn! Things must really be going to hell if Dad is being this gruff! Marcus thought.
Marcus gave General Roman a quick, concise report of the skirmish in Yucca. After finishing his report, he asked, “What are the plans for the transport and detention of prisoners, sir?”
General Roman answered the question immediately. “Detach a short squad to assist local law enforcement. Strip search each one under guard from a safe distance. We’re finding some nasty surprises on some of the hostiles captured already. In the meantime, get half your force back to your positions along the Colorado. We’re picking up hints of more attacks to come along the borders.”
“Will do, sir!” Marcus responded. “What about the other half?”
When he answered, General Roman’s voice sounded graver than ever. “We have intel of an imminent attack upon Hoover Dam, west of Kingman. The intel indicates that a large IGC force is making a run through southern Nevada toward the dam…and will attempt to destroy it with a nuclear weapon!”
“What?!?” asked Marcus, astonishment evident in his voice. “Where the hell did they get a nuke?” Almost as soon as he asked the question, he thought he had the answer.
“Iran!” said the general. “We need to stop that bunch of jihadis and get that weapon away from them, preferably without it being detonated!” The general paused for a moment then continued, “Marcus, there’s more. The intel says Al Zahrani’s right-hand man, Mustafa Muhammad Al-Fakeeh, is leading the IGC unit. And Phil Caldwell is with him. Caldwell’s Carrington’s fair-haired boy now and she wants him to keep an eye on Al-Fakeeh.”
Marcus had something to add. “And Caldwell was part of the counter-terrorism review team for the dams in the Southwest. He’d know Hoover Dam inside and out!”
“Shit! You’re right, son!” General Roman paused again. “Marcus, I need you and as many personnel as your copters can carry to get to Hoover Dam ASAP! Take every action to stop the IGC. I’m sending you the full intel via comm unit now!”
The Arizona State Guard Trilogy Page 49