The Shelter: WAR

by Ira Tabankin

  “I’ve safetied the mines and wired the master switch to the off position.”

  “Good. Can’t be too safe, did you warn Todd?”

  “Yes, he knows. He’s waiting for the radio call.”

  “I assume General Arthur will join us?”

  “Yes. By the way, he told me this morning that last night’s raids went very well. He believes he’s crushed the Cartel and even took out the local ISIS leader and his troops.”

  “That’s great news. I hope they got all of them. I don’t want to have to fight the North and the Cartel and ISIS at the same time. No matter how well we’re armed, we’d lose.”

  “He said he’ll bring pictures to show you.”

  “That’s a huge load off my back if he’s removed them from the board. Let’s figure out what the Admiral wants.”

  Tony smiles,

  “I’ll bet you two coins he wants to join the Confederacy.”

  “No bet.”

  “Jay, you’re getting soft.”

  “That I am. John, I’m worried about all of the people coming and going, I think we should step up our armed patrols. I want to make sure we arm the minefields every night and have a mobile reaction force made up of some of us and the military. We need to be prepared for anything. I’m worried the President may try to take out the LT Governors. He has the Governors, if he takes us out, he’s destroyed our remaining political base. He could crush us before we got off the ground.”

  Fred looks up, trying to hold back a smile,

  “Jay, you’re officially now the state’s Governor. Since the Governors are officially missing, that makes you and the other LT Governors the official Governors. I’m issuing a press release today. I’m also changing your letterhead and email signature line. I asked a couple guys in the shop to make a sign for the front gate.”

  “Shit, Fred, why not place a giant neon arrow above the farm pointing down saying, here he is, bomb here.”

  “He’s not going to target you individually if he attacks us at all, he’ll go after the military across the street.”

  “No, he won’t. If I were him, I’d target the remaining officials, leaving us leaderless, then I’d attack our infrastructure. Once we’re leaderless, cold, hungry and without fresh water, I’d move in to help the people.”

  “How is he going to do that, we knocked out his grid.”

  “He hasn’t announced to his people we did it. He’s blamed it on a series of lightning strikes. I think once he takes us down, he’ll announce we did it.”

  John shakes his head,

  “I’ve read reports that the North East is really suffering. He’s ordered the military to bring in generators and move whatever remaining ships they have to ports to supply power. He’s building tent cities and aid stations where he’s caring for the people. One little caveat of receiving any aid is, if you own guns, you have to turn in your weapons in order to receive water, food and other supplies.”

  “Shit, so he’s using the grid being down to disarm the people, he’s finally getting what he wanted. I remember his first chief of staff saying, never waste a crisis, that’s what’s he’s doing. John, do you have any word on the situation in Chicago?”

  “Mass riots! A third of Chicago is on fire. Huge flash mobs have broken in every food store, restaurant and big box store. The Mayor has ordered the first responders to stay out of the inner city, He’s letting them kill each other.”

  “Is it working?” asked Jay while shaking his head.

  “No. Billions of dollars of damage has been done. Many food stores have been destroyed; instead of hungry people eating the food, it has been burned or the packages torn apart, ruining it. Millions are sick from drinking untreated water. Various gangs are fighting among each other. They’ve spread to the waterfront. Million dollar boats have been stolen or torched. Chicago resembles Beirut more than it does an American city. The President ordered the media not to show any images of the rioting.”

  “He’s openly censoring the press now?”

  “Jay, he is. The web is filled with pictures of the city. The President has asked the cell carriers to block the images and videos from being posted. He’s asked Facebook to block all the posts. He’s trying to stop the riots from spreading.”

  “What about New York City?”

  “The DHS has declared a State of Emergency. They claim a lightning strike damaged the grid and we spread a biological weapon in the city. They’ve closed all the bridges and tunnels leading in or out of New York City.”

  Jay looks confused,

  “I don’t understand why he would lock down the City. Why is he doing that?”

  “They can’t contain the riots and violence, he hopes by containing it, it will burn itself out.”

  “Shit, any dummy knows that’s not going to work. The survivors will break out of the city and begin attacking Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut. He’s making the situation worse.”

  “By placing part of the blame on us, he’s preparing the people for the upcoming war.”

  “Shit. This is getting out of control. I had hoped our attacks would give him pause. I didn’t think he’d lock down the cities, in effect signing their death warrants.”

  “He doesn't care about anything except winning and ensuring his legacy for future history.”

  “We’re going to have to find a way to screw with his legacy. Since it seems to be the only thing that he cherishes. We need to ensure his legacy is screwed for all time.”

  “Agreed.”

  Jay paces around the room, “Why don’t we repair what we damaged? We’ll be their good neighbors. Since the President hasn’t blamed us, we’ll look like the good guys. We have the parts to repair most of their grid. We can turn the people around so they support us. The people will see our action and the President’s inaction. We’ll be their new hero. The President and his administration will be the bad guys for leaving the people suffering. We can flood the media and web with images of us helping the North. Make sure all of our repair people wear the Confederate flag. We’ll first drop leaflets explaining we’re coming to help the people with supplies, and parts to repair their grid. We have a unique chance to be the good guys. Let’s talk to the General and Admiral. I’m going to call the other LT Governors.”

  Everyone nods and smiles.

  Jay places a secure conference call with the other eight LT Governors. He lays out his idea. At first, there is a lot of heated discussions. The Alabama LT Governor begins yelling,

  “You’re nuts. First we bomb their grid and then we offer to repair it? Why did we bomb it in the first place? This is a waste of time and resources. I vote NO.”

  Jay shakes his head,

  “Listen to me, the President isn’t repairing the damage, he’s allowing the people in the inner cities to kill each other. We have a rare chance to be a real hero. If we pull this off, the people won’t support him attacking us.”

  The Texan LT Governor shakes his head,

  “Jay, I wish you had more political experience. When the President orders the attack, the media will sway the people. They will follow him like sheep to the slaughter house.”

  “We have a chance to break his hold on them. We have to act quickly to provide help, this is our chance to break the damn do-loop. We owe it to our people to try to stop a war before it causes millions of deaths. We have a chance to avoid the mistakes of our forefathers.”

  The debate goes back and forth, the LT Governors, take five votes, all of them are ties, four pro, and four con. When they’re about to start the sixth vote, the South Carolina LT Governor sighs,

  “I’m going to change sides. The more I listen and think about it, the more I think Jay might have a way to break the President’s hold on the people. We have nothing to lose and a hell of a lot to gain.”

  The Georgia LT Governor yells into the camera,

  “I don’t agree. We have a lot to lose. We only have so many resources. Our own people need all the help we can give them.
Why should we spend gold on the North, what have they ever done for us?”

  Jay smiles into the camera,

  “They’ve screwed us; they’ve jerked us around. We have a chance to change. We have a moral obligation to help those in need. It’s the right thing to do. What would Jesus do?”

  Jay is met with silence and frowns from three of the other LT Governors, the Texan LT Governor looks directly into the camera.

  “Jay, I’ll go along with you, if this goes bad, it’s on your head. Do you hear me? If this fails, you’ll pay, I’ll make sure you couldn’t be elected dogcatcher.”

  “Look if it makes you feel better, I’ll pay for the operation.”

  The other LT Governors all say,

  “WHAT did you say?”

  “I said, I’ll pay for it. I’ll put up the cost of the fuel and parts. If the mission goes well the Confederacy will pay me back if it fails, I paid for the failure.”

  The Floridian LT Governor asks,

  “How do you plan to pay for it?”

  “In gold.”

  The other LT Governors are silenced; each nods their heads in agreement. Jay looks into the camera.

  “I’ll have my assistant get in touch with yours to work out the details. Once we have a workable plan, I suggest we use the software to hack into the North’s broadcasts and announce we’re coming to help.”

  The other seven heads nod in agreement. When Jay disconnects the call, Fred looks at him shaking his head.

  “Jay, you can’t go around paying for everything. It’s a quick way to go broke.”

  “I have confidence my plan will work, in which case the Confederacy will pay me back.”

  “How, with what?”

  “Gold from Huntsville where the new Treasury is.”

  “Man, I hope you’re right.”

  “I have faith in your plan.”

  “What Plan? I don’t have a plan.”

  “You will soon.”

  Chapter 25

  “Jay, the Admiral is about five minutes away,”

  “Thanks, Todd, General Arthur is already here. Is everyone ready?”

  “Yes, I’ve reminded everyone not to show they’re armed so the Admiral isn’t worried he’s landed in a trap.”

  “Excellent. The General and I will meet his bird. Remind everyone to stay away from the helicopter. We can’t afford to have anyone decapitated by its spinning blades.”

  Laughing, Todd replies,

  “I’ve reminded them so many times, a few have threatened me.”

  “Good, maybe a few will remember. As soon as the Admiral is with us and away from his bird, move it into the large garage. Once its inside, sweep it for bugs or tracking devices.”

  “Will do. I’m ready.”

  “Good.”

  “Jay, Ricky is sure to see the helicopter land, if he calls what should I tell him?”

  “Tell him to stay in his house and not bother us.”

  “Okay, I’ll tell him.”

  Jay looks to his right where General Arthur is holding up his hand to shield his eyes from the sun, he points to the south.

  “Here he comes. Right on time. I didn’t know a sailor could keep time.”

  “This is a special sailor, he’s an Admiral.”

  “Yea, that only means he didn’t ground his ship in the previous year.”

  Jay tries to hold a laugh in.

  “Should we approach him, or let him come to us?”

  “We need to give his pilot plenty of room to land and shut everything down before we approach. When we do, I’ll go first and introduce you.”

  They are quickly covered in dust and dirt the helicopter kicks up. General Arthur laughs,

  “I should have warned you about that. Just brush it off. Without rain, it’s just dust.”

  “Thanks, Lacy’s going to kill me. This is one of the few suits I still own.”

  The dark gray helicopter settles down in the middle of the white circle they painted on the paved area in front of the large garage. They wait until the blades stop spinning and the side door opens. The first person out is a US Marine Colonel, he looks around, seeing General Arthur and Jay, he pokes his head back into the helicopter. A moment later he steps out of the bird followed by a tall, thin man wearing Navy tans with two stars on his shoulders. General Arthur walks up to the Admiral, he snaps to attention and salutes him. Admiral Jefferson returns the salute.

  “General, I wondered what happened to you. I didn’t think you were the type to spend the rest of your days on a golf course unless they let you blow it up.”

  “Admiral, it’s good to see you again. May I present, Mr. Jay Tolson, the Governor of the great state of Tennessee and one of the eight members of the executive council of the Confederate States of America.”

  “Mr. Governor, thank you for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice.”

  “Admiral, you can call me Jay.”

  “I’ll try, but I can’t guarantee it. I’m sure General Arthur also has trouble calling you by your first name.”

  “He tries. Welcome to the farm and, for now, the State House of the State of Tennessee.”

  “I like the castle, nice modern touch. I’m sure the people of the state will appreciate how their money was spent.”

  “They ought to since it didn’t cost them a penny. It’s my home and now part of the government offices.”

  Admiral Jefferson laughs. He looks over his shoulder watching the doors slide up in the large garage.

  “I assume you’re going to hide my bird from government birds?”

  “Yes, that is, if you agree.”

  “I do, good thinking. There’s no reason to paint a target on your home.”

  “I think there already is one. We were overflown by a military plane a few days ago, we assume it was to get better pictures for someone in D.C. Why don’t we get inside so no one can see us. I’ll be happy to give you a tour after our discussions. We’re going to paint over the landing circle.”

  “I’m looking forward to the tour.”

  The three men enter the castle. Admiral Jefferson stops just inside the rear door.

  “Holy crap Batman, how thick are these walls?”

  “We didn’t have enough steel to make 16-inch armor so we built two reinforced concrete walls, they’re bolted together, the space between them is filled with dirt and rocks. The walls should stop anything up to a 5” shell, if we’re lucky maybe even more.”

  “I like it. How large is it?”

  Jay laughs,

  “Admiral, to be perfectly honest with you, none of us know. It just sort of kept growing. I’ve lost track of the number of rooms. We have a living section, guest quarters and now the state offices which is where we’ll be meeting.”

  I’ll follow you, without a map, I’m not sure I’d be able to find my way out.”

  “That’s our plan. You may break in, but once you get in, you’ll quickly get lost.”

  “That’s the truth.”

  Once settled in the conference room, Jay looks at his guest,

  “Admiral, what can we do for you?”

  “Jay, I think the question is, what can I do for you? I would like to join the Confederacy. I have a powerful battle fleet. It’s currently spread out in the Gulf of Mexico. There’s no other Navy in the world that can stop us.”

  “Isn’t the President or the CNO going to be a little pissed if you walk away with his only battleship?”

  “Jay, the CNO was a close friend of mine. His bird was shot down leaving the Missouri on his way to DFW. The President should have thought about that before he sent a Coast Guard Admiral to replace me and attack us and ordered the murder of my friend of thirty years.”

  General Arthur sat straight up in his chair,

  “Admiral, he attacked you? Were there any causalities? We have a very good medical facility. He killed the CNO? Shit, I didn’t think he had the balls.”

  “Everything’s fine. He sent four USCG cutters to attack u
s. The President has balls if he doesn’t have to pull the trigger, issuing orders is something he does well.”

  Jay and General Arthur cover their mouths. Jay nods saying,

  “That must have been a hell of a short battle. I’m sorry about the loss of the CNO.”

  “It was. We saved most of their crews. None of the cutters survived. I was ordered to blockade the Gulf ports. It would have broken your economic back before you even announced your declaration.”