Purge on the Potomac

by Roberts, David Thomas;

  Later that day, at the funerals of Beard and Will, their families were not only distraught by their deaths but also by the way the media and law enforcement were painting them as criminals and linking them to the Dallas mass shooting. Kymbra and Colt Turner also attended, still worried about Zach, as the feds only let her and Colt visit him once while he was in custody in Houston. He had since been moved to an undisclosed location.

  While good friends and family members were focused on consoling the surviving family members, the buzz in quiet conversations at the funeral was Bartlett’s direct assault on the 2nd Amendment and the confiscation order of guns. The sad nature of the funerals was mixed with a very resolute anger from those who believed Bartlett’s move on the 2nd Amendment was a direct challenge to every Texan.

  Also attending the funerals was Evilia Flores, the mother of the heroic teenager, Amanda Flores, who died at the hands of federal troops after trying to cast her ballot on the Texas independence referendum that sparked the Texas Crisis. Her homemade Texas flag, where she had sewed “1789” on its white bar (referring to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and Texans’ call to return to the document) was picked up from a dying Flores by Texas hero Chuck Dixon, who was also killed by federal agents while clutching Amanda’s flag, which became an endearing symbol to the Texas independence movement.

  “Mr. Younger, I’ve never had a chance to meet you, but I wanted to thank you for honoring my daughter and for your fight for what Amanda believed in,” Ms. Flores said as she grasped Pops’ hand with both of hers.

  “Ma’am, I’m sorry I never got to meet her. I will tell you that all Texas is proud of that little lady.”

  “Please tell me, Mr. Younger, please, that her death was not in vain. Please tell me that we aren’t done and that Amanda’s cause is every Texan’s cause? Surely it has to be?” she begged, looking deeply into Pops’ eyes.

  “Ms. Flores, I’ll tell you what I can. Your daughter was fighting against something that is as purely evil as the devil and something that has gripped this country to its very core. It cannot stand―and it won’t if I have anything to say about it,” promised Pops. “God bless you.”

  “And God bless you, Mr. Younger. God bless Texas.”

  Chapter 62

  “I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”

  - Barry Goldwater

  (1909-1998) US Senator

  The call came into Dyson on his way back from the Houston funerals with Pops. They were calling off the search for any more bodies at the accident site at Lake Hubbard. It appeared as though Ottosson’s body had simply vanished somewhere in the depths of the lake.

  As distressing as this was for Pops and the Rangers, what was even worse was that Pops’ computer forensics team back at DPS headquarters could not retrieve the video feed from either of the two laptops that were recovered from the lake.

  The Texas Rangers kept Hank Lofton and his crew in their custody, refusing to turn them over to the feds. Pops’ team had finally secured a videotaped confession from Lofton regarding the IRS bombings and Commissioner Stanislaus’ assassination, but still the feds would not release Zach Turner.

  Dyson was trying to arrange a prisoner swap―Lofton for Turner―but the feds were still trying to convince themselves that Zach was involved in the mass shootings. Without Ottosson’s videotaped confession, Pops had no clue how to exonerate Zach, except by capturing Volkov, who was long gone and not even in the country anymore.

  The next day, U.S. senators and members of Congress lobbied to be at Bartlett’s signing ceremony of the executive orders at the Oval Office. Of course, Texas Senator Simpson was front and center and brought along his fellow establishment buddy, Texas Governor Strasburg. He was the only governor at the signing. It was a strategic move by Bartlett, who knew her orders would be controversial and a tough sell to the average Texan.

  Throughout Texas, locally organized militia groups began planning next steps to counter Bartlett’s orders. Local TV stations throughout Texas aired interviews of everyday Texans on the street who vowed, “They’ll never take my guns!”

  At least two dozen Texas sheriffs vowed publicly not to enforce any of the orders, citing their oath to the Constitution. Similar stances were taken in several Rocky Mountain states and most of the old South. CNN and MSNBC were constantly showing polling data that depicted eighty-three percent of the country wanted these changes to occur, trying to reinforce Bartlett’s actions.

  Legal analysts were divided on the subject, as were most on the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. Many resigned themselves that, no matter the interpretation, the country was moving to support a Constitutional amendment to further restrict, or to altogether eliminate, the 2nd Amendment. Even some GOP leaders embraced the winds of change dictated by mob rule and public sentiment that they could not withstand politically.

  An Illinois county had a literacy fair of its own, duplicating the Dallas mass shooting event where admission was free with the voluntary turn-in of a firearm on the Bartlett ban list. The media loved the story and many other counties, cities and townships considered copying their gesture as a way to honor the Dallas victims, incredibly including Houston, Austin and San Antonio city councils.

  Even the mighty NRA couldn’t stop the momentum.

  The Dallas mass shooting was the last straw for many, and most politicians simply couldn’t be on the wrong side of the seismic shift in gun control that had enveloped the entire body politic.

  A rural Texas county sheriff interviewed on CNN claimed that any forced confiscation of firearms would re-launch the Texas Crisis and pit Texans against the rest of America, and even Texan against Texan.

  Senator Perez reasoned in vain for Bartlett to suspend the orders, stating drastic changes were not advisable when emotion had overtaken reason. Those in the opposite camp of Perez screamed for immediate action due to the inability of Congress to deal with any gun control changes from any prior mass shooting. Perez was fighting a losing battle in the court of public opinion in every place but Texas.

  Pops and the Texas Rangers called for an emergency meeting of Texas county sheriffs, police department chiefs and other law enforcement officials in Texas for a meeting in Austin. Most of the large urban center police departments in Houston, Austin and San Antonio planned to publicly boycott the meetings. They criticized Pops for his past participation in the independence referendum, and his actions in Austin and at Ellington Air Force Base against federal agents. And then there was the highly publicized stand on the International Bridge in Laredo, that was broadcast worldwide, where he single-handedly took on advancing Mexican federales.

  Some, even those who favored Bartlett’s swift and dramatic executive orders, were pleading for a moratorium or an opportunity to ramp up the new restrictions over time. The left was having none of it.

  Bartlett, Weingold, and others in the administration, with first-hand knowledge of the carefully crafted Deep State chess game that had led them to this point, were not going to let this opportunity evaporate or delay it for a second.

  The Deep State now owned Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court. Although acquired by unthinkable means, it was a clean sweep of all three equal but separate branches of government. To the Deep State, the end always justified the means, no matter how it was obtained.

  Finally, without warning, the feds agreed to do a prisoner swap with the State of Texas. This is something people would normally see between two separate countries, not between a state and the U.S. Justice Department. Pops had not been willing to hand over Lofton to the feds unless he was able to obtain the release of Zach. With Lofton readily admitting to the IRS bombings and the assassination, and the feds having no evidence to link Turner to Dallas, they reluctantly agreed to the swap. The feds got Lofton and his ten-member crew, minus the crew member who assisted Pops in the raid on the safe house. Not trusting t
he feds would give him consideration for his assistance that prevented the additional loss of life, Pops refused to hand him over to the feds for now. The feds were more than happy to get a nine-for-one swap.

  Turner was unceremoniously dumped at Reagan airport in D.C. with a plane ticket to Houston. When he arrived at Bush International Airport, Kymbra and Colt were there to meet him, along with some surviving members of his crew. With Zach’s exoneration from the IRS crimes, Operation Ghost had been lifted, and a few of his crew who were able to make it back to Houston greeted him warmly.

  Zach was ecstatic to be home, but his thoughts were with his best friends, Will and Beard, who had been killed at Lake Hubbard. After spending some time with his wife, he informed them he couldn’t even think about going home until he paid his respects to Will and Beard’s families. The entire entourage went with him to each family home. It was a tearful reunion. Zach promised them all that he would get to the bottom of their deaths and dispense justice to anyone involved. They believed him.

  The next morning, Zach got up early to drive to Austin to meet Pops. He had a lot to catch up on and a lot to tell Pops. More than anything, he wanted to know how his buddies died.

  “Damn, son, it’s about time you got finished with your vacation,” quipped Pops when he laid eyes on Zach.

  “Yeah, some vacation. You should try it sometime,” Zach joked.

  For the next several hours, Pops shared what they knew about Lake Hubbard and the Dallas mass shooting. Pops and Dyson described to Zach what they saw on the video from the interrogation of Ottosson. Zach winced.

  “Pops, I know how you feel about this, but this is how our government trained them. I’m not a fan, but I understand the intent,” offered Zach.

  “I just don’t see how the information can always be reliable when obtained this way. I saw men in Korea say anything to stop the pain,” Pops said.

  “Do you believe anything you heard?” asked Zach.

  “Unfortunately, I think it’s all true,” admitted Pops.

  “Now, damn it, Pops, we don’t know that for a fact. The problem is, even if we had the recordings―which we don’t―you’re gonna have people say the same thing, that these outlandish tales were made up by someone being tortured to stop the torture. The evidence will be discounted heavily,” reasoned Dyson.

  Pops’ desk phone rang, interrupting their conversation.

  “Younger here.”

  “Is this Pops Younger?” asked the caller.

  “Yeah, this is Younger. Who the hell is this?” asked Pops, who always seemed to be irritated when he had to talk on the phone, especially when it interrupted a very important discussion with Zach and Dyson.

  For a brief second, Pops thought he recognized the voice and the accent, but he couldn’t place it.

  “Mr. Younger, I need your help,” said the accented voice over the phone.

  “Hang on,” said Pops as he hit the speaker button on the phone so Dyson could also hear.

  “Okay, who is this?” Younger asked.

  “Mr. Younger, I have no one else to turn to. I need your help, sir.”

  “Holy shit,” Dyson said, but Pops was still trying to put the voice to his memory. Dyson immediately knew who it was. It was a Swedish accent.

  “Mr. Younger, this is Nils Ottosson.”

  Pops immediately stood.

  “How do I know you are who you say you are,” asked Pops.

  “Sir, I know you knew I was held somewhere in West Virginia. I was tortured. I was with the Free Texas guys when our van got shot up and flipped into the lake.”

  “Where the hell are you? You are in incredible danger, son.”

  “That’s why I’m calling you. I have nowhere else to turn,” Ottosson pleaded. “Will and Beard told me if anything ever happened in our ride to Texas that you were the only one I should trust.”

  “Where the hell are you? We will come get you right now and make sure you are safe. Where do we go?”

  “I got out of that van somehow when it went under. They were still spraying bullets when the van went in. I literally dogpaddled away into the night and got a kind old lady who owns a lake house to tend to my injuries. She found me on her dock the next morning.”

  “Jesus, son, give us your address and we will get you to a safe location and get you some medical treatment. Who was shooting at the van? Did you get a look at them?”

  “Hell, it all happened so fast, I didn’t see anyone.”

  “Who do you think it was?”

  Zach stood up and interrupted their conversation, “Guys, I guarantee the feds are monitoring this phone. Don’t give us your address, Mr. Ottosson. I see your number on his caller ID. We will call you back on a secure phone.”

  Both parties hung up immediately.

  “Good thinking, son, I just can’t believe this. The son of a bitch is alive!” yelled Pops.

  “We have to assume the feds know this now, too. It’s a race to see who gets to him first,” Pops said in about as an excited a tone as anyone ever heard from him.

  “My phone is secure. Calling him back right now,” said Zach as he furiously dialed the number.

  “Younger here again. Who do you think was shooting at the van?” pressed Pops.

  “It’s either the Russians or the CIA dispatched by the administration.”

  “The Russian is back on U.S. soil?” asked Dyson.

  “I have no idea if he is, but he’s more dangerous than the CIA. Can y’all come get me?

  “On our way, son. Hang tight. We will keep you posted every step of the way.”

  Dyson immediately got on the phone to the Texas Rangers’ field office in Dallas. The Rangers could be to this lake house within thirty minutes.

  “Fire up an aircraft; let’s go,” said Pops, already walking out the door.

  “Geez, Pops, not too excited to take a state-owned aircraft, if you know what I mean.”

  “Screw it already. Charter the fastest jet you can find.”

  “I’m on it!” Dyson exclaimed.

  “Sir, I’ve got operatives in Dallas. Does your team need support in any way?”

  Pops hesitated for a minute, then remembered that Zach’s team was very adept at covert operations.

  “Give them cover, son. Set up a perimeter; keep your folks at a distance but in communication.”

  “Roger that. Tell your boys so we don’t end up shooting each other,” ordered Zach.

    

  Regional FBI director Lawson got a call on his cell phone.

  “Sir, Langley just called and they are seeing a flurry of communications between the Texas Rangers HQ in Austin and their regional office in Dallas,” said a voice from FBI headquarters in D.C.

  “Do we have any transcripts yet?”

  “No, sir, not yet, but working on it.”

  Another voice interrupted. “Sir, one more thing. We’ve got eyes on two Ranger SUVs that left downtown Dallas, heading northeast on I-30. They are in an awfully big hurry.”

  “Hmmm, I-30?” Lawson said to himself. “I-30, I-30, crap―Lake Hubbard! Are there still any dive crews on the lake?”

  “No, sir, not for days.”

  “Somebody has found some evidence. That’s got to be it. Dispatch everyone we’ve got. Somebody has found a cell phone or pulled up a laptop or something on a damned trot line. That could be the only thing causing this level of activity. Get a bird in the air but at a distance on those Ranger SUVs.”

    

  Pops began thinking about Zach’s claim of eyes and ears everywhere.

  “Dick, send our team to the crash site.” he ordered.

  “The crash site? The house he’s at is damned near entirely across the lake. That will delay them. Why, Pops?”

  “I think our boy here is right,” Pops replied. “We have to figure these turds in D.C. know our every step. Zach, can you get your boys out to pick him up? No one will detect them. Hell, they just came out of hiding, right?”

 
“That’s a great idea, Pops. I think we better be safe,” Zach said. “You better figure they have a chopper following them right now if they were monitoring your phone. Sending your team to the crash site is ingenious. What if I had one of my guys meet them there and give them a laptop?”

  “Do it! It will buy us time to get him out of there.”

  Pops paced incessantly at the private hangar as the Citation jet and crew were being readied for the short flight to an airport in Addison, a suburb just north of downtown Dallas. The crew told him it would be a twenty-eight-minute flight once they got airborne. Pops, Zach and Dyson would not be able to communicate with their teams on the ground while in flight. It would drive them crazy to be in the dark that long with the fate of the most valuable witness in American history within their grasp.

  The two black Ranger SUVs pulled up to the original crash site, then pulled into a gas station parking lot on the next exit. As they waited, unmarked FBI, ATF and Homeland Security units were nearby waiting on orders to intervene at a moment’s notice.

  Shortly thereafter, an old yellow Nissan pickup truck pulled up, and a guy with a camo ball cap and scruffy beard got out, holding what looked like a laptop. Two Rangers from each SUV got out and approached the man, who was standing next to his pickup truck with the laptop.

  Suddenly, vehicles screamed into the gas station parking lot. Officers jumped out, and the federal agents drew weapons on the four Texas Rangers and the man with the laptop.

  FBI Regional Director Lawson got out of one of the SUVs and approached the group.

  “We are Texas Rangers, sir. Tell your people to holster their weapons NOW!” yelled the Ranger in charge.

  “I believe you are in possession of federal evidence pertaining to national security.” Lawson walked over and took the laptop from the Ranger

  “Keep your hands up, gentlemen. I’m instructing my men to shoot you on the spot if you so much as twitch an eyelid. Sir, you there, come over here with me,” Lawson said as he motioned to the man who furnished the laptop.