The Bonner Incident: Joshua's War

by Thomas A. Watson

  “So the next item is for the feds. No citizen in the state of Idaho will pay one cent in federal taxes. I’ve called for a joint session to pass an Amendment to our state Constitution that will only allow ten percent of what a person makes in one year to be taxable. This includes sales tax, property tax, gas tax and social security. Any amount over that is a criminal act and the head of the department will be charged. If they are in D.C., we will just have to make a road trip. No business in the state will pay taxes to the feds. To the IRS, send the state the bill and we will pay you, according to what you’re worth and what you’ve done for this state. If you think to arrest my fellow citizens for not paying the IRS if they leave this state, it will be viewed as kidnapping and I will send officers to extract them from you with lethal force. To any arresting officer enforcing the IRS’s draconian laws, you will be brought back here for trial and any action by you, except full compliance will be viewed as hostile intent and you will be shot. If you’re shot, no need for a trial.”

  The crowd started chanting “U.S.A.” as they clapped and then the governor held up his hands. “Now, I have favors to ask of you good people. I need some of you that are armed to assist the local law in restoring order and I need others who have transportation, to talk with the state police who are going to Bonner to assist the sheriff there in throwing the trash out,” the governor grinned and the crowd went nuts.

  Major Grattan moved over beside Tanner, holding out a satellite phone. Tanner took the phone and started talking as Moore watched.

  “Now I would like to turn this over to the Attorney General,” the governor said and the crowd applauded.

  “Thank you, Mr. Governor and I am glad to be the one to tell you, I was with the governor and we talked to many governors across this nation, and many today will be giving this same speech. I won’t call them by name, in case one changes his/her mind but like the citizens of Idaho, they are tired of D.C. using the Bill of Rights and the Constitution as dirty rags,” he said and the crowd exploded.

  Tanner stood up and walked off, still talking as Grattan waved at Moore to come over. As the Attorney General started again, “To all federal agencies, you no longer have any power in this state. If you have a grievance and yes, I said grievance, you will present it to the state police. If they feel an investigation is warranted, they will do it and proceed according to our laws, not the crap made up in D.C. And just a warning, any IRS or BATFE agent that enters this state, you will be arrested unless you are visiting and you’d better be unarmed. You want people unarmed? Well, it's time you see what it’s like. No federal firearms law will be recognized in this state and any attempt to prosecute a citizen will be disregarded. To all federal judges in this state, start packing. You have ten days to leave or you will be arrested for attempting to implement false laws in the state of Idaho.”

  The crowd reverberated in cheers as Moore stepped up to Grattan. “Yeah?” Moore said as the Attorney General continued, but he wasn’t listening.

  “The Colonel asked me to contact the state park rangers on the other side of the lake to get them to check on team thirty-three,” Grattan said then sighed. “They found them. All dead.”

  “Nothing else?” Moore asked as Grattan handed him a handwritten report he’d taken from the rangers on site.

  “No other bodies, but they found a lot of blood that they couldn’t account for and said the group must have been about to play cards because there were playing cards everywhere,” Grattan said and Moore stumbled back, hitting someone. He turned to see Winters behind him, watching the TV. “Sorry,” he said and looked back at Grattan.

  “Are you sure he said this?” Moore asked, grinning.

  “Yes, there are two park rangers there and I talked to them on a sat phone,” Grattan said, motioning to the paper.

  Pushing past Grattan, Moore bolted after Tanner as Winters wiped tears from her eyes. Running out from under the tent, Moore spotted Tanner as he hung up the phone. “Tanner!” he shouted in a dead run.

  As Moore ran over, Tanner held up his hand. “Don’t. That was Washington, they said to pull out and pull out fast. The governor isn’t playing and they know of twelve more governors that are going to announce the same, and it may go as high as twenty-nine states.”

  “Tanner!” Moore shouted, then realized he didn’t want attention. Stepping up till they were nose to nose, Moore whispered. “He was wounded and alone. Grattan just gave me the report from the park rangers you’d asked him to bully into checking it out.”

  Hope sprang up on Tanner’s face, but then slowly died. “We have to leave and even if you found him, the state wouldn’t let us have him,” Tanner said solemnly.

  “Possession is nine-tenths of the law. I’ll haul his ass out in the trunk of a car,” Moore said quietly. “Unless we bring him in, think of what will happen to your career. Me, they will force to retire. I’m already past retirement and they can’t touch me, but you have to worry about you. We can’t let Joshua ruin this country. If he stands trial, this nonsense will stop.”

  Tanner stared into Moore’s eyes for several minutes before he spoke. “I have a Cayuse coming in at lunch to help pull teams out of the field. If it drops you off, it may not get back to you before the deadline.”

  “I’ll get out of the state, don’t worry. Give me your cellphone number, so I can contact you if I find him and get him out of state,” Moore said.

  “I can’t send anyone with you,” Tanner said, handing over a business card.

  Taking the card, Moore nodded. “I prefer it that way. Can you ask Grattan if he will call the rangers back and tell them to stay until I get there? I can handle them after that.”

  “You will only be able to take one of your team with you. The Cayuse is small,” Tanners said.

  “I’ll take Winters, she has HRT training and is great in the field.”

  Looking away as he stepped back, “At times, she seems unsure,” Tanners said.

  “No, that’s just her. You have no idea how many times I’ve went before a disciplinary board for her to keep her out of trouble. She understands that we can’t let the government fall.”

  “Whew,” Tanner said then grinned. “Now I’m more at ease. If you get Joshua out of state, I’ll have a chopper get you to an airport to have him delivered to Gitmo. After Joshua’s trial, we can exchange him for the team the sheriff arrested.”

  Moore nodded and then looked away. “If I find his body, I’m still taking it out.”

  “And I’ll still send a chopper, but also some photographers. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll report that you’re in the field, so they will look for you. Just make sure you surrender to these trigger-happy yoyos.”

  “If you don’t hear from me by tomorrow, I’m dead, along with Winters. She knows how to move in mountain forest so in that, I’m in good hands,” Moore said. “And Tanner,” Moore said, pointing at the airstrip. “You need to tell the Germans not to get on a chopper while still carrying a weapon. I’m sure we have snipers on us now and they have been given the green light. If we shoot back, every person in this county will come running with a gun.” Tanner motioned a soldier over.

  “Captain, tell the Germans to lay down their weapons before getting on any aircraft. I’m sure there are snipers around us with more coming to make sure all weapons are left behind,” Tanner said and the captain took off running.

  “Sorry, but I don’t want to get shot when we are so close,” Moore said and Tanner nodded.

  “Good luck, let me make some changes,” Tanner said and walked away. Moore went to Grattan and asked where supply was and went to collect supplies.

  Winters walked out of the tent and saw Moore by a tree that the team was using as a meeting area. The soldiers and agents all walked out, hanging their heads low. Moving with the group, Winters saw Moore with two small backpacks and wiped her eyes again.

  “I always believed you would see,” she mumbled, walking over to him.

  Feeling someone coming
, Moore looked up as Winters wiped her eyes. “Don’t worry, we can fix this,” he said as she stopped beside him. “Here,” Moore said, passing her the note Grattan had given him.

  Winters read the note and looked up at Moore. “Moore, it’s over,” she said, pleading.

  “No, it’s not,” he snapped in a low voice. “We can’t let the country fall in shame because of one man.”

  “The country?” Winters gasped. “We are talking about a governing body, you yourself have bitched about.”

  “It’s still the best,” Moore said checking the packs.

  “No, Moore, it’s not. If it was, everyone wouldn’t have taken to the streets and the governor all but said that Idaho would secede. Hell, the AG just called for the President’s resignation or impeachment, along with all of the Supreme Court Justices.”

  “Yes, don’t you see?” Moore said, getting in her face. “It all started because of one man. We can’t allow others to see that he won’t be punished. Then, this crap will stop and it will go back to the way it was. If people want change, they can vote for it.”

  “Vote?” she coughed as a tear ran down her cheek. “You have seen how they manipulate the votes, Moore. Hell, how many in Washington have we investigated, knowing they were guilty and nothing happened? Let’s just leave.”

  He looked up as another tear rolled down her cheek. “Don’t worry, we can save this nation,” he said with a forced grin. “I know it hurts to see what we’ve represented being trashed, but you’ll see. When we bring in Joshua, it will all be over.”

  Winters looked in Moore’s face and saw he believed his words and would die to keep change from happening. “Okay,” she finally nodded.

  “We will get a ride out around lunch. No long guns, sidearms only,” he said, handing her a backpack. “Only enough water for two days and food for one.”

  “What about being out of the state by midnight?”

  “I just need to see where it happened and make an estimate on how bad Joshua was wounded. He only has three places to go,” Moore said, grabbing his pack. “I’m going to make sure Grattan has told the park rangers to stay put.”

  She watched him walk off and shook her head. “I’ll let Joshua kill us both before I let you bring him in,” she said and went to find some food.

  It was just after twelve when the Cayuse landed on the road and Tanner ran over to them. “Good luck,” he said, holding out his hand.

  “I gave Grattan a message from the sheriff. The sheriff said he should have the road cleared to here by nightfall and has trucks to carry you to the state line, so have vehicles ready to meet you there,” Moore shouted over the rotor noise and shook Tanner’s hand.

  “Will do and I’ll have all weapons collected before he gets here,” Tanner said, letting Moore’s hand go.

  Moore nodded and climbed in the Cayuse and saw Winters already buckled in on the other side, staring out the doorway. The doors had been removed to save weight as the little bird would be used to pull teams out after dropping them off.

  The pilot lifted off and banked right over the compound and Moore looked down at the destroyed area. Seeing it from above, showed just how easily the attackers could have killed them all. Flying just over the treetops, the pilot dropped down when he reached the lake and sped north, twenty feet off the water.

  “Little egg can move,” Moore mumbled, making sure his seatbelt was buckled.

  In minutes, he could see the end of the lake as the pilot slowly brought the chopper up and shot over the treetops. Looking out the front window, Moore could see Upper Priest Lake and the ravine Joshua had used the bear trap in.

  When the pilot banked east away from the ravine, Moore gave a sigh, not really wanting to go back there. Leaning out, he saw a clearing at the bottom of a ridge with a man wearing an orange vest, standing and waving his arms. The pilot banked and started to descend and Moore looked back, hoping the tail didn’t hit the trees as the little chopper landed in the clearing.

  Undoing his seatbelt, Moore jumped out and turned to see the Cayuse shoot straight up and bank to the west, speeding over the treetops. He looked down and saw Winters putting her backpack on. “Thought the pilot took off before you got out,” he grinned and put on his pack.

  “I’m Park Ranger Simmons,” the man said, walking over. Moore looked up and stifled a laugh.

  The man was wearing an orange reflective vest with State printed across the front in reflective letters. “Not taking chances,” Moore said, nodding toward the vest.

  “You got that right,” Simmons said. “It’s along the ridge so follow me, but don’t get close. I don’t want someone popping me when they aim for you.”

  “Fair enough,” Moore said, pulling out his phone. He looked over at Winters and saw a depressed expression. “It will get better,” he said, using his thumbs to type on his phone as he followed Simmons into the trees.

  Putting his phone away, Moore pulled out his map. “Caribou Hill is to the west of us, right?” he asked Simmons who was staying ten yards ahead of them.

  “To our southeast,” Simmons said and glanced over his shoulder, making sure the feds were staying back. “How are you planning on getting these guys out?”

  “We are here to mark them and identify,” Moore said and Winters paused her step, looking at Moore in shock. “You out here alone?”

  “No, Paul is at the site,” Simmons said.

  “I should tell Simmons the truth and let him shoot us both,” she mumbled and continued on.

  It took over an hour to reach the clearing and they saw another park ranger wearing a reflective vest and standing beside two four-wheelers. “Good, we can go,” Paul said to Simmons.

  “No, you can’t,” Moore said, looking around. “Any attempt to abandon us will be viewed as hostile treatment and your governor won’t pardon you. So just wait and let us look around. I’m sure you don’t want to be close to us anyway.”

  “Let’s just leave them,” Paul said to Simmons.

  “Fine, but I’ve already sent back that we were here with park rangers,” Moore said, looking at the other one. “I’ve sent your names along as well,” Moore smiled.

  “Hurry up then,” Paul sighed. “I’m surprised the bears haven’t showed up yet.”

  Moore took his pack off and walked carefully to the bodies and froze, seeing the cards scattered around. Moving forward and looking at the ground, Moore felt his heart speeding up. He saw a large blood stain in the dirt and the ground was scarred up as if someone had pulled himself up.

  “Well, fuck me,” he said and Winters walked up unenthusiastically.

  “What?” she sighed.

  “Horse tracks. Joshua was using horses, not an ATV,” Moore said and smiled.

  “Moore, it could’ve been anyone,” Winters said, knowing it was a lie.

  “Oh, so it’s only one set of boot prints that happens to know Joshua leaves cards,” Moore said and looked back across the clearing. “These two in the ghillie suits were the over watch and came from there. The shot that got him came from that way.”

  As Moore walked across the clearing, Winters followed, walking around an agent who’d been shot in the back and half of his head was gone. She followed Moore into the woods, hoping to hear the four-wheelers crank up and leave their asses.

  “There,” Moore said, pointing ahead and Winters saw two large rucksacks propped up beside a tree. As they walked closer, they saw a bolt action rifle on a bipod. Turning back to the clearing, Moore’s face got red. “A hundred yards away and you only wounded him,” he spat out, kneeling beside the gun.

  Working the bolt, he ejected a round, catching it in his hand. “Fuck!” he shouted and held the bullet up to Winters. “Armor piercing.”

  “Yeah, they work,” Winters popped off.

  “You know, they don’t mushroom out causing more damage,” Moore said, working the bolt and ejecting the rounds. “Only one shot fired,” he said, getting up and throwing the bullets on the ground.

&n
bsp; He looked over at Winters, “How bad do you think he was wounded?” he asked.

  “He left,” Winters huffed.

  “Will you quit it, so we can get this over with?” he snapped. “Now that’s a lot of blood but like you said, he left. I’m thinking he’s hurt pretty bad because he somehow made the horses come to him and he’s never let them near any ambush.”

  “The horses could’ve been right behind him,” Winters said, as Moore walked past. “Moore, it’s already 3:30, let’s get the hell out of here.”

  “We will,” Moore said over his shoulder, walking back toward the clearing. Kicking the rifle over, Winters followed, cursing the rangers for not leaving them behind.

  She found Moore kneeling beside the blood stain and looking at the horse tracks. “Moore, neither of us are trackers, so give it up,” she sighed.

  “Don’t have to be,” he said, standing up pulling out his map. “Simmons,” he said, walking over to the rangers.

  Winters couldn’t help but chuckle, seeing the rangers back away when Moore walked over. “How long would it take someone on horse to get from here to the town of Priest Lake?”

  “First, it ain’t a town, it’s a spot on the map. But you’re talking a good twenty-five miles, so if the rider was experienced and on good mounts, he could do it in ten hours,” Simmons said.

  Moore looked up from the map. “I’m making the distance closer to sixteen.”

  “In a straight line sure, but look around, fed boy. You’re in the mountains and that is only if the one riding is good.”

  “What’s this about?” Paul asked, stepping up beside Simmons.

  “One of our agents was on horseback with this team and as you see, there are no horses and I’m one body short,” Moore said, folding his map up. “How long to get to your ranger station?”

  “We leaving?” Simmons asked with a smile and Moore nodded. “We’ll be back around dusk. Want us to call someone for you?”

  “Your damn station is only ten miles away and you’re on ATVs?” Moore snapped.