by A J Newman
“Madam President, the news had just been received that this reporter had been caught in a cross fire between the ISA and the Cabra hit men. It never dawned on us that there would be a rescue attempt for a low level reporter.”
“So there is something that my best and brightest are missing. I want everyone who ever talked with the reporter or his family grilled until we get to the bottom of this.”
“Madam President, the list of people that talked with his father, Gabe Logan, includes half of your staff and yourself. Gabe Logan was the major supplier of cars and light trucks to our government. You met and talked with him at several state functions.”
“Find out if this is a coincidence or was Logan Senior a supporter of the ISA. Do not under any circumstance let it leak out that I have ever been around this scum. Make plans to capture or kill all of the Logan family. I want them back here, dead or alive.”
***
Jenn crawled in bed with Josh, gave him a kiss and held his hand. He wrapped his good arm around her waist and held her tightly to him.
“Did your mom and mine wear you out? Mine can be a bit overpowering at times. She means well, but can bowl people over.”
"No, not at all. I asked a lot of questions and recorded her answers. She filled me in on what life was like during the early years. I learned quite a bit about women’s role in defending the ISA during the attacks by the UN, Cabras and the USA. She had us rolling on the floor talking about the discussions about how many ideas were brought up on what to do when the toilet paper runs out. I know that is trivial in the grand scheme of things, but it points out how hard life was after the lights went out.”
“Josh, we call the aftermath of the attack TSHTF and y’all call it 'The Lights Went Out.' I wonder what the rest of the world named the disaster.”
He laughed and held her close to him for several minutes without saying a word.
“Josh, I love you and need to know how you want to move forward? Dad has put your name out to his friends at all of the ISA Media, so finding a good job will be easy. I want you to finish your story about dad and the ISA, so the world will know the truth. I want you to move into our home with me. There will be attempts to kill you for saving dad’s life and when your story is published, they will intensify. You will be safe with us.”
Josh laughed and said, “I was with y’all when I got shot twice.”
“That won’t happen again. We were getting complacent; Scott has tripled security and will find a way to send a message to Wilton. He will back her sorry ass away from these assassination attempts. She has a husband, three kids and a lover that she wants to stay safe. Pablo Cortez also has family that he wants to stay safe. Scott will send a strong message to both of them to stop fucking with our leaders and family.”
“What about my mom and dad, will they be safe at their house? I could live with them.”
“Yes, you would be safe, but my room is at the far end of the house and we’d have complete privacy. Not that you are able to do anything in your condition.”
Just then, they heard loud talking in the hallway.
“You had better move your hand. Dad and Gus are going to walk through that door in a minute.”
She hadn’t gotten all of the words out when Gus and John came into the room.
“Get your hands off my daughter. Jenn, have you no shame? Piled up in his bed all of the time. What would your mother think?”
Gus was laughing the whole time John was teasing Jenn.
“Dad, she told me to go for it. Gus, quit laughing.”
John gave his daughter a hug, shook Josh’s hand and said, “Gus and I came to help Josh work on his story about the ISA's history. We don’t have to be in a big hurry since the USA has wanted posters for Josh and every one of his family members.”
Josh said, “It’s kind of funny that they have wanted posters for my dad for something I did and not for his spying.”
John reacted quickly and said, “We need to keep that a secret so we don’t endanger you or your family any more than they are now.”
Gus looked at Jenn and said, “Jenn, would you kindly go get us some tea so we can fill this young lad’s head full of our wisdom and adventures?”
“Josh, just yell if you need help. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Josh turned his micro-recorder on and started interviewing John.
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Chapter 3
The ISA
Mobile, Alabama
July, 2021
The sun rose over Mobile east of the Compound in all of its glorious splendor, but no one living at the Compound was able to view the daily event. They were all living in the bunkers below ground since the USA’s attack on Mobile and Port Arthur. Safety was much more important than a good view. It was July in Mobile and one could cut the thick steamy air with a knife even at 7:00 a.m.
The Compound had a great ventilation system and an even better air conditioning system that never got used these days. They were always rationing fuel and would not run the air conditioning. Beth had tried to get the Navy to run electricity from Mobile’s reactor, but John said no. It wouldn’t be right for them to have air conditioning when most of Alabama didn’t even have electricity and Mobile citizens weren’t allowed to run their air conditioners.
Beth stayed busy taking care of baby Jenn and John’s and her adopted children, Billy and Lindsey. John’s son, Scott, had started calling Billy by the nickname Little Gus after the small boy shot him with a 1911 Colt .45. The bullet was stopped by Scott’s own pistol, but Scott was knocked on his ass and had a large bruise on his chest for weeks. Jenn was only a few months old and kept Beth very busy. Her two children from a previous marriage, Kristie and Randy, were getting ready for school. Kristie was a big help with Little Gus and Lindsey. She herded them through getting dressed and fed, then took them to their classes. Randy was too busy with his military training and studies to be much help, not that he wanted to help anyway.
The Compound had been built by The Department of Homeland Security as a base of operations for the Gulf Coast. It was meant to be used to house thousands of DHS troops who were to subdue the population and prevent them from rebelling against the traitorous US president and the DHS after the planned attack on his own population. John’s team attacked the Compound, killed most of the DHS and captured the Field Marshall of Alabama. The Field Marshall was tried, convicted and later executed for torture, rape and many other criminal activities.
John’s ex-wife, Ann and Beth had become good friends and were helping prepare for Gus and Ginny’s wedding at the end of the month. Gus’s first wife had been killed in one of the early battles and Ginny lost her husband on the first day when the lights went out. Ginny was George’s daughter and was half Gus’ age. She set her sights on him and she chased him until he caught her as Gus says.
Beth looked across the table at Ann and said, “I don’t know how you can be the Mayor of Mobile, still find time for Bob and help out with the wedding. These three kids keep me worn out and I don’t have to put up with a bunch of pissed off citizens because their garbage wasn’t picked up today.”
“Damn, you heard about the garbage already?”
“No, I was just making that up.”
“Beth, I really enjoy the work and Bob is gone most of the time so it keeps me busy.”
“When are you and Bob going to tie the knot? He needs to make an honest woman out of you.”
“We have actually discussed that and probably won’t get married until after the first of the year. We would like things to calm down a bit and get some of the conflict around the ISA beaten down.”
“Well, then I’ll change the subject. What are we going to do about the TP and feminine hygiene product shortage? Hell, we may even run out of newspaper and magazines. I miss my soft TP with aloe and perfume.”
“You are too funny, however, this is getting serious. Our team just restarted one of the paper mills that produc
ed facial tissue and we hope to work out the bugs by the end of August. The engineers call the current product 'The Navy Seal TP'.”
“Wait! Gus already pulled that on me. It’s rough and tuff and won’t take no shit off nobody! Just like a Seal!”
They both burst out laughing and couldn’t stop until one of the other women came over and asked what was going on.
“Beth, I haven’t had a good laugh since they pulled you out of the shit house holding tank.”
“A real friend wouldn’t bring that up. I saved Jenn’s and my life diving into the septic tank to duck away from those machine gun bullets when the USA attacked the Bunker.”
“I’m glad that y’all were safe, but I am the older ex-wife and I got to see the hot new wife covered in shit head to toe. John told everyone that he would shoot anyone who made fun of you.”
“Yes, he can be a little protective.”
***
Steve had stopped at every town north of Mobile, talked briefly with the local leaders and held prearranged one hour town meetings with the citizens. He used the same routine that helped him manage the area around Mobile. He asked the same three questions: What do you need? What can I do for you? What do I need to know? Most of the answers were very helpful and allowed Steve to focus his priorities. A few contrary people did not like having a black man as their leader. They tried to ask embarrassing questions or ask for impossible things to deliver. Steve deftly fended those off and was glad that 95 percent of the people only judged him on his results.
Electricity, running water and toilet paper were the most frequent items mentioned. He suspected that the further he got from the ISA stronghold in Mobile, the issues would shift towards security, medical care and schools.
His group left Grove hill travelling on Highway 84 with a heavily armed Humvee leading his Humvee and another following back about a hundred yards. There were 12 armed guards traveling in the convoy to protect the Governor of the Territory. Without notice, the lead vehicle stopped and called back to Steve.
“Sir, we are just before the intersection of highways 23 and 84. There appears to be a road back into the forest that is not on our maps and appears to be heavily used. Do you want to see what’s back there or move on?”
Before Steve could answer, a pickup with several men drove out the road and stopped by the lead Humvee. The discussion was short and the driver reported to Steve.
“These guys say that they have a small settlement about a mile down the road and don’t need any help. They say that they are glad to be a part of the ISA and will be glad to do their part to help us.”
“Sargent, thank them and we will move on to the next town.”
“Yes, sir. We are late for our next appointment anyway.”
Steve knew that they had a break for about two hours and only had an evening meeting in Coffeeville. The Sargent was signaling for him to get the hell out of Dodge. When they got a mile down the road, Steve called the Sargent in the lead vehicle.
“Sarge, what spooked you back there?”
“Sir, those men were not the casual farm people that we normally encounter around lower Alabama. They appeared to be well trained and heavily trained. We also spotted at least two snipers out in the trees. They knew we were coming and didn’t want a visit.”
“Thanks and I appreciate you and your team’s vigilance. Great job!”
They drove on to Coffeeville and Steve called back to Gus.
“Hey, you old fart, are you getting cold feet yet?”
“I’m not old and Ginny keeps my feet warm,”
“You’d better not repeat that in front of George.”
“What the hell do you need? I know you didn’t call to rag on me all day.”
“No, I didn’t. My convoy was between Grove Hill and Coffeeville and found a new settlement on an unmarked road. There appears to be heavy traffic and they didn’t invite us in to their camp and made it plain that they didn’t need any help and would be glad to help the ISA. Just doesn’t smell right.”
“I’ll get some scouts over there tonight to sniff around. I’ll get back to you when I hear something.”
“Thanks.”
“Should I send some more men to follow along behind you in case these guys attack?”
“Only if they stay back a ways and don’t rattle the locals. I want to talk with my people, not scare the hell out of them.”
“Will do. Thanks for the info.”
***
“Scott, I need you to recon a newly found settlement on highway 84 just west of Grove Hill. Start tonight if you can. Don’t make contact and be prepared for anything. I’ll have two squads and a couple of Apaches within quick response time to back you up if the shit hits the fan. These guys may be heavily armed. They haven’t done anything wrong, but Steve got some bad vibes when they met on the highway.”
“I’ll get the men on the road by 1400 and we should be there by 1600. We’ll wait until dark to infiltrate the area. We’ll take some of Bob’s Seals and their electronics just in case these are DHS. Thanks, we needed to get out in the field. I’ll report back in the morning unless there is something you need to hear later tonight.”
***
Scott set up camp about two miles south of the 84/23 intersection and posted several guards as usual. The men ate and rested for a few hours, then put on their camouflage paint and night vision gear. Bob’s men fired up their electronic snooping devices and detectors and got ready to lead the way to the settlement. They split into two groups with eight men per team.
Scott’s team slowly moved to highway 84 about 200 yards east of the road to the settlement when they were told to halt. The Seal showed Scott a screen that had some red lines on it.
“Sir, those are invisible detection beams for their early warning system. This is better than off the shelf stuff, but not military grade. You should watch for trip wires and sound detectors also. We need to go silent.”
Scott instructed the men and they began using their most stealthy protocol, which brought them down to a crawl. It took them several hours to get close to the small town in the woods. They found several trip wires and another set of detectors at 100 yards from the fence around the settlement. The fence was six feet high and had razor ribbon on top with a ten foot wide strip of sand all around the entire settlement. The settlement was much larger than expected and was about a square mile in size. There were dozens of large pole barns, a church and a small schoolhouse with a playground. The land north of the settlement was mainly farmland with some pastures for cattle. Scott saw several large fields covered in small fruit trees and three manmade lakes.
Scott’s team saw three roving guards walking the fence line and two manning a small guard shack at the front gate. They placed video and listening devices and then made the slow trip back to their camp.
When they arrived back at their camp, the two teams compared their observations. There were over two dozen men on guard duty and they appeared to be very professional, but not quite military. They were all armed with M4s and Berretta 9mm pistols. There was a guard tower at each corner with an M60 and at least one guard. There were dozens of farm tractors, combines and other implements along with a motor pool of light and heavy trucks. This large operation was clean and orderly and didn’t look like any small town that Scott or his men had ever encountered. It looked more like a military outpost.
Scott briefed his men, “We will camp here for a few days and check out the area. I’m going to change into my street clothes, go into Grove Hill and sniff around town. My cover will be that I work for Steve and I want to follow up on his visit. Imelda will go with me and take notes.”
“Damn, now I get demoted to your secretary. What's next, I gotta shine your shoes?”
“One of these days, I’ll have to beat some military discipline into that hard head of yours. These Seals are going to tell Bob that we are a bunch of clowns.”
The closest Seal spoke up, “We already knew y’all are a bunch of clowns,
sir.”
“Imelda, see that was respect. He ended his insult with sir! Now get your ass in gear.”
***
“Hello Bo, how is your family doing these days? We had some visitors from the ISA yesterday and they were very friendly. They didn’t have time to stop in and have lunch with us, but I expect them back any day. They asked if we needed any help and we told them we don’t.”
“I’m glad they are taking an interest in the people and not a bunch of thugs like the DHS. Has any DHS been snooping around lately?”
“No, the only visitors are the ISA folks. I should have mentioned that we are having a bumper crop of vegetables and fruit. We’d like to do some trading with you for some sheep and hogs.”
“I’m sure that we can make that happen. Let me know how this bunch from the ISA treats y’all. We don’t have any in our area and some of our people are afraid of them.”
“We will keep you informed of anything serious. I’ll call you same time next week.”
“Talk with you then.”
Bo gathered his senior officers and had an emergency meeting. He was very upset because he had hoped that his hidden compounds would remain undetected from outsiders until the day the Chosen People rose up and took back the USA.
“Jeb, I thought that you promised me that no one would find the compound in lower Alabama.”
“Sorry Bo, but what I said was that we would hide it as best we could and with all of the chaos, no one would be looking for it in those dense woods. We have killed a couple of hunters who stumbled on the compound, but we moved the bodies and staged their deaths to look like accidents. The formation of the ISA changes everything. They have a military that is trying to consolidate their resources and are actively looking for threats. We can only hide in plain view around them as we always have. I’d recommend that we start our new compounds underground. Perhaps salt mines and large caverns would work very well when we can find them.”