by A J Newman
“What do you think about Smith?”
“Charlie, he is a much more experienced cop than I’ll ever be. He should be running Beaumont instead of being just the police chief.”
“I agree, that’s why I’m promoting him to the head of the state of Texas. We need a title for that. I’ll call him the governor.”
“Great choice! Now who should be the mayor of Port Arthur?”
I don’t think that there is a clear cut solution to that one. I am looking at Margaret Hatcher for the mayor’s job. What are your thoughts?"
“Personally, I don’t like her, but she is more than qualified to be the leader of a city. She had managed hundreds of people at the factory and has great people skills.”
“Then what do you not like about her?
“I just can’t put my finger on it, but when you said her name red flags popped up.”
“Good, I feel the same way. That’s why I’m going to promote June Grady.”
“Charlie, she would be great. She is well respected and has the administrative skills needed to keep City Hall moving forward.”
Charlie slapped Joe on the back and said, “Go get your old lady and let’s grab some BBQ before the next meeting.”
“If I said that, she’d cut my balls off and feed them to the pigs.”
“Boy, you have a lot to learn about women. She’s been removing your balls for a year or so. Just look in her purse.”
“There’s nothing politically correct about you, is there Charlie?”
“Nope, I say it like I mean it. Jenny is a very strong willed young lady and she will run right over you. My message to you is not to say you are superior to her, but rather stand up for what you believe in and don’t lose yourself when you get married.”
They had some great BBQ and Jenny had to pay for the lunch.
***
Charlie delayed the group meeting for another hour so he could meet individually with Chief Lee Smith and June Grady. Both were pleased with their appointments and assured Charlie that they wouldn’t let him down.
Charlie called the meeting to order and as usual asked each department head to give a brief update on their issues and successes. Most were the run of the mill items except for the loss of 50 head of cattle from a farm north of the city.
Joe told them about similar thefts around the area, “Charlie, I checked with several cities in Louisiana and here in Texas and the story is the same. Cows disappear and the only evidence is some truck tire tracks leaving the scene.”
Captain Grimes spoke up and said, “This sounds more like organized crime and is a threat to our operation here. I won’t usually get involved in fighting regular civilian crime, but Joe would you like some satellite footage of those areas and times, if available?”
“Yes, that would be a big help. I don’t think this is just a few families stealing beef to feed the kids.”
Charlie banged the gavel and said, “You all know that I now have responsibility for the Territory of Louisiana and Texas. I have asked Chief Smith to take over the Governor of Texas job and June Grady to become the Mayor of Port Arthur until we hold elections.”
Only a couple of the city council objected and wanted an immediate election.
“Look, I know this practice of appointing officials flies in the face of democracy, but we have to get through the next year and a half with our strongest team and not the most popular team. Our president was very popular when elected. He promised change for the good and we got nuked."
***
Margret Hatcher was livid when the councilman told her about the appointments. She was to run against Jack in the next election before TSHTF and was certain that she would have won.
“Joshua, the bastard put Smith in charge of Texas and Grady is the new mayor. I want the go ahead to force some change in management in this area. The law is even sniffing around my cattle operation.”
“Maggie, stay calm and meet me at the Newton, Kentucky Compound next Saturday. We have similar problems elsewhere and need to put a master plan together to deal with this new ISA interference.”
Joshua was concerned that his subordinates were getting in too much of a hurry. He had helped the Grand Master start the Chosen People over fifty years ago. There would always be two steps forward and one step back issues during their growth. Getting too greedy could make them a target and he knew that flying below the radar was the only way to win in the long run.
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Chapter 9
Fill in the blanks
Smyrna, Tennessee
December, 2048
John and Gus told Josh about the retaliation attacks on the Chupacabras and the USA. Gus laughed when John mentioned bombing the president’s favorite park bench.
“John, the more I hear, the more I think that the ISA was the innocent party until you bombed the cabinet members and congressmen’s homes. Why lower yourselves to their level?”
“Josh, the USA was massacring thousands of innocent people and attacking our homes. They had no constraints on the evilness they set in motion by the Cabras. They had to be stopped. We couldn’t nuke them because they had nukes. So we replied with the one thing they understood.”
"Did the president ever find out that his son died in the attack on the Navy and not in the attack on the motorcade?”
“No, he thought the Cabras were sending him a message until the day he hung himself in that sewer. It’s a shame that the PSA didn’t catch him and hang him as they did the rest of the conspirators of TSHTF.”
Josh’s nurse came in and asked them to wind up their visit so Josh could get some rest. They finished their session and left, promising to come back and finish the story. As soon as they got on the elevator, Jenn walked into the room and rushed the nurse into leaving. She took a device from her bag and shoved it under the door. It looked like a door stop, but had some extra gadgets.
“Jenn, what is that for?”
“Privacy.”
She slid her dress down over her hips and Josh saw that she had nothing on, but the dress.
She moved towards him and said, “We need some privacy. I am going to convince you to move in with me at Dad’s house.”
She took his covers off and sat down on top of him.
Josh replied, “Be gentle. My arm ………"
***
President Scott Harris had called a meeting to discuss plans for a first strike against the USA, UN and Cabras. Gabe Logan had discovered an operation against the PSA and the ISA that would nuke several cities and the naval fleet. The unholy alliance had built some stealth boats and planned to run them into the fleet, and use them to nuke Mobile, San Francisco, San Diego, Charleston, Jacksonville and Seattle. They also planned to launch missiles at Nashville; a first strike scenario that they thought would make the ISA sue for peace. The nukes and stealth boats were being assembled in two locations and he had detailed maps.
“Mr. President we only have a few weeks before the boats are finished and the attack could be within a week of that date. As requested we have put plans together to take out the boats before they are finished and capture or kill both Wilton and Cortez.”
“Thanks, but before we go into the details of the plan can anyone here assure me that some other SOB won’t hold the remaining nukes over our heads?”
Gus spoke up, “Mr. President, no one can guarantee that. We would have to capture or destroy those bombs to keep that promise. Damn, that’s what you are driving at, isn’t it?”
“Yes, I am convinced that crazy bitch will eventually use them against us. The question is, can we take them out at the same time and not get one rammed up our ass?”
Gus replied, “As you know we have had plans to do exactly that for years. Hell, we drill the Special Ops team on those scenarios several times a year. We just never had the balls to go ahead with the plans.”
Scott replied, “We still don’t have the balls. However, if we had missed this plan to surprise att
ack us, the ISA and PSA would cease to exist. I am certain that now is the time to end this stalemate. Gus, generals, how soon can we capture or destroy all of the nukes in their possession and can we shoot down any that get through?”
Gus spoke with the generals for about 15 minutes and answered, “Mr. President, we can conduct the attack in 14 days. This is before they can attack us.”
Scott replied, “Do it. End this now! I want a daily briefing and will have a go-no-go meeting 13 days from now. We will use the original plan as a fall back.”
***
The Speaker of the House spoke up, “Madam President is it true that you are planning a major attack on the ISA without consulting with Congress?”
“Mr. Speaker, I’m sure that you know that I don’t have to have your approval under the rules of martial law.”
“Madam President, we have been under martial law for over 28 years and the ISA is no longer a threat to our survival. The prolonged use of martial law is against the constitution. Both Houses want to meet with you to end martial law and begin holding general elections. We also need to restore the rights of all people in the USA and close down those camps.”
Several other members of congress applauded in agreement. The president waved at the Director of the Department of Homeland Security and he picked up his phone and made a call. A dozen heavily armed men rushed into the room and removed everyone who applauded and the Speaker of the House.
The president asked, “Does anyone else want to end martial law? If so, take your suggestions to the Director of the DHS. Now let’s get down to business.”
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Chapter 10
News from Corpus Christie
Corpus Christi, Texas
August, 2021
Lucio had been able to blend into the northeast side of Corpus Christi. He found an abandoned house and befriended a young mother and her two children. She became his live in girlfriend and he gave her and her children protection, food and shelter. They would be his cover while he spied on the Cabras operation. He set up a small store and traded canned food, firewood and other items that were in short supply for gold, silver and fresh meat and vegetables. She ran the store with the help of her 15 year old son and 12 year old daughter. He had a couple of loyal men who worked for him that could handle themselves in a fight. They helped him with the larger items and traveled around the city to trade with the locals. He bribed the Cabras to look the other way and soon had a thriving business. This was a great setup to know what was going on in the city and surrounding area. People came and went every day and everyone knew a little bit about what was happening and what the Cabras were doing in their area.
Mita was Laotian. Her real name had nine vowels in it and he couldn’t pronounce it, so he called her Mita, which was a shortened version of what her name sounded like. She was 33, had long black hair and was five foot one and very beautiful. She didn’t wear makeup and hid her figure to help keep men from noticing her. The Cabras took anything and anybody they wanted. He had found her hiding with her children on the outskirts of town because a Cabra had tried to rape her. Her son hit the man with a baseball bat, kept beating him until he was not recognizable and fed him to the pigs. They fled to escape retribution and since no one witnessed the event, the Cabras thought that they had another deserter and didn’t follow up.
They were home in bed for the night with the kids sound asleep when Mita asked, “Lucio, you ask me many questions about what I hear from the people who trade with us. Why do you want this information? You want to know everything that the Cabras do or say.”
He had been waiting for this question for some time and replied, “I am very afraid of them and want to stay two steps ahead of them to keep us all safe. I want to know what they are doing around the area because when we get enough silver, gold and some items that we need to survive we are heading away from here to live in a place free from the Chupacabras. You can’t tell anyone, not even the kids. We must be smart about this and get out of here with all of our possessions.”
“I like getting away from here, but is it better anywhere else?”
“Yes, there are several places where we can move and have a good and safe life. Trust me.”
“Darling, I trust you with all of our lives and need you so much.”
They made love and then fell asleep. Lucio dreamed about his wife and kids back in Matamoros. His dreams told him that they were dead.
“Mita, I have to make a short trip to see some equipment that a guy wants to trade for that water pump. I will back before dark.”
“What if the Cabras want their payment today?”
“I’ll tell Bill and Jesus to stay at the store today to make sure that no one bothers you. You will be okay.”
Lucio walked the three miles to the abandoned farm house and got his truck out of the barn and headed north on a back road. He drove for thirty miles before he pulled off on the road to the meeting place.
“Lucio, long time no see!”
“Ensign Teller, it has been a long time. This hiding out and living among the Cabras has just about driven me to drinking.”
“That was a short drive knowing you. What have you got for us today?”
Lucio showed him some maps with markings and another stack of papers with notes. Teller quickly reviewed the information and said, “Looks like just what we need. How much time do you need to get out of town before we attack?”
“I have some more info for Mr. McCoy that might complicate things. I have found all of his daughters. They have been living a few blocks away all of the time that I have been operating the store. Two trade with me at my little store. I think that Gus would want to get them out of the city as well. It’s not all good news. One of his grandkids died from diphtheria, one of his son-in-laws is dead and his middle daughter has been kidnapped by an officer in the Cabras and she and her kid live with him.”
“Well, won’t that just fry Gus’ ass.”
“We will get back to you and give you some instructions and probably some help getting Gus’ family out of here.”
“I need two favors.”
“Nothing is too big for my friend. Shoot.”
“I need to know if my wife and kids are still alive and I want to bring my cover family out of here with me before the attack.”
“I’ll do the best I can on the info on your family. We already planned to bring your cover family with you, so no problem there. See you in a couple of days.”
***
Gail Smith only lived two blocks from the little store and went there twice a week to trade vegetables from her garden for powdered milk and canned meat when they had it in stock. She had lived in a nice house on the bay before TSHTF. It was comfortable; they had plenty to eat and were safe.
She now hated that she had talked her two sisters into moving to Corpus Christie, but Bill’s company was hiring and he got them on with the company in good paying jobs. She never thought that their world would end and this hell would take its place.
They had tried to leave the area twice and both attempts were disastrous. They were attacked by a gang a few miles out of town and Angela’s husband had been killed trying to defend his family. They were robbed and their cars hijacked. They limped back to Gail’s house and stayed until they could build up enough supplies to try to head out again. This time they travelled only after dark and walked through fields and back roads. They had covered over 50 miles when they saw a helicopter. They waved and yelled until they got its attention. The helicopter landed and four heavily armed men got out and made them lay down on the ground with their hands behind their heads. Bill didn’t lie down quickly enough so one of the men shot him.
The leader of the group walked around behind them and stood behind Angela.
“Which one is your husband?”
“My husband was killed by a bunch of thugs much like you.”
“He kicked her on the ass and said, “Ah a feisty bitch. I lik
e feisty bitches.”
He reached down between her legs, rubbed his hand on her thighs and said, “You are now my woman. I will take care of you and keep the thugs away. Get in the chopper.”
She grabbed her son’s hand and headed towards the helicopter.”
“I didn’t say to bring any children! He stays.”
He shoved her in the helicopter and they flew back towards Corpus Christie. It took the next six months for them to find her. They would rescue her and try to escape again.
Gail walked in the store, saw her friend Mita and said, “Mita, you are so beautiful. I love your long black hair.”
“That is so funny. I love your long blond hair, but it would look so bad on a short girl from Laos.”
“If we had hair dye you could try it and see how Lucio likes it. I’ll help.”
They both laughed and got down to trading. Gail had no idea that her friend was giving her much more for her vegetables that the going rate and was just happy that their little garden fed the two families. She was also able to get things for Mita that others didn’t have access to thanks to the collapse of the world. Angela’s Cabra man, Hector, showered her with food, alcohol and household goods that were in short supply. She gave some to her sisters and took the fresh vegetables in trade. Hector also made sure that the other Cabras left the whole family alone to keep Angela happy.
***
Captain Bob Jones was not happy with the task that he had to accomplish this morning. He took a flight from the Ford directly to the Compound in Mobile to give the news to Gus.