“Just one sir,” Jean Kincaid said.
“Yes Ms. Kincaid?”
“I just want to be clear on this. The three of us are each doing a check on the four candidates. They are to be done independently?”
“That would be correct. I want each of you to dig in and see what you can find. One of you may very well find out something the other two missed.”
“Yes sir. I just didn’t want to misunderstand.”
“Very good. Anything else?” Lamb said
No one else spoke up.
***
“The IIB was put into action today, madam President,” General Douglas told her.
“Excellent. And the other chore?”
“It began as well. General Lamb has three agents looking into each candidate independently of the others. He felt that we could get a much more in-depth look at each candidate by doing it that way.”
“That was good thinking. I agree.”
“Do you have a favorite?” Douglas asked.
“Honestly no. I think any of the four would make a worthy Vice President but selecting someone without knowing exactly what you are getting is a risk I am simply not willing to take. Many seemingly worthy candidates for office have come on in a blaze of glory only to be shot down later. I don’t want that to happen.”
“I totally understand,” Douglas replied.
“Any idea when I will have something preliminary?”
“I could give you an answer but it would just be one I made up. I think General Lamb is doing everything he can to stress the urgency,” Douglas replied.
“Alright but the sooner the better,” she said.
Right, he thought. It’s been a year and suddenly you need it right this minute. It was so typical of her.
She was about to say something else when her phone rang.
“Yes? When? What channel? Alright.”
“General please turn on channel 1409 on the dish.”
Douglas picked up the remote and punched in the numbers. The station flickered once and then before their eyes Mark Walker appeared on Canadian television.
“Turn it up,” she said.
He turned up the volume and they both listened as Walker was telling about his escape from Stockton Island.
“And you were able to get all that way to Canada. How did you survive once you got to Mayo in the Yukon Territories?”
“Believe me it was a long ride in the back of a semi-trailer. Darned cold too.”
“I can only imagine. And then what happened?”
“The Mounties came and arrested everyone and sent them back to the border to be turned over to the ISS. I have no idea what happened to them after that.”
“But what about you?”
“I was lucky. I had gone around to the back of the building. As I was coming back around the corner, I saw what was happening. I just hid until they were gone. I had no idea what to do but I decided my only way to survive was to get to the airport in Mayo and get out of the area. I only had a few hundred dollars that I had been able to keep hidden along with my journal. I headed south and then east to Whitehorse. I got a job, earned some money, wrote about my adventures, and as they say, here I am.”
“I’ve read that fascinating journal of yours. It is absolutely captivating. It is unbelievable…”
“Turn it off,” the President yelled.
Douglas hit the off button. She sat down and closed her eyes. He just sat there. He wasn’t about to draw attention to himself at this point.
Finally she managed to speak, “Is there anything we can do about that man?”
“Not really. If we do, it will only make it worse. It would not be just a Canadian story but an international one as well.”
“What makes you so sure it won’t be one anyway?” she asked.
Douglas didn’t reply.
CHAPTER SIX
“Thomas, this is Commander Schwann from Oregon. He wanted to talk to you about joining the ARM. Commander Schwann, this is General Waggoner,” Lincoln said by way of introduction.
“Nice to put a face with the name,” Schwann said.
“Same here. You have come a long way. I know you have a lot to discuss so if you don’t mind, we can eat while we talk.”
“That would be splendid. You are right on both accounts. I do have a lot of questions and I am famished.”
“Then I’ll have them bring lunch and we can get started. Did you get a chance to look the facility over?”
“Admiral Bix gave me the grand tour. Very, very impressive. It is hard to believe that you have it so well hidden. I doubt they could find this place with a drone.”
“We certainly hope that’s true. Please, have a seat and we can get started. By the way, I go by Thomas. That rank stuff is for a chart only as far as I am concerned.”
“Wonderful. I’m Peter, Pete actually.”
“Alright Pete. I’m sure Lincoln told you about what we were doing and what he have accomplished so far. I think it would be better for you to ask your questions and I will answer them to the best of my ability.”
“That works for me. I guess my first question is why you? You are at the top of the entire militia. Why?”
“That’s a good place to start. I guess because I am well known in the military circles that I operated in. I refused to sign a personal oath to the President. I felt it was not what the military was here for. We are here to be loyal to the country and to uphold the Constitution, not a person. I decided to resign. As a result, the ISS has a bounty on my head. That includes not only me, but Lincoln, Lance, and about thirty others. I tried to round up as many as I could and band together. We decided the only way to fight for our liberty and to restore the Constitution was by all of us fighting as one united unit. Individual states cannot go up against the regular military. They have too much fire power, too many men, and too many additional resources. Together we are more powerful than we are individually.”
“I understand that. But that still doesn’t tell me, why you?”
“I was pretty much thrust into the role. My military experience in Desert Storm, Desert Shield, and three other tours has given me a pretty extensive background in urban warfare. The others felt comfortable with my leadership style.”
“I see.”
“No, I don’t think you do. Not really. This wasn’t a popularity contest. If I didn’t think I was qualified I would step aside and let someone else take over. This isn’t about my ego. Hell, I hate the title attached to it but that’s what the others chose. Pete, no one is forcing you to join ARM. Every state can go its own way. We do not intend to interfere. Right now twenty states have accepted the chain of command. Three others, not including yours, are considering joining us. Three or four states have no real command structure and are just a bunch of loose militia units. They are free to join us but I’m not sure what value they are at this point. Nothing has changed. United we are strong, independently the government is stronger. It really is as simple as that,” Thomas told him.
“Alright. I accept that. We are a long way off. How could we even help? You don’t have ready response teams that could come to our aid on short notice.”
“That’s true and that is why we are fighting the war on our terms. We chose when to fight, not the military. We intend to take the battle to them. We are not in a position to slug it out with them over a protracted period of time. We have to hit fast, hard, and disappear before they know what is happening. Every raid, fight, and battle has to be dictated by us or we will fail.”
“Still, how could we help?”
“There will be times when we will use coordinated attacks to keep the military tied up and off balance. Do you know what the Tet Offensive was in 1968?”
“Sort of. Just from hearing people talk about it.”
“It was a series of raids by the Viet Cong that took place all over Vietnam at once. It freaked the Americans out because we thought they had pretty much given up. We were kicking their butts from one end o
f the country to the other and suddenly they made us look like fools. It changed America’s opinion about the war in Vietnam to one that no one wanted to be a part of any longer. They lost a lot of lives but they won the war of propaganda and ultimately the war. I don’t want to lose a lot of people but we can learn a lesson from that. That’s why we have to have a central command and to be united to make it work.”
Pete was about to ask another question when lunch was brought in. They ate and continued to talk.
“What about this General Douglas who was on the news with the President. Is he pretty sharp?”
“Absolutely. One thing we can never do is underestimate the opposition. Any time you think you are smarter than they are you are in for big trouble. He is a worthy opponent and we have to be on our toes to stay ahead of him. The recent changes he made to his staff, deciding not to run the entire show himself, was a smart move. I didn’t think he would or could do it, but like I said, never believe you know more than the other guy.”
“How many states did you say are now attached to ARM?”
“Twenty.”
“How many do you honestly think you will end up with?”
Thomas laughed, “I wish I knew. I would like to have forty-eight but realistically that isn’t going to happen. Maybe twenty-six. It will depend upon Michigan getting their internal problems solved and some of the seaboard states to come onboard. By seaboard, I mean both east and west. California has four prominent groups and it may be a problem getting them to work together for the good of all. I would like to have them on board because of some strategic and tactical advantages. I have no clue about New York. They haven’t even acknowledged our calls or inquiries. It’s the same for Connecticut and Maryland. I doubt we will get them to join.”
“How does the chain of command really work?”
“I guess pretty much like any. A plan is worked out with input from everyone involved and then it is given to the individual state commanders to coordinate. Obviously briefings are necessary and if more than one state is involved one of the ARM officers is attached to act as the overall command so that no toes get stepped on.”
“And you really think that will work with civilians?”
“Absolutely. It’s why we were successful in South Dakota. When a group tried to operate independently in Arizona, they lost three hundred and fifty men. Two hundred were KIA. The rest were wounded or captured and you know what that means. Look Pete, It has to be clear to every State Commander that this is not an exercise. People are going to die. We can only keep the numbers down, but we can’t eliminate them. I can guarantee you this, operating independently will get many more of your men killed that being affiliated with ARM. Maybe you don’t like the fact that I’m the leader. That shouldn’t be the deciding factor. Will being part of ARM save the lives of more of your men than going it alone? If you think you can do it better, then we wish you the best of luck. We will still do everything we can to help you but essentially success or failure will fall upon your shoulders,” Thomas told him.
They continued to talk for another three hours before Pete ran out of questions. There was still some hesitancy that Thomas could feel.
“Here is the bottom line, Pete. I’ve answered your questions to the best of my ability. I’ve tried to pick my words carefully so I didn’t exaggerate anything I was telling you but only you can make the determination to join or not. What I will tell you is that you are either in one hundred percent or out. We have to have a total commitment so we know we can depend on your people. Anything else, frankly we would rather you not join us.”
“That’s pretty much in your face,” Pete said frowning.
“You may think so but to me it is the only thing that makes sense. It is like being pregnant, either you are or you are not. There is no such thing as almost or kind of. You have to make up your mind. Take your time and let us know. We would love to have you as part of ARM but it has to be all the way or nothing,” Thomas told him.
“I’ll give it some thought.”
“Fair enough. I’ll have one of the men take you back to the airport. Thank you for coming all this way.”
“Thanks for showing me around,” he said as they shook hands.
***
“What do you think?” Lincoln asked when he got back from dropping Pete off.
“Oh no you don’t, you talked to him last. What do you think?”
“Well he asked a lot of questions about you. How sharp you were, what I thought about your leadership abilities, that kind of stuff.”
“What did you tell him?” Thomas asked a small smile on his face.
He knew Lincoln too well to expect a straight answer. He wasn’t disappointed.
“I told him you were dumber than a box of rocks and couldn’t lead your way out of a paper bag with instructions.”
“Geez, that’s the same thing I put on your last fitness report,” Thomas kidded.
“Generals do not do fitness reports on Admirals. No Army puke has a clue what the real fighting forces do.”
“I know you guys are good at mopping,” Thomas replied.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Lincoln, Lance, and Ivan were having coffee when Thomas burst in the room all excited.
“Whoa Mon Capitainé. You are certainly in a state,” Lincoln said.
“Good news. No. Excellent news. I just got off the phone with Commander Lexler of the California Militia. They are going to join ARM as is Oregon.”
“Wow. That is very good news.”
“That’s not all. California has a group in San Diego.”
“And what? You can go take a vacation?”
“No you dolt. Do you know who is located there?”
“I know they have a great zoo.”
“I swear Lincoln, I really do need to hit you upside the head occasionally. Major Atomic Aeronautical Works is there. And before you ask, they make the Predator and Reaper MQ-9 drones there.”
“Whoa. That is something.”
“Yeah and to top it all off, they have three men working there. One is in security and the other two are computer and electronics specialists.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Well, if we could get our hands on a few of the drones, especially the Reapers, think what that could do for us? I know they are big but if we can get them and find a place to stash them, boy would that give us some standoff fire power,” Thomas told them.
“And you think we can pull that off?”
“I do. We need to find a place to hide them first. Also, at some point we are going to have to get planes. We won’t be able to get many but some is better than none,” Thomas replied.
“And helicopters,” Ivan added.
“Yeah, those too.
“Even so, we need armaments for them, Sidewinders, Hellfires, just small things like that,” Lance chimed in.
“Yes, but think about it. The planes and helicopters are going to be needed maybe. Maybe not. But the drones are essential. We can fight a standoff war without the risk of getting our people killed.”
“Do we even have anyone qualified to fly them?” Lance asked.
“I have a twelve year old nephew who could probably do it. He spends his life on the computer,” Lincoln quipped.
“Hey you joke but he probably could do it. Anyway, we need to find out what ranks we have and what our people’s specialties are,” Thomas said.
“Okay. Why don’t Lance and I get to work on that,” Ivan said.
“Sure. That is a big undertaking. With California and Oregon, we now have an additional 25,000 troops,” Thomas said.
“Does it bother you that we have so few?” Lincoln asked.
“Well considering that the military has approximately three-million people it would be a concern except we don’t need the same level of support. When you compare apples to apples we aren’t doing all that badly. For every fighting man in the regular military it takes around seven people behind the lines to support them. Our pe
ople are mostly self-sufficient. Yes, we need people but nothing like the military.”
“It’s not only the numbers but the fire power they have,” Lincoln warned.
“That’s true. I’m not overlooking that. That’s why the Raptors are so tempting. If we can get our hands on them it will help even the firepower, at least to some degree. We have to keep up the raids,” Thomas replied.
***
Lamb was tapping the edge of the folder on his desk. He had just finished reading it and wasn’t sure what to do. He knew that this time would come but it didn’t make it any easier. His IIB agent code name, Rotan, had found two ISS men helping to smuggle guns to militants. It wasn’t even the fact that they were smuggling the guns but that they were doing it for money. They didn’t even believe in the cause they were helping.
Rotan had infiltrated the group and was a good agent who believed he was doing the right thing for the administration and the country. No matter how misguided he was, at least he was loyal. The dilemma was what to do with the report or the agent. If he just ignored the report it could come home to haunt him. He could simply get rid of Rotan; that would be easy to arrange but that bothered his conscience even more. So far, according to the report, they had supplied over a hundred semi-automatic rifles and numerous hand guns to dissidents. At some point that would help Lamb and his friends in the militia but for now it was nothing more than a problem that he was going to have to deal with.
As much as it galled him, he was going to have to have the two agents arrested and brought in. At least it would be in an environment he could control. He could make sure he was the only one to question them. That way, he might be able to protect the actual source of the weapons. He wasn’t positive he could pull it off but at least it was worth a try. He would have to send the two agents to an internment camp. There was no way around that.
“Rotan, General Lamb.”
“Yes sir. I’ve been expecting your call.”
“I want you to bring the two ISS agents in. Don’t let them talk to a single soul. I want them brought directly to the FBI building. I will meet you there. Cover their heads so no one recognizes them and possibly tips a contact off.”
PROJECT BlueBolt - AMERICAN UPRISING: BOOK III - AMERICAN UPRISING Page 4