“What if the media gets wind of this? I mean having me actually on site is bound to create a media storm.”
“Let us handle that part. You just make sure that these terrorist are arrested or eliminated.”
The director shook his head. This was crazy. He actually toyed with telling the President ‘no’, but couldn’t find the courage to do it. He would be replaced almost immediately.
“I’ll be waiting for the papers,” he said instead.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
A high pressure zone had situated over most of the south. For two weeks temperatures hovered in the ninety-five range. Several days found record temperatures being set for some areas.
“We should disband and go into hiding,” one of the men in the Valdosta Patriots said.
“No way. I intend to stay and fight. You have all been reading the papers and watching the TV. The FBI has been catching hell for what they did.”
“Donny, that ain’t gonna change anything. You know they are gonna come back but with more people next time.”
“Go. Go if you want. I intend to stay. Bobby died that night and I ain’t gonna forget it. He is buried right out there by the creek. Any of you that wants to go, well, there’s the door,” Donny said pointing to it.
No one moved. He sat down and started putting his modified Sig 556 back together.
“You got a plan?” one of them asked.
“Yep.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Alright but there is one condition. If you're planning to leave, ya gotta do it now. I ain’t tellin’ anyone that’s not staying. You get caught, chances are you will spill your guts. Not cause you want to but because they will make you one way or another,” Donny said.
He waited for almost a minute. Still no one got up and left.
“I know. Some of you want to leave but don’t want to seem like you can’t hack it. Got a family or kids. I understand. I’m going to go out back. Anyone that wants to join me, come on back. Anyone that wants to leave, you can go out the front and take off. No one will say a thing, I give you my word.”
Donny, a tall, lanky man with broad shoulders and strength that wasn’t readily apparent went out the back. He closed the door on his way out. His grandfather had fought in WWII and his daddy had gone to Vietnam. Donny had taken part in the first Gulf War, earning a Purple Heart for wounds received in Kuwait.
He stood there listening to the sounds of the forest. He loved this place and had decided he was not going to let the government that he had fought for turn on him by trying to take his rights away. He had seen what a dictatorship was like and felt that this action by the government was the first step in that direction. He was a strong believer in the principle ‘that he would rather die free than on his knees’.
He heard the back door open and within a minute twenty-two men were standing with him. Not a single one had left. He nodded and they did the same.
***
The FBI had waited until there was hardly any moon. FBI Director Dunlop had gathered thirty-five agents from his department and twelve from the ATF. They had gone over the plans a dozen times. A helicopter had flown over the site taking pictures three days before.
They had brought Agent Crowley in so he could help recreate a model of the camp. He indicated where he had seen the spider holes. Unfortunately he could not tell them where the .50 Cal. sniper was shooting from. All he knew is that there was one.
Once again they had recruited the US Marshals to use as backup and to block exits from the site. Even then they were not to move into position until Dunlop gave the order. He didn’t want to take the chance that some local police or resident would stumble on them and alert the Valdosta Patriots to their presence.
The men had worked their way to within fifty yards of the compound clearing, stopping every ten yards to make sure everyone was evenly spaced. Dunlop was in constant communication making certain that everything was going as planned.
“We’re fifty yards from the clearing. I can see the main cabin through the trees.”
“Okay, from this point on you are going to have to try and stay out of the line of sight of the cabin. Use the trees as cover as much as possible,” Dunlop said over the earpiece.
“Yes sir,” he replied, rolling his eyes.
“Everyone, we are going to move up another ten yards. Stay behind the trees as much as possible. Watch your noise. It will only take one mistake and they will know we are coming. Okay, move forward.”
Suddenly two horrific explosions rocked the forest. Men screamed and bodies flew in the air. A third explosion ripped the area and more men were thrown in the air. Screaming and cries for help reverberated through the forest.
“What’s happening? What’s going on,” Dunlop was yelling into the microphone.
“Mines or something. We have a lot of men down. We need...”
“Four more explosions could be heard all the way back at the operations post.
“Son of a bitch,” Dunlop yelled, “We need to get help in there. Have the Marshals go in and help them out,” he ordered.
Machine gun fire filled the air. Dunlop paced back and forth trying to raise someone on the communication set but all he got was static.
“That’s enough of this shit,” he screamed.
He picked up the microphone and changed to a different channel and got the Marshal’s team leader.
“It’s bad. You have twenty or so men KIA. Several others seriously wounded. We are bringing out as many as we can now. The injured are coming first. Have the ambulances and choppers ready to roll,” he told Dunlop.
“Have everyone abort. Get everyone back. I’m sending in the gunship.”
“What? Are you sure you want to do that? We need to give them a chance to surrender.”
“They had their chance. Get everyone out of the area now.”
Dunlop switched channels before the Marshal's leader could reply.
“Air Support One. You are cleared to take out the target.”
“Sir?”
“Take out the damn target.”
“Uh...Copy. Cleared to destroy the target.”
“That is affirmative,” Dunlop said.
Two minutes later the H64A-Appachie popped up over the trees and the pilot initiated the TADS.
“Target Acquisition Designation Sight is locked on sir.”
“Hydra 70 rockets locked.”
“Roger.”
The rockets were fitted with M151 High Explosive Point Detonating war heads (HEPD).
“Firing one, two, three and four,” the pilot said.
“Away,” the co-pilot replied.”
The four missiles slammed into the cabin creating a huge fireball and billowing column of black smoke. The huge boom of the exploding missiles could be heard all the way back in Valdosta.
When the smoke cleared there was nothing left except scorched earth and trees. Many had been knocked down by the shock wave of the blast. Anyone in the cabin was evaporated in an instant.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
HEADLINE NEWS – Explosions rocked the city of Valdosta, Georgia in the early morning hours. The FBI along with Federal Marshals again raided the Valdosta Patriots Headquarters on the northwest side. FBI agents were attempting to deliver a search warrant to the site when several explosions erupted.
An FBI spokesperson acknowledged that the explosions were triggered by trip wires and delayed action bombs. Twenty-three FBI agents were killed and fifteen wounded in the melee. The raid was supervised personally by the Director of the FBI, Andrew Dunlop.
Once the agents were removed to safety by the US Marshals, an Apache helicopter was ordered to destroy the headquarters. It has been confirmed that four missiles were used during the attack which lasted less than a minute.
The FBI is refusing to comment on what was discovered after the missile attack. The number of dead or wounded Valdosta Patriots has not been released.
Several witnesses, who wished to remain
anonymous, reported that they saw no evidence of the remains of any of the Valdosta Patriots. According to one source “Even though the explosions totally destroyed the building and surrounding area, there was no evidence that anyone had occupied the headquarters building.”
Two independent sources have told HEADLINE NEWS that no warning was given before the strike was ordered by the Director. When asked if they had given the Patriots a chance to surrender, the Director would only say, “No Comment.”
***
“The last time I checked this was the United States of America. Perhaps I have been misinformed. Maybe the US Government mistook the State of Georgia in America to be the State of Georgia in Russia,” Georgia’s Senator Zimmerman thundered from the Senate floor.
“To the citizens of Georgia, this was nothing less than an act of aggression. Does the Administration actually believe they have the right to attack Georgia without any prior discussions with or notification of the Georgia State Government?”
He paused and put his hands out for dramatic effect.
“The people of the State of Georgia are outraged. We are hereby officially calling for the resignation of the FBI Director, Andrew Dunlop. We are also demanding an apology from the White House for the arrogance shown to the people of our state. We view this as an act of terrorism that shows a total disregard for Georgians. First illegal raids on private individuals in the middle of the night, and now, outright attacks. If this is the direction the administration is taking, how long before concentration camps start springing up?” the Senator said banging his fist on the podium.
***
The President turned off the TV and sat facing the windows. You could feel the tension in the room. The FBI Director sat on the well-used leather couch along with Attorney General Haskin. It was several more agonizing moments before the President spoke.
“What am I to do?” he finally said.
The two men looked at each other, not sure if they should answer or it was a rhetorical question. They both remained silent.
“Thirty-two of your agents have been killed and, hell I don’t know, another twenty or so wounded. Add that to the six Georgia State Police and we are looking at forty men dead. Forty. And what do we have to show for it? One confirmed dead militia and a blown up log cabin. Do either of you have the faintest idea how much this has cost so far? Of course you don’t. Georgia’s Senator wants not only your head on a platter but mine as well. He is trying to get impeachment proceedings underway. Impeachment. So, let me ask you again. What am I to do?”
“Sir. We had no way of knowing they were not in the house. When the explosions went off everyone thought they had set them off from inside the cabin. We didn’t find out until much later that it was trip wires.”
“Excuse me Director; I’m not sure you heard the question. I didn’t say I wanted to hear a bunch of pathetic excuses. I asked what I was to do about this situation. I do not want to hear any sniveling excuses. Is that clear enough for you?”
“Sir. I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“How about I resign? That’s a good start.”
“You want me to resign over something I had no way of knowing about?”
“You were in charge. You are responsible. You and you alone called in the air strike without giving anyone in the cabin a chance to surrender. It doesn’t matter that no one was inside. What people are pissing and moaning about is that you lost your cool and called in a strike in retaliation and just blew the damn place up.”
“They had just killed a bunch of my men. Hell yes I wanted them to get a taste of their own medicine.”
“That isn’t an acceptable answer to the media, to the people of Georgia, or to me. It was irrational. You knew the entire country was going to be watching. For heaven sakes Andrew, did you think about the consequences at all before you called in the strike?”
“It was a calculated risk.”
“No. No it wasn’t. It was dangerous. It put the entire administration in the crosshairs of the nation. It is simply unacceptable. I want your resignation on my desk by three o’clock today.”
“I’ll do as you say. What choice do I have? But let me just say that this is pure horseshit. You wanted them stopped and we went out and did what we were told to do. We blew the shit out of that building. It’s just a damn shame we didn’t get the bastards,” Dunlop said standing, “I will have my resignation back to you within the hour.”
“Do as you wish Andrew. You may think you are the scapegoat here but it was your poor judgment that was really the culprit.”
“So you want to believe,” he said as he was leaving.
After he was gone the President said, "I guess that went about as well as it could have under the circumstances.”
“It’s never an easy thing to do or accept. I hope I can handle the situation as well when the time comes,” Haskin said.
The President looked at him questioningly.
“When it happens to you? Why would you say that? I didn’t have you here as some sinister warning. I just wanted a witness to the conversation.”
“Oh I understand that part. I’m just saying that my time will come. Everyone is expendable.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
“That was a pretty dumb thing for them to do,” MacMillan said.
“Not the smartest way to handle the situation. You don’t piss off a whole state and not expect to get a hell of a lot of bad press,” Admiral Greenfield replied.
“I think we need to see if we can find this General Abrams guy and have a talk with him. He seems to be the guy behind the coming together of the various militias from all around the country,” General Amblin said.
“Rumor has it that they are quite formidable. From what I gather they number over six hundred and ninety thousand,” Greenfield added.
“No way. That’s unbelievable. If that is true, we definitely need to make contact with them,” MacMillan said.
The three men had been clandestinely transported off of their respective bases to keep from being arrested. They were meeting for the first time since their refusal to follow a morally wrong and constitutionally illegal order by the President.
“Where are we on Admiral Heathcoat in New London?” Mac asked.
“We were able to get six hundred troops up to act as a deterrent. Heathcoat was really glad to get the assist,” Amblin told them.
“Good. That should be a big help. Mac, you are helping with air cover as well aren’t you?”
“To some degree. We don’t have fighters up over the area 24/7 but we do have an E-3C AWACS covering the area.”
“So, how do we get in contact with the militia headquarters?” Mac asked.
“I think we send out word that we want to talk with them and have them come to one of the bases. We can work out the details for getting them on the base but essentially that’s about the only way,” Amblin told them.
“I agree. Okay, I’ll take responsibility for getting word to them. I don’t think we should all try to meet with them. Too easy to get trapped.”
“Okay, you just let us know what we can do to help,” Admiral Greenfield replied.
***
“Where are we on Eglin Air Force Base?” the President asked Air Force General Erickson.
“Sir, we have worked up a plan but it is not only risky, it will cause even more problems for your administration.”
“Hell, it’s pretty damn bad already. What I want to know is can we regain control.”
“Yes sir. It will be a three phased attack. We will use Tyndall Air Force Base for our primary strike force. The Navy will bring in the CVN-75 USS Harry S. Truman as well. The Army will bring in troops from Fort McPherson.”
“I have seen your battle plan proposal but what isn’t mentioned is how and when you intend to carry this out,” the President replied.
“We figured that you would be the one to make that call. All we need is forty-eight hours’ notice and we can commence operations.”
>
“Do you intend to notify them first?”
“That is our plan, yes sir. We will tell Colonel Fox that he must surrender the base and himself within eight hours or we will take the base by force.”
“Why eight hours?”
“Because they can’t put together a defensive battle plan in that short a timeframe. Are you thinking that is too short a time allowance?” Erickson asked.
“Actually I think it could be too long. Four hours should be plenty of time for him to make up his mind.”
“Yes sir. That’s great for us. We just didn’t want it to look like we didn’t give them fair warning.”
“Ah...you’re referring to the FBI’s screw-up.”
“Yes sir.”
“Then make it four hours. That is plenty of time,” the President commanded.
“Very well sir,” General Erickson replied.
***
“You’re absolutely sure of this?” Colonel Fox said.
“Absolutely. Our source is one hundred percent solid.”
“That dumb bastard. These are American service men and women.”
“Somehow that doesn’t seem to matter to the president.”
“We are ready and I suppose your people are on alert as well?” Fox asked.
“Everything is in place.”
“I just hope to God he calls this off. If he gives the okay it will cause a damn Civil War.”
“I don’t think he sees it that way. He thinks the earth moves when he moves. He is sure you will back down.”
“Then he is a fool,”
“We’ve known that all along.”
***
HEADLINE NEWS – Andrew Dunlop resigned as Director of the FBI this afternoon. President Quasim said that he would reluctantly accept Dunlop’s resignation and praised what the Director had accomplished.
“It is with great sadness that Andrew Dunlop is resigning as Director of the FBI. His tireless efforts to bring to justice the terrorists that try to destroy this great nation are greatly appreciated,” the President said.
A NATION DIVIDED - THE SECOND CIVIL WAR (The Second Civil War - BOOK I 1) Page 16