Righteous Sacrifice

by Timothy Van Sickel

  “That depot could be a hornet’s nest, Captain.” The senior NCO comments.

  “And you have never been in a hornet’s nest before, Frankie? We just left a hornet’s nest, but he lied to us. These people are being open,” The captain replies. “And they are going whether we help or not. These people are half way there already! I like the idea of joining in with a crew already committed to the goal. In the dessert we had to bribe people to be on our side. These people are already committed. We won’t have to watch our backs every step of the way.”

  There are two loud raps at the door and my wife, Rebecca steps in, not waiting to be ‘allowed in’. “Zach will be here soon. Your plans can wait. Please have our guests come out mingle with us. Dinner is ready now.” She turns to the rest of the people in the room. “Please come and make yourselves comfortable. My crotchety old one legged husband can become a bore sometimes.”

  “Gentleman, we have been summoned,” I state.

  We serve over twenty five people at every meal. Herc and his family greet our guests, as does Niki, our resident nurse, along with her husband and son. Brit, Ken and Grace are also seated, as well as two of Hairy’s biker friends. Georganne, the nurse from Pittsburgh, joins us after she has finished helping in the kitchen.

  Many smiling faces join around the table. I discreetly let Major Jeffers and his people know they are to be served at the second seating. They stand, as those to be fed first take a seat around our large dining table. Rebecca looks at me, “Mark, will you say a grace for us please?”

  “Let’s bow our heads as we give thanks to the Lord,” I start. “Dear Lord, we thank you for the bounty of the fields that allow us to eat. We know as you make sure the sparrow is fed, surely you will take care of your followers. We pray for those less fortunate. We pray that they come to know you and your everlasting covenant. May the food before us nourish us, that we may do your will. In Christ’s name we do pray, Amen.”

  The room immediately erupts in conversation as the bowls of mashed potatoes, steamed cabbage and stewed beef begin to circulate the table. Some of the younger ones groan at the repetitive meal, wishing for chicken nuggets, but most dig in heartily after a long day of work.

  I retreat to the front porch with Major Jeffers and his men. Paul joins us and he engages the major in the rebuilding efforts the brain squad has accomplished; the pumping systems for fresh water and sanitary systems, the grist mills for the corn silage, the new effort to put heating systems in the homes. Paul talks for half an hour, describing what they have already done, and of what they think they can do. Hairy’s two men finish eating and head out to their guard positions as does Herc.

  Hairy comes in a few minutes later as does Daneel, Buck, and Larson. As we are just getting around to new introductions, the bell begins to ring. Everyone knows now that the bell announces friends coming, or a gathering event, rather than a call to arms. Grace pops onto the front porch, a plate of steaming food in one hand. “Uncle Zach just came into view on the remote cam. He will be here in a few minutes.”

  Janie and her kids come out to the front porch to welcome home their dad, who has been gone for almost a week. The older kids run out the front drive, racing to be the first to meet their dad. Becca comes out the door, wiping tears from her eyes. She grabs my hand. I snatch up my crutches and we walk with Janie and the younger children down the steps and out the front drive.

  Full of curiosity and unable to resist a higher calling, the major and his men tag along. They witness a loving home coming. Their hearts are moved. Most of the major’s men are single; those with families have them securely cared for in quarters provided by this group at the resort, a secure twenty miles away.

  The second round of dinner is served, and the conversation is brisk. The young ones, having already been served, are escorted to the basement playroom so that the conversations can roam over more difficult topics. The state of chaos and lack of leadership in the country is discussed. What the armed forces are doing, or not doing is brought up. The lack of medical help, sanitary systems, clean water and the spread of disease across the country brings a very somber mood to the conversation.

  * * *

  Two hours later, Major Jeffers, his executive officer, Colonel Brit, and I are alone in my office. “That was quite a show you put on General,” the major states offhandedly. ”I’m quite impressed.”

  “Show of what?” Colonel Brit states indignantly. “You think this is a show, a game? You think we haven’t fought for what we carved out of this chaotic world? You think General Mays lost his leg in a cardroom fight! You come with me, major, and I outrank you, so that is an order.” She stands and opens the door heading outside. I stand to follow her, and so does Major Jeffers’ and his executive officer; both look at me with a query. A bit peeved by their remark myself, I nod for them to follow.

  Brit hands us flashlights as we head out the door, “Men and their pissing contests.” She says as she takes us to the old farmhouse’s foundation. “This was a good house! The bastard blew it up. People died here defending it. Is this a good enough of a show for you major?” Not waiting for a response, she leads us out the drive to where the twisted remains of my 1500 Dodge Ram pickup sit to the side of our driveway.

  “This is where they blew up our roadblock.” She walks a few steps to her left. “Right here, is where Mark fought the drug lord. He almost died, but managed to live, despite losing his leg.” There are still stains on the gravel from that horrific day. “We only had ten people to fight the bastards, but we fought them!”

  The major puts his hands up. “Okay, okay, so you fought off these drug lords.”

  “Not okay major. You are going to see it all. You want to see the show, I’ll give you the show. Right up here is the end of our show,” Brit says while walking up the hill to the highest knob on the farm. “This is the end of the show. This is where my uncle and aunt are buried. They died protecting me and my family. These other two graves, they are two strangers that we accepted into our family. They died trying to save my uncle. The last grave, that is where Tiny is buried. He was one of the drug lord’s men, but he turned and joined us when Hairy joined us. He gave up his life fighting for people he never even met. This is real, major. This is not a show.”

  “You men! You just want to make me scream sometimes!” Brit states, exasperated. She turns to the major and looks at him with determination. “We need your help major. But we can and will move on, with or without you.”

  The major looks at the fresh graves, then glances at my stump leg. He looks off into the dark night, lit only by the moon and stars. No flashing lights from radio towers, no distant glow from a nearby town. Not even the dim light of a nearby farmhouse spotlight to be seen. The only light comes from our dimly lit home, where the sounds of dishes being cleaned and kids playing a card game drift to us through the stillness of the night.

  The major shakes his head, as if trying to wake from a bad dream. Then he glances at his executive officer, who, with a tear in the corner of her eye, gives a slight nod. The major nods back.

  “I think we need you as much as you need us,” he states quietly. “This world has tainted me. The old world, that is, where posturing and show was everything and truth lay in the shadows. To see true love and honesty, it is hard to grasp.” He turns to Brit, “Colonel, I apologize for being skeptical.” He turns back to me. “General Mays, we are all in.”

  We return to my office where Zach sits with Becca. Janie and Ken in quiet conversation. As we filter in through the door I smile at Becca. She knows there is good news from my smile. I turn to Zach with a smile. “Captain White, Major Jeffers, will be your new commanding officer.”

  Zach stands and salutes the major. “Captain White at your service sir! You are in need of a complete debrief sir. With the additional troops the General sent to Colonel Adkins, the situation in our sector is stabile right now, but will need attention within twenty four hours. I recommend we meet tomorrow morning at zero six hundred
hours at the command center in Central City. We should plan on deploying from that location.”

  Major Jeffers winks at me, “So, Captain, you want some ‘family time’ tonight. And I should have my team ready to deploy first thing in the morning?”

  “Yes sir! That allows you time to muster your men, and the general time to muster additional men and arms. The situation is stable right now, it is an operationally sound suggestion.” Zach responds trying to hide a smirk as he glances at Janie.

  The major turns to me. “We ain’t waitin’ that long. My executive officer is going to move forward tonight with two security men. She will rendezvous with Colonel Adkins by dawn. I’ll bring up the rest of my team for the meeting tomorrow morning. I’m sure that you’ll be ready to move by then. This is not a show,” he states, glancing at Brit. “This is how we get things done.”

  Chapter 45, Levers and Knobs

  Richland

  10/20

  “Do you think this will really work?” The crane operator asks Paul.

  “Maybe.” Paul responds. “That’s why we cleared everyone away. It may not work. But everything should now be pedal and lever operated. Fire this beast up, then let’s start by trying to lower the beam.”

  The crane operator touches the two wires together to warm up the plugs. After a few seconds he touches the two wires that should fire the big diesel engine. It sputters and chokes a few times.

  “Try it again,” Paul implores. “We got a sputter!”

  The crane operator tries again. The big diesel engine turns over, but refuses to spark to life. “Hold up!” the lead mechanic hollers. “We missed something. Some sensor or vacuum tube. Let me check this thing over again.” Ten minutes later the mechanic hollers for the crane operator to try again.

  The two wires are pressed together and the big diesel engine cranks a few times, and then roars to life. A huge cheer goes up from the large crowd that has gathered to see if the big crane can be made operable. The crane operator guns the engine a few times, which brings bigger cheers from the crowd. But the engine sputters and dies.

  “Freaking fuel pump!” The mechanic mutters. He climbs back on the big machine. He and a few helpers tinker around, trying to bypass another electronic sensor. A few heads are scratched and some improvising is completed. An hour later the mechanics call for the operator to turn the crank again.

  The two wires are pressed together again. Again the big diesel engines fire to life. The operator pumps the gas pedal a few times, revving the massive engine. The engine responds, roaring with each push of the gas pedal. Cheers break out amongst the crowd of engineering students, academics and local mechanics. They just got an electronically monitored behemoth to run. If they can figure out how to duplicate what they just did, they will have set the recovery effort forward by years.

  Paul smiles. He knows what they just did was huge. He took copious hand written notes so that it can be replicated. Not every situation will be the same, but the principles of bypassing the electronics will be. He plans on making copies of what he did and spreading them as far as can be, hoping the knowledge will eventually help his children and grandchildren.

  The crane operator watches as the replaced pressure gauge on the hydraulic system climbs steadily. When it enters the green zone, he signals to Paul. Paul looks around, ensuring no one has ventured into a danger zone, then gives the operator a thumbs up.

  The operator has not used lever and pedal controls in years. He slowly pushes the lever controlling the spindle of cable that will lower and raise the payload. The spindle slowly begins to turn, letting out cable and lowering the beam. More cheers go up as the beam is lowered.

  The machine will need to rotate about thirty degrees to put the beam down safely. The operator stops the spindle with the beam still twenty feet in the air. Looking at the new controls, he chooses the correct lever and the machine begins to rotate. He pushes the lever back to neutral as the machine began turning the wrong way. He wipes his brow and pulls the lever towards him. The machine slowly start to turn the correct way.

  Five minutes later, the steel beam is finally on the ground, after hanging seventy feet in the air for six weeks. With the beam safely on the ground, the operator begins to run the crane through a series of trials; raising and lowering the boom and jib, turning the machine left and right. Cheers go up with every new action.

  The last tests are to move the machine. “We can’t move the machine.” the operator states. “I told you before, we have to disassemble the jib and arm first. I will not retract those stabilizers until the jib and arm are taken down. The whole freaking machine could flip over.”

  Paul smacks himself on the forehead. How could he be so stupid? “So what do we need to do to take down the am and the jib?” he asks, already knowing the answer.

  “Well boss, I lay the arm down and then we use another smaller crane to disassemble the jib and arm. Then we put everything on trucks and move to the wind mill farm. We could do that in a day before the shit storm hit. Now we have to round up another crane and get it working. Not to mention moving everything to the windmill farm.”

  Paul turns and walks away. He berates himself; why did he not see these new obstacles, why did he not see the logistics involved? He got so caught up in making the crane operable that he missed any thought of moving the massive machine and all of its components.

  He wants to cry, but instead he says a silent prayer. He is a faithful man, but is he more a man of action, than prayer. But now is the time for prayer. He bows his head. “Lord we have come so far. But, we have more to do. Grant me wisdom and patience to continue, Dear Lord. Forgive me for my folly in thinking I knew it all. Grant me strength to go on, allow me to rejoice in what we have accomplished.” He looks up, and as always he feels the burden lifted and has a renewed vigor.

  He turns to walk back to his engineering crew, and finds that they are right behind him. They had followed him, eagerly waiting for new instructions and to offer advice. He turns red faced, embarrassed. Did they hear him pray? Did he pray out loud? He does not remember.

  Before he says anything, one of his crew starts in with a solution to one of their problems. “Paul, two miles away is a trucking firm, McCarl’s Transport. They have flat beds big enough to transport the arm and jib pieces. We just need to get the right hitch to pull the trailers and line up a few big tractors.”

  “That’s good,” Paul responds, still trying to get his bearings. “But we need another crane.”

  “There’s one on Scalp Avenue, where they are building the new medical center,” another of his makeshift staff volunteers.

  Paul’s vigor and can do attitude begins to return. He looks up and whispers a thank you. “Let’s get over to that crane and see if we can get it running! And let’s get a few people over to McCarl’s to see if we can get some flatbed trailers over here. Okay guys, we have a working crane. Now we need to figure out how to move it. Let’s get moving on this job!” He pumps his arm in the air and cheers. The crowd around cheers too.

  Chapter 46, Oath Keepers

  McConnellsburg

  10/20

  Four trucks roll into the fortified position four miles east of McConnellsburg. Colonel Adkins position is increased by twenty four experienced fighters, not counting Major Jeffers and his group. One of the trucks is a deuce equipped with an armored firing turret. The salvaged fifty caliber machinegun is quickly mounted and made ready with the ammunition recovered from the previous fight. They also gain a Hummer with an M60 and two farm trucks with SAWs mounted on tripods. The major has brought other hardware with him; some from the Chaffes stash, some recovered from the Wagerly compound and some of the most potent arms that Captain White recovered from the armory when the airport got overrun.

  The major and the colonel make quick introductions as Captain White heads out to check their perimeter. The major’s executive officer and her two men are due back soon from their recon of the Letterkenny Depot.

  Captain Wa
rfield, the local militia commander and an oath keeper, approaches the two officers. He has over sixty men now deployed, and his people have helped to take out a rogue National Guard convoy. He has lost soldiers in this fight. He has a vested interest in what’s going on. He surveys the additional hardware and skilled troops that have been brought in. He knows something more is going on than neighbors helping neighbors, as he was originally told.

  Broaching rank protocol, he interrupts the two officers. “There’s more going on here than I was told. You all have a freakin’ armed camp set up in my county. You ain’t here to just stop the pillagin’, you got a mission goin’ on. I been straight with you, be straight with me, or our friendly relations will hit a sticking point.”

  The major turns to the captain tersely, “We don’t need you. We only need some space to operate.”

  “We are providing that space, major. But I demand to know the nature of your mission. If not, this safe space may not be so safe!”

  “What, are your reservists and deer hunters are going to turn us away? I don’t think so,” The major replies snidely.

  Colonel Adkins quickly steps between the two men. “There will be no friendly fire here, Major.” She turns to the other man. She looks him straight in the eye and calmly continues. “Captain, we are scouting the Letterkenny depot. We will be moving on that objective within twenty-four hours. We hope you will help. As many as another hundred fighters will be here today or tomorrow. Any men you can rally for this mission will be gladly accepted into our ranks.”

  The captain stares blankly for a moment before responding. “Holy shit! No freaking way!” the captain responds, dumbfounded. He pauses for a moment. “I never thought of that. It’s the mother lode of ammunition and supplies. My brother-in-law works there. We haven’t seen him in three weeks.”