Patriots Awakening

by R. M. Strauhs

  “Three thousand feet minimum, if we can touch down right on the threshold. Coming up with anything?”

  Major White trotted back to his seat without answering. He plugged the headset in and opened the instant messaging program. Again his luck held. The messaging program had a telephone dialer. He opened the keypad and dialed up the helicopter service. A man answered on the first ring.

  “How long is your runway?”

  “Thirty-five hundred. Who is this?”

  “We’re in a ten passenger jet, and the Denver airport refused landing. Gotta’ set this thing down somewhere.”

  “Come ahead. I don’t know how long it’ll be before the bastards shut us down. There’s a damned Army truck at the gate right now, just settin’ there.”

  “Look, we need a chopper. What do you have?”

  “How many people you got?”

  “Seven.”

  “Got a large passenger, but it's private owned. You checked out to fly choppers?”

  “Slightly, to tell you the truth. Anyone there who can fly us?”

  “I can fly you, but we’d be stealin’ the chopper.”

  “Are you aware of what’s going on all over the country?”

  “Yes I am. Damned asteroid’s gonna kill us all.”

  “Listen, uh . . . what’s your name?”

  “Charlie, Charlie Barger.”

  “Charlie, I’m with military intelligence. What I’m going to tell you is the absolute truth. There is no asteroid. The whole thing has been concocted by some nasty people who don’t give a good shit about our Constitution and can take over as damned dictators. We’re part of the people fighting them. You still want to fly us out of town?”

  “You goddamned straight I am. How soon you gonna’ land?”

  “Hold on a minute, Charlie. I’ll find out.” He ran to the cockpit, “How long to the Boxwood Airport?”

  Howard told him, “Eight to ten minutes.”

  Back at the computer he slung the headset back on. “You still there, Charlie?”

  “I’m here.”

  “We’re eight to ten minutes out.”

  “I’ll get the chopper ready to go. When you come in, you’ll see a red roof on a hangar, taxi directly to the front and to the side of the door. Jump your asses off that Lear and run to the chopper. Make it fast. That bunch at the gate might hurry on in here when they see you land.”

  “We’ll do it, Charlie. See you in a few minutes.”

  Major White ran to the cockpit and relayed the information just as the small airport came into view some three miles ahead. They were lucky enough to be lined up with the runway, so they didn’t have to waste time. Three minutes later, Greg taxied to the hangar and cut the engines while they were still rolling. The Major had the door open and the steps lowered by the time they were at a complete stop, barely four feet from the wall of the hangar.

  The huge passenger chopper sat inside, its rotors turning slowly and its engine whining loudly. A man in orange coveralls stood by the chopper door, awaiting their arrival. Before they had even closed the door, he engaged the rotor and lifted off the hangar floor, tilted slightly to the front and moved out of the hangar. Once outside, he pointed to the truck racing down the runway. The helicopter lifted into the sky, steered to the east, away from the airport, and away from Denver.

  “That was damn close. I think those Army boys didn’t hanker to you landing there.”

  ~~~

  Howard had sat in the right-hand seat and donned the earphones.

  The pilot asked, “Where are we going?

  “Do you know where The Outlook area is?”

  “Matter of fact, the owner of this chopper, a Mister Euclaid, lives up there. Yeah, I know exactly where it is.” The pilot tipped the chopper and turned nearly a hundred eighty degrees and continued to climb.

  Howard asked, “How high will it fly?”

  “Don’t know. Never gone the limit.”

  “What do you do at the helicopter service?”

  The middle-aged man smiled and answered, “Well, actually, I own it.” He added, “That is, I used to own it. If what the Major says is true about no asteroid, just some bastards trying to take over our country, I don’t guess any of us own anything anymore.”

  “Don’t give up that easily. They don’t have us yet.”

  “We’re over the Outlook area. What are we looking for?”

  “You see that small peak right over there? Just the other side is a large cabin. I think there’s probably enough room to set down in the back.” Howard answered.

  “Roger.”

  As they passed over the peak and slowed, Howard gasped and said, “Son-of-a-bitch!” Where his mountain retreat had stood, there was nothing but ashes and charred beams.

  Charlie hovered to the side of the ruins and said, “Now, where?”

  Howard could only shake his head.

  “I know a place to set down temporarily while you figure out where we go.” Charlie lifted the chopper slightly and turned to the west. Five minutes later, they settled down at a palatial estate, hidden in the forest on the mountainside.

  Howard asked, “Where are we?”

  “This is Mister Euclaid’s place. Hell, we have his helicopter; we might as well use his house. He’s off in Europe somewhere and with all this shit happening it may be awhile before he returns.”

  “I guess things being what they are he shouldn’t mind.”

  ~~~

  Major White removed his Glock nine millimeter as he descended the two steps from the chopper. “Why don’t the rest of you stick with the chopper until I check out the place.” He ran and stopped behind a wall some hundred feet from the side of the house. There seemed to be no life about. He vaulted over the wall and dashed to another wall beside the huge glassed in pool. Working his way along the low wall amidst the shrubs, he twisted the knob on the first door he came to. Locked.

  After circumventing the entire house, which was a long, time-consuming trip, he decided if there was anyone about, they weren’t going to show themselves. Hell, why not just ring the doorbell? He returned to the huge front veranda and, bold as brass, walked to the door, but found no doorbell button. He did hear the whir of the small motor turning the automatic camera mounted well above reach on the wall. It evidently automatically focused on anyone approaching the door. Looking straight into the camera he asked; “Is anyone here? We aren’t crooks or anything. We just need a place to regroup, and we’ll be on our way.” Still there was no answer at the door. He turned and walked away.

  When he arrived back at the chopper, they had a short conference on whether to break into the house or fly away. But they really had nowhere to go, so it was decided they’d break in. That would prove quite difficult. Even after firing a shot at a window, it merely left a small smashed looking spot. Damn! Bulletproof glass. Now, why would anyone go to that extent and expense? Finally, he grabbed a bench and battered down a side door. After searching the entire house, they decided they were alone and returned to the large kitchen. The women started looking for food in the large industrial size refrigerator and adjoining cabinets.

  ~~~

  The tired men had just sat down at the kitchen table when a woman stepped through the door with an automatic rifle pointed directly at them. “Who are you people?” she shouted.

  Major White slowly turned to face her, his hands in the air. “Lady, we mean you no harm. We had to set the chopper down, because the house we were going to was burned to the ground.”

  “Why are you in Mister Euclaid’s helicopter?”

  Charlie said, “Oh, now I remember you. You’re Marcia Lane, Mister Euclaid’s friend. I’m Charlie from Denver Helicopter Service. Remember me? These folks are okay people. They just need a place to rest before moving on.”

  She looked completely tormented, with a bloody scratch across the side of her face, and scratches, and red welts on her arms. “Yes, I remember you, but what are you doing here? Why do you have Mister Euclai
d’s helicopter?”

  Charlie spoke calmly and slowly, “Miss Lane, please believe me, we mean you no harm whatever. Would you put that weapon down, and let me explain.”

  As he spoke, Major White looked closely at the weapon from the corner of his eye. He saw that the safety was still on. Suddenly, he flew from his seat, grabbed her about the waist, pulled the rifle from her hands, and passed it for one of the others to take. When she tried to fight, he held her tightly and spoke softly. “Miss Lane, we are not going to harm you. What happened to you? How’d you get all those scratches?”

  She went limp in his arms, sobbing. “He tried to kill me! Jarmain tried to kill me!”

  The Major released his tight grip about her waist and held her against him, letting her cry on his chest. “Who is Jarmain?” Concern for their safety was on his mind. “Is Jarmain still here?”

  “Jarmain Euclaid. The dirty bastard killed everyone and tried to kill me. I ran and hid in the woods until I saw the helicopter leave. When you landed, I thought he sent you back to kill me.” She continued to shake violently, crying loudly, and held onto Major White as tightly as she could.

  He really didn’t mind. Despite the fact that she was so stressed, and he wanted to help her, he couldn’t help but think what a great body she had. He walked her from the kitchen to the adjoining dining room and sat down on one of the several love seats scattered about the walls. With his arm around her shoulders, he asked, “Why would this man want to kill you? Who do you mean by everybody? Who did he kill?”

  Between sobs, she told him Jarmain Euclaid invited all the employees from his offices in Denver and Dallas, and all the staff who worked at the mansion to a dinner party. “The meal was catered, all but the champagne. Before people started eating, he raised his glass for a toast. He all but ordered me to drink a glass of champagne with the guests, but I had a splitting headache and refused. I was about to go lie down when I saw people start falling out of their chairs, holding their stomachs or chests and having a sort of shaking fit. I immediately realized what he’d done. He’d poisoned everyone! A couple of his guards started gunning down the caterers. I ran into the woods as fast as I could, knowing he had intended for me to die, too. I knew more about him and his crazy plans than anyone. He chased me with that rifle, but I’m a hell of a lot faster than he is.”

  “You say . . . he wanted to kill you because you knew too much? About what?”

  “The crazy bastard thinks he’s going to take over the world. Well, there isn’t going to be a world for him to take over, is there?”

  “Yeah, there is. I’ll explain later, but what do you mean about his wanting to take over the world?”

  Marcia shook her head. “I always thought it was some crazy quirk of his--some mind game he played with himself. He never knew I had his computer codes. A number of times when he went away for days at a time, I browsed around in his computers that no one was supposed to know about. There’s a huge room underground with all sorts of stuff in it.”

  The others had slowly made their way into the dining room and sat around the table listening.

  John said, “I wondered why there were so many different satellite dishes up on the mountain. I spotted them as we came down to the helo pad. How much you want to bet they’re communications dishes?”

  Major White asked her, “If he killed all those innocent people, why’d you even think to come back here?”

  “Where else was I going to go? I hid in the woods all night, almost afraid to breathe. There are sensors and cameras set up everywhere around this place. It was early the next morning before I finally saw the helicopter leave. I knew he would have to be on it, but waited at least two hours before coming back to the house. I was afraid he’d left some of his goons here to shoot me.”

  “What happened to all the dead people?”

  Marcia squirmed around a bit and seemed on the verge of collapse. “I, I . . . don’t know. I guess they’re still there.”

  “Where?”

  Her voice broke as she pointed at the side door and said, “That way. The gazebo’s about a couple hundred yards that way. Don’t make me go show you. It’s awful and . . .” Her sobs filled the air.

  Major White looked across the room at the other women, and they nodded, understanding he wanted them to look after Marcia. He rose and walked out the side door with Howard and John following. They smelled the massacre before they saw it. If the gazebo had been down the mountain, the breeze blowing up the side of the mountain most likely would have carried the stench to the house. But it sat at about the same elevation as the house, and a fairly good distance into the huge pine trees that covered the entire area.

  ~~~

  All three men gagged when they saw what had to be one of the worst sights anyone had ever beheld. Rotting corpses lay everywhere. They stood for several moments, their noses pinched closed, looking from one body to the next. All of the tables with fancy lace tablecloths were still beautifully decorated, with now wilting flowers. Plates of food sat where guests had fallen from their chairs to the stone floor. Broken champagne glasses littered the area.

  Major White had seen death and corpses many times. He had turned living people into corpses a number of times himself, so the sight and stench of all the bodies didn’t affect him quite as much as the others. John and Howard suddenly bolted from the scene to vomit their guts out behind some trees.

  Charlie and the four women waited for them on the side patio. Several minutes passed before Howard and John returned and flopped down in the iron patio chairs. They sat with lowered heads, unable to answer Charlie’s questions.

  Major White explained, “What Marcia said is true.” Then he stared off into the distance, silent for some time. “I know that was a mess over there, but I have to eat soon, and we need to figure out what we do from here. Marcia, I’d like to see that communications room after we put something in our stomach.”

  As they headed inside, Marlene was on one side of Major White, and Marcia walked closely on the other.

  Marcia asked, “What are we going to do? We could just stay here, I suppose. But God knows, Jarmain might come back and kill all of us. Or send someone to kill us.”

  Major White glanced sideways. He didn’t want her to see he was concerned. He had stayed alive in many tight, dangerous situations by suspecting everyone he met of being a traitor or a killer. Who was Marcia, really? And, Charlie . . . none of them knew a thing about him. Charlie did, after all, maintain Jarmain Euclaid’s chopper. If they were on the level, he couldn’t very well leave them behind at the mercy of whatever might happen here. But, on the other hand, could he dare chance taking them to General Parker’s Underground in Washington? Shit, he had to get word to the General that his people overseas were ready to fight whatever foe was involved in this conspiracy, or they were ready to head back to the states at a moments notice if they were needed here. He’d think about it during lunch. Right now, his main mission was to get some food in his belly.

  ~~~

  When they walked into the huge kitchen, Marcia said, “I guess the fastest thing to eat is some of the frozen dinners in the freezer. They aren’t supermarket dinners. Jarmain had them especially prepared and delivered here by some of the top chefs in the world.” She hesitated a moment, then her soft voice barely audible as she mumbled, “I can’t believe I actually slept with that bastard all this time and I truly didn’t know the man.”

  Major White saw the tears in her eyes and then deliberately tried to change the subject. “Point me at the freezer. I’m starved,” he said, and then laughed.

  Marcia did her best to smile. “Why don’t all of you sit down, and I’ll nuke some food? Major, there’s everything in the world to drink in the liquor cabinet, and there’s beer in the fridge. Imported of course.”

  ~~~

  Howard and John ate every scrap Marcia set in front of them. Josie made a large pot of coffee, which it seemed everyone preferred. As they drank it, John asked, “Well, Major, wha
t the hell should we do now? Ride it out here?”

  Major White looked across the table at Marcia, who slowly shook her head.

  “I take it you really don’t think that’s a good idea?” White still looked toward Marcia as he asked, “Charlie, what’s the range of that chopper?”

  “With all nine of us aboard, I guess about five hundred miles if we leave with a full load of fuel. One good thing, Mister Euclaid has his own fuel tank out by the helicopter pad. We can top the tank off before we leave. But where will we go that might be any safer than right here? This place has food, water, power and almost a fortress.”

  Major White looked thoughtful for a moment before he answered, “Washington State. I know a safe place out there where others will gather to fight whoever is behind this. I don’t know if you’re aware of this fact or not, but the President and a number of his people left Washington D.C. some time ago to move into an underground bunker. Don’t ask me where. I don’t know.”