Patriots Awakening

by R. M. Strauhs

  General Parker knew Marty’s train would be pulling into Rolla to pick up more troops that evening . . . if they’d managed to get out of Cincinnati. He wished he could contact CIA agent Marty Stewart, but radio contact would be the worst thing he could do. Marty was a heck of a good man, and he would get the train through. Waiting in Rolla for the train would be too dangerous for Parker and his group. Flying west was his only option.

  The abandoned mine had been Marty’s idea, and he was completely instrumental in setting up the headquarters there from which General Parker could fully operate. The elaborate landline links to transmission towers and satellite links that would radiate from another location had proved to be a work of genius on Marty’s part. While being brilliant in concealment operations, Marty had been one of the Rangers toughest and smartest people before retiring and joining the CIA. With all his Ranger connections, joining the ex-military organizations, and plain friendships; he had put together a citizen Army of nearly a thousand. He would be bringing hundreds of them with him on the train. Marty had also compiled a list of who could or couldn’t be trusted at the agency. Even Burt Logan didn’t know Marty existed, nor all of their plans.

  Parker asked Logan, “If we’re leaving in cars, where do we go from here? I don’t want to be driving across the country if at all possible.”

  “The Mark Twain National Forest area and don’t you worry. We have a few very fast aircraft there.” He grinned at General Parker for a moment and then chuckled. “In fact, they’re stealth aircraft.”

  “Stealth aircraft? How in the hell did you manage that?”

  Logan continued to grin; and enjoyed springing the well kept secret on the General. “Do you remember those two Navy RB37s that went down off the West Coast a year ago? They didn’t go down at all.”

  “What?”

  “General, people like you . . . we saw the day when those planes might come in handy.”

  “You said a “few” aircraft?” General Parker had to smile.

  Logan continued to grin. “Yeah. You know those four F30’s the air force has been test flying at Edwards? Well, they’re no longer sitting at Edwards. The minute this shit started, they took off, and are down at our complex in the forest.”

  “So you are admitting you have six aircraft you’ve managed to steal from the government?” Parker’s mood was improving with the news.

  “General, let’s just say we borrowed them. When the government is restored under the control of the people of the U.S.A, we’ll gladly return them.”

  “What about the pilots? Can they be trusted? Technically, they’re deserters.”

  “No, Sir, they’re not. At least, if they are, it was at the pleasure of Admiral Handy, and Air Command General, David Linder. They ordered their actions. In fact, we will have a direct satellite link with both of them. In turn, Admiral Handy has crewmembers aboard our nuke subs, and ships . . . men he fully trusts to take direct orders only from him or from . . . you.”

  This surprised General Parker, and he almost choked on the beef. “Me?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Then what you’re saying is, Admiral Handy knows all about me.”

  Logan’s face flushed. “General, I hope you’re not mad. I thought it best not to let too many people know everything that was happening around the country. All the Admiral knows is that you’re on our side. He has no knowledge of your own personal operation. We thought it best so no one person could be coerced into telling everything.”

  “I have to hand it to you, Logan. You kept a lot from me.”

  “Only because it was absolutely necessary. If this situation hadn’t come up, you would never have known about Admiral Handy.”

  Parker sat back in the chair and then slowly drummed his fingers on the table, staring at Logan for a moment. “So now you know all about me and Admiral Handy. What if you were tortured or coerced?”

  “Have you heard of Fatal Exception?” Logan whispered.

  General Parker nodded. Fatal Exception was the code name of a program to implant a small plastic suicide capsule into agents. The capsule, when squeezed tightly between the fingers, released a poison so lethal it worked within seconds to silence an agent forever. It was only to be used on our Black OP’s agents with too much knowledge.

  Logan continued to stare at him . . . his smile fading . . . and he deliberately rubbed his left underarm.

  The General understood what Logan was conveying with the body language, but only the top level CIA people had that capsule implanted. Then it hit him. Why in the hell hadn’t he realized it? Logan is CIA!

  Burt Logan simply nodded, then took another bite of his sandwich and spoke in a normal voice, “Whoever made these sure knows how to make lip smacking barbeque, don’t they, folks?”

  General Parker thought about everything Logan had told him. It was a relief to know they would fly in the jets to his headquarters instead of taking the chance of driving cross a land full of uncertainty. Even flying in the helicopters put them in danger when refueling. The faster he got his family to safety and he took command of his soldiers the better. He’d been quiet for a time, and finally spoke. “I don’t want to disturb you eating a second sandwich but how fast do those planes fly?”

  Logan laughed and said, “Let’s just say they set a new coast to coast record of forty-three minutes. Once you’re aboard in Southern Missouri, you’ll be twenty-five minutes from touchdown near the destination. Is that fast enough for you?”

  “That’s fine by me but I wonder how the women and kids will like flying in them.” He watched his daughters in animated conversation with Logan’s girls.

  Chuckling, Logan answered, “If they like riding roller coasters they’ll be thrilled to climb into one of the jets. They should love the take off and landing but will be bored after reaching altitude as it will seem like they are sitting still. I think they’ll all do fine.” He also had been watching the girls and turned to General Parker. “Remember there were those who said we didn’t need a bomber capable of carrying a crew of four and worked hard to kill the project? Today I’m thankful they failed.”

  “Good thing there was just the one pilot on board when the planes disappeared into the ocean.”

  “It was planned that way, General. It was possible for us to get all the stuff and make all the preparations because of changes that the military, politicians, and intelligence agencies had undertaken after it became so fashionable for insiders to leak secrets about government programs and operations to the Media . . . who published them without hesitation even though it compromised our security. In response, many of the old checks and balances, even secret operations had been eliminated. The fewer people who knew something and the less paperwork, the less chance it would be headlines splashed across America in order to undermine the current administration or for personal gain. So diverting personnel, material, and money in a way that never would have been possible a few years earlier was now comparatively easy."

  “Uh, I know this is a dumb question since you have everything else planned. Where do you propose this mega fast airplane is going to land?”

  Logan chuckled and answered, “Well, the 37’s need a bit of space, but the 30s can land in a football field. We have it covered. How about we catch a breath of fresh air?”

  General Parker pushed the folding chair back and stood up. Logan must want to tell him something, and he didn’t need an audience. “Sure, I still don’t have the kinks out of my legs.”

  Outside the room they walked along the rear of the hangar. “I didn’t want to tell you in there, because I don’t want to frighten your wife or girls. The planes will be landing in what is called short strip mode, and they’ll be landing on a plastic runway. Before you say anything, let me assure you if it weren’t completely safe, I would never risk my own family.” He laughed quietly and added, “Wouldn’t risk my own ass for that matter. We’ll be landing right along the Idaho border, then four-wheel it to your headquarters.”

 
“Wait just a damned minute! How the hell do you know where my command post is?

  Logan looked him straight in the eyes. “Believe me, General, not even these pilots know where we’re going until I tell them. Absolutely no one outside me and Marty knows. I’ll have to confess, my main aim was to get you out of harms way and in charge of our Army. I knew you were totally trustworthy, and I knew your nephew was involved in preparing for something, so I kept pretty close tabs on you. In fact, I eliminated two other people trying to keep up with your activities.”

  “You mean . . .”

  “Yes, I mean I took care of the problem.”

  “Logan, I want to believe you, but I promise you this. If you turn out to be other than what you say you are, I’ll take you out myself.”

  “That’s fair enough. Now on to the next problem . . . we still have a traitor among us. There were so many people at the place in West Virginia I wasn’t one hundred percent sure who it could be, but now I know for sure. That’s why we’re going to use this alternate route to your place. We could have used a small passenger jet here at the airport if no one knew what we were doing, but . . .”

  General Parker stopped, staring at Logan. “Okay, if you aren’t the traitor, and I’m not the traitor, who is? Colonel Nelson?”

  “Nope. You’ll find it hard to believe, but it’s my wife.” Logan was no longer smiling.

  General Parker was stunned. “What the hell are you talking about? Your wife?” He spoke in a shocked whisper, even though they were some two hundred feet from the women.

  Logan nodded. “Peggy isn’t the mother of my girls. Their mother’s name was Bonnie and she died in an accident when the children were quite young. I married Peggy five years ago and thought I’d found the girls the perfect replacement mother. When we married, Peggy quit her job to be a mother.”

  Parker said, “Let me guess. She worked for the agency.”

  Now, Logan smiled at him. “You know, General, you’re pretty damned intuitive. Yes, she used to be with the company. In fact, she was a field agent and dealt a lot with the NSA. One of the rules was we’d never discuss anything to do with the company or either of our assignments. Of course, when she quit I thought that would be the end of her involvement with anything other than being a mother and wife. Truth is, we got along quite well, but . . . I never felt . . . damn, it’s hard to explain, but I’ve never been comfortable with her. I always thought it was the idea that I was sleeping and living with an agent. I knew some of the things I had done in my job and always wondered if the woman I shared my bed with was a killer. Or what she had to do to get information from people. You know, like sleeping with them. That part, I figured was the jealousy of a husband. But a couple of rather strange incidents led me to be suspicious of why she married me.”

  They ambled toward a hangar, and stopped under the wing of a parked Cessna 170. Burt squatted down in the shadows. “I came home unexpectedly and planned to surprise the girls. I’d been to Hong Kong, and had a couple of souvenirs for them. I heard Peggy speaking to someone in a low voice. I sneaked up the stairs to the bedroom door and saw her using a small radio only agents carry. I had no idea what she was saying or to whom she might be speaking. At that point I didn’t want her to know I was suspicious, so I moved away from the door and yelled for the girls . . . just to alert her I was home. Later I sent her and the girls to the pizza place to pick up our dinner. I then searched the bedroom and found a book of codes hidden in the dresser drawer where she’d hastily stuffed it when she heard my voice. My first thought was she hadn’t retired from the company, but that code book she used was not from the CIA. It came from the Mossad.”

  “She’s been reporting our every move to someone?”

  “No. She hasn’t had the opportunity since we left West Virginia. I think she isn’t supposed to report anything back to them until we get to our final destination . . . your headquarters.”

  “What do we do?” General Parker had never faced a crisis like this. In all his time coming up through the ranks in the Army, he’d killed a good many enemies, but they were soldiers trying to kill him. What do you do with a woman who was not only a traitor to her country but to her own husband?

  Burt answered, “She won’t leave the Mark Twain area with us.”

  General Parker didn’t want to know. It was nastier business than he was ready for. “Burt, I’m really sorry. I know this puts you in a bad situation.”

  Logan stood back up and stared in the distance out over the runway. There was an empty tone in his voice as he spoke. “Yeah, you know the girls’ mother was a truly fine person, and for the last few years, they’ve been so happy with Peggy. She’s been a real good mother. That’s the tough part–figuring out what to tell the girls. As to what will happen to her now you can relax. . . I’m not going to kill her, if that’s what you’re wondering. She’ll be locked up for the duration. Once things are over, I guess she’ll stand trial. We’d better get back inside. It’s close to shift change.”

  Back in the lunchroom at the rear of the hangar, General Parker hoped Peggy Logan wouldn’t notice the hatred and disgust he felt for her. He poured another cup of coffee, and joined in small talk with the girls.

  ~~~

  It came time to leave, and Logan’s group climbed into different cars in the small parking lot behind the hangar. The drivers left in three directions and drove through the residential neighborhoods like the employees would do. On the other side of town they turned south onto a deserted highway and later the cars rendezvoused at a small roadside rest area. The drivers dropped off the group and drove back towards town. Without a word spoken Logan led them down an over grown path a half mile into the deep woods. Four men in fatigues met them, saluted General Parker, and without speaking, led them another quarter mile to a small abandoned farmhouse. They walked in silence to a barn behind the house, and climbed into two four wheel drive SUVs.

  Everything happening gave General Parker cause to feel a pride he’d never known in his entire career. All these arrangements planned so far ahead just to get him to safety and a place of command. Every person involved was a true patriot. He was especially proud of the men under his command who he knew could be counted on.

  ~~~

  After traveling a few miles through the pines of the Mark Twain National Forest, the most amazing damned thing Parker could have imagined sat directly in front of them. The area was anything but conducive to a runway, with rolling hills and deep gullies, steep banks with solid rock outcrops–an altogether beautiful area of the country he had never seen. But as they rounded the side of a hill, he was flabbergasted at the sight of two RB37s, and four F30s sitting in front of a long, low building. A clear, flat stretch of land disappeared like the vanishing point on an architect’s drawing in front of the bombers. The entire strip and the building were completely covered with a sort of framework and chicken wire. Wild vines, so prevalent in this area, had grown completely over the top of the entire thing, making it the perfect camouflage.

  “Welcome to our bomber base, General.” Logan was all smiles, knowing General Parker was surprised by what lay before them. “Let’s get suited up for the trip.”

  Inside the building two men in flights suits met them. “General Parker, meet Lieutenant Commanders Withers and Johnson.” Logan said.

  Both men saluted and then shook the General’s hand. Johnson said, “Sir, there are flight suits in those two rooms. The suits might be a bit large for your girls, but they’ll be okay. We’ll wait out by the aircraft. By the time you’ve changed we’ll be ready to leave.”

  “Just out of curiosity, Commander, once you deliver us out west, where do you go?” General Parker asked.

  L.C. Johnson answered, “Why, Sir, we’re going to refuel these birds and put them under cover where we land. I hear there are people working hard on learning exactly where the enemy is headquartered. When the location is found, we’ll go drop a couple of big surprises on them. Otherwise, we’ll be at your disposal,
Sir.”

  “Oh, okay.” As he walked toward the room with Logan to change their clothes, he smiled and shook his head, again amazed at all the planning and preparations for something no one was even a hundred percent certain would come. As they changed to the flight suits he told Logan, “I hope these boys are good pilots. They sure don’t have much room for error in that tunnel of vines out there.”

  Logan chuckled. “Don’t worry about that. Those aircraft will fly themselves off the runway. Computers, you know.”

  ~~~

  Evelyn and the children climbed in two of the semi-vertol aircraft. The F30s shot out the end of the tunnel and disappeared from sight in seconds.

  Burt then turned to Peggy and gave her the bad news. “Well, Peggy, I have no idea why you would turn on your own country, but this is as far as you go.”

  Her eyes opened wide, she swallowed hard, then managed to ask, “Wha . . . what do you mean? What are you talking about?”

  “It’s over Peggy. If this war had started in earnest, you know, you’d be shot on the spot. However, I’m going to give you the chance to live. When it’s over, you’ll stand trial for treason. I’m truly sorry, not for you or myself, but for the girls. They love you. How am I ever going to explain you to them?”

  “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about?” She raised her voice defiantly.

  Burt stared at her for a few seconds, his face red with anger. “You treasonous BITCH! You know exactly what I’m talking about. Shut your lying goddamned mouth, or so help me, I’ll blow your fucking brains out right here and now for misplacing your country’s trust, my trust, and most importantly, my girls’ trust!” He jerked a thumb toward her as he nodded to two Rangers. “Take this bitch and lock her up!”

  The two Army Rangers clasped her hands behind her back, and placed plastic ties on her wrists. As they led her away she screamed, “You stupid bastards are all going to die! You know that, don’t you?”