by Mark Goodwin
Shelly confirmed Matt’s guess. “Yeah, because it’s a daily devotional, it has dates rather than page numbers. It wouldn’t matter which printing or type size you had as long as it’s a classic edition. And, it’s widely available. Another upside is that very few of the liberals in Howe’s camp would have ever heard of the book. Being Christian devotional literature, they’d be quite unfamiliar with it.”
Matt commented, “That’s ingenious. I hope my leg is good enough to roll with you by Saturday.”
Adam said, “Not a chance, cousin. We’re going to need two people here. I need you and Joe to run the communications hub for the operation. I’m going to try to replicate the old situation room from Joe’s in your shed, if it’s okay with you, that is.”
Matt nodded his approval.
Adam continued, “You and Joe will be battle tracking. We’ll be feeding intel to you two. Joe will work the radio, and you’ll be plotting locations on the map. If anyone needs info on another team’s location or the location of enemy forces that have been spotted, you’ll be responsible for feeding it to them. That’s what Franklin was doing.”
“I can handle that,” Matt said.
“It’s tougher than it sounds,” Adam responded, “but I’m confident that you can do it.”
“Shelly, you’re going to Pikeville?” Matt questioned.
Shelly placed her hands on her hips. “Can’t stop me.”
Adam shook his head. “Can’t stop her. She’s like an animal. Once she’s tasted blood.…”
Shelly slapped him playfully in the back of the head.
“What about Doc?” Matt asked.
Adam considered the question. “You said he has no training or combat experience, right?”
“None,” Matt said.
Adam thought for a moment then made a suggestion. “Can you talk to him about going along as a medic? He could stay in the rear of the action and be there for folks that get injured. I’d still like to get him out and work with him for a day with the pistol. He should at least have a side arm if he decides to go.”
Matt agreed. “I’ll mention it to him tonight. I’m sure he’ll want to help out in any way that he can.”
Shelly bent over the grave as if to say farewell to Wesley.
Matt commented on the selection of the grave site. “It’s certainly a serene spot that you picked.”
“It is,” Shelly concurred. “This is where I want to be buried; right next to Wes.”
Adam gave her a squeeze on the shoulder. “God still has work for you down here. You still have a life to live.”
Shelly said, “But I sure do miss him.”
“We all do,” Adam added.
The three of them headed back to the house. Matt felt guilty that he wasn’t in fighting condition, but he knew Karen would be glad to hear that he would be serving away from the front line.
CHAPTER 29
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent. Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.”
-Isaiah 5:20-24
Late Tuesday night, Anthony Howe sat in the White House theatre room watching a documentary on the Holocaust. On this rare occasion, Jena, his wife, sat with him.
Jena said, “They say those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”
Howe answered, “That’s true. Adolf’s weakness was that he failed to sell his idea to the world. I’m not saying I approve of his motivation, but I do admire the man for his passion. He understood that one must rule with a strong hand.”
Jena shook her head. “I can’t believe you admire Hitler.”
Anthony rebutted, “I’m giving him credit for his management style. I didn’t say I admired his principles or share his particular view of a utopian society. Give me some credit. I have my own ambitions about the way the world should be.”
Jena said, “Our daughter was in the D.C. Star again this week.”
Howe said, “Good.”
“Good?” Jena snapped. “It’s a picture of Elizabeth snorting heroin in a bathroom at the Columbia Country Club. How is that good?”
Howe shot back, “I didn’t know it was a bad picture. Don’t bark at me. Besides, she’s young. She’ll grow out of it. No one pays any attention to the D.C. Star. Everyone gets their picture in there once in a while. If memory serves me, you had your picture in there, passed out drunk at a state dinner.”
Jena screamed, “And then there was your picture coming out of a hotel with that whore.”
Howe got up and grabbed his drink. “I knew this was a bad idea. Make sure you stay on your side of the house. If you’re going to use any common areas, check with facilities first and make sure I won’t be using them.”
Howe removed the video disk and headed towards his study to watch the rest. His phone rang. “Yes?”
It was his Chief of Staff, Alec Renzi. “Hale and the Joint Chiefs are ready for you in the Woodshed, sir.”
The president answered, “Okay, make sure there is scotch on the table. Have them put the Blue Label by my chair and put whatever in the middle of the table. Put them both in decanters so no one thinks I’m handing out the swill while I drink top shelf.”
Howe stopped by his room and threw on a pair of jeans and a knit top, then headed down to the West Wing. Anthony Howe entered the conference room and said, “Show me some pictures.”
Hale queued the slide show to display on the screens all around the room. “The AGM 158 JASSM-ERs were outfitted with their nuclear warheads at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada late last night. B-2s flew out of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to Nellis this morning. The planes that will be launching the missiles at the Southern Coalition returned to Whiteman this afternoon. The planes designated to attack the North Western Coalition and Texas will take off from Nellis. They are armed, refueled and will be taking off at four o’clock in the morning. This image shows the scheduled location of each plane where they are to launch the missiles. The planes will never leave federally controlled airspace. The JASSM-ER is an extended range version of the original AGM 158 JASSM. They will be able to reach their intended target areas with little threat of detection. This next slide shows the scheduled detonation site of each missile. The effective range of the electromagnetic pulse from each missile overlaps and ensures a high rate of electromagnetic destruction.”
Howe asked, “And that will wipe out the grid, automobiles, and all electronics?”
Hale replied, “The grid will absolutely go down. Even in the areas where you see gaps between the effective zones, the grid will suffer a cascading failure. DOD ran several tests on automobiles and we had varying results on different makes and models. Most military vehicles have been hardened against EMP, but those close to the blasts will still likely be taken out. Sensitive electronics in the center of the effective zones will be disabled at 100 percent. Electronics outside of the zones will have various degrees of damage. It was the best we could do with the time frame given, sir.”
Anthony Howe nodded his approval. “Just living without electricity will have them in the dark ages and killing each other within a week. Gentlemen, you’ve all done a spectacular job. I’ve provided some very fine scotch. Please help yourselves.”
Howe poured a glass for Scott Hale from his own decanter. He smiled as he thought to himself, At least I’ll make him gag on the good stuff.
Most everyone took Howe up on his offer. Many of the Joint Chiefs would be sitting up all night to monitor the progress of the attack. It was now just before midnight. They’d be pretty well snookered by 4:00
AM.
Howe only half listened as the physicist from DOD gave a presentation on the possible nuclear fallout from the high-altitude detonation of the missiles.
Howe patted Alec Renzi on the shoulder and said, “Wake me up around five and let me know how everything went. Tell Jared to have a statement ready for the Federal States tomorrow morning.” Howe snorted. “And remind him that he doesn’t have to worry about spinning it to win approval in the Coalition. They won’t have television in the morning anyway.”
Howe retired to his private bedroom and had another drink by himself before he went to sleep.
CHAPTER 30
“When the tempest rages, when the thunders roar, and the lightnings blaze around us, it is then that the truly brave man stands firm at his post.”
-Luther Martin, Delegate
to the Constitutional Convention
Matt woke up early Wednesday morning to the sound of thunder. He opened his eyes to see a dim light. He closed his eyes again. It feels early. It must be storming outside. The clouds must be blocking the sunrise, he thought. What an odd light. He opened his eyes again to see the strange illumination. It had nearly dissipated.
Karen rolled over. “What was that noise?”
“Thunder,” he replied.
“Why are you sitting up?” she asked.
“I thought the sun was coming up. I don’t know what happened. It looks like it went back down.” Matt looked over at the LED clock radio on the side of the bed. It was off. “Lightning must have knocked out the power. I’m going to check outside.”
“What time is it?” Karen asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll check my phone.” Matt walked over to the desk where his phone charged. “My phone is dead. The lighting must have ran through the lines. I’m going to make sure nothing is on fire.”
Karen sat up. “Okay. Do you want me to help?”
“I’ll be fine,” he said.
Matt flicked on his flashlight and hobbled on his injured leg to the kitchen. Justin was already up and checking around.
Doc soon joined them from the foldout couch in the office. “Did you guys hear that?”
“Thunder,” Matt said.
Justin commented, “It didn’t sound like thunder. It sounded more like an explosion.”
“What time is it?” Matt asked.
Doc shined his flashlight on his watch. “4:30.”
Matt added, “I thought I saw the sun coming up when I woke up. It couldn’t have been.”
“Maybe it was lightning,” Doc said.
“No,” Matt replied. “It lasted way too long to be lightning. Whatever it was, it knocked out the power. It also took out my cell phone.”
The three men walked outside and looked around. They looked toward the sky which was filled with stars.
Doc said, “It couldn’t have been thunder or lightning; there’s not a cloud in the sky.”
The thought struck Matt suddenly. “EMP.”
Justin said, “Wow, maybe.”
Doc asked, “What’s that?”
Matt explained, “Electromagnetic pulse. It can be generated by a high-altitude detonation of a nuclear warhead.”
Doc inquired, “And it will knock out the electricity?”
Justin said, “At the very least.”
Matt said, “We should check the trucks, see if they’ll start.”
Matt went inside and retrieved the keys.
Doc lectured him, “You get your crutches while you’re in there. If you damage that muscle tissue, you won’t be able to blame that on an EMP.”
“Roger that,” Matt replied. He soon reappeared with his crutches and the keys to both trucks and the van left by the men who attempted to rob Matt’s home. Justin had been using Wesley’s truck. Matt tossed keys to Justin and tried starting his own truck. Doc tried the van. They were all newer model vehicles. None would start.
Matt said, “Well, we better start figuring out what works and what doesn’t. We’re up now anyway.”
Justin said, “Do you think this could be a preemptive strike? Could they be invading right now?”
Matt said, “I don’t know, it’s possible.”
“Maybe I should run over to Adam’s,” Justin responded.
“That might be a good idea,” Matt acknowledged. “Take a rifle, just in case.”
Justin agreed and went inside to get dressed.
Matt went inside to tell Karen.
“No!” she exclaimed.
“I’ve got to start making a plan to implement as soon as the sun comes up,” Matt said.
“I’ll get some breakfast going,” Karen said. “Will the gas stove still work?”
“Yes,” he answered, “but be very stingy with it. Once the tank is empty, it may never be refilled again.”
Karen said, “We can cook on the wood stove.”
“In the winter we can, but without air conditioning, this house won’t be bearable with a wood stove going inside during the summer months. We’ll start cooking outside when we can to conserve gas,” Matt stated.
“What about the solar panels?” Karen asked.
“I’ll go check those out right now.” Matt headed toward the metal work shed down by the creek.
“Anything I can help with?” Doc followed him down the path to the shed.
“Yeah, maybe,” Matt answered.
When they arrived at the shed, Matt looked at the charge controller on his solar setup. “Looks like the charge controller is fried.”
Doc asked, “It looks like you had it grounded. Why did it get fried?”
Matt replied, “I don’t know. Maybe the cords from the panels acted like an antenna and brought the pulse straight into the controller.” He flicked on the inverter. “Inverter and batteries still work. I guess the metal shed protected them. I’ve got a cheap charge controller that came as part of a kit. I’ll see if it works.”
Doc said, “Should we go back to the house and have breakfast? The sun will be up by the time we’re done and we’ll be able to see what we’re doing.”
“Good call,” Matt said.
The two men walked back to the house where Rene and Karen were preparing breakfast.
“The fridge isn’t going to stay cold very long,” Karen said as the men walked in the door.
Matt replied, “The inverter and battery bank is still working. I’ll run a cord up to the house after breakfast. We’ll be able to run the fridge off the battery bank for a few days.”
Over breakfast the four of them speculated on what the EMP strike would mean for them long term and they wondered if an invasion was coming. As they finished breakfast, they heard an unfamiliar vehicle pull into the drive.
The conversation about a possible invasion was still fresh in Matt’s mind. He said, “Karen, go grab some weapons from the bedroom. I can’t move fast with my leg, or I’d do it myself.”
“Of course.” Karen scurried off and returned with a pistol and a rifle. Matt took the pistol so he could still walk to the window with his crutches.
Matt peered out the window. “It’s Justin, Adam and Gary. I don’t know whose truck that is.”
Justin came in the house as the truck pulled away. “None of Adam’s vehicles will start.”
“Whose truck was that?” Matt inquired.
Justin answered, “It was Michael’s. We were keeping it at Gary’s. Gary drove it over to Adam’s while I was there. Adam is going to drive him home and come back here with the truck.”
“Do any of Gary’s automobiles start?” Doc asked.
“No,” Justin answered. He then gave an abbreviated account of the interrogation of Michael’s brother-in-law, Milton. “So Gary has Milton’s old Camaro which also works. I think it’s a 1972. No computer in there.”
Matt shook his head, “There’s a lot to be said for having an old beater. What year is the truck?”
Justin said, “Probably a 1978. I’d say most anything from before 1980 should still start.”
Jus
tin asked about the solar panels and Matt explained which components had been affected. After breakfast the guys headed to the shed. Matt scratched through some boxes and pulled out several of the small solar panels they scavenged from the top of bus stations during their excursion to Louisville weeks earlier.
“Let’s get these hooked up and see what we’ve got.” Matt handed one of the small panels to Doc. “Justin, can you go on the roof and disconnect the cords from the panels?”
“You got it.” Justin placed the ladder against the shed and climbed to the roof. He threw each cord down as he disconnected them.
Matt began connecting the small panels from the bus stations to the extra charge controller. “The indicator light says they’re charging.”
“That’s good news,” Doc commented.
“Do you want to replace the ones on the roof with these?” Justin inquired.
Matt replied, “The shed gets good sun in the morning, but almost nothing in the afternoon because of the trees. I’m thinking we should get some type of wagon and set the entire system up to be mobile. We can move it around the property to whichever area has the most sun. It’ll be a lot less work than clearing an area big enough to not be affected by the shade. We’ll break the battery bank into two sets of batteries. We’ll use half of them to set up a battery bank near the house for running the fridge and a very few essentials. The other batteries will be on the charging station. We’ll have to switch out the batteries from the bank to the charging wagon every day, but we’ll have a fridge.”
Justin said, “Good plan. How about using your hand cart for a base to construct the solar wagon?”
Matt nodded, “That should work. There’s some lumber around back that we can use to build a platform. I guess a two-level table would work best. We can place the panels on top and the batteries and charger below.”
Adam pulled up in the old pickup truck and drove down to the work shed. He parked, then walked over to observe the project the men were working on. “What’ve you guys got goin’ on?” he asked.