Ten minutes later, she and Ian edged up to the ridge of the hill that backed up to the super speedway.
“Do you like NASCAR?” Ian asked.
“Never watched it.”
“Not your thing?” he asked, pulling his binoculars out of his pack and putting them to his eyes.
“No, it’s not that,” she said, and went quiet.
Ian nodded, thinking that there was more coming, but she went silent. He scanned the area looking at the hundreds of people among the infield.
“I just really liked Formula racing over Stock cars,” she said, surprising Ian. He smiled under the cover of his binoculars. “My dad was a mechanic when we were younger, and his dream was to work on one of the Formula teams. He took my sister and me to every damn Indy 500 race for like ten years straight.
Ian lowered the binoculars and looked over at the woman. “Did he ever get to work for a team?”
A tear fell down her cheek. “Yea, they were doing a race out at Road Atlanta, and one of the big sponsors was one of the firm’s clients. I pulled some strings and got my dad a pit pass and full access to the paddocks. You’d think he had gone to Heaven once he started walking down the row of open garages.”
“What happened?”
“The sponsor had received a call from our senior partner, who called the owner of the team, who then met us at the garage. He talked to my dad for nearly thirty minutes.” She smiled, and looked at Ian. “They were both old gear heads and had this love of engines and racing as a common background. Ian, this guy was worth millions, and my dad was an auto mechanic his entire life, but they still, listening to them talk, you’d think they had grown up together as equals.”
Ian nodded, feeling his own eyes misting up. “What happened next?”
“The owner asked him to assist the crew chief during the race. They gave him a uniform, walked him through the entire car, he had his own headset, the works. He told me that it was the fourth best day of his life after marrying my mother and the births of me and my sister.”
“Wow,” Ian mused. “That’s pretty awesome.”
“Yea, it was.” She wiped another tear from her eye. “He had a stroke in my car on the way home, and could…and could never work on anything again.”
Ian looked at her for a second and then reached to pull her into a hug. “I’m so sorry, Mary.”
Mary let him hold her for a few seconds before willing herself to snap back to reality, a reality that existed without her mother, her father, her sister, or her lover, as they were all vaporized by the nuclear attack on Atlanta.
“He was happy on that day,” she said, stepping back from Ian, smearing one last tear away, and effectively putting an end to the discussion. “Now, what are we supposed to be looking for?”
Ian cleared his throat and turned back to the scene below them. “I’m not really sure. I just want to see what is between us and where we are going.”
“Where are we going? You never told us.”
“The Anniston Army Depot.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m hoping that soldiers heed the president’s advice and sought out their closest base to volunteer to help.”
“You really think people are going to do that?” Mary shook her head.
“And you don’t?”
“No. Not when I’m needed to protect my family first. Think of how many people have died in America since the attack, Ian.”
He looked at her for more.
“All of the airplanes, the cars, the buses, the trains, they all stopped running and smashed into something. Most of them just stopped, but a large portion of them exploded on impact or took out populated areas. People have been without running water for almost two weeks. Food is not being delivered to stores anymore, and the pathetic response from our government is, well…pathetic! Ian, this is the new reality… People are separated from their families by hundreds if not thousands of miles, and there is no one to help them but themselves.” She stopped talking long enough to think. “The only reason I am alive is because of you and your skill and your stubbornness to not give up. If you and Bob were serious about this militia working, then you will need to become an even bigger leader than you already are.” She turned to look at the throngs that were below them. “There are thousands, no, millions of people that need that kind of leadership right now.”
Ian absorbed the pep talk peppered with critique. He smirked, thinking that he was the one that was supposed to be doing the training. Not the other way around.
CHAPTER 6
Leah awoke to the sound of her dog thumping her tail on the ground. Daisy only wagged at people she knew.
“Grace and the others are here,” Mary whispered towards Ian and Leah’s makeshift tent, pitched in front of the Jeep. She was on guard duty when the four horses emerged out of the edge of a field on the other side of the road.
Violet was also up. She ran to meet her sons as they drew closer.
“I don’t think we should split up again,” Ian said quietly to his wife.
“Agreed,” she said, stepping out of the tent just as the group trudged into camp.
“Hey, Mom.”
Leah fought to contain the emotion welling up inside of her; she wanted to be strong for Grace and Anna.
“Hey girls, I heard there was some action along the way? Are you two alright?”
Grace nodded and smiled. Anna raised her eyebrows. “If you could call blowing up a truck full of troops, action, then yes, there was some of that, Mrs. Burrows.”
Leah went to take the leads of the horses so that the girls could dismount. She then brought both of them into a tight motherly hug. “How many times do I have to tell you Anna? Please call me Leah now.”
All three started laughing while in the hug.
“Yes, ma’am, I mean L..Leah.”
“Hey, guys.” Ian said, throwing his arms around the three ladies.
“Dad, you stink,” Grace said, turning her nose at her father with a smile.
“You don’t smell so good yourselves, ladies,” he said, smiling. “I think it is something like ode de horse!”
Grace slapped his upper arm, and they all laughed.
Violet and the boys walked up with their horses.
“Sir, I have a report if you want it,” Joshua offered.
Ian looked at the boys who looked just as tired as the girls did. “I do son, but first, lets see if we can get some breakfast. After I get that report, we need to plan our next step in this journey.
“Yes, sir,” Joshua said.
“I made a roped off area over here for the horses,” Mary offered. “Let me help you guys take the saddles off.”
A few minutes later, the horses were chewing on high grass and drinking water, and there was a fire ready to cook some of the eggs that they had brought.
“There’s a rabbit,” Anna said, pointing to the creature hopping a dozen yards away from their camp. “Should we eat it or something?”
“I don’t think shooting would be a good idea unless he have to,” Ian offered. “Grace, if you had your bow, I bet you could get it.”
Grace looked at her father. “Really, Dad, this isn’t the Hunger Games! Especially when I have an AR-15.”
Everyone laughed.
“Bullets won’t last forever, honey. It wouldn’t hurt for us all to learn some of the old school skills. Life is very, very different now.”
“That sounds like something Dad would’ve said,” Adam offered.
“Well, your father was a smart man.”
“So, what’s our next move?” Joshua asked, breaking up the joviality, and directing the conversation away from the memory of his father. “I know we can’t go to Atlanta anymore. So, where are we headed?”
Ian and Leah exchanged looks before Ian spoke. “Our goal is the Anniston Army Depot. I believe that we can interlace with some of the existing troops that have made it back and possibly find a refuge. They should have some way of communicating with up
stream.”
“What about activating your watch again?” Grace asked, shaking her own watch as she did.
“Yeah, I don’t know if I want to do that again.”
“Why not?” Violet asked. It was the first time that she had truly participated in a conversation since the burial.
Leah took the answer. “It’s time we come clean about some things.” She unknowingly reached to hold her husband’s hand as she spoke.
No one said a word, waiting for her to continue.
“Grace knows this, but no one else knows that Ian and I both work for the CIA.”
No one spoke.
“It was actually Leah that recruited me,” Ian started. He gave her hand a squeeze. “After active Army, I never left government service. My job is a cover so that I can travel easier and perform my duties for the Agency.”
“And my career with the charity was also a cover for the same reasons.”
“So,” Joshua spoke up. “Just to be clear, you were a Captain in the Army, and now you are a spy?”
“Technically, I’m actually a Colonel, but my cover kept me at a Captain, and we actually prefer the term agent or operative instead of spy.”
“That explains a lot of stuff,” Mary voiced quietly.
“Mary, I tried to tell you before,” Ian said, surprising his wife with the admission. She turned her head to him for an explanation.
“It was right before the dam blew, and we were washed down the river. Mary suspected something, and I actually wasn’t sure how far we would make it, so…” he shrugged.
Leah nodded and turned back to the group. “This doesn’t change anything, but we would like you all to know because, not only are we a militia, we are survivors and dare I say, family, now.” She wiped a tear from her eye.
“The main reason we are telling you this is so that we can start working as a unit…as a militia.”
“You mean as the War Dawgs,” Grace offered.
“Exactly! Every good unit works by dividing responsibilities and ranks.”
“Do you really think we need ranks?” Violet asked. “I figured we would all just do what is best for the group.”
“If we stay this size, then you are correct,” Ian offered. “But, I know Bob and I talked about building a group that could start hurting the enemy.”
Everyone bobbed their heads at that statement.
“So, I think we may find some people in that camp below us who might be interested in fighting. And if we walk into Anniston Army Depot with a force, then we have a better negotiation leg to stand on.”
“So, you think they will just let us walk in?” Anna asked.
“No, if I was running the base, I wouldn’t let us in. So, I think I will have to pull rank, which is another reason I wanted you to know that I was a Colonel.”
“So how do we go about dividing our responsibilities and our ranks,” Adam asked.
“Okay, here is what I am proposing,” he took a deep breath, knowing that this could be instrumental or devastating if he had read his troops wrong. “Joshua, I want you and Grace to be my Captains. As we grow, we will divide into companies. I want Adam to work with Joshua as his Lieutenant,” both boys smiled. This was the roll they were already used to from life as brothers. “The LT is critical to the support of the company and allows the captain to make the right decisions.”
“Violet, can I ask you to take on the roll of Doctor?”
She nodded, a tear rolled over her cheek.
“You would also be a captain. And, Anna,” Ian said, turning his gaze to his daughter’s best friend. “I am promoting you to Lieutenant, and it is your job to support Violet medically.”
Anna smiled and put her arm around Violet.
“Mary,” she was standing just off of the circle, her eyes looking around as she was still on guard duty. She turned to look at him.
“Yeah?”
“I need a communications specialist.”
“But, all we have are two-ways.”
“For now, but as our ranks grow, so will our communications. This position is critical to what we need.”
“Okay,” she said, and turned back to guard duty.
“So, am I an army of one?” Grace asked. “Who’s going to be my LT?”
“I will,” Leah offered.
“Mom, I can’t give you orders. It should be the other way around. You should be leading a company.”
“I’m not the same natural leader that you are,” she simply said, nixing the discussion.
The comment floored Grace.
“Okay, with that done, Grace, you wanted to know why I didn’t use the watch to signal Washington again?”
“Yes, sir.”
“We think there is a leak,” Leah spoke.
“Someone gave away our position. The attack at the farm was too strong of a show of force, and it came within the hour after D.C. confirmed who I was, where I was, and what mission they wanted me to do.”
“What did they ask you to do?” Joshua asked.
“Kill Senator Payne.”
“Are you going to do it?” Grace asked.
Ian paused a few seconds before answering. He was mulling over his answer. “Only if I get the opportunity. If I learned anything from Bob’s death, it’s that I must protect my family first before the needs of my country.”
“Doesn’t that kind of fly in the face of everything that you did with the CIA?” Grace followed up.
“Not when I think I have been exposed. It’s family first from now on, Gracie. Besides, if we get a little luck on our side, the War Dawgs can play a significant role in winning our country back. This is where I need to be.”
CHAPTER 7
Colonel Xu regarded the man with contempt, but he could not let that emotion show. Instead, he presented himself with stern respect when in the company of the PNA’s new governor.
The entire day before had been dedicated to tending to the needs of the politician and hunting some rogue CIA agent. As far as he was concerned, the CIA agent was a distraction from winning battles, taking territory, and imposing the will of the State on the shell-shocked citizens of the former United States.
Xu took a sip of his warm tea, gently set the cup back down onto the saucer, and then walked up to stand next to the Governor. Governor Payne was studying a giant map on the wall with burning intent.
“What are you thinking about?” Xu asked. He knew very well what the man was thinking about … and he knew he was about to get an ear full of it.
“Colonel,” Payne responded without ever turning his gaze from the map. “I’m trying to figure out how one man can be responsible for the destruction of five helicopters, three troop transports, all filled with your troops, one communications array, an engineering squad, and still manage to slip by your detection?” He turned and raised an eyebrow in question. “Do you still feel that we should abandon our pursuit of this man? Do you feel that way because you are afraid of loosing more equipment and troops?”
The general swallowed hard. For as much as he hated the man responsible for inflicting this type of damage to his command, he felt that he actually hated the Governor more for pointing it out.
“Sir,” the Colonel started. “I have a finite amount of resources at my disposal, and the commanders need me to accomplish my objectives on schedule, using what I have been given.”
“So, you don’t care about our problem, Colonel?” Payne asked, in a condescending tone.
“Sir, that is not what I am saying. I…”
“Spit it out, man! What are you saying?” Payne cut him off, in order to shake his resolve. It was a tactic he used in the courtroom and on the congressional floor.
Colonel Xu paused at the outburst. He too was schooled in political discussions and needed this one to remain tolerable. “Sir,” he put a finger on the map. “Our objective is to support the next step in the plan.” He said the statement, as if the governor should already know this fact. His finger was on top of Birmingham, Alab
ama. “Between Birmingham and Nashville,” he continued, “we are to fortify against an American attack from the east.”
“And what of your camps?”
“We are behind schedule on all of the reconditioning camps,” Xu reluctantly admitted.
Payne rolled his eyes and pounded his open hand against the map. His hand covered southern California and Nevada. “Well, your counterparts seem to know what they are doing in the west. Why are yours so strapped? Do you have a problem managing what has been given to you?”
Xu was a little taken aback by the charge. Suddenly, he was on the defensive against the Governor. He had gone from trying to make a point that he did not have the resources necessary to go on a wild goose chase, to fending off an assault against his ability to properly lead his men.
“Xu, I asked you a question,” Payne turned his voice down by a fraction. He still held his hand on the map.
“Yes, sir,” Xu recovered. He had worked hard for this command. The southern command of the State’s army was critical to the overall success of the mission. The shipping access and oil from the Gulf of Mexico were critical supply chain pieces of infrastructure, and it was his command’s responsibility to maintain the access to both. If the other nuclear bombs had gone off on the east coast as planned, he would not have the problem of fortifying against an east coast attack from the Americans. But he knew that thought would be seen as an excuse. He needed an answer.
“Sir, we will redouble our efforts on the main camp in Birmingham,” it was his turn to use the map as a tool. He drew an imaginary circle around the city. “We should have most residents, that are still alive, rounded up with in the next two weeks. I have several columns of tanks moving up from the Gulf to fortify positions here, here, and here.” Xu touched the Tennessee River, Birmingham, and Montgomery. “They are almost in place, so I can free up resources. In fact, I have a young Captain that I would like to lead the hunt for this criminal of the State,” Xu surmised.
Worst Case Scenario - Book 5: Militia Page 3