THE TOCABAGA CHRONICLES: (BOX SET PART III - BOOKS #9-10)

by Thomas H. Ward

  I said, “Ok. This is a good start. I’ll bring the stuff here tomorrow along with a couple of radios. Anyone got any questions?” No one replied. “Alright then, I’ll see you sometime tomorrow.”

  We shook hands and as I walked out the door I yelled, “Habib, don’t forget to lock up those guns!”

  Baldwin and his men were busy clearing buildings. It was getting late so I decided to walk the mile and a half home because Mike had my truck. I needed the exercise anyway. I broke into a slow jog. It felt good running; I love to run because it makes me feel alive. I noticed the wind was blowing from the north. Glancing at the bended palm tree leaves, I surmised the wind was blowing about 20 mph. That meant a cold front was coming.

  After about half a mile, I stopped to watch a fish hawk scoop its prey out of the water, on the wing. It was a beautiful sight to see. It was peaceful, so I sat there for half an hour.

  The fish hawk is called an Osprey. They resemble Bald Eagles, but smaller. The Bald Eagle hunts fish in the same manner. I envy their eye sight and skill at hunting. It’s really very amazing how they pluck a tiny fish out of the water while flying.

  They dive from high in the air, zooming down, and at the last minute they flair out their wings to reduce the speed. Gliding over the water they extend their talons just under the surface by an inch or so and whala there’s a fish. The fish hawk pulls up, flapping its wings to gain altitude, while holding the wiggling prey. They always land in the same spot to devour their catch, which is high atop a tree or pole. The hawk holds the prey tight until it stops moving. It lets out a loud screech, and then using its sharp beak, it rips the fish open.

  Continuing home, I stopped to chat with Chris who was on guard duty on bridge. Chris asked, “How’s it going over there?”

  “It’s going good. The Templars are incredible. I’m sure glad they’re on our side,” I said. I proceeded to tell Chris how Baldwin cut off the guy’s head.

  “Wow, that’s pretty intense. Why didn’t Baldwin just shoot him?”

  “He claims it scares the shit out them to lose their head. No head, then no virgins in heaven.”

  Chris laughed a little. “When you think about that, it makes a lot of sense.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe so, but I think they could get pissed off and come back.”

  “Jack, you worry too much.”

  “It’s my job to worry. I gotta go, how about giving me a ride to the Green Room.”

  Sure enough, sitting in the Green Room was Mike and Lisa. “Hey Jack, what’s up? How’s the clearing going?” Mike was a little drunk and so was Lisa.

  “I thought you were coming back to pick me up. You missed a lot of action. What happened to the old lady?”

  “Sorry to say, she didn’t make it. That’s why we’re here having a drink. We’re having a celebration of life, so to speak. Tomorrow I’m gonna get her husband and bury them together at sea.”

  I poured a drink, took a sip, and lit up a smoke. “You missed Baldwin in action. We found two al-Qaida fighters and he cut one’s head off.”

  “No shit. That’s over doing it a bit, isn’t it?”

  “He has his reasons.” I slapped Mike on the back. “I’m going home for dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  I drove my Humvee home and arrived just in time for dinner at 6 pm. My family was just sitting down as I walked in the back door. Adolf greeted me with a wagging tail. It was good to be home. I put my M4 in the safe. I usually wear my Glock at all times, but tonight I took it off.

  After dinner, Adam asked me, “You wanna look at the map some more?” I could tell he was expecting me to say yes.

  “Sure,” I replied, “You go on up and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  I told the adult members of my family what happened today. They all knew Habib, and were surprised that he was living in the old clubhouse. Then I told them about the two al-Qaida fighters we found.

  Tommy commented, “Damn, they were living in our backyard so to speak.” What did you do with those guys? Kill them?”

  “Baldwin killed one and let the woman and the other one go free.” I didn’t tell them that Baldwin cut off one of their heads.

  My son-in-law, Jim Bo, said, “What do you mean, let them go?”

  “He had his men take them to I-275 and let them go. I think, I don’t know for sure. Maybe they did kill them on the side of the road.” Then it occurred to me that maybe they really did kill them.

  Hemmi asked, “How long before that area is safe?”

  “Honey, I don’t know for sure, maybe a couple of weeks. Why?”

  “Most of us women have been stuck on this island for a year or more. It would be nice to meet some new people, just to get off of this island.”

  “Yeah, you’re right as always. I’ll tell you what, tomorrow I have to take some supplies to Habib and the others. Why don’t you and Amy come along and help out for a couple of hours. You could meet Habib’s wife.”

  Hemmi smiled. “Ok, that sounds great. What time do we leave?”

  “I was thinking sometime around noon. We’ll take them some food as a gift.”

  “I’ll make a special treat for them.”

  “Ok, that sounds good. I’m going upstairs to talk with Adam for a while.”

  Arriving at Adams room, I knocked on the door. “It’s me.”

  “Grandpa, come in,” Adam shouted.

  Adam had the U.S. map spread out on the bed. “Did you find anything new?” I asked.

  “Well, not really, but I was thinking. All these guys like De Soto, Ponce de Leon, Cortez, and so forth, didn’t come to Florida by mistake. They had some kind of map or information. They were looking for the treasure. I have no doubt about it.

  “De Soto came to the west coast of Florida first. Both he and Cortez sailed through the dangerous Florida Keys. Cortez kept sailing west and found Mexico in 1518. It wasn’t until 1539 that Hernando de Soto landed in Tampa Bay. Why did he come here of all places?”

  Adam paused and I said, “I don’t know, but go ahead, you’re making a lot of sense.”

  “Well, I don’t know either, but if you follow his trail, he traveled north by land through Florida and then west to the Mississippi River. He discovered the Mississippi.”

  While peering at the map I commented, “I think you’re right. He traveled around the southern end of Florida and headed north, just like the clues on the sword state.”

  “Yes, and furthermore, the great river that flows out of the north has to be the Mississippi.”

  “I think you’re on to something. Then where did he go?”

  Adam touched my shoulder. “He died there from battle wounds and a fever in 1542. The expedition ended when he died.”

  Shaking Adam’s hand, I said, “Great job. I think you’re exactly right. The great river that flows from the north is the Mississippi. Now we just have to find what other large river flows into the Mississippi from the west.”

  “Yes. That’s what I’m looking for now. If we can find that then it could be our starting point. Do you think they used a compass of some kind?”

  “Yeah. It’s a known fact that the Vikings used a rough magnetic compass, so I’m sure the Templars had one. The sword says the summer solstice sun will light the way. So we got some time before that happens,” I told Adam.

  “When is that exactly?”

  “It varies, but it’s sometime in mid-June. We can find the exact date later.”

  “Gee whiz, that’s nine months away, Grandpa.”

  “Yep, but it might take us a couple of months to find the spot. The problem is, if we don’t find the right location when the solstice happens, we’ll have to wait another year,” I advised Adam.

  “Wow, I never thought of that. This isn’t so easy, is it?”

  I chuckled a little. “No, it’s not easy. We have to be in the right location at the right time or we’ll never find the treasure. Adam, I’m gonna hit the hay now. Don’t stay up too late.”

  Ad
am hugged me and replied, “Thanks Grandpa. This is really fun working with you to find the treasure location. Good night.”

  “Yep, it’s fun. You did a good job.” I rubbed the top of his head messing up his hair. “Good night.”

  I went downstairs for a smoke and poured a double shot. Tommy and Adolf were sitting on the patio. It seemed that everyone else was in bed or getting ready for bed. Tommy asked me, “Ok, tell me what really happened with Baldwin today?”

  “I didn’t wanna say anything in front of the women, but he cut the head off of one al-Qaida fighter. He really did let the other two go free so they would tell their friends. Baldwin’s theory is they’re scared to get their heads cut off, so they won’t come around here anymore.”

  “I hope he’s right. Hey, what are you and Adam working on?”

  “We’re trying to find the treasure location.”

  “Why? Are you going treasure hunting?” Tommy asked.

  “At first, I didn’t want anything to do with it. Now I think it could be a once in a lifetime adventure. It would really be something to find the Ark.”

  “If you found it, what would you do with it?”

  “That’s a good question. I haven’t thought about that.”

  Tommy walked into the kitchen and poured us both another drink. Coming back he asked, “Do you have any idea where it is?”

  “Yeah, it’s out west.” I took a sip of booze. “It’s pretty far away.”

  “Well you’ve been out west a lot. It’s a big place. You could hide a treasure anywhere. Is that all you know, it’s out west?”

  “I’m not a hundred percent sure of the exact location, but I know the general location. I haven’t told Adam yet because I want him to find it.”

  “Ok, tell me the general location.” Tommy asked.

  “I don’t wanna say where right now. When I’m positive, I’ll tell you.”

  “What are you gonna do make an expedition and go search for it?”

  Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking of doing. I wanna be like Indiana Jones and look for lost artifacts.” I chuckled a little.

  Tommy glanced at me. “Dad, you have no idea what’s out west. It’s probably more dangerous than here. You better think this over.”

  “I have thought it over. I’ll need the Templars, the four Humvees, four big pick-up trucks, a bunch of guns, and an airplane.”

  “What’s the plane for?”

  I put my smoke out and took a sip of whiskey. “I was thinking of using it for scouting. Rick and Jim Bo can fly small planes. If one of their planes are still in working condition, I’ll use them to scout the road ahead.”

  “When do you plan on doing this?”

  “According to the sword, the summer solstice, which is in June, will light the way to the treasure. We’ll need to leave Tocabaga in April.”

  “Doing that means you’re pulling a lot of fire power away from Tocabaga.”

  “I won’t go if the Rangers aren’t back by then. Hey, I’m gonna hit the sack. Good night.”

  Tommy replied, “I don’t think this expedition is a good idea because it’s too dangerous. That’s all I got to say about it. Goodnight.” I could tell by Tom’s tone of voice, he was upset with me.

  Climbing into bed, I found my wife was already asleep. My mind was racing, thinking about the treasure. I had gold fever. Only it wasn’t for gold. It was for something far more important. April will be here in seven months. I still had to narrow down the area where the treasure might be located. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

  Not being able to sleep, I got out of bed and went down to the computer. I searched the ACWWW, which is the same as the internet but it’s controlled by the Army. ACWWW stands for Army Command World Wide Web. Captain Sessions provided me a password a while back. This was the first time for me to use it.

  I typed in the search box, ‘Old Army Trails.’ I guessed that someone must have mapped the old trails. I knew they had to follow the trails established by the American Indians hundreds of years ago. After searching through several hundred maps, I finally found one that showed a trail headed in a westerly direction.

  Satisfied with my findings, I went to bed thinking I had almost solved the problem. All I had to do now was determine what the land marks were.

  If you have any ideas where the treasure is located, let me know.

  Email me at tocabaga.jack@gmail.com. I WILL REPLY.

  That’s all for now.

  GOD BLESS AMERICA, LAND OF THE FREE, and HOME OF THE BRAVE!

  Jack Gunn, a.k.a. Tocabaga Jack

  DRAMATIS PERSONAE

  TOCABAGA

  Adam de Molay – A future Knights Templar leader. Sent to Jack, by God.

  Abdul Adi – A five old kid who tried to kill Jack.

  Albert Madison – Navy Vet. who comes to Tocabaga with his wife and two kids.

  Army Mike – Retired Army combat vet, we just call him Mike.

  Barry – A quisling killed by the Gunn family.

  Billy – Kid found living on the street with his sister Rosie and brother Peter.

  Bill and Ted Cramer – Preppers living in the ruins near Tocabaga.

  Brogan – A Tocabaga security guard who went MIA.

  Bok Lam – A Chinese man and close friend of Jack’s since high school.

  Buck – Motorcycle gang leader killed by Maggie.

  Chase – A quisling.

  Colonel Turner – Commanding Officer of the Army Rangers based at Fort Desoto.

  Colonel Park - aka Captain Kim a South Korean spy working for China.

  Corporal Phillips – In charge of the communications office at Fort Desoto.

  Captain George Baldwin – A Knights Templar commander.

  Captain Sessions – Combat officer, commands and controls combat operations in the field.

  Captain Riley – Female tank commander, girl friend of Captain Sessions.

  Captain Zhu Lei – A commie killed by Tommy.

  Chris – Tocabaga security guard and close friend of Jack.

  Christian de Molay – Adam de Molay’s uncle. A self proclaimed Grand Master.

  Daniel Gibbs – Bad guy from a convoy on Interstate 75.

  Dew – A quisling killed by the Gunn family.

  Dirty Dan – Leader of the 22nd Avenue gang.

  Dr. Carl Urban – The inventor of the RCCD Units and friend of Jack’s.

  Dr. Carl Urban, Jr. – Son of Dr. Urban.

  Dr. Alvin Sinclair – Robot inventor and Commie killed by Jack.

  Ellen – A lonely woman.

  Emma de Molay – The sister of Adam found on Interstate 75.

  Freddy Hammon – A gang member.

  First Lt. Fisher – TALOS Warrior, Platoon commander.

  Farmer John – An old farmer saved by Jack, now living on Tocabaga.

  Guy Allen or GA – Suspected spy living on Tocabaga was killed by Jack.

  General Chen – A Red Chinese Army General in charge of the Florida invasion force.

  General Harper – Commander of the Rangers located at SOCOM.

  George Taylor – A nice kid who was bullied in school by Nick.

  Grandpa Jack – Jack de Moley the Knights Templar Grand Master.

  Hemmi – Wife of Jack Gunn.

  Habib – General Manger of the old club house.

  Jace – A Tocabaga citizen.

  Joe – RCCD tech. Supervisor; a tough guy killed by Jack.

  Little Johnny – Adopted grandson of Jack’s.

  Johnny the Fisherman – A quisling killed by security.

  Jill – A warrior killed by Feds.

  Jim Bo – Husband to Amy and son-in-law of Jack.

  Jimmy Smith – A bully from years ago.

  Ken – US Deputy Marshal who went missing.

  Leroy – The man who killed Jack’s little brother Mike.

  Lee – A Chinese invisible.

  Malcolm – A dissatisfied citizen of Tocabaga.

  Mike – Jack Gunn’s little brother killed by a d
oper.

  Maggie – Wife of Robbie, who is in charge of the farming.

  Mr. Johnson or Famer John – Old time Farmer.

  Mr. Horn – Pig farmer and dirt bag who wanted to kidnap Maggie for breeding.

  Nick – A bully from Junior High School.

  Reed Gurra – A gang member.

  Peter – Little nine year old brother to Rosie.

  Rosie – A fifteen year old girl Jack found living on the street.

  Robbie – Best friend of Jack Gunn, killed by the FPF on April 27, 2025.

  Ron – Brother of Jack Gunn Retired Navy vet. Part of Tocabaga security.

  Rick – President of Tocabaga Association, security team member.

  Sam Smith – Leader of a convoy of bad dangerous people.

  Sally – A warrior killed by Feds.

  Scotty – A quisling killed by security.

  Sergeant Hammer – Army Ranger.

  Sergeant First Class Dale – killed in action.

  Sergeant Major Willis – Ranger squad leader and security guard for Jack.

  Sergeant Cain – the Drone Master.

  Sergeant Smith - Army Ranger assigned as security guard for Jack.

  Stan – Deputy Marshal.

  Sue – Wife of Albert Madison.

  Tommy Gunn – Son of Jack Gunn and a retired Marine Scout Sniper.

  Tony – Bar keeper and sharp-shooter for Tocabaga security.

  Trini – Amazon Warrior who killed Troy.

  Troy – A quisling killed by security.

  Victor Elway – An old farmer from Ellenton now living on Tocabaga with his friend Farmer John.

  Zack – A quisling killed by the Gunn family.

  Other Books by Thomas H. Ward:

  TOCABAGA 1: Revised Edition

  TOCABAGA 2: Theoterrorism

  TOCABAGA 3: Warm Blood – Cold Steel

  TOCABAGA 4: Talos Warriors

  TOCABAGA 5: The Quislings & Adroktones

  TOCABAGA 6: The Dimachaerus Clan - Missing In Action

  TOCABAGA 7: Pàn Guó Zuì - HIGH TREASON

  TOCABAGA 8: The Invisibles

  TOCABAGA 9: THE CRIMSON CROSS

  TOCABAGA 10: POWER OF THE SWORD