I thought it would be great if Mike and Lisa hooked up. I think they’re a match for each other.
I went back to the bar and downed three double shots. Tommy drove us home. I was pretty drunk because I was tired and basically had nothing to eat all day. I hadn’t had more than two hours sleep in two days.
It was 10 pm when we walked in the house and we were greeted by our wives and kids. I had some fruit with a hard-boiled egg and then took a shower. The shower made me feel a lot better.
I fell onto the bed exhausted. My wife started to give me a back rub. It felt great and helped me relax those sore muscles. I advised her that the Red Chinese were stopped for the time being and that Park was dead. I also gave her the bad news that Trini was killed.
She didn’t say a word about Trini, but told me. “I’m proud of you, but you take too many risks.”
That’s all I remember before passing out from exhaustion.
JULY 11, 2025
The kids were yelling, “Wake up Grandpa!” My grandchildren were in the room poking me to wake up. I started to laugh because it tickled. I jumped out of bed, growled like a bear, and they ran downstairs screaming.
I love all my grandkids, Johnny, Jimmy, Shanda, Billy, Rosie, Peter, and Kendra. I think that’s all of them. They have, more or less, a normal life free of worry and violence here on Tocabaga. The only one to leave the island recently was Johnny, when Federal agents kidnapped us both.
That reminded me I need to call Rico and tell him about the Chinese invasion. I also promised Rico I would come over and help him out. Looking at the clock it was almost noon.
I gotta call Captain Sessions and advise him that we stopped the Reds from gaining a foot hold. I wondered if they found the invisible gunboat?
While taking a shower I found a tick in my arm. I could see it, but needed someone to remove it. If you don’t remove a tick it can cause a fever and infection. My muscles were sore from two days of being on the go. My knees were cracking with each step. They just plain hurt each time I stood up.
I had black and blue marks all over my face and body. Park gave me two black eyes after bashing me in the face. There was a gash on my forehead from hitting it on the inside of the Hummer. I cleaned the gash with peroxide and alcohol. Then I applied some antibiotic cream.
I was brushing my teeth and found a couple of loose front teeth. I’ll go to Doc Scott and have him put some surgical super glue around my gums to hold them tight until they heal. If they keep wiggling around I might lose them. I shaved my head and trimmed my goatee.
After putting on a tee shirt and jeans, I went down to the kitchen for some chow. Hemmi said, “You look like a walking zombie. Sit down. I made some fried eggs and chicken.”
I said, “Before I eat get some tweezers and pull this tick out of my arm.”
“Let me see it.” Hemmi looked at it and went to the cabinet for the medical kit.
I pulled out a chair and sat down exposing the back of my arm. As she picked up the tweezers I told her, “Grab it close to the skin. Make sure you get the head out.”
We have a lot of experience removing ticks. The dirty little blood suckers are all over the place. That’s one reason why I shave my head. We check each other for ticks every week.
I could feel Hemmi pulling on the tick. She was slowly pulling the bug out from under my skin. Hemmi commented, “I got the bastard. It’s a big one.” She held it up, close to my face, showing me the half inch long blood sucker.
“Flush it down the toilet,” I told her.
Hemmi came back and poured me a cup of hot java. I asked, “Where did everyone go?”
“Give me your arm. I’ll put some alcohol on it to kill the germs.” While cleaning the tick wound she said, “The kids are outside playing. The men are on guard duty and doing whatever it is they do.”
She finished cleaning my wound and told me. “Jim is able to hobble around and went down to the main bridge. Amy and Tommy are arranging for Trini’s funeral service to be held tomorrow.”
“Yeah, it’s a damn shame that Trini got killed. Everyone will miss her. She was a great warrior. I feel somewhat responsible for her death.”
“Jack, you can’t protect everybody.”
I finished eating, grabbed another cup of coffee, and went out on the patio for a smoke. Hemmi followed me out and asked, “Are we safe from a Chinese invasion for the time being?”
“Yeah, for now, but I fear they’ll be back.”
“I couldn’t believe that Park tried to kill you. He was so friendly to us and the kids.”
“Park had me fooled, but not Tommy. I should have killed him sooner.”
“Did he give you those black eyes?”
I nodded my head and asked, “Could you please get me two aspirins? My whole body hurts.”
Hemmi brought me the aspirins and a shot of JD. I downed both and said, “Thanks honey.”
“You need to take it easy today. I don’t want you to do anything but relax all day. You got that,” she ordered.
“Don’t worry, I will.”
“Why do you have to take all the risks? You have over a hundred men. Let some of them take a risk. The Gunn family does enough for this island.”
“Look honey, I was elected Head of Security. I have to lead by example. I wouldn’t ask anyone to do something that I wouldn’t do. You have to lead from the front not the rear. What I do is for the Gunn family and the whole island.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“So far a number of our people have been killed in the line of duty. Everyone here chips in and takes their chances on the front line. Everyone here pitches in and works hard for Tocabaga. I’m just doing my fair share.”
“If you ask me you’re doing more than your fair share.”
“Ok, look at it this way. Who else would you want to head up security?”
“No one, I guess. I just don’t want a dead husband.”
I walked over, bent down, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Holding her face gently in my hands, I said, “Don’t worry honey. I’m always careful out there.”
“I know you are, but your no spring chicken anymore.”
“No, but you’re still a TYC.” We both laughed as I gave her a big hug.
She worries every time I go into combat. She has to let her feelings out. She has to let her stress out. I can understand how she feels. Hemmi worries about me and her family. She needs to keep busy so there’s no time to worry.
I asked, “What are you doing today?”
“I was going to take Shanda and Kendra to farming school at 3 pm.”
“Are the boys going also?”
“No, they don’t like farming.”
“I got an idea. Why don’t we all go to farming school? I think the boys should learn how to farm.”
The children on Tocabaga haven’t been to school for a few days due to the commie invasion. On Tocabaga we have about 25 kids under the age of 16. Every day, for three hours, they learn farming, hunting, cooking, shooting, and fishing. They also attend classes at the church for three hours to learn history, math, reading, computers, and the Constitution. We teach our kids U.S. history and how the United States was in the past. We teach them how the country came to be this way.
Young men and women over the age of 16 are given a choice of what trade they would like to be in. If they choose security then they undergo a very rigorous training process. Whatever they choose each one is assigned a mentor to be with them for the next two years. Most of the time, one of their parents is their mentor. By the time they reach adulthood our kids are well-educated and trained how to survive. They know how to protect themselves from evil.
I went outside to find Johnny and Jimmy. I called their names and they came running right away. They both jumped up into my arms and I hugged them.
Johnny said, “Grandpa, how’d you get those black eyes?”
Jimmy repeated, “Yeah, how’d that happen?”
I put the boys down and
I thought for a minute before replying. I knelt down on one knee and said, “Well boys. You know there are bad men in this world. I had a fight with one of them and got these black eyes.”
Johnny asked, “Does it hurt?”
Johnny and Jimmy saw their real parents killed by al-Qaida. Johnny saved his little brother and Captain Sessions from certain death by hiding them until it was safe.
“It hurts a little,” I said.
“Did you kill the bad guy?” Johnny asked.
It’s sad when a little ten-year-old kid has to ask his Grandpa such a question. How do you answer that? You can only tell the truth.
“Yes, I had to kill him because he was trying to kill me. You remember, Mr. Park? Well, he was the bad guy.”
“You had to kill Mr. Park?” Johnny asked.
“Yes, he turned out to be a communist and tried to kill me.”
Jimmy asked, “What’s a communist?”
“A communist is a person who believes that the government should own everything. They want to control everything in your life. They want to tell everyone what to do. Mr. Park lied to me and he was a communist who wanted to control Tocabaga.”
The kids were speechless and just looked at me.
“Kids, you never know who is telling the truth. You never know who you can trust. Let that be a lesson.”
“I want be a fighter like you, Grandpa. When I get older I’ll protect you from the bad men,” Johnny said.
“Me too,” Jimmy replied.
It broke my heart to hear them say that. I hate to think that they will grow up and still be fighting for freedom. It means I have to train my boys as best as I can. Tommy and I will have to start their training soon. It’s time they learn how to shoot. The sooner you start shooting the better you become as you get older. On the other hand there’s a lot of other things they need to learn. Just thinking about it is over whelming. We need to go step by step. I’ll try to cram everything I know into their little brains. The children are the future. Without them we have none.
I told them, “I know you’ll protect me. Now, let’s go to the farm. You need to learn how to grow food.”
I called out for Shanda and Kendra and they came running. I asked, “What were you girls doing?”
Kendra answered, “We were on the seawall watching the fish.”
“I told you not to go on the seawall unless an adult is with you. If you fall in the sharks will eat you.”
Shanda said, “Uncle Ron was with us.”
Just then Ron walked around the corner. Ron commented, “Bro, you look like crap.”
“Thanks, Bro. I feel like crap. We’re going to the farm. You wanna come along?”
“No, thanks. I have guard duty tonight. See you later.”
Ron, my younger brother, is a man of few words. He would never ask me what happened out in the bush. Ron is a man of action. He’s strong and has endless energy. I don’t where he gets it from since he’s over weight and out of shape. When I have to leave the compound Ron stays behind most of the time to protect the family.
I went to the gun safe and pulled out my Glock and M4. I also picked up Hemmi’s pistol with a shoulder hostler. We don’t go far from home without our guns.
Hemmi’s gun of choice is a Ruger 22 caliber target pistol with a red dot scope. It’s loaded with hollow points and each mag holds ten rounds. She’s a deadly shot with this weapon and can place all ten rounds in a two inch target at 50 yards.
We climbed into the Humvee and started for the farm. I stopped at Doc’s office for a minute to see Lisa. Everyone climbed out of the truck and walked into the office. Mike was there with Lisa. She was sitting in a chair with a neck brace on.
I asked, “How you doing?”
Lisa said, “Hi everyone. Thanks for coming to see me. I’m doing ok. Doc told me I could go home today but not to do anything strenuous. He wants me to stay home for another three days. After that I can take off this stupid brace.”
Mike looked at me and said, “You look worse than Lisa.”
“Very funny,” I told him. “What’s up?”
“I’m helping Lisa out until she’s better.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” We all laughed at that comment.
The kids looked at her and Johnny asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
“A commie hit me in the head when I was on guard duty.”
Johnny peered up at me and asked, “Grandpa, are there anymore commies around here?”
“No, not now Johnny.”
“When I’m big I promised to protect Grandpa. I’ll protect you too Lisa,” Johnny told her.
“Hey, me too,” Jimmy responded.
Shanda said, “You’re brave, Lisa. I wanna be strong and brave like you.”
“Yeah, I wanna be a warrior also,” Kendra advised. “Mom said we could be Amazon Warriors.”
Hemmi jumped in, “Ok, kids we gotta go. Lisa needs her rest.” Everyone gave their goodbyes and we went to the farm.
The farm is located on the same island as Fort Desoto. As a matter of fact some of the fighting took place in our fields. There’s a low voltage three-foot-high fence running around the small farm to keep the pigs and other critters out. The fence is powered by solar panels which also charge a bank of batteries.
Twenty people were hoeing the fields and removing weeds. Another group was picking vegetables and fruit from the trees. Everything would be loaded into baskets and taken to the storage area which Steve is in charge of. Anyone can take freshly picked food home to enjoy.
I told Hemmi, “You go ahead and take the kids around and teach them about the different plants. I gotta call Sessions and Rico. I’ll be right back. Oh, by the way, watch out for snakes.”
I jumped in the truck and drove to the HQ. I wanted to look around to make sure everything was in order and that no guns were lying around. I found a big rock, where Lisa had been lying, which was probably used to whack her. As near as I can figure the guy hit Lisa, knocking her out and jumped Trini before she knew what happened. He managed to overpower her, taking her gun, and shot her. Trini did manage to draw her machete before getting killed. The stealth uniform made it possible for him to sneak up on them and escape without being seen.
SUMMARY OF PHONE CALL TO CAPTAIN SESSIONS
I called Sessions and told him that everything was under control here and that the fort was secure. We had stopped the Reds from gaining a foot-hold in our area. However, it cost us several injuries and the life of an Amazon Warrior.
He advised me that the drone hasn’t found the stealth gunboat yet, but they’ll keep searching. His statement worried me because we were not totally safe with that boat around.
Sessions informed me of some good news. The entire Armed Forces were now in agreement to remove the President and Congress because of the Florida deal and the Chinese invasion. He stated that was the event that turned everyone against the President. The Military will set up a temporary government until new elections can be held. The entire U.S. Military would now move on Washington and remove the President and Congress from office. They would be placed under arrest and put on trial.
The Navy is sending ships to guard the Florida coast against any further Chinese incursions. In addition the Chinese government had been advised that the President over stepped his authority giving Florida to China. Therefore the agreement is null and void. Any further attempts to control Florida would be considered an act of war.
I asked him when a new government would be established. He had no time table because before any elections could be held the entire country needed to be cleaned up and order restored. The Army and Marines will be moving aggressively to do that. Curfews would be established in each city.
He told me the Green Zones will be removed and the Federal Police will be given a choice to join the Army or face prison time. Those Agents in command will be put on trial for crimes against the United States. People will be permitted to return to their homes if they so choose.
T
o sum it up, Sessions thinks it will take one or two years of martial law before things become more or less normal enough to have general elections.
I asked him to keep searching for the stealth gunboat and advised him we’re going to put up a radar system.
Sessions informed me that there was a small portable radar system in the warehouse that was never set up because they didn’t have the need for it. He gave me permission to use it.
He also told me that his Rangers would be moving south to remove any Red Chinese still in Key West. After that the Army will set up small garrisons around the state to establish law and order. He expects to return to Fort Desoto within another month or two. I wished him good luck.
END OF CONVERSATION
After talking to Captain Sessions I called my old buddy Rico. He answered the phone. “Rico here.”
“Hey buddy, how’s it going?” I asked.
“Jack, what’s up?”
“Just calling to see how it’s going.”
“I thought you were coming back to help me out here.”
I said, “I’ve been a little busy. The Red Chinese invaded here.”
“What did you say? Red Chinese?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you hear the President gave Florida to the Chinese for payment of the U.S. debt?”
“No. I’m out of touch here. When can you come over?”
“Two days from now. I’ll tell you all about it then. That sound ok?”
“Yeah that sounds good. By the way, could you bring some ciprofloxacin along?”
I thought about this for a minute before responding. “What do you need that for?”
“I have a few people sick here.”
“What are their symptoms?”
“Fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and pain.”
“What do you think they have?” I asked.
“I don’t know. At first I thought it was just food poisoning. I gave them all charcoal pills but it didn’t help. Some of them have been sick for five days.”
Activated pure charcoal powder is used in capsule form to absorb poisons and food poisoning from bacteria. A bacterium will bind to the charcoal and is then is removed from your body during bowel movements. This has been used for years in many hospitals. Some say it doesn’t work, but I know for a fact that it does. It has saved my life a few times.
THE TOCABAGA CHRONICELS: (BOX SET PART II - BOOKS #6-8) Page 24