by W. R. Benton
“Originally, we were going to get you both apartments, but they cost a fortune in the good parts of town. It was cheaper to rent two homes.” Noah said as he got out of the truck and placed two magnetic signs on the doors of his truck that read, “Noah W. Smith, Landscaping, lawn care, and tree removal.”
She nodded, not really caring where she stayed right now because she was getting sleepy from the long flight and the jump. She did ask, “Why the signs?”
“To keep the cops from pulling me over and giving me a hard time. There are few black folks who live in this upper class neighborhood, but they don't drive beat-up and rusted old trucks like I do. Without the signs, some cop would pull me over and want to know what in the hell I'm doing here. I don't need that.”
“I guess that would happen a lot, huh?”
Laughing, Noah replied, “I was stopped about a half dozen times getting your house ready before I came up with the idea. Hell, they'd expect a black in an old truck to be doing lawn mowing and such. I ain't been stopped since I got the signs and,” he laughed again, “I've had to turn down business.”
“Wow, these are some nice homes here, huh?”
“They be about a million bucks apiece, and your gated community has more than a machine to punch in your PIN. It has an armed guard, and one is in place 24/7, even on holidays. Hush now, because I'm about to enter your new neighborhood.”
Noah pulled up to the guard and waited until the man got off the phone. A minute later the armed guard asked, “You back for more yard work?”
“Shore, I took Miss Sally down to look over some pea gravel and decorations fer her back yard.”
“Ma'am, your name please.” the guard asked as he picked up a clipboard.
“Sally Case, and I live at 1254 Rolling Rock Lane.” She moved for her drivers license.
“I'll need to see your drivers license.” the guard said.
She handed her license, which she'd removed from her purse, to him and waited.
He quickly located her name and address on his list. “If you dislike stopping each time, Ms. Case, you can buy a sticker for your windshield that will allow the guards to wave you through.”
“How much for the sticker?”
“Twenty dollars.”
“I'll get one from you this afternoon then. Thank you.” she said as the gate began to open.
The house was nice, but not as nice as her home in Germany. However, she found it comfortable enough for her needs. She was sure The Boss was mad because she played the executive while he was the writer, and the step down must have slapped his ego. She fixed a quick meal, showered and went to bed, setting her alarm to wake her in three hours.
The alarm woke her, but she was still played out by the trip and their HALO jump. She got up, showered again to help her wake up, and then had a double whiskey. She glanced at the clock, and saw she had lots of time. She then had a salad, and went for a walk around her new neighborhood.
When she returned, she donned body armor because the CSA would turn violent, and drove to the meeting spot, knowing she would be early. She spotted Noah speaking to some blacks wearing berets and carrying signs protesting the lack of freedom they now had.
“Well, good to see you, and you're looking good in those tight jeans and blue vee-neck tee.” he said, and met her with a smile.
“Thank you, and if you're interested in what is under my jeans and tee, let me know later this evening. I'm sure I can arrange a very private showing for you. Conflict for what is right in life gets me hot.” Adolpha said, and felt a tingle go through her body at just the thought of loving this black man.
“Pretty lady, I am for sure interested and tonight would be a great time, if we survive the confrontation with the police and military.” Noah said, and then thought, Wow, this is my lucky day! This woman reeks of pure wild animal lust, and I'll bet she'd be a real tigress in bed.
“You know my address and phone number, so later give me a call. I think a few drinks and very intimate alone time with you would do me some good. Now, to change the subject, when will the rest be here and how many do you expect?”
“Should be close to 3,000, and we've trained and issued weapons, mostly to veterans and retirees, so it should be interesting. Some have grenades and a few have Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) for use against choppers and tanks. We even have a few man launched surface to air missiles (SAMs) as a surprise. In the stuff dropped by the LAPES we found two flame-throwers, and they will make tonight interesting. Almost as interesting as spending a wild night with you.” he said, smiled, and then thought, I'll be using one of the flame-throwers and it's pay back, mothers.
She laughed and said, “Keep your mind on the protest, then comes pleasure. There is a better than average chance we'll not survive the night. Oh, here comes Paul, or as we call him, The Boss.”
“He's kind of old to be an agent, isn't he?”
“Yes, but he's been better trained than most.”
“Experienced, then. I saw old Gunny Sergeants like him in the Corp.”
“They have their places in an organization. Looks like the army and police are arriving too, straight in front of us.” She pointed and Noah turned to look.
“Not many cops or military folks here yet.” The Boss said as he neared.
“You'll soon have more of them than you want.” Noah replied, and then added, “I need to get back with my men. They're all veterans, but as liberal as they come. Pretty lady, you'll hear from me tonight.”
“Good.” she replied, gazing deeply into his eyes and then licked her glossy lower lip.
She saw Noah give a shudder before he walked away.
“I hope your, uh, meetings,” The Boss said, “are discreet.”
“It's none of your business, and no one knows except you. If you keep my secret, I'm sure you'll fit into my schedule too because you're great fun, and I'm sure you'd enjoy being with me again.”
“I won't if I see you sleeping with the whole group. I don't want to take home anything I didn't bring here, if you get my meaning.”
Wanting to change the subject, she saw the main group of protesters moving toward them and said, “Here they come.”
“Shit, some are carrying the rifles right out in the open.”
“What did you expect them to do? Hard to hide a rifle, but once here, we'll tell those with rifles to move back a bit so they're not easily seen. Then, just before the army fires on them, they can move forward.”
“How do you know the military will shoot?”
“They have every night these people have violated curfew, so the police and Army know they are safe from legal action because of martial law.”
“We have to stir the pot tonight and make this a horrific situation for everyone concerned, both the protesters and the CSA and that means many deaths.” The Boss whispered as the protesters moved toward the Army. In a matter of minutes, the shouting at each other began.
Adolpha kept her eyes on the man who was the commander, because he had a lot of resources available instantly and all he needed to use was his radio. He seemed relaxed now; probably, over time and when more protesters arrived, he'd be under a lot of stress.
Actually, Colonel Applegate was as relaxed as he could be, because he had choppers loaded with missiles, Gatling guns and door-gunners. He also had jets with bombs and napalm, so tonight, he'd blow some people away if they did not listen to him and disperse when told to do so.
Two large army trucks pulled up and as the soldiers were unloading, five more trucks arrived. These men all moved into position, right in front of the protesters and each had his bayonet mounted on his rifle. It was then Adolpha heard helicopters overhead and knew they were in for a hard fight.
When two groups of army men began assembling machine-guns on tripods, she realized the fight might turn much rougher than expected because at this range, the big guns would blow people apart. She moved to Noah and said, “Target the machine-guns with the grenades. As soon as trouble starts
we need to take them out of action.”
“All of you are in violation of the law!” Colonel Applegate warned. “If you do not disperse, you'll be fired on and you will be killed. Now, go home before this gets out of hand. Curfew starts in two minutes, so if you are not gone by then, I will have no choice but to enforce the law.”
“Go to hell, Colonel!” someone yelled.
“Make me go home, pig!” a woman screamed.
Looking at his watch, Applegate said, “when I give the order, open fire on them.”
Adolpha turned to The Boss and said, “They're getting ready to fire on us, so be ready to fall to the ground. Keep low and return fire.”
“This is your last chance!” Applegate yelled, and saw his words were meaningless to the huge crowd.
“Kiss my ass, killer!” Noah yelled.
“Fire!” the Colonel yelled, and hundreds of rifles banged and the two machine-guns opened up, their loud rat-tat-tat heard clearly in the cool evening air.
Bodies fell, screams of those injured and dying were heard, and then body parts from those struck by the machine-guns were seen flying into the air. There came a loud explosion, and one machine-gun was silenced. The protesters were taking a real hard beating, and they began to retreat as those armed with weapons provided by the NWO advanced.
Adolpha fired her pistol twice and saw two officers fall, but neither seemed to be fatally wounded. She watched as they crawled behind the tanks.
Applegate was on the radio, obviously giving orders, when The Boss fired twice and both rounds struck the Colonel in the chest. He dropped and failed to move. Two medics moved to his side, but they too dropped dead over his body.
The cannons and machine-guns began to fire on the tanks as the big beasts slowly moved forward, uncaring that they were running over the wounded with their treads. Protesters and soldiers alike screamed as the mega-ton monsters rolled over them. Adolpha saw an RPG strike the side of a tank, but it was a glancing blow and it clanged off in the air, ricocheting, to explode in the ranks of the soldiers. The tanks would move a few feet, stop, fire the cannon, and then move forward again.
The tank nearest her moved past and, seeing the top hatch open, she waited for it to stop and then climbed up the side. Once on the tank, she pulled a grenade from her coat pocket, pulled the pin and let the spoon fly. On the count of three, she dropped it into the tank and even heard a long ker-clank as it struck metal. There came a loud scream from inside as she jumped from the beast.
The screams from the tank stopped when the grenade exploded, sending a narrow sheet of flame out of the open top hatch. Flames appeared and the soldiers backed away, knowing the fuel and munitions would soon explode as well.
Two other tanks exploded, either by RPGs or grenades, and just as the soldiers were about to turn and run two helicopters flew overhead, their Gatling guns spitting lead.
Glancing at the fallen Applegate, she noticed the radio was gone and someone else had taken command. The ground around her was filled with dead soldiers and protesters, with each laying in a puddle of bright red blood.
With the arrival of the choppers, the military and police were back on the offensive again. Two more helicopters circled just out of gunshot range, clearly waiting their turn to fire on the demonstrators.
One of the protesters fired a shoulder launched missile, and it struck a chopper right in the engine as it exploded. The pilot, skilled and well trained, auto rotated to the ground where he landed hard at a slight angle. His rotor blades struck the concrete and they began to disintegrate, sending pieces of the sharp and splintered blades into soldiers and protesters alike. The chopper suddenly burst into flames, but the two gunners and the co-pilot managed to get out, just to be shot down by one side or the other. The pilot was screaming as flames made their way to the cockpit. His door abruptly flew open and out he stepped, stumbling as the flames consumed him like a fast growing cancer. He was aflame from head to toe and moving in circles as he shrieked, until two shots were heard from the protesters and the man fell unmoving.
The tank Adolpha had destroyed exploded, sending the turret end over end, flipping as the pressure from the exploding fuel threw it high into the air. Flames were clearly seen in the lower section of the tank as crimson flames and smoke rolled into each other as the fuel burned. The turret struck a building when it fell, then fell again, to land on the concrete about 50 meters away. The ammo and compressed tanks began exploding, and the noise between the chopper and tank burning was unbelievable. She found it hard to think, so she withdrew with the rest.
Seeing the protesters pulling back, Lieutenant Colonel Johnson spoke to the radio. “I want all choppers to attack, one after the other, using guns. I also want all armor and personnel to move forward now. I want the men to move forward a hundred yards and then stop.” While the man didn't like being the leader, the injured Applegate was in no condition to give orders.
The protesters, seeing the choppers line up for their attacks, dispersed and moved into the night. However, it takes time for thousands of people to separate and break into small groups, and the Army knew this.
As soon as the choppers made their runs, Colonel Johnson spoke into the radio once again, “Bulldog One, this is Cobra Two, over.”
“Uh, go Two.”
“I want napalm dropped in the center and south and east edges of the park, over.”
“Be advised there will be structural damages on all sides, over.” The two jets zoomed overhead to see the target areas.
“Understand there will be fires, but now is the time to end this protesting, over.”
“Put your heads down,” Bulldog One said and then continued, “we're lining up now and will come in hot.”
“Copy.”
The two jets passed overhead, one behind the other, and just as they pulled up, two containers fell from each aircraft. The metal objects looked like fuel tanks and they spun end over end until they struck the ground and then exploded into four giant waves of flames. The waves moved with the momentum of the aircraft, sending huge walls of flames over the running protesters. When the flames fell, the screams of those burning were loud. Others, just on the edge of the fire suffocated as the fire consumed all surrounding air to burn.
“T . . . thanks, Bulldog One, and you can return to base.”
“My God, Boss, did you see what that napalm did to those people?” Adolpha said as she ran toward her car.
“Just run, we'll talk about this later.” The Boss replied, terrified of burning to death.
Hearing a noise, she looked over her shoulder and saw the jets moving toward them. Her fear turned into panic as she screamed, “The jets are lining up on us!”
“Run with me at right angles, now!”
Chapter 16
The President of Conservative States of America leaned back in his chair and asked, “So all that expense in munitions and lives did little more than destroy the White House?”
The intelligence man was a full Colonel and he replied, “Sir, the reports we have coming in, and they are reliable, state the civilians are tired of being bombed almost everyday and their morale is very low.”
“Is an invasion feasible at this time?”
“Our difficulty is in getting the needed ships and fuel. As you know, San Diego had many of our ships, along with other ports along the west coast. When the states split, establishing two different countries, the United States sent the sailors home, but kept all ships or aircraft they could. I know there are a number of naval and army officers planning an invasion as we speak.”
The President smiled and said, “You misunderstand my question. From the intelligence perspective, is an invasion possible?”
“Right at this moment, I'd say yes, but that could change. We know the UN is sending various weapons systems, aircraft, tanks and troops to the United States daily. Tomorrow my answer might be different, sir.”
“Any idea where the main computers are located for the chips the United States has
put in everyone's hand or forehead?”
“We were close to pinpointing the position and then the internet died on us. Since we've not paid the two billion dollars ransom to be allow internet access, that research was closed.” the Colonel said.
Turning to the Secretary of the Treasury, the President said, “See that we have internet, and for all of our citizens starting today, Bill. Colonel, you said you were about to pinpoint the location, did you have a country?”
Bill said, “I'll do that, sir, but the price is a bit much, don't you think?”
“No, I think the price is cheap if this Colonel can tell me what building houses the computer systems. It could save millions of lives.”
“Sir, we located the computers in Thailand, in the south, perhaps near the beaches or in Bangkok. It's a very slow process to move around the security they had in place for their computer systems. The ISPN is changed, and the chips send information that is routed through a number of subsystems, each covered with high security systems. We have to discover the PIN or password for each security system and many of the passwords are in Thai.”
“Now if we can learn where the main computers are housed by the NWO. Once we discover where they are, we'll either send in a special operations team or blow the damned thing up with aircraft. Compared to lives saved, two billion dollars is a small price to pay.”
“They may have a backup.” the Intelligence Colonel said.
“If they do, that's a problem for you to work on then, sir.”
The Colonel nodded.
“Now, since the bombing hurts the United States, I want targets located that we can start hitting around the clock. Use the B-52s and B-1s, and locate targets in every state they have. Let's try to avoid civilians if we can, but if not, do what is needed. The U-2 and SR-71 flights over California should be increased, looking for military targets. I want my intelligence team working closely with our Air Force when the targets are prioritized.”
“Uh, I do have one more issue to discuss, sir.”
“And, that is?”
“The riots in Chicago last night took a deadly turn. When it was all said and done, we have 325 military folks in the hospital, over 100 were killed and three are missing.”