by Nees, David
Jason’s stomach clenched. Another cold chill ran up his neck. Captain Larry Roper, the disgraced officer that Kevin had run out of Hillsboro. Of course, he’d want revenge. He had the men to get it and now had been given permission to annihilate the whole town. There was no possibility of paying off the mob. Big Al had decided everyone had to die to advance his plans.
Roper would recognize him. He might put it all together just from his undercover name. Jason knew he couldn’t meet with him. He might even be uncovered as soon as Roper got back from training.
He faced a frightening situation. An existential threat to Hillsboro and his unmasking. He had to drop out of sight and take action. Hillsboro’s survival depended on him finding a way to disrupt the planned holocaust.
Chapter 24
___________________________________
W hen Roper got back to Charlotte, he met with Joe. Joe wanted to go over plans to pacify the smaller towns and set up the meeting with Jason.
“How did things go?” Joe asked when they sat down in his office.
“The men are ready. They’re disciplined, know the weapons, and are good with the mission. They know that we’re bringing stability to the region and they understand some will resist and we’ll have to deal with them.”
“What about the heavy weapons?”
“We have four 105mm howitzers, two M60 tanks and a dozen APCs. We’re in good shape. Of course, we don’t want to use them unless we have to. You don’t want the towns reduced to rubble. But they’ll provide a strong incentive for towns to give in without a fight.”
“That’s the idea.”
Roper looked over at Joe. He liked the thin, swarthy man. He was cunning, not like Leo, Stansky’s henchman. When their paths had crossed, Roper realized that Joe and Big Al could provide his way back to riches and the good life in South America. That dream had been taken away from him by his previous lieutenant, Kevin Cameron. He was forced out of Hillsboro with only the barest of provisions.
Once on the road, the men who had elected to depart Hillsboro with Roper, began to complain. Disputes had broken out ending with the group splitting up. Of the dozen men who had departed, five remained with Roper and the rest left to find their way back to their families as best they could; done with military life.
Roper and his remaining cohorts headed south, hoping to reconnect with Colonel Stillman. Roper had worked out a tale of mutiny and treason on the part of Lieutenant Cameron. The men with him joined the story. However, before connecting with Stillman, they arrived at Charlotte and Roper met Joe.
As the two men engaged with each other, they discovered a mutual desire for wealth and control along with a willingness to do what was necessary to achieve their goals. This new order imposed by the EMP attack called for new responses and Joe and Larry Roper found theirs to be in synch.
In Roper, Joe got someone to develop his growing militia into a formidable fighting force. In Joe and Big Al, Roper got a group that had the same goals as Stansky, but knew how to accomplish them.
Roper was set up as commander and given a steady supply of resources, including the local scrip, as payment. Within a year or two at the most, ex-Captain Roper would be back on his way to his luxury retirement abroad while the U.S. muddled along in a state of semi-anarchy.
“Al has escalated the mission,” Joe said. “He wants you to wipe out Hillsboro.”
“Level the town? What good does that do?”
“Not necessarily level it but kill everyone.”
Roper stared at Joe in disbelief.
“You got a problem with that?” Joe asked.
“Not necessarily, but why? It seems unnecessary. I can overcome them with my firepower. They’ll capitulate.”
“Al wants them all killed. I know it sounds harsh, but when the other towns hear about it, you’ll have no trouble with them. We don’t want to take time fighting each town.”
Roper shook his head. “I don’t know…”
Joe leaned close to him. “All you got to know is that you do what Al says.” He leaned back, with his eyes on Roper. “Got it?”
Larry looked at Joe. The man’s face was set hard. If Al decreed it, he had to do it. He sighed. “I still think it’s unnecessary.”
“Your job is not to second guess Al. Your job is to do what he says. You want to go tell him he’s wrong? Tell him you think you know better?”
Joe’s voice dripped disdain.
“No.”
“All right. That issue is settled. Don’t let me hear about it again. Now, I got someone you need to talk to before you go out,” Joe said. “He’s from Hillsboro, recently passed through there. He’s got the latest info on the town. It might be helpful to you.”
“Did he live there?” Roper wasn’t sure he wanted to meet a citizen. Who knows what had happened after he had left? The only thing he knew was that Stansky had, against all odds, been overthrown. He could hardly believe it when he had heard. The results proved Stansky and Leo were not up to their vision and had been doomed to fail.
“No. He’s been traveling from town to town, looking for a group to hook up with. He’s joined our organization, an associate. Shown himself to be smart and resourceful. He could have useful insights.”
“Okay, I’ll meet with him. What’s his name?”
“Jason Rich.”
Roper eyebrows went up. He stared at Joe.
“You know him?” Joe asked.
“Jason Rich. That’s what you said, right?”
Joe nodded, “Yeah.”
“And he comes from Hillsboro?”
“He spent a short amount of time there. He came from Knoxville and, before that, from up in Virginia.”
Roper described Jason as six feet tall, solidly muscled, brown hair with dark, piercing eyes.
“He looks kind of like that, but so do a lot of people. What’s up? You know him?”
“Is he doing anything important for you?”
“Big Al is putting him in charge of energy resources. We had to retire the previous guy. Jason seems like the kind of guy who can figure things out, look beyond the obvious solutions and get us a steady supply of fuel for the power plant.”
Roper kept his gaze on Joe. Were all criminals stupid? “If this is who I think it is, you’ve got a problem on your hands. This guy may not be someone who wants to be a part of your organization. He may be an undercover operator, planning to dismantle or cripple your group.”
Now Joe’s eyes darkened. “You know who this is?”
“Maybe. The names similar. I knew a Jason Richards. He was the leader of the revolt against Stansky. If this is the same guy, he’s not from Virginia, he’s from a valley north of Hillsboro. The town thought of him as some kind of hero. He defeated a gang led by Big Jacks, someone you may have heard of.”
Joe nodded.
“The Jason I know shot up the gang and personally killed Big Jacks. He’s not someone to take lightly.” Roper paused for effect. “And I certainly wouldn’t put him in charge of anything important.”
Joe sat quiet for a moment. “You’d be able to identify him?”
“Maybe. I saw him only once.”
“But you could ask some questions. Get down to details about his past?”
“I could do that.”
“Great. Meet here, in my office, on Wednesday. I’ve got a meeting set up with the two of you. If he’s who you say he is, he won’t leave the meeting. If he isn’t, you get what information you can and we’ll both get on with our plans.
“Do you really think all this will work? Getting a power plant going again, pacifying the surrounding towns?”
“What do you mean? We’re doing it.”
“Yeah, I see you got it started, but you still got the U.S. Army to deal with as well as the feds.”
“Larry, I explained this before. The families up and down the east coast are united in this. The New York families are already working with the government to get the city under control.”
“Yeah, but after
they do, will the government be happy with them running things?”
“The government has more to worry about. They need an end to anarchy. There’s challenges from the outside, the rest of the world, you know that.”
“I know there’s a world-wide recession, some are calling it a depression. The Islamists certainly won a victory with that EMP attack.
“Fuck the Islamists. They’re stuck in the same mess they created.”
“Yeah, but they probably aren’t unhappy about that.”
“It don’t matter. We got an opportunity and we’re taking it. As for getting power back up, it may be localized, but there’s enough coal in the east to run all the power plants we need to get running.”
He stood up and went to the bar along the side wall. “Once we’re in control, the feds won’t be able to get us out of the picture. We’ll be partners with them, even if they aren’t completely comfortable. By then, we’ll have bought off most of the officials who’ll keep us in power.”
Roper shook his head. “It sounds great, but I don’t know. The army still has its loyalties and traditions. They’re not necessarily going to be on your side.”
“They may not like it, but they have this tradition of bowing to civilian authority. You pointed that out to me. They’ll go along with the elected officials, even if we’re the ones electing them.”
Joe poured two whiskeys and sat back down at his desk. He leaned across it to give one to Roper.
“And the military has its hands full with the Mexican and Columbian drug cartels in Florida and the border states. Then there’s the so-called help from China. They’re taking over the west coast. We may wind up with a smaller United States when this is over.”
“And that doesn’t bother you?”
“Does it bother you?” Joe responded. “I know you’re planning to head to South America when you get enough loot together.”
A look of concern came over Larry’s face.
“Don’t worry,” Joe continued. “It doesn’t matter to me. Long as you do the job we hired you for and train your replacement, you can do what the hell you like.” Joe finished his whiskey and stood up. “For now, let’s find out who this Jason really is.”
Chapter 25
___________________________________
J ason lay on his bed. He couldn’t sleep. If Roper even hears my name associated with Hillsboro, he’ll be suspicious. Joe would tell him about me and he would tell Joe about his suspicions. I may be compromised even before the meeting. He might have to drop out of sight over the weekend. Joe might set someone up to keep an eye on him until Wednesday. He certainly was not going to go to the meeting.
Better to disappear now.
It was clear to Jason that with ex-Captain Roper leading the militia, Big Al’s plans would be fully supported by Roper. And who knew what heavy weapons Roper had at his disposal. Jason guessed he might not be reluctant to use them against his town.
Time for counter measures. Have to neutralize any pending attack. But what to do about Ernie and his family? Ernie was in a bad spot. Jason hadn’t any idea how long he would be kept. From what Joe had said, they desperately needed coal; Jason couldn’t see the gang releasing anyone from the work crews. If anything, they would be worked harder no matter what the cost in lives. No one wanted to fail Big Al the second time. Ernie wasn’t going to be freed any time soon.
When he disappeared, Jason needed to take Ernie’s family with him. Hide them until he could free Ernie. Then what? Help them leave.
Jason thought about the next moves. He had to give Ruth a heads up and make sure she was in the apartment with her kids when Jason came to take them. He’d go there first thing tomorrow. With the first steps of a plan in mind, he tried to sleep but sleep wouldn’t come.
The next morning Jason left his apartment to meet with Ruth and the kids. He hoped Joe had not yet connected with Roper. Jason wasn’t sure when Roper would be back, but guessed he had one more day at least before he might be uncovered.
Gino started early. Since Jason had been to some high-level meetings indicating that he was going to be given greater stature, Gino decided to put all his energy into exposing him. The man was a fraud, or worse. And Gino was not going to let him fool the others like he seemed to have fooled Tony. He was waiting down the street when he saw Jason leave his apartment.
From his path, Gino could tell he was not headed for his regular routes or the crew’s bar. His interest perked up. He’d follow and see what Jason was up to. It wasn’t hard to tail someone, there were fewer people about since the EMP attack. That fact also made it harder to not be noticed, so Gino kept back a good distance.
A half-hour later Jason disappeared into an innocuous apartment building. Gino stopped at the entrance. Who could he be visiting? The only way to find out was to go inside and see which apartment he entered. There were too many to search after Jason had left. He opened the door.
Once inside, Gino heard Jason’s steps on the stairs. He quietly followed, trying to close the distance so he could see on what floor Jason exited. He heard a door open and ran up the remaining stairs just as he saw the fifth-floor door close. He slowly opened it and peeked around the opening to see Jason knock on an apartment door. It opened and he went inside. Gino marked the location and went back down the stairs.
Jason entered the apartment after Ruth opened the door. He sat with her in the kitchen. The children stood at the doorway.
“I told you I would do what I can to get Ernie freed.”
Ruth nodded.
“How I was going to do that has changed. I can’t do this as part of the mob. I’m going to be exposed soon and then I won’t be a help to anyone.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I have to act right away and if you want me to help Ernie, you have to act right away.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“I don’t mean to, but what I’m going to tell you is quite serious.” Jason took a breath. “I’m going to drop out of sight tonight. You and the kids have to come with me. Once you do that, you can never go back. Charlotte is over for you.”
“There’s no other way?”
“I can’t get Ernie free in a way that lets him come back here and all of you lead a normal life. You can’t do that in a city run by the mob. It isn’t going to happen. And if I don’t free Ernie, I’m not sure he’ll ever be let go.”
“But why? He didn’t do anything bad with the gun, just brought it in.”
“I understand, but the mob needs workers to recover coal. They can’t lose a single one so I don’t think anyone is going to be let go. Meantime, you run the risk of getting grabbed by someone, or worse, Jennifer getting grabbed.”
Ruth sucked in her breath. Jason could see panic rise in her face. “They can and will do that but I can get you out. You’ll have to be brave. Your kids will have to be brave. And if I’m lucky, you’ll all be reunited. But you’ll have to go on the road again. This time to Hillsboro.”
“What do we have to do?” Ruth asked in a timorous voice.
“Gather your things today, get food if you have any ration cards. I’ll come for you after midnight. Everyone should be ready to depart, jeans, good shoes. Wear dark clothing and put everything into one pack each. You still have your packs?”
Ruth nodded.
“Good. Pack them with one change of clothes, any medical supplies you might have, some blankets, and any food you can fit. Remember only one pack per person.” He turned to the kids. “You can both pack yourselves? Did you hear what I told you mom?”
They nodded; their faces solemn.
“How will we find Ernie?” Ruth asked.
“I’ll find a place for you to hide and then I’ll get Ernie. That may take a few days so you’ll have to remain hidden. Can you do that?” He looked at each person. They all nodded their heads.
“Good. I’ll be back tonight.”
Jason got up and left. His days of being undercover were going to
be over. He felt a new energy flow through him. He would reunite this family and complete his mission. When he left, he didn’t notice Gino hiding behind a dumpster in an ally across the street.
After Jason had disappeared, Gino went over to the apartment and climbed the stairs. Did Jason have a woman on the side? He didn’t seem the type.
He knocked on the door. Ruth opened it. She looked like she was expecting a familiar person and, seeing Gino, her face clouded in suspicion.
“Yes?” she said.
Gino pushed past her.
“Jason was just here. I work with him. I need to know what’s your relationship to him. You his woman?”
Ruth gasped. “No.” After a moment’s hesitation, she added, “He’s a friend.”
“How’d you meet? He don’t get out much.”
‘We met on the way to Charlotte. My husband and I were coming here to find some work, some stability.”
Just then Tom and Jennifer peeked around the corner of the living room.
“Your husband, you and your kids, eh?”
Ruth nodded.
Gino smiled. “Come on in, kids. I got to talk to all of you.”
“You can just talk with me,” Ruth said.
Gino turned to her, the smile slid off his face, replaced by a hard look. “No, I need to talk to everyone.” He turned back to the boy and girl. “It’s okay, he said with his smile back in place. You come over here and sit down. We all need to talk.”
The kids hesitated, they looked from Gino to their mother and back to Gino.
“Tell them to come over here. We’ll all go into the kitchen and sit at the table.” Gino’s voice was now darker, more threatening.
Ruth nodded to the children and they went and sat down in the kitchen.
“Why did Jason come over today? You see he’s a part of our organization and we need to know who he meets with, who he sees.”
“Like I said, we met on the way here. He just visited to check up on us, to see how we’re getting along.”
“And how are you getting along?”