by Liscom, Sean
“Oh yeah, there's more. He's also running a gladiator style fight club. Two people enter the arena and only one leaves alive. It's all pretty fucking barbaric,” he finished.
“Good Lord,” I muttered. “What are you going to do about it?”
“I can't do anything about it! The son of a bitch has an army at his disposal and I got what? Sixty men!”
“Have you passed this to your superiors?”
“I did and they told me that they would have to deal with it later,” he said with disgust.
“And that pissed you off, right?”
“You're damn right it did! People are being sold as a commodity and people are dying and they have
the nerve to tell me to leave it alone? Bullshit!”
“You said so yourself, Dennis. You don't have the manpower right now. If it means anything, you know that we would throw our hat in the ring with you. I'm pretty sure that you would have a hard time keeping Mayor Calvert out of that fight too. I'm sure that you'll get your shot at these assholes, you just gotta accept that it's not going to be right now. Yeah, it's a fucked up deal. You also have to remember that people are still dying in numbers never seen before, all around the globe. If you jump the gun and head down there now, all you're going to do is get yourself and a bunch of the good guys killed too. Can't have that, man.”
“I know that, Jason. It all just pisses me off! Damn hands are tied and I can’t do shit about it!”
“It's good that you're pissed off, it means you still give a shit.” I told him. “When you get to Salt Lake, plead your case in person. Make them understand how bad it is in Vegas.”
“Trust me, I'd already planned on doing just that,” he said as he stood up. “I have to get running. I still gotta pack and get my ass on the road. I'll see you guys Tuesday afternoon.”
“Alright, Dennis. You be safe out there and I'll make sure these guys get their patches,” I told him as I also stood. He thanked me again and I showed him out.
After I watched him pull out of the parking lot, I returned to the desk. I sat back down and picked up the box that he had left. Inside it were the patches for the new Team 3. Each graduate would receive two sets
of American flags, two sets of Nevada flags and two sets of their Team patch. Team 1 had chosen a badger for their patch. Team 2 had chosen a mustang horse for theirs and the new Team 3 had chosen a wolf. The patches may not seem like much to the average Joe, but to them, they were a great source of pride. It was the identity of their team, they were now a part of something bigger.
I put the handmade patches back in the box and sat back in my chair again. With nearly every instructor out in the field with all of the recruits, there wasn't much for me to do. We still had our people up in the main towers and at the front gate, but still, it was quiet. I let my thoughts wander back to the conversation I'd just had with Dennis. The “Ghost Crew” wasn't as troubling to me as it should have been. I figured that if they were going to start some crap, they would have done it by now.
I had heard some of the same things about Las Vegas that Dennis had. It had been going on for a while now and there really was nothing that we could do about it. As much as it sucked to say that, it was true. If we pulled every able bodied fighter from the ranch, Elko and even the surrounding areas, we would only have, at best, 1/3rd the manpower it would take. There was just no way that we could pull it off. In time, maybe. Not now though.
I let the conversation that Dennis and I had slip to the back of my mind. No sense in worrying about something that we couldn't change. Instead, I let my
thoughts wander to all of the progress that we had made. At times it seemed like we'd never get back what we lost and at other times, many of us wondered if we'd even want it back.
Life at the ranch hadn't changed much since the EMP. We still had running water, power and all the food we needed. Our basic human needs were very well covered. The city of Elko had even made some pretty fantastic leaps since this all began. While they had limited power, their solar and wind generation was growing with every passing week. They had turned about 30 or so wells that were owned by the city into watering holes. People who didn't have water wells could bring containers and fill them whenever they needed to. No charge for clean water.
Food was a little harder and it required a very active trade program with most of the towns in northern Nevada and southern Idaho. People weren't starving but they sure weren't getting fat either. The hospital in Elko was one of the first things they got back up and running. It was well staffed and it was pretty well equipped. It had its own generator so that they never had to worry about equipment going down due to lack of power. Most, if not all of their equipment was military surplus or it had been found in the basement of the building. Either way, it was the only real hospital for a couple of hundred miles. Our little corner of the planet was in pretty good shape, all things considered.
I think the one thing that surprised everyone was
how quickly trading and trade standards took hold. There were traders that had crews of people out scouring the countryside for anything that might be of value. There was no manufacturing to be had so that covered just about anything that wasn’t nailed down. Copper wire, good tires, lumber, glass windows, fabric and fuel were all highly sought after and could fetch a decent trade.
Some people preferred to trade in gold and silver for goods and services, like we did. A one ounce gold coin was hardly a fair trade for having shoes put on a horse so a lot of the coins and jewelry were melted down into 1/10th ounce ingots. They were usually about the size of shotgun pellets. It made it a whole lot easier to trade for something that you wanted. Almost
all of the traders liked to trade for the precious metals which gave them a cash flow of sorts. They would then trade what they had earned for a cow or land or whatever it is they were looking for. It also gave them a way to pay their crews, many of whom would risk life or injury venturing into the larger cities. In this day and age, wages weren’t given for how many hours you worked. They were based on what you could bring back for trade.
Food was another commodity that could earn you a good living, if you were smart. We had a booming cattle industry in and around Elko. Southern Idaho was famous for their crops. We could get fresh produce from them and they could get meat and milk from us. Elko had several trade agreements like that
from eastern Oregon all the way over into northern Utah and quite a ways up into Idaho.
CHAPTER 3
Tuesday, August 1st, 2017
It was 5pm when the 25 members of class 3 began to file into the pole barn. All of the young men and women were dressed in their clean and pressed uniforms. In the previous six weeks, they had been transformed. Now, they were as physically and mentally hard as we could make them. They all had that knowing look in their eyes about what their future might hold. They had signed up, volunteered for this, and they were very nearly finished with their training. Most of them would be leaving the safety of the ranch the following morning for their assignments with Major Dennis Jackson. Some would stay in the city of Elko and some would join the Major as he traveled the state of Nevada and the surrounding areas.
I was a little concerned because Dennis still had not shown up as promised. He hadn't missed a graduation yet and I couldn't understand why he might start now. As each student walked by me, my concern continued to grow. I made eye contact with each person as they worked their way down the side of the table. The pride in their accomplishments was evident on each of their faces. Each one had a little bit of well-earned swagger in their stride. All of the instructors had made the comment that this was the best class of recruits that they had seen yet.
All of us knew that classes 1 & 2 were good. We
also knew that they had passed on some helpful hints to this class before they ever came through our gate. After tonight, this would be our last class for a couple of months. The instructor cadre needed some downtime and they wanted to totally revamp their c
urriculum. In addition to making the training program eight weeks, they were hoping to double the class size to 40 students when they started up again on October 1st.
The last student finally took his place behind his seat and the ranch personnel started to file down the left side of the long table. They too were in their uniforms, their pride was for the students standing across from them. Jill was the last person in line and she stood directly to my left, facing her pupils. She glanced sideways at me, no doubt wondering the same thing I was. Where was Major Jackson? I saw her gaze shift and relief flooded her face. A second later, Dennis was standing between me and Jill. He leaned in close to my ear and spoke so only I could hear him.
“Jason, don't make any offer for a student to stay here tonight. Trust me on this,” that caught me off guard and it must have shown on my face. “Please, we need to talk before you do that,” he said and stepped away. He walked the length of the table and took his place at the opposite end. Jill was staring at me.
“Continue,” I silently mouthed the word. She shook her head and looked back at her students.
“ATTENTION!” She said loudly. She let the silence hang in the air for a few moments before she spoke
again. Every student was standing ramrod straight, eyes straight ahead. “Class 3, you may stand at ease,” all of them visibly relaxed. “Please be seated,” she said. After they were seated, she and the rest of the ranch personnel took their seats. I remained standing to deliver my speech. I always tried to keep that part short and to the point. For the previous classes, I would announce who we had picked to stay at the ranch. Tonight was going to be a little different. Once my speech had concluded, I turned it over to Major Jackson who was still standing at the opposite end of the table. After I had taken my seat, he began to speak.
“As always, I would like to thank the members of the ranch for their tireless work. Without you, none of this would be possible. The students that you turn out are some of the most refined and knowledgeable men and women I have ever had the pleasure of serving with and leading. Thank you,” he paused to look at the newest members of his team. “To the members of Class 3, I want to welcome you to our ranks. No longer will you be referred to as Class 3. From this moment forward, you will be Team 3. Congratulations and welcome to the family!” he said, raising his glass to them. That’s when the cheering and high-fives started. The Major took his seat and the feast began.
This was the third graduating class from the ranch and it never got any easier. They were so full of energy and the eagerness of youth. Even the older members of the new Team 3 were infected by it. I could see why Jill always got so sentimental when they graduated.
They had been with us for six weeks and I knew each and every one by name. They truly had become a part of our family, just like their predecessors had. I glanced to my left and caught Jill wiping her eyes. They were tears of joy and pride for her now former students. She caught me looking and gave me a smile and a wink.
It was nearly 8pm before the dinner party started to break up and Jill and I made our way out of the barn. It had taken us almost an hour to leave because every former student wanted to stop us and thank us. We were walking hand-in-hand back toward our house when the Major came jogging up behind us.
“You guys never cease to amaze me,” he said, catching his breath. We stopped walking and let him catch up to us.
“Why do you say that, Dennis?” Jill asked.
“Every single time, you manage to transform those men and women into something I can’t quite explain. It’s amazing what you people can do in six weeks,” he remarked. Jill and I started walking again, he fell in beside us.
“They’re motivated, Dennis. They want a better life and all we do is show them how to get it. The transformation that you speak of comes from within
them, not from us,” Jill said with a smile. “They want it, we just give them the tools they need.”
“So, Major. You mind telling me what the hell is going on?” I asked. He stopped walking again and so did we. He looked around to make sure that we were alone.
“I didn't want you to make the offer because you are going to get all the Teams, not just one student,” he replied.
“Come again?” I questioned.
“Let me start from the top. The meeting in Salt Lake was actually a pretty big deal. Not just for me but for you and the people of the ranch,” he started. “They are going to be turning over a lot of responsibility to the locals who have proven that they can handle themselves. They want to free up the military resources, get us back in active units and start dealing with the scumbags that are still out there.....”
“Like Las Vegas?” I asked.
“Yes, like Vegas. Mayor Calvert has his own defense force and he has Harold Anders to run it for him. You will be getting control of all three Teams. You guys trained 'em so I thought it only fair for you to retain control of them.”
“What are we supposed to do with them?” Jill asked.
“Let them do what they trained to do. Let them go out there and help the nearby communities, let them continue to bring security and safety back to the region. You were planning on training more Teams AND instructors, continue with that. It's good work!”
“What about you and your men?” she continued to question.
“Jill, as much as I love being here, our work is done. You guys are in good shape, Elko is in good shape. There is nothing left for us to do here. It's time
we moved on to do something useful,” he said. “Listen, things are going to get really busy around here in the next few months. They have gotten a railroad line running from the Gulf of Mexico all the way to Salt Lake.”
“They want to have it all the way to Reno by December and the coast of California by this time next year. Elko is going to be a major stop for that train. You will be getting supplies once a month when that train starts making it here. Fuel, food, medicines and anything else you ask for. The President has put groups like yours at the top of the list for that stuff,” he finished.
“Why us?” I asked.
“Jason, what you've endured here, all the good that you've done, all of it has been noticed. Even the President has heard about the fight here at the ranch and she’s heard about all of the good that you have done for Elko. She knows that the military can only do so much. The real rebuilding of this country comes down to people like you. We, the military, can plow the road for you but the real work begins after we've done our job.”
“Dennis, you've done so much for bringing stability back to this area, I don't even know what we would do without you,” I said.
“You'll continue to do what you're doing right now, Jason. Those men and women,” he pointed back to the barn, “They ARE the future, and they are the ones who will be putting this country back on its feet.
They are counting on the Teams that have gone before them and they will be counting on the Teams that come after them. Keep turning out new Teams. That's what you need to do,” he said.
“I know that it's going to be people like them who pull us back from the edge, but it all seems so futile when you really think about it. Twenty men and women at a time ain't gonna cut it. Hell, even when we up it to 40 per class, it's not going to be enough....” I was in the middle of saying when he butted in.
“Remember when I told you that the President took notice of what happened here last October?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“I don't know how to tell you two this, so I'll just hit you between the eyes with it. Jason, Jill, the President of the United States of America has a job for you and the people of the ranch.”
“And that is..... What?” Jill asked.
“When you ramp up your training program again in October, the President wants you to start teaching the next batch of instructors. I told her that you were
already planning on 10 in addition to the 40 students, but she wants more. She wants to know if you can double that?”
“Um.... a
hhhhh.....” Jill stammered.
“We don't have the room for that,” I said bluntly. “We were going to look at the old community college in Elko, but we can't do it here. Hell, I'm not so sure that Mayor Calvert will even let us use the campus.”
“Trust me, he'll let you use it. As long at the council members go along, you could probably move in in the next couple of weeks.”
“What makes you so sure?” Jill asked him.
“The President made him and the city an offer too. As long as they are willing to aid in this training program, they will remain at the top of the list for supplies,” Dennis said.
“Isn't that kinda like blackmail?” I asked.
“Not really. It's totally voluntary if they want to help out. If they decide to say no, then they lose nothing. They will still receive regular supply shipments and they will still be allowed to conduct their affairs as they see fit.....”
“And if they say yes?” Jill questioned.
“If they agree to help you out, help the President out, then they will receive an extra 25% in food, fuel and medical supplies. In addition to that, they will receive weapons and ammunition for the defense force and, as it becomes available, building supplies will also be added to the billet.”
“That's a hell of a deal, Dennis. Can the President and the new government deliver on that promise?” I asked.
“In a word, yes. They can and will deliver on their promises,” he replied. There was a long pause in the conversation as Jill and I locked eyes. There may not have been any verbal communication but I knew her well enough to know exactly what she was thinking.
“It's your call, babe. You're head of operations
and you're the lead instructor. I'll back whatever play you make,” I said. She nodded and looked back to Dennis.
“How soon do you need an answer?” she asked.
“Can you get me an answer by Friday?”
“Yeah, I can do that. I need to sit down with all of my instructors and figure out if we can even pull this off,” she answered.