Chapter 15
We passed two army barricades heading toward Washington D.C. but were easily passed thru as the others hid in the back of the truck and Rus and I were still dressed in the army outfits we had, plus we had the appropriate documents to also gain access closer to our goal. The blockades were forty miles apart and the last one was about twenty miles outside the capital. As we approached the city limits we pulled over so I could view the map again for the best route and while we scouted to see what may lie on the roads ahead. Rus and Don looked ahead thru their binoculars and scouted the road ahead. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary ahead so I think we will be in the clear to drive straight into Washington Don said. I think our best bet to scout before we start moving will be to cross into Virginia and follow the main expressway down to Theodore Roosevelt Island I said. We can park at the parking complex where we will take the bridge to the island and need to find a few row boats. After night fall we row down the Potomac River and under an overpass and set up at the Jefferson Memorial I said. Why can’t we park on the island? Jon asked. Because the only bridge to the island is made for walking and not for vehicles I answered. Why the Jefferson Memorial then? Jon also asked. Well it is just off the river, has a large lake in front of it, and if we can scale the monument we will be able to see several buildings including the White House I said. We need to see where we can set up camp, how the flow of the city continues to go, and where else we may be able to find answers I said. We turned southwest and headed toward the Virginia state line where we got on the George Washington Parkway and took that down to the parking lot of the Theodore Roosevelt Island. We unloaded our gear and Don took the CB and disassembled the satellite and then we made the truck look like it was abandoned. How are we going to carry all this gear? Jon asked. Rus pulled out the large army sacks and said, we load and carry it all. Once packed and ready we headed across the bridge with our gear and once we reached the island we broke off into two teams. Rus, Don, and Bryan will travel the north route around the island and Mike, Jon, and I will travel south Bruce said. If you find any boats call over the walkie talkies and we will meet at the southern point of the island Bruce said. Try not to draw attention to the island if you can help it and be safe Rus said. We headed north following the shoreline looking for any canoes or paddle boats we could use to get downriver. We had to wait till nightfall anyway so we took our time and walked the shoreline for two hours before we stopped to rest and get a bite to eat. We stopped across from what looked like the Kennedy Performing Art Center. So Rus checked things out through his binoculars and looked for anything he could see. Do you see anything? Don asked. Well from what I can see everything looks normal Rus said. I can see people working in offices, cars driving, people walking the streets, and to my surprise no one is carrying weapons or looks worried. Well I guess we better find some boats and I say we need to scout at least a week before we make a move into the city Rus said. We started walking down the east side shoreline heading south still looking for a boat. Come in Don, Bruce called over the walkie talkie. Go ahead Bruce, Don said. Well we found a pontoon boat and some paddles, so if we can’t find anything else it will support the six of us and our gear Bruce said. That will work great get it to the southern point and we will meet up with you there Don said. That won’t work right now in the daylight Bruce said. We will need to meet back at the bridge we crossed when we arrived at the island and I’ll explain everything Bruce added. We cut across one of the paths that may take us back to the west side of the island. We made it across the island and back to the west shoreline where we headed back north toward the bridge. We arrived first and called Bruce back on the walkie talkie. We could hear Don’s voice echo on the walkie talkie and looked to see Mike, Jon, and Bruce paddling the pontoon boat up the river. They pulled toward the shore where we tied the boat down and loaded it with all our gear. So what’s going on Bruce? Don asked. Well we approached where one of the bridges should have been to discover there was no bridge and a small army patrol on the Washington D.C. side of where the bridge should have been Bruce said. So if I had to guess I would say all the bridges are not accessible and the outskirts of the capital is patrolled by the army and that’s why the city seems to be functioning with no worries Bruce said. We waited until night fall before we attempted a move down river. Since they are patrolling the west side of the river we will have to hug the east shore and when we get to the opening of the lake we will have to fight the current and get to the Jefferson Memorial I said. Once nightfall hit we started paddling down river hugging the east shore and as we came to the major bridge area where we needed to cross we could see a patrol watching over the river but we were far enough out of site or so we thought. Suddenly a missile was launched toward our position. Holy shit they’ve seen us Rus said. Grab the gear we are going to have to make a swim for it I said. We scrambled to grab the gear and suddenly I came up with an idea to help save the mission. Listen up I shouted as the missiles continued to fly near the boat exploding in the water. Get ready to jump in the water when I tell you and swim until you get to the Memorial I said. I turned the engine on and fired the double motors then floored the boat toward the patrol firing at us. Rus tell my wife I love her and find a cure for my children I said. We got halfway across the river when I shouted jump in. They jumped off the back of the boat so they wouldn’t be noticed and watched as I continued the boat toward the patrol avoiding missiles and rockets that were now flying toward me. I got about three hundred yards from shore when I turned the boat south down the river. The patrol jumped in their vehicles and followed the boat down river and I stayed close enough to the shoreline so they would not give up pursuit and return to their post. Rus, Don, Bruce, Jon, and Mike started swimming as fast as they could with all the heavy gear while I was giving them a chance. They made it just under the bridge to the shoreline where they could run the rest of the way to the Jefferson Memorial. They got up to the broken bridge and looked down the river to see a missile fly into the sky and come crashing down into the boat with a huge fireball explosion. Rus, Bruce, and Don stood in shock as they saw the boat explode. Mike and Jon grabbed them by the arm and said let’s go it is what Bryan wanted us to do Mike said. They ran the little over one mile trip it was from the river to the Jefferson Memorial where they quickly scouted the area and set up camp before collapsing from exhaustion. I can’t believe he’s gone Bruce said. He did what he thought he had to do so we can find answers and hopefully a cure Mike said. Let’s get some rest and start scouting things tomorrow Jon said. Everyone passed out from exhaustion and sleep throughout the night.
After getting some sleep everyone woke up and starting looking for a way to scout over the city. There was a large scaffold set up inside the monument that looked like some renovation was being done before they had to abandon before it was finished. Let’s move that scaffold outside and we can scout from just behind the front peak Rus said. I think we need to wait until night fall to climb to the top of the monument Don said. Well for know I’ll take the north, Don you take the west, Mike you watch the south, Bruce you take the east and Jon I need you to take notes from everyone so we can see if there is a pattern over the next several days Rus said. Also make sure you use your binoculars in the shadows or cover the top to avoid a glare or reflection that may bring attention to our presence Don said. Scouting throughout the day was much laid back compared to the normal day to day routine we had been following over the past seven months. Everything looked like Washington D.C. was operating like it was normal everyday life. People walked the streets with no concerns, cars drove from building to building, and shops ran their everyday businesses. This is so crazy those people are walking around like they have no idea what horrors lie outside the city and the corrupt FBI within the city Don said. Well maybe there is some sort of story they have told everyone as to why the bridges are out and the army is being patrolled Bruce said. Also that may explain why the President ordered all top army recruits to report to Washington D.C. Rus said. The day passed quickly with scouting a very busy looking city. Well I think it almost dark enough out to where we can climb the scaffold without being seen so let’s get on top of the building. Once on top of the memorial they set up a small camp at the highest peak so they could rest there and just to the lower part of the peak where there was a terrific view heading toward the White House so they would be able to monitor activities around the President. At night time we will monitor the ways we did earlier since it will be dark out otherwise we will be sitting ducks trying to scout in the day time with our dark clothes up against this white building. Did we bring a radio at all? Rus asked. Maybe we can find local station and see what lies like usual Washington is telling the citizens? Mike added. Yes we brought a radio with us but I’ll have to see if it’s dried out and still works Don said.
Once we got to the top Rus took full command of all movements we made taking over full command from the shared role him and Bryan had before the missile blew up the boat. Alright Don you get to work on the radio and see if you can get it working Rus said. Bruce and I will start scouting out the White House area while Jon and Mike you check out the southeast and southwest corners. As soon as it starts getting light out head back so we don’t get seen and we will make our move in six days Rus said. The first three days were all the same we would rest during the daytime with scouting only being done from behind the peak walls to the north, northeast, northwest, and scouting the south and east side during the cover of night time. It also took those three days for Don to finally get the radio working. Don had to completely disassemble the radio and put it back together using pieces of the walkie talkies since Bryan had the other one, Don’s served no purpose anymore. As the sun rose on the fourth day everyone returned to the peak and laid down for some rest. Everyone was up by one in the afternoon. Don was listening to the radio trying to find any station that would come in when suddenly a voice came over the radio.
“Welcome back everyone this is Kevin Robertson with your twenty four hour news broadcast. Just to keep you updated on what’s been going on. It was seven months ago when several militia groups branched out against the United States forming small communities in every state and declaring a new civil war. They have been working on toxic chemicals that seem to mutate the human body into mindless flesh eating zombies and also have used E.M.P.’s to cut off all electronic devices. But don’t worry citizens your capitals in each state are protected by ACT 75DDNPP signed by the President at the beginning on May giving the FBI full jurisdiction and the aide of the United States Army. Every state capital has a large radius of army personnel blocking all major roads and water ways leading into each city. Most bridges were destroyed leading into each city making any advance across the water met with minimal survival rate. Just four days ago this news journalist was informed that the leader of these militia groups was headed for our own Washington D.C. where he attempted to cross the Potomac River but was quickly disposed of by our United States Army. A missile launched at the leader met his boat to a fiery explosion. There were no survivors. Also this statement from the director of the FBI Arnold Skinner: This was a major blow to this militia terror group. We believe this group shall slowly start to unfold and we shall restore order to this great country by the start of the New Year. So it will be a new year for the New United States of America. That was a strong message from the director. We will be back at the top of every hour to bring you this repeated message and any new news there is to report. This is Kevin Robertson signing off for now.”
Wow it looks like we have been declared public enemy number one Rus added. Well we need to prove our innocents and we defiantly need to get into Washington as soon as possible Rus said. How has the scouting been going for everyone? Rus asked. So far everything seems to be normal and exactly as the radio host was talking about Jon reported. We will need to find other clothes to help us blend in more and a place to stay Don said. So in the next three days we need to find a clothing store and a place to stay at Bruce said. Let’s get back to work we move into Washington in three days Rus said. While scouting one night thru his binoculars Don noticed a hotel that looked vacant so over the next two days he kept watch on just this one building. I think I found us a place Don announced. There was an abandoned hotel Don had scouted just across the harbor. The hotel was 10 stories in height with the top two floors were entire full executive suites as well as a roof top that could see a majority of the city including the White House and a large neon looking sign on the roof . I think that will work nicely to set up a base until we can infiltrate FBI headquarters Don said. I have seen several black sedans heading down that main road away from the White House heading toward the river so maybe if we can get a better city map showing all the buildings and landmarks maybe we will have a starting point Rus said. Well let’s get some rest and tomorrow night we will pack up and make our way to that hotel Rus announced. Since it’s such a large hotel I think we can search room by room and see if any suitcases or hotel staff clothing was left over and that can help us get into the city to find more clothes Bruce suggested. Alright get some sleep and when you wake up start packing your gear we will head for the hotel in fourteen hours Rus said. The guys fell asleep around ten in the morning unaware of the black sedan that was driving around the Jefferson Memorial.