Authors: Steven Konkoly
“Good news, sir?”
“No. The good-news fairy walked off the fucking job. More shit about the blue uniforms. Good to see you in one piece, Alex,” said Grady, shaking his hand and slapping his shoulder. “Sorry about Jackson.”
Alex was struck by the last part of Grady’s comment. He thought of himself as an outsider in the battalion, just a temporary stakeholder. Even this morning, when he apologized to Taylor for Jackson’s death, he still viewed himself as an outsider. Grady didn’t see it that way. Alex had been put in command of FOB Lakeside, and all of the Marines assigned. They were
his
Marines. He’d somehow forgotten.
“You all right?” asked Grady, snapping him out of the deep thought.
“Yes, sir. Hearing’s still a little fucked up. Ringing coming in and out,” he said, tapping his helmet. “Jackson was a good kid. Good marine. How do they handle next-of-kin notification?”
“Given the circumstances, I don’t know,” said Grady. “Nobody seems to know.”
Alex watched a lone Black Hawk helicopter approach the outer tarmac, slowing to a hover in front of the lone two-story hangar north of the Marines’ compound.
“Where did they send the helicopters?”
“North. To raid Eli’s compound,” said Grady.
“What? Fuck!” yelled Alex, running toward the open hangar door. “I need to be on that raid! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this.”
“Alex!” said Grady, chasing him out of the hangar. “The mission was given to 4
th
Brigade. No Marines involved per RRZ orders. We need all hands on deck.”
“I saw, sir. How many of our vehicles do they have tied up with perimeter security?”
“We had a major breach here, if you hadn’t noticed!”
Alex shook his head. “We knew the York County Sheriff’s Department was missing a few cruisers. I had one of them show up at my house two weeks ago, right before Eli threw an entire platoon of men at my family.”
“I submitted that intelligence through the RRZ data system and personally briefed the rangers. We did our part,” said Grady. “Surveillance camera footage indicates that the car was used to get close enough for the militia team to get lucky. We’ve modified the procedure to prevent a repeat.”
Staring at the northern horizon, Alex balled his fists. “Where’s Eli’s compound?”
“About five miles north of Route 25, off 160,” said Grady, wincing.
“Imagine that. Right where I wanted to search a several days ago,” said Alex. “How did they figure it out?”
“A few of the militia prisoners saw the light when we showed them that
all
of their cars had been rigged with explosives, including the buses. They were under the impression this would be a quick hit spearheaded by a few diversionary car bombs. Apparently, nobody signed up for a suicide mission.”
“He won’t be there,” said Alex.
“What makes you so sure?”
“Eli’s too smart for that. He knew there was a chance someone would end up talking. They’ll find the place emptied out. At most, he left a small crew of expendables behind. They won’t know a damn thing about Eli’s next move.”
“I don’t think there’s another move, Alex. Eli’s done. We identified seventy-three bodies at the airfield. Five prisoners. Taylor just called in with the count in Limerick. Thirty-one dead. For all we know, Eli burned up in his own fire at the intersection.”
“Don’t count on it. Did they find anything in the church?”
“Two bodies. One stabbed through the throat. The other took shrapnel from the explosion.”
“Brilliant,” muttered Alex.
“Brilliant?”
“Killed two birds with one stone. Got at me while shedding his own dead weight.”
“He only killed one of those birds,” said Grady, patting him on the shoulder.
“Which is why we need to go after him right now. He doesn’t strike me as the type to give up on a grudge.”
“You look like you could use a seat,” said Grady, pointing to the makeshift briefing area. “I need to discuss something with you.”
Alex turned his head, staring directly into Grady’s grizzled, tired face. “Sounds like I’m not getting ten vehicles to hunt down Eli.”
“Worse. The RRZ ordered me to shut down the FOB,” said Grady.
“When?”
“I’m stalling on them on this,” said Grady.
“When?”
“Effective immediately. They’ve compressed the RRZ Security Area,” he said, looking around, “and there’s talk about declaring martial law.”
This sealed Alex’s decision. The only thing standing between his family and a return visit from Eli was a twenty-four-hour security shield provided by 1
st
Battalion, 25
th
Marines. Even that had proven to have its limitations.
“Martial law? I didn’t see that on the RRZ menu.”
“Neither did I. Apparently, there’s a private menu, which requires approval from Washington. Governor Medina didn’t seem to think her request would be denied.”
“What are we looking at?” said Alex, crumpling into one of the folding chairs.
Grady dropped into the chair in front of Alex, facing backward.
“They’ve drawn a five-mile circle around Sanford, then a straight line through it from the coast to the New Hampshire border. Anything in the circle, or south of the line, is subject to restricted daylight hours, strict nighttime curfew, random searches, RRZ ID card registration.”
Alex hung his head in his scorched Kevlar-weave gloves and started laughing. “How are people supposed to register for IDs when they don’t have any way to get to their designated registration point? Nobody has a car. Someone needs to pull those fuckers out of their compound and drive them around. They might be surprised to see we got hit by an EMP.”
“They won’t be coming out of there anytime soon. Not after this morning’s attack. As for the ID card program, someone had the foresight to design mobile card-making equipment. 1
st
Battalion, along with a full battalion from 4
th
Brigade, will go door to door in the Security Area. We start training on the gear tomorrow.”
“I suppose you’ll be confiscating firearms at the same time,” said Alex, stifling a laugh.
Grady just stared at him, his face betraying no reaction.
“Jesus, Sean. This isn’t Washington, D.C., where guns are banned. More than fifty percent of this population owns a firearm. You start asking for guns, and you better be prepared for a gunfight.”
“I know, and the 4
th
Brigade CO agrees. We’re waiting for heads to cool down over in the Green Zone before we try to talk some sense into them. People might have to live with the curfews and restricted hours, even the unconstitutional searches. Our goal is to stop the insanity there.”
“What if Medina won’t listen?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
“Better not let Eli cross it first. He’ll be back in business within the week if you start taking the guns away. The entire state will turn against the RRZ,” said Alex. “How the fuck don’t they see that?”
“You’re preaching to the choir,” said Grady.
“What about Harrison Campbell’s folks? I can’t envision this playing out well for them.”
“You need to give him a heads-up. All known or suspected militia types within the Security Area have been designated as high threat. The York County Readiness Brigade was mentioned by name. They’ll be at the top of the gun confiscation list if the measure is approved. I wouldn’t be surprised if the RRZ issued a detention order.”
Alex stood up. “Damn it. I feel like an asshole for getting his people into this.”
“They would have been targeted anyway. If anything, your short collaboration with the brigade will help the situation. Harrison’s folks did some good work on the RRZ’s behalf. That gives me leverage to keep them from being treated like criminals. That said, they might have to hang up their guns for a while, or at least keep them out of sight if we pay them a visit. I need you to explain this to him. I’ll do everything in my power to protect them, but I need them to play along when the time comes.”
“I’ll pass this along, but you need to sit down with Harrison and work this out, sir. Passing along good intentions isn’t the same as directly shaking on them,” said Alex.
“I copy you loud and clear on that. Ask Motor-T for a clean vehicle to visit Campbell.”
“I’m sure Campbell won’t mind a little mud,” said Alex.
“Clean, as in we’ve disabled the tracking devices. They’re watching us closely. Leave your ROTACs behind and don’t activate the vehicle data system. Use the VHF if you have to pass traffic,” said Grady.
Alex smiled for the first time since he woke up. The fact that Grady was finding ways around the RRZ system gave him hope that he wouldn’t leave Campbell at the mercy of the government. It also left him with the distinct impression that Grady was more interested in honoring his Oath of Office than playing federal shell games with the people’s constitutional liberties. He distinctly remembered raising his right hand at the Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis and swearing to “defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
“I’ll be back shortly,” said Alex, moving a chair out of his way.
“You should stick around. We’re patched into the 4
th
Brigade’s radio feed for the raid. Time on target is zero-seven-twenty. Twenty-one minutes from now.”
“He won’t be there,” said Alex, shaking his head.
“Never know,” said Grady.
“I know.”
Chapter 41
EVENT +21 Days
Sanford, Maine
Alex met with Harrison Campbell at the edge of the forest leading into the property, under the watchful eyes of several heavily armed men and women. He sensed something was different. Campbell’s people looked tense.
“Keeler, why don’t you head down the road about three hundred meters, until you’re out of sight.”
“Copy, sir. We’ll point the Matvee in your direction in case you need a quick extract,” he replied, over the intrasquad radio.
“I appreciate that. The reception is looking a little frosty. Out,” said Alex, turning to Campbell.
“Frosty?” said Harrison, extending a hand. “No, cautious. Glad to see you in one piece. I talked with your dad a little earlier on the HAM.”
“Eli really outdid himself this time. He threw close to a hundred of his people to the wolves, including inmates from the correctional facility. Most of the cars were rigged with explosives. Some were remote detonated, still containing the occupants.”
“We knew something big was going down. Sounded like the Battle of Gettysburg toward the airport. What about the compound?”
“He sent a total of seven cars, in two waves, at the compound. None of them got past the checkpoint at the turnoff. The second wave sped down Old Middle Road like nothing happened to the first wave.”
Campbell shook his head. “All to get at your sorry ass?”
“Apparently. He buried two roadside bombs in downtown Limerick. My vehicle was hit by the smaller of the two,” said Alex.
“Two in one place?”
“He wasn’t taking any chances that I might return with a second vehicle. This was a well-planned attack. I’m worried it’s not his last.”
“Well, he can’t have much of an army left,” said Campbell.
“It only takes one person to press a button. Who knows how many IEDs he has planted around southern Maine?” said Alex.
“You should be fine driving around in one of those things,” he said, nodding toward the Matvee disappearing behind a stand of trees down the road.
“I might not be driving in one for very long. The RRZ is making some changes after the attack.”
“This doesn’t sound good,” Campbell said, stepping into the sun. “Should we take a walk?”
“Probably a good idea.”
When they were far enough away not to be overheard, Alex explained the full situation. Campbell listened impassively, showing little response to his revelation. When Alex finished, he stopped walking and rubbed his face, exhaling hard.
“You really trust Grady?”
Alex nodded. “I trust him to do the right thing with his battalion. Unfortunately, the RRZ has another five thousand soldiers at their disposal. It sounds like the 4
th
Brigade commanding officer is on the same page as Grady, but I don’t know where his loyalties will fall if the RRZ doesn’t bend on this.”
“We’re not giving up our guns, Alex. You know that.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to, but I’m sure you can work something out with Colonel Grady if he’s required to pay a visit, especially if any RRZ observers tag along.”
“They have no right to pay us a visit,” said Campbell, crossing his arms over his rifle-magazine-laden vest.
“Harrison, don’t be a stubborn ass. Work with him on this. Bury the damn rifles for an hour when he comes to inspect, or whatever he’s required to do.”
“This is going to be a tough sell. Disarm while the government walks through the camp armed to the teeth? You see the problem, right?”
“Very clearly. I also know the RRZ has designated your organization as high threat. You’re one classification level away from a direct action raid. I watched eight fully loaded helicopters head north to Eli’s compound. You don’t want that kind of visit. Sit down with Grady and hash this out,” said Alex, raising his voice.
“Most of us feel more comfortable working with you,” said Campbell.
“Well, I can’t make any promises that will amount to anything. Grady has a battalion of Marines that’ll follow him through the gates of Hell. He’s your man moving forward.”
“I think you’re making a mistake taking off. You’re more than welcome here. It’ll be a bitch of a winter, but we’ll come out on top,” said Campbell.
“The offer is tempting, Harrison. Thank you,” said Alex. “But I’m not so optimistic about the bigger picture. I think it’s time for a change of scenery.”
“Northern Maine is a change of scenery. I have a feeling you’re headed for a bigger change. Will we see you again?”