The Battle for Houston...The Aftermath (53 page)

At the same time, the U.S. military soldiers stationed across the country were working hard to address complaints from farming areas where farmers and their families were being harassed and threatened by former prisoners and the couple of hundred men who called themselves soldiers from several anti-U.S. organizations who had been hired by the CEOs for the pharmaceutical corporations.

Slowly the troubles decreased as those who were threatening farmers were caught. Very few of these small groups could stand up to the fire power of a Chinese attack helicopter and most did not survive to tell their tale. A couple did.

Three weeks later, fall arrived and with fall came the first time the Law Courts were used in Washington for many months. Seventeen men and three women were on trial for treason, and six men and one woman for first degree murder.

The final story was told.

MonteDiablo
had tried for years to get a foothold in the Chinese and Asian markets. Finally, three years before the event on New Year’s Eve, they had their first meetings with Zedong Electronics. A deal was struck between the Zedong Electronics Chairman Wang Chunqiao, Peter Westbrook and Bill Bowers. Zedong Electronics would allow Westbrook and his cronies’ complete control of the world’s food and medical supply markets in return for information fed directly to him from the U.S. Congress.

Much of the information had to do with the state of the country, and the economy. Equally important was information concerning the numbers and whereabouts of soldiers in the country; as these numbers were determined, they were actually decreased by the many paid, political friends of Westbrook and Bowers. Eleven members of the House of Representatives and three U.S. Senators were named as conspirators who used their political power to send more and more American troops overseas. These men, paid millions of dollars, had organized legislation to approve sending over 300,000 extra men out of the country just a few months before the invasion; they were sent in relatively small increments of 30,000 to 50,000. A couple of now deceased high ranking military officers, greedy for power and control, had worked the Pentagon to get these men shipped out, many without any other officer’s knowledge.

Yes, numbers of troops being sent by the Pentagon overseas were presented to the president weekly, but the reports documented far lower numbers than were actually climbing aboard aircraft or ships.

Several of the surviving members of Washington were shocked at the size of the political atrocities that had happened right under their noses, and even the ex-interim Speaker of the House, who had been found beaten up and half naked trying to get home, twelve miles from where he had been dropped off, was one of the names of the men sending troop numbers to Westbrook.

So were three of the surviving House members who had very little to say when the new government was installed; they also went on trial.

Vice President Shaw finally agreed with General Patterson that a thorough airing of the workings of Washington would be necessary for the country to clean itself of the old, entrenched systems.

From the prison inmates, three of them still alive and on trial, and two of the anti-government mercenaries also on trial, stories of what happened before New Year’s Eve came to light.

Most of the prisoners had been released from prison a few hours before New Year’s Eve. Three small prisons had been attacked in the northwest, the guards murdered and before dawn on January 1st, the first group had already been flown into Cold Bay.

Months before that, the anti-government men had been flown to the same location and worked side-by-side with Chinese soldiers building up the airfield as Westbrook and Bower’s base of operations, following the New Year’s Eve catastrophe.

The judge asked what had happened to the people who lived in the area. He had reports that there were still a number of American citizens missing from False Pass, a town of approximately eighty people.

One of the anti-government prisoners replied that he had flown into the town a few days before New Year’s Eve. It had been bitterly cold and the people were told to lock their doors as a bad storm was brewing. They were captured without a fight, and flown into Cold Bay in the Chinese transport aircraft.

Once they arrived in Cold Bay, a troop of the Chinese soldiers took them away from the airfield, and they were never seen again. He believed that every man, woman and child was shot by firing squad.

Westbrook, his daughter and Bowers were asked what had happened to the civilians and none of them uttered a word. They just kept quiet and stared ahead.

A Chinese soldier was then presented to the court, and he affirmed the first man’s assumptions. He had been ordered to drive a small bulldozer that had tried to make a hole to bury the Americans, but the ground was too frozen and all he could do was to move loose rubble like stones and rocks, it took two days, but a new hill was formed over the bodies.

After a week of witnesses and exhausting testimony, the news came that attacks on farmers had died down to zero. Final reports came in: 587 dead terrorists who were responsible for the deaths of 81 farmers, 35 farmers’ wives and 16 children. All the remaining terrorists were killed; there was no mercy.

For two more weeks many of the government officials, civilians and military officers were in the court rooms. Preston and Martie wanted to hear the whole story and were shocked and sickened by the size of atrocities against the country and its people. Since New Year’s Eve, they had been isolated from the realities that had happened around them. They had lived well and were fed and housed in the splendor they were used to. But these stories, one after the other, took away that curtain of safety. Back in their apartment at the Colombian Embassy, they discussed and speculated on what had actually gone on while they were playing war.

Carlos returned from Bogotá towards the end of the trials and Preston, Martie, Sally and he, often with the Smarts present, learned what their country and its people had actually gone through.

Reality smacked them hard in the face and feelings of anger built up in them again, as it did in most who attended the trials.

After a month of hearings, the first convictions were handed out. There was not one prison open anywhere in the United Stated, and the judge stated that one should be opened.

General Austin, now in charge of hospitals, prisons, and military bases suggested that the military could have one open in a few weeks. Northern Texas was the most likely area as there were over 300 other prisoners in military confinement in and around the Texas military bases, mostly remnants of the South American army, and who needed to be put away.

“Your Honor,” General Austin stated. “It seems that many of the people currently in custody here, in Texas, and at army barracks around the country have one conviction for which they need to be sentenced: murder. Up to last year, the prisons were full and overflowing with these people and the country struggled to pay for the upkeep of inmates. Surely, a simple sentence of execution for murder is a fair price to pay for those who don’t think twice about taking somebody else’s life. It’s time this country’s laws became real and just again. I believe jail-time, or even the old African trick I heard while in Somalia, cutting off a hand for theft, should be reserved for lesser crimes. Why go back to the old-fashioned “civilized methods” which never worked. Our full jails proved it.”

As usual there were people for and against the death penalty, and even after the deaths of millions of their countrymen and women; many did not want to see more death. Unfortunately they were not in a majority and “an eye for an eye” was accepted at the end of the day’s discussions.

President Mallory signed his first law soon after that. “Death by Public Hanging” for people who planned, or committed murder, a maximum of 25-years, or life prison sentences for Treason and lesser time for smaller offenses. The word “Parole” was not part of the new law.

During the first day of sentencing, four former members of Congress and two former Senators were given life sentences, and two others received lesser sentences. The main sentences would be announced the following day.

There was no jury needed. The law was simple and sentences were determined by the judge.

The last day of legal proceedings was short. It took just two hours to hand out the death sentences. Carlos mentioned to Preston that the
Colombian Necktie
should be handed out to some of the people on trial for a punishment; even in Colombia he hadn’t heard such gruesome stories.

Westbrook and Bowers were shocked at the change in law and objected, shouting out that they wanted proper justice and to be able to appeal their convictions. The last six men and one woman were extremely unhappy and condemned the new law in no uncertain terms.

When the judge added that these hangings would be carried out within twenty-four hours, in public, and in front of the courthouse, the condemned prisoners fell silent.

There was a new law in town, and the judge was not afraid to administer it.

Preston and Carlos stayed for the hangings. There were many people who did, but Martie and Sally were like many others, they headed down to North Carolina the night before in Sally’s Pilatus from Andrews.

A week later, Preston, Martie, Carlos, Sally, Little Beth and Clint headed back up to Andrews in the Pilatus for their helicopter flight into arrived aboard Marine One for the day.

Mo’s new friend, Tim O’Shaw, the Marine who had looked after his homes while he was away was shocked at seeing so many VIPs in the small town of Ocracoke. He had cleaned up well over the months, looked good and was still waiting for the admiral who was yet to return.

He was given the bad news by Admiral Rogers that the remains of Admiral Peterson, the man who owned these units had been found on a floating Attack Cruiser off the west coast of Africa a month earlier.

Admiral Rogers now had dozens of vessels of all types and sizes, scouring the seas looking for still-floating military ships and, so far, only 119 out of 382 missing military vessels had been located. One, the USS Enterprise had been found, aground in the Middle East with several men and women, still alive on board. The only ship so far which still had live seamen on board… but that’s another story.

The same church minister from Seymour Johnson was invited to conduct the ceremony as he had done at Prestonville, and the honeymoon was to be with best friends squashed aboard the cutter for a week’s fishing. There wasn’t much else anybody could plan for a honeymoon in this new age.

Tim O’Shaw moved into the admiral’s old apartment and would now be Mo’s neighbor and caretaker.

Welcoming eighteen people to the White House, President Mallory addressed the group, “Thanks all for coming and, we will enjoy the tuna, you brought with you for dinner tonight.” General Patterson was missing, but Admiral Rogers and Generals Austin and Watson and three aides were at the meeting. Mo and Lee Wang were also there, as well as the three lieutenants from Seal Team Six, and six more Seal Team Lieutenants Preston had seen but never met. Mo’s new wife, Lee’s Wife and daughter, and his sister Lu and her children were also in attendance.

Not often were children included in an official meeting in the Blue Room of the White House.

“This meeting is to initiate our new external governmental departments, including our external eyes around the world. We have no more FBI or CIA, or any external eyes, apart from a couple of people around the world who have our satellite phones and can communicate with us at Andrews. These new departments are now called U.S. Official External Operations and are on a need-to-know basis only, and under military command, not political command. As you know Andrews Air Force Base is being modified into the new Pentagon for the future and a hangar is being prepared for the leaders of our military to work together.

“As Carlos explained to all of you at our last meeting, our current four-satellite system will only last a decade or two at the most. Let me give you our latest good news. The Russian satellite was successfully launched from Harbin yesterday and, under the guidance of Michael Roebels and three former NASA professionals, they will be setting up its three-satellite payload in orbit during the next few weeks. These new satellites will give us extended viewing coverage over Western Europe and parts of Asia, including eastern areas of China.

“I will also give you the details of my speech to the new House of Representatives tomorrow, since many of you won’t be there. In the last week we have had virtually zero crime or reports of violence across our country for the first time in the eight months since New Year’s Eve. Thanks to the efforts of millions of farmers and helpers, we now have enough food stored for the coming winter. The lower temperatures are helping eradicate many onsets of plague and other lesser diseases in the northern areas of the country and, diseases and other problems in the southern area are now down to minimums. Thanks to the U.S. military and foreign aid from the Mexican Government, our southern areas are now safe, and will be under military control with 500,000 servicemen and women, who will be joining a group of 100,000 farmers and planting crops over the winter and into early next year. Another million acres of disease-free and good farming areas have been opened up in the southern states where only these farmers and helpers are allowed in.

We currently have three dozen canning and bottling operations now running 24/7 across the country. Yesterday, Michael Roebels’ team got a small coal-fired electric plant operational in Virginia. There is enough coal at the plant for the first half of winter, and we will have three trains a day taking coal to the plant beginning in February next year. This plant has enough capacity to light 100,000 homes in the area. Unfortunately, it will take us two more years to manufacture the grid parts needed to light the homes, but we have a fantastic new program in the planning stage and I will launch it during my Next Year’s Eve Address. Until then power from this plant is being fed to seven large canning and bottling plants in the area, and Virginia is now producing half of our canned and bottled goods. Good news is that half of the canned goods are meat products like corned beef.”