Chapter 41 -- ARUUTJCTVFIYEX
Their coffee cups empty, Carter and Jessica sat for a while in the kitchen. The
sun was well up, the October day was cloudless. The expanse of bermuda lawn
around the houses would soon turn brown, signalling the approaching winter. This
winter was likely to be different for them at least. The upcoming election,
with its outcome almost certain, was expected to be the last one before the
war.
"Ready?" she asked.
They were going over to Donald's house for an operations meeting, a regular
occurrence these days.
"Ready," he replied, picking up their cups and taking them to the sink.
At the door he paused, turned, and put his arms around her. It was something
they seemed not to find much time for recently. The future that loomed before
them, no matter how well it ended, was likely to change them permanently.
Indeed, it already had. They stood like that, her head on his shoulder, not
wanting to look into each other's eyes just now. Finally they let go and
turned to go.
The League had solidified its battle plans for the most likely scenarios, and
was preparing for the positioning of assets in the most crucial area - the
nation's capitol. In addition, areas around the country where strikes would
be executed, if necessary, to encourage a recalcitrant enemy to behave, were
being surveyed and targets selected. The sort of campaign envisioned would be
too fantastic to believe, if it were exposed, yet all the pieces necessary were
already available and ready for deployment.
Carter and Jessica, along with Tommy and James, helped Donald with the logistics
planning. Donald had a large map, about four by five feet, on a wall of the
office. Several smaller, but still large maps showed the Capitol and parts of
the district. The large map showed the locations of the freeholds, albeit
camouflaged as ordinary locations. Only a person with detailed knowledge of
an area would spot them, and would likely regard them as errors.
These maps, particularly the largest, would be useful for planning movements of
personnel and materiel. A smaller map, but still the size of a large poster,
lay on a table. Marks with various colors of ink identified the locations of
affiliated organizations - not part of the league but in contact and in varying
degrees, involved in operations to occur during the coming insurrection.
And that is what it would be, and the Council did not mince words. As the
nation's founders had known that they were, in the eyes of the British Empire,
committing treason, so they would technically be committing treason. The fact
that the government was no longer constitutionally legitimate would not matter.
If they failed they would pay a high price.
"What we have here," Donald said as they looked at the large map, "is something
beyond anything likely to be conceivable in the minds of our enemies. Over two
hundred geographically dispersed bases, most of them both well camouflaged and
remote from population centers. Close to eighteen thousand personnel.
"Over a hundred connections to various dissident organizations, all of them
of a militant nature - we have no use for socio-political activity, it's too
late for that - almost all of them in agreement to wait for a signal before
acting. A few dozen more are not so controlled but can likely be used when we
provide them with targets and the means to strike.
"All of the outside resources are of course not guaranteed to be reliable. Some
of them may act on their own, too soon, and be eliminated. Others may get cold
feet. But we expect many of them will perform.
"The unpredictable part is the reaction. Considering the kind of people we are
dealing with, expecting a quick resolution is not realistic. Until the worst of
them are neutralized - either by us or their own kind, assuming that at some
point cooler heads prevail - a settlement will not occur. And the only one we
will accept is a restoration of constitutional rule. So at this point the only
thing we know is that there will be a war. Unless some miracle happens after
November."
They all knew there would be no miracle. The sort of people - most of them
sociopaths - would be unable to conceptualize being defeated. Most of them
would fight to the bitter end, but they relied on others to do their fighting.
Only when the troops had had enough and refused to follow orders or
deserted, could they be dealt with.
"Where do we fit in?" asked Jessica "Since we're not going after the target we
planned on, we don't have a mission."
Carter had decided not to pursue his vendetta against the man who had put him in
prison, leaving him to whatever fate he was destined for. So there was no need
for him to be in the Capitol for the initial strike.
"You still want to be there?" asked Donald.
"I'd like to," Carter said without looking at Jessica. He was fairly certain she
didn't want him to go, and it was no longer necessary. "But only if there's
something useful for me to do."
"We'll be shipping some weapons and supplies out of here," Donald said.
Or people. If this deteriorates into a guerilla war and goes on for a while,
being able to get our people out of the action when they're compromised will
include having places to hide them. Or for that matter, prisoners."
"Prisoners?" asked Tommy. "Here?"
"Conceivably," replied Donald. "Or to other freeholds. we'd prefer not to, given our
limited personnel. I suspect if we did we'd need to add some staff. Which we may
do anyway, or be providing temporary accommodations for our own people. If this
thing drags out, we can expect anything."
"We could hide people in the grain bins," said Jessica. "Just about the last
pace anyone would look, and impossible to escape from. Not very comfortable,
but not exactly inhumane."
"One of the things we have to consider," said Donald, "is that some of our people
may be captured. Holding some prisoners could help there, if they're important enough."
"What happens if this place is compromised?" asked Jessica.
"If that should happen," said Donald, "we would be relocated. Whether together or
not depends on the circumstances."
"I was thinking of Dalton and Mary," she said. "And grandfather."
"They'll be taken care of at the start," Donald said. "They are aware, in a
general way, of the plan. They know that when the time comes they will be taken
to a safe place, a place where they can live their remaining years in safety and
comfort, with a trust fund for insurance. As for Dad, he's considering something
similar. His health has been declining, as you've no doubt noticed. As
much as he would like to be there at the end, it may not be possible. As
with Dalton and Mary, he'll be safe out of harm's way. I'm hoping it won't be a
long affair, and one day we can tell him about it, until he ends is days in the
freedom he worked for."
Donald had brought a small box, which now sat on the table in front of him. He
took a handful of items from it and dropped them on the table before them.
"Always carry one of these and have several more readily available," he said.
Carter looked at one. It was a small enamel shield, about an inch high and a
little over half as wide, divided into four sections. The upper left section
contained a large gold "M", with a large gold "C" in the lower right. The upper
right contained an image of an oak tree, with a torch in the lower left.
"This design has no special significance" Donald said. "It's simply a design
one of us came up with when we were looking for a unique identifying symbol
that was unlikely to be already in circulation. Alan Clarey of Sunset Valley
designed it, said the initials aren't his, they represent Michael Collins,
revered as the founder of the Irish Free State, liberating it from British rule.
Our model of insurrection is based somewhat on his, albeit on a much larger scale."
"Yeah, Jessica enlightened me," said Carter. "He must have had nerves of steel."
"As we must," Donald said. "Had Collins failed, he would have faced the hangman,
as Benjamin Franklin warned his fellow patriots they would should they fail. They didn't
fail and neither shall we."