Chapter 71 -- NCQTKXSEGXE
"Our man is sprung," Donald said, "and he's headed our way."
As usual the group was watching the news and monitoring the patriot channels on
the internet. Two of the screens were showing the activity at the area where
a large number of federal officers had been killed two days earlier by unknown
persons who where presumed to be anti-government guerillas, as they were now
beginning to be called. The emergency vehicles were gone, only some ordinary
cars and vans parked along the road and inside the fenced enclosure, with
people moving about unhurriedly.
"Any ETA?" asked Jessica. They had been informed of the extraction of the
only man captured in the Black Friday operation. The news coverage they were
watching was the result of his work. Pretending to give in to his
interrogators, he had given them an almost true description of an unused
property in rural Iowa. They had checked it out and prepared to raid it. His
escape from a prisoner transport had caused them to launch the raid early -
not that it would have mattered. A large number of the attackers were killed.
"He leaves Alxandria in a couple hours," Donald said. "It's a long flight,
over a thousand miles, so there will be a stop. They'll land just long enough
for him to board an aircraft that will meet them there, and then bring him here."
"So we have another guest for a while," Jessica said. "Well, we've got plenty
of room. Hopefully this doesn't last long enough for it to get crowded."
The obligatory smiles at he joke didn't mask the seriousness of the situation.
There was now literally a war, and their enemy had long ago demonstrated its
ruthlessness, and it had only increased in intensity. Desperate now, it was
like a cornered animal, as Jessica observed.
"Cornered and wounded," Donald replied. "In pain, angry, and terrified.
At its most dangerous.
I suspect the countdown to martial law has begun. They're
out of options, and even though it won't work it's the only thing they have.
Word is a Secret Service advance team is at Carver's Point, as if they are
about to relocate the president there. If they are, it may be to use it as a
command post until this is over. It would make sense to get him out of DC,
and of course the inner circle has to go with him."
"They would have to have the whole crew there," Jessica said. "What is it about
Carver's Point? There seems to to be something..."
"It's almost an island," Donald replied. "A small peninsula with a bottleneck.
If I didn't know better I'd think it was a trap. I wonder. Let's see what it
looks like."
Bringing up a map on one of the screens, he used a laser pointer to indicate
the location the compound.
"It's out here in where it widens again after you get through the narrow spot.
It's easy to defend if you have possession of it, and sufficient forces."
"Just a matter of who has possession," Carter said. "It could be turned into a trap."
"Right," said Donald. "They'll have the usual contingent of Secret Service,
but they don't have whole force to call on if they need help. They're three
thousand miles away from DC."
"So," Jessica said, "if you managed to take it, you could hold it. At least, if
you are in there with the president and most of his staff as hostages, I
wonder what they would do. Obviously they'd build up a force outside to
prevent escape, but how do they rescue the president?"
"For a while they will try waiting it out," Donald replied. "Maybe start
negotiations, maybe not. They probably have a plan. The question is, what
good would it do to have him. If they were thinking clearly and and quickly
enough, they could have the president declared disabled under the twenty-fifth
amendment and let the vice president take over. Of course, that would be
messy and take a while to sort out. It would probably depend on what is
happening inside, how much information they have to work with.
"You think an insider might be planning something?" Jessica asked.
"It certainly isn't us," Donald said. "I can't imagine who else would be in a
position to do it, except some insider plan. The only thing I can think of is
the military - if they see how bad it can be if they follow the order to
impose martial law. And the past couple of presidents have pretty well
cleaned out the ranks of generals. It would have to be a desperate situation
for them to rebel."
"I'd say we're about there," Carter said. "If any of them are going to act, it
has to be soon."
Donald's phone rang and he looked down at it.
Tapping the answer button he said "The pond has dried up".
"The crow dies at dusk," the caller replied.
Donald ended the call and put the phone.
"Our guest is about to take off from Alexandria," he said. "It should be
about two and a half hours until they switch planes. It's probably another
two hours to here. I'm going to the office for an update. Here are the pass
phrases for the next call."
After Donald left they continued watching the news, while waiting for the next
call. It appeared that the government had begun leaking hints, preparing the
nation for the imposition of martial law. On each of the three major news
channels the subject was discussed over the next several hours.
"That must mean it's about to be made official," said Jessica. "I wonder if
any of them have any idea of that they're going to do. What they're trying to
accomplish is impossible. Even if they managed to hunt down and kill every
one of us, and the other people who are now involved, the country would be a
wreck."
"I hope there is someone in there who understands that," Carter said. "And can
persuade the others. They seem to be literally insane at times."
"Probably some of them are," Jessica said. "And often people get into those
positions, which is most of them, actually feel invulnerable. I wonder how
some of them are feeling now, after Black Friday."
"Their calling it that gives us a clue," Carter said. "But at this point it's
probably too late for reality to intrude on their fantasy. With the exception
of the military people, I don't see any of them coming to their senses."
"And the military has been almost purged by now," Jessica said. "I guess we
have to wait and see."
The expected call came in, and Jessica and Carter set alarms on their phones
to alert them before the arrival of their guest. It was becoming increasingly
difficult to detect the new events in the news, as it had become an endless
procession of disasters. The interiors of some of the large cities had become
no-go zones, to the extent that no news was getting out, and conditions inside
were unknown. Many police and other emergency personnel had not only quit
their jobs but left the area. There were reports of flight from both the
affluent suburbs and the wealthy districts.
"When the rich people flee," said Carter, "and there's no police protection, the
looting will spread to those areas."
"Probably," said Jessica. "Well, a lot of them, probably most, put the leaders
they have in charge. They made their bed, as my grandmother used to say."
When the alarms went off the four of them drove over to the airfield. They
were about a half hour ahead of the ETA, and sat looking out across the autumn
plain, saying little. In a while they saw the lights of the small aircraft
approaching. Minutes later a Piper Saratoga rolled to a stop on the runway
opposite their parking area. Carter got out to assist Tommy and James with
helping the passenger exit with and make his way to their vehicle. Clear of
the aircraft they waved to the pilot, who released the brakes and taxied down
to the end of the runway to turn for the takeoff roll.
As the aircraft passed them, already clear of the runway, Jessica turned the
Trailblazer to head back to the house, Tommy and James followed. Introductions
made, they drove to the old mobile home where Carter had spent his first few weeks.
"This is where you'll be staying for a while," Jessica told him "until we get
something else arranged. Tomorrow we'll get you set up with a new wardrobe
and some other things you'll need. It's close to time for dinner - have you
eaten lately?"
"Just before we took off from Alexandria," Scott replied. "I'll be all right for
a while."
"OK, then. Let's get you over to headquarters, as we call it. I'm not sure
what the plans are, but you'll probably be here for a while."
Donald arrived soon after they returned, and they set about preparing dinner.
Afterwards Carter drove Scott back to his place.
"You're safe here," he told him. "No one ever comes around here but us. If
someone should knock on the door, don't answer. And if they don't go away,
use this.
He opened cheap flip phone and pressed a button.
"Call any of those numbers and you'll get one of us. We're not far away. But
you'll be all right."
"Thanks," Scott said. "You don't know how glad I am to be out of there."
"You might be surprised," Carter said. "I'll tell you why later. Good night."