Chapter 12

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With the council completed, Myles and Sir Walter headed back home, in the 
middle of their convoy.  The trip was quiet - Sir Walter seemed unusually 
absorbed in his thoughts, and Myles was uncertain as to his feelings.  They 
both spent most of their time looking at news articles on their tablet 
computers, and spoke little.  Myles suspected that Sir Walter was experiencing 
some of the same thoughts that he was.  He had been through wars, including 
guerilla warfare that was probably not too different from that which they were 
preparing for.  But he had been on the other side then, or the organized forces 
defending against insurgents who were at times not guided by logic or reason.  
Would that help them in their own battles, he wondered.

Back at Mike Charlie, there was much to do.  The men would have to be briefed, 
and off-site travel curtailed.  Most of the younger men, or any without 
families, spent time away with their girlfriends.  That would have to stop for 
a while, and absolute secrecy maintained.  Plans would be made for protecting 
women and children in the event of an attack.  The Freeholds, while maintaining 
a strongly patriarchal structure, nevertheless prepared their women and 
children for defense.  They would wait out an attack in underground spaces 
prepared for the purpose, but if an enemy did manage to find them they would 
likely regret it.

Myles had time to visit briefly with Sarah and Tania, who were happy to see him 
but worried by the increasingly serious atmosphere.  Myles promised to have 
dinner with them in the evening, and went off to work with Sir Walter.  They 
would begin by meeting with the men and preparing them, then begin putting 
defenses in place.  The surface-to-air missiles would likely arrive in a couple 
of days - they had their own heavy guns for anti-personnel use, and lightweight 
anti-armor missiles.  Getting those positioned would be part of the early 
preparation.

Sir Walter had advised him to keep a close watch on their spy.  She worked in 
the administration offices, doing routine work which, while not exposing the 
deeper secrets of the Freehold, would still give her some insight into the 
operations, and the ability to notice sudden changes which might indicate 
preparation.  Myles wondered if the government operatives would advise her of 
an impending attack.  He guessed they would give her some type of notice, if 
only in requests for more information.  Sir Walter had put a number of his most 
trusted men on the case, and her every movement was monitored.  Her behavior 
might provide clues to the timing of an attack.

Myles spent his days working with Sir Walter and some of the senior staff, 
working on plans for the various scenarios which which might occur, while 
communicating with leaders of other Freeholds.  Nights were spent in the usual 
manner, but with a more quietly serious mood.  The physical part of their 
lovemaking seemed somewhat perfunctory compared to the comfort they derived 
from being together.  Feeling his own apprehension, Myles knew they were more 
worried.  Tania was affectionate, quiet and undemanding, but clearly spent a 
good deal of time thinking about her missing brother.  Sarah presented her 
usual calm demeanor, but her carefree aura was somewhat muted.  Myles sometimes 
thought he should have tried to find a way to send them somewhere, where they 
could be safe.  But knowing that eventually there would be no safe places if 
they failed, this probably was the best place for them to be.

Meanwhile the preparations continued.  The missiles arrived, in several 
discreet shipments.  Small enough for several to be carried in a light 
aircraft, the missiles had been purchased on the international black market.  
With the Russian empire in disarray for the past several decades, much of their 
once-impressive war machine had been dispersed in that manner, as some 
territories succeeded in freeing themselves and becoming independent states.  
Even within the remains of the empire, chaos and corruption resulted in 
military equipment being sold off by the troops themselves.

The lightweight missiles had an impressive range, greater than that of anything 
a helicopter attack was likely to use.  The terrain surrounding the developed 
area contained many places to conceal defenders, and most of the missiles would 
be stationed there.  Any reasonably competent soldier, with a little training, 
could easily take down an aircraft within its range of three to four miles, and 
the freeholders were more than competent.

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Myles was often in the other office areas of the headquarters building, and saw 
Marlene Knox occasionally.  He knew her only slightly, and would have not paid 
much attention to her if not for Sir Walter's warning.  Now he watched her 
closely whenever she was around, trying to get some kind of clue as to her 
motivation.  He knew that she had arrived with her husband, one of several 
doctors recruited by Sir Walter.  Myles had found that many doctors had a 
considerable level or pessimism, if not something close to paranoia, about the 
societal trend of their time.  He didn't blame them, but wondered why it was so 
common among doctors.  To be sure, many people with the financial means to 
prepare for an anticipated disaster did so, so perhaps it was just that most 
doctors were relatively well off.

Doctor James Knox was one of those whose political disposition made him an 
ideal recruit.  Like some of the other freehold leaders, Sir Walter had set out 
early to build a comprehensive medical facility within the organization.  And, 
as the others did, it served a dual purpose, as some of the doctors continued 
their outside practices, producing revenue for the Freehold, but also providing 
medical care for their own people in the event of a serious breakdown of 
services in the outside world.  

Unfortunately, Doctor Knox was soon diagnosed with an aggressive cancer that 
killed him within a year.  His young wife was permitted to remain, as she had 
been accepted as a member and was believed to be reliable.  She seemed 
contented with her situation and was generally regarded as a pleasant person.  
She did not, however, form any close bonds with anyone, and until recently had 
done nothing suspicious.  Her only time outside the freehold were to visit her 
parents, who lived some distance away, and she was usually gone for two or 
three days.

Evidently Sir Walter eventually came to suspect her, and had her watched rather 
casually.  After finding her to be deceitful, the surveillance was increased, 
and it was determined that she was meeting with government operatives.  Sir 
Walter decided to leave matters as they were, except for allowing her to 
occasionally acquire some interesting, but completely false, information to 
transmit to her contacts.  

She was a rather attractive woman in her early thirties, and Myles watched her 
closely when he was in her presence and circumstances allowed.  He wondered why 
she hat turned against the Freehold, but could form no theories, and Sir Walter 
did not have any either.  Perhaps she blamed them for the death of her husband, 
or for his decision to join, or perhaps was bribed.  Without asking, they were 
unlikely to know, and even they any answers would be of uncertain validity.

As Sir Walter had observed, having a spy in the ranks could be useful, as long 
as his, or her, presence was known.  He believed her behavior might provide an 
indicator of any imminent action.

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Eventually the time arrived.  Sir Walter called Myles before their usual start 
of day routine began.  He was in his office, in an encrypted communication 
session with several of his peers.  Myles went around behind his desk and 
looked over his shoulder at the screens.

"Looks like they're making their move" said Sir Walter.  "Nothing seems to be 
pointed at any of the other freeholds, but it's looking a lot like we're it.  
As usual, they can't resist publicity - they must be rather sure of themselves."

He typed a short message and transmitted it, then waited for replies.  "We have 
some indications of activity by the usual suspects - television news 
operations.  Interestingly, they aren't being given much - just a heads-up to 
the right people.  Have the remote teams on standby.  I guess they learned 
something from last time - they probably won't alert them until the operation 
is underway and success seems assured."

He studied the screens for a few moments.  "It looks like they may be using 
assets from Fort Reed." he said.  "They have a considerable force there - AH-1, 
AH-2, UH-11 and GH-35.  I would guess the AHs are out - those are primarily, 
indeed almost exclusively, for use against armored vehicles.  The UH units are 
most likely.  They can carry a considerable variety and quantity of 
air-to-ground ordnance, and have either rotary cannons or groups or multiple 
heavy machine guns."

"They will have to use military pilots" said Myles.  "Do you expect other 
military personnel to be involved?"

"Few if any" replied Sir Walter.  "Even if they bring in the GH-35s, which 
would likely only be used for transporting personnel, I'd expect them to be 
federal agents, probably from multiple agencies.  They certainly will have an 
accurate layout of the area, at least what is visible above ground, and will 
expect an easy ground assault."

After a while the session ended, and Myles went with Sir Walter to the highest 
point in the area, a large building about sixty feet high.  The roof was flat 
and had a wall about four feet high around it.  There were a half dozen rings 
of heavy corrugated steel around the roof, just inside the wall, with sandbags 
piled around them.  A number of the higher buildings had been prepared in this 
way at the time they were constructed.  They would provide additional 
protection for anyone on the roof if they position came under fire.

"I'll be up here" said Sir Walter.  "I want you over on Building 12."

Before Myles could speak, he continued.  "This is one time I can't have you 
beside me.  We can't risk losing both of us.  If anything happens to me, you're 
in charge.  The senior leadership will give you their full support."

They both stood silently for a few moments, looking over the area.  Mike 
Charlie was one of the oldest and largest Freeholds, and it was now 
compromised.  Whatever the outcome of the coming battle, it was now known and 
would be a target.  Changes would be necessary.

Finally Sir Walter spoke.  "You're my heir as well"  he said.  "Katherine and 
the girls will be well provided for, though I would like for you to keep an eye 
on them if I'm not around.  But most of my assets will be passed to you, the 
lawyers and accountants will take care of everything.  Assuming some semblance 
of order remains in the future.

"We should get back to work.  I'll need to get the others briefed and assign 
them their positions."

Myles was quiet as they went back down to the headquarters.  He had not spent 
much time thinking about the time when Sir Walter would not be around, and even 
less considering being in charge of Mike Charlie.  Yet, there was a very real 
possibility one, or perhaps both, of them might not survive.  He thought of 
Sarah, and wondered what would happen to her.  He should have done more to plan 
for his possible absence from her life.  And given the fact that he had no 
children, the family line would end with him.  If he got through this alive, 
and if there was still a civilization, he had work to do.

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Myles had a quiet dinner with Sir Walter and the girls.  Sir Walter had come to 
regard them as part of Myles' family which Sarah literally was, but had seemed 
to quite readily extend his affection to Tania as well.  Still, Myles could 
sense the atmosphere becoming ever more serious, and could see that it was 
affecting them as well.  Later, as they had a final drink together before bed, 
he told them that their time together might soon be curtailed for a while.

"They're going to attack us, aren't they" Sarah asked.

It wasn't really a question.  Sarah knew by now what was happening.  She didn't 
even expect reassurance, but wanted it anyway.  Tania sat quietly, looking a 
nothing in particular.   Her expression resembled the look Sir Walter had 
described soldiers as having in the midst of a long and brutal war.  They 
always seemed to be looking at something miles away, even inside a small room.  
Sarah put her hand over Tania's, bringing her back to reality.  Tania smiled 
shyly but said nothing.

"Almost certainly," said Myles.  "But I believe they will be as surprised as 
they were before.  We're well defended here, and we have a few tricks they 
can't possibly know about.  Remember, the men of this place will protect you, 
and you have little to fear.  And, with any luck, when it's over we may find 
that we have improved the situation.  But for now, we should get some sleep."