Phoenix Igniting:

Phoenix Project #3

By Bruce Pickelheimer

NOTICE

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Bruce Pickelheimer
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This book is the third of nine in the Phoenix Project series. Other books in the series, and other books written by the author on related topics are available. If you are unable to find the sites where the other books are listed, please contact me at the e-mail address listed above and I will send you an address where the other works can be located.

If there is sufficient demand for the remaining books in the fictionalized series, I will complete them and get them posted as well. If the shareware fees allow me to concentrate on writing instead of getting things set up for my family, all of the books in the series will be completed and posted online by October 15, 1999.

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Chapter 1

The meeting for July 12th had gone off without any new complications, and Dan specifically avoided any mention of the incident that had occurred off of the property. He had asked me to get everybody involved with the incident together and meet with him on the 16th so we could discuss what had happened. He was worried about how this might affect the project, and wanted to make sure that we did everything we could to ensure the safety of everyone involved.

When we showed up at Dan's office on the sixteenth, there were six of us. Dan was surprised to see the sheriff with us, as he had assumed that only the five of us, Naomi, Dani, Kristin, Rick, and myself, would be joining him.

I said, 'Dan, I'm sure that you know Ralph, the sheriff. Ralph, this is Dan. He's in charge of this mess.'

Ralph said, 'Good to see you again, Dan. How have things been?'

Dan smiled, and said, 'Pretty good, Ralph. We've been busy, but you know about some of that, don't you?'

Ralph said, 'Yeah. Not the good stuff, but that's normal for this job. How's the wife?'

Dan said, 'Lucy's fine. She misses the kids, but they have their own lives now. Have you heard from Becky lately?'

Ralph said, 'Just a note here and there. She never was much for writing.'

Dan turned to us, and said, 'Ralph used to date our oldest daughter, Becky. Until she went off to school and decided that living in someplace where you could see through the air and breathe freely wasn't for her. She thrives on the hustle and bustle of the city.'

Rick said, 'Does she know about the dangers that she may be in at the end of the year? How big a city is she living in?'

Dan smiled sadly, and said, 'We've told her about the results of the studies, but she refuses to listen. She says that we are all overreacting, and that if anything that bad were about to happen, the government would be making all the necessary precautions to take care of everybody. Right now, she's living in L.A., working with some talent agency as a mid level executive.'

Ralph said, 'I hope she listens to reason before things really get bad. I still care for her, even if there is no way that she will come back here and settle down.'

Dan said, 'I do too, Ralph. But what brings you here with them this morning?'

I said, 'You asked me to bring everybody who was involved with the incident. Ralph is in charge of the investigation, since it occurred in his county and no federal agencies are claiming jurisdiction. The Forest Service says that the incident didn't happen on federal land. Privately, they know that it did, but have allowed Ralph to run the investigation so there is no impact on the tourist season in the Smokey Mountains National Park.'

Ralph said, 'Yep, and I have that in writing. The judge said that it should stand up to any challenge in court if they want to contest my findings or cover the investigation's results up.'

Dan said, 'Why would they even want to consider doing something like that?'

Ralph smiled like a cat who had just caught a canary for lunch. He said, 'Because the dead men did tell tales. There were no IDs, but they could have left them at their vehicles. There were no abandoned vehicles, so they either had another way out or had an accomplice who removed the vehicles to eliminate the trail. That tells us that this was a planned operation, not some spur of the moment decision to take advantage of a situation they just happened to stumble across.'

Dan said, 'Is there any evidence that any of this is more than just supposition, Ralph?'

Ralph said, 'Yes. They camped a few miles away, and there are signs that they used several trails frequently, and all of the trails lead toward this compound, and specifically near the area where Lee and Naomi's place is. Some stuff was left at their campsite for us to find, but there were still no IDs except obvious fakes, and there were signs that some of the stuff that had been there had been removed before we found the camp.'

Dan said, 'That is all still just circumstantial evidence and supposition. There is still no evidence to connect them with anyone else, or to prove that they had planned to do any of this.'

Ralph said, 'You're right. But there is a limit to how much circumstantial evidence can be accepted as mere coincidence or happenstance. Once you reach a critical mass, you know that there is nothing coincidental about it, and nobody really believes that there is not something to what you are saying, even if they don't buy all of the story.'

Dan said, 'OK, so what do we have so far? I assume that you tried to identify them?'

Ralph said, 'Yes. No records of them exist anywhere, including in the military. At least none that are declassified or that they are willing to admit to having.'

Dan said, 'Why do you say that?'

Ralph said, 'The whole operation was too well planned to be spur of the moment. Two men take out Naomi while she is alone in the camp. One takes out each of the other two ladies while she is alone in the woods. Three more are in the woods, patrolling the area and looking for anyone who might be a witness. A sniper is concealed in the tall grass in the meadow for close support, and another sniper is concealed in the woods over half a mile away. Both snipers had their guns trained on Naomi's unconscious body when we found their bodies. All of the men had the same type of camouflage fatigues, and all were wearing small mikes and transmitters to keep in contact. They are all armed with similar sidearms, and the rifles were custom made and expensive. There were no serial numbers on any of the rifles, and the pistols don't exist according to the records at the BATF. No records of any gun manufactured with those serial numbers has been found.'

Dan said, 'I have to admit, that is a pretty compelling case that this goes far beyond mere chance or coincidence. Is there anything else?'

Ralph said, 'Yes. There are no official medical records on any of these men, though some have scars and wounds that are consistent with combat wounds and gunshot wounds. Two of them still had bits of shrapnel in their bodies, and some of that shrapnel has been proven to be of foreign military origin. Grenades or light mortars.'

Danielle said, 'Yes, I removed some of the shrapnel myself for analysis. The wounds were old, and the scars were very faint.'

Ralph said, 'And there is also the matter of the traffic accident involving Sara Parker.'

Dan said, 'What about it? It was an accident, right?'

Ralph said, 'Although I believe it was supposed to look like one, I don't believe that it was. I had recently driven over that road, and there was no pothole where her tire blew out less than two hours before the wreck. Also, there was evidence that she had survived only because she retained control of the car for far longer than I would have thought possible. If she had lost control at the site of the blowout, she would have gone over a cliff and been killed instantly, and the car may have even burned after impact.'

Dan said, 'This is serious. Are you sure?'

Ralph said, 'I wouldn't have made a connection myself, except for one thing. Sara Parker is about the same height and build as Naomi, and her vehicle is almost exactly the same as the one that Naomi drives. Naomi took this same route regularly until she recently switched her mail account to the complex, and this 'accident' happened within days of the assault on the women.'

Dan said, 'OK, I agree that we have enough evidence to show that someone doesn't want us to get this information out, and that at least one group is willing to break the law to try to shut us up. Is that the only reason that you came today, Ralph?'

Ralph said, 'Nope. I was here because of this, and because there was the possibility that you were going to start some investigation of your own, and I didn't want to be caught by surprise if you started your own official investigation.'

Dan said, 'Why would an official investigation have any bearing on your department, Ralph? You don't think we would get into some petty jurisdictional squabble with your department, do you?'

Ralph said, 'Oh, no, nothing like that, Dan. It's just that I need to be kept informed whenever there is any possibility of any investigation or security concern involving any members of my department.'

Dan said, 'I had intended to find out as much as possible about the incident, so we could make sure there was no security or other risk that the people here were not aware of, but I would need time to decide if the information warranted some type of official investigation. But why would that become a concern for your department? You've never had any problems with any security clearances or investigations that our research required before, Ralph.'

Ralph said, 'Dan, you have never had two of my deputies working out here on one of your projects before. And I happen to know that this project is not classified, and there are no security clearances required.'

Dan said, 'I'm confused. I don't have any deputies working here part time, do I?'

Ralph said, 'Nope. They work here full time.'

Dan said, 'Well, if they work here full time, how are they your deputies?'

Ralph said, 'Well, I sort of deputized them. At the time I thought it would be for their own protection, but I see now that it was just to protect them from any legal tactics that might be used against them after they managed to defend themselves from attacks.'

Dan said, 'What are you talking about, Ralph? You seem to be making less and less sense.'

I said, 'He deputized Rick and myself the day that Sara Parker's accident occurred. We didn't object because we knew that it would come in handy if there was ever any trouble. And we have been working. Ralph and the deputies have all been training since we joined the department.'

Ralph said, 'And some of the troublemakers have been making themselves scarce since they learned that I now have two deputies who managed to take out nine men in one fight. They may like to bust heads now and then, but most of these boys know to put up or shut up when someone else is around who can take them apart. They don't know when or where I'll have these two on patrol, so they don't want to chance it. All the deputies like the fact that they have less trouble because the troublemakers quiet down and go home before they can call for backup.'

Dan said, 'But, Lee, your contract specifically states that you won't accept any payment for any other job until the terms of your contract are fulfilled or your contract is terminated.'

Ralph said, 'They don't get paid. They're just officially on the roster as deputies.'

Rick said, 'And the training that the deputies receive is either on our own free time or they take it with the security forces here when we are training them.'

Dan said, 'OK, sounds good to me. I can see the advantages, and it also means that I don't have to worry about anybody contesting the contract we have with Lee. Now, maybe we can get down to other business. I need to know exactly what happened, so that we can release an official version of the story to the employees so they will know what is going on and can decide for themselves if there is the risk of any real danger that they are unwilling to face. We need to let them decide for themselves if there is going to be a problem. The fact that the accident may be tied to some attempt to kill Naomi means that there is also a chance that you may not be the only people that have been targeted for harassment or threats.'

Ralph said, 'In that case, there is probably one other person who should be here for this meeting, so that your information will be complete.'

Dan said, 'Who did you have in mind?'

Ralph smiled, and said, 'Why, Sara Parker, of course. She has been involved in some of the unusual activities which started after this project came to the attention of people who were not directly involved with it. Hasn't she?'

Dan said, 'I guess she has. But has she recovered from her injuries? Is she well enough to come to the meeting?'

Rick said, 'She wasn't that badly injured. She had a concussion, a few cracked ribs, and a broken arm. She has returned to work already. In fact, she's here right now if she isn't out sick or on an errand. Naomi, why don't you go over to accounting and see if she is there and can join us for this meeting?'

Naomi left to go get Sara, and we all sat around making small talk and getting the refreshments set up while we waited. It looked like it would be a long morning, and we hadn't had a large breakfast after our morning workout. In fact, Rick and I had taken a run after the workout, so all we had time for was some jerky while we were on our run, washed down with water from our canteens. We had taken to doing runs with full packs to get us in shape. We were only using 100 lb. packs for most of our runs, but we did some shorter runs with 150 lb. packs when we needed to really burn off some energy. This morning had been a short run.

By the time Naomi returned with Sara, we had everything set up for the meeting. We had moved the refreshments to the large conference table that Dan had in his office, and had set up the chairs so that there was room for everyone without crowding. Kristin had placed pens and pads at everyone's place so they could take notes if they wanted.

When Sara walked in, she was a little nervous, since she didn't really know what all this was about. Naomi had filled her in some on the way over, but had limited the information because it wasn't far. She had been gone less than ten minutes. I couldn't help but notice the resemblance between Sara and Naomi. They were almost exactly the same height and build, and their hair was the same color, length, and a very similar style. They wouldn't pass for twins, but they could pass for sisters. I also noticed that she had a cast on her right arm, and was still wearing a sling. I hoped that she was left handed, so she would have less interference in her work while wearing the cast.

Dan welcomed Sara, and introduced her to everyone, doing his best to put her at ease. She did start to relax some, and relaxed even more when Naomi led her over to the table and sat Sara between Danielle and herself. I noted that the positioning gave Sara the impression that she was with friends and had help, and she seemed to relax more as she released the fears that she was being called in for something she had done wrong.

Dan said, 'Sara, I know that you're probably wondering what Ralph is doing here. The truth is, he is here because he is involved in the events we are covering at this meeting, as are you. The purpose of this meeting is to go over the facts, as we know them, concerning any unusual events that have caused, or threatened to cause, serious injury to any of our employees since some of the details of this project have been made public. We are doing a threat assessment to determine how much danger any of our employees may be in, if any, so that we can notify the employees and let them decide if they want to continue to work on the project.'

Sara said, 'What do you mean by 'danger', and what does this have to do with me?'

I said, 'Well, your traffic accident was an unusual event, and you were injured. Do you remember anything about the accident?'

Sara said, 'I didn't, at first, but I started remembering after the concussion wore off. Now, I remember most of it. But I still don't remember anything after going off the side of the road and sliding down toward the trees. Not until I woke up at the hospital.'

Naomi said, 'Why don't you tell us everything that you can remember, Sara, so we all know exactly what happened?'

Sara took a sip of her coffee, and said, 'Well, I was driving back from town. I had the day off, and had gone in to pick up a package I had ordered that had arrived. When I was finished, I started back here. I was hoping to get some work done in my garden, because it was a really nice day outside. I was driving down the road, and had just come around the first curve by the cliff, when I suddenly heard a loud bang and my right front tire blew out. The bang had startled me so much that I had jerked the wheel to the left, and had almost gone into the other lane. I guess that was good, since it kept me from going over the cliff when the rim hit and jerked the car hard to the right. I fought to keep the car under control, but couldn't slow down enough, and the car went over the side of the road.'

Dan said, 'So, hitting the pothole caused your tire to blow out?'

Sara said, 'I swear to you, I have driven that road a thousand times, and that pothole has never been there. I didn't even see it when the tire blew out. The county really maintains that road because of the traffic, and because of the cliffs. I thought that they had just repaved that road about a month before the accident, so there shouldn't have been any potholes because all the damage from winter had already been fixed.'

Ralph said, 'They did repave that road, and there was no real damage from last winter. In fact, the county keeps very good records on that section of the road, and there were no potholes larger than my fist when they came out and patched and repaved. In fact, after they finished patching any holes, they laid another layer of asphalt over that section of the road.'

Dan said, 'So, how did the pothole get there?'

Ralph said, 'It was made at the same time that the blowout occurred. The same thing that made her tire blow out made the pothole.'

Dan said, 'Don't be ridiculous, Ralph. Even I know that tires blowing out won't cause a pothole the size of that one. The rim may dig in and gouge out some asphalt, but it won't cause a hole like that. If it did, it would have flipped her vehicle.'

Sara said, 'But I just put brand new tires on my truck at the start of the winter. They were steel belted radials, guaranteed for 70,000 miles of wear. Why would one of them blow out?'

I said, 'It didn't blow out on its own, Sara. It was blown out by the explosion that caused the pothole in the road.'

Dan said, 'What are you talking about, Lee?'

Ralph said, 'Lee is right. I took some samples, and had them analyzed. There were traces of some kind of explosive on the blown tire and on the road. Not a lot, but enough to detect. It was highly volatile, and if we had waited to take samples, or if we hadn't found the accident site when we did, we wouldn't have been able to detect the explosives at all. I wouldn't have checked, but the way that Lee and Rick looked at the pothole while we were talking made me curious. I was expecting to find some evidence of a bullet or some projectile that had been used to shoot the tire out, since it seemed like there was a chance of foul play, and that was the most likely cause of a contrived blowout.'

Sara said, 'You mean that somebody tried to kill me?'

She had gone pale while Ralph was talking, and I noticed that Danielle was watching her closely for signs of shock or fainting.

I said, 'That is one possibility. Another is that someone may have wanted to get back at this facility, and they just used whoever was the first to pass by their ambush site. But the one that we think is most likely is that you were mistaken for somebody else.'

Sara said, 'But why would somebody do something like that? Who could they mistake me for that would be that kind of target?'

Dan said, 'Yes, Lee, tell us. This isn't some local with a grudge. Not with that kind of planning and using the kind of resources necessary to make and detonate the kind of explosives that you're talking about. How could they even have timed it so exactly?'

I said, 'To answer the lady first, they probably mistook you for my wife. You and Naomi look a lot alike, and you drive the same style and color of vehicle. She used to take that same route into town until we got our mail forwarded out here to save her time and money.'

Sara looked shocked, then seemed to realize the resemblance and accept the explanation as likely. She knew that there had been a recent attempt to kill several of the people in this room right now, including Naomi, so it wasn't as farfetched or paranoid as it might have otherwise sounded.

I said, 'To answer you, Dan, they didn't have to time it very closely. They probably used a two component liquid explosive. Something that explodes on contact. If they put one component on her tire, all they would have to do is put the other on the road and let her make the contact when she drove over it.'

Dan said, 'That's all very James Bond, and everything, but even I know that you can't keep both liquids in contact enough to get that kind of explosion when the tire is moving at thirty miles an hour. It wouldn't produce a strong enough explosion.'

I said, 'Well, normally, I would agree with you, Dan. But even though the liquids would tend to evaporate rather quickly, especially from a moving tire, there is a way to overcome that problem and make sure that they get into contact and remain in contact long enough for the chemical reaction to occur on the tire.'

Dan and Ralph both looked at me.

Ralph said, 'If I didn't know you better, Lee, you would be one of my prime suspects, because you just know too damned much. But then, you were the one who clued me in to the fact that the pothole didn't look natural, and shouldn't have been there. Would you mind telling us exactly how you could manage to do something like that?'

I said, 'Simple. Make the liquids gel. If it is like Vaseline, it will stick to the tire and not evaporate as quickly. It will also stay on, especially in the treads, while the truck is rolling.'

Dan said, 'That wouldn't work, because the tire would get hot enough to make it evaporate or turn to liquid and come off.'

I said, 'I didn't say that it was Vaseline, but that it was a gel. Some gels are very sticky, and don't come off when they get hot. Like Permatex, for example. And if you made it black, like the tire, you could get a lot on there without anybody noticing it. It would look like fresh blacktop or tire polish or you had run through an oil spill. When you ran over the spot on the road where the other component had been spread, the two gels would have been mixed together, leaving some on the road and some on the tire. The reaction would eventually cause an explosion and blow out the tire.'

Dan said, 'Why wasn't there another pothole on the road, then? If the explosion on the tire made the pothole on the road, why didn't the explosion on the road make another pothole?'

Ralph said, 'That's simple enough to answer. There was no pressure, so the explosive force all went up. It might have left a small mark, but no hole. The pothole was caused when the weight of her truck caused some of the force of the explosion to be directed down as well as up when the tire blew out.'

Dan said, 'If you hadn't found traces of explosives, I would have thrown you all out of here by now and gotten back to work with dealing with the real world. But we have to assume that there is a real threat, at least to the people in this room right now. We need to determine if that threat still exists, how much of a threat it is, and whether there is any potential for anyone else associated with this project to become a target. There is also one more thing that we need to determine. And that is whether or not Sara wants to remain with us and continue working on this project.'

Sara said, 'I'm not leaving. They may have been trying to kill Naomi, or they may actually have been trying to kill me. It doesn't matter. I am not running from some assholes who want to keep the people ignorant and remain in power by keeping the people from doing what they need to do to keep themselves alive and reduce their own suffering if this becomes a major problem, which it probably will.'

Sara wasn't shouting, but she was speaking louder than before, and the restrained rage in her voice was easily detectable. She was a tightly controlled volcano waiting to explode.

I said, 'Sara, exactly what do you do here?'

She said, 'I work in accounting. I run the internal audits. I keep track of all the expenditures that are ordered, as well as all of the modifications that are made to the systems.'

I said, 'What modifications have been made to the systems in the last six months?'

Sara said, 'They are extensive. Not only the modifications to the power plant, but the addition of the gas wells, the artesian wells being routed into our pipes and removing us from other water sources, the building of the greenhouses, the barns, the dairy. There's so much going on, that it's hard to keep track of.'

I said, 'What about our computer systems?'

She said, 'The modifications are almost too extensive to list. Checking all of the programs, and either modifying them or eliminating them from the system. Checking for all of the embedded computer chips, and either replacing them or removing them from the system so that the system ignores all data received from them and doesn't even check them any more. That includes the systems that run the power plant and other utilities that we have here. Why?'

I said, 'Have you completed all of the modifications?'

Sara said, 'No. We left some programs running, but we isolated the machines so they can't communicate with the rest of the system. There are some other modifications that need to be made, but they are scheduled to be completed within six weeks.'

I said, 'Have you checked and verified everything that happened while you were gone because of your accident?'

Sara said, 'No. My assistant took over. He's pretty reliable. Why?'

I said, 'Because we need to double check all of our modifications to make sure that we don't have any problems. He may have missed something, especially if it was some minor effect on a system that seems unrelated. Will checking on that put you very far behind?'

She said, 'No. In fact, I was planning on doing some checking, just to make sure, but I hadn't gotten around to it. I was only gone for a week, so it shouldn't take too long to check and verify all of the modifications are in place and working properly.'

Dan said, 'That's good. Now, is there anything else before we go over what we know with Sara and then go over the threat assessment?'

I said, 'Yes, just one thing. Sara, you were in charge of finding out exactly what the government said could be potential sources of trouble, and how they recommended fixing them. You also have been in charge of keeping track of all of our modifications. Have you run the simulations to find out what would have happened if we hadn't made our modifications?'

Sara said, 'Yes, we completed them last week, after we finished the list of modifications we intended to make. Why?'

I said, 'Because the group needs to know two things. First, what would have happened if we hadn't made any modifications to our systems? Second, what would have happened if we had only made the modifications that the government suggested, and taken the precautions that they suggested?'

Sara said, 'As it stands now, we should have no problems with any systems once all of our modifications are complete. If we hadn't made any modifications, everything would have gone down at the first of the year. We would not have had reliable power, lights, heat, water, phones, or computers. And the problems would have persisted after we fixed the power because some of the subsystems would have caused continuing problems until we disconnected them or replaced key components.'

I could see that Dan was not pleased by the thought that without making some changes, we would have been sitting in the dark waiting for help.

Sara continued, 'By taking the precautions suggested by the government, we would have avoided the most obvious problems, but some of the modifications would still have allowed damage to occur to our systems. It could have taken a long time to make the necessary repairs. And if we had only taken the precautions suggested by the government, we would have run out of food, water, and had no heat. We would have been totally dependent upon outside aid for survival.'

Now I could see that Dan was getting steamed. He was trying to keep himself under control, but the strain was obvious.

Dan said, 'So, what you are telling us, is that is we had listened to what the government told us about the situation a year ago, we would all be helpless and totally unprepared. Is that correct?'

Sara said, 'Yes.'

Dan said, 'And, if we listened to what the government is telling us now, there would really be no difference because everything would still fail and we would only have food and water for a few days. Is that correct?'

Sara said, 'Yes, it is. I don't understand it. The government has experts, and they must have some idea of the magnitude of the problems that could occur. Even if things don't get really bad everywhere, don't they understand that there is going to be even more panic and violence in the chaos and confusion afterwards than there could possibly be if they just warned people and gave them the time and opportunity to prepare?'

I said, 'Yes, they understand the situation, and I believe that they are fully aware of just what the problems could be, especially if things get really bad.'

Sara was getting exasperated. She said, 'Then why haven't they done anything? Why aren't they warning the people and making preparations?'

I said, 'They have. They are preparing. They are warning the people that they want to know about the situation. I don't know what their plans are, but I know that they are not making the preparations which would be necessary to function and provide relief to the entire population if things get really bad. That kind of activity, especially on that scale, is impossible to keep secret.'

Sara said, 'Then what do you think that they are planning on doing?'

I said, 'Saving themselves. And their close friends, financial supporters, and the staff needed to take care of them.'

Sara said, 'But what about the rest of the people?'

I said, 'My best guess is that they intend to let them sink or swim on their own, and then to step in after things settle down somewhat and try to build their own little kingdoms. That, or else try to force the country, piece by piece, to rejoin the nation under their leadership and guidance. Of course, there will probably be some new rules, but they are sure that everyone can get used to them with a little bit of time and incentive.'

Sara said, 'I don't like the sound of that, Lee. Or the tone.'

I said, 'If you did, Sara, I don't think that we would want you here. Dictators, and those who would support them willingly, are not nice people to live with.'

On that note, we broke for a few minutes before Dan resumed the meeting. After going over all the information that we had, and discussing the possible motives and suspects, we decided that we would have to address the issue in front of the entire staff. Dan suggested that since this would affect the families, that we should have an open meeting with all of the adults present so that we could let the families know and they could participate in the decision making process. Since this was a large undertaking for scheduling, we made the decision to hold the meeting on the evening of Tuesday, July 20th. That way, everyone would know and would be able to arrange for child care before the meeting.

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It was past lunchtime, so Ralph joined us when we decided to get something to eat at one of the restaurants in town. Naomi had asked Sara to join us, so there were seven of us. Ralph had his truck, so Rick and I rode into town with him while all four women drove into town in the Suburban. There would be plenty of room for the six of us to ride back in it after lunch.

We talked with Ralph on the drive in, covering some of the things we were all worried about concerning security. We agreed that we had done all that we could to make the place inaccessible to unwanted trespassers. We had the fences, the security patrols, and some alarm systems installed. We had posted the complex as well as all of the surrounding homesteads and privately owned property. There wasn't much more that we could do without booby trapping the place and planting land mines, and that would be counterproductive, since it posed more of a threat to our own safety and that of the wildlife than to the assholes who were watching us and making occasional trips onto our property to harass us.

We did make one decision which Ralph agreed would be in our best interest. We decided to start training the security people and the deputies on how to move through the woods silently, and how to sneak up on people without being seen. It would make the observers a lot more nervous when they were suddenly the target of sneak attacks. Nobody would do anything to them except sneak up on them and scare them. If they wanted to try psychological warfare to make us nervous, then two could play at that game. Besides, we all agreed that not only would it make the training more interesting, but that all the guys would love it. At least all the ones we were training. We didn't care too much about how the observers were going to feel about it.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we got a large table and placed our orders. Sara sat between Ralph and Kristin. I was flanked on one side by Naomi and Dani, who sat talking with their heads together like a pair of conspirators, which was usually the case. Rick sat between me and Kristin so they could play footsies when he wasn't too busy giving me a hard time.

When Ralph told the girls what we had decided to do on the drive in, Naomi, Dani, and Kristin started laughing. Then they all started in asking when they could go out and start sneaking up on people.

Sara said, 'You aren't really going to let them do that, are you?'

I said, 'Why not? It will be fun for them, it will improve their training, and most important of all, it will make them feel better to get to do something to get back at the people who have been harassing them.'

Sara said, 'But, they're women! And Naomi is pregnant. What if they get violent and she gets hurt.'

My voice was cold as I said, 'That would be a very bad mistake on their part.'

The whole table was silent, and everyone there was focused on me as I continued.

I said, 'If they want to play games, I will play games. If they want to get serious, I will get just as serious. They won't like that. But, by then, I won't care what they like or what they want. If they don't want to play by the rules, then I'll have to make up my own rules. That's one thing that they taught me a long time ago that I have never forgotten.'

Ralph said, 'What is that, Lee? When there are no rules, you have to make up your own?'

I said, 'No. There are no rules except survival. When everything is finished, the winner gets to tell everyone what the rules were, because he's still around to make them.'

Sara said, 'I've gone to the training, but there doesn't seem to be much point in learning how to shoot and everything. I mean, do you guys really think that things are going to get so bad that everyone will have to know how to shoot and do all that violent stuff? Isn't that what the military and the police are for?'

Ralph said, 'Well, I guess how serious you take it is your decision. But before you make a final decision, I have one question for you. You know that the military and the police can't be everywhere at the same time. There aren't enough of them. You also know that someone has tried to kill you at least once, and that there is the distinct possibility that things will become much more hazardous within the next year. So, what do you plan to do if someone tries to kill you again, or to rape you, and there are no soldiers or police close enough to help you?'

Sara said, 'Well, when you put it that way, there isn't much choice, is there? At least, not if I want to survive and live with myself.'

Then Sara wrapped her arm around Ralph's, leaned in next to him and smiled up at him sweetly. She said, 'Since you seem to be so concerned with my personal welfare, do you suppose that there is any way I could convince you to teach me how to use those weapons, so I can defend myself properly, sheriff?'

Ralph blushed, then managed to stammer out, 'Please, call me Ralph. And it would be my pleasure to teach you how to shoot properly, Miss Sara.'

Sara said, 'Why, thank you, Ralph. And please, just call me Sara.'

I didn't say a word. Rick tried to, but Kristin's elbow to his ribs reminded him that it wasn't polite to disturb romance in bloom. He managed to survive because our food arrived and it gave him something else to concentrate his attention on.

I noticed that Sara made no objections when Ralph began to cut up her steak so she could eat it without too much trouble. Score another point for the matchmakers. It was getting to the point where it wasn't safe to be a single man around the women these days. Not that I was complaining. I was safely married.

Lunch was fine, and we managed to have fun and get a lot of things talked over during the meal without making it seem like we were working. After lunch, Ralph had to get back to work, and so did we. I got into the driver's seat, with Kristin in the middle and Rick on the other side. Naomi, Sara, and Dani sat in the back seat. Nothing much happened on the way back. Kristin teased Rick, and the women in the back seat talked about Ralph and how he seemed to like Sara a lot. Poor Ralph. It looked like his bachelor days were numbered, because they talked like they already had him bagged and tagged. Of course, remembering the way he had looked at Sara, I figured that he thought that there were worse things that could happen than to be stuck with her.

The drive back gave me time to think and plan out the start of our training. I'd go over it with Rick when we got home, and we would make the modifications as we discussed it. By tomorrow morning, some of the watchers would soon find that they were in a game that they didn't understand, because we were about to change the rules on them. Maybe Rick and I would even start the festivities tonight. I was willing to lose a little sleep to have some fun, and I was sure that Rick would be just as eager to begin.

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The girls were not happy at being left out, but they understood our reasoning. We wanted all of the initial training to take place in daylight, so that there was less chance of them getting any warning. After the trainees had learned to do really well during the day, we would start making them repeat the exercises at night.

Rick and I were dressed completely in soft black clothes that were well worn. We had nothing on us that would make noise, and our faces were completely covered in patches and streaks of black, dark green, and medium brown. As soon as we left the light, we would be invisible. We were each well armed. In fact, we each had a pack that contained some surprises that we intended to put to good use if we found anyone on the property tonight who wasn't supposed to be there.

We left by going out the back door, since there were no lights on in that end of the house. We slipped into the woods, and began our hunt. We had agreed to stay together. It decreased our chances of finding anyone, but allowed us to use each other to gauge our effectiveness. Within five minutes, we were both silent shadows moving through the night.

After about an hour of moving through the woods, we came to one of the spots that we knew was used as an observation post from time to time. It was empty, but showed signs of having been used recently. We moved steadily on to the next spot that we wanted to check. We didn't hit paydirt until the fourth spot. There was someone there.

We came up on the spot from behind. There were two people in the hollow. They were lying prone, with both of them watching the compound through a large telephoto lens with an infrared attachment. Rick and I watched them for over an hour, but it looked like they were intending to be here until close to dawn. They had camouflaged the site so that it was fairly well protected from observation by our usual patrols.

Rick and I drew straws. His was short, so I got to go have fun. While Rick covered me, I slowly crawled up behind the two men. I worked slowly, focusing on something else. When I reached them, they were still lying side by side in the hollow. I slowly reached around and untied the bootlaces on the first man, then tied his boots together with about three inches of slack. I repeated the process on the second man. I was almost ready to leave when I decided to go for the gold. I used one lace from the right boot of the first man and one from the left boot of the second man to tie them together as well. Satisfied with my work, I slowly worked my way back to Rick.

When I got there, he used signs to ask me what had taken so long. I smiled, showing him my teeth, so he knew that I had been playing around and doing something to make it even more funny when we sprang our surprise.

We waited another fifteen minutes, more to enjoy the anticipation than anything else, then went into action. Rick slithered fifteen feet to one side of them, while I went off to the other side. As soon as my watch hit the designated mark, I took an M-80 out of my pocket and lit it. As soon as the fuse caught, I tossed it to within about five feet of where the two men were lying. Rick was doing the same thing.

Three seconds later, all hell broke loose. There were two loud bangs in succession. The M-80 is about a quarter stick of dynamite. It makes a lot of noise, a huge flash, and a lot of smoke. The double concussion must have knocked the two of them silly. There was a lot of screaming, a lot of thrashing around, a lot of panic and confusion, and finally, a lot of cursing as we heard the two of them running through the woods and crashing into things.

When Rick and I met at the site, we found out what all the noise had been. Evidently, they had panicked when they started falling all over each other. They left the camera with the tripod and the night vision gear in their haste to escape. They also left their packs, and we found one boot and some cut bootlaces. We also found a pistol, which must have fallen out of its holster during their scuffle, a rifle, and two sets of night vision goggles, which explained all the crashing about during their escape.

We gathered the gear and decided to call it a night. Our fun had made so much noise that if there were any more teams on the property, they had either bugged out or were alert enough to make the game less fun. We headed back to the house.

The girls were asleep in the living room, sprawled across the chairs and the couch when we got back. Must have been their compromise between waiting up for us and going to bed. We woke them and told them what we had done, and showed them the gear that we had found left behind on the property. Everyone was laughing at the sight the two of them must have been falling all over each other with their boots tied together and tying them to each other.

After we wound down, Rick and I stored the gear we had taken, took a shower, and went to bed. The ladies had already gone to bed while we were cleaning up. I did promise Rick that I would let him tell Ralph about the night's activities when he came by the place tomorrow. I figure that it was only fair. Besides, if Ralph got mad at being left out of the fun, he would yell at Rick instead of me. What are friends for? Besides, we needed some sleep. We had to get up at 5:30 to start on the daily training for Kristin and Dani. Then, after a quick breakfast, we would spend about half an hour going over lessons on using the pistols for close quarters combat with all three of the women. Nothing like a schedule to keep you busy.

Chapter 2

The morning workout went great. Rick and I were relaxed, but still tired from the activity of the night before since we didn't get much sleep. The ladies were taking their training very seriously, and were really going full bore. At the end of the hour, all of us were tired and sweaty. We had been working out together for so long that we were all used to each other. There was no embarassment if one of the girls lost her top trying to escape from a hold or if someone accidentally hit someone of the opposite sex in one of those embarrassing places.

In fact, the ladies had made it clear that we were to hold nothing back, so we didn't. Dani was the first to regret that, when I intentionally grabbed one of her breasts during sparring to make her lose her concentration. She was mad when she got up off the ground, but not at me. She knew her split lip was her own fault because she should have been able to block the punch I threw. The lesson took. Dani never let her body or her sexuality be used against her again. A few weeks later, she had kicked the butt of one of the larger guards when her top was ripped while they sparred. She ignored it, but he was distracted by her breast, and she knocked the stuffings out of him. He later said that the view was worth the pain, but only in sparring.

We didn't bother to clean up much before breakfast, since we would be going right back outside to do the pistol practice. Naomi must have been in a really good mood, because she usually kidded us about smelling like a barnyard while we were eating.

After breakfast, we began training again. All three of the girls would draw and fire in one smooth motion. We didn't use ammunition in the guns, since we worked at the house for convenience. Once a week, we would hike out to The Quarry and make the girls do live fire exercises at targets we constructed. We had even made some of our own pop-up targets to test their reflexes and accuracy, especially at a moving target.

The girls were getting fit and trim, except for Naomi. She was fit, but her expanding belly made her stand out. Even so, they were all smooth, fluid, graceful and fast. None of the guards wanted to try to match them on the combat range. Only one had tried to take them on disarms. He found out that even Kristin was able to evade the disarm and retain the weapon. Unfortunately for him, Dani had decided to let him have the weapon. After he got it, he couldn't use it because he was already on the ground and in a control hold. She had calmly taken the weapon from his numb, useless fingers and cocked it with one hand before he had signalled his surrender.

All of the women were also progressing well in their marksmanship with a rifle, and were doing well in their ability to move around in the woods quietly and without being seen. Naomi knew that she would soon start to have problems as her pregnancy progressed, but felt comfortable about having all of us around as her security blanket to keep her from going bonkers during the time when her activities would be limited. We had both always liked to knit, crochet, and sew, and Naomi had begun making quilts and comforters for the baby. She had also begun to knit and crochet baby blankets. She only used wool or cotton yarn, since she wanted to use only what we could grow or make ourselves.

As the summer progressed, I knew that things would begin to get more difficult. There were already indications that the world was getting ready to explode into senseless violence at the drop of a hat. India and Pakistan were fighting again, and the Indians were still being accused of using chemical warfare, as they had been for over a month now. The border clashes and fighting had escalated, and it was becoming increasingly more likely that one side or the other would lose control and decide to make a nuclear strike.

Things in Korea were still getting worse, with more border clashes and naval clashes than there had been in years. Gunboats and larger naval units had fired on each other repeatedly, and there were unconfirmed reports of submarine warfare involving both sides. The fact that U.S. planning called for Japan to provide medical care for casualties in the event of renewed conflict in Korea was understandable.

My only concern was the numbers that they seemed to be willing to accept. If you are planning for up to 20,000 wounded in the first three days of combat, and that does not include those killed in action, how many casualties are you planning on having to take during the fighting? And with those kinds of losses, how does the U.S. plan on maintaining a military presence when we only have about 30,000 combat infantry riflemen in the entire active military?

North Korea is not some backwards country with an undertrained or underequipped military. They have been at war with South Korea for 50 years, and they have air defenses, so waving the magic wand and saying that you will deploy the airborne forces and use an air war against them isn't a solution. While that might work if given sufficient time, North Korea has nuclear weapons. All of the people who knew the situation agreed that they would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons if it looked like they were losing the war.

Mainland China had become more aggressive in its exercises off the coast of Taiwan. They would take some losses in an invasion, but without massive U.S. aid, there was no way that Taiwan would be able to hold out for long. In fact, even with massive U.S. assistance, all that would happen would be that the price tag would be even higher, especially if things got so bad that it ended up coming down to a nuclear showdown.

Although China might have backed down from a nuclear threat five or ten years ago, they would not have to now. Bill Clinton has not only reduced the size of the armed forces, and impeded their ability to respond globally, but he has spread our military out across the world to act as peacekeepers. His staged conflicts during the Somalia campaign and the impeachment crisis have decreased American credibility as a military force. The Gulf War, while impressive, did nothing to change the power structure in the middle east, and did nothing to realistically shift the balance of military power in the region so that Saddam Hussein was less of a threat to the other Arab nations.

The assistance provided to China by the government of this country made sure that the threat of nuclear conflict was less daunting than it had been. Not only had they made use of the continued information achieved through spying, which had been allowed to continue long after its initial discovery and confirmation, but the sale of restricted technology, authorized by Bill Clinton, had enabled the Chinese military to extend the range and accuracy of their nuclear arsenal in exchange for a few campaign contributions. Now, even though the president declared otherwise, Chinese missiles were not only capable of reaching any city in America, but the Chinese had openly declared that they had targeted at least part of their nuclear arsenal on American cities and would use them if American interfered with China's plans for Taiwan.

Of course, the Russians were not happy with this turn of events, since the increased efficiency of the Chinese nuclear arsenal meant that they would sustain more casualties in a nuclear exchange with China. Since the two countries were always at odds, it only stood to reason that they would eventually go to war over territory and resources. The Russians also suspected that the sale was an intentional plan by the U.S. to make sure that both sides would suffer even more losses and pose less of a threat to U.S. world dominance after they had finished their fight.

The air war in Kosovo depleted our arsenal, at the cost of destroying buildings and territory. It alerted the Russians to the potential that our non nuclear weapons had, and cost the taxpayers millions of dollars per day to destroy the infrastructure of the country. Now that ground troops were there, nothing had changed in the country. The Serbs and Albanians were still fighting, tens of thousands of refugees refused to go home, and the entire country was destroyed by fighting. The only thing that had changed was that now Europe wanted the Americans to pay to rebuild the country that they had just asked us to destroy. And they wanted us to do this while our troops were being shot at by the citizens of the country we were supposed to rebuild. The ground troops in Kosovo were also running into more problems. Tensions had continued to build since the Russians came into the country, and several Russian generals had refused to obey orders to stop Serb assaults on the Albanians. The Greeks had also been reluctant to fire on Serbs, even when they were clearly the aggressors in the situation.

Things were not helped when Congress not only refused to buy into the European plan to have the British supervise the rebuilding for the rest of Europe and the Americans pay for all the rebuilding. And tensions between the NATO forces and the Russian forces grew even more when Congress started really considering a plan to terminate funding for all U.S. ground troops in Kosovo by the end of September. Although I personally agreed with the message that they were trying to send to the rest of the world, I didn't believe that the politicians were sending that message for the reasons that most people supported it. In fact, I was fairly certain that the underlying reason was a combination of greed and self interest, and that it was timed to stir up more trouble overseas.

Iraq was still threatening and posturing, and Saddam Hussein was stirring up the people to prepare them for his next war. He has already used chemical weapons in warfare several times, and continues to build his arsenal. It won't be long before he also has access to nuclear weapons, and he has already shown that he has no problem with using any weapons that he has in his arsenal.

The peacekeepers in Bosnia were really starting to run into trouble. There were only about 7,000 U.S. troops left over there, and they were coming under increasing fire from all of the factions left in the country. With their depleted numbers, they were spread thin, and had more problems providing for their own security. With the attention of the world drawn to other places, and the supplies and relief efforts strained by the demands of other locations, they were not in the best situation. The troops were tired, and they wanted to come home.

But, of course, it you listened to Congress and the media, everything was just peachy keen and dandy here in America, and there was nothing to worry about. While there were some problems in the world, and some here at home, there was no reason for concern because they had identified the problems, worked out solutions, and had everything well in hand.

My personal opinion was that their idea of having everything under control would be to sell swampland to the citizens and then use the wetlands laws to keep the citizens from doing anything with it. Then turn around and lease prime public lands to big corporations so they could strip the land of its valuable resources for next to nothing and make millions. Then they would use the money from the sale of the swampland to pay for the clean-up on the land the businesses had destroyed, and campaign for reelection on the platform of how they had managed to solve this environmental disaster without raising taxes.

Rick had told me one time that Congress was so bad off that it needed the GPS system to find its own rear end. He had rolled on the floor laughing for five minutes when I asked him what he thought they were going to do when the GPS system failed later this year. I guess it didn't help when I mentioned that since the GPS system would probably fail before the elections, they would run out of manure to shovel to the voters if they couldn't find an alternate source.

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Dan surprised us all when Rick and I met with him to discuss the plan to train the security forces by having them sneak up on the observation teams, even when they were not on our property. He thought that it was a great idea, and even suggested that we might want to make sure that we also sneaked up on others in the area, but didn't scare them like we were going to do with the observers.

We left his office happy, and went to start the first training session with the security personnel. They were more than pleased with the news of our new training exercises. With the security personnel and others who were interested in training, we usually had thirty to forty people working out in the morning, while the rest of the security and other personnel were working or other things to do.

We had thirty five this morning, so we decided to team them up in small groups and have them start sneaking through the woods. We took seven people into the woods and gave them paintball guns and told them to move around or find a place and stay concealed. If any of the others came near them, and they saw them, they were to shoot them with the paintball gun. Then we divided the others up into seven teams of four, and told them to find the targets. If they could touch the guy with the paintball gun before getting shot, they won. The overall winner was the one who didn't get shot or who touched the most targets.

The groups began to immediately drift silently into the woods, stalking their targets. We gave them three hours. A few of the guys had several hits. Several others had had close calls, but had not been able to get near when they were spotted. Three were able to tag one of their victims, and one had been able to tag two different victims. One of the victims had been able to detect every man who had tried to sneak up on his position, and he had managed to shoot fifteen of them. Rick and I both made a note of his name, because we had plans for him. He was about to start teaching the others a course in alertness and paying attention to their surroundings. I was not surprised to find that he had completed three tours of duty in the special forces before leaving the military to work for the complex.

After talking with all of the participants, they agreed that although each group could only move as fast as the slowest person, and could only remain as silent as the loudest person, they had been able to use the presence of others to locate their targets more quickly and to provide noises that would distract the target without giving them away. Those who had been targets said that being alone had made them more alert, but had made them unable to maintain constant surveillance of the entire perimeter.

After talking it over with them, we agreed that we would make the training more realistic. In all future exercises, they would go out in teams. Since those observing us rarely were alone, they would also be in teams of two or three. In order to keep the observer from cheating, we would put the teams where they had a view of the complex through binoculars, and the observer would have to record what went on. He could break observation only if he heard something strange himself or was warned by his partner. The stalkers would change with the observers the next day so that everyone got a chance to work on not only sneaking up on others, but on preventing others from sneaking up on them.

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When Ralph showed up for dinner at our place that night, Sara was with him. The ladies were happy to see her, and went into the kitchen to talk and plot behind our backs while they finished preparing dinner. Rick and I went over our new training exercises with Ralph, and he couldn't wait for himself and his deputies to get into the training. We worked out a schedule so that they could all come out on their days off or when they were off shift, and set up a system so he would know who was here in case of an emergency. Rick said that the security office had some pagers that only vibrated when they were set off, and he would make sure that all of the deputies had them so they could be contacted in case of emergency. Rick and I would also wear them in case Ralph needed us for anything.

After the work was concluded, we told Ralph about our fun of the previous night. He was disappointed to have missed it. When we showed him the stuff we had 'found' on our property after the guys had run off, Ralph's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

'Da-amn!' he exclaimed. 'Do you boys know how much some of this stuff is worth?'

Rick laughed, and said, 'Approximately. I've never seen an IR scope quite like the one on the camera, and the tripod feels light enough to be titanium. The zoom lens is really good. The night vision goggles are the best on the market. The pistol is good, as is the rifle, but neither is that expensive. Of course, the boot does have sentimental value.'

Ralph laughed at that comment.

I said, 'We were wondering what you wanted us to do with them. I'm not sure if they are ever going to try to claim this stuff, but they may report it as stolen or try to get us for possession of government property.'

Ralph said, 'Let me handle that. Since you found it, and have reported it to your superior officer, it is officially noted. Since you are law enforcement personnel, and the owners of the land in question, your possession of the articles in question should be valid legally. And, as far as I can tell, none of this equipment has any identification or markings which show it to belong to the government. Of course, I will report the guns as found and run the serial numbers to determine the legal owner or if they are reported as stolen or listed as a weapon from a crime scene. If they come up clean, I guess that they're yours as well.'

I said, 'Of course, all of this is based upon very sound legal rulings and precedents. Right, Ralph?'

Ralph smiled, and said, 'Of course. One of the oldest precedents that I can think of. I even learned it as a kid.'

Rick said, 'What's that?'

Ralph smiled now that Rick had fallen for the bait. He said, 'Why finders keepers, of course. Especially if the loser fails to notify the authorities of the loss or to report them stolen. Of course, if they report them stolen, then I'd have to confiscate them as evidence until we can find those responsible for stealing them and then using them for illegal activities. They were left at the scene of a crime when the criminals were found by two of my deputies. It's a shame that the criminals escaped, or we could return their possessions as soon as the prosecution was complete. Now, I guess we'll just have to wait until the criminals are apprehended or the statute of limitations for the crimes runs out.'

Rick said, 'How long will that take?'

Ralph said, 'Oh, about seventeen years.'

Rick said, 'For trespassing? Or grand theft?'

Ralph said, 'Neither. For attempted kidnapping, or accessory to that crime.'

I said, 'How do you arrive at that conclusion, Ralph?'

Ralph said, 'Well, all of the items are exactly the same as those recovered from the bodies that you boys brought in. Especially the guns and the boot. Until we can prove otherwise, we are forced to assume that they belong to someone who was involved in the previous case and managed to get away. There was evidence that some stuff was removed from the camp that we found, and that it happened after the shooting was over.'

I said, 'That's a pretty big assumption, Ralph. It's going to look pretty shaky in court if it ever gets that far.'

Ralph said, 'You're right. But when I report this stuff as found, and begin to trace it for ownership, I intend to report it as evidence recovered in possible connection with the previous crime. I also intend to take prints from the weapons and the ammunition and magazines and run them through the NCIC database. What do you think the odds are of any federal agents showing up to claim the equipment?'

I said, 'Pretty slim. Besides, we still have no conclusive proof that it is the feds, or even a group of rogue agents who are doing some of this stuff.'

Ralph said, 'Exactly. Enjoy your toys, boys. If you had been on duty or on someone else's property, then I'd have to ask you to turn them in. But, as the property owner, you are entitled to keep all items found on your property if they are not claimed within thirty days. I am authorizing you to store them here because I don't have room in the official locker for them.'

Rick said, 'Cool.'

Ralph said, 'Oh, and one more thing.'

I said, 'What?'

'Next time you go out to play, can you take me along? I'd really like to be there when you find some more cool stuff like this. Maybe I could find something that I got to keep if the owner didn't show up to collect it.'

I said, 'Sure thing, Ralph. What are you doing tomorrow night about midnight?'

Ralph said, 'I think that I'm going to be visiting two of my deputies. I've heard that they've had some trouble with trespassers on their property lately.'

Rick said, 'Yeah? Well, maybe we can see if we can help you solve that problem. I've always heard that it isn't safe to go out by yourself at night. Must have been on TV or in the newspaper, but they always say that it isn't safe outside at night.'

We all laughed and went to go see how dinner was progressing.

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Ralph arrived at 11 o'clock the next night. He came early so we could make sure that he was properly geared. He was wearing boots, black jeans, a black T-shirt, and black leather gloves. He had on a black web holster for his gun. I noticed that he had smeared a light layer of black shoe polish over his gun because he carried a stainless steel 9 mm Taurus.

We taped a few things to make sure that they wouldn't make any noise, and then put camouflage onto his face. We all had our badges and ID on us in inside pockets. Rick and I both carried a pistol, a hunting knife, and a rifle in addition to our bags of goodies. I gave Ralph a small bag after showing him what was inside it, and asked if he would like a rifle or a shotgun before we left. Ralph asked what was available, and settled on a shotgun when he saw a 12 gauge pump that held 9 3-inch magnum slugs. I told him that it was loaded with double ought buck, and he smiled. I also gave him a small belt pouch that held extra ammunition for the shotgun.

We left out the back door. The women were already in bed, so there were no lights on inside the house. Ralph had left his vehicle at the drive and walked to the house so that there would be less noise and activity near the house.

Ralph moved through the woods well. He was fairly quiet, and I could tell that he had spent a lot of time hiking and hunting in the woods. Of course, with his job, he probably got a lot of practice at moving through the woods quietly, even at night. We started on a wide sweep of the property, going straight through the woods to the edge of the property and then working along the edge until we came to the spot where we wanted to start working our way back into the property. We checked near The Quarry on our way in, then headed back toward the house. When we were about halfway there, we headed toward the edge of the property that was closest to the complex.

We had taken our time, so we had been gone for over an hour. We did discover signs of someone being on the property, but didn't find anybody. We were about to call it a night and head in when Rick smelled smoke.

Ralph whispered, 'It must be from one of the other homesteads. Most of them have a fireplace or woodstove, don't they?'

Rick's reply was almost too faint to hear. 'Yeah, but this is from a cigarette.'

We knew that none of the security guards smoked on duty, especially not in the woods. The last guard to smoke in the woods had been fired. The company took the threat of a forest fire very seriously, and had made specific regulations concerning fires in or near the woods on their property. Besides, almost none of the guards smoked at all any more. They quit when they had to get into shape and couldn't keep up if they couldn't breathe.

We followed Rick as he led us upwind. It took us over ten minutes to cover the next 100 yards. Eventually, we found the butt on the trail. Now, we had to make a decision. Was he smoking one last cigarette before going to work, or had he just finished a shift and was smoking because he was leaving and didn't have to worry too much about being spotted? We decided to gamble and go toward the compound.

We moved down the trail. Rick was in the woods about three yards off to one side, and Ralph and I were about the same distance from the trail on the other side. We kept to the trees, using them and the bushes for cover, and making sure that we made as little noise as possible.

Ralph had asked why we never used the trails, and we had told him. He accepted the answer, but seemed to think that it was somewhat silly. This wasn't a war zone, and you didn't have to worry about stumbling across the enemy at any moment.

There was a sudden flurry of noise, and we all stopped. There was movement on the trail between us, and Ralph shouted, 'Freeze! This is the sheriff! You're under arrest!'

Our side of the trail suddenly lit up like it was daylight as several bright lights were turned on us. I could see muzzle flashes coming from behind the lights and hear several weapons being fired. Ralph was hit in the chest and went down. I drew my Glock and emptied a full magazine into the spot where the lights were. I didn't shoot the lights because I thought we might want them to check on Ralph when this was over. The volume of gunfire suddenly intensified, as both Rick and I emptied our guns in the first three seconds and then immediately reloaded.

There was crying and screaming coming from the trail. I heard Ralph begin to start cussing, so I knew he was alive and somewhat functional.

I said, 'You OK, Ralph?'

Ralph said, 'Check the trail. I'm fine for now. I've got you covered.'

I went up to the trail and stopped just short of the edge of the woods. I checked the trail as far as I could see in both directions, but didn't see anything. Nobody on the trail was standing. There were four people on the trail. Three were on the ground, while the fourth was kneeling over one of the others. One light was broken. One of the others was being used to see by the kneeling figure. There was a third light that was still on, but it was lying on its side on the ground.

Ralph crept up beside me, and said, 'What have we got?'

I said, 'Four of them. Three are down on the ground. The fourth one seems to be checking on one of the injured. They don't seem to be ready to fight, but they haven't been disarmed yet.'

Ralph raised his voice, and said, 'This is Sheriff Jackson. Place your guns on the ground away from you, and raise your hands over your heads.'

Someone in the clearing said, 'OK, don't shoot no more. We give up.'

After a few seconds, the kneeling person put some guns down, then retrieved more long guns from the ground near two of the prone bodies and added them to the pile. Then the person stepped back and raised his hands over his head. He began to cry and sniffle, so I thought that he was probably in shock from the sudden violence.

'It's OK, now, sheriff. I put all the guns over there.'

We slowly approached, unsure of what to expect. Ralph handcuffed the one who was standing. Then he went over to examine the bodies of the other three. While he was doing this, Rick said, 'They threw something over this way toward me just before they started shooting at you guys.'

Ralph said, 'Any idea what it was?'

Rick said, 'Smells dead. About the size of a small deer.'

Ralph said, 'Well, we'll get to that in a few minutes. Two of them are alive, but I don't think that Zeb is going to make it.'

I said, 'You know them, Ralph?'

He said, 'Yep. Zeb Wilson, his brother Zeke, his son Randy, and the one standing over there would be his daughter Mary. She isn't hurt, is she?'

I said, 'I haven't checked yet. I know that I didn't shoot her, but only because there wasn't any shooting coming from her. I thought that it was four guys.'

Rick said, 'Me, too. Only returned fire from hostile sources.'

Ralph said, 'Are you hurt, Mary?'

Mary said, 'No, sheriff. I'm just scared.' She wasn't crying as much, but stood still with her head hanging down.

I went over to where Mary was and helped her to sit down on the trail. She crossed her legs and sat Indian style. I pulled out a space blanket from my pack and wrapped it around her to prevent her from going into shock. After giving her a sip of water from my canteen, I had Rick keep an eye on her while I helped Ralph with the wounded.

Rick had paged the security patrol while I was helping Mary. I went over to see if there was anything we could do for the injured.

A quick look showed that the one was definitely dead. It looked like he had taken about half a dozen rounds in the center of the chest. Judging from the severity of the wounds, the one the sheriff must have meant was Zeb was indeed in bad shape. The last one was going to be OK if he didn't bleed to death before he got medical attention.

I started putting pressure bandages on the extremities of the one wounded man. He had been hit in both upper legs, but the bullets appeared to have missed the major arteries and vessels. He also had one stomach wound, and one shoulder wound. The shoulder wound appeared to have missed his lung, as he didn't have a sucking chest wound. After I finished binding him up, I noticed that he also appeared to have been shot in the arm near the elbow. I bandaged that as well as I could and managed to stop the bleeding. We covered him with another space blanket and elevated his feet to prevent shock as best we could.

When I reached Zeb, I knew that he wouldn't make it to the hospital. He had a sucking chest wound, which would have been easy enough to treat, but he also had other injuries. I could see at least three abdominal wounds, and I could smell perforated bowels. He showed signs of internal bleeding as well. Amazingly, Zeb was now conscious. I put a wrapper from a dressing over the sucking chest wound and taped it in place. At least it wouldn't hurt any worse if he tried to talk.

Zeb said, 'Damn, Ralph, it hurts.'

Ralph said, 'Yeah, I know. Me, too.'

Zeb said, 'It ain't too bad, is it? I'd hate to die thinking that I kilt the sheriff.'

Ralph said, 'Nah. I'll live, but I'm going to be sore for a while. That kevlar vest really works. Course it didn't stop the bullet that hit my arm.'

Zeb coughed, spat up blood, and laughed. He said, 'You'll live. I should have remembered that old song.'

Ralph said, 'You shot the sheriff?'

Zeb said, 'Yep.'

Ralph said, 'You gotta watch out for them deputies. But save your breath. You'll need your strength.'

Zeb said, 'Don't shit me, sheriff. You and me both know that I ain't gonna make it. How are the others?'

Ralph said, 'Zeke's dead. Randy ain't in good shape, but he should recover. Mary is scared, but she's fine.'

Zeb said, 'Randy will go to jail for years for this. I always said that damned hot head of his would get him kilt. Didn't think it would do me and Zeke in first.'

Ralph said, 'Not much help for it now, is there?'

Zeb said, 'No, there really ain't, Ralph. Ralph, Mary is only 15. You know she didn't have any part in this. She was just along to help carry the lights. You ain't gonna charge her, are you?'

Ralph said, 'No, Zeb, she won't be charged. But who's gonna take care of her? You know that nobody around here will take her in with your family's reputation. And if the state gets her, she'll be shipped off to some orphanage.'

Zeb said, 'You know that would kill her. She loves the woods, and she can't stand to be cooped up like some animal all the time.'

Then Zeb looked up at me and grabbed my wrist. He said, 'You'd be Lee, wouldn't you?'

I said, 'Yes, I'm Lee.'

He said, 'You and your missus don't have no kids, yet, do you?'

I said, 'She's expecting, but not yet.'

He said, 'Please, take my girl so she don't have to go to the orphanage. She's almost grown, so she can work and earn her way. She can be a help, and she won't never give you no problems. Promise me that you'll take care of her.'

I said, 'You know that even if I promised, the state would step in and take her from me.'

Zeb said, 'You'd take care of that for me, wouldn't you, Ralph?'

Ralph said, 'Yeah, I'll make sure the judge takes care of everything so there won't be any problems, Zeb.'

Zeb said, 'Well, will you promise me that you'll take care of my daughter and raise her just like she was your own, Lee?'

I said, 'Yes, Zeb, I'll do that.'

Zeb said, 'I heard that you was a man of your word, so I ain't a gonna insult you by asking you to swear. My momma may have raised some fools, but I wasn't one of them.'

Zeb looked over to Mary, and said, 'Come here, girl.'

When she came over, he said, 'You heard what we was talking about?'

Mary said, 'Yes, sir.'

Zeb said, 'This here is Lee, and he is going to raise you from now on. He won't take no guff from you girl, so don't you give him or his missus any problems. If'n you do, I swear that I'll come back from the grave to haunt you to your dying day. Do you understand me, Mary?'

Mary said, 'Yes, poppa, I understand. I won't give Mr. Lee or his missus any problems, so help me.'

Zeb said, 'Good girl. You always was polite and smart.'

Mary went back over to where she had been and sat down. Ralph went over to where she was sitting and removed the handcuffs. She simply raised her hands to pull the survival blanket around her and huddled into it to stay warm.

Zeb looked at me as Ralph walked back over to us. When Ralph was close enough to hear, he said, 'Ralph, you know that Randy is bad to the bone. If he ever gets out of jail and comes back here to start trouble, I want you to make sure that Lee understands that there won't be no way short of killing him to make him stop.'

Ralph said, 'I'd be singing to the choir, Zeb. Lee is probably a better judge of character than I am, and I think he'd still be more dangerous when he's old man Henderson's age than I'll ever be. If Randy thinks he's coming back to even things up, he's done made his last mistake. I'd bet my life on that.'

Zeb said, 'That's good enough for me. At least I know that Mary will be looked after. I'd hate to think that her mama would be mad at me for all eternity. At least I won't have to put up with her. She's a good woman, so she went to heaven. I don't think I'll be going up when the trip to my eternal resting place begins.'

The guards arrived a few minutes later, and we loaded Zeb and Randy onto one of the vehicles. Ralph went with them, leaving the other vehicle to haul Zeke's body back. He told me to take Mary home, clean her up, put her to bed, and that he'd see me sometime tomorrow.

After collecting all of the guns and loading them onto the second vehicle, Rick and I left for home, taking Mary with us. Rick had picked up the bag with the deer carcass in it, figuring that it was on our property, and shouldn't go to waste. He would hand it up to bleed out when we got home, and dress it and butcher it in the morning. It was about two in the morning, and the night wasn't promising to end any time soon.

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It took a little over fifteen minutes to walk home along the trail. We used the two good lights that had been left at the scene, so we made good time. We were still alert, but didn't think that any of the watchers would still be on the property after all the noise and gunfire. If they were, it was their problem if we were a little trigger happy or short tempered.

When we got home, the girls were up. Ralph had phoned and let them know that we were on our way. Rick took the deer out to the barn and hung it over a barrel to drain, then joined us in the house.

Naomi took one look at Mary, and said, 'Poor dear, what's your name? What on earth happened to you? Now come with me and we'll get you cleaned up and put you to bed so you can get some rest. You're so tired that you're falling over.'

I grabbed Dani before she could follow Naomi out. I said, 'We ran into poachers, and they started a shoot-out. Ralph was hit, but he'll be fine. His vest took the worst of it. Her uncle is dead, and her father is dying. Her brother will be fine in about three months, but he'll be in jail for the next twenty years.'

Dani said, 'And she was in the middle of the firefight?'

I said, 'Yes, but she wasn't hit. She's 15, and I promised her father that I would take care of her. Ralph said that he'd work things out. This is hill country. As far as the locals are concerned, she is now my daughter, and they won't mess with her unless they want me coming after them.'

Dani smirked, and said, 'Not bloody likely. Nobody around here is that stupid.'

I said, 'What are you talking about?'

Dani said, 'Lee, everyone around here likes you, but there isn't a person that I know of in this county that would even try to start a fight with you. You're nice, but you're dangerous. And people who try to hurt you or your family don't tend to live very long.'

'Dani, do you really believe that I'm that way?'

Dani said, 'Dangerous, yes. But you don't go hunting down people. I think that you would if someone you loved was taken or killed, but you are the most self controlled person I have ever met. You do what is right, to the best of your ability. And I think that if it came down to it, you'd do what you thought you had to, no matter what. If you were a surgeon, you'd probably be the best in your field. Simply because you don't know any other way than to do the best you can at whatever you do.'

I said, 'Tell Naomi that she doesn't have to save any hot water for me. I think I need a cold shower, and I know that I'll need one to wake me up in the morning. Tell her to take Mary to our room and keep her with her so she isn't alone tonight. I'll sleep in one of the other rooms or on the couch.'

Dani left to go help Naomi with Mary. It took a while to get her cleaned up, and the warm water had her falling asleep before her bath was over. Naomi took Mary to bed with her, and the others went to sleep. I slept on the floor in front of the couch. It was more comfortable.

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Dani woke up about 5:30, and went to see how things were going. Naomi was still sleeping, with Mary huddled next to her. She didn't find Lee in the living room, and she knew that Kristin was still asleep in their room.

When she went into the kitchen to get some coffee, she smelled some already made, so she figured that Lee or Rick must be up already. She poured a cup and sat down at the table to start drinking it. When she looked up, she almost dropped her cup. Lee was outside in nothing but a pair of shorts. She watched, fascinated, as the mixture of scars and muscles seemed to flow with his movements as he worked out.

Lee had his sword, and it was a continuous blur as he moved it around his body. It would blur and then suddenly stop, then disappear into motion again until the next sudden stop. It never seemed to waver, as if it was attached to his body and was under perfect control. It seemed to be a part of his body as she watched him transfer the sword repeatedly from one hand to the other, or twirl it, seemingly in midair, as he reversed grips and changed his attack, seemingly in midstrike.

Dani realized that she must have been watching for at least fifteen minutes when she took a sip of coffee and realized that it was getting cold. When Lee put up the sword, she could see the sheen of sweat on his body, and thought that he was done. But he moved over to the lumber pile, where he and Rick always put their scrap lumber. Lee began to pick up a load of 4 X 4 and 6 X 6 short posts. Scraps from their building project. He walked over to a set of concrete posts and began to stack the wood next to it. He placed a 6 X 6 post on the stand, then stood back. Suddenly, he dropped his stance and thrust the heel of his hand through the board, breaking it as if it wasn't even there. She watched in amazement as he repeated the process with the rest of the stack, sometimes using his left hand, others his right, sometimes with a punch, and others with the heel of his hand.

When Lee finished with the wood, he moved over to the area that he and Rick had built for their own use. It had a bunch of wooden posts, embedded in cement. Some of them were equipped with projections that represented arms and legs, and she had seen Lee and Rick go for hours, pounding on them with their arms, hands, feet, and shins. It always amazed her how much the human body could be conditioned to withstand without injury.

Lee didn't go over to the dummy posts, as he usually did. Instead, he walked over to where they had buried a huge post. It was round, and was a 16 inch diameter oak log. Lee began to pound it furiously with his fists, and she could hear the impacts inside the kitchen through the door. Dani jumped up to run to the door and stop Lee before he could hurt himself. Just as she opened the door, Rick stepped in front of her. He moved her back, stepped inside, and closed the door.

Dani said, 'Rick, what are you doing? You have to let me stop him before he hurts himself. He must be out of his mind.'

Rick said, 'He knows what he is doing. He's done this before. If he doesn't get rid of some of the rage and frustration, then it will start to affect his behavior.'

Dani said, 'What are you talking about? Why should he have so much rage and frustration bottled up inside?'

'Oh, let's see, he could be frustrated because the very people who should be the ones to do the work we're doing of trying to get people to prepare for what is coming, especially if things get really bad, are the very people who are trying to stop us any way that they can.'

'He could feel rage because someone tried to kidnap and kill some of the few people that he really loves and cares for. And because he had to kill them to prevent that from happening. And because the people he killed were just doing their job.'

Dani said, 'But he's killed before. Fairly often, from what you said. I thought you said that he learned how to handle it. And you killed some of the guys who tried to take us, too.'

Rick said, 'This is how Lee has learned to handle the killing. When he has time, he vents the frustration he feels. I've seen him go for months in combat, and not have a problem. But after something that is senseless, or just a waste, it always seems to affect him more. Last night was both.'

Dani said, 'What do you mean? They were poachers. And they tried to kill you.'

Rick said, 'We knew about the poaching. We didn't care. They were hunting to eat. Lee would have given them food, but didn't want to offend anybody by offering them what they would look on as charity. We were looking for people who were breaking the law and trying to bother us. Instead, we found the poachers. Ralph startled them before we could stop him, and they started firing at us.'

Dani said, 'But that was self defense. If Ralph hadn't had on his bulletproof vest, he'd be dead right now, too.'

Rick said, 'Yeah, but we didn't need to have any of that happen. They shot because Ralph startled them. Even Ralph knows that. They didn't want to kill anybody, but they were startled, scared, and didn't want to get caught. They had two choices. Fight or flight. They fought.'

Dani said, 'Oh, God! And Lee reacted on instinct.'

Rick said, 'Yes. He fired off two three round bursts so fast that I couldn't even count them. Zeke took six rounds right through the heart. You know what kind of ammo Lee uses. They'll be lucky to find any of the pieces of his heart during the autopsy. And Lee knows that Zeb died on the way to the hospital last night.'

Dani said, 'How do you know?'

Rick smiled sadly, and said, 'When it comes to combat wounds, Lee and I are the local experts, doctor. We've seen and handled more gunshot wounds than you will ever see in your life, if you are lucky.'

Dani said, 'But you had no choice. It wasn't your fault.'

Rick said, 'Lee knows that. That isn't the problem.'

Dani said, 'So, what is the problem?'

Rick said, 'Lee is pissed because it had to happen in front of Mary. He knows what it does to someone that age to see people you care about get shot to pieces in front of your eyes. He did it, and now he is responsible for her. And he cares even more for that little girl, because he knows what she is going through is like, more than anybody else here does. Even if she doesn't hold him responsible, he still holds himself responsible for the pain she is going through.'

Dani said, 'So it wouldn't make much difference even if she didn't blame him, as far as Lee is concerned. But what about Mary? How is she taking this?'

Rick said, 'Why don't you ask her? She's standing across the room.'

Dani spun around, shocked to see Mary standing at the entrance to the kitchen like a statue, mesmerized by the sight in front of her. Seeing Mary get a look of concern on her face, Dani spun around in time to see Lee break an 8 inch thick post with his hand and then follow through with a kick that shattered the lower portion of the stump that was left sticking out of the ground after the top was broken off.

Dani sat down at the kitchen table in shock. She couldn't imagine the kind of control it took to keep that kind of violent energy contained. Her coffee cup was empty, but she still cradled it absently between her hands.

Mary came over from the wood stove, carrying the coffee pot, a towel wrapped around the handle to keep it from burning her. She refilled Dani's cup, and put it back in front of her.

Mary said, 'He's a good man. He shouldn't be hurting like that. He was just doing his job. Wasn't nobody's fault. Just fate.'

Dani said, 'You believe in fate, Mary?'

Mary said, 'Yeah. Grandma always told me that none of the men in our family would ever amount to much, cause they was always fated to end up dying because of the law. We always figured that they'd get caught and hanged. Daddy and Uncle Zeke was always so afraid of hanging that they tried extra hard not to do too many real bad things.'

Dani said, 'Mary, I know that you have a nice accent, but you don't talk like some of the hill folk that I've met. Why?'

'Grandma and my mama would always get after me with a switch if I didn't always talk proper English. I could use slang, but if I started using bad grammar and talking like I didn't have any schooling, they'd tan my bottom right proper.'

I walked in the door, and said hello to the ladies, then excused myself so that I could take a quick shower and clean up so that I would be presentable.

Dani tried to get Mary to sit down, but she wouldn't. Instead, she seemed anxious about something. When she finally got her to respond, Dani couldn't believe her ears.

Mary said, 'I got to start breakfast. Mama is sleeping in, and it ain't right for a woman in her condition to be getting up early to fix breakfast when there's an able girl like me to do the cooking. Can you tell me what Mr. Lee likes for breakfast, and tell me where everything is so I can get it cooked before he gets back.'

Dani said, 'But, honey, you're our guest.'

Mary said, 'No, I'm a part of the house, and I got to work to earn my keep.'

Rick spoke up, startling both of them since they had forgotten that he was still standing by the door. He said, 'Mary, don't worry about it this morning. Lee likes to cook when Naomi will let him, and it will make him feel better to take care of you this morning. Is that OK with you?'

Mary sat down at the table, poured a cup of coffee, and said, 'Yes, sir. That's fine.'

Rick said, 'It's OK, honey, I'm family too. Just call me Rick. Everybody else does, when they aren't calling me bad names.'

Mary smiled, and said, 'OK, Rick. Why would they call you bad names behind your back?'

Dani smiled and leaned over near her, and said, 'We don't call him bad names behind his back. That wouldn't be any fun. You have to say them in front of him so you can watch his reactions.'

Mary said, 'Uh huh. You his girlfriend or something?'

Dani said, 'No, Kristin is sweet on him. Why?'

Mary said, 'I was just wondering what kept him from taking after you with a switch, that's all.'

Rick smiled, and said, 'Out of the mouths of babes.'

Dani cut him off by saying, 'You just try it buster, and you'll get yours.'

Rick smiled, looked at Mary, and said, 'Oh, well. It was worth a try.'

I found the three of them laughing and giggling when I came into the kitchen to start cooking breakfast. The smell of breakfast cooking got Kristin and Naomi into the kitchen before the first stack of pancakes was gone.

I made sure that Mary ate, but that she didn't feel pressured to eat more than she wanted. She was a short, slender girl, barely starting to fill out as a woman. I knew that part of that was genetic, and part of it was due to poor nutrition. I intended to make sure that the latter was no longer a problem.

Chapter 3

That whole day seemed to go by in a blur. Ralph called and asked if I could bring Dani in to help with the autopsies. Naomi and Kristin took Mary into town to shop for some clothes. Rick got the training started for the week.

Dr. Lister was not a happy camper, but he wasn't really all that upset at having to do autopsies on Zeb and Zeke, either. They had provided him with a lot of business, mostly in the form of people they had assaulted when they were drunk. Of course, his attitude might have been tempered by the fact that he had treated Ralph for the wound to his arm and the wound to his chest. The vest had stopped the slug, but it hadn't stopped Ralph from getting a few cracked ribs, and the bruise was a sight to behold.

Harry had Danielle do the autopsy on Zeke, while he worked on Zeb. When he saw me, Harry's comment had been, 'Well, Lee, I can see that even when you don't use a rifle, you don't believe in doing things halfway, do you?'

I ignored him, and didn't rise to the bait. He wasn't mad at me, and the comment had been more rhetorical than a question.

Danielle soon learned what he had been referring to when she opened up Zeke's chest to begin the autopsy. My opinion of her skills went up a notch. Not only did she not lose her breakfast when she realized that the hole almost the size of her fist was the entrance wound, and not the exit wound as she had initially assumed, but she actually managed to find several pieces of material that were recognizable as portions of the heart.

Dani said, 'How many times did you hit him, Lee?'

I said, 'Six. Three rounds, three rounds, switch to second target. Three rounds to second target. Third target still firing. Three rounds to third target. Second target still moving. Three rounds to second target. Third target still moving. Three rounds to third target. Magazine empty. Reload. No viable targets. Only target remaining is unarmed. Check on injured sheriff. Check on survivors to determine if they are still a threat. Disarm hostiles. Check hostiles for wounds. Treat wounds. Call for medical evac.'

Harry said, 'Sounds like some damned machine, going through a program. I'm surprised that they aren't all dead.'

I said, 'First target was visible behind the glare of the lights. I could see his muzzle flash, so I knew he was hostile. Target terminated. Other targets were not visible in the glare of the lights. Had to approximate positions from muzzle flashes. Couldn't hit the one holding the lights because it wasn't hostile. Couldn't hit the lights because we needed them to treat possible injury on our team.'

Harry said, 'What if they had all been hostile and you didn't need the lights?'

I said, 'Start from left of the bunched group. Double tap, shift a few degrees to the right, double tap. Repeat until the magazine is empty. Partner on other side of trail will do the same, so the fire should sweep from both ends of the column and overlap in the middle. With pistols, you expend 36 rounds in about three seconds.'

Ralph said, 'Yeah. Sounds like hell. I got shot and I still only managed to get off two or three rounds before Lee had emptied his entire clip. I've never seen a gun fired that fast, and he was aiming and shifting targets just like he said.'

Harry said, 'Well, you boys didn't miss many shots. Most of these holes are from more than one round. Of course, none of them compares to what you did to the center of Zeke's chest.'

I said, 'How is Randy?'

Harry said, 'He'll survive. He'll be in pain for a long time, but he'll live. The stomach wound didn't tear the intestines, so the danger of septicemia is lessened. The shoulder wound didn't hit the lungs or the artery. The leg wounds mean that he won't be getting around well for a while, but they missed the major vessels, so he didn't bleed to death. He'd be able to get up and get around on crutches soon if it wasn't for his arm.'

Dani said, 'What's wrong with his arm?'

Harry said, 'We had to amputate his left arm at the elbow. He took two rounds just above the elbow, and they completely shattered the bones and tendons. If someone hadn't done such and expert job of stopping the bleeding, none of them would have made it this far. In fact, that's the best job I've seen in a long time. The patch on the sucking chest wound that Zeb had was the only thing that kept him alive as long as it did. He almost made it to the hospital. But I don't think that he would have survived anyway, because of the amount of damage to his internal organs. Who patched them up, Ralph?'

Ralph said, 'Lee did. He used one of their lights and started pulling bandages out of his pack. Didn't even hesitate. I've never seen someone work like that. He didn't even hesitate when he used the wrapping from a field dressing to cover the wound on Zeb's chest, and then used the dressing to make sure it didn't come loose.'

Harry said, 'Did a real fine job, Lee. Where did you learn to do first aid like that?'

I said, 'Vietnam. We couldn't always get a medevac, so we had to make do or die. We didn't consider dying to be much of an option if we had anything to say about it.'

Harry said, 'I didn't think that you were that old, Lee. Sorry to bring up bad memories.'

I smiled, and said, 'No problem.'

Dani just stopped working and looked at me. That woman can get some of the strangest looks on her face for no reason at all. At least no reason that I can think of.

Harry said, 'Lee, I've been doing some research since that last bunch of autopsies, and I had a couple of questions. That is, if you don't mind satisfying my curiousity.'

I said, 'No problem. What do you want to know, Doc?'

Harry said, 'Well, from what I was reading, an old Sharps .45-70 isn't really capable of making the ranges you were talking about. At least not safely and accurately.'

I smiled, and said, 'Well, Harry, technically it isn't a .45-70 rifle any more. I had some custom work done on it.'

Ralph said, 'Like what?'

I said, 'Well, first I replaced the barrel and the breech with stronger material. The barrel weighs about three times what it originally did because it is made of thicker, heavier, sturdier steel alloys. It's also two inches longer because I like that length for shooting. The bore has been taken out longer as well, so it takes a longer brass cartridge and a heavier bullet. I load my own, since the brass has to be custom made anyway. It's not much of a problem, since it relaxes me to do the reloading, and I have more brass than I should need for quite some time.'

Ralph said, 'If it's so blasted expensive to use and maintain, why do it?'

I said, 'To tell the truth, I just fell in love with the gun and didn't want to part with it. So I modified it to do what I wanted it to do so I could go shooting for pleasure. If I had to do serious shooting, I would use something that was designed for the situation from the ground up.'

Harry said, 'Like what?'

I said, 'Depending on the situation, I'd use a .30 caliber sniper rifle, a .50 caliber sniper rifle, a .300 Winchester magnum, or a custom built rifle made for accuracy at the distance involved. Hell, there were times when we had to improvise and I used an AKM or an AK-47 that we took off of one of the enemy. They were .30 caliber, and had a lot more range, accuracy, and punch than any M-16 the rest of the guys carried.'

Ralph said, 'You used their own weapons against them?'

I said, 'Sure. Lots easier to find extra ammo for it when you're 100 miles behind enemy lines and aren't going to be picked up for another week, and aren't going to be resupplied. Besides, it was less conspicuous.'

Ralph said, 'What do you mean, less conspicuous? I've shot an M-16 and an AK-47, and the AK is a lot louder and doesn't sound anything like an M-16.'

I said, 'Yeah. Made it harder for them to tell where our fire was coming from because they couldn't distunguish it from their own. It also meant that a few stray shots might be ignored because they didn't sound like American weapons. Fire off an M-16 in the middle of VC or NVA territory, and see how long it takes for every nasty little bugger within a mile to converge on your location. And, for a sniper, the extra range and accuracy more than made up for the weight. Hell, it was lighter than the standard issue sniper rifle that I had to carry anyway.'

Dani said, 'So, when do I start working with a heavier rifle, Lee?'

Harry said, 'Why on earth would you want to start shooting an even more powerful rifle when you know that its only function is to kill people? You are a doctor, and you're supposed to heal them, not kill them.'

Dani said, 'For the challenge of controlling the shots. And it can also be used for hunting if I travel west of the Mississippi. Besides, sometimes you have to make a choice between who deserves to live and who doesn't.'

Harry said, 'That is the most barbaric statement that I've ever heard a practicing physician make. You should be ashamed of yourself for even thinking that.'

I said, 'What's the matter Harry? She's just using good medical practices.'

Harry said, 'If you can show me how that qualifies as good medical practices, I will personally apologize for any bad thought that I have ever had about you or your hobbies and I will give you $100 in cash.'

Ralph said, 'Big bet, Harry. What are the stakes if he loses?'

Harry thought for a minute, and then smiled. He said, 'He can't fire a gun for a week unless it is necessary to protect his own life or someone else's.'

Ralph said, 'I don't know, Lee. Harry can be pretty stubborn, and you do have to convince him, so he would make the final call on who won. It wouldn't interfere with your work as a deputy if you lost, but you go shooting almost every day.'

I smiled, and said, 'Don't worry, Ralph. It's a deal, Harry.'

Harry laughed, and said, 'OK, Lee, give it your best shot, because it may be the last one you get for a week.'

I said, 'Well, Harry, I was specifically thinking of two different medical practices which might apply to having to decide which patient deserved to live and which one, by default, deserved to die. When you boil the semantics down, that is what it boils down to, isn't it, Harry?'

Harry said, 'I'll give you that one, since it won't affect the argument.'

I said, 'What is the standard concept of triage, Harry?'

Dani smiled, and Ralph hid his face behind his hand before Harry could look at him.

Harry said, 'That's when you categorize patients by the severity of their wounds so that the most severely injured receive prompt care, while those who aren't as critical wait their turn.'

'And when you make that decision, what are the factors involved, Harry?'

He said, 'The severity of the wounds, the number of patients, the number that can be treated at the same time.'

I said, 'And what does the state of the facility treating them have to do with the decision, Harry?'

He said, 'If you can't treat a patient, then you have to send them to a better facility.'

'So, you don't treat them?'

Harry said, 'Of course not. They can get better help somewhere else and have a better chance of survival.'

'What happens if conditions arise so that they can't be transported somewhere else?'

He said, 'Then you do the best you can to treat them and save their life.'

'And, if there are more victims, and they need immediate help that you can provide to save their lives, what happens?'

Harry knew he was trapped, and he looked pathetic. He said, 'Then you treat the patients that you can save before you try to do anything about the patient that is too badly injured for your facility to handle.'

'And what does that decision boil down to in its most basic terms, Harry?'

Harry said, 'Who lives and who dies.'

Ralph and Dani laughed at his expression until he glared at them. Dani went back to work, and Ralph tried to keep the noise to a minimum.

Harry began to mutter to himself. My hearing is very good, but I'm certain that the good doctor wasn't making comparisons between my family lineage and certain branches of the primate family. And I am just as certain that he did not make disparaging remarks about being taken in by some slick con artist who delighted in setting up unsuspecting victims and making fools of them for his own amusement and pleasure. But I was sure that there was an apologetic tone to the mumbling.

The rest of the autopsy went fairly well. We knew the cause of death, but we had to have an autopsy to make everything right and proper. And I did leave the hospital $105 richer. Ralph had insisted on giving me $5 for the pleasure of watching Dr. Lister get taken at his own game by his own rules. He said that not only was it worth it for the pleasure, but it was the cheapest entertainment of that caliber that he had ever seen.

When they were finished with the autopsies, Dr. Lister said, 'What do you want us to do with the bodies, Ralph?'

Ralph said, 'Hold them for a day or two while I make arrangements for the county to pick up the expenses and bury them in the pauper's field.'

I said, 'No. Hold them. I will ask Mary, and call you later today to make the funeral arrangements. I'll cover the burial expenses.'

Ralph said, 'Lee, you don't owe them that.'

I said, 'No, I don't. I owe Mary at least that much.'

Ralph knew that this argument was over, so he told Harry to listen to whatever I told him.

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When we got home, the ladies were back from their shopping trip. Mary was all excited about the clothes that she had, and insisted on showing me how she looked in her favorite dress. She looked beautiful. Naomi had also had Mary's hair done while they were in town. Although she wore it almost as short as a boy's cut, it had been styled so that there was no longer any mistaking Mary for a boy.

After Mary finished modeling her clothes for us, I told her that I needed to talk to her about something important. She immediately got serious and sat down on the couch.

I said, 'Relax, Mary. I just need to find out what kind of funeral arrangements you want made for your father and your uncle. Do you want them buried in a private ceremony, a church ceremony open to the public, or do you want them cremated?'

Mary said, 'I don't understand, sir. Why are you asking me about all this. My family was dirt poor. We couldn't afford no funeral. Whatever the county is willing to pay for is all we can get, and we just have to accept that. There ain't no choices involved.'

I said, 'Mary, I intend to see that your father and your uncle receive a proper burial. What you want is important, and I intend to make sure that it is done properly.'

Mary said, 'Why would you want to do that? You didn't even know them. I still ain't sure why you even told my daddy that you'd take care of me and raise me like I was your own daughter.'

I said, 'Because it was the right thing to do. And I want you to be happy, and helping you bury your family properly will make you happier than not doing that. It is also the right thing to do. You may not think that it will make any difference now, but at some point in the future, it will matter to you. So it matters to me. OK?'

Mary burst into tears. She leaped up and ran from the room. Naomi went after her. I sat there, not knowing what I had done wrong, but figuring that Kristin or Dani would be mad enough to fill me in. Instead, they both looked at me funny and left the room. Rick looked at me, and shrugged, not knowing what the problem was either.

After a while, Mary and Naomi returned, and we sat down. Mary told me what she would like for the funeral arrangements. I wrote it down and called Harry, who said that he would make sure that everything was taken care of.

When I finished the call and told Mary that everything was taken care of and would be done according to her wishes, she rushed over and hugged me. After offering profuse thanks, which seemed sincere, she ran into the other room to find out what the others were up to.

I looked at Naomi with a puzzled look on my face. She smiled, then went into the kitchen herself. I swear that I will never understand women.

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The next morning started like normal, with our morning workout. Mary was up, but didn't know what to make of the activity. She looked really confused when she saw us going over the close quarters combat drills. Naomi was watching with her, so she had someone to talk to.

Mary said, 'Why are they wrestling around like that?'

Naomi said, 'They're practicing self defense.'

Mary said, 'What for?'

Naomi said, 'So they can defend themselves if they have to. You'd want to know how to defend yourself if someone attacked you, wouldn't you, Mary?'

Mary said, 'I could never do something like that. I ain't big enough or strong enough to keep someone that big from hurting me. 'Sides, if you fight back, they'll just get mad and beat you some before they do what they want with you. It's easier to let them do what they want and not get hurt. Least not as much.'

Naomi said, 'Who used to beat on you, Mary?'

Mary said, 'My pa, my uncle, my brother, everyone. I'd get whupped if I did anything wrong, and sometimes if they was drunk, I'd get whupped just because they felt like it.'

Naomi said, 'Did they do anything besides beat you?'

Mary said, 'No, just the usual stuff. Sometimes when they got to needin' a woman, they'd make me help them out. It was only right since I was the only woman around after my mama died. Uncle Zeke used to tell us all about what it was that men and women was put on earth for. He could read and write pretty well. I learned how to read and write, too, but they'd beat me if they caught me messing with the family Bible. They didn't want me messing it up or nothing.'

Naomi smiled, and said, 'Mary, would you be a darling and go get me a glass of lemonade while I talk to Lee for a minute?'

Mary said, 'Yes, Ma'am.' and went into the kitchen to get her a drink.

As soon as Mary left, Naomi called me over to her. She talked into my ear for about thirty seconds. My mood did not improve at all as time progressed and more and more of her message became apparent.

I said, 'In the next few days, take her over to Dani's clinic and have her get a complete physical, including an STD screen. Don't make a big deal of it. We all get physicals. Besides, it wouldn't hurt for you to have another check-up. I'll be back later.'

I walked over to where Rick and the girls were sparring and called him over to me. I explained the situation briefly to Rick, and told him to finish the work-out with the girls and do the training with the guards. I'd be back during the training to act as a tagger to catch any stalkers who weren't paying enough attention to their surroundings.

I grabbed my jacket and slipped on my shoulder holsters. I put on my jacket as I left the yard at a slow jog.

Mary came out with Naomi's lemonade just in time to see me leaving. She said, 'Where is Lee going? He promised to take me around the complex today and introduce me to everyone.'

Naomi said, 'Don't worry, honey, he'll be back. He just had to go run an errand.'

I made it to the car in about three minutes. I took my time driving over to the hospital, making sure that I didn't speed or cause any accidents. When I reached the hospital, I walked up to the main desk and asked where Randy Wilson's room was. The nurse tried to stall me until I pulled out the badge Ralph had given me when he swore me in.

I said, 'You can either tell me where he is or you can go downtown under arrest. Choose. Now.'

The nurse told me the room number, and I headed for the stairs. I could make the third floor faster on foot than by taking the elevator. When I came out of the stairwell, I knew immediately which room Randy was in. There was only one room with a guard sitting in front of it. I marched down the hallway toward him.

The guard was one of the deputies that worked out at the complex with us. He smiled when he saw me, then frowned when he saw the look on my face. He stood up to block my access to the door.

I said, 'Joe, I know that you're only doing your job, but I need to talk to Randy for a minute.'

Joe said, 'The sheriff told me that I wasn't to let anybody in unless he told me to. Especially you, Lee.'

I said, 'Joe, you can let me talk to him, or you can join him in the room as a patient, and I will talk to him while they patch you up. Choose. Now.'

Joe said, 'OK, but please, don't kill him. The sheriff would charge me as an accessory.'

I said, 'Don't worry. I told you the truth. I only intend to talk to the man.'

Joe looked relieved, but uncertain. He began to radio for the sheriff as I walked past him and opened the door.

Randy was laying on the bed. He didn't look good, but I didn't care much how he looked or felt. I walked across the room to stand next to his bed. He watched me as I crossed the room.

I said, 'Do you know who I am, Randy?'

He said, 'Yeah. You're the damned deputy who shot me and killed my uncle and my pa. What do you want?'

I said, 'Your pa made me promise to take care of Mary and raise her like she was my own daughter. Did you know that?'

He laughed, and said, 'He'd do something that stupid. Why would you make a promise like that?'

I said, 'Because I believe that she deserves better than to have to put up with scum like you, Randy.'

Randy said, 'Well, don't worry. I'll come and take her off your hands as soon as I get out of here. Your promise to pa don't mean nothing now that I'm the man of the family. I'll make sure that she don't bother you none.'

I smiled, and Randy flinched at the expression. I said, 'Oh, no, you misunderstood me, Randy. Not only are you going to jail for a long, long time, but I intend to keep the promise that I made to your father.'

Randy said, 'So why are you here harassing me?'

I said, 'Simple. Mary told my wife about some of the things that went on when she lived with you and her other relatives.'

Randy sneered, and said, 'So what? You can't prove anything, and you can't do nothing to change it, neither.'

I said, 'No, Randy, I can't. But I can do something else.'

Randy started to get afraid. He said, 'What?'

I said, 'I can make sure that it never happens again. Do you know how, Randy?'

Randy said, 'No.' His voice was trembling, and I could smell the fear.

I smiled, and said, 'Well, Randy, if you ever come near my daughter, or even threaten to come near my daughter, I will make sure that you don't have any of your equipment. You know what I'm talking about, don't you, Randy?'

His response was to fidget in the bed, and cover his genitals with his hand.

I said, 'And just in case you think I'm too old or weak to do it, Randy, I have something to show you. After I remove your equipment, I intend to use my hand to split your thick skull open and do so much damage that you will be a drooling idiot for the rest of your life. I won't kill you. Do you understand?'

Randy said, 'You can try, hotshot. You may be able to shoot, but you ain't big enough or strong enough to stand up to me and the rest of my clan. When I get out, they'll help me get even with you.'

I said, 'Randy, do you see this nice, concrete wall?'

He said, 'Yeah. So what?'

I spat on one of the cinder blocks about five feet off the floor, and said, 'Picture that block as your head. This is what I will do to you or any of your kin if they ever mess with me or my family.'

I walked over to the wall and drove my fist through the concrete and into the next room. Then I pulled my hand out of the wall and calmly dusted myself off. As I walked back over to the bed, Randy's eyes were wide with fear. I lifted him by the front of his shirt, and saw that he noticed that it was the hand that I had used to punch the wall, and it still worked perfectly.

I said, 'Don't ever make me have to see you, speak to you, or deal with you again. Don't ever mess with me or any member of my family again. Do you understand? If you ever even think of touching my daughter, I will make sure that you will regret that decision, and so will anyone who considers helping you try to do it. Do we understand each other, Randy?'

Randy was so scared that he could barely speak. He said, 'Yes, sir. I ain't never going to mess with you or with any member of your family, sir.'

I said, 'Good choice. Don't go back on our agreement.'

I released him, letting him fall to the bed. As I walked toward the door, I could smell fresh urine and bowel odor. Just before I reached the door, it was flung open and Dr. Lister came rushing in, followed by Ralph and Joe, who both had their guns drawn. They all seemed surprised to see Randy still breathing and without a mark on him. As I pushed my way past them, I heard Joe say, 'Holy shit! Look what he did to the wall.'

Harry screamed, 'Lee, what the hell do you think you're doing? Look what you did to my wall! Who's going to pay for that?'

I stopped in midstride, turned, and said, 'Bill me.'

The look on my face and the tone of my voice stopped Harry dead in his tracks. He didn't even open his mouth. As I turned to leave, Ralph came running up behind me. He was still panting and out of breath when he caught up to me, so I realized that he must have broken a few speed records to get here and run all the way from the parking lot, hoping to get here before I finished Randy off for good. It was nice to know that he cared.

Ralph panted, 'Lee, what the hell was all that about?'

I said, 'I told Joe. I needed to talk to the prisoner. We had some unfinished business.'

Ralph said, 'What unfinished business?'

I said, 'I just learned that there may have been some activities involving Mary that I would not approve of. I informed him that since she was now my daughter, I would take a very dim view of any attempts on his part to have any contact with her in the future.'

As we rounded the second floor landing, Ralph was starting to get some of his breath back. He said, 'I don't think that I want to know what might have been going on, or I might be tempted to go back and do what I thought you were about to do.'

I said, 'Thanks, Ralph. I'll let Mary know how much you care. It'll make her feel safer.'

Ralph said, 'So what did the wall do to you?'

I said, 'It was a demonstration. Even someone as thick headed as Randy and any of his kin understand that their head ain't harder than that wall, right?'

Ralph said, 'Yeah. So?'

I said, 'So, I showed Randy what I intended to do to his head, or any of his kin that ever messed with me or my family. I punched the wall.'

Ralph said, 'With your fist?'

I said, 'Yes.'

Ralph said, 'Holy Mary, mother of God. Which hand did you use, and how badly is it broke? I can get Harry down here right now to patch you up.'

I held up my hand and flexed the fingers. Ralph could see tiny bits of concrete dust impregnated in my knuckles. Except for a few minor abrasions, the skin was unbroken. Ralph blanched, and seemed to go weak in the knees for a second.

I smiled, and said, 'Don't worry, there isn't anything wrong with my hand. Just tell Harry to send me the bill when they get through patching the wall back up. And tell him that they might want to use a better grade of concrete.'

Ralph just smiled, nodded, and stood there as I walked out past the main desk to my truck. The nurse at the desk looked at me, then to the sheriff, then back to me, obviously confused as to what had just gone on.

Harry came up behind Ralph while he was still standing there. Ralph quickly filled him in on our conversation.

Harry said, 'So he used my wall as a punching bag to show that thick headed cretin that he could punch hard enough to split his skull wide open?'

Ralph chuckled, and said, 'That's about the size of it.'

Harry said, 'Do you think it will work? His whole family, except for Mary, of course, is about two bricks shy of a load. Do you think that little stunt will put the fear of God into them?'

Ralph said, 'I don't know about the fear of God, but I'm willing to bet that when Randy's relatives hear about what Zeb done, making Lee responsible for Mary, and about what Lee did to that wall, they sure are going to have the fear of Lee Braun put into them.'

Harry said, 'Yeah, but will it last?'

Ralph said, 'You better hope so, doc. Because I don't think that Lee is in any mood to give any of them more than one reminder.'

Harry said, 'Ralph, do you ever play poker with that man?'

Ralph said, 'Nope. I don't think that he gambles. And I ain't sure that my heart could take the strain of finding out whether or not he ever bluffs.'

Harry patted him on the shoulder, and said, 'Sure, it will, Ralph. Just let me know if you ever find out.'

As he walked away, Ralph heard Harry muttering under his breath, 'Better you than me. At least if he breaks you, I can try to put you back together again.'

Ralph said, 'I heard that, you old quack. You'd probably have to get out an instruction manual, and then you'd probably want to use super glue.'

Harry spun around, and said, 'Who's been giving out my trade secrets? You put that deputy up there to spy on me. That's it, isn't it?'

Ralph laughed, and said, 'Take it easy, you quack. I'll see you at the courthouse at two this afternoon.'

Harry said, 'This afternoon? What's going on this afternoon?'

Ralph said, 'Lee and Naomi are going before the judge to start adoption proceedings on Mary. I thought you might like to be there.'

Harry said, 'Does Zeb's kin know about this yet?'

Ralph said, 'Of course. I told them myself.'

Harry said, 'In that case, I wouldn't miss this event for the world. I'd sell tickets, but I may have more professional business than I can handle without the extras from the audience. See you at two.'

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I was very calm once I left the hospital. When I got home, Mary was waiting at the end of the drive. She was happy to see me, and climbed in as soon as I stopped.

She said, 'Naomi told me that you wouldn't forget about me. You promised to take me around and introduce me to everyone today.'

I said, 'Now, I didn't promise to introduce you to everyone. I'm not that good with names. Naomi would have to introduce you to everyone, because she knows them all. I will introduce you to the people I know, though. Is that OK?'

Her face went from disappointed to overjoyed in a heartbeat. I took that as agreement, and began the drive over to the complex.

When he saw me and my truck, the guard waved me on through, but I stopped to introduce him to Mary. Since I worked out with so many of them so often, I knew the names of all the guards.

We drove up to the main building, then went inside. The guard at the cubicle shut off the alarm as I opened the door, but we stopped for a minute so Mary could meet him. He seemed to like her, since she was so open and outgoing. Our next stop was Dan's office. His secretary didn't think that he was busy, but took a minute or so to chat with Mary before finding out.

Dan was free, so we went in for a minute. Mary was impressed with Dan's office. He seemed to like Mary as well as she took to him. I told him that I was taking Mary around the place to introduce her to the people I knew. Dan agreed that when she went around with Naomi, she would meet everyone, since everyone knew Naomi and liked her.

It was getting toward lunch time, so I took Mary to the cafeteria. She met a lot of people while we were eating. When we finished, I told her that it was time to go meet Rick at the training grounds. As we drove over, I explained to her what the guards were training for, and Mary seemed interested in that, since it meant going into the woods and moving around without disturbing the animals.

When we arrived, Rick and the others were just coming out of the woods. All of the members seemed relieved to see me with Mary, or maybe they were just relieved to see me.

When Mary asked about it, Rick said, 'You're very observant, Mary. Actually, they were relieved to see Lee. They were very apprehensive that he might try to sneak up on them during today's exercises.'

Mary said, 'They're afraid of him?'

Rick laughed, and said, 'No, not in the way you mean. They were afraid that he would sneak up on them and grab them out of nowhere. When they are concentrating on sneaking up on someone else, it can scare the daylights out of them when Lee grabs them and they haven't seen or heard him coming.'

Mary laughed, and said, 'That sounds like fun. Can I play next time?'

I said, 'Sure, honey. I'll take you out with me tomorrow so we can start playing with the guys while they do their exercises.'

Rick said, 'Don't we have to pick up the rest of the ladies?'

I said, 'I thought that's what we were here for. Age before beauty.'

Rick muttered under his breath as we went over to pick up the ladies before we really were late. When we got everybody into the Suburban, we drove into town and up to the courthouse. As we approached, I saw that there was a crowd of people waiting for us. When Mary saw them, she started shrinking back into her seat.

As I got out, one of the largest men in the crowd came over to talk to me. As he came up to me, he looked me over, and said, 'You'd be Lee Braun.'

I said, 'Yes.'

He said, 'I'm Nate Wilson, Zeb's cousin.'

I said, 'Nice to meet you, Mr. Wilson. So, what can I do for you?'

He said, 'We heard that Zeb made you responsible for Mary. Is that true?'

I said, 'Yes. It was his dying wish, so I promised to look after her like she was my own daughter. Is that a problem?'

Nate said, 'Not as far as I can see. I went to visit Randy before we came over here, and I can tell you that he is so scared of you that he won't even think about ever bothering you. If he does, you let me know. We'll take care of the problem. We like to keep our family business private. Don't do nobody no good to go airing their dirty linens in public. Is that OK with you?'

I said, 'That depends. Did Randy tell you what I said to him?'

Nate said, 'Yep. And none of us here has no problem with that at all. We wish you and your family well, Mr. Braun, and we hope that Mary likes her new life. You be fine parents.'

I stuck my hand out, and Nate shook it after only a brief hesitation. He looked relieved when I simply shook his hand normally and thanked him for his concern. We all unloaded, and went into the courthouse.

When we walked in, Harry was muttering under his breath and counting out bills as he paid the sheriff off. He had obviously lost the bet. We all went into the courtroom, and sat down, waiting for the judge to enter. When he did, everyone rose until he told them to be seated.

Judge Jeremiah Jackson called the room to order. I looked at Ralph, and he smiled at me. The family resemblance was undeniable.

The judge said, 'Well, I see from the fact that there are no Wilsons present in court, and there has been no brawl in the streets, as is evident by Doc Lister's presence, that there is no objection to the reason we are all here today. Will Mr. Lee Braun please stand?'

I stood and the judge looked me over carefully. He said, 'You may not realize it yet, Mr. Braun, but you are a fairly famous man in these parts. We have had more excitement and violence in the short time that you have resided in this county than we have had in th previous ten years. Tell me, is life always so exciting when you are around, or are we just those who happened to be lucky enough to witness the most exciting period in your life to date?'

I said, 'Well, your honor, I can think of more violent times in my life, but I was in the military then, and since we were in a war zone, it wasn't totally unexpected. But I must admit that it has been somewhat more exciting than I had become accustomed to since I moved to your fair state.'

The judge smiled, and said, 'I'm glad to hear that we aren't the only ones who aren't used to some of the recent occurrences. I'd hate to think that we were so far behind the times that we were unaware that such occurrences had become commonplace in the rest of the nation.'

I said, 'To my knowledge, your honor, only the cities have been plagued by this level of senseless violence so far. And I hope to God that it doesn't spread out from the cities.'

The judge said, 'Yes, I quite agree. Now, back to the business at hand. Where is Naomi Braun?'

Naomi stood up, and the judge looked her over carefully. He said, 'So, Mrs. Braun, it does appear that the local climate agrees with you. You look positively radiant, and your natural beauty is only enhanced by your maternal condition.'

Kristin leaned over to Rick and whispered, 'That means that she's a very pretty pregnant woman.'

Dani giggled, and so did Sara. The judge looked at them, and said, 'If I may be so bold as to ask, what is so funny?'

Kristin said, 'I was merely translating your comment into language that I was sure that my thick headed boyfriend would be able to understand, your honor.'

The judge said, 'Oh, yes, Ralph has already told me all about Rick's handicap.'

Rick glared at Kristin, and she began to giggle. The judge continued, 'I believe that it weighs in at around 110 pounds, dripping wet.' Rick's glare turned into a grin, and Kristin began to sputter as she realized that the judge had just returned the joke that she had served him with.

The judge said, 'Now, where is Miss Mary Wilson?'

Mary stood up. She was about five feet tall, slender, and looked like an elf. Her light brown hair was short, but nicely styled. She was wearing a light summer dress that came down to just past her knees.

The judge said, 'You are fifteen years old, correct?'

Mary said, 'Yes, sir.'

'And when is your birthday, Miss Wilson?'

Mary said, 'It was on June 25th, sir.'

'Do you wish to be adopted by the Brauns, young lady?'

Mary was stunned. She thought that we were coming here just to get legal custody so that the state couldn't take her away from us.

She said, 'Does that mean that I would really be their daughter, sir?'

'It certainly does, young lady. Would you like that?'

Mary said, 'Yes, sir, I would. Very much. They are very nice people, and they have taken very good care of me.'

The judge said, 'Are the two of you willing to adopt this girl and make her your daughter?'

In stereo, Naomi and I said, 'Yes, sir, your honor.'

The judge said, 'Well, if there is nothing else...'

Mary said, 'Your honor, I have a question, if I may?'

The judge said, 'Of course. What would you like to know?'

Mary said, 'If they adopt me, does that mean that my name will be Mary Braun?'

The judge said, 'Certainly, if you wish. Name changes are common practice in such situations. Would you like that?'

Mary said, 'Yes, sir. I'd like that very much.'

The judge said, 'It is the finding of this court, all parties being agreeable to the outcome, that Miss Mary Wilson is hereby officially adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Lee and Naomi Braun, and will hereafter be known as Miss Mary Braun. All parties will return to this court in three months time, on Monday, October 18th. The case will be reviewed and, barring any motions to the contrary by any of the parties involved, the adoption will be officially finalized. Court is dismissed.'

The judge got up, and everyone stood. Instead of leaving, he came around the bench and came over to where we were standing. He said, 'Since this is my courtroom, I claim the perogative of being the first to congratulate each of you, and to wish you all the best.' He shook my hand, gave Naomi a light hug, and then gave Mary a big bear hug.

Ralph walked up, and said, 'Thanks, Uncle Jerry. I was hoping that you could make the thing legal. I know that the hill folk won't be any problem because they accepted Zeb's decision, but the state can be a real bear on some of these cases.'

The judge said, 'Well, they got no business in this case. And I'm glad to see that you have such good friends. Seeing that girl on your arm, maybe they are a better influence than I had initially hoped.'

Sara said, 'Well, sir, I try to be a good influence on him.'

The judge said, 'Miss, please, court is over. Just call me Judge, or Uncle Jerry.'

Sara said, 'Thank you, Uncle Jerry. Please, call me Sara.'

Naomi said, 'We have a barbecue planned to celebrate. Everybody is welcome. Would you like to join us, Judge?'

The judge said, 'Madam, after hearing so much about your fine cooking, I would not turn down such an invitation for anything.'

Sara took the judge by the arm, and said, 'In that case, you can ride out with us. The two of us can talk and get better acquainted while Ralph drives.'

The judge smiled, and said, 'The pleasure would be all mine, Sara. And if this lout ever lets you go, be sure to keep me in mind. There are members of his family who appreciate the finer things in life, such as a beautiful young woman like yourself.'

We left the courtroom as a family. Dani even cornered Doc Lister and got him to ride out with us for the barbecue. He made a lot of noise, but didn't put up much of a fight for someone who was too busy to waste time on such nonsense. Now Dani may have used some hold that I didn't see so that he was actually forced to accompany us and have a good time against his will, but I didn't think that a sweet, young thing like her would do something like that to a fellow doctor.

The barbecue went well into the evening. We had a lamb, a small pig, and some beef roasting over the fire, and many of the people from the complex showed up. Dan and his wife Lucy were the unofficial hosts, since they had started roasting the meat the day before so Mary wouldn't find out about it. They had started the fires over at our place as soon as Mary had left that morning, and had moved the meat over to our place so that everyone would be there when we got back from court.

Everyone ate too much, played games, and generally had a great time. Especially Mary.

Chapter 4

We were getting reports in from the people in the groups that we were in contact with, and they were not looking good. Instead of acknowledging the problem, the government had started letting the press hand out conflicting stories so that the people didn't know what to believe.

Manny, out in Pine Springs, Texas, had sent in coverage of one of the small Texas papers that had done a two page spread on Y2K recently. It did not paint a good picture of what could happen, but the people didn't know what to think of the report since all the major papers were still telling them that the government had everything under control. It caused more confusion and alarm than anything, and almost nobody did anything to prepare after reading it.

There were other things that were making people anxious as well. It had been a month since the net had posted several stories about the lack of Y2K preparedness in Washington, D.C., and how the city had all these wonderful contingency plans drawn up on how to keep things running smoothly JUST IN CASE anything actually did go wrong when Y2K hit.

That was fine, as far as it went, but the articles did gloss over the fact that the almost 100 contingency plans were all still on paper. This or that had been decided, and the details were being worked out on paper, but nothing had really been done physically to get any of these plans into action and do the actual preparations and buy the actual materials and store them so they were ready for dispersal when they were needed.

The details of the plans were less heartening than they should have been. While the preparations might appear to be substantial, in reality they were only a small step in the right direction. They were designed to allay people's fears and restore faith in the government, but the facts showed that, at best, they were merely token gestures. And I had no doubts that the same incompetents who had come up with the plan as a solution in case the emergency actually arose would make sure that they used their response as an election ploy to show how concerned they were for the welfare of the people.

I decided to address the issue at the next meeting, which would be in another few days.

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The meeting for July 26th went fairly well during the first part, when we covered the normal business and scheduled topics. Then Dan asked if anyone had anything else that we needed to go over as a group.

I said, 'I have a few things, Dan. I'm fairly certain that you've seen the plans that Washington, D.C., is making to deal with any problems that arise from Y2K, especially since they were on the web and in several of the larger publications and periodicals.'

Dan said, 'Of course. I was delighted to see someone taking this situation so seriously and actually doing something about it publicly. I realize that it is only a beginning, but at least one city is more prepared than they would have been. I can only hope that other cities will follow suit.'

I said, 'Oh, don't worry, they will, Dan.'

Dan said, 'I don't like the tone of that comment, Lee. You have something up your sleeve, so let's get it over with.'

I said, 'The plan is nothing more than politics as usual. Nothing realistic is being done to make preparations for even short term problems.'

Dan said, 'How can you say that? They doubled their fuel supplies, ordered extra parts and back-up generators, ordered new equipment for the hospitals to replace equipment that is likely to fail, ordered extra medical supplies, and even ordered extra water. Even the water plant has planned to rent emergency generators to make sure that water is flowing even if the electricity is off.'

I said, 'Let's examine the problem, one step at a time. First, they ordered new equipment for the hospitals. Does that solve the problem?'

Dan said, 'Well, it should, once they get them.'

I said, 'And where are they going to get them, Dan?'

Dan said, 'From their normal suppliers, of course.'

'And how many other orders do those suppliers have from the thousands of hospitals across America?'

Dan's face fell, as he realized what I was getting at. He said, 'So, there will be a backlog. How bad?'

I said, 'Dani, how often does a hospital or clinic replace equipment?'

She thought for a minute, then said, 'As seldom as possible. If it works, and there is nothing better, they keep it and use it until it becomes more expensive to keep running than to replace. With some of the equipment that we are talking about for a hospital, they don't normally replace them for years.'

Dan said, 'So, the orders represent at least several years of manufacturing capability.'

I said, 'Yes. Even if they produced to their maximum capacity, and even if they cut some corners on testing of each unit, the manufacturers would not be able to fill all of the orders before the end of the year.'

Dan said, 'So, the people are on their own, right? They have to get their own supplies, which is what our report has been saying all along.'

Rick said, 'Yes, but now they won't be as likely to plan for themselves.'

Dan said, 'Why not?'

I said, 'Because they will listen to the media and see that the government has thought of everything. They have come up with a plan to make sure that Y2K won't happen, and everything will be fixed and working when the deadline arrives. But now, just to be safe, and to make those who were unnecessarily anxious about the effectiveness of the repairs relax, the government has taken all these measures to make sure that even if anything does go wrong, you won't even realize it because they have thought of everything.'

Dan said, 'Only they haven't, right?'

I said, 'Right.'

Dan said, 'How much difference will their repairs and preparations make?'

I said, 'Even allowing for the chance that they get everything that they ordered, it won't make an appreciable difference in the long run. It may put off the problem for a few days, but it may end up causing more problems.'

Dan said, 'Let's see how bad it gets.'

I said, 'John, does anyone in your group know how much fuel an emergency generator uses? A large one, big enough to power a water plant and maintain pressure in the pipes.'

John looked at his team, then said, 'Not exactly, but it uses a lot. And you'd need several to run the whole plant and maintain water pressure.'

'OK, for the sake of argument, we'll come back to that one. We also have to have fuel for emergency medical services, the police, the fire department, and for sanitation and other services. How much would that use?'

John said, 'Figure at least a half a tank of gas for each police cruiser a day, and the same for the EMS units. Sanitation would use a fair amount as well, but probably diesel fuel instead of gasoline. The fire department would use a lot to handle the responses for medical emergencies, and some for fire responses.'

Dan said, 'Why would the fire department respond to medical emergency calls?'

I said, 'Standard procedure. They don't know if they need the fire department or someone to perform a rescue before the victim can be treated, so they don't send an ambulance out without at least one fire unit responding as well.'

Dan said, 'So, how much fuel are we talking about?'

John said, 'Figure at least ten gallons a day for a police cruiser, and the same for the EMS units. Must be at least 100 police cars, and at least 50 ambulances in a city the size of Washington, D.C., so we are talking about 1500 gallons of fuel per day. And you will probably use about as much for the fire department and garbage trucks.'

Dan said, 'So it would take almost 100,000 gallons of fuel to keep them running for a month.'

I said, 'Normally, yes. But if there are problems, you have more calls to investigate, you have more crime, you have more fires, you have more accidents and injuries, and you have more work than normal. So, you use more fuel.'

Dan said, 'OK, we'll say that it represents three weeks. If they doubled their supplies, then they should have six weeks before they run into problems, right?'

I said, 'You are forgetting that the city has set up warming centers, where they will provide power, light, and heat to the citizens who can come to them. That requires generators, and they aren't small if they are going to heat buildings the size of schools to use them as shelters. That will require a lot of fuel.'

Dan said, 'So, we're back to two or three weeks, max, before the shit really hits the fan and everything collapses if they can't make repairs.'

I said, 'That is looking on the bright side. We still haven't addressed the issue of how much food and water they have stored. Meals per day per person. And how long will the water last if the water pressure fails, or is turned off?'

Dan said, 'Why would they turn it off?'

John said, 'To save lives. If they run their own power, and the plant is operating, they can purify water and pump it to the city. But if it's cold, and there isn't heat, pipes in cold buildings will burst, and pressure will drop. Or the computers could malfunction and mistreat the water or mix it with untreated water or sewage. They could also add too much or too little of the chemicals. In either event, the water could be toxic to drink.'

Dan said, 'And without water pressure, the fire department can't fight fires. More injuries will occur as the fires spread, and there will be more ambulance calls. More patients will flood into the already overworked emergency rooms, and the hospitals will have to treat them. Only their equipment either isn't working, isn't reliable, or they don't have enough to handle the case load. And the fires will cause panic and looting, and there will be more injuries, more police activity, and more fuel consumed per day. Am I leaving anything out?'

I said, 'Just the disease that will pick up when the garbage pick-up stops or people drink untreated water. Of course, it will pick up even more when they start coming into more intimate contact with the rats and mice in the city.'

Dan said, 'Why would anyone want to get closer to the rats and mice?'

I said, 'They will start to proliferate as soon as the problems cause the efforts to keep them in check to be reduced. Especially with the sudden influx of food from the garbage sitting around. With more of them, they will start coming around humans more, and at the same time, humans will start coming around them even more as well.'

Dan said, 'For Pete's sake, why would they want to do something like that, Lee?'

I said, 'For food, of course. You have to eat, and if you get hungry enough, even rats will start to look good.'

A few of the more squeamish in the room suddenly left, and from the sounds outside in the hall, at least one of them didn't make it to the restrooms before losing their breakfast.

Kristin said, 'That's disgusting. I've never heard of anything so gross in my life. How could anyone eat a rat?'

Rick said, 'They're quite tasty, actually. Of course, it is easier to burn the fur off than it is to skin the little buggers. Doesn't affect the taste, but the smell does tend to put some people off.'

Kristin looked at him, then blanched when she realized that Rick was totally serious and wasn't just trying to put her on. Dani elbowed him in the ribs and told him to behave or he'd have to do his own cooking for a few weeks.

Dan said, 'Rick, this isn't a very good time for joking, especially when the joke is obviously in such poor taste.'

Rick looked at me for help. I said, 'He is not joking. He is totally serious. You may not like the idea, but if you hadn't made the necessary precautions to stock up on food and become self-sufficient in your food production, you would probably be able to describe how a lot of things tasted by this time next year. Things that you didn't think that you would ever eat under any circumstances. Real hunger and real starvation have a way of removing your social inhibitions and making you do what is necessary for survival.'

Dan said, 'But in a situation like that, we could share our food. We could take it into where the people were starving and distribute it so that everyone got at least some food.'

I said, 'How many troops were you planning on taking with you, and how much armor?'

Dan said, 'What are you talking about, Lee? What would we need troops for when we were distributing food? We wouldn't need that much security from bandits.'

I said, 'Let me describe exactly what would happen. If people knew that you had food in your convoy, especially that much food, and they were starving, they would overwhelm your convoy. Your vehicles would be overturned and destroyed. The people inside would probably be killed in the fighting over scraps. That is IF those with lots of guns didn't waylay your convoy and shoot everyone to take the vehicles and the food.'

'If you managed to escape, someone would probably follow you back to your camp to find out where it was. They would then return with hundreds, or even thousands of others, demanding to be fed. You would have to kill them or feed them. If you only ran them off, they would return with more people and more weapons. That is reality in a land where the people are starving. They fear troops because there is always the chance that they will survive, but not if they piss off the troops and get shot. The other part of reality is, no matter how much you feel for them, you can't feed 100 people a day on rations that will only keep 10 people alive. You either keep the 10 people alive and healthy, or you let everyone slowly starve to death. Now, do you understand my question? Your charitable deeds would only get people killed and start a war. A war in which your only viable option would be to kill to survive.'

Dan said, 'So, it really may come down to a matter of survival?'

I said, 'It could. I hope not, but I'm not too optimistic on that account.'

Dan said, 'Why not?'

I said, 'Aside from the physical factors, and how people are going to react if things don't work and life doesn't continue as normal, there are several other things that are working to push people to the point at which they lose control.'

Danielle said, 'Like what, Lee? You've been hinting about some of this for the last few weeks, but you haven't said much.'

I said, 'Well, there is a growing trend toward senseless, unprovoked violence in this country right now. That indicates that the general level of tensions is increasing. Some of these tensions are due to concern and uncertainty over the future. But Y2K, or at least our concerns about Y2K are not the only things contributing to this.'

Dan said, 'OK, give us some examples.'

I said, 'Some religious leaders are predicting the End Times, and are quoting all sorts of things from the Bible to back their claims. A lot of charlatans are cashing in on the trend. They are saying the same thing that others did back in the year 999. That the new year was the end of the millenium, and that it was the time that Christ would return to earth and the Tribulation would occur.'

Dan said, 'What if they aren't wrong?'

I said, 'Not our problem. I didn't sign on to interpret Bible prophecy. My contract states that I am to do everything we can to do all that is humanly possible to warn people about the technical problems which may be related to Y2K, and the problems which may be associated with reactions to technological failures. We are to do what we can to prepare ourselves to survive, and to provide information which would not only persuade others that it was necessary, but help them to do so to the best of their abilities on the budget they had in the time remaining.'

Dan said, 'OK, I stand corrected. Is that all?'

I said, 'No. There is a comet named Lee that is approaching the earth, and will make a close approach. It was just discovered recently, and with the recent movies like Deep Impact and Armageddon being so popular, it has people a little more concerned than they would have been otherwise. This is only made worse by the fact that the comet's closest approach to earth is projected to occur on September 9th. People who know that there may be problems with computers on that date are taking that as some sort of sign. And others, who say that the effects, if any, will be felt on September 11th, are taking that as a sign. Many of the religious zealots see comets as a sign from God, just like in the Old Testament. They find it even more meaningful when the effects will be felt on Rosh Hoshanah. Hysteria may occur, and will be worse if we are having any other sort of difficulties at the time to fuel their beliefs.'

Dan said, 'And you think that there will be other difficulties for them to focus on and react to, making things even worse, right?'

I said, 'A natural effect of such a close passage would be some effect on weather, and possibly on solar activity. Sunspots would cause electrical problems for days to weeks, and would disrupt satellite communications. The timing may be enough to make more people react than would otherwise.'

Dan said, 'So, is there any more good news for us?'

I said, 'Not unless a war starts in the next six weeks.'

Dan started to laugh, then stopped as he thought over some of the implications of our recent assessments of the situations developing overseas. There were too many ticking time bombs, and all they seemed to have in common was that they hated and distrusted America. Many of them even retained this attitude in front of the diplomats who were handing them the documents sealing the deals in which we provided them with foreign aid.

Dan said, 'Is there a bright side to any of this?'

I said, 'Well, if a war starts, our internal social problems may force us to keep our noses out of it for once.'

Dan said, 'Don't even let the other shoe drop. I don't want to know. This meeting is adjourned. Let's see if we can do something to solve the problems we can affect.'

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By the first of August, six states and numerous cities had informed their citizens that they were not going to make the Y2K deadline. Reactions differed, depending on how the announcement was handled, and how bad the situation was predicted to get based on the services which would be lost or decreased. It also depended on how well organized the contingency plans were, and how long it was projected to be before the problems were corrected.

Indiana had announced that it would have some problems, but that it would use its $2 billion budget surplus to handle any necessary repairs or contingency planning. The citizens were not thrilled with the idea of losing the possible tax breaks, but knew that at least the money was there if they needed to use it. The Indiana Constitution had a clause in it that specifically forbade any debt in operating the state. If the Department of Education ran out of funds before the fiscal year ended, the state either had to come up with funds from another source or terminate operation of the department until funds became available again. The state was never in debt, and departments were very responsibly run or the supervisors were replaced. Voters tended to remember those who had let necessary services be threatened by incompetent management of funds.

New York still hadn't said anything, and it had already been four months since the start of their fiscal year. Rick and Kristin had two bets going simultaneously. One was over whether New York state or New York City would be the first to figure things out and make a public announcement. The other was over whether either one would say anything before the first of the year said it all for them.

The reports from our friends around the country indicated that people were beginning to get really nervous. Spending was down on some items, and up on others. Alcohol sales were booming, a sure indicator of hard times coming. When people were nervous and depressed about money, they always tended to spend more of it on alcohol in their attempts to forget about their problems.

Kristin had pointed out some of the signs of an economic recession to me as we went over the reports and looked at bulletin boards on the internet. She had spent several hours trying to explain the ins and outs of the economics of a recession to Mary. By the end of it, even Kristin was confused.

I spent more time each week communicating with the others in our information network to find out specific details on certain trends and events in their areas. Georgia had been hit by some flooding this year, as had been parts of several states along the Mississippi River. Missouri and Kansas had gotten the worst of it there. Parts of Texas were experiencing a drought again, and a major heat wave was going through parts of the southwest. Phoenix had been running ten degrees higher than normal for over two weeks. Parts of New Mexico were in bad shape as well, and some parts of the state were starting to check into shipping water in to survive.

Several federal agencies were in the news a lot lately. Mostly in articles of their raids on citizens' homes, many of which seemed to have no legal basis or even to make a pretense of having one. Some warrants were sworn out on such patent lies that there were motions in several states to impeach, disbar, and even charge some of the judges involved for criminal violations.

Gang violence, and crime in general was on the upswing, as was drug use. Drug users and drug dealers were becoming increasingly more violent, and the incidence of shootout with the police began to rise dramatically. One result was that there were more police officers being killed and wounded in the line of duty. Another was that one of the cameramen for the TV show 'Cops' was killed in the crossfire. There was a huge uproar in the debate over whether or not to air the footage. The show's ratings had been going through the roof with the increased incidence of unexpected violence being caught on tape. In the end, an edited version was aired.

Talk about the comet, its religious implications, and the religious implications of the end of the millenium began to grow with each passing day. It wasn't even the middle of August, and people were talking like everything would happen in the next few days. I heard coherent, persuasive arguments, and I heard arguments that were only so loosely based on the prophecies of the Bible that they were almost unrecognizable.

The next meeting, on August 2nd, was uneventful. There was nothing new to cover, and, except for some renewed interest in some of our books, everything else was much the same as it had been the week before. At least as far as our project was concerned.

I had received a message that we would have visitors the next weekend, so Rick and I were anxious to see what they had to say. All we could do now was wait, keep working on the project, keep working on the homestead, keep training everyone at the complex in the areas that we were responsible for, keep putting up the food we were harvesting, and take some time off when we could.

We had run several sweeps over the last few weeks, but the observers seemed to have pulled back off the property, except for occasional forays onto the property. We had agreed that they had probably decided to use some remote cameras, and were using relays to receive the data or were coming onto the property for short times to change the film or do adjustments.

Our response was simple. We started training everyone to go squirrel hunting. We figured that they needed something new to do anyway, and if several expensive cameras accidentally stopped a load of buckshot meant for a squirrel, so much the better. At least from the squirrel's point of view.

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By the sixth of August, there had indeed been two distinct technological failures on our property. We had probably missed some cameras, but they would probably be removed to conserve on the budget.

Ralph was out for the weekend, and would stay until Monday morning. He wanted to meet Pete and Roddy, if they were, indeed, the visitors who were coming this time. He showed up Friday afternoon, figuring that there was a possibility that they would show up this evening. He wore black denim instead of his uniform, figuring that they might not want to come in if they saw the sheriff there waiting for them. He was probably right.

We went out walking near the woods around dusk. I was walking with Ralph, Rick, and Mary. I kept her beside me. As we walked, she whispered, 'There's somebody out in the woods. I can't see them, but the animals don't sound right.'

I said, 'I know. They're company. We're expecting them.'

Mary said, 'Well, why don't they come on in if they know that you're expecting them? Ain't they welcome?'

I said, 'If it's who I think it is, they're welcome. But they want to make sure that there isn't anybody else in the woods who might see them visiting with us.'

She said, 'You mean they're looking for revenooers?'

I said, 'Something like that. They'll be in shortly.'

Something moved out of the forest and grabbed Rick, tackling him in a bear hug. Mary screamed, and I grabbed Ralph's hand to keep him from pulling his gun. Rick and Pete were wrestling on the ground. They were making good contact, but all of the blows were controlled. Roddy strolled up beside me, and Mary almost jumped out of her skin when he said, 'Those two never could stay clean. Think dirty, talk dirty, fight dirty. What's this man's army coming to?'

I said, 'Mary, this is Roddy. He's a friend. Roddy, this is my daughter, Mary.'

Roddy bowed to Mary, and she blushed a little. It was hard to tell in the fading light.

Roddy said, 'Miss Mary, I would introduce you to Pete, but he is busy wrasslin with a huge, overgrown, broken down teddy bear who seems to have gotten somewhat soft over the years. It wouldn't be proper to expose a lady to such a ruffian.'

I stepped to one side, moving Mary with me as both Rick and Pete tackled Roddy. When they had him on the ground, they began to yell at him. I covered Mary's ears as comments about 'overgrown teddy bear', 'broken down', 'ruffian', and the dreaded insult of 'soft' were pounded back into the person responsible for uttering those slurs. After about a minute, they were all rolling on the ground laughing after Roddy managed to execute a reversal and escape from the bottom of the pile.

Ralph said, 'Are they always this bad?'

I said, 'I hope not. Somebody has to set a good example for the children.'

Rick and the others looked up from the ground, smiled, and chorused, 'Yes, daddy. We'll be good, daddy.'

I laughed, and said, 'Come on in, you guys. Naomi has supper ready, and you don't want her to throw it out because you made her burn it.'

The guys grabbed Ralph as they sped past and carried him inside with them as they hurried to wash up.

Mary said, 'Why do they act like that, daddy?'

I said, 'Well, they're just having fun because they don't get to see each other often.'

She said, 'I know that. I meant why did they run in the house like that when you mentioned dinner.'

I said, 'Well, your mom is a good cook, right?'

She said, 'Yeah. So?'

I said, 'Pete and Roddy have probably been living on MREs for several days, and they'll have to live on them for several more once they leave here. That, or they have to eat the cooking on the military base they're stationed at. Army cooking.'

Mary thought about it for a minute, and said, 'I've eaten MREs. They're not very good, but they will keep you alive. At least that's what you keep telling me. And Uncle Rick has told me all about Army food. I think I'd rather eat squirrels or rats.'

I was still laughing when we reached the house.

The guys had just finished cleaning up enough to satisfy Naomi when we arrived. We sat down at the huge kitchen table and said grace, then began to eat. Naomi had made cornbread, salad fresh from the garden, baked potatoes, roasted corn on the cob, and hamburgers. After telling the guys which end of the plate had the spicy burgers on it, she got out of the way so they could eat.

As they ate, the guys brought us up to date on everything that had happened to them since we had last seen them. Pete had barely missed being sent to Kosovo as a peacekeeper. That was one fiasco he was not sorry to miss, and he made no bones about it. He said that our presence there was only antagonizing the Russians, and the entire region had no interest or sympathy with America except for money and food, and maybe weapons so they could continue their war. We had already lost more ground troops on the first day than the entire air war had claimed. And that was two too many as far as they were concerned.

Ralph agreed that he couldn't see a point to any of it.

I said, 'There is a point, Ralph. Several of them. Some make sense, while others seem to make no sense unless you look at them from a certain perspective.'

Roddy said, 'This is going to be good.'

Pete nudged him in the ribs, and Roddy said, 'What? I ain't saying nothing. He ain't going to sucker me in again. Not while I'm eating. I want to keep my appetite.'

Ralph said, 'What is he going on about?'

Rick said, 'He said something he shouldn't have last time, and didn't like the response.'

Ralph said, 'What happened? Did Lee hit him?'

Rick said, 'Worse. He answered his question completely.'

Ralph said, 'Ouch! That was dirty.'

Pete said, 'You were about to tell Ralph something, weren't you, Lee?'

I said, 'Kosovo makes sense for several reasons. It is a show of power, to convince the rest of the world that we don't need nuclear weapons to hurt them. Unfortunately, the timing was chosen for political reasons by the president. He has managed to convince Russia that we are dangerous without going nuclear. The main results being the increased military exercises conducted by the Russians the last few months, even though they didn't have the money for those exercises, and the Russian presence in Kosovo.'

Ralph said, 'That's good, right?'

I said, 'Not really. It cost us money, didn't prove anything to us or improve our position, removed the element of surprise in case the Russians did want to start something, and wasted a lot of our stockpiles of certain types of weapons. Now they have to be replaced. That will take a lot of time and money. It also means that a lot of our troops are over there. They are being tied up needlessly, draining not only assets, but resources from our defenses.'

Ralph said, 'Anything else?'

Roddy said, 'Not while I'm eating, man.' He shoved a huge bite of burger into his mouth, covered his ears with his hands, and began to chew slowly with a big smile on his face.

I looked from Roddy to Pete. Pete smiled, and said, 'I'll ride. The wife's been after me to lose a few pounds anyway.'

I said, 'Ralph, do you know where the Balkan peninsula is?'

He said, 'Yeah, across from Italy. Those countries used to be Yugoslavia, right?'

I said, 'Right. And who used to control Yugoslavia?'

Ralph said, 'The Commies. When it went independent, things went to hell when the local groups couldn't get along. Ethnic cleansing. Another term for genocide. Right?'

I said, 'Uh huh. And where is Russia located in relation to Yugoslavia?'

He said, 'Northeast. Probably a couple of hundred miles at most to the Russian border.'

I said, 'And can you see any advantages to having a large concentration of American ground troops, unsupported, and with long supply lines, in a country where one of the warring factions is a traditional ally?'

Ralph said, 'Well, if you wanted to start a war, you could do it, but you'd still take some damage. Right?'

I said, 'Yes, if you started a war. What happens if the world goes to hell in a handbasket because of major technological failures at the end of this year?'

Ralph said, 'They'd be cut off. Eventually, they'd be wiped out if they weren't forced to surrender.'

I said, 'And if they were never attacked, they'd still be cut off, right, Ralph?'

He said, 'Yeah. So?'

I said, 'So, if even our non-nuclear arsenal is more susceptible to technological failures than theirs is, and our arsenal has been depleted of some of our most effective weapons, and many of the advantages that our armor has over theirs have been negated because the computers don't work, what would happen if Russia or another country decided to invade us instead of just going in and fighting it out with all of our troops that we have stationed in Europe to help NATO defend their territory?'

Ralph thought for a minute, then got a sick look on his face. He said, 'Sending our ground troops halfway around the world only makes us more vulnerable if anything happens to change things from normal.'

I said, 'Bingo! Give the man a cigar!'

Ralph said, 'No, thanks. I think that I need some fresh air. I don't feel so good.' As he got up to go out back, Roddy swallowed the mouthful that he had been chewing and stuck his tongue out at Ralph. Ralph flipped him off and went outside.

Mary said, 'Why would they want to invade us, daddy?'

I said, 'Land, especially good farmland, resources, money, power. Lots of things.'

As I reached over and started tickling her, I said, 'And that includes cute little girls.'

She ran from the room, giggling. Pete said, 'She's a cute kid. I hope she can keep that wonderful personality over the next few years.'

I said, 'You and me, both, brother. You and me, both.'

We went to bed early, since Pete and Roddy wouldn't be leaving until Sunday night. We decided to get some rest and go over the rest of the stuff, including the reason for their visit, the next day, when we were all rested.

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Roddy and Pete had a lot to go over on this visit. A lot of troops were really interested in the results of our report, and many of them were reading some of the books we had put out. Some of them, especially the old timers and those with real combat experience, were not looking forward to the problems that we had envisioned. They knew that they had not been properly trained or equipped to do that kind of a job.

Some of the newer recruits were actually looking forward to the chance to see action and take over in the interest of saving the country. They seemed to think that they would end up killing a few bad guys, helping a few old folks, and making out with a few cute, young things and then everything would return to normal. Except that now everybody would treat them with more respect since they were some kind of heroes or something. They had no concept of any of the things that were about to shape their lives. They didn't know the first thing about the soldier syndrome. They had no idea what war was really all about, and no concept of the problems that a civil war would leave even after the fighting was ended. What made the old veterans cringe was the attitude that guerrilla warfare was nothing to worry about since they had been trained to handle that, and had equipment that made that kind of stuff obsolete. They thought that they would just magically locate a concentration of enemy troops and take them out with a smart bomb.

Roddy was almost laughing as Pete told us about this, but it was fairly evident that his laughter was the only way he could keep from crying over the sheer stupidity and ignorance that was representative of the visions that the green troops had of combat. Even the troops that had only had experience as 'peacekeepers' had enough sense to know that they didn't want any part of a civil war in this country. They could picture their wives, mothers, sisters, and girlfriends in the place of the grieving women that they had seen in other countries. They could picture their neighborhoods in shambles, with no utilities, and people living from day to day and having to worry about snipers as they went out to hunt for food, fuel, and water just to survive.

Pete also told us a few things that made us concerned. There was a lot of activity in the military bases, with troops being shifted around. Some troops had been transferred out of combat units for no apparent reason, and they knew that they had not requested a transfer. There were some units where none of the senior noncoms were old timers, and none of the old timers who knew them thought that they were worth having in a firefight. Not that they weren't good, but it was just that they wouldn't trust them to cover their backs if it came down to the line.

After breakfast, we went out into the woods for a while. Pete and Roddy were impressed with the progress that the girls had made. They were all getting better at moving through the woods, and had made real improvements in their self defense skills. Rick told them that they were pretty good shots now, and were doing well in their training on combat pistolcraft.

Pete was especially impressed with Mary's abilities in the woods, and commented on it to me.

I said, 'Yeah, she's good in the woods. She grew up moving through them so that she didn't bother the animals or scare them off. She'd make a great scout or tracker, but I don't think she'll ever be good enough to go into combat.'

Pete said, 'I hope she never has to, but is that her daddy talking or are you really doing her justice in your evaluation of her skills, strengths, and weaknesses?'

I said, 'Both. She can move without being seen or heard, and knows the woods. She can get in and out with no problem. But she is passive. We're making sure that she can defend herself, and she knows how to shoot, and we're working on improving her speed and accuracy with both rifle and pistol. But she loves life and believes in people. Right now, she could defend herself, and even survive in the woods. But she isn't good enough to count on in a firefight.'

Roddy said, 'She isn't a killer.'

I said, 'Not unless she has no choice. In most situations, that is good. But not for a recon team that might have to set up and execute an ambush in order to survive.'

Pete said, 'She may surprise you, Lee.'

I said, 'I hope I never have to get the chance to find out. But she is still growing and learning. Some of our bad habits may rub off on her. In some ways, I hope they don't, but in others, I hope enough rubs off that she has the skills to survive any situation that she is ever forced to face.'

Roddy said, 'Well, daddy, I can tell you one thing for sure, but I ain't so sure that you're going to want to hear it.'

I said, 'What?'

He said, 'Your little girl is growing up fast, and she is going to be a real heart breaker. I think that she may end up breaking a few other things if anyone is stupid enough to ignore her first rebuff.'

Pete said, 'I don't think that will ever be a problem with any of the local boys, Roddy.'

Roddy said, 'Why not? You know how some young bucks are when they got their hormones raging and disconnect their brain from the loop.'

Pete smiled, and said, 'Because even if they aren't thinking with anything except their gonads, there's still going to be that little voice in the back of their mind screaming at them.'

Roddy said, 'And just what do you think that little voice could possibly scream that would douse their raging hormones like a cold shower?'

I said, 'If Mary don't get you, her daddy will.'

Roddy gulped, and said, 'Yep. That should do it. In fact, that should limit her dating for a few years. Like, oh, maybe until she's thirty. Unless she could convince some boy that she really liked him and her daddy had no problems with him dating her.'

Pete said, 'Dream on. These hillbilly boys may not have much schooling, but they ain't stupid enough to believe something like that. Not unless daddy told them that himself.'

Rick said, 'Yeah, right. Like he won't do everything he can to make her learn how to take care of herself and be responsible for her own decisions. But that still won't solve the real problem that Mary's going to face.'

Pete said, 'What's that, O wise and wonderful sage?'

Rick said, 'Why, finding a guy who's good enough to earn daddy's approval before she dies an old maid.'

Roddy laughed and poked me in the ribs. He said, 'He's got you there, Lee.'

Mary came up, and said, 'What are you guys talking about that has you so serious?'

I said, 'Oh, nothing important, honey.'

Rick said, 'We were just discussing what age you should start dating, and how long it would take you to find a boy that your father would approve of.'

Mary said, 'Oh, is that all? That's a long way off. Gee, the harvest ball dance isn't for months, so I've got lots of time to find a date. Mama told me not to worry about not being asked yet, since most boys are afraid to ask a girl out. Especially since they're all afraid of daddy. Daddy, why are they all afraid of you? You wouldn't do anything to hurt anybody unless they tried to hurt you first, right?'

The guys began to laugh.

I said, 'That's right, honey. There's no reason for anybody to worry about me hurting them for no reason.'

She hugged me, turned to Rick, and said, 'See, I told you so.'

The guys started laughing even harder, and Rick was having a hard time staying upright and moving in a straight line. Mary looked at them, shrugged her shoulders, and took off through the woods toward home.

We all followed. Naomi was cooking outdoors today, and you could smell lunch for at least half a mile. Ralph was the last one in, since he was out of shape. Must have been eating too much home cooking lately. I'd have blamed Naomi, but he hadn't been eating at our place that much lately, so Sara must have been spoiling him.

Chapter 5

That afternoon we had Pete and Roddy talk on the internet to some of the people in our communications network. They got a better picture of how things were going in the various parts of the country, and could relay this information firsthand to those ranking noncoms in each region who were trying to find out what was going on. The brass wasn't saying anything, and rumors were even more abundant than normal in the military, and just as reliable as normal. In other words, totally worthless.

Neither of them had heard that much about the comet that would pass near earth in about a month, and were amazed at the reactions that it was causing. The differences between what some people were able to extrapolate from exactly the same data was enough to boggle their minds.

Several groups had made headlines with their warnings that the comet was the last warning sign from God that He was about to fulfill all of the prophecies of the Bible. There had even been a clash between one of these groups and another group who disagreed with their interpretation when they met at a public rally. Others were saying that the time of tribulation was upon us, and were openly claiming that one person or another was the antichrist among us. Various groups claimed that Saddam Hussein, Milosovic, and even Bill Clinton was the antichrist.

One of the groups that supported the latter claim had a web site, with 'proof' to back their claims. Part of their proof was a picture of Bill Clinton as Satan, complete with horns and pitchfork. Unfortunately, their rendition of the picture made him look more like the satyr Pan, with goats' feet and horns. The response was that all of us were laughing uncontrollably for over a minute when Rick said, 'Well, it looks like they got proof, all right, but we already knew that he was a horny old goat.'

Other groups were claiming to have proof that the comet was on a collitsion course with earth, and were predicting everything from the greatest fireworks display in history to tidal waves to nuclear winter and the end of all life on the planet. Some of the fringe religious cults had siezed upon this 'scientific information' to prove their claims that it was a sign from God since any effects on earth would be felt on Rosh Hoshanah, one of the holiest days of the year. Other cults had siezed on these claims to show that the comet would impact the earth on the same day that all the computers would fail because they would interpret the 9/9/99 date code as a 9999 shutdown code. Their interpretation of the significance and what we should do about this varied.

One side effect of the claims that the comet would impact the earth was that some people were so scared that they were actually calling for the government to use nuclear weapons to destroy the comet. Others were actually calling for the government to send up a shuttle like they had in the movie Armageddon and destroy the comet with nukes. One nut even went so far as to try to kidnap Bruce Willis and force him to go save the planet. He was so distraught that he had confused Willis with the character he had played in the movie. There were no takers among the guys on how the insanity plea would run at his trial.

Pete noticed that there was a distinct trend toward increased violence and unrest among all the stories reported by the groups that we were in touch with. He and Roddy were both uneasy at the implications. For the amount of increase in violence, there was almost no increase in the coverage of it by the media, which indicated that they were ignoring it or had not figured out that violence was increasing dramatically. Neither reason boded well, since the reasons for the tension and unrest would not be addressed until the violence was. Of course, the media was well known for the band aid approach to handling social problems, as was the government.

Mary had asked what the band aid approach meant. I told her that it meant that you just covered up the problem with a band aid and hoped that it healed itself or went away before somebody took the band aid off.

Mary said, 'You mean that they don't even check to see what caused the problem?'

Pete said, 'Not really, Mary. They usually don't care what caused the problem as long as a quick solution can fix it. And they consider it fixed as long as they don't have to deal with it or hear about it all the time.'

Mary said, 'That's not very smart. Things could get worse instead of better.'

Rick said, 'The problem is, they usually do, Honey. They usually get worse.'

Mary said, 'Then why don't the people elect someone who will take care of the problem?'

Roddy said, 'They try to, Mary, but it's hard. Politicians always tell you what they think you want to hear, especially when they're trying to get reelected. And if the problem is important enough, both sides tell you that they are going to solve the problem.'

Mary said, 'Why don't things get fixed, then?'

I said, 'Two major reasons, Honey. First, no matter how good the solution is or sounds, the other politicians usually won't vote for it until they've made some changes in it so they can take credit for it, too. Once they get finished, you can't find the workable parts for all the junk they added, and the extra junk usually causes more problems, in addition to making it so that the solution can't work any more. Second, all politicians lie. They make deals and compromises in order to stay in office. They won't bite the bullet and do what is necessary because they don't want to accept responsibility for the damage, even if it is less than the damage caused by ignoring the problem.'

Mary said, 'Then why do people vote for any of them?'

Pete said, 'They think it's better to choose the lesser of two evils. Better to deal with the devil that you know than the devil you don't.'

Mary said, 'Don't they know better than to deal with the devil? My granny always told me that any time you made any deal with the devil, he was the only one to gain from it, because he would screw you over every time.'

Roddy said, 'Mary, if half the people in this country were half as smart as you, we'd probably have a lot less problems.'

Rick laughed, and said, 'If half the people in this country were half as smart as her, we'd probably have a lot less politicians.'

Mary looked somewhat confused, so I guess she didn't understand the joke enough to figure out why all of us thought it was so funny.

Ralph said, 'Seriously, guys, things are getting wierd at times. Even discounting all of the activity that has gone on here in the past few months, for obvious reasons, we are still having more problems even in my county, and we are all the way out in the boonies.'

Roddy joked, 'Don't we know it. You know how many hills we have to hump to get back to civilization?'

Pete said, 'Cut the clowning for a minute, Rowdy. What do you mean, Ralph?'

Ralph said, 'Well, it seems that every month we have more problems than the last one. We normally get more crime during the summer, because the weather is better and there are outsiders around, but not like this. We have had more calls for bar fights and family disturbances so far this year than we did all of last year. And we're not even finished with August yet.'

Rick said, 'Is there anything that stands out as a cause?'

Ralph said, 'Nothing definite. Sometimes someone is worried about something like Comet Lee, or somebody says somebody else is nuts for buying into some theory or other. Other times, they just wanted to fight to blow off steam, and they don't even know what is bothering them.'

Pete said, 'Sounds like short timer syndrome.'

Ralph said, 'What is that? I've never heard of that before.'

Rick said, 'In the military, they call people who are almost finished with their hitch short timers. They are always worried that something is going to go wrong and screw up their release, so they get paranoid about everything. They become perfectionists, and they do whatever they can to cover their ass from everything.'

Ralph said, 'So, how does that apply to the guys getting more violent and tense?'

Rick said, 'It is usually used to refer to someone whose tour of duty in a combat zone is almost over. They get tense, paranoid, and violent. They are so focused on getting out of the war that they make mistakes. And mistakes in a combat zone get people killed. I've seen guys go through their entire tour of duty and never make a mistake once they learned the ropes as a FNG, and then, when they figure out that they're in their last 30 days before they go home, they start to screw up because they're so nervous about not making a mistake that they tense up and screw themselves over.'

Ralph said, 'What happens to them?'

Rick said, 'Some go home when their tour is up. Some get their buddies killed, or they get themselves injured and get shipped home because their tour is almost over and they won't be ready for duty before they get out of the hospital.'

Ralph said, 'Well, that isn't too bad. I guess it coud be worse.'

I said, 'A lot of them went home in body bags. You can find a lot of their names on The Wall.'

Ralph said, 'Oh. Is there any way to cure the problem?'

I said, 'Yeah. Time cures everything. They all went home, one way or another. And if they didn't, it didn't really matter to them any more. Except for the MIAs that the government wrote off. They never got out of hell.'

Rick said, 'Amen.' Roddy and Pete were silent for a minute. Ralph and Mary were somewhat uncertain about what was going on, but knew that it was somehow private, and solemn.

I said, 'Sorry to go so sober on you guys.'

Ralph said, 'What did you mean when you said the government wrote off MIAs and they never got out of hell?'

I said, 'When we pulled out of Vietnam, the government made a deal with North Vietnam for the return of captured POWs. They confirmed that some of the people who had been listed as MIAs were POWs, and that some were actually KIA. They sent bodies back to America, a big production.'

Ralph said, 'Yeah, I remember some of that from when I was younger. I even remember that they sometimes shipped bodies back years after the war was over, after they found them in the jungle or something.'

I said, 'Yeah, that's what they said. But the bodies always came back in threes. And there were reports from POWs that not all of the POWs had been returned. They named some of the others who were still unaccounted for, and all of the names matched those of men who had been listed as MIA, sometimes years after the prisoner had been captured himself. Some of them were returned as KIA, after they had died during torture by the North Vietnamese. But the government didn't want to live up to the bargain that they had made, so they reneged on the deal. In retaliation, the NVA kept the MIAs that they had been holding back as a bargaining chip. They would have lost face, and credibility, if they had let it be known that they had had these men prisoner all along. So they kept them in work camps with some of the ARVN Rangers and other political prisoners that they had and worked them to death.'

Ralph said, 'My God! Life for them must have been hell.'

I said, 'I had heard that there were credible sightings of live Americans over ten years after the war ended. I haven't heard of any more in the last ten years or so. I just hope that they've all died by now. I'd hate to think of good men like that being forced to live through that kind of hell and daily torture for this long. They damn sure deserve better than that, but we learned not to expect better than that from our government.'

Ralph said, 'Shit, I didn't realize it was that bad. How many MIAs were there?'

I said, 'Probably around 1500 or so, but not all of them were alive at the end of the war. I figure that there were only a couple of hundred left alive when the war ended, at most, since most of them were just killed and the bodies were never recovered. It wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been for the fact that many of the missing were draftees. Young kids who didn't know what was going on, why it was going on, and didn't want to be there. But the government pulled them off the street, drafted and inducted them, sent them to basic, and then shipped their asses to Vietnam. If you're going to do that to somebody just so he can fight your dirty little political war, you owe them something. Especially if most of your losses are because the politicians wouldn't let the military run the war so that they could win it.'

Roddy said, 'Damn dirty deal all around. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm glad I missed that one.'

I said, 'Me, too, Roddy. I like you boys, and I wouldn't wish anything like that on anyone I liked. It had its good points or attractions, just like all combat does, but it's a real bitch to know that the whole war was pointless because the politicians never had any intention of letting the military run the war and win it. Big business needed a testing ground for their new and improved weapons, and even some of the generals needed a way to test their new strategies. It did change warfare, but those in the know were aware that unless we were allowed to completely overrun the North and hunt down the commie rebels to the point that their entire command organization was compromised, we could never win. Unless the malcontents were reduced to very small numbers, so that their continued violence was a mere nuisance, they would continue to wage a guerrilla war and would eventually win.'

Ralph said, 'So, exactly why did we go over there and fight, and why did they drag the war out so long, Lee?'

I said, 'For political reasons. The politicians needed to support the pro U.S. puppet government that they installed after the French pulled out.'

Pete said, 'Lee, if you had been in charge, what would you have done to make things different?'

I said, 'Then, not much. I was a kid and didn't know enough to do more than keep my own ass alive.'

Pete said, 'No, if you knew what you know now about warfare and politics, even without knowing what was going to happen there, specifically.'

I said, 'I would have stayed out of there completely. If I couldn't do that, I would have used our troops to defend the south, but allowed them to attack into North Vietnam, Cambodia, or Laos, or wherever the hell the enemy was staging from. And I would have trained the ARVN forces in guerrilla warfare and let them fight it out inside North Vietnam while we handled the NVA. And some of them would have stayed in the south to run counter guerrilla ops. It would have been messy and bloody, and it might not have changed the results. But it would have almost guaranteed one thing.'

Roddy said, 'What's that, Lee?'

I said, 'There wouldn't have been 56,000 plus names on The Wall. I figure that the casualties for the south would have been the same or higher, but it was their country. If they wanted to run it, then they needed to be willing to fight for it. Otherwise, let the north have it and they can live with what they get.'

Ralph said, 'That's a mean attitude.'

I said, 'War is mean, Ralph. But you are willing to go through hell, even knowing that, if you believe in something strongly enough that it makes it worth the price. Freedom is worth it, but only if you pay the price yourself. You know what freedom means, not because you have fought for it yourself, but because you know others who have, and you know what the price was. But if someone just gave it to you, and it didn't cost you anything, you wouldn't place much value on it until it was gone and you realized just how precious and expensive a gift you had been given. Right?'

Ralph said, 'Yeah, I guess so.'

I said, 'But by then, it would have been too late. Now, the only way you have to regain your freedom is to win it back, and it will be harder because that is exactly what they are expecting you to do, and they are going to make it as difficult as possible.'

Ralph said, 'I understand that. It's going to get bad, isn't it?'

Rick said, 'We hope not, but we can't pin everything on hope and a prayer, can we?'

Mary said, 'Why are we worrying so much about stuff that happened way back when you were my age, daddy?'

I said, 'Well, honey, the Constitution gives the government certain rights, and tells it what rights the citizens and the states chose to keep for themselves. The government has recently been reaffirming some of the rights of the states, mostly in an attempt to get them to stick with the federal government and work with them if they have to go to a state of emergency. Do you understand, so far?'

Mary said, 'Uh huh. Stick together or go down one at a time. Divide and conquer, right?'

I said, 'Exactly. Only the government wants to divide and conquer the country by separating the people and the state governments. They have done nothing to stop any of the encroachments upon the rights of the people that were guaranteed by the Constitution, and have even made sure that the states know that the federal government is going to support their efforts to infringe on those rights, even though that is a direct violation of the Constitution.'

Mary said, 'So they are making laws that aren't right, and trying to make everybody live under them?'

I said, 'Right again, honey. Now do you understand why it is so important to us?'

Mary said, 'I'm not sure. I think I do, but it seems complicated.'

I said, 'It can be, and the government and the media do everything that they can to make it seem that way. But it really boils down to a few simple facts. First, the government says that you don't need all of your rights because you can trust them to do what is right and take care of you, so you don't need to be able to take care of yourself. This is a lie, because they have repeatedly demonstrated that even when it is not a choice between looking out for your best interests and taking care of their own interests, they will screw the people over just on the general principle of making sure that things will go easier for them later on.'

'Second, the government has shown that they don't want to obey the Constitution and run the country according to the laws. Yet they expect the people to obey any law that they pass, including those that violate the rights of the people. In fact, they have been slowly trying to reeducate the people so that they no longer know what their rights really are. And they have managed to convince most people that they are given their rights by the government so that there is less objection to the government removing or modifying those rights.'

Mary said, 'Why would they want to do that?'

I said, 'Because they want to rule the people, and control their lives from cradle to grave, and in some cases, even before birth. They know that this is something that the people will object to eventually, and they want to make it easier for them to retain control when the people finally wake up and figure out what is going on. The more the people believe in their own abilities, and the more that they value their own personal freedom and the ability to run their own lives, the more they will fight to keep it. And the better armed they are, the better the chance that they will be able to win. If the war drags out long enough, and the damage is great enough, the government hopes that the people will either surrender or come to some sort of agreement that would let them remain in power or let them go somewhere else and escape punishment for their crimes.'

Mary said, 'Could that really happen?'

I said, 'Probably not, honey. What most of the politicians who really believe in this don't understand is that the longer and more bitter the war becomes, the more the people are going to demand that those responsible be punished. Even if they have to hunt them down like rabid dogs.'

Mary said, 'Is there a chance that the government would win?'

I said, 'It might seem that way for a while, honey, but history has shown that no matter how strong your army is, you can't enslave the people forever. Eventually, they will rise up and kill you, or you will have to keep so many troops on active duty that you will go broke or not have enough forces to defend your own borders. Recent history has shown that you can't win a guerrilla war with conventional forces if the guerrillas are dedicated and have the support of a good portion of the population.'

Mary said, 'Shit, things are going to get really bad before they get better, then.'

Roddy said, 'Why in the world would you say something like that, Mary?'

Mary said, 'Because my granny used to tell me that there wasn't never no politician that had a lick of sense, who could tell the truth during an election year, or who could even recognize the truth after he's been telling lies so long that he starts to believe them hisself. She also said that power was a powerful drug, and politicians were addicts. Once they got a taste, they were hooked, and they needed more and more until they didn't care about anything else. They'd deal with the devil himself, and once they were corrupted, there was no going back.'

Pete said, 'Your granny was one smart lady. Did she tell you anything else that you thought was really important wisdom?'

Mary said, 'Yes. She said you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, so I learned to like me for myself.'

Roddy said, 'That's good.'

Mary said, 'And she said that you could always turn a virgin into a whore, but it never worked the other way round.'

Roddy blushed as she said it, and Mary quickly followed suit, since she had spoken before she thought about the fact that she was the only woman in the room and was talking to a bunch of men. We all laughed, but made sure that we were laughing with her instead of at her, and she relaxed after a few minutes.

Most of the rest of the discussion was a review of things that we already knew or had already covered, but we went over them anyway to make sure that the situation hadn't made any changes that we hadn't noticed yet.

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Sara stopped by later that aftenoon and decided to stay for dinner. She worked out with the other ladies for a while, and then they decided that we would have to cook dinner this evening. Rick quickly built a fire in the firepit, while I had Mary help me get the burgers, steaks, potatoes, carrots, onions, and corn on the cob ready. When the ashes were hot, we buried the vegetables, wrapped in aluminum foil, and put the meat on the rack to cook. While it was cooking, Mary returned to the kitchen to slice up some pickles, onions, and tomatoes to go on the burgers.

Ralph went into the house and brought out a cooler full of cold drinks, including some beers. We talked and relaxed while the meal was cooking. The ladies decided that they wanted some salad, so they went into the kitchen to make it. We arranged the steaks and burgers so that they would get done about the same time. Nobody wanted theirs burnt, so it didn't take long to cook them. Most of the meat was medium when it was pulled, with a few medium rare and some others medium well.

As soon as we retrieved the veggies from the coals, everyone grabbed their plate and sat down. After saying a quick grace, we began to eat. Sara was enjoying her burger, and asked how we got the meat to have such a good flavor, and how we managed to get meat with so little fat in it. Mary said that lamb always tasted like that.

Sara said, 'This is lamb?'

Dani said, 'Yep. We bought a bunch to stock the freezers. Lamb, goat, some beef. We needed to have some meat on hand until we were ready to slaughter some of the animals and butcher our own.'

Roddy said, 'What kind of meat are the steaks?'

Rick said, 'Goat. Gotta love it.'

Pete said, 'Yeah, the flavor is different, but it sure don't take much getting used to. Kind of spoils you on beef, if you know what I mean.'

Sara said, 'Yeah. This is great. Why don't they raise more sheep and get the price of lamb down so people can afford to use it more often?'

Naomi said, 'Cattle make more profit. Of course, they don't realize that they can raise sheep and goats on land that is too poor to graze cattle on properly. You can raise six sheep or goats on the land that would support one cow, but on poor land, they will do OK if you thin them out some so you don't overgraze, and still thrive where the cattle don't do well.'

Kristin said, 'The difference in the taste is worth it as far as I'm concerned. Lamb makes the best spaghetti sauce that you ever tasted.'

Roddy said, 'Are there any real benefits to passing on the cow, other than the savings?'

Dani said, 'Yeah. They don't pump sheep and goats as full of hormones and other drugs as they do the commercial beef. It's a lot healthier for you.'

Pete said, 'Well, we won't get our choice when it comes to MREs, and I'm sure that the army has scientists working night and day developing a way to use sheep and goat in MREs.'

Roddy said, 'You really think so, man? That would be cool. This stuff tastes great.'

Pete said, 'Yeah, but you know what is is that they're working on, don't you?'

Roddy and Rick both said, 'What?'

Pete said, 'A way to use them in MREs so that they will taste just as bad as the ones we have now. Can't have the troops eating something that really tastes good, or they'll get confused. They might not think that it is army issue, and they'd have to throw it away for fear that someone had tampered with their rations.'

That got a good laugh all around. Then Ralph said, 'I've eaten some of the MREs that Lee has, and they aren't so bad. Why is that?'

I said, 'Some of our MREs are the fancy stuff made for civilian backpackers and hikers. They work on flavor because they want people who have to decide to buy them to come back for repeat business. And some of the MREs are actually stuff that we put together ourselves. We make our own jerky, and mix the flavors and the meats according to what we want.'

Pete said, 'What kind of jerky do you guys make, Lee?'

I said, 'Beef, lamb, goat, turkey, pork. Some we just dry and eat raw. We have to cook the turkey, and cook or cure the pork before making jerky out of it. We get some good flavors, and then we do different kinds of spicing when we dry it to provide more variety.'

Roddy said, 'What kind of flavors?'

I said, 'Hot peppers, including some stuff that will set your mouth on fire.'

Kristin and Dani both started giggling when I said that, then started to tell Sara about Dani's introduction to my favorite omelet.'

I continued talking to the guys, saying, 'We also use teriyaki, barbecue, smoke flavoring, sweet and sour, and various mixtures of herbs and spices. It makes sure that we have some variety when we want it.'

Roddy said, 'Man, you're making me hungry, and I'm eating. By the way, the omelet that they just described to Sara sounds great. Can you get us the recipe?'

Naomi said, 'Sure, and I can make them for you for breakfast tomorrow. How would that be?'

Pete said, 'That would be worth staying for, even if we weren't already planning to.'

By the time everyone finished eating, the fire had burned down, although there were still some glowing coals in the pit. We sat, relaxed, and talked for a while, enjoying the evening. Before we went in, we put the fire out completely. Then we went inside, sat in front of the fireplace, popped some popcorn, and watched a movie on the VCR. The movie that Rick picked was "Night of the Comet", which several of the others had never seen before. They enjoyed the movie. Sara decided to stay over, and bunk with Mary, and Ralph joined Rick on the spare bed in his room. Roddy and Pete bunked up in the other bedroom.

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Everybody slept in, and it must have been almost 6:00 in the morning when I got up. As I made coffee and tea, Mary came into the kitchen to help me get breakfast started. She had started helping me as soon as she had arrived, since Naomi was still experiencing some morning sickness at the time. Now that she was about four and a half months pregnant, she was showing and wasn't so sick in the mornings. She did have a need for more rest, so she usually ended up sleeping until a little past six, and she could be a real grouch in the mornings because she couldn't have her favorite tea because of the caffeine.

That hadn't been a problem lately, since I had found a source of bulk tea that sold decaffeinated Earl Grey tea. I had bought a lot of it, sealed some in bags, and then in tins. The rest, I had nitrogen packed and stored. I had probably stored back enough tea to last her for decades, so I wasn't worried about her running out while we still had good storage. I had also stocked up on some of the herbal teas that she used, and had packed them the same way, after drying some of them again to make sure that they were completely dry. She was stocked up on peppermint tea, blackberry leaf, rose hips, chamomile, lemon balm, strawberry leaf, and an assortment of other herbs and teas.

Naomi didn't know how much I had stocked up, so she was in for a surprise the next time she had to get something out of that section of the storeroom. Mary had almost had a heart attack when she heard how much the order was, and then had helped me pack and hide the stuff as a surprise for Naomi. She had also suggested a few other brands of tea and coffee beans that Rick, Kristin, and Dani seemed to really enjoy, and we had ordered them as well. The manager at the store had been shocked at the size of our order, since it probably was larger than his inventory, even if it did lack some ho his variety. But he had managed to get everything I wanted in within two weeks, so he was happy for the business.

The smell of coffee and tea, and of the omelets cooking, soon had the rest of them in the kitchen. Mary was helping me cook so we could make two omelets at a time. She had already taken the precaution of setting out two pitchers of fresh, cold goat's milk, a large wheel of goat cheese, and a couple of stacks of crackers. Roddy and Pete had assumed that they were just part of the meal, and Sara had started munching on a light appetizer of cheese and crackers.

When the first two omelets were finished, Ralph insisted that Roddy and Pete have the honor of being the first to enjoy them. He already knew what they were like, and wanted to give Sara some warning before she started to eat one.

Roddy and Pete dug in, and both were soon exclaiming that this was the best omelet that they had ever eaten. As they moved from the edges toward the center, their expression changed quickly. They both grabbed for the milk, followed by the cheese and crackers. They had enough experience with hot food to avoid anything that would make the burn worse.

Pete said, 'Rick, you could have warned me.'

Rick laughed, and said, 'What, and miss all the fun of seeing you enjoy your first taste of Lee's specialty?'

Roddy said, 'Man, I thought some of the Tex-Mex chili was hot. This is great, but I'm going to have to get used to the fire.'

Dani said, 'It helps if you alternate bites from the edges and the center.'

Kristin said, 'And it helps if you eat a lot of cheese and crackers with it.'

Roddy said, 'What is that nutty flavor, Lee?'

I said, 'We use some finely chopped peanuts, a little bit of peanut oil to cook it, and the peppers have a nuttly flavor of their own.'

Pete said, 'What kind of peppers are they?'

I said, 'Habanero. They go really well with the flavor of the feta cheese and the portabello mushrooms. And it helps if you use grilled Vidalia onions, so you get that really sweet flavor. The green is from green onions. Today's meat is chopped lamb, which seems to go better than even ham or sausage, although spicy sausage is a pretty good second choice.'

By then, the next pair was ready, and we served Ralph and Sara. Dani told her to eat around the edges, and leave the middle if she didn't want to get really burned. The omelet was huge, so she probably wouldn't eat all of it, anyway. She was worried about wasting food, so Ralph offered to swap her some of his edges for her middle. Ralph had been to breakfast a few times, and had liked the omelets so much that he learned to eat them and got used to the heat. He was actually starting to enjoy the flavor more now that he didn't have to pay so much attention to the heat, although eating an omelet still tended to clear out his sinuses in a hurry.

Sara ate the omelet, and discovered that she really liked the taste, but still had to eat a lot of cheese with it. By the time she finished, Dani and Naomi had already been served, and Rick and Kristin were just starting their omelets. We gave Roddy and Pete another omelet each before making our own. While we were eating, Rick got up and started fixing another for himself. Dani and Kristin, seeing him at the stove, started teasing him about cooking, asking who he was trying to poison, since we all knew that he couldn't cook very well.

Rick smiled, and offered the ladies his omelet. They agreed to split it, just to see if he could actually cook something worth eating. While he was fixing his own omelet, they both complimented him on his cooking, saying that they hadn't believed that he could cook anything well after eating some of his concoctions before Naomi and I had arrived to save them from starvation.

Naomi said, 'Well, one thing Rick can cook well is those omelets. Once he got started on them, he was addicted.'

Kristin said, 'And I always wondered why he never liked my omelets that much. They're good, but this always tastes better. The dirty bum never told me, and was holding out on me. He was eating good when I wasn't around, and never shared his secret.'

Dani said, 'Maybe we can think of some appropriate punishment and get him back for denying us access to this wonderful eating experience for all those years.'

Kristin said, 'Yeah, maybe we can.'

Roddy and Pete both said, 'Dead man walking.'

Rick smiled sweetly at the girls, then smiled at Roddy and Pete. He said, 'No way. I'm perfectly safe. The ladies are just trying to mess with my mind, because they both know that they don't like to cook these things as much as they like to eat them. So, as long as I will cook for them, I am in no danger.'

Kristin looked at Dani, winked, and said, 'You know, he's right. He got us.'

Dani said, 'Yeah, I think you're right. It was senseless to try to mess with Rick's mind.'

Kristin said, 'Yeah, you're right. It was pointless to try to manipulate something that small. Besides, it wouldn't be any fun because even if we could find his mind to mess with it, he wouldn't even realize that we had done anything.'

They both began giggling, and Sara began laughing with them when Rick left the stove to come over and argue with the ladies. Mary rescued his omelet from scorching, then decided that she might as well eat it since it would be cold before Rick and the girls finished their current argument.

Roddy, Ralph, and Pete began laughing when they saw Mary eating Rick's omelet. Rick asked them what was so funny, and they pointed to Mary, who was eating with a large, contented smile on her face.

Rick said, 'Man, you can't leave a bit of food unguarded around here for a minute without someone eating it. It's a conspiracy to starve me to death.'

Everybody laughed at that comment, so Rick went back over to the stove to finish cooking his breakfast. He said, 'Well, at least it was Mary that got it. She needs her nutrition. Need to put some more meat on that girl's bones, before she blows away in the next good wind.'

Naomi smiled, and said sweetly, 'Oh, Ricky-poo, would you be a dear and make one for me, too? It seems that the little one has a taste for more breakfast this morning.'

Everyone laughed, including Rick. He agreed that there were some mitigating circumstances, and allowed as how he should do everything he could to make sure that the kid developed a taste for good cooking, even if it was still baking in the oven. After fixing Naomi's omelet, he finished fixing his own and sat down to eat. Just to annoy him, Kristin and Dani stole occasional tiny bites, but they were already really full from their own breakfast.

Roddy said, 'So, now that breakfast and the floor show are over, what do you guys do for an encore?'

Rick said, 'Ten mile run with full kit and 100 pound pack.'

Roddy looked stricken, and said, 'I'm dying. When's sick call?'

I said, 'We do things like the foreign legion. March or die. Sick call is wherever you fall out on the march. If you have information that may be useful to the enemy, we shoot you.'

Pete snapped to attention, saluted, and said, 'Sir, request permission to smoke a last cigarette before standing in front of the firing squad, sir!'

Naomi said, 'Granted, but the smoking lamp is out in the house, so go outside. Then you can return for your punishment.'

Seeing that she was serious, Pete said, 'May I inquire as to the exact nature of the punishment, ma'am?'

Naomi said, 'K.P., soldier, unless you want to force a little girl and a pregnant woman to clean up after this barbarian horde.'

Roddy said, 'No, ma'am, we wouldn't want that. Besides, I happen to know that I'm not the only person in this room whose wife makes him do the dishes when he's at home.'

Pete said, 'That's a dirty lie, spread by my enemies, to make me look silly in front of my men.'

Roddy said, 'Yeah, that must be why they call you Mr. Palmolive when you salute.'

Pete said, 'I'll have you know that we don't use Palmolive. And besides, I only use the Dawn to cut the grease on my hands after I have been working on my motorcycle and doing maintenance and cleaning on my vast gun collection.'

Rick said, 'Right. Call it in the air.'

As he started to flip a coin, Roddy said, 'What for?'

Rick said, 'To see who washes and who dries, of course.'

Roddy shouted, 'Heads!'

He was smiling for the next fifteen minutes as he dried the dishes and Mr. Palmolive got to wash them. He even started laughing when Mary started telling Pete how to properly clean the cast iron skillets so they wouldn't have to be reseasoned.

We relaxed and talked for a while, and Sara got to ask a lot of questions. We went out to The Quarry late in the morning, and shot some. Roddy and Pete were impressed with the performance that Dani and Kristin had, both with rifles and pistols. They also agreed that while Mary had excellent speed and reflexes, and was a good shot, she didn't go through the combat range very aggressively.

Ralph took the opportunity to walk Sara through the combat range several times. He had been teaching her how to shoot a pistol properly, and had been working on her marksmanship before trying to get her to start shooting under combat situations, so he knew that she was properly trained in gun safety.

After we finished there, we went for a walk around the property so that they could observe the changes that had been made since their last visit. They saw how several different homesteads had been set up, and how the gardens and crops were going. There were several different kinds of berries coming in, although the crop wouldn't be very large this year, and several kinds of fruit trees that were showing some promise for a harvest this year as well. Both noted the proliferation of nut trees on the property, and knew that nuts would be plentiful within a few years as well.

We ate a large late lunch, and rested, knowing that the guys would be leaving tonight. They would eat a light meal before they left so they wouldn't be trying to travel on a full stomach.

As dusk was approaching, I woke the guys up from the nap they had been enjoying in the warm sun. I told them that it would be dark soon, and they needed to prepare a few things before they left. They cleaned up and changed into their cammies, which had been freshly laundered and air dried. Naomi had used Ivory soap, so there would be no soap smell to give them away in the woods.

They ate a light meal with us, then said their good-byes before heading out. As they were getting ready to get their packs, I told them to wait a minute. I handed each of them a pack.

Pete said, 'What's this, Lee?'

I said, 'A care package from Naomi. She packed each of you some MREs that would be better than what you got. About two dozen each, so you can stretch them and make sure that you have plenty left on hand if you need to keep yourself going. There's also a few pounds of mixed jerky in there for each of you. And a small wheel of goat cheese packed in double plastic so it won't smell, and some dried fruit.'

Roddy said, 'That's a lot of food, Lee. We'll be back on base in a few days.'

I said, 'There is enough food in each pack to keep you going for about two to three weeks, depending on your energy expenditure. I wanted to make sure that you had a small survival pack, just in case. Dani probably added some energy bars to make sure you got some vitamins, too. There's also a bottle of iodine crystals in each bag. It goes a lot farther than those pills the military issues. One bottle does about 500 gallons instead of fifty quarts for fifty pills. You're still screwed if you lose it, but you don't have to carry cases of little pills just to get clean drinking water.'

Pete said, 'Thanks, man, we owe you.'

Rick said, 'No, you don't. We always take care of our buddies. Just make sure the two of you keep your noses clean and stay out of trouble. Now is not the time to end up in the brig, if you know what I mean.'

Roddy said, 'You got that straight, man. And Lee, you take care and watch out for your family, especially your daughter.'

I said, 'I will, but why do you say that?'

Roddy said, 'I got girls almost her age, and they are giving me fits with the guys already. You got a real heart-breaker there. Eventually, she'll make some man a very lucky guy, but there's gonna be a lot of broken hearts between now and then.'

I smiled, and said, 'Only if they aren't good enough to meet her standards. Of course, if they try to force her to do anything she doesn't want to, something besides their heart is gonna be broken.'

Pete laughed, and said, 'That's the spirit, daddy. And I don't think that you will have much trouble finding and catching the ones she doesn't handle herself. Especially with the sidekick here riding shotgun.'

Rick said, 'Hey, I resemble that remark.'

We all laughed, and said our good-byes. Then Roddy and Pete put on their packs and started off into the woods. They had a ways to go, and the first few miles would be the worst, since they had to avoid being detected by the people who were still watching us and checking up on us when they could.

They had both found it amusing to think that the watchers were having troubles of their own, since Ralph had issued APBs and warrants on the guys who were out on bail when they failed to make their trial date. The county was up $300,000 in forfeited bail money, and the men would be arrested on sight in this county. Even the Park Rangers in the Forest Service stationed in this area had been given photos of the men, so they weren't even safe on national park property.

We went back inside, and spent some time with Ralph and Sara before they had to leave. Sara had to get to work early the next morning, and Ralph had to check up on some things at his office before getting some sleep. Weekends were always his busiest time, and things had only gotten busier for him since the violence had started to increase this year.

We went to bed early, knowing that we would have a lot to do tomorrow. It would be time to start slaughtering some of the animals soon, and we were also going to have to start harvesting our crops in another month or so. We had things to plan out for that, as well as working on the project and keeping up with our information contacts. There were a few of them that I particularly wanted to talk to, since they seemed to have been targeted for more harassment than the other groups. I needed to find out if we could figure out why they had been given such emphasis. Was it due to chance, the fact that they were more visible in their efforts, the possibility that they were having more success in their efforts, or was there something else involved that made their activities more dangerous to maintaining the status quo? Rick and I intended to do what we could to find out as soon as possible.

Chapter 6

The meeting on August 9th had nothing scheduled, so Rick and I told Dan that we would be working on something else, and would let him know if we found anything interesting out. We went into one of the computer rooms and started getting in touch with all of the groups that we could. As we talked to each group, we kept track of all the information that we could gather on how much harassment they were receiving, exactly what had happened, when and where it had occurred, and which people were being harassed. We also got the most detailed descriptions that we could for the people who were doing the harassment.

I faxed some pictures to them, and several of the groups verified that one or more of the men in the pictures had been the people doing the harassment. I had included several shots of some of the guards or employees, and they were not identified. When Rick saw the results, he was grim.

'So, we know who the bad boys are, but we still don't know who they work for, or why they are all over us. Now what do you want to do, Lee?'

I said, 'We need more information from each of these groups. We need to know if there is anything special in the area they are in, if they are posting information somewhere else that has drawn attention to them, or if they have been infiltrated by informers, and have been targeted because they know too much and are making the information public.'

Rick said, 'That will take time, and you know that the harassment will only get worse the longer we take, especially since they will speed up things when they know that we are doing something to try to stop them.'

I smiled, and said, 'They may want to, and they may try, but there is something that they are not counting on us doing.'

Rick said, 'What?'

I said, 'Ralph is about to make sure that all the local authorities, and the state authorities in several areas, are aware that they have violent, fugitives in their areas, and that they are wanted for trial on several felonies, including assaut with a deadly weapon on a police officer in the performance of his duty. Let's see how they like trying the "I'm a fed" routine with cops who think that they're armed and dangerous, and that they are wanted for impersonating a federal agent.'

Rick smiled, and called Ralph, asking him to come out when he got a chance. When Ralph got there, and we told him our plan, he started grinning. When I finished, he was laughing. Since we had all the necessary equipment and information right there, he used the computer to contact all of the agencies we needed and distribute the information. There were at least three people who were about to be in for a rude surprise when they found out that they no longer enjoyed complete anonymity and protection from the law.

When Ralph finished, we all went to Dan's office and informed him of our findings and what we had done to take action so far. Dan was amused at the thought of how things would change for the three men in question. He was more amused when he found out that we had also sent the information to all of the groups that we were in contact with, and that their members would be actively looking for these guys, and would inform the local police and us as soon as they were sighted. Within a week, there wouldn't be a gun show in the country that any of the three of them could attend without fear of being arrested or at least harassed by the local cops.

I warned Dan that things might get worse for a while now, since they would be worried that we knew something that we really didn't. At least, not yet. But I had no doubts that someone in the complex would be able to piece the information together and figure out what it was that was making our watchers so nervous about our project. That was what these people did for a living, and they were very good at their jobs. Dan put out a memo to everyone on the staff, with the relevant information, and asked them to work on the problem in their spare time.

Before Ralph left, he went over to talk with Sara, and ended up taking her to lunch. It had been a busy morning, and it looked like it might have been a productive one as well.

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A few days later, we got our first indication that things were really starting to deteriorate. The stock market had been fluctuating between 10,000 and 11,500 for the past few months. Suddenly, it had plunged, and had dropped to around 8,000 points in a matter of a few days before the computer safeties had managed to stabilize the market by preventing panic selling. The loss of so much value in the stocks had predictable effects. There was some panic and anxiety, and there was a financial recession. Prices went through the roof on some items, and money became difficult to get, at least in cash, as everyone tried to get as much cash on hand as they could in case things got worse.

The federal government hadn't managed to get all of the extra cash reserves distributed yet, and had instituted a limit of $100 per day in cash withdrawals per person at each bank. Instead of slowing things down, so people wouldn't panic and overreact, it fueled the panic, and people did everything they could to get their cash, including closing out their savings accounts so the bank would have to give them their money.

By our next meeting, on August 16th, Kristin informed us that her group's projections indicated that the recession would not go away soon, since many people had just become paupers as they lost their paper millions, and they couldn't use the bankruptcy laws to evade their debts since they had just been changed by Congress. They wanted the changes to be in effect before they broke for the election campaigns, since many of those supporting the new laws were using the passage to garner huge contributions from banks and credit card companies in return for their assistance in making sure that their profits got even larger.

Dan said, 'How bad could things get, Kristin?'

She said, 'We don't know, yet. Things are still somewhat shaky, although they seem to have stabilized for the time being. If things don't get too much worse, we should be OK for the next few months, but unemployment will increase as factories start to lay off because of decreased demand, and as service industries also lay people off because nobody has the money to eat out as often. Things like that.'

Dan said, 'What about other areas?'

John said, 'The utilities will keep going. People may use less electric, and may call long distance less, but they won't refuse to go without, so business will continue.'

Steve said, 'And communications will actually pick up some, since there will be more people listening to the radio and TV instead of doing other activities that cost more. And sponsors may actually have to pay more for air time.'

Dan said, 'Why, if sales are down?'

Steve said, 'Because they will be competing for the consumers. Those who can still get consumers to buy with what money they have, will stay in business. Some companies will downsize, while others will fold or move to overseas markets if they think they can compete better there. But that will be a short term fix.'

Dan said, 'Why?'

Kristin said, 'Because, when our economy goes into recession, much of the world economy will follow. In some countries, it will even be worse than it will be here, since they have less of a buffer than we do. And by the end of the year, things will probably recover somewhat, but then we will have a global depression if things really get bad as far as technology is concerned.'

Dan said, 'What will spur the recovery?'

Kristin said, 'People and businesses will make adjustments with time, and new growth will start to occur. Also, the business tycoons will try to improve the economy for their own, personal reasons.'

Dan said, 'I'm afraid to ask, but I have to. What reasons?'

Kristin said, 'Well, it is the normal response, and if they didn't make it, then everyone would wonder why. It is how they jockey for market shares, and they always try to improve their profits. They have to do it or all of the financial reporters will go on the air asking why they are responding differently than this crisis.'

Dan said, 'OK, but you said that they had more than one reason. What are some of the others?'

Kristin said, 'If they don't drive the market back up, and improve the economy, they won't be able to make as big a killing when they crash the stock market at the end of the year. They are greedy enough to want to maximize their profits, even if they know that by doing so, they will cause even more financial problems due to the severity and suddenness of the change in the economy.'

Dan said, 'So, the economy is screwing us over right now, and before the end of the year, it will get so bad that these will look like the good times.'

Kristin said, 'That's about the size of it.'

Dan said, 'How is this going to affect the local economy?'

Kristin said, 'It won't bother us much. We are self sufficient enough now to ignore the problems. A few people might have to give up some luxuries or spend more to keep them, but that will change for the better before things get worse again. Most of the local economy is agricultural, and it won't hurt them much, either. With food prices climbing, many of the farmers can sell produce at roadside stands for more than they could to supermarkets, and keep more of the profits for themselves. People still have to eat.'

Dan said, 'Are there any other good things that might come out of this?'

Rick said, 'Well, people might be more willing to listen to our reports, and a lot of people will listen to everything we have to tell them on how to save money and store their own food, since they will be interested in making sure that they continue to eat well during the times when they won't have so much money and food is getting more expensive. It may actually help us convince more people to do something to prepare.'

Dan said, 'What about the people who were providing survival supplies for Y2K and things like that? What effects will this have on them?'

I said, 'It won't affect their sales. If the customer who ordered the product no longer has the money, they can sell the product at a new, inflated price and make more money on it. If one of their customers on the waiting list doesn't want to pay more to get his order sooner than expected, someone else will. The major problem with this is that it makes it harder for those who don't have a lot of money to make the preparations they had planned for their own survival. In fact, some companies might pass over poorer customers on their waiting list and offer the products at a higher price to those who can still afford them.'

Dan said, 'How would they know who could afford the higher prices and who couldn't?'

I said, 'That's simple. Most orders are by credit card, and they can still run a credit check very easily. In fact, some of them probably have the credit ratings of their customers listed on their computers from when they verified the card during placement of the order.'

Rick said, 'So, the rich get richer as well as more prepared to survive, while the poor are left to sink or swim on their own. Not only are they not allowed to help themselves to the best of their abilities, but they are thrown a weight belt instead of a life preserver.'

Kristin said, 'Fairly colorful description, but accurate. It boils down to those with less resources being denied an equal chance at survival because their order was passed over for one that promised a larger profit margin.'

I said, 'The law of the jungle is survival of the fittest. When you deal in the corporate jungle, you have to remember that the wording has been changed to survival of the richest and most influential.'

Dan said, 'So, what will this do to our efforts to help people prepare to survive on their own?'

I said, 'In some ways, it will help us, since people will be more desperated, and more willing to face the fact that things are not all rosy, as the government claims. In other ways, it will hurt our efforts, since the people most willing to listen will be those who have lost the most, and have the least left to try to prepare with, while the cost of preparations has just been escalated.'

Dan said, 'OK, but we still have to try. If anyone has any ideas that might make it easier for people to prepare, make sure that they bring them to me as soon as possible so we can make sure that they are disseminated over the net to those who need to see them.'

Dan looked around the room, then said, 'Is there anything else we need to watch for?'

I said, 'Yes. The oil companies. Not only will they be raising their prices for the holidays coming up, but we have noticed that they have been raising their prices drastically overnight every time something happens that could possibly be used as an excuse, even when it had no real way of affecting their supplies.'

Dan said, 'Can you give me an example?'

I said, 'During the air war in Kosovo, they kept raising their prices, even though there was no threat of a real war, and no interruption of their supplies. There was also no increase in the prices they paid to justify the price increase. They simply raised prices any time the press mentioned any type of war or conflict, including the increasing tensions between North and South Korea, and the tensions between China and Taiwan. It was a knee jerk reflex action that the public has been trained to expect and to overlook, allowing the oil magnates to make extra millions in profits whenever they can get the press to play up the constant tensions around the world.'

Dan said, 'Why would anyone want to do something like that?'

I said, 'Besides the motive of profits, there is one other factor to consider. Under the current conditions, this limits the ability of those who aren't rich to travel, even in case of an emergency. One way to control the masses is to restrict their movement. If they are confined to the cities, then they have to do what you want them to if they want you to continue to provide them with the food and water that they need to survive.'

Dan said, 'Do we need to warn the people about this possibility as well?'

I said, 'It wouldn't hurt. With some time to plan, prepare, and accumulate the necessary resources, it might allow people to survive who might otherwise be trapped in the cities with nowhere to run to and no way to get there if they do have a destination in mind.'

Dan said, 'OK, make sure that all of the groups in the network are aware of this as soon as possible. Things may take time to get worse in some areas, and may get better in others soon enough for it to make a difference in the ability of the people in that region to make the necessary preparations.'

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When we went into the next meeting, on August 23rd, things had not improved much in any region of the country. In fact, if anything, they were getting worse. Rick had the dubious honor of opening the meeting, and his report didn't make anybody feel any better.

Rick said, 'Since our last meeting, sales of our books have increased fairly well, as have downloads from the sites where they are posted on the net. We are actually making more money now than we did before the recession hit, although returns from the net for shareware fees are down, as we expected. People aren't paying the shareware fees because they don't have to, and many of them are just plain broke and don't have the money.'

Dan said, 'So, how are they downloading the material and printing it off if they are broke?'

Rick said, 'They still have time left on this month's internet service, and won't get an electric bill for this month until the end of the month. They're living on credit or borrowed time. Some of them are going to the public library and downloading the material, especially in areas where you can do that and even print the materials off for free.'

Dan said, 'I didn't know that you could do that. What else is going on?'

Rick said, 'According to everything we can correlate, there has been a huge increase in crime in the last week to ten days. The media is saying nothing about it, but all of our groups are reporting more burglaries, armed robberies, muggings, and violent crimes than is normal. In fact, some stories get mentioned in the news as a promo, but are never aired.'

Dan said, 'That happens all the time. Some story looks promising, but is pulled because they have a more important story.'

Rick said, 'In some cases, yes. In the case I just mentioned, the top local story that night was a dog getting injured at a dogfight that occurred at a local dog show. It replaced a story about two men with shotguns performing an armed robbery at a local bank.'

Dan said, 'THAT is extreme, and definitely qualifies as some sort of censorship. How did they explain it to the people?'

Rick said, 'They didn't. The station ignored all calls about the story. One persistent caller from one of our groups was finally told that the story hadn't actually occurred. When he informed them that he had videotaped the news break, they admitted that it had run accidentally, and the segment he had taped was a promo for a new show they were thinking about airing.'

Dan said, 'How gullible do they think people are?'

I said, 'They know that people are stupid enough to elect the same corrupt politicians year after year and trust them to run the country and handle trillions of dollars. Why should they believe that you won't believe any line of shit that they try to feed you if you will believe election year lies from any politician that you hear?'

Dan blushed, then said, 'OK, Lee, I get your point. But let's not go insulting people who aren't here to defend themselves.'

I said, 'If that was all it was, I'd wait. But if you want them to be able to defend themselves, then you've got a long wait. When it comes to dealing with reality instead of the political and social dream world that they've drawn around themselves, politicians are so ill equipped to defend themselves that it would be like a rocket scientist taking advantage of a toddler. They can't reason very well, and don't know how to extrapolate to avoid events rather than reacting to them. In the vernacular of those who are more prone to violence, they brought a knife to a gunfight. It may not be fair, but no fight is. Not in the real world, where survival counts. If you let them dictate the ground rules and set up the situation, you will be screwed every time, because they will claim every advantage that you will allow them to, and then use it against you.'

Dan said, 'OK. Your point is taken, and I accept your argument as valid.'

Rick said, 'Crime and violence have risen almost to the point of being out of control in some areas. Ralph has informed us that we haven't seen much increase locally, at least not over the continuous rise that had already been going on this year, but that he expects that to change soon as more people come into the area, drifting through.'

Steve said, 'Why would more people start coming into the area if times are hard? I know that the tourist industry is one of the hardest hit, because people cancel expensive vacations when times are hard.'

Rick said, 'They are getting out of the cities to escape the violence. Those who still have money are taking advantage of reduced rates at campgrounds to not only leave the city, but to do it cheaper than they could before.'

Steve said, 'But if they have money, they won't be causing any problems.'

Rick said, 'No, but those who prey on these types of people will follow after them, like a school of sharks following a bleeding, wounded fish. They will not stand out because there are lots of strangers around. They don't need money, because they intend to steal it, and in some cases, to kill the owners and take everything. They are harder to catch if they drift around, and they can leave one camper and take another if they think that the cops are on to them. They pay cash, and try to leave no paper trail behind for anyone to follow. And sometimes, they also like to take advantage of a situation in which a local person looks like an easy target.'

Dan said, 'Does Ralph know all of this yet?'

Rick said, 'Less than five minutes after we confirmed the reports.'

John said, 'So, how dangerous could it get around here?'

Rick said, 'On the compound, or the surrounding homesteads, it should be relatively safe. Even if the woods around our property. Between the armed patrols and the guys moving through the woods doing armed training exercises, any hikers who happen to have criminal intentions will soon figure that there are safer places to try to do something that we might decide to kill them for before the sheriff showed up.'

Steve said, 'What about off of the compound and surrounding property?'

Rick said, 'Ralph has said that it is safe enough for locals now, but he would recommend that you not let women or children travel alone, especially on the back roads or at night. He also suggests that everyone might want to make sure that they have a gun handy if they are off the property. It may not be necessary, but he wouldn't want to have any local people injured simply because they didn't have the means to defend themselves from an armed attacker.'

John said, 'What about gun permits? You can get into a lot of trouble for carrying a concealed weapon without one.'

I said, 'The Judge issued a waiver for county residents. Any resident who has a clean criminal record, or at least nothing that would prevent him from legally buying and owning a gun, can carry a weapon, openly or concealed, without a permit until further notice. The county commissioners signed off on the waiver. That is now law for this county until they work out some method of clearing all county residents who wish to apply for a permit. For those with no money, the $5 permit fee will be waived.'

Steve said, 'That covers the county residents. What about those who still work here, but who live in another county?'

I said, 'They have been given waivers as well, as long as they are inside this county. If they are concerned with the potential problems in other counties, the sheriff can issue them a permit today, providing that he has access to the security clearances and background check material relevant to criminal activity to allow him to do an instant verification of you eligibility for the permit.'

Dan said, 'I can arrange that for anyone who wants to authorize it. Now, does anyone else have anything to go over?'

I said, 'Yes. There has been a lot of attention to the weather over the last month or so, and to solar activity.'

Dan said, 'Regarding?'

I said, 'Regarding the fact that there is still considerable debate over the validity of NASA's projections for comet Lee. In fact, there is considerable debate over their entire theory of comets in general.'

Steve said, 'Why? I thought they were just balls of dust and ice, kind of like snowballs?'

I said, 'That is the official theory that is supported by NASA, but it doesn't seem very likely, for several reasons. Do you remember the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 that crashed into Jupiter several years ago?'

Dan said, 'I do. Some of the footage was spectacular. Why, Lee?'

I said, 'Because that was when the official snowball theory of comets got shot to hell in front of the whole world. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, NASA scientists still support their theory, and use their prominence to keep any dissenting views from being taken seriously.'

Steve said, 'What are you talking about? You aren't one of those nuts who thinks that a comet is going to hit the Earth and wipe out all life, are you?'

I said, 'Eventually, that will happen. It's just a matter of statistics. When a large enough object finally collides with the Earth, it will have enough impact to do the necessary damage to our ecosystems to destroy all life on the planet. Life may develop again, eventually, especially if the object has some kind of DNA or amino acids inside it, as has been detected many times in objects from space.'

Steve said, 'Aren't those just trace contaminants from the earth?'

I said, 'Not when they are novel or totally unknown amino acids.'

Dan said, 'What is the point about the Jupiter impacts, Lee?'

I said, 'Simple. Jupiter is a much larger planet, with a larger gravity well. Its surface lies below seas of liquid methane, and the pressure on the planet is so great that it would crush anything made on Earth.'

Dan said, 'Yes, so?'

I said, 'So, the impact of the comet fragments made enough of a disruption to the atmosphere of Jupiter that their effects were visible to telescopes on earth. Balls of dust and ice, even at that speed, wouldn't have the mass and energy to cause that kind of change in the planet's atmospheric conditions.'

Steve said, 'So, it was solid. What's the point?'

I said, 'The point is, when Hale-Bopp passed very close to Earth a few years ago, did you see it?'

Dan said, 'Everybody on the planet who looked up could see it. It was big enough, and bright enough to see even with the lights of some cities. Why?'

I said, 'Because that big, bright tail that could be clearly seen was supposed to be dust and ice crystals off of the comet. How much dust and ice do you think it would take to make a tail like that, considering that the tail was over a million miles long, and it was being continuously shed for the entire time that the comet was going through the solar system?'

John, the engineer, said, 'Even if the tail was highly reflective, that amount of material couldn't really be carried by one comet. Not unless that thing was so big that it would dwarf the Earth. Since the tail would be a cone, it would have had to have been at least 50,000 miles in diameter at the base if it was over a million miles long. That is a huge amount of dust and ice. Even if the gravitic attraction of the comet allowed it to recapture some of the particles, it wouldn't work. The solar wind would make almost all of them boil off with enough energy differential to reach escape velocity.'

Dan said, 'That doesn't sound like the type of engineering I know you deal with. How do you know about this, John?'

John said, 'Astronomy was my hobby, and I liked astrophysics, since I already had the physics background in order to do the structural integrity and mechanics required for my job. Lee is right, but I just never thought about it in those terms before, because nobody really said anything to make me question the official pronouncements on comets.'

Dan said, 'OK, so NASA doesn't know everything that it claims to. Why is this important for us?'

I said, 'Because, according to the official predictions by NASA, comet Lee is going to make a near Earth approach. They had to change their predictions of comet Hale-Bopp 47 times, since it didn't move according to the way that they said it should, and this comet is doing the same. Even though it will pass near the earth, the media has ignored it in general, except to debunk those who make certain claims or question the official announcements given out by NASA.'

Dan said, 'So, is it going to hit us? If so, what can be done to stop it?'

I said, 'It probably won't hit us, but it may pass close, like Hale-Bopp did. If so, there could be some problems with our weather.'

Dan said, 'What sort of problems, and why would you believe that something like that would happen, Lee?'

I said, 'Problems like a really bad hurricane season, or earthquakes due to unusual gravitational forces, or disturbances in the magnetic field, due to the comet itself or to solar flares. There is some evidence that something like this has happened before, but nobody has made the connection, at least not well enough to get the media to cover the story.'

Dan said, 'What are you talking about?'

I said, 'Meteorologists were amazed when Hurricane Andrew got so big and strong, and did so much damage to the southeastern U.S., weren't they?'

Dan said, 'Yes, but it was just the fact that all of the right conditions happened to make the hurricane reach its maximum potential, and it happened that we got the most powerful storm on record. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Why?'

I said, 'When did Hurricane Andrew occur?'

Dan said, 'Sometime in the spring of 1997, wasn't it?'

I said, 'And when did Hale-Bopp make its closest approach to Earth?'

Dan said, 'It wasn't at about the same time, was it?'

Rick said, 'Give the man a cigar.'

Dan said, 'But how can you make the connection, when nobody else has?'

I said, 'If you assume that events are not connected, then you will never connect them. Astronomers and NASA tell us that comets are merely dirty snowballs, so that is how you perceive them. Meteorologists concentrate on the weather. They may not know what causes certain conditions to happen all of the time, but they can tell you that once those conditions occur, a storm will follow. If you simply observe and determine which events happen at the same time, you will automatically be aware that there may be a connection. In that case, you can set out to determine whether the connection exists, or whether it is merely chance. The meteorologists never considered a comet as a possible contributor to local atmospheric conditions because they assumed that there was no way for it to interact with the earth's electromagnetic field.'

Dan said, 'How could you prove some theory like this?'

I said, 'With current data, it would be impossible. You would need to know not only what storms occurred, and when, but how close each comet came to Earth, what its proximity was, what its content or makeup was, what its mass was, and where it was in relation to the Earth. That kind of information is not available.'

Dan said, 'And there is no way to correlate them with the number, severity, or type of storms without having some kind of database like that so you could work out the possible interactions.'

I said, 'Right.'

Dan said, 'So, all we can do is hope that there is not a lot of interaction, or that there is not a lot of destruction associated with hurricanes and earthquakes if there is a lot of interaction with the Earth's magnetic field, right?'

I said, 'Right. Or the moon's, since it has so much influence on our weather.'

Dan said, 'Right. You know Lee, you really know how to make my day. Just when I think that the worst is over, and we only have to work out the problems that we have already identified, you come up with something else that can go wrong, and which requires an even more complex solution, if one is even available.'

I said, 'That's what you hired me for. Find the problems, point them out, and help find the quickest solution that will have the desired results. If there isn't a solution, I'm supposed to help do damage control so you have to deal with the least amount of damage possible.'

Rick said, 'Right, kemosabe.'

Dan said, 'Well, since the jokes have started, I'll assume we can get out of here and see what we can do to get things worked out to the best of our abilities. Why don't you and Tonto here see if you can find anyone who needs a silver bullet to solve their problems?'

We laughed, and Rick and I joined the others as they left the meeting.

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Dan was not a happy camper when he returned to his office. He knew that Lee was good at analysis and at making the connections, but didn't want to believe that the problems were as bad as Lee had made them seem. He knew that there was no way to stop a comet, especially if it was large and made of rock. But he also had contacts with NASA. People owed him favors, and he would find out more even if he had to collect on all of them. There were two people that he had specifically in mind to call first. If they didn't know or couldn't tell him, they could put him in touch with someone who did know and could tell him what he wanted to know. Even a lie would tell him something about the situation, and he had ways of finding out if the men he talked to were lying. That came with the business.

Dan's secretary saw his phone line light up, and knew that Dan was working on something he was interested in again. He always had her place his calls when he was dealing with some bureaucrat or just making the required business calls. When he got interested in a project, he dialed them himself. She was glad to see him so energized by his work. It had been a long time since he had been so motivated to do more than go through the motions and do an acceptable job. She was beginning to think that he had lost the old spark and was just putting in his time until retirement before this latest project came along. It seemed to have revitalized the entire place, and breathed new life into the personnel who had previously been interested only in performing their jobs adequately except for occasional periods of personal interest in some project or other. She appreciated the change, both in attitude and performance, and knew that she would no longer consider finding a better job. Right now, she couldn't have thought of a job she would enjoy more.

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Jim Wilkins was in trouble, and he knew it. He had volunteered to take a load of books to a gun show in Dayton, Ohio for Gabby. The sales had gone well on Friday, but not so good on Saturday. He had heard of a flea market that was run on the same weekend in Washington Court House, and that they had a couple of huge 4-H barns full of guns and stuff every time they were open. He figured that with that many gun enthusiasts, he could do at least as well as he was in Dayton, and the mixture of other people might allow him to make sales to people who wouldn't normally attend a gun show.

He knew that he should have left as soon as he saw guys walking around with a shotgun across their shoulder and a bandolier of shells across their chest. This place was a powderkeg, waiting for a spark to set it off. There were a couple of guys selling the kits to convert AR-15s to full auto, and even the deputies walking around the place seemed afraid of some of the guys who were armed. Not only that, but he thought that he had spotted two of the guys whose photos had been faxed to Sheriff Watkins and Gabby before he had left. He had the photos with him, but had left them in the glove compartment of his car when he came onto the fairgrounds to set up his booth.

Sales went pretty well during the afternoon, and he made small talk with a lot of different people who seemed to be interested in the material that he was selling. Sometimes they bought a book, and sometimes they didn't. Occasionally, someone would be interested, flip through a few of the books, and buy the complete set. He always knew these buyers, simply by the way they looked and the way they carried themselves and acted. They were going to survive, and they weren't afraid to let anybody know that they weren't afraid to do whatever it took to make that happen. If you left them alone, or showed them respect, you were fine. If not, it didn't take much to make some of them leave. You'd blow the sale, or worse, they'd take offense and punch your lights out if you didn't leave them alone. When they were moody, he made sure that he left them alone.

It was getting dark when the place finally closed, the customers were gone, and he had finished packing up his stuff. Jim had made a lot of sales today, and was pleased with the chance he had taken. The fairgrounds were almost deserted, since the old hands either had packed early or had provided for someone to let them pack tomorrow during daylight. As he walked out to his car, his hands loaded down with the two boxes full of books that he hadn't sold, Jim heard someone come up behind him. As he turned to see who it was, he was caught with a glancing blow to the side of his head with some type of stick. He fell to the ground, catching a glimpse of the man who had hit him. It was one of the men on the photos that Gabby had received.

As he lay on the ground, partly stunned, he was repeatedly kicked by two or three men. One of them kept telling him to stop looking for trouble, and to stop trying to interfere with government business. They kept beating him for about another five or ten minutes, taking their time and obviously enjoying themselves. When they were finished, Jim lay unconscious on the grass, with his books scattered around him. Most were torn or damaged.

The next thing that he knew, he was in a hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He had been out for three days, and had been brought in after the deputies had found him beaten and unconscious. He told the police his story, and they tried to treat him as if he was still addled by the concussion he had suffered, but they agreed that his story fit the facts. He had not been robbed, even though he had well over three hundred dollars in cash on him when he was found. When they brought him the pictures from the glove compartment of his car, and he positively identified the man he had seen, they were still leery of his story, but quickly went into action after they confirmed that the man was wanted for the crimes that Jim had described.

The search failed to turn up any new leads, but questioning the deputies and a few regular vendors did corroborate Jim's story about the man being there, and two or three of them remembered seeing one of the other men with him. Now, the word was officially out that someone was going to the gun shows and beating vendors, and that they were also wanted for several counts on bench warrants, and those charges included impersonating a federal agent.

As soon as Gabby and Tom Watkins were notified of the circumstances, they put out an alert to all the stations on the network, giving them the full details of what had happened. They included a description of the damage that had been done to Jim. We lost a few volunteers, but others seemed to get even more determined once they heard what had been done.

I contacted Dan as soon as we had all the details, and Rick and I went over to fill him in on everything. He seemed more outraged than surprised that something like this had happened. He calmed down some when he was reassured that Jim would make a full recovery in another couple of months. He had suffered a concussion, a fractured jaw, a broken arm, several cracked ribs, and a ruptured spleen. There had been some heavy blows to his kidneys, but aside from passing blood in his urine for a few days, they showed no signs of damage.

Dan was somewhat calmed by the response of the police, once they realized that the situation was serious and the story Jim told them was correct. They had initially collected his books as evidence, but when they found out what was going on, various cops had bought the books from Jim, saying that they didn't care about the damage, because it was all cosmetic. They had seen some of what the books had to say, and wanted to read it all.

Jim told them to contact him if they wanted any other copies, or if they wanted to replace any of the books that were so badly damaged that they were hard to read and keep together. They assured him that they would be in touch, once they had had a chance to read the books and figure out what they wanted to cover next.

The attack had failed in almost every respect, because the men carrying it out had made the mistake of thinking that they would hide behind the shield of anonymity granted to all federal agents and cower some poor citizen who had no idea what was going on into submission to whatever they told him to do in the name of the federal government. Jim knew that not only did they not have that authority, but that they probably didn't really represent the federal government. And now, so did a lot of state and local police, and they were eager to get these guys and make an example of them. My thought was that they had just entered a new game where they did not create and modify the rules to suit the situation, and they were now in over their heads, whether they knew it or not. Welcome to the jungle, FNGs.

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Rick managed to get a message with the update to Roddy and Pete, but we couldn't do much to talk to them regularly. Their reply was brief. If we could get a chance, their advice on handling the "agents" was to frag 'em, tag 'em, and bag 'em. When Ralph saw their suggestion, he didn't need a translator. He agreed with the sentiment, and hoped that if the opportunity presented itself, their solution would be a viable option for him without breaking the law. If they resisted arrest, or were threatening any civilians, he intended to do what he could to make it happen. He even started going out to The Quarry with us to make sure that if he had to take a shot with a rifle, his marksmanship would be up to the challenge. I had trained better marksmen, but never one who was more dedicated. I knew that Ralph was thinking about Sara, and how they may have been the ones who tried to kill her once before. He didn't intend for them to get a second chance. The sentiment was entirely understandable.

He asked my opinion once. I thought about it for a minute, and said, 'Ralph, you don't need me to tell you what you know is right or wrong. Killing, even in cold blood, is not necessarily wrong if it is done under the right circumstances or for the right reasons. In my opinion, we are dealing with the equivalent of a pack of rabid dogs. When you go after rabid dogs, you don't take any chances. You don't talk to them, you don't reason with them, and you damned sure don't try to pet them. You just hunt them down, and if they give you any reason at all to feel threatened, you shoot them. It's a matter of survival.'

'They may have a cure for rabies in case one of the dogs bites you, but it isn't a sure thing. It's a long, painful process. It doesn't always work, and the cure may end up killing you all by itself. So, if you are asking me to tell you how to make the decision, it's simple. You are worth more than all of them combined, so your survival, and that of any innocent civilian, must come first.'

'I figure that if you can live with your decision, and you can face God with a clear conscience, it's more than they could ever do, because they don't even have a conscience. If the law can't live with that, then something needs to be done to change the law, because it is wrong.'

Ralph said, 'You know, when you get worked up and talking like that, I'm sure glad that you're on my side, because you are so sure of your convictions that you are positively scary at times, Lee.'

I said, 'If you aren't sure of yourself and your convictions, then you have to take some time and get to know yourself. Because if you don't know yourself, and you don't like you for the person you are, how can someone else? And if you don't know what you stand for, then you must not stand for much. If you don't stand for something, then what is the point in trying to do anything? You've got to pick a direction in life so you know where you're supposed to be going. Otherwise, you're just wasting your time and energy, treading water and surviving while you swim in circles.'

Ralph said, 'I never thought of it that way. I guess I always figured that I just stood for the law, and never thought much more about it.'

I said, 'You might want to give it some thought, Ralph. What do you really stand for? If it's the law, whose law? And if some parts of the law are wrong or not as good as others, do you stand for them too, or just not as much?'

Ralph said, 'I think I'm going to give that a lot of thought over the next few days, Lee. I think I know the answers to most of those questions, but I need to be sure. I need to make sure that I can live with myself when I answer those questions, and if I'd want anyone else to have to live with the answers.'

I said, 'Take your time, Ralph. You'll find the answers you're looking for inside you, and Sara will wait while you find them. I think that she already senses them inside you, and is just waiting for you to find them yourself. She's worth the effort.'

Chapter 7

By the next meeting, on the 30th of August, things had really started to deteriorate in some sections of the country. Mostly in the big cities. More and more people were being laid off or forced into early retirement as part of the economic cutbacks forced by the recession. Many people were working at anything they could find just to get some income to buy food, and almost nobody who was working could afford reliable child care, not even at the reduced rates some people were offering so they could work at home and make some kind of money.

Crimes were up so much that many criminals were not even jailed for petty crimes. If they were caught at all, they were taken down to the station, printed, charged, and released after being given a court date to appear on. The jails were so crowded that they couldn't afford to keep them locked up. Sometimes, they were out on their own recognizance before their rap sheet even came up on the computer. That's how one Michael J. Smith was released from the central precinct in Detroit, Michigan before the police there realized that he was one of the three men on the wanted posters that Ralph had sent out to the various agencies. By the time they realized that they had released a wanted felon, it was too late to get him back. He had disappeared into the city.

Michael, which wasn't his real name, was in Michigan for business. He had enjoyed beating the punk kid who was selling the books at that flea market, but that had merely been a warning to make the targets he was after nervous. He didn't mind the orders he had for him and his two companions to stay out of Tennessee.

His partners wouldn't admit it even to themselves, but they were all scared of the guy down in Tennessee. He looked normal enough, but when he was next to you, you got a sense of something dangerous. And when he had looked at Michael, Michael had seen his eyes in the morning light. They weren't dead, exactly, because there was fire and expression in them. But for a split second, when he had looked at Michael before the sheriff took him away, all Michael could see in those eyes was death. Michael didn't know exactly why, but he sensed that it was no mere threat, but a certainty if he ever crossed this man again in the future.

He had lived this long by trusting his gut instincts, and they were screaming at him that this man was much more dangerous than they had been told. He even wondered if they guy had ever been in the military. He looked and acted like it, but the guys who had hired them for the job had said that there were no files on him. Michael had a hunch that there were, but that they hadn't found them because they had been sealed. In Michael's experience, that could only mean one thing. Trouble. Because records like that were never sealed without a good reason.

Michael stopped thinking about the quiet guy they called Lee. He had business to take care of. Some little slut up in the boonies of Michigan was stirring up trouble, and had been distributing those books that made the people that he worked for so nervous. He didn't know what it was about those books that made them go nuts like that. Just some B.S. by a bunch of eggheads in some think tank about doomsday approaching and everybody getting ready for it. Wasn't like they knew what they were talking about or had both oars in the water. If things were that bad, somebody would have told him already, and he'd be holed up waiting to have some fun when all the cops were too busy to deal with him right away. Hell, there had been lots of people printing books like that since before he was born, and they had all been wrong, too.

Michael took out the picture he had of his target, and thought that it was a waste that he couldn't just grab her and have some fun with her before he killed her. She was cute, and built nice. She looked normal, but the picture had her next to a truck for scale, and he could see that she was about the size of a ten year old girl, but definitely all woman. Slender, but with curves. Couldn't weigh much, so she wouldn't be much trouble subduing. This could be fun, even if he didn't get to spend much time with her before he killed her.

The information on the photo said that she was in the sheriff's department, and was dating the sheriff. He thought that he sheriff should know better than to mess around with his dispatcher, but these hicks were so inbred that you couldn't really blame them for not having much in the way of common sense.

Michael drove up through Michigan, following his map and tiny back roads to find the little town called Trout Lake. By the time he arrived, he was amazed that anyone would willingly live so far from civilization. He was also amazed that someone as cute as his target would stay in a broken down dump like this. He found her address in the local phone book, and drove around until he found the house. When he found it, he drove on past, and out of town. He got out, and walked back the half mile or so through the woods so that he had a clear view of her house.

Michael carried a 9 mm Smith and Wesson in stainless steel and a Tec 9 that had been converted to automatic. The Smith was in a shoulder holster, and the Tec was slung so that it hung over his left hip and could be swung forward and fired in a single motion. It was threaded for a sound suppressor, but he had left that in the trunk of his car because he didn't want it sticking out. Besides, he wasn't that worried about noise this far out in the boonies.

He found a spot about twenty feet from the driveway that allowed him to remain concealed behind some bushes while still keeping the driveway under observation. He braced himself for the wait, keeping his mind on other things to keep the building anticipation from dulling his edge. After about an hour or so, a vehicle pulled into the drive. It was a Jeep with a sheriff's logo on the door. There was one passenger, and her diminutive size made further identification unnecessary.

Michael crept out of the bushes, using the height of the vehicle to hide his approach. As she came past the front of the vehicle, he grabbed her from behind without warning. She began to struggle immediately, and even managed to draw her pistol before he could knock it from her hand. They were still struggling when Michael heard a car screech to a halt and someone shout at him. He pushed her down and spun around, swinging up his Tec and pulling the trigger as he aimed it at the large man coming toward him with a gun. The man went down as several bullets hit him in the chest, and Michael saw blood spray from his right arm as a round hit him there.

Suddenly, Michael was slammed in the left shoulder, and spun around by the impact of the blow. He felt another blow slam into his chest, followed by another, and still another. He looked down to see the woman, his intended target, holding a small five-shot .38 special revolver. As he tried to bring his gun to bear, she fired the last round. The muzzle flash was the last thing that Michael would ever see, as the hollow point slug ripped between his eyes and made a mess of his brain. He was dead before the gun could slip from his lifeless fingers or his body could hit the ground.

Gabby ran over to where Sheriff Tom Watkins was lying in a pool of his own blood. She was frantic, but managed to make sure that she stayed in control and took care of him. He had been hit several times in the chest, but his vest had stopped them, or so it appeared. His right arm had been hit, but it didn't look like the bone had been shattered. She put a pressure bandage on his arm to stop the bleeding, picked up his gun and hers, and stripped the guns from the dead man's body, placing them out of reach, just in case he wasn't completely dead.

She used the radio in Tom's 4X4 to call for help, and the ambulance and another deputy were on the scene in fifteen minutes. Tom was taken to the hospital for treatment, and to assess his chest wounds in case there had been internal damage from the shock of the impacts. None of the rounds had penetrated, but they hadn't missed by much. The EMTs checked her over, said that she was fine, and left her in charge of the crime scene. The coroner showed up, and took the body down for an autopsy. Gabby knew that the dead man was wanted, but had no idea how to identify him, since his photo and prints didn't match anything on the database when they were run.

Bob, the other deputy, told her that he would take care of cleaning things up so she could go to the hospital to check on Tom. Gabby thanked him, then picked up the weapons from the scene and put them in her Jeep. She drove straight to the hospital. She knew that Tom was alright as soon as she arrived. His arm had been bandaged, and the bruised and cracked ribs underneath his Kevlar vest had been taped and bandaged. He was arguing with the doctor about being kept over for observation when she entered the hospital. He won, since the doctor had known him all his life, and couldn't argue with the fact that Tom had had busted ribs before, and knew how they felt and how to live with them.

Tom smiled when he saw Gabby. 'What took you so long?'

She said, 'Well, I had to get coverage for the crime scene, and then I had to drive over here.'

Tom said, 'No, I mean what took you so long to shoot him? That full auto of his took me by surprise.'

Gabby said, 'What took me so long to shoot him? He knocked me down to the ground and I had to get to my back-up gun because he knocked my service pistol out of my hands while we were struggling. Why in the world didn't you just shoot him?'

Tom said, 'Because when he started to spin around, I thought he was going to use you for a shield. Then that Tec 9 was going off and I was getting the stuffings knocked out of my ribs. Before I knew it, my right arm was hit, and I couldn't get off a decent shot. How many times did you hit him?'

Gabby said, 'All five. One in the shoulder spun him around, and three more in the chest. He was still trying to resist, so I used the last one to take him right between the eyes. That turned his lights out real quick.'

Tom said, 'I guess it would. Now I think we know what Lee was talking about when he said that things were starting to get rough. At least we came through this one OK, but I'm worried about next time.'

Gabby said, 'You aren't wanting to pull out, are you, Tom?'

Tom said, 'Hell, no! I'm going to get some better body armor for all of us, and some heavier firepower. They may not be so lightly armed if they come again, and they will definitely not underestimate us again. I intend to make sure that if they mess with us again, they are going to be in for a rude awakening.'

Gabby said, 'Good. I want heavier loads in my back-up revolver, and I want you to get that friend of yours who reloads ammo to make them the heaviest and most nasty rounds that this gun can handle. I don't want it to take five shots to put someone down again, especially if they are standing over me with a damned fully automatic machine pistol.'

Tom said, 'You got it, honey. Now, take me home so I can soak in a hot tub. It'll feel good, even if it won't really make my ribs feel any better tomorrow morning.'

The two of them returned to Gabby's house, where she put him into a tub before making him go to bed and rest. It only took Gabby about five minutes to type in a full report of the incident on her computer and send it to all the groups in the network. Even if the incident received full media coverage, she knew that the report would be the one thing that they would trust for accuracy.

As she sat down afterwards, she thought of the report she had received almost two months ago, when Lee and Rick had taken on some guys who were trying to kidnap and kill his wife and friends. The two of them had killed nine men, and the report, while sketchy, provided enough details to allow her to conclude that the nine men that had died there had been better at their jobs than the one she had wrestled with earlier. The fact that Lee and Rick had killed nine of them without suffering any injuries made her wonder just how good Lee was at this kind of work.

She decided that she didn't need to know, and that not knowing might be better. Especially after having a restless night where she kept seeing the dead man's face as the bullet entered his skull between his eyes and blew the back of his head off, splattering his brains all over the side of her Jeep. She finally managed to sleep, but didn't feel very rested in the morning.

Tom made her breakfast, and they talked over the nightmares. Tom had shot a few people, but never killed anyone. He knew that it was hard on her, but told her that she would adjust in time. She wasn't sure, but wanted to believe him. In the end, she believed, because she had no other choice. But she still couldn't help wondering how Lee managed to sleep at night, because she knew that he had killed the majority of the nine men who had tried to kill his wife, and she had a suspicion that he had killed before. She knew that he was a good man, but she still got the impression that he was no stranger to death. Tom agreed with her assessment.

They went to work, since the force was so small that Tom needed to at least cover the office and town for part of the day. While they were there, Gabby decided to send Lee a message, and ask him how she should handle killing the man.

Lee answered her almost immediately, almost as if he had been waiting for her to talk to him. His answer was brief, but told her what she needed to know. When she showed it to Tom, he said that he was glad that he had never had to learn those lessons in life the hard way.

Years later, Gabby would show the grandchildren that message, printed on a faded, yellowed scrap of paper from an old printer. It read:

Gabby,

I am truly sorry that you had to find out what this feels like, but I am glad to hear that both you and Tom survived. Everyone handles death differently, especially when they are responsible for causing the death of another human being. I won't tell you not to consider him human, for even in time of war, to dehumanize an enemy to make killing him easier also dehumanizes you, and makes you something less than what you could be.

All I can tell you is that, when faced with the choice of killing someone else or being killed, it would be an affront to God if those who fought for good allowed evil to triumph. God understands the necessity of killing, especially when fighting against those who spread evil in the world. While I am sure that it still distresses Him, you should allow Him to judge your actions. That is His job, not yours.

But I can tell you that I, personally, believe that it is better to kill one evil person than it is to allow them to continue to murder and prey upon the innocents who believe in God and wish to harm no other. When you chose to wear your uniform and serve and protect the people of your area, you took the responsibility to kill in their defense if necessary. I hope that the knowledge that you have done the right thing, the necessary thing, allows you to come to grips with the consequences of your actions.

If you must judge yourself in order to live with what has happened, please consider the following question carefully, completely, and honestly. If you had not killed this man, and had managed to survive yourself, would you be able to live with your decision not to kill him in order to protect yourself and others? If your answer is that you would not, in good conscience, have been unable to keep from killing him, then you can face God with a clear conscience. Our prayers go with you in your time of turmoil.

Lee Braun

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Dan was shocked to find out that someone had tried to kill someone simply because they had chosen to help us with the project. He was especially shocked when he found out that they had tried to kill a sheriff and a deputy. He was relieved to hear that both had survived, although not without some cost. The report of the arsenal, ammuniton, and fake IDs recovered when they found the dead man's car absolutely stunned him. The credit cards and cash were also unexpected, at least in the amount. They found over $25,000 in cash, in small bills, in the car, along with at least 50 active credit cards in ten different names. The police would check all of the names and addresses, but they would never be able to determine who Michael J. Smith really was. It was as if he had never been a real person, just a collection of fake identities.

When Dan had heard the details of the entire encounter, he called an emergency meeting of everyone on the premises. He related the events to them, and told them that there was the possibility that some of them could face the same danger, since the man who had been killed had already been caught here once, and was known to be associated with others.

The personnel on the project were already well aware of the unusual activities that had been going on around the complex, and of the fact that some people were trying to stop them from completing their project. They had worked on projects that involved some danger before, so most of them were already aware of more than the possibility of danger. There were, however, two people who were still working on the project who elected to resign and move out to join their families. They hadn't intended to remain at the site, and didn't think the increased risk was worth the price, since they commuted to work and would be easier targets. Dan gave each of them a large bonus, and told them that their job would still be here, waiting for them, next year if things worked out and the place was still functioning.

The rest of the personnel chose to remain. While they were still all in one place at one time, several of them suggested that they needed to discuss the security arrangements and the training that had been going on. Dan tensed up, thinking that someone would object to the required drills on defending the property as a militia unit in case of an emergency, or that someone really objected to the military nature that the security personnel had been adopting.

Dan said that if they wanted, the management could leave so they could discuss anything that they wanted. Jack, one of the guys in accounting, stood up, and said, 'I think that they should stay, since hearing the discussion will provide them with not only our decisions, but our reasons for reaching them. Also, I think that it would facilitate things if some of the team leaders were here to answer questions and provide details so we don't reach a decision based on faulty information.'

There was some brief discussion, and then a vote was taken. It was almost unanimous, so Dan and everybody else remained where they were sitting. It took a few minutes for them to decide how to run the discussion in an orderly fashion and to elect a person to run the meeting. The winner was Ruth, one of the ladies who served as a receptionist from time to time, and worked wherever else she was needed.

Ruth called the meeting to order, and laid out some ground rules. When speaking, each person would stand, tell everyone who they were in case somebody didn't know their name, and then state whatever they had to say, either as a concern or as a rebuttal to another person's remarks. If there were any problems that threatened disorder or violence, she would call security and have the person responsible ejected. Everyone agreed to the rules, and the meeting began.

A tall, slender woman was recognized, and stood up. She said, 'I'm Marge Jenkins, from the secretarial pool. I know that things sound bad, but we all knew when we came to work here that there could be some danger involved due to the nature of some of the projects. If there wasn't any chance of danger, we wouldn't have armed guards at the gate and patrolling the compound all the time. These are not new measures. They've always been here.'

Someone said, 'So, what's your point?'

Marge said, 'My point is, we don't need to panic. We need to take action to make sure that we are prepared in case something like that happens here. One man almost managed to kill two police officers, who are trained to handle that type of situation. If he hadn't been so overconfident, he probably would have killed them both and gotten away. We need to increase security here, and we need to make sure that every adult on the complex is trained in self defense. And I don't know about the rest of you, but I like the emergency training. I want more of it, and I want to make sure that we are ready for anything. I'm in better condition now than I was when I went to college and ran track.'

Marge sat down, and Ruth pointed to someone else. A man stood up, and said, 'I'm Joe, and I work in maintenance. I don't really like all the extra training, but I ain't trying to complain about it. At first, I thought that it was a waste of time, but after things started happening, I decided that it wouldn't hurt to get me some new job skills, because I'd rather have them and not need to use them than find myself needing to use them and not having them. I may not be as good as Lee or some of the security people, but I'm a lot better prepared to help someone else who is attacked by an armed punk than I was at the start of the year.'

Someone said, 'You can say that again.'

Joe continued, 'I came here from one of the big cities. This job was the biggest blessing of my life, because it got me out of the city and to someplace where I felt that it was safe to walk down my own sidewalk at night. I've had time to think, and I left the city because I believed what I was told about having to put up with the danger, and letting the police protect us, and the punks having rights. But now, I realize that Lee was right, when he told us that if we were armed, we could take back our streets and keep the peace ourselves, because armed citizens not only had been proven to shoot better than the police, but had been proven to be better at killing criminals instead of innocent bystanders.'

Someone stood up, and said, 'I'm Lisa Miller, from the steno pool. I don't agree with where your argument is leading. We need police, or we wouldn't have any order. You can't just let people do everything themselves, or we'd have chaos.'

Joe said, 'I'm not saying that we don't need police. I'm saying that they should only be there to handle problems. Not to force the people to stand around defenseless until they get there. If you were being grabbed by a rapist, would you want to be able to shoot him, or wait until after he finished and then call the police on your cell phone if you were still alive?'

Lisa said, 'OK, I see your point, Joe. My sister was raped and killed a few years ago. If she had been carrying a gun, she might be alive today. But she couldn't carry a gun, because she moved to New York City, and they don't allow anyone except the cops and a few rich and influential people to carry guns legally.'

Joe said, 'Why is the law set up like that?'

Lisa said, 'To protect people. If everyone was armed, then there would be violence and bloodshed in the streets all the time. Nobody would be safe.'

Joe said, 'You just described what New York is like, except there is one group of people who are relatively safe. The punks who carry guns illegally and commit all of the violence and create all of the bloodshed.'

Lisa said, 'You're right. But would things change if the people were armed and allowed to defend themselves?'

Joe said, 'Maybe there would still be violence and bloodshed. But maybe the people who were getting killed would be the punks and dregs of society instead of the people who are working and trying to survive.'

Joe and Lisa both sat down.

A big, tall man stood up, and said, 'I'm Carl Brown. I work in the utility plants. I think that we need to get more training for self defense, and I think that we need to get our militia organized and trained better as well. I have relatives in other parts of the country, and we stay in touch on a regular basis. Every one of them has told me about the rise in violence, especially random violence. It's like all the nuts and punks in this country know something that the rest of us don't, and they don't care about being caught any more. I know that most of them are no longer worried about ever being hurt or killed by one of the citizens that they choose to victimize. They don't think that ANYBODY has either the means or the determination to fight back any more.'

A woman stood up, and said, 'I'm Iris Johnson, and I work in personnel. I have a question for Lee. If things get really bad, and nobody is prepared to survive, aren't we all just wasting our time trying to learn to defend ourselves? My brothers were in the military, and they've told me that if things got really bad, we would be overrun by the first really large group that found us, because they wouldn't stop until they had our food or we killed them. If 10,000 people showed up, we couldn't possibly stop them, and most of us would die trying before we were able to run and leave everything for them.'

I stood up, and said, 'Your brothers are wrong. There are about 400 people in this compound and the surrounding homesteads. With the proper training and motivation, we could not only hold this place against 10,000 people who had small arms, but we could probably kill all or most of them if the conditions were right.'

Iris said, 'What are you talking about? We'd be outnumbered 25 to 1. Fighting them would be suicide.'

I said, 'Unless they had military weapons and at least light armored vehicles that were military issue and not just something they cobbled together out of a Mad Max movie, we could defeat them. The terrain favors us, we have modified certain things such as the forest to reduce the ability of someone to sneak into the compound, and we have also taken certain precautions that would allow us to inflict much more damage than anyone outside of those who helped in the preparations would ever believe possible. We have developed several contingency plans, and they have taken into account all the possible weather conditions which occur in this region. If necessary, we could kill over 10,000 people in one battle to defend ourselves and our property.'

A man jumped to his feet, and shouted, 'That's barbaric! How could you even think of killing so many people like that? Don't you have any feelings, or do you just enjoy killing so much that you don't care what others think any more?'

I said, 'You have things confused. It is barbaric to know that someone will eventually come along and try to kill you and take everything that you have that you need to survive, and to do nothing to defend yourself, your family, and your property.'

He said, 'You think that it's right to kill someone to protect property? Is your property worth more than a human life?'

I said, 'You don't know what you are talking about, and I feel sorry for you.'

He said, 'What do you mean? Why do YOU feel sorry for ME?'

I said, 'Because you don't even know how to think and reason things out. Your property belongs to you. If it is alright for someone to kill you and take it, even though that is against the law, then the same logic dictates that it is just as correct for you to kill them and keep it yourself. Even if you don't understand abstract thoughts like that, then think about this. If they need your property to survive, and it is alright for them to kill you and take it because it is a matter of survival, then what about your rights? Don't you have the right to kill them and keep what you need to survive? And if they can take it from you without killing you, how will you survive without the things that are absolutely essential for survival?'

He said, 'But it's not right for you to kill someone. They just need to be taught how to survive and get along in society. It's really not their fault, and we have to make allowances for them until they can learn how to do things properly.'

I said, 'They already know what is right and wrong. They just choose to do wrong because it is easier for them, especially with misguided fools like you telling everyone to pamper them. If they can't obey the rules, then they can leave the society. If they don't want to leave, then we can put them in jail or kill them. Either way is fine with me, since it removes the threat.'

He smiled slyly, and said, 'So, you intend for us to build a jail so we can imprison those who try to take our food if things get bad?'

I said, 'No, I intend to kill them. I won't waste food and energy keeping someone alive when his chosen method of survival is to kill others or steal their survival supplies from them and leave them to starve.'

He said, 'But what if they surrender after they start fighting?'

I smiled, and said, 'Then I'll hang the bastards. Rope is reusable. Bullets are a lot of work to make and reload. And I won't risk blood borne diseases unnecessarily, so that rules out using a knife or sword.'

He said, 'You're a barbarian! How could you be so heartless? And how can any of you people stand to be in the same room with such a ruthless, cold blooded murderer?'

I said, 'I intend to protect civilization, or at least my own little corner of it. That is the exact opposite of a barbarian, who seeks to destroy civilization and ignore the rules for his own pleasure. As far as murdering people, I have done so in time of war when I was ordered to kill a member of the enemy army. It was war, and he was in the enemy uniform. I have killed in self defense, and I have shot people who didn't even know that I was there. To have allowed them to see me and try to defend themselves would have been suicidal. My question is, if you were so gung ho on defending murderers and punks a minute ago, telling us that we had to make allowances for them until they could be trained and taught how to get along in society, then why are you attacking me for being a murderer?'

Half of the room burst into laughter, causing him to turn beet red. He lost control, and stormed from the room, cursing and threatening everyone in it. Security met him at the door and escorted him to the gate, where the sheriff was waiting to arrest him and take him to jail. They had found a transmitter and copies of classified data that was unrelated to his work in his office. He was working for someone as a spy. Ralph would hold him until the FBI picked him up to charge him with espionage. He would also fingerprint him, take mug shots, and run a check on him, just in case somebody messed up on one of the security screens, or didn't hide any criminal records before they placed him in the facility as a plant.

I said, 'If you people expect me to stay here, work with you, and fight with you, you had better be serious about wanting to survive, no matter what the cost. If you aren't willing to do whatever it takes to keep yourselves alive, including fighting a war if that becomes necessary because the government is no longer in control or is unable to function, then tell me now, and I will use my time more productively. Because I don't have the time to waste trying to teach a bunch of people who only want to learn as an academic exercise, and I don't have the resources to fight for you when you won't fight for yourselves.'

Ruth said, 'What are you talking about for rules, Lee?'

I said, 'Not a dictatorship, if that's what you mean. I have no intention of being in charge of this place. You already have a leader. Dan runs this place. But you better get used to the fact that things are changing rapidly in the world, and as those changes occur, you need to change your own rules accordingly in order to survive.'

She said, 'For instance?'

I said, 'Right now, if you caught someone stealing food from the warehouse, and giving it to the hungry people in our area, you might make him pay for it, and you might make him do some public service time or go to jail. Right?'

She said, 'Yes. So?'

I said, 'So, if the world has changed, and society collapses, as we think might happen, you will have to be self sufficient. You are working together as a society to survive. One person does not have the right to endanger the survival of the entire community by stealing their food and giving it to others. If he wishes to share what he has, that is his right, but he does not have the right to give what is not his.'

She said, 'OK, so what would change? He pays for it, or is imprisoned, right?'

I said, 'Not if you want to survive.'

Ruth said, 'What do you mean?'

I said, 'If you have to grow your own food, what good is money? It won't feed your starving toddler. And if you imprison the person, you have to feed him, guard him, and keep him alive, while you have even less resources after he has stolen part of them.'

Ruth said, 'OK, I agree with your assessment. So, what are the options?'

I said, 'That depends on how severe you think the crime is, and how severely it threatens the survival of the community. If you are willing to accept the loss, and don't think that the person poses a threat to the community, then you would exile him and confiscate his possessions to make up for the losses that he caused the community. If his actions meant that others might starve, you could kill him, as an example to others so that the punishment is so severe that the crime will not be repeated.'

Ruth said, 'I think that would be somewhat extreme, really. Don't you?'

I said, 'Right now, I agree. In six months, if things really fall apart and get bad, you might think that I was being very generous to offer the possibility of exile to someone who would threaten the very survival of hundreds of his friends and neighbors by stealing the very food they needed to stay alive.'

Ruth said, 'When you put it that way, it makes sense, and does sound more reasonable. Does anyone else have anything that they want to discuss right now?'

There was some talking and a few private conversations before one man stood up and said that he thought they should hold another open meeting with the spouses and older children present so they could discuss the content of this meeting and vote on the recommendations that were reached. The majority agreed, so Ruth ended the meeting and dismissed everyone. The meeting would occur tomorrow night at the cafeteria, since it would hold everyone comfortably and was air conditioned and free of mosquitoes and chiggers.

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Dan had us come into his office as soon as the meeting was over. It was a large group when we got there. Rick, Kristin, Dani, Naomi, Mary, Sara, John, Steve, and I followed him into his office. We sat around the conference table and got some coffee and tea started. It was around 11 a.m., and I didn't expect this meeting to be very long.

Dan said, 'I don't believe it. I didn't believe it a week ago when you told me that security had found the transmitter and classified documents in Joey's office during an unplanned security sweep. But he not only transmitted the phony documents that you replaced them with, he also made duplicates and took them off the complex. Do you know who he was working for?'

Rick said, 'No. He could have been transmitting to someone who was out there with the watchers, or he could have been transmitting to someone who was 50 miles away in any direction. We did manage to block the transmission during the meeting, so Lee's comments about being in a war were not broadcast.'

Dan said, 'Is that important?'

Rick said, 'It could be. There could still be people filing reports on the complex, but whether or not they'd think to include that, and whether it would be taken seriously is up for grabs. It wouldn't matter much to most people, but if they are connected to the watchers, it would settle some doubts and make them more willing to try to find any records there were, even if they had to do the search openly through official channels.'

I said, 'Even if they did, they'd probably still hit a few snags that they weren't expecting, and would still probably come up empty.'

Rick smiled as he thought about it, and said, 'Yeah, you're probably right about that.'

Dani said, 'What about medical records, Lee? You were wounded, and I've seen enough scars on you to qualify for more than one purple heart.'

I said, 'There aren't any. I was only treated by medics, and never allowed anyone to turn me in for a purple heart, or for any other commendation. We never even got any unit citations, so my name wouldn't be listed on any of them, either.'

Dan said, 'So, how do you think the meeting will go tomorrow night?'

John said, 'I think that we are about to become a real community. A democratic community, where the people meet in town hall meetings and discuss problems, propose solutions, and work them out.'

Dan said, 'Is that what we really want?'

Dani said, 'We not only want it, but we will really need it if we are going to survive. It doesn't look like things are going well, and we haven't even had any technology failure. If there are disruptions, and things haven't gotten better before they occur, then we will really be on our own.'

Steve said, 'Where do you think the government will be?'

Rick said, 'Probably up shit creek without a paddle.'

Dan said, 'So, what can we expect during the meeting, Lee?'

I said, 'Some complaints, mostly minor. Some disagreements, again, mostly minor. They will probably organize the militia officially, and decide something to get some rules for conduct drawn up, as well as minimum rules for training and participation. They will probably come up with some plan to elect representatives to keep the people informed about what is going on in their community government, and vice versa.'

Dan said, 'But we aren't even officially a community, and we don't have a real government.'

I said, 'We are more of a community than many places that have been officially incorporated for years. As for a government, you are probably looking at it. I think that you will be appointed mayor, and they will elect representatives to be the town council. Who you appoint as advisors or use to run the departments isn't important, since those jobs are already filled by qualified personnel as far as most of them are concerned.'

Dan said, 'What are you talking about?'

I said, 'John runs the power, water, and gas. He's qualified, and they know and trust him. Besides, it's all free for those who use it, restricted only by our ability to produce it. Steve runs the communications, although he may have some competition for news and gossip in print. The women will remain more informed by telephone on the local exchange than we could possibly get in print or on the air. Kristin runs finances, which will soon include the accounting for food and other supplies instead of just concentrating on the money and expenses. Her budget projections may soon change to how many people we are capable of supporting, for how long, and how well. Dani is in charge of medical, since she is our only doctor. She will not only have to treat disease and injuries, but will have to work with Kristin to make sure that the quantity and quality of food is sufficient to prevent diseases and malnutrition. Our vitamin stocks will come in extremely handy there until things settle down. And Rick is in charge of security, since he is in charge of what is either going to become the town police or the standing military contingent, depending on how you view their function. Sara will be working with Kristin, making sure that things run smoothly, and finding any discrepancies in the accounting and auditing.'

Dan said, 'And exactly where does that leave you and Naomi?'

I smiled, and said, 'Running our homestead with our daughter. Training with the militia when we are on the roster, and living our lives as peacefully as possible. Of course, I may have to assist Ralph from time to time, since I am still a deputy in his department.'

Dan said, 'That's mighty convenient. Everybody else gets to work, and you get to grow your crops and play with your kids.'

I said, 'That's what you hired me for. To run this project, do the best I could until the end of the year, and make sure that you were as prepared as you could get in the time allotted. I believe that I have already done much more than you initially expected when we signed my contract, don't you, Mr. Mayor?'

Dan grimaced when I called him that, making Dani and Kristin giggle. Mary joined them before her mother could shush her. Dan said, 'Lee, I don't know how you managed to do this, but I will get you for it. I was ready to retire in less than a year.'

I said, 'Yeah, right. Not only would you have hated early retirement, but if you think about it, just the problems that we know are already occurring with the economy would have been enough to make you put it off for a few more years because it would have cut down on your lifestyle or how long you could maintain it on the savings and investments that you have.'

Dan grimaced. Rick laughed, and said, 'Dan, you got to admit that he's right.'

Dan said, 'OK, he's right. That doesn't mean that I have to like it. I don't want to be some damned politician.'

I said, 'So don't be. Be a representative of the best interests of your constituents. Be a servant of the people. Show them how a government is supposed to run, and what it's supposed to do for them.'

Dan said, 'I'll do my best. Assuming that you're right, and they are planning on doing this anyway. I still think that you're wrong in your assessment.'

Mary said, 'He is NOT wrong! Why, just the other day, I heard...' She clamped her hand over her mouth at a stern glance from me.

Dan smiled, and said sweetly, 'What did you hear, dear? Come on, it's OK. You can tell your Uncle Dan.'

Mary smiled, stuck her tongue out at him, and gave him a loud, wet raspberry.

Dan said, 'See, some mayor I'll be. I can't even get any respect from the kids around here. And I can't put one over on them, either.'

Mary said, 'I'm not a kid. I'm a voter, and you'd better remember that.'

Dan said, 'What, she's only fifteen! What does she mean, she's a voter?'

Rick said, 'You remember the last meeting?'

Dan said, 'Vaguely. They decided to set up the militia, to move onto the complex, to become self sufficient, and to hold a vote on each of the things that had been discussed. Why?'

Rick said, 'Because, they left the age of the teenagers who were in the militia up to the militia leader, since they had to be evaluated individually. Some teenagers mature faster than others, and are able to handle the duties at an earlier age, especially if they are interested in the duties.'

Dan said, 'Right. So?'

Rick smiled, and said, 'So, they also voted that any member of the militia, regardless of age, had earned the right to vote.'

Dan said, 'Mary's not in the militia. She's only fifteen, and she's small, to boot.'

Mary said, 'I am too in the militia. And I'm not that small. I'm as big as Kristin and Dani are. I'm not as strong as they are yet, but I'm getting there.'

Then Kristin, Dani, and Mary all three gave Dan a raspberry. After they quit laughing at his expression, Kristin said, 'Don't worry, O fearless leader. We will take care to show the proper respect and courtesy for our elected leader at all times, even if he does insult the ladies with his chauvinist, paternal attitudes from time to time.'

Dan said, 'Great. Now will you guys get out of here before this turns from a comedy routine into a roast?'

Dani said, 'A roast, what a wonderful idea. We could make it a tradition to honor all new mayors by inducting them into their new position with a roast in front of the entire community.'

Dan shouted something unintelligible, so we left. Besides, we had work to do and things to plan before the meeting. What Dan didn't know, wouldn't hurt him. At least not much, and he'd get over it in time. He might not want the job, but he was the best man for it, so we intended to make sure that a lot of people came up with the idea on their own. After all, what are friends for?

Chapter 8

The meeting began the next day at 5:00 p.m., since we wanted it to get over with before things got too late. We needn't have worried, since most of the people had already pretty much agreed to most of the things that were going to occur tonight anyway.

Once the meeting started, things went pretty smoothly. Lucy, Dan's wife, had already had a long talk with a number of the women, and had agreed to keep Dan under control for the most important parts of the meeting.

At first, the topics were the local events, and how they affected all of us. Then, gradually, the events were more widespread, and they were compared to how they affected the project, or how they might affect the predictions, at least in ways that might affect us.

The topic of the militia and training was breached, and the consensus was that the militia would be more stringently organized, and the basic rules and guidelines would be fleshed out, pending approval by a general vote before they became effective. The previous rules and guidelines were reaffirmed, and were to be included in the revisions.

The next order of business was to decide whether they wanted to incorporate themselves as a community. As it was pointed out that the complex itself was private property, they decided to exclude it from the incorporation, and merely to incorporate the private dwellings and homesteads. A brief charter was drafted, and then voted on, with each individual section needing a majority of 90% approval before being accepted.

As soon as the charter was approved, they moved to nominations for town councillors. There were several people nominated. Enough that there were nine nominees running for the five positions. After some quick discussion, it was voted that each person would vote for no more than five of the nominees, and the vote would be by secret ballot. Each person would write down no more than five names on the slips of paper that were distributed, and then the five with the most votes would be elected. In the event of a tie, everyone would cast one ballot for each unfilled space, and the majority pick would be elected.

The election only took one round of voting. The newly elected council took over, and said that they believed that the key positions were all filled by the best qualified people, so they suggested that the people simply affirm or deny their faith in the ability of said individuals to carry out their duties. It took less than five minutes to affirm Rick, Dani, John, Steve, and Kristin in their roles and duties for the community that they currently fulfilled on the project.

The council then said that we needed a mayor, and called for nominations. Dan's wife had her hands full when he was nominated and seconded. Several other people were nominated, including me, but I declined to accept the nomination, since I was not qualified as an administrator. Dan tried to decline, but they all laughed when he said that he wasn't qualified to run the complex.

In the end, the vote took five minutes. Dan was elected as mayor. There was one vote for me, but all the others were for Dan. I figured that he was trying to get me back for getting him into this position in the first place.

As he was being led up to the makeshift stage at the front of the room, Dani reminded everyone that they had agreed to induct their new mayor with a roast, as a matter of tradition. Dan glared at her, remembering her parting comments of the previous day.

Dani laughed at his expression as several people wheeled in a portable roaster and opened it for the celebration to begin. Fortunately for Dan, Dani had intended to trick him, and the hog in the roaster took the heat instead of the newly elected mayor.

The celebration lasted for several hours, and everyone ate their fill. Gallons of barbecue sauce were used on sandwiches and sliced pork, and the side dishes went just as fast as the pig. When it was done, there was nothing left in the roaster but a carcass that had been stripped of meat. A small crew stayed to clean up, and everyone else went home to get some sleep.

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It was a clear night as we walked home. The stars were shining brightly, and there were no city lights to interfere with enjoying their beauty. From where we were, the comet was clearly visible, a large bright dot at the end of a long, glowing tail. It was close, and coming closer all the time. It would pass by the Earth in the next 8 to 10 days. I hadn't heard much about the comet officially since the JPL and NASA had both turned all data they had over to the military side of their operations. The press had only made its opinion known by printing derogatory articles demeaning and degrading anyone who claimed that the comet was a sign from God, or a sign of the end of the world, or was on a collision course with the Earth. So much for objectivity, truth, news, or the right of the people to know what was going on. Situation normal on that front.

I pointed the comet out to Mary, and we stopped and looked at it for a while. She said, 'It's not as bright as the last one, is it?'

I said, 'I don't know, honey. I only saw Hale-Bopp from a city, where the lights drown out most of the stars. It still looked pretty bright compared to them, and the tail was really something to behold. Rick would know, since he lived here then and probably saw a lot of it.'

Rick said, 'I think she's right. It isn't quite as bright. Then again, it may not be as close yet, either. It should be closer in about a week. Let's see if it gets any brighter then.'

We watched the stars a little while longer, then went home and went to bed. Tomorrow would be another long day. It seemed like they all had been, lately. I figured that it would change for the worse before it changed for the better.

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Manny Alvarez was walking in his neighborhood, heading home, when he spotted the strange car parked down the block from his house. He noticed furtive movement of the hedge near his house, and casually turned into the drive of the house he was in front of and walked to the door, as if just stopping by to visit with a friend. Mrs. Diaz answered the door, surprised to see Manny, but happy that he had stopped by. Manny greeted her warmly, then accepted her invitation to come in. Once inside, he told her that he needed to use her phone.

He dialed the police, and told them that he thought that he had just seen one of the men on a wanted poster who was a known associate of a man who had just tried to kill two deputies in another state, and were wanted for questioning on that as well. They were believed to be armed and dangerous.

The dispatcher took the call very seriously, and sent two units to check out the call immediately. The first arrived at the scene in two minutes, stopping in front of the house that Manny was in. As the officers got out, Manny went outside and told them where he had seen the movement in the bushes. They started to walk down the street, using cover where they could.

Suddenly, the second unit came around the other corner. When the driver saw the other officers heading his way on foot, he screeched to a halt. He and his partner jumped out, using the car for cover as they scanned the immediate area before leaving its protection. As they stepped away from the car, shots rang out. One officer fell to the ground, hit in the leg, as automatic weapons fire filled the air. His partner returned fire as he ran for cover, but was cut down before reaching his destination. One round tore through his neck, severing his carotid artery. While his partner watched in horror, he bled to death on the street.

The other two officers had also started firing into the bushes where the shots were coming from, having taken cover behind a parked car and a large tree. After a few tense minutes, the firing stopped coming from the bushes. As an ambulance and two more units came screeching up with their sirens blaring, the officers finally managed to approach the bushes. They found one dead man, his hands clutching a fully automatic Uzi, with 30 round magazines jungle clipped together, and a blood trail showing that he had not been alone, and his partner had escaped.

The officers began an immediate manhunt for the wounded man as the ambulance crew worked on the injured officer. His partner had bled to death in the first three minutes. He had tried to stop the bleeding after crawling over to him, but the wound in his neck was enormous, and there was no way to even do much to slow the flow of blood down.

The dead man was one of the two wanted in connection with the crime that Manny had mentioned. The cops questioned him about this, then seemed satisfied when he showed them that he had seen the pictures posted on a bulletin board on the internet. He had no criminal record, and was an upstanding member of the community. And he was the one who had called to report the sighting. The dead guy, on the other hand, had killed one cop and injured another, and was wanted as a known associate with another dead guy who had been killed while attempting to do the same thing. Now they were concerned with tracking down his other partner, the one who was still alive and wounded.

Manny went over to a friend's house, where he knew that he should be safe. He may have been big and strong, but Manny was not stupid or macho. He knew his limits, and they did not include messing with a trained killer when he didn't have to. As soon as he got settled down, he started posting a report of what had just happened on the net, making sure that all of the groups in the network got a copy.

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Lester Maddox was really pissed. He and Charlie had set up an ambush to off that stupid guy who was making so much trouble in this region. He was big, but that made him easy to identify and track down. Manny "Big Al" something or other, some hispanic name, had been easy to locate. If they were all this easy, he wasn't going to worry about Michael going off by himself to handle the women on the list He was supposed to handle Michigan, then Nebraska, then Kentucky, then finally Georgia.

He knew that Michael liked small women, so he figured that he would enjoy himself with at least some of them before killing them. That would sure send a message to the people who were listening to that damned troublemaker. There had been nothing but trouble since he had joined that project in Tennessee. First he had made the place more secure. Then they had completed the project months ahead of schedule. Then they had bypassed normal routine and released the report onto the internet, making it impossible to bury completely. Then he had started printing copies of the reports, and making them available to the public. He had even set up his own network, in less than a month, to distribute and sell the books all across the country.

Lester knew that his bosses would not be happy, whoever they were. Well, they could join the party, because he was pretty unhappy himself. First, this easy hit went all wrong. Then, the cops sent two units instead of just the usual one, and he and his partner had had to take out the closest two cops while the others took cover. Then the cops had got lucky, and killed Charlie. They had even managed to hit him in the arm before he could get away.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. They were supposed to be able to get away with anything and do anything as long as they carried out their assignments. They were supposed to kill their victims and then disappear. They weren't supposed to be shot down by some dumb hick cops before they even got a shot off at their real target. And they weren't supposed to be hunting him down like some wild, rabid animal. He had already seen his picture on several news bulletins, and it would be in the papers by morning. Where had they managed to get a picture? Their boss always made sure that their pictures and fingerprints were always erased or stolen and destroyed whenever someone managed to come up with a copy of them. Obviously, he had screwed up this time.

As Lester plugged in his computer and linked into the internet to check on the news, his heart sank. He was a walking dead man, and he knew it. On the bulletin board where he received his instructions was an article about the cop killers. It had his picture, Charlie's picture, and Michael's picture, along with a story of what had happened in Michigan. So, with Michael and Charlie dead, he was all alone, and he had to worry about his employer trying to terminate their association. Most likely, by terminating Lester, since he was the only possible way to connect their activities to their employer. Not a good chance of it happening, even if Lester cooperated, but no chance is so much easier on the nerves. So Lester was dead, any way you cut it. He didn't want to go to jail for years before finally being put into the electric chair, or the gas chamber. He pulled out his pistol, stuck the barrel into his mouth so that the end rested against the junction of his soft palate and hard palate, and pulled the trigger. The bullet blew off the top of his head, splattering his brains across half of the small, cheap hotel room that he was sitting in. His body slumped backwards, falling across the dirty bed. That was how the police found him half an hour later.

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Lee was not overjoyed when he heard the news about the three hired killers. They had been a potential lead to whoever was behind the illegal activities connected with those trying to stop the project. And their activities indicated that they had been trying to kill people associated with the distribution of the books and reports. Now that they were eliminated, someone else might be called in to complete the assignment, and now they had no way of knowing what their potential sources of danger or trouble might look like. But at least now they knew that there was trouble and danger, and had some kind of proof to convince the police if they needed to.

Rick and Ralph were just as glad to see all three of the men dead, since neither one of them had liked any of the men in the least. The women were just about as relieved as Rick and Ralph. Mary had simply said, 'Good riddance to bad rubbish.' and left it at that. Dan was also relieved, because in his mind, it decreased the resources to be used against them, and increased the cost of continuing the harassment. He believed that when the cost outweighed the potential benefits, then all the trouble would magically disappear. He didn't understand the politics of revenge, of removing a potential rival before he becomes stronger, or of just removing old enemies so they can't provide information which may prove damaging to you in the future.

Things had just started to move into the next, more dangerous, phase. They were nowhere close to being over, and wouldn't be for a long time. The war had just begun, and it wasn't going to be a nice, clean fight. Someone was playing for high stakes, and they did not intend to let anyone come between them and their goal.

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Dan was surprised to see me in his office the next morning. It was September 2nd, and our next meeting wasn't scheduled until the 6th, when the whole group got together for our weekly meeting. Usually, when I showed up unannounced, it meant that there was a problem, so he was prepared for bad news.

I said, 'The weather looks like it may get worse in the next week or so. La Nina has been strengthening over the last few weeks, and is affecting the weather more severely than before. The east coast of the U.S., and the southwest have already had a really dry season, and the flooding of the central and midwestern states is also a result of the shift in weather patterns.'

Dan said, 'So, what are you expecting?'

I said, 'I think that there may be another huge hurricane building in the Atlantic, and that it may be bigger than Hurricane Andrew was a few years ago. But I'm not sure if there will be any real effect due to comet Lee's influence, since I still haven't been able to find out anything reliable on trajectory, orbital projections, or projected distance of its closest approach to Earth. Early data indicated that it was slowing down instead of speeding up, which means that its proximity to Earth would increase on its path away from the sun. I also know that the Earth was projected to pass through its orbital plane, which makes it one of the Apollo series of asteroids or comets.'

Dan said, 'What do you mean by that?'

I said, 'There are hundreds of known asteroids or comets which have two things in common. First, their orbit takes them closer to the sun than the Earth is, and then back out past Earth on the return trip. This poses no threat to the Earth unless their orbital plane intersects that of Earth. We are talking three dimensional geometry, so there is no danger of collision unless the planes cross, which means that collision will occur when the objects cross one of the intersection points simultaneously. Otherwise, nothing happens at all, and life goes on as normal.'

Dan said, 'OK, I understand that. So, what's the second point?'

I said, 'The second thing that the Apollo objects have in common is that their orbital plane crosses the orbital plane of the Earth. This means that, eventually, their orbit and the Earth's orbit will carry them into the same point in space at the same time.'

Dan said, 'Collision.'

I said, 'Right. Only, Lee is an unknown quantity that doesn't fit any of the rules.'

Dan smiled, and said, 'Don't I know it.'

I said, 'I'm talking about the comet, and you know it. Anyway, it came into the solar system from some point in deep space, traveling on a flat trajectory like a bullet.'

Dan said, 'So?'

I said, 'So, that makes it unpredictable according to all the equations and theories that the astronomers use to predict trajectory. Since they can't figure it out, they simply ignore it, hide their ignorance, and let the press debunk anyone who steps out of line and says that they know what it is going to do.'

Dan said, 'Do you think that you can predict what it is going to do?'

I said, 'Probably not with any accuracy. I don't have enough background in gravitational physics and similar theories to modify equations and get a predictable behavior pattern. But, I know all about bullets, trajectories, and wind adjustments. If you don't allow for wind, humidity, and other atmospheric conditions, you will miss your target. If I had some idea of what the forces were, I wouldn't have to deal with them in their terms. I could deal with them as wind and humidity. Wind would represent the solar wind and the gravitic attraction between the comet and other objects in space. Humidity would represent the increasing mass of the comet as it picks up dust and debris in its path. At least I would have some idea of how close the natural tendency is for this thing to hit its target, namely us.'

Dan said, 'Could the solution really be that simple?'

I said, 'For exact calculations, probably not. But to get the general idea of the target area, yes. It should work. The only variation would be that you would have to use calculus to calculate a summation of the forces over time so that you could make the adjustments. The more minute and accurate your adjustments, the more precise your predicted trajectory.'

Dan said, 'Lee, that is simple compared to what my friends at NASA told me had to be done. Will the summation work?'

I said, 'It should. You don't need to know the exact effect of each individual force at each time if you use a summation to approximate the cumulative effect. As the object passes out of the gravitational influence of one object, another will have an increasing effect on it. You should be able to approximate the influence of the individual objects based on known or projected values from its flight into the system and its path so far now that it has passed the sun and has come back past Mercury and Venus and is on its way past Earth.'

Dan said, 'If you don't know how fast it is going, or when it is due, how do you know it is already between Venus and the Earth?'

I said, 'Simple. It's projected date of closest approach was between September 9th and 11th. It is moving at least 25,000 miles per hour, as a rough estimate. That means that it is covering about 600,000 miles per day. If it is going to get here in the next week or ten days, it can't be more than 4 to 6 million miles away right now. At their closest, Venus and the Earth are more than 20 million miles apart. So it has already passed Venus, and is now approaching the Earth's orbit. The only question that remains, is what plane the comet is in in relation to the Earth, and how close that plane is to the Earth's orbital plane.'

Dan said, 'And you think that it would be simple to predict that?'

I said, 'Relatively, given good data on the observed locations, yes. But I don't need to know if it will hit the Earth. That isn't likely. I just need to know, within a few million miles or so, how close it will pass to the Earth.'

Dan said, 'Why the large margin of error?'

I said, 'Because if it isn't going to pass within 10 or 20 million miles of Earth, it won't dissipate a large enough charge into our electromagnetic field to have much impact on the weather, if the theory is correct.'

Dan said, 'And if the theory isn't correct?'

I said, 'The only way it would influence our weather in that case, unless it was so massive as to affect us by the gravitational pull, would be to hit us head on, like a bullet.'

Dan said, 'I could see that having some impact on the weather. Not to mention a few other things. So, when will we know?'

I said, 'We should know within two weeks. If there haven't been measurable changes in the electromagnetic fields, or any fluctuations in the weather patterns that are totally unexplainable, or unusual earthquake or volcanic activity, then there probably won't be.'

Dan said, 'And if there is an effect on the weather?'

I said, 'Well, the drought has made a mess of the coastal states. A really big hurricane, and the associated rainfall, ought to do some real damage due to flooding, mudslides, and loss of topsoil. Of course, that's in addition to all the damage it would do to the structures.'

Dan said, 'Well, Lee, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making an otherwise perfect day seem like shit.'

I smiled, and said, 'You're quite welcome, Dan. Anytime. Glad to help. Just let me know, and I'll do what I can.'

Dan muttered, 'When pigs fly.'

We both laughed. Then, he said, 'Now get out of here and let me know when you have something that we can actually use as data or do something about.'

I left, leaving Dan with some ideas to bounce off of his friends at NASA. Maybe the press would finally say something about that big light in the sky that wasn't an attempt to make someone else look stupid for trying his best to explain it without any help or data from the press to inform them of what was going on. But I wasn't counting on it.

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On Saturday, September 4th, the watchers made a big mistake. Mary was out hiking in the woods on our property and saw a group of men in camo fatigues moving across our property. They were armed with rifles and pistols, and she had seen the exact same guns in the stuff that we had taken off of the dead bodies after the attempt to kidnap the women in July. She followed them, moving like a ghost through the woods, until they came to The Quarry. She watched from the ridge as they went down and started to booby trap the area that we sometimes used as an obstacle course.

I had given her a remote pager that could beep me or send a short message in case of emergency. She typed in 911-Mary-Quarry and hit send. I was not the only person who got the message. When it went through the switchboard computer, it tripped an alarm in the security room. They immediately contacted Rick. He met me in a security cart on my way down the trail that led straight from the complex toward the quarry. He had a set of my cammies and one of my most powerful semi-automatic sniper rifles, along with enough ammo to start a war. He hadn't bothered to find a key for the ammo box, and had just brought along an entire box of the ammo for that particular gun. He also had a scoped rifle and a couple of pouches of ammo for it on his belt. He had also slung the camcorder that the guard units carried over his shoulder. It had a fully charged battery, and would record for two hours. It was already running.

The guard with him whistled as I removed fully loaded 30 and 40 round magazines, loaded with hollow point ammunition for the rifle. It had been custom made for me to my specifications. It used ammo similar to the Sharps rifle that I had modified. The ammo in the box was loaded for shorter ranges, between 300 and 600 yards, which was all we were likely to need at The Quarry. Since it was semi-automatic, it would lose some of its accuracy on rapid fire, but would put out rounds faster than almost any other rifle I had. The rounds it used were enough to do the job. The hollow point rounds I had brought with me were over 500 grains each.

If Dr. Lister thought that my last shooting match was messy, wait until he saw what these rounds did to a human at this distance if I had to shoot one of them. There would be large chunks missing when he got the bodies. I smiled at that thought, knowing that there were cheaper alternatives that had been specifically designed for the type of shooting that I was likely to have to do, but I was sentimental.

I had been attached to this particular type of gun since my grandfather had taught me to shoot one while I was still a kid. I had found ways to customize and modify both the gun and the ammunition while retaining the feeling that I got when I used them. They felt "right" when I was ready to use them, so I felt more relaxed and was bothered less by distractions because the rifle seemed to be like an extension of my own body. Sometimes it seemed silly, but never mess with something that works. My grandfather had taught me that if something works, and it gets the job done, there ain't nothing broke, so there's no need to mess with it and screw things up. I tried to always follow that advice.

Inside of three minutes, we were moving through the woods parallel to the trail I had told the guard driving the cart to wait there for backup, and to bring them with him to The Quarry when they arrived. Until then, he was to use his cell phone to contact the sheriff and get him out her ASAP.

Within another five minutes, we came to The Quarry. I slipped up behind Mary and grabbed her with one hand over her mouth so she wouldn't scream. As I felt her stiffen up, I whispered, 'Daddy' into her ear and she relaxed. I removed my hand and laid beside her to see what had caused her to call.

I felt a chill go down my spine as I watched the men in the valley move around, planting mines, rigging trip wires on claymores and activating them, and doing everything they could think of to turn the entire area into a death trap for unwary and unsuspecting people and animals. Then I began to go cold all over. I was enraged, but holding it totally in control. I knew that if Ralph didn't arrive soon, I would build up until I was in a killing rage.

Rick handed the small camcorder to Mary, and told her to make sure she filmed everything that she could. She started getting footage of the men working down in the valley, planting explosives and laughing. There was no doubt that the footage would prove that they were trespassing on our land, using illegal weapons and explosives, and booby-trapping our land in an attempt to kill people. That was more than enough for me, but I knew that if it ever came to court, some lawyer would try to convince the jury that the explosives weren't real, and that any real explosives had been planted later. If the video showed otherwise, by showing serial numbers as they were located and disarmed, he would simply point out the expertise available at our facility and say that the tape had been altered electronically. But I knew of one way to make sure that the tape showed that his argument was just as full of shit as he would be, and the thought made me happy that there might be a way out of the situation without all the legal manipulations.

Rick assessed the situation, and said, 'Ralph won't be here for at least thirty minutes. They'll be long gone before then. And those explosives are deliberately not meant to kill just you or me, pardner.'

I said, 'I know. But I don't want to shoot them.' Then I smiled, but the smile did not reach my eyes. I said, 'I think I have a plan. I like it. It feels just, and will give them exactly what they deserve. Like the Bible says, "That which ye sow, so shall ye also reap." I think that it's harvest time, boys.'

Rick whispered to Mary, 'Watch carefully. You're about to learn why your father is so dangerous when he gets mad.'

Mary said, 'How can you tell that he's mad? He seems so calm, so controlled.'

Rick said, 'That's the eye of the hurricane, Honey. Watch close, because the storm is about to hit.'

I said, 'Take Mary back. She doesn't need to see this.'

Rick said, 'Yes, she does. It could have killed her as well. Besides, she is in the militia. If she can't handle this stuff, better to find out now than later, when it would get her or someone else killed.'

I said, 'OK. Mary, don't move, or scream, or do anything to distract me unless someone who isn't a friendly tries to ambush us. Got it?'

She whispered, 'Yes, sir!', and then laid there like a stone. She had the camera focused on the center of the activity below us.

I centered myself, then relaxed. I shouted, 'Deputy sheriff. Stop what you are doing, and place your weapons on the ground. You are all under arrest.'

As soon as I saw the first man go for a gun or start to go for cover, I began firing. My first round detonated a bag that one of them was carrying. The explosion killed him and the three men nearest to him. Before all of the body parts had even hit the ground, I fired into a sapling they had bent to form a trip wire for a claymore. It sprang up, pulled the pin, and detonated. The blast rained a hail of ball bearings through two of the men who were heading for cover in that direction.

The blast also disoriented another man, who was far enough away to miss everything except the concussion from the explosion. He stepped on a small mine and tripped it. We watched as he screamed in horror. It was a bouncing Betty, and it worked exactly as designed. It shot up about three feet in the air and detonated right in front of him.

I heard Mary say, 'Serves the F'ing bastard right.' as she watched the explosion emasculate him in front of her eyes. There wasn't much in the way of motion down there now. I saw that Rick had shot two men, and both had been hit in the knees. Both were down and in agony. I knew that their legs would be shattered, and their careers in this particular field of work were now over.

We had taken four shots. There were six men dead, or soon to be dead because they were too badly injured to make it to medical treatment, and three men injured.

I said, 'Mary, how many men did you see when you followed them here?'

Mary said, 'Eleven or twelve. I couldn't be sure. But I know that there were more than nine of them.'

Rick said, 'Standard A team. Three man fire teams. The one on cover screwed up.'

I said, 'Or they're moving to ambush us now that they know where we are, and they think that we don't know that they're here.'

Rick said, 'Right. How do you want to do this? We could play it safe and wait, see if they'll move. They expect us to wait for a while to check things out before we come in.'

I said, 'Yeah, but they could just let the guys down there bleed to death, or put them out of their misery, and we'd have nobody to interrogate.'

Rick smiled, and said, 'Yeah, there is that to consider.'

Mary was unarmed, so I handed her my Glock. I said, 'If anybody except Ralph and the security detail comes up on you, terminate them.'

She said, 'Yes, sir.'

I slowly rose to my knees, limiting the speed of my movement. I heard a twig snap behind me, and pivoted. I snapped my head around so my eyes would track my turn and identify a threat sooner. It wasn't friendlies. As soon as my rifle was coming around, I started squeezing off rounds, one after the other.

Rick and Mary had both rolled onto their backs and were firing from the prone position. Rick hit one of them with three rounds in the chest, and he fell to the ground. Mary hit one of them with about nine rounds in the chest, staggering him, but he kept coming. She realized that he probably had body armor on, or was high enough not to feel the effect of the bullets right away. She raised her aim, and put the next three rounds into his head as his return fire got closer and closer to her position.

My first round took the guy in the center dead center and stopped his forward momentum. The second moved him backwards, and I saw blood staining his chest. I knew that the round had gone through the body armor. It might have been good, but they didn't make ANY body armor that was THAT good at this range with the gun and ammo that I was using. As he contined to try to raise his gun to shoot me, I raised my rifle and took aim. We fired at the same time. As I felt his bullet pass through my left arm, I watched mine nearly rip his head clear off of his shoulders as it exploded from the inside out and splattered his brains for yards in every direction.

Mary said, 'You're hurt!'

I looked at my arm, flexed it, and said, 'It will wait. It isn't bleeding badly, so the bullet didn't hit any major vessels. And the bone is fine.'

Rick said, 'He'll get it taken care of soon, Mary. He doesn't feel it right now because of the adrenaline in his system, and he has more important things on his mind.'

I walked carefully down the hill, then strode up to the nearest man, who had been hit by the mine. I covered him with my rifle. When he moved for his weapon, I pulled the trigger. I was about eight feet away. The bullet went clear through him, dead center, blowing a hole the size of my fist clear through both him and his body armor.

I walked over to where the nearest of the men that Rick had shot was lying. He had seen what had just happened. He slowly and carefully disarmed himself and threw the weapons well out of his reach. His buddy did nothing, knowing that Rick still had him covered. I cuffed the first man, then frisked him for weapons. I did a very thorough search, including the area around his shattered knee. Then I moved over to the last man and repeated the process.

When I turned around, I saw Ralph and the security forces standing on the ridge. Several of them had rifles, and still had them leveled to cover the men who appeared to have been killed by the explosions, just in case they were not dead.

When Ralph saw me signal him, he came down the hill, along with Rick, Mary, and several of the security force. Ralph smiled, and said, 'Well, this is another fine mess you've gotten me into, Ollie.'

I smiled, and said, 'I'd have thought that you'd have gone with "The Honeymooners", Ralphie boy.'

He said, 'I thought about it, but didn't want to see if that cannon you're holding could really get someone to the moon.'

I said, 'Not quite, but close enough for government work. How long were you guys up there?'

Ralph said, 'Long enough to see the one you killed down here go for his gun. Not too bright, under the circumstances.'

I said, 'No, I've seen it before. Didn't want to live, and couldn't bring himself to shoot himself, so he had me do it for him. Couldn't face life without his manhood and his family jewels. Those bouncing Betties are real bitches for psych warfare. Some guys who wouldn't bat an eye about getting killed or losing arms or legs just turn to jello when they think about what that thing could do to them.'

Ralph said, 'What about your arm?'

I said, 'It'll wait. We still need to disarm the booby traps these guys set and collect their toys before someone we like gets hurt by them.'

Mary pointed out where she had seen the men setting booby traps, and Rick found and disarmed them. When they finished, I walked up to one of the men, and asked where the rest of the explosives and booby traps were.

He checked to make sure that the camera was still recording, then sneered, and said, 'Screw you. I don't have to tell you nothing.'

I smiled, and said, 'No, you don't. But I think that the quickest way out of here would be to kick your worthless ass in front of me, since you obviously can't walk. But I'm sure that your rolling body would trigger any explosives just as well as your walking one would. If you get killed, I'll just use your buddy.'

His buddy screamed, 'No! Over there, about fifteen feet down the trail, along the inside edge of the curve and the outside edge of the curve. Half a dozen mini mines.'

Rick disappeared for a minute, then came back moving slowly, carrying something in the palm of his hand.

Ralph said, 'What in God's name are those things?'

I said, 'Mini mines, or mini grenades. The Russians developed them in Afghanistan. They used to drop little plastic toys and fire trucks onto the ground, so kids would pick them up and play with them. Some of them contained these, and blew a kid's arm or leg off when they detonated. They're probably equivalent to at least half a stick of good industrial dynamite.'

The guy on the ground said, 'Damn! You know too much. Who the hell are you, anyway?'

I said, 'I'm your worst nightmare. I'm the guy you were sent to kill, and you blew it. Now, I am going to send you both on your way.'

He seemed confused, and said, 'You're going to let us go?'

I said, 'Straight to hell, using the stuff you planned to use on me and my family.'

His partner said, 'You can't do that. You're a cop. You have to take us in. Tell him, sheriff.'

Ralph said, 'Well, this is his land, and it is posted. He does have the right to shoot trespassers, and to refuse to press charges and let them go if he doesn't want to have to deal with them any more. If there isn't anything for me to do here, I guess that I can just get back to work and let Lee deal with things as he sees fit.'

When the sheriff mentioned my name, I had seen one of the men twitch slightly. He said, 'Wait, sheriff, you can't do that. He's going to kill us.'

Ralph said, 'With what? Some little bits of plastic that look like part of a kid's toy?'

The guy said, 'Those are illegal explosives, sheriff. You have to arrest us and charge us with possession of illegal explosives.' He knew that he was being taped, and that even without being read his rights yet, he was still admitting to a crime, and that crime and his admission could be used against him.

Ralph winked at me so the men on the ground couldn't see it, and turned around to face them. He said, 'What kind of fool do you take me for, boy? I ain't some hick sheriff that fell off the turnip truck.'

I said, 'Come on, boys. We'll take you to the edge of the property. You aren't any good to me, because you don't have nothing of interest to me.'

The first guy I'd disarmed said, 'I can't tell you who hired us, because I don't know. But I can tell you where our stuff is, and how we were supposed to make contact to let him know that the job was complete. Then we were supposed to wait and make a report so they knew how effective their trap had been.'

I said, 'Ralph, it looks like we do have some prisoners for you after all.'

Ralph said, 'And what happens if he decides to give us false information or renege on his deal, Lee?'

I said, 'Well, if he is anything like the first group, he doesn't exist anywhere on the system. At least nobody will claim officially that he does exist.'

Ralph said, 'And if he doesn't exist, then he can't complain too much or push too hard or we can make the physical reality match what the computers are telling me?'

I smiled, and said, 'I don't think that would really become necessary, Ralph. But if things don't work out and they really start to get on your nerves, you can always keep that option in mind.'

The talkative one turned to his partner, and said, 'The first group. See, I told you that something smelled fishy about this deal. They set us up, and sent us after the guys who took out the group that went inactive a few months ago.'

His buddy said, 'Shut up, you fool. You talk too much.'

He said, 'Like hell I'll shut up. They killed nine men in that group, and the last fire team got away because they hid like scared rabbits until two hours after the sheriff left. Then they ran like scared rabbits. Hell, they even took out the snipers in that group, and they were two of the best long shooters I'd ever seen. Now they've killed ten men in our group. If this is the guy they think he might be, I'll tell him every single thing that I've ever heard if it will keep me alive, or at least let me die quick if I gotta die.'

His buddy said, 'He can't be that guy, Lou. He's too young. Besides, all the records they can find say that the guy you're so scared of died in Nam almost thirty years ago. He got caught and tortured by the VC.'

Lou said, 'I ain't taking any chances, Vic. I heard what they said that guy had been taught. They don't even teach some of those courses in the schools any more, and this guy was the best pupil some of the instructors ever had. And nobody can remember ever seeing a picture of him, but he sure as hell fits the description that we were given of what he last looked like.'

Vic said, 'Yeah, thirty years ago. He'd be old by now, and he wouldn't still be good enough to take more than one or two of us out.'

I looked at Rick, and said, 'Do you have your mess kit on you, Rick?'

Rick smiled, and said, 'Yeah. Why, Lee?'

I said, 'Would you hand me a spoon?'

Ralph said, 'What in the world would you want a spoon for, Lee?'

I winked at Ralph as I took the spoon from Rick and turned back toward our prisoners. I said, 'Why, I want to find out how much our prisoners know about interrogation techniques, Ralph.'

Lou screamed and fainted. Vic began screaming for Ralph to stop me, babbling that he would tell him anything he wanted as long as he didn't let me use that spoon on him. He was so scared that he had wet himself, and it smelled like he might have shit on himself as well, but with so many dead bodies around, it was getting hard to tell.

The security guards had brought body bags this time, and spent some time with gloves on getting them loaded and sealed. They didn't even bother trying to pick up the brains scattered around the guy I had shot in the head. When they were finished, they loaded all of the bodies onto the back of two of the carts they had brought up to the site. They were beginning to load the two prisoners when I stopped them.

I sent one of them over to our place to tell the women exactly what had happened and to bring Dani over to the complex to treat the wounded. Kristin and Naomi were to stay at the house with him, and to watch for any other intruders. I sent two other guards with him to escort Dani safely to the infirmary.

Ralph said, 'Why the secrecy, Lee?'

I said, 'I want to keep these two locked up here for a while. Dani can treat them. I don't want them talking to anybody, because somebody has been trying to look into my past, and I don't want them to be sure about who they are dealing with before I have any idea who I am dealing with. Understand?'

Ralph smiled, and said, 'Keep the enemy in the dark, because loose lips sink ships.'

I said, 'Something like that. Besides, Dani can keep them drugged while they are healing. Strictly to limit their pain, of course.'

We began to walk back to the complex, following the cart with the prisoners, so that we would be there when Dani arrived to treat her patients. Mary was putting a bandage around my arm as we walked so I wouldn't lose any more blood before we reached the infirmary.

Ralph said, 'Of course. Now, would you mind telling me what is really going on and why the two of them went loony tunes when you were starting to go over to them with that spoon?'

I said, 'Somebody got into some sealed files and released some information to someone else, probably for money. They probably couldn't tell them much more than what you heard them say. I happen to know for a fact that almost all of the important files, the ones with the details, were destroyed. Rick and I did it ourselves.'

Ralph said, 'OK, so what scared them so bad?'

I said, 'They heard that I used to do interrogations on prisoners. Sometimes we used drugs, and others we only had time for psychology and pain. There were several methods of physical and psychological interrogation used by the CIA in their own private, dirty little war in Vietnam.'

Ralph said, 'I know that I won't like the answers, but what were they? And don't describe the details to me if you ever did them yourself.'

Rick smiled at Mary, and said, 'He learns fast. Fewer nightmares that way.'

Ralph said, 'Wait, Lee. Are you sure that you want Mary to hear this?'

I said, 'She needs to. She'll find out about my past sooner or later. Besides, she has a right to know. One of the favorite methods of interrogation involved taking three or four captured VC up in a chopper and climbing to 500 feet or so. You'd tie a rope around the first guy's ankle and ask him a question. If he didn't answer you pushed him out and let him get a good view of the ground. After a minute or so, you pull him in, remove the rope, and ask him again. If he doesn't talk, you push him out. His buddies get to hear him scream all the way to the ground. Sometimes, they even imagine that they hear the thud over the wash of the rotors. Then you repeat the process with the next guy. Eventually, somebody talks, and you take them all back down.'

Ralph looked a little sick, but said, 'And the spoon?'

I said, 'Spooning had a whole different connotation in Nam. You took a spoon from your mess kit, stuck it in the corner of a guy's eye, and popped it out of the socket. The pain is pretty intense, and it is very psychologically disturbing. If you do it just right, they eye can still see because the optic nerve suffers very little damage. The effect of the disorientation can be rather dramatic. Of course, if the eye isn't replaced properly, they will be blind in that eye, and they could lose it altogether.'

Ralph stepped to the edge of the trail and barfed until his stomach was empty. When he was done, we started walking again.

After a minute, Ralph said, 'Lee, tell me something. How old were you when you learned all of this stuff firsthand?'

I said, 'A little younger than Mary, why?'

Ralph said, 'The only thing that pisses me off more than knowing that things like that happened is knowing that our government taught someone Mary's age how to do all of that just to serve their own political interests. I hope that those dirty, rotten bastards who were responsible for all of that rot in hell.'

I said, 'Don't worry, most of them will. But it won't do anything to help the poor bastards whose lives they ruined for their own fortune and power. I don't know if anything will ever help some of them.'

We walked the rest of the way to the infirmary in silence that was broken only by Vic's incessant babbling. When Lou came around, his moans of pain and pleading for mercy increased the general level of noise. Fortunately, he was unconscious until we were almost at the infirmary, so we didn't have to listen to him for long.

Chapter 9

When Dani arrived at the clinic with her escort, she looked anxious. Her mood and look did not improve when she saw the bloody bandage on my arm. Seeing that the bleeding was stopped, she started to treat the two men lying on the exam tables.

Rick said, 'Stop right there, doctor.'

Dani said, 'What?'

He said, 'You will treat Lee first. Then you may examine the others and work on them.'

Dani said, 'But they are more severely injured, and Lee's arm isn't still bleeding.'

Rick said, 'I know. But you might as well develop the habit now. Treat you own wounded first. Then, if you have the resources, and you still feel like treating them, you can treat any enemy wounded that are still alive.'

Instead of objecting, Dani said, 'You are right, commander. May I ask how this happened?'

As she checked my arm, Rick told her all about what had happened. She was becoming more furious by the second, and almost lost it when she realized that Mary had killed one of them. She looked at me, and said, 'The bullet passed clean through. It didn't hit any major blood vessels or the bone. I guess you already knew that. I've cleaned the wound, and sewn up the entrance and exit to keep them from allowing infection while you heal. I'd prefer to have you stay here overnight for observation, but I know that you wouldn't stand for that, and you'd find a way out. I won't put my staff through that, especially since I'll be at the house to keep an eye on you, anyway.'

She finished with the bandage, and I turned around as I started to put my shirt on. Both of them were staring at the scars on my back, sides, and chest. Lou said, 'Oh, God, no! He ain't dead. Don't let him kill me. Wait, please, kill me! Make it quick, but please, kill me! Don't let him near me with that spoon. Please, doctor, I'm begging you, don't let him near me with that spoon!'

Dani looked at me, and said, 'What is he talking about? How long has he been delusional and raving out of his mind?'

I put on my most angelic expression, smiled, and said, 'Beats me, Dani. He fainted or had some kind of seizure after we captured him. When he came to, he alternated between doing that and moaning in pain.'

Rick and Ralph kept quiet, although Rick suddenly found an excuse to leave the room so Dani wouldn't see him laughing. Dani figured that something was up, so she looked at Mary, and said, 'Mary, tell me the truth. What happened to this man?'

Mary said, 'Just what Daddy told you, Aunt Dani. Rick shot him, and Daddy disarmed him. Then he had some kind of seizure, and he's been like that ever since he woke up. I'd feel sorry for him if he wasn't such a dirty, rotten, murdering, lowlife bastard.'

Dani didn't waste her breath getting on Mary about her language. When Mary cursed, there was a good reason. However, she did examine Mary for any signs of shock or delayed reaction to the shooting before she started working on the wounded prisoners. Rick saw this when he came back in, and commended her for it.

Dani said, 'I know that you two were watching out for her, and you know what to look for, but I'll feel better if I know that I did a complete exam myself. Besides, it gives me a chance to calm down before I have to do my best to heal these dirty, rotten, murdering, lowlife bastards.'

Ralph broke out in laughter, and nearly choked trying to stop when Dani glared at him. Rick found another reason to leave the room, but you could still hear his laughter until he was at least halfway down the corridor.

I said, 'See, Mary, you're having a bad influence on Dani. Now you've got her talking just as bad as you.'

Mary snickered when Dani glared at me, but I just ignored her and smiled sweetly. Ralph left the room in a hurry, evidently remembering the story Rick and I had told him about Dani's penchant for hurling heavy objects at defenseless patients whose only crime is to have a better sense of humor than the lovely young doctor does.

Dani came over to where I was standing, and said, 'If I thought that it would do a lick of good, I'd hit you. Dammit, Lee, you have to be more careful. You have a daughter to think of, and Naomi, and the baby she's carrying.'

I said, 'Dani, if I could have thought of another way, a safer way, I would have done it that way. I'm sorry for worrying you guys. How did Naomi take the news?'

Dani said, 'Very well, considering. She seemed worried about Mary, but she always seems to think that no matter what, you'll come through OK. It's not fair to her, even if she seems to accept it.'

I said, 'Dani, she knows that I know my limitations, and that I'll always do everything I can to come home safe to her. She worries, but accepts that I won't do anything stupid because I promised that I was going to grow old with her, and I intend to keep that promise.'

Dani said, 'OK, Lee. But you know that the rest of us worry about you, too. You gotta try to be more careful. Will you at least promise me that much?'

I said, 'OK, Dani, I promise to be as careful as I can in dangerous situations. But I won't avoid my responsibilities just to keep that promise. Is that good enough?'

Dani lowered her head, thinking of a response. I put my hand under her chin and lifted until she was looking right into my eyes. Finally, she said, 'I guess that will have to do.'

Ralph came in and told me that he would watch while Dani patched up the wounded prisoners. He wanted me to take Mary to the cafeteria and get something to eat and drink. And he wanted us to sit down before we fell down.

Mary did look tired, so we did as ordered. As we were going down the hall, Mary said, 'You know that Dani really worries about you, don't you?'

I said, 'Yes.'

She said, 'You know that she loves you.'

I said, 'Yeah, she's a really good friend. I'm glad that she is such a good friend to Naomi and me. And to you.'

Mary shook her head, and began muttering something about how she had always thought that guys HER age were dense. When we got to the cafeteria, I realized that I was tired and hungry.

We both ate, got something to drink, and waited for Ralph to show up. While we were waiting, we both found a comfortable spot and dozed sitting up. Ralph found us with Mary leaning against me and my arm around her. As he walked up with Dani, I shifted, putting Mary behind me, and drew my Glock as my eyes snapped open. Seeing that it was them, I put the gun away. Then I woke Mary and told her that it was time to go home. I picked up my rifle and slung it over my shoulder.

Ralph said, 'Dani, remind me never to wake him up after something like that.'

Dani said, 'Uh huh.'

Ralph said, 'Dani, are you OK?'

She seemed almost in a trance for another second, then said, 'Yeah. Rick told me about that reflex, but I didn't believe him. I hope I never find myself on the receiving end of it again.'

Ralph said, 'That was fast, wasn't it? Did you ever think that anyone could move that fast?'

Dani said, 'Not really. I'm still not sure that it really happened. One second he was sleeping, and the next he had his gun pointed right at us and his eyes were wide open. And I honestly can't tell you that I even saw him move in between. I know that he did, but even the blur of movement didn't register.'

Ralph said, 'I know what you mean. I know that now that I know that someone can move that fast, I'm going to have nightmares about having a gun on someone like that and getting shot when I try to arrest him because he can draw and fire faster than I can squeeze the trigger.'

Dani said, 'If you do start having those dreams, just remember that there can't be two people that fast, and Lee is on your side. Maybe that will help.'

Ralph said, 'I sure hope so. I'll let you know.'

Rick was waiting for us outside with the Suburban. We climbed in and gave Ralph a ride over to the gate, where his truck was waiting. Then we drove home. On the way over, I explained to Dani that she would have to help with some more autopsies tomorrow, because we had shipped ten bodies to the hospital. I also warned her that some of them would be messy.

Dani said, 'As long as one of you isn't the subject of the autopsy, I can live with it.'

Mary said, 'Which one of us?' I hadn't heard her use that tone before, so I couldn't exactly place it.

Dani looked at her, almost in shock.

Rick laughed, and said, 'Whichever one of us hasn't gotten on her bad side lately, of course.'

Mary smiled, and said, 'That would be me, then, because you two buffoons are always giving her a hard time.'

Dani relaxed somewhat, but the rest of the drive was pretty quiet. I didn't think much of it, since we were all pretty tired. In fact, I kind of enjoyed the drive, even if it was Rick driving.

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Naomi and Kristin were still up, waiting with the guard, when we got home. As soon as the guard made sure that we were all there and he was no longer needed, he started back for the compound. Kristin gave him a flashlight in case he needed it. He wouldn't, especially after so many night exercises, but it wouldn't hurt to have it in case he ran into something unusual or unexpected. After the events of this afternoon, I don't think that there were too many people left watching us at the moment, and most of them wouldn't want to find out if we were looking for more trouble from them right now.

Naomi was upset that we had been in a shootout, but was relieved to see that we were all OK. She seemed to be almost nonchalant in her attitude to the bullet wound in my arm, and that seemed to set Dani off.

Dani said, 'What do you mean, you're glad that everyone is OK? Your husband has been shot in the arm. Doesn't that bother you?'

Naomi said, 'Yes, but not enough to get upset. He has been injured before, and he'll be injured again. As long as he will recover and the wound isn't serious enough to endanger his life or cripple him, I don't worry about it much. He's had wounds during training that were much more serious than that. If I was the type of woman who couldn't deal with things like that calmly, we probably would have split up years ago. If you think that some of his activities now are dangerous, you should have seen some of the training that he used to do just to test his limits.'

Dani said, 'Like what?'

Naomi said, 'Well, let's see. There was the time when he proved to me that the scenes from some movie were staged by showing me how you had to really do the moves to catch and arrow that was shot from a strong bow, and how it was almost as easy as deflecting them. Of course, he insisted on using arrows with the hunting heads on them, so that I would know if he accidentally hit the front of the arrow instead of the middle, where he was supposed to.'

Kristin said, 'Did he get cut?'

Naomi said, 'No. But he did break some of the arrows instead of deflecting them, so he made me keep working with him until he could break, catch, or deflect any arrow by choice. And I had to shoot them so that they would hit him right in the chest if he didn't pivot and move to one side or the other when he caught them.'

Dani said, 'He's nuts. I'm not a psychiatrist, and I still know enough to have him certified.'

Rick said, 'Sounds like fun. Do you want to try and see if you can still do it?'

Kristin said, 'Rick! If you don't stop encouraging this nut, I'm going to make you wish you had been born with more sense.'

Naomi said, 'Then there was the time that he wanted to see if it was possible to take down a trained attack dog, unarmed, with no protective padding.'

Dani said, 'What happened?'

Naomi said, 'He took the dog down without killing it or injuring it. It was so scared of him that it tucked tail and ran whenever it saw him after that.'

Kristin said, 'How?'

Naomi said, 'He grabbed it by the neck, picked it up in the air, then threw it onto the ground on its back, straddled it, and put his teeth to its throat while he held it still. When the dog didn't assume a submissive posture immediately, he growled at it and started to put pressure on its throat. I expected it to attack as soon as he let it up, but it whimpered and ran the first time he smiled at it.'

Dani said, 'Why?'

I said, 'Simple. I acted like a dog. I fought like a dog, and proved my dominance. When a dog bares his teeth, it's a challenge. Animals don't smile. When he was challenged by a dog that had just proved his dominance, he retreated. Animals rarely fight to the death. It's not conducive to survival.'

Dani said, 'But when I examined him, Lee had scars on one of his arms from a dog attack.'

Naomi said, 'Yes. That was from an acquaintance's Great Dane. He attacked without provocation after being set off by a smaller dog that was overly aggressive. The biggest wound was a puncture about an inch and a half deep by one of his fangs, right at the elbow.'

Dani said, 'Did they put the dog down, or did Lee kill it on the spot?'

Naomi said, 'No, they kept it under observation for rabies, then returned it to the owner. He got rid of it and moved. Even though the dog was still sometimes aggressive with strangers, it never came near Lee again.'

Dani said, 'So, why didn't you kill the dog?'

I said, 'Well, he was only protecting his territory, and was excited by the actions of the little dog. As soon as he bit me, he realized that he had done something wrong, and he backed off and sat down. Since he wasn't a threat any more, I let him live.'

Kristin said, 'And what would you have done if he hadn't immediately let go and gone into a non threatening posture?'

I said, 'I would have killed him. I already had my right hand on my gun, and I could have drawn, aimed, and fired the pistol several times in less than a second. It would have been hard to miss killing the dog at that range.'

Rick said, 'All this talk about killing dogs is making me hungry. What's for dinner?'

Kristin said, 'That's disgusting, Rick.'

Mary said, 'I'm hungry, too.'

Dani said, 'Don't you go helping them out, honey. We know that you are still a young lady, and haven't been completely ruined by your continued association with these barbaric ruffians.'

Mary laughed, and said, 'But I really am hungry, Dani. I didn't get lunch, and I don't eat much at the cafeteria. Besides, I was more tired than hungry. I guess the excitement got to me.'

Naomi said, 'We'll get something to eat real quick, then relax a while before going to bed. How is that, Mary?'

Mary said, 'OK. I am pretty tired, too.'

Dani looked a little concerned. Rick said, 'The adrenaline rush is wearing off. She'll be fine after a good night's sleep.'

Dani said, 'What do you mean? She just had to watch almost a dozen men get killed, she saw her father get shot, and she had to kill a man in order to survive. And you think that a good night's sleep is going to make all that go away and get better, and she is going to go one with her life like nothing happened?'

Rick said, 'No, but it will be a start. You can't change what happened. So, you deal with it and go on with life. We can help her deal with it to try to make things easier, but she has to get on with her life.'

Naomi said, 'Speaking of getting on with life, would you like to help me fix dinner, Mary? We can make anything that you'd like to eat for supper.'

Mary smiled, looked at me, and said, 'Can we make my favorite dish?'

Dani said, 'Oh, no!' and Kristin giggled. Kristin said, 'What's wrong, Dani?'

Mary said, 'She thinks she knows what my favorite dish is, and she isn't sure that she can take it right before bedtime.'

I said, 'OK, Mary, what are we having for supper?'

Mary said, 'Chinese pizza!'

Kristin, Dani, and Rick all three went, 'No, not again. We just had that for dinner last night.'

Mary said, 'Yeah. Isn't it great?'

We went into the kitchen to make the pizza. After rolling out the dough and putting on the sauce, we started adding the ingredients. Mary put on straw mushrooms, portabello mushroom slices, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, sliced water chestnuts, and a few chopped peanuts. She had decided on hot and sour, a combination that Naomi seemed to prefer more and more as her pregnancy progressed, so we got the rest of the ingredients ready and put them on as well. After adding grilled, marinated slices of chicken breast, she put on tomato slices, bell pepper slices, some pineapple chunks, and some dried cayenne peppers that she chopped up. We put some grated cheese across the top, and put them into the oven to bake.

Within half an hour, we were eating pizza. Dani was really chowing down on hers, so Rick said, 'What was it that you were so afraid she was going to fix, Dani?'

Dani said, 'I thought she was going to make some of Lee's special omelettes.'

Rick said, 'But you love those things. You always eat a lot when we fix them. You're an addict.'

Dani smiled, and said, 'Guilty, as charged. But, if I eat too much spicy food right before going to bed, my addiction will end up costing me a good night's sleep. My system just doesn't handle spicy food at night.'

I said, 'But, Dani, my omelettes aren't spicy. Now, fried monkey brains in pepper sauce is spicy. But the eggs and cheese in the omelettes make them so weak that it almost destroys the flavor of the peppers.'

Dani said, 'Just keep it up, and someday, when they end up putting you into the hospital for something, we'll do some extra surgery just to find out what it is that you use for a digestive system.'

I laughed, and said, 'Rick, you owe me five bucks. I told you that the medical system was so corrupt that even Dani wouldn't pass up a chance to do some unnecessary surgery.'

Rick said, 'Man, there goes my last five bucks. I'm going to have to stop hanging around with you, Lee. I think you come up with the bets and then get everyone to help you win, and then split the profits.'

I said, 'I am heartbroken that you would accuse me of such a thing.'

Dani smirked, and said, 'I don't have change for a five, Lee. Can you give me my cut in ones?'

Mary quit looking from me to Dani long enough to smack Rick's hand as he had been trying to snitch her last piece of pizza. She said, 'Nice try, Rick, but everyone else has already told me about how you manage to supplement your diet. If you want this pizza, it's going to cost you.'

Rick said, 'What? How much do you want for the pizza?'

She said, 'How much are you willing to pay?'

Rick said, 'In work, or trade?'

Mary thought for a minute, then said, 'Chores.'

Dani said, 'Ouch. She plays rough.'

Kristin snickered, and said, 'Yeah, but she saw that sucker coming a mile away. Rickie wants his pizza, doesn't he?'

Rick said, 'You keep out of this. What chores, Mary?'

Mary said, 'Well, I wasn't looking forward to morning milking this week, since it means that I have to miss out on some of the workouts. How many days is it worth to you?'

Rick said, 'One. One day for one slice. Fair deal.'

Mary said, 'No way. It took a lot of time, skill, and effort to make this delicious pizza, and you want me to give it up for one hour's worth of easy work? Come to think of it, I'm a growing girl, and I do need my nutrition. I should eat this before it gets cold.'

Rick said, 'OK, two days, but not a day longer, or you can remember that delicious pizza while you are milking the goats.'

Mary said, 'Deal.' She gave Rick the pizza, then looked around. Seeing that I still had one slice left, she said, 'Daddy, could I please have your last slice of pizza? I'm still hungry.'

I smiled, and said, 'What can you trade me for it?'

Mary said, 'Trade for it? Won't you give your little girl something to eat so she doesn't go hungry?'

I said, 'I would do anything for my precious little girl. You know that, honey.'

She turned to smile at Rick as she was reaching for my pizza. I stopped her hand, and said, 'But I think that I need to keep up my strength so my body can recover from the injury. You wouldn't want me to end up all crippled and helpless from lack of nourishment, would you?'

Mary squealed, 'But, Daddy!' as Rick and the others laughed. Rick said, 'Now she's going to learn how much things can really cost.'

Mary said, 'What are you talking about? He wouldn't take advantage of his little girl.'

Rick said, 'Don't bet on it, honey. Why do you think I traded with you instead of Lee? He would have made me do breakfast dishes for a week. Compared to him, you offer very generous terms.'

I said, 'That sounds like a very good offer, and I might be willing to consider it. But you have to take my weakened condition into account. It could mean the difference between three days of missing out on fun activities, and four days.'

Mary smiled, and said, 'But, Daddy, if you do the dishes yourself, it will help your arm heal faster. It would be like physical therapy.'

I said, 'You're right. Thank you for reminding me of that, honey.' Then I began eating the pizza.

Mary said, 'But what about the pizza?'

I said, 'I'll need my strength for my physical therapy, won't I?'

They all laughed, including Mary. After about a minute, I split the rest of the pizza with her. As she walked off munching on the pizza, she stuck her tongue out at Rick.

Rick laughed, and said, 'If I didn't know better, I'd swear that she was your child, Lee. She acts just like you.'

I stuck my tongue out at him, and finished my pizza.

Rick said, 'Yep. Chip of the old block.'

We cleaned up, and then went to bed. It would be a long day tomorrow. There were autopsies to perform, and Dani still had patients to attend to.

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After our usual morning routine, and after Rick finished milking the goats and I finished doing the morning dishes, we got Dani and took her to the complex. She checked on her patients, had the nurse change their bandages, and was finished with her morning paperwork in under half an hour. We got into the Suburban, and I drove us to the hospital.

Harry and Ralph were waiting for us when we got to the hospital. Harry said, 'Danielle, you'd better prepare yourself for the worst before we start. Some of these guys are pretty messed up. Ralph tells me that claymore mines killed most of them, but you can't hardly tell the ones the mines got from the ones that Lee shot.'

Dani said, 'Come on, Harry, you can't be serious.'

Harry said, 'I'm not joking. Ask Ralph. Or better yet, get it straight from the horse's mouth.'

Dani said, 'What is he talking about, Lee?'

I said, 'The rifle I used isn't really a sniper rifle. It is powerful enough, but most semi automatic rifles aren't really accurate enough for continued use. You burn too much ammo through them, and you lose accuracy. I used a semi auto rifle that I had custom made. At the ranges involved, it does a lot of damage when it hits.'

Harry said, 'That is an understatement if I ever heard one. One of those bodies doesn't have enough left above the neck to call it a head. We can't even try to get dental records, because there is nothing left to check and compare them against.'

Ralph said, 'Harry, calm down.'

Harry said, 'I'm calm. I just don't like overkill.'

I said, 'I don't believe in underkill, doctor. That is counterproductive to survival. Especially my survival or that of my family. When I know that there is a very good chance that my enemy will be wearing body armor, I want to use something that I know will make sure that if my only shot is to the torso, it won't matter.'

Harry said, 'Well, rest assured, you have achieved that goal, Lee. One of those bodies has a hole the size of my fist clear through the chest. That includes the front and back plates of the armor. What the hell did you use on him, a bazooka?'

I said, 'Well, it probably has as much armor penetration as an old bazooka. But the bullet relies on shock to kill, since it tends to punch a hole through without expanding much, unless it hits something really hard. But it does guarantee that you don't have to hit them twice to get their attention.'

Dani said, 'I know that I'm going to regret this, but let's get to work, guys. Even at two hours per body, we're going to have a long day.'

Six hours later, we broke for lunch. Everybody ate, but it was mostly mechanical for both of the doctors. They had both been shocked by the amount of damage that had been done to several of the bodies. In some cases, the body bags were doing most of the work in holding them into a recognizable form.

Harry said, 'It's disgusting to have to see that kind of damage done to a human body. They looked like they were turned into hamburger.'

I said, 'They were. They were planting claymores and other booby traps in the area where my family and close friends work out and do target shooting. A claymore is a lot of explosive used to propel hundreds of steel ball bearings, making it a huge shotgun. It can literally turn people into hamburger.'

Dani said, 'I'm just glad that I'm seeing the effects on these bastards instead of on Mary, or Naomi and the baby.'

Harry thought about that for a minute, and said, 'Lee, the next time you come across something like this, do me a favor.'

I said, 'What?'

He said, 'Don't kill them. If you get the chance, just shoot the bastards in the balls with that cannon that you call a rifle, and let them suffer as they bleed to death. Anyone who'd plan to do something like that to women and children, and pregnant women, deserves to suffer some on Earth before they get the chance to spend eternity in a fiery lake.'

I said, 'I'll give your request some serious consideration, Harry. Should we bring them to you, if they don't bleed to death before we get them here?'

Harry said, 'If you do, I can give you my professional opinion right now. Their wounds are too serious for us to treat, and I have no way to keep them from bleeding to death before other help arrives. But I will stick around and do my duty as a professional to make sure that the time of death listed on the death certificate is as accurate as I can make it.'

Ralph said, 'Why, Harry, you really do care about the people in this county.'

Harry said, 'Some more than others. We still have a few in this county that I won't lose much sleep over when they're gone, but they ain't done nothing so bad that I'd want to see harm come to them. At least not enough to do it myself. But these bastards are really beginning to get on my last nerve.'

Dani said, 'You and me, both, Harry. I don't know who they are, or who they work for, but I think that when I find out, I want a chance to see if I can perform my skills on them well enough to deserve a good malpractice suit. I am tired of people trying to kill me. Especially people who don't even know me.'

I said, 'It probably won't be long, now. Then things will change. Either they will stop, or they will come out in the open. If they attack openly, we will have a chance to make them wish they hadn't pissed us off.'

Harry said, 'What does that mean?'

Ralph said, 'It means that Lee doesn't play nice, and some people are going to find that out the hard way.'

Harry said, 'Good. If all the assholes you shoot are like these guys, with no record of them anywhere, except buried somewhere by someone with money, power, and political influence, would you please do me a favor? Just bury them somewhere and quit making me have to do all the work of signing a death certificate. If nobody is willing to claim that they were ever alive, they can't give me shit for telling them that they really aren't any more. I don't need the extra work. I'm a doctor, not a coroner, and I don't like all the overtime these assholes create for me.'

Ralph said, 'If things get really bad, Harry, you might want to have all those records. Just to show your grandkids how many assholes there were that wanted to get rid of all of the things that make this country great. Of course, if they win, you can show how you did your duty and kept track of our crimes for them.'

Harry said, 'Screw you very much, Ralph. I'd rather eat flaming horseshit dipped in cyanide than help some dictatorship kill off all my friends.'

Ralph said, 'Harry, you do care. I believe that there is a heart beating in there somewhere after all.'

Harry said, 'Dream on, sucker. I just can't let them have you without letting them have all the others, and I care about some of them. So, there.'

We all laughed as Ralph pretended to pout and be hurt, but had to cut it short so we could get back to work. Six stiffs down, four to go.'

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Dani said, 'Lee, this guy was still moving when you hit him in the head?'

I said, 'Yeah. We fired at the same time, and his shot hit me in the arm. Why?'

Dani said, 'Because the shock should have killed him instantly. His internal organs are a mess, and the one shot penetrated his armor and blew his heart apart. I'm going to order a tox screen on him. And maybe a screen for adrenaline. He should not have still been standing for the head shot to kill him. And he definitely should not have been able to aim and shoot at you.'

I said, 'OK, but you better get Harry to authorize the expenses.'

Dani said, 'The company will pay for it.'

Harry said, 'Why all the interest?'

Dani said, 'Look at the chest cavity. Would you believe that this was working well enough for someone to aim and shoot?'

Harry said, 'Order the screen. Let me know what you find.'

The rest of the autopsies were finished rapidly, and we made it out early enough to eat dinner at a restaurant in town and unwind before starting back. Ralph went back on patrol while we drove home. It had been a long day, and we still had several more before we would know how things had turned out.

We relaxed at home with the others. I didn't bother checking on the news reports from the rest of our communications network. I didn't think that there would be much there that I wanted to see in my present mood. I was not a happy camper. Attempting to kidnap and possibly murder the women was one thing. Setting booby traps and using military explosives was another.

Ralph had taken down the serial numbers, lot numbers, or any other identifying marks on the weapons that we had confiscated from the twelve man hit team. He had run them through the computers, and so far, there had been no response. The same was true of the fingerprints and mug shots that he had sent in on the ten dead men and two prisoners. However, nobody outside of our county knew that any of the 12 men he was running checks on was alive and in custody. If somebody screwed up and tried to frame us for murdering them while they were on a legitimate government exercise, they were going to be screwed. The video we had, and the confessions of the two survivors would be more than enough to insure that, and they didn't know that we had incontrovertible proof to support our version of the events.

Things had moved to the next level, and I still wasn't sure why. Any more than I was sure who was responsible for all of the illegal activity taking place in our county lately, or whether the people committing those crimes even worked for the government at all. I also had no idea whether or not the government was aware of their activities, if they were agents or had been hired by someone in the government to do their wet work so they could be written off if they were caught or captured. Too many unknowns to do more than plan for the general possibilities and hope that we remained lucky. I didn't like trusting my own safety and survival to luck, and I liked trusting the safety of my family to that unknown factor even less.

As I sat, I realized that it was the 3rd of September, and the comet would make its closest approach to Earth in just a few more days. I figured that Congress would take a break so those in the know could hide in a deep hole for a few days, just in case something really drastic happened when the comet passed by.

I had been to the sites that showed the comet's projected trajectory, and seen the photos released from various sites showing how close it would come to the Earth. Most of them were claiming that it would be the end of the world, and using the almost coincidental locations of the comet and Earth to show that it could hit the planet because it was passing so close. Unfortunately, these claims had two flaws.

First, they were bases on old projected orbit data that had not been updated in over three months. NASA had been forced to recalculate the orbit of Hale-Bopp more than forty times in order to figure out how close it would come to the Earth, because it had not behaved according to the predictions of their models. Comet Lee was also behaving in a manner similar to Hale-Bopp, so they had no way of knowing where it would actually go as it passed on its way out of the solar system again. Of course, this assumed that NASA really had deleted all of its telemetry and orbital data on Hale-Bopp, as they claimed. I thought that it was more likely that they had the data, or at least the military side still had their copies, and didn't want to let anyone know that they might be able to predict the orbital approach much more accurately than they had let on.

The second problem was that they were looking at a two dimensional picture of a three dimensional object. If they didn't rotate for height above the solar ecliptic, it looked like Lee and the Earth would almost collide. Of course, on the same plane, it looked like Lee and Venus would collide before it ever reached Earth. I had used the rotation to change the three dimensional view, and even at the time of its closest approach, the plane it was on indicated that it would be very far from Earth, but the distance was impossible to calculate with nothing available for a reference. Of course, the distance was also impossible to calculate with the given information, since we already knew that it was wrong. Instead of speeding up, the comet had been slowing down on its approach to the sun. With decreased speed, its trajectory would bring it closer to the ecliptic plane, making it come closer to the planets in our solar system. It would also mean that the exit vector would move closer to Earth than the projected exit close to the orbital path of Mars.

With all of these unknowns, I fully expected the politicians to make sure that their own hides were as safe as they could make them, just in case. If nothing happened, then they got a free vacation, and nobody would be aware of the potential crisis that they had been worried about. They had all seen "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon", and they knew that unlike Hollywood, NASA lacked the skills, equipment, and budget to get a shuttle flight out to the comet and save the planet. So "Deep Impact" would be more realistic in their thinking. Since they hadn't been preparing for saving as much of the population as they could for the last two years, and had limited shelters designed for saving important people and troops in case of nuclear war, and keeping them alive and safe for years, they didn't want to see what the public panic would be like. Besides, in all probability, the comet wouldn't come close enough to do more than affect the weather. And we all lived with hurricanes and typhoons every year.

More questions and possibilities, with no way to narrow down the probabilities to get usable data. All we could do was relax and see what happened in the next week or two, and hope that things worked out OK. Besides, we couldn't do anything about natural events that were beyond our control, even if they could present the real threat of a possible natural disaster. So we concentrated on working on the problems that we could affect. Namely, working to get people to prepare in case our own pride in our abilities to work with technology caused us to find out exactly what the cure for pride was. If we were right, some people were due for a really big fall.

Of course, we were also interested in limiting the damage due to human responses to problems or disasters, especially since they were so easy to predict in general, and so easy to modify if the proper steps were taken early enough. This was one case where an ounce of prevention was definitely worth more than a pound of cure. The problem was that it is difficult to get people to do the prevention when they don't even take the problem or the disease seriously. People have become so accustomed to letting things happen, and then letting the government handle the solution, that they have become lax, and don't really examine the cost or effectiveness of the solution very closely. They also believe that there is always a solution to fix the problem after it has happened. Technically, this is true. Unfortunately, they have also forgotten that in some cases, the solution is to throw away the damaged parts and replace them with new parts. Kind of like never changing your oil and replacing your engine every year or so when it breaks down due to lack of maintenance. In the worst case, where even this drastic solution is not possible, the solution that is available is that you just have to live with the damage and go on with life as best you can. Kind of like getting infected with HIV. There isn't a cure now that you're infected, so all you can do is take the drugs to prolong your life and wait for AIDS to progress to the point where it kills you. It isn't a great option, but it's the only one left at the present time.

Chapter 10

The rest of the week went fairly well. We went through our normal daily routines, and spent some nights outside watching the comet and enjoying the stargazing. It was fairly visible, but not quite as spectacular as I remembered Hale-Bopp being. It wasn't as bright, seemed somewhat smaller, and the tail wasn't nearly as large or bright. But it was visible, which conflicted with NASA's projections that it would be too dim to make much of an impression on anybody, or to be visible to the naked eye.

Our meeting on the 6th of September went well. Nothing to report except for the increasing violence in the world, and that the hurricane season had managed to end the drought for parts of Texas and the east coast. There had been one pretty strong hurricane, in the past week or so. Although it had mostly hit into Mexico and crossed toward Baja before dying out, it had managed to bring some much needed rain to much of the desert southwest and parts of Texas. Fortunately, it had missed Georgia, which was still having flooding problems in parts of the state.

There was another hurricane building, and it seemed to be getting pretty strong as well. It was behaving oddly, and the forecasters had been stumped by its movements. It had shifted course once, backtracking on itself, and looked to be building for about another week before it would hit either the U.S. coast or the caribbean track. Dan noticed that I didn't mention any connection to the comet when the discussion had centered on the odd behavior of the storm brewing in the Atlantic.

One item of concern was that the tensions in the middle east were rising again. India and Pakistan had increased the magnitude and ferocity of their fighting again, and seemed determined to make sure that this was the war that decided which country would survive. Some of the myriad religions in each country were pointing to the comet, saying that it was a sign of displeasure from whichever particular deity that they chose to worship. Many groups believed that it was a warning that the end of the Earth was near, and the faithful must either convert or kill all of the unbelievers to win favor in the eyes of their particular god. The end result was increased violence and tensions in the world.

The European countries that were our allies in the Kosovo conflict had finally decided that the United States should pay for most of the cost of rebuilding the country. The recession was having some major effects on their economies as well by now, and they didn't want to spend money repairing the damage. We had done the majority of the damage to prevent the genocide that was going on when they were unwilling to end it themselves, and now they wanted us to pay for repairing all the damage that had been done. The Senate had responded in very short order. They had drafted and passed a bill to end the funding for the peacekeeping troops in Kosovo by October 31, at which time they would either have to be out of the country or the military would have to support them out of their budgets from the funds that had already been allocated. The House of Representatives was expected to support the bill as well. The recession was making them less willing to spend taxpayer dollars, especially since the elections were coming up.

President Clinton had not come out by publicly criticizing the measures. His supporters knew that it would take time to move the troops out of the country. After all, there were still almost 7,000 U.S. troops stationed in Bosnia. Unfortunately, they were coming under more frequent attack, and were having an increasingly difficult time maintaining adequate levels of supplies. Usable water and ammunition were in short supply, and good food was still not readily available. MREs were not popular after about a month or so of surviving on them, and some of the troops were being forced to survive mainly on MREs.

The economy was still down at the beginning of September, and some economists were predicting the recession would last for several more months. Others said that the government could turn things around within another six weeks, since our economy had been so strong before the fall of the stock market. The government had been taking measures for months to prevent inflation, even though there were no indicators of any inflation in the near future. Economists had warned them that they didn't need to slow the economy, because it looked like it was still growing. After more than two months of measures to slow the growing economy and prevent the inflation that wasn't even threatening to happen, the bottom fell out, and they government had managed to cause a recession in what had been a healthy, growing economy.

With the spending on anything other than necessary items down, unemployment and underemployment went up, and people started to have a hard time making ends meet. It would take some time before things leveled off and started to recover. The same government officials who had caused the economic problems in the first place, were now scrambling to reverse their previous actions and get the economy going again. The stock market was beginning a slow climb as the economy recovered and people went back to work, and would eventually reach the 12,000 range by the end of November or the first week of December.

By now, the number of states that had declared that they would not be fully compliant when Y2K hit was about 30, and all of the states had finally started the new fiscal year. There were more plans on how to handle possible emergencies caused by failures in technology than you could keep track of. States, counties, and even city governments were all drafting their own contingency plans.

Dan thought that this was a good idea, until I pointed out to him that there was no coordination, and many of the plans were either unworkable, or contradicted the actions being taken by other cities or counties within the same state. I reminded him that the emergency plans for evacuation of the area surrounding Three Mile Island would have had two different towns evacuating their entire populations across the same bridge at the same time, but going in opposite directions. The resulting confusion, accidents, and traffic jams would have trapped most of the people right in the middle of the danger area that they were trying to escape.

The general consensus was that it would take years, or even decades for workable, coordinated plans of the type being drafted to be made. Everyone in the governments were just trying to avoid public panic by showing that they were preparing to solve any possible problem, just in case their previous planning and actions were not fully effective. The bad joke was that their previous action had been to ignore the problems and convince the public that nothing would happen. Now, they were stuck with that answer, because retaining the public's trust in their ability to identify and solve the problem required them to not inform the public that they had lied earlier when they said that there was nothing to worry about and nothing would possibly go wrong.

Some of the election campaigns were really getting nasty, with accusations and counter accusations flying in every direction. Some candidates were claiming that they could solve the problems if they were elected, while others said that they should be elected simply because they had not been responsible for perpetrating this big lie on the voters. If those who had been in power had not been able to see the problem, and then had ignored it instead of preventing it when they had years to work on it, then why should the voters trust them to be able to figure out a way to handle the problems that it would cause on an emergency basis?

The press was having a field day, trying to print all of the accusations without having to dig and find out the truth. They didn't want to report on the Y2K problem. The plan had been to print nice articles about how bad things could have been, but how the government had been on the ball and started working ahead of time to make sure that the problems were corrected before anything bad happened. Nice story, sells papers, and doesn't get trouble stirred up during an election year, because both parties can claim their share of the credit for solving the problem.

If they did a full story on Y2K and the actual state of preparations, then they would show that what the public was told by the politicians and the corporations did not match up with what was actually going on. That would not be good for business, since subscriptions didn't keep newspapers running. Advertisers did. Without advertisers, they couldn't sell enough subscriptions to keep in business, so getting the large corporations mad at them would not be good for the newspapers in the long run.

The situation was much the same for the other media. If they couldn't sell commercials, then they couldn't stay on the air. Dan disagreed, until I reminded him of a huge story exposing the tobacco industry's knowledge of the harmful effects of tobacco, and the addictive nature of nicotine, and how they had kept the information buried for decades, was scheduled to be run by one of the networks. Only the story was not aired because the tobacco companies filed a lawsuit for several billion dollars in damages if the story was aired. The network had caved in, claiming that the loss of the lawsuit would have ruined them financially. I had pointed out that the claim was a blatant lie, since the state in which the lawsuit was filed already had passed laws to limit compensation in such cases, and the maximum compensation they could have received was about half a million dollars, which represented less than what one of the networks was paid each year for a thirty second commercial during the Super Bowl. And both the network and its attorneys had been well aware of that fact.

We ended the meeting, and went back to work. It was routine, but it still had to be done. Every day, we sold more books, so more people were aware of the problems. The recession had not slowed down sales. In fact, it had increased sales, since our report had claimed that such a recession would occur before the end of the year. Our credibility was rising, because the analysts had initially said that nothing like that could happen with the economy being as strong as it was. They had forgotten to factor in the attempts by those in power to control and manipulate the entire economy for their own personal gain.

We still had no way of knowing how many people were taking our books seriously and doing what they could to prepare in the event of failures, or of how successful their preparations would be now that the average family income was down due to the recession. We did know that some of the items we had originally recommended as reasonably priced precautions were now getting to be fairly expensive. We had posted warnings and updates to let people know which companies were price gouging to make more profits in this time of increased demand for their product, even though some of their orders had been paid for in advance.

Of course, the demand for some items was getting so great that they could not be found in many places at any price. Generators were becoming impossible to get, and the price of gasoline was still climbing, although not as rapidly as it had shot up at the beginning of the summer. Some places that didn't normally carry some types of water purification supplies for campers found that their back orders were not going to be filled for six months or more. Most of the companies that built generators were still going at full capacity, as they had been for the last six months or more, and wouldn't be able to fill all of their current orders until about June of the year 2000. About six months too late for most of the people who had ordered them, since they either would never be delivered, or would no longer be necessary by then.

With the increasing violence and tension in the country, and with the recession still keeping some people's spending down, many people were forced to find cheap forms of entertainment. By the beginning of September, it was estimated that some talk show hosts had greatly increased the size of their audiences. Art Bell, for example, had seen the size of his average audience climb from about 15 million listeners to between 25 and 30 million, depending on the topic that he was covering and the guest he had. Other talk show hosts were also finding out that it didn't matter if they made their statements attacking the government, because their advertisers didn't care. If people wanted to hear somebody do a little government bashing, and were willing to sit through their commercials to hear it, they would continue to support the show as long as the ratings were up. After all, money talks. And in the world of advertising, ratings means money.

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Dani's patients were recovering from their wounds, but they would never use their injured legs normally again. Even with artificial knee replacement, they would have some limp, and they would not be able to cover rough ground well with anything resembling a full load. They had informed us of the contact procedures that they knew about, but it turned out to be nothing more than a dead end. There was no way of tracking down who had sent them, or of finding out exactly what it was that they were after. We did interrogate them thoroughly, but didn't get them a lawyer. We knew that nothing they told us would ever make it to a court of law, and we didn't want anyone to know that they were still alive right now. Especially since we wanted to keep them that way. They must have agreed with our assessment, because neither of them gave us any trouble or tried to get a lawyer. Especially after we told them what had happened to the three men who had been trying to kill the people in our communications network.

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Comet Lee missed the Earth, passing by on Rosh Hoshanah just a few million miles farther away than Hale-Bopp had. The hurricane that hit the U.S. that week did some major damage, and was probably almost as strong as Hurricane Andrew had been. Parts of northern Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina would be rebuilding for years, even if nothing happened at the end of the year. The rain that followed made things bad in the southern half of Georgia, since they were already just starting to recover from the previous flooding of this summer. Where we were, the rain helped our crops, which hadn't been too hard hit by the drought, but were in need of more moisture than they had been getting lately.

The next hurricane followed about a week later, and was about as strong as the one it followed. Fortunately, it took a different track, and went through the Caribbean. Unfortunately for them, it destroyed several islands and countries at a time when most of the world was already in a financial pinch, so relief efforts were reduced. It also built strength again as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico, and slammed into Texas hard. The rains from it reached into parts of Colorado, and while the rain was needed, the dry ground was unable to contain it all, and some flooding occurred.

There was some panic in some quarters when an earthquake in California happened on the 11th, just after the comet had made its closest approach. It wasn't huge, and everyone calmed down after about a week, when it seemed that it had not been a pre shock to some huge quake that was building up.

By the time we had our meeting on the 20th of September, things had pretty much settled down and were back to normal. The hurricanes had come and gone, and it looked like the next one was going to stay a tropical storm. The earthquake was an isolated incident, and there were no series of earthquakes that would cause California to slide off into the Pacific and disappear under the waves, making Arizona beachfront property. The economy was showing some signs of recovery, and some businesses were beginning to rehire workers that they had laid off.

Dan was optimistic as our meeting began, but I managed to quickly bring him back to Earth.

Dan said, 'Well, Lee, it looks like the economy is recovering, just like the government experts said that it would.'

I said, 'Of course, and right on schedule.'

Dan said, 'What do you mean? Do you think that they planned this?'

I said, 'Of course. The recession was staged. The only reason the recession occurred was that the government kept making things happen that would trigger it. All in their efforts to forestall inflation, as they put it. This, despite the claims of all the independent experts that there were no indications that our economy was doing anything but a nice, controlled growth, and there was no sign of inflation in the foreseeable future.'

Dan said, 'Why would they do that?'

I said, 'To build credibility. Since the economy was so strong to begin with, they knew that their efforts would probably only force a short recession before it would begin to recover, even in the face of their continued efforts to depress the growth curve. When they quit trying to depress the economy, and even did what they could to stimulate growth, then knew that the economy would recover. Now they can claim the credit for saving us from a continued recession, when in actuality, they were the only reason that it occurred in the first place.'

Dan said, 'That can't be right.'

Kristin said, 'He's dead on target, Dan. Careful analysis will support everything that he has said. But nobody is going to do that kind of analysis and report it in the media, because it forces you to assume two things that most financial analysts won't even consider. First, that the government would be capable of manipulating the economy like that. Second, that the government would do so, knowing that millions of people would be hurt economically so that a few would be able to make a profit.'

Dan said, 'But what would they stand to gain, beside a few dollars here and there?'

Kristin smiled, and said, 'That is a few billion dollars, Dan. Besides gaining credibility, which they need for the elections with the growing public concern over the lack of real action being taken to prepare for Y2K, and the complete unresponsiveness of the government to do something about the rising violence. It also means that the economy will overcompensate, making the stock market rebound to levels higher than it normally would have achieved, before it can balance out and fall back to the level it can maintain. People can make money on that overcompensation, and if it comes at the right time, it will make the stock market crash they want even more spectacular.'

Dan said, 'Why do you say the stock market crash that they want? Isn't that a little strong? It's equivalent to an accusation.'

Kristin said, 'Well, somebody is really pissed over the contents of our report. And it makes sense that those with the most to lose if people listen to us are those who are working the financial angles, or those who may have an interest in setting up their own little dictatorship and ruling the people under martial law.'

Dan said, 'OK, so why the accusation?'

I said, 'Two simple reasons. First, both require some sort of financial crisis, and the only people in place to do either are those who are rich and powerful, and they want to increase their wealth by as much as possible. So they are the only logical candidates for something like this to occur. Second, we have ample evidence that they are trying to do something to affect the economy, since the recession was artificially induced. Those who knew it was coming had inside information, and would profit even more. And all of the illegal activity that has been occurring lately had centered around trying to eliminate some of the people working on this project.'

'The politicians wouldn't bother with some of the methods used, since they know that even if people believed us and our report, it still wouldn't have much effect on their elections. However, if people listen to us and prepare, the stock market crash won't be anywhere near as spectacular, and the people won't lose their shirts. However, since the events would follow our predictions exactly, or closely parallel them, the people would realize that they had been set up and would respond. Probably very quickly and very violently, to make sure that those responsible were held accountable for their actions. Any actions taken to protect them or to disarm the people would probably result in open warfare in this country.'

Dan said, 'Why?'

I said, 'The people are tired of being lied to, cheated, and ordered around. They are tired of paying for the mistakes of politicians who do what they want instead of what the people they represent told them to do. They are tired of paying half of what they earn to a government that ignores their wishes and continues to make them poorer so that a few wealthy and influential individuals can become even wealthier. And they are tired of being unsafe in their own homes, and continually worried about being harassed by the police for no valid, legal reason, while seeing others go free no matter what they do because they are above the law.'

Dan said, 'So, what do they want?'

I said, 'Most of the people in this country simply want to live in peace. They don't want to support government waste, and they don't want to be continually told what they have to do. They want to live free, run their own lives as much as possible, have a chance to make a better life for themselves, and be able to keep what is theirs. They want to feel safe in their own homes, and to know that they can kill to protect their own lives and property from the scum who refuse to obey even the simplest of rules that this society has. If they can't even follow the ten commandments, why should they be excused for breaking hundreds of laws in our society that have nothing to do with the ten commandments as well?'

Dan said, 'Isn't that a little harsh?'

I said, 'If I can train a child before he is five that it is wrong to lie, cheat, steal, and murder, why should someone who knows this, yet chooses to do whatever he wants to society in general be given the opportunity to do so with complete impunity? That attitude is an affront to every decent member of the society.'

Dan said, 'I agree, but so does the government. That is why they are passing the laws. To protect the people and make them safe.'

I said, 'Bullshit. They pass laws that they know don't work, and can't possibly work, so they can claim that they are doing something to protect you. They know that they are not only making it harder for you to protect yourself, but that they are making it easier for the criminals. You don't pass new laws that make things harder for the law abiding in order to punish the criminals. If you can't make the criminals obey the laws, you need to enforce them better. If you can't, then the citizens have the right to protect their own safety by hunting down and killing the criminals. That will eliminate the problem. They did this when our country was strong, and they even went so far as to make sure that the politicians that supported and pampered the criminals were removed from office. It worked, and there is proof in the records that we have.'

Dan said, 'If this would work so well, why don't the politicians want to use the same methods to solve their problems?'

I said, 'The violence and crime were created by the politicians. You can trace the increases to specific steps that were taken to decrease the family influence, to give the children an inferior education, to break up the nuclear family, to support their political objectives overseas by financing their activities through money from illegal drugs, and many other things. They don't want to use a proven solution because it would interfere with two of their major objectives. They don't want the people to be independent, because they want to control the people and place themselves in a position of greater power. And they don't want the people to be willing to fight back because they intend to eventually disarm the people so they will be able to resist less effectively when the powers that they have claimed for themselves and deprived the people of through their illegal activities allow them to become a true dictatorship or police state.'

Dan said, 'That is just too much, Lee.'

I said, 'No, it is the truth. History has shown how governments behave, and anybody with average intelligence and common sense can find out where our current government is heading. When the people lose control of their lives, no matter how good the intentions of the government, it eventually leads to tyranny. Tyrants rule through fear and intimidation, and are eventually overthrown. It is almost always bloody and violent during the revolution, since those who support the tyrant and share in his power are also at risk when he is overthrown. If you look at the laws that have been proposed by the most liberal Democrats over the last twenty years, you are seeing the future that they envision. And there is already a historic precedent to allow you to see exactly how well this Utopia they envision will be for you and your family.'

Dan said, 'What is that?'

I said, 'Nazi Germany. Read the lists of laws and proposed laws that we have posted on our web site. When you are done, check which list was used or proposed by the Nazis in the 1930's and 1940's, and which list has actually been proposed or implemented by the liberal Democrats in this country in the 1980's and 1990's.'

Dan said, 'Is it really that bad?'

Steve said, 'The current polls from the website are apalling. Eighty percent of the people who have taken the test think that the regulations put forth by the Nazis are less restrictive. Most have labeled the liberal ticket as the Nazis.'

Dan said, 'Yes, but we can't make such broad interpretations from a few opinions.'

Steve said, 'We have had over 500,000 people take the test since it first appeared on our site. The results have been consistent over the last four and a half months. And most of the people who answered the pre-test questions about interest in our books and our reports who showed almost no interest before the test changed their mind after the test. Especially if they were part of the 80% that thought the liberals were more restrictive than the Nazis.'

Dan said, 'OK, so what do we do?'

I said, 'Prepare for things to get worse before the end of the year. The attempt to kill us at The Quarry was the signal that the stakes have just been raised. They are no longer interested in making anything appear to be an accident, and they are perfectly willing to openly attempt to murder people to preserve their position and keep things on track so they can consolidate their power. They are probably a small, covert group within the government, operating behind the scenes and taking advantage of certain situations as they occur. They probably have the ability to influence some decisions, but not enough support to operate openly with the full force and authority of the government.'

Dan said, 'Why do you say that, Lee?'

I said, 'Because if they could, they would turn this compound into another Waco. But they can't cut off all of our communications, so they can't use the military to openly come in here and kill us all and burn the evidence. Besides, they are afraid that not only will we get our story out, but that the compound here is better situated and equipped to defeat anything short of armored troops, so they can't use the FBI and BATF without risking more casualties than they can afford to try to cover up.'

John said, 'What do you mean, Lee?'

I said, 'They are afraid that our militia will be able to defend themselves, and that we would kill a lot of federal agents if we were openly attacked. And they can't afford to go to trial or arrest us, since we can prove that their search warrants were obtained illegally and have some credibility with the media.'

John said, 'But didn't the people at Waco have a lot of training and guns? They were supposed to have had over a million rounds of ammunition at the compound, weren't they?'

I said, 'Yeah, according to the affadavit that was sworn out for the warrant to be issued. But it was all a lie. They may have had a million rounds of ammunition over the years, but they used a lot for target practice, and several of the people there made their living by selling guns and ammunition at gun shows. If you sell 10,000 rounds of ammo at a gun show, it wouldn't be something spectacular.'

John said, 'How do you know that they didn't have that much ammo, or at least a lot, still on the compound after the siege?'

I said, 'All of the video evidence shows that they fired few, if any, shots at the BATF agents, even in self defense. The press may have been kept a few miles back, but there is no way they would not have heard a million rounds of ammuntion cooking off in the fire that destroyed the compound, or even just 10,000 rounds. You would hear that for miles, and it would take a while for the explosions and shots to stop. Nobody, including their neighbors, who often heard those on the compound doing target shooting, ever reported hearing ammo cooking off during the fire.'

Dan said, 'That's pretty damning evidence, Lee.'

I said, 'Par for the course, when dealing with the BATF. Even the government says that 70% of their cases are based on their own illegal activities. If they consider breaking the law to be standard operating procedure, and nobody has ever done anything to stop them from continuing the practice, why should they change their procedures?'

Dan said, 'But wasn't the FBI in charge of the siege of Waco by the time the fire started?'

I smiled, and said, 'Thank you for remembering, Dan. Now, you understand that not only does the BATF have a documented history of operating illegally, but the FBI does not have an untarnished track record, either. In fact, they were fined at about that same time for illegal activities in another case involving similar actions. The judge on that case found that they had acted illegally, lied to the press intentionally, agents had lied in court, the evidence had been deliberately withheld from the defense, documents had been deliberately delayed in order to prevent the defense attorney from presenting a proper defense, and evidence had been altered, planted, or even deliberately manufactured to boost the prosecution's case and convict the accused.'

Dan said, 'That doesn't prove that the whole bureau was involved.'

I said, 'No, it doesn't. But consider a few facts, and tell me what you think a rational person would conclude. First, the rules of engagement were deliberately changed so that any armed adult would be shot on sight. That is illegal, since they are on their own property, are armed legally, and have a right to defend themselves. And the agents who drafted those rules knew that the adults and even the kids almost always went around armed. Second, the people responsible for making those rules, which were judged unconstitutional during a subsequent Congressional inquiry, not only failed to get approval from the legal department, who would have informed them of this fact, but were rewarded with commendations and promotions. Third, even though the Congressional inquiry found that the first shot taken by the sniper was illegal, and that the second shot, which killed an unarmed woman holding a baby in her arms was both unconstitutional and amounted to premeditated murder, nothing was ever done to charge or try the sniper for his actions.'

Dan said, 'They did not say that it was premeditated murder, did they?'

I said, 'No. They said that it violated her constitutional rights. But the fact that the sniper's own testimony in court did not match the events, and the fact that his drawing of the sight picture that he had through his scope at the time of the shooting showed heads in the window indicate that the perjury in court was to cover up something. In court he said that he couldn't see anyone because the drapes were closed. His drawing showed heads, and the drapes open. His bullet went through the window, but not the drapes, indicating that he was lying in court.'

Dan said, 'OK, he may have lied in court, but what reason would he have?'

I said, 'Simple. The psych profile indicated that the wife was the one who would hold out and keep the family together. It actually stated that if she could be taken out, the situation would resolve itself in the government's favor. The snipers were actually given instructions that if the opportunity presented itself, and they could kill Vicki Weaver, then their problems would soon be over. Even though she had done nothing wrong, and was charged with no crime, they were openly talking about killing her as a solution to their problem.'

Dan said, 'Even so, it still could have been an accident.'

I said, 'If you want to believe that, all you have to do is explain one thing to me. During the siege, the government had planted microphones on the cabing to find out what was going on. They said that they could hear the baby crying, could tell that there were some whispered conversations that were unintelligible, and could hear movement going on in the cabin.'

Dan said, 'Yes. What is your point?'

I said, 'The point is, that even though the Weaver family was distraught and kept yelling at the agents outside that they had killed Vicki, the negotiators continued to use loudspeakers to taunt them, asking the mother if her kids were hungry, telling them what they had just had for breakfast, and asking if she would like to see her kids eat a good meal. There was no way that they could not have known that she was dead. And they kept that information from the press because the press could hear them taunting the family over the loudspeakers. They also destroyed evidence by running over the family dog, who had been shot by trespassing U.S. Marshals, over 20 times with an APC.'

Dan said, 'I assume that you have a really good reason for going over this again?'

I said, 'Yes. So that everyone here understands that even if the people who are trying to shoot at us are federal agents, they are not necessarily right. In fact, if you haven't done anything wrong, you should assume that those shooting at you are aware of that and are relying on their status to protect them from harm after they murder you. There are documented cases of the federal government intentionally breaking the law and killing law abiding citizens when it serves their interests. We have already had people on this property trying to murder people who live here, and the only place they could have gotten some of their equipment is from the federal government and the military. And none of the equipment has ever been reported as stolen. In fact, most of it has never had any documentation on it at all, according to the reports that the sheriff has received in response to his inquiries.'

Dan said, 'What does that mean?'

I said, 'It means that the documentation was destroyed, or is classified. Either way, whoever is using he equipment and coming here is breaking the law. No matter who they are, we are justified in killing them in self defense. Now, we have to be more vigilant to make sure that they aren't given an opportunity to kill or injure a lot of us with their illegal activities. If we can survive the next three months, then we should be safe from any further targeting by these people, since they will have other things to keep them occupied. Besides, we are draining their resources. Trained men who are willing to commit murder are not available on every street corner. At least, not ones of the caliber of training that we have seen so far.'

Dan said, 'If I didn't know better, Lee, I would think that you were trying to tell us that we should shoot government agents. That would be illegal, and could be considered a form of insurrection, couldn't it?'

I said, 'No, I am telling you that you should be prepared to kill any person who comes onto this property and attemps to murder you. That is illegal, no matter who they are or who they work for. That is survival. And any government that expects you to do less than survive does not represent the best interests of its law abiding citizens, and should be replaced immediately with a government that represents their interests. Because it certainly isn't performing its intended function, especially in the case of a government that is supposed to represent a free people who are in control of their own lives, as our government is supposed to be.'

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Dan was busy for the next few days, going over and verifying everything that we had gone over during our last meeting. On the 23rd, he called for a private meeting in his office with Rick and myself. When we showed up, he also had Ralph and the judge in his office.

Dan said, 'I called this meeting to go over what we said at our last meeting and to verify some facts. Ralph and the judge are here to give us their official interpretations and so they know what is going on.'

We sat down, and relaxed, waiting for Dan to continue. I wasn't sure where he wanted this meeting to go, so all we could do was wait and see what was on the agenda.

Ralph said, 'We have gone over the facts that you presented, Lee. As far as we can verify, both through official and independent sources, all of the information is correct.'

Dan said, 'I couldn't believe it. This actually happened, and nobody in the government or the press did anything to uphold the law and punish those who were responsible.'

Ralph said, 'Of course not. The press won't defend a white supremacist, and that is what they labeled the family, even though there was no evidence to support that. And they certainly won't stand up for some radical religious cult, even though there is no evidence that they have ever broken any laws. If you choose the right people to harass in this country, there isn't much to worry about as long as the local police don't get worked up about it.'

Dan said, 'How could something like that happen?'

The judge said, 'Well, there isn't a lot that can be done in some cases, because you need proof in court, and in many cases there isn't enough to stand up in court, even though everyone knows who is responsible and what is going on. And if the judge trying the case goes along, certain evidence will never be admitted into evidence, so the case can't go very far. It's a long, expensive process to appeal a case of that type and get the records reviewed, especially since some records tend to disappear or get misplaced over the years before the case is retried or the appeal is heard.'

Dan said, 'Are you saying what I think you are saying?'

The judge said, 'Yes. There is corruption at all levels of the government. Not all the time, and not everywhere, but in some cases, either the judge, or the prosecutor, or some agency, or members of it, decide that justice needs a little help so that things get done according to how they think they should be. So some evidence is stressed in front of the jury, while other evidence is suppressed. Sometimes a suspect is ignored, while someone else is tried, even though the best evidence is the word of an informer who is a known liar, and who is known to have an interest in seeing the case come out in a certain way. What the jury doesn't know, won't hurt them is the prevailing attitude. In other cases, it is necessary for the judgment to come out in a certain way in order to avoid serious public disturbances, so the jury is convinced to come to a certain conclusion in the interest of the public good instead of the interest of justice.'

Ralph said, 'You know what kind of cases he is talking about. The media makes a big deal out of them, hyping them to generate interest and make more money from increased audience size. You see things like this happen all the time, and you either ignore it because you don't consider it to be important, or you accept it as something that happens. You have to be careful, or you start accepting more and more, and before you know it, you are willing to stand for almost anything as long as you are left safe and comfortable.'

Dan said, 'There was a time when you would have been right, Ralph. But I've seen too much evidence that somebody doesn't care about some laws being broken, especially when the victims or intended victims either don't have enough power to get justice and the protection they deserve under the law, or they are someone who is not politically correct, and represents a thorn in the side of the status quo. I am a believer, and I intend to keep my eyes open and to stand up for my rights.'

The judge said, 'What convinced you, Dan?'

Dan said, 'The fact that after several events that should have been big attention getters in the media happened here, there was still no interest or concern, even though we had footage that should have had the place swarming with interested reporters trying to get it on the air. And none of the federal agencies have shown the slightest interest in following up on these crimes, even though they involved a lot of firepower and even military ordnance. If the BATF has time to raid homes over paperwork errors, most of which are their fault due to lousy, sloppy record keeping, then they should have at least sent an investigator to find out why a large amount of illegal explosives was recovered on our property, and to trace down where it came from. The fact that they didn't even bother to try to go through the motions tells me a lot. And none of it is good.'

Ralph said, 'You have the stuff we recovered stored in a secure location, right, Lee?'

I said, 'Yeah. It isn't going anywhere until you tell us to get it gone.'

Dan said, 'You have possession of the impounded materials, Lee? I would have thought that the sheriff would have put them into the evidence locker and made everything official.'

Ralph said, 'I would have, but not since the first incident when we caught the trespasser on your property. After the two guys came trying to force us to let him out, and ended up in jail with him, we confiscated all of their weapons and IDs. Since they were evidence, they weren't returned to them when they were bailed out by their shyster attorney. Lee said that I should put them somewhere safe, so I did. It's a good thing, too, or they wouldn't be evidence any more.'

Dan said, 'What do you mean?'

Ralph said, 'Someone broke into the jail and tried to steal the contents of the evidence locker. It was a professional job. They didn't take anything, but we could tell that some things had been removed and replaced. They were looking for something specific, and they didn't find it, so they replaced everything so that we wouldn't know that anyone had been there.'

Dan said, 'So, how did you know that they broke in?'

Ralph said, 'Well, the judge and I had a secret camera installed in the back of the evidence locker so we could make sure that the evidence wasn't tampered with or stolen. Whenever the door is open, the camera records, and the picture is fed to a tape machine that only runs when the camera does. Takes a while to fill a six hour tape that way. We got the photos of the guys who tried to steal the evidence.'

Dan said, 'Do you have anyone looking for them for that crime?'

Ralph smiled, and said, 'No. It was the guys who had been in jail. When they found that they couldn't get the physical evidence, they shut off the computer without erasing the files, since it wouldn't do them any good. I didn't add that charge because they were already wanted, and I didn't want to warn them before they showed up for trial, if they ever did. Besides, they are all dead now. It seems that they all died trying to ambush some friends of yours who spend a lot of time talking to you on the internet and trying to sell copies of your books at gun shows. What a coincidence.'

The judge snorted. Dan said, 'Even I wouldn't buy into that one, Ralph.'

Ralph said, 'Yes, but the press seems to have turned a blind eye to the story. Not that it did them much good. It seems that certain people have a lot of contacts on the internet, and when they got pissed off, they started making sure that certain information was as widely distributed as possible. That story must be on about every major bulletin board in the country, along with copies of the local stories to confirm it. From what I heard, the conspiracy nuts are having a field day with it, and their sites are showing a lot of activity as people read what they have to say and respond to it on the chat rooms they have established.'

Dan said, 'That is a lot of activity. Maybe we better try to start printing off more copies of the books.'

Rick said, 'We already have, and we told all of the groups to start printing their own copies if they can't get enough from us to keep up with the demand. We're selling over 10.000 copies per month now on some of the books.'

Dan said, 'Ralph, what did you do with the bail money that they left? They may be dead, but they did skip bail and miss their court date, right?'

Ralph said, 'Well, we're going after the bail bondsman for the other 90%, but we probably won't get it before the end of the year. I have already put the rest of the money to really good use.'

Dan said, 'How, if you don't mind me asking?'

Ralph said, 'Well, we did a complete upgrade of the police department. We bought some emergency radios that don't require batteries, some emergency flashlights that are rechargable, some solar chargers, a lot of body armor, a lot of guns to replace our old, worn out collection of rifles and shotguns, a lot of ammunition, and a lot of water purification supplies and emergency food supplies. Seems the county needed to upgrade and resupply all of their emergency preparedness stores and revise its disaster plans.'

Dan said, 'And I'll bet that they just happened to have some volunteers who had some expertise in that area, right?'

The judge smiled, and said, 'Why, Dan, you know that the county never turns down assistance from qualified volunteers.'

Dan said, 'So, are the supplies going to be enough to do what they are going to be needed for, or do you need to increase your stockpile?'

Ralph said, 'Well, we have enough to last for quite some time when it comes to taking care of the official employees, but we are not anywhere near prepared for long term care of large numbers of people. Fortunately, many of the local people are prepared to live on their own, and others have never done things any other way.'

Dan said, 'What do you mean?'

Ralph said, 'Some of the hill folk in this region have never trusted modern conveniences. Some of them don't even have electricity, and any indoor plumbing is because they have a well and put a pump in their kitchen. They grow, hunt, or trade for their own food, and they make most of their own clothes and furniture. They may not have a great lifestyle, or a great diet according to most people's standards, but they have always managed to survive. And they are all armed, and know how to use their weapons well. They are going to survive.'

Dan said, 'But what if there is a sudden influx of people from the cities who want to shoot them and take their goods?'

Ralph said, 'There will be a lot of bodies to bury. Those hill folk are all related, or have close ties with their neighbors. Some of them may die, but they will stick together and hunt down the offending parties. They might get surprised once, but after that, they will be very wary, and they know the woods. Even outnumbered, they will have the advantage.'

Dan said, 'Good. If something like that happens, let us know, and we'll help out however we can. I don't intend to let good, hard working people get overrun by a bunch of thieving scum who were too haughty, arrogant, and lazy to make sure that they were prepared for what they knew was coming.'

The judge said, 'Good. They might not take much food or shelter, since they don't want to be beholdin' to anybody, but I'm sure that they would be willing to barter with you for reloads for their guns, since ammunition is sometimes in short supply compared to the other amenities.'

Rick said, 'That shouldn't be a problem. We have a lot of different sized dies and molds, and we do a lot of reloading for the security force. I'm sure that we can reload almost any caliber that they have the brass for, and it shouldn't take us very long to do it, either.'

Dan said, 'I don't know, Rick. Some of the guns I've seen are pretty old, and some of them must be in rather hard to find calibers.'

Rick laughed, and said, 'That still shouldn't be a problem. We took that into account when we set up our reloading facilities.'

Dan said, 'Why in the world would you do something like that?'

Ralph laughed, and said, 'Have you seen some of the guns that these two nuts carry? They have to be able to reload custom made ammunition just so they can shoot their favorite toys. If they can handle that, any of the manufactured weapons should be no problem, though they will have to tone down the power of some of the cartridges for some of the older weapons. Of course, I'm sure that the two of them know a lot more about that than I do.'

The judge perked up at this exchange. He said, 'Boys, I have an old bolt action rifle from around World War I. Getting ammunition for it is kind of hard, but I have a lot of the spent brass that I've saved over the years. Always meant to do some reloading myself, but never seemed to find the time. Do you think that you could get some of it reloaded for me without it costing an arm and a leg?'

I said, 'We can do better than that, Judge. We can get you set up with your own reloading equipment and all the supplies you'll need. We'll even show you how to do it yourself, and make sure what the safe limits are for your weapons in case you want to experiment with different loads. You won't believe how relaxing it is to sit down and do some reloading.'

The judge said, 'I'd like that. My job is so stressful sometimes that I really need to relax. Maybe this is just the ticket.'

Ralph snorted, and said, 'Uncle Jerry, you don't have a stressful job. Your most stressful days are when you are fishing and you let all the big ones get away because you're napping when they take the bait and lose them when you jerk the line as you come awake.'

The judge said, 'Hush, boy, before I find you in contempt.'

Ralph laughed, and said, 'Ha! We aren't even in court.'

The judge said, 'No, but I have a long memory. Besides, since I decide where the sheriff's office is, I might decide to move your office next to the janitor's closet in the courthouse so I can keep track of your activities.'

Ralph said, 'You just want to ogle Sara when she brings lunch to me.'

The judge said, 'I've been found out. If I was twenty years younger, I'd convince that girl of the dreadful mistake that she's making. Don't see what she sees in you anyway, boy. You are always getting yourself into some mess or another, and you don't have one of the safest occupations known to man.'

Ralph said, 'Well, she seems to find me charming, intelligent, witty, and attractive. And she thinks I'm strong. What do you have to say to that?'

Rick said, 'She likes his butt. She thinks it's cute.'

The judge said, 'Well, I guess I'm out of the running. I can compete with all the other stuff, but my butt is definitely not cute.'

We all laughed, and got back to work. By the end of the meeting, we had worked out the details of what we agreed were acceptable responses, and had figured out what we thought was most likely to happen in and around the compound over the next few months as those who wanted our report stopped or discredited did what they could in the time they had left. We were satisfied that we had done what we could right now.

Before we finished, Ralph said, 'How are Heckyl and Jeckyl doing?'

Dan said, 'Who?'

I said, 'He means our prisoners in the infirmary. Heckyl and Jeckyl are the names of two cartoon magpies, and he was referring to the fact that they want to talk, but they never seem to have a lot to say. At least, not a lot of real importance.'

Dan said, 'What are their names?'

Rick said, 'Who knows? They answer to almost anything, but have seemed to agree upon the code names of Clyde and Bennie. Obvious fakes, but they had no ID, and the IDs at the camp we came across were all fakes as well. There must have been three or four for each man at the camp.'

Dan said, 'Did you find anything else?'

I said, 'A lot of fancy equipment and weapons, and a lot of ammunition and explosives. There were also enough MREs to last all of them through the next few months. All of the important papers and documents were missing. Whoever was at the camp removed them, but left all the nonessentials in their haste to get out of Dodge while the getting was good. They knew that what they left behind wouldn't prove anything, couldn't be traced, and was too much to carry in a hurry.'

Dan said, 'So, the three of you ended up getting more fancy toys to add to your collection, right?'

Ralph said, 'That's about the size of it. Sooner or later, they'll make more mistakes, and we'll find out more about what is going on.'

Dan said, 'So, you don't think that they'll stop their activities after this mess?'

The judge said, 'They can't afford to until they think that it is too late for us to make a difference to their plans. Not after raising the stakes like that.'

Dan said, 'Great. So how much more danger does this place everybody in?'

I said, 'Probably not much. Now they seem to be willing to do things to hurt us, but they seem to want only certain people, who they figure may pose a threat either through their actions or because of something they know or may be able to figure out.'

Dan said, 'Well, at least the kids should be reasonably safe, then, right?'

I said, 'They'd better be. Otherwise, the media is going to face the wrath of about 50 million pissed mothers when they get the news off of the internet, and some of those mothers are going to be the wives, sisters, aunts, and mothers of people who work at the networks. It's a shame you can't get tickets to something like that, but it could get pretty messy.'

Dan said, 'So, what are we going to do with Bennie and Clyde?'

I said, 'Keep them here until they recover, and then Ralph can take them to the jail and charge them. If they call a lawyer who isn't local, then they can worry about the consequences. We've already got all the useful information that we're liable to get from them, and they know it. If they stand trial, they will be convicted and sentenced to jail. If they make bail, they will probably skip just like the others did.'

The judge said, 'Not unless someone wants to spend a lot of money up front. We have enough to connect them with the other three, and with the attempt on the women, so the bail will be astronomical, and there will be no bond without the full bail because of the fear of flight to avoid prosecution. If they get out, we'll have a lot more money to get the rest of the preparations we just discussed done, and we'll need to meet again to see which areas need the most additional input.'

We ended the meeting so we could get back to work. We still had a lot to do, and time was running down before the deadline.

Chapter 11

It was the end of September, and the crops were really beginning to come in. The entire complex was busy harvesting their own gardens, the community gardens, and doing what they could to prepare the food for storage or preservation. Most of the milk from the dairy was being made into cheese, which would not only keep longer, but would actually improve with aging.

There were several different festivals to celebrate the harvest. They gave the group some time to relax as well as to get things done at home. They also served to blow off steam and relieve pressure for those whose job was particularly hectic at that time. Steve was really in need of some recreation, since his department was the busiest with all of the printing, routing for orders, and keeping track of communications. Some of the auditors and accountants were over in his department helping to organize data and keep track of everything, but they were still working hard to keep up.

When the fruit started coming in, there was a lot of interest in harvesting the apples. During one weekend, we managed to get most of the crop that was ripe harvested and to store over a hundred bushels of apples. Of course, there was also some cider, pies, and cobblers made, and caramel apples and candied apples were a big hit as well.

I decided to give the girls a treat, and made some caramel apples that were also drizzled with chocolate and rolled in chopped nuts. They went fast. We made several dozen more and took them to the fair the next day, and they went even faster. We had saved a couple for Dan and Lucy, and they loved them.

Dan said, 'You know, Lee, it's too bad that you won't be able to make any of these at all next year if we're right.'

I said, 'What do you mean, Dan?'

He said, 'Well, chocolate isn't indigenous to the U.S., so you won't be able to get any after everything breaks down, if we're right on our estimate of how bad things will get. You can't make chocolate without cocoa beans, and they have to be imported.'

I said, 'Well, you're right and you're wrong. I have laid in a supply of both chocolate and carob, so we will have enough to last for quite a while if we don't get excessive in its use for treats. Naomi also has a particular fruit that she likes, and it tastes like chocolate pudding. We cook it or use it in cakes, and you can't really tell the difference. She is able to grow it here, although it does better in the controlled environment of a greenhouse.'

Dan said, 'I should have known that you would have stored back something like chocolate. Let me guess, you also have some stored back in what you have reserved as trade goods. Right?'

I smiled, and said, 'Of course, Dan. Trade goods means that you have to carry the necessities, for those who don't have one thing or another. They can often barter for them from some other source, though, so you can't make too much off of them. Luxury goods, on the other hand, are harder to come by. Those who already have all of their necessities taken care of don't have much use for what they already have taken care of. But when their wife or kid wants something that they don't have, then they have to trade for it or do without. Since nobody here can make chocolate from scratch, then I don't have to worry about somebody else coming up with a homemade version and undercutting my prices, do I?'

Dan said, 'But what happens if they still undersell you from their own stored stocks?'

I said, 'That's free enterprise. If I can't get the price I want out of it, I can either lower my prices to what people are willing to pay, or keep it in storage unless I want to use it myself.'

Dan said, 'But you won't make anything that way.'

I said, 'No, not right away, but eventually, their stocks will run out, and I will have the only supply left. Then people will either meet the price or they will do without.'

Dan said, 'That's not a real good way to run a business. Your customers may choose not to meet your price, especially if you raise the price due to decreased supply in the face of high demand.'

I said, 'I won't be doing it for a business. I may do it for someone, but only if he can trade me something of equal or greater value. Luxuries are not necessities, so I'm not even going to worry that he might need the item to survive.'

Dan said, 'There are times when chocolate is not a luxury, especially if your wife happens to be one of those who is addicted.'

Rick laughed, and said, 'That isn't a necessity, even during those times.'

Dan said, 'You're not married, so you don't know what you're talking about, Rick. When a woman is addicted to chocolate and has a craving, there is no living with her until her craving is satisfied.'

Just then Naomi waddled up, and said, 'Did I hear somebody talking about me?'

Dan said, 'No, we were just talking about cravings.'

Naomi said, 'That reminds me, could you get me one of the sandwiches that Lee packed for me, Rick?'

I said, 'I'll get it, honey. You just wait right here and I'll be right back with it.'

As he watched me jog off, Dan said, 'See, Naomi has cravings, and Lee does what it takes to please her because he knows that there will be no living with her if she doesn't satisfy her craving.'

Rick said, 'No, Lee does that because he loves her. It still isn't a necessity.'

Dan said, 'What do you mean? What other option is there?'

Naomi said, 'Well, he could always go off in the woods with Rick to hunt or fish, since we always need to add some fresh meat to our diet, and we could always use a little bit of extra meat in the smokehouse or for canning. Then he wouldn't have to listen to me complain.'

Dan said, 'Yeah, and you'd kill him when he got back, right?'

Naomi said, 'Oh, no. I understand that I can be a real pain when the cravings get bad. Even Dani can't stand to be in the same room with me when I eat some of the things that poor Lee has to fix to satisfy my cravings.'

I returned with the sandwich, and handed it to Naomi. She thanked me, and took a huge bite. She obviously enjoyed the sandwich very much.

Dan said, 'That must be pretty good. What's in it?'

I laughed as Rick put his hands over his ears so he wouldn't have to hear. He was entered in the pie eating contest, and didn't want to throw his stomach off. Naomi giggled at his antics, and continued to eat her sandwich.

I said, 'Well, let's see. There is pumpkin bread, made from some of the pumpkins in our garden. It has sardines in hot sauce, strawberries, pineapple chunks, feta cheese, lettuce, onions, tomato, pickles, and braunschweiger. Dani says that technically, it is very good as far as nutrition goes, but she wouldn't eat one unless her life depended on it, and even then, she'd have to think about it a long time.'

Dan's face had paled as I described the contents of the sandwich that Naomi was eating. He said, 'Isn't braunschweiger a liver pudding?'

I said, 'Yep. She can't get enough of the stuff. We started making our own from the goats and the sheep that we've slaughtered, and we have traded some game for some beef liver when someone else slaughters an animal. I have also used deer liver when we shot a deer.'

Dan said, 'That sounds positively revolting.'

Rick removed his hands from his ears, and said, 'Lee, from the look on Dan's face, you have obviously outdone yourself. Why don't you do me a favor? Will you find my competition and tell them what's in that sandwich about five minutes before the pie eating contest?'

I said, 'I won't have to. Naomi drew the slot against you.'

Rick said, 'No fair. She's eating for an army, and the little parasites suck it out of her as fast as she can put it in. I'm only eating for one.'

Kristin sauntered over from where she had been standing. She put her arm around Rick and leaned against him. She said, 'That's not true, darling. You're eating for at least three yourself.'

Dan said, 'Are you pregnant too, Kristin?'

She laughed, and said, 'Oh, no. Lover boy here won't be that lucky until after the wedding. No, he's eating for himself, his stomach, and the tapeworm he must have to eat as much as he does and still fit into his skin. I've seen elephants that ate less in a day.'

We laughed as Rick tried to pretend to have hurt feelings. He gave up after a minute and went off muttering about needing to find a supportive person so he would feel good about himself.

After Naomi finished her sandwich, Dani came over and joined us. Dan said, 'Well, it took you long enough to decide to join in the fun.'

Dani said, 'Only as long as it took Naomi to finish her sandwich. I helped fix them and pack them this morning. Once is enough for me, thanks.'

Lucy said, 'I remember having cravings when I was pregnant. Poor Dan must have had a hard time finding some of the things, because they didn't make them back then.'

Naomi said, 'What did you usually crave?'

Lucy said, 'Ice cream, but with unusual toppings.'

Naomi said, 'That isn't too bad.'

Dan smiled, and said, 'Not since several of the specialty ice cream companies have come into existence. My sons-in-law don't have much trouble finding ice cream with peanut butter cups, or chocolate covered peanuts, or other things in them. It wasn't that easy when the available selection was usually chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, or neopolitan.'

Lucy said, 'So, when is the baby due?'

Naomi said, 'Around the first of the year. As close as we can figure, it was Lee's welcome home present that did us in. He finished his road trip around the end of March.'

Lucy said, 'Are you sure that you're only carrying one?'

Dani said, 'It's probably twins, but it may be triplets. I can't figure it out with the ultrasound, and she won't let me try to determine the sex, because she wants it to be a surprise.'

Naomi said, 'Of course. Otherwise, Lee would be able to plan everything out for the nursery and I couldn't keep him guessing. Dani would slip up during a workout and tell him what the sex was while they were talking. Lee is very good about getting people to slip up and tell him things that they don't want him to know. What Dani doesn't know, she can't tell Lee, even if her tortures her.'

Lucy said, 'You wouldn't torture the nice, young doctor, would you, Lee?'

I smiled, and said, 'Only if I knew that she was holding out on me. It wouldn't be any fun if she didn't have the information I wanted.'

Dan said, 'Lee, you should be ashamed of yourself for even considering such a thing.'

Danielle said, 'He would be, but he knows my weakness.'

Lucy said, 'What's that?'

Dani said, 'I'm ticklish.'

I smiled, and said, 'And I know where.'

Dani stuck her tongue out at me and gave me a raspberry. Then she left with Naomi and Kristin to find what Mary had gotten up to while we were talking.

They found her with some of the other teenage boys and girls around her age. One of the boys had a black eye, and most of the kids were dirty.

Kristin said, 'What are you kids up to that has you so dirty?'

Mary said, 'We were practicing self defense and wrestling.'

Dani said, 'Why does Joey Johnson have a black eye? Did you guys get too rough?'

Mary said, 'No. He wanted to try to join the militia, and said that he could take me.'

Naomi said, 'So, what happened?'

Mary said, 'Well, while he was trying to take me down, he felt me up to try to distract me. So I popped him one.'

Kristin giggled, thinking that Joey had probably thought that it was worth the pain. Not that he seemed to be in much pain.

Dani took a quick look at his eye, and told him that nothing seemed to be damaged, but to come into the clinic if he had any vision problems. Joey smiled, then ran off with a few of his friends to continue the wrestling. Kids would be kids.

As they were walking over to the area where the refreshments were, Mary told them that Joey was cute, but he sure didn't have a lot of sense.

Dani said, 'Why do you say that?'

Mary said, 'Because he knew that he wouldn't be able to distract me that way, and he did it anyway. And he knew that I'd sock him for it.'

Dani said, 'Maybe he thought that it was worth the price.'

Mary said, 'If he did, he has rocks in his head. I ain't gonna go play doctor or spin the bottle, especially with some kid who can't even control his urges. What makes boys think with their gonads instead of their brains when their hormones kick in anyway?'

Naomi laughed, and said, 'Honey, if we could answer that, we'd be rich. Because then women everywhere would have a cure for their men.'

Kristin said, 'Don't take it too hard, though, Mary. Sometimes, it's nice to have them pay attention to you.'

Mary said, 'Yeah. But I still don't have a date for the harvest dance, and it's supposed to be at the end of next month.'

Dani said, 'Don't worry, you'll get a date.'

Kristin snickered, and said, 'If they aren't afraid that you'll beat them up.'

Mary laughed, and said, 'Only if they don't behave.'

Dani said, 'Naomi, you have my sympathies. Lee has already ruined this poor child.'

Mary said, 'He did not! Mama taught me to beat the stuffings out of any boy that touched me when I didn't want him to. Daddy just told me to tell him all about it and he'd shoot them.'

Kristin said, 'Well, he just might.'

Mary said, 'Oh, no, he wouldn't, cause I wouldn't tell Daddy unless it was something real bad. I ain't taking no chances on him scaring all of the boys off until after I find the right one. Then he can scare all the others off.'

Dani said, 'That's pretty practical. I'll have to keep that approach in mind. It would save me some problems, but then I'd still have to deal with the jerks myself. Of course, since the training began, that hasn't been much of a problem.'

Kristin said, 'Why, are you meeting the right kind of guys for a change, instead of jerks?'

Dani said, 'No. I've just been too busy working and training to meet any jerks.'

Naomi said, 'Maybe we should fix you up with some dates. Just so you don't get out of practice and forget how to handle jerks.'

Kristin snickered, and said, 'Yeah, we can see if any jerks want to get the stuffings pounded out of them.'

Mary said, 'Come on, you know that you wouldn't try to set her up with any jerks. If Daddy thought you would hang around with jerks, he'd see what he could do to make all of them take lessons in manners. Of course, then Dani might get to meet them all after all.'

Dani said, 'Why is that, Mary?'

Mary said, 'Because, you know that Daddy would say that him pounding the stuffings out of them was just his way of teaching them some manners by making sure that inappropriate behavior was rewarded with negative results.'

Naomi said, 'She really does know how her daddy thinks. Poor child.'

They were still all laughing when Rick and I found them to tell them that the pie eating contest was coming up. They seemed to laugh harder when they saw us, so we knew that we were being picked on again. Not lacking for common sense, we pretended ignorance and a total lack of curiousity. It worked, because we made it to the pie eating contest without finding out anything about what was so funny.

Rick beat Naomi by cheating. He reminded her of her diet. And he said that she didn't want to look like a beached whale. Naomi had the last laugh. She let Mary punish Rick. Mary was helping by fixing breakfast this week, and she didn't fix anything for Rick's breakfast all week. Rick took it like a man. He cried a lot, but not where the women would see. He also fixed his own breakfast, but had become so spoiled that he didn't enjoy his own cooking as much as he used to. But he didn't lose any weight, so nobody took his complaints about starving too seriously.

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Our first meeting for October was on the 4th. The meeting was basically to cover the news and events that had occurred in the last month. Crime and violence in America were still on the rise. The recession was turning around nicely, and all of the campaigning politicians from both parties were claiming to be responsible for the improvement in the economy. Par for the political course, and not any less believable than Al Gore claiming to have invented the internet when it was actually first being constructed before he even finished his schooling. Unless, of course, he was old enough to have served in Vietnam and chose to evade the draft. Things like that were not totally unknown in the world of modern politics.

The KLA had escalated the violence in Kosovo, and had begun sniping and ambushes on NATO troops. They usually saved most of their attacks for the Russian and Greek forces, but would take any opportunity to show their displeasure with the way things were going in their country. The Serbs had also continued their violence, but had never fired on the Russians, and rarely on the Greeks. The Russians were still trying to operate independently, and had effectively carved out their own sector of the country by selectively enforcing the rules, refusing to obey any orders that NATO issued, and doing what they could to block any moves that NATO took against the Serbs. Most of the U.S. troops were tired of the charade, and many of the old timers were openly talking of the good old days when it was OK to blow the ass off of some commie bastard because you knew they were lying when they said that they wanted to be your friend. If anything did happen, it would not take much to turn the entire military contingent stationed in Kosovo into a raging free for all.

India and Pakistan were still going at it with everything they could afford to throw into the Kashmir region. Casualties on both sides were mounting daily, and both sides were waiting for a decision by the U.N. on whether or not they would conduct an official inquiry into the Pakistani claims of the use of chemical warfare agents by India. It looked like the decision could escalate the conflict no matter which way it went.

North Korea was still doing strong probes all along the DMZ, testing the defenses, and was still using its naval forces to keep the pressure up along the coast as well. Things had been going strong, with minor escalations and reductions in tensions for about four months now, but the overall trend was that tensions were still rising.

There was violence in Indonesia and the Philippines as various groups continued their own squabbles against their opponents. Government forces were accused of atrocities against the rebel forces and the people in the regions that supported them, and the rebels were accused of atrocities against the government and its supporters. It didn't matter who was responsible. The net result was that the number of countries where it was unsafe for American tourists to travel in at all doubled in the last part of 1999, since both sides either hated Americans or believed that they made excellent targets and the opposition could be blamed for the actions in which Americans were injured or killed.

China announced that it was scheduling the most massive wargame exercises in its history, and that its troops would be conducting extensive exercises from the middle of December until the middle or end of January. Troops would begin to shift to their assigned posts in the middle of November. Russia and the U.S. both were upset with the timing and the size of the maneuvers. Taiwan was already raising a ruckus in Washington, but they knew that it was a lost cause because the White House was already well known as a solid Communist Chinese sympathizer, and the presidency would not change hands until after the exercises, no matter the outcome of the elections that were scheduled for November.

Saddam Hussein was still building the Iraqi forces, and the entire middle east was concerned that he would start invading neighboring countries again. They were not reassured that American forces would be there for them again. Both because they were aware that the occupation forces in Kosovo and Bosnia represented a drain of personnel, resources, and finances, and because they were aware that the present administration was not the friendliest they had dealt with in the last few decades. Even if the resources were available, they did not trust the White House to deploy them in time to make a difference, even if that was their true intentions.

Hussein was openly telling his people that they had nothing to fear from the Great Satan, since he could buy with Iraqi oil at least as much as the Chinese could with a few measly campaign contributions. The claims were having more negative impact on the traditional allies that the U.S. had in the region than they were positively influencing the Iraqis to generate support for Hussein's plans. Analysts concluded that this was the intention, since Hussein operated by fear and by killing all potential rivals before they became powerful enough to become a real threat to his power base.

Osama bin Laden and other terrorist leaders were preaching a campaign of destruction against the U.S., and several embassies around the world had either been bombed, attacked, or had attempts made on the lives of some of the staff during August and September. News of the attempts was kept quiet until several minor and middle level officials were confirmed to have been killed or seriously injured in attacks. Some of them had initially been reported as accidents, including one serious car crash that had killed one official and injured at least one member of his family.

The elections in this country had degenerated into a mud slinging contest. None of the candidates seemed to want to tell anyone what they stood for, or what they planned to do once they were elected. Their major speeches consisted of veiled inferences about their opponent, and not so veiled claims of what they stood against. The more radical elements of each party managed to get their points across with less tact, but more honesty.

George Bush had won the Republican nomination, and was claiming that he would represent American interests. He made all of his campaign contributions public, and challenged the Democrats to do the same. Al Gore, the candidate for the Democrats, said that Bush was just grandstanding, hoping that his father's dignity and good name would get him elected in spite of his mediocre performance as a governor. The official response was that Gore would know about mediocrity, after serving as Bill and Hillary's whipping boy and gofer for all of those meetings with Chinese campaign contributors, and for never standing up for the American people or the Constitution when his boss was dragging it through the mud with his infidelity, obstruction of justice, and perjury. Not to mention the amazing way that foreign crises involving military action seemed to magically appear at all the critical moments in the investigations and trials, giving the President something to draw attention away from the trial while also allowing him an opportunity to address the people in a manner which improved his public image. The Democrats did mess up when they mentioned "Wag the Dog" first, and the elections degenerated from that point.

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We continued to train, harvest, and make preparations. The books were selling well, and the activity on the internet indicated that we had probably been able to at least get the idea that we had a message to over one million people. Not a lot, but a lot more than we would have reached by going from door to door. And those who read the message and thought that it was important would tell others about it. Word of mouth was very important, especially since the mainstream media and all of their "news" shows were not going to cover this story.

We were visited by people claiming to be agents for various federal agencies several times during the last part of September and the first part of October, but they all seem to have misplaced their identification, or their search warrant, or they just wanted someone from the compound to come with them to answer some questions. When Dan had asked them if they were arresting him, they had told him that he wasn't under arrest, but that they needed him to answer some questions at their headquarters. He told them to come back with an arrest warrant, and they could serve it in front of the media while he read the warrant on the air to verify its accuracy and validity. That pair of "agents" never returned. Obviously, the matter wasn't as important or critical to national security as they had first indicated to Dan.

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We were roasting marshmallows and making S'mores by the firepit on the evening of the 8th of October when Roddy and Pete arrived for their next visit. It was a surprise, since we hadn't been contacted and told to expect their arrival. They were not alone when they arrived. There were three other people with them, and all of them looked like they were military.

They didn't seem to be surprised by the armed response that seeing them brought, although one of them blanced when he saw the size of the magazine in the rifle that was being leveled at him. Mary had been trying out one of my sniper rifles earlier that afternoon, and had been finishing up her cleaning of the weapon when she noticed that Rick and I were paying attention to the woods. She had the weapon completely reassembled and loaded in under ten seconds.

Pete and Roddy assured everyone that everything was fine, but that they needed to come without any notice this time because they had to get us to meet the people they had brought, and they thought there was a chance that some of their communications were being monitored on their end. They introduced the men and woman with them as Master Chief Ryan Murphy, Colonel Ed Harrigan, and Captain Elizabeth MacMasters.

They were completely surprised when I lifted Captain MacMasters off the ground, gave her a bear hug, and then swung her around like a small child. I said, 'Lizzie! How have you been? How's your dad doing? The last time I saw you, you weren't any bigger than Mary. You look like you've been doing great.'

Lizzie waited patiently for me to put her down, and said, 'You always did treat me like a kid, Lee. Show some respect for the uniform, OK?'

I said, 'Rick, this is Mac's little girl, Lizzie. The last time I saw her was years ago. She always said that she was going to be an officer so her old man would have to listen to her once in a while. Does he?'

Lizzie said, 'Hell, no! The old goat has so much seniority, and so much pull that there is no way in hell a mere captain is going to have enough clout with the command to get his attention. He's probably aware of more skeletons and screw ups than anybody else in the military. It's a shame that they're going to force him to retire next year, but he's ready for it. He says that if he had his forty in already, he'd have taken off and tracked you down just to see what kind of trouble you were stirring up.'

I said, 'When is his hitch up?'

Lizzie said, 'At the first of February, why?'

I said, 'How much leave does he have coming?'

She said, 'More than he can take. Why, Lee?'

I said, 'If he is interested, he could come for a visit. I'm sure that we could find a nice little plot of land around here so he could have a place of his own. And I can guarantee him a friendly reception by the locals, even if some of the visitors are kind of nosy at times. They sometimes get pushy, so he'll have to be careful that they don't try to take advantage of a helpless, kindly old man who happens to have made the acquaintance of such a despicable character as myself.'

Lizzie smiled, and said, 'I'll pass the invitation along. I'm sure that Old Mac will love the chance to see what his favorite student is up to.'

Realizing that we were ignoring our other guests, I said, 'Mary, why don't you lower your rifle so the nice colonel won't be so afraid that you might accidentally shoot him. He doesn't know you well enough to trust your weapons handling skills.'

The colonel said, 'Call me Ed, please. You must be Lee. You're the reason that I'm here. I was a tag along, since I managed to figure out what Roddy and Pete were up to. They had to bring me along. I've wanted to meet with you and the others since I read the report you put out. I work in military intelligence.'

He waited for the customary smirk or quip, but none was forthcoming. He continued, 'I work with Captain MacMasters, and some of the information that we have been monitoring has us concerned. There is a lot of activity in this area, and we think that at least one team is operating here conducting illegal activities. We had some traffic concerning several other teams or groups, but they seem to have gone off the air.'

I smiled, and said, 'We need to go inside. I have a few things to tell you, and some things to show you. When I'm done, you may or may not decide to continue your conversation. Either way, you will be free to go when the others leave, since it may not be safe for you to travel through the surrounding area alone. You'll understand my concern for your safety after you hear what I have to say.'

We all went inside and got comfortable in the living room while some drinks and sandwiches were made. Rick called Ralph, and had him come over to meet our new guests. While we were waiting for Ralph, they ate and drank, and took some time to clean up and remove the worst of the crud from the hike.

Pete and Roddy greeted Ralph warmly when he arrived, so the others accepted his presence without question, even though he was in uniform.

I began by explaining what had happened on the road with Sara, and about being deputized by Ralph. Then I covered the details of the ambush the first group attempted, and the results. I told of the night trip where we ran off one pair of watchers, who were so scared that they left most of their equipment, and one of them even left a boot. When I told them about the trap we sprang on the one watcher, and what happened to him that night, Murphy burst into laughter. He sobered up some when I explained what happened when the two men came to try to get him out of jail by force or coercion. When I told him what they subsequently did after skipping bail, and what had happened to the men, they all became sober.

Murphy asked for more tea as I continued. I related the events on the day when we had the shootout at The Quarry, and how we had even taken two of them prisoner. By the time I finished, including the visits we had received from various "government agents" who wanted to threaten us or to talk to us at their headquarters, none of them was talking. Even Roddy and Pete were stunned by the brazenness of the attempted ambush at The Quarry.

Ed said, 'Excuse me if I ask for some kind of proof to back up your claims, Lee, but I don't know you or your background, and there is no way some deputy sheriff, his old buddy, and his fifteen year old daughter should be able to do what you just described. I know the type of training that the men you described should have had, and there is just no way that you would have caught an entire team off guard like that.'

Roddy and Pete both stared at the colonel like he had just lost his mind and started quacking like a duck. Lizzie didn't move, not knowing how anyone would react and not expecting that kind of a response. Murphy sat there like a statue, moving his eyes around to test out the situation without making any movement that would draw attention to his position, which I figured he believed to be highly exposed and possibly dangerous.

I smiled, and said, 'Well, colonel, it just so happens that we happen to have some home movies that you might find interesting.'

Rick put in the tape that we had made that day. It started with him handing me my gear and me stripping down to my skivvies and putting on my cammies. Lizzie and the ladies all did some catcalls to break the tension. Murphy, Pete, and Roddy were all fixed on the scars that were visible on my arms, legs, and torso as I quickly changed clothes. Murphy whistled when he saw the rifle that Rick handed me, and the amount and type of ammo I took with me.

I let the tape play at normal speed. The sound was on, but there wasn't much sound coming out of the speakers during the five or ten minutes when we worked our way through the woods. The next real sound was me whispering "Daddy" into Mary's ear as she stiffened up when I grabbed her. Our whispered conversation and evaluation of the situation was soft, but clear, as the camera followed the activities of the men in the valley.

When I ordered them to stop, the sudden sound made Lizzie and the colonel jump. The activity in the valley became bedlam as movement was followed by the sudden booming of rifles next to the camera's microphone, quickly followed by three booming explosions in the valley. After a short silence, in which we discussed our options, it showed me standing up slowly. Then the action began again for about five seconds, during which Mary rolled over, still holding the camera. The footage showed the man on one side being shot by Rick, while Mary shot the one on the other. It also showed the hits taken by the man in the middle, and him taking the shot that removed most of his head while shooting at me. I let the tape run until after the man who had tripped the mine had been killed, then stopped it after Ralph had said that he had been there long enough to see the man on the ground go for his weapon, and to hear my reply.

The colonel was kind of queasy, so I gave him a minute or so to recover. He said, 'You were the only one injured?'

I said, 'Yeah. Flesh wound. It's already completely healed. I know a good doctor.'

He said, 'Colonel Ed Harrigan, sir. I was ordered to report to you and find out what was going on. I was also ordered to make sure that you were who you were supposed to be. Old Mac told us that you were still alive, but some of the others weren't so sure, since all of your records seem to have disappeared or been destroyed.'

I said, 'What are you talking about? Who would order a colonel to report to me? Hell, I never had much rank or pull when I was in the military, and I sure as hell don't have any more now.'

Ed said, 'I was ordered here by someone who owes you a favor. He said that you would probably remember him, but didn't want to reveal his name. He sent us some communications from this area which allowed us to track illegal traffic and pinpoint its location. He said to tell you that he is enjoying his children, and his grandchildren.'

Rick laughed, and said, 'That damned spook had enough sense to take you seriously after all. I thought he just wanted to do less paperwork when he sent those unauthorized flights, figuring extraction was less paperwork than reports on lost units and doing all the replacements.'

I said, 'OK, we have some idea of who sent you, and a vague idea of why. If he told you to report, he had some message other than the one you just delivered. What was it?'

Ed said, 'He said to watch your six, because the clock is ticking, and you are too close to hitting the nail on the head for comfort. Somebody doesn't like you, and they will do what they can to end their problems. He said that he didn't think they had the clout. I didn't understand that at the time, but after watching the video, I think I do.'

I said, 'Was that all?'

Ed said, 'He said that I would do well to take anything you said seriously, because he didn't know that you had ever bluffed on anything, and he sure didn't want to find out that he was right the hard way. He said that you were the scariest son of a bitch that he had ever had the misfortune of serving with in 'Nam. I don't understand that, since you are too young to have been in Vietnam during the war.'

I laughed, and said, 'Oh, I was there. Maybe not officially, but I was there.'

Ed said, 'If you don't mind me asking, what did you do in Vietnam?'

I said, 'I was a sniper for the Corps, and then a LRRP. We had a lot of time in the field, and nobody saw or heard us much. Our controllers saw to that. What we had to say about the war wasn't fit for human ears, especially not the public back home.'

Ed said, 'If you were a Marine sniper, how did you become a LRRP, since they are Army?'

Rick said, 'Call it the lend lease program, because the Army never really had him either. We worked for the Company, and they had their own little war going on. We had ranks in the military, but we didn't really fit into the TOE of any official outfit.'

Murphy said, 'Phoenix. No wonder those bozos didn't stand a chance. They came on your turf and tried to shit in your face, and they didn't expect you to be able to make them eat it themselves. Somebody didn't do their homework very well.'

Lizzie said, 'There wasn't any homework to do. You can't find the details out when the papers have all been destroyed. This was before computers. Mac paid his debt to the kid as best he could, and made sure that every record he could find was burned. It was one thing to send him off to war. But to find out that he had been shanghaied into Phoenix and run through the specialized training almost broke the old man's heart.'

Murphy said, 'What did they train you for, specifically, Lee?'

I said, 'Infiltration, assassination, sniper, counter sniper fire, demolitions, medic, sentry removal, and interrogation.'

Roddy said, 'Shit. All of the dirty jobs.'

Pete said, 'Ain't that always the way. Take the best, and give them your worst.'

Ed said, 'Will you gung ho grunts please explain this to me so that I can understand it?'

Lizzie said, 'Lee lied about his age to get in. He was mature, but young. Dad trained him the best he could. Lee could stalk like an animal, and move without sound in the woods, so they made him a sniper. He was so good at it, they taught him to find and terminate enemy snipers as well. Then they sent him to Vietnam. When he finally returned, almost four years later, he wasn't the same.'

Ed said, 'War changes people. Even I know that, Liz.'

She said, 'You don't understand. He was about Mary's age when they taught him to torture people to get information. That's what interrogation meant. They taught him to sneak up on a man and kill him with a knife. That's what sentry removal is. They taught him to rig booby traps to kill and maim as much as possible, and to make sure that they worked. That's what demolitions is. And they made him part of a group that operated so far behind enemy lines, with so little chance of any resupply or support, that if a man was wounded too badly to travel about 20 miles a day through the jungle on his own, he had to be left behind. Or he had to be killed so he couldn't tell the enemy how many there were or where they were headed or which way they went. That's what being a medic in a LRRP team is.'

The men were silent. Ed looked almost sick.

Lizzie said, 'Lee, how long were you in the LRRP team?'

I said, 'Three years.'

She said, 'How many men were KIA, MIA, or WIA on your team in that time?'

I said, 'About eighty were KIA, and another fifty or so were WIA. As far as I know, we didn't have any MIA. And we didn't have many captured, either.'

She said, 'Tell the colonel how many men were in your unit at full strength.'

I said, 'Twelve.'

Lizzie said, 'How many missions did you go on in three years, Lee?'

I said, 'I don't know. We didn't keep track. Some were quick in and out. Others would last for at least a week. Probably around 200 or so.'

Lizzie said, 'How many times were you wounded?'

I said, 'I don't know. A few.'

Dani said, 'He's got at least ten different scars from wounds, not counting the ones he got when the VC captured him.'

Lizzie said, 'And how many purple hearts did you receive?'

I said, 'None.'

Ed said, 'You have to have received purple hearts. They automatically put you in when they get your hospital records for treatment.'

I said, 'I was never in a military hospital. Wasn't ever hurt bad enough to need a doctor. I wasn't going to lose my edge just so some quack could tell a nurse to bandage me. I knew how to do that myself. Besides, lots of guys in the unit never got any medals. Can't be injured in combat when your unit doesn't exist, and isn't allowed to be where you got injured.'

Lizzie said, 'How many men did you kill during the war, Lee?'

I said, 'I don't know. Twenty or thirty during the siege before I was a LRRP. Lots more later. Some sentries, some ambushes, some assassinations, some interrogations, some of our wounded who were dying and didn't want the VC to get them while they were alive. Enough to know that I can do it well, but I still don't enjoy it.'

Lizzie said, 'And since the war?'

I said, 'Well, there were six when they tried to kill the women. Then there were six that got blown up and two that I shot at The Quarry. That's fourteen.'

Ed said, 'My, God! How do you handle the nightmares so you can sleep at night?'

Lizzie said, 'Tell him the last time you dreamed, Lee.'

I said, 'I don't remember.'

She said, 'Tell him, or I will.'

I said, 'It was during the summer of 1972, when I was visiting your father after I got my discharge from the military.'

Ed said, 'That is impossible. You have to sleep. You dream when you sleep.'

Lizzie said, 'It was on a Saturday night. July 15th, 1972. I was told about it by my dad, years ago. I was just a toddler when it happened. He was sleeping on our couch and my older sister came home from one of her first dates. She was about 15, so she was only a few years younger than Lee. She thought that he was cute, but that he was too serious about life. Her football player boyfriend was jealous, and wanted to show her that he was able to take on the punk her dad liked so much. They sneaked into the house, and he tried to jump Lee while he was asleep.'

Murphy said, 'What happened?'

Lizzie said, 'It was a real bad case of poor timing. Lee was having a nightmare about the war, and he reacted before anyone could do anything. He sat up on the couch, grabbed the guy like he was nothing, put him in a hold, and had a knife to his throat, ready to take him out without a sound. My sister screamed, and Lee realized what was happening as he woke up. He didn't leave a mark on the boy, but he scared the hell out of him. My sister freaked out, but mom and dad calmed her down. Dad tried to get Lee to stay on the couch, but he wouldn't go back to sleep in the house. Dad finally agreed to let him sleep on the floor in the garage, since the only alternative was that Lee was going to leave.'

Murphy said, 'He sleeps like he's in a combat zone. Never really asleep, at least not enough to dream.'

Ed said, 'But you can't do that for extended periods of time. Eventually, you wear out or something. Right?'

Roddy said, 'I've seen guys who still do it years after they get out of combat. They get touchy or edgy sometimes, but they handle it OK.'

Murphy said, 'They try to teach that to the SEAL teams, but some guys can't handle it.'

Pete said, 'That has to be some kind of record, man.'

Ed said, 'So, you don't dream, Lee?'

I said, 'Not since I was 18. It's been so long that I don't even miss it, because I don't remember what it was like to dream.'

Lizzie said, 'That's why Old Mac has never let the kid go. He thinks he still owes him for getting him into this mess instead of turning him in for being underage. And he knows that he still owes him for having enough self control to keep from injuring his daughter when she did something that stupid. He saw guys who killed or injured nurses in the hospitals with less provocation when they had flashbacks.'

I said, 'Why are you going over all of this with them, Lizzie?'

She said, 'Because I want them to know as much as they need to before they tell you why they have come here, Lee. They need to know who they are thinking about working with, and what they are facing in the way of people who are trying to stop you and your group from completing your goals. Or at least to minimize your interference in their plans, since you seem to have already succeeded to some extent in reaching your goals.'

Mary yawned, and I said, 'It's late, and we're all fairly tired. Why don't we finish this discussion tomorrow morning after breakfast?'

Lizzie said, 'Good idea. You can work off your aggression and stress before breakfast, and think things over with a clear mind. And Lee, I'm sorry that I had to bring things up that you would rather forget, or at least not talk about. I know that it was not fair to spring them on you like this, but there wasn't much choice.'

I said, 'It's OK, Lizzie. I know that you wouldn't do anything like that if you didn't think that it was necessary.'

I went with Mary and Naomi to show the guys to their rooms.

Lizzie said, 'Rick, is he going to be OK? I don't know how stressed out he's been lately, and I couldn't change my plan of attack after hearing about the violence that you've had to go through lately.'

Rick said, 'He'll be fine. He'll probably work out hard tomorrow morning, but he's been able to keep the aggression under control fine, and even the stress. I think that he's had so much practice over the years that it doesn't even affect him any more. Except to maybe make him burn off some extra calories some days. But I don't even know how much of that is actual need and how much is simply habit.'

Lizzie said, 'Well, that's one habit that's good for him, even if it isn't necessary for the same reasons as when he first developed it. He still looks as fit as he did when he was my age.'

Rick said, 'Yeah, and he's just as fast, if not faster.'

Lizzie said, 'Well, I guess I better hit the sack. Maybe I'll work out with him tomorrow, but I'll wait until I see how hard he's working at it before making that decision. It's really good to see you again, Rick.'

Rick said, 'You too, Lizzie. Get some rest, especially if you want to work out with Lee in the morning.'

Danielle said, 'You know her, too?'

Rick said, 'Yeah. I met her when she was about Mary's age. She had the hots for Lee something bad, and her daddy wasn't about to interfere. It took her almost three months to figure out what was driving Lee, and then she figured out that her career in the military was not going to work out if she stayed with Lee and tried to make a go of it. Lee had known that all along, just like her dad. They just waited for her to realize it.'

Kristin said, 'So, do you think she still loves him?'

Rick said, 'Nah. She gave up on Lee a long time ago.'

Dani said, 'Right. Sure. She might know in her mind that she'll never be with Lee, but he'll always be the guy she thinks of as her first love. And she'd still go after him if he was available.'

Kristin and Dani walked off toward their room, giggling as they went. Rick shook his head and went to bed. Morning came early when you were feeling old after dealing with a couple of giggling women all the time.

Chapter 12

I woke up at 4:30 in the morning, and went outside to work out. Rick gave me some time alone, then showed up. Kristin, Dani, and Mary all came out together at 5:30 to start working on their drills and warm-ups. Lizzie was out right behind them, and asked me to spar with her after she warmed up. Murphy and Ed were not far behind, and seeing that everyone was working out, decided to join in the exercise.

Murphy said, 'Does everybody in this place work out like this every morning?'

Rick said, 'No. Most people work out daily, but some people just don't like the morning workouts. All of the guards who aren't on duty do a daily workout later in the morning, with exercises in the woods to develop individual and team skills.'

Ed said, 'How can the company afford to pay for so much practice?'

Rick said, 'The company doesn't have anything to do with it. They work out because they want to. Nobody gets paid any more than they get for doing their normal job, although some of the guards pull extra shifts to get more experience patrolling the perimeter.'

Murphy said, 'I'd like to see your training exercises.'

Rick said, 'You can join in on the fun if you want. We're doing stalking exercises today. They move through the woods as quietly and invisibly as possible, trying to sneak up on their target. The victim has a paint ball gun, and can change positions whenever he or she wants. The stalker has a stick of chalk, and has to sneak up and mark the victim with it before they can be seen and shot. We run one hour exercises, so they don't try to take too long, and then score for how many victories.'

Murphy said, 'What's the record?'

Rick said, 'For the stalker, or the victim?'

Ed said, 'Both.'

Rick said, 'Well, for the stalker, it's four hits. For the victim, it's forty five hits in an hour. We usually run about four or five stalkers per victim, and they have to find the victims, so they make more noise and movement to give them away. And they can always just sneak around and try another approach after they've been hit.'

Murphy said, 'Who holds the record for victim?'

Rick said, 'Lee. He didn't wait, and kept moving. He moves like a ghost. He'd find a team that was spread out, sneak into the middle of them, and then start shooting before they even realized that he was there, and then move. Scores went way down that day for the stalkers because he was making them so nervous that they were taking longer to sneak up on their victims. Scores went way down for victims that day too, because they didn't see the stalkers moving.'

Murphy laughed, and said, 'I bet they haven't gone up a lot since then.'

Ed said, 'Why do you say that?'

Murphy said, 'Because after Lee showed them how their little game worked in a real life combat situation, they all took it seriously and started really using their skills and always watching their six. Not as impressive on the numbers, but you only get to get killed once in real life, so any screwup could be your last.'

Their conversation stopped as they watched Lizzie come over to me and tell me that it was time for me to finally get my ass kicked. I laughed, bowed to her, and we squared off just like we always had whenever I had been visiting her dad and we sparred. He had told me to teach her how to do things right if she ever needed to, and she had never had a date attempt to molest her after he had seen her doing her morning workout.

She began slow, by testing me to see how I reacted to her feints and attacks. She had improved since the last time I had seen her, but that had been over ten years ago. If she had continued to practice, I would have been surprised if she hadn't gotten better.

When she finally began her attack, she swept my feet. As I went down, I twisted in the air and kicked off of her torso, preventing her from moving in as she had planned. I used my hands to flip myself into a roll and come up on my feet about ten feet from her. I smiled, and said, 'You'll have to do better than that, Lizzie. Your grandma could move faster than that.'

Lizzie smiled, and said, 'You'd know, old man. You were probably rolling in the dirt playing with her dogs before I was born. Never could keep you clean enough to show to company.' Then she moved in and tried some kicks and a combination of punches and elbow and knee strikes.

I dodged most of the attack by moving, and then counterattacked. I hit her in the ribs, following through so that my elbow landed in the same spot a fraction of a second later. As soon as my arm went past, I reversed the strike and pulled my elbow into her ribs again and then raised my hand and used a backfist to her head. She managed to dodge the backfist by a fraction of an inch, but I immediately opened my hand and swung it into her face, smacking her with the palm of my hand. As she grabbed for my hand, I dropped, wrapping my legs around hers and spinning, using my weight and momentum to bring her crashing down to the ground.

She hit hard, but didn't get enough wind knocked out of her to stop her, and she tried to kick me as I rolled. I grabbed a boot and twisted, forcing her to twist with me and roll to prevent me from getting a good hold on her ankle. As soon as she was on her stomach, I jumped on her back, still holding her leg.

Lizzie screamed, 'OK, you big ox, you win! Now will you please get off of my back before I get a hernia. You feel heavier than Rick used to. Have you been eating rocks again? Dad always told you that you weren't supposed to swallow them when you were using them to keep from getting your mouth dry when water was short, but of course, you never listened.'

She laughed as I helped her up. She didn't try anything as I gently lifted her to her feet.

Murphy said, 'Why didn't you try to take him again when he was helping you up, Liz?'

She said, 'No way. I won't make that mistake twice. I tried it once, and he not only blocked the kick, but he threw me about ten feet into the air. I landed on my butt, and it was sore for a week. When I landed, the wind was knocked out of me, and he was over to where I was so fast that all I could see were punches being pulled about a quarter inch from my face. They were so fast that I couldn't count them, but the breeze sure felt nice.'

Ed said, 'Why did he come over if he was just going to pull the punches, anyway?'

Lizzie said, 'Dad said it was to show me what the consequences could have been. He also told me that I was lucky. He'd seen Lee sparring with one of the hand to hand instructors, and when he tried that, Lee had managed to hit him six times before he could fall to the ground. He always was fast and sneaky.'

Ed said, 'Why don't you spar with him, Murphy? You're always telling us how good the SEALs are at close quarters combat.'

Murphy shook his head, and said, 'No, thanks. We're about the same age, but I wouldn't try that unless I had no other choice. He's faster than I ever was, and sneakier, too. I might spar with Rick, though. He's big and strong, but not as fast. And he's older, too, so he'd probably wear out sooner.'

Rick laughed, and said, 'Yep, that's me. Old and decrepit. That's why all the women love me. They know I won't keep them up all night because I need my beauty sleep.'

Mary laughed, and said, 'You better go back to bed then, Uncle Rick, because it isn't working.'

Rick tried to look crestfallen, but was only partially successful. Kristin came up to him and said, 'That's all right, honey. She just doesn't appreciate the fact that there's more to a man than just good looks. I like you just the way you are.'

Rick stuck his tongue out at Mary, and said, 'See, she loves me.'

Kristin said, 'Even if she is right about your looks.'

Rick started tickling her before she could run. Everybody laughed as their mock fight turned into a wrestling match in which Kristin was clearly outmassed. Rick kept tickling her so that she couldn't use her speed and agility to escape, and he soon had her pinned.

Mary came up and kicked Rick on the butt. She said, 'No fair, Rick. Pick on somebody your own size.'

Kristin managed to stop giggling long enough to say, 'He can't, Mary. There isn't anybody else around her that's that big.' Then she broke out into a fit of laughter.

Rick said, 'Well, if you're going to pick on me because of my size, I guess I'll have to get up and go get some breakfast before I squash your little body with my gigantic girth.'

Kristin screeched, 'Oh, no! Not more food! You'll get even bigger. What did that poor food ever do to you?' By now Dani and Mary were laughing so hard that they were almost crying, and Kristin couldn't even stop laughing enough to say anything more.

Mary came outside, and said, 'OK, you hooligans. Come and get it. And if anybody shows up at my breakfast table dirty, they can do without.'

We all cleaned up, and went in to breakfast. Roddy and Pete had made sure that they didn't get dirty, so they didn't take long to get clean, and they were the first at the breakfast table.

We all sat down, said grace, and dug in. Naomi had made pancakes, cornbread, grits, biscuits, sausage gravy, eggs, and meat to go with it. We had syrup and preserves for the bread, biscuits, and pancakes, and we had goats' milk butter. There was some fresh fruit on the table, and everyone ate their fill.

Roddy said, 'You can't get chow like this in the Army. That's for sure.'

Murphy said, 'Not even in the Navy. But if I could bring them chow like this, I could sure get some of my boys to train harder just so they could get back to dinner.'

Pete said, 'There is one bad thing about it, though.'

Ed said, 'What's that?'

Pete said, 'After eating food like this, it just makes the MREs taste even worse by comparison.'

Roddy said, 'Maybe that's why they make Army chow so bad. If you can survive it, then you won't die if you have to live on MREs for a while.'

Rick laughed, and said, 'How could you put down MREs like that in front of the doctor. She told me that they were nutritious, full of vitamins, and provided plenty of calories and dietary fiber.'

Pete looked at Dani, and said, 'You really said that?'

She said, 'Yeah. So Rick and Lee took us out in the woods for a week on nothing but MREs.'

Roddy said, 'What happened?'

Kristin laughed, and said, 'By the fourth day, we sneaked off and killed a rabbit and ate it.'

Rick said, 'Oh, no, they killed a poor, defenseless creature and ate it like savages.'

Dani laughed, and said, 'Damn straight, buddy boy. We needed some real food. MREs taste like shit!'

They all laughed, and Pete said, 'Maybe if we could drag some of the military doctors off and make them eat MREs, they'd do something about the taste.'

Roddy said, 'Great idea, but it would never work.'

Pete said, 'Why not?'

Ed said, 'Because they're all officers, and they'd just go to the O-club and get something to keep them going.'

Roddy said, 'But you two are officers, so why don't you think like that?'

Pete said, 'They're jarheads. They'll eat anything as long as they get a chance to fight.'

Lizzie said, 'That's not true. Sometimes we go hungry so we're even more ready to fight.'

Roddy said, 'Why is that?'

Lizzie said, 'Because the enemy has to have food, and it can't be worse than ours.'

They laughed. I said, 'Don't bet on it. It is sometimes worse, but at least it's a change.'

Ed said, 'What do you mean, Lee?'

I said, 'The VC usually ate rice balls that they carried wrapped up in leaves. They might have a little raw pork or cooked fish with it, and some roots or vegetables. The pork wasn't too bad, and you could always add a little water if the rice was too dry. But the fish could be a real treat.'

Dani said, 'You ate raw pork? Weren't you worried about Trichomonas infections?'

I smiled, and said, 'Nope. It isn't indigenous to Vietnam. A lot of Vietnamese found out about it the hard way when they came to the U.S., but they learned to cook their pork and still have their traditional dishes. Of course, their kids learned to eat hamburgers that were pumped full of steroids and antibiotics. Big improvement, I'm sure.'

Dani said, 'At least they didn't have to worry about all of the other parasites that were in the water and food over there.'

I said, 'They didn't while they were in Vietnam, either. All of the ones who made it to America were the ones who lived in the cities and had money. Or the farmers who lived almost as well as they did. The people who lived in the jungles, and the hills, all got left behind.'

Kristin said, 'What happened to them?'

I said, 'They were killed. There were three different races in Vietnam. Now there is one. The Montagnards, the Hmong, the hill people, are all dead. Ethnic cleansing. Makes it sound like they're cleaning up some dirty little spill, when they're really killing off an entire culture. Of course, our government didn't say much about it, since it wasn't politically expedient to try to go back into a war that they had just pulled out of.'

Lizzie said, 'That is so sad.'

I said, 'Yeah. I liked some of those people. They liked us, and they supported us. The only VC sympathizers weren't hill people. They knew that they were going to be wiped out if we lost, so they always supported us. The government let them down, too. Seems to be a new tradition for this century. Let down you allies and screw over your own citizens and military. Not a good indicator of a healthy society.'

Ed said, 'No, it's not. And that's why I was sent to talk to you, Lee. We think that some of your predictions are correct, and we have run simulations. We have a few things to discuss, and they could make a difference if things get bad. We are pretty sure that they will in a few months, and some people want to make sure that they have done everything that they can to make sure that at least some people are ready for it.'

I said, 'It can wait a while, Ed. First we need to clean up from the meal, and then we need to take you around on a tour of the place. After you see everything for yourself, then you can make some better decisions on how you want to handle your conversation and direct your information.'

Ed said, 'OK. That's a very reasonable request.'

Lizzie said, 'Watch him when he sounds reasonable. He's setting you up for the big strike.' Then she laughed, and Ed looked confused, unsure of how to take her warning. Nobody bothered to enlighten him.

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Murphy, Roddy, and Pete joined Rick and the others in the exercises. Ed and Lizzie stayed with me and watched them. They were surprised to see women participating in what were clearly combat exercises, and even more surprised to see Mary and some of the other teenagers participating in what was obviously their normal routine.

Ed said, 'Aren't those kids a little young for this? And why do you have women training with the men?'

I said, 'Well, the Constittution says that the militia encompasses all able bodied men of a certain age. And the Supreme Court has ruled that women are equal to men in the eyes of the law. So, if they are of age, or have the strength and maturity to qualify, all who wish are allowed to join the militia. After all, we are training them to fight for their own survival in case things get so bad that the government can't come in here and protect them from armed aggression.'

Ed said, 'What about officers and drilling?'

I said, 'We formed a militia, not an army. They are learning to defend hearth and home, kith and kin. They don't need to know how to march in formation, and they won't be facing off with any army in a stand up fight. We don't have the force or the support to go toe to toe with a battalion or a division. If it comes to that, they will get the land, but we will make them pay for it every day that they are here.'

Lizzie said, 'You are training them in guerrilla warfare.'

I said, 'Yep. Hit and run. Evasion and escape. Sniping. Remaining unseen. Moving through the woods. Marksmanship. Close quarters combat. Combat pistolcraft. Only the things that they can really use to defend themselves.'

Ed said, 'What happens if armor shows up here?'

I said, 'We have some contingency plans for that. Let's just say that they won't know when it is safe to come out, and when it is safe to stay buttoned up. We might not win, but they won't like the price when the bill comes due.'

Dan came up, and he and Ed walked off, talking about the changes that had been made here in the last year, and how much they had cost. Ed was surprised that the figures were so low, and began to see how much government waste was costing the people of this country every year.

Lizzie said, 'I don't know who sent him, but I know that he talked to dad for a long time, and dad told me to bring him along.'

I said, 'I know who sent him. The question is why. I should have a better idea when he finally tells me everything that he was sent to tell me. I think I can wait without any problems, because I'm fairly certain that I'm not going to like some of the news.'

Lizzie said, 'Do you think he's a plant?'

I said, 'No. He's just cautious. That makes me nervous, because we have done nothing illegal here, and I don't intend to start down that path now. But whoever sent him would know that, so I'm not too worried. Let's just wait and see.'

Lizzie said, 'The people here look really fit. Does everyone exercise and work out like this?'

I said, 'A good majority, although we have a few who only do what they absolutely need to. They may change their minds later, or they may not. But as long as they contribute, they won't be a problem for the community.'

Lizzie said, 'You know, you saved dad a lot of money. He read your report, and he got his money out of the stock market and anything else that was shaky before the bottom fell out. Now he is really doing OK on his retirement plan, even if he never gets his pension from the government.'

I said, 'Why would you say that?'

Lizzie said, 'Because they are making it harder on the old timers. They are cutting back on the twenty year pensions, and even trying to decrease some of the benefits on the thirty year pensions. Some of the old timers who have gone inactive have lost their pensions when they were flunked on the physicals during the last six months before their retirement was set to occur. Some of them deserved it, but others were in good shape. It was almost like someone wanted the old timers out of there, and did what they could to get rid of them. Screwing them over to get out of paying their retirement benefits almost seemed to be an afterthought.'

I said, 'You have to remember that everything isn't planned. Some things just happen. You have a commander in chief who has never served in the military, and doesn't understand anything about it except that he is scared of it unless he thinks that he is completely in control of it. He is surrounded by advisors who have similar backgrounds and beliefs. They don't trust the military, don't want to look out for the military, and are only concerned with their own personal interests and pleasures.'

Lizzie said, 'What about the oaths that they took?'

I said, 'When a man thinks nothing of breaking his marriage vows, and intentionally lies under oath in court, just to protect his own personal pleasures and make personal and political gains, do you think that he would take any other oath he made any more seriously?'

Lizzie said, 'God help us all.'

I said, 'Now, you're looking in the right direction for help. At least there, you know that you stand a chance of getting an affirmative answer. And you know that the answer will match the actual physical response.'

Ed and Dan walked up. Ed said, 'What are you two talking about?'

Lizzie said, 'Religion.'

Ed said, 'I didn't know that you were big on religion, Liz.'

She said, 'There are no atheists in foxholes, Ed. I just thought that I'd better get in practice, because it looks like I might be able to use a direct connection in a few months My dad always told me that when it looked like you were going through a pipeline to hell, it always paid to have a hotline to heaven. Just in case.'

Mary came up to where we were standing. She was covered with camo grease paint, and dirty from crawling and moving through the brush. She looked disgruntled.

Dan said, 'How'd you do, Mary?'

Mary said, 'Not too good. I only got three guys today.'

Dan said, 'You only get three guys on lots of days. Why are you so glum about it?'

Mary said, 'Because Murphy shot me right after I got Roddy.'

Ed said, 'You got Roddy?'

Mary said, 'Yeah. He's usually easy to find, but he's hard to sneak up on. Murphy was moving, and I didn't see him until I was tagging Roddy. I ducked, but he still hit me on the shoulder.' She turned around, and we could see a large red splotch on her right shoulder. It wouldn't have been a fatal wound, but it still would have really slowed her down and hurt a lot if it had been real. And she still could have bled to death if the bullet had nicked a major vessel.

Lizzie was comforting Mary when Roddy came up. He said, 'I'll get you for today, Mary. That was the dirtiest, sneakiest trick that you have ever done, and I will get you back.'

Mary stuck her tongue out at him, and said, 'It wasn't my fault. Don't blame me. I didn't shoot you.'

Murphy came up, laughing, as Roddy turned around and we saw three large red splotches across his back. He was definitely dead.

Roddy said, 'You intentionally blocked his view so that he shot me by mistake when you ducked. I have been killed by friendly fire.'

I said, 'Well, not exactly, Roddy. Look here.'

Roddy took off his jacket, and saw the streak where Mary had tagged him with her chalk. He looked chagrined, and said, 'I apologize Mary. You had a clean kill. Now I'll be mad at Murphy for not saving me.'

Murphy said, 'I tried, but she's almost as quiet and as fast as her father. I was lucky to hit her in the shoulder.'

I said, 'Congratulations, Murphy, you are now the holder of a new record for the course.'

Murphy said, 'What? I'm the first person to hit that little scamp?'

I said, 'No. You're the first person to score a kill on one of his own troops, even if he was technically dead already.'

Rick came up, chuckling, and said, 'Frag 'em, tag 'em, and bag 'em.'

Roddy said, 'Man, I thought we was friends. And you go and frag me when my back is turned.'

Pete said, 'It's not his fault. I always told you that SEALs couldn't shoot straight. That's why they always blow things up. You know, close enough for government work?'

Murphy said, 'Man, I'll never live this down. They'll be giving me shit for this for the next twenty years. At least I don't see these clowns very often.'

Pete said, 'There's always e-mail.'

Roddy said, 'Yeah, and maybe some of his squid friends will see it and think that it's funny, too.'

Murphy stormed off toward the cafeteria. Rick said, 'Where are you going?'

Murphy said, 'To shoot myself. It's quicker, and less painful than listening to those two.'

Rick took off after him, and the two of them went into the building together.

Pete said, 'Do you really think he'd do that to us?'

Roddy said, 'Naw. Rick wouldn't let him.'

Lizzie said, 'Are you sure?'

I said, 'Positive. They went into the cafeteria. Rick will convince him to eat himself to death, since the picture of his bloated, out of shape, lifeless corpse will haunt them forever, and make them ashamed of their actions every time they think about it.'

Ed said, 'That's a positively disgusting thought.'

Pete and Roddy looked at each other, then ran toward the cafeteria. Mary was right behind them. Her long, brown hair had come loose and was flying behind her as she ran.

Ed said, 'Why are they in such a hurry?'

I said, 'They are worried that Rick and Murphy beat them into the cafeteria, and if they don't get there soon, there might not be any food left. Our cafeteria food isn't as good as Naomi's cooking, but it beats anything an Army mess serves up.'

I began walking slowly to the cafeteria, and they joined me. Lizzie said, 'You aren't worried about Rick eating everything in sight?'

I said, 'Not before we get there. Besides, he'll be so busy arguing with Roddy and Pete that he isn't fat and didn't already eat all of their food that they won't even be eating when we get there. Not that they'd really run out, although if you see a dessert that looks really appealing, grab it the first time through line. All three of those clowns have a real sweet tooth. And I'm not sure about Murphy.'

Ed said, 'What about Mary?'

I said, 'She'll eat well, but she doesn't really go for sweets much. She does like fruits, nuts, and berries, and she'll eat a little chocolate now and then, but she doesn't like cakes and pies if they have a lot of sugar added. Of course, she's filled out nicely over the past few months as she's exercised and built more muscle.'

Lizzie said, 'But she's so tiny and slender. How could you say that, Lee?'

I said, 'When we got Mary, she was so skinny that she looked like an elf. Her limbs were wiry sticks, and there wasn't any place else on her that you could call fat or filled out. Her calves are almost as big as her thighs used to be. Good nutrition and exercise have done wonders for her. It's good to see her thriving and happy.'

Lizzie said, 'Well, she's definitely happy, and she certainly appears to be thriving. And it's good to see you having fun with a kid again, even if she is going to become a woman before you know it.'

I said, 'Yeah. She's already driving me nuts about getting a date for the harvest ball on Halloween.'

As we walked through the door, Rick was arguing with Roddy and Pete, just as I had told them. Mary and Murphy were both sitting at a table, eating and watching the free entertainment. Ed started to say something, but Lizzie stopped him. She said, 'Wait until we get our food. It's safer that way.'

After we had gone through the line, Ed told the guys that they had better get something if they wanted anything while there was still food, and they rushed to the line. Of course, the place had more food than they could eat, but they liked to argue and tease each other.

As we sat down, I said, 'Murphy, why aren't you getting in on the fun?'

He smiled, and said, 'First thing you learn in SEAL training is that you never pass up food for fun. The next thing that they teach you is that it is always more fun to eat with a lovely, young lady than it is to eat by yourself.'

Mary smiled at him, and said, 'You know, Daddy, he's just so full of it. But he makes it sound much nicer than the guys do. Can we keep him for a while? I'll clean up after him, and I'll make sure that he doesn't eat too much.'

Lizzie and Ed laughed, and Murphy turned red as he realized that he had just been had. He said, 'I was wrong. It only appears to be a lovely, young lady. Unfortunately, I am too late to save her from being corrupted by her continued exposure to Rick.'

Mary said, 'What's the matter with Rick? I like Rick. Rick, this squid is insinuating that you are a lowlife and a bad influence upon my character.'

Rick stormed over, carrying his lunch tray. He put it down, leaned over, and smiled, saying, 'I resemble that remark. I'm glad that you're finally showing some signs of intelligence.'

The two of them laughed, and we all finished out lunch.

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After lunch, we finished our tour of the place. They saw the dairy, the fields, the orchards, and some of the landscaping that had been done. They also got to meet a lot of the people who lived there, and to see some of the homesteads and meet some of the families.

As we were going back through the compound to take the trail back to our place, Ed said, 'Lee, I think that I've seen enough, and that I have enough first hand information to report everything accurately. I believe that it is time for me to tell you exactly why I am here, who I am, and what I am supposed to be doing here.'

I said, 'I think this discussion should wait a few hours. We are going back to my place, and I have some people coming over for dinner tonight. They should hear what you have to say as well, and I think that it might be better if we all hear it at the same time.'

Ed said, 'That is a very good idea. It will also give me more time to go over exactly what I want to say and how I want to say it, to make sure that I get everything right. The message is fairly complex, and was contingent upon certain conditions. Since I have a fair idea who your guests might be, I think it is best for me to wait and give you the message when you are ready for it.'

He looked almost relieved, but most of the others looked anxious, or concerned. They were all curious, and wanted to know what was going on. I wasn't certain, but I had a good idea, and I hoped in many ways that I was wrong. Unfortunately, the options I could foresee if I was wrong weren't any more pleasant than what I was expecting to come of the discussion. I could definitely wait for a few more hours.

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