John Returns Page 18

  “John probably sees them as a minor inconvenience. He did ask for weapons, sniper gear and “spy shit.” Maybe they fit into his plans.”

  Joan selected eleven other Rangers to fill out her infiltration squad. They arrived in Brandenburg just after sundown and occupied a large house on the Kentucky side of the river about a half mile upstream from Mauckport. The equipment John ordered was already stacked in the garage and was stored in water tight containers. John’s message told them that he would meet them at the river downstream from the boat ramp on the Indiana side. He would signal them with three flashes from a small flashlight at 0100 and take them to the warehouse.

  They dressed in scuba gear, and the squad carried the equipment down to the river at 22:30. They propelled themselves across the river with the aid of one man propulsion units and arrived at the target location at 0015. There was no moon that night, and the total darkness was eerie, to say the least. They all had NVGs, and two of the squad was fitted with IR capability.

  They saw John and Gus come out of the brush and signal with the light. Joan signaled back, and they moved to their position.

  Joan walked up to John, saluted and then gave him a hug. She then hugged Gus.

  “Sir, we brought the equipment you ordered and two specialists with the skills needed. Has the gang caused any problems? We will deal with them if you say so. We are at your service. Are you or the Secretary wounded?”

  “Thanks for joining our operation in lower Indiana. Glad to see you, Joan. We are okay, and I need you to get Gus across the river and to safety first thing tonight. I’m staying to help a friend and to wipe out the gang. We can’t use your team. This has to be a low key gang turf war as far as the DHS knows. I do need some civilian AR15’s, 9 mm pistols and some cheap shotguns. I’ll brief you and the specialists after we arrive at our safe house.”

  “Thanks Joan for coming to the party. I hate to rush you, but I have to get back to our base and follow up on our latest operation,” said Gus.

  “Sir, I don’t have the entire story, but we caught them by surprise and wiped out most of the force sent to destroy our fortifications.”

  “Thanks for the update. John, I’ll see you when I see you. Keep your powder dry and keep your tit out of the wringer,” Gus said as he shook John’s hand and prepared to leave.

  Two team members gave Gus a mask, fins and an underwater propulsion unit and they left for the other side of the river. John led the others to the warehouse where Gabe, his sister, and her family had been moved. Joan’s team set up a perimeter around the warehouse while John introduced the specialists to Gabe.

  “John, here is a radio that has scrambled transmissions and will enable you to securely contact any military unit in the ISA. Scott is your contact, and the radio is set on the frequency that he expects to use to communicate with you.”

  “Thanks, Joan. I appreciate you coming personally to help me get this operation up and going. Did Scott tell you not to call this a rescue mission?”

  Joan laughed and had to regain her composure before she could answer John with a straight face, “Sir, this is an infiltration and exfiltration mission. What can my team do to make this mission successful?’

  “So he did.”

  “I’m not telling.”

  Scott sent a team over to pick up Gabe’s sister and her kids the next night and had them brought to his location. He helped them resettle in Smyrna, Tennessee and asked Beth to welcome them to the city.

  ***

  John spent several days surveilling the gang and learned there were 34 men, 23 women and 6 children in their group. They were not as mean like most of the gangs John had wiped out. They didn’t rape or kill the local people, but they took what they wanted and threatened to kill if someone got out of line. They were well armed with ARs, pistols, and shotguns as John had guessed. He didn’t feel good about killing all of them for the first time since TSHTF.

  “Jack, what are the locals saying about the gang?”

  “You know it’s strange. Most of the members are decent people that appear to have joined up just to survive. The leader is a dictator and what he says goes. He has killed several of the members who tried to stand up to him. He doesn’t allow the gang to hurt locals who fall in line and help feed and house the gang. He will kill anyone who crosses him. He feels that he is the chief and must protect his subjects from the real bad guys.”

  “So we don’t need to kill all of them?”

  “I think we can save all but two of the women and most of the men. I would eliminate him, his council members and his two women. Those two women are the most ruthless assholes in the bunch.”

  “When are the ‘Angels of Death’ coming over to reclaim their territory?”

  “Those guys are high on pot just about every day and don’t have a lot of get up and go. The leader, Killer, promised he’d be here tomorrow after lunch. He has twenty-five men and five women who will be armed and ready to fight.”

  “Is this the gang that couldn’t shoot or ride straight?”

  “Pretty much. We kill two birds with one stone.”

  “Will y’all let the surviving gang members settle down here.”

  “Jack thought for a minute and replied, “I think most would make good neighbors, but they could easily play nice for a while then take over. So my vote would be to let the women and married couples stay and push the others on.”

  “I agree.”

  “Thought you would.”

  “Jack, we have a problem. The ISA was going to take over the entire southern part of Indiana, but now we need you wheeling and dealing with the corrupt DHS officials to help your son carry out his spy mission.”

  “I’m in for the long term.”

  Okay. Joan, come here and join us. I’m going to tell Scott to back off taking this part of Indiana. Do you have a map?”

  She reached into her pants pocket, pulled out a map and spread it out on the kitchen table.”

  “I’ll tell Scott not to take any land on the Indiana side west of New Albany except the area around Evansville. I can’t say why, but it’s important.”

  Joan left them alone, and Jack wondered whom this man is. He’s telling the ISA Army what land to conquer.

  “John, I don’t think I caught your last name.”

  “Harris, John Harris.”

  “As in the president of the ISA, John Harris.”

  “Yep, that’s me, but it’s ex-president.”

  “So Gus is Gus McCoy, the Secretary of Defense for the ISA?”

  “Yes, but we are just down home people. Don’t spread it around; it could get you shot.”

  “My lips are sealed.”

  ***

  The ‘Angels of Death’ rode into town after lunch as their leader promised. They were stoned as usual and more ready to make love than war. John and Joe were on Jack’s Harleys and joined the group at the end. The damn bikers were so stoned they didn’t notice. John had two pistols, a shotgun in a scabbard on his back and an M4 in his hand. Joe had a sawed off double barrel 12 gauge, pump 12 gauge shotgun, and a Berretta 9mm.

  Killer, the leader of the Angels, parked his bike, walked up to the gang leader and said, “Why you trying to take my town from me?”

  “Bitch, you’re so stoned that I’ll overlook your punk ass if you get on that piece of crap tricycle and get your fat ass out of my town.”

  Just when John was sure, the shooting would start, the leader of the Angels replied, “Maybe we can share.”

  John spoke up, “Don’t let these pussies push us around. Kill all of them.”

  “You’re kidding. Get your punk ass out of here and take Grampa with you.”

  John drew his pistol and shot him between the eyes, ducked behind a car and started dropping men from both gangs. The gang members started shooting at anything standing. Joe killed two from both sides before ducking behind a car.

  The fight went back and forth with most of both gangs taking cover and just poking their guns out to
shoot occasionally. John couldn’t let this happen, so he crawled over to where two of the Angels were hiding, shot one and pushed the other out in the open where he was shot several times. John had never seen more cowardly gang members in his life.

  John didn’t notice the punk that had walked up behind him when he felt the shotgun poke him in the back. He turned to see the man’s head explode and ducked under a truck. The firefight only lasted a few minutes, and no one was standing, but bullets kept killing anything that moved.

  John got a grin on his face as he realized that Joan’s troops were using silenced weapons to kill the designated targets. He jumped up, ran to his bike and rode out of town with Joe as the town’s people came out to see what had just happened.

  Of course, Jack and Emmy witnessed the entire shootout and started telling everyone that the gangs fought to the death and none of the Angels survived. Only half of the occupying gang was still alive, and none of the leaders or council survived the battle.

  ✪

  Chapter 17

  Head Hunting

  The USA

  2022

  “Beth, I’m okay. I got banged up a bit when the chopper crashed, but Gus helped me out of the wreck and then Gabe Logan dragged us out of the river and helped us to safety.”

  “I was worried to death, but I knew you would be okay. When will you be home?”

  “Not for four or five weeks. We stumbled upon a way to help make one of my projects more effective, and I’m staying to make sure it gets off the ground. I love you and miss you. I don’t know how to say it other than I’m really sorry about Kristie. She died at her post protecting Gus and me.”

  “Damn, John, can’t you come home and be with me? We’re having Kristie’s funeral on Friday.”

  “Darling, this mission could result in securing our countries safety in the future. I have to stay and see it through. I’m so sorry.”

  “John, do what you have to do, and then kill everyone involved with the murder of my daughter. Bomb their homes; kill their families and their dogs.”

  “Gus, I need a big favor.”

  “Whatever you need ole’ buddy.”

  I need to be flown home for a couple of days and brought back here after Kristie’s funeral.”

  John was home in Smyrna the next morning and then went to Kristie’s funeral with Beth, Scott and their other kids. Kristie was the first service member buried in the new ISA National Cemetery. Beth was surprised and very happy that John came home.

  “How many more of our family will die before we can live safely? Does the USA have to be destroyed for us to be free? This will take a severe toll on our civilian population.”

  “Beth, we have to destroy their command and control along with killing the evil leaders trying to maintain control of this country. They know that they will die if the USA is liberated. We will be fighting for years. My operation will enable us to find and destroy many of their leaders.”

  “Find them and kill them. Get this over before our grandchildren are born.”

  John returned to Mauckport two days later.

  Just outside of

  Zanesville, Ohio

  “Gabe, you are trained, equipped and ready to go. Remember we can have an extraction team at your house in just over three hours. The metal box has enough gold and silver to help get your business up and running quickly. We will supply you with cars and trucks through the contacts that we have set up in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. You will receive money and land in the ISA in middle Tennessee. I hope you won’t need it for a long time, but there are a nice house and 50 acres waiting for you when you need them.”

  “Thanks so much. I will try to do a good job and help nail these bastards. The ISA providing me with a steady stream of vehicles to sell to the leadership will ingratiate me to them and pave the way for our success. Thanks, John.”

  “Be safe my friend.”

  Gabe drove the semi the last 10 miles to his operation on the east side of Columbus, parked the truck in his warehouse and drove home to see his wife and kids for the first time in six weeks.

  While Gabe was recuperating in Mauckport, John had a team working inside Gabe’s Columbus warehouse installing the gear Gabe would need to be a successful spy. They also brought in tons of whiskey, cigarettes and other items that Gabe could use to bribe the USA officials. They also introduced Gabe to Bob, his new service manager. Bob had impeccable credentials and was a spy for the ISA. They would add more trusted people as Gabe’s business expanded. Joe joined Gabe’s team later that year as a trouble shooter and enforcer.

  ***

  John watched Gabe drive on into Columbus, headed the old truck east and drove to an abandoned farm to spend the day. He would only travel at dark until his mission was over. That night he took back roads towards Zanesville with a goal of reaching Harrisburg in five days. It was only two night’s drive, but he wanted to do some hunting along the way. His goal was to kill any DHS, US Military or civilian leader that was in his area as he traveled. He would make most look like robberies or gang related. His mission was to weaken the USA by all possible means while waiting to debrief Gabe in 30 days back in Mauckport.

  John spotted a roadblock on the outskirts of Zanesville, Ohio and captured a DHS agent who had walked into the woods to relieve himself. John hit him on the head, tied him up and took him to a safe location to interrogate. The man quickly gave John information on the leadership in Wheeling. John killed him and buried him deep in the woods where he’d never be found. He would be just another deserter.

  John scouted Zanesville, found the local head of the DHS and set a trap for him. The man was a spineless piece of crap and gave John a great deal of information. The info contained troop movement, command structure in Ohio and where the roadblocks were on the way to Wheeling.

  John hung the man in his own garage and left a note stating that the man was sorry for all of the little girls he had abused. He repeated capturing, interrogating and killing these scumbags every day during his trip to the outskirts of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He had killed 5 officers and 23 agents from the DHS along with a mayor and two police chiefs. This was not bad week’s work for an old soldier.

  John arrived in the suburb of Camp Hill on the sixth night of his journey. His contact was a mid-level administrator in the DHS who could help John find his target. John ate his first good meal in a week at the man’s house.

  “John, this is Sarah Jenkins, and I’m Jep Jenkins. She actually is Lt. Jane Jacobs, and I am Major Will Stone. We have been playing a married couple for two years, fell in love and are actually man and wife now.”

  “Don’t you worry about your wife’s safety?”

  “Not at all. She is ex-CIA and can handle herself. She actually handles the wet work when the occasion comes up. Otherwise, we are just a happy couple sending information back to the ISA once a week. John, you are the President of the ISA. What are you doing up here working on special operations spook stuff.”

  “Ex-president. I vowed to personally hunt down and bring to justice every last one of the sumbitches that nuked our country. I’m going to keep that promise.”

  “John, we were told that your target is a highly placed politician in the USA government.”

  “You could say the highest.”

  “Oh Lord, you don’t mean the president. Do you?”

  “Yes, it’s time to punch his clock. I have a week to put the plan together and two weeks to execute the plan and the president. We want as little collateral damage as possible. That means innocent civilians. We don’t care if the entire governing body and military die in the operation, just very few innocents.”

  “The cowardly bastard always surrounds himself with school kids or other human shields while out in public. Those missile attacks last year scared the crap out of him.”

  “Bombs, missiles, and IEDs would kill them also. We need a surgical attack. One or two bullets at the most from a mile away.”

  Jane spoke up, “So
unds like a Barret .50 Cal to me.”

  John replied, “I’m leaning to that option myself. What do you think of the .416?”

  “I like it, but nothing replaces a huge ass chunk of lead that can pass through a brick wall and steel plate. I’d recommend two shooters working together from different vantage points using depleted uranium bullets. Maybe have some explosive rounds for contingency. Oh, by the way, I’m an expert with the M107A1 .50 cal.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. Jane, I want you to assist in planning the operation, and I’ll get the extra Barret

  Jep looked up and said, “Sarah, are you sure you want to volunteer for this mission? It’s 50-50 on success and 100 percent potential for capture or death. The minute the shots are fired they will use computers to pinpoint the shooter’s location and an Apache will be up your ass five minutes later.”

  “Darling I agree, but that is why John and I have to plan to defeat all of the possible outcomes. Part of my job was to plan assassinations of high-value targets for the CIA. Most of the planning was for extraction of the shooter. Getting the shot is tough, but getting out alive is the big problem.”

  “I want to scout out the probable location for the kill, and then we’ll travel to Tennessee where we can practice taking out the target. I want this complete within 90 days.”

  “That’s getting close to winter. We don’t need to be trying to escape while leaving footprints in the snow.”

  ***

  The USA had moved their capital to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania after Washington DC was destroyed by the president’s nuclear war on his own country. It was assumed he nuked his own capitol to kill his opposition leaders and to throw off any suspicion that he or his supporters were involved. The plan didn’t kill many of the conservative opposition as he hoped due to a Convention of States meeting in Dallas that was being conducted to add amendments to the constitution to keep the President or Supreme Court from making changes to the constitution. Dallas was one of the cities to be destroyed; however, John and his team captured the bomb heading to Dallas.