John Returns Read online

  The Apaches circled the area while several soldiers jumped out of the Blackhawk and walked towards the city. Two of the soldiers removed their helmets and continued to walk toward Steve and the others. Steve looked at the soldiers through his field glasses, and just as he recognized the two, he saw Imelda running to greet them. At the last second, she jumped in the air, landed in Jim’s arms, and they both rolled on the ground.

  The Mayor said, “I guess Imelda knows him.”

  “Yes, she does. She is also on our team.

  Scott watched for a minute and said, “Hey, you two, stand up and act like soldiers or please go get a room.”

  Imelda jumped up, hugged Scott and said, “I’m taking this boy to my room as soon as we get the introductions over with. Come on into Cody and meet some great people.”

  Scott approached and gave Steve a bear hug, turned and shook the Mayor’s hand while saying, “I’m Major Scott Harris, and I’m from the ISA. We are here to assist you and return our lost team to their homes.”

  “Are you related to John Harris?”

  “Yes, sir, he’s my Dad.”

  “But you are a Major, and he was a Captain.”

  “Sir, I don’t know what these scallywags told you, but John Harris, my Father, is the President of the ISA. He is back home in Mobile and sent me up here to formally introduce you to your new country.”

  “Well, I’ll be hornswoggled, welcome to our city.”

  Scott was introduced to the rest of the town council and leaders. Then, he and his entire team were taken to the town hall and given a luncheon in their honor.

  The Mayor was giving a speech when they all heard the door open, and one of the deputies said, “Major Harris, the rest of your army has arrived.”

  “Mayor, after lunch I’d like my staff to meet with you and the town council to see what we can quickly do to help you get back on your feet.

  Then, I’d like to meet with our men and women who have been your guests for the past few months. By the way, we have a complete medical unit staffed with some of the best doctors and nurses that I have ever had the privilege to know.

  They would like to set up in your hospital, and they can help your staff with medical needs. We will also resupply your pharmacy and hospital with adequate supplies.”

  The Mayor and Town Council cheered, and they all went back to eating BBQ brisket.

  ***

  “Dad asked me to extend his thanks for the great work performed up here and he personally thanks you for saving the lives of his team, on several occasions. He and Beth met up with me in Oklahoma City, and Gus sent a plane to take them home.

  I hate to drop this last bit of news on you, but Mobile has been attacked with a nuclear device, and the city is now a part of Mobile Bay.

  The government compound remains in operation, but many thousands of ISA civilians died in the Holocaust.

  Due to the interaction of the surrounding communities with Mobile, we are still chasing down survivors and counting our losses. It will be over a month before we have our best possible count.”

  The team was stunned. What should have been a happy occasion turned very somber. Steve broke out a bottle of Kentucky Bourbon and glasses for all.

  He poured everyone a drink and made a toast, “This is for all of the brave men and women who have given and will continue to give their lives as we build our country, and to the ones who made the ultimate sacrifice to keep the Independent States of America secure for the future. I ask you to honor our absent comrades.”

  There was a round of Amens from the team, and they got back to work.

  “Scott, Janet and I would like to stay up here for another month to help with the transition. These folks are happy to join the ISA, but don’t know any of your group that will be staying up here.”

  “I think that is an excellent idea, and I’m sure that since Steve and Janet will be here for a month, Imelda will be eager to stay here with Jim. Then she can join him in a new group headed into the Kentucky/Tennessee area to take out the trash and add those Territories to the ISA.”

  “You are damned straight I’m not leaving my man again for a while. We have some catching up to do.

  Who will be leading the drive into Kentucky?”

  Lt. Cates smiled and said, “No word, I guess we don’t have the need to know, yet. I just don’t know. Gus only told me that it was secret for now.”

  Joe said, “Scott if it’s possible I’d like to have a permanent post up here in Wyoming. I’ve met a girl, and we plan to get married. I’d like to help make the area safe and assist their transition into the ISA.”

  “Of course, we can make that happen. You can take over what Jim has started. Who is the lucky girl?”

  Steve and the others who had been with Joe for the past few months looked puzzled.

  Steve asked, “Yes Joe, who is this woman. You’d think that your best friends would know.”

  “I really didn’t know myself until this morning when I came face to face with leaving Cody. This girl is much younger than I am and I have always cared for her, but I thought that I was too old for her. I just couldn’t bear to leave her, so I asked her grandfather for her hand in marriage. She’s been chasing me for months. It’s Billie Shelton.”

  “That would have been my first guess. She has been after you ever since we found her and her grandfather. When is the wedding?”

  “We want to get married before any of you leave; so I guess any time in the next two weeks.”

  “Don’t you think that you’d better let your bride know?”

  Joe and Billie were married a week later and traveled to a local hunting lodge for their honeymoon.

  ***

  “Steve, please introduce me to Tom Biggs. Dad wants me to check in with him to see if he is willing to step up and become the Territorial Governor for this area.

  He also asked me to check in on Kristen Jones. What do you know about her? Dad wants this to be confidential.”

  “Unfortunately, everyone knows about John being kidnapped and Kristen acting as his wife for several months, so you need to use discretion when meeting with her. She gets out of the hospital this week and will be resting at my house until she gains her strength. You can come over and meet her there.”

  “That sounds fine. Dad wants to make sure she receives the best care but does not want Beth to know. I guess he feels guilty from both sides. Being with Kristen, and then leaving her to go back to Beth. What kind of person is she? I heard that she is young, beautiful and smart. She sounds like Beth.”

  “I’ll make sure she has a good job working for the ISA as a representative of Montana working for Tom Biggs, assuming he takes the job. The description fits only she’s younger.”

  “You know him better than anyone; go ahead and make him the offer. If he takes the job, fly him down to the Compound to meet with Gus and his team.”

  Steve answered the door and immediately pulled Scott off to the side and filled him in, “Tom accepted the job as Interim Territorial Governor, and he liked the idea of hiring Kristen. She won’t get the offer until tomorrow. She is recovering very well and in great spirits. Let’s go in and have supper, then you and Kristen can chat afterward.”

  “Thanks for the update,” Scott said as they walked into the living room.

  Spring mornings in Colorado are notoriously cool, and this morning was very much so. Scott was worried about the meeting ahead and feared the room temperature could turn downright frosty.

  “Hello, Kristen, my name is Major Scott Harris. Please call me Scott.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Scott. Let’s get it right out in the open, yes, I am the woman who kidnapped your father and led him astray.”

  Scott laughed and said, “I can’t wait to hear all about it, but let’s wait until after supper. Dad wanted me to make sure that you are okay and recovering.”

  They ate supper and made polite conversation about, weather, the progress the area was making, and ridding the area of t
he anarchists terrorizing the countryside. Finally, Scott helped Kristen out to the deck where they sat and talked.

  “Scott, I really am sorry for kidnapping John and getting him in trouble with his wife. With the world falling apart, it never dawned on me that he had a family back home.”

  “No one is mad at you. My dad feels guilty about leaving after you were wounded. He wants to help you move on with your life. Momma Beth is naturally jealous but does understand the situation. She holds no anger or resentment. She will keep dad on a short leash for a while though.”

  “Was John a lady’s man?”

  “Oh, heavens, no, Dad was too boring and would still be married to my mom if she hadn’t left him for a tennis pro at the club.

  Dad met Beth over in Idaho when a drug gang attacked them. They fell in love and have since been inseparable.

  He is torn up and feels that he cheated on Beth with you. He knows he lost his memory, but can’t forgive himself.”

  “Time heals all wounds, Scott. It will be many years before I forget John Harris. I used him to help us at first, but fell in love with him and planned to spend the rest of my life with him. I’m still young though, and I can find another man when I get around to it, but I’m not in a hurry.”

  Do you plan to stay up here in Montana?”

  “Do you mean am I going to try to find John? The answer is no, and yes, I plan to stay right here. That part of my life is over. Is he really the President?”

  “Yes, he is. He helped found the ISA, and he works every day to make it more secure for our families and future citizens.”

  “Tell him that I’ve met a boy my own age, getting married and moving on with my life.”

  “I will.”

  She watched Scott walk back into the house and thought ‘I hope my baby turns out to be as good and strong as John and Scott. I know it has to be a boy’.

  ***

  There were over fifty people from the area around Cody who wanted to move south to the Gulf coast and about the same from the south that wanted to move to Wyoming. Scott made Joe the permanent military liaison and Tom took on the Interim Territorial Governor’s job until they secured the Montana and Wyoming areas. Scott’s team spent the next two months wiping out gangs, criminals, and petty dictators.

  ✪

  Chapter 6

  A New Home.

  Smyrna, Tennessee

  2022

  John spent the next few months making plans for securing the Tennessee and Kentucky areas and building his team. His battalion was led by Colonel Tim Drake and had three companies led by Captains Marvin Washington, Al Cates, and Karen Bowen.

  He stole several good people from Scott and promoted Marvin, Al, Karen and Maria. John hadn’t seen Karen since the battle at Decatur, but he kept up with her career and found her to be a very competent and fierce warrior.

  Lt. Maria Sanchez would be his liaison for civilian affairs. The regular Army training command began setting up and preparing to begin an Army Basic Training Class.

  Alice Meyer was in charge of John’s personal bodyguard.

  Lt. Imelda Payne was the leader of two 12-man squads of Rangers and two squads of Advanced Recon soldiers.

  John tried to get Scott’s group assigned to him, but Gus and the Admiral wanted to keep expanding the northwest part of the ISA into Idaho, Nebraska, North and South Dakota. General Mills’ group had already expanded to add Utah, Nevada, and Colorado to the southwestern states. The strategy of wiping out all gangs, then training and arming the locals had been very successful.

  John sent Imelda’s team up to Tennessee several weeks before the main group to scout Highway 65 and 24 for any issues and to secure a Forward Operations Center (FOC), in the Smyrna area. All reports indicated that Tennessee was on its way back to stability from the lawlessness of the first year, but Kentucky still had major gang and drug problems.

  ***

  Ziva and Amit transferred to Imelda’s team a month before they left for Tennessee. Joan filled Imelda in on their fierce fighting skills and the mystery surrounding them. Imelda would keep an eye on them but was glad to have them on her side. They left Mobile on Monday morning and took 10 full days to arrive at the Tennessee border. There were cars and trucks stalled along the sides of all roads with many just left in the middle of the highways. The results of the EMP was evident everywhere. Movement was slow, and they had to go around cars stalled in the roads.

  There were tens of millions of dead cars along America’s highways. They sat as grim reminders, gravestones for the death of a nation. The unit stopped only to remove obstacles, eat, refuel and bivouac.

  Finally, exhausted from their ordeal, they stopped near their destination to recoup, and recon.

  Imelda sat chatting with Ziva, “I just cannot fathom how long it will take to clear America’s roads. Sure, we can push them aside with dozer tanks, but how long will it take?”

  Thoughtfully, Ziva said, “You are right, it is just impossible to fully grasp the immensity of the task and how long it will take. We should concentrate on clearing the major highways and let the civilians clear the roads around their towns.”

  Ziva asked, “What did General Harris say when you told him about the highway situation?”

  “Well, let’s see, his first word was, ‘crap,' followed by a long list of more colorful expletives. No doubt, he’ll use the dozer tanks from the 4th Cav. Tank company to start pushing them off onto the side of the road. I’ve a feeling he is going to be glad he has those tank assets.”

  “Nope, not a job I’d want, though it certainly will have job security.”

  The next morning, they traveled around Murfreesboro and made camp north of the intersection of Nissan Drive and Highway 266 east of Smyrna. They found a deserted warehouse complex and parked all vehicles inside a warehouse. This placed them a few miles from the Smyrna Airport and the center of Smyrna.

  Interconnected perimeter guards were placed around the warehouse. Trip wired flares and claymore mines were strategically placed to discourage attackers.

  Imelda had two goals:

  scout the area for gangs, other threats

  take and hold the Smyrna Airport.

  The ISA cleared Alabama of any major threats over a year ago. It had slowly gotten to the new normal, which was mainly farming, with a few factories slowly starting up around the state.

  Tennessee was a different story. The USA ignored Kentucky and Tennessee but didn’t want the ISA to have it either. The ISA was busy shoring up the rest of its territories and had not tried to occupy the area until this new expansion.

  The result was that, in the larger cities, numerous gangs and local despots had run roughshod over a large portion of both states.

  As for the country folk, well, that was a different matter. They successfully fought off any, and all, invaders. The theme song in the countryside was ‘Country Folks Can Survive.'

  These hardy folk lived off the land, rivers, and lakes. They lived quietly in small towns and villages, but always armed, and not afraid to use them either.

  They were clannish and did not take well to strangers trying to push their weight around.

  Sam Fox, Beth’s cousin, had also asked a transfer to John’s team when he found out that they were going to his hometown.

  John assigned him to Imelda, and since his history was Marine Force Recon, she gave him command of the two Recon Teams.

  She assigned Ziva and Amit to his group; they were perfect for recon and undercover intelligence work. Sam had lived in Smyrna most of his life and knew the area around Middle Tennessee like the back of his hand.

  Sam and a couple of the team went fishing in Percy Priest Lake and caught enough fish to feed everyone. They dined on pan fried Bluegill, thanks to Sam’s fishing skills and knowledge of the lake.

  “Sam, I need you to take both of your recon teams, check out the airport and the area around its perimeter; don’t make contact today.

  Take Amit with you, but I need Ziva
to go with me to do a little headhunting. We’ll dress in civilian clothes and travel around the area to determine if there are any less obvious issues in the town. I’ll take two of the other women from the Rangers and a full squad to back us up.”

  “Be careful. There are some perverts out on the streets.”

  “There will be a lot less when we finish walking the streets.”

  “Streetwalkers?”

  “Okay, a poor choice of words. I’ll have my team back before night, and want your reports by dark.”

  Sam divided his two squads into eight - three-man teams and assigned four teams to surveil the airport while the other four scouted the area around the airport. Their mission was to determine if any resistance would be encountered when they took possession of the facility.

  They also had to determine how many civilians would have to be relocated to make the area safe for the heavy air traffic that would start in the next three to four days.

  “Sergeant, post your squads as close to the airport as possible. If there are no visible occupants, check out each building.

  Remain unseen and do not engage anyone unless threatened, then use only the minimum force required to disengage, withdraw to a safe distance. Maintain surveillance of the area. All teams are to be back here before dark.”

  Sam led the teams that were surveilling the perimeter of the airport. He took the south side of the perimeter because he had friends that lived on Mary Street just south of the airport in a subdivision just off Lowery Street.

  His team worked their way down Sam Ridley Parkway until they saw the clubhouse for Smyrna Municipal Golf Course.

  They checked out the clubhouse and found it to be looted, but otherwise in good shape. The golf cart barn was full awaiting golfers who would never again show up for a tee time.