VENGEANCE

VENGEANCE

The continuation of “The Future of Warfare”

J. Croft

http://freedomguide.blogspot.com

http://freedomguide.wordpress.com

www.youtube.com/user/freedomguide

ANDOVER, OHIO

March 21, 2014

The sleepy Ohio town by the Lake Pymatunig reservoir has been under lockdown; a Stryker armored vehicle and a platoon of Ohio National Guard have been ensuring order since two Air Force F-22 Raptors, a Reaper drone and two close-in drones were effortlessly shot down by insurgents... not that that particularity has been shared for the obvious reason that it would undermine the authority the United States Government has to wield in these difficult times; world war in the Middle East and the Pacific has shattered the strands of global free trade built up over the past century with such effort and sacrifice on the part of the American People.  Nuclear terrorism in the Homeland itself: Columbus, Denver, and Atlanta devastated, essentially gone.

Someone has to hold the line.

Of course gratitude has been in short supply of late from the American People for their government in general and the soldiers bravely deployed in “Indian Country” to restore order-why, several terrorists have risen out of the proverbial woodwork to shoot at American Heroes or try and lob a firebomb.  Rest assured, all of them now decorate the town square from a gallows.  Hung and left to swing in the wind so as to let others who have hostile intents that they will not have their way!  The government will.

Kyle Durling was on the town square; he has seen a lot over the past 66 years of his life…

Three tours in Vietnam as a Ranger, battling the Viet Cong and NVA, the Purple Heart for an AK burst he took.  Come back home to… nothing.  No hero’s welcome.  Sure he got patched up by the VA but he just went back to what he was destined to do, working in a machine shop just down the road, do some horse trading at the flea market down another road.

He’d made a respectable living for these parts, and being a country boy he knew how to live well cheap.  Times though just kept getting worse-since he got home from his war.  Friends and family losing their jobs, then their cars and homes, people turning to alcohol and meth to cope with the lives robbed from them by forces they could scarcely think about.  Kyle though kept grinding metal during the week and make deals on the weekends. 

Kyle always was a go along to get along type.  Got along fine during the 70’s Oil Crisis, Reaganomics and the mass exporting of American industry, the Clinton years-always had work out here grinding and welding and machining and making trades on the weekends.  Kyle always knew a deal to be had, who to give a little to maintain good rapport and who he could skin good when they had something they didn’t know about or just were begging to be ripped off.  Better Kyle Durling get the deal than someone else.

Kyle also made a good buck helping his government fight crime.  See, Kyle knew a lot of people, and a lot of those people were those that turned to drugs to get by or cope, or they were just weak.  Drugs are expensive so most of those turned to crime or well, they would sooner or later so Kyle considered it a public service to help law enforcement set them up and get the reward for snitching on them.

Guns: Kyle had a lot of guns over the years.  He’s also seen a lot of people who he felt shouldn’t have guns get them so when he was referred to the ATF for employment as a confidential informant well, that was doing good and getting paid good.  Kyle has that easy, go along to get along air, could go up to a stranger and in a single conversation become his best friend.  Friends: they come and go just like cars, guns, women or anything else he’s horse traded.  Just that those friends he’s traded off to the government for reward and the very time worked to get those marks paid well.  Very well.  Kyle’s sent a lot of people to prison-maybe most of them would be characterized as “good” but what’s that?

Thing is, America has been like a tub full of water being drained-Kyle Durling could be characterized as one of the bubbles at the surface… far from the drain… and he’s ridden the downward tide of this country as well as anyone.  Tub’s still draining though.  Tub’s about empty.  Kyle Durling’s going to stay in the tub.  With the rest of the scum.

Kyle sits on a bench on the town square, looking at the bodies of people who resisted having troops on the streets and paid for being on the losing side.  He knew them all:

Al Goetz worked with him at the machine shop.  Always talking about how things were getting worse-well no shit.  Kyle kept him close cuz he was always a good source to find people to snitch on.  Snitching’s been good since martial law was declared a year back, and it had better been or Kyle might’ve wound up like a lot of his fellow townsfolk and that’s assed out.  Probably just as well that Al got himself offed sniping at soldiers, Kyle hadn’t gotten anyone to tattle to his primary employer about for a couple months. 

Pete Kimmel-some zit faced kid who worked for that kiddie rapist Ron Paul before he finally found the self-respect to shoot himself, kept whining he was murdered.  Also whined that it wasn’t sandniggers who brought down the World Trade Center-wow he could remember that still…

Jessie Norbert well, knew him from the flea market who sold guns.  Had a DUI and a gun possession charge… yeah Kyle dropped the dime on that loser.

Adrianne… can’t remember her last name but she worked at the diner; two soldiers died from nicotine poison.  Judging by the ill fitted clothes looks like someone had some fun at her expense before she got what was coming to her.

Blanche Fox.  Now seeing her swinging from a noose hurt.  Kyle had always had a thing for the onetime video store owner.  Why’d she have to pick up a gun against her own government?!  Sure things are bad but you don’t go stupid. 

A government car pulls up and a man in a suit gets out, joins Kyle sitting, watching the corpses swing-patriot and traitor were terms interchangeable with who was talking about whom.  Kyle was always smart enough to say the right things to whoever was in front of him.  Fundamental to being a snitch.

“In a few hours you’re going to have a massive push of refugees and enemy insurrectionists.  A few minutes at most after that NATO forces are going to be rolling through pushing them-towards Cleveland.  We’ll be herding all of you past I-271 into the east suburbs.  You’re to find your best friends the Pymatunig Militia: if you can kill them, do it.  If you can steal the plans they developed, get it.  If you can’t but you can still confirm she’s there then sneak out.”

The G-Man hands Kyle a uniquely styled Christian cross necklace, “contains a microchip.  You give your code to our forces and detailing what you managed to find out or do, then you’ll be out of there and we’ll handle the rest.  We can’t proceed until this mission is concluded successfully.”

“This have anything to do with why the TV and radio don’t work?”

The G-Man nods, “this isn’t a bunch of malcontents with rifles, this is something that could lose us the war if it got out.  Now, get your gear, put on your best militia persona and go with the flow, literally.  You still have good relations with the Pymatunig Militia?”

“Did til they lit out of here a few days back.  This have something to do with those planes getting shot down over the reservoir?”

“Think you understand the situation just fine, sir.  Do this and this will be your last assignment.  We’re sweeping the entire region clear and remaking it.  You can be a part of that; land, wealth, even youth.”

“Youth?”

The G-Man smiles “Mr. Durling, if we can jam the entire electromagnetic spectrum we can reverse aging.  I’ve already have treatments-it’s all stem cells and such, don’t ask me how I don’t know.”

“And I have to ride a wave of refugees and militia types into nigger Cleveland, find the Pymatunig Militia and kill them, steal the plan or if that fail at least let you know they’re there.”

“You know I know how things can go in these affairs.”

“ Sounds good, cept I’m 66 years old; my best days are about 30 years or so in the past-or what got blasted out of me back in Nam.”

The G-Man pulls out a package, and produces from that package a syringe.

“Your first treatment… do you want it?” Kyle Durling nods and accepts the injection.

AURORA, OHIO

March 21, 2014

Kayla Miller’s riding northbound in a Army truck “appropriated by the Geauga County Volunteers, or what’s left of them headed on a back road toward Cleveland.  She has had the one most difficult week of the war for her so far: 

*Dad, Brian Miller, dies from a drone over Lake Pymatunig.  They launch their own drone, which goes to take out two half-billion dollar F22s and three drones-kamikaze’d the last.  She took a bullet in the shoulder sniping at the raid team trying to get the rest of her unit when they launched the drone… need something for the pain!

*Electromagnetic… something or other cooked up the US government has jammed all electromagnetic frequencies in the area, so nothing works.

*Figuring out they need to get out of there with the drone plans the Pymatunig Militia… what was left of that outfit… attempts to go west, but runs into a TSA checkpoint freshly set up just East of Chardon, Ohio.  They weren’t going to get through that except for some nut with a car full of explosives at the right time blowing themselves up next to a tanker truck of fuel.  They would’ve escaped except for the misfortune of one British Challenger tank and one damn good federal agent.  Only she gets away and NATO bombs the hell out of the town.  Jacks a Chardon Cop for his cruiser and gets outta there!

*She doesn’t even want to know if her Jesus encounter was real or just her mind bouncing about, reeling from the events of the past two days….

*Lucking out in finding a Geauga County Volunteer, Kayla’s smuggled into Chesterland where Sheriff John McLellan makes arrangements with an Israeli Agent working his cover as a Jewish vendor at a flea market.  Unfortunately, they send a federal agent and his team after her… with a British platoon. 

*Yeah-Tom Jaeger of all people!  They send HIM of all people to get her and obviously the drone plans.  Ketchup the Mossad Agent tries to make a deal with him!  There was a firefight-she started it of course-but then the Volunteers come to the rescue with a attack to their rear.  She and Avrim got away and she did get to blast Jaeger good and it doesn’t matter if he’d just die instead of living long enough for her to sneak up to his hospital bed and visit him to taunt him but the priority was getting the hell out of there!  NATO bombs the town.

*AND THEN her, Avrim and this poor girl Carrie blunder into yet another fucking checkpoint run by some Army traitors-Amish Front engages them which would’ve been great cept’ that one of them blasted Carrie in the butt with a wicked hunting round.  Kayla did get to pretend she was an Army officer and order an attack she fucked up, but down the way those soldiers figured it out when Avrim blasted them with their own 40mm automatic grenade launcher.  Plan would’ve worked but they were issued only one 40 round can.  They wheel about, attack and that’s when Kayla got blasted when an unlucky round struck the scope on her M14-and she had just figured out the mildot system!

*Wakes up in Summit County in the care of the Summit County Rangers with her eye patched up and wrapped up like a mummy-but they take the opportunity to have a tribunal for what her Dad did to the militias in Ohio to get her out of the dungeon she had been tortured, raped, starved since she had been kidnapped from Occupy Wall Street.  Like she needed to relive all that.  Leverage… well, Dad sold out all the chumps that’s all. 

*Fucking Pastor Conrad’s ass had to be there to detail how he and her Dad turned her into a soldier, used her to spark off this war using logos from those militias.  Their ideal.  Least he got blasted though.

*Pretty sure she’d be dead now if it weren’t for the Volunteers coming to the rescue- God given timing there but one crack about that “pastor”-is he really ordained?  One crack and they draw on her… suppose she’ll forgive them for doing that, someday.  They did bail her out-again.  Typical militia outfit that’s seen a lot of combat-which means a lot of attrition which leaves the best, the luckiest or the ones best able to get out of dodge:

Travis Dane-now heads this group since Sherrif McLellan died… for her.  A lot of people have… 30’s, tall, veteran of Iraq seems a good leader.  Now behind the wheel of this truck… he sure is pissed off a lot though.  Wastes too much energy hiding it-or maybe he just lets that beastie out when he’s fighting?  Yeah, this group could do a lot worse for a leader now.  Too bad about the Sheriff, she actually liked him.

Jane Hammond, riding shotgun; copbitch but not a traitor… was a cop.  Still a cop and man the way she eyeballs you….

Joe Bielski, SWAT team sniper, be interesting to see how good he is.  Old man but built, reminds one of those gruff Army Sargeants you’d see in the old war flicks Dad loved-not the one’s she’s been happily blasting at for over a year now….

Doug Heemeyer-doofy looking kid, wouldn’t have given him the time of day before the war, but one thing he’s not a virgin to is violence.  Think he’s Joe’s spotter which makes him an apprentice or something.  Actually curious how well he shoots as well… has to cuz’ Ol’ Joe don’t look like he puts up with much crap.  Hope he can keep it together, he’ll need to.

Sabine Leerson-another former Geauga County Deputy, and a pixie… kinda cute actually but too alpha female for her.  Don’t underestimate the little people-a lot of now dead enemy certainly underestimated her.  Find out soon though… got a feeling heads will be butted against her soon though.

Adam Bent-dude was the Volunteer’s liason to her militia unit and would supply ammo and get a broke gun fixed if they couldn’t do the job in exchange for food.  Dude was always straight, never had a problem not related with simply not having enough-food, guns, ammo.  Why he had to pull a pistol on her though… why?!  We’re in this-oh, yeah.  Found out she and the Pastor sucked them into this war.  Guess they had some good reasons to be pissed.

Carrie Messing… on the floor, with an IV fluid and unless Brie Horton was bullshitting about these so-called wonder stem cell treatments is out of the war.  Too bad, she was blustering right through that checkpoint like a champion before she caught an Amish rifle bullet.

Not the worst crew, though Kayla has to wonder about what they’ll do to her once they’re done with her, seeing how she was the first to start shooting feds, dragging everyone into the war… they seem surprisingly calm about that revelation.  Something that Dad always told her to never talk about.

*Brie can’t take a potty mouth, but other than that she’s fucking awesome!  Used some stem cell treatments for her damaged right eye, and decided to treat her shoulder wound and every other injury she’s ever had.  And if that weren’t enough, she’s actually working for the Republic of Michigan-turns out SHE is a double agent!  Holy Shit.  Also turns out the reason the Ohio militias and the resistance in this state in general failed to take it was because of the head of the Summit County Militias, David Jenkins, works for the feds.  Deep cover operative, can you believe that?!  And Brie was working against him, and Dad was working for the feds-but he was working for them in a way that helped and Jenkins is just someone who needs thrown in a pit and made to fight to the death.  Or thrown in a Funhouse cuz we got some sickies on our side too.  Or simply worked to death, hard labor… that’s always fun to watch some captured enemy fattie used to giving out orders, and you give them a basket or a pick axe and make them work the first honest day’s work of their lives-and you punish them if they start whining!  Good way to spend a day recuperating-overseeing some prisoners an’ work em’ hard!

Oh, here comes Brie, up into the truck-of course she gets help inside.  Looks at everyone and says “Cleveland”.

“Here we go.”  Kayla breathes out, closes her one, good, useless to her being able to shoot left eye and sinks her aching head into her hands.

Everyone looks at her.

“You’ve been to Cleveland then?  Good, we can certainly use that.”  Joe Bielski was good at obvious.  Dumbfuck.

“Yeah?  We need to turn the fuck around, head back south.”

“Kayla” Brie chimes in “I got my orders to get you there.  We’ll get a submersible, sneak you out west.  We’ve done it before.”

“Brie you don’t know the first thing ‘bout Cleveland, and obviously neither do yo’ bosses in Michigan!”

“That’s where we’re going” Travis speaks!  Finally!

Kayla continues: “ I was up there helping out when the war started, but the first chance I got to lit out of that muthafucka, I took it.”  Kayla Miller glared with her one unbandaged eye at the shock everyone has, “what, my Daddy needed me.  Least that’s what I’m gonna tell em’, don’t know if they’ll buy it…. Probably eat us anyway.”

Nobody else had anything to say. 

“So, let’s get turned around.  There some reinforcements pouring into Akron-if what I overheard at the house was in anyway accurate.  It was accurate, right?  Travis… your fellow Marines; sure you got buds among them…”

Sgt. Travis Dane, U.S. Marine Corps (retired) SLAMS on the brakes of the Army truck he’d stolen awhile ago, when he couldn’t precisely remember, he’d done so many desperate things….  Trying to maintain something of a fighting force in Geauga County had been a losing cause between the drones and all the cops and military who went along with the tyranny and all the millions of unemployed… “Americans” who signed up just to have something to eat, a roof over their head, someone to lord it over-so THEY wouldn’t be on the bottom of the dung heap this country’s turned into!  The country he’s risked all trying to protect and defend…

…This whole Goddamned war has been a losing cause!  The whole Goddamned fight for Freedom has been a losing cause! 

He’d been in the NRA since he was a child.  Seen the long erosion of Freedom, with no stopping it in the long run.

He’d signed up for the Marines the day he graduated from Chardon High School.  1997.  Went in an eager, patriotic kid-the first domestic exercise where he was shooting at Americans erased any doubts that something was way the hell off. 

Iraq.  Two tours-that was two too many.

Afghanistan.  One tour-that was one too many. 

He’d seen firsthand what he was serving, and that it was truly a beast!  Opium and Oil; that’s all those wars were about.  Unfunny thing: same tactics he had been training to use on Americans he was using in the Sandbox…

He spent years trying to figure out why his government would want him to shoot at-murder-American citizens, and thanks to the internet that was one hell of a ride… shouldn’t have done all that web surfing on an account with his actual personal information on it, ho boy that cost him his career.  Don’t know how he avoided a dishonorable discharge… well, his C.O., but still.  April 17, 2006 was the day he got his ‘honorable’ discharge. 

He’d stopped calling himself a Marine for awhile… he kept pecking away at that question-why does his government want people like him (that were still in the service) to shoot at his own countrymen?  He’d simply read articles, watch videos, debate…

Oathkeepers arose-joined that.  Wound up on a list, found out that ‘reach, teach and inspire’ don’t work so good with a lot of Americans.  The Americans he’s had to fight against.

Three Percenters got together-joined that.  Met some good people, some bad people, a lot of people who he later found didn’t matter much in meeting in the first place.  Combat had a way of weeding out those types real fast… or maybe the government was just that good in executing their Black Lists.

Ron Paul ran for office-he served both campaigns, from audacious beginning to the end he never imagined could’ve came, but did; suicide.  After revelations of pedophilia… those videos… what wouldn’t the enemy do?!  I mean, how does anyone come back from that?!  From having your face and voice pixilated onto an actor while he was so savagely beating and…. And Travis knows he won’t get THAT out of his head-had to find out for himself, and look what that cost?

When Alex Jones got disappeared for awhile about that time it was pretty much game over.  A new game started… unfortunately that game kicked off right around when World War Three started: three of our cities nuked, Israel and Iran gone. 

Then the shootings began.

Bureaucrats.  Cops.  Politicians.  Feds-that took balls.

And everyone thought it was the militias finally dong something.

Should’ve tried participating in the process years ago, decades ago and gotten patriotic Americans in-he’d read something online called “the Battle of Athens” about one such effort right after World War Two.  Hell, he’d even heard one of the commanders from the Ashtabula County Militia… former… Brian Miller say just that. 

Fat fucking good that did he might as well have pissed in the wind; all that keyboard typing, all those hours burnt gathering news and nobody would rise to the occasion.

Well, some militias did… or so everyone thought but calling yourselves a militia was dangerous-yet there were good people in service so he helped John McLellan form the Geauga County Volunteers-to block federal tyranny so that those damned militias wouldn’t get innocent people killed.  It was a good effort.  The Sheriff; there was a man he had literally gone to hell for, but unfortunately now he’s going to have to make the return trip on his own.

Yeah.  It was a good effort the feds had no appreciation for when they openly declared martial law and literally invaded Geauga County!  The Volunteers went from being a enhanced neighborhood watch for the County Sheriff so crazy militias don’t form up in their county… and became a militia themselves! 

Fat fucking good all that accomplished.  Ground themselves into the ground, literally.  Sure they fought on rural lands and had access to the cities until a few weeks after they started fighting the feds turned the interstates into prison walls.

Those drones… all those drones… swear to God they had drones that looked like small animals, like hummingbirds until they got close.  Predator drones, lobbing bombs and laser guided missiles.  Those assholes in Michigan were always talking about air defense against drones-microwaves, goose guns, but what does birdshot do against something pickling off a 500lb bomb at 10,000 feet or send 155mm arty fire or a bomb strike?

No, that wasn’t the main reason they’d lost.  Not the drones.  It was a lack of coordination, of leadership.  Apparently Dave Jenkins was responsible for that… Travis was still reeling from that revelation… Dave Jenkins!  He had been the main reason the Volunteers could still maintain themselves as a fighting force; food and munition have to come from somewhere and Summit County had been reckoned as a stronghold!  To know now it was a government ruse, a rope-a-dope…

…but the big one sat in the back, telling him what to do!

That crazy, mouthy hip-hop bitch-too bad that Amish sniper couldn’t have taken her fucking head off-that was the one who was making all those attacks on government facilities and officials and making it look like the militias were fighting-SHE was the one who ignited the war.

Didn’t set the conditions.  She was the spark…. His spark…. Goddamn Brian Miller and Pastor Conrad!

She’s got to pay.

Sgt. Travis Dane slams the brakes on the Army Truck and it comes to a complete stop.

He gets out, walks to the back of the vehicle.

“Why we stop?” Kayla asks-as Travis unlatches the rear gate, YANKS Kayla Miller out of the truck!

Kayla, wounded, in pain, gets up with amazing grace, literally growling, going for her gun-a Sig Sauer in her waistband.

Sgt. Travis Dane steps to, SLUGS Kayla in the gut as hard as he can and rips the piece away from her in one move; Kayla collapses to the ground, desperately trying to catch her breath.  Tries to get up to go for another weapon to kill him.

Sgt. Travis Dane puts Kayla’s Sig to her head.

“Go for it” Travis tells her, “go for another pistol, a knife-I don’t care so long as I can motherFUCKING be done with you!”

Kayla looks up at the pistol in Travis’ hand steady on her and tries to laugh but being out of wind and in a lot more pain than she was a few seconds ago doesn’t help.

The rest of the surviving Volunteers and Avrim Heinz hang back, not daring to intervene.  Physically.

“Sir” Avrim speaks “my government needs this girl-“

“-YOUR COUNTRY’S FUCKING GONE JEW!”

“She’s the last living person who knows firsthand how to construct that drone.”

“Fuck the drone.  And fuck her.”

“Then what did John McLellan die for then?”  It was Joe Bielski… “You made your point with the little lady Sargeant.  We can settle accounts with her later, but the first priority’s getting a working drone out of her.  Then we can get justice.”

Sgt. Travis Dane tightens his trigger finger on the Sig Sauer-the Ohio Highway Patrol service pistol’s sear yields to his finger pressure.  One more dead person he can personally attribute to…

He safes Kayla’s weapon, stuffs it into his pants gangsta style and goes to help her up-and gets knocked back hard by Kayla.

A HUMMV pulls up.

A door opens.

A U.S. Army Major just steps out, “problem here?”

Sgt. Travis Dane was never a good actor, he was mainly behind some kind of trigger and left bullshitting through the enemy to Carrie Messing… unfortunately incapacitated-thanks to this bitch.

“Just settling something unofficially, uh, Major.  No need to make things any more fucked up than they are, Sir.”

“You got that right!”  The Major looks around “you got wounded?  Get them to Outpost 22-there’s a MASH unit; it’s north by I-271 -in fact follow me, we’ll give you an escort!”

“Um, yes Sir.  Thank you Major” and Sgt. Travis Dane salutes the Major.  Got that part right.

The Major gets back in the HUMMV.

“Get up if you’re getting up yourself” Sgt. Travis Dane tells Kayla.  She does, just, and staggers to the back of the stolen Army truck, and climbs in-a hand from someone-that kid Heemeyer-reaches out to help but Kayla swats it away with her one good arm, using it to just be able to haul herself up and into the truck. 

Travis gets in the cab of the stolen Army truck and the Major’s HMMV charges forward, its Gunner expertly looking around on the vehicle’s mounted 50 cal; his head was looking about and he was rotating the cradle the heavy machine gun was on. 

“We’re officially in the Army.  Act accordingly.”

Nothing else to do but follow the orders of the enemy.

COMMAND POST 22

PEPPER PIKE, OHIO

With the hostile HMMV leading, the Geauga County Volunteer Army truck rolls into the downtown section of Pepper Pike-once an affluent community with Starbucks, an Apple corporate store, boutiques… all shuttered.  They stop at a guard post and the Guard salutes, the Major salutes back.

“Welcome back Major-be glad when all our commo works again!”

“No arguments from me Soldier-carry on!”

And they roll into Pepper Pike…

What Pepper Pike IS now is a Army Forward Command Base complete with command, MASH unit, barracks… all of these in what were Pepper Pike’s civilian government buildings.  They roll past the High School-it’s athletic field is now a firebase with 105mm and 155mm artillery pieces along with MLRS rocket launchers firing off, and a improvised airbase with Apache and Blackhawk helicopters and a motley collection of drones big and small.  In fact the ‘drone field’ is packed full of drones. 

In the Army truck Travis Dane gives orders: “we’re gonna play cool with this.  We’re gonna play this out until we can’t-at which time we’ll shoot the fuck outta this FOB and get the fuck out.”

“They’ll be wanting IDs, but without communication the IDs we had made up for casual flashing to whoever will work” Carrie Messing spoke with authority “you’re Army now-not oath traitors, not militia.”

Travis looks back, “you got all of Kayla’s weapons?”

Joe Bielski holds up Kayla’s suppressed Glock 18 and Sig-Sauer, and Brie has her M14 sniper rifle.

“Fuck y’all” Kayla mutters, shakes her head.

Joe Bielski gives Kayla his full attention, “you keep quiet from here on in, Miss.  Maybe you get the live to fight another day.”  Kayla gets the meaning, breathes out…

“Hide the Glock and Sig they’re not standard issue.  Brie you’re our sniper now.  Joe and Heemeyer you two help Kayla-everyone else gets Carrie into the MASH.”  Travis keeps following the Major’s HMMV as it rolls in front of the MASH unit.

Brie brings up a point: “think they’ll wonder about the stem cell treatments?”

Travis thinks as he pulls up, “if they say anything tell em’ you captured them from the rebels.  If not, they they’re using the shit as well.  Otherwise, say as little as possible, this ain’t our unit.  Okay people, get your game faces on now.”

Travis halts the Army truck up in front of the MASH unit and he gets out but the Major’s way ahead of him: “We got two wounded in here-one severely!  LET’S GO PEOPLE!”  Army Medics stream out, and Joe and Doug Heemeyer first help Kayla stagger out: “she got shredded pretty good, and I think she might have some internal injuries” Travis points out to the Medics “other girl had her hip blasted out by an Amish sniper.”

“Fuckin’ cheese niggers” One Medic drawls out in disgust-sounds Texan-as he helps Kayla Miller into the first stretcher.  He and the Second Medic haul her in, “be glad when they close in up around here and we can finally finish off the niggers in the hood.”

“Hear that.”  And the two haul Kayla in. 

Avrim, Brie, Joe, Doug, Sabine and Adam file out, for the other four Medics to do their job; they do a quick appraisal of Carrie Messing and lift her and her IV as one onto the stretcher, the other two Medics holding onto the IV.

“Captain” Travis Dane turns to the Major “mind if I do the debrief now?”

“What happened, Captain?”

“Firefight with some Amish Front; one girl took a round in her thigh, obviously.  The other one had her scope blown out by a round-lucky girl got some damage to her eye.”

Major watches the two women be hauled into MASH, “you were lucky.”

“Yeah, very-we were issued only one belt for our Mk19 Major.”

“Shit… things have been pretty rough.  Ohio hasn’t been the government’s biggest priority up to now.  You must’ve been on checkpoint duty, why you were issued so little ammo.  NATO gets here in a few days though those days will be gone.  You won’t believe what we’re throwing into this AO, we’re not literally sweeping the enemy before us we’re literally scouring every fucking bit of this land.”

“They’re sweeping them where, Sir?”

Major points towards Cleveland “in there if they’re not lucky and get themselves killed trying to get away.  Then we’ll end this crap in Ohio and push westward to those Michigan fucks-THAT will be warfare, Son!”

“Can’t wait to get some real fighting in, Sir.  Oh, Major?  I appreciate the discretion you showed earlier when I was issuing some field discipline to my Private.”

“Don’t mention it.  We all got enough problems around here.  Go see to your people Major; get some grub, some shut eye if you need it.  I’ll be needing you-don’t matter where you were it’s all a clusterfuck anyway, we’ll sort it out after this operation’s over.  I’ll cover for you Captain.”

‘Captain’ Travis Dane salutes “thank you Major!”

Major salutes back turns and gets into his HMMV and gets out of there.

The Volunteers and Avrim cluster around Travis Dane.  Jane’s first “Major’s really got his shit together.”

“Cept where it counts-“ Doug Heemeyer’s shut down by Joe Bielski with a gentle thump in the ribs.  “Remember where we are kid.”

“We gotta do something about him” Jane opines.

Travis agrees, “yeah.  We’ll handle him before we’re done.  Avrim, you got it?”

“In my pack ‘Captain’” Avrim Heinz pats his pack with three laptop computers-FBI Mark Bolo’s, Tom Jager’s and his own. “Think we can tear away, get to Beachwood?”

“See what we can do” Travis answers and then turns to Brie “we can’t possibly go into Cleveland now.”

“I know.  And I don’t got a way to contact my command so, I’m open to suggestions.”

“We fight.”  Avrim looks at the militia-in-disguise and they look at him like he’s crazy.  “We fight for the government, make our way south, head into Beachwood; my people will handle it from there.”

“What about Carrie?” Sabine points out, obviously omitting Kayla Miller.

“We need that girl.”

“Yeah-as a distraction, let her sort her own shit out” Travis gets an ideal.  “This goes south we out her as militia, make some noise, slip out from under the confusion.  As good as that Major is, he’s right; this area’s a clusterfuck.”

Avrim steps forward “no, Sir, we need that girl, she’s the only living person who’s had firsthand experience building that drone.”

“Is that thing even worth it?”  Travis shoots back some more, “is it?  Texas has an air force, Michigan has an air force as does Montana, Mormons, Alabama and even Jefferson.  Getting those plans to the resistance like out of fucking Star Wars… I don’t see how it’s worth it, Heinz.”

“We will compensate you.  And I assure you Sir we still can.”

“Oh God” Adam Bent has to get into it “I think there’s enough people who can read plans that we don’t need Crazy Town.”

“Crazy Town?” Doug Heemeyer asks, “yeah, she’s a whole town worth of crazy Doug.  You don’t even know the shit that girl’s pulled.  I do, unfortunately.”  Adam looks out, not wanting to be here at all.  None of them do.

Travis comes to another decision “Avrim, want you to watch over your girl and Carrie for us-do what you have to if their cover’s blown but other than that keep out of their way.  Rest of you, we’ll go eat-and we’ll send some grub your way okay?”

Avrim Heinz salutes, turns and heads into the MASH unit.

The Volunteers stay together around Travis as they head for a mess hall “we got our copy of the plans.  When we’re out of this fucking mess people, we cut those two loose.”

Jane asks “what about Carrie?”

“Let’s hope those stem cells do the job.  I don’t even know what we can do if they don’t have some other miracle treatment for her, that Amish slug really did a number on her.”

They’re all quiet as they enter the Mess Hall-a former Chipotle…

Avrim Heinz, Mossad Agent, enters the MASH unit like he knows where he’s going-having one place to go is a key to infiltrating an enemy stronghold, even if you really don’t because you’d otherwise look like you’re lost or wandering about and in a purposeful place like an Army MASH unit that can be trouble…

…Which rears its literal ugly head up as a trio of Military Police surround Kayla Miller’s bed!

First MP: “…where were you stationed Private”

“Andover.  At a checkpoint.”

Second MP: “and you were attacked?”

“Yeah-look at my eye!  Damn Yoder nearly took it out when he put a round into my rifle scope!  Goddamn fucking lucky to be here-Sir.”

Third MP is about to say something when Avrim cuts in “Sirs, I can vouch for the Private’s story.  I was there as well.  We were given little ammo and with this… this, what can you call it when nothing electromagnetic will transmit or receive?”

The three MPs look at each other, “we’ve been trying to figure that out ourselves.”

“Some nerds with too much free time have really fucked things up.  We can’t check IDs or nothing, at least those IDs not already loaded onto our records here” holds up a laptop.

“Is that your worst gripe?  Try manning a checkpoint in hostile territory and you’re only issued one belt of ammo for your grenade launcher!  Yes, that happened to us and that’s why my two squadmates here are laid up with you now!  There are others who didn’t make it!”

“Sorry to hear that Sargeant” the first MP pats Avrim on his shoulder, “c’mon let’s grab something to eat.”  And with that the three MPs leave.  Avrim grabs a folding chair plops down by Kayla, exhausted.

“You should get an Academy Award for that bit of work Ketchup.”

Avrim leans over “only if you stop making fun of my last name there, Missy.  You got problems enough.”

“Always do.”

FEDERAL FUSION CENTER

WARREN, OHIO

In the Command Center General Warburg of the German Army and his adjutant Major Charles Fox, US Army are joined by Tom Jager in a wheelchair.

“Ah, glad you can join us Tom.”

“Progress marches on.  Soon I will to.  Any word?”

“No” Major Fox answers, “as you can see from the map display we’ve made a solid front along the Cuyahoga River.  All territory we’ve positively taken has been cleared-no results of course.  We hold at the Cuyahoga, along I-90 eastward, and Downtown Cleveland; that’s the anvil. A combined American and NATO push is corralling everyone and every hostile unit east and south into a nice little killzone-Eastern Cleveland.  We’ll evacuate our positions along I-271 between Bedford Heights and Willoughby Hills.  The entire length will be open for the enemy to be herded into our kill zone.”

“We’ll let the enemy make their last stand” the German General adds, “at least until I can get authorization to bomb them off the map.  Major, when can I expect this damned EM null field to be shut down already?!”

“They’ll let us know General when we’ve cleared the east.”

“FUCK!”

“Are you still going to use a nuclear device on the kill zone?”  Tom Jager has his own personal reason not to-the bitch who put him in that wheelchair in the first place.

“Agent Jager you’ll be out of that wheelchair soon enough.  I never had clearance to use nuclear weapons on the Greeks-I am NOT going to miss this opportunity!  AND I NEED TO FUCK!!”

General Warburg marches into his office, where naked, half-starved, horrifically abused boys are chained against a wall…

COMMAND POST 22

PEPPER PIKE, OHIO

The Major who personally led the Geauga County Volunteers into his firebase is in his HMMV, with his personal driver, the Chief Medic, and a Military Police Lieutenant’ “two of the wounded are in the MASH Unit with one other of that party with them.  The rest are in the mess hall.”

“How you think they got a hold of stem cell medicines?  That’s not Army issue yet!  I had to threaten the medical staff with article fifteens if they broke the ruse”  the Medic had every right to complain.

“Special forces, or some other NATO army probably has them now.  They’re resourceful you have to give them that.”

“Like to know when the fuck WE will be getting that medicine… Recording them, Lieutenant?”

“Since they arrived, Sir.”

The Major snorted, laughs “what a brave, crazy, stupid bunch these guys are!  Though desperation will make you do stupid.  Alright, carry on-we’ll break the worst news of their lives when we’re set to roll out of here.”

“I predict a clusterfuck.”

“This ain’t?  Let’s roll!”  The Major’s driven off as the Medic rejoins his unit.  The MP stays.

In the Mess Hall, the Geauga County Volunteers sans Carrie Messing sits together at a table…

Doug Heemeyer concentrates on taking a bite off his plate… scoop the next morsel of mashed potatoes and gravy, don’t look nervous, don’t let the spoon shake, slip the spoon into the mouth, swallow-try to swallow-swallow, go for the next bit-when Joe Bielski to his right grabs his shaky hand.

“Take a drink, Kid.”  Joe looks at Doug, winks, and pulls out his ancient little flask.

“I really gotta drink that?”

Travis Dane looks straight at Doug; “that’s an order.”

Doug takes a swig, coughs, chokes, wheezes, snorts.  The Volunteers laugh, as do several actual US Army soldiers.

“What the fuck’s that?!”

“Industrial grade paint stripper, Doug” Joe winks at him, gets back to his meal. “Hmm, not bad, these boys are actually taken care of here-maybe we should stay.” 

“Way that Major talked we don’t have a choice.”  Jane Hammond works on a Salisbury Steak “we’re going to see some combat.”

“What I can’t believe is how quickly they’re distributing stem cell medicine to their troops.”  Travis Dane chows down on his own mashed potatoes “and these potatoes actually ain’t bad-better than I had in the fuckin’ Sandbox!”

Sabine Leersen has been plucking at some French fries, listening “Plan B?”

“Shit.”  Travis Dane sums up any possibility of a Plan B.

“Yah.”

“Adam” Brie focuses on him, “what about Kayla?”

“Oh no…” Adam Bent speaks what the entire militia-in-disguise was thinking.  “I don’t have to tell you-you KNOW she’s the bull in this china shop.”

“I don’t think you give her enough credit” Doug fires back and with some vehemence.

“Don’t fall in love with her dude” Sabine chides Doug.

“I’m not in love with Kayla!”

Joe turns on Doug “yeah you are.  Now knock it off.”

Travis Dane speaks “we’ll handle Kayla if the time comes and she goes off her rails.  Who I’m worried about is our Carrie-we got to keep a tab on her, she’s severely wounded and it’s only because of this weird EM null field that they can’t check and find out she ain’t in the Army.  The rest of us for that matter.  That happens, then we WILL need her-she’ll go one way and attract all the attention, we’ll go anyway else.”

“What about Avrim?  Those plans?” Jane asks.

“Fuck em’, fuck it.  Someone else will come up with something like that.  If they can…”

Outside the Mess Hall in a HMMV the MP Lieutenant and a couple other MPs have been watching the Volunteers talk amongst themselves-through a cabled link to cameras and mics set up.

“We got enough LT?”  An MP checks his M9 pistol.

“Got to wait for the Major when he gets back.  Wants to do this himself.”

“Well if anyone deserves a promotion, it’s the Major.  Bagging this bunch ought to do it.”

“Too bad for us though.”

“YEAH!  Too fuckin’ bad for us.”

In the MASH unit Avrim sits by Kayla, in bed having her eye examined by a Medic.

“Day before huh?”

“Yep.  My rifle caught a round right on the scope from some cheese cracka.  It was memorable.”

“Okay then I’ll be removing the gauze now, check on your progress.”

“Go for it, dude.”

The Medic gently removes the gauze wrapping as Avrim watches with a intel agent’s interest in something new.  Medic himself moves slowly, taking apart Brie’s wrappings around Kayla’s head carefully, as if wanting to examine this new medical technology himself.  The rest of the staff not immediately at work on wounded were clustered around the bed…

…yes both Avrim and Kayla noticed.

Finally the Medic gets to the white packing taped to Kayla’s head.  It’s cross taped with additional tape underneath; the Medic carefully separates the tape from her head and removes it; Kayla’s eyelid is taped wide open and he cursory removes that but is enthralled with the package itself; it’s a transluscent bag purposed shaped to fit to an eyeball.

“No way…” the Medic lets out. 

Avrim’s pistol holster is unbuttoned, and he looks about…

Kayla blinks like crazy, she tears out a lot of clear fluid-not quite like tears as its just too milky.  “Towel.  Towel please?”

A Nurse hands Kayla a towel and she cries out the liquid into it.

“Don’t rub” the Medic instructs her and he opens up her right eye, looks in with a light.  “Well, if you had damage to your eye… it’s healed!”

“Will wonders never cease, Doc?”

“Apparently not.  Can you see?”

“Err” Kayla’s blinking a lot; having her eye encased for a couple days.  “Well gimme a minute I’ve been in the dark for a couple days.”

At the MPs HMMV the Lieutenant checks out the feed from the MASH Unit; the Medic is checking out Kayla’s vision.

“I think I know who she is!”  The LT zooms in closer, “oh hell I DO know who that is!  Get a squad here, right fucking now Sargeant-RUN!”

The MP Sargeant unhooks the wires from the Toughbook computer and drives the HMMV off-another consequence of the EMP blackout.  The LT and another MP unsafe their M-16 rifles and stride toward the entrance to the MASH Unit….

In the MASH Unit, Kayla’s looking at an eye chart, removes the spoon from her left eye.

“20-10 vision, Private!”

“Fuck yeahs. I’m back, Ketchup.”  Kayla looks intently at the Medic, “you’ve never seen that kind of medicine before, have ya’ Doc?”

The Medic spins suddenly, torn away from his examining the eyepatch, “that’s okay though; I was never a Army Private.”

In a seemingly singular, fluid move, Kayla Miller yanks the bedcover away and does a kick to the Medic’s head with her Army boot sending him back.

“Ah no!”  Avrim’s committed now; he draws his M9 as Kayla leaps up, disarms the Medic of HIS M9 and two spare magazines.

The MP Lieutenant and Private enter upon hearing the commotion;  Kayla Miller SHOOTS both in the head.

“FUCK KAYLA!”  Avrim holsters his sidearm and raises the M240 at the rest of the staff ‘DON’T MOVE!’ 

Kayla rushes the bodies and immediately disarms both enemy soldiers, liberating both M16s, 12 magazines, a pair of M9s and four more spare magazines.  She’s heavily armed-and happy.

“Let’s go Heinz.  Got a war to win.”

“What about Carrie?”

“Volunteers can handle her-this stem cell’s the fuckin’ shit she’ll be up in no time.  Hell I can’t even feel my shot ass shoulder now.  Now come on-AN YOU DOCS BETTER HAVE MY GIRL HERE READY TO ROLL WHEN WE GET BACK OR Y’ALLZ DEAD TOO!”

Kayla and Avrim make their exit.

Outside, soldiers start to run about-there WERE gunshots but nobody yet knows quite where.

“Avrim, boss some these fools around.”

“I know what to do-“

“-Do it.”

“Bitch” Avrim Heinz goes to the nearest Private “WE GOT INFILTRATORS-SECURE COMMAND AND GET THE MAJOR-FUCKING MOVE!”

“YES SARGEANT!”  The Private ran, and Avrim turns to Kayla “Mess Hall.”

“No time to eat-“

“-Volunteers are there.”

“Fuck them fools, I’m outty.”

The Volunteers emerge from the Mess Hall; Travis Dane asserting his assumed Captain’s rank in bossing people away from the MASH Unit.  Jane Hammond runs to their purloined truck to start it.

“You have better odds with us” Avrim declares “better odds with others to help soak up bullets-“

-“I’m not like that fucker!”

Travis Dane comes over “Carrie?”

“Still in the MASH unit.  What I got two fuckin’ hands here!”

The alarm siren blares out.  In the distance, about 300 yards distant pilots rush to the Apache Gunships, their engines begin spooling up.  “Avrim, come on before they take off!  Get your people outta here!”

“Not without you!”

“Just get yo’ girl!”  Avrim and Kayla rush over to the first firing position they can find; Avrim goes prone with the M240, sets sights and starts firing BURSTS at the Pilots 300 yards away.  Kayla sets a M-16 down, goes to a sitting position, aims and fires single shots at stragglers, single pilots.  She misses half of them; the rifle’s not sighted in for her so it’s struggling with Kentucky Windage… but she adjusts and starts dropping stragglers to the right and then the left as Avrim loads a fresh belt into the machine gun, sends more bursts downrange at the exposed pilots and flight crews, aims at the exposed ordnance on the Apaches and starts BLOWING them up!

Jane Hammond goes to start the truck and it’s not turning over!  Sabine Leersen catches up with her “this truck’s not even cranking over Sabine!”

Sabine opens the hood… looks like some wires and parts are missing.  “They’re on to us!”

“Get me another!”

MPs come over… yes they know and they SPRAY both Jane and Sabine dead.

Travis, Joe, Doug, Brie and Adam enter the MASH Unit, SHOOTING all enemy personnel dead.  They surround Carrie on her stretcher and with Brie providing security the four men lift her up and cart her outside….

Outside with MPs rushing to them; Brie goes cyclic on the onrushing group, gives the rest time enough to set Carrie down and shoot as well-Adam takes two to the chest. 

Brie’s head explodes from two 5.56mm rounds.

Travis, Joe and Doug finish off the MPs.

Travis Dane looks around; their truck’s not moving and it looks shot up.

Brie and Adam are dead.

Avrim and Kayla are off to the side shooting at something-no they’re done and getting up, looking around.

“Joe, Doug-get us some transport.”  Avrim and Kayla approach, and in spite of the past mad, hellish minute he’s amazed at Kayla-her eye “my God that stuff actually works!”

“Won’t work on our girl here if she dies here.”

“Working on that.”

“We need our gear out of the truck” Avrim declares “the drone plans.”

Joe and Doug drive a HMMV with a .50 BMG to their truck, get out, start throwing their gear into their new vehicle.

“We’ll have a better chance together Mr. Dane.”

The Major’s HMMV pulls into Outpost 22-the Major himself on the .50 and he spots the rebels!

Kayla Miller cooly shoulders her M16 and fires a BURST hitting the Major in the chest and he crumples down on the mount. 

Avrim and Travis draw down on the HMMV and it stops-the soldiers inside raising their hands; they coldly rip them out of the HMMV and Kayla pops each in the head.  Avrim yanks the Major out of his own HMMV and they get in drive to Carrie and all of them load her into the back.  Doug and Joe pull up in their HMMV; Joe is on the .50 and Travis gets on his HMMV’s .50 as well.

All the soldiers misdirected by Avrim and Travis start rushing back towards them, the gunfire and Travis and Joe lay down some .50BMG fire as Avrim joins in with his 240’s 7.62mm, a full, fresh belt.  Kayla and Doug join in with their M16s picking off whoever the machine gunners miss.  Those that don’t fall take cover and fire back but they’re outgunned-and that 50 cal quickly rips apart their cover, and them.

The group looks around; dead enemy and burning wreckage everywhere.  They all take glory at their havoc; victories for them were all too rare these days.

Kayla ruins the moment: “we still going into Cleveland?”

Travis: “don’t have a choice anymore.  That Major was telling us about how a NATO sweep east of us was pushing everyone here.  We won’t be able to get through that.”

“Wanna bet?”  Kayla gives Travis her full attention, “c’mon draw down on me-“

-Joe and Doug aim their pistols at Kayla.

“Aw not this shit again.  Y’all some punk asses you know that.”

Travis speaks, “we’re going into Cleveland.  We got no choice now.”

“Then be fuckin’ smart about it an’ see if we can’t bring them muthafuckas some food-least buy us a few days before they eat us.”  Kayla turns to Joe, Doug, Avrim “they’ve been under siege for months, attacked nonstop.  Tell me where they got a co-op run by a two-face snitch to feed them?”

“Joe, Doug-find us some food.  LET’S GO!”  Travis yells out the order and Joe, Doug and Kayla quickly search the base, starting with the mess-there’s another Army truck about full of food as luck so has it.  Joe gets in the truck and Doug rides shotgun.  Kayla returns to Avrim and Travis and they take a HMMV, load Carrie into it with their gear.  The Geauga County Volunteers new Army truck joins them and together they exit the Army firebase, headed west.

Several minutes later the Major stirs on the ground.  His soldiers rush to him as the HMMVs retreat out of range and he rips open his Interceptor vest; Kayla’s 5.56mm burst was defeated by the body armor…  he sits up, sees four dead rebels and an airfield with a bunch of idling or burning helicopter gunships and a lot of wounded and dead pilots on the ground.

BEACHWOOD, OHIO

Once upon a time a year ago Beachwood Ohio was the most affluent suburban community in Northern Ohio; the main street, SR422, was lined with high end boutiques, BMW and Porsche dealerships, a Jewish museum, synagogues…  The shops have been picked clean.  Most buildings are shot up, blown up, burnt, or simply in ruin from being ransacked and picked over repeatedly.  Nobody lives here, though an occasional smashed skull or other human bone can be seen, stripped of flesh.

Travis drives the HMMV, with Avrim riding shotgun with the M240 and Kayla on the 50 caliber.  Carrie Messing is in the back compartment stuffed among the Volunteers own gear and weapons. 

Travis talks to Avrim: “Avrim, where are we going again?”

Avrim keeps his hands tight on the machine gun, his eyes out looking for trouble “just up ahead-take a right at the next intersection, fourth house on the left.”

“Got it”, Travis steers the HMMV as directed-the side streets aren’t any improvement, broken in and burned homes, trash everywhere.

Joe and Doug follow in the Army truck.

“We got a place to rest tonight?”  Joe looks out, a scoped HK91 in hand.

“Find out in a minute.”  Joe stops in front of the fourth house… not burnt out but looks looted, the HMMV already parked in front on the street, Avrim Heinz getting out.  “Pull forward and back up into the driveway.”

Joe Bielski pulls the huge Army truck up then throws it into reverse and quickly backs into the driveway; there’s a large garage in the back already open and looted.  He rolls through the growing grass and parks when the back of the truck hits the back interior wall of the garage.

Travis backs the HMMV into the garage on the other side as well and stops as Joe and Doug get out.  Kayla goes to get out but Travis gently grabs her hand-

“You got some fuckin’ nerve!”

“Listen to me Kayla, we’re in a bad situation, and it’s going to get much worse and I don’t know how or if we can get out of this.”

“We’re not.”

“You don’t care…”

“Stopped caring soon after they nabbed me at Occupy Wall Street-that was two years ago.”

Travis rears back… “now I-“

“-When we done here, I’m going to kill you.”  Travis looks into Kayla Miller’s angry eyes.  Joe and Doug look on at Kayla, their hands inching towards their sidearms…

Travis Dane gets out of the HMMV.  Avrim walks over to the group as Kayla gets out as well, apart.

“Let’s get Carrie inside” Avrim directs the Volunteers, “follow me in, do nothing else but bear her, keep your hands away from your weapons.”

Travis nods.  He and Joe get Carrie out of the back of the HMMV and bear her inside through a ripped open back entrance, following Avrim.  Kayla and Doug trail behind and close the garage doors behind them.

The interior has been stripped and ripped apart, anything of any worth has been stripped bare, including the pipes and wiring.  Avrim leads the fighting group down stairs into a basement, to a far wall where he pulls aside a board revealing a thumb scanner which he wires a 9 volt battery to and presses his thumb to. 

A section of floor dips down and slides to the side revealing a ramp.  Lighting comes on and Avrim unwires the battery replaces the board, and leads the way down to a short tunnel.  At the end is a solid steel gate where Avrim leads the group.  There’s a operating retina scan and he presses his right eye to it; the gate automatically opens and the floor closes in behind them.

“Need you guys to really be cool now.  Forward.”  Avrim leads the group forward to another gate-manned by four big, well armed Israelis.  One of them steps forward, “Sampson.”

“Delilah” Avrim Heinz answers back, produces half of a challenge coin bearing number in Hebrew.  A second Israeli goes through a small chest, produces the other half to Avrim’s challenge coin and they match.

“Welcome back Avrim, it’s been awhile.”

“Joachim.”  Avrim and Joachim embrace warmly, “Daniel, Ephraim, Andy.”

“Colonel, it’s good to see you’re still alive!”  Daniel gets up and hugs Avrim, then Ephraim who is quiet, then Andy.

“Who are your new friends Sir?”

“Ah.”  Avrim points to each one, “Geauga County Volunteers: Travis Dane, Joe Bielski, they bear Carrie Messing, Doug Heemeyer.  The lovely lady’s Kayla Miller of the Pymatunig Militia.  You will need to make debriefing her a priority.  You’ll find out why.”

“Alright, bring her in,” Avrim leads the Volunteers and Kayla Miller into the secret Israeli bunker followed by Joachim.  It’s another, large elevator they all get on and Joachim operates to take them about 200 feet further underground to a tunnel with offshooting tunnels.

Joachim leads, “first one on the right is our infirmary-take your friend.  Kayla you’re with us.”

“Here we go…” Kayla follows the two Israelis further back into the bunker and adjoining tunnels; mess hall, armory, bunks, two tunnels full of computer consoles.  At the end of the tunnel are two adjoining tunnels-one sealed and locked and the other is an office, where she’s led.

“Have a seat, Kayla” Avrim shows Kayla a seat, she plops down and Joachim sits in front of her behind a desk and Avrim sits to the side.

“I am Captain Joachim Goldstein, Israeli Intelligence.”

“Your government still survives” Kayla answers back, then looks around “reminds me of the bunker we had in Warren-had it right under the excuse that town has for a downtown.”

“It’s under a new Federal Fusion Center” Captain Goldstein continues “you recognize our security procedures, correct?  The layout-“

-“You had a hand in that base as well?”

“Indirectly you could say.”

“Well, whatever-let’s get to it then.  Your boy Ketchup here wanted my militia’s drone plans-“

Joachim laughs “Ketchup!  Good one!”  Avrim Heinz glares at Kayla.

Kayla laughs “yeah I thought it was funny too.  But anyway, the drone plans.”

“Yes!  The Colonel here stated you group perfected an automated drone you managed to cobble together.”

“Well, crack open the Colonel’s computer and take a look-dude you’re a colonel?”

“What you thought I was a 45 year old private?”  Avrim gets out his notebook, turns it on, showing several files on the desktop screen, shows it to Captain Goldstein.  He starts clicking through, watches the video of the Minuteman drone’s onboard camera as it rockets skyward then using optical and audio recognition programming homes in on two F-22 Raptors and shoots them down with robotic efficiency in seconds, then engages a Reaper drone, shoots that down, then circles about looking for more targets, engages a Ohio State Patrol drone, shoots that up then a MALFUNCTION warning flashes, so the Minuteman kamikazes itself into the last drone and the signal’s lost.

Captain Goldstein starts going through the database; list of parts, materials, manufacturing notes, and a schematic of the Minuteman Drone:

“You use a Beowulf design for your computer control… rocket boosted twin ramjets, fiberglass construction, you can use a variety of weapons I see… you even made it stealthy.  And you did this in Ashtabula?”

“Sure.  Look it’s all in the notes what you need to build it.  I just helped oversee construction and gather the parts.”

“Which makes you the last living person whose constructed this machine.”  We will need your testimony.  After which we’ll take care of your comrades and get you and your plans to the Free States.”

“Can we start after I eat?”

COMMAND POST 22

PEPPER PIKE, OHIO

The firebase has been abandoned, the dead and wounded evacuated at the last moments as a seven truck convoy barrels through towards the setting sun.

In the lead truck driving is Kyle Durling, sitting in the passenger seat with a map and he looks at his driver; a 25 year old woman in full militia gear.

“Keep driving Megan, we got to lead everyone else here.”

Megan looks at Kyle, “how many of us you think will make it here Mr. Durling?”

“Don’t know, darling.”

“And then?”

“Reckon we make a stand.”

FEDERAL FUSION CENTER

WARREN, OHIO

In the Command Center, General Warburg and Major Fox watch the jerkily updated holographic display of Ohio; NATO forces form a solid phalanx in a jagged line from Madison to Akron, with U.S. Army and Ohio National Guard positions along I-90 and I-480 extending from the NATO forces east all the way into downtown Cleveland where there are additional U.S. Army forces guarding the downtown area.  U.S. Army forces west of Cleveland are in fighting positions preparing to meet a massive thrust from the Republic of Michigan, now besieging Detroit, swarming through Toledo and rushing toward Cleveland.

“Think they’ll break through?”  Major Fox points at the Michigan forces.

“They get under the EM field they might.  Goddamnit!  Activate MALLET!  NUKE those fucking rebels!”

General Warburg storms into his office.

SANDUSKY, OHIO

Mid-sized town about midway between Toledo and Cleveland that’s currently being blown apart in the fading sunlight:

U.S. Army forces, including HMMVs, Bradley AFVs, Stryker AFVs, Paladin self propelled artillery, and M-1 Abrams tanks do their best at an orderly withdrawal, with the tanks performing overwatch as the bulk of the forces use I-90 and Rt 6 running through town to head east.  Apache gunships, Predator and Reaper drones, Ohio Air National Guard F-15s and an AC 130 gunship fly about…

A rocket streaks out of a treeline and blows a Stryker up.  Most of the guns of the convoy slew toward the root of the rocket streak and open fire, laying suppressing fire.

A sniper shot kills a Tank Commander exposing himself.  A few seconds later a Predator drone buzzes in to attack.  The sniper-a kid about 16-unasses and runs through the woods to get away, his scoped Savage .308 hunting rifle slung so he can concentrate on running, a Glock pistol in hand.

The Predator drone is about to fire when it’s hit by .50 cal machine gun fire and is blown apart-the fire coming from a clearing past the trees-it’s a truck with a machine gun mount.

An Apache homes in on the rebel truck, diving in to fire when it’s blown out of the sky by an air to air missile!  A Republic of Michigan F-16 streaks past and engages another Apache gunship with another Sidewinder missile, blowing its rotors out and sending it crashing into a farmhouse.

ONG F-15s dive to engage the rebel fighter and it turns tail to head back to Michigan, and the F-15s pursue…

…Flying at about wave height, Republic of Michigan F-15s, and F-16s suddenly climb, each fighter targeting enemy fighters or helicopters or drones and fires AMRAAM or Sidewinder depending on how far their targets are; a couple F-15s managed to jam or shoot decoy flares and maneuver to escape the first volley…

F-22 Raptors flying about 60,000 feet overhead about 30 miles away, invisible to rebel radars get passive radar signals from AWACS and vector to take on the rebel air assault…

South of the main attack, a F-14 from the Texas Republic flying just above treetop level has two Phoenix long range air to air missiles.  Both the jet and the Phoenix missiles were salvaged from the Boneyard in Arizona and one of the Phoenix missiles is launched, rocketing towards the AWACS at Mach 4-detonating and taking down the flying radar plane.

The F-14 kills radar keeps at treetop level flight and turns towards the battle….

The F-22s having lost passive radar signals from AWACS also lose radar signals from ground stations….

….Because more Republic of Michigan F-4 Phantoms once slated to being expended as target drones acting as wild weasels fire HARM anti radar missiles at various mobile ground radars and take out a lot more local battlefield radar coverage.

The F-22s lose more and more of their passive radar feeds, and they go active on their own powerful radars.

That F-14 detect the radar signatures of the F-22s and locks on the signal, fires its last Phoenix missile and it flies twice as fast as the supercruise capable Raptors, blows one out of the sky.  The remaining Raptor retreats.

The F-14 flies over Sandusky and all government air opposition has been shot down.  As rebel fighters fly CAP additional Michigan jets-incredibly Vietnam era F-105s salvaged from the Boneyard-make their bomb runs on the trail of U.S. Army forces attempting a fighting retreat.  Escorting Avenger anti-aircraft platforms fire off Stinger missiles and fire their quad mount 50 cal machine guns and several of the Thunderchiefs are hit-but the Army convoys are savaged and left to burn.

Several miles to the west, Army and Ohio National Guard forces tasked with holding a line against Michigan forces are engaged by everything from rocket launcher equipped trucks to snipers, to Michgan Bradleys and M-1 Abrams tanks.  Mainly, it’s the trucks filled with militia shooting and scooting and sending TOW missiles and Michigan produced rockets into government forces. 

COLUMBUS, OHIO

Soaring 40,000 feet above nuclear devastated Columbus a B-52 with a pair of accompanying F-22s and five more Ohio Air National Guard F-15s flies due north at high supersonic…

SANDUSKY, OHIO

The F-14 soars skyward to 50,000 feet and aims itself and its long range radar system south, picks up the flight from Columbus.  The cockpit both front and rear have been extensively modified and the B-52 is differentiated from its visible escort of five F-15s… the rest of the flight of Michigan F-15s and 16s join the F-14 and charge south.

The F-14 launches its last Phoenix-it rockets towards the B-52 at over Mach 4…

LIMA, OHIO

Over Lima, the Phoenix streaks toward the B-52, until one of the escorting F-15s flies forward and aims itself at the missile lobs off a Sidewinder which misses, then the pilot somehow aims his fighter into the missile and it detonates.

Out of the north the Michigan fighters tangle with the Ohio National Guard and Air Force F-22s; most of the Michigan pilots attention are on the pair of F-22s and they desperately try to gang up on the pair of fighters, which gives the four ONG F-15s perfect opportunity to lob off their AMRAAMS.  Between the Raptors extreme maneuverability and supercruise and the F-15s the Michigan fighters are shot down.

The F-22s rocket northward to intercept the F-14 which goes to afterburner, which flies at about the same speed… but not for long as the modern F-22s can fly supersonic without afterburners.  Eventually the F-14 turns to dogfight against the Raptors but is quickly dispatched.

SANDUSKY, OHIO

The B-52 makes its bomb run; two designated drop points are fed into the computer and two B-61 thermonuclear bombs are released.  The heavy bomber pulls away and flies away as the two nuclear weapons airburst over Republic of Michigan armor concentrations.

FEDERAL FUSION CENTER

WARREN, OHIO

General Warburg laughs, LAUGHS at the video feeds of the thermonuclear detonations, the rising pair of gigantic mushroom clouds.  Major Charles Fox can only watch as does the rest of the Federal Fusion Center in horror.

SANDUSKY, OHIO

A lot of Republic of Michigan Army tanks and armored personnel carriers are burnt and slagged under the two mushroom clouds rising high into the stratosphere…

Still fleeing south and east, thousands of trucks, vans, self-propelled artillery and towed pieces on trailers, dirt buggies, motorcycles-full of Michigan Army-escape the thermonuclear devastation.  They don’t look back to see all their brethren that didn’t get out of the blast radius in time.

SECRET ISRAELI BUNKER

BEACHWOOD, OHIO

“Consumer electronics?”  Joachim and Kayla go over the drone plans, a video camera is recording the conversation.

“Yeah” Kayla answers, “Chris made the design so we could scavenge all kinds of off the shelf parts and whatever we find there was a design formula to use those parts.”

“Makes sense.  Perfect sense in your situation.”  The computer behind Joachim displays one, then two nuclear symbols on a map showing them well west of Cleveland-at Sandusky!

“The hell’s that?!  Nukes go off?!  Hey!  Look behind you!”

Joachim spins around in his chair, punches up satellite data.

“How are YOU able to get that anyway, the entire EM field’s jammed!”

“We have fiber optic wiring going out all over the place, you can’t jam that” Joachim presses the intercom ”EVERYONE IN HERE NOW!”

The rest of the Israeli personnel, including Avrim Heinz, Travis, Joe, and Doug run into the office; Joachim feeds the images and maps of the nuclear attack on the advancing forces from Michigan onto big screens.

Avrim Heinz speaks finally “they’ve stopped Michigan’s advance.  But, look to the east; they’re herding everyone into here, this urban pocket between the freeways.  They’re finishing up with their push.”

“East side’s going to get a hell of a lot more crowded.”  Travis Dane looks on at the nuclear devastation.

“Only way to stop this shit” Kayla says “got to find the muthafuckas who ordered this an’ kill em.  An we all know where they at.”

“You want to go to Warren.”  Joachim Goldstein looks at her, “you yourself cannot go.  We’re not done with you and obviously your countrymen need you as well.”

“I know that fusion center, I know the bunker underneath!”

“So do I” Travis Dane interrupts, “I’ve been there before, remember?”

“Then its decided” Avrim says but then a dull THUD is heard.

Additional dull THUDS, explosions are felt, not heard.  Joachim switches to cameras along Beachwood-existing surveillance and traffic cameras and they show desperate streams of people-militia and refugees alike-trying to dodge cannon shells and rockets and aerial strafing.

“We’re not going anywhere” Avrim finishes.

CHESTERLAND, OHIO

Dusk.

What’s left of the town after NATO forces bombed and shot it up a few days ago is being systematically demolished as streams of refugees from points east are “pushed” along with artillery shells exploding everywhere and random air strikes.  There’s no set convoy it’s every car and person for themselves.

A few Ashtabula Militia squads set up in the ruins of the former grocery store with rifles and a M240 machine gun, hoping to make a stand as both refugees and enemy air and artillery assaults intensify.

Then the refugee streams die off, literally, killed off by all kinds of cannon and automatic weapons fire.

The men and women of the Asthabula Militia ready themselves.

…It’s an incredible sight; literally as far as one can see north to south a literally solid phalanx of US government, US military and NATO forces systematically clear houses, set them on fire, shoot them up, take the families who stayed into custody, or shot them. 

Other Americans, living in Chesterland, seeing what’s coming grab what they can and get in their vehicles and start them up, hoping their precious store of gas in their tanks can get them away from this awful sight.

Maybe they’re too late in getting out and eager US or NATO soldiers gun them down.  Or an armored vehicle opens up with machine guns.  Or a helicopter buzzing overhead swoops down for a strafing run.  Or a random artillery round hits, or a NATO jet or a AC-130 gunship orbiting overhead decides to drop some ordnance down on some fleeing Americans.

The men and women of the Ashtabula Militia look at each other; their stand isn’t going to happen here so by relays they quietly back off from their positions and make a retreat westward.  They try to spread out to not present a easy target for enemy air assets.

SECRET ISRAELI BUNKER

BEACHWOOD, OHIO

Kayla looks at Avrim Heinz and the other members of his command, at Travis Dane and what’s left of his Geauga County Volunteers. 

“You got fiber optics to the outside world-great.  We can get the drone plans out.  First, we need to get a hold of the Council.”

“Cleveland Resistance Front Council?” Joachim rises “no, I’m not dealing with that meshuggenah drug dealer.”

“So that’s who in charge?”  Kayla blinks, visibly astounded, “how the fuck he manage that?”

“He got the rest of the Council killed in a drone strike.”

“Naw, that ain’t him-he’s ruthless but he ain’t a rat.”

“What do you know of Chris Mars?”

“He used to rap in a previous life; an’ I danced on stage for him a few times-he paid enough, he always had money… you ever ran short of cash when it came time to pay the rent you’d understand.  No: what matters is we help them, us, everyone being herded up in here, we all make a stand.”

Travis rises “Kayla, they just used nuclear weapons west of here!  They’re going to pack us in here and nuke us.”

“I don’t think so” Avrim Heinz interjects, “The enemy commander is General Warburg, of the German Army; he commanded the takeover of Greece by the EU and he took his sweet, sadistic time methodically crushing any and all resistance.  Loved every second of it and he’ll prolong the suffering as long as he can.  He’s using the same methodology in Ohio.  They’re cleansing this entire area.”

“So he ain’t in a particular rush, he just wants to play with us, for lack of a better word.”  Travis looks at Kayla “how fast can one of your drones be built?”

“Depends.  My group in Andover took a couple months.”

“Don’t think we have that kind of time.”

“No.  We in Cleveland though-lots more material, parts, lots more people to chip in building-hell we might make several of ‘em in a week we get enough parts an’ people.”  Kayla turns to Joachim “two questions: what kind of fighting goes on here an can we stay here?”

“The fighting goes back and forth from the freeway to a few miles from here; there’s typically no set front line but limits where one side or the other has a local advantage.  I expect that to change with the influx but, yes; we should be safe here. You saw our precautions.”  Joachim finishes, turns to Avrim and he addresses Kayla.  “You have a good relationship with Mars?”

“Well enough til’ Dad had me NOT go back.  Can’t say I was sorry to leave this town.  Sure we’ll all be sorry we’re here.  An’ yeah; I can use some competent backup when I go meet with him-Avrim.”

“I can’t go Kayla, I have to stay here.  I’m responsible for this base.” 

“What?  You weren’t before when we were kicking it in Chesterland an’ Aurora.”

“You didn’t give me a choice, the way you brought hell with you.”

“You think you have one now?” Kayla cocks her head at Avrim.

Doug Heemeyer speaks up “Kayla, let’s take it easy-“

“-SHUT UP Doug!”

Kayla looks across the corridor to the sealed door-the Israelis all look at each other, nod, start going for their pistols… “Hey Ketchup; what’s behind that door?”

“Kayla” Avrim addresses her more gravely than he has ever done so with her, “that’s an Israeli State Secret.”

“Oh?”  Kayla looks at the Israelis hands, makes a decision-she draws her M9 BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!  All deafening!  The Volunteers draw their pistols, try to yell but what’s the point-everyone’s deaf now.

Avrim’s hit in the right shoulder, reels back from the 9mm ball-Kayla hits Joachim, Levi, Andy in the head and instantly killing them and aims next at Travis.  She and the Volunteers face off.

Travis starts “You’re crazy!”

“WHAT?!”

“YOU’RE FUCKING CRAZY!”

‘MAYBE NOT” Kayla turns to Avrim, steps on his gunshot wound “WHAT’S IN THE LOCKED DOOR?  WHAT’S YO’ STATE SECRET?!  …Shoulda used my silenced Glock…”

Avrim moans, tries not to scream.  Kayla KICKS Avrim in his wound, kicks him repeatedly until he’s out…

…Avrim Heinz, Mossad Agent, wakes up facing the locked door cuffed to a chair.  Kayla Miller stands off to the side with a tray that has a scalpel, drill, blowtorch and lighter.  “Can you hear me?”

Avrim nods.

“You know what I want.  You know I have a lot of experience at torture.  And I know you know how I am when I’m opposed, don’t you.”

Avrim nods.

“Because you’ve saved my life I’m gonna give you a chance to simply open the door-otherwise I take out some anger on you, leave you topside all fucked up n’ shit fo’ some cannibal-you DID note the knawed on human bones?  Just do it Avrim: Israel’s gone.  All that’s left is for you to justify keeping you alive.”

“Five, six, four, seven, seven, two.  I have to do it because the numeric keypad reads my thumbprint.”

I’m going to wheel you over, and uncuff your right hand.  Do anything past getting this door open I’ll just not stop.  Got it?”

Avrim nods.

Kayla Miller pushes Avrim over, undoes his right arm.  Avrim punches in the code in the keypad and the door moves aside-and it’s a thick door.

The lights come on:  there are ten man-sized grey cases on gurneys; three of which are open.

Travis, Doug, Joe are with Carrie in the Infirmary, doing nothing but hearing Kayla and Avrim.  More silence… then the massive door opening… and nothing but silence.

“Travis, go see what’s going on.”  Carrie tries to rise but Joe puts a firm hand on her, “all of you go.”

Travis Dane, Joe Bielski, and Doug Heemeyer walk over, sees the cuffed Avrim by the door, cuffed.  Travis gingerly enters the formerly sealed door, with Kayla staring at the ten cases-three of which are opened, have been opened for some time.

“Travis” Kayla finally speaks, for the first time to him with all her pride, rage, all of that ripped from her, “I think I know who nuked our cities.”

Joe and Doug come over as well, see how everyone looks on at the cases with awe and horror-even Kayla.  Doug does the math just fine on his own “A-avrim, are these nuclear weapons?”

“Yes.”

Kayla Miller turns to him “why?”

“Your government abandoned us.  We had to face the Iranians and Syrians and Hezbollah and the Palestinians on our own.  They had to pay a price-what worse fate for them than have their own slaves defeat them in a civil war.”

Joe thinks, turns to Avrim “how did you defeat our radiation sensors?”

“What?”  Kayla looks back and forth “you mean they can detect nuclear bombs?”

Joe continues “the US government has been able to track the radiation from nuclear materials for decades.  These containers don’t look like they can shield the bombs signatures.”

“No.  Not until activated-we use an active screener to soak up radiation from the devices themselves.  Otherwise we store them here.  Your government doesn’t know about this facility or that there’s nuclear weapons still.”

Travis pulls his pistol, aims at Avrim’s head “you murdered MILLIONS of US-FOR REVENGE?!!”

“Yes.”

“Travis, we’re going to need him” Kayla tells him. 

“What the FUCK for?  War crime trials?”

“He has the arming codes for those bombs-don’t you Ketchup?”

Avrim Heinz nods.

“Put your pistol away Travis.  We’re not going to kill Ketchup.  We’re going to win this war.”

I-271, PEPPER PIKE

March 23, 2014

Ezekiel and Michael Gould of the Amish Front take cover behind blasted debris by the freeway overpass, both with scoped Mauser rifles.  Several other Amish fighters provide cover with Enfields, Mosin-Nagants-all scoped. 

Up and down the freeway Ashtabula County Militia, rebel U.S. Marines, Wooster Resistance Front fighters, and a lot of volunteers from the Cleveland Resistance Front assume fighting positions.

They fire at any NATO trooper they see, giving the straggling last bits of a refugee column cover.

A Leopard II main battle tank emerges from the treeline, followed by two more cannons blasting the tail end of the refugee column! 

Ezekiel and Michael train their Mausers on the tanks, their image sensors, vision blocks.  Two are disabled as their operators attempt to change out the blocks, but the third aims its 120mm smoothbore cannon at the overpass and fires!  A massive section of the overpass explodes, turns to dust, 7.62mm machine gun fire is hosed all over.

Ezekiel and Michael Gould… run for it.

The other two German main battle tanks replace their damaged visors, and the undamaged Leopard takes lead…

…in time for a rebel Marine Harrier jump jet to swoop down, lob a 500lb bomb at the lead tank-it blows that tank to hell, the shockwave knocking one of the other tanks down.  The Harrier lays down chaff and dives down low for the inner suburbs of Cleveland as Stinger surface to air missiles reach out for it-and just miss.

An Ohio National Guard F-15 streaks over the Freeway going northbound and drops 500lb bombs all along the interstate, wherever the pilot finds enough concentrated rebel insurgents to justify the bomb.  Dozens are killed until a Marine lasers the fighter with the last Javelin missile and fires it-the anti-tank missile self guides onto the fighter and BLOWS it out of the sky!

FEDERAL FUSION CENTER

WARREN, OHIO

General Warburg and his adjutant, Major Fox, watch the main holographic combat display of Cleveland; NATO forces have reached I-271, green all-clear signs reach the front lines.  To the west, in spite of the nuclear attack, Republic of Michigan forces have reached Lorain and Elyria.

“Major, do you see how the insurgents from Michigan operate?  They used the armor captured from your Army but were more than willing to sacrifice them so as to save the bulk of their armed forces.”

“They’re very good at swarming the battlefield with thousands of vehicles General.  They all operate independently, given a objective, then left to their own devices as to accomplishing that objective then scatter to the proverbial four winds.  It makes fighting them extremely difficult.”

“Ah, yes!  But now we’ve shown them we too can and will use nuclear arms to achieve our goals.  They know they have no choice but to commit their forces to a stand in Cleveland-if they don’t we will break through, break through to Detroit, Chicago, crush them and then crush their compatriots south and west of here in good order.  If they do make Cleveland their stand, we only crush them that much sooner.  First thing however is to order a MALLET strike on Eastern Cleveland-ah you see?”

What they see is the EM null field suddenly dissipated.

“FINALLY! Now we can bring our drones to bear on them-all of them!”

“So we won’t be using MALLET?”

“Of course we are!”

“General with all due respect I have to state my objections; pacifying Cleveland is a vital national goal, not obliterating it.”

General Warburg turns, faces his American adjutant “this is a NATO operation.  I am in command.”

“You are, but without Cleveland, how are you going to send NATO forces westward?  Bad enough Columbus is gone, and you had to bomb Akron and Youngstown off the map.  Cleveland is the only city left north of the Ohio River with functional road and rail networks.”

“So?”

“My superiors will want to talk to you about that.”

General Warburg breathes out in exasperation “well that EM field’s gone that ought to speed things along.  Why’d they take it down?”

“Those drone plans got out.”

“Oh well.  Soon as we pacify Cleveland it’s a clear shot to Michigan, Chicago.  Have this war done with soon enough.”

EAST CLEVELAND, OHIO

Once upon a time in a previous century, a previous era, East Cleveland was the home of the richest people in America; John D. Rockefeller himself had a home on what was called Millionaire’s Row,  a huge Edwardian Era urban mansion.  Well, they left for other places to call home and Cleveland Ohio began its century long decline; from industrial powerhouse, to bankruptcy, to national joke, to now a battlefield on the scale of Stalingrad.

There isn’t a single intact building left in the town, nor in any of the surrounding towns.

There ARE however, people.  Raggedly, starving-or if they have a garden and a crossbow or firearm with actual cartridges, “just” malnourished. 

Nobody walks alone; everyone is with an armed group of some kind, always on edge, carting carefully tended to produce or war material like bullets, gunpowder, shell casings.  Food and munitions-and clean water-are the three sole products that matter anymore.

Drugs?  Maybe a hoarded can of paint thinner or maybe some meth if the ingredients can be found among the ruins. 

Prostitution?  The pimps are armed, the women-a lot more women nowadays-have nothing more to market than their malnourished bodies; many of them ply themselves naked for a few shells or a vegetable.  They all bear bruises from their pimps but none of them are running away… you just have to find a bone knawed on by human teeth to remind you that being alone is a death sentence.

The orphaned children run in feral packs-in every way feral, armed with sticks, knives, pipe.  Sometimes being in a group isn’t enough of a deterrent if they’re hungry enough.

A lot of new faces are appearing now; refugees from the east and south, all the way from Pennsylvania, ruthlessly herded here by NATO in an apparently successful bid to cleanse the area of resistance.  Militia and other freedom fighters, and even a rebel Marine battalion have been pushed into this town without roofs…

…All manner of NATO and United States military aircraft buzz and shriek in the skies above East Cleveland and the immediate suburbs enclosed by I-90, I-77, and I-271, forming a vast and now literally open air prison.  F-15, F-16, Tornado, A-10 jets drop ordnance at will and not caring what they hit-greenhouses, clusters of refugees, those packs of feral and starving children.  They fly unopposed; the Cleveland Resistance Front have no air defenses left.  And also back are the drones.

DRONE CONTROL CENTER

NELLIS AFB, NEVADA

Airman Second Class Kelley Goode sits at his drone pilot seat, with one hand on the joystick, and the other rubbing his other joystick-the one he was born with and hadn’t been able to see without the assistance of a mirror since he was a small child.

He pilots a fully armed Reaper drone over the crowded skies of Cleveland and just looking at the action in Lorain and Elyria just west of his assignment makes him glad he’s not assigned there…. Too many aircraft of all kinds have been falling to enemy air assets. 

LORAIN, OHIO

Lorain’s as ruined as East Cleveland now.  Not one intact building left standing.

U. S. Army forces make a stand in the rubble, but the Cold War era tanks and armored personnel carriers prove to be as vulnerable on American soil as they did in Iraq to everything from rifle bullets to the sensor and visor blocks to Molotov cocktails to new production anti-armor rockets, mortar shells… and new production 105mm recoilless rifle rounds literally fired off the back of a truck, the loader rapidly operating the breech and loading a fresh round to engage and hit a Abrams tank in it’s ass…

…as a German Tornado fighter bomber makes a transonic bomb run on the source of the obnoxious backblast from the recoilless rifle armed truck-but as it’s about to drop payload it’s hit by cannon fire from a Republic of Michigan… Corsair jet fighter salvaged from the Boneyard of the desert Southwest, it’s four 20mm cannons rip the German bomber apart and it flies on, looking for more targets in a target rich environment-what’s known as a furball.

The drones are out, thick as clouds of mosquitos in Michigan; everything from hand launched overpriced RC toys with cameras to quad rotor hover drones fitted with a machine gun or an automatic grenade launcher to the Predators and Reapers held back until now….

A Michgan Militiaman sets up a microwave gun on a old German Army anti-aircraft tripod, connects it to a generator as his squad mates provide cover; he aims through a rifle scope fitted to the cobbled together and repurposed microwave oven and aims at a gun armed hover drone and presses the trigger.  The quad rotor gun armed drone sputters and stalls, falls to the ground in a resounding crash!

This attracts the attention of another gun-armed hoverdrone but as it homes in on the microwave gunner frying one of those 100,000 dollar RC drones a pair of long barreled ‘goose gun’ shotguns fire at the drone, the steel shot busting up the remote controlled machine and it plummets to the grounds.

A Predator drone had been buzzing a bit higher overhead, about 8,000 feet targeting that Michigan squad it fires 76mm free flight aerial rockets in the general area….

The microwave gun and tripod largely escapes but explosions all around create a squad of screaming or blown apart Patriots.  That Predator drone buzzes on to another Militia unit with the same setup: microwave gun, screening force with HK-91s, and a couple of long barreled shotguns knocking down low altitude drones-it’s about to shoot off some more rockets when that F-9 Corsair swings back and disintegrates that drone with a burst of quad 20mm.

An F-22 Raptor comes out of nowhere with its own 20mm-out of AAM-and shoots that plane down.

DRONE CONTROL CENTER

NELLIS AFB, NEVADA

Airman Kelley Goode doesn’t have the problem of enemy air power over the skies of East Cleveland.  He flies his Reaper drone at 20,000 feet, well out of range of goose guns or microwave guns, and with a full complement of 500lb JDAMM GPS guided bombs.  He looks at his sensors, finds heat signatures of a group of refugees trying to head westward deeper into the ruins.  He sets his targeting crosshairs on the group and pickles off a bomb.

EAST CLEVELAND

March 25, 2014

Kyle Durling is second in line of his group of refugees/militia from Ashtabula.  He has been non-stop for the past three days contacting resistance, setting up some form of plan for the hundreds of thousands of Americans driven here by NATO forces ethnically cleansing the land before them.  Not only that; have to find shelter from the fallout from the two nuclear device detonated west of Cleveland somewhere… and Fukushima was STILL a going concern!

He drops down on the first semi-comfortable spot, exhausted.  “Girl you go on ahead, I need to rest.”

“Be careful okay?”  Her name’s Ashley and she was a cute blonde teenager.  Just Kyle’s kind and he still had a way with his women.  They march on, stupidly-they should’ve stayed but these were kids who had woodland camo and an SKS shoved into their hands with the barest of training on how to use their rifles.  No sense whatsoever. 

They’d learn Kyle decided.  Maybe they’ll figure out their mistake and double back for him.

Kyle wasn’t worried about the rumors of cannibals; ammo was worth everything gold isn’t now in East Cleveland and by the full load of 7.62x39mm in the SKS chest pouch and his scoped SKS rifle with the Tapco magazines Kyle Durling reckoned himself the richest man inside East Cleveland….

…All he had to do was find that Pymatunig Militia unit take those drone plans and he could get the hell outta here before-

-BOOM!

A bomb out of the sky takes out Ashley and the rest of the combat unit he’d cobbled together.  Could’ve come from anything flying over East Cleveland-drone or NATO jet… did it matter?

Oh well, just have to see what he can salvage and put together another unit….

SECRET FORMER ISRAELI BUNKER

BEACHWOOD, OHIO

Kayla Miller awakes from a deep sleep, heads to the Command… tunnel? 

This Jewish bunker was laid out about like the Patriot bunker underneath Warren had been so she could get around easy enough.  Unfortunately so did Travis Dane who also was a representative of a onetime united and coordinated Ohio resistance.

Travis Dane, Doug Heemeyer, and Joe Bielski had wheeled Carrie Messing in-apparently she’s graduated to wheelchair status and they’ve been pouring over computer files and papers… Avrim Heinz the former commander of this base off to the side, dozing off, his gunshot wound patched up.

Travis looks at Kayla, “are we still squabbling?”

“Y’all did pull guns on me.  Twice.  Yo’ punk ass slugged me.”

“You woke up didn’t you?”

Carrie turns to Kayla, “you got bigger problems than my people, girl.”

“Like what?”

Doug Heemeyer’s turn: “we were able to get the drone plans out.  Brie had the contact info for Michigan and well… haven’t got a answer yet.”

Joe: “They’ve been pretty busy trying to punch through to Cleveland but their advance forces got hit with a pair of nukes-“

“-Yeah, I was being interviewed when that happened.  What’s the deal with Ketchup?”

Carrie shakes her head “think the guy just folded and gave up.  Hell his country’s gone-he’d been carrying on like there was still an Israel to plant nuclear bombs for but you can only keep up that kind of charade for so long.”

“His conscience got to him” Kayla finishes, “well whatever so long as we got his mu’fuckin’ nukes.  What’s up upstairs?”

“What’s up upstairs” Travis Dane starts “is that there’s double the amount of people there was yesterday-no food, about out of ammunition, and the last of their air defenses is gone-a squadron of Marine Harriers got themselves perished performing a fighting retreat into here.  Now, what we got here-while you actually got your sleep-are seven variable yield nuclear weapons… God help us… and a good store of food, fuel and ammunition.”

“I saw those.  Not a bad stockpile.  Makes what we brought in look like nothing.”

“Well, if we distributed-WERE able to distribute all that food, fuel and munitions it’d at best last a day or two.  It would only put off the inevitable.”

“Travis: we have fucking NUKES!”

“HOW THE FUCK DO WE DELIVER THEM?!”

“We got my groups drone plans, right?”

Outside of the bunker, in the safe house, the last of the Amish Front militia group take shelter inside the wrecked home.  Ezekiel Gould with his son Michael are last inside; Ezekiel patting his son on the shoulder and he stands guard, drawing a Sig Sauer that was one time issued to some government official.

“Alright: ammo?”

The Amish Front: four men, two teenage boys, three teenage girls check their gear and their weapons.

“I’m out” says a man with a sporterized 1903 Springfield with a scope.

A girl with a sporterized Mauser rifle checks-finds a sandwich bag half full of 30.06 shells, hands them to the man.  He nods “thanks”.  The girl reports “I have the shells in my rifle Mr. Gould.”

“Son?” Ezekiel calls to Michael. 

“Just a couple of magazines for my pistol Father.”

“Full magazine-that’s it.”

“Fourteen shells.”

“Two magazines” a Amish girl has an AR-15.

Rumblings are heard from the garage and the entire group quickly, silently move to cover the garage.

The garage doors rise and a HMMV and a Army truck become visible; Amish Front charge, cover both vehicles.

In the HMMV, Travis is behind the wheel; Kayla rides shotgun… one of the nuclear weapons is in the back among the .50BMG ammo cans.  Joe and Doug are in the Army Truck…

…Ten Amish in a mix of woodland and realtree camouflage, bearing a mix of scoped hunting rifles and captured ex-police ARs surround them, covering them.

“Oh shit” Travis sticks his hands up.

“Oh FUCK!  Not AGAIN!”  Kayla does NOT stick her hands up.

Ezekiel Gould’s in no mood for resistance; he aims and sees… it’s the girl he shot a few days ago.  “That can’t be you girl!”

“Well it sure as FUCK is!  What the fuck you doing here?!”

“We got shoved here by NATO.”

“Oh.  Yeah.  You mind not pointing your guns at us.”

Ezekiel lowers his rifle and the rest of the Amish Front follows suit, “Do you have ammunition?”

Travis takes over “for what?”

“Ought six, 8mm Mauser, .303 Enfield, 308, 223, .40.”

“Just 308 and 223.  We got some rifles-hey, you need food?”

Ezekiel looks back at his fighting group, “what do you want?”

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OHIO

A four vehicle convoy rolls westbound into Cleveland:

Lead vehicle is the HMMV; Travis Dane behind the wheel, Ezekiel and Michael Gould ride shotgun and man the .50.  Ezekiel looks up at his son, “you like your new toy there son?”

Michael Gould smiles at his dad, keeps an eye out, for everything.  The nuke’s gone.

Second is the Army Truck; Joe Bielski driving, and an Amish Front fighter riding shotgun with the M240 Avrim Heinz wielded.

Third and fourth vehicles are GMC Suburbans from the Israeli Bunker motor pool; Doug Heemeyer drives the third, the passenger and rear seats full of Amish and they’re checking out the minigun, carriage, and ammunition feed.  Doug looks back, “you guys figure out how to work-“

One of the Amish girls hits the right control and the other girl sitting on the seat lets out a delighted squeal as the roof slides open and the mount rises and extends.

Kayla in the final Suburban sees the Amish manned minigun deploy out of the roof of the Suburban, laughs, looks back: “just find the right button an we can cover our asses.”

An Amish girl on the minigun seat glares at Kayla “is there any reason for that kind of language?”

“Fuck yeah there is-ain’t you had your rumpilspring… whatever?”

“Rumspringa.  And no.”  An Amish boy finds the magic button and the girl and minigun rise up as the roof slides and she screams OH SHIT!

“Showed you.  Hey-don’t touch the fuckin’ nukes!”  There are three nuclear weapons in the back compartment; three more ride in the other Suburban.

20,000 feet above East Cleveland a Reaper drone finishes an attack run on yet another pathetic group of refugees and orbits around…

DRONE COMMAND CENTER

NELLIS AFB, NEVADA

In his pilot seat, Airman Kelley Goode munches on a plate of hot pockets, a mega gulp of pepsi in a holder, his hand moving the joystick, piloting the Reaper into a lazy turn, viewing the free-for-all the drones and the NATO air and ground forces are having on the defenseless, besieged Americans in the East Cleveland pocket-everything from small arms and tank gunfire from the freeways to helicopters to jet fighters.

Absolute insanity.  Kelley sits there wondering if a stray shell or missile might hit his drone-and then he might get disappeared like his friend Dan Hladr. 

Kelley Goode heads westward, looks along the side streets of Cleveland Heights, looking for some kind of action; the main roads are being bogarted by actual flyboys and not a 300lb unwashed dork-like him.

He sees the four vehicle convoy snaking along a side street… he targets the lead with a bomb reticle.

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OHIO

Lead HMMV: Travis Dane has been silently praying to God the entire time he’s been behind the wheel.  He’s also been taking as many crazy turns as possible in an attempt to throw off anyone aiming ordnance at them and to hide in the rubble-he makes a turn to the right, taking them north and the convoy follows.

Rear Suburban: Kayla turns, follows everyone when about a hundred yards behind-BOOOM!  Suburban’s rocked by a bomb exploding, bits of asphalt and wood pelt the Suburban-and Kayla discovers its armored as well!  Kayla radioes Travis on the Israelis own top flight communications equipment “we’ve been made!  Split up!”

Kayla drives the Suburban west, and Joe Bielski in the Army truck follows.  Doug in the other Suburban follows Travis in the HMMV.

Both groups then split up; all four vehicles now weaving among the rubble and burned out side streets.  People watch from inside the rubble, from holes, trap doors.

The Reaper Drone, barely visible, buzzing above lobs another 500lb bomb…

Kayla, Joe, Travis, and Doug drive seemingly without direction, and very fast; going every which way.  The bomb just misses Joe’s Army truck.

The Reaper drops yet another bomb, it drops and HITS just ahead of Joe’s Army truck ripping it apart and casting its precious cargo of foodstuffs everywhere.

DRONE COMMAND CENTER

NELLIS AFB, NEVADA

“Got ya!”  Airman Kelley Goode shouts out.

“Yay, you got a truck.”  The Watch Officer-an authentic pilot, looks on, “get yourself over by downtown, there’s another attack starting up.”

“Yes Sir.”

MUSEUM OF ART

CLEVELAND, OHIO

It took about an hour of crazed evasive driving-and several close calls from drones and NATO jets but Kayla, Travis and Doug reach the Cleveland Museum of Art… or more correctly the ruins of a one time world class museum.  The three parked their vehicles inside an underground garage and waited for Joe…

Travis speaks “if he’s coming he will-but we have to finish this.”

“I’ll take it from here.  Guard the bombs.”  Kayla walks towards a door, opens it.

Kayla Miller descends a flight of concrete steps to a steel door, knocks exactly fourteen times and waits…

The door opens and a pair of tall… formerly huge, raggedy men-one white, one black go to point guns at Kayla but stop on seeing her.

“You shouldn’t have come back Kayla.”

“Didn’t have a choice.  Need to see Chris ‘bout something.”

“Chris say he take up eatin’ people if’n he see you again.”

“Not if he wants to win this.”

“SAY WHAT?!”

“I’m not bullshittin’ an’ you better let me in.”

“Girl you crazy!”

“Let’s grab this-“