American Meltdown: Book Two of The Economic Collapse Chronicles (25 page)

Adam didn’t want to admit it, but he knew Brian was right. “You just lost a lot of blood, buddy. You’ll be okay.”

“I knew I should have listened to you,” Brian said.

“About what?” Adam said.

“About church, about Jesus. You tried to tell me, but I knew if I committed my life to Jesus, that I would have to stop drinking and runnin’ around with chicks. It seemed like too high of a price for salvation at the time. Now, I feel like I cheated myself. Now I’m scared.  I’m going to hell,” Brian said.

Adam laid down three more rounds. The DHS agents pursuing them did not want them bad enough to risk getting their head shot off. They were just taking potshots from a distance. The multitude of random pot shots had killed Wesley and it looked like the end for Brian as well.

Adam said, “It’s not too late, Brian. Jesus was born in a barn.”

Brian said, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Adam replied, “It means he always leaves the door open. You can come on in whenever you want.”

Brian made a faint smile as he squeezed off a couple of rounds at a couple of federal troops who were sticking their heads up. “It’s too late. I have nothing to give. I’ll be dead in a few minutes.”

“It’s not too late as long as you have one more breath,” Adam said. “In Matthew 27, we read about the two thieves who were hung on the crosses on either side of Jesus. In that account, both of them are mocking him. In Luke 23, one of the thieves continues to mock Jesus, but the other thief says to the mocker ‘Don't you fear God since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then the thief said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’

“
The thief admitted that he was a sinner by saying that he was punished justly, and he acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah by asking Jesus to remember him when he came into his Kingdom. That thief had no more to give than you do, but Jesus saved him.”

Adam could see a look of hope in Brian’s eyes as he lay dying. Brian closed his eyes and said, “Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. I have been a drunk and never made time for you. Please forgive me. I know that Adam is right. I know you
’re the Son of God and only you can save me. Please save me.”

Brian opened his eyes which were streaming with tears. He said “I feel so clean, so...”

“Forgiven?” Adam asked, the tears rolling down his own cheek.

“Yes. Forgiven,” Brian said. “I wish I would
’ve done that a long time ago.”

Adam grabbed Brian’s hand and said
, “Better late than never.”

Brian smiled and repeated, “Better late than never.”

Brian’s eyes closed and an expression of perfect peace came over his face. His body fell limp. The tears streamed down Adam’s face, but he knew he had to get home. Adam took a shot at the soldier that was making a run towards his position. The federal soldier stopped instantly and fell backwards. The well-placed shot robbed the others of their courage. Adam took the full magazines from Brian’s pouches and took off running into the woods as fast as he could.

On the other side of the bridge, Matt, Justin and Gary were crossing the creek that ran alongside Raccoon Road. They used the same method they used to cross the train tracks. This time, they had more ground to cover. They were heading to the tree line on the other side of the road. There were mobile homes and houses along that side of Raccoon Road and the hills behind were dense forest.

Matt called out, “Gary, you cross first and run to the backside of that car parked in the drive. Justin, you go next.”

Gary crossed without incident, but as soon as Justin left the cover of the trees, a Humvee pulled up the road from the northwest. The vehicle stopped and the men inside began firing at Justin. Matt and Gary laid down suppressive fire until Justin could cross.

By the time Justin reached the other side, two more vehicles had approached and enemy troops were pouring out.

Matt radioed to Gary and Justin. “You guys keep moving. I can’t cross here. I’ve got to get back in the woods. God speed.”

Gary depressed the talk button on his walkie. “Roger.”

Matt went back across the creek and returned to the other side of the railroad tracks. He knew if he headed back up the hill, he would wear himself out. He elected to move through the woods and follow the road from inside the tree line. Matt could hear the original pursuers from the field above. The few moments back at the road had allowed them to catch up. He started running as fast as he could.

Matt looked up ahead and said to himself, “There is an enemy team approaching from the front. I’ve got nowhere to go.” He had to make a split second decision. “Should I go out in a blaze of glory or should I let myself be captured?”

“Freeze!” The voice came from behind.

There would be no blaze of glory. He could drop his rifle or commit suicide by turning it on the man behind him. Matt placed his hands on his head and let the rifle dangle in front of his chest by the single point sling.

CHAPTER 55

“
It is when a people forget God, that tyrants forge their chains.”

-
Patrick Henry

Anthony Howe finished the Friday morning briefing. He was pleased with the progress the federal forces were making. They successfully locked down all of the southern states that had not committed to the Coalition or pledged their allegiance to the Federal States. In addition to that, they established a foothold in Kentucky. It was the first step in taking control of the gold held at Fort Knox and regaining Tennessee and the Carolinas.

Alec Renzi approached the President. He hesita
ted when he walked in, so Howe knew he was bringing bad news.

“What is it Alec?” Howe asked.

“It’s former President Al Mohammad, sir,” Renzi replied.

“I’ll take it in my office
,” Howe snapped.

Howe had come to grips with the fact that he was not in absolute control. For Anthony Howe, to find out his lust for absolute power would never be fulfilled was like losing a friend. He was going through the stages of grief. He had moved past denial
and was moving through the anger phase, but the lingering residue of rage would likely be with him for a long time. He had better get on with the bargaining phase, or he would lose control of what power he still possessed.

“Mustafa,” Howe said as he picked up the phone.

“Hello, Anthony,” the voice said. “I understand that you don’t like me. I know that you would rather see me dead. However, I hope that you have come to your senses; for your own sake that is. I understand that your father had a little chat with you and that you now have a better understanding of the way things work in the world. I am willing to bury the hatchet. All I ask is that you speak to me with respect. Does that sound like something you can handle?”

“I think I can do that
,” Howe replied.

Mustafa said, “Good. I understand that you are considering some relatively drastic measures against the Coalition.”

Howe thought,
I am surrounded by moles! Does this man have a bug in my head? I only discussed those plans with the Joint Chiefs. No one else on my staff even knows. Who could be leaking information now?

“What measures are you referring to?” Howe asked.

“If we are going to get through this Anthony, we are going to have to be honest with each other. Part of speaking to me with respect includes not talking to me like I’m an idiot!” Al Mohammad yelled. “I’m talking about your plans for a nuclear strike against the Coalition States.”

Howe was slowly beginning to realize that he needed to start playing ball. He didn’t know who was pulling the strings, but they were more powerful than he gave them credit for.

“Okay.” Howe kept his submissive tone.

“The only thing this country has left is its natural resources,” Mustafa began. “If you start this scorched earth campaign, you are going to turn half of the country into a nuclear wasteland that will be useless for more years than you’ll ever live to see.”

“Respectfully, Mr. Al Mohammad, may I make a point?” Howe asked.

“Of course,” Mustafa said.

Anthony said, “These rebels have brainwashed all of our best and brightest from the armed services. As you say, they have control over much of our resources. Without a definitive way of dealing with them, I’m afraid that we are not going to prevail.”

“I agree completely,” Mustafa said. “More importantly, so do others. There are some very good alternatives. Alternatives that have been put forth to the elite decision-makers
. Alternatives that have come from your own staff. They’re afraid to mention their ideas to you because of your temper. I must say, things have been tolerated from you that have ended badly for many other people in high positions. It would be very beneficial to your health to start listening to your staff. Many of them are there because they were placed there. Some at great expense.”

“I’m listening,” Howe said.

Mustafa said, “Rather than destroy your enemy and the spoils of war, just eliminate the enemy. Rather than nuke the Coalition, set off the nuclear warheads at a much higher altitude. This will generate an EMP that will fry all of the electrical grids, computers and every device with any sort of processor. One year later, the Coalition will be depopulated by 90% or more. At that point, you will be able to knock them over with a feather. Just imagine what it would have been like to fight 5th century barbarians with modern weapons of warfare. That’s essentially what your advantage will be.”

Howe felt something inside he didn’t recognize. “That
’s a fantastic idea,” He said. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it.”

Was that feeling inside of Howe what people called humility? He couldn’t be sure. Probably not. It was
most likely just a form of embarrassment.

Al Mohammad said, “We
’re on the same team Anthony. I’m not your enemy.”

Mustafa went on to explain how warheads with specific yields could be detonated at certain altitudes to generate an electromagnetic pulse that would cripple electrical infrastructure inside the Coalition. Precise strategies could uniquely target selected geographical sectors. While the Coalition had control of the ICBMs, the Federal States still had nuclear subs armed with Trident missiles and B-2 bombers capable of launching AGM 158 JASSM, a smaller stealth version of the cruise missile, armed with nuclear warheads. Extended range versions of the AGM 158 JASSM could be launched from B-2s in Federal airspace to any detonation point within the Coalition.

Howe was conflicted between his absolute hatred for Mustafa Al Mohammad and his admiration for his connections with the Masters, and of course, this ingenious plan.

CHAPTER
56

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

-II Corinthians 4:8-9

Karen and Rene ate a light breakfast. They didn’t know exactly what the mission was that Justin, Matt and the others had gone to do, but they knew they should have been home before dawn.

Karen dropped her fork to the table. She couldn’t eat. “I don’t have any appetite.” She fought back the tears. “I am going to walk over to Adam’s and see what Janice knows. Would you like to come with me?”

Rene nodded. Her young eyes were filled with dread.

Both of the girls took pistols for the short walk through the woods. Karen did not want to start speculating, but she knew something wasn’t right. They didn’t say anything on the walk over. Karen knew it wouldn’t do any good to speak her fears out loud.

Janice opened the door when they arrived. Her eyes had dark circles. She obviously hadn’t been to sleep.

“Come in,” she said.

Karissa grabbed Karen’s waist to hug her when she came in the door. “Where’s Uncle Matt? Where’s my daddy?” She asked.

Karen looked over at Shelly and Mandy sitting on the couch. They looked at her with hopeful eyes, but she didn’t have any news for them.

Karen held Karissa close and said, “I don’t know, sweetheart, I don’t know.”

The morning light woke Adam from his light sleep. Every time he had closed his eyes, he saw the body of his brother lying on the ground. Adam wondered if the Federal troops took Wesley’s body or if it was left to the birds. Neither option was good. He said to himself, “It’s best not to think about it right now. No sense in getting bogged down with something I can’t do anything about.”

Adam wasn’t sure of his exact location. He had kept moving last night well after dark to put as much space between himself and the federal troops as possible. He found shelter in the loft of an unused barn that was approximately
ten miles southeast from the area of the operation that had gone so terribly wrong.

To get focused, Adam said out loud, “This morning, the mission is to find water, hopefully something to eat and start walking toward a militia checkpoint that could get me back home. The first order of business is to get out of everything that will mark me as militia.”

He ditched his body armor, his rifle and his Kevlar helmet. He took off his sidearm holster and tucked the pistol in the small of his back. He took out everything that could be of use and stuffed it into his pockets. His camo pants would not necessarily mark him as militia. Out here, camos were as common as jeans.

He stepped out of the barn, looked at the sun to orient himself and started walking.

There was no chance of Gary and Justin bumping into Adam. Their path of escape and evasion had taken them eight miles northwest of the reverse ambush. T
he night before, they constructed a small shelter of brush and leaves near a creek. The two men had a water source, but otherwise their mission was the same as Adam’s, get home.

Miles away from everyone else, Matt had not slept a wink. He had been restrained with zip ties, blindfolded and transported somewhere about thirty minutes from the place he was captured. Now, he did not know where he was. It was dark and there was only a little light coming through the cracks of the door. His zip ties were cut off and the blindfold was removed. From what he could tell, it was the inside of a metal shipping container that was sectioned off with chain-link fence. The makeshift cell was small. He could see two buckets. One was filled with fresh water and the other was empty. He said to himself, “I suppose these are my facilities.”

Matt wondered how everyone else was. Had Adam or Wesley been captured? Did Gary and Justin survive?

His thoughts raced.
What’s going to happen next? I’ll probably be interrogated. They say everyone has their breaking point. How long can I hold out? Everything I say will put Karen and the rest of the family in danger. Perhaps I should have just raised my weapon and let them shoot me.  It’s too late to second guess the decision now.

Matt lay down on the floor of the cell. The other cells were empty. There were no other prisoners to ask where he was. The silence was haunting. Matt had to shift his mind away from the terror of the situation. He began to recite Bible verses that reminded him that God was still there. Matt started with Psalm 23
.

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”