The Last Crusade (20 page)

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General Green looks around the table; he throws the memo he’s been holding on the table.

“What the hell do you mean, none of you knew about this? Didn’t he discuss his plans with anyone? Doesn’t he know he’s the number one target on the Caliphate’s hit list? We can’t allow him to issue this!”

Yuri looks straight ahead,

“General, my friend, he’s already issued it. You’re holding the copy he issued.”

“He WHAT?”

“Yes, sir. He’s announced he’s going to hold an open mass in the Old City. It happens to correspond to our kick off time. He hopes to have over one million people show up.”

“He’s crazy! We can’t protect him from a million people. We’re going to need all of our people for the invasion. Does anyone know why he’s doing this?”

“General Richman, you spoke with him less than an hour ago, what did he say?”

“He’s asked us to provide him with our armed reservists to protect everyone who attends his mass, after the mass he’s going to ask the people to cross into Jordan as a people’s crusade.”

“Doesn’t he realize he’s going to get most of the people killed? This is crazy.”

“Sir, he won’t be talked out of it.”

“Where the hell is he getting the weapons to arm a million people?”

General Richman looks at the table,

“You didn’t! My God! You’re as crazy as he is. Israel gave him a million rifles?”

“You originally gave them to us. We had them stored, we agreed to give two-hundred-thousand rifles to the Pope. Each rifle will also have bag holding eight thirty round magazines. He believes the press will focus on his mass and not our invasion, they’ll see a million people cross the border, forcing the media to report this is a battle of the average man.”

Green sits bent over holding his head, speaking in a low voice,

“You’ve both signed a million death certificates. He’s mad, we’re following a crazy man. The media will report we killed a million people. Let me guess, he’s going to arm men and women?”

“He’s trying to arm anyone over the age of thirteen who attends the Mass and wish to be armed.”

“Who’s going to say no to an M16 and a bag of ammo? This is getting worse and worse. I hope to hell he’s telling them who the enemy is. I’d hate for our armor to be attacked by the very people we’re supposed to be defending. My God, why me?”

“My son, you need to have faith in our Lord.” Says Pope Francis II entering the conference room.

Everyone jumps to their feet, General Green snaps to attention,

“Your Holiness. I’m sorry, I didn’t see you enter. Is there something we can do for you?”

“I came to explain my plans. I knew you’d be upset. I didn’t inform you because I knew you’d try to talk me out of it. I have made up my mind. This has to be a Crusade supported by the people. The best way to show support for the Crusade is for the people to arm themselves and fight in the name of God.”

“Your Holiness, you’re the Caliphate’s number one target, they will use anything they have in order to kill you, maybe even use weapons of mass destruction. There’s no way we can protect you in an open mass of a million people, let alone, hundreds of thousands of armed people. Sir, please change your mind. You’re committing suicide.”

“General, if it’s my time to be called by our Lord, then it will be my time. If it is, I expect you to continue the Crusade and win. You’re not to pause to mourn for me.”

General Green lowers his voice,

“You’re setting yourself up to become a martyr. I think you want to be killed, you believe if the Caliphate kills you it will galvanize the free world to fully support the Crusade. You’ve read the press; you’ve seen the news reports. Sir, I can’t allow you to kill yourself. The Lord doesn’t approve of suicide. Before you say you’re not killing yourself, we all know you are. Our Lord knows what’s in your heart. He won’t be happy with your decision.”

“We each have our roles we’ve been assigned in this life. You have yours, I have mine. We’re both serving the same purpose. I’m prepared to meet my fate. I’m not afraid to die, I know there’s another plane of existence, one where we’ll all be judged. I’m prepared to be judged for my sins. Your assigned role is to manage the attack; my assigned task is to be a spark plug to ignite the rest of the world to support us.”

Both men embrace trying to hold back the tears that are welling in their eyes.

“Your Holiness, isn’t there anything I can say to change your mind?”

“My son. Nothing. I know you believe in the Bible, I’m sure you know we’re fulfilling the prophecy for the end of days. Both armies are getting ready to meet in the Holy Land.”

“Sir, the prophecy hasn’t been lost on me. I’ve been thinking about it for the previous three months. Is there anything you suggest?”

“Yes, remember our Lord’s words.”

“You’re Holiness, take care of yourself. May God bless you.”

“You too General.”

Pope Francis II leaves the silent conference room. General Green looks at his staff,

“I want two security platoons sent to try to protect his Holiness.”

Yuri looks up at his friend, “Frank, do you think he’ll survive the mass?”

“No, and he knows it. He’s right in that when he’s killed, it will force the media to report he was murdered. Some may try to report it was his fault for launching the Crusade. I’m hoping most people don’t fall for their bullshit. We’re going to move forward per our plans.”

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As the hour of the attack nears, the Caliphate cruise missiles explode over the Crusader’s bases. Instantly the Crusader’s computer networks blank out and die. Cell phones are dead, satcom phones die. Laptops won’t turn on. Officers become frustrated and they're confused what happened. Orbiting AWACS planes are surprised when their radar displays flash, two-thirds of them don’t reset.

General Green looks at the hand written messages runners brought him. His fist pounds the conference table,

“Damn it! The bastards must have struck us with EMP weapons. The results are very similar to our own experimental weapons. Where the hell did they get them? How bad is the damage?”

“Sir, all of our server farms are burned out. In order to save time, we built them with enterprise, not mil spec servers. We’ve lost most of our networks. Our AWACs lost some cards, we have spares for them when the planes land.”

“How long to replace the server farms?”

“Sir, a couple of weeks.”

“NO. We need our networks back now. I don’t care where you find the servers, just get them. The Mahdi most likely thinks he hurt us very badly, he may be getting ready to strike us while we regroup. We can’t allow him to move his people into position. Tell the MLRS to launch across the border now. If the Caliphate is trying to sneak up on us, we’ll stop them in their tracks.”

“Yes, sir.”

Before General Green finishes giving instructions the Caliphate’s rockets begin landing at the Crusader assembly areas. Hundreds of rockets fall on the assembled troops. Most of the attacking missiles are brought down with Crusader interceptor missiles. Most of the anti-battery radars survived the EMP attack. They lost some computer cards, so their ability to track multiple incoming flights of rockets is reduced. They still have the ability to engage most and to backtrack the attacking missiles. Coordinates are sent to the Crusaders MLRS batteries to return fire. The MLRS rockets have better range and accuracy than the Caliphate’s. They destroy the launching sites. The Crusader wounded are quickly treated; the local commanders update their organizations to fill the slots left empty by the incoming rockets. Commanders quickly adapt to the lack of their networks, they rely on wired telephones and runners to pass orders.

General Green and staff review the reports of the spoiling attack; he orders the local commanders to attack as soon as they’re ready. Since the Caliphate knows they’re coming, there’s no need for them to wait. As soon as the local commanders receive the updated orders, they issue the attack orders. The tanks on the front line cross the border entering the Caliphate.

Miles away in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel, Pope Francis II, takes the stage to a million cheering, ardent believers. He holds his hands up to the heavens to recite a prayer for the assembled masses when a single shot rings out, it strikes Pope Frances II in his heart. His white robe is turned red from his blood. The crowd’s silence is broken by the scream of “ALLAH AKBAR.” The Pope is dead before his body touches the platform. The crowd screams in shock. People watching around the world cover their eyes, they cross themselves with tears streaming down their faces. General Green, watching on the monitor, shakes his head, he whispers to himself a silent prayer, “He got what he wanted. He just united the non-Muslim world behind the Crusade.”

“General, the first wave of tanks has crossed the border. Do you want to respond in kind with an EMP attack?”

“May God watch over them and bless them. Let’s hold our EMP weapons in reserve until we locate the Caliphate’s massed forces.”

“Yes, sir.”

Chapter 8

The image of Pope Francis II being assassinated is etched in people’s memories, in Islamic communities, there is joy and excitement. The streets of Detroit are closed by thousands of vehicles flying the Caliphate’s flag. They drive around the city honking their horns, pickups loaded with cheering people pump their fists in victory. They fire their weapons into the air, fireworks explode over the city. Mobs of Muslims set the remaining churches and temples on fire. Mobs of young men look for infidels to beat up, they rape infidel young women as young as nine years old. Any media organization that doesn’t support their cause is run out of town. Two Jewish Centers located in Detroit’s suburbs are burned down with people trapped inside of them.

The Michigan Governor calls out the National Guard to bring peace to Detroit, their convoy is attacked five miles before they enter the city. The Guard wasn’t expecting trouble before they reached the city, they are wiped out, their vehicles and weapons taken by the Caliphate’s Militia, who runs Detroit. Upon hearing the news of the Guard’s defeat, the Governor asks the Army to subdue the city.

The troubled military leaders debate their response, on one hand, they’re not allowed to operate inside the country unless Martial Law is declared, there isn’t a President to declare Martial Law. General Green informs the commanders in Cheyenne Mountain he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for the military to place a city under Martial Law. While the debate rages, two churches located outside of Detroit agree to help the citizens of Detroit, they create their own militia of four hundred armed citizens who agree to enter Detroit to bring order to the city.

A week later the militia has grown to eight thousand members, supported by militias across the country. The militia names itself, “Bacon’s Revenge” they make plans to clean out the Caliphate living areas in Michigan. Militia members from across the country rush to join the fight.

Entering Detroit is the same as entering a city within the Caliphate, no American flags fly, the stores and street signs have been changed to Arabic. Women walk in groups covered head to toe, no woman is able to drive. There are no dogs allowed in the city, all bars and liquor stores have been burned down. The Caliphate welcomes the militias to Detroit with gunfire three blocks before they enter the downtown area. The Caliphate holds the high ground the buildings’ roofs, the militia begins holding the streets, the militia has to fight the Caliphate street to street. Buildings are set on fire, burning the people inside or on the building’s roofs alive. The battle for Detroit is similar to Fallujah in Iraq. The media covers the fight for Detroit saying the militias are invaders, killing peaceful Muslims. The militia’s social media posts are taken down as quickly as they’re posted. Militias around the nation hear the call for help, they begin flooding to Detroit to support their brothers and sisters. The Governor begs for peace, which is thoroughly ignored. Dense black smoke covers most of the city. Canada issues protests saying the fighting is bleeding across the border and the smoke is crossing the border causing respiratory problems for Canada’s citizens. Militias and Muslims kill each other on sight. Mercy isn’t a word used in Detroit. Heavily armed militias across the country begin pouring into Detroit. They attack and burn Mosques along their routes. Armed civilians join the militias, many are angry from the terror attacks on their malls and the country’s infrastructure.