The Plan: How the Bug Out! War Began Read online

  “Dammit,” the man said. “You take care of yourself.”

  “What? Where are you going? Who are you?”

  The only response he got was rushing footsteps and the metal door closing. He laid back on the cot, trembling. What was that?

  The door opened again a few minutes later, and footsteps approached. The guard got out his keys and unlocked the bars. Then three men walked into the cell.

  “Hi, Zac,” said the first man. Zac gasped when the man’s face got under the light. It was Deputy Secretary of State Lance Schroeder.

  “Deputy Schroeder?” Zac asked.

  “I’ll bet you’re ready to go home, son,” he said.

  “Yes sir,” Zac said. “Who was that other guy?”

  “What other guy?”

  “The guy who was just here, asking me a bunch of questions.”

  Schroeder looked at the guard, who was fidgeting nervously. “We warned you.” He nodded to one of the other men, who pulled a handgun and shot the guard dead.

  “Oh, crap!” Zac said.

  “I’m sorry this happened,” Deputy Schroeder said. He walked out of the cell and nodded to the other man, who reached into his coat.

  “No!” Zac said, eyes wide when the pistol came out. It was the last thing he saw.

  Chapter 3 – The Plan - The Secretary

  “We’ll have to change our story,” Secretary of State Ted Blake said, sitting next to President Simpson at the small conference table. “There’s been too many leaks. The narrative is falling apart.”

  “Dammit, Ted, you know how that’ll make us look?” Simpson asked, his hands pushing back his gray-black hair. “Especially after we went on all the Sunday shows with the original interpretation.”

  “I’m sorry, sir,” Blake said. “Nobody expected this to go the way it did.”

  President Simpson sighed. “Can we spin this without admitting that we lied?”

  “Of course. We can spin anything. It won’t convince the Luddites on the right, but nothing we do will be acceptable to them anyway.”

  “Where did the leaks come from?”

  “Somebody on the Army’s General Staff,” Blake said. “We aren’t sure who yet, but our people have a couple of leads.”

  “What do you plan to do when you figure it out?”

  “Perhaps we shouldn’t discuss that, Mr. President. Plausible deniability and all that.”

  Simpson rolled his eyes. “Okay, okay. This is a nasty business. Sickening.”

  “It is what it is,” he said. “What about the operation?”

  “What do you think?” Simpson asked. “You’re the advisor.”

  “My advice is to lay off for a little while. Let the press forget about it.”

  “The opposition won’t let us forget,” Simpson said. “Ever since they won back the House, they’ve been a constant problem.”

  “The opposition are their own worst enemy,” Blake said. “Look at the polls on Congress. They’re worse than ours. Always.”

  “Those polls are BS and you know it,” Simpson said. “Yeah, the entire body polls badly, but when you poll by the individual representatives in their districts, they poll better than we do. That’s the only thing that counts.”

  “Not sure I agree, but okay.”

  “Is Saladin still in the game?” Simpson asked.

  “Oh yeah, with us or without us at this point. He has support from the leadership of the EU.”

  “How’d he pull that off?” Simpson asked.

  “Years of unfettered immigration has given Muslims a much bigger voice in the EU governments,” Blake said. “The progressives look at the influx as a vast voter base to be used, and so far they’ve been right. Saladin and his team have great pull with those populations.”

  “Sounds familiar,” Simpson said.

  “Yes, our immigration system has served us quite well,” Blake said. “We can continue to bang the drum of Immigration Reform, but we don’t want to change anything other than shortening the path to citizenship.”

  “Why don’t the people see through this?” Simpson asked, shaking his head.

  “Lots do, but the press helps us to keep them marginalized,” Blake said. “We just label them racists. Easy peasy.”

  “Okay, so how do we spin this?” Simpson asked.

  “Simple. We were in the fog of war. It took a little time for our intelligence services to catch up.”

  Simpson chuckled. “I guess there’s no way they’ll find out any different at this point, unless they find some documentation. We don’t have any lying around, do we?”

  “No, Mr. President.”

  “I don’t like your expression, Ted. There’d better not be anything coming that I don’t know about.”

  “There isn’t, Mr. President.”

  “This election is coming up fast,” Simpson said. “If the people don’t feel we’re protecting them, they’ll vote for the opposition. You know that, right?”

  “Of course,” Blake said. “Don’t worry. You’re polling way ahead. It would take a big mess to change the trending at this point.”

  “A couple terror attacks could change things overnight,” Simpson said.

  “True, but that’s where our friendship with Saladin and his people come in. He’s the only leader out there who can successfully navigate between the Sunni and the Shia. He’s already helped us out more than once.”

  “I don’t trust that man,” Simpson said. “He’s got really bad baggage.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Blake said.

  “All right,” Simpson said. “Don’t screw this up. I’ve got to go. Talk to you later. If any other leaks show up, call me right away. I mean it.”

  “Yes, Mr. President.”

  Chapter 4 – The Plan - Pool Party

  General Hogan sat at the umbrella-covered table in the backyard, wearing his swimming trunks and an unbuttoned shirt. He looked past the pool to his acreage, which surrounded the back of the house. It was greenish brown and rolling, and it was all his.

  “Hey, dad, aren’t you gonna join us?” asked Ken Brown, treading water in the pool. He was a muscular black man of about twenty-five with a military haircut, General Hogan’s son from his first relationship. His friends Jose Sanchez, Brent Peterson, and Troy Jennings swam up next to him.

  “Yeah, General Hogan, get out of the Texas heat for a while,” Jose said, shaking the water from his thick black hair.

  “I’m getting a little old to roughhouse with you guys.” General Hogan chuckled. He raised his large frame off of the chair, running both hands through his close-cropped kinky hair, making them wet with sweat. “Damn this West Texas heat. I’ll be out there in a little while. General Walker is on his way.”

  “You aren’t working today, are you?” asked Ken. “It’s the weekend.”

  “This is more of a social visit,” he replied.

  “Well, then drag General Walker out to the pool,” Ken said.

  General Hogan snickered. “That’ll be the day. I should be able to talk him into a couple of beers, at least.”

  “Okay, dad,” Ken said. “Speaking of beers.”

  “I’ll drag the ice chest over to the side of the pool,” General Hogan said.

  “Yeah, that’d be great,” Jose said. “How about some pizza too?”

  General Hogan chuckled. “Don’t push it.” He dragged the ice chest over and then went to the house, pausing to turn and watch the young men swarm over to that side of the pool. The doorbell rang. He went to the door and opened it. General Walker was standing before him, a huge man with a crew cut and a serious demeanor.

  “Walker, how are you?” General Hogan asked. His smile faded as he watched General Walker’s blue eyes darting around. “Come in. What’s wrong?”

  “We’ve got real problems,” General Walker said, slipping in the door. “You were right. There was something funny about that attack.”

  They sat on the couch in the living room. “Dammit,” General Hogan said.
“How bad?”

  “We were running weapons from Libya to Syria all right,” General Walker said.

  “So it was the Libyan loyalists who attacked?”

  General Walker shook his head yes. “Loyalists and Iranian Quds.”

  “Son of a bitch. What else?”

  “The weapons weren’t going to the group of resistance fighters we highlighted last year in that meeting of the Joint Chiefs,” General Walker said.

  “So who were they going to?”

  “Saladin,” General Walker said.

  “No, really? That means they’re going right to the Caliphate.”

  “You got it,” General Walker said.

  “Does the Administration understand this?”

  General Walker’s face was grim. “Given the fact that they’ve been killing everybody who can talk about it, I’d say the answer is yes.”

  “You got proof of that?”

  General Walker leaned back on the couch and sighed. “Only circumstantial. Like I said, they’re killing people off. Our best witness was shot in his jail cell not five minutes after I left him.”

  “Do they know you were in Libya?” General Hogan asked.

  “There’s a better-than-even chance.”

  “That means they might be after you,” General Hogan said.

  General Walker nodded in agreement. “I’m going to disappear. We have resistance forces starting to organize.” He paused for a moment.

  “What?” General Hogan asked.

  “It’s only a matter of time until they link us together on this, Hogan.”

  “Why do you say that?” General Hogan asked.

  “That bird colonel we were working with,” General Walker said.

  “Quincy? What about him?”

  “He’s gone. Disappeared,” General Walker whispered.

  “Dammit,” General Hogan said. “He’ll break, if they didn’t just kill him.”

  “We have to assume he did,” General Walker said. “Thompson and Martinez both turned up dead. Quincy was the only other person who knew about them.”

  “Where are you going?” General Hogan asked.

  “There’s something going on in Yuma,” General Walker said. “I’m gonna go help out.”

  “The Marine Air Station?”

  “Yep,” General Walker said.

  “What’s going on there?” General Hogan asked.

  “The C.O. found out that some Venezuelan agents infiltrated the base, working with some Mexican nationals and one of those secessionist militias. He tossed the Venezuelans in the brig. Somebody let them go. Somebody on the base.”

  “Not good,” General Hogan said. “That’s an important base. You think the enemy knows what goes on there?”

  “I’m almost sure of it,” General Walker said.

  “Won’t you get pinched by the Administration if you go there?”

  “It’s risky, but I’ll be keeping a low profile,” General Walker said. “The C.O. and I go way back.”

  “So what now?”

  “Here’s my advice. Gather up your boys and disappear.”

  General Hogan looked him in the eye. “You really think they’re coming for us, don’t you?”

  “I do,” General Walker said. “If they know about me, they either already know about you, or will very soon. You may have as little as forty-eight hours to disappear.”

  “When are you leaving?”

  “I’ve already left. This was my last stop before disappearing into the woodwork.”

  The back door slid open, startling both of them.

  “Dad, you coming back out here or what?”

  General Walker and General Hogan glanced at each other.

  “Ken, you and your friends dry off, and then come in here. We need to chat. Stop drinking beer.”

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “Just do it, son. Please.”

  “Okay, dad,” Ken said.

  “You’re taking off, aren’t you?” General Walker asked.

  “I’d rather be early than too late.”

  “Good point,” General Walker said. “I agree one hundred percent.”

  The back door slid open again, and the young men came in, towels wrapped around themselves.

  “Okay, dad, what’s up?” Ken asked.

  “We need to leave,” General Hogan said. “We’re in danger.”

  “What?” Jose asked. The others went from expressions of mild amusement to fear.

  “What’s going on, dad?” Ken asked.

  General Hogan told the story, aided by General Walker. The young men sat there mesmerized.

  “How long have you known about this?” Ken asked.

  “We’ve suspected ever since we noticed Libyan arms showing up in Syria,” General Hogan said. “We had to be sure.”

  “This is bad,” Brent said.

  “What about our families?” Troy asked.

  “You’re still in the service,” General Hogan said. “You won’t be able to contact them for a while.”

  “What if our families get targeted?” Jose asked.

  General Hogan looked down for a moment, then back up at Jose and the others. “I can’t guarantee you that it won’t happen. I’m sorry.”

  “Probably makes no difference what we do at this point,” Ken said. “If we pretended nothing was happening, they’d be in danger anyway.”

  “He’s right,” General Walker said.

  “How soon are we taking off?”

  “Today,” General Hogan said. “We’ll go to Fort Bliss on the way out to get your stuff. I’ll tell the C.O. that you’re with me on special assignment.”

  “You can get away with that?” Jose asked.

  “We’re old buddies,” General Hogan said.

  “Listen,” General Walker said.

  “I hear it too,” Jose said. “Choppers.”

  “You got any guns around the house, Hogan?” General Walker asked.

  “Yeah,” General Hogan said, rushing into the front bedroom. He opened the closet and unlocked a large gun safe. The others came up behind him, and he started handing out AR-15s.

  “Loaded?” Troy asked.

  “Yeah,” Ken said. “Always.”

  “If those choppers have mini-guns, they’ll make Swiss cheese out of this place in a few seconds,” General Walker said.

  Hogan pulled out a larger rifle, with a scope and a bipod hanging off the bottom of the barrel.

  “You’ve got a .50 cal sniper rifle? Where the hell did you get that?” General Walker asked.

  “I’m just a hobbyist,” General Hogan said with a twinkle in his eye. “Let them land. Wait till the men come out, then we’ll kill the pilots and take on the men. Got it?”

  “Yes sir,” Jose said.

  “Yeah, dad,” Ken said. They rushed out to the back patio and watched the two choppers set down about a hundred yards behind the pool.

  “Why didn’t they just stay in the air and blow the house?” Troy asked. “I see mini-guns and missiles on those birds.”

  “These are assassins,” General Walker said. “They need to be sure. Probably just took these choppers for the ride, not for the armaments.”

  General Hogan set up the .50 cal on the back patio and laid behind it, popping the lens caps off the scope. He peered through.

  “They all out yet?” Ken asked.

  “No, hold your fire. There’s two more men getting ready to come out of the second chopper.”

  “Yeah, I see them,” Jose said.

  “Wish we had M60s,” Troy said.

  “Get ready,” General Hogan said. “Open up after I’ve shot both of the chopper pilots.”

  “They look nervous as hell,” Jose said.

  “No cover out there,” General Walker said, aiming his weapon.

  “Yeah, I’ll let them get away from the chopper at least forty yards,” General Hogan said. “That way you’ll have more time to cut them down before they can use them for cover.”

  “Roge
r that,” General Walker said, watching the men start to fan out. “Looks like six men on the ground.”

  “Piece of cake,” Ken said.

  “Don’t get cocky,” General Hogan said. “Each of you pick your first target. By the numbers, kids.”

  “We got it,” Jose said.

  Hogan opened fire, splattering both chopper pilots with the big .50 cal rounds. The others shot at the men on foot, who were scrambling for cover. They hit five of the six.

  “Watch that guy that’s left,” General Walker shouted. “He’s fast.”

  “Not fast enough,” Jose said as he squeezed off a shot, hitting the man square in the back.

  “That’s it,” Ken said. “Let’s go mop up.”

  “Wait,” General Hogan said. He fired at the fuel tanks of the choppers, the .50 cal rounds breaking through the armor and hitting the fuel. Both choppers exploded into flames. “Okay, now we can go mop up.”

  “Let’s go,” Ken said, getting up. The others followed, running past the pool into the open field behind it.

  “Watch them while I get the vehicles out,” General Hogan said, getting up. “Man the .50 cal.”

  “Got it,” General Walker said. “Still got the Humvee?”

  “I got two,” he said. “Bought a new one, put the other up for sale. Luckily for us, it didn’t sell yet.”

  General Walker watched the men checking the bodies. They ran back over after a few minutes. “All dead?” he asked.

  “Hell yes,” Ken said. “Where’s my dad?”

  “He’s pulling out the Humvees. Let’s get them loaded up and get out of here.”

  With everybody working together, they were ready to leave in a few minutes.

  “You still going by Fort Bliss?” General Walker asked, standing by his Jeep.

  “Nope,” General Hogan said, tossing the last of the ammo into the back of his Humvee.

  “Why not?” Jose asked.

  “I know why,” Ken said.

  “Well?” Jose asked.

  “Those choppers were from our base,” Ken said. “I saw the insignia.”

  “Yep, I saw it through the scope when I was shooting at them,” General Hogan said.

  “Dammit,” Troy said.

  “Which way?” General Walker asked.

  “Take I-10 to I-8, assuming you still want to go to Yuma,” General Hogan said.