Suicide Six_Post Apocalyptic EMP Survival Fiction Page 15

  “We’ll cut some strips off these two by fours to frame the window and hold the glass in place. We have several rolls of weather stripping lying around from past projects and a tube of clear window sealant, which was used to replace broken windows in the storage buildings.”

  “Okay, boys, I’ve gotta ask,” started Major. “I know you didn’t jump on the internet and watch a YouTube video to figure this out.”

  “You’re right, Daddy,” said Cooper. “We learned it from Preacher one afternoon. He got tired of running clear to Midland to buy replacement glass every time a pane got busted out of the buildings. He started to keep smaller pieces around to make repairs, and he taught us how.”

  Duncan walked over and gave each of the guys a fist bump. “Y’all, I’m impressed. I’ll be glad to dump all of those wool blankets off my bed tonight.”

  The distinctive thumping of a helicopter in the distance grabbed everyone’s attention. Even Lucy heard it, causing her to come out onto the front porch. A doctor was coming to check on her and Antonio as part of Major’s agreement for them to fly to Austin. He’d stay at the ranch during the day while the guys were in Austin. Major looked at the arrangement as a way to ensure they would send them both back via chopper.

  Everyone said their goodbyes, and Lucy led the medical team inside. In addition to Antonio, she’d arranged for everyone on the ranch to get a quick checkup. She planned on getting her money’s worth out of the doctor and his nurse.

  On the trip to the capital, Duncan spoke with Major about how impressed he was with Cooper and Riley’s project. “They’ve learned a lot around the ranch, haven’t they?”

  “I’ll be honest, son. I had no idea they’d been paying such close attention to our operations. I thought they spent their days dreamin’ of rodeos and buckle bunnies. They’ve really picked up a lot, it seems.”

  “Dad, have you talked with them about their new roles once you take the V-P job?”

  “No, but I want to make sure you approve. Cooper is best suited to run the ranch.”

  “I agree, and I’m not cut out for it. He’s a great choice.”

  “Good. I didn’t want you to feel slighted. You are the oldest.”

  Duncan laughed. “I’ve seen a lot now by the ripe old age of thirty. Unfortunately, running a ranch isn’t on my résumé anywhere.”

  “Riley will be okay with it as well,” said Major. “I’m gonna put him in charge of the livestock. He loves that aspect of ranching. I just wish he’d spent more time with Preacher on the financial side. I’ll teach him what I know.”

  “What about Palmer and Sook?” asked Duncan.

  As they approached the Mansion, Major pointed out the large military presence around the city. Armored personnel carriers were visible on most of the primary roads and highways. There was no evidence of unrest in Austin.

  “I’m turning them over to Miss Lucy. They are three peas in a pod and will work well together.”

  The helicopter landed, and as the men waited for their doors to be opened, Major asked Duncan what he wanted to do.

  “I don’t know yet, Dad. I’ll take care of Lee, and then I have some personal unfinished business to attend to. Then we’ll see.”

  “Yeah,” started Major, frowning as he immediately understood Duncan’s meaning. “About that. We really—” Before he could finish his statement, the door opened, and they were warmly greeted by two uniformed officers.

  “Welcome back to Austin, gentlemen.”

  Chapter 32

  January 25

  The Mansion

  Austin, Texas

  The reception Major received from the moment he touched down at the helipad until he reached President Burnett’s office was markedly different from any of his previous visits, including the one of just a couple of days ago. The rumor mill apparently had kicked into high gear, as his name must’ve been leaked as one of the front-runners for the vice president slot. Without admitting it to Duncan, he was flattered by the outward show of respect from military personnel and political staffers alike.

  “Come on in here, Major!” exclaimed the president when she caught a glimpse of him milling about outside her office.

  Major reluctantly touched his son on the shoulder, and the two entered the president’s office without an escort. “Madam President, thank you for seeing us on short notice.”

  “Hello, Duncan,” greeted the president. “Would you mind closing the door behind you? I don’t know where my secretary has disappeared to. But we’re all capable of fending for ourselves, aren’t we?”

  Major scowled, wondering if the president had a hidden meaning behind her statement.

  She continued and clarified what she said somewhat. “Major, I am truly sorry for what happened to you and your family since you were here on Monday. Did you lose anyone?”

  “We did, Madam, um, Marion. My longtime friend and the head of my ranch, Preacher Caleb O’Malley, died, as well as a number of ranch hands.”

  “The men who attacked you, were they part of the North Koreans who took down our grid?”

  Duncan gave her a quick summary of the events in Lubbock followed by the attack on the ranch. After he was finished, President Burnett sat in her chair in stunned silence.

  “Please, my goodness, gentlemen,” she began to stammer. “Where are my manners? Would you like some coffee, a soda, or maybe a glass of water?”

  “No, Marion, we’re fine,” replied Major.

  “Also, please express my condolences to the families of those who lost someone.”

  The awkward beginning to the meeting was throwing him off balance. He’d imagined the conversation going a certain way, and he wanted to control the flow of the negotiation. Finding the president frazzled like this was out of character and, in turn, forced them off the topic at hand.

  “How are things going for you? Has something changed since we last met?” Major began to wonder if she’d changed her mind about her offer.

  She exhaled and sat forward in her chair. “I’ll be up front with you, Major. Every day, I feel like I’m losing my grip on Texas. With much of the country without power, I now have a good understanding of what President Harman is going through in Washington. The difference between our situations is the border security. Americans are still lined up around our country, attempting to access what they think we have.”

  She hesitated for a moment, so Duncan added his appraisal of the situation. “The refugees continue to be emboldened by successful intrusions across the border. The attack on the Hobbs gate in West Texas led the refugees to believe they could do it elsewhere. My men at the TX-QRF quelled an uprising of armed refugees at Boys Town Monday evening, which lasted into Tuesday morning. The hostage-takers said word was being spread all up and down the border that our loss of power was rumor and part of a disinformation campaign to discourage them from entering Texas.”

  “How the heck am I supposed to prove to them that we’re in a pickle just like they are?”

  Duncan looked her in the eye. “You can’t change your policy on the border. Many of these people have traveled for hundreds of miles to enter Texas. If you opened the borders, they’d all pour in because they have no place else to go.”

  “Washington needs to get their act together,” mumbled the president. “But then, so do we. Major, I hope you have an answer for me. I can’t do this alone, and Texas needs someone with a level head that can be trusted.”

  “Marion, I’m prepared to accept and give our country everything I’ve got, but the events of the last forty-eight hours have changed things quite a bit.”

  “How so?” she asked.

  “My goals for Armstrong Ranch are the same you’d have for the Four Sixes, or Texas, for that matter,” he replied. “I want to keep those within my charge safe and healthy.”

  “That goes without saying,” said the president. “What do you have in mind?”

  Major went on to express his concerns about security and his ideas for a secret service t
ype of detail to reside permanently on the ranch. He insisted on commuting to Austin, but the president said his presence would be required all over the country. A dedicated helicopter and security detail associated with his travel was agreed upon. Major was also granted food, supplies, and medical necessities as part of his compensation package.

  “When can you start?” she asked. Then she had another thought. “Well, let me add there are certain formalities to be followed, but the rolling-up-the-sleeves part can begin when you’re ready.”

  “How about right this second?” said Major with a laugh.

  President Burnett smiled, and a wave of relief seemed to come over her body. She was showing signs of the Marion he’d known on the campaign trail—confident and in charge.

  She stood and shook hands with Major. “Thank you, Mr. Vice President–designate Armstrong. Where would you like to start?”

  “Based upon our prior conversations and my understanding of the role Monty Gregg played in your administration, let me tell you how I can help the most. Clearly, I have no experience dealing with Washington. They’d eat me alive. Perhaps you can handle them?”

  “With pleasure,” said the president with a chuckle. “Monty was my military liaison, primarily because he promoted all those generals to their present positions at one time or another. You seemed to have hit it off with them in your recent interactions.”

  “I will continue to do so. But I have a proposal.”

  “Go ahead,” said the president, who gestured for Major to continue.

  “This is where Duncan comes in. Marion, the North Koreans aren’t done with us yet. I’ll allow Duncan to explain.” He nodded toward his son, and Duncan explained.

  “Ma’am, we’ve captured some of their commandos and seized their communications gear. We’ve continuously monitored their transmissions to determine—”

  The president interrupted him before he could continue. “They’re North Korean, right? How can you understand them?”

  Duncan squirmed in his chair and then responded, “My fiancée is North Korean. She has been listening in to their conversations, and we think they’re going to strike oil refinery targets along the Gulf Coast.”

  President Burnett slumped in her chair and studied her guests. “Let’s get to their targets in a moment. Please satisfy my curiosity. How did you meet this girl?”

  Duncan looked uneasy, so Major placed his hand on his shoulder. “Full disclosure, son. If Marion has a problem with our family’s background, best she hears it all from us now.”

  “You guys are worrying me,” said the president, who suddenly appeared to be guarded.

  Duncan looked at his dad and nodded. Then he turned his attention to the president. He explained everything to her except the part about Gregg’s and Yancey’s involvement. He’d never received the orders directly from them, so he wasn’t prepared to disclose their role in the plot to assassinate Kim Jong-un.

  “Marion, that’s all of it,” added Major. “We’re not ashamed of Duncan for following the orders of his government. It shows his loyalty, and I hope it reassures you that he’d be similarly loyal to Texas as well.”

  “Even more so, Madam President. I was born here, and Texas blood runs through my veins. Now, I’m offering my services to you, as a fellow Texan, to rid our country of the Lightning Death Squads and this General Lee who commands them.”

  The president seemed to have accepted Duncan’s explanation, and now she was intrigued. “What are you asking for?”

  “Madam President, let me assemble a team to hunt down General Lee. Once he’s been eliminated, I believe his operations in Texas will fall into disarray. Outside our borders, in the U.S., there may be a different command and control structure. As for Texas, he’s the head of the snake.”

  “Okay, Duncan. You’re in. I’ll arrange for the adjutant general to join us to work out the details before you go back to the ranch. Major, that lands you in the most important position of all at this point—rebuilding Texas. I hope you’re up for the task.”

  “I’m ready, Madam President.”

  Chapter 33

  January 26

  ExxonMobil Baytown Refinery

  Baytown, Texas

  Darkness had settled in as General Lee gathered his top lieutenants in a nondescript one-story brick home in Ginger Creek Estates, a neighborhood located in Baytown, Texas. Baytown was a bedroom community located just to the east of Houston on Trinity Bay. The small city of seventy-two thousand was culturally diverse and had a fairly large Asian population prior to the collapse. Its economy revolved around the petroleum industry.

  The ExxonMobil Baytown Refinery was the second largest oil refinery in North America behind the Port Arthur, Texas, facility owned by Aramco, a Saudi Arabian Oil Company. Following the nuclear attack that had grazed Galveston to the south, this refinery remained the only facility that was fully operational other than Port Arthur, which had reduced its production due to security concerns.

  As a result, Baytown Refinery had become the most important resource to Texas as the new nation coped with the collapse of the power grid. It was going to take lots of fuel to operate generators, transportation, and equipment as the Austin government tried to rebuild.

  The field commanders of the Lightning Death Squads had performed admirably and were now en route to their next assignments. General Lee had split his commandos into two groups. An advance group was sent to Beaumont and Port Arthur to plan their attack upon the Aramco facility.

  In addition, and just as important, they were requested to map out their escape from Texas and back into the United States. General Lee had abandoned his dream of overtaking the nuclear enrichment facility at the West Texas border with New Mexico. It was now apparent that his homeland had been destroyed by nuclear retaliatory attacks by the United States, and Dear Leader would no longer have a use for the nuclear material.

  Instead, General Lee focused his efforts on their original task, which was to disrupt and destroy as much of the North American critical infrastructure as he could. He still held out hope that a North Korean invasion force would be forthcoming and that he’d be rewarded for his successes.

  General Lee had created a crude map out of a bedsheet and a permanent marker. He spread it out on top of a large dining table. He had marked certain identifiable landmarks within the twenty-four-hundred-acre refinery complex, including security stations, vehicle checkpoints, and administrative offices.

  Over the next several days, his men would sneak into the complex under cover of darkness and fill in more points of interest on the map. They needed to confirm the administrative offices in order to destroy their computer systems and manual operational overrides. There were also key components of the refinery process that needed to be rendered permanently inoperative.

  Oil refineries like Baytown were large sprawling industrial complexes with extensive piping running throughout the facility, carrying streams of crude oil and refined gasoline products from one massive storage container to another. Baytown was capable of refining six hundred thousand barrels of oil into gasoline daily.

  Taking away this resource would cripple Texas. The secondary attack on Port Arthur would put the nail in the coffin.

  General Lee knew very little about the inner workings of an oil refinery, but common sense told him that the crude oil entered one side of the plant and exited the other in the form of gasoline. Tonight, he and his commandos would infiltrate Baytown Refinery and begin to generate a flow diagram of its operations.

  After his teams were in position, and following some well-deserved rest, they’d be ready to strike efficiently and then race to their next target at Port Arthur, barely sixty miles away.

  Chapter 34

  January 27

  The White House

  Washington, DC

  “The way I see it, the first phase is complete,” began Chief of Staff Charles Acton as he commiserated with Billy Yancey about the recent events in Texas. “Their grid is down
, and mighty Marion Burnett has been knocked off her steed.”

  The two men who had previously met on park benches in the dead of winter were now more comfortable meeting within the cozy confines of the White House as they continued their destructive plans for the Burnett administration and Texas.

  “I have to caution you, however,” began Yancey, “these Texans are a resilient bunch. I’m getting feedback from my moles within the Austin government that Marion plans on bringing in an outsider to replace Monty Gregg.”

  “Who?” asked Acton.

  “I’ve met him. A rancher named Armstrong. He’s an old friend of Marion’s and a highly respected former lawman. He headed Company C of the Texas Rangers.”

  “What’s his political experience?”

  “None, but that’s not what he’s on board for,” replied Yancey. “She’s looking for someone whom she can trust implicitly while taking the burden off her shoulders to an extent. I’m hearing that Armstrong will focus his efforts on relations with the military and their own rebuilding effort.”

  Acton continued his questioning. “Does he know what he’s doing?”

  “Jury’s still out on that,” replied Yancey. “He’s achieved his most important role thus far. He’s provided Marion a trusted ally, which gives her strength. Inner confidence is her most admirable trait. Without it, as we saw following Monty’s death, Texas flails about without a leader.”

  Acton lifted himself out of his chair and walked around his office. He took a quick glance toward the South Lawn of the White House as yet another snowfall blanketed the grounds. He gathered his thoughts and shared them with Yancey.

  “Has he been officially sworn in?”

  Yancey shrugged. “Not yet. I don’t know if a date’s been set, but it’ll likely be within a week or so.”

  “Hmm. That means there’s still time to throw a wrench in the works.”

  Yancey turned in his chair to address Acton. “Yes. What do you have in mind?”