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  For its passenger train accommodations, Amtrak created the Sticks of Fire Express. It’s nine hundred miles from Cincinnati to Tampa. The Sticks of Fire Express leaves Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon and arrives in Tampa on Sunday morning. Like a cruise ship, the train travels primarily at night. The journey on the Sticks of Fire Express travels through the heart of America, passing through Lexington, Knoxville, Atlanta and Tallahassee. Passengers enjoy spacious two-level accommodations with private bathrooms and a variety of dining options, including the Cross Country Café which could be reserved for private parties.

  When Dominic Ciocia planned his wedding with bride-to-be Melissa, he wanted to create a lifelong memory for his bride, their families, and friends. After the tragic death of his parents in a plane crash, Dom’s life revolved around Melissa and his new extended family. He was left a substantial inheritance which allowed him to bury his sorrows amidst the wedding arrangements and plans for a new life. His parents, seasoned travelers, would have approved of this unique wedding and honeymoon.

  They would not have approved of the Saturday night bachelor’s party. A devout Catholic, Dom and Melissa vowed to remain chaste until after their wedding. He loved her and did not want to disrespect her in any way. When his buddies concocted the bachelor’s party during the southbound trip to Tampa, he objected. Melissa, the trusting fiancé, encouraged him to enjoy the moment. Her girlfriends planned a bridal soiree of their own in the lounge car. While Melissa played traditional bridal shower games like twenty questions and what’s in the bag, Dom’s boys enjoyed too many drinks while discussing sexual conquests that probably never happened.

  Through the glass doors connecting Melissa’s lounge car with the Cross Country Café, Dom thought about spending the rest of his life with his beautiful girl. Thoughts of babies, and growing old together filled his mind. He resisted the sudden urge to ditch the guys and run to her.

  He let out a sigh. Weddings and parties are for the guests more than the betrothed.

  Chapter 3

  September 3, 2016

  9:09 p.m.

  U.S. Route 411 Northbound

  Near Tennga, Georgia

  “We have just gone through an evolution in American history. This summer has revealed a nation that has lost touch with itself. Too many Americans are letting themselves be led by the headlines and far-reaching goals of the presidential candidates on both sides while ignoring the realistic challenges our nation faces.”

  Big John admired David Webb. Fellow conservative black men were few and far between. When Big John first became involved in the tea party movement in 2009, Webb caught his ear with a fiery speech challenging blacks in America to step out of their stereotype and consider what is best for their families. Webb, like Big John, believed the Democrat Party took the black vote for granted and ignored the underlying issue of concern to all Americans — economic stability. When Big John drove at night, AM talk radio and David Webb were always welcome travel companions.

  The road was deserted in rural north Georgia which provided a quiet trip to the house. With the cruise control set at a steady fifty-mile per hour speed, Big John rolled along through the swirling mist of fog which hung over Perry Creek as it hugged the highway. He turned off the CB radio. No bears out this late at night. Even the local yokels will be tucked in already.

  “As citizens, we have many civic duties, not just at election time. We need to be cognizant of our relationship with our fellow Americans. To those who continue to play the race card, know this. I am a black man. I am a Republican. I am an American. I speak from experience. Our culture — the American way of life, is under attack from within. The breakdown of our culture can only benefit those who wish to fundamentally transform America. This failure of leadership can be seen at the local level, all the way up to the White House. It is time for all of us, black and white, to rise up and reject the unlawful behavior and dis—“

  Static filled the radio. Big John looked down and adjusted the tuner on the radio. Nothing. He scrolled through the AM stations and found static everywhere. Did I lose the antenna? He switched to the FM band. All static.

  His cell phone was ringing. Big John abandoned the radio and reached for the phone which promptly fell beneath the bucket seats of the Peterbilt. He stretched his arm and fumbled around in the darkness, searching for the phone. For a moment, he took his eyes off U.S. 411. Just for a moment.

  Chapter 4

  September 3, 2016

  9:11 p.m.

  Amtrak/CSX Rail Southbound

  Near Tennga, Georgia

  Dom’s friends ushered him into a chair in the middle of the Cross Country Café. Shouts of drink, drink, drink filled the air as shots of tequila were passed around. Dom downed the obligatory shot, his fourth, and was starting to unwind a little. The guys started staccato clapping as they ushered in a scantily clad girl wearing a sexy train conductor’s outfit.

  This is just great. A stripper. While his thoughts of Melissa were still there, he decided to enjoy the festivities. This was, after all, his last night as a free man. I’ll do it so the guys will get a laugh.

  “I’m here to punch your ticket sir,” she said. “May I check your pockets?” Dom smiled a little as the fairly attractive girl began to run her hands inside his pants pockets.

  As she reached to feel his right pocket, she groped his crotch and exclaimed “What do we have here?” This brought a roar of laughter from the guys. As the girl straddled Dom, her tuxedo style jacket popped open revealing ample breasts. Okay, this is too much.

  Dom tried to gently push her away but accidentally grabbed the girl’s breasts instead. Amidst the sound of laughter, and without warning, the lights went out in the train. Everyone was quiet for a moment and then they erupted with hoots and hollers. One of the guys had flipped off the light switch.

  Now we can really party.

  Do her Dom!

  If you won’t I will.

  The massive two hundred ton diesel locomotive which powered the sixteen car passenger train maintained a steady speed of roughly fifty miles per hour. As the engineer approached the ground rail crossing just south of Tennga, Georgia, he briefly blew the train’s whistle at one thousand feet and issued a longer warning at six hundred feet. The trainmen slowed the speed as the Sticks of Fire Express approached the crossing of U.S. 411. They noticed in disbelief that the traffic signals and controls for the highway grade crossing were not working.

  Because the lights were off in the Cross Country Café, Dom had clear visibility through the tall Georgia pines of the approaching truck headlights approaching the train. They were growing larger as their illumination focused on the lounge car in front of him—the car carrying his Melissa.

  Chapter 5

  September 3, 2016

  9:13 p.m.

  Cisco, Georgia

  Kayla Gold lived in a mobile home on Brush Town Road in the small, close-knit community of Cisco, Georgia. This is the kind of town where everyone knows everyone’s business. In a rural community, the sound of trains and highway traffic are commonplace. An explosion is not. She remembered when a methamphetamine lab exploded over on Halls Chapel road. That was a mile away and it nearly shook her trailer off its blocks.

  This was different. Just a few minutes before, she was watching television when the power went off after she heard an explosion in the distance. The sound resembled the meth house destruction.

  However, a minute later, a second massive blast shook her trailer violently. She immediately looked out of her windows and saw the ball of fire in the sky near the highway. The next — and last—thing she saw was a locomotive sliding on its side along the railroad embankment towards her.

  ***

  Experts say chlorine gas is arguably the most essential chemical in use. It’s produced in large volumes because it is easily combined with other elements and synthesized into plastics, drugs, microchips and other products.

  However, chlorine gas is particularly insidious. Small expos
ures can trigger coughing, choking and burning eyes. Inhaling large amounts constricts the airways by inflaming the lining of the throat and airways. During the ingestion of the gas, fluid accumulates in the lungs, making it doubly hard to breathe. People drown in their own body fluids. At even higher exposures, a few deep breaths can be instantly lethal.

  Myrna Navarro, who lived across the way from Kayla Gold, watched the derailed locomotive destroy Kayla’s trailer as it careened down the embankment. She immediately crossed herself in a silent prayer for Kayla and to thank God for sparing the Navarro family from the catastrophe.

  In the darkness, Myrna couldn’t see the giant, greenish-yellow cloud of chlorine gas which filled the air. At first she began to gasp for air. I can’t breathe. I’m being strangled. Her children came on the front porch to see what happened. She desperately motioned to them to go back inside. Run. Run. Cover your faces!

  Death came too soon for Myrna Navarro and her family. It was just beginning.

  Go back to Contents

  Table of Contents

  Dedications

  Acknowledgements

  Bobby Akart

  Foreword by Steven Konkoly

  About The Loyal Nine and the Boston Brahmin Series

  Dramatis Personae

  THE BOSTON BRAHMIN:

  Epigraph

  Previously, in the Loyal Nine

  PART ONE

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  PART TWO

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  PART THREE

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  PART FOUR

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  PART FIVE

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  The saga will continue in MARTIAL LAW…

  Teaser Chapters for MARTIAL LAW