Chapter 18

Tuesday

Oh dark thirty

It took us hours to clear the town. When we finally finished, I went to the temporary holding area and walked amongst the detainees, marking each person with their threat index score. More than half of them were between one and three, forced to be here and kept here by the posted sentries. The men worked in the mine; the women took care of the home. Some women spent part of their day reloading 10 mm cartridges.

When the attack began at the southern end of the tunnel complex, the U.S. troops used a rope to pull the door wide open and began firing KJ-63 gas grenades through the entrance from behind a wall of ballistic gel. More ballistic gel walls covered their rear and both flanks. Twenty minutes after the firefight began, rebel troops poured out of both the southeast and southwest exits. Red squad had two of the newest grav sleds covering each of the two exits, both loaded with tranq rounds. Since the first rebel troops exited cautiously, they waited until the last of the rebel troops to exit were two klicks from the tunnel exit before firing. The army troops covering the two exits watched, stunned, as two grav sleds took down the eight hundred or so troops in less than three minutes.

While the grav sleds were busy, the troops at the south entrance continued firing KJ-163 gas grenades. Once the return fire stopped, one grav sled at the south entrance entered and verified that the rebels were dead or unconscious. A handful of army troops entered, searching for booby traps before shackling the unconscious rebels. Army medics tended to any wounded or injured rebels once the gas had dissipated and it was safe for our troops to enter the cave.

By the time we had emptied the rebel capital, we were exhausted. Meanwhile, the army troops had sealed off or secured all the tunnels leading to the main underground town. The remaining tunnels had each been sealed about five klicks from the city with a floor-to-ceiling two-meter-thick wall of ballistic gel. The tunnel to the south was heavily guarded and now had sensors lining the roof and walls for ten klicks to warn them if anyone approached the exit.

They sent in robots with a two-way vid screen, guiding them into the city. Once there, they began broadcasting an announcement that the leaders had all been captured alive, the capital had fallen, the gold mine had been captured, all the troops sent from the southeast and southwest exits had been captured alive, and the reinforcements they sent for had all been captured or killed.

Vids showed all nine leaders alive and shackled and the brief battles with the reinforcements, as well as the capture of the troops sent from the southeast and southwest exits and the capture of the surviving troops who had defended the southern entrance.

“For now, we are leaving the power on. Only the southern exit is open, but it is heavily guarded. Anyone who exits, unarmed, will not be harmed. Anyone exiting with a weapon, even a knife, risks their life. We know that you have sources of water, and enough food to last for a month or more. Rather than risk the lives of our troops, we will cut off the power and seal the tunnels so air can’t get in. We estimate that you’ll run out of air in less than forty-eight hours if we do that. Please come out peacefully,” they requested.

Fresh troops arrived to take over the positions at all the ballistic gel walls inside the tunnels, and to take over guarding the southern entrance. The rest of us crashed in the tunnels on cots the army brought in for us--after we ate dinner, or breakfast, or whatever meal it was since the sun was up before we ate. I was surprised that I had made it through the night on pure adrenaline and didn’t have to resort to taking either of the pills.

They woke us up with good news at about 1400 hours. The first of the rebels would be exiting the tunnel in a few minutes. An hour earlier, sensors in the tunnels and on the two-way vid screen picked up the sound of gunfire. Several minutes ago, one of the rebels appeared on the two-way vid screen. He reported that several of the rebel men from the drug cartel faction had proposed using the women and children as shields.

Men from the other factions had opposed the plan and a gun battle broke out. The men from the drug cartel faction were all killed and the surviving rebels were sending out the women and children, along with their wounded. Once they were safely outside, the remaining five hundred or so rebels would surrender.

“We’d like you to keep an eye on them as they surrender to make sure they don’t try something,” Lt. Commander Ferguson explained to me. It was much lighter inside the cave than when we had gone to sleep. Someone had managed to hang strings of LED lights from the overhead supports as far down the tunnel as I could see. After checking the inside of my boots for unwanted guests, I pulled them on and laced them up. Someone shoved sandwiches and bottles of water at me as I headed for my sled, followed by Cooper and his fire team who were likewise carrying food and water.

I made my way out of the tunnel and quickly zipped to the southern entrance. After checking in with the army troops, we entered the tunnel, slowing as we neared a cluster of seventy rebel soldiers ferrying women and children on grav sleds from town towards the end of the tunnel. They dropped the women and children off about two hundred meters from the exit and returned for the next group. Four of the rebel soldiers ferried the wounded soldiers into the cave where U.S. Army medics transferred them onto grav sled tenders and rushed them to the combat support hospital tent that had been erected yesterday.

I observed that none of the rebels ferrying people on their grav sleds had any weapons. Neither did any of the women or children. I passed that info on to Lt. Commander Ferguson. Seeing that the rebels were unarmed, Cooper had the other four fire team members head for the southwest exit to load their sled tenders with some of the old style grav sleds we had captured from the rebels. We had them take our two sled tenders to help with the prisoners, too.

The fire team was back thirty minutes later, and Cooper and I led them slowly into the tunnel where we startled the group of rebels we met. I quickly explained that we brought more grav sleds and volunteered to help bring everyone out. The leader was suspicious but decided to lead us back anyway after dropping off the women and children he had ferried out. Some of the army troops had set up the battery charging stations in the cave, and we had brought the charged batteries to supply the men using the old style grav sleds.

There was a brief discussion among the remaining rebels when we arrived, and then a resigned acceptance of our offer to help. I could tell that they were grateful to get the fully charged batteries. When they saw our sled tenders, their resigned acceptance turned to inquisitiveness and I explained that these were newer sleds that went farther than the old ones did and that I had used the sled tender when I went hunting every day, allowing me to bring home more game.

With the extra sleds we were able to carry eighteen additional sleds each trip, we started making a much larger dent in the number of people remaining in the town. Once I adjusted the navigation computers of the rebel sleds and linked them to mine, we made the trip much faster than they were comfortable going.

“How can you keep from crashing?” one of the rebels asked nervously at the end of our first high speed run to the exit.

“The navigation computer in my sled knows where the walls are and can tell if anything is in front of us that we would run into,” I explained, preferring not to disclose my ability to see half a km ahead of us, even in the total darkness beyond what my headlight illuminated.

Cooper commed Lt. Commander Ferguson as we neared the exit and warned that we were exiting, leading a large group of rebel sleds. Once the sleds were unloaded, we turned around and headed back inside. By late afternoon, we had evacuated the 3,500 women and children. The base commander was borrowing helicopters from every U.S. ship and base close enough that they could reach us today. By the time we finished ferrying the last of the rebel troops out, more than sixty helicopters were flying people to the base’s detainment facility. Cargo planes loaded with more tents and supplies were arriving at the base. When the last of the rebels was on the way out, I made one quick mental sweep of the town and didn’t find anything that looked like a booby trap. Done for the moment, the team headed back to the base.

It was a good thing that my wives had brought so much extra grain and left it at the base. While the initial intent had been to distribute it to the villages, right now, the rebels needed to be fed and we hadn’t bothered to take their food from inside their underground towns.

I was ready for a good meal and a better night’s sleep by the time we finished transporting the last of the rebels out of the tunnel complex. Instead, Lt. Commander Ferguson took me aside. “Your newest wife had a suggestion that sounds like it might work,” he said.

Seeing that I looked interested, he continued. “She says that the people of Nicaragua and all of South and Central America have the utmost respect for the previous Lucky Jim. They consider him a hero to the entire world for what he did for the people of Cuba, North Korea, Laos, and Cambodia and for finally helping to end decades of animosity between North and South Korea, allowing the two countries to rejoin.

“She says that you should start something in Nicaragua and then convince the rebels that you’re the next Lucky Jim. If you promise to try to stop the abuses of power by the rich, all but the people from the drug cartels would back you.”

“I was already planning to do something in Nicaragua. I’m not sure I really want to tell the entire world that Lucky Jim III is on the loose, and I sure as hell don’t want to get involved in politics. Both of my predecessors avoided politics almost as stridently as I intend to,” I replied.

“You don’t necessarily have to get into politics, just set up a non-partisan group to look into those types of abuses. With the Reynolds connections, I’m sure you can get the Justice Department behind it,” he suggested.

“Just thinking about dealing with politicians and lawyers makes me feel dirtier than I was after the mud run,” I said, shuddering.

“I’ll make some calls,” I agreed grudgingly, “but I think we need to do a sweep of the country and pick up any rebels and sympathizers I can find before I commit to anything.”

“Make your calls, grab something to eat, and get some sleep. We can decide what to do about picking up the remaining rebels after a late breakfast tomorrow.”

“I want to make a second sweep through the bigger town before anyone else goes in there. I was half-asleep when I made the first sweep,” I warned.

“Cooper already warned us that you’d want to go through it again,” he assured me.

I turned on my com unit and called Don while I was walking to the mess hall. “Hi, good news, we captured most of the rebels, including the leaders,” I told him.

“That’s great, but you sound dead tired,” he chuckled.

“If I start snoring, just hang up,” I replied.

“I called for three things,” I said. “First, I need to find out how to go about claiming land in Nicaragua.”

“Do you have a specific area in mind?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah, the area where the rebels were holed up. Can you see some sort of aura around metals like gold and silver?” I asked.

“I’ve never noticed it,” he replied.

“I see different colored auras around different metals and gems. We found a monstrous tunnel complex through the mountains where the rebels were based, even two underground towns. While I was scanning the mountains for tunnels, I noticed the auras of gold and silver in the easternmost section, as well as copper. In the center section, I saw something else, but I haven’t yet learned what it is.

“I want to claim a huge area, probably seventy- or eighty-kilometers square. Much of it used to be two preserves, and I want to make them preserves again, although there are a couple towns and several small villages of Mayangna Indians in that area. I want to work with the villages and show them how to farm correctly so they don’t continue using the slash and burn technique.

“I want to replant trees in many of the areas that have been clear-cut and then selectively log some of the areas with overly dense forest. In addition, I want to open mines for the various ore deposits I found. I need to make sure that the mining doesn’t adversely affect the plants and animals in the preserve any more than absolutely necessary,” I explained.

“I want one corner of the land I claim to be in the eastern coastal plain where I can grow food. It won’t be nearly as big as what I plan to have up there, but enough to feed everyone working for me down here,” I explained.

“Where is the area? I’ll make some calls tomorrow,” Don said.

Can you call up a map of Nicaragua where you can enter GPS coordinates?” I asked.

“Yeah, give me a minute,” he said, and I heard him on the computer keyboard in his office. I had to laugh to myself because Don still insists on using an old-fashioned keyboard instead of a holographic keyboard. “Okay, got it,” he said.

I began reading the GPS coordinates of the entrances and exits of the tunnel system, leaving out the ones between each of the sections where the east-west tunnel came out to the bridges. “Extend the area to include the mountains surrounding the GPS coordinates and then add in some arable land to the east,” I instructed.

“Wow!” he exclaimed. “That is a huge area. I’ll check on it tomorrow,” Don said.

“Did Idania tell you her idea?” I asked.

“Yeah, is this part of it?” Don wanted to know.

“I planned to do this before I heard her idea,” I replied. “I’m not sure that I’m ready to go public and paint a target on myself and the family.”

“We’ve got enough veterans applying that we can put together a security force for here and for Tensas Parish. I’m sure we can even set one up for Nicaragua. By the way, let Ensign Cooper know that his brother is working for us. I was going to have him trained to operate the farm equipment, but I may keep him and his family here and use him as part of our security detail.”

“What about me promising to do something about political corruption? That could be even more dangerous than the Chinese knowing Lucky Jim III is on the loose.”

“You have to remember that you now have very powerful connections,” Don reminded me. “As Lucky Jim, the Lucky Jim Trust can get you all sorts of help. Remember, Reynolds family members and other relatives hold many top posts in the government. In fact, I heard this evening through the Reynolds grapevine that the Speaker of the House gave President Atkinson an ultimatum today. If he doesn’t resign by 2000 Eastern Time, the House of Representatives will declare that he is unfit to hold office and will remove him from office. That means the new president will be a distant cousin of yours.”

“Well then, can you talk to Dorothy Shaw tomorrow, too? See if she can suggest who I should talk to about setting up some sort of group to investigate political corruption down here. Oh, and ask if she knows someone reputable to oversee the mining operation I want to start down here, since I have absolutely no clue what to do beyond acquiring the land.”

“I can do that,” he chuckled. “By the way, the boys are having a ball ferrying shrimp ashore and helping on the boat. Helga and Idania are enjoying hunting. Idania is beside herself with the way you figured out to hunt. They killed sixty-four feral pigs today. Most of them ended up in Tensas Parish. I can see that I’m going to have to triple the size of the island where the barn and smokehouses are. If we’re going to have as much help around here as I think we will, we’ll need additional smokehouses and greenhouses.”

“I wondered last week if we’d have to double it,” I laughed. “Maybe you should be proactive and quadruple the space,” I suggested.

“Not a bad idea,” Don sighed.

“I’ll let you go. I can’t believe that I’m still awake, and I still have to make it to the mess tent to eat,” I laughed.

I was almost to the mess tent when Cooper found me. “I thought you got lost or fell asleep standing up somewhere,” he laughed.

“Nah, I had to talk to Lt. Commander Ferguson about an idea, and then I had to call my uncle about it,” I explained. “By the way, they hired your brother. Don was going to train him on the farm equipment, but thinks he’ll keep him there on a security team for the property in Blanc Bayou.”

“I heard that he got hired earlier today. I had a message from him and commed him back this afternoon. He was excited to hear that the rebels surrendered and told me that he’d tell your family, too.”

“Wait, isn’t the mess hall that way?” I asked, pointing back the opposite direction. Cooper was leading me in a different direction.

“Yeah, but we’re having a party tonight,” Cooper said excitedly. “I haven’t had grub this good since we were at your place.”

He led me to what looked like two large tents joined together. I could hear the noise from an exuberant celebration coming from inside.

“Took you long enough to find him,” Ferguson teased Cooper when we entered the tent. Everyone started cheering.

“It seems that your brothers brought dinner down to us tonight,” Ferguson explained. “They brought a tonne of frozen shrimp, ten hams, and a pot with your name on it,” he said, pointing to the pot.

I went over and opened the pot. “Oh, yeah,” I thought.

“That’s not my name on the pot, it’s what’s inside the pot,” I laughed. “That’s my mom’s barbecued gator ribs,” I explained as I grabbed a plate and loaded it.

“Sweet,” I thought when I saw the ice chest at the far end of the table. Most of the bottles in it were beer, but I saw several plastic bottles of “swamp water” in one corner of the cooler. I’m not sure what she puts in it, but Mother Trudy makes it and I love it. It’s some mixture of fruit juices and God knows what else.

Cooper motioned for me to sit next to him, so I did. “I’m sure nobody will say anything if you want a beer,” he laughed.

“I’m good,” I replied, holding up the bottle of swamp water. It actually looked like murky brown swamp water.

“That stuff looks nasty,” he said, making a face.

“Yep, it sure does. Hopefully, everyone else will think the same thing,” I laughed. Just then, Inga caught my attention, holding up a half-empty bottle of swamp water and grinning.

“Oh well, looks like I have to share,” I said to Cooper while nodding towards Inga.

Lt. Commander Ferguson whistled to get everyone’s attention, and then turned on the two large vid screens in opposite corners of the tent. I could immediately tell that they were tuned to INN as I recognized the reporter who was just finishing a news story.

Then, the screen showed the INN logo and the words “BREAKING NEWS” across the bottom of the screen. I grinned when I recognized Don’s friend Eric Harkins. “We have back-to-back press conferences tonight. The first is coming to us live from the Press Briefing Room at the White House,” Eric explained.

The INN logo background faded away to show the podium at the front of the room. Everyone in the press room stood when President Atkinson walked in. “I have a brief statement and will not be taking questions afterward,” he said curtly.

“Given the pressure that I have been under trying to improve our economy and reduce inflation, all while trying to simultaneously fight two wars, it’s apparent that the stress has become too much for me. Following the advice of my personal physician, I am hereby resigning from the office of the President of the United States effective immediately and have submitted my formal written resignation to Vice President Talbot.” With that brief declaration, he turned and left the room despite shouted questions from every reporter in the room.

Seconds later, Eric was back. This time he was in a live shot from inside somewhere with wood paneling behind him. “The second conference should begin momentarily. We are coming to you live from inside the chamber of the House of Representatives,” he explained.

As he finished his explanation, the view switched to the front where the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tem both entered. They stood side by side at the microphone at the Speaker’s desk. “The country has seen troubling times,” The Speaker commented. “Making the right and necessary decisions to guide our country is rarely easy. Tonight, as you probably just heard, President Atkinson, at the suggestion of his personal physician, submitted his immediate resignation. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family,” he said somberly.

I had to admire his acting skills.

He turned and nodded towards the door through which he and the President Pro Tem had entered. Acting President Talbot entered with Chief Justice Alexander. “Hey, this will be the first time that a female Chief Justice has given the Oath of Office to a female President,” I said to Cooper.

“How do you keep track of stuff like that?” he whispered. I just shrugged since I had no idea.

The two women stepped up to the microphone and the two men stepped back. Normally, the person taking the oath would have their spouse with them, but Vice president Talbot was yet another war widow. I did see her two teenage sons in the background.