American Meltdown: Book Two of The Economic Collapse Chronicles (15 page)

CHAPTER 31

“Not all the treasures of the world, so far as I believe, could have induced me to support an offensive war, for I think it murder; but if a thief breaks into my house, burns and destroys my property, and kills or threatens to kill me, or those that are in it, and to ‘bind me in all cases whatsoever’ to his absolute will, am I to suffer it?”

-Thomas Paine

Paul Randall was focused on the mission at hand. He joined Larry Jacobs, Sonny Foster and Allen Jefferson in Larry Jacobs’s large study early Tuesday morning. After the assault on Pastor John Robinson’s compound in Idaho, all the leadership within the Coalition States pushed for strict border security. Randall and the others were meeting to come up with a standardized protocol to secure the borders of the Coalition.

“I want to try to have a balanced approach to this
,” Paul Randall stated. “I wish there were a way to let the patriots who have been dragging their feet into Coalition states.”

“We
have to have hard borders, Paul,” Jefferson replied. “We can’t risk a repeat of the Idaho incident. If you insist on not launching a counter strike, the borders are going to be our battle ground. We have to have an asset and troop buildup all along the borders. We need air patrols. The Northwest is especially going to have to utilize air patrols. There is no way they have the manpower or equipment to cover their borders. We have no way of getting more ground assets up there. Howe’s no-fly zone and massive troop buildup in Utah, Nevada and Southern Colorado have them cut off from Texas.”

Texas Governor Jacobs suggested, “Can we have hard borders and still check in patriots looking to relocate?”

“What is the vetting process, Larry?” Jefferson asked.

“I don’t know
,” Jacobs said. “Ask for their voter registration card?”

There were a couple of lighthearted chuckles at the suggestion.

Jefferson objected, “Being a registered Republican is a poor litmus test for being a patriot.”

“That’s true,” Larry answered
. “But being a Democrat is a sure sign of being an enemy of the Constitution.”

“Point taken,” Jefferson conceded.

Randall said, “We don’t really have the resources to open up the states for people who are wishing to be uninvolved and enjoy freedom in the Coalition without sacrifice. I recommend that we require a period of military service from anyone who wants to come in from an outside state. That will deter freeloaders who think we’re going to have a better economy.”

“Are you going to require women to serve on the battlefield, Paul?” Jefferson asked.

“Not on the battlefield, but there are other capacities.” Randall was adamant about this. “We’re going to need support personnel and lots of nurses. If Idaho was any indicator, this is going to be a bloody contest.”

“We still have no means of weeding out spies
,” Jefferson said.

Paul Randall responded, “We have no means of weeding out spies that are already here. We don’t know which soldiers could still be loyal to D
.C. Who could have stayed behind with the intentions of trying to disrupt our efforts? I think the best form of deterrent against such actions are coarse punishments.”

Sonny Foster spoke up, “Harsh punishments will no doubt reduce spying and treason
, sir, but if you are viewed as being too rough, the patriots may think of you as a dictator.”

Paul sat quiet for a moment then said
, “That’s a good point, Sonny. How do we deal with that issue?”

Sonny answered, “You could put it to a vote. Let the people decide the punishment for spying and treason. Who knows? They may come up with a worse method of dispatching the enemy than you would have. Then they can say nothing about cruelty.”

Larry Jacobs said, “That is a fantastic idea Sonny. What would you say to letting each state have its own form of punishment?”

“If it were up to me, I would require each state to come up with their own punishment
,” Sonny agreed. “State sovereignty is one of the main issues in our movement. Each state should be responsible for coming up with their own laws. I don’t want to overstep my boundaries as I’m not a leader in the capacity of the rest of you gentlemen.”

Paul Randall said, “You’re here because I value your opinion, Sonny. You have become a very trusted advisor to me personally. You have never overstepped your boundaries in all the years I’ve known you. Please continue.”

“In that case,” Sonny continued, “perhaps we should be wary of stepping into the role of the Federal Government. Unfortunately, I think the entire process of federalism has become deeply ingrained into our way of doing government. Our present conflict will tempt us to strive towards a strong leadership role among the Coalition States. I don’t think we want to become a scaled-down version of Washington, D.C. It would be far better to start out on the right foot, working towards a constitutional republic made up of sovereign states.”

“Sonny,” Jacobs said, “I can’t thank you enough for that reminder of who we are and what we
’re fighting for.”

“Of course,” Sonny continued, “we have a common enemy, and it will serve us all well to have a strong military strategy for all the states to combine their efforts.”

Allen Jefferson said, “You are a man of wisdom, Sonny. Paul is very blessed to have had your counsel over the past few years. We are all fortunate to have you advising us.

“
I’ll formalize my military recommendations and send them around to all the states. They can ratify as is or modify them to the specific state’s needs.”

Larry stated, “Texas will adopt your recommendations as soon as they are formalized. We should start the initial buildups on the borders within the hour.”

Paul Randall added, “I’ll put together a recommendation for the states to begin drafting their individual punishments for treason and spying. The only guidance I’ll give is that they should be sufficiently harsh to effectively deter such activities.”

The men concluded their meeting to begin their individual tasks.

CHAPTER 32

“The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive.”

-Thomas Jefferson

Matt heard Adam’s truck driving over the gravel and walked up to the drive to meet him early Wednesday morning.

“You’re already up and at ‘em?” Adam asked.

“I don’t want everyone around here knowing I’m a city boy. Gotta get up early to keep my cover intact,” Matt joked. “Something got one of my chickens last night.”

“Let’s have a look at your coop
,” Adam said. “That thing is in shambles. You need to build a new one.”

The two men walked towards Matt’s chicken coop.

“I spoke with Franklin early this morning,” Adam said as they walked. “General Jefferson has made recommendations for all the Coalition states to start patrols on the borders.”

“Okay
,” Matt said. He wasn’t prepared to hear this. He knew about the attack on Pastor Robinson’s compound and assumed something like this would be coming. Everything was happening too fast.

Adam continued, “London Company has been assigned to the Virginia border. We
’ll be maintaining a checkpoint on State Road 421. We’ll be rotating with Manchester Company; one week on, one week off.”

“Alright,” Matt said. He wondered how serious it was, but didn’t feel right asking. He felt he should just do his duty and not voice his concerns. All the things Adam had been through, this probably wasn’t a very big deal for him, but to Matt, this meant he would be responsible for defending a line with his life. He was up for it, just not excited about it.

Adam paused when they got to the chicken coop and looked around. “This is where they are getting in.” Adam pointed to a tunnel under the wood. “Probably a coon. You need to put in a floor or do something to keep predators from being able to tunnel under the wall and into the coop.”

They filled in the hole. Matt said he would set a trap later for when the critter returned.

On the way back to the house Adam explained a bit more of his thoughts about the mission. “I wish I could tell you what to expect, but I don’t know. Virginia is heavily contested territory. There are a lot of folks on the extreme left, and a lot of folks on the extreme right. For now, it seems like Howe is focusing on disrupting the flow of trade and supplies between Texas and the Northwest states. That’s good for us, but who knows how long until he turns his attention toward Kentucky and the rest of the Southern Coalition.

“421 is a country road. I doubt we
’ll get hit with a massive troop movement, but we could get called to back up Tennessee if they get hit from I-81. That’s all mountains as well. Federal military hates moving through mountains. They still have a bad taste in their mouth from Afghanistan. The military mostly used private contractors to move stuff through the mountains. They avoid it at all costs.

“That being said, Howe has no reputation for acting rationally, so there is really no telling what he might do. It’s like we got our own personal Kim Jong. If they try to hit us in the mountains though, we
’ll crush them.

“We’re going to be responsible for deciding who comes across the border. Virginians who want to join the Coalition are going to be required to volunteer for military service.

“Folks who chose to leave won’t be allowed to return. It’s a one-way ticket. Same thing coming in. One way, no turning back. I suspect they will shut the border permanently in a couple of weeks.”

The explanation made Matt feel better. He was glad Adam had volunteered to tell him. Matt did not look forward to telling Karen. She was not going to take this well at all.

CHAPTER 33

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

-Thomas Jefferson

Pastor Robinson finished the memorial service for the fallen militia men at Young Field. Several of the men had died. Many more were wounded. The wounded had been taken to the hospital in Boise.

After the service, Pastor John and Albert Rust
walked over to Will Pender’s camper. Pastor John said, “Will held on for a few hours after he was hit, but eventually expired. Will told me that he wanted everything he owned to go to the church. Will had a nice camper with a full-size bed and another sleeping area that could be made by folding down the kitchenette table and pulling out the bench. What would you think about putting a couple of the men who defected in Will’s camper?”

Albert thought for a moment before responding. “Those guys who defected had nothing but the clothes on their backs, so they would be very well served by utilizing the camper. I think we should try to select two guys that were close to Will’s size. He was
a big burly fellow. This way whoever we put in there could also wear Will’s clothes.”

When they arrived, t
hey straightened up the camper and took a few personal items to distribute according to Will’s last requests.

Albert and Pastor John selected two young soldiers to put in Will’s camper. Harry Wilder from Oklahoma and Oliver Stillwell from upstate New York.

As the two soldiers were settling in, Harry said
, “Like the other defectors, we’re dead set against what the government is doing. We came to the party a bit late, but like folks all over America, we’re finally waking up to the tyranny that’s quickly growing out of control. We signed up to defend America against threats foreign and domestic.”

Oliver added, “We bought the lie being told by the White House and the puppet media for years.”

Pastor John patted Oliver on the back. “At the last minute, you did the right thing. All of you defectors risked being shot by both sides to cross that line. I know it was hard watching your friends being shot before they hit the other side.”

After Pastor John got the two soldiers moved in, Ron White came to give him an update on the burials. Ron said
, “The ground is frozen and it makes for hard digging, even with the backhoe. The graves for the militia members are being dug to a depth of four feet. Fuel is a limited resource and it has to be conserved. Manually digging enough graves would have been impossible to accomplish in a timely manner. The freezing air is buying us a little time as it keeps the corpses from decaying. I guess it’s the next best thing since there is no embalming services available.

“The enemy soldiers were buried in a mass grave away from the camp. They were stripped of all useful items before being disposed of. We took all of their body armor, weapons, ammunition, radios, boots, assault packs and state-of-the-art optics.”

Pastor John nodded his approval. “All of these items can go to the militia members who are being assigned to secure the Southern Idaho Border.”

Pastor John and Ron continued talking about the other business of  Young Field.