Crashed: The Death Of The Dollar (18 page)

I will begin shooting in one hour, and I hope you will join me.”

They were all quiet for a minute before the man who knew the ranges spoke up. “Sir, I'm ready to fight with you.”

Another man spoke up “General Paine, I think two of us can make it over to the motel right down there to draw fire away from you. Just tell us how high to aim.”

“
Have you ranged -” Mike started to ask the man.

“
1,233 yards, sir,” he quickly answered.

“
Aim about forty feet high then.”

The two men grabbed their rifles, and the one who spoke up about the motel said, “Sir, I don't expect to see the sunset tonight. And it's worth it if I can give you even half a minute to get that sniper that's keeping watch on us. It's an honor to have met you.”

The other man nodded in agreement. “Yes sir. Thank you.”

Mike was starting to feel pretty humbled. “Men, I pray you see the sunset tonight. I pray you watch it from the top of that old school.”

“
Taylor, let's get those magazines we emptied earlier today reloaded,” Mike said, turning to her.

“
You,” Mike called out the man Taylor had kicked.” You think you can climb yet?”

“
Yes sir.”

“
Get on this roof with those binoculars. Try to keep your head down. We need you to help watch what's happening over there.”

Mike looked through the windows that gave a vague view directly through the building. “I know they heard us. I just hope everyone else did too, and that they show up.”

Taylor got Mike's Barrett set up and had ten magazines set beside it. His shoulder was already hurting from all the rounds he'd fired that morning. He kept reminding himself of Stacy. They had taken her from him and his family, and he wanted revenge.

It was quiet as Taylor, Mike, and the other men did little more than watch the clock slowly count down the minutes. About 2:50 pm, their anxiety was getting high as they started hearing what sounded like shots being fired in the distance. They couldn't tell where the sound was coming from, so Mike called up to the man on the roof. He said he couldn't see anyone shooting, but the direction sounded like over near Home Depot.

The shooting stopped, only to start back after about two minutes. “It is coming from Home Depot!” the man on the roof shouted. “And I think there's some coming from north of the station too. I see two men on the roof kneeling down and returning fire. We've still got the one holding his aim at us.”

“Sir,” another man spoke up. “As soon as Sam and Carl start firing from the motel, I'm going to run north about a hundred yards and start firing at the one facing us. He's got to take his sights off you once he's taking fire from three rifles this direction.”

Mike nodded rapidly. His heart was racing. The first two stations went down easily. He didn't have to worry about someone capable of shooting back with any accuracy. That changed the situation mentally. Earlier was like target practice. But this time, the target was at least as good of a shot, and would be shooting back.

At 2:58 pm. Shots started to ring out from the motel. The other man took off on his dash with his rifle. Mike waited, concerned the sniper would stay focused on him, not worrying about the incoming fire from the sides.

“Return fire!” The man on the roof yelled. “He's shooting back at Sam and Carl.”

“Go, go, go!” Taylor shouted at Mike as he slid over into position and tried to hurry to find the sniper in his sights.

“
There you are. Taylor, spot,” Mike said, giving her only a second to move over and eye the sniper in the spotting scope.

A loud booming crack came from the Barrett M107A1.

“
Low about a foot, left about six inches. You got his attention.”

Boom
, came the next loud crack.

“Woo Hoo!” they heard from the roof. “Holy shit, that's one hell of a gun!”

“You hit the brick straight under him,” Taylor shouted as her and Mike both heard the ping of a bullet landing just inches beside him, to his right.

A third cracking boom rang out from the Barrett.

“You got him!” Taylor shouted. She reached down to pat Mike on the back and noticed him holding his head down. “Mike. MIKE!” she yelled, squatting down to check on him.

“
I'm alive,” he said, reaching to his right shoulder with his left hand.

“
I don't know what hurts worse, the recoil, or that bastard's bullet!” Mike added as he rolled out from behind his rifle.

Taylor glanced at the wound he was holding, then dropped to the ground, assuming his position at the Barrett. She squeezed the trigger. “Dammit!” she yelled.

“
Just take your time. I know you can do this,” he assured her.

“
No, I saw him drop right as I squeezed the trigger. Someone else beat me to it.”

“They're all three down!” The man on the roof shouted.

“
Keep watching in case they're not dead,” Mike yelled back.

Taylor stayed behind the rifle scouting for guardsmen through the scope.

The crackling of gunfire around the south end of Cedar City continued for almost fifteen minutes nonstop. Then it almost immediately stopped. Only a few occasional shots could still be heard.

“What's going on?” Mike yelled out.

“
There's people moving closer. Only a hundred or two yards out from the north, and people are starting to climb the hill from Cross Hollow Road,” yelled the man on the roof.

“
Shit! No you don't you -”

Taylor squeezed the trigger again, dropping one of five men who had climbed through an access point on the roof carrying smaller rifles.

“Four more,” she said before continuing to fire the remaining five rounds. “Dammi-” she began to say, realizing she was out, but being cut off by Mike reaching over with his left hand to hand her the next magazine.

Taylor wasted no time continuing her fire. She went through all ten rounds rather quickly and was starting to load up another magazine.

“
I think they're all down now,” the rooftop lookout shouted. “I think people are making their way inside now.”

“We're done, Taylor,” Mike said calmly. “Whatever is left, everyone else will handle.

Taylor rolled out from behind the gun and laid against Mike's left side. “Damn that thing's kick really starts to hurt after a while,” she said as she started to laugh.

Mike and Taylor just laid there together for a while. Carl had returned from the motel reporting that Sam was dead. Taylor sent him to check on the guy who had run to the north. He, too, was dead. The man with the radio station stayed in his truck the entire time, and didn't try to hobble his way over to the others until he saw Phillip Brown coming over.

“
Well Mr. Paine in the ass,” Phillip started. “Hell of a thing to pull off today without planning any of it with the rest of us.”

Mike could only smile, glad to see his old friend. Phillip turned to the hobbling man as he claimed, “We did it.”

“What in the hell happened to you boy?” Phillip asked him, looking down at his bloodied leg.

“
I shot him,” Mike said plainly.

“
What in the hell did you -” Phillip asked the man, figuring Mike had a good reason, and knowing the young man tended to be obnoxious.

“
It's all good Mr. Brown. No worries.”

“
I'm sure you deserved it,” Phillip replied. Then he turned to Mike “Next time, make sure he won't be able to annoy me again afterwards, will ya?”

“
Hey, guys,” the radio man cut in. “The station in Beaver got attacked at the same time. The folks up there took it down after hearing your call, General.”

Mike just shook his head as Phillip ran the man off.

Phillip had a nurse come bandage Mike's shoulder. He made sure all Mike's stuff was loaded up and brought some gas to top off the S-10. The two men and Taylor talked for a short while, steadily receiving updates from the fallen Guard station. Fifty-eight people died taking the station. Roughly a hundred were injured. And fourteen guardsmen were killed, plus another seven in Beaver.

A significant cache of weapons were recovered, and though some were offered to Mike, he insisted they keep them. “You guys still have the hill to take, and probably Cove Fort. You need them.”

“
Hey, Phillip,” Mike called out as he walked back to the old rancher. “I almost forgot. We need some help with something.”

“
Oh, there it is. Just has to be something in all this for you!” Phillip replied jokingly.

“
Did you hear about Newcastle the other day?”

Phillip realized this wasn't something to joke around about. “Yeah I did. Someone told me Dale and Trisha Westen were killed by the Guard pretty brutally. From what I heard, all the locals finally stood up and decided they'd had enough and hung those guardsmen.”

“There's more to it than that. They killed Stacy too.”

“
Oh, shit! Oh, Mike,” Phillip slipped using his real name, “Dammit. So that's why you two came down today. What the hell was she doing in Newcastle?”

“
Never mind that. I've got one adult and three children at the house recovering from gunshot wounds. You know a -”

“
I know a good doctor I can bring up. I trust him, so I'll blindfold him anyways just for fun.”

Mike nodded and walked off to this truck.

When Mike and Taylor got home that night, the others were all waiting outside to greet them. Brad had been watching the road through the scope on his .223 and was proud to report that he had kept everyone safe. They had heard Mike's call for help over the radio, and were all eager to hear what had happened.

Chapter 15

Reorganizing

The sound of a car horn could be heard in the wee hours of the morning at the ranch. Taylor, Jason and Mike were all three bolting out the door with guns ready when they heard a familiar voice. “Don't shoot us! It's me, don't shoot.” It was Phillip. “I figured if I brought this pencil-neck kid up here in the dark it'd kinda help him feel even more lost.”

“
Get in here, you old bastard!” Mike hollered back.

Phillip had brought a surgeon he knew up to check on everyone who was injured. “This here is Doctor Junior,” he introduced the man.

The doctor glared at Phillip and introduced himself as Dr. Torgerson.

“The boy here ain't as good as his old man used to be, but he'll take good care of you all.”

“
I'm not used to working like this, but I'll do my best,” he said. “I grabbed everything portable I could. There's some boxes in the truck, if someone can help bring them in.”

Taylor grabbed a lantern and Jason's arm, and hurried out to the truck.

“
I think Anna should be first,” Jessica suggested, as she was clearing off the table in a hurry and covering it with some thick blankets. Anthony was crying and she wanted to get him fed so he'd go back to sleep.

Dr. Torgerson went to checking on little Anna's abdomen first. He said she'd obviously not had any vital organs hit or she'd have already been dead. He then moved on to her legs. He repeated several times how he wished he had an anesthesiologist, some nurses, and an X-ray machine to do things like he was used to. Both of Anna's femurs were broken badly. He gave her some anesthetic that knocked her out and did the best he could to piece the bones back together and hold them in place. He warned them that she would almost certainly struggle with walking for the rest of her life.

He moved on to Stephanie next, and complimented the rudimentary stitching job Jessica had done. “The only thing I could have done better would have been cleaner work to minimize scarring,” he said as he gave the girl a shot of antibiotics as a precaution.

Brad's arm turned out to have two breaks in it. One wasn't too bad and should heal up fine. The other he had to go in and repair similarly to Anna's legs. He was amazed at the nature of the wound, asking if the boy was laying down when he got shot. “I killed two guardsmen,” Brad said proudly before passing out under the anesthesia.

Amy's wound to her thigh had only done soft tissue damage, but was starting go get infected. He reopened the wound to scrub it, then stitched it up cleanly.

Dr. Torgerson left a box of syringes and several small bottles of antibiotics, giving Taylor and Jessica instructions they needed to tend to Amy and the kids. He gave Jessica and Anthony a checkup while he was there, and Mike cautiously hovered over him the entire time.

“Okay, well, I guess it's your turn,” the doctor said to Mike. Phillip had warned him that Mike would probably not be willing to let him check the hole in his shoulder, and had been right.

Mike responded, “I'll see you out,” sternly as he turned towards the door. Taylor was standing right behind him, and had her arms crossed with a look that told him he wasn't going anywhere.

“
Get your ass over there,” she demanded of Mike. Phillip was chuckling at seeing Taylor try to tell Mike what to do. He had watched her try to be the woman of the house since she was a young teen, wondering just how long Mike would put up with it.

“
Taylor, they need to leave, now,” he said trying to side-step her as Jessica walked over to back Taylor up.

“
I'm not sure what makes you think I'm asking,” Taylor said, trying not to laugh at herself for talking to Mike like that. Jessica just glared at him, letting him know he would regret resisting any more. Phillip erupted in laughter.

“
Shut up, old man,” Mike said loudly without turning away from the ladies. He didn't move other than to pull his sleeve up and let Dr. Torgerson check the wound.

Later that evening, Mike was finally holding his new baby boy. He was still too scared to pick him up, but would let one of the ladies lay him in his arms. Brad was a proud big brother. He volunteered to not hold the baby until his arm was better, which the adults had all already decided anyways. But he enjoyed spending time telling little Anthony all the things he was going to teach him as he grew up.

Against Mike's wishes, Taylor kept the radio on. He was worn out and wanted nothing to do with the chaos of the outside world, but her curiosity about how their actions were making an impact won out. And with the earliest reports of the morning, Taylor was pleased. Her mood perked up a lot, as the revenge of the previous day brought her an odd satisfaction.

Every new report brought more and more good news. Not only had Beaver heard and followed Mike's call for help yesterday afternoon, but so had Richfield and Salina up north, and Kanab down south as well. And like his first recording, several people had recorded Mike's live broadcast and it was getting played around the nation. By that evening, as she was serving dinner, Taylor was ecstatic, and for Mike, annoying, as she rambled on and on about all the small towns who had taken up the fight and overthrown their local Guard stations.

Mike tried not to show her, but he was beaming inside as well at hearing the news. He made a brief recording complimenting the efforts of all those who were willing to fight, paying tribute to those who died in their pursuit of freedom, and encouraging everyone to continue the fight. He also took time to raise awareness towards trying to prevent such oppression from ever occurring again on American soil. He reminded them all of the NSA data centers, and Homeland Security fusion centers, and charged them to use the weapons they were seizing to destroy the facilities that helped make the Guard possible.

The next day, Mike didn't push back when Taylor was insisting on listening to more news. He was as curious as she was. NANN was the first station they picked up, and they were stunned by the news being reported on the state-run media. Late last night, the president had given orders to the U.S. Military to launch attacks on American soil against the people fighting the Guard. He also named “Thomas Pain” as a terrorist, and the most wanted man in America.

The president had made his speech without consulting, and before giving formal orders to his Secretary of Defense. The Joint Chiefs of Staff had already decided amongst themselves that if such orders to use military force against Americans was given, they were going to depose the president and assume full control of the federal government. And that's exactly what they did. The now North American Union had officially become a Military Junta overnight.

From what they could gather throughout the day, most of the continuing fighting was in the major cities, where large, militaristic police forces had been absorbed into the Guard. Resistance fighters now had weapon capabilities comparable to the Guard, thanks to the seized caches in small towns across the nation. What NANN was calling rioting, every single other report was calling a civil war.

“Wow,” said Jessica, as she giggled. “I must say, I never thought I would share a bed with the most wanted man in America.”

Amy was sitting on the couch with Anna and Brad. “You know, I think since the Military deposed the president and refused to use force on American soil, maybe the 'most wanted man in America' should step up his messages some,” she said.

“
Yeah Mi- I mean Thomas - General Paine!” Taylor said as she laughed. “You need to try to get more of the fighters from small towns to go help the people in the cities.”

“
Exactly,” added Amy.

He just stood there, not really know what to think. His emotions were still in a whirlwind from Stacy's death, Anthony's birth, and the full day of fighting. Jessica came up and put her arms around him. “You always do the right thing.”

“
It helps to feel like I know what the right thing is,” he replied.

She kissed him on the cheek. “You'll figure it out,” she said as she went to lay Anthony down for a nap.

They were right, and he knew it. The best way to end the bloodshed was to speed it up, and try to get more of those who had already defeated their local Guard stations to go help do the same thing in the cities. He recorded another short message of congratulations for all the success. He praised the overthrow of the president and the Joint Chief's refusal to allow an attack on American soil, partly in hopes of lowering himself on any priority lists. He then went on to ask for help for all those fighting for their freedom in the cities across the county. He made public that he had been shot in Cedar City, but would recover quickly. And he said he wished he could be out taking shots with them at guardsmen again.

As the next week went by, Jessica regained much of her strength that she had lost during the labor, and had started handling most of the chores around the ranch for exercise. It was very helpful for Mike, since he was right handed. And she didn't want Brad doing anything for quite a while. Plus, for her, she was eager to lose the weight she had put on, and had set a personal goal of Mike's birthday to have her weight down to where she wanted it.

Mike spent much of his time listening to the news and what he could find of military broadcasts. He wasn't hearing any Guard transmissions anymore. It was all about readiness for possible war with The People's Republic of Pacific States and the Soviet Union. There seemed to be a great deal of activity going on. The European Union was fighting to hold off the Soviets from expanding further west. The P.R.P.S had managed to fully expel all American troops from foreign bases in their newly acquired territory. They ultimately resorted to bombing USAG Yongsan in Seoul, South Korea, which really escalated the tensions between the two nations. But with America weakened so much on the home front by the crash and fighting, there was little choice but a full withdrawal.

Mike was sitting by the canyon reading, tired of hearing how the two other superpowers were growing, as his own country was forced by it's own economic recklessness to withdraw. He decided to head down to the reservoir to see if it was starting to get warm enough to swim in yet. He didn't even make it to his gun range when he heard Brad and Jason calling for him.

He headed back to the house, where everyone else was all huddled around the radio listening to NANN. Taylor screamed and lunged at Mike to hug him. “You're a hero! You started this off, and now it's finished! You did it Mike!”

“Um, well, okay. Mind telling me what I did?”

“
The Joint Chief's has ordered the Guard be fully disbanded. They're asking for leaders from each region to start rebuilding local governments. And they said they will have a new currency within the next month!” she said excitedly. “This wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for you!” she continued.

Mike didn't know what to think. And coming from NANN, he didn't know what to believe. He showed no emotion. “Alright, I'm going to head down to the reservoir and see how well it's warming up.”

“
That's it? The Guard is done, and all you have to say is you're going for a walk?” Taylor said in dismay.

Amy and Jessica shared his pessimism. Jessica jumped up and asked Taylor to keep an eye on Anthony. She wanted to join him on his walk.

“
So, what's your thoughts on this Guard stuff?” she asked, once they were out of sight and sound range from the house.

“
It might be bullshit, it might be true. Either way I can't believe it's done. It's been almost a year since this crap all started. Some days, it feels like it's always been this way. And other days, it's like it just started.” He put his arm around her as they kept on walking silently.

“So, do you think the Guard will disband, if that order is true?” she asked, as they were returning home.

“
It probably is true. NANN has to at least try to appear trustworthy, and that's too big of a story to falsely report. I think some of what's left of it will disband. But I've got a bad feeling there's going to be a few groups who don't take their removal from authority well. If that's the case, they'll probably do some damage before fleeing and hiding like cowards.”

“
Why do you say that?”

“
History. Things like that just tend to happen when a militaristic type group finds itself without power anymore.”

That evening, while Jessica and Taylor worked on dinner, Mike was trying to think of something, anything, to occupy their minds from all the outside world nonsense for a good while. By the time Taylor was putting his plate down in front of him, he had thought of something. “Hey, you know what we all seemed to have completely forgotten about?”