Chapter 12

[Jack]

A few weeks later, I talked to Janice and said, "How's my ace troubleshooting pair doing?"

She answered, "Poppa, we're fine. You actually picked up another pair in Robby and Pam. Robby is almost Bennie's equal in the woods and may be better in a town. Pam is deadly with any kind of gun. She's learning from me how to go hand-to-hand. Melissa's very good with guns also though she won't admit it."

"That's good. Mike and Jen are on that learning track in addition to their academic studies. I think they plan to be explorers like his big sister."

Janice smiled, "They really are inseparable, aren't they?"

"Yes, Mike never went through the 'I hate girls' stage with her. They seem to be joined at the hip. Both are bright youngsters and I think they will grow to be bright adults.

"Their devotion is a little unsettling at times. But, it's very real. Shirl and I neither encourage nor discourage them. Her counsel is to let things go as they will and just watch. They're young yet and really long-term decisions are still before them.

"My reason for talking to you isn't just to get a news report or to give you one. I have an issue that may need some troubleshooting. George and I are both hearing rumblings from the west. He's hearing it more than I am but Protection is further west. It would be nice to find out what's going on and determine when or if to address it."

"I guess that means you want us to go have a look?" Her statement had a question in it.

"Yes, George and I are both worried that this could be a bigger problem and it needs some stealthy looking around to find out and return with recommendations."

"Let me talk with my spouses. I think the answer will be yes but I don't want to commit without a discussion." She left shortly thereafter.

The next day, Shirl informed me that we were invited over for supper with our kids. We went over there and had a wonderful time. Mike, Jen, and Mary had a good time with Charles, Jr., and Roberta even though they were much younger than Mike, Jen, and Mary. During the discussion over coffee, Robby asked, "What do George and you want us to investigate?"

"Robby, the problem is that we aren't sure. In both communities, people to the west are hearing strange sounds and one couple came to us from Mississippi close to Memphis because they were scared. People seem to be scared even though they don't know what is scaring them. George and I both worry about unknown things these days.

"What ever it is, it's big and that really concerns us. George asked me to talk to you since you were here."

Bennie spoke, "We'll look into it. We'll perform a flyover on the way back and let you know what we see. Then, we'll either take the Cessna over for a slower, closer look or go over by horseback if that seems indicated."

We continued to talk together for another hour. Shirl and I wanted to spend time with them since they were planning to leave in the morning. It was a good time and we carried the kids out to the wagon and rolled back home dropping Jen at her parents' home. Janice called us in the morning on two meters and said that they were leaving but would be back in a month.

About three hours later, I received a call from George on HF. He said that Pam called him and said that Memphis looked burned out with some people in the area. They were going to fly lower for a closer look and never heard from them again! He had called Tom and Vic but Tom's wife said they were out working the farm plowing. She said she would get them immediately and have them call as soon as possible. George asked if I could bring some people to help. He felt that we needed some numbers to search for our troubleshooters and find out what's happening around Memphis. I told him yes and to call me as soon as Tom and Vic could get the Connie headed this way.

I shifted to two meters and put out a "May Day" call. We had established a procedure and most followed it. I explained what we knew and said that I wanted about thirty armed volunteers to meet me at the airport in two hours. We would leave for Tennessee and Protection as soon as Tom and Vic arrived. We would be able to get an early start in the morning. There was no shortage of volunteers. Shirl came in carrying our rifles and wearing her pistol belt with mine over her shoulder.

She said, "Mike is with the Sinclair's and Mary is with your mother. I will have an overnight bag packed in five minutes."

I started to object and then looked into her eyes. I responded, "Yes, Shirl."

She smiled at me. "You're a smart man, Jack. That's why we're married."

My Dad, Ted, and Jim were three of the thirty. We gathered everything and were ready to leave when George called. "Ted and Vic are on their way to the airport. The Connie is fueled and ready. They will takeoff immediately heading your way."

"That's great. We will have thirty to head to you. Do you have some vehicles for us and your folks?"

"I do and we are readying a few more. Are you thinking to head out from here tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, all of us will have personal weapons but nothing heavy."

"No problem. We have what should be enough for our uses."

"George, we are thirty-two including Shirley and me."

"She's going?"

"Yes."

"She'll have company. Jane's coming with me, too. See you later today."

When the Constellation landed, we were ready and loaded up quickly. As soon as everyone was settled and the rolling stairs were rolled away, Tom started the engines and we took off. We arrived in Protection and were assigned a barracks for the men who were without their spouses. All the women except one were with their husbands and they would stay together. That one was with her father and mother and would stay with them.

We gathered for supper along with the men and women from Protection to go over a plan. George chaired the combined group and said, "We are on a rescue mission first. The Cook-Thomas-Sullivan's were on a mission to figure out what was happening around Memphis. We don't know what happened but I lost contact with them after Pam described Memphis as having been burned out. She said that they were going to come around and descend for a closer look. That was the last transmission from them. We don't know what shape they're in or exactly where they are though I believe they are north of downtown Memphis.

"Everyone's instructions are simple. Work in pairs of trucks. Keep in touch by radio. Watch out. We're looking for our people and don't know what happened. Don't take chances though we would like to know what you find. Each two-truck team has at least one medical person with it. They are in charge and there are gas masks in each one. If your medic says to put it on, do it fast. We haven't seen any smoke and Tom and Vic looked as they went to pick you up and return. Speaking of return, we want to return with more people than will leave here. It's important to find our people and rescue them. It's vital to not lose anyone in the process.