Chapter 12: The gathering of forces

"Calm down. What is the problem?" I asked the dispatcher.

"The captain of the sheriff's office just left town with the mayor's family; two deputies left with them as well. We now have nobody in charge, and we're short of officers to guard the airport."

"How many officers are left?"

"Six, all of which have their families with you."

"Why are they guarding the airport?"

"Military supplies. We were told to guard them."

"Well the answer is simple. Bring everything from the airport that needs protecting here; that will free up some deputies."

"I was told there was many trucks worth of stuff. Do you have room?"

"Yes I have an underground storage area, it's very big," I said.

I called the security team to the office and after they arrived I gave them the details. The three of them and one of the officers left in the chopper to go to the airport. Well that worked out well, so I got up and went to see Delmore.

"Office Delmore, how would you like a promotion to Captain?"

"Yeah sure! I have been trying for that for years now," He said sarcastically.

"We'll as soon as you are back on duty, consider yourself the new captain. You're in charge now."

"What do you mean?"

"The old captain just took off with two deputies and the mayor's family, left the area. They didn't say anything, so I assume they won't be back."

"Damn! That will leave us short of deputies."

"That's what I was told by the dispatcher, that's also why I sent a team out to the airport to bring everything important back here; that will free up deputies for other things."

He looked at me, laughed, and then said. "The military won't like that one bit; I don't even know what they have there."

"Well, we're going to find out."

After the conversation I left the clinic and headed back to the Agency office to monitor any traffic. I walked in and sat next to the listening to the radio.

"Any news on the airport?"

"They arrived but nothing yet, though they did relive the officer there. At least he's out on patrol now," she said.

I sat there monitoring the traffic for over an hour until I heard there were four trucks on the way with the helicopter as escort. It took the convoy about forty-five minutes to reach us and they drove directly into the storage area. I walked down to join them. "Any problems?"

"The place was rigged alright with claymore mines," Leroy said.

"Well, what did we get for Christmas?"

"Everything needed to outfit an army. We found uniforms, body armor, weapons, communication gear, explosives and ten assorted armored vehicles plus much more," Jessica said.

"Damn! What were they planning? I thought they were only emergency supplies." Dismissing such thoughts I asked, "How long will it take to move everything?"

"Probably the rest of the night, but we need to hurry. We can't take a chance this stuff gets in the wrong hands," Leroy said.

"I agree. If you need more drivers, ask for volunteers - I'm sure you could find some," I said. "Oh, and have fun but be safe."

I walked back to the clinic to talk to the new Captain Delmore.

"Hey captain, the first load came back from the airport."

"Oh ya, what did they find?"

"Everything you need to equip a small army, uniforms, supplies, weapons, communications, explosives and armored vehicles plus much more."

"Why the hell would they stockpile that stuff at the airport here?"

"I'm not sure, but we know as it gets hotter the mountains will be the safest place. Perhaps someone was planning to come here and have their own personal army to protect them, or to help keep them in charge?"

"You mean someone was coming up here to take over?"

"Not sure, that's just one idea, but I don't think they would need claymores for crowd control."

"Damn! I would love to know what was going to happen."

"Ah well, I will tell you what will happen, just not right now. Maybe when you get better? Then you and your officers will be much better equipped," I said and laughed.

I left the clinic a while later and went to the cafeteria for dinner. I ate and waited for the next convoy to arrive. I was eating when Patricia sat down to eat with me. We shared our lunch with each other until Jenny joined us and then we all shared.

"So, Jessica and her friends are out getting some new toys I understand," Patricia said.

"Yeah, they found bunches of military hardware at the airport; we're bringing it all here."

We finished our meal and we all walked down to look at the stuff from the airport; there was so much crap already and we were only on the second load. We were picking around the smaller stuff when Jenny came out of one of the trucks with something interesting.

"What is this?" Jenny said.

"It's a patch. You put these on the uniform to identify yourself - they have Velcro on the back - but I don't recognize it," I said and called Kristy.

"Yes," she said as she appeared.

"Can you identify this patch?" I asked.

"That symbol is associated to a supremacy group calling itself New Nation," she said.

"Damn! Check and see if this group has any military ties."

We were busy searching through the trucks when Kristy returned with the answer. "The group is suspected to have many government and military ties at some levels but it has never been proven."

"Well I think we just proved it," I said. "These supplies were meant for them and they may be on the way to get them. Kristy, make sure you monitor all routes into the mountains, I want to know of any major movement."

"You think they are going to come up here?" Patricia asked.

"I'm sure of it but I'm guessing they didn't expect the power to go out this quick. Now the only question is: are they still coming, and will they make it before the attack?"

We left after looking at a few more things; Jenny took off to her place, and Patricia and I went home to get some sleep.

I got up early the next morning and called for Kristy.

"Good morning," Kristy said.

"How is the raid on the airport going?"

"They're done; they had quite a few volunteers to help out."

"Are we going to need a bigger armory?"

"I'm currently making an addition to the storage area; it will be an armory for vehicles or anything larger than usual."

"Good, that will work easier."

"Until then, I will be monitoring the area to keep it safe."

"Thanks Kristy," I said as she disappeared.

"You know, I think there might be three people you love," Patricia said.

"You know I think you're right, but you are now and always will be number one," I said and kissed her.

We got up and headed for breakfast, we had pancakes and sausage. We chatted for a while then I grabbed my coffee and went to the swing to relax a bit. It was raining again; I guess it made sense that the increased heat would cause this, but then again, I knew nothing about weather. I checked up on Jessica and her team and found they were still sleeping -- long night. I got up and went into the storage area to check out everything that was brought back. Well one thing was for sure, I had never seen this much military stuff in one place. If we ever went to war, I think we would win! I really liked some of the APC's they had found - they were entirely black - but I had no idea of their exact purpose.