Ashes - D Day In The Ashes Part 2

Chase poured a cup of coffee from the ever-present pot and sat down. He smiled at Ben. "You're more of a politician than you care to admit. You spared Montreal and Quebec, knowing that single act would ensure the province to come in squarely on the side of the 42.William W. Johnstone SUSA. Toronto is in virtual ruins anyway; filled with gangs of street slime and creepies. People will applaud when you bring it down."

Ben grunted. He swiveled his chair and thumped the wall map. "It's not just Toronto. It's the whole area from Windsor in the west all the way up east to Toronto. The area is stinking with street gangs and creepies.

And they've had years to get ready for this."

"Intelligence?"

"None. We really don't know the strength, armament, nothing. But we know they're ready for us. I've had communications monitoring everything that comes out of that area for days. It isn't good. You taking charge of all the MASH units?"

The doctor shook his head and smiled. "Nope. That's what officers junior to me are for ... and they all are. I'll just bounce around from one to the other and make sure they're running at a hundred and ten percent."

"Aggravating everybody and getting in the way, you mean."

Lamar only laughed. The two men had known each other and been friends from the very beginning of the Rebel concept. If they didn't insult each other eighty times a day, one would think the other ill.

"When do you launch the attack against Ontario?"

Ben shrugged. "There's no hurry. I want all our people up here and ready to go. All supplies stockpiled and supply routes gone over carefully.

Roads and bridges repaired. I want to leave Quebec as neat as possible."

"Then when it's over, you'll send people up to clear 43.43out the nibble of Ontario and help with the rebuilding, right?"

Ben smiled.

Chase finished his coffee and stood up. He glared down at Ben. "You're going to box Blanton in, aren't you, Ben? You're going to surround him.

You're not going to be satisfied until there isn't a liberal pocket anywhere in what used to be the United States of America."

"No, old friend, this time you're wrong. I sure as h.e.l.l want a place for one hundred percent, dyed-in-the-wool liberals. I don't want to have to live in the same country with a whole bunch of them. Having a few around is fun; makes for very spirited arguments."

"h.e.l.l, Raines," Chase said, moving toward the door and as usual preparing to get in the last word. "You don't need anyone to argue with.

I've seen you argue with a stump!" Then he quickly left before Ben could retort.

Jersey looked up from the old magazine she was reading, her dark eyes twinkling. "Got you again, didn't he, Chief?"

Ben grinned. "Never fails, does it, Little Bit?"

Two weeks later Ben stood on the north side of the Rideau River in Ontario Province, just east of the town of Smith's Falls.

"I bet that was a nice little town at one time," Cooper remarked, lowering his binoculars after viewing the ruins for a moment.

44.William W. Johnstone "Nothing there now," Ben said, casing his own binoculars, just as the scouts reported back by radio.

"Town is empty," Corrie said.

For a time Revere had his men b.o.o.by-trapping towns. After the third town Ben switched his convoy north, away from 401 along the coast, up to Highway 7. Since doing that, the Rebels hadn't encountered any b.o.o.by-trapped towns, but they still entered them cautiously.

"Several hundred square miles of metropolitan Toronto," Beth said, reading from an old travel brochure. "That probably means the punks and Revere's people are in the suburbs and the creepies in the city. Oh, whoopie!"

Ben laughed at the expression on the face of the usually serious Beth.

He patted her shoulder. "Here we go again, Beth."

"You bet," she replied. "I can't tell you how much I've missed the smell of those filthy cannibalistic b.a.s.t.a.r.ds."

No one was really sure how long the Night People- creeps, as the Rebels called them-had been around. At first it was thought the germ and limited nuclear warfare had created them. But that was later proven to be incorrect. Most early theories about the destruction caused by the Great War had proved to be inaccurate. Only a few U.S. cities had beenhit by nuclear strikes, the rest by germ or "clean" bombs that killed the people and left the buildings intact. The same for the rest of the world. Only a very few things about the devastation wrought by the Great War were actually known. What was a fact was that it had left the entire 45.45.world in a state of anarchy that still prevailed... There were only about ten more-or-less-stable governments in the world. And Ben was under the impression that no one even had a remote clue how to stop it.

He was wrong.

The newly formed UN, now meeting only a few miles from the new White House, in Charleston, West Virginia, had come up with what they thought was a workable solution to the world's problem. What they needed was a tough-a.s.sed force that could go in anywhere and put down anarchy and set up some form of government. The Security Council just hadn't told Ben Raines or Homer Blanton-yet.

In and around Toronto, Revere and his men had struck an uneasy peace with the street gangs, warlords, and creepies. Uneasy, because the Night People and Revere and army realized they had come to the end of their rope; there was simply no place left for them to run. The street punks and slime swaggered about, supremely confident that they would defeat Ben and the Rebels. They did not take into consideration that no one had ever done that.

As the Rebels had pushed deeper into the province, the citizens began to surface. They had been staying alive by their wits alone; the weak and those who would not take up arms against their fellow man had been killed by gangs or taken and eaten by the creeps. Those that remained were the tough ones, men and women whose will to live far surpa.s.sed any man-made laws. They had managed to procure arms for themselves and killed anyone who tried to take by force what little they had. They had banded together in small communities 46.William W. Johnstone and survived. And they had also learned, by listening to shortwave broadcasts, of the easternmost provinces throwing in with Ben Raines.

"You can count on us," the Canadian survivors told Ben in no uncertain terms. "G.o.dd.a.m.n a government that takes away people's right to defend themselves and the means to do so. It will not happen again."

Perfect candidates for the Rebels.

Ben smiled a lot as the convoy slowly headed west through Ontario Province.

"We'll hit our first strong resistance at Peterborough," Ben told his people. "From there on into Toronto is in enemy hands. The easy ride is over." He turned to Corrie. "Bring the artillery up and start bringing the town down."

When the first 155 round landed in the town, Revere, miles away inToronto, smiled a grim soldier's smile and felt a grudging admiration for Ben Raines. Many of Revere's men had deserted as they realized the end was near. In tiny groups they changed into civilian clothes and slipped away rather than face the Rebels. It was a wise choice on their part. If they would find a piece of ground and plant a garden and raise a few chickens and keep their heads down and stay out of trouble, Ben would leave them alone. If they returned to a life of crime, their life expectancy was nil.

For twenty-four hours-from the north, the east, and the south-Ben's artillery hammered the town of Peterborough. Before the first round dropped in, Ben had checked with his new Canadian friends and was a.s.sured the town held nothing but criminals and their equally worthless women. Many of the women had 47.47.surrendered at Ben's demand, bringing out their children. Those that stayed, died. The young children were immediately taken from the women and transported to MASH units to be checked over. Then they would be placed in foster homes.

"What about us?" one defiant woman made the mistake of asking Doctor Chase.

"Madame," he told her, "these children are suffering from malnutrition, they've been beaten, some of them have been s.e.xually abused, they have been neglected, many are suffering from childhood diseases that could have been prevented by simple home remedies, and they have head lice. As for you and your ilk, if you are standing in my presence one minute from right now, I will have the guards shoot you. Is that clearly understood?"

"Loud and clear, Doctor."

"Quebec and Ontario provinces have aligned with Ben Raines," President Blanton was informed. "a.n.a.lysis believes that before it's all over, all of Canada will join with Raines. Malcontents and whiners and the dregs of the earth are pouring across the border into the United States, demanding that we take care of them."

"Those poor, poor people," Homer's wife said. "Fleeing from the injustice foisted upon them by the cruel advance of Ben Raines and his Rebels. We must take them in, Homer. It's the Christian thing to do."

Before Homer could give any thought to his words, he asked, "But why are they so afraid of Raines? I knew 48.William W. Johnstone Claude LeBeau and Charles Garrison before the Great War. They're both good decent men and very capable leaders. If they have aligned their provinces with Raines, they both see something there that we have missed."

"What are you saying?" his wife shrieked in horror. "Ben Raines is a barbarian!"

"Horses.h.i.+t!" Homer said.His wife was so shocked by his reply that she was momentarily speechless-a condition that had not occurred since her junior high school days, when Mule Busbee took her out behind the schoolhouse and showed her his d.i.c.k. When she recovered her voice, for fifteen minutes afterward, the princ.i.p.al thought a hog had gotten loose from the Future Farmers of America workshop. He'd never heard such grunting and squealing in all his life.

"Have you taken leave of your senses?" Homer's wife squalled, her voice on a par with Rita Rivers when she sang "G.o.d Bless America"-in Rap.

When Homer's hearing had sufficiently recovered for him to respond, he said, "No, dear. Perhaps I've just found them." The president of the United States jumped up from his chair, stalked to a window in the new Oval Office and flung it open. He stuck his head outside and shouted to the gangs of protesters below: "Go find a d.a.m.n job, you G.o.dd.a.m.n lazy good-for-nothing worthless motherf.u.c.kers!"

He slammed the window down just as a thump came from behind him. He turned around. His wife had hit the floor in a dead faint.

50.49."How many men have deserted us?" Revere asked his senior officers.

"About twenty-five percent."

Revere tossed a pencil onto the desk and stood up. He walked around the large room for a moment, his hands behind his back. "h.e.l.l, it's over,"

he said.

"What?" his most senior officer shouted, lurching out of the chair to his boots.

"You heard me. It's over. We're finished. Done." He pointed to the east.

"Ben Raines won, we lost. I'm not going to stay here, aligned with cannibals and street punks and die for nothing. That's foolish. We can't win. Raines has us in a box, and he's going to destroy us if we fight. I know Ben Raines. He will accept an honorable surrender, and that is exactly what I intend to do."

"But all our equipment, our-"

Revere waved him silent. "Raines can have it as far as I'm concerned.

I'm certainly not going to leave it for the cannibals and the street punks. My G.o.d, men, aren't we a cut above them? Think about it.

Gentlemen, Ben Raines won. Get it through your heads. We're finished."

"Living does seem much more precious to me now," a battalion commander said. "But the thought of facing a firing squad does not appeal to me."

"Nor to me," the others in the room echoed.

"We'll face no firing squad," Revere said. "I've known Raines for thirty years. He has something that we don't. Or that we've managed to hide very well.""And that is?"

"Honor."

51 Ben looked up as two of his forward recon people walked in, a man between them.

"Says he's from General Revere, sir. Has an urgent message for you."

"Cut his bonds and get him some coffee," Ben said. "Have you eaten?" he asked the prisoner.

"Not since yesterday, sir. Our own rations are a bit thin in the city.

And we haven't developed a taste for human flesh." He shuddered, then accepted the cup of coffee with thanks. A plate of food was placed in front of him, and Ben could tell the man was hungry. "But the gangs have plenty of food," he added.

"Eat and then tell me what's on your mind," Ben told him.

"I can do that while eating, General. Paul wants to pack it in. An honorable surrender. But he doesn't want the punks or those G.o.dd.a.m.n cannibals to get our equipment to use against you." He dug in his s.h.i.+rt pocket and handed Ben a sealed envelope. "From Paul, sir."

52.William W. Johnstone Ben put on his reading gla.s.ses and before reading glanced at the young officer. He caught a quick smile on the man's lips.

The messenger said, "Paul wears them, too, sir. But he doesn't think we know it."

Ben read the short note and grunted. "Are you expected to return?"

"No, sir."

Ben handed the note to Corrie. "One short word on that frequency, Corrie. At 1800 this evening."

"Yes, sir." She hesitated for a moment. "You think he's on the level, sir?"

"Oh, yes. Paul may be many things that we don't approve of, but he is a realist. He'll surrender."

"Are you going to inform Blanton, Ben?" Chase asked later that day, just a few moments before the surrender was to take place.

"No. We'll keep all his surrendered equipment and spread it around to our new allies."

"You really don't trust Blanton, do you?"

"Not yet, Lamar. I think basically he's a decent fellow. But until he gets some of that liberal pie in the sky knocked out of him, no, I won't trust him."

"Then you haven't heard?""Haven't heard what?"

Chase chuckled. "The president of the United States leaned out of a window in the Oval Office and gave a group of demonstrators outside a good cussing."

Ben's eyes widened. "Homer Blanton did that?"

"Yes. A few days ago, so the scuttleb.u.t.t goes."

"Maybe there's hope for him after all."

53.53.Cooper came into the office. "Scouts report Revere and troops leaving the suburbs, General."

Ben pushed back his chair and stood up. Lamar said, "He's sure to have wounded who need a.s.sistance. I'll get busy."

A few moments later, Corrie, who was monitoring transmissions, said, "He's clear of the city and ordering his men to unload their weapons."

Ben nodded and glanced at Jersey. "Relax, Little Bit. They won't try anything. They know we've got every gun trained on them. One screwup and they're all dead meat."

"Right," Jersey said, with about as much enthusiasm as a person digging at an ingrown toenail.

Nick Stafford, a.k.a. Paul Revere, was the first one to step out of a Jeep and walk toward Ben, his hands held slightly up in the air and out from his body. He wore a sidearm. "What do you want me to do with this pistol, Ben?" he called. "It's not loaded."

"Keep it," Ben told him. "You'll need to be armed because of all the roaming gangs still in the area. Come on in the house."

Seated in front of Ben's desk, Nick said, "It'll be after midnight before all my people get clear of the city. And they'll be shooting as those d.a.m.n cannibals and the street punks try to stop us."

"I expected that." Ben poured them both coffee. "You hungry, Nick?"

"I could eat. But I'd like for my men to be fed first."

"They will be. What now, Nick?"