Loadman had fallen asleep after the chopper had been airborne for a short time. He’d learned to sleep under stress, knowing the importance of rest and what it did for his strength. He yawned and started to stretch. But as his arms went up, the men watching him raised their automatics and cautioned him about any sudden movements. He was grateful for no restraints; being handcuffed would have been unbearable.
He looked out a dark window and could see the lights on the ship looming up on him and could hear the sound of the radio coming from the pilot’s earphones. He couldn’t tell what was said, but he knew they would be landing soon. Whatever the ship?
Whoever she belonged to, he would know soon.
The chopper came in, following the lights signaling him. As they flew closer to the ship, Loadman could see they were landing on a carrier. The only question in his mind was, Whose?
The chopper landed easily, and the engine was shut down as soon as she touched the deck. As the door slid open, a familiar voice spoke out to him. “Welcome, Bill, to Freedom Earned.”
Loadman climbed out to greet the admiral, one of his oldest and dearest friends. “What’s going on, Sandini?”
“Come with me and I’ll explain it to you. It’s something you and I have discussed many times, something that I could not accept, but you were preaching.”
The man from the CIA looked at the admiral for a few seconds. “Okay, Admiral. What’s this all about? Why have you brought me here?”
Admiral Sandini’s reply was curt and to the point. “Your men brought you, Bill, and we’ll discuss it in my office.” The two men left the flight deck accompanied by two agents.
*****
Diana and Tork were cuddling together when the knock came at the door. Tork rose up to answer it.
Colonel Duncan and two guards were standing there. “Well, well, well, Colonel, long time no see!” Tork said.
The colonel smiled, discarding Tork’s sarcasm, and entered the room with one guard staying outside. “Mr. Albertson, I would like to show you—both of you—what we are doing here and why it was necessary to apprehend the three of you, why Mr. Varner was chased across California, and why it was necessary to bring you both back here to this location.”
“Well, Colonel, we just can’t wait, can we, Diana?” The sarcasm was cold and cutting. “I would love to know just what Cal could have possibly learned that would cause such a shake-up and why we are being held prisoners.”
“Held prisoners?” With a tone of sarcasm in his voice, Duncan continued, “No, Mr. Albertson. A guest would be more like it. After all, you were the one that trespassed, were you not? As for Mr. Varner, you might consider him a national security risk. After all, he ran from a US Air Force secured facility, didn’t he? You realize we do have the right to protect this country from terrorists and saboteurs. Now, Mr. Albertson, let’s get down to business, shall we? After the grand tour you both are about to take and you verbalize your opinion of what you see and learn, then and only then will we discuss your future. Until then, let’s take a walk and see what we are doing here and why.”
They all left the room and Colonel Duncan escorted them through the underground corridors. He pointed out different areas of interest and responsibilities of the military and some of the lesser secure systems in the complex.
He showed them the underground hangars with warplanes ready for launch. The size of the facility amazed both Tork and Diana. Tork looking closely at everything was also evaluating each and everything seen and said. As the entered the operations room, Tork could see why they were caught so easily. The surveillance monitors covered the entire wall. As a rabbit moved, you could hear each thump on the ground.
The colonel picked up on Tork’s thoughts. “We heard you crawling out from under your hiding place before we saw you and followed every step you took.”
Tork glanced at him. “Yeah. We found your sensors after we’d been walking. That’s dirty pool, Colonel. From what I see, we are below ground level, and I suppose there’s a first-class runway up there some place, right?”
The colonel motioned him to a plotting board of the United States. “In each state, you can see blue markers. Each one of these markers represents PPP. That’s a person pickup point. The red, yellow, and green represent destinations. The black ones represent control points. At each control point is a pickup team and a forwarding group. When the time comes, each team will act on the PPP in their area and deliver them to the forwarding group. At this time, the PPPs will be placed aboard the aircraft and flown to the destination according to their position or office they hold.
“Mr. Albertson, they will be incarcerated until we have restored the freedoms that have been taken away from the people and a new amendment to the constitution written to ensure we cannot lose them again. In short, we are going to have a revolution.”
The words stunned Tork and Diana. “You must be mad,” Tork said. “How in the world do you expect to accomplish this? It’s impossible.”
“Tork, we have members in every government position from both parties. We have all been appalled by what has happened to us and what is coming. We can no longer stand by and watch this country be destroyed from within. No enemy has brought us to our knees. The British Empire or any other nations could subdue us, but through careful manipulation, these people have done just that. Foreign troops have entered our country and disarmed our citizens. Therefore, sir, we now stand on a pinnacle of soiled destruction. We have given up liberty after liberty, and the United Nations has more power in the country than our military.
“They run the education system from the United Nations and you can see the results of that in our streets. The time has now come for patriots to rise up and throw off the shackles that bind us. Soon we will strengthen the laws, abolish the dope trade, and remove the United Nations and foreign troops from our soil. We will restore moral values to our country.
“In addition, we will intervene in the sovereignty of every foreign country that’s supporting the drug trade and the new world order. We are prepared to act on these subjects. Members of Congress that have joined us have prepared legislation that will give us the power we need. Foreign countries doing business here will reduce their control.
“The majority of all corporations will be owned by Americans. Foreign countries that own stock in any company doing business here will sell it or we will seize it. Corporate managers will follow the law. Insider dealing on any level will be a felony, and those who perpetrate it will be tried and jailed. We will require all states to pass sunshine laws. All government legislation must be in the open for all to see. There are so many facets to this it would take hours to explain and to certify. In short, we are taking back America. Freedom is earned, and we plan to earn every bit of it.”
Tork had thought about this himself over the last couple of years, but like so many, he had cussed at the changes but did nothing change it back. Yes, he had often thought about doing the same thing, but he knew there was nothing he could do. Instead, he went along with all the other sheep.
He looked at the colonel and said, “How do you join this clambake?”
The colonel smiled. “Welcome aboard, Captain.” He reached into his inside coat pocket and handed Tork a single sheet of paper.
Tork looked at it. “You must have been very sure of this, Colonel.”
Diana looked confused. “What are you looking at, Tork?”
He handed her the sheet of paper.
Diana took it and started to laugh. “Well, Captain, welcome to the new army,” she said.
They had recalled Tork to active duty and his orders read he was assigned to an army delta unit in California. “Well. No wonder we had problems with you guys. I suppose you have a couple dozen SEALS around here too,” said Tork.
“Oh, we have much more than that, Captain.”
Tork turned to the colonel. “What has