Apache Dawn - - (classic fiction .TXT) 📗

Cooper took a long pull from his cup and nodded his thanks to the young man who held the water jug. He and Charlie stood with the Sons of Liberty leadership, staring down at the map of occupied Boston. They were in the local headquarters—an abandoned brownstone on the edge of Cambridge.

They’d been discussing the strategy the Sons were using to harass and disrupt the German supply line. Cooper was impressed by the colonel’s boldness so far. The Sons of Liberty had been such a thorn in Jerry’s side that they’d been forced to erect forward-operating bases—like the one taken out in JFK Park—all around the city. It was spreading the German presence thin.

“So, you can see,” said the colonel, pointing at the map, “we’ve got positions here, here, and here.”

“It’s not enough, sir,” said Cooper. He hated to say it, but there it was. “On our way in, we observed transport ships out in the bay—and they were using Logan to fly materiel and most likely troops in from Europe.”

The older man grunted. “Don’t I know it. I’ll give ‘em one thing, they’re wicked efficient. As soon as we take out an outpost or steal a load of supplies, they replace them with two more somewhere else.”

“How are you set for manpower?” said Charlie, looking around the room. “I didn’t see all that many shooters.”

The colonel grinned. “Most of my men are out on patrol—it’s nighttime, and that’s our time—and Jerry knows it. We’re getting new recruits every day. It’s just a trickle now, but the more they tighten their grip on the city, the more our ranks swell. Mark my words, Master Chief, we’re gonna take back this town, with help from outside or not.”

“I believe you will, sir. But my priority is bigger than Boston.”

“Yes, the professor.” The colonel crossed his arms. “I don’t know the man.” He shrugged. “But hey, we’ll put the word out. We’ve lost a lot of good people to this damn flu. Must be half the town is in bed sick, now. From what we can tell it’s really taking a toll out west.” He shook his head. “Damn Koreans.”

“Hey! Everybody shaddup!” someone shouted. A radio was turned on in the background. “It’s the new president!”

“—likely know all too well, we are beset by a host of trials: the North Korean invasion of the West Coast, the starvation and suffering of our people across the land, and above all, the influenza which is gripping our nation and sickening so many of us.”

Cooper set his cup down and leaned over the map, willing the location of the professor to appear to him. He stared at the labyrinth of streets as he listened to his new commander in chief.

“Let me assure you, I will not rest until we as a people have utterly destroyed each of these threats. In order to do this, we must have a functioning government again, not the tyrannical boondoggle that has been created by Vice President Barron.”

“Preachin’ to the choir, brother,” muttered Charlie.

The President’s voice rose in strength. “He illegally seized power in a time of national emergency to advance his twisted political ambition—this runs counter to everything our founding fathers fought and bled for, and insults the sacrifice that every patriot in uniform has made for this country since the Revolution. “

Cooper looked up at the men gathered around the radio. Modern-day Minutemen. Scions of the Revolution. He grinned.

“I will not stand for this affront to our liberties and will stop at nothing to bring this criminal and his co-conspirators to justice!”

“Colonel, thank you for the refreshments. I think it’s time me and my boys get on with our mission. You’ve seen the radios and gear we brought…?”

“Yes, thank you, Lieutenant. We’ll put them to good use. I’ve already started to distribute the good stuff to the boys in the field. You be sure to spread the word about us and what we’re doing when you get back to…wherever you came from.”

“Will do, sir.” Cooper picked up his rifle. His team gathered gear and put their game faces on. “Let’s go find us a professor, boys.”