Chapter 13

XIII

Governor calls up National Guard
Military Police Deploy

By: Neil Owens
Northern Idaho Sentinel

June 3 - Members of the 401st Battalion were rushed to Hayden Lake this morning. Mayor Lowell Tallmadge said, "We've got to keep control of these crowds!"

The 22nd company of the 401st Battalion is made up of citizen soldiers who have
trained to be military policeman. They were originally scheduled to fly off to Louisiana for additional training later in the week. This deployment will now take the place of their normal two-week summer obligation.

A spokesman for the Governor's office said "We were more than happy to honor
Mayor Tallmadge’s request. These are our hometown boys. It makes sense to use them here whenever possible."

Guard commander Capt. Noel Limerick said, "Well, it isn't the trip we hoped for,
but we're happy to help out."

The guardsmen will be camping out of town, but can be seen interacting with the
crowds of visitors now in Hayden Lake.

ã Copyright, 2001, Northern Idaho Sentinel. All rights reserved.

At nine in the morning, M pulled the Jeep to a halt beside the deuce-and-a-half. Doc poked his head out of the trailer and waved them up.

Angel climbed the ladder on the back of the trailer. "Nice digs you've got here Doc."

"Yup! We like them. Angel, this is Will D. Wild man and sneaky SOB."

"Hi, Will. I'm pleased to meet you."

"Angel is our medical staff."

"Good. Your services are going to come in handy. Good morning M. This must be Meyer."

"That it is. What do you have for us Will?"

"I snooped around most of last night. They run three pair of guards, one on the front gate, one on the bunker, and one wondering the perimeter. There are about a dozen other men and a few women in the compound. There are no children. The main lodge is pretty much impossible to assault. Half way between here and there is a buried bunker where I think they may be holding your man. I can't think of any other reason to put a guard on it."

"Good. How did your other preparations go?"

"I spiked the well just before daybreak. Doorknobs, car and truck doors, and generally anything they might touch were covered with the sticky stuff. Doc has his bomb out in front of the main lodge, and I put hornet bait from those wasp motels in all the open windows."

"Nice touch. I never even thought about bugs."

"Thanks. We do have one problem though. The Medicine Man couldn't find any Jimson Weed. We ended up with a mixture of Acid, and Sildenafil Citrate."

Angel blushed and said, "Oh shit."

"What's that?" M asked.

"Viagra. The Medicine Man wasn't sure how it would work out. He just said 'Make Love, not War.'"

"What's this about a bomb?"

"That was my idea." Doc said. "Do you remember that sleep machine I made when I was a kid? Well, this one works even better. When the sun came up, and they saw that thing setting in the front yard, the first thing they did was send someone out to see if it was still alive. When they get within about five feet of it, a proximity fuse starts a little smoke generator in the tail and it makes noise. It scares the hell out of them."

"It should certainly make them nervous."

"Nope, nervous is what they get when God talks to them. I have my speakers slaved into the computer so that I can talk directly to each of them without the others hearing. It's driving them crazy. The one named Berg has already been in two fights. Every time he turns around, someone calls him an asshole."

"Will, have you got your chopper here?"

"No, sorry, but it's in the shop. I made arrangements with a local crop duster though. I'll run the soup down to him as soon as the trucks get here."

"Is it going to work?"

"I think so. I already have the Ammonium Nitrate and the accelerator in and shaped. All we need now is the projectile material."

"Oh shit. Look at this." Doc said, pointing to a television monitor. On the screen, two skinheads moved cautiously toward Doc's bomb. When they were within a few feet of the bomb, a tendril of smoke drifted up out of the tail. Both men stopped and looked at each other.

"Move your ass!" Came a voice from the lodge. The men glanced back in that direction then eased forward toward the bomb. There was a bright flash of blue light from the bomb, and both men fell silently to the ground.

"They’re out for the count." Doc said.

"Are you sure they aren't dead?" Angel asked.

"Not unless one of them had a heart attack."

"What was the flash of light?" Meyer asked.

"That was what we call in the trade 'A large flash of light'." Doc smiled. "It was nothing more than a little flash powder going up. There are six of them, hooked in series through a flash bar for a camera. When one goes off, it burns up its contacts and the next one is ready to go."

They looked down at the monitor. The two skinheads were remarkably still. No more sounds came from the lodge.

"How long will they be out?" M asked.

"Should be about four hours I think." Doc said. "I made some portable units for your truckers. They work on a Mercury switch, so each time they try to sit up, they'll get put back under."

"Truckers?" Meyer asked.

"Yup. The best friend a man could ever ask for. The ones I arranged for will be here sometime after dark. Will. I think I hear your trucks coming now."

Two trucks ground around the hillside. The first was a concrete pumping rig. Following that was a semi.

"Oh God! What is that smell?" Angel asked, covering her face with her hands.

"Pig shit." Will said.

Doc looked worried. "Don't heave in here darlin."

Will went out to direct the trucks toward the old mineshaft.