“We’re going with the noise flash diversionary devices first?” Deon asked.

  “Yes. That should get them disoriented enough to give us an early advantage,” Jake replied. “Anyone have any questions?”

  No one responded.

  “All right, men, saddle up,” Jake said.

  “Jake, I suggest that you and the others get as close to the building as you can without being seen. I’ll go in through the front door, deploy the NFDDs, and as soon as they go off, the rest of you come in as fast as you can,” Tom said.

  “All right, but take Deon with you. That way you can get both of the devices deployed at the same time.”

  Deon nodded, then he and Tom stayed back while the men, one at a time, moved into positions behind a long row of shrubbery. When everyone was in position, Tom and Deon, each carrying a pistol in one hand and the NFDD in the other, walked right up to the front door, opened it, and tossed in the two noise flash grenades.

  “What the hell?” one of the SPS men shouted.

  The NFDDs went off immediately, making a huge noise and a bright flash of light, though as they weren’t shrapnel producing grenades, the assault team was able to follow up immediately. Willie and Marcus had their M-4s on full automatic. Jake and the others were firing single rounds, carefully selecting their targets.

  There were several SPS inside the building and they returned fire, though the shock and awe of the unexpected attack left them disoriented, and the return fire was ineffective. One by one the SPS men went down, while not one of Jake’s assault team was even hit.

  From behind a desk, less than twenty feet away, another SPS popped up, carrying an AK-47. As he raised it to his shoulders, but before he could shoot, Deon fired his pistol at the SPS. Jake saw a spray of blood coming from the officer’s neck, and, with a surprised look on his face, he dropped his weapon and clutched his throat.

  Deon shot again, this time hitting him in the chest, and the SPS officer went down.

  All firing stopped when there were no more targets. The entire operation was over within less than a minute. The room smelled of gun smoke and blood as at least twelve SPS men lay dead.

  “Check everyone out,” Jake ordered. “But be careful.”

  Jake’s men went from body to body confirming that all were dead.

  There were four more precinct stations in Mobile, and Jake and his assault team took them out one at a time. Prior to each attack Willie had managed to neutralize their communication so that never, at anytime, was a warning flashed ahead. By the end of the day, the city of Mobile was under the complete control of United Free America.

  When the citizens of Mobile turned on their television that night, they were surprised by what they saw. The broadcast started, not with praises to Allah, but with the Stars and Stripes, behind which was playing “The Star Spangled Banner.” When the music ended, and the flag was taken away, there was no bearded man wearing a dishdasha and taqiyah, nor was there some woman in a burqa. What they saw instead was a very pretty young woman in Western dress—and not just any Western dress. She was wearing a low-cut blouse which showed cleavage. Many recognized her as one of the regulars on the Fox News Channel, from before it was shut down, along with all the other national networks.

  “Citizens of Mobile,” the young woman began.

  “Tonight, there is cause for rejoicing, for tonight we have taken our first steps toward freedom. There are no SPS men to monitor our every move. Today, Mobile has joined with the freedom fighters from Pleasure Island. As of today, Mobile is now a part of United Free America, a new state, free of the American Islamic Republic of Enlightenment. Our guest tonight is Robert Varney, president of Pleasure Island. President Varney, welcome, it is good of you to be our guest tonight.”

  Bob smiled. “I’ve done dozens of TV interviews over the years, and it has always been a standard reply to say, ‘thank you for having me.’ Tonight, though, I can say that and mean it as I have never meant it before. Because my being here, on this show tonight, is symbolic of the freedom you mentioned in your opening. Mobile is free!”

  During the interview, Bob gave credit to the men who had carried out the raid that freed Mobile, and he explained that there was an unlimited supply of natural gas. Also, by now, there were more than a dozen places in Mobile that could easily convert the cars and trucks to run on CNG.

  In the “before time” it cost as much as five thousand dollars to convert a car to CNG, but that was because most of the money was used in making the car “green compliant.” Bob explained that there were no such requirements now, so the conversion could be made quickly, simply, and inexpensively.

  The Moqaddas Sirata regime had been publishing a newspaper in Mobile, called the Way of Enlightenment. The owners of the paper, who had stolen it from its original publishers, were run off, and a new newspaper, the Journal of Freedom was started.

  After leaving the TV station, Bob Varney, who had owned a newspaper after his retirement from the army, was standing in the pressroom when the bell rang. After that, the giant press started its run, slowly at first, then moving very quickly as the finished newspapers, printed, collated, and folded, began to pile up at the end of the press. He remembered fondly that one of the most exciting things a person could do was to stand in the pressroom when that bell rang and watch the presses start to roll. It is even more exciting, he realized, when the rolling press was printing a story that he had written.

  Bob reached down to pick one up, and smiled as he saw the headline of the story he had written—though he had written this one without a byline.

  FREEDOM ON THE MARCH

  First Steps to Take Back America

  Mobile, now a city of freedom, has proudly joined ranks with the newly formed nation of United Free America. All ties with the AIRE have been severed, and representatives of that illegal government, whether they be civilian officials, military personnel, or members of the SPS, are warned that if they attempt to reenter the city, they do so at their own peril.

  Those citizens of our city who do not wish to become a part of this battle for freedom, are at liberty to leave without fear of reprisal. There will, however, be serious consequences for anyone who stays in the city for the express purpose of disrupting our mission of securing liberty and justice for all.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  On the very day the city was liberated, Eddie and Jane surprised their parents by coming back home. Jane’s mother came over to the Manning house to celebrate the homecoming.

  “Oh, what a wonderful day this is!” Edna said. “I was pleased that Mobile is free, but to see you children here, I can’t tell you how happy I am!”

  Edna insisted on preparing a dinner for all of them, and during the dinner Eddie and Jane talked to them about YCEC 251. By mutual agreement, they said nothing about the fact that Jane was nearly raped, nor did they give any of the details of their escape, other than saying that Eddie had stolen an official car that had a remote device that opened the gate for them.

  Paul Manning laughed. “Well, I never thought I would say good job to you for stealing a car. But in this case, son, I say good job.”

  They visited for a while longer, then Eddie surprised everyone but Jane when he announced that he couldn’t stay.

  “What do you mean you can’t stay?” Paul Manning asked.

  “There are a lot of our friends who are still in 251. We’re going to get everyone out of there.”

  “What do you mean ‘we’?” Edna asked.

  “I mean Mr. Lantz and Mr. Varney, and the others in the Firebase Freedom team, the ones who freed Mobile.”

  “Eddie, you and Jane are safe now, and Mobile is free. Let those men do that. They know what they are doing, and you are way too young.”

  “I’ve grown up a lot in the last several weeks, Mom. I can help get the other kids out of there. I’ve been there, nobody in the Firebase team has. They need me.”

  “No,” Edna said. “You’re still a minor, and I refuse to let you go.”

  “Edna,” Paul said. “He’s not a child any longer. Let him go.”

  “But, Paul . . .”

  “Let him go,” Paul repeated. He put his hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “Our boy has become a man. And I’m very proud of him.”

  “Thanks, Pop.”

  Later that same day Eddie met with Bob, Jake, Deon, and Tom to discuss the rescue of the detainees of the Youth Confinement and Enlightenment Center 251.

  “Good intelligence is worth an additional ten men,” Jake said. “You’ve been there, none of us have. We need you to tell us everything you know about the camp.”

  “I can draw a map of it, if that would help,” Eddie said.

  “Now you get the picture,” Jake said. “Yes, that would help a lot. Draw a map for us, and put in every detail you can think of.”

  “All right,” Eddie said.

  Presented with a piece of paper and a pencil, Eddie began drawing the camp as he remembered it, first drawing the perimeter fence.

  “What sort of fence is it?”

  “It’s a high, chain-link fence, with razor wire on the top. But it only goes around the north, west, and south side of the camp. There’s no fence on the east side, because that’s where the bay is.”

  “Any concertina wire?” Tom asked.

  “Concertina wire?”

  “Rolls of barbed wire,” Tom explained.

  “Oh, yes. It’s all stretched out in front of the fence, and also on the other side.”

  He continued with his drawing, putting the number and approximate location of every guard tower around the compound.

  “There are eight towers,” he said. “Three on the north, three on the south, and two on the west side, but there are also gate guards on the west side, so that’s the same as having three towers. The gate is on the west end of the camp, away from Weeks Bay.” He pointed to the gate on his map. “There are two cabins just opposite each other, just outside the fence, and that’s where the gate guards are.”

  “What will we find inside the compound?” Tom asked.

  “Just as soon as you go in, there will be big building to your left. That’s the administration building. There’s never anybody there until about eight o’clock in the morning. Just behind the administration building are three more buildings. This bigger building is for the guards, the one right beside it is for the men instructors, and the one right across the road from that one is for the women staff members. The two buildings here in the middle are the classrooms, this one for the girls and this one for the boys. This big building right in the middle of the camp is the dining hall, and this big building back here, the one that used to be the chapel, is where the camp commandant lives.”

  “Are the staff members armed?” Jake asked.

  “No, they aren’t, but the guards are.”

  “How many guards are there?”

  “I’m not exactly sure,” Eddie said. “But we can figure it out. There are three on duty in each of the towers, and they change guards every eight hours. Plus, there are two guards who walk in opposite directions around the compound, and they change every eight hours as well. And there are two guards on duty at all times at these cabins just outside the gate.”

  “I imagine they change every three hours as well,” Jake said. “So, let’s see, three per tower would be twenty-four, three per gate cabin, would be six, and the two walking guards, if they are changed every eight hours, would be another six.”

  “That’s thirty-six guards,” Tom said.

  “Yes, but, if we hit them at oh-three-hundred, there will only be ten on duty. The rest will be asleep.”

  “Asleep when we start,” Deon said. “But they’re bound to wake up pretty damn quick.”

  Jake chuckled. “I expect they will.”

  “Where are the kids, Eddie?” Jake asked.

  Eddie pointed to two clusters of buildings. “These cabins are all connected. The ones on the south side of this road are for the boys, the ones on the left side of the road, also connected, are for the girls.”

  “How old are the kids?” Jake asked. “What I’m asking is, how much can we count on them helping themselves when we get in there?”

  “We have two boys who are six years old, but the older boys will look out for the younger ones. I’m sure the same is true of the girls, but I have no idea what their ages are. They’re all in burqas, so I’ve really never seen any of them, though I know there are some pretty young ones.”

  “The older boys you were talking about, you know them, so what do you think? Are any of them likely to panic, and cause us trouble?”

  “No. I know everyone there between fourteen and seventeen. Tim O’Leary, Carl Edwards, Burt Rowe, I know for sure we can count on them.

  “How many are there in the camp?”

  “There are forty-six boys. And Jane told me there are fifty-one girls. Well, only fifty now that she’s gone.”

  “Ninety-six,” Bob said.

  “The girls? What about them? Can they handle this when we start?”

  Eddie thought of the girl who had come to tell him about Jane. “I’d be willing to bet that the older girls will be as dependable as the older boys,” Eddie said. “I know one of them helped me rescue Jane.”

  “Who was it? It might be good to know?” Deon asked.

  Eddie shook his head. “She was wearing the burqa and I didn’t ask who she was. I didn’t want to know, in case I got caught.”

  Jake put his hand on Eddie’s shoulder and squeezed. “You’re a good man, Eddie.”

  “Yes, you are,” Bob said. “And this,” he pointed to the map Eddie had drawn, “was a good clear report.”

  “Tom and Bob are right, this will help us a lot. But we’ll take it from here,” Deon said.

  “What do you mean, you’ll take it from here?” Eddie asked.

  “I mean you’ve done your part. We’ll take it from here.”

  “No. I’m going too.”

  “There’s going to be shooting,” Deon said.

  “There’s no need for you to be risking your life.”

  “What if there is shooting? It won’t be any more dangerous for me, than it is for the kids who are still there, will it? Besides, in two more months, I’ll be seventeen,” Eddie said. “My grandpa was in Vietnam when he was seventeen.”

  “He’s got a point,” Bob said. “I served with some seventeen-year-olds in Vietnam. They were dependable, honorable, and when called upon, courageous. I say if Eddie wants to go along, more power to him.”

  “All right, Eddie,” Jake acquiesced. “You can come.”

  “Thank you,” Eddie said, beaming with pride.

  It was three o’clock the following morning when Jake, Deon, Tom, Mike, Eddie, and seven others approached YCEC 251. They arrived in five school buses so they would have transportation for the young internees. They stopped the buses on Sarah Ann Beach Road, about two hundred yards south of the main gate. There was a heavy growth of woods just west of the compound.

  “All right, Mike,” Jake said, pointing to the trees. “Use the woods as your cover, and go around to the north side of the compound and lay in some C-4. When you get planted, give me a call. I’ll give you the word as to when to blow it. That should provide a diversion to bring several guards there. Deon, use the trees to get as close to the main gate as you can. Wait one minute after Mike’s charge goes off, then blow yours at the main gate. As soon as your charge goes off, we’ll come barreling through in the buses.”

  “Right,” Mike said.

  Equipped with small two-way radios, Mike and Deon set out to complete their mission. Jake, Tom, and the others waited by the buses. It was quiet except for the incessant call of the whippoorwills, and the singing of the frogs.

  Tom slapped at a mosquito.

  One of the men took a leak against the wheel of the bus.

  “Good idea,” Jake said. “First time I went into combat, I learned from a very good man, Sergeant Clay Matthews, that best thing you can do to get ready is take a piss.”

  Jake and all the others joined him.

  “Freedom Six, Freedom One on station, package delivered,” Mike’s voice said over the two-way radio.

  Jake spoke into the radio. “Freedom One, go.” The order was followed by the loud thump of an explosion . . . which was followed by shouts of confusion from inside the camp.

  “Freedom two, are you counting?”

  “Roger, at twenty,” Deon replied.

  “Get the buses started!” Jake ordered.

  Now a new sound was introduced to that of the whippoorwills and frogs as the five buses started their engines. They waited until they heard a second explosion, then Jake, in the first bus, ordered the driver to go ahead. The five buses, accelerating as quickly as they could in the distance they had, roared the two hundred yards down the road, then through the gate, which had been blown from its hinges by Deon’s blast.

  The buses drove up to the dining hall, then stopped. There, the assault teams poured out of the buses. The target buildings were taken under by M72 rocket launchers. There were explosions inside the buildings, quickly followed by flames.

  Many of the guards had responded to the first explosion, and now, as they came running back into the middle of the compound, they were taken under fire by the assault team, all of whom were firing automatic weapons.

  As the firefight was under way, Eddie, as previously directed, ran into the boys’ barracks.

  “Everyone, get down on the floor, but get dressed as quickly as you can! Older boys, look after the younger ones!”

  “Eddie, is that you? We thought you were dead! What’s going on?” Carl called.

  “We’re getting you out of here. Stay here until you get the word. Carl, you, Tim, and Burt, keep everyone in here, and keep your heads down until you get the word. Then, when you do, run like hell, go outside and get onto the buses.”