Over the Sierra Nevada Mountains
East of Redding, California
Nearly three hours later the helicopter’s fuel state demanded a return to base. Dan leaned into the turn and peered out the left seat window. Major General Robert Del Valle, Commanding General, California National Guard was at the controls. Currently serving as the acting Adjutant General for the State of California, he banked the five-passenger, Bell Jet Ranger helicopter sharply to the left and headed south. Surprisingly, Del Valle’s questions had been few, and they had ridden in silence for much of the flight.
“Shall we take another sweep over the area, General?” Rawlings said into the voice-activated mike as the helicopter straightened out.
“I think we’ve seen all we’re going to see today, Captain. We’ll head straight for Mather. After we meet with the FBI, Sergeant Pitama can take you back out to your car.”
The compass heading settled on 190 degrees, and the Bell flew straight and level at six hundred feet, visibility unlimited in the bright blue California skies.
“I don’t know that we learned much today, Captain. No sign of life at the brigade’s last known training site, except for that parked truck.”
“They’re gone, all right,” Rawlings said to the older man, who, the moment he got in the cockpit of an aircraft, appeared to be twenty years younger. “General, we made three passes over their most frequent training site and their rifle range. If the Shasta Brigade is still operating out of that mountainside base camp, there’s no sign of it. There’s usually someone there, either drilling or on the weapons range.”
“They’ve vacated the area, that’s for sure. So, if we’re gonna get a handle on this cowardly murder, let’s start with what we do know. The basics, I mean,” Del Valle said, his eyes sweeping left and right for conflicting traffic.
“First, ever since Senator Turner began beating the drum for his secession mania during the primary campaign, the Shasta Brigade has been vocal in their support. They jumped on that message like flies around a pig sty. But that’s a given. Most militia units feel that way. Second, after the general election in November, when that Turner-sponsored referendum for secession passed-by a surprisingly large margin, I might add-the brigade increased its rhetoric, and the sty got a whole lot larger, and so did the swarm of flies. The militia units in every state west of the Mississippi ate it up, and every gun-toting nut in the west joined in the hysteria. Their campaign to physically intimidate California government officials who oppose secession-including our governor-is reprehensible.”
Rawlings nodded in agreement, briefly amused at the General’s frequent use of barnyard metaphors. But Del Valle is right, Rawlings thought as he recalled the deliberate event two months earlier when the governor’s wife and daughter had been involved in a vehicular accident. The California Highway Patrol had ruled it a run-off-the-road, intentional assault on their vehicle. No one had been hurt, but the message had been clear.
“Third,” Del Valle said, reciting known facts as if he were making a case to a jury, “when the me-first, anything-goes, liberal crowd challenged the election results, and the superior court judicial panel ruled it unconstitutional, what, six months ago, the California Patriot Movement as they call themselves, took on a decidedly nasty IRA tactic. They killed. . no, executed, they called it, Judge Rowe and Judge Chen, and publicly claimed responsibility. The only reason they didn’t get Judge Evans is that he was in Europe. As far as I know, he still is, and I don’t blame him for a minute. And then, finally, the governor sent the whole convoluted mess to the California Supreme Court, and they’ve been sucking their thumbs for months, too scared to act. Can’t blame them, can we?”
Dan could see that while the general had been silent while they were flying, he had not been mentally wandering. He’d put the whole picture into perspective, as Dan had seen him do numerous times over the several years Dan had served in the guard.
“General,” Rawlings said, “we don’t actually know the militia committed those murders. It might have suited their needs to claim responsibility.”
“Are you crazy, Captain? What did they teach you in that law school? They did it, all right. They’ve banded together under this ‘patriot movement’ umbrella. Son, we’ve got to accept the fact that we have the makings of a full-fledged, Irish-type insurrection on our hands. A real ‘let-my-people-go’ barnburner. You can see how fifty years of internal war practically destroyed Northern Ireland. Their cities and towns were totally boarded up for a quarter of a century. Believe me, this secession fever will escalate faster than crib corn can flow through a goose.”
“That just seems hard to accept, General, no matter how the facts stack up. We’re all Americans.”
“What?” Del Valle bellowed into his mike, sharply banking the helicopter to avoid a flock of birds. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that ‘we’re all Americans’ line. Every time I went overseas, people would ask me, ‘What are Americans really like?’ Captain, there are three hundred and thirty million of us. You believe we all think and act alike? If only five percent are wackos, that means fifteen million people are willing to beat your brains out in a New York minute, commit the most heinous crimes against your wife-or you-or kidnap and torture your kids. Then-and this is the really sad part-when the police catch the sorry animals and they’re hauled into court, they want you to believe that they had the right to do it, because society treated them wrong or their mommy didn’t love them enough. It’s as scary as a scene out of Dante’s Inferno. And if this secession goes through and California becomes a republic, after thirty-two years in this uniform, I’ll be in command of a foreign army. You think I want that?”
“No, sir. None of us want that.”
“Rephrase that, son,” Del Valle said, his voice calmer. “If we’re to believe the election results, most Californians do want that.”
“It’s just. . well, sir, it is hard to swallow. I can’t fathom the reason for it, or for the senseless killing of Lieutenant McFarland this morning.”
“Well, you’d better wake up and smell the coffee. And as despicable as it is, it’s not a senseless killing. If you had a spy in your unit, and you considered yourself at war, you’d kill him, too. Unless we can get a grip, war’s coming in one of its ugliest forms-internecine-family-to-family, and Mama ain’t gonna be able to make the boys play nice-nice. If we can control it politically, without violence-and believe me, that’s what Governor Dewhirst is trying his darnedest to do-we will. Otherwise, we-those of us in uniform-are in for a guerrilla war the likes of which will make my jungle cruise in Vietnam seem like a vacation. Can you imagine fighting in our own cities? Door-to-door? Against our own people?”
“What can we do about it, General-the guard, I mean?” Rawlings asked.
“I’ll tell you exactly what we’re going to do. . hold on a moment.”
As the Jet Ranger crossed the northern edge of Roseville, Del Valle leaned forward and changed the channel on the radio, listening for several moments to the Mather ATIS system for weather and wind conditions. Then he keyed the transmit button on his cyclic control.
“Mather tower, this is Army two-six-Bravo, Bell helicopter on final, just over Roseville, info Whiskey and squawking VFR, approaching from the northeast.”
“Roger, Army two-six-Bravo,” the tower responded. “You are cleared for an approach on the east side to the guard area. Wind from the west at six knots, gusting to fifteen. Remain clear of the approach to runway two-two-left.”
“Roger that, Mather. Stay clear of two-two-left. Army two-six-Bravo, out.”
With the National Guard hangar in sight, Del Valle banked the helicopter and began his descent, scanning the horizon for opposing traffic.
“What we’re gonna do, son, is smoke the grizzlies out. And you’re going to run the show, reporting directly to me. I’m going to pull you from the JAG office, covertly, of course, and assign you to the CID. I want you to select a junior officer and two good non-coms. Be sure you can trust them, and I don’t say that lightly. Some of our boys might already be in the brigade. . of their own choosing. I want to know where that elusive militia is training and what they’re up to.”
“We’re going to put another man inside?” Rawlings asked.
“No. They’ll be watching for that. Besides, I have a feeling the FBI already has a man inside.”
“The FBI?”
“How else do you figure they got the news so fast this morning?”
“Of course,” Rawlings replied, shifting his body for a better look at the approaching runway.
“Watch the stick!” Del Valle said, as Rawlings’ knee jostled the duplicate control.
“Sorry, General.”
“Needless to say, keep this information confidential, and make sure you get volunteers for your team. It’s not going to be easy. The ‘Movement’ has already admitted to killing those who oppose their dreams of glory and freedom.”
Del Valle flared the helicopter, setting it down gently on the crosshatch markings.
“By thunder, I missed the mark by nearly a foot,” Del Valle grinned as the Bell settled onto the ground. “Guess I need another ten hours of flight time.”
The two men sat quietly for several moments while General Del Valle ran through his post-flight checklist and let the engine idle for the two minutes necessary to cool it down.
“Uh. . sir, I know a few Yolo County residents who associate with the Shasta Brigade,” Rawlings said hesitantly. “They’ve asked me on occasion to spend a weekend with them. I could possibly-”
“The answer is no, Captain,” Del Valle said, removing his headset and braking the rotor with the overhead crank. “You may not assign yourself to infiltrate the Shasta Brigade. First, you’re a lawyer on my JAG staff, and I need your advice during this crisis. Second, you’re also the county administrator, and your absence would be noticed and highly publicized if the press caught wind of what you’re doing. And third. . well, I can’t think of a good third reason at the moment, but those are my orders. You’re not going in. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Rawlings said, nodding his head. “Do you think we can pull it off?”
“You mean the infiltration?”
“No, sir. Stopping the secession.”
“Heaven help us if we don’t, Captain. It’s been tried before and cost over a half million lives-American lives. And it took this nation a hundred years to get over it. I don’t want to live in another banana republic, struggling internally for fifty years to establish our laws and trampling on the rights of others to accomplish it. Now don’t get me wrong here. I understand, and in some respects, I even agree with a lot of what these militia boys believe in. I don’t like these bleeding heart, liberal do-gooders, and ‘anything goes’ crowd, what Bill O’Reilly calls ‘secular progressives,’ any more than the next man. But given half a chance, the Shasta Brigade would kill ’em all in a heartbeat. That’s not the America I believe in. This nation was founded on our ancestors’ blood, and they didn’t always agree with the people they died for. When I entered West Point, I never thought for one minute that we’d be spared the need to shed more blood, even my own, to keep us whole.”
“Against our own people, sir?”
“The time has come when people are going to have to make a choice. I’m afraid Governor Dewhirst was probably right when he told the press that the California Patriot Movement has begun in earnest. Remember this, son,” Del Valle said, opening the cockpit door and pausing to look directly at Rawlings. “You’re in command of a tactical operation now, in what we have to assume is a potential combat situation. Command is difficult, and the cost, as you have so graphically seen this morning, is often the lives of your men. The most important principle of command is a hard one. True military leadership is not whether you’re willing to die for your men, but whether or not you’re willing to order them to a probable death for the sake of their fellow soldiers. Select your people carefully.”
“I understand, sir. I’ll get right on it.”
“Good. There’s Pitama with the Humvee. He can take us back to the armory. I’ve got a few phone calls to make. Be in my office at 1545.”
“Yes, sir.”
Upon their arrival at the armory, Dan went straight to his office and spent the next two hours reviewing personnel files on his computer. He also spent a half hour reviewing Lieutenant McFarland’s file, remembering when he had selected the young, excited lieutenant to infiltrate the Shasta Brigade. At 1540, he logged off the computer and headed for General Del Valle’s office. Sergeant Pitama sat behind a desk in the anteroom outside the general’s office. He stood up as Dan entered the room.
“Good afternoon, Captain Rawlings. The general’s expecting you, sir. You can go right in.”
Dan knocked on the open doorway and remained there, waiting for General Del Valle to acknowledge his presence.
Del Valle looked up from behind his desk and then waved Dan in, motioning for him to take a seat.
As the door closed, Del Valle stood and came around the desk. He had changed from a flight suit into his dress greens. Each time Dan was in the general’s presence at reviews and command functions, it amazed him how the man transformed as he stood. Seated behind his desk, he seemed normal size-certainly in comparison to Dan’s six-foot one-inch height. But the moment the general stood, everything changed. General Robert Del Valle stood six-feet-five-inches, and Dan swore that five feet of it was all leg. More impressive than seeing him rise from behind the desk and transform into what appeared to be an NBA regular, was watching him emerge from a helicopter. It was tight enough in the cockpit for Dan, whose head touched the low ceiling, but how the general managed it was beyond comprehension. Even Sergeant Pitama, a good sized Maori, originally from New Zealand, who possessed what General Del Valle called “side-to-side” presence, seemed small next to the general.
Del Valle took a chair next to Dan.
“I’ve given a great deal of thought to this morning’s occurrence, Captain. We’ve lost a good man. That doesn’t sit well with me.”
“No, sir, I feel the same,” Dan said. “And the sheriff lost a deputy, too.”
“I see,” Del Valle nodded. “Apparently this wasn’t a clean execution. Perhaps the deputy came upon the scene during or after the murder.” The general looked at Dan for several seconds, the silence broken only when he replaced his coffee cup on its saucer. “This would be your first operational loss, wouldn’t it, Captain?”
Dan looked up briefly, surprised by Del Valle’s choice of words-rather a cold, impersonal definition, it seemed. “I hadn’t thought of it in those terms, General.”
“That’s exactly how you must think of it. You’ll recall I told you command could be expensive. I didn’t mean that lightly, or flippantly, but I neglected to tell you that it would also cost you, in emotional terms. Some men can’t stand the responsibility of having to order other men into situations where their lives may be in danger. Look, son, we may not be storming a beachhead, but believe me, there are many kinds of war. These militants chose to pursue the cowardly kind. I suppose they have no choice if they intend to wage war at all, but be that as it may, we’re at war with them. And I’m afraid it’s only going to get worse.”
“How do you mean, sir?”
“After we got back, I got on the horn to the Pentagon-General Roberts, CID. I asked him if he had any knowledge of why two FBI agents would show up so quickly at the murder of one of my officers.”
Del Valle rose and refilled his coffee cup, returning to his seat and replacing the cup on its saucer. Dan waited for him to continue at his own pace.
“It appears that, as I suspected, the FBI has their own version of ‘Deadbolt,’ and we have to assume that includes an insider. In light of the recent so-called executions, it would make sense. The murder of two federal judges would require it, I suppose.”
“Including infiltration, you say?” Dan asked.
“General Roberts wasn’t able to tell me more, but we have to assume they would be as thorough as possible. He did, however, tell me that the CID has kept the FBI and a special unit from the CIA fully briefed on our investigations.”
“Then you were right. If the FBI’s got a man on the inside, that would explain how they knew about McFarland so fast.” Dan hesitated a moment, looking toward the large window behind the general’s seat and suddenly back at Del Valle. “But, sir, if they knew about McFarland, why didn’t-”
“Why didn’t they warn us, or try to prevent his death?” Del Valle asked. “I don’t know, but I darned sure will find out when your two FBI guys arrive.”
“Agent Samuels and Agent Bentley are their names. I failed to mention, sir, that Agent Bentley is a woman.”
“Who’s senior?”
“They weren’t introduced that way, sir, but based upon their ages, I believe Samuels is the lead agent. He’s mid to late forties, and Bentley is in her late twenties.”
The telephone intercom on Del Valle’s desk buzzed, and Sergeant Pitama spoke. “Excuse me, General, the FBI agents you were expecting have arrived.”
Del Valle stood and pressed the key on his telephone. “I’ll be with them in a moment.”
“Yes, sir,” Pitama replied.
Del Valle stared down at Dan for a moment before speaking. “We’ll be involved in a jurisdictional turf war here, Captain. Keep your cool and let me do the talking.”
Dan rose and nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Del Valle stepped to the door, opening it and smiling at his guests.
“Good morning, I’m Bob Del Valle. Please, come in and have a seat. This is my JAG officer, Captain Daniel Rawlings, whom I believe you’ve already met.”
“We have,” Agent Samuels said, shaking hands with Del Valle. “I’m Special Agent Al Samuels, and this is my partner, Special Agent Nicole Bentley. We appreciate your giving us some of your time, General-under trying circumstances, of course.”
Del Valle closed the door, and as his guests took their seats in front of his desk, he assumed his position behind it.
“Now I want to know two things, Mr. Samuels-I assume you are in charge here.”
“I’m the senior agent in-”
“Good,” Del Valle interrupted, his demeanor brusque and his delivery abrupt. “I want to know why didn’t your agent inside the brigade prevent this needless death, or, if that was not possible, why didn’t he notify you, or us, so we could have taken some action to save this young officer’s life?”
Dan smiled inwardly. Keep your cool, Captain. . while I go for the throat.
Samuels was visibly startled by Del Valle’s opening thrust, trying unsuccessfully to regain the initiative.
“General, we, uh, we’ve made no mention of any contact with-uh, was it the brigade, you said?”
Del Valle kept a straight face, his body language stiff and formal.
“Don’t jerk me around, Samuels. I’m the Adjutant General of the California National Guard, and I want some answers. We both know we’re talking about the Shasta Brigade, a loosely organized band of rabble headquartered about a hundred miles north of Sacramento, up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They killed that boy sometime during the night, and you knew about it.”
“General, I’m not able-”
“Well, I am able,” Del Valle said, banging his fist on the desk. He glanced at his watch and firmly pressed the speaker button on his telephone.
“Sergeant Pitama!” he bellowed.
Instantly the reply came. “Yes, General?”
“Sergeant, get the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the horn immediately.”
“Yes, sir. Right away, sir.”
Del Valle looked directly at Samuels, who held his upright posture for a few seconds, and then his shoulders visibly slumped.
“General, I’ll tell you what I can without jeopardizing our operation.”
“What you can?” Del Valle repeated, leaning forward.
“General, give me a break here. I work under the same confidentiality and ‘need-to-know’ security restrictions that you do.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Again Del Valle punched his speakerphone. “Sergeant, cancel that call.”
“Yes, sir.”
He punched off the speakerphone and leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers in front of his chest, waiting for Samuels to speak.
Slowly, Samuels smiled at Del Valle. “Now I recall why I got out of the army as a captain after my first hitch, General. I wasn’t willing to put that burr under anybody else’s saddle, and I wasn’t willing to live with one under mine.”
The room was instantly silent, and Dan caught a brief glimpse of Agent Bentley, who to this point hadn’t spoken a word. Her face was pale, and clearly the exchange between the two men had given her pause. She caught Dan’s eye momentarily, and he allowed a brief, subtle smile to cross his lips, looking away before she could respond.
“Now, Agent Samuels-and Agent Bentley,” Del Valle said, smiling at the young woman for the first time, “I’ll do the best I can to remove the burr from my saddle so we can reach some joint conclusions. We are on similar tracks, I think, and we do work for the same government, and it increasingly appears as though we are facing the same enemy.”
Samuels nodded. “General, here it is in a nutshell: for several years, the bureau has been investigating nine selected militia units throughout western America. There are many more, of course, and we keep tabs on them all, but these nine have, well, shall we say, become a bit more operational in the past two years. We have a mobile strike team, but as yet have taken no overt action against any of their command headquarters. Each field office of the bureau-those nearest the militia units-has two or four agents assigned to investigate their activities. In the San Francisco office, that’s Agent Bentley and myself.
“The Shasta Brigade is indeed quite operational, and contrary to your ‘loosely organized’ description, they are quite well organized and have recently gone completely underground. We expected that, after the movement took public responsibility for the murder of the Superior Court judges. We’ve attributed seven bank robberies to them over the past year-seven we can confirm. That’s their main source of funding. Seems they’ve taken a lesson from the IRA and other terrorist organizations in how to raise money. We’re also aware of your ‘Deadbolt’ operation-your attempt to infiltrate the brigade and determine how many members of your National Guard unit participate.”
Del Valle looked quickly at Dan, who shook his head slightly and shrugged.
“As to the murdered officer,” Samuels continued, “we received a call around four o’clock this morning about a possible killing, but the caller had to disconnect. . or was disconnected. I called Agent Bentley, and we headed for Sacramento, hoping to receive further information along the way that would enable us to intervene. We heard the police band radio call first, however, and cut across I-505 into Woodland where we met Sheriff Sanchez. Our information was limited, believe me, and when we saw your lieutenant. . well, it was as difficult for us as it was for Captain Rawlings. If we could have prevented it, General Del Valle, I can assure you we would have done so. Remember, there was a law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty as well.”
“I understand,” Del Valle said. “And I apologize for any unintended implication that you didn’t care. Please, go on.”
“There’s not a lot more, General. We have the identity of about two dozen, full-time regulars in the brigade, and they also have another fifty or so part-time regulars, but their total numbers probably exceed full-company strength-well over two, maybe even three hundred men and women. These newer guys don’t know much about the true objectives or the specific operations. It’s the central core of two dozen or so-most with criminal records-who call the shots. Their commander, a man named Jackson Shaw, is also former Army-West Point, class of ’87-discharged for negligence in the field, resulting in the loss of several men under his command.”
Del Valle looked at Dan. “Do we know anything about Shaw?”
“Yes, sir,” Dan replied. “We’ve pulled his package.”
“His package?” Agent Bentley spoke up for the first time.
“His personnel file, Ms. Bentley,” Dan explained. “His record of service in the Army.”
“General, that’s about all I can share without stepping over my limits. I hope you understand,” Samuels said.
“Are any of these regular brigade members you’ve identified also members of the guard?”
Samuels nodded toward Bentley.
“General Del Valle, Agent Samuels has assigned me to run background checks on the core members of the Shasta Brigade. None of the central leadership is involved with your guard unit, but over half have extensive military backgrounds. Shaw and his cadre of followers have dropped completely out of sight. Nearly a dozen of the new recruits are also members of the 324th, and over fifty more are either active duty military or belong to various military reserve units. The brigade is on an extensive recruiting campaign, General. They’re growing larger and getting bolder all the time. We’ve suspected them of killing some dissident members or new recruits who wanted out, and as we’ve said, the patriot movement has claimed responsibility for killing the federal judges. But to our knowledge, this is the first time they’ve executed a federal military officer.”
“Why now?” Del Valle asked. “And how does the Shasta Brigade fit into this patriot movement?”
“We believe that all the California militia units have banded together, calling themselves the California Patriot Movement and hiding their individual actions behind the larger facade,” Bentley said. “Whether there is a central command structure yet, we don’t know. And as to why now, we believe they’ve embraced Senator Turner’s appeal for secession. It’s the clarion call they’ve needed.”
“And who killed McFarland?” Del Valle asked.
“That’s what we’re looking to find out, General,” she responded. “But we can assume that they’re sufficiently aware of military intelligence procedure to realize that our side needs to infiltrate their operations. They’ve probably established an internal security unit.”
“You mean an assassination squad,” Del Valle said.
“Exactly, General.”
Del Valle looked at the female agent. “We’ll have to go about it a bit more carefully, Agent Bentley, but we need to know what’s going on inside the brigade and the other militia units. We’ve developed a small internal group for just that purpose. Captain Rawlings is a JAG officer-a lawyer-as he’s most likely explained. But several months ago, I selected him to run an internal investigation with one of our Criminal Investigation Division agents. Only three other people know of his assignment: Colonel Harman, who serves as the battalion commander, myself, and the CID agent with whom he works.”
“General,” Bentley said, leaning forward in her chair and looking nearly straight up into Del Valle’s face, “we are sincerely sorry for the death of your officer. I want you to know that if there was any way, anything, we could have done to prevent it, we would have acted.”
“Thank you, Agent Bentley. Captain Rawlings,” Del Valle said, “Take the agents to your office and share what information you’ve gleaned through ‘Deadbolt.’ No holds barred, Captain-give them everything you’ve got, and don’t be surprised,” he smiled, looking back at Samuels, “if they already know most, or even all, of it.”
“Yes, sir,” Dan said, standing up. “And, sir, Lieutenant McFarland was married only about eight months ago, and-”
Del Valle held up his hand, nodded slightly, then stood and headed for the door. As they reached the exit, Del Valle turned and faced Dan. “Son, this part of our job never gets easier. When you finish with these folks, we have a visit to make-to Mrs. McFarland.”
“Sir, I should be in dress uniform, instead of BDUs?”
“It’s not necessary, Captain,” he said, shaking his head. “Mrs. McFarland won’t notice.”
Just before noon, First Sergeant Otto Krueger was back at a long-abandoned Shasta Brigade headquarters after dropping off the two recruits. The warning he gave them-that they would think Lieutenant McFarland had enjoyed a peaceful death compared to theirs if they opened their mouths-would keep them silent for a few days. He then drove north and turned off the highway onto a side road, heading up into the mountains.
Discharged from the Army’s Special Operations Group after fourteen years of service, Krueger had been accused of beating up the Fort Ord base chaplain. The fact that Krueger had also been suspected of selling military hardware to Bay Area gang members, and the resultant investigation would likely uncover security breaches, aided in the post commander’s decision not to prosecute. Krueger had agreed to a general discharge to avoid Leavenworth Prison, and the commander agreed to the discharge to avoid publicity and discredit to his career.
Leaving the Army, the former Green Beret settled in the northern California mountains near Yreka. He floundered around for several years, moving from job to job until he finally worked his way up to assistant manager at K-Mart.
One Saturday afternoon, Krueger intervened in a parking lot dispute between a yuppie, who acted as if his black belt inured him to injury, and a couple of teenagers who happened to scratch the yuppie’s highly polished BMW as they walked by. Krueger asked the parties to let the matter go and move on peacefully. The yuppie took umbrage at the middle-aged man’s interference and ended up throwing a punch. Parrying the younger man’s jab, Otto responded with a reflexive kick, bending the man’s knee backward, dropping him to the pavement, and rendering him partially crippled.
After talking with several witnesses who were in the parking lot, including the teenagers, the police determined that the younger man had initiated the fight. Nevertheless, the K-Mart regional director felt that the image of a “don’t-mess-with-me” black-belt assistant manager was not in the best interest of good public relations, and Krueger was dismissed with four weeks’ severance pay.
A week later, one of the parking lot witnesses approached Krueger, who was still out of work and disgruntled, and introduced himself as Jackson Shaw. After some preliminary discussion, Shaw said he was the commander of a local militia unit that could use a man with Krueger’s skills and indicated there was a full-time, paid slot on the command staff. Within two weeks, Krueger was offered the position of first sergeant of the Shasta Brigade, and he had never looked back. He quickly came to know that for the core leadership, there was no turning back, and loyalty was non-negotiable.
Reaching Camp Liberty, the ramshackle cluster of old, wooden huts called home by the top echelon of the Shasta Brigade, he parked the pickup behind one of the shacks, then got out and grabbed a hose connected to a spigot attached to the building. As he began to hose out the back of the truck and inside the toolbox, a man in fatigues exited the shack and approached.
“Any trouble?”
Krueger shook his head and kept spraying the truck.
“Nah. Only the skinny one, Kenny. He barfed all over the place. He’s got no stomach for it, Commander. He was scared stupid.”
“They’ll learn, Sergeant Krueger. We, too, were young and afraid once. Keep after ’em.”
“My pleasure. Think the guard will try to replace the kid?”
Commander Jackson Shaw nodded. “They have to if they want to learn anything, and we have to keep recruiting. It’s a weed-out game that we can’t afford to lose.”
“We won’t lose, Commander, and they won’t get another spy in here-not for long, anyway. But my problem is making soldiers out of the gutter-dwellers who want to join the brigade. We’ll never function as a unit until we get some trained and disciplined NCOs.”
“You’ll get the job done, Sergeant,” Shaw said. “No other problems this morning?”
Krueger could see that his commander already knew the answer, probably from early morning radio reports.
“A sheriff’s deputy showed up just as we were leaving. I had no choice.”
Shaw nodded. “That will make them more intense in their pursuit. Killing a judge or even a military officer is one thing. Killing a cop is. . well, just be alert.”
“They’ll know we mean business, Commander.”
“We’ve crossed the Rubicon already, and we’re playing for keeps now. We win this one, or we die. I want you to run down to Sacramento again in a few days and find a likely bank. We need to keep up the charade.”
“And these young pukes?”
“They’ve crossed, too, whether they know it or not. Take them with you.”
“Yes, sir.”