231.
"Ben? Don"t do anything stupid. Give any action some thought. Will you do that for me?"
"Yes."
"I"m going to try to talk with President Osterman."
"Give her a message from me, Cec-Tell her to kiss my a.s.s!"
"Ben-"
"Talk to you later." Ben signed off. He sat at the field desk for a few moments, his thoughts dark and b.l.o.o.d.y.
Corrie walked into the room. "Boss, most of the federal spec op teams are still at large. Security thinks we"ve got some Federal sympathizers back home helping them."
"Probably."
"They"re reviewing records now, but that"s going to take some time. They said a number of suspected Federal sym-padiizers seemed to have disappeared."
"I"ll just bet they have. If they find them, try them and then shoot them."
Corrie looked at Ben. He was dead serious. "I imagine they will do just that, Boss."
"I certainly hope so," he said, tight-lipped.
Corrie left the room. When Ben got like this, anything was likely to happen .. . and probably would. Ben Raines was p.i.s.sed to the max.
Ben poured anodier mug of coffee and picked up a field telephone. Then he paused, shook his head, and slowly replaced the receiver. He didn"t know where Claire Osterman was. Besides, she wouldn"t speak to him even if he could make connection with her location.
He leaned back in his chair, thinking: 7 really don"t have a great deal to say to her. It"s all profane, and what the h.e.l.l good would that do, other than to make me feel better temporarily ? It wouldn"t do a thingto alleviate the suffering of those civilians down in the SUSA.
But then, what would?
232.
"Nothing," he muttered, answering his own question.
The field phone jangled, and Ben picked it up. "General Walter Berman on the line, Boss," Corrie said. "You want to talk to him?"
"Sure. Why not? I imagine the son of a b.i.t.c.h wants to gloat about killing civilians. Put him on. I have a few things I want to say to him."
"General Raines." Berman"s voice boomed in Ben"s head. "Has some of that c.o.c.kiness left you now that you realize your precious SUSA is very, very vulnerable?"
"Go on, Berman," Ben said evenly. Ben was determined to keep a firm lid on his anger . . . for a while, at least.
"I hear your traitorous civilian population really took some hard hits."
"So I understand."
"Too bad I can"t work up any sympathy for the kids who got killed. But nits grow into lice, you know."
"You should be an expert on lice."
General Berman laughed. "You can"t make me angry. Not today. I"m in too good a mood to let that happen."
"Too bad. I was rather hoping you"d choke on all the hate that"s in you."
"I do hate you, Raines. That is a fact. And I certainly despise any person who is stupid enough to follow your dubious philosophy."
"It isn"t my philosophy, it"s the will of the people. I just happened to be there in time to see a dream become reality, that"s all."
Berman cussed Ben, but the profanity was without rancor. "And I"ll be there to see it fall apart down around your ankles, you fascist b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
"Fascist?" Ben laughed. "What have you been doing, hanging around Sugar Babe Osterman? Probably. You"re both cut from the same cloth."
233.
233.
"She"s a fine person, Raines. She really has the good of the USA in her heart."
Ben leaned back and laughed at that. When he could speak, he said, "G.o.d, you are a fool. Expound some more for me, I need a good laugh."
"You c.o.c.ky a.s.shole!"
Ben again laughed, sensing he was getting to die man and wanting to keepit up. The general had a short fuse. Ben would keep that in mind.
"You"re a nothing soldier, Berman. You make war on civilians-women and helpless children, babies-"
"You son of a b.i.t.c.h!"
"You don"t know what it takes to be soldier. You don"t have what it takes to be a soldier-"
"G.o.dd.a.m.n you, Raines! By G.o.d, I"ll show you, you sorry son of a b.i.t.c.h!"
"No, you won"t. You"re a coward."
"Coward! Me?"
"Yeah, you. Who else am I talking to?"
"I"ll kill you!" Berman shouted. He was on die very edge of losing it.
"Baby killer, diat"s you. h.e.l.l, you"re not a man. You don"t have the courage to fight men."
"I"ll fight you any d.a.m.n time, any d.a.m.n place. Just say the word!"
"Naw, Berman. h.e.l.l, you wouldn"t show up."
"Try me, you a.s.shole!"
"I"d be wasting my time on a yellow p.r.i.c.k like you. Why bother?"
Berman began cussing, and Ben smiled.
"If you did show up, you"d bring an army with you. You"re that afraid of me."
"Afraid of you?"
"That"s right. h.e.l.l, when you do have me prisoner, you can"t hold me.
You"re nothing but an incompetent fool.
234.
Just like the people you have following you, you arrogant, pompous p.r.i.c.k."
Berman"s reply was nonstop cussing.
"Oh, shut up!" Ben shouted. "It"s always been my theory that people who have to constantly punctuate their conversation with vulgarities are very low in intelligence. You just proved it beyond any reasonable doubt, you halfwit."
"You sorry b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"
"There you go again."
More cussing.
" "Where in the h.e.l.l did Sugar Babe Osterman find a fool like you?"
"I"ll kill you, Raines! G.o.dd.a.m.n you, I"ll skin you alive, you piece ofs.h.i.t!""
"She must have looked in every nuthouse worldwide to find you-"
"It"ll take you days to die, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I promise you that, you-"
"Oh, be quiet, Berman. Your ranting and raving is giving me a headache.
Can"t you say anything that makes any sense, you Girl Scout."
"Girl Scout!" The words came through the receiver in a roar.
"Well. . . perhaps not. That would be a terrible insult to a fine organization. Not yours, d.i.c.khead, the Girl Scouts."
"I know who you"re referring to, Raines."
" "To whom I am referring," you ignorant a.s.shole. My G.o.d, did you even get out of grade school, you halfwit?"
Berman launched into a new round of wild cussing and dire threats.
Ben smiled. Maybe he could get Berman so worked up he"d have a heart attack. He shook his head. No, he thought, he wouldn"t want that. He wanted to kill the mercenary himself, personally, up close. Ben wanted to look into the man"s eyes and smile at him seconds before 235.
235.
the b.a.s.t.a.r.d expired and went tumbling straight into the fires of h.e.l.l.
"I"m going to enjoy killing you, Berman. I"m going to love every moment of it."
"You"ve got that all wrong, Raines. You"re the dead man. You"re walking around dead and don"t even realize it, you stupid, middle-aged, over-the-hill fool."
"I"m middle-aged, for sure, but I"ve got a few good years left before I"m over the hill."
"You might have a few weeks left you, at most. But don"t count on that."
"I"m getting very weary of this conversation. Do you have anything else on your mind? No, let me rephrase that-you have nothing on your mind, you"re incapable of thinking. So with that, I shall say good-bye."
Berman was still screaming obscenities when Ben, smiling, hung up.
236.
The security forces of the SUSA stayed busy for the next week, rounding up known Federal sympathizers for questioning. It didn"t take long for one to break and start telling all. After that, things got nasty in the SUSA . .. real quick.
Unlike in the USA, trials didn"t last long in the SUSA, and punishment came hard and fast. Confessions were read and sentences were pa.s.sed and carried out within thirty days. Treason carried the harshest penalty:death by hanging or firing squad. Very few of the Federal Spec Op teams were taken alive.
Along the border with the USA, die Rebels watched and waited for the action to start. On both coasts the ships carrying the mercenaries docked, and the mercenaries were transported to a staging area.
Ben Raines and his Rebels waited.
Those brigade commanders who were wounded in the 237.
237.
sneak attacks were still in the hospital, but mending well and rapidly.
They would be back to duty in a few weeks.
"Internal Security sure wrapped up the situation down home in a hurry,"
Anna told her father one warm afternoon.
"They aren"t people you want on your b.u.t.t, Kiddo," Ben replied.
"I"m glad we have them, though. I guess all nations have to have something like our I.S. people."
"Unfortunately, yes they do. Especially now, in the SUSA. But you never hear about our Internal Security until something like the sneak attacks occurs."
"Pop? What happens next? I mean, with us and the Federals?"
Cooper and Beth had wandered over and sat on the ground. Jersey and Corrie spotted them and they came over and sat down, too.