Mountain Home

[Christian for Israel]

here's a pic of the kestrel jet helicopter:

SPECS: length: 12'; height: 7'; empty wt: 180 lbs; gross wt: 440 lbs; payload (max) 260 lbs; engines (2): G8-2-20 jets; fuel: propane; fuel consump: 12+ gal/hr; rotor dia: 25'; speed (max): 95 mph (63 as ultralight); altitude (max): 12,500'.


here's a link where you can see it and other homebuilt helicopters and even order kits and plans:

http://www.prismz.com/helio/

here's a link on turning garbage into oil:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/1125_031125_turkeyoil.html

[Christian for Israel]

Chapter 16

The next morning after breakfast, Mel, Pam and Eric headed for the hangar while Jack went to the garage silo. Arriving and realizing the mog was still on the pad, he went to the Toyota and moved it on into the maintenance bay, then moved the mog into the tunnel. Now that the elevator was clear he raised the pad up to the next level and selected a four seat Max and a trailer. Hooking them together and driving them onto the pad, he raised them to the top, noticing that the others had gotten the greyhound up to the surface already. Driving over to the plane he saw the kestrel rising up on the hangar elevator pad, with Mel standing next to it. As he arrived, Pam asked him why he was bringing the Max.

"Well, it's a long way from the runway to the National Guard armory; I'd rather not walk if I don't have to."

Remembering that she'd be going with him, Pam thought that was a pretty good idea.

Working together, they got the vehicles loaded and tied down quickly. Jack and Eric went to the c.ockpit and started the engines while the girls found seats in the cabin. Calling Robin and letting her know they were leaving, Jack advanced the throttles and was soon airborne.

Sitting in the control room, Robin was thinking that she'd been foolish to stop her flight training at the ultra-light. If she'd gone on to the kestrel like the others, it could have been her up there going on this trip, getting involved instead of being stuck back at the shelter. She resolved never to give up a chance to learn something again, whether she was interested in it or not. Who knew when something she had learned might prove useful to the rest of the group.

It was a short flight to Gowen field, and Jack never got higher than five hundred feet. Flying low and slow over the city of Boise, he didn't see anything moving, but experience had taught him that didn't necessarily mean anything. Circling the airport and seeing nothing dangerous, he set the plane down and rolled to a stop. As soon as he shut down, everyone got up and off-loaded the vehicles. With Eric and Mel staying to watch the plane, Jack and Pam got in the Max and took off towards the National Guard buildings, looking for the motor pool.

They found it within fifteen minutes, and Jack immediately saw what he was looking for. The truck was called a HEMTT-LHS. It was a ten wheel drive vehicle equipped with the Palletized Load System (PLS), which enabled it to carry a three thousand gallon tank of fuel and pull a trailer with another three thousand gallons. It could also off-load the tank and be fitted with either a box or flatbed for use as a regular freight truck. Adding to that was the fact that it was designed as an all terrain vehicle, and therefore was perfect for their needs. In the motor pool there were four of them with their trailers, along with several extra tanks and other assorted gear.

Also in the yard were several five ton six-by-six's and some hummers. Jack noticed that the hummers had .50 cal Browning machine guns mounted and he started thinking about trying to mount one on the kestrel to give it some bite. It would mean that the small craft would only be able to carry one person with the added weight of the gun, but it would be possible to then use it as an escort vehicle instead of just for observation. They were all aware that the area outside the complex lived by the law of the jungle and if they were going to survive in it, they were just going to have to adapt.

Setting aside his thoughts for the moment, he walked over to one of the tankers and tried the door. Of course it was locked. Next he tried the armory itself, and after shooting out the lock with his rifle, walked in along with Pam, and started to look around. Inside, past the office spaces, there was a large empty warehouse sized room. Along the walls of the room were cages built with cyclone fence, and containing crates of equipment. Going back to the offices, they started going through them. In the third one they found a metal box mounted on the wall and, hoping it was a key box, Jack began prying at it with his knife.

"Next time we go out to do something like this, remind me to bring a crow bar and bolt cutters, ok?" He said to Pam.

Smiling at him and trying not to giggle, she said she would try.

Finally, the box came open, and it was indeed the key box. Inside were vehicle keys with the serial number to the vehicle on the tags. Also in the box were padlock keys, and Jack was hopeful that they would fit the locks on the cages in the other room. Remembering his priorities, he took the vehicle keys and they returned to the yard to try them out.

Jack walked up to the first HEMTT, found the key that matched the serial number on the truck, and unlocked it. Climbing inside, he tried to start it and, although it turned over slowly, it refused to start. Climbing back out he looked around until he found where the batteries were mounted. Of course, it was a twenty-four volt system, but he hoped the added power from the Max battery would be enough to boost it and start the truck. Pulling the Max over, he connected the battery cables he remembered to bring, and got back into the vehicle to try it again. This time it fired up, and they were good to go. As Pam got the Max out of the way, Jack backed up to a trailer and hooked up. Then, going slow so Pam could keep up, he headed for the tank farm to fill the truck and trailer with fuel.

Twenty minutes later they drove back to the plane, and Jack told everyone they were good to go.

"Pam, why don't you let me and Eric take the Max back over to the armory. I want to go through those storage rooms and see if there's anything useful in them."

"Aww, if I have to." the girl said. Reluctantly getting up.

The two men quickly got aboard, returned to the armory and went inside. At the back of the room was a roll-up door, which they opened. Going back out to the Max, Jack drove it around to the door and into the building. Then they started opening cages and looking through the contents. In short order they found several cases of M-16 A2's, along with stacks of cases of ammunition. Jack knew they didn't need any more guns, but decided to take a case of rifles anyway. He also put five cases of ammo on the trailer, knowing that he could always return for more later. Next to those were stacked cases of .50 cal ammo, already linked for the Browning machine gun, and Jack grabbed one of these as well.

Seeing this, Eric said "what do you need that for?"

Jack filled him in on his thoughts about arming the little helicopter. The boy got a huge smile on his face, and enthusiastically helped load two more cases.

They looked through the rest of the cages, but didn't find anything else they wanted, and soon drove back out to the yard, closing up the place as best they could, and especially locking the cages and taking all the keys. Jack didn't think anyone else would bother coming there, but why take the chance?

Back in the yard, the two looked over a hummer and figured out how to get the machine gun off. Adding it to their load on the trailer, they left and went looking for Warthogs.

--------------------------------------------------------------

They found the flight line easily enough and soon were looking at two A-10's. Both were fully armed and had bombs and missiles hanging off the wings. Jack said "I don't think we need all that ordnance, and I have no idea how to remove it safely. Why don't we keep going and see if we can find some other planes."

Eric agreed, and they kept going. A few minutes later they found what they were looking for. Outside a hangar that Jack guessed was used to house ordnance for reloading, they found a Warthog with nothing on the wings. Looking over the aircraft, Jack figured out how to open the main guns' ammo compartment. He saw that the gun was loaded and ready to go. Next he climbed up and looked in the c.ockpit.

The c.ockpit was different from any he'd ever seen before, and suddenly he wasn't so sure he could do this. Jumping down he said to Eric, "now that I've looked inside one of these, I'm not so sure I could figure it out."

Starting to get a disappointed look, Eric said "sure you could, you're a great pilot!"

"I don't know, the controls aren't anything like the greyhound. I've never used half that equipment and if I did the wrong thing I could crash. No, I think its best we give up on this, at least for now."

Looking really disappointed now, the boy said "aww, I guess...if you're sure." And returned to the Max. Turning back, he said "But it is cool looking, isn't it?"

"It sure is," Jack heartily agreed.

As they drove back, Jack noticed the C-130's parked along the side of the tarmac. Turning toward them and stopping, he said "Let's just take a look, ok?"

Eric was game, and soon they were inside one, looking at its c.ockpit. "Now, this is something I could fly." Jack said.

"You want to take one?" Eric asked.

Considering it for a moment, Jack said "No, not right now. We really don't need one for anything, and we can always come back if that changes."

Not really caring one way or the other, Eric readily agreed.

Eventually they made their way back to the plane. When they got there they found the women had topped off the greyhound's tanks from the truck, and gone back to the tank farm to refill it. Surprised, Jack asked who had driven it.

"Pam did," Mel said. "I rode along, but she did really well, better than I could have done in a million years."

Impressed that the girl would try something like that without someone there to show her how, Jack said, "good for you, do you want to drive it back to the complex while I ride shotgun?"

Happy that Jack was pleased, she said "Sure, if you want me to."

"Go for it." He said.

Looking over the trailer, Mel asked about the 'big gun' as she put it. Jack said "Well, I thought we could mount it to the kestrel and give the pilot a way to actually protect those of us on the ground, instead of just observing."

Mel thought that an excellent idea. "What about that plane, the hog...or whatever you called it? Are you going to get it too?"

"No, I decided against it," He said. "I wasn't sure I could teach myself to fly it without killing myself."

Mel gave him an approving look. 'Apparently he has more sense than most guys after all', she thought.

As soon as they were set, Eric took off in the greyhound, Mel in the kestrel, and Pam climbed in to the driver’s side of the truck. Jack got in the other side, secretly glad to be providing the protection. His H&K was far superior to the little carbine Pam carried. He wondered if he could convince her to move up to one of the full auto M-16's they'd found, if nothing else.

As they started off, he brought the subject up. "Pam, I know you like that carbine, and it's yours to keep, but what would you say to using one of the M-16's we found instead when we go out?"

"Why, is it a better gun?" She asked.

"In some ways, yes." He explained. "It's the military version of the gun Robin carries. One of the features it has is full auto fire. What that means is, when you pull the trigger it fires three times instead of only once. It also penetrates a little better than the carbine's round."

"So, it's better to fire faster?" the girl asked, looking interested.

"Well, it can be. I mean, if you're able to concentrate and use your sights to line up on a target before you fire, it's not any better than semi-auto. But if you instead point the gun in the general direction and shoot hoping to hit something, what we call 'spray and pray', it's better."

"What about a gun like what you carry, why is it better?"

"Well, this gun has a larger, more powerful cartridge. It's effective out to about half a mile in the right hands, about three times the range of the carbine or the M-16. And, since the bullet is larger and heavier, it'll penetrate light armor better also. The thing is, it has more recoil, and you said you didn't like that."

The girl sat and thought about it for a minute. "Could I try it anyway? I might be able to get used to the kick, and I'd rather have the bigger bullet if it's that much better."

"Sure thing, as soon as we get back you're more than welcome to try both of them, and you can carry whatever you're comfortable with." Jack said, happy that she seemed so willing to try.

By this time they were coming to the fence that surrounded the airport. Calling on the radio, Mel said there was a gate about half a mile to their left. Pam turned in that direction and soon they came to it. Driving through, they soon came to a road that served the local industrial park, called Orchard st. Turning right and keeping it slow, they made their way to the interstate where they were able to get up to about forty miles per hour. Jack didn't want to go any faster as they didn't want to have to stop suddenly. Mel was staying about a mile ahead of them, but he'd rather be safe than sorry.

The whole trip, they never saw a soul, but Jack had an uneasy feeling of being watched until they left the city behind. An hour later they pulled in to the complex and Jack dropped the trailer off near the aircraft fueling area. Then, opening the tank cover, he dumped the contents of the truck's tank into the underground one, filling it all the way up. Happy to have the tank full again, he said to Pam "We can go to back to Gowen in a few days and get another trailer and fill this one up again, but for now I'm happy."

Smiling as she got out of the truck, Pam said "well, if you're happy, I'm happy."

Giving her a wry look, Jack walked with her back into the shelter.

[Christian for Israel]

The MAX II is a highly mobile six-wheel drive amphibious vehicle that carries one or two passengers comfortably. Swim across ponds and streams that you would have to avoid in a lesser four-wheeled ATV. Add tracks and you can go through deep snow and forbidding swamps. Like all MAX ATVs, the ability to add accessories like tracks and a convertible top (go to the Accessories tab) greatly increases its usefulness over other types of off-road vehicles. The MAX II is a energetic performer that is a load of fun to drive!


HEMTT Tanker:

[610Alpha]

Just a couple things to clarify the M16 A2 doesn't have full auto, it is called 'burst' fire for the 3 round burst. I served in a Maintenance Unit that had HEMTT's and HUMVEE's and they do not have a key lock on the door. HEMTT's are not a 10 wheel drive vehicle there are only 8 tires on them. The front 4 tires actually turn. We had the Recovery HEMTT's. A .50 cal will not be attached on a HUMVEE sitting at a Guard Unit Motor Pool. The Guard or Reserve would not leave a .50 cal just sitting there like that. It would have been stored in the armory. Just a few details that I couldn't leave the way they were. I also highly doubt that an A-10 would have been left sitting on the tarmac with rockets and bombs attached. They don't load these up until they are ready to take off.

[Christian for Israel]

thanks elittle.

as i post each chapter i re-read them. i spotted the mistake about the hemtt having 10 wheels (i was probably thinking of a deuce-and-a-half) and the door lock, but i'd already edited it a couple of times and didn't feel like going through it again.

yes, i know the M16 A2 isn't full auto but that was the character speaking. i intentionally put mistakes into dialogue as it makes the story more realistic. you may know something and i may know it, but the character in the story may not. Jack makes several mistakes in this story, both in description and in judgment. some of those are lessons and some are my effort to make him appear less than perfect (more like a real person). it's too easy to have a main character who knows 'everything'...and that isn't the way real people are.

the armed A-10's and M2 mounted on the hummer were artistic license. i wanted to introduce the aircraft availability into the story as they'll come up later, but i wanted them to appear too dangerous to bother with at that time. the mounted gun was a way to get it into the story.

i do appreciate your comments, please keep them coming. if i make any more mistakes, please let me know that as well.

[610Alpha]

thanks for the clarification!! I only wish I was as self aware as some of your characters. I don't always reflect the way they do. Thanks for sharing your story.

[Christian for Israel]

they're still a bit unrealistic, i know, and of course the missile silo shelter is way over the top. the thing is, i was writing this more to share God with others than to be realistic, while still entertaining readers. as for reflecting, i'm with you...i only WISH i was as aware as they are. lol

[Christian for Israel]

Chapter 17

The next afternoon everyone was taking it easy. Eric and Robin were spending some alone time together, Mel was at her place reading a book, and Jack and Pam were watching a movie. As he sat in his apartment with his arm around the girl, Jack’s mind drifted.

He and Eric had spent the morning mounting the .50 cal machinegun to the Kestrel, only to find out during test firing that the vibration and recoil just about shook the little craft apart. Even with Jack sitting in the seat, the recoil made the helicopter move backwards, and he knew that the effect in the air could make the pilot loose control easily. After all that work, they had to remove the thing and look for another solution. Maybe the next time they went to Boise they’d look for a .30 cal, like an M-60 or something.

He was also thinking about what he’d found in his encyclopedia software last night. The encyclopedia had automatically updated as long as the internet had been up, and therefore was as current as possible. When he looked up the HEMTT-LHS, he found that the truck and tanks were both designed to be transported by C-130. Thinking about it now, he realized they had a use for the aircraft after all. Also, he’d found that the C-130 was designed for short, rough field take-offs and landings, and could land with half his runway to spare. It seemed to be much too useful an aircraft to ignore.

Pam snuggled closer as the movie reached an intimate part, and Jacks’ attention was drawn back to her. He really felt lucky to have found her, she was everything his ex-wife wasn’t. Whereas his ex had been self centered and vain, Pam was giving and warm. He realized as they sat there that he was in love with her, but also realized she wasn’t ready for marriage yet. The thought of it seemed to scare her.

Well, that was ok he thought, he was willing to wait until she was ready, no matter how long it took. Giving her a squeeze, he went back to watching the movie.

When the movie was over, Jack stood up. Pam looked up at him questioningly and he explained that he needed to get with Eric about going back to Gowen field. Standing up also, she said “I’ll go with you, I feel like moving around a bit.”

As they walked out, Pam was thinking about marriage in general. Robin seemed happy with Eric, and that made it easier for her to envision herself married also. There was still a part of her that held back, but Jack seemed ok with that and she felt he was willing to give her all the time she needed. The knowledge made the girl love him even more.

Walking over to the power dome, they ran into Eric in the tunnel. “We were just coming to see you,” Jack said. “I want us to go back to Gowen and see about getting some of those HEMTT tanks. They can be loaded on one of the C-130’s and brought here, then we can stack them over near the hangar.”

“Sounds good, but how will we move them around?” The boy wanted to know.

“We’ll use one of the trucks there to load them on the plane and use the one we have here to unload and move them. Also, we’ll send the empty one we have now back with the first return flight and fill it up also.”

“Cool.” Eric said.

“Also, we need to find some sort of armament for the Kestrel, maybe an M-60 or some other light machine gun, and I’d like to mount the .50 cal on the mog and make it an escort vehicle.”

“Sounds good, when are we going to do all this?”

“Well, we can mount the .50 whenever we like, there’s no rush as we won’t be needing it anytime soon. We can go after the tanks and stuff in the morning.”

The boy said that’d be good, and walked off to talk with Robin. He’d been wanting to teach her to fly the kestrel, and the night before, when they’d gotten back from the airport, she’d told him she was ready to learn. As he saw it, now was the perfect time for her to start.

Going back into the dining room, he saw Robin and called her over.

“Hey, what do you say to us getting started with the helicopter?” Eric asked, half sure she’d find an excuse not to.

“Now? Great.” She said, surprising him.

As the two walked out, Eric thought about how lucky he was to have someone like her.


After his conversation with Eric, Jack asked Pam if she’d like to take a walk before dinner. Agreeing, the two of them made their way to the entrance silo, and up to the surface. Walking around the open field, enjoying each others’ company, Jack spotted movement near the fence. Instinctively drawing his gun, He started moving closer to get a better look. A minute later he realized it was a dog and relaxed, putting the gun away. As they walked up the animal didn’t run off, and when Jack called out to it, it ran up to the fence, tail wagging. Getting close they saw that it was a mixed breed, a mutt, although it vaguely resembled a terrier. It was medium sized and filthy, and looked as if it hadn’t eaten for a while. Pam’s heart went out to it, and she asked Jack if they could bring it inside. Liking the idea of having a dog around, he agreed, provided it didn’t have any obvious diseases and didn’t try and bite anyone.

The couple walked on to the gate, the dog following happily on the far side of the fence, Jack realized it wasn’t feral at all, and wondered about its owner. “You know Pam, it’s been long enough since the sickness that a dog like this should have gone wild. But this one seems like he’s been around people recently…I wonder if his owner is around also.”

“How would we go about finding out?” The girl asked.

“I don’t know, I guess we could take up one of the planes and look around, but they may hide from the sound of it. Maybe we should just leave a sign on the gate, and another one on the fence where we first spotted him. If the owner comes looking for him maybe he’ll be willing to take a chance and contact us.”

“Oh, I hope so, it’d be good to have other people here. There’s so much to do as it is, that any extra help would be great.” She said.

After letting the dog inside the fence and making sure it was healthy and friendly, they took it into the complex and cleaned it up. The others were excited about their new addition, and immediately took over grooming and feeding the animal. For his part, the dog seemed to think he was in heaven, and was loving all the attention he was getting.

Jack made up two signs on plywood, putting hooks in place so it could be hung from the fence. They gave a description of the dog, and asked anyone who knew the animal, or anyone at all for that matter, to please go to the gate and push the button on the intercom panel there.

Going back inside, Jack decided on a name for the animal, but when the others heard it they didn’t seem to care for it much.

“But what’s wrong with calling it ‘Dawg’?” Jack wanted to know, he had always had a strange sense of humor and the others weren’t used to it yet apparently.

“It needs a REAL name,” Pam said, “and ‘Dawg’ isn’t a real name!”

“Sure it is, besides, he IS a Dawg and that’s what I’m calling him.” He said in mock stubbornness.

Sensing he was playing with her, Pam changed her position and agreed with him, to the astonishment of the others.

“I guess Dawg it is,” Mel said, and the matter was dropped.


Early the next morning, after deciding that they only needed two people for the trip since they wouldn’t be driving back, Eric and Jack ate a hasty breakfast and headed out. They took the kestrel instead of the greyhound, as the little helicopter could act as a runabout and take them anywhere they needed to go as well as fly escort as soon as it was properly armed.

They landed at Gowen field half an hour later, next to the National Guard armory they’d visited before. Immediately Jack walked to another of the HEMTT’s, carrying the jump-start box he knew they’d need. Getting the truck started, he hooked to a trailer and, with Eric flying above him, drove to the tank farm. After the tanks were filled, they went to the flight line and selected one of the C-130’s. Using a ground power unit they found, they soon got the airplane’s onboard power unit started, and opened the rear door.

Figuring out how to load the tank from the truck into the plane was tricky, but they managed it eventually. After loading both tanks they left the truck where it was and, with Jack flying the plane, headed back.

When they had landed at the complex, Eric saw that Jack was grinning from ear to ear.

“That thing’s amazing!” He said, “It almost seems like it can land on a postage stamp. It’s as easy to fly as the greyhound, and has a lot more power.”

“Then I guess we’re keeping it, huh?” Eric commented, smiling at his enthusiasm.

“You’re dang tootin’ we are!” He said.

They unloaded the tanks and found that they could stack them. Jack wondered if it were possible to stack them in the plane as well, but later decided against trying, as the weight of twelve thousand gallons of jet fuel might be too much for the plane. Soon they were back in the air to get two more tanks, and by early afternoon had all ten of them.

“That’s thirty thousand gallons more than what we had to start. I think that should handle our jet fuel needs for the foreseeable future.” Jack said.

It was still early so they returned to the airport and went looking for a replacement gun for the kestrel.

This time they went to the Army Reserve area. Upon landing, Jack’s attention was drawn to several helicopters on the flight line. There were two Cobra gunships and several Huey’s. Deciding that the Cobra’s were overdoing it a bit, and besides, they could only carry two people, he went over to the Huey’s. When he got there he saw that one of them had also been set up as a gunship, and was fully loaded with rocket pods and .50 cal Browning’s. Knowing that this was what they needed, but also that it’d take the others a while to learn to fly it, He decided to put off taking it right then. As he walked away, Eric asked him “aren’t we going to take it home?”

“We’ll come back for it. It’s not like the Kestrel, it takes a long time to learn to fly. If we used it then only I could fly it right now, and that’s too limiting a factor for us. If we could only find some other people, it’d make things so much easier.”

Walking over to the buildings, Jack used the crow bar he’d brought to get into what he thought was the armory. Inside they started looking around and soon found the guns. One of the first they ran across was the M-249. This was called the Squad Automatic Weapon. It was small and light weight and fired the .223 round, the same as the M-16. While he had really been hoping for something heavier in firepower, Jack realized that the light weight, combined with the almost non existent recoil would mean they could mount two on the small helicopter and still carry two people. Also, as the likelihood of ever using them was small, these would probably serve the role very well.

After discussing his thoughts with Eric, they grabbed two of the guns and several boxes of ammunition and headed out. Strapping the gear to the frame of the machine, they got on board and started for the house.

When the helicopter had been unloaded, the two men decided they had just enough daylight for one more trip. Returning, they went immediately to the Huey gunship and set about getting it running. After half an hour of working with it, Jack managed to get the turbine to fire, and soon had it idling and warming up. Signaling to Eric, he took off, with the boy following behind him. As they neared the complex, Jack saw an old man standing at the gate and changed course in order to land close by. leaving the craft running, he got out and walked over, watching in case anyone else was there and wanted to jump him.

As he got close, the man said “I thought I heard the sound of engines over this way, but I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you all fly off a bit ago.”

Walking up to the man, Jack introduced himself.

“My name’s Doug Peterson, the sign on the fence there says you have my dog inside.”

“Yes we do Mr. Peterson, we weren’t sure his owner was still alive.”

“Oh, I’m still alive, for the moment anyway. Say, how many folks you got in there anyway?”

“Not many, in fact, there are only five of us. Tell me, how are you set? Do you need anything to help you get by?”

“Naw, I got’s all I need, except for any friends left, that is. It gets mighty lonely these days.”

“Yes it does. Well, if you want, would you consider coming inside with us? We have plenty of room and would love to have you.”

“Well, that’s mighty neighborly of you son, I just might like that. Of course, if I don’t like it I’d want the right to leave.”

“Of course Mr. Peterson, we’d never think of forcing anyone to do anything they didn’t want to do.”

“Please, call me Doug, and if that’s the case, sure I’ll take a look inside.”

“And you can call me Jack. I’ll tell you what, I’ll let you in the gate and you can walk over to where I land, then we can all go inside together, how does that sound?”

“Sounds all right.”

With that, Jack opened the gate and let him through, then went back to the Huey and quickly moved it to the landing area. Eric, who’d been in the air all this time covering Jack’s back, landed next to him. “Is that the owner of the dog?” He asked.

“Yep. He says his name’s Doug.”

While waiting for the old man to walk over, Jack called the girls and told them the news. Soon everyone was there and introductions were made. After a bit Pam asked the man if he’d like to come inside and get something to eat, to which he responded in the affirmative. Pulling Mel aside, Jack said “not that I don’t trust him, but we don’t know anything about him. So please go with them and keep an eye out, in case he tries anything funny.”

“Oh, believe me, I was already thinking that.” She said.

‘Good girl’, Jack thought.

After putting the Kestrel away (there wasn’t enough room for the Huey yet, they’d have to move something else out first), the two men went inside for a late dinner. Afterwards Jack got with Mel, who said the guy was very nice and a complete gentleman, So he decided to let the guy stay the night. Showing him to an apartment in the power dome, they all said good night and everyone went to their rooms.

[Christian for Israel]

Chapter 18

That night, Jack was having trouble sleeping. He tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable, thoughts jumbled in his head. Finally around three in the morning, he drifted off into a light, fitful sleep. In the morning he awoke and realized what had bothered him so during the night. As he lay there thinking, he remembered the day before when they’d brought Doug into the complex. Everything seemed normal and the man appeared to be nice enough. Even Mel had said he was a perfect gentleman, but the dog didn’t seem to even know him. The man had said it was his dog when they were outside, but that was the last time he’d mentioned him, not even asking about him after coming inside. Then when he saw the dog in the dining room, it had been friendly enough, but had stayed near Jack instead of him.

Realizing the man had lied to them, Jack wondered why. The sign they’d put up had said that anyone was welcome, so why the deception? Resolving to keep a close eye on the man and find out what his intentions were, he got dressed and went down to breakfast.


For his part, Doug figured he’d found the perfect marks. Never had he dreamed that people so obviously prepared would be so open to an outsider. Apparently they were Christians, and he knew he could use that against them since they weren’t likely to do anything to him anyway. He’d always taken advantage of Christians before, and they were usually easy, even if they appeared tough at first.

One of the first things he’d noticed was that the girl, Robin, wasn’t armed like the rest of them. Thinking, he realized she was the weak link. Although the other teenage girl was actually smaller and would be easier to control, she had been armed like the others. Deciding that the best way to get control of this place was to get Robin alone and use her as a hostage to disarm the rest of them, he decided to keep a close eye on her and wait for his chance.



Arriving at the dining room, Jack saw that he was late. Grabbing a plate of pancakes, he went over and sat across from Doug.

“Good morning,” he said. “Sleep well?”

“Pretty good, this is a nice place you have here.” The older man said.

“Thanks,” Jack said. “So Doug, do you live around here?”

“Yeah, I got a place up in Mayfield,” the man lied. It’s not much though, not compared to this.” He indicated the room around them.

“Hmm, we’ve been up to Mayfield a couple of times, but we never saw any signs of anyone living there.”

Doug hesitated a brief moment, then said “well, I keep to myself mostly.”

Jack knew it was highly unlikely that anyone would avoid them out of a concern for privacy. Fear maybe, but not just because they wanted to be left alone. Not after what had happened, anyway. Letting the matter drop for the moment, but more suspicious than ever, Jack told him that he and Eric would be working on a project in the hangar that morning, and asked if he’d like to join them.

“Sure. Sounds like fun. But first I need to run back to my room for a minute, all this food has got my stomach a bit upset. The hangar is that place we came in here last night, right?” Jack said it was. “Ok, I know where that is, I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

With that the man got up and walked back to his apartment. Jack took the opportunity to get with the others and tell them of his suspicions, cautioning them to watch the old man closely. To robin he said “I’ve noticed you’ve stopped wearing your pistol.”

“It’s uncomfortable,” she said.

“I’m sorry, but I want you to wear it from now on until we get to the bottom of this thing with him, ok?”

“Ok Jack, I’ll put it on right after I finish cleaning up from breakfast.”

“Good girl.”

As the others left to take care of their projects, Robin started gathering dishes and headed back into the kitchen.


Watching from the hall behind the elevator, Doug saw the others meet, but couldn’t hear what they were saying. Finally they left, all except Robin, who went back into the kitchen. Knowing this was his perfect chance, Doug walked casually across the room and through the tunnel to where the girl was working.

As he entered the room he saw her standing in front of the sink, beginning to fill it with dish water. Walking up behind her, he grabbed a knife from off the counter. Reaching her he wrapped his left arm around her, covering her mouth with his hand. Roughly pulling her back he pressed the knife against her throat, and told her that if she moved or screamed he’d cut her throat.

Robin was terrified. At first she struggled, but when she felt the knife against her throat she realized she was in big trouble and stopped moving. Thinking about her gun back in her room, she realized she was defenseless. Also, she knew it was unlikely the others would come looking for her anytime soon.

Holding her at bay with the knife, Doug grabbed a dish towel and, tearing off a long strip, forced the girl’s hands behind her back and tied them there. Then he turned her to face him and looked at his prize approvingly.

“My, but you’re a pretty little thing,” he said, leering at her.

Afraid she knew what was coming next, Robin remained silent. After a moment, the man used the knife to cut away her shirt, exposing her bare skin to his view. Feeling violated as the man roughly grabbed at her chest, Robin realized that, unless she did something, he was going to rape her and likely kill her as well. Remembering that the intercom on the wall had a panic button, and knowing that if she could only push it everything said in the room would be broadcast from every speaker in the complex, she readied herself and looked for an opportunity.

Doug was enjoying himself. He’d done this sort of thing many times before, and was confident he had the situation well under his control. As he groped the girl roughly, savoring her fear and the thought of what was to come, Robin made her move.

Seeing that he was distracted by what he was doing, and that the knife had moved away from her throat a bit, she readied herself and kicked out with all her strength, hitting him in the one spot no man likes to be kicked.

Feeling the explosion of pain deep in his gut, Doug let his grip on the girl slip for a brief second. Robin took the chance he provided and broke away, hitting the panic button with her forehead and calling out “HELP! I’M IN THE KITCHEN!”

By this time Doug had recovered enough to grab her again. Sure that no one could have heard her since they had all left the room outside, he said “You’re going to pay for that you little B****, now I’m going to really mess you up!”

With that he slammed her down on the counter, ripping at the button of her jeans. Believing the worst was about to happen, Robin closed her eyes, just as she heard an angry female voice shout “GET YOUR D*** HANDS OFF HER, YOU SON OF A B****!”

Startled, Doug looked around. There in the doorway stood Mel holding the largest gun he’d ever seen, and pointing it right at him.

“Th-this isn’t what it looks like.” He stammered, trying to move into a position where he could get control of the girl and force the other woman to drop her weapon. But as he tried to move, Robin kicked out and caught him in the belly, doubling him up. A moment later the rest of the group got there and Eric raced over to the girl, taking her into his arms and holding her tight. Realizing that it was over, Robin started sobbing hysterically as Eric moved her out into the dining room, trying to calm her down.

By this time Jack had moved over to Doug, grabbing him roughly and tying his hands severely with the same cloth he’d used on Robin. Protesting that he had rights and they couldn’t do this to him, Doug resisted as Jack pushed him back into the store room. Ignoring his pleas, he tied the man’s feet and gagged him, then locked the door and went to see about Robin.

Seeing that the girl was all right and that Mel had gotten there in time to prevent anything more serious from happening, he told Eric to take his wife back to their place and take care of her. As the young couple got up and left, he turned to Mel and said “good job, but I’m surprised you didn’t shoot him.”

“I would have if I could,” she said, “but I couldn’t fire without taking a chance of hitting Robin.”

Nodding his understanding, he said “well, now that we know what his game was the question we have to face is, what do we do with him?”

“I know what I’d like to do with him,” Mel said, an angry look in her eye. “I’d like to stand him up and shoot him right now, trash like that doesn’t deserve to live.”

Pam just stood there, agreeing silently. Unconsciously rubbing the butt of her pistol with her hand.

Fully understanding where she was coming from, Jack said “well, he’s not going to bother anyone else right now, I suggest we all pray about this and figure out how we should handle it. I have no problem with shooting someone in defense of others, but now that it’s over, I’m not sure we can justify it before God. We all need time to calm down, and we need to make sure Robin’s really all right. I think tomorrow will be soon enough to deal with this, and he’s definitely not going anywhere.”

The women reluctantly agreed, and they went as a group to check on the girl.

After the others had left, Robin, who hadn’t really been hurt physically other than the cut on her forehead where she’d hit the panic button, got up and went into the bathroom. Undressing, she turned on the shower, running the water hot. Getting in and standing in the scalding stream, she tried to wash the feel of the man’s hands off her body. After more than an hour she got out, her skin lobster red from the hot water, and went into the living room where she asked Eric to hold her some more. Thinking about what Jack had said, the couple got down on their knees, and sought out God’s wisdom to deal with this mess. As she prayed, Robin laid the whole matter at God’s feet, and immediately felt the burden lift from her. After that she was able to forgive the man for what he had done, and the black mass of anger within her dissolved. Standing up again and again holding her husband, she felt much better, and silently thanked God for helping her to deal with this.


The next morning after breakfast, the group gathered around a table and discussed the situation.

“As I said yesterday,” Jack began, “while I have no problem killing someone in self defense, or in defense of others, I don’t see how we can execute someone after the fact. I know the Old Testament has verses about an eye for an eye, but Jesus taught us in the New Testament to love our enemies, and pray for those who persecute us.”

Looking around, Jack saw that the others agreed, though Eric looked reluctant. Continuing, he said “we know that we all are sinners, and that we all deserve death for the crimes we’ve committed against God. But God saw fit to let us live for as long as it took for us to repent of those sins. If we execute Doug for what he did, as I see it, we’d be taking the decision out of God’s hands, and cutting him off before he had the same chance. That is something I’m not comfortable doing.”

After a pause, he said “Of course, we also can’t let him stay here, as he’s already shown us that he’s dangerous and not to be trusted. And if we let him loose outside, he’s likely to continue causing us trouble. Therefore I propose we carry him off somewhere, several hundred miles away, and effectively exile him. Chances are pretty even that he’ll die anyway, and if he ever does the same thing to someone else they’ll probably kill him anyway, but at least his blood won’t be on our hands.”

Looking at the others, he said “what do you think Robin, you were the one attacked after all?”

Hesitating before answering, the girl said “When I was praying last night I gave this whole thing to God, and I forgave Doug for what he did to me. I think you’re idea is a good one, maybe this last chance at redemption will be the one he’ll take, and he’ll turn his life over to God before he dies.”

Jack looked at the girl with pride, glad that her faith had allowed her to see things so clearly. Eric on the other hand was still struggling, and Jack could see that a part of the boy still wanted to bring harm to the man. But he seemed to be controlling his emotions well, and he voiced his agreement with his wife.

After the group had reached their decision, Jack and Mel went into the store room to get Doug. They found him laying over on his side, asleep, his hands turned blue from the bindings. Waking him, they dragged him, protesting, into the dining room where they passed sentence. Loosening his bindings while the others held their guns on him, Jack said “we have decided not to kill you. We are Christians, and that means that we forgive others even when they try to hurt us. But we still have to remove the danger you represent, so we’ve decided to exile you from this area. We’ll take you in a plane to an area far from here, and there you may be able to find enough to survive on. After that you’re on your own, but you need to know that, if we ever see you around here again, we’ll shoot you without warning.

Rubbing his wrists to bring back the feeling, the man said “you can’t do this to me! I’ve got rights. I want a lawyer! I want to see my lawyer D*** it! You can’t do this!”

“We can do anything we want. We could kill you where you stand if we wanted to, just be glad that our faith tells us to act differently. Instead of crying about your rights, you should be considering this chance God is giving you…it may be the last one you get.”

Having said this, Jack retied his hands, not so tight this time. Then, leaving the others to guard him, he went to the hangar to prepare the greyhound for flight.


In the plane flying southwest, Jack got out of the pilot’s seat, leaving the plane in Eric’s hands. Walking into the cabin he saw Doug sitting sullenly on the floor, with Mel across the cabin holding her rifle on him.

Getting his attention, Jack tried to witness to him. As he talked, the man began to curse him, spitting at him. Finally, Jack gave up, and went back to the ****pit.

Several hours later they landed on a deserted stretch of highway, a few miles outside a small town. Opening the ramp, Jack led the old man outside, then went back inside and got a canteen and small pack of food. Taking them out to the man, he put them on the ground several feet away. Also, he put a Bible down, telling the man that the truth was there if he was willing to accept it.

Alternately cursing them and begging them not to leave him like this, the man tried to follow Jack back on the plane, when Mel fired a shot at his feet, stopping him. Looking at her with fear, he said “please…you can’t just leave me like this, I’ll die out here!”

Jack looked at him and said “that’s your choice.” And turned back, closing the door. As they took off and circled around, they saw the man picking up the stuff they left. And as they turned back towards home, Jack prayed that the man would think about what he’d said, before it was too late.

[Christian for Israel]

where'd everybody go?

[610Alpha]

We are still here reading what you post. I would have thought that they might brand the guy like they did in Patriots :) Now who wouldn't love to have a Huey? Gotta love the S.A.W., lighter than the M60, quick change barrel, can take M16 magazine, Belt fed, or Drum fed. Top it off with a 1,000 round cyclic rate and that thing can send a lot of lead down range!! Too bad they didn't find any other niceties in the armory :(.

[Christian for Israel]

national guard and reserve armories are notoriously undersupplied, even finding the SAW is a bit of artistic license...in reality an M60 would be the most they'd likely find...but i hate that POS.

yeah, the SAW is cool, it's about the only good use for that cartridge i know of. it's perfect for suppressive fire.

[Christian for Israel]

Chapter 19

The next several days saw a great change in Robin. No longer shy, she was self assured and confident. Jack was concerned that, after such a terrifying attack, the girl would retreat back into her shell forever. He had noticed after she

[Christian for Israel]

pic of the Viper homebuilt:


Performance Specifications
Gross Weight Stall Speed 84 mph (73 kts.)
Design Dive Speed 525 mph (457 kts.)
Cruise Speed (True Airspeed) 400-450 kts TAS
Range
Range with 300 Gals. Fuel @ 25,000 ft. 800-1000 s.m. with 45 min reserve est.
Rates & Distances
Climb Rate @ Gross Weight 5100 Lbs. 10,000 - 12,000 fpm
Take Off Distance 1,200 ft.
Landing Distance 2,500 ft.
Rotation Speed 120 mph

[610Alpha]

You would be a little surprised I think at what you would find at a Reserve center. SAW's were rolled out to them in the late 90's. I know what you mean about the M60, I had that duty in my platoon, ugh between it the extra barrel, tripod, plus my M16, and ammo for both about crippled me.