Glen Tate - 299 Days - The Visitors

“We’ll bring in fighters from elsewhere and also regular military too to get you up to 100,” Ted said. “The number of 100 is driven a lot by how many rifles we have. We’ll train you to do typical guerilla things like raids, harassing ambushes, demolitions. Well, demolitions if we have any explosives for you, which we don’t, at this time. But, we’ll be getting plenty soon.” That was a curious statement, Grant thought.

“The ultimate mission,” Ted said, “will be for the Pierce Point unit to help with the march on Olympia that’s being planned.” Every army wants to take the enemy’s capitol.

“Most of the Loyalists have fled to Seattle and that will be the last big battle up there,” Ted continued. “But we want the political legitimacy of having the capitol. Plus, there’s a significant chunk of the Loyalist forces in Olympia,” Ted said, using the terms “Loyalist” and “Lima” interchangeably.

“You guys,” Ted continued, “are a few miles away from Olympia. The spearhead will be from regular Patriot units, but we’ll use irregulars like you to fill in behind the regulars.”

“Irregular” units. Grant remembered that term from the Revolutionary War. It meant recruits with little training doing what they could to help the well trained regular units. Some of the irregular units did a magnificent job. In a civil war, irregulars made huge contributions.

“Irregulars like you,” Ted said, “will occupy the areas our regular troops liberate. You’ll guard facilities. Work on supply missions. Deal with the civilian populations we liberate. Find the remaining Loyalists and capture them or…kill them.”

Grant nodded when he heard that part about killing Loyalists. He wanted Ted to know that he was on board.

The Team sat there silently. They were playing out in their minds what they would be doing. Crap. This was a real war. They were in it.

Ted thought some more. “Hey, with all you’re doing out here with the Grange, feeding people, even a postal service, all that shit, we might use you guys for civil affairs in the newly liberated areas.”

How did Ted know about the postal service? Grant wondered. He looked over at Chip, who smiled and made the hand gesture of talking on a handheld radio. Chip must have radioed in a report to Ted on all the services that were coming to life out at Pierce Point. That explained Ted’s reference to a “civil affairs asset” being out at Pierce Point. Me, Grant thought.

Yes. Grant’s body broke out in goose bumps when the outside thought said that. Everything was clear to Grant.

The guys on the Team were thinking about all of this. Wes was the first to say something. “We’re not regular troops. We don’t enlist for four years or anything?”

“Nope,” Ted said. “You’re like the militias in the Revolutionary War. Not professional frontline troops, but not meant to be. Locals who come together, do a job, and then go back to their normal lives.”

“We’re soldiers until we don’t need to be anymore,” Wes said.

“Exactly,” said Ted.

It was quiet for a while. Finally Ted said something.

“So, you guys in?” he asked.

More silence. Then more. Oh crap, were these guys going to join or not?

“I’m in,” Pow said.

“Me too,” said Wes.

“Yep,” said Bobby.

“I’m in,” said Scotty.

“Need an old fart?” Chip asked.

“Ryan will be in,” Pow said. Ted asked who Ryan was. Pow explained and said he’d be back when he dropped the girls off.

“A Marine, huh?” Sap asked. “We could use him.”

“He’s on the Team with us. We let him in. We trust him,” Pow said.

It was Grant’s turn. He hadn’t said he was in. He could feel the eyes on him. They were waiting for him. This was it. Formal decision time. No more talking and nodding. It was time to commit. Or not.

Grant kept repeating his Grandpa’s words, “Never fight a war you don’t have to.” If he joined up with Ted and the Patriots, Lisa would probably leave him. Even if she stayed, she’d hate him forever. So much for a happy marriage and easy life. The life Grant had envisioned for himself was over.

Choice. That word kept repeating in his mind. Choice? He remembered that he had no choice. He was dead if the Loyalists held onto power. No choice. None.

Grant kept thinking. Hard. He was stalling. He was looking for a logical reason to not join up with Ted.

He couldn’t come up with anything. He had no choice.

“I’m in,” Grant said finally. He felt a surge of adrenaline. He knew his life would be changed forever. Probably for the worst. But what else could he do? Grant was in one of those generations who had to fight a big war. It was his turn.

He looked Ted right in the eye and said, “I don’t do anything half-assed. If I’m in, I’m in to win. I’m a foot soldier if that’s what you need. I’ll be a cook if that’s what you need. I’ll volunteer to help with the civil affairs thing if that’s what you think would be the best contribution I can make.”

“Deal,” Ted said.

The Team looked at each other. They had just joined the Patriots. They were in the thick of it now. They weren’t high-fiving each other. The lawyer, insurance salesmen, lab tech, inventory guy, and rental store employee were now soldiers. They stood there reflecting on the solemn decision they had just made. It was a serious moment, not a high-fiving one.

“OK, on to the next steps,” Ted said. He didn’t want the Team to think too long about the decision they’d just made. He wanted them focused on the job ahead.

“Now that I have the core of a unit here,” Ted said, “and know your capabilities and supplies, Sap and I will go back to HQ and work up a detailed plan for our unit.”

It sounded so weird to hear Ted say “our unit.”

Ted continued, “We’ll bring supplies and some regular military guys out here. We have lots miscellaneous AWOL regular personnel looking for a unit and we’ll see if we can put them in here. We’ll bring them in by boat. Too many roadblocks on land. Way too many, especially given what we’ll be hauling. We’ll need a way to get them from the beach to safe houses without being seen. This place,” Ted said pointing to the yellow cabin, “will be perfect to keep them temporarily. Right off the beach. Safe. With a guard at the road out there.”

Ted looked at Sap and said, “Then we’ll need to get a training facility. One that’s away from the residents. That’s Sap’s department. He’s an expert at setting these things up. Any thoughts on a location?” Ted asked Grant.

“Not off the top of my head,” Grant said. “We’ll get one. How much space you need?” Grant asked Sap. He told them what he was looking for in a facility. Grant took notes with the little notebook he kept with him at all times.

“We’ll poke around discreetly,” Grant said. “Which reminds me, can we tell key people we trust about this?”

“Not really,” Ted said. “You’d have to trust them with your life. Because you are doing that.” Ted pointed to himself and Sap and said, “And you’re trusting them with our lives. Choose wisely.” Ted trusted Grant not to blab, but getting caught due to another blabbermouth was one of the constant dangers of doing what Ted and Sap did.

Grant told them about Rich and Dan. Both were trustworthy and would be big assets, Grant said. Ted agreed that they would be assets. Besides, Chip had already told Ted in the radio reports about a former cop and Air Force vet who were leaders out there.

“We might have those two stay put doing their normal jobs,” Grant said, referring to Rich and Dan. “They can keep Pierce Point secure while we train and group up.” He didn’t want to put all the guards and the Team into the training facility for weeks or months, leaving Pierce Point unprotected, and have crime spike up. That would lose him the support of the residents. The “Patriot way” would have failed. He needed that support for the bigger mission.