“What do you think, Jake?” Deon asked. “Should we contact them?”
“How would we do that?” Jake asked.
“He said he could be contacted on fifty-one ten LSB,” Willie said. “I think we could get through. We’ve got a pretty good antenna system here now. I have it attached to the top of the lighthouse tower.
“Alright, give it a try.”
“This is Phoenix, calling on fifty-one ten LSB. Does anyone read me? Over.”
Willie released the switch and listened, but got no response, so he tried again.
“This is Phoenix, calling on fifty-one ten LSB. Does anyone read? Over.”
“Phoenix, this is Firebase Freedom. Over.”
“Hey, we got someone!” Willie said.
Everyone gathered around the radio then to listen.
“Phoenix, this is Firebase Freedom. Go ahead.”
“Tell him we are trying to make contact with the Brotherhood of Liberty,” Jake said.
“Firebase Freedom, we are trying to make contact with the Brotherhood of Liberty. Over.”
“For what purpose, Phoenix? Over.”
Jake reached for the microphone, and Willie handed to him. “Firebase Freedom, we want to discuss mutual goals,” he said. “Over.”
“This is a different voice, over. Identify yourself.”
“This is Phoenix.” Jake paused for a moment, then looked at the others. “Six,” he added. “Do you copy? I am Phoenix Six.”
“All right,” Deon said. “The six is back.” He, Marcus, John, and Willie gave each other high fives.
“What is six?” Cille asked.
“It means the commanding officer,” Bob said with a broad grin. “I’m glad to see that some things haven’t changed since I retired.”
“Roger, Phoenix Six,” Firebase Freedom responded. “If you don’t mind, I would like to authenticate.”
“How are we going to do that without an SOI?”
“I authenticate silent seven.”
Jake released the mic button and looked at the others. “Does anyone know what the hell he is talking about?”
“Respond, faithful five,” Bob said.
“What?”
“Respond with ‘faithful five,’” Bob repeated.
Jake keyed the mic again. “Faithful five. I say again, faithful five.”
“Welcome home, brother,” Firebase Freedom said.
“Tell him welcome home,” Bob said.
“Welcome home,” Jake said.
“Maintain contact, Phoenix. As things develop, we will keep you apprised. Over.”
“Will do. Out,” Jake said.
Jake looked at Bob. “Okay, so tell me what the hell I was talking about.”
“He was talking about the eleven general orders for sentry duty,” Bob said. “Silent seven is the seventh general order—I will speak to no one except in the line of duty. Faithful five is the fifth general order—I will quit my post only when properly relieved. Of the eleven general orders, they are the only two that have nicknames.”
“Eleven general orders? What are you talking about?” Deon asked. “There are only three.”
Bob chuckled. “Maybe there are only three now,” he said. “But there were eleven when I was in the Army, and evidently when Firebase Freedom was, as well, since he is a Vietnam vet.”
“How do you know he is a Vietnam vet?”
“Welcome home,” Bob said. “We never got a welcome home, so that is sort of a code we use with each other.”
“How come you never got a welcome home?” Willie asked.
“It was the way the war was fought, and the way we deployed,” Bob said. “We went to Vietnam as individuals, we came back as individuals. Oh, there would be one hundred fifty to two hundred others on the plane with you, but you didn’t know any of them. When you arrived at Oakland, you would be greeted with jeers and curses and thrown objects by the war protestors, so you just sort of kept your head down and kept walking.
“You would be pulled out of the jungle on Saturday, and on Monday you would go down to the local burger joint in your hometown. You would look around at the others and know that, physically, you were here, but in your mind, and in your soul, you were still back in Vietnam.
“Only about thirty percent of those who served in Vietnam are still alive, and today we are all brothers, and we greet each other with the welcome home that we never received.”
Deon got up from where he was sitting, and walked over to Bob. He stuck out his hand. “Welcome home, brother,” he said. “And I don’t mean brother because I was in Vietnam—I mean brother, because I consider us all here to be brothers, and sisters.”
Following Deon’s comment, Marcus turned to Becky. “Damn, I hadn’t really been thinking of you as a sister.”
Others in the group, well aware of the growing relationship between Marcus and Becky, laughed.
“I think Deon meant it figuratively,” Bob said.
“I wonder what the future holds for us,” Karen mused.
“What future?” Julie asked. “We don’t have a future.”
Jake looked over at Becky, who was sitting in a chair Willie had pulled up for her.
“Sure we do,” he said. “The child Becky is carrying is part of our future. And when you think about it, Adam and Eve started with a lot less than we have.”
“Whoa! I hope you aren’t planning on any of us adding anything to the population,” Jerry said, taking in himself and the other two older couples with a wave of his hand.
Jake laughed. “Well, we aren’t exactly alone,” he said. “We’ve already established radio contact with some others just like us. I’ve no doubt that we will join them soon.”
“Then what?” Willie asked.
“Then?” Jake replied. He raised his arm over his head and made a fist. “We take back America.”
The others, as one, repeated his words.
“Take back America!”
PINNACLE BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2011 William W. Johnstone
