Hard Choices

(Source)

Billy had been right about one thing, this fog was getting worse. Frank Teller slowed down as he entered the thick forest. The fog wasn't as bad in amongst the trees, but the road twisted and turned as if laid down by a drunk. Wasn't really the case, the road followed a stream which flowed down through a tight valley. There wasn't really any place else to put the road.

As he drove, making no more than twenty miles an hour, another thing he refused to change right there¹, he thought about the conversation he'd had with Billy. It made him uncomfortable. Yes, technically the deaths of those three soldiers was murder, as the local government had "invited" the peacekeepers in, those soldiers were here legally.

Just as he thought that, he remembered a thing he'd seen some years back, and which had been in his mind for a few months now, "The people who hid Anne Frank were breaking the law. The people who killed her were following it." Just because some group of lawmakers made a thing "legal," it didn't make it moral.

He'd stayed on as sheriff because he'd been asked to, he hadn't questioned the fact that no election for that office had been held in quite some time. The government had said that in this time of emergency, it was better to wait before holding new elections.

He had to admit, the last ones hadn't gone so well.

The young trooper was having trouble staying awake, so for what seemed the hundredth time, he stood up in the turret of the small, two-man scout car. It was the commander of the vehicle's turn to sleep, which he was, nestled into the driver's seat normally occupied by the trooper.

As he stretched, he noticed headlights coming down the road, brief glimpses of headlights actually, the road through the forest twisted and turned before straightening out just before the roadblock. No one else stirred, the other men were sleeping as soundly as his vehicle commander.

Frank slowed down even further as he came to a stretch of road near the forest's edge. There, in the fog and the gloaming, were at least two vehicles parked either side of the road, blocking it. There seemed to be a makeshift barrier across the road as well. He could just see them as there was a small fire near that barrier. He couldn't see any sign of people.

He slowed to nearly a stop as his headlights shown upon one of the vehicles, someone was standing in what had to be the turret of the vehicle, which he recognized as one of the old scout cars the peacekeepers had brought with them. What the Hell was this, he thought, no one had informed him of any roadblocks in this area.

He stopped the car and doused his headlights, he didn't like this, not one bit.

As soon as the car stopped and killed its lights, the trooper went to full alert, who does that kind of thing?

"Sergeant, wake up, something strange out here!"

He yelled down at the vehicle commander, who had started to stir when he heard the turret coming around.

"What's the fuss? Can't a man get any sleep around here..."

Just as those words came out of his mouth, the gun on his vehicle opened fire.

Frank jumped nearly out of his skin as he saw tracers fly over the roof of his vehicle. He immediately got on his PA system and announced, "County sheriff! Hold your fire damn it!"

When no further rounds came his way, he dialed to the military frequency on the radio the peacekeepers had installed in his car. Thinking to try and remember the call sign they had given him, he remembered then keyed the mike, "Military unit on County Road 12 North, this is Starman, hold your fire!"

Unfortunately, his message went to the local headquarters who then had to relay to the unit that the colonel had placed on the road in question. Who were not monitoring their radios!

The vehicle commander heard the PA call, he realized that he had to take command of the situation, he had no idea where the patrol commander was. He picked up his own mike and announced, "Civilian vehicle, turn on your interior lights and place your hands on top of the wheel, do not move!"

Grabbing his machine pistol, he told the trooper to cover him. He then dismounted.

Looking around he saw the men from the other scout car sleeping underneath their vehicle. The infantry carrier which should have been parked behind them was nowhere in sight. Where the Hell did that goddamn lieutenant go haring off to?

The interior lights in the civilian car came on to reveal a man sitting in the driver's seat, hands on the wheel as instructed. At that moment the spotlight on his scout car came on, shining directly into the driver's eyes.

Good idea trooper, the sergeant thought to himself.

As he began to move forward, he yelled at the other scout car crew, "Wake up you lazy bastards, get in your vehicle and watch to the rear!"

While Frank understood what was going on, he'd shown lights into the eyes of suspicious types himself more than once, he was still pissed off. This is my goddamned county you foreign bastards, he thought. Best to just sit still and not escalate the situation.

"Sir, please step out of the vehicle with your hands always in sight."

Once again Frank's ears were bothered by the stilted way these foreigners spoke, but he did as he was commanded.

The sergeant noticed the badge on the man's jacket, also the word "Sheriff" on the patch on his sleeve. Looking more closely, he finally recognized the man. It was the county sheriff, a man named Teller he recalled.

"So, Sheriff Teller, what brings you out here on such a nasty night?" the sergeant asked in what he thought was a polite tone, but which Teller took for sarcasm.

"I might ask you the same thing," Frank glanced down at the man's insignia, "sergeant. I'm investigating a triple homicide."

The foreign sergeant looked puzzled for a moment, then the word "homicide" registered. His English was only fair.

"Ah yes, the killings this morning. You have suspects?" The sergeant was proud of himself for remembering that word, "suspects."

Frank looked again at the sergeant, whose machine pistol was still pointed in his direction. "Say sergeant, do you mind if I put my hands down, I'm a little old for this. After all, aren't we on the same side?"

"Of course, Sheriff, my apologies." As he said that the sergeant also lowered his weapon.

"Do you have a pass to be out here after curfew?" the sergeant asked.

Frank looked nonplussed for a moment, "A pass Sergeant? My badge and my office are my pass. Has something changed in the last few hours?" He then worried that he might have gone too far, but the soldier was from a place where freedom was something people read about, not something they had ever experienced themselves.

The sergeant looked embarrassed for a moment, then reverted to type, "My apologies Sheriff, no nothing has changed. I would guess that you need to be on your way?"

"Yes, if you could clear a path, that would be excellent. Are you in command here?"

The sergeant hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yes, yes, I am in charge while my lieutenant is investigating elsewhere."

"Elsewhere?"

"Yes, Sheriff, please, let me clear a path for you."

After the sergeant had had one of the vehicles back off the road and the sheriff had passed through. That same sergeant wondered if he had done the right thing, letting the local man go through. As he had no orders to the contrary, just to look for suspicious activities, he decided that he had done the right thing.

But he wished that his lieutenant had been on the scene. He wondered what that man was up to at the moment.

As Frank drove away from the roadblock, a call came in on his county radio.

"Patrol One, Homebase, we've got a call of a disturbance over in Brooktown."

Brooktown was a small village just off the road ahead. Frank had to wonder what the Hell would be going on there in the middle of the night. Then he remembered the nervousness of the sergeant when asked whether he was in charge or not.

Frank accelerated to get to Brooktown, he had a feeling he knew where that man's lieutenant was, Brooktown had a small bar.

Frank's car rolled into Brooktown, he saw that there was an ambulance outside "O'Reilly's Bar and Grille" parked next to one of the peacekeepers' armored infantry carriers. He didn't like the looks of this.

He turned his lights on, then pulled into O'Reilly's parking lot. There were two paramedics working on someone splayed out near the door of the bar. A foreign soldier, Frank saw the weapon slung over the man's back, was standing nearby, smoking a cigarette.

That man turned to him as he walked up to the scene.

"This matter is not your concern Sheriff Teller. One of the locals started a fight with one of my men, my man finished the fight."

Frank looked down, he saw Will Hopkins, a local troublemaker and ne'er-do-well, on his back struggling to breathe. He could see why, he'd been either shot or stabbed. One of the paramedics was trying to control the bleeding, the other was trying to intubate the victim.

"Sorry," again Frank had to look at the man's insignia, "lieutenant, but this sort of thing is exactly my concern. If you wish, you can take that up with your colonel. That man on the ground is a civilian, definitely my concern."

Turning to the small crowd gathered around, Frank asked "Any witnesses see what happened?"

The foreign lieutenant immediately said, "I already told you what happened and..."

Frank ignored the man, he noticed that Judd Walker was standing in the crowd, they had served together overseas. "Judd, go inside and call 5211, tell the operator 'Blue on blue,' then tell them authorization code 'Whiskey niner fife tree.' You got that?"

Judd nodded then went inside. Turning to the lieutenant Frank asked, "Have you got anything else to add lieutenant? Perhaps you should return to your roadblock, your sergeant is missing you."

Frank could see the lieutenant turn pale, he knew he'd made an enemy there. But he honestly didn't care. He heard the lieutenant bark a command at his troops, who all loaded up in their vehicle and drove off.

Things were going to Hell in a handbasket.

Frank Teller had just resolved to join the resistance, these bastards had gotten on his last nerve.

¹ There had been a recent government "mandate" to begin using the metric system.