The Turn Over

(Source)

"Goeie more korporaal, I trust you slept well?" Colonel Mzolo looked up from his desk as the provost brought Corporal Jensen into the captain's office.

"Good morning Sir, I slept well enough." In truth, Jensen looked miserable.

"Do you understand why we had to place you under arrest?"

"Well Sir, I did kill a civilian, but I was defending one of my mates."

"Yes, I know that, but do you know the precarious position we are in here? Truly do you understand it?" The colonel stood up from behind his desk and looked out the window of his office.

"The people who are running things behind the scenes think we are being too soft on the locals. Something like this wouldn't bother them in the least. There are those who would have had everyone in that establishment sent to the camps, or worse, had them shot right then and there."

Corporal Jensen's eyes opened wide at that comment.

"You are too young to have known the times when our beloved country was liberated from the rule of apartheid, it was very bloody for a number of years. You whites were hunted, driven off your farms and murdered in cold blood."

"But Sir, my father told me that before that time, the black Afrikaners were treated like dogs, kept in 'townships' which were little more than slums of tin shacks. I understand the rage your people must have felt."

Colonel Mzolo nodded and said, "Then perhaps you can understand the people of this country. They feel as if they are second class citizens in their own country. There have been riots in some of the cities, there are those who are calling for blood. On both sides."

The colonel continued, "You have read of the war in Serbia I trust? I believe it was part of your schooling to join this regiment."

"Yes Sir, do you think this country could go that way?"

"Yes, yes I do. These people have a proud history, but a history littered with bad politicians and greedy businessmen. But I can see them rising up, the deaths of those three men the other day might just be the beginning. So we need to tread carefully over the next few..."

Colonel Mzolo's aide suddenly burst into the room, at the same time the Colonel heard the sound of many vehicles outside, he looked to the compound and saw a number of tracked APCs¹ entering. The troops manning them appeared to be Chinese. He turned to his aide...

"Yes Sir, they are Chinese. We are being replaced..."

Billy had spent the night at Jack's cabin, they had much to discuss. When he awakened he heard Jack talking to someone, was that a radio?

As he came into the living room, Jack gestured at him to "wait one," then pointed to the kitchen. Billy went in there and saw that a fresh pot of coffee had been made. From the looks of things, it didn't appear that Jack had slept at all the night before.

He fixed himself a cup and was stirring it when Jack walked in, a worried look on his face.

"Well, the shit may have hit the fan, Billy."

Billy looked at his old friend expectantly.

"Riots in New York City and in Cleveland, the Feds had the governors in New York and Ohio call out the National Guard, most of whom refused to report for duty. From what I understand, most of the police walked off the job as well. Utter chaos."

"Who's rioting Jack? The usual suspects?"

"Not this time, regular folk in the streets, demanding an explanation for the UN being in the country. The Feds refuse to answer any questions, the ATF office in the Bronx was attacked and burned down apparently. No report of any casualties yet, but I assume there will be a lot."

Billy nodded at the radio, "You got all that from the radio?"

Jack lifted the radio and looked at it, "Secret squirrel model, most people know nothing about them. Encrypted, frequency agile, transmits in short bursts to a satellite. Decrypts the short bursts it receives in seconds. Let's just say, I have friends in low places."

Billy shook his head, "Now what do we do?"

"You haven't heard the worst of it, I just had word that the Afrikaners are being replaced, by a full mechanized battalion."

"What country?" Billy asked, he could guess, but he wanted to hear it out loud.

"The goddamn Red Chinese. F**kers were waiting in Canada, supposedly there to train with the Canucks. In reality it was probably a set-up. In all fairness, my Canadian sources are as mad about this as we are. Their government is no more representative of the governed than ours is. There's a lot of money behind this, international money. I wish I knew who was pulling the strings."

"So we fight?"

"Better to die standing than on our knees I suppose." Jack said, shaking his head. That things had come to this. He felt betrayed beyond belief.

The Afrikaners loaded up quickly, other than their military equipment and spare clothing and ammo, there wasn't all that much to load. Unlike some militaries, they had no personal items with them. It was something their government frowned upon, why did the troops of a fine socialist country need personal belongings?

Corporal Jensen, still surprised that he had kept his stripes, stood in the hatch of one of their APCs and watched as the Chinese took over the compound. But what shocked him most was watching the UN flag being pulled down from the flagstaff in front of headquarters, to be replaced by the banner of the People's Republic of China.

"Nils, look, the bastards aren't even pretending to be here under the auspices of the United Nations."

Lance Corporal Nils Ndaba stood up next to the corporal and looked back at the compound. He shook his head, looking at Jensen he said, "Things are going to get awfully bad, aren't they?"

"Yes brother, they are."

¹ APC = Armored Personnel Carrier