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Praetorium Honoris

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

The Streets of Arlington

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Jason Howard moved cautiously down the hallway, the guy on the floor was dead, or soon would be. Howard thought for a moment, then moved up and shot the man in the head.

The shot made Secretary of State Jedidiah Proctor jump back, but not before the spatter of blood, bone, and tissue soiled his trousers. Something the Secretary didn't need, he'd soiled himself already.

"What the hell, Holmes?" he barked at his security chief.

The man turned on Proctor, "My name is Howard, you f**king asshole. Now get back in that room and stay away from the window. You might want to think about changing your pants too."

Proctor sputtered but the security man was already moving down the stairs.


As Howard moved into the downstairs entryway, he paused in the shadows, Proctor's house, a rental, was the only one in the neighborhood without power. Though this late at night, who could tell? But the nearby streetlights were on, and he could see nothing ... No, there was someone outside. He heard a voice speak in a low tone.

"Whiskey."

Howard breathed a soft sigh of relief, then answered, "Sour."

"Everything okay, boss?"

"Yeah, dead guy inside, the Secretary is okay. You and Bertram?"

"Yeah, we're good, we nailed a fellow in gray hightailing it down the street like the devil himself was after him."

"Nailed?"

In the low light Howard noticed the wolf-like grin on Hector Driscoll's face, "Two in the chest, one in the head."

"That's it? Two guys?" Howard muttered.

"One guy might not be enough, three would be noisy, but I would be surprised if there weren't another pair nearby, waiting for their buddies to return. Which ain't gonna happen."

Howard saw something down the street, a vehicle, moving with no lights. He hissed at Driscoll, "Cover."

The van stopped, both men saw a shadow step out onto the street from the sidewalk. The night lit up briefly, two flashes lit up the two men sitting in the front seat of the vehicle. Two soft pops echoed down the street.

"That's gotta be, Chuck, the dude pays attention." Driscoll chuckled.

Howard shook his head, "Stay here, the Secretary's upstairs, I'll go see what Bertram has landed."


"Who's there?" Proctor asked in a trembling voice.

"The cavalry, Mr. Secretary. They sent four guys after you, I guess you are important." Driscoll smiled as he knelt next to the dead man. He patted the body down, but as he expected, no papers, no ID of any kind. Then, he leaned over as he pulled out a small Maglite and pointed it at the corpse.

Wasn't much left of the guy's head, but Driscoll could see teeth, he leaned in closer. "Yup, f**king Russian."

Proctor gasped, "Russian, how do you know?"

"No place else on the planet with that kind of dentistry. Guy's got steel teeth."

Proctor looked, then turned away and vomited.

Driscoll chuckled, "Asshole."


"Back up is on the way, boss." Chuck Bertram looked around. No one seemed to be even slightly interested in what was going on out in the street.

Bertram pushed the corpse in the driver's seat off onto the dead man on the passenger side. The driver had stalled the car when Bertram's 10 mm slug had gone through his left temple, then deflected down into his neck. The silenced weapon he was using had low power rounds, effective up close but wouldn't go in one side then out the other.

He started the car and moved slowly backward until he saw his own vehicle, a large delivery van. He parked behind it. He noted that Howard had followed him down the street, checking his surroundings as if his life depended on it, which it might.


Howard heard a step behind him, he dropped to one knee and brought his weapon up.

"Hey boss, don't shoot, it's Driscoll."

Howard saw that it was his number two man and the Secretary was with him, looking very cowed and very small. "And this asshole wants to take over the government?" Howard mused to himself.

He turned back toward the company's van, Bertram and his number two, Avram Stein, were already putting the men Bertram had killed into the back of the big van.

Stein stepped out onto the street, "We're ready to go, chief. Clean up crew is ten mikes out."

"Alright, Mr. Secretary, get in the front with Mr. Driscoll here. We've got to get you someplace safe." Howard then held up his hand as his phone buzzed.


"Howard."

"This is Nakagawa, do you have Proctor?"

"Yes Sir. We also have four bags of dirty laundry."

"I see. Take Proctor and the laundry up to Site B. We should be there within the hour."

"Roger that, Sir. See you then."


Bill Aspinall looked over at Secretary Nakagawa and began to wonder what the man's game was. Whose side was he really on?

"Sir?" Aspinall was uncomfortable with the question he was about to ask, but he asked it anyway.

"You expected the Russians to fail, right?"

Secretary Nakagawa looked out his window for a moment, then turned to Aspinall, "Yeah Bill, I did. SecDef hired the best men he thought he could get, the dumb bastard had the best men on the planet already working for him."

"Sir?"

"While SecDef was playing footsie with the Russians, we had SEALs in place to keep Proctor in our control. I had hoped the Russians would try to take him, I didn't expect them to try and kill him. Which showed me that the SecDef is out for power, not to support and defend the Constitution of the United States."

"Navy SEALS? What you couldn't find enough PJs?" Aspinall scoffed.

Nakagawa chuckled, "You guys handle yourselves well, but you're angels of rescue, the SEALs? Man, they're the angels of death."

"What's the game, Sir?"

"It's no game, Bill. There are at least five factions, that I know of, trying to overthrow the government and institute martial law. The fools in Congress think they've accomplished that in Maryland and Virginia."

"But they have done that."

"No Bill, all they've done is federalize the Guard units in those two states. Both governors are defying any and all orders out of Washington, in fact any orders originating from a Federal authority."

"So, the SecDef?"

"Yup, the dumb bastard is sitting up there at Raven Rock thinking he's got the active duty military and the Guard units at his disposal."

"You said five factions, Sir. Congress? The SecDef?"

"Not all of the Congress, there are about forty-seven Senators and Representatives who think they can force the country to disarm completely with these ambushes and murders we've been hearing about."

Aspinall chuckled.

Nakagawa looked at him, then chuckled himself, "Heh, the forty-seven ronin, you know your Japanese history."

"More like the forty-seven traitors, Sir."

"Indeed."

"The other factions?"

"A cabal of politician flag officers in the Pentagon is another, there's also a pretty serious militia unit in Virginia who are fomenting trouble for their own ends."

Aspinall thought for a moment, "Secessionists?"

"Exactly. The fifth faction is in the FBI and the CIA, traitors who want power at any cost."

Aspinall nodded, "Where do you fit, Sir. Which faction?"

"I don't consider those loyal to the Constitution and the duly elected government of the United States to be a faction. We're the good guys, Bill."

"Ah, I see." though in truth Bill Aspinall didn't really see it at all. Duly elected? Who believed that fantasy any more?




26 comments:

  1. As I said earlier, I walk into a viper's nest blindfolded, trying to do the police work. 5 factions make the situation for the police very dangerous.

    A cleanup crew often eliminates "embarrassments" and unneeded POV of what really happened. CIA is the worst for that but, now...?

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    1. Are things getting messier, or are things starting to coalesce? We shall see. (But yeah, the Maryland State police seem to be the only ones with clean hands to this point. I'm not sure how far they'll be sucked into this, but with the state officially under martial law, even though the governor is resisting that, they might have to step up.)

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  2. "As Holmes moved into the downstairs"...... Howard? Man, going to need a spreadsheet with all these names......... :)

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  3. "Are things getting messier, or are things starting to coalesce?"

    When baking a cake, for example, things start off looking fairly clean, then about half way through things often look like a bowl of vomit, and then come together into a smooth(ish) batter. But even then, there are plenty of ways to screw it up later.

    One thing that I've noticed about politicians, especially appointed ones, even appointed ones who have passed the "with the advice and consent of the Senate" test, is that often the ones who beat their chest most vigorously, and proclaim their dedication to the Constitution and our republic are often the most power hungry, anti-Constitution SOBs who have ever trod the Earth.

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    1. Seems to be the rule rather than the exception.

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    2. My, my! Feeling a bit cynical, are we? Sometimes I marvel at just how cynical this tribe you have gathered about you can be - myself included. But then I go back and read some of what the founders wrote. We're not a patch on them:

      "PREAMBLE TO THE BILL OF RIGHTS
      Congress of the United States
      begun and held at the City of New-York, on
      Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.

      THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

      RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.

      ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution."

      https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/letter-to-william-branch-giles/

      "Dear Sir

      I wrote you a letter yesterday of which you will be free to make what use you please. this will contain matters not intended for the public eye. I see as you do, and with the deepest affliction, the rapid strides with which the federal branch of our government is advancing towards the usurpation of all the rights reserved to the states, and the consolidation in itself of all powers foreign and domestic; and that too by constructions which, if legitimate, leave no limits to their power. take together the decisions of the federal court, the doctrines of the President, and the misconstructions of the constitutional compact, acted on by the legislature of the federal branch and it is but too evident that the three ruling branches of that department are in combination to strip their Colleagues, the States authorities of the powers reserved by them and to exercise themselves all functions foreign and domestic. under the power to regulate Commerce they assume indefinitely that also over agriculture and manufactures, and, Start insertion, call it regulation, End, to take the earnings of one of these branches of industry, and that too the most depressed and put them into the pockets of the other, the most flourishing of all. under the authority to establish post roads, they claim that of cutting down mountains for the construction of roads, of digging canals, and, aided by a little sophistry on the words ‘general welfare’ a right to do, not only the acts to effect that which are specifically enumerated and permitted, but whatsoever they shall think, or pretend will be for the general welfare, and what is our resource for the preservation of the constitution?"

      We're pikers compared to them.

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    3. At least most of them fought for that right. Who among us today can say that?

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  4. Crusty Old TV Tech here. Good morning, and a story to go with the Independence Coffee this morning. Starting to come into better focus with this installment, Sarge, but it looks like the Enigma machine is still online! Wheels within wheels. Appreciate the Muse's whispering in Sarge's ear, especially when she lays off the Jagermeister.

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    1. She's whispering "Finish him." I think she's been playing too much Street Fighter.

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  5. The 47 Ronin. Well played Sarge, well played (although as you point out, completely not the same thing).

    There was a reason that Washington argued against effectively what is factionalism.

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    1. He was a very smart and practical fellow, no matter what the GD revisionists have to say about him.

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    2. Steven Turnbull's book on the 47 Ronin makes a good point that the 47 may not have been as pure as the stories say. The leader of the 47 was, um, potentially quite the arse-hole and scummier, and the lord he and the other 46 wasn't exactly a bright and shining example of humanity either.

      Still quite the impressive story.

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    3. When are humans ever pure? (At birth,)

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    4. Unless you're a Calvinist, and then only after death and one's ascended.

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    5. More like descended, I have little love for that lot. (None at all actually.)

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  6. down here in Hoot'n Holler, a strange trait of politicians has been noted. That led learning a term - projection - that accurately describes the true position of chest beaters & wailers going on about an issue; it's the complete opposite of whatever they're saying. Strange varmints they are....

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  7. So when exactly are the Byzantines going to sell out the Crusaders to the Saracens in order to curry favor with... oh, oops, sorry, different convoluted story. Heh.

    It will be interesting to see if any traitors to the Constitution are hung from the Capital's roof. For the encouragement of others...

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  8. Five factions, that we know of, so far.

    Kamala's favorite tool, the Venn diagram, would be a quite interesting way of displaying what overlaps there are among the factions. Likely there are also overlaps and divisions within each of the factions. Those who hate our country encourage division and animosity among the factions, rather than promote unity around our overlapping areas of interest.

    The dichotomy between slothful dependence on others and self reliance and initiative are difficult to reconcile to everyone's satisfaction, as are the lust for power over others and joyous freedom to pursue life, liberty and happiness as an individual sees fit.

    Interesting times, these fictional times are.
    JB

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    1. Are you not entertained? 😎

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    2. Nah, I just don't like scary stuff in general....

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    3. Real life is scary enough, innit?

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  9. "Duly elected? Who believed that fantasy any more?"

    Absolutely NAILED IT, Sarge!

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Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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