New America 02 - Resistance by Richard Stephenson Read Free Book Online

men you got with you?”
    “Six.”
    “Round ‘em up and we’ll take them to the chow hall.  I bet you guys could use some drinks and time to unwind after your long trip.”
    “Damn straight! L ead the way.”
    T he men were herded toward a building a hundred yards away.
    The man in charge walked to the front of the group of slaves he had just agreed to purchase.  He said something to two of his men and shook his head.  The two men ran forward ten yards, stopped, and raised their arms, pistols in each hand.  In a deafening roar of bullets, all six of the evil monsters that Chrissy had feared with every fiber of her being dropped to the ground.
    “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Unified American Empire has decided to put an end to the slave trade.  I never tolerated it, and I think it’s time they did something about it.  You’re all free men and women.  My name is Benjamin Black, and I’d be pleased to have you join our community.

 
     
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
    Kaliz Mubbarak stopped his pickup truck in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Sausalito, California.  He didn’t honk the horn or get out of the vehicle.  He and his partner sat in silence, waiting for the other two members of their team.  Kaliz discreetly scanned the crowded parking lot for any sign of movement and found none in the hushed, shadowy hour before sunrise.  A minute later, his teammates exited their apartment and climbed into the back of the oversized cab. No words were spoken for a full ten minutes.  They had learned to leave the talking to Kaliz.  They didn’t even know each other’s real names, only the aliases they had adopted to maintain their cover.  All four were American citizens. Their families had immigrated to the former United States when they were small children, and they had grown up behind enemy lines. All had attended American schools, played sports, had girlfriends, and voted in local, state, and national elections.  Kaliz had even spent two years as an infantryman in the United States Army.  They’d spent their entire lives hiding their true nationality and passed themselves off as Spaniards. In their youth, they spent many long hours learning to speak Spanish and had mastered the accent, even their English tainted by a touch of the foreign tongue.
    Behind closed doors, however, they diligently practiced their Islamic faith.  They prayed to Mecca five times a day, observed Ramadan fervently every year and, most importantly, their parents trained them to join the ranks of The Silent Warriors.  All four men were experts with pistols, shotguns, and rifles.  One of their favorite childhood pastimes involved competing to see who could reassemble weapons the fastest after their parents took them apart and scrambled the many pieces. Kaliz won every time.
    When The Star of Allah brightened the night sky over the Eastern Seaboard, Kaliz and his team were fortunate enough to watch the entire event unfold live on television.  They celebrated for the better part of a week as they watched the country crumble into ruins. Kaliz’s teammates could barely contain their excitement, eager to execute their plan immediately.   They’d spent years preparing for The Day of Judgment and couldn’t understand why Kaliz wanted to wait.  Kaliz told them that patience was now the only plan.  The Star of Allah didn’t cripple the West Coast, and they didn’t have the luxury of darkness and confusion like their brothers on the other side of the country.  They simply needed to alter their agenda.  The crippled nation would not be repaired anytime in the near future; if anything, it would only get worse before it got better.  Kaliz spent eighteen months crafting his plan to perfection.  Every member of his team not only knew his own role, but had memorized the responsibilities of his fellow teammates as well to ensure that every facet of the plan would be carried out should one of them fall.
    The day had finally come. The