Another Excerpt From “Executive Justice”

Despite having the initiative, the Reds’ actions seemed confused. News reports told of mixed results in Michigan. Urban irregulars fought back against Confederation forces in Detroit. The amphibious landings made slow progress.

National Guard units were stationed on the streets of Orlando, far from the front. F-15’s and F-22’s whooshed overhead on patrol as Eglin based fighters flew over the city staying below Mach one. They were still plenty noisy. It was as though they expected the Coalition to jump in the fight and start bombing.

Cal phoned DHS to inform them they were planning a visit. “Everyone is on lock-down,” Clemens said. “The prison is closed. No traffic in or out.”

Cal phoned Oscar on a new burner phone. “We’re ready to go,” he said. “However, Clemens has told me the prisons are on lock-down. His exact words were, ‘no traffic in or out’.”

“It’s okay if we sit back for a few days.”

“With all those F-15’s buzzing overhead I wonder if commercial flights have been cancelled.”

“Doubtful. I’ll give regular status reports.”

“The war will complicate things, but maybe it will postpone Charley’s transfer to Guantanamo. I’ve called DHS. They didn’t refuse our visit.”

“They’re being coy. I don’t want to tip them how we know he’ll be on an early flight.”

***

Fox News South played in most hotel rooms. It was CNN lite with non-stop coverage of the war. The lies were thick enough to pour on pancakes. The Confederation claimed Michigan raided South Bend and Elkhart, provoking limited reprisals. The talking heads recycled the lie endlessly.

Cal was disgusted. “At Trumps’ press conference he justified the invasion of Michigan using words like ‘provocation’ which don’t exist in his tiny vocabulary. He was especially harsh with Michigan’s governor, describing her in terms usually reserved for him, like “addled,” and “incompetent.”

“Stephen Miller wrote him a nice script. Evidently he doesn’t know how Germany started World War Two.”

“His only interest is ridding the Confederation of brown people.”

“He makes me puke,” Carol said. “It’s a comfort to see how Trump has aged. Maybe he’ll soon be embalmed like Lenin.”

“How could his latest rambling monolog motivate the Michigan militias to grab their governor?” Cal asked. “Charley had it right. This is all pre-planned, not a spontaneous response to provocations.”

“Fox should interview UN Ambassador Buttigieg,” Carol said. “He was mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and they were opposed to secession. What would Michigan gain from attacking them?”

“Nothing,” St. John said. “It was like the German attacks on their own Polish border posts in 1939.”

“Alex Jones finally got it right—albeit backwards,” Cal said.

“A true false flag operation.”

“Fox is a bad joke. I’ll watch the real CNN, thanks.” He switched stations on the hotel TV. The picture was a snowstorm. He surfed the channels and other than Home Shopping, Fox was the only TV coverage.

“Well, this really sucks.”

“Check your laptop,” Carol said. “Maybe we can stream the news.”

“Splendid idea.” He opened his MacBook and found the hotel’s WIFI connection to be intact. “I bypassed the block and got all the channels. Let’s see if we can find real news.”

“You’ve pirated Disney’s WIFI,” Carol said. “Pull up the menu and check it out.”

“I wonder if they opened up their system to get in DeSantis face.”

Real news confirmed Ohio had mounted an amphibious assault on Detroit, where fighting was heavy. Antifa and BLM bolstered loyal units of the Michigan National Guard. Invading Indiana troops extended north past Kalamazoo and were approaching Lansing. Michigan militias augmented the invaders. The Proud Boys, Oath-keepers, and other rebellious locals finally got to use their treasured weapons.

“Surprisingly good coverage of awful news,” Cal said. “They may have trouble with Detroit, but the rest of Michigan was ready to surrender before the shooting started. The UP has announced their separation from the Lansing government, calling themselves the Free State of Marquette.”

“This has all the spontaneity of a bad movie script,” Carol said. “What reason will they invent to send troops into Illinois?”

The phone rang, and the concierge said, “Be advised the Orlando police are arresting all outside visitors. It will take a while to get to you. Use the freight elevator. Good luck.”

“Executive Justice” is the third in my “Executive” series - this one is a fictional tale of 2025 where America is split into three countries: the Confederation. the Coalition, and the neutral (white) states.