Standing at the Edge

  Standing at the Edge

  William Alan Webb

  The Last Brigade, book 3

  Dingbat Publishing

  STANDING AT THE EDGE

  Copyright © 2018 by William Alan Webb

  ISBN 978-1-940520-93-3

  Published by Dingbat Publishing

  Humble, Texas

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written consent, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

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  This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. No part of this e-book can be reproduced or sold by any person or business without the express permission of the publisher.

  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are entirely the produce of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to persons living or dead, actual locations, events, or organizations is coincidental.

  This book is dedicated to my readers, without whom I am just another guy clacking away at a keyboard.

  And a higher dedication goes to the men and women of our armed forces, police and fire departments, who keep us safe and make it possible for there to be writers and readers in the first place.

  Who is in charge of the clattering train?

  The axles creak and the couplings strain,

  and the pace is hot and the points are near,

  and sleep hath deadened the driver’s ear,

  and the signals flash through the night in vain,

  for death is in charge of the clattering train.

  Edward Milliken, Death and His Brother Sleep

  Cast of Characters

  The Angriff family

  Nicholas Trajanus Angriff — General of the Army. Nick the A to those who fear him. Idolizes George Patton’s tactical genius and persona, but not as fussy as Patton about personal appearance and decorum. Like another hero of his, Winston Churchill, Angriff is sometimes accused of courting danger. As a three-star general, he led tactical missions more suited to a captain or lieutenant, usually against direct orders not to do so. His career survived because of his popularity with his men and the public, and his record of success.

  Janine Marie Jackson Angriff — Nick’s wife, a victim in the Lake Tahoe ‘incident.’

  Lieutenant Morgan Mary Randall, nee Angriff — Oldest of Nick’s two daughters. Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, executive officer First Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Tank Battalion. Call sign Bulldozer One One Two. Married to Captain Joe Randall. Nicknamed Tank Girl.

  Cynthia June Angriff — Nick’s youngest daughter, caught in the same attack as her mother.

  The Americans

  Lt. General Norman Vincent Fleming — Executive Officer of the 7th Cavalry, also the Brigade S-3, Operations. Norm is Nick Angriff’s best friend, dating back to their days in OCS. Both men enlisted and worked their way through the ranks, an almost impossible feat. Fleming is the man Angriff trusts above all others.

  Major General Dennis Tompkins — Survivor of The Collapse who did not go cold, but instead lived fifty years in post-Collapse America, leading his team of five survivors.

  Captain Joseph Daniel Randall — The best helicopter pilot in the brigade. Married to Morgan Randall. Call sign Ripsaw Real.

  Lieutenant George ‘Bunny’ Carlos — Joe Randall’s best friend and co-pilot.

  Lieutenant Alisa Plotz — AH-72 Comanche commander and Joe Randall’s wingman.

  Sergeant Andy Arnold — Alisa Plotz’s co-pilot.

  Sergeant Lara Snowtiger — Marine sniper, a full-blooded Choctaw. Snowtiger embraced her heritage and is versed in Choctaw lore. She is considered as good as any sniper in the 7th Cavalry, including Zo Piccaldi.

  Colonel Benjamin Franklin Walling — Promoted to his present rank by Angriff, he commands the headquarters staff and manages Angriff’s day-to-day schedule.

  Sergeant Major of the Army John Charles Schiller — Trusted subordinate who runs the day-to-day routine for Angriff’s headquarters. Angriff often asks Schiller for advice.

  Colonel William Emerson Schiller — Brother of Sergeant J.C. Schiller, he is the brigade’s S-4, Supply Officer, and is considered a savant at supply chain organization and utilization.

  Lt. Colonel Roger ‘Rip’ Kordibowski — Battalion S-2, Intelligence Officer.

  Major Harold ‘Harry the Hat’ Strickland — Executive Officer of the 1st Marine Recon Battalion.

  Major Fitzhugh Howarth Claringdon — Executive Officer of the Tank Battalion.

  Lt. Colonel Astrid Naidoo — Temporary S-9, Civil-Military Cooperation.

  Colonel Khin ‘Chain Saw’ Saw — Brigade S-1, Personnel.

  Sergeant Howard Wilson Dupree — Communications specialist and computer whiz.

  Sergeant Frances ‘Frame’ Rossi — Crew chief for Tank Girl.

  Dr. Sharon Goldstone — Designer and now Chief Engineer head of the Brigade’s hydroponics farm. She and Tom Steeple were once lovers.

  Major Alexis Iskold — Deputy S-3 and Norm Fleming’s right hand.

  Lieutenant Marjorie Jones — CO of FOB Westwall.

  Major Edward Wincommer — CO of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, 7th Cavalry Brigade.

  Major Samuel Ball — CO of the 1st Airborne Battalion.

  Lt. Colonel Charles Minokawa — Brigade S-9, Civil Affairs.

  The crew of Joe’s Junk

  Staff Sergeant Joe ‘Toy’ Ootoi — Gunner.

  Task Force Zombie, a/k/a ‘The Nameless’

  Green Ghost — Longtime subordinate of Angriff’s and currently his S-5, Security. His real identity is unknown, as the Nameless only have code names. Angriff trusts him completely.

  Vapor — Original member of TF Zombie. Wise-cracking member of the team. He and Green Ghost have known each other since childhood.

  One Eye — Original member of TF Zombie. Nickname refers to his personality.

  Wingnut — Original member of TF Zombie. Taciturn, a specialist at explosives and chemicals.

  Glide — Replacement addition to TF Zombie, Glide is an ultra-dangerous computer specialist. She is gorgeous, and an 8th degree Krav Maga.

  Nipple — Green Ghost’s twin sister. Most think she is psychotic, but like her brother, her reflexes are off the chart.

  Razor — Replacement addition, the newest member of the team.

  Frosty — A veteran member who started out in Third Squad and transferred to First Squad after the Congo Operation.

  Operation Comeback

  General Thomas Francis Steeple — Founder and driving force behind Operations Overtime and Comeback.

  Colonel Amunet Mwangi — Norm Fleming’s first cousin and second in command of Operation Comeback. She is Tom Steeple’s closest advisor and confidant.

  Claw — Former commander of Second Squad, Task Force Zombie, and head of security at Operation Comeback.

  Scope — Another former member of Task Force Zombie and a sniper specialist.

  Sierra Army Depot

  Colonel Aretha Lamar — Elected commander of Sierra Army Depot.

  Private Marcus Lamar — Aretha Lamar’s grandson.

  Prophet James — Aretha Lamar’s son and Marcus’ father.

  Creech Air Force Base

  General Jamal Kando — Base commander.

  The Scrapers

  Idaho Jack — The oldest of the scrapers, Jack remembers pre-Collapse America and has na
vigated the dangerous deserts of the southwest ever since, selling whatever he can find to whoever wants it. In particular, he’s friends with those at Shangri-La.

  Junker Jane — Jane scrapes Northern California, Nevada, Utah, and into the Pacific Northwest.

  Lucia Tornado Alvarez — Junker Jane’s twenty-one-year-old daughter. Everyone calls her Nado because of her restless energy. She’s a master at riding horses and shooting a gun, particularly from horseback. She’s also an expert with a bow and arrow, and makes her own.

  Jingle Bob — Bob scrapes the area north of Idaho Jack and east of Junker Jane.

  Nuff — Nuff isn’t actually a scraper himself, but his father was. Now he lives alone in a small shack in the desert.

  The Enclave

  Bam Bam Bear — A big strong man, Bear is typical of the survivors inhabiting regions all across the west. He’s the grandson of a survivalist who lived through The Collapse and learned to live successfully in a land without power or government. He’s the leader of a small group that once would have been called a tribe, who live in the mountains of Northern California. They are all fiercely independent and hate the Chinese for atrocities committed over the decades.

  Lissa — Bear’s beloved confidant and mate.

  Artu — One of Bear’s assistants.

  Shangri-La

  Mohammad Qadim — Muslim member of Shangri-La who infiltrated the Sevens as a spy.

  Operation Hail Mary (a/k/a Evolution)

  Györgi Rosos — Billionaire who used his money to undermine capitalist republics around the world, in addition to financing part of Operations Overtime and Comeback, and his own independent operation. He believes in communist totalitarianism and greatly admires the North Korean Kim family dynasty.

  Györgi Rosos, Jr. — Sometimes derisively called ketto (an Americanized version of the Hungarian word kettő, meaning two) by the rank and file at Evolution, the eldest son and namesake of Rosos Sr. is a naturally affable man who is constantly vying with his younger brother for their father’s affection.

  Karoly Rosos — Only their father matches the youger Rosos’ ruthlessness and ambition.

  The Sevens

  Nabi Husam Allah — The Caliph of the Caliphate of the Seven Prayers of the New Prophet, self-proclaimed prophet of Allah. In truth, he is Larry Armstrong, a criminal conman. His adherents are fanatically loyal.

  Abdul-Qudoos Fadil el Mofty — Emir of New Khorasan. His original name is Richard Lee Armstrong, brother of the Caliph, Larry Armstrong. He bears the title of Superior Imam, second only to the Caliph himself, who is the Supreme Imam. These titles were created by the Armstrong brothers to elevate them above all imams in Islam. He is also second in command of The Sword of the New Prophet, the military arm of the Caliphate.

  Sati Bashara — Senior Aga and oldest nephew of Emir Abdul-Qudoos Fadil el Mofty, appointed head of the province of New Khorasan, a region of the larger Caliphate of the Seven Prayers of the New Prophet, encompassing parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and old Mexico. He is the second most powerful lieutenant in New Khorasan.

  Prescott, AZ Civilians

  Richard Parfist — Lived in a village far outside of Prescott until General Patton’s Guards raided the village.

  The Apaches

  Govind — Chief of the Western Apache.

  Gosheven — The middle of the three brothers.

  Gopan — Govind’s youngest brother.

  The New Republic of Arizona

  Lester Earl Hull, a/k/a General George Patton V — Warlord leader of the New Republic of Arizona.

  Colonel Norbert Cranston — Second in command to Lester Hull and commander of the military forces of the New Republic.

  Author’s Foreword

  I wrote this book during a six-month period in 2017. That’s neither here nor there, except that bits of reality inevitably crept into the work. It wasn’t intentional; that sort of thing just happens.

  Politics is a natural human activity, even in a post-Apocalyptic world. For readers who may not have noticed, Nick Angriff has a certain political viewpoint. He’s a product of his childhood and environment. His father was a strict Constitutionalist and so is he. And yet he’s also smart enough to know that no one person has all the answers.

  Modern American politics is about as fractious as possible before a society disintegrates. It has reached the point where it was in 1859 and we all know how that turned out. The difference today is that in pre-Civil War days, America faced no external threats capable of harming the homeland. We were left to slaughter each other in peace. But today… today the United States, and by extension the entire free world, faces multiple dire threats, any one of which could wipe us out.

  Throughout our history, wars have united both we Americans and the western democracies; one need look no further than Britain in the 1930s and 40s. Clement Atlee served loyally under Winston Churchill throughout World War Two, yet the moment they declared victory in the war in Europe, the British voters threw Churchill to the curb in favor of Atlee’s socialism. Bitter political foes worked together for the common good, and once their shared goal was achieved, they went back to bashing each other.

  Ah, the glories of politics.

  In Nick Angriff’s world, he’s the ultimate authority figure. By necessity, martial law rules the areas liberated by the 7th Cavalry, yet as soon as feasible, power is returned to the local level. At his core, Angriff wants nothing more than to go fly-fishing, but fate hasn’t given him that option just yet. Instead, in the book to come, he finds himself confronted with a shadow from the past, something which is, to his mind, sinister and subversive. So how does he deal with it? You’ll have to read a bit to find out.

  There was a small subset of my readership who didn’t like Nick’s outlook in book one. (I know, it’s hard to believe.) An author cannot have his characters begin where he or she wants them to end. Change is necessary, since perfect characters tend to be pretty boring. And in today’s bitterly divided political landscape, it didn’t matter what Angriff’s original viewpoint was; somebody woudn’t have liked it. But now, having had some time to reflect on things, our boy Nick begins to recognize the schism that politics drove into the American public before things went to hell. Rebuilding a divided nation isn’t possible without massive coercion of one side or the other, and such an entity would be doomed right from the start.

  So in a very real sense, the American Odyssey begun two books ago in Standing The Final Watch begins to take shape here in book three. Maybe you’re waiting to see how this all turns out, and are hoping I’ll give you a hint. The truth is I can’t do that, because I haven’t got a clue. The only thing I do know is that not everybody winds up standing at the end.

  Oh, one last thing. Don’t believe everything these characters say. Some of them are lying.

  Bill Webb, December 2, 2017

  Prologue

  Ten months later

  Central Arizona

  0433 hours, April 10

  Govind stopped halfway up the cliff face to catch his breath. The screech of a circling prairie falcon caused him to look up, peering, then he continued his climb. Sweat soaked his shirt, despite sunrise still being more than an hour in the future. Over the years, he’d scaled the rocky promontory hundreds of times, and each time seemed harder than the last. Younger tribe members wanted the honor of taking the Seer her provisions, but Govind had always said no. As rarely as he understood the mystic Choctaw woman’s musings, he enjoyed listening to her anyway and considered the chore his duty.

  As he forced himself upward, his feet and hands found the same familiar niches in the stone they’d found for decades. The narrow ledge rimming her cave stood more than three hundred feet above the desert floor. The sheer cliff face protected her from predators, with cougars being the biggest worry, but even the big cats couldn’t climb straight up. Coyotes didn’t hunt in the high hills and for some reason, snakes had never bothered her.

  “Dagotee!” How are you? “The moon smiles u
pon you, friend Govind,” her familiar voice said in Western Apache as he pulled himself onto the ledge. “You have come early.”

  “I must be down again before the sun is high, Ohoyo Dreamer. Are you well?”

  She giggled and sounded young. At some point, Govind’s tribe had meshed the Choctaw word for woman, ohoyo, with the Apache concept of a Dreamer Shaman. Since then she had laughed whenever she heard it. “I am old. That is a blessing, yet a blessing with a price.”

  Govind did not have much time for chatting. Moving with purpose, he braced himself over the large pulley at the far end of the ledge. A rope ladder lay beside it. Thick rope looped around a flywheel and fell to the desert floor, where it connected with two heavy baskets laden with food. Grunting, he pulled the baskets up three hundred feet. The effort would have rubbed other men’s hands bloody, but Govind’s were leather-tough after a lifetime in the desert.

  Once the food was up, he carried it into the cave and unpacked the baskets, placing the foodstuffs on shelves hewn into the rock. Water ran from a spring higher up the mountain, but Govind brought milk whenever possible, either goat or sheep’s milk. Today there was none.

  Mopping his face with a goatskin sleeve, Govind turned his mouth up to catch water spilling from the wall further inside the cave. The chamber measured roughly twenty-five feet wide, with twenty feet of clearance overhead, and went several hundred feet deep. So far inside the mountain, the cool air dried up his sweat. He wished he could stay longer in the cool cave, but time moved on and he had things to do.

  He found Sara Snowtiger standing on the ledge, looking out over the valley.

  “Someone else might bring the food next time,” he said. “A lot of the younger ones are anxious to do you this service. I feel I should let them.”