The final request caused the kingmaker to stop jotting down notes. “That… is much more complicated. Despite what US propaganda claims, we have little direct influence over her administration. We tend to operate on the… uh, peripheries of power.”
“You mean ya’ll are the devil in the details. Well, then maybe I should speak directly to Ms. Salazar. Skip the middleman altogether.”
The lobbyist gritted his teeth. Going straight to the top was going to hurt. Salazar wasn’t some nervous soldier or underpaid bureaucrat. She wouldn’t accept a suitcase of cash in return for special considerations. That woman would extract some expensive promises for this favor.
“Damn. All right. Consider it done… Mr. Secretary. You drive a hard bargain, but your help is worth the price.”
The governor nodded, the sudden realization of what he just agreed to smothering his excitement.
“This is the only way to hurry up and end the war. I’m doing this for the good of my people. Not for personal gain.”
The lobbyist just shrugged. Maybe the governor even believed that.
Didn’t matter. With a simple handshake, 30 million people in Texas and Oklahoma just officially joined the war against Washington. Whether they agreed or not, the war had arrived on their doorstep.
I hope you enjoyed my little tale. Please don’t forget to give this book a quick review at your favorite retailer. I will gladly send a free copy of the next book in this series if you take the time to leave honest, critical feedback. Positive or negative, I am grateful for all feedback from my readers. Just leave a review of any length (one or ten stars, doesn’t matter), shoot me a private message on any of the following sites and I’ll send you a free copy of book three. No questions asked, no mailing list sign up required. Thanks again!
Appendix
.50 Caclass="underline" M2 .50 caliber (12.7mm) machine gun. Large and heavy, almost always mounted on a vehicle because it requires three soldiers to carry the weapon, tripod and just a small supply of ammo.
Relatively poor accuracy and a slow rate of fire compared to most machine guns, but its ability to throw a half-inch slug with the force to penetrate a brick wall or light-armored vehicle at over a mile makes it a favorite among all branches of the Service. Barely changed in design since World War 2.
2-oh-3: Single shot, 40mm grenade launcher. Attaches underneath a M16 or M4. Official designation: M203. Usually just called the 2-oh-3.
2-40: M240b 7.62mm medium machine gun. Normally referred to simply as the “2-40.” About 10 pounds heavier than the SAW. Just barely able to be carried and effectively used by a single soldier, it’s usually mounted on a vehicle or, if dismounted, an extra soldier is assigned to carry the ammo.
3-20: M320 grenade launcher. Fires 40mm “normal” or 25mm “smart” grenades, slowly replacing M203.
AT-4: Single use, disposable bazooka-like weapon. Standard unguided anti-tank rocket used by US Army. Swedish made, it is dirt cheap but deadly against light armored vehicles/fortifications. Effective range only 300 meters.
AHA: Ammunition holding area. Ammo dump. When not in the field, anything that goes boom, from small arms rounds to artillery shells, are stored there.
Apache: AH-64 attack helicopter. Fast, armored and heavily armed, this chopper also boasts a 128x Forward Looking Infrared Radar sensor system. Whether used as scouts, quick reaction fire support, or just flying snipers, the Apaches are probably the most feared and respected helicopter in the world. Primary disadvantage is the small fuel capacity, leading to relatively short on station times (1–3 hours, depending on equipment load-out).
APC: Armored Personnel Carrier. Lightly armored/armed vehicle used for support tasks. Examples: Armored ambulances, mobile command vehicles, transporting combat engineers.
COMSEC: Communications security. Referring specifically to the daily changing cryptographic code groups used by the encrypted radios.
DPICM: Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions. Generic term for a variety of artillery and airdropped sub-munitions that bridge the gap between anti-vehicle and anti-personnel explosives.
FRAGO: Fragmentary order. A modification to the original mission plan that doesn’t alter the core objectives, just how they should be achieved.
HARM: High-Speed Anti-Radar Missile. Radar seeking missile that homes in on enemy air-defense radars.
HEMTT: Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. An eight-wheel drive, diesel-powered, 10-ton cargo truck. Standard supply truck of the US Army.
Humint/Sigint: Human and Signals (electronic) intelligence. Information collected by interrogating people or eavesdropping on electronic communications.
IBA: Standard issue body armor. Each letter pronounced. Stands for the trade name, “Interceptor Body Armor.”
Weighs about 35 pounds. Double-lapped Kevlar strips give moderate shrapnel protection across most of the upper torso and, with mission-specific attachments, the groin, neck, shoulder and upper arms as well.
In addition, four “ballistic inserts,” made up of special ceramics and a thin steel backing, cover the upper chest/back and lower sides of the rib cage. Providing protection against even armor piercing small arms rounds (usually).
IED: Improvised Explosive Devices. Unfortunately, infinite variety in size, composition, triggering mechanisms, delivery means and concealment methods. Fall broadly in 3 general categories:
Claymore-like (anti-personnel): At its simplest, just a small bomb designed to throw out lots of shrapnel in a specific direction. Sometimes combined with homemade napalm, poisonous gases and/or acids because some people think bombs are just not lethal enough.
Shaped charge (anti-vehicle): Sometimes just a single, large convex copper plate in a tube with an explosive propellant in the closed end. Other times, sophisticated multi-battery arrays of different slugs. Intended to do one thing: hurl superheated armor-penetrating projectiles at close range into passing vehicles. Often kills occupants without destroying the vehicle.
Blast (anti-everything): From a simple artillery shell in a trash bag on the side of the road to multi-ton truck bombs and everything in between. Usually employed against buildings, fortified positions (ex. checkpoints, heavily armored vehicles) or for pure terror purposes.
Tragically, there is no rule stating that an IED can’t combine elements of all the above.
IFV: Infantry Fighting Vehicle. Heavily armored and well-armed vehicle intended to not just deliver infantry to the fight, but fight alongside them. Almost always tracked.
Javelin: Expensive and heavy super-bazooka. Fire and forget, it has the options of direct or “top attack” modes. Max effective range: 2500 meters.
Kevlar /K-pod: Nicknames for the standard issue Kevlar helmet.
LZ: Landing Zone
M1 Abrams: 72 ton US main battle tank. Armor made out of laminated strips of steel, special ceramics and depleted uranium making it the most heavily armored tank in the world.
Behind that armor sits a massive, German-designed cannon coupled with an extremely accurate fire control computer allowing a decently trained crew to hit a moving target, while the tank itself is moving, at over a mile. Effective range from a stationary position is unknown, but from Gulf War experience, at least four miles.