Jersey leveled her CAR and gave the muzzle flashes a full magazine of .223 rounds. Screams of pain and shock ripped the night as Ben's outer circle of protection quickly formed up around him. They left one small perimeter open, for Ben and team to lay down a field of fire. His protection platoon knew if they didn't let the boss at least mix it up some, he would raise holy hell.

A tremendous flash and roar lit up the night sky as one of the turncoats tossed a grenade under the gas tanks of a truck and it went up with a bang.

"I'm intercepting their transmissions," Corrie said in a calm voice.

"Their objective is to kill you, boss.""What else is new?" Ben said.

Jersey grinned and Anna frowned.

More explosions and flashes of fiery light colored the sky as the turncoats blew up several more vehicles.

"All battalions reporting fighting," Corrie called over the din of approaching battle.

"We finish it tonight," Ben said.

M-16 fire cut the night all around Ben and his team.

230.

None of them turned a head. They kept all eyes on their perimeter.

"Here they come," Cooper called. " 'Looks like about two dozen of them."

' 'Praise God and Brother Border!'' came the shout from within the ranks of those turncoat Rebels rushing toward Ben and his team.

"Put them down," Ben ordered, lifting his CAR.

The team opened up, splitting the night with .223 rounds, all weapons set on full auto.

The line of rushing traitors went down in a sprawling heap as several hundred rounds impacted with flesh, followed by screams and howls of pain.

"They're not wearing body armor!" Beth called. "What the hell's the matter with those people?"

"That's how they can identify themselves from us," Ben called during a few seconds' lull in the fighting. He ejected the empty magazine and slipped home a full one. "But I think I would have picked a better method."

Several of Ben's protection platoon suddenly turned and leveled their M-16s at Ben. Ben caught the movement out of the corner of his eyes and hit the ground just as the men fired. Within seconds, the turncoats were riddled with bullet holes. But a large hole had been opened and the traitors poured through, breaching the inter circle.

One jumped inside the ruins where Ben and team had taken cover and slammed into Ben, knocking the CAR from Ben's hands and dropping his own as well. Ben recovered his balance and slugged the man on the jaw, addling him long enough for Ben to get set and pop him again.

"Death to all Satanists!" the turncoat screamed, charging at Ben.

Ben didn't waste the wind replying. What was the point? He kicked the traitor on the knee and when the man involuntarily reached down to grab his shattered knee, 231.

Ben brought his fist down on the back of the man's neck, driving the man face-down on the ground.Before he could put the finishing touches on the attacker, another jumped on Ben's back, riding him to the ground, screaming oaths and praising Simon Border.

Ben rolled and the man loosened his hold. Both men came up, knives flashing in the night. Ben had no time to see what his team might be doing, other than being locked in hand-to-hand combat with other turncoats.

The turncoat slashed at Ben and Ben sidestepped what would have been a lethal cut to his belly. He parried another thrust and brought the edge of his heavy knife down on the man's arm, nearly severing the arm from the elbow down. The traitor screamed and lost his blade. He staggered back, the blood gushing.

Ben stepped in close and swung the heavy blade, the razor-sharp edge striking the man on the side of his neck and almost decapitating the attacker. Ben whirled around in a crouch before the dying man hit the group.

A dark shape came out of the night and Ben just had time to duck before the M-16 the attacker was using like a club whistled over his head. The turncoat lost his balance and fell into Ben. Ben's knife went clattering off.

Ben kneed the man in the groin and heard the air whoosh out of him as the pain ripped through his body. Ben hammered at the man with a big right fist, striking the attacker several times in die face. Still the man hung on, flailing away at Ben with hard fists. The two of them rolled around on die ground, and ended up out of the ruins of the old house and about 50 feet away from Ben's team, both of them losing dieir helmets.

Ben recognized the man; he'd been with die Rebels for years. So much for trusting all die old-timers, he thought.

The men lunged to dieir boots and die turncoat clawed at his flap holster for his 9mm. Ben slugged him on the 232.

jaw with a right fist and followed that with a left, addling the man, but not knocking him down. Ben kicked out with a boot and the toe of his boot caught the man on the knee. That put him down.

Ben stepped back and delivered another kick to the man's face, his boot catching the man on the mouth. Teeth and blood flew. Ben recovered his balance, took aim, and kicked the man on the side of his head just as hard as he could. He heard the man's skull pop under the impact. The attacker lay still on the ground.

Ben turned, his eyes searching for his knife and his CAR. He saw the knife blade glinting in the faint light and scooped it up.

"Boss!" Cooper called.

"Here, Coop."

"We beat them back. You all right?"

"Only my dignity bruised. Where's my rifle?""Here!" Anna called, rushing up and looking up into his face. "Are you hurt, General Ben?"

"No, baby. I'm all right. You've got blood on your face."

"Not my blood, General Ben."

The camp was quickly settling down. The brief but brutal fight appeared to be over.

"Report!" Ben called.

"Radio took a round," Corrie said. "It's busted. I'll have to get another from the communications truck."

"Four down here, sir," the officer commanding the protection platoon called. "One dead and three wounded."

"Your radio still working?"

"Yes, sir."

"Get me a report."

"Right away, sir. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, son."

233.

Rebels began rushing up to check on Ben. Ben assured them all he was unhurt.

Corrie was handed another radio and quickly got on the horn. The portable satellite had not been damaged during the fight. "They had a brief fight back home," Corrie called. "President Jefferys and Secretary Blanton are all right. The home guard and the reserves put the coup attempt down hard. They're mopping up now."

"The battalions with us reporting only a few casualties, sir," the second radio operator said. "They have taken a number of turncoats prisoners."

"I'll want them questioned extensively," Ben said. "And then shoot diem."

The bodies of the turncoat Rebels were buried the next morning without fanfare. Their attempted coup had accomplished nothing for them except death, and for Simon Border and his followers, it had served only to intensify the hatred the loyal Rebels felt toward anyone who would try to interfere with their way of life.

As the long column began pulling out the next morning, heading west, there was none of the usual banter among the Rebels. They wore grim expressions and, to a person, their thoughts were of Simon Border and his followers, and those reflections were not at all pleasant.

"We're going to deal with the punks first, and tfien go after this nitwit Border person, right, General Ben?" Anna asked.

"We're certainly going to deal with the punks," Ben replied."Then Simon Border?" Anna persisted.

"Maybe," Ben hedged that. "We have to consider what might happen to the entire country if I were to declare open war against Border and his followers."

234.

"And also what might happen if we don't," Anna added.

Ben smiled. Anna spoke her mind, always. "That too, dear."

"We either deal with the problem now, or it will grow and grow. Never stop. Like a cancer."

"You might be right," Ben conceded.

"The man has shown himself to be untrustworthy," the young woman pressed on. "Right?"

"Right, dear."

"He wants to destroy our way of life, right?"

"Right, dear."

"Even though we agreed to live in peace with him, right?"

"Absolutely right, dear."

The other team members were all smiling, letting Anna run with the verbal ball.

"So what is the problem? Let's go kick his butt and then we can get on with our lives, right? In the old country, if another gang tried to move in on our territory, we fought. If they wanted to live in peace with us, we gave that a try. If it didn't work out, then we did away with them.

It's just that simple in my mind. Nothing complicated about it."

Ben chuckled. How to explain to Anna that he didn't want the entire northern hemisphere to blow up in their faces? How to explain that Simon Border had millions of followers, all ready to die for their leader?

"I think we're already committed, boss," Cooper said.

Ben cut his eyes to the driver. "Could be, Coop. But this time let's walk on the side of caution."

"You mean, deal with the punks and then back off?"

"That's right."

"I'll bet Simon Border will never let us do that," Anna again stepped in.

"You never give up, do you, Anna?" Ben said with a laugh.

236.

235"Have you ever given up, General Ben?" she responded.

"Well, no, I guess not."

Anna tossed her head. "And I don't think you will give up with Simon Border, either."

"Oh, you don't?"

"No."

"I guess that settles that, then?"

"Sure does. So now we go kick Simon Border's ass, right?"

"Maybe. We'll see."

"We will," she said confidently. "He'll force us to do it."

"You're probably right, Anna."

She nodded her head. "A holy war. It won' t be pleasant.''

"Sure as hell won't," Ben muttered. "Judgement day."

237.

The column rolled on across the state, encountering no further trouble from either punks nor Simon Border supporters ... until they hit the outskirts of what was left of Albuquerque.

"Scouts reporting Border's troops are waiting for us just east of the city," Corrie reported.

"Tell the scouts to find us a route south," Ben replied. "We'll avoid trouble with Border's people whenever possible." i Ben felt all the eyes of his team on him. He ignored the curious gazes.

The last thing hie wanted in the battered country that was once America was a religious war. So for all his big talk now, his troops knew he had been running a bluff against Simon all along-let them think what they would. Ben's primary objective was to deal with the punks. If Simon Border would let him in to do that, and then let him out, Simon could damn well have his wacko nation.

But Ben knew he was hoping against hope. Putting off 238.

the inevitable. But be that as it may, he would, by God, put off any head-to-head confrontation with Simon as long as he could. Maybe in time, when Simon saw that the Rebels would keep their word ...

"Taking any route south is going to throw us miles out of the way,"