Free Blue Plague: War (Blue Plague Book 6) by Thomas A Watson Page A

hurt the President or me, you will tell him sure and come find me so I can have him arrested or shot,” Gene said. They all nodded, smiling.
    The sergeant broke them up in detachments as Gene walked back to the command area with his security force. Walking inside, he asked the front desk where the general was, and they reported that he was in his room.
    Gene walked down the hall and knocked on the door. “Who is it?” Givens barked.
    “Colonel Walker, sir,” Gene yelled.
    Givens opened the door, and shock spread across his face upon seeing all the armed troops. “What is the meaning of this?” he bellowed.
    Gene looked at the troops. “Wait here, men,” he said and looked at the general. “We have to talk now, sir,” he said.
    “Come then,” Givens said, closing the door behind Gene.
    Gene spun around. “Sir, there are segments of Homeland that want to kill us,” Gene said.
    Givens took a step back. “One of the aides came over here and told me that,” he said, starting to believe it.
    “It’s true, sir, the President wouldn’t tell me how he found out, but mine and your lives are in danger. The President instructed me to pick some men I could trust to protect us.”
    “I have two MPs that follow me around,” Givens said.
    “Sir, I didn’t pick them, so I can’t trust them.”
    “How many?”
    “I’m assigning five to each of us around the clock, and I put two in my room at all times,” Givens said.
    “Why in your room?” he inquired.
    “I don’t want a bomb planted or my room bugged. The Secret Service is coming over to sweep my room this afternoon,” Gene said, and Givens’ eyes got wide with fear. “What, sir?”
    Givens sighed and looked at the floor. “Colonel, I had a bug put in your room when I found out you were going to talk to the President. I thought you were going after my job, and that means kill me.”
    “General, I’ve told you I have no ambition to go any further than I am. I love my troops.”
    “I’m sorry, Colonel,” Givens said.
    “No need to apologize, sir. Where is the bug before they come over and find it?” Gene asked.
    “Let them find it and think it was Homeland,” Givens said, smiling.
    “Sir, there is a camera watching each hallway that is being recorded. They find it and review the film, see your aide going into my room after leaving yours. What do you think they will expect?” Gene said.
    “Shit,” Givens said. “It’s under your bed.”
    “Thank you, sir. Your men will be in the hall,” Gene said, walking out.
    With his group following him Gene had to admit he felt much safer with five Rangers watching his back at all times. He led them all in his room and removed the bug. That ought to surprise Jake, Gene thought, breaking it.

Chapter 6
     
    Tuesday morning, Bruce was standing in front of the command group in mission control. Picking up his notebook to start, Jake stood.
    “Hold on a second, Dad, I’m starting,” Jake said. “You have got to get Gopher under control. He is over the radio telling everyone in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia that wants to be rescued to hang white flags out. Those groups that don’t want to be rescued to hang another color of sheets out, then he tells gangs to just hide; we will find them.”
    “What’s wrong with that?” Bruce asked not seeing a problem.
    “Dad, we missed a lot of people. I found twenty-three groups in south Louisiana yesterday with white flags hanging out!” Jake yelled.
    Disappointed, Bruce asked, “How many have you found so far?”
    “Thousands,” Jake replied.
    “What about gangs?”
    Mike stood. “Bruce, I was going to tell you in the meeting, but we have found several. One of them is huge—I mean thousands. They are bigger than Grenada easy. They are in eastern Georgia at a paper mill. Our best estimates so far put the bad guy count close to five thousand,” Mike said. “The scavenging group saw where someone tried to get supplies at Benning, but the blues wiped them