had not wanted that, but this was a revolution and with a revolution blood is spilled. He finished up his chores and went back up to the house. Linda had dinner ready when he got back in. They ate and he listened to the boys talk about football and camp or was it football camp. After dinner he had many messages about the chicken meeting, people were in a frenzy, they wanted to have the meeting tonight,he answered each one as best he could and kept the meeting day and time the same. People would have to wait, they had waited this long they could wait a little longer. Then he confirmed with California that he would be arriving Friday to see his brother Joe and then headed off to bed. He checked on the boys as he headed down the hall. He tucked the littlest back in, he was asleep on the floor. Linda was already in bed when he got there. "So, what is going on?" she had a tone in her voice that she already knew the answer to her question.
"With what?" he asked innocently.
"You and my dad being all buddy buddy?"
"Weird right, I have no idea. I got home around 1 had a sandwich and took a nap. When I got up I heard him in the kitchen. I thought it was you and the boys. I was as surprised as you were to see him. He told me he had been to lunch and was stopping buy to invite for the 4th. I don't know anything more than you do. You think he is OK? Maybe he had been drinking. I'm not his favorite person you know." he looked at her sideways. He wasn't sure if she was buying it. Technically it was the truth up until the invite part.
"I don't know, but whatever it is let's hope it lasts. It was so nice to see you guys talking to each other." she kissed him on the cheek and rolled over on the bed.
He placed his head on the pillow and closed his eyes. His mind was racing between Walter, the plan, extra supplies and more. Round and round it was giving him a headache. Finally his exhaustion won and he fell off to sleep. He would deal with the rest of it in the morning.
Chapter 4
Mark was standing near the edge of the deck, grilling, it was the Labor Day BBQ five years ago. Marilyn was pregnant with the twins and due any day. The family was gathered to celebrate Labor Day. Bobby walked over to him a man and his grill it looked like a Weber Ad. He handed Mark a new beer and they started talking. Never in a million years would he have believed that day would change his life forever, in a way he couldn't even describe. Mark as always was talking politics and government. He was extremely angry with the current government or the regime as he liked to refer to them as. The newest issue was immigration.
There were people being allowed into the country without anyone knowing who they were, where they were or what they were up to. There had been several news accounts. The first a 30 year old woman was raped and killed in a taxi cab on her way home from her job at the hospital she was a nurse. The young lady worked 11-7 shifts at the hospital and was going to school during the day to become an NP. The weather was brutally cold and she called a cab instead of walking to the subway she didn't do it often, but she was so tired and it was so cold she decided she had earned a cab ride to her door step. She hailed the cab in front of the hospital. She negotiated the rate with the driver and he took her home. As she was exiting the cab, a group of four men pulled her from the cab. They ripped off her clothes, the dragged her kicking and screaming into the alley. The cab driver took off and waited almost an hour before he felt guilty enough to call 911. She was gang raped, tortured, beaten and left in the alley a naked bloody mess. Two days later she died in the very hospital she serviced for the last 5 years as a result of her injuries compacted by hypothermia. All four men were arrested, there had been a security camera on her building and they managed to get pictures of their faces. Tip lines were set up and it took almost two months to get all 4. However, it was discovered that all 4 had entered the country without an paperwork. They all had extensive, violent criminal records both here and in their native country. They were charged with involuntary manslaughter! Anyone with a brain cell knew the charge should be murder, but the Attorney General didn't want to look like he was targeting them because they were without paperwork. They had no ties to the community and a judge let them out on bail.Then suddenly everyone was shocked when these fine upstanding men didn't report for court and no one could find them. So these vicious animals were walking around free to do this to another unsuspecting, innocent woman. It got worse, there were protests in front of the Attorney Generals office not demanding justice for the young beautiful nurse who had lost her life in a most brutal manner, but to have the charges dropped because they really didn't understand that what they were doing was wrong because they didn't speak the language. Mark was fired up now. He was going on and on about the poor nurse and bringing kids into the world. He was always very passionate about politics and news, but this was more intense than usual. Then he looked him straight in the face and said "I am not sitting around and watching it happen anymore. It is time we as a nation stood up for ourselves." Bobby thought it was the beer talking, but i his gut he knew it wasn't. Mark called over Terrance and asked him to mind the grill. He motioned Bobby to follow him and he took a walk down the end of the yard by the koi pond. "I have started a group."
"You mean like a band?" Bobby was confused.
"No, a group. People like you and me who have had enough. People who are tired of getting screwed by the representatives who were elected to protect us. It is time to protect ourselves. Our forefathers would not have allowed these things to go on. Hell elected officials less than a generation ago wouldn't have allowed this to happen. I want my country back!" He was whispering and screaming at the same time. "I have a plan, a very serious plan and I have started a to create a network of people around the country who will help me carry it out."
Bobby simply listened for several minutes. He like the idea of a revolution against the current government, but could it really be done. Mark was a smart guy. If anyone could come up with a workable plan it was him but a network of people? How was this going to work? His thoughts were interrupted.
"Hey are you listening to me? Are you with me?"
Without hesitation "yes! tell me what I can do and how we make it work?" the men shook hands and patted each other on the back. Then they went back to the grill. It was then they Bobby realized that was all he would know for a while. Mark would fill him in as the plan unfolded. The rest of the day was spent laughing, eating and worrying that his sister looked tired and should just go to bed, but she wouldn't.
Very early the next morning Marilyn went into labor. His nieces Peace and Liberty were born at 5am. They were perfect, identical twin girls with locks of raven hair and light eyes. Each one weighed just about 5lbs which was small, but they were fighters. Their grandmother, his mom, loved the girls names, but their grandfather thought they were hippie names. Had they been born before the BBQ he might have agreed with his dad, but after the conversation the night before he realized the symbolism. Then he wondered how much his sister knew of this crazy plan? He would wait to hear from Mark before he brought it up to Marilyn.
Bobby sat up in bed, the dream had felt so real. Like Mark had just told him the idea, but it wasn't. Mark was dead and a date had been set and he had so much to do. He needed to figure out a way to keep Marilyn and the girls safe and continue with his piece of the puzzle. He pulled a notebook and pen from his backpack and sat down at the desk. He only turned on the small hello kitty desk lamp because he didn't want to disturb the girls or Thomas. He started to write down a list of supplies. Things he would need to get and put in the house without looking like a lunatic; food, emergency supplies etc. He needed them all to stay home on the 5th. It was summer vacation and Marilyn was usually out every day with them doing some activity or another. It was normally great, but how to convince her not to go. He added that to the list, that might be the hardest task and his team was taking out a crucial target. He put the pencil down, his eyes were heavy. He heard Mark's words in his head "Sleep is your friend, lack of sleep makes you stupid and sloppy and that makes you dead." He out the notebook away and turned off the light. As he placed his head on the pillow he started to think about the events that quickly followed the twins birth.
