After the Republic by Frank L. Williams Page B

waved Bob off. “This is no strange vehicle!”
    Rebecca vaulted out of the SUV and sprinted to greet Perry and Caroline. Caroline ran to embrace her.
    “Oh my God, I was worried you guys were dead!” Rebecca said. Sobbing uncontrollably, Caroline buried her face on Rebecca’s shoulder.
    Joshua hugged Perry. “I’m glad you guys are okay and that you got here before we left.” He called for Thomas to join them. Bob had already done so, without invitation. “Perry, meet Thomas Page and Bob Kendall. Thomas is providing the land where we’re going, and Bob is handling security. Guys, this is my best friend Perry. I told you that he had gone to look for his children, who were supposed to be in Raleigh when…” Joshua’s stomach twisted violently. “I… um… what did you find out about Charlie and Allie?”
    Perry shook his head and answered in a shaky voice. “When we got to Raleigh they wouldn’t let us into the blast zone. We went back to our house in Wake Forest and made dozens – hundreds – of calls. The restaurant where they had planned to eat was destroyed, and no one has heard from them or Caroline’s parents.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “At this point we have to assume they were--” Perry began bawling like a newborn baby.
    Joshua embraced his heartbroken friend. “I am so sorry.” Caroline continued sobbing on Rebecca’s shoulder but did not speak.
    After what seemed like an eternity of awkward silence Perry wiped the tears from his eyes. “You mentioned security. That’s good. We’re going to need it.”
    “What do you mean?” Bob perked up.
    “People are starting to lose it,” he said. “One of my neighbors in Wake Forest got stopped and robbed at gunpoint on a usually calm, upscale neighborhood street while driving home from the grocery store. The robbers didn’t want money. They took her food . We’ve heard other similar stories. And when we were trying to get into Raleigh we were stopped at a roadblock. There were some local law enforcement personnel there, but there were also some federal Homeland Security police.”
    “And?”
    “Well, the fact that they were there didn’t surprise me given that there had been a nuclear attack. But they took our cell phones and asked if we had any weapons. I saw them confiscate a pistol from a car in front of us at the roadblock, even though the driver had a concealed carry permit . They grilled us and said President Armando had declared martial law. They treated us like we were the enemy.”
    “Why would they want your cell phones?” Joshua pursed his lips.
    Perry shook his head. “I have no idea, but that was disturbing. Joshua, maybe you were right about this Armando guy. And in regard to our discussion about why the Second Amendment matters, I think I get it.”
    Joshua looked at Rebecca. “ Now he knows why.”
    Bob’s brow furrowed. “Joshua, when you were making calls providing people with instructions to meet here, did you leave specifics on voice mail messages?”
    Joshua nodded.
    “Did you leave Mr. Edwards a message on the phone that was seized?”
    Joshua frowned and again nodded.
    “Mr. Edwards, do you know if you were followed here this morning?”
    Perry shrugged. “I have no idea. Didn’t think about that.”
    Bob immediately went into high alert. “Martin! Front and center!” Kane joined the group. “Martin, climb to the highest possible vantage point and look for strange vehicles or other threats.”
    “Yes, sir!”
    Kane retrieved his binoculars and rifle, bolted to a tree behind the house and shimmied up it.
    Joshua said, “Bob, we’ll add Perry to the first travel group. Please give him a map and radio and explain the logistics.”
    Kane scanned the horizon for potential threats from his vantage point high atop the tree. Joshua squinted as he zeroed in on Kane’s location. “If I didn’t know he was there I wouldn’t be able to spot him.”
    “That’s the idea, son,” Bob