Jeff Head - Dragon's Fury 4 - Long March

Title Page

DRAGON’S FURY SERIES

VOLUME IV

THE LONG MARCH

J E F F

H E A D

www.dragonsfuryseries.com

Coming Soon

BY JEFF HEAD

DRAGON’S FURY VOLUME V – EAGLE’S TALONS

(In 2004)

THE STAND AT KLAMATH FALLS

How rural western farmers fought entrenched environmentalism and the Federal Government and won.

(In 2005)

OTHER NOVELS

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BY JEFF HEAD

DRAGON’S FURY VOLUME I – BREATH OF FIRE

DRAGON’S FURY VOLUME II – TRODDEN UNDER

DRAGON’S FURY VOLUME III – HIGH TIDE

Publisher’s Page

Alpha Connections

Emmett, ID 83716

This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary. Any similarities to

actual persons or events are purely a result of the author's imagination.

This work, and any parts thereof, may not be copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any

means; electronic, mechanical or otherwise without prior written permission from the author.

ISBN 0-9747610-2-8

Proudly produced in the United States of America

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page.I

Coming Soon.I

Publisher’s Page.I

Dedication.I

Acknowledgments.II

Author’s Note.III

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Prologue.1

Chapter 1.9

Chapter 2.51

Chapter 3.97

Chapter 4.158

Chapter 5.203

Chapter 6.254

Chapter 7.313

Chapter 8.367

Epilogue.401

Maps and Illustrations.408

Glossary of Terms and Acronyms.412

About the Author420

Dedication

This book, and the entire series, is dedicated to lovers of liberty everywhere, and to the principles upon

which true liberty rests: faith, morality, virtue, honor, free will, commitment, valor and eternal vigilance.

Most especially, it is dedicated to all of those Americans and their families who have served in defense of

liberty and sacrificed their time, their efforts, their very lives and the lives of their loved ones for that

cause, whether at home or abroad.

In particular the entire Dragon’s Fury series is dedicated to those victims of terror whose lives were so

brutally cut short on September 11, 2001, and to those selfless emergency personnel, firefighters, police,

National Guard and volunteers who worked to help the trapped and injured, and to recover the victims.

It is also dedicated with great respect and humility to the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight

93. On that ultimate day of infamy, those heroes resisted their enemies and fought back, resulting in the

crash of their aircraft and the death of all involved before it could reach its target, thus saving hundreds if

not thousands of more innocent lives. Their struggle and the defeat of terror and tyranny on that day

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foreshadows on a small scale the ultimate defeat of tyranny and terror by free people everywhere, who

when called upon, rise to whatever heights necessary to maintain liberty and virtue, irrespective of

sacrifice or cost. God rest the souls of those brave passengers on Flight 93.

Finally, this work is dedicated to those committed and professional service men and women who have

been, and will be, called upon to bring about a just and lasting retribution for the attacks of 9-11 that

killed and injured so many. The recent successful operations in Afghanistan and Iraq are examples of this.

May we honor the sacrifices of all those who go in harms way for our benefit, and may we be prepared

to make our own sacrifices for liberty and for our Republic wherever and whenever necessary.

Acknowledgments

As with all of the volumes in the series, special thanks go to my family for their faith in me. In particular,

thanks to my dear wife of 25 years for her love and patience with this work and to my sons, Jeff and

Jared for their input and suggestions…and to my daughter Katie who has faithfully read all of the

volumes, promoted them, and had faith in her Dad. In addition, thanks to my father, A. L. Head Jr., a

combat veteran of World War II, for all of his support, and to my mother, Georgia, whose Christ-like

love and faith have always been an example and inspiration to me.

Once again, I cannot have a section on acknowledgements without personally thanking those who have

collaborated with me.

Thanks to Joanie Fischer of Pennsylvania, for her reviews, edits, faith and encouragement.

Thanks to Chris Durkin of Pennsylvania, for his edits, perseverance, faith and invaluable technical input.

Thanks to Cory Emberson of California, for her edits and her faith and belief in this project.

Thanks to Matt Bracken of California, for his reviews and for his input as a former U.S. Navy Seal

platoon leader.

Thanks to Arthur Hines of North Carolina for his input and for his service on the point of the sword in

the Special Forces in Vietnam.

Thanks to Matthew Riley of Connecticut, for his reviews and for his input as a former U.S. Navy Seal.

Thanks to Chief Master Sergeant Jack Newton and Master Sergeant John Davis of the 159thSecurity

Force Squadron, Louisiana Air National Guard, for their input regarding security force issues after the

retaking of Incirlik air base in Turkey.

To each of these and all others, who have encouraged me and put up with my ramblings,I say again,

heartfelt thanks.

Author’s Note

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Every effort has been made to make Volume IV of the Dragon’s Fury series, “The Long March”, a

standalone novel that can be purchased and read individually. In order to do this, in the introduction of

characters and the story line, short paraphrasing of past activities have been included in an effort to

bridge the volumes together. Hopefully this will allow first-time readers enough flavor and background to

enable them to enjoy Volume IV without having to first read the other three volumes. At the same time, I

have attempted to do this in such a way as to also allow those who have already read Volumes I, II and

III to pick up the tale with as much continuity and as little redundancy as possible.

Obviously, such an effort is an attempt to satisfy two conflicting interests. I believe I have struck a good

balance. I suppose that time, the experience of readers and their comments will tell whether my attempts

have been successful or not. In either case, whether you are a new reader of the series, or whether you

are returning for Volume IV after having read the others, I hope that the read is an enjoyable, compelling

and thought provoking one for you

I say all of this with one final comment and observation. The books are written as a series. Even though I

am making every effort to allow the various volumes to be read as standalone novels, they really were

meant to be read as a series and I sincerely hope everyone who picks up one volume of the series and

reads it, will be inspired by that reading to read them all.

Prologue

March 21, 2009, 21:50 EST

Death Row

Federal Detention Facility

Outside of Reston, VA

He couldn’t get the words out of his mind, even though it had been more than five months.

“Mr. Krenshaw rose to some of the highest positions possible in our free and moral society. As a result

of his love for himself, his ambition, his commitment to enemies of this nation and his corruption…as a

result of his perusal of all of these things above his commitment to his fellow citizens and the liberty that

availed him of the very opportunities he enjoyed…he sacrificed it all and threw it all away.

“David Krenshaw, as great a traitor as this nation has ever known…and it has known a few…has been

given the guilty verdict he so richly deserves and it is this administration’s absolute hope that he will be

sentenced to die for those crimes. An ignoble and dishonorable end to an ignoble, dishonorable,

traitorous and murderous life.”

When he’d heard those words, the enormity of his situation had finally struck home, deep into his heart

and soul. Even more so than the words“Guilty as charged,” uttered by the foreman of the jury on that

fateful day in October of last year. For some reason those words spoken by the Attorney General of the

United States at a news conference after the announcement of the guilty verdict had finally made clear to

him the full extent of his situation. Up until that point, he had held out hope that somehow, someway, his

many allies and his wealth and influence would retrieve him from the nightmare. But it hadn’t worked out

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that way.

As much as he contemplated those words of the Attorney General, there were still other words, uttered

a few weeks later, that were emblazoned even deeper in his mind…and they came back to him now. If

the Attorney General’s words had finally awakened him to the awful state and reality of his

circumstances, those later words punctuated with utter finality what the consequences of those

circumstances would be for him personally. They were the words of the judge at his sentencing hearing in

late December.

“Mr. Krenshaw, it is never an easy or a tasteful task to sit in judgment of someone’s life or liberty. But I

must say, in this case the task has been rendered more palatable as a result of your heinous deeds. Those

treasonous crimes caused or abetted the deaths of many hundreds, possibly tens of thousands of your

countrymen, and helped lead this entire nation to as precarious a precipice as it has ever stood upon in its

long history.

“If ever there were a reason for maintaining and administering the death penalty, this is it. Therefore, Mr.

David Krenshaw, on Counts 1, 2, 3 and 6 the Court sentences you to death by lethal injection on March

21st, 2009.

“On Count, 4 and 5, the Court sentences you to 20 years in federal prison on each count, the sentence

on each count to run consecutively. That’s a total of 40 years, but the death sentence I have just imposed

renders moot any further explanation of the terms of these sentences.

“The Court also imposes upon you for each of the six counts a fine of $1.5 million for the aggregate sum

of $9 million to be paid by your estate.

“The Court accepts the government’s recommendation with respect to restitution, and orders restitution

in the amount of $40 million to be paid by your estate and maintained in trust for the expected civil suits

that will arise out of your guilty verdict.

“These are the sentences that are imposed upon you by this court in accordance with the laws of these

United States. They are fair and just sentences that are commensurate with the nature and gravity of your

crimes. I only wish to God that the victims of your crimes, indeed all of us, had been treated as fairly and

justly.

"We shall rise above the deeds of individuals of your ilk, Mr. Krenshaw and your allies, our enemies.

Make no mistake about it, in the end, we will be triumphant. Let this sentence, and its swift execution, be

a warning and testimonial to all enemies and traitors amongst us or in foreign places, American justice will

not be denied…it will be served.”

The finality of that sentence had been punctuated by the swift appeals process that was a result of the

wartime conditions. Two appeals had been made. The last had gone to the Supreme Court only

yesterday, and the high court had refused to even hear it. Now, here he sat, just over thirty minutes

before the sentence was to be executed, and there was no one left to turn to…he was, in the end, alone.

His wife had divorced him less than two weeks after the trial and conviction, claiming ignorance (which,

he thought, was absolutely true), and demanding and then receiving from the court a generous support

settlement from whatever would remain of his estate. As beautiful as she was, as attached to him and his

career as she had apparently been…despite the many years…now she was gone and did not so much as

even send him a letter.

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After being taken into custody, despite his efforts through back channels with his lawyer, he had never

heard from or been contacted in any way by the agents of Jien Zenim, his great mentor. As much as he

had done for the man, as supportive as he had been of what he still believed were the man’s long term

views…never mind the fact that millions of dollars had been paid to him for that support…Zenim and his

agents had not come to his aid, had not retrieved him from this hell.

He had been stripped of his vaunted position on the Council on International Relations, the CIR, and the

people within those ranks, despite significant movement towards his line of reasoning regarding current

world conditions, were also distancing themselves from him as quickly as they could. The prestige and

power of that influential body derived from influential politicians from both sides of the aisle, leading

media executives like himself and leaders from every part of society all dedicated to their own vision of

world governance. He had harbored such great hopes of directing all of that power and influence in

support of Zenim’s vision. And considering the numerous setbacks to American interests precipitated by

the current administration’s efforts to thwart Zenim, he had thought he was on the verge of realizing that

goal. But that was before his arrest and trial. Now all of them were both unwilling and powerless to help

him.

Finally, his former co-workers at WNN, the World News Network, were also distancing themselves

from him as rapidly as possible. The place where he had risen to his pinnacle of influence and wealth was

now a vacuum to him. None of them had talked to him, none of them had visited him…none of them

wanted to. Despite all he had done for the individuals he had considered loyal to him, he found that the

loyalty was only skin deep…in fact, no deeper than what loyalty he held for them. Now, to a person,

they justifiably claimed that their former support of his ideas and policies had been purely innocent, and

that they had been completely ignorant of his involvement with the enemies of America.

“They’re all backpedaling. They’re all abandoning my sinking ship, every one of them,” he thought as he

sat up on his cot and turned towards the small table holding his last meal.

David Krenshaw knew in his heart that, if the roles were reversed, he, too, would be abandoning this

particular sinking ship. So it was hard for him to cast too many aspersions towards his former associates.

He was at least honest enough with himself to recognize that truth about himself. But that knowledge did

not lend any comfort to him…he was the one here in this cell.

In an effort to try to afford some measure of comfort in his last hours, a priest had been made available

to him. But David’s complete lack of remorse or repentance had left the priest no room to provide

absolution. David had heatedly communicated to the priest that he was convinced that God, if he were

even willing to admit His existence, was the one who had caused David to fall from his position of wealth

and influence…had in fact turned His back on David.

In the end, despite his recognition of the awful conditions he found himself in, David was unwilling to feel,

let alone accept, any responsibility for his own actions. It was all someone else’s fault. It would always be

someone else’s fault to the very end.

Like so many totally irredeemable and depraved individuals, David was only interested in his own

perspective and what was in it for him. Now, even when there was nothing left in it for him but the sharp

end of a needle, everyone else was an object of blame and an object of manipulation…even, in David’s

mind, God.

He got up and stepped to the small table to eat. He tried not to view it as a last meal…tried to look

upon it as nothing more than a late dinner. In an effort to maintain that perspective, he had even told his

guards to select the dish for him when he had been given the opportunity for a last request…whatever

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they thought appropriate. Now, as he sat down he found that his efforts to treat the meal as any other

dinner would also be denied him.

While removing the stainless steel cover from the plate holding the food, he smelled the entrée briefly

before he saw it. Looking down, the recognition and the finality of this last meal…and the reasons for

it…flooded his mind and he began to sob.

Chow Mein.

March 21, 2009, 22:26 EST

Execution Chamber

Federal Detention Facility

Outside of Reston, VA

Director Andy Syke, along with approximately twenty other individuals in the witnessing room, watched

the small entourage as it made its way down the hall to his left and to the door of the small room with the

single bed and medical equipment in it. Like the hallway, that room was separated from the witness room

by a row of thick glass windows. Audio was channeled into the room through a speaker system built into

the walls.

As he watched, Andy could see the warden, a priest, the doctor and four prison officers…and there

was David Krenshaw, supported between two of the officers, sobbing uncontrollably, being carried

along, his feet dragging, his body totally limp as he was unable or unwilling to support himself.

“What a miserable excuse for a person,” the Director thought.

The Director and FBI Agent in Charge (AIC) of the investigation and apprehension of Krenshaw had

suspected all along that at his core, Krenshaw was cowardly and totally self-serving, not at all dedicated

to the ideology of the cause that had bought and paid for him over the years. Now Sykes was himself

witnessing the obvious verification of that suspicion.

Andy turned to Attorney General Hull, who was seated next to him and who had made a point of being

present at the execution on behalf of the administration.

“Mr. Attorney General, in all my years I don’t believe I have ever seen such a miserable excuse for a

human being. It almost makes one pity him.”

Dean Hull turned to the AIC who had been so instrumental in bringing the man they were watching to

justice.

“Andy, you are right, Krenshaw is pitiful…but I have no doubts that his currentpain is only because he

was caught and is finally having to face the consequences of his actions.

“We can never afford to forget how many good, honorable Americans are dead because of the actions

of that totally depraved and traitorous excuse of a human being. He was wholly without remorse

throughout the time he was committing these crimes and throughout his trial. I cannot pity him in the least,

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and though I do not relish what we are about to witness, I am nonetheless gratified that such an individual

as this will now have to account for the damage he has caused.”

Andy Syke agreed with the Attorney General and was anxious to punctuate that agreement.

“Well, I agree whole-heartedly with that. Perhaps pity was not a good word choice. We surely can’t

afford to show him an ounce of it, irrespective of how sad an excuse for a person he is, and irrespective

of what he looks like at this minute.

“One thing is for sure: he and his handlers did not show us any pity, nor would they have wasted it on us

in the future if Krenshaw had been allowed to continue his agenda. Irrespective of his own weaknesses,

our enemies used Krenshaw effectively against us, and I, for one, am glad he is soon to be permanently

out of play. I just hope that any more like him are deterred by this administration of justice, or that we

find them soon and administer a similar form of justice to them.”

The Attorney General nodded as Krenshaw was now physically picked up and placed on the bed.

“Well said, Director, well said. Here we go.”

At this point Krenshaw, who had been limp and had required help from the guards, began to resist,

kicking and flailing his arms and legs wildly in an effort to get off the bed. His incoherent yells and

screams could be heard from the other room. The four large guards, one handling each appendage, held

him firmly in place despite the struggle while the attending doctor fastened the restraints around his arms,

legs, body and head.

Finally Krenshaw was completely restrained. But although he continued to struggle against the restraints,

they held firm. The only indication of the continued struggle was Krenshaw’s red face, a few very

restricted movements around the arm and leg restraints, and his continued yells, which were now muffled

by the restraints around his head. An almost eerie, calm atmosphere settled over the room.

Upon a nod from the warden, the doctor placed an IV tube into Krenshaw’s exposed arm and attached

it to a drip that was wheeled over next to the bed. A small delay ensued as everyone waited for almost

thirty seconds until the appointed time. At precisely 10:30 PM, after the warden had the exact time

recorded, he nodded again to the doctor who then turned to the medical equipment and activated the

drip, allowing the lethal fluid to begin flowing into David Krenshaw’s veins.

Within twenty seconds Krenshaw’s struggling and yelling had stopped. His eyes remained open and he

continued to move his eyeballs around wildly for another minute as the drug continued to take effect.

Then his eyes closed and he appeared to drift into a deep sleep. About two minutes later, his entire body

experienced two quick spasms, followed by his breath coming short and very quickly for a few seconds.

Then he lay completely still.

At precisely 10:36 PM the attending doctor examined his charge once more. When he was finished with

that examination, he turned and looked to the warden and the gathered witnesses and pronounced David

Krenshaw officially dead.

As Andy Sykes and the Attorney General rose to leave the room, Andy distinctly heard the Attorney

General, who himself had been a U.S. Army Ranger in his younger days, whisper the phrase:

“Sic Semper Tyranis.”

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Chapter 1

“Whether in chains or in laurels, liberty knows nothing but victories.” – Douglas McArthur

April 3, 2009, 02:37 EDT

Isolated Training Area

Eglin Air Force Base, Florida

The two rotors were still turning as the eight man team came down the ramp out of the tail end of the

modified Osprey aircraft and quickly made their way into the forest next to the small clearing. No sooner

had they cleared the back ramp of the aircraft than the Osprey canted its rotors slightly forward, leaned

that way and took off, leaving the men to their own devices.

None of the eight wore uniforms or any identifying insignia. All eight of them were using the latest

generation night vision equipment and carrying MP5SD submachine guns and other equipment on their

backs. They communicated through miniature radios that were fitted to small ear-pieces lodged in each of

their right ears and to small microphones that wrapped around their face, positioned near their mouths.

All of them were fluent in Spanish.

Despite the lack of official uniforms, if ever captured with the equipment that they carried, that equipment

itself would identify who they fought for, whether they were personally identified or not. For this reason,

most of their high-tech equipment, except for their miniature and very powerful digital radio, would be

cached in a specific area about two miles from their landing zone for later use after they had met up with

their point of contact (POC) on the ground. That contact was a long-time partisan and CIA operative

who had been working for the United States government for many years. The meeting with their POC

and the expeditious caching of their equipment was what the soldiers were practicing this early morning in

the Florida woods.

They had been practicing and training for the various aspects of their operation for over eight weeks

now. Eight grueling weeks amounting to 14 to 16 hour days and covering every conceivable aspect of

their upcoming mission. From the insertion and meeting of their POC, to the caching, to every

conceivable alternative for accomplishing their mission in advance of the major U.S. military operation

that would follow. Tonight was the last practice run at the insertion. Four days from now, on April 7th,

the practice would become reality.

Sergeant Hernando Rodriguez considered all of this as he led the team into the trees. Once completely

under cover of the trees and in their shadows, Hernando used hand signals and instructed the others to

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Jeff Head - Dragon's Fury 4 - Long March

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