Phoenix Rising: by William W. Johnstone

a military man about you. Would I be wrong if I guessed that you were in Vietnam?”
    â€œThree tours, Admiral,” Bob said. “I was a warrant officer.”
    â€œAviator?”
    Bob nodded. “Helicopter pilot.”
    â€œAnd a damn good one too,” Jake said. “I’ve seen him operate.”
    Gurney led them into a lounge area in the operations building where a pot of coffee and the fixings sat on a table. After a moment of filling cups and adding milk and sugar, they settled into cushioned chairs and sofas to talk.
    â€œI’m aware of what you folks are doing over there in Alabama,” Gurney said. “And I was pleased when you contacted us and said you wanted to drop by for a visit. I’ve been thinking that there must be a way we can help each other.”
    â€œHave you heard from any of the other people here in Florida?” Jake asked. “How many would you say support your movement?”
    â€œI’d say most of the people who live north of I-4 support us,” Gurney said. “Those south of I-4 are primarily the ones who put that bastard in the White House in the first place, and a hell of a lot of them still support him.”
    â€œHave you ever thought about breaking off North Florida from the southern part of the state?”
    â€œI’ve never really given it much thought,” Gurney said.
    â€œThink about it,” Jake said. “Do that. Form your own state, then come join us as a state in the UFA?”
    â€œUFA?”
    â€œUnited Free America,” Jake said. “Part of the reason we’re making this trip is to get into contact with other independent groups to invite them to join us.”
    â€œYou think there is a chance for such a thing?” Gurney asked.
    â€œI do. Fort Benning, Keesler and Barksdale Air Force Bases, and Fort Rucker are all controlled by patriots. And we have a destroyer, the John Paul Jones, that is on patrol right now in the Gulf, keeping an eye on the off-shore gas and oil platforms.”
    â€œHistorically, the military bases have been in the South,” Bob added. “So getting control of them shouldn’t be that hard.”
    â€œAnd Ohmshidi has no army as such,” Jake said. “All he has are the State Protective Service and the Janissaries.”
    â€œYes, but from what I’ve heard, he has over a million of them,” Gurney said. “And you have to give the son of a bitch credit, he has started rebuilding, he’s bringing their economy back, and he has all the gold in Fort Knox to back him.”
    â€œNot all the gold in Fort Knox,” Bob said with a chuckle.
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    Jake laughed as well. “What our president means is that one of our very first operations was to relieve Fort Knox of some of its gold.”
    â€œGood heavens! For real? How much did you get?”
    â€œIn the neighborhood of 50 billion in pre-O dollars,” Bob said.
    Gurney whistled softly. “That’s a damn good neighborhood,” he said.
    â€œWe’re using it to back our printed currency.” Bob pulled out his billfold, then took out a bill. “Here is an example of the bills. We are only printing one, five, ten, and twenty dollar bills. No coinage at all.”
    â€œThis is a good-looking bill,” Gurney said. The bill he was holding was a five dollar bill. “Feels good, too.”
    â€œSeventy-five percent cotton and twenty-five percent linen,” Bob said, “just as in the pre-O currency. And, every dollar is backed by gold.”
    â€œI see you have Reagan’s picture on the five. Who do you have on the other bills?”
    â€œEisenhower is on the one, Truman is on the ten, and Bob Hope is on the twenty.”
    Gurney smiled. “Bob Hope?”
    Bob nodded. “My father saw him in North Africa during World War II, and I saw him twice in Vietnam. I don’t think we’ve made a medal high enough to honor