Report: Operation HOI POLLOI - Part Two
The murders at the Stockton NPR station are being pinned on the Bear Flag Republic (BFR), Delta Green is working behind the scenes to make sure that story sticks. Right now, V-Cell needs to focus on locating and eliminating Ronald Pringle aka Horst Jaeger, the leader of the BFR. They have this place of permanent residence, but its known that he doesn't really live there, instead choosing to hide out in his fortified cabin somewhere in the mountains. To get to Jaeger's they're going to have to follow-up on some earlier leads, notably, two confirmed associates of Jaeger: Holden Wagner and Allen Bhrunt.
Holden Wagner owns METTLE Munitions and Survival, an arms dealership in Modesto that has been confirmed to be the source where the Sacramento shooters sourced their weapons from. FBI files on Wagner suggest that he's had a longwithstanding relationship to the BFR.
Allen Bhrunt is the editor of TRUTH Newsletter, and formerly of The Review. He relocated to California and was saved from financial ruin by the BFR, who've helped bolster his newsletter's distribution. They have his workplace and his address in Sacramento and the address of "San Joaquin Printers", where he has his newsletter printed, in Modesto.
VICTOR and VERDANCE decide that it's worth while to retrace their steps to Sacramento and find Bhrunt for questioning, while WAXER leans on local FBI resources to begin surveilling METTLE munitions & its proprietor, Holden Wagner, as well as San Joaquin Printers for any sign of Ronald Pringle.
In Sacramento, VICTOR and VERDANCE checked in at Bhrunt's work (to no avail) before going to his home, which they found apparently abandoned. His neighbor, Donald Harper, a manager at the local bass pro shop, claimed that he left "ten or so days ago" on vacation, though he claimed not to know details and he and Bhrunt weren't very close. VICTOR and VERDANCE broke into Bhrunt's home and immediately encounter strange phenomena indicating that the home is afflicted by the influence of the King in Yellow, namely a radio report:
"We regret to report the murder of science fiction author Cy Blaine. Police reported that Blaine was killed in his Kentucky home Monday night by his wife, FBI Special Agent Emerson Copeland. Copeland shot Blaine at close ranch twice with her service pistol, before hanging herself in the garage with a garden hose-"
VERDANCE switched off the report and turned to VICTOR. "We've got to burn this place down". Pursuing the noise of heavy machinery to the basement, they encountered a small hole in the wall that was being bored by two unknown men using a masonry drill. The men, who spoke in a thick New England accent, argued as one struggled to turn off an army radio that was picking up staticky and unclear radio traffic which sounded to VICTOR like military radio.
"RED FLAG TO CASTLE WE HAVE ILLIES OVER THE I-5, WE'RE LOOKING AT IMPERIAL PARAS. THREE...FOUR BATALLIONS WE ARE UNEQUIPPED TO RESPOND PLEASE ADVI-".
The two went upstairs, lit a candle and turned on the gas stoves before promptly leaving. They were well outside the neighborhood before smoke began to pillow from the windows of his house. They return to their motel room in Sacramento to collect their things before returning to Modesto. In the bathroom (with the shower running to block out the noise), VICTOR quietly performs the Preliminary Invocation of the Primeumaton, invoking Vassago. They then leave for Modesto. WAXER's day in Modesto is less exhilirating, though she finds that Holden Wagner, the owner of METTLE Munitions, is evidently preparing to leave the state. She spies on him having a beer with another friend in the BFR she later identifies as "John Stucklass". From their conversation, WAXER gleans that the BFR are winding up to a "major play", though one which has skeptics like Stucklass worried that it will get them all killed.
In Modesto, the team reconvenes and debriefs, before they determine that to get meaningful intelligence leading to Pringle, they'll likely need to squeeze it out of Wagner. VICTOR opts first for taking the overt route, and turns up to METTLE Munitions to speak directly to Wagner. He informs Wagner that he's from the military, and that John Stucklass's appraisal of the situation is correct, and that whatever the BFR has planned will be their undoing. Wagner is unafraid, and claims he's ready to "face jail time if it means ZOG gets a bloody nose". VICTOR leaves, and V-Cell opts for plan B. Wagner returns home to find VICTOR and WAXER waiting for him. He's tased, black-bagged, and thrown into the back of a van and taken to a blacksite. VICTOR tortures him by removing eight of his fingernails (one for each child killed at B'Nai Israel Synagogue) before VERDANCE steps in to get answers from him. Wagner's tough-guy act is a fleeting memory and he gives up as much as he knows inbetween whimpers, sitting handcuffed to a chair in his thoroughly pissed jeans.
From Wagner, they get the details of the BFR's plan. Pringle is activating and arming cells across the state with a plan for armed gunmen to raid and take hostages at Juneteenth rallies across California, coinciding with bombing attacks, and a storming of the State Capitol in Sacramento by armed gunmen. The nearly suicidal plan is to overwhelm law enforcement and seize critical government infrastructure and leverage through hostages in order to foment the secession of California. The plan really is suicidal, but while it doesn't stand a chance at actually achieving Pringle's dream of a California Reich, it absolutely poses a risk to the lives of hundreds - potentially thousands. V-Cell coordinates with VIRGIL. Agent DARREN and his Seal time are mustered and heavy armaments are delivered to prepare for an attack on Ronald Pringle's fortified cabin in the mountains beyond Modesto. V-Cell (learning of a secret escape hatch leading to the armory) plans to enter through the hatch and catch Pringle and his cadre of skinhead bodyguards "in the rear" while DARREN and his team lead a frontal assault. As they gather their arms, VICTOR is privately approached by Vassago. He asks about the defeat of Ronald Pringle and the capture of "the author". Vassago's answers assure him, but also baffle him.
The plan is executed, and while not flawless, it is a success. A round from a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle blows apart the front of the cabin and kills most of Pringle's men, while the rest are ambushed by V-Cell as they scramble for the armory. A small fireteam operating a machine gun manage to wound VERDANCE, but are quickly dispatched by DARREN's antimaterial rifle. VICTOR locates Pringle as he's arming a suicide vest and shoot him, activating the vest and destroying the cabin. V-Cell narrowly escapes being crushed by the collapsing cabin and exit through the tunnel to the outside. They make radio contact with D-Cell, confirming that they are alive, before their radio promptly cuts out.
On the outside, the night is quiet. DARREN fails to respond to them over radio, and after clearing the hill... they realize Ronald Pringle's cabin is gone, as are their vehicles. After searching for a signal, VICTOR finds one.
"TAMARACK TO ALL UNITS, WE ARE BROADCASTING ON ALL FREQUENCIES, CODE WOLVERINE. IF YOU HEAR THIS, WE ARE MUSTERING AT MODESTO, RALLY POINT CHARLIE ALPHA SIERRA. ALL CONSTITUTIONAL FORCES ARE TO ACKNOWLEDGE. THIS BROADCAST WILL REPEAT EACH HOUR".
VERDANCE and WAXER are absolutely baffled, though VICTOR seems to have a somewhat clearer idea of what's happening. He tries to explain to his cohort, but cannot, but resolves noneteless that they should head for Modesto.
After trekking, wounded, through the mountains. V-Cell finally arrive at the highway and find the winnebago of a man with the equipment and know-how to patch them up. He claims to be heading South, and claiming that the "Connies" and "Chinese" are mustering at Modesto for push against the "Imperials" holed up in Sacramento. They hear a voice in English come over the radio that begins singing what they recognize from their encounter in the Macallister Building as "The Song of Cassilda", prompting the man to rush to turn it off. He claims the song is a "weapon" the Imperials have deployed that induces paranoia, madness, and death. VICTOR curiously remarks that the man identifies the "Imperials" as Russians. They part ways and V-Cell begins to head for Modesto, in the dawning sky beyond them, anti-air rounds streak across the sky, and roar of warplanes rattle against the atmosphere.
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