Without Law 6

by Eric Vall

  “And get supplies,” Anna smiled at the blonde hippie.

  “That too,” Bailey grinned.

  “It will be nice to go on a mission with all of us,” Paige added with her own smile.

  “Rolly is already outside,” I told Tara. “I bet he’s making our coffee right now.”

  “Well I guess it’s not too bad then,” she said, but she still glared at us playfully, and I smiled at how cute she was when she was irritated.

  We all got dressed, geared up, and grabbed our bags before we headed outside to find Rolly sitting by the firepit. He had the fire going and the smell of coffee filled the air.

  “This almost makes getting up at three am worth it,” Tara sighed, and she took a seat by Rolly.

  “It’s not three am,” Anna laughed.

  “Yeah,” Paige chuckled. “More like five.”

  “The sun is barely up,” Tara said, and she gestured at the still dark sky. “If the sun isn’t up, it’s three am.”

  “I don’t think that’s how time works,” Bailey laughed at the platinum blonde.

  “It can be five once I’ve had coffee,” Tara grinned.

  “You all work hard,” Rolly said. “Making you some coffee is the least I can do.”

  “You work just as hard,” I smiled at the old man, and I sat down by Anna.

  “It’s true,” Paige said. “But we appreciate it.”

  “Just be careful out there,” Rolly said, and he looked around at each of us.

  “We will,” I said, and I smiled softly at the old man.

  “Get me your to-go cups,” Rolly said, and he pulled the large pot of coffee off the fire.

  “I’ll get them,” Bailey offered, and she stood up and headed inside, but returned a moment later with five travel mugs.

  Rolly filled the mugs for us and filled a small cup for himself.

  “I know we won’t be gone long,” Bailey said, and she hugged Rolly. “But we’ll miss you.”

  “Yeah,” Paige grinned, and she went in for a hug as well. “Be careful.”

  “Let me get in there,” Anna smiled, and joined the group hug.

  “Me too,” Tara said, and she wrapped her arms around the group. “Thanks Rolly.”

  “I guess I need some of this too,” I chuckled, and I wrapped my large arms around the girls and squeezed them tight. “You stay safe old man.”

  “That will be hard to do if you all squeeze me to death,” Rolly laughed.

  “Oh shoot,” Paige giggled, and she let go so the rest of us followed suit.

  “Time to go,” I smiled at the girls. “Thanks again for the coffee, Rolly.”

  “No problem,” the old man grinned, and the laugh lines on his face grew deeper. I thought that the group hug probably made him happy.

  We made our way to the truck and loaded in, all the girls were able to sit up front, though it was a tight squeeze. We waved to Rolly as we headed down the driveway, and before long we were on the road to Morrisville.

  “I wonder if the other prisoners are still in Morrisville,” Anna said.

  “I don’t know,” Paige said, and she pushed her eyebrows together. “I hope they went south by now.”

  “That would be best for them,” I nodded.

  “You did give them a map,” Tara shrugged.

  “Yeah,” Anna said. “They could have more information though.”

  “We have all the information we need,” I said. “We know how to get in and the best time to do it.”

  “True,” Anna nodded. “I just like to be over-prepared.”

  “That’s why we’ll scope it out today,” I grinned.

  “It’s going to be a long day again,” Tara said.

  “Did you guys scout in the same place you and I did?” Paige asked.

  “Yeah,” I nodded. “We stayed at the country club and scouted in the trees.”

  “Will there be room there for all of us?” Tara asked.

  “I’m not sure,” I said and I pursed my lips. “But there are other trees around, so we might have to split into groups.”

  “That might give us more insight anyways,” Anna said. “That way we can get multiple angles.”

  “Good idea,” I smiled at the redhead.

  “The sunrise is so pretty,” Bailey smiled, and she stared ahead at the orange and pink sky that was overtaking the blue of the night.

  “It is,” I said.

  “I love fall,” Paige sighed.

  “Ew,” Tara sneered playfully.

  “How can you not like fall?” Anna scoffed.

  “It’s just, like, the prequel to winter,” the platinum blonde said.

  “Fall is the time for Halloween, and soup, and hot chocolate, and apple cider,” Paige said, and her eyes closed as if she was tasting apple cider right then.

  “I do love apple cider,” I smiled.

  “Apple cider is good,” Tara nodded. “Fall just sucks.”

  “Whatever,” Anna laughed. “Fall is amazing.”

  “Why do you like fall so much?” Bailey asked the redhead.

  “It’s not too hot, not too cold, and it’s perfect for running,” Anna grinned.

  “No thank you,” Tara chuckled. “I’d take summer any day.”

  “I do love summer,” Bailey said.

  “What’s your favorite season, Tav?” Paige asked.

  “I like spring,” I told her.

  “Why spring?” Anna asked, and she raised a red brow.

  “Because of all the flowers, duh,” Tara answered for me, and she turned to flash me a grin.

  “The flowers are nice,” I chuckled. “But I like the new life in spring. Spring is full of hope.”

  “Wow,” Paige said. “I think Tav is trying to impress us with his poetry skills.”

  “Hardly,” I laughed.

  “I don’t know,” Tara said. “I think Paige is right.”

  “Well then,” I said. “Is it working at least?”

  “Totally,” Tara grinned.

  “Definitely,” Paige added.

  We all laughed, and then we sipped our coffee and drove on while we enjoyed the sunrise, but by the time we arrived in Burlington the sun was fully up, and it was growing warm.

  “Where are we going to park the truck?” Anna asked as we pulled into town.

  “Morrisville gave me an idea,” I said.

  “Firehouse?” Paige asked.

  “Yes,” I smiled and nodded.

  “That is smart,” Bailey said. “It’s big enough for the truck and trailer.”

  “Oh yeah,” Tara said, and she looked at Bailey. “I forgot you weren’t with us in Morrisville.”

  “Nope,” Bailey smiled.

  “I think the firehouse is right up the road to the right,” Paige said, and she pointed ahead.

  “I believe so,” I confirmed, and I turned right and saw the firehouse a few blocks down.

  We cleared the building, parked the truck, and made our way over to the country club.

  “Okay,” I said once we were outside the front of the club. “There’s a group of trees that have a good middle spot.”

  “The ones we were at,” Tara nodded.

  “Yes,” I said. “Since you and Paige know those, why don’t you two take those trees?”

  “Can I be on my own?” Anna asked.

  “I think that can be arranged,” I smiled at the redhead and remembered our conversation about her having solo missions, and I figured this would be a great tester.

  “Great,” Anna smiled. “Do you want me right or left?”

  “You can be right,” I said. “That will put Bailey and I closest to the country club. I’ll motion to you when we break for lunch.”

  “Okay,” Paige nodded.

  “Thanks,” Anna grinned.

  “Should we show them the manhole first?” Tara asked.

  “Might as well,” I shrugged, and I walked over to the covering. “It’s right here, and it leads to a corner of the camp.”

  “Okay
,” Anna nodded. “We’re going in with you tonight right?”

  “Yes,” I nodded. “Two of you at least. One of you will stay over here on lookout.”

  “I’ll be the lookout,” Anna volunteered.

  “I think that would be best,” I smiled at the redhead.

  “Okay,” Paige said. “Let’s go check this place out.”

  We dropped off our bags inside the club and made our way to the side of the building, then out to the trees where we could see inside the camp. Bailey and I found a clump of trees near the left corner of the fence and laid down behind them. I looked to see Paige and Tara already laying in their spot, and Anna had found a few trees to lay behind, though it took me a moment to find her because she was hidden so well.

  I looked into the camp to see more wounded soldiers sitting in front of the medical tent, though I thought I recognized some from the last time as well.

  “There’s a lot of injured guards,” Bailey whispered.

  “Yes,” I nodded. “They’re coming back from the border like that.”

  We watched for a moment more and saw the civilians hard at work in their perpetual state of gardening and building wagons. I wasn’t surprised that nothing had changed, but then I noticed that more of the carts were full of supplies than last time. The guards continued their usual rounds, but they did not seem particularly focused, and I watched as two bumped into each other when they criss-crossed.

  “They just bumped into each other,” Bailey said in hushed tones. “Is that a good sign?”

  “It shows that they aren’t very focused,” I whispered back.

  “Better for us,” the blonde grinned at me, and I smiled back at her.

  Just then, the CO came out of one of the buildings and started yelling orders and pointing at different soldiers. Unlike before, the soldiers did protest some when their names were called, but they still loaded into a truck and headed out of the compound, so I figured they must be going up north. I wouldn’t be happy about being sent up there either, not this close to leaving, and it looked like they were very close.

  A scream came from the med tent, and Bailey jolted slightly next to me, but I noticed that none of the civilians had seemed to notice, and I figured maybe they were so used to it by this point that it was barely noticeable to them.

  I put my hand on Bailey’s shoulder and smiled at her.

  “You okay?” I asked softly.

  “I’m fine,” she nodded. “This is really sad though.”

  “It is,” I said. “But we’re here to help.”

  “Yeah,” she grinned at me, and we continued our watch.

  When I figured it to be around noon, I stood up with Bailey and made my way to the side of the country club, then I gestured to my team to follow me, and they all made their way to the front of the club.

  “Jeez,” Anna said.

  “Yeah,” Paige nodded. “It’s not good.”

  “No,” Anna agreed. “It’s not. But they have a lot of supplies in there.”

  “Yeah,” Tara said.

  “At least we’re here to help the people too,” Bailey smiled.

  “Yes,” I smiled back. “We will help them as well. But for now let’s get some food and take a short break. Anna, what did you gather?”

  “Criss-crossing patrols,” the redhead started, and I was proud that she was so ready to answer my question. “They also have four men in towers with .50 cals, and they trade off patrols, though I’m not sure when yet.”

  “We haven’t been here long enough to see it yet,” Tara nodded.

  “Good job Major,” I grinned at the redhead, then I turned to Paige. “What about you?”

  “Well,” the brunette said, and she swallowed a bite of jerky. “It’s easy to see that the guards aren’t happy, they’re unfocused and moving slowly.”

  “Right again,” I smiled at the pretty brunette, then I turned to Bailey. “Bailey, do you have anything to add?”

  “I figured out that I could take out the guys in the towers from the roof of the club,” Bailey grinned, and we all laughed.

  “That’s good,” I chuckled. “But not quite what we’re here for.”

  “They have more wagons with supplies,” Tara said.

  “Yes,” I nodded. “They’ll be leaving soon.”

  “Those guys in the med tent sound pretty fucked up,” Anna said, and she took a large pull from her water bottle.

  “I jumped when that guy screamed,” Paige added.

  “Yeah,” Tara agreed. “I did too, but it seemed like the civilians didn’t even notice.”

  “Yeah,” Bailey frowned. “It’s like their daily life now.”

  “Was everyone able to spot the manhole in the yard?” I asked the group, and they all nodded. “Good, we’ll finish lunch and then get back to reconnaissance.”

  We ate our jerky and crackers and drank some water, and when everyone was done, we went back to our posts to continue our watch.

  It appeared that nothing had changed since we took our lunch break, the guards were still sluggishly making their rounds, the civilians were still working hard, and every so often we could hear some screams from the med tent.

  Around six in the evening the guards changed rotation, and I was happy to see it was the same guards that had taken over when Tara and I had been there the day before. I doubted they had become less stressed, and that was good for us, their lack of focus and tiredness would be their downfall.

  I waited until nightfall and a little bit longer to check the shadows that were over the manhole cover. It was well hidden in the darkness, and it should theoretically be easy to slip in under the cover of night, but I knew from experience that most things weren’t that easy. I had seen all that we needed for the moment, and I made my way back to the side of the building and motioned for my team to follow, Tara and Paige made their way to Bailey and me, but it seemed that Anna had missed my cue, so I waited a moment for her to notice that her team wasn’t in place any longer, and when she did, she made her way to the side of the building as well, and I led the team into the club.

  “Jeez Anna,” Tara teased. “Take forever, why don’t you.”

  “Hey,” Anna scoffed. “I was just really into watching.”

  “That’s okay,” I told the redhead. “Just make sure you’re more alert during the actual raid.”

  “Okay,” the redhead nodded, and I could see her blush in the light that shone through the window.

  “It’s fine,” I chuckled. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Yeah,” Paige smiled at Anna. “We all know you have our backs when things get going.”

  “Always,” Anna smiled back at the brunette.

  “I was only joking,” Tara said in a softer tone, and she reached out to touch Anna’s shoulder.

  “I know,” Anna replied, and she put her hand over Tara’s.

  “So, are we just grabbing some dinner?” Bailey asked, and she sat down on the carpeted floor.

  “Yeah,” I nodded. “Let’s eat something, but we won’t head back out there until it’s time for the raid.”

  “Why not?” Anna asked, and she pulled her thin red brows together.

  “We have all the information we need right now,” I told her. “And I don’t want anyone to get tired out there watching. So we’ll eat some food and go over the details of our plan, then we’ll do one last quick watch before we head in.”

  “Okay,” Paige nodded, and she pushed her glasses up with her ring finger.

  The girls pulled out some food from their bags, Tara opted for more crackers and some smoked venison, Paige ate some venison and beans, Anna took out some wolf jerky and ate it alone, Bailey pulled out a can of corn and a can of beans, and I grabbed some crackers and venison.

  “You know what I miss?” Tara sighed as she ate her crackers.

  “What?” Bailey asked with a smile.

  “Cheese,” Tara said, and she smiled longingly and looked at her crackers and meat.

  �
��Oh my god, yes,” Paige breathed. “I miss cheese so bad.”

  “I never really ate a lot of cheese,” Anna shrugged. “But I did love spray cheese.”

  “I think you’re safe there,” I laughed. “That shit is probably like twinkies and cockroaches.”

  “You’re probably right,” Paige chuckled.

  “Cockroaches and twinkies?” Tara asked, and she raised a blonde brow.

  “Yeah,” Anna nodded. “It’s something about how they could survive a nuclear war.”

  “I’ve never heard that,” Tara shrugged.

  “I hope you’re right,” Bailey smiled. “I would love some spray cheese.”

  “How long has it been since you’ve had cheese?” Paige asked the pretty blonde. “I know you were vegan before so it’s probably been awhile right?”

  “Yeah,” Bailey nodded. “I think four years.”

  “Oh my god,” Tara groaned. “How did you live without cheese for that long?”

  “Well, I still had cheese,” Bailey laughed. “Just vegan cheese.”

  “You poor thing,” Tara said, and she shook her head.

  “It’s good,” Bailey chuckled, and she pushed Tara’s arm playfully.

  “Not as good as real cheese though,” Anna grinned.

  “Yeah,” Bailey nodded. “I used to love spray cheese as a kid. I know it’s terrible for you, but it’s so good.”

  “We’ll look for some when we scavenge,” I laughed. “I used to love it too.”

  “That should’ve been my comfort item,” Anna chuckled.

  “It’ll be our secret,” I smiled.

  “I can keep a secret,” Bailey smiled. “As long as I get some.”

  “I think that can be arranged,” I grinned.

  “Should we go over the plan?” Anna asked after everyone took the last bites of their dinner.

  “Yeah,” I nodded at the redhead. “Do you want to go over it?”

  “Sure,” she smiled. “Just let me know if I need to add anything.”

  “Will do,” I told her.

  “Okay,” Anna started. “So we’re going to do one last watch, let’s say ten minutes?”

  “Sounds good,” I smiled.

  “Then we’ll head to the manhole,” the redhead continued. “I’ll stand guard outside while everyone else heads in. Bailey and Paige will stay down below, and Tara and Tav will sneak up and get the canner first.”