by Eric Vall
“I don’t think so,” I chuckled.
“That would take forever,” Jeff laughed. “Not a bad idea, just very time consuming.”
“Yeah,” Mike smiled. “I was hoping we wouldn’t go with that one, but I figured I’d check.”
“I think the dynamite is our best bet,” Anna said.
“I agree,” I nodded. “It will be dangerous, but we don’t have a lot of other options right now.”
“Jeff,” Paige started, “can you show me on the map where the office is?”
“Sure,” the red bearded man nodded. “I can set up the demolition too.”
“That would be very helpful,” I smiled. “Thank you.”
“Would you rather I go with you to Burlington?” Jeff asked.
“No,” I shook my head. “You all have come a long way, and I don’t want anyone to be offended by me only taking the girls, but I like to know my team before we go into enemy territory.”
“Makes perfect sense,” Mike nodded.
“Yes,” Cathy said. “We all want to help, but we trust you to do what is best.”
“I appreciate that,” I smiled. “Maybe next year we can all be going out on missions.”
“I look forward to it,” Jeff grinned.
Jeff showed Paige where the office was on the map, and I decided that we would leave the next morning, then the others headed home and my team was left at the campus once more.
“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Bailey asked.
“Yeah,” Anna nodded. “Are we all going?”
“All but Rolly,” I told them, then I turned to the old man. “You’ll be in charge of the campus and looking after the others.”
“I think I can handle that,” Rolly smiled. “You all be safe out there.”
“We will,” Bailey smiled. “Take good care of Winchester.”
“Of course,” Rolly grinned, and he reached down to pet the brindle dog.
“What’s the best way to get to the office?” I asked Paige.
“I think it’s safest to go through South Burlington,” the brunette said, and she pulled out the map to look at it again.
“Good idea,” Anna said. “The farther away from the Guard, the better.”
“Yes,” I nodded.
“We should be able to walk from there,” Paige said. “It won’t take us long to get there, maybe forty minutes walking time.”
“Okay,” I said. “Being on foot is better, it will call less attention to us.”
“So, we’ll leave at dawn?” Tara asked.
“As always,” I grinned, and the platinum blonde rolled her eyes playfully.
“I’ll make you some coffee to go,” Rolly chuckled.
“You are the best,” Tara groaned, and she patted the old man’s knee.
“Don’t worry about it,” Rolly smiled, and he patted her hand in a grandfatherly way.
“Each of us will bring our backpacks,” I said. “But I only want water and food in two people’s bags.”
“Why?” Paige asked, and her brown eyebrows pinched together.
“More room in our bags for dynamite,” I said.
“Oh,” the brunette nodded. “That makes sense.”
“And this will only be a day trip,” I announced. “We are only there for the dynamite.”
“We aren’t going to look for any other supplies?” Anna asked.
“No,” I shook my head. “We have one job with this mission, and one job alone. It’s too dangerous to try to look for other supplies, we need to get in and out as quickly as possible.”
“Okay,” the redhead nodded.
“I think we have a couple duffle bags,” Bailey offered. “Should we bring those?”
“No,” I said. “We need to be able to run quickly if necessary, and if we start getting shot at you drop your backpack and run.”
“Right,” Bailey said, and her eyes widened. “I really don’t want to explode.”
“Nobody does,” I smiled. “And it’s not a pretty sight to witness.”
“Did you ever see someone get blown up?” Tara asked incredulously.
“I have,” I nodded. “Land mines can be a real bitch.”
“Wow,” Paige said. “That must have been terrible for you.”
“Things like that really messed up some of my friends from ‘Nam,” Rolly said.
“It can take its toll for sure,” I smiled gently at the gray-haired man.
“You seem to be a lot more mentally stable than some of the men I knew that served,” Rolly noted. “PTSD is such a common occurrence for soldiers.”
“It is,” I nodded. “I’m lucky to not suffer like some of them do, war affects different people in different ways.”
“That it does,” the old man nodded, and he looked sad.
“I’m sure your friends were very brave,” I told him.
“Yeah,” Rolly smiled softly at me, “I’m sure they were.”
We went to bed shortly after that discussion, but I had a hard time sleeping, I thought about Rolly’s friends, and what they must have gone through, and I hoped I wouldn’t put my girls into a situation that could hurt them mentally, but that was also part of the reason I only trusted them to come with me, I had no idea how the farmers or civilians would react when put in a crisis situation, but I knew my lovers could handle it.
The next morning, I got up and packed Anna and mine’s backpack with enough food and water for a full day, and I grabbed the other girl’s backpacks and brought them out to the truck.
Rolly was already awake, and he brewed coffee for us while I finished the preparations, and just as the coffee was done, the girls came out of the dorm building kitted out.
“That smells amazing,” Tara smiled, and she was dressed in dark skinny jeans with a few rips down the front, a black t-shirt, and, like the other girls, she already had her Kevlar vest on.
“It really does,” Anna sighed. Her long, red hair was pulled back in a tight braid, and she wore long athletic pants, running shoes, and an athletic tank top I could see under her vest.
“Do you need to-go cups?” Paige asked. She wore one of her old gray college T-shirts, along with some jeans and hiking boots.
“Yes, please,” Rolly smiled.
Paige went to retrieve our travel cups, and Bailey got some breakfast for Winchester from the meat shed.
“Here you go, boy,” Bailey smiled, and she petted Winchester’s black head. She was dressed in skinny jeans and a green tank top, and her medium length blonde hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and some loose strands fell around her face.
“Thanks for the coffee, Rolly,” I smiled at the old man.
“No problem,” he grinned, then he frowned. “Oh darn, I should’ve made you breakfast.”
“Don’t worry,” I shook my head. “I grabbed us some granola bars for the road.”
“Okay,” he nodded.
“Mmmm,” Paige said as she returned with the cups. “Did I hear granola bars?”
“You did,” I chuckled. “They’re in the car, we’ll eat them on the way.”
Rolly poured us each a travel cup of coffee, and we were soon on our way to Burlington once more. We opted to drive the long way to avoid the guard, and the sun had fully risen by the time we arrived in South Burlington.
We parked in the same mechanics shop we had before, and I addressed my team before we started toward the office.
“Okay,” I said. “What do you do if we get shot at after we leave?”
“Drop our bag and run,” Bailey stated.
“Yes,” I nodded. “And what’s our goal for today?”
“Get the dynamite,” Tara said.
“Yes,” I agreed, “and?”
“And get in and out as quickly and quietly as possible,” Anna said with a hard nod.
“Right,” I confirmed. “Paige will lead the way, be aware of your surroundings, and keep the talking to a minimum.”
“Aye aye captain,” Tara grinned.
> “Alright,” I smiled, and I had total confidence in my team. “Let’s go.”
“Follow me,” Paige said, and she started down the street toward the center of town.
We followed Paige for almost an hour before we found the office that was labeled Burlington County Department of Engineering and Roads.
“This is it,” Paige said, as we arrived at the front of the building.
“Good work,” I told the brunette.
“Thanks,” Paige breathed, and she blushed a bit.
“I’m guessing it’s locked,” Anna said as she looked at the building.
“Most likely,” I nodded, but I pulled on the front door anyway and confirmed our suspicions. “Yup.”
“Is it safe to break a window?” Tara asked.
“I haven’t seen anyone yet,” I said. “But let’s use that as a last resort.”
“We could try to open the windows,” Bailey suggested.
“Good idea,” I nodded. “Though in buildings like this a lot of time the windows don’t open.”
“Sometimes they open in people’s offices,” Paige said. “None of the other windows opened in the library my mom worked at, but her office window opened.”
“Worth a shot,” I smiled. “Let’s check them out. Paige, you’re with me. Anna, Tara, Bailey, you three check the right side.”
“On it,” Anna nodded, and she lifted her pistol and led her team around the building.
“Let’s go,” I told Paige, and we lifted our pistols as well and made our way around the left side of the building.
We didn’t find any windows that could be opened on our trip around, and before we rounded the corner to the back of the building, I called out to the other girls.
“Anna,” I said. “Paige and I are coming around the corner.”
“Okay,” the redhead called back. “You’re clear.”
“Thanks,” I grinned as we moved toward the other girls. “I didn’t want you to think we were Guard.”
“No worries,” Anna smiled, then she gestured to the window in front of her. “I think we found one.”
“It does look like it can be opened,” I said, and I inspected the window.
“Yeah,” Tara nodded, “but it’s locked.”
“Let’s see what I can do,” I smiled and pulled out my knife, then I placed it between the window and the sill and pried them away from each other. I managed to get the window out without creating too much noise, and I helped each girl crawl through before I went in myself.
“If there is dynamite in here, we don’t want to shoot,” I told the girls.
“So, we shouldn’t clear the building?” Anna asked.
“I would be surprised if someone was here,” I said. “But we’ll still clear, just pull out your knives instead.”
“Okay,” Paige nodded, and she and the other girls holstered their pistols and pulled out their fixed blades or folding knives.
“Same groups as last time,” I said as I pulled out my own karambit that I had found on one of our recent runs. “Check all closets, Jeff said he wasn’t sure where in the building they kept the dynamite.”
“Right,” Anna nodded, then she turned to Bailey and Tara. “Let’s go.”
“I like your knife,” Paige grinned at me after the other girls had left.
“Thanks,” I grinned back.
“You haven’t always had that one, have you?” the brunette asked.
“No,” I smiled. “I found this on one of our recent runs.”
“Oh,” she said, and she inspected the knife. “What’s it called?”
“It’s a karambit,” I told her.
“I like it,” she said, and she looked at her bowie knife. “I kinda want one now.”
“You should all have one,” I told her. “We’ll keep an eye out for more.”
“Are they better than our knives now?” she asked as we looked in a supply closet only to find cleaning supplies.
“Not better per se,” I said, and I pursed my lips. “But karambits are first and foremost a combat blade.”
“It looks badass,” Paige grinned.
“It is,” I grinned back.
“So far, no luck,” Paige said after we opened yet another door to find only a desk stacked with paperwork.
“Let’s hope the other girls have had more luck,” I said.
“Wait,” Paige said, and she pointed to the end of the hallway. “Those are stairs.”
“They are,” I nodded as I looked at the sign on the door. “Let’s check it out.”
We headed down the stairs with our knives ready, and I pulled out my flashlight. At the bottom of the stairs with another door with a warning label on it.
“This must be it,” Paige said, and she pushed the door open.
Inside the large dark room was dynamite, C-4, road work signs, and other various tools.
“Good find,” I grinned at the brunette.
“I try,” she smiled. “Should we go tell the others?”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “We need to fill up everyone’s packs.”
“Okay,” Paige said, and she started back up the stairs, but I stayed and inspected the goodies we had found.
The room was cool, which made sense for storing explosives, and I felt goosebumps prickle my arms as I walked around the shelves.
“Wow,” Anna said, and she whistled low as she entered the room.
“Wow is right,” Bailey nodded.
“What’s that gray stuff?” Tara asked, and she reached for a block of C4.
“It’s C-4,” I told her.
“Oh,” she said, and she pulled her hand back. “That’s bad isn’t it?”
“Not inherently,” I shook my head. “But it has been used for bad things.”
“I remember something about it on a crime show,” the platinum blonde said.
“I would imagine so,” I chuckled. “C-4 can be very dangerous if used that way.”
“Are we taking any of it?” Anna asked.
“I think we will,” I smiled. “It’s very safe to transport, and I’m guessing some extra explosives are never a bad idea.”
“Doesn’t C-4 need a detonator or something?” Paige asked. “Like in the movies how they always have the cell phone wired to the person they’re going to blow up?”
“It does need something to set it off,” I nodded. “But we should be able to find a way to do that no problem, especially if we have dynamite as well.”
“How much are we going to take of each?” Bailey asked, and she pulled her backpack off.
“We’ll take mostly dynamite,” I said. “Anna and I have the food in our bags, so we’ll put C-4 on top of it, everyone else fill your bags as full as you can.”
“On it,” Tara nodded, and she pulled off her backpack as well.
“You really think Jeff knows how to do this?” Bailey asked as we stuffed our bags full of TNT.
“I trust him,” I smiled at the pretty blonde.
“I mean, everyone has things they’re good at, right?” Tara shrugged.
“That’s true,” Bailey nodded. “I just worry about dangerous situations.”
“You have to trust your team,” Anna smiled at Bailey.
“Tara’s right,” Paige added. “We all have things we’re good at from our life before.”
“Or things we’ve learned we’re good at since life changed,” I grinned at the blonde hippie and thought about her newly acquired love of shooting.
“That’s true,” Bailey grinned. “I never liked guns before all this.”
“And now look at you,” Tara laughed. “You’re the best shot out of all of us.”
“Well, Tav excluded,” Bailey smiled.
“I don’t know,” I smiled. “It might be a tie.”
“You’re being too humble,” Bailey blushed, but I saw her smile as she looked back down at her bag.
“What are these?” Tara asked, and she held up a road flare.
“Those are flares,” I said, a
nd I was surprised I hadn’t noticed them before. “We should take some of those as well.”
“Okay,” Tara nodded. “They kind of look like the dynamite, should we separate them?”
“Sure,” I smiled at the platinum blonde, it was easy for me to tell the difference, but I was glad that she knew when to inform me that she would need help with something. “Anna and I will put them in our bags with the C-4.”
“Why don’t you take my C-4,” Anna said, “and I’ll pack a bag of flares.”
“That works too,” I smiled at the redhead. “Good idea, major.”
Once we had our supplies, we headed back up the stairs, and I thought that we should scout out the Burlington camp while we were there. The finding and gathering of the dynamite hadn’t taken long, and I wanted to check on the camp and see if they were any closer to leaving, but I knew the girls were going to give me shit about defying my ‘in and out quickly’ plan.
“Do we have time to scout out the camp?” Anna asked before I could bring it up, and I grinned to myself.
“I was just thinking that,” I told the redhead.
“I know it’s not part of the plan,” she said, “but I’d like to check it out while we’re here.”
“Me too,” I nodded. “We should see if they are any closer to leaving.”
“Should we drop off these explosives first?” Paige asked.
I pursed my lips as I thought for a moment.
“Let’s leave them here,” I decided. “We’ll swing back by and grab them on the way to the truck.”
“Okay,” the brunette nodded. “It’s not a long walk from here to the compound.”
“Lead the way,” I told the brunette. “And everyone be on guard, remember there might be guys outside of the perimeter. Tara, have your silenced pistol ready in case we need to take someone out quietly.”
“I’m on it,” the platinum blonde said, and she checked the chamber of her Rugar.
Paige led us to the country club, and we made our way out to the trees in the same formation we had before, then we watched for a few minutes, and I recognized the signs of departure.
The wagons were stuffed to the brim, along with several of the vehicles, and it looked like some of the civilian tents had been torn down so there were only three left standing, and I guessed all the civilians were bunking together. The garden appeared bare of vegetables, so they must have harvested them already, and while the men still made their rounds, there were more soldiers in the yard helping to load and move things.