Once Jenny and the boys were safely back to shore, Gwen and the others left the dock to leave George to his test. George took a seat in a chair and rested the huge rifle on the back of another. Then he checked the breech one last time and inserted the magazine. He had two rounds in it, but he only intended to fire the rifle once. He just wanted to make sure that the action would automatically feed the next cartridge properly.
Out on the lake, approximately 100 metres from the tip of the rifle’s freshly filed muzzle, nine empty barbecue tanks awaited. Terrell had carried three while the kids each carried two. Once they had the area sufficiently cleared of snow, they proceeded to stack them three high by three wide. Brody then pulled a can of black spray paint from his pocket and painted the faces of each, so that George could see them more clearly.
Before walking back, Terrell stuck a white napkin to the fresh paint on the centre tank. He also wrote a number on the top of each with a marker. George would use the napkin as his bullseye and the numbers would help in determining which tank had been struck. George didn’t think the tanks would actually explode, but the stack falling over and getting mixed up was a certainty. This was all for nothing if they couldn’t tell which tank had been hit.
George took a dry run and shouldered the rifle. Not having proper sights would be a problem, but he had come up with a reasonable if not elegant solution. Looking down the barrel now, he found that it was extremely difficult to focus on both of his improvised sights at the same time. As long as he held the rifle perfectly still, he figured he could shift his focus back and forth and make it work… at least until it didn’t.
He had reinstalled the rear most mounting screw from the destroyed scope rail, grinding it to a halt with the slot of the screwhead running parallel to the barrel. It was relatively small, but after filing the slot out a little larger it would serve as his rear sight well enough. He had also built up the end of the muzzle with some hockey tape and buried the head of a small nail beneath it. Coating the tape in epoxy resin and leaving it to cure overnight, George now had the cemented point of a nail to use as his front sight. Its tip was at approximately the same height as the rear sight.
“I’m all set here. Is everybody clear?” George shouted as he put on his ear muffs.
“We’re all clear, Dad.” Grace shouted back.
George pulled back on the charging handle and released it chambering one of the enormous .50 calibre rounds. Then he eased his breathing and steadied his aim. The square white napkin could be seen clearly in the centre of the black background. With tanks above, below and to the left and right, this one shot would give George a good indication as to how ‘off’ the rifle was. Just in case, though, he had all the boys look to the left and all the girls look to the right. If he missed the stack completely, he at least wanted to know to which side the bullet had landed.
“Five seconds.” George shouted. “Everybody, cover your ears.”
George place his ‘sights’ on the napkin and held the rifle as if embedded in concrete. When he was certain that he had everything right, he began applying steady pressure to the trigger. George was expecting the rifle to be a handful, but he certainly wasn’t prepared for the Clydesdale that suddenly slammed its hoof into his shoulder. As the rifle sent a massive 43 gram bullet downrange, George was sent flying backwards. He ended up lying on his back with the rifle pointed straight up in the air.
“I’m fine!” George shouted. “I have a loaded gun over here, so stay where you are!”
From his back, he pulled back hard on the charging handle and ejected the live round that the rifle had automatically chambered. Then he pulled out the mag, checked the chamber and laid the enormous rifle across his chest.
“All clear. Terrell, come give me a hand.” George called out from his back.
“Damn, George, that gun made you its bitch.” Terrell said as he offered George his hand.
“Did anybody get the number of that truck?” George replied with a grunt. “My shoulder is on fire.”
“I bet.”
“Did I hit anything?” George asked.
“Shit, man, you hit everything.” Terrell replied.
“What?” George asked, confused as he looked out to the lake.
“It’s all gone, man. The whole stack went flying.” Terrell said.
“They didn’t explode, though, right?” George asked.
“No such luck.” Terrell replied. “They just flew up in the air.”
“Sorry I missed it.” George said. “This rifle is a son of a bitch!”
“Didn’t you say that thing you cut off was meant to reduce recoil?” Terrell asked.
“The muzzle brake, yeah, but I didn’t know it did that much.” George replied.
“Well, now you know.” Terrell said.
“Yeah… I guess I do. I don’t know who’s gunna end up using this prick, but I’m never shooting it again.”
Looking the rifle over, George was at least pleased to see that his gunsights had remained in place. They might not hold up to repeated shots, but then again… neither would the operator.
“Come on, guys. Let’s walk out there and see how George did.” Terrell called out to the others.
This time they all walked out onto the lake, as everyone was curious to see what had caused the propane tanks to go flying through the air. They were assured that the tanks wouldn’t explode, which was a little disappointing, but the sight had still ended up being fairly spectacular.
Once they arrived, they all spread out to collect the tanks, some of which were 10 metres away from where the stack had been built.
“Okay, guys, we’re looking for one with a hole in it.” George said. “They might have all gone for the ride, but only one of them was driving.”
“Got it!” Jenny quickly shouted. “I found the one with a hole in it, but it’s more like a slice.”
“I’ve got one over here too.” Joey said. “This one has a slice in it too.”
“Bring them over here, guys.” George said. “Let’s see what we got going on here.”
Taking a closer look, Terrell saw that tanks number four and five were the ones that had been hit. Five was the centre tank with four just to its left. After a short discussion, they were able to determine that the bullet had struck right between the two, slicing a channel through both and sending them all tumbling into the air. This meant that the rifle was shooting almost perfectly level, but left by half the width of a propane tank at 100 metres. This was ignoring human error, of course.
“Not bad, but not great either.” George said. “It might serve a purpose some day.”
“Let’s hope that day never comes.” Terrell said.
“Agreed. Now let’s go find that medical bag of yours, Terrell… I need a Tylenol.”
◆◆◆
Stu stood alone at the back of the house with the warm noonday sun at his back. If nothing else, at least the weather today had decided to cooperate. Looking down towards the cabins, he tried to catch a glimpse of their rooftops as he compared their layout to the hand-drawn map that Hal had given him. The surprisingly well drawn sketch showed all of the buildings on the property and how they were positioned in relation to the house. It also showed the surrounding treeline with a few decently drawn trees sprinkled throughout. Hal had even gone to the trouble of labelling everything.
Staying in the three isolated cabins to the east, nobody from Stu’s group had ever ventured over to the west side where the bulk of Hal’s cabins were. Unable to see much from up at the house, having it all on paper was proving very helpful.
Seeing Rob jogging back up the driveway, Stu waved him over and prepared to get things started. By this point, all of the residents of Weyr Resort had already made their way up to the house. While they got things organized up here, Rob was sent back down to the cabins alone. He had one last critically important task to perform and the fact that he was back meant that they were good to go… probably.
“Well?”
&
nbsp; “They all went into Mick’s cabin around 10 minutes ago, Stu.” Rob said as he came to a stop.
“Show me.” Stu said, holding the map out to him.
“Cabin number one, furthest most cabin to the west beside the forest.” Rob replied, placing his finger on a rectangular box with a circled ‘1’ inside of it.
“How close is that to the lake?”
“It’s back a bit, but not much… 20 metres maybe.”
“Alright, thanks, Rob. You can go get set up with your brother then.” Stu said.
“Stu… Dan and Russ decided to stay down there.” Rob said nervously. “They said they’re gunna keep watch and see if those guys stay put. They want you to stop and talk to them before you head over.”
“That wasn’t part of the deal, Rob.” Stu said. “Everybody up to the house, that was the deal.”
“Tell it to them, Stu. Those Army dudes aren’t used to taking orders from civilians.”
“What about their three buddies?” Stu asked as he shook his head.
“They came up to the house earlier.” Rob replied. “They’re in there now getting their families squared away. Hal said he was gunna give them all a rifle, so they should be out here soon.”
“And where are those other two exactly… Dan and Russ?” Stu asked, looking at the map again.
“They’re sitting out on the deck of cabin nine, Hess’ place.” Rob replied, directing Stu’s attention down the hill instead. “You can just make out the roof to the left of the driveway there.”
“Alright, got it.” Stu said as he folded up the map. “Do you guys have any rifles left over that we could give those two?”
“No, Collin, Jamal and Seth were getting the last of them, Stu.”
“The other three Army guys?”
“Yeah. We’ve got a couple of shotguns, though…” Rob said, offering an alternative.
“You think you could load them up and run them down to those guys, Rob?” Stu asked. “If they’re gunna stay down there, they might as well be armed.”
“You got it.” Rob replied, turning to leave.
“Then hurry right back. It’s almost time.”
As Rob ran off again, Stu turned around and looked towards the back deck of the house only 20 metres away. Spotting Leo and Stacey, he waved them over. They both quickly jogged over to Stu’s side.
“Yeah, Dad?”
“How are you guys holding up?” Stu asked.
“I’m cool.” Leo replied, perfectly at ease.
“I’m looking forward to getting this over with.” Stacey said, considerably less chill. “How are you doing?”
“You know… another day, another group of losers to deal with.” Stu replied.
“Well, let’s do it quickly.” Stacey said.
“You sure you want to come down there with us, Stace?” Stu asked. “This isn’t gunna be a pleasant reunion.”
“I’m coming, Stu.” Stacey replied. “I’ve been waiting a long time to tell Mick what I think of him… that little twerp, Joe, too.”
“Right on, Stacey.” Stu said with an encouraging smile.
Then looking at his son, the smile disappeared and he got back to business.
“Okay, Leo, one last time… what’s your job?”
“When you guys head out, I make sure that everyone without a weapon is taking cover inside. Once that’s taken care of, I join Hal and the others and take a position around the outside of the house. If any of those Sudbury guys come up the hill without you, we wait for Hal’s signal and let ‘em have it.”
“Good man.” Stu said. “Now listen to me very carefully, Leo. I didn’t want to say this in front of the others, but I want you to make sure that none of these people are ever behind you. Move off to the side of the house and get behind some trees instead. I have no idea how they’ll react under fire and I have no interest in taking you back to your mother with a bullet hole in your back. Got it?”
“Got it, Dad.”
“Alright we head down in five minutes, so Stacey’s gunna stay here with me. You might as well head back to the house, Leo.”
“Okay, Dad. Good luck, guys.” Leo said as he turned to run off.
“And Leo, for the last freakin’ time, put your damn parka on!” Stu shouted after him.
Taking a closer look at Stacey, Stu made another annoying observation.
“Uh… Stace, you forget something?” Stu asked.
“I told you this morning, Stu… no.”
“And I said, yes. Where did you…?”
“…Hey, guys.” Corey said, interrupting as he and Brian joined them. “I take it you told Stu you’re not bringing your rifle, Stace?”
“We were just getting to that, actually.” Stu said.
“I don’t need a gun when I’m with you guys.” Stacey said. “That’s not what you brought me for anyway.”
“For fu…!”
“…Stu, drop it, man. She’ll be fine.” Corey said. “We haven’t got time for that anyways. Those Army guys want to speak with you before we go.”
“Yeah, I know. Rob just told me.” Stu replied.
“Not those Army guys.” Corey said, looking down the hill. “The three back at the house.”
“Oh… Alright.” Stu said. “Be right back.”
Stu jogged back up to the house and motioned for the three American service men to walk off to the side with him. Collin, Jamal and Seth quickly hustled over.
“What’s up, guys?” Stu asked.
“We just needed to make sure this is really where you wanted us, Stu.” Collin replied. “I mean, you know what we do for a living, right?”
“Of course.” Stu replied. “Listen, guys, I really appreciate the offer. Honestly, having some real military support is making me feel a lot better about this one. I just don’t want this turning into more than it needs to. I’m hoping they’ll just do this the easy way and choose to leave voluntarily. Your two buddies down there refused to come up to the house, so I had Rob run them down a couple of shotguns. If this thing goes sideways, they’ll be able to help us out. I need you guys to stay up here with Hal and the others to help secure this house. If they get by us, you guys are the only ones between them and those families inside. I know that I’m nobody to you, but I’m asking you to please stay here and keep these people safe.”
“Stu, relax.” Jamal said. “We’re corporals, man. Shit, Seth over there hasn’t even made specialist yet.”
“Fuck you, Jamal.” Seth said with a laugh.
“Ha! See? The boy’s got no discipline.” Jamal said.
“Dan and Russ down there both retired as sergeants, Stu.” Collin said. “That’s why they’re both being pigheaded about doing shit their own way.”
“You want us to stay up here and defend this position, we’re happy to stay.” Jamal said.
“We get enough excitement in our day jobs.” Seth added.
“That’s awesome, guys, thanks.” Stu said.
“One last questions, though, Stu. How the hell will we know if shit’s gone sideways?” Collin asked. “When do we send down support?”
“You won’t and never.” Stu said. “Either we’ll be walking back up that hill or they will.”
“Boss.” Seth said.
◆◆◆
By this point, the occupants of cabin number one were not doing very well. As Mick sat at his table, waiting patiently for their ‘guests’ to arrive, the others were pacing the floor and seriously losing their cool.
“What the hell are we doing here, guys?” Enzo asked. “They’ll be here any minute!”
“Seems pretty quiet out there.” Larry said as he looked out the window. “I think they moved everybody out.”
“Well, that can’t be good… right?” Enzo asked.
“They have no intention of talking to us.” Joe said. “They got the idiots out of the way, so they could come down here and blow us all away.”
“Sounds to me like they didn’t clear out all the idiots.” Mick said
calmly. “They left three behind to natter in my damn ear for an hour.”
“How the hell are you so calm, Mick?” Enzo asked. “We’re fuckin’ dead, man!”
“Alright, meatheads, sit the hell down and listen.” Mick said as he stood up. “You want to live through this, you’ll do exactly what I say. No one’s getting blown away, Joe. We’re not fuckin’ dead, Enzo. This Stu bastard is a soft little bitch. He talks a big game, but when it comes right down to it, he doesn’t have the balls to straight up murder anyone. The other two shit stains he had with him, ‘Rambo’ and ‘Mr. Rogers,’ are no different.”
“So, how are we handling this thing then, Mick?” Larry asked. “We giving them our rifles or not?”
“You just hang onto your guns, fellas… all of them.”
◆◆◆
“…and their cabin door hasn’t opened since.” Dan said. “They’re all still in there.”
“Perfect, thanks, guys.” Stu said. “Please stay here unless you hear us call out for you, okay? Those shotguns are just a precaution. We’re hoping to get these assholes out of here without having to waste any ammo today.”
“Roger that, Stu.” Russ said. “Good luck.”
They continued down to the shoreline and then turned left heading straight for Mick’s back deck. Stu led with Corey, Stacey and Brian following a few steps behind. Thankfully, much of the area around back of the cabins had been shoveled out, so the walking wasn’t terribly difficult. It wasn’t long, however, before Stu saw that their leisurely stroll would be the only easy part of their day. As the cabin in question came into view, Stu could see that no rifles awaited their collection. Two seconds in and already the odds of avoiding a violent confrontation had diminished considerably.
“Are you guys seeing any rifles leaning against that wall?” Corey asked.
“Take cover. Weapons ready.” Stu said calmly, not even bothering to answer.
As Corey, Brian and Stacey bolted behind cabin number two, Stu knelt in the snow and shouldered his rifle. He aimed directly at the large window beside the back door and caressed the trigger with his right index finger. Drawn blinds obscured his view of the inside. In a few seconds, either shouts of surrender were going to come out of that window or several 5.56mm bullets would go screaming in. Stu gave his friends another few seconds to get set up before he said the one word that would determine how this would play out.
EMP [Collateral Darkness] | Book 4 Page 17