Rifle fire barked from the university campus in front of the capitol building, but the school was out of accurate range of the assault rifles. Lucas pointed out a group of forty or fifty gang members who’d taken to the roofs of the brick buildings, and Terry swiveled his machine gun toward them and made short work of the shooters.
“Now what?” Henry yelled when Terry finished with the gunmen.
“Turn the mortars on the capitol building,” Lucas instructed. “Might as well help out Art while we’re here. But only a few salvos. No reason to waste rounds now that the hospital’s toast.”
“Okay. Let me get a range.”
Henry shifted the mortar and eyeballed the distance and, after making an adjustment to the elevation, motioned for his loader to drop a projectile into the tube and watched for the resultant explosion. A building on the university grounds flared, and he made another tweak and nodded to Lucas.
“About two hundred yards farther. How many you want me to put in their front yard?”
“Five or six, and then let’s clear out of here. It’s going to be light soon, and we’ll be out in the open if they’ve got any decent marksmen with sniper rifles, or bring mortars of their own to bear.”
Henry lobbed a series of rounds at the building, and then the teams gathered their weapons and remaining ammo and quit the roof, leaving one of the machine-gun squads there to deal with any targets of opportunity that presented themselves.
When they reached the main body of troops, Sam approached him. “How many you figure you took out?”
“Hundreds. No way of knowing till it’s light out and we search the hospital, but a lot.”
“No casualties?”
“None on our end so far. Although I have no idea what Art’s doing,” Lucas said as the shelling from the capitol building area continued.
“Then you were right about how to deal with this. If you were able to knock out hundreds of them without a scratch on any of our boys, that’s a win.”
“I’m not declaring victory just yet. But it’s a promising start.” Lucas turned to the advance fighters who were equipped with NV goggles or rifle scopes. “All right. Let’s make our way forward, but steer clear of the campus and capitol building area. Don’t want to get hit by any friendly fire, and it sounds like Art’s still at work. We’ll skirt it and start at the hospital, and then work our way around the west side. Shoot anything that moves. The rest of you, Art will be done when the sun comes up, and then you’ll sweep in to clean up whatever mess is left after an hour of shelling. Don’t take any stupid chances. Between the hospital and the rest, we’ve probably eliminated half of them, but we could still get badly hurt if we’re not careful. We’ll do a grid search after the battle and mop up anyone hiding out. Everyone clear? Sam will be in command of the daytime group.”
Sam stood tall. “I know what we need to do.”
“Good. No distractions,” Lucas warned.
“Roger that.”
Lucas led his small army of gunmen west, and the street fighting began in earnest as they neared the hospital grounds. Pockets of gang members plinked at them from the windows of the nearby buildings, but with no NV equipment, they were shooting at shadows, and Lucas’s men easily overcame them. At the hospital, the stench of death was like that of a slaughterhouse; hundreds of corpses lay strewn around the grounds, many dismembered from the mortars or blown into scattered chunks.
By the time first light glimmered on the eastern horizon, Lucas’s advance fighters had sustained some wounded and dead, but had pressed on and taken the western section of town from scattered collections of gang members who didn’t seem to have much stomach for the fight. Once their NV gear was no longer an advantage, they slowed their advance and held their ground as the bulk of the Freedom Army swept through the now largely destroyed capitol building area, fighting in brutal skirmishes as the Blood Dogs defended every foot of their conquest.
When the shooting finally ended, the sun was high in the sky, which was filled with smoke from burning structures. Sam, Art, and Lucas gathered in front of the destroyed capitol building, now a gutted ruin, and took stock.
“We lost forty-four men, with another sixty wounded,” Sam reported. “Some of whom won’t make it.”
“Not unreasonable, considering we took on thousands of these scum. How many captives have we taken?” Art asked.
“Thirty or so.”
Sam grunted. “We need to interrogate them and find out what they did with the townspeople.”
“Agreed. In the meantime we’ll start a search. I’m sure there’s a good number of these cowards still hiding out,” Art said.
“That’s a fair assumption,” Lucas granted. He turned to Sam. “You’re the man to lead the search. Take as many troops as you want and start a block-by-block sweep. In the meantime we’ll see what we can learn from the prisoners. I wouldn’t hold my breath, though.”
Sam nodded. “I hear you. Shouldn’t have any trouble getting hundreds of men to help. Lots of us locals in the ranks.”
“Good. And let’s start collecting weapons and ammo. We burned through a fair amount of our inventory on this offensive, and we’ll need to replenish.”
“I’ll assemble an equipment detail. One thing I can say – they may not have been much in the way of fighters, but their gear was first class.”
Lucas wiped the grime from his chin. “Which is now ours. Make it happen.”
“Will do.”
When Sam left, Art sat on one of the capitol building steps and invited Lucas to join him. “Another well-fought battle. You’re getting pretty good at this for a broken-down lawman.”
That forced a grin from Lucas. “Not bad yourself for a bartender.”
“You know what the odds are that many of the locals were spared.”
Lucas spoke after a beat. “Probably mostly the women.”
“Who’ll never be the same.”
“No, they won’t. Seems like throughout history we’ve done this, though, so we’ll survive. Somehow.” He spit and frowned. “Although what does that say about us as a species?”
“I’ll leave the big questions to philosophical minds like yours. I’m just a soldier. All that’s above my pay grade.”
Lucas sighed and rose. “Let’s go question the scum. Maybe we can learn something useful.”
“Ever the optimist.”
The corner of Lucas’s mouth twitched. “Hope. The opiate of the unwashed.”
“Let’s go wring something out of them and turn that into something actionable.”
“You’re on.”
Chapter 34
Provo, Utah
Duke and Edwin rode toward one of the barriers the Provo militia had erected across the highways leading into town, keeping their hands clearly visible and their rifles in their saddle scabbards. The journey had been arduous; they were both exhausted from weeks sleeping exposed to the elements, and they looked like shadows of the men who’d set off on the trek, their already low weight further down from surviving on whatever they’d been able to snare or shoot.
Four men stood behind sandbagged outposts on either side of the barrier, their machine guns trained on the newcomers.
“That’s far enough,” one of them called when Duke and Edwin were ten yards from them. “Best turn around and go back to wherever you came from. There’s nothing here for you.”
“We’ve traveled a long way. My name’s Duke, and this here’s Edwin. We’re from Shangri-La. Edwin was here about six months ago. He brought the vaccine that saved you all, so maybe a little hospitality’s a fair request?”
The guards exchanged glances. “I heard of you and about Shangri-La. What brings you here? You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?”
“That we are,” allowed Duke. “We’re here to talk to your council. Got some important business to discuss.”
More looks, and the speaker nodded. “Fair enough. Come on over here and give me your weapons. We don’t allow any in the city
limits unless there’s a threat.”
“Been many of those?”
“Not once word spread that we don’t roll over easy.”
They guided their horses forward and handed the guards their rifles and pistols, and two of the men hauled a steel plate in the center of the barrier to the side, creating a five-foot opening the animals could just squeeze through. Once inside, the main guard walked over to where four horses were standing in the shade beneath a tarp, and led one from the rest and mounted up.
“I’ll take you into town and show you to the council.”
“Could use a decent meal and some rest, too.”
The guard took in Duke’s and Edwin’s dusty clothes and scraggly beards and nodded almost to himself. “I could probably find something that’ll suit you. Come on.”
They rode past a scattering of homes nestled at the base of beige bluffs that towered over them, and passed an industrial park whose buildings were in reasonable shape compared to many Duke had seen. As they proceeded to the downtown area, they saw more and more people, many of whom stopped what they were doing as they went by and stared at them in curiosity.
“I guess you don’t see a lot of newcomers,” Duke said.
“True enough. We’re careful about who we let into our midst.”
“Edwin tells me you’ve got a good thing going here.”
“Right. And we plan to keep it that way.”
Duke knew that Provo had been attacked by several would-be conquering gangs after the collapse, but the citizenry had gathered together and defended themselves successfully. Subsequently the militia had formed, and now boasted thousands of men – virtually the entire town’s population of fighting-age men were active, making them a formidable defending force to contend with.
“Everything pretty calm since I left?” Edwin asked.
“There hasn’t been any trouble to speak of. Thanks for the vaccine, by the way. I hear it probably saved a lot of lives.”
“I was just the messenger. It’s Shangri-La you owe, not me.”
“You risked life and limb to bring it to us, though. Not a lot would do that for strangers.”
Edwin gave a rueful shake of his head. “I must have a screw loose.”
“I can vouch for that,” Duke said, and all three men smiled.
After passing a collection of multistory buildings, the guard slowed and pointed at a large theater. “Edwin, you might remember that’s where the council meets. But there’s nobody there now. We’ll get you settled first, and I’ll put out the word that you’re in town and want to see them.”
“A hot bath wouldn’t hurt,” Duke said. “We can pay.”
“I’m pretty sure your credit’s good with the town.”
They reached a big Victorian house, and the guard indicated a sign out in front that announced they’d reached Glenda’s Boardinghouse.
“I remember this place,” Edwin said. “The food was delicious!”
“Go on in and tell Glenda your stay’s on the council. She’ll fix you up with whatever you need.”
“Will do. Thanks for everything.”
“You can reclaim your weapons when you leave at the same checkpoint. Nobody will mess with them.”
“I’m sure that’s true.”
They tied their horses under an overhang near a watering trough, and Edwin escorted Duke into the house, where a prim woman wearing a handmade dress that reached her ankles beamed at him.
“Why, you’re back! And you brought company!”
Edwin removed his hat and Duke did the same. “That’s right. Couldn’t stay away from your cooking.”
Glenda blushed and looked away. “Why, you always did have a way with words. I remember that.” She paused. “What brings you to Provo again?” she asked, and her expression grew serious. “Not another virus…?”
“No, nothing like that. Don’t worry. We just have to speak to the council. Which, by the way, the guard said to tell you that our stay’s on them, so break out the good fixings, not the cheap stuff.”
Glenda set her hands on her hips. “Oh, you! You know it’s nothing but the best for my guests, no matter who’s on the hook for it.”
“That’s why we wouldn’t stay anywhere else. Provided you have room, that is.”
“Of course. We’re empty right now. It’ll be a real pleasure.” Her nose crinkled. “You probably want to get cleaned up before you eat. I’ll heat up some pails of water and have one of the boys bring them up to you.”
“You read my mind.” Duke sniffed the air. “What’s for lunch?”
“Rabbit stew over rice and fresh-baked bread with berries and some homemade butter. Looks like you could use something that will stick to your ribs.”
“It was a tough ride,” Duke allowed.
“Well, go to rooms one and two and make yourselves at home. You want the boys to bring your saddlebags up and tend to your animals?”
“That would be perfect.”
“Then consider it done.”
Lunch was a welcome feast, and by the time they were done eating, both Duke and Edwin were ready to burst. They retreated to their rooms and drew the curtains, and were asleep within seconds of hitting the bed.
Rapping at Duke’s door woke him after what felt like a few minutes, but the fading light outside told him that he’d slept for hours. He padded to the door and called through it.
“Yes?”
“There are two men downstairs from the council. They want you to accompany them,” Glenda said.
“Okay. No need to wake Edwin. I’m the one who needs to talk to them. Let him rest.”
“Sure thing.”
“I’ll be down shortly. Let me just get decent.”
“I’ll tell them.”
Duke donned his least filthy shirt and was down in the lobby a few minutes later. A pair of men sitting on a well-padded antique sofa rose and smiled at him.
“Well, hello, Duke, right? It’s a real pleasure,” one of them said. “Thomas. Nice to meet you.”
“Pleasure’s all mine,” Duke said. “And this is…?”
The other man extended his hand. “Glenn Roberts.”
Duke shook, and studied the men. “So you want to see me now?”
Thomas spoke. “The council’s in session in twenty minutes. We called a special meeting to see you.”
“Appreciate it.”
They walked together to the theater, nodding and smiling acknowledgments to passersby, and entered the building to find a skylight providing natural light and a pair of oil-burning lanterns hanging from the sides of the stage, ready for nightfall. The nine members of the council welcomed Duke warmly and invited him to sit in front of a long table, and then Thomas, the chairman, sat forward.
“All right. You have our complete attention. What brings you to see us?”
Duke cleared his throat and explained the situation with Elijah in a few terse minutes. When he was done, the council members sat in silence, waiting for him to continue.
“So here’s the situation. We can’t stay in Colorado, and Edwin suggested we move camp to Provo. Elliot, our leader, agreed and sent us as envoys.” Duke paused. “We’re all good people with values, and we basically saved the world with our vaccine, so we thought we might be welcome with your group.”
Thomas looked like he’d been gut punched, as did most of the council members. Duke had anticipated the request would come as a shock, so he plowed on with his pitch.
“Look, we know that you’re a religious bunch. Most of us are as well. Any differences we might have are probably small. What’s important is that we’ve sacrificed most of what we have to keep the country safe, and that includes you. We didn’t have to develop the vaccine, and we certainly didn’t have to distribute it so everyone would stay healthy. But we did. I know it’s hard to tell right from left these days, but surely that counts as good in anyone’s book.”
Thomas nodded slowly. “No question. But there are some ideological concerns, and some logi
stical ones as well. How many of you are there?”
“Not many. Maybe…a couple of hundred or so? Women, children, and adult men who don’t mind a hard day’s work to earn their keep. They’re all good, capable people. Salt of the earth, just like yours. It would be a good fit.”
“I’m not debating that it wouldn’t be.” Thomas looked to Glenn. “This is obviously a surprise, and we’re going to have to talk it over. And it’s not the kind of thing that we’ll be able to decide in a single meeting. There are a lot of aspects to consider.” His smile was smaller than before when he offered one. “Make yourself comfortable at the rooming house. We’ll get back to you when we’ve had some time to think things through.”
“We wouldn’t have ridden all the way here if we had any other options. We need to clear out of Colorado, and we want somewhere safe, where we’re among like-minded folks who are building a better future. We’re not asking for charity, just consideration – and you have to admit, we’ve more than paid it forward.”
“Nobody’s denying that. Give us some breathing room, Duke. You make an eloquent case, but it’s up to us to figure out how to proceed. Eat some of Glenda’s excellent cooking, catch up on some rest, and we’ll get back to you,” Glenn said, his final words ending any further discussion.
Duke nodded and rose. “Thanks for hearing me out. And you’re more than right about Glenda. There’s worse duty than a day or two at her place. All I ask is that you understand the urgency of the request. We don’t have a lot of time left on our end, and we need to do something.”
Thomas sighed. “We get it, Duke. Now leave us to our discussion, and we’ll try to come up with an answer as quickly as we’re able.”
“That’s all we can ask.”
Edwin was awake when Duke returned, munching on some leftover bread in the lobby. He looked up as Duke entered, eyebrows raised. “How’d it go?”
“Hard to read. I made my case.”
“They didn’t give you an answer?”
“No. They need to parlay among themselves. That’s expected. It’s a big deal to them. They’re not going to rush into anything.”
The Day After Never - Legion (Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Thriller - Book 8) Page 18