by Warren Ray
“Heard you were here.”
“Oh?”
“Sadie. She visits me all the time.”
“She is something, isn’t she?”
Murphy nodded. “She said you came here with more girls?”
“Oh, yeah,” said Winters as he took a seat on a bench. He waited for the physical therapist to leave before he briefed Murphy.
Murphy shook his head throughout. “I’m sorry about your daughter, Captain.”
“Thank you. I’m doing better with it. Helping all those girls did a lot to restore my morale.”
“Yeah, I get that. You know, had I not seen the party house, it’d be almost unbelievable a whole town could fall for that.”
Winters nodded. “How’s your therapy doing?”
Murphy raised his arm up halfway. “It’s getting better. I should be able to straighten it in the next few weeks or so. You say Nate got shot in the shoulder?”
“Yeah, in the front,” said Winters pointing above his chest, “and right out the back. Not as bad as yours, but still, he should have come here. He refuses to leave though, and now that Elliott’s been shot, he won’t leave his side.”
“It’s got to be driving him crazy missing the action.”
Winters let out a laugh. “Oh, yeah, you know Nate. What about you?”
“Can’t wait to get back.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“When you leaving?”
“Tonight. I got three trucks full of supplies.”
“Butler and his crew helping you?”
“Yeah. You’ve met them?”
“I have, and I can’t say I trust ‘em, especially Fowler. I get bad vibes from him. He seems a bit on the creepy side to me.”
Winters gave him a concerned look. “Really?”
“Yeah, why?”
“It’s just that we’re taking two of the girls back home first.”
“Is that wise?”
Winters shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve got ‘em with Hicks for the whole day.”
Murphy smiled. “Sergeant Hicks will fix ‘em right up.”
“Exactly.”
“Still, keep ‘em with you on the drive back.”
“I will and on that note I need to go.”
“Captain, thanks for stopping by and tell everyone I said, hey.”
“I will,” he said shaking his hand.
Winters would liked to have spent more time with him, but he wanted to check on the girls’ progress and tie up some loose ends with the supply sergeant.
He headed to the gun range and was surprised to see Sadie in one of the lanes shooting a pistol. Her back was to Winters as he approached the window, so he took a seat and watched her empty a magazine at a target ten yards away. The gun looked big in her little hands but it didn’t have too much of a kick, so he figured it was a 9mm.
The instructor brought the target back. Her shots were in a tight grouping but just to the right of center. The instructor held up his trigger finger to show her how to better place it on the trigger. The little things made all the difference when on a target twenty feet or more away. She tried again and took the lesson to heart, as her grouping was dead center.
She noticed Winters and smiled while waving him inside. He grabbed some ear and eye protection before joining her.
“Shouldn’t you be in school?” joked Winters.
“I am in school, aren’t I, Mike?” she answered looking at Sergeant Spencer.
Winters rolled his eyes and shook Spencer’s hand. “How she doing, Mike?”
Sergeant Mike Spencer was a Canadian soldier and an expert in small arms. He had been working with Winters this morning and had instructed all the Shadow Patriots.
“She’s one of my best students.”
“Is she now?”
“Seriously, she really is. She actually listens and doesn’t have an ego like a lot of guys do. I’m getting ready to move her up to .45’s.”
Winters put his arm around her shoulder. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“You wanna take a turn?” asked Sadie.
“No, no. I just came down to check on the girls. Where’re they at?”
“Sergeant Hicks has them in the Urban Warfare Course. I had them for a while after you left.”
“How they’d do?”
“They both did good, especially Laney. She took right to it. Collette took a bit longer, but she came around. Both are quite competent and comfortable with weapons now.”
Winters let out a sigh. “Good. I’m happy to hear it.”
“Believe me, by the time Hicks is done with them, they’ll be able to defend themselves. Last time, I checked, they were knocking down the right targets and not freaking out about hitting the wrong ones. And like Sadie, they listen.”
Winters remembered going through the course and how much it taught him about tactics, leading a squad, what to look for, speed and time management. Hicks ran them through the course multiple times a day over a month’s time until he was satisfied with their performance. The girls won’t need as much in-depth training but will come away with valuable skills to keep themselves and their families safe.
Chapter 34
Detroit Michigan
The pilot shut down the 747 engines as the aircraft-boarding ramp was pushed over to it. The Detroit Metro Airport like all the other airports was closed down after the fall of the government. The only people who still flew were the well connected or government officials. Mordulfah was the only person who used this airport with his private jet. His uncle Faisal owned the big jet that had just landed. Inside were five hundred experienced soldiers who would be helping Mordulfah clear out the upper Midwest but more specifically the Shadow Patriots.
The men disembarked and gathered their stowed gear and weapons. Everyone wore light camouflage fatigues and a confident manner. They were orderly and didn’t hesitate to load their equipment into the charter buses Mordulfah had provided.
Colonel Khan stood off to the side with his captains and watched. He was pleased with this assignment. He stood to make a lot of money from Mordulfah and whatever else his men managed to loot from the various towns they would raid. He promised his men riches and plenty of virgins.
He was aware of Mordulfah’s penchant for young girls and shared the same notions. All he was asked by the prince was to give him first choice to fill his harem back up. After that, they could have as many as they wanted, which would be a lot. Besides his men, he had to consider Mordulfah’s men who had been fighting in Jackson.
These men had drifted in from the surrounding areas and were not trained fighters but would still want a piece of the action. It would be better to give them something rather than to have a mutiny on his hands. Despite their lack of training, there were still fifteen hundred of them, more than enough to hamper his efforts.
He also had to consider the local cops. He had heard about the girls that were taken from them as well. No doubt, they wanted to refill their party house as quickly as possible. The cops didn’t impress him, but it was another entity that had to be pacified. Because they were locals, they would come in handy in providing support.
Khan had been making plans with his captains while enroute and had decided the sooner they attacked, the better before their enemy knew of their arrival. He was to meet with Mordulfah’s military leaders and the cops as soon as they got to Grosse Pointe, which would be in another thirty minutes.
The buses pulled up to Mordulfah’s mansion, and Khan was the first off to be greeted by the prince.
“Colonel Khan, I trust your trip was uneventful.”
“It was, thank you.”
“My man Wali will direct your men across the street. We have prepared food and quarters for them.”
“Excellent.”
“I’ve also taken the liberty of telling the men on the borders that you’re coming and that they’re to not engage with the enemy until they receive your orders,” said Mordulfah. He had done it out of selfish reasons. N
ot only did he not want the men to think that Khan was taking over, but that he felt the men needed a confidence boost after yesterday‘s shoot out in the Proving Grounds.
Khan nodded.
“Come inside,” said Mordulfah escorting Khan into the smaller house on the grounds. Since materials were in short supply, work on the larger dwelling hadn’t begun yet as materials hadn’t been gathered.
Mordulfah introduced Khan to his captains, which included Vatter who was visibly nervous being there. He hadn’t seen Mordulfah since the rebels attacked the mansion and wondered if Khan was there to replace him.
Everyone took a seat at the rectangular table with Mordulfah on one end and Khan on the other end.
“Gentlemen, I want all of you to give Colonel Khan your assessment of the rebels and what you’ve seen them do.”
Everyone blinked nervously, not knowing at each other unsure if they would be losing their heads.
Khan removed his hat. “I’m not here to judge but I need to ascertain their tactics and capabilities.”
They let out a collective a sigh of relief and one by one began to report all they had experienced when fighting the rebels. Throughout the briefings, Khan would periodically ask questions to probe for more detail. None of these captains had military experience and as such, what they thought was important wasn’t always the case or vice-versa.
After they finished, Khan leaned back in his chair and thought for a few moments. The rebels were well trained and used good tactics. They were also well equipped, and more than likely had night-vision optics since they preferred to operate at night. There was only one way to overcome that advantage, and that was to fight them during the day.
Khan got up and looked at the map of Jackson, which indicated the locations where all of their men were currently positioned and where they thought the rebels had guard posts. It was really a simple thing. The rebels were outnumbered and wouldn’t be able to thwart a quick full-on assault. Any of the locals who volunteered to fight would fold as soon as they saw what was coming at them. Especially now since that he had brought better munitions than Mordulfah’s men had previously had access to.
Khan turned back to the men. “We will attack at first light.”
They all looked at each other with excited eyes.
“I will divide my men into two companies,” said Khan as he picked up a pointer. “They will enter here,” pointing at Ann Arbor Road, “and here on Page Road. Now, I need Captain Vatter to keep his police on US 12, that way we can squeeze them together. And all the men on Highway 60 will come across on McCain Road. We will do this all at the same time.
We will set fire to the houses as we advance to squeeze them south where they will meet their fate. By doing this, we will avoid much block-to-block resistance. Anyone seeing what is happening will run right into our funnel.
We will strike the hospital first, where many of their men sleep. This is where we will be able to take out most of their force. This will also divide them into smaller groups making them less effective. It will only be a matter of time before we snuff them out.
Khan looked around the room and saw the excitement in their eyes. These rebels may have had considerable success, but they hadn’t been up against an organized, well trained army such as the one he lead. His men were battle-hardened and loyal to Allah. With His blessing, they would achieve a quick victory and destroy the infidels. Perhaps a higher blessing was in store for him with the capture of their leader and a proper beheading.
Chapter 35
Jackson Michigan
Reese pulled into the eight-stall garage Bill Taylor had been using to service all the vehicles while in Jackson. It was also the staging area for the evacuation of citizens. He and Nate were the car experts, but since Nate’s injury, it fell upon Taylor and a couple of other mechanics to take care of all the vehicles.
This afternoon’s visits to the border revealed troubling signs that the Jijis were going to attack soon. Scar had received other reports of meetings being held by a commander.
This raised alarm bells in his head, so he decided to have Bassett beef up security tonight. He didn’t want to take any chances especially since they hadn’t had any success since Winters had gone. The fact they were moving citizens across the border was not lost on him. The last thing they needed was to fail at something they had done many times before.
They saw Badger at a work bench drinking a bottle of water. He waved and then came out of the entrance of the garage.
“How’s my honey badger?” asked Taylor referring to their on-going joke about how there can only be one honey badger.
“Am I officially a honey badger now?” asked Reese as she hopped out of the truck.
“Honey, you’ve always been a badger…consider yourself a honey badger in training.”
“Oh, I am on my way. I’m so excited,” said Reese as she gave Taylor a hug.
Taylor looked the truck up and down. “Did you actually wash this thing?”
“Yeeess,” said Reese in a defensive tone.
“Hmph. Well, anyway, I got your new tires right here.”
“And rims?” asked Reese looking at the new wheels.
“Yep. Don’t have the time or energy to take the tires off the rims, so you get new ones.”
“I love ‘em.”
“Good, cause you’re gonna put them on.
“I’ve never changed a tire before.”
“I figured that. But every girl needs to know how to change a tire.”
“Did you teach your daughters?”
“Damn right I did. Hell, they can change their own oil too.”
Reese’s grin grew excited since she never had a father around to show her mechanical things or anything else for that matter.
“C’mon, we’re going to do it with the jack that comes with the truck, so you know how to use one of those as well.”
Taylor grabbed the bottle jack from the back seat. She nodded each time he gave her the next set of instructions. She first loosened the nuts by stomping on the lug wrench with her foot before jacking the truck up. By the time she finished the second wheel, she was able to do the last two without his assistance.
Scar watched and was impressed she didn’t complain about her injured leg even though she struggled at times to lift the wheel onto the hub. He also was impressed the way Badger handled her with kid gloves. Something he didn’t do with many other people.
He didn’t talk about his family and Scar didn’t even know he had daughters until Reese had just mentioned them. From the way he got along with her, it was apparent he had raised daughters, not sons.
Taylor stood by Scar. She’ll never get stranded with a flat.”
“No, she won’t,” responded Scar.
“So, what’s the latest?” asked Taylor. “Nordell came by earlier and said we’re taking out a convoy out tonight.”
“Yeah, I wanna lighten the load on the food supply.”
“Good idea. I figure with the short-buses he’s bringing over and the gas we siphoned, we can do right around a hundred people.”
Scar nodded with a troubled expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“There seems to be activity around the borders. I think the Jijis are up to something.”
Taylor raised an eyebrow. “Think they’re getting ready to attack?”
“They can’t wait forever.”
Taylor scoffed. “Let them. I’m sick of waiting around for them anyway.”
“Yeah, I hear ya. I’m about tired of this myself.”
“Well, I wouldn’t worry about the convoy. They won’t fight us at night anyway.”
Scar gave him a dubious look. “There’s a first for everything.
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
“Either way, I’ll send Meeks and Amber over to Hanover Road to reconnoiter the area before we move them across.”
“What about Bassett and Burns?”
“They’re headed out early in the morning to scout
out the supply line again.”
“Good luck on that.”
Scar let out a frustrated sigh.
Reese stood up holding the tire iron. “All done.”
“Let me check those lug nuts,” said Taylor grabbing the wrench. He squatted down to tighten them. He could barely move each one a quarter turn. “Not bad, honey.”
“I can still give a good kick,” beamed Reese.
“Yeah, I can see that,” said Taylor as he picked up the old front wheels and threw them in the back of the pickup. “Now you got a couple of spares. They’ve still got good tread on them.” Taylor then grabbed five-gallons of gas and poured it into her tank to top it off.
Reese wrapped her arms around Taylor. “Thanks so much.”
“Your welcome, kiddo. You coming out tonight?”
“No, I promised Nate I’d hang out with him and Elliott.”
“You’re not playing poker with them, are ya?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Well, you just be careful around that Nate.”
“Don’t worry. We’re just playing for chips.”
“Alright,” said Taylor squinting his eyes.
“I’ll see ya in a couple of hours,” said Scar getting back into the old Chevy.
Taylor nodded and waved to them as Reese backed the truck out of the big garage. She cracked a mischievous grin before slamming it into drive and squealing the tires.
“I had to break them in,” she said with a coy look.
“But of course you did,” chuckled Scar.
Reese sped down the road and glanced over to see Scar smiling. “What?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You’re smiling about something. You gonna share?”
“I was just thinking that I’ve never seen Badger treat anyone better than you. He’s usually quite the grouch.”
“Oh, he’s harmless. He’s like a squishy marshmallow.”
Scar let out a belly laugh. “A marshmallow, huh?”
“A squishy marshmallow,” Reese corrected him holding up a finger.
“Aren’t all marshmallows squishy?”
Reese thought for a moment. “Not if they’re stale.”
“That would be him,” Scar quickly responded.