THE FALL OF AMERICA
NO WINNERS
Book 10
W.R Benton
ISBN 978-1-944476-88-5
Published by Loose Cannon Enterprises
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the authors and/or the publisher. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
© Copyright 2020 by W. R. Benton, LLC All rights reserved
Author Images © Copyright 2019 by Melanie C. Benton, All rights reserved
Edited by Bobbie La Cour and Daniel Williams
ISBN 978-1-944476-94-6
Cover images by:
Airman 1stClass Ashley J Thum, U.S. Air Force Photo
Jason Wong (Unsplash)
Books by W. R. Benton
W. R. Benton is a master story teller with over 63 books, eBooks and audiobooks to his credit, and his mountain man book, “Nate Grisham” set in 1820, is soon to be a feature motion picture. Benton is known for his action and adventure, along with great character development that makes many readers feel as if they are actually a part of the book. His tales tell of the kind of bad guys you love to hate, with good guys you root for from the very beginning.
Explore WR Benton's books, at
http://www.amazon.com/author/wrbenton/
Dedication
To my granddaughter, “Munchkin” Mami Lynn Hollis, pap-paw loves you.
To James “Jim” Wilkerson, of Mississippi, a true friend and a good man in anyone's eyes.
To my fur baby, Skillet, may you rest in peace and I miss you.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
About the Author
A Word from the Author
My goal in writing this series was to make a good apocalyptic story that some readers would enjoy and perhaps get them to thinking. I started wanting to keep politics out, but could not do so when I learned the Democrats were leaning toward communism, very strongly. I had to speak out through my characters in my manuscripts. During my 26 years of military service I was stationed all over the world and, unlike most Americans, I got to see many different forms of government and believe me, we have the best. What really turns me off about Communism is the number of their own they usually kill, through poor management of food programs or intentionally, with guns. Nothing in life except death is free, and even then you need to have insurance to have a worry-free burial.
See, I'm a Vietnam Veteran and the 58,000 plus names on the black wall were all killed by communists. I cannot forget that and won't. That is the main reason I do not support Communism.
In this series of books I've shown the determination and intelligence of John and his crew of partisans. I wanted fast action, believable action, and to be able to make my reader desire to read more at the end of each chapter. The first three books totally blew my publisher out of the water and myself too, and at about book five sales were still strong, but nothing like the first books. Then it mellowed out and stabilized, still doing better than normal book series. I am very pleased with this series of books.
I am always writing and I intend to explore my abilities by ending this series and writing a new one. I may even go from Sci-Fi to a totally different genre. I'm not sure what I want, but it will, hopefully, be totally different than this one. I'll have to daydream a bit and see what comes to mind.
Anyway, relax with Book Ten of "Fall of America" the final book in the series. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
WR Benton
Jackson, MS
1 August 2020
Chapter 1
The guard’s body quivered as John ran the sharp blade of his hunting knife over the man’s throat. He felt the body go stiff and then warm blood began running over his hands as he held the man still until his last jerks and spasms struck him. There was something about killing with a knife that John hated. And while he could do it, at times there was no choice, he had never enjoyed the job. It was dark, pitch black, but he and his men wore NVGs and the darkness had caused them no serious problems so far. Thanks to the ghastly greenish light in the goggles, the men were able to move as if bright sunlight was available.
Pressing his throat mic against his upper neck he whispered, “Three has been taken out. Move.”
His troops began running through the large cut in the chain link fence and gathering in small sapper groups of five or less. Each had a specific target assigned and once together on the base, off they went as a team. John smiled. His men and women were some of the best killers in the world, and they were fighting to end the Russian-American war. So far, the Russians were losing their asses and their people back home wanted them out of America, now.
“Floyd, have the men who are going with us to form up behind me and let’s move.” He glanced at his watch. Plenty of time to get to the command post. At this time of the morning, the big bug should be there, and we’ll take him out with the rest of his crew, he thought. They had enough Chinese explosives that they’d not have to penetrate the Command Post by hand. They’d placed enough explosives to blow the whole building to hell and back.
Seeing his people behind him, John moved forward, knowing his folks were following him into darkness and toward death. The only question that remained unanswered was who would do the dying. He knew this part of the base was not mined because the Russian soldiers used the area as a training spot. Weeks before this attack he’d watched them do their morning run and exercises in the field he was running over now.
Seeing the bright lights at the base, he knew the team of sappers sent to take out the lights had met resistance or they’d failed in their mission. Then shots were heard and a loud explosion filled the cool night air. The lights immediately went off.
“Sergeant, take half of the men to the other side of the Command Post and make sure no one gets out alive.” He knew if they worked this properly the Base and Wing commanders would be killed, along with many important officers and enlisted men. He also knew the propaganda officer would be taken out and he was responsible for many deaths.
He heard a shot nearby and saw four Russian Infantry men rushing them. John reached down and removed Dolly from her leash and said, “Get ‘em, girl!” The Americans began to fire back at the Russians and the noise was deafening.
Two Russians fell but not without costing John the life of one troop and injuring three others. All fell screaming and adding to the noise of combat. Then the smell of blood, human waste, and urine filled the air. John almost gagged, but he fought it back and continued running. Dolly was soon by his side again, and her lips and nose were covered in blood.
The radioman neared and yelled to be heard over the guns, “Sir, the Russians are bringing out their armor and they’re on the north side of the base, moving toward us.”
A loud
thrrruupp was heard as one side or the other brought out the heavy mortars.
“Get the RPG teams to meet the tanks. They may have to get behind them and shoot them in the ass to kill one though.”
“I’ll tell ‘em, sir.”
The different colored tracers flew through the air and if not so dangerous, they would have been beautiful. John lowered his head and continued running.
His men slowed down and Hines, a Corporal, said, “This is the building, sir.”
“Place explosives on both sides of the structure and after the first charge goes off, wait and see if the second charge is needed. They'll probably evacuate on the side opposite of the explosion, that's what I would do, so hold off until they start coming out that side. Then blow it all.”
“Got you, sir.” Hines said, and ran to his explosives team. They quickly placed the Chinese version of C4 against both heavy doors and blew the east side first. Just as the dust cleared, Russians began to stumble from the building, with most bleeding. When a group of about ten men were in the doorway, Hines blew the second explosive, killing all in the doorway immediately and causing a complete collapse of the whole building. Parts of the building were on fire, so one of his men, carrying a flame thrower, squirted some burning jell on the ruins to make sure it burned hot and long. Screams were heard from the rubble, so John walked away, not wanting to hear someone burning to death.
A long series of explosions were heard on the flight line and he knew his sappers were taking out aircraft, and the gunshots indicated they were killing the maintenance men as well. There came a super loud explosion and glancing at the sky, he knew the POL storage area was gone too. Dark oily columns of smoke climbed to the sky as men, mostly Russians, continued to scream and die.
“The tanks were slowed down and they lost four, but about a dozen are headed straight for us, sir. The RPG guys are out of ammo and withdrawing from the battle. Wilson says he just freed the gulag and has our POWs.” the radioman said.
“Order the rest to disengage and return home in groups of three to five men. Do it now too, Jones.”
“Yes, sir. Raven One to all stations, withdraw immediately. Escape and evade in cell size units. I repeat, leave and head home in cell size units now. Copy.”
As everyone replied to the order, the radio operator checked off the units and cells on his paper. He turned to John and said, “All are accounted for, sir, and all have acknowledged the order to leave now.”
“Warn them that the Russians will not be in the mood to take prisoners either, not after we killed both commanders. Tell them to expect jets and choppers overhead on the way back home.”
“Will do, sir.”
John felt every ounce of weight on his back as he moved, his heavy pack not helping his old injuries much. But this was a fight for America, and it was worth his life and all the men and women who served under him to be free again. The Chinese now sent some men out with the Americans as they advised them and both sides found it worthwhile. Usually the Chinese Officer would simply observe, and they soon realized the American Resistance had their act together. It was valuable training for the Officer, because they got free combat experience to help their careers and to educate them on American tactics. This trip, because of so many open variables, the Chinese Officer did not go with them. Too many ways the man could be killed and that might hurt their relationship with the Chinese.
They were moving across a wide field when someone shouted, “Chopper, on our six!”
John knew the bird was on their asses when the word six was used, so he turned to see a Mi-24 Hind all decked out in a fresh coat of Russian camouflage paint. As he ran for the trees that grew on the sides of the field, he saw the guns open fire. John stopped, fell to the ground and pulled grasses and leaves up and over him. He noticed the gunner was walking his bullets at the running men and women. Clumps of dirt the size of eggs were being thrown high into the air as the bullets punched holes through the hard dirt of the field and the bodies of partisans. People screamed as they were cut down, and at times the ping of a bullet was heard as it ricocheted into the air.
John looked around and noticed maybe ten other people hidden in the grasses. The chopper passed over them, with the door gunner firing now. In seconds the firing stopped and the helicopter returned and hovered over some dead bodies. As John watched the gunner taking photos, he was amazed to see the man suddenly pitch forward and fall from the aircraft, but a short six foot nylon lanyard kept his fall to a minimum. He’d not heard the shot, but that was due to the noise made by the rotors and the big bird was right over him. The man was not moving as the aircraft lifted up and soon made its way away from the field. He’d noticed the man had dropped the camera in the inside of the chopper, so there was a good chance it would be lost on the way home, but unknown to him, that did not happen.
“Henderson, get me a casualty count of dead and wounded.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Jones, get on the horn and tell the old man we were hit by a Russian chopper, but the attack was a success. The prisoners were released at the Gulag and they scattered to hell and back. We did get to rescue some POWs and we’re returning with them.”
“Sir, we have four dead, two with minor injuries, and one fatally injured or so it seems.”
“Overdose the fatally injured, because we’d be carrying them for nothing. Make sure the medic says they have no hope before you do it though. If they can survive, we’ll pack ‘em to hell and back.”
“Yes, sir.”
Standing, John yelled, “Form on me.”
“The old man says he needs you to return as fast and safely as you can, but to take no chances. I got the feeling something has come up and it’s important. He said nothing, but, of course, he wouldn’t say anything secret without sending it in code.”
“Is that all?”
“Pretty much, and he said he’ll explain when you get there.”
“Johnson, you take point and come to a heading of 062. I want no noise, and there is a chance the Russians have sent teams out, using choppers, to ambush us. If they pretty much covered the 360 of the base, we’ll meet them at some point. I want my point alert and his head out of his ass. Stay off the main trails; I’m sure one side or the other has them booby trapped and mined. This is for keeps, folks. Let’s move.”
“What about our dead?” someone in the rear of the group asked.
“Get their names, but we can’t bury them or take them with us. I wish we could, but carrying the bodies would just slow us down. Now, enough talk, we have to cover some ground.” John said, and then started walking as the second man in line.
They moved quickly and covered some miles, but a little after two hours, Johnson stopped and whispered for John to come forward.
When the man arrived, Johnson said, “Look to your right about ten meters. See that shiny piece of metal in the ground? I think it's a command detonated bomb and while I see no one, it may be motion detonated.”
“Move deeper in the trees on our left and go around it. It’s probably a 500 pound Chinese bomb and we don’t need more deaths on this mission.”
“I hear you, Colonel.” Johnson then moved to the trees and began moving around the bomb. Whoever set the bomb was smart, and they had placed antipersonnel mines out and around the explosive, in hopes they’d at least kill one or two.
The rest of the troops lined up behind John, who was once again second, and started to walk. Suddenly, there came a loud explosion and Johnson disappeared in flash of light and flames. John heard the man scream through the explosion and all the troops stopped moving. When the dust settled Johnson was on the ground screaming, with both legs missing and his arms shredded by the mine. John knew from experience the man would not survive, so he turned to his medic and said, “Overdose him on morphine. He’ll bleed to death before we can stop his bleeding.”
“Sir?”
“He’s a dead man, so put him down and do it now. He’s in some unbearable pain.”
>
“I don’t know if I can do that, Colonel. I'm an old friend of Jim's, sir.”
“Well, I can.” John said and took the medic’s medical bag from him and moved to Johnson.
The wounded man gave him a slight smile and managed to say, “K . . . kill . . . me. I . . . hurt.” He met John’s eyes as he spoke.
“Son, I can’t save you. Your wounds are extensive. I can kill your pain.”
“Yes . . . thank . . . you.”
John prepared the needle, and then stuck the fatally injured man in the bleeding stub of his left leg. “Your pain will go away soon.”
Johnson simply nodded, but he was already losing the pain and he knew the Colonel had given him too much, but he didn’t care.
As his pain lessened, he said, “Thank you, boss, and my pain is gone. I’m so sleepy now.”
“Sleep and you’ll feel better when you wake.” He nodded again and closed his eyes. Within minutes he was dead.
“Saddle up, we’re moving. Lee, you take the point, and we know there are mines here, so we’re in no hurry. Take your time and get us through this safely. This is no speed contest.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll do my best.”
The rest of the day was uneventful, but a stressful day none the less. It was near dusk when Lee returned and said, “I spotted a Russian tank and machine gun nest near a crossroad about 100 meters from here.”
“Go around it. We don’t have the time to take ‘em out.” John said.
“Where and when are we going to spend the night?” Lee asked.
“We’re not. We keep moving until we get back home. I will stop for an hour at midnight for food, toilet breaks, and quick catnaps, then we move on. I'll change my point person then, too."
“Good. I’ve not seen many mines, but they are there. It’s a shame Johnson was killed.”
The Fall of America | Book 10 | No Winners Page 1