“Just hold on for a few minutes. Let’s check this situation out before we do anything that might prove later to be real stupid.”
“OK. What’s our move, Pops?”
“Pops?”
She grinned at him, and at that instant she looked more like a fourteen-year-old tousle-headed kid than a combat-hardened veteran of several major Rebel campaigns. “Where’s your sense of humor, General?”
Ben reached out with a big hand and ruffled her hair. “Pops is fine. Let’s go reconnoiter this situation.”
It didn’t look good, and Ben whispered as much to Anna as they knelt in the timber and brush and looked at the roadblock about a hundred yards away. Traffic was now backed up all the way to the road Ben had turned down. Cars were being searched very thoroughly, the occupants forced to stand away from the vehicles, guns pointed at them.
“Place is crawling with troops and those damned FPPS turds in, black jumpsuits,” Anna whispered. “I hate those miserable, goddamned people.”
“They’ve sure changed from the old FBI I grew up reading and watching movies about years back, for a fact. And it was all done practically overnight. All while we were in Africa.”
“Looks like you were right about the walking.”
“Looks like.”
“How far is it to the border?”
“Too damn far to walk, that’s for certain. We’ll clear this hurdle and worry about the next one when we come to it. Let’s get back to the car and gear up.”
The compartment concealed under the trunk and backseat held lots of equipment but did not contain backpacks, and that’s what Ben and Anna needed right now. They stowed what gear they could carry comfortably in several small rucksacks, hooked web belts around their waists, rolled a couple of blankets tightly, and took off through the timber. They carried more ammunition and grenades than anything else.
They spent the first night in an old deserted barn behind the blackened ruins of what was once a house. Their supper was cold field rations that tasted terrible, even after being saturated with hot sauce. A small bottle of the fiery stuff was included in every accessory pack . . . to help kill the awful taste.
“This crap is even worse than the old stuff,” Anna bitched. “It’s awful!”
“No it’s not. I had some recently. And this is good for you. The doctors and the lab people all say so.”
“Do they ever eat it?”
“I doubt it.”
“That’s what I think, too.”
“They test it on troops in the field.”
“The more the troops bitch about it, the better for you the lab people think it is, huh?”
“Go to sleep, Anna.”
“Can I throw up first?”
Ben went to sleep with a smile on his lips. It was good to have Anna back.
The next morning the outskirts of a small town came into view, and Ben and Anna knelt at the edge of a small stand of timber and observed the goings-on for a few moments.
“Pops,” Ann said, “I really would hate to steal a car that belonged to a SUSA supporter.” She paused and smiled. “But it wouldn’t bother me at all to swipe a car belonging to a New Democracy supporter.”
Ben lowered the compact binoculars and nodded his head. “I don’t think we’re going to get a chance to steal anything out of that town.” He handed her the long lenses. “Take a look. The place is crawling with Federal troops.”
Anna looked for a few seconds and then lowered the binoculars. “It looks like a staging area.”
“I think the Federals have pulled back this far to regroup. They got a good ass kicking from our people. We’ll head west for a few miles before cutting south. That area is scarcely populated.”
Ben and Anna were footsore. They were both wearing low quarter shoes, not-suited to long hikes through rough country.
By noon of that day they were ready for a long rest by a tiny creek. They soaked their aching feet and washed and dried their socks. Then they forced themselves to eat some field rations, and it was a real effort as usual for both of them getting the mess down and keeping it down.
“This stuff is the pits,” Ben said. “When we get back I am ordering the lab people to destroy this crap and come up with something edible.”
“Good, Pops. That is wonderful. I assure you, you’ll be revered forever for that single act of compassion.” Anna began digging a hole in the ground with a stick. “I just can’t eat anymore of this hogslop. I’m gonna get sick if I do.” She dropped the containers in the hole and shoved the dirt over them. “Rest in peace,” she said.
“I’d rather we returned to C-rats,” Ben said. “Some of them were pretty damn good.”
They walked on, staying in the timber whenever possible, which was most of the time, for this part of Missouri had never been over-populated, even before the Great War and the collapse. Most of the land was rocky and difficult to farm. They met a few dogs. They all were friendly and didn’t bark much, and after a pat they ran off, playing and having a good time.
“I would give them some of these field rations,” Anna said. “But I like dogs, and feeding them this crap would be cruelty to animals.”
By approaching nightfall they had covered only a few more miles over some very rough country and decided to call it a day. Their shoes were just about shot, and they had been forced to take cover several times when helicopters flew over.
“They seem to be working a search pattern,” Ben observed. “I think our abandoned car has been found.”
“They’re going to pay a hell of a price if they find us,” Anna said. “I’m not going to be taken prisoner again. And I mean that, Pops.”
Ben said nothing. But he had no intention of being taken alive, either.
“How many miles until we reach our lines?” Anna asked.
“Still too many for us to walk, Kid, and make it. If we stay on foot, we’re going to get caught . . . trapped somewhere. And that will be the end for us. It’s just a matter of time. We’re going to have to find some transportation.”
“But I bet there are many roadblocks between here and the border.”
“I’m sure, but I’m working on that little problem. Right now, let’s get some sleep.”
“I need some boots.”
“So do I. Got any suggestions?”
“I could go alone into the next town and buy some. You have any money?”
“I have plenty, but forget it. The wrong clerk would put it together, and you’d be caught. Then I’d have to come in and try to get you, and I’d be caught. Then we’d both get seriously dead. Got any more suggestions?”
“You have such a way with words, Pops. No, I guess I don’t have any more suggestions.”
“Thank you. Now would you please shut up and try to get some sleep?”
“One more thing.”
“What is it?”
“Thank you for coming to get me, and I love you.”
That caught Ben off guard. After a moment, he cleared his throat a couple of times and said, “Well . . . think nothing of it. And I love you, too.”
“Now go to sleep.”
“Yeah, right. Sleep. What a good idea.”
They had found what was left of another old barn and had settled in for the night. It was summer, but the nights were still surprisingly cool.
In the timber, something popped, followed by the faint murmur of voices.
Ben and Anna were instantly alert, weapons in hand. Behind them, more voices could be faintly heard, but the distance was still too great for the words to be clear. The darting beams of flashlights flashed in the early evening.
“I think we have company, Baby.”
“No kidding?”
“Smartass,” Ben muttered.
“If we play this right,” Anna said. “We’ll both have new boots in a few minutes.”
Ben cut his eyes to her. “You’re really a delightful kid, you know that, Anna?”
“You’re all right yourself, except when yo
u get all crotchety.”
Before Ben could whisper a response a voice called, “Here’s two sets of footprints.”
Behind them, more voices could be heard. They were trapped . . . at least momentarily.
Ben pulled a rucksack to him and spilled out some grenades, giving half of them to Anna.
“You stay here,” Ben said. “I’ll take the rear.”
“I’ll wait for your signal. Good luck, Pops.” She kissed him on the cheek and slithered off into a better position.
Ben got into place.
They waited.
Twenty-two
The command was given, clearly heard by Ben and Anna. “Easy now, they might be in that old piece of a barn. Lewis, put your light over there.”
Ben and Anna waited, weapons at the ready. The beams from several flashlights flashed over the barn, front and back.
“Can’t see anything, Captain.” The voice came from Ben’s side of the barn. “No tracks, nothing.”
“Same here in the front,” Lewis called. “I can’t see nothing.”
Another voice was added. “They’re in there. The tracks lead straight up to the barn and stop. I been trackin’ for years, boys. We got ’em.”
Ben and Anna slipped their fingers from the trigger guards to the triggers.
“Does that million dollar reward apply to us?” The question was tossed out.
“No. Just the satisfaction of killing that traitorous bastard Raines.”
“That’s good enough for me.” Another voice.
“Let’s do it, people,” the commanding voice called. “Barnwell, toss a grenade into that barn.”
Barnwell never got the chance. In the shadowy dimness Anna watched him jerk the pin and draw back his arm. She shot him. A few seconds later the grenade exploded, flashing in the early evening.
The night blew apart with gunfire, and the old barn vibrated from the impact of slugs.
Ben and Anna were behind good cover inside the barn. They kept their heads down and waited out the first barrage.
“Cease fire!” the order was shouted. When the firing stopped, the captain shouted, “How’s Barnwell?”
“Dead, Captain. The grenade blew him apart. He’s all over the damn place.”
“Barny was my buddy!” someone shouted. “Goddamn those people. I’ll get them!” The man stood up to charge the barn, a shadowy figure in the night, and Ben shot him.
“Green troops,” Ben muttered. “Or just awfully stupid. Probably a combination of both.”
“Don’t anybody else do anything that stupid!” the captain yelled. “Somebody get on the radio and call for support. Tell them we’ve got Raines and the bitch trapped. Give them our position.”
“No can do, Captain Jennings,” a voice called. “Ted was standing next to Barnwell. He’s dead, and the radio’s blown all to hell and gone.”
“Goddamnit!” Jennings cussed.
“We can take them.” Ben recognized the tracker’s voice. “Hell, there’s only two of them. We’ve got them outnumbered.”
Ben crawled over to Anna. “We’ve got to get out of here before it dawns on those idiots they’ve got bloop tubes and start dropping grenades in here. The fire so far has come from front and back. Both sides are clear, I think.”
“There’s a ditch on the west side,” Anna said. “ ’Bout twenty feet from the barn. But there isn’t much cover from here to there.”
“We’ve got to risk it. Stay on your belly and go as soon as the firing starts. I’m going to give them a long burst from the other side of the building. I probably won’t hit anything, but that should get it going.”
“I’ll wait for you in the ditch.”
“You keep going, Baby. One of us has to make it. You hear me?”
“I said I’ll wait for you. And that’s what I’ll do. You hear me?”
“You’re a hardheaded brat.”
“I’ll never deny it.”
“All right. Get ready to go when I fire.”
Ben crawled back to the rear of the barn and cut loose, first with a grenade, then with a full magazine of 5.56 rounds in short spurts, to make the fire last longer.
Changing mags, he cut his eyes over to where Anna had been. She was gone. She had made it. Ben crawled to the front of the barn and heaved another grenade and burned another full mag. Then he was gone, quickly crawling out the busted side of the barn and sliding into the ditch.
“Thank you so very much for green troops,” Ben muttered. Then he turned and bumped into Anna, waiting for him.
“Leads straight into the woods,” she whispered, pressing her mouth against his ear, her voice just audible above the panicked shouting and the roar and rattle of gunfire from the green Federal troops.
“Lead the way.”
In a couple of minutes they were deep in the timber and heading south. The Federals were still firing without letup into the old barn.
“Is that you, Dick?” The voice had suddenly sprung out of the darkness just a few feet off to Ben’s right. “Jesus, what’s happening back there? Sounds like a real firefight going on.”
“Yeah,” Ben said, and he stepped close enough to pop the lone sentry on the side of the jaw with the butt of his CAR. Ben had left his smaller and less accurate machine pistol with the abandoned car.
The sentry went down without making a sound.
Ben quickly took the unconscious man’s weapon and ammo, then his walkie-talkie, web belt with canteen and pistol attached, and field pack and heavy rucksack. He did not bother to check the contents of the rucksack. He checked the man’s boots: too small for him, and too large for Anna.
“Can’t have everything,” Ben said. “Let’s go.”
Another mile of walking and they came to a highway that ran north and south.
“This is the old scenic route highway,” Ben said. “I remember now. This will lead us into what used to be a national forest . . . still is, I suppose. I can’t remember the name of it. If we can make it to the south edge of the forest, I can call in and we can be evacked out.”
“Good,” Anna said. “This damn rucksack you handed me is heavy. What the hell is in this bag?”
“I don’t know. Open it and see.”
She reached inside and smiled. “It’s full of grenades, Pops. A dozen or so of them.”
“Good. I imagine we’ll be needing them before we’re out of this mess. I got half a dozen full mags from that stupid sentry. We’ll be needing them too, I imagine.”
“How far to the edge of this forest?”
“Thirty miles, at least. With what’s left of these low quarters, we’ll both be practically barefoot when the choppers come.”
“I can sure believe that.”
“Well, let’s go. We’ll stay on the shoulder of the road for easier walking. Keep your ears open for traffic.”
Ben looked far down the old highway, faintly shining in the night. For the very first time, he felt confident they would make it back to the SUSA.
And then . . .
Civil war.
Twenty-three
Ben and Anna walked the lonely highway until just after midnight before calling a halt to the night’s march. They saw only a few vehicles, and had plenty of time to get off the road and into the timber before they passed. Only one of the vehicles was military, and it sped by without slowing.
Ben and Anna slept for a few hours and resumed their walking south about a hour before dawn. They were footsore, weary, and in need of a bath.
But they were a few miles closer to home territory.
They came to what was left of a tiny village in the middle of the old National Park and rested.
“About halfway there, Kid,” Ben said after taking a drink of water. “How’re the feet?”
“Sore. My shoes are about shot.”
“So are mine. But they’ll make it a few more miles. You want something to eat?”
“Yes. I sure do. A sixteen ounce T-bone steak, rare, with baked potato, salad, and
a big glass of cold milk. Think you can arrange that?”
“Maybe in a day or two. Right now, would you settle for some field rations?”
Before she could reply they heard the faint sounds of an approaching vehicle. Ben and Anna quickly headed for the timber and brush. Over the years since the collapse and the Great War it had grown right up to the rear of one of the three remaining buildings in the village.
They bellied down in a shallow, brush-covered ditch, weapons at the ready, and waited.
The expensive-looking SUV slowed, then pulled over in front of the building where Ben and Anna had been resting in the shade. Three men and one woman unassed the vehicle. They were all wearing black jumpsuits.
“FPPS dickheads,” Anna whispered. “Let’s whack them and take their . . . whatever that thing is.”
Ben returned the whisper. “Only if they start it, Kid. From now on until this war really gets going, the Federals are going to have to start every skirmish. I don’t want history to state that we started it.”
“You didn’t hesitate to shoot when you came after me,” she reminded him.
“That was different. The Federals had kidnapped you. They had invaded our territory and committed an illegal act. Now be quiet.”
“Yessir, Boss,” Anna said with a grin.
“Mack,” one of the FPPS men said, “as you can clearly see, Raines and his bitch kid are not hiding here.”
“I know that, Darin.”
“Then why did you insist on stopping in this godforsaken place?”
“Because I have to take a piss, that’s why.”
“Well, go over there behind that building before you haul it out,” the woman said.
“Yes, Alice,” Mack said. “Whatever you say, ma’am.”
“Hey!” the fourth agent said. “Listen. Another vehicle coming our way.”
“Brilliant of you, Beck,” Darin said. “The damn road runs right by here, so anyone driving the road would have to be coming our way.”
“Fuck you, Darin,” Beck said.
“You’d never go back to girls, Sweetie!” Darin minced about, one hand on a hip.
“Knock it off!” Alice said.
“It’s George and his team,” Mack said, as the SUV came into view “I wonder what’s up.”
Hatred in the Ashes Page 20