by David Wilson
“Thanks for fixing breakfast, whoever did it,” said Talon as he spooned in eggs to his mouth. Sitting his food bag down, he dug into his jacket pocket until he found an unopened pack of coffee. Ripping open the top of the small pouch, he dumped the entire contents into his coffee cup and used his spoon to stir the black liquid. Looking over at Don, he asked, “Did you recruit Beth yet?”
Beth’s head came up at the mention of her name and looked from Talon to Don with curiosity. After a few seconds, Beth asked, “And just what am I being voluntold for?”
“Oh, I think you will like this mission, but I’ll leave it up to Don to fill you in, but if you guys are going to do this, you should get moving before the mist is burned off. They will move back into the trees once that happens,” Talon stated.
Turning to Don, Beth gave him a look that told Don that he had better not be playing games. Don spoke up, “Talon and I were talking, and if we are going to stay for two days, we thought we might as well go get a young deer and have some steaks. The Mountain House is ok, but we really do need to get some fresh meat into our bodies. Anyway, you grabbing that bow back at the store and saying you knew how to use it, got the both of us wanting deer steak for breakfast. Are you up to go out with me and see if we can sneak up on a young doe?”
“Oh, hell, yes, give me a minute to get my stuff together,” Beth said as she stood and headed over to her trailer. Mat began to get up too, but Talon caught his eye and motioned for him to sit back down.
Mat started to say something, but cut himself off before anything came out. Talon raised his hand in a pause gesture and said, “The three of us are going to work on some gun drill while they are gone. We don’t have much time to get the two of you trained up, but I do want to see you working on your gun skills when and if we do have some downtime, like today.” Both of the young men smiled at that and jumped to their feet. “Go get your gear on, chest rig, pistols, and bring the rifle that you carry normally,” instructed Talon.
Both of them were back in just a couple of minutes standing in front of Talon but still getting all of their gear in place. Talon stood patiently, waiting until they stopped messing with their gear. Only after they had everything in place and buckled down did he walk over to his hammock, grab his chest rig, swinging it on in one motion, snapped the buckle, and picked up his M-4. Slinging the M-4, he turned and walked back to where they stood.
“Normally, we would empty all of your magazines before we did any dry fire drill, but as that would be a terrible idea if the bad guys showed up as we were practicing. Just be careful and pay attention to what you are doing,” Talon said. “First clear your weapons and show clear,” he ordered as he stepped towards the boys. They both cringed a little as he stepped toward them, not knowing which weapon to clear first for how to present it.
“Both of you calm down when we do this clear your long gun first, keeping the muzzle up and slightly pointed down range and in a safe direction. Remove the magazine, place the magazine into your chest rig, open the bolt of the weapon and, both physically and visually verify the chamber has no round. Once you have done that, stand relaxed until I step in front of you. When I step in front of you, tell me you have inspected the weapon, and there are no rounds in the weapon. You will then sling the rifle and draw your next weapon to check. Be careful at this point, a pistol should always be treated as if they are loaded. As you draw your pistol, DO NOT sweep me with the muzzle, keep it pointed down and downrange, eject the magazine, and don’t let it fall on the ground. Stuff it into your pocket or the front of your chest rig. Either is fine. Then with your left hand, lock the slide to the rear and catch the round as it comes out of the pistol. Do NOT move the pistol as you do this. Again, check both physically and visually. Ok, do it,” Talon ordered.
Talon watched both the young men as they cleared their weapons. Both cleared their rifles with no problem, however when each of them reached for their pistols and drew them, they both swept the muzzle of the pistol towards Talon. “Freeze!” hissed Talon. Both did as he said and froze in place. Both also realized they had screwed up and looked down in horror as they realized both muzzles of the pistols were directly pointed at Talon.
Talon calmly stepped to the side and out from in front of the pistols. Talon commanded, “Re-holster and listen up. Never hurry when you are dealing with a gun. Yes, there will be times you need to move lightning-fast, but speed comes from practice, not just strapping on a gun. To clear your pistol, you will first check the area around you, making sure there is nothing that is going to interfere with your movement. Next, you will face a safe direction, drawing your weapon but keeping the muzzle pointed down and in a safe direction. Then eject the magazine and put it in a mag pouch or your pocket. Always keep your eyes on your weapon, everyone has the tendency to move a weapon in the direction they look, so just keep your eyes on your weapon, and you won’t flag anyone. If at any time you drop something, like a magazine, and you have a weapon in your hand, DO NOT move to pick up the item. Keep control of the muzzle of your weapon at all times. After you secure your magazine. Using your left hand, palm down on top of the slide, lock the slide to the rear. The round from the chamber will jump up into your hand. Check the chamber is clear both visually and physically. Just as my Grandfather used to say. There is no such thing as an accident, it happened because you were doing something you should not have been, or you had your head up your ass. Now clear your pistols. Do it.” Talon made them clear their pistol a few times before he was confident they were comfortable with the pistols.
Moving back in front of them, Talon turned, so the right side of his body was facing them. “This is the rule to get good with a pistol, commit it to memory, slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Say it with me, slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Again,” Talon listened as the two repeated the mantra again and again as if it were a magical phrase. “Enough,” Talon finally said, “So this is how you are going to draw your weapon from now on. I see both of you use a modified Weaver stance, that’s ok, but I would recommend doing it the right way,” he said with a smile, “stand with both feet about shoulder-width apart, slight bend at the knees, like you, were going to do a small hop up into the air, shoulders square to your target, hands relaxed at your sides. This is a four-count exercise, one grasp your pistol, two clear your holster, three bring the pistol up along the body to meet weak hand at the sternum, and four extend arms towards the target.”
“Once you do that about 5,000 times, you might become proficient with a hands gun,” Talon said. He chuckled when both of the young men looked at him, puzzled with his use of the term ‘handsgun.’ “Sorry, old joke, one of my friends, who consistently shoots circles around me, always shoots one-handed. He would always say that is why they are called a handgun, not a handsgun. But that is for another day, I first want both of you using both hands on your handsgun. We will add the other after you become proficient with this drill.”
As Mat and Ben got the rhythm of the drill down, Talon joined them, and they worked the mechanics of the draw for a solid 30 minutes. When Talon called for a break, both of the younger men begged to continue or for him to teach them another drill. Talon explained to them that 30 minutes did not make them the master of the pistol. He went on to let them know that there were a lot of guys out there in the world who were faster and more accurate than he was on any given day at the range. But these were not days on the range anymore. First, ammunition would become more and scarcer, and two, most shooting now would be for food or in self-defense. In either case, there was no room for shooting for practice, at least in the foreseeable future. After promising to teach them another drill tomorrow, Talon made his way back over to his shortwave receiver kit.
While they had been practicing, Talon had suddenly remembered that he had ordered a small recorder that would record straight off the receiver. Digging around, Talon found the recorder still in its original packaging. Opening the box, he was relieved to see that the recorder took triple-A batteries, an
d the recorder had come with a set. Pulling out a smaller bag, he dug into it to find the splitter and speaker jack cord for the recorder. Once he had everything together, he headed over to the radio.
Knowing he had missed the top of the hour, he was determined to go ahead and mess with the radio until he could hopefully find someone broadcasting. Making himself comfortable, he picked up the headphones and plugged them into the splitter then he repeated the process with the recorder cord. Plugging the splitter into the headphone jack on the radio, Talon stopped and took a deep breath and reminded himself of what he had told the others. More than likely, any news they would hear would be bad news, but as with everyone else, he just hoped and prayed the whole country had not been hit this hard. With that, Talon reached down and turned on the receiver.
On a hunch, Talon dialed in the FEMA emergency frequency and was shocked to hear a broadcast. Hitting the record button on the recorder, Talon sat back and listened quickly, realizing that he was listening to a recorded message playing on a loop.
‘According to statements released by the Government of the United States and the State of Virginia and in cooperation with the FEMA’s emergency radio broadcast a State of Emergency and notice of Martial Law being declared in the lower 48 states. All borders (both international and interstate) have been closed. A nationwide curfew is in place between the hours of 8:00 PM and 6:00 AM. These attacks on our country have affected the infrastructure and electrical grid in over 98 percent of the lower 48 states. Citizens should remain inside during the curfew hours. Anyone in violation of this order will be arrested. The President has authorized deadly force to be used at the discretion of the senior Law Enforcement or Military Commander on the scene.
All law enforcement, first responders, military, reserve military, National Guard, and retired military members under the age of 65 have been ordered to report to the nearest federal facility or military base as soon as possible. While the President has not named what country has perpetrated the attacks on our nation, in his address last night, the President did state there have been many reports of direct attacks by foreign troops against our infrastructure and the civilian populace. These attacks range from assassinations of our political leaders to attacking our water supplies and oil refineries to planting both poison gas and explosive devices all over the country. Many of these attacks have been made to look like they are being conducted by radical elements from within our country to create civil unrest. The President pleaded with the people not to believe their fellow citizens are capable of this. The counties responsible for these acts of terrorism will be dealt with in time and punished for their crimes against the American people. Everyone is being warned to not allow their children to pick up toys they find. Stuffed toy animals appear to one of the many devices the unnamed enemy has used to plant these deadly devices. So that sums up what the President had to say last night. The President will address the nation again tonight at 9:00 PM Eastern Time.
The following is information put out by the State Governments of Virginia and Maryland. It has been reported by local city governments that many of the larger cities in Maryland and Virginia have closed their city borders to non-residents. Baltimore’s downtown has mostly been destroyed by fire and continues to burn out of control in many locations. The inner harbor has been totally destroyed, and most of the city’s businesses associated with food, food production, medical, and pharmacy-based buildings have been looted and burned or just burned down due to the spreading fires. Multiple reports of gunfire and looting have been reported, but as yet no official word from the Mayor’s office or Police Commissioner has been forthcoming. Shortwave operators report the Gaithersburg area is under control of Salvadoran gang members with all access to and from the city controlled by armed gang members. Several reports indicate the gang members are going house to house and expelling non-Hispanics forcible from the area with just what they can carry.
Reports coming out of Silver Spring indicate that the area is under control of immigrants, mainly from the Horn of Africa. It has not been confirmed by it has been consistently reported that all major roads are blocked, and armed citizens are only allowing those who can trace their origin from Africa are being allowed into the area. The Virginia Governor ordered the closure of the Wilson Bridge and the outer loop 495 bridge. Only military traffic is being allowed to utilize the outer loop 495 bridge. The Wilson Bridge draw bridge sections will remain open, cutting off all movement from Maryland into Virginia until the situation is resolved. An estimated two million people have been displaced just from the Baltimore downtown area and the western suburbs of Baltimore. Large groups of displaced persons numbering into the thousands are currently moving west.
Local government officials and FEMA recommends everyone should shelter in place until the government and FEMA can activate emergency facilities to deal with the displaced from hard-hit areas. Silver Spring, Fredrick, and Gaithersburg have all declared their cities closed and are not accepting any more displaced persons. Multiple roadblocks have been set up by the local National Guard units in an attempt to stop the movement of large groups of displaced persons. More and more reports are coming in about local citizens closing off their neighborhoods in an attempt to stop the looting and destruction. There have been reports of Guard units being overrun by large groups of displaced persons. Some of the most shocking news has come from the local governments concerning the state of the hospitals and medical facilities. The federal government has not confirmed the reporting of terrorist attacks against many of our medical facilities across the country. However, local reports have indicated that many of the larger cities' medical facilities were attacked and have been closed until further notice. There have been unconfirmed rumors of people that had implanted pacemakers died on the evening the power went out. Local medical officials stated the EMP more than likely shorted out the devices. According to the Surgeon General, there are an estimated 1.7 million people in the United States with implanted pacemakers. Other reporting pointed out anyone that who is on dialysis or must take insulin should seek the advice and care of their family doctor as soon as possible.
Additionally, the news from assisted living facilities and nursing homes is not good. Without power, many of the state’s facilities are deteriorating at a rapid rate; medical personnel recommends that if possible, the families should make arrangements to remove their elderly from these facilities as soon as possible. There have been rumors that many of the employees of these facilities cannot or have not reported for work as directed by government officials. The lack of water pressure and electricity at these facilities have made the living conditions unsustainable.’
Talon sat there stunned as the report began to repeat. Pulling off the headphones, he forced himself to remain calm when all he really wanted to do was go hunting for the other Iranian terrorist team and take some scalps. Glancing around, he saw Mat and Ben watching him, “Everything ok,” asked Ben.
Talon didn’t know what to say but went ahead and told the boys the basic gist of what the report had covered. When they asked how that was going to affect their plans for getting to the cabin, Talon had to admit that they would have to talk about how the situation and figure out how they would handle the rest of the trip.
Leaving the boys sitting by the fire pit, Talon walked over to his hammock and picked up his M-4 and attached the sling to his chest rig. Letting the boys know he was going to make a quick recon around the camp and would be back in about an hour.
What Talon really wanted was time to think, while he didn’t show it to Mat and Ben, he was about to implode with his anger because he knew there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to get to his family. To make matters worse now, he had to get this group out of the danger zone before he could resume his way home. He now knew that the power was out down in Texas. If nothing had happened other than the power going out, he knew his family was ok, they had a generator for power when they needed it, and enough stored water and food to last them sixty days
or more. Talon also knew that her Mom and Dad would move heaven and earth to get to them and get them to the ranch. Once there, they would be fine, that is, if all of the crazies and others without anything found the ranch and tried to take it with overwhelming force.
He could find a working vehicle, but again for the thousandth time, he discarded the idea, he wouldn’t make it ten miles before he hit a roadblock and would be in a gunfight to keep his guns or the vehicle, either way, it was a bad idea. Any idea that involved traveling on the road was going to end up being a pain. They had been lucky up to this point and were going to push it until they couldn’t use the bikes, which might not be long according to the radio. They were only a day or two from the cabin on the bikes, but if they were forced to get rid of the bikes and hoof it, then it was likely closer to four or five days walking. He had given his word to Don to get them to the cabin and get them set up for the winter. From there, he had to get over to the Ohio River and get downriver as fast as he could. Of course, the nearest place he could hit the Ohio River was still about 250 miles west of Winchester, Virginia.
Scolding himself, Talon ran through a couple of his rules, never worry about anything you have no control over, and confused minds get people killed. Now, most of the time, he uses those for a teaching point with other people, but once in a while, he needed to remind himself. Especially the confused or cluttered minds get people killed. He needed to get his shit together and stick to the plan. Laughing to himself, like right now, you don’t even know where you are right now. Some kid with a .22 could have walked up to within 10 feet, and you would have never noticed. Shouldering a tree, Talon stopped moving and remained still, allowing his body and mind to relax. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, but he could not allow his emotions to take over, or he would do something stupid and get himself or others around him killed. Nor could he become angry and become a blunt object, which only got people killed as he bulled his way ahead, and he didn’t want to do that.