by Robert Boren
“They have a way of finding us,” Hannah said.
“We’ve got an advantage, at least for now,” Richardson said, holding up his phone.
“They haven’t shut it off yet?” Lita asked.
Richardson raised his phone to his face and opened the app. “Nope, still working. There’s less bad guys than there were last time I looked.”
“Those chips don’t work when they’ve been burned up,” Brendan said.
“Yep, we barbequed us some Islamist,” Gerald said, silly grin on his face. “Let’s go back downstairs. Maybe we can get a couple more drinks.”
“Don’t get too plastered, guys,” Richardson said. “Six am is going to come real fast.”
“Tell me about it,” Hector said. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep this gringo yahoo in line.”
“Who’s going to keep you in line?” Juan Carlos asked.
They all cracked up. Gerald and Hector left the room, shutting the door behind them.
“Well?” Madison asked.
“Let’s go try to sleep,” Juan Carlos said.
“Yeah, seems like the fight has died down now,” Brendan said.
The two young couples left. Lita and Richardson stayed by the window for a few minutes, watching the fires burn themselves out.
“We gonna be okay?” Lita asked.
“We’re in a war,” Richardson said.
Chapter 18 – White Formations
The Barracuda rolled up to the ridge, further to the west than their last location. Curt got out of his vehicle and snuck to the edge as Junior and Rachel pulled up. The others stopped a little further back to hide themselves.
“How far?” Junior whispered.
“Too far,” Curt said.
“Look at those weird formations to the west,” Rachel said. “The white part. Think those ridges are tall enough to hide us, and close enough for the mortars?”
Curt turned his binoculars in that direction and smiled. “Yeah, and we can take the wash over there. See?”
“What are you guys looking at?” Dirk asked.
“Those formations over there,” Curt said. “Let’s take the wash to the west and then go south when we hit them.”
“Wow, that’s perfect,” Eric said. “If they chase us, they’ll have a hard time, unless they have off-roaders or Jeeps.”
“Think our truck will handle it?” Chance asked.
“Should, in four-wheel-drive,” Dirk said. “Let’s get going. Time’s a wasting.”
Curt nodded and backed away from the edge of the ridge. They saddled up and drove west through the sandy wash.
Dirk drove as they approached the strange white formations.
“That looks like the sea,” Dirk said. “Like waves rolling in.”
“Probably why this area is called White Sands,” Chance said. “Glad we have a protected way to drive there. Think this is gonna work?”
“Sure, it’ll work,” Dirk said. “The Quonset huts are well within range of the mortars from there. We might want to drive the off-roaders closer to hit them with grenades, if we can.”
“As long as we save some of them,” Chance said. “I have a feeling it’ll be a challenge getting home.”
“We’ll make it,” Dirk said. “This wash becomes a lake. Look at it. It’s huge”
“Yeah,” Chance said. “Wouldn’t want to be anywhere near this place during a cloudburst.”
“You got that right,” Dirk said. “Curt’s turning onto the white section there. Here we go.”
Dirk followed Curt around the bend, Junior and Rachel behind them, the others following.
“Rougher over here,” Chance said.
“Yeah, we need to slow down a tad,” Dirk said. “Curt already has.”
They poked along over the jagged terrain for about fifteen minutes, and then Curt pulled over and snuck to the ridge to take a look. The others parked and ran to him in a crouch.
“We need to go down another five hundred yards or so,” Curt said. “See where the Quonset huts are?”
“Yeah,” Junior said. “Are we only hitting them with mortars, or are we going in with grenades too?”
“There’s very little cover once we get out of these white formations,” Dirk said. “If we go out we’d better be careful.”
“Yeah, and we only take the off-roaders out there,” Curt said. “Just in case we get hit. We’ll need the truck, Jeep, and Bronco to get out of here.”
“I can do a lot of damage with the Bronco,” Eric said.
“No, Curt’s right,” Kim said. “This isn’t our prime mission. It’s a side mission. We can afford to lose a couple off-roaders, but not this whole team.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Dirk said.
“Okay, let’s go,” Eric said. “It’ll be light soon.”
“How are we going to escape?” Dirk asked. “West on Highway 70 and then North?”
“No,” Eric said. “We need to retreat the same way we came.”
“We gonna be close enough to those huts?”
“They’re about five hundred yards from the place we’re heading to,” Curt said. “We’ll be able to drop mortar rounds on them with ease. Somebody needs to keep a good eye out for those choppers, and be ready with the Stingers.”
“We’ll get buzzed as we get closer,” Chance said.
“Yep,” Eric said. “Let’s go.”
They got back in their vehicles, Curt leading them another five hundred yards. The ridge in that spot was high enough to hide the tallest of the vehicles.
“Let’s get the mortars set up,” Dirk whispered, “and keep your voices down. We’re pretty close.”
“Seriously,” Eric whispered. He got buzzed by his phone app as he got to the ridge. The others did too. “Feel that, guys?”
“Yep,” Curt said. “These apps are amazing.”
“The grenades from the M19s are in range here, you know,” Junior said.
“I know, but save them,” Curt said. “They might send vehicles after us. We can use them for that.”
“Good point,” Rachel said.
Dirk and Chance set up the two mortars, and Eric carried over one of the crates of rounds, Junior following with the other. Eric and Kim were laying against the ridge with their binoculars and M60s, ready to spot.
“You almost ready?” Curt asked, sitting in his Barracuda.
“Yeah,” Dirk whispered back. “Say when.”
“When,” Curt said.
Dirk and Chance looked at each other, then Chance picked up a high explosive round and dropped it into the tube, turning away from the barrel with Dirk as it popped and flashed into the air. There was a whistle and a big explosion.
“Not bad,” Eric said. “Twenty yards shy. Crank it out.”
Dirk made the adjustment, and then Chance dropped another shell down the tube. It popped and flew, hitting the outer-most row of Quonset huts, between the one furthest to the south, and the next one.
“Dammit, ease it to the north just a hair,” Eric said.
“Here they come,” Curt said. Bullets started whizzing over their heads. “Keep your heads below that ridge if you want to stay alive.”
Chance dropped a third round, and it came down right on a Quonset hut, setting off the munitions inside, the explosion deafening even five hundred yards away.
“Holy shit,” Kim said.
“Hit them again,” Eric shouted. “Move it out a tad to get the next row of huts.”
“Use the second one too,” Junior said.
“On it,” Chance said, dropping another round in as Dirk set up the second mortar.
“Bullseye,” Eric said.
“Hey, pencil neck, how far past the Quonset huts are those choppers?”
Eric looked in his binoculars. “Maybe three hundred yards. Going to take a pot shot with the M19?”
“It’s in range,” Curt said, aiming the gun. “I can’t see very well, so you’ll have to spot for me.”
“Roger that,” Eric said, just as
Dirk fired the first round from the second mortar, hitting the first row of Quonset huts, causing secondary explosions which set off the huts on either side.
“This is taking less effort than I thought it would,” Dirk said as he dropped another round. It hit the second row a split second before Chance’s next round dropped, taking out most of the second row.
“There’s a bunch of bad guys rushing to the area,” Junior said. “Drop some fire on them.”
Dirk nodded and grabbed a willie peter round, dropping it in the tube. The area around the ruined huts exploded into flames, consuming some of the enemy fighters and blocking the others.
“Here goes nothing,” Curt said, firing off three grenades. They exploded short, but set off some fuel storage tanks, a chain-reaction fire spreading over that side of the base.
“Way short, but nice shot,” Eric shouted. “Aim higher.”
“Got it,” Curt said, re-aiming and firing off three more grenades.
“Look out, here come some Gaz Tigrs,” Junior said. He fired up his off-roader and rolled up over the ridge, Rachel taking aim and firing about six grenades, hitting two of the Gaz Tigrs, blowing them up. The third kept coming, but Curt saw it and blasted it, then went back to firing at the choppers.
“A little further,” Eric said. “Might not be in range.”
“One more try,” Curt said, aiming the M19 at over a 45 degree angle, firing several more grenades. Two fell short but the third landed under the first chopper and blew up, causing a chain reaction of explosions.
“Bingo!” Eric said. “I’d try another round or two, and then we ought to get the hell out of here.”
Dirk and Chance both let loose with several more high explosive rounds and a couple more willie peter rounds, making the entire western edge of the base a sea of fire.
“More Gaz Tigrs,” Curt shouted, pulling up next to Junior and opening fire. He hit both of them.
“Let’s get out of here before they get serious,” Junior yelled as gunfire whizzed at them. “We hurt them bad enough for now.”
“One more shot,” Curt said, firing towards the hangar next to the choppers. The building absorbed the shot, but then secondary explosions started there too, even larger than what they saw in the Quonset huts.
“Hey, push those mortars out another two hundred yards,” Eric shouted. “Curt and Junior, get ready for a ground assault. They’re coming in trucks this time. We’ll probably have enemy fighters rushing us.”
“Got it,” Junior said, turning back around. He got into position for Rachel to wail away at the troop transport trucks, hitting three in rapid succession, Curt joining them now.
“Okay, here goes nothing,” Dirk said, dropping a round into his mortar. It popped and flew, hitting the row of hangars, more huge secondary explosions going off, fire everywhere.
“That’s where the largest amount of supplies was,” Eric said. “Keep on them!”
Chance finished his adjustment and fired again, going past the first row, blowing up several trucks that were parked in-between the row of hangars. Dirk’s second shot hit another hangar dead center, the chain reaction explosions and fire taking out the hangar to the north. Chance’s next round hit pay-dirt too.
Eric and Kim saw enemy fighters running towards them, and dropped their binoculars, aiming the M60s, cutting down the first row, causing the rest to flee for their lives. Two more trucks rushed at them, Curt and Rachel hitting them with grenades. Dirk and Chance were firing round after round from the mortars, smoke and fire starting to drift towards them now.
“Blow up some willie peter over there, and then we need to split,” Eric shouted, him and Kim still blazing away at the enemy with their M60s.
“Got it,” Chance said, dropping in a willie peter round, turning the hangar area into hell fire. Dirk did the same thing, and then they dismantled the mortars in a panic and tossed them and the ammo back in the truck. “Let’s get the hell out of here!”
Clancy nodded, turning his Jeep towards the wash, then seeing two more transport trucks heading in their direction. He hit both of them with grenades from his M19, and then led the way back through the white formations. There were explosions at their old position.
“Look, they’re hitting our position with mortar rounds now,” Junior said to Rachel as they followed the others north.
“They don’t know we aren’t there,” Rachel said. “We need to get back into that big wash in a hurry. We can’t go fast enough here.”
“We’ll make it,” Junior said.
“Look, there’s a Gaz Tigr heading to the wash, trying to cut us off,” Junior shouted. Then Eric’s Bronco surged ahead, firing grenades one after another, the Gaz Tigr exploding into flames, Kim firing the M60 at the survivors trying to escape.
“There’s the wash,” Junior shouted, watching Clancy make the turn, followed by Dirk and Chance. Curt was next, then Junior. Eric waited until they got past and pulled up on the ridge, watching for more enemy vehicles. He didn’t see any, so he got back into the formations and headed onto the wash. They picked up speed, racing for home.
Chapter 19- Warning
Jason woke up to his phone buzzing at him. He looked at it. Eric.
“Hey, brother, you guys coming back?”
“Yeah,” Eric said. “Got the cell tower working again, I guess.”
“Spit and bailing wire, but yeah, it’s working. How’d you do? Ramsey said you were going to run a mortar attack on some supply buildings.”
“We blew their stuff sky-high,” Eric said. “We’re more than half-way home now.”
“Get much resistance?”
“They weren’t ready for us at all,” Eric said. “Caught them completely with their pants down. Better watch out, though. They’re liable to figure out where the main force is. You might get company.”
“We’ll get buzzed,” Jason said, “even if we lose the cell tower again. We’ve also got some guards posted now to ward off any more attacks on our infrastructure.”
“Figure out who it was yet?” Eric asked.
“Nope,” Jason said. “It’s possible that the bad guys in the tribe are watching, though. They might have known about your team and wanted to hamstring us.”
“The enemy might think the tribe did this,” Eric said. “The tribe might be pissed. I’d watch out.”
“Good point,” Jason said.
“Okay, I’ll see you in a few hours,” Eric said. “Later.”
“See you,” Jason said. “Be careful.”
The call ended.
“That was Eric?” Carrie asked, still half asleep.
“Yeah,” Jason said, setting his phone down. “It’s only five. I’m gonna sleep for a while longer.”
“Good,” Carrie said, snuggling next to him. Jason tried to sleep, but his mind was going a mile a minute. What could they expect from the tribe? Would they be kicked out, or even attacked? He reached for his phone again and fired up the long-range app. No movement in the direction of Ruidoso. At least not yet. He put the phone back and tried to sleep again. After close to an hour he knew it was no use. He slipped quietly out of bed and went into the salon. Dingo slinked over to him.
“Hey,” Jason said softly, petting the dog’s head. He looked at his phone, running the app again, checking parts of Texas. There were less hits around the Austin capitol. A lot less. Where are the rest? He moved the map around on the screen, checking the hill country, then down around San Antonio. Still hits, but no big clumps like he saw in Austin before. Fort Stockton. No enemy fighters around for miles. Same with Waco. Dallas was another story. There were thousands of hits in that area, mostly on the outskirts of town. They’re planning something there.
The bedroom door slid open, Carrie walking out. “Can’t sleep?”
“Nope,” Jason said. “Too much on my mind.”
“It’s after six now,” she said, sitting in the dinette next to him. “Not so bad. Want coffee?”
He smiled. “Sure, might as well
. You sit, I’ll get it going.”
She nodded as he got up.
“How’s your stress level?”
Carrie looked down, then over at him. “I’ll be better when Eric and Kim get back. I’ve become pretty attached to your family. I love Kim.”
“Yeah, I consider everybody on that recon team to be family,” Jason said as he filled the coffee maker’s tank with water. He plugged it in and switched on the power.
“I feel almost guilty that I’m keeping you from stuff like the recon team.”
Jason put a cup in place, loaded a pod, and brewed a cup for Carrie. He watched as it filled, sputtering at the end, then took it, setting it on the table. “There you go, sweetie.”
“Thanks,” she said, taking a sip as she watched him brew the second cup. “You think we’ll be leaving today?”
Jason chuckled. “We might not have any choice.”
“Why do you say that? The Injuns?”
Jason shook his head. “You sound like Junior.”
“So sue me,” she said, cracking a smile. “You think they’ll be mad about the recon mission?”
“I think they might be afraid they’ll get blamed for it,” Jason said. “I’m going to suggest that we get moving shortly after the recon team gets back.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to give the enemy or the Mescalero Tribe enough time to think,” Jason said. “The enemy might want to test their allies by demanding that they capture us and hand us over. The tribe has the numbers to do that.”
“Shit, I don’t like the sound of that. No wonder you couldn’t sleep.”
“I might be wrong about that, you know,” Jason said. “Don’t let it get you too worked up. Remember our problem.”
“I know, honey,” Carrie said. “I’m doing okay.”
“Good,” Jason said, sitting down with his cup of coffee. “This always hits the spot.”
Carrie looked at him, feeling the love between them. “No matter what happens, I want you to know how proud I am to be your wife.”
“You make it sound like we’re about to get killed,” Jason said. “You know I feel the same about you, and we’ll be together a long time to share it.”
“I hope so,” she said.