American Survival (DeLeo's Action Thriller Singles Book 5)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  Jack waved and left the Captain’s office. He retrieved the base map from his pocket, and began navigating to the indoor range. It was located another three levels down, and across the complex. It took him about fifteen minutes to reach the outside of the range. He could barely hear gunfire through the door. The warning signs, posted on the outside, explained how to enter the range properly. The entrance consisted of a double door, with a small anteroom, for donning a vest, ear protection, and safety goggles. Jack slowly opened the second door after putting on the body, ear, and eye protection. The range was huge, with fully retractable target motors on all fifteen of the separate galleries. Jack looked with stunned amazement at the hundred-yard depth.

  He spotted his family shooting on the first five galleries. Debbie, Sarah, Luke, Nick, and Jake were firing scoped rifles with a Range Master watching, and the adults spotting for them. The kids were shooting very deliberately under the watchful eye of the Corporal acting as Range Master. They paused after three shots, to allow the barrel to cool before resuming. Jack approached his brothers slowly. They were busy spotting with binoculars, and letting the shooter know where they were hitting the target. To allow the targets to be checked, and to allow further barrel cooling, the Range Master called time. Jack then went up, introduced himself to the Corporal, and said hello to the kids before joining his brothers.

  “I see you guys have located a rifle we can use.”

  “These are made by a specialty arms maker, only for the military. They can be aimed with laser-guided interface with a computer, or manually with night scope or regular scope. They fire a special 7mm round, which explodes after piercing. They’re almost as heavy as your bazooka, but that makes the kick almost negligible,” Mitch explained.

  “Do you want to fire one Jack?” Paul asked. “You won’t believe how smooth these fire.”

  “I think I’ll take your word for it. I’m going to take a couple more days, before firing anything I have to put against my shoulder. How are the kids doing?”

  “Corporal Pierce says they will be shooting expert in a few more days,” Paul replied.

  “Yes Sir,” the Corporal added. “I can tell your kids have had experienced training. They are more than just adequate. Handling the weapons appears second nature to them.”

  “How did you two do,” Jack asked, turning to his brothers.

  “I’m like you Jack,” Mitch said. “I have to hold off for a couple more days. Paul drilled it though.”

  “I love this rifle,” Paul stated. “We’ll have one dangerous tool to take with us.”

  “If Steve and Peter made out okay, we took one big step today,” Jack said. “Tom managed to get John cleared, and John told him he wants to go with us.”

  “Great news. John will be the piece in the puzzle we were missing going into this. You’ll like him Mitch. Jack and I didn’t exactly bond with him, but I felt like I could depend on him.”

  “He knows the score too. His bridges are burned. He won’t be running back to Red China with any secrets anyway. The only things he will be able to report on, about us, would be urban warfare, and inoculations. Like Paul says, he has something. I’m going over to the infirmary right now. You want to tag along, and say hi, Paul.”

  “Sure. Mitch wants to take the kids, and the Wolf outside for a little while. Even Nick wants to go get some air.”

  “You guys go on,” Mitch urged. “We’ll meet up for dinner later if you want.”

  “Mitch, can you scout out a place we can practice at outside with these rifles in real conditions,” Jack asked.

  “Sure. I’ll look for a place where we can fire, and something with a bit more of a challenge to hit. Do you have a distance in mind? I have these glasses with a range finder, so I can get pretty detailed.”

  “I’m thinking two to five hundred yards. If you can pick out a few different places with that in mind, and mark them down for us, we will be ready to go into full bore training mode in a few days. It will not be like shooting from a building; but what the hell, you can’t have everything.”

  “How about a small Bushmills upstairs, before we go down to eat,” Paul mentioned. “I’ll take Jack over to the gym, so he can see what they have, and then get cleaned up and meet in my room.”

  “We’ll be back in long before that. Jack can tell you, Paul, the kids don’t like the outside that much yet. They no longer have to be cold all the time, and I can tell the only foul weather living they want to ever do, would be in a cabin in front of a roaring fire.”

  “Me too,” Jack added. “Meeting up for the drink sounds good, but no repeats of this morning.”

  “No deal,” Paul said, and turned his back.

  “No deal.” Mitch laughed, as he turned away too.

  “Okay, okay, come on Paul, let’s go see our new recruit.”

  Jack shook hands with Corporal Pierce, and thanked him for his help. As he and Paul were taking off their range gear, Paul asked, “do you know where the infirmary is?”

  “I have a map now.” Jack handed him the pamphlet containing the map of the complex.

  Paul studied it for a moment, and said, “okay, I got it, let’s go.”

  Paul walked confidently out the door with Jack following. They found the infirmary about ten minutes later. There were thirty other beds in the ward, occupied by light duty cases. Jack knew the more serious cases had been transferred already. Dr. Morrison explained a new medical complex had been finished two months ago. They talked to the nurse on the ward, and she took them over to John’s bed. He had been watching Jack and Paul, with a big smile on his face. John sat up in the bed as the brothers approached, and folded his arms across his chest.

  “Did you two round eyes need a guide to find me in this ward? How in the hell did you ever find me in the mountains to shoot me?”

  Paul turned immediately to Jack, and pointed a finger at him. “I told you to shoot this prick right between his slanty little eyes; but no, you said we needed him.”

  “As we know, no good deed goes unpunished.” Jack sighed.

  “You could have at least shot his dick off,” Paul replied.

  “No one can hit a target that small, Jack said in mock anger, as the tears began rolling down John’s cheeks. He was having difficulty breathing through the laughter, as he listened to the brothers roast him as though he wasn’t there. Paul walked over to John’s bandaged leg, and gently touched his cast. He looked up at Jack slyly as John’s laughter stopped abruptly.

  “I think John needs a foot massage Jack. What do you think?”

  Jack bent over, and looked closely at John, and then back to the end of the bed, where Paul lightly caressed John’s bandaged leg. “You know, I don’t think I see any more of that smartass look old John here had when we came in.”

  “Geez, you guys need to get a sense of humor,” John said with uneasy glances at the two men.

  Paul burst into laughter first, and Jack quickly joined him. Soon the nurse came over hurriedly, to try and quiet them down. John had figured out by then the two brothers had taken his little joke, and turned it back on him tenfold. They were apologizing to the nurse, as Paul put an arm around her shoulders, and walked her back to the nurse’s station. Jack turned to John. He grabbed John’s hand with both of his.

  “It’s good to see you John. We heard you had a bad time at first. We figured you’d be in intensive care for at least a week. I also heard you want in on our little operation. We will be living pretty well; but this will be dangerous, make no mistake about that. Our contact…”

  “You mean Captain Kardel?”

  “Yes. I didn’t know whether he was the one you had talked to or not. Anyway, he says these gangs have been thoroughly infiltrated by soldiers retreating back into the cities, with no place to go, and nothing to lose.”

  “I’ve been on the wrong side, and I knew it deep down all along, and did nothing. No sane people release a plague on another country, like we did. I am a soldier, not some sadistic psychopat
h. I need to earn my way back into a civilized world. I want to earn my honor back.”

  “You’ve convinced me, buddy,” Paul said. He had heard the conversation after rejoining Jack and John from the nursing station. Paul shook John’s hand. “Remember, when you get armed again, Jack shot you, not me.”

  “Thanks Paul,” Jack said.

  “Hey, I just want things clear, in case John here decides to get revenge, and goes Postal on us. Listen, I’ll cap him after he nails you.”

  “Oh good. I feel much better now.”

  “Like in those old Louis Lamour westerns guys, I ride for the brand,” John said in a terrible western accent.

  “Can you sing ‘Back In The Saddle Again’, Hop-Along Liang,” Paul asked.

  “Anyhow, here’s a list of equipment we’ve come up with." Jack handed him a copy of their equipment list. "I’ll bring you the updated one tomorrow. Feel free to add anything you can think of we might need. Can we get you anything before we go?”

  “Will you bring me some reading material tomorrow, when you come: horror, science fiction, or adventure?”

  “Okay, I can handle that,” Jack agreed. “See you tomorrow then.”

  “Yeah, see ya’, John,” Paul added as he brushed John’s cast lightly with his hand, drawing a gasp from a startled John. Paul chuckled, and kept going, with Jack waving at John before following. Paul stopped to lean over the nurse on the way out, and whispered in her ear. She laughed and nodded.

  After they were outside, Jack asked, “what was that all about?”

  “I have a date tonight with Teresa.”

  “Wait until I tell everyone.”

  Paul laughed. “You are such a maroon, Jack. Mitch has been seeing a Wac Lieutenant out of administration, and both Steve and Peter are seeing two women who work in the mess hall.”

  “Soldiers have been hitting on Sarah and Debbie since they arrived. Even Luke, Jake, and Nick have found some teenage dependents on the base to fool around with. Tell anyone you want.”

  “You bunch bust my chops this morning, and now you tell me you all have the friggin’ Love Boat going on in the background?”

  “Yep,” Paul agreed, as he put his arm around his brother's's neck. “I believe that pretty well covers it.”

  “I’ve been used like a dog,” Jack complained.

  “Poor baby,” Paul cooed. “Get over yourself. It’s all over the base about you and the Doc. At least we picked low profile dates.”

  “Maybe I should have turned her down for the date, and you all would not be so embarrassed. I have another one with her tonight, but I’ll be packing heat tomorrow morning at breakfast.”

  Paul laughed. “Don’t come down with your back and neck exposed, and you’ll be fine.”

  “Oh, you think you are so funny,” Jack retorted. “I have a long memory. Just remember that.”

  “Too bad you didn’t remember to put gloves on the Doc when you two were making the beast with two backs.”

  “Why you…” Jack reached for his brother as they walked down the hall, but Paul stopped him with a pointed finger.

  “Remember your rib cage big boy, I do.”

  “I’ll be healed up before you know it, and you’ll be sorry.”

  “Hell, I’m sorry already. Sorry I didn’t have a video camera to save the wildcat marks on your back for posterity.”

  Jack laughed. “Remember, your day will come pal, and it will be bad.”

  “Oh… I’m so scared. Let’s see if Mitch and the kids are back in, and we can round up Steve and Peter. We can finish up the day’s business, and I can get on with more important matters.”

  “Like Teresa?”

  “If it were any of your business, yes.”

  “Okay, we’ll meet for lunch if they are back in; but I think it would be better to meet up tomorrow morning, after you get a chance to look over and change the equipment list.”

  “That makes sense,” Paul agreed. “Do you want to get some lunch?”

  “Why don’t we check out their gym first, Paul? We have a map, and we can maybe come up with a schedule for workouts too.”

  “At least we won’t be doing those forced marches up hill in full packs, like you came up with in the mountains.”

  “It made us able to make pretty good time in getting to the kids, right?”

  “You got me there,” Paul admitted. “We can incorporate that into our routine too if you think it will help. We could all use time outside, and maybe we can do it while we’re out with the rifles.”

  “Good idea. I thought I would never miss the damn cold, but I can get real tired of all this time spent underground too.”

  “It builds character,” Paul replied as the brothers proceeded on to reconnoiter the base gym.

  “I don’t need any more damn character.”

  Chapter 20

  The Betrayal

  Captain Kardel glanced at Dr. Morrison as she sat waiting expectantly for his comments on her report. “Can we trust him Doctor?”

  “To do what you outlined for him, yes. To work within the guidelines you have in mind covertly for the gangs, no. Perhaps if you let me in on what you have in mind, I could sell him on it, without the deception.”

  “I have no doubt you could talk him into any number of things, but this will require a more incremental approach. We are at a serious juncture. We have always had the gang problem to use as an excuse to build up civilian police force numbers, and have the populace think they were getting what they themselves demanded. It also worked to allay suspicion.”

  “But in reality, the police stayed out of the gang neighborhoods - even when they were known to terrorize the common citizens, deal drugs, and re-supply themselves with automatic weapons, many times supplied by the Red Chinese.”

  “Exactly Doctor. The gangs used guns on innocent citizens, and this created an opportunity to put through more gun laws, and take them out of the hands of regular people on the street. This unfortunate war has set back everything. We now have an armed citizenry, the gangs cannot even terrorize effectively, and the indoctrination we had in place in the schools has ended completely. United States Nationalism has obliterated the race, sex, and religious wedges we spent decades putting into place. The people live outside these walls now, armed to the teeth, with very few police, and very little need of them or us.”

  “Why fool around with the gangs at all? Jack would probably just take his family back to his home, and disappear for all intensive purposes.”

  “True, but these foreign nationals retreating, and ending up controlling gangs in the major cities, cannot be tolerated. We still have a war to clean up after. We need some control, or they could really do some damage. I told Jack the truth, when I told him they had begun to target military installations.”

  “So you want him to do some kind of surgical strike, to weed out some of the more ruthless gang members, but not destroy the gang itself?”

  “Yes, Dr. Morrison, that’s exactly what I want. We let him take out the leaders and gain some control. Then I will rein him in, before he does any permanent damage to our urban structure. You will gain his trust under cover of the inoculation program, which needs to be done, and then let us know when the right time comes to gently retire him.”

  “Why not let him in on it now and see what he says?”

  Kardel laughed and shook his head. “Do you think Jack would go along with a plan to keep in place a terrorizing agent, like the gangs, covertly working for our government? The reason being - so we can eventually build up our civilian police force, not to confront the gangs at all, but to disarm our citizens, so there can be no rebellion against the government by the common people. Oh yeah, Jack would be with us in a heartbeat.”

  “Okay… you’re right about that,” Dr. Morrison admitted, “but why not forget about him all together, and get someone else.”

  “We don’t have anyone else to use in that area. Listen Doctor, Jack went up into the mountains on a suicide mission, an
d survived. He not only survived, he took a rag tag group of kids, and untrained adults, and turned them into the most effective guerrilla company we had in the Sierras for three years. He made decisions like this latest, involving the downed helicopter, and the Chinese Scientist, on his own. The information we took from the helicopter, and the progress Dr. Chen and his team have made, set us at least six months ahead of schedule, and prevented another massive viral outbreak. If we can covertly control him, and then pull him back on the pretense of needing him in Los Angeles, I can consolidate things in the Bay Area, while he works the same magic down south. By the time he gets things in order down in LA, we will have a large police force in the north, and a large gang problem, and then you retire him gently.”

  “If he cooperates. And if he doesn’t?”

  “Let’s not talk about that now. We both know we need control, above all else, to get things back on track,” Kardel insisted.

  “Does anyone know, above you, how you plan to set things back in place?”

  “If you mean does everyone up the ladder to the General Anthony know how we take care of civilian order, no. They have a lot on their minds besides our own populace. People will want order, and we will give it to them, after a fashion. If they achieve it on their own, they will begin to wonder how much more they can achieve, without their government micro managing their everyday lives. We cannot allow that.”

  “How far do I go to keep him in check?”

  “Chart his progress, within the guidelines we talked about. If he gets it in his head to do more than simply weed out the leaders responsible for the attacks on our installations, we will get him to pull back, by telling him we don’t want to step on too many rights.”

  It was Dr. Morrison's turn to laugh. “Do you actually think he will accept that? He wants an end to this as soon as possible. You said he already told you he wanted no part of a police role. He will not like you changing the rules of engagement.”

  “If worse comes to worse, you will have to find a way to get rid of him. His group will quickly fall apart without him.”