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

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

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  The red and gold swirling clouds at sunrise helped cast an eerie glow over the semi darkness. Kevin and Steve carried the front end of the casket, with Peter, Jack and his brothers in place as the remaining pallbearers. Wolf circled the area, continuously on guard, while the kids waited at the gravesite. Only a very light breeze disturbed the stillness of the morning.

  The men set the casket down on the boards the kids had placed across the grave. The lowering ropes were in place next to them. The men took up the ropes, and suspended the casket, while the kids pulled the boards away. They lowered the casket in, after placing the smaller one with Shadow's remains on top of it. Tossing in the ropes after the lowering, all but Kevin and Peter stepped back. They mounted the stone in the spot they had prepared. With the stone in place, the group stood quietly in the odd glow of the morning horizon.

  Jack moved to the grave’s edge. “I mean no disrespect, but I have a line I heard in a movie, which I think would fit here.”

  Jack walked around to the foot of the grave, opposite the headstone, and glancing around once at his family and friends before continuing. “He was born in the time of blood and dyin’ and never questioned a bit of it. He never went back on his folks or his kind. I rode with him. I got no complaints.”

  Kevin walked over, took up a shovel, and began filling in the grave. The others joined in with other shovels they had brought. With the grave filled in, and tamped down properly, Jack again went to the foot of the grave. The others joined him as he bowed his head. “And Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die. Amen.”

  “Amen,” the others echoed.

  Chapter 28

  The War Resumes

  They walked together to the two vans they had brought, and began the journey into war. Kevin got a call. He looked up angrily at Jack after listening for a few seconds. He acknowledged the information and hung up.

  “There are about a dozen of those assholes out in front of the Medical Center. Your Doctor started treating patients first thing this morning, and word got out. People came out of the woodwork to get treatment, and then our friends showed up to disrupt things. So far, they’re just screwing around with the guards at the gate. My people know who to let in, and these shitheads are beginning to get mean.”

  Jack shook his head. “Leave it to the Doc to get the ball rolling. Call your people, and tell them to hold position, and to stay calm. Those punks could have rocket launchers for all we know. Then call the house, and tell my man John to meet us a block up from the Medical Center.”

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  By the time they reached the place they were to meet, John stood outside of his vehicle waiting. Jack walked up to him quickly. “Have you killed with a knife before, John?”

  “Yes.”

  “You and I are going to walk in on those guys, and engage them in conversation. We will get all of their attention focused on us. All the rest of you bring only your 9mm automatics. Pick out the ones bunched over where we cause the commotion. When we get the ball rolling, kill them all. This will be close work. Do not get in front of one another. I will be responsible for a prisoner. John and I will draw them away from the gate, while you keep an eye on them from a distance. If they take offense too quickly, and open up on us, we’ll need some help quick.”

  “This sounds like one of your old plans, Jack,” Kevin stated, “where chances of you, or anyone else, walking away will be pretty slim. Why don’t I go in this time?”

  “Because they may know you, Kevin, and I have Wolf. Time’s up, let’s go.” Jack walked towards the Medical Center, with John and Wolf by his side. The others put space between themselves and Jack. When Jack reached a spot opposite the line of people, he stopped, and John with him. Wolf stayed behind, and to the left of Jack. The gang members were harassing the gate guards as they let the line trickle in and out. He counted eleven, strung out along the line of people. He could see people standing in line, with hands on openly carried guns, and he knew now why the punks had not succeeded in scaring anyone off.

  “Tell them in Chinese their mothers suck dicks in hell.”

  John looked at Jack for a moment, and then smiled with delight. He put on a grim face for his act, and yelled out the insult in staccato fashion. The gang members whipped around to stare at the two men, and the big dog, on the other side of the gate from them. A few of the Chinese Americans in the line laughed at the insult, and added a couple of their own. The two men closest to the gate walked over towards Jack and John, with the others close on their heels. As soon as the man got within three feet of Jack, he whipped his right arm up, and plunged his knife to the hilt in his throat. John killed his man with blinding speed, as Wolf leaped and tore the third man from his feet. Jack signaled for John to get down, brushed Wolf aside, and fired the Taser he had brought, directly into the body of the one Wolf had attacked. Only five seconds had elapsed - two men were dead, and a third lay unconscious on the ground. The speed of their demise, and the lack of noise, confused the others in their group.

  They would never get a chance to know what had happened. Hollow point 9mm shells, fired point blank into the group, ended their lives within seconds of the first two to go down.

  In the smoke filled silence, which followed the killings, all of the group with Kevin spread out and waited. To their credit, the line of people waiting for treatment, had simply dropped down, and drew what weapons they carried. In the continued silence, Jack heard some children crying in the background, and saw a few people in line get on their feet. Four years of urban warfare and plague had hardened these people. The only thing they wanted lay inside the Medical Center, and nothing short of a bomb would scare them away. Jack wiped his knife on the gang member he had Tasered, and then gave him over to Kevin. Kevin slapped him back into consciousness while Jack walked over to the line of people.

  “These men were foreign agents, and soldiers we have been at war with. The war may be over, but it will be a long time before we can clean all of the infiltrators out. Spread the word about the Medical Center. We have a vaccine against another biological weapon the other side made up before their defeat. We need to get everyone inoculated against it. Anyone with medical experience will be welcomed, and paid according to their expertise. Let them know inside.”

  “Who are you people,” a woman asked.

  Jack pulled out his National Security Agency ID, and showed it to the crowd. “We will be in charge of the police, and the law for the time being. We are still at war to some extent, and we do not have control of the infiltration, or the security problems yet. People like these, who disrupt inoculation programs, attack our facilities, or attack our supply depots, will be executed. Each of you will be given a flyer inside, asking for your help, and a form to fill out.”

  “You do have medical help inside who can treat patients, don’t you,” another woman in line asked.

  “We sure do, and we have supplies of all kinds to be traded for. The inoculations will be given to you. Everything else will be by barter of some kind. We will not be opening up a welfare complex. The faster we get this gang problem solved, the faster goods and materials will become available. The flyer you will receive inside will explain our authority, and what jobs are available.”

  “You could have had that badge made up anywhere,” a man commented, who stood in line next to his wife and young son. He still had a .45 caliber automatic in his right hand at his side.

  “I could have,” Jack admitted. “We will not be dealing with everyday law enforcement, or telling any of you what to do. We simply want your cooperation, and your help if you’re willing. In a time like this, you will have to understand we will execute terrorists. If any of you get too close to them, you will be gambling with your lives. You have water and power back, and even private enterprise garbage hauling I hear. If you want to keep what you have, and get more, you folks will hav
e to help us make the city safe.”

  Jack turned away, and walked down the line, repeating the information to the people further down the line, who had not heard. Forty-five minutes later, he rejoined his group. John was interrogating the prisoner. Standing next to his dead friends helped considerably with the flow of information. Jack walked amongst the dead bodies, noting three distinct racial components. He had Paul and Mitch help him search for any papers, or other information, which might help to identify the bodies, or betray their purpose. They completed the search with very little other than random pictures and weapons.

  Jack walked over to the adults in line with Paul and Mitch, carrying the confiscated weaponry. They passed it all out to any adult in line needing it. The man Jack had talked to said, “you’re taking an awful chance letting any of us in your Med Center with weapons.”

  “Trust has to start somewhere. Besides, you haven’t been inside. They will search you. Anyone not willing to check their weapons can leave or die. If you are carrying explosives, you better have a reason for it, or they will not be given back to you. The guards inside will shoot first, and ask questions later. We want all citizens armed. We are not here to disarm you, only to end any terrorist threat. I understand if you don’t want to check your weapon; but you will at that point, either turn around and leave, or you will die.”

  “For all you know, some of us could be terrorists.”

  “For all you know, we could be marching you all into gas chambers.”

  The man laughed. “I see what you mean. He held out his hand. I’m George Johnson.

  “Jack Tanner. You fight around here?”

  “Yeah, but when things quieted down, there were only five of us left. The army unit we were attached to was reassigned to the Airport.”

  “If you can get in touch with your friends, we can use you all.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Here’s my logic George. You’re black, and we were attacked by China, the Middle East, Cuban mercenaries, Mexican and South American elements. You live here like all of us did; and God has been merciful, because you still have some family left. If you fought alongside four others you trust, then we can use you all. It won’t mean much at first, other than extra rations. In the long run, we will eventually get this ended, and we will all be able to get on with our lives.”

  “I’m in then.”

  “Sign up inside, and report back here tomorrow with any of your buddies who want in. If you can get them over by tonight, all the better. I will leave word to put you on the duty roster tonight. We will need to protect this complex.”

  George nodded, and stepped back with his wife and son. Jack walked up to the gate, and went inside. At the first guard post inside the building, he left Johnson’s name, with instructions to put him and his friends in the guard rotation as needed. “Did the gunfire bother you guys?”

  “Kevin called, and warned us there would be action out front, and to stay out of it. Doctor Morrison was a little unhappy with gun battles out in front of the Medical Center on the first day.”

  “I guess she’s busy as hell.”

  “Yes, Sir, she and her whole crew have been working without a break.”

  Jack looked at the growing pile of weapons with tags. “Pretty well armed crew, huh?”

  The guard laughed. “Pretty well armed city, Sir.”

  “Nobody carrying C4 or anything, are they?”

  “Not yet, but I expect to confiscate some grenades before the day ends.”

  “Tell the Doc I said hi. Tell the snipers on top to open up on any vehicle approaching the entrance. They will have to stay focused after what went down outside.”

  “How long do you think this will go on?”

  “I think things will be moving to a conclusion very shortly, and this will be the most dangerous time. Call the main house if you have any trouble out of the ordinary. Speaking of bodies, what do you want me to do with our mess out there?”

  “We have our own housekeeping,” he replied. “I called them right after the shooting stopped.”

  “Thank you. I don’t want anyone being put off from the Center because of corpses.”

  “Trust me, Sir, with all the bodies since the beginning, we had to make disposal a top priority. From what I hear, it will get a lot worse.”

  “A lot worse,” Jack confirmed. “Crematorium?”

  “The best, state of the art, powder maker anywhere.”

  “Thanks.” Jack turned and left.

  Outside, Jack saw the interrogation had ended, and John had the man’s hands plastic tied behind him. "How’d we do John?”

  “Very well. Their numbers have increased to nearly two hundred and fifty soldiers, but they are short on weapons and ammunition. He gave me a layout of how many guards they use, and it checked with what Kevin knew from before. The complex they have been using will be a nightmare to attack. They have many rooms, and many places to hide.”

  “Let’s get to the house, where I can confirm some things. I heard they hit the armory, and they have a lot more weapons than this guy’s saying.”

  “How will we find out? Torture may just confuse the information, if he lies to avoid it.”

  “I will use my truth detector on him.” Jack gestured towards Wolf.

  “Then let’s go,” John replied. “I want to see this.”

  Debbie stepped up as the two men turned with the prisoner.

  “Uncle Jack, can I stay with Dr. Morrison? I…I want to do first aid, and I…”

  Jack put his arm around his niece, and looked down smiling into her grim face. “Sure, honey, if It’s okay with your Dad, it’s okay with me.”

  “He said I could go if you said it was okay.”

  “You be careful in there. I’m glad you’re going. You can let us know if they get lax on security here." Jack looked up at the rest of the kids. "Anybody else want to help Dr. Morrison? How about you Sarah?”

  “I go where you go Dad, when you let me,” Sarah answered.

  “Okay then, let’s get moving.”

  Debbie hugged her Dad, and then ran inside the Center to find Dr. Morrison. Paul walked over to Nick. “How about you boy? What we have to do from here on will be bad.”

  “I want to stay,” the boy said determinedly.

  “You’ve earned the right.” Paul hugged him.

  No one spoke on the way to the house. Jack looked at his watch, and saw it was only 11:15AM. He dozed for the ten minutes journey to their homemade compound, after noting how easy it was to know if they were followed. The streets remained virtually empty. Jack woke with a start as the van came to a halt at the house. When they were inside, Kevin spread a building plan for the place where the enemy stayed. Sarah went into the kitchen, with Jake and her cousins, to make soup and sandwiches.

  “Well,” John asked, “are we going to question this guy now?”

  “Let’s leave him under guard for the time being, and come back after we take care of business. We may have some loose ends to tie up if we pull it off okay. If not, it won’t much matter. Like you said John, he may just confuse the issue for now.”

  John took the prisoner with him to drop him off with one of Kevin’s men. He then came back in, and nodded for Kevin to continue.

  “Larry and I went to the bureau of records, and took this print after we found out where they were holed up. Larry made notations where the guards walked their rounds. They have buildings on all sides. I think they were more afraid of an air attack, than they were of a frontal assault.”

  “I guess they’ve never heard of a smart bomb,” Jack observed. “He made marks around the building in ten different spots. I want to set explosives in these places. What do you think, Steve? By the way, thanks for having those flyers ready. We needed them just like you thought.”

  “Forget it. I never thought the Doc would dive in that fast either.” Steve looked over the plans. “I think you will have to add two more spots, here and here,” he pointed, “or we won’t be abl
e to get the job done. We still won’t bring it down like they do to destroy buildings. Explosives would have to be set at these points inside.” Steve circled the pillars on the inside.

  “John and I will go in and set them. If we take out the guards here,” Jack pointed to an obscure entrance which led into the basement by way of a service entrance. “They only have two guards there.”

  “What about the snipers on top of the building,” Paul asked.

  “They get changed every four to six hours, right Kev?”

  Kevin nodded. “Okay… we take out the snipers from the rooftops. You and John then go in and set the explosives. How the hell do you plan to get them all in the building like good little commies?”

  “After John and I set the explosives, you will join us from where you are guarding our backs. We start the party inside, and when they all come in to get us, we blow the place up.”

  Kevin burst into laughter. “That’s your plan, huh?”

  “They only cover the entrances with guards, so we set the outside charges in our own good time, after we take out the snipers. While Peter monitors movement inside the building, with our heat sensing equipment, and listens in, John and I will set the explosives in the basement. You keep our backs covered. We’ll move through the building afterwards, and kill everything that moves. By the time we get to the front, everyone will be inside, trying to get us. You said yourself there are all kinds of rooms. That will make it difficult to reach us in any numbers, or concerted effort. Peter and the kids will be on the roof with the sniper rifles, taking out anyone running, anywhere, around the building. Steve, Paul and Mitch will be waiting to keep our escape route out the front door clear. As soon as we get clear, Peter blows the building.” Jack shrugged. “Piece of cake, huh?”

  This time everyone laughed.

  Chapter 29

  The Solution

  Peering down at the building below in the darkness, they adjusted their night vision goggles for the job ahead. Steve had fastened the sound boom to the side of the building, and had heat sensors pointed at various points. It all fed into a laptop computer, from which Peter monitored and made adjustments to clear his picture. Jack checked the bags with C4, and set the attached detonators. John, Paul, and Mitch checked the weapons to make sure the silencers were attached properly. They picked the best spots for Sarah and Peter on this roof, and then left to set up Nick, Luke and Jake on the other buildings. Kevin stayed at street level to guard against any movement. He looked for any sign the enemy had discovered them, or their movements, and to check the frequency of patrol around the perimeter.