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

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  “Are you expecting trouble,” Dr. Morrison asked. “I thought you took care of all that.”

  “I always expect trouble, and I’m seldom disappointed, unfortunately. Besides, I didn’t say we were done. We took care of the worst of our problems last night - at least I hope we did.”

  “Hang on, Jack. We’re going to have an uneventful drive to the Center, and then I will work your butt off today.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Jack kept watch as Morrison drove out of the gate.

  The early morning light cast an eerie glow on the empty streets. Jack straightened in the seat fast when he saw a man in jeans and a tee-shirt, jog into the middle of the street, about a hundred yards ahead. The man began signaling for them to stop.

  “Who is that, Jack?”

  “Slow down until we get about twenty yards away, and then floor it.”

  “What?”

  “Nail him dead center, or we’re in big trouble. Do as I say, now slow down!”

  Jack clicked the safety off, and waited. “Now! Floor it, Doc!”

  She looked at him, and then she did as he said. The man tried to run too late. The van smashed him fifty feet back, and into a building wall. Morrison screamed as she hit him.

  “Hit the brakes now, Doc!”

  As the van came to a stop, Jack threw the door open, and leaped out, turning to face the way they had come. His first burst took down the three men coming out of the building on the left. He ran straight into the intersection, and opened fire to the right. Jack dove to the ground as he slammed home another clip, and rolled to his right. He came up firing as bullets struck the road where he had been. His next burst caught the only survivor dead center, and blew him back into the building. Jack loaded another clip, and sprung to his feet, cursing the pain in his ribs. The morning reeked of gunfire, and the streets echoed with the memory of the blasts.

  Jack took no chances. He ran to the right, and fired a burst into each of the four downed men. Running to the left, Jack tried to find a survivor to question, but found no one with a pulse. Jack checked the buildings for any sign of life, and then collected their weapons.

  He headed for the van. Keeping out in the open, Jack walked where the Doctor could see him. He saw her white, openmouthed look, and knew she was partially in shock. Jack opened the passenger door, and unlocked the side door. He opened it, and piled the confiscated weapons into the back. Jack returned to the street. He checked on the man hit by the van. When he confirmed he was dead, Jack reentered the van.

  “You did very well, Doc. We’ll have to call this in, and get an escort the rest of the way, just in case there are others waiting along the route.”

  She turned and started to speak, but she sobbed instead, and put her head in her hands. Jack called it in, grasping Dr. Morrison’s hand in both of his for a moment. “Hang on, Doc, I have to stay alert for a few moments, until the cavalry gets here. Will you be okay?”

  She nodded assent, and kept down, while Jack exited the van to scan the area for movement. He kept moving until he heard vehicles racing in his direction. Jack crouched, and covered their arrival, looking for movement on the roofs above. The two vans screeched to a halt in the intersection. Wolf bounded out as the sliding side door on the lead van opened, and ran towards Jack; but when he saw Jack give him the signal, he tore off running around the outer area. The rest were on the streets in full body armor, carrying automatic weapons. They spread out in all directions, to search the area and buildings. Wolf had already gone from one dead body to another. The dog then turned his attention to the buildings and streets, while the new scents were fresh.

  Jack straightened from his crouch as he watched Steve approach. “You okay, Jack?”

  “Thanks to you.”

  “Thanks to me? Did you get wounded in the head again?”

  Jack gestured for Steve to follow, and showed him the man who Morrison had run over. “He ran out and began waving us to a stop, and…”

  “I get it… the old car-jack: one in front to stop the vehicle, and the attack comes from the sides.”

  “Exactly. I had the Doc run his ass over, and halt here. Sure enough, we had company on both sides of the street.”

  “Damn… still pulling all the old stunts,” Steve remarked.

  “I remembered what you told me. See, I do listen.”

  “You ain’t as much of a cement-head as you led me to believe. Did you leave us anyone to question?”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  “Bummer, that conversation would have been interesting,” Steve said.

  Having gone over the area with Wolf, the rest came up to where the two men talked near the van. "Do you want us to check the roofs, Dad,” Jake asked.

  “If there were guys up there, we’d be dead,” Jack replied.

  “No Dad,” Sarah said, "you’d be dead. You forgot your body armor.”

  Everyone laughed as Mitch poked his brother in the chest. “Are you getting senile? Where the hell’s your body armor, and don’t even tell me you brought the Doc out without armor, or backup.”

  “Guilty on all counts… damn it! Shit… I forgot the Doc.” Jack ran around to the driver’s side, and opened the door. Dr. Morrison turned, and stepped down into Jack’s arms. He shifted his AK-47 over, and took her head in his hands. "You got a little color back, Doc.”

  “Hey Doc,” Steve said, coming around the van. “Good driving, you nailed the bastard dead center.”

  “That’s helpful Steve,” Paul said sarcastically. “Why don’t you make her drink from her first kill, you butt-head.”

  Steve looked at Dr. Morrison’s face. He then put his arm around her shoulders. “Doc, I lost a leg in a little scenario just like this, because I stopped. I told Jack about it a long time ago. He remembered. You’d both be dead, if you hadn’t hit the gas.”

  Steve gave Jack his withering ‘you screwed up look’. “Of course this genius should have had both of you in body armor, and with a backup escort van leading. They could have had a rocket launcher.”

  Dr. Morrison smiled at Steve. She then turned and wiped her face on Jack's shirt, and then blew her nose on it. Steve and the others exploded in laughter. Jack looked on in disbelief at first, and then joined in the laughter.

  “The prick just wanted us all up early with him,” Mitch complained. “You know I feel a sneeze coming on myself.” He reached for Jack's shirtfront, but stopped at the low growl emitting from his brother’s throat, as the others continued their enjoyment at Jack’s expense.

  “Man, I hope you have coffee at the Center, Doc,” Steve said.

  “We have coffee, Steve,” she confirmed. “Should we go now?”

  “Only if someone can loan me another shirt,” Jack said. He turned to Kevin, who had been driving one of the vans. “Let’s get these guys laid out. We can bring our prisoner out here, and see if these guys are the same ones sent out to attack the armory. Afterwards, why don’t we go out to the Airport? The Doc can get everyone else going at the Center. Do you think we can meet with the Colonel you know right now?”

  “No telling, Jack. We can get over there and see. I’ll send John to get the prisoner right now. The other vans can take the Doc, and the others to the Center. We’ll hang out here until John gets back, and see if the prisoner knows them.”

  “We’ll keep Wolf too. They won’t need him at the Center,” Jack added.

  “What about the recording of Kardel and the Doc's testimony,” Paul asked.

  “Steve, tell John where you have the tape, and…”

  “I have a copy,” Peter interrupted. “Dad said we should carry a copy with us at all times." He took a miniature USB drive out of his upper pocket, and handed it to Jack. He also handed over a separate drive. “This disk has a copy of the papers Dad showed you last night.”

  “You guys are the best.”

  “Don’t give that one-legged prick any compliments,” Kevin complained. “His head’s already so swelled up he’s ready to float away.”
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  “Let’s get to work.” Jack turned to John. "Bring back our buddy from the house. We’ll see what he knows about these new players. Would you get me another shirt too?”

  John grinned, as the others left to take Dr. Morrison to the Center. “Sure, Jack. Will you use Wolf this time?”

  “No, I’ll let him run around for the guy to see. You might as well go to the Airport with us. Maybe now would be a good time to get on some body armor. When you’re getting my shirt John, would you pick up my armor too?”

  “Why don’t you go, Jack? John and I can stay and wait for you.”

  “I made this mess. I’ll go through the pockets, and line them up for inspection. You call ahead, and make sure your guy will release the prisoner to, John.”

  “Okay. I brought some surveillance gear to watch our surroundings while we wait.”

  A half hour later, Jack had finished lining up the bodies, and going through their clothing for some clue as to their identity. Kevin came out of the van and watched him finish. “Find anything of use?”

  “Just garbage, and some money. They had a nice collection of knives between them.” Jack gestured to a pile of cutlery on the ground. Kevin knelt down, and picked out a particularly vicious looking sheath knife, with finger holes on the grip.

  “I like this one.”

  “It’s yours. Here comes John.” They stayed close to the building wall. Both men clicked the safeties off on their weapons. They relaxed when they saw John’s face in the driver’s window. Jack walked over to open the sliding door on the van, while John cut the plastic ties with which he had secured the man in the back of the van. Jack brought the man down, and walked him to the line of bodies, where Wolf sat. The man looked fearfully at the dog as he glanced at the bodies in front of him.

  “You know these guys, Bub,” Jack asked.

  “Yes, they were assigned to watch your residence,” he answered as he eyed Wolf.

  “Why didn’t you tell us about the residence being watched?”

  “I thought they would have been recalled for the raid on the Center.”

  “I ought to feed you to Wolf.”

  “We had a deal. I could not know if every single one died in the blast.”

  Jack gestured at the dead men. “Then these are not the ones sent to the armory for sure.”

  “No.”

  “Okay Kev, let’s drop him back at the house, and go see if we can sell the military on Kardel.”

  “I’ll call housekeeping to get rid of these bodies. Will Kardel be calling you soon about how he did with the raid?”

  “We should be at the Center by the time he calls. Let’s go.” Jack took the clean shirt and body armor from John as they walked back to the van.

  “You took the Doc’s little funny pretty well Jack,” Kevin observed with a grin.

  “I had it coming, and you have to admit, she reacted pretty well. A few seconds hesitation, and we would have been sitting ducks.”

  “Strange how things work out,” Kevin stated.

  “Very strange,” John agreed, rubbing his leg as he climbed into the van.

  Chapter 32

  The Military Joins

  The Colonel sat rigidly as he listened to the last of the conversation between Dr. Morrison and Kardel. He ran a hand through his hair as it ended, and stood up. He turned away from the three men sitting in front of his desk. Staring out of his office window, he clasped his hands behind his back. After a few minutes, where even Jack shifted uncomfortably, Colonel Braithwait turned and sat down again. He folded his hands onto the top of the desk.

  “What do you gentlemen propose?”

  “Do you believe the recording to be real, Colonel,” Jack asked. “I have Dr. Morrison at the Medical Center. She…”

  The Colonel held up his hand. “Not necessary. I know Tom Kardel. I considered him a friend.”

  “Uh oh,” Kevin said under his breath.

  “If he were here now, I would shoot the traitorous bastard,” Colonel Braithwait finished angrily. “Will this ever be over? Now I know why you flew into the airport the way you did, Mr. Tanner. I thought you had gone psycho.”

  “Call me Jack, Sir. We have a plan to entice Kardel to fly in here.”

  “How do you propose to lure him here?”

  “He doesn’t know we cleaned his potential allies out. If we tell him the leaders want to meet only with him, John here thinks he would come so as to gain direct control.”

  “He won’t come alone, and that’s why you’re here. You need me to help you separate him from any military escort he brings, and do it peacefully.”

  “We do need to find out who gives Kardel his marching orders. If we’re able to uncover the information, this could very well end quickly.”

  Colonel Braithwait looked down at his desk for a few moments, and then at Jack. He stuck out his hand, which Jack shook. “I have a favorite quote from George Washington: ‘Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action’. You have a deal, Jack. Give me the details of how you want to do it.”

  “I will, Sir. As soon as Kardel contacts me, I will set it up for as soon as possible. If we can get Kardel to give up the next rung in the ladder, we can end this nationwide gang charade.”

  “I hope you’re right. I have friends next to General Anthony, and if we can get a name, I will take it the rest of the way. Kardel has done quite a bit to end this war. I don’t understand this.”

  “Without the recording you heard, Colonel, I would not have believed it either,” Jack agreed. “He told me so much of the good he had been involved in, I thought he was a hero. Those things were true. I wish this one was not. He treated my family and friends very well at the base, and gave us every help he could.”

  “Yet he planned to kill you. It all fits Jack. We have been getting complaints about the gang. We reported it, and asked for permission to take care of it. Tom told me he would have it checked out, and he would send someone to deal with it. How pervasive these pockets of retreating soldiers, reforming into gangs are, I have no clue.”

  “If Kardel would risk so much, I think there must be more of these situations than we can imagine. I believe they want to confiscate the guns from the people. They know almost everyone has a weapon now, and has used it in a combat situation. If people took a disliking to some highhanded operation the government puts into effect, the opposition could be formidable. Think of years ago, when minions of Clinton and his Attorney General, used battering rams, tear gas, and automatic weapons to snatch a little Cuban boy from a private citizen’s home, just to intervene in a custody case on the side of a Communist Dictator. It would be very difficult to pull something like that off against citizens as well armed as the survivors are in this country now.”

  “I agree with your assessment. Anything else seems ridiculous. This makes me wonder if a military coupe, when General Anthony steps down, might be exactly what they have in mind to do.”

  “I hope Kardel will cooperate once we have him, Colonel,” Jack stated as he stood up, and extended his hand.

  The Colonel shook it. “We’ll be ready when you set it up Jack. Good luck on the plan.”

  “Thank you, Sir. We will be in touch.” Jack led Kevin and John out.

  “That went well,” Kevin said. “I told you the Colonel can act on his own, if he had the facts.”

  “What did you think, John,” Jack asked.

  “Your Colonel sounded and looked sincere,” John answered. “I hope he is.”

  “He impressed me too, but I think we should have back up on this all the way.”

  “You are one distrustful bastard, Jack.”

  “Indeed Kevin.” Jack smiled without offense. “I plan on staying that way too.”

  “How do you propose to have back up against a small army landing, and another army waiting for them to land?”

  “Peter in the tower with communi
cations links with everyone, just like last night. We’ll have Paul, Mitch and Steve with sniper rifles triangulating the meeting area. We’ll have the kids, and a force of your men, with whomever else we can get, just outside the base. You, me, and John will be inside to meet Kardel. I have to figure a way for us to get our snipers into position though.”

  Kevin sighed. “I can do it. I know a way in after we get past the gate. I will position them, and then get back down to you.”

  “You sound a little exasperated, Kev. Do my precautions really bother you that much?”

  “We have to trust someone along the line in this fiasco.”

  “Why? If we can back each other right to the end of this mess, I will not have to regret anything. I sent my own family into combat for the last few years, knowing if they died it would be on my head. Guess what, they’re all here. If they die, it will not be because I trusted some guy I don’t know from Adam.”

  “Jack is right, Kevin,” John agreed. “I know it is not my place to speak here, but your friend died because of lies and misguided intentions. This may all come out just as you hope, with your Colonel doing all that he says. On the other hand, I like being able to fight our way out with some chance of living, and fighting another day.”

  At first this insertion by John brought a look over Kevin’s face resembling the calm before a devastating storm. He relaxed his jaw at the end, staying quiet for a moment. He smiled and spoke finally. “You two have won me over. At the best, we will have more people in position than we need. At worst, if these sorry mother fuckers cross us, they will regret the day they were ever born.”

  They laughed together as they walked out of the airport.

  Later at the Center, Jack mopped the lab floor, while his brother Mitch followed with a second mop. The call from Kardel came in as he worked his way out the door. He stepped into the hallway, and leaned the mop against the wall, as Mitch emerged shortly after. Jack answered the incoming call. “Tanner here.”

  “The assault went down just as you said. We got all ten before they did any damage. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any alive. I think it would be best not to mention this operation to the leaders.”