by W. R. Benton
“Maybe I don't want to slow down.”
“Really? That's great news.” He then kissed her on the tip of her nose.
“You kissing my nose made me quiver.” she said and then laughed.
Slowly, Joy lowered both of them to bed and then whispered, “I want you, John.”
Early the next morning John woke with Joy in his bed and both were naked. He put a towel around his waist and moved to the shower, with Dolly on his heels. After showering and shaving he returned to the tent to find Joy gone, but Major Woo waiting for him.
“What can I do for you, Fan?”
“I discovered last night I had a roommate.” He gave a light laugh.
“I have known Richard since before the fall of America. He's a sharp man with a level head on his shoulders. He's been assigned as the new OIC of Intelligence. Since you're making Lieutenant-Colonel next week, you will work for him.”
“Me? A Lieutenant Colonel? How do you know this?”
“Richard saw the promotions listing and your name and Joy's is on the paper. He said it will be released one day this week.”
“Wow, I never dreamed of being promoted to that rank!”
“Well, you will be, and in a few days. Richard is a good man to work with and he takes good care of his people. He's got hundreds of hours of combat experience, so he knows what he's talking about. He's also worked as an intelligence officer for at least five years. I suspect both of you can learn from each other. He's a fair man, too.”
“Don't misunderstand me, but why would Headquarters send him here if I was doing a good job?”
John gave a light laugh and then said, “I think he's an overage and they sent him here because at times we run out of folks in certain positions. If they didn't think you were doing a good job, I can assure you, you would not have been promoted. They know your section is busy, right?”
“Sure we're busy. I was just wondering, and he never said where he'd be working last night. He walked in, introduced himself and then crawled in the spare bunk and went to sleep. When I left a few minutes ago, he was still sleeping.”
“Let him sleep. He brought my dog with him, too. I've missed her like some people miss a child or a lover. She's all I have to remind me of the old days. She's getting old now, because she was three when this fight started eight years ago.” Dolly looked up at him and grinned, as if she knew what the conversation was all about.
“Nice to meet you, Dolly.” Fan said and then reached over and scratched her ears. Dolly took an immediate liking to the small Asian. She sat up and then stepped from the bed and made her way to Woo.
When she reached him, she laid down with her body over his boot covered feet.
“Well, now this is unusual with her. She likes you a great deal, but you did scratch her ears.” John said and then chuckled.
“I had a dog as a boy and his name was Tigger.”
“Every child needs a pet, because it teaches responsibilities. You can't ignore a live animal, because they need feeding, potty time, and cleaning at times.”
“Oh, I found that out and sometimes he had used the toilet outdoors in the middle of the night. My dad took him out the first time, but then over breakfast the next day he said it was my job and he'd not do it again. He was true to his word. One night I didn't wake up and I had to clean the poop from his kennel and from that time on, I took him out.”
“I need to get to the communications tent. Joe has a message from Headquarters that they want to speak with me about at 0800 and that gives me five minutes to get there. Relax with Richard, he's a laid back nice guy that knows a great deal. If either of you have any problems with the other, come and see me.”
Standing, Woo said, “I'll keep that in mind, sir. I appreciate you talking with me this morning and know you're pretty busy at times.”
Glancing at his watch, John said, “We'll talk again after you two work together for a while, okay? I need to rush now.”
They both left the tent at the same time and Dolly was hot on John's heels.
When he walked into the tent Green was holding a headset and said, “Here, sir. Copperhead is on the horn for you.”
He handed the handset to John.
“Cobra Actual, go Copperhead.”
“Cobra, this is Copperhead Actual and we will be sending you orders in German and in code. The mission is of grave importance and if you have any questions, send them in German code. Additionally, I wanted to personally tell you two of your people have been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, effective today. Joy Barnes and Fan Woo. Please congratulate both of them for me, please. Tell them we appreciate their hard work. Over.”
“Uh, copy Copperhead Actual.” John knew the General was personally passing this information so it would be believed. He was glad he got to tell his people that as of today, they were Lieutenant (Light) Colonels. It wasn't often John shared good news.
Green received the classified message and began translating it from code to readable German text. It was a slow process, but it was the only way it could be done. The codes changed every week or two, which only made things more difficult for the radio operators.
John walked to the dining room tent, got a cup of coffee and then returned to Green who said, “I have the message, but I don't believe what they want us to do. They want us to attack power stations, all of them in Missouri, and in a month.”
“That's a lot, but the order is legal.”
“I know it's legal, but the Russians will figure out what we're up to within a couple of days, especially if we hit them night after night. If they have a German speaker on their staff, they might know right now. It's a suicide attack, is what it is.”
“It may be, but let me read the orders.” John held his hand out and Green handed the papers to him.
“When he finished, he said, “I don't like it much either, but they don't say when we are to attack anything, and if needed we can vary one attack from another hundreds of miles away. I for sure will not attack any within 50 miles of each other except on the same night. If we started hitting all the ones down in the Southern part of the state first, they'd quickly figure out the ones we would attack next. We'll hit one in the north, then the south, finally west, then back to south. We can confuse them, because they'll expect us to have a pattern. Hell, we may hit the same place twice and cause twice the damages.”
“I think that would work. Like most people I thought we'd use a system. I like your idea though. They can't put guards at all the power plants, now can they?”
“If they do, they'll have to pull them from the field and they'll not do that at first. I'm not sure what they'll do later in the game, once they figure out we don't even know which power plant we're attacking next.”
“Okay, I think your idea will work at least for a while, sir.”
“When are the attacks to start?” John asked as he moved to the coffee pot hanging on a small fire just outside the door.
Green spoke a little louder since the boss was outside, “I called in a coded message for verification that the attacks are to start tonight.”
“Tonight?” John asked as he entered the tent again.
“That's what the orders said, sir.”
“When you hear from them, let me know.”
“I will for sure.”
Hours passed and finally, a little after 1039, a reply was sent.
Green went looking for the Colonel and found him in a meeting with his company commanders. Green let him finish and then handed him a handwritten note that said, “The raids are a go, starting tonight. Where to attack is your choice.”
After reading the note, John said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I was just handed a note that we are on for a mission tonight. I want all the troops ready to go by 2200 hours. Our mission is to strike power plants in Missouri and there are ten major ones. Tonight we will hit two of them. The two I'm thinking about are on I-44 and very close. I will hold a mission briefing here in four hours. As of right now, this
meeting is over. I need to see the company commander and his assistant.”
The day passed quickly with weapons checked and then double checked. Gear and packs were arranged for no noise and comfort. Extra ammo and grenades were stored and two shoulder fired missiles were packed away as well. They were attacking armed to the teeth because they had no idea how the Russians would respond. If the Russians attacked with choppers, the missiles would be needed. Their mission on the dam had been a big success, but they'd not packed any air defense and it was a mistake paid for with blood. He had lost half his attacking force in the cave.
Live and learn, John thought.
Exactly at 2200 hours a small convoy of three deuce and half trucks left the base and headed west on highway I-44. John had twenty men, ten in each truck, and the third truck carried heavy weapons like the shoulder launched missiles, flamethrower, munitions of all sizes, claymore mines, and other explosives. Ten RPGs were in the truck as well. They would attack the power stations at the exact same time and coordinate the attacks by radio.
John and his men, in the first truck, turned off the highway and stopped, followed by the gear truck who provided them with all they needed to complete their mission. The gear truck then started up and followed the second truck to their power station.
About a half a mile from the station, the truck stopped, the troops emptied out of the back and the heavy gear was handed out. They were traveling light compared to normal infantry missions, where they usually carried over 60 pounds on their backs. With this mission, they had less than ten pounds of gear and most of that was ammo and grenades. The M-60 machine gun, Flamethrower, RPG's and other heavy weapons including a mortar were handed out until everyone was carrying something heavy. John carried two cans of M-60 ammunition and two Claymore mines.
“Drop your NVGs and let's move toward the stations. When Luke and Mark drove by here this afternoon, they saw only one guard. That doesn't mean there aren't two or more there now. I want me and Corporal Brown to cross the fence and take out any guards with knives. Any questions?”
Silence.
A minute later, John said, “Let's move, and Carrier, you're my point man. Stop about a hundred yards from the station building.”
“Yes, sir.” Carrier said and then started down the well worn macadam road.
The walk was uneventful and no mines or booby-traps were discovered. John found it strange there were no booby-traps, but then realized they'd not attacked power plants before. They'd knocked out radio and television stations, but no power plants of any kind.
When Carrier stopped, John and Brown moved to the fence. The fence was away from most lights, so they cut the metal with a pair of bolt cutters and then pulled the fence open. Remaining still for a few minutes, they only saw one guard. John motioned that he would silence the man. He then moved toward him and stayed in the shadows as much as possible. Brown stood, his rifle sights on the guard as John crept toward him.
When about twenty feet behind the man, he pulled his big Bowie knife and held it cutting edge up. He moved forward, expecting the man to turn any second, but he remained watching the road.
Once he was near the man, John threw this left arm over his head and pulled his neck back. As the man jerked and fought against him, John ran the sharp blade over the man's throat. Blood, warm and smelling of copper, spurted high into the air with each beat of the guard’s heart. He stopped struggling as much, so John stuck his fourteen inch blade into his right kidney, slicing it to pieces.
The man tried desperately to cry out, but all he did was choke on his blood with each attempt. Two minutes later, he shivered violently, his bowels released, and he urinated in his trousers. Then, all movement ceased because the guard was dead.
John tossed the dead man to the grasses and then motioned for Brown to come to him.
Once Brown was beside him, he gave an excellent call of a hoot owl. Soon, he had nine other men with him. John whispered, “Okay, five with me and five with Brown out here. Keep us inside safe as we set our explosives. You can also set some explosives on the tall towers that carry the power to other smaller power plants. Set the timers for ten minutes. Ours will be programmed to explode in ten minutes as well. Now, let's move.”
John moved to the door of the building and was surprised when he found it unlocked. Holding his Bison at the ready, he entered the building and noticed a second guard sleeping, his chair tilted back, and his loud snores were heard. John removed the guard's .38 revolver and then removed his handcuffs. He then tapped the man in the forehead with his finger.
The man opened his eyes and said, “What 'n the hell are ya doin' in here?” He grabbed for his pistol but found only air.
“This is a partisan raid and you are our prisoner. Make any noise and I'll do the same to you that I did to your buddy outside. I cut his throat.”
“No, please mister, I have a wife and four kids. I took this job to feed them and I need the money or they'll die like so many others.”
“Stick your arm out.” Once the guard's arm was extended, John handcuffed his right arm to the man's left leg. He then added, “Where are the keys to the cuffs?”
“My left shirt pocket.”
John removed the keys and seeing a drain in the center of the concrete floor, he removed the grate and dropped the keys inside.
Turning to his men, he said, “Let's go inside. Kill no one, unless they raise a gun.”
When they entered the console room they found three men; one was reading a western novel, the other was sleeping with his head on his desk, and the last man was using his laptop computer. The man at the computer was shocked when they entered, but he quickly recovered and raised a .45 1911 pistol.
John fired, as did all of the others, and the man was almost blown apart by all the rounds striking him. Finally his head exploded and John knew he was dead. Of the others, the man with the book dropped it and filled his hand with a .38 snub nose. He got off four shots, before he too was blown apart by gunfire. John heard at least two of his men screaming in pain.
Looking at the survivor, John asked, “Aren't you going to reach for a gun too?”
“No, I'm not stupid.” he said and then raised his hands. “I surrender.”
“Anyone else in this building?” John asked.
“Just Frank, and he's in the bathroom. Said his stomach was bothering him.”
“Duffy, I want you and Lee to check it out. Green, put handcuffs on this man and cuffed him to the console. Private Smith, what is the status of our wounded?”
Green looked up from the two men he was working on. “Hanish has an arm wound, through the flesh, Irving is dead. He took a round to the face.”
“Prepare both to be moved. I want the explosives placed now and —”
The sound of two shots rang out.
Lee was heard saying, “Drop the pistol or I'll kill you. Drop it and I mean now!”
Then came a pistol shot.
Chapter 19
Colonel Yurievich was promoted in front of about 40 Generals and then awarded Russia's highest medal for bravery, the Hero of the Russian Federation, followed by two lesser awards, the Order of Saint George, first class, and the Order of Suvorov. By the medals alone he was one to the most decorated Russians still alive. Some who had died were awarded the same medals, but at the time, he was the only officer alive to hold the Hero of the Russian Federation medal. He didn't care much about the medals, but his promotion made him happy.
He no longer than finished his meeting with the Generals and was in his room relaxing when he heard a knock on his door. He'd changed hotels since his first one had exploded, and now opened all doors with a pistol in his hand.
“Who is there?” he asked as he stood by the wall, pistol ready.
“Russian Secret Police.”
“P . . . Police? What do you want?”
“Just to talk, General.”
He opened the door a crack and saw a man dressed in a dark gray overcoat.
; He kept the pistol in his hand as he opened the door wide and said, “Come in, but no sudden moves.”
Once inside the man said, “Here is my identification and badge.” He held them up for Yurievich to see.
“What brings you here, Major?”
“Our investigation indicates the location of the bomb was in the bedroom of your suite. Do you know anyone out to kill you?”
“Uh, yes, I do. I suspect every American in America would like me dead. I am a very popular man there right now. In my bedroom, you say?”
“Yes, sir. Security gave all the rooms a good going over the day of the blast and it had to be a bomb in your luggage.”
“My luggage? Why did it not go off in the air while I was on the plane?”
“We found the timer, and it was a cheap watch. Apparently it was set to go off within 24 hours, which is the maximum time they can be programmed, so we think it was jarred or dropped and the alarm reset itself to 24 hours. That had to happen or it would have gone off the first 24 hours it was in your baggage.”
Feeling a shiver go through his body, the General said, “I shudder to think of that bomb going off while over the sea. They may have never found our bodies. I know my luggage was in the baggage hold for almost 24 hours. What now?”
“The base you just left said an aircraft repairman has not reported for work since he worked on your aircraft the day you left. Our background check on him did not indicate any involvement with the partisans, but his running away more or less proves his guilt. When the army went to his home to ask him about the aircraft maintenance forms book, he started shooting at us. We had two squads of men who had just completed another mission were being returned to base. Of the twenty soldiers only three were not killed or injured. Seventeen died taking the house. We now have a wanted poster up for him offering 50,000 American dollars for sabotage.”
“How can I help you?”
Pulling a photo from his trench coat, the agent said, “Do you recognize this man?”