Dave put the beast together, attaching the propellers and guards, the landing gear, and the antennae. He mounted the camera and plugging the thing to the power relay, ensured the camera was functional.
“Ugh.” Dave moaned.
I looked up and said, “What? Something wrong with it?”
“No, camera was looking up my nose…ugh.”
“What’s wrong with your nose?” Julia said from the stairs.
Both of us looked up and greeted her with ‘good mornings,’ Dave adding, “Nothing’s wrong with my nose.”
“Then why were you looking up your nose?” She said with a look of consternation.
“I wasn’t…we were testing the camera on this thing and when it came on, it was focused looking up my nose,” Dave explained.
“Ugh,” she said, skewing her face.
“That’s exactly what I said,” Dave told her getting up and giving her a good morning kiss.
She went into the kitchen and pouring a mug with the last of the coffee, made another pot then came over near us, in front of the fireplace. “What are you men up to this morning, and how are you feeling, Doug?”
“I’m okay, thanks. Getting this drone ready for a flight. Dave, wants to fly along Highways 130 and 11, to get a current bird’s eye view. We should be launching in about thirty minutes or so.”
She turned and put another log on the fire and when she turned back, Dave said, “You know that little hill to the south of the highway where we want to set the ambush?” She nodded she did, “When we go back to check out the damage afterwards, we decided you and Ruth should be on that hill with your Bravos so you can cover us while were looking the field over and taking care of potential Zs.”
She thought about that for a few minutes and then said, “That’s a good idea. We can take extra ammo and mags and set up with good protection. Good idea you two.”
A pair of thank yous went out at the same time. Dave and I continued our work on the drone like a flight crew getting an airplane ready to fly. We finished the preparations, now waiting for the batteries to completely charge, and got up to get another mug of coffee as Ruth came down the stairway, yawning.
“Good morning, babe,” I said to her, getting her mug out and pouring her a cup.
“Hey. You feeling okay this morning?” she asked me, giving me a kiss, saying thanks for the coffee.
“Yeah, I’ll make it. I can even hear better in the right ear,” and looking at Julia, added, “and it doesn’t itch…yet.”
“Keep your paws off of it,” she told me with a stern look.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said with a hand salute.
We sat in front of the fire waiting for the drone’s batteries to fully charge and told Ruth the plan for the after-ambush foray. She agreed it was a good one and said she’d take her AR-10 instead of a Bravo. She said she wished we had more of the AR-10s as it was a good weapon.
“Well, little lady, that’ll be a permanent addition to the shopping lists from now on,” Dave said in his John Wayne drawl.
Five little beeps sounded telling Dave and I the batteries were fully charged. We took a few final sips of coffee and got up, got the batteries, installed them, then carried the beast outside. We put it in the middle of the front yard after clearing an area of snow and went back inside.
Dave would pilot so he got the control panel and started the engines, letting them warm up some before lifting off. I was watching out the front window and giving him the high sign to lift off, he gently added thrust and the beast rose from the ground in a cloud of snow, and hovered about fifteen feet high, running a system check before flying away from the house.
Everything was in the green and the camera was functioning perfectly, so he gave the bird additional thrust, rising in altitude, and flew to the northeast. I sat beside him, and the ladies stood over our shoulders, to watch the video return and the valley was beautiful, covered in snow. The green pine trees and the dark blue of the river were the only colors other than white. We could see cattle, deer and elk foraging for their morning meals.
It took five minutes for the little craft to reach Highway 130, and Dave turned the thing to the east to follow the road. At the bridge where we were to set the ambush, he did a slow three-sixty around the whole area so we could get a good view. He flew to the south, slowly, looking at the area where we would set the ladies with their M240 Bravos and the little hill.
He turned the craft back to the highway and turned east once again and followed it all the way up the hill. The site the met our eyes was a surprise as through the snowfall we could see five vehicles, all black, heading our direction. They had a big truck with a plow and a big box on the back in the lead, clearing the way through the drifts.
“They must have been in Laramie flying that drone to be this close after we downed it,” Dave said.
“There’s no way we can set the ambush up in time to spring it on them, is there?” Ruth asked.
The four of us looked at each other and Dave said, “I don’t think so. It would take at least a day to set it up, maybe longer.”
“What are we going to do?” Ruth asked, looking at me directly.
I met her gaze then looked back at the screen. “Dave, can you get a bit closer and maybe we can see how many guys are in that convoy?”
“I’ll try. They may try shooting us down, but here goes,” he said, giving the drone the gas, heading their way.
He was at about two hundred feet and rising. We could see the five vehicles clearly through the snow: the plow truck, two hummers, a pickup, and an SUV looking vehicle in the back.
“Doug, can you get a close up on those cars with the camera?” Julia asked. I made the lens zoomed as close as I could and the vehicles still looked like toys, but we could see inside now and could tell there were several men inside each. There were at least two men in each vehicle. The truck with the plow stopped and the man on the passenger side got out and went to the next vehicle. He was saying something to the guys in that vehicle and suddenly pointed in our drone’s direction. Four men with rifles boiled out of the vehicle and commenced firing at our drone.
Dave dove for the ground, jinking and swinging from left to right, trying not to be shot down by the gunfire. He got down to within a few feet of the ground and got back on the western side of the hill, flew the drone to Highway 11 and following it to about where his place was, turned west and brought it home, landing it in the front yard. He went out and placed it on the front porch and brought the battery pack in.
I ran into the armory, got another battery pack and plugged it in. Then got another set for another drone and began the charging process for it, too.
“What are you doing?” Julia asked.
“We’re blind unless we use one of these,” I told her. “It’ll take those guys at least an hour to get to the lip of the hill due to all the snowdrifts. That’ll give us enough time to charge all the systems and get another one of these up for a bird’s eye view of what they’re up too.”
“Okay, ladies,” Dave said once he came back inside from getting the batteries and camera card, “get cleaned up and weapon ready. Make us some breakfast if you would, as it may be a while before we get to eat again, if you would please. And make it a hearty meal, too. Thanks.”
Julia and Ruth jumped up and ran up the stairs to get ready. Julia and Dave had plenty of clothing at our place so that was not a worry. I plugged in the battery pack Dave had just brought in and then ran upstairs myself to get ready. As I was going up, Dave yelled he’d put the drone on the front porch.
I put on long johns, heavy socks, my heavy duck farm pants, a thin long-sleeved tee shirt, and a long-sleeved black flannel shirt. I ran downstairs and could already smell breakfast cooking with Julia at the helm and put on my heavy winter mukluks. My parka hung by the door and it had the heavy mittens and my black balaclava.
Dave came thumping down a moment later similarly dressed and with his heavy boots on. We went into the armory together
and both put on vests already loaded with mags and grenades. We both got M4s, nine-millimeter handguns, and I got my Remington SPSX and fifty rounds for it. Dave got the other one and an equal number of rounds.
Before we went back to the kitchen, Dave put his hand on my shoulder stopping me, and said, “We need those fifties over at my place. Think we can risk going over to get them?”
I looked at him and together we thought the route through, and both knew we would not make it in time due to the snowdrifts. “I have the AT4s we can use if we need them,” I said.
He’d forgotten about those and with a mischievous grin, nodded in agreement. I turned and opened a crate of the rockets and we took four with us. What a load we had as we trudged up the short stairway to the big room upstairs.
Ruth was coming down the stairs and stopped midway with bug eyes, seeing us, and asked, “What are you doing with the rockets?”
“Hopefully, nothing, but just to be ready we’re taking some out with us,” I told her.
That tidbit of information put a sobering look on her face, realizing we may be in another firefight soon. She went down the remaining stairs to the kitchen to help Julia with breakfast. Dave and I checked all the batteries charging and readied the second drone. We would launch it first. It had been about a half hour since we broke to clean up and dress, so Dave and I took the drone out into the front yard.
“You fly this time,” Dave said as we climbed the stairs. He handed me the controller and I started the engines, letting them warm for a moment. I lifted off to a height of about twenty feet, hovered for a moment doing a system check and with all lights in the green, took the drone up to fifteen hundred feet altitude AGL, and began a northeasterly flight.
“Activating the camera,” I told Dave when we were back inside and by the fireplace. With the camera on, we could see the valley plainly. I aimed the camera towards the hill on Highway 130, and could not yet see the vehicles, which was a good thing.
Julia told us breakfast was ready – of course - right in the middle of a flight. Dave said, “Would you fix us both a plate and we’ll eat over here while we fly?”
“Sure,” she said.
I went back to the screen and rose in altitude another five hundred feet or so and continued flying to the northeast. Another minute went by and we could now see the convoy. They had moved another half mile or so closer and this time they had men out on either side of the vehicles scanning the sky. I was sure they were hunting for out drone.
“I’m bringing it home,” I said to Dave, and turned the drone to the south. I flew it down the west side of Sheep Mountain for a mile or so then turned it due west, and seeing my valley, made a beeline for home.
“If they made a half mile in about an hour, they’ll be down the hill in about three hours or so, maybe longer if the snow is deep,” Dave mused. “I bet they’re looking for their drone. Crap.”
“What?” I asked, looking at him. He looked at me and I could see he was thinking about something, so I waited.
“We need to get ready for a battle,” he said dejectedly.
“What do you mean?” I questioned.
“I think we both screwed up and became lucky all at the same time,” he said still looking at me.
Julia set two plates with eggs, sausages, and biscuits with peach jam next to the two of us.
“Come on, Dave tell me what you really mean?” I insisted. That made Julia stop, turn, and look at the two of us.
“I think we screwed up by letting those guys see our drone, and at the same time, I think we were lucky as now we know they’re coming. We didn’t know so it’s not our fault we’re busted, so-to-speak. If we’d been flying much higher when we saw them, we might have gotten away without them knowing…oh well, hindsight.”
“I see what you’re saying now. I think you’re right we need to prepare for a battle. However,” and he looked up at me with a mouth full of sausage, “I think we’ve got our ambush position all wrong.”
“Now I get to say, what do you mean?” Dave said with a smirk, and Julia saying, ‘yeah’.
“Where exactly was the drone crash?” I asked.
“YES!” he exclaimed. “They’re coming for their drone. It must have a tracking device and they’re going right to it. It’ll take hours for them to get there due to the snow. We can set up and hit them at the bridge down from our place.”
Both of us wolfed down the food and ran into the kitchen, gave the girls a quick briefing and said break and the four of us split to gather material. I readied our ATV with the plow, throwing in an M240 Bravo and two cans of ammo, another two cans of full M4 magazines and two satchels of grenades. I added a can of fifty-caliber ammo.
Ruth donned her vest with her AR-10 mags and gathered her other weapons, a nine-millimeter handgun and a shotgun. She went back to the kitchen, poured the remaining coffee into travel mugs for the two of us and packed some food in a pack.
Julia and Dave put the larger of the two drones into their truck along with the two sets of charged batteries and took off for their place. They would break trail down the dirt road we’d built to their place and we’d follow along shortly, after packing everything we thought we’d need.
Ruth came out of the house loaded for bear. She locked the house and ran to the garage where I had the ATV running to warm up. I’d put two cases of Claymore mines and enough wire, det cord, and caps to blow all twenty-four. We were set. Ruth threw her pack in the ATV and got in with her AR-10, inserting a mag and chambering a round. She pulled her nine and chambered a round in it as well.
I charged my M4 and nine when I got in the ATV and getting the okay from Ruth, pulled out. We flew down the lane onto the road. Turning down the dirt road we’d built, we followed the tracks of Dave’s truck. Through the trees, the snow was not bad at all. In the flats, however, it was another story. We could see Dave had had to bust through several drifts the ATV never would have made it through without some work with the plow.
We did make it to Dave and Julia’s place without incident and slid to a stop next to the front steps since they left the gate open for us. As we mounted the steps, Julia opened the front door and said, “He’s in the armory downstairs and asked that you go help him, Doug.”
“On my way,” I said with a smile.
Down in their underground, I went to the armory and Dave was loading the twelve round magazines for the fifties with the huge bullets. “The cavalry is here,” I said. “What do you want me to do?”
“Grab a handful of rounds and load mags. I think you and I can handle five each. That’s sixty rounds. Julia took two Bravos upstairs and loaded six cans of ammo. She said once they’re in position, they can link two cans and have one for backup. Did Ruth bring her AR?”
“Never leaves home without it,” I said as I loaded the big bullets into a magazine.
“Good. Each of us should have a personal defense weapon handy. Each should have at least four grenades also. You bring the Claymores?”
“Yep, two cases and all the wire, cord, and caps we need to set them off. I figure we can daisy chain them in the trees on both sides and with twenty-four of the things we’ll pretty much decimate the convoy. I say we set them on the east side of the river, that way if they want to get at us, they’ll have to cross that cold water. Let them freeze, you know?”
“Yep, sounds good. Let’s pack these mags and get going,” Dave said.
We took the mags and rifles up to Dave’s truck and put them in the back seat. The two of us jumped into the ATV after putting on our mikes and took off to the bridge. We only had to use the plow on one drift and got to the bridge in under a half hour.
Back at the house, Julia and Ruth launched the small drone again and we heard it rise and head for Sheep Mountain. They would see the progress of the convoy and let us know.
Dave and I carried the Claymores over the bridge. I’d given him a quick course on how to hook them to the trees and I would wire them to go off. We decided we would have a se
ries of four detonations, beginning with one that would take out the lead vehicle on the bridge. Then I would blow the Claymores to the rear, hoping to take out or disable the rear-most vehicle, stranding the three remaining vehicles in the middle.
As soon as I blew the first set, Dave would commence firing his fifty into the other vehicles, attempting engine hits to stop them in place. Julia and Ruth would open up with their 240s, raking the cabs. I would set off the northern Claymores when I heard the girls open up and, we hoped, this would entice the remaining force to exit the vehicles to the south side. That’s when I’d blow the southern Claymores.
The four of us would continue fire until we’d expended two mags of ammunition for the fifties and the two M240 Bravos had fired two belts apiece. Then we would wait and let the dust, smoke and debris settle, watching for movement. If we had none, Dave and I would move forward, check the bodies, and collect weapons, ammo, and anything else we felt would be useful.
Dave and I had attached all twenty-four mines and I would wire them while he drove the ATV back and forth over the bridge to Highway 11. That would cover our tracks and, hopefully, confuse the convoy people into thinking we’d done it to plow the road for easy access. I wired the two rear mines first and ran the wire to the first clacker in my position. The northern line was next and daisy chain wiring them to fire at once was a task. Ten mines detonating at once meant 7,000 steel ball bearings would fly to the south at almost 4,000 feet per second. I ran that wire back to my position and tied it off to the second clacker.
Wiring the last dozen went just as fast as the first and I ran those wires back to my ‘hole’. I set up my fifty, inserting a round into the chamber then a magazine. I used some pine boughs I’d cut as camouflage and draped them over the barrel of the big gun. I positioned my M4 and got out four grenades, setting them in the snow on the right side of my position. I stood up and looked over my spot, viewed my firing lane again making sure I wouldn’t be anywhere close to the ladies, and felt I had a good location.
I'm Tired of Zombies | Book 2 | Full Scale War Page 22