“Yes sir,” the major said as Gene ran for the Hummer.
When he climbed in, he grabbed the microphone. “Gene,” he barked.
“What the fuck is going on?” Mike yelled.
“Givens ordered probing attacks,” Gene told him.
“No shit, but they are ten miles forward of your departure line,” Mike said, and Gene started cussing.
“Mike, call off your air. I ordered them back.”
“Bruce called in the Apaches, and they are fixing to hit you now!” Mike yelled.
“Mike, pull them back; I’m going back there now. Call Bruce,” Gene begged.
“His kids were in that attack line, motherfucker, along with mine. It was called out half the platoon was down. All of y’all are dickless pieces of shit and couldn’t fight your own fucking battle. You made us do it, cocksucker. You and your men could’ve overthrown those fuckers, but no, you don’t want to do this bullshit. You are fucking spineless. If my kids are dead, I will hunt every one of you fuckers down and kill you with my own hands!” Mike screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Mike, I just wanted to save all of them.”
“You can’t, you stupid motherfucker. You save as many as you can!” Mike yelled. Tears ran down Gene’s cheeks hearing Mike. In a normal voice, Mike called back but was breathing heavily. “Gene, I’m waiting on word from the units. Bruce went to the kids. If any of them are dead, so are your troops and refugees.”
“I understand, Mike. I have all my positions holding. After you take us out, make sure you take out Maryland. I’m sorry, Mike,” Gene said.
“I am too, Gene,” Mike said.
Gene dropped the microphone and turned to Martin. “Tell your boys we may have to fight our way in to the general. You will kill anyone that stands in our way.”
Martin whispered in his mic then looked at Gene. “Sir, you can’t blame them. They were trying to help us, and their kids get shot. If it was me, I’d be coming with a dull wood saw to kill us.”
“I know, Martin,” Gene said as they pulled up to the headquarters area. Gene got out, and two MPs walked over to him.
“Sir, you are under arrest,” one said as Gene drew his pistol and shot him in the face then spun and shot the other one. Then, Martin’s platoon flanked Gene as he walked forward. Troops cleared the way. An MP came running from the tent and was shot by one of the Rangers. Gene stepped over the body into the tent, and the general pulled his pistol only to have one of his Ranger “guards” knock it from his hands.
Gene looked at a table in the center of the tent and saw the President. “I told you, sir; he has gone insane!” Givens yelled.
“General, you do realize that we can hear your radios up here, right? And we have been watching. You didn’t follow any of the ordered battle plan. Have you heard from first regiment? No, you wouldn’t because they are not there,” the President said.
“Sir, first regiment defected to Omega,” Gene said.
“Are you sure?” the President asked.
“Yes sir. Fredrick called me and said Givens was going to get us killed and you didn’t care enough to stop him because you don’t a have dick. His words, sir,” Gene lied.
“So General, you have killed a lot of my troops and caused three thousand to defect. You will be shot and go down in history as a bigger traitor than Benedict Arnold,” the President said, and Givens started crying. “Colonel, you are in charge. Can you save this operation?” he asked.
“I don’t know, sir. I have to wait on information; then, I’ll know,” he said.
“I understand, Colonel. For now, I’m fixing to let Homeland deal with the traitor’s families,” he said.
“Sir, I wouldn’t do that. If you want the men to follow the commanding officer’s orders, you can’t. They will question every order given and not fight. We lose our army. They are not to blame.”
“You’re right. If at all possible, capture Fredrick.”
“Yes sir,” Gene said.
“Let me know,” the President said.
“Sir, we are against the wall. Either we do or don’t. Now, our only option is an all-out attack, but I will keep you updated,” Gene said and turned the monitor off. “Tie up the general,” Gene said and pointed at five other officers.
One of the Rangers pointed at a captain. “Sir, you really want him tied up also?”
Gene nodded. “Men, tell me what are casualties are.”
On the other side of the battle lines, Bruce ran over to the corner of the building dropping his rifle and found Mary holding a bandage to Buffy’s hip. Then looking at Danny he saw her sitting up. Falling to his knees he moved Mary’s hands and ripped Buffy’s pants open. He saw several gashes in the flesh of her thigh and a big one over her hip bone. Pulling out his dressing, he bandaged her up and saw several rips in her vest showing the Kevlar underneath.
Then he moved to Danny and ripped her shirt open to see a huge gash in her bicep and another on her thigh. “Can you feel me touch your hand?” Bruce asked.
Danny grit her teeth. “Yeah.”
“Can you move it?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, do it.”
“Hell no. It hurts like hell!” she shouted. He put a dressing on the bleeding wounds and searched her to find she had a large gash in her scalp. Then, he moved to Mary and saw she had a dressing on her neck. Not seeing blood coming out, he left it alone. Looking Mary over, Bruce noticed her vest was ripped up with several hits to the chest and abdomen. He said a small prayer of thanks that the kids had them on as he continued to look Mary over.
Flipping his voice mic on, Bruce moved to Jake. “Willie, I want med evac inbound now,” Bruce said. “How many casualties?” he asked Jake, kneeling next to him.
“Eleven dead, twenty-six wounded that I know of. I haven’t heard from third squad yet.” Bruce bandaged the cut on Jake’s face and leg then moved to Matt and put several dressings on his wounds.
Seeing David and Mindy walk up, Bruce motioned them to him. “Get first platoon, and after the med evac, pull back. You’re in charge, David. Pull back to the command vehicle. If they blink, launch everything you have,” Bruce said. “Willie, what’s the damage to Omega?”
“Second platoon: six dead and eight wounded. Fourth: two dead five wounded. We are still trying to get to third squad of first platoon. The rest are at full strength.”
“Pull up here, and cover first platoon as they pull out, and have someone do the same for the others. David is over first,” Bruce said.
“What about our playmates?” Willie asked.
“I don’t care if they all die right now,” Bruce said, looking around at the destruction.
Huffing, Danny looked at him. “You don’t care if we save them? I got blown up for fucking nothing, and some of our team is dead!” she screamed.
“That’s bullshit, Dad. If that’s the case, we could’ve just bombed there asses,” Buffy said through clenched teeth.
“Let me get y’all home first. Then, I’ll worry about them,” Bruce said. “Does it hurt bad, BB?” Bruce asked, wishing the choppers could move faster.
“You remember when you had that stick stuck in your arm and you said it wasn’t that bad?” Buffy said, grimacing.
“Yes, BB,” Bruce smiled.
“YOU FUCKING LIED! THIS HURTS!”
“Buffy, don’t ever listen to Dad about pain,” Danny said.
Bruce heard the choppers coming in and turned around. “Big Daddy One, this is son number one. I’m coming in hot. Get the guys, and I’ll have you home in minutes!” Steve yelled.
“Jake, Matt, get your wives. Someone, put two more wounded on here, and remember our dead!” Bruce shouted. “Base, this is Big Daddy One. I’m bringing the kids home. Some of them are busted up good, but they’re still bitching.”
“
We’re waiting, baby,” Angela cried out.
True to his word, it looked like Steve was going to crash as fast as he was coming in, but he flared out at the last second and touched down softly. Bruce picked up Buffy and carried her to the chopper as everyone followed. When everyone was loaded, Steve took off like a bat out of hell, and Bruce watched the world pass by in a blur.
Two hours later, covered in his own kids’ blood, Bruce was sitting alone in the command bunker as Marcus came in and sat down with him. “What are you going to do about the army out there?” he asked.
Staring down at the table, Bruce replied, “Don’t know.”
“Well, why don’t we just finish the plan, Bruce? Everything’s in place,” Marcus asked.
“That’s what I’m leaning toward. We’ve sacrificed a lot for this, and I don’t want it to be in vain.”
“Well, Bruce, it’s cold out there, and they have lots of wounded.”
“Alright, Marcus,” Bruce said, walking back to flight control. He grabbed a headset. “Gene, this is Bruce. You out there?”
A few seconds later, Gene asked, “This is Gene. Good to hear from ya. The kids okay?”
“Buffy and Danny are still in surgery but should be okay. Jake, Matt, and Mary got a shit load of stiches.”
“What was your cost?” he asked.
“Thirty-two dead and seventy-nine wounded. You?”
“Two hundred nine dead, four hundred sixty-two wounded,” Gene said.
Taking a deep breath, Bruce asked, “You ready to finish this?”
“No,” Gene said, and Bruce took a step back from the radio.
“No?” he asked.
“Enough of this charade shit. Can you get this UAV from over my head?” Gene asked.
Lowering the headset, Bruce turned to the room. “Tell everyone to shoot at the UAV. Whoever hits it gets a prize,” he said. Suddenly, thirty missiles were screaming through the sky eighty miles away over the battlefield. A Patriot hit it, but the other twenty-nine hit the wreckage as it fell to Earth.
“Thank you. I’ll bring in my troops, and can I borrow some trucks to go get our people?” Gene asked.
“Okay, Gene, and we will send Gamma to help ya,” Bruce said.
“No, Bruce. Hope has done enough for us. We will take care of this, but I am going to need your air assets to wipe out what I leave behind in Colorado,” Gene said.
“You’re going to lose a lot of your men trying to get the families of Homeland,” Bruce said.
“Nope, had a man tell me today I can’t save everyone—just try to save as many as I can. Their husband, fathers, mothers, and wives are responsible for their family’s death. They took the job at Homeland; the others there didn’t,” Gene said.
Closing his eyes, thankful Gene finally understood, Bruce said, “I told a man that long ago after I almost got killed trying to save everyone. He wanted us to try.”
“Yep, and he told me, and he’s right.”
“Gene, the gate will be open, but most of the family is wounded or working on wounded.”
“That’s okay. I can meet them when I get back. Can you have those trucks ready tonight?” Gene asked.
“How many?” Bruce asked.
“About three hundred.”
“Yeah, around midnight.”
“See ya soon, brother, and I’m sorry; I should’ve listened to ya,” Gene said.
“No, I had a very wise woman tell me you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink. I just thought she was calling me a stupid horse,” Bruce said.
“Debbie would never call you stupid unless you really pissed her off,” Gene said.
“Hoorah,” Bruce said.
“Hoorah,” Gene replied.
Grabbing another headset, Bruce called Willie and told him to lead the troops in. Throwing the headsets down, Bruce walked outside to his truck. Climbing in, he headed toward the hospital. When he reached it, he never remembered driving over as he climbed out and headed inside. A guard saw him and stepped up to stop him. Then, he noticed who it was and wisely let him pass. Bruce saw the family gathered around several beds and headed toward them.
Stephanie and Angela saw him and ran over to him then wrapped their arms around him. “They’re going to be okay, Bruce,” Angela said.
“So they will all be fully functional?” he asked.
“Oh yeah, Bruce. Danny and Buffy will be on light duty for a while and have some scars, but other than that, they’ll be fine,” Stephanie told him.
Letting out a huge sigh, Bruce walked over to the others and saw Jake, Matt, and Mary in beds side by side. Mike was arguing with Matt to stay in bed as he walked over. Feeling someone beside him, Mike looked over and saw Bruce. Wrapping his arms around him, Mike said, “Brother, I have never been so scared in all my life.”
“I know, brother. I’m glad they are all okay. What’s the story on the other two?” Bruce asked.
“Danny’s bicep was pretty bad, but they did a good job on cleaning it out and saving it. Except for a lot of scars, she’ll be fine. Buffy had shrapnel all in her right thigh and a large piece imbedded in her iliac crest. They were able to remove it, and like Danny, she’ll have scars but should be fine. They are out of surgery and should be out here soon.”
“The rest of the wounded?” Bruce asked.
Pulling Bruce tight, Mike closed his eyes. “They’re working on them now. The medics and docs that surrendered with the military are in here helping. I’m fixing to suit up and lend a hand with Angela and Stephanie. Nancy’s already back there. We have four operating rooms running, and it looks like they will be running for some time,” Mike said as he let Bruce go.
“Gene is on the way in; I will have the rest of his medical staff over here and get set up,” Bruce said.
Feeling bad, Mike looked down at his boots. “Bruce, I shouldn’t have yelled at him like that.”
Bruce scoffed. “Mike, if Gene would’ve been here, I would’ve capped his ass. I know we play with death every time we go out, but we were trying to help them, and it bit us in the ass. I’m sorry I can’t see our kids as just regular troops. I would make them stay here, but they have a right to fight like we do.”
“I know, Bruce, but I still owe Gene an apology,” Mike replied.
“That’s up to you. I don’t. He’ll be lucky if I only punch him in the face,” Bruce said, looking up as the doors at the end of the room opened, and two stretchers rolled in. Bruce smiled upon seeing the two girls awake but with stoned looks on their faces. Swallowing hard, Bruce hugged all the kids and went outside to the morgue. Walking in, he saw the rows of bodies and groups of people weeping around some and others cleaning the bodies.
Walking around the room, Bruce stopped at each body and talked to the ones left behind. He was shocked at the sight of so many young men and women who had paid in blood trying to save some of mankind. At each body, Bruce would lay a hand on the forehead and say a prayer, giving thanks to them and their families. Father Thomas walked in, saw Bruce, and joined him. When Bruce left the last table, he knelt on the floor and said a last prayer.
When he finished, he stood and noticed Father Thomas standing up with him. Father Thomas looked at him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Go lead us. I will help those here.”
“Thank you, Father,” Bruce said, wiping tears off his face and turned around to see Ted and Carl. “What are you two doing here?” Bruce asked.
“Our platoons are in garrison, so we’re just following you,” Carl said.
“Guys, I’m sure you can be more useful somewhere else. I don’t need bodyguards.”
“If you want, we can call Angela and Stephanie,” Ted offered.
Letting out a moan, Bruce slumped his shoulders. “Fine, what’s going on now?” Bruce asked.
“We put the military in the area set up for
them. Gene has all his medical staff working with ours. All the military wounded have been put in with ours. They are setting up the mobile hospitals now. Gene is gathering up his troops to head out tonight to get the refugees. Boss, we went over there to lead them in, and our artillery did a number on them,” Carl said.
Shrugging, Bruce said, “I really don’t care.”
“Boss, what Carl is saying is most of their wounded are really messed up. Remember, boss, you told us we needed them for this war coming, so don’t hold any grudges. The troops coming in don’t. Gene announced to all of them what his plan was and how the general and his staff fucked it up. We had to take over guarding the general and his staff. Gene didn’t trust his troops to do it when they found out. They want to join us, boss, and feel bad about the fight after Gene filled them in. By the way, he’s outside,” Ted said.
“Why didn’t he come in?” Bruce asked, still not feeling bad.
“He did, and you were busy talking to a family. He’s outside in his command Stryker, directing his troops till you come out,” Carl said.
Cracking his knuckles, Bruce said, “Let’s go see him.” He walked past them, heading outside. When he was outside, he saw a Stryker in the middle of the parking lot, so he headed over. When he got close, he saw a platoon of troops snap to attention and a sergeant salute him. “At ease, gentlemen,” Bruce said, walking up and looking at the man’s name tag. “Martin, the offer still stands for you and your boys,” Bruce said, holding out his hand.
Shock spread across Martin’s face as he shook Bruce’s hand. “Sir, the colonel really tried to keep the general under control, but like most desk jockeys, he fucked it up big time, sir. Don’t hold it against us, sir,” Martin said.
“I know, Martin, but I’m not apologizing about hitting your elements. Your troops are lucky the air wing got called back,” Bruce said as Gene walked out of the track.
“Sir, if that would’ve been my kids, I would’ve wiped us off the Earth,” Martin replied.
“The thought crossed my mind, but it would have served no purpose. The troops were just doing what they were told,” Bruce said as Gene walked up. Bruce looked at Gene, and a smile spread across his face. All the years and hardships they suffered together flashed through his mind. Walking toward Gene, Bruce wrapped his arms around him. “My brother,” Bruce said, hugging Gene, and the desire to punch Gene in the face slowly faded away.
Blue Plague: War (Blue Plague Book 6) Page 20