Desert Heat
Page 4
I know they shot back but I never heard a round come close, the girls were slowly taking apart anybody that moved.
I looked for the man who was on the radio being yelled at and finally spotted him under the HV hiding between the front tires. Him I wanted alive, I didn’t have the shot but asked if anybody could see him and got a few yeses. I asked who could shoot him in the foot and Beth’s rifle cracked and he like to have killed himself by ramming his head into the under carriage. I looked at her and saw her smile then look at me and wink, damn! I’m glad they like me! (You should be!!Laughter).
I had given the order that we were not taking prisoners and once again being back away from them made it easier to drop them. Part of me felt bad but what was better? A bullet or waiting for space on the gallows? Nobody running with this pack could claim he was a soldier doing his duty; all were murders and rapist to mention only two of their crimes. No it was best to just put them down like the rabid animals they acted like. And we did.
As with the Canyon the team with the 22 rifles went to work. Covering each other they worked their way thru the mess making sure all were dead. It was a nasty job but several of the people who had been held by the slavers were happy to do it. Their motto was “Never Again.” They meant never again would these bastards rape and murder.
The good news was that this time we had nobody hurt, not even a scratch, there were a few burns from grabbing hot gun barrels which got them laughed at. I was so relieved; I had been so worried about losing somebody.
I looked at the girls just as Sandy yelled
“SHIT!!” I jumped up but found her sucking on a broken nail for god’s sake. I just shook my head while May and Beth made a fuss over her, if Walker had been here he would have snarled at me for my lack of compassion.
He was at the canyon, pissed off no doubt and blaming me. I smile! (John…don’t be petty…) shit (Don’t cuss).
It was time to go see just what I had caused, one should never shirk at looking at the bad things one causes, so I did. It’s never pretty but to take the edge off was a few trucks with captives in them, people ripped from their lives by these bastards. No mercy, No pity.
I went to look at the LAV’s !! Awesome! Only some paint knocked off by bullets and nobody had made it back into them, clean and still smelled new, the Mechanic Team was drooling over them. Hell they still had training manuals in them and there were eight of them! What a haul!
I heard the sounds of big trucks rolling in from where I was supposed to be and when they arrived two of the low boys had bulldozers on them which were unloaded and went right to digging a huge pit off the road.
When it was big enough we started hauling bodies to it and after they were searched for anything useable they were tossed in, nasty but necessary. I was waiting for somebody to bring some shiny toy for the girls for their new vault but nothing was found of interest.
The Commo team said there had been calls from that same person on the radio but shortly they stopped and they never heard anything again.
I figured the big dog had escaped …again; I was getting really tired of this shit. He had to be stopped “dead” and I meant to get it done somehow.
Another thing that bothered me was where was he getting all these shooters? And I had a brain flash! I told the commo man to tell the dozers to stop filling the mass grave
I headed that way trailed by my brides, that made me chuckle. And I heard from behind me “we are funny?” I stopped and turned around and said, “Oh hell yes yawls funny!!” They stared for a minute and finally Beth said, “Well yeah, that’s true, yawls funny!” They tried glaring at her but it didn’t work. May said, “Oh, and you’re not funny?” Beth said, “Well yeah, but not on your level, I’m new here.” That got them to laughing so I took off.
At the hole I slid down inside it and started ripping shirts off and found what I thought, every jail house tattoo ever seen was there, some had full sleeves some just different gang tats.
The bastard was recruiting from the inner cities!! No wonder the bastards were so bad, they had not a thread of humanity in them. Now we knew about the cities, but what were we gonna do about them, and this asshole?
I needed some quiet time to think. We had just won a major battle but it was so one sided it felt like an execution, which is what winning is when you plan the fight and rule the field. Winning beats losing. But how many times can we get away with it?
It was time to head right for him and end it once and for all. Only we have no idea who he is or even where he is really, hell the place in Barstow could be just a cover.
I still can’t believe this mess turned out like it did, but the military had long ago left skilled marksmanship behind for massive fire power.
We just took out at least two times our numbers with long range sniping. No bloody charges, no bayonets in the sun, nope, just simply a mass ambush with no mercy. General Pickett could have learned something today.
By days end the grave was packed down and big rocks pushed over it and no marker to show where they died. We settled in at our fighting holes and spent a restless night.
But morning comes as they say and we started getting ready to roll, the LAV’s could be driven and our tracks were on lowboys.
The prisoners were offered rides back to their former homes but most said they were the only survivors and chose to come with us.
I took the girls to one side and said, “No more wives! No more adopting another lonely woman, ok?” May said, “Well can we adopt some lonely men?” That shut me up, I sighed and walked away listening to them high fiving, I hate them (no you don’t!…) Was there three voices there? Naaa couldn’t be. Could it? (Laughter).
Beth came to me and said, “John, if you want I can move on, I think they should have talked to you before dumping me on you but I was weak and lonely and I love the two silly girls. They are so full of spirit they pulled me out of the dark place I was in, but I’m much better now, so?” I looked at her and finally said, “Beth if you leave it will be because you wish to, I don’t want you to go, I think you have filled a vacancy in our family and I welcome you with open arms.” That got me a wonderful hug and some tears, Beth in her own way was more mature then the other two, close to the same age, maybe, but more quiet, serious and I think she will have a good influence on the girls, I know I found her calming presence to be good for me.
I hugged her back and pattered her on the butt and said, “Damn nice shot on that dick heads foot!” She started laughing and then we both remembered him!
Shit I had him saved to get information out of and forgot him and hoped nobody had just shot him.
I kissed Beth and headed for the medics. I found him in the medic van, in pain and pissed and scared as well he should be. Somebody remembered me saying I wanted him alive and made sure he stayed that way…for now.
I stood looking down at him saying nothing and finally he just shrugged and said, “What do you want to know?” I waited a long moment and then said “Why do you think I want to know anything?” He laughed a real laugh and said, “Well that was one hell of a shot to pin me under that HV!”
I had to smile at that and said, “Maybe I’ll introduce you to the shooter, she’s quite beautiful but really hates slavers.” At that he got pissed and said “I’m no slaver!”
I asked about the people his troops had collected and he replied they weren’t his troops, he had little authority in the pecking order. I was getting some vibes off this man and decided real fast I was going to let Charles’s Mother visit him, I had a feeling she would get the truth out of him.
I had the commo man call Charley and
“she “relayed my request to have him meet me on the road near the LAV’s because I was gonna really look them over since I never seen one before.
When I was in the Corps we had row boats and muzzle loaders (Laughter in my ears). “Stop it,” I said! The medics and the prisoner looked at me like I was crazy.
I just walked away while the c
ommo man laughed her ass off.
LAV’s are really cool things! Bad assed and can have full eight wheel drive to get thru shit, plus a propeller to drive thru water. I wanted to ride in one, hell I wanted to drive one.
Charley found me drooling over them and smiled at me. I told him my plan to have Old Woman check out this dude, he said all we could do was ask, she would or would not. I got that, I think. Charley had two of his lads head for the medic van and off they went after he told them what to tell the Old Woman. They got a funny look on their faces but nodded.
I asked him if he wanted to ride in a LAV with me, he asked who was driving? I said “Me of course, why?” He nodded over my shoulder and there “they” were crawling all over one with Beth standing there smiling like a proud mom watching her cubs playing.
Beth turned and smiled at me while the girls both flipped me off while laughing, then both disappeared inside the vehicle and before I could say a word the motor fired up and the hatches closed and with some jerking (and I swear I heard gears grinding) it rolled forward, all I could do was watch one of my new treasures rolling away and then the main gun opened up on some big boulders up on the high ground where we had no people. Watching the boulders reduced to gravel was interesting for sure but I was kind of pissed off then I heard Charley chuckling and felt Beth’s arm around my waist and I started laughing.
I heard others and turned to see the whole unit watching them. Now they were racing across the rough ground with the machine guns roaring.
They really are like bear cubs, into everything and yet like kittens, full of fire and off to something new every other second ….and, like rattle snakes, very deadly. God I love them! Beth hugged me closer and said, “They are fun huh?” “Yeah,” I said, “they are!”
When they brought the LAV back and popped out the hatches like two gophers the entire troop gave them a loud round of yells and fist pumping which got the usual bows they were known for, they bounded off the big machine like cats and trotted over to me both breathing hard and trying to talk. When they could they said “We want it! It’s gonna be in our collection!” I was expecting most anything but that.
All I could do was just shake my head and laugh, they are something else. And WTF we needed to park the damn things someplace so I guess having one for a planter or something would work, I could see it all covered with wild flowers.
And they were gone, off to see what other treasures we had gathered up. Charley said, “I don’t know if you are showing wisdom or are simply whipped.” I wondered about that myself.
But in a way it would be a really cool conversation piece sitting in front of the ridge house. Beth laughed out loud and said, “Come on we can’t let them run loose unsupervised.” It took almost thirty minutes to find them, they were sitting under a six-by with a couple of our troops, it was easy to see they were in a barter session, when we got there they both came out from under the truck and showed us their new sparkles. Seems the bad guys had raided some place and found a matched pair of 357 magnum Smith and Wesson model 19 revolvers, the old models, both were well used but in great shape and had consecutive serial numbers, With real old yellow ivory grips, they got the guns and the leather that came with them for who knows what.
They each now had one and were off to try them out. Soon we heard the sharp loud crack of the 357’s, I could only hope they had their ear plugs in, more hearing was lost to that cartridge IMHO then most any other.
Soon they were back and pissed because they were out of ammo and pissed that some asshole would go into a fight with only 12 rounds.
I reminded them we had people who could load all they wanted, they were smiling again.
To slow them down I said I was hungry and that worked, eating was one thing that would win them over shooting at least for a short time.
While we ate I took a look at the guns. They were engraved with the legend “Col. Barry Sweet, USMC. from the troops.” Shit!! I knew him! He was a First LT. when I met him in a place one wants to forget.
He was a good man who took care of his people and that was the best praise any Marine Officer would every want. I guess if these assholes had the guns then Sweet must be dead.
I told the girls what I knew and it made them happy that they now had the guns instead of a murdering piece of garbage.
They decided they would get the wood workers in the canyon to make a fitting shadow box case to display them in our home. I could see it now, every inch of the walls covered with guns. May smiled and said, “Is that a bad thing?” “What? I didn’t say anything.” She and Sandy laughed and scooted over for a group hug. Four is a good hugging number! Especially if you are the only guy in it! (Giggles).
We took time to clean up the area before we left even the empty brass was salvaged. I had no idea how much in the way of supplies we had scored but it was a lot and we needed it, especially the 25 mm stuff, of course the girls had wasted a bunch but I have trouble getting on them, they work hard, play hard and fight hard, so if they wanna run thru a few rounds of ammo I don’t worry about it.
I spent about an hour driving a LAV before I decided I might leave it to the kids who had younger butts and spines. Plus I wasn’t much into sitting in a steel box and not being able to see all around me.
So I joined the girls in our HV with Beth driving and slept, which I’m able to do with her driving, the other two? Not so.
We made it back to Shiprock in pretty good order and stayed the night. I wanted to know what was happening with the prisoner. Charley had arrived before us and met us in the front parking area. He took me aside while the girls made a bee line for Old Woman.
Charley took his time with it and finally said that what he understood from Old Woman was that the man has a good spirit and is a good man.
Charley shrugged and said “But she says the same about you so take it from that.” (HA ha ha..he’s so funny). I said, “Well I guess we best have a talk with him,” he agreed so we headed to the room he was locked up in with guards on the door and window.
We entered and found him sitting up with his foot elevated but otherwise seemed at ease.
Charley and I pulled over a couple of chairs and took a seat, I just looked at him for a while, waiting for him to blink, he didn’t.
Interesting to say the least. I wondered if I were in his place if I could be so relaxed. Since somebody had to open the ball game I asked his name, he said “Harold Harvey but we could call him Harry but please not “Paul.” I had to laugh a bit at that and said, “I bet he caught a lot of shit over that.” He said not as a kid because the place he was raised nobody knew who Paul Harvey was, but in the Corps, it was a different story.
I asked him what his rank was when he got out, he smiled and said, “I’m not out.” I told him I understood the old ‘Once a Marine’ stuff but he said. “No, I’m still on active duty.” Well that was a conversation stopper, so I made the come on motion and he told his story.
He was Captain Harold Harvey, United States Marine Corps. His present duty station was Marine Corps Supply Center, Barstow California.
His story was pretty simple, when the lights went out the Supply center went on total lock down, gates locked, guns up, nobody in or out. Now this didn’t set well with the troops because most had some family outside the base so the General allowed a convoy under heavy guard to go out and gather all they could find. Which while being a lot wasn’t all. The public also wanted inside the base but they were under orders that nobody was allowed in,
The General had violated his orders by allowing the dependents aboard the base and it got nasty for a while, but the General decided that his job was to take care of the people not guard the stuff they needed to live, so he set up the area as a shelter for any and all who could make it there.
With big diesel generators to run things like hospitals and food centers, meaning the big grocery stores, they took over the entire infrastructure of the area. They couldn’t get power to the homes but they could pump water and th
at was a biggie in the desert!
His troops were patrolling the entire area for miles around which stopped almost all raiding.
They got people making gardens and over time things settled out pretty good. People had health care to a point and food and shelter, so things were better then most places. Even though more and more people were coming into the area things were ok.
The desert only needs water to grow anything and the season is long compared to many places.
So people were working together and while it wasn’t an easy life it was better then the alternative. And so it was, right up until about six months ago when the General had a stroke and the Executive Officer took over. He was different story.
He wanted to be King. And things started changing for the worse. Some of the troops liked his new conditions for receiving support from the base, at first it was paying a percentage of their crops to the new King, then it got worse, he started demanding women in trade for fuel and other things the people had gotten used to. When they asked where they were supposed to find women because they sure weren’t sending theirs in there he said, “So look around, use your heads.”
So the raiding started, good people can be turned bad for sure but it wasn’t happening on the scale he wanted