Occupied Seattle (Occupied Seattle Book 2)

by Christopher Kennedy

  “DUDE!” said the one that had been driving. “How do you like our ride? So, we were like walking along coming back here, and this thing was like, sitting there all by itself. So we said, dude, let’s like, try to hotwire it.”

  The other twin chimed in, “But when we jumped into it, the keys were like, right there in the ignition.”

  The driver finished, “And since, like, Macho was all shot up and shit, we thought we’d just, like, drive him back in style.” He looked at Macho. “Dude, you were style’n, weren’t ya?”

  Calvin looked at Top and Ryan. “First an LCAC, now a missile transporter. Do you guys always steal your friends’ toys when you’re done playing with them?”

  White House Situation Room, Washington, D.C., 0600 EDT (0300 PDT)

  “So, as you can see, sir, we’ve made some gains in the area, especially now that the Japanese and Koreans are engaged, and we are going to take advantage of the cover of darkness tonight to drop in reinforcements to Taiwan.” It had taken some time to get things moving, but the United States finally had forces shifting all over the globe. Soldiers were loading onto a variety of troop transports for movement to the Pacific and the northwest United States. When darkness fell on Taiwan tonight, the United States was going to try the largest combat parachute drop made since World War II, in order to reinforce the Taiwanese position in the north of the island. In addition to the aircraft headed that way, a massive air strike was being put together at Okinawa. The United States was coming, and there were a lot of pissed off soldiers, sailors and airmen that were ready to give the Chinese some payback.

  Just like the animosity toward Japan after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, the president appreciated the determination the American people were showing that this attack neither go unpunished nor be allowed to succeed. The media was filled with interviews of common people on the streets of America, who were ready to ‘nuke them back to the Stone Age’ or just ‘kill those commie bastards.’

  The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs continued his brief. “With regard to the Seattle Theater of Operations, we have also begun to get forces into place for opening up the region to attack. We believe that the Chinese position in the area is somewhat like an egg. If we can just crack the hard outer shell, we should be able to roll up their forces in fairly short order. In fact, we just got word that the Joint Special Operations Platoon was successful in taking down the HQ-19 missile system in the eastern portion of the area of operations. We’re not sure what they did, but there was an explosion that was visible from space. They are completing a locally-derived mission and then will be working on another mission for us, which will open up a route into the city along I-90.

  TCA Truck Stop, North Bend, WA, 0315 PDT

  Ryan and Calvin looked out from the cover of the forest behind the Edgewick Inn, listening to the sounds of guns firing in the distance. There wasn’t a lot of firing, but it sounded like the Army was starting to probe the Chinese positions east of town. Good, Ryan thought. It was about time for them to get into the game. Every once in a while they heard a louder ‘boom’ as a bigger gun, probably a tank, fired.

  Ryan saw that the situation at the truck stop was worse than he remembered. Now, instead of two PGZ-95 self-propelled anti-aircraft systems, there were five located across the narrow valley. Having gone by Twin Falls Middle School three blocks to the north, he knew there was one located on the baseball field there, to go with the two vehicles across the street at the truck stop and the one at the Genie Lift factory a block north of him. Sara had also told them earlier about a fifth one located to the south, on the other side of I-90, that she had seen the day prior. He expected that it was still there, as well.

  It didn’t appear that much was going on at the truck stop itself; most of the activity was at the Edgewick Inn across the street. It made sense for the headquarters to be in the hotel, as that would give the Chinese access to conference rooms, dining facilities and nice soft beds to sleep in. The hotel was closer to the woods, which would be helpful to the platoon because it would allow them to approach it unseen. This was a lot better than having to get into the truck stop; its approaches were nearly devoid of cover.

  Hmmm…nearly devoid of cover was not the same as completely devoid of cover, Ryan thought as he looked again. Yes, it might just be possible to do this. It would really, really suck if something went wrong, but just maybe…

  “We might be able to do something about the anti-aircraft guns,” whispered Ryan.

  “We should, now that we’re here,” replied Calvin. “The Chief of Naval Operations told me that the guns were our next target when I spoke to him on the way here. They want to get a group in here by air, and those things need to go. If we can kill two birds with one stone and blow them up while rescuing the Sommers, we would considerably simplify our morning. Maybe we could even get some sleep.”

  Without warning, Calvin pulled Ryan back into the concealment of the trees, as a Chinese soldier came around the corner of the hotel. Apparently, he couldn’t be bothered to go inside; he relieved himself behind the hotel and then went back around to the front.

  “How did you know he was coming?” asked Ryan.

  “I saw him,” replied Calvin. Ryan didn’t see how that could be, but didn’t have any proof, so he let it go. He must be more tired than he thought if an aviator had better senses and reactions than he did.

  They crawled back into the woods and went several hundred yards deeper to where the rest of the platoon was waiting. Clearing off a small area of the ground to use as a map, Ryan drew the platoon a picture of the area.

  “OK, there are two of those anti-aircraft guns sitting at the truck stop. Deadeye, do you remember anything about them?” Ryan asked.

  Corporal Taylor thought for a couple of seconds and then answered, “Yeah, the PGZ-95 is a tracked anti-aircraft gun that has four 25mm cannons and four infrared homing missiles on it. The guns are lethal against both aircraft and surface targets as they can fire up to 800 rounds a minute and can be brought to bear on ground targets. The system can chew up any light armored fighting vehicle short of a tank.” Somehow, her voice sounded even higher than normal at 0315 in the morning, if that was possible.

  Ryan nodded his head. “As the lieutenant can tell you, they are also extremely tough on aircraft, and we need to get rid of the ones that are sitting out there, so the aviation units can get in here.” He pointed to parts of the map he had drawn. “In addition to the two vehicles at the truck stop, there is one up here to the north at a school, another one a block to the north at this factory, and a fifth one down to the south on the other side of I-90. There is also the hulk of another one in the truck stop that burned up yesterday. Don’t get confused by it in the dark.”

  Ryan paused to ensure he had their attention and then continued, “Our high value targets are the Sommers family, who are probably being held in the hotel located here along the tree line. Just like the attack on the missile system we just completed, we are going to have to go with a diversion to lead the troops away, while the main group goes into the hotel to retrieve the family. We believe that all three are in the hotel, but we don’t know where or if they’re going to be together. The odds are that they will all be together, or close by each other, and will probably be in or around the common areas in the first floor. They probably will not be up in a hotel room, but if you see soldiers guarding a room upstairs, that is a possibility.”

  “The problem is going to be in the targeting,” Ryan told them. “The PGZ-95s are in four different places, and we only have three RPG launchers to shoot them with. We’re also running low on ammunition, as we only have nine anti-tank rounds and four anti-personnel rounds left. The problem is that one of the anti-aircraft guns will probably get manned up and operational before we can put a rocket into it. If so, everyone will have to be very careful.”

  One of the twins put a hand up. Ryan acknowledged him.

  “OK, so, like, why not take one over and, like, use it agains
t them?” asked the twin.

  “That’d be wonderful,” said Ryan sarcastically, “I suppose you’re going to drive it?”

  “Oh, no,” said the same twin, “that’s, like, his job, man, he’s the designated driver,” he said, pointing at his twin. “Like, it’s his turn. I get to be the shooter, dude, ‘cause like, he got to fire most of the rockets earlier and, like, it wouldn’t be fair, otherwise.”

  “And he would soooo tell mom, too, if I didn’t share, the little tattle tale.”

  “Dude, that’s harsh, ‘cause like, you’re the biggest squealer I know. You always run to mom.”

  “Stop!” Top commanded in a harsh whisper to cut them off. He had seen this act before and knew they could go on hours if you let them. Besides, he thought, they were so alike that if one was a tattle tale, the other one probably was, too.

  Ryan just looked annoyed. “But you think you can drive it?”

  The twin indicated to be the driver shrugged. “Dude, we were like, ‘in’ tanks before we became Rangers. Both of us could, like, drive them if we needed to. Just because it’s, like, Chinese, doesn’t matter. They probably stole the technology from us, dude, and it’ll look a lot like ours, anyway.” He paused and looked at his brother, who nodded his agreement to the unspoken question. “We can totally drive it,” he concluded.

  “Firing its weapons might be harder,” Ryan cautioned.

  “Prob’bly so,” said the twin whose turn it was to be the gunner, “but, dude, what a rush if I can figure it out!”

  Ryan decided to just accept it and move on. “OK, the twins are going to capture the one to the north, then roll the gun down to the hotel. If for some reason one of the other guns doesn’t get hit, the twins will engage the gun and destroy it. Jet and Dreamer will go with the twins to provide support. Jet can maybe even get close enough to use a suppressed pistol on whatever guards are protecting it.”

  “The Wall and Reggie will take one of the RPGs and take out the vehicle at the Genie Lift factory. They will have two high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds, as well as one of the airburst anti-personnel rounds.”

  “PFC Woodard and PFC Hall will take the second RPG launcher, four of the HEAT rounds, the last thermobaric round and the other airburst round. They will go around to the other side of the truck stop and will approach using this finger of trees that runs down this small creek. If you go slowly, you ought to be able to get within about 150 yards to take your shot. You have to be fast, because you have to take out two of the vehicles. Sergeant Morales will lead this group and Corporal Ferguson will be the machine gunner that will keep the Chinese at bay while the RPG guys do their job.”

  “Corporal Sanders and PFC Severn will take the last RPG, the last three HEAT rounds and the last HE/HEAT round and will take out the vehicle to the south. No heroics, no trying to kill lots of Chinese. Just destroy the vehicle and boogie back to the rendezvous. If we’re not back, we’re probably in trouble; meet us at the tree line behind the hotel and provide whatever support you can without compromising your position.”

  “That leaves Top, Shuteye, Paris, Deadeye and Becks to accompany the lieutenant and me. It’s a smash and grab operation. Get the Sommers and exit as quickly as we can. If we’re there more than 5 minutes, we’re probably dead. The sniper team will be on the roof of the convenience store to the north of the hotel. From there, it ought to be able to support the team at the truck stop and maybe help us out, too.” He looked around at the serious, concentrating men. “Any questions?” There were none; the men were professionals and knew their jobs. “Stay sharp, stay focused, and we’ll get through this just fine. OK, here’s how we’re going to time it…”

  TCA Truck Stop, North Bend, WA, 0415 PDT

  It had taken almost an hour for everyone to get into position. The timing worked out well, though, because they were attacking at the time of the morning where biorhythms were at their lowest. It would be difficult for the defenders to respond to an attack.

  The twins’ group would be leading the attack again. The PGZ-95 that they were attacking was sitting at second base of the Twin Falls Middle School’s baseball field. In addition to the vehicle’s crew of three, there were three other soldiers standing nearby, talking to the crew. The driver was inside the vehicle; the rest were outside. They didn’t look particularly alert or ‘on guard,’ as they had their rifles slung on their backs. Good Twin had spent the last five minutes working his way closer and closer to the anti-aircraft gun; he was now hiding behind the visitor’s dugout on the third base line. Suddenly, with a crashing and moaning, Jet came stumbling out of the woods. Mumbling words in Chinese, he limped toward the soldiers before dropping to one knee, and then finally falling to the ground on his stomach. Weakly, he lifted his head up to look imploringly at the soldiers, holding out one hand toward them, before falling again to the grass of center field.

  The soldiers, who had started to draw their rifles, re-slung them over their shoulders and jogged over with the two crewmen to where Jet lay. One of them knelt down and rolled Jet over, only to have a silenced pistol whip up to his temple. “Don’t move!” commanded Bad Twin as he and Dreamer stepped out of the woods with leveled rifles. Bad Twin could see the soldiers calculating their chances. There were more of them, but their rifles were slung. The soldiers all came to the same conclusion and surrendered. The driver, though, tried to get away, and he was in the act of shutting his hatch when Good Twin grabbed it. Good Twin stuck the muzzle of his pistol in the driver’s face, and the driver also raised his hands and surrendered.

  The Americans used zip-ties to bind the hands and feet of the Chinese soldiers and left them tied up at home plate. Bad Twin arranged the gun commander so that it looked like he had just slid into home. “Dude, look, he’s saaaaaafe!” he said to his brother.

  “Good one, dude!” said Good Twin, appreciating the joke.

  The twins and Dreamer got into the vehicle. Bad Twin sat in the driver’s seat, Dreamer in the commander’s chair and Good Twin in the gunner’s position. Jet walked along outside it, wearing a Chinese uniform.

  While Bad Twin started the vehicle and worked out how to steer it, Good Twin began turning on the gun’s weapon systems, trying to figure out how to use them. The vehicle had an electro-optic director in the front of the turret, which fed data to the onboard fire-control computer. This information was used to determine how much the gun needed to lead the target when the gunner opened fire, based on how fast the target was moving. While this would have been helpful to use, Good Twin couldn’t figure it out. The gunner also had a joystick for manually aiming and firing the guns, which Good Twin was able decipher and looked forward to using. He had fired one round to make sure he knew how to use the firing system. He couldn’t wait to go full ‘rock and roll’ with the guns.

  As expected, the vehicle’s controls were not terribly different from any of the other armored vehicles the twins had ever driven, and Bad Twin was soon steering it toward the south. They crossed the road and entered the parking lot of the Genie Lift Corporation. On the west end of the complex was a large parking lot that normally held the flatbed trailers for transporting the equipment that the company made. In the middle of that parking lot was the second PGZ-95. As Bad Twin drove their captured vehicle toward the enemy gun, a blast of flame came from the forest to the south and an anti-tank rocket leaped out, crossed the distance to the Chinese gun and detonated inside it, turning it into a raging inferno.

  Although surprised, several of the guards pulled their rifles off their shoulders and started shooting into the woods. If they expected the anti-aircraft gun that had just turned into the parking lot to help them, they were mistaken. Instead, the vehicle continued toward them, and the guns traversed down, flames spitting from its barrels as the 25mm cannons began firing at the soldiers at their highest rate of fire. The powerful guns fired for five seconds, sending 66 shells toward the troops that were firing at their friends. When Good Twin ceased firing, there wasn’t much left of
the Chinese soldiers; even their rifles were splintered and unusable. “Aw, dude, that’s just sick,” he said to his brother, looking at the mess he had made. “I think I’m gonna spew.”

  The team at the truck stop fired their first rocket when they heard the explosion of the Genie Lift anti-aircraft gun. PFC ‘Woody’ Woodard had been ready for several minutes, and the rocket quickly reached out to the closer of the two PGZ-95s and wrapped the anti-aircraft gun in a fiery embrace. The soldiers in the parking lot had been looking toward the Genie Lift parking lot, but their attention quickly refocused when the gun blew up next to them, killing and wounding several in a spray of hot metal. As the RPG team hurried to reload, they started taking rifle fire, which was returned by Sergeant ‘Boom Boom’ Morales with his rifle and Corporal ‘Fergie’ Ferguson with one of the captured Chinese automatic weapons. Fergie’s weapon chattered in full automatic mode as he swept it back and forth across the parking lot and the Chinese soldiers dove for cover. PFC Trevor ‘Mad Dog’ Hall finally got Woody reloaded with the next HEAT round and slapped him on the back to tell him it was ready. As Mad Dog stepped to the side, there was a meaty smack as a 5.56mm round caught him in the chest. He fell backward without a sound, shot through the heart, dead.

  PFC Woodard heard the round hit his loader as he fired, and it caused him to jerk to the right. Instead of hitting the second anti-aircraft gun, the rocket flew past it, exploding in the middle of the grassy field to the north of the parking lot. “Help!” Woody yelled, and Boom Boom dove over to take up the loader’s duties.

  Corporal Ferguson’s rifle went dry, and there was a break in the outgoing firing as he changed clips. He had just pulled the charging lever to put the first round into the barrel when another smacking noise was heard. “Aw, fuck!” Fergie moaned as he fell backward. “I’m hit.” Boom Boom looked up to see Fergie’s body shiver once and then go still. A little trickle of blood ran down from the corner of his mouth. Boom Boom could tell he was dead, too.