"Let's hear it," I said, reaching for the coffee pot on the desk.
While I poured a cup of the dark liquid, Winston walked over to the big map and waited for me to turn. I sipped the hot coffee as I turned, allowing myself a small moment to savor it. I had to put Chuck out of my mind, for the moment. I had things that had to be done. I could mourn later.
Winston had an extended pointer in his hand and tapped the area on the map that indicated our camp. I could see small "X" marks on the map, indicating places they had already searched and ruled out. There were quite a few of them. The certainly had been busy while I had been gone.
"We know they won't come out in the sunlight," he began. "Bearing that in mind, we started hitting places that could conceal a large number of them during the day. We cleared numerous buildings and sealed off several caves. From what we can tell, it hasn't slowed them down in the slightest. That leaves only one place they could be going."
"The water," I said, finishing for him. "They're hiding in the river."
"That's what we thought, initially," he said. "We even tossed a few grenades into the deep sections to see if we could blast a few to the surface. Other than a few fish and an old canoe, we didn't find anything."
"Then what's going on?" I asked.
"I'm getting to that," he replied. "We think they ride the current down river when the sky starts getting light. Then, when it gets dark, they come back."
"How far down do you think they're going?" I asked, frowning.
"That's the thing," he said. "With all the damned rain we've had lately, the rivers are way up above their normal flow. I think that they're using that to get this far. If the rivers weren't up so high, I think they'd have to stay closer to deep water."
"You mean the lake," I replied.
"Exactly," he said. "Once the rivers go back down, they won't leave the lake area for fear of being exposed when the sun comes up."
"Makes sense to me," I replied. "With the rain still coming, the rivers won't be going down any time soon."
"Well, there is a way we can do something about that," said Winston.
"I'm listening," I answered, refilling my coffee cup.
"I've been talking to Mike and Heather," he said, "the two engineers you rescued. They think that if you take the spillways out completely, then the resulting flow will lower the lake level enough that the rivers will go down."
"Sounds good," I said. "What do we need to do?"
"We need to send a team back to the lake to plant charges on the spillway," he explained. "Blow those flood gates, the water will go down substantially in just a couple of days. That should reduce or eliminate our Stalker problem."
"Alright," I said, setting down my coffee cup. "I'll start planning a run. It looks like we'll have to put off our send off for Chuck until we return."
"Let's hope he's the only one we have to send off," replied Winston.
"I'll drink to that," I said, tossing back the remainder of my rapidly cooling coffee.
I started running through the list of people I would need, to pull this off. It wasn't going to be a small run in a Humvee. We would be taking one of the pontoon boats back down the river to the lake. I'd need someone who knew more about explosives than I did, so that meant Ramirez. Southard would have been my first choice, but I'd have to make this run without him.
I would add Spec-4 to the list, partly because she wouldn't take no for an answer. Mainly, because she was damned good at this sort of thing. I'd take First Sergeant Gregory, Sergeant McDonald and Gunny, if they wanted to go. I was also considering Heather Monroe. She was an engineer and would know the best places on that dam to do the maximum damage. Sanders would be our heavy weapons man. The final member would be Snake. He wasn't the best shot we had, but he was one hell of a fighter. There were others that I would like to take, but nine was plenty for the run. I didn't want to make the group too large to be stealthy.
I would have to get everyone organized and choose our gear, carefully. We needed to be packed and ready to move at first light. If we were quick, we might reach the lake before sundown. If not, we needed to look for a place to hold up for the night, then hit the dam the next morning. I doubted that we would be able to use the river to return. That meant we had to plan our return, by land. That would make things far more interesting. One thing was for certain. It would not be an easy return trip. We would have to fight our way back.
Chapter Twenty-Two
One If By Land
"Remember upon the conduct of each, depends the fate of all."
- Alexander the Great
We all gathered early the next morning. Everyone was loaded and ready to go. Ramirez and I both carried explosive packs, enough to do the job. We didn't want to put all of our eggs in one basket, in case something were to happen to one of us. That way, if either of us didn't make it we would still be able to do the job. I didn't like the thought of losing another friend, but we had to think of the mission first. The fate of us all depended on stopping the Stalkers.
In addition to our packs, we filled four large duffle-bags with MREs and extra ammo. I snagged a suppressed M-4 for the trip, but took my Beowulf with me. If I needed it, I would have it close at hand. I noticed that everyone was loaded for bear, so to speak. McDonald was the designated marksman and he had his M-21 rifle ready. It was slung across his back and he carried an M-4, for close up work. His M-4 had a shotgun mounted under the barrel.
Gunny and First Sergeant Gregory were both loaded out like the old pro's that they were. They had camouflage face paint on and boonie hats. They were loaded out with M-4's, shotguns and pistols. Sanders had the M-249 SAW on a sling. He had the heavy frame to carry the massive weapon, plus additional ammo. He carried two pistols as back-up and one of the M-4's in his bag, just in case.
Heather was decked out with a pistol, an M-4 and a combat knife. She looked nervous, but determined. Ramirez carried an M-4 on his back and an M-32 grenade launcher in his hands, with two pistols as back-up. Spec-4 loaded out her M-4, two pistols and her MP-5. While I was checking my gear, she handed me my old Gladius sword.
"You take this," she said, smiling. "You're better with it than I am."
"Thanks," I said, accepting it. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," she replied. "I'll stick to things I know how to use."
"Alright," I said, buckling it onto my belt.
Snake was checking his own gear. He brought a shotgun, two pistols and an M-4. He was far more comfortable with melee weapons, but he was ready to fight. After a moment's consideration, I reached over and picked up Brjótanir.
"Why don't you take this," I said, holding it out for him.
"What?" he asked, surprised. "Seriously?"
"Call it a loan," I said. "I'm carrying enough weight on this trip. I'll get it back from you later."
Snake took the big hammer reverently, turning it over in his massive hands. Hefting the weight, he smiled broadly. I could tell he was pleased to have a weapon that he was truly comfortable with.
"Thanks, man," he said, still looking at the weapon. "I'll take good care of it."
"I have a feeling you'll get plenty of use out of it," I said, almost frowning. "We've got a long road ahead of us, before we're safely back inside these walls."
"Victory or Valhalla," he said softly, smiling at me.
We held up our forearms and bumped hands. Everyone else just adjusted their packs and nodded that they were ready. It was time to begin our journey. I felt like I needed to say something to this group before we headed out into the thick of things once more.
"Everyone," I said, holding up my hands. "I wanted to take a moment to say something to you all, before we begin."
There were a few murmurs, but all eyes were on me. I steadied my nerves and slowly began.
"Thank you all for agreeing to this," I began. "This isn't going to be easy. Getting there will be the easiest part of the journey. Once we blow the dam, getting back will have to be overland since the w
ater will be draining quickly. That part of the trip is going to be the hardest part. We'll have to scrounge transportation and anything else we might need after that. We'll need to put some distance between us and the water before it gets dark."
That brought out a few nods and grim looks. I couldn't blame them. We couldn't take anything down river that we could use to get us home. None of our vehicles were ready for that kind of trip, not even the Stryker. It would have been great if we had an amphibious vehicle, but we didn't. That meant we took the boat to the lake and figured it out from there. Improvising was the hallmark of our group. We'd find a way.
"This will get ugly before we return," I said, grimly. "I don't want to see any one of you hurt or killed, so keep your wits about you and stick together. We'll pull this off and be back before you know it. Until then, remember what Julius Caesar once said. Sink or swim, live or die. The die is cast. We have crossed the Rubicon."
I turned towards the main door to find Corporal Winston waiting for me. He was standing by to unlock the door and let us out.
"According to the cameras we put up, the sun is cresting the horizon," he said, nodding to us. "The last of the Stalkers have vanished into the trees. We're clear to go."
With a nod, Winston began unlocking the massive steel mechanisms on the door. We all readied our weapons, just in case, as the big door began to swing open. The stairwell beyond the door was well lit and empty. I knew that once we cleared the immediate area, work crews would return to working on the earth and wood walls that were being constructed around our camp. They were gaining ground and would soon have our small settlement secured.
Once the Stalkers were removed from the equation, we could consider moving out of the underground bunker and into the habitable buildings in the park. Mike Leary, the electrical engineer that we'd rescued at the lake, was busy working on a way to expand our limited solar cells to power the community. Right now, it only powered the underground. Once we had power, we could start rebuilding our lives.
I went up the stairs first, with the others scattered behind me. We cleared the building at the top in seconds, with such a large group. When we emerged out into the morning sunlight, the birds were already beginning to sing. That alone told me that there were no predators in the area. We still kept our weapons up and ready, just in case.
Spec-4 activated her radio and informed the base that topside was all clear, then we moved off towards the end of the park where the pontoon boat was beached. We could have driven, but there was no sense in wasting the fuel. It was only a short walk, and we moved off in patrol formation.
We all performed a radio check to make certain our gear was operational as we filed past the Ranger's Station. As we headed across the camping area, I could see a small group of Shamblers emerge from the tree line. I held up my hand for everyone to stop. I didn't want our movement to alert them and attract more.
"Let's take 'em out," I said, softly. "Suppressed weapons only. Wilder, let base know what we found."
Weapons were brought to shoulders as I heard Spec-4 activate her radio.
"Rogue-Six to base," she said softly, keeping her voice low.
In my own earpiece, I could hear the reply.
"This is base, go ahead," was the reply.
It sounded like Webber.
"Be advised," she said, "we have located a small group of Zulu Tangos near the campground. I count sixteen, that's one-six, Tangos, do you copy?"
"Copy, Rogue-Six," said Webber. "One-six Zulu Tangos. What is your intent?"
"We're engaging," she replied. "We will advise if we see more."
"Do you require assistance, Rogue-Six?" asked Webber.
"Negative," she replied, grinning. "This was more of a Foxtrot Yankee India[27] call. We've got this one."
"Copy, Rogue-Six," was the answer. "Base clear."
"Rogue-Six clear," she replied.
"Pick your targets and fire at will," I said, taking aim at one of the lead creatures.
They were less than a hundred yards away and moving slowly. In seconds, our group had reduced them to a pile of corpses. The work crews would either toss them in the river or burn them, later. We waited a few moments to see if any others would emerge from the trees, moving on when nothing appeared.
A few minutes later, we arrived at the edge of the river where the boats were moored. Due to the recent rains, the river was up higher than the last time I had seen it. If we didn't do something about the floodgates on the dam, it would soon start flooding into parts of the park. We needed to blow them before we lost part of our community.
Sanders, Snake, McDonald and I put our weight against the boat we were taking and shoved it off the bank. It slid gently back into the water. Then we began transferring all of our gear onto the boat. It was a large pontoon boat, called a party barge, and wouldn't have any trouble accommodating all of us. While they were securing the gear, I checked the fuel gauge. The tank was full. I knew that Winston and Webber had been here to top off the fuel and leave us a couple of care packages. It was several cases of bottled water, a couple cases of MREs and some baked goods. Mostly cookies. They also tossed in a few cases of ammo and a box of grenades.
"Looks like Winston and Webber wanted us to be well prepared," I said, gesturing at the boxes piled next to the control console.
"Nice," said Spec-4. "Did they think of anything besides MREs?"
In response, I just tossed her a bag of chocolate chip cookies. She snagged them out of the air and started handing them out. Gunny and First Sergeant Gregory took a cookie, but continued to watch our flanks. McDonald was carefully cleaning the optics on his M-21. Everyone else was busy securing gear bags to the boat so they wouldn't accidentally go overboard.
I fired up the twin outboard motors and let them idle. As soon as everyone was aboard, I nodded at Sanders. He gave one last shove and we started to drift away from the bank. Sanders quickly jumped aboard and gave me a toothy grin. We hadn't drifted more than six feet from shore when the current caught us and started to sweep us downstream. I had to go to half-throttle to back us into the channel and turn us the right direction before the force of the swollen river pushed us into something.
Bringing the bow around, I throttled back to an idle. There was no sense in wasting the fuel. The river was carrying us downstream with plenty of speed. I would only use the engines to turn, to avoid obstacles or to get us through areas where the water was moving slower. We truly had crossed the Rubicon. Or in this case, the Niangua.
The heavy flow of the river made narrow areas nearly turn into rapids and concealed obstacles in the murky water. Overturned trees, rocks and anything else the river had managed to wash downstream could cause us damage or even capsize us. In this current, going into the water was almost certain death. The fact that Elliott had survived his trip down the river was amazing. I'd say it was luck, but I'm sure that the Gods had a hand in it. Whatever the reason, I was thankful that I hadn't lost my son.
As we approached the bridge, I could see movement on the road above us. I just nodded to McDonald. He popped the lens covers off of his scope and started sweeping the area. I was reaching for my backpack to retrieve my own binoculars when I heard him speak.
"Four Shamblers," he said, his voice even. "Zero contact. They are moving away from our area."
"Have they seen us?" asked Snake.
"Negative," responded McDonald. "Do I engage?"
I thought about it a moment before answering. They weren't a threat to us, but that didn't mean they couldn't wander into our camp and kill one of our people. It was better to not take any chances.
"Go ahead," I said, nodding. "Take them out, quietly."
The range was less than forty meters, so I knew McDonald could make the shots easily, even from a moving boat. It was spooky how good he was with a rifle. Four suppressed pops and the targets were all down. He kept the rifle to his shoulder, searching for more targets. When none appeared, he lowered his weapon and clicked the safety back on
.
"Targets neutralized," he said, already beginning to put the covers back on his scope.
McDonald was one cool customer. I was definitely glad he was on our side. Once he had secured the scope, he sat cross-legged in the middle of the deck and began to meticulously clean his weapon. While the rest of us were nervous, or at least looked the part, McDonald was about as calm as he could be. It was just another day at the office to him. It was a little creepy.
We continued downstream without incident, with Snake sitting at the very front of the boat watching for submerged obstacles. Considering the number of fallen trees, large rocks and even a car that we passed, a lookout on the front of the boat was a good idea. I stayed on the controls, just in case I had to go to full power and maneuver around something.
I knew from my youth that it was a two day float from Bennett Springs to Lake of the Ozarks, but that was by canoe. I knew we would make better time than a canoe, but experience also told me that we should be watching for a defensible place to hold up for the night. It would be nice if we could find one before sundown and could be secure before night came. We didn't want to be out in the open when the Stalkers came out. We learned that lesson on our last trip down this river.
By midday, we were making good progress. I was recognizing terrain features, despite the fact the river didn't look the same with the water so high above the banks. We were passing the ravaged ruin that had once been a campground. I knew it well, since I'd been there many times. Although it was deserted, I could see hastily abandoned tents, campers and vehicles. The main building looked like it had been ripped apart. I'd seen that kind of damage done to a structure before. The place had been hit by Stalkers.
"Must have been survivors in there," said Snake, gesturing at the building. "Only reason I can think of why the fucking dead would bother breaking in."
"Want to check it for supplies?" asked Spec-4, glancing at me.
"What the hell," I said, shrugging. "We're making good time."
Ragnarok Rising: The Crossing (The Ragnarok Rising Saga) Page 35