by Robert Boren
Tyler nodded, his lanky frame following Logan.
“I’m gonna go too,” Kyle said. He followed, Jason and Kelly catching up. The other men stayed put, eyes on I-10 in both directions.
“These trailers are toast, that’s for sure,” Logan said, pointing at the first flatbed’s shredded tires. “BARs didn’t do them tires much good.” He climbed up on to the flatbed and started pulling the tarp off of the tank. Tyler climbed onto the second flatbed and did the same.
“I’ll go help Logan,” Jason said, climbing up. Kyle nodded and joined Tyler. They had both tanks uncovered after several minutes of work.
“You need keys for these things?” Jason asked. “Like a car?”
“No, but you need to know the start-up procedures if they’ve been in storage for a while.” Logan got on top. “This is a TUSK-equipped unit. Bitchen.” He opened the hatch and lowered himself inside. There was the sound of heavy switches being flipped, and a whirring noise. Then the sound of more rummaging around, more clanking and creaking metal. Logan’s smiling face came out of the hatch.
“Well?” Jason asked.
“This sucker is full of fuel, and it’s armed, too. All of the machine guns, and the M256 smoothbore. Whoever was transporting these puppies expected them to be in action right away.”
“Can you drive it to the RV Park?” Jason asked.
“Hell yeah,” Logan said, “and I can teach you guys about them too. That was part of my job in the service. Training.”
“You ever in combat with one of these?” Jason asked.
“Nope, that was a game for the young,” Logan said. “I was working these at the end of my career. The TUSK setup was just coming in. I’ll have to read up on that. It’s got remote machine guns which I’ve never messed with before.”
“What is TUSK, anyway?”
Logan smiled. “Tank Urban Survival Kit. Changes to armor and a few other details, like the remote control machine guns - .50 cal and 7.62 mm.”
“They didn’t have those before?” Jason asked.
“Some,” Logan said. “These were set up to drive into cities where there were loads of snipers and people in buildings firing RPGs.”
“Oh, I get it,” Jason said.
Tyler stuck his head out of the second tank. “Hey, Logan, this thing is ready to go.”
“Good,” Logan yelled back. Check the third one while I work on getting these ramps put down. Then we should remove the ammo from the busted one and take it with us.”
“Who’s gonna drive the third tank?” Tyler asked.
“Why don’t you show Kyle how to do it?” Logan asked. Tyler looked at Kyle, and he shook his head yes.
“Maybe we should put these at the corners of the RV Park just in case we have visitors,” Jason said.
“Damn straight,” Logan said. “I’ll get you guys checked out on the night-vision systems. There’s two on here. Gunner and Commander viewers. We’ll see anybody sneaking in after dark. They’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”
“Good,” Jason said. He and Logan climbed off the flatbed.
“Need some help over here,” Logan said. “Strong men young enough to do some heavy lifting. You oldsters stand by.”
Several of the younger men rushed over, and helped put the ramps in place on the first trailer. Then they rushed over to the second trailer and did the same as Tyler finished with the third unit.
“Hey, Logan, this third one checks out too.”
“Good,” Logan said. “I’m gonna drive the first one down. Stand back.” He climbed up onto the tank and got into the driver’s bay. The turbine engine fired up, and he slowly drove the tank down the ramp and turned it towards the road, driving it up towards the ridge where Curt was parked.
“Yes!” Curt yelled, holding is thumb up.
Logan nodded and ran over to the second tank just as the men had finished with the ramp. He drove it off too. He was getting ready to go help with the third when a grenade went off.
“Oh, crap, more enemy trucks,” Jason shouted.
“There’s about six of them!” Curt yelled, firing off another grenade.
“Tyler, get your ass over here!” Logan shouted.
He ran over, and they trotted to the first tank, Tyler getting into the driver’s bay, the Logan into the turret. “Jason!”
Jason sprinted over.
“Get in, man,” Logan said. “I’m gonna show you how to load the big gun.”
Jason got in. Logan showed Jason how to put on the helmet and then pulled his on. He switched on the intercom.
“Everybody hear me?” Logan asked.
“Yeah,” Tyler said.
“I hear you,” Jason said.
“Okay, Jason, watch.” He opened the breech of the cannon. “See that white door there? Here’s how it opens.”
He opened the white door across from the breech of the gun. There were cannon rounds in cubby holes, back ends facing out. “Pull out one of the rounds. Then carefully slip it into the breech.”
Jason turned, pulled one out, and turned, slipping it into the breech. “Like this?”
“Yes. Notice how that white door closed? Be careful that you don’t get tangled up in that. Now push this on the gun to close the breech. Then lean back, because the recoil of the gun is going to send the breech backwards. It moves fast enough to kill you, so be careful.”
“Got it,” Jason said, closing the breech.
“Tyler, get us up to the road,” Logan said, settling into the gunner’s seat. He flipped a few switches, then moved the turret towards the target. “Why are those trucks just sitting there?”
“Curt disabled the first two trucks. They’re blocking the road, see?”
“Well let’s unblock it for them!” Logan said. He aimed the cannon through the sight and fired, the cannon breech moving backwards and then forward as the gun roared. The round broke through the two stopped trucks and hit three of the others. The men outside were cheering.
“We ain’t done yet,” Logan said. “Load another. Pull the spent cartridge out and put it down there.” He pointed to a receptacle near the white door.
Jason followed the procedure and got the second round loaded.
“Okay, let’s get closer, Tyler,” Logan said. The tank moved forward.
“We should’ve brought Kyle in here too,” Tyler said. “Hard to run these with only three guys. We should be spraying down the whole road with that .50 cal.”
“I know, but I can use the 7.62.” Logan opened fire, strafing the trucks, Islamists trying to flee the burning wreckage.
“Hey, the last two trucks are trying to turn through the median,” Curt shouted. “I don’t have a clear shot.”
“I do,” Logan muttered as he aimed and fired the cannon. He hit the first truck, the explosion taking out the second truck as well.
“That got them, man,” Tyler said.
Logan stuck his head out of the hatch. “Any more, Curt?”
“Nah, we iced them all. That last explosion blew shrapnel all over the damn place. Too bad, it probably wasted the ammo they had with them.”
“How far down can you see?” Kelly shouted.
“More than a mile, but they were coming fast,” Curt said. “That road is a mess now. We’re gonna have a back-up. We’d better vamoose.”
“Yeah, he’s right,” Logan said. “At least we’ll be able to cross the west-bound I-10. Hardly any traffic going east. We should get across and drive back to the park.”
Jason stuck his head out the hatch. “Kyle, follow us so you can drive us back over here to get the next tank,” he yelled.
“Wait,” Logan shouted. “I’m gonna go get in the second one, and you can follow both of us over there. Then we’ll get the third, and grab the ammo out of the last one.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Tyler said.
Logan got out and ran to the second tank. He got into the driver’s bay and pulled up behind the first tank. Tyler drove forward, racing across I-10 and crossi
ng the dusty terrain, getting to the southeast boundary of the RV Park within minutes. He did a k-turn and backed the tank up, it’s cannon facing east. When it came to a stop, Jason took off his helmet and climbed out of the hatch, jumping down to the ground as Tyler climbed out of the driver’s bay.
“How fast does this sucker go?” Jason asked.
“Hell, it’ll go forty under the right conditions,” Tyler said. “Maybe faster. Look. If we get any more visitors like that last batch, we could hit them from here easily.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Jason said, looking. “Good.”
The other tank was approaching fast. It went past them, parking on the northeast corner of the RV Park. Kyle roared by in the Jeep, following Tyler’s tank and picking him up. Then he drove to the first tank and picked up Jason and Tyler.
“Let’s go,” Kyle said. He drove back towards the battle site.
“I’ll drive the third tank to the southwest corner of the park,” Logan said. “I saw a small mound there. I’ll be high enough to be able to waste anything coming down either side of I-10. You help the others unload that last tank, okay?”
“You got it,” Tyler said. “Wish we had a tanker to take the fuel.”
“Me too, but can’t have everything,” Logan said. “Crap, now I wish you wouldn’t have reported these things. We could use them.”
Jason laughed. “I could always call them back and say they’re all disabled.”
“No, man, don’t do that,” Kyle said. “We need to be on the same side with the good guys.”
“How about this,” Jason said. “I’ll call Ramsey back and suggest that they be left here for a while to protect our position. He could say either yes or no.”
“I’m good with that,” Logan said. They bounced across the soft shoulders of I-10, the Jeep barely slowing down. “Got to love these Jeeps.”
“Seriously,” Jason said. “Curt’s going to fit this sucker with one of those Mark 19s.”
“How’s he gonna do that?” Tyler asked.
“Same way he did it with that Barracuda,” Jason said. “He’s got a 3D printer in the back of his toy-hauler.”
“What about the gun?” Tyler asked. “Those don’t grow on trees.”
“He’s got more at his place in San Antonio. As soon as things settle down, we’ll be going down there to pick them up.”
“That might be a dangerous journey,” Logan said.
They pulled up to the other men, who were gathering up enemy guns and ammo that wasn’t ruined. Logan got out of the Jeep and raced over to the last tank. The ramps were already up, so he got into the driver’s bay and drove it off, heading directly across I-10. Tyler took Jason and Kyle into the last tank, showing them where the ammo was kept, then helping them unload it. Kelly, Junior, Gray, and a few others came over and they passed the 120mm shells from the tank down to Gray’s pickup truck. They got the .50 cal and 7.62 ammo after that.
“We about ready to go back?” Kelly asked.
“I think so,” Tyler said.
“We’d better go talk to Curt,” Jason said.
“Think we need to leave him up there until all of us are out of here?” Kyle asked.
“I’ll call Logan,” Tyler said. “If he’s in a good spot now, we have all the protection we need.”
Junior smiled. “Oh, he can see up and down I-10 from one of the tanks?”
“Yeah,” Jason said. “C’mon, let’s get going.”
Chapter 2 – Government Cove
“Dammit,” Richardson said, looking behind them as the temporary headquarters at OPEC Creek burned. “I hope we didn’t lose any boats.”
“Wonder if we lost a bunch of ammo and grenades?” Brendan asked.
“I saw the supply trucks driving away as we were getting underway,” Richardson said. “Unless the enemy took them out on the road, we’re probably okay.”
“So what the hell are we gonna do in Government Cove?”
“There’s a small base there,” Richardson said. “Plus anti-aircraft batteries down by the dam. That will give us a little protection.”
There was a roar above their heads. “What’s that?” Juan Carlos shouted, looking up.
“Yes!” Richardson said. “Those are F-22 Raptors!”
“The US Airforce?” Brendan asked. “Think they’re on our side this time?”
“Yeah,” Richardson said. “Man those things are fast.”
The jets streaked across the sky. A few moments later there were flashes in the water and in the air, not far from the base.
“Looks like they found some targets,” Brendan said. “Wow.”
More flashes could be seen, further away now, and then the sound of a chopper approached.
“Uh oh,” Juan Carlos said.
“That’s an Apache,” Richardson said. “Probably here to protect us and that dam.”
“Hope so,” Brendan said. The chopper flew towards them, getting lower.
Richardson got off his gun station, switched the radio on, and changed the channel. “This the Apache? Over.”
“Roger that. We’re here to escort you to the makeshift docks down by the dam in Government Cove. Over.”
“Good. How bad is it up north? Over.”
“Really bad. Those F-22s got there in time to stop the attack, but a lot of enemy fighters made it to shore, and we don’t have the land forces to stop them. Over.”
“So what’s the plan now? Over.”
“We’re evacuating Zapata. Over.”
“Son of a bitch,” Juan Carlos said. “Really?”
“When are forces expected to show up? Over.” Richardson said.
“We don’t know yet. Your temporary base will be able to re-supply you. We will get superiority back on the lake with air power, and you guys will hold that. Over.”
“Good. Anything else? Over.” Richardson said.
“Nope. Over and out.”
Richardson put the mic back on the holder. “There you have it.”
“How much further to Government Cove?” Brendan asked.
“If we don’t have to slow down, about ten minutes,” Juan Carlos said. “Hope they’ve got fuel.”
“They will,” Richardson said.
There were more brilliant flashes to the north, further away, and an explosion so big that they could feel air rushing at them.
“Wow, what the hell was that?” Juan Carlos shouted.
“Good question,” Richardson said. “Ammo dump, maybe.”
“Yeah, but we felt it all the way over here. You don’t think they lit off a tactical nuke or something, do you?”
“Nah, no way,” Richardson said. Just then he saw a huge rolling wave coming at them. “Oh, shit, look at that. Faster!”
“It’s already pegged!” Juan Carlos shouted.
“Head for shore now!” Brendan shouted as the giant wave gained on them.
“Son of a bitch,” Juan Carlos said. “Look, sandy beach. I’m going in hot. Hold on!” He turned sharply to the left, only slowing down at the last minute, hitting the motor lifters and bracing himself as the boat slid onto the sand, going over thirty miles per hour. They held on for dear life as the boat slowed to a stop. The giant wave rolled towards them, water rising quickly almost to where the boat was, then receding as it rolled past.
“We need to get to higher ground fast!” Brendan shouted.
“No we don’t,” Richardson said. “Use your head. That wave is gonna take out the dam. We’ll be looking at a giant canyon in a couple of minutes.”
“Shit,” Juan Carlos shouted. “I’m getting up higher to watch.” He sprinted up to the end of the sand and climbed up the rock cliff which bounded it, getting high enough to see the lights on the top of the dam. Then they were covered with water, flowing over the top of the dam, a huge cracking noise shacking him. “Oh, my God!” he yelled as Brendan and Richardson ran up the side of the hill to see.
“How many people are on the other side of that dam?” Brendan asked, te
ars well up in his eyes.
“Not that many,” Juan Carlos said. “Some, though. A lot of the water is going to flow onto the Mexican side.”
“Look at the shore line dropping!” Richardson said, pointing. “Wish I would have brought the flashlights.”
“There’s a pretty good moon,” Juan Carlos said. “We’d better go make sure that boat wasn’t too close to the edge. We got food and water to protect. We’re way too far in the middle of nowhere to walk out of here.”
“Yeah, we should go check the radio too,” Brendan said.
“Don’t worry, that Apache saw us,” Richardson said.
“What was that?” Juan Carlos asked.
“I don’t know,” Richardson said. They walked to the patrol boat, laying almost on its side, sand pushed up in front of it. “Careful, this thing might shift. Might even start sliding down into who-knows-what.”
Juan Carlos reached in and grabbed the spotlight. He turned it on and pointed it towards the water line. “We’re okay. It doesn’t drop off for more than a hundred yards. Wonder if the other boats made it out?”
“I’ll try them,” Richardson said, picking up the microphone. “Turn off that light. It’ll drain the battery.”
“Okay,” Juan Carlos said, switching it off.
“DPS Patrol Boats. Come in. This is Lieutenant Richardson in boat 18. Over.”
There was silence for a moment, and then a click. “This is Captain Jefferson. What is your position? Over.”
“Thank God you made it, sir,” Richardson said. “We turned onto a sandy beach, a couple miles from the dam. Any other boats make it out of the water in time? Over.”
“Only one,” Jefferson said. “The other three went over the dam. Men presumed dead. Over.”
“What was that? Over.”
“I don’t know, Lieutenant. I need to make some calls. Stay by your boat if you can. Over and out.”
Chapter 3 – Bunker
Everyone in the situation room sat watching the TV, shell shocked after seeing all the attacks.