by Glen Tate
“What was your unit?” Grant asked.
“The 5-5 of the 31st Air Defense Artillery Battalion at Ft. Lewis,” she said. Her name tag said “Sherryton.”
“You were a technician, Corporal Sherryton?” Grant asked. He had her file in his hands. Her first name was Anne and she held the rank of a Specialist 4 in the FUSA Army, but was made a corporal in the 17th Irregulars.
“Yes, sir,” she answered. “I kept the computers running.” What she didn’t say, because it wasn’t the most best point to make, is that she joined the Army to pay for college, which was very common before the Collapse. The military was another way for people to qualify for entitlements. This was not universally true, but was often the case, especially among the support personnel such as the technicians who kept the high-tech military running.
“Why are you here, Corporal?” Grant asked in an inquisitive, not demeaning, tone. He knew that she had passed the screening at HQ, but was interested in each of his soldiers.
“This can’t go on any longer, sir,” Sherryton answered. “I want my country back. It’s that simple, sir.”
She paused. Should she tell him and all the people in that kitchen the truth? Tell them the awful things that had happened? Oh, what the hell. He asked a question and she had an answer. She looked at Grant and felt like she could trust him. Besides, she had nothing to lose. Everything had been taken from her. This guerilla unit out in the sticks was her home now, and probably her final home. It was the last stop on a train ride through misery like she never thought she’d see. This was it –the end of the line. Might as well get it all out now. It would feel good to tell people why she was doing this, and to get it off her chest, which was easier said than done. Telling the story would probably make her cry, and that was not a good thing for a soldier to do, especially in front of other soldiers, and definitely when first meeting the new commanding officer. Not to mention that crying was ten times worse because she was a female soldier and being emotional could be used against her to say she wasn’t “combat ready.”
She was trying not to get emotional. She quickly got the quiver in her lip under control, which she had been doing a lot of lately. Turn the crying into anger, she told herself. She listened to herself and took a few seconds before she turned the crying into anger. Then more anger. Then more. Now she was ready to tell the world why she was out there.
“The gangs, sir,” she said at attention, tough as nails. “They got my family back in Chicago while I was training in Oklahoma; my mother, my father and…my poor little sister. That’s all I’ll say.”
Sherryton straightened up even more than when she was at attention, looked Grant straight in the eye, and said, “Payback, sir.” She squinted her eyes, her voice got icy and scary, and she repeated, “Payback.” The room was silent and the tone of her voice was frightening. She wanted to kill people. A lovely and charming young lady wanted to kill people.
Perfect, unfortunately. That was exactly what Grant was looking for. A motivated fighter with nothing to lose. She’d already lost everything back in Chicago. Forget that there was no air defense computer system for her to fix. She had what it took out here.
“Welcome to the 17th Irregulars, Corporal Sherryton,” Grant said as he extended his hand for a handshake and smiled.
Then Grant turned his smile into a fearless stare, looked her right in the eye, gritted his teeth, and said, “We’ll give you a chance for payback.” He quickly turned back into a compassionate person. He felt horrible for this innocent young lady. “My condolences about your family.”
She nodded and mouthed “Thank you,” and looked down at the floor.
Grant sensed the guilt she felt. So many people had been away from home when terrible things happened to their families.
He said, “You couldn’t have stopped them. But,” Grant pointed all around the kitchen to all the people there, “We can. And will. I can’t wait until we unleash on them.” Sherryton halfway smiled. It was the closest thing to a smile she could muster.
Grant got his composure back and said to her, “Report to Sgt. Sappenfield here and he’ll get you squared away with your quarters.”
Grant paused and wondered if he should say the next thing that came to his mind. Oh, what the hell. She had opened up with him. He took her hand in a handshake and looked her right in the eye.
“Welcome, Anne.” Grant wanted to add that personal touch, even though it wasn’t military protocol, so she would feel like this was her new home. He needed one hundred percent out of every fighter. Connecting with each one of them on a personal level—a level much deeper than just military protocol—was essential. Who gave a crap about military protocol? Grant wasn’t even a “real” officer, anyway.
It was past midnight and Grant wanted to get home for a little sleep. “What you got for me, Sergeant?” Grant asked Ted, requesting his briefing on what was going on when Grant was off in Pierce Point doing his day job. The two men left the crowded kitchen and walked into the downstairs bedroom of the farmhouse, which was where they could talk behind a closed door.
When they got into the bedroom and closed the door, Ted said, “Things are going pretty well.” He went over the new arrivals. There were some skilled people, but mostly ones like Anne people who had the general soldiering skills necessary and were physically fit, emotionally sound, and could shoot a rifle, but, more importantly, who wanted to take their country back. The civilians had no military training, of course, but had reasons to be there. They were people who had been in the crosshairs of the government. One was even a POI, like Grant.
“We’re at about one-third strength now,” Ted said. “We have some more work to do to get this farm ready to house about one hundred personnel. But we’re slowly building it up as the new arrivals come. We put them to work on the facilities. We’re getting them slowly integrated. That’s the advantage of getting them a few at a time. We can see what skills they have, if they are leaders, that kind of thing.”
“How we doin’ on supplies?” Grant asked. That was always at the forefront of his mind.
“Decent. So far,” Ted said. “Food is largely taken care of. We have basic FCard foods like pancake mix, cornbread mix, and oatmeal. We’re getting a garden going, some chickens for eggs, and Paul and the Chief are getting us fresh fish most nights. Oh, and Anderson shot a deer last night. He was pretty proud of his city-boy self becoming a hunter.”
“We only have a minimal amount of medical supplies,” Ted continued. “HQ is getting us more. Soon, or so they say.” Ted thought they would come, but he had spent his whole life being told that supplies were just about to arrive. This was different, however. Unlike his FUSA Army days when there were unlimited supplies and it was just a bureaucratic battle to get them, now supplies were actually scarce.
“Weapons?” Grant asked.
“Got a decent supply,” Ted said, with a smile. “We basically have the inventory of the gun store.” Ted and Chip had split the inventory up when they evacuated Chip’s gun store after the Olympia riots started. Ted took about half and got them to HQ in Boston Harbor, where they were earmarked for the 17th and distributed in dribs and drabs. Chip had the other half and they were in Grant’s basement. Or, had been. Chip had moved them out about a week ago over the span of two nights.
“How many is that?” Grant asked.
“I have seventy-one ARs. Almost all with iron sights, but a few with optics, mostly red-dot sights. About 250 magazines. About 15,000 rounds of 5.56. About a dozen AKs, decent supply of mags and ammo. A handful of tactical shotguns and butt loads of 12 gauge ammo, mostly bird shot. Assorted side arms. Different calibers and magazines, but lots of 9mm Glocks and Berettas. Some Sigs and XDs. Some in .40, and some 1911s.”
“Any heavy stuff?” Grant asked.
“Two M240s machine guns,” Ted said. “One is at the beach landing entrance you saw. The other one is being unpacked and cleaned up right now. We have a little ammo for the 240s, but I’d like more.”
“Explosives?” Grant asked.
“Not much,” Ted said. “We have a handful of grenades, but that’s it. Some training grenades, which will be more important now than live ones. I’m harping on Boston Harbor for more grenades and some grenade launchers, but they’re a bit overwhelmed now.”
“I bet we’ll get more of the good stuff as regular units come over to our side,” Grant said, half predicting it and half just being hopeful.
“Probably. I never count on that, though,” Ted said.
“Comms,” Grant said. “Can’t forget comms.” He was trying to be the wise commanding officer, even if he wasn’t.
“We have a decent assortment of handheld radios and a couple secure ones for talking to Boston Harbor,” Ted said. “Jim Q. is all over that. Man, that code talker shit is awesome.”
“So he’s workin’ out?” Grant asked.
“Yep. Very well,” Ted said. “He stays in the background, but is social. He lets everyone know he’s not a Muslim, which is prudent, unfortunately. He talks to them about modern American culture: movies, music, sports. He speaks perfect English; no different than you or me. The troops can tell real quickly that he’s been living in America his whole life. And he’s mastered the comms plan. He knows it all, except how to fix radios, but that’s really not to be expected from a civilian.”
“What’s next out here?” Grant asked, wanting to wrap it up. It was late and he was tired.
“We keep getting more personnel and supplies in a couple boatloads at a time just like we’re doing,” Ted said. “Then it’s training time.”
“When do you want the Team here full time?
Grant asked.
“Not until we’ve got the cadre,” Ted said, referring to the term for the troops in a Special Forces guerilla unit, “basically trained. Then we’ll fold in the Team. We’ll have them get integrated with the cadre. Then we’ll practice moving and communicating as a whole unit.”
Ted looked at Grant and said, “Then it’s go time. Probably in a couple of months.” Grant could tell that Ted knew something that Grant didn’t. He could also tell that when the time was right, Ted would tell him. It would be uncool now to ask for the details. Grant knew that in a real military unit, with a real commander, he would be in on all the details. But this was different. Grant was away from the unit most of the time and could be captured in Pierce Point if the Limas got in there or had a sympathizer. Grant was actually glad he didn’t know the specific details.
Grant nodded to Ted. A couple of months? Wow. This was serious and only kept getting more serious. First, the riots. Then the bug out, the hangings, joining up with the Patriots, Snelling getting whacked, building up the troops at the farm, and now “go time” in a couple of months.
It all just naturally progressed. At any given time, it would have seemed that combat was unlikely. But one event slowly and naturally flowed into the next, and then the next. It was going to happen. What would have seemed like a crazy concept only a year ago was now becoming a reality.
Combat in a couple of months? Grant was glad to get it over with. He wanted to either die or win. One way or another, he just wanted to get this thing over with. He was scared and excited at the same time.
Ted could tell that Grant—a civilian who had never been in combat—was scared and excited. The new guys always were. New officers were especially scared and excited because they wanted to see if they had what it took. New officers wanted to see if their units had been trained and led well enough to make it through those few minutes of hell that were coming.
“We’ll be fine, Grant,” Ted said in a soft and reassuring voice. “We’re not going out until we’re ready. I have that assurance from HQ. I insisted on it. Besides, Hammond knows this. He’s an SF guy. He’s been in indigenous units that weren’t ready. He knows that it’s my call when we’re ready.” Grant wasn’t offended at all that it wasn’t his call; he was relieved. Ted was the professional here.
Grant relaxed. All the “coincidences” started flashing through his mind that put him in this place at this time. Then he thought about the message from the outside thought on the starlight boat ride to Boston Harbor that everything would be fine. Grant looked at Ted and put his hand on his shoulder.
“I have every confidence in you, HQ, and these guys out here,” Grant said with a smile. Grant was truly happy. He knew things would work out. He just knew it. And it made him joyous.
“And, I gotta admit, I have confidence in me,” Grant said to Ted. “Between you and me, Ted,” Grant said with a big smile, “we’ll do this job right.”
Ted smiled, too. He was glad his untrained civilian lieutenant had some self-confidence—and the good sense to trust a twenty-five-year Special Forces veteran like him. It was the perfect combination of what was needed in an untested lieutenant.
Ted put his hand on Grant’s shoulder, too. “Yes, sir, we’ll do this job right,” he said. Then he grinned and added, “Hell yes, Grant. Hell yes.”
Chapter 210
Handing Away the Keys
(August 1)
“Dad, what’s going on at the Marion Farm?” Manda asked Grant one morning. The two of them were having a late breakfast in their cabin after everyone else had left.
“What are you talking about?” Grant asked, not very convincingly. He couldn’t lie to his kids. Well, not easily. He’d been lying to his whole family for weeks about what was going on out at the farm.
Manda put her fork down and looked straight at Grant. “C’mon, Dad,” Manda said. “You know what’s going on out there. The ‘rental team.’ You’re training a second team and going to rent it out to another town.” She rolled her eyes like Grant was stupid.
Wow. The rumor had taken off pretty well. Good.
“Oh, OK,” Grant said, acting like he was letting her in on a big secret. “Maybe there is a rental team. But you cannot—I mean strictly cannot—tell anyone about it, or that I just confirmed it. Understand? People’s lives are at stake. This is serious, Amanda.” He used Manda’s full name for effect.
She smiled. She loved being on the inside of things. “Does the rental team need people?” she asked.
Grant put his hand up and raised his voice so loud he was almost yelling. “No way! Absolutely not. You are not joining the rental team. Don’t even think about it.” That was the most absurd thing he’d heard in quite some time, especially from a smart girl like her with good judgment.
At first, Manda was startled by her dad’s loud reaction. Then she realized he was talking about her. She laughed and said, “Not me, Daddy. Jordan.”
That was Manda’s boyfriend. They were getting pretty serious, although Grant consciously tried not to know all the details. He was afraid he’d shoot the young man. And out at Pierce Point…Grant could actually get away with it.
“He will turn seventeen next week,” Manda said. “He is just doing dumb stuff now at the Grange.” Grant knew that Jordan was waiting for a spot on the gate guard. They had enough people and, at seventeen, they had more experienced people. Judgment was a critical factor for a gate guard; shooting too early could start a war. So Jordan was in a holding pattern to be a gate guard. He was working hard at the Grange by performing miscellaneous labor.
“He’s a hunter and knows all about guns,” Manda said. “He wants to do something cooler than the Grange work. He wants to be on the rental team.” Jordan and Manda had talked for a week about how Manda would ask her dad to get Jordan a slot on the rental team.
Manda looked at Grant with her “please, Daddy” eyes, which had always worked on him. Not this time.
“Let me get this straight,” Grant said, which was a clear signal to Manda that the answer would be no. Anytime Grant wanted to demolish someone’s argument, he started with “let me get this straight,” reframed what they were saying, and then blew it away. “You want your boyfriend to join a very dangerous and sorta mercenary team of outlaw fighters to shoot it out with gangs and professional mil
itary and police?”
It sounded like a bad idea when it was put that way, but Manda nodded anyway. Jordan wanted on the rental team and Manda said she’d help him get on. She wasn’t afraid of Jordan getting hurt because she assumed her dad would have a fabulous team so they’d win every fight. She was sixteen and that seemed rational to her.
“Why?” Grant sarcastically asked. “So you can get him killed and hook up with your other boyfriend on the side?” He was kidding, but it was the only explanation that made any sense.
Manda rolled her eyes. “No, of course not. He wants to be a soldier and I want him to do what he wants to do.” Manda was clearly the opposite of her mother when it came to encouraging men to do dangerous things.
It was pretty obvious that Manda was using her dad to get her boyfriend a cool job. It was a common occurrence in cultures around the world since time began. Pierce Point was no exception.
“Hell no,” Grant said. “The rental team is very, very dangerous work. I’m sure Jordan is well qualified,” which was a polite white lie Grant was telling, “but I’m not putting a teenager in danger, especially one my daughter cares a lot about.”
Manda started getting mad and frustrated. Her dad didn’t understand what a great idea this was. Jordan would be on the rental team and would then be considered an adult and then they could get married. It was perfect. It made sense to them in their teenage minds. Perfect sense.
Grant realized that he had to be gentle. He didn’t want to alienate her and have her run off with this Jordan kid. That’s the last thing anyone needed.
“You have the kernel of a good idea here, dear,” Grant said as if he was deeply thinking about the proposal. “Jordan is nearly seventeen and if you say he has good firearm skills, then I believe you. You know what you’re talking about, because you have firearm skills.” Grant thought he’d lighten up the discussion. “Show me your G 27, honey.”