by Eric Vall
“Shit,” I breathed.
“Fuck,” Anna cursed as she crouched back down.
“Retreat,” I commanded, and we all stopped firing and crouched back down behind the barrier. We needed a new plan, and we needed one fast.
“Well, that was a fuckin’ bust,” Anna muttered as we sat down.
“That did some serious damage to the barrier by them,” Bailey said. “I can probably get through it with one bullet now.”
“They can still just move away from the area,” Paige reminded her.
“Yeah, but not if we bombard them,” Anna said with a grin. “I’ll launch another grenade, Bailey, you shoot at the wall, and everybody else go crazy.” The redhead looked to me for approval. “Tav? What do you think?”
“That sounds like a plan to me.” I smiled and nodded. “Let’s do it.”
“Fuck, yeah,” Anna chuckled, and she reloaded the grenade launcher. “I’m ready whenever you guys are.”
We waited a few seconds for the firing from the NK troops to die down, and as soon as it did, I gave the order.
“Now!” I exclaimed as I jumped up onto my knees and fired toward the other side of the water.
Tara, Paige, and Hammer popped up with their plasma guns and started to fire with me.
A split second later, Bailey popped up with her Barrett. Then she placed the barrel of the gun on the concrete barrier and lined up her shot.
At the same time, I heard the familiar thud of the grenade launcher as Anna fired toward the enemy soldiers.
Bailey’s Barrett let off a deafening crack as she fired a split second after Anna’s grenade hit the concrete wall in the same place it had before. The concrete crumbled down, and Paige, Tara, Hammer, and I continued to give them hell with our plasma weapons.
I wasn’t sure how many we managed to hit, but I saw at least one try to pop up, only to get blasted with the blue light from one of the plasma guns.
Bailey’s rifle cracked again, and Anna joined us in the fray of plasma.
“Lieutenant, come in!” the SEAL’s voice came over the radio.
Hammer made eye contact with me, and I could see the concern in his dark eyes.
He quickly reached for the walkie and brought it up to his mouth.
“What is it?” he asked into the microphone.
“We have company,” the voice said. “Three o’clock.”
My eyebrows pinched together as I glanced across the water. I continued to pull the trigger toward the concrete, but across the water I spotted the company the SEAL had referred to.
There were three NK soldiers on a makeshift raft headed toward the ship. It seemed they thought their buddies near the concrete barrier had distracted us enough that they could make it over to the ship unseen.
“Bailey!” I hollered.
“I’m on it!” the blonde assured me, and she adjusted the barrel of her gun so it was pointed toward the men in the poorly made raft.
I looked back over to the concrete to see another soldier pop their hand up in an attempt to get a shot off. The weapon was quickly shot out of their hand by one of the girls, and I heard a scream even from across the water. His entire hand was probably nothing more than a bloody, blackened stump from that blast.
Bailey’s rifle cracked, and I glanced over to the raft to see one soldier’s head practically vaporize from the impact of the .50 caliber bullet.
I quickly took aim in that direction and fired off several plasma blasts in a row. The soldier was dead instantly, and his lifeless body fell backward into the water with a loud splash.
Bailey’s rifle cracked at the same time, and the last guy on the makeshift raft fell forward into the water with a massive hole in his chest.
“Tav!” Hammer called, and I turned my attention back to the concrete area.
Two soldiers were attempting to flee back toward the city, but that only lined them up for our shots.
The girls, Hammer, and I blasted them heavily, and they tumbled forward on barely intact legs. Their backs were blackened from our blasts, and even from this distance I could see a small amount of smoke coming off of them.
Three on the boat, two fleeing, and at least one other one dead near the barrier. That seemed like all of them, but I waited a couple of minutes just to be sure.
“It looks like we’re clear,” I said finally.
“I was thinking so, too,” Hammer said, and he picked up the walkie. “We’re clear.”
“Roger that,” the SEAL on the other end sighed. “Thanks, Lieutenant.”
“Tell them to be on the lookout for any other soldiers,” I instructed. “And radio right away if they see any. We’re going to send some experienced sailors to get them back over to shore by us.”
“Oh, yeah,” Paige said, and her eyebrows pinched together. “Why are they over in this area, anyway? We brought the ship over by us yesterday.”
“I was having the men clean up the ship,” Hammer said. “I figured we didn’t want to be kicking dead bodies off right near our home.”
“Good call.” I nodded. “But from now on we get the ship back to our own port every night.”
“Of course,” Hammer agreed. “I apologize, I should have spoken to you about it.”
“You made the call you thought was best,” I told him. “And I can appreciate that. Besides, it was better we found out about those foot soldiers and took care of them before they could figure out a better plan than the one they had.”
“They probably weren’t even planning on attacking just yet,” Anna said. “Maybe they just saw the ship was here and decided to give it a try.”
“Based off their makeshift raft, I’d say that’s a safe bet,” I chuckled.
“It was just, like, some tied together pieces of wood,” Tara laughed. “They could have put a little more effort into it, don’t you think?”
“It was pretty pitiful,” Paige agreed.
“Let’s get the experienced sailors over here,” I said. “I think we’ve done all we can for the moment.”
“I appreciate you coming to the aid of my SEALs,” Hammer said. “I wasn’t expecting the foot soldiers to attack. I knew there were probably a few left behind, but I wouldn’t have guessed they’d have the balls to try and pull that off.”
“Like Anna said, they didn’t have anything left to lose.” I shrugged.
“And that only makes them more dangerous.” Hammer shook his head. “Hopefully that was the last of them.”
“Let’s hope so,” I agreed. “But plan for the opposite.”
“No wonder the Captain put you in charge,” Hammer laughed and clapped me on the shoulder.
Hammer, the girls, and I all piled back into the jeep and headed back toward camp.
“Tomorrow, I want everyone to spend some time on the ship,” I told Hammer. “I don’t want a repeat of this incident. I know you have some experienced sailors, they should teach everyone at least the basics of how to navigate the ship, that way if something like that ever happens again whoever’s on board will be able to get the ship to safety. We’ll have Minji work with some of the ensigns to quickly re-label everything important in English.”
“It’s always good for everyone to know how to do things,” Bailey said, and I saw her smile in my rearview mirror. “Like we have everyone try all the chores at least once back home.”
“I’ll get my guys on it first thing in the morning,” Hammer assured me. “Everyone will get a chance to work the controls some.”
“Thanks,” I told him, and I rolled the window down slightly and breathed in the fresh air.
My heart rate was finally dropping after the exhilaration of the fight we’d just been in. Not only was it intense, but it was unexpected as hell. We’d just defeated hundreds of NK soldiers, and here were less than ten trying to get revenge for all their buddies.
I shook my head as I thought about what must have been going through their minds. They had to have known they weren’t going to get the jump on us, but the
n again, Anna had to be right. Those assholes had nothing to lose. Even if they managed to escape our view for a while, after we took back America, they were bound to be found and killed, if not before.
They might have assumed the opposite, though, and figured the other NK troops were going to finish what they started. They underestimated us, and they’d paid for it. We weren’t about to let anybody steal our country right out from under us.
It didn’t take long for us to get back to camp, and once we arrived, Hammer gathered a couple of experienced sailors and one of the rafts, then they all headed back to the ship to bring it back around to the area closer to our base camp.
“Well, that was exciting,” Anna laughed as we made our way back over to the fire.
“Right,” Tara chuckled.
“Oh, good, you’re back,” Minji said as we approached. “Is everything okay? I’m assuming you all got it taken care of?”
“We did.” I nodded, but then a whiff off something delicious hit my nostrils, and I breathed in deep. “It smells like you took care of dinner?”
“I hope you don’t mind,” Minji said to Tara. “You all left in such a rush, and I didn’t want it to get ruined by just letting it sit there.”
“Normally, I’d be mad,” Tara said with a playful smile. “But it really does smell delicious. And I’m starving. So, I guess I’ll forgive you.”
“I’ll take it,” Minji laughed. “It’s ready if you want to eat?”
“Yeeeeessss,” Tara groaned, and she walked over to the fire and sat down on the bench so she could dish up a bowl.
The other girls followed suit, and I sat down next to them, but my eyes were on Tara the whole time. The platinum-blonde was holding everything together well, but I knew the pregnancy was making her tired, and I just hoped she wouldn’t push herself too hard. I’d step in before I let anything like that happen.
I took the bowl of stew that was passed to me and delighted in the aroma that wafted up to my nose. I could smell the cabbage and venison, and some spices, though I wasn’t sure what they were. The stew smelled like Tara or Betty had cooked it, and that was a good sign to me.
I took a large spoonful, making sure to get a little of everything, and put it in my mouth. My eyes closed as the flavor hit my taste buds, and I felt my stomach rumble in response. I was hungrier than I’d realized, and the stew hit just the spot. The dish was warm in both flavors and temperature, and as I ate, I grew more and more content with where I was right at that moment.
We’d just had to deal with a random NK attack, but it didn’t matter right then. Not only had we eliminated the threat, but I had a stomach full of delicious stew, beautiful women around me, and a brigade of trained men and women who answered to me. Though the United States was still at war, life was good at that moment.
I had planned to go over the areas we’d seen earlier with Hammer after we’d returned, but with everything that had happened, I figured I would wait until morning. It was dark out, and I figured everyone could use a little bit of rest.
The shifts were all assigned, and I knew we had men posted in various places, and with the addition of the walkie talkies Kimmy had fixed for us, we’d know almost immediately if something else went wrong.
After dinner was over, the girls sat and chatted about things before the EMP hit, but the warm food in my stomach, and the heat from the fire had made me sleepy, so I decided to excuse myself and head back to our tent.
Once I got inside, I took off my weapons and set them near where my head went, then I stripped down to only my boxers and laid on top of the blankets. It was slightly chilly outside, but it was decently warm in the tent, and my body was still hot from sitting by the fire, so the cool air felt good on my skin.
I had just closed my eyes when I heard the tent door unzip, so I peeked one eye open and saw that it was Bailey.
“Hey.” I smiled. “Did you decide to come to bed, too?”
“Kind of,” the blonde hippie said, and she bit her lip and looked around nervously.
I was about to ask if she was okay, but then I realized what she’d meant when she said ‘kind of’. My tiredness immediately dissipated at the thought of Bailey coming into the tent to seduce me, but I wasn’t about to show her that.
My hippie girl was adorable when she was nervous or embarrassed, so I thought I’d play dumb for a moment or two.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Bailey said, and she shook her head vigorously and held up her hands. “I’m fine, I just…”
Even in the dim light of the tent I could see her face grow red with embarrassment.
“You just what?” I asked, but I couldn’t help the wide grin that came over my face.
“You know,” Bailey laughed, and she swatted my leg playfully. “You’re just messing with me.”
“Guilty,” I chuckled, and I sat up and grabbed her by the hand to pull her down to me until my face was just inches away from hers. “Is this what you came here for?”
My hand was still wrapped around Bailey’s wrist, and I could feel her whole body tense from our closeness. Her chest rose and fell quickly as she puffed hot air out against my lips.
“Yes,” she gulped.
“Good,” I said with a smile, and I slowly leaned in and captured her lips with my own.
Bailey inhaled sharply as our lips touched, but as I slid my hand up her arm and to the back of her neck, she relaxed into my embrace and let out a soft little moan as I guided her down to the bed.
“Tav,” she whispered as I kissed along her jaw and down to her neck.
I nibbled on her soft skin and breathed in the scent of her as my hands moved along her perfectly shaped figure. I touched her ever so lightly as I traced her hourglass shape with my fingers, and I felt her whole body shudder with pleasure in response.
The beautiful blonde arched her back up, and her fingers made their way into my hair as I moved my lips as far down on her neck as they could go.
Once I was blocked by her sweatshirt, I decided it had to go, so I tugged from the bottom upward, but just as I slid the piece of clothing over her head, I heard the familiar sound of the tent zipper behind me.
“Well, hey there, Bailey,” someone laughed.
Busted.
Chapter 4
I turned around to see Tara standing in the doorway of the tent. The light from the moon shone behind her back, so her face was darkened with shadows, but I knew it was her from her figure, and the way the moonlight reflected off her incredibly lightly-colored hair.
“Or should I say ‘hey there Bailey’s boobs’ instead?” the platinum-blonde asked, and she cocked a hip to the side and placed her hand on it.
“Oh, geez,” Bailey gasped, and she tore her sweater from my hands and yanked it over her bare chest. The hippie girl was known for not wearing a bra, and now was no exception.
“Bailey, you know I’ve seen you naked, right?” Tara laughed.
“Well, yeah, but…” Bailey’s voice trailed off as she bit her lip with embarrassment.
“Relax, relax,” Tara said, and she stepped into the tent and knelt down to dig into her bag. “Normally, I’d probably try and join you, but I’m too pregnant and sick for all that right now. I just need some fresh ginger from my bag, then you two can carry on with your little fuckfest.”
“Ughh,” Bailey groaned, and she put her hands over her face, clearly mortified.
“Did you have to put it like that?” I chuckled and nodded my head at Bailey.
“She knows we’ve all had sex together, right?” Tara asked with a laugh. “I mean, you’d think she’d get over this embarrassment at some point.”
“Yeah, but I agreed to it then,” Bailey mumbled. “This was… unexpected.”
“There you are,” Tara said as she pulled out a small baggie from her luggage and held it up, then she turned to Bailey and smiled. “Like I said, you can carry on now. No need to stop the fun on my account, I’ll just leave you all to it.�
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“Thanks,” I laughed, but Bailey just continued to hide her face and shake her head.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Tara said as she stepped through the tent door.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Really give it to her good,” Tara said, and she swatted the air in front of her as if she were spanking an imaginary bent over person.
“Tara!” Bailey exclaimed through her fingers. “Oh, my god!”
“Then go like this…” Tara said as she grabbed imaginary hips and thrust her crotch forward to imitate doggy-style. “Do it nice and deep and put a baby in her just like you did for me. Kay?”
“Goodbye, Tara,” I said with a shake of my head.
“Byyyyeee,” the platinum-blonde laughed as she zipped up the tent door.
I turned back to Bailey and smiled at the fact that she still had her face hidden. I slowly peeled away her fingers and looked into her blue-ish gray eyes.
“Are you okay?” I asked, though I couldn’t help how adorable I found her in that moment.
“I’m fine,” the blonde breathed, and she looked up at me and bit her lip for the hundredth time in the past five minutes. “She did say not to let her ruin our fun…”
“And so we won’t,” I laughed and picked her up so I could lay her down flat on the bed.
Bailey squealed with excitement when I grabbed her, and that turned into a sexy laugh as I started to kiss down her now once again exposed chest.
Once I reached her breast, though, her laugh turned into heavy breathing with some little moans here and there as my mouth caressed her.
I kissed all around her small, pert breast until my mouth found her already hard nipple, then I pulled it between my lips and gave it a small nip that made Bailey arch her back with pleasure.
“Ohhhh,” she groaned as her hands snaked into my hair. “That feels good.”
“You like that?” I whispered as I grabbed her breast and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Mmm, yes,” Bailey panted, and I felt her legs start to writhe beneath me.