by Steven Kagey
“With all this stuff they gave us,” Brian remarked to Sean, “it’s like they want us to harass them.”
“We’re going to do more than harass them, that’s for sure,” Sean replied.
Half of the radios that were recovered were damaged, but they still had four military PNR-500 tactical radios and four police Motorola radios. They didn’t have any chargers for the Motorola ones, so they were useless.
Craig asked, “What are we going to do with the Hummers?”
“Driving them around will draw a lot of attention,” Brian said. “We’re definitely going to keep one ready for anything big we need to do. There was a tripod for the fifties in there; I say we take one over to the LP/OP. That’s about all the defense we will need for the front of the house. We can keep the one Hummer that we will use to attack with in the shop. The other one won’t fit in the garage, so let’s take it behind the shop and camouflage it.”
Craig opened a Pelican case and looked up at Brian, “What are these?”
“Nice that is what we need. Night vision goggles. No, wait… Oh, hell yes.” He grabbed the case and began looking at the devices inside.
Sean and Craig stared at Brian waiting for an explanation for his enthusiasm.
“Gentlemen,” he said, “I present you the ENVG-III. The Enhanced Night Vision Goggle III. It’s a fusion of night and thermal vision. You can run each mode separately, or you can run them together in hybrid mode. When you run them together you see normal night vision and then it overlays any heat source on top. Night vision itself it a huge advantage, but these are a game changer.”
Craig said, “I bet these cost a pretty penny.”
Brian nodded. “$18,000 a pop.”
Sean and Craig said, “Daammnnn.”
“These are currently only issued to Special Forces,” Brian told them. “I wonder what the hell a guard unit is doing with them. What else do you see in there?”
Craig moved some ammo cans around and found a rifle case. “Just a crappy bolt action rifle with some other gear.”
Brian moved over to take a look. “Not crappy at all, my friend. This is an M24 sniper rifle currently in use by the U.S. military, and this one looks to be chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum. There’s a DOPE book in here, range finder, and spotting scope with over 1000 rounds,” Brian said, rummaging through the rifle’s case as he thought about the rifle in front of him. He turned to Sean and Craig. “Well guys, if we’re going to conduct any kind of operations, I would prefer to have a five-man team. Four main with a sniper overwatch. If worse comes to worst, we can go with a four-man team, one of them being the overwatch. Craig, that means David may have to be our sniper as long as you think he can handle it.”
“He can shoot, probably as well as me. Lillian’s not going to like it though. If it happens, we have to promise to keep him as far away from the fight as possible.”
“That’s the reason for him being the overwatch,” Brian said. “We should be keeping him back a couple hundred yards as long as he’s a good enough shot. I am worried about the maturity aspect.”
“He is only seventeen,” affirmed Sean.
“Seventeen-year-olds have been fighting and dying for their countries for centuries.” Brian realized what he had said, and knew by the look on Craig’s face he wasn’t happy about it. “I didn’t mean he would be dying for his country. I meant he’s old enough to take on the responsibility.”
Craig shook his head. “I know what you meant. I just didn’t like hearing it said out loud.”
“Okay, you get to talk to Lillian. I’ll get David started on practicing,” Brian said.
***
“David, your father, Uncle Sean, and I will be taking the fight out to these men,” Brian said. “We could use someone with a rifle at long range to be our overwatch. How do you feel about that? You may have to take a man’s life, and I need you to think seriously about it. Yours and our three lives may depend on you being able to pull that trigger when we need you to without hesitation.”
After a moment of consideration, David said, “Seeing what these men have already done to us along with killing Mr. Daniel, I can do it, Uncle Brian.”
“If you ever feel you can’t you need to tell us before we’re in the thick of it. It’s not going to be fun. You may have nightmares from it. If you are in a position and the enemy is close, you may need to stay in the same spot for a couple days until it’s safe to move. There is no getting up to stretch your legs; you would need to pee right where you lay, and you cannot be thinking about girls either.” Brian glanced over at Brenda in the kitchen window working the radios. “You will need to stay focused, David.”
David turned red. “W-what do you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb, David,” Brian said gruffly. “If you’re going to fight in a man’s world you need to be a man and take responsibility for your actions. I know you came out of the LP/OP earlier because you wanted to go talk to Brenda. I saw you in the house. She has her own responsibilities. She needs to focus on her job just like you do.”
David stood a little straighter and took a breath. “You’re right, I messed up. You can count on me, sir. I won’t let it happen again.”
“That’s all I wanted to hear.”
Brian then showed him the weapon he would be using and went over the functions, which David was already familiar with having shot his father’s Remington Model 700 rifle, then explained the bullet drop or DOPE book to him. He sent David behind the house to sight the rifle in at 100 yards and practice using the range finder and adjusting windage to make shots out to 1000 yards.
“Don’t worry about ranges over 1000 yards,” Brian said. “Shots significantly increase in difficulty because beyond that range you have to start taking into account the curvature and rotation of the Earth. Practice as long as you need until you feel comfortable.”
Fortunately, David had been shooting since he was twelve and had gotten a few deer at over 300 yards with iron sights, so he was a proficient shooter.
As Brian was walking away to leave David to his practicing, David called, “Hey, Uncle Brian? I would appreciate you keeping my interest in Brenda between us.”
“Will do,” Brian said with a chuckle.
***
The other guys had started covering the upstairs windows in the house with sheets of plywood, while Evelyn was cleaning the mess caused by flying bullets. There was a thin layer of plaster dust on everything and broken glass from windows, pictures, and dishes everywhere.
When Brian was approaching the house, Doc called out, “Our guest is awake.”
Brian yelled for Sean and Craig, who came running. They pulled Deputy Gill into the workshop so they could have some privacy. Lillian had come over to help Doc monitor the patient, which Brian suspected was to get out of doing clean-up.
Doc whispered to Brian, “He’s not doing well and likely won’t last long.”
When the guys got down to questioning him, he started begging to be taken into town for medical help.
“If you cooperate, we’ll make sure you’re taken care of,” Brian promised. “Now, where were all of our food and weapons taken?”
“Half of it was given to DHS at the FEMA camp,” Gill said, gasping from the pain.
When Brian asked where the other half of it was Gill changed his story and said all of it was given to the FEMA camp.
“Thank you for answering the questions truthfully,” Brian said. “Doc, were you able to get all the buckshot out of him?”
Doc looked puzzled. “I only stopped the bleeding and treated him for shock.”
“Well, we promised we would take care of him.” Brian grabbed Gill’s arm and ripped the bandages off roughly. “We need to get this buckshot out of him.” He started digging around in the bullet wounds searching for the buckshot with his bare hands.
Gill was screaming in pain.
Brian stopped. “Let me ask again. Where is the other half of the stuff you took from us?”
T
he look on Gill’s face went from hate to fear. “I told you,” he panted, “they have it at the FEMA camp at the high school!”
“Yes you said they had half. Where is the other half?”
After a few seconds, Brian grabbed his arm and started digging around in a different bullet hole. “I think I can feel one, I almost got it.”
Gill looked like he was getting ready to pass out from the pain. “Stop. Please stop!”
Lillian stepped forward and screamed, “Stop it! You’re a doctor for God sakes, you can’t let him do that to your patient!”
“Do what?” Doc said. “I am over watching the removal of foreign objects from the patient.”
“You know what he’s doing. It’s inhumane!” she screamed. “What about your Hippocratic Oath?”
Doc let out a hearty laugh. “Oh, that’s rich. You said it yourself—I’m just a veterinarian. For your information, we don’t take Hippocratic Oaths. The oath I took is to my animal patients. As far as I’m concerned, this man is a criminal who is responsible for the death of a good friend and stealing our food. Which, if we do not get back, we will all be dead in a few months.”
“Lillian,” Craig reasoned, “we’re going to get back what was stolen from us. The same food you were so upset about a few days ago.”
Gill started pleading for his life and telling Brian that they would not be able to recover all they had taken. “If I tell you where some of it is do you promise not to hurt them?”
“You let me judge or not if we can recover it all. And hurt who?”
“My family! We all split it up and took it home to our families, and I don’t know where everyone else lives.”
Brian was pissed. “I will extend the same concern for your family that you showed for mine. I am not in the business of killing women and children like you, but we will be taking back the food that was stolen from us.”
“We didn’t have any food before the pulse! What will my family do to survive?”
Brian looked at him coldly. “They can go to the FEMA camp. It was good enough for you to suggest it to my family; it will be good enough for your family.”
Upon hearing this, true fear for his family showed in Gill’s eyes. “If you let my family be I will tell you where all the rest of the deputies live. You can get back what they took. I don’t know where the soldiers live though.”
“I already know where all the deputies live. I know where all the guardsmen live too. You have no bargaining chip there.” Brian addressed Sean. “Go out and grab me the bag with all their wallets and bring me their driver’s licenses.” He looked back at Gill. “I heard you were a shitty cop. You make a shittier criminal. The first rule of any crime is to leave your wallet at home, lest you drop it and they can identify you. As a cop, you should know that.”
Gill was crushed, but at least the torture was over.
“Oh, don’t relax yet,” Brian said. “There are a lot more questions to ask, but I need to take you to some friends that will be able to benefit from the answers too. Doc, can you re-bandage him up and make sure he’s good enough for a short drive?”
Lillian asked, “Where are you taking him?”
“To get medical help,” Brian replied. “Craig, do you mind staying here and getting the LP/OP fixed back up? And can you take one of the fifties over on a tripod and get it set up? Take Doc and the girls and show them how to use it, load it, and change out the barrels, please. Sean and I can handle our friend here.”
When Doc finished getting Gill bandaged, they loaded him into the back of Craig’s pick-up.
“Evelyn, I need something purple.”
She ran into the house and came back a moment later with one of her good sweaters. Sean and Brian got in the truck and headed to the Palmers’ house.
Chapter 23
Brian pulled up into the Palmers’ driveway. He saw someone hiding off in the woods to the left. He hung the purple sweater out the driver’s side window and slowly drove further up. When the house and barn came into view, there were two men off to the side of the driveway, armed with ARs and aiming at the truck. They were wearing jeans and normal shirts, but all had the same load bearing vest that the three had been wearing earlier.
“I wonder why they aren’t wearing camo uniforms,” Sean commented.
“If you’re wearing civilian clothes you can ditch the weapons and vests and immediately blend in with any other civilians in an area,” Brian said. “If you have a uniform on you can’t hide in plain sight.”
“Ah, that’s smart.”
Brian stayed calm as he drove toward the men and wiggled the sweater. After a few seconds, the men lowered their weapons and waved the truck forward, instructing them to park next to the barn. When Brian and Sean got out, Todd and Thomas came out of the barn to meet them, and Brian introduced Sean to the two men.
“Brian, you didn’t need to bring the whole shirt,” Todd chuckled. “You could have cut a small piece off the sleeve.”
“Yeah. Do me a favor and go tell my wife I cut up one of her favorite sweaters. While you do that, I am going to go ahead and check myself into the FEMA shelter with the DHS boys.”
All the men started laughing.
“I got another question for you then,” Todd said. “Why do you have a fella tied up in the bed of your truck in his underwear?”
Without missing a beat, Sean deadpanned, “Sex slave.”
His response caught everyone off guard, even Brian. After they had realized he was joking and finished laughing, Brian said, “This is the only one that survived the fight earlier. We asked him a few questions, and I figured y’all might want to speak with him. After all, he is the deputy that DHS promoted to sheriff after the real sheriff stepped down.”
“Oh really?” Thomas said, stepping up to look into the bed at Gill. “We might have a few questions for him.”
Gill was curled up in a fetal position with a look of terror in his eyes.
“Yeah, he was having some issues with being truthful until I started to dig out some of the buckshot still in him, then he told us what we wanted to know. You may want to hurry with your questions. Our doc said he lost a lot of blood and probably doesn’t have much time left.”
Some of the men from the Tennessee Volunteer Irregulars pulled Gill out and carried him into the barn. Their medic came up to examine him. Thomas went over to speak to another man who was at a table covered in maps and other notes. The two came back and started talking with Gill. They offered him water and painkillers as long as he was honest. Sean and Brian stood to the side listening.
They asked him about DHS and National Guard troop strength and other assets in the area, found out where the headquarters for local operations were, and when the next shipment of supplies was coming in. They also found out the next phase of operations that the DHS had planned.
After an hour of listening to Gill answer questions, Brian, Sean, and Todd stepped outside.
“Seems like he’s telling the truth,” Todd said. “We’ve verified some of his answers with what we already knew. You don’t want to hear the rest of what he has to say?”
“Nah, we already have a few house calls to make and get back what was taken,” Brian said. “Plus, you guys seem to have the resources to put any good information that he gives to good use. Once we finish up with our plans, we’ll touch base with you and see if you need any help. In the meantime, if you do need anything from us, just come by and let us know. Flash your purple cloth, so my guys know you’re friendly.”
“Sounds good.” Todd handed Brian a slip of paper and some index cards. “Here are some frequencies we use and the cards have a few abbreviated code words for simple communications phrases. Good luck on your house calls, and likewise, if you run into trouble let us know.”
Sean’s desire for revenge by his hands had subsided while watching Gill get tortured. “After you get done with him in there, can you make sure his finds a nice comfortable place to take a dirt nap?” he asked.
�
��It would be our pleasure,” Todd said.
“Keep an ear out. Those boys may have someone come looking for them when they don’t show back up,” Brian said. “If you do hear something, don’t come up the road towards the house. We’ll be lighting them up with the fifties.”
Todd chuckled. “If we hear the fifties it should be over by the time we get there.”
The men shook hands and said their goodbyes. Brian and Sean got in the truck and returned home.
***
Carol and Christina had returned from the campsite. Carol was taking the loss of Daniel extremely hard. When she saw the body wrapped on the porch she ran up and ripped it open to see Daniel, Thankfully they had cleaned the body up, so Daniel looked peaceful and asleep. Everyone gave her some time to say goodbye.
Craig had fixed the LP/OP, and it looked even better. The fifty caliber was in place and ready, and the house was patched up. From the road, a quick glance wouldn’t alert one to anything out of the ordinary. Closer inspection would reveal the numerous bullet entries, missing windows, and torn siding. The damage would prove to be a blessing, as future passersby would see the house as a rundown dump and assume there was no use in trying to get food and supplies from it.
The Hummers were hidden out of sight, ready to be brought into play at a moment’s notice. The Hummer in the shop was loaded with spare weapons, ammo, and magazines, along with the second fifty cal still mounted on top. If an attack was in progress, once the LP/OP started to light them up, they’d roll out the Hummer in the shop and the aggressors could be engaged from two directions.
Everyone had been given a pistol and rifle except for Carol and Lillian, who refused to take one regardless of Craig pleading for her to take one for her own safety. Evelyn, Christina, and Janice wanted the guys to go out with them the next day to practice shooting the weapons. Although Christina wasn’t fond of Patricia having a handgun, after Brian and Sean re-emphasized that the world they lived in had changed she softened her stance. The kids had grown up around weapons and were familiar with proper handling. The guys planned to conduct a refresher on safety, handling, cleaning, and shooting the weapons as a group.