by Steven Kagey
The entire room was quiet. Then Todd asked, “Are you serious or is this a joke?”
Brian looked at him with a straight face. “I’m not joking.”
“He’s not joking,” Sean chimed in.
The entire room burst into conversation with comments such as:
“You are full of shit.”
“Dumbest thing I ever heard.”
“You’re crazy.”
“That will never work.”
Each man thought about what Brian had said and the room eventually quieted down, Todd asked, “You seriously have a rooster that goes to the front porch and crows every morning at 5:30?”
In unison Sean, Craig, and David said, “Yes, he does.”
A few men gave Brian’s plan a quick mental once over and were nodding to themselves, thinking it might actually work if this chicken thing was for real.
Todd and Thomas looked at each other, shrugged, and Thomas said, “Sounds like a plan to me.”
When a few men in the room sounded their objections to the lunacy of the plan, Todd stood. “These four men fought off a twenty-man attack that included two fifty cal equipped Hummers with nothing more than two rifles, a shotgun, a pistol, and a handful of fireworks. If Brian Stewart says he has a chicken that gets up and cooks breakfast for the family every morning, I’m going to take his word for it.”
“I want to see this combat chicken in action,” Sheriff Perry laughed. He had made up his mind that Brian’s plan seemed plausible.
Upon seeing the heads of their respective groups agree to the plan, things began to quiet down.
“Brian, the floor is yours,” Thomas said. “Give us the details of your plan.”
Brian stood up, pointing spots out on the map as he spoke. “I will sneak as close as possible and push the chicken towards the house. Every man will be in position, and when the rooster crows we’ll push forward until we can see the house. Each man will have a heat shield in front of them. Sixty seconds after the crow, each man will open fire on any available targets at the house. The Hummers will be standing by, and once they hear the shots, they’ll come forward and assist with any hostiles that come out of the house.”
After Brian had finished explaining the plan, there was only one question.
“If the DHS has thermal scopes what would stop them from seeing and shooting the chicken?”
“I’m going to take a small section of space blanket and use spray adhesive to attach it to a piece of camo fabric and wrap it around the chicken like a cloak. They’ll still be able to see the chickens’ head, but he’s a wily old bird and I have faith.”
They did establish a contingency plan if the chicken didn’t crow or got shot on the way to the house.
Chapter 32
The first order of business to prepare for the attack was to build the heat-reflecting shields. Brian planned on using some thin boards for the base and some dowel rods for the sides to wrap the foil around.
“I have an idea for some wood. Does anybody have any moonshine lying around?”
Chris retrieved a mason jar of clear liquid from behind a loose board on the barn wall and handed it to him.
“You sneaky bastard,” Thomas said. “I knew you had more when I asked you for some the other night and you said we were out.”
Chris laughed and smacked him on the arm. “I was saving it for a special occasion.”
“And this is special?”
“I’d say so. We’re getting ready to follow a chicken into battle,” Chris said.
The entire group cracked up laughing.
Three vehicles with a few men from each group headed off to Porters Hardware Store. They made it to the store without incident, pulled around back, and secured the area.
Brian stepped up to the back door and knocked. “Mr. Porter, it’s Brian Stewart. I have some friends with me.”
Brian thought he heard some movement, but there was no response. He knocked again. “Bill, it's Brian Stewart. I have a jar of hooch for you.” Something large was moved and then the door was unlocked. Bill Porter cracked open the door and looked out. “Well hell, lead with that next time,” he said with a grin.
Brian introduced everyone, but Bill either knew or had seen all of them in the store before.
“Mr. Porter, we came by to check on you a few days ago,” one of the deputies said. “You didn’t answer.”
“Sorry, son. I couldn’t take a chance on you being in cahoots with them other sumbitches.”
“I understand,” the deputy said, and the men exchanged pleasantries for a while.
“We haven’t had any trouble. My wife and granddaughters are doing fine, thanks. What do you boys need?”
“We need 1x2s, dowel rods, black spray paint, and any emergency space blankets you have back with the camping supplies,” Brian said.
The Porters had all of that stuff and Betty and a few men headed back to get it all. While they were gone, Bill asked, “What are you boys building with that stuff?”
Brian told him about the heat-reflecting shields and how they planned to put them together. Once Bill understood what they were building, he asked, “Why are you doing it the hard way? We have a foil lined foam insulation board back in the building supplies. It's rigid, won’t tear like the space blankets will, and you only have to attach one piece of wood that will help it stand up and also serve as the handle, so you don’t have to transfer any heat to the board itself. The board can be attached with a single screw, and the shield is done.”
They got the foam boards and Bill produced a razor knife, and they started cutting them to size. Once the wooden handle was attached they were laid outside next to the vehicles and a generous coat of spray paint was applied to the non-foil side. While the paint was still wet handfuls of dirt, leaves, and pine needles were thrown on them to stick in the paint and the shields were done.
After making sure Bill, Betsy, and the girls didn’t need anything, Brian made plans to get the Porters over if everything settled down so Avery and Patricia could play with his granddaughters and get them out of the hardware store for a bit. The men headed back to continue preparations for the pending attack.
***
After the guys returned home to gather their gear, everyone left at the homestead bombarded them with questions about what they were going to do. When Brian told them they were going to be attacking the DHS headquarters the entire group erupted. The tone of the wives’ voices was unmistakable; they did not approve of their men going on the operation.
Christina asked, “Why do you guys need to go since the sheriff and his men are back on duty?”
“This operation needs more men than the sheriff and the militia have,” Sean explained. “Sheriff Perry can’t send all of his guys because they still have to protect their families as well.”
“But it’s okay for us to send all of our men?” she retorted.
Lilian shook her head. “My son is not going and that is final.”
Craig was about to say something when David said, “Mom, I am going and that is final.”
The women erupted again and Brian realized that this argument was not going to be won with all the women feeding off each other’s emotions. They would need to get them separated in order to sway their opinions.
“Let’s all go and each family discuss this among themselves,” Brian said.
The families separated to different parts of the homestead and the men began to plead their case to their wives why they needed to go.
Brian had the easiest time of all the men. Evelyn understood what was at stake if the DHS was not defeated. Once it was settled Brian, Evelyn, and Avery said their goodbyes. As they took in the few scarce moments alone with each other, Evelyn and Brian told Avery the stories of all her firsts. Her first words, first steps, first ice cream, and the first day of school among others. She had heard the stories before, but she laughed as they told them to her like it was her first time hearing them. Brian was starting to get choked up and they ende
d up crying in each other’s arms.
“Dad,” Avery pleaded, “please, I’m mature enough to understand what you are about to do and why, but please be safe.”
She, Evelyn, and Brian would never forget those precious few moments they spent holding each other.
“I’ll be fine, Avery. I’ll be back,” Brian vowed. “I’ll take you hunting when I get back, promise.”
Sean was having a hard time convincing Christina and his mom that they needed to do this or they would never be safe. It wasn’t until Brenda and Brandon began to show support for the idea the two women slowly gave in and the Williams family had their own goodbye session.
Lillian was upset that two members of her family were going, giving her the potential to lose her son and her husband. After Craig reminded her that Sean and his family had already lost one for the cause she calmed down. He also told her that Doc was going along to stay with the Hummers in case someone needed a battlefield medic. She finally conceded.
After dinner the four men cleaned their weapons and starting putting their body armor and gear on. Doc had his own gear and kit and was ready to go. While David was loading his gear in the Hummer, Brenda and Crystal came to tell him goodbye and to be safe. At the same time, both girls leaned in and kissed him on opposite cheeks.
“Don’t die,” Crystal whispered seductively in his ear, leaving him speechless, his heart pounding as they walked away.
“Brandon,” Sean said, “you’re the man of the house and it’s your duty to watch over the homestead while we’re gone.”
The sheriff had dropped off the 240G machine gun earlier so they could pull the fifty cal from the LP/OP and put it back on its Hummer and still have a means of protection at the property.
Brian had crafted the rooster's heat cloak from a piece of camo burlap lined with part of a space blanket. It fit well and Billy didn’t seem to mind it. With the autumn chill, he actually seemed to like it, and strutted around to show off his new garment.
***
The militia headquarters was crawling with men. Gear was being checked and double checked when Brian and his crew drove up in the two Hummers. In total, the group had three Hummers, each with a fifty cal. The fourth Hummer that was captured at the sheriff’s compound was covered on the inside with blood and guts, and after six men attempted to clean it out and each one lost his lunch in the process, they scrapped it as a total loss until it dried up some. Dismounting the machine gun and getting out the ammo was hard enough.
The sheriff had sent the SAW along to be carried into position at the DHS house. Every man was outfitted with body armor, and a multitude of camouflage clothing was being worn from military issued uniforms such as MultiCam, MARPAT, and ACUs all the way to simple hunting gear. A few handcrafted ghillie suits were being worn among the crowd. Surprisingly, David’s was the best looking.
Brian got out of the Hummer with Billy under his arm. “Just so everyone realizes it,” he said loudly, “you know the saying about not taking a knife to a gun fight? Well, I am actually taking a chicken to a gun fight!”
The entire group burst into laughter, and everyone came up to inspect the “Combat Chicken” in his little camo outfit.
Brian introduced Doc and Mike to each other. Each was glad the other was there, and they set about discussing how to handle any mishaps.
Todd walked around with a box of different sized batteries for everyone to change out their radio and place fresh ones in their night vision goggles. There were a few pairs of military quality night vision goggles and monoculars among the group, but most had inferior civilian models. Only two men had thermal devices, a scope and a monocular. When Brian and his group pulled out their ENVGs the penis envy flew off the charts. They were bombarded with questions about where and how they got them, if they had any more, and everyone wanted to try them out.
“They were in one of the Hummers that attacked our place,” Brian said. “That’s why I’m sure the DHS has thermal capabilities.”
Todd, Sheriff Perry, and a few militia men were staying behind to man the command post and protect the farm. Thomas, Chris, Mike and five other militiamen were going, and they already had their other three-man team out there. Six deputies were gearing up to go. Brian, Sean, Craig, David, and Doc rounded the group out for a total of twenty-two men. Normally, it called for a three to one ratio to successfully take over a fortified position. They were going to do it with half of what the enemy had. But, they did have a Combat Chicken.
***
It was just past 10:00 p.m. when the vehicles parked roughly two and a half miles away from the DHS headquarters on a dirt road out of sight. They were staged and ready to roll out as soon as they heard gunfire.
The group was divided into four five-man teams, and each team left the drop-off point in a staggered formation. Each man was carrying their rifle and heat shield. They were reminded not to mistake the heat shield for something that would stop a bullet.
The four teams headed to their designated sectors and began the tedious process of getting into position. Carrying three-foot long foam boards through the woods wasn’t the easiest thing in the world, and it took close to three hours for the teams to reach their final rally point. Each team checked in over the radio that they were ready.
The teams began slowly creeping into their final positions. Ninety minutes later most of the teams were within 800 yards of the house, still out of sight. They could hear a faint noise coming from the farmhouse, possibly a generator. They hadn’t received any reports of a running generator at the house the previous two nights; this was different.
Brian advanced closer to the house following a depression in the land so that he could remain out of sight. If he couldn’t see them, they wouldn’t be able to see him either. He reached the last little hill that kept him out of sight of the house.
He put the makeshift cloak on Billy and pushed him towards the direction of the porch. Billy turned around and came up next to Brian. Brian picked him up and pushed him in the direction of the house whispering, “Billy. Go home!” The rooster reluctantly walked into the darkness and was soon out of sight. Brian expected to hear a gunshot as soon as Billy crested the hill towards the house, but the shot never came. Brian returned to his position with his team and reported, “Combat Chicken is in play.”
The few men that could safely see the house from their locations were unable to see if Billy had made it to the house or not. They didn’t report any unusual activity from the sentries around the house, which was a good thing. Two hours later that changed. Teams in front of the house reported that lights inside the house were coming on and the front porch light had come on as well. Hearing that, they thought the chicken had been discovered.
Knowing that any night vision capabilities the DHS would be using would be washed out from the porch light, the command was given, and everyone pushed their shields into place. They did see that most of the DHS forces had removed their night vision devices from their heads. There was an increase in movement around the house. Someone reported that they could see Billy nestled up on the front porch rail beside the house, but no one at the house appeared to have seen him or was paying any attention to him.
Brian scanned the porch and finally saw him. Each team reported on what they were seeing. Their plan may be compromised due to this increased activity, but it was agreed that everyone remained in position. No one had any ideas why the farmhouse would be awake at this hour. Previous reports were that they never saw activity until well after daybreak.
After watching the property for thirty minutes more, the faint sound of engine noises was heard approaching. As those watching the farm were hitting their radio buttons to ask why their own Hummers where in motion, the men at their vehicles reported that four black Hummers had passed their location on the road and were headed to the house. The four black Hummers were driving with their lights on, moving at a good rate of speed toward the farmhouse.
The command to stay in position and hidden cam
e across the radio as the men looked at each other in confusion at this new development. Soon the headlights could be seen coming. The guards didn’t react to the sight or sound of the vehicles approaching.
As the shapes of the vehicles came into view, Sean reported over the radio, “Two of the black HUMVEEs have fifty caliber machine guns mounted on them and the other two have some other weapon I don’t recognize.”
“They’re Mark 19s,” an unfamiliar voice reported.
When some of the men questioned what a Mark 19 was, the original voice clarified, “Belt fed automatic 40mm grenade launchers”.
Todd at the command post came over the radio. “All forces be advised this changes the game. Team leaders need to make the call on site whether to stay or withdraw.”
After a few moments of silence, the four team leads acknowledged their teams were going to stay in position to continue observing. Brian pulled out his tactical radio so he could speak with his guys.
“We’re now severely outgunned. One lucky sweep from the Mk19s, and we could lose half our forces.”
“We still have the element of surprise,” Craig argued. “If they continue on we’ll drop fifteen or more with the first few shots, which will help even the playing field.”
The Hummers pulled up to the house and their crews disembarked from the vehicles. A few individuals stepped outside, shaking hands with the newcomers. Brian realized that these were the DHS reinforcements due to the pullout by the National Guard. He was worried because he could feel things going sideways.
At 5:00 a.m. the command post announced thirty minutes. “This is the last chance to fall back if this operation is a no go.”