Without II: The Fall

by E. E. Borton

  “You’re not going to like this.”

  Chapter 30

  Cracker

  It was our first contact with other live humans in the city. They were manning a barricade made of cars, trucks, and scrap metal. It looked impressive, but it also looked penetrable. That was the only positive I could see through my scope.

  With the river bending on the left and a dense patch of rising woodland to the right, the terrain created a natural chokepoint that seemed to be well choked. In the short time I observed the area around the barricade, I counted five armed men. They were carrying an assortment of hunting rifles, shotguns, and pistols.

  “I count five,” I said, sliding to the side so the others could take a look.

  “Seven,” said JD, crouching beside me. “There are two more on the roof of that five-story hotel to the left.”

  “I see ‘em,” said Tucker, taking over at the gutter hole. “They’re all out in the open. I can take them out from here.”

  “We don’t know how many are behind the barricade,” I said. “There could be fifty more around the bend behind them. No, we need a better idea of what we’re dealing with before we do anything.”

  “There’s remnants of other barricades closer to us,” said Doug. “Like they’ve been pushed back to their current position. I imagine they’re protecting something more than the riverfront. I’d bet the farm there’s another barricade or two behind them, so they could fall back if they got overrun.”

  “Maybe they’re protecting what’s left of the city,” I said. “Those bridges are their only way out.”

  “Protecting them from what?” asked Tucker. “You said most people would be trying to get out of the city.”

  “Most would if they could,” I said. “Whatever they’re afraid of, we’re on the wrong side of it. What’s near here, Doug?”

  “Some of the worst neighborhoods in Chattanooga,” said Doug. “On the other side of this rise and a mile behind us are housing projects. Those are the places you avoid.

  “On the other side of those bridges is the money. Nice suburbs, affluent neighborhoods, and big riverfront homes. Most of the people who work in the city and make most of the money live on the other side of those bridges. My guess is that they’re trying to keep anyone living on this side from crossing over.”

  “And it looks like they’ve been losing ground,” I said. “Okay, new plan. Doug, can you get us somewhere we can put eyes on those bridges and figure out how well they’re protected?”

  “Yes,” said Doug. “On the other side of that wooded ridge is a group of tall office buildings. If we can get to the roof, we should be able to see all four bridges and what’s near them.”

  “Good,” I said. “Let’s get rolling. There’s going to be a lot more activity around here after the sun goes down.”

  “The freaks come out at night,” sang JD.

  He didn’t stop singing until we made it out of the building. We were a little more cavalier with our speed as we altered our route and walked parallel to the barricade shooters. A wall of dense trees and shrubs a half-mile long created a natural barrier between the waterfront and the city. It was only a hundred yards wide, but it took us twenty minutes to make it through the rugged terrain. We stopped at the edge of the tree line when the parking deck to the large office complex came into view.

  Beyond the parking deck were four five-story buildings in a semicircle on top of a hill that overlooked the entire riverfront, the bridges, and most of the city. We surveyed the area as much as we could at ground level before moving up the tree line to the back of the complex. Our bolt cutters defeated the chain-link security fence with ease.

  “This place has a commanding view of everything,” I said. “If that’s a well-organized group, they’ll have eyes on the roof facing the city. We’ll enter the building next to it. Be ready for contact. If at all possible, take them quietly.”

  As with the dental office, the modern buildings took advantage of natural light with glass facades on all sides. We crossed a small clearing to the back of the building we hoped was empty. We also hoped one of the doors would be unlocked. None of them were.

  It was time to use two of the other tools we carried. JD eased the crowbar into the narrow gap of the door near the handle. He took his time to keep the noise of grinding metal on metal to a minimum. When he created enough space, Tucker slid the other crowbar under the first. They both applied enough pressure to pry open the latch. The barrel of Doug’s rifle was the first thing to enter the building.

  With the sun beaming down on the backside of the building, the corridor was bright and clear. We were lucky again when we entered the stairwell that had glass on two sides. There were no barricades or bodies to impede our progress to the top landing. Our luck continued when the door to the roof gave way when I turned the knob. That’s where our luck ended.

  There was a four-foot wall around the perimeter of the roof. We cleared the large open area as we would any room inside. Coming back together, minus JD who stayed inside on the landing, we crouched near the corner closest to the other building. (We didn’t move all the way to the edge in order to keep anyone on the ground, or near the bridges, from spotting us.) As we suspected, two snipers with rifles were crouched in the corner of the building that faced the city.

  “You’re gonna tell me not to take ‘em out,” said Tucker, putting the sitting ducks in his crosshairs.

  “You are correct, sir,” I said, putting my back to the wall. “We need to take them, but alive. Daniel, go switch with JD. He and I need to work this out.”

  “Will do.”

  I moved to the opposite corner to assess the situation at the bridges. Our building was several feet taller than where our new friends were sitting. I was out of their sight when I peered through a small gap at the base of the wall. I slid to the side when JD joined me.

  “Take a look,” I said, leaning against the wall.

  “That’s going be a problem,” said JD. “Even bigger problems on the other side of the bridges. Fifteen, maybe twenty, soldiers over there. It’ll be easier to build a damn boat and cross somewhere downriver.”

  “We need to be on the other side by sunrise tomorrow,” I said. “We wait any longer and we’ll miss our opportunity to take out the general before he makes it home.”

  “You wanna go talk to our neighbors over there?” asked JD. “You and me?”

  “We’ll take Doug as backup in case you screw things up,” I said, smiling.

  “When?”

  “Right now,” I said. “If that door is blocked from their side, we’ll have to wait until one of them opens it for whatever reason.”

  “I hope they had Indian food for lunch,” said JD. “That would give me a reason to abandon my post.”

  “You eat Indian food?”

  “I did once,” said JD. “It went through me like a greased marble.”

  I came close to revealing our position. I covered my mouth and breathed through my nose to suppress my laughter. After I composed myself, we executed our plan.

  Tucker stayed on the wall to cover us. Daniel was his rear security. JD, Doug, and I made our way down and to the entrance of the next building. We still had a little luck left when we found the lobby empty. We cleared as many rooms and floors around as we could. We then returned to the large open lobby. We could see every inch of the vast courtyard in front of the building. It was where we would wait for hours.

  “The sun is going down,” said Doug, rubbing his neck. “It’ll be dark soon.”

  “What if these guys don’t get relieved until morning?” asked JD. “We’ve been sitting here for two hours.”

  “Then we go to plan B,” I said.

  “What’s plan B?” asked Doug.

  “I have no idea.”

  “No need for plan B,” said JD, crouching down behind a reception kiosk. “We got two strolling across the courtyard heading this way.”

  Plan A was simple enough. We’d let their relief
enter the lobby, and then we’d take them. When the two on the roof opened the door to let them through, we’d take them. It was simple enough, unless they decided to fight.

  They came through the door without a care in the world. They didn’t even look around as they walked by us while we were concealed behind desks a few feet away. Whatever they were expecting, it wasn’t us.

  “Don’t turn around,” I said, standing with my weapon raised.

  They froze.

  “Oh shit,” said the shorter relief. “Oh shit.”

  “Calm down, kid,” I said, “Put those rifles on the ground and then get those hands in the air. I’m not alone.”

  “Afternoon, boys,” said JD, coming from behind the counter and putting his gun to the back of a head.

  “You do what we say and nobody dies today,” said Doug, doing the same to the other head.

  The shorter relief sniper couldn’t have been more than sixteen years old. Taller relief wasn’t much older. With their trembling hands high in the air, JD and Doug collected their weapons.

  “What are your names?” I asked, coming around into their view.

  “I’m Jackson,” said tall relief. “This is Boyd.”

  “Okay, Jackson and Boyd,” I said. “What’s the procedure from here to get up top? A secret knock? A whistle?”

  “A knock,” said Jackson. “Two, then a pause, then three knocks. We usually relieve them about now. They’re expecting us.”

  “Thank you, Jackson,” I said. “How do you let them know trouble is coming? Is there a spotter at the bridge watching you?”

  “Yes,” said Jackson. “We move to the other corner of the roof and use hand signals to let them know how many are coming and which bridge they’re heading for. We don’t start shooting until they do, so we don’t give away our position.”

  “You’re being very cooperative, Jackson,” I said. “We’re not going to hurt you or take anything from you or anyone else. Do you understand me?”

  “I do,” said Jackson, “and I appreciate that. You mind telling me what you do want?”

  “To talk to someone in charge, Jackson. That’s it.”

  “Okay, we can help you with that.”

  “Very good answer,” I said. “My buddy and I are going to go get your friends off of the roof. We’re not going to hurt them either. One of my guys is going to stay down here with you. Trust me when I say he can kill both of you with no problem. Do you believe me?”

  “I do, sir.”

  JD and I made our way to the door leading to the roof. After the proper sequence of knocks, it swung open. Before their brains figured out what was happening, they had guns in their faces. They were a few years older than the men downstairs, but they complied the same way. After a few minutes, everyone was reunited in the lobby.

  “This is Alan and Steve,” said JD, sitting them on the couch next to Jackson and Boyd. “See, not a scratch.”

  “Can we have our guns back, mister?” asked Boyd. “You said you wasn’t gonna take nothin’ from us.”

  “Um, not quite yet, kid,” I said, cocking my head.

  “It’s my pop’s best rifle,” said Boyd. “He’d kill me if I lost it.”

  “I told you,” I said, “we’re not taking anything from you. You’ll get your dad’s rifle back as soon as I’m sure you’re not going to use it on us.”

  “I wouldn’t have shot you anyway,” said Boyd.

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “’Cause you’re white,” said Boyd.

  “I’m not,” said Doug, taking a step toward him.

  “Wouldn’t have shot you either, ‘cause you’re with them,” said Boyd, digging his hole deeper.

  “I think we just figured out what they’re so afraid of,” said JD.

  “I apologize,” said Alan. “Boyd isn’t very well educated.”

  “Then you better educate me,” said Doug, glaring. “And you better make it fast before I start educating you.”

  “Don’t look at me, Alan,” I said. “I’d be more worried about the black guy with the gun.”

  Chapter 31

  Gatekeeper

  “Don’t threaten me,” said Alan, sitting up in his seat. “I don’t care what color you are. If you’re trying to steal food and supplies from my family, I’m going to kill you. If you try and take my daughter from me, I’m going to kill you. Color has nothing to do with it.”

  “You’ve got us all wrong, sir,” said Jackson. “We’re not racist. Close to half of the men fighting beside us are black. I’d take a bullet to help them defend their homes across that river and they’d do the same for me. It’s just that most of the people attacking us are from the projects on this side. That’s what Boyd meant to say.”

  “We know they’re in bad shape,” said Alan. “We know they’re starving and they don’t have any supplies, but we don’t have much either. We gave what we could, but when we couldn’t give anymore, they came at us. They’ve been coming at us ever since.”

  “We’ve had groups of white people try to cross over,” said Jackson. “We had to turn them away too. They came back fighting when it got dark.”

  “We’re really not racist,” said Alan. “Boyd just chose his words poorly. I hate that we have to turn away women and children of any color. We just can’t save them all. I don’t know if we can save ourselves.”

  “Sound familiar?” I said, patting Doug on the shoulder as I walked around him.

  “It does,” said Doug, looking at Alan. “Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

  “No need to apologize,” said Alan. “I’d have been pissed, too.”

  “We need to speak to whoever is in charge,” I said. “Someone with the authority to let us cross the bridge. We don’t need or want anything from you. Our business is farther north.”

  “That would be Paul Conner,” said Alan.

  “Is he a reasonable man?” asked Doug.

  “For the most part he is,” said Alan. “He’s the leader of the militia here.”

  “Oh shit,” said Daniel.

  “You know him?” asked Alan.

  “No, but we know –”

  “We’ve heard of them,” I said, cutting off Daniel before he made a mistake. “We’re hoping to trade food and supplies for protection. That’s our business up north.”

  “Be careful what you wish for,” said Jackson.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “He didn’t mean anything,” said Alan. “If it weren’t for them and their guns, we’d all be dead.”

  “Says you,” said Jackson, crossing his arms and leaning back in the couch. “I still say we made a deal with the devil.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Alan, glaring at him. “I suggest you stop.”

  “Our town is in trouble,” I said. “We need their help. Can you take us to Paul?”

  “I can,” said Alan. “Any chance you can let Boyd and Jackson stand their watch? We really need them up there. They’re our early warning system. We move our people around based on which direction the attack might come from. They’ll probably hit us again tonight.”

  “We won’t shoot at you,” said Boyd. “I promise.”

  “You won’t be able to,” I said. “Two of my guys are going to keep you company on the roof. You two can stand your watch while my guys watch over us. You can have your rifles, but my guys will hold on to the ammunition. They’ll leave it behind when they come down. Fair enough?”

  “Fair enough,” said Alan.

  JD and Tucker cleared, unloaded, and then handed Boyd and Jackson their weapons. We did the same with Alan and Steve’s guns, but let them hold on to their ammunition. It would take them several seconds to reload and chamber a round. That would be more than enough time for us to make them pay for a mistake. When the men disappeared up the stairwell, the rest of us headed out to the courtyard.

  Alan and Steve took point. I wanted to make sure they were the first people their spotters saw, and they
could see they still had their weapons. I couldn’t help but think of my uncle. Once again, I was strolling into a militia compound. The difference being we were armed this time.

  As we approached another manned barricade, we kept our weapons low. We didn’t want to appear to be a threat. I tightened my grip on the handle of my rifle when several of theirs were aimed at us. A wave and a quick word from Alan put everyone at ease. When we walked through a small gap between two burned out cars, Alan told us to wait.

  “Made sense what you said back there,” said Daniel, standing beside me. “Sorry about that. I’ll let you do all the talking from here on out.”

  “No harm done,” I said, giving him a wink and a smile.

  “Seems like there’s a difference of opinion about the militia occupation,” said Doug, moving in closer to us. “That may work in our favor down the road.”

  “So our story is that we’re looking for General Castle to strike some kind of deal,” said Daniel, smiling. “Not bad, Henry.”

  “It makes sense that Castle is supporting them,” I said. “His home base is five miles from here. They can’t afford to lose these bridges.”

  “Looks like he’s using the locals to make sure he doesn’t,” said Doug. “He’s probably giving them enough to keep them somewhat happy, but not enough to make them strong.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “He’s had the men and the firepower to help these people keep their homes and even save the city, but he’s not going to use his resources on them. He knows men fighting for their families and homes are going to fight harder than those trying to take it.”

  “He’s letting them kill each other,” said Doug.

  “Yep,” I said. “Once they become too weak to resist or enough of them have died on both sides, he’ll be able to take everything they have without firing a shot.”

  “He’ll be the king of Chattanooga,” said Daniel.

  “If enough people knew what he was doing,” said Doug, “they might turn their guns on him.”

  “Probably,” I said. “We’ll cross that bridge after we cross theirs. We don’t have time to start a revolution here.”