We Go On (THE DELL)

by Stephen Woods

  It took me longer to find the place in the dark than I thought it would. There was a small copse of woods that came within about thirty-yards of the inside of the wall. That was the location of the bend in the wall. I planned to hide in the trees close enough that I’d have a clear shot at anybody coming over. I should’ve told Dave and had him send a couple of his guys out to back me up but I was afraid there would be too much noise and alert any attackers to our presence. I set up at the base of a big oak tree and waited.

  It was a quiet night and, being March, it was still cold. I had worn my heavy coat over my sweater but the briskness of the evening helped to keep me alert. The evening dragged by and my mind was occupied with thoughts of what I should do. By midnight, I thought I had made a mistake; that I was wrong about what they intended. I decided I'd wait until 2 a.m. and, if nothing happened, I'd call it a night. By 1:30 a.m. my back hurt from sitting in the cold against the tree. I had to stand up to stretch and was so stiff I had to use the tree trunk to help me get to my feet. I tried to be quiet and just straightened up from a stretch when I saw the rope come over the wall.

  I moved cat-like back behind the tree using it as cover. The night was clear and the stars provided enough light to see a man in full combat kit slid down the rope to the ground. As soon as he touched down he moved to his left and took a knee providing security for the others that were sure to follow him. The second man had started down the rope and I decided to act before I was too out numbered. I took aim and fired three rounds at the kneeling man. I started forward as he crumpled to the ground and I reached the wall just as the second man touched down. He flung the rope away and turned bringing his rifle up as I swung my rifle at his head. A satisfying thud rewarded me as the stock of my rifle connected with the right side of his head. He dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

  I searched him for weapons and found several pair of flex cuffs attached to his rig. Disarmed and flex-cuffed, I left him and checked the other guy and found him dead. All of my rounds had struck him high in the shoulder and head. I went back to my prisoner and checked him. He was still out so I got on the radio to Dave and filled him in on what had happened. He told me he'd have a team there as soon as they were assembled and from his tone I could tell that he would be chewing my ass for going out alone. I probably deserved it. I was suddenly struck with the realization of what would I do if more soldiers started over the wall. So I fired a few more rounds over the top of the wall to dissuade anybody else from attempting to climb over.

  I latched onto the grab handle on the back of my prisoners vest and drug him back to the trees where I'd have some cover while waiting for Dave to show up. I heard the man moan as he started to come to. I prodded him with the toe of my boot and told him to stay quiet or I'd shoot him. He must have believed me because he didn't make any more noise.

  As soon as Dave arrived, we loaded the prisoner into one of the ATVs and headed them back to the EOC. Dave didn't say much; just muttered dumb ass under his breath before ordering several of his guys to remain there to make sure another attempt wasn't made. Dave drove me back to the EOC so I could interrogate the man I'd caught. The whole way back he kept muttering and I only occasionally caught a word. Mostly what I heard was stupid and asshole. I made a mental note to remind him about who worked for whom.

  Chapter 21

  More of the Same

  "What's your name?" I sat across the table from the young man. His hands were still flex-cuffed behind him causing him to lean forward in the chair. I could see the large bump on his scalp just above his right ear from where I had hit him. I was sure his bell was still ringing but there was no pain written on his face as he stared back at me. So far he had refused to answer any of my questions.

  He was a tall good looking guy. Military haircut, and in real good shape. It’s obvious he had been eating well and spending time in a gym. Where ever he'd come from he wasn't struggling to live the way we had been. I could tell he was a hard ass and if I played it hard we'd get nowhere fast. This had to be a good-cop, better-cop type interview.

  I called Dave in and asked him to remove the guy’s cuffs. Dave gave me a questioning look and I motioned for him to go ahead. He shrugged and cut the flex cuffs. "Please don't make me regret doing that," I said as the soldier brought his hands around in front of him and leaned back. He looked at me but said nothing. I continued, "Look I understand what you’re thinking. I used to be a soldier but I'm not anymore and neither are you. Now we are the same; we're both survivors. That's all and I don't think it's going to hurt anything for you to tell me your name."

  He continued to stare back at me for a few seconds. "Nate. My name is Nate."

  I nodded and thanked him for telling me his name. I introduced myself and explained that I was in charge here. I told him that he wasn’t going to be harmed and I just wanted to understand why they were threatening us. He scoffed, "You didn't have a problem killing my partner. Why should I believe you?"

  "You attacked us," I said. "We have tried to live peacefully but we aren't going to let someone waltz in and take our home away from us. We didn't come to you and threaten you. We’re simply trying to survive and if you had come to us and asked, we would have let you in. Demanding we turn our home over to you and then killing our people when we said no is not the way to gain our cooperation."

  He considered this for a moment, then he turned. "I just do what I'm told. I don't get involved in the politics. I'm just a shooter."

  "Politics?" I asked. "I don't understand what you mean and the 'I just do what I'm told' excuse won't cut it. You attacked us with no provocation and some of our people are dead. You and your group are responsible. Why? That's what I want you to tell me Nate. Why?"

  He looked down at the floor for a long time. I thought he might ignore the question when he looked back up at me and said, "Because that crazy bitch told Dick to attack you. If she tells Dick to do something; he does it."

  "Who's Dick?" I asked.

  "Dick Whittaker. Our fearless leader. I think him and the bitch have something going. She says jump and Dick asks how high."

  "Okay, if you know she's crazy, and I agree with you by the way, why do what she wants?"

  "Same reason you're fighting back. To survive. If we don't do what we’re told we get kicked out of the Complex and you know what’s going on out there," Nate said.

  "What's the Complex?"

  Once again, he paused before answering. I guess he was considering what or how much to tell us. "It’s part of the National Laboratory at Oak Ridge, outside Knoxville. I've been there since before the world went to shit." He paused again. "I don't agree with what we're doing here but I don't want to starve to death or get turned into one of those things either." He spread his hands as if to say 'what am I supposed to do.'

  "What if we offered you a place here?" I asked him. Dave, who had been standing at the door behind Nate, gave me a look that asked if I'd lost my mind but didn't say anything, but I wanted to know what Nate knew.

  Nate looked at me doubtfully. "You'd do that?"

  I nodded. "Yes, on two conditions. One, you have to agree to abide by our rules just like anybody else wanting to join us and, two, I want to know everything about Dr. Dumont and Whittaker."

  "All right, here's what I know. I was an Army Ranger and when I discharged I was hired by GMOI, Global Military Options International. I worked a couple of security jobs for them. Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Rwanda. Then they wanted us to go to Egypt and escort this doctor back to the States. We were told he was a close hold so I figured he wasn't a willing visitor. Turns out, I was right and he'd been detained by CIA because he was some kind of biotech guy. Anyway, we escorted him to the Complex where we met Dr. Dumont. She was the head of a project trying to find an antidote for whatever it was that the Egyptian had invented." He paused and asked for a glass of water. I asked Dave to get him one then motioned for Nate to continue. "The National Lab has their own security and we were just supposed to keep an e
ye on the Egyptian. We had been there a couple of months when he disappeared. Dumont went nuts and had Whittaker running around trying to find him. We never found him because four days later the country went to shit."

  Dave returned with the water and after Nate downed the glass he began again. "Dumont has been trying to figure out what happened ever since. Back in August, one of the satellites found you guy's and she's been about to piss herself since then. The Complex’s underground and she wants this place because she's tired of living in a cave. She told Whittaker to get rid of you guys so she could move here. We tried the first time back in November by luring the infected to you. Whittaker's idea. He thought you would either starve or try to escape and we could just walk in and take the place. It didn't work so Dumont came up with the idea of trying to buy the place. We all knew that wouldn't work but she's crazy and you can't tell her shit." He shrugged. "So here we are. That's all I know."

  I couldn't believe it. The siege by the Stinkies, our food shortage, all the problems we'd had since the Marvin incident was because Dr. Alanis Dumont didn't want to live underground any longer and all she would have had to do was ask and we would have let her in. Then, to try and give us something as worthless as money, to get us to move. My god, she really was insane. I knew then there would be no negotiating to end this. We were going to have to fight.

  I told Dave to take Nate to Doc Groves and get him checked out. If he passed the physical then set him down and explain our rules. If he agreed, then get him settled at the barn. Dave didn't like it but said he’d do it. “Keep him guarded and away from the fight. If he tries anything stupid don’t hesitate. Kill him.” I said the last part loud enough so that Nate could hear me.

  “Roger,” Dave said and led the young man away.

  I sat at the table and considered what Nate had told me. There was a lot here to consider. This was going to be a real fight with a well-trained enemy. How many of our people could I afford to lose? How long could we hold out? Food wouldn't be a problem for a while but after last night’s attack and what I found out today it was obvious they wouldn't stop. There would be more attempts to get in and eventually they would succeed. What would we do then? Talking to Dumont was useless. She was insane and there would be no rational discussion with her. Maybe I could talk to Whittaker. Maybe I could convince him the way I had Nate. It was worth a try.

  I found Camille at her desk in the EOC office. She directed the security folks while Dave took care of Nate. I told her what I wanted and she said she'd get some people on it right away. I told her I needed to go home for a while and to call me on the radio once it was set up. She said she would and I left to go home to see Kat.

  When I got to the cottage, I found Kat still asleep so I went to the kitchen and began fixing a pot of coffee. We still had a few eggs from our allotment and I decided to fix breakfast for the two of us. I worked at the stove when she came in and asked what had happened so I told her the story. I told her everything, the attack at the wall. Then about the interview with Nate and what he'd said. She sat at the table sipping coffee and listened. I finally explained my plan and asked her what she thought.

  My plan was very simple; I would place the body of Whittaker’s dead man outside the gate and then put up a white flag to let them know I wanted to talk. When they came to recover the body I would tell them I wanted to parlay with Whittaker. Then I'd try to convince him to stop the attack. Depending on his attitude I was prepared to offer them sanctuary in The Dell. Kat asked me if I thought it would work and I told her honestly I didn't but I was completely out of ideas. If this didn't work the only thing we could do was hunker down, kill anybody who tried to get in and wait them out. It would all depend on who was the most stubborn. Kat told me that if stubbornness is the deciding factor then Whittaker might as well leave now because he didn't stand a chance. I laughed and thanked her for her vote of confidence.

  Her comment helped to lighten the mood and we ate breakfast and chatted as if nothing had happened. I felt better after our talk and helped her to clean the dishes when a call came in on my radio. I answered and Dave told me all the preparations were ready and they were waiting for me at the gate. I told him to go ahead and move the body and I would be there shortly. He replied he would and I signed off. Once again my wife wished me luck and I took off for the gate.

  Arriving at the gate I went directly to the tower and climbed the ladder. The white flag fluttered in the cold breeze and I stood in plain view hoping that Whittaker’s people wouldn't start shooting. Again, it didn't take long for them to react. As I watched, the black Ford Excursion came through the cut and started toward us. They pulled into the serpentine and stopped about twenty yards from the gate. I told the guards to keep them covered and I went down to talk to them.

  It wasn't Whittaker but a couple of his men. I told them that they could pick up the body of their man and asked them to deliver the message that I wanted to meet with Whittaker to discuss ending hostilities. They told me they would deliver the message and took their dead comrade. As soon as they had him loaded they backed out and left. About ten minutes later, the SUV was back at the gate. I had told the guards to be especially watchful and if things went bad not to hesitate. I wanted them to target any enemy they could see. If we were going to go down it would be fighting.

  Whittaker exited the truck as soon as it came to a stop. Along with him were two security men carrying rifles. Whittaker had a new pistol and didn't look happy as he approached. He stopped about ten feet away from me and his men took up positions at the front corners of the truck. Whittaker didn't say anything so I started. "Thank you for agreeing to talk to me." He didn't respond at all. "I wanted you to have your man back and I hope we can come to an understanding," I said.

  He continued to stare at me without responding. Finally I asked, "Why did you agree to talk if you aren't going to say anything?"

  "I just wanted to listen to you whine. I knew you were a pussy and figured it was just a matter of time before you were begging for us to stop," he said with a sneer.

  I tried to keep my cool. It wouldn't do to try to negotiate with this guy if I let my anger show. I got my voice under control. "I want to discuss the possibility of coming to an agreement to stop killing each other. It’s not helping either of us to keep this up." I paused again to see if he would respond and he did.

  "I told you before that I intended to kill you. I'm not going to entertain any discussion until I've accomplished that," he said. I looked him right in the eye and saw the moment he made his decision. His hand started for the holster on his hip and time slowed down. Instinctively my right hand dropped to where the 45 waited. I saw his pistol start up out of his holster and I responded. My pistol cleared its holster and rotated toward Whittaker held close to my side. As the muzzle pointed at Whittaker I pulled the trigger twice. I watched his weapon still coming up into his shooting stance as my two rounds struck him in the chest. He reflexively fired a round that struck the asphalt about three inches from my left foot and skipped into the gate. Time sped back up to normal as Whittaker collapsed onto the road.

  I tried to get a handle on what had just happened when I became aware of full auto fire coming from the towers. The two security guards dropped to the ground hit multiple times. The truck immediately started to reverse out of the serpentine. As I watched a line of holes appeared in the hood and advanced up into the windshield. The truck swerved into one of the Hesco barriers and came to a stop. Another burst of fire struck the windshield obliterating it. I looked up at the guard manning the M-240 machine gun and he yelled that I was clear. I nodded back at him and went to check the men we had just shot.

  Both guards and Whittaker were dead so I moved to the truck and found the driver in the same condition. Smoke came from under the hood and I decided to get back inside the gate. I knew there would be retaliation and I didn't want to be caught out when it came. The response was quick. I just had time to get back inside when machine gun fire from Whittaker's men
streaked in toward us. We pushed the gate shut as heavy caliber rounds slammed into it. My gunner in the tower targeted the enemy gun and after firing a few seconds I heard him whoop in pleasure then drop down behind the top of the wall. He sat there laughing until I asked what was funny. He leaned over the edge to see me. "Son of a bitch didn't think I could hit him. I qualified expert on this gun the year before everything happened. Maybe they won't fuck with us so much now." I told him good shooting and he smiled and sat back out of sight.

  It would be interesting to see how they reacted to the death of their boss. My plan had gone right out the window when Whittaker went for his gun and I didn't think I would be able to convince his guy's that I hadn't started the gun fight. I left the gate area and went back to the EOC. I wanted to talk to Nate to get his feelings on what they would do now.

  When I arrived at the EOC I found Nate being briefed on our rules by Dave. I pulled both of them into the same room where I had conducted the interview and told them about what had happened at the gate. Dave didn't say much but Nate acted like he couldn't believe it. I assured him that the events had happened just the way I said but he still looked at me skeptically. When I asked what part of the story he doubted, he told me he had trained with Whittaker for over six years and had never seen anybody as fast with a handgun. I told him he was welcome to go to the gate and look at the body. I was sure it was still there but first I wanted to know what he thought would happen now.

  Nate shrugged and started to pace around the room. "If I had to guess his second in command, a guy named Rodney McKay, another former Ranger would take his place. He is not as big of an ass as Dick was. You might be able to talk to him."