by John Chapman
*
As Mark left the classroom to let the teams sort themselves out, he ran into Kyle. “How did it go?” Kyle asked. Mark replied, “Good. I swore in the civilians as temporary cops under your authority as SWAT Commander.” Kyle said, “Ok. That was a smart call.” “How is the planning going?” Mark asked. Kyle replied, “Good as can be expected I guess. Too many tasks and not enough people.” Mark nodded his head and said, “Well, we have 5 teams to work with. One of them will have to stay here on security, so 4 teams for missions.” Kyle nodded and said, “We have work for them, that’s for sure.”
They stood quietly for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts, before Mark said, “I’m going to push one team out to set up security here.” Kyle replied, “Yeah. It’s just a matter of time before people start showing up.” Mark nodded and went back in the classroom, while Kyle went into the office to start writing an operations order. He hadn’t written one in longhand since Ranger School over 27 years before, but figured he could get through it. Kyle muttered under his breath, “First thing out of the gate I’m doing paperwork. This apocalypse is dumb.”
Chapter 6
City Police Range
Alliance, OH
David held his breath as his hand hovered over the start switch of the BAE Systems Caiman Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) armored vehicle. He said a prayer that God would grant them a miracle. David wasn’t sure if the MRAP was designed to be EMP resistant; and was concerned that even if it was the shielding had somehow failed.
The MRAP was one of several vehicles the Alliance Police Department had acquired through the years from the US Military’s law enforcement DRMO program. The other military vehicles in the Alliance fleet were two up-armored HMMWV’s, two unarmored (or soft) HMMWV’s, one M113 armored personnel carrier, and two M915 Military Semi Tractors with low boy trailers. Alliance had collected these vehicles over the years to serve as armored vehicles for SWAT missions, rescue vehicles in natural disasters, and as educational platforms for military and police units who used the range for training. If any of these vehicles still ran it would give them a considerable leg up in whatever was to come. If they didn’t they were very expensive, poorly positioned pillboxes.
David let his breath out and turned the switch to the first position. The system powered up! He could have kissed a BAE engineer, if any were around. He gave the vehicle a few minutes to warm the glow plugs then turned the switch to ‘start’. It fired right up! David could hear and feel the air system begin to feed the brakes.
As the MRAP warmed up several of the guys came out of the classroom and ran to the small military vehicle parking area. David couldn’t hear the guys but he could see them cheering and jumping up and down. One of the guys ran up to his door and grabbed the key ring for the padlocks to the rest of the vehicles. The guys swarmed over the remaining vehicles, and soon they were all warming up. Even the two M915’s started right up despite them being manufactured in the Carter administration. The Alliance SWAT guys were old hands at driving and maintaining these vehicles and soon each one was undergoing a thorough preventative maintenance check.
Mark came walking out to the vehicles and called the team leaders to him. He told the TLs to get the vehicles shut down after they were finished checking them then meet up in the team room (as he was already thinking of the classroom). Once they showed up Mark assigned people to build breaching charges, pull the belt fed machineguns from the vault and test fire them, and told everyone to make sure their guys had all their kit ready. He told them to make sure their guys checked their night vision to make sure it survived the pulse; and to ensure they had combat loads of ammo and water in their gear ready to deploy. Mark also ordered Echo Team to post security on the range. Everyone scattered.
Trent posted two of his assaulters at the range entrance gate with orders to build a fighting position and entry control point (ECP), and assigned his other two assaulters to start random patrols of the facility perimeter. All the guys quickly geared up, made their weapons ready with live ammo, and pushed out to their first mission of the apocalypse.
As soon as the guys manning the gate, Ernesto and Lee, got set up at their post they saw several of the water treatment city employees come out of the building directly in front of them. The water workers walked up to Ernesto and said, “Do you guys know what’s going on? The power is out and nothing works.” Ernesto turned to Lee and said, “Go get Trent,” then addressed the workers, “We aren’t sure yet. I think you guys should hang out in your office; we are coming up with a plan. I’m sure Kyle will come talk to your boss in a bit.”
One of the workers said, “I’m the ‘boss’,” and put out his hand for a handshake, “Marty Jones, Water Treatment Manager.” Ernesto shook his hand and said, “Good to meet you Sir. When my partner gets back he can take you to Kyle.” “Sounds good,” Marty said. Marty spoke to his people, “Go back in the building guys, I’ll find out what’s going on and come let you know.” Lee returned with Trent in tow and Ernesto introduced Marty to them. Trent said to Marty, “Common, I’ll take you to Kyle.” They walked away and Ernesto closed the gate.
Trent walked with Marty to the range office before he peeled off to go back to building firehose breaching charges for the teams to carry in case they needed them. Marty went into the office and got a warm greeting from Kyle. They quickly got down to business. Marty said, “What the hell happened Kyle?” Kyle explained what an EMP was and its effects, as well as what they had observed about metal buildings and vehicle interiors shielding from the pulse. Marty thought for a moment and said, “So, we are screwed. Without main power, we can’t treat sewage or pump fresh water to customers.”
Kyle asked, “Would it be possible with some limited power to pump sewage without treating it and keep the city well pumps working at least part of the time? If we can keep the city water towers full we could maintain some water pressure.” “Maybe,” Marty mused. “If we can find some working generators we could direct wire them into key systems and keep things moving I suppose. The environmental impact of pumping raw sewage out into the discharge canal could get us some big fines from the EPA; but if this is as big as you think it is I suppose the EPA don’t exist anymore. The problem is working generators and fuel. If cars don’t run we can’t get fuel deliveries.”
Kyle thought for a minute and then asked Marty, “We could check the city yard. The whole yard is a metal building. They have a couple of the big 150 kW portable generators they use for road construction, and one of the big semi-trailer sized 1500kW units the city got at an auction a few years back.” “Those would definitely have the power, if they still run.” Marty said. “How do we move them around with no trucks though?” Kyle smiled and said, “Our surplus military semi tractors still run. I’ll have Mark send a team with you for security and you can go grab all three generators and bring them back here.” Marty said, “Sounds good. I’ll go get a crew together. We should be ready to go in about 10 minutes or so.” Kyle replied, “Ok, we will need a little more time than that; we are still getting organized. How about 30 minutes at the range gate?” Marty looked at his watch, noticed it wasn’t working, and said, “Sounds good.”
*
Lee told Ernesto, “I hear a car coming.” Both took cover behind the dumpster they had pushed next to the gate. They both saw a black Chevy SUV with a bunch of stuff strapped to the roof come tearing ass past the water plant buildings and turn the corner towards the range. The SUV swerved around the building in front of the gate and came to a screeching halt about 50 feet way. Ernesto looked at the front license plate and immediately recognized it as belonging to Kasey, Mark’s wife. Ernesto knew Kasey almost as well as he knew Mark; he had been training with Mark for years and Kasey was often a student in those classes. Her personalized plate was hard to forget.
Ernesto broke cover and sauntered up to the SUV while Kasey got out of the vehicle. “You guys obviously know what’s up if you are guarding the gate,” Kasey said. “W
e do. It’s good to see you sis. Mark is going to be very happy you’re here.” Ernesto said as they shared a quick hug. Ernesto noticed the two people in the SUV and nodded his head towards them, saying, “Who dat?” Kasey said, “JR and Sarah. They are friends of ours.” Ernesto said, “Cool. Pull in and park, but leave room for the MRAP to move out the gate. David got it running.” Kasey smiled and said, “OK, thank you!”
Kasey pulled through the gate and parked in front of the first building inside the gate, the bathroom. JR and Sarah got out, and Sarah ran into the bathroom in full pee-pee dance mode while JR started unloading boxes and stacking them by the vault door. Kasey made a bee-line for the office where she found Kyle writing on a white board. “Sis!” Kyle yelled and ran across the office to sweep her up in a bear hug, saying, “I’m so glad you made it!” Kasey replied, “Me too.” After releasing her, Kyle said, “It’s not crazy out there yet is it?” Kasey replied, “A little. I picked up JR and Sarah on the way and we had someone shoot at us. JR took care of him.” “Wow,” Kyle said. “Things went downhill fast.” Kasey nodded her head and said, “Where’s Mark?” Kyle said, “In the classroom I think,” and turned to the coffee pot, “Want a cup of coffee?” Being greeted with silence, he turned to see Kasey had already left.
Kasey burst into the classroom and barreled head on into Mark, who was getting ready to walk out. “Hi Baby,” Kasey said as Mark snatched her up. Mark couldn’t find his voice for a second, the shock of relief was so overwhelming. He finally whispered into her neck, “Thank you Lord for bringing Kasey safely to me.” He kissed her tenderly and said, “Baby, I’m so happy you made it here.” Kasey noticed Mark’s eyes were welling up and said, “I’m here and I’m safe baby. That’s all that matters.”
Mark took a second to compose himself and said, “We are just getting organized. How did you get here so fast?” Kasey said, “I went to court and parked in the basement. I guess the pulse didn’t reach my SUV.” Mark wasn’t surprised she had already figured out what had happened. Kasey continued, “I ran into JR on the way home and we went and got Sarah and loaded up some of their stuff. They came to the condo with me, we loaded what we could, and then drove here.” Kasey omitted the shooting from her story for now. There would be plenty of time to talk about it later.
Kasey looked around the classroom turned team room and said, “What can I help with.” Mark said, “We have assigned teams and are getting squared away to head out for a scouting mission and to make contact with city hall. David is the sniper team leader. You should go find him and check in.” Kasey nodded, thankful to have a mission. They shared another quick kiss and Kasey jogged out to find David.
Mark went to the office and found Kyle. “I think we are ready to do the scouting mission bro.” Mark said. “Ok,” Kyle replied, “get everyone not working the gate in the classroom and we will brief. I’m only going to give the situation and mission. I need you to assign units and execution details. You and I need to be on this run; David will need to stay here and stand up a TOC. You’ll be the ground force commander. I’m not sure what we are going to find at the PD and I may need to stay there for a while.” Mark thought for a second and said, “Check. Everyone is in the team room… Oh, and FYI, I renamed the classroom the team room. Let’s go get started.” Kyle laughed and said, “You win. You’ve been trying to rename that damn building the ‘team room’ since we built it.” Mark just grinned.
Mark stepped out the door and yelled in his best NCO voice, “Everyone not on watch meet in the team room.” He saw David and Kasey round the corner of the team room from the shoothouse side and followed them into the building. When he stepped into the team room Mark saw JR and Sarah sitting down drinking some water. He went directly to JR and said, “Thank you Brother. I can’t tell you how much I owe you for helping Kasey get here.” JR stood up and replied with a smile, “Bro, Kasey got us here, not the other way around.”
Mark hugged Sarah and said, “It’s such a blessing to have you guys safely here.” then smiled and said, “Sorry guys, but duty calls. JR, are you good to deploy?” JR said, “Yeah bro, I’ve got all my gear and everything still works.” “Great!” Mark replied. “You’re on Sniper team for now. David is your team leader. You know him, right?” JR nodded and said, “Yeah I took the SWAT Sniper Over-watch class from him last year.” “Good, stand by for briefing then report to David afterwards.” Mark said. JR just nodded and sat back down and pulled out his notebook to get ready for briefing.
Chapter 7
Alley West of Liberty Ave, Ward 5
Alliance, OH
Dylan knew he was in trouble. His head was pounding and he couldn’t seem to focus his eyes. Why wasn’t anyone coming to help him? He had called ‘Officer needs assistance, shots fired’ over the radio several times but got no response. Dylan realized he needed to calm down and think. He took several deep breaths and it came back to him. The reason he was in this alley in the first place was neither his radio, car, nor cell phone were working. He needed to communicate with Headquarters. He was injured and there was now a big messy crime scene to deal with. He knew that with his reputation in the press the city would explode when word got out he’d shot someone; especially a young black man.
He had to do something. Now that Dylan’s vision was clearing he could see two of the teenagers who were watching him earlier hiding behind a busted-up car in the alley to the south of him. He wondered idly where the third one went when he ran off. His question was answered as he got to his feet. As he wobbled to a standing position, feeling the world spin for a second, he heard a lot of yelling to his north. As Dylan turned to look that way, he saw a group of about 15 people come around the corner into the alley from several blocks up, about 150 yards away. While Dylan couldn’t make out what they were saying the group was pointing at him and spewing a cacophony of insults and slurs at him. He knew they were talking to him because of the repetitive use of his last name ‘Nowak’ in conjunction with some creative compound F words. He checked behind himself out of habit, in time to see the two thugs to the south of him emerge from behind the car they where they were hiding and advance on him.
Dylan knew he couldn’t stay here, crime scene be dammed. He smartly didn’t try to stand and fight or reason with this mob. Dylan hauled ass, a chorus of insults and several gunshots trailing in his wake. He ran west through the side yard of a house and burst out onto Seneca Avenue. Dylan kept running across the street and between the houses on the other side of Seneca, then turned north in the alley behind that block. He felt like vomiting, and blood kept running into his eyes. He kept moving. He heard a few more shots but nothing impacted or passed close to him.
After running for what seemed like 10 miles, but was actually closer to 200 yards, Dylan decided he needed to stop and make a new plan. Ahead of him he saw an abandoned house with a great big bush overgrowing the stone entryway to the basement. He looked around to try to ensure he wasn’t seen ducking into his hiding spot then got under the bush and down the five steps to the basement door. He kicked on the door trying to breach it but it wouldn’t budge. It figures, he thought to himself, I pick the only abandoned house in Ward 5 with secure doors. Giving up on the door, Dylan crouched at the bottom of the stairs under the bush and tried to control his breathing.
Unfortunately, Dylan didn’t see the 320-pound woman with a baby on her hip on the back porch across the alley, looking right at him. The woman heard the riotous commotion behind Dylan, looked where he had disappeared under the bush, and looked back at the noise of the crowd who was obviously looking for him. It took a few seconds to penetrate her dim mind, then she started bellowing at the top of her considerable lungs, “That cracka Nowak right here! Nowak over here, Nowak over here!” She wished her phone worked; she’d be all up in Group Me tellin’ eerrybody.
Dylan would recognize Adasha Rice’s voice anywhere. He just couldn’t catch a break. He was feeling dizzy again and was tired of running away. As he listened to the ghetto version of ‘
marco-polo’ going on outside his bush, Dylan checked his rifle. He saw immediately the left side of the upper receiver had a hole in it. He vaguely remembered shooting the side of the rifle when Hilton was trying to take it. Dylan removed the magazine from the rifle then tried to cycle the action. The charging handle wouldn’t move. Come on God, I need some help here Dylan thought. Dylan heard the crowd was in the alley now. He was out of time.
Thinking he would need to be running his ass off any second, Dylan took the useless rifle off his body and dropped it where he stood. He took a deep breath as he drew his Glock 17. Dylan didn’t remember how many rounds he fired when he shot Hilton, so he did a quick tactical reload then and stepped out into the alley. As soon as Dylan broke cover Adasha started yelling, “There he is, there he is!” Dylan wanted to shoot her so bad. Discretion overcame his homicidal urge and he glanced to the south in time to see about 30 hood rats 25 yards or so away running towards him. Dylan didn’t see who shot at him first, but the sonic cracks of the rounds passing by him were too much to ignore. He stopped, planted his feet and started shooting.
Dylan’s first target was a guy in a black shirt with the Cleveland Cavaliers logo emblazoned on the front, standing on the far left, who was pointing something at him in his right hand. Dylan fired four rounds in quick succession and saw the target fall down. The rest of the crowd scattered. Seeing his chance Dylan turned and sprinted north down the alley. He cut west again between some houses, then turned north again when he hit Freedom Avenue. He sprinted about 100 yards when he saw an Alliance police car sitting in the middle of the road on Freedom Avenue. Thank you, God, Dylan thought.
He turned on his afterburner and sprinted to the patrol car. When Dylan rushed around the back of the car, he collided with a kneeling Officer John Card, knocking both of them ass over teakettle. After getting untangled and standing up, Dylan said, “Well, that was undignified.” “That you they are shooting at Nowak?” Card asked. Dylan responded, “Yeah. Guess I pissed them off.” Card looked closely at Dylan and asked, “You shot man? You’re bleeding from the head.” “No, a suspect kicked the shit out of me before I filled him in.” Dylan said. Card shook his head. The power, phone and cars not working was bad enough; now Nowak had started a full-blown riot. Dylan continued, “I shot another one in the alley behind the 900 block of Seneca just now as well.” Card raised his eyebrows and said, “Yeah, I heard a bunch of shooting.” “Only four of the shots were mine bro.” Dylan responded defensively. “If you say so Nowak.” Card said.