by John Chapman
Mark thought about how lucky they were that everyone there was on the range in the first place prepared for day and night time live fire training, or had brought their own equipment with them when they bugged out to the range. The range had plenty of loaner gear and weapons, but everyone having their own gear saved them a monumental amount of time and effort.
Mark finished, “Last thing I have is IFF (Identification, Friend or Foe). We don’t have a standard uniform for everyone, so grab four Black Knight patches on your way out and put them on whatever Velcro you have on each arm and the front and back of your plate carrier. It will have to do for now.” The Black Knight patch started out as an inside joke many years previously. The range hosted so many units and students, who were always going into town to eat in their uniforms, with pistols showing, driving armored vehicles, that the public took notice. One day at the Mexican restaurant in town an elderly woman asked one of the Alliance instructors who all these men with guns were who were in town all the time. With a perfectly straight face he told her, “We’re the Black Knight Squadron Ma’am. Please don’t tell anyone.”
It was a mildly funny incident until a week later, when the local newspaper reported the ‘Black Knight Squadron’ was in Alliance doing training. After that it was uproariously funny and quickly became legend. Kyle adopted the Black Knight Squadron as the range logo and mascot, a student had small patches made of a chess piece Knight, and the rest was history. Now a Black Knight patch was recognized the world over in the tactical community as a talisman of having trained at Alliance, and was something of an icon.
Lee stuck his head in the team room and said, “Water treatment guys are ready to go.” Mark acknowledged him and said, “Bravo, get ready to push. Other TLs, let Bravo clear the range, then get your vehicles lined up.” and the briefing broke up. As the teams began putting on their kit the team room door opened and Gary Willow walked in. Gary was another one of Kyle’s volunteer range crew. A 20-something manager at the chemical warehouse next to the water treatment plant, Gary spent almost every free minute at the range. He was a graduate of almost every high-speed course the range hosted or offered.
Gary wanted to be a cop, and he had the skills and motivation to be a good one. The problem was Gary’s job couldn’t afford to let him take the time off necessary to go to the police academy. Still a single guy, he spent his time at the range helping Kyle however he could; doing everything from sweeping floors to acting as a role player in force on force training. Like Chris and Ed, Gary saved his money and only spent it on gear and training ammo, so he was fully equipped already. He was wearing all of that kit now, carrying his rifle and assault pack. He dropped the pack on the deck and said, “It figures I’m three miles away when the balloon goes up. That was a long ass walk!” Mark laughed and announced, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Gary Willow!” Everyone clapped, as was the tradition. Mark was busy but told Gary to stay kitted up and to go ‘pre-flight’ a quad. “You’re riding with me for this mission. I need someone to watch my back and be a runner.” Gary just said, “I’m on it.” and disappeared out the door.
Two hours and forty-nine minutes after the world stopped, Bravo team was loaded, the vehicles were lined up at the gate, and the three water treatment employees were in the vehicles. They were told to stay in their seats and hold on; this was going to be a rocket of a thunder run. As they were about to pull out, Mark approached the lead vehicle and shouted, “We’re all we’ve got!” Six voices responded, “We’re all we need!”
Chapter 9
Corner of Hwy 183 and Union Ave
Alliance, OH
“Black Knight Six, Black Knight Five,” Mark said over the radio, using Kyle’s radio call-sign followed by his own. “Go for Knight Six,” Kyle responded. Mark keyed up the PTT on his plate carrier, which connected his radio to his MSA ear protection, and said, “The Circle J is being overrun by looters. Recommend we bypass and just bring the QRF with us. We can have them stage somewhere closer to the PD.” “Roger,” Kyle responded, then without un-keying the mic said, “Delta One, Knight Six, did you copy?” Delta’s team leader Troy replied, “Copy direct.”
Mark stayed in his position for another minute or so, sitting astride the quad watching the looting through his Steiner 8X50 compass binos from behind the abandoned bank building catty-corner from the convenience store. Mark shook his head, wondering how things got so out of hand so fast. He had actually thought about this general scenario occasionally, and had always assumed it would take two or three days before things got out of control. Mark chastised himself for making assumptions; he knew better. When in doubt, count on mankind to be at their worst.
He looked behind him and asked Gary, “You ready to move?” Gary nodded and lowered his BCM carbine from where he was pulling security for Mark’s six-o’clock then tightened his VCAS sling so the weapon sat tight against his plate carrier. Mark fired up his quad and got turned around then keyed the radio, “Knight Six, Five. We are ready to move. I’ll lead back to Garfield and then south.” “Roger, Move,” Kyle replied.
Mark spent the next 20 minutes scouting and leading Alpha and Delta teams through a maze of neighborhoods. He was trying to find a route to city hall where the sidewalks and streets weren’t full of people milling around. It was cold out and Mark thought these folks must be pretty unsettled to be out walking around in it. Mark could almost feel the anger radiating off the groups of people he saw.
Mark and Gary were finally able to lead the teams around the worst of the trouble, including the two different dollar discount stores that were being looted at Union Avenue and Main Street. As he and Gary came to a stop to scout the last intersection before they got to the police station they both clearly heard the sound of sustained gunfire to the south. It sounded like several weapons firing, and Gary said, “That sounds like quite a gunfight.” Mark replied, “Yeah. We are going to have to check that out once we drop Alpha at the station.”
Mark got on the radio, “Knight Six, Knight Five. This last intersection is clear. We are going to peel off and take the QRF with us. We are hearing a pretty heavy gunfight to the south.” Kyle said, “Roger. Let me know if you need Alpha team.” Troy cut in, “Delta copies direct. On you Knight Five.” Mark waved Alpha team’s two HMMWVs past him and said over the radio, “Delta One, Knight Five. Move to the corner of Union and Broadway and stage there. We will scout and give direction from there.” Troy responded with a “Roger,” and pushed out.
Mark and Gary rode down Union to Broadway and passed the QRF as they staged in an abandoned gas station parking lot. When they slowly turned the corner to go east on Broadway, the gunfire got loud. About 300 yards ahead of them Mark could see several people with rifles running back and forth in the street, firing to the south. As he watched he saw one of them fall down and stop moving. Whatever this was it was a real fight. Mark gestured for Gary to follow him and turned north into the driveway of a home across the street from the fire station. He shut down his quad and got off. Gary did the same and asked Mark, “So, how do we figure out who is shooting at who?” “It’s ‘Who is shooting at whom’ Gary.” Mark said with a grin, then continued, “We will move forward and bias to the north. We will see if we can figure out whom,” Mark paused to grin, “they are fighting and if it’s a good guy we will attack and destroy them.” Gary said, “Ok. I’ll follow your lead.”
As they pushed off Mark hit Troy on the radio, “Delta One, Knight Five. We have eyes on subjects on the north side of Broadway, shooting into a house on the south side of the street about 300 yards east of our pos. We are moving northeast on foot trying to figure out who is fighting. Be ready to haul ass east on Broadway to support, but do not drive into the fight. The subjects are armed with rifles and your soft skin vehicles will just be in the way. If this is dirtbag versus dirtbag we will back off and let them sort each other out.” Troy acknowledged.
Mark added, “Have your sniper deploy to the roof of the fire station just south of our quads and
see if they can get eyes on.” Mark tried to push the fact he was sending his wife up on a roof to act as overwatch out of his mind. She was a pro, and he had to treat her as such. “Roger. She’s moving now.” Troy replied.
Kasey bailed out of the Equinox where she had been riding. Getting her Sako M10 off the floorboard of the backseat was a chore; with the Surefire suppressor attached it was a long beast. Once she got the rifle free of the door she grabbed her assault pack and put it on, then picked up her tripod with the MOD 7 Hog Saddle on it and slung it on its two point VTAC sling behind her back and pulled it tight. She picked up her rifle, slung it, and stuck her head back in the door and asked Troy, “Should I bring someone for security?” Troy said, “Yeah, take Ken.” Ken Branch was one of the Alliance SWAT assaulters assigned to Delta team. Branch bailed out, ran to Kasey’s side of the SUV and said, “On you sis.” They immediately started running east on Broadway on the south side of the street. Troy got on the radio and said, “Knight Five, Delta One. I’m sending a security guy with the sniper.” When Mark replied it was obvious from the huffing that he was running, “Roger, thanks.”
Kasey ran as fast as she could towards the fire station. Her heart already felt like it would burst out of her chest just sitting in the vehicle, so the running didn’t effect her heart rate much. The sound of an actual gunfight, combined with knowing Mark was running toward it, scared the hell out of her. The running actually served to calm her down a little; having a mission helped focus her mind.
As Kasey and Branch ran towards the fire station, Mark and Gary were in the backyards of the houses on the north side of the street, jumping fences. Gary was wishing he’d spent more time in the gym and on the wall obstacle at the range; it sucked having to learn climbing fences with kit and a carbine on right now. They could hear the gunfire slacken considerably as they approached. By the time Mark snuck a peek around the corner of the house just west of the shooting, it had stopped completely. Mark stepped back from the corner and told Gary to pop the corner on a knee and keep an eye on the house everyone was shooting at on the south side of the street.
Mark started to go back the way they had come with the thought of flanking the shooters, but Gary stage whispered, “I see someone wearing an APD patch inside the one-side second floor second window.” “Well, that answers that question.” Mark said. He called Gary to him and then got on the radio. Speaking as quietly as he could he broadcast, “Knight Five to all units. The shooters on the street are firing at an APD officer barricaded in the rectory next to the church on Broadway at Linden Ave. We do not have eyes on the shooters, but are standing by to assault them from the west once we get overwatch from the fire station. Delta One, stand by to haul ass down here if we call for you.” Troy immediately said, “Roger.” Kyle came up on the radio and said, “Knight Five, Knight Six. I am at the station and in contact with leadership. Let me know if you want me to send Alpha to you.” “Roger,” Mark replied, then said, “Break. Delta Sniper, what’s your ETA to overwatch?” Kasey replied, “One minute. We just got on the roof and I’m setting up now.” Mark thought for a second before responding, then replied, “Copy. As soon as you are set I need to know what you can see.” Kasey just said, “Ok.”
In one minute and 35 seconds Kasey was set. It seemed like it took them forever to get a fireman to open the door (they were all in the basement hiding from the gunfire) and convince him they really were cops and needed on the roof. Luckily one of the fire Captains recognized Branch, and led them at a sprint up the roof access stairway and onto the roof. Kasey quickly found a firing point and set up her gear. She thanked God that she had found the motivation to practice getting set so many times. Within three minutes of setting foot on the roof she had her firing point set with her barrier bag resting on the roof’s parapet and her Hog Saddle deployed to act as a stock rest. It took her about 20 more seconds to get a round in the chamber and her eye in the scope. She quickly found the shooters, all five of whom were armed were huddled in a line kneeling against the curb side of a tan Ford Astrovan on the north side of Broadway. She used the Horus H59 reticle in her Steiner 5-25 scope to range the target at 315 meters. She quickly dialed 1.2 mils of elevation and keyed her radio, “Sniper set.”
Mark replied, “Report.” Kasey looked around the target area again and composed her thoughts. She keyed the mic and said, “I see five subjects kneeling behind a tan Ford Astrovan on the north side of Broadway across from the rectory. I see one subject lying on his face in the grass behind them and another subject laying in a pool of blood in the westbound lane of Broadway to the southeast of the van. The subject in the street has an SKS rifle lying next to him.” As she was letting off the PTT, she saw one of the men stand up and fire several rounds at the rectory then duck back down behind the van. She immediately got back on the radio and reported this.
Mark thought about the angle Kasey would be shooting from and decided he and Gary could safely assault through the position so long as Kasey lifted her fire once they got close. He made a decision and hit the PTT on his vest, “Knight Five to all units. On my mark, Sniper One, initiate the assault by engaging the subject farthest to the east that you can see, then work one more target west. We will assault through on foot. We are only about 30 yards west of them, so we will be on their position after that second shot. Cease firing after that second shot unless you see our assault fail.” Kasey caught herself wincing at that last part, but refocused her mind on the task. Mark continued, “Delta team, we will call you up once we have this side of the street cleared.” Everyone acknowledged over the radio.
Mark looked at Gary. “You ready to do this for real bro?” Gary took a deep breath and thought that this morning when he woke up, he wouldn’t have bet a penny that before sundown that day he would be assaulting a group of five armed men, under the fire of a sniper. His brain was still trying to catch up. He’d shot guns at real people before, but always in training using SIMS guns. Truth be told he never thought he’d shoot at anyone in real life, ever. Gary finally nodded his head, put on a brave face and said, “Let’s roll.” Mark said, “Wait for Kasey’s first shot to pass by, then give me a barrel release and we will take this last ‘L’. As soon as you see a target with a gun, start shooting. I’d like to get all of these dudes at once so we aren’t chasing squirters all day. Cool?” Gary nodded his head and Mark keyed his mic, “Sniper One, Initiate.”
Kasey already had a beautiful sight picture on the furthest eastern subject’s head. As soon as she heard the word, she pressed the trigger. This was the first time Kasey had actually shot live rounds at another human being. She felt a surge of something she could not describe as she came off recoil and saw her target on the ground. She quickly cycled the bolt and shifted to the next subject, who hadn’t noticed the suppressed shot take his home boy down. She centered the reticle on his right ear, and worked the trigger. He went down as well.
As soon as Gary heard the crack of the round passing, he lifted his carbine barrel up then dropped it down. That was Mark’s signal to launch. Mark pushed off and went wide around the corner of the house two addresses west of the dirtbag’s position. As he moved quickly to the sidewalk he felt Kasey’s second round crack painfully close over his right shoulder. Mark came to a stop, planted his feet and fired his first shots of the apocalypse. As Mark centered the dot of his Khales 1-6 variable powered optic on the right armpit of the guy closest to him, the dirtbag saw Mark in his peripheral vision and started to turn and lift his rifle. He was far too late. Four rounds from Mark’s 14.5” BCM carbine slammed the dude to the ground before his body got all the way oriented to fight back.
As Mark was shooting, Gary was also busy doing work. He turned the ‘L’ as the inside guy and immediately saw he had a great angle on the douchebags farthest away from he and Mark. He didn’t think. He saw the guy to the east had a rifle, centered his Aimpoint dot on the guy’s head, and shot him twice. The dirtbag slumped over and stopped moving. Gary and Mark both transitioned to the
last of this crew at the same time but that didn’t prevent him from getting off one shot from his Hi Point 9mm carbine. His round went into the grass about 10 yards in front of Mark. Both Mark and Gary’s fire pounded him into the sidewalk.
Mark immediately started looking for other targets but couldn’t find any. He got on the radio and said, “All units, Knight Five. Splash five. Moving to assault through and establish contact with the rectory. Sniper stay on overwatch.” Mark took cover behind a vehicle and yelled at the rectory, “Blue Blue Blue.” A couple of seconds later a faint voice yelled from inside the rectory, “Blue Blue Blue. Thank God.”
Mark called Troy on the radio, “Delta One, move up to the corner of Broadway and Arch. Dismount but leave the drivers for vehicle security. Come to me on the north side of Broadway.” Troy responded, “Roger, on the way.” Before Troy finished speaking, Mark could hear Delta’s two vehicles roaring down Broadway. Delta team parked quickly, and Troy and his last unassigned assaulter, the Mk46 gunner Darren, walked over to Mark. When they got there, Mark said, “Darren, take Gary and go to the one/two corner of the rectory and pull security. Darren nodded and took off, grabbing Gary on the way. “Troy, call the vehicles up. We need to grab the officer in there and haul ass.” Mark said. Troy nodded and made the call.
When Darren and Gary were posted up on the northeast corner of the rectory and Delta team’s vehicles arrived, Troy and Mark dead checked the seven down subjects and collected their weapons. Only one of them had an ID on his body, which they collected. Mark said, “We are going to have to leave them here until we can figure out how to get them collected up.” The two of them then approached the rectory. As they reached the porch the front door opened and Dylan Nowak stepped out. “You look like shit bro,” Mark said. “Where are you hit?” Dylan responded, “I’m not. I got my ass kicked and a couple of people bled all over me.” Mark noticed Dylan’s usual jovial attitude was gone. He looked broken. “Let’s get you loaded up and out of here bro.” Mark said.