The Shadow Patriots Box Set

by Warren Ray

  Chapter 104

  Just as Nate and Amber had run across the street, a group of Jijis wandered down Robinson Road. They ran into a backyard, staying close to the strip of trees that ran along a church parking lot. They were halfway across the lawn when Nate spotted two Jijis lying in wait behind the house. Nate stopped dead. Through the goggles, he could see them standing guard. Neither one had noticed them, so Nate guided Amber against the bushes. As much as he wanted to, it took all of his willpower to not shoot at them. Better to sneak away than to draw the fire of a hundred more Jijis. Despite having the same type of rifles as the enemy, it was still in their interest to use them only as a last resort.

  For the next fifteen minutes, they snuck behind houses on Kirkwood Avenue avoiding Jijis, some with flashlights, most without, patrolling the back lawns. When they got to the end of the street, he saw the water tower to their left. Behind them was Meadows Drive, where hundreds of Jijis were standing beside their vehicles. Their headlights were on and pointed in different directions, including toward the woods.

  “They’re everywhere,” whispered Amber.

  Nate scanned the woods and noted the Jijis had completely blocked off the entrance. “I’m starting to wonder if they know it’s the Captain in there.”

  “You think?” asked Amber.

  “They’ve been in this area for hours, and with this many men, it wouldn’t take that long to clear out these houses.”

  “Cole did wonder if there was a spy in Jackson.”

  “That has to be it then.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “Not sure. Let’s see what Scar’s up to.” Nate pulled out his radio, turned down the volume and called him.

  “Nate, buddy, what’s your status?” asked Scar.

  Nate gave him the details of what he was observing.

  “That explains the small forces we’ve been running into. I’ve been wondering where all their men were at, hell they’ve got them all up there.”

  “Why aren’t they attacking then,” asked Nate.

  Bassett came over the radio. “They’d rather not fight at night, Attila.”

  Attila the Hun was the nickname that Bassett had given Nate for his aggressive behavior.

  “Serious?” asked a surprised Nate.

  “It was the same way in the Middle East. They don’t like the dark.”

  “Guess that explains why they have all their headlights on, friggin pansies,” said Nate.

  “That would be the reason, Attila,” said Bassett. “That’s not to say they won’t shoot back, or all of them are like that, but as long as they’re not provoked, they’ll wait till morning.”

  Nate was grinning ear-to-ear thinking about opening fire on them right now to test Corporal Bassett’s theory. He fantasized about standing right at the edge of the woods and firing at them and taking out their headlights. He wondered how freaked out they’d be.

  Bassett came back over the radio. “Attila, you say it’s all blocked off down on your end?”

  Nate confirmed.

  “What about crossing over 60?” asked Scar.

  Nate responded. “They’re loaded up pretty heavy there.”

  “We’ll come in and try for an EXFIL from the north then,” said Bassett. “Does anyone know if Winters has any goggles?”

  “He doesn’t,” responded Nate.

  “Are you able to get to him, Nate?”

  Nate surveyed the area again. Unless he wanted to shoot his way through, it didn’t look promising. Then an idea struck him. “Scar, can you get up here and create a diversion, say over on McCain Road?”

  “Give me twenty minutes and I’ll give them a show.”

  “Should draw off enough to give us some wiggle room,” said Nate.

  “We’ll fire when ready,” said Scar.

  “Copy that,” said Nate putting the radio back in his jacket.

  The next twenty minutes seemed to take forever. Nate wondered why Winters had not involved himself in their conversation and wondered if he was in trouble. He was frustrated knowing they weren’t more than two hundred yards away from them. He just hoped these Jijis would be tempted enough to go see what Scar was up to.

  Nate’s attention turned to the south when he heard gunfire coming from the vicinity of McCain Road. Their diversion had begun and he and Amber stood up looking across the way at all the Jijis. They had their heads turned toward the action and saw some hopping in cars to pull out of the parking lot. Nate turned to the woods where a few Jijis were leaving. Just a few more minutes and he thought they might be able to go.

  Nate saw the hole he was hoping for and grabbed Amber’s arm. He headed toward the opening with Amber in tow and then saw the ray of a flash light right behind them. Amber twisted around and pulled the trigger on her AK dropping two Jijis.

  Nate looked down at them and then at Amber. “Nice shooting.”

  He turned back around and saw Jijis ahead moving toward them. He looked across the way and saw a large group staring through the darkness. He knew there was no hiding now. “Let’s go.” They plunged forward, firing at the approaching Jijis as they pushed toward the woods.

  Chapter 105

  Winters saw the beam of light coming right at them and pulled Reese’s arm to get her out of the path of the oncoming Jijis when Elliott stood up and throw something. Winters heard a thud, which made him realize Elliott had thrown a rock as a distraction. The flashlight swung around toward the sound of the impact. The Jijis stopped and headed in that direction. Elliott turned and grabbed Reese by the arm, practically picking her up. Reese reached back to grab Winters hand as they marched single file towards the water tower as fast as they could.

  Winters could see the white tower rising high above the tops of the trees. Elliott stopped right at the edge of the trees, which surrounded the grassy border of the tower.

  “Nice move, Elliott,” whispered Winters.

  “That was badass,” agreed Reese giving Elliott a pat on the arm.

  “Played baseball back in high school,” said Elliott.

  “You had to be an outfielder,” said Reese.

  “How’d you know?”

  “Pllleeze, the way you shot that straight up like that,” grinned Reese.

  Winters pulled the radio out. “Nate, we’re here.”

  There was no answer, then he heard gunfire coming from the south and figured it had to be Scar and Meeks. The three stood in silence listening to the gunfire echo through the night air. It got heavier as AK’s started to return fire. All of a sudden, they heard shooting closer to them just off to their left. They crouched back down to the ground not knowing what was going on. Winters felt a light thumping on the ground and knew they had someone approaching fast.

  “We’ve got company coming in,” said Winters.

  “I hear ‘em,” said Reese. “That way.”

  They all pointed their weapons and waited. Winters aimed toward the thumping. He placed his finger on the trigger.

  “Don’t shoot, Captain,” yelled Nate.

  A wave of relief rushed over him. He was just about to fire on Nate and Amber.

  “Sorry about the ruckus,” said Nate trying to catch his breath. “If it hadn’t been for Amber, we’d be dead.”

  “What’s happening?”

  There wasn’t time for any formal greetings, so Nate gave them a quick synopsis. “We don’t have a whole lot of time. They’ll be pouring in here right away.”

  Winters took a second to think about what to do. He wanted to slow down any pursuers, giving them time to disappear. He also knew there were a couple right in their path. He asked for Amber’s goggles.

  “Let’s see if we can’t slow them down,” said Winters, as he put on the goggles.

  Winters could now see they were on a dirt road that led from the water tower back to the main road. The group followed Winters back to where Nate had just come from. Up ahead, shafts of light began to break through the trees as Jijis were coming up the path.
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  “We’ve got at least fifty coming in. Let’s each empty one magazine on them, short burst only and then we’ll get out of here.”

  They all lined up. Winters gave the signal and the five of them opened fire. For a half minute, the night turned into flashes of light with the reports echoing through the trees.

  “Let’s go,” ordered Winters. “Nate, you got our six.”

  Winters led the team in a single file with Reese, Amber and Elliott behind him. The night-vision goggles gave Winters renewed confidence as he quickly steered them away from the water tower. The Jijis started to return fire and Winters could hear the rounds hit the trees behind them. He needed to move his team as fast as they could go before the Jijis regrouped and started to close the net on them. He wondered what kind of communication they had and the extent of the confusion in their ranks. Jijis sat on the highway just to the west of them, but he hadn’t seen any sign of them joining the fray. Surely, they’d start to move in. He just hoped his group could move fast enough to rendezvous with Bassett and Burns.

  Chapter 106

  Bassett and Burns moved their men back to Industrial Road and ditched their vehicles. Bassett situated the men right at the edge of the interstate and told them to stay put while he and Burns sought a clear way through. He then used the thermal goggles to see what lay ahead. The white glow of the Jijis stood out in the dark overcast night sky. They were mostly in a few separate groups standing around vehicles with the headlights on. He and Burns walked boldly up onto the interstate between two of these groups. He didn’t see any reason he couldn’t freely march his men through here without any contact. These Jijis either didn’t worry about anyone coming through here or didn’t care. It was a tough job, standing guard. It was usually boring and when there were too many guards, they tended to gather in bunches to keep each other company.

  Bassett whispered to Burns. “Hell, if we wanted to we could probably take all of these guys out.”

  “It is tempting,” said Burns.

  “What were you saying about Sun Tzu holding out baits,” laughed Bassett.

  “No doubt.”

  “Let’s leave ‘em alone for now.”

  “No carjacking then?”

  “Nope, we’re going to have to hump it.”

  “Boys are going to be disappointed.”

  “You mean Badger?”

  Burns snickered in agreement.

  They headed back to gather the men and after a small protest from Taylor, slipped across the interstate. Looking through his goggles, Bassett didn’t see anyone guarding the airport grounds. Halfway across the airfield, he spotted the Jijis up on Highway 60 and as they got closer to Michigan Avenue, more warm bodies popped up on the thermals. They crossed Woodville Road and followed the railroad tracks until they came to Michigan Avenue. Bassett snuck up to the street and saw a roadblock at the entrance to Highway 60 and Jijis to the left at Woodland Avenue. He saw an opening with foliage for cover that ran parallel to the highway.

  He backed up and pointed out the entrance to Burns.

  “We might want to post a few men here,” suggested Burns.

  Bassett gave it some thought and agreed. “We’ll leave half the men here.” He looked at Taylor and said. “Badger, I need you to keep our exit opened. Keep your radio close.”

  Taylor didn’t argue and gave him a reassuring nod.

  Bassett split the team leaving Hadley with Taylor. Afterward, they crossed Michigan Avenue and disappeared into the woods. The men followed, staying close to each other, as the night was even darker in the woods.

  As they moved further in, Bassett saw more glowing figures up ahead. He wasn’t sure who they were and needed confirmation they weren’t Winters’ group. He stopped his men and ushered Burns forward, who was wearing the infrared goggles.

  “Up ahead, do you see them?”

  Burns strained to see the figures through the trees. One turned on a flashlight. “Did Winters have a flashlight?”

  “I don’t know,” said Basset as he pulled out his radio to attempt contact with Winters, but he got no response. “Let’s get closer.”

  Gunfire echoed up ahead, which gave the group pause. Bassett recognized the sound.

  “AK’s,” said Bassett.

  “Sure as hell is,” responded Burns.

  More gunfire rang out.

  “Hey, they turned the flashlight off,” said Bassett.

  “Those aren’t friendlies,” said Burns.

  Bassett pulled out his tomahawk and knife. “Then, let’s go.”

  As they moved closer, Bassett could now see four Jijis spread out just standing there as if they were waiting for someone. He wondered if they knew Winters was coming their way. He looked past them and thought he spotted a few more. The thick trees made it difficult to see any distance. He put them out of his mind for now and focused on the four in front of him. He stealthily moved closer and closer deciding which to take out first. He watched them for a few moments before choosing the middle two. They were closer together. A two for one deal so to speak. His left hand gripped the Tomahawk tighter as he moved within a few feet of his prey. He leaped forward swinging the axe down on the neck of the man to the left and continued the swing up as he turned to the right catching the jaw of the man to the right. He then stabbed him in the gut with his knife. Yelps from both men, as they fell to the ground, alerted the other two. Bassett dove at the man to the right giving him a swipe of the axe across the face and following through with the knife to the gut. The last man called out asking if they were all right. Bassett dashed over to the Jiji just as he raised his rifle. Bassett dropped to his knees below the weapon and plunged his knife into the Jiji’s stomach. He then stood up hacking at his arm. The rifle fell to the ground before the owner did.

  Burns came up checking on the dead. “Hell of a show there, Wolverine.”

  “Hey, I like that name.”

  “Yeah, but it’s taken, so you’ll have to stick with Twinkle.”

  “Damn that Badger,” chuckled Bassett. “C’mon, I think I see some more up ahead.”

  Burns pulled the men together and slowly moved through the woods. It was taking a long time zigzagging quietly around the trees. Every time they hit a branch, the group would freeze, not wanting to make another sound. They finally got close enough to see there was a group of eight Jijis.

  “The way they’ve fanned out with no flashlights on, they’re definitely waiting for our friends,” said Bassett.

  “How do you want to take them?”

  “Not sure yet. You think you can help this time?” asked Bassett, with a smirk on his face.

  “I suppose, though I wish I had a sweet tomahawk like you,” responded Burns.

  “Hell, grab another knife.”

  Burns was about to respond when shots rang out. A round hit a tree next to Bassett.

  “Hit the deck,” Bassett cried out.

  Chapter 107

  Winters was grateful that Nate and Amber had risked their lives to come to help them. The night-vision goggles were a godsend since they allowed them to maneuver through the woods with ease. They didn’t have any flashlights, not that they would want to use them. It would have been a dead giveaway to where they were as it had been when they almost ran into two Jijis.

  For now, Winters was glad to be back on the move. He always felt better about running than standing around waiting as they had all afternoon. He could only imagine how many people the Jijis had killed today.

  They were moving at a good pace when Winters thought he noticed movement. He stopped the group and stared ahead. He focused on one particular area and briefly saw a small glow. Were those eyes, he wondered and if so was it an animal or a Jiji? He struggled to make a judgment call, but it was too far away. He needed a better set of eyes so he took the goggles off and handed them to Reese.

  “See if you can make out what that is up ahead.”

  She put them on and only needed a moment to make the call. “We got some bad guys.”


  “How many?”

  Putting her hand out, she moved around a little. “At least six, maybe more. I can’t see through all the trees.”

  Winters thought about the situation. There was no sense trying to avoid them since they would have to deal with them eventually. The enemy knew their location, so it was a waste of time to try to take them out quietly.

  “Nate,” Winters called out. “You and Amber take the right, we’ll go left. Let’s get as close as we can. Click the mic when you’re in position.”

  Reese handed the goggles back to Winters and followed him as they veered left. Elliott kept behind Reese as they quietly got closer and closer. Winters could now see the Jijis. They were lying in wait behind trees, which made it more difficult to get a good shot. He didn’t want to be too far around them for fear of shooting at Nate. Satisfied they had enough of an angle he positioned Elliott behind one tree and gave him the goggles so he could line up a shot. He did the same for Reese. Then he found a place and waited for Nate.

  A minute later, he heard Nate’s mic click. He raised the AK and pulled the trigger. His target fell dead as gunfire came from all sides including from the Jijis. The firing was non-stop and constant. He spotted another target and took him down. He could see muzzle fire still coming from the Jijis but didn’t have another shot. Rounds hit his tree. He swung back around to take cover. He looked over at Reese who had done the same thing. She was breathing heavily. She slammed in a fresh magazine and took a deep breath before veering around her tree to fire a few rounds.