by Nathan Combs
Ignoring him, she turned to Cougar. “Are your sniper teams ready?”
“Yes,” said Cougar. “Four two-man teams.”
“Good. Both of you pack them up and be back here by dusk.”
When Horst and Cougar left, Nina knelt in front of Heather, who was sitting quietly on the floor in a corner of the room. “This will be over soon, Baby. I promise you they’re going to pay for killing her.”
Staring at the floor, Heather said, “Olivia was gonna die anyway, Nina. What difference does it make?”
“Look at me.”
Heather didn’t move.
Cupping her chin, Nina lifted her face and kissed her softly. “Yes, Heather, she was going to die. But there’s a difference. If she were successful, we’d have won the war. But they murdered her. They didn’t know about the bomb until after the fact. I know you’re upset. I am too. I just don’t show my feelings like you do. Don’t say another word.” She pulled her up and onto the bed.
Just after dusk four hours later, Horst and Cougar sat on folding chairs looking expectantly at Nina, who stood before them as calm as the eye of a storm. In the harsh light of the Coleman lantern, she was demonic. Skin translucent, eyes glowing, hair sticking out in every direction, she stared malevolently.
Heather sat stone-faced and cross-legged on the bed staring at the wall.
Running both hands through her hair, Nina said, “I’ve spent a lot of time learning how Coltrane thinks. He’s smart. But his actions are predictable. I’m sure he’s spent time trying to think like I do, too. Which isn’t possible. That gives us a distinct advantage. Do they think I’m dead? Maybe. There’s no way to know, but we’ll assume they think I’m still a threat. Either way it won’t matter, because they can’t initiate an offensive; they can only react to what we do. They’ll increase their patrols and beef up security, but that’s it. They definitely won’t be expecting a mortar attack on their precious fort.” She started pacing back and forth.
Three circuits later, she stopped and, with her face inches from Horst’s, said, “I want you to position your teams at one and a half miles, five hundred yards apart. I want each team to alternate firing five HE and five WP rounds. Change the point of impact slightly after each shot. That’s a total of twenty rounds. That shouldn’t take more than two minutes. Make sure you don’t hit the building housing the nuclear reactor. They’ll be able to pinpoint where the rounds came from and they will converge on the area. You won’t have time to pack the mortars. Leave them and get your men away.”
Horst gulped and nodded as she turned to Cougar.
“You and your sniper teams are leaving before Horst. You’ll provide over-watch. I want your men in place before Horst gets there so you can cover while they’re setting up. Coltrane will have extra patrols out so you’ll have to be extra cautious. Place your men in hides with a 360-degree view. When Horst finishes, cover their escape. You and your men remain for five minutes. Not one second longer. If any patrols show up, don’t shoot unless you have to. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Nina, I understand.”
She started pacing again. “They haven’t been able to attack us because they can’t find us, and finding our HQ is their highest priority. That means they will try to take prisoners. So… while you’re launching the attack, we’re moving to the elementary school in Vonore. That’s forty-five miles from here. You two are the only ones who know where we’re going. Your teams are not to be given that intel. Make damn sure you protect yourselves. And, needless to say, don’t be taken prisoner. The attack will commence at dawn. That gives you plenty of time.” She looked directly at Cougar. “Did you bring the maps?”
Cougar broke out two topographical maps of the area, and after fifteen minutes, the mortar locations were marked with an M and the sniper hides with an S.
Nina nodded. “All right. Those are good positions. Now let’s decide how you’re going to get there and how you’ll get to Vonore. Give me your input.”
Cougar argued against using the main highways or either of the two bridges that had to be crossed to get to Fort Hope. “Nina, we can’t use the bridges. They’re natural choke points. If Coltrane has snipers at the bridge approaches, the mission will be over before it begins. We can cross the river here”—he pointed to the spot on the map—“near the diffusion plant. We need to stay off the main highways and use back roads. It’ll take longer, but it’s safer.”
Nina looked at Horst and raised her eyebrows.
“Nina, no way will Coltrane place snipers at either bridge. He doesn’t know where we are or what direction we’re coming from. We don’t even know if he knows we’re coming. We’re assuming he does. It’s foggy out and it’s getting thicker by the minute. I say we cross the Highway 58 Bridge and take the main highway. Going across country and wading the river will take forever.”
Nina stared at them for an uncomfortably long time, then walked to the window and looked out with her hands clasped behind her back. After a moment, she turned and said, “Speed is important. But we need to get there in one piece, even if it’s at the eleventh hour. You’re probably right, Horst; it’s unlikely Coltrane will place snipers anywhere along the route. However, we didn’t survive this long by assuming. You’re both going across country. Stay off the highways. And under no circumstances use the bridge.”
Using a magic marker, Horst and Cougar marked their maps—the route to Fort Hope in black and a straight line for the escape route to Vonore in red.
Within four hours of the conclusion of the Fort Hope meeting, Randal had twelve two-man horse patrols working to a distance of five miles. Ten two-man sniper teams were in hides overlooking the most likely travel routes and, while he didn’t believe Nina would be stupid enough to use either bridge over Clinch River, he assigned teams to both the Highway 58 and Highway 95 bridges. The perimeter and tower guards at Fort Hope were doubled, and 325 men and women were on full alert. Both villages were staffed with additional security personnel, and sniper teams were in position around their perimeters. The ace in the hole was a fast reaction force consisting of a Bradley commanded by Cole and manned by two ex-Special Forces troopers and four FPS men, and two Hummers each manned by one ranger and three ex-FPS troopers. The Bradley was nestled in a grove of trees two miles from Fort Hope’s main gate, and the Hummers were stationed two miles on either side of the Bradley.
Going over the preparations with Wade, Randal said, “This is a good plan, Dad. We just finished testing eight sat-phones. They’re operational. Gateway and Zion each have one and we’re keeping one here at Fort Hope. The Bradley and Hummers each have one, and the sniper teams at the bridges, because they’re so far away, have the other two. The teams can maintain intra-squad communications, and if necessary, intel can be relayed between the units. We should have effective comms. We know she’s going to react. If she’s with them, she’s toast. If not, our guys know the importance of taking prisoners. We’ll find out where she is. One way or another, this is Nina’s last day on earth.”
“I hope you’re right, Son. I’d like to spend some time at home with the family instead of hunting her cannibal ass. For the life of me, though, I can’t figure out what she’s planning. A full-scale assault would be suicide, and a sniper attack would produce minimal results. It’s got to be something else. Something big.” He shook his head from side to side. “I just can’t figure out what it is.”
Bill nodded. “You know, Wade… you’re right. I’ve thought about it too, and I think we should consider that she’s gonna go for the big bang. And the biggest bang for the buck in our world is the nuclear reactor. How she’d do that I don’t know, but if you think about it, it makes sense. Blow the reactor and Fort Hope’s a wasteland for all time. Then she could head for the beach and suck on a Mai Tai for the rest of her worthless cannibal life knowing she fried our asses.”
“Well, that�
��s not a pretty picture, Bill. Not so easy trying to think like Hannibal Lecter, is it?”
“She makes Lecter look like a poster boy for tofu. But I gotta tell ya, Wade, this bitch is the only person on Earth I’ve ever looked forward to offing. I’m beginning to understand how Sara feels about her. She’s makes me want to pull my hair out.”
Randal grinned and said, “Here’s a newsflash, Bill. You don’t have any hair. In fact, I heard you’ve been bald since second grade.”
Bill smirked at Wade. “You didn’t know me when I was in second grade, Wade, so stop feeding your kid faulty intel. And for your information, Randal, I wasn’t bald until the fourth grade. And I intentionally got rid of my locks to keep the chicks away. It was self-defense.”
Wade laughed. So did Randal. Bill feigned indignation, then said, “All kiddin’ aside, I just want one shot at this piece o’ shit.” Looking toward the heavens, he said, “I haven’t asked you for one damn thing for decades. But I’m asking now. Give me one shot at this bitch—just one—and I promise I’ll be a good boy for the rest of my life.”
Chapter Three
Night Moves
A warm front worked its way through during the night, and although Cougar’s sniper teams left an hour ahead of the mortar teams, their progress was impeded by the thick cottony fog wrapping the land in a damp grey blanket. When he forded the Clinch River near the Thermal Diffusion Plant, he checked his watch and saw they were a half-hour behind schedule. Refusing to sacrifice safety for speed, he continued along the pre-determined back-roads to their fixed positions and arrived on station at 0530, an hour behind schedule. The teams were positioned, then received final instructions. At 0615 hours, Cougar was in place two hundred yards to the rear of the two center teams. He settled in to await Horst’s arrival.
At 0315 hours, Horst approached the cut-off to the diffusion plant where he was to cross the river. His gut lurched. The thought that he was heading for a bad day at the office seeped slowly into his brain, and he called a halt. He sat his horse, silently scanning the landscape around them.
His men looked at him. After several seconds, one of them said, “Horst?”
Horst ignored the man and continued considering an alternate life style. Ultimately, he shook his head, deciding the endless Nina and Heather pussy was worth it. He ignored his team and pulled his map. Switching the flash to infrared, he examined the route and decided he would save time by taking the easier route across the Highway 58 Bridge. Cougar and Nina would never know.
When the cafeteria meeting ended, Chris Coltrane showed up at Fort Hope. He apologized to his father. “I know you wanted me to remain at Fort-T, Dad, but I’m really worried about Sara. I know she’s a big girl, and I realize you’d never allow anything to happen to her, but she’s pregnant. I’m sorry, but we didn’t have the chance to tell you. I have to be here with her.”
Wade nodded and put an arm around his son’s shoulder. “I know about the baby. Sara told me. So I understand. It’s okay. Who did you leave in charge at Fort Terminus?”
“Sergeant Benson. One of Cole’s guys.”
“All right. Go see Randal. He’s setting up sniper teams. He can use you.” Smiling, Wade added, “Son? Congratulations.”
Chris nodded, grinned with pride, and headed off to talk to his brother.
In the pre-collapse world, Chris Coltrane was a world-class sniper for the Milwaukee County SWAT Team, and Tyler Little Solder was one of the world’s best trackers. Now they were concealed in a hide on the north side of the Highway 58 Bridge. The pea-soup fog limited visibility to less than twenty-five yards. The only sound Chris could hear was the rhythmical thumping of his heart. It was annoying. He and Tyler had discussed it and agreed the odds of anyone crossing the bridge was almost zero, so five horsemen suddenly appearing in his thermal imaging scope caused him to do a double-take and his six-foot-three-inch frame twitched.
Holy shit. They’re actually using the bridge? I’ll be damned. Nina finally made a mistake.
Tyler was catching some Zs, so Chris shook him awake. “Look.” He handed Tyler the Barrett sniper rifle.
Tyler raised it to his shoulder and looked through the scope. “What the hell?” He handed the rifle back to Chris and picked up his night vision optics.
An intermittent breeze wafted down the river, slowly increasing in intensity. The gentle wind created gaps in the fabric of the fog and allowed occasional visibility to a hundred yards.
Watching the riders approach, Tyler made an adjustment, looked again, and turned to Chris with an ear-to-ear grin. “Man, we just hit the jackpot. The lead rider is Horst Nagel. Trust me, that prick will know where Nina is and what her plans are. We have to take his ass alive. Call Wade.”
Chris quickly punched the send button on the sat-phone and called his father. Wade answered on the second ring. After Chris explained the situation, Wade told him not to take any chances but to take Nagel alive. “Call back after you secure the patrol. We’re on the way.”
When the call ended, Wade alerted Cole, who in turn alerted the other patrols. Wade, Randal, Bill, and two rangers hustled to the command center Bradley.
With Horst’s patrol less than a football field away, Tyler crabbed across the roadway, taking position on the opposite side. The game plan was simple. When Nina’s people reached a specific marker on the bridge, they would drop Horst’s four men and attempt to get him to surrender.
Nina’s team rode nonchalantly toward the west side of the bridge. The night was eternal. Dark. The rhythmical, muffled clack of the horses’ hooves striking the blacktop lent an air of unreality to the pitch-black night. The fog wrapped around the riders like a security blanket and provided a false sense of safety.
Horst was startled out of his bizarre sexual fantasy when the night erupted in gunfire. He instantly recognized the crack of the fifty-caliber Barrett and the staccato bark of the M4. The thwack of bullets striking his men and thuds of their bodies striking the blacktop told him all he needed to know. He stopped. Since he hadn’t been shot, it was obvious they wanted him alive. And nothing was more important to Horst than staying alive. Knowing it was pointless to fight or make a run for it, he did neither; he stopped his horse, sat still, and raised his hands.
A muffled voice seeped out of the fog. “Hey, Horst, small world, huh?” Tyler materialized, M4 pointed at his head.
Horst smiled and nodded, “Yeah, it is. But we have to stop meeting like this, Tyler. What now?”
“For starters, get your ass off the horse—this side—and keep your hands where I can see them.”
Horst did as he was told.
Tyler kept his M4 trained on Horst and said, “Lie face down, arms outstretched.”
When he complied, Chris broke cover and took Tyler’s M4. Tyler patted Horst down and relieved him of his sidearm and belt knife. Then he kicked him in the nuts and said, “Oops, sorry, Horst… did that hurt?”
Horst gritted his teeth against the pain and choked on the bile that filled his mouth, but said nothing.
Tyler secured him with flex-cuffs, then pushed his face into the roadway. “Don’t fuckin’ move.”
Chris and Tyler examined the four dead cannibals and secured their gear, then dragged the bodies to the bridge rail. Faint “plops” echoed up as the corpses hit the water fifty feet below. The two men turned their attention back to Horst. Tyler jerked him roughly to his feet, took him into the hide, and wrapped another flex-cuff around his ankles, then pushed him to his knees. He stared malevolently at Horst trussed like a pig, while Chris rounded up the horses.
Chris entered the hide a few minutes later, heavy footed and angry. He stopped nose-to-nose with Horst. “You prick. You were gonna attack Fort Hope with mortars?”
Horst smiled, shrugged, and said, “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Chris pulled h
is belt knife and put it to Horst’s neck. “Where’s Nina?”
“You know I’m not gonna answer that question. And we both know you aren’t gonna kill me, so dispense with the theatrics.”
Chris put pressure on the blade and said, “You are gonna die, asshole, but not until you tell me where your piece of shit queen is.” He glared at Horst, then exited the hide. Out of Horst’s hearing, he pulled the sat-phone and called Wade.
“We captured Horst Nagel, Dad. He had four men with him. They’re dead. They were going to attack Fort Hope with mortars. He knows where Nina is, but doesn’t wanna give her up. Instructions?”
“Do whatever’s necessary to get her location. We’ll be there in twenty.”
While Chris was calling Wade, Horst looked calmly at Tyler and said, “So what’s new with you, Tyler?”
“Shut up, Horst. As in, shut the fuck up!”
Horst knew he was in deep shit, but because he was a survivor by nature, he surmised the only chance he had of seeing the sun come up was to make a deal. He thought momentarily about Nina. He’d miss the sex. It was absolutely outrageous. But that was it. He looked up at Tyler. “If I tell you what you want to know, what’s in it for me?”
“I told you to shut up, Horst. I won’t tell you again.”
“Come on, Tyler. If I talk, what do I get out of it?”
“A quick and painless death.”
“Is that any way to talk to an old friend, Tyler?”
“I don’t know what you’ve been smokin’, but if you think the fact we worked together in the FPS will help your cause, it won’t. This isn’t a family reunion. And friend isn’t the word I’d use to describe our personal history.”