Lethal Strike

by Nick S. Thomas

  “That’s right asshole. I’ll be waiting,” declared Ross defiantly.

  Chapter 7

  “You baited that thing to come after you? For Pete’s sake, why would you wish for such a thing?” Burns asked.

  They all tried to understand his thinking, and he smiled back as he tortured them. Randy and Faith tossed out the last body of the enemy soldiers as they gathered in the cabin.

  “We’ve been lured right into traps. He wants to do the same right back at them,” said Travers.

  A few of them shot accusatory glances at him, but not Donny. For all his mistakes, saving his brother had earned him another chance in his eyes.

  “Is that right? You want to bait that thing here?” Ramos asked.

  “Why not?”

  “Because of the storm that will come with it. You think an officer is just gonna show up for a fistfight like he did.” Ramos pointed to Travers.

  “He’s gonna bring a goddamn army,” said Ortiz.

  “Yep, I’m banking on it.”

  “I’m all for springing a trap, but we can’t take on the sort of forces Travers encountered. Even with the element of surprise, we don’t have the resources. You know what happened to them.”

  He ignored the question and looked to Miles.

  “You still got all the explosives you picked up from that depot?”

  “Most of it, sure. It’s not as if we’ve had a whole lot of use for it all, just what we blew out there.” He looked out of the blown-out windows to the carnage.

  “What are you thinking?” Ramos asked.

  “That we’ve walked into enough traps. It’s time we set one of our own.”

  “All right, but you want to draw that one in? That Seena, whatever he is, he’s gonna come in hard, and where would you even set it?”

  “What do you think drew them here?”

  Nobody had any answers, but Ross turned to Dunn as he stepped into the cabin.

  “You find it?”

  He nodded in agreement.

  “Find what?” Donny asked.

  “The enemy didn’t find us here by accident. They knew right where we were. Why is that?”

  He had no idea.

  “Only thing that’s changed around here is that truck you brought here. A truck you took into an attack on their facility.”

  “So what, they tagged us with some kind of tracker?” Travers asked.

  “Yup,” he replied as Dunn tossed him a small metallic object. It was flat on one side and domed on the other.

  “Magnetic, pretty hard to spot,” said Dunn.

  “They tracked you right back here.”

  “Shit, I’m sorry. I had no idea,” said Travers in a genuine and apologetic tone.

  “You couldn’t have known. None of you could. We underestimated this enemy, but they underestimated us, too. We’re onto them now. Seena is coming for us, I guarantee you. I riled him up enough that he’s coming for real.”

  “How long do you suppose we’ve got?” Ramos asked.

  “No way of telling, but he’s angry. However long it takes him to amass what he thinks he needs, and nightfall, of course. I guess we’ve got about eight hours.”

  “We need cover, and somewhere with plenty of blind spots, corners. That mall we raided a week back, that ain’t too far from here.”

  “Then let’s saddle up,” replied Ramos.

  “Wait a second. This is my idea, but you don’t have to agree. This isn’t the Army anymore, you all get a say on it.”

  Donny was weary of blindly following a leader once more, but Ross was their best chance of getting through the night.

  “We’re with you. Let’s do this.”

  Ross looked appreciative, but he looked around the room for other opinions.

  “We can’t go on running forever. Maybe if we can take this asshole out we can make a real difference. He must be important to their operation here,” said Kim.

  Travers nodded in agreement; glad to be free, and happy to follow what Ross wanted to do.

  “They have beaten us around enough. It’s time we took lead,” said Lee.

  “We’re all with you,” said Ortiz.

  “Then grab your gear. Load all the weapons and ammunition you can find into the vehicles we’ve got. We’re not leaving anyone behind.”

  “What about us?”

  “This is all or nothing, Mick. We need all hands on deck.”

  “We aren’t soldiers,” said Lucy.

  “Will you fight for your lives?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Then you are as much a soldier as any of us now. This uniform don’t mean nothing no more. Maybe it will again someday, so long as we keep fighting.”

  “And the wounded?”

  “If they can hold a rifle, they’re fighting, too.”

  “You think that’s fair?”

  “No. None of this is fair, but they have as much a stake in this as any of us. We’re fighting for our survival. Everyone fights. Load up. We move out ASAP!”

  They leapt into action. Most were fired up at the prospect, but Ross stepped out of the cabin to find Tammy and another digging graves for the two they had lost. Ross could see a spare shovel beside the truck and grabbed it to go and help.

  “You get the gist of that?” Ross asked as he began to dig.

  “I did.”

  “And you’re with us?”

  “Might as well die fighting. I ain’t going to live in a cage.”

  They went on digging at a strong pace, knowing how urgent it was to move out. Ortiz helped with the other grave while the rest of them loaded the vehicles and prepared to leave. Finally, they all gathered at the site and held a minute’s silence for those that had fallen. Their graves marked by nothing but the shovels that had been thrust into the soil.

  “Anyone want to say a few words? Sorry to say I never had the time to get to know them.”

  “I did. Carl and Donna. I knew them a little before this war began. But when the fighting started, they were there for me. They fought like we were family, when we’d never shared more than a few words. Donna saved my life. They were kind, and always there for people who needed it. May God watch over them now, and give us the strength to see them avenged.”

  “Amen,” replied Ortiz.

  Ross didn’t want to be indelicate, but he had to hurry them along.

  “Load up. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  He slapped the tracker back onto the underside of the truck and knocked the side of the vehicle.

  “Let’s get this show rolling!”

  He ushered them all in and took once last look at the cabin. It had been home to them for what felt like an age in this new life. Yet he knew it was the last time they’d see it. They could never risk returning. Ramos pulled up alongside, and he climbed aboard the truck.

  “When this is over, we’re gonna have to find some other place to call home,” said Ramos.

  “Yeah, let’s focus on getting through the night.”

  “You think we can.”

  “I think I just poked the bear. We’re either gonna take this bastard down, or all die trying.”

  “Jeez, you don’t pull any blows.”

  “I’m giving it to you straight.”

  “That’s not how it sounded when you told it to the rest of them.”

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t lie, but if they knew the dangers…let’s just say they aren’t ready to have that kind of weight hanging on their minds, and they don’t need it.”

  “You’ve given them hope, though.”

  “Yeah, and if we fail, none of us will be around to regret it.”

  “That’s reassuring.”

  “That’s the best I’ve got.” He took one last glance at yet another home they were leaving behind.

  * * *

  Donny wiped his sweaty brow as he got back to the staging area, a platform on the second floor of the mall. It overlooked the divide between the mall and a line of commercial outlet buildings.
Their REO was parked below at the end of the dead end. Ross was strolling back as he arrived, looking equally as sweaty and tired as he wiped his face with his sleeve.

  “All set?”

  “Just like you asked,” Miles replied, sitting with his feet up. He was drinking from a bottle of coca cola, though nobody knew where he’d found it. But as Donny looked down, he spotted a box lying at the base of the chair he was sitting on.

  “Where the hell did you find that?”

  “Caretaker’s shed.”

  “They still maintain this place?” Donny asked in amazement.

  “Doesn’t look like it,” replied Ortiz.

  “Just the grounds. Been up for sale for years.”

  “Payne and Travers in position?” Ross asked as Donny tossed out bottles to each of them.

  “Not exactly an ice-cold beer,” replied Ortiz scornfully.

  “Fine, I’ll have it back.” Miles got up from his chair.

  “No, no, it’s better than nothing,” insisted Ortiz as he held back and protected his drink.

  Ross popped one open himself. It was warm, but still very much welcome.

  “You really trust him? Travers?” Miles asked.

  “I guess so,” replied Ross.

  “And you trust him with what you have given him?”

  “He saved my brother’s life,” insisted Donny.

  “He saved his own life. Helping your brother was a bonus that kept him free.”

  “Nobody does anything for nothing. We aren’t selfless. His heart is in the right place, even if his head isn’t always. But I trust him to give his all in a fight,” replied Ross.

  “Everything set?” Kim approached, but she looked most put out to see them casually knocking back the cokes.

  “Come on…” she protested.

  She went straight for the box and snatched one as if assuming Miles would be defensive over them.

  “Hey, help yourself, you just weren’t in the right place at the right time.”

  “Do you think we can do this?” Tammy asked.

  Ross looked out of the shattered window to all of the preparations they had made and concealed so well. The sun was going down. It wouldn’t be long now. He knew Seena couldn’t resist coming after him at the first opportunity. He had known men like him his entire life. Baiting him was easy; beating him was going to be the hard part.

  “I know we can do it. You know why?”

  They all waited anxiously for his reasoning.

  “Because we have to. This is about a lot more than us. There are people out there who need us, who are depending on us. They might not even know it. They might not know we are still out here fighting. But they’re going to when we get through this, and we keep setting folks free. You’ve seen the prisons. How many Americans are being held in those facilities, thousands, millions? It can’t be just here. There’s so much work to be done. But there will be others out there fighting. Soldiers like Travers. I haven’t seen eye to eye with him, but he had the right idea. His heart was in the right place. He was willing to give everything to fight, and to win. There has to be others out there fighting like we are, and they are depending on us, too. This is our area, and this is our land to fight for. We have a real chance to make a difference here. I don’t know who this Seena is, but he has to be a big deal. We’re going to strike at the heart of the enemy. Hurt them where they never believed they could be hurt. We’re gonna send a message today, a message they’ll never forget.”

  “We’ve got incoming!”

  Chapter 8

  “Let’s go, go, go!” Ross yelled.

  They grabbed their weapons and rushed to the stairs towards the truck and other vehicles parked nearby. They could hear the sound of engines roaring across the sky as they approached.

  “We’re running, remember. Make it look as though you’re panicking and running!”

  “No problem, that ain’t acting, that’s a fact!” Ortiz leapt into the REO and fired it up.

  Ross got on to the back of the pickup Ramos was driving. He wanted to be in full view of the enemy when they got visual contact. The five vehicles pulled off in convoy. They headed out of the almost half a mile-long dead end in column. It looked like an exodus as they fled in terror, but the vehicles carried few of their people. The RV and REO had nothing more than a driver in each. The familiar chlorine smell wafted in as the engines roared loudly, descending into view. They reached the far side of the dead end when Ramos slammed on the brakes so hard Ross was nearly thrown over the top.

  “No need to sell it that hard!”

  The rest of the convoy came to a stand still as three aircraft came down to hover before them, and a convoy of ten armoured vehicles approached from the road ahead. Ross got up on the back of the truck in full view of the aircraft. He knew it made him a huge target, but he was gambling on the arrogance of Seena. The enemy wanted to prove a point, and Ross knew that meant he was safe, at least for now.

  One aircraft touched down on the empty parking lot, and a ramp lowered. A single figure strolled out. It was Seena himself. He looked arrogant and brimming with confidence. It brought a smile to Ross’ face, but he quickly tried to conceal it to maintain the act. He lifted his rifle and took aim, firing off a single well-aimed shot. Seena lifted his arm. Two large bars extended from his forearm, and a translucent shield ignited. The bullet bounced off.

  “That’s it. It’s really him.” Ross was astonished.

  Seena lowered his shield to get a good look at Ross and deactivated it, but he stayed on the ramp of his aircraft.

  “Turn back. Turn back!” Ross yelled as if in a panic. He had to hold on firmly once more as the truck tyres spun, and Ramos turned them about, heading into the long line between the two structures.

  “Into the valley of death.”

  “Hopefully not for us!” Ramos yelled.

  “Yeah, hopefully.”

  Ross softly prayed his plan would work. It wasn’t a particularly complex idea, but the enemy had never shown themselves to be particularly intelligent or creative. They were powerful, and they knew it. He intended to use that against them. He could see the armoured column had followed them in.

  “It’s working!”

  “No shit.” Ramos looked in the wing mirror. An armoured vehicle was bearing down on them, its gun aimed right for them.

  “They open up on us right now, and we’re dead!”

  “Don’t worry, they won’t!”

  Ramos shook his head, muttering.

  “We’re presenting our asses to the enemy, and you tell me it’s all okay?”

  Ross still heard him and smiled.

  “Trust me, we’ve got this.”

  They were getting close to the dead end. When Ross looked up to the edge of one of the buildings, he thrust his fist into the air as a signal. He looked at the line of vehicles pursuing them. An explosion rang out, and he flinched as they felt the vibrations and glass blew out from the buildings around them. Fire erupted between the RV at the back of the convoy and the enemy column in pursuit, causing them to brake and grind to a halt. Ramos turned them about and slammed on the brakes, sliding around in a one hundred and eighty degree turn.

  “This better be good,” he said as Ross lowered his arm to give the second signal. There was an almighty set of explosions, so violent and in such quantity it was as if it were an earthquake. The road beneath the enemy vehicles gave way, and most of them vanished into a hole of smoke and fire. A series of explosive charges had blown out the supports to the underground parking lot below. Three of the enemy convoy were still on the road, trying to back up. Tammy was looking down on them from the building above.

  “Payback time.”

  She lit a Molotov cocktail and launched it at an enemy vehicle. Several more followed it from the small team she had with her. Behind her a bookcase full of Molotovs were being lit for her. She picked up two and launched them down at the vehicle already on fire, and then went back for more. Two dozen of the improvised
grenades had smashed down over two of the vehicles in a matter of seconds. They went up in a fiery ball. The doors opened as the crews tried to escape, but she rained down more fire upon them. The third and final vehicle backed away to make an escape, but Miles was waiting in a broken store window. He was beside an old truck with the engine ticking over. Twenty gallons of fuel lay in the back. He slipped it into drive, dropped a brick on the gas pedal, and simply stepped away as he watched the fruits of his labour with glee. As the truck raced away, he tossed a Molotov onto the tanks in the back.

  The battered old truck raced out across the narrow road and crashed into the enemy vehicle, smashing it across the road and into the building on the far side. The impact caused the tanks to smash opened, and the flames of the Molotov ignited them immediately. The explosion was massive, and a fireball as tall as the mall erupted amongst the wreckage of the two vehicles.

  Miles swigged back the last of his coke in celebration. He tossed the bottle aside and lifted his Kalashnikov to engage the few survivors that had made it out alive. One was burning violently. He watched and smiled, until he noticed it lift its weapon to take aim at him, ignoring the flames entirely.

  “Oh, no you don’t.” He took aim and fired a burst to put it down.

  Ross leapt from the truck, rushed into the building, and up the flight of stairs to the roof. Three aircraft rose up and hovered over the mall, as if ready to launch an air strike. One ship was pointing right at him. He reached a tarpaulin that looked as though it was caught and hanging over the edge. He yanked it away, to reveal Payne standing by a Browning M2 on a mount they’d affixed to the wall.

  “Surprise, motherfucker!” Payne aimed at the one pointing at them and opened fire. He kept the trigger down as a constant stream of bullets smashed into the craft. The satisfying drone of the fifty-calibre machine gun echoed out across the mall. The nose of the aircraft was obliterated, and it banked as it began to fall and plunge towards the REO. It hit the truck and erupted in to a fireball.

  Cheers rang out from all those fighting with Ross. He was smiling but also shaking his head. “I’ll be damned. It’s working.”