Devastation

by Paul Kirk

  “Yes, ma’am, we do. I’m sure he’s around here somewhere. I'm still confident he's hooked up with our team though and we just don’t know it yet.”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  “Colonel, I’m sure MacMillen passed by Perryopolis at some point with or without the team. Why don’t we trace Route 51 back to that town? We can try to establish radio contact with the team while we head toward Perryopolis. We can fly up to the mountain after that. Besides, the extraction isn't until tomorrow anyway.”

  “Yes, major, sounds like a good idea.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I asked Shamus to plot a course parallel to Route 51 toward Perryopolis, pending your approval of course. He can trim the treetops.”

  “I like it, major. You're always two steps ahead of the game.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I had a great teacher, colonel,” he said smiling. Instrumental in his military education and training, she laughed at his bald attempt at flattery.

  “Major, you’re a good man,” she said, slightly rejuvenated. She appreciated his attempt to lighten her mood. She was lucky to have this man as her second-in-command.

  “Yes, ma’am, I try to be.”

  “Okay, major, let’s do this. We’ll keep the radio live and Scott can broadcast on sixty second intervals.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Though it might turn out to be annoying hearing his voice every minute for the entire trip.” He was grateful for her focus on the task at hand.

  “Naw, c'mon. Scott’s got a great voice. Okay, let’s go see about Perryopolis. And if we come across Phoenix on the way—”

  “That scenario’s already factored in, ma’am.”

  “Good, major. Hmm, staying low for radio reception will place us in greater danger from one of his RPGs.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Shamus and I have discussed that.”

  “Okay.”

  “I started to instruct him on the need to avoid such exposure, ma’am.”

  “What do you mean ‘started to instruct him’?”

  “I brought up the subject in front of GT and Scott and they tried hard not to bust out laughing, ma’am.”

  “Wow, no kidding?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Apparently, they were impressed at how serious Shamus could be while he listened to what I had to say.”

  “You mean, like Shamus was only humoring you?”

  “Yes, ma’am. When GT and Scott started laughing, I turned to look at them and when I turned quickly back to Shamus, he was grinning from ear to ear though he hid it fast.”

  “And you weren’t mad? With all your training and combat experience?”

  “No, ma’am. I coulda pulled rank, but I realized he’s dealt with this stuff a hundred times more than me—he could probably teach me half the stuff he knows and then I’d know twice what I know now. So, instead, I told him to do what he does best and keep us safe. His look turned serious, ma'am.”

  “You sure respect that man, major.”

  “Yes, ma’am, I do. He’s a force of nature, colonel. And when you put the three of ‘em together, they’re unstoppable.”

  “I know. Now you can understand why it was so important to recruit them last year.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I apologize again for my frustration back then.”

  “Major, I’m simply reminding you that I do have some insight into this game. It doesn’t mean that I don’t value your more cautious approach.”

  “Yes, colonel, I know.”

  “Let’s go.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The Superhawk was loaded to near capacity and lifted heavily from the ground. Keenan and his men sat in the far rear of the cabin, stuffed in fairly tight and accepting that they wouldn’t garner premium seats on the ride, but excited about flying. The lack of man-made objects in the air for the last five years had led most to think manned flight was no longer possible.

  Scott’s repetitive message on the radio began a few miles into their trip. “This is Hawk One, do you copy for extraction team?” Scott waited a few seconds and repeated the message. GT reset a stopwatch to repeat the process in one-minute intervals.

  Amanda leaned back into her seat, letting Scott’s smooth voice soothe her mind. It was hypnotic and she found its repetitiveness pleasing. He would have made an excellent deejay.

  The helicopter continued its journey north, skimming the treetops east of and parallel to Route 51. All occupants scanned the terrain for signs of movement. They were within a few miles of Perryopolis when Shamus spotted something. “Ma’am, there’s black smoke about two miles northwest. It's a hot fire. Large and likely burning rubber.”

  “Yes, I see it, Professor. Increase your altitude and cut across those fields to it. Be quick but cautious.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Do you think that’s wise, colonel?”

  “Be as careful as you can, Professor. We need to check on that smoke—it might be our men.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Understood.” Shamus leaned the collector to the left and veered off tracking Route 51 and made a beeline across the meadows and trees to locate the source of the smoke. They crested a small ridge and Major O’Malley and Colonel Starkes used their binoculars to scan the area. Suddenly, Shamus veered the helicopter sharply to the left—apparently, he didn’t like what he had seen.

  “What’s the problem, Professor?” asked the colonel.

  “There’s some bad shit out there, ma’am,” he answered. He had seen something the other’s hadn’t yet caught.

  “Where?” asked Major O’Malley.

  “Phoenix was there, ma'am. And not too long ago, I think.” He turned the hovering helicopter slowly to face the plume of smoke head on and slowly began gaining altitude. When the bird had gained enough height, they caught sight of the devastation about a thousand yards away.

  “What is it?” asked Colonel Starkes. Her eyes were not nearly as sharp as those of Shamus and she had no training to evaluate landmarks or military activity from the air. GT and Scott maneuvered in the bay area for a better position.

  Shamus described what he saw over the intercom. “Listen up,” he said. “A battle skirmish just went down on Route 51. Explosives were in play. Looks like it happened in the last few hours. I repeat, a skirmish on Route 51 with explosives.”

  “Phoenix's army was here, ma'am,” said Major O’Malley.

  “I see the evidence,” said the colonel.

  “What are your orders, ma’am?” asked Shamus over the intercom.

  Colonel Starkes studied the scene through her binoculars. There was a large cluster of dead men and horses surrounding a smoking hole immediately beyond an overpass south of Perryopolis. The men and horses had been left where they died, as if someone was in a hurry to leave. Perryopolis was not too far north from their position and smoke was seen billowing from the approximate location of the town. Based on the size of the explosion that had occurred past the overpass and the smoke coming from the town in the distance, the colonel suspected Perryopolis was likely burnt to the ground and the occupants dead.

  “Somebody got that asshole’s attention,” she said.

  Major O’Malley focused his binoculars on the scene near the overpass. From what he could tell, the dead men looked naked and were stripped of most useful items of clothing and boots. There were no weapons lying about. The unlucky men in the immediate vicinity of the eighteen-wheelers perished in a whirlwind explosion. “Colonel, there’s about two dozen dead men down there and maybe a dozen or so horses.”

  “I must say, it’s very nice to see evidence that Phoenix’s ranks are continuing to be thinned out a little at a time. I expect, by the colonel and our men. ”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  "Professor?"

  "Yes, ma'am?"

  "Where's Phoenix's army? Shouldn't we have seen him?"

  "Ma'am, based on the freshness of that explosion aftermath, and the fact that we cut across the fields to get here, I estimate his army is on Route 51 in the four or five mile section that we just bypassed. We just missed '
em, ma'am."

  "Damn!" said the major, "Ma'am, do you wanna go back down Route 51 to come up on him and engage?"

  "No, not yet, major."

  "Ma'am? Our men are most likely ahead of him and running their asses off."

  "True, major. And they're doing a pretty damn good job of making Phoenix's life quite miserable. They can hold their own for a while longer, major."

  "Ma'am?"

  "Major. I want some hard intel as to what we're getting into here. I want confirmation. It's possible the colonel and our team may have simply diverted and hunkered down to wait for the extraction tomorrow. There are too many options to consider. We can't assume the colonel's ahead of that army at this point."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Based on the extent of the explosion, ma'am, that'd be the last of the C-4 carried by our team," said GT.

  "Good point, GT," said Shamus. “Whoever planted those explosives knew what he was doing. My guess is it was Mickey or Daubney.”

  "True. I hafta agree," said Major O'Malley.

  Colonel Starkes smiled as her men commiserated as to the projected battle plans and outcome. “Take us around this mess, Professor. We need to see Perryopolis—I want to find out what happened there. I need some realtime data. Make a loop. Approach the town from the north.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Shamus maneuvered the helicopter expertly to a heading directly west and drifted north before he dropped altitude to the treetops and came upon Perryopolis.

  The colonel held her binoculars pressed hard to her eyes. She was worried about the fate of the small community, thinking the town’s occupants may have met an unpleasant end. “The town’s probably burned to the ground.”

  “We’ll see in a few minutes, ma’am.”

  “Lieutenant Wahlberg?” asked the colonel.

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “How many people did you say are in Perryopolis?”

  “About two hundred, ma’am.”

  Major O’Malley leaned toward the colonel. She removed her headset so their conversation would remain unheard. “Our men are most likely the cause of what went on at that overpass, ma’am—are you sure you want to check out this town first?”

  “Yeah, our team's likely responsible for the explosion, but don’t you think that indicates they’re holding their own, major? Those men are extensively trained. They can certainly handle a novice army for a little while longer. Besides, like I said, they’re likely busy with evasion and misdirection protocol. In the meantime, I want to see what havoc Phoenix has perpetrated against Perryopolis.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “You seem skeptical, major. It’s worth the trip to find out anything of value. If anyone’s alive there, they should be a treasure trove of info.”

  “Understood, ma’am.”

  The smoke became denser as they neared the town. But when they edged closer, it was apparent there were only two buildings fully destroyed and those were in their death throes, skeletons smoldering. The buildings adjacent to the two burning were brick and appeared to have sustained minimal damage.

  “Do a slow fly-over, Shamus. Head toward the southern gates. Everybody, eyes open for unfriendlies. Major?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Have your team scoping the buildings while the Professor flies over—weapons hot. This is not permission to fire—we’re looking for friendlies that might still be alive. When we touch down, I want you to take Major McLoy and his men with you. Take Scott and GT, too.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Remain stationary for a moment, Professor. Then head toward the south gates and then do a 360. Pick a safe landing spot on the northern edge—one we can vacate quickly.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The fly-over from the north sector revealed no further movement. A few dead bodies, or rather, what was left of them, were seen near the doors of the burning buildings. The gates on both sides of the town were wide open, yet showed no evidence of having borne a recent defensive battle. Both gates were formidable, but were simply open for ease of passage. Other than the open gates and the two burned buildings, the town appeared to be mostly intact.

  “I think Phoenix’s army just blew through the town,” said Scott.

  “Yeah, it doesn’t look like they took the time to destroy much of anything except those two buildings,” said Major O’Malley. “It doesn’t look like there’s been any skirmishes right here. Does anyone see any turf battles inside the gates? Any bodies besides those near those two buildings?”

  “I got nothing,” said GT. The others simply shook their heads. “It’s very strange.”

  “I agree,” said Scott. “Let’s hope they all got out alive.”

  “Is it possible Phoenix dragged them into a building and killed ‘em all at once?” asked Colonel Starkes.

  “Doesn’t make any sense, ma’am,” answered Major O’Malley. “We woulda seen some evidence of a defensive struggle. Everything I’ve heard about Commander Del Re leads me to believe he wouldn’t give up without a fight.”

  “Yes, major, good point.”

  “On the other hand, colonel, there are two buildings burning. When Phoenix came through here, he was shootin’ at something, don’t you think?”

  “Good question, but we’re not sure how this played out."

  "Ma'am! Look! About fifty yards beyond the southern gates," said Shamus excitedly.

  "I see," said Major O'Malley.

  "Yeah, I see 'em, Professor," said Colonel Starkes, "I count at least nine dead men and four dead horses."

  "My count, too, ma'am. Looks like they were killed by weapons and not explosives."

  "More dead men and horses," said Shamus.

  "Yeah. More dead men and horses...after they passed through town. Hmm, I'm beginning to form a clear picture."

  "Ma'am?"

  "Hold on, major. Professor, do another fly-over—slower this time.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The second fly-over of Perryopolis yielded no additional information. All the colonel saw was pure ghost town.

  “Colonel! Professor!” yelled GT. He was staring out the bay door window and scanning the area. “Tango on our nine o’clock, ma’am. There’s a man running through the field toward us.”

  “Yeah, GT, I see him now,” she said, focusing her binoculars on the lone figure.

  "Target located," said Shamus into the intercom.

  The man stumbled and went down hard during his run. The colonel watched him rise to his feet immediately and continue running toward the helicopter frantically waving.

  “Hover beyond the northern gates, Professor.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he answered. When the rotors dipped and the helicopter began to move toward the man in the field, the man stopped, thinking perhaps this was an aggressive move. He held his ground for a moment before he continued his run. He closed the distance, untucked and billowing shirttails fluttering as he moved.

  “He’s carrying a weapon, ma’am,” said Major O’Malley. “It’s in his waistband.”

  “Okay, Professor, drop down and offload the major, GT, Scott, and Keenan’s team. Treat this man gently, major—he’s likely a friendly—but make sure you find out his intentions.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Professor, once they’re all on the ground, pull this bird back outta range. Major, find out what the hell’s going on and relay the information back to me immediately.”

  “Roger that, colonel.”

  The Superhawk hovered off the turf and the jump from the deck was no more than a couple feet. Shamus waited five seconds for the men to clear the rotors and expertly lifted the helicopter to a hovering position a hundred yards away and spun the helicopter to watch the pending interaction.

  Major O’Malley, GT, Scott, and Keenan’s team made their way to the running man, closing the gap quickly. When they were fifty yards from the man, they stopped and assumed a firing position. “That’s far enough, mister!” yelled Major O’Malley
. “We'll shoot if you come any closer!”

  The man stumbled once more and stopped forty yards away. He had wild black hair, in remarkable contrast to his bright white shirt, and from this distance, it was easy to see how heavily the man was breathing. He placed his hands on his knees and took deep gulps of air. Major O’Malley began to slowly close the gap and his men followed, matching his pace.

  “Who are you?” asked the major. “What purpose do you have flagging us down?”

  “I’m...” He held up his hand as an indication of his need to catch his breath. After a few more seconds, he stood upright, straightening his shoulders and trying his best to appear non-threatening. “I’m Commander Italo Del Re,” he said, still breathing heavily. “I run Perryopolis.”

  “Okay, Del Re, remove the handgun from your waistband slowly and place it on the ground.”

  “Are you serious? I’m no threat to you guys. Where the hell were you when that army cruised through here about two hours ago?”

  “That’s him, major. That’s Commander Del Re,” offered Lieutenant Wahlberg.

  Major O’Malley held his hand palm out to Wahlberg without taking his eyes from Del Re. “Humor me, commander. And watch how you talk to me or I’ll take that gun from you and beat the shit outta you with it.”

  “Okay,” he said, understanding he would have to gain this group’s trust, but impatient with the delay. He slowly removed his Python and placed it gently on the ground. He moved several feet away from the weapon, hoping this would be seen as a show of good faith.

  “That's Commander Del Re, major,” repeated Lieutenant Wahlberg.

  “Wahlberg? Is that you? What the hell you doing here? With them?”

  “Commander,” said the lieutenant, nodding his acknowledgement.

  Del Re took a closer look at the men around him. “You’re Keenan, right? A major, I believe. And I recognize you, your name’s Evan something. You guys come here for beer every once in a while. You guys know me,” he said, frustrated at their perception of him as a threat.

  The group of men were no more than fifteen feet from the lone man and GT quickly walked over to collect Del Re’s gun.