by Robert Boren
“I suggest you get on that now,” General Hogan said.
“Yeah, I think he’s right,” Hopper said. “Take a good look. We might want to target the caverns second.”
“You know,” George said. “I’m thinking we should sneak a team into the caverns first. We should be able to see if there’s people in there without tipping them off. The caverns might be their protection area of last resort.”
General Hogan grinned. “Hey, Jerry, is there a good way to sneak past the buildings and get to the entrance of the caverns?”
“I’m on it,” he said, rushing to his laptop. Frank joined him, getting on his laptop to bring up the snapshot app.
“Hey, Frank,” George said. “I’d check Kansas before you look at Carlsbad Caverns. We need to know when the clock starts running.”
Frank nodded and navigated to that spot.
“There goes Gabe and Dobie,” Earl said, watching out the window.
“Good,” General Hogan said.
“General, we should be able to sneak by the buildings easily,” Jerry said. “We can follow this river bed here.” He pointed to the screen.
Ned and George met General Hogan by the laptop. “What do you think, gentlemen?” the general asked.
“No problem for Jeeps and Humvees,” George said. “What do you think, Ned?”
“I think we ought to go right now,” Ned said.
“Who should go?” Jerry asked.
“This will be a Special Forces operation,” General Hogan said. “Ned’s team and George.”
“And me,” Heidi said.
“You sure, honey? It’s gonna be rough.”
“I’m going,” Heidi said.
“Okay,” George said. “I need about five minutes to unload the Jeep, okay?”
“Meet you by the front gate,” Ned said.
“No lolly gagging this time,” Wedgie said. Ned looked at him and shook his head. Clara ran over and gave him a long kiss.
“There, now you won’t hold anybody up,” she said. “You’d better come back alive.”
“I’ll do my best,” Ned said. He followed Wedgie, Spence, and the others out the door.
“General Hogan, there’s another opening on the north side of the cavern,” Hopper said. “And we see a way to sneak in from that direction. We’ll send a team too.”
“Perfect,” General Hogan said.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Jerry said. “I see where they’re talking about.”
“Hey, everybody,” Frank said. “The enemy has gotten to the town. Looks like they’ve been there for a little while. I don’t see any traces on the country roads going to the park.”
“Shit, that good or bad?” Earl asked.
“Wonder how many towns people noticed all of us leaving?” Jeb asked.
“I told my people to gas up in the next town,” Clint said. “And we didn’t bunch up, remember?”
“He’s right,” Charlie said. “We went out in dribs and drabs. They might have decided to rest up there and hit the park in the morning.”
“That would be helpful, but I wouldn’t count on it,” Malcolm said. “Hey General, is that drone still up there?”
“Last I checked, yeah,” he said.
“I’ll call it up,” Frank said, switching to another program.
“This makes me nervous,” Jane said.
“We’ve got to get off the call in a minute, General Hogan,” Hopper said.
“Okay, understand. You know how to get on the web meeting, right?”
“Yeah, I got the number from Frank. We plan to arrive near the scene in three hours with our main force. The commando force for the north opening of the caverns just left.”
“Good,” General Hogan said. “It doesn’t appear that the enemy has gotten to our park yet. Don’t know how well you could hear us down by the laptops.”
“Not well,” Hopper said. “What’s going on?”
“We see hits in town, but not next to the park yet.”
“Maybe they’re getting a little shut-eye,” Hopper said. “They did a lot of driving today.”
“Park looks deserted on the drone,” Frank said, moving the camera angle around with his cursor keys.
“Good,” General Hogan said.
“Hey, Frank, look a little north of the park,” Jerry said. Frank looked at him and grinned.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. He watched the screen silently for a moment as the camera moved, and then laughed. Jerry joined him.
“What’s so funny?” General Hogan asked.
“They’ve got a team taking out our cell tower and our internet connection,” Jerry said, still laughing.
Hopper laughed from his end. “Idiots. They have no idea you’re gone.”
“And when they discover it, they’ll have to go into town to make the call,” Frank said with glee.
“Stay on them with that drone,” General Hogan said. “I’m calling our air support. Watch for their main force to get there and turn around. We’ll hit them on the road back to town. If we’re lucky, they won’t be able to call home.”
Chapter 23 – Snack Bars
“How much further?” Heidi asked, as the Jeep drove through the dusk.
“Oh, I figure about twenty minutes before we get to that dirt road, then another forty five minutes in the river bed. Hope we get some decent moonlight when we get close. We might want to follow the Humvees in.”
“Why?”
“They’ve got night vision,” George said.
George’s phone rang. He answered it.
“What’s up, Ned?”
“Turnoff is coming up, right?”
“Getting close. You guys have night vision?”
“Some of us do,” Ned said. “We should use them to lead us in.”
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
“We gonna be able to use that web meeting?”
“Yeah,” George said. “Frank has it running already. Hopper’s folks should be on it too. We don’t want to be shooting at each other.”
“Seriously. Let’s meet for a second when we get on the dirt road.”
“Got it. See you soon, George.”
“Later.” He ended the call and stuffed his phone into his pocket.
“You two go back a long way, don’t you?” Heidi asked.
“Yeah, since the Special Forces days. We parted ways when I started working for the agency.”
“Did you regret leaving Special Forces?”
“That’s a good question,” George said. “My problems didn’t happen until I was with the agency, but the world was changing at that point. Cold war to rogue nations to terrorist groups that exist outside of governments. Lines got blurry. Tactics changed.”
“So you might have had problems even if you stayed in Special Forces?”
“Yeah,” George said, glancing over at her. “Special Forces was usually involved in the operations I led from the agency, including the last one. It was that whole world I needed to get out of, not the specific organization I was working for.”
“Oh.”
“Why the interest all of a sudden?”
“Because I’m not afraid of opening up my own past to you anymore.”
“I thought you weren’t going to tell me about it.”
“Frankie told me it’s not helpful, and that I should think long and hard before telling you details. That’s different than before.”
“How is it different?” George asked.
“I felt like I had to tell you all the details in order for us to be happy together. I thought we couldn’t be together completely until I did. Frankie changed the way I was thinking about that.”
“Still not getting it.”
“I realized that I wanted to tell you about it for myself. I wasn’t thinking about how it would affect you. Sometimes it’s better not to be open about every detail. But that was only part of it.”
“What’s the other part?”
“She
let me know how much you already know. That helped me to understand that you don’t care. You love me no matter what.”
“Smart woman,” George said.
“How much do you know?”
“I watched the interview with those two massage techs,” George said. “Their stories were very detailed.”
“It doesn’t bother you?”
“We were separated at the time, and I did something worse.”
“You did?” she asked.
“Yeah, I had a brief affair with somebody,”
“Why is that worse?”
“Because it could have turned into a relationship. It could have been more than just blowing off a little steam. Yours was different. It was less emotional, less serious.”
“Oh, I get it,” Heidi said. “I’m not upset about you having an affair back then. Not at all.”
“I’m glad.”
“What happened at the compound was worse than the massage thing.”
“Yeah, for you,” George said. “Not for us.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Honey, you were completely under duress. It was either self-preservation or Stockholm syndrome. Either way, it certainly was not your fault.”
“It was a little of both,” Heidi said, looking down. “Never thought about it that way. Started as self-preservation, turned into the other thing.”
“Need I remind you about your actions when there was a break in the situation?”
“I know, I get it, but I was reluctant at first.”
“Normal,” George said. “Trust me.”
“I do,” she said. Suddenly her phone dinged. “GPS. We’re near that dirt road. Should be a left turn."
George slowed down. “There. Where that mailbox is.” He made the turn and drove up about 50 yards.
“Headlights,” Heidi said as they lit her face from the side mirror.
“Ned,” George said. “Let’s get out.”
They got out and walked behind the Jeep as the line of Humvees drove up. Ned got out of the front vehicle and trotted to them.
“Pretty dark out here,” he said.
“Yeah,” George said. “How well does your night vision work?”
“We’ve got the latest. Better than it was when you were in.”
“Good,” George said. “We’ll follow you guys, then.”
“Fall in after the first three vehicles, and we’ll follow you with the rest. Your Jeep won’t take as much fire as one of these monsters will.”
“Okay,” George said.
Wedgie trotted up with Spence.
“George, your guns loaded?” Wedgie asked.
“Everything except the OICW and the M107.”
“Load them too,” Wedgie said.
“He’s having those feelings,” Spence said, smirking.
“That’s actually good advice,” Ned said. “Do it, and then we’ll get moving.”
“Call into the web meeting,” George said.
“We’re already on,” Spence said. “Jerry shouldn’t have gotten out of the service. That guy’s as sharp as a tack.”
“Yeah,” George said. “Surprised he didn’t ask to come on this little jaunt. He’s trained for it.”
“We need him for technical support,” Ned said.
“True. I’ll go load the weapons. C’mon, honey.”
Heidi nodded and they trotted to the Jeep. “You gonna pull over to the side?”
“Hell, those things don’t need a road,” George said. “They’ll go around us. Want to help me with this?”
“Sure,” she said, coming up behind him. She put her arms around him and hugged his back. “I love you so much.”
George grabbed her hands and pulled her tighter. “Me too.”
***
Frank watched the laptop screen, keeping the drone camera focused on the enemy. The small team had finished with the cell tower and internet connection almost an hour ago, and Frank watched them roll back to town. Now there was a large group massing by the back road, ready to leave.
General Hogan rushed in. “Time for the main force to leave. The enemy starting towards the camp yet?”
“They’re about to,” Frank said.
“I want you and Jane to stay on this stuff.”
“We’re not going with you guys?”
“No, you’re our eyes and ears,” General Hogan said.
“How about us?” Jerry said.
“I’d rather have you go, to handle our communications at the front,” General Hogan said. “You two okay with that?”
“Sure, General,” Jerry said.
“Maybe I should ride with Jake and help him with the cell antenna,” Jasmine said.
“Good idea,” Jerry said. “I’ll follow the bob-tail in the Jeep.”
“Good plan,” General Hogan said. He slipped Frank a piece of paper with a web address, a phone number, and a code on it. “After the enemy has seen the RV Park and left, use this to start the attack.”
“You aren’t going to be here?” Jane asked.
“No, I’m going with the attack force,” General Hogan said.
“Why?” Frank asked.
“Field Marshal Hopper and I made an agreement on that. We’re both going.”
“Okay, general,” Frank said. “Anything I need to know about this?” He held up the piece of paper.
“You can use either the web site or the phone number to kick off the attack. Try the web page first. Keep the drone camera focused on those guys. The air support can see the coordinates it’s pointed at, and their missiles will go right to them.”
“Okay,” Frank said. “You guys be careful.”
“We will,” General Hogan said. “Keep an eye out around here, just in case we really do have a mole.”
“You really think we could still have a mole, given that the enemy doesn’t know we’ve left the park?” Jasmine asked.
“These guys are tricky. Never underestimate them. It might all be for show.”
“But their commandos,” Frank said.
“They could be commandos, or they could be decoys,” General Hogan said. “Just keep your eyes open. Have your guns with you all the time. Okay?”
“Okay, General,” Frank said. “Godspeed.”
“Thanks. Let’s go, guys.”
Jerry and Jasmine got their laptops shut down and unplugged, then hurried out the door.
“Here it starts,” Jane said, fear in her eyes.
“Yeah. I hope those guys aren’t as tricky as the General thinks they might be.”
“Look, Frank, they’re moving out.” Frank turned back towards the screen.
They watched in silence as the long line of vehicles picked their way down the small roads behind the town.
“Should we get on the conference call?” Jane asked.
“You get on it,” Frank said. “I’m going to stay off for now, but you should help the first team now that Jerry and Jasmine are off-line.”
“Got it.” She put on her bluetooth headset and hit the contact. The meeting came on. “Hi, all. Jerry just left. This is Jane. Let me know if there’s any views you need me to call up.”
“Hi, Jane,” Heidi said. “We’re rolling down the river bed now.”
“Where’s Jerry?” Wedgie asked.
“I’m still on,” Jerry said. “Jasmine and I are moving out with the rest of the team now, so we don’t have our PCs up anymore. We’ll get set up when we get there. We’ll be battlefield support.”
“They’re getting close,” Frank said, watching the line of enemy vehicles on the small roads. “Two vehicles just took off in front of the others, going a lot faster. They’re just about in view of the park.”
“Keep on them,” Jane said, watching.
“What’s going on?” George asked.
“Frank’s watching the drone video,” Jane said. “The enemy vehicles are getting close to the park.”
“Roger that,” George said. “Keeping my fingers crossed. If they aler
t the base, we’ll probably know it pretty fast.”
“First two vehicles just parked,” Frank said. “Four men rushing in now. Two by two formation. They look like pros to me.”
“Good, maybe General Hogan was wrong,” Jane said.
“Wrong about what?” Ned asked.
“Oh, forgot I was on. Never mind. Just speculation.”
“The rest of the group is pulling onto that field in front of the park,” Frank said. “They’re parking.”
“Wow, that’s clear video,” Jane said.
“Well, they’re onto us,” Frank said. “The four men are running out of the park.”
“Uh oh,” Jane said. “Want me to pull up that attack web site on my machine?”
“No, you keep supporting the away team. I’m getting it up now in another window.”
“Good,” Jane said.
“The four men are with the main group now. Looks like a huddle.”
“Yeah, I have a feeling I know what every other word is,” Jane said, snickering.
“There we go, those four men just got into their vehicles. They’re high-tailing it into town.”
“Hit them!” Jane said.
Frank got on the web site, put in the code, and then the coordinates of the large group in front of the park.
“You’re hitting the big group first?” Jane asked.
“Yeah, they’re all bunched up,” Frank said. “Now I’m putting in the coordinates for the other two vehicles.” He followed them with the camera when there was a bright flash behind.
“Whoa, that was fast,” Frank shouted. He put in the coordinates for the two on the road. “Fire one.”
There were two explosions on the screen. Another one on the main group, and one behind the two fleeing to town.
“Shit, they’re moving so fast,” Frank said. “Missed. Going to lead them a little bit more.” He put in the new coordinates, sent them, then moved forward a little more and sent coordinates.
“What are you doing?” Jane asked.
“Two more chances to hit,” Frank said. There was a bright flash, then another and the two vehicles exploded. “Got ‘em!”
“Good,” Jane said.
“I’m zooming out, looking for stragglers.” Frank studied the screen as the picture zoomed out. There was still movement in front of the park. He put in coordinates closer to the front and sent them. There was a flash only a few seconds later. Then stillness. Death.