by Bobby Akart
“Private Page, sir.”
“Private, I need you to locate the officer on duty for the armory. I know it’s closed, but someone is assigned twenty-four seven. Bring them to my office now.”
“Yessir.”
The men left Duncan alone with his thoughts.
I warned everyone who’d listen that North Korean operatives were planning something. How could I ignore my own advice? I should’ve placed patrols or even a sentry rotation on these substations. But there are thousands of these things around Texas. You can’t guard them all.
Duncan second-guessed himself and the failure to see this coming. It was a logical step for any invading force to disable critical infrastructure like power and communications. He’d underestimated the DPRK. It was a ballsy move to take on the United States, even in a grid-down scenario. But to attack Texas, a new nation but with an inherited standing army, took some kind of crazy arrogance. Yet here he stood, in the dark.
Through the chaos of shuffling feet in the hallways outside his office, he could hear Private Page’s voice escorting the duty officer assigned to the armory for the evening. As they entered his office, he immediately recognized the flirty corporal he’d encountered the other day.
“Commander, this is Corporal Herrera,” Private Page announced as they entered.
“Yes, we’ve met. Corporal Herrera, I have an important project for you and Private Page. Are you two up for it?”
“Yes, sir!” she said with conviction, although Duncan detected apprehension in her voice. Still, he needed her to be confident and carry out his orders.
“Good. First, Private, find Sergeant Esparza and tell him to meet me in the armory. You meet me there as well. Go!”
Duncan turned to Corporal Herrera. “Come with me. Do you have your keys? To both entry doors?”
“Yessir. Do you mean the emergency exit too? It stays locked unless we’re receiving a shipment of weapons from Fort Bliss, sir,” she asked.
“Well, we’re about to make a few adjustments, temporarily.”
Duncan led the way to the armory and waited while Corporal Herrera unlocked the steel doors. The biometric locks were still functioning because of their battery backup power packs, but the old-fashioned skeleton key system still worked in this older facility.
“It will be hard to see without lights, sir,” said Corporal Herrera.
“We’ll get some more lighting in a minute, Corporal. We don’t have much time. Please follow me.”
Duncan wound his way through the rows of weapons and ammunition until he reached the red illuminated EXIT sign. “Please open this door, Corporal.”
“Yes, sir. Let me disable the alarm first.” Corporal Herrera entered a series of codes into a keypad and then opened the door. A wave of cool, fresh air rushed in from the outside. As they exited the building, he heard Espy’s voice call for him.
“Commander, are you in here?”
“Back here, Sergeant. Hurry!”
Espy and Private Page ran through the armory, with the young private stumbling when he caught his hip on a container holding one of the newest weapons in the military’s arsenal, the XM25 airburst grenade launcher. Like the new shotgun Duncan had procured the other day, this bullpup-designed grenade launcher had been taken out of its experimental phase and was used when engaging enemies behind cover.
Duncan walked into the utility yard behind the armory. The large open space was obscured from the outside by twelve-foot-tall block and masonry walls. A large double entry gate faced the airport side of the armory. A few Humvees were parked inside the utility yard together with two eighteen-wheelers, which were used to transfer supplies from Fort Bliss to Camp Lubbock.
“Listen up. I’m about to ask a lot of you,” started Duncan. “Sergeant, I need you to assign two more men to Corporal Herrera for this task. I want the four of them to clear out the armory as much as possible.”
“Sir?”
“You heard me, Sergeant,” replied Duncan, who turned his attention to Herrera. “Corporal, you know our arsenal better than I do. I want you to start with our most lethal military-issue weapons and corresponding ammunition. Antitank weapons first, followed by machine guns, automatic rifles and so on.”
“Sir, the whole armory?” she asked.
“Yes, keep filling both trucks equally until I say stop,” answered Duncan. He looked at the vehicles scattered about the utility yard and then turned to Espy. “Sergeant, find the logistics duty officer and have him locate the keys to these big rigs. When they are filled, or after I give the order, I want to back them up so that the rear doors of these trailers make direct contact with a block wall. Don’t lose the keys. Got it?”
Duncan took one last look around the yard, and then an explosion rocked the downtown area, causing all of them to instinctively duck.
Chapter 34
January 21
Camp Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Duncan and Espy raced back through the armory, leaving Corporal Herrera and Private Page in a mad scramble to load weapons into the trailers of the eighteen-wheelers. Espy peeled off to locate the logistics officer while Duncan ran outside to the front gate.
He immediately felt exposed and in danger. Duncan felt for his sidearm but realized it wouldn’t be enough if an assault on Camp Lubbock was imminent. He approached the guarded entrance and addressed the duty officer.
“Do you have any signs of activity whatsoever? Vehicular? Pedestrian? Heck, dogs barking. Anything?”
“No, sir,” she replied. “We were startled when the lights went out and immediately raised our threat awareness level. After logistics fired up the genny, we took defensive positions behind the barricade.”
“Are perimeter patrols still in place?”
“Yes, sir, although they’re slated to go off duty at one a.m.”
“Hold your entire team in place until further notice,” said Duncan. “Can you determine where the explosion came from?”
“Yes, sir,” she replied. “I grew up in Lubbock. There’s no doubt something hit the police station or the courthouse. Maybe even the sheriff’s office on the far side. It’s hard to tell except you can still see smoke in the air.”
Duncan looked to where she was pointing and saw a trail of dark smoke that turned lighter in color as it rose into the sky. A reddish glow appeared from time to time, indicating a fire was burning out of control.
“Commander!” shouted Espy from the entrance to the administration building. “I’ve got a Lubbock LEO on the line requesting assistance.”
Duncan ran toward Espy, who met him halfway across the parking lot. Duncan took the phone while Espy waved one of their lieutenants out of the building to join them.
“This is Commander Armstrong. Go ahead.”
Duncan listened to the distressed sheriff’s deputy explain their circumstances. As he did, the sound of automatic gunfire could be heard in stereo—louder through the satphone and a little fainter through Duncan’s other ear.
“Hang on, Deputy. We’ll send a team to assist.” Duncan signed off and turned to his two officers. “Assemble a team to assist the Lubbock Sheriff’s Office. They’ve taken a hit from what sounds like an RPG. We need the men in full kits with body armor.”
“How many, sir?” asked the lieutenant.
Duncan rubbed his forehead to remove the beads of sweat that had accumulated despite the near freezing temperatures. The clear sky and cold temps had combined to cover their vehicles with frost.
He turned and looked toward the city and then to the surrounding residential area. Duncan thought he caught a glimpse of glowing red taillights along the interstate above them, but he turned his attention back to the task at hand.
“Lieutenant, take eight men in four of the Humvees with fifty cals attached. One driver and one gunner. Find the source of the small-arms fire and light it up. No need for pleasantries or formalities. Blast them and get back here. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.” The lieut
enant ran back to the building, leaving Duncan alone with Espy in the middle of the parking lot. Espy handed Duncan his rifle.
Duncan took another look around and started walking with Espy back to the front entrance. “Espy, this has all the markings of a broader attack. They took down the grid, and now they’re assaulting local governmental buildings, including law enforcement.”
“Do you think we’re next?” asked Espy as he glanced around Camp Lubbock nervously. “We’ve deployed the bulk of our people to the substations and now the sheriff’s office.”
Four Humvees roared past them toward the front gate, squealing their tires as they exited onto Regis Street.
Duncan continued his assessment. “How many men do we have left?”
Espy conducted a mental head count and relayed the results to his commanding officer. “Four working the armory detail. Four each on the front and rear gates. Eight more on patrol, assuming you assign everyone to maintain security until this, whatever this is, is over.”
Duncan turned as two patrol vehicles merged at the front gate and spoke with the duty officer who hailed from Lubbock. She was giving them orders, likely advising them of the circumstances at the sheriff’s office nearby.
Duncan summarized their total defensive capability. “Twenty, plus the two of—”
He was unable to complete his sentence when the unmistakable sound of an RPG sailing through the air caught his attention.
Espy shouted, “Incoming!”
Both he and Duncan hit the ground and crawled under an M35 transport truck, and an RPG struck the main entry gate, instantly killing the eight security personnel who were congregated there and obliterating the entry road and fencing on both sides of the gate.
“Hold ’em off, Espy! I’ll be back!”
Duncan ran for the main entrance to the building as vehicle lights lit up their perimeter and began racing toward the facility at a high rate of speed. Automatic gunfire chased Duncan inside, the high-powered rounds chewing up the asphalt behind every stride he took.
Espy began to return fire, but he was outnumbered on all sides. Duncan didn’t stop to help. He needed to get to the armory.
He ran through the nearly empty space into the back entrance. Corporal Herrera was closing up one of the truck’s trailers, and the other truck was almost loaded.
“You’ve got to hurry!” shouted Duncan. “Get them parked, grab your rifles, and meet us in the lobby. Full kits, people. We’re under attack!”
Duncan ran back inside and stopped at his office, which was now alit with an orangish glow from the fire burning at the main gate. He quickly put on his protective gear, which included body armor, additional magazines, and his knives.
He searched frantically for the satphone, which had been swept onto the floor earlier. He dropped to his knees to pick it up just as gunfire tore through the windows, spraying bullets into the walls and raining shards of glass throughout his office.
Shouts filled the air as the remaining soldiers on the base gathered in the main hallway of the administration building, which also housed the National Guard recruiting offices.
Pointing at two of the security patrols, Duncan shouted his orders. “You two, cover Sergeant Esparza and get him inside with us. Everyone, stay away from the windows.”
Duncan’s orders had barely left his mouth when more gunfire raked the exterior walls and tore through the glass openings, prompting the soldiers to turn away from the flying glass.
His men exited the front door in a low crouch and began shooting in the direction of the approaching vehicles, effectively laying down cover fire for Espy to return inside. Once the entirety of his unit was in place, Duncan doled out their assignments.
“Page, Herrera, Esparza, you three are with me. The rest of you spread out and cover all the entrances to the buildings and cover any windows that are low enough to enter from outside. Go!”
Chapter 35
January 21
Camp Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Holloway’s plan was working to perfection, but he knew his time was limited. He had to assume that the local command had recalled their people from the substations. That gave him about thirty minutes to take control of the armory, load his trucks, and prepare to fight their way out. It was an extremely risky move, but the chaos created by the combination of attacks around Lubbock gave him a big enough window of opportunity to see it through, with a little luck. Luck was often beyond a person’s control. But decisions were always in a person’s hands. Good decision-making, coupled with preparation, could create both luck and opportunity.
He was aware that he’d lose a lot of men during this operation, but that didn’t matter at this point. His future didn’t include military-style assaults on armories and National Guard facilities. He was prepared to go back to being an opportunist, taking advantage of the weak in order to better his lot in life.
As a result, there would be a few sacrificial lambs among his men, but he’d protect his loyal, hard-core gangbangers from Fullerton for their future endeavors.
His plan divided his team to conduct two separate facets of the operation. The initial assault using pickup trucks and automatic weapons was designed to draw the bulk of the remaining troops to the front of the buildings. If his men could penetrate the building and engage the enemy, all the better. Even if they couldn’t, they were instructed to keep the heat on and draw the attention of the soldiers holed up inside the facility.
Meanwhile, he and his most trusted men would breach the rear utility gates of the complex. Based upon his reconnaissance of trucks coming and going through Camp Lubbock, the armory was most likely within the protective walls behind the main building.
The armory was the prize. His small group of thugs would have the weapons and ammo necessary to fight off any military force if they needed to defend the ranch, which Holloway intended to acquire next. He just had to find the right spot.
Holloway waited patiently for the third part of the assault on Camp Lubbock to take place. His RPG attack on the main gate had succeeded in taking out a third of the defenders of the facilities.
The second wave using the pickup trucks to barge through the chain-link fencing caught the Texans off guard and forced them to huddle within the supposed protective walls of the main building rather than take the fight to his men where they were most vulnerable—in the open fields surrounding the complex. Driving them inside also enabled him to position his part of the operation at the rear gates to access the utility yard and the armory.
He rolled down his window and listened, trying to tune out the automatic-weapons fire that filled the air. Then it happened. The unmistakable sound of one of the massive four-door Ford pickups crashing through the plate-glass entrance of the main building. His commandos would now directly engage the enemy, who would naturally focus their efforts on the greatest threat.
Holloway dropped the transmission into low gear, and with his left foot on the brake, he revved the motor. The mighty Ford truck coiled like a cobra, ready to leap out of its basket and viciously bite its prey.
As he released the brake, the truck lunged forward and rammed into the solid wood gate, which was no match for the three hundred ninety-five horses under the hood and the four hundred pound-feet of torque in its rear end.
Holloway and his passengers were thrown backward against their seats before steadying themselves to do battle. Two other pickups followed them through the opening as they fanned out, weapons ready to shoot anything that moved.
They wheeled into the parking lot, and his men jumped out, positioning themselves near the steel door that entered the armory.
In addition to Holloway, eleven of his best were by his side, prepared to kill anything that moved and fill the trucks with the most powerful weapons available. With a little luck, as the battle raged on at the front of the building, Holloway and his commandos would get a satisfactory load of advanced military weaponry and sneak into the night.
Hollowa
y summoned his top demolition man to the armory door. He efficiently placed sufficient Semtex and charges on the door hinges to compromise the steel structure, allowing them access.
“Stand clear,” the commando shouted as he readied the detonation device. All of Holloway’s men sought cover on both sides of the entry to avoid the blast.
The explosion was deafening, and effective. The steel succumbed to the Semtex blast, leaving the door hanging from the frame by its locking mechanism. It was no match for the kick from the muscular Holloway, who pounded it into the dark armory with one leg.
As his men poured into the space, they fanned out in all directions, preparing to be engaged by gunfire. Although they weren’t shot at, they could hear the gun battles raging in the main building. With the inside of the armory eerily still and pitch black, Holloway moved deeper into the building with his men in tow.
The sound of a vehicle behind them in the utility yard grabbed their attention, causing them to spin around and look toward the blown doorway—which had just been blocked with the back end of a massive wrecker.
Chapter 36
January 21
Camp Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
During all of Holloway’s maneuvers in the utility yard, Duncan was watching along with Espy, Page, and Herrera from a hidden position behind a military tow truck designed to assist broken-down troop transport vehicles. With the other security door locked, Duncan had the attackers trapped inside, which enabled him to help his men who were holding down the administrative building.
“Page, Herrera, cover these openings. If you see any movement, even it’s a dang rat scurrying by, you shoot it.”
“Roger that, Commander!” exclaimed Private Page, who immediately moved to the driver’s side of the truck and dropped to one knee to cover the openings.
“Yessir,” said Corporal Herrera. Without hesitation, she drew her sidearm and trained her sights on the area under the wrecker where a man could shimmy through, but not quick enough to avoid getting killed.