Solar Storm: Homeward Bound

by Vincent Keith

  The scene at the middle school was almost identical, except one target got off several rounds hitting a male hostage and one of his own men.

  “Bravo-Six, Hotel-Charlie-One, safe weapons and move in, Hotel-Charlie-Two start your generator again.”

  “Hotel-Charlie-One, moving.”

  "Golf-One, Bravo-Six.”

  "Go for Golf-One," said Brian.

  “Bravo-Six, Golf-One, we have one hostage in target room, target missing…wait one—"

  “Bravo-Six we have two tangos from the first floor are down in the stairwell.”

  "Golf-One, Bravo-Six, secure hostage and hold."

  “Golf-One, holding.”

  “All Entry teams, Bravo-Six, status by team.”

  It took a moment for everyone to report in. The two civilian teams stepped on each other’s communication, but they got it straightened out.

  “Jack, sit tight, one of our guys will come through that balcony door,” said Captain O’Neil

  “Copy that, weapon safe,” said Jack.

  "Golf-One, Bravo-Six, you have two hostiles down on the balcony, verify."

  Jack watched as the man at the balcony door put two more rounds through what he was sure was Bernie Douglas, the would-be tyrant. Lieutenant Morgan looked at the guard who’d been sitting in a deck chair smoking a cigarette before Jack’s bullet had punched through his head and nodded. Morgan pulled a photograph from his combat harness and shined a light on the two men.

  “Bravo-Six, Golf-One, primary confirmed."

  "Golf-One, Bravo-Six, hold. Hotel-One, time to contact?"

  "Hotel-One, we're on our way, 60 seconds."

  "Hotel-One, Bravo-Six, copy that. Watch your fields of fire. Those floors aren't going to stop much. Two known targets are down on the stairwell, but we may have missed something so stay frosty. Echo-One, Bravo-Six.”

  "Bravo-Six, Echo-One, go."

  “Echo-One, soon as you can, send one of the backup medics with security to Golf, we have the female hostages secured.”

  “Bravo-Six, Echo-One, Copy that. On the way.” Brian gave a quick hand signal to the driver of the Humvee. He watched while Rachael, Sam and the driver climbed into the vehicle and headed toward the townhouse.

  Less than a minute later Jack saw four of the men from the high school entry team move into Bernie’s house on the first floor. Seconds later he heard muffled sounds of suppressed weapons.

  Whether it was bad timing or the sheer volume of gunfire—even suppressed gunfire—the shots had made enough noise to attract attention. Five of Bernie’s men came from their home to investigate and ran into the hostage cover teams at the middle school.

  None of the civilian hostage team members had suppressed weapons, and neither did the men who came to investigate. Auto-fire from the M2s and the Tommy gun and random shots from the opposing force combined to shatter the previous quiet. The gunfight was loud but quick, lasting only half a minute.

  “All teams, Bravo-Six, report contact.”

  Almost ten seconds went by, and Brian was just about to repeat his order when the speaker came to life.

  "Someone tried to come in. They're dead, except two of them, they ran off to the north. Should we send someone after them? What? Oh, we're at the middle school…umm, Mike-Charley-One."

  "Negative Mike-Charley-One, stay on station, and nice work men, you did what you were there to do. Mike-One, advise."

  “Mike-One, Bravo-Six, we're almost at the secondary target, unable to pursue."

  “Bravo-Six, Sierra-One-One.”

  “Sierra-One-One Go.”

  “Miguel, you’re closest, see if you can deal with our friends.”

  “Sierra-One-One, copy.”

  “Well, if anyone can catch those two, it’ll be Hernandez and Hoffman,” said Brain.

  “You know—I’m closer than they are,” said Jack.

  “Yeah and still recovering, so no.”

  Jack smiled. “Copy that.”

  Brian chuckled. "Okay, secondary targets—"

  He stopped as the sound of gunfire exploded from the East. There was a brief pause followed by the sound of machine guns.

  Three men stepped out onto the roof of the motel. One of them spotted two Zulu-Charlie team members and opened fire. If he had taken the time, he might have recognized the new pile of sand bags, and maybe even the Browning M2 heavy machine gun. When the shooting started, several men returned fire killing two of the hostiles. The third ducked back out of sight. A few moments later, doors began opening as men flooded out of the building, firing at anything they thought might be an enemy.

  Two German MG-42 machine guns and one .50 BMG returned fire. Only a couple men made it back through the doors. They learned that concealment is not the same thing as cover as the heavy rounds from the .50 caliber belt-fed machine gun blew through the doors and 2x6 walls.

  "Bravo-Six, Zulu-Charlie-One. Status?"

  "Zulu-Charley-One, Bravo-Six, a couple of guys came out of the motel, spotted us and opened fire. We shot back, and more of them came out to investigate. I think we got most of them. Over"

  "Bravo-Six, Echo-One, location?"

  "Echo-One, Bravo-Six. Just missed the fun Captain. Judging from the looks of the place the target has been eliminated. Request remaining elements of Hotel and Golf before we investigate. Echo-One over.”

  “Bravo-Six, copy, hold for reinforcements, then clear the structure. Whiskey-Charlie-One, how copy?”

  "Whiskey-Charley-One, copy five by five, still clear here sir. There's some commotion, the lights came on, but nobody has poked a head out yet, Whiskey-Charley-One over.”

  “Whiskey-Charley-One, Mike-One will be at your location in five, please don’t shoot the Humvees.”

  “Whiskey-Charley-One, Bravo-Six, roger. No shooting at the army, gotcha.”

  Brian laughed out loud. “Well, it’s good he’s got a sense of humor all things considered.”

  “Yeah, Noel is a good man, and he’s got Jim Ellis with him, both Korean War vets, so…”

  “Yeah, it was a long time ago, but if they faced the Chinese invasion, then this isn’t likely to shake them up much.”

  They spent the rest of the morning searching buildings and doing body counts. The operation at the Walmart had gone more or less as planned. The Rangers entered through the rear of the massive complex and pushed the convicts out the front. Overmatched and outgunned the poorly armed criminals fled through the front doors. The ambush worked as planned, and the last of Bernie's thugs ran into fire from two machine guns and a half dozen rifles. Noel manned his rebuilt M1919A4, and Jim Ellis had talked his way into the gunner position on a Hummer. He got his first taste of a Browning fifty caliber machine gun.

  There was no way to be sure they’d stopped all of Bernie’s men. The town was too large, with too many avenues of escape. Given the speed, violence, and devastating effect of the action, it seemed unlikely that anyone who made it out alive would ever return.

  A cluster of men stood in the carport of the house once owned by Sheriff Bernie Douglass. "I don't think we'll see them again," said Eli. "Everyone here knows who they are, if they're ever seen around here, they're dead men.

  “Did we lose anyone?” asked Jack.

  "No, not tonight anyway. One of the hostages got hit, but he's going to be fine. Rumor is, Bernie shot at least four hundred men in the last few days. We're just not sure if the reports are accurate.” Eli paused for a sip from his water bottle.

  “It looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us. It’ll be days before we figure out who fled and who died. We know we’re missing two girls who were supposed to be hostages. They weren’t in any of the groups we rescued. My guys will keep digging. Hopefully, they'll turn up."

  "Yeah, I wish we could have moved earlier, we might have saved more people,” said Captain O’Neal.

  "There just wasn't any way. Anyone with half a brain knows that. Anyway, I'm grateful we didn't have to do this on our own."

  “Just do
ing our jobs,” said Lieutenant Morgan.

  “What we did shouldn’t be anyone’s job, but I’m sure as shit glad you guys were here. There’s no way we could have pulled this off. Your men took quite a risk on our behalf, so thank you.”

  "You're welcome," said Captain O'Neal.

  "Agreed,” said the Lieutenant. “Still, I'd have preferred a full company of Delta myself. I hate room-to-room work.”

  Brian nodded, “Roger that. Excellent work Dave, make sure to let the men know.”

  “Roger that sir.”

  A fireplug of a man approached, his MK 16 SCAR on a sling. He stopped and saluted.

  “Sirs.”

  Both Brian and Lieutenant Morgan returned the salute.

  “Don?” said Brian.

  “Hostage transfer is complete, they’re getting checked out by the medical team, and the cooks are getting them fed. Staff Sergeant Dickey is working with the locals to find them billets. Doc Podiger suggested they’d be better off not coming back here for a while. Doc Madison agreed—somewhat loudly.” The Sergeant smiled.

  First Sergeant Don Savage cleared his throat then continued. “She’s sure there are several cases of PTSD, which given the circumstances, I have no trouble believing, sir.”

  Jack looked up from his rifle and cleaning kit, “Rachael can get, um—vociferous when protecting her patients. Hadn’t thought about it before but yeah, being forced into a brothel, or watching your friends and family murdered…that’s going to leave some lasting scars. At least we can tell them the men responsible are dead and won't ever threaten them again. Either way, Rachael should have an idea how to deal with it."

  Brian nodded, “Thank you, First Sergeant, disposition of the hostages is a local matter. I think we’ll stay for another couple of days and help with some of the heavy lifting before we head south."

  Brian walked over to the maps. “Dave, we’ll be heading to this point next.” Brian pointed to a small town on the map. “Pick a recon team, make sure they get some rack time, fed, and reequipped. Send them to this location and have them scout forward. If they get fired on, they can return fire.”

  “Return fire only?” asked the Lieutenant.

  "No, do what's necessary, but I want recon, not recon in force. We'll be along in a few days. I want to know where the trouble makers are.”

  “Copy that, sir.”

  “Right, let’s get this circus packed up and get back to base. I’ve got reports to file.”

  32

  PICKING UP THE PIECES

  The camp was quiet the following day. It had been a stressful night and the celebration went into the early morning. Brian’s intel team had spent most of the night debriefing the entry teams, followed by the women who were in good enough shape to talk. Most refused to be alone with any man, in many cases even their husbands.

  The local hunters were still out looking for any remaining troublemakers. Jack and Eli Jackson sat in Eli’s kitchen enjoying some of the coffee Brian O’Neil and his teams had brought with them. Rachael hadn’t come home yet. She’d been with the women from town all night, tending to those most abused by the Sheriff’s men.

  Jack got up and walked to the wood-burning stove. Picking up the coffee pot he gave it a little shake.

  “Should be enough for Rachael and Lexi,” he said, pulling down two of Eli’s insulated travel cups. “Think I’ll take this over and see if she wants coffee or sleep.”

  “I’m for sleep, it’s been a long night,” said Eli.

  “I napped a bit so I’ll probably stay up either way. I’ll catch you later.”

  “You should pick up some food, I’ll bet the girls are starving, and they haven’t had time to notice.”

  “Good idea, thanks.”

  Jack headed to the front door, Hoover at his heel.

  “Come on boy, let’s go find Rachael.”

  Jack opened the door, surprised to find it snowing. Sometime in the night, the rain had turned to snow, enough to put almost two inches on the ground.

  “I’ll be damned.”

  Hoover stretched out his front legs and lifted his hind end into the air, stretching with an almost human yawn, then circled around to Jack’s side and followed him down the road.

  Jack swung into the mess tent and picked up two trays. He loaded them with scrambled eggs and bacon, adding a small pile of potatoes for Rachael, and a larger heap for Lexi. Walking without the cane was easier today, but still more of a hobble than an actual stride. He wound his way around some equipment and over to the medical tent. Lexi saw him coming and came out.

  “Food! Thank God, I’m starved.”

  “I’ve got coffee too.”

  Lexi looked at the cup trying to figure out what to do with it while holding two trays.

  “I’ll carry it.”

  “No! Um, we’re not letting any men in the tent yet. We still have a few of the women who won’t even see their families yet. I’ll come back for it, just wait here okay?”

  “Sure.”

  Lexi took the trays in and set them on a table next to Rachael, who was napping. He watched Lexi give her mom a small shake. Rachael woke up, looked around and spotted the food. After a brief exchange, Rachael headed out to meet Jack.

  “How’s it going?” asked Jack.

  “I don’t know. We’ve got four girls who won’t talk. They just curl up into a ball every time a man walks by the front of the tent. The guys are avoiding the shelter for now. We need a trauma therapist, and we don’t have one. I think we’re all out of our league here.”

  “Okay, I’ll ask Brian… Oh here, coffee.” Jack handed her the cups.

  Rachael took the cups and sniffed at the small hole in the lids. “Yum, thanks.”

  “Rachael, we need to organize for the last leg of the trip. I thought maybe we’d try and head north in a few days…”

  “I’d rather not leave the girls in this condition, but then, I guess I’m not willing to stay here forever either. Let me know what you need me to do and I’ll try to fit it in around taking care of stuff here.”

  “Right, well I figure we can stay until Brian and his guys pack up and head south. Part of that might depend on what you've decided to do with the women. I’m sure we can find a house for them to share, and I guess we should find some caretakers. I don’t know how much luck Brian will have finding a psych guy or… I suppose it needs to be a woman?”

  “That would be better I think, but anything has to be better than nothing.”

  “Hey, look at that…”

  Rachael turned to see one woman from the tent approach the four Rescue Jumpers. The men were trying to stay close enough to react if needed but far enough away to be unobtrusive. The woman walked up to the nearest of the men and spoke to him for a moment then wrapped the big man in a hug. She hugged each of the others before returning to the tent.

  “We’ll. That’s encouraging,” said Rachael.

  “Yeah, it is…” Jack smiled and tugged at his beard again. “Okay, why don’t you have Lexi put out a request on the radio for a psychologist or whatever it is you need. See if she comes up with anything.”

  “That’s a good idea.” Rachael turned away from the scene. “I’m just not used to thinking of her that way. She’s growing up so fast Jack. I wish… I… Oh hell, I guess growing up fast is better than the alternative, given the way things are. I just hate it.”

  “I think I understand. She’s your little girl, but she’s not so little anymore. I’m not sure parents ever get past that feeling. I think she’s going to miss working with Art when we leave, but at least she’ll still be able to talk with him.”

  Jack tugged on his beard, trying to get his thoughts back on track. “Anyway, I’ll check with Brian, they might still have some mental health people on base. You have Lexi check on the radio and then we can coordinate this evening, or I guess whenever we have some news. Given the snow, I need to see a man about a horse, or several horses.”

  “Horse? Oh, the bikes! Oh, I’
m sorry Jack, it didn’t even cross my mind.”

  “It’s fine, we’ve all got our areas to deal with. Looks like mine is logistics. Get some rest and make sure Lexi gets some too. I’ll go see what I can get done.”

  Rachael reached up and caressed his face. Jack took her hand and kissed the palm, gave it a squeeze and then turned to head off to the command tent.

  Rachael watched him go, feeling better than she had all night. It was good to remember she wasn’t in this alone.

  “Is he in?” Jack asked the Specialist standing outside the command tent.

  “Yes sir, go on in.”

  “Thanks.”

  Jack entered the tent and waited for a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the dimness.

  “Morning Jack. Did you get any sleep?” asked Brian.

  “A nap. It’ll do for now I think. You obviously didn’t.”

  “No, not yet. I was just looking over some preliminary supply reports. It looks like between what Bernie stole from the town and what we found at the Walmart, Eli will have enough to feed most of the refugees. We’re still looking. At least it buys us time.”

  “I was wondering what was going to happen. There is no way that Pilot Rock can support all the refugees.”

  “No they can’t and the Army can’t do it either, not for very long. By spring I think everyone will be on their own, unless we uncover some major stockpiles. I don’t know, maybe we’ll get lucky.”

  “Lucky—Yeah we could do with some luck. Speaking of refugees, Rachael needs a psych consultant, a woman if we can find one. I don’t suppose they have one at Lewis that they could ship out?”

  “I have no idea. If I can get someone, they’ll come in with our resupply in a couple of days. I’ll also request a small detachment to occupy the town for a month or two. I’m sure some folks are feeling like they’re swinging in the breeze, and I don’t want them feeling abandoned.”