“Is this a social visit?” Sarge asked.
Fawcett shook his head. “No. We’ve got some things we need to talk about.”
Sarge led him towards the truck. “I kinda figured that.”
Fawcett got in the passenger seat and looked over at me. “Good to see you again, Sheriff. Glad you’re here. We’ve got some things to talk about.”
Nodding, I started the truck as I replied, “Good to see you, too. I hope.” The look he gave me didn’t make me feel any better about what I was going to hear.
Sheffield and Livingston were standing in front of the armory when we pulled up. Guardsmen were running around, having been ordered to provide security for the birds on the ground. The inhabitants of Eustis were out in force at the sight and sound of the machines. It was the most exciting thing to happen in many months. As a result, people were crowding around them.
Fawcett got out of the truck and greeted the two men, who were just as surprised as we were at the arrival of the general. Sheffield ushered the general towards the conference room. We followed them in and took a seat around the table.
Sheffield stood nervously looking around the room. Sarge and I each took a seat with the old man putting his foot up on the edge of the table. Fawcett sat down and looked at Sheffield. “Have a seat, Captain.”
Sheffield took a seat and asked, “What can we do for you, General?”
“We have a situation brewing that we need to talk about.”
Putting his hands behind his head Sarge, replied, “Is this about the Russians and the Chinese?”
Surprised, Fawcett asked, “Where have you heard about that?”
Interrupting, I said, “I’ve been monitoring the radios and found an outfit called the Radio Free Redoubt that broadcasts every night. They’ve been reporting on what the UN has been up to.”
Pointing in Sarge’s and my direction, Sheffield said, “They’ve told us about this. But we’ve never heard any of these reports. Are they true?”
Fawcett leaned forward, resting his clasped hands on the table. He let out a long breath and finally started to speak. He nodded his head and said, “Indeed it is. The UN Security Council vetoed the resolution to send in peacekeepers, but the Chinese and Russians have said they are going to act unilaterally and send them.” Sheffield sat back in his seat, stunned.
Sarge looked at him. “Why the surprise, Captain. We already told you all this.”
“Yeah. You guys told us,” Livingston said. “But it’s different hearing it from the General.”
Sarge looked at Fawcett. “You fly all the way down here just to tell us that? Made a special trip just for some gossip?”
“This is no gossip, Top. The Russians already have elements here.”
Sheffield jumped to his feet and exclaimed, “What!”
“Sit down, Captain!” Fawcett shouted. Sheffield lowered himself back into his chair. Fawcett continued. “We know there are Spetsnaz forces here already. They’re doing the same kind of pathfinding work our SF guys do. They’re also linking up with Federal forces. Which is why we’re here.”
“We’re about to deal with our local group of Feds shortly,” Sarge said.
“That’s what I want to know about. I’ve been moved to SOCOM in Tampa. We’ve consolidated some assets, and as part of that, I’m now down here. We’re preparing to deal with the Russians. Part of that is we need to take out as many of these Federal pockets as we can.”
“You say you’re preparing to deal with the Russians. What about the Chinese?” Livingston asked.
“The Defense Intelligence Agency has put together a bit of a picture of what’s going to happen. We think the Chinese will come in from California and the Russians will move in from the east coast. We know for a fact they are staging assets in Syria now. There’s also a lot of activity in Cuba.”
“What kind of time table are we looking at?” Sarge asked.
Fawcett shrugged. “We’re not sure. We don’t have all our intelligence assets, satellites and such, so we don’t have the full picture. But we have enough to know they’re definitely coming.” He looked around the table. “This is a game changer, folks. We’re not going to be dealing with a mob of Federal goons with small arms and a little armor. These are going to be no shit for real battle-hardened troops. They’ve had plenty of combat experience in Ukraine and Chechnya.”
Sarge swung his foot off the table. “Well, since you’re here with all this hardware, we should put it to good use. We’ve been planning an attack on the camp where our local litter of Federal mutts are holed up. It was going to be a hard nut to crack because they’re in a pretty big place. But with those whirlybirds of yours, we could end it pretty quick.”
Fawcett thought for a moment. “I’ve got other people I need to meet with. But if we could help eliminate this threat now that’s what we need to do.” He looked at Livingston. “Can you send someone to get those Apache drivers and bring them in here? We’ll need them involved in the planning of this.” Livingston was on his feet immediately and left the room.
Waiting on Livingston and the pilots, I asked Fawcett, “So this is turning into Red Dawn?”
With a halfhearted laugh, he replied, “You know. We’ve talked a lot about that very thing in recent days.” He looked up at me, “And as cheesy as it sounds, yeah, it’s about to go all Red Dawn.”
Sarge slammed his fist down onto the table causing several of us to startle. “Good, by God! I’ve been wanting to kill me some commie bastards all my life! Shit, I thought I’d leave this Earth never having had the chance to kill some!” He smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Far as I’m concerned, bring it on!”
Fawcett looked over at him. “I know you’re itching for a fight, Top, but this isn’t going to be a cake walk. We’re going to try and keep them out, but if they make it on the ground, then things are going to get pretty hairy.”
“Oh I know. It ain’t going to be pretty. But the rules of engagement are going to be on our side. These fuckers are invaders—“ Mike interrupted him.
“And no quarter will be given.”
Sarge looked at him and smiled. “Not an inch.”
Dalton cleared his throat. “I’ve always been interested in the Russian Military. These are some tough bastards. It’s not going to be easy. Just ask the Germans.”
Sarge rocked his head back over his chair, getting an upside-down view of Dalton. “That’s true. The Russians brutalized the Nazis in Stalingrad because they were on their home turf. They were fighting for their lives and it allowed them to turn the tables on the Germans.” Sarge looked around the table. “Now we have the home field advantage.”
“And we will be fighting for our lives,” Fawcett added.
The door opened and Livingston came in with the two Apache pilots. I recognized one of them, Mark. We’d met on our trip to Camp Riley. He came in and took a seat at the table with the other pilot. Falling into a chair, Mark said, “Well, now what kind of trouble are you boys in?”
“Shit. You’re just lucky we’re inviting you to this party,” Sarge snorted.
Fawcett sat up. “Alright. Let’s get down to business. You have any maps of this place?”
The large drawing Mike and Ted made was rolled out on the table, along with a couple of topo maps of the area. The plan we’d come up with was discussed. Fawcett was happy with the initial details. The two Apaches were an ace in the hole. The plan would remain the same with our group acting as a blocking force on the north side of the camp and the Guard attacking in force through the main gate. The two Apaches would provide cover for the assault from overhead.
Mark was doing some calculations on a pad. “Our fuel is limited though. We won’t be able to loiter long. You guys are going to have to push through the camp hard and fast.”
“How muc
h time can you give us?” Sarge asked.
Mark shrugged. “Maybe fifteen minutes.”
“Shit. That isn’t long,” Sheffield moaned.
“Fifteen minutes is more than enough time, Captain. We can rain some serious hate down on these guys in fifteen minutes.”
“How fast can you have your people in place?” Fawcett asked.
The question caught Sheffield by surprise. “Uh, I uh. You want to do this now?”
“We’re here. You got a better idea?” Fawcett asked.
Sarge pushed his hat back on his head. “It’ll take a few hours to get everyone ready.”
Looking at Sheffield, Fawcett asked, “Your people know their jobs on this?”
He nodded. “Yeah. We’ve gone over it already. Everyone knows what they have to do.”
Fawcett stood up. “Then let’s get to it. We need to deal with this as soon as we can. We’ve got some serious party crashers coming and we don’t need crap like this in the winds when they show up.” Looking at Sarge, he asked, “You got enough IR strobes for your people?”
Sarge looked at Ted. He nodded. “I think we have enough to mark our positions. There won’t be one on every person, but there will be one in every position.”
Fawcett nodded. “Good.” He took a piece of paper from his blouse pocket and tossed it on the table. “Put these codes in your radios. You’ll be able to talk to us. I’ll be overhead for command and control.”
Ted took the paper and wrote the codes down on a notebook. “Soon as we get back, I’ll set up our radios and do a comm check.”
“Roger that.,” Fawcett replied.
Sarge stood up and looked around the table. “Things are going to get real interesting later this evening. Let’s take care of these assholes once and for all.”
Leaving the armory, I ran into Shane and Sean with the PD. The kid Micah was with them. “What’s with all the helicopters?” Shane asked.
“We’ve got some shit to take care of,” Sarge shot back.
“You going after those DHS guys?” Micah asked.
Before anyone could answer him Sarge replied, “Hell no. We don’t need this kind of hardware for those shit birds.”
I was wondering why he lied to the kid, but also glad. He made me nervous and I couldn’t put my finger on why. I told Sean the prisoners would be returned shortly and to keep them locked up until further notice. We quickly loaded into the truck and headed out of town as the armory became a bee hive of activity.
“We need to stop by the plant and tell those engineers to get back to town. We’ll need every swinging dick we can get,” Sarge said.
Nodding, I replied. “I’m going to the farm first to let those guys know too. We’ll need to grab Thad and take him home with us.”
When we got to the farm, the people there were already gathering at the trucks for the ride back to town. It was getting late in the day and their work was done. We told Cecil and his security element what was going on. Thad quickly collected his gear.
“I’ll be glad when they’re gone.” Cecil said. Wiping his forehead with the back of his arm, he added, “We got enough shit to worry about.”
Sarge snorted. “It’s going to get worse Cecil.”
Cecil looked around. “Shit, Top. What the hell are the Russians gonna want with this little hole in the wall?”
“Hopefully nothing. But let’s hope they don’t find a reason.”
Back in the truck, I headed for the plant. Terry and crew were also gathered around one of their trucks. It was quitting time for everyone. Except us, our work hadn’t even begun yet. I was still processing what was about to happen. We’d been planning this, but it seemed to be far off, not imminent. There was no denying it now. I pulled up beside the group and leaned out the window.
“You guys need to get back to town. Looks like we’re going to hit the armory as soon as we can get everyone in place.”
“No shit? Shawn asked.
“No shit!” Sarge barked back. “Now get your asses to town!” He slapped my shoulder and told me to go.
I pushed the old truck to get us home. Everything was a rush now. I roared through Umatilla, getting curious looks from the people lingering at the old Kangaroo. The same happened as we sped through Altoona. Once back at the neighborhood, I stopped at the bunker. Everyone got out, I told them I would meet them back there with Danny and everyone from the house. Thad said he’d go get the girls, Aric and Perez were already at the bunker.
Pulling up in front of my house, I jumped out and ran in. The house was empty. They were all probably at Danny’s, so I ran over there. Mel and Bobbie were sitting on the porch when I ran up. Mel quickly stood up, asking what was wrong.
“Nothing is wrong. We just need everyone to come down to the bunker. Is Danny in there?” I asked, pointing at the house.
Bobby nodded and stood up. “I’ll go get him.”
“Get anyone in there,” I replied.
“What’s going on?” Mel asked.
“That General I met with before is in Eustis. They want to attack the Elk’s Camp to get them out of the way.”
Confused, Mel asked, “Out of the way of what?”
“It looks like the Russians and Chinese are reportedly sending troops here. We want to deal with the DHS guys before they show up. If they show up.”
“So what you heard on the radio is true?”
Nodding, I said, “It looks that way. But that doesn’t mean they’re coming here to Altoona. I would imagine they are going to be more interested in population centers or where there’s some sort of resource they want.”
“I hope they aren’t coming here.”
Danny came out of the house with Bobbie, Mary and my girls. Lee Ann asked what was going on. I told them all to follow me to the bunker and we would explain it. They were all full of questions, but I kept telling them to just wait until we got there. By the time we got back, everyone was there. It was quite the crowd, actually.
Sarge hopped up on top of the bunker. “Alright everyone, settle down. I know you’re full of questions, but listen to what I have to say before asking any. My friend General Fawcett flew in from SOCOM.” He noticed the quizzical looks he got from some. “SOCOM stands for Southern Command. He came to let us know the rumors we’ve been hearing of Russian and Chinese troops coming here are indeed true. They’re coming. Now it ain’t going to be easy for them. Our boys will give them hell. But they’ll probably make it here, and there very well could be some special forces types here already.”
Jess brushed hair from her face. “We already knew that. Well mostly.”
“That brings us to where we are now. Why we’re all standing here. As most of you know, the Elk’s Camp has been taken over by a group from the DHS and some of their lackeys. These are some of the same guys that were running the camp out at the range. We’ve been planning a raid on the camp. With the arrival of the general, we’ve moved things up. We’re hitting it tonight.”
“Really? Tonight?” Aric asked.
Sarge nodded. “Tonight. Teddy’s going to lay out a drawing of the camp and go over the plan. Our group will be acting as a blocking force. The Guard guys are going to take the hard job of assaulting the camp directly. We’re just going to be there to stop anyone trying to squirt out the back door.”
Ted stepped up and unrolled the drawing. “All right, everyone. Gather round so we can go over the plan.
As he said that, Doc pulled up in Sarge’s war wagon with Jamie. Jamie sat in the buggy and listened to the discussion. Ted and Mike were going over the plan, pointing out the positions we would occupy. As they were covering the plan, Jamie interrupted them.
“Who all is going?”
Ted looked at Sarge, who in turn looked at Doc. Doc replied with a subtle shake of his
head. Sarge looked at Jamie. “I know you want to go.”
She swung her legs out of the buggy and replied, “I am going.”
Sarge walked over to her. “I know you want to. Hell, I want you to. But you don’t want to be a liability out there do you?”
Jamie huffed. “I’m not a liability!”
“You’re not a hundred percent either. You wouldn’t want one of us to get hurt trying to help you. If this thing goes south and we have to run for our lives, what are you going to do then?”
Jamie sat back in the seat. Giving up trying to get out of the buggy. She sighed and said, “You’re right. I know it. It just sucks.”
Sarge put his hand on her shoulder. “I know you’re a fighter. This doesn’t make you any less.” Jamie nodded but said nothing.
“So who is going and who is staying?” Ted asked.
I looked at Mel and Bobbie. “You guys want to go?”
Mel shook her head. “I don’t want you to go, much less me.”
“I’m going,” Lee Ann said sternly.
“What about me?” Taylor asked.
Shaking my head, I said, “Kiddo, you’re in the same boat as Jamie. You need more time to heal.” She didn’t reply, just looked at the ground and nodded.
“We need every person we can get, but we also have to keep some people here to watch over things,” Sarge said.
Pointing people out, I said, “I think Jamie, Mel, Bobbie, Taylor and Mary are going to stay. They should be able to keep an eye on things.”
Sarge looked at them and asked, “Are you ladies good with that?” They nodded in reply.
Sarge tapped the drawing. “Alright then. Let’s assign positions. Each position will have two people in it.”
The teams would be Jess and Thad, Aric and Fred, Lee Ann with me, Perez and Ian, Danny and Dalton, Ted, Doc and Sarge would be together with Mike manning the Gustav and taking out any trucks that tried to move.
Sarge looked at Mike and wagged a finger at him. “You only hit trucks that try to move. Don’t go blowing everything up. We’re going to need those trucks.”
Avenging Home Page 23