“I’m not going to send you back, Emil.”
“Thank you, my general,” Emil said humbly. “You won’t regret it.”
“That remains to be seen, Emil. But I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. You stay with the column, and stay out of trouble. You hear me?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Fine. Now gather up your followers and get ready to pull out.”
“Yes, sir!” Emil saluted, French-style, palm out, and spun around, almost falling down before recovering his balance and hustling off.
Ben smiled. Emil was now and had been for years a colossal pain in the ass, but a likeable one. His smile faded as a darker thought entered his brain. Ben and his Rebels were hundreds of miles from home base, deep in the territory of a man who, in Ben’s opinion, was mentally unstable and who had sworn to destroy them all.
Ben decided to try Simon one more time, even though he knew it was a useless gesture. But Ben wanted it clear at least in his mind that he had done everything within his power to avert a war with Simon Border.
After several unsuccessful tries to contact Simon, Corrie shook her head. “No go, boss. They’re not responding. I’m sure they hear us. They’re just not going to answer.”
“See if you can contact Mike.”
She had the man on the horn within seconds and handed Ben the mic. “What’s going on up in the holy land, Mike?”
“Preparing for war, Ben. Against the ‘Great Satan.’ That’s you, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“How could I forget being equated with the devil? Does Simon have a timetable for this war?”
“As soon as you try to leave. I was going to contact you later on and advise you of this, Ben. I’m getting ready to pull out with my people. It’s about to get real scary here in Colorado.”
“I won’t ask you where you’re going. Just keep in touch.”
“Ben, we don’t know where we’re going. Simon’s put everyone on high alert. It’s dangerous for a non-believer just to glance out the window.”
“Can we get out, Mike? Back to our own borders?”
“Not without a hell of a fight, Ben. Simon’s had his factories working around the clock for months, cranking out war materials. Billions of rounds of ammo. And he has advised his people that this will be a fight to the death.”
“Shit!”
“That’s what it’s turning into.”
“They believe him, Mike? Simon’s followers, I mean?”
“Oh, yes, Ben. Simon is the father, if you get what I mean.”
“I get it, all right. Anything else, Mike?”
“That’s about it.”
“I guess all I can say is good luck.”
“Same to you, Ben. I’ll be in touch.”
Corrie had switched to another radio and when Ben turned around, he noticed she was listening intently. He waited and when she signed off, she wore a very worried expression. “What’s up, Corrie?”
“Simon’s people are on the move, heading this way by convoy. They’re about 75 miles to the north of us. Scouts are staying a few miles ahead of them.”
“How many?”
“Thousands,” she said softly.
“Thousands?”
“Yes, sir. Loudspeakers on the trucks blaring religious music. To use one of the scout’s words, it’s awesome.”
“Tanks?”
“Only a few. But plenty of towed artillery. And they’ve got a lot of 81mm mortars.”
“Those old 81s have a good range on them,” Ben mused. “About 5,200 yards. They could deal us some misery. All right, Corrie. Give the orders to pack up and mount up. We’re heading south.”
“We don’t stand and give them a fight, boss?” Jersey asked, disappointment clear behind her words.
Ben sighed. “I don’t want to kill these people, Little Bit. I thought after we kicked ass with Simon’s Guards of God he’d get the message. But he didn’t. He wants a fight. Well, I’m not going to be the one who starts it. If his army catches up with us and forces a fight, we’ll fight. But they’re going to be the aggressors, not us. Let’s go.”
By the afternoon of the second day of their roll south, it became clear that Simon’s people were closing the gap. Ben had thousands of tons of heavy artillery and tanks to move, and they could not travel at any rate of speed which would enable them to get clear of Simon’s people, who were traveling mostly in trucks and able to roll faster.
“Forty miles and closing,” Corrie reported.
“Shit!” Ben swore. He kicked a rusted can across the highway and cussed and stomped some more. Then he settled down and opened his map case, spreading the map out on the hood of a HumVee. “Okay, people. Goddammit!” He thumped the map. “Tell the scouts to find us a place between Casa Grande and Tucson. I want as much high ground as possible. Bump Buddy and tell him to take his special ops people and roll on ahead, link up with scouts. Find him a good ambush spot and get set. We’ll be a few hours behind him. Now, then. I’m going to make one more attempt to talk some sense into Simon Border. And Corrie, after you’ve bumped Buddy, see if you can raise that . . . so-called man of God.”
“For all the good it will do,” she added.
“Right.”
Buddy’s battalion on the move, both Ben and Corrie were surprised when Simon came on the horn. “What do you want, Raines?”
“To try to convince you that I just want to clear your territory without a fight, Simon.”
“You made your bed, Raines. Now lie in it.”
“Not too original,” Ben muttered. He keyed the mic. “We don’t have to fight each other, Simon. It isn’t going to accomplish anything.”
“I shall be rid of you, Raines. One less plague upon God’s earth.”
“Simon, your stubbornness is going to get a lot of people killed.”
“My people do not fear death, Raines. They know a better life awaits them beyond the veil.”
“I believe that, too, Simon.”
There was a few seconds pause before Simon again spoke. “You believe in life after death, Raines?”
“Certainly I do. I’ve been washed in the blood.”
“I find that hard to believe. Why did you turn your back on God and embrace the devil?”
“I didn’t, Simon. There are churches all over the SUSA.”
“Which one do you attend?”
“I don’t, Simon,” Ben answered truthfully. “I worship God in my own way.”
“I knew you were a heathen, Raines.”
“Oh, me,” Ben sighed. He opened the mic. “Simon, call off your troops before it’s too late. Once they engage us, we’ll have no choice but to fight.”
“A state of war now exists between us, Raines. If you want to avoid bloodshed, I will, of course, accept your unconditional surrender.”
“The man is a fool,” Cooper said.
“His yoyo definitely has a short string,” Ben agreed, and his team laughed at his expression. “Simon, surrender is out of the question. Why not just let us leave your, ah, country?”
“You started this, Raines. Now I shall finish it.”
“I’d have more luck talking to a fence post,” Ben muttered. “You won’t even discuss our leaving peacefully, Simon?”
There was no response. Ben tried again. Nothing. Simon had broken off.
“All right,” Ben said, resignation in his voice. “Simon wants a fight, we’ll give him one. Let’s roll, people. We’ve got to get set up.”
Several hours later, Corrie called, “Twenty miles and closing.”
Ben glanced at his watch. “It’ll be about two o’clock when Simon’s troops come into range.”
“They’re within range now, sir!” Jackie Malone said.
“Our range, Jackie,” Ben corrected. “I want them in close and for them to open this dance. I will not be the aggressor.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ben looked around. “Where is Emil?”
“With Jim Peters’s 14 Batt,” Co
rrie answered. “Jim told Emil if he tried to slip off or pull anything stupid, he’d shoot him on the spot.”
“That should keep Emil quiet for awhile. He’s about half scared of Jim. Corrie, give the orders—body armor on. I want everybody in full protective gear. Absolutely no exceptions.”
“You think this is going to end up eyeball-to-eyeball?” Jersey asked.
“It’s possible. If Simon’s people are as fanatical as we’ve been led to believe, they might try a human wave attack.”
“If they do,” Beth said softly, “this is going to be a damn slaughter.”
“Yes, it will, Beth. They’ve got to come across several miles of flats out there.” He shook his head. “It’s all so stupid and pointless.”
“Are those people about to attack us really Christians, boss?” Cooper asked.
“Well, I guess so, Coop,” Ben replied after a few seconds’ pause. “What am I saying? Sure they’re Christians. But they’ve taken their faith to the extreme. They’ve been suckered by a charlatan named Simon Border. And now they’re going to die for Simon Border,” he added softly.
“Fifteen miles and closing,” Corrie reported.
“Is Buddy’s battalion in position?”
“Ready to close the pinchers.”
“Can you contact the commander of the . . .” he sighed. “Enemy column?”
“Negative. I’ve been trying. They refuse to respond.”
“Scouts say they have 105s?”
“Affirmative. Both 155s and 105s, towed.”
“The 155s have a range of approximately 20,000 yards,” Beth said. “The 105s have a maximum range of 16,000 yards. That is using conventional rounds.”
“I would be very surprised if Simon’s people have rocket-assisted artillery rounds,” Ben said.
“We have no intel indicating they do,” Beth replied.
Ben rolled a cigarette and waited. Someone handed him a mug of coffee and he was so deep in thought he thanked them without even looking around to see who it was.
“Range ten miles,” Corrie said.
“Five more miles and they’ll start throwing the big boys at us,” Ben said. “When the first enemy rounds land, we open up with everything we can throw at them. Give that order, Corrie.”
“Yes, sir.”
The minutes and the miles rolled by, the column drew closer.
“Five miles and closing,” Corrie said.
“No sign of their artillery breaking off and setting up?”
“No, sir.”
“What the hell’s wrong with that commander? We’re going to be looking down each other’s throats in a few minutes.”
Several more minutes ticked by before Corrie announced, “Range, approximately three miles. The column is stopping and setting up.”
“They wanted close enough in to use their mortars,” Ben said. “They’re going to throw everything they have at us. Tell the scouts to pull back out of incoming and act as forward observers.”
“They’re using 155s and 105s and they’re worried about mortars?” Cooper asked. “Doesn’t make sense to me.”
“I don’t believe Simon has many combat-experienced people, Coop. I think he’s depending on sheer numbers to defeat us.”
“Crazy,” Cooper said. “This is a crazy, stupid war. It’s so . . . unnecessary.”
“It’s necessary for Simon, Coop,” Ben replied. “He has to show his people his way is the only way, and the best way to do that is to defeat us.”
“But he can’t defeat us, boss.”
“Not in the long run, Coop. But we’re going to take some heavy losses before we begin to turn the tide. This is not going to be some easy win for us. As accustomed as we are to that.”
The first incoming round exploded far short of the first line of Rebels.
“Fire!” Ben said. “And may God be looking the other way during the course of this war.”
THIRTY
At first the battle appeared to be another wholesale slaughter. Ben’s gunners were dropping in rounds with almost pinpoint accuracy and Buddy’s people had opened up with machine gun fire from the ridges on either side of the enemy column, raking Simon’s troops with deadly fire.
Finally the commanders of Simon’s troops got the message and ordered a retreat from that pretty little deadly valley. Ben let them go.
“All units cease firing,” he ordered. “Let’s get out of here while we can.”
But if it took an hour and a half to set up, it took an hour and a half to break down and get back on the move.
“Scouts report that Simon’s troops are circling around and preparing for a counterattack,” Corrie said.
“You have got to be kidding!”
“No, sir.”
“Can Buddy’s people hold them back?”
“No, sir.”
“No?”
“The enemy appears to be preparing a human wave charge.”
“They’re crazy, boss!” Cooper said.
“Are we ready to go?” Ben asked.
“Ready to mount up.”
“Tell Buddy to get the hell out of there. Everybody mount up and roll.”
“We’re bugging out?” Beth asked.
“You’re damn right we are.”
“Batt coms are requesting orders,” Corrie pressed him.
“Bug out, Corrie. Head south for I-10.”
“Too late, sir. Here they come. It’s a human wave charge.”
“What the hell is that sound?” Cooper asked. “Sounds like music.”
Ben listened for a moment, then shook his head. “It’s ‘Onward Christian Soldiers.’ That used to be my very favorite song. They’re pushing it through loudspeakers.”
“Fifteen hundred yards and closing,” Corrie said. “Hundreds and hundreds of them, boss.”
“Stand and fight,” Ben ordered. “Open up with everything. Cut them down.”
This time it was a slaughter. The Rebels threw up a defensive line and opened up with every weapon at their disposal. The plain below them became a killing field as Simon’s troops went down in bloody mangled heaps. After what seemed an eternity, but was only a few minutes, someone in command on the other side got smart and began calling for a retreat. Simon’s troops began slowly pulling back, leaving hundreds of dead and wounded behind them.
Overhead, the carrion birds had already begun their slow circling.
“Now let’s get out of here,” Ben ordered.
* * *
“There are uprisings by Simon Border’s followers all over the nation, Ben,” Cecil said. “It looks as though it’s a full-blown religious war.”
“And we, I, caused it by invading Border’s territory.” It was not put as a question.
“No. I don’t believe that at all. Put that out of your mind. I think Simon was looking for any excuse to kick up trouble. I think those so-called Guards of God were sent in as cannon fodder.”
“I never thought of that, Cec. But you may well be right about it.”
“Don’t try to make it back to Base Camp One, Ben. You’ll probably just have to turn right around and head back. I would suggest you try for Texas, set up a base, and wait and see what happens.”
“Providing we can get out this state, you mean.”
“It’s that bad?”
“It’s very bleak, Cec. Besides, I don’t want to fight a damn religious war on our territory.”
“You have a plan?”
“A piece of one. I’m going to try for Tucson and the old air force base there. Either there at Davis-Monthan or at the old international airport. We can clean up the runways and be resupplied there. I hate to go on the defensive, but I just don’t think I have much choice left. We’ll check it out and let you know.”
“I’ve never heard you sound so down, Ben.”
“Well, hell, Cec. Things start looking up for the nation, then it falls apart. We prop everything up, then it all comes tumbling down once more. It’s like a yoyo. It gets damned depressing
as the years go by.”
“What alternative do we have, Ben?”
“That’s what’s got me in such a funk, Cec. We don’t have any alternative. We’ve talked about bunkering in—we both know that won’t work, not in the long run. But a religious war, Cec?”
“We didn’t start it, Ben.”
“But can we finish it? I mean, really finish it?”
“I can’t answer that, Ben. Only time will tell.”
“Are you going to be all right?”
“Oh, sure. I’ve put the entire SUSA under high alert Our borders are sealed. I’ve opened our chemical warfare bunkers and readied the delivery systems. I’ve told Simon in as blunt of terms as possible I will use the most lethal gas in our arsenal against his people if they try anything.”
“Getting tough in your old age, aren’t you, Cec?” Ben said with a smile.
There was no humor in Cecil’s reply. “I like our way of life, Ben. I think it’s a fine and noble experiment that worked, and I mean to see that it continues. So Simon Border and his religious freaks can go fuck themselves.”
That brought a chuckle from Ben. “I’m happy to know I won’t have to worry about the future of the SUSA, Cec. What does Secretary Blanton have to say about your decision?”
“He supports it, Ben. And so does his wife . . . well, let’s just say more so than not.”
“That is interesting. Okay, Cec, anything else?”
“I guess that’s it, Ben.”
“Okay. We’re on the move.”
“Good luck to you.”
“Good luck to us all, Cec. And give my best to President Altman when you talk to him.”
“Will do. Take care.”
Ben hooked the mic and stood silent for a moment. Then he smiled at Corrie. “Let’s get this circus on the road, Corrie. Looks like we’re going to be in Arizona for awhile.”
“Everything is coming unglued, isn’t it, boss?”
“It sure seems that way.”
“I hate to bring this up,” Jersey said. “But I will—has anybody considered a K-Team going in and killing Simon Border?”
“Yes,” Ben replied. “He’s virtually untouchable. He has a dozen homes deep in the Rockies. Most of his own people don’t even know where he is at any given time. Yes, Jersey, we’ve considered it several times.”
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