by Robert Boren
“Well, here goes nothing,” Jackson said. He put the backhoe in gear and headed for the meadow. Black smoke billowed out of the exhaust pipe as he drove.
Earl came walking up. “Hey, guys, there’s a small wagon in the barn…a little bigger than a kid’s wagon. Might be good to bring weapons and ammo and such from the bodies.”
“Good idea,” Jerry said.
The men walked out to the meadow, talking.
“What do you think the prisoner was talking about?” Frank asked.
“You mean his comments about the army?” Jerry asked.
“Yeah,” Frank said.
“Probably just BS,” Charlie said. “That kid was defiant as hell. I’m not sure if I believe much of anything he said.”
“By the way, where did you learn the interrogation technique?” Jerry asked. “You and the Sheriff have obviously done that before.”
“I was a Sheriff for a while,” Charlie said. “That was one of the offices that I got elected to back in the day.”
“Oh, should have guessed,” Jerry grinned. “You did that well.”
“It probably wouldn’t have done any good,” Charlie said. “That kid wasn’t going to talk. I can usually tell right away.”
“I think you’re right there,” Jeb said. “That kid was brainwashed, big time.”
“Pretty much,” he replied. “I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop, here. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of these guys…not by a long shot.”
“I’ll kill more of ‘em,” Jeb said. “It’ll be a pleasure.”
“Me too, but how much longer are we going to be this lucky?” Frank asked.
“I still want to know why they’re bothering with us,” Jerry said. “I mean, really, what do we have that they want enough to risk their stolen chopper on?”
“Good question,” Jeb said. “I want to know how they got that chopper, too. Did they steal it, or was this an army detail that was compromised. Maybe that prisoner was telling the truth.”
“So you think the army is more compromised than we’ve been told?” asked Frank.
“Possibly,” Jeb said.
“I don’t think I’m buying that,” Jerry said. “Did you notice that most of these guys didn’t really look like army guys?”
“In what way?” Frank asked.
“Haircuts. Demeanor. Hell, skill level. These idiots weren’t too difficult to take out.”
“You have a point there,” Charlie said. “They should have been able to take us, but they came at us like a bunch of hillbillies…and you tell me which branch of the military lets in 60 – year - olds like that sniper. His uniform doesn’t even fit right….look at it.”
The men looked down on the pile of bodies as they walked up.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Jeb said. “He looks about like I would look if I had that on.” He laughed.
“Hey, maybe we ought to save these uniforms,” Frank said.
“Why?” Charlie asked.
Jerry and Jeb looked at each other, grinning.
“I know why,” Jerry said. “We could use them the same way they did. Infiltration.”
“Exactly,” Frank said.
“Let’s strip ‘em,” Jeb said.
The men got to work on that as the utility truck rolled up next to them.
“What the hell are you guys doing?” Kurt asked as he and Jeb got out of the cab.
“We’re getting ourselves some disguises,” Jeb said, laughing.
“Hey, that ain’t a bad idea,” the Sheriff said. “That’s obviously what these guys did. They weren’t regular army…I can tell you that for sure.”
“Yep, that’s what we were just talkin about,” Jeb said.
“Hey, look…Humvee!” Charlie said, pointing to the road. The Humvee pulled over to the side of the road by the meadow, on the other side of the creek. The driver jumped out and took a look at them and the chopper with binoculars.
Chapter 04 - Radios
“What do we do?” asked Frank.
“Here’s what I think,” Charlie said. “Two or three of us walk over, armed, and find out what they want. Leave some of us snipers around keeping watch.”
“I’m for that,” Jeb said. “We have to assume these guys are the enemy until we know differently. I’ll go look for a good place.”
“Me too,” Earl said. He looked over at Jackson and got a nod. Earl got up on the roof of the pool equipment house. Jackson had exited the backhoe, and found a tree he could climb up into a ways.
“Good place,” Jeb said to Earl. “I would a gotten up there…can’t jump like I used to, though.”
“Kurt, let’s you and I find places too,” Charlie said. “Jeb, why don’t you follow behind Frank and Jerry by about 30 yards with that rifle of yours?”
“Be a pleasure,” he said.
“Look, they’re driving to the gate,” Earl said from up on the roof. “Better get over there.”
Frank and Jerry nodded, and headed over quickly, getting there just before the Humvee made it. They got next to the registration office on the right side of the driveway. Jeb found a place with a good vantage point, and chambered a round.
The Humvee pulled to a stop in front of the gate. Two men came out, a Lieutenant and a Sergeant.
“Who’s in charge here?” the Lieutenant asked.
“Who wants to know?” Jerry asked, Ak-47 in his hands.
“Lower you weapon,” the Sergeant said.
“It’s already lowered, Sergeant, but I’m not putting it down, and you guys are covered from several directions.”
“Why are you so leery of the army?” the Lieutenant asked.
“See that burned up chopper out there?” Frank said. “It brought a whole bunch of fake soldiers, who were here to kill all of us. That’s not the first time. We don’t know who you guys are.”
“We could….”
“Sergeant Reed, shut up,” the Lieutenant said. “Yes, we know there’s been a huge infiltration. We are real army, but how can we prove that to you?”
“Anybody else in that Humvee?” Jerry asked.
“No, just us,” the Lieutenant said. “My name is Bailey. We can’t spare troops to go looking around at every fire we see.”
“So you’re here because of the fire, eh,” Jerry said. “Did you realize that the enemy has Chinooks?”
“That’s classif……”
“Sergeant Reed! Stand down. These people know what they saw.”
“Sorry, Lieutenant,” the Sergeant replied. “How do you know this isn’t the militia?”
“Well, I guess we have the same problem that you do, don’t we? So back down,” Jerry said. “We’ve been fighting the militia and these sixth century cretins for a while now, starting in Williams.”
“You were in Williams?” the Lieutenant asked.
“Yes, and then in Utah,” Frank said.
“You aren’t the folks who were with General Walker, are you?”
“Yes, we are,” Jerry said, “but you knowing that doesn’t convince us that you’re real army. The traitor that headed up the guys in that chopper knew all about him and Major Hobbs.”
“What was his name?” the Lieutenant asked.
“A black major named Donaldson,” Frank said. “He used a person that we knew to get in here. They almost took us out.”
“Yeah, almost,” Jerry said.
“Never heard of a Major Donaldson. Who was it that you knew?” the Lieutenant asked.
“Private Jenkins,” Jerry said. “He got shot by one of the traitors.”
The Sergeant and Lieutenant looked at each other.
“You recognize the name?” Frank asked.
“Yes, he and his men were supposed to link up with the base outside of Denver. They never showed up.”
“Where are you guys from?” Jerry asked.
“The staging base just north of Eagle,” the Sergeant said. “That smoke plume was huge, so we figured something big happened out here. There’s b
een more and more enemy activity in Colorado.”
“Around here?” Frank asked.
“No, not yet, until this,” the Lieutenant said. “But after what happened to that base in Utah, we’re trying to nip any incursions in the bud.”
“Do you have anybody else coming here now?” Frank asked.
“No, why?”
“We can go chat for a while in the clubhouse if you want. Maybe we can convince each other of who we are…but if any other Humvees or military trucks or choppers show up here, we’re going to start shooting, and you two will be first,” Frank said.
“You guys have sharpshooters, don’t you,” the Lieutenant said.
“Yeah, that’s how we took out that chopper,” Jerry said, “right as it was trying to take off. We have them scattered around right now, watching. Anybody else shows up, and they’ll start shooting.”
“Alright, we’ll go in there, but we can take our guns, correct? I’m not going to be unarmed around here.”
“I’m alright with that, but I’ll have our people clear out of the clubhouse first,” Frank said. “Jerry, why don’t you call Jasmine and have her ask everybody to move to their coaches for a little while?”
“Will do,” he said. He walked off to the other side of the building.
“One thing to keep in mind,” Frank said. “Most of our people are armed, and even the women have seen action. If you think you can take us out and get away, you’ve got a nasty surprise coming.”
“That is certainly not our intention,” the Lieutenant said. “Right, Sergeant?”
“Yes sir,” he said.
“Alright,” Frank said. Jerry came back around the corner.
“Okay, they’re out. There’s still some coffee left, if you gentlemen would like some.”
“You don’t know how good that sounds,” the Sergeant said. He smiled for the first time.
The four men walked towards the clubhouse. Frank pulled out his phone as they walked, and called Charlie.
“Charlie?”
“Yeah, Frank.”
“We’re taking the two officers into the clubhouse to talk. It’s been cleared.”
“I saw the folks going to their coaches.”
“Nobody else is supposed to be coming, so if you see any more Humvees or trucks or choppers, take them out.”
“Roger that.”
Frank put his phone back in his pocket. The Lieutenant and Sergeant gave him a worried look.
“I don’t want trouble with you guys, but as I said, we’ve been burned before. There was this incident, and a few days before that, a Lieutenant who had our trust turned on us, and got several good men killed.”
“Yours?” the Lieutenant asked.
“No, good army folks,” Jerry said. “We have had some good experiences with the army, too, you know. General Walker and Major Hobbs pretty much walked on water as far as we’re concerned. I’m hoping we can trust you guys.”
They got to the veranda and went in through the open double doors. The room was deserted.
“Let’s go get some coffee,” Frank said. He led the men back to the kitchen, and they all got a cup. Then they walked to a table and sat down, Frank and Jerry facing the Lieutenant and the Sergeant.
“You said a Lieutenant turned on you a few days ago,” the Lieutenant said. “What was his name?”
“Lieutenant James,” Frank said. “That was a shock. He fought with us side by side, and even got wounded. Our people saved his life.”
“He was with Major Hobbs and General Walker?”
“Yes, but he slipped out of the RV park in Utah during the battle, with a handful of men. Private Jenkins was one of them. They caught up to us just over the Colorado border.”
“They followed you here?” the Sergeant asked.
“Not exactly,” Jerry said. “They wanted to get to a base outside of Denver to re-join the forces, and that put them on I-70. They stayed with us until we turned off to come here. The bad Lieutenant showed his cards on the road, and his own men shot him.”
“Is this where you planned to stop?” the Lieutenant asked.
“No, we were headed for Leadville, actually,” Jerry said “but then some cretin blew up a bridge back there, so we decided to stop here and make some new plans.”
“You don’t plan on staying here?” the Sergeant asked. “Seems like a pretty safe place to me. The open road is problematic in almost every direction.”
“We aren’t sure what we’re going to do yet,” Jerry said. “We want to find a safe place to park, and then we’re going to go at the enemy.”
The two officers looked at each other.
“Why?” the Lieutenant said.
“Experience, and chats with General Walker and Major Hobbs” Frank said.
“We aren’t letting this country go down the tubes,” Jerry said. “We know the army is stretched too thin right now.”
“Good, then you guys are who I was hoping we were going to find,” the Lieutenant said, taking a sip of coffee. “You were the pilot group that General Walker was working with.”
“Pilot group?” Jerry asked.
“Yes, pilot group. The army brass knew that we would be shorthanded as long as the problems continued in Mexico, and they also knew that there was no viable way to shut down the border between Canada and the US, or to root out all the sleeper cells that have managed to infiltrate our society.”
“General Walker told us that there were other groups like us that he was working with,” Frank said.
“General Walker was in charge of recruiting and inspiring bands of private citizens. We need folks like you in the fight if we’re going to win.”
“So did that program die with General Walker?” Jerry asked.
“No, but we thought you guys would be toast by now.”
“Why?” Frank asked.
“Because Lieutenant James was leaking out information about the program to the enemy,” the Sergeant said. “The enemy fears a wave of new citizen fighters more than they fear what’s left of the army in the southwest.”
“Yes, they believe that your group will spawn other groups, so they want to take you out,” the Sergeant said. “Unfortunately, they were successful in taking out group two. They were in northern Arizona.”
“Are there any others?” Frank asked.
“Yes, but it’s better for you and them if you don’t know where they are,” the Lieutenant said.
“You knew who we were when you drove up here, didn’t you?” asked Jerry.
“We hoped,” the Lieutenant said. “We had a drone fly over after that chopper started putting out smoke. The number of vehicles was about right….looks like you picked up a few more on the way, though.”
“Yes, we did,” Frank said.
“Can you trust them?” the Sergeant asked.
“All of them have been known for years by several members of the original core group,” Frank said. “So I think the answer is yes.”
“You did have one infiltration, though,” the Sergeant said.
Frank gave them a blank look.
“Cynthia,” the Lieutenant said.
“Oh, yeah, forgot about that happy experience,” Jerry said.
“So where do we go from here?” Frank asked.
“Nowhere,” the Lieutenant said. “We’re going to leave you guys alone to do what you do best. If you can add to your numbers, you should do so, but be very careful. There are still militia folks around here that would love to get into your group and set a bomb off.”
“You aren’t going to tell us to leave?” Jerry asked. “That’s a first.”
“Actually, no it’s not,” Frank said. “General Walker and Major Hobbs both wanted us to stay put at Hilda’s park and use it as a base.”
“That’s true,” the Lieutenant said. “The enemy caught us with our pants down, big time. We had no idea they would be able to put several hundred thousand troops into the southwest.”
“So you guys are just going to
leave, and that’s the end of it?” Jerry asked.
“Well, almost,” the Lieutenant replied. “We brought something along, just in case you guys were the pilot group.”
“What?” Frank asked.
“Five military radios, tuned right to our base,” the Lieutenant said. “Spread them out amongst yourselves in safe places. Check them hourly. If we see anybody coming your way, we’ll let you know - and remember this….we won’t come here again unless we call you on these radios first. Ever.”
“So any military vehicles come here unannounced, take them out,” Jerry said. “I like it.”
“Don’t tell us what your next moves are going to be, either. We already know more than we should. Too many un-trustworthy people in the service right now.”
“What do you know that you shouldn’t know?” asked Frank.
“We know that you know who the leaders of the attack on the Utah RV Park were…and we know that you have the expertise to locate and target them. The Islamist leader would be a big catch. The militia guy is even more valuable, though. He’s the brains of the southwest operation.”
Jerry just smiled. Frank looked at him and smirked.
“This is the only other thing I’ll say on the matter,” the Lieutenant said. “Go get those bastards.”
“I’m starting to like this guy, Frank,” Jerry said.
The Lieutenant and the Sergeant looked at each other and smiled.
“Let’s go get those radios, and then we’ll get out of your hair,” the Lieutenant said, “and thanks for the coffee. That was a treat. They have pretty lousy stuff at the base.”
The men got up and walked out the door and over to the Humvee. They pulled a box out of the back. The Lieutenant pulled one of the radios out.
“Either of you know how to use these?” he asked.
“Yeah, I do,” Jerry said. “I haven’t been out of the service for that long, and we were using the same kind back then. I can train some more of our folks.”
“Good, then we’ll be on our way, gentlemen. Good bye and good luck.”
“Same to you guys,” Frank said, “and thanks.”
The men all shook hands, and then the two officers got into their vehicle and drove off.
Frank looked at Jerry.
“Well, that’s a relief.”