by Reed, N. C.
“You have your orders,” Jose finished. “Move out.”
In silence, the two teams turned for the southern border of the farm, adjusting equipment as they went and settling rifles into position. They were gone from his view in less than a minute, disappearing into the snow.
As he headed inside, Jose noted idly that the snowfall was heavier now. He had taken two steps into T2 when Clay’s voice stopped him.
“Happy?”
“Not in the slightest,” Jose admitted. “I agree with Zach. Something is wrong, somewhere. I just don’t know where.”
“I’m also in agreement,” Clay nodded firmly. “Spent most of the morning before dawn searching the tree line, but between the snow and the bush, I couldn’t see anything.”
“If someone is out there, then this will either find them, or else force them to withdraw,” Jose stated, though it lacked conviction.
“We’ll see,” was Clay’s reply.
-
One minute, Corey saw nothing out of the ordinary. The next, he caught a flash of movement to the east of their position. His binocular rangefinder told him it was just over two hundred meters away. He scanned back and forth looking for more movement.
And then he found it.
Never letting his eyes leave what he was seeing, Corey raised his radio carefully to his lips and called Gordy.
“Ah, Lil Boss, we got a major problem up here,” he said softly. “I’ve got eleven possible hostiles, moving with cover toward the farm. All are armed and trying to stay unnoticed.”
“Roger that,” Gordy’s voice came back at once, though it did show his surprise and maybe a bit of tension. “Stay there and wait for us, we’ll rally on you. Whisper, get to the kids, get them stopped, and then rally on Raygun.”
“Copy that,” Heath almost whispered back. “Moving.”
“Cowboy, you go ahead and move up to support Ray. I’m on my way as well.”
“Cowboy copies,” Kurtis replied, already headed that way.
Behind the group, riding ‘trail’ as it was known, Gordy raised his unit radio and broke radio silence.
“Operations, this is Chip with emergency traffic. How copy?”
After a minute of waiting with no reply, Gordy tried again.
“Operations, this is Chip with emergency traffic. Repeat, with emergency traffic. How copy?”
Another minute of silence. Worried now, Gordy tried once more.
“Operations, this is Chip. Please respond.” When he got no answer this time, Gordy stopped trying to communicate. Either his radio was out or the weather, crappy as it was, interfered with the small radio with its limited range. He refused to believe for a minute that the radio room was unmanned. Muttering under his breath, he picked up his pace, moving toward Corey’s position.
“Boss, the count’s up to fifteen, now,” Corey told his softly. “All armed, most with AK rifles it looks like. I also see a good bit of milspec gear in there, too.”
“Probably from Jordan,” Gordy said aloud, though without keying his radio. Instead, he clicked the microphone twice to let Corey know he’d been heard. Then he tried his tactical radio again.
“Operations this is Chip with emergency traffic, please respond.”
Nothing.
One minute later he was kneeling behind Corey’s position, looking through his own binoculars.
“Count is now seventeen, Boss,” Kurtis noted, prone on the ground and tracking the intruders with the powerful scope on his rifle.
“They’re headed straight to the farm, too,” Corey noted, holding a photocopied map of the farm and the surrounding area. “Not that it was in doubt,” he shrugged, putting the map away.
“Kids are still and quiet,” Heath literally whispered across the radio.
“Move up on us, Whisper, and tell them all to stay put,” Gordy ordered.
“Copy that.”
-
One minute they had been trudging along, heads down against the wind for the most part, the next they were looking at an apparition that had appeared from nowhere in front of them.
“Easy, now,” the apparition soothed. “Easy does it.”
It took a few seconds for it to dawn on the small party that the apparition was Heath Kelly.
“What are you doing here?” Millie asked, surprised.
“You didn’t really think they abandoned you out here, did you?” Heath smirked. “We’ve been shadowing you since you left the truck, making sure you were safe. But now, there’s a problem. School’s out for today. I need all of you to go to ground, right here, and stay put. Oh, and stay quiet, no matter what you hear. Understand?”
“What’s going on?” Anthony Goodrum demanded, stepping forward.
“That is not you saying you understand,” Heath almost growled, his voice low and soft. “It’s also not you being quiet.”
Anthony tried to outstare Heath, but that was a non-starter. The teen sniper was not going to be intimidated by many, and certainly not someone like young Mister Goodrum.
“We got it,” Seth Webb’s voice was soft, and serious. “We’ll hide in that brush, yonder,” he pointed to a small stand of scrub pine and oak about fifty yards to the west.
“Good deal,” Heath nodded his approval. “Get over there and hide. Don’t say anything unless someone calls out to you, and then only if you know who it is.” With that, Heath was moving, heading east.
“He could have at least told us what was happening,” Anthony grumbled.
“Will you shut the hell up and get moving?” Nathan Caudell almost hissed. “Save it for when we get home, okay?”
Frowning, Anthony began moving, though he muttered under his breath the entire way.
-
“Twenty-one, no, twenty-two, now,” Kurtis observed, calling it out softly for Gordy as he tracked the line of armed men and women making their way to the farm.
“Whoever is doing this, they know not only how the farm lays, but also where our defenses end,” Corey noted, studying the group.
“Operations, this is Chip, please respond,” Gordy tried his radio again. “Operations, this is Chip with emergency traffic, please respond.” The radio was deafening in its silence.
“Looks like we do this on our own,” Kurtis looked up for a second, then returned his eye to the scope.
“We got to get them kids out o’ here, man,” Corey said softly. “Ain’t none of ‘em trained for this kind of thing.”
“I know,” Gordy nodded as Heath appeared over his shoulder.
“Kids are squared away in a little thicket about fifty yards west of their trail,” he said softly.
“Jesus!” Gordy just barely kept himself from screeching in a far less than manly fashion. “Make a little noise once in a while!”
“That would defeat the purpose,” Heath replied as he took to the ground near Kurtis and began to scope the intruders for himself.
“I got an idea,” Corey said finally. “One that will get the kids out of the line of fire, and maybe get some help on the horn.”
“What is it?” Gordy asked with no little trepidation.
“Well….”
-
“Surprised Jose put you in charge?” Greg asked as he and Zach lead the way for their team.
“Putting it mildly,” Zach admitted, reaching down to pet the head of the massive Kangal hound that had decided to follow them. The woven collar around the dog’s neck sported a tag that said ‘Jayne’. Stupid name for a male dog, Zach thought.
“You guys have done really well, so it was just a matter of time before you began moving into positions of greater responsibility,” Greg pointed out.
“I just don’t care anything about it,” Zach shrugged, his gaze on the trees ahead. “But I don’t care anything about most stuff and that never kept me from doing what I was supposed to.”
“What bothers you about being in command?” Greg asked, careful to use the phrase ‘in command’ rather than ‘in charge’.
“It’s not that it bothers me,” Zach replied. “I just don’t want to do it. I like being on my own. I work better that way.”
“You mean you kill better that way,” Greg corrected him, and Zach shrugged but made no further reply.
“There’s more to it than that, Zach,” Greg said carefully.
“You say so,” the teen shrugged yet again, eyes still roaming the approaching tree line. “But regardless of what I like or don’t, putting me in charge of anything just seems like a damn stupid idea.”
-
“That is a damn stupid idea,” Gordy stated, waiting only for Corey to finish.
“What?” Corey managed to look both offended and scandalized. “That is not a stupid idea! That’s a damn fine idea, even if I am forced to be the one to say it.”
“I hate to agree,” Heath sighed, “but it’s a solid plan. The guys at Plum house will be less likely to give you any lip. Kurtis and I can cut the odds, while Corey watches our backs. The main thing is that it gets those kids out o’ harm’s way while getting a warning to the farm.”
“Anybody else feel silly calling them kids?” Corey chimed in again. “I mean, at least two of them are roughly our age. Man, whose idea was it to put us out here to watch over them?”
“Much as I hate to interrupt this little show, we got some issues here that need seeing to,” Kurtis reminded the three lifelong friends. “Without radio contact, our options are limited, and our time is short here, fellas.”
“Fine,” Gordy almost spat in disgust. “It pains me to say it, but this seems like the best idea we can come up with. I’ll get the…party,” he settled for in lieu of ‘kids’, “and head for the Plum House. You guys,” he looked from one to the other, covering all three, “do not get dead.”
“Now there’s an order I can get behind,” Kurtis chuckled. “Let’s move about fifty meters to the north. There’s some brush along that little ridge that we can hide in, and we can move faster than they do. Remember to stay well to the west of them. We don’t want to catch any friendly fire. I put the range at about two hundred and fifty meters?”
“Right on the money,” Corey nodded, laser range finder in hand. “Lased the middle figure at two hundred and forty-nine. I love this thing,” he added, putting the precious instrument away.
“Let’s go,” Heath said, folding his bipod up and ensuring his rifle’s camouflage was not disturbed. “We’re about to have a warmer morning.”
“Nah,” Kurtis chuckled, following. “They are.”
-
“Any word from anyone at all?” Clay asked, stopping by operations.
“No, but there is a lot of interference on every band,” Leon replied without looking up. “I suppose it’s the storm, except normally it wouldn’t be that big a deal. All I can figure is that this wet snow is covering everything. Our radios aren’t really meant to be long range, other than our gear here, the gear went used to establish outposts, and the stuff in the vehicles, which is all a lot stronger than handheld stuff. I doubt we could hear Gordy even if he did call, to be honest. I’m trying to tune out as much of it as I can, but I’m not having the best luck. What is it that’s going on, Uncle Clay?”
“Just a lot of people with a bad feeling, Leon,” Clay admitted. “Started last night and hasn’t let up.”
“Well, that’s just great,” Leon sounded disgusted, his mind no doubt on the fact that Millie Long was out in the weather in roughly the same direction as the ‘bad feelings’.
“She’ll be fine, kid,” Clay promised, a firm, reassuring hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “Got two of the best shots and two of the best brawlers on the place out there guarding them. Try not to worry, okay?”
“Should I call Gordy?” Leon asked. “Warn them?” Clay considered that a minute before nodding his head.
“Go ahead,” he ordered. “If they know we might have trouble coming they can up their own security.” Leon immediately turned to the radio.
“Lil Boss, this is Operations, please respond.”
“‘Lil Boss’?” Clay asked, grinning.
“Corey and Titus came up with it,” Leon chuckled. “He hates it, so we all try to use it.”
“I guess it’s not a bad name, all things considered,” Clay mused. “What about the others?”
“Lil Boss, this is Operations, please respond,” Leon repeated the call before replying.
“What about them?”
“Does everyone get a new name?” Clay clarified.
“I dunno,” Leon admitted. “I just sorta work here. Why aren’t they answering?”
“Operations, this is Unit 50,” Greg Holloway’s voice was scratchy and barely readable. “Any problems?”
“Trying to reach the training op, Unit 50,” Leon replied. “Be advised you are three by three, at best. How are you receiving?”
“We have you four by four, Operations,” Greg answered. “Need us to divert up that way?”
“Negative,” Clay shook his head. “Too far and takes them off the patrol route Pancho set up. Charley Mike.”
“Negative, Unit 50,” Leon replied. “Charley Mike at this time. Lil Boss, this is Operations, please respond.”
“I’ll see about getting a Hummer out that way,” Clay decided.
“Be a rough ride for anything,” Leon noted. “Even a Hummer.”
“Sometimes that’s just how it is.”
Clay hadn’t made two steps outside before the shooting started.
CHAPTER FIVE
Zach froze on a dime, raising a gloved fist into the air. Down the line, Mitch did the same. Zach waited for five seconds, then turned to make sure his team was watching him before opening his fist with his fingers spread as wide as possible. He then flattened his hand and pushed down toward the ground. Everyone nodded and began to move.
Following that hand signals, the team spread out, roughly five meters from each other. As soon as they made it, everyone hit the ground, flat on their stomachs, with Greg Holloway on the far west flank, his rifle pointing in that direction rather than front.
Zach looked to his left and saw that Mitch had given about the same orders, his own team now also spread out and on the ground. There was still a lot of open ground between them and the tree line.
Not knowing what was happening, they would hold in place for the moment. Zach knelt as he saw Mitch do the same, the older man’s hand going to his radio.
“Operations, this is Thug. Be advised we have gunfire to our front and a bit to the west. Slow but steady. Likely marksmen. Please advise.”
-
“I heard it,” Clay radioed before anyone could speak again. “Hold position for now. If attacked, fall back and advise.”
“Thug copies. Roger that.”
“Gunner copies all.”
“Get a Hummer and a two-man crew and try to get around to the other side and see can you figure out what’s happening,” Clay ordered Jose when the security manager came running up. “Gleason, rally your men at T2 for now until we have orders.”
“Moving now,” the tough NCO replied.
“Gordy and the others?” Jose asked.
“Probably,” Clay nodded. “They wouldn’t break training like that for nothing, either. Looks like all those hunches might just have been right.”
“Imagine that,” Jose snorted, grabbing his radio even as he headed for Building Three.
“Doc, Archer, Petra, meet me at T3. Mission up!”
It barely registered on Clay that the three people had answered, or that Jose was taking three rather than two. That was fine. He might need the extra rifle, after all.
Having done what could be done, Clay settled in to wait for information. As he continued to hear gunfire from where his nephew and others were escorting a training mission, he really wished he could get Gordy on the radio.
-
It took Gordy announcing himself for him to be able to find the seven teens he had been escorting. He nodded in admiration as they stood up, h
aving been hidden by the skills and cunning of Seth Webb.
“Nice work,” Gordy slapped Seth on the shoulder lightly in approval. “Anyone hurt or unable to relocate?” he asked the group. Seeing head shakes from everyone, he nodded in silence.
“What’s going on?” Millie asked, presuming on her position working in Operations as well as her closeness to the Sanders family. The shooting was steady behind Gordy.
“Looks like someone moving on the farm, and we can’t raise operations,” he slapped his unit radio with a grimace. “Heath and Kurtis are trying to cut the odds, plus the shooting will at least get the farm moving. Meanwhile, we’re heading toward the Plum Farm. You guys will be safer there, and their radio should be able to reach the farm, plus I think they have a phone, now.”
“They do,” Millie nodded.
“Good deal,” Gordy sounded relieved. “Probably three miles or so to Plum House, so let’s get moving. Buddy up so that everyone has a partner. Seth, you lead off, I’ll take the drag. Millie, you’re with me,” he winked, and the girl grinned. Her relationship with her, Ace, and Leon, had made her family to most of the Sanders clan. There was no denying the pleasure it gave her to have that sense of belonging.
“We should be in the clear, here, but eyes open and heads on a swivel just in case, okay?” he told everyone. All seven nodded, fear flickering across more than one face at the thought that they might encounter enemies on their way out.
“Let’s move, then,” Gordy ordered, already walking. “We have a lot of ground to cover and need to do it as quickly and quietly as possible.”
Quietly but as quickly as possible, the small group started moving.
-
“They ain’t figured it out yet,” Kurtis drawled softly as he slowly moved his rifle to a new target.