Rescue: Book 3 in the After the Fall series

by David Nees

  “Stay loose. They could be a half hour getting to our target spot. I’ll take the first shots, try to stop the lead vehicle. Once the shooting starts, you shoot out some tires, cabs, anything that will disrupt them and sow confusion.”

  As the convoy got closer, Jason saw that it was led by an armored personnel carrier or APC. The heavily armored vehicle had an M2 .50 caliber machine gun along with an Mk19 grenade launcher mounted in an armored turret. No way I’m going to stop that.

  When the convoy reached the target area, Jason sighted the second vehicle, a Humvee, also with a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on it. The Humvee had lighter armor than the APC and Jason had a chance to knock out the engine. If I can stop the other vehicles, the APC will stop.

  He sighted the grill and fired his rifle. The M107 gave a solid kick in the shoulder and a loud report. Catherine jerked her head around in response. The bullet skimmed across the hood missing the cab. His second shot hit the grill and ripped it open.

  The Humvee stopped and three men leapt out to crouch behind the vehicle. Jason sent more rounds at the stalled vehicle, smashing the windshield and tearing through the cab. The machine gun swung around and started firing at the ridge. The gunner had not pinpointed their location so he just sprayed the ridge, hoping to suppress the sniper rounds.

  Now the APC turned it’s .50 caliber machine gun towards the ridge and began firing. The rounds were coming closer. Then the grenade launcher fired. This weapon had a range of sixteen hundred yards and could fire at a rate of forty to sixty rounds per minute. The grenades started hitting the ridge to their left, exploding the rocky bank. The operator fanned it closer to where Jason and Catherine were position, moving the elevation up as the rounds swept towards them.

  Oh shit. Got to stop that weapon. Jason settled his sights on the turret gunner, looking for a chink in the shielding to strike at him. He fired off multiple rounds as the grenades exploded closer and closer to their position. The firing stopped before the grenades hit their position. Must have hit the gunner.

  Catherine was now sending shots into the convoy behind the two lead vehicles. Jason couldn’t tell if they were effective, but her shooting had to help. She was methodical, seeming to place her shots to good effect.

  He turned his attention to one of the transport trucks. He put multiple rounds through the grill, hoping to damage the engine, then placed two rounds through the windshield. The men in the cab had exited when the shooting started. Jason’s next rounds went through the sides of the box behind the cab.

  Confusion seemed to reign behind the lead vehicles as it took some time for the others to understand they were under attack.

  General McKenzie was in the second APC when the firing started. He didn’t hear the first shot, but he heard the subsequent rounds and the return fire from his men. He got on the radio.

  “What the hell is going on?” He shouted.

  The lead APC responded. “We’re taking fire from the ridge across the river. Multiple shooters. We’re returning fire with the .50 cal.”

  “Get the Mk 19 in action. That should shut them down.”

  He could now hear the booming sound of the grenade launcher. It had a injure-to-kill radius of up to fifteen meters. Once his gunner could zero in on the shooters’ location, they’d be toast.

  Suddenly the Mk 19 stopped firing.

  “Move the unarmored vehicles down into the median,” McKenzie shouted over the radio. “They’re sitting ducks on the pavement. And bring up the tank.”

  There was a shuffling of vehicles as the trucks and Humvees turned into the median strip which sloped down a good ten feet below the level of the road. He could hear the clanking of the tank’s treads as the tank came forward.

  “Someone pinpoint those shooters for the tank,” he radioed.

  Jason saw the tank coming forward. It moved only enough to get to a clear spot. The barrel swung around towards the ridge.

  “Uh oh,” he said.

  “What’s wrong?” Catherine asked as she stopped firing.

  “They’re bringing the tank into action.”

  Just as he spoke the tank fired. Dust shook from its chassis as it rocked on its tracks. The round exploded into the hillside with a deafening impact.

  “Come on!” Jason called to Catherine.

  He slid back and grabbed her. “We have to get back,” he shouted.

  “We’re out of sight. He can’t see us,” Catherine started to protest, but Jason just grabbed her and started running

  He counted off the seconds. Two to adjust the aim; two to load and clear for the shot. At four seconds he threw them both to the ground and covered Catherine with his body. The next round tore apart the ridge top just next to where both of them had been positioned. The explosion was deafening. The frag, dirt, rocks and bits of trees flew through the air over them.

  Catherine looked up at Jason, her eyes wide with shock. Jason didn’t say a word, but grabbed her. They ran back another ten yards and threw themselves to the ground again. This time the round went high and exploded in the trees. Again, the frag flew all around them and two oaks fell down, their branches crashing over and around the two.

  Catherine started to untangle herself but Jason stopped her.

  “Just lay still. We have some cover now from the limbs. Better to stay under here. We only have a few seconds between shots. Can’t get that far away.”

  “My ears are ringing. God that was loud.”

  “And lethal.”

  Jason noticed Catherine was shaking.

  “Breath slow and steady. I don’t want you to go into a panic.”

  They waited, but no more shots were fired.

  “Is this what war is like?” She said after a moment.

  “Sometimes.”

  “It’s horrible. How can anyone stay alive with such terrible weapons?”

  “As bad as that is, it can get worse. The howitzers are even more lethal. And they shoot much farther. If they get within range of Hillsboro, no one is safe.”

  She shuddered and tried to settle her breathing down. “I’m not sure I’m the warrior you say I am.”

  “Don’t think about that now. Just calm yourself. It seems like they’ve stopped for now. They don’t want to just expend shells exploding the woods. Since we’re not shooting, they figure we’ve been killed, injured, or retreated back into the woods. They’ll wait.”

  “Only shoot when they can kill us, right?”

  Jason looked at her. He knew she was unnerved by her introduction to heavy weapons through being on the receiving end. It would unnerve the hardest recruit, let alone someone without any training. Mortar and rocket fire, as bad as they were, were the most lethal weapons Catherine had faced. She had done all right then and Jason knew she would rise to this challenge.

  “That’s how it works,” he said in response to her question. “Our job is to not let them do that and to do it to them. General Patton in World War Two told a young recruit that he didn’t want him to die for his country. On the contrary he wanted the young man to help the enemy die for their country.”

  Catherine looked at Jason, now appearing calmer. “Is that supposed to be funny?”

  “No, just to the point. Nothing funny about it. If it helps, remember why we’re doing this. Why we’re out here and not back in Hillsboro waiting.”

  Catherine looked thoughtful and nodded her head. “To save others, protect others.”

  “You got it.”

  Jason started to pull branches away. They both staggered out of the tangle of limbs and leaves.

  “Let’s move south. They’ll probably be working on the truck I shot up. They can leave the Humvee, but I suspect they’ll need the truck, even if they have to tow it. We need to set up and do this again. Every hour we can slow them, soften them, is to our advantage.”

  “If we shoot again, they’ll just bring the tank up again. And next time we may not be so lucky.”

  “That’s true. I think the tank will probably
lead the convoy, so next time we let it go by and then shoot up the other vehicles, those we can stop. I want to try to shoot out the tires on the artillery pieces.”

  Catherine gave him a questioning look.

  “We’ll hit hard and fast. We know what the response will be so we’ll retreat sooner. If we have enough distance between us and the ridge, we’ll be safe. They can’t curve their shot over the ridge to drop on us.”

  “Adjust our tactics.”

  “Now you’re thinking like a warrior again.” Jason held out his arm. “Wait here, I want to crawl to the ridge and see what’s going on.”

  “Oh no, you’ll get shot…or you’ll make them fire that tank gun again.” Catherine’s voice was filled with alarm.

  “I’ll crawl up for a peek. They won’t see me. No shooting, I promise.”

  With the firing from the ridge stopped, General McKenzie arranged for the armored APCs, and the tank to line up on the highway while the other vehicles dropped behind them into the swale in the median of the highway. The tanker truck was guided in as well. It had to be protected.

  “We need to get the truck running,” McKenzie said to his lieutenant. “The Humvee may be too shot up to continue but we need the supplies that are in the truck.”

  “The cab’s shot up, windshield gone. We can punch the rest of it out and drive without it. I’ll have the mechanics check the engine.”

  A few minutes later he reported back that the radiator was holed and intake system damaged. “The mechanics think they can fix it. We have some welding torches so they can braze the radiator. I don’t know what they’re doing about the intake, but they said they could jury rig something. It’ll take an hour or more.”

  “Just get it done and we can move on.” The general looked over at the ridge, now showing the raw wounds of the tank’s shelling. “If this is all they can muster, we’ll be inconvenienced but not stopped.” He had two men dead and two vehicles down. He was feeling less generous towards Hillsboro now.

  Jason returned a few minutes later. “They’ve set up a defensive position and seem to be repairing the damage we’ve done. We can consider what we did a partial success. Let’s move south as fast as we can to find another position.”

  The two turned south and began to run through the forest. Jason relished the exercise to release his pent-up energy. From the looks of Catherine’s pace, he guessed she also was enjoying the exertion.

  Chapter 43

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  A gain, the two settled into that jogging pace that ate up the distance. Skimming the ground going downhill and huffing more slowly uphill, they traversed multiple hills and valleys often accompanied by creeks. They kept their eyes on the ground to avoid twisting an ankle on a rock. They seemed to be dancing through the brush, with their feet moving sideways as well as forward as they picked their way through the undergrowth. Catherine would flick a glance forward every few seconds to confirm her path.

  After two hours, Jason called a halt and led them towards the highway. They were at a lower elevation now with a limited view of the road. Hills to the north shielded their sight lines.

  “This isn’t the best spot, but I think we’re running out of time to set up.” He looked south. “Not much better options in that direction.”

  “Shouldn’t we get to the best position possible?”

  “We should, but if the convoy comes past while we’re on our way, we’ll lose them. We can’t catch them once they go past.” He paused. “This will have to do.”

  They went to work setting up their shooting positions. Jason pulled a log over for Catherine to use as a shooting rest. He moved ten yards away and set up behind another log. Both of them cleared just enough brush to see through with their rifle scopes.

  “It’s five hundred yards to where the road comes into view. Closer than I would like.”

  Catherine adjusted the turret on her scope. Jason studied the target area.

  “The wind is blowing from the east. I can feel it here on the slope. It’s about ten miles per hour.” He studied the target area with his binoculars. “Looks like less wind down at the road. Call it five miles per hour at forty-five degrees.”

  “How do I factor in the angle?”

  “Ninety degrees would give you about a six and a half inch drift. With the angle, figure three quarters of that,” Jason thought for a moment, “say five inches.”

  Catherine made some adjustments to her scope.

  “Of course,” Jason said. “That’s a very rough estimate.” It’ll take a shot or two to get it right.” He looked up to the sky. “We might get some rain tomorrow with this east wind,”

  “Maybe that will help?” Catherine asked.

  Jason shrugged. “Who knows? It’ll make us uncomfortable, I know that.”

  “We won’t melt,” Catherine said.

  Jason considered her comment. She seemed to have recovered pretty well from the trauma of being on the receiving end of the tank’s 105 mm gun.

  It took a little over two hours to complete the repairs on the truck. The Humvee was left behind. General McKenzie was anxious to get going. He still didn’t want to run at night, but did want to recover some of the lost time from the ambush. He arranged the convoy with the tank now in the lead and the APCs interspersed throughout the line of vehicles. If ambushed again, the armored vehicles would form a protective wall that the unarmored trucks could hide behind to protect them from the shooting. He’d rely on the tank and APCs to suppress the snipers.

  He actually felt confident that he had dealt with this first attack. There had been no more firing from the ridge after the tank’s gun went into action.

  With the new positions set, the convoy started again.

  They could hear the tank. Even from their shooting position five hundred yards away the clanking of the tracks and the diesel engine announced its approach. Both Jason and Catherine settled their rifles at the target area and watched.

  “We shoot the unarmored vehicles. You aim for the trucks, I’ll aim for the Humvees,” Jason said.

  The tank came into view. They let it proceed. The rest of the vehicles followed.

  “Wait for my shot,” Jason said. Both of them were lying on the ground, their eyes looking through their scopes.

  When five vehicles were in sight, Jason started shooting at the first Humvee in line. Catherine immediately started firing at one of the following trucks. She first aimed for the engine bay through the radiator, then the cab, if the truck didn’t stop. Jason’s shots were also aimed at the grill of the Humvee, then the cab. Each of them steadily rained bullets down on the convoy. Their first shots missed their mark, but subsequent shots hit right on target as both adjusted their aim.

  The tank swung its gun towards the hills but didn’t fire. The gunner was trying to locate the source of the shots. Jason had crippled the Humvee. Catherine had stopped one of the trucks. The cab was shattered and the driver down. The others had exited and run for cover. An APC, the fourth vehicle in line also swung its turret towards the hill.

  “Let’s move to the south,” Jason yelled.

  Two .50 caliber machine guns had started firing at the ridge close to where they were shooting.

  Jason and Catherine retreated from their positions, turned, and ran down the slope. Part of the way down, they turned and crawled back to the edge to begin shooting again. Vehicles now had begun to back up moving them out of sight. Catherine and Jason concentrated on the two trucks and two Humvees that remained in their line of fire.

  The tank’s 105 mm gun fired. The round hit the hillside near where Jason and Catherine had been shooting.

  Catherine screamed at the sound of the shell bursting when it hit the ridge.

  “He doesn’t know where we are,” Jason shouted. “Keep shooting.”

  He now tried to hit the APC tires. They were run-flat designs but shooting them would wound the machine if not disable it. The machine guns now found their new position.


  “We’ve been located again,” Jason called out. “Let’s get out of here. The tank’s gun will open up on us in a moment.”

  He knew the information was being passed on to the tank. The gunner wouldn’t take long to line up the shot at this range.

  They both ran as fast as they could away from the highway. Jason counted to four and grabbed Catherine, forcing both of them to the ground. He covered her and she held her hands over her ears. The first shot whistled over the lip of the hill and exploded against the trees. The round tore down three trees, one large trunk barely missing them, glancing off the large oak they were lying behind. The limbs and branches whipped down around them, smacking Jason repeatedly as he covered Catherine. The next shot exploded the hillside where they had been shooting.

  Jason rolled over, groaning.

  “Are you okay?” Catherine asked.

  Jason nodded. “Just bruised. I must have been hit by a dozen limbs. Felt like someone was beating me with a bat.” He struggled to his feet. “Let’s go.”

  Catherine got up and they moved off to the south. Jason lumbered along. His body was sore all over. Soon they were running again, although Jason was going more slowly this time.

  Over their shoulders another round exploded on the hillside. The concussion rocked them. After probably a half mile, Catherine stopped.

  “How far do we go?”

  “Let’s try to get another mile south if we can. They’ll have some damage to repair.

  “I shot one of them up pretty well.” Catherine said. She paused and looked at the ground. “I think I killed the driver. I know I hit him. He fell out of the cab.”

  “Does it bother you?”

  “Maybe a little. Others I’ve shot have been shooting at me. This one was just driving.”

  “If he hadn’t been assigned to drive, he’d be shooting at you, don’t think otherwise.”

  “I guess.” She took a deep breath and seemed to put the thought behind her. “Let’s get on with it. You good to keep running?”