Feral Nation Series (Book 7): Feral Nation [Sabotage]

by Williams, Scott B.

  FERAL NATION

  Sabotage

  Feral Nation Series

  Book 7

  Scott B. Williams

  www.scottbwilliams.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters and events are all products of the author’s imagination and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 by Scott B. Williams

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

  Cover design © Scott B. Williams

  Editor: Michelle Cleveland

  01.23.20

  This series is an ongoing serial. Each book is an immediate continuation of the earlier story, so for the best reading experience the books should be read in order, starting with Book 1.

  Here are the links to the current books in the series:

  Feral Nation - Infiltration: Book 1

  Feral Nation - Insurrection: Book 2

  Feral Nation - Tribulation: Book 3

  Feral Nation - The Divide: Book 4

  Feral Nation - Perseverance: Book 5

  Feral Nation - Convergence: Book 6

  Feral Nation - Sabotage: Book 7

  Feral Nation - Defiance: Book 8 (Preorder Now)

  These links will be updated as new books are added to the series. Be the first to know what’s coming next in this series as well as my other books by signing up for my New Release Updates

  One

  ERIC BRANSON SLAMMED A fresh magazine into the receiver of his M4 and glanced at his companions. He was crouched behind the corner of a small supply building, looking for further signs of resistance inside the perimeter. The surprise attack took the occupants of the compound completely off guard, and most of them were dead before they ever knew what hit them. Eric attributed that to the detailed reconnaissance and planning that went into the operation, and to the fact that all of the men making up the assault team were seasoned professionals. Eric had no doubt that the cartel gunmen guarding this place thought they were safe from such an attack because of the remote location in which they’d set up shop, but that assumption proved fatal to them today. The raid was complete, other than a final sweep to eliminate any holdouts still hiding out among the buildings, after which they would destroy the structures and any weapons and contraband they found, finishing what they came for.

  It was true that moving into position to pull off the attack wasn’t exactly easy in terms of logistics, but Major Langley had made it clear how important this operation was to him, and for what the Army National Guard officer was doing for him in return, Eric didn't mind putting up with a little hardship and extra planning. Similar to the remote Colorado outpost operated by the rogue contractor who went by the name of ‘Chief’—the same man who’d taken and held Shauna—this converted compound was also a former government work facility, only bigger and even more isolated. Located on BLM land in the uninhabited Animas Mountains, it was built for research in the middle of one of the least-traveled tracts of desert and mountain wilderness in New Mexico. Vehicle access to the site was a rough unpaved road passable only by high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles.

  Although it was far from major population centers north of the border, the facility was a convenient steppingstone along the route to and from Chihuahua and Sonora to all points north along the Continental Divide. The cartel was taking advantage of that isolation and the breakdown of law and order that made it easier than ever to move goods and people across the now arbitrary line that had been the border. Eric and his team had learned from their interrogation of Chief that the Mexicans had even built a small airstrip there in recent weeks, but no aircraft were present on the morning of the raid, nor had the team seen any while completing their reconnaissance.

  The job was simple enough. Like countless others of the kind he’d successfully completed, this was a straightforward precision attack on an unsuspecting target, and like most of those jobs, it was unofficial and unsupported. Eric and the other men making up the assault team were on their own, and of course they were outnumbered, but that was nothing new to him either; in fact, it was typical more often than not. Such missions were the reason for the existence of elite units like those Eric had been a part of since the days when he was enlisted in the Navy. He’d cut his teeth on small unit operations, and it was the way he preferred to work. And though he would always rather operate with men he knew well beforehand, at least he had four trusted friends by his side—the men of the Jicarilla security force who had recently spent so much time helping him track down Shauna. Nantan, Luke, Red and Wolf were a long way from their homeland in the northern part of the state, but this part of New Mexico was ancestral Apache territory too and shutting down the cartel takeover of the region was vital to the security of their people farther north. Eric had rarely worked with men who inspired more confidence than these proud Native American warriors, who like him, had gotten their experience and proven their mettle years prior in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

  Luke and Wolf, along with the three C.R.I. contractors that made up the rest of the assault team were still engaged in an exchange of gunfire up near the north end of the compound and Eric was anxious to make his way there to help them mop up. But there was one last uncleared building directly in front of him on this side that they needed to secure first, and Eric signaled to Nantan and Red that he was ready to move in. The two of them were set up behind a dump truck parked as a barricade just inside the south gate, and Eric knew he could count on them to have his back if he encountered resistance. But before Eric took his first step, even as he was still making eye contact with Nantan, he saw his friend’s head suddenly slump forward and his body collapse into the side of the truck as his weapon fell from his grasp. Nantan was hit! But where did the incoming round come from? In the confusion of all the shooting going on nearby, Eric couldn’t be sure. He saw Red drop to a knee beside his fallen friend and reach out to drag him back to cover before he turned his attention back in the direction of the buildings, looking for the shooter.

  It was in the next moment that Eric heard a distinct rifle report that he was certain came from the ridge above and behind him, where McCullin, the team sniper with the Barrett M107 was positioned with his spotter. At first, Eric thought McCullin may have seen whoever shot Nantan and picked him off, but when he glanced back over to his friends, he saw Red sprawled unmoving atop Nantan’s body. It took Eric but a split second to process what that meant, and that speed of realization was the only thing that saved his life as he dove for the hard gravel before a 660-grain bullet blew a chunk out of the cinderblock just behind where his head had been.

  Eric quickly scrambled around the corner on his belly to take cover from this new danger in that most unexpected direction as the truth sunk in. Nantan and Red had been shot from outside the compound, and McCullin himself had pulled the trigger! Eric knew damn well it wasn’t a case of accidental friendly fire or mistaken identity—not twice in a row from an expert sniper with a high-powered optic. There was no remaining enemy in sight in that part of the perimeter anyway, and even if there were and Nantan had been hit by mistake, there was no explanation for the shooting of Red a few seconds later, while the man was kneeling beside Nantan’s body. No, the only explanation for it was cold-blooded murder! And if that wasn’t enough to convince Eric, the near miss from the bullet meant for his own head certainly was. Eric and his friends had been double-
crossed! He was certain that both Nantan and Red were dead now that he knew what kind of rounds they had taken, so there was nothing he could do for those two now and exposing himself to that Barrett just to check the bodies wouldn’t help anyone. Luke and Wolf were the only others in the assault team that Eric knew he could trust, and he knew he had to get to them and warn them before it was too late. But he also had to stay out of that sniper’s sights while doing so.

  To avoid McCullin, Eric had already put himself into full view of the building he’d been about to clear. Anyone still hiding in the shadows beyond the two darkened windows on that side would find him an easy target, so he didn’t hesitate. He needed to get behind that structure and use it for cover, keeping it between him and the ridge so he could make his way to Luke and Wolf. Eric dumped half a mag in two short bursts through the windows and then broke into a run, sprinting for the back corner of the building. When he reached the wall, he crouched low and lobbed a grenade through the nearest window, hoping it would be enough to neutralize the threat from any cartel thugs that might be inside. He was behind the back wall when it exploded and already running north to where he’d heard all the shooting earlier.

  When he reached the far end of the long building, Eric saw team leader Chad Weaver coming his way, moving stealthily among the trucks parked under the big open-sided metal shed attached to that end. Weaver had a radio, and Eric figured that McCullin’s spotter had apprised him of the situation; that he’d taken care of Nantan and Red, but that Eric was still a threat. Weaver was coming for him now, moving in to where the spotter had no doubt directed him. The man was focused on his objective, but Eric saw him stop and glance over his shoulder as something else caught his attention. Weaver spun and leveled his weapon just as Wolf stepped into view from behind the truck. Before Eric could shout a warning or intervene, Weaver squeezed off a burst at point blank range, dropping Wolf where he stood. Eric gave him no time to turn back around before he raised his own rifle and took the team leader out with a single round to the back of the head. Then, he sprinted to the cover of the parked vehicles, hoping he wasn’t too late to warn Luke.

  Eric paused for a moment when he reached Wolf, promising the dying man he’d be back as soon as he could, but already knowing there was nothing he could do for the Apache tracker regardless of whether he tried now or later. He had just started moving again when he spotted Luke crossing the gravel lot, drawn that way by the sound of gunfire in the vehicle shed. But Luke wasn’t alone! Eric raised his rifle again and locked in on a new target a few steps behind his one remaining friend. When he squeezed the trigger and fired, Luke froze in his tracks, first seeing Eric, and then turning to see what he’d fired at. When Luke saw that it was Royce, one of the other contractors on the team with whom he’d just been fighting to secure the compound, he turned to Eric in bewilderment:

  “What in the hell did you do that for?”

  Eric motioned for him to get down and take cover as he rushed to Luke’s side. “He would have killed you if I hadn’t. We've been double-crossed, Luke! McCullin shot Nantan and Red! And then Weaver gunned down Wolf right in front of me, back there by those trucks!”

  Luke was staring at him as he processed this information, confusion written all over his face, but Eric gave him a look that left no doubt that he was serious.

  “All three of them? Are they all dead?”

  "Nantan and Red, yes. And Wolf will be, if he isn’t already. He took several rifle rounds at close range and is bleeding out fast.” Eric could see the rage in Luke’s eyes as the truth of this sunk in, leading him to ask the obvious:

  “WHY?”

  “All I can figure is that it was part of their operational plan all along. Someone didn’t want us talking about this later. Whether it was Major Langley or Burkett, I don’t know, but Burkett set this up, and I’m wondering now if he wasn’t just as involved with the Mexicans as Chief was. The entire C.R.I. organization probably is, but maybe Chief was double-dipping with their competition on the side?”

  “You mean the other cartel guys that were running this place?”

  “It’s possible. Burkett could have used us to help them get in here and set up this raid and probably told Weaver to tidy things up once the compound was secured by taking us out of the picture.”

  “There’s got to be more to it than that.”

  “Probably, but we can worry about that later. Right now, we need to take care of Lee. He’s the only other one of them that came inside with us. Have you seen him? Do you know where he is?”

  There was a total of six C.R.I. contractors taking part in the operation, including the now deceased Weaver and Royce. Three of the party remained on the overlooking ridge: McCullin and his spotter, Hawkins and a backup shooter named Johnson, who was there to provide additional cover fire. Eric wanted to locate Lee before he had a chance to escape and rendezvous with them, which he would probably try to do once he realized that McCullin had failed to neutralize all his targets and that Weaver and Royce were dead. “We need to take care of him first and then find a way to get those three on the ridge before they cut and run.”

  “I heard Weaver tell Lee to stay near the north gate and cover it in case there was still anyone inside that might try to slip out that way, but now I don’t know whether he was referring to the Mexicans, or to us.”

  “It doesn’t matter either way. If he’s out there at that gate, he doesn’t know that Weaver and Royce are down yet. Let me go take him out while you go back to Wolf. He doesn’t have much time left, if he has any at all.”

  Luke hesitated. Eric knew it was because he was torn between his rage and thirst for revenge and the desire to be there with his dying friend in his last moments.

  “Go Luke! I’ll get Lee. Don’t worry!”

  Luke nodded and took off. Eric wished there was time for him to return to Wolf’s side as well, as he’d promised the man he would be back, but he was determined to prevent Lee from escaping. Eric didn’t intend to let any of them get away with this, but he wanted to question at least one of them before he and Luke killed them all. It didn’t matter which one talked though, so Eric decided his best option was to take Lee down quickly so that he and Luke could close in on McCullin and the others before they were able to extract.

  Eric was furious that he hadn’t seen this coming and that he and his friends had been so thoroughly deceived. Nantan, Wolf and Red didn't deserve to die that way, shot down by men they trusted enough to fight alongside. They had put themselves at great risk to take this compound and had done their jobs under Weaver’s command with equal or greater competence than his own men. To be shot in the back by a member of their own team was simply unspeakable. Eric had been unable to prevent it, and he’d only saved himself and Luke from the same fate because he happened not to be the first in McCullin’s crosshairs. He’d gotten lucky once again, as he so often had through the course of his dangerous career, and like so many times before, he’d watched his brothers in arms fall while he inexplicably lived. Eric wasn’t one to dwell on survivor’s guilt however, as he knew his turn too would come one day. Until it did, he had work to do, and the first order of business was to avenge the fallen and prevent their killers from returning to report the success of their mission to those who ordered it.

  Eric found Lee at his post where he was supposed to be. He hadn’t expected any different, as he’d been around these men long enough to know they were disciplined and professional, at least to the extent that they were paid to be. Lee was following Weaver’s orders, and from where he’d taken up his position in a makeshift bunker the Mexicans had built at the entrance to the gate, he couldn’t have seen what had transpired in the vehicle shed, and Eric made his approach from an angle the man wasn’t concerned with. After parting with Luke, he’d exited the compound by going under the wire in an area where neither Lee nor those watching from the ridge could see him, and then he’d crawled low through the rocks and brush to circle around and approach the north gate from
the outside. Lee’s full attention was focused within, where he watched with his rifle to see if anyone would run out into the open and present a target, and so he remained unaware of the danger stalking him from behind. While Eric could have quietly closed the entire distance and taken him down alive, there was no time for that now with those other three still on that ridge. Eric shot him in the back of the head as he’d done with Weaver and then quickly made his way back inside the compound. When he reached the place where Wolf had fallen, Eric found Luke sitting in silence on the ground next to him.

  “Wolf has made his journey to the other side,” Luke said softly, when Eric crouched beside him.

  “I’m sorry, Luke. I regret that I got any of you involved in this business.”

  “It is as much our business as it is yours, Eric; more so, really, and you know it. It is our homeland that is threatened, so we would have been involved whether you were doing this for your family or not.”

  “I still feel like I had a lot to do with it…”

  Luke cut him off: “I heard another rifle shot. I assume you got Lee, or you wouldn’t be back here…”

  “He’s dead,” Eric said. “And now we need to get the rest of them before it’s too late. After we are finished, we will come back for Wolf and the others.”

  “Of course,” Luke said.

  “We can’t take that ridge if they’re still in position up there, not unless we wait until dark, but I doubt they’ll hold out that long, if they’re still there even now. With no radio contact from Weaver, I’m sure they’re already wondering what’s happening. Whether the three of them will come down here to investigate or bug out for the vehicles, I couldn’t say. I guess it depends on what their orders were.”

  “And whether killing us was as high a priority as taking out the compound in the first place,” Luke said.

  “Yeah, but if that was the case, they could have done it as soon as we handed Chief over to them. That’s what makes me wonder who gave that order. Was Major Langley involved, or did Burkett make that call on his own? Whoever ordered it knew it would be easy enough to say we were all killed in action out here, although I’m sure Burkett wasn’t expecting to lose Weaver and half of his men too. That’s what makes me think the other three up there are going to cut and run. They can report that the operation was a success, as far as taking out the Mexicans, and when they get back to base without us, it’ll be easy enough to tell the director the other part of the job was done too. Burkett knew what Chief was up to all along, I can almost guarantee it. He must have been in this just as deep, and if we hadn’t brought it to the attention of Major Langley, business would have gone on as usual. As it turned out, he had to cover his tracks, and taking us along to hit a small distribution center and waste a few cartel thugs from a rival organization was a perfect opportunity. That way it’s a message to their bosses as well.”