Fall of Houston Series | Book 5 | No Man's Land

by Payne, T. L.

  “You’ve been ordered to remain here.”

  Will stepped in front of the MP. The MP’s right hand dropped to the pistol holstered on his hip. Will and his squad had been disarmed before they entered the barracks, but that fact didn’t seem to make Will any less of a threat, it appeared. Who ordered us confined here?” Will asked, attempting to keep his tone non-threatening. It wouldn’t help if he got himself arrested.

  “Lieutenant Birch,” the young MP said, squaring his shoulders. “You need to step back inside and stay put.”

  Birch? Lieutenant Birch was with the 504th Military Intelligence Brigade out of Fort Hood—the same unit that sent Troy and Pete, off to infiltrate the Region Five command and spy on General Dempsey.

  Walker approached and placed his hand on Will’s shoulder. “He’s just concerned about the rest of our platoon,” Walker said to the MP and pulled Will back a step or two.

  The MP’s facial features softened and his hand dropped to his side. He nodded an acknowledgment. “I hope you hear something soon.”

  Will turned and sat down on a cot. As the rest of the squad washed up and sprawled out on their bunks, Will paced, trying to figure out what was going on. His growing fear for Isabella was making him desperate for news. He had to risk it. He had to get out of there and find someone who would tell him what was happening with his wife.

  Twenty-Nine

  Stephens

  Fort Leonard Wood Army Base

  Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

  July 15th

  Event + Ten Months

  Getting to Fort Leonard Wood wasn’t any easier than the rest of the mission. They’d once again come under fire and had to use valuable ammunition to defend themselves. Stephens was impressed with the professionalism of these Marines she’d somehow managed to hook up with. If anyone could get the job done, these men would find a way.

  Once they reached the airfield at Fort Leonard Wood, soldiers stopped them two hundred yards from the plane.

  Rank stood staring at the C-130 cargo plane with his mouth open. “It’s all true. There really is a functioning military, and legitimate government officials running things.”

  “Where’s the cargo, Stephens?” Colonel Sharp asked as he approached her. She gave Sharp the abbreviated version of what had happened and what they were needing in order to complete her mission. He immediately assembled a team and they were ready to head out.

  Sharp turned back toward the Marines and smiled. “I was wondering what happened to ZZ Top.”

  Rank raised his eyebrows, and Ryan and Lugnut looked at each other not knowing what to make of the colonel’s comment.

  “They’re Marines, Colonel,” Stephens said. “They’re some of the most competent guys I’ve ever worked with. And they’re going to help us get that cargo.”

  “Is that right," Sharp said, looking them up and down. Your country will be grateful for your loyal service—even with impressive beards like those. You Marines ready for this?” Sharp asked.

  Rank eyed Sharp’s Ranger patch and smirked. “Ready? We’re rough boys—”

  “And we gotta get paid,” Lugnut cut in.

  “Not until you get your legs and tushes into those four Humvees and let's get ‘er done—don’t let me catch you sleeping inside your sleeping bags during this mission—stay alert, stay alive,” Sharp said, turning toward his Humvee with a grin. “Consolidate your ammo on the way. Your vehicles are already loaded with food, water, and more ammunition. You’ll have to deal with MREs—no TV dinners were available.”

  Let’s get this show on the road,” Stephens said, tiring of the ZZ Top song references.

  “We were just waiting for the bus,” Ryan said as they all turned to follow Sharp toward the Humvees.

  The convoy slowed to a stop near Nelson’s ranch and everyone exited their vehicles.

  “We’re assuming they have comms, right?” Sharp asked.

  “Yeah. They have radios. Not long-range, but they can definitely communicate within the compound,” Ryan said.

  “And sentries? You sure they don’t have lookout posts this far out?” Sharp asked.

  “They may have lookouts in the farm on the right about mile from here. Leave them to Rank and me. Give us a twenty-minute lead. We’ll clear the way,” Lugnut said.

  Sharp turned to the rest of the team. “Gear up. Just ammo. Nothing rattling. We need the element of surprise.”

  As everyone tightened up their gear, Rank and Lugnut took off toward the Nelson farm.

  Thirty minutes later, Lugnut and Rank came running from down the drive chasing a box truck as it tore out of the driveway from the ranch.

  “The gold is in that box truck,” came through the radio. “Don’t let it get away,” Rank said.

  Stephens and Sharp jumped into their Humvee and took off after it.

  The Humvee driver stopped beside Lugnut and Rank. Stephens waved for them to get in. “Hurry. We need to catch that truck,” she yelled.

  Before Rank could get the door closed, Maddie appeared out of nowhere. “Scoot over,” she growled as she climbed into his lap.

  “What the hell is she doing here?” Stephens asked.

  “They’ve got my brother,” Maddie yelled, pounding on the driver’s seat. “Catch them.”

  “When Nelson spotted us, he took off for the truck. He knew we were coming for him,” Lugnut said as the driver stomped on the gas and they took chase after the Nelson. Two more Humvees had pulled in behind them.

  “Bravo Team, you watch our six. Don’t let any of his men catch up with us. Alpha Team, be ready. We don’t know what all he had in there with him.”

  The box truck was a half mile ahead when it turned right into a subdivision and the convoy followed them. There was going to be a gun battle. There was no way Nelson was going to give up without a fight, and Sharp and Stephens were not leaving without their gold.

  “Alpha Four, dismount and take the right side of the street. We’ll go left,” Colonel Sharp radioed.

  “Gilbert, dismount the .50 cal. Brent, get over here. You’re the gunner’s assistant. You two take cover over there by that boulder and prepare to rock.”

  “Where are the guards?” Lugnut asked.

  “Three guards took off around the beige house with the red door,” Stephens said.

  “Gilbert, cover us,” Sharp said, disappearing around the boulder.

  Gilbert and his battle buddy got up and ran ahead, crossed the street, and dropped into the tall grass next to the house on the east corner of the adjacent street. Sharp, Stephens, and Lugnut followed soon after.

  Sharp smacked Gilbert on the back and Gilbert went to work firing at a house on the next street. Stephens couldn't see what or who they were shooting at.

  Maddie slid in next to Stephens. “What are you doing here?”

  The girl gave Stephens a dirty look. “Long story, but that asshole Nelson kidnapped my brother, Zach.”

  “He what?”

  “Listen, I don’t give a flying flip about your damn gold, lady. I’m here to get my brother back—alive.”

  “I don’t understand,” Stephens said. She was trying to make sense of it all. “Did they come to your farm?” Stephens asked but the thunderous noise of the .50 caliber weapon drowned out all other sounds.

  “I caught shrapnel,” Gilbert’s battle buddy yelled.

  “You bleeding?”

  “I’m fine,” Gilbert yelled as he charged the .50 cal. again and continued sending rounds down the block. It wasn’t true—blood ran down the man’s shirt, but he remained engaged in the battle.

  Using a U-Haul truck parked at the curb for cover, Lugnut, Stephens, and Sharp slowly moved toward Gilbert. Stephens was returning fire. She felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped. Sharp pulled her back toward the front of the truck and stepped in front of her. He poked the rifle barrel through the jagged hole in the side window and sent three-round bursts of rifle fire at the advancing men.

  Seconds later, Sharp’s radio
came to life. “Alpha One, Alpha Three is advancing on your position.”

  “Alpha Three, Alpha One is in heavy contact with six to eight shooters to the right front of the U-Haul truck. Gilbert’s down,” Sharp radioed.

  As Alpha Three’s team engaged the shooters to their right, Sharp pushed forward toward Stephens and Gilbert’s position. The two men appeared ahead, throwing their hands in the air. “Whoa! Whoa there. You’re with Zach, right?”

  Maddie ran up to them and grabbed hold of one of the men’s arms. She was asking about her brother when Sharp stepped between them.

  “Which direction did Nelson and his men go?” Sharp asked.

  The men pointed over their shoulders. “That way. There’s a farm at the back of the subdivision,” one yelled.

  Everyone ran in that direction. The street ended at a tall steel gate. There was a wooden privacy fence surrounding the property. It appeared there might be explosives planted along it. They’d need to find another way in. Maddie and Rank went north along the fence while everyone else headed south.

  After finally working their way around to the back of the property, Stephens stopped in her tracks. Nelson was running toward the shed at the back of the property. The back of the white box van protruded from the structure. If he made it to the vehicle, he could flee and disappear on the backroads and be out of the county before Stephens and her team could stop him.

  The man was less than fifty feet from the van when Maddie appeared from around the corner of one of the outbuildings. She was running after the man. How had Maddie arrived there before them? Where was Rank?

  Stephens cursed loudly as the man climbed into the van. He was seconds away from again taking off with her gold. Maddie raised a rifle and fired, and the man slumped forward in his seat. The van’s horn sounded, and the vehicle lurched backward. Maddie scrambled to get out of the way. She took off running as fast as she could, diving over a stack of railroad ties as the vehicle plowed into the fuel drums and burst into flames. Rank appeared and ran over to rescue Maddie, pulling her to safety. Seconds later, Aims and Harding appeared with a teenage boy. How had all these people made it here before her? How did they even know where the gold had been taken? At the moment, the answers to those questions didn’t much matter. All that mattered was getting that gold back to Fort Leonard Wood and on that plane to Houston.

  “Who caused this mess?” Stephens joked as she approached Maddie. Looking down at her, she asked, “You okay, kid?”

  “I’m good.”

  She didn’t look good. She’d been shot. Blood covered her shirt.

  “We have a doctor back on post. Follow us back and let him take a look at you,” Stephens said.

  Maddie looked to Rank. “You should go let them patch you up, kid,” he said.

  “We’ve lost a lot of good soldiers here today. We could use your help with security getting that shipment back to base and on that plane,” Stephens said to Rank.

  Rank scooped Maddie up into his arms and turned to face Stephens. “I can do that.”

  “I’ll go with you and make sure the gold gets on the plane,” Lugnut said. “We left our horses there at the airport, anyway.”

  They were too close to fail now. “Let’s get that gold loaded then get you to Fort Leonard Wood and get you fixed up, Maddie,” Stephens said.

  “Alpha Two, move the truck over here and get this loaded up,” Sharp called into his radio.

  Forty-five minutes later, they were pulling through the front gate of Fort Leonard Wood. The soldiers wasted no time getting the gold loaded onto the plane while the pilots began their pre-flight checks.

  Aims, Harding, and Stephens were huddled in the door of the hangar watching the flurry of activity when Aims drew a deep breath. “I’ll be damned.”

  “What is it,” Stephens said, raising her rifle, expecting another enemy attack.

  “You got binos?” he asked.

  She reached into her pack and handed a pair to Aims who pressed them to his face, and then lowered them slowly. He pointed. Rank pivoted to see what he’d been pointing at. “What is it?” Stephens asked.

  “There’s your spy.”

  “What? Who?”

  Aims handed Stephens the binos. “The Latino female,” he said.

  Stephens gasped. Martinez! Brad “the Cad’s” Martinez. If this was true, she’d infiltrated their intelligence team and Dempsey likely knew everything. Everything that Brad knew, anyway. And if she was right about Sharp, Dempsey knew absolutely every aspect of their mission immediately as it had all unfolded.

  “You’re sure?” Stephens asked. “You know for sure Martinez is one of Dempsey’s spies?”

  “Absolutely. I don’t know what she’s calling herself now, but that’s Simone Perez.”

  “How can you be so sure? Maybe she just looks like someone...”

  Aims cut her off. “We were lovers. I know every inch of her.”

  Colonel Sharp rode up on a golf cart. Stephens had to inform him—it may still be too late to complete the mission, depending on what Perez knew and what she had communicated to Dempsey. The damage may already be too great to recover from. She needed to tell Sharp now. Stephens pulled him aside as he dismounted his golf cart. When she had finished speaking to Sharp, Sharp approached Aims.

  “Deputy Director Gerald Aims?”

  “Former deputy director. I was relieved of duty,” Aims replied. “By whom?” Sharp asked.

  “General Dempsey.”

  “By what authority?”

  “By his order to have me murdered,” Aims said.

  “You know this for a fact?”

  “FEMA Regional Director Reginald Harding, sir,” Harding said, interrupting, and stretching out his hand. “Yes, Aims and I were both on Dempsey’s kill list. We were forced to leave our posts and run for our lives.”

  “And you believe Dempsey has planted a spy within my unit?”

  “I know he has, Colonel. Your Latino private over there is one of his top deputies. She’s been working with him for over a decade. She’s no soldier,” Harding said.

  The colonel’s face paled and he reached for a radio attached to his belt. “I hope you’re wrong, Harding. If you’re right, our mission may be completely compromised.” He turned toward the plane and pressed the mic, and radioed for Perez to be brought to him.

  As Perez arrived under escort, rather than appearing surprised, the sultry spy dressed as a soldier smiled as if she still had the upper hand.

  “How long have you been with this outfit?” Aims asked her.

  “A while. A few months,” Perez replied, placing a hand on her hip and cocking her head to one side. She looked him up and down.

  “What's Dempsey up to?”

  Perez threw her head back. “I wouldn’t know. I’m enlisted down south with this unit.”

  Aims shoved his hands into his pockets. “You’ve been feeding him information about their missions.” It wasn’t a question.

  Perez laughed.

  Sharp’s jaw clenched, his hands balled into fists. “I’ve heard enough. Harris, take her into custody. Make sure she gets nowhere near a phone or radio,” Sharp said.

  “See you around, Aims,” Perez said as Harris grabbed her arm. She looked back over her shoulder as she was led away. Her cavalier attitude was foolish. Her looks wouldn’t save her this time. She may have been able to charm Brad Smith and maybe even Colonel Sharp—Stephens wasn’t sure, but she’d committed treason. President Latham wouldn’t find that at all endearing. Treason was punishable by death—she had to know that, yet she wasn’t the slightest bit concerned. Why?

  With the gold loaded and everyone strapped in for the flight to Little Rock to refuel, and then on to Houston, Stephens was starting to relax. Against impossible odds, they’d accomplished the mission—so far—and they would meet their deadline, barring any additional unforeseen Perez-leveraged circumstance. The nation would be able to purchase the weapons and ammunition needed to continue the fight against the
Russians on the west coast, and hopefully go after Dempsey. With Aims and Harding choosing to join them in making sure the gold made it to Houston, they’d provide great additional insight into Dempsey’s operation. She imagined the chance to begin rebuilding the nation was what appealed to Rank; why he had chosen to leave his friends—break up the band—and come along to deliver the gold to its final destination as well. The military could certainly use a man with his skills and knowledge. Aims and Harding looked deep in thought as they prepared to leave. Their knowledge would be invaluable to the new government. This could be the game changer the nation needed to get back on its feet.

  Thirty

  Will

  Little Rock Military Base

  Little Rock, Arkansas

  July 15th

  Event + Ten Months

  “Come on, McDougall. I know you’ve heard something. You can tell me. They’re from my platoon. I know the parameters of the mission. I just need to know if Isabella’s squad made it to the rally point. Can you at least give me that much?”

  Private First Class Christy McDougall stared back at Will. She and Isabella were friends. It was a small base, the female soldiers all bunked together. She was aware that Will and Isabella were married. Technically, they shouldn’t have been assigned to the same platoon, but Stephens had once again pulled some strings for them.

  “We received word to expect Sharp’s plane to land within the hour,” McDougall said.

  She backed away from the door and closed it in Will’s face. She’d divulged all the classified information she was comfortable sharing. With the sensitivity of this mission, even giving out that much could get her a courts martial. Although the information hadn’t given Will the answers he was seeking, he now knew where and when he might find some. He’d be there when the plane landed. He prayed that his wife was on it. All Will had to do now was evade the MPs and get close enough to the runway to see the plane when it landed.