by Warren Ray
The three of them walked inside, stepping over the dead.
“Isn’t that right Meeks?”
Meeks turned. “What?”
“You being famous and all.”
Meeks hit his forehead with his hand. “Oh yeah, can you believe it, and I had just finished filling out the check-in form using a fake name.”
Scar laughed.
“But leave it to ole Scar here to come up with a whopper. You should have seen him in action even strongly suggesting to them to get their guns out of his face. If I hadn’t been so nervous, I would have peed my pants from laughing so hard.”
Scar grinned.
“How’d you take them out?” asked Elliott.
“As we walked in, I had Meeks turn and face me, I looked behind him and saw everyone facing away from us, so we pulled out our guns and boom, they're done for.”
“Yeah, that son-of-a-bitch went down first,” said Meeks, pointing to Red Beard.
“What now, Captain?” asked Elliott.
“No point in hiding the dead anymore is there, Captain?” asked Meeks.
“No, can’t say there is, let’s get out of here,” said Winters.
“Only after we grab that beautiful American flag out front,” said Scar.
As the four of them walked back outside, they heard a vehicle come screaming down the street toward them.
Chapter 39
Winters with the other three, stood behind a truck bed holding their weapons as they watched the Ford F-150 skid into the parking lot. The truck stopped and out jumped Nate.
“What’s happened? What are you doing here?”
“To tell you the damn friggin army came in and shot up our camp. They’ve got everyone prisoner.”
“What? When did this happen?”
“Just over an hour ago.”
“Anyone get killed?”
“Some did, not sure how many though.”
Winters took off his hat and scratched his head. “They have everybody?”
“No, Burns, Murphy and I were still out getting supplies when they attacked. We were coming back when they moved across the field to the camp.”
“They didn’t execute them?”
“No! I mean, we thought for sure they were goners, especially the way the soldiers came in shooting the damn place up. Hell, they took out most of the vehicles. Our guys weren’t able to put up much of a fight, after a minute or so they waved a white flag.”
Elliott turned to Scar. “People actually do that? I thought that was just something from the movies.”
“Hell, with those M2’s blasting away,” said Scar. “I’d probably wave one too.”
Elliott turned back to Nate. “How long did you stay? I mean are you sure they’re still prisoners?”
“I don’t know, and I’m not sure how they’re gonna to move them all, cuz they showed up in Humvees.”
Winters asked. “Where’s Burns and Murphy now?”
“They’re keeping an eye on things.”
Meeks broke in. “What are we going to do, Captain?”
Without hesitation, he answered. “We’re going to go get our men back.”
They turned to each other and nodded in agreement.
“That’s what I like about you, Captain,” said Meeks. “No fear and you got our backs.”
Winters grunted to himself and then swallowed hard. Little did they know how scared he was, and worried about how to get them back, or if they would even succeed. All he knew for sure was he had to try to rescue his men.
They all headed for their vehicles.
Scar stopped. “Hold on a minute.”
He hustled back to the building, reached up and grabbed the big flag hanging by the door. “Now we can go.”
An hour later, the three vehicles were still speeding up the interstate. Nate took the lead, then Elliott and Winters with Scar and Meeks bringing up the rear. Winters sat in the passenger seat and thought the only good thing about the lack of fuel and an ever-dwindling population was—no traffic.
He tipped his head back and look up at the roof tapping his fingers on the seat. As fast as they were traveling, it wasn't fast enough. His thoughts raced from scenario to scenario that could be happening to his men right now. They had to get them back, even if it meant dying. If he didn’t, he’d never be able to live with himself.
Nate slowed down to exit the interstate. He didn’t bother obeying the stop sign and swung a hard right continuing north on a county highway. A few miles up, he turned into a field, which led them to the wooded area where Burns and Murphy were keeping an eye on the situation. After they parked their vehicles, Burns came out to meet them.
“Captain, am I ever glad Nate found you.”
Winters extended his hand to him. “So are we. What’s been happening?”
Burns gripped Winters' hand tightly. “They’ve just been waiting around. They shot up the transports, so we figure they had to send for some more.”
“How many killed?”
“Can’t say for sure but quite a few, they’ve been burying them right there.”
They all walked further into the woods and found Murphy peering through a pair of binoculars. “Guys, you’re a sight for sore eyes,” he said, letting his binoculars fall to his chest. “Transport trucks just pulled in and they’re loading up our guys.”
“Which way did they come from?” asked Winters.
Burns pointed. “From the south.”
They kept hidden from view as they watched what was going on.
“What’s our play, Captain?” asked Meeks.
Winters considered their predicament for a few moments. “Do we have that RPG with us?”
“In the back of my truck,” said Scar.
Meeks chuckled. “Never leave home without it.”
“Hell no.”
Chapter 40
Marquette County Wisconsin
To be able to take his men away back from the Army with only seven men, Winters' options were limited. So, he decided to, once again, rely on a tactical ambush. They determined their best plan would be to try to intercept them before they got onto the interstate. They mounted up and took off to be in place before the military could get ahead of them. The five pickups reached the end of the field, took a left, and headed toward the interstate. Having faster vehicles gave them plenty of time to set up.
A huge warehouse sat next to the entrance ramp of I-39. Elliott crashed through the gate of the chain-link fence that surrounded the empty building. The parking lot wrapped around to the back of the building where they parked, grabbed their weapons, and after climbing the fence, walked through a narrow, wooded area onto the entrance ramp.
Scar scanned the ramp. “This will do, Captain.”
They split into two groups: Burns, Murphy, Elliott and Nate would take the tail end of the convoy, while Scar, Meeks and Winters took the lead. They all hid behind trees and waited.
The wait seemed endless to Meeks. “They are taking forever,” he complained.
“We’re not waiting for sports cars,” replied Scar.
“Yeah, but still.”
It wasn't too much longer before they all heard the bellow of the engines in the distance. The transports downshifted to slow down, and one by one, they took the turn onto the ramp. In the lead, as expected, was a Humvee followed by another, behind them were five transports. Still turning onto the ramp and bringing up the rear were the remaining Humvees.
The lead Humvee started to pick up speed when Scar carrying the AT4, ran onto the road about thirty yards in front of it.
It came to an abrupt halt. Winters and Meeks both ran up to the lead Humvees sticking their rifles into the rolled down windows.
Winters pointed his weapon right at Major Green’s face. “Don’t make a friggin move. My boy up there is itching to try out the RPG, you so graciously left on the field for us.”
Green smirked. “RPG huh? You sure he knows how to use that thing?”
“My, aren’t we
pompous,” commented Winters.
Green grunted.
“I want you to get out of the vehicle slowly. Major Green, is it?”
Green did as he was told. “So, you can read name tags. Funny, I don’t see one on you. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?”
“That’s not important right now. The important thing is, you’ve got my men and I want them back.”
“You mean all those old men I had no trouble rounding up?” Green retorted.
“Yeah, well you forgot a few of us, and it would seem we now have the upper hand.”
“At the moment, old man.”
“Tell your men not to make any threatening moves. If they do, I can assure you, you’ll be the first one I take down.”
Green slowly picked up the radio mic and reluctantly, once again, did what he was told.
Meeks ran to the back of each transport and was greeted with cheers as the Shadow Patriots jumped out of the vehicles. They ran to the side of the road and grabbed all the Colt M4's away from the soldiers. They then ordered them out and onto the ground.
Green gave him a scornful look. “Now what, old man, are you going to murder us like you’ve been doing?”
With a calm and steady voice, Winters responded. “I’m no murderer, Major.”
“No? What about that grenade you left behind? You killed two of my men.”
“Two of your men? Is that all? Your damn Patriot Centers have been murdering us by the hundreds.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Winters considered his response for a moment and then realized the reason for Green’s line of questioning when he had pulled them over. “You really don’t know, do you?”
Green didn’t respond.
“What’s been happening at these Patriot Centers,” continued Winters.
Green responded disdainfully. “What I do know is you guys have been killing innocent workers at these centers.”
“We’re fighting because they’ve been killing us, Major. That’s what these centers are all about.”
Green shook his head. “I don’t believe you. Why would they be doing such a thing, and if that’s the case, why don’t I know about it?”
Winters stared at him ignoring the question. “What I’m telling you is the truth. If you don’t believe me, then go to each of the drop-off locations and walk around them. You’ll find each one has a mass grave site filled with the dead. Perhaps your Colonel has been keeping things from you, Major.”
Meeks walked up. “Captain, everyone is secure.”
“Captain is it? You’re in charge of these men?”
Winters didn’t respond.
“What you’re saying is the truth?” asked Green in a quieter voice.
“My friends, people I grew up with, are laying in one of those pits, I watched them being gunned down, Major.”
“If what you’re telling me is the truth, I can assure you, I wasn’t aware of it,” said Green earnestly.
“Had you known, would you have stopped it?”
“I have orders to follow.”
Scar had walked up and looked at Green harshly. “You’re not obligated to follow unlawful orders.”
“Ex-military?”
“Marine.”
Green straightened up. “Well, this isn’t the same country you served, we have new laws and new directives. If someone is considered an enemy of the state, they will be arrested.”
“Including a bunch of old guys,” said Winters. “Welcome to the new National Government where all the old rules are out the door. Funny, you don’t hear anything about these murders in the media. They must want to keep them a secret.”
“Sounds to me like they’re afraid of an uprising,” said Scar.
“Well, they’re getting one and it started with the Iowa Center,” said Winters.
“You won’t win, Captain,” said Green mockingly.
“Why the hell not?”
“Because this operation must…”
Winters interrupted. “Operation Wildflower?”
Green gave him a quizzical look.
“I believe that’s what it's called.”
“Well, Operation Wildflower must be damn important to them. Because of your activities, Washington has directed the National Police to take over and put a stop to your little rebellion.”
“The National Police?”
“Yes, they’ve even sent the Commandant from Washington out here to take over.”
“Commandant?” asked Winters.
“He’s in charge of the National Police.”
“The government sent their top guy?” Winters paused wondering the significance of the National Police taking over.
“What are you going to do with us?”
Winters gave Scar a nod to follow him off to the side.
“Cocky son-of-a-bitch, isn’t he?”
Scar agreed.
Nate walked up. “We should kill these bastards.”
Winters shook his head. “They’re prisoners, Nate.”
“Yeah, so what? If you saw the way they came in with guns blazing, you might think differently.”
Winters glared at Nate.
“Hey, they killed some of my friends.”
Winters tried to keep his voice under control. “I understand, but we don’t kill prisoners. Nor do they. As you can see the rest of our guys are alive and they even treated out wounded.”
Nate stomped off.
Winters understood Nate’s frustration, seeing friends killed was not an easy thing.
He turned back to Scar. “Let’s take everything we can use from these guys, smash their radios and flatten their tires.”
“Can’t flatten Humvee tires,” said Scar.
“You can’t?”
“Nope.”
“I did not know that. So, what do we do then?”
“Ask Nate.”
“Ask me what?” he responded hearing his name.
“We need to disable the Humvees,” said Winters.
“No problem, we’ll just cut the battery cables.”
Winters turned back to Scar. “We’ll take the transports to get everyone out of here. We should tie the soldiers up too. Let them work up a sweat.”
The Shadow Patriots moved down the column of trucks, taking whatever they needed. They also informed the soldiers, why they had taken up arms. Some of them became angry when they learned the truth. Others didn’t believe them or didn’t care.
Winters walked over to Scar who was tying Major Green’s hands.
“Despite what you think Major, we don’t murder people, even when we don’t have the capability of taking prisoners. So, this is your lucky day.”
Undeterred Green replied. “It is my lucky day. I now know what I’m up against and it isn’t much. I can promise you, Captain, we will meet again.”
“Major, I have no doubt I’ll have the pleasure of tying you up, again.” Winters turned to Scar and winked.
Scar looked down at Green. “Or perhaps, you could get yourself a conscience or a set of balls and come join us, we could always use a good soldier.”
“That’ll be the day,” Green responded quickly.
Scar laughed. “A set balls or a conscience?”
Green didn’t bother to respond as Scar and Winters walked away from him chuckling to themselves. The Shadow Patriots climbed aboard their rides and left, leaving the soldiers to squirm on the ground as they tried to loosen their bonds.
Winters fell into his seat with a straighter back and let out a sigh of relief. Getting his men back without firing a shot was a job well done. He took a moment to soak it all in before getting back to the problem at hand. He glanced over at Elliott who, since he was driving with just one hand appeared relieved.
“The head honcho of the National Police is here,” said Winters.
“Can only mean one thing, Cole,” said Elliott. “It’s like the old man said, the whole stinking government is behind this.”
“Indeed they are.” He paused for a moment. “I don’t know how or where this will end. I’m not sure how we’re supposed to win or what winning even looks like now. We’re barely hanging on as it is, Elliott.”
“We just keep going, kill as many of them as we can.”
“It’s not good enough. They’ll just keep sending more men, till they get what they want. They’ll never stop.”
The ominous statement hung out there like a cold, damp cloud putting a chill over their successful rescue operation.
Chapter 41
A cargo ship pulled into Port Duluth-Superior soon after midnight. The dock was empty of workers. Inside the ship, there was five hundred men from the Middle East. They had been quartered at the decommissioned Fort Drum Army Post in NY. Their training, which had just begun, had been interrupted by unforeseen events.
Their timetable had been moved up and now their voyage through the Great Lakes via the St Lawrence Seaway ended. It was the beginning of a long-awaited Jihad for these men. They had come to America, the Great Satan, to destroy her.
* * * * *
Washington D.C.
“You think Boxer can round up these rebels?” asked the billionaire George Perozzi, who was in his seventies. Although he was failing miserably, he made a desperate attempt to hang on to whatever youth he imagined was left, by spending a lot of time working out. He sat at a booth with Lawrence Reed in a District restaurant having a late night drink. Reed was a man who loved a good steak and it showed. His waist was bigger than his chest. He wore wire-rimmed glasses that sat too low on his nose. He and Perozzi were enjoying a Double Corona cigar.
“Commandant Boxer is quite capable. He’ll have these rebels rounded up in no time,” said Reed.
Perozzi paused and took a pull on his cigar. “Regardless, I’ve decided to make some changes in our plans.”
“Oh, how so?”
“That little something we were saving for later.”
“The terrorist cell you’ve been funding?”
Perozzi nodded and let out a cloud of smoke.
“How many men?”
“All of them.”
Reed snickered. “All five hundred? That’s a small army you’ve let loose.”