Through the Gate: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 1

by L J Dalton Jr

  “Found out these great for quickly attaching things together. Need a shelter, use the ties to rig it up.”

  When they got back, Mike and his uncle went over a map of where he was going to be hiking. His uncle had been there recently, but it was only an overnight backpacking trip. But he did give Mike the low down on the first day’s hike. Mike then put some red wine and herbs in a Ziplock bag, that then went into the refrigerator along with the ribeye. He’d put the steak in the Ziplock in the morning and cook it that evening. He’d also need a potato. He took one of the Idaho’s that his aunt had, split it, put butter in it and then wrapped it in aluminum foil. That went into the fridge. Next night’s diner was set. He then went out to his truck and retrieved the inserts. The inserts went into the vest. It was a bit of a pain as the holder was really designed for a hard plate, but he got them in. That was Level IIIa protection and was under two pounds. It would stop a .22 or even something bigger. His thought was it was better to paranoid rather than unprepared.

  His uncle brought a large Ziplock bag. It was filled with medical items. “Mike, this for your dad. He’s still a bit paranoid about things but getting better. This contains some medical supplies. There are two doses of Cipro. I know that we get anthrax scares, and this should take care of that. There are 4 Z-Paks, antibiotics. Now here are some pain pills. I’ve put in 20 Tramadol and 30 Tylenol #3 pills. The Tramadol is for really severe pain. The Tylenol #3 has codeine in it so it’s good for things like bruised ribs and stuff like that. There are also some forceps, a scalpel and a couple of suture kits. This should do for any emergencies. They are all good prescriptions. I’d appreciate it if you kept that in your pack until you got home.”

  “No problem, Uncle Sol. I don’t see why we need this stuff but if it’s a security blanket, than that’s good. I’ll keep it in the pack. I’m assuming you don’t want the truck robbed and the drugs to get on the street.”

  “Smart boy. Exactly.”

  That evening they went out to a local restaurant, Mike’s treat. The meal was great, and they ran into some of his aunt and uncle’s friends. All in all, a relaxing and enjoyable evening. Mike thanked them and went to bed.

  He got up early and quietly collected his stuff and left the house. There was a local breakfast and lunch place where he had an omelet, bacon and coffee. He got a large coffee to go and was on his way. After forty minutes of driving, he was looking for the turn off to the parking lot at the trail head. He knew it was on the left. As he was slowing down to turn, he noticed a late model sedan with three guys in it pass. One of the guys gave him the once over. It was gravel lot that had a narrow entrance and opened up once you got in. The trail head was on the left, but Mike pulled in and parked on the right. He got out and put on his vest. Then he opened the gun safe and took out the Glock. He just stood there for a few minutes hoping that he was being paranoid. Two minutes later the car he saw pulled in and blocked the exit. The three men the car got out. Two had baseball bats and one pulled out a gun. They started walking towards Mike. Mike had his iPhone out and snapped a couple of pictures.

  “Motherfucker we’re going to mess you up and take your stuff. What you think of that pussy?” They all laughed.

  Mike chambered a round turned on the laser sight and dropped down using the truck bed as cover and pointed his gun at the three. “GLOCK! Drop that shit turn around and put your hands behind your head or I’ll waste you.” He yelled.

  “You don’t have the balls to shoot us pussy.” One of them called out. But they looked nervous. The one in the middle looked down at the red dot centered right on his chest.

  “I’ve wasted a lot of assholes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wasting you three ass wipes would just help clean up my own country. I’m not telling you again. Drop that shit, turn around and hands behind your head. Don’t try and run, I’ll drop you before you get 10 feet.”

  The three hoodlums looked at each other and then one by one they dropped what they were holding. Mike took a tie out of his vest with one hand a fed the end through the lock by feel. With that done he stepped out. “Move away and put your hands where I told you.”

  Once they complied, he told them. “Now move, spread out a bit, I don’t want you bunched up.” He used the gun to motion each of them to move further away from the others. “Turn around and then kneel down.” Once they were kneeling and facing away from him, he stepped up to the first one and put the gun in his back. “Feel that, it’s a Glock, and my finger is one the trigger. Don’t make any sudden movements or I may accidently pull the trigger and your toast.” He then grabbed one of the hood’s hand and slipped the cable tie over it. He grabbed the other hand and put it the tie. The two wrists were crossed. Mike then tightened the tie. That one wasn’t going to use his hands. “On your face and don’t move.” Mike shoved him face down onto the ground. He did the same with the other two.

  The gun went back in the holster and the he took out his iPhone and dialed 911. Mike told him who he was, where he was and that the three hoods had tried to beat and rob him. They were now restrained, and would they kindly have the police come and take them away. As he was waiting one of them tried to get up and Mike calmly kicked him in the groin. That stopped him. In about ten minutes a cruiser roared up lights and sirens going. The cop jumped out gun drawn and headed to where Mike was.

  He thought he recognized him. “Ken, Ken I’m Mike Mulvaney. Sol Rosenberg is my uncle. I got a present for you.”

  The cop stopped and put his gun down. “Your Sol’s nephew. You the one in the Marines?”

  “Yeah, I’m out now and was getting ready to take in the colors when these three interrupted me.”

  At that point the one Mike had kicked started yelling. “Officer, Officer he kicked me in the nuts. He pointed a gun at us and threatened to kill us.”

  Ken turned to Mike. “You know Mike, cops aren’t allowed to kick prisoners in the nuts.”

  “I’m not a cop.”

  Ken smiled. “Hell, your right, you’re not a cop.” He turned to the one who was complaining. “Tough luck asshole, he’s not a cop, so he can kick you in the nuts. Your damn lucky, he just got back from combat. He could have put all three of you in the morgue. We’ve been looking for you three. We’ve got a nice cell just waiting for you.” He then picked up the mic on his shirt and triggered it. “This is Ken, I got three prisoners to transport. I could use a couple of extra cars. No need for lights and sirens, it’s all under control.”

  While they were waiting for the other cruisers to arrive, they shot the breeze. Talking about the military, hunting and fishing. Ken had hiked the trail and gave Mike some information. “Towards the end of the third day you’ll be climbing up a pretty good slope. Off to your left is a rock face. There’s a break in it, that’s I’d say 5 feet wide. Take it. It goes on for some 30 feet or so. It will let you out on to this flat area with a great view. The couple of times I’ve gone up the trail, I camped out there. The morning view is just spectacular. To keep going follow the rock face for about a ¼ mile and there’s a trail there that will take you back to the main trail.”

  Mike thanked him and said he’d try going through that notch. Soon two more cars arrived, and the three robbers were picked up and put in the back of the cars and driven off to jail. As two of the cruisers headed out Ken walked up to Mike. “Hate to ask you this but I’ve got to know about the Glock.”

  “I’ve got a gun safe under the front seat that’s bolted to the floor. It was in there until those three drove up. My uncle had told me about them, so I got the Glock and waited to see what they were up to.”

  “Can I see the safe?” asked Ken. Mike showed him the safe. “Yep, that’s all legal. You’re from North Carolina and you’re just passing through so you can have a gun locked up. I’ll just take a picture in case there’s any issue. Now, if I wasn’t a law enforcement officer. I’d suggest that you put that Glock in the bottom of your pack along with whatever else you don’t want bad guys to get. It wouldn’t be strict
ly legal, but nobody is going to go searching your backpack for a gun. Just speculating on what somebody who wasn’t a cop would suggest. You’re going to need to come down and swear out a complaint so we can keep them. Just follow me.” He got into his car and waited for Mike to get in behind him and drove off.

  When he got to the station, he filled out the complaint and showed the officers the pictures he’d taken. They asked him to email them to the station and he did. This took a few hours and he didn’t want to start off this late. Mike called his uncle and let him know what happened. After assuring him that he was OK, he found a Holiday Inn and checked in for the night. He stowed all his gear in his room and grabbed a set of civies he kept in the truck. He went to a local gas station and got a cheap cooler and some ice. He poured the marinade out of the Ziplock bag and put the steak and potato in the cooler. With all that taken care of, he went out for dinner and some wine. He woke up early the next morning to resume his hike.

  When he got back to the trail head, he started to think. He was going to be gone 8 days. There was an AR-10 and over 600 rounds of ammunition in the lockbox of his truck. Inside the truck was a Kevlar vest. The three thieves made him realize that that the truck could be ransacked or even hotwired and stolen. What Ken had told him also resonated. The truck was insured. What he didn’t want was for criminals to get their hands on the AR-10 and the vest. The vest and the ammo went in his backpack. The Glock and the extra magazine went into the gun case. There was a holster and one more magazine in there already. The gun case was attached to the backpack using the molle attachments. That’s what he loved about molle attachments. Didn’t need it anymore, take it off and put it away. Needed something else and you just attach it to the one of the heavy-duty nylon straps that are sown horizontally on the vest or backpack. That put the weight up to around what he humped around when in the service. Nothing to do about, it but get going. He didn’t want to stick his uncle with holding an illegal gun. It was legal in North Carolina, but New Jersey and especially New York had different ideas.

  He was ambivalent about gun control. He was for universal background checks and mandatory reporting. The only issue was whether the government’s lowest cost contractor could write the code to get it to work. He certainly didn’t want anyone firing off an AR-15 or AR-10 in his neighborhood in Montclair. Protecting your house that way was putting the people across the street and next to you in danger. A round could easily go through a window or wall and kill somebody. He didn’t trust that somebody wouldn’t panic and keep pulling the trigger. Tactical shotgun was the answer. It would take somebody down without endangering your neighbors. And your aim didn’t have to be great. Out here in the Adirondacks some of the people who live off the beaten path may want an AR style weapon to defend themselves. It wouldn’t be unreasonable. These mass shootings with AR style weapons scared the heck out of people. He also didn’t believe that somebody who wasn’t really well trained should start shooting at the bad guys when a lot of people where around. Of course, he had 5 20 round magazines with him. Only one had bullets, but heck on combat patrol normal was 7, he usually carried 8 or 9. Add in his two 25 round magazines and he was still had less than a normal combat load, but one hell of a load for a civilian.

  He was good example of somebody trained to use force. If those robbers had dropped their guns and taken off, he wouldn’t have shot them. Messed up their car yes. Shoot them no, they were running away; it was all a bluff. The thing was that he’d been trained and had very recent combat experience. He was used to having Rules of Engagement that stopped you from just blasting somebody. And if he had to shoot one or more of those guys, it would have been two in the chest. No hesitation. Training would have kicked in. He needed to think about that. That he could do that now was both good and bad. Where did it balance out on the scales? All this was something to consider. This was one reason for this multi-day trek. Think about things and get grounded.

  The first day on the trail was great. The trekking poles he was using made carrying the heavy backpack easier. The fall colors were in their full glory and the temperature was fine. It felt good to be home and hiking in familiar surroundings. Not the dusty deserts of Iraq or the mountains of Afghanistan. Another good point was that nobody was trying to kill him. He did realize that it was ironic that he was as heavily armed as he was on any combat patrol he’d ever been one. He was also carrying more ammo and ammo that weighed more. He’d have steak and baked potato tonight instead of an MRE. Another point for this hike.

  He reached the first campground around 3:30 in the afternoon. His uncle was right. There were several of those crappy camp stoves on pedestals. None of the grills looked clean enough to even consider using. He got to setting up camp. He picked out two sturdy trees and put up the hammock. Then just in case he put the rain tarp up over the hammock. That done, he went around and picked up small sticks for a fire. He went a few yards further into the woods to find some bigger wood. He found a couple of large dead branches that he cut up and brought back to the stove. He used his KA-Bar to shave some of the wood into tinder. No flint and steel, although he had it. No making a fire bow. Mike was going to use a good old kitchen match to start the fire and he did. He got a good fire going and then let it burn down to coals. He’d brought along two half bottles of reasonably good red. They’d been the largest size Ziplock. They also had the advantage of being screw top. One was going to be for diner the other for later. After capturing three hoodlums, he deserved a reward.

  He put the potato in the hot coals; he'd give it about 40 minutes. Then he put the aluminum foil on the grill and the steak. 4 ½ minutes per side was what he figured, as he liked it medium rare. As soon as it was done it came off the grill. He had an aluminum plate that was part of his cooking gear. The steak went on the plate to rest and he got the baked potato out of the coals. He should have a salad. But he was a meat and potatoes man. The wine went into an aluminum cup. He had a combination fork-spoon and his KA-Bar was his steak knife. The meal was great. There was something about food in the outdoors especially in the fall that made it taste even better than normal. He sat under the stars drinking the wine and just relaxed. When he finished the wine, he got ready for bed. He peed against a couple of trees. Someone once told him it discouraged bears. He had to pee, so it was worth a try. Once he was in his sleeping bag, he quickly fell fast asleep.

  The next day he was on the trail again early in the morning. He’d woken up with the sun. Cleaned up and packed his things. He’d disposed of last night’s meal properly, so he was good. The hike felt good. He’d been afraid that the solitude would get to him. It didn’t, he just went along observing the scenery. That seemed to put his mind in a quiet place. A lot of built up stress that he didn’t even know that he had seemed to slip away along with the miles.

  The next camping site was more rugged than the first. It did warn of no open fires. That wasn’t a problem as Mike dug out the small portable camp stove. It quickly boiled the pot of water he was going to use to reconstitute his freeze-dried chicken stew. The meal was pretty good. Not nearly as good as the steak, but a step above MRE. He’d set his camp up the same way with a hammock and tarp over it. Once again, he peed on a couple of different trees. He went to bed soon after it became really dark.

  The next morning while going along the trail he had his first real encounter with wildlife. About 50 yards ahead of him a mother black bear with two cubs was crossing the trail. He stopped and stood still. She looked at him once and kept going. He took the bear spray out of its holder and had it ready. After she’d ambled off, he waited 15 minutes just to make sure that she was gone. Moving forward, he made as much noise as he could. He wanted the bear to know that a human was coming and hopefully she and her cubs would take off. As went further away from the trail head he saw more wildlife. Whitetails, no more bears thankfully.

  Attack on Vinfarm

  Samual.

  Samual waited in his office for word that the Grand Tour had started. He was a p
atient man and he busied himself with his normal business. Finally, one day he received a message that it had started. His first wife Renatia, would run the business and would take care of the one child still at home. She was very competent and had helped build his trading business. She had some idea that he had an important sideline, but she never really wanted to know much about. His second wife, Lucia, would come with him.

  Samual set out for Midport in Nordia. He had established an office there the year before and was known as Samual, by the locals. His path would take him over the Nordia Pass and through Vinfarm and then down to the River Road and then east to Midport. For the journey he traveled by carriage with his wife, two drivers and two guards. The guards were actually members of the Assassins’ Guild and were part of another backup plan that Samual had. Prior to setting out he’d sent a message to Bart on when he had to be at the ambush site. He'd also let him know when the royal family was a day away. Arrangements had been made for the royal family to be taken from the valley.

  It was a long way to travel, but his cover as a trader and merchant gave him a good excuse for taking the trip. As he was going through the Nordia Pass, they stopped to talk with the Nordia guardsmen that were manning the pass. A small garrison had been stationed there since Bart’s raid on the caravans. Duke Edwin had almost caught the men. Now the garrison had been strengthened and the men were there along with their families from spring to fall when the pass was open. They went back to either Midport or Great Falls in the winter. Samual was pleased to see that they didn’t keep any birds to send messages.

  It took another day to get to Vinfarm. Vinfarm was known for its wines, cheeses and wool. It was a thriving farming community just off the road from the pass to the River Road. Samual had been there before. He’d visited the two previous years while establishing his cover. It was a profitable cover, because he ordered wines and cheeses from there and sold them for a profit in the south. Vinfarm was much like a co-operative. Everyone worked at the various tasks and they all shared in the profits.