“Don’t worry about it. We got one of them alive. That’s all we need if we can make him talk.”
“Oh, we can make him talk, brother. Leave that part to us if you like.”
Eric followed Tommy over to where Luke and Nantan were talking to Red, his arm now bandaged, and the bleeding stopped.
“It didn’t hit any bones,” Luke said. “And it went all the way through.”
“Yeah, just a flesh wound, man,” Red agreed. “I won’t say it doesn’t hurt like hell, but I’m lucky, I guess. A lot luckier than the dude I was choking out.”
“What about him? Has he said anything yet?” Eric looked at Nantan and nodded at the prisoner. He was standing with his back against a small tree, his hands restrained behind it with one of his own zip ties he’d intended to use on Eric.
“Nothing other than calling us a bunch of murderers and bandits for killing his buddies.”
“They are C.R.I. contractors if the I.D. badges I found in the truck are legit.”
Like Tommy, Nantan had never heard of the company. None of these men had worked in the business after leaving the active military, so they were unaware of what went on in that world.
“I’ll fill you in later, and we’ll find out who’s paying them to be here, but I think Luke’s right about the tire tread match. Knowing their standard operating procedure, burning the cabin and taking civilian hostages is about what I would expect. Now, we just have to find out what they did with Shauna.”
The prisoner refused to give his name, tell them who he was with, or acknowledge that he’d ever seen Shauna or knew anything of her. He was being a real tough guy, despite Nantan’s warning that holding out on them was going to cause him severe pain.
“We want to know if you’re using the forest service work center at the end of this road for your base of operations,” Eric said. “We’re quite certain that you are, and I want you to tell me how many civilian captives you’re holding there and how many men are manning that post.”
“The only thing I’m telling you is that you can go straight to hell!”
Eric turned to Nantan. “I’ll leave this to you. We don’t have time to waste though. They’re probably expecting that truck back any minute.”
Nantan turned to the prisoner. “My people were at war with almost everyone who wasn’t Apache for hundreds of years; other Indian tribes, the Mexicans, and the white settlers and their soldiers. In that time, they learned interesting ways to punish their enemies and make them suffer and die slowly. Sometimes, they would hang you upside down and build a small fire under your head and roast you alive… or strip you naked while the women used their knives to peel the skin from your body, inch-by-inch while you are still alive… But we don’t have time for games such as those right now, and there are faster ways to die that are almost as painful too. “Tommy! Bring your horse and your rope!”
Eric was standing off to one side, letting Nantan handle this, but he could see in the hapless man’s eyes that he was getting nervous. There was something serious in the hard lines of Nantan’s rugged face that offered no illusions that he was joking or that he would be merciful. When Tommy returned, leading his horse and carrying a lasso in his other hand, he passed the noose to Nantan while Luke sliced away the strap that held the man to the tree. Before he could react, Nantan threw him to the ground and had a loop of rope around his ankles that Tommy quickly pulled tight, before climbing into the saddle and wrapping the other end around the horn. At Nantan’s nod, he urged his mount forward until the rope went taut when the horse was about fifteen feet away.
“Why don’t we take a shortcut to that work center, Tommy? Maybe across those rocks over there:” Nantan began walking that way, and Tommy kept pace with the horse, dragging the man behind him by his feet. He was going slow, and for the first few yards, they were still on the gravel road that was fairly smooth. But the area Nantan pointed to was covered in broken rocks of all sizes and shapes, many of them with sharp edges or abrasive, rough surfaces. When Tommy reached this area on his horse, he maintained the steady walking pace, ignoring the curses of the man he was pulling behind him. Seeing that this technique was likely to be quite effective, Eric followed close behind them, watching as the man’s body bounced over the irregular surface and his jacket and shirt rode up from the waist, exposing his flesh to whatever it came into contact with.
“We can go for miles like this,” Nantan said, as he walked alongside the unfortunate captive. But pretty soon, there will be little bits of you all over the ground behind us. You’ll bleed to death eventually, but it will take a long time, maybe even longer than it will take for the coyotes to follow the blood after we cut you loose.”
Eric smiled. His Apache friend’s method was brutal and savage but proved quite effective. They’d only gone a few more yards before the man began begging Nantan to stop, saying that he would tell them everything he knew. Nantan told Tommy to stop his horse, but he made no move to untie the man’s feet or let him up.
“What is your name and who do you work for?”
“Wilson! My name’s Dwight Wilson. I work for C.R.I. It’s a security contracting company.”
Eric stepped in at this point, squatting down next to the man and grabbing him by the collar. “Okay, Wilson! You and your crew burned a cabin and barn about 20 miles southeast of here. And you took the woman that was there. Why did you do it, and where is she?”
“I don’t know man! I wasn’t there when they did that. I’ve been on guard detail at our camp.”
Eric looked up at Nantan and Tommy. “Maybe we didn’t drag him far enough yet… or maybe not fast enough?”
Tommy nudged his horse forward until the rope went taunt again and the man began sliding slowly across the rocks. When he sped up to a trot, it was only seconds before Wilson was screaming for him to stop.
“Okay! Okay! I wasn’t with them on the patrol, but I do know about the woman! They brought her back with them along with a big stash of weapons and supplies. Chief locked her up in the supply room, but she’s gone now.”
“Gone where, Wilson?” Eric grabbed him again, jerking him up to a sitting position. “Where did they take her?”
“I don’t know! I saw them put her in one of the vehicles that just left. I don’t know why.”
“You mean one of those two black SUVs that you and your buddies were following out of here earlier?”
“Yes. It’s our standard protocol. Our job was to follow the convoy out to the pavement and return to base, mainly to report back that the road in here is clear. Our guys in the other pickup truck are escorting them to their destination, I think to another post of ours about a hundred miles south of here, in New Mexico.”
Eric couldn’t believe what he was hearing. If the woman the man had seen get into one of those vehicles was Shauna, then she’d had passed within mere yards of him less than a half hour prior. If only he’d known, he and Nantan’s men could have stopped the entire convoy. Now, they had a huge head start and the one vehicle they had stopped was disabled, with two flat tires.
“Who are the people in the black SUVs? Why do they need an escort?”
“Because they’re here, man! Nobody moves on the roads in this area without our permission. We’re working to lock down this entire sector and move all civilians out. That’s what we’re here for. We’re doing the work the military can’t do—like always!”
Eric wasn’t sure he believed this. The Army had established checkpoints on many of the highways to the east and north of here, he already knew that. Their operations might be limited in the remote mountain areas for now, but if they were hiring private contracting companies to help reestablish law and order, it would seem that the more populated areas would be a higher priority.
“Okay, but I’m asking you again. Who were the people in the black SUVs and why did they take the woman with them?”
“I would tell you if I knew man, but that’s way over my pay grade. All I know is that they were speaking Spani
sh to each other. They may have been Mexicans, I don’t know. Chief was the one dealing with them. I just keep my mouth shut and follow orders, like everyone else here.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet you do! So, it’s like I’ve heard. You and your fellow C.R.I. mercs are the hired guns on this side of the border for the drug cartels that are moving north, right? And those guys were some of your clients! So why did they take the woman with them?”
“I really don’t know! Chief would have to tell you that. We don’t keep prisoners though, because we’re not set up for that. Most of the civilians we’ve relocated have been sent to the government refugee centers! Maybe that’s where they were taking her too. But I really don’t know man!”
“We’re not set up for keeping prisoners either,” Eric said, leaning close to glare into the man’s eyes. “You’re going to tell me everything I want to know about this outpost of yours at the end of the road, and this ‘chief’ who is in charge of it. Either that, or we finish this now and leave you in the back of that truck with your two partners. First, I want to know how many men are present there, and what the security detail consists of and what weapons they have at that post.”
“I am part of the security detail! Me and the two guys that were with me. There’s a gate near the end of the road, with a guard watching it while we were away. We were supposed to go right back there after we turned around. Normally two guys are assigned to watch the entrance and the other two patrol the perimeter every couple of hours. But it’s been quiet here, so Chief has cut us some slack. It’s not like anyone ever comes down this road, at least not until today. They’re going to wonder now though. We should have been back by now.”
“Why don’t you have comms? A radio in your truck? Or a handheld?” Eric had noticed a tall whip antenna mounted on the top of the cab of the other pickup, but there wasn’t a two-way in the one Tommy had shot up, and Eric had found no handheld units on the dead men or Wilson either. “I saw an antenna on the other truck.”
“Yes, there’s a radio in most of our trucks, but not the Dodge. It wasn’t part of our regular fleet. We didn’t need comms anyway, because we were only going out to the road and back, like I told you.”
“Is there a base station and tower at the compound?” Eric was thinking fast. If there was a commercial-band radio system in place, gaining control of it might be Shauna’s best hope.
“Yes. It was already there from when the forest service used the place. Our technician converted it to our secure frequency. We’ve established contact with all our posts out here via repeaters that we’ve brought back online.”
“So, it’s possible to reach the crew of the other truck from that base station even out of normal range.” Eric smiled. “What about direct contact with the nearest military post?”
“The truck maybe, but the nearest Army post is on the other side of the Continental Divide. We have other stations of our own that are closer when we have something to report to them, but from here, no.”
“Because they’re not really who you’re working for anyway are they? All of that is just a facade to give your outfit a reason to be here, and a reason to be left alone to do whatever in the hell you want.”
“I’m just paid to do my job, man. Like everybody else.”
“Like your two coworkers down there in the back of that truck with holes in them,” Eric said. “I wonder what they’d tell you, if you could ask them if the pay was worth it? I’m not going to shoot you right now, Wilson, but if the information you’ve given me isn’t the truth, I will when I come back.”
“We don’t need him,” Nantan said.
“Not really, but he did talk, so there’s that. And you know, I may have a little job for him before we hit that compound.” Eric was lost in thought for a moment.
“Is that what you have in mind?” Nantan asked. “Taking the compound?”
“I don’t see any better options. That truck is disabled, and we can’t catch that convoy on horses. I’m thinking of asking this ‘chief’ fellow to give his guys in that escort truck a call. He can tell them there’s been a change of plans and that they need to bring the convoy to a stop and return to base with the woman. Have you got a better idea?”
“I can’t think of one,” Nantan admitted.
“You know, you and your men have done more than enough, once again. I can’t expect you to engage with these assholes and put yourselves at risk for something that is my fight.”
“It’s our fight too, brother. I told you that already. Now we know for sure that we are dealing with people who are supporting the takeover of these lands. That’s one of the reasons why we came with you, to find out who and where they are. It will be an honor to help you kill more of them, if that is what it takes to get back your wife.”
Thirteen
NANTAN’S ANSWER WAS THE one Eric had been hoping for, even though he wouldn’t have asked him to if he and his men didn’t volunteer to help. The biggest thing working against him now was time, because the farther away they took Shauna, the lesser his chances of stopping them. Eric knew he had to move, and now. There was no time for real reconnaissance or to formulate a detailed plan. He had to rely on the information his one source had given him, and now that they were going forward with this immediately, Eric decided to make the man a part of the plan, or at least the main diversion that would give them the edge they needed to get in there and secure that radio.
The necessity of taking out some of the men posted at the work station turned compound was a given. Eric had no qualms about launching a proactive attack on them, knowing what he knew now about their activities here, not to mention what he already knew of this outfit’s reputation. But aside from that, they’d taken Shauna against her will, burned Bob Barham’s cabin, stolen all their weapons and supplies and killed helpless horses in cold blood. If any group he’d encountered since coming back here deserved the full fury of Eric’s wrath, it was these C.R.I. contractors upon which he was about to unleash it. A quick pow-wow with Nantan and his men was enough to proceed with it, despite the lack of recon. Nantan fully understood his part:
“We’ll use our horses to close the gap and then get them off the road before we’re in sight of the entrance. I’ll take Tommy with me and circle around to the north, and Luke and Red can close from the south. You’ll have the full attention of the guys manning the gate, and while they’re trying to figure out what in the hell is going on, I’ll pick them off as I can with this.”
Eric eyed the black rifle Nantan had taken from the case strapped onto his packhorse. It was a suppressed Ruger 10/22 rimfire carbine, fitted with an oversized variable power scope. Eric knew it was a precision weapon, capable of pinpoint accuracy with a very low sound signature, but it required getting in really close to be effective, and he commented on this, even though he knew it wasn’t news to Nantan.
“Don’t worry about that part,” Nantan said. “Remember what happened when you tried to sneak across our land? I can get close without being seen.”
Eric did, and he knew this little band of modern-day warriors that made up the Jicarilla security force prided themselves on working to recreate the stealthy fighting skills the word ‘Apache’ had become synonymous with. And to a man, they all had a background in special forces that also gave them the contemporary training and experience that made them even more deadly.
“The little .22 doesn’t pack much punch, but if I put it into the side of a man’s head or neck from inside of 40 or 50 yards, it’ll do the job.”
Eric knew it would, because he’d used similar weapons himself for special applications. If Nantan could quickly reduce the number of adversaries they were facing and stop the guards from raising the alarm, it would be quick work to mop up the rest with the M4s when the shit hit the fan. The key to the whole thing though was showing up at that entrance with something totally unexpected, and that was where this Wilson fellow came in. Eric warned him before they moved out that his participation was the only thing keeping
him alive, and he promised the man that if he did as he was told and didn’t try to help his friends resist what was coming, then he would let him live when they left there to do what they had to do next. Complying with all of this was the only way he would be afforded that luxury though, and Eric could see the understanding in the man’s eyes when he reiterated that truth.
They forced him to climb up into the saddle of one of the horses and then Eric mounted his own, taking the reins of the other to lead it as he set out down the road with the Apaches. The extra time that had passed since the convoy left was a bit of a concern, but Wilson said the guards at the gate wouldn’t be too worried if the second truck wasn’t back immediately. The three of them that had left in it were off duty after that detail, and he said the men sometimes enjoyed a break from the compound when they had a chance and that the guards would probably assume they’d stopped for a smoke and bullshit session. Even so, Eric didn’t want to waste any more time than necessary getting there. The group set out at a fast pace, knowing that if anyone from the compound came looking for the missing three, they would be in a motor vehicle that could be heard in time to react. But they had no encounter on the road, and when they had reached the point on the map where they’d decided that Nantan and his men would leave their horses and go on foot, Eric waited with Wilson, giving the Apaches the agreed on five minutes to reach their positions on either side of the compound.
Eric had secured Wilson’s wrists in front of him with one of the many zip ties he found in the cargo pockets of his BDUs, and several turns of cord through that secured the plastic tie to the saddle horn. When they started moving again, Eric’s rifle was behind him, out of sight, while his Glock was in its holster under his coat, easy to access but hidden from view as he and Wilson rode two abreast down the middle of the road.
When they rounded the bend and came into view of the chain-link perimeter fence and gate, Eric urged his horse forward, unperturbed by the sight of the two armed guards that stood up from where they’d been sitting and reached for their weapons. He was counting on Nantan to take care of the problem, but if these men were trigger happy and ready to shoot on sight, then he was an easy target for them. The reaction he wanted was the one he got though. Both men leveled their rifles in his direction, but they could clearly see that he had one of their own with him. Eric slowly raised his hands, so that they could see they were empty.
Feral Nation Series Box Set 2 [Books 4-6] Page 46
