by Luke Duffy
“That’ll be suicide,” Harry exclaimed. “How the fuck do you expect us to launch a counter-attack when they outnumber and outgun us? On top of that, anyone poking their nose out from behind hard cover gets it shot off.”
“Look, they clearly want the base, and they’ll take it by any means. They’ll want to keep it intact, but if they have no other choice, they’ll use whatever they have to in order to root us out. If they attack and we throw them back, they’ll send in their mortars against us. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Al looked from Tina to Harry as they processed what he was telling them. Their expressions, although reluctant, informed him that they agreed with his reasoning. Although it was more appealing to hide behind their walls, both of them quickly realised that they did not really have that as an option.
“Get Grandad up here,” Al ordered, referring to the base’s radio operator, Ron. “Tell him to move his arse.”
As they waited, Al pulled out a large piece of paper from inside his jacket. He unfolded it and spread it out over the floor. Tina looked down and recognised it as a detailed schematic of the base and the surrounding area. Next, he pulled out an ordinance survey map and placed it over the grated walkway beside the schematic. He said nothing, nodding and grunting to himself as he studied them.
“What you thinking?” Tina asked.
“There,” he said after a while, pointing to an area on the map that was south of the base. “Ron said he’s been picking up some encrypted transmissions. We can’t tell what they’re saying, but we may get a rough idea of their direction.”
“Then what?”
Before Al could answer, Harry and Ron arrived and huddled down beside them. Both of them were out of breath and sweating heavily. It had been a while since either of them had carried out any real exercise.
“We have a rough idea of their dispositions immediately to our front, but not what’s beyond,” Al began, indicating the various points upon the map and the sketch. “It’s obvious that they’ve approached from the south because the north and east are built-up areas, and they couldn’t have moved through there without getting overwhelmed by the infected. To our south and west is rural, mostly farmland and open countryside.”
Ron leaned in and opened up his note book, reading the information that he had been jotting down throughout the morning.
“From what I can tell, they’re somewhere to the south-west of us. I can’t give you a range, but I’m pretty sure that the bearing is right,” Ron informed them, confirming that Al’s guesswork had a degree of accuracy to it.
“I take it that that’s where you think their command post is?” Tina asked, grasping what Al was getting at.
“You’re talking about cutting the head off the snake, aren’t you?” Ron added with enthusiasm and a glint in his eye.
“Yup,” Al replied with a wink, impressed that they were on the same wavelength. “And I bet that their mortars aren’t far away from the command post, either. Eighty-one millimetre mortars have an effective range of up to six kilometres, but they won’t place themselves at the full extremity. They’ll want to be close enough to get in here and into safety once the base falls.”
“So we need to take out their mortars before they use them,” Tina concluded, hoping that she was following where Al was leading them.
“Exactly. We’ll twat their command element, too. Cripple them from the neck down.”
“How do you know they’ll both be close to one another?” Harry asked.
“Think about it, mate. With those things out there running about and with no other military forces to worry about other than us, they’re probably not being all that tactical in their rear. It’s not something I’d consider. They won’t want to spread themselves too thinly because they’ll need a tight perimeter to defend against the infected. I’d imagine that the command element is co-located with the support groups. Plus, I get the feeling that their commander wouldn’t want his mortars getting carried away and blowing the shit out of his new house. You know what blokes are like in the mortar platoons; they do everything to the extreme. Makes sense to me, at least.”
Harry grunted and shook his head with disapproval as he studied the detailed sketch of the surrounding area.
“That sounds all well and good, mate, but their commander could be a straight bloke who does everything by the book. Plus, the second we move, they’ll nail our dicks to the floor. Even with the armour we have, we wouldn’t get more than a few metres beyond the gates before we get royally fucked.”
“I doubt that anyone’s doing anything by the book, mate. They wouldn’t have survived this long if they were. As for getting royally fucked as soon as we expose ourselves, that’s where you and your snipers come in, Harry. I want you to do a full sweep of the southern part of the wall. Mark and record every enemy position you see and any suspected position, as well. Concentrate in particular on their MILAN and heavy machinegun emplacements.”
“Will do,” Harry nodded. “Why?”
“Because that’s where we’ll be going out from,” Al continued.
Another burst of gunfire echoed from over to the west and the north. It lasted for a while with multiple rifles engaging numerous targets. Out to the east, there was more fire. It was becoming more frequent now and a clear indication that the besiegers were beginning to come under siege themselves.
“Sounds like they’re getting squeezed tighter out there. They’ll be getting eager to get on with the next attack. I know I would be.”
Al turned the map so that everyone could see what he was about to explain. With a red marker pen, he began to draw a number of small circles, denoting the enemy ring around the base. Over to the bottom of the drawing, he made two larger circles and placed a question mark beside each of them.
“Where and how do we attack then?” Harry continued, wanting to be sure of the plan.
“I’d say somewhere in this area,” Al replied, tapping the sketch-map with his pen and indicating the larger red circles. “Nice and open with a good access road leading up to the town and our location. I think there’s a few buildings in that area. They probably aren’t even bothering to hide themselves and could be pretty easy to find.”
“How then? We charge out with all guns blazing?”
“You provide fire-support, Harry. Take out all their MILAN in our line of advance and suppress them with all the guns we have. We’ll use the two tanks to smash a hole through their defences and push through into their rear. Hopefully, we’ll cause enough damage and confusion to seriously fuck them up for a while. Maybe even force them to withdraw.”
“What if you’re wrong about all this?” Tina asked, wanting to be the voice of caution. “We can’t be sure.”
“We can’t be sure of anything these days. It’s an educated guess. If we’re wrong, then we’re all fucked, which is pretty much the status quo right now, anyway. If we sit here with our thumbs up our arses, then they’ll eventually win. Look around you. We have a handful of trained soldiers and the rest are civvies with guns. If anyone has any better ideas, then I’m all ears and willing to listen.”
Another long rattle of distant rifle fire confirmed the need for immediate action.
“The helicopter,” Tina suddenly blurted. “What about using that? It’s faster than the tanks, and it would be easier to keep the element of surprise, as long as we’re quick. The tanks will be heard for miles as they fight their way through and could give them the time they need to put up a defence.”
“The chopper will be blown out of the sky within seconds,” Ron retorted, dismissively.
“Not if we put down enough suppressive fire to cover them, it won’t.”
“Harry, go get the section commanders and the pilots, too,” Al ordered, nodding to Tina and flashing her a quick smile of approval.
As the commanders and pilots gathered, Al began to inform them of the situation and their intentions. Including Harry, there were three section commanders in total, each of them
leading eight men. Graham and Dave were what they referred to as ‘old sweats’, having spent years in the army and having an invaluable amount of tactical experience between them. They sat and listened with interest to what Al had to say.
“We don’t have time for a full set of orders, and we have virtually nothing in the way of intelligence on the enemy forces. We’re doing this off the cuff and I need each and every one of you to be switched on and rolling with the punches on this.”
Al explained how they would take out the enemy rear positions using the helicopter that they had at the base. As Harry controlled the fire-support from the walls, the Lynx helicopter would take off and head towards the south. Inside would be ten of their best and most experienced soldiers with Al in command. At speed, they would run in on the areas that Al had identified and launch an overhead assault onto the positions, dropping in the fighting patrol of ten men while the helicopter’s door gunners gave close air-support. At the same time, the two tanks would be launched from the southern gate under covering fire from Harry and his men. The Challenger-IIs would then punch a gap through the enemy defensive ring. Once the pilots confirmed over the radio that they had identified the enemy command post and mortar positions, the tanks would drive at full speed for the area to support the assault.
Twenty minutes later and everyone was clearly in the picture of how they would conduct the counter attack, and each commander of the various sections of the base had been briefed on the concept of operations.
“What about the north, west, and east?” Ron asked.
“Let the dead take care of them,” Tina interjected. “Once they see what’s happening, the bastards will panic and be easy prey for the infected.”
“You mean the enemy of my enemy is my friend, sort of thing?” Harry asked with a grin.
“Something like that.”
“Yeah,” Ron moaned, “but our enemy’s enemy is also our enemy, and it doesn’t matter what we do, they always will be our enemy, even after they’ve eaten the other enemy. Fuck, it can get confusing at times to know who’s who.”
There was a commotion over towards the eastern part of the wall. The snipers in position there were talking excitedly and then turned their attention towards the people gathered around Al. They were specifically watching Harry. Everyone within the orders group turned their eyes to him, wondering what could be the matter with his men. Harry and Al began climbing the steps leading up towards the top of the wall. When they got there, it became obvious that the sharpshooter in place had seen something that had unsettled him.
“What is it?” Harry asked as he crouched down beside the soldier.
The man said nothing but nodded at the small spy-hole that he had been looking through. His face was filled with uncertainty, and he was clearly worried about Harry’s reaction.
“See for yourself, ‘H’,” he replied, and rolled out of the way.
Harry knelt down and peered out through the hole. At first, he saw nothing that he was not already expecting to see. The area around the base was a landscape of churned mud and tangles of wire. Out beyond the open ground was the ruined buildings of the suburbs with wispy columns of smoke that were still rising up out of the craters from the morning battle. In amongst the wreckage there were numerous corpses staggering in different directions. Some were headed directly for the walls, while others meandered, unsure of where they were going or why. Harry scanned the ground, expecting to see something within the enemy lines, but there was no movement from the opposing forces. There was still the occasional burst of gunfire coming from their lines but nothing new or out of the ordinary. He was about to say something to the sniper beside him but then stopped, his eyes narrowing, and a knot quickly forming inside his stomach as his mind interpreted what it was that he was seeing.
“Shit,” he exclaimed in a whisper. “Please, God, no…”
“What is it?” Al asked, unable to see from his position and not wanting to risk looking over the lip of the wall. “What’s going on?”
Harry turned to Al and gave him a solemn look while slowly shaking his head. He looked down at the grated walkway and ran his fingers through his hair, sighing loudly as what he had seen remained clinging to his vision. He blew out a long stream of air from between his teeth and then looked again to confirm that he had not been mistaken.
“It’s Phil,” Harry finally said in a flat tone. “He’s come back.”
Phil’s body was lurching across the debris strewn ground and steadily making its way towards the base. His colourless face stood out in stark contrast to the dark mud all around him and the torn and scorched camouflaged uniform that still hung from his shoulders. He looked intent on making it across the no-man’s land and reaching the walls. He paid no attention to the other shambling figures around him as they crossed his path. He was oblivious to everything except the tall walls of the FOB. He moved slowly, his body having suffered multiple debilitating wounds during the blast that had destroyed his over-watch position. His right leg was being dragged along through the filth behind him, virtually useless in aiding his mobility. His left arm, or what remained of it, dangled from the few strands of sinew and muscle that was holding it to the shoulder joint. It swayed with each step that his body took, until eventually it dropped from his torso, splashing into the wet mud. Phil paid it no attention.
Harry had seen enough. He did not want to see or remember his friend in that way and attempted to shake the vision from his mind. Everyone around him was watching and waiting for his reaction, unsure of what he would do next as he sat with his back against the reinforced concrete of the t-wall.
“Do it,” he finally ordered to the shooter beside him. He did not turn to look at him but kept his eyes fixed on a distant spot somewhere on the far side of the inner perimeter. “Do it, and get it over with.”
Harry closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as the sniper fired.
Al nodded and patted Harry on the shoulder as he raised himself up and turned to head for the stairs. He felt for Harry, but they could not waste time going through the process of coming to terms with the loss. That would come later. Right now, he needed to get his team together and deal with the threat before it was too late.
He was nervous, and scared. They all were frightened, and anyone who claimed not to be, was either lying or a complete lunatic. Most of their plan was based upon guess work and conjecture. He had gone over the possibilities and likelihoods again and again in his own head, but he could still not be one-hundred percent sure. At that moment, they had very little choice but to take the fight to the enemy, and he only hoped that at least some of his plan worked. Their main effort was to take out their support units and commanders. That would at least throw chaos into the enemy ranks and create enough confusion for them to lose some of their cohesion. Al bit his lip and shook his head as he reached the railing of the stairway. Doubt was creeping in and causing him to second guess himself.
A single loud crack made everyone in the immediate vicinity flinch and duck. There was a thud, followed by a rattle as a body went tumbling down the metal steps. Tina was the first to react when she saw the large figure bouncing down over the steel grates.
“Al,” she screamed with horror as she took off across the open area. “Medic, someone get a medic, quick.”
Al’s body had by now reached ground level. He lay in a crumpled heap at the foot of the stairs with a pool of blood rapidly expanding from beneath his head. He lay motionless, making no sound, and people began to immediately think the worst. Within seconds, two of the doctors from within the base had arrived and were crouched beside the limp figure of Al, checking for a pulse and assessing his injuries. Their eyes spoke volumes as one snatched up a stretcher while the other began applying dressings in an attempt to stop the bleeding. People were instantly thrown into a panic, seeing their undeclared leader with a gunshot wound to the head and most likely already dead.
As Al’s bloodied body was carted away and disappeared into the bowels
of the complex and towards the infirmary, people began to look at one another with uncertainty. The news spread fast, and for the moment, there was no one stepping forward to take command. Tommy was out of action with a hole in his shoulder, and none of the section commanders were forthcoming. They had lost the one man who had been holding them all together from the military perspective. Up until that point, Al had taken on the responsibility of being their commander although he had never wanted the job and had always voiced that he felt uncomfortable taking on the position.
Tommy, at that moment, was incapable of leading them. He was hurt and laden with chemicals that impaired his judgement. Harry, although good at what he does and loved by his men, was no leader when it came to commanding anything bigger than a handful of snipers or a fighting section.
Tina looked to the other two section commanders, Graham and Dave. Neither of them said anything, and it was clear that they were not about to take command. Without a leader, the people in the base would not last long. After just a few minutes, people were beginning to fret and voice their concerns about the future. Tina looked at the pilots and then the respective commanders. All of them were watching her as though waiting for her orders. Somehow, she had found herself as the person that they were all turning to for guidance. She had no idea how it had happened, but she needed to roll with it before it was too late.
“Fuck it, we go ahead with the plan.”
Everyone turned and watched Tina for a moment. She was worried about Al but at that point in time, the most important thing was to get on with the task and complete the mission.
“I’ll take over from Al, if there’s no objections?”
“You’re coming with us?” Graham asked in surprise. “You’re going to take Al’s place on the assault?”
Tina suddenly realised what the man was saying and what she was getting herself into. She had jumped without looking, and now it was too late. If she took a step back, she would lose all chances of earning their respect and would never be able to look at any of them in the eye again. Furthermore, a sudden power vacuum could cause delays and hesitation in the plan, maybe even a complete shift in direction.
