Vigilante: The Pale Horse: Post Apocalyptic Justice

by Cliff Deane

  Major Mike Guyardo said, “Sir, we have one thousand brand new uniforms. Hopefully, we can grow our force to fill most of them; if we can feed the troops, that is.”

  Major Pickett reminded Levi that this unit was not a company, but a Task Force, Task Force Levins, before saying, “Sir, I am you new Chief of Scouts and Head Scrounger to keep y’all in fuel and food.”

  “Now that’s a good solid American plan,” said Levi, “Leon, I guess that makes you my JEB Stuart, so get those horses off the trailers and prepare a recommendation for your proposed destinations, then get at it. If you can keep us fueled and fed, I will be one happy camper.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Major Pickett, “on the way.” They shook hands and Leon set off on his new job.

  Gus, I think we are going to miss the Cherry Blossoms this year. I think Scott should begin moving back to Lejeune to see what we can scare up to build us an Armored Task Force? We know there is all the equipment for a Tank Battalion there.”

  “Yes, sir, I believe you’re right. It looks like we are in for a long fight; yep, a real rip snorter of a shooting war. If we can get some armor up and running, we’ll be able to just run over Tin Pot Dictators like King Bull and his Boys.”

  Ralph said, “General, I have one more bit of interesting news for you; Chief Ramos and his Skunkworks have come up with devices that will convert 110 a/c power to 12-volt truck batteries sufficient to run rewired freeze drying machines.

  We have a team of twenty people busy freeze drying everything we can come up with. Ok, right now it’s mostly beans, corn, and lots of biscuits.

  We are also making lots of jerky from whatever we can bring in. By next year our cattle herds will really help with the cured beef they’ll provide.

  Oh, you’re gonna’ love this, one of our cooks, Sgt. Wong, put up a sign that said, “We not kill your cat. Stop asking; try our jerky, it purrfect.”

  Everyone laughed for several seconds until Ralph said, “Levi, Gus, it is so good to see you both, and yes, I know what I am asking you to do; if it were anyone else I’d be terrified, but with you guys in charge, I’m only scared shitless.”

  Scott added, “Sir, I do wish I could go with you, but the boss here says, no freakin’ way. Still, General, I hope you know that there is no other place I would rather be than at your side.”

  Levi was touched and almost lost his voice as he said, “Thank you, Scott, that sentiment means a lot to me, but we desperately need you to go to Lejeune and build an armored battalion, and sooner is better than later. I don’t know where you are going to find the personnel you’ll need to accomplish this impossible task, but if anyone can, then my money is on you and Gus.

  Okay, now let’s see what we have to support us as we leap, head first down the rabbit hole searching for the 12th Imam.”

  After the SGM had briefed Levi and Gus on the assets and supplies available to him, Gus said, “Man, that Ben is thorough, can you believe he even included one thousand uniforms? Oh, and that Tanker guy from the Widow’s Sons will be our first instructor in the use of tanks in the offense and defense. You know, Levi, it’s a good idea to gather up an armored force. The equipment is certainly not in short supply. I just hope there are Tankers still in the Lejeune area. Scott, I’m glad that worry belongs to you and Ben.

  Now that we know that the newest model helos were hardened, it’s just a damned shame we don’t have any pilots, yet.”

  Levi smiled and said, “I don’t know about that Gus, I may just know where to find our first combat pilot.”

  Gus was then tasked to brief the entire Task Force on the Vigilante and Resistance plan for taking out King Bull.

  As Ralph and Scott were preparing to return to Defiance, Levi said, “Ralph, I don’t know how we are going to do this; I just know we must find a way. Of course with the Support Staff you have given me all I have to do is give General’s Guidance, and then it’s warm milk, Newton’s and nap time; damn you, Ralph.”

  ◎◎◎

  Chapter 8

  Darren

  27 April 2300

  Hq King Bull

  Suffolk

  Over one-hundred and thirty of King Bull’s followers came streaming out of the Walmart Super Center firing their weapons wildly in the direction of the Resistance which now numbered nearly one hundred.

  Within seconds the Resistance members returned a devastating volley of fire from their positions, both on the ground and from within nearby buildings.

  Forty-five seconds after their emergence the men and women began to divide their force into a pincer movement to avoid the devastating fire from the defenders. None made it more than one hundred feet from the doors. The last ten raised their hands in surrender, to no avail. The former slaves had no mercy left in them as they continued firing until all were down.

  As the former slaves walked among the bodies and finding some wounded among them, they gleefully put an end to their tyranny. The battle was short and bloody. It ended with the deaths of Bull’s entire Force.

  When the shooting began, Bull counted to five before easing the back door open just enough for him to crawl through. Once outside he began making his way to his left through a narrow band of trees.

  He knew that just across the river the Vigilantes lay in wait to secure this exit. Remaining in a crablike motion, he continued to make his way toward freedom. Bull knew that he must be unwaveringly cautious while making his getaway.

  In no more than one minute the predominance of the firing at the front of the store ceased and was followed only by the sporadic shots to eliminate the wounded.

  Bull followed the tree line as it turned to the north; another one hundred yards and he should be clear of the picket line, where he could raise up and run from Suffolk.

  What Bull failed to take into consideration was Thermal Imagery. Levi and the entire Vigilante pickets had followed Bull as he crawled through the dirt and mud. Levi had ordered that he not be shot; at least until he just was on the razor’s edge of freedom. That was the spot where Badger and Wolverine would capture, or kill this monster.

  As the two teams spread out to seal Bull’s fate, Darren made a crucial mistake and tripped over a spreading Kudzu vine which seemed to wrap itself around his ankle of its own accord.

  Bull heard the flailing Darren as he fell and in desperation raised his pistol and fired wildly toward the sound. Darren took two nine mm rounds to his body. The first round caught him in the shoulder and ricocheted along his shoulder blade, exiting through the collar bone. The second round struck Darren’s left kneecap which was exposed as he was attempting to regain his footing. He screamed out in pain causing Gus to lose focus and run to his son. Gus became exposed to the fire from Bull, who emptied the magazine in his pistol. Gus was fortunate to get to his son without being hit.

  The remaining Vigilantes, realizing that Bull had fired his last shot, raced to him. Kate was the first to find Bull, and without hesitation shot him. The round hit Bull high on the inner portion of his right thigh, severing the Femoral artery. The wound was pumping blood at a tremendous rate, but rather than try to stop the bleeding; Bull began to reload his weapon. Kate decided quickly to put a round directly into the heart of Bull, killing him instantly.

  As the remainder of the team arrived, Kevin and Tim ran to find Dr. Tom Monroe to attend to Darren’s wounds. Levi joined Gus in pushing the blood-clotting bandage into his wounds as deeply as possible which immediately stopped the blood loss.

  Darren looked at his father and weakly said, “Dad, I’m so sorry. I guess I’m too clumsy for this. Gus was about to reply when Darren’s eyes closed and his head fell to the side.

  The battle for Suffolk was over. Adam would accept the leadership of the community. He would remain the Mayor for many years until finally he was elected as a Senator of the Republic of America.

  ◎

  28 April 0130

  Walmart Supercenter

  Suffolk

  Susan Turner wandered through the parki
ng lot making sure none of the one hundred plus bodies remained alive. She wondered what she would do now. She was sure that Adam would ask her to marry him. That would be a good choice for her, except for two things; handsome though he was, Susan was not in love with him, or anyone, and two; she knew she would never again be truly happy if she couldn’t get back into the air.

  The idea of being a housewife with a passel of kids left her cold. Susan was a warrior, and nothing else would ever satisfy her spirit. She thought she might ask if she could join General Levins’ Vigilantes

  ◎

  Levi remembered that Susan had been an attack chopper pilot, and with war ahead looming before the ROA, he had hopes of returning some helos to the air.

  Levi wanted to speak to Kate, so he asked Gus to seek out Susan Turner, the U.S. Army Helicopter Pilot. Gus found her, wandering among the bodies checking to make sure the dead were, in fact dead. He approached her and asked if he might speak with her for a few moments.

  Standing up, she smiled and said, “Well, Colonel, was all this death worth it? No, wait, let me answer that; abso-freakin-lutely, and it’s where each and every one of these animals needs to be; in Hell.

  Sorry, now what was it you wanted, sir?”

  “Susan, I understand you flew combat helicopters in Berzerkistan; that right?”

  “Yes, sir, and if we could have avoided the demise of our military, I still would be.”

  “I see, so I can assume you liked flying?”

  “Yes, sir, of course, I did. What was not to love? I’d do it again in a New York minute.”

  Gus began to smile as he said, “So if I were to offer you an opportunity to get back in the air, you’d be willing to leave this paradise?”

  Beginning to be irritated, she said, “Colonel, I don’t much appreciate being jerked around like this; so if you’ll excuse me I have work to do.” She began to walk away, but Gus asked her to wait.

  “Susan, I am not jerking you around. I mean it; if you want to fly again just join up and truck on down to Camp Lejeune with our 1st Cav. They will be seeking pilots, mechanics, tankers, the whole nine yards. If you want in, all you need to do is report to Colonel Scott Eldridge. He’ll get you squared away. In three months you will be back in the air and training young pilots.”

  Susan told Gus that sounded like a wonderful thing, but asked why he would want to create such a military?”

  Serious now, Gus said, “The answer is simple, those who are Christian cannot live under Sharia Law in a Caliphate, or anywhere else. Susan, I am offering you two things; a pathway back into the air with a commission to Major in the Armed Forces of the ROA, and a life of hardship, war, and strife. We are going to war, with or without you. So, what’s it to be, yea, or nay?”

  “General, I’m in! All the way; give me a ground crew to keep me in the air, and let’s light ‘em up, ‘cause I ain’t wearin’ anything that makes me look like Cousin It.”

  “That’s what I hoped you’d say; go find Colonel Eldridge, he’s with Adam at the ammo train. Better get moving.”

  Susan saluted and said, “Yes sir, on the way,” and ran to find Major Mike Guyardo.

  Levi watched her run, looking for Major Guy then started another search for Kate. He was a bit concerned about her shot which took Bull in the thigh, rather than in the chest.

  Levi found Kate first, chatting with Kevin and thought, oh, man, I’m going to lose my little girl to Kevin, then again, it would be hard for her to improve on that young man. Upon seeing them, he thought that his question might wait, but decided it was probably more important than the subject of their conversation.

  As he approached, SSgt Kevin Simms snapped to attention, saluted, and asked, “General, is there something I can do for you, sir?”

  What Levi wanted to say was, Yes what are your intentions for my daughter? What he did say was, “No, thank you, Sergeant, but I would like a moment of my daughter’s time if it’s not inconvenient.”

  Kevin started to reply when Kate said, “Of course it’s not inconvenient, we were just trying to figure how many children we wanted to have.

  Kevin almost choked on his own saliva, and said, “Sir, she’s just kidding, it was nothing like that, I swear.”

  Levi tried not to laugh, but one look at the impish grin on Kate’s face made a stern face impossible.

  He said, “Kevin, you’re going to have your hands full with this one, and the answer is three; she told me last week.”

  Now Kate’s face turned a bright crimson as Levi chuckled and Kevin returned a nervous chuckle of his own.

  She said, “I did not; Kevin he’s lying, I did not tell him that…Oh, Daddy!”

  Gaining a bit of courage, Kevin said, “Serves you right Katie; poke a stick at the dog, and you’ll get bit. Oh, sir, not that you’re a dog or anything, I mean…”

  Levi shushed him and said, “Whoa, before anyone thinks we are doing more than kidding each other, and if you don’t mind, I’d still like that word with my daughter. Don’t worry, Kev, she’ll be right back.”

  Levi put his arm around Kate and led her to a private spot where Levi said, “Sweetie, I need to know something…”

  Kate interrupted and said, “Oh Daddy, I was just kidding. Kevin and I are just becoming friends. You know, it’s funny, but I feel pretty safe with him around, too; any idea why?”

  “Yes, Kate, I do know why, but that is a discussion for another time. Right now I want to know why you made such a terrible shot when you fired at Bull. You couldn’t do better than hit him in the leg?”

  “Oh,” said Kate, “Dad, you’re right, it was a terrible shot. I missed my target by three inches. I wanted to shoot off his, you know, his thing. But, in my defense; when he tried to reload, I put the next one through his heart.”

  Somewhat relieved, Levi said, “Oh, well then, okay, uh, never mind. Now give me a big hug before you run back to Kevin. You know, I do like him, by the way.”

  “Thanks, Dad, but I already know that, now, anything else?”

  “Nope, I guess that’s about it.”

  Kate had to reach up as she wrapped her arms around Levi’s neck, and whispered, “I love you, Daddy, I promise I’ll make you proud,” as she released him and ran back to Kevin.

  His response was heard only by the night, as he said, “I already am proud of you Katie, I already am...” Levi knew that this new world was having drastic and dramatic effects upon maturation in young people, especially girls. His little Katie was only thirteen years old but was maturing at a most accelerated rate. He would have loved for her to have her childhood and teen years back, but that was just not to be.

  His Katie/Kate was having two internal struggles, on the one hand, she was his little girl who was still growing, and sometimes called him Daddy, while on the other hand she was a Viking Princess, born in blood and trauma, yet had come out steel. Levi knew that in another year her body and mind would find maturity. Kate would be a woman. Yeah, the times, they are a changin’.

  As Levi looked for his Jeep, he couldn’t quite shake an uneasy sadness passing over him. He thought that he should feel happy that Katie had found a nice young man that she could trust; still, a mild unease remained with him until he fell asleep.

  When he awoke, the reason for his sadness came to him in an epiphany; oh he knew that she was falling in love, but the real reason was that Kevin had called her Katie, and not Kate. Levi realized that calling here Katie had a protective tenderness to it. Suddenly he felt much better…damn, what a beautiful day!

  ◎

  29 April 1400

  Defiance Surgical Clinic

  Defiance, ROA

  The pain had caused Darren to lose consciousness, and when he awoke the following day in the small Surgery in Defiance, he saw his father dozing in a chair beside his bed. Gus awoke and saw his son trying to smile. Gus had returned with Darren to Defiance, and now, as he looked into the eyes of his son, he fought tears of great joy that his son had been returned to his father.<
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  Darren felt drowsy, with only a dull ache in his shoulder, but his knee refused to accept the full weight of the morphine coursing through his body. Gritting his teeth, he asked, “Dad; am I going to lose my leg?”

  Gus forced himself to overcome his tears and said, “Son, right now it looks like you will keep the leg unless an infection sets in, but you will have to come to grips with the fact that you will never be able to walk without a limp because your knee is finished. It will forever be stiff.”

  Darren demonstrated relief that he would likely keep his leg, and told his father that it was okay. He said, “Dad, better a stiff leg than no leg, right? Don’t worry; I’ll be fine.”

  Darren had considered work as a gunsmith, but during his time in the hospital, he became friends with the two Doctors Monroe, and one of the Nurses; Anna Peterson. As this friendship blossomed, Darren became interested in medicine and upon his recovery, began an apprenticeship of four years to become a Doctor and Surgeon.

  He would often recall the shots fired by Bull, and how in that nanosecond; that blink of an eye had transformed his life forever and for the better. He secretly thanked Bull, for that encounter set him on a new path, a career as a healer, and family man. A stiff knee was such a small price to pay for the blessings he received…

  Levi also returned to Defiance that morning and met first with President Bassett. His Secretary knocked on Ralph’s door and asked if he was available to General Levins.

  Ralph leaped from his chair and nearly ran to the door. He and Levi embraced before going into Ralph’s Office.

  The first thing out of Levi’s mouth upon sitting down was, “Air conditioning, you have air conditioning? How in the hell is this possible?”