Storm Front

by Thomas A. Watson

  With his head still resting on his arms, “Like I would really do that,” Nelson said with his voice muffled by the table.

  “Nelson, you covered everything from the number of people it takes to cover a house to storing caches around your home. You kept everyone interested and gave information out in small segments,” Gerald said grinning.

  “I’m not talking to you right now,” Nelson said as Michelle came over.

  Letting out a sigh, “Babe, I’m sorry, but people wanted to ask questions and I knew you weren’t in the mood for stupid, so I rephrased their questions,” Michelle said, putting the clipboards in a box.

  Lifting his head up, Nelson looked at her. “I must say thank you for intercepting the stupid questions,” he said very appreciative. “Now, I’m telling you both, I won’t be doing that again.”

  “Nelson, everyone liked you doing this meeting,” Michelle said.

  Getting up, “I don’t give a rat’s ass. If I have to do that shit again, I swear, you haven’t seen me bitchy,” Nelson said, narrowing his eyes.

  Pivoting on his heel, Nelson walked off and Michelle turned to Gerald. “You’ll do it next time,” she told him. “Nelson is already having a midlife crisis about being old. Be damned, if I have to deal with super bitchy. He’ll come around.”

  Grabbing the box of clipboards, Gerald nodded getting up. “Don’t worry, I’ll do it. Nelson likes to share his bitchy around,” Gerald said, carrying the box to the side by sides. “I’ll handle it till you tell me.”

  Turning back around, Michelle saw Nelson just looking down the slope at the river. Walking over and stopping beside him, Michelle wrapped an arm around his waist. “What’cha thinkin’?” she asked, leaning her head over on his shoulder.

  “How to lure some of the gangs in,” Nelson said.

  Lifting her head off his shoulder, Michelle looked up at Nelson’s serious face. “Baby, are you okay?” she asked.

  With a heavy sigh, Nelson nodded, “Yeah, I just want to be left alone,” he said, turning around and waving at Dallas. Dallas stopped talking to the group he was standing with and walked over. When Gerald and Bernard saw where Dallas was heading, they both trotted over.

  “Yeah, Nelson?” Dallas asked, stopping beside him.

  “How serious were you about fighting?” Nelson asked.

  The soft expression left Dallas’s face. “Very,” he almost growled.

  “And you’re sure your family is ready to kill?” Nelson asked as Bernard and Gerald walked up. “Now, you need to think about that. Because this next attack will be killing outright. We are ambushing and I would be just as happy if the other side never fired a shot.”

  “I can assure you, they won’t whine,” Dallas said relaxing.

  “What are you planning?” Gerald asked.

  “Ambush for the gang,” Nelson said. “We’ll set up at two abandoned houses. We’ll cover one and Dallas’s group will cover the other. Rig up a way we can sit back and use a CB from the house and when they show up, take them out. But I would like to wound a few, so I can find out where the gang is holding up at.”

  “How many you thinkin’ this will take?” Dallas asked.

  “If your family can shoot as good as you say, two from your group and two from us around the clock,” Nelson told him.

  Nodding with a grin, “We can do that,” Dallas said. “Now, what are you plannin’ on doin’ when you find where this gang is holding up at?”

  “Oh, attack them,” Nelson said, nodding and looking back down to the river. “It may get a little barbaric, but I want to dissuade any others like them to come around these parts.”

  “Now on this attack, my family doesn’t have the training to move in and attack,” Dallas said. “But don’t think we can’t learn.”

  “No, I would like your family to cover those who can fight up close. If your family can shoot like you say, then they will have the biggest part of the attack,” Nelson said, staring at the river.

  Nodding, Dallas looked at Bernard and then to Gerald. “When you want to set this up?” Dallas asked.

  Watching the flowing river, Nelson exhaled, “We’ll start tomorrow and will continue it for six days,” he said. “If they haven’t attacked by then, they aren’t going to and we’ll have to come up with something else.”

  Looking around at the group, Dallas grinned. “Well, let’s get this shindig started.”

  Chapter 12

  Slowly driving his four-wheeler through the woods, Nelson glanced around at the early morning light filtering in through the trees. Looking behind him, he saw Sean’s massive form riding Bernard’s four-wheeler. It was the third day of their little operation and so far, they hadn’t seen shit other than wild game. He and Sean were relieving Matt and Gerald.

  The hardest part was finding two houses about a mile apart that they could set up ambushes at. Using maps and satellite photos at the farm was all good, but they soon realized there were more people out in the backwoods than they thought. The first two locations they’d tried, one of the houses was occupied. Whether they were the original occupants or not, they didn’t know so they just moved to the next one.

  Finally, they found what they wanted twelve miles west of the farm, north of Winona. Never using roads, they moved cross-country, so it took them a half an hour just to get to the ravine where they parked the four-wheelers and hiked the last mile.

  Pulling into the ravine, Nelson shut down his four-wheeler and climbed off. Grabbing the camo netting, he tossed it on the ground. “Zeus,” he said, grabbing his backpack and Zeus jumped off.

  Turning his engine off, Sean climbed out of the seat. “I have to say, I’m having second thoughts about having a good dog,” Sean said, grabbing his backpack.

  “It’s well worth it,” Nelson said, grabbing the netting and tossing it over the four-wheelers. Putting on his backpack, Nelson marveled at how Sean’s mom had altered the plate carrier to fit him. Granted, the ten-by-thirteen-inch plate seemed tiny to Sean’s massive body, it didn’t seem to cover most of his chest.

  “Want me to lead?” Sean asked, adjusting his M14 across his body.

  Waving his hand out, “Be my guest,” Nelson said.

  Nodding, Sean grabbed his PTT box, “Moving in,” he called over the radio.

  “Watch yourselves. Had a pack of dogs show up this morning,” Matt called back over the radio.

  “Copy,” Sean replied, moving up the ravine to the ridge.

  Reaching the top, he glanced around as Nelson moved up beside him. “Surprised we haven’t had more problems with dogs,” Sean said.

  “Not me,” Nelson said, reaching down and patting Zeus. “Dogs make an easy meal and there are a lot of hungry people out there.”

  Adjusting his boonie hat, since Nelson didn’t have a helmet big enough to fit him, Sean nodded. “Didn’t think about that.”

  Watching Sean move through the woods, it never ceased to amaze Nelson at how quietly Sean could move his massive form. “Think Scott and Dallas are in place already?” Nelson asked.

  “Hell, yeah,” Sean chuckled. “Paw is itchin’ to shoot at some rabble.”

  As they moved along the ridge, Nelson noticed Zeus looking to the south. Keeping an eye on Zeus, Nelson followed Sean until he stopped and gave a soft whistle. When it was answered, they moved up and Nelson watched Sean step around the bodies of several dogs.

  Looking down the hillside, Nelson saw the house they were watching two hundred yards away. “Took you long enough,” Gerald said, walking over. “Dallas reported they set up, relieving Tony and Jacob an hour ago.”

  “Told ya,” Sean said, taking off his backpack and tossing it down in the foxhole they had dug the first day. Looking at the covered tarp Gerald and Matt had put on, Sean nodded. “Nice work,” he said, unslinging his rifle.

  “See you had company,” Nelson said, jerking his thumb back at the dead dogs.

  “Yeah, they came in around 0200, but Duke smelled them long before they got close,�
� Gerald said, patting Duke. “Keep an eye out because that pack was over thirty and we only shot six. We let Dallas know to keep an eye out, and Nelson, they were hunting us.”

  “They come back and I’ll cook one. I’ve ate dog and it’s not bad,” Nelson said, dropping his backpack. “So, did you know your sister was putting in a passive radar?”

  “Yeah, she told me,” Gerald said, grabbing his backpack as Matt climbed out of the foxhole. “To be honest, she never thought there would be much she could use, but with all the radar around us it seemed a waste not to use it.”

  “Yeah it does, after she explained to me that she wasn’t using any radio waves from the house,” Nelson sighed. “Gerald, I almost died when she came up, telling everyone that we had radar. I’ve seen what the Air Force does to radar sites.”

  “What?” Matt asked coming over.

  “Nancy can explain it to you,” Nelson said. “I’ll help you drag the dead dogs.”

  “Nah, we got it,” Gerald said, walking past him. “Except for that Cujo-looking St. Bernard, the rest are skin and bones.”

  Climbing into the foxhole, Nelson pulled out his binoculars and set his AR on the lip. He glanced back to see Gerald and Matt dragging the dead dogs off. “Zeus,” Nelson said, patting the ground at the back of the foxhole. With his tongue hanging out, Zeus trotted over under the roof and flopped down on the back lip of the foxhole.

  “Have to say, I’m really missing a dog now of my own to let me know something is trying to sneak up on me,” Sean said, situating his gear. Because of Sean’s girth and height, he and Nelson had dug one side of the foxhole two feet deeper to fit him. That’s why Sean was pulling out a box that Matt had used to stand on, so he could use that side of the foxhole.

  Looking down at the house below them with his binoculars, Nelson nodded. “Yeah, after seeing the dogs work in Iraq and the Stan, I knew I was getting one and training it.”

  Laying his binoculars down, Nelson picked up the CB they had wired to an antenna at the house. “Hey Chad, you have any sugar?” Nelson called over the radio, using the names they had come up with.

  “Sure, how much you need?” Dallas called back.

  “Not much, just ran out and I hate drinking my coffee without sugar,” Nelson replied and the two made small talk for half an hour, then signed off.

  Grabbing the spotting scope, “I hope we get a bite today,” Sean said, peering through the scope.

  “Me too,” Nelson said. “Not being on the farm bothers me.”

  “Huh?” Sean said, lifting his eye off the scope and turning to Nelson. “We have more than enough at Bernard’s now to fight back.”

  Shaking his head, “Not what I mean,” Nelson said. “I know they can hold an attack. I just don’t like being away from the family.”

  Reaching over and patting Nelson’s shoulder, “I can agree with that, but we have to keep the area around us patrolled and relatively safe,” Sean said.

  “That’s why I’m here,” Nelson chuckled.

  Glancing back at the house through the spotting scope, “Don’t get me wrong, before the help you gave us, we could only patrol around the farm, never moving a mile from the house,” Sean said. “We had to devote a lot of manpower into putting the garden in, but still didn’t have the resources to store it. But with y’alls help, we are able to do all that now and we can patrol. But most important, everyone can learn.”

  “I know, that’s why I wanted to do it,” Nelson said, holding his hand up as Nancy came over the radio.

  “Movement heading south. Two dozen motorcycles and three cargo trucks. Do you copy?” Nancy called out quickly, then added a grid coordinate as Sean turned away from the spotting scope to Nelson.

  Grabbing the PTT, “Position two. Copy,” Nelson called out, pulling out his notepad and repeating the numbers over and over.

  Barely a second later Dallas called out, “Position one. Copy.”

  “You’re sure they can’t listen in on these radios?” Sean asked, pointing at the radio mounted behind his left shoulder.

  “Yep,” Nelson said, writing the numbers down. “They can still pick up a transmission, but that’s why we don’t say much so they can’t triangulate. Those radios can transmit for miles and these,” Nelson said, pointing at the radio at each of their hips, “will barely transmit three if you have good terrain.”

  Turning back to the scope, “Hope you’re right because I was in the infantry and we loved it when the hajes used radios, so we could just call in artillery,” Sean said.

  “Hey, we called them on several cellphone signals,” Nelson nodded, pulling his map out. Finding the location of the coordinates, Nelson looked over up at Sean. “Dallas or Scott know how to plot coordinates on a map?”

  “Nope,” Sean said, leaning over and looking at the map. “So, they just turned off Highway 106? Well, wonder if they are coming to see us or someone else?”

  Grabbing the PTT, Nelson told Dallas the targets were heading toward them. When Dallas called back to say thanks, Nelson folded his map back up. “To be honest, I hope they are coming here,” Nelson said.

  “If they don’t, can we break off and go to them?” Sean asked and Nelson stopped shoving his map back in his thigh pocket.

  Staring in Sean’s face, Nelson saw no fear whatsoever. “You do realize they outnumber us, right?”

  Shrugging his shoulders, “So? They will be shooting from over two hundred yards away uphill, I’m not worried,” Sean said. “That’s why a country boy can survive,” Sean said grinning.

  Both looked down at the house as Nelson grabbed the handle for the CB. “Hey Chad, thanks for the sugar,” he called out.

  “You’re welcome. Me and the missus enjoyed the visit,” Dallas called out.

  “My girl said the same,” Nelson responded and Nancy came over the earbud.

  “They can hear you. I’m picking up their radio chatter on UHF encoded. They are coming for you.” Nancy said quickly.

  “Well, we’ll come and visit again soon. You see or hear anything, give us a call and we’ll do the same,” Dallas called back.

  “Will do,” Nelson said, signing off.

  “All right,” Sean said, checking his rifle. He looked over at Nelson doing the same. “Are you going to tell Nancy you copied that?”

  “She’s not done,” Nelson said. “She didn’t ask if we copied, so I’m not risking a triangulation with a transmission. Nancy can move her transmission point using different antennas. We can’t.”

  They both waited for an hour when Dallas’s voice came over the short-range radio. “Nelson, have you heard or seen anything?”

  “Negative and you need to limit transmission on this radio. They may be close enough now to triangulate from the signal, even though they can’t hear what’s being said,” Nelson replied.

  “Copy,” Dallas said quickly.

  With the sun rising higher, Nelson and Sean took turns moving out into the trees to answer the call of nature. It was 1300 when Nancy’s voice came back over the radio. “The group coming for you can’t triangulate. It sounds like they are doing that from their base in Summersville. The group is holding five point two miles northeast of position two,” she said, reading out the coordinates and Nelson pulled out his map again.

  As he was measuring out the distance, Nancy came back on. “Beware of heavy ordnance from group and you should have relief joining you shortly. Do you copy?”

  Studying the map, Nelson nodded at Sean who grabbed his PTT. “Position two. Copy,” Sean called out.

  “Position one. Copy,” Dallas called out.

  “Why the hell did they stop there?” Nelson asked, looking at the map and Sean leaned over to look at where Nelson was pointing.

  “That’s near the Spieling ranch,” Sean said. “Scott and I rode our horses there several weeks ago to see if we could buy some feed, but nobody was there.”

  Lifting his gaze off the map up to Sean’s face, “Did you get the feed?” Nelson asked.

/>   “Ah, no,” Sean said stupefied.

  Looking back down at the map, “When this is done, we’ll go and get it,” Nelson told him. “Hopefully, someone else hasn’t got it.”

  Shaking his head, “It’s not ours,” Sean said.

  “Not yet,” Nelson corrected. “Dude, if they aren’t there, they’ve been taken or left voluntarily. Now, if they show back up, we’ll give them back what we haven’t used, but be damned if we let someone else get it.”

  “What if they are getting it when we show up?” Sean asked, narrowing his eyes.

  Shrugging, “If they are from around here, then we let them but if it’s another reclamation patrol, we wipe them out,” Nelson said. “Dude, if shit is just lying there not being used, you take it to use it. We aren’t stealing from people. We are taking what isn’t claimed. I’m not saying we shoot people and take their stuff,” Nelson sighed.

  Feeling relieved, Sean nodded, “Okay, I understand.”

  “Now, these assholes we are about to shoot, we are taking their shit, so don’t start,” Nelson said.

  Looking down at his cowboy boots, “If one has boots my size, I’ll wrestle you for them,” Sean said.

  “Sean, I can use your boots for canoes,” Nelson snickered.

  “Coming in,” Gerald called over the radio, making both Nelson and Sean startle.

  Turning to look at Zeus, Nelson saw Zeus lift his head, looking back into the woods. After several minutes, Nelson saw movement deep in the woods. “You were about to be fired,” Nelson mumbled, reaching up and petting Zeus.

  “Gerald called from the top of the rise, so Zeus smelled them before they were half a mile from us. I’m happy with that,” Sean said reaching over to pet Zeus with Nelson.

  Grabbing the backpack, Nelson and Sean rested them on the back lip with Zeus. “Didn’t make this position for four of us,” Nelson said as Duke stepped out of the trees with Gerald behind him. As Duke led Gerald over, Matt stepped out following them.

  Nelson was shocked when Gerald moved under the roof and climbed into the foxhole. “Make room,” he said, taking off his backpack.

  Moving to climb out, Nelson stopped when Gerald grabbed his arm. “Don’t leave the foxhole yet,” he said as Matt climbed in with them.