Storm Front

by Thomas A. Watson

  “They are closer to yours, so when we hear your guys shooting we’ll open up here,” Gerald said, watching the man talking on the cellphone. The leader turned to the one carrying the Stinger. Putting the Stinger down, he pulled something out of his jacket. “You have got to be shitting me,” Gerald gasped as the man lifted a cellphone to his ear.

  Moving his crosshairs, Gerald saw one of the group in line to attack the house dig in his pocket. “Nelson, you have the M60?” Gerald asked.

  “Just waiting,” Nelson said, holding his crosshairs on the machine gunner’s white hot form.

  The man who answered his cellphone in the attacking line pointed at several people, then at the house. Four men stood up in a crouch, duck walking toward the house. A torrent of gunfire to the south startled Nelson and he centered back on the machine gunner, squeezing the trigger three times rapidly.

  Knowing the roar of gunfire was from the gang because every long gun the group had was equipped with suppressors, Gerald held low on the man talking on a cellphone with the attacking line and squeezed his trigger. Watching the man grab his waist as he fell over, Gerald shifted his aim to the ones moving toward the house.

  Even with the suppressors and a torrent of gunfire to the south, the gang heard the soft rifle reports, but couldn’t tell where they came from. Only a few knew what the noise meant and knelt down, looking for flashes.

  When the machine gunner jerked from the impacts, Nelson moved his aim to the four moving toward the house. Hearing Gerald’s rifle cough, Nelson squeezed his trigger, aiming at the man on the far right.

  The four stopped as the man on the right jerked and dropped down. All three turned as Nelson’s bullets slammed into the one on the far left. Watching the man jerk, the other two dropped down as Gerald brought his crosshairs on the next one.

  As Gerald squeezed the trigger, he saw the man next to his target jerk as Nelson shot him. Suddenly, gunfire filled the small valley below them as the eight men left in the attacking line opened up on the house. It seemed above their intelligence that the shots could be coming from the hillside beside the house.

  Moving his aim to the line, Gerald watched a man’s head disappear in his thermal. “Holy shit,” Gerald mumbled, moving his aim only to see another head disappear. Jerking his rifle down the line and passing the next man so he could get in front of Sean’s aim, Gerald saw the attacker get up on one knee, spraying the house with full auto gunfire.

  Squeezing the trigger, Gerald smiled, watching the man drop his rifle and grab his chest. Moving his aim, Gerald saw the next man go down, rolling around and holding his chest as gunfire suddenly stopped. “One, are your partiers down?” Gerald asked over the radio.

  “Yeah, they just stayed still,” Dallas answered in shock.

  “You did take some alive, right?” Gerald asked, hearing Nelson getting up.

  “Oh yeah, but had to shoot his cellphone. It looked like he was trying to call someone,” Dallas called back nonchalantly.

  With his hand froze over the PTT, Gerald’s jaw fell open. “Yeah, mine tried that, too,” Sean called over the radio. “I’m sorry, but I blew his hand off.”

  Stepping over, Nelson tapped Gerald with his foot and Gerald looked up at Nelson with his mouth still hanging open. “And you wondered why I wanted a clan of giant Viking country boys,” Nelson huffed.

  Climbing out, Gerald patted his leg and Duke jumped out of the foxhole. “Holy shit,” Gerald mumbled as Nelson snapped his fingers and Zeus followed Nelson down the hill.

  Grabbing his PTT, “Matt, Sean, cover. Moving to get the two in back,” Nelson called out. Stopping before leaving the trees, Nelson followed the tree line along the small field in front of the house until he was even with the two attackers that had hung back.

  Glancing back and seeing Gerald behind him, “I’ll take the one rolling around holding his hand,” Nelson said and Gerald nodded.

  “Nelson, a few of the others are trying to crawl away,” Matt called over the radio.

  “Have Sean shoot them in the legs,” Nelson replied with a grin, moving out in the field slowly with Gerald.

  When they were twenty yards away, they charged with the dogs. The two men lying on the ground moaning never looked up as boots slammed in their faces, knocking them out. Pulling out his first aid pouch, Nelson knelt down as Zeus hovered over the man’s face.

  Putting a tourniquet on the man’s left forearm, Nelson put another on his right leg, stopping the bleeding from his blown-out knee. “Damn, the only thing holding your lower leg on is your pants,” Nelson nodded, flipping the man over and tying his stump and hand together.

  Glancing over, he saw Gerald done with his. “Guess you lost a dollar,” Nelson said, standing up as a scream sounded from the line of men. They both turned to see one drop down, clutching his leg.

  “Best dollar I’ve ever lost,” Gerald nodded.

  Moving up to the line slowly, they only saw three forms moving. “Fuck this, Nelson,” Gerald said, raising his AR up. Sighting in on each form lying still, Gerald squeezed off shots, making sure they were dead. When one sat up when Gerald shot him, Gerald pumped three shots in his chest.

  Satisfied, Gerald moved up to the three still moving with Nelson. Reaching the first one, Gerald saw it was the one he’d shot because a cellphone was in the grass beside him. “This one won’t last long,” Gerald said, seeing the man’s pelvis and lower abdomen soaked in blood.

  “Shit, this one’s bled out,” Nelson said, looking at a man whose leg was blown off at the knee. Moving to the next one, they found him holding a shattered arm. After stomping his face and tying him up, Gerald looked around as Nelson moved back to gut shot.

  “Matt, Sean, come down and help us pull the bodies into the barn,” Gerald called over the radio.

  “Moving,” Matt called back.

  “One, this is two. Clear your battlefield,” Gerald said.

  “Doing that now, son,” Dallas answered. “You want us to bring the two we took when we finish?”

  “Will they live long?” Gerald asked.

  “Yeah, the leader and his buddy are only missing the end of their left foot. Tony put a dressing on them,” Dallas called back.

  In shock and before he could answer, Gerald jumped as a scream filled the air. Spinning around, he saw Nelson leaning over gut shot. Grabbing the PTT, “Dallas, get your rides and load up the two you have. We’ll head back to Bernard’s,” Gerald said as another scream split the night.

  “Who’s screaming?” Dallas asked.

  Stumbling back, “You can hear that a mile away?” Gerald cried out into the radio.

  “Barely, but I heard it over your radio and now I know what we are hearing,” Dallas answered.

  Shaking his head, Gerald turned as Matt and Sean ran up to him. “Let’s get these bodies pulled into the barn. I don’t want drones finding out what we did,” Gerald said, moving to the line of bodies.

  The three each grabbed a body and pulled it to the barn. When they came back, they saw Nelson had pulled the one with the blown off leg next to gut shot. Nelson was sitting between them, talking calmly and writing in his notepad.

  When they were finished, the three walked over to Nelson as he calmly pulled a knife out, slicing the throat of each wounded man. “Remind me not to piss Nelson off,” Sean said with a shiver.

  “Trust me, that is one thing you don’t want to do,” Gerald huffed as Nelson grabbed one body by the arms and started pulling.

  Dragging the body toward them, Nelson shrugged, “Sorry, but they weren’t going to last much longer,” he said, walking past them. Leaving the body inside, he walked past them to the other body. They followed and were shocked when Nelson picked up the cellphone off the ground.

  Pulling out his notepad, Nelson flipped to a page, reading it and then tapped the screen. They all gasped, seeing him send a text. “What the hell are you doing?” Gerald asked, stepping over.

  Looking at the small screen as he typed, “Letting the r
est of the gang know they found some women here and will stay here until they finish scouting,” Nelson said, tapping the screen. “How in the hell can Michelle type so fast on these little things?” he grumbled.

  As Nelson hit send, Matt shook his head. “Hope you know what you’re doing.”

  A few seconds later the screen lit up and Nelson looked at it, then grinned. “Damn, now I feel bad for not shooting the asshole and killing him fast,” Nelson chuckled, tapping the screen. He looked up at the others. “I have to leave the phone here because Nancy was right. They are tracking any cellphone that turns on.”

  “Ah, Nelson, the power’s been off for some time,” Sean said.

  “Sean, from what those two cocksuckers told me, you wouldn’t believe how many people are charging their phones in their cars just to use them,” Nelson said, ending with a sigh. “Many cell towers have power. How, I don’t know.”

  “What else did you learn?” Matt asked.

  “Not now. Let’s load up our wards, so we can have a chat with them in the barn,” Nelson grinned.

  “Nelson, are you going to nail them to the table?” Gerald groaned and Sean gave a shiver.

  “Pfft,” Nelson scoffed. “Please, those two will talk without me doing a thing to them.”

  As Nelson dragged the other body past, he looked at Zeus. “Zeus, guard,” he snapped and Zeus trotted over to the two tied-up forms and sat down. After Nelson put the body in the barn, he took off up the hill.

  Glancing back at Zeus, “Don’t think they will get away from a dog that big,” Sean said, breaking into a jog with the others.

  Leaning into the slope as he jogged up the hill, Matt chuckled. “If they can get past Zeus, they have earned their freedom.”

  Chapter 14

  Standing out on the back deck at the farm, Gerald glanced at his watch to see it was just after 1100. Dropping his arm, he looked at the gear they had recovered off the bodies. Most of the gang had been armed with civilian model AKs. The one thing he didn’t like was the M4s and the two M60s that they’d taken from the gang all had the government stamp, and Gerald knew they weren’t taken off dead troops or from raiding an armory. They had been given as supplies.

  “You mind if I take a pair of them thermal binoculars?” Scott asked, sitting on the stairs and eating a plate of food that Nellie had fixed him for lunch.

  Gesturing with a wave, “Take both of them,” Gerald nodded.

  “Well, since you don’t mind, can I have one of the 60s?” Scott asked with a grin.

  Chuckling, “Scott, you can have both,” Gerald said, never looking away from the equipment. “The only thing I can’t give you is the stuff Nancy wanted.”

  The grin fell off Scott’s face. “I can’t believe she made us go back for the phones and radios the gang had,” Scott mumbled. “That woman can chew a hole in your ass at the drop of a hat.”

  “She sure can,” Gerald nodded, looking down the line of gear. “Why didn’t they have the tactical vests on? These are the same IOTVs (Improved Outer Tactical Vest) the troops wear.”

  “Dude, with the amount of drugs and alcohol we pulled off them, I’m surprised they were staying upright,” Scott chuckled.

  “Make sure you take those vests also, and any of the other gear you want. I would be happy if you took it all,” Gerald said.

  For several seconds, Scott just looked at him and then finally nodded. “Thanks,” he said, finishing his plate off.

  Hearing the back door open, Gerald turned to see Nancy walk out, carrying a folder. “I’m not going back for their underwear,” Gerald told her blandly.

  Scoffing, “Like they would have any,” Nancy said, walking over to a chair. “For your information, I got a lot of useful information from those cellphones,” she told him as she sat down at the lawn table.

  “Surprised you’re not out there in the barn fighting Nelson to ask questions,” Gerald chuckled.

  “Those aren’t the ones I talk to. None of those can tell me anything I can’t figure out by going through their phones,” Nancy huffed. “But thank you for going back.”

  Turning back to the equipment, “Like I had a choice,” Gerald mumbled. “I want to know how my younger sister learned to chew ass?”

  The back door opened and they all turned to see Bernard and Dallas walk outside, talking. “Bernard, I helped catch them, so I get to help throw them in the wood chipper,” Dallas said, ducking his head and walking out the door.

  “I didn’t get to go,” Bernard popped off, looking over at Gerald for help.

  Holding his hands up, “Bernard, I’m not taking your side,” Gerald snapped. “For Christ sakes, they shot the two they took in the foot from over three hundred yards and you want me to take your side?”

  “Told you they could shoot,” Bernard chuckled.

  Taking the M14 off his shoulder and holding it up, “A blind man with one arm could hit the moon with this damn rifle,” Dallas said in awe. “I’ve never seen a high-end scope like this before and then you put that fancy heat scope on the gun so I can shoot at night. If any of my family had missed, I would have to take their guns away.”

  Still looking at Gerald, Bernard grinned. “He’s not kidding.”

  Walking over to the steps beside Scott, “Gerald, just how much would a gun like this cost?” Dallas asked, sitting down.

  “With all the extras, somewhere in the fifteen-grand ballpark,” Gerald said, turning back to the equipment.

  Looking down at the rifle in his lap, “My word, I don’t know if I want to carry it outside now,” Dallas gasped.

  Sitting down beside Nancy, Bernard let out a groan and then glanced over at Dallas. “Dallas, you wouldn’t believe what these boys here spend on their rifles,” Bernard said, getting comfortable in the chair.

  “Buy once, cry once,” Gerald said, picking up one of the AKs. “Don’t trust your life to cheap gear or equipment.”

  “What is bothering you?” Nancy asked, seeing Gerald staring at the AK.

  “Why weren’t all the gang using fed weapons?” Gerald said, putting the AK down.

  “Duh,” Nancy droned out. “The same reason you teach people in third world countries to use the AK. It doesn’t require a lot of maintenance and only takes a few hours to learn the platform.”

  Slowly, Gerald turned to look at Nancy. “Sis, nine of those bodies had military tattoos, so they had already learned the M16 platform,” Gerald said.

  Motioning to the barn with her head, “Get Nelson to ask them,” Nancy said.

  “He is,” Gerald said, turning away from the gear and walking over to sit down at the table with Bernard and Nancy.

  “Why aren’t you out there?” Bernard asked.

  “I’m bad cop,” Gerald said, leaning back. “I laid out a bunch of evil-looking instruments and Nelson told them if they didn’t answer his questions, I got to ask.”

  Slowly shaking his head, “That man continues to surprise me,” Bernard mumbled as the back door opened and Michelle walked out, drying her hands with a towel.

  “Nelson’s done?” Gerald asked.

  Nodding, Michelle sat down at the table. “Yeah, he’s inside, wolfing down a plate of food,” she said.

  “Are they still alive?” Bernard asked.

  “The one with the blown off hand won’t make it much longer without medical care and the others will die from infections,” Michelle said.

  Leaning over the table, “You better not have used any of our supplies on them,” Bernard said.

  “Please,” Michelle scoffed. “I only controlled the bleeding. I’m not wasting supplies or effort on murdering rapists. Nelson asked me to keep them alive until he was done.”

  The door opened and Matt and Sean walked out, talking with Tony and Jacob behind them. “I didn’t hit him that hard,” Sean said, ducking his head and walking out the door. “It’s not my fault that his jaw broke.”

  Walking over to the railing, Matt leaned back against it. “Sean, you broke the man’s face.
I really thought Nelson was about to use the Taser on you,” Matt said grinning.

  “He admitted to raping little girls and boys!” Sean bellowed and Dallas jumped up.

  Staring at Bernard hard, “I get to throw that one in the wood chipper,” Dallas growled.

  Putting the folder on the lawn table, “I can show you pictures and videos they took with their phones,” Nancy said with a shiver.

  “Okay, Dallas,” Bernard said with a disgusted groan. The door opened and the rest of the adults came out, followed by Nelson who was carrying several notepads.

  “Nelson, I’m sorry,” Sean said, holding up his hands. “He shouldn’t have been grinning, talking about raping a ten-year-old girl.”

  At a loss, Nelson froze and looked up at Sean’s face. “Uh, okay,” Nelson said blankly. “Why are you sorry?”

  Dropping his hands, “Because I broke his face,” Sean mumbled.

  Grabbing a lawn chair, Nelson pulled it over to the table. “I can honestly say I’ve never seen a man hit that hard,” Nelson grinned, sitting down. “I swear, if that man’s momma is alive, she felt that.”

  “So, you’re not mad?” Sean asked, trying to get his girth to fit in a folding lawn chair.

  “Only because it was hard to understand him after you broke his face,” Nelson said as the lawn chair Sean was trying to sit in let out loud groans.

  Afraid the damn chair was going to break, Sean moved over to a metal bar stool and sat down. “Don’t know how you controlled yourself as they talked,” Sean told Nelson as he looked off.

  Putting the notebooks on the table, “Had a job to do for the team,” Nelson said, flipping open one of the notepads. “We need to hit them tonight.”

  Scott jumped up off the stairs. “Hell, yeah!” he shouted, walking over to the table.

  “Like Nancy found out, they are set up in a school in Summersville,” Nelson said, pointing at a drawing. “Numbers actually at the school are hard to come by. When they get a call about a location, they send out a crew to deal with it.”

  Nancy opened her folder and handed Nelson an aerial photo of the building he had drawn. Taking the photo, “Ew, thanks,” Nelson said, laying it beside his drawing. “In this gang, there are over a hundred and fifty that have earned their colors. Then, they have at least half that in pledges. But there is always a minimum of fifty at the school.”