With everyone mounted up, Nelson stayed in the trees, moving at a slow pace until he pulled up on a small river. Giving hand signals that they would cross one at a time, Nelson rolled out of the trees and into the water. Everyone saw him give a flinch as his four-wheeler hit the cold water.
Kenny looked back at Sean. “What’s wrong with Nelson?” Kenny asked.
“Something has him on edge, tell the others to keep their eyes peeled,” Sean said, glancing around. Kenny leaned over, whispering to the others as Nelson reached the other side. Curtis gave a nod and drove into the water following Nelson across.
When everyone was across, Nelson stayed in the trees, creeping south. Curtis saw Nelson stop and hold up a fist for everyone to stop. Stopping, Curtis held up his fist, passing the signal back as Nelson climbed off his four-wheeler.
Unlike before, Nelson got on his hands and knees, crawling forward with Zeus beside him. Curtis looked down and saw Sean on his hands and knees crawling past him. Looking back, Curtis saw the others following Sean, crawling behind him.
After they’d passed, Curtis climbed off and dropped down to follow. As they reached the tree line, Curtis watched everyone drop to their stomachs and crawl. Feeling apprehension building, Curtis dropped to his stomach to crawl through the bushes.
Seeing everyone moving side by side, Curtis crawled further left, moving up beside Kenny and overlooking a small field. Just over a hundred yards away on the far side of the field, Curtis saw Highway 19 and then saw the line of wrecked military vehicles. “Holy cow,” he mumbled as Sean surveyed the scene.
“Nelson, these were hit a few days ago,” Sean said and the four scooted sideways to listen.
“Yeah, look at that MRAP-,” Nelson stopped.
“Which one is an MRAP?” Justin asked.
“The big ass trucks that look like armored cars,” Nelson said. “See that one behind that flatbed trailer carrying that tank?”
“Got it,” Sean said and the four moved their binoculars, finding the MRAP.
“See those circles blown in the armor? A Warthog hit them,” Nelson said, moving his binoculars around.
“Sorry, warthog?” Curtis asked, looking at the destruction. He had hunted hogs and wanted to leave before that hog came back.
“A-10 ground attack plane. The baddest plane we ever made,” Nelson said. “That first heavy hauler,” Nelson stopped. “See those massive blocky semis with the long flatbed trailers? Those are heavy haulers, the M-1070 or HET, Heavy Equipment Transport. They use those to move heavy armor up to the battlefield.”
“Okay, I have the first one,” Sean said, moving his scope.
“That blown-up tank was an M-1 Abrams, but move back to the other two heavy haulers. Those are Leopard 2s, German main battle tanks. I see five FMTVs, five blown-up Strykers, four Humvees, six MRAPs, but I don’t know what the hell that is sitting upside down in the ditch,” Nelson said.
“What about that last HET?” Sean asked and Nelson swung his binoculars down the road.
“Whoa, that’s an MLRS, Multiple Launch Rocket System. Think artillery with attitude. That makes four HETs,” Nelson said, moving his binoculars back up the road. “Some of those Strykers have turrets I’ve never seen before.”
“FMTV are those funny looking trucks with the cab over the front wheels, right?” Kenny asked, looking at the road.
“Yeah, each kind has its own design. They are used to haul equipment and sometimes troops,” Nelson said.
“Well, one was blown in half, it’s sitting in the ditch, and I can’t find the back. It looks like it was sitting in front of that MRAP on its side,” Kenny said and Nelson moved his binoculars.
“Very good, Kenny,” Nelson said, impressed once again with the four. “I’ll bet money it was carrying ordnance and got set off with the attack.”
Moving his scope from the front of the destroyed column to the back, “Nelson,” Sean said. “One Warthog can do that? I never got to see one work, so I’m just asking. That column is just over a mile long and when they were hit, they didn’t move far, if at all,” Sean said, hoping all the Warthogs were on their side.
“I think a Warthog dove down on them and strafed the line with its thirty mm Gatling gun. Those tanks were hit by Hellfires and I can see a few craters that look like impacts from Hydra 70 rockets. Either a couple of Warthogs or a Warthog with some Apaches hit this group,” Nelson said.
“Pass this to Nelson,” Justin said, handing Kenny a handheld computer. Not taking his eyes off his binoculars, Kenny passed it down and Nelson took the handheld computer looking at the small screen. “I think that’s what is sitting upside down,” Kenny whispered loudly.
Looking at the screen, Nelson lifted his binoculars back up, studying the wreckage. Grinning, Nelson gave a curt laugh, “Yeah, that’s why it’s sitting in the ditch upside down. It was hit first,” he said.
“What is it?” Sean asked and Nelson looked down at the screen.
“Gepard 1A2, self-propelled anti-aircraft from Germany,” Nelson said, looking at the site again. “I think it was Apaches with a Warthog. They took out the anti-air and the Warthog flew down, gunning the road and then the Apaches took out the stationary targets.”
Taking his eye off his scope, Sean looked over at Nelson. “You’ve never seen one?” he asked.
“No, the wars I was in, the enemy didn’t have an air force,” Nelson said. “I probably had to learn it in vehicle ID class but sorry, if I didn’t see it after the class, I forgot it. I should know what kind of plane that was back there, but I can’t recall.”
“Where do you think this group was heading?” Sean asked.
“Deploying somewhere on the state line,” Nelson shrugged and passed the handheld computer back down to Kenny.
“Nelson, I’m not a military man and only served two years, but even I know that is a lot of troops and equipment out there on that road,” Sean said, putting his eye back on the scope.
“Yeah, but in a war this size, it’s not even a side show. Even if they were only transporting the equipment, that’s over a hundred troops killed out there, but I can tell from here that first 6x6 MRAP was packed with troops. So, this attack killed anywhere from a hundred to three hundred troops,” Nelson said.
Sean nodded, “Fine with me. That’s fewer we have to shoot.”
Looking over at Sean as he chuckled silently, “Spoken like a true scholar,” Nelson said.
“How do you want to do this?” Sean asked.
“We passed a ravine back there, let’s stash our rides in it and move on foot from here. The first site I want to check is only two miles away,” Nelson said and Sean sighed with relief.
“Thank you,” Sean almost panted. “I just don’t think a Warthog will kill people on the ground.”
“Seen ‘em do it all the time,” Nelson said, crawling backwards.
Following Nelson with a glare as he backed up, Sean growled. “You could’ve kept that shit to yourself.”
“Sorry,” Nelson snorted.
After moving the four-wheelers into the ravine and covering them with a net and bushes, Sean was sure unless someone tried to walk over the ravine, their rides wouldn’t be found. Moving over beside Nelson, Sean saw Nelson putting on his ghillie suit.
Dropping his pack, Sean dug his suit out. It was one of the few things Michelle let them do while they recuperated, make Sean a ghillie suit. “I think this thing is going to get hot,” Sean said, looking at the shiny material inside the pants and jacket.
“It’s hard for Mr. Warthog and his friends to see you with the heat shield,” Nelson said and Sean almost jumped in the pants. Looking over at the four, “You do your ghillie suits like I asked?” Nelson asked.
“Sure did,” Kenny grinned, pulling his jacket on. “Where do you get these cool ideas?”
“Learned it from fuckers shooting at me,” Nelson said, covering his rucksack with his ghillie blanket.
“You want us carrying sniper rifles?” Curtis asked, pi
cking the massive M107 Barrett up. “If not, it takes me a few minutes to strap it on my backpack.”
“Stay on your AR,” Nelson said and saw Kenny and Rick strap Chey Tacs to their packs. “Where’s your Barrett MRAD?” Nelson asked Kenny.
“Home. I brought my Chey Tac. It’s better for anti-material,” Kenny said, pulling his backpack on. “Why do you call your backpack, a rucksack?”
“A rucksack is large and you can live out of it for weeks. A backpack is small and you can live out of it for a day or two,” Nelson said, turning to Sean. “You want to carry the Stinger or Javelin?”
“Which one can kill a Warthog?” Sean asked, looking at both on the ground.
“A Stinger can make it run away but for the most part, if you hit the Warthog with the Stinger, you’ll piss it off,” Nelson said.
Picking up the Javelin, “I’ll carry this, so I won’t be tempted to piss one off,” Sean said, strapping it to his pack.
Watching Curtis grunt, putting his backpack on, “You sure you can hump that?” Nelson asked.
Situating his backpack, “Everyone practiced carrying gear fifteen miles in four hours,” Curtis said.
Nelson knew Curtis’s gear was heavier than his, and Nelson was carrying over eighty pounds. Just the Barrett weighed thirty pounds and that didn’t include the scope and stuff. “If you need me to, I’ll carry some of your gear,” Nelson said, reaching over and patting Zeus.
“Well, if we get in a shootout, I might need a few magazines of 5.56 because I only carry three. I have to save weight somewhere,” Curtis said shamefully.
“No problem. I carry a thousand rounds in my ruck and ten magazines,” Nelson said, putting his ruck on. “He who can shoot the most wins.”
Letting his AR go, Curtis pulled out his notepad as his AR hung by the one point sling. Nelson chuckled, watching Curtis scribble in the pad. Checking his AR, Nelson waited until Curtis put the notepad away.
“I’m moving like we did on the four-wheelers. Keep the same distance,” Nelson said and walked off with Zeus beside him. Sean grinned, watching the four bump knuckles together and form up to follow Nelson.
“I like those four,” Sean mumbled, bringing up the rear.
Chapter 25
Heading east, Nelson crossed the highway a mile from the destroyed convoy and stopped at the tree line. Pulling out the big radio, he turned it on, making sure it was on the right channel. “Dude, that’s a five-watt radio. They’ll be on our ass in seconds,” Justin said with wide eyes.
“That’s why I’m calling from here and I won’t be on it for long,” Nelson said, lifting the microphone to his mouth.
Pressing the button, Nelson waited a second. “Orgasm,” he said and let the button go.
A few seconds passed and they heard, “Dildo.”
“Orgy is set with friends,” Nelson called out.
“Copy,” came back and Nelson turned off the radio and repacked it.
“Think they could track that?” Kenny asked as Nelson pulled his ruck on.
“Not pinpoint, but yeah,” Justin said as Nelson moved into the trees.
“Then let’s get the hell out of here,” Curtis said, following Nelson. Barely a half a mile away, Nelson moved to a tree and dropped to his knees. Everyone dove down, crawling to a tree and a few seconds later, the others heard the sounds of a helicopter.
Looking through the trees, Nelson saw the helicopter zoom past while following the road just a hundred feet above the ground. “Seems you don’t want to get high,” Nelson said, looking back and motioning the others to move up.
When they’d gathered up, Nelson looked at them. “I don’t know if that chopper was because of the radio, so we don’t use our radios unless absolutely necessary,” Nelson said.
“What makes you doubt it wasn’t the radio?” Kenny asked.
“That was a Puma. It’s a transport chopper and you don’t send one of those to scout around that low because it doesn’t take many holes to knock one down,” Nelson said and the others nodded.
Seeing no more questions, Nelson moved off. It was 1600 when Nelson eased up the hill he wanted and saw the small town of Thayer to the south. Pulling back, Nelson dropped his rucksack. “This is base camp. Wait here while I’ll look for an OP,” Nelson said, easing off with Zeus.
Dropping his pack, Sean saw Nelson was already gone. “Anyone know what an OP is?” Sean asked.
“Observation Post,” Justin said, pulling out gear and Sean nodded impressed.
Since the hill and valley below were covered in trees, Nelson moved along the ridge until he found a spot that offered a nice view of the valley and town. Easing next to a tree, Nelson scanned the town and valley. “Well, shit,” he said, seeing a tank and three Bradleys.
Lowering his binoculars, Nelson couldn’t help but think of the four. He’d learned a lot about them today. For one, all of them could read a map better than anyone he knew, including himself. They could spit out a coordinate just from glancing at the map.
It was when Curtis told Nelson they had read three really good books on orienteering, that Nelson’s eyes had been opened. They read stuff and then discussed it before doing it and Nelson had felt bad about having them on the attack. None of them could believe that evil could run that rampant.
Lifting his binoculars up and scanning slower, Nelson saw what looked like a trainyard that had been bombed. Seeing a few more troop encampments, Nelson nodded and headed back. He smiled to see everyone lying prone with weapons aimed in his direction, but moved off when they saw it was Nelson.
Sitting down beside his rucksack, “There are some troops down there,” Nelson said.
Pulling out an MRE, “Okay, we heard that on the short-wave. Why hasn’t anyone talked about that convoy that was blown to hell,” Sean said, ripping the MRE open.
“The last time we heard anyone talking about troops in Thayer was two weeks ago. That’s why I wanted to come and take a peek, in case they’d moved closer to us,” Nelson said, pulling out an MRE. Zeus licked his chops and moved over to sit down beside Nelson. “One time, you could let me eat first,” Nelson said, pulling out a sealed baggie of dog food and dumping it out.
“So, why hasn’t anyone talked about them again?” Sean asked and Kenny raised his hand.
“Okay, guys,” Nelson snapped. “No more raising hands. We are men in combat, not little bitches.”
“You-,” Curtis said and Nelson held up his hand.
“Curtis, that was at a meeting with over a hundred people. Each of you are part of my team now. You don’t raise your hand for shit in my meetings. I’m warning you now, the next one that raises their hand, I’m biting your left pinkie finger off,” Nelson said and the four grinned at each other. “Now, Kenny, what did you want to ask?”
“I just wanted to say that any transmission in the clear to the south of us has decreased in the last two weeks,” Kenny said with a prideful grin.
“In the clear?” Sean asked, filling his mouth.
“Un-coded broadcast,” Justin said.
Nodding as he swallowed, “So, the feds are taking out tattle-tales,” Sean said.
“I think so,” Kenny said.
The four pulled their backpacks over and used them for tables when opening MREs. Nelson and Sean both stopped eating as Curtis, Kenny, Justin, and Rick sat cross-legged and arranged the MRE contents on their packs in a neat order. Justin pulled out paper plates and passed them around, and each put the food neatly on the paper plates. The four unfolded a napkin and tucked it into their shirts. Using sporks and plastic knives, the four ate like they were in a fine dining restaurant.
Looking down, Nelson saw his spork shoved in the pouch he was eating out of. “For some reason, I just don’t feel manly right now,” Nelson said.
Pushing his body up, “I can’t take this,” Sean said, moving over to the four. “Guys, there are people less than a mile away that want to kill us and our families. We are in the woods, covered in mud, rolling around in the di
rt and carrying high powered weapons. We are MEN,” Sean said and the four looked at him, not liking that twitch in his eyes.
“Pick those plates up and shovel that shit in your mouths,” Sean said. “I don’t want to see another plate. You can use a bowl, but no plates out here.”
When they picked up their plates and started eating, Sean grinned. “Better,” he said and Nelson moved over.
“Out here, we act civil to each other, but we aren’t civilized. People want to destroy the ones we love, take what we have and enslave us. You may want to stay civilized back at base,” Nelson said looking at each one. “Out here, we are deadly animals that all should fear. That is how you act out here in the shit.”
Curtis nodded and raked the neatly arranged items on his pack into the MRE bag and began shoving his food into his mouth. When his food was gone, Curtis nodded. “I understand,” he said, folding his plate up.
Folding his empty plate up, Kenny sighed, “Yeah, I understand and it’s sound reasoning. Your enemy isn’t civil and any civility you display is a weakness.”
Not exactly what he’d meant, Nelson nodded accepting that. “Remember, if we fail, those we love stand a good chance at a fate worse than death,” he said and the four nodded somberly. “Hey, we are apex predators and we never feel down, so snap out of it. Any that face us and escape will remember and tell others; leave them alone.”
“Whoa,” Rick said, leaning back. “That’s awesome. They may have more equipment and men, but they know it’s just not worth the risk and loss to mess with us.”
Grinning, Nelson reached over and patted his leg. “Now, you’re understanding like an apex predator,” Nelson said.
When they were finished, Nelson looked at them. “I want to see how good you are. Move fifty yards along the ridge and you’ll see a small shelf on the other slope that overlooks the town and area. I want you to find every military position there. I want sketches and distances of each location, along with equipment and troop strength,” he said and they all nodded.
“About that,” Justin said, pulling out his map. “There’s a hill southwest of here that’s taller and overlooks the town of Thayer and the town of Mammoth Spring across the state line. Why don’t we move there?”
Storm Front Page 29
