by David Nees
Jason was quiet for a moment. “But we’re not sure. That could be a risky bet.”
“But one we have to take.”
“If we do it this way, who should we send?”
“I think I should go with Sergeant Gibbs and maybe another soldier.”
Jason turned to look at her. The truck swerved.
“Watch where you’re driving!” she said.
Jason yanked on the steering wheel to keep the truck on the road.
“Why you?” he said, looking straight ahead. “That’s too dangerous.”
She looked at his profile. She admired him. She had looked up to him from the beginning. At one time she had even thought she was in love with him. He had saved her life and had taught her how to fight and defend herself. It was Jason who had given her the freedom of self-confidence. If others looked up to her now, it was because of what she had learned from Jason. And she had given back to him; she had saved his life twice.
Yet now he didn’t make sense to her. He was trying to be the protective father, sheltering her from danger. Even in the face of convincing evidence that she could take care of herself, that she was as capable a warrior as most of the men in Kevin’s army squad.
She said, “I suppose stalking the men in the woods during the bridge battle wasn’t dangerous. I saved your life there. You do remember, don’t you?”
Jason opened his mouth, but she continued. “And how about today? I suppose sniping the attackers who were firing machine guns and mortars at us wasn’t dangerous?”
“That was different,” he said. “Now you’re going into the nest, into the lair of the enemy. Your shooting skills may not help you there—”
“So today wasn’t as dangerous as sneaking into town? Tell that to Bird.”
He looked suddenly at her again, while being careful to keep control of the truck this time. “Whoa. That’s not fair. Catherine, I love you. You know that. I think of you and Sarah as my own daughters. I know you can take care of yourself, but I can’t help worrying about you.”
“I’m trying to understand,” she told him. “But it doesn’t make much sense when you consider what I can do, and what I’ve…we’ve…been through.”
He looked back at the road, and she saw his jaw muscles clench. She wasn’t sure if he was angry or frustrated. “I’ll try to keep my protective instincts in check, but it’s hard to think of you as just a member of our fighting team. Having you in harm’s way scares me, somehow more than before. Maybe it’s because we didn’t have any choice in the matter before.”
Then his expression hardened, and he turned it back to her. “But here’s what’s important. We have to fight with a plan. That means you can’t be a rogue actor. You’ve got to go along with whatever plan we come up with. Can you do that?”
“So we have a plan now?”
“We’re talking about one right now. When we all agree to it, we have to follow it, or change it as events dictate, but even if it changes, we have to adapt together. Because we’ll die if we don’t. Can you commit to sticking to your role in the plan?”
Catherine thought about that for a moment. “I can do that as long as you allow me to be in the fight, to use my skills.” She paused to sort out her thoughts. There was one thing that really mattered. “And I want to kill Leo. That’s personal for me.”
Jason sighed.
They drove on, each lost in their thoughts about what was to come.
Chapter 18
“Leo? He’s got something going on,” the bartender said, polishing the bar. “Something special. He’s not even in town right now.”
“What?” Lori Sue blurted. She covered quickly. “No one’s ever not in town anymore, Hank. It’s not like anyone goes to Vegas. Where would he even go?”
“Out with some kinda task force. Bigger than a patrol. Don’t know what the deal is, but there’s talk that maybe those farmers who came for the trade visit are gonna get a visit of their own. Maybe the goods weren’t as advertised or something.” Hank shrugged.
“When’d everyone find out about this?” she asked.
“Word got around during the day. People didn’t see Leo around and noticed some of the men gone. Seems to have been kept pretty quiet. What’s it to you anyway?”
Lori Sue gave him a big smile. “A girl in my line of work needs to know what’s going on.”
“A girl in your line of work needs a strong back…amount of time you spend on it.” The bartender gave her a nasty grin.
“Shove it up yours,” Lori Sue retorted and gave him the finger. “You’re just jealous ‘cause I don’t give you a tumble.”
“Don’t worry about that, dear. I ain’t looking to catch a disease.”
“You don’t have any worries there. Since you probably aren’t getting any action.” She smiled at him.
“Go to hell,” he said, his smile turning to a scowl.
“See you later, Hank. Stay out of trouble.” She turned and left the bar.
Outside she stopped to think. Leo was gone. She’d already lost a day. There’d be a guard at the hotel door, and probably not Reggie this late. Other high ranking militia would be back at the hotel now and she didn’t want to run into them. The biggest problem was that she didn’t have a hacksaw or bolt cutters. She’d need those to do anything anyway.
Lori Sue cursed. There was nothing to do but head back to her apartment, find Billy, and make him get the tool she needed. Leo was probably going to be gone for two or three days, so she could spring Donna tomorrow. She put her frustration aside and started walking.
Well before the deserted houses thinned out, Jason pulled his pickup to the middle to block the street and stop the convoy behind him. He and Catherine got out and went over to the Humvee with Kevin and Rodney in it. Clayton came over from one of the other trucks. The night was dark and overcast, a cool wind blowing from the north. They spoke in whispers, even though they guessed that they were still quite a ways from the barricades.
“So what do you think? How do we proceed?” Jason asked the group.
“We can expect they’ll have men at the barricade,” Kevin responded.
“Do they know we’re coming?” Catherine asked. “We could probably overwhelm a small guard group.”
Jason said, “Remember that pickup that got away? Whoever was in it had most of a day’s head start on us. Whether it was Leo or not, I think we have to assume he beat us back to town. They’re alerted.”
Rodney spoke up. “Since there are only two main gates, it wouldn’t be hard for them to really be ready for us.”
“They’ve got a .50 cal machine gun.” Catherine said. “I heard it when they fired on me and Bird.”
She could barely see Rodney’s head nod in the darkness. “You don’t forget that sound,” he said. “And who knows how many M60s. A .50 cal would stop the whole convoy and scatter those who remained alive.”
“So we don’t drive straight in,” Kevin said. He shook his head. “Hell, we don’t drive in at all. We can’t spring any surprises if everyone knows where we are, and we’ll need to work out a plan once we’re in there.”
There was silence as everyone considered the options.
“Making this up as we go,” Rodney said. “I think we have a small group head off to the barricade. Sneak in, away from the guarded entrances.”
“How’ll that help?” Clayton asked.
“We’ve got working radios,” Rodney said. “We can join up with Chief Cook. He’s probably at Lori Sue’s place, or she knows how to get hold of him. Hopefully he’ll know how we can get our main force in.”
“That’s going to take time,” Kevin said.
“Yeah,” Rodney replied, “but if we take that time, I’ll bet we’ll get all our men in without any losses, along with our gear. Plus they won’t know we’re inside until we attack. If we just go at the main entrance with the whole group, we’ll probably be engaged while we’re still outside. We don’t want that.”
“So what’s our plan o
f attack?” Jason said.
“One step at a time,” Rodney replied. “Let’s first get in and find out what’s going on in town.” He looked out into the dim jumble of rooflines and trees. “I’m thinking the group should head to our right, towards the west side. That’ll take them away from the entrance.”
“So who goes?” Clayton asked. There was a pause.
Finally Catherine spoke. “Kevin has to lead the main group. So he has to stay. Sergeant Gibbs should go.” She paused for a moment. “And I should go with him.”
“Why you?” Jason asked.
“I don’t like it,” Kevin said.
“What do you care?” Catherine said. Then before Kevin or Jason could respond she said. “That wasn’t fair. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” She shifted her feet and started again. “Listen to me. Kevin needs to stay here, and Clayton and Jason don’t know the townspeople all that well. I have a rapport with Lori Sue, and I think I can do a good job if any convincing is needed to get all of them on board. I was in the thick of it today in the valley. This will be easy compared to that.”
“She makes a point,” Clayton said.
“I still don’t like it,” Kevin said. “At least you should take a second soldier. Three isn’t too large of a group.”
“I’ll take Bradley Thomas,” Rodney said. “He’s a solid soldier. And he can be quiet.” He turned and walked back toward the looming rectangle of the big troop truck.
Kevin walked around behind the Humvee. Jason turned to Catherine. “Catherine, I don’t know what to say, except this makes me nervous.”
“You said. It’s okay. I understand you being protective, but you have to understand that I know how to fight.”
“Just be careful,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“I will,” she said as she patted his hand.
A few moments Rodney returned with Specialist Thomas, followed by Kevin with three helmets in his arms. Mounted to the front of each were strange, boxy constructions, each with a single stubby projection pointing forward, a lens in each—night vision goggles. “These should help you navigate your way through the barrier.”
“Good call,” Gibbs said. He took two and handed them to Thomas and Catherine.
Catherine put her helmet on and it flopped down over her eyes. “It’s too big,” she said.
She could see the men smiling in spite of the seriousness of the moment. “Don’t laugh. This won’t do me any good if it’s flopping all over.”
Kevin reached for the helmet. “I’ll find a smaller size,” he said and headed back to the truck.
In a minute he was back without a helmet. “Couldn’t find a small, so I got this headlamp harness.” He held out a webbed harness. “It goes over your head. This strap goes around your forehead, this one goes over the top. I can clip the goggles onto the harness. Put your ball cap on backwards and then put the harness over the cap.”
Catherine tried it on, and Kevin attached the goggles up at the top of her forehead and adjusted the straps until they were held securely. “That feels fine. And it isn’t heavy like the helmet.”
“Okay, let’s gear up,” Kevin said. “Catherine, do you want an M16? It has an automatic fire switch.”
“No, let me keep my Bushmaster. I’m used to it.”
“One mag in your weapon and take four more with you,” Rodney said. “Now the radios.”
Kevin reached into the Humvee and pulled out two handheld field radios.
“How do those still work?” Jason demanded.
Kevin smiled. “Protected circuits, and they’re rechargeable with a crank charger.”
“Let’s test them.” Rodney grabbed one and walked back behind the troop truck. Kevin turned on his radio. There was a click and Rodney’s voice came from the device. “Do you copy?” He was speaking softly, but they could all hear him.
“Copy,” Kevin responded.
“Copy here,” Rodney replied. They saw him emerge from the dark.
“Now, let’s test the goggles,” Kevin said.
Rodney and Thomas put on their helmets. Kevin showed Catherine the switch to turn on the goggles. She flipped them down over her eyes and gasped. “Oh wow. It’s so bright. I can see everything.”
“That’s the idea,” Kevin said.
“And it’s all green.” Catherine flipped them up and stared around in the dark. “Boy, that makes such a difference. This will be easier than I thought.”
“We can only hope,” Rodney said.
“You better go,” Jason said gruffly. “We’re losing the night standing here.”
Catherine reached for him and gave him a hug. “I’ll be careful,” she said.
“Thank you,” Jason replied.
Then Catherine turned to Kevin, who stood there expectantly looking at her. The confused anger was still there, and words seemed to hide in a tight place in her throat. “You be careful,” she said, her voice coming out more stiffly than she meant it to. “Hide the trucks so no one finds you.”
Kevin nodded. “You be careful,” he said.
She quickly turned to go. “You coming, Rodney?”
“Yes ma’am,” Rodney replied in a cheerful voice.
Chapter 19
The shapes of the convoy vehicles quickly disappeared into the dark as they rounded a house. They were in a suburban area of empty houses, long deserted. With the goggles the walking was easy. At first there was little to worry about as they quietly made their way through the abandoned neighborhood, although they still moved cautiously and kept an eye out for patrols or sentries. But soon they crossed the street with the single line of ruined houses on the far side, that were only mostly dismantled, and then they entered the zone that had been cleared of all buildings. They were in plain sight of the wall. The going was slower now. They dashed from hiding spot to hiding spot in a crouch, hunting for the few concealment points left in the open area, avoiding the open basements that now lay uncovered and filled with stagnant water.
“I hope the militia doesn’t have these,” Catherine whispered to Gibbs.
“We have to assume they do,” he replied.
At each hiding place, they scanned the area ahead. As the rubble wall came closer, they could see no sign of guard posts along its top or along its base, for as far as they could see along the curve.
“They’re concentrating on the entrance points. We should be able to climb over without being detected,” Gibbs said after a long look to left and right.
“More chance of someone seeing a whole big group trying it, though,” Catherine said. “Especially if they’ve got to bring heavy loads over. We have to find a place to get everybody else through all at once, fast.”
She saw him nod, but his voice was somber. “That’s a tall order. They kept things simple. All the smaller roads into town are just blocked by the rubble. And it’s at least as bad as this. Maybe if there was a really crappy thin point, they could just shove it over right there.”
“Hard to do that undetected. You think we could find a place like that?”
“We wouldn’t even know it if we saw it.” Gibbs sighed. “Better to just have everyone come straight across and climb.”
“You like that gamble?” Catherine asked.
“Better than getting caught and engaged in a firefight outside of town. That’s what they’d like. We’ll have to find a spot or do it the hard way.”
“Tough choices,” Thomas remarked.
The wall was about seven feet high at the point they were approaching. It was not as imposing as it had been around the main gate, there were no car bodies in its base, but it looked dangerous. Here it was really more of a construction trash pile, built up of building rubble, concrete blocks, rocks, lumber, metal beams, gravel, and miscellaneous debris. At any time one part of it could come loose as someone climbed it, burying them, or perhaps the whole thing would sag into a new point of stability, crushing anyone caught on it. Catherine suppressed a shudder at the sight. At night, wit
hout the goggles, it would have been nearly impossible to scale without incident.
The last thirty yards were fully open. There was no cover. They crouched at the last low stub of a concrete wall and scanned the open area ahead and to the left and right of them, then they dashed to the base of the wall. Gibbs looked up for a moment, then he grabbed something and began to climb. Catherine and Thomas started to climb as well, but a soft whisper stopped them. “No. One at a time.”
Thomas motioned her to go next. He turned and crouched down, looking along the razed area in both directions. Catherine took hold of the jutting board that Gibbs had gripped first. She began to climb.
It was as bad as she had expected.
The board shifted slightly. So did the next handhold—a piece of concrete. She froze for a moment. Nothing seemed firm to her. Sweat began to run down into her goggles which only made seeing the hand and footholds harder. Finally she reached for the next handhold, trying to copy Gibbs’ movements, not really seeing all the climbing points. The piece of rubble slipped. She stopped again, and didn’t pull on it, but it didn’t move further, and it remained firm when she tested it. The next handhold she could not distinguish even with the goggles; she copied the motion she thought she had seen Gibbs make. She could not see where she was stepping.
Gibbs was propped atop the wall, looking down at her. He extended his leg towards her to try to point out the next place to grab. As he shifted his weight, the whole pile moved again with a grinding sound. Catherine froze. Would she make it to the top or would the rubble collapse on her? She found the piece of metal Gibbs was pointing to and pulled herself up.
Now she could see over the top. Gibbs started down carefully. It took him only two footholds to reach a point where he could jump to the ground. When he jumped, the wall shifted again, this time more noticeably. Am I going to get off this? Catherine knew she was not up that high, but the climb seemed so desperate. Before she could lose her nerve she quickly followed Gibbs’s two steps and jumped. She hit the ground and fell to one side. She got up happily unhurt and happy to be away from the dangerous pile.
