by Sean Liscom
“It’s not like that!”
“I know, but it’s still fun to get your goat over it!”
“You’re never going to let me live it down, are you?”
“Heck no! Besides, it stroked my ego as much as it did yours. Seriously, a beautiful woman bared everything to my husband, and he turned her down, cold! Yep, makes me feel pretty good too!” she laughed some more and stood from her chair. Completely gone were the tears from earlier.
“You sure?” I asked.
“GO” she pointed toward the door. “I’m going to go check on Luke and Tara and then I’ll join you in the security shack,” I stepped around the table and gave her a kiss. Her embrace seemed to last just a little longer than normal.
When we were done, I sprinted out of the house and across the lawn. I was just about to enter the shack when the eight-vehicle convoy of teams one and two exited the ranch compound. It couldn’t have been but two minutes since Dan had burst into my dining room and they were already rolling out. I twisted the handle of the door and nearly plowed into Melissa Lange.
“Sir!” she said loudly.
“Get me the leader of team three, please,” I barked as I stepped into the office space and she backed out of my way.
“Here, sir!” her reply stopped me in my tracks.
“You?” I questioned.
“Yes, sir.”
“Didn’t we have a talk about that “sir” crap, Melissa?”
“Yes.... We did. What do you need team three to do?” she changed the conversation on me.
“Reinforce all the gate positions and get some people up in the corner towers. Be on the lookout,” I ordered and moved toward the radio.
“What are we looking for?”
“This may be a diversion to get the teams out of here. It could be holdouts from Judges Army.”
“We’re on it!” she said and started out the door.
“Melissa!” I called after her. She stopped and turned back to face me.
“Yes?”
“Congratulations on the promotion!” I said, slipping the headset over my ears. She shot me a thumbs up and left the office. My ears were immediately assaulted with the sounds of gunfire.
“Sheriff Wagner, do you read me?” I asked into the microphone.
“Sterling ranch go for the Sheriff!” came a panicked male voice.
“This is Jason Sterling, who am I speaking to?”
“This is deputy Kerns; Sheriff Wagner’s been hit!”
“Deputy, help is on the way. Can you give me a sit-rep?”
“A what?”
“Give me a situation report. I need to know what you’re up against!”
“Probably 20 people....” heavy gunfire interrupted what he was saying. “.... when we entered the canyon! I don’t know how long we can hold them off!”
“Okay, I need you to calm down, deputy! Pick your targets and keep them pinned down. Don’t let them get around your flanks. Conserve your ammo and just hold on,” I said calmly.
“We’re running out of ammo!” he shouted.
“That’s why I need you to conserve what you got left. Don’t shoot at rocks and trees. Calm yourself down and pick your targets.”
“There’s too many!”
“Dammit, Kerns!” I shouted into the mic. “Settle down and listen to me! Help is on the way, but I need you to stand your ground until they get there! Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Good! Now tell me, did they hit you from both sides of the canyon or just one side?”
“They hit us from the east side. I haven’t seen any on the west side.”
“Okay, that’s good news. Do they have an elevation advantage?”
“Yeah, they do.”
“Okay, here’s what you need to do; keep your damn head down and only poke it out when you got a shot. Are you hiding behind a vehicle?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’ve got decent cover!”
“Break the mirror off the door and use it to peak around the corner to see what they are doing. As soon as you start to slack off on your return fire, they will try to move on you. That’s when you hit them! Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it,” he said. His voice was starting to sound a little calmer.
“Alright, you wait till they are out in the open then hit ‘em hard! Only shoot at what you can hit!” the next few minutes would be crucial for these guys. I looked at the wall clock. Dan and the Teams had left 10 minutes ago, they should be getting there just about any time. I knew he would push those MRAP’s and Hummers to the limits. One minute ticked by and then another. After the third one, deputy Kerns finally called me back.
“Sterling ranch, you there?”
“Yeah, Kerns! How’s it going?” I asked as Jill walked into the shack.
“We did as you said and got five or six of ‘em. They are hiding behind the rocks again. Being really cautious now!” I could hear the excitement in his voice.
“Good work! Now keep an eye on them and keep them off balance. If they stick it out, shoot it off! Help should be there any minute now!”
“Okay!”
“How many people in your convoy, Kerns?”
“There were 28 of us.”
“How many vehicles?”
“Five plus a big rig.”
“How many wounded do you have?”
“A bunch!” his voice started to sound shaky again.
“I need a number, Kerns! Best guess?”
“Ummmm, say seven or eight wounded!”
“Alright, buddy. You’re doing a great job! We’ll have our medical teams standing by when you get here. Just hang on a little longer, okay?” I glanced up at Jill and she knew exactly what I wanted.
“I’m on it!” she said and headed out the door. She was going to give Doc and his medical staff a quick briefing.
“I see your rigs coming up the road!” he shouted excitedly into the mic. I could hear the staccato of the lead fifty caliber machine gun opening up in the background.
“Kerns be ready to move when they tell you and do exactly what they say! You’re in the home stretch now!”
“Copy that! Thank you!” I was about to answer him when Dan broke into the channel.
“Rogue Two, Raptor. We’ve got the hostiles pinned and we’re covering the convoy while they load wounded and KIA. You want us to finish this or just back away once that’s done?”
“Raptor, if you’ve got a chance at finishing it, by all means, do so. If you can capture any of them, that might prove helpful but it’s not mandatory.”
“Copy that. I’ll see what things look like when we get to that point.” he replied. I knew Dan wouldn’t take unnecessary risks to capture the enemy. If he could, he would but he wasn’t going to get his people hurt over it.
The door to the shack opened again. This time my father stepped into the room. He was holding a mobile radio to his ear. He’d been listening in. He pointed to the chair across from the desk and I nodded. He returned his radio to its place on his belt and he took a seat. Leaving one of the earmuffs on, I slid the other one back so I could hear what he had to say.
“Little skirmish this morning?” he asked.
“Yeah. A convoy out of Lund got hit about 30 miles from here.”
“You need anything from me or my troops?”
“When they get back here, we could use some more medics. Got a couple you can spare for a bit?”
“Every one of my people are trained to at least the paramedic level, how many you need?”
“How ‘bout we start with four or five. If we need more, I’ll have Doc ask for ‘em. That cool?”
“Not a problem,” he pulled the radio from his belt again, switched channels and put it to his mouth. He ordered five of his medics to the infirmary and told them to report to Doc. Once he received confirmation, he set the radio in his lap.
“Thanks. It’s always nice to have more help than we need,” I said with a smile.
“You did a fin
e job of calming that deputy down. If you hadn’t, this could have turned out much worse,” he changed subjects on me.
“I met deputy Kerns about a week ago. He’s a good kid. He was just in over his head and needed a little guidance.”
“It was your calm voice and direction that got them through that, Jason. You’re responsible for them being alive, own it.”
“He’s the one that’s on the ground out there, not me. He’s the one that pulled it together and held them off until help could arrive, not me,” I insisted. Jack looked thoughtfully at me for a moment.
“I can see how you’ve managed to hold this ranch together. Your people are inspired by you. You lead, you truly lead from the front. You don’t just issue orders and expect others to do your bidding.”
“I’ve always been like that, Jack. I wouldn’t expect anyone to do anything that I wouldn’t do. All of the people here are confident and suited for their positions. We made it a priority to put people in positions that suit their abilities.”
“Is that why you sent Mr. Hawkins out there instead of going yourself?” he questioned.
“I sent Dan because he’s a combat veteran, he’s the chief of security and, above all, he knows his shit.”
“I see....”
“And?”
“I’ve been watching you. Not just since we’ve been here, but before that. I think I can sum up what kind of leader you are....”
“I’ll bite. Just what kind of leader am I?”
“You asked,” he smirked. “You take ultimate responsibility for everyone under your command. If they do well, you let them know they did well. If they do poorly, you take the responsibility from their shoulders. That’s got to be a heavy burden sometimes, yes?”
“I wouldn’t know. They’ve never failed in anything they set out to do.”
“Hmmm, I guess it will be interesting when it finally happens.”
“Don’t you mean, IF it ever happens?”
“Oh no. I mean WHEN because someday, it will happen. Ya know, that’s one thing I really used to admire about you. Your optimism.”
“And now you don’t?”
“I kinda figured that the end of the world would have beat it out of you by now. Honestly, at this point, I find it kind of annoying,” again with that smirk. I was getting to the point that I just wanted to knock it off his face. “You won’t always win the day, Jason. That’s a lesson you should prepare yourself for. Otherwise, WHEN it happens, you’re going to be in for a very rude awakening.”
“Wow! Don’t sugar coat it. Why don’t you tell me how you really feel?” I laughed when I said it. He dismissed my comment with a wave of his hand.
“All I’m sayin is; be ready for it because the day will come….”
“If you just came in here to berate me for trying to keep a positive outlook, well, you might as well head back to the warehouse. You’re not gonna get a rise out of me.”
“Actually, I just came up here to bring Major Jackson the list of parts we need. Guess I’m a little late to give it to him in person.”
“Yeah, he left about an hour ago, but I’ll make sure he gets it,” I held my hand out for the folded piece of paper he was pulling out of his breast pocket.
“In a hurry to get rid of us?” he chuckled and handed it over. I wasn’t going to give him the pleasure of getting a response from me. I unfolded the paper and scanned down the list.
“I’ll give him the list, see what he can do.” Jack nodded and stood from his chair. He walked over to the window that looked out over the parking lot. He stood there, just looking, for the longest time. After about 10 minutes, he let out a sigh.
“I wasn’t trying to insult you, son. I just want you to be prepared for the worst,” he said, never looking away from the window. “You, hell, you and your brother have done a great thing here. You’ve used this ranch for the exact purpose for which it was built. The last time I was here, it was just Allan and Jill. The ole Doc would stop by every once in a while and Bill was stuck in Reno most of the time. I had some serious doubts about how this ranch would fare. Seems as though I was wrong to worry about it.”
“It would seem that you’re two for three where the ranches are concerned,” I commented.
“Yeah. It’s too bad about the Ambrose site. If we’d only had a little more time....” he mused.
“Don’t write them off just yet. Maybe they’ve managed to pull it together. I mean, look how much we’ve accomplished AFTER the EMP. We built this security shack, twice, and we’ve added two new houses. There are plans to expand the animal paddocks too. What did you say that guy’s name was? Tyler? Maybe he’ll surprise you too.”
“I hope you’re right, Jason, I really do but I have my reservations.”
“You wouldn’t have put him in charge if you didn’t trust that he could do the job....”
“Rogue Two, Raptor. We’ve mopped it up here and will be headed back to the nest inside of five minutes. We weren’t able to grab you a present, sorry,” Dan’s voice came from the earmuffs.
“Good work, Raptor. Everything is ready for your return,” I replied. “Don’t worry about the present, I wasn’t fully expecting one anyway.”
“Those the only Jeeps left?” Jack asked, still in front of the window. He was looking at the three remaining Jeeps in the parking lot.
“That’s it. One got destroyed at the airport the night the lights went out. The second was destroyed in an ambush a couple days later and I got blown up in the third one.”
“Pretty good rigs, aren’t they?”
“I like ‘em. I still wish we had all six though.”
“Well,” he turned from the window and started for the door. “It sounds like you are about to get busy again. I’m heading back to the warehouse. If you need any more help when Dan gets back, just snag who you need. Okay?”
“You bet. Thanks again. Before you get back to work, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Earlier, you talked about phase two of the ARK’s plans. What happens if you don’t make it there in time and they launch the bioweapons?”
“Hard to say for sure. I do know that I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near a big city.”
“From everything we’ve heard on the HAM radios, most of the metropolitan areas have been abandoned. There’s nowhere to grow anything or graze animals,” I offered.
“That’s certainly a factor but people do still live there. There are even organized groups that go in to scavenge what they can. If one of those groups gets infected, they will bring it back to their base. Once people start getting sick and dying, the other people will begin to flee spreading the disease to otherwise unaffected areas. It’s just the nature of the weapon.”
“Yeah, but with the lack of mass transit, wouldn’t that cause it to burn out faster?”
“All it will do is slow it down a little. This weapon was designed to live and be contagious for a long time. Even if a person is naturally immune, they could become a carrier. The dead will remain infectious for quite a while too.”
“I see. If things go wrong and those missiles deliver the weapon, what will happen to us if we put the ranch on a full lockdown? Nobody in or out.”
“As long as nobody has been exposed, you’ll probably be fine. If even one infected person comes through the gate, you’re all probably going to die. There’s really no in-between for the two possible outcomes.”
“Jesus….” I whispered.
“It doesn’t really matter though. I’ll make sure the vaccine gets back here. You and your people will become immune and you won’t have to worry about it.”
“Won’t that make us carriers?”
“No. There’s a difference between natural and acquired immunity.”
“That’s good to know,” I paused, unsure of how to proceed with the next part but decided to just jump in. “I talked to Bill after I talked to you this morning.”
“And?”
“Honestly, we
don’t have enough time to sit here and discuss everything that’s on my mind. There’s just too much, but one thing has been stuck with me. He said you were actually considering joining the ARK, that you were a proponent of their plans.”
“Hmmm.... Well, to be fair, Bill hasn’t put up with as much crap as I have. If you’re asking me a question there, the answer is yes. I did, and to a point, still believe in what they wanted to do.”
“He also said your only hang-up was their methods. Is that right?”
“Partially. The biggest thing that turned me off was the fact that they wanted to rule what was left of the world when it was all said and done. I ain’t about that. I am all for letting men be free to make their own choices. Good or bad. That’s the way it’s supposed to be and the EMP nearly got us there. The strong will survive, the weak die. That’s the way it works in the animal kingdom and face it, we ain’t nothin but animals. I was all for letting ole Darwin sort it out.”
“Damn. That’s pretty harsh.”
“It is what it is. You asked, I answered. Anything else?”
“No, not now. Maybe later we can sit down and sort some of this out?”
“Sure.”
“Okay. Hey, thanks again for loaning us your medical people.”
“Anytime,” he replied and then was gone. He’d left the door open and Jill walked through it a second later.
“Doc’s ready when whenever they get here. He, Susan and Samantha will perform any necessary surgery with the medics your dad sent over assisting. We can use the team medics for the smaller stuff,” she reported and sat heavily in the chair across from me.
“Tired?” I asked.
“Beyond tired. Been exhausted for days now,” she rubbed her eyes as she said it.
“Everything is under control here, why don’t you go get some rest?”
“Nah, I’ll survive.”
“Okay, the offer is there if you need it.”
“Thanks, I’ll tough it out. Maybe we could kick back in a warm bath tonight, before bed?”
“I don’t see why not. It’d be a good time to finish our conversation, if you want.”
“I want!” she chuckled.
“I was thinking about something you said earlier,” I started. She looked up at me.
