I shrugged and replied, “Fine, he's yours, but I'd like to have Silverwolf back once healed. He's a good man in the bush.”
“Hell, he's an old cowboy from way back is why he's good in the woods. I'll keep him on the roster and assigned to you. Now, come with me and let me introduce you to your new people. By the way, I'm sorry to hear about Sandra, she was a brave woman.”
I nodded, not wanting an emotional conversation and replied, “Now, let's meet this new group of mine.”
The group was a mixed bunch of prior military and law enforcement types. My sniper, Mary, was a prior USMC nurse and I was glad, because I needed both skills in the unit. I introduced myself, exchanged a few words with each of them and answered any questions they had. More or less, we just made small talk. Bill Hale, my medic, was a prior Army combat medic, with two tours behind him in the sand box, so my grin grew wider. Top swore they were all good people and they seemed to be. One, Ellis Perry, a country boy from the delta area of Mississippi, had a slow speech but a fast mind and had Army EOD experience. My smile grew even wider as I moved from person to person talking with them.
Finally, I said, “I want all of you to get some food in you and rest. We have a mission coming tonight and we all need to be well rested. I can't give any details, but we're going to grab the Russian bear's balls with our teeth.”
Asa Gunn, a tall man at around six feet and four inches, closely cropped hair, said, “Well, I cain't help ya much there since I wear dentures, but if you need something blown up, by God, I can do the job.”
Everyone laughed and then Charles Black, short, soft blue eyes and long shoulder length hair, said, “It doesn't matter to me. When I volunteered to help push the Russians out of Mississippi, I donated my life and really don't expect it back alive or in good shape.”
“So,” Bill Hale, another tall man, with piercing gray eyes asked, “you're only fighting for our state then?”
Black said, “How well do you remember the years before the fall? Everything I'd been raised to think was proper in life was suddenly declared wrong by the Liberals. We had the rag-heads killin' each other, folks in Africa killing each other, folks were changing their genders overnight, gays and lesbians were marching in pride parades, abortions were way out of hand, black folks were killing white people and cops, and they even attacked the Confederate battle flag. All of these changes were not only suddenly socially acceptable, but fully endorsed by many.”
“Well, I'm a black man,” James Morgan said and then continued, “born and bred in Mississippi. I have to admit that flag was hated by many folks, and most of them were of my color.”
“But, why, is what I want to know?” Black said and then slowly shook his head. “Don't you realize Old Glory had much more slave blood on her cloth than the CSA battle flag? Hell, slaves were brought to this country and spent years suffering under the stars and stripes, but the Rebel flag flew for only four bloody years.”
“I never said I hated the flag, and I didn't. Only, many saw it as a symbol of racism, or the KKK. I've never told anyone, but also I've never hidden the fact, that I used to teach American History at a Mississippi state university. I think you'd be greatly surprised at just how ignorant the average American was when it came to our history. Why? First, many had absolutely no interest, and then, the north won the war so they wrote the history. I had students tell me the war started over the north's desire to free black men and women, and while the thought is nice, that wasn't the case at all. The primary reason in my eyes was state's rights, but most historians will never agree. Then, when Lincoln saw he would win the war, he decided to remove the slavery thorn from the government's ass. But, don't you see, after he was assassinated, writers, newspaper reporters and others suddenly started telling their readers what a noble man Mister Lincoln was and how he fought a bloody four year long battle to free the slave, which is pure bullshit. Lincoln fought the war for one reason and that was to preserve the Union, but slavery was certainly an issue. Now, enough talk about slavery and battle flags, we have enough to do these days.”
“Well, by God, I want it known right now, I'm gay and proud of it. You'll have no trouble out of me and I'll do my job. Remember, just because I'm gay doesn't mean I find any of you attractive, which I don't. You'll find I'm no different that any other man, except my sexual orientation is different,” Fox said.
Black met his eyes and said, “I'll tell you right up front, I don't like you or gays.”
I could see trouble coming and said, “That's enough of this bullshit. As long as any man or woman does their job in this unit, they'll be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their sexual preferences, religion, race, or other differences. And you two, I'll tell you both right now, any problems and I'll go to Colonel Lee and we'll take legal action, understood?”
Both men nodded, so I walked away.
At dark we moved as a small group to the trees near Edwards Air Base, and I was surprised at the number of partisans already in place. Choppers were heard coming and going and we'd moved in so close that I felt safe. The only way we'd be detected was if one of the choppers flew over our position with his infrared system on, and I suspected most would turn the system off as they neared the base.
Our late night supper was cold Russian rations, washed down by either creek water or cold tea from the meal container. I hated eating them cold, because I knew I'd get indigestion from all the fat in the meal. Then, we posted guards and went to sleep.
The next day was boring as we remained in the trees and tried not to move much, but that's hard to do for almost ten hours. I spent the day cleaning my gear and talking with my new squad individually, so I got to know each better. I spent a lot of time with both Black and Fox, just to make sure I could depend on them, and had an uneasy feeling about the two. However, we were all grouped together to attack an air base and the attack would happen. I just hoped neither of them would cause me trouble, but I'd know in just a few short hours.
At exactly 0130 I heard the light poot sound coming from the sniper rifles, which were all armed with silencers. I moved to Mary's side and asked, “What'd ya hit?”
“Nailed a Lieutenant Colonel coming out of a building. Looked like a clear head shot. Oh, wait, here come more.”
“I'll leave you alone, because you know what you're doing.” I said, and then moved back to the rest of my squad.
“When do we go?” Silverwolf asked.
“You'll not come along because your injury hasn't completely healed yet. You'll stay back here with the Colonel and provide his security. All of headquarters will remain behind, so you'll be with them.”
“John!” the Colonel called out, so I moved to him.
“Take a half-dozen men and start using the Russian missiles on choppers and jets taking off and landing. I want the flight line a flaming mess when we attack. The more y'all bring down, the less that will be in the air later trying their damnedest to kill us.”
“Yes, sir.” I replied, and hoped we were able to down enough aircraft to make a difference. Choppers were dangerous to folks on the ground and as a weapons platform, they were deadly. I rounded up the men we'd trained and had them spread out and cover our forest as well as we could.
I took Hale and Perry with me to help spot the birds, because a fast moving aircraft can seem to appear out of an empty sky at times. Less than five minutes later, a slow moving chopper flew right in front of me and I let the missile fly. I watched as the explosion took place and saw one man thrown from the aircraft, just before it slammed into the ground and exploded. Unlike most crashes, I saw no survivors walking around in flames or heard any screams.
Two additional choppers went down by missiles fired by others and it was then the base siren began it's warbling tone in warning. Then a tank came driving down the perimeter road and I saw a bright spotlight on top sweeping the area. I heard three light poofs, the light exploded into many pieces, and I knew our snipers had turned the light off for good.
&n
bsp; Then three lighted Molotov Cocktails flew through the air and exploded on the tank. The fire was followed up by a hit from a Russian RPG-7, and the tank began to smoke. It was then the hatches came open and the three man crew tried to escape, but they failed to clear the hatches before they were killed. All three Russians were slumped over, half in and half out of the tank. A partisan ran for the driver's hatch and threw a grenade inside. Seconds later it exploded, so I moved away to avoid the big beast when it blew.
I'd just returned to my squad when the tank exploded and the blast knocked a good hundred feet of perimeter fencing into the sky. We knew the fence was charged by electricity, but not any longer. Colonel Lee yelled and onto the air base we ran. At that point, the noise was unbelievable, with grenades exploding, hundreds of guns going off, screams of the wounded and even aircraft noises. I glanced up, and spotted a chopper with the door-gunner firing. I raised my missile but before I could even lock onto my target, the bird exploded into thousands of pieces sending flames, smoke and debris all over the place. The main cabin of the chopper fell and I clearly saw the pilot and copilot dead in their seats as flames danced on and inside the wreckage.
I fell to the ground as a Russian machine-gun opened up and sent a long line of lead through a small group of partisans in front of me. As I laid on my back, I looked up and the sky was filled with tracers, both incoming and outgoing. I heard a loud scream followed by an explosion, and when I looked toward the sandbags, the machine-gun was tilted on it's side and smoking. I counted three Russian bodies sprawled on the ground, each with a fatal wound.
A man in front of me suddenly fell back with half his head missing, struck the ground and his body began to quiver and jerk as he died. I stepped over him and kept moving forward. A young Russian face suddenly appeared in front of me and I squeezed the trigger of my Bison, running bullets from left to right and down he went. A long trench was alongside the flight line and in a zig-zag configuration. The Russians had machine-guns located with interlocking fire, but some of our people were in the ditch, clearing the guns out. The fighting was close and personal now, with gun butts, knives, and even rocks. I saw one Russian drop with an entrenching tool in his neck.
I pulled my pistol and moved forward. A bulk of a man ran for me, his upper chest and arms covered in blood, while around him lay three partisans. My pistol barked twice and his eyes grew huge; he stopped, looked down at two bullet holes in his chest, and then fell to his knees. I fired one more shot and his head exploded as the round struck him almost between the eyes. Blood flew from the back of his head as he collapsed to the dirt in the bottom of the trench. I stood for a second, watching blood running from his head melting the freshly fallen snow as it ran downhill.
CHAPTER 16
A bullet zinged into the command post, struck a radio, and then ricocheted. A nearby radio operator screamed and fell from his chair to the floor. Blood was spurting from a severed artery in his leg and his eyes were open wide in fear. He twisted and shrieked as his feet kicked and his nails raked the hardwood floor.
“Medic!” Vasiliev screamed as he squatted beside the injured man and pinched the artery closed. He then said, “Lay still, Sergeant, if you want to survive this injury.”
A medic appeared and began working on the radioman. A few minutes later two men with a litter arrived and packed the injured man from the command post. The Colonel saw blood dripping from the stretcher and for some reason, it made him shiver. Then glancing at his blood-stained hands, he suddenly had a feeling of doom fall over him like a veil. Shaking it off, he moved back to his chair to monitor radio transmissions.
“Sir, the partisans are in the aircraft hangers!” the radioman suddenly said.
“Call Major Borisovich and order a counter attack on the hangers, and do it now!”
“Yes, sir.”
Suddenly there came a huge explosion and it was followed by a number of lesser detonations. The radioman was talking in an excited voice and turning to the Colonel, he said, “The gas storage tanks have just gone up in flames and most of our petroleum, liquids and oils!”
“Damn me! Moscow will have my ass for this.” Vasiliev exploded from his chair, then moving to the radioman he said, “Do we have any jets in the air?”
“At last count, six, sir.”
“All one flight?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let me speak to the flight commander.”
“Give me a couple of minutes, sir. I have to change frequencies to do this.”
“Do what is needed, but hurry.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Colonel paced the floor until the radioman said, “Use my headphones, sir.”
“Flight lead, this is Lieutenant Colonel Vasiliev and I have a mission for you.”
“Copy, you have a mission for us, sir. Go ahead.”
“What are you loaded with, as far as munitions?”
“Napalm, rockets and some bombs, sir.”
“I want you to drop napalm on the fence lines on the south side of the base, and then hit the fuel storage area with rockets. Any Gatling guns?”
“Yes, where do you want them?”
“As close as you can get them to the hangers without damaging the structures.”
“We will try our best.”
“Radioman, I will be outside watching this, so if I need changes made, I will call out to you. Senior Sergeant, I want you and five of your men to come with me; the snow is falling harder now, so be sure of your targets if you shoot.” Stepping outside, he was appalled by all the damage and fires he saw. The fuel tanks were sending flames hundreds of feet into the air and the hangers were aflame as well. Abruptly, the southern fence line was a huge ball of rolling fire and he knew the jets were attacking. Gatling guns, with their loud cough were heard over the other weapons fire and, using his binoculars, he saw partisan after partisan blown to pieces. Two rockets were seen to leave one jet and they head straight for the fuels area. When the second jet released his, most everyone looking saw they were low.
“Get down, now!” the Senior Sergeant yelled and a second later, Lieutenant Colonel Vasiliev's world turned black.
He heard noises, but could not open his eyes. He smelled blood, smoke from burning rubber, and death. He tried to move, only his limbs refused to work for him and a few seconds later, he entered the black void of unconsciousness.
When he next heard something, he discovered he could open his eyes, but when he looked around, he was with partisans and not Russian troops. He heard English spoken.
Then a voice asked in Excellent Russian, “Colonel, do you know where you are? Open your eyes, because I saw you looking around a few minutes ago.”
Vasiliev opened his eyes, saw Corporal Scott and said, “Your Russian is excellent.”
“So is yours, sir. Do you have pain?”
“No, but I am a bit confused about how I got here and where am I?”
“You were discovered moaning in your command post, the building destroyed, by one of your own aircraft I must say, and most around you were dead. You were captured because you are an officer. Right now, you are in an interrogation center.”
“W . . . what will happen to me?”
“It depends on how well you answer our questions, sir.”
“But, the resistance keeps no prisoners of war.”
“Would you believe me if I told you we have exactly five prisoners and each is a high ranking officer? They are Majors or above and will be kept until the end of this conflict, then exchanged.”
“Or used for reprisals, right?”
“That could happen as well, yes, sir.”
“What are the extent of my injuries?”
“You have a concussion, three fingers on your left hand have been broken, and your right ankle is lightly sprained, but not broken. You are also missing about half of your left ear and you have some minor facial injuries.”
“Then, I take it I am in no danger of dying?”
“Oh, but you ar
e, if you do not answer our questions during your interrogation.”
“I see.” The Colonel lowered his eyes and then quivered.
“Colonel, we have people here who can no longer work as fighters, because they have been maimed during questioning conducted by your people. They are the lucky ones, but let me assure you, they love to question Russians. They learned much about torture from being guests of your army, sir, and they will demonstrate later just how effective they can be.”
Two men neared and Scott said, “Pack the stretcher to cell number 6. He is to have his ankles in chains and his collar chained to the wall. If he makes a run for freedom, kill him.”
Seeing Vasiliev looking at him with questioning eyes, he repeated the orders in Russian.
“Colonel,” Scott said, “you will now be taken to our guest lodging, where you will be given a blanket, some chains, and fed twice a day. By the way, our troops are only fed twice a day and they will be eating the same food you will, Russian rations. I do hope you enjoy your stay with us and if so, please recommend us to your friends.”
Meeting Scott's eyes, the Colonel said, “I will cut your heart out for this one day.”
“Maybe, sir, but I doubt that, seriously. The first place the interrogators start working is on a prisoners hands, arms and legs. I suspect by the time they finish with you, you will not have enough use in your hands to even write your name.”
In English, Scott said, “Take this man to his cell.”
Vasiliev discovered his cell was about five feet wide and eight feet long, with a ten foot ceiling. He was chained to a wall, but given enough chain to use a large empty can as a toilet. He was surprised to find the place heated and his blanket almost new. A one gallon plastic container was near the toilet can and it held what looked to be drinking water. He saw an uncovered light, which he was to discover, burned 24/7, and he was fed through a small siding slot in the metal door. His bed was made of concrete and in the middle of it was a Holy Bible in Russian. He moved to the bed, tossed the Bible to the floor and then tried to sleep, but it did not come.
The Fall of America | Book 4 | Winter Ops Page 17
