“Hello, Bruce.”
“What are you doing out now?” Bruce asked.
“I was heading over to pray with the teams before they left this morning,” he said, stopping beside Bruce. Father Thomas looked over at him, and from the lights in the field, he could see tears on his cheeks. “Is everything all right, Bruce?” he asked.
Bruce closed his eyes and sighed. “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned,” he said.
Chapter 2
It was Friday evening over a week later when the command group met in mission control. As everyone sat down Bruce moved to the head of the table. “Now, let’s get down to business,” he said as everyone took out notebooks, and Paul took out a bottle of Tylenol and set it on the table.
Grinning at Paul, Bruce started, “Angela, how long until the scavenging crews are done?”
“At our current rate, we will have all the bases in Alabama emptied of what we want in four days, six at the most,” she said.
“Now, that’s what I want to hear,” Bruce said, smiling at her. “Stephanie how, is the supply inventory coming?” he asked, turning to her.
“Everything we have stored has been logged, and what is taken out is marked off. From this moment, we can eat for five years if we only eat canned food we have stored here. We have enough food put up to last forty thousand for that long. The refinery is ready to start when we need it,” she said.
“Oh yeah,” Bruce said and looked at Paul. “Paul, how goes the building world?”
“All towers are fully operational, and the walkway around the inside of the wall is up. The lake is almost full, and the hydro station will be online in two days. We did a test run, and it works great. The road system you wanted for the compound is underway and should be finished in a month. The air crews asked if we could build some hangers for the aircraft, and I have started that. The barracks are up in Hope. We can now take seventy thousand people here. We will have the dining halls and rec areas completed in a month,” Paul said.
“I said fifty thousand,” Bruce clarified.
“Yes you did, but at least this will buy me some time before you ask for skyscrapers,” Paul answered. Bruce shook his head, looking at Paul. “What? I’ve learned if you want something, always do more to save myself a headache later.”
“Fine, Paul, your point is taken,” Bruce said, grinning.
Paul looked at Bruce for a minute then started talking. “Bruce, I remember when we were fighting to just keep control of a few miles around us. Where we were going to get food and fight a battle with every blue in northwest Louisiana. Now, we are fighting blues over the Midwest and Eastern seaboard. I remember being stuck in a tree with my family thinking we were going to die up there. You come along and start a war on a scale few can imagine and try to save humanity. That is forward thinking on a scale few are capable of.” Everyone in the command group nodded.
“Paul, I’m not the one you should be thanking,” Bruce said.
Looking Bruce in the eyes, Paul said, “I know Debbie asked you to keep this going, but you were doing it.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. Debbie asked me to save everyone I could and rebuild. I’m still not the one to thank.”
“What the hell do you mean?” Paul asked.
Bruce sighed and looked at Paul. “Paul, it was never my plan to bring people here that were not already an asset to the family. If I would have followed my plan, we would be dead.”
“What the hell do you mean, Bruce?” Nancy asked.
“I asked Angela and Alex here because they were an asset. They work hard and grew up on farms. It wouldn’t take much for us to invest in them. I never asked Susan and them to join; they just followed. It was after the school Mike and I hit to get supplies that I started to think. I was going to leave Maria and Lynn with those kids; Susan and her two were slowing us enough already. It was Mike who convinced me I was wrong. If people wanted to survive and could live by our rules, then we should save them. That’s not what Mike said, but it’s what he meant. I didn’t understand at first, but if I wouldn’t have listened to him, we all would be dead now. If Maria and Lynn wouldn’t have been there to pass us their magazines when that mob hit us in the woods, we would’ve been overrun and died. The rest I leave to your imagination. Maria and Lynn didn’t know anything, but they tried and it saved us. If anyone needs thanking, it’s Mike. Without him, I can honestly say we would all be dead several times over.”
Mike gasped, looking at Bruce, then everyone at the table turned to look at Mike. Mike’s face started turning red as everyone stared at him. Nancy hugged and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, Mike,” Paul said.
Conner nodded toward Mike and looked at Bruce. “Well, since we have diverted off the subject, I want to ask. Do we have enough to fight this war now?” he asked.
“Not really. It will take us two decades to fight it, and even then, it would just be a stalemate,” Bruce said.
“What?” Willie asked.
“We need to have a five thousand strong attack group out at all times fighting this war. Right now, that is half our total strength, and you can’t keep men out under constant combat conditions.”
“When did you come up with this?” Willie asked.
“A few months ago,” Bruce replied. “During my insane run through Texas, I realized I had to have a shit load of troops to fight this war. The best I could do there was run and gun. Granted, it worked, but as Stephanie pointed out, all we could do was hold them in check in that one area. To win this war, we need a lot more troops.”
“That was why you wanted to be ready for fifty thousand. You were planning on getting those in the government camp,” Stephanie said.
With a slight grimace, Bruce said, “No, to be honest, I was going to nuke them.” Everyone froze hearing that. “What? I’m not going to lie. They are bigger than we are and have more troops. Why is it so hard to imagine my reaction?” Bruce asked.
“Bruce, we hit that group in Grenada, and they were a lot bigger than we were,” Conner blurted.
“Untrained with very little knowledge on the military weapons they had. We had the advantage. If they would’ve been a little larger or I would’ve known just how large they were, I would have just wiped them off the Earth,” Bruce answered.
“Damn, you play for keeps,” Adam said, glad he had left Colorado.
“Make no mistake, I’m going to save what I can, but I won’t risk what we have to do it. If Walker can pull off his plan and get those troops join us, we can win this war in ten years. If not, we will pass this war off onto our kids,” Bruce answered.
“Do you think Gene can pull it off?” Stephanie asked.
“I give it fifty/fifty,” Bruce answered, shrugging.
Adam looked at Bruce with hesitation. “If he can’t, are we going to kill those troops?” he asked.
“Down to the last man,” Bruce replied. “That is the commitment I asked for and you gave.”
“I know, and I will, but it’s not fair. They are just doing what they are told. They know if they don’t, most have families there that will be hurt if they don’t follow orders,” Adam said.
“I know that, Adam, but nobody is going to hurt this family or this clan as long as I have a breath left in my body. You really think the clan would have a chance if those idiots up there were in charge?” Bruce asked.
Adam sighed. “No, Bruce, I know we would all live in a state of terror. Just like when I left. I will do it, but I won’t like it.”
“None of us like it, but we will do it,” Bruce replied. “We have a week left in November. I want all the crap from those bases here now. The weather is getting nippy, and the blues aren’t pulling up like they did last year. I feel they are going to be active longer this year. If Walker can work his magic, the government won’t roll till January. That gives us a little over a month,” Bruce sa
id.
“Can we beat them if Gene can’t work his magic?” Mike asked.
“Without a doubt,” Bruce replied.
Raising his eyebrows, Mike added, “Without popping a nuke?”
“Yeah, I’m not popping a nuke unless I have no choice,” Bruce said.
“How can you be so sure?” Mike asked.
“I have more planes than they have anti-aircraft missiles.”
“Well. how is he going to do it?” Angela asked.
“Have no idea, but I’m talking to him tonight. He’s been busy, so we haven’t been able to talk,” Bruce told her.
Jake looked down at his notebook. “They have been scraping up fuel and sending out patrols, getting more. It’s been colder up there, and they have very little movement of blues around them. They will be coming at us with seven thousand troops. Three regiments of two thousand each and a command regiment of a thousand. The three regiments are going to be in flying wedges with the command regiment in a reverse wedge behind them. Their principle is if we hit them, they can drop one wedge back to form a circular defense while two regiments attack us. They have twenty-five choppers in support. Twenty of those are Apaches. They don’t have fuel for prolonged operations for the rest. They will have six Patriot systems, ten MRLS, fifty artillery, a dozen tanks, and several dozen Bradleys. The rest will be Strykers, Hummers, and troop trucks. All track vehicles will be driven down on trucks along with the choppers,” Jake said and looked up.
“Walker, come up with that?” Bruce asked.
“Yeah, Dad,” Jake replied.
“Well, if they stay in that formation, we can take them apart easy enough,” Bruce said.
“How?” Mike asked.
Shrugging, he said, “Same thing I said before; hit them on the side with a small group, make them deploy to chase us, and when they leave their air umbrella, wipe them out with air.”
“Sometimes, you scare me,” Mike admitted.
Bruce blew him a kiss. “Okay, when we start prepping our battle area, I want the UAV from over our head gone,” Bruce said.
“Dad, we will lose our intel,” Jake reminded him.
“No, they will keep one close to the troops to watch them on the way down but won’t put any above us. I’m sending out the first platoon to warn the groups in Arkansas and Oklahoma. We found that the government will be coming soon and to stay put or join us. There are several thousand people, and I really want to warn them, especially the two large groups. I want at least one armed UAV over each one at all times until this is over. We gave our word to help them if we could,” Bruce said.
“How long do you think this will last?” Nancy asked.
“I’ll know tomorrow or at least enough to give an educated guess,” Bruce answered.
Nancy looked around the table. “Command meeting tomorrow night,” she said, and everyone nodded.
“Jake, let Walker know I want to talk to him tonight,” Bruce said.
“Bruce, will you please call him by his first name, Gene?” Nancy said.
“Sorry, babe, but I have known and called him Walker longer than you have called him Gene.”
“No problem, Dad,” Jake said, standing, and started passing out boxes. Danny and Mary both let out squeals, ripping them open. Jake slid one down for Bruce, and he opened it, finding a cellphone.
Letting out a long remorseful sigh, “Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later,” Bruce said, taking out the phone and looking at it. Hearing a phone ringing, he looked up and saw Danny and Mary texting. “Are you kidding me, Danny? Y’all are sitting right beside each other,” Bruce shouted.
“Back off, Daddy,” Danny popped off as she answered Mary’s text.
Bruce just shook his head as Jake finished passing out phones. “The clan will get theirs tomorrow,” Jake said.
Marcus looked at his phone then at Jake. “I never had one to begin with,” he said.
“Mr. Marcus, this is the fastest way to talk to someone. I can show you how to work it,” Jake said with confidence. Marcus looked at him, unconvinced.
“So I hafta have one too?” Carroll asked, looking at the phone like it was a snake.
“Yes ma’am. The command group has to be able to talk to each other, and now, we can do it without radios,” Jake said.
“Okay, Jake, I’ll dos it, but I ain’t liken it,” Carroll said, and Bruce smiled. At least he wasn’t the only one who hated the damn things.
The meeting continued for another hour and then adjourned with Bruce heading to the boys’ computer area beside the house.
Chapter 3
Colonel Walker was sitting in the command area at the table with General Givens, the President, and the other advisors as the meeting let out. The general leaned over the map and pointed at an area. “Colonel, don’t you think you are bunching us up real close?” Givens asked.
“Sir, the units will be ten miles apart. Any closer and we make a good air strike target, conventional or unconventional,” Walker answered.
“You think they will use nukes?” the President asked.
“No sir. They don’t like causing collateral damage. You saw they didn’t blow up any bridges over the river when they fought that mega horde. They want to keep the infrastructure intact,” Walker replied.
“Then why mention it?” he asked.
“Sir, when we start wiping out their army, I don’t want them to think they can launch one nuke and be rid of us. As we present now, we will be moving along a hundred mile front with thirty mile depth. It would take a dozen nukes with the terrain we will be in to take us out,” Walker said.
“Fair enough,” the President replied. “When do you think on launching?”
“First week of January. The news reports they have put out say the temperature is starting to fall there. I hope the blues are bedded down by then, or we will have to move it further out. We were only able to secure twenty tons of ammo in Idaho. That along with what we have is not enough to clear a path to them,” Walker said. Looking down at the map, he added, “From what they were reporting against the mega horde and their movements around the area, they used close to that much ammunition alone. Against the horde, they used three times that. Their troops shoot better than ours like I detailed in my report. If we had the ammunition and time, we could’ve trained ours, but we don’t have the luxury of having a truly secured area, sir.”
“Well, that will change shortly, Colonel,” Givens said, grinning. Just the thought of getting out of these mountains made him happy.
“Yes sir,” Walker replied, looking at Givens’ grin. I wish I could shoot you now, you son of a bitch, Walker thought.
“How long do you think it will take?” one of the aides asked.
“It all depends on when they engage us. Once they commit, it will be over in a week, two tops,” Walker answered.
“Why would they engage us? Why not just sit behind their wall?” the aide asked.
“They don’t know we want their site. You don’t let a hostile army camp around you and lob explosives over your walls and poke holes in them. They have a defensible position and will defend it or surrender. If they knew we weren’t willing to risk hurting the site, they would just wait it out,” Walker replied.
“So you think they will surrender?” the President asked.
“They might when we show up but definitely will after the shooting starts. This will be the first time they come up against a force that can fight on the same level they do, and we are bigger,” Walker answered, feeling the phone in his pocket vibrate.
“How many do you think we will have to kill to get them to the peace table?” Givens asked.
“We will have to wipe out one of their strike teams: Omega or Gamma. When they are down to half strength, they should try to negotiate a deal,” Walker answered.
“What do you advise t
hen?” the President asked.
“Negotiate in good faith, and accept the offer to join them. Ask the remaining strike team to lead a thousand of our troops back here to get the others and wipe them out while the rest of the force takes over the compound,” Walker answered.
Sneering in disgust, “Seems like chicken shit to me,” Givens said.
“It will save our troops’ lives, sir, and we need them for the coming battles ahead,” Walker said, looking at Givens.
“I like that,” the President said. “When will my staff be able to join?” he asked.
“Sir it will take us three days to secure the site, and the troops here can escort you, the command group, and Homeland down to the site. The troops that wipe out the remaining strike team can lead the civilians down,” Walker said.
Shaking his head, the President smiled and said, “We will only be taking half of the civilians, remember, Colonel?” Seeing the President smile as he spoke made Walker want to puke.
“What’s the worst-case scenario for our troop survival?” Givens asked.
Never expecting a question like that from Givens, Walker studied Givens before he answered. The general never cared about the troops before, and now, he was asking questions about their survival rate. “If it comes to a slug fest, we will lose three thousand, possibly four,” Walker answered.
“That’s manageable,” Givens replied, making Walker’s skin crawl.
“Sir, that’s half our force. We can’t sustain casualties like that,” Walker replied.
“Colonel, that will still leave us with a force of five thousand, more than enough,” Givens said, smiling.
“Are the troops ready?” the President asked.
“Almost, sir. We are getting all the tracked vehicles on trailers along with the choppers. We will be ready to roll in a week if need be, but I still want to wait until the blues bed down. I also want to go over the attack with the regiment commanders and company commanders several times. I want them to know the area,” Walker said.
Blue Plague: War (Blue Plague Book 6) Page 2
