by T J Reeder
May said, “I told you it wouldn’t work.” “You did not!” “I did and you said oh sure it will be easy!” It went back and forth until they remembered they had food so they stopped. I asked Beth why she was down? She said this would have been her wedding anniversary if her first husband hadn’t been killed and she worried about me because I take chances.
I pointed out who was laying beside me in the rifle pit during the ambush, she did think about it and smiled and said well yes I guess.
So there, that’s settled so now what? The girls said they wanted to head to the range and see if the Army could shoot.
I said I didn’t care because Beth and I were taking a nap! They high fived and Beth leaned closer. They left and we had a real nice nap. I woke up a few hours later to find them in bed too, a group power nap.
When they woke up I said I was gonna take a swim with the soap so they all trailed along, the only way to get in the water this time of the year is to just suck it up and jump, I did, they sniveled and whined until Beth pushed them in then dove in and surfaced behind me, they came up screaming and sputtering looking for her, I think her long hair gave her away because we both went under in the attack, it was fun but the water was a bit cool for this crap so I started scrubbing off and they joined in. We have a community shower with solar heated water but it’s a long walk and the lake is about 30 yards away from our door.
We got dressed and headed out to check in with Joe and Willy, the girls had said the troops had a bit of trouble getting into the different style of shooting but I knew their training would get them up to speed right away.
Willy and Joe both said the same and had planned a few hours a day for the next few helping the ones who had trouble, mostly city boys who didn’t grow up hunting. They are among the best in the world but very few people in the military train for long range shooting, not that 300 yards is long range but they may need to hit at 600 + yards.
Three days later the trucks pulling the big guns rolled into the area and they looked awesome!! They had to travel slower then usual because each truck was as full of ammo as it could be. Anti-personnel
(frag) White Phosphorous (Willy Peter and bad shit!) HE (High Explosive) they even had some canister shells!! (Think big assed shotgun shooting hundreds of steel balls) hell I never knew they had that for the 105 but I’m old and traded in my Musket for house slippers a long time ago.
So we had a big load of ammo but it was slowing the trucks down, we can fix that, I ordered the guns loaded on lowboys and the ammo load split up with other trucks, that way we can make good time. Lowboys are awesome units and seem to not get used as much as they should be.
I was also thinking about leaving the tracks here because they can be replaced by the LAV’s, fast and deadly was my motto.
Sandy and May asked if they would fire a few rounds to let us see the power but I reminded them this was Navajo land and blowing up a mountain might offend them.
They got me again because Charley showed up an hour later and asked if him and his scout teams could see the big guns do their thing. I glared, Beth laughed out loud and “they” bumped butts and high fived. Why do I try? (Right buddy boy!) Stop it! (And I’m getting looked at again.)
The crew of gun one (they all have numbers in case you don’t know) wheeled into action and asked Charley where he wanted them to put a few rounds, He looked around and finally pointed out a round bald knob sticking out by its self maybe two miles away. The gun commander said ok since it’s so close how about we put one round at the base then walk up in 50 yard increments? Charley just nodded.
The gun crew were doing their magic stuff which as a former grunt I confess, I have no clue. We were all watching the bald knob when the gun crew leader came over and said “Uh sir we have a problem”
I knew without looking. Beth said I’ll be right back and took off. She was back shortly with two pissed off wild cats who were arguing over who got in the way and got them kicked off the gun.
In my misspent youth I had occasion to need fire support and usually had a radioman who could call in fire better then anybody I ever saw. So in truth I had no idea what kind of PFM it took but when the gun boss yelled “Fire in the hole!” then “ Round out!” the crash of the gun scared the shit out of all of us then off in the distance we saw the base of the knob turn to dust and before it cleared another round hit, then another until the last round hit the top of the hill. Then for good measure they lowered the muzzle and fired a canister round at a rock face about 500 yards away and it was just total devastation, it was like shooting a bucket with a 12 ga shotgun at 20 feet. It was scary to think what that round could do to an attacking force.
The gun boss came over to us smiling big and said well that was fun!! Seems he had never fired a canister round!
He was attacked by “them” who informed him that someplace down the line he was gonna show them how to shoot the gun. He looked at me and I just shrugged, he could see I was beat so he surrendered without a fight and agreed.
They both hugged him then headed for the gun, he looked at me kinda funny as I smiled and called him a wimp and a pussy for not holding out longer.
He said, “Well if even a third of the things I’ve heard about them is true then I’m staying on their good side!” I assured him they were not only true but he hadn’t heard nothing yet.
That got his attention! He looked at Beth who just smiled and nodded and said, “True” then offered he might try to save his gun from them, they were looking over the towing system and I knew what that meant.
He took off and got his crew to cleaning the gun which interested them as much as shooting it. Somehow some way there will be a 105 sitting on the ridge and a gun will be missing from the Texas state Militia. Combat loss will be the word of the day; I know this like I know the sun will rise.
Charley wandered over and said, “I hear you’re building a stone fort on the ridge.” I asked why he called it a fort. He pointed at “them” and said, “When you have a big stone building with cannons it’s called a fort and you know that gun will be missing when they head back to Texas right?” Beth laughed out loud and headed off to gather in the two before they killed the gun crew and stole the gun.
Charley and I wandered off to a shady spot in the lee of a cliff and settled down to just be. After the usual silence he made his polite cough and when I didn’t say anything he said, “Are we really going to burn LA?” I said, “Yep why?” He just nodded and said, “Good it’s a sewer and was one before the EMP, now it’s a sewer full of rats and it needs to be gone.” Well I was surprised at his attitude but I could understand it. The Navajo people love their open spaces and the quiet of it and I guess the filth most big cities hold and the loudness just offends them.
He waited a bit and said the Old Woman had told him that there was a very bad sickness growing in the cities and when it got loose it would spread and kill many of the people who had survived so far. He had no clue as to what it might be but he knew if she said it then it was true. She had told him fire was the way to kill it.
This confirmed more then anything could have that there was in fact a plague but I sure wanted to know how the Old Woman knew about it.
I asked if she said “LA” he said no, all the big cities. Damn! How was I supposed to handle that? He didn’t know. All I could do was pass that information along to the communications people to pass along to the people everywhere who had commo. They could handle their areas themselves. LA had become personal to me so we would deal with it.
Charley said I’d probably get further if I left out that the information was from an ancient Navajo woman out in the desert. I had to laugh at that, but he was right.
But there are so many big cities that turned into death traps and were filled with bodies that still lay where they fell. Rats and god knows what else were spreading whatever it was to the living. I had an issue with the fact so many innocent people might be caught up in the fire storm that I settled it by telling Ralph to
prep his chopper to be transported to the coming battle where he would drop fliers warning the people of the coming battle, they were directed to head toward our lines where they would be cared for, anybody staying behind was in grave danger.
I also wanted a warning to anybody showing up with Gang ink that they would be dealt with in a less gentle manner. It might not do much but I’ll sleep better knowing I tried.
We rolled out on a clear and beautiful morning, heading right at Barstow, scouts out, guns up and not in a mood to screw around. Anybody who shot at us was going down hard and left for buzzard food.
Capt. Harry had left two day earlier with his Rangers and our commo people which of course included “talkers.” They were driving HV’s and trailers with fuel and ammo and were not stopping for anything except a break down.
We headed south until we hit I 40 and there we hit it, pushing as hard and possible without leaving vehicles along the way. And I must admit we made one hell of a picture!! Every vehicle was flying Old Glory! We had Scouts out front, looking for trouble, HV’s leading, with others in the convoy, we rolled with guns up and gunners watching everything close to us. We saw people who just stared but most were waving and cheering, why I don’t really know except I guess it seemed a sign that America was open for business. Not yet, and I don’t know when but it will be!
We rolled thru the day and night switching drivers every four hours, we even had rolling bunk rooms for the drivers to get some good sleep, the rest of us slept where we were. I must admit I came to envy the girls, all three were like cats, they were small enough to curl up any place and sleep like kittens whereas I couldn’t do more then sit.
The trip seemed to last forever but it did come to an end. When we were fifty miles out of Barstow we got the word that Capt. Harry and his Rangers had taken the base. No KIA’s and five WIA’s the fact there was help inside made it very easy. He said the outlaw element had become so complacent that it was a cake walk.
They got all their wounded at the main gate where one of the guards was awake and manning a machine gun and got off a few bursts before being cut down. The rest surrendered.
The former XO pulled his on plug rather then face a rope, General Sweet was in good shape because the people around him had remained loyal to him and their oaths which a lot of them did, but not all, sadly. I hated the thought of Marines turning their backs on their oath and their Corps.
They would be dealt with.
Sneaky always works best; I like sneaky, fewer losses of people and equipment.
We rolled right up to the gate and found Harry and his troops on parade, all they needed was a band playing. I could see pride on all their faces and they earned it.
Harry took me to see General Sweet. I found him looking far better then expected, he had spent his time doing his physical therapy under the eyes of the base Doc and his corpsmen. It’s seems there was a bit of deception going on when reports were given of how bad Sweet was.
I had last seen him on a jungle trail long ago, I was heading off into the bush while he was about to fly out to a much nicer place.
But he had personally made sure my team had everything they wanted for our little adventure and because the supply lines were screwed up with thieves stealing so much stuff to sell on the black market I owed him big time.
We looked at each other for a bit then shook hands, he gestured to a chair so I sat with him and talked about the long ago but mostly the now, he had heard my name on commo traffic and knew it had to be me and from what they were hearing he knew with my help he could rid the area of the traitor who stole his command. So now here we were. I told him where we were going and my plans for LA. He said “The whole place??” Yes Sir,” I replied, “You can’t burn a part of the bush to get the snakes out you have to burn it all.”
He nodded and smiled and said, “Never half way with you John.” After spending a couple of hours with him I headed out to get my people settled.
I found Capt. Harry ahead of me, the troops were settled into barracks and the chow hall was turning out food, soon all would be showered and fed and sleeping like the dead, it had been a trip.
Harry had put us in the VIP guest house so I headed there to shower and then gather my flock and go eat. I found Beth but the troublesome twosome were gone, I had to ask and wasn’t surprised when she said, “With all this stuff that goes bang and boom you know they are walking off with all they can carry,” how well I knew that.
Showering with Beth is fun as it is with all of them, we headed for the mess hall and found the girls eating, surrounded by Marines who had been listening to the tales of their exploits, at the moment they were telling how I burned down Las Vegas.
Beth and I took a seat close by and since they hadn’t seen us I figured we could listen to the BS.
I should know better, they both turned around and flashed those killer smiles and said “There he is!! With wife number three Beth!
Beth groaned while I just shook my head, they said goodbye to their audience and headed for us, hugs and kisses for both of us and then they commenced to tell us all the stuff they had “found” and all the stuff they had “borrowed” and could they have a truck?
I groaned and asked why they needed a thousand hand grenades? They of course said coz we don’t have any. I pointed out that there are plenty of them in our demo storage area, but OH NO!! They don’t have any of their own! I gave up, then they asked me if I knew anything about Claymores? If my food tray hadn’t been in my way I would have pounded my head on the table. But I know better then to not answer them so I admitted I knew about them.
They are so happy. I asked what else they had stolen, they looked around and May whispered, 50 K rounds of 45 ball ammo!! Now I was impressed but I had to ask why so little, Sandy said, “Well we need a bigger truck which brings us back to can we have a truck?”
I just looked at them for a moment then said, “Ok here’s the thing, where did you get all this stuff?” They said the place was full of it, I asked what kind of base is this? Both said, “Supply base dummy!”
I smiled and said, “You steal thousands of rounds of ammo and mines and you can’t steal a fkn truck?”
They sat there for a minute and looked at each other then played the blame game for a couple of minutes until it dawned on them they were in the candy land of supplies and they were gone with a fast kiss for both of us, I slumped forward while Beth rubbed my neck and said, “John you’re the most wonderful husband three women could ask for,” and then laughed and said, “I’m going with them it sounds like fun!” And with a kiss she was gone.
Now I wasn’t worried about Beth because she was the more adult one of the bunch but I also knew she was corruptible around those two. They have a way of getting everything they want so I did have a moment of worry about Beth. It was like the door to the vault was thrown open for them. I left to take a nap in peace and quiet.
Napping is good and it lets me escape from the reality of the world around me and the things I’ve done under the guise of stopping bad people from hurting good people or some such shit.
Anyway I like naps; I also like waking up to somebody snuggling close to me. I didn’t have to open my eyes to know it was Beth. She just walks into a room and calm flows in with her. Finally I asked where the James Gang were at the moment, she said, “Well John, now they need truck drivers.” I mumbled, “Shit.” She said, “Yep their reputation arrived before them and they are taking full advantage of it.” Then she laughed and said, “Well I think one truck is all mine.” I raised up and looked at her and she blushed and said, “Well girls like new stuff and I’m a girl so…” I asked her what kind of stuff, she mumbled something that sounded a great deal like Barrett, and so I said, “Ok, you got a Barrett?” She said, “Well kinda,” I asked how you could kinda have a Barrett, she replied that “A” was maybe a bit short, I sigh, as usual. She admitted she now has 5 Barrett sniper systems and more 50 cal ammo then she can ever shoot. I said “You shoot?” “Wel
l,” she said, “I guess I’ll have to share a bit with the girls,” then she started giggling and said, “John it really is a candy store out there.” She also said there was a truck load of 25mm ammo! That we need!
And ammo for the 40 mm auto grenade launchers on our vehicles, this made me very happy because we had been short of them all along. I did have to ask if they were stealing it and she said no that General Sweet gave the orders to give us whatever we wanted, he also said any of his Marines who wanted to go along to help out could but not so many as to leave the base security weakened.
He was still a good officer, he knew his men were chomping at the bit to be out doing and helping instead of standing guard duty. For this I was grateful but I only wanted the ones who could operate some of the equipment we were getting. I have shooters.
I need people who can operate the equipment and keep it running.
Beth and I headed out to see what was going on and to get the latest intel info.
I had also forgotten the main reason for our coming here and that was the leader of the rabble here at the base and shortly found out he had headed south after the last ambush to get more crud for his army, I had to assume he knew by now that the base was lost but he didn’t know how or why so he really had no idea we were coming for him.
