“‘A little bird landed on my shoulder and told me, Raines. Now what’s going on?’
“Ben held nothing back from his team, never had, never would. As a matter of fact, Corrie usually knew what was going on before Ben did.
“‘Things have taken a turn for the worse back in the States, Lamar. As we knew they would.’
“‘That bad, Ben?’
“‘I think it might be even worse man Cec is telling me.’
“Lamar nodded, looking up as a very sweaty and very dirty combat engineer came walking up.
“Ben turned to face the engineer.
“‘We’ve just about got everything wrapped up. We’ll be ready to take vehicles across in a few hours, General.’
“‘Good deal. ‘You’re in command of this detachment now, Captain. I’ll put the paperwork through promoting you to major.’ Just as soon as one of my team tells me your name, that is, Ben silently thought. There was a time when he knew the name of every officer in his command. But those days were long ago and far away. Where once there were a few hundred men and women in the Rebel Army, now there were thousands.
“‘Thank you, sir,’ the engineer said.
“‘You earned it,’ Ben replied.
“The man walked away, and Ben turned to Beth. He opened his mouth to speak and she said, ‘Adam Matson, Boss.’
“Ben smiled. ‘Thank you, Beth. See that the paperwork on his field promotion gets through pronto, will you?’
“‘Will do, Boss.’
“‘What next, Ben?’ Lamar asked.
“‘We secure a port and an airport. Probably in a few weeks. Then we’ll start the drive that will end Bottger’s reign of terror once and for all.’
“‘And a new reign of terror, if that’s the right word, will be about to erupt in America?’
“‘I’m not sure if terror is the right word, Lamar. Millions of people want to live under what the leaders outside the SUSA are calling the New Democracy. But the rub comes into the picture when other millions say they don’t want any part of it and by God they won’t live under it.’
“‘Are you about to give me a lecture, Raines?’ Lamar asked, a smile playing on his lips. ‘If you are, kindly save your breath and my ears.’
“Ben laughed at the expression on his old friend’s face. ‘I wouldn’t dream of doing that, Lamar. What would be the point? You haven’t changed your mind about anything in fifty years.’
“Lamar did his best to work a hurt expression on his face. He couldn’t pull it off. ‘I don’t have to stand here and be insulted by you, Raines. I’m leaving. Good night.’
“‘Be careful, you old goat,’ Ben told him.
“‘Blow it out your ass, Raines,’ the doctor called over his shoulder.
“‘That isn’t very professional, Lamar. Not coming from a man of your stature and advanced age,’ Ben called.
“The chief of medicine flipped him the bird and kept on walking.
“Ben’s team laughed at the exchange between the two men. They’d seen and heard it all before, dozens of times.
“Ben’s eyes caught a shadow of movement at a corner of a parked vehicle. He blinked a couple of times. Stared at where he was sure he’d seen movement. Nothing. But he was certain he’d seen something out of the ordinary.
“A monkey that slipped into camp? That would be about the only thing that could slip through the Rebels on guard. Unless . . . Pretty far-fetched, he thought, minutely shaking his head. But certainly possible, if someone had done some careful planning, and that was something to be considered.
“‘Gang,’ Ben said in low tones. ‘I think we’re about to be hit and hit hard. Corrie, pass the word to the troops.’ He deliberately turned his back to the shadows and faced his team. ‘Do it quietly. No one gets in a hurry.’
“‘OK, Boss,’ she replied in an even voice. ‘Will do.’
“Cooper got up and stretched nonchalantly, scratched himself, then wandered off a few yards to the bed of a truck. Ben knew that was where he kept his SAW and extra two-hundred-round containers of 5 .56 ammo.
“Beth placed a hand on her CAR and continued sitting on the tailgate of a truck. Jersey was staring into the darkness that had dropped over them as suddenly as death . . . and probably bringing a lot of that with it. Jersey stiffened just a bit, and Ben felt certain she had seen something moving in the darkness.
“Anna had not moved from her crouch beside a HumVee. But her CAR was held in a position that she could bring to ready in an instant
“‘Tunnels,’ Anna whispered just loud enough for Ben and the team members close to hear her. ‘The bastards used tunnels and holes in the ground. This was carefully planned out by someone with some sense.’
“‘The first ambush failed, so they waited until dark,’ Ben said. ‘They must have been nearly roasting in those holes and tunnels.’
“‘Too bad they didn’t,’ Corrie remarked. ‘That would have saved us a lot of trouble.’
“‘I heard that,’ Cooper said from a few yards away. He was standing close to his SAW, ready to grab it and hit the ground when the action started.
“Ben shifted positions, walking over to the bed of the truck to stand close to Anna. He had left his CAR in the tent and carried only his holstered 9mm.
“‘There can’t be more than a handful of them,’ he whispered. ‘Not unless they’ve been digging tunnels and holes for days. Which is certainly possible,’ he added.
“‘They must’ve hidden when our choppers came close, then crawled out of the brush and started digging the instant they left,’ Beth whispered.
“‘That’s got to be what happened,’ Ben said. ‘This is going to involve a lot of grenades and very close work on their part. Pass that word, Corrie.’
“‘Right, Boss.’
“‘We’re going to take some casualties,’ Ben said. ‘It’s going to get real nasty in a hurry.’
“The moments dragged by. Five minutes passed with nothing happening. Ben began to wonder if he had been wrong; had he really seen movement? Was an attack imminent? Or was his imagination running wild?
“‘Intelligence on the horn, Boss,’ Corrie whispered, breaking the silence. ‘One of those mercs finally broke. The jungle on both sides of the road is filled with hostiles. Several companies at least.’
“‘Shit,’ Ben muttered.
“‘The camp’s as ready as it can be,’ Corrie added after a few seconds’ pause.
“Ben thought about walking over to his tent to retrieve his CAR, then rejected that idea. This fight was going to be eyeball-to-eyeball and a pistol would be easier to handle. In short, it was going to be a real bloodbath.
“‘All patrols in?’ Ben asked.
“‘Everybody’s in camp,’ Corrie answered.
“‘OK. Everyone holds their position. No moving around. If it moves, shoot it.’
“‘Orders given, Boss, Corrie said, ten seconds later.
“A few heartbeats afterward, the huge encampment erupted in gunfire and the screaming of the wounded.
“Enemy troops began pouring out of the ground on both sides of the camp like ants out of a rotting tree. The darkness was filled with running shapes. Ben did not have to give the orders to fire; that would have been superfluous. The Rebels had a horde of screaming enemy troops right on top of them and literally in their faces. Hundreds of Rebels began firing, at very close range, most of them using pistols, one in each hand. Machine guns and grenades were useless to both sides this close.
“Ben had dropped down to a kneeling position and was picking his targets; not a difficult task, for the enemy was bunched up all around him.
“‘They’re after the boss,’ Cooper yelled. ‘Has to be. The attack is too concentrated.’
“‘Get those fuckin’ flares up,’ Ben shouted.
“Cooper was right: The main thrust of the attack was at the center of the encampment, where Ben had his CP. Only lighter probes were being conducted north and south of his location.
“The night skies suddenly sparked into harsh light as flares were sent up and popped into illumination. Ben lifted his 9mm and shot an enemy soldier in the face. The man was so close Ben could smell his body stink.
“He shifted his boots to face another soldier, and put three rounds of hollow-points into the man’s belly and chest. The soldier screamed and fell against Ben, dead, almost knocking Ben off his boots.
“Anna jumped onto the back of an enemy soldier and grabbed the man’s hair, jerking his head back. She cut the man’s throat with one hard swipe of her knife and rode him down to the ground. Rising to her boots, the young woman drove her knife into the belly of another of Bottger’s soldiers and twisted it savagely. The man howled in pain, his scream silenced when Anna kneed him in the balls and ripped her knife from him. The man fell forward on his face, his legs jerking as agony tore through his body just before death claimed him.
“Cooper had left his SAW and was taking a deadly toll of the enemy, a 9mm in each hand.
“If that one enemy soldier had not gotten careless, Ben thought later, as he banged away with his pistol, the sneak attack might have turned into a disaster for the Rebels.
“Then Ben had no more time for any thoughts other than staying alive. The enemy soldiers came in another rush, and everything was confusion as the Rebels battled hand-to-hand with knives, clubs, entrenching tools, pistols, and their bare hands.
“For a few moments, it was a wild, savage, deadly scene in the African night. The enemy troops had, for the most part, ceased their yelling, and the battle was silent except for the grunting of men and women locked in combat and the moaning of the wounded.
“The intensity of the battle began to wane as the enemy troops began to realize their sneak attack had failed. Many faded back into the jungle’s hot, humid thickness and slipped away. Those who stayed and fought, died.
“For those caught up in the deadly brawl, the attack seemed to last for hours . . . In reality, it lasted only a few minutes and was over.
“Every Rebel involved in the quick and savage fight, and there were many camped a couple of miles to the north of the river who took no part in the battle, suffered bruises, scratches, cuts, and gunshot wounds.
“‘Keep those flares up and going east and west of us,’ Ben ordered. ‘I don’t think they’ll try again, but they might.’
“‘They sure might, General,’ a medic called, kneeling beside a wounded solider. “They’re popped up on something. Some sort of speed, I think. This man is incoherent and his vital signs are racing . . . His heartbeat sounds like an M-16 on full auto.’
“‘We’ve taken casualties,’ Corrie reported. ‘Mostly wounded. So far, the death count is low.’
“‘Any other brigade get hit?’ Ben asked.
“‘Negative, Boss. Not so far. I’m still checking on that. But I think we’re the only ones who were attacked.’
“‘They were after you, Ben,’ Ben’s XO, John Michaels, said, walking up. ‘This was very carefully planned on their part. No advance teams were hit, and they were all over this area. It was well planned, all right.’
“‘We captured lots of their wounded, Boss,’ Cooper called. ‘Fifty and counting. What do you want done with the really seriously wounded among them . . . those that the docs are sure aren’t going to make it?’
“‘Give them a shot to ease their suffering and help them along their way in peace. We’ll scoop out a hole for them in the morning. Turn the rest over to Intelligence.’
“Ben turned to his XO. ‘We’ll probably be doing some shifting around very soon, John. I haven’t set a date for it yet, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be heading back to the States with my brigade.’
“The XO arched an eyebrow in surprise, but Ben could not see it in the darkness.
“‘Conditions are getting a little rocky outside the SUSA,’ Ben added.
“‘I knew they weren’t good,’ his XO replied. ‘Do we fight again over there?’
“Ben sighed. ‘We might, John. We just might have to do that. I hope not, but it’s looking as though we’ll have to fight for our nation.’
“‘Again?’
“‘Yes. Again. Those bastards outside the SUSA can’t say I didn’t warn them.’
“The brigades mounted up and moved out the next morning, after engineers scooped out a hole for the dead soldiers and dumped them in. A much more dignified service was held for the Rebels’ own dead. Intelligence had told Ben, just before the brigade moved out, “White officers commanded the troops that hit us last night. Americans, for the most part. A few Europeans. They’re all being readied to ship back to the SUSA . . . including the three we took prisoner yesterday.’
“‘Good. I want to be able to hold them up and point them out to the powers-that-be outside the SUSA. I want to see the expressions on their faces when I do that . . . especially after the prisoners have spilled their guts about who hired them. And they will tell us everything they know,’ Ben added, a deadly grimness behind the words. ‘Bet on that.’
“The miles-long column pulled out, heading south, and hit no more trouble as they crossed the bridge and stretched out. Advance patrols and eyes in the sky reported no signs of the enemy. Flybys indicated the port where Ben was heading appeared usable and the small city itself looked to be almost deserted.
“‘I still haven’t seen any tigers,’ Cooper bitched as they rolled along . . . crawled along might be a better way of putting it, for if the column could average twenty miles an hour, they were doing well.
“‘For the umpteenth boring time, you halfwit ninny,’ Jersey told him from the second seat in the big wagon. “You’re not going to see any tigers. Lots of lions, no tigers.’
“‘Tarzan fought tigers over here in his movies,’ Cooper said right back.
“‘Give it up, Jersey,” Corrie told her. ‘It’s hopeless. Hell, Cooper’s hopeless.’
“‘I think he needs professional help,’ Jersey said. ‘Of course, I’ve thought that for years.’
“Beth looked up from her reading of old travel brochures and smiled. ‘I know we’ve got a long way to go before we get mere, but Point-Noire used to have a population of over half a million. But flybys say it’s almost deserted. What happened to the people?’
“‘Bottger probably killed them all,’ Cooper said.
“‘Half a million of them?’ Jersey questioned. ‘I don’t think so, Cooper.’ Then she frowned. ‘Well . . . maybe you are right, Cooper. As much as I hate to admit it.’
“‘He might have used the gas on them,’ Ben said. ‘Or a form of experimental gas while his scientists were working all the bugs out of it—so to speak. We’ll know when we get there, I suppose.’
“‘I don’t understand why he’s killing off all the people,’ Jersey said.
“‘Cuts down on the resistance problem, Jersey,’ Ben told her.
“‘And damn sure helps to keep the rest of the people in line.’
“‘I can see where that certainly would,’ Jersey replied.
“‘Says here that there are over forty ethnic groups each with their own language,’ Beth said, reading from the travel brochure. She winked at Anna and added, ‘And Cooper, here’s something for you: Watch out for the Gaboon viper.’
“‘The what?’ Cooper asked.
“‘It’s a snake, Coop. The largest and heaviest viper in all of Africa. Grows to a length of about eight feet long and can weigh up to twenty-five pounds. It’s very deadly. Likes to crawl into sleeping bags at night and snuggle up to the sleeper.’
“‘The son of a bitch wouldn’t snuggle up to me for very long,’ Cooper said. ‘I’d be out of that sleeping bag before it could open its mouth.’
“Cooper shuddered and made a terrible-looking face. Cooper hated snakes of all types, sizes, and descriptions. ‘Jesus, I don’t even like to think about that.’
“‘Relax, Cooper,’ Beth told him. ‘This snake is found in central Africa, in the tropical rain forests.’
“Cooper shook his head and cut his eyes to Ben for a second. ‘I read all about those nasty things. They spit venom that can blind you.’
“‘Always keep your sun shades on, Cooper,’ Jersey told him.
“‘Protect your eyes.’
“‘If I do that, how the hell am I supposed to see at night?’
“‘Carefully, Coop,’ Jersey told him with a straight face. ‘Very carefully.’
“After a moment, Cooper slowly held up his right hand and gave Jersey the bird.
“Beth covered her face with the travel brochure to stifle her giggling as Jersey and the others burst out laughing. The laughter lasted only a few seconds. Corrie suddenly held up a hand as her headset began crackling with transmissions.
“‘Scouts report the town just up ahead is populated. Lots of sick and dying. No apparent gunshot wounds. The interpreter is trying to make some sense of it all now.’
“‘How many people?’ Ben questioned.
“‘Several thousand. They’re not unruly. Just sitting and waiting to die. The scouts’ words, Boss.’
“‘Are the scouts in protective gear?’
“‘Gas masks only.’
“‘Halt the column, Ben,’ Doctor Chase’s voice popped over a speaker. ‘If the scouts haven’t dropped dead or started showing some signs of sickness in thirty minutes, we’ll proceed into the town . . . the advance party of medical people wearing full protective gear.’
“‘You’re the boss on this, Lamar,’ Ben replied. ‘It’s your call from here on in.’ Ben then gave orders to halt the column.
“‘Some of Bottger’s gas?’ Cooper wondered.
“‘Probably,’ Ben said. ‘But it might be starvation or some natural disease. It’s all up to Chase’s people now. Corrie, tell the troops to un-ass their vehicles and stretch. Double the guards.’
“‘Now we wait,’ Anna said.
“Ben nodded. ‘Now we wait.’
“Chase’s bio/med team entered the town and got their equipment ready. Several of them took the scouts into their mobile lab to check them out, while the others began inspecting the town and the residents, checking the air and the water and the soil.
Tyranny in the Ashes Page 15
