The Fall of America | Book 2 | Fatal Encounters

by Benton, W. R.

  “Use everything we have and even rig boulders, logs, flip snares or anything that can be used to slow them down. I want the Russians scared shitless to enter the woods.”

  John stood and looking at Tom said, “Looks like we've some traps to place.”

  Four days later, Willy said at the morning meeting, “We lost two more houses before we could get traps in place. The roughest part is the loss of twenty good men and women, who can't be replaced. These were our friends and in some cases, members of our family, and according to the survivors the same routine was used each time.”

  “A grenade through the front window, door kicked in following the explosion, then a fight for the house. Once the Russians withdraw, an airstrike is called on the cleared building.” John said.

  Tom shrugged and said, “There really isn't much we can do against that, other than traps and guards.”

  “I think,” Willy said, “over the last few months we've grown complacent, since the Russians have left us pretty much alone. Now that they've come visiting, we're caught with our heads stuck up our rears.”

  “Most all we know of have been warned.” Barbara said, and quickly added, “I know, because I warned them personally.”

  Willy took a sip of his coffee and then asked, “How are the traps on the roads and trails going?”

  “We've barely dented the roads, because there are just too many of them. All the houses have been ringed with traps and mines, but we're still working on streams, trails and logging roads.” Tom replied.

  “Oh, I know it takes time and I'm not mad about it, just wondering is all. Tell all to keep up the effort and we'll soon own the countryside.” Willy said and then asked, “John, are you still interested in something to fight Russian choppers with?”

  “I sure am.”

  “Earlier this week, we were able to get our hands on a few LAWS rockets that should work, except I have no idea how well. I've never heard of anyone using it for anything except tanks. Keep in mind, you'll have to catch a chopper loading or unloading troops to use it, because it's limited to around 3,300 feet, which isn't very high.”

  “It beats nothing; how fast can we get them into the hands of our cells?”

  “We can deliver them quickly, and we can send a short note along that it's to be used only for choppers at low level. How does that sound?” Willy asked.

  “Good to me, let's get them out as soon as possible, Barbara.” John said as he grinned at the woman.

  “Why me?” She asked.

  “You're the only one who knows where all the cells are located.”

  “Good point,” Willy said. He thought for a couple of minutes and then spoke again. “John, I want you to go with her, because we need more than one person who knows where all the groups are. If Barbara gets seriously injured or killed, we'll be lost.”

  “Some of the troops that go with her know, right?” Tom asked.

  “No,” Barbara said, “I take out different groups when I go in different compass directions. The main idea is if a man is captured, he only knows so much and can't tell what he doesn't know.”

  “Makes sense to my old head.” Tom said and then smiled.

  Two days later, John was in an old shack of a house, handing out a LAW, when a guard ran in and said, “I just saw a chopper fly over us and then it sounded like it's pitch changed once over the trees.”

  “Have you noticed any other choppers around?” John asked; since it was just barely after dawn, he was surprised.

  “A guard reported hearing one last night, when he went for water, but no, not really. It's usually quiet around here.”

  “I'd suggest you prepare for an attack. If the chopper landed, it's up to no good and you can take that to the bank. It's likely your guard was seen using infrared and this house was marked to check out.”

  “We're ready, but first they have to get through our mines and booby-traps. Once they come for the house, we've a tunnel dug that leads us to the river. We'll be long gone before they enter this place.”

  “I pray for your sake, you're right. We can stay and help, if you want, Allison.”

  “No, we're in good shape. I don't intend to fight them anyway, so we'll kill and wound as many as we can and then run.”

  “It's your choice, but you can't win against aircraft, anyway you look at it.”

  “They've always used ground troops first, for some strange reason, so I know what to expect. Go on, you two get out now and we'll prepare for our visitors. Frank, see these two through our gap, seal it, and then return.”

  “What do you mean, seal it?” John asked.

  “Once you're clear, he'll place a few quick mines to keep the Russians honest. So once outside, don't try to come back in or you'll ruin your day.”

  “Let's go,” Frank said, “because we don't have much time. I want to get back before the Russians arrive.” He picked up his rifle and began to move for the back door. John and Barbara, along with five other men, followed.

  Once outside the wire, John thought for a few minutes as they were checking the map and then said, “We're going to hang around long enough to see how this fight goes.” Then, pulling a LAW from a pack, he added, “I may get a chance to use one of these.”

  “Well,” Barbara said, “let me know where you'll be, because I damned sure don't want to be behind you when it fires. Have you ever seen the back blast from one of those things?”

  “It'd hurt you, and that's for sure. Now, every one needs to get camouflaged well from the choppers and no matter what happens, wait until I start to move before you move. Most of you can get back in the trees, but I'll need someone up close to me to protect me as I try to launch this thing.”

  “I'll stay with you.” Barbara said, and then smiled.

  “You think I'm crazy, don't you?”

  “What I think isn't important right now. I'm curious to see if you can down a helicopter with a LAW.”

  “I don't see why it won't work, if I lead the bird enough.”

  There was a loud explosion, followed by a scream from the front of the house, but it was impossible to determine exactly where it had occurred. Gun shots were heard from inside the house, and then the chopper appeared and made a run for the structure. He'd made his run from the other side, so John never had a clear shot, but bullets were heard striking the old structure.

  “Get out now!” John said under his breath.

  The helicopter turned in the blue sky and lined up for another run for the building. Once again, John never got a clear shot. He decided then to wait for the Russians to be picked up or for the chopper to hover overhead near the building. He needed the aircraft almost stationary before he could fire, because he felt uneasy about how much to lead. He also realized if he missed, his group would then become the hunted.

  It bothered him that firing from the house stopped after the one pass by the chopper and he saw no movement at all. Then, out of the blue, a small group of Russians moved toward the front door and were lost from his view. Two other men moved to a position behind the house and waited, with their weapons ready.

  Lawdy, I hope they're all using the tunnel or Willy will soon be short some troops, if he's not already, he thought.

  The biggest Russian in the group waited until Dyomin tossed in a grenade and it exploded before he kicked the front door hard with his right shoulder. The door swung full open, the doorknob contacted a mine secured to the wall, and an explosion filled the morning air.

  Five men were down, two bleeding profusely from their mouths, and another was dead. Lieutenant Dyomin had just turned to order his men into the building when the mine exploded, knocking him on his ass on the porch, and his ears filled with a loud ringing from the blast. He looked around and saw two more men staggering and leaking crimson.

  “Medic!” Someone yelled.

  A medic appeared, moved to the seriously wounded and started to work. Other than his ears ringing, Dyomin, felt fine and could find no injuries. He moved out of the way and st
arted walking toward the radio operator.

  Other men passed him at a run, moving for the now open door.

  The ringing in his ears had Dyomin in a confused state and he didn't realize there were no shots fired by either side, and there should have been.

  Finally, Junior Sergeant Norin reported, “They went out using a tunnel, sir.”

  “A tunnel? Where does the tunnel lead? Has anyone gone into it?”

  “We don't have anyone who's willing to enter the tunnel to see, and I suspect it's booby-trapped anyway.”

  “Sir, I have an important message from the helicopter. He said he spotted two groups moving from the air. One is further away than the other, and the closest one is near the stream.”

  “Tell him to kill the men near the river, because it is the closest, and I think the tunnel leads to that area. They would want to keep the tunnel short, to escape faster.”

  “I have instructed him, sir.”

  “Tell him to make two passes at the group and then come here to pick up my badly wounded. I am sure if he uses a rocket attack on them or machine-guns, they will fall quickly.”

  The radio operator spoke into his headset, grinned and said, “He is starting to line up his attack now.”

  The men near the river, thinking they'd made a clean getaway, waded the shallow stream and started into the trees.

  Frank suddenly yelled, “A chopper has lined up on us!” The man pointed in the direction of the aircraft and all could see it was turning to start its approach.

  “Spread out now and do it fast! Run!” Allison screamed and then ran wildly through the woods, jumping over logs, brush and accidentally through a blackberry briar patch. His hands and legs were ripped by the sharp thorns in the patch, but he knew distance was all they had between them and death. Just as the chopper passed over him, in a steep dive angle, he saw one puff of smoke followed by a second. The two rockets exploded near the high bank on the river, so he slowed his running a little, in an attempt to catch his breath. The bird is firing blind now, because he's lost us in these trees, he thought and then yelled, “Form on me, men!”

  One or two men near, formed on him quickly, since they were closer and one of them warned, “Here comes the chopper again!” They all fell to the ground and heard the cannons begin to fire. Behind him, Allison heard the rounds hitting and turning his head, he saw dust and clumps of soil thrown six feet into the air. Fortunately, his men were in advance of the bullets.

  Ten minutes later, with Frank on point, they moved toward another house Allison knew of, and it would shelter them until he decided what to do. They'd been forced to leave most of their supplies, but he'd worry about that once they were safely away from the area.

  John lay absolutely still until the second pass was completed and then he knelt beside a huge oak to watch the chopper. The bird slowly moved to the house, the gunners alert and scanning the woods, and hovered near the Russian men as they lined up the injured to load on the bird.

  When one man moved to the front of the chopper and held his rifle over his head, John knew from experience the man would slowly lower his weapon as the chopper started down to pick up the wounded. Once the skids touched the ground, John would attempt to make a killing shot. But suddenly, he decided to allow the Russians time to load some injured men, so he could kill more than just the crew, if he hit the damned thing at all.

  When the skids touched the ground, the LAW was already extended and since he'd sent Barbara and the others out, he knew no one was behind him. He lined the sights up and waited patiently as two stretchers neared the aircraft. Once the first stretcher was inside, with the second being loaded, he fired and watched his rocket take the chopper right in the engines. It rewarded him with a huge explosion and men in flames were seen running inside the fireball, just before the fuel went, too. The chopper came apart and pieces in various sizes were thrown in all directions. The ammo was going off when John placed the now empty LAW into his backpack to carry out. Smaller detonations were heard as he stood and started running for his group.

  He'd remembered where empty LAW containers left behind were booby-trapped, so he'd always carry out all he carried in, but it was lighter now with the rocket fired.

  Lieutenant Dyomin was mad as hell as he watched his men help extinguish the burning men and knew he'd not only lost more men, but a helicopter as well. He had a number of dead before the chopper was hit, and now he had a good six or seven more to add to the total. He'd caught sight of the rocket just a split second before it struck, and was surprised, not thinking the Americans had any defense against aircraft. It'd been a costly learning experience, so from now on, he'd send in choppers first, and then his men would do a body count after the attack. He also knew he needed some mine detector teams along to clear the way through the protective rings around the houses. So, you've grown smarter, have you? It will do you little good against the might of Mother Russia. How many men or helicopters I lose matters little to me, because the end is what matters, he thought, not realizing he was starting to think like a real Russian commander.

  The radio man neared and said, “The second helicopter said we have to return to the point we inserted before he'll do an extraction now. He seems to think this place is ringed with more rockets.”

  “Tell him we will withdraw to the pickup point and for him to remain ready to assist us on the way back. Sergeant Norkin!”

  “He is dead sir, along with Senior Sergeant Delov. Both were burned so badly they could not survive, so the medic put them to sleep.”

  “Private Antipin, take point and lead us back to where we started this whole mess.”

  “Yes, sir.” And, as he turned and started walking, the men lined up behind him for the trip out. All went well, until they were about fifty yards from the spot they were inserted, and being a little off the trail was intentional by the man walking point. The last thing he wanted was to step on a mine on his way back to the base. He had no way of knowing even the sides of the trails had been mined and booby-trapped, and for this very reason.

  He'd just taken a step, when his foot struck a treadle board and before he could react, the opposite end of the trap swung up and four sharpened stakes entered his chest. He screamed and struggled against the fire-hardened stakes, but they were barbed and three of them had passed through his chest. Sticking from his back, the bloody points were a reminder to all near him that they were not safe yet. The medic neared and inserted a fatal amount of morphine into Antipin, knowing there was nothing he could do to help the man. He will die anyway, so I will end his pain.

  “You,” Dyomin said, pointing a private standing near, “take the point, and watch where you put your feet or you will be the next one to go home in a metal box.”

  CHAPTER 24

  John sat at the table as Willy had a small staff meeting at the kitchen table. The shooting down of a chopper was great news, and Willy kept shaking his head at the thought.

  Finally, John said, “My dad was career army and I got the idea from him. Seems during the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong shot at our helicopters with damned near anything they could find, including rocket propelled grenades. I figure if a grenade would do the trick, a rocket for damned sure should work.”

  “Oh, I'd heard stories like that, mostly at a table in the club as the old sergeants told war stories. I guess you taught us something new today, huh?”

  “What has me concerned is this; I may have caused the Russians to change tactics now, and I don't think we'll find any choppers coming near houses, unless it's to fire on them.”

  Willy asked, “Sergeant Thomas, please tell John what you know about Thermal Imagery.”

  A new man to the small group said, “I'm a sniper and at times I have to hide from the choppers that I suspect can see in the dark. In Afghanistan, the bad guys learned to hide from infrared and thermal equipped aircraft by covering themselves with wool blankets. It's not real good in the long run, because eventually heat will start to become visible as it
leaks from the edges of the blanket. However, if they only make a pass or two, well, it works. If they stay looking for you, then they'll likely be looking for human forms and not just heat. Now, I know that sounds iffy, but it's the best idea we've come up with yet. The real key is how well trained the man on the other end is, how determined they are to get your ass, and how much fuel and time they want to spend in one area looking.”

  “Thanks, Thomas, we'll give it a try.”

  “Oh, and don't wear the blanket, or it'll be 'hot' from your body heat. I carry mine tied loosely on the top of my pack. When I need it, I pull it from my pack and throw it over me.”

  Willy grinned and said, “I've sent word to all cells that we will no longer defend houses against attacks, because like John, I suspect the Russians will use aircraft against structures now. I want everyone to bug out when an attack is imminent. We will, however, always leave one man behind with a LAW, to attempt to down a bird. If we can start taking out choppers, it'll worry the hell out the Russians.”

  “Sounds good to me,” John said and then added, “but the man left behind better have some big balls, because it scared the living hell out of me.”

  “Oh, the commander at Jackson is about to go on a tour of other bases, to meet the commanders, so it's a grip and grin tour, and to check their readiness to combat us. Our intelligence section now has a few men and women working on the inside, doing manual labor or jobs the Russians don't want to do, like burning shit, cleaning hospital patients, or filling sandbags. One such man saw a folded paper drop from the Colonel's jacket, as he got into a car, and brought it to us straight away. It was his complete schedule for the trip, as well as the names of those going with him. It seems he flew to Edwards a long while back for an extended visit, and now intends to travel back by car. I think John's use of the LAW has him concerned.”

  “It'll be too big a convoy for us to tackle.” John said.

  Willy laughed and replied, “He'll be traveling with a motorcycle in front and one in the rear. He'll be riding in a liberated car, with three other men. There is a Major Galkin, which we think is his air operations officer, and Lieutenant Dyomin, who seems to just be an infantryman. The driver will be a Private Aptekar and riding security, or shotgun, is a Master Sergeant Belonev. They'll leave in three days.”