“Mike is right!” Bruce shouted into the headset. “We aren’t facing big numbers. If each company quits crying and starts fighting, I wouldn’t need the air I’m calling in!”
“That’s what I said,” Danny smiled and Jake looked at her. “The troops are used to seeing him run around, acting insane. They just have to get used to him hovering over all of us like a blanket from here.”
Nodding, Jake turned back to his Dad. “Nice analogy,” he said.
The door opened and Gene walked in, taking his helmet off. “It’s exciting out there,” he smiled.
“Where have you been?” Jake asked.
“Had to go out and assist one of the bat commanders,” he said. “She’s just unsure of herself, she’ll do fine.”
“Where’s Willie?” Danny asked.
“He’s out with another one and will be here soon,” Gene said as the door opened and Conner walked in.
“Conner, if Dad has to send someone to babysit you, I’ll pull your chest hairs out one by one,” Danny said.
Putting an arm around Danny, Matt pulled her close. “Baby, Tarzan needs only Jane,” he chuckled.
“Besides one of my commanders getting lost and heading for Georgia, it’s been alright,” Conner said, taking his helmet off.
“I had that happen too,” Matt shouted.
“They have GPS. You have to be a complete fucking idiot to get lost when a computer tells you ‘turn here’,” Danny snapped. “Dad took us out in the woods, gave us a compass and said ‘find the spot I marked’, and just left our asses.”
Gene laughed as the artillery boomed again outside, followed by the shriek of rockets. “Yeah, I radioed Mike and told him to start classes with a map and compass. If troops can do that, they can use GPS.”
“Bruce taught all of us how to do that on that crazy run through Texas,” Conner said. “He would hand you the map, point to where he wanted to be, and told you that you were leading the convoy.”
The artillery boomed again outside and the door opened with Ted and Carl walking in with Willie behind them. “You get the artillery officer straightened out?” Jake asked.
“Jake, she knew what to do,” Ted said, throwing up his hands. “Hell, any of those guys can set up one of those 155mm howitzers in five minutes and send shells downrange. She was just nervous about hitting our troops.”
“The troops have never functioned independently away from each other,” Gene said. “Should’ve seen that.”
“What, you want to run exercises?” Willie asked, sitting down.
Nodding, Gene moved over and sat down. “Hell, just getting them to drive around together outside of Hope would do it but yeah, a live fire exercise would be nice.”
“Pussies,” Danny said, taking off her helmet as the door opened and Buffy walked in grinning. “Hey sis, what are you doing?”
“I went up with Steve and he let me be the door gunner,” she beamed. “Oh man, is that fun!”
“Wow, Dad let you out of his sight?” Jake asked.
“Yes, Bruce said unless blues were flying, Buffy wouldn’t try to use her knife,” Ted chuckled.
“Mack!” Angela screamed. “I don’t care if we don’t have large masses here, you will have ten A-10s over us at all times!”
They turned to look and saw Angela listening on her headset, “Mack, I don’t care what the F16 can do. You will have Warthogs over us or I’ll shoot your damn F16s down!”
“Never had to argue with a pregnant commander,” Willie said, rubbing his head. “It doesn’t seem like a wise choice.”
“If you want to send jets, you send the Harriers!” Angela screamed. “I want something that can stay over us, loiter, and not have to run away to find a gas station every ten minutes! They have to refuel more than I have to pee!”
“Mack better give in,” Jake said.
Letting out a sigh, Angela smiled. “Thank you, Mack, and we will move operations back to the east base tomorrow. They are offloading a train full of ordnance.”
“Ted, Carl,” Bruce shouted and took off his headset. “Come over here and run this show for a few.”
Letting out a groan, Ted whined. “I don’t want to.”
“That’s fine, because I told you to,” Bruce said, shoving the headset in Ted’s chest.
As Ted and Carl walked away, Jake looked up at his Dad. “How’s the situation for real?”
“Oh, it’s actually very good,” Bruce said. “The troops just need some hand holding.”
“I heard we lost two,” Matt said.
“Yes,” Conner said. “A blue was hiding underneath a bridge as one of my MRAP’s drove under and dropped down on them. It killed the gunner and another that was sitting on the roof.”
“We’ve seen that before,” Danny said.
“Yes, and we trained for it,” Conner said. “I guess they just forgot.”
Everyone could see Conner was taking it bad as Bruce reached over, patting his shoulder. “Son, they aren’t the first and they damn sure won’t be the last. Get your head on straight, so you don’t lose more.”
“Okay,” Bruce said looking around. “I take it that everyone has had problems with people reading a map.”
“They aren’t reading a map, Dad. They are using GPS,” Jake said. “I would be a little forgiving if they were using maps and a compass.”
Looking around, Bruce nodded. “Then tell all your commanders, they will rotate their platoons out that are leading. The platoon leader will use a map and compass while the platoon sergeant uses GPS. When they rotate back in the lead, the two will swap.”
“Keep their rally points a few miles away so if they screw up, we can easily find them,” Gene said.
“Spoken like a true prodigy,” Bruce grinned.
Looking over at Bruce with narrowed eyes, “I only got us lost once,” Gene growled.
Shrugging, Bruce grinned. “We were only sixteen miles off course, it wasn’t that bad.”
Stephanie walked over and put her arm around Bruce, “When do you want to start resupply by air?”
“Resupply?” Danny shouted. “We haven’t used shit for ammo. The floor of our rig is packed already.”
“Midnight,” Bruce told Stephanie and turned to Danny. “I want the troops to be able to do this under fire and when they really need it, that is not the time to do it for the first time.”
“Don’t send much,” Danny huffed. “Between Matt’s new monitors and extra computers, then the extra rifles, food, a fuck load of ammo, and radios, I have to crawl out of the rig just to think.”
“Okay, we’ll keep the ammo drops light,” Bruce said and looked around at Jake. “Now, tell me what you found out.”
“Well, I noticed when we stopped and I pulled my convoy in side-by-side formation, the blues attacked where they saw other blues getting closer to the convoy,” Jake said and everyone pulled out a notebook, except Matt. He pulled out a small tablet and started typing.
“They weren’t really probing. They were just following those that got closer,” Jake said. “I tested it and confirmed it. The rigs around me, I told them to let the blues get closer before taking them out.”
“I did order the demon spawn matrix kids shot on sight,” Mary said with a shiver.
“That was very smart,” Jake grinned at her then looked at his dad. “Within ten minutes, the blues were concentrating on my area. Then, you pulled some Blackhawks over me and mowed the trees down.”
“Son, that was Angela. I was watching,” Bruce said.
“Oh,” Jake said. “Well, what do you think?”
“Exactly what you said,” Bruce grinned. “But I checked some of my videos and drone footage, they’ve always done that, we just never noticed.”
“Wait,” Buffy said dropping her helmet. “The blues have attacked weak spots because they just saw more getting closer?” she asked and Bruce nodded. “They act so smart because they’re dumb?”
Bruce chuckled, “In a sense, yes, but if you look in
the animal kingdom, you will see the same, like ambushing prey.”
“Oh man,” Danny sighed with relief, looking at her Dad. “I was so worried the fuckers were starting to use real intelligence.”
Seeing Bruce’s face was serious, Danny tensed up. “Baby, that is intelligence. We’ve seen them run away and attack from different directions and at different times. They are learning and learning very fast.”
“Okay, do you have a theory as to why they ran and hid in Mobile?” Matt asked, not looking up as he typed.
“Yes, I looked at the footage and they never advanced any closer than a hundred yards. No matter where they attacked, they were cut down. Like any animal facing annihilation, they ran off,” Bruce said. “Until you pissed them off by cooking a female alive, then, they didn’t care.”
“Ahem,” Jake cleared his throat. “I have my company rotating kill zones now. A section on each side will let the blues get within fifty yards and use the kill zone for an hour, then they will push it back as another area repeats it.”
“You don’t have to let them get that close, just let them see they are advancing,” Bruce said.
“Bruce,” Gene said, looking up from his notebook. “You just said they ran away from Matt because he didn’t let them come closer than a hundred yards.”
“Gene, Matt’s fields of fire were only a hundred and fifty yards with all the buildings around him. The blues stepped out, they got shot. When we went hunting for them it was the same. They were attacking from all sides, but they were just following others that seemed to get closer.”
Thinking about that, Gene just nodded and continued writing. “Okay, anything else?” Bruce asked and nobody said anything. “Okay, tomorrow, we push through Birmingham.”
He stepped over to the wall and pointed at the monitor. “These are your lines of advance,” he said and everyone stood up, writing. “Only Jake’s and Matt’s companies will be moving through the city and I want everyone to tell the others, this is because they will not get close enough to shoot each other. I don’t want any other company within one mile of another.”
“I concur big time,” Matt said, typing now and using his thumbs. “When Danny and I went after Echo company, those fuckers shot at us. I mean, just how fucking many blues have you seen driving? Especially an RG with a big ass Omega flag.”
“Danny,” Bruce sighed. “Is that why a medevac was called in for an accident?”
“Hell, yes! Those bullets ricocheted off my rig!” she shouted. “I pulled that son of a bitch out and beat the fuck out of his ass! My fist accidentally broke his face!”
Moving toward Bruce, Angela looked up at him with a glare, daring him to say something to Danny. “I’ll let that one slide,” Bruce sighed and Angela patted his arm as she smiled.
“Um, Bruce, I would’ve shot him,” Carl said in a low voice. “Not like a life-threatening shot, but I damn sure would’ve popped a cap in him.”
“Bruce, leave her alone,” Angela said. She stopped beside Bruce and looked at Danny. “When we get back, I’ll break his legs for shooting at you, baby girl.”
“Guys, the troops are scared and though I won’t deny it, I wouldn’t have done the same,” Bruce said and Gene snorted. “Gene, don’t,” Bruce said pointing.
Dropping his hand, he looked at them. “They just have to get their legs under them,” he said. “Now you see why I didn’t rush off to hit one of the hordes, or heaven forbid, that super horde moving into Utah. The troops need to learn to trust in the equipment and each other,” he said. “If no questions, head on back.”
They gathered their stuff and Jake stopped beside his Dad. “Hey, did I get some stuff from Hope?”
“Yes, Jake,” Angela said. “I had them put it in Bruce’s RG.”
Jake walked over and kissed her cheek. “Thank you,” he said and headed out.
“Can I step outside for a few?” Bruce asked and kissed Angela on the forehead.
“Yeah, baby,” she smiled and turned around. “Ted, Carl. Bruce is going outside. Stay up his ass, we have this,” she said and walked back to her console.
Bruce just shook his head and grabbed his SCAR off the wall as Ted opened the door. The sun was just touching the horizon as Bruce headed over and climbed on top of one of the MRAPs, looking over the field they were set up in. Bodies of blues were lying everywhere.
Even moving the regiment with a forty-mile-long front and staying in the rear, blues still found them.
“Man, Angela and Stephanie can run an air campaign,” Carl said, moving up beside Bruce.
“Well Carl, think of all the time they had to learn when we went out into the world, pissing shit off,” Bruce laughed.
“Bruce, they are teaching that command group how to do it. We will have an awesome group when they are done,” Ted said beside him.
Taking a deep breath, Bruce smiled. “I’m telling Mike, when he goes out to take Nancy, because she’s another one that can run an air war.”
Suppressed shots rang out from all around them, killing blues that exposed themselves. The heavy weapons were manned, but the blues never came out in numbers to bother shooting them with the big guns.
“Guys,” Bruce said in a low voice. “What’s your opinion on how we are doing?”
“Bruce, I’m happy with how the troops are doing. To be honest, if you were with any company, it would be functioning like we did on our first outings, but they will get there,” Carl said.
Turning to face Bruce, Ted nodded. “The troops will pull it together, Bruce. I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t terrified, going out and knowing I was outnumbered millions to one.”
“Bitch, you were scared of Buffy,” Carl laughed.
“True,” Ted nodded with a grin. “But seriously Bruce, the troops have to learn to trust their teams. Most are seeing it now and in a few days, it will be a different unit.”
Bruce just stared out over the field for several minutes, then the roar of the artillery broke the silence. “I’m moving David up to command Bat Three,” he said. “When Gene heads back tonight, I’m flying out and telling him.”
“I think he’s a good one,” Ted said. “A bit rash at times, but he’s got the knack.”
“The one David’s replacing will take over his company. She’s not ready to lead that many troops yet,” Bruce said. “I’ll leave the others in place for a few days before making any more changes. I don’t like putting my family in so many leadership places, but be damned if I’m going to let people die because I won’t.”
“Boss, nobody can argue against that,” Carl said.
They turned as a group of Apaches flew in to land in the airfield next to them. “Let’s get some rest, guys. This war is just getting started,” Bruce said and climbed down.
Chapter 24
Danny was in the cupola, manning the minigun as the driver followed the convoy into Birmingham. “Contact,” she called over the RG’s intercom as blues poured out of a side road. The stream of red tracers hit the wall of bodies and they just collapsed as those behind tried to climb or jump over, only to be met with more bullets.
When her rig passed the road, the MRAP behind them opened up and Danny moved the cupola aiming forward. “Matt, how much further?”
“Just a mile, if we don’t take another wrong turn,” he called from the back, standing out of the troop hatch. Sweeping his rifle side to side, Matt squeezed the trigger when his crosshairs met a blue, racking up some nice kills.
Danny wanted to grab her map, but the damn blues were coming at them piecemeal. The blues hit all the positions all through the night, finally lightening up just before dawn. Only one company had to call the support vehicles to send someone to dig them out from the bodies around them. Everyone else used the MRAPs with plow blades to get out from the bodies.
Looking at the town, Danny was reminded of movies like I am Legend. Weeds were growing in the street and buildings were collapsing as nature slowly started taking over. “Matt, you can’t get
mad at the lead element. Hell, I mess up on a roundabout,” Danny said, then saw movement coming out of a store.
“Contact left,” she called out and pressed the trigger, sending a burst at the two blues who’d come out the broken door.
“Rally point ahead and pulling in,” came over the radio.
“Copy, box formation,” Matt called over the radio. “I’m not mad at her. Shit, she knew she’d made a mistake before she went a mile,” he told Danny.
Turning around, Danny saw Matt looking out the left side and the radio operator looking out the right. Only their command rig didn’t have the five troops in the back and Danny was trying to figure out how to fix that. The radios and computers took up enough area for three people, and the RG33L they were in was one of the biggest MRAPs.
Still coming up empty, she turned back around as the convoy pulled through a high school parking lot, then into a large field beside it. The driver pulled up to the next rig until the bumper touched and then Danny swung the cupola to the left, looking out from the box as the last of the vehicles pulled up.
Sporadic gunfire came from around the area and though she saw blues, none were grouped up enough to take a shot. “Second platoon, third and fourth squad, don’t engage until the blues get to one hundred yards,” Matt called over the radio.
“Copy” came back and Matt stood up in the back, aiming at two running at them.
“I think we emptied Birmingham out last night,” he said, shooting the two in quick succession. “I hope we aren’t here for house-to-house.”
“Nah, it’s not worth it,” Danny said, finally seeing six blues rounding the corner of the school and charging them. Pressing the trigger, she hosed the six with a short burst and continued scanning. “What’s on the drones?”
“Not much of shit,” Matt said, lowering his rifle. “I need to stop, so these other guys get used to popping them.”
Danny laughed and climbed out of the cupola and stood on the roof. “Yes, we do,” she said. “You head that way and I’ll head this way and we can check the troops.”
“Sounds good,” Matt said, climbing out and looking Danny’s camo-clad body over with raised eyebrows.
Blue Plague: Hope: Book Seven Page 32
