by Reed, N. C.
“We keep going just like we have been,” he declared. “They got lucky, that’s all. From now on we’re more careful.”
-
“I saw a guy on the ridge just now, looking them over,” Jose noted to Kurtis.
“I saw him,” Kurtis agreed. “Be a hard shot with him staying hid like that.”
“No. Don’t try it. He’s probably the leader, but I’d rather they not know we’re able to see them so easily at this range. They may up set another shooter that we can see.” He keyed his radio.
“Good, clear shots only,” he warned Heath. “No wasted opportunities.”
“Roger that,” Sam acknowledged.
“Now it’s a waiting game,” Jose settled in to get comfortable. “They’ll have to come out of their holes now and that makes it easier for our guys to find them.”
-
Haywood wouldn’t allow it to show, but he was rattled. That had been a long shot that had taken James and another for Wilhoit. Had to be four hundred yards or better, at least. No average hunter had taken that shot. He wondered silently if killing those three soldiers had been a bad idea. At the time it seemed like just the thing to do to help rattle the town and shake things up, but now he was second guessing himself.
Which was useless. Whether it was a mistake or not, it was done. He had to keep moving, and he would.
“We’ll move a few shooters closer to town,” he ordered. “Turn up the heat a little. But we’ll do it a little differently this time. Listen up.”
-
“Movement,” Sam said softly, perhaps two hours later. “One-eight-nine at two hundred, seventy-six yards. One rifle, one spotter.”
“Got it,” Heath almost whispered. He was already squeezing the trigger when he stopped.
“This feels wrong,” he said softly.
“What?” Sam was still watching through her scope.
“This feels like a setup,” Heath told her. “I’ll keep this guy in my sights while you look around. I think this idiot got volunteered as bait.”
“Oh,” Sam realized what he was talking about and began looking for others.
“I don’t think this guy is going to shoot,” Jose’s voice came over the radio a few seconds later.
“We’ve about decided the same thing,” Heath replied. “I’m keeping him dialed in, but Huntress is still looking.”
“Roger that. Same.” Jose was brief.
“Huntress?” Sam asked, still working.
“You hunt, and it was short notice,” Heath shrugged. “I’m not good under pressure,” he joked.
“Hey, I’ve been called worse,” Sam agreed. “Probably by Gordy, lately,” she added with a dejected sigh.
“Don’t be like that,” Heath scolded lightly. “He’s worried. If Leanne were here, I’d be scared to death for her safety. Probably be all I could think about. I’d be lucky if I could concentrate on my job.”
Samantha didn’t reply to that, thinking Heath was probably right. Not for the first time she wondered if she had done the right thing, forcing this issue with Gordy. The last thing he needed while out in the field was to be worried about her. Not that it mattered at this point. It was far too late to change it now. If there was any damage, it was already done.
She was so busy thinking about the fallout with Gordy that she almost missed the little spot of color in the distance. She stopped short and moved her scope back, settling in on the enemy in the distance.
“One-seven-three, at four hundred, ninety yards,” she almost whispered. “He’s already got his rifle up and ready, waiting for us to shoot, I would guess. You were right.”
“Give him to Kurtis,” Heath suggested, still focusing on the first man she had found. “Tell them I’ll take this guy in close since I’ve got him dialed in already. I’ll shoot when Kurtis does.”
Sam quickly explained what Heath had in mind to Jose, who agreed.
“Move away,” Heath ordered her softly.
“What?” she looked at him quizzically.
“Move away, out of the line of fire,” Heath repeated, never looking away from the scope on his rifle. “We may get return fire. There’s no reason for you to face it. Move back and get down. We’ll move after this shot.”
Without another word Sam took her scope and dropped to the floor, moving to collect her gear. She had moved perhaps five feet when she heard the distant sound of Kurtis’ rifle, followed at most two seconds later by Heath’s own rifle.
“Target down,” Jose said quietly. “We’re Oscar Mike.”
“Oscar Mike?” Sam looked at Heath.
“On the Move,” Heath explained, watching for any other movement around his target. “Spotter went to ground, looks like. I can’t see hide nor hair of him. Let’s move,” he told her, slipping from his perch onto the floor. They quickly grabbed their gear and began moving to another shooting position.
-
“Sounds like Heath and Kurtis are getting some,” Nate mentioned softly.
“Does sound that way,” Mitchell agreed. “Wonder where they are from us?”
“No way to know unless Poncho calls us,” Nate shrugged. “You want to hunt in the daylight?” he asked.
“Don’t matter,” Mitchell shrugged. “Either way is fine. I’d hazard a guess that they’re a good way from us at the moment, anyway. If we moved, we might make good time getting into their little slice of heaven.”
“I’d like to find their camp,” Nate mentioned. “If we could get everyone together when we find them, we could clean the whole group out in a single move.”
“I’m for it,” Mitchell raised up from where he’d been reclining on his pack. “Call the others?”
“Yeah,” Nate reached for his radio. “Let’s make it a group effort.”
-
Haywood was sweating a little now. He’d lost two more people, including the man he’d counted on to take the town’s sniper out of action. He was down to one real rifleman now, and he was showing a marked reluctance to engage from any distance, not that Haywood could blame him. He looked at the sky, estimating there was at least four hours of light left in the day. He hated to waste that light, and he really hated to allow the town to think they had won even a single day of their little war.
Still, he was thinking it was better to cut their losses now and try again tomorrow. Maybe move into position near town before light, and then move directly against the town rather than just sit out here and pick them off.
“Well, this isn’t a normal shakedown, that’s for sure,” one of his fellow officers mentioned quietly. “I’d never have expected James to catch one, let alone Brady. Whoever is over there shooting, they’re damn good at it.”
“Too good,” Haywood nodded. “I’m tempted to call it a day and head home, to be honest,” he admitted. “If you’ve got suggestions, I’m all ears.”
“I’d give it one more day,” the other man shrugged. “Make camp early tonight and let everyone have a minute to get over our losses. Make sure we’re ready to go before sunup tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow we can get a couple clean kills and then send a flag of truce over? See if they want to bargain?”
“If we do that, we better make damn sure we get some kills instead of them,” Haywood muttered. “Or else take some hostages. Good idea, though. Tomorrow we’ll make a show of force at the edge of town, play up our numbers as being bigger than they are. See what shakes out. Start pulling everyone back. I’ll watch to see if there’s any reaction from the town.”
“Got it.”
-
Nate’s fist came up sharply and Mitchell froze in mid-step. His friend dropped to one knee and Mitchell did the same, automatically turning to face the opposite way from Nate. The movements came as naturally to them as breathing. Mitchell felt a soft tap on his arm and turned slowly to see Nate with a finger to his lips. That finger then moved very slowly to point off in the direction they had been heading. Mitchell followed the point just as slowly to try and avoid being noticed.
>
Perhaps twenty yards to their front a group of men were moving south without an apparent care in the world. There was absolutely no noise discipline among them and the two could hear them walking.
“-right to just leave Wilhoit like that, man.”
“Wasn’t nothing to do about it, dawg. He got it going to help James. We’d have been shot helping him. Got to just cut your losses sometimes.”
“Bet you wouldn’t say that if it was you down there bleeding out.”
“Probably not, but I’d be left behind just like Wilhoit was, so it don’t….” the voices trailed away as the group moved on.
Nate made a hand motion as if pushing down on something and then held up a finger. Mitchell nodded and the two went to ground, waiting for a time before moving on. They would wait, call the others to them, and then follow the trail the enemy group had left.
-
Kevin Bodee straightened almost imperceptibly, raising a fist in the air. Gordy froze, turning to cover their rear. He saw Kevin place a hand to his earpiece, then key his radio twice. He then motioned to Gordy to come closer.
“Got a bite back toward Nate and Mitch,” he whispered into Gordy’s ear. “We’re moving that way to link up with them and follow the group into camp. I’ll take point, but you watch our back. Nothing says they don’t have more than one group out here.”
Gordy nodded rather than speak and Kevin patted his shoulder twice before moving out. Gordy waited five steps before following, constantly turned to look around them as the two moved.
-
Xavier motioned for Zach to join him as he knelt on the ground. Second later, Zach was kneeling beside him.
“It would appear that Kurtis and Heath have scored against our opponents, and they are pulling back for today,” Xavier whispered. “Nate and Mitchell have found them and are waiting for us to join them before following. While we need to make haste, we must also be quiet and exercise caution. We’re heading to join them now.”
Zach merely nodded, having never actually looked at Xavier but rather kept his focus on the area behind them. Xavier tapped Zach’s shoulder twice to indicate he was moving, and then was gone. Zach gave it a five count before turning to follow.
Business was picking up after all.
-
“I think they’ve pulled back for today,” Kurtis said, pulling away from his rifle scope to rub his eyes. Beside him, Jose nodded.
“I think you’re right. We’ve stung them three times and they’ve got nothing to show for it. If they’re even marginally well led, they will want to withdraw and reevaluate. Hopefully our making them move puts Nate and Mitch on them easier. We’ll keep monitoring until it’s dusk, or too dark to distinguish friend from foe that far out, and then call it a day. You keep an eye out while I take a nature call and let Heath and Sam know the score.”
“Got it.”
-
“Copy that,” Sam replied once Jose had relayed his instructions to her and Heath. She turned to Heath, who was still watching, though through binoculars instead of his rifle scope.
“You heard, right?”
“I did,” his voice was never loud and far less so here. “Sounds like a plan. We can expect them to set a trap for us tomorrow, I expect. Set shooters up in hiding while giving us something else to see. We’ll have to be extraordinarily careful.”
“While we’re not engaged, I’m going to the restroom,” Sam said, beginning to crawl her way to the hallways behind them. “If we’re staying here then we can use one of the interior rooms to fix something to eat and get some rest. Work for you?”
“Works for me,” Heath agreed.
-
Nate had almost decided to pursue without waiting for the others when he heard someone else coming. Holding in place, he saw one last unknown following the same trail as the group they had spotted earlier. This one was more cautious, but was obviously not trained in combat, at least not for brush warfare. He plodded along without paying attention to his surroundings, as if deep in thought. Nate settled in to wait a bit longer in case this was not the actual Tail-End Charlie for the group. It had been twenty minutes between the time the group had passed, and then this one individual had come by, so Nate decided they would wait a full half-hour before moving, just to be safe.
Twenty-two minutes into that wait, Kevin Bodee and Gordy Sanders arrived, quietly moving into position to wait for orders. Seven minutes later Xavier Adair and Zach Willis slipped in as well. With all six of them together now, Nate motioned for them to huddle up.
“Okay,” he whispered. “We got a count of twenty-six, plus one alone. Do not assume there aren’t more, but we absolutely do not assume there are less. Unless we have at least that many bodies, we keep hunting. They left a trail a blind man could follow, and normally I’d never follow it, but with this bunch I don’t think it was deliberate. I think they don’t care, and don’t think they’re in any danger out here. We’re going to dissuade them of that notion.” Heads nodded in agreement all around him.
“If we come on them by surprise, we go to a spread formation and engage with as much firepower as we can bring to bear. Stick with your partners if that’s the case, in case we’re forced to separate again. Understood?” He looked specifically at Gordy and Zach, both of whom nodded again.
“I would prefer to follow them all the way back to their camp,” Nate continued. “It gives us a better chance of getting them all, and it also gives us an opportunity to gather any intel we can on who they are and what the hell they’re doing. Questions?”
There were none.
“Then let’s move.”
Turning away, Nate moved to the trail used by their targets and began to pursue, albeit with caution. The others fell into trail, with Kevin Bodee immediately behind Nate with his bow while Mitch once more brought up the rear.
Just like that, the hunt was on.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I can’t make heads or tails of the ridgeline they were using now,” Kurtis said quietly as the sun began to sink in the west.
“We’ll call it a day, I think,” Jose decided. “We need rest if nothing else. You and Heath have been at it all day, and while Sam and I have too, we haven’t been glued to a scope like you guys, and we aren’t shooting. Let’s slip back into the hallway and find a place to bed down where the light won’t give us away.”
“Works for me,” Kurtis nodded tiredly. He wouldn’t have complained, but he was glad to hear the order come, nevertheless.
“You go ahead and start moving,” Jose patted the younger man’s shoulder twice. “I’ll tell the others the score. Good work today, Kurtis,” he added. “Don’t know that Jody could have done better, and that’s high praise, I promise.”
“Thanks,” the teen smiled faintly as he began gathering his gear. Jose nodded and keyed his mike.
-
“Roger that,” Sam replied after Jose’s message. “We were just about to do the same. We can’t see well enough to be effective at this point.” She turned to Heath, who was already packing his gear away in preparation to move.
“I found what looks like it was a break room in the interior hallway,” she told him. “I’ve closed all the doors to the outer offices other than this one, so we can have light if we want it, so long as we’re careful. The toilets work with gravity and the soldiers below brought us enough water to make them flush.” She was grateful for the lessening light that hid her faint blush.
“Works for me,” Heath agreed. “Let’s move. I’m hungry.”
-
The group had stopped at full dusk to attack their night vision monocular devices to their helmets. By the time they had completed that task and checked the equipment, it was more than dark enough to safely activate the gear and keep moving. Nate ordered a nature call with half standing guard at a time, then ordered another gear and equipment check. No one complained about the caution. It was what kept you alive.
With that done, Nate led the way forward. W
ith the fall of darkness, following the trail was a bit more difficult, but thanks to the carelessness of their targets it was not impossible. Their carelessness was not limited to the trail they had left behind, either.
Nate came to an abrupt halt, fist raised in the air. The others at once turned outward to cover their flanks as Mitch covered their rear. Nate turned his head carefully before raising his hand again, this time with fingers extended up, together. He made a slow chopping motion to signal he was moving on.
He had stopped because he had heard the noise of people talking in the distance. He was unable to make out any individual words, but it was clearly people talking, and doing so without any discipline at all, which kept to the pattern they had seen so far.
That did not mean that the group was without discipline, however, and neither Nate nor his team would assume such a thing. They had plenty of time, and they would use it all, if needed.
First order of business was to find the camp. There was a faint glow just to their southeast that might be a campfire, so Nate angled them that way.
-
Bradley Haywood sat watching his men drinking, frowning at their actions but unwilling to expend the necessary clout to stop them. They had lost friends today and were already in a foul mood. He had no especially trustworthy subordinates to help keep them in line, and up until now it hadn’t been an issue, as things had always gone their way. That wasn’t the case, this time.
He doubted any of them had the thought that any sense of loss they were feeling was one they shared with the people they had victimized up to this point, including the people in this town. He didn’t bother to point it out, knowing that if they hadn’t figured it out themselves, his bringing it up wouldn’t solve anything.
So, he sat off to the side, alone, watching as the men nominally under his command finished off the booze they had stolen, laughing and talking as they remembered men that this morning, they probably hadn’t cared a lick about. The fact that the town had stung them was what hurt, and that made them act the way they were right now.
Instead of worrying about what they thought or didn’t think, he spent his time pondering what he would do tomorrow. The suggestion to take the fight closer to town was a good one on the surface. If they moved in before it was light enough to see, then the town’s riflemen would be at least partly negated by blocked vision. They would be outnumbered, at least on paper, but his men had eliminated a good many of the town’s defenders and had even knocked the soldiers back a step or two.
