by A. American
As the bow ground into the mud, Doc cut the engine. Sarge hopped out, followed by two others I didn’t know. Doc hopped out last, shouldering his bag.
“Who’s been shot, Morgan?” Sarge asked as he stuck his hand out.
I grabbed it and we shook. “Danny. Someone hit him with a scatter gun.”
“What kind of shot?” Doc asked.
“It was small, like number four or something. Not buck, thank God,” I said.
Doc started up the bank. “He in his cabin?” I nodded and he and one of the other guys trotted off.
“Morgan, Jeff, this is Martin,” Sarge said.
We shook hands with him. “Nice to meet you. Thanks for coming up,” I said.
“No sweat. That’s Jeremy over there with Doc. He’s the closest thing we have to a medic,” Martin said.
Jeff and I relayed the events of the previous two nights. I told him I thought it could have been someone trying to snatch a hog that came back for a little get-even after Danny shot at them.
“Let’s go check on Danny,” Sarge said, then looked at the cup in Jeff’s hand. Pointing, he asked, “What’s in there?”
Jeff smiled broadly as he raised the cup to his lips. “Coffee.”
Sarge jerked around to face me. “You got coffee? You holding out on me?”
I smiled “Yeah, we got a pot on the fire. Why, you want some?”
“What do you think, dipshit?” Sarge shouted as he pushed past me and stomped off toward the fire pit.
“Hey, weren’t we going to check on Danny?” I called after him.
The old man waved me off. “He’s in good hands, there’s more important things at the moment.”
Jeff was cracking up. “Man, look at him go.”
“Yeah, you’d think we told him we had a pot of gold or something,” I said, shaking my head.
“At the moment, it is, a pot of black gold,” Jeff said with a grin, slapping me on the shoulder as he started toward the fire pit.
I shook my head and followed him. Sarge was holding the pot in one hand and drinking coffee with the other. As we walked up, he said, “This is some crap coffee.” Then a broad smile spread across his face. “But it’s wonderful.”
“We thought you’d like it,” I said.
As he poured another cup he said, “I do. All right, now let’s go check on Danny.”
Danny was sitting up, leaning forward. Doc was checking his breathing, having him take deep breaths. Satisfied Danny’s lungs were all right, Doc had him lie down so he could start examining the wounds where it looked like actual penetration could have occurred. Doc held a gloved finger against one of them, rolling it around.
“That hurt?”
“Hell yes. Feels like you’re sticking a poker in my side.”
“Yeah, I think there’s a piece of shot in there. Jeremy, get that instrument kit out for me.”
Jeremy dug into the pack and produced a small OD kit. He took a bottle of alcohol out and cleaned a pair of large tweezers before handing them to Doc.
“All right, Danny, this is going to hurt. I’m about to stick a poker in your side now for real.”
Bobbie grabbed Danny’s hand as Doc gently probed the wound. “There it is,” he whispered. Danny grimaced, and from the look on Bobbie’s face, he must’ve clamped down on her hand something good. “Got it!” Doc exclaimed as he held up a small piece of shot.
Danny exhaled loudly and looked over. “It sure felt bigger than that.”
“Let’s see how many more there are,” Doc said.
He pulled three more pieces out before starting to clean all the wounds.
“Hell, Danny, next time, duck,” Sarge said.
“Yeah, you should’ve heard him squeal when he was hit,” Jeff said, trying to get a laugh.
Danny raised his head. “Let me shoot your ass once,” he said with a chuckle.
“I think you’ll be all right. Just keep the wounds clean. I’m not going to give you any antibiotics, just keep them clean and dry and you should be all right,” Doc said as he put away his stuff.
“You sure he doesn’t need any antibiotics?” Bobbie asked.
“Nope. Too often when people went to their doctors for any number of things they’d get an antibiotic as a precaution. It was one of the worst practices conducted in the medical field. Sure, for some things you need them, but the ‘just in case’ excuse shouldn’t be used. Just keep an eye on them, and if they start to look inflamed, red, swollen, and painful, let me know and I’ll give him something. You guys are pretty healthy, though, so his immune system should handle it fine. Just take it easy for a few days, Danny. No strenuous activities. Try not to get all sweaty—keep it clean and dry.”
Danny nodded as he pulled his shirt back on. “Thanks for coming out, Doc, I really appreciate it.” Doc and Jeremy collected their things and headed out.
I walked with Sarge back to the boat, the dogs running beside us, tongues lolling and tails wagging. Sarge looked at the black dog.
“Get another dog?”
“Yeah, I guess you heard about the guy who grabbed Little Bit.”
“Yeah, I heard. You did the right thing.” He pointed at Drake. “That one was his?”
“I guess. Can’t blame the dog for him being nuts.”
Sarge smiled and rubbed Drake’s head. “Guess you can’t.”
At the riverbank, Sarge stuck out his hand. “If you guys need us, give me a call,” Sarge said.
“Thanks for coming down, really appreciate it,” I said.
“No problem, you guys just try and stay outta trouble.”
I stood on the bank and watched as Doc backed the boat out into the current. They all waved and I waved back as he opened the throttle and the boat took off downriver. Thad walked up and handed me a frog leg he’d grilled on the fire.
“Breakfast?”
I took it and smiled. “Thanks.” I sucked all the meat off the bones and said, “We need to get more of these. That was too good.”
“Got another on the fire for you. Better hurry up before someone else snaps it up,” Thad said, waving over his shoulder.
Chapter 13
Sarge leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head. Livingston and Sheffield were staring at one another.
“Of course, we’ll have to see what the guys get out of the recon, but I think it will work.”
Sheffield looked baffled. “You really expect to just drive up to the gate and they’ll let us in?”
“Sure. If we roll up looking like a government unit and tell them we’re there to add to their security, they’ll let us in.”
“Hm. I like giving them the drawing the guys are working on as ‘evidence.’ Telling them that we have intel that they’re being scouted and we’re there to bolster their defenses is very plausible,” Livingston said.
“I don’t know. It sounds like a hell of a way to get killed, and fast,” Sheffield said, shaking his head.
“Look, there is a lot of confusion right now in the camps and the government. These guys aren’t going to know what’s up. They’ll probably make some calls, but we will hopefully be inside the camp by then,” Sarge said.
“Hopefully?” Sheffield asked. “Once we’re in, then what? Start shooting?”
“No, Sheffield. We’ll meet with their CO, tell him we need to have a meeting with his security personnel ASAP. Once we get as many of them rounded up as we can, we’ll just politely disarm them. This could be done without firing a shot,” Sarge said with a smile.
“I’ll meet with their CO?” Sheffield shouted. “Why me? Why don’t you do it if you’re the one with this scheme?”
Sarge pointed at his collar. “’Cause you’re wearing them oak leaves, not me. Don’t worry, I’ll be there as well. But you need to take the lead if we’re going to pull this off
.”
“You think we should have some men out at the gate on the back side just in case?” Livingston asked.
“I do, plus another squad hidden out front to take down that gate when the time comes.”
Sheffield let out a long sigh. “All right, I’m in. If we can do it without having to kill anyone or, more important, getting any of my people killed, I’m all for it.”
Sarge smiled. “I knew you would be. Now there’s just one more thing we need.” Sarge walked over to the radio and picked up the handset.
“Cracker One, Cracker One, Stump Knocker.”
After a moment there was a whispered reply: “Go for Cracker One.”
“Cracker One, I need you to bring me back a body, the walking, talking kind.”
There was a long pause. “Ah, say again, Stump Knocker.”
“Bring back one of them black-clad ninjas, alive.”
• • •
Ian crawled out of the security position and up to the new hide. They’d moved to get eyes on the rear gate. Ted and Mike were observing the new target. Ian crawled up and grabbed Ted’s leg, giving it a shake.
“What’s up, you got contact?” Ted asked, looking around.
“No, just got a call from the old man.” Ian paused.
“And, what’s he want?”
“He wants us to snatch one of these guys and bring him back with us.”
Ted was dumbfounded. “He wants what? Has he finally lost his feeble grip on reality?”
“I don’t know, he’s your daddy.”
Mike crawled out of the hide. “What the hell’s going on?”
“That crazy ole bastard wants us to snatch one of these guys and bring him back with us,” Ted said as he dropped his face into his hands.
“Yeah, so?”
“So? How do you think we’ll pull that off? They never go anywhere alone! Hell, they never come outside the wire unless they’re in a vehicle. How do you think we’ll be able to grab one?”
Mike smiled. “Easy, we’ll take one of them back there.” He jutted his thumb over his shoulder toward the gate they’d been observing.
“There’s three men there, Mike,” Ted said.
“No, you’re looking at it all wrong. There’s only three of them.”
Ted was struck by the comment and thought about it, slowly starting to nod his head. “Yeah, you’re right, there’s only three of them.”
Ian smiled. “And there’s three of us.”
“Wrong, there’s five of us,” Ted said with a devilish grin, “and, not for nothing, but one of us has a set of tits. Could be a handy distraction . . .”
Ian started to giggle. “There is no way in hell she’ll go for that.”
“She doesn’t have to sleep with them or anything! Just get them outside their bunker. Then we can take care of them.”
Ian nodded. “So long as she gets to hit one of them, she’ll probably do it.”
“She can beat the shit out of them for all I care. Sarge said alive, not perfectly healthy,” Mike said.
“All right, let’s break this down and call to tell them we’re heading in their direction,” Ted said.
• • •
“There is no fucking way I’m doing that!” Jamie practically shouted.
Mike held his finger to his lips. “Shhhh, keep it down.”
“Just ’cause I’m a woman I have to be the bait? That’s bull!”
“You’re looking at this all wrong! Yes, you’re a woman, and a damn attractive one too.” Mike’s comment caught Jamie off guard, softening her attitude ever so slightly. He continued, “If you walk out and act like you need help, those goobers will be falling all over themselves to get to you.”
“What about my uniform, idiots? They’re going to see that.”
“I’ve got a T-shirt under my blouse that I got at a Hooters in Tampa. You can wear that,” Ian said.
Jamie rolled her eyes. “Oh, that’s just fucking perfect.”
Mike smiled. “Actually it is! Wear that, and act like you’re cold.”
Jamie pursed her lips together as she thought it over. “Ugh, fine. What happens next?”
“This is the important part. When all three of them approach, jump the one closest to you, and take him to the ground. We’ll come out and take the rest of them down,” Ted said.
She looked skeptical. “All right, whatever, I’ll do it. As long as I can kick somebody’s ass.”
Perez nodded. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
They used the buggy to get as close to the gate as possible. It was still going to be a bit of a walk to get there.
“It’s going to be a long walk dragging one of these guys back with us,” Ian said.
Ted laughed. “One? Hell, if this works, we’re taking all three. We can’t have the other two going back and blabbing about the plan, now, can we?”
Mike started to laugh. “The old guy’s gonna shit.”
“We need someone to stay here and bring the buggy up so we can load up and haul ass as soon as this is over. I, for one, want to be long gone before they realize their boys are missing,” Perez said.
“Good idea. You wanna hang back?” Ted asked.
Perez shrugged. “Guess so.”
“All right, Perez stays here, we go in. Soon as we get them trussed up, we’ll call him on the radio. He rolls up, and we load up, and get out of Dodge quickly,” Ted said. “Sound good?”
They all nodded. Ian then took off his BDU top and stripped off his T-shirt. “Here, Jamie, put this on,” he said as he tossed it to her.
She caught the shirt right before it hit her in the face, immediately turning her head. “Jesus, Ian, take a freaking bath!”
Ian laughed as he put his top back on. Jamie took off her body armor. She was holding the shirt and looking at everyone with raised eyebrows. The guys were oblivious, just looking back at her. When she started to strip off her shirt in front of them, all four men were embarrassed and quickly turned away.
“What’s the matter, boys, never seen a woman’s body before?” Now that they were uncomfortable, she was loving it. Jamie couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.
Everyone carried the most basic of gear, leaving all the packs and SAWs with Perez. The four began their stalk, moving quietly and slowly. It took several hours in dark to get within thirty meters of the bunker. A light tower sat behind it, which demanded even more caution.
Once they were within ten yards, Ted nodded to Jamie. She got up from the palmetto scrub and whispered, “You better be there.”
“We will, don’t worry,” he whispered back.
Jamie took a deep breath. Mike grabbed her leg and motioned for her to wait. He pulled her pants out of her boots. Bloused boots were a dead giveaway. Once he finished, he slapped her thigh and winked at her. She stuck her tongue out at him and quickly stepped onto the trail.
Jamie stood in the trail, shielding her eyes from the lights. She expected someone to come running out, yelling and shouting, but to her surprise nothing happened. She took a couple of steps, then called out, “Hello!” After a moment a face appeared in the bunker opening—and a very surprised face at that. Then three figures came running out from behind it.
Jamie was standing with her arms wrapped around herself, like she was cold.
“Show me your hands!” a man’s voice shouted.
Jamie held her hands up. “Please don’t shoot! Can you help me? I’m lost!”
The three figures discussed the situation for a moment, then started to move toward her.
“Keep your hands up!”
As the figures got closer they blocked some of the light. It was then Jamie realized one of them was a woman. Well, shit, she thought.
“What are you doing here?” the woman asked.
“I was ho
ping you could help me. I’m cold and hungry.”
The woman stepped forward. “Where’d you come from?”
“I’ve been wandering around the woods for days. I’m lost.”
The woman looked her up and down. “I think you’re full of shit.” She pulled a set of cuffs from her belt and stepped toward Jamie. “Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
As she moved to cuff her, Jamie jumped on the woman, knocking her to the ground. The woman recovered rather quickly and punched Jamie in the jaw, but it was a glancing blow. Jamie grabbed her by the collar and jerked her head off the ground, at the same time she tucked her chin and brought the top of her forehead down onto the woman’s nose. There was a satisfying crunching sound and the woman under her went limp.
She looked up to see the other two men rushing toward her. Oh shit, she thought as they closed in. Suddenly there were two small pops. Both men went rigid and fell face-first into the sand, twitching as the Tasers pumped voltage into them. Ian moved in and quickly cuffed one of the men, stripping his weapons and tossing them aside. Ted held the Taser on the second one while Mike restrained him.
Once both were secured, the guys quickly began getting them ready to move.
“Do you know who you’re messing with?” one of the men snarled.
“Shut up,” Ted said, kicking his boots.
“Damn, Jamie,” Ian crowed.
Jamie stood up, blowing her hair out of her face. “You got a little something right there,” Ted said, touching his forehead.
Jamie wiped at it and realized it was blood. “Bitch is a bleeder,” she said, then spit at her.
The other two men were face down on the ground, Taser wires trailing from their bodies. Ian leaned down and put duct tape over their mouths. The one who’d spoken jerked his head, trying to prevent being gagged. Ted hit the trigger on the Taser and the man went rigid, allowing Ian to easily slap the tape over his mouth. Looking up at Ted, Ian smirked. “Thanks.”
Ted smiled. “What are friends for?”
Jamie looked at Mike. “Cuffs,” she said, holding her hand out.
