by Robert Boren
“You’re joining us?” Sid asked.
“Yeah,” Jack said. “I’ll get others too. We’re going to scalp those sons of bitches. Meet you back at the firehouse in ten minutes.”
“Okay,” Sid said. He turned to the others. “Let’s move our vehicles back up.”
“Let’s see what’s in those vans first,” Clem said. “Might be more guns and ammo.”
“Good thinking,” Sam said. They trotted over and opened the side doors. Sid ran up behind them.
“Holy shit,” Sam said. “RPGs. Perfect.”
“Mortars too, and more willie pete,” Sid said, face grim. “They were gonna incinerate the whole damn reservation.”
“Bastards,” Clem said, shaking his head.
“Well now we’re gonna incinerate them,” Sid said.
“You sure, honey?” Yvonne asked, horror in her eyes. “We left that stuff home for a reason.”
“I say we hit them with it,” Sarah said.
“I agree,” Clem said.
“C’mon, let’s take this stuff to the Jeeps,” Sam said. “Time’s a wasting.”
They picked up what they could carry and ran to the vehicles, filling them. Then Sam drove his Jeep over and loaded the rest as Jack ran up with several tribe members.
“You found stuff in there, huh?” Jack said.
“They had mortars with willie pete rounds,” Sid said.
Jack’s expression changed. “They planned to kill us all.”
“Looks that way,” Sam said.
“They’ll be sorry they ever heard of us,” Jack said, trembling with anger. “Let’s get going. The rest of my guys will meet us at the back gate. Can I hitch a ride with you guys?”
“Sure,” Sam said. “There’s room in my Jeep. C’mon.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll show you the way.”
They got into their vehicles.
“We need to get to Ak Uunayaa Way,” Jack said. “Just go on that dirt road next to the baseball diamond there, then across that meadow.”
“Got it,” Sam said, driving forward, the others following.
They took the road, which curved around. There were several other Jeeps and a couple pickups waiting for them at the back gate.
“How bad is this drive?” Clem asked.
“It’s dirt fire roads most of the way,” Jack said. “Not too bad. There’s a small section with no road, but it hasn’t rained for ages, so it’ll be no problem. That’ll get us to Kimball Valley Road, which leads right into town.”
“Good,” Sam said.
“Where exactly is the depot?” Jack asked.
“Know where the junction of Kimball Valley Road and Mussey Grade Road is?” Clem asked.
“Yeah,” Jack said.
“It’s just west of there,” Clem said.
“That’s perfect,” Jack said. “Good ridges there. Lots of cover. I’m not surprised they’ve been able to hide there.”
The caravan turned left from Ak Uunayaa Way onto the fire road, slowing down.
“Getting dark,” Connie said.
“Yeah,” Sam said. “How tough is it gonna be to travel back there with our lights off?”
“Not bad,” Jack said. “I’d leave your lights off as it gets dark. Your eyes will adjust better that way.”
Jack’s phone rang. He answered it. “Yeah.” He listened for a moment, then chuckled. “Okay, thanks.”
“What’s up?” Clem asked.
“One of our people just got the data that came from the CHP system,” he said. “It has the location of the forward base for the Santee campaign.”
“They’re gonna hit Santee?” Clem asked. “That’s a lot bigger town.”
“Yeah,” Jack said. “About sixty of our men are meeting others there for an assault.”
“Which tribes?” Clem asked.
“Can’t say,” Jack said.
“Santee is the back door into San Diego,” Connie said. “Not much open ground between them. The enemy must have a huge number of troops and a lot of equipment if they’re planning an attack there.”
“Tell your guys to be careful,” Sam said. “The enemy is poking a little too close to the Navy and Marine bases there. Your guys might get caught in the cross fire.”
“They know,” Jack said.
The caravan moved quickly on the fire road.
“This isn’t bad at all,” Connie said.
“The road ends up there,” Jack said. “See it?”
“I see it,” Sam said.
One of the tribal vehicles rushed alongside them, getting in front as they hit the open dirt.
“Good, he’s gonna guide us through,” Jack said. They followed the old pickup truck as it drove along the ridge, rocks bouncing up against the floor of the jeep.
“Glad it’s still light for this part,” Connie said, holding onto the grab bar on the dash in front of her.
“Jeeps eat this kind of terrain for lunch,” Sam said.
“Yeah they do,” Jack said. “I’d better call them and let them know exactly where the base is. We’ll want to park a few hundred yards before we get there and walk the rest of the way in.”
“Good thinking,” Sam said.
Jack pulled out his phone and had a hushed conversation, then put it back in his pocket.
“Hey, what about the cellphone problem?” Connie asked.
“Cellphone problem?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, the enemy has been spreading a cellphone virus around,” Clem said. “They can track the phones with the virus.”
“How do we know if we have the virus?” Jack asked.
“We don’t,” Sam said. “All of our phones are turned off.”
“Crap,” Jack said. He called his guys and let them know, then pulled the battery out of his phone.
“Glad you mentioned that,” Clem said. “We don’t need them getting a warning.”
“Seriously,” Sam said, looking over at Connie. “Thanks, baby.”
“I try to keep you out of trouble,” she said. Clem snickered.
“Good, there’s the road again,” Sam said.
“Yeah, told you there wasn’t much open dirt,” Jack said.
They rode silently as the sun went down, shadows growing from the hilltops in the distance.
“It’s beautiful out here,” Connie said.
“It is,” Jack said. “My people have lived here for a thousand years.”
“How much further?” Clem asked.
“Another half hour, then we’re on foot,” Jack said. “Timing is gonna be just about perfect. We ought to be on foot by about 8:30. Plenty of time to set up.”
“Good,” Sam said. “Hope they didn’t get tipped off.”
“Yeah, at any of the locations,” Clem said. “Don’t matter, though. Unless they’re gone, we’ll burn them to the ground with the willie pete.”
“I wish we weren’t using that,” Connie said.
“We can’t fight these people half-way,” Sam said.
“Yeah,” Jack said. “Remember what they were gonna do at our home.”
They rode for another ten minutes, tension building. The darkness was difficult to drive in. Sam strained his eyes to see.
“Look, the truck is pulling up next to that small hill, around the back side,” Connie said.
“Good cover,” Sam said. “Not visible from the road.” He pulled up next to the truck and stopped the engine. The other vehicles joined them there.
“Don’t slam doors,” Sam said.
“Yeah,” Clem said.
They got out and Sam motioned to them to be quiet by putting his finger to his lips. Everybody got out quietly and met in back of the line of vehicles.
“How long a walk we talking about?” John asked.
“Ten to fifteen minutes,” Jack said. “We’ve got a lot to carry. We’ll need to distribute it well.”
They got busy, picking up their weapons and starting back on the fire road.
“When we get close
, we’d better get off this fire road,” Jack said. “They might be patrolling the area.”
“Glad the moon isn’t full,” Clem said. “There’s enough light to target them, but we’ll be hard to see.”
“Should have brought some black-out stuff for our faces,” Sam said. “Keep in mind that we’ll shine a little.”
“Yep,” Sid said.
They walked slowly, looking around, heading for a curve in the road.
“Look, there’s Mussey Grade Road,” Jack whispered.
“It’s paved,” Connie whispered back. “Probably why they’re using this location.”
“Probably,” Jack said. “See those rocks up there? That small hill? Let’s see if we can see the site from there.”
“Let’s,” Sam said. “Wish I had a .50 cal sniper rifle.”
“Too much to carry,” Clem whispered. “The mortars will do the trick. What are we gonna do with the claymore mines?”
“Might not need to use them,” Sam said as he looked at the hill in the darkness.
“Hey, get down,” Sid said. “Van coming this way on Mussey.”
Everybody dived onto the dirt on the far side of Kimball Valley Road and listened as the van drove by.
“Hope they don’t see our vehicles,” Connie whispered.
“They missed the turnoff for this road,” Jack said.
“They might turn around,” Clem said.
“Don’t worry about that,” Sid whispered. “Worry about the mission.”
“Let’s get to that ridge,” Sam said. “The depot should be right below it.”
The others followed Sam as he made the climb up the side of the hill. Sarah started to slip, John catching her hand just in time and pulling her up.
“Sorry,” she said.
“It’s okay, we’re here,” John said.
Sam pulled himself to the top of the ridge and looked over. “There it is. Look at those fuel tanks. Probably a few thousand gallons of storage.”
“Looks just like some of the business sites around here,” Jack said, peeking over.
“Are we sure it’s not?” John asked. “Never mind. Look at the Islamist. Wearing black, see him?”
“Yeah, I see him,” Sam said. He checked his watch. “Five minutes. Pass the word. Everybody stay down until it’s time, so we don’t get seen.”
The minutes went by slowly. Sam and Clem set up the two mortars. Jack picked up the RPG they got from the UN van and checked it out, loading it with the first rocket. The sound of a vehicle approached down on the road.
“It’s the guy we saw drive by,” Sam said, peeking past the edge of the hill. “Stay sharp. Just one more minute.”
Everybody took hold of their guns as quietly as they could, a few of them causing gravel to slide down. Sam cringed when he heard it, his heart beating hard, sweat breaking out on his forehead. Not now.
There was yelling in Arabic below.
“Shit, what’s that about?” Connie asked.
“Maybe they heard about an attack somewhere else,” John said.
“Or maybe they found our cars,” Yvonne said.
“Doesn’t matter now,” Sam said. He dropped a mortar round into the tube. It popped out, flying into the air as Sid watched it, hand on the trigger of his rifle. Then there was a brilliant flash and a loud explosion. The others got up and opened fire with their rifles.
“You were about fifty yards too far,” Sid said. Sam nodded, adjusted the aim, and dropped another one into the tube, the round landing right in the middle of the facility, going off with a mighty whoosh.
“Wow,” John said as he felt the heat. “What’s your coordinates?”
“Just take a look,” Sid told him as he started firing wildly. “We need to pour it on. Looks like there’s several hundred men down there.”
“I’ll see if I can penetrate one of the fuel tanks with the RPG,” Jack said. He took aim and fired. There was a massive explosion as the tank blew, causing the second tank to go up too. Fire rained down on the panicked men.
“Look at them run,” Sid said as he continued to fire, Yvonne by his side doing the same.
“Oh, God, those poor men,” she said.
“They deserve that and more,” Jack said, loading another RPG rocket. He aimed and fired, hitting one of the sheds, blowing it sky high.
Several rounds hit the ridge they were on, rock chips flying.
“Watch it!” Clem shouted.
John dropped a mortar round into the tube. It flew with a pop, landing on the road into the compound, blowing a huge hole in it.
“Look, there’s that van that we saw,” Sarah said as she fired her rifle. “It’s moving fast.
“Got it,” Jack said, taking aim at it with the RPG. He fired, hitting it broadside. It blew up big.
“That thing was full of ordinance,” Sam said. He dropped another round into his mortar, the ground around the installation exploding in flame as the willie pete went off.
“Look, down there,” Clem said. “That looks like another Gaz Tigr. Better hit that thing.”
“On it,” Jack said. “Last round I have.” He took aim and fired, hitting the armored vehicle and stopping it. Men climbed out of the hatch as smoke billowed, Sarah and Connie picking them off as soon as they got clear.
“That was close,” Sam said. “Fire is slowing down after that last round of willie pete.”
“Hit them again,” Sid said. “Still a lot of them hiding behind that little rocky hill down there. Bring it in about fifteen yards.”
“Got it,” Sam said, making the adjustment.
“Me too,” John said, adjusting his mortar. “Regular or willie pete?”
“I’ll do the willie pete. You can spread it around with a normal round. On my mark. Ready, set, go.”
They both dropped mortar rounds, which popped into the air, coming down at the same time, the impact shaking the ground, hot air rushing towards them.
“Get your faces down!” Sam said. The hot air and debris flew over their heads.
After that there was silence.
“Think we got all of them?” John asked.
“We got most of them,” Sam said. “I think I’d better go down there and check things out.”
“Why you?” Connie asked.
“Because I’ve had Navy Seal training,” Sam said, getting up and checking his pistol. Then he checked his AR-15.
“I’ll go too,” Jack said. “Was in the marines… know how to handle myself.”
“I’ll join you,” Sid said.
“No, you stay here,” Sam said. “Lead the folks up here. We may need backup. Watch, cover us.”
“Okay,” Sid said. Yvonne breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ready?” Sam asked.
“Yeah,” Jack said. They got up and ran around the ridge, looking in all directions as Sid and the others watched.
They made it into the area without any resistance.
“Maybe they’re all dead,” Connie said, her voice wavering.
Then there were several gunshots.
“Dammit, where are they coming from?” Sid asked, scanning the area.
Chapter 11 – Green Hills
“We ready,” Ji-Ho said, closing the back of Seth’s 4Runner. Gus pulled alongside with his pickup truck.
“The rest of my people are hiding out next to Green Hills Memorial Park,” he said. “We’ll pick them up on the way.”
Emma and Kaylee watched as their men got into the 4Runner, glancing at each other.
“We might not see them again,” Kaylee said.
“Don’t say that,” Emma said.
“Get to Hawthorne Boulevard, then take PV Drive North,” Ji-Ho said. “Easy, go right by Green Hills.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking,” Gus said. “I’ll get ahead of you. Look for us at PV Drive North and Western Avenue.”
“Roger that,” Trevor said. He took shotgun with Seth behind the wheel. Matt, Ji-Ho, and Angel were in the back seat.
> Gus drove out the gate. Seth followed. Kaylee clicked the remote to close the gate after them, and went into the house with Emma.
“Streets are empty up here,” Seth said as they drove.
“You surprised?” Trevor asked.
“A little,” Seth said. “There was a lot of traffic in the South Bay when we were coming up here. People were taking advantage of the checkpoints being down.”
“Enjoy while can,” Ji-Ho said. “They be back in bigger numbers with more guns.”
“Yeah, this is far from over,” Angel said.
Matt was silent, chewing his gum hard, sweat on his forehead.
“You okay, dude?” Angel asked him.
“Just the jitters,” Matt said. “You don’t have them?”
“A little,” Angel said. “Remember what we learned at the range. Use your training.”
“We not assault that way,” Ji-Ho said. “Find good place to fire ordinance. Burn them down. No hand to hand. Leave before do that. We fight another day.”
“He’s right,” Trevor said. “We’re there to damage their supply depot first and foremost. We shouldn’t go in there and try to fight them in close quarters.”
“Some of Gus’s guys are gonna get close,” Seth said.
“Why you say?” Ji-Ho asked.
“They’re gonna throw Molotov Cocktails,” Seth said. “You have to be close to do that.”
“They might not do now,” Ji-Ho said. “We got mortars, RPG, and grenades. Be enough to get fuel and ammo burning.”
“Hope you’re right,” Matt said.
“There’s Hawthorne, man,” Trevor said.
“Yeah,” Seth said as he made a left turn onto it. “Look, more cars.”
“Yeah, many people,” Ji-Ho said. “Good.”
“Hope they don’t get in the way,” Trevor said.
“Seriously,” Matt said.
“Wonder if there’s checkpoints between here and there?” Matt asked.
“I’ll bet there’s one on Western,” Trevor said. “To keep the riff-raff out of Palos Verdes.”
“Checkpoint never for riff-raff,” Ji-Ho said. “For control. Pigs.”
“Don’t spit in here!” Seth said. Everybody laughed.
“No worry,” Ji-Ho said. “You see look on niece’s face when I do in house? Wish I had video on.”
“Yeah, I’m sure your wife would love to see it,” Matt said.
