by Cliff Deane
30 September 0630
Defiance, ROA
The second convoy composition to the Bunker was dramatically altered to just five LAV IIIs, Levi’s command vehicle, and a maintenance truck. The idea was to travel light and fast.
Colonel Levi Levins climbed into his Humvee after signaling like John Wayne in the movie. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. As he settled into the right seat, he noticed Kate sitting in the back with all of her gear and her scoped M-14.
Mildly angry he ordered her out of the vehicle. “Kate, you are not going on this trip, so just wait for me, and I’ll be back in a couple of days.”
Kate crossed her arms and said, “I don’t think so. We are a team, and I’m going. Don’t make me follow on Tugboat, ‘cause it’s mighty dangerous out there, and you don’t need to be worrying about that.
Now, please, Dad let’s go, or you’ll miss crossing the LOD on time.”
“Kate, if I let you go along, are you going to give me a ration of trash at every turn?”
“Guaranteed, I’ll be as good as gold.”
“Oh, crap, no double meaning there; all right, let’s go, we wouldn’t want to miss movement now would we?”
“The driver was trying without much success to hide his smile as he said, “Oh no sir, we wouldn’t want that,” and off they went.
*
30 September 0830
Mech. Bn. FTOC,
Lottie’s Lane Trail, WV
General Hughes told Colonel Steiner that he did not like rushing back to the Bunker. The chance of running into an ambush was just too great. He did not want his impressive force to be whittled down by some local redneck militia who had come across a handful of LAWs Rockets. No, let’s just sit tight and see how things develop.
What Steiner wanted to say was, piss off you cowardly bastard. What he did say, was, “General, the President is going to be thoroughly pissed at us for not coming to his totally unnecessary rescue.”
“Yes, well, that moron can be as pissed as he likes, I am not taking us blindly into battle without knowing what it is we’re facing. So, here’s what we do. Just before dark, we send out a patrol with one Humvee supported by eight Infantrymen and one LAV III.”
“Yes sir, we’ll have them ready by 1730, but just for the record, I do not believe it is a good idea to risk one of our precious LAVs on a scouting mission on the road at dusk.”
“Noted, you, however, are not in command here, so we’ll do it my way. Clear?”
“Absolutely sir,” he saluted and set out to find his XO to organize the patrol. “Idiot,” he mumbled as he walked away. Steiner was a leader who did not tend to place vital assets unnecessarily in harm’s way. His philosophy was steeped in the concept of preservation of forces as outlined by Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.
Steiner was born in Austria and spent his adult life as a professional soldier. He spent twenty-two years in the French Foreign Legion, serving mostly in the West African Legionnaire post in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, or The Ivory Coast which housed the largest FFL contingent in the world. He saw combat throughout French Francophone West Africa.
Rolf Steiner was a born leader who rose to the rank of Colonel in the FFL because of his determination, tenacity, and a sponge-like ability to absorb and use the tools of his trade. Standing just over 6’, with short sandy blonde hair Rolf cut a handsome and dashing figure until one looked closely at his eyes which were a cold, steely blue/gray, and as unforgiving as the mesmerizing stare of a cobra. He spoke English with barely a hint of an Austrian accent.
*
30 September 1900
ROA Ambush site
Pocahontas Trail WV
The troopers at the Pocahontas Trail ambush site were each fitted with a thin silver garment sewn from lightweight thermal blankets. These outer garments completely covered the wearer from head to toe. Only the eyes were uncovered. These coverings could only be worn for short periods, due to the increase of heat inside the suit, so they were kept close, to be immediately ready for use.
The vehicle engines of the ambush were cold, which made them immune to the heat seeking Infra-Red Scanners. There would be no Infra-Red Detection of this ambush, as these men silently waited for the approaching vehicles to enter the kill zone.
Sergeant Carter was not expecting a LAV III to be involved in a night patrol. The destruction of even one would prove a significant loss to the Bunker force.
Since there were no significant I-R heat signatures in the wooded area to the front, the patrol leader decided not to investigate the same field they walked into just hours earlier.
The Javelin missile fired from the LAV III made a loud WHOOSH, sound as it left the tube, mounted on the ROA vehicle. The weapons of the ROA clattered to life as rounds slammed into the enemy patrol.
The attack was so sudden and effective that neither Merc vehicle had any chance to return fire. Within seconds both vehicles were burning hulks which blocked the road. Without a bulldozer to push the burned out vehicles, those following would unwittingly enter the hasty minefield.
“Jackel 1-4, Wolf 3, over.” The light from the explosions and the resulting fires could be seen on the horizon from the Mercenary FTOC. The radio operator called several more times but got no response.
Steiner was furious. He told his XO that this nonsense was over. He turned to General Hughes and said, “Well, General, now you have caused the destruction of two, possibly irreplaceable vehicles, and as many as fifteen of my men, my men!
Hughes stammered out, “We must mount up and attack the ambush site. Hurry, let’s get this show on the road.”
Steiner’s frustration was plain as he shook his head. “No General, we will not go crashing through the night only to lose more of our precious machines and personnel. In just this debacle you have cost my battalion 4% of its personnel. Let me tell you what we will do; we will wait until the morning, and decide on a destination in the interim.”
Hughes began breathing hard, and his face turned red before shouting, “Steiner I gave you an order, and since I am in command here, you will follow those orders.”
Everyone in the FTOC suddenly became very quiet and focused on the immediate task before them. No one turned to see what they knew was about to happen.
Steiner looked at Hughes and said, “Really, you think that you are still in charge? You, a fat, pompous, incompetent jackass believe that you are still in command of my battalion of Black Knights? You, who just cost the lives of fifteen Black Knights and two valuable vehicles; no, what you are, is dead,” and Steiner drawing his sidearm shot General Hughes twice in the chest.
“Sergeant, get someone to take out this trash. XO, let’s take a walk, we have plans to make.”
*
30 September 2000
Merc, FTOC
Lottie’s Lane Trail WV
“Mother, Wolf 6, over.”
“Wolf 6, Mother, go, over.”
“Mother, get both Battalion COs on the line, then call me back.”
“Roger Wolf.”
Seven minutes passed before both men could get to the radio room.
“Wolf, Mother, over”
“Mother, clear the room for a message for Battalion COs ears only.”
“Roger Wolf, wait.”
“Wolf 6; Lion 6 and Tiger 6 standing by, over.”
“We’ve had some changes here. That pompous ass, Huges cost us a Humvee and a fucking Stryker (LAV III), along with fifteen men. He is no longer in command, or available for comment.
What’s your situation, over.”
“Roger Wolf, understand. The situation here is strained. Audio and video cut, although one hour ago video and audio were restored for ten minutes. The video showed our two MIAs hanging by their necks. Audio demanded our surrender.”
“Strung them up, eh? Okay, what do you propose to do about it?”
Wolf, both 6’s were in strategy session when your call came through; any suggestions, over?”
“Yes, I have a couple of
suggestions. Number one is to trade those worthless politicians to allow you to remain in the Bunker. After all, you are just civilian contractors, hired for security, Ja?”
“Roger, Wolf, it will be a pleasure to round them all up and get their whiny asses out of our way. I say, let whoever these soldiers work for deal with the politicians.
Wolf, do you have any idea who these people are? They seem highly trained, and their uniforms are gray; definitely not American. Have we been invaded by another country?”
“I don’t know, gray unis, huh? Interesting, oh, well, here is my recommendation, get rid of the civilians, and then take your time in negotiations. They cannot get to you, so relax. You might also want to keep the presentable women; you may be inside for a long time.
I will take the Knights to the southwest, possibly to Arizona. Stay in touch, and when you are out, we will rejoin and carve out our own little country.”
“I believe that is the best plan under these circumstances. Good luck, Wolf, we will join you when we can, over.”
“Good luck, out.”
It was quickly decided that Lt. Colonel Bart Mathers, the older and more experienced commander assume overall command of the Bunker.
*
The Bunker
“Well, Simon, we are on our own. For starters let’s get all of the civilians together for a briefing. At that point, we’ll disarm the Secret Service; separate the acceptable females, maintenance personnel, and the cooks. Then we usher the men out of the west exit closest to the tree line.
Hopefully, we will then have a return of, at least, video to initiate negotiations. After that, well, we will just have to see what comes.
Beyond that, I have no plan other than to wait for this Gray Army to get tired and leave. We have provisions to last for years, if necessary.”
“Yes, Bart, I believe that is our only survivable option.
Shall I have the Sgt Major get the Officers and Senior NCOs together for a briefing in around thirty minutes?”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
After Simon left to find the Sgt Major, Lt. Colonel Bart Mathers thought, So, Herr Oberst Steiner, you take an entire Mechanized Battalion and desert us to a hopeless situation. I can only hope that I live to see you again, one day.”
*
30 September 1140
SR 64
The LAV just in front of Levi coughed as the engine suddenly shut down. The driver turned the now coasting Infantry Fighting Vehicle to the right shoulder of the road.
Levi pulled around, and just in front of the crippled LAV III. The lead vehicle, now noticing that he was alone on the road, turned around and returned to join a defensive overwatch while this mess was sorted out. The other LAVs also formed up, creating a perimeter.
The maintenance men went quickly to work and began pulling the covers off the engine compartment.
Levi and Kate walked back to the disabled vehicle and just watched for a few moments. He did not want to distract the mechanics by asking foolish questions. He knew that when they knew what the problem was, the Maintenance NCO would tell him. Any interaction at this point would only slow down the recovery effort.
He then went to each vehicle and asked how their vehicles were doing, and just visited with his troopers.
This stretch of road was desolate, and considering how few men were in this convoy, Levi was mildly concerned. A dedicated adversary with just a dozen sharpshooters could cripple this effort to reinforce the Bunker siege. Levi was reminded that the ROA military had also made use of sharpshooters to render a numerically superior force incapable of engaging ROA forces.
After making the rounds of the other vehicles, and encouraging the troopers to remain vigilant, Levi returned to the downed LAV. As he walked to the broken down IFV, the Maintenance Sergeant approached and said, “Sir, we have found the problem, and it’s electrical. We can’t properly fix it here, but we can get it running with some wiring workarounds. I think we can be back on the road in about two hours.”
Levi thanked the Sergeant for the update and added his concern about a hostile attack in the hopes of spurring him to a greater sense of urgency.
Kate meanwhile had remained at the last IFV they visited and was showing interest in how the LAV III worked. The vehicle commander, to break the boredom was happy to familiarize here with the LAV.
What Kate did not realize just then, was that she was interacting with a man. For the first time, in a long time, she was not afraid or on guard.
Levi turned to look for her and was pleasantly surprised, to see her speaking with one of the LAV’s crew. It pleased him to see that Kate’s horizons were finally beginning to again expand. Rather than interrupt this potential breakthrough, he returned to his Humvee and made some notes in his personal journal.
It did, in fact, take nearly two hours to complete the wiring hacks to get the IFV back on the road. Unfortunately, the vehicle burned out the wiring repair three more times before reaching the Bunker at around 2400 hours.
***
Chapter 13
The Fog of War
30 September 2300
Merc, TOC
The Bunker WV
Using the speaker system built into the Bunker, Lt. Col. Bart Mathers called out to the unidentified enemy besieging his bunker. “Hello, if you speak English and can hear me, please restore audio and video to at least one camera so we can begin negotiations.”
Within moments one camera came back online. A soldier in a gray uniform held up a sign saying; No negotiations, unconditional surrender.
Who murdered the President?
A cloth was then placed over the camera lens.
“Well,” said Lt. Colonel Scott Eldridge, “that should put their knickers in a knot.
Captain Guyardo, get the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Team together. I want the Greenbrier dropped directly on top of the Bunker.”
“Yes sir, but you do realize that the hotel only covers a small portion of the overall bunker complex?”
“Yes, I do. The rationale for dropping the hotel is that it will eliminate the inside exit. This will allow us to either see the door mechanism to seal it permanently or the collapse of the floors onto the door will make it unusable.
As soon as you have that project underway I have another mission for you, Roger?”
“Yes sir, Roger that, I’m on it. Oh, just one thing, you know that the building won’t fall exactly like those big hotels in Vegas, right?”
“Well, damn, here the Sgt Major and I were hoping for a real show. Yeah, Mike, having a background in EOD myself, I do get it. Go get ‘em, Tiger.”
Inside the Bunker, the two Mercenary leaders made their way to a nearby Conference Room. Once the door was closed, they sat down, and both began speaking at once. Mathers raised his hand for quiet and said, “Simon, this is some bad shit. It seems to me that these guys mean business and are pretty sure they can back it up.”
“Yes, it does. I can see only two ways out of this dungeon. Surrender and claim that we are only contracted security. Maybe they’ll just send us on our merry way, or we fight our way out.”
Bart Mathers said, “I don’t know how, but they know about the coup, and that is something that could not have happened without our involvement. So, yeah, they might let some of the lower ranks go, but you and I will swing from a tall tree. How does that sit with you?”
Simon took on an evil expression and said through gritted teeth, “Not well, I intend to go down shooting.”
“I concur, you know, six months ago when we discussed this particular possibility, I didn’t think there was one chance in hell that it could actually happen.
I think we have to make at least one try to break out. Let’s use the plan to use three companies dressed in civvies, then intermix the troops with these candy assed government pukes. Once everyone has cleared the door, we start shooting our way out.
With all the women screaming, maybe, just maybe we get that seven-second hesitation
. That might be just enough to be able to scoot for the trees.
If this tactic fails we’ll move the remaining three companies into the walled off area we constructed over the last six months. Once these gray guys think it is safe, they will come into the Bunker to ensure it’s cleared. Once they depart, we leave this rat hole and move to find Colonel Steiner. We have some unfinished business with him.
Hopefully, many of our shock troops will make it to safety, then rendezvous at Checkpoint Charlie. From there they will start guerrilla attacks and, again hopefully, draw off sufficient forces to allow us to break out. Otherwise, I think we are gonna’ grow old and die in this hole.
Your thoughts?”
Simon made little circles on the table with his index fingers for several seconds before saying, “No, I do not like it, but I see no other way out of this crypt, and I have no desire to spend years down here until we run out of food and starve.
We must also consider that the longer we wait to make our move the stronger their position becomes. Yeah, I agree, we should move tonight.
I’ll go out with the assault force and lead the guerrilla attacks.”
“Good, get the Sgt. Major to gather the Officers and NCOs for a briefing at 0200. We’ll kick it off at 0417. They may be alert at the top and bottom of the hour, but with a bit of luck we’ll catch them asleep at the wheel at 0417.”
“Roger that, I’m on it. See you at 0200.”
*
30 September 2300
ROA, FTOC
The Bunker WV
Scott, Ben and Sgt Major, Bradley Cobb were having a bowl of soup and coffee while brainstorming the mercs next move.
