“We return to the march on Fort Brazos in the morning. These idiots took all day to get this simple exercise right. Jesus, I wish I had better men than this.”
Frank replied carefully, “They’re the best of a generally poor lot, sir. On the bright side, though, they are certainly killers. They don’t hesitate to do that.”
Rex looked at Frank for a long, tense moment. “Are you trying to tell me my business? Do you think I don’t know what we have?”
Frank, not backing down the way the rest of the men would have, said, “No sir, just pointing out the facts. I’ll give the order to move out in the morning as usual, sir.” Not waiting to be dismissed, Frank turned to leave, thinking, Psycho, pure psycho. But he’s our psycho, and he’s damned effective. I pity the poor fools at Fort Brazos.
CHAPTER 12
MARCH 14, LATE AFTERNOON
AS THE TWO MEN DREW closer, Adrian was able to make them out. From the way they moved, taking no care to be stealthy, and their two small caliber rifles, Adrian was sure they were refugees.
Adrian whispered, “I make them out as refugees. They’ll pass a little to the north of us. I don’t want to waste anymore time, and talking to them would take too long. As soon as they get behind that tree line, let’s move out.”
They traveled the rest of the day without incident. They camped that night without a fire. After eating a cold meal, Tim pulled out a flask and took a long swig. He saw Adrian looking at him and said, “What? You’ve never seen a man drink before?” He took another long swig and then screwed the cap back on the flask. “Son, I was doing this shit when your dad was a puppy. I know how much to drink and when.” He proffered the flask to Adrian.
Adrian took the flask, unscrewed the top, and took two short swigs, then handed it to Jerry. Jerry took it and handed it back over to Tim. “No thanks, I’ll wait ‘til we get back. God knows what kind of cooties you have, old man.”
Tim snorted and smiled, then said, “You may have a point there, youngster, you just may have a point.”
They stood the same watches as the previous night, then hit the trail early the next morning.
Two hours after sunrise, Adrian said, “There’s our rendezvous point—that grove of trees just south of the water tower.”
When they arrived, Adrian and his companions spread out and slowly entered the tree line. Bollinger called out from inside the grove, “Adrian, over here.”
The five men joined up. Adrian asked, “How far away are they?”
Bollinger said, “A day’s march will put you in sight of them.”
Clif nodded in agreement.
Adrian replied, “Show me on the map. Anything new to report?”
Bollinger said, “Naw, just the same old, same old. They’re moving a little faster over this flat land, but not much.” After conferring over the map, Adrian said, “Ok, you two go back and send out the next two. We’ll meet them at the farm with the big red barn. The one next to Highway 22, by the creek. Okay?”
“Got it,” Clif said.
Adrian, Jerry, and Tim set out as Clif and Bollinger headed back. Adrian maintained the same pace as before, knowing it would only take them a day to get in sight of the raiders, since the raiders would also be moving toward them. That would leave them two days to scout, and just enough time to meet up at the barn.
They traveled all day, then set up a cold camp that night. When Adrian took his watch, he thought about Linda. She was an attractive woman with her copper hair and blue eyes. She had a near perfect figure, slim and trim, but curved in all the right places. He shook his head. What in hell am I thinking about? Last thing I need or want is to get involved with a woman. Alice isn’t even cold in her grave yet; it’s only been a bit over a year. The way she acts around me is cold and irritable, anyway. Obviously, whatever it is that I feel isn’t returned. Got to stop thinking about her; too much on my plate as it is.
With a conscious effort, Adrian wrested his thoughts away from Linda and focused on tomorrow’s activities. “We’ll see the raiders tomorrow, and if the setup is right, we’ll hit them with a quick ambush and draw back to see how they react.” He continued planning how to set up the ambush, what kind of terrain they would need, and what time of day would be best. After a little while, though, his thoughts returned to Linda. Damn it! What’s with this? I have to keep a clear mind and not get bogged down by thoughts of a woman I don’t want and who doesn’t want me.
The next morning when the sun was up, they could see a plume of smoke to their east, about half a day’s march. The raiders were burning another house, making them easy to find.
At midday, they were in position to see the raiders from a small rise in terrain they lay on. Adrian watched with his binoculars, careful not to let the sunlight glint off of them. He could see men leaving a burning house; it looked like it had been abandoned long ago. Adrian said to Tim and Jerry, “You know, I keep wondering why they burn every house they come to. Maybe it’s so they can more or less keep track of each other. They sure don’t seem to be sneaking around. It’s a wonder they ever find anyone home, the way they’re going about this. It doesn’t make sense—it’s as though they want everyone to know they’re coming. It doesn’t add up to a hill of beans.”
MARCH 16, LATE AFTERNOON
After watching for two hours, Adrian said, “These guys don’t change their habits, do they? Let’s move down the line and find the middle area; maybe we can find the command group.”
That afternoon, they had reached a spot where they could spy on the middle of the line, but without having spotted the command group. Adrian said, “They look like they’re done for the day; they’re setting up camp. Let’s talk about doing a probe. I’m thinking that we wait until dark, then move in close, following that dry creek bed. First light, we open up on this group, take out a couple, and raise some general hell. Then skedaddle back to that high spot a mile southwest of here and watch to see what happens. Tim, you could set up right here and pick off a few to give us cover as we move back, then join us at that old bridge over there. We’ll head for the hill together from there. What do you think?”
Tim said, “I can hit them from here, all right, as long as they aren’t moving around too fast. If they get after you in a fast chase, I can slow them down, but don’t count on me taking them all out for you.”
Jerry said, “If you start shooting at them with that big cannon of yours, they’ll think twice about chasing after us. When we get halfway to the bridge, you stop firing and move over to meet us. We should arrive at the bridge at the same time. We have two good positions before we get to the hill to fire back and slow them: that bend there and that one there,” Jerry said, pointing. “But if they’re really aggressive, we may be in for a long day of running.”
Adrian said, “If they get too hard on our tail, Tim will head back for the barn on his own while you and I draw them off to the southwest by firing and running. You and I can outrun them, I think. I know we can lose them after we cross that other big creek; it’s got thick brush on the other side. Then we’ll swing around from there and meet Tim back at the barn. We’ve burnt one of our last two days, so all we have left is tomorrow and then we have to head back. Mostly what I want to see is how the other groups react, and maybe spot the command group.”
Tim replied, “Sounds like a plan to me. I’m itching to get in a little shooting. If possible, I’ll pick off their leader first. I’m pretty sure it’s that tall fella.”
Adrian said, “All right, then. Come dark, Jerry, and I’ll work into position while you wait here. As soon as we stop shooting, you start. If you get a clean shot at the tall guy, go ahead and take it anytime after we start shooting, otherwise wait until we stop. We’re only going to fire two rounds each, and then hightail it out of there. One of the worst mistakes ambushers make is hanging around too long. I know of guerrillas that only load two rounds in their magazines so they don’t get too caught up in the action—it’s a smart move.”
Tim
said, “If that fella shows me something to aim at, there won’t be a nickel’s worth of dog meat left of him one second later. These half-inch chunks of lead tear up a lot of territory when they hit. So start slow, that way maybe he won’t take cover too fast.”
MARCH 17, DAWN
Adrian and Jerry picked their main targets, but waited for four men to be open targets at the same time. It was a tense wait. Two or three would occasionally be open at a time, but not four. Adrian had begun to think that they would have to settle for two or three when suddenly, four were in the open. Four shots, sounding like one single long blast, roared from the creek bed. Four men fell. Then the tall man seemed to be picked up off his feet as a huge spray of red mist filled the air behind him. Adrian and Jerry were already on their feet and running back up the dry wash when the sound of the .50 caliber shot filled the air. By the time they had covered a hundred yards, the .50 had fired twice more, then fell silent.
Tim arrived at the bridge just seconds ahead of Adrian and Jerry. The three men ran up the dry creek bed another hundred yards and then left it to head for the hill. They made good time getting to it, using all the cover available. When they got there, Tim was exhausted. Adrian got his binoculars out and started scanning the areas he thought they might come from. As soon as he noted that Tim had caught his breath, Adrian said, “Tim, you head on to the barn now. Go in a straight line. Jerry and I will wait here until we see movement. If they’re coming fast, we’ll play rabbit with them and draw them away, then disappear and meet you at the barn as soon as we can. Don’t shoot unless you have to. If you hear us shooting, you’ll know about where we are, but keep going. Got it?”
Tim said, “Got it. See you at the barn, children.” He got up and started walking without further comment.
Adrian said, “That’s what I like about Tim. No nonsense, no fussing, no false heroics. He does what he says he’s going to do, and does it damn well. Most men would have tried to make excuses for being slower than us, but not Tim. He just sees it as a fact and deals with it. Gotta love that, don’t you?”
Jerry just grinned without taking his eyes off the distant tree line. “Look, movement at your ten.”
Adrian quickly moved his field glasses to his left, following Jerry’s instruction where to look. “I see four men, and they’re coming fast.” Swinging his glasses even farther to the left, he said, “And there are more coming from the nine position.” Moving his glasses back to the right, he said, “Okay, more coming from the two spot. Looks like they’re trying to make a big circle, hoping to catch us inside of it. Let’s roll.”
Adrian and Jerry trotted down the backside of the hill and angled off forty-five degrees to the left of Tim’s line of march. They double-timed, but used all the cover they could.
MARCH 17, MORNING
After half an hour, Adrian and Jerry slowed to a walk and began looking well ahead of them. “Look over by that peach orchard, Jerry—I see eight or nine men. They’re moving back in to close up the circle, and we’ll be just outside of it. Once the loop is closed, I think they’ll start closing the circle in, trying to flush us out. There is definitely disciplined thought behind this; they just didn’t make the circle big enough to catch us. We’ve got two choices: shoot some more of them, or stay silent and get back to Tim. If we start shooting, we’ll likely have them on our tail all the way to the barn. I think we’ve found out what we can and it’s best to leave them be for now. What do you think?”
Jerry replied, “Well, it’s a cinch we’re not going to defeat them by ourselves. What is it you always say? ‘Pick battles small enough to win but big enough to count?’ I agree—let’s head on back.”
Tim watched from the barn’s roof, his .50 in the ready position as Adrian and Jerry came in. Tim watched behind them, but did not see any movement. He picked his rifle up, slung it over his shoulder, and descended the ladder. “Well, kids, I’ve had a nice nap and I’m ready to roll when you are. Did you have fun?”
Jerry replied, “Not a bit. Just a casual stroll through the country. We did stir them up, though.”
Adrian said, “The definitely have discipline, Tim, and a plan in place for when they are attacked. They moved fast—real fast—to form a circle around where they thought we might be, and then started shrinking it. None of the scouts has mentioned that tactic at any point before this, but they moved into it fast and smooth. Their reaction had already been planned out. Makes me wonder even more about them. Things don’t add up. They move cross-country in a deliberately sloppy way, then they pull a trained rapid response like that.”
Tim said, “If they can pull that tactic that fast, then every damn thing else they do is deliberate, as well. That means their so-called sloppy forward advance is on purpose and planned. They have a reason for it, even though I can’t quite cotton on to what that reason is. But I’ll guarantee you this: they aren’t total muttonheads. The only thing I can think of is they want us to know they’re coming. That only makes sense to me if they think it will scare us away, and that doesn’t make sense, ‘cause we’d take our women with us, and you know they want women as much as they want food. Hell, maybe the sons of bitches really are just a bunch of dumbasses. I’d like to think that, but that fast circle doesn’t show dumb. It shows wanting to take prisoners. It’s like watching a clown suddenly turn into an acrobat, then going back to being a clown. Shit, Adrian, nothing about this makes sense to me.”
Adrian replied, “Then let’s use logic. They deliberately burn every house, making big smoke signals. They move slow enough, and with enough forewarning, that everyone knows they’re coming miles ahead of time. They’re drawing attention to that fact. So the logical conclusion is they want everyone to know they’re heading toward them. The question is why?”
Jerry said, “Maybe they are trying to draw us out to them? Could they be headed to Fort Brazos for a reason and want us to come out and fight instead of forting up?”
Tim said, “Bottom line is it doesn’t make any difference. We’ve already decided to take them on in the field, and the reasoning behind it is sound. Whether they want us to come out or not, it’s still the best option. So the ‘why’ doesn’t matter—it’s what they have in mind to do once we engage that we have to think about.”
Adrian said, “You’re right. Meeting them in the field is what we’re going to do. Figuring out how to approach them and what their reaction will be is key. It isn’t their motives we need concern ourselves with, it’s their actions, and trying to outguess their actions is all that counts. Let’s get home; I’m tired of listening to grandpa snore every night.”
Tim picked up a limb and pretended he was going to give Adrian a spanking. Adrian took off running and Tim and Jerry followed at a walking pace.
CHAPTER 13
MARCH 21, EVENING
SHORTLY AFTER RETURNING TO FORT Brazos, Adrian went over the training results with Linda.
Linda reported, “We’ve completed all the tasks you wanted. The results are good. Surprise attacks on the village really brought out weaknesses. We’ve worked on those over and over. These ladies aren’t going to be caught napping ever again, that’s for sure. We have forward scouts out all the time now, mostly to the east, because we know that’s where they’re coming from, but also in all other directions in case they circle around. Even without the scouts, the women are on constant alert status. But the scouts give us a heads-up when anyone is coming. Even if the scouts get caught up, they’ll have time to fire a couple of shots, and that’s all the warning we need.
“The men have trained in ambushes and the specific attack tactics you suggested. The men have gotten very good at setting up ambushes, hitting hard and fast, then fading out to meet back up at a rendezvous point. We’re out of paint balls and gas cylinders, but I think they’ve done us as much good as they’re going to now anyway.
“I’ve identified the men and women that will be the battlefield medics and stretcher bearers. They’re all in intensive training at the h
ospital and every one of them is catching on fast. Their morale is good, and they are all proud of their role. They are getting tremendous support from the combat teams also; they see them as battle field angels and let them know it.
“The MASH unit is organized and ready to set up wherever needed. They can set up in under twenty minutes now, excluding tents, and start moving out to relocate on a minute’s notice. You didn’t mention drilling them but I thought it a good idea so went ahead. They needed to learn how to pack and unpack quickly. They’ve also been getting training in map reading so that they can find their way to the next spot. The village hospital has been organized for rapid response to incoming patients from the MASH unit, or from walking wounded. That’s something else I instituted. The medics will determine if a person can’t continue to fight, but can walk to the hospital bypassing the MASH unit. If they can be treated on the battle field and returned to the fight they will be. Triage in the field, so to speak.”
Adrian said, “Good report and excellent decisions. How do you feel now about being second in command?”
“Better. Your demonstrated trust in me hasn’t gone unnoticed by the troops, and I was given enough rope to prove or disprove that trust. Apparently I am proving it, because I haven’t had a single problem with my orders being followed. I thought I would have some trouble from the men, but I haven’t.”
Adrian said, “That’s well and good, and as I expected, but I meant how are you feeling yourself? What’s your confidence level now?”
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