Rockabye County 5

by J. T. Edson

  ‘Thirty men,’ Jack finally said.

  ‘With full assault armament,’ Hagen agreed. He was one of those chubby, inoffensive-appearing men who give the impression of being much smaller than they actually are; and had been awarded the Big One, the Congressional Medal of Honor, for his services with the O.S.S. during World War II.

  A large force, considering that Colismides would have seven—not more than ten at most—men with him. However Jack did not give a damn about allowing the gang an even break. That would be the rankest incompetence and stupidity when dealing with men to whom killing meant nothing.

  The figure had been reached after hard thought, not picked at random, as being the bare minimum to allow complete and adequate coverage of the cabin and cut off any chance of the gang’s escape; and the absolute maximum that might move undetected through the wooded country towards the hideout.

  ‘I’ll need some of your men, Phin,’ Jack warned.

  ‘You’ve got them,’ Hagen confirmed. ‘Just say how many, what specialists, and leave the selection to me.’

  ‘I aimed to do just that,’ Jack grinned.

  Although he had a good-sized force of deputies under his command, Jack could not spare thirty men. His City Office teams had cases of their own, some of which could not be left even for one day. In addition to their normal duties, the Sub-Offices’ personnel had to find men to maintain the roadblocks and look-out points in Operation Close-Off. However the county and municipal peace officers received standardized training and could be relied upon to forget petty interdepartmental rivalry during such an important and hazardous undertaking.

  ‘I can manage eight from the City Office, maybe another four from around the county,’ Jack said.

  ‘Leave the Sub-Office men,’ answered Hagen. ‘Put in your eight and I’ll let you have the rest.’

  Even with a force of something over six hundred officers at his command, Hagen was making a generous offer. The figure included everybody, patrolmen, policewomen, detectives, technicians, office staff, senior ranks. All the four police divisions operated a twenty-four-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week Rota of their duty personnel, which did not leave much spare staff to be used.

  ‘I’ve raised Buck, Jack,’ Ricardo said, entering the office. ‘He hasn’t had call to go up that way for a spell, but he knows the area.’

  ‘That figures,’ Jack replied.

  First Deputy Buck Shields knew every inch of his area.

  ‘He told me the lay-out of the Zelimos place,’ Ricardo went on and passed on the salient points; one of which caused the other men to exchange glances.

  ‘Huh huh!’ grunted Jack, formulating his plans with respect to the piece of information which so attracted his companions’ interest. ‘Make me a list of your men, Phin. My boys’ll see to notifying them.’

  ‘I’ll go down to personnel and shake through the files,’ Hagen said. ‘Can’t remember every man on the Department. If I can make up the posse from Headquarters, it’ll be easier to handle and keep under wraps. When do we hit?’

  ‘Dawn’s always a good time,’ McCall commented. ‘Only we can’t have it fixed by then.’

  ‘And it’d be the time the gang’ll expect us to hit,’ Jack replied. ‘Then or towards sundown. So we’ll pull a switch and go in at noon.’

  ‘That jasper from British Intelligence’d come in useful now—’ Ricardo began.

  ‘Right here, old chap,’ remarked a voice from the office door and Major Houghton-Rand walked in.

  ‘I called him before I left home,’ Hagen told the others. ‘When Phin Hagen doesn’t sleep, nobody sleeps.’

  ‘Been here sooner, but I had the devil’s own job getting a taxi,’ the Englishman drawled, throwing a glance at the map on the wall. ‘You’ve got them marked down, I see, sheriff.’

  ‘We reckon so,’ Jack agreed. ‘This’s the layout on the map, come and see what you think to it.’

  Walking forward, the major studied the map for several seconds. He showed a quick grasp of the situation and his conclusions, when brought out, matched those of Jack and Hagen. Then he went quickly into such details of EOKA tactics as concerned the organizers of the posse.

  ‘It’s going to be a tough nut to crack,’ he warned. ‘Once they’re cornered, those EOKA thugs could really fight.’

  ‘So can we,’ McCall growled.

  ‘We kept them on the run a bit, in our own little way,’ Houghton-Rand answered. ‘Trouble was, we were fighting them and our country’s loyal opposition.’

  ‘You figure they’ll have lookouts posted, and possibly booby-traps, major?’ Jack asked.

  ‘It would surprise me if they didn’t.’

  ‘I’ll go ahead as scout,’ Jack decided. ‘And I’ll want two good men backing me, Phin.’

  ‘One,’ Ricardo corrected. ‘You don’t figure Buck Shields’ll miss out on a caper like this.’

  ‘There’s that,’ Jack grinned. ‘One, Phin.’

  ‘You’ve got him,’ replied the Chief of Police. ‘Me.’

  ‘I figured that’s who you’d suggest,’ Jack drawled. ‘Now, I’d say four snipers with ’scope-sighted rifles.’

  ‘Five. Keep one in reserve,’ Hagen answered.

  ‘Five,’ agreed Jack. ‘Chemical munitions?’

  ‘Four gas guns should do it,’ Ricardo said. ‘There’s a lean-to at the east side of the house, used as a garage. Has a door, leading into it, but no windows.’

  ‘I always like a reserve,’ Hagen commented.

  ‘Five Federal Emergency 235s then,’ Jack ordered. ‘Concentrate on Flite-Rite Barricade and Speed-Heat Long-Range projectiles. For bulk fire-power, Thompsons and riot guns.’

  ‘Buckshot?’ McCall drawled.

  ‘More solid ball than shot,’ Jack corrected. ‘Don’t forget the windows.’

  ‘Solid ball then,’ growled the Scot. ‘How about obscuring smoke?’

  ‘Take a few grenades along in case we need them.’ Listening to the arrangements, Houghton-Rand felt admiration at the thoroughness and attention to detail shown by all the men. He also wished that the British Army could have brought some of the posse’s weapons into action against the EOKA. Thinking back on a prominent Member of Parliament’s attitude, he wondered what comments the use of tear gas against the terrorists might have aroused.

  When all the arrangements had been made, including a cover plan which involved Houghton-Rand, Jack asked if there were any more points or questions.

  ‘Only one,’ the Englishman said. ‘I’d like to come along.’

  ‘As an observer?’ asked Jack.

  ‘You might say that. Of course, if I happen to find a rifle in my hands and some aggressive blighter pops off in my direction— the two wives killed by Colismides belonged to my regiment. I’d like to see him brought in.’

  For a moment Jack did not reply. It was against his rules to take along a man not connected with an official law enforcement body and he did not even like to take peace officers not trained in the county. However, against that, Houghton-Rand knew EOKA tactics, could speak enough Greek to act as interpreter should the need arise, and would not prove a liability due to either inexperience or lack of discipline.

  ‘All right, Major,’ Jack said. ‘You can come. I don’t need to tell you that if you do, you’ll be under my orders.’

  ‘That goes without saying,’ replied Houghton-Rand.

  ‘How about a weapon for the major?’ asked Ricardo.

  ‘Saw you had some of those M.1. carbines around,’ Houghton-Rand drawled. ‘If it’s all right with the sheriff, I’ll take one of them along. I grew rather partial to them in Malaya.’

  ‘There’s only one other thing the major needs,’ Hagen remarked. ‘The correct clothes. He came down light and a lounge suit’s out for this caper.’

  ‘I can see to that,’ Jack promised. ‘Now let’s tie up the details and grab some sleep.’

  Twenty-Two

  Watching a number of assorted peace officers enter the auditor
ium, one of the Mirror’s reporters turned to the Department of Public Safety Building’s desk sergeant.

  ‘What’s the meeting for?’ he asked.

  ‘Lecture,’ grunted the veteran behind the building’s reception desk. He nodded to where Jack Tragg and Chief Hagen escorted Houghton-Rand towards the auditorium’s doors. ‘That limey cop’s giving it.’

  ‘Oh!’ said the reporter in a disappointed tone. ‘I thought—’

  ‘That’s the blessing of a college education, they do tell me,’ the desk sergeant interrupted. ‘It teaches a man to think.’

  With that he turned his attention to a study of the blotter, the official log recording arrests and arrested persons, to bring himself up to date with the previous night’s activities; and also to avoid any further conversation with the reporter. After a moment, the reporter turned and slouched off to the press room where one of his paper’s cameramen sat waiting.

  ‘Nothing,’ sniffed the reporter. ‘Just some lecture.’

  ‘Could run an expose on wasting manpower at a time when every effort should be made to clear the county of the Colismides’ menace,’ suggested the cameraman, ignoring the fact that his paper advocated allowing the gang to leave the country rather than endanger further lives.

  ‘Naw,’ the reporter answered. ‘We’ll stay on in case anything breaks.’

  When Brad Counter and Alice Fayde entered the auditorium through a side door, to avoid as far as possible any connection with the Colismides affair, they found quite a change from their previous two appearances. Then television newscast personnel milled about and a number of reporters sat in the room. At ten minutes past eight on the morning after Papas’ capture, the big room looked as it normally did when serving as a base for lectures, or line-ups of suspects to be identified by witnesses.

  There had been a stormy scene in Jack Tragg’s office when Alice learned that a raid was planned and found her name not included in the posse. While she admitted she was not expecting to take part in the main assault force, she demanded that, as senior member of the investigating team on the case, she should be included if only in the capacity of coordinator of communications. Jack gave in. Being a married man, with a wife of forceful personality, he knew when he must surrender to feminine determination. Accepting Alice’s terms, he gained a man for the assault force by having her handle the radio.

  Jack stood alone on the line-up stage, ignoring the sotto voce comments that he sure looked a mean one and anybody could see he was a criminal from his narrow, shifty eyes. Behind him, a large sheet covered the graduated height scale used in identification shows; a list of subjects of interest to a posse going on a raid printed upon it.

  When the shuffle of seating, and comments about Jack’s probable crime died down, the sheriff stepped forward. The acoustics of the auditorium had been so attuned that any person standing upon a spot marked on the stage could speak in a normal tone and be clearly heard throughout the building without needing a microphone; a feature of importance when attempting to identify a suspect by his voice. Standing on the spot, Jack addressed the waiting posse.

  ‘You all know why we’re here,’ he told them. ‘And it’s not for a lecture by Major Houghton-Rand. Although he will be available for answering questions later.’ He paused and looked at the faces below. ‘We’re going after the Colismides’ gang.’ Even those not aware of the previous night’s developments had suspected that, but excitement rippled through the posse. ‘It’ll be dangerous and if any of you wishes to withdraw, now’s the time to do it.’ Nobody moved or spoke, so Jack took up a long wooden pointer. ‘All right then. We’ll run through the Estimation of the Situation sheet.’

  Reaching out with the pointer, Jack tapped the first section, marked Criminals Potentiality, and dropped a shade to touch:

  a: Number Involved.

  ‘We figure not more than ten and possibly as low as seven,’ he said, moving the pointer down.

  b: Will They Surrender Given A Chance?

  ‘Every one of them faces a life sentence, if not the chair, so it’s not likely they’ll come out without a fight.’

  c: Ability Of Leader.

  ‘Colismides has proven himself ruthless, and smart. Don’t forget that his arrest came about when he was picked up as a material witness in a barroom brawl in Phoenix, Arizona, and recognized; not because the law specifically hunted for him there. He can be relied on to make a determined resistance.’

  d: Nature of Criminals’ Combat Experience.

  ‘All the gang served as terrorists in the EOKA organization. Major Houghton-Rand says they are sure to fight well if cornered. Since then, they worked as enforcers for the Greek Syndicate and subsequently on their own. During the course of hold-ups, they have fought off police and armed security guards. You might say that they’ve a fair amount of combat experience.’

  e: What Type Armament?

  ‘During their hold-ups, the gang used shotguns, revolvers and automatic pistols, submachine guns, M.1 carbines and rifles. They have also used H.E. and incendiary grenades.’

  f: Ability With Weapons.

  ‘The reports vary. Some of the EOKA were trained by the Greek Army. We’ll assume they know enough to make things dangerous.’

  g: Any Special Technical Knowledge?

  ‘Major Houghton-Rand tells me that the EOKA did use booby-traps. If any are found, the Bomb Squad’s rep will deal with them,’ Jack explained and tapped the second section.

  LOCATION AND SURROUNDINGS.

  1. Type and Construction of Building.

  ‘A single floor, wooden, modern hunting cabin of usual design and layout. I’ve a rough plan here to give you an idea.’

  At Jack’s signal, one of the auditorium staff lowered a sheet carrying a sketch produced by the police artist with the radio instructions of Buck Shields to guide him. Though Jack had not seen the Zelimos cabin, he knew the drawing would be close enough for his purpose.

  2. Means Of Entrance & Exit.

  ‘The front door here leads into the main room. Has a window covered with wire mesh on either side of it,’ he said. ‘There is a porch, but that will not offer cover. Rear of the building is split into kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms, all with windows, kitchen has a door opening on rear, one bedroom has a door opening to west. There’s a lean-to on the east side, may have a car in it. I don’t think so. The Chevy Plytas drove into town had been hidden under branches. Most likely the gang don’t want to let anybody know they’re there and do the same with the other vehicles. A door opens from house into lean-to. Two sets of windows in west wall, one in the living-room, one in the bedroom. Mesh at all windows. I don’t think there’s any secret tunnels running from the cellar, we’ll chance that.’

  3. Surrounding Area.

  ‘Wooded country, one narrow trail leading to front of cabin. Cabin built in a valley, no cover closer than seventy-five yards at any point, closer to a hundred in front and on west side.’

  4. Safety Factor.

  ‘We’ll be operating in wooded hill country, at least two miles from nearest habitation or main road. Make sure you know where the other members of the posse are placed and keep your shots angled down. That goes especially for the snipers.’

  5. Possibility of Communication.

  ‘The cabin has a telephone and also radio and television facilities. If needed, we can cut in on the telephone line and speak to them. I don’t think it will do any good, but I’ll try it.’

  6. Utilities Available.

  ‘The cabin has its own electrical supply, water-storage tank and also a pump cutting to an underground spring. We can’t interfere with the spring. In the event of a long siege, food’ll be their main problem. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to an extended siege.’

  7. Public Opinion.

  Here Jack paused before saying, ‘In general, folks down here in Texas take the sensible view that a peace officer’s life is of more importance to the community than that of a murderer and thief. Of course, there’s always
the Mirror—’ A laugh rippled through the assembled posse. ‘Well, let’s hope we present them with a fait accompli, or in plain Texan, “Stuff you, it’s done already.” I don’t see any public opinion worth considering raising an objection to us bringing in a gang who’ve killed no less than fourteen people, even if we maybe have to bring some of them in dead. That’s the list. Now for organization.’

  Once again Jack was leaving nothing to chance. The business of handling a posse on a raid had received much thought and had been worked out theoretically long ago, with peace officers exercising their ingenuity to lay down plans covering any type of assault that they might find themselves called upon to launch. So Jack had a sound backing to work on; raiding a hunting cabin in wooded country being but one of the situations envisaged.

  Every member of the party knew his duty, what weapon he carried, roughly where he would station himself with respect to the other members of the posse—conditions not discernible on the map might necessitate minor changes—and what his specific duty was to be. As officer in charge of communications, Alice received as thorough briefing as the others.

  ‘Changing for the raid,’ Jack, finally said. ‘To prevent any chance of mistaken identity, it’s been decided that we all wear uniform. You’ve all brought your range khaki in with you?’ A rumble of agreement answered him. ‘Good, then we can change in the Metro-van—’ At which point Jack’s and every other man’s eye swung towards Alice who sat in uniform, but wearing a skirt unsuitable for operating in a wood-country posse.

  ‘If they won’t peek, I won’t,’ she promised.

  ‘We’ll change before we leave,’ Jack ruled, ignoring a penetrating whisper of ‘Spoilsport!’ from some joker at the rear. ‘If anybody sees us, the story is we’re going on to the firing range for a qualification shoot.’

  With the county and municipal peace officers receiving regular range training, the story would be plausible enough. None of the posse regarded the various subterfuges as a stupid, ostentatious waste of time. While no newspaper could reach Colismides before the posse’s arrival, a mention of it made over the air or by the television might, in which case— Having heard Houghton-Rand on the subject of EOKA ambush efficiency, the members of the posse had no wish to find themselves involved in one.