“Kyle, I’ve watched these men for weeks. I know where they are right now and I know exactly where they’ll be in ten minutes. I know this forest so well I can run through it at full speed in pitch dark, and have. I’ve had years of training in close quarter combat fighting, and more years than that actually doing it. In short, I’m an expert at this. It’s no big thing, believe it or not. I’ll meet up with you before you know it. Now go, but be quiet and don’t be seen.”
Adrian turned and melted into the forest as the four men watched. The next few hours would change their lives forever.
Chapter 21
“GENERAL HUNTER—GOOD LORD!” ADRIAN thought. He couldn’t help a small grin while shaking his head at the thought of it. He heard the roving patrol coming along right on schedule. “Creatures of habit. Well that habit ends in a few seconds.”
He had hidden immediately next to the trail at the point where the two sets of guards would come together briefly as they circled the camp in opposite directions. They had made the trip around the camp about a thousand times by now, and were bored to the point of blindness. Adrian was well hidden and these men weren’t looking anymore. As they came together they paused for a moment and Adrian launched out of the brush, bowie knife in hand. He ripped open the throat of the closest man with a forward slash of his knife. He pushed his way into the group men and slashed the second man’s throat with a backhand as he brought the knife back. Two men down before they had time to react.
He shoved the body of the second man into the third and fourth men to knock them off balance, stopping them from removing their shoulder-slung rifles and firing off a warning shot. The impact from the thrown guard knocked them backward and they stumbled to the ground, their arms occupied trying to push off the body and keep their balance. He jumped on top of them, slashed and stabbed with his knife, the blade a blur of motion. Adrian stood and double-checked the men were dead or would soon be, and couldn’t give warning. He collected their weapons and ammunition. Their rifles and pistols were better than what some of his men had and would be gladly received.
Adrian was a few minutes behind the Captains when he walked into the temporary camp. He had been able to move through the forest faster because he knew it well, and nearly caught up to them. Kyle was telling the men what “General Hunter” had said he was going to do when Adrian walked up, splattered with blood and carrying extra rifles, pistols and ammunition. The men gawked, some with their mouths hanging open. Adrian pretended not to notice. These men were simply too easily impressed, yet it solidified his position as the one with expertise and gave them more confidence. His own men back at Fort Brazos wouldn’t have given him a second look; any of them could have done the same thing with the same ease.
“Gather round, men.” Adrian cleared the leaves away from an area and using a twig began drawing out a map of the camp, pointing out the different cabins and features. The Captains, having just seen the camp, nodded with understanding.
“Here’s the plan.” Adrian began outlining what each group would do, when they would do it, and how they would do it. He talked steadily for fifteen minutes. Then he repeated the whole thing from the beginning, asking for any questions along the way. He reminded them of the old booby traps he had set in the area. “I don’t think any of the swipes will work now, and you should be able to spot all the pits, but be cautious anyway.
“All right, each group move out, get in position, and when you hear me fire, you know the plan. Remember, the objective is to rescue the hostages, nothing else. Once the hostages are rescued we go to war, but not until then. Do not stray from the mission objective. Let’s go!”
Adrian named each group after a letter of the alphabet in the time-honored military way. Alpha team was led by Jeff, and Adrian was with his group. Bravo team was led by Charles. Charlie team was led by Kyle and Delta team was led by George. Succession of command on the battlefield happened quite literally at the speed of a bullet. Naming a group after its leader was too confusing when a commander was killed. Therefore they were given names derived from the alphabet. In time, each group would come to believe that theirs was the best group of all. It was the way men were built, and the way armies improved. In fact, he could tell these men were already beginning, on their very first day, to follow the same tradition. “Good,” he thought. “Very good.”
The camp was a collection of buildings by a road with a stream bisecting part of it. It consisted of ten bunkhouse cabins, a main cabin, and a picnic pavilion. A small river ran through the camp, from West to East. The main cabin and the pavilion were on the North side of the river. The bunkhouse cabins were on the South side. They were joined by a pedestrian bridge located mid-way between the main cabin and the pavilion. The all-weather road came into the camp from the East. It went past the cabins and on West a half-mile to the mine head. It ran almost due east to the village, eleven miles away. It had been the truck route during the mine’s operating days. The outhouses were located in the south-east quadrant of the camp, well away from everything else.
Bravo group circled the camp around the south side, staying back in the woods out of sight and achieving a position on the wood line to the west of the bunkhouse cabins. Two of Bravo group’s best shots had dropped off at intervals, placing themselves on the edge of the woods at the nine o’clock and ten o’clock positions. The other four men in Bravo group waited at the eleven o’clock position. The two dropped off men were the best shots in the group and would act as snipers.
Charlie group also took position along the South perimeter, but at the five o’clock position. Their two best shots advanced along the perimeter to the seven and eight o’clock positions. Bravo and Charlie groups had the Southern arc of the mining camp well covered. They had a good view of the six bunkhouses. They could see portions of the main cabin, the bridge, and the pavilion between the cabins.
Delta took position east of the camp at the all-weather road, splitting up on either side of it, at the six o’clock position. They too were at the wood line where they could see the camp. Their view was an end-on view of the easternmost bunkhouse cabin, the pavilion, and up the road. They couldn’t see much else.
Alpha took position Due North of the camp, at the point in the wood line closest to the pavilion; they were at the three o’clock. Their view was of the pavilion, the bridge, the main cabin, and the road. They could see portions of the bunkhouses between the pavilion and the main cabin. The perimeter of the camp from three o’clock to eleven o’clock was empty. Adrian did not need any men along that portion for this operation.
Adrian waited until he was sure each group had ample time to get into position. Wolfgang had taken to putting sentries on the roofs of some of the cabins, where they had a better view of the woods. Adrian aimed at the sentry closest to him, squeezed the trigger and watched the man flop backward as the bullet took him in the chest. Immediately he heard gunfire as the other men took their shots at sentries and the men walking about the camp.
Adrian’s group fired no more shots. His shot was the signal for the other groups to attack. They were positioned to draw Wolfgang’s men’s attention away from the prisoners.
Bravo group advanced and fired, advanced and fired, as instructed, their two snipers remaining in position to provide covering fire and because their angle was best. Charlie group did exactly the same. Each groups mission was to advance to the halfway point of the open area, draw fire, then rapidly retreat to the woods as though in retreat. They were to force the enemy to engage with them and then hold their attention. He had instructed them to hold their ground at the wood line where there was plenty of cover, while Adrian’s Alpha group ran across the open area to the pavilion, released the prisoners, and moved them down the road towards the village.
Adrian’s group waited a few tense moments until he could tell by the sound of gunfire that Wolfgang’s men were engaged and returning fire on the south side, then he and his five men stormed across the open area as fast as possible. There were
two guards with the prisoners who had foolishly turned their backs to the North, thinking all the action was to the South. They heard the sound of running feet behind them too late…too late to do anything except die on the spot as Adrian and Jeff tackled them to the ground and stabbed them to death.
While they were killing the two sentries, the Lieutenant and the other three men were hustling the villagers out of the pavilion and down the road, heading south as fast as they could make them go. So far the plan was working.
As the villagers were hustled past Delta, two men of Alpha stayed with them; they would stay with them all the way to the village, then return to the pre-determined rendezvous point to rejoin the battle. These were men that knew the area the best, frequent hunters. They would become scouts and were the best suited for the individual activities they were tasked with.
Adrian and Alpha’s three remaining men joined Delta. They fired three rapid volleys of three shots each, the signal for Bravo and Charlie to retreat into the woods and disappear, then circle around to join up with Alpha and Delta along the road. They then moved east down the road a half-mile to a creek bed that gave them good cover. It was Adrian’s guess that Wolfgang would launch an immediate attack on the only target he knew—the village. As he listened, he heard the sound of gunfire diminish rapidly. Bravo and Charlie had stopped firing and were circling the camp back to the road. The remaining sporadic and dwindling gun fire would be from Wolfgang’s men firing at shadows.
Adrian was aware that Wolfgang’s smartest move would be to regroup, fort up, and send out scouts to get information on who was out there and what they were up to. He was also aware that Wolfgang might be goaded into attacking the village after losing the prisoners. He hoped so. It would be a classic error if he did. Wolfgang still outnumbered Adrian’s men, but a running battle in forest isn’t the same thing as a battle on open ground. Terrain and cover could be used to one side’s advantage, giving leverage to the force that had discipline and a fallback plan and rendezvous points. Adrian’s Army had all those things. He knew the terrain intimately, how to use it, and when to withdraw. On top of that, he and his men had prearranged where to go if and when they did withdraw. It was an extension of his one-man war—deny the enemy a target.
Guerilla strategy and tactics were well assimilated in Adrian’s mind from years of training followed by actual use. He knew how to effectively use a smaller force against a larger force. Adrian waited stoically for his two outbound groups to come in. It was a question now of what Wolfgang would do. Would he regroup? Would he come marching down the road? Or would he doing something unexpected? The best way to find out was to take a look. He called Jeff over. “You know the drill. Wait here for Bravo and Charlie groups. I’m going to do a little scouting and will be back before dark. Post sentries and tell them to keep an eye out for me; I don’t want to be shot by my own men.” Adrian selected one of the younger men to come along with him.
Without waiting for a reply he walked into the woods and disappeared. He strode swiftly back towards the mining camp, slowing as he approached the wood line. He crossed over the trail the dead roving patrol had used and belly-crawled the last few feet. He had no doubt that every available eye was scouring the wood’s edges, searching for any sign of movement. When his eyes adjusted, he saw that not only had they accomplished their mission, but they had killed at least three of Wolfgang’s men. He pointed them out to the man that had followed him. He could see the bodies lined up on the ground near the bridge. He saw Wolfgang marching up and down in front of his men, who were gathered in a loose formation. Wolfgang was gesturing wildly and looked as angry as Adrian had ever seen him, and Adrian had made him plenty angry on several occasions.
“Son, I believe they are about to attempt a punitive strike against the village,” Adrian said, “which means they will be coming down the road. I am going back to set up the men. You keep watching, and if they go anywhere but down the road you come hauling ass back to me and tell me where they went. Don’t forget to count how many of them there are. If they break up into groups, I need to know how many, what size, and where they’re headed. If they head down the road as I suspect. you get back here and tell me as fast as you can. You’ll have to run a wide circle around them through the woods, so run swiftly, but be safe. No shooting from you. I don’t want them to know you’ve seen them. If they know you’ve seen them they’ll do something different and that will cost us lives. Got all that?”
The young man nodded his head firmly.
Adrian quickly slipped back. He felt sure now that Wolfgang was coming down the road, in force—and in just a few minutes. “Ready or not, here they come!” he thought, as he sprinted through the woods back to his men.
Chapter 22
ADRIAN RETURNED TO THE CREEK bed and spread the word that Wolfgang’s men would be coming down the road in a few minutes. “Listen up, I won’t have time to repeat anything. No one fires until I do. Once I fire you open up with one immediate volley, choosing targets as best you can. Be warned that I won’t open up until they are almost on top of us. It’ll make you nervous, but hold your water and hold your fire until I shoot. Then fire one shot as soon as you can pick a target. After that, take your time. I want you to carefully sight in on a man, and slowly squeeze the trigger. Aim a little bit low or adrenaline will get your body all jacked up and make you jerk the trigger and miss.
“Better to shoot a little low and miss; your bullet might ricochet into your target or spray him with rocks. The main thing is, don’t waste time by missing. It may seem unnatural to slow down and take your time when they are firing as fast as they can and bullets are flying all around you. Let them be the ones to shoot too fast and aim poorly. Don’t you be an amateur like them. The old seasoned soldiers shoot just like they were on the rifle range. They take their time, they breathe out half a breath and hold it, then relax their muscles. Then they aim at a small and specific target, make sure they have a good sight alignment with both sights, and squeeze the trigger. And by God, they hit something. I want you men to slow down, and do the same thing. Remember the word ‘brass.’ It stands for breathe, relax, aim, sight, and squeeze. Do it in sequence as you spell out the word in your head. Be damn certain you are aiming at a button on a shirt, or an eyeball, or something else small. Don’t just aim at the whole man.
“Do all these things and you will send them running back to their camp like whipped dogs. Don’t do these things and they will send you running to your women like whipped dogs. Is that clear? Good. I’ll be walking up and down the line behind you, giving advice, helping where I can. I’ll be coaching and watching. If I see anyone hurrying a shot or getting panicky, I’ll pull you out of the line and make you sit the fight out. One panicky man can start others to act the same way. Anyone pulled out for panicking has to wait ten minutes before he can get back in. Ten minutes is a hell of a long time in a firefight, and believe me, you’ll wish to hell you hadn’t panicked, especially when everyone else stayed calm.
“Take up your positions and be ready. No shooting until I shoot. Quiet now, and don’t do anything to give our position away. If they’re smart they’ll send scouts ahead of them, looking for an ambush. If they do I’ll let the scouts go on past. You, you and you,” Arian said, pointing to three men. “If scouts go past, your job is to follow them and kill them before they can come back up behind us—but you don’t leave until I shoot. Then you go and kill them. OK, get ready, they should be along shortly.”
The young man detailed to stay behind and watch the camp came out of the woods, out of breath and excited. He came up to Adrian and saluted. Adrian, amused, saluted back. “Sir, they are all coming down the road. The same group we watched. I waited a couple of minutes to be sure no one else was leaving after them—none did.”
“Good job, soldier, and good thinking on waiting the extra time. They might have tried to pull a fast one and you would have caught them. Well done!” Adrian watched as the young man’s stature stiffened with prid
e, as though he had gained ten years’ confidence from that small bit of public praise. “Praise in public and chew out in private,” Adrian thought. “It’s always been top advice.”
Five long and tense minutes later Adrian spotted Wolfgang’s men coming down the road. There were no scouts. The men were in two single-file lines on either side of the road. One shot and the men would quickly disappear into the brush beside the road; it was imperative to wait until they were as close as possible. Adrian had hoped that Wolfgang would be in front of his men and easy to pick off, but he was in the rear of the left-hand column. “Cowardly bastard,” Adrian thought. “But a strong sense of self-preservation typical of a psychopath.”
Glancing at his men to his left he could see that they were as ready as they were nervous, but holding position. Each man was following a target. Looking to his right he could see the same. These men were as green as anyone could be. This was their first day in combat, and with no training at all, just advice. But they were fighting for their homes and families. Their mothers and wives and daughters and friends were behind them, depending on them to keep them safe. These men wouldn’t run. If he could keep them calm and steady they would be the deadliest fighting men on the field today. Nothing firms a man’s resolution like fighting for his home.
Wolfgang’s men, on the other hand, probably had little idea why they were fighting. They had been harassed and picked off for months. They were angry and ready for revenge, but their quality was far from those of Adrian’s men. They wouldn’t even be fighting if they didn’t know they had an advantage in number. They should have learned from Adrian that numbers weren’t everything, but apparently they needed another lesson. Adrian carefully took aim at the man furthest back that he could see and waited. He waited until the man in front was thirty yards away. Then twenty, then ten. He waited until the man in front caught sight of Adrian’s men. He waited as that man stopped and was bumped by the man behind him. He waited until that man figured out what was happening and opened his mouth to shout the alarm. Then Adrian fired.
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