by Sean Kidd
“Grab the fifty-caliber out of the back, we’ll climb up on those rocks, and stake it out.” About fifty yards away was an outcrop of boulders, most likely leftovers from the glacier that created Lake Champlain. Some of the moraine were as big as houses. Two large stones ahead of us supported each other on top and left a small opening at the bottom. It was just big enough for us to set up the fifty-caliber and use the scope without being detected. “We’re gonna have to stay alert now Chev. One of us needs to make sure those guys in the building don’t spot us, while the other patrols the back, so the dead don’t sneak up from behind us.” I had the rifle set up on the ground using the bi-pod for support. Chevy nudged me over, “Do you mind if I take first watch with the fifty? I’m kind of excited to use it.”
“It makes no difference to me. You have to scan the area with the scope looking for any movement. We need to know how many there are, what building they’re using, and what kind of weapons they have.”
“Got it!” I watched as Chevy started panning the rifle back and forth.
“I see someone!”
“What already?” I whispered. “What’s he have for a weapon?”
I waited for Chevy to answer.
“Looks like he has a big knife on the back of his belt. That’s all I can see.”
“Well, what’s he doing out there?” I asked.
Chevy followed the male with the scope, “I’m not sure. Looks like he’s holding his nose, and there’s blood all over his face. Now he’s kicking the side of the building. It almost looks like he’s throwing a temper tantrum.”
“What? Move over, let me see!” I looked through the scope. He was right. It looked like he was pissed off about something. Without taking my bead off the male I said, “That’s not one of our guys.”
“What do you mean?” Chevy asked.
“I mean, I don’t think he was one of the guys in the Humvee.” I kept watching through the scope as the male ran out of steam and stopped kicking the building. Another male walked out and I immediately recognized him, “It’s them! It’s our buddy in the wife beater.” Chevy nudged me over again, moving for the scope, “Let me see!”
The barrel of the rifle moved back and forth as he tracked the males, “I can’t see his face. Come on buddy. Why don’t you turn so I can see your f- . That’s him! Want me to take them out now?” Chevy stammered. “No!” I snapped, maybe a little too loud. “We don’t know how many there are in that building. Plus that fifty-cal would go through both those guys, the building, and my mom if she’s in the line of fire. I can’t take that chance.” Chevy responded with silence. “Let’s hang out here and wait for that Humvee to leave again. At least two of those guys have to go out, that will give us a little better odds. Once they leave, we’ll go in for a little recon mission of our own.”
CHAPTER 52
October 12th 12:30pm
Sophie, out of tears now, made her way to her feet. She stood over Bob one last time, “I’m sorry.” She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving the man she fell in love with, lying dead on the floor where any of those things could get to him. She bent over and took hold of his hand. She rubbed his already cold fingers. Sophie leaned back, still gripping Bob’s hand. A good tug and he moved, dragging him into the clinic examining room, “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Sophie found some towels and wet them in the sink. She wiped away the blood from Bob’s wounds. She closed up the large gash on his neck with the suture kit she had found earlier. She cut off his shirt and washed the blood off his chest and took a minute to caress her lover’s skin. Sophie created her own private ritual and finished by wrapping Bob’s corpse in white sheets. She had seen so much death in the past few days, but none of it had affected her like Bob’s. With the ritual complete, Sophie searched the out building where she found a shovel. Digging Bob’s grave would be the final step in her grieving process. It was tiresome work, after a few hours, she had dug what she thought was a fairly decent grave. Sophie dragged Bob’s body outside next to the grave. He lay there while Sophie said a prayer. With a last kiss on his lips, she rolled him into the hole. She thought to herself, the only thing worse than digging a grave for a loved one, would have to be covering their body with dirt.
Once the job was complete, Sophie rolled a single large stone onto the head of the grave. The only marker on his final resting place would be the name badge she had taken from his shirt. She set it on top of the stone and walked away. It said, “Aiken.”
Sophie wandered back inside the clinic where she collapsed on the floor of the lobby. She had given up. Lying on the floor, she thought about Bob and the future they would have had together in a different world. What would he think of her now, loathing in self-pity, wishing she had the courage to end her own life? What would he say to her? She knew exactly what he’d say, “Sophie, get your ass off that floor and start moving. You may have lost me, but think of how many people you could prevent from going through the same thing you did!” He was right. Sophie climbed her way off the floor and looked out the lobby window towards the jeep. She made her way out of the clinic, and over to the jeep. Through the vehicle window, she could see the cardboard box sitting on the seat. She opened the door and rubbed her dirt covered fingers across the top of the box, reaching in and pulling out an intravenous bag filled with red fluid. She thought of Bob again, “You have the key. Go to Atlanta and fix this mess!” Sophie put the bag back in the box and turned, looking to the side of the clinic where Bob’s final resting place was, “Okay, Bob!” Sophie declared, giving him the plan out loud, “I’ll get the EMapp to Atlanta. I’ll make myself eat to get my strength up. I’ll sleep tonight and leave tomorrow morning.” Sophie reached back in the vehicle and pulled out the M4, “And I promise you, nothing will stop me!”
CHAPTER 53
October 13th 8:15pm
Tommy was sitting on top of the Humvee, eating a candy bar, when Cowboy came over. “What are you doing up there?” Tommy lifted a finger, asking Cowboy to hang on while he chewed his food, “I’m taking a lunch break before I finish.”
“Before you finish what?” Cowboy asked. “Didn’t Luther tell you? I’m fixing a hole in the fuel tank.”
“No, Luther didn’t tell me anything about it. Does Kane know?”
“Oh, no! Luther said he’d kick his ass if he found out about this. And after seeing that girl kick him square in the nuts, he’s probably right.” Tommy snickered. Cowboy looked under the Humvee and examined the small puddle of diesel that had formed, “How long until you’re done. We need to do a patrol.” Tommy shrugged, “I don’t know. I’m almost done now. Five or ten minutes, I guess.” Cowboy turned, walking away, and yelled back, “Get on it. We're leaving in ten minutes!”
Cowboy made his way to Kane’s office. He was in there, and Cowboy noticed that his eyes were starting to blacken. The blood was gone, but Kane was supporting an ice pack against his nose. “It looks bad, Boss!” Kane set down the pack and leaned back in his chair, “Yeah, that fucking bitch got me good. What do you need?”
“I’m just letting you know. We're heading out on patrol in a few minutes. I’m taking Luther and Tommy with me, if that’s okay with you?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. Before you go, tell me again, who was that bitch with?” Cowboy took a quick breath, “Just a couple of guys. They were kids really. Maybe nineteen or twenty. Harmless.” Kane reached behind him on the counter, grabbed Chevy’s MP9, and laid it on the desk in front of him, “Does that look harmless to you? Where the hell do stupid kids get a weapon like that? This is high end shit!” Cowboy picked the gun up, looked it over, and set it back on the desk, “I don’t know, Boss. There’re still thousands of people running around out there. They could have got if off some dead soldiers. I really don’t have the answer.” Kane picked up the MP9 and pointed it at Cowboy’s head, “We’ve got their friend locked up in the other room. For all we know, it’s one of those punk’s girlfriend. I want you to go out there, find them, and kill them
. The last thing I need is someone sneaking in here, trying to cut my throat when I’m sleeping because they miss their girlfriend.” Kane set the gun back on the table while Cowboy could feel a bead of sweat running out from underneath his hat, “Don’t worry, Boss. I’ll find them, and I’ll kill’em myself!” Kane gave an accepting nod, “Now get out of my office and find those guys!”
Cowboy left the office without saying another word. He didn’t like being yelled at, and he especially didn’t like having a gun pointed at his face. He hollered on his way to the Humvee, “Luther! Tommy! Arm up! We’re leaving in five.”
CHAPTER 54
October 13th 8:20pm
Chevy rolled off the fifty-caliber’s scope and onto his back, “Dude, this sucks so much. I’m freezing, and these rocks are killing me. Let’s just go check it out. There can’t be that many guys in there, we would have seen them by now.” Chevy was right. I was freezing too, and how long could they just sit in that building. Before we found them, they were on every street. Now they didn’t want to go anywhere. The sound of loud squeaking caught my attention. I heard what sounded like the huge diesel engine of the Humvee starting up. We watched for any movement coming from inside the building.
Wife Beater was the first to expose himself. He walked out of the garage door with what looked like my AR-15 slung across his shoulder. With an exaggerated wave, he yelled, “Come on. It's all clear!”
We watched as the Humvee backed out of the building. The driver hopped out and dropped down to his hands and knees, looking at something under the Humvee with a flashlight. I couldn’t hear what he said, but I bet he was looking at the leak, “Chevy, that’s definitely the crew we’re looking for.” I couldn’t see inside of the garage. For all I knew, there could have been twenty guys with guns standing just inside the door. It’d be a chance we would have to take. The guy on the ground got back on his feet and in the driver seat. There was a new guy standing in the turret, and I was sure I could make out a cowboy hat on the guy in the passenger seat. The Humvee drove away, and Wife Beater walked back inside the garage. The silence gave way to the high pitch squeaks of the lowering garage door. “What do you think?” I asked Chevy.
I could feel my hands tremble as the adrenaline coursed its way through my veins, “I think we go now!” he said. “Yeah, let’s go. Leave the fifty-caliber, we’ll go in with pistols. That thing will only slow us down, and it’s no good at close range. Pistols out, stay low, and quiet.” We made our way down the rocks and into the open field, which separated us from the building. The grass field hadn’t been cut since the fair in July, the long weeds gave us good cover. About ten yards from the building, we dropped to our bellies and crawled in, staying next to each other. I pointed up, “There’s a small window next to that garbage can. Stay here, and I’ll take a look inside.” I belly crawled closer to the window. The light shining through made me feel even more exposed. I looked back at Chevy, and he gave me a thumbs up. I got within arm’s reach of the building and quietly worked my way up, so I could steal a peek in the window. The inside of the building was wide open, except for a few rooms and an office. The rooms all had their doors closed, so I couldn’t see inside them. The office door was wide open, and I could see a guy sitting there holding something on his face. I squatted down, looked backward at Chevy, and held up one finger. I turned back to the window and there was someone standing there. I dropped to the ground. My heart was pounding, and I felt fear coursing through my body. I looked to Chevy for help. He was looking at the window and had his hand out, and palm up. Chevy laid there like he was frozen in time. After what seemed like an eternity, he threw me an okay sign. I looked back up at the window and couldn’t see anyone. I worked up the courage to look in again. Now at the inside door, closest to me, I saw a man standing there. He had the door to the room open. It was Wife Beater, and he was wearing my two gun rig! That son of a bitch. I moved to the other side of the window, hoping it would give me a little better view into the room. I still couldn’t see anyone else. Without taking my eyes off Wife Beater, I held up two fingers to Chevy. There were at least two guys we’d have to fight. I watched Wife Beater. He looked agitated, and was yelling at someone in the room. I could only make out bits of what he was saying. “Doggies! Shoot you! Bitches!” That’s what I wanted to hear. Who else could it be? It had to be Sidara, and hopefully my mom too? I watched as Wife Beater held up his gun and pretended to shoot whoever was in the room. After another minute, he lost interest, locked the door, and walked away through one of the other doors. I lowered myself and crawled back to Chevy. I pointed to an area about thirty yards away, where we could talk without being heard. We crawled over to a clear area and Chevy asked, “What did you see?”
“I saw two guys. One at the desk in an office, and the other was standing in a doorway yelling at someone. The guy in the doorway was Wife Beater, and he was wearing my Glocks. Chevy, he was yelling at someone. I heard him say bitches!” Chevy nodded, “It’s got to be them, Ty! What’s the plan?”
“We head back to the truck and arm up. Then we’re gonna kill those fuckers!”
CHAPTER 55
October 13th 9:45pm
Seven hours later, Luther was sick of driving, “Are we gonna be out here all night again?” Cowboy, not in the mood to listen to any of Luther’s crap said, “The sooner you find me those two kids from yesterday, the sooner you can go home and go to bed.”
“Why do you want them so bad?”
“Because Kane wants them dead!”
Tommy jumped down from the turret and asked, “Who wants them dead?”
“Cowboy said Kane wants us to kill those kids from yesterday.” Luther paused before he spoke again, “They weren’t doin anything wrong, man! Let’s just tell him they're dead. He’ll never know.” Cowboy pushed his hat back on his head, “Okay Luther, so we go home and lie to Kane. You tell him we smoked those kids. Then, maybe the next night we’re sittin’ down to eat dinner and those dumb-ass kids come bursting through the door, guns a blazing! What the heck do you think Kane is gonna do to you then? Let’s put it in perspective. He almost shot you in the face yesterday, because you cut the bindings off that girl's feet. He was gonna kill you because he got kicked in the balls. Imagine if he got shot and lived? I think I’ll take my chances with those kids.” Luther said nothing. He just stared straight ahead driving the Humvee. Tommy leaned in between the front seats, “So where are we going to find them?”
“We’ll head back to Cornelia Street and watch. Keep your eyes out for a big black Chevy truck!”
Cowboy leaned back and pulled his hat down over his eyes again, “Wake me if you guys see anything.” He didn’t have his eyes closed for fifteen minutes when, he was awoken by Luther’s, “Uh-oh!” Cowboy asked without moving a muscle, “What is it?”
He heard Luther tapping the gauges on the dashboard, “We’re almost out of diesel!” Cowboy sat up straight and pushed his hat back on his head, “We’re what? Didn’t you fools fill up after you fixed the leak?” Tommy dropped down from the turret again, “Yeah, I topped it off myself.” Luther pointed to the gauge, “Look it’s on E!” Tommy reached over Luther and tapped the gauge himself, “How can that be?” Luther pulled the Humvee over to the side of the road. “Tommy, find a flashlight.” Cowboy ordered as he opened his door. Tommy hopped out right behind him and shined the light under the vehicle. Diesel was pouring out of the bottom of the rig. “Impossible!” Tommy screamed. Cowboy mocked Tommy, “Impossible? Really? Look at it pouring out of there! Didn’t you have your dumb ass under there this morning fixing it?” Tommy lifted his hands in disbelief, “I fixed it!” Cowboy latched onto the back of Tommy’s neck and helped him bend over pointing at the steady stream of fuel, “What’s that coming out of the bottom of my Humvee?” Tommy looked again just to confirm, “It’s diesel!”
“God dammit!” Cowboy screamed.
“Then stop saying it’s impossible! Get back in the rig, we need to get back home, before this thing run
s dry. And when Kane asks why we're back… I’m telling him it’s both of your faults!” The three men sat in silence for the next few minutes. Cowboy was still steaming over the half-ass patch job on the Humvee, “You know damn well. I'm going to take shit for this one too.” Cowboy punched the dashboard, “Sometimes, I think I’d do better on my own!” Tommy dropped down from the turret again, “I don’t want to seem out of place here, but with Kane being in such a pissed-off mood, why don’t we just fix the problem ourselves?” Cowboy had been with Tommy long enough now to know what he was thinking, “The Army Reserve Center impound?” Tommy jumped up between the two seats. He was bouncing on his toes, “Yeah, why not? There are four more Humvees over there. It would only take us a few minutes to move everything from this Humvee to one of the spares.” Cowboy used his index finger to push his hat up as far as it would go without falling off, “Well Tommy, I reckon we’ll just do that! You know what, Tommy? You’re not as dumb as you look!”
CHAPTER 56
October 14th 7:20am
Sophie woke up with the sun in her face two days later. The night had been cold, and now she could see every breath inside of the clinic. She wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but she had made a promise to Bob. Sophie made her way to the bathroom and washed her face. The M4 hung at her side. It was a permanent fixture now. This was her new life, and she’d never be without it again. Bob lost his life giving her this final gift. She dried her face and headed back out to the lobby, where she had stashed the food two days before. One final look around the procedure room. Bob’s blood, now brown and coagulated, coated the floor. Sophie walked out the side door and stared at Bob’s grave. It made her feel weak in the knees. She thought of the promise she made, and it gave her the strength to visit him one last time. Sophie sat on the ground and watched the sun rising while she rubbed her fingers across his name plate. Lost in a daze, she looked up to see the sun over her head. She had been sitting there for hours. She set Bob’s name plate back on top of the marker stone, gave it a kiss, and stood up. Her body casted a shadow over the disturbed dirt, the rifle, making her silhouette appear lean and strong. This is who she was now. Sophie took a minute to admire her work and turned away without shedding a tear.
