Dark Days Rough Roads

by Matthew D. Mark

  “Go ahead and set up a security watch. The rest of you guys can take a break or whatever you want to do. It’s very important you set a watch schedule and stick to it. Today you guys need to empty those trailers and trucks out into the cache. Don’t leave anything out there if you don’t have to.

  “Make sure the vehicles are immobilized as well. Keep them out of sight in the pole barn. Make sure the pole barn is completely secured. The Jeep ok?”

  “Ya, it’s fine. Uncle David started it and ran it for a few minutes.”

  “Ok, great. Make sure that all gets done today.”

  “You guys coming in soon?”

  “No, we can’t.”

  “Why, what’s wrong?”

  “It’s hard to explain. We stirred up some crap and need to see it through. In a nutshell a couple people got caught up in our crap and may end up taking the blame for it. I need to see what they plan to do with them and Blake volunteered to stay and help.”

  “Can’t you guys just leave them alone?”

  “I wish we could, but burning down some old stores and abandoned cars is different than letting these people possibly die. I just can’t do that. I have to find out what’s going on with these militia guys. All we’re going to do is head in and take a peek. That’s all. I need you guys to set up two hams. One for us and one on the militia freq. If you can, set up a third and scan it for traffic. Find out what the hell the government is doing or if anyone else is in the area.”

  “Ok, Dad, call us with any more info.”

  Haliday woke up Blake and briefed him on what was going on with the group. He asked him if he was sure he wanted to stay and Blake said yes. Haliday inventoried their food and they had enough for two more days, three if they ate lightly. Water wasn’t an issue, they had purification tabs and filter straws.

  They each took another turn sleeping. Haliday inventoried everything else now as well. He wouldn’t be setting up any diversions now; he had used everything he had. He didn’t expect this little problem to arise. He did a quick ammo check. That might play an important role sooner or later.

  They each had 7 magazines for the rifles. Five 30 rounders and two 20 rounders. These were full. In addition to that they had some bandoliers filled with stripper clips. The 20 rounders made it easier for prone fighting positions. All in all they had roughly 500 rounds each. He had about 100 for his .40 left. No way could they launch an offensive with this. It would be suicide. He had to figure out a plan. He had to figure out where their HQ was.

  Bad Axe was the biggest town in the Thumb and it made sense they would name themselves after it, but they had to have another reason. There had to be another tie somehow. He just had to figure out how. These guys would need a large area, one that would support their operation, give them ample storage, enough land to farm, water, central location now, where the hell were these guys staying?

  They had responded pretty damn quick last night. They definitely had a good layout of the land. They also felt comfortable enough wherever they were to pull the extra manpower out of their camp for the hunt. It’d be too risky to approach the locals and ask. They might not even know and if they were afraid of these guys they would definitely be talking to them.

  He poured over the map. He searched his memory. He kept picturing the vehicles and the people, listening to their transmissions over and over again in his head. He concentrated on the family near the tornado shelter and the two who had shown up there. He got his answer. The Huron County Memorial Airport.

  The guy had been wearing wings and Haliday had thought the guy was reliving his airborne days but he was actually sporting aviator wings. At the distance he had seen him from, it was an acceptable mistake. If they had aircraft they would have used it by now. This was probably something they didn’t count on, losing electronics entirely. But being a pilot, he was proud to sport his wings.

  “Oh man, you’ve got to be kidding me,” he said aloud. Blake asked him what he was talking about. Haliday laid it all out there for him.

  “So that makes it real hard huh?”

  “Well, based on my last airport experience and I’m not talking about being groped by the TSA, I don’t want anything to do with it.”

  “What are we going to do then?”

  “Think about it carefully, that’s what.

  “Blake, these railroad tracks will take us right through what I think is their HQ. The airport on the right and this land on the left with the big pond is probably theirs. The airport gives them a huge advantage on three sides as far as visibility, it’s all open. The front can be covered easily enough with manpower, especially if they are using the main building as their admin area.

  “What I propose we do is take these tracks up as far as we can. We head into the woods to the east of the airport and then walk up as far as we can go. We’ll listen in to their traffic and watch for a while and take some notes. See what we can learn. We might have to stay a couple days. After that, we play it by ear. No rescues, no diversions, just recon.

  “I’m going to call the group and let them know what’s going on. I want them to get a couple guys together and keep them on alert in case we need some help. It wouldn’t hurt to have some extra firepower in case it gets hairy and we need help getting out. If that happens we’ll shoot straight for the house and say our prayers along the way.”

  Haliday and Blake took off. All of the radio traffic they had heard recently pointed to the militia patrols still concentrating on the northern areas. They used this advantage to creep up into position. They settled into the wooded area directly east of the airport. They covered up the bikes, grabbed their gear and started the short hike toward the airport.

  Chapter 19

  They were close to the perimeter, but still hidden in the woods. Haliday and Blake laid down their wool blankets on the cold ground. They concentrated on concealing themselves. This might have been a good time for a ghillie suit, he was thinking. But how much could he actually carry on the bikes. Blake’s didn’t have saddle bags. He had to use some extra canvas packs that Haliday had extra and with the rest of the gear it was tight. That was the main reason he left his M24 at camp.

  He did take his spotting scope and would be using this. He had Blake cover himself up with a smaller blanket and use his flashlight to take notes. Haliday’s maps had aerial photos and he used this as a guide to jot down a rough sketch of the area and number the buildings. Blake and Haliday were ready.

  “Ok Blake, I definitely see activity. I think this is the place.” He slowly worked the scope around. “Building one, definitely their HQ. They have stalled cars in place around the entire front and the sides of it for protection. Concertina wire inside the fence too. Looks like they also have some fighting positions fortified in a few locations amidst the cars. Everyone seems to be going in and out of this building.

  “It looks like they pushed the planes out of the hangars and are using buildings 2 and 3 as some sort of motor pool. I can see the door open on one and see some vehicles inside, but the other one just has a vehicle parked in front of it.” They heard a small vehicle and Haliday covered the scope and ducked down again.

  The vehicle was running along the fence line and spotlighting it as they drove along. The closer they got the more Haliday could make out. It was another side by side four wheeler of some sort with two people in it. One was driving and one was spotlighting the perimeter and both were wearing the same Russian camo and they were armed. They continued on with their check. “Blake, it’s 2200hrs; write that check down.”

  Haliday waited and listened. As soon as the four wheeler stopped by the admin building, the occupants went inside. They weren’t calling in these checks so they must be telling them when they go inside that everything is ok. He was wondering what they would do if they came across a problem. Probably best not to find out.

  He scanned the other buildings as well. “Blake, building four has activity, but I can’t tell what. I can only see the back of it. Looks like they
are taking parts into it, but I’m not sure what kind. They might be trying to get a plane working. The other two buildings look big enough for their motor pool. I doubt they need a third. We’ll have to keep checking on this one.”

  2300 hours rolled around and the four wheeler made another circuit around the fence line only this time they went the opposite direction. Midnight would reveal their pattern. Hopefully it’s not every hour on the hour and just alternating direction. Security 101, do not create a pattern. Change it up every time. Same with the time, you do not do it on the hour, half hour, etc; you had to make it seem random. Someone must have OCD or something.

  Haliday waited and then scoped the area once again. He saw the hangar door of the third building open. “Yep, definitely part of their motor pool. They have a couple deuce and a halves in there.”

  “Deuce what?” Blake asked.

  “Big trucks. Blake, think of Good Morning Vietnam when they were all sitting around in the trucks waiting to move out.”

  “I didn’t see that movie, but I understand now.”

  “They have something else in the back, but I can’t quite see it.”

  He saw a few guys leave building four and turn the lights off. “How did I miss that?” Haliday said. He looked around and found it. “Ok, got it, Building six looks like it’s a power house or generator building. I can see the exhaust. They must have power to the whole complex, but selective on what they are running. I wonder how much fuel they have. No telling though. It looks like an underground fuel tank.”

  He eyeballed the rest of the buildings over the next hour. Nothing he could really see going on. Midnight came along and the security check was just like the first. “Unbelievable,” he said, “they are too routine for their own good. They have half of it right, but then make some dumb mistakes. They make it too easy for someone to plan something.”

  He heard a loud truck in the area. He watched the entrance closely and saw an old army surplus fuel truck pull in. Two guys were at the main gate checking vehicles that were entering and exiting. He watched the fuel truck as it pulled up near the generator building. “Looks like they are siphoning fuel from the gas stations and then filling these tanks.”

  After the truck emptied its load it went and parked near the motor pool. Shortly afterwards the whole complex went almost dark. They had either turned the generator off or killed most of the power to everything except what was critical. Maybe just the admin building was still powered up.

  “You need to stretch or anything Blake?”

  “No, I’m ok for a bit.”

  “Ok, rotate your ankles, stiffen your legs then bend your knees, rock from side to side to keep your blood flowing and legs warm. Do not let them fall asleep. If you have to get up and run you’ll be in a world of hurt. If you need to go to the bathroom, then get up and go, don’t get plugged up again or risk an infection from not wizzing.”

  Other than the security patrols of the compound nothing else really happened all night. He did notice a lot of checks around building seven though. He didn’t pick up on this earlier. Maybe it was due to the activity during the day and none at night. Might be that he simply noticed the flashlight more in the dark.

  Right around 0530 the activity started to pick up. There were people coming out of what he called buildings 8 and 9. These looked like they may be the housing for the complex. Probably had sleeping quarters set up in there. Easier to keep everyone warm that way without heating too many buildings.

  He waited until the 0600 patrol made its round and then called Mike as he continued to watch. “Hey Mike, put Bill on for me will you please.”

  “Ok, here he is.”

  “Roger it’s Bill, how can I help you?”

  “What can you tell me about the Bad Axe airport?”

  “The memorial airport?”

  “Whatever they call it. What do you know?”

  “It’s very small, mostly all private planes, smaller stuff, and a couple helicopters I think.”

  “What about the buildings. What about the main building?”

  “Oh, it’s their offices. Actually when you go in there it’s pretty nice, they have a small little snack bar, you can rent out a large conference room too. Nice big lobby, that’s all I know.”

  “Ok, that helps, thanks.”

  “What’s going on there?”

  “It’s the militia HQ now.”

  “My buddy is a pilot, the one who wanted to recruit me. So are a couple of his friends.”

  “Is he a big guy, black hair, mustache, attitude?”

  “No, my buddy is a smaller gray haired guy.” Haliday was trying to figure out who the leader of this group was.

  During the conversation he noticed that the patrols had changed shifts. The day shift headed out and within 10 minutes the night crew came in. After putting their vehicles away, they went into the HQ. People continued to filter out of 8 and 9 and head to the HQ. Haliday figured they used the snack bar to cook and the conference room to eat and hold meetings.

  “You ready to go Blake?”

  “I sure am.”

  They were about to get up when Blake said, “Look Roger.” Roger looked and saw three people heading toward building seven pushing a cart. Two were heavily armed. They opened a couple locks on the door and pushed the cart inside and took what looked to be a partially empty one out. It was chow time for their captives. This is where they were holding them; whoever they may be that is. No telling how many of them there were either. Enough to need a cart for their food.

  This small group went back to the HQ. “Ok Blake, we need rest, let’s go get some.” They packed up, messed up their area to hide their presence of being there and went back to where the bikes were. A quick meal and radio call, then some rest. They’d make sure they got some decent sleep over the next eight hours. Haliday was analyzing the info he just acquired as he laid there.

  “You sleeping yet Roger?”

  “No, what’s up?”

  “Why are you so worried about these people and what they are doing?”

  “You mean the militia?”

  “Ya, them.”

  “Well Blake, here’s the way I see it. Here in this country we have our constitution. Now it’s been crapped on time and time again the past few years, more so than any other time period. Slowly but surely, its meaning is being eroded and the Supreme Court is trying to rewrite it from the bench.

  “The country is in a position now where we need to make sure we live up to the meaning of the document in its purest form. We are practically back to that period in time when it was written. Oh, we have modern housing, some conveniences and such to an extent, but the next few years will be very different than they were a week ago, but very similar to a couple hundred years ago.

  “Within the Bill of Rights are some very basic rights we can’t take for granted. The right to bear arms, the right to freedom of speech, the protection from unlawful search and seizure, no cruel or unusual punishment and the right to a fair trial. You follow me so far?”

  “Yes sir, I do.”

  “Ok, good. Now here is what I see now.

  “This group has declared this area to be theirs. They are taking what they want, when they want and from whom they want. Not for the good of the people, but for their own good. I don’t see them sharing anything with anyone. You think they paid for anything they brought in there? I doubt they paid for that tanker full of fuel. I doubt they paid for this airport or anything else they have acquired most recently.

  “A traditional militia is about their own community but they also support those around them. They may not take them under their wing or into their shelters, but they certainly don’t steal from anybody or pull the BS they are pulling here. They really don’t make sense to me. To me they are an enemy.

  “They took that family’s gun at the tornado shelter. He had a right to bear arms and carry that gun, more so today than ever. They have people down there being held prisoner for who knows what reasons. You
think they had the right to due process? You think they are getting trials? Who knows how they are even being treated. Especially the ones caught while they were looking for us. They are forcing their will upon the people around here and I would say they’re doing it with fear and with force.

  “I don’t see these guys as a typical militia. I see them as nothing but a bunch of hoodlums who have strayed far from their original goal, if they even had one. I see a force of people no better than a lot of war criminals or Third World warlords. Years ago I took an oath. In that oath it stated enemies both foreign AND domestic. These are enemies, Blake, I know that now.

  “Blake, I’m not in the service now, but I will maintain and uphold that oath. I will not stand by and let these people hinder the freedoms of other Americans for their own personal gain. I don’t know what I can do, but I have to do something. Sooner or later I will have to show my hand. I hope it’s good enough to win. I want to get on with life as much as the next guy, but when they come knocking on our door what do we do then? And is it too late at that point?”

  “I hear ya, Mr. Haliday. I had that same feeling. I just don’t have the experience you do.”

  “You don’t have to, Blake. You just have to have the will power to want to help and to want to make a difference. That’s all. I’m glad you’re here. Now, we have some more recon to do, so let’s get that rest. I’ll call the group and check in. Let them know we are ok.”

  The sleep was very welcomed. Both had become very tired and the past few days had taken a toll on them. After tonight they would head to the house and get all the rest they needed. One last night of recon would give him enough info on the compound. He still didn’t know what he would do with it though.

  They moved out heading to a new area.

  “Why not the spot we used last night?” Blake asked.

  “It was a great spot, but there are a couple things to consider. You visit enough times and you leave telltale signs that you were there. You start to alter the soil, and the vegetation, and it makes it easier to find. Secondly, we need another vantage point so we can see what else is going on in there.”