“Well, this is dangerous also, and the shock of the situation will be a big factor for it to be successful, but it’d be a lot safer than you guys trying to pull a raid on a fixed position. We’ll go over and pick her up.”
“What? First of all Jim, I don’t know how you’re going to do that, and secondly, I can’t ask you to do that. There are too many risks, plus the fact that you’re going to get in some serious heat by your command.”
“Only if something goes wrong.”
I laughed and said semi-sarcastically, “Oh yeah. Nothing could possibly go wrong with this plan, could it?”
“Yeah, there’s risk but a lot less than the risk you’re going to have trying to pull off some raid. What am I going to do, let my cousin’s husband take a chance on getting himself killed? No, this will be all bluff and surprise. Anyway, if we get orders to fly to the east coast, no telling how ugly it’s going to get. It may be a long time before we’re back. I want to make sure Kim is as safe as she can be, and I know she needs you to make that happen.”
I sat there stunned, trying to understand what he was suggesting when Brandy came walking out of her bedroom with tears in her eyes but also had a stunned look on her face.
She walked up and handed Jim his phone and quietly said, “Thank you, Colonel.”
“How did it go?” I asked.
“What? Oh… it was hard. He broke down in tears for a moment,” and then she went silent again.
“Are you alright?”
Still, with a stunned look, she seemed to come out of it for a moment, “Yes. I’m sorry. Yes, it was hard. My parents are fine. They aren’t in Italy any longer; they’re in Australia. They said that Italy isn’t a safe place for American’s any longer, so they left.” She then acted flustered and continued, “Thank you again, Jim. Hearing from me did make them feel so much better, even though telling them about Carmen tore them up. They…..Uh….. excuse me, I need to be alone for a moment. Thank you so much, Jim,” and she turned and walked back into her bedroom.
“Wow, It must have really torn them up. That had to be really hard for her.” Jim said sadly.
I sat there for a moment thinking. “Yeah, maybe that’s it, but I think something else is bothering her as well. I think I need to go talk to her.”
“Yeah, maybe you ought to. Do me a favor though and call Brian back in here, will you? I want to get some more details from him.”
I walked outside and asked Kim and Brian to come in. Brian sat down and started talking to Jim, and I told Kim how Brandy acted and asked her to go in with me to talk to her.
Kim knocked on Brandy’s bedroom door, “Brandy, can we come in?”
There was silence for a moment and then the door unlocked, and Brandy opened it, “Come on in.”
Kim could see that Brandy was totally distraught and had been crying. She walked over and gave her a hug, “Are you alright?”
Brandy broke down crying and hugged Kim back and then after crying for a moment said, “It was so hard, hearing my dad cry that way.”
“I know. I can’t imagine what you’re feeling, or them.”
My gut told me there was more to it than that but I stood there and didn’t say anything. Then Brandy sat down on the bed and looked right at me, “Dad said he was going to make arrangements to come pick me up.”
It shocked both of us as we didn’t think about anyone getting to leave but if anyone could escape the hell the country was going through, then I would be glad for them.
“Well, that’s great Brandy. I’m happy for you.” Kim commented.
She gave Kim a stern look, “I can’t leave you guys.”
I jumped in, “Are you crazy? If you have a chance to get out of here, you need to take it.”
“No, I can’t abandon all of you,” and then burst out crying again.
Kim gave her another hug, and I squatted down in front of her, “Hey, look at me.” She hesitated and then finally made eye contact. I smiled, “Brandy, if you have a chance to have a normal life, you need to jump all over it. Don’t you want to get back to full-time electricity and going out to a restaurant to eat? You have a chance at going back to sanity.”
“Yes, I want that, but I want it for all of us. The way he talked, I don’t think that would be possible. I’m not going if you all don’t get to go. I’m not abandoning you guys. You guys are family to me now; I can’t walk out on my family. Don’t you understand?”
I teared up a bit for a couple of reasons. First, I could hear Carmen in her voice, and secondly, she had become part of our family as well. I have to admit; she would be missed. Yes, she was a very valuable asset to the group, but mainly she was a part of us now. Everyone was.
Kim said with some tears, “Brandy, that’s why it is important for you to take the opportunity if you get it. We love you, and if you can get out of the hell that’s upon us, you need to take it. We want that for you. Your parents need you. I know this is hard, but they just found out that one of their daughters was killed. I know you don’t want to think about it but think what they have to accept right now. They are just now having to deal with the death of Carmen.”
Through more tears, she replied, “I know that, and it breaks my heart. I’m kicking myself for telling them. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to face that reality again. I could tell that it broke dad’s heart.”
“I can’t imagine what they’re feeling but if you being with them makes them handle it easier, then you need to go, plus you’re getting to go to safety, ” I said sincerely.
She stared at me for a moment and then asked, “Do you think Carmen would’ve gone?”
“Yeah, I think she would’ve.”
She shook her head and then chuckled lightly, “Vince, you’re a terrible liar.
Brandy saw right through me. I know Carmen wouldn’t have left. I would’ve had to force her, and even then she wouldn't go.
I smiled, “Well, that’s different, and I would’ve forced her to go. One way or another, I would’ve made her go. I don’t care if I would have had to drug her to knock her out, I would have found a way to make her leave.”
She looked me right in the eyes, “You would’ve broken her heart, and she would find a way to come back anyway.” I had to laugh to myself as she knew Carmen well. She then shook her head, “Maybe he won’t be able to make the arrangements.”
“Ok, maybe he won’t be able to, but if he does, you need to go. Does he still have the assets for that? I mean, couldn’t he have lost everything when the dollar collapsed?”
She thought for a moment and then shook her head, no. “He had a lot of foreign investments. He had money all over the world. I’m sure he got hurt a lot, but he still has plenty of money available. Plus, he has lots of contacts worldwide.”
“Good! That means you get to escape from all of this.”
She started crying again and softly started saying, “No!” Then she just stopped, “What about Mike? I’m in love with him. I don’t want to leave him here. There, what about that?”
She looked at me as though she was saying, “I got you there.”
I smiled slightly and asked, “What do you think Mike would tell you to do?” She sat and started crying again as she realized that Mike would make her go.
She then jumped up, “I’m not leaving you guys. That’s it. If he can’t take us all, then so be it.”
Kim looked at me with a look saying, “What do we do?”
I sighed loudly, “Brandy, let’s just see what happens. As you said, he may not even be able to make the arrangements. Let’s just see what happens, ok?”
She stared for a moment, then replied, “Fine. We’ll wait to see what happens.”
Brian felt like he was going through the type of interrogation that you’d experience if you committed some serious crime. Jim didn’t mean to make it that way, but he had to find out every detail if what he had in mind would be successful.
Chapter Twenty-Five
After anothe
r hour, Jim called his crew together to discuss what he had in mind. He was thrilled that his crew was having such a good time, especially knowing that soon they’d receive orders possibly sending them into combat.
“Well, gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed your day here and got plenty to eat.”
One of the crewmen spoke up laughing, “Yes Sir! Colonel, I think we need to make a lot more supply runs here in the future.”
Another crewman said, “I agree, sir. I think we need to make this one of our designated R & R locations.”
Jim laughed, “I could go for that myself. I’m glad you had a good time.
I wanted to touch base with you and ask some of you to volunteer for a quick little mission. I’m serious, this is completely on a volunteer basis, and no one will be looked down on if you don’t want to participate.
You know that Kim Johnson is my cousin and that’s why we originally made a pit stop here in the first place. Well, since then, we’ve all established a relationship with Kim, Vince, and their friends. As you guys know, half the people here have served in the military and some up to before the attack were serving as police officers. That makes them our brothers. Anyone that’s willing to put their lives on the line for others, is our brother, wouldn’t you agree?”
Several of the crew yelled out, “Hell yes!”
“Well, they have a bit of a problem with a local band, of what you would call thugs, that thinks that everyone else's property should be theirs. Plus, it is pretty well certain that they were involved in the murder of one of the members of this little community that all these people have put together for security. Now, one of the new members of the community needs his girlfriend, and her mother rescued. They aren’t necessarily being held hostage, but they aren’t free to just walk away either, especially with the current situation.
Our friends here are to the point that they feel they need to bring the girl and her mother into their community if they wish to come. I’ve come up with a way where our new friends here won’t have to carry out a raid where some of them could be killed. I won’t lie to you, it could be dangerous but not near as dangerous as it will be for the Johnsons and their friends. I’m hoping some of you are willing to volunteer.”
He then filled his crew in on what the bikers did to Blake and Charlie and Martha and how they were a threat to the community, and then he filled all of them in on his idea on how to rescue Jana and her mother.
When he asked for volunteers, all the crewman and officers agreed to participate. When he asked if any of them had any comments or questions, a few spoke up.
Adams, one of the crewmen asked, “Sir, why don’t we just blow them away? It sounds like the world would be a lot better off without them.”
“I know what you’re saying Adams, and I feel the exact same way. But, you know we can’t open up on civilians unless we’re fired upon, and we’re at serious risk. Plus, there’s the possibility that there are others that really don’t want to be there and are just waiting for an opportunity to leave, even though Brian knows of none. They all seem to be as fanatical as the guy that’s leading them, but we can’t get that involved. To be honest, if command found out what I was proposing, my tit would be in a serious ringer.
No, with this plan, we’ll use surprise, bluff, and hopefully, a little fear to make the rescue and no shots will be fired. But there is always a chance things could go sideways. If they do, we’ll light them up, and I’ll face the consequences with command. If that happens, I expect all of you to say that you were just following my orders.”
Captain Basinger, Jim’s pilot, and XO spoke up, “Sir, I do have a problem with this. Your plan is for you to be directly involved. Sir, we can’t take that chance, just in case things do go sideways. We can’t risk losing you. Now, don’t misunderstand me, I fully support doing this little mission, but I think you ought to let me be the one to make contact.”
Jim started shaking his head no and said, “No, I’m not going to ask anyone else to expose themselves that way. This mission is not official and is sure against regulations, plus if we are to be successful, we need as much intimidation as we can portray, so if they know anything about military rank, maybe the full bird insignia will baffle them even more.
Anyway, they’re my relatives, and I don’t want anyone else to put themselves on the line more than they have to.”
A few more of the crew voiced their objections, but Jim quickly brought it to an end.
“Jonas, you just make sure you stay alert. If it does go south, I don’t want a building left standing.”
The Apache gunner replied, “You got it, sir!”
For the next thirty minutes, everyone said their goodbyes and Jim gave me more details of what he had planned and told us which birds each of us would be in. Brian would ride with Jim, and we’d be in the third Blackhawk that wouldn’t land as we would stay in the air to recon the biker’s compound, plus we couldn’t take the chance that we’d be spotted in the choppers.
I kissed Kim goodbye, told Mo to have everyone stay on alert and that hopefully, we’d be back within the hour. Hopefully, this would go down as planned. If it did, we’d be keeping our word to Brian and taking away a lot of risk to our group. If it didn’t, well, it will put Jim and Brian at some serious risk.
Jana’s mother’s name was Tracy Evans. Her house was about two miles to the west of the group's compound, and it didn’t take us long to arrive The Apache moved in first, securing the area and making sure there were no ATVs or bikes at the mother’s house. After a short time, Jonas came over the radio saying that it appeared secure.
Soon Jim’s ship landed in the field not 50 yards from the house. Brian and the crew chief approached the house; Brian, to talk to Tracy and the crew chief for security.
The rest of us stayed in the air to make sure no one approached the house and to keep an eye on the area. It seemed as though they were in the house forever, but in reality, it was about 10 minutes.
Later, Brian told us that, out of fear, she hesitated to open the door, but when she saw Brian, she complied. He stated later that he was shocked when he saw her, as apparently, they weren’t feeding her as often as promised but soon after he explained what they were doing, she immediately agreed and grabbed just enough clothes to pack a suitcase. Soon we saw them walking to Jim’s bird.
Stage one went without a hitch. Once they got airborne, Jim had us stay in a holding pattern until he could explain to Tracy what she needed to do and say. This was one of the largest risks, as she had to do a bit of acting. Once he was convinced she knew what to say, he ordered the mission to continue.
Very quickly, we approached the property. Once again the Apache led the way, taking extra time to recon the area. After a minute or so, Jim’s bird, along with a second Blackhawk, cautiously landed between the barn and the house. Jim had a PA system set up on his bird, and as soon as they both landed, Jim used it to call for Jana Evans to come out. We could see movement, but for several moments, no one came outside.
Two crew members from the second Blackhawk got out and took up defensive positions and plus he had an additional crew member ride with him to act as a door gunner. This in itself had to be intimidating to the bikers and Adam Pauley.
Next, Jim and Tracy jumped out of the ship and approached the house but stopping within 20 yards of the door. The pilot now came over the PA system and repeated the command that they needed to see Jana Evans. Soon the door opened, and a man in his early twenties came walking out. He was armed but wasn’t carrying it in a threatening way. As soon as the security crewman saw the weapon, they placed their sights right on him.
He finally approached Jim and Tracy. You could tell he was scared to death but walked up, practically having to yell over the sound of the choppers and asked, “What can I help you with?”
Before Jim could answer, the Apache flew right over the scene, putting even more fear into the man.
“I’m Colonel Jim Range, and I have orders to evacuate both Tracy an
d Jana Evans.”
Tracy then spoke up, “Where’s Jana? Her uncle is a General in the Army, and he’s made arrangements for us to be flown to his base.”
“Uh, well... Hold on. I’ll have to get her.”
“Son, please hurry up then,” Jim commanded.
The man ran back into the house and the door shut. A few minutes went by when I saw Jim and Tracy walk back to his bird.
Brian, who was wearing a flight suit and an aviator’s helmet, scoffed, “I knew Pauley wouldn’t come out. He’s too much of a coward. He probably thought you were here to arrest him.”
“Well, I don’t like the way this is going so I guess we’ll have to step it up a bit.” He got on the radio and called the Apache and told him to take an offensive position just as soon as he gave the hand signal.
Soon the door opened, and the man came back out and said in complete fear and reluctance, “I’ve been told to tell you that Jana doesn’t want to go.” Jim could tell that he didn’t like having to say that. It was obvious that Pauley was telling him what to say.
Jim shook his head side to side and said with disgust, “Son, I’ve got orders from my command to evacuate both Jana and her mother. Now, if Jana wants to come out and tell her mother that herself, then that’s her decision, but we’ll have to hear her say it for herself. If we don’t…..,” Jim then raised his hand, giving the Apache the signal, “we’ll take it that she’s being held against her will and son….. you’re not going to like our next steps. I promise you we’ll lay both these building flat!” At that time, the Apache took up a firing position aiming right at the house and hovering about fifty yards behind where they were standing. “I suggest you go get Jana and right now!”
The man stood momentarily in panic staring at the Apache and then came out of his daze, “Ok, hold on. I’ll get her.”
“Don’t take very long!” Jim commanded.
He then ran full speed back to the house.
“What if they don’t let her go?” Tracy asked tearfully.
Jim hesitated then stated, “If things go bad, you run to the chopper, do you hear me?”
Into the Apocalypse Page 37
