War Dogs Trilogy: Wounded Warriors of the Apocalypse

by AJ Newman

  The sun had gone down. Ann unbuttoned her shirt and then flipped it down to the blanket. Darn my bad luck, she still had a sports bra on. I got behind her and massaged her shoulders. I could feel the tension in her stiff muscles, but the tension soon melted away. I kissed her neck and then trailed kisses up to her cheek. My hand wandered around to her stomach but was met with her hand, and she promptly placed my hand back on her shoulder.

  “Jason, we’re not having sex now and probably never will. If you can’t rub my shoulders without trying to bed me, then we need to stop now.”

  “Ann, I just don’t know how to read you. Back home after a football game in the back seat of my truck, I’d call you a prick tease.”

  “And you would be accurate. I enjoy the flirting but won’t go much beyond that until we get out of these uniforms.”

  I said, “I can have you out of your …”

  She chuckled. “You know damned well what I meant.”

  I massaged her shoulders for a few minutes more when Ann said, “Curtis is on board with our plan.”

  “What? I thought he was the General’s man.”

  Ann shrugged her shoulders. “Who knows what happened between them, but I do know that your John Long was promoted to do the dirty stuff the Colonel wouldn’t do for the General. Curtis hates the way FEMA and the Army are treating the civilians.”

  I thought for a minute. “That means we should be able to recruit new soldiers and staff quickly.”

  “I agree, but we must be careful to keep everything from the General and Captain Long. Long has several close allies at Fort Campbell. As a matter of fact, I have a couple of people I want you to get in good with.”

  Ann handed me a paper with three names. One was the blonde nurse who took care of me when I arrived here. I asked, “Why is the nurse’s name on the list?”

  “She’s working very hard to be my friend. Buddy up to her and find out what you can. She says all the right things about joining us but, she’s Long’s girl. I don’t think she got a choice in the matter so a little kindness will go a long way. She might turn out to be a friend, so don’t go in too harsh.” Ann said.

  “Shush, I heard some bushes rustle,” I said before I slipped away into the darkness.

  I heard Ann whisper, “Be careful.”

  I looked over my shoulder, “Makes some sounds like we’re making out. Draw the bastard in closer.”

  Ann started moaning and talking like, well, you know. I heard the bushes bristle again as I slipped up behind the person trying to catch us in the bushes. I could hear him breathing as I moved closer. The faint light of the moon told me everything I needed to know. The man in the shadows had a big knife and was ready to pounce. I caught his chin and yanked his head back while using his body to shield me from a rearward thrust of his blade. I brought my knife down from above and down between his clavicle and his rib cage. I thrust the blade back and forth to make sure I’d hit vital organs. The person fell to the ground and never made a sound.

  Ann joined me and used a small flashlight to examine the man’s face. It was one of John Long’s men. He was one of the three men who had pointed their guns at me earlier in the day.

  Ann said, “You just killed John Long’s best man. Damn, you must be good at this killing stuff.”

  “I’m fair. Now we have to ditch this body without being seen.”

  Ann grabbed my shoulder. “This screws with our schedule. Leave the bastard where he lays. Get his weapons and ammo.”

  Damn, Ann was sure bossy. I grabbed his pistol and ammo belt, and we were on our way. “What do we do now?”

  Ann ran toward the backside of the enlisted personnel tents and stopped in the shadows. She said, “The crap will hit the fan before noon tomorrow. We’re not ready to take over the camp, but I think we can kill off the majority of the corrupt leadership. I need you to go get Millie and Ted. I’ll get the Colonel and his men. Let’s meet over by the gun range in an hour.”

  I found Ted first and told him about the meeting with Ann. He obviously didn’t know we had to move up our plans by weeks because he was happy when I left him. I moved to the left end of the row of tents and saw Millie walking toward the supply room. I made sure no one followed her and ducked into the hallway. I whispered her name, “Millie, Millie, come here.”

  Before she responded, there was a sharp pain on the side of my head, and I crumbled to the ground. The blow stunned me, but I was still conscious. I heard. “I never would have guessed my woman was seeing you on the side. I’ll just bang my forehead on the wall and then shoot your sorry ass. Jason Walker was a pain in my ass, and now I get revenge.”

  I saw him draw his gun and bounce his head on the corner of the wall. He actually laughed as blood flowed down his forehead onto his cheek. The pain didn’t faze him at all. He said, “I really have to resist shooting you in the kneecaps and then shoulders. That wouldn’t look like self-defense.”

  I saw a shadow behind him and heard a thud just before I was sprayed by his blood. Millie grunted as she hit him again with the steel hole punch. He dropped to the floor and begged for his life. She hit him repeatedly until he stopped moaning and begging for mercy. Millie said, “That will teach the bastard to beat on me.”

  I slowly rose from the floor and said, “Thanks. You saved my life. I didn’t know you and John were seeing each other.”

  “We weren’t seeing each other. Thanks to that worthless General, John owned me. I was his slave.”

  I saw her kick John in the head. “I think he’s dead or dying. You can stop kicking him. Let’s go. I need to get you to a meeting with Ann, and we only have a few minutes to get there.”

  Millie and I were the last to arrive at the meeting. Ann was in the middle of her explanation of why we had to accelerate our plans. I heard her say, “…and they’ll find the body sometime in the morning …”

  I interrupted and said, “Major, sorry for interrupting, but it just got worse. Millie saved my life by killing Captain John Long. He saw me approaching Millie and was jealous. He tried to kill me. She beat him to a pulp with a hole punch.”

  The Colonel asked, “Are you sure he’s dead?”

  “I didn’t check his pulse, but she knocked holes in his skull. If he’s not dead, then he’ll be a vegetable,” I replied.

  The Colonel said, “Good that was one evil piece of human garbage. Ann, you planned this turkey shoot. I have ten more loyal men and women ready to attack on your order.”

  Ann said, “I’ll take five of your men plus Ted. We’ll take over the headquarters tents and kill everyone loyal to the General. Sergeant Walker will take your other five men plus a few more that he’s been recruiting and kill every enlisted person we identified as loyal to the General or Captain Long.”

  The Colonel said, “I’ll tag along with Jason to make sure the good enlisted men know that I support this coup.”

  Ann looked at her watch and said, “At my mark set your watches to 2100. We attack at 2300 sharp.”

  ☆

  Chapter 8

  North of Walter Hill, Tennessee

  Missy said, “Mom, do you really think Jason isn’t coming back?”

  Karen chose her words carefully. “Darling, I don’t know. He was due back weeks ago, and he’s a highly trained soldier. He only had to go up to Clarksville, find his sister, and return home.”

  Chrissy said, “Mom, we hoped you and Jason would get together. We really like him. Can’t we go search for him?”

  Karen replied, “Girls, Jason is a hundred times better at surviving and protecting himself than we are. All we would accomplish is getting ourselves killed or worse.”

  Missy had a scowl on her face. “What could be worse than …”

  Chrissy punched her on the shoulder. “Darn, you’re so dense. We could be …”

  Karen interrupted. “Girls, we’re not going, period. We need to realize that Jason might not be coming back and deal with it.”

  Chrissy said, “Mom, I don’t like ho
w Murph is hanging around you. I know you like Jason, and he likes you.”

  “Look, girls, I can’t pin my hopes on a man who has been gone for several weeks in this mess of a world. Drop it and move on. I have.”

  ***

  Jan lay in bed next to her husband that night. “Zack, I overheard Karen talking with her girls.”

  “Babe, I’m trying to sleep.”

  “Karen told them that Jason isn’t coming back.”

  “Do what? Of course, Jason’s coming back. I like Karen, but I think Murph has put those thoughts in her head. He’s sniffing around her like a Coon dog sniffing around a bitch in heat. Jason will come back and clean Murph’s plow for fooling around with his girl.”

  Jan asked, “Does Karen know Jason thinks she’s his girl? You know our son. He’s not much for showing his feelings.”

  ***

  “Karen, Jason was my best friend in the Army, but even I’ve lost hope of him returning,” Murph said as he wrapped his arm around her.

  “I think you’re right, and I do like you, but we need to go slow for my girl’s sake.”

  Murph had a big grin. “I won’t push but please don’t drag it out forever.”

  Murph kissed Karen on the neck just as Tina began growling. Then they heard Maria call for everyone to go to their posts and prepare for an attack.

  “There are a dozen people on the street looking down the driveway. Murph, let’s go run them off,” Maria said.

  Zack wasn’t happy with what she said. “Maria, let’s go see what they want and determine if they’re a fit for our community.”

  Maria smiled. “You da boss.”

  Zack used his binoculars to check out the people before approaching them. “Hey, there are a couple of nuns, a priest, and some women with kids. They don’t look too dangerous.”

  Maria said, “Could be a Trojan horse.”

  They carried their rifles ready for action but pointed away from the people. The entire group raised their hands over their heads, and one of the nuns stepped forward. She said, “Daddy, is that you?” as she showed her bare head.

  They ran the last few feet to each other and embraced in silence. After a few minutes, Zack asked, “When did you become a nun and where is Jason. Did he find you?”

  Michelle’s face slumped. “Jason found us and helped us escape over a month ago. I thought he would already be here. We had several killed and wounded, so we had to hole up until a few days ago. Oh crap, Jason might have been captured by that gang that tried to kill us.”

  “You left Jason to fend for himself?”

  “Dad, I had to look out for my people and get them to safety. Jason told me to take them here, and he would join us after getting rid of the gang.”

  Zack was upset but knew his daughter had done the right thing. “Introduce your friends now, and we’ll fill each other in on recent events later. I’m so relieved that you’re safe. I love you, daughter, and I have worried a great deal about you.”

  “Daddy, you had a great deal to worry about. I’ve changed for the better. I haven’t taken any drugs in months and have taken God into my life.”

  ***

  A few days later, Zack watched as Maria and Karen trained another group on how to clean their guns before they were allowed to shoot. Karen gave the pellet guns to Maria to help with training and to keep the noise down. Murph trained the other half of their group in hand-to-hand combat. He was amazed at how Michelle took to the hand-to-hand combat. Of course, she now wore civilian clothes, but the other nuns trained in their habits. Father James convinced the nuns to learn how to defend themselves. He told Zack that it would take a while to get them to handle the guns, much less becoming proficient using weapons. Sister Joan didn’t want to learn anything that could harm people. She was vocal about believing that God would protect her.

  Zack knew they’d been lucky so far, but luck couldn’t be counted on.

  Jan joined Zack during the mid-morning break and sat beside her husband under an apple tree. “Jason ain’t going to be happy with Murph when he gets back.”

  Zack didn’t reply as he watched Karen and Murph flirting across the way. Down deep in his gut, he knew something had gone wrong, and for the first time, he lost hope that Jason would ever return.

  Zack heard the grass crunch as someone walked up behind him. “Zack, something is wrong. Jason should have been back by now. I know he’s coming back. Jason is the toughest man I ever met,” Billie said.

  Zack forced a smile. “He’ll be back.

  “I pray every night for his return.”

  Jan said, “Me too.”

  ☆

  Chapter 9

  Fort Campbell, Kentucky

  At 22:00, the Colonel quickly introduced me to his men and women, and I was surprised that they had doubled in numbers. I recognized several of the men and had a good feeling about them. The Colonel said, “My men did a little recruiting of their own. Apparently, Captain Long made them fire on a group of preppers. Several women and children were killed along with the men. They just wanted to be left alone. They were good people.”

  I quickly went over the details of our plan and made a couple of modifications thanks to input from my new team. Several had experience gained in the European wars and were ready to kill to stop this madness. A few others were ready to guard the area and shoot anyone trying to stop us once the gunfire started.

  I drew my knife. “Leave your rifles behind. I want you all armed with knives and a sidearm. The goal is to slip in and slit the throats of any soldier known to support the General or Captain Long. Major Tidwell will kill the General and his staff before they can wake up and sound the alarm at the same time. Shoot only as a last resort. I’ll take one of you with me for tent 107. Sergeant Brown, take two men and clean out tent 108. Joe, you take 109. The rest of you guard the perimeter and have our backs.”

  Sergeant Brown asked, “What about the MPs guarding the Fort?”

  I said, “They all report to Ann and have been told to kill anyone trying to interfere in our plans.”

  My grandfather’s old wind up watch’s second hand raced toward the fatal time the attack was to start. We snuck up on the tents a bit earlier and were in place to execute our plans. The minute hand ticked and I led my team into the tent. We each knew roughly where our targets slept. I took out the man on fire watch, and the others followed me into the tent and then spread out.

  I found my first target, covered his mouth as I drew my razor sharp knife across his throat. I moved on to my next victim and was shocked to see one of my men struggling with his soldier. He yelled, “This SOB won’t die! My knife is deep in …,” as he held on for his life.

  I ran to my next target, slit his throat, and moved to help my guy with his mark. Suddenly, the intended target stood up with my man’s hands still choking him. The soldier must have been three hundred pounds and almost seven feet tall. I’d seen him around the camp. He was one of John Long’s enforcers.

  I yelled, “Hang on!” and then I stabbed him in the kidney since his back was turned to me and my guy was dangling on his front side. The monster hit me with a backward blow and knocked me across the room. The blow knocked the wind out of me, and I coughed and sputtered. Then I jumped up and ran toward the man ducking my shoulder just as I hit him. I struck him on the back of his knees knocking him to the ground while knocking over several bunkbeds containing sleeping soldiers. I jumped on the man, plunged my knife into his chest, and ripped upward into his heart and lungs. He rolled toward me, throwing my guy in the air on top of me. I barely missed stabbing him.

  Rolling over to my feet, I kicked the man on the side of his head with my boot and then fell on him with my knife leading the way. It entered his chest between two ribs, and I yanked the handle left and right until the behemoth no longer moved. I was covered in blood as I stood up to see my team being congratulated for freeing the rest of the soldiers from the grip of John Long and the man they called ‘The Mountain.’

 
One of the sergeants took the keys to the rifle cage from The Mountain and passed out M4s and full magazines. My little army now had thirty-three more fighters who wanted to be free from the FEMA tyranny.

  I checked the other tents and only one of my people had been injured and all of the known FEMA supporters were dead. We gained over a hundred and fifty more men who wanted to join us, and three who only wanted to go home. We tied them up until Ann and the Colonel could decide what to do with them. I turned the team over to the ranking sergeant, a man I trusted and went to find Ann.

  Ann, the Colonel, and several other officers stood in front of the General’s office. Ann saw me and waved for me to join them. She asked, “How did your operation go?”

  Before I could answer, I came into the light, and they saw the blood covering my face and uniform. Ann’s hands raised to her face in shock. The Colonel said, “I hope that’s not your blood.”

  I laughed and said, “Most of it belongs to ‘The Mountain.’ I didn’t realize how big the beast was, or I would have assigned several soldiers to kill him. He beat Rodrigues and me pretty bad. Sorry, sir, the mission was successful, and we now have over a hundred and fifty more soldiers ready to join your team.”

  The Colonel said, “Our part of the operation was also successful. The General, his men, and all of the crooked FEMA people are dead. We have a few clerks and such to keep an eye on. Ann, take Sergeant Walker to the medics and get him patched up. We’ll meet again at 0600. I doubt if anyone will be able to sleep but try to get a few hours rack time. That’s an order.”

  ***

  I started to talk when Ann said, “Let me speak first. Jason, I was afraid for your life when I saw the blood. I knew I liked you, but now I know I have strong feelings for you. Let’s get you patched up and see where this goes.”