by AJ Newman
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Chapter 11
The Walker farm - Walter Hill, Tennessee
I filled Mom and Father James in on the day’s events with a bit more detail about the lion's attack. Mom thought it must have been a terrifying situation for Jay and Kat. I told her Kat was calm through the entire event, but Jay was shaken and had clung to Kat afterward.
Father James said, “Don’t you think we should go on the offensive with these monsters. Let’s set some traps and hunt them before they kill one of us.”
“I agree. We need to find a book on lions and lion hunting. Perhaps we should check the Smyrna library,” I said.
Mom asked, “Can you get there and back without being seen by the General’s men?”
I said, “Good question. I honestly don’t know. Let’s think that one through before acting.”
Mom acted happy to see the folks from Norene but later called her resistance team together. “Jason, I’m pleased to help these people, but we simply don’t have enough trailers or houses for them. Jason, you’re in charge of finding more trailers until we can build some homes. Get Father James to handle the setup, sanitation, and drinking water. Have him add the so-called lights also.
Billie, you’re in charge of the layout of our ever-growing city. We need to plan for doubling in size over the next six months. Get input and help from others.”
“Yes, Jan.”
“Kat, please take charge of their work assignments. Make sure everyone contributes.
Maria, you train everyone in security, weapons, and fighting in general.
Michelle, I want you to find out more about these people. I also want you to find the spy in our group. Trust no one.”
I said, “I’ll need to take Rick, Kat, Billie, Michelle, Pete, and a couple of the new men with me to fetch some trailers back to the farm. I’ll need three drivers, so the rest of us can guard the others. We’ll take three trucks over to Lascassas and bring back several of those trailers mentioned in the last meeting. Jose, their leader, said they wouldn’t need them. I want enough firepower to fight off any cats or thugs.”
Mom said, “Get ‘er done. It’ll take at least two more to go along with our extra trailer but fetch six, so we can get ahead of the curve. Father James and I plan to build cabins this fall after we get the crops in for the year. We can work on them for most of the winter. Plan on making numerous scavenging trips for wood and other building materials.”
“Mom, each trip presents a danger to the scavenging team and to the farm, since we could be followed on the way back.”
Mom turned to Maria. “You and Jason need to work on safety measures.”
Maria looked at me and shrugged her shoulders while she said, “Yes, ma’am.”
Fred volunteered to provide three truck drivers and two guards for our trip. He surprised me and said, “Jason, my son Jack and his wife, Hellen, moved mobile homes for a living. This is right up their alley. My son, Barry, worked for them from time to time driving. They’ll be the truck drivers. Zeke and I are older than the rest, but we both served in the Army back in the early twenties. Does that sound okay to you?”
I was pleased. “Yes, have your group fed and ready to roll at four in the morning.”
Everyone’s weapons were checked, and I was dismayed to see that only Zeke and Fred had AK47s while the others had an assortment of 9mm and wheel guns. Fred’s daughter-in-law had an old High Standard Double 9 .22 caliber pistol.
I motioned for Kat. “Kat, go to the armory and get three of the Sigs for the ones with the wheel guns. Billie, go with her and bring back fifty 5.56 rounds for our ARs and M4s and fifty 9 mm rounds for each 9mm pistol. Fred, we don’t have any AK ammo.”
Zeke asked, “Do you think we’ll need this much firepower?”
“I hope not, but better have a gun and not need it than need a gun and not have it,” I replied.
We pulled out before the sun was up the next morning, driving without lights. Kat, MMax, and I rode on the back of the old wrecker, which was the lead truck. We only saw an occasional raccoon and dog. Then we smelled smoke from cooking fires, and a few houses had faint lights glowing through the windows. No one came out when our three trucks lumbered along down East Jefferson Pike to Lascassas. About a mile west of the city, MMax acted funny and alerted toward the city. I didn’t hear the gunfire but saw the muzzle flashes.
“Stop the truck,” I yelled as I beat on the top of the cab. “Pull into the woods over there.”
The other trucks followed and shut off their engines. Now, I could hear the gunfire. The distinctive sound of AKs and M4s split the night. I motioned for everyone to gather around me and then said, “Fred, I need your best shots to join my team. We need to see if this attack is on our friend in Lascassas. If it isn’t, we’ll let them fight it out and mind our own business.”
Fred turned to his people. “Zeke, Barry, and Jack come with me. Hellen, guard the trucks.”
The gunfire had stopped, but I guessed we were a couple hundred yards from the action. There were two subdivisions along the left side of the road with long rows of evergreen trees and bushes along the street side. This gave us the concealment we needed to advance. I took the lead with MMax, who was excited to see action. He pulled at his leash as I led the others to their potential deaths.
Thinking about my teams’ deaths was new to me since I was now married to one of my teammates. I always had to shove the thoughts out of my mind. I couldn’t let my personal feelings affect our fighting ability. That would get us all killed eventually.
I was pleased at first when I saw the fight was over, and one side was rounding up the survivors. Even I was shocked to see the number of gangbanger bodies strewn about the landscape but very few of the ones they’d attacked. Then I saw the survivors were dressed in Army BDUs, and the men rounding up the wounded and prisoners were the gangbangers. I couldn’t see the tats on them, but all of them looked the part. We were close enough to hear them when one said, “That’ll teach you not to mess with the 13th Street Gang. Jess, let’s kill ‘em all and take the two women back to Jeff.”
The big man said to the thug, “I’m cool with that. Line them up. Headshots only. We need the uniforms for Jeff’s next attack.”
I remember thinking, “Oh, hell, no. It’s none of my business, but these are brothers in arms about to be slaughtered.” I motioned for the others to check their weapons and said, “These gangsters are about to execute about ten soldiers. Kill them all. Shoot when you hear me fire. Take aim.”
I had already chosen my first two targets and squeezed the trigger on the big man, and then shot the next one before the first hit the dirt. The gunfire from our side was fast but not very accurate from Fred’s team. The gang members fell quickly and only got off a couple of shots. The gun battle was like most up close fighting, in that it was over in seconds.
The last man fell, and I motioned for the others to follow me in to mop up. I shot several of the gangbangers in the head to put them out of their misery. I saw a couple of soldiers go for their weapons. “Stop! MMax, watch ‘em.”
MMax growled and stood in front of them, ready to pounce. I said, “What unit are you with, and why were these men going to kill you?”
No one spoke up. I saw one soldier with buck sergeant stripes. “Sergeant, speak up. We don’t want to hurt you. I just want to know what happened here.”
The man stepped forward. “I’m Sergeant Miller. Most of us were with the local National Guard unit. All of us served in Europe and some in the Middle East. We joined General Long’s group a few weeks back after we revolted against that fake ass General who ran the FEMA camp up in Kentucky. Hey, I recognize you. I was with you the night we wiped out the leaders of the camp.”
Now I was baffled. “Then why did you join General Long? He was as bad as the previous so-called-General.”
The sergeant said, “He made us a deal we couldn’t refuse. The 13th Street Gang wiped out half of Chattanooga and most of our friends. We j
oined him for safety in numbers against the gang. You know – ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ sort of thing.”
Holy shit. I knew I had a tiger by the tail and shouldn’t turn it loose. I turned to my friends. “Lower your weapons.”
The sergeant asked, “Is it okay if we pick up our arms?”
I smiled and said, “Yes, but leave the gang's weapons for us.” Then I added, “If you can spare some 5.56 and 9mm, it would be greatly appreciated. Tell the General the Walker group wants to talk with him about joining his command.”
The sergeant said, “I was wondering when you would join us. We’ve had orders to skirt around the area from Walter Hill to Lascassas. We were patrolling below the city when these dumbasses attacked.”
“Sergeant, those dumbasses nearly killed the rest of you.”
He lowered his head and said, “Thanks for saving our bacon. I won’t forget.”
I walked back to my guys and saw Kat being tended to by Billie. “Kat, are you okay? What happened?”
Kat held her arm up. “A stray bullet nicked my underarm. It missed my side and scraped my arm. Hon, really, I’m okay. It’s just a scratch. Go to Fred. He lost one of his men.”
I held Kat’s hand for a few seconds and then walked over to Fred and saw Zeke lying in a puddle of blood. Another stray round had hit him above the right eye and came out the back of his head. He’d died before he’d fallen to the ground.
“Fred, I’m sorry for your loss.”
Fred jumped up and took a swing at me. I blocked his fist and knocked him to the ground as I drew my pistol. His son, Jack, started to raise his AK when I heard MMax growl while leaping through the air. MMax bit the man’s hand and brought him to the ground. Kat and Billie had their weapons trained on Fred and his son. I said, “All of you drop your weapons until we sort this out! Why are Fred and his son trying to kill me?”
His other son, Barry, spoke. “He thinks you’re responsible for his best friend’s death. He thinks we should have walked away from the fight.”
I said, “I’m sorry Zeke is dead, and my wife is wounded. However, I wouldn’t change a thing except for them. I can’t let US soldiers be executed by a drug gang. No way.”
Barry said, “The rest of us agree with you. Dad and Jack will never forgive you. I guess we’ll have to move on.”
“No, not all of you. Your dad and Jack have to leave our community. The rest can stay as long as they know that I call the shots on security and fighting our enemies. We’ll abandon our mission and return home to let you get your group together and decide your future.”
Barry said, “Only Jack, Mom, Hellen, and Dad will want to leave. Actually, Mom and Hellen would stay if they could. My dad and brother aren’t good men, nor are they good to their wives. Can we go ahead and bring the trailers back?”
I looked the young man in the eye and said, “Michelle, team up with Barry to guard his dad and brother so the rest of us can fetch the trailers.” Then I said, “Fred, we’ll turn you loose once you cool off, but you’ll have to leave our camp when we get home. You can take what you brought, but you have to leave.”
Fred said, “I’ll behave as long as I’m in your community, but don’t cross my path after I leave.”
Fred and Jack cooled off but still hated me. They said some ugly things as they left. Mom replied, “Mister, you had better hightail it out of here, quick. I’m holding my son back, and that’s not an easy task. Now git!”
***
Later that day, Mom made Kat show the wounded arm to her. Mom cut the bandage off and examined the wound. “Kat, this wasn’t a scratch like you said. The bullet went through your arm under the skin. Hey, wait a minute. Let me see your other arm.”
Kat reluctantly raised her arm, and Jan said, “Oh shit! Kat, you do know what this means, don’t you?”
“Yes, but I don’t know what to do. Can you help me?”
“Of course, I will!”
***
We brought six more trailers home over the next two days. Mom was surprised that so many of Fred’s people didn’t leave with him until one of the other women told her what an asshole Fred was to everyone. Mom met individually with each new team member and helped him or her with any personal issues. She sent them to Father James for spiritual advice. They liked their small but new homes and loved the running water and toilets that flushed.
Mom and I watched over them the first couple of days and then assigned a mentor to each family to help them transition into our community. The mentors were also assigned to watch them closely for any suspicious activity. Mom wasn’t about to have any bad apples in her community.
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Chapter 12
Smyrna Golf Course Club House - Smyrna, Tennessee
“That sounds like a cock and bull story if I ever heard one. Major Tidwell, ask Sergeant Miller to come into my office, so he can tell me this story.”
“Sir, this was in his report. Here’s a copy.”
“Major, go get Miller now!”
The major saluted and said, “Miller is waiting outside.”
Colonel Griggs said, “I find it hard to believe they would help us.”
The General responded, “Sergeant Walker has strong ethical morals. He would’ve helped anyone being attacked by those raiders.”
The Major’s orderly returned a few minutes later with Sergeant Miller. General Long said, “Major, you may leave Sergeant Miller with me now.”
Long stood there a few seconds before returning the salute. He had always hated it when an officer made him wait. Long finally snapped a crisp salute and said, “At ease, son. Have a seat and tell me this unbelievable story about how Sergeant Jason Walker saved your ass.”
“Yes, Sir, we were ambushed by a vastly superior force. They had AKs, 9 mms, and a few hand grenades. We had superior firepower, or they would’ve wiped us out. We were on a routine patrol with scouts out ahead and behind when an old truck rammed our lead Humvee. The other two split away into the subdivision under fire, and we regrouped. My scouts had been killed by snipers, and the men in the lead Humvee were too wounded to fight.
None of the three Humvees had automatic weapons mounted, so we had to fight with our M4s and sidearms. There were only fifteen of us able to fight when they swarmed us in a frontal attack. The bastards must have been on drugs to do something so stupid. We cut them down with full auto fire, but they kept coming.
Suddenly they backed off to regroup and attacked again. This time, we were taken by surprise from the rear. We killed another twenty or so before they captured us. There were over fifty of the raiders dead or dying before they lined us up to execute us. Then we heard gunfire, and they were all killed. That’s when Sergeant Walker walked into the fray, killing their wounded to put them out of their misery.
Walker released us and gathered up the gang’s weapons, ammo, and supplies. Walker’s team then drove on into Lascassas to complete their mission.”
“What mission?” Long asked.
“They needed more camping trailers to use as homes at their compound. Walker said they were growing every day.”
“Sergeant, you seem to admire Walker.”
Sergeant Miller said, “Sir, he had just saved our lives.”
Long smiled. “Staff Sergeant Miller, you’re being promoted to be my liaison to Walker’s community. This is your chance to save their lives.”
Staff Sergeant Miller looked confused. Colonel Griggs said, “If he doesn’t join our team, he won’t be allowed to stay in this area.”
General Long said, “Colonel, I’ll decide who stays or goes.”
Miller said, “Oh, I forgot. Walker said his team wants to meet with you about joining our group.”
Long frowned, “That’s not in your report.”
“I know, sir. Walker asked me to deliver the message to you in person.”
Long said, “Get a meal and a shower and meet with Walker to see what’s on his mind. Go in with only a few men, so you don’t scare them. Oh
, and take them some medical supplies or something you think they might need. Build trust and friendship if you can. Don’t be in a hurry.”
“Yes, sir, I’ll do my best.”
Long patted Miller on the back and dismissed him.
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Chapter 13
Cedar Crest Golf Club – North of Murfreesboro, Tennessee
I could hear the dogs whining and barking from time to time while I rubbed MMax’s ears. We watched Michelle, Barry, and Billie come back to our hiding place.
“Jason, the dogs are staked out in the middle of the eighteenth fairway by the lake,” said Billie.
“Good, they’ll make excellent lion bait. It’s still a while before dark, and the lions hunt mainly at night. We can spot them, thanks to the moonlight,” I said.
Kat said, “Most of the time the cats have tried to attack us, it was broad daylight.”
Yep, she had me there. I said, “I think they were starving then. Now they’ve feasted on wild dogs and who knows what else. Anyway, that book on lions that Maria found says to hunt them just about sundown. Quit bellyaching and get some shuteye while I keep watch.”
Naturally, Kat laid her head on my shoulder and clung to me. She whispered, “Do we have to use dogs as bait? It just doesn’t seem right. They’re supposed to be man’s best friend.”
“Hon, these dogs tried to eat you alive this afternoon on the way here. I had half a deer to use as bait, but those wild dogs tried to kill us to get to the deer. Now we have live bait.”
“Jason, that’s so cruel.”
“Kat, I don’t want to talk down to you, but the whole world is cruel. You know the lions can hear the wounded dogs, and they’ll come to get an easy meal. We just have to make sure we get them before they get us.”
