Without Law 5

by Eric Vall

  I added my contribution to the pile and then grabbed a couple long branches.

  “Come on Rolly, grab the largest branches you can find and start laying them over the truck. We’ll kinda create a shell around it that we can put the other stuff on top of.”

  “Got it,” Rolly said. “Kinda like making a primitive tent.”

  “Yeah, kinda like that,” I said.

  Rolly and I got to work on the first layer and a few minutes later the girls came back with another load of forest debris.

  “That’s probably good,” I said. “Now we just need to get this truck all covered up and blend it in with the area.”

  “Are there any tricks to it or should we just start piling shit on top?” Anna asked.

  “Rolly and I got the frame up, so I would just start trying to drape stuff over it. We’re primarily trying to break up the outline of the truck so that it’s harder to notice by people passing by.”

  “Alright,” Anna said.

  We layered the foliage, leaves, twigs, and branches over the dark olive drab of the truck until it was barely recognizable as anything other than a strange extension of the forest. We had covered the windows in dirt so that no one could catch light off it, and the whole thing was covered in a careful chaos that almost matched the natural world around it.

  Once we were done, we all took a step back to admire our handiwork.

  “Well, that’s pretty cool,” Bailey said.

  “It wasn’t hard either,” Tara added.

  “Yeah, it’s more tedious than it is difficult,” I said. “It looks good though. Nice job guys.”

  “What do we do now?” Paige asked.

  “Grab some food,” I said. “Let’s eat a quick lunch, then make sure we’re loaded up for some recon.”

  We all pulled out our packs and took up a spot next to our camouflaged base. We all started to munch on a light lunch of smoked meat, water, and some beans.

  “Why’d we bring so much food, anyway?” Bailey asked.

  “It is always better to be prepared,” I said.

  “I guess we’ll find out soon enough just how prepared we really are,” Anna said. “Assuming we are heading out to find the outpost next of course.”

  “We are,” I said. “We’ll make our way through the woods to where they are supposed to be set up, observe them for the rest of the day, and then head back under the cover of darkness.”

  “They are expecting the caravan back tomorrow right?” Paige asked.

  “Yeah, so we have the rest of today and maybe the first half of tomorrow to see what we can see and come up with a plan,” I said.

  “That doesn’t really seem like a lot of time,” Tara said with a frown.

  “It should be more than enough time,” I assured her. “The outpost shouldn’t be that big so there shouldn’t be much for us to see. We might know enough by the time we leave tonight to figure out a solid attack strategy.”

  “I still can’t believe we are going to assault a National Guard outpost,” Bailey said. “Defending ourselves against bikers is one thing, but this is something else.”

  “Yeah, I kinda feel like I joined the army,” Paige said.

  “Your training was much gentler,” I said with a grin.

  “That’s true,” Rolly said. “Knew a few guys who served, and it sounded like they spent most of their training just getting yelled at.”

  “Maybe they were just doing it wrong,” Anna said with a shrug.

  “No, that sounds like bootcamp to me,” I chuckled.

  I finished the last bite of my meal, stood up, wiped my hands on my pants, and pulled my backpack on again.

  “Alright, everyone finish up, we’re leaving in five,” I ordered. “I would highly recommend grabbing some extra water, and maybe some more food if you think you’re going to get hungry later. No cans and no bagged food though. We gotta make sure we stay quiet.”

  “Understood,” Anna said as she stood. “We’ll be ready to go in five.”

  “Good,” I said. Then I grabbed a couple extra bottles of water, shoved them into my bag, and waited for my team in front of the truck.

  I did a quick check of my gear, readied my rifle, and pulled out my map. After I made a rough mark of our current location I planned out the route we would take to the outpost. It was not the most direct, but it avoided any large streams and put us out on top of a ride that should overlook the entire school area.

  Anna led the rest of the team over to me a couple minutes later.

  “Alright, let’s go,” I said. “We can talk as we go but keep your voices down and once we get close if we have to speak we’ll do so in whispers, understood?”

  Rolly and the girls all confirmed they heard me, and we headed off into the woods. There was no path to follow, but using my compass and the map I led us through the thickets, trees, and bushes towards the distant outpost.

  The woods were fairly dense, but since we were on foot, we didn’t run into any issues. In fact the journey was pretty simple. There were very few hills along our path, and a pleasant breeze blew through the trees.

  “We might want to talk about strategy while we walk,” I said.

  “Don’t we need to see the place before we come up with a plan?” Bailey asked.

  “Yeah, but that’s not what I am talking about,” I said. “In these past few weeks you have all sort of fallen into different roles. Your weapon preferences and overall fighting style is fairly diverse.”

  “Really?” Paige asked. “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve become the team medic and your choice of weapons gravitates toward closer combat,” I said as I pointed at Paige’s shotgun and short barrel carbine.

  “Oh, yeah,” the brunette woman laughed as she tapped her glasses. “I guess I do like using the shotgun a bunch. I think it’s because I can’t see faraway that great.”

  “Anna has become a great all-around infantry warrior,” I said as I smiled at the redhead.

  “And she keeps ordering us around,” Tara laughed as she gently elbowed the redhead.

  “Hey,” Anna laughed. “I can’t help it. I was always team captain in all the sports I played.”

  “Tara is our silent operative,” I said. “She can move really quietly, is great with the knife, and now has a silenced pistol she can use to take out our enemies.”

  “You are a fucking ninja!” Paige complimented the tall blonde.

  “Oh, that’s really cool,” Tara said as her face actually turned red. “I do like getting close to people and just… okay, this is going to sound totally weird, but I like stabbing assholes or shooting them in the head when up close.”

  “Well, since we are only fighting assholes, I don’t think it’s weird at all,” Anna laughed.

  “What about me?” Bailey asked as she raised her hand.

  “Sniper,” Paige, Anna, Tara, Rolly, and I said in unison, and then we all looked at each other and laughed.

  “You are the best shot on the team,” I added. “You are a complete natural, and I think you’ll actually be better than me in a few months.”

  “Wow, you think so?” Bailey asked as she glanced down at her scoped rifle.

  “Yep,” I said. “You’ve really come a long way.”

  “Thanks, Tav,” the hippie said, and then she blushed almost as red as Tara.

  “What about Rolly?” Paige asked as we turned to the old man.

  “Oh,” he scoffed as he waved his hand. “I don’t really need a specific role or anything, I’m just--”

  “Team mascot for sure,” I laughed as I put my hand on the older man’s shoulder. “He’s always going out of his way to make everyone feel good. That’s very important for morale and team spirit. I’ve spent weeks in a trench or in the forest with dudes who had bad attitudes, it was a nightmare. Having someone with endless amounts of positive energy really lubricates the gears.”

  “Ahhh, thanks, Tav.” Rolly cleared his throat and blinked a few times as he smiled at me
. “It’s nice to be appreciated.”

  “I’m pointing all this out because you all have come a long way,” I said. “Have confidence in your abilities. We are strong together, but with that said, I want to split us into two groups for this recon mission.”

  “Seems like we’d be stronger fighting as a single unit,” Anna said.

  “In most cases we will be,” I agreed with a nod. “Still, small teams have their advantages. Especially when they can each fulfill a different vital role.”

  “Do our teams get awesome codenames or anything?” Tara asked.

  “Maybe,” I chuckled. “I’ll run the first team and Anna will run the second. My team will consist of me, Tara, and Paige. We’re set up for better close quarters fighting and stealthy infiltration. Rolly and Bailey will be with Anna and you guys will focus on support. You have the right guns to stay back on a hill or in a tower and provide suppression and sniper fire.”

  “What about me?” Rolly asked.

  “It’s always good to have some standard rifles in the group,” I said. “You can still provide suppression, and might be able to engage closer targets easier than Bailey can.”

  “Cool, so basically we have a short range and a long range group then,” Anna said.

  “Pretty much,” I said. “Don’t forget your team. If we need to split up for any reason, we’ll default to those groups.”

  “Easy enough,” Paige said. “It’s kinda easy to remember when there are only six of us.”

  “It’d be even easier if we had team names,” Tara added.

  “If you guys want to name the teams, then go right ahead,” I said. The reason codenames and call signs were usually used to help hide information when using a radio. Since we couldn’t use any form of wireless or radio communication, I didn’t see the need. It wasn’t going to hurt anything to name our fireteams, though and it would probably help keep the morale up.

  “You just have to pick one you like and stick with it though,” I said. “We don’t want to confuse each other by constantly changing names.”

  “Well I guess we better think of something good then,” Anna said with a grin.

  “I’ll leave the creative stuff to you young people,” Rolly laughed. “I don’t care what my group is called.”

  “What if we went with rainbow unicorns or some shit like that?” Paige asked.

  “Doesn’t matter to me,” Rolly said. “There’s no one left to tease me so why should I care?”

  “I dunno, I might have a few things to say,” I chuckled.

  “What, unicorns aren’t tough enough for you?” Anna teased.

  “I think they might be too tough for me,” I said with a grin. “I’ve got nothing on a unicorn. Those things are majestic and powerful.”

  “Sounds just like you,” Bailey said.

  “Yeah, and that’s not all you have in common with a unicorn,” Tara said.

  “Oh yeah?” I raised an eyebrow and glanced back at the platinum blonde.

  “I wouldn’t hesitate to ride either of you,” Tara said with a smirk.

  “Alright then,” Rolly cut in. “I think I’m gonna, uh… fall back a bit and watch our backs.”

  “Aw come on, don’t run off,” Bailey said.

  “Yeah, it’s probably better if we stay close,” I said.

  “I suppose, but can we please keep it to conversations everyone can enjoy?” Rolly grumbled.

  “I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything,” Tara said as she winked at me.

  Rolly groaned and rolled his eyes.

  “I’ve barely seen Tav this last week: I feel I am entitled to a few dirty jokes,” Paige said.

  “Can you please wait until I’m not around to tell them?” Rolly asked.

  “We promise that we’ll try,” Anna replied.

  “I’ll take that deal,” the handyman said with a wry smile.

  I chuckled, and the girls all broke into a fit of laughter. After that died down, the girls all went about trying to decide on what their team names should be.

  Rolly and I took the lead as the girls trailed behind us while they talked. The forest was thick, damp, and oppressive with the heat of summer, but we were used to trekking in the wilderness by now, and neither of us complained. About a half hour later, the girls seemed to reach an agreement and caught up with us.

  “You guys come to a decision?” Rolly asked.

  “Yeah, we got a couple badass team names picked out,” Paige said.

  “Let’s hear it then,” I said.

  “Alright, my team is Anvil and your team is Hammer,” Anna said.

  “That’s not too bad,” Rolly admitted. “Was thinking you’d probably go with something more with fantasy creatures.”

  “Oh, come on, we’re not twelve,” Bailey laughed.

  “Yeah, plus we wanted to keep them short and sweet,” Paige explained.

  “Well I like them,” I cut in. “They work well with our team dynamic and sound pretty tough.”

  “That was the hope,” Tara said.

  “I don’t know how often we’ll get to use them, but they’re fun nonetheless,” I said. Then I stopped and pulled out the map and my compass.

  “Looks like we’re about a mile out,” I said. “Let’s keep it quiet from here on out. I don’t know if they’ll have guys patrolling the treeline, but getting noticed now would be a death sentence.”

  “We’ll keep it zipped,” Anna assured me.

  I put the map away, and we continued on.

  Everyone kept their guns at the ready and their eyes open as we moved at a steady pace through the forest. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary as we advanced, and soon enough we circled around a small town and found ourselves on top of a ridge that overlooked a good sized schoolyard.

  Then we settled into the treeline, and I pulled out my binoculars.

  “Stay alert,” I whispered.

  The area was surrounded by an almost perfect square of chain-link fence. There was a single rolling gate protected by the two watch towers. The towers were about eight feet tall and each of them had a mounted 50-caliber machine gun facing the road that led the gate. Inside the fence was a large playground area and two buildings. The first was a multi-story brick schoolhouse with lots of windows and several entry doors. The second was a smaller building that looked to be a detached gymnasium.

  Most of the playground area was full of tents, tables, and a few firepits. The whole area seemed to be buzzing with activity as both the soldiers the civilians went about their daily duties.

  A perimeter of razor wire had been put up around the outside of the fence and there seemed to be two groups of two soldiers who did irregular patrols. One of the patrol groups was accompanied by a tough looking dog.

  “Dog might be a problem,” I sighed.

  “There is a dog?” Bailey asked. “Oh my god, I love dogs.”

  “Of course you do,” Tara snickered.

  I put the binoculars down and turned towards my team. “Alright here’s what I want to happen. Anna, you’re going to take your team and circle around so you can get a different angle on this place. I don’t want you guys to do anything but sit in the trees and observe. Try to keep an eye on the group with the dog. If they come out and patrol, retreat. The dog might be able to pick up your scent for far away.”

  “Got it,” Anna said.

  “When the sun starts to set, you make your way back over to us and we’ll go from there,” I continued.

  “What do we do if we run into trouble?” Paige asked.

  “If we stay quiet and stay hidden, we shouldn’t run into trouble, but if something happens, do not engage. Try to fall back and make your way to the truck. You think you could navigate back on your own or do you want the map?”

  “I’ll take the map,” Anna said. “I paid attention, but I don’t know how well I’d do under pressure.”

  I nodded and pulled out both the map and my compass. Once we had free time again, I needed to teach the girls how to
properly navigate using a compass and landmarks. A large part of my ranger training had been focused on navigation, landmark identification, and terrain traversal. The team could be a lot more flexible if I didn’t have to worry about anyone getting lost when we split up. After I passed them to Anna, I dropped down only my belly and grabbed the binoculars again.

  “Are we going to stay put?” Tara asked.

  “Yeah, I’d suggest getting comfortable,” I said.

  “Alright, Rolly, Bailey, you’re with me,” Anna said quietly. “Let’s go.”

  They waved goodbye and then disappeared into the trees behind us as they went to circle around.

  I stayed put with Paige and Tara. The girls had also decided to go prone around me, and I passed the binoculars off to them for a while.

  As we watched, the civilians were frequently beaten or yelled at by the soldiers for whatever reason, and we quickly noticed that there were no females anywhere to be seen.

  “I thought those guys we interrogated said that they had ladies here too,” Tara mused.

  “If I had to guess I’d say they were in the main building,” I said. “No reason to wear them out with physical labor when they could be used for other things.”

  “God, that’s a disgusting thought,” Paige groaned. “I can’t wait to give these bastards a load of shotgun to their fucking faces.”

  “Yeah, it’s hard to just sit here and watch,” Tara said.

  “You’ll get your chance for justice,” I said.

  “I hope you’re right,” Paige said. “There’s a lot of guys down there.”

  “That’s why we’re out here doing recon,” I said.

  “We already knew a lot of what we see though,” Tara said.

  “We didn’t know what the area looked like though, or how many patrols they had, or even if they had other trucks,” I said.

  “I guess that’s true,” Paige conceded.

  “Now let’s keep it quiet,” I said. “This might seem pointless now, but trust me when I say that if we get through this, it will be because of what we learned here today.”

  The girls nodded and shifted into a more comfortable position as we continued our watch.

  A couple hours later the sun began its slow descent through the sky. The day had been quiet, and the remaining soldiers hadn't left the comfort of their little fenced-in outpost. The tower gunners switched out once, and upon further observation it became clear to me that the guns were installed in such a way that they could easily be shifted to cover any necessary angle.