Without Law 5

by Eric Vall

  “What if we used animal sounds or something?” Bailey asked.

  “We’d still have to do it loud enough to be heard all the way across the schoolyard, and that would draw suspicion,” I explained.

  “Alright, so we’ll just try to take out our patrol where you said,” Anna confirmed.

  “Good,” I said with a nod. “Make sure you keep their lanterns lit, if one of them goes out unexpectedly it could give away our position and leave us in the open.”

  “What if one does go out?” Paige asked with a bit of concern in her voice.

  “Then you relight it as quickly as you can,” I said. “And try to keep the other one closer to anyone who might see.”

  Anna and Paige nodded.

  “What are we going to do about the dog?” Tara asked.

  “We’re going to lure it out with food,” I said. “This afternoon you and I are going to head into the woods and see if we can find some rabbits, foxes, or any other small game. Once it gets dark and we’re ready, we can cut them open and toss them down by the fence to get the dog's attention. That should draw it, and its handlers, out towards us. Once they go to investigate we take out the patrolmen and lure the dog off into the woods. We’ll tie him up and leave him with some meat so that he’ll stay quiet.”

  “I’m really glad we don’t have to kill the dog,” Bailey said.

  “Well, once the fights over, we’ll go back and see how he’s doing,” I said. “If he doesn’t follow my orders then we might have to put him down.”

  “That’s awful!” the blonde hippie exclaimed.

  “Well we can’t keep a dangerous dog around,” Anna said.

  “Yeah, but still,” Bailey pouted.

  “Don’t worry, I'm going to do all I can to try to get him to play nice,” I said. “I think it’d be fun to have a dog on the team.”

  “Me too,” Paige said. “They are all fluffy and great.”

  “Well I hope it’s well behaved,” Tara said. “I don’t want it jumping on me and licking my face and stuff. That’s so gross.”

  “What are you talking about, dogs are always adorable,” Anna said.

  “Only if they’re well behaved,” Tara replied.

  “I’ll love it regardless,” Paige said. “Puppers and doggos are pretty much the best.”

  “Dogs are great, but that’s not what we need to be talking about right now,” I said with a grin.

  “Right, sorry, the plan,” Anna said.

  “Please continue,” Paige added.

  “Alright, so once the patrols are down the next thing we need to do is get through or over the fence. Cutting through is going to be a much quieter option, so I’d take the bolt cutters and snip just enough of the links to let you guys push into the school yard.”

  “That’s when we head for the towers, right?” Bailey asked.

  “Yeah, after the patrolmen are down we have to take down those big guns. They are by far the biggest threat to our safety,” I said.

  “Then I’ll stay in the tower right?” Bailey asked.

  I nodded. “Yes, you and Rolly will each take a tower position.”

  “I’m on SAW duty then, right?” Anna grinned.

  “Yup,” I said. “I want you locked in on that main building. Nobody in or out.”

  Anna nodded with a determined look on her face.

  “Tara, Paige, and I will take out any other resistance left inside,” I said.

  “Why can’t we attack from far off?” Bailey asked. “I could easily pick them off with my new rifle.” She smiled and gave her new toy a pat.

  “We’re not looking for a firefight,” I said. “If we attack from far off, it will give them the opportunity to react and fire back at us. We have to take out those 50 cals in the towers first. Plus, there are civilians in this area and some might still be out in the yard when we strike.”

  “That makes sense,” she said. “I guess I’m just excited to use my new gun.”

  “Nothing wrong with that,” I said. “We just have to make sure we use it at the right time.”

  “I was hoping all the civilians would be in the buildings by the time we opened fire,” Bailey said with a sad tone. “I don’t want to hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it.”

  I turned around to meet her eyes. “You’re one of the best shots I’ve ever seen. Have faith in yourself.”

  “Thanks Tav.” She blushed. “Is there anything we can do about the civilians?”

  “Unfortunately not,” I said as I shook my head. “At least not until we can get in there and let them know we’re here to help. It’s likely that these guys will try to head indoors and probably leave the civilians unguarded. Just make sure to only take out those in uniform.”

  Everyone nodded.

  “I hope they understand we’re here to help them,” Paige said. “From what you guys said about how Dan was when you first met him, I don’t know if they’ll believe us right away.”

  “Yeah,” Anna said, “they could think we’re here to just try to take over the camp.”

  “Dan warmed up to us alright,” Rolly chimed in. “I’m sure these guys will accept our help with open arms. I know I would if I were in their position.”

  “They also don’t really have any way to fight back,” I said. “These guys have done a number on them. They might be wary of us, but they’ll be more worried about getting out of the way than trying to fight back. Especially when they see we’re taking down the guards and leaving them alone.”

  “Good point,” Tara said.

  The others nodded their agreement.

  We walked in silence for a while, and I played the plan over in my mind. It would take some finesse, but I knew my team and I was confident we would all make it out of this alive.

  It was Paige who broke the silence.

  “What we will do after the fight is over?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” Bailey chimed in. “They have quite a few civilians. What are we going to do with them?”

  I thought for a moment, then asked “what do you think we should do?”

  “Well, they can’t stay with us,” Tara said.

  The other girls scoffed.

  “What?” Tara said with a shrug. “They could maybe stay for a while, but they can’t stay with us forever.”

  Anna sighed. “I think she’s right.”

  “Well we should at least do what we can to help them,” Bailey chimed in.

  “We will,” I said. “But that doesn’t mean they have to live with us.”

  “Yeah,” Paige said. “We can teach them to hunt and protect themselves just like how Tav taught us.”

  “That’s true,” Bailey said. “It’s probably better if they know how to do things for themselves anyways.”

  “Right,” I responded. “We may have made it our mission to keep this area safe, but if we continue to build relationships with good people, we can create a strong enough community to stand up to any aggressors.”

  “Seems like we’ll need it if we keep running into assholes like those Canadians,” Rolly said.

  “When we took out the bikers we eliminated a threat, but they weren’t just a threat to us,” I said. “Taking them out made it easier for other bad people to move in and take their place.”

  “Well this place should have a decent amount of firepower,” Anna said. “We can leave some with the civilians and teach them how to use them properly.”

  “Then they’ll be able to protect this place,” Paige agreed.

  “Plus, learning to shoot is, like, really fun,” Tara said with a grin.

  “What if all the civilians aren’t good people?” Bailey asked quietly.

  The group fell silent for a moment.

  “We’ll talk to the group before we make any decisions,” I said. “But remember, they’ve been through a lot and they might be hesitant at first.”

  As we walked, I saw the sign I was looking for, a notch in the tree I had made on our last trek through the woods. We had reached th
e halfway mark to the outpost.

  “Alright,” I said as I turned to the group. “Let’s go find some bait so we can keep that cute puppy alive.”

  The girls smiled and followed me as I changed our direction.

  I led the group through the dense forest as we looked for signs of wildlife.

  “I don’t see why we can’t, like, bait the dog using some of our food,” Tara said.

  “Our food isn’t going to seem nearly as appetizing as fresh meat,” I laughed.

  “I guess,” she said, and trudged along.

  Paige, on the other hand, was always excited about a good hunt. She walked next to me and scanned the forest intently, and the sunlight reflected slightly off her large framed glasses.

  “Besides,” Paige said, “This will give you a chance to use that new silenced pistol you got.”

  “I forgot about that,” Tara said with a grin. “I am pretty excited to use this thing.”

  “Now you’re even more of a ninja,” Bailey said with a smile.

  “Maybe we can even find you one of those black outfits at a halloween store sometime,” Anna joked.

  “Ew,” Tara said. “I wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those things, even for Halloween.”

  “Let me guess, all you wore for Halloween was some lingerie and bunny ears?” Paige laughed.

  Tara looked at me and raised an eyebrow, and I was reminded of her outfit when we had spent the night at the cabin. I smiled as I thought about how sexy she looked with that bunny tail in her ass.

  “It’s not my fault I look cute in lingerie,” Tara retorted.

  “I don’t think cute was the goal,” Anna said.

  “Well what were you for Halloween then?” Tara laughed. “Micheal Phelps?”

  “Is that the only pro athlete you know?” Paige laughed.

  “Maybe,” Tara laughed back.

  “Actually, last year I was Freddy Kreuger,” Anna said with a wry smile.

  “Freddy Kreuger?” Tara laughed.

  “What, I used to watch a lot of horror films,” Anna shrugged. “What about you Paige, who were you last Halloween?”

  “I was Ruth Bader Ginsberg,” Paige said with a smile.

  “Wow, that’s lame,” Tara said. “We’re definitely gonna have to raid a Halloween store now.”

  “What about you Bailey?” Anna asked.

  “Oh, uh, I don’t know,” Bailey said.

  “Come on, it can’t be worse than Paige’s costume,” Tara said.

  “Hey,” Paige said as she reached back to smack Tara on the arm.

  “You gotta tell us,” Anna pushed.

  “Oh, alright. I was uh, well, I was Harley Quinn,” she said as she blushed.

  “What!” Tara exclaimed. “Like with the crop top and booty shorts?”

  “Yeah,” Bailey said as she blushed harder.

  “Damn girl, I didn’t expect that,” Anna said.

  “I did,” Tara said with a grin. “I always figured Bailey had a wild side.”

  The cute blonde hippie blushed even harder.

  “Why don’t we just ask Tav,” Paige snickered. “I’m sure he could tell us all about it.”

  “Easy ladies,” I chuckled. “Let’s just focus on the task at hand.”

  “Thank God,” Rolly groaned.

  The group grew quiet as we walked deeper into the woods. I had seen a few birds and some signs of rabbits so far, but those would be hard to kill without making noise, even with Tara’s silencer.

  Finally I saw what I was looking for. Up to my left I could see a trail of sorts, and I knelt down to see what kind of animal we were dealing with. Paige knelt beside me.

  “They look like dog tracks,” she said. “But after seeing those wolves we took down these tracks seem too small for that. Do you think more dogs made their way into the woods from town?”

  “No,” I said as I shook my head. “These are probably coyote tracks.”

  “They aren’t really soft around the edges,” Paige said. “They’re probably less than a day old.”

  “Spot on,” I said as I smiled at her, and then we stood up and walked over to the others.

  “What did you find?” Bailey asked.

  “Tav thinks they’re coyote tracks,” Paige said.

  “So we’re hunting more dogs?” Bailey asked with a frown.

  “Yeah,” Tara said as her eyebrows went down, “Isn’t it kind of fucked up to feed a dog to another dog?”

  “Trust me, coyotes aren’t your average cute, friendly domestic dog,” I said with a chuckle. “Think of them more like smaller wolves.”

  “I guess those wolves did want to eat us,” Bailey said.

  “Coyotes are pretty nasty things too,” I continued. “They’re scavengers and will pretty much eat anything they can find. They aren’t the best hunters.”

  “Sounds like this should be easy then,” Anna chimed in.

  “Don’t get too cocky now,” I told her with a raised eyebrow.

  “Right, sorry,” she said.

  “So how are we going to find this thing, chief?” Rolly asked.

  “Well, we’re going to follow the tracks and see where they lead us,” I said. “Coyotes mostly travel in packs so stay close together and cover each other’s backs.”

  “Can do,” Rolly said.

  “Let’s try to give Tara the shot with her silencer,” I said. “But if we get into trouble, don’t hesitate to fire your weapon to save yourself or one another.”

  “Understood,” Anna said.

  I looked at the team in front of me. Each of my girls had a determined look on their faces. Rolly had a slight smile on his face that exaggerated his wrinkles, and everyone looked fierce all kitted out. I couldn’t help but feel proud of them already, and I was briefly reminded of what the group was like when we first met.

  “Lead the way, chief,” Rolly said.

  “Oh no,” I said. “Paige can lead us.”

  “Really?” She asked.

  “Yup,” I said. “You’re a strong hunter, and I’ll be right behind you to watch your back.”

  “Thanks,” Paige said, and her eyes grew bright as she smiled. “Well then, let’s go.”

  We all pulled out our weapons and kept them low while Paige led us down the coyote trail. I was right behind her, followed closely by Rolly and Tara. Bailey brought up the rear, which would work to our advantage. She was our best long shot, and if we got taken by surprise, I trusted her to eliminate the target.

  Paige did a good job tracking. She spotted each sign of where the animal had been and was able to lead us in the right direction. I was ready to step in if necessary, but she was well prepared.

  We soon approached what appeared to be a small break in the trees, and Paige turned and motioned for us to stay silent. Then she crouched at the treeline and waved her hand for us to follow.

  We stayed low to the ground as we took in our targets. There were three brown furred coyotes feasting on something dead. It looked like a large bird they had all but ripped apart. Two of them munched on the body of the bird from either end, while the third sat off to the side eating what I assumed was once the birds head.

  I looked at Tara, and she nodded at me before she stood up. Everyone else spread out some and held their weapons up, but I grabbed Rolly’s shoulder before he made it far and gestured for him to turn around and watch our backs.

  Once all our bases were covered, we waited for Tara to take the shot, but then she looked over at me and bit her lip.

  “You got this,” I mouthed silently to her.

  Tara nodded, took a deep breath, and raised her new silenced pistol. A second later the first coyote in the group of two went down with a bullet to the skull. The second also took a bullet in the head and slumped over the dead bird, its blood only adding to the carnage underneath him.

  I saw Tara try to line up a shot on the third one, but the abrupt ending of his comrades chewing and tearing must have tipped him off, and he made a bolt into the forest
.

  I looked over to see Tara trying to get a view of it through the trees.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said as I put my pistol away.

  “Are you sure?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Coyotes are pretty fearful of humans, he won’t come back this way while we’re here.”

  She shrugged and put her silent pistol back in its holster.

  “Nice shot,” Paige said to Tara with a grin.

  “Thanks,” Tara returned the grin. “Nice tracking.”

  “You both did great,” I said to the girls as I put a hand on each of their shoulders, and then turned to address the whole group. “All of you did.”

  “Yeah, nice job everyone,” Anna congratulated with a smile.

  “Aw, Tara and Paige did all the real work here,” Rolly said with a smile. “Good job ladies.”

  “They’re right,” I said. “You two did a great job. But it’s important to remember that we’re a team.”

  “Yeah,” Paige said. “Thanks for watching my back while we tracked.”

  “And mine while I took those tiny wolves down,” Tara grinned.

  “Alright, let’s get these tiny wolves ready to go,” I laughed.

  Paige and Anna started to grab some rope from their packs to tie up the coyotes while Rolly and I brought the beasts closer to the group.

  “Who’s going to carry them?” Tara asked.

  “I’ll carry one,” I said. “But I think someone else will have to carry the other.”

  “I can do it,” Rolly said.

  “Nah, Rolly, let me,” Paige said as she smiled at the old man.

  “You sure?” he asked.

  “Of course,” she smiled.

  “Well alright then,” he said. “But you’re gonna get some use out of me before the days end.”

  “That’s the plan,” I said as I clapped him on the shoulder.

  Anna and Paige finished making the rope harnesses for the coyotes, and we took a couple minutes to grab a drink of water after we tied them to our packs.

  I looked over and saw Bailey staring into the woods with her water in her hand.

  “How ya holding up,” I asked as I moved to stand by her.

  “I’m just nervous,” she said. “I didn’t feel very useful taking down the coyotes and I’m just worried that I won’t be very useful at the outpost either.”