Shadow patriots, p.16
Shadow Patriots, page 16
Bassett sprayed another volley into a fleeing pickup. The men in the back screamed as bullets ripped through them. The truck continued to race forward. So, Bassett targeted the wheels with another barrage shredding both tires. The driver, his shirt soaked with blood, fell out of the cab to the ground.
Green and his companion Humvee came to a stop too far away for the camp’s small arms to adequately respond. He had his soldiers continue to shoot at the fleeing men.
The two flanking groups executed the classic Hammer & Anvil attack firing as they approached. They had their enemy pinned down. Some of the pickups and the transports caught on fire as tracer bullets tore through the gas tanks. The spreading smoke gagged the men who tried in vain to put up a fight. Within a few minutes, one of the volunteers waved a white flag.
Green hopped out of his truck and glanced up at Bassett, not bothering to contain his pleasure.
“These old men aren’t so tough now, are they?”
Bassett studied the men for a moment. “No sir, they’re not. I’d say they’re rather pitiful.”
Green watched from the side of his vehicle as his men moved in and took control of the situation. He had hoped for a bit more resistance so he could extract more vengeance for killing his two soldiers, but they had given up, so he’d have to take them prisoner and transport them back to base. He immediately recognized this was going to be a problem because there were a lot more men than he had anticipated.
Bassett still stood in the turret. “Major, look at them all.”
“Didn’t figure they’d be so many of them,” replied Green.
He directed his men to give medical attention to the wounded, then walked over to his prisoners sitting on the ground. Green noticed that despite the loss of their friends, these prisoners didn’t seem dejected. Perhaps it was an age thing, probably glad to be still alive after being shot at.
Green spoke up. “Who’s in charge here?”
No one responded.
Green showed little patience and reached for his sidearm. Pulling the Beretta M9 out, he walked up to one of the men and knelt to his level. Resting the gun on his right knee, he repeated the question. “Who’s in charge?”
“No one’s in charge,” the man answered defiantly. “We’re all free men. We come and go as we please.”
“What’s your name, old man?”
The man raised an eyebrow. “Old man?”
Green leaned closer. “Well, you’re older than me, so yes, it’s old man till I get a name.”
“It’s Bill Taylor.”
“Mr. Taylor, my name is Major Green, and you guys killed two of my soldiers yesterday.”
Taylor gave him a dismissive look. “Don’t know what you’re talking about, Major.”
Green snapped. “You don’t? You didn’t have anything to do with the attack on the Wisconsin Patriot Center yesterday?”
“My friends and I are just out here camping, trying to have a good time. That is till you came in shooting up the place.”
“Camping, huh? Why did some of your friends try to leave when we came?” demanded Green.
“Wouldn’t you, if you had the damn Army shooting at ya?”
His fellow prisoners chuckled.
“You have two of my transports here.”
“We found ‘em here. You should be more careful where you leave ‘em.”
More chuckles.
Green stood up. “Mr. Taylor, I do believe you’re trying to put one over on me. Tell me, why are you armed? You’re not supposed to have any firearms.”
“Can’t be too careful these days. I heard there’s a gang of killers on the loose.”
The men continued to snicker.
“And it’s our second amendment right to bear arms.”
“It was your second amendment right, Mr. Taylor. You and I know full well that’s no longer the case. No one is allowed to have guns.”
Taylor turned his head. “I didn’t vote for that. Did any of you guys vote for that?”
No’s could be heard from the prisoners.
“It wasn’t up for a vote. All of you are in violation of the Government’s ban on possessing firearms, and from what I can see, you’re the killers we’ve been hunting.”
Taylor spat on the ground. “So, you gonna execute us now?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You gonna kill us?”
“Of course not. Why would we do that?”
Taylor glared at him. “Well, it’s what you do, isn’t it?”
Green looked perplexed. “We’re going to take you in, and you’ll stand trial for your crimes.”
“Well, you got yourself a bit of a problem then, cuz you just shot up most of our vehicles, and we ain’t all gonna fit into those Humvees.”
“We’ll find some transportation.”
Green walked back to his Humvee and got on the radio. He was unable to report to Colonel Nunn because he had left for the meetings in Washington. So, he ordered some transport trucks to come out and pick up his prisoners.
Chapter 45
Davis Junction Illinois
A gun-wielding man was confronting Scar and Meeks, and their hearts were pounding like jackhammers. It was going to be up to Scar to get them out of this precarious predicament. As he studied Red Beard, he thought about his options. They could wait for the right moment, pull their pistols and shoot their way out, or just wait for Winters, who by now, was probably wondering what was taking them so long. He remained calm and decided to try and talk his way out. He was getting ready to speak when the door opened, and in walked the two guards from outside. Scar’s heart sank when he realized his task had just gotten twice as difficult.
These guys reminded Scar of Decker. They were the same type of low-life losers who thought of nothing but themselves. They would do anything for a buck, even if it meant killing people.
“What’s going on here?” asked Lazy Eye.
“Well, we’ve got ourselves a couple of liars,” said Red Beard. “This one is Steven Meeks. He was a star running back for Iowa back in the day, but he’s calling himself Steven Cuyler, and the other one says his name is Thomas Barnes.”
“I am Thomas Barnes,” Scar said defensively. “Meeks changed his name because of his notoriety. He didn’t want any special treatment. Hell, you even recognized his face. Most people only remember him by his unusual name before they start treating him differently. I understand why you guys are jumpy. We heard what happened in Iowa, which is why we didn’t ask. Plus, I’m kind of intimidated by a guy holding a gun on me, so would you mind pointing that thing somewhere else?”
“Yeah, put it down, man,” said the tattooed man behind the desk. “This is going to get handled anyway.”
Scar and Meeks both knew what the comment meant.
“Don’t worry yourself about these two guys,” said Lazy Eye.
“Yeah, you’re right,” said Red Beard with a sneer.
“Sorry about the confusion,” said Meeks reaching forward to the man and shaking his hand. “Had I known this would have caused so much trouble, I wouldn’t have bothered. You cool?”
“Yeah, it’s all good.”
Scar wanted an excuse to get outside to talk to Meeks. “Okay, I need a smoke now,” said Scar. “Anybody have a cigarette?”
The tattooed man got up from his desk and handed him one. He and Meeks walked out into the chilly air.
Meeks let out a deep breath. “That damn little leprechaun pointed his AR at my face.”
“Leprechaun?”
“Little short red-haired guy, all he needs is a green jumpsuit, and he’d be a dead ringer.”
“Don’t forget the pot of gold.”
Meeks let out a laugh.
Scar shook his head. “I can’t believe he remembered you.”
“No kidding, of all the time and places to get recognized, just as I’m putting down bullshit answers. Friggin amazing.”
Scar put the cigarette in his mouth, took out his lighter and lit it up. He inhaled the smoke, sucking it deep into his lungs.
“I think there’s five of them,” said Scar.
“You’d think they’d have extra guys on guard duty or something.”
“No doubt.”
“Unless there’s more people in the back. Although I’d think with all the yelling, they would have come to see what’s going on.”
“Kind of what I was thinking.”
“Well, what do you want to do?”
“We can’t leave now,” Scar responded as he took another pull off the cigarette. The smoke raced into his lungs as smooth as it did ten years ago before giving up his lifelong addiction.
Scar casually turned his body in the direction of Winters and Elliott, trying to locate them. A second later, the door opened and out walked one of the guards.
Chapter 46
Winters and Elliott lay on the ground next to an abandoned house. They continued to wait but wondered what was taking so long. They were relieved when Scar and Meeks stepped outside, but then a guard walked out and joined them.
Winters tried to ascertain what was happening by their interaction with the guard. He kept watching as Scar tossed his cigarette butt on the ground and snuff it out with his boot. They must have decided to do something else inside because Scar opened the door and held it for the guard and then Meeks. Scar put his hand on Meeks' shoulder and said something to him as they walked in.
As soon as the door closed, gunfire erupted.
Winters and Elliott both jumped up and ran across the street. As they reached the building, the door flew open. Both men stopped and pointed their pistols.
Scar timidly peeked around the door.
“Figured you’d come a running,” said Scar.
Winters tried to catch his breath. “What happened?”
“Oh, nothing much, except this one guy, recognized Meeks from his college football days.”
The three of them walked inside, stepping over the dead.
“Isn’t that right, Meeks?”
“What?”
“You being famous and all.”
Meeks hit his forehead with his hand. “Oh yeah, can you believe it? And I had just finished filling out the check-in form using a fake name.”
Scar grinned.
“But leave it to ole Scar here to come up with a whopper. You should have seen him in action, even demanding they get their guns out of his face. If I hadn’t been so nervous, I would have peed my pants from laughing so hard.”
“How’d you take them out?” asked Elliott.
“As we walked in, they were all facing away from us, so we pulled out our guns and boom, they're done for.”
“Yeah, that son-of-a-bitch went down first,” said Meeks, pointing to Red Beard.
“What now, Captain?” asked Elliott.
“No point in hiding the dead anymore, is there, Captain?” asked Meeks.
“No, can’t say there is, let’s get out of here,” said Winters.
“Only after we grab that beautiful American flag out front,” said Scar.
As the four of them walked back outside, they heard a vehicle come screaming down the street toward them.
They stood behind a car as a Ford F-150 skidded into the parking lot. The truck stopped and out jumped Nate.
“What’s happened? What are you doing here?” asked Winters.
“The damn friggin army came in and shot up our camp. They’ve got everyone prisoner.”
“When did this happen?” asked Winters.
“Just over an hour ago.”
“Anyone get killed?” asked Scar.
“Some did, not sure how many.”
Winters took off his hat and scratched his head. “They have everybody?”
“No. Burns, Murphy and I were still out getting supplies when they attacked. We were coming back when they moved across the field to the camp. Our guys weren’t able to put up much of a fight. After a minute or so, they waved a white flag.”
Elliott turned to Scar. “People actually do that? I thought that was just something from the movies.”
“Hell, with those M2’s blasting away,” said Scar. “I’d probably wave one too.”
Elliott turned back to Nate. “Did they execute them?”
“No, they didn’t. I’m not sure how they’re gonna move them all cuz they showed up in Humvees.”
Winters asked. “Where’s Burns and Murphy now?”
“They’re keeping an eye on things.”
Meeks broke in. “What are we going to do, Captain?”
Without hesitation, he answered. “We’re going to go get our men back.”
They turned to each other and nodded in agreement.
“That’s what I like about you, Captain,” said Meeks. “No fear, and you got our backs.”
Winters grunted to himself and swallowed hard. Little did they know how scared he was and worried about getting them back or if they would even succeed. All he knew for sure was he had to try to rescue his men.
They all headed for their vehicles.
Scar stopped. “Hold on a minute.”
He hustled back to the building, reached up and grabbed the big flag hanging by the door. “Now we can go.”
An hour later, the three vehicles were still speeding up the interstate. Nate took the lead, then Elliott and Winters, with Scar and Meeks bringing up the rear. Winters sat in the passenger seat and thought the only good thing about the lack of fuel and an ever-dwindling population was no traffic.
He tipped his head back and looked up at the roof, tapping his fingers on the seat. As fast as they were traveling, it wasn't fast enough. His thoughts raced from scenario to scenario that could be happening right now. They had to get them back, even if it meant dying. If he didn’t, he’d never be able to live with himself.
Nate slowed to exit the interstate. He didn’t bother obeying the stop sign and swung a hard right continuing north on a county highway. A few miles up, he turned into a field, which led them to the wooded area where Burns and Murphy kept an eye on the situation. After they parked their vehicles, Burns came out to meet them.
“Captain, am I ever glad Nate found you.”
Winters extended his hand to him. “So are we. What’s been happening?”
“They’ve just been waiting around. They shot up the transports, so we figure they had to send for some more.”
“How many killed?”
“Can’t say for sure, but quite a few, they’ve been burying them right there.”
They all walked further into the woods and found Murphy peering through a pair of binoculars. “Guys, you’re a sight for sore eyes,” he said, letting his binoculars fall to his chest. “Transport trucks just pulled in, and they’re loading up our guys.”
“Which way did they come from?” asked Winters.
Burns pointed. “From the south.”
They kept hidden from view as they watched what was going on.
“What’s our play, Captain?” asked Meeks.
Winters considered their predicament for a few moments. “Do we have that RPG with us?”
“In the back of my truck,” said Scar.
Meeks chuckled. “Never leave home without it.”
“Hell no.”
Chapter 47
Marquette County Wisconsin
Rescuing his men from the Army with only a seven-member team, Winters' options were limited. He decided once again to rely on a tactical ambush. They determined their best plan would be to intercept them before they got onto the interstate.
There was a huge warehouse next to the entrance ramp of I-39. Elliott crashed through the gate of the chain-link fence that surrounded the empty building. The parking lot wrapped around to the back of the building where they parked. They grabbed their weapons and walked through a narrow, wooded area onto the entrance ramp.
Scar scanned the ramp. “This will do, Captain.”
They split into two groups: Burns, Murphy, Elliott and Nate would take the tail end of the convoy, while Scar, Meeks and Winters took the lead. They all hid behind trees and waited.
The wait seemed endless to Meeks. “They are taking forever,” he complained.
“We’re not waiting for sports cars,” said Scar.
“Yeah, but still.”
It wasn't too much longer before the bellow of the engines echoed in the distance. The transports downshifted, and one by one, they took the turn onto the ramp. In the lead, as expected, was a Humvee followed by another. Behind them were five transports still turning onto the ramp. Bringing up the rear were the remaining Humvees.
Before the lead Humvee picked up speed, Scar carrying the AT4, ran onto the road about thirty yards in front of it.
The Humvee came to an abrupt halt. Winters and Meeks both ran up to the lead Humvees sticking their rifles into the rolled down windows.
Winters pointed his weapon right at Major Green’s face. “Don’t make a friggin move. My boy up there is itching to try out the RPG you so graciously left on the field for us.”
Green smirked. “RPG, huh? You sure he knows how to use that thing?”
“My, aren’t we pompous,” said Winters.
Green grunted.
“I want you to get out of the vehicle slowly. Major Green, is it?”
Green did as he was told. “So, you can read name tags. Funny, I don’t see one on you. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?”
“That’s not important right now. The important thing is, you’ve got my men, and I want them back.”
“You mean all those old men I had no trouble rounding up?”
“Yeah, well, you forgot a few of us, and it would seem we now have the upper hand.”
“At the moment, old man.”
“Tell your men not to make any threatening moves. If they do, I can assure you, you’ll be the first one I shoot.”
Green picked up the radio mic and did what he was told.
The Shadow Patriots jumped out of the transports and grabbed all the Colt M4's away from the soldiers. They then ordered them out and onto the ground.
Green gave him a scornful look. “Now what, old man, are you going to murder us like you’ve been doing?”
