A Private War (6 page)

"This is no time for jokes. God, it's good to see you!"

"Start digging under the wire from that side," Gaylon said as he pulled his Gerber knife and started to tear at the moist earth, "Did they hurt you at all?"

"Just some cuts and bruises, I'm ok."

“Did you hurt them back?”

“Yeah, killed one, wounded another!”

"Quiet, someone is coming!"

Gaylon reached into his vest, his hand touching a sharp piece of pointed metal. He positioned it in his hand and waited. A pirate walked around the corner of the fence and Gaylon came to his knees and threw. The black metal throwing star turned in the air and struck the man between the eyes. One point of the five pointed star driving deep into the man's brain. Dropping his gun, the pirate raised both hands to his face as he fell to his knees. A look of surprise was in his eyes as he pitched forward into the grass. Gaylon stared for a second and then returned to digging.

Between the two of them the hole was soon deep enough and Kate crawled on her back under the wire while Gaylon held it up as high as possible. Turning, Gaylon motioned to the others in the enclosure to follow. As the last of them made it to the tree line, Gaylon and Kate quickly followed. Dawn was several hours old when Gaylon and his party reached the safety of the town. The journey from the pirate camp had been strangely quiet, but Gaylon welcomed the return with a grateful prayer of thanks and smiled at Kate as they walked up the steps into Samuels Headquarters. Captain Samuels gave Kate a bear hug and patted Gaylon on the back.

"Damn, it's good to see you two. The patrol got back hours ago and said that they hadn't heard anything from you after you left them. Kate, are you, ok? Did they hurt you, because if they did I'll make them pay!"

"No, I'm, ok. Nothing that a little soap and water can't fix." Kate answered.

"Good! Now what the hell do you think you were doing!" Samuels roared.

"Just trying to help."

"Bullshit, you put people’s lives in danger by walking around like that and you know it. Damn it, Kate, you fucked up. No more side trips all by yourself, is that clear?!"

"Yes, father."

Samuels frowned and stared at Kate, then his eyes started to twinkle and a smile started to appear. "Yes, father, my ass." With that they all lost it and Samuels motioned Kate out the door. "Go to your room, you're grounded!"

"Yes, father."

Samuels wiped tears from his eyes as he walked over to the wall map and pointed to the location of the pirate camp. "I just had a team report about an hour ago, the pirates bugged out and from the signs it was a pretty quick move. They left some of their trucks, supplies, etc., and high tailed to the interstate as near as they could tell. Your little jail break must have set them off before I could drop some 105's on them. All my patrols are now carrying TAC sets with them. If we find them again I'm going to blow them off the face of the earth."

"Yeah, sorry about losing them again, but I had to get Kate and the others out. The ones we bought in were in pretty bad shape as it was." Gaylon explained, "But, we’ll find them again whether we like it or not."

"Right, so listen, go get some sleep and some chow and we'll talk more later. We've come up with something that might help cut them down to size."

Gaylon lay and listened to the sound of people in the hall outside his and Kate's room. The long hours of sleep had only slightly restored him and Gaylon felt that they would be short of peace and quiet in the months ahead. The size and number of the pirates had surprised him and the trucks and motorcycles meant that the pirates could move with great mobility. That was something that the town of Redway could not do with all the gasoline needed on the farms and what few armored vehicles that still worked. Gaylon reached over and shook Kate on the on the shoulder to wake her up, then reached for his clothes and guns from the nightstand by the bed. Sally had a big smile for Kate as she walked into the mess hall with Gaylon and she piled their plates high with fresh venison and potatoes. Captain Samuels waved them over to a table and began to tell them about the work at the local Technical College. The College had a large number of Agriculture students and the ones who had no homes to return to after the bombings had started to use the school plows to turn the big grassy areas around the school so they could grow crops. And by the time they were done they had turned it into a very productive farm. Months back it seems that Samuels had talked to the head of the school and asked him for their help in stopping the pirates. The science people stopped farming long enough to explain that Chlorine gas was the easiest thing that could be made with what was at hand and that could be used to kill large numbers quickly. Gaylon only nodded his head from time to time and asked about how it would be delivered and what protection the paramilitary would have. From his years in the US Military, Gaylon knew all about gas and gas attacks. He remembered his own hours in the hot chemical warfare suit and shuddered. But, it was now a war of survival and emotions had to be pushed aside if they were survive the coming struggle. Samuels had been able to get all the gas masks they needed from the local Army Surplus store and local reserve units and the school was filling grenades, artillery shells, and pressure bottles with the chlorine gas. All Kate could think about was that the pirates were in for a hell of a surprise. Captain Samuels began pulling out maps as Gaylon and Kate walked into the headquarters after they had all finished eating at the mess hall. For the first time Gaylon could see a light in Samuels eyes and he started to hope too. But even with the gas they would need more men and from what he was being told it looked to him that he was being volunteered for the job of contacting the nearby towns for help. The town of Austin was twenty miles away and Gaylon would have to travel quickly if he was to get the help the town needed and Gaylon was used to long hikes and told Samuels that he would be ready in the morning.  After the escape from the pirates he was not going to let Kate out of his sight after the last time and he thought that he might as well stop fighting it. Plus on such a long trip, it would be easier to watch out for pirates with an extra pair of eyes. Kate kissed Gaylon on the side of the neck and told him that he was finally getting the idea at last. Kate walked back to the mess hall and left Gaylon and Samuels with the details of the trip to Austin. She had been to Austin a few times with her family, but that was about all she could remember about the town other than it was larger then Redway and the county seat. As the cold wind blew leaves and bit of paper between her legs, Kate pulled her coat closer around her neck.

The weather was turning much colder then it had been last year at the same time and as she looked at the fast moving clouds she wondered what the coming winter would bring with it. Could the war have caused the weather to change for good or would the radioactive fallout high in the upper atmosphere cause more light to be reflected back into space. The thought chilled Kate more than the cold and she quickened her pace for the warmth of her room and a hot bath.

Gaylon carefully packed the Alice pack that he had checked out of stores. The trip to Austin would take several days and he wanted to be able to carry enough supplies for the trip and any additional ammo that might be needed. He sent Kate down to the armory for a new M-4 rifle and any other firepower that she thought she might need. The only thing that he had told her was to get a handgun and a holster for it, but knowing her, she would pick up the biggest thing she could find. Gaylon checked over the compact backpacking stove and stored it with the small mess kit. He wondered if the supplies that Sally had given he would taste better than some of the cardboard meals that he had eaten on the trail before. As Kate walked in, the first thing he noticed was the gun slung across her shoulder. An HK MP5SK (SK for short stock) with a suppressor, not exactly what he had in mind when he sent her to get a new gun.

"What's with the MP5? I thought you were going to get a rifle to replace the one you lost," Gaylon asked, "You still need a handgun.”

"Got that too, see!" Kate stated and reached under her coat and pulled out a small gun," it's a Ruger Mark I with a silencer in the barrel. Captain Samuels showed it to me and said it might come in handy in a tight situation. He used one like it in Iraq during some of his patrols. And the HK MP5SK is a 9MM, just like the Glock 17 you got at the Armory so we can use the same ammo; plus it's light and deadly out to hundred yards. The suppressor screws off and it doesn't cut down on the velocity of the bullet. Beside that I did get an M-4, the Armory wanted to scope it and sight it in first. They also gave me a shoulder rig for the MP5 so I can wear it under my coat. It should give someone a nasty surprise!"

"Good point, you about packed?"

"Yes, Sally helped me with mine before I went to the armory."

"Did Samuels tell you that we are taking some samples of the gas with us to Austin to show them what it can do. So you'll have to carry a mask, too."

"Yeah, he told me, I have it in my pack. Do you really think that these few grenades and some pressure bottles are going to get the help we need?"

"All we can do is try."

The first flakes of winter were falling the next morning as Gaylon and Kate walked toward the headquarters building to say good-bye to Captain Samuels. Kate looked at the falling snow and hoped that it wasn't a sight of what was ahead and that it wasn't going to get worse on the long walk ahead. If only they still had the weather satellites and the people to use them, but the war took care of that. There were no smiling weathermen on the six o'clock news and no more storm warnings at least not for many years to come. Gaylon pulled his coat up around his neck and pulled on the shoulder straps of his pack to adjust the weight. Gaylon looked at the falling snow and frowned.

"Shit, that's all we need!"

The snow would make it easy for the pirates to track them. But on the other hand it would also keep them close to their camp fires. As Gaylon walked up the steps of the building, Kate could still hear him cursing under his breath.

"Kate, you sure I can't talk you out of this trip. With the snow coming down this hard it's going to be a long trip in the cold." Gaylon asked, "I'm not real crazy about it myself right now."

"Gaylon, don't even try. Like you said, it's going to be a long trip and I don't want to start it by fighting with you. I'm going, ok?!"

“Yes, madam."

Captain Samuels smiled as they walked in and dropped their packs, then handed both of them a hot cup of Chicory based Coffee. Kate brushed the snow from her hair and sipped the hot brew.

"Gaylon, I hate to still send you both out in this, but this trip is too important. And don't forgot to contact the men I told you about from the 82nd and 101st. I heard they were home on leave the night of the war and should still be alive. Knowing John Peters, he should be heading up the defenses around Austin. Specially get in touch with him, I know he'll help you all he can." Samuels explained as he watched the falling snow.

"We'll contact him as soon as we get there, anything else?"

"Yes, be careful, both of you and stay in touch by radio using CW and PSK31."

"Don't worry, we'll will, and we'll get the men we need somehow," Gaylon said as he shook Samuels hand good-bye. Lifting the Alice pack back on his shoulders again, he then helped Kate with hears and walked out into the falling snow. Kate kissed Samuels on the cheek,

"Like the man said, don't worry about us. We've been through worse then a little snow. So tell Sally to keep the coffee on." Kate waved and followed Gaylon as Samuels turned back to the window and stared into the falling snow, a prayer on his lips.

Gaylon scanned the trees ahead for any signs of the pirates. The day was passing quickly and he wanted to find a safe place for the night. Sighting a good spot he pointed it out to Kate, and then began to take off his pack. In a thick grove of evergreens was a small clearing just big enough for their self supporting tent and the overhanging branches cut out most of the cold wind and snow. As Gaylon began to assemble the tent, Kate cut brushes to lay under it to insulate them from the cold ground. More would be used to cover the tent for camouflage and add more insulation. Finished cutting the branches, Kate cleared the snow from the ground as best she could with the side of her boot and laid out the evergreens in an overlapping pattern. Spreading out the tent under the overhanging branches, Gaylon quickly placed the tent’s canvas bottom where he wanted the tent opening to be and popped up the support poles in their assigned places and in a matter of minutes the tent was assembled. Helping Kate, Gaylon placed more branches over the tent and placed the packs inside, being careful to brush off the snow first. Then taking another branch, Gaylon walked out of the trees and brushed away their tracks as best he could. By the time Gaylon got back, Kate had the pack stove lit and was melting a pan full of snow for hot water and the sleeping bags were laid out on their pads.

"Where did you learn to snow camp so well?" Gaylon asked, "I didn't have to tell you a thing. Have you ever done any climbing or anything like that?"

"I went with a group of friends to Colorado a few years ago and we did some climbing in Estes Park. There was still deep snow and it was cold as hell, but it was a lot of fun. The snow made everything so beautiful."

"I know the feeling. I've been there, too. I also did some time in Alaska when I was in the Air Force years ago. I always wanted to go back, but my wife was a city girl and she couldn't stand camping in the sticks. That was one of the reasons I built Granite House, so I could get away from everything and just enjoy life. I’d spend most of my life in the country and I hate the city. My wife and I were a pretty strange pair, I guess, but I liked it," Gaylon explained and then turned to his pack and left Kate in silence. Later as Gaylon stirred the contents in their stew pot, he thought back on his life and found that even with all the death that had come with the war, he was happy. He had found the woman who he loved, work that he was the best at and a valued place in the town. All his life he had been an outcast and a loner with few friends, and a job that moved him and his wife every few years. But he had enjoyed his work and advanced far before the War. He had been on leave when he decided to get out and become a civilian again. He thought at first of trying his hand as an instructor at one of the many Intelligence/Security schools. He had already even been asked to be a consultant within some of the current elite Security Agencies that became big after 9/11. Later on he thought he would then open one of his own and do direct consulting with the many government agencies dealing in Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism. With the money he had already saved he built Granite House and stocked it as best he could. And it turned out that not having to put up walls and a roof like a regular house had saved him funds for other things like the Maintenance Bay and the Greenhouse. Seeing Gaylon lost in thought, Kate reached under her coat and pulled out a paper bag.