Reckoning ~ Indian Hill 2 ~ A Michael Talbot Adventure (23 page)

Her stare softened but she did not apologize. She stiffly turned and began to walk away from the whole scene baby in arms, with Bennett and the sergeant major in tow. Sergeant Bolito stood stock still as he watched the four fading figures.

“Sergeant, you can’t just let them go.”

“Well, Corporal Faulk, what would you have me do? Should I run up to them and shoot them down? Tell you what, if you’re so motivated, why don’t you go do it? Stand back far enough though, that you don’t get any blood on you.” The corporal quickly broke eye contact and stepped back a few paces. “Does anyone else have any suggestions? I know I had direct orders; and I alone will pay for disobeying them.”

The squad headed back to the fort with the bodies of the slain Guardsmen, and the woman. The sergeant would see to it that they all received a proper burial.

***

“Sir!” The excited private exclaimed as he broke into the command tent.

“Yes, private?” A tired Paul looked up from reports that his long range scouts had submitted. And none of them were good.

'Who feared the aliens when we were doing ourselves in?' Paul thought. Wide scale looting and rioting had become the norm in the States. And everywhere else for that matter, at least, based on the reports they heard on the short-wave radios. With the collapse of the infrastructure, people were dying by the millions from the ensuing anarchy.

Super gangs sprang up like wild fire. Paul believed they were already established gangs whose membership was doubling, almost daily. Paul figured, at that rate, they’d have to start attacking themselves soon, because there would be no one left to terrorize.

Most of the police had disbanded to protect and serve their own families. The few wearing the shield that were left mostly holed themselves up in their precinct buildings. If you could get to the station, you could claim sanctuary. The big “if” was getting to the station. The gangs had become so brazen, they were known to wait outside of the station to ambush any unsuspecting victims. The National Guard were not much better. They were spread so thin as to become wholly ineffective. Most, like the ones at the Stop and Shop, were only concerned with taking care of their friends and families.

“Sir, Sergeant Bolito’s party is arriving back.”

“Thank you, Private. You’re dismissed,” Paul said without ever glancing up from his reports. The private, however, didn’t leave.

“Uh, sir?” the private said hesitantly. Paul looked up from his papers.

“Well, what is it, Private?”

“Sir, they have casualties with them.” Paul rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

“Private, when Sergeant Bolito enters into the fort, please have him report to me. Thank you. Dismissed.”

“Sir, yes, sir.” The private departed as quickly as he had arrived.

Paul, not for the first time, began to wonder if what he had done to Mike had been the right call, he just couldn’t see any other choice in the matter. Thankfully, Sergeant Bolito arrived more quickly than anticipated, preventing any more fruitless thought on the matter. Sergeant Bolito knocked on the outer office door.

“Sir, Sergeant Bolito, reporting as ordered.”

“Enter Sergeant, and at ease. Take a seat. I’m sorry about sending you out on this mission, it was something that had to be done.”

“Sir, I let them go.” Paul looked over quickly at the sergeant.  Disbelief consumed his face for a minute, he quickly recomposed himself.

“Sergeant, I gave you a direct order. I was very explicit on the results I was expecting.” Now Paul’s face registered surprise. “So who, Sergeant, are the casualties I was told that you are carrying?” Now it was the sergeant’s turn to look tired.

“Sir, there was an accident. One of my men thought the Guardsman had a weapon and he opened fire, killing the Guardsman and his wife. In the ensuing melee, two of the Guardsmen overpowered one of my men, killing him. My men returned fire, killing the two transgressors.”

“This gets better and better, Sergeant! You fucked this little mission up royally! And on top of it all, you let them go. Whom, exactly, did you let go?”

Sergeant Bolito had never seen the colonel quite this riled up. He wondered if a firing squad might not be that far off in his near future.

“Sir, there was a Guardsman named Bennett.” Paul remembered him. No one too noteworthy, maybe a little shifty, but not too serious a threat. “The surviving woman,” the sergeant continued, “and the kid from the deceased parents.”

Nothing too serious. Paul doubted they could survive the week out on the streets, especially without any firearms. “And the sergeant major.” Paul was seriously pissed now. You don’t become a “top” in the military, unless you know your stuff. That man might have made a mistake regarding his store, but he was far from a pushover.
             

“Of all the people you should have let go, Sergeant, the sergeant major was definitely not among them. How much does he know, Sergeant?”

“Sir?” The sergeant looked perplexed.

“Sergeant! I know you tried to persuade him to come back here. How much does he know!” Paul rose and slammed his fists down on his desk, sending several pencils bouncing to the floor. The sergeant jumped a little in his seat at the sudden outburst. He felt the need to answer the colonel but he couldn’t find the right words.

“By your silence, Sergeant, I’m under the impression he knows more now than he did this morning. Private Cooley! Get in here!” Paul's aide, Private Cooley, who was listening to most of their conversation, was only a few steps away from the door when summoned.

“Sir?” the stocky built private replied, trying his best to look like he was completely out of the loop on this one.

“Private, stop looking at me like you don’t have a clue what is going on here. I want you to tell Major Salazar to assemble twenty-five of his best men, quickly. And when they are ready, have him report to me!” The private turned to obey his orders. “Private?” The private skidded to a stop.

“Sir?”

“I want all of this to happen in the next ten minutes; understood?”

“Sir, yes, sir, ten minutes.” Paul could hear his outer office door slam shut as the private raced through.

“Sir, how much of a threat can two men, a woman and a baby be?” the sergeant inquired. His attempt at damage control was, unfortunately, a little too late.

“Sergeant, I’m not even going to begin to tell you how much jeopardy you have put this fort in. The lives of five thousand people were already hinging on the head of a pen; but apparently you felt those odds were too great. You thought that maybe on the head of a pin would be a little more exciting.

“What if they tell somebody? Maybe one of these super gangs? Not that I’m worried about them all that much, but don’t you think that somebody else might notice all that gunplay going on? If the aliens get even a hint or a whiff of this place, we’re toast. Their main objective is military installations, no matter how big or small. They even destroyed bases that were inactive. Now if that doesn’t show thoroughness, I don’t know what does."

“Sergeant, I sent you on a shitty mission, but a mission that I trusted you to complete. I expected you to realize the importance of our continued secrecy. I care about every member of the UEMC, but even my long range scouts know that this is pretty much the last bastion of human existence. The shit is hitting the fan all across the globe. What the aliens didn’t finish off, man is taking care of. My scouts carry implants in their teeth in case they are captured; so they can instantly kill themselves."

“And don’t get any illusions that it is not a severely painful way to die. There is no antidote, but every one of them, among the finest of my men, has sworn that he would rather die than divulge any information regarding this installation. Sergeant, your mission was a direct order, the sacrifice of the few for the safety of the many.”

“Sir, Major Salazar reporting as ordered.”

“Come on in, Major” Paul motioned with his hand.

“This had better be good, Colonel. I was right in the middle of my physical fitness routine.” Frank could see that his attempt at levity wasn’t warmly accepted. The colonel dismissed the remark.

“Major, Sergeant Bolito here has made a very large error in judgment.” The major looked sidelong at the sergeant and noticed the fine lines of sweat that were racing down his cheeks.

“Sir?” Frank asked, looking back towards the general.

“The sergeant let four prisoners go,” Paul answered.

“Son,” The major said as he looked down on the still seated sergeant. “What did you do that for?” The sergeant didn’t have an answer for the colonel, nor did he have one for the major.

“What do you want me to do, sir?” Frank asked, looking back towards Paul.

“I want them back, alive if, and I stress ‘if,’ possible; otherwise, dead. There are two men, a woman and a baby.”

“A baby?”

“Yes! I’m not thrilled about this myself. First, try to persuade them to come back. But I cannot tolerate them running around out there with any knowledge of this installation.”

“Alright, sir. My men are assembled and ready to go.”

“Major, they have about a half hour lead on you, but as of right now, they are unarmed. Last known contact was approaching the Norwood line by way of the in-town train lines. And one more thing, one of the men is a top.”

“Son of a bitch! That pretty much means they’re not going to roll over and die for us.”

“Not only that, but I’ve got to assume he knows I’m going to send out another detail for them. He has a half hour lead, but with a civilian and a baby, I don’t see them making too much progress.”

“Sir, we will do our best to recover them.”

“I hope so. The fate of our very existence could depend on it.” Frank nodded quickly and headed out the door almost as rapidly as the private.

“Private Cooley! I know you’re outside the door. Go get the sergeant-of-arms and have him report here immediately.”

“Right away!” came the response from the other side of the door.

Paul sat back down and began reading his scout reports as if the last fifteen minutes never even happened. Rage welled inside of him. He was afraid that if the sergeant-of-arms didn’t arrive quickly, he would pull out his sidearm and put a bullet in the sergeant’s leg. Or somewhere equally as painful, but not necessarily lethal.

The sergeant sat stock still, afraid the slightest movement might incur the colonel’s wrath again. The sergeant-of-arms arrived minutes later, wearing his BDU’s with campaign cover and duty belt as was customary for all personnel on guard duty.  After saluting Paul, the sergeant-of-arms spoke.

“Sir, Staff Sergeant Burkett, reporting as ordered.”

“Staff Sergeant, I want this man confined to his quarters. I want two guards on watch twenty-four hours a day, until I can figure out what to do with him.”

“Sir, as is customary, per Order 22, Article 7b, I must ask what this man has been charged with before I can place him under arrest.”

“Staff Sergeant Burkett, Sergeant Bolito is being charged with the crime of treason.” Shock registered on the staff sergeant’s face since the most serious crime he had seen committed was the occasional fisticuffs. Treason? That was a whole other matter.

The staff sergeant removed his weapon and aimed it squarely at the sergeant’s back. “Sergeant Bolito, you have been charged with the crime of treason. I want you to stand slowly and remove your holstered weapon. I then want you to turn all of your pockets inside out. And while you are doing this, Sergeant, I want you to realize that I have a fully loaded nine millimeter aimed at you.”

The sergeant rose stiffly. His violent shaking hindered his ability to undo his holster. He feared if he didn’t hurry, the staff sergeant might think he was attempting to escape. After fumbling with his holster for a few more seconds, the sergeant finally undid it and gingerly placed his weapon on the colonel's desk. He then proceeded to pull all of his pockets inside out.

When he emptied his left breast pocket, it finally made him lose it. The picture of his girlfriend, Tabitha, dropped out and fell directly on Paul's desk. Her sweet face peered up at him as if to say, “What have you done to us? We were to be engaged and married. We were going to make this world right again for our kids.” Tears welled up in the sergeant’s eyes.

Paul arose and turned his back. “Staff Sergeant, take this man away.” Paul was crushed. The sergeant had been one of the fledgling group’s first recruits. He had proven himself countless times on and off the field of combat. Paul was even planning to preside over the sergeant’s wedding with Tabitha. What was he going to tell Tabby? He knew it was only a matter of time before she came storming through the door.

Paul knew he had to make an example out of the sergeant. He couldn’t let a high crime like treason go unpunished. He had no idea what he was going to do. The staff sergeant left with the manacled sergeant in front of him, leading the way.

“Private Cooley, consider yourself off duty. Go back to your barracks,” Paul sighed as he gazed at the back wall, which displayed the magnified map of Walpole. He stared longingly at the spot marked by the high school symbol. Oh, to be back then, he sighed.

He turned back around to sit at his desk as he heard the private leave the outer office. He wanted to lock the door and throw away the key, but he knew he wouldn’t and couldn’t, for that matter. “What I wouldn’t do for a few hours of sleep,” he mumbled, again, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.